I’ve been working with homemade garden remedies in one context or another for about 10 years now. As someone who has spent days searching for odd cures to garden problems I consider myself qualified to say that, of all of the remedies I’ve seen, vinegar seems to be the product with the most (supposed) uses. You can kill weeds with it, as well as plant diseases and insects. You can also use it as a fertilizer or even to acidify your soil. … Continue reading this article “Vinegar: A Garden Miracle!”
Tag: toxic
Bt in the Bloodstream!
Over at my favorite blog (besides this one of course!) Garden Rant, Amy Stewart posted about exploding watermelons — which Linda blogged about below — and about how Bt from genetically engineered food had found its way into our blood stream (and the bloodstream of unborn children). Sounds pretty scary doesn’t it? I’m not going to tell you it isn’t a little troubling, because it is, and I absolutely do not think this finding should be disregarded. … Continue reading this article “Bt in the Bloodstream!”
A rant about urban farming
(I know this one will get me into trouble…but hey, if I don’t tick someone off I’m not doing my job.)
I have mixed feelings about the increased popularity of urban farming. On one hand, I love the idea that people are becoming more involved in producing their own food. But on the other hand, the naivety of many urban farmers is scary – because they assume that home-grown food is safer and/or healthier than what they can buy at the market.… Continue reading this article “A rant about urban farming”
Bordeaux Mix
One of my favorite stories about pesticides is the story of Bordeaux mix. It’s a story of France in the 1800s (so it must be pretty romantic, right?) and how they were suffering from a shortage of grapes. Don’t feel sorry for them — it was really their own doing. Over the course of the 19th century grape vines were brought from the United States to test their merits against European grapes. It was quickly discovered that, for the most part, American grapes were not the equal of European grapes for winemaking. … Continue reading this article “Bordeaux Mix”
DMSO
A few months ago I was interviewed for an article where they asked me whether I thought that a deer repellant which was taken up into a tree would be a good idea. I said sure, great idea. It would last a long time — something that most repellants currently don’t. Well, I just saw the article and I must say that I’m not so sure that it’s a great idea any more.
It seems that the repellant that they’re talking about is basically a combination of hot peppers and DMSO. … Continue reading this article “DMSO”
Jicama (The Yam Bean)
Every once in awhile I get the urge to try and find something interesting in old literature, and today was one of those days. So I went over to my pile of old “Journal of Economic Entomology” journals and snatched a 1943 issue from the top. The pest issues that we had to deal with during the war years were interesting because resources were tight — we had DDT (and lead arsenate), but all of it was going to the front to protect our soldiers from lice. … Continue reading this article “Jicama (The Yam Bean)”
Why do nurseries sell this plant?
I wish I were more like Holly…wandering around nurseries finding pretty and unusual annuals and perennials to get excited about. Instead, I seem to gravitate to plants that annoy me.
Today while looking for some trellises (for those containerized Clematis vines that I’ve been torturing) I saw pots of the Equisetum hyemale (“a tall, evergreen, spreading, reed-like grass”) for sale:
As readers of this blog surely know, Equisetum spp. – or horsetails – are not grasses but primitive relatives of ferns. … Continue reading this article “Why do nurseries sell this plant?”
A nifty garden to visit
I missed my regular posting on Wednesday since (1) I’m on vacation and (2) I hadn’t had time to find anything sufficiently worthy of posting. (Of course I have a compost barrel full of snake oil products I could rant about, but even I get tired of that. Especially on vacation.)
Note the strategic head placement
But yesterday we visited the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens just north of Niagara Falls. We didn’t have nearly enough time to see it all, so I’ll share just one special corner.… Continue reading this article “A nifty garden to visit”
Beantroversy
Castor Bean – Ricinis communis. Folks who make their living creating fabulous color displays for public gardens, municipalities, and commercial parks love ‘em. Civilian gardeners/plant geeks love ‘em. People who get their knickers in a twist about poisonous plants do not.
Pros: ridiculously rapid growth, huge leaves for that tropical look, tolerant of less-than-ideal conditions, cheap and easy to grow from seed, weird wild flowers and seed pods.
Cons: pretty darn poisonous. A few seeds (have seen figures from four to 20), chewed up to release the toxic protein ricin, will allegedly kill you.… Continue reading this article “Beantroversy”
Is Black The New Brown?
Mulch is always an interesting point of discussion as well as the topic of several past GP posts. But I honestly can’t recall if we’ve covered dyed mulch, and can’t search the site, so here goes.
I recently received a request for information from Debbie Dillon, a fine Urban Horticulturist with Virginia Cooperative Extension. She noted the increased use of dyed mulch in the Northern Virginia area, and has been fielding questions from both landscape designers and homeowners regarding the safety of said mulch and the potential for harmful effects on plants.… Continue reading this article “Is Black The New Brown?”