A neeed for caution..
Konrad___far_north
12 years ago
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Konrad___far_north
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
What are your old fashioned tips?
Comments (101)Just a note "Dio Tenaceous" earth is actually "diatomaceous earth" (aka "DE"), as it is made of diatoms. :) When you use it either for garden or pet, there are some cautions to take. First, always use "food grade" DE. Pool-grade DE is too sharp and can be harmful; it is not meant to be ingested or used on pets or plants where humans or pets could ingest (or lick). Fresh-water food-grade is best, but most organic gardening places and many online shops sell food-grade DE. Second, as with ALL dusts, please do not use so much that you can really see it or breathe it, and always make sure either to not breathe it and use eye protection if there is a wind (and cover your pets' eyes), or use a dust mask, etc. One way of distributing it is by using a pizza cheese sprinkler. Planting tomatoes: When you plant them, pick the leggier plants. Pick off the lower branches of your transplants, and plant the tomato at an angle / Various: Look up "companion planting" there are many plants that grow well together. If you plant companion plants at the base of taller plants, you will have to do less weeding, and you will water more efficiently. One example is planting greens between onions, or basil at the feet of tomatoes. Strawberries. Plant radish patches near your strawberry patches. The radishes will draw the lygus bugs away from your strawberry blooms. You can them vacuum them off of the radishes or use your organic chemicals there without hurting your delicate berries....See MoreSpeaking Of Bees & Pesticides
Comments (62)Jeri, figured as much. Since you have had experience with that awful stuff, what do you do? So far I cleared an area for hosta lining my steps the hard way, digging and pulling, tearing out as many runners as possible, then covered with 6 layers of newspaper and mulched w/decaying leaves. Bought me some time. In the flower bed that has the worst of it (new and tilled, stirs up seeds, see why people are doing lasagna planting), I used up two containers of Grass B Gon (Ortho - fluzifop act ingred), stuff isn't that expensive but with all I have yet, would get to be pretty high. Put newspapers all around the border only and finally got finished mulching it, probably could have done it as soon as I had sprayed but wanted to be sure. It works great though! It does take awhile, like up to 2 weeks. Whatever impact GBG has on the environment, I don't think should be too awful, compared to the other nasty stuff we've been discussing. I just read the thread about netting for JB's. May just try that next year. Oh, I'm going to lose one of those Reine des Violettes, will see if I can get credit, and will see if I can get the other one through the winter, got in ground, chlorotic symptoms disappeared for now, picked off more BS leaves, looks pretty good but vulnerable still, mulched well and will winter protect that baby. I got it in a good spot, sunny but part shade, blooms are dark, will love that one if it matures and thrives....See MoreHow Do I know When Roots Have Developed?
Comments (14)Bunny6, your compost sounds like a good bet, assuming the texture is suitable. Sativa, I've often used bagged composted steer manure as a component in rooting media, though never for roses. I used to routinely root hydrangeas and gardenias in 25% manure in Miracle-Gro potting mix plus some extra perlite. Rot was never a problem. I never tried the mix with roses, though, because the dominant voices in this forum around the time I was starting out were pushing play sand or turkey grit (with or without a little peat) and cautioning against using anything too rich. You don't hear much about sand anymore, but if you watch this forum long enough you'll see just about every rooting medium imaginable being promoted as the best. The soil-less potting mix George Mander uses (or at least used to use) is Sun Gro's Sunshine Mix #4, which is formulated for fast drainage and high air capacity. This is the product the company recommends to professionals for rooting cuttings, but unfortunately, they don't distribute in this region and no one else around here markets anything equivalent. I tried just about every brand of "regular" peat moss based potting mix I could find and none of them yielded much better than mediocre results. Maybe it's because the water supply is exceptionally soft in this area, causing peat moss to soak up more water than it ordinarily would, but I didn't seem to be able to add enough sand or perlite to eliminate a high risk of rot. Forest byproduct based potting mixes like Miracle-Gro work better in my hands, even for roses, though not as well as coir or composted pine bark fines. In the end I settled on a "standard" rooting medium based as much on economy as efficacy. Pine bark is a local product and dirt cheap....See MoreDelicate ceramic cooktop - Scratches so easily! pls help!
Comments (25)I just bought a Kenmore black ceramic cooktop and haven't used it yet. I had what I thought was a bad gouge about 1/3" x 1/8", it even looked like one through my 10x jeweler's loupe...well turns out is wasn't. I cleaned the top with the cleaner supplied with it, then used window cleaner to remove the smearing...also, a little stainless cleaner applied to the trim peice may have gotton on the top....anyway, as I rubbed, it seemed like the "scratch" got ever so slightly smaller...I rubbed, and I rubbed, and lo and behold it's gone. Also, it appears that there is some kind of substance on the top that smears, maybe a residue from the adhesive used on the label, etc. I would imagine that if you are not absolutely "certain" your new top is absolutely clean of these deposts, etc. before firing up, you may be baking some of them, including possibly a thin coating of adhesive, onto the top rendering it "smeary." I used a tiny bit of laquer thinner to remove the adhesive and any plastic type material from the top. If I see any water deposits, I am sure CLR would remove them, a solution I haven't seen in other posts. I have some Grease Lightening to insure I have no cooked-on grease deposits and we'll have to see about the rest....See MoreUser
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKonrad___far_north
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKonrad___far_north
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKonrad___far_north
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12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKonrad___far_north
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
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