I'm in the 5A-6B plant hardiness zone of Canada. I have a garden on a slight incline about twelve feet wide and five feet deep. It is currently quite rocky, it appears gravel was added underneath canvass for drainage (I assume) and then dirt dumped over it. Should I dig all of this out and start over? There are some perennials, (rose bushes - very ugly) that I'd like to pull out, and hostas I planted last year. What type of shrubs, perennials and flowers would do well in this area? I am looking for easy care type stuff, but I like pretty flowers. I also prefer wild flowers or those that look wild. I do not like the rose bushes, they are very difficult to make look pretty and are quite thorny making access to the rest of the garden difficult as they are so overgrown. Any tips for the small hill garden would be appreciated as well.
What should I plant this spring in my outdoor garden?
You could make the area into a rock garden. Suggestions for plants: cranesbill, stonecress, bellflower, gentian, lantana, salvia, sedum, diasca, scilla, onamental onion, crocus, allium, fleabane, phlox, violas, and herbs. Incorporate a few large rocks or use smaller ones as an edging. Removing the roses sounds like a good idea if you don't like them. Plant something that will make you smile every time you see it. Good luck.
Reply:wow this is a big question.ill answer it with a few questions. where do you live ,what do you like to eat ,what is your soil ph.,do you have a compost pile,ben,will you use mulch ,what type of watering system will you use.do use the web or talk to an old timer to get good ideas and suggestions. good luck and happy eating !!
Reply:Lantana is what you need. Get all colors. It loves dry hot weather and would do well among your rocks.
A question for men
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
How do I stop cats (& maybe foxes) pooing in my garden? It's just patchy grass with a burn area in the middle
Just moved to a previously vacant property. The garden is just grass surrounded by fencing, working on getting some plants/flowers in ....eventually.
How do I stop cats (%26amp; maybe foxes) pooing in my garden? It's just patchy grass with a burn area in the middle
There are professional cat repellants available. The only problem is the frequent application. You can put out moth balls and the smell will repel most animals. Hopefully, if they get the picture, they will go elsewhere.
Reply:Put a bigger fence
How do I stop cats (%26amp; maybe foxes) pooing in my garden? It's just patchy grass with a burn area in the middle
There are professional cat repellants available. The only problem is the frequent application. You can put out moth balls and the smell will repel most animals. Hopefully, if they get the picture, they will go elsewhere.
Reply:Put a bigger fence
If i planted a seed from a cherry in my garden would it grow?
asked my mum this yesterday. she said the tree would proberly grow but woulnt have anythig on it. i live in scotland you see. is it a bush or a tree aswell. i really jsut wana know would one grow in my garden?
If i planted a seed from a cherry in my garden would it grow?
I live in Scotland too and have done this in the past, but have never allowed the tree to get beyond 2 or 3 feet. Cherry stones need to spend a winter in the ground before they will germinate (the frost breaks up the hard stone) but they will grow the following spring. The tree may eventually flower but stone grown trees are never as healthy as specially raised ones and any fruit you get may be poor quality. Also, sweet cherry trees get VERY big before they fruit and birds tend to eat most of the fruit unless you protect it.
If you really want to grow cherries in your garden, get a sour cherry tree (much smaller, and birds don't eat the fruit) from a nursery. The fruit is tasty and can be made into jams etc. but is not usually eaten raw.
Reply:Cherries grow on trees, we used to have two of them in my backyard when i was growing up, they were bith over 20 feet tall.
As for growing, its hard to say. It shoul grow, but there is a reason that trees produce soo many seeds - the odds of any one seed surviving for more thana year or two is not good. Only some will germinate and then some of those will die to to weak root systems, disease etc.
So, theoretically they should grow, but just planting one doesnt give you the best odds of success.
If you want to try, this is what you do:
Cherries are deciduous trees and so their seeds require what is known as cold stratification - they need a simulated winter in order to germinate. If you do not do this, the seed will just sit in the ground until after a real winter stratifies it.
To stratify:
Take the cherry seeds - you should use atleast 10 if you can to increase the odds of success - and place them in a cup of hot water and let them soak for 24 hours. This is called scarrification and allows water to absorb through the hard seed covering and to be absorbed by the inner seed. It helps to replace the water every few hours with fresh hot water.
At first, the seeds will float - once they have been scarified and absorbed water, they will sink to the bottom. While some ofthe one that float may still germinate, some of the floaters will be dead. The best chance of growth is from those that sink.
After 24 hours place the seeds in a bag of peat moss that is moist (moist but not waterlogged) and sprinkle wiht cinnamon. Cinnamon is a natural anti fungal. Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for 90-120 days.
After this period (you can checkcarefully after about 75 days) you should see that the seeds germinated and small sprouts will be visible.
Remove from the fridge and place each seed in a small pot of soil and water. After a week or so, the new shoot wil emerge fro the soil.
Note: Best time to do this is during the winter, otherwise you sprout them during the wrong time of year and the ymay not survive the first winter without emough growth time.
Also, it will eventually grow fruit, but can sometimes take 10-15 years if not longer for the tree to become mature enough to fruit.
Heres a link on growing trees from seeds:
http://www.bonsaisite.com/germinate.html
Reply:It would be a tree. It would take a while for it to have fruit.
Reply:it should eventually
If i planted a seed from a cherry in my garden would it grow?
I live in Scotland too and have done this in the past, but have never allowed the tree to get beyond 2 or 3 feet. Cherry stones need to spend a winter in the ground before they will germinate (the frost breaks up the hard stone) but they will grow the following spring. The tree may eventually flower but stone grown trees are never as healthy as specially raised ones and any fruit you get may be poor quality. Also, sweet cherry trees get VERY big before they fruit and birds tend to eat most of the fruit unless you protect it.
If you really want to grow cherries in your garden, get a sour cherry tree (much smaller, and birds don't eat the fruit) from a nursery. The fruit is tasty and can be made into jams etc. but is not usually eaten raw.
Reply:Cherries grow on trees, we used to have two of them in my backyard when i was growing up, they were bith over 20 feet tall.
As for growing, its hard to say. It shoul grow, but there is a reason that trees produce soo many seeds - the odds of any one seed surviving for more thana year or two is not good. Only some will germinate and then some of those will die to to weak root systems, disease etc.
So, theoretically they should grow, but just planting one doesnt give you the best odds of success.
If you want to try, this is what you do:
Cherries are deciduous trees and so their seeds require what is known as cold stratification - they need a simulated winter in order to germinate. If you do not do this, the seed will just sit in the ground until after a real winter stratifies it.
To stratify:
Take the cherry seeds - you should use atleast 10 if you can to increase the odds of success - and place them in a cup of hot water and let them soak for 24 hours. This is called scarrification and allows water to absorb through the hard seed covering and to be absorbed by the inner seed. It helps to replace the water every few hours with fresh hot water.
At first, the seeds will float - once they have been scarified and absorbed water, they will sink to the bottom. While some ofthe one that float may still germinate, some of the floaters will be dead. The best chance of growth is from those that sink.
After 24 hours place the seeds in a bag of peat moss that is moist (moist but not waterlogged) and sprinkle wiht cinnamon. Cinnamon is a natural anti fungal. Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for 90-120 days.
After this period (you can checkcarefully after about 75 days) you should see that the seeds germinated and small sprouts will be visible.
Remove from the fridge and place each seed in a small pot of soil and water. After a week or so, the new shoot wil emerge fro the soil.
Note: Best time to do this is during the winter, otherwise you sprout them during the wrong time of year and the ymay not survive the first winter without emough growth time.
Also, it will eventually grow fruit, but can sometimes take 10-15 years if not longer for the tree to become mature enough to fruit.
Heres a link on growing trees from seeds:
http://www.bonsaisite.com/germinate.html
Reply:It would be a tree. It would take a while for it to have fruit.
Reply:it should eventually
What are the treatments for cutworms (not grubs) in my garden?
I didn't take the usual precautions when planting seedlings in my garden, as cutworms have never been anything more than a nuisance, but this season I have lost several developing vegetable plants with stems up to a quarter of an inch in diameter. I've found the cutworm in only one instance.
What can I use sparingly around the base of susceptible plants to take them out?
What are the treatments for cutworms (not grubs) in my garden?
Ortho? Bug-B-Gon? MAX? Lawn %26amp; Garden Insect Killer Concentrate Ready-to-Spray
* Kills on contact
* Kills over 150 types of insects
* Provides residual control for up to 6 weeks
* Built-in applicator - no mixing, no measuring, and no mess
* Guaranteed!
usage
How to Use
Connect: Shake well before using. Connect sprayer to hose. Turn on water.
Spray: To begin spraying, point nozzle in the direction you want to spray. Bend small yellow plastic tab back and turn knob clockwise to ON position. Spray evenly over measured area.
Finish: To stop spraying, turn knob counter-clockwise to OFF position. Turn off water. Relieve water pressure by bending yellow plastic tab back and turning knob to ON position until water slows to a drip. Turn knob back to OFF position. Disconnect sprayer from hose.
When to Apply
Apply when insects first appear and repeat as necessary, but not more frequently than every 7-14 days.
Where to Use
* Roses and other ornamentals
* Vegetables and fruit trees listed on label
* Trees and shrubs
* Lawns
* Around house foundations, porches, patios and stored lumber.
Where Not to Use
For outdoor use only. Do not apply directly to water. Drifts and runoff from treated areas may be hazardous to aquatic organisms in treated areas. Do not contaminate water when disposing of equipment washwaters. Do not apply to humans or animals.
What It Controls
On Ornamental Plants (including: roses, flowers %26amp; shrubs):
Aphids, armyworms, bagworms, crickets, cutworms, Eastern spruce gall adelgade, elm leafbeetles, European pine sawfly, fall webworm, flea beetle, grasshoppers, greenbug aphids, gypsy moth, hornets, Japanese beetle (adults), lacebug, leafhopper, loopers, lygus bug, mealybugs, mimosa webworms, mosquitoes, northern pine weevil, oak webworm, orchard weevil, periodical cicada, pine chaffer, pine shoot weevil, plantbug, redheaded pine sawfly, saltmarsh caterpillar, sap beetle, sawfly, spittlebug, spruce mites, stink bug, tarnished plant bug, tent caterpillar, thrips, two spotted spider mite, wasp, whitefly, and Zimmerman pine moth.
On Lawns:
Ants (including carpenter, lawn, foraging fire ant, and Argentine), armyworms, black turfgrass ataenius, chinch bugs, crickets, cutworms, deer ticks, fleas, greenbugs (aphids), Japanese beetles (adults), mole crickets, mosquitoes, sod webworms, weevils (including billbugs and annual bluegrass)
On Vegetables %26amp; Melons:
Aphids, alfalfa caterpillar, alfalfa looper, American plum borer, apple aphid, apple maggot, armyworms, artichoke plume moth, beet armyworm, black cherry aphid, black vine weevil, blueberry spanworm, buckhorn aphid, cabbage loopers, carrot weevil, celery looper, cherry fruit fly, chinch bug, clover mites, codling moth, Colorado potato beetle, corn earworm, corn rootworm (adults), corn silkfly (adult), cow pea curculio, cranberry fruitworm, cranberry weevil, crickets, spotted %26amp; striped cucumber beetle (adults), cutworms, diamondback moth, European corn borer, fall webworm, filbert worm, flea beetle, grasshoppers, green cloverworm, green fruitworm, hickory shuckworm, imported cabbageworm, lacebug, leafhopper, leafrollers, lesser peach tree borer, loopers, lygus bug, Mexican bean beetle, naval orangeworm, oblique banded leafroller, oriental fruit moth, painted lady caterpillar, pea aphid, pea weevil, peach tree borer, peach twig borer, pecan nut casebearer, pecan spittlebug, pecan leaf phylloxera, pecan stem phylloxera, pear psylla, pecan aphid, pecan weevil, pepper weevil, pickleworm, plantbug, plum curculio, potato leafhopper, potato psyllid, potato tuberworm, red-banded leafroller, red striped fireworm, rindworm, rosy apple aphid, saltmarsh caterpillar, san jose scale (fruit only), sap beetle, southwestern corn borer, squash bug, squash vine borer, stalk borer, stink bug, tarnished plant bug, tentiform leaf miner, tobacco hornworm, tomato fruitworm, tomato hornworm, tomato pinworm, tufted apple budmoth, vegetable leafminer, velvetbean caterpillar, variegated leafroller, walnut aphid, walnut husk fly, weevils, western bean cutworm, and whitefly.
Around House, Foundations, Porches and Stored Lumber:
Ants (including carpenter ant, Lasius, Argentine, red harvester, pavement, odorous, pyramid, pharaoh), centipedes, cockroaches (including American, Asian, German), crickets, earwigs, fleas, house flies, millipedes, mosquitoes, palmetto bugs, scorpions, sowbugs, spiders, and ticks (including American, deer tick, brown dog tick)
Cautions
For outdoor use only. Harmful if swallowed. Causes moderate eye irritation. Avoid contact with eyes or clothing. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling.
Active Ingredients:
0.3% Bifenthrin
This works well. And y ou can find other things at http://www.ortho.com/index.cfm/event/Bug...
All of these can be found at the Home depot and if your ever in portchester store 1212 look for me I work in the garden there. Hope this helps you out.
Reply:You don't need chemicals. Make a collar out of cardboard . Cut a strip, tape in a circle around the plant stalk, press about 1/2 inch in the ground. This will keep the cut worm from curling around the plant stem and choking it off. THIS WORKS! I have used it for years and have zero damage from cut worms.
Reply:The above post from "ahuhyeah" regarding using cardboard wraps is absolutely correct!!! I have done the same thing for many years without fail.
Reply:It looks like the following chemicals may help with cutworms.
permethrin (Eight), acephate (Orthene), carbaryl (Sevin), diazinon.
What can I use sparingly around the base of susceptible plants to take them out?
What are the treatments for cutworms (not grubs) in my garden?
Ortho? Bug-B-Gon? MAX? Lawn %26amp; Garden Insect Killer Concentrate Ready-to-Spray
* Kills on contact
* Kills over 150 types of insects
* Provides residual control for up to 6 weeks
* Built-in applicator - no mixing, no measuring, and no mess
* Guaranteed!
usage
How to Use
Connect: Shake well before using. Connect sprayer to hose. Turn on water.
Spray: To begin spraying, point nozzle in the direction you want to spray. Bend small yellow plastic tab back and turn knob clockwise to ON position. Spray evenly over measured area.
Finish: To stop spraying, turn knob counter-clockwise to OFF position. Turn off water. Relieve water pressure by bending yellow plastic tab back and turning knob to ON position until water slows to a drip. Turn knob back to OFF position. Disconnect sprayer from hose.
When to Apply
Apply when insects first appear and repeat as necessary, but not more frequently than every 7-14 days.
Where to Use
* Roses and other ornamentals
* Vegetables and fruit trees listed on label
* Trees and shrubs
* Lawns
* Around house foundations, porches, patios and stored lumber.
Where Not to Use
For outdoor use only. Do not apply directly to water. Drifts and runoff from treated areas may be hazardous to aquatic organisms in treated areas. Do not contaminate water when disposing of equipment washwaters. Do not apply to humans or animals.
What It Controls
On Ornamental Plants (including: roses, flowers %26amp; shrubs):
Aphids, armyworms, bagworms, crickets, cutworms, Eastern spruce gall adelgade, elm leafbeetles, European pine sawfly, fall webworm, flea beetle, grasshoppers, greenbug aphids, gypsy moth, hornets, Japanese beetle (adults), lacebug, leafhopper, loopers, lygus bug, mealybugs, mimosa webworms, mosquitoes, northern pine weevil, oak webworm, orchard weevil, periodical cicada, pine chaffer, pine shoot weevil, plantbug, redheaded pine sawfly, saltmarsh caterpillar, sap beetle, sawfly, spittlebug, spruce mites, stink bug, tarnished plant bug, tent caterpillar, thrips, two spotted spider mite, wasp, whitefly, and Zimmerman pine moth.
On Lawns:
Ants (including carpenter, lawn, foraging fire ant, and Argentine), armyworms, black turfgrass ataenius, chinch bugs, crickets, cutworms, deer ticks, fleas, greenbugs (aphids), Japanese beetles (adults), mole crickets, mosquitoes, sod webworms, weevils (including billbugs and annual bluegrass)
On Vegetables %26amp; Melons:
Aphids, alfalfa caterpillar, alfalfa looper, American plum borer, apple aphid, apple maggot, armyworms, artichoke plume moth, beet armyworm, black cherry aphid, black vine weevil, blueberry spanworm, buckhorn aphid, cabbage loopers, carrot weevil, celery looper, cherry fruit fly, chinch bug, clover mites, codling moth, Colorado potato beetle, corn earworm, corn rootworm (adults), corn silkfly (adult), cow pea curculio, cranberry fruitworm, cranberry weevil, crickets, spotted %26amp; striped cucumber beetle (adults), cutworms, diamondback moth, European corn borer, fall webworm, filbert worm, flea beetle, grasshoppers, green cloverworm, green fruitworm, hickory shuckworm, imported cabbageworm, lacebug, leafhopper, leafrollers, lesser peach tree borer, loopers, lygus bug, Mexican bean beetle, naval orangeworm, oblique banded leafroller, oriental fruit moth, painted lady caterpillar, pea aphid, pea weevil, peach tree borer, peach twig borer, pecan nut casebearer, pecan spittlebug, pecan leaf phylloxera, pecan stem phylloxera, pear psylla, pecan aphid, pecan weevil, pepper weevil, pickleworm, plantbug, plum curculio, potato leafhopper, potato psyllid, potato tuberworm, red-banded leafroller, red striped fireworm, rindworm, rosy apple aphid, saltmarsh caterpillar, san jose scale (fruit only), sap beetle, southwestern corn borer, squash bug, squash vine borer, stalk borer, stink bug, tarnished plant bug, tentiform leaf miner, tobacco hornworm, tomato fruitworm, tomato hornworm, tomato pinworm, tufted apple budmoth, vegetable leafminer, velvetbean caterpillar, variegated leafroller, walnut aphid, walnut husk fly, weevils, western bean cutworm, and whitefly.
Around House, Foundations, Porches and Stored Lumber:
Ants (including carpenter ant, Lasius, Argentine, red harvester, pavement, odorous, pyramid, pharaoh), centipedes, cockroaches (including American, Asian, German), crickets, earwigs, fleas, house flies, millipedes, mosquitoes, palmetto bugs, scorpions, sowbugs, spiders, and ticks (including American, deer tick, brown dog tick)
Cautions
For outdoor use only. Harmful if swallowed. Causes moderate eye irritation. Avoid contact with eyes or clothing. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling.
Active Ingredients:
0.3% Bifenthrin
This works well. And y ou can find other things at http://www.ortho.com/index.cfm/event/Bug...
All of these can be found at the Home depot and if your ever in portchester store 1212 look for me I work in the garden there. Hope this helps you out.
Reply:You don't need chemicals. Make a collar out of cardboard . Cut a strip, tape in a circle around the plant stalk, press about 1/2 inch in the ground. This will keep the cut worm from curling around the plant stem and choking it off. THIS WORKS! I have used it for years and have zero damage from cut worms.
Reply:The above post from "ahuhyeah" regarding using cardboard wraps is absolutely correct!!! I have done the same thing for many years without fail.
Reply:It looks like the following chemicals may help with cutworms.
permethrin (Eight), acephate (Orthene), carbaryl (Sevin), diazinon.
If you just buried a banana peel in your vegetable garden, would it decompose?
If you just buried a banana peel, apple core, the center of the corn cob, orange peels and etc in a vegetable garden, would it decompose? How long would it take to decompose? Would it start to smell bad and attract more bugs than there already is?
If you just buried a banana peel in your vegetable garden, would it decompose?
Of course it would decompose... otherwise there would be banana skins and other bits of vegetables lying all over the place. The time it takes to decompose depends on lots of things... temperature, humidity, what else is in the ground with it.... anything from a few months to a year.
I would suggest, however, that rather than just burying the bits and pieces you place them in a composter. You then have better control of the waste and can speed up the decomposition process by adding layers of cardboard and leaves.
Reply:Banana peel is actually good to bury next to a rose bush. Gives nourishment to the rose bush.
Reply:yes, buried it won't smell
sports shoes
If you just buried a banana peel in your vegetable garden, would it decompose?
Of course it would decompose... otherwise there would be banana skins and other bits of vegetables lying all over the place. The time it takes to decompose depends on lots of things... temperature, humidity, what else is in the ground with it.... anything from a few months to a year.
I would suggest, however, that rather than just burying the bits and pieces you place them in a composter. You then have better control of the waste and can speed up the decomposition process by adding layers of cardboard and leaves.
Reply:Banana peel is actually good to bury next to a rose bush. Gives nourishment to the rose bush.
Reply:yes, buried it won't smell
sports shoes
Can grey water be used from (a) a dishwasher (b) a washing machine- on to veggie/flower garden.Is it safe?
I have 2 seperate pipes so I can re direct to diff parts of the garden-
Can grey water be used from (a) a dishwasher (b) a washing machine- on to veggie/flower garden.Is it safe?
Sheeze. I'm hesitating to answer this because you've already got answers all over the board. I spent 20 years in innovative on-site wastewater management design. Attended the American Society of Agricultural Engineers On-Site Wastewater Management Annual Conferences five of those years, and so on and so on and so on.
I'll waste the time typing this and tell you the water coming off the kitchen sink and dishwasher are nearer blackwater in their biological loading, than grey water. Put that into the sewer line or septic system.
The tub/shower and bathroom sink are legitimate grey water and worth using, though it's helpful to float off the soap in a grease trap before allowing it to run out wherever you plan to use it.
Reply:it is perfectly safe - I've done it before - the neat thing is any soap you use (which should be biodegradable) wards off pests...and the proteins from disjes and laundry help feed the soil. I would be careful to not launder any clothling soiled with oils or paints.
Reply:The detergents in the water will harm your plants. Set up a rain barrel for extra water for your gardens.
Reply:It is not recommended. Here's why; soap can raise the pH of the soil and increase salts, regardless of the type of soap. Vegetables to not do well in high salt soils or high pH soils, if at all, same with some flowers and trees.
In some states and or counties it is illegal to use your grey water. Do check with your city/county health department to find out if you can even use grey water first.
Reply:It seems safe enough, have a read through this though:
http://www.awa.asn.au/Content/Navigation...
Reply:For the most part, yes, provided you are not using chlorine bleach or a non-environmentally friendly soap. I use my gray washer water, and I use Oxy instead of bleach (much better for whitening, removing stains, and the environment) and enzyme cleaning tablets (no soap whatsoever). And, of course, assuming you are not washing clothes that have toxins on them (like work clothes might). A little soap isn't going to hurt, but too much can add toxins, hurt natural bacteria action in the soil, deposit nasty stuff in the soil, or damage the roots' ability to absorb water and nutrients. I have yet to find an EF soap for the dishwasher that actually does a good job, but if you want to set up a filtering system of a few layers of fiberfill and charcoal fiber or charcoal granules (similar to what's in a fish tank filter) this will do wonders for "cleaning" your cleaning water.
One thing to bear in mind, for optimum health, growth, and nutrint absorption, your plant should be watered in the morning before 10 AM (plants absorb water and nutrients during the day, grow at night), so you might want to think about a filtered holding tank.
Check first with your local Dept. of Environmental Protection, or Town Hall...some places do not allow you to drain gray water above ground (I know a couple of folks in Australia who were fined for doing it), and folks in the watershed areas around here aren't allowed to do it.
Reply:It doesn't seem logical that the harsh chemicals used in detergents combined with food residue and bacteria are healthful to plants.
Maybe you could try it on one specific plant for a period of time and observe the long-term effects...
Can grey water be used from (a) a dishwasher (b) a washing machine- on to veggie/flower garden.Is it safe?
Sheeze. I'm hesitating to answer this because you've already got answers all over the board. I spent 20 years in innovative on-site wastewater management design. Attended the American Society of Agricultural Engineers On-Site Wastewater Management Annual Conferences five of those years, and so on and so on and so on.
I'll waste the time typing this and tell you the water coming off the kitchen sink and dishwasher are nearer blackwater in their biological loading, than grey water. Put that into the sewer line or septic system.
The tub/shower and bathroom sink are legitimate grey water and worth using, though it's helpful to float off the soap in a grease trap before allowing it to run out wherever you plan to use it.
Reply:it is perfectly safe - I've done it before - the neat thing is any soap you use (which should be biodegradable) wards off pests...and the proteins from disjes and laundry help feed the soil. I would be careful to not launder any clothling soiled with oils or paints.
Reply:The detergents in the water will harm your plants. Set up a rain barrel for extra water for your gardens.
Reply:It is not recommended. Here's why; soap can raise the pH of the soil and increase salts, regardless of the type of soap. Vegetables to not do well in high salt soils or high pH soils, if at all, same with some flowers and trees.
In some states and or counties it is illegal to use your grey water. Do check with your city/county health department to find out if you can even use grey water first.
Reply:It seems safe enough, have a read through this though:
http://www.awa.asn.au/Content/Navigation...
Reply:For the most part, yes, provided you are not using chlorine bleach or a non-environmentally friendly soap. I use my gray washer water, and I use Oxy instead of bleach (much better for whitening, removing stains, and the environment) and enzyme cleaning tablets (no soap whatsoever). And, of course, assuming you are not washing clothes that have toxins on them (like work clothes might). A little soap isn't going to hurt, but too much can add toxins, hurt natural bacteria action in the soil, deposit nasty stuff in the soil, or damage the roots' ability to absorb water and nutrients. I have yet to find an EF soap for the dishwasher that actually does a good job, but if you want to set up a filtering system of a few layers of fiberfill and charcoal fiber or charcoal granules (similar to what's in a fish tank filter) this will do wonders for "cleaning" your cleaning water.
One thing to bear in mind, for optimum health, growth, and nutrint absorption, your plant should be watered in the morning before 10 AM (plants absorb water and nutrients during the day, grow at night), so you might want to think about a filtered holding tank.
Check first with your local Dept. of Environmental Protection, or Town Hall...some places do not allow you to drain gray water above ground (I know a couple of folks in Australia who were fined for doing it), and folks in the watershed areas around here aren't allowed to do it.
Reply:It doesn't seem logical that the harsh chemicals used in detergents combined with food residue and bacteria are healthful to plants.
Maybe you could try it on one specific plant for a period of time and observe the long-term effects...
How can I keep Cyperus Papyrus from spreading in my garden?
I'm have 3 papyrus plants (still in pot) that I'm getting ready to plant in soil. What methods are there to keep this from spreading throughout my garden? Someone told me to plant it in the pot (i.e. dig a hole and put the whole pot in). Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
How can I keep Cyperus Papyrus from spreading in my garden?
That is one of the easiest ways to keep something from spreading. If the plants have lived in those pots for a while - move them into a larger pot first. Then just dig a whole big enough for the whole pot to fit in the ground. There isn't anything else to it.
Good luck! And water them quite a bit.
Reply:I'm guessing you have Cyperus alternifolia http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/vi... rather than Cyperus papyrus: http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/vi...
Mine (alternifolia and papyrus) have been in the ground for 2 years and haven't spread appreciably. If yours start to creep where you don't want it, just dig it out. C alternifolia roots in water, C papyrus propagated by seed (extremely small, dust size seeds). Both take full sun and love wet feet.
How can I keep Cyperus Papyrus from spreading in my garden?
That is one of the easiest ways to keep something from spreading. If the plants have lived in those pots for a while - move them into a larger pot first. Then just dig a whole big enough for the whole pot to fit in the ground. There isn't anything else to it.
Good luck! And water them quite a bit.
Reply:I'm guessing you have Cyperus alternifolia http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/vi... rather than Cyperus papyrus: http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/vi...
Mine (alternifolia and papyrus) have been in the ground for 2 years and haven't spread appreciably. If yours start to creep where you don't want it, just dig it out. C alternifolia roots in water, C papyrus propagated by seed (extremely small, dust size seeds). Both take full sun and love wet feet.
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