Subject: Re: [Homestead] Re: Garden Soil: It's More Than Just Dirt
Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2005 12:48:19 -0700
At 11:13 AM 3/7/05 -0800, you wrote:
>I also feel that if someone were really out to give you advice on how
>not to cause harm to your garden, they might mention that conifer waste
>breaks down into compounds that are toxic to all plant life except those
>that dwell among them here in the forest: ferns, rhodies, etc. Nearly
>always when there is free "manure" available, it's mostly conifer
>shavings, and it's usually red cedar (the most toxic of all, according
>to Steve Solomon). I've even heard it billed as manure without the
>stinky element. I've learn to detect that smell of red cedar in the
>blackened sawdust mix, and politely refuse it.
Good to know, thanks. I will change my ways this year. I have put cedar
chips on lots of plants (including my strawberries) in the front of the
house to make the beds pretty. Oops.