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Re: rose-digest Digest V98 #35

dear Joanie,
the baking soda/oil (and a few drops of NONanti-bacterial dish soap as an
emulsifier) was developed by Cornell University to combat powdery mildew,
that stuff that looks like a fine dusting of talc on the leaves.  In my
humid zone 5 , blackspot is more of a problem.  I prefer organic solutions,
and there are several products out there that will do the job.  Even
Wal-Mart carries sulfur (Safer brand makes one), organic for fungal diseases.

As for lime...it is added if a soil test shows that your soil is too acidic
(something azaleas and blueberries love).  Since the problem with clay soil
is lack of drainage, the best thing is organic matter like compost to fluff
it up.  Also, encouraging earthworms by mulching with layers of newspaper
and topping with the compost.  But it sounds like you are already doing a
pretty good job with the aged manure and sawdust.  One thing:  the saw dust
will actually take up your plants nitrogen as it breaks down before adding
it back.  

Hey, I didn't join the Organic Gardening List for nuthin'!

Alice



>I've heard of the bakingsoda/oil too (Martha Stewart was the last one, I
>think) and 
>would love to know if it works - also, we have clay soil - what do you know
>about the 
>method of applying lime?  This year, for the new roses, I removed all of the
>clay in
>the worst areas and used lovely, very aged horse manure/saw dust and the
>babies
>are going gangbusters but they require a lot of water so I'll be
incorporating
>more
>compost in coming years.
>
>This is a great site!
>
>Joanie
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