Re: home brews was: Insects and Jerry Baker
- To:
- Subject: Re: home brews was: Insects and Jerry Baker
- From: M* T*
- Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 00:51:17 -0400
You're welcome, Kemberly....food for thought is always tasty:-)
Yep, ferns are fairly sensitive to most things, makes it hard to control
problems when they get them.
What passes for my grass is in shade - that's one of its major
maladjustments, because even "shady mix" grasses actually want some sun.
Seem to remember Kay Lancaster advising on Gardens-L that overseeding take
place every spring and cut high - at least 3.5 inches. My grass did green
up nicely with the Milorganite treatment and the overseeding I did has made
a difference. Looks not bad from a distance, but when you get onto grass
in shade, you see that it is rather thin; not like good grass in a sunny
area. IMO, it's a bit too late to feed grass right now, esp. I should
think in TX - I'd wait until fall and give it some Milorganite - or
whenever your cool/rainy season begins.
I truly don't know what sugar - brown or white - would do for a
plant...could be the extra water helps and maybe there is a chemist on the
list who can advise on this one.
A "pinch" of anything won't hurt much of anything. Again, I don't know
what effect sugar is supposed to have, but I do know that epsom salts have
been used for ages on, I think it's roses, to good effect. I have never
used epsom salts in the garden, so have no experience. Would imagine the
effectiveness would depend on the particular needs of the particular
plant...other than watering, I can't say that any one treatment is
effective for all plants.
It's the current issue of "The American Gardener"...probably June?...that
has the recipes in it. As far as books on organic gardening, I'd have to
say Rodale, who publish "Organic Gardening" probably have the most and the
best out there. Here's the URL to the front page of their bookstore.
http://www.rodalestore.com/bookstore/index.icl
To get to the gardening books, use the little scroll box on the left.
I've had their Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening since the early 70's...am
sure they must have new editions out by now, as well as the one on Herbs.
Found them both quite useful - were my bibles, actually, in the early days
when I grew mostly veggies and herbs. Would imagine they are still useful.
Baking soda recipe for powdery mildew:
3 Tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon horticultural oil
1 teaspoon liquid dishwashing soap (acts as a surficant to help spray
adhere to leaves)
1 gallon water
Apply spray every week to 10 days.
It's also good to remove badly infected leaves, if possible...
As I've said before, I'm not heavily into fertilizing plants; prefer
compost topdressing and mulch. Too much fertilizer makes perennials overly
lush and then unable to take it when the going gets tough. Save your money
on fertilizer...buy plants instead:-)
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Mclainakag@aol.com
> Date: Thursday, June 03, 1999 10:39 AM
>
> Marge-
>
> Well you have given me many things to think about and I thank you for all
of
> the information. You've made me feel very good about my efforts as it
sounds
> like I might be doing a few things right and have given me additional
> information to improve my methods.
>
> About the dish soap--I might have misunderstood my mom-n-law, maybe she
said
> it wouldn't kill 'all' the bugs. Anyway, I still have a much cleaner
garden
> since the wash and the only plants who really resented the wash was the
> ferns. I knew they would, just got two by accident but they are showing
> signs of life at the base.
>
> My brother swears by the sludge stuff---the 1st I've heard of it was two
> weeks ago from him. I really didn't give it much thought when he
mentioned
> it because he is somewhat of a gimmick fellow (use to be involved in the
> pyramid sales thing). Now that you've mentioned it I think I'll have to
look
> into sludge. For the most part our lawn is lovely but we have two large
live
> oak trees in the front yard and the grass suffers from the shade. Do you
> think the sludge would help the grass in a shady location?
>
> My mom-n-law told me that sometimes when a plant is looking a little sad
to
> put 1T brown sugar with 1 qt of warm water and water the plant with it.
Now
> I have done this and yes, sometimes ants come temporarily, but the plant
does
> seem to respond.....is this good or bad?
>
> What about the pinch of epson salt/sugar (equal parts) in the hole before
> planting a plant......I know that the epson salt provides magnesium but
do
> you think this is worth doing? Since doing this I've had great results
with
> my plants....Is this good or bad? I've been recommending this to various
> gardeners and I don't want to continue if it is a bad idea.
>
> You mentioned The American Gardener, do you recall which issue the
organic
> rose treatments were featured as my neighbor is a rose grower (about 75
in a
> suburban lot) and constantly fights various problems. Speaking of
> organic...is there a book you can recommend on organic gardening. I've
been
> to Barnes and Noble in their gardening section and I become very
overwhelmed.
> I do usually try to get books from the library first, especially if the
book
> is pricey. It is really hard to tell from an index if the book is
actually
> going to provide the information you are looking for. I love to read and
> have collected about 100 different types of gardening/flower books over
the
> past 4 years from 1885 to current. I smiled when you mentioned the "pour
the
> soapy dish water out the back door story", one of my flower gardening
books
> is written by a lady in 1915 and she mentions such things as that and
putting
> rusty nails in your garden. I think my grandmother did things like that.
I
> know that her rose bush by her back door was absolutely beautiful (not
even
> in full sun)....I think that is where she threw her coffee grounds too.
> Anyway, if you, or anyone, have any suggestions on a good book about
organic
> gardening I would appreciate it.
>
> I'm not opposed to chemical treatment of things, if it is really really
> needed, but I have two small children at home (4 & 2) and when I'm
outside
> they are too, so I prefer something safe for them. Do you recall the
baking
> soda recipe for mildew, I recently purchased a "plate" style hibiscus and
it
> has been plaqued with mildew since I brought it home.
>
> You also mentioned commercial products--we are always looking for that
> "great" fertilizer that will give our plants the best and biggest blooms.
> There are so many to choose from these days and they are constantly
coming
> out with new--this too can be overwhelming and sometimes costly. I guess
it
> does give us reason to think about what our grandparents did....they
> certainly didn't have extra money for fertilizer.
>
> Thank you for your time and your information....you certainly have my
mind
> whorling.
>
> Happy Gardening
>
> Kemberly McLain
> Katy, Texas Zone 9
>
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