how to increase sodium in garden?
pagardner
14 years ago
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gargwarb
14 years agopagardner
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Ant hills increasing after new garden area finished..help?
Comments (5)Prairie When we lived in Katy, TX we gardened in raised beds and fire ants found that the area of the beds behind the South and West facing walls made excellent places for their nests. The best organic control that we found was to apply dried molasses whenever and where ever they showed up. It would keep them away for a month or 2 until rain washed away the molasses or until it was "used-up" by the micro-orgs in the soil. I have read from other posters on GW that the molasses application dramatically increases the bacteria in the soil and that the ants move on because they prefer a more steril environment. I doubt that you are dealing with fire ants in Z6 but perhaps the molasses would have the same effect. I was able to purchase 50 lb bags from a local garden supply store. You can also find it in feed supply stores. Before I found the supplier for the dried product I was using a hose end sprayer and filling it with non sulfured molasses from the grocery store and drenching the ant piles. It had the same result, but did not seem to last as long. Good luck. Matt...See MoreSurvey Reveals Double-Digit Increase in Food Gardening for 2009
Comments (6)I saw a story on Nightline this week saying the same thing. Some people have been complaining about seed shortages in local stores, but I have not noticed that at all. I think this is great for us gardeners - if sales keep increasing more and better varieties may be offered in local stores, which I think is the main reason why many order seeds online or from catalogs. I prefer to buy all that I can locally to support local nurseries and local seed companies. The problem is that the selection is sometimes quite disappointing....See MoreWhy/How Pesticide Use Increases Pest Numbers
Comments (10)Jessaka, Giving up the use of chemical pesticides is the hardest thing I EVER did. Many, many times I second-guessed myself and wondered if I was on the wrong path. Yet, ultimately, it was the most rewarding AND best decision I ever made. It can take years for a landscape to return to the proper balance once you stop using pesticides, but it will happen! I simply refuse to poison our air, land and water with chemicals that are, in fact, often nerve poisons. Randy, You and I feel the same way about the damage caused by broad-spectrum pesticides. AND, you know, it was hard for me to accept that many commonly-used ORGANIC pesticides (like rotenone and pyrethrins, for example) are just as damaging to the environment as chemically-based ones. It was especially hard for me to give up Bt kurstaki, but I like the butterflies and moths, so I gave it up too. Like you, I'd rather have the birds and the butterflies and the moths and the other critters! Hi Laura, I hate that you lost your asparagus. Those beetles can be so devastating to a bed. I hope the peppers are doing well. Ticks are very, very, very hard to control and I use a method most people cannot use--free-ranging chickens and guineas who roam the property and eat bugs all day long and are locked up in a secure henhouse to keep the predator birds and animals from getting them at night. Like Randy, we keep all the tall grass mowed down short OR take proper precautions when walking through it. One thing we do in the pastures is cut a path 8' to 10' wide and we only walk on the path. That way, all the insects can happily co-exist in the tall grass but don't bother us much in the short-grass paths. The pathways also help us avoid poisonous snakes by making them more visible. I'll search for a previous "tick control" thread and link it below. One thing I did notice here when we were clearing the land before we built the house was that the cedar trees DID have billions of ticks on them and the ticks literally DID DROP DOWN onto us when we were near the cedars. I am sure they were on other trees as well, but they were especially heavy on the cedars. Since cedars are highly invasive, we took out all the cedars on the 3 acres closest to the house--which took years and years, by the way---and that helped a lot. I think you have to take a multi-pronged approach to ticks and must treat the landscape around the house, but also take steps to protect yourself. I always wear long pants and tall socks....no shorts and flipflops for me! I also spray my shoes, socks, and pant legs up to about the knee area using a good DEET-based repellent. I HATE using DEET, but it isn't going on my skin--although I am sure some of it penetrates the clothing and makes its' way to the skin underneath. Ticks (and mosquitoes too) carry so many diseases that you have to do what you can to protect yourself. I have never found that any of the chemical products are very effective on ticks--people I know who religiously treat the lawns and dog yards/dog kennels with chemicals that are supposed to "control" ticks seem to have just as many ticks as people who don't treat those areas with chemicals. Oh, and when we come in from the outside, if we have been in an area that we know tends to have ticks in it, we check ourselves religiously for ticks and remove them before they have a chance to embed themselves in our skin. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: One Previous Tick Thread...See MoreHow do I increase production?
Comments (6)Many things can reduce production. Over-watering, lack of nutrients in the soil, pH and type of soil, how well or how poorly it drains, sun exposure, etc. You don't mention what and how often you feed your plants or what your watering regimen is and both are important details. Also have you have the soil tested? If the soil pH is way out of line then no matter how much nutrients are in the soil they are locked up and the plant can't use them. "Scraggly plants" is often too little sun exposure, manure is only a good source of nutrients IF there is sufficient soil bacteria to decompose it and even then it doesn't last all season so supplemental feedings are necessary. Over-watering suffocates roots and stunts growth, so does poorly draining soil or compacted soil. Over-watering is one of the most common problems those new to gardening have so it is a good place to start when it comes to identifying problems. And 6" is very shallow for tomato plants unless the soil below was also well tilled so that it isn't compacted. All points to consider. Dave...See Morejustaguy2
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14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
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14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
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14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
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14 years agogargwarb
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
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14 years agoMichael
14 years agogargwarb
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agoMichael
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