Help! Is my Douglas Fir dying??
17 years ago
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- 17 years ago
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douglas fir needles as Vegi mulch?
Comments (3)Yes it is. Pine needles make good mulch. Down south, pine needles (also called pine straw) is used extensivly as mulch for trees, shrubs, flower beds and gardens. It is prettier and better than woodchip mulch because it will not attract certain bugs. You can even mix the broken ones with your garden soil. They might be slightlt acidic but not much. By the end of the season, pine needle mulch will be broken and can be mixed into soil. Use the top fresh one to mulch....See MoreDouglas Fir or Cedar for a Raised Garden Bed
Comments (2)No problems with using the fir. Done it myself and have two 4x12' beds with it that are going on year 9 with no issues in my climate. Don't know what yours is since you don't include any location info so can't comment on any possible climate effects in your garden. The treatment leaching issue is a minor one, even under the worst conditions. Never treated mine just because I saw no need to do so but if you pull up some of the past discussions on using treated wood you'll find that even at the height of the arsenic use era with CCA wood the leaching tests showed the readable level ended at 5-6" from the wood. Most any treatment for wood that is available since the law changed in 2002 is far less, if any, and the toxicity levels dropped dramatically. You have to do what you will feel comfortable with of course but microbial activity in the soil is far more like to be decimated by climate effects and gardening practices (or lack there of) than by any oil preservative you might use on the wood. Dave...See MoreMy Silver Show Korean Fir is dying, please help...
Comments (22)No doubt you are right about that! I cannot imagine the younger generations having anything to do with this. I am an antique dealer and an advanced collector of many things. I am obsessed with some things that most people would find boring, especially the smart phone obsessed generation. Trees are my newest obsession and while they cost a lot less than what I buy and sell, with but very rare exception, everything has its price. Plus, trees die. Antiques generally don't die. I have seemingly lost 2 of these silver firs now and they were costly compared to most, and I am just ill about it. It's a combination of the waste, the money, and how much I enjoyed it. I have about 100 conifers of all different kinds, plus some European beeches and red maples for contrast, and some holly thrown in here and there. I have a daughter named Noel. I had a dog named Kringle and another named Holly. See a pattern developing here? Red and green... Conifers... Still, my favorites are the yellow and white variegated varieties. I love Abies Koreana Aurea. I have two that are about as tall as I am. They replaced two I killed the first time around. This year I actually tented one of them this summer to protect it from the sun. It seems to have worked. We'll see. I have both white and black dragon's eyes--the black is amazing, plus Ogon Janome, Chief Joseph, some variegated thread branch cypress, Carsten's Winter Gold, Trolgold, Watt's Golden, Ogon, Burke's Red, Gold Drift, Goldilocks, etc. But hands-down the best plant I bought last year was a Mugo called Amber Gold. It was variegated yellow to saturated orange to green in the winter. Amazing. The color was better than Chief Joseph or Carstens. Looks different in person then on the web. I see Conifer Kingdom has it. I really like Abies numidica 'Baronagel' and will pursue one. Thanks!...See MoreNeed help taming “Orange” Douglas fir ceilings -choosing flooring
Comments (2)I’ve used those gel stains before to turn 70’s cabinets into cherry cabinets with extremely good results. Unfortunately the ceiling is rough and would have to be sanded before anything could be applied. The cost to pay someone to stand on 30 ft scaffolding and sand overhead isn’t in my budget, even if I could find someone willing to do the work....See More- 17 years ago
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