14
votes
Paint dumped into our garden, how bad is it?
A quick search indicates that latex paint can be a nasty pollutant in large quantities, but not in the small quantities you're talking about.
This site has a good discussion of paint contents and ...
- 20.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Plant ID Needed - making my dog sick!
That is lantana. ASPCA Website says:
"Lantana
Additional Common Names: Shrub Verbena, Yellow Sage, Red Sage
Scientific Name: Lantana camara
Family: Verbenaceae
Toxicity: Toxic to Dogs, Toxic to ...
- 3,639
8
votes
Community treatment of wild parsnip - your recommendations
Since wild parsnip is a biennial, when I owned a couple of acres I would just wait for it to set seed, then snip the seedheads off into a five-gallon pail and burn them. I did the same for Queen Anne'...
- 20.4k
6
votes
Is wood ash from black locust harmful to plants?
If you're incinerating the wood, then any allopathic chemicals would be oxidised by the fire, and what's left is wood ash.
Much wood ash contains calcium carbonate as its major component, ...
- 23.4k
6
votes
Paving with asphalt where you grow food
Unlike a highway, the asphalt under the compost won't be collecting vehicle byproduct pollutants.
But compost has been demonstrated to be an effective biofiltration method. So leave a layer at the ...
- 25.7k
5
votes
Accepted
How to seal board gaps in raised bed garden?
It was completely unnecessary to seal the cracks in the raised bed. I did however line the inside of the wood with landscape fabric.
Update: After a year, I recommend NOT sealing the gaps between ...
- 181
5
votes
Accepted
How long does Copper sulfate pentahydrate persist in the soil, after application?
Because of the variability of the environmental fate of this chemical, which shows different decay/leaching rates in different soil textures/environments, you cannot get a direct answer such as "...
- 51.9k
5
votes
Accepted
What is this New Zealand weed? Plants grow to about 50cm-1m tall and have long leaves
If the leaves on the white flowered plant are the same as the leaves on the pink flowered plant, its likely Daucus carota - the flower umbels start out pinkish and usually turn white as the flower ...
- 135k
4
votes
Can Spinetoram be used to control cherry tree slugs without harming nearby bees and fruit?
I've no experience if any spinosins, none have been approved for use in the EU or the UK, but I did find this
http://sitem.herts.ac.uk/aeru/ppdb/en/Reports/1144.htm#none
which suggests (near the ...
- 135k
4
votes
Is wood ash from black locust harmful to plants?
Robinia pseudacacia is thought to be allelopathic to some extent, particularly with regard to fallen leaves, but not much research exists as to which plants it might affect. The bark wood is often ...
- 135k
4
votes
Does ash from cigarettes help plants?
Whether it's helpful depends a lot on what kind of plant you're growing.
Plant ashes in general have a lot of benefits to plants (which I have seen firsthand). They contain water soluble minerals ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Are my bananas safe to eat after being flooded by Harvey?
Pathogenic e-coli are known to be able to reach the tissue of some vegetable plants which is why it's not recommended to use raw manure as a fertiliser, but I'm not aware that anyone has ever detected ...
- 23.4k
4
votes
Galvanised fire bins and ash?
Presuming this happened more than a few hours ago - no problem. Fresh zinc oxide (like an hour old) can give one the "oxide shakes" , "zinc chills" , " brass founder ague"...
- 8,784
4
votes
Does compost made with fruit waste as 'greens' provide enough nitrogen to my plants?
To answer the question in the title of your post, no, it is not safe to assume there's plenty of nitrogen. Usually, finished home made compost is not high in nutrients, including nitrogen, it's ...
- 135k
3
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to consume fruits from plants grown in metal cans?
I can't tell how tall and wide the can is, there's nothing to give reference for scale, so its possible the can is not of an appropriate size to grow a reasonably sized plant. However, given you don't ...
- 135k
3
votes
Accepted
Is wood ash from black locust harmful to plants?
I've used black locust ash for many years in my garden which thrives! In fact, I had a problem with my broccoli and brussels forming leaves but few heads, and after trying many different soil ...
- 46
3
votes
Accepted
Are poinsettia poisonous?
Depends how you define 'poisonous'. Animals and humans who consume the plant won't die, but they may drool, experience nausea and/or vomit. Poinsettia has a bad reputation, but there are far more ...
- 135k
3
votes
Will paint thinner poured in the soil kill my tree?
Paint thinner won't really hurt an established tree, as long as you don't make a habit of dumping it underneath them. If the tree is small, say 3" or less in diameter, it might cause temporary shock ...
- 51.9k
3
votes
Accepted
Are there toxic or inedible kinds of asparagus?
The asparagus family re-sprouts readily after cutting through the growing season, produces red berries on female plants, has the shape illustrated in your photos, so all indications are that it is an ...
- 21.2k
3
votes
Will Potassium Oxide reduce uptake of Sodium as much as Potassium Nitrate
Fertilizer specifications always list the potassium content as the percentage of potassium oxide (K2O) by weight.
It does not mean the fertilizer actually contains potassium oxide. In fact potassium ...
- 11.5k
3
votes
Paint dumped into our garden, how bad is it?
I did this in my backyard without thinking twice. No issues with plants.
From the theory:
Latex paint is actually biodegradable and what is not biodegradable is mostly mineral content.
It is also safe ...
- 301
3
votes
Accepted
What is this fungus (slime mold) with dark brown, rodlike vertical clusters and a slimy webbed base?
This is Chocolate Tube Slime (Stemonitis splendens) of the genus Stemonitis, a type of slime mold.
It is typically found on fallen trees and decaying wood.
Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/...
- 300
2
votes
Accepted
Can Spinetoram be used to control cherry tree slugs without harming nearby bees and fruit?
Is this the first time you've noticed pear slug (cherry slug), the larvae of sawfly? How many trees do you have? This is a 'seasonal' thing where some years are worse than others. Great water ...
- 40.5k
2
votes
Is wood ash from black locust harmful to plants?
I use ashes for my garden. AFAIK, the problem is on the content: the heavy metals: some plants accumulate much of them in wood, some vegetables absorb them, and it is toxic for us (but it is also ...
- 14.7k
2
votes
Do toxic mushrooms that grow near a plant affect its edible / poisonous traits?
You can avoid eating any leaves you think might have been sitting against the mushrooms, otherwise they should be perfectly safe to consume after washing, its the mushrooms themselves you shouldn't ...
- 135k
2
votes
Is it safe to consume fruits from plants grown in metal cans?
If you know that aluminum is your only concern, I wouldn't be too worried about whether your plants would be toxic to eat. Soil in and of itself is already high in aluminum. So, plants are probably ...
- 18.5k
2
votes
Does ash from cigarettes help plants?
Wood ash, and/or charcoal, is the only ash I'm aware of being used as an amendment. The ash from a wood burning stove can be used to adjust PH of soil and add potassium / potash. Charcoal is similar ...
- 230
2
votes
Accepted
Does ash from cigarettes help plants?
Ash is never a viable soil amendment. Agriculture used to burn fields of corn stalks, sugar cane or whatever plant material was left after harvesting. That is no longer a practice today.
Burning the ...
- 40.5k
2
votes
Is it safe to use yuca/cassava skins in my compost
Short answer:
If you are worried about something poisoning you don't compost it.
Alternatively, you could neutralize the toxicity using the same methods as when eating cassava. The simplest way (used ...
- 11.5k
2
votes
Accepted
Can you put a vermicompost bed in-ground next to a Schinus molle/areira tree?
Although Schinus molle does contain two compounds with mildly allelopathic properties (Myricetin and Quercetin), the tree has not been found to have any pesticide or vermicide properties. You should ...
- 20.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible