| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| bush bean bugs | 6/24/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: A tiny, triangular-shaped green bug with 6 legs that hops is eating my 3 inch high bush bean ...
A: You could try that. I personally would use Rotonone, a fast acting light sensitive organic ...
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| green beans | 6/16/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: I read you suggested using pyrethrin/rotenone on them is that stuff natural and or safe and is there ...
A: Pyrethrin/rotenone are chemical gardening controls which are extracted from plants. However, these ...
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| corn gluten safety | 6/1/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: having read one of your previous answers, what exactly does this mean regarding use of corn gluten ...
A: Great points, Carol. I figure that for every question I get, maybe 100 people in the world will ...
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| Getting rid of biting bugs organically | 5/31/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: We have a huge bug problem in our backyard. I can hardly send my kids out to play because when they ...
A: Government stats count 63 species of Mosquito in the borders of the Garden State, which boasts not ...
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| Getting rid of biting bugs organically | 5/29/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: We have a huge bug problem in our backyard. I can hardly send my kids out to play because when they ...
A: Let's start with the Mosquitoes. The Canadian Wildlife Federation's Wild About Gardening website ...
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| Getting rid of biting bugs organically | 5/28/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: We have a huge bug problem in our backyard. I can hardly send my kids out to play because when they ...
A: Any idea what bugs these are? There are a lot of things you can do right now, but only chemicals ...
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| garden shower and garden friendly soap | 5/27/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: We live near the beach and will be building an outdoor shower in our backyard with a drywell. What ...
A: It's the bubbles and foam in shampoo, soap, dishwashing liquid etc that are said to have the ...
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| Organic fertilizer petunias | 5/26/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: Can you please recommend an organic fertilizer for wave petunias? I have planted what I hope will be ...
A: To keep up with the fast, sprawling growth of wave petunias; apply organic fertilizer monthly or ...
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| Eliminating violets from beds | 5/25/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: I am trying to remove violets that are over taking my beds. I was trying to fill a way to do it ...
A: You can use the homemade vinegar/soap/sugar mixture as a vegetation killer, with proper mixing and ...
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| Vinegar Recipe | 5/24/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: Would this kill strawberry plants or just the weeds around them?
A: Vinegar is not selective when it is sprayed on plants. It has the potential to kill any and all ...
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| Chia seed fertilization | 5/20/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: Is there any advice on how to fertilize chia seeds? What is the difference in fertilizers/pesticides ...
A: Miracle Grow has an organic fertilizer. Organic chia seed (or any other plant or seed) is grown ...
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| green bean bugs | 5/17/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: will cayanne pepper powdwer work on keeping the green bean bugs off the plants
A: Cayenne pepper is an effective organic deterrent for bugs on your green beans. Here's the recipe: ...
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| Sweet Corn | 5/10/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: I planted sweet corn in successive plantings roughly 2 weeks apart. The second planting looks fine. ...
A: I fear that your sweet corn may have contracted Stewart's wilt which is caused by a bacterium ...
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| Vegetable Garden | 4/15/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: I have started my first tomato, cucumber, and squash seedlings in peat moss filled with store bought ...
A: The lighter color means they need nitrogen. I would use fish fertilizer. Let them dry a little ...
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| Buying compost. | 4/15/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: Just wondering if there are any reliable businesses to buy tested, organic compost in DuPage County, ...
A: First, there's Coast of Maine products, including an organic compost, is carried by Whole Foods ...
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| manure | 3/21/2009 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: If I get old manure from the farmer next store (cow) and want to use it on flower beds, how do I ...
A: I am not sure how you could tell if it is "old" enough. The thing that you need to do is compost ...
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| sugar as dollarweed killer | 3/20/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: i read that granulated sugar will kill dollarweed. just to sprinkle it on and water it in. it is ...
A: As I understand the chemistry of this process, the sugar does in fact neutralize the nitrate. My ...
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| sugar as dollarweed killer | 3/17/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: i read that granulated sugar will kill dollarweed. just to sprinkle it on and water it in. it is ...
A: Granulated sugar will kill weeds as confirmed in the excerpted article shown below: "A Sweet End to ...
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| Is my organic potting soil really organic? | 3/4/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I'm am on a request to have a completely natural, chemical-free garden. Because of walnut trees, I ...
A: Let the buyer beware, but that's what happens when you purchase "organic" from a multinational ...
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| soil pH | 3/1/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: What is the best way to lower pH? Mine is neutral at 7.5. I want to plant vegetables, raspberries, ...
A: Yes, as long is it is not added to an established plant, and you wait for two months. You are ...
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| soil pH | 3/1/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: What is the best way to lower pH? Mine is neutral at 7.5. I want to plant vegetables, raspberries, ...
A: Yes, gypsum adds calcium to the soil. http://www.planetnatural.com/site/elemental-sulfur.html ...
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| soil pH | 2/28/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: What is the best way to lower pH? Mine is neutral at 7.5. I want to plant vegetables, raspberries, ...
A: Tricky. Add lots of gypsum and soil sulfur, but don't plan to plant anything for at least two ...
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| corn gluten meal | 2/22/2009 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: I understand you can fertilize established plants with cgm and you can not apply it on newly seeded ...
A: I would not use cgm for a fertilizer. It is used mainly for weed control. There are just too many ...
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| supplements | 2/17/2009 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: Are fish emulsion and liquid seaweed good enough for my vegetable garden? the soil has a good base ...
A: Those are excellent choices for your vegetable garden. Also consider mixing the two and applying to ...
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| nettig for blueberries | 2/16/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: years ago I had a netting to cover my blue berries..kept out birds, heavy rain, high winds..think ...
A: You should be able to find Netting for bird control at Lowe's Retail Garden Centers. If you don't ...
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| Miracle grow | 2/16/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: Does Miracle-grow make an organic for vegatables and where in Missouri can I buy it??'' thanks Pete
A: Yes. Scotts Miracle-Gro Miracle-GroŽ Organic ChoiceŽ All Purpose Plant Food is one of their ...
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| green bean/wax bean bugs...ARGH! | 2/12/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I have planted a garden every year for 10 years now and fought the normal pests along the way...and ...
A: Let's start with the Aphids on Snow Peas. Aphids are the favorite food of all Ladybug species. ...
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| green bean/wax bean bugs...ARGH! | 2/11/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I have planted a garden every year for 10 years now and fought the normal pests along the way...and ...
A: Your biggest mistake: No crop rotation. There's a reason crop rotation works. Few pests can get a ...
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| composting | 2/2/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: My husband and I have begun taking steps towards composting and we were wondering... once we begin a ...
A: We have extensive information on composting on our website: http://www.avant-gardening.com These ...
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| Gardening over grass | 2/2/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: My husband and I are planning to start an organic garden in our back yard, but right now we have ...
A: Just dig all of the grass up, shake off all the dirt, and compost the roots, or move the sod to ...
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| mold on organic fertilizer | 1/28/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I have been trying to make my own organic fertilizer. It contains worm castings, guano and humate. ...
A: Taken literally, organic 'fertilizer' is a bit of an oxymoron. Traditional fertilizer tries to send ...
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| organic composting | 1/17/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: While I live in Scotland, UK I would be interested to know about the US organic certification ...
A: The United States has adopted composting standards that largely parallel those in other world ...
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| soil building | 1/11/2009 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: First of all, thank you for your time. I live in Cental Texas, my soil is a couple of different ...
A: The first thing is to test your soil so you know what is missing...you can do that at A&L Plains ...
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| Nematode information for Japanese beetles | 1/7/2009 | Mack Jean |
Q: Firstly let me say, thank you for being there. It must be very time consuming, and I am grateful for ...
A: What a coincidence....your last name same as my first name "Mack" (actually, my middle name....). ...
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| COMPOST | 1/4/2009 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I WANT TO MAKE A COMPOST PILE AND HAVE ACCESS TO A CITY ZOO, WHAT ANIMAL WASTE WOULD BE BEST? ALSO, ...
A: Whether you're scooping Moose Manure or Pachyderm Poop, it's always good to enrich your Soil with ...
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| organic gardening | 12/3/2008 | Mack Jean |
Q: Using simple wording and terms could you please explain why inter-relationships between living ...
A: A healthy soil is alive, teeming with microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and yeast as well as ...
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| inter relationships | 12/3/2008 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: Using simple wording and terms could you please explain why inter-relationships between living ...
A: .. Sorry for the delay in answering. I have been out of pocket for a while. I like where Ike hit ...
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| biodiversity | 12/3/2008 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: using simple wording can you please explain what bio diversity is and how it can be applied to ...
A: BIODIVERSITY is the range of living things in an environment, from the smallest microscopic being to ...
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| organic gardening | 12/2/2008 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: Using simple wording and terms could you please explain why inter-relationships between living ...
A: Companion planting, or intercropping, allows us to take advantage of certain chemical interactions ...
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| Raised beds for blueberries and raspberries | 11/21/2008 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: I recently built a raised bed for Misty blueberries and 2 raised beds for Heritage Red Raspberries. ...
A: You need to lower the pH of your soil to about 4.5, because it is too akaline. Sawdust, composted ...
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