| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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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-Gro® Organic Choice® 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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| organic gardening book | 11/1/2008 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: My daughter-in-law who lives in northwest Arkansas would like a organic gardening book for ...
A: .. the "organic guru" in Texas is Howard Garrett. He has several books out but a lot of them are ...
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| Asparagus | 10/30/2008 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: I started growing Asparagus 2 years ago. I havent harvested any spears yet, but am anxiously looking ...
A: You could do either. Their purpose is to feed the roots so next years spears will be healthy and ...
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| Vegetable Gardens | 10/22/2008 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: I have started a vegetable this year and I live in southwest Ga. I have a ton of tomatoes that are ...
A: Heidi ... sorry for the delay. I thought that I had answered this but I just got an email that I ...
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| Winterizing 1st year rhubarb in garden. | 10/18/2008 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: I have planted a rhubarb earlier this year in spring. It now is full of leaves. We had a freeze ...
A: Get some composted manure and add about four inches around the plant. When the leaves are all dead, ...
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| Tomato | 10/14/2008 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: I live in LasVegas Nevada its getting chilly now I bought a Tomato plant about a month or two ago ...
A: Anytime you buy a tomato plant (or any other plant) check to see if it is already rootbound. Most ...
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| interviewing an expert (pillbugs) | 10/14/2008 | Mack Jean |
Q: I'm a student doing research on pillbugs for a project. i have included four questions. Do pillbugs ...
A: Pill bugs are native to Europe and were introduced to the U.S. where they are now widespread. Pill ...
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| ant on plants | 9/29/2008 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: I just bought 3 Petunias, 1 Dahlia and a Potato plant(in an diffrent area) on 9/28/08 and I had a ...
A: I would not use the sugar water or the cantalope (if you were using that to attract butterflies). ...
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| ant on plants | 9/29/2008 | Mack Jean |
Q: I just bought 3 Petunias, 1 Dahlia and a Potato plant(in an diffrent area) on 9/28/08 and I had a ...
A: 10 Ways To Kill Ants… Organically 1. Baking soda is poisonous to ants, spinkle it around your ...
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| Organic control of snails & aphids | 9/29/2008 | Mack Jean |
Q: What can be done to control (i.e., "kill", and as painfully as possible) snails and aphids quickly, ...
A: Your Habaneros concoction mix is one of the many alternatives for organic control of snails and ...
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| rabbit manure | 9/26/2008 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: I had someone tell me that rabbit manure is safe to put on all garden plants and tomatoes especially ...
A: .. all kinds of manures are good organic additions to your soil. The number one thing to remember ...
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| loofah squash | 9/21/2008 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: A friend gave a loofah squash plant this spring and it has several large squashes on it.I've never ...
A: In the fall the luffas will begin to loose weight. This is a sign that they are beginning to mature ...
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| How to cultivate Chia (Salba)? | 9/20/2008 | Mack Jean |
Q: It seems that the Salba grain can only grow in Peru? Is there any possibility at all that we can ...
A: Chia’s native range extends through the coastal and inner coast ranges of California from Mendocino ...
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| acorn Squash in container | 9/12/2008 | Mack Jean |
Q: I have bought some small acorn plants and want to try my hand at them. I am a beginner. But ...
A: Plant the acorn squash in individual 3 to 5 gallon containers. The container must have drainage ...
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| organic garden | 9/10/2008 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I had a soil analysis done and everything was optimum or better! Wow! Anyway, I'd like to know if ...
A: Nitrogen being one of the more fleeting elements, Liquid Seaweed (typically around 0.1-0.0-1.0) and ...
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| spring flowering bulbs | 9/9/2008 | Mack Jean |
Q: Several of my spring flowering bulbs have sprouted now in early September. We live in zone 5, but ...
A: The numerous layers that make up a plant bulb are actually storage tissues. Depending on the type of ...
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| seaweed, insect control | 9/6/2008 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: 1. I heard about using fresh seaweed for fertilizing- can i use it for perennials and evergreens in ...
A: Q #1: Your concerns about Seaweed probably surround the p.r. about heavy metals and contaminants ...
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| soil | 9/4/2008 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: Everything was either optimum or over!! My question is, what do you think of using just liquid ...
A: Liquid seaweed will provide needed trace elements, and fish emulsion will provide nitrogen in the ...
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| rosemary | 9/4/2008 | Vikki Johnson |
Q: I'll give a little history. Several years ago I purchased a "charlie brown" rosemary. For maybe 3 ...
A: .. Rosemary is pretty hardy. I would wait until the temperatures cool and then transplant the ...
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