Gardening Daily Tips
For You
Saturday February 13, 2010 |
Marigold (Tagetes erecta) | Today's Featured Plant
Marigold (Tagetes erecta)
Read the full profile of this plant at ArcaMax.com.
Interested in reading about other plants? Search through hundreds of plant profiles and helpful articles by keyword. |
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Q&A: Pressure-Treated Wood for Vegetable Beds Question: My husband wants to make raised beds in our vegetable garden, and plans to use treated landscape timbers to for the walls. Don't treated timbers contain arsenic? Is is safe to use them to make a raised bed?
Answer: There are two sides to the story concerning the safety of pressure treated wood in gardens. One says they are safe, citing studies showing little or no leaching of arsenic for years. The other side has its own studies and says it does leach at dangerous levels. So, I err on the cautious side and recommend gardeners not use pressure treated wood, especially for food plants. Try cedar, redwood, hemlock, plastic wood or cement blocks as alternatives. If you already have the wood in place, line the inside with plastic to reduce the risk of the chemicals leaching into the soil. |
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Q&A: Birds And Squirrels Eat My Sunflower Seeds Question: The last several years birds and possibly squirrels have eaten my sunflower seeds within a day or two of sowing. I've tried covering the area with mesh, but I think the birds beaks are able to get past, or the seedlings get tangled in the mesh as they grow. Lightweight garden fabric has trapped slugs underneath, and they eat the young plants. Any other ideas?
Answer: How frustrating! You might try starting the seeds in four inch pots and then gently transplanting them when they are three or four inches tall -- or whatever size you think is big enough to have become unattractive to the local critters. |
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Tip: Start Tomatoes Indoors In warm areas start warm season vegetables such as tomatoes indoors now. Choose varieties adapted to your area, start seeds in pots filled with soilless mix placed under grow lights. Keep lights only a few inches away from seedling tops. |
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Picking the Perfect Valentine's Day Gift Don't get stuck trying to pick the right thing for your loved one this Valentine's Day. You can get great gift ideas -- for him and for her -- from the ArcaMax Valentine's Day feature.
This special section also has holiday history and trivia, party ideas, and recipes for delicious desserts.
Visit the Valentine's Day feature.
-- From the ArcaMax editors |
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Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors |
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