In article ,
"Luke Tulkas" wrote:

It's not the same hemlock. Not even close. The hemlock Socrates drank was
Conium maculatum (http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/conium.html ). "Your"
hemlock is a tree of genus Tsuga
(http://www.botanik.uni-bonn.de/conifers/pi/ts/ ). I think it's bark would
be OK for your cryptomeria.


And Iris Cohen wrote:
Socrates' poison hemlock was an entirely different plant, a member of the
Apiaceae. Hemlock bark is from Tsuga canadensis, Canadian hemlock (or another
member of the same genus), a conifer. In this country we use Douglas fir bark,
a byproduct of the plywood industry.

And I am very impressed. I mean I knew that it probably wasn't tsuga
canadensis or heterophylla and I was really just being facetious, but I
am impressed that people actually know what kind of hemlock shooter the
old Greek knocked back.

And while i am in reply mode...

Brent at Evergreen Gardenworks wrote:
The major cause of soil collapse is
loss of particle size due to _composting_ of the organic portion. By
using composted bark, you are using a material that already has one
foot in the grave.

But, Brent, is there not some nutritional value to be gained through the
composting process? I know that when my wife composts kitchen waste,
etc. for her garden, she does it in order to add more than just (for
lack of a better word) fibre to the soil. It works like a slow release
organic fertilizer for her.

Les Linfoot
New Westminster, BC, Canada
Zone 8