In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
General Schvantzkoph wrote:

On Thu, 07 Apr 2011 08:49:00 -0700, Billy wrote:

In article ,
The Cook wrote:

On 6 Apr 2011 20:25:11 GMT, General Schvantzkoph
wrote:

Has anyone used Preen? It claims to stop weeds, does it work?


Yes, but make sure you follow the instructions. Don't put it anywhere
you are going to plant seeds. Wait until after they have sprouted. I
am thinking about putting it down pretty soon where my tomato plants
are going.

Why not use newsprint and mulch to suppress weeds? It works well for
me,
and keeps the worms happy.



"The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow." - Anon

The mulch distributor suggested Preen when I told him that the horse
bedding mulch that I bought from him last year was full of pokeweed
seeds.

The mulch distributor told you that the mulch was full of pokeweed
seeds? And this year, what's his prognostication on the pokeweed
content? I suspect that newsprint is cheaper than Preen oil. Worst case
scenario is that you add young pokeweed leaves to your salads, along
with the dandelions, or serve them like spinach.

DO NOT USE RAW POKE WEED LEAVES FOR ANYTHING!!!
They are poisonous!! Poke requires a very special preparation to be edible.
Oh dear, poisonous plants in the garden.

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Phytolacca%20americana
http://www.holisticonline.com/Herbal-Med/_Herbs/h284.htm

I just paid $18 for a bale of alfalfa. That's a little pricey, but it
will hold down the newsprint, and last me all season long.

How many bales to cover 5000 sq ft? How many newspapers?
That would be about 8 bales, which would be $145. You don't read the
news paper? If you did read newpapers (which are not so hot these days),
it would save on landfill. An added bonus is as it breaks down, it feeds
the soil with organic material and nitrogen (N-P-K for alfalfa = 3-1-2),
so no additional compost is required, and less fish emulsion.
It's a great idea, but not feasible for a large garden.
80' X 50", large? No particular stress in it for me and my ticky ticker,
but your disability maybe more sever than mine.


In his garden every man may be his own artist without apology or
explanation.
--Â Â Louise Beebe Wilder

I agree and will use my new tiller without apology to anyone.
Good on you, Steve, and don't let the laughing bother you while you use
it for shallow hoeing of the weeds between the rows ;O)

How much you gonna pay for one of these global-warming, petroleum
burning, CO2 belching, OPEC enriching, tranquillity-destroying
contraptions, that cost money and time to maintain, more than $145?

-
"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget
ourselves." - Mahatma Gandhi

If you like weekends (8 hr./day & 40 hr./week), then thank a labor union.
They paid for it in blood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair


=
--
- Billy
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953
http://wn.com/black_panther_party
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug