"A & L Lane" wrote in message
...

"arachne" wrote in message
...

"A & L Lane" wrote in message
...
if I remember correctly, Thiram is a funcicide to prevent root rot in
seedlings as they germinate. All commercial seed (that I'm aware of)
comes
with this as the company has no way of knowing if you are replanting
your
snipped...

I'm fairly relaxed about sprays (used correctly of course) but I'm
certainly
pleased to find a softer alternative - better for everyone.


DS has serious food allergies, so i try & make/get everything as close to
natural as possible so we don't find more allergies.

thanks for the comprehensive info! i'm definitely going to check out seed
savers.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." --
Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

I have read about your DS' allergies - must be very very difficult. If
you
do grow your own veges (and using your own seed is a great way to go -
seed
savers has heaps of old open-pollinated varieties that taste great) -
think
seriously about using the Dipel against the caterpillars. A lot of the
time, these old varieties are better than the ones we have now - they just
dont transport and store so well which is not an issue if you are growing
it
for yourself. There is nothing worse than finding grubs in your veges and
fruit (BTDT) and this stuff is completely natural - developed from a
bacteria found naturally in the soil anyway and it *only* works on
caterpillars. All the scientists have done is to isolate the bacteria and
powderise it so you can add it to water and spray it around - no tricky
genetic engineering. Very very safe and green.

Can you tell I hate caterpillars !!

yes it seems you have a vendetta against the poor little buggers! thanks
for the great info.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." -- Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"arachne" wrote:

if the thiram is on them when they are seeds, doesn't it get into the
crop
you eat? i wonder if i could buy organic ones?
sounds like fun.

As Seanang said, it's a surface fungicide. I don't know that it would get
into the plant as it's only on the outside of the seed, which is not part
of
the developing seedling. I mainly buy seeds from Diggers, who are pretty
eco-friendly, and they use Thiram.

Just looked up the Australian Materials Safety Data Sheets
(www.msds.com.au),
and you can get skin sensitisation if you handle it a lot (however, I
imagine
that like me, you would not allow your DS to handle any poison, on
principle).
It's not particularly dangerous (though you shouldn't eat it), and has a
field
half life of less than a day.


cool, thanks.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." -- Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

In article ,
len gardener wrote:

and what are you saying you didn't have your own grown chilly
source!!?? tut, tut, tut.

My first round of chilli plants either died of damping off or keeled over when
I planted them out :-( I've just planted some more seedlings out. In the
last few days we've had moderate temps and good rainfall, so I think they will
establish well. The only problem is that the increased humidity means more
fruit fly on the tomatoes.

but don't it taste grand hey?

Oooooh, yeah!!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet

Chookie wrote:

My first round of chilli plants either died of damping off or keeled over when
I planted them out :-( I've just planted some more seedlings out.

Okay, so you plant chillis now in sydney?
I have a few different types my brother and father gave me last year
that I'd like to at least grow once.

In article , Terry Collins
wrote:

Okay, so you plant chillis now in sydney?
I have a few different types my brother and father gave me last year
that I'd like to at least grow once.

I'm planting *seedlings* now. It might be a bit late to plant seeds. There
is a gardening calendar at http://www.global-garden.com.au/ that you might
like to look at.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.

Thanks Chookie I'll put that url in my favourites right now.
Jim

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article , Terry Collins

wrote:

Okay, so you plant chillis now in sydney?
I have a few different types my brother and father gave me last year
that I'd like to at least grow once.

I'm planting *seedlings* now. It might be a bit late to plant seeds.
There
is a gardening calendar at http://www.global-garden.com.au/ that you might
like to look at.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.