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Strawberry questions
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"Steve B" wrote: We bought some killer one gallon strawberry plants the other day. They all have strawberries on them, some ripe. I want to grow a bunch of them. I have four 8' railroad ties. OLD railroad ties that are bleached white, so most of the chemicals should be gone. Would an 8' bed raised that high (about 8") be a good bed? We got 10 yards of good compost from a nursery, and it is very high quality. Should I mix anything else with the compost? The local dirt is sand dune blowsand. Should I mix any gravel in for drainage? I want to put the black half inch pipe in there for irrigation. A friend who has a lot of strawberries says that they like a lot of water here. It gets blazing hot in the summer, and pretty cold in the winter. How wet should I keep them? I like using different meals, blood, bone, etc, instead of chemical fertilizers. What would be a good amendment? Lastly, propagation. Do you just plant them and let them grow? How far would I separate the plants? Thanks in advance. Hope this year's garden is better than last year's. Steve XXtreme SW Utah 3700' elev zone 7-8 Visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com What makes you think bleaching will make a difference with creosote? As an alternative to simply tossing them in landfills, old railroad ties are commonly used around the home as landscaping barriers and retaining walls. However, the chemical often used to preserve the wood, coal tar creosote, can present some problems. This form of creosote, a mixture of chemicals created by distilling coal tar, is toxic in large amounts or after extended exposure. It is listed as a probable carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is linked to skin and respiratory disorders. The European Union recently banned creosote. Coal tar creosote can also negatively affect the environment. According to the Creosote Coal Tar Cancer Lawsuits website, the chemical may ³reach the soil as a result of leaking or seeping from treated timber.² Some creosote components may leach into groundwater and, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), may take years to break down. Vice President Colin McCown of the American Wood-Preserversı Association argues that tests on household plants growing next to old crossties found no creosote residue. ³It really is fairly safe,² he says. But ATSDRıs Petro Kacur disagrees. ³We donıt recommend that any chemically treated posts or ties be used in household gardens,² he says. Home and Garden Television recommends using creosote-treated wood only for retaining walls. Some faux railroad ties are now available from big box retailers, but they are typically treated with arsenic, which may also worry conscious consumers. CONTACT ATSDR Tel: (404) 498-0110 Creosote Coal Tar Cancer Lawsuits Tel: (800) 632-8400 Kerri Linden You just fixed one problem, why start another? -- - Billy "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html |
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