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Found a jelly substance in my herb garden - HELP ME PLEASE!!!
Hello All,
For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance (imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) Thank you all in advance for your time. Lindie |
"Lindie" wrote in message om... Hello All, For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance (imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) Thank you all in advance for your time. Lindie Multi-part question. Please answer them separately with lots of white space in between. 1) Where do you live? 2) Why didn't you call the police INSTANTLY when you saw your neighbor placing the substance, and have them accompany you to the neighbor's house? 3) What sort of interactions have you had with your neighbor that might cause them to place something harmful in your garden? Remember: Edit carefully and answer separately, with lots of white space. |
"Lindie" wrote in message om... Hello All, For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance (imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) You put something that you suspect to be a herbicide into the fridge? Odd. Truly odd. Why not just ask your neighbor what it was. Snooze |
For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance
(imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) Sounds a bit like the water-storing polymers that are used in some potted plants, but I can't imagine why your neighbor would be adding them to yours. sed5555 |
"Sed5555" wrote in message ... For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance (imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) Sounds a bit like the water-storing polymers that are used in some potted plants, but I can't imagine why your neighbor would be adding them to yours. sed5555 There is a contagious lack of civility in neighborhoods these days. People should know that they shouldn't set foot in your garden without your blessing. |
"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in message
... The message from "Doug Kanter" contains these words: "Sed5555" wrote in message ... Sounds a bit like the water-storing polymers that are used in some potted plants, but I can't imagine why your neighbor would be adding them to yours. Kindness, or helpfulness because he too enjoys her potted plants? I think you based your remark on the previous theory that someone may have deposited a watering aid. In fact, we haven't seen proof of that yet. But, even if the stuff turns out be an attempt at helpfulness, I still don't think it's appropriate for anyone to fiddle with your plants unless you've had a chance to size up the person first. After all, how often do people return from holiday only to find their houseplants looking pathetic (or worse), and wonder about the friend who agreed to keep them watered? There is a contagious lack of civility in neighborhoods these days. People should know that they shouldn't set foot in your garden without your blessing. How dismal, Doug. Perhaps your garden has pathways. My situation consists of a big front lawn with a deep border against the house, and people are welcome to come close and enjoy it. But not step in the beds or deposit anything, unless someone crazy feels like hanging money from the branches. :-) Then, there's my new vegetable garden, which I will set up like my previous one: There will be 18" square stepping stones, just wide enough for me to kneel on. It would make me very uncomfortable to find an unknown individual in that garden. On the other side of the coin, I've occasionally come home to find people wandering or sitting in my gardens, just enjoying them. Neighbours sometimes bring their visitors for a look-see.In summer, I don't fill the birds' peanut feeders; but every so often, they are mysteriously filled up with fresh nuts.. and new plants are anonymously left on the porch. I don't know who does those kind things and rather like it that way. Janet. (Isle of Arran, Scotland). I had a few neighbors like that, Janet, and I enjoyed it. But, they all sought some kind of affirmation that it was OK to get intimate with my garden, before they set foot RIGHT in it. Actually, the children were rather charming in this regard, but that's because they're so much smarter than adults. I ended up transferring ownership of two rows to them because they wanted beets, and more carrots than I was already growing. But, you have to understand something about the Untidy States of America. A rather significant portion of our population is exquisitely ignorant and holds the belief that god has a special place in his heart for chemical companies. Therefore, there is no way those companies would EVER sell something harmful. If you believe otherwise, you're an atheist, a communist, gay, a hippy, and all sorts of other awful things. I lived next door to such a person, and literally stepped in front of her lawn care guy, who was seconds away from hosing down my vegetable garden with a spray that was not intended for use on food crops. I won't go into the discussion that ensued, except to say that the bewildered cops stood there with handcuffs ready until they figured out that the chemical guy was in violation of the law. So anyway....if *I* saw someone placing strange gelatin-like blocks of something in my garden, there would be trouble. Subtract evil motives and what's left is simple: There's a 50/50 chance that the person doing it is just plain dumb. |
In article , Janet Baraclough..
wrote: On the other side of the coin, I've occasionally come home to find people wandering or sitting in my gardens, just enjoying them. Neighbours sometimes bring their visitors for a look-see. Janet. (Isle of Arran, Scotland). When I'm home I don't mind when kids knock on the door to ask to play with the rats or look at the salamanders but it's alarming to come in from gardening to find the neighbor kids already in the house. Or neighbors bring visiting family members to circle my house exploring the gardens whether or not I'm here. It has kind of creeped me out to come home from an errand & find a neighbor launging in the yard, or getting the crap scared out of me coming around a corner only to encounter someone from down the block is standing there. Once I heard strange noises & went outside to find a half-dozen visitors who claimed they knocked first & thought I wasn't home, so invited themselves out back -- when I first saw them I thought the house must be burning down or something or why would so many people be gathering around the place. I don't complain but it's not a comfortable thing to have happen. It's rare enough to not make a big thing of it, & I'm already always struggling against a misanthropic nature & have to stick to this effort to not discourage the neighbors from liking me. I guess as I've aged I've come to be seen as the neighborhood's harmless old aunty; I miss being able to scare people with a glance, but a gardening outfit with sun-hat doesn't have the same impact as my old leather jacket with chains. I find it bewildering that people think they can open a gate, circle through gardens to a very quiet fully enclosed obviously private area, & just sit there for a while like it was a public park. Worse, at least one unknown visitor stole blooms. Well, my most common visitor is a bit addled & has mistaken me for her best friend, but that group-visit was astoundingly bizarre to me. It would not be within the realm of possibility for me to trespass uninvited into someone's back yard, let alone pick a bouquet for myself as I was wandering through. People are just nuts, even friendly well-meaning people. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com |
It sounds like you live in a truly wonderful place. Here we have a neighbor
who wants to kill the hedge between our yards just because they don't like it. It's been there for over 30 years and was turning into a lovely small tree border when they lopped it of to 3 foot tall (it had been 12) They asked if they could "trim" the hedge. And one of the other neighbor's kids is a junior thug-in-training and likes to put chunks of concrete through car windows... Hmmm I think I'll look into moving to your neighborhood :) Shell "Janet Baraclough.." wrote in message ... The message from "Doug Kanter" contains these words: "Sed5555" wrote in message ... Sounds a bit like the water-storing polymers that are used in some potted plants, but I can't imagine why your neighbor would be adding them to yours. Kindness, or helpfulness because he too enjoys her potted plants? There is a contagious lack of civility in neighborhoods these days. People should know that they shouldn't set foot in your garden without your blessing. How dismal, Doug. On the other side of the coin, I've occasionally come home to find people wandering or sitting in my gardens, just enjoying them. Neighbours sometimes bring their visitors for a look-see.In summer, I don't fill the birds' peanut feeders; but every so often, they are mysteriously filled up with fresh nuts.. and new plants are anonymously left on the porch. I don't know who does those kind things and rather like it that way. Janet. (Isle of Arran, Scotland). --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.762 / Virus Database: 510 - Release Date: 9/13/2004 |
Once when we lived in New Mexico in the mountains a whole family came up to
our house and were looking in the window. Faces pressed against the glass while we were having dinner. My dad went out to see what they wanted and they actually wanted to come inside and look around. They were tourists whose brains must have gone to Alaska for vacation while they went to New Mexico. The only thing worse was when we came home from work to find about 7 guys on our roof. They claimed we called to get a roofing estimate. Only problem was we hadn't and their company didn't exist when we checked. Very disconcerting. Shell "paghat" wrote in message ... In article , Janet Baraclough.. wrote: On the other side of the coin, I've occasionally come home to find people wandering or sitting in my gardens, just enjoying them. Neighbours sometimes bring their visitors for a look-see. Janet. (Isle of Arran, Scotland). When I'm home I don't mind when kids knock on the door to ask to play with the rats or look at the salamanders but it's alarming to come in from gardening to find the neighbor kids already in the house. Or neighbors bring visiting family members to circle my house exploring the gardens whether or not I'm here. It has kind of creeped me out to come home from an errand & find a neighbor launging in the yard, or getting the crap scared out of me coming around a corner only to encounter someone from down the block is standing there. Once I heard strange noises & went outside to find a half-dozen visitors who claimed they knocked first & thought I wasn't home, so invited themselves out back -- when I first saw them I thought the house must be burning down or something or why would so many people be gathering around the place. I don't complain but it's not a comfortable thing to have happen. It's rare enough to not make a big thing of it, & I'm already always struggling against a misanthropic nature & have to stick to this effort to not discourage the neighbors from liking me. I guess as I've aged I've come to be seen as the neighborhood's harmless old aunty; I miss being able to scare people with a glance, but a gardening outfit with sun-hat doesn't have the same impact as my old leather jacket with chains. I find it bewildering that people think they can open a gate, circle through gardens to a very quiet fully enclosed obviously private area, & just sit there for a while like it was a public park. Worse, at least one unknown visitor stole blooms. Well, my most common visitor is a bit addled & has mistaken me for her best friend, but that group-visit was astoundingly bizarre to me. It would not be within the realm of possibility for me to trespass uninvited into someone's back yard, let alone pick a bouquet for myself as I was wandering through. People are just nuts, even friendly well-meaning people. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.762 / Virus Database: 510 - Release Date: 9/13/2004 |
Doug Kanter wrote:
"Lindie" eccentricccmessage om... Hello All, For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance (imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) Thank you all in advance for your time. Lindie Multi-part question. Please answer them separately with lots of white space in between. 1) Where do you live? 2) Why didn't you call the police INSTANTLY when you saw your neighbor placing the substance, and have them accompany you to the neighbor's house? 3) What sort of interactions have you had with your neighbor that might cause them to place something harmful in your garden? Remember: Edit carefully and answer separately, with lots of white space. I wonder if Lindie lives next to Doug? Doug sounds just eccentric enough to do something like that. :) -- The Hawke |
"Bill" wrote in message news:lOUdd.225147$wV.210114@attbi_s54... Doug Kanter wrote: "Lindie" eccentricccmessage om... Hello All, For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance (imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) Thank you all in advance for your time. Lindie Multi-part question. Please answer them separately with lots of white space in between. 1) Where do you live? 2) Why didn't you call the police INSTANTLY when you saw your neighbor placing the substance, and have them accompany you to the neighbor's house? 3) What sort of interactions have you had with your neighbor that might cause them to place something harmful in your garden? Remember: Edit carefully and answer separately, with lots of white space. I wonder if Lindie lives next to Doug? Doug sounds just eccentric enough to do something like that. :) Have the right number of experiences with crank neighbors over the years, and you become wary. That's appropriate. |
I
don't fill the birds' peanut feeders; but every so often, they are mysteriously filled up with fresh nuts.. and new plants are anonymously left on the porch. I don't know who does those kind things and rather like it that way. Janet. (Isle of Arran, Scotland). That's it - I'm a movin' to Scotland. Sounds like the neighbors there are much friendlier than in my neck of the woods. Cheryl (IL) |
"Shell" wrote in message m... Once when we lived in New Mexico in the mountains a whole family came up to our house and were looking in the window. Faces pressed against the glass while we were having dinner. My dad went out to see what they wanted and they actually wanted to come inside and look around. They were tourists whose brains must have gone to Alaska for vacation while they went to New Mexico. The only thing worse was when we came home from work to find about 7 guys on our roof. They claimed we called to get a roofing estimate. Only problem was we hadn't and their company didn't exist when we checked. Very disconcerting. Shell .... and I won't be moving to New Mexico... :) Cheryl (IL) |
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On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:04:27 +0100, Janet Baraclough..
wrote: How dismal, Doug. On the other side of the coin, I've occasionally come home to find people wandering or sitting in my gardens, just enjoying them. Neighbours sometimes bring their visitors for a look-see.In summer, I don't fill the birds' peanut feeders; but every so often, they are mysteriously filled up with fresh nuts.. and new plants are anonymously left on the porch. I don't know who does those kind things and rather like it that way. That's what comes from living in an ancient civil society.... remember half of us are voting for Bush! :( |
hippy gardener wrote:
That's what comes from living in an ancient civil society.... remember half of us are voting for Bush! :( Half the population is below average in intelligence. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Black & Decker Landscaping Tools & Parts: http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker |
LOL Don't blame you a bit
Shell "clc" wrote in message ... "Shell" wrote in message m... Once when we lived in New Mexico in the mountains a whole family came up to our house and were looking in the window. Faces pressed against the glass while we were having dinner. My dad went out to see what they wanted and they actually wanted to come inside and look around. They were tourists whose brains must have gone to Alaska for vacation while they went to New Mexico. The only thing worse was when we came home from work to find about 7 guys on our roof. They claimed we called to get a roofing estimate. Only problem was we hadn't and their company didn't exist when we checked. Very disconcerting. Shell ... and I won't be moving to New Mexico... :) Cheryl (IL) --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.762 / Virus Database: 510 - Release Date: 9/13/2004 |
(Lindie) wrote in
om: Hello All, For two days I have found small pieces of clear jelly substance (imagine small roughly diced pieces of agar-agar, although one piece I found yesterday was as big as a fist) lightly burried around the the edges of my seedling pots (basil in particular). I actually saw a neighbour putting them there. I suspect it to be a weed killer of some sort, but I cannot find anything on the 'net along these lines. Any advice on how to research this? Any suggestion on what this substance could be? (I have saved some in the frigde) Thank you all in advance for your time. Lindie Were there little tiny garden tools imbedded inside? http://groups.google.com/groups? hl=en&lr=&safe=off&frame=right&th=a3f68e6aafc2fa1b &seekm=f89143b2.0406190 158.752e0240%40posting.google.com#link4 Shout out to madgardener! |
Doug Kanter wrote:
2) Why didn't you call the police INSTANTLY when you saw your neighbor placing the substance, and have them accompany you to the neighbor's house? I did, and the neighbour denied it. So my question still stands to anyone is willing to help. Are there any clear gelatinous herbicides in existence? I cannot find any on the net. PS Snooze: The jelly is enclosed in a plastic bag and then in a plastic airtitght container. PPS Sed5555: Thank you. |
"Lindie" wrote in message
om... Doug Kanter wrote: 2) Why didn't you call the police INSTANTLY when you saw your neighbor placing the substance, and have them accompany you to the neighbor's house? I did, and the neighbour denied it. So my question still stands to anyone is willing to help. Are there any clear gelatinous herbicides in existence? I cannot find any on the net. Call the cops and ask them to follow up on it. Good cops are often skilled at spotting liars and evil people. And, politely ask the neighbor not to fiddle with your plants unless given permission. |
"hippy gardener" wrote in message ... On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:04:27 +0100, Janet Baraclough.. wrote: How dismal, Doug. On the other side of the coin, I've occasionally come home to find people wandering or sitting in my gardens, just enjoying them. Neighbours sometimes bring their visitors for a look-see.In summer, I don't fill the birds' peanut feeders; but every so often, they are mysteriously filled up with fresh nuts.. and new plants are anonymously left on the porch. I don't know who does those kind things and rather like it that way. That's what comes from living in an ancient civil society.... remember half of us are voting for Bush! :( Three more years....my son's done with high school, and I can pick a new place to live. Hmmm...... |
It sounds like Soil Moist, which helps keep plants watered--it swells up in a
rain, releases the water in dry conditions. I just bought 2 more jars from J& P. Good stuff. zemedelec |
In article ,
pamfree (Zemedelec) wrote: It sounds like Soil Moist, which helps keep plants watered--it swells up in a rain, releases the water in dry conditions. I just bought 2 more jars from J& P. Good stuff. zemedelec Products like Soil Moist or Water Smart are not gelatin, but are polymers which can persist for decades or centuries as pollution, having enormous molecules that interact poorly with the environment. Some such products are made of a biodegradable polymer which is probably even worse because it breaks down into chemical components that enter the food chain & screw up the endocrine system of animals including people. The claims that they keep soil up to 400 times moister & can do away with the need ever again to water the garden are sales pitch lies of the vastest enormity of untruth. But these products do sometimes lock moisture to themselves in such a manner that moisture is no longer accessible to plants; & the product can turn the soil into a plasticized mess that rejects water altogether. These polymers should NEVER be put into a garden, though a better argument (unconvincing to me) could be made for using them for containered plants or houseplants, though I'd still worry what becomes of the container soil when it is replaced -- if tossed in the garden it'd cause harm, & what's the sense of turning perfectly good dirt into something harmful. Here's my article on "Deadly Polymers For Your Garden": http://www.paghat.com/polymers.html -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com |
Mmmm. I gotta look for one, sounds like something to put between the
sugar maple and sausage tree. :D FACE wrote in message . .. On 20 Oct 2004 20:09:56 -0700, (Lindie) in rec.gardens wrote: Have you tried it on toast yet? It could be seed stock of "arborus jellus" (jelly tree). FACE 'scuse me, I gotta go shake the grit bush for dinner |
Janet Baraclough.. wrote:
The message from (Lindie) contains these words: So my question still stands to anyone is willing to help. Are there any clear gelatinous herbicides in existence? I cannot find any on the net. The product people have been discussing in this thread is often sold as dry flakes to add to potting compost; it swells into jelly when it gets wet. So, yes, it's theoretically possible to soak the dry stuff in weedkiller solution and make it swell up. But that wouldn't really make sense in this scenario, because it would be much easier (and less evident) if someone intended to harm your plants, just to pour in liquid. Is it possible that your neighbour is either mentally ill or has dementia? I've got both kinds; sometimes they behave very oddly (and deny it) but none of it is malicious, just sad. Janet Oh, so you do live next to Doug! :) -- The Hawke |
So my question still stands to anyone is willing to help. Are there any clear gelatinous herbicides in existence? I cannot find any on the net. I'm thinking it is the plastic stuff that keeps moisture in the soil.... liken to the crystals in baby diapers. |
It's been there for over 30 years and was turning into a lovely small
tree border when they lopped it of to 3 foot tall (it had been 12) They asked if they could "trim" the hedge Must be my old neighbors, do you live in Connecticut? LOL!!! Colleen Zone 5 CT |
That's it - I'm a movin' to Scotland. Sounds like the neighbors there are
much friendlier than in my neck of the woods. Cheryl (IL) My SIL is from Scotland and is one of the loveliest ladies I know :o) Colleen Zone 5 CT |
"Bill" wrote in message news:Tveed.231651$wV.227833@attbi_s54... Janet Baraclough.. wrote: The message from (Lindie) contains these words: So my question still stands to anyone is willing to help. Are there any clear gelatinous herbicides in existence? I cannot find any on the net. The product people have been discussing in this thread is often sold as dry flakes to add to potting compost; it swells into jelly when it gets wet. So, yes, it's theoretically possible to soak the dry stuff in weedkiller solution and make it swell up. But that wouldn't really make sense in this scenario, because it would be much easier (and less evident) if someone intended to harm your plants, just to pour in liquid. Is it possible that your neighbour is either mentally ill or has dementia? I've got both kinds; sometimes they behave very oddly (and deny it) but none of it is malicious, just sad. Janet Oh, so you do live next to Doug! :) You've apparently not met my former mother-in-law. |
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