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Old 21-03-2004, 12:31 AM
Brian
 
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Default Towards a more organic garden (etc.)

I'm not a granola-type person, but I do have to say that after 2 and a
half years as a homeowner, I'm much more sensitive to the environment
around me. I've removed tons of boring old shrubs and planted things
that are interesting to me (a mix of fragrant and fruiting plants), and
many of these things attract birds and insects of an amazing variety.
It's incredible to be able to look out at the yard (or be out in it)
and see these creatures going about their business...and it feels wrong
to be spraying all kinds of better-living-through-chemistry mess
indiscriminately all over the place. I'm not condemning anybody, please
note, I'm talking about me here. You all do what you want, hear?

That being said, I'm in the market for things that are less destructive
to the balance of life out there. I have a few hybrid tea roses (why, I
don't know...I should just give up), and I'm determined to find a
source for Rose Defense, preferably locally. I'll order it from the
manufacturer if I have to, but I'm surprised I can't find any around
here. If you don't know what it is, it's a spray made from Neem seeds,
which supposedly has both insecticidal and fungicidal qualities, and
has been used in India for thousands of years for all kinds of uses
beyond these. By the same people is a product called Vegetable Defense,
also made from Neem.

I asked about these, as well as diatomaceous earth (non-toxic and made
from diatom skeletons, which are somewhere near microscopic size and
practically shred slugs and other soft-bodied things as they slide over
the powder you sprinkle around) at Buchanan's yesterday, and I might as
well have been speaking Greek. I did mention to the very nice lady
there that there seemed to be a wave of interest in this kind of stuff,
and she just kept nodding and smiling. Whatever!

I guess I'll just stick with the farmer's market and Big Bloomers from
now on for my non-shrub needs (OK, wants!)...better selection and lower
prices, anyway. I do think somebody around here needs to pick up the
ball when it comes to organic gardening supplies. I'd like to support a
Raleigh business like Buchanan's, so I guess that's why I'm
disappointed in the response I got.
  #2   Report Post  
Old 21-03-2004, 05:13 AM
Robert
 
Posts: n/a
Default Towards a more organic garden (etc.)

I can't help you with Raleigh but you might try Stone Brothers & Byrd in
Durham:

http://stonebrothers.com

They do have some organic products and they are reluctant to overuse
chemicals. I brought my troubled Gardenia clippings in last week and they
were very helpful in diagnosing the problem and discouraged a chemical
remedy. I think any other place would have sent me home with a number of
chemicals that would not have necessarily helped.

For online resources you can try Planet Natural:

http://www.planetnatural.com/

and Seeds of Change

http://www.seedsofchange.com (in the Garden Tools section)

They might have what you are looking for.

We live on the Falls Lake watershed and we have a well for our water so we
end up drinking what we put into our immediate environment. So we try to
keep things as organic as possible with our gardening.

Good luck,

Robert

"Brian" wrote in message
...
I'm not a granola-type person, but I do have to say that after 2 and a
half years as a homeowner, I'm much more sensitive to the environment
around me. I've removed tons of boring old shrubs and planted things
that are interesting to me (a mix of fragrant and fruiting plants), and
many of these things attract birds and insects of an amazing variety.
It's incredible to be able to look out at the yard (or be out in it)
and see these creatures going about their business...and it feels wrong
to be spraying all kinds of better-living-through-chemistry mess
indiscriminately all over the place. I'm not condemning anybody, please
note, I'm talking about me here. You all do what you want, hear?

That being said, I'm in the market for things that are less destructive
to the balance of life out there. I have a few hybrid tea roses (why, I
don't know...I should just give up), and I'm determined to find a
source for Rose Defense, preferably locally. I'll order it from the
manufacturer if I have to, but I'm surprised I can't find any around
here. If you don't know what it is, it's a spray made from Neem seeds,
which supposedly has both insecticidal and fungicidal qualities, and
has been used in India for thousands of years for all kinds of uses
beyond these. By the same people is a product called Vegetable Defense,
also made from Neem.

I asked about these, as well as diatomaceous earth (non-toxic and made
from diatom skeletons, which are somewhere near microscopic size and
practically shred slugs and other soft-bodied things as they slide over
the powder you sprinkle around) at Buchanan's yesterday, and I might as
well have been speaking Greek. I did mention to the very nice lady
there that there seemed to be a wave of interest in this kind of stuff,
and she just kept nodding and smiling. Whatever!

I guess I'll just stick with the farmer's market and Big Bloomers from
now on for my non-shrub needs (OK, wants!)...better selection and lower
prices, anyway. I do think somebody around here needs to pick up the
ball when it comes to organic gardening supplies. I'd like to support a
Raleigh business like Buchanan's, so I guess that's why I'm
disappointed in the response I got.



  #3   Report Post  
Old 21-03-2004, 05:13 AM
Robert
 
Posts: n/a
Default Towards a more organic garden (etc.)

I can't help you with Raleigh but you might try Stone Brothers & Byrd in
Durham:

http://stonebrothers.com

They do have some organic products and they are reluctant to overuse
chemicals. I brought my troubled Gardenia clippings in last week and they
were very helpful in diagnosing the problem and discouraged a chemical
remedy. I think any other place would have sent me home with a number of
chemicals that would not have necessarily helped.

For online resources you can try Planet Natural:

http://www.planetnatural.com/

and Seeds of Change

http://www.seedsofchange.com (in the Garden Tools section)

They might have what you are looking for.

We live on the Falls Lake watershed and we have a well for our water so we
end up drinking what we put into our immediate environment. So we try to
keep things as organic as possible with our gardening.

Good luck,

Robert

"Brian" wrote in message
...
I'm not a granola-type person, but I do have to say that after 2 and a
half years as a homeowner, I'm much more sensitive to the environment
around me. I've removed tons of boring old shrubs and planted things
that are interesting to me (a mix of fragrant and fruiting plants), and
many of these things attract birds and insects of an amazing variety.
It's incredible to be able to look out at the yard (or be out in it)
and see these creatures going about their business...and it feels wrong
to be spraying all kinds of better-living-through-chemistry mess
indiscriminately all over the place. I'm not condemning anybody, please
note, I'm talking about me here. You all do what you want, hear?

That being said, I'm in the market for things that are less destructive
to the balance of life out there. I have a few hybrid tea roses (why, I
don't know...I should just give up), and I'm determined to find a
source for Rose Defense, preferably locally. I'll order it from the
manufacturer if I have to, but I'm surprised I can't find any around
here. If you don't know what it is, it's a spray made from Neem seeds,
which supposedly has both insecticidal and fungicidal qualities, and
has been used in India for thousands of years for all kinds of uses
beyond these. By the same people is a product called Vegetable Defense,
also made from Neem.

I asked about these, as well as diatomaceous earth (non-toxic and made
from diatom skeletons, which are somewhere near microscopic size and
practically shred slugs and other soft-bodied things as they slide over
the powder you sprinkle around) at Buchanan's yesterday, and I might as
well have been speaking Greek. I did mention to the very nice lady
there that there seemed to be a wave of interest in this kind of stuff,
and she just kept nodding and smiling. Whatever!

I guess I'll just stick with the farmer's market and Big Bloomers from
now on for my non-shrub needs (OK, wants!)...better selection and lower
prices, anyway. I do think somebody around here needs to pick up the
ball when it comes to organic gardening supplies. I'd like to support a
Raleigh business like Buchanan's, so I guess that's why I'm
disappointed in the response I got.



  #4   Report Post  
Old 21-03-2004, 05:13 AM
Brian
 
Posts: n/a
Default Towards a more organic garden (etc.)

In article .net,
Robert wrote:

I can't help you with Raleigh but you might try Stone Brothers & Byrd in
Durham:

http://stonebrothers.com

They do have some organic products and they are reluctant to overuse
chemicals. I brought my troubled Gardenia clippings in last week and they
were very helpful in diagnosing the problem and discouraged a chemical
remedy. I think any other place would have sent me home with a number of
chemicals that would not have necessarily helped.


Hey, thank you for the reply...I'll check those sources out further. I
meant to reply to your gardenia post...I have a Chuck Hayes out front,
and it's got some crispy brown leaves in various places on it. I wait
until after the last bit of cold (this coming week, maybe?) and then
cut these places off and around April 15th, hit them with some
HollyTone and they are good to go. In my experience, it's a very hardy
cultivar of gardenia, and these brown leaves aren't a big deal.

We live on the Falls Lake watershed and we have a well for our water so we
end up drinking what we put into our immediate environment. So we try to
keep things as organic as possible with our gardening.


I'm glad to see somebody else feels the same!
  #5   Report Post  
Old 21-03-2004, 05:13 AM
Brian
 
Posts: n/a
Default Towards a more organic garden (etc.)

In article .net,
Robert wrote:

I can't help you with Raleigh but you might try Stone Brothers & Byrd in
Durham:

http://stonebrothers.com

They do have some organic products and they are reluctant to overuse
chemicals. I brought my troubled Gardenia clippings in last week and they
were very helpful in diagnosing the problem and discouraged a chemical
remedy. I think any other place would have sent me home with a number of
chemicals that would not have necessarily helped.


Hey, thank you for the reply...I'll check those sources out further. I
meant to reply to your gardenia post...I have a Chuck Hayes out front,
and it's got some crispy brown leaves in various places on it. I wait
until after the last bit of cold (this coming week, maybe?) and then
cut these places off and around April 15th, hit them with some
HollyTone and they are good to go. In my experience, it's a very hardy
cultivar of gardenia, and these brown leaves aren't a big deal.

We live on the Falls Lake watershed and we have a well for our water so we
end up drinking what we put into our immediate environment. So we try to
keep things as organic as possible with our gardening.


I'm glad to see somebody else feels the same!


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Old 23-03-2004, 07:33 AM
Steve Holzworth
 
Posts: n/a
Default Towards a more organic garden (etc.)

In article , Brian
wrote:


I asked about these, as well as diatomaceous earth (non-toxic and made
from diatom skeletons, which are somewhere near microscopic size and
practically shred slugs and other soft-bodied things as they slide over
the powder you sprinkle around) at Buchanan's yesterday, and I might as
well have been speaking Greek. I did mention to the very nice lady
there that there seemed to be a wave of interest in this kind of stuff,
and she just kept nodding and smiling. Whatever!


Buchanan's (Western Blvd) is usually quite good. I suggest you ask one
of the older experienced guys that work there, they're usually
somewhere out in the nursery area. If you went into the office, you
might have gotten someone who serves more as a checkout clerk. Logan
Trading Company near Peace College is another likely source.

It's my understanding that diatomataceous earth is often used in
swimming pool filters (big ones), so you might see if a pool supply has
it. Rising Soon Pools about another half-mile towards Cary on Western
Blvd is a possible candidate.

--
Steve Holzworth "Do not attribute to poor spelling
That which is actually poor typing..."
Senior Systems Developer - me
SAS Institute - Cary, N.C. - Open Systems R&D UNIX/VMS/MAC
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Old 23-03-2004, 08:12 AM
Steve Holzworth
 
Posts: n/a
Default Towards a more organic garden (etc.)

In article , Steve Holzworth
wrote:


It's my understanding that diatomataceous earth is often used in
swimming pool filters (big ones), so you might see if a pool supply has
it. Rising Soon Pools about another half-mile towards Cary on Western


That would be Rising SUN Pools...

Blvd is a possible candidate.


--
Steve Holzworth "Do not attribute to poor spelling
That which is actually poor typing..."
Senior Systems Developer - me
SAS Institute - Cary, N.C. - Open Systems R&D UNIX/VMS/MAC
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