Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [toxicity]

For questions about toxicity of certain plants, materials, pesticides, fertilizers, soil additives and more.

41 questions
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3 answers

Paint dumped into our garden, how bad is it?

We recently had some work done on our house and it included painting a room. After the contractors left we discovered, through our security cams, that they had been using our backyard to clean their painting equipment, over a 3 day period. They were…
gardendale
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9
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2 answers

What is 'Allelopathy'?

When dealing with cover crops, green manures, and in other things I see the term 'Allelopathy', especially regarding replanting an area. What does this term mean?
J. Musser
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8
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1 answer

Will paint thinner poured in the soil kill my tree?

The contractor at my neighbors house was washing out his brushes with turpentine or paint thinner and dumping the liquid right next to my tree. Is my tree going to die? What can I do to help it survive?
user14245
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6
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2 answers

Plant ID Needed - making my dog sick!

Does anyone know what kind of plant this is in the photos? My dog keeps eating the leaves, and it makes him sick.
Ready4Launch
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1 answer

What is this New Zealand weed? Plants grow to about 50cm-1m tall and have long leaves

Can anyone identify this weed - I'd imagine its quite common in New Zealand. (I'm in Auckland, and its flooding my untended padocks, but also flowing over into used areas). It proved remarkably difficult to get a good picture, but hopefully this…
davidgo
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5
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6 answers

Would a forsythia at edge of kitchen garden cause problems?

We have a rather small garden and would like to start growing some vegetables and herbs. We already reserved a part of our garden for this, but at the edge of this part there currently is a forsythia growing. It is about 1.5 meter high. My question…
THelper
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5
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Does compost made with fruit waste as 'greens' provide enough nitrogen to my plants?

I've made a load of compost which has now fully matured and mixed it with a fair amount of leaf mold and soft sand (I believe sand that is encapsulated in clay). And with this combo made a potting mix for my strawberries. Well, it hasn't worked out…
Michael Sherpa
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What is this fungus (slime mold) with dark brown, rodlike vertical clusters and a slimy webbed base?

I live in the Florida panhandle, and I have two 20" flowerpots with two tomato plants in the first pot and a bell pepper and three zucchini plants in the other. They are on a south-facing balcony but only get partial sun because of the porch…
killshot13
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5
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2 answers

Building a raised garden from old garden furniture

I have an old outdoor garden bench that I bought from Ikea and I am considering converting into a raised garden bed. We once painted this garden bench many years back. So my concern here is that there would be a risk of toxicity leaching from the…
Des Magner
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5
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Are poinsettia poisonous?

I often see warnings about this common Christmas plant being poisonous to people and pets but have never seen any definitive evidence. Of course toxicity is all in the dosage and concentration so my question is better phrased as: If your…
kevinskio
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Are my bananas safe to eat after being flooded by Harvey?

I have banana plants in my back yard, one of which has produced a nice heart. The bananas should be ripe in a month or so. My house and yard were flooded by Harvey. The category 3 floodwater that inundated my house and yard included stuff from…
David Hammen
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5
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How long does Copper sulfate pentahydrate persist in the soil, after application?

In particular, I am interested in it's effects after it has been applied and the roots affected have been largely removed. Does it break down over time, and if so what is the time frame? What will happen if something else is planted where roots…
Michael
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Can Spinetoram be used to control cherry tree slugs without harming nearby bees and fruit?

I'm looking to control cherry tree slug in an orchard and have found a Spinetoram based product to be effective. In terms of toxicity, there's limited information out there. In particular, I'm interested in impact on bees (spraying on trees after…
Simon
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5
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1 answer

Can the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) build up toxicity in my soils?

I am doing some experimentation with Ricinus communis, which I know contains the toxin Ricin. Through my own experience and research I am not concerned with interacting with the plant or touching it. Do I need to worry about a build-up of toxicity…
Alex
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Does ash from cigarettes help plants?

I have a friend who recently invited me to his house for dinner. Sometime in between, he had lit up a cigarette whilst we were standing on his balcony where he's kept a lot of potted plants. I noticed that he was throwing the ash off the cigarette…
Hamid Sabir
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