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1500 questions
35
votes
7 answers

Are household LED bulbs suitable as supplemental light for plants?

I live at a fairly northerly latitude where we have limited hours of daylight during the winter. Low-wattage (5-8W) white LED bulbs seem to be becoming more common as a household light source. Do these LED bulbs provide suitable light for growing…
Ben Mordue
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35
votes
3 answers

How can I revive a tree that's been stripped of bark?

I've got what I think is a cedar tree in my backyard that is missing most of its bark on one side from the ground to about 4' up. (Thanks to my puppy who is a shredding machine.) The branches next to the bare area of the trunk are slowly turning…
Doresoom
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34
votes
2 answers

Why did my carrots split in a way that looks like legs?

This is the first year I've grown carrots. What gave them legs? I have a theory that the seedlings merged together. I don't know if that is just silly or if carrots just naturally grow like this.
Fatmuemoo
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34
votes
3 answers

Making a yard that's settled more level?

My yard was installed when the prior owners built our house a dozen years ago. They did a decent job with the landscaping and yard. The problem is that some areas of the yard have settled and I'd like to "fill" those areas in without redoing too…
BQ.
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34
votes
8 answers

My lettuce is flowering - does that mean it has bolted?

I planted a batch of "zesty blend" lettuce seeds. They seem to be doing fine, but suddenly they started flowering: Have they bolted? They look healthy otherwise. Still edible?
Caffeine Coma
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33
votes
6 answers

How do I compost a large pile of branches and heavy shrub clippings?

This Spring, I pruned all my shrubs and pulled out a few pine stumps. My first thought was just to pile them all up on their own. I have never had good luck trying to compost such material with the rest of my compost. But I'm concerned that these…
Fatmuemoo
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33
votes
4 answers

Can aloe be grown indoors, in an office with artificial light only?

I came across a very beautiful aloe in a shop a few days ago, which I would like to plant in my office next to my computer. However, there is no natural light (sunlight) and only fluorescent light, which hangs 2 m (6 ft) above the table, is…
lamwaiman1988
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33
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4 answers

How can I tell if a plant given to me is patented?

Sometimes, I receive an unlabeled plant start from a friend, and they do not know if it is patented. If I want to grow and sell a plant in question, is it okay to just take the chance, or is there a way to find patents?
J. Musser
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33
votes
1 answer

How long does it take for the compost to ripen?

I’ve got a compost bin (a big plastic box with air holes) that’s used by two or three families. We have been putting kitchen scraps and stuff into the composter for about a year now (mostly vegetables). The composter does not stink, it gives a nice…
zoul
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33
votes
4 answers

How do I grow a usable vegetable garden indoors?

I'm from a very rural area and love to garden, however, for work I just moved into an apartment in the city. I miss being able to grow vegetables and so I attempted to start some leaf lettuce indoors, however, almost every plant died quickly. I'm…
JToland
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33
votes
10 answers

Does eating fruits and vegetables watered with greywater affect your health?

Does using greywater on your fruit and vegetable garden affect your health in a negative way? Greywater is the run-off or cast off water that lolls about when you do normal washing around the home. The sink water when you're doing the dishes, the…
Eight Days of Malaise
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33
votes
5 answers

Any benefit to watering whole plant (leaves and all) instead of just the soil/roots?

A question I often wonder about when watering outdoor pots in the dead heat of summer. Should I just make sure the soil in the bed/pot is watered sufficiently, or is it necessary/advisable to also water the leaves and stem? My naivete makes me think…
Doug T.
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32
votes
7 answers

Ants in my garden: good or bad?

While weeding my garden I found a bunch of ant nests (red ants and small black ants). My first inclination was to destroy the nest and send them packing, but I didn't know if they might aerate the soil, or keep worse pests at bay. Are they of any…
agent-j
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32
votes
1 answer

Can my lawn be saved or is it time to dig it up and re-sod?

The majority of the grass in my backyard has turned brown and/or died after what we believe was a chinch bug onslaught that went untreated for way too long. It is St. Augustine grass in South Florida. I finally treated the whole backyard with…
Michael Moussa
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32
votes
7 answers

How efficient are stump removal chemicals?

As a skeptic, I am generally wary of any claims that say something that is generally hard is made easy by a product. I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice if they have experience with various stump removing chemicals on the market (not…
Larian LeQuella
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