Organic Gardening Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:58:42 +0000 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:58:42 +0000 UBC Botanical Garden Forums https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/organic-gardening.296/ Wed, 08 Jan 2014 03:29:58 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/toxic-wood-chips-in-and-around-garden-q.51797/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/toxic-wood-chips-in-and-around-garden-q.51797/ invalid@example.com (drcarl) drcarl
I am systematically replacing almost useless grass with yummy organic edibles...am loving the process and the results.

A neighbor just took down a few trees and we acquired a load of chips. It smells SO good and is steaming now as it begins to decompose. The chips are from: Poplars, a Fir, some...

Toxic? Wood Chips in and around garden Q]]> 15 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:50:19 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/everything-old-is-new-again.56175/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/everything-old-is-new-again.56175/ invalid@example.com (digitaldazey) digitaldazey
Everything Old is New Again]]> 4 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:15:13 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/hotbed-in-greenhouse-compost-heat.49347/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/hotbed-in-greenhouse-compost-heat.49347/ invalid@example.com (greengarden bev) greengarden bev
Here are some pictures on my Flickr page: photo of hotbed
This shows the 18"x36" hotbed with the hoops. On the left I put trays and flats for overnight warmth. The right has the lettuce planted in the six inches of triple mix on top of the hot compost. At night the hotbed is covered with...

Hotbed in Greenhouse / Compost Heat]]> 2 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 03:55:48 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/other-good-books-on-organic-gardening.51371/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/other-good-books-on-organic-gardening.51371/ invalid@example.com (drmargy) drmargy
I found two great pamphlet resources, also by Rodale Press, called The Basic Book of Organic Gardening (1988) and a companion pamphlet called...

Other Good Books on Organic Gardening]]> 8 Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:19:44 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-food-no-better-than-conventional-food.54931/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-food-no-better-than-conventional-food.54931/ invalid@example.com (Millet) Millet
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Organic Food "No Better Than Conventional," Study Finds
Thursday, Jul. 30 2009 @ 10:53AMBy Lesley McCave in News

​As reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition yesterday, the...

Organic Food No Better Than Conventional Food]]> 78 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:02:06 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-urea.56518/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-urea.56518/ invalid@example.com (Vancouver Island) Vancouver Island
Stored Human Urine Supplemented with Wood Ash as Fertilizer in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Cultivation and Its Impacts on Fruit Yield and Quality - Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (ACS Publications)

See this link for the publication:
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf9018917?cookieSet=1

This study compares three fertilizer...

Organic Urea]]> 33 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:09:41 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/mulching-a-half-fruiting-perennial-half-crop-garden.60233/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/mulching-a-half-fruiting-perennial-half-crop-garden.60233/ invalid@example.com (candychikita) candychikita
Having a conundrum and was hoping someone out there in the wild could solve this problem for me.

The situation: I have fruiting perennials and fruit trees (namely blueberries, currants, josta, strawberries, grapes, rosemary, peach and cherry trees in a bed) I want to keep the weeds away, and from everything I've read, it's a good idea to mulch. One to keep weeds away, two to conserve moisture, three to stop soil erosion. I find the light coloured wood chips used on the...

Mulching a half fruiting perennial/half crop garden?]]> 5 Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:36:59 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/lemon-tree-with-very-yellow-leaves-help.55694/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/lemon-tree-with-very-yellow-leaves-help.55694/ invalid@example.com (idaksmoore) idaksmoore All help much appreciated as I know NOTHING about lemon trees.
-Ida
P.s. tree's growing in full sun in Taranaki, nz.]]> 6 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:59:25 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/making-teas.54869/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/making-teas.54869/ invalid@example.com (Top Dollar Bread) Top Dollar Bread
I have read the donky manure tea thread and i would love to have some of the same members come in and help explain the benefits and the possible negative affects some tea's may...

making teas]]> 5 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:13:01 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/scared-of-cow-manure.54043/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/scared-of-cow-manure.54043/ invalid@example.com (nickmccann) nickmccann 26 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:38:52 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/compost-question.52967/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/compost-question.52967/ invalid@example.com (aliibeach) aliibeach 3 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:43:34 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organo-phospate.57362/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organo-phospate.57362/ invalid@example.com (greenboy) greenboy
Organo-phospate]]> 3 Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:37:33 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ode-to-elizabeth-the-spider.57242/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ode-to-elizabeth-the-spider.57242/ invalid@example.com (greenboy) greenboy
Ode to Elizabeth the spider]]> 6 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:34:36 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/is-it-a-bottle-gourd-disease.55535/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/is-it-a-bottle-gourd-disease.55535/ invalid@example.com (kuki) kuki i have a huge bottle gourd plant side by side with Ridged Gourd gigantic plants.the bottle gourd is 4 month old but it does not producing full size fruit. despite my carful hand pollination the fruit could not be set. infact the little gourd get some spots wich are indeed scratch marks and the juice comes out of this , dries up and leave these mark.
i wonder if this is a disease or some other indication. on my end watering, fertiilizing( only old manur) and soil combination is...

is it a bottle gourd disease?]]> Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:54:52 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/creeping-charliy.54915/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/creeping-charliy.54915/ invalid@example.com (new at this) new at this
creeping charliy]]> 4 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:37:03 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/looking-for-organic-seed-potatoes.54039/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/looking-for-organic-seed-potatoes.54039/ invalid@example.com (jackienewgardener) jackienewgardener I realize I'm a bit behind schedule, and thus everywhere I go is already sold out.]]> 5 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:52:09 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/dishsoap-on-plants-as-pesticide.50261/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/dishsoap-on-plants-as-pesticide.50261/ invalid@example.com (candychikita) candychikita
so my dad, the genius, sprays his apple trees with dish soap if he sees pests on them. (dish soap like the palmolive stuff sitting underneath our sink) he goes out every day and picks off diseased leaves/one with bug bites on them, and then sprays liberally a mix of 50% dish soap/50% water on the leaves, especially the undersides. he has never had any severe pest problems, and now he's doing it to his cherry trees as well...he swears by it.

i say 'the genius' because he...

dishsoap on plants as 'pesticide'?]]> 5 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:26:32 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-vs-chemical.44703/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-vs-chemical.44703/ invalid@example.com (Wolvie150) Wolvie150 Would any one be interested in a forum (or perhaps sub-forum) that would discuss the practicality of an organic vs chemical solution, the chemistry of the...

Organic vs Chemical]]> 54 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:26:03 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-orcharding.51456/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/organic-orcharding.51456/ invalid@example.com (goatroper) goatroper 9 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:04:58 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/urea-an-organic-chemical.53492/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/urea-an-organic-chemical.53492/ invalid@example.com (jsrsol) jsrsol Urea, also called carbamide, is an organic chemical compound which essentially is the waste produced when the body metabolizes protein. It is a compound not only produced by humans but also by many other mammals, as well as amphibians and some fish. Urea was the first natural compound to be synthesized artificially using inorganic compounds— a scientific breakthrough.

Urea was discovered in 1773 by the French chemist Hillaire Rouelle. In...

urea- an organic chemical]]> 2 Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:34:52 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/just-what-does-organic-mean.53051/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/just-what-does-organic-mean.53051/ invalid@example.com (The Hollyberry Lady) The Hollyberry Lady Organic is a word that means different things to different people. It is often used in advertising copy to convince consumers that a particular product is natural and healthful. The claim may even be true, but to a gardener, 'organic' often refers to methods of growing plants without using synthetic fertilizers, manufactured herbicides, or artificially fabricated pesticides.

Organic gardening is a whole philosophy that follows as closely as possible nature's own...

Just what does 'organic' mean?...]]> 4 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:38:01 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/compost-in-urban-veg-gardens.51762/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/compost-in-urban-veg-gardens.51762/ invalid@example.com (sluggo) sluggo Maybe this is a dumb and oversimplified question, but would there typically be any need for further fertilization in small plot veggie gardens other than digging in compost in the spring? This is what I did this spring for a couple of plots.

On the other hand, I'm also planning some containers which I think may be a bit more complicated for fertilization because of the potting mix used and its compatibility with drainage, water retention and aeration. For this I also wanted to use...

compost in urban veg gardens]]> 10 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:20:04 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/coir-fiber-as-summer-mulch.52356/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/coir-fiber-as-summer-mulch.52356/ invalid@example.com (khabbab) khabbab
summer heat has reached over 100F here in my area. My clay potted plants at first floor get 6 hours direct sun and are suffering badly. Can i use wet coir husk (coco peat) as mulch in these containers?. What about shredded leaves (non composted) layer as summer mulch. I tried to use newspaper as mulch but they blew away.



Thanks,
Muhammad Khabbab
Lahore, Pakistan]]> 3 Wed, 13 May 2009 21:01:39 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/early-application-of-organic-fertilizers-on-turf.49299/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/early-application-of-organic-fertilizers-on-turf.49299/ invalid@example.com (Landscaper) Landscaper
Early Application of Organic Fertilizers on Turf]]> 17 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:04:09 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/safe-wood-preservative-treatment-for-raised-vegetable-beds.47928/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/safe-wood-preservative-treatment-for-raised-vegetable-beds.47928/ invalid@example.com (donnacanadensis) donnacanadensis
I have consiered using other materials such as bricks, stone, etc. but my veg patch is small and I want to...

Safe wood preservative treatment for raised vegetable beds]]> 29