Luckily they quietly took the bad stuff - arsenic - out of pressure treated wood a few decades ago when a demographic study (of well water in Formosa, I think) showed it was proportionally carcinogenic at all levels. Now, I think, they only use copper naphthenate for fungicide in pressure treating. Personally, I am banking on The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) eventually solving the problem altogether because chestnut wood seems to persist untreated for decades in ground contact. For those interested, TACF has withdrawn its support for their transgenic chestnut, partially due to their dissatisfaction with the growth rate using a constitutive promoter (always on) for the OxO gene (destroys oxalic acid secreted by the blight fungus). But the departure from SUNY's deregulation request was precipitated by the discovery of a misidentification of the clone they were testing early in the program. TACF will continue investigating transgenic (but with wound induced promoters) as well as hybridizing and biocontrol. If anyone is interested in breeding blight resistant forest quality chestnut trees, I have (free) seed for the final generation of a breeding program I have been working on for a few decades. The ideal plot would be about two acres of well-drained cornfield. Tim On Sun, Dec 17, 2023 at 9:29 PM Laura Grant via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > We had a bad experience with composted " pine bark" delivered by a local > supplier. After most of the truck load was spread around the favorite > plants we noticed some losses. When we came to the bottom of the pile we > found labels that read "pressure treated". > Laura > > On Sun, Dec 17, 2023 at 3:33 PM Jan Jeddeloh via pbs < > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > > I used to get tree trimmer waste at my old place. Some of those tree > > trimmers also do some maintenance and I once got a load that that wasn’t > > straight trees. It was filled with crap from blowing off parking lots > > etc. I learned my lesson. Always ask what’s in the truck before they > dump. > > > > Jan > > > > > On Dec 17, 2023, at 12:23 PM, Arnold Trachtenberg via pbs < > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > > > > > We had the company deliver a load of compost to our community garden > and > > it was full of debris and garbage from street pick up. > > > I've never seen any lab work on the compost they sell. It may be > tested > > different in CA, but not here in NJ. > > > I can imagine the petrochemicals, heavy metals and brake lining debris > > picked up when leaves are vacuumed up in the fall from our streets. > > > > > > > > > Arnold > > > > > > On Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 02:54:59 PM EST, Tim Eck via pbs < > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > > > > > Good point. I knew it got hot enough to kill most pathogens but was > not > > > aware it decomposes pesticides. I rather doubt it destroys those > > > organo-halide bonds but they aren't so common anymore. > > > > > > On Sun, Dec 17, 2023 at 2:38 PM Nan Sterman via pbs < > > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > > > > >> Municipal composters all have to adhere to very strict ISO > requirements > > >> and test regularly. They all hot compost and at the hot compost temps, > > >> pesticides and pathogens break down so they are not a concern. The > > testing > > >> is their - and you - assurance of that. All that testing is intended > to > > >> ensure there are no problems with the municipal composts. I am > actually > > >> more concerned about using compost from non regulated facilities like > > >> nurseries. > > >> > > >> Nan > > >> > > >> Sent from my eye eye phone. All typos are the captain’s fault. > > >> > > >>> On Dec 17, 2023, at 11:21 AM, Jane McGary via pbs < > > >> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > >>> > > >>> As Mark mentioned, municipal compost in this area includes lawn > > >> clippings, and I don't use it either for fear of herbicide residue. I > do > > >> use a mulch containing compost, but the company that provides it tests > > the > > >> ingredients for residual harmful chemicals. I like to use a minor > > >> proportion of organic material in bulb potting mix, and most recently > I > > >> bought bags of "garden topsoil" from certified organic sources for > this > > >> purpose. The main things I avoid are bark, which appears to be > attacked > > by > > >> a fungus with visible mycelia that can also attack the tunics of > dormant > > >> bulbs, and perlite and vermiculite, which have no value to the plants > > and > > >> tend to rise to the top; the latter are also said to be dangerous if > you > > >> inhale the dust. > > >>> > > >>> When I started growing bulbs seriously around 1990, I had a country > > >> place with an alder woodland on part of it (alders are nitrogen > > fixers). I > > >> screened the topsoil to make up part of the bulb mix, along with > ground > > >> pumice and coarse upriver sand. This worked very well and there seemed > > to > > >> be no problem with disease, even though the leafmold surely contained > > all > > >> sorts of microorganisms. I did not use this mix for seed sowing, but > > >> instead used peat as a minor component. I think sterilizing seed soil > is > > >> pointless unless you can maintain laboratory conditions, since spores, > > >> etc., will arrive in the air. I used to grow Meconopsis by > > surface-sowing > > >> on milled sphagnum moss (not peat) as a preventive measure, but since > > >> moving to a place where that genus doesn't grow well, I gave that up. > > >>> > > >>> Probably the hardy, summer-dormant bulbs I grow are not as vulnerable > > to > > >> disease as the tropical and subtropical species some PBS members have. > > >> Surplus bulbs that I've removed to the garden mostly flourish there > > despite > > >> weekly irrigation in most places. It has always seemed to me that > > >> cultivating these plants as "hard" as they can tolerate results in > > >> healthier populations that appear in character. Coming to bulb growing > > from > > >> the perspective of alpine and rock gardening is no doubt an influence. > > My > > >> bulb house is very like an alpine house, but not even minimally > > frost-free. > > >> Many PBS members might despair at a situation where South African > bulbs > > and > > >> tropical amaryllids can't be grown, but I like the relative freedom of > > this > > >> kind of gardening. > > >>> > > >>> Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA > > >>> > > >>> > > >>>> On 12/17/2023 8:18 AM, Robert Lauf via pbs wrote: > > >>>> Regarding arborist debris, I'd be curious to know whether the > kinds > > of > > >> bacteria and fungi inhabiting half-dead trees would present a problem > to > > >> bulbs or if they are sufficiently host-specific that they are harmless > > in > > >> potting media. For all I know, they might be the same microbes > working > > in > > >> composters. > > >>>> Any mycologists out there who could weigh in on this? > > >>>> Bob Zone 7 > > >>>> _______________________________________________ > > >>>> pbs mailing list > > >>>> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > >>>> https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > >>>> Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > > >>>> PBS Forum latest: > > >> https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > > >>> _______________________________________________ > > >>> pbs mailing list > > >>> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > >>> https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > >>> Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > > >>> PBS Forum latest: > > >> https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> pbs mailing list > > >> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > >> https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > >> Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > > >> PBS Forum latest: > > >> https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > > >> > > > _______________________________________________ > > > pbs mailing list > > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > > > PBS Forum latest: > > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > pbs mailing list > > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > > > PBS Forum latest: > > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > > > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > > PBS Forum latest: > > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum latest: > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…