[wisbad1]

Hate palms, too much maintenance. Never again!

[frayedends]

Originally Posted by MrChip72

You're correct that the soil is very alkaline in TV which limits what plants with thrive in such an environment without amendments. The best method of treating that is by adding Calcuim Carbonate or Dolomite as the University of Florida recommends.

Coffee as an amendment to raise PH is a long debunked myth.

Oregon State University.

I'm a bit confused by this. If the soil is alkaline then you would not want calcium carbonate nor dolomite, as they both neutralize acid. In other words they are alkaline.

In addition, coffee has been used to lower the pH making it more acid.

Maybe just a mix up on the scale, but FYI...

pH above 7 is alkaline/caustic.
pH below 7 is acidic.

[Ozzello]

Originally Posted by frayedends

I'm a bit confused by this. If the soil is alkaline then you would not want calcium carbonate nor dolomite, as they both neutralize acid. In other words they are alkaline.

In addition, coffee has been used to lower the pH making it more acid.

Maybe just a mix up on the scale, but FYI...

pH above 7 is alkaline/caustic.
pH below 7 is acidic.

You are correct.
The lime was suggested by a "reply", not by me.
Coffee works great to amend the pH in this area.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I'm not a fan of huge beds or yards of stone. I do have volcanic lava rocks inside a small circle on my flowerbed, which I've used curved stone to isolate it. I put a potted plant on top of it. It's just for decoration and I still have to pull the weeds out of it several times each season. The rest of the flower bed is the thick big pine bark chunks (not shredded) on top of whatever crappy soil the garden came with, which apparently is partly on top of some old nasty weed barrier cloth, with more soil under it. Who knows. I still have to weed the bed, I do it by hand. I don't use "weedkiller" at all. But the impatiens and vinca grow wild and gorgeous, and I have other plants in pots between the pinks and whites, and the squirrels brought me some lovely elephant ears as a focal point on one side of the bed.

I would much prefer to use cedar bark but none of the stores had any in stock when I was preparing the season's planting. I just LOVE the smell of cedar, and ants and cockroaches hate it.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I'm not a fan of huge beds or yards of stone. I do have volcanic lava rocks inside a small circle on my flowerbed, which I've used curved stone to isolate it. I put a potted plant on top of it. It's just for decoration and I still have to pull the weeds out of it several times each season. The rest of the flower bed is the thick big pine bark chunks (not shredded) on top of whatever crappy soil the garden came with, which apparently is partly on top of some old nasty weed barrier cloth, with more soil under it. Who knows. I still have to weed the bed, I do it by hand. I don't use "weedkiller" at all. But the impatiens and vinca grow wild and gorgeous, and I have other plants in pots between the pinks and whites, and the squirrels brought me some lovely elephant ears as a focal point on one side of the bed.

I would much prefer to use cedar bark but none of the stores had any in stock when I was preparing the season's planting. I just LOVE the smell of cedar, and ants and cockroaches hate it.

Love cedar!
Wonder if eucalyptus would have the same effect if available

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I'm not a fan of huge beds or yards of stone. I do have volcanic lava rocks inside a small circle on my flowerbed, which I've used curved stone to isolate it. I put a potted plant on top of it. It's just for decoration and I still have to pull the weeds out of it several times each season. The rest of the flower bed is the thick big pine bark chunks (not shredded) on top of whatever crappy soil the garden came with, which apparently is partly on top of some old nasty weed barrier cloth, with more soil under it. Who knows. I still have to weed the bed, I do it by hand. I don't use "weedkiller" at all. But the impatiens and vinca grow wild and gorgeous, and I have other plants in pots between the pinks and whites, and the squirrels brought me some lovely elephant ears as a focal point on one side of the bed.

I would much prefer to use cedar bark but none of the stores had any in stock when I was preparing the season's planting. I just LOVE the smell of cedar, and ants and cockroaches hate it.

Cedar wood strips with a drop of Cedar oil on in wardrobes, deter clothes moths.
We had a build up of the little perishers a couple of years ago.
After initial 'chemical blitz' the Cedar oil seems to deter them very well.
Cedar is good stuff.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

Cedar wood strips with a drop of Cedar oil on in wardrobes, deter clothes moths.
We had a build up of the little perishers a couple of years ago.
After initial 'chemical blitz' the Cedar oil seems to deter them very well.
Cedar is good stuff.

Yup. In a previous life I was a certified aromatherapist (which requires some understanding of organic chemistry and the molecular structure of aromatic plants). Cedarwood oil has a very high sesquiterpene content. Thujopsene in particular. You'll find that in conifers like cedar, pine, and juniper. They all have varying insect-repelling qualities as a result.

[Ozzello]

Cedar is great, expensive when you find it. Cypress is in the cedar family and was used extensively till they made harvesting for mulch illegal. Eucalyptus would be good too, but is considered an invasive species in FL.

Wish I knew where all the cypress and cedar goes as they clear a path for the urban sprawl, because the "cypress" mulch for sale now days is referring to "cypress" as the color... not the type of wood in the mulch.
I think they just burn it all.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Although from 2021....interesting recs from UF.....( apologies if this has been posted before)


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...Scx-vuQjwG6upp