[Sca-cooks] Ruthlessness and cedar shavings.

[Angie Malone]

>  > Happy to hear we are no longer a Ruth-less group.
>
>	(Sighs and rolls eyes . . .)
>
>>  Do you know about the resin from cedar shavings, and it long term effect on
>>  the ground and plants ?
>
>	I don't recall anything specific, but it's true that a
>lot of resins and chemicals found in wood (especially aromatic
>ones like cedar) *can* be toxic to other plants.  And people I
>know who have gardens avoid the use of cedar shavings.  One couple
>I know has pet gerbils, and they line the critters' cage with
>cedar shavings.  The wife wanted to recycle by dumping the shavings
>in the garden as mulch, but the husband said authoritatively that
>that was bad and would kill everything.  Given that he comes from
>a farming/gardening family, I'd guess he knows what he's talking
>about.
>	Personally, I wouldn't risk it.  The liklihood of
>toxicity seems too high.
>
>			-- Ruth


Funny we were discussing cedar shavings yesterday in my house and the
garden too.  We decided we wouldn't put them on the garden since they
would take forever to compost.  Hadn't even thought about the resin.
It occurred to me too if it warded off moths it might not be good for
other 'beneficial bugs'.

What we did do with the cedar shavings which I have done before is we
used them as mulch around the hardwood black walnut tree.  We are
hoping it will keep those sort of tent catepillar worms from
infesting the tree again.  They aren't tent catepillars they are
something else, but I can't remember the name.

My cedar shaving are from my dog bed.  If you want to put some
shavings in the garden I recommend pine shavings.  If you are putting
them on now don't till them in just lay them on top.  Otherwise they
suck I think nitrogen out of the soil and then you would have to
fertilize.  The last sentence is a guess I don't remember what my
master gardener said.  I just remember him saying don't till them in.

	Angeline