[MR] Re: [Stellararts] Walnut Shavings

[Chris Laning]

At 1:59 PM -0500 3/9/02, rmhowe wrote:
>In one of the American woodworking magazines I got this month
>someone from the Midwest wrote in to state that walnut wood dust
>or shavings should not be used around horses for bedding as it
>makes them seriously ill. I can't find the particular paragraph,
>I've read too much this month, but it seems like it was causing
>founder? in horses.  They also noted that it should not be
>used on garden plants and that most people in their area knew not
>to plant gardens near walnut trees. The editors did not dispute
>the letter.

Former botanist speaking:
I don't know about the horse part, and I'm not sure there would 
necessarily be anything in sawdust that would hurt plants, but living 
walnut trees _do_ secrete substances from their roots that can 
seriously inhibit the growth of plants within their root spread. 
That's probably the rationale for not using walnut sawdust in the 
garden and not planting gardens in their vicinity.
-- 
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O    (Lady) Christian de Holacombe
|     Chris Laning  <claning at igc.org>
+    Shire of Windy Meads  -  Davis, California
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