The previous owners of our house (and garden) had a tendency to nail the doors of the units of their replaced kitchen onto the fences - perhaps in a vain attempt to keep out the rabbits. We did not take them off in a likewise vain attempt to make it more difficult for the neighbour's labrador to enter our garden (= her toilet). When I cleaned a patch of dead leaves behind the pampas grass I made the discovery that the unit door back there has now taken so much rain that it falls apart - the plastic stuff comes off and the sawdust that makes up the inner filling of the door has spread all over the place! Now this is not the most exciting bit of our garden by any means - in high summer this will be mainly covered by massive rhubarb leaves. We don't eat the rhubarb anyway, but like the huge leaves for foliage. Do I need to worry about the kitchen-door-sawdust-stuff? IS this too highly poisoned by chemicals (glues or the likes) and will it kill the rhubarb or the pampas grass? It would be a nightmare to clear it away as you can imagine - do I need to make the effort or shall I just wait and see? What do you think? [ 25. April 2006, 10:15 AM: Message edited by: wishaw ]
Before I descovered chopped hay I used to keep my horse during the winter on Sawdust. It was full of horrid looking green stuff which I was a bit iffy about, but it did no harm to my horse. The sawdust was mixed with Sh1t etc well composted and then made a fabulous mulch. However yours sounds like relitively new stuff, so in rotting it will take nitrogen out of the soil. I would probably take a chance and leave it as long as it is not blowing all over the place or causing your plants problems.
Nah it is in a nicely sheltered spot between the pampas grass and the rhubarb and should not blow all over the place - the new flowerbed is on the opposite side of the garden! So let's see what will happen to the new growth around it (there are nettles back there - see how they react and no loss if THEY die *wink*)
I'd agree, when we have discussed pollutants before the general conclusion has been that if there's enough in the soil to harm us then the plants won't do well either.
