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People have been drinking water from galvanized steel pipes, galvanized “tinware,” etc., for years. Galvanized steel isn’t appropriate for preparing acidic foods or beverages (especially brewing), and it isn’t the best material for vessels designed to serve up your favorite drinks.

From the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics: “Zinc poisoning is mostly accidental from the intake of pesticides, inadvertent therapeutic use of heavy doses of zinc salts (oral supplements), or drinking of acidic juices or brews made in galvanized iron utensils.”

The only real risk with galvanized steel fencing is from breathing fumes while cutting, burning or welding, or from breathing dust from grinding, etc. The warning label on the wire is the brainchild of some litigation department. Zinc toxicity is most generally caused by inhalation, not ingestion. And in the case of the wire fencing, the only risk is in the small amount of zinc dust that might be present. I would be much more worried about taking a zinc supplement than handling wire on a weekly basis.

So, I cannot think of any reason to worry about handling galvanized wire fencing of any kind, or from swimming in galvanized steel stock tanks, or from drinking Ogallala Aquifer water from galvanized steel pipes emanating from windmill-powered galvanized reciprocating pumps, all while leaning on a galvanized steel windmill tower. But, if that galvanized metal is burning, I will definitely avoid the yellowish-white, zinc-laden smoke. And if that galvanized steel is sitting in a pickling acid, I will definitely avoid drinking or swimming in the effluent.

I most definitely wouldn’t worry about galvanized wire for my tomato cages.

Wood ash is a good source of plant-available potassium and other mineral nutrients, BUT it is very alkaline. Because wood ash can raise your garden soil pH too much, it is very important to begin with a soil test before applying this material. Only apply wood ash when your garden soil pH is low or when it is desirable to raise the soil pH level. A soil pH of 6.5 is near the optimum range for most garden vegetables. Wood ash is not recommended for use with garden soils that have a pH greater than…

Radishes are indeed easy to grow, and if you’ve never gardened before, growing radishes is a great place to start. You probably could have started your first crop of radishes a couple weeks ago, but one of the unique things about radishes is that they grow so quickly that you can continue to plant them throughout much of the growing season. In your area, you should be able to start radishes at any point over about the next three weeks, and keep sowing every 10 days or so. And you’ll be able to s…

I never use broad-spectrum insecticides in my garden — even if it means losing a crop — so the squash bug has been my biggest obstacle with squash crops. Its feeding spreads wilt diseases, which can kill the vines overnight; its reproductive prowess is awesome; and it is tough: Even when I was still using “organically approved” insecticides, such as of rotenone, Anasa tristis simply shrugged off my desperate applications.

Counter strategies that (just barely) worked for me: row covers to get the …

Zinc from new galvanized metal can sometimes leach into soils at levels high enough to inhibit good plant growth. An old metal stock tank would probably be fine, but a new one would not make a good planter unless you lined it with plastic.

In my opinion raised beds are more work to make and they dry out faster, which can be helpful in spring but not so good in hot summers (unless you are working with a poorly drained site.)

What is recommended is to lay out DEDICATED paths and beds, so that you avoid compacting the soil as much as possible. I like to till or spade the entire area, then mark out where you want the beds. Rake the loose soil off of the “paths” up onto the “beds” to create slightly raised areas. Then use recycled cedar…

Well, it's too late this year for you to get some types of potatoes in the ground, but it's definitely not too late to start thinking about a great fall crop of tasty tubers. Lucky for you, in your region, you can plant some late-maturing potato varieties in early summer, for a fall harvest of potatoes. And next season, you'll want to plant early potato varieties and midseason potato varieties a few weeks before your last spring frost date. In your area, the average last spring frost is a…

Fertilizer companies — even those that make organic products — like to make us think we need one fertilizer for tomatoes, another for flowers, another for “vegetables,” another for lawns. But unless you have had a soil test (most of us have not), then there is no way to know what the optimum fertilizer mix is for your soil. So your best best is to use any fertilizer labeled “all purpose” or “for vegetables,” if that is what you are growing. And by the way, you don’t need to buy fertilizer, reall…

Funny you should ask, Madeline, because I just posted an article about exactly that topic! I hope you find the information in How to Organize a Community Seed Swap helpful. And to learn much more about organic gardening, please check out our extensive gardening archive. It's absolutely chock-full of expert organic gardening advice. New gardeners might be especially interested in our "All About Growing" articles. More advanced gardeners should take a look at our "Garden Know-How" articles.