Will bulbs grow up through shale ?

they will come up through loose lightweight shale no problem ,

you beat me to it macc part of a bulbs life cycle is to disapear below the frost line and push up through soil,shale,gravel etc

No problem at all. I have seen bulbs push quite heavy stones aside. We have bulbs growing in the gravel paths.

The shale may contain arsenic, which is a total weedkiller.

id go with the doc on this one macc i didnt know that thanx for that.hope your fealing better

doc do you mean some types of shale contain arsenic or alternatively do you mean an arsenic based weedkiller may have been applied to the trough?

good question macc beat me to it lol

In my experience I have had it damage shrubs planted in it, shale is for speedway tracks. Even worse, arsenic gravel mined in the Tamar valley used as a base for gravel drives. Neither hogging scalpings etc. are a good growing structure. I have burnt my hands using arsenic as a weedkiller.
Recently we had a question on old tarmac put on the flowerbeds, which is a similar thing.

I remember the tarmac in flower beds question , tarmac is also carconegenic , maybe Suzilufc will come back to us with a further description of the "shale"in question, it certainly could be dangerous if it contains arsenic.

I suspect that there is 'shale' and then there is 'shale'. I have never heard of this arsenic problem before and we have plenty of shale up here that supports a vibrant plant community.
By the toxic shale are you talking about coal mine slag heap shales?

carconegenic ?

Shale in Scotland is a natural formation of rotten rock, in many parts of the south it is used for speedway tracks and also as a base for roadways and pathways etc. The amount of arsenic as with other toxic chemicals is so small that it is not harmful to humans and animals, but with plant life it can deform or discolour and even kill. This is a very interesting subject. I hope Suzilufc won't get too worried about it.

very interesting.is the arsnenic already in it ? if not why is it in it doc ?

The arsenic may be in it, or it may be introduced by man, or it will be in there naturally from the ground. Some shale will be arsenic free.

ow thanx for that doc hope ya fealing better mate

np carconegenic just means that whatever chemical or substance is deemed as carconegenic then to some degree or another given correct circumstances could cause cancers , tarmac being oil based has the potential for this in certain states. eg tobacco has carconegenic properties

Doc I think by now between us we have probably put most people off shale and tarmac lol

thats handy to know thanx macc

np np

cool