HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Sensitive plants (??)
Date: 3 Sep 92 16:22:54 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1992Sep3.194812.6118@spss.com>, mike@spss.com (mike cornwall) writes:
> I plan to transplant some rose bushes because we have sold our house.
> Can anyone give me some tips. I am worried that this is the wrong time
> of year to do this, but because the house is being sold I have to do
> it now. Thanks in advance.

You can move almost anything anytime the soil isn't frozen if you
dig the new hole first, and amend it to be as much like the other soil
as possible.  Then dig the plant, keeping as much of the root ball
intact as possible, and move it to the new hole ASAP.  I usually
toss in some multi-vitamins dissolved in water (one of the B vitamins
is a root growth stimulant), and generic One-a-days are cheaper than
Upstart or Transplantone.  After that, I do a little pruning, try to 
cut transpiration losses for a few days, then let the plant get on
with life.

Kay Klier
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: maa@sisd.kodak.com (Mark Armstrong soft)
Subject: Re: Any experience with lawn sweepers?
Organization: Printer Products Division Eastman Kodak
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 19:19:41 GMT

In article <6814@tekig7.PEN.TEK.COM> montys@mapme6.map.tek.com writes:
>
>Does anyone out there have any experience with lawn sweepers?  Looks
>kind of like a push mower, but it pick up leaves instead of mowing.
>
>Do they work?  
>Are they more work than raking or blowing?
>Any price info?
>

I bought one for my riding mower. I have about 24 tree, all at least 70 years
old. I can sweep about 20 feet before it fills. It has been an useless
purchase.
From: yen@stsci.edu (Felix Yen)
Subject: Re: tomatoes won't ripen
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 14:25:49 GMT


Kay Klier (klier@iscsvax.uni.edu) butts:
>  May I butt in to say that there is more to ripening than reddening of
>  the skin?  Ethylene gas will cause the skin of a tomato to redden, but
>  the flesh is still loaded with starch that hasn't been hydrolyzed to
>  sugar, so the tomato is not sweet like a vine ripened tomato.  Also
>  there are a number of important flavor compounds that don't get
>  synthesized until just before the tomato is ready to redden normally,
>  without an extra source of ethylene.  
>
>  Guess I must be a particularly picky eater, but I give up on fresh
>  tomatoes as soon as my supply of garden-ripe ones is exhausted...
>  and I pick the red tomato-shaped pieces of soggy cardboard out of my
>  restaurant salads all winter...

I wish I'd said that.  I was starting to think everyone was equating
ripening with processes like softening and reddening.  Everyone but me
that is.  The supermarkets seem to at any rate.  I haven't had a properly
ripened peach or cherry or . . . in years partly because so many people
taste with their eyes and their hands instead of their nose and mouth.

All you have to do is put it in a paper bag with an apple or banana for
a few days.  Yeah, right.  Putting fruit in a bag helps, but it's nothing
more than an act of desperation.  And when the fruit is a tomato from your
own garden, it's a pathetic act as well.

If more of you would join Kay and I in not eating those pale red things,
maybe they'd stop selling them.  Is not eating bad food too much of a
hardship?

Someday I hope to participate in a Tomato Party reminiscent of the Boston
Tea Party.  (What does one wear to this sort of function?)


Felix
yen@stsci.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: archiel@sun_archielcom (Archie Lachner)
Subject: Re: Huge green bugs eating my tomatoes
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 22:17:13 GMT
Organization: mentor
Keywords: 
Followup-To: 

In article <22752@sybase.sybase.com>, ellie@slumber.sybase.com (Ellen Lewis) writes:
|> One other not particularly garden-related reason not to use
|> pesticides, or at least to use them as sparingly as possible,
|> is in sympathy for the poor folks who have the misfortune of
|> living anywhere near a company that manufactures pesticides.
|> (And it's no surprise that those folks generally are poor.) 
|> 
|> I feel that anytime I buy a poison, it's as if I'm voting--
|> "Poison is okay by me." But it's not okay with me that people
|> in surrounding communities are threatened or harmed by its
|> manufacture, transport, and use. So often US chemical 
|> companies are manufacturing poisons abroad where the governments
|> don't regulate them as strictly. Those people may not have
|> the opportunities we have for defending our environment.
|> 
|> I figure that if I don't want poisons manufactured near me, 
|> then I don't want it near anyone else either. Maybe we are getting
|> better about regulating corporations and being safe about
|> using toxins, (big maybe...) but there still are a lot of accidents and 
|> violations. And there are so many places where so much
|> damage has been done (the recent train spill in the delta,
|> that city in India where thousands were injured, the site just
|> a few miles from my house where DDT was recently found piled 
|> three feet thick under the floor) that I just
|> don't feel good about giving pesticide companies my vote/dollar.
|> 
|> -ellie
|> 
|> p.s. If you only knew how completely creeped out I am by all bugs of
|> any kind! Unecological as it is, I do wish they'd all die, or move
|> to another planet. I can't even squish them without mustering all of
|> my gumption...usually I have to get help. But still...I don't want
|> other people to risk being poisoned to spare me.

Many of us have restricted ourselves to the use of biological pesticides because
of reasons such as those above.  BT falls under this category.  I believe it to
be wholly appropriate to make a distinction between this category of controls and
the "hard" pesticides to which you refer.  As such, I'm not sure that I see a
direct connection between your posting and the previous discussion on the use
of BT.
-- 
Archie Lachner
Mentor Graphics Corporation
Wilsonville, Oregon
archie_lachner@mentorg.com
From: jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Australian plants/Ameriflora
Date: 29 Aug 92 01:20:59 GMT
Organization: -

In article <1992Aug28.011659.29200@uniwa.uwa.edu.au>, 
arkdr@uniwa.uwa.edu.au (Dave Rindos) writes:
> kls@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Kenneth L Shellberg) writes:
> 
>>The woody plant is Metrosideros tomentosus (M. excelsus), New Zealand Xmas
>>Tree-Bush.  An evergreen tree or large shrub, bright red flowers in spring
>>and early summer.  It has a Hines nursery tag on it.  Can anyone tell me
>>a little more about this?  Is it really zone 5 hardy?  Acid or alkaline?
>>eventual height and width?  Other cultural info?
> I **really** doubt it will be hardy in zone 5 (which as I recall gets
> temperatures around 0F).  THe SUnset Encyclopedia (USA) lists it as
> hardy in the Bay area of SF and furhter south.  In other words, NOT cold
> at all!  Sunset Zones: 17, 23, 24 (basically, warm lemon climate)

In southern California, it can only be used in coastal sections (zones
23 and 24 above).  It is one of my favorite trees.  There are some
full grown specimens (30 ft) on the bluffs above the ocean in Laguna
Beach.  At maturity the tree takes on the shape of a live oak, but has
softer green foliage and the wonderful red flowers in summer (usually
around the Forth of July).  It is a fairly slow grower.

> 
>>The herbaceous perennial is Alyogyne huegelii, no common name giBven.  A
>>rounded shrub-like plant to approx 2m high with large lilac colored
>>flowers.  Leaves remind me of Pelargonium (sp), the geraniums we
>>grow here as annuals.  Is it zone 5 hardy?  Any other cultural inBfo
>>would be most welcome
> Sunset likewise lists this as a bit hardier 15-17, 20-24 -- theynote it
> is hardy to about 23F.  Again, not very hardy in Z 5 I would imagine!
> 

Common name is blue Hibiscus.  It is fairly drought tolerant and has
flowers that look like something in the mallow family.  I would think
it would do well as a pot plant in your area.  It is a fairly nice
plant but requires some trimming to maintain its shape.

Jim
From: vrs0@bunny.gte.com (V. Stern)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Dividing peonies.
Date: 2 Sep 92 15:23:09 GMT
Organization: GTEL

In article <1992Aug28.125212.1@gallua.gallaudet.edu> 
rlwilliams@gallua.gallaudet.edu writes:
> but i do know that nurseries carry Peoni cages... they are a round piece 
of 
> metal on stilts so as the peonies grow during the spring they grow 
through 
> the grid and are supported when the bloom.

I bought four of these this past spring.  They worked pretty well on my 
two pink plants and one red, but the flowers on the white one were so big 
and heavy that I doubt anything can support them.  It's a shame, too, 
because they are so pretty.  But they are so heavy that they bend the 
branches in half and then just look sloppy and ugly.

Vanessa R. Stern
vrs0@bunny.gte.com
From: Jack.Honeycutt@f52.n105.z1.therose.pdx.com (Jack Honeycutt)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Pond liner questions
Date: 26 Aug 92 11:11:20 GMT
Article-I.D.: therose.714899065.F00001

Hello Scott!

26 Aug 92, Scott Scheiman writes to All:

 >> I've noted the discussions about pond liners with interest.  It's
 >> timely for me.  Fixing my pond is my next big project.

Just try to keep it fun!

 >> I have inherited (well, bought actually) a small (8' square) cement
 >> pond, and traced its incessant leaking to a crack which completely
 >> crosses it!

     There are some products on the market especially made for
this.  One of them is called "Drylok" Masonry Waterproofer.  You
need to repair the big cracks first, then put on a coat of Drylok.
If you have a big crack (like big enough to stick a pencil in) you
can repair it with quick cement (sold in a tin, not a sack of
cement). You mix water with it in a old coffee can, then poor it
into the crack.  The crack has to be clean. It sets up in just a
few minutes.  If you have hair line cracks, you just leave them the
way they are before you apply Drylok, but regardless, you need to
drain the pond and clean the surface real well before you lay down
the Drylok.

     I have used this once, and it worked well for me.   It was on
a old cracked cement pond.  The hardest part was cleaning the pond.
I did have one advantage.  I had compressed air to blow out the
loose cement and gunk in the cracks before I filled them with quick
cement.  That really helped.

     I do like the idea of laying down a liner the best (many will
disagree with me, but I would recommend 45 mil EPDM at under 90
cents a sq. ft. at your commercial roofer) but that waterfall is
sure a problem.  Is this post setting on the cement pond floor, or is
through the bottom of the pond with cement pored around it?  That
is going to be a bad spot and I am wondering if it is leaking now.
If it is setting on the pond floor, you might be able to jack up or
support the structure, lay the down the liner, then drop the post
back down.  It is recommended that one use a piece of styrofoam
between the post and the liner.  If you can get a liner under the post,
and just have the waterfall to deal with, I would almost say go for it.

I would NOT recommend cuting the liner.

     I have never used fiberglass to repair or build a pond, but I
do have some information on it in some pond books of mine.  If you
decide to go that route, you can post your address and I will send
you what information I have.

     Try calling Lilypons at 1-800-999-5459 and ask them for a
catalog; they do sell Drylok but for 1 gallon it is $35.00! (that
is just enough for about 100 sq ft.)  The one time I used it, I put
on two coats.

     I would recommend using products made for repairing ponds,
rather than using "roof patch" or other things.  Same goes for PVC
or EPDM liners, use only PVC or EPDM sealers.

     I would like to know what worked out best for you.
Jack
From: mmw@druhi.ATT.COM (Wright-Watso)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Do plants die? (was self-watering pots)
Date: 26 Aug 92 17:58:46 GMT

In article <1453300078@igc.apc.org>, ecologycntr@igc.apc.org (Ecology Center Fund) writes:
> 
> I've used these pots professionally for years
> ...
> houseplants die more slowly than they would through simple neglect.  
> The plants will die, though, eventually.
> 

I can see how plants in commercial spaces wouldn't live as long, 
but if a plant has all that it needs, will it ever die?  I have 
some plants that are over 20 years old and still going strong.

			Michelle W-W
From: macklin@garnet.berkeley.edu (Macklin Burnham)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Under-lawn insects
Date: 27 Aug 1992 16:29:43 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: garnet.berkeley.edu
Originator: macklin@garnet.berkeley.edu

Well, I just learned something about how underground beasties
operate, and I herewith pass the lesson along in the hope that it
helps another neophyte.My lawn has been slowly dying since early July.
After wasting a lot of water and fertilizer, de-thatching, aereating,
etc, I finally decided my problem was insects of some sort.(a major
clue was when the *dandelions* died). However, I couldn't find any
critters above or below the blighted areas. Eventually, I happened to dig
up a piece of healthy sod from the edge of the dying area and 
bingo: grub city! The roots are infested with little white-yellow worms
of some kind. So that's the lesson:look for insects in the parts of the
lawn that haven't been killed yet.
Mack Burnham

Oh, on the advice of my nurseryman, I've dusted the entire lawn with
Dursban and soaked it in. The dead parts will definitely have to be
replanted. :-(
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: sharen@iscnvx.lmsc.lockheed.com (Sharen A. Rund)
Subject: Re: tomatoes won't ripen
Organization: Lockheed Missiles and Space Co.
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 17:57:01 GMT

In article <1992Aug28.194932.17059@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> esh2@po.CWRU.Edu (Evelyn S. Hlabse) writes:
>
>I have a small vegetable garden which among other things has
>8 tomato plants.  Two of them are cherry tomatoes and are
>finally producing fruit.  The other plants are early girl,
>better boy and beefsteak.  There are many (by way less than last
>year) green fruit.  Cleveland has been blessed with a lot of
>rain this summer, only one day so far over 90 and very very few
>sunny days.  

its the lack of sunny days that has slowed down the ripening process

>Now it is starting to cool down in the evenings. 
>What can I do to ripen and use the tomatoes.  I hate the
>thought of tossing them all out.  Normally, I have this many
>plants and have enough canned tomatoes to see me through the
>spring.
>
you can pick them - they will turn red in the house (don't put them
in a sunny windowsill though - this can 'cook' them)

-- 
________________       __        ________________   "They that can give up
\_________      \     /_ \      /      _________/  essential liberty to 
 \_________      \_____/  \____/      _________/  obtain temporary safety
  \___________________      __________________/  deserve neither liberty 
                     /______\                   nor safety."  
ALL disclaimers apply ....                           --Benjamin Franklin
From: dmiller@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Dick and Jill Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: yellow scale on azaleas
Date: 3 Sep 92 12:57:52 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT

> In article: <1992Sep1.162851.23983@cbnewsh.cb.att.com> (david.b.ramsden)
>      <h66@cbnewsh.cb.att.com> asks:
> 
> My azaleas have developed a yellow scale-like covering on their
> leaves.  Anyone know what this is and how to treat it?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dave Ramsden

Are the scales on the top as well as on the bottom of the leaves?  Did you 
ever look at the leaves before and know what they looked like then, or is 
this the first time you looked at them carefully?

Some azaleas have yellowish or browning scales on the underside of the 
leaves.  This is the way they grow.  If you think that this is a new 
condition, then perhaps somewone else could help.  Just make sure you are 
not panicking about a notural condition like a friend of mine who called up 
with a story about the brown fungus which was attacking the underside of 
her Boston fern.  I had to tell her that her fern was pregnant!

--Jill
--
A. Richard & Jill A. Miller            | Miller Microcomputer Services |
InterNet: dmiller@im.lcs.mit.edu       | 61 Lake Shore Road            |
Voice: 508/653-6136, 9am-9pm EasternTZ | Natick, MA 01760-2099, USA    | 
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: jlawlor@ptdi12.intel.com (Jay Lawlor ~)
Subject: Re: Poison ivy & "roundup"
Reply-To: jlawlor@ptdcs2.intel.com
Organization: Intel Portland Technology Development
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 18:02:04 GMT

>>>>> On 2 Sep 92 07:49:56 -0500, strauss@uncavx.unca.edu said:

Bob> I moved into a house last fall, and found that this year the
Bob> place was overrun with poison ivy. After consulting with an
Bob> organic farmer and with the county ag agent, I sprayed (and
Bob> sprayed and sprayed) Roundup. It works well, and even gets rid of
Bob> Kudzu (by the 3rd spraying!).

Bob> Now, to dispose of the refuse. Does anyone have experience with
Bob> dead PI?  I plan to wear gloves, pull it up, and bag it--don't
Bob> think it would be good in a compost heap. Any opinions/advice?

Forgive my ignorance but is it ok to compost stuff that you used
Roundup on?  I hope so because I did.  Haven't used the compost yet,
though.
--
Jay Lawlor                                         jlawlor@ptdcs2.intel.com
Mailstop: AL4-57      Phone: (503) 642-8050        FAX:   (503) 649-3996
==============================================================================
I came, I saw, I had no idea what was going on, so I left.
                                          (stolen from the net)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: rfrench@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Robert S. French)
Subject: Ok, now I'm really confused about pH
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University.
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 19:46:08 GMT

When I meansure my tap water with a "soil testing kit", it gives me a
pH of around 8.  When I measure it using pH test paper (standard stuff
from a chemical supply house) it says around 4.5-5.0.  What's going
on?

		Rob
From: sheriffp@Software.Mitel.COM (Peter Sheriff)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Dividing peonies.
Date: 27 Aug 92 13:23:09 GMT
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.


     I have three rather large clumps of peonies in my garden. They are so
large that I have difficulty in finding a good support for them when they
are blooming and we loose lots of blooms when they rot from laying on the
ground.
     When is it best to divide these peonies? Also, does anyone know of an
effective way of supporting the heavy flowers?

                             Thanks

                              Pete
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: roberson@eos.ncsu.edu (JAMES D ROBERSON)
Subject: Re: What to Do with Japapenos?
Originator: roberson@baepm2.bae.ncsu.edu
Reply-To: roberson@eos.ncsu.edu (JAMES D ROBERSON)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 20:31:14 GMT


macduff@ac.dal.ca (Thomas E. Duffett) writes:
	Now the hard part. How can I pickle these peppers or make them keep
	for as long as possible?

In the past I've pickled the peppers as follows:

Heat a 50/50 water vinegar mixture to just below boiling (enough to fill
the jars with peppers.  I know, I know; how much is enough?)  Dissolve
approximately 2 teaspoons salt per quart of mixture.

When the water vinegar mixture is at boiling point, blanch the peppers, that
is drop into water at a rolling boil for 1 minute.  Remove and quickly pack
in sterilized mason jars.  I usually use quart jars.  Be sure to pack the
peppers as tight as possible.  I use a dull knife or a spoon to push them in
as tight as possible.  The peppers are hard to break because the blanching
softens them quite a bit.

Fill the air space in the jars with the water vinegar mixture.  I sometimes
drop a bay leave and/or clove(s) of garlic in each jar at this point.

Put on lids and rings and process in water bath for 15 minutes.

I'm sure this isn't the best way, but for room temperature storage it works
well.  I haven't lost any in 6 years (about 90 quarts).  The texture is
somewhat softer than most desire, but I do like the flavor and the heat is
still there.


This year I been roasting and peeling the peppers according to cookbook
by either Jane Butel or Diana Kennedy (I can't remember which at the
moment).

Roast the pepper over the stove burner turning as the downward side blisters
and chars.  When the entire pepper is charred wrap in a cool moist towel and
allow to steam for a few minutes.  The book recommends putting a damp towel
in the refrigerator for a few minutes.  Remove the pepper and peel and use,
peel and freeze, or freeze and peel when thawing for use.  This can be done
over an electric range but a gas burner works better.  This past weekend I
was going to cook on the grill so when the charcoal was ready to use I threw
a triple handful of hickory nuts on the coals, then skewered the chilies, put
on the grill and covered.  Took off the lid just to turn the peppers as they
blistered.  When finished I wrapped in the damp towel to steam.  Outstanding!

The advantage to roasting is you can do a few at a time and add to them in
the freezer as they mature.  The flavor is about the best I have tasted.

The drawback is the space taken up in the freezer and where I am I have to
consider power outages.

As a side note I highly recommend _The Art of Mexican Cooking_ by Diana
Kennedy.  It gives a good explanation of many of the chilies used and which
ones dry well and which should be used fresh etc.

Sorry for the length but I am still riding a monster wave of enthusiasm
for peppers after picking up some scotch bonnets, anchos, and sweet italian
peppers to go with our homegrown jalapenos, cayennes and banana peppers.

jim
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: haines@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au (Andrew Haines, Civil, 1/113)
Subject: Re: Raising PH - collect rainwater?
Organization: Faculty of Engineering, Monash University 
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 05:24:37 GMT


>From rfrench@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Robert S. French)
>ur local tap water in Palo Alto has a PH of around 5.5.  This wreaks
>havoc with my hydroponic gardening, since the PH decreases rapidly as
>the nutrient solution is used up.  I've tried adding lime to the
>solution, but it tends to settle out and clog up the pump.  I've also
>tried General Hydroponics' "PH Up", but even a full quart in my 35
>gal. tank doesn't have a noticeable effect.  Does anyone have any
>better suggestions?  Perhaps some chemical I could buy from a chemical
>supply house that would be cheaper than $10/qt for PH Up (and a lot
>stronger).
>
>		Rob

Various other posters have described methods of raising pH.  But of course 
you could collect rainwater to use instead of your acid tap water.  
Depending on the volume you need put some buckets out next time it rains, or 
install a small rainwater tank - perhaps something as simple as an old 44 
gallon drum fed from your roof.  It does rain in Palo Alto? :-)

Andrew Haines                       \ "You're all individuals!"
Computer Systems Officer              \ "WE'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS!"
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia \ "I'm not!" Monty Python:Life of Brian
Newsgroups: rec.gardens