HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mturner@henson.cc.wwu.edu (Mark Turner)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Christmas tree alternative?
Date: 18 Nov 92 07:27:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: henson.1992Nov18.072722.9027
Organization: Western Washington University

To those who want an alternative Christmas tree, consider a Norfolk Island
Pine.  They make decent houseplants, until they get too big.  We used ours
for a Xmas tree for two or three years while we had it.  Worked great with
a modest amount of decorations on it.  It's live.  It's green.  And we
didn't visit the tree farm to cut a fresh one.

Actually, I prefer "real" cut Xmas trees, but have had the luxury for at
least part of my life to be able to cut my own from my own wooded hills. 
Alas, that's not part of our current living arrangements.

Mark Turner
mturner@henson.cc.wwu.edu
From: pwyc@cbnewse.cb.att.com (peter.w.chen)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Christmas tree alternative?
Date: 17 Nov 92 16:15:28 GMT
Article-I.D.: cbnewse.1992Nov17.161528.28937
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T

In article <1992Nov17.092118.5813@athena.cs.uga.edu> maxfield@athena.cs.uga.edu (Joan C. Maxfield) writes:
>
>Christmas.  Daniel, is my fiance...He is a vegetarian.  Can you see
>where this is going?  Daniel doesn't want to "kill a poor innocent
>tree just so we can hang stuff on it"  I keep trying to tell him that
>it'll be cut down anyway and if we don't buy it it will die sooner for
>lack of wateror worse, be *gasp* chipped after the 25th.  He suggests
>one of those little 2 foot tall K-mart jobs, but that's not a tree,
>it's a ...houseplant!

Yes I could see where this was going, and since you asked for it, here's my
2 cents; hope you show it to Daniel.  You are not only killing a tree, you
are crucifying it; adorning its decaying corpse with frivolous glitter (and
perhaps some fuel-consuming little lights which are fire hazards), while
it sheds needles on your carpet.  What a cruel way to celebrate the birth
of someone who ended his life on the crucifix.

I don't understand the argument that "it'll be cut down anyway".  It was cut
down because the X tree speculators anticipated demand for it.  If there was
no demand, it would not have been cut down.

And what's wrong with a houseplant?  Beauty is in the eye of your heart.
Before I got rid of all our houseplants due to my daughter's allergy, I
used to use a rubber plant as the X tree, and my daughter just hung her
little toys and some homemade 'projects' on it.  We had the most unique X
tree in the neighborhood!

Hope you and Daniel can enjoy the spirit of the holidays without the need
to waste more of the earth's precious resources.
==
Peter Chen
pwyc@ihspa.att.com
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: cl27111@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Christopher  Lindsey)
Subject: Re: Horrible Plants
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 02:08:37 GMT

	When I was doing a design project for some condominiums in Key West, I
remember reading about a tropical plant that was used as an execution device
by the native Indians before the Spanish came.
	Apparently, the sap from this tree would produce severe caustic burns
upon contact.  What the Indians did to exploit this was to tie their victims
to the tree before it rained, slash open the trunks, and let the rain wash
the sap down onto the people's faces...

Ouch.

Christopher Lindsey -- Dept. of Landscape Architecture, Univ. of Illinois
From: jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Horrible Plants
Date: 22 Nov 92 04:56:52 GMT
Organization: -

In article <1992Nov20.202519.8900@iscsvax.uni.edu>, 
klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes: 
>  
> Whoo-ee!  Get out the cortisone! And plug your ears!  My language would 
> deteriorate rapidly.  Actually, the worse mess I ever got into was  
> removing the Juniperus virginiana and J. chinensis my mother had thoughtfully 
> planted infront of the hosebibb years ago, and FINALLY let me take out. 
> Contact with Juniper foliage gives me hives.  Breathing junipersawdust 
> gives me asthma*.  Couldn't find anyone desperate enough for $$$ to take on 
> the job, so I did it myself.  It was one of those tasks that made me  
> regret I have an _ex_husband.... ;-) 
>  
> *mom's allergies are even worse... 
>  

Well this sorta ties in with the "Alternate Christmas Tree" thread. 
When I was in college in Austin lots of poor students used to go out
into the hill country and cut Texas cedar (which I think is really
juniper) for a free Christmas tree.  These trees were all over the
dorm.  November-December is prime cedar pollen season and they release
it in clouds when the first blue norther comes through.  These were
one of my worst allergies and I used to sneeze my head off. (I was
actually kicked out of class once for distrupting it with my sneezing. 
Well I was kicked out for several other things at other times, but
that's another story.)   When I was given a scratch test for
allergies on juniper my whole arm swelled up and they had to switch
arms to continue testing.  Unfortunately, I didn't fare much better
with the grasses, trees, or weeds.  I live down wind from the ocean now.

Jim
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: lcw@cci632.cci.com (Lori Wershing)
Subject: tropical plants
Organization: Northern Telecom, Inc. - Network Application Systems
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 13:08:38 GMT


I've been reading for a little while now....this is my first posting requesting
your expertise.

I saw an advertisement for tropical plants in 10" pots on sale this 
weekend....the list seemed to include 10 or so of the more common ones.  (I
can't seem to remember enough to list)  The ad said the were up to 5' tall.
This is something I've been thinking of adding to the house for a while.
Unfortunately, my knowledge is limited to annuals and nursery stock (I worked
for a nursery for several years during school).

Could you folks give me general info on the common tropical houseplants sold?
I'd appreciate the "typical" info...lighting, watering, etc.  I really need a
large plant which can survive in a corner across the room from 2 south and 1
north facing window.  

Thanks in advance......if there is interest, I'd be more than happy to compile
and post your responses.

Lori.


Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: djd@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (david.j.daulton)
Subject: Re: horseradish
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 17:12:18 GMT

I had a friend some years ago who claimed his mother (a German)
cooked horseradish like baked potatoes, and served it the same,
with melted butter.

Glasshouse Works had (has?) a variegated horseradish.  I have seen it,
and the variegation is not "true", that is some leaves have it,
and some don't.  So, to keep that feature, you would prabbly have
to keep cutting out the non-vareigated parts.   Still, it would be
more interesting than the plain old variety.

Dave Daulton, Columbus, Ohio
From: jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Jim Mann)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Christmas tree alternative?
Date: 17 Nov 92 16:11:53 GMT
Reply-To: jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com
Organization: Stratus Computer Inc, Marlboro MA
NNTP-Posting-Host: gondolin.pubs.stratus.com

In article <1eb20eINN4oi@cat.cis.Brown.EDU>  
GE777009@brownvm.brown.edu (Jenna Cole-Steele) writes:
> i think its a huge waste to cut down trees just to use as
> christmas trees, regardless of the "poor tree" argument,
> how about the " poor earth" argument?
> 

I don't buy this argument, since most Christmas trees are
actually grown on tree farms, and replanted as soon as they
are harvested.  At least, that's the case with all the 
places that I know of around here, including the place
I buy from every year (most of whose trees come from the acres and
acres of tree farm that they own).

> This year, my new husband and i will start a new tradition of
> getting a balled and bagged tree, and donating it to Keep
> Providence Beautiful
> 

In our area, there are lots and lots of large pine trees already.
The town doesn't really need a donation of more.  If I ever live
in an area where this isn't the case, though, I'll try to keep
you idea in mind.


--
Jim Mann            
Stratus Computer   jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com  
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: ceci@lysator.liu.se (Cecilia Henningsson)
Subject: Re: Christmas tree alternative?
Organization: Lysator Academic Computer Society, Linkoping University, Sweden
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 17:09:40 GMT



>In article <1992Nov17.092118.5813@athena.cs.uga.edu>
>maxfield@athena.cs.uga.edu (Joan C. Maxfield) writes:
>>	Does anyone have any ideas for 'alternate' types of christmas
>>      trees?  

educ@unixg.ubc.ca (Vicki Domansky) writes:
>Ikea has a neat idea.  You "buy" a real living Christmas tree from
>them, root ball and all.  Then they'll come pick it up after Christmas
>and take it away to be planted, sold, or whatever.  You might check
>and see if there is an Ikea store nearby, or perhaps some other stores
>or groups might offer a similar service.  

They used to do that here too, and then make butter knives out of the
wood. Unfortunately, they stopped doing it after only one year. I have
no idea as to why. Any Ikea employee who could tell us? Anyway,
juniper butter knives are much nicer than spruce ones. Juniper wood
smell wonderfully!

--Ceci, being ethnocentric again
(Ikea originates in Sweden)
--
=====ceci@lysator.liu.se===========================================
Linkoeping, Sweden is situated on a fertile plain in the south-east
part of Sweden. To its south Sweden's biggest belt of oakwoods
stretches and to its north the lake Roxen lies. It is in Zone 2, of
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: gordonb@mcil.comm.mot.com (Gordon Berkley)
Subject: Elastic Rubber Tree
Organization: Motorola Communications Israel Ltd., Tel Aviv
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 12:22:44 GMT

I have a ruber tree (ficus elastica) which has been grown indoors - until
recently.  I finally reached a size that keeping it indoors was no longer
practical, and I didn't have the heart to cut it down to fit.

Sooo, I put this tree outdoors in a very large planter (clay), and everyone
was happy.  Unfortunately, it started getting windy.  And windier.
Last night I looked outside, and although the planter was upright,
the tree wasn't !  It had bent over completely.  I was able to pick it up
and straighten it out, but when I let go, droop city!

Suggestions?
Although it seems silly with a 6 foot tall tree, should I stake it?
I tried tieing it on three points, but "drooooop".
-- 
[  Gordon D. Berkley    INTERNET: gordonb@mcil.comm.mot.com   POST: cgb001   ]
[  PHONE: +972 (3) 565-8727      FAX: +972 (3) 565-8754      (UTC-2)         ]
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: tadams@wedge.sbc.com (Tom. Adams 529-7860)
Subject: Re: Troy-Bilt vs. Mantis
Organization: Southwestern Bell Technology Resources, St.Louis, MO
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 21:55:50 GMT

In article <5944@balrog.ctron.com> baker@ctron.com (Lauren Baker) writes:

I have a Mantis and I love it.  It works fine for midwest soil, and 
produces much much finer soil that large rototillers, with none of the 
pounding big tillers do to you.   Only problems I've noticed are:

1) Weeds quickly clog up the blades. You have to stop and clean them out 
often in 4-6" weeds.  Mantis sells a tool for this that I keep meaning to buy.

2) The tiller will bounce out of the ground easily.  It really light and 
the two stroke engine runs very fast.  Doesn't seem dangerous, but it is 
a surprise the first time it happens.

3) It's awfully easy to have it climb a chain link fence, or get wrapped up
in loose fence ends when you trying to get close to such a fence.

--
Tom Adams	tadams@sbctri.sbc.com adams@swbatl.sbc.com   314-529-7860
misology (mi-sohl'-ogee) Hatred of reason, argument, or enlightenment.
--  misologist n.	Not in any way connected to the word management.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: pyle@intellistor.com (Norm Pyle)
Subject: Re: Really bad tangent (was Re: Christmas tree alternative?)
Organization: Intellistor, Longmont, CO
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 15:21:54 GMT

In article <1992Nov20.021731.20054@athena.cs.uga.edu> maxfield@athena.cs.uga.edu (Joan C. Maxfield) writes:

[lots of stuff deleted]
>
>Thanks for all the great ideas ( and sorry to start such a
>controversy!)
>
You've made many people think about something important (some before posting,
and some after... ;-0); certainly nothing to apologize for...  Thanks!

Norm
From: ellenb@diva.Berkeley.EDU (Ellen Boyle)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: camellias - petal blight
Date: 17 Nov 92 00:44:36 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: diva.berkeley.edu


Within the past year I moved into a new home that has
a lovely camellia with pale pink blossoms.  It looks 
very healthy and is in a good spot for its needs (part 
shade, protected from wind).  Unfortunately, it has the 
dreaded petal blight (or so it seems from descriptions 
I've found in several gardening books).  What I didn't 
find was what causes it.  The only advice I could come 
up with was removing the brown blossoms (on a 6 ft. plant 
-- that's no small feat) and replacing the mulch - which 
I did.  But is there anything else?  It's disappointing 
to see all those flowers discolor so quickly, and, besides,
I'm tired of plucking.

Any information or ideas would be appreciated.

--Ellen
From: london@sunSITE.unc.edu (Larry London)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Sustainable Agriculture Journals List
Date: 15 Nov 92 15:25:36 GMT
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Article 230 (65 more) in alt.sustainable.agriculture:
From: bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano)
Subject: Journals List
Date: 15 Nov 92 13:20:37 GMT

  This is a partial list of journals concerned with
sustainable agriculture.
Any additions or corrections are welcome.

---Sustainable Agriculture
      UC Davis  Sust Agri Research & Ed Program
      Davis, California

---Components: Technical Notes from UC Research
   UC Davis       Davis, California

---Alternative Agriculture News
    Institute for Alternative Agriculture
    9200 Edmonston Road
    Ste 117, Greenbelt, Maryland  20770

---American Journal of Alternative Agriculture
   Institute for Alt. Agri  (see above)

---Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
   Food Products Press
   10 Alice St.  
   Binghamton, New York  13904

---AT Source
   PO Box 41
   6700 AA Wageningen
   The Netherlands

---ILEIA  Newsletter
   Information Ctr for Low External Input and
   Sustainable Agriculture
   PO Box 64
   3830  AB   
   Leusden, The Netherlands

---Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter
   Ohio State U
   Dept of Entomology
   1735 Neil Avenue
   Columbus, OH 43210

---Organic Gardening and Farming
   Rodale Press

---MANNA: Newsletter of the Int. Alliance for
          Sust. Agriculture
   Minneopolis  MN

---Sustainable Development
   Ottawa, Ontario    Canada

---Biodynamic News and Events
   and Biodynamics Journal
   Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

---TRANET and RAIN
   Rangeley, Maine  and  Portland, Oregon

---Journal of Appropriate Technology
   London, England

---ABSTRECO
   Holland

---The Cultivar Newsletter
   UC  Santa Cruz
   Santa Cruz, California

---Permaculture Activist
   Route 1, Box 38, Primm Springs, Tennessee 38476

---INSAN  Newsletter
   Institute for Sustainable Agriculture from Nepal
   GPO Box 3033
   Baneshore 10
   Kathmandu, Nepal

---Permaculture Drylands
   The Permaculture Drylands Institute
   PO Box 27371
   Tucson, AZ  85726

---Agroforestry Today
   ICRAF
   PO Box 30677
   Nairobi, Kenya
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: nrlfs1.nrl.navy.mil (Judy Karpen)
Subject: Re: curry leaf plant source
Organization: NRL
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 17:42:54 GMT

In article <8563.9348@stratus.SWDC.Stratus.COM>, jane@soave.swdc.stratus.com (Jane Beckman) writes:
> 
> CURRY LEAF PLANT??!!  Where did you find one??  

I got it mail-order from Well Sweep Herb Farm in NJ. I don't have the
catalog here at work, but will look up their address/phone when I get
a chance and post it. They have an amazing variety of cool plants --- I
ordered various creeping thymes to try in my newly-flagstoned garden,
the dwarf pomegranate, the curry leaf tree, and some other stuff
which was out of stock (like chocolate mint, alas). Only possible
snag is, I've noticed some Eastern nurseries can't ship to CA, but I
don't recall if they're one of them (I'll check). 

Judy Karpen
karpen@nrlfs1.nrl.navy.mil
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Horrible Plants
Date: 20 Nov 92 20:25:19 -0600
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1453300100@igc.apc.org>, Ecology Center <ecologycntr@igc.apc.org> writes:
> 
> kay sez:
>       "...itch-inducing plants like Fremontia..."
> 
> ya ain't lived until a client asks you to prune her 3-story Fremontodendron...
> from the inside. :P

Whoo-ee!  Get out the cortisone!  And plug your ears!  My language would
deteriorate rapidly.   Actually, the worse mess I ever got into was 
removing the Juniperus virginiana and J. chinensis my mother had thoughtfully
planted in front of the hosebibb years ago, and FINALLY let me take out.
Contact with Juniper foliage gives me hives.  Breathing juniper sawdust
gives me asthma*.  Couldn't find anyone desperate enough for $$$ to take on
the job, so I did it myself.  It was one of those tasks that made me 
regret I have an _ex_husband.... ;-)

*mom's allergies are even worse...


Well, maybe that wasn't the worst.  I once had to haul a fellow grad student
to the health service after he got into Mucuna trichomes.  He was clawing
himself bloody from the mechanical itch-inducing effects.  They had to
sedate and shave him... all over.  His fiance was not thrilled with the
results...

Kay
From: baker@ctron.com (Lauren Baker)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Troy-Bilt vs. Mantis
Date: 17 Nov 92 14:19:25 GMT
To: rdeshazo@b23b.ingr.com


I am only one datapoint, but I bought a Mantis 4 years ago,
and it basically never ran 100%. It starts fine, but had some
manufacturing problems, which when I sent it back under
warranty, didn't really get fixed. Basically, it never had
rings put around the axle, so grease leaked out all the
time, and it had a major problem with engaging the tines.
They did fix the ring problem, but only replaced the clutch,
so eventually whatever was broken, finally gave out, and
know I have the greatest little engine that doesn't turn
the tines. 

SInce I live in the Northeast, I don't garden many months
of the year, so it sits in the garage and I hoe instead
of till. I had bought it not to turn the garden at the
beginning of the year, but once I had planted. 

The other main problem I see with Mantis is that it is
very efficient at catching rocks in its tines, so I would
favor a larger tiller (actually one that had larger spaces
in the tines).  Probably Mantis would blame that for 
breaking it, but it had the engagement problem from 
day one.

Lauren
From: mulvihil@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Lawrence Mulvihill)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Ajuga
Date: 19 Nov 92 15:54:11 GMT
Reply-To: mulvihil@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Lawrence Mulvihill)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

Will bulbs (crocus, daffs, tulips) have any trouble
forcing their way through dense ajuga?
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Pruning (in particular, a sugar maple and a linden)
From: thacker@RHEA.ARC.AB.CA
Date: 23 Nov 92 13:55:35 MDT
Reply-To: thacker@RHEA.ARC.AB.CA
Organization: Alberta Research Council

In article <watpod78.722536946@cunews>, watpod78@alfred.carleton.ca (Phil Culhane) writes:
>Help!
>
>From what I understand, most of the guys who work for companies that
>prune trees just kind of look at your tree and say "Hey, yeah, how but
>that one?"  ZZZZZINNNNNGGGG!!  Branch gone.  I'd like to learn how to
>prune properly.  Is there a bible of proper tree pruning?
>
>Phil



Don't know about the pruning bible, but whatever you do, 
DON'T PRUNE A SUGAR MAPLE IN THE WINTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come spring, it would bleed all over, like it had been tapped
with dozens of spigots (well, depends on how many cuts you make).

For maples and birches, prune them in late spring to mid summer
when the sap is not running and the tree has a chance to heal
up before winter.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: ramirez@julia.math.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez)
Subject: more on indoor christmas trees
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:55:23 GMT

      Personally I have always felt it somehow, well, inappropriate, 
to be celebrating christmas with a tree utterly foreign and alien to my
immediate climate.  I mean, having pine/fir Christmas trees in the 
living rooms of Bavaria, New England or Canada makes logical sense, but 
in Southern California or Hawaii, or Puerto Rico, Florida, etc. etc. 
these evergreens just seem out of place and faintly ridiculous. (yes 
I KNOW a few species of conifer grow in these places but they aren't 
typical of the local warm-climate vegetation and they aren't really 
christmas trees. It's like growing Beverly Hills apples and thinking 
that they in any way compare to Northern Spy, Pink Pearl or Fuji).  
But I digress.

     What I do some years is bring a medium sized potted citrus indoors
(large would be better, but it's too much work dragging it up the steps)
then decorating that.  Quite often, in December, fruit is hanging on the 
tree, golden or orange waxy globules of pleasant scent.  Add lights, 
garlands and maybe a few ornaments.

     Citrus is also a good choice for snow-free climate christmas
trees because, unlike pine/firs, it doesn't shrivel up and die from dry
indoor air.  As long as it is kept next to a good sunny window, it is happy,
and will be alive after the holidays, which doesn't always happen with 
traditional living christmas trees when kept indoors.

  Of course, you can't really stand around a potted Ponderosa Lemon singing
"Oh Tannenbaum" and keep a straight face.....
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: birthcontrol pills to propagate cuttings
From: lynx@surrey.amigans.gen.nz (Lynsey Gedye)
Date: 16 Nov 92 21:45:54 GMT-12
Distribution: world
Organization: Prime Line, Wanganui, New Zealand

In article <1992Nov13.194903.26185@math.ucla.edu> ramirez@julia.math.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez) writes:
  ...stuff pruned...

>And while we are at it, has anyone tried rooting woody cuttings by 
>dipping the cut end in gibberellic acid solution?
                        ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^

  Er, from some type of Gibbon escaped from the 60's ward?
  
  Keep your karma in neutral guys - I just had to ask =:)!

--
           lynx@surrey.amigans.gen.nz    lynx@amigans.gen.nz
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Non-flowering citrus tree
From: thacker@RHEA.ARC.AB.CA
Date: 19 Nov 92 08:44:37 MDT
Reply-To: thacker@RHEA.ARC.AB.CA
Organization: Alberta Research Council

In article <BxwzAG.I05@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu>, jereese@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (jean reese) writes:
>
>My husband has a grapefruit tree he grew from a seed 12 years ago. It's
>pretty tall now, and healthy, but does not flower and never has. (Therefore,
>no fruit.) We've given it fertilizer and left it outside over the summers,
>but no response. Where did we go wrong?
>
>Thanks for any information.

My grandmother had the same problem.  It's pretty hard to get a non-dwarf
citrus tree to flower indoors.  Get a dwarf tree if you want fruit, and
just enjoy your grapefruit as a nice houseplant.

>
>Jean
>-- 
>	"It is my view that the  vegetarian manner  of living by its 
>	purely physical effect on the  human temperament  would most 
>	beneficially influence the lot of mankind." - Albert Einstein
>	++++++++++++++++jereese@silver.ucs.indiana.edu+++++++++++++++
From: psmith@alfred.carleton.ca (Peter Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Magazine: Growing for Market
Date: 23 Nov 92 14:44:08 GMT
Organization: Carleton University

I have heard of this magazine, but I am unable to locate the
publisher's address.  If anyone knew the address or a toll free number
etc...I would greatly appreciate it if they would post to the group or
to me personally.

Thanks in advance