HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: louiset@informix.com (Louise Twiggs)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Sweet Woodruff experience?
Date: 14 Sep 92 08:42:59 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

In article <64820014@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com> moda@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Margaret Oda [CMCD]) writes:
>
>My backyard has nothing but dirt right now and I'm in the
>planning stage right now.  I'm now tackling the shady side of the
>house.  The ground cover requirements are:  
>shade-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and low-lying/ground-hugging 
>(so that it can lie around stepping stones).  I have absolutely no 
>gardening experience so I bought a lot of books on ground covers.
>The ground cover I came up with is Galium Odoratum (Sweet Woodruff).
>
>Does anyone have experience with this particular ground cover?
>One book (hpbooks) says that it meets all of my requirements 
>listed above, but another source (sunset) says that it needs
>a lot of watering.  Who do I believe?
>
>I have found several conflicting statements in various books.
>I would appreciate any help!
>
>Thanks,
>Margaret


I grow Woodruff in a tub under my dwarf rhododendron.  It grows fine
there, I chose it to fill in the space under the rhodie when it lost
a lot of its lower leaves after drying out one summer.  It is
a good ground cover and doesn't appear to have any special watering
needs.  It isn't very spectacular, but does smell good.


Louise Twiggs
Informix Software Ltd (UK)
From: lienhard@daydreamer.metaphor.com (Steve Lienhard)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Tabasco Recipe Wanted
Date: 11 Sep 92 22:08:47 GMT
Organization: Metaphor Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA

>2) I have a 3 yr. old miniature apricot tree in a tub on my deck, which goes through the same pattern every ye
>ar.
>It leafs out fine in the spring, then about mid-summer the leaves start to develop round brown spots a
>and fall off, so by now I have a half-defoliated, unhappy-looking tree. I've looked through every

It may be pot bound.  Producing fruit requires strength, and if the roots
are cramped, it may not have enough energy.  The symptoms you describe
remind me of tomato plants when they are grown in containers that are
too small.
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: spots on peonies
Date: 11 Sep 92 00:10:29 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1992Sep9.204603.25886@midway.uchicago.edu>, cuzz@ellis.uchicago.edu (Laura Cuzzillo) writes:
> I have ugly brown spots all over my peonies.
> 
> What is it, and how do I deal with it?

Sounds like Botrytis, a mold.  Remove affected leaves* and either burn them
or dunk them in a strong chlorine bleach solution + a little detergent for
several hours if you aren't allowed to burn.  This fall, cut the stalks off
below the soil surface, removing as much of the stalk as possible w/o
injuring the bud (which is also just right there...)  Some people also
recommend fungicidal sprays, but I've always found that to be overkill.
Just keep picking off anything that looks moldy or spotty, and clean
up all the stalks in the fall, and you should be fine.

*If you're going to burn them, take a paper bag to the plant and
stuff the leaves inside.  Or take the bleach bucket.  You need to try
to avoid scattering spores all over creation.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: bobw@csg.uwaterloo.ca (Bob Wildfong)
Subject: What is Beifuss?
Organization: Computer Systems Group, University of Waterloo
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 23:02:40 GMT

I was looking through a 1907 Ontario Seed Company catalogue and
found a vegetable listed as "Beifuss".  Just one line of print, no named
varieties, no description, no picture.

Anyone ever heard of it?

Bob Wildfong                                       bobw@csg.uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo, Ontario                                  bobw@csg.waterloo.edu
AgCan zone 5a, USDA zone 4 (on a windy hilltop)

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: TROUTMAN@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu
Subject: Re: Grape Hyacinths
Organization: C.C.S.O.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 13:48:55 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.200549.6666@iscsvax.uni.edu>
klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
 
>joannek@ems.cdc.com (Joanne Kube-Harderwijk) writes:
>>
>> This is the only spring bulb I have ever had that acted like this.  Is this
>> typical for grape hyacinth?  Are 'my' grape hyacinths confused? or am I?
>
>My grape hyacinths don't act like that.  But then, I'm often confused, and
>some of it may rub off on MY plants ;-).
 
My grape hyacinths did exactly as Joanne's did.  I thought they were
done, so I trimmed back the foliage last month and then just last
week noticed new foliage.  I'm in the middle of Illinois, if that makes
any difference to how my grape hyacinths grow ...
 
Leslie Troutman
UIUC
From: ted.jensen@spacebbs.com (Ted Jensen) 
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: plant root hormones?
Date: 15 Sep 92 17:12:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: SPACE BBS - Menlo Park, CA - 10 Lines + 4gB - 415-323-4193
Reply-To: ted.jensen@spacebbs.com (Ted Jensen) 



 troberts@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu writes:
> ROOTONE is advertised as a plant root hormone that encourages cuttings
> to grow roots and become real plants.  Has anybody out there ever used
> ROOTONE or similar substances?  Can someone send my a list of plants
> that will respond to this stuff, or point me to a FAQ list?

I don't have a list of plants, however I have tried it several
times and had mixed success.  In general my opinion is that the
stuff does speed up root formation.  However, I think you should
be aware that it apparently has a shelf life once exposed to the
air.  I forget just where I read this, but someone recommended to
buy no more than you have to for the task at hand.  I have seen
it sold in plastic bottles and in foil envelopes.  The last time
I purchased it I bought it in a foil envelope (much smaller
quantity).  Actually, it costs more this way, but had I bought a
bottle of it I would have used less than 5% of what was in the
bottle.

I note that someone else has answered you who has taken the time
to perform a small study by comparing results in a scientific
manner.  So, I would rely on their comments to determine the
degree of benefit.  I just thought I would add the shelf life
info.

Hope this helps!  Ted


 * SLMR 2.1a *
From: jeff@cns.nyu.edu (Jeff Fookson)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: hilling leeks
Date: 10 Sep 92 14:25:42 GMT
Reply-To: jeff@cns.nyu.edu
Organization: New York University, Center for Neural Science

I planted leeks for the first time ever but have been negligent about hilling them.
Is it too late (in Bethel, CT where summer has somewhat arrived now that it is
september and tomatoes are ripening appropriately) to do so now? How much of the
leek should be undergroung after hilling? When should they be harvested?
Thanks.
  Jeff Fookson
  jeff@cns.nyu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: linus.mitre.org.jdv (john devincentis)
Subject: test
Followup-To: rec.gardens
Organization: MITRE Corporation
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 12:30:55 GMT

Test
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: grimjack@milton.u.washington.edu (Leslie Basel)
Subject: Re: Mediterranean climate (was: zones)
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 08:53:49 GMT

In article <1992Sep8.124750.765@calmasd.prime.com> jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop) writes:
>
>The reason I ask is that someone recently referred to Seattle as
>having a Mediterranean climate.  The same has also been said of San
>Francisco; and locally (San Diego) I often hear our climate described
>as Mediterranean.  Now to me each of these places has a very different
>climate.  San Diego and Seattle do not have the same weather. 
>
  [Beautiful San Diego weather description edited here.]

	Seattle's weather, as you have surmised, a bit cooler than San
Diego's.  Our temperatures range between 20/25 degrees (low) and 80/85
degrees (high).  We have a 1 in 7 chance of getting a white Christmas.
It does snow here, 1 or 2 times a year, and generally melts in 1 or 2
days.  The ground does not freeze. 
	Our big rain season is between November and May.  Despite the
reputation, our annual precipitation is 30 to 35 inches, quite a bit more 
than San Diego, but far less than most of the Eastern US.
	Seattle also has a tremendous microclimate range.  I tend to
disregard both the USDA and Sunset, and try what I feel like, as long
as I'm willing to move it or provide good drainage for it.

>My understanding is that
>it is is characterized by cool damp winters, and dry mild summers 
>with most of the precipitation falling in the winter months.  Also the
>growing seasons are somewhat backwards from most places.  Typically,
>the late summer and fall are times when most native plants are dormant
>and the winter and spring, when water is more readily available, is
>
	Once or twice a year we get below freezing temps, when we
get snow.  I've never been to the Med., but I would guess that the 
mountainous regions would not quite be as balmy as San Diego, either.
Fall in Seattle is a good time to transplant, as well as setting in
lawns and bulbs.


>This description would fit a large portion of coastal California, but
>I don't think it would work too well with the Pacific Northwest.  My
>assumption is that even though August and September can be dry there,
>they are still very much part of the growing season.  Also their
>winter lows are much lower than a typical Mediterranean climate.
>

Yep

>Jim

Leslie Basel

From: duanej@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Duane Jacobson)
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 20:11:01 GMT
Subject: Re: Sod 'gaps'
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens

>I've recently moved into a house with new sod. Lots of water and sunshine
>later, it seems to be doing very well - except for large (typ. 1") gaps between
>many of the
>'sheets' of sod. I'm wondering what I can do to fill these in (if anything). I
>was thinking about pouring a nice topsoil mix into these gaps and hoping the
>grass will grow in, how does that sound?

Sounds like a good plan to me.  The grass will fill in pretty quickly.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: gere@umunhum.stanford.edu (Susan Gere)
Subject: Re: willow water for roses
Organization: Stanford University
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 17:08:58 GMT

[Arnold M Zwicky questions willow-water over take-two-aspirin]:

 In the book (Antique Roses for the South) the wording was equally
unclear, but it seems to be rainwater, boiled, then willow bits added.
Welch cited the Ohio Agricultural R&D Center finding that any Salix
species have "substances" which induce rooting. 

 It is not clear whether these are salicylic acid (aspirin) or other
compounds, or both.  Interestingly, willow water is not mentioned in
the section on conditioning for arrangements--he starts there with
rainwater, adds Seven-Up, recuts stems, and refrigerates.
From: jwilson@chopin.udel.edu (James Wilson)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Iris - How big?
Date: 14 Sep 92 18:01:10 GMT
Organization: University of Delaware

a
I did find a Dutch Iris called Bronze Queen:  standards bluish bronze,
falls bronze with an orange spot.  These generally grow to almost two
feet.  For garden use. you may want to intersperse them in such a way
that their drying foliage won't be too conspicuous.  They are good as
cut flowers.
-- 

Jim Wilson                             jwilson@brahms.udel.edu
Instructional Technology Center	       (302) 831-1291
University of Delaware                 Newark, Delaware   19716
From: louiset@informix.com (Louise Twiggs)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Container gardening
Date: 10 Sep 92 09:56:31 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

In article <lact6uINNems@news.bbn.com> lgoodman@BBN.COM (Laurie Goodman) writes:
>
>
>I am planning to convert a rather unattractive stretch of concrete
>patio into a container garden. The patio is on the south-west corner of
>of the house. There is much sun during the day, with portions in partial
>shade, with dappled light when surrounding trees leaf out. My intentions 
>are to grow annuals, perennials, and some veggies in pots, barrels, and
>planters of various shapes and sizes. We are in zone 6, I believe (suburban
>Boston, west of rt 128).
>
>I would welcome any and all advice from this wonderful gardening
>community, including references about potting soils, plant and small
>tree combinations etc. My husband would love to have a dogwood. Is that
>feassible? I know about the Ortho book on container gardening. Are there 
>others especially recommended.? I have looked at Books in Print, and
>there are several available.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Laurie <lgoodman@bbn.com>


As I live in England (UK), I don't know what your gardening zones
mean in terms of climate and temperature.  I suspect Boston is not too
dis-similar from London, just more extreme.  Anyway, I have a 'container
garden' on a roof balcony that is surrounded by a 4' wall.  The balcony
faces North West, and so is in shade until mid-day, then full sun until
about 8.00pm in summer, then in shade again.  I have had numerous 
success and numerous failures!  My containers are either terracotta or
plastic.  I have also used a range of soils, both peat-based and soil
based.  I find the peat-based dry out more slowly than the soil-based
ones when the pots are in full sun.  This could be due to the water
retaining 'additives' that are put in to stop just that from happening.

I love Rhododendrons, so grow  two of the dwarf variety (well dwarfish)
in two large tubs.  These have done _really_ well.  Hebes also do
really well.  I also grow losts of bulbs, as I can change these with
the season. Snowdrops - dwarf irises - daffs - hyacinths - anemones -
lilies - acidanthera  - peruvian poppys  etc etc the list is endless.

The best thing about containers is that you can create 'micro 
climates' and so grow plants that are just right for each little
climate - for instance, you could have tubs for acid loving shade
plants etc.  (that reminds me, Hostas do well too.) for acid loving 
full sun plants, lime loving free draining plants etc. 

I have looked at many container gardening books, but find many of them
stick to the same plant combinations (usually annuals).  I tend to look
at more general gardening books, and then adapt the advice to suit
each of my mini gardens in each tub.  

A good combination is to go for a few choice perennials, and then fill
the gaps with annuals for colour and texture (and scent - don't forget
scent!)

Louise Twiggs
Informix Software Ltd (UK)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: pharvey@mipos3.intel.com (Paul Harvey)
Subject: Re: Mediterranean climate (was: zones)
Organization: noitzainagrO
	<1992Sep9.162821.6612@iscsvax.uni.edu>
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 17:23:30 GMT

In article <1992Sep9.162821.6612@iscsvax.uni.edu> 
klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
>When I lived in Davis, the daily weather report from SF was quite
>predictable: The low was 55, the high was 65 and there was 0.1" 
>precipitation-- that was summer.  In the winter, the low was 50, the
>high was 60 and there was 0.15" precip.   Got a bit boring to those
>of us used to _real_ weather.   ;-)

Yeah, here's the standard SF bay area summer forcast: Night and morning low 
cloud cover clearing back to the coast by midday. 50's on the immediate coast 
with 60's in the city, 70's around the bay, 80's in the coastal valleys and 
into the upper 90's in the inland valleys. About once every five years we get
a thunderstorm and panic breaks out. But in winter the rains come and we
get to keep track of rainfall to see if we are below or above normal and to
see when our six-year below normal rainfall drought will end. And we get to
learn all about the El Nino effect. But I wouldn't bother thinking about
moving out here, it's really a miserable place, the economy is shot, housing
prices are falling and one day the ground will shake. So the weather may be
stable, but we make up for it with unstable ground. Oh and did I mention
volcanos? Yeah we got that to, the Long Caldera near Mammoth Mountain.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: tony@nexus.yorku.ca (Anthony Wallis)
Subject: Re: What is corn ?
Organization: York University
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 22:06:16 GMT

Shih-Tung Ngiam (stngiam@athena.mit.edu) points out
> The cereal known as corn in the US is called maize in England.  But
> the English also grow a crop called corn.  What is that (English corn) ?

Maize is the "real" common name for Zea Mais.  The N. American vulgate
"corn" (originally "Indian corn" - the aboriginals cultivated it) is a
specification of the older generic use of the word meaning
     "any of several cereal plants producing edible seed such as
      wheat, rye, oats or barley"      [Amer. Her. Dict.]
This generic meaning is retained in the UnUSA'd parts of Britain, such
as the Outer Hebrides and the Channel Islands.
The original use tends more to mean the seed rather than the plant.
You can still hear the compound "barley corn".

Just remember that USians think "free air" means air conditioning you
don't have to pay for (sure !), that "tuition" means the fee you pay
for tutition, that a "shake" is a drink, etc, etc, etc, and all will
become clearer.

--
tony@nexus.yorku.ca = Tony Wallis, York University, Toronto, Canada

From: moda@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Margaret Oda [CMCD])
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 19:35:02 GMT
Subject: Sweet Woodruff experience?
Organization: HP Labs, High Speed Electronics Dept., Palo Alto, CA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens


My backyard has nothing but dirt right now and I'm in the
planning stage right now.  I'm now tackling the shady side of the
house.  The ground cover requirements are:  
shade-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and low-lying/ground-hugging 
(so that it can lie around stepping stones).  I have absolutely no 
gardening experience so I bought a lot of books on ground covers.
The ground cover I came up with is Galium Odoratum (Sweet Woodruff).

Does anyone have experience with this particular ground cover?
One book (hpbooks) says that it meets all of my requirements 
listed above, but another source (sunset) says that it needs
a lot of watering.  Who do I believe?

I have found several conflicting statements in various books.
I would appreciate any help!

Thanks,
Margaret
From: bryant@neural.Kodak.COM (Steve Bryant)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: unusual monarda
Date: 15 Sep 92 14:02:23 GMT
Organization: Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY

I planted some monarda (bee balm) last fall. They did wonderfully this summer, but one of the plants did something unusual. The flower clusters on this one plant did not terminate in the usual single cluster. Instead the stem continued on straight up through the center of the cluster and ended in a second cluster. Forming a double pom-pom affect. Almost all of the flowers on this plant did this. The leaves on this plant were also different, with a heavy dark red line going down the center vein of the leave








s.

Does anyone know if this is common to bee balm? I've looked through several flower books but none make mention of this behavior.

By the way, it makes for a very striking flower.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Australian plants/Ameriflora  
From: Dawn_Scotting@kcbbs.gen.nz (Dawn Scotting)
Date: 7 Sep 92 17:35:38 GMT
Organization: Kappa Crucis Unix BBS, Auckland, New Zealand

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?  
The NZ Xmas Tree is a native of NZ (where else) and it's Maori name and  
the name it mostly goes by is Pohutukawa (po-who-too-car-waa). Here are  
two entries out of two different books:-  
Metrosideros tomentosa - A most useful flowering tree for the coastal  
area, resisting salt spray, wind and even the sea itself. It has been  
seen with some of its roots right in salt water! Slow-growing, it has a  
most attractive leaf colouring of dark-green & silver & may reach 40  
feet in time. In its native southern hemisphere the flowers, Bottlebrush  
in style & dark red, appear almost exactly at Christmas every year. The  
tree also resists industrial fumes & grows prolifically in polluted city  
air.  
Metrosideros excelsa - A dense evergreen tree with an irregular outline,  
native to NZ. It bears red bottlebrush flowers in dense clusters up to  
8cm long, in late spring & early summer for up to 4 months. The leaves  
are rounded, up to 10cm long, dark green above & hairy beneath. The dark  
brown, woody bark often produces many rusty orange aerial roots in old  
age. An extremely adaptable small tree, which can be grown in seaside  
gardens or in the most polluted city air. It is an excellent hedging  
plant & will grow well in a container.  
Height/spread - after 10 years 3x2m; at maturity 8x5m.  
Cultivation - Plant from a container at any time of the year in fertile,  
well-drained soil in a sunny or partially shaded position. Apply a small  
amount of blood & bone, or a slow-release fertiliser formulated for  
native plants, in spring. May be cut after flowering if grown as a  
hedge, otherwise pruning is unnecessary.  
Propagation - Cuttings in late autumn & winter.  
Pests/diseases - Seldom attacked.  
  
I don't know anything about your zone 5 so I'm not sure if  
it is suitable but at a guess I would say it would grow just about  
anywhere! It will grow into a VERY large tree so don't put it too close  
to your house like I did, we have to trim it back quite hard regularly  
so that it doesn't block out the sun from our kitchen/dining room.  
Unfortunately having to do this stops it from flowering.  
   
 <--------------------------------------------->  
 < Kia Ora from Aotearoa. Pandora@kcbbs.gen.nz >  
 < Please DO NOT QUOTE more than 2 lines to me >  
 <--------------------------------------------->
From: joannek@ems.cdc.com (Joanne Kube-Harderwijk)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: cheese in frozen pesto?
Date: 10 Sep 92 13:40:44 GMT
Reply-To: joannek@ems.cdc.com
Organization: Empros Systems International, a division of CDC

In article <1992Sep9.204512.772@calmasd.prime.com>, jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep9.161547.17751@cis.ohio-state.edu>, 
|> amz@iguana.cis.ohio-state.edu (Arnold M Zwicky) writes:
|> > ...
|> 
|> One final question, is there anybody that reads this news group that
|> doesn't grow basil and make pesto?
|> 
|> Jim


Yes, there is.  In fact I have never tasted pesto and often wondered what it
was like.

There are a few of us out there who quit growing 'food' a long time ago.  I 
never got around to harvesting it.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|   Joanne Kube-Harderwijk               Empros Systems International
|   email - joannek@ems.cdc.com          2300 Berkshire Ln
|   Phone - (612) 553-4765               Plymouth, Mn. 55441-3694
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|   I am not a spokeman for my employer.  All the dumb things I say are my own.
|   "I know nothing, nothing..." - Sargeant Schultz
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Refrigerators for bulb forcing (was Tree Peonies)
Date: 11 Sep 92 20:26:24 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

gretchen@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Gretchen A Hitselberger) writes:
> Ah!! An opportunity to ask my question!  Is the vegetable bin in the 
> refrigerator an appropriate substitue for the 'root cellar' especially 
> when forcing bulbs?
> 
> Unfortunately, my studio apartment in NYC didn't come with a root cellar!

Ah, people who live in cities give up so *many* of the amenities!

You prechill bulbs for forcing at +/- 35-40oF, which is a temp most
refrigerators can manage.  Don't store apples or other ripening fruit
in the same refrigerator, though, or the ethylene may kill flower buds.

A friend who just moved into an apartment and misses his garage (where
he chilled pots of bulbs in a cardboard box insulated with straw) claims
he's buying a second refrigerator just for the bulbs....

Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI
Newsgroups: rec.gardens