HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gwv@helium.cray.com (George Vandenberghe)
Subject: Weed control in the jungle (was seed bank stirring)
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 27 Aug 92 12:20:20 CDT

For what it is worth, I have had rental gardens for some
years and weeds are always a real problem.  If you are busy
for several weeks and neglect the garden you come back to
a jungle of three foot weeds and getting them out is either
a test of brute force (if the soil is dry) or  a frustrating
returning of your soil into huge chunks (rootballs) if the soil
is wet.   

I recently visited my jungle after having bought a hand hedge
clipper for my (more neatly kept) house.   I decided to give it a
try and it was FAST.   I cleaned out 500 square feet in about ten  minutes.
I cut the weeds off at the three to nine inch level which got 98% of the
foliage. It is no substitute for timely cultivation or mulching but looks like
a real time saver if my garden ever does get away from me again.
I am surrounded by other weedy gardens and the whole area is plowed and
disked so I have given up on ever getting all of the seeds out of the
soil.  I just try to keep my garden from contributing.
From: karl@uts.amdahl.com (Karl Rowley)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Sensitive plants (??)
Date: 3 Sep 92 22:41:47 GMT
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

In article <fR6WbNi@quack.sac.ca.us> pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey) writes:
>In article <1992Sep2.101438.737@calmasd.prime.com> 
>jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop) writes:
>>From Sunset Garden book:
>>"Mimosa pudica.  Sensitive plant. ...
>
>I'm not sure why Sunset gives them the "not sufficiently attractive",
>although they are not the only ones to slight M. pudica. They are thorny
>and maybe slightly invasive in the right climate, but I've never seen
>them get out of control in Florida or Calif.  They are tender perennials
>so they don't last frost. 

I've seen them get out of control in this area.  My neighbor has one that
was severely pruned to an 8 foot high stump about a year ago.  It has now
grown back to be about 20 feet tall and 20 feet across.  This is a 
nuisance tree for a small yard once it gets this large, almost as bad as
some of the mullberries in the area. 


-- 
 _______________________________________________________________________
| Karl Rowley      		|	karl@uts.amdahl.com		|
| Amdahl Corporation		|	{sun,ames}!amdahl!karl		|
| Sunnyvale, California		|					|
|_______________________________|_______________________________________|
 [Any viewpoints expressed are my own, and do not necessarily reflect 
  those of Amdahl Corporation.]

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: rim@csadfa.cs.adfa.oz.au (Bob McKay)
Subject: Re: Australian plants/Ameriflora
Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 05:11:27 GMT

arkdr@uniwa.uwa.edu.au (Dave Rindos) writes:

>kls@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Kenneth L Shellberg) writes:
>>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!
Sounds about right (I've no idea what zone 5, Ohio, is like, but I imagine
it's pretty cold). The description of the plant is interesting, though -
I've only ever seen it with yellow flowers with purple centres. The rest of
the description sounds familiar, but 2m sounds a bit high. Here in Canberra
(Winter temps down to around -6C) I've had it damaged by frost to the 
extent that it was semi-deciduous most years, and even cut right to ground
level one particularly hard year, but it always regrew fine. Likes plenty
of Summer sun, otherwise fairly adaptable as far as I'm aware.

>Generally speaking Australia is a warm place (by NA standards)....
>....  There
>may well be areas in the Blue Mts or in Tassie which could yield lants
>hardy in the continental climate regions of the US, but I doubt they are
>in commerce.  Somebody SHOULD collected them!
There used to be a SIG in the Society for Growing Australian Plants covering
cold-region garden plants - if anyone would like the contact, I'll try to look
it out. Why aren't there more cold adapted species in cultivation? For my 
money, until recently, there weren't enough people living in places here where
you could grow cold adapted plants; plus the vast majority of the flora, 
including the most spectacular species, come from warmer climes.
-- 
Bob McKay		   	Phone:	+61 6 268 8169	    fax: +61 6 268 8581
Dept. Computer Science		Internet:	rim@csadfa.cs.adfa.oz.au
ADFA, Northcott Dve 		UUCP:...!uunet!munnari!csadfa.cs.adfa.oz.au!rim
Campbell ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA	ARPA:	rim%csadfa.cs.adfa.oz.au@uunet.uu.net
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: denisec@amadeus.wr.tek.com (Denise Caire)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: tomatoes won't ripen
Date: 4 Sep 92 16:11:54 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.

>
>Kay Klier (klier@iscsvax.uni.edu) butts:
>>  (stuff deleted)
>>  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...


To which Felix Yen writes:
>(stuff deleted)
>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?

Not at all.  I haven't eaten a store-bought tomatoe in years!  Like you
say, why bother?  They're disgusting.  A friend tells me to put them on
top of the fridge because the constant heat will ripen them enough to
eat.  Maybe that's what all those folks who buy them thar over priced,
hard as a rock, flavorless, like a tennis ball painted red tomatoes do.
O-o-o-o, makes my skin crawl.
Denise
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: ID: "dolphin" violet ??
Date: 23 Aug 92 20:32:42 -0500
Distribution: world
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

Barbara K. Laufersweiler <BJK111@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
> The proprietor called it a "dolphin" violet, "like the fish" (!),
> and I was thinking the flower on its stalk looked like Syringa
                                                         ^^^^^lilac?
> What it is:  -pale green, fat, fuzzy, fleshy stems & leaves
>              -not upright (in a hanging pot now)
>              -elm-leaf shaped leaves, pairs opposite on stem,
>                 rotate 90 degrees for next pair along stem
>              -long slender stalk, 5 inches maybe, tipped with
>                 small purple pitcher-like flower; stalk emerges
>                 from junction of leaves and stem; 5 petals  x x
>                                                            X   X
>                                                              X
My best guess is a gesneriad, maybe one of the Kohleria or Streptocarpus
species.  Unfortunately, common names accumulate quickly-- growers
invent a new name because they think it might sell better, or they
invent one on the spot 'cause they can't remember the real name :-(

Might check something like the RHS Encyclopedia of House Plants, which
I see in the reference section of a lot of public libraries.  Translated
into botan-ese, you're looking for a plant that is pendent, with simple,
opposite, ovate leaves; leaves and stem both pubescent; flowers axillary,
blue, tubular, zygomorphic, 5-parted.

Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI



Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: kell@lark.jsc.nasa.gov (TED KELL)
Subject: Re: Sensitive plants (??)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Reply-To: kell@lark.jsc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Johnson Space Flight Center - Clear Lake City, TX, USA
Date:  3 SEP 92 10:30:58    

In article <1992Sep2.150415.6454@iscsvax.uni.edu>, klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes...
>Jim Bishop quotes from Sunset:
>> "Mimosa pudica.  Sensitive plant.  Tender perennial usually grown as
>> houseplant curiosity.  ....  Their only use is to demonstrate movement 
>>  in plants; childern find them fascinating."
>> 
>> Gee, I must be a child I find them fascinating and cute.
> 
>And so must every other  person I've ever shown them to-- ages 1 to 97.
>One of my favorite lecture demonstrations in a big lecture hall is to
>pick up a pot of sensitive plant and bang it down on the desk.  The 
>whole thing collapses instantly.  Then the students all ears when
>I want to talk about water movement in plants...
> 
>Kay

WHY do they do that?  They grow wild down here and are endlessly interesting to 
watch and touch.

Ted
Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Tuesday, 25 Aug 1992 13:45:02 MST
From: <IDRAB@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject:    Queen Palm Needs Help

I've got a queen palm that's not doing too well.  It's about 7 years old and
about 10 feet tall.  A year ago last spring, the tree started to get new
fronds, but they never grew out all the way (the tree looked like a stick
with a little bush on top!).  This past spring, it started getting new fronds,
and two of them unfurled and grew out to full size.  However, now they're
mottled green, yellow and brown.  The tree is trying to put on new fronds
again, but I don't think they are going to grow out all the way.

I have two other queen palms which were purchased and planted at the same
time as the sick one.  They are planted within 8-10 feet of the other one,
and they're thriving (lots of healthy, green fronds; trees are about 20 feet
tall).

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be wrong?
---
Doctor Ruth                            "If you're too busy to laugh,
                                        you're too busy............"
(standard disclaimer)
From: rp@llex.ll.mit.edu ( Richard Pavelle)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Sensitive plants (??)
Date: 1 Sep 92 18:53:05 GMT
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Originator: rp@llex


I saw a strange plant a few days ago but the owner did not
have a name for it. It is a large flowering plant with the
remarkable ability to close its leaves when its stem was touched. 
The owner called it a "Sensitive Plant" but could supply no
further info. Can someone identify it for me? Thanks.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: vsummers@polaris.cv.nrao.edu (Vince Summers)
Subject: An interesting Wild(?) Grass
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Distribution: rec.garddens
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 12:51:14 GMT

     I have over the years notice a grass that develops the finest
wisps with pale blue small bumps that look like wooly aphids.  Does
this ring a bell with anyone?  What is it?  Not an important issue
as you can see, but it strikes my curiosity.

Vince 
vsummers@polaris.cv.nrao.edu
From: carlw@novell.com (Carl Wohlforth)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Ok, now I'm really confused about pH
Date: 3 Sep 92 23:18:14 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Novell Inc., San Jose, Califonia


	My guess is that your soil test is more accurate than your
pH paper.  I've kept fish while I lived in Mtn View, Santa Clara
and now in San Jose and the water has usually been rather hard and
> 7.0.  Test kits and the pH paper are designed to work in certain 
ranges.  Maybe they get old and inaccurate also.

In article <1992Sep3.194608.17396@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU> rfrench@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Robert S. French) writes:
>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
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: james@rchland.vnet.ibm.com (James White)
Subject: Re: Seasons and Locations of Produce
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 14:05:30 GMT
Reply-To: JamesWhite@vnet.ibm.com
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM Rochester

Start by talking with the produce manager of your local supermarket.  Ask for the names and numbers of
their distributors.  These people are typically very friendly and will give you lots of information. 
If you run into any hassles, just switch to a different store. (The smaller the store the better).

Wish you luck.  (I used to be a produce manager)
-- 

James White
From: dmiller@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Dick and Jill Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Dog 'peepee'
Date: 25 Aug 92 17:27:39 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT

In article: <1992Aug16.211847.18036@compu.com>
 fr@compu.com (Fred Rump from home) asks:

> But on the matter of the other, the peepee (urine for those who don't 
> understand dog talk).  We have an aging 14 year old Irish Setter who tends to
> go only a few steps outside, do her thing and back to the cozy house. She's a 
> good dog but her urine leaves dead grass spots all over the place with nicely 
> green collars around it. We've tried some of the stuff that is supposed not 
> want pets to do their thing in the marked areas, but it seems to have no 
> affect at all on our Penny.
> 
> Fred

Perhaps you could hose down or bucket slosh those areas that she tends to 
use most, just to dilute her contributions.  The other thing would be to 
create a doggy bathroom with bark mulch and a post and lead her there every 
time.

--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    |
From: chrisda@atlantis.CS.ORST.EDU (David Christensen)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Dividing peonies.
Date: 1 Sep 92 17:37:14 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Outreach Services - Oregon State University

I'm told a good support for peonies is made from chicken wire.  Cut a square
piece maybe 2' x 2', and lay it on the ground over the crown of the peony just
as the shoots appear in spring.  The shoots grown through the holes in the 
chicken wire, and you can gradually raise the wire with the growing peonies.
Attach it to wooden stakes on the sides so it's a foot or two off the ground
and it will support them stems and keep them from flopping over.  I heard this
too late to use it myself this spring, but I saw where other folks had tried
it and it looked good.  The flowers and foliage hid the wire, too.
From: jill@cray.com (Jill McAllister)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: morning glory seeds
Date: 30 Aug 92 02:30:15 GMT
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.

I have been harvesting the seeds produced by my morning glories.  Is there
any reason not to use these next spring instead of buying seed packets?
For instance, they're not sterile or anything, right?

Thanks,
Jill McAllister
(jill@cray.com)
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Sensitive plants (??)
Date: 3 Sep 92 19:03:40 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <b1VV03xt76M=00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>, karl@uts.amdahl.com (Karl Rowley) writes:
>>In article <1992Sep2.101438.737@calmasd.prime.com> 
>>jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop) writes:
>>>From Sunset Garden book:
>>>"Mimosa pudica.  Sensitive plant. ...
> I've seen them get out of control in this area.  My neighbor has one that
> was severely pruned to an 8 foot high stump about a year ago.  It has now
> grown back to be about 20 feet tall and 20 feet across.  

Are we talking about the same critter here?  My reference books say
3 ft tops for M. pudica (which folds leaflets when touched)-- I've
never seen more than 2.5 ft.  There are other species of Mimosa that
are trees, but they aren't touch sensitive.

Kay
From: joanm@moe.coe.uga.edu (Joan Maxfield UCNS)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: bugs and those creeped out by them
Date: 29 Aug 92 18:26:47 GMT
Organization: College of Education, University of Georgia


[kind plea to bugphobes to please try to understand bugs deleted]

*Large Shudder*
I'm sorry, I would like to believe you but your story even gave my the
creepy crawlies!  I think I just lost my taste for lobster too!  I
think I'm a hopeless case.  (I tell Dan that I can't get rid of my cat
because I made this lifelong commitment to him when I took him in,
truth is, he once ate a palmetto bug (i.e.mutant roach) that was in my
house and I STILL feel like I owe him something for it!)

Joan
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: C11815@maccvm.corp.mot.com (Josette Giacobbi)
Subject: re: Compost Piles??
Organization: Motorola
Date: 28 Aug 1992 15:18:33 CDT

------------------------- Original Article -------------------------
have been composting for a long time and my pile is in the hot sun and I have no
I would think you would want the pile to heat up and breakdown as fast as
ould so you could use it as soon as possible.
From: snyder@henry.ece.cmu.edu (John Snyder)
Subject: Re: Compost plies????
Organization: Physics Department, Carnegie Mellon University
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 08:14:27 GMT

In article <1992Aug24.142048.266@mtechca.maintech.com> goss@mtechca.maintech.com
>--Just a question on composting. I have never made compost before :-). Does
>the compost pile need alot of sun or is shade okay?
>Please send replys by email. thanks
>*<<<<<<<<<<<<< MY OPINIONS ARE MINE AND NOT THAT OF MY EMPLOYER >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> Derrick D. Goss                                      e-mail: goss@mtechca.uucp
> Tech. Assistance Center_______MAINTECH:a division of Volt Delta Resources, Inc
> voice: 1.714.921.7608                                  2401 North Glassell St.
> fax: 1.714.921.7510                                Orange, CA,  USA 92665-2705
>****************** the life you save may be that of your own ******************
>*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< read at your own risk >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


I'm no expert, but I would think that shade is perhaps even preferrable.
You have to be sure that the pile stays wet enough, or it will rot
much more slowly.  This year in Pittsburgh we had record rains in July,
and my pile rotted MUCH faster than usual (and I even water it a little
in dry weather).  Also, earthworms and redworms help break the stuff down
in its later stages, and shade might be better for encouraging them
too.

John
snyder@henry.ece.cmu.edu
From: smt2626@hertz.njit.edu (sylvia m tou mfen stnt)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Beginner gardneren
Date: 1 Sep 92 18:40:21 GMT
Distribution: nj
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.
Originator: smt2626@hertz.njit.edu



Hi,

This is my first time in this news group as well as this subject in general.
I just moved to a place that has a garden.  Currently, the previous owners
have moved out some months ago and the garden is now mostly overgrown with
weeds.  I have started removing anything I can't identify, figuring I'd
start from fresh.  So far the only things I may keep that I recognize
is the rose bush, one brocoli stalk, what I think is English onion 
(my husband likes it for the unusual taste of green onions and garlic)
and one flowering plant I have seen before but I think it is an annual.
(I am still trying to grasp the difference between annual, perennial,
and other words that I have heard thrown around.  The only one I understand
is weed)

To begin with I know next to nothing about gardening but I want to start
growing vegetables, herbs and of course flowers.  Besides de-weeding it
any suggestions as to how to begin.  I have already looked at books about
gardening and they all assume that you know something to begin with
about plants.  What else should I do?  Should I try putting in fertilizer
or something?  Are there veg/herbs/flowers that should be planted now
(I live in northern New Jersey if that helps any as to the types of plants)?
Also what types of plants are there that are natural insecticides or
weed killers.  I have already been told by one person that something called
red thyme inhibits the growth of weeds.  I want to try to avoid
or minimize the use of chemicals in the garden.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. 
(I tried one or two of the garden stores in
the area and they seemed much more interested in selling you stuff than
helping you but that may be because they themselves were not that informed)

Please just e-mail me your suggestions to sylvia@teak.njit.edu

Thanks.

		-- sylvia
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: geiste@hsi.com (Doug Geiste)
Subject: Pumpkins
Organization: 3M Health Information Systems, Wallingford CT
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 15:38:32 GMT

How do I know when to pick pumpkins? I have one large one know that's
solid orange all over. Does this mean it's ready? Will it grow any further?

Thanks!


-- 
 Doug Geiste                           ||   "We are all faced with a series
 3M Health Information Systems         ||    of great opportunities brilliantly
 ...!uunet!his!geiste                  ||    disguised as impossible situations"
 geiste@hsi.com                        ||
From: XID@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: flourescent lights for growing
Date: 1 Sep 92 16:36:56 GMT
 <1992Aug23.194223.6194@iscsvax.uni.edu> <1992Aug26.000209.25925@massey.ac.nz>
 <BtLqHy.BGL@nntp-sc.Intel.COM>
Organization: Penn State University

In article <BtLqHy.BGL@nntp-sc.Intel.COM>, pharvey@mipos3.intel.com (Paul
Harvey) says:
>
>In article <1992Aug26.000209.25925@massey.ac.nz>
>A.S.Chamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove) writes:
>>I had the same problem a few years ago and when to our Botany dept
>>that had plant rooms.  They said if you had a mix of florescent and
>>incandescent lights (50/50 about), you would cover the whole spectrum
>>and cheaply.
>
>I can't believe that any Botany dept worth its weight in salt would recommend
>incandescent lights as sources of light, they are heat sources. The efficiency
>of incandescents is about 10%, so a 60W bulb puts out about 54W of heat and
>6W of light.     (more on efficiency deleted)

But the point was to get more complete coverage of the spectrum.
Incandescents will provide the red wavelengths lacking in standard
fluorescents, and supposedly do it more cheaply than the grow-light types
of fluorescents.  When I took a college course in indoor plants we were
taught that 10 % incandescent and 90% fluorecent by wattage would be
appropriate.  That would lessen the heat problem.

David Glick   xid@psuvm.psu.edu      Penn State