HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: peterson@ucunix.san.uc.edu (John M. Peterson)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Composting zoysia
Date: 7 Apr 92 19:04:49 GMT
Organization: University of Cincinnati


Zoysia is no more difficult to compost than any other grass.
The problem with mulching mower is that zoysia grows so densely
that it would quickly strangle .  With standard grasses the material
can get to the ground more easily and decompose because they grow
less densely.

Collect your grass clippings and use them as mulch on other parts
of your yard, but don't put it down as is.  Dry it first: spread it
out thinly in the sun on your driveway or patio for several hours,
then when dry, use as any mulch.  (If you don't dry it, it will
ferment, and generate too much heat for plants.)  After a year
or two as a mulch, move to the compost and it will decay much more
quickly.

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  peterson@headcheese.daa.uc.edu      	 In real life: John M. Peterson  |
|                                                                        |
|  College of Design Architecture Art & Planning                         |
|  University of Cincinnati           45221-0016           513-556-1207  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: coaxing blooms (tillandsia)
From: C.B.Christie@massey.ac.nz (C.B. Christie)
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 92 03:59:10 GMT
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Keywords: ethylene tillandsia
X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2c


Hi there

Yes, the response of ethylene among other things is as suggested. It
will trigger flowering in all? bromeliads I think.

Apples are amongt the best producers of ethylene when they are ripening,
so enclose one in a bag with your plant and leave it there for several
days, maybe a week depending on how warm it is where you have the plant.

Flowers will take quite sometime to appear so be patient.

Regards

Bruce Christie

C.B.Christie@massey.ac.nz
From: jane@STRATUS.SWDC.STRATUS.COM (Jane Beckman)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: daffodils, where are they?
Date: 8 Apr 92 18:35:16 GMT
Article-I.D.: echidna.9204081835.AA12543

Daffodil bulb flies.  Nasty little maggotty things that love to eat daffodil
bulbs.  If they find an exposed bulb nose, they lay eggs.  Sometimes they 
lay eggs on the bulbs before they're planted.

Another possibility is voracious snails.  I've had daffodils eaten right down
to soil level, as they poked up, by particularily hungry snails.  This one 
is particularily disheartening.

  --Jilara  [jane@swdc.stratus.com]
From: vida@skagit.bu.edu (Vida Jakabhazy)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: HELP SOUGHT FROM OWNERS OF MID-LARGE GREENHOUSES - BUG INFESTATION!
Keywords: aphids, bugs, greenhouse
Date: 8 Apr 92 23:54:51 GMT
Organization: Boston University Center for Remote Sensing

I am one of several people who have been left to maintain a university-owned
greenhouse (if we don't do it, the remaining specimens will die).  We are
well-intentioned people, but do not have sufficient knowledge to combat a
recent infestation of aphids and gnat-like critters.  Due to the recent
introduction of fresh water plants, we have now the ideal breeding grounds for
these pests and they are taking over the greenhouse.  

I have tried to read up on this problem, but most treatments deal with
individual plants.  I have made calls to several local greenhouses and they
all say that we have to know what plants we have in order to know how they
will react to certain treatments.  (We know what plants we have, to a great
degree, but they're specimens from around the world and I don't think we can
make all of them happy.)

Some people have suggested smoke bombs, some beer (did not work), others CO2
bombs, others suggest washing off individual leaves with soap and water, and
of course the use of malethion (msp?).  Most of these folks seem reluctant to
"divulge" their secrets.  So much for kind gestures....

Here are the catches: 1) the greenhouse contains a sufficiently large number
of plants that washing individual leaves with anything is out of the question;
2) fish live within the tanks of fresh water plants rendering the bomb idea an
impossible alternative; 3) we are trying to keep the solution to this problem
an "organic" one as we are also growing edibles, hence the collective cringe
at using deadly chemicals; 4) there is no money to bring in outside help.

I don't know what other information to supply.  If anyone has any suggestions,
please send them my way.  I'd be happy to provide any further information I
can.  I'm hoping there's someone out there who has dealt with this problem on
a large scale.

Thanks in advance,
Vida Jakabhazy
vida@bu-geo.bu.edu
From: dwhitney@hamp.hampshire.edu
Subject: sheep
Organization: Hampshire College
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1992 03:26:31 GMT

When I read sheep, I had to answer!  My father was always involved in something
farming-usually something he knew nothing about.  When I was a senior in high
school we moved to Missouri-the Ozark region-and had around 10 acres, a barn,
and a lawn that needed mowing.  Not his cup of tea.  So he went to an animal
auction and bought a kid to eat the grass, not realizing goats are browzers.

The goat ate all of the shrubs and not a spear of grass!  As we familiarized
ourselves with the area we found the locals took an easy way to gain pasture.
First you girdle all the big trees so they die naturally and can be used
for whatever, depending on the kind of wood.  Second you turn out a herd of
goats to browse down the underbrush.  After a year or two you have decent
pasture!

For lawns sheep would be the ticket--witness all the cemetaries in rural 
areas that have a type of--stile I guess you'd call it.  The sheep could be
turned in to graze down the grass and people could walk up a few steps and
down a few to visit the dead without letting the animals out!-- 
Deb Whitney
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: mma@thumper.bellcore.com (Mary Ma Lau)
Subject: Looking for Pear Trees
Reply-To: mma@thumper.bellcore.com (Mary Ma Lau)
Organization: Bellcore MRE
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 20:28:08 GMT

Hi!  
	My sister is looking for a catalog place that carries the 20th century
chinese pear and sand pear trees.  Does anyone know of such a place?
Thanks in advance,
 Mary Lau
From: garyn@hprpcd.rose.hp.com (Gary Nichols)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: SNAILS.....shudder
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:50:25 GMT
Organization: HP Roseville Site




I know how distasteful this may seem, but it can be viewed as an adventure!
(At least my son thinks so) 

After setting out our seedlings this year in the garden we noticed slug and 
snail damage the next morning.  So, we started "slug hunts". Every night, my
4 year old son and I go out with flashlights and a jar of salty water.  He 
helps me spot the slugs, which I pick up and throw into the jar (where they
quickly die).  After three to four days of this, the number of slugs was
reduced drastically. 

BTW, we tried the beer thing without much success.

Empty milk cartons with the bottoms cut out can be used as collars for
seedlings as well.

Er, one other thing: give me snails over slugs anytime! Picking up slugs tends
to coat your fingers with the most amazingly slimy substance known to man.  At
least snails have `handle's.  (It does wash off.)


garyn@hprpcd.rose.hp.com
From: pharvey@mipos3.intel.com (Paul Harvey)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Gypsum, Sulfur, pH, and clay (introducing the S word)
Keywords: He doesn't have the Sunset Book <8^}>
Date: 7 Apr 92 18:09:53 GMT

In article <2800058@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> dougl@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Doug Leno) writes:
>I would like to know what the Sunset Western Garden book says about the
>relationship between pH and sodium-bound clay soils.  I was told that soils
>which are sodium-bound (as described better than I did) will have a pH of >=
>8.3, and that if soil pH is under 8.3 it cannot be sodium bound and hence
>would not be helped by gypsum.  Also, soil can be "clay" without having a
>sodium problem and (in this case) adding organic matter is the best way to
>modify soil structure.

Gypsum can be thought of as sulfur and calcium. The sulfur is acidic and
neutralizes the calcium which is basic. So gypsum doesn't affect pH. Both are 
needed plant nutrients. Plant nutrients:(in order) Nitrogen,Phosphurus,Potasium,
Calcium,Sulfur... Gypsum is also the miracle cure, (almost), for sodium accumulation
in clay soils. Clay gets even worse when sodium is added. Where does the
sodium come from? Ancient dried lake beds and desert soils ussually have salts
and soils with less than 20" annual rain ussually have salts. Irrigation
water is ussually a source of salt. Note: we are talking about ppm concentrations
of salt. SALT, (the dreaded S word), is the curse of irrigation technology, 
some people claim that it is the cause of the decline of all previous irrigation 
civilizations. Huge amounts of acreage are lost worldwide to salt damage.
If you get more than 20" rain, the distilled water flushes the salts away. I
don't think there is a direct correlation between salt and soil pH other
than their connection to annual rainfall. Typically, neutral or alkaline
soils that get less than 20" rain are the ones that have problems with salt, 
but not always.

>According to what I've been told, there is plenty of clay in the residential
>areas just west of Boise (where I live), but this soil is not particularly
>high in pH (7.5 to 8.0) and does not generally have a sodium problem.  clay
>soil without the (additional) problem of sodium is the norm here.

A pH of 8.0 is borderline alkaline. I would really be surprised if you don't have
"the sodium problem". You get less than 20" of rain, right? Why don't you try
some gypsum on a test plot and see what it does? It can't do any harm. It
could be that the soil has no sodium and your irrigation water is pure
rain water, (soft water), in which case you probably don't have much to
worry about. It could be you really have clay-loam or loam and soil binding
is less of a problem. The fix for clay soils, (other then crying a lot), is ground
fir bark, lots of it. Humus is good at 10%-25%, but you will need more
then that, use ground fir bark. Use sulfur to get the pH down, pH is critical
in clay soils.

>I don't have the Sunset Western Garden Book

So, get a copy. It's cheap and has a wealth of information, much more than
you can possibly get from usenet "sound-bytes".

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: ashley@osc.edu (Ashley Burns)
Subject: Sunflower Seed Husk Problems? 
Summary: Do sunflower seed husks affect other plants?
Organization: Ohio Supercomputer Center
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 22:28:43 GMT

Recently I read somewhere (in the newspaper or Horticulture, I think)
that you should clean up around sunflower seed dispensing bird 
feeders if you want anything to grow there. I have had such a 
bird feeder above a small herbaceous bed for about a year. Nothing 
is directly below the feeder but Stachys, Achillea, thread-leaf
Coreopsis, and Sedum spectabile are within a few feet and get a shallow
"mulch" from time to time.  I was away for two months last summer, 
so the plants at least got a two month hiatus. However, that makes
it hard for me to tell whether there was damage.

I have lots of volunteer  sunflowers (which I transplant for the 
birds or compost) but haven't noticed any other problems.

Can anyone tell me if I should be meticulous about this or whether
I can clean up a few times a year, when there's a bucketful or so 
of seed husks built up? 

--Ashley Burns, ashley@osc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: rehrauer@apollo.hp.com (Steve Rehrauer)
Subject: Re: Drought-tolerant lawn grasses (was Zoysia)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 13:52:24 GMT

In article <1992Apr15.202350.3885@iscsvax.uni.edu> klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
>You could also try some of the more drought-tolerant strains of fescue
>or bluegrass.

Pardon me for asking what probably has been answered here many times before,
but where does one go to find particular strains like those you mention?  The
local places where I find grass seed for sale are always mixes; where can one
find single strains?  (Mail-order sources would be nice. :-)
-- 
"Look, Max: 'Cheese in a pressurized can'! |   Steve rehrauer@apollo.hp.com
 Even WE wouldn't eat THAT!"               | H.P. Systems Technology Division
   -- Freelance Police                     |    Massachusetts Language Lab
From: piety@hplred.HP.COM (Bob Piety)
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 22:09:00 GMT
Subject: Re: Composting zoysia
Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens

I've never had any problems composting zoysia, though my compost pile
is a mix of everything....

Bob          piety@hpl.hp.com      (415)857-4759
                                   Palo Alto, California


Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: dplatt@ntg.com (Dave Platt)
Subject: Re: watering with drips
Keywords: drip irrigation
Organization: New Technologies Group, Inc.  Palo Alto CA
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 20:45:06 GMT

In article <1992Apr6.191043.3214@gtephx.UUCP> machanicm@gtephx.UUCP (Mindy Machanic) writes:

> When you run the soaker hose, you have to run more hoses to soak a wider
> area. With the drippers, you just run the spaghettis to where you need
> them. I would think that having to run more hoses to cover more area,
> and soaking where there might not be any plants, would be more
> inefficient and would certainly make up for any loss through
> evaporation?

For plantings which are spread out over a fairly large area, I'd agree
with you... drippers are probably a better choice.  Also, I don't tend
to like the older-style "soaker" hoses... the flat vinyl ones with holes
drilled every 6" or so... they must be used on the soil surface, and
they do have many of the disadvantages that you mention.

My own garden is a single bed, about 5' deep (at most) and 25' long.
I do a full double-dig every other year, and single-dig the soil in the
alternate years (and add lots of compost every year).  As a result, the
soil is loose and fertile (a far cry from how it started out... brick-
hard Mountain View adobe), and I use an intensive planting style.  There
are plants _everywhere_ in the bed... the whole bed is full of roots by
the end of the growing season.

It turns out that a single 50' length of "leaky" hose covers the bed
nicely, if I bury it in a loop-shaped trench about 4" deep.  Nothing in
the bed is more than about 1' away from the hose.  I water the plants by
hand (or by hose) for a few weeks after I transplant them...  watering
deeply but not too often.  This encourages them to get their roots down
into the deeper soil, where the moisture from the leaky hose is
available.  By the time June arrives, I've stopped surface-watering
entirely (except after I side-dress the plants with fish emulsion or
another fertilizer).  The plants get a steady supply of moisture at root
level (1 or 2 automatic watering cycles per day), and the soil surface
stays dry (reducing water loss, and discouraging weed seeds from
sprouting).

-- 
Dave Platt                                                VOICE: (415) 813-8917
              Domain: dplatt@ntg.com      UUCP: ...netcomsv!ntg!dplatt
 USNAIL: New Technologies Group Inc. 2468 Embarcardero Way, Palo Alto CA 94303
From: cath@dyrham.inmos.co.uk (Catherine Barnaby)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: garlic help
Date: 6 Apr 92 10:07:44 GMT
Organization: INMOS architecture group

First, I live in the UK, so this info is local to me!

Here, you can plant garlic in late autumn or spring. Late
autumn tends to give bigger bulbs. I planted some in spring
last year, the bulbs were small but good for the "seed" for this 
year! 

Buying from shops can work well, but there are two points
to be careful of...
1. sometimes they treat things with yucky pesticides, and 
things like garlic with growth regulators to stop them
sprouting. Hmmm.

2. The varieties on sale may be unsuitable for home-growth:
for example here garlic is imported from the mediterranean,
and so it never grows quite the same at home. 

I tried jerusalem artichokes "fuseau" last year - they're not
so knobbly. 

Last, what IS elephant garlic? it sounds intriguing...

Catherine
From: machanicm@gtephx.UUCP (Mindy Machanic)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: garlic help
Summary: no more over dirt jokes!!!!
Date: 8 Apr 92 17:23:44 GMT
Organization: AG Communication Systems, Phoenix, Arizona

In article <1992Apr6.202325.314@bagend.uucp>, jan@bagend.uucp (Jan Isley) writes:
> dadams@cherry.cray.com (David Adams) writes:
> >
> 
> >Did you know that most americans eat over a ton of dirt every day?
> 
> say what?
> -- 
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Let's not get started on this again. Look over the last two or
three weeks to "say what." (We eat over a zillion tons of caliche here, actually...)

Thank you.

Mindy in Phoenix
-- 
*****************************************************************************************
Mindy Machanic  (AG Communication Systems/Quality Engineering, Phoenix, AZ)               
UUCP: ....!{ncar!noao!asuvax | att}!gtephx!machanicm    FAX: (602) 581-4022
Internet: gtephx!machanicm@asuvax.eas.asu.edu           Voice: (602) 582-7374
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: dealy@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Brian Dealy - CSC)
Subject: Can you root forsythia from cuttings? now A good time?
Reply-To: dealy@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Brian Dealy - CSC)
Organization: Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 92 12:33:49 GMT



-- 
Hi, I was wondering if I could root forsythia from cuttings, any other way
     thats easy. I see so much nice forsythia around here but it is relatively
expensive for a small plant. I would rather bring along a couple slips
and wait a year or two....   will it work? is now a good time since it's
in the yellow stage around here (Maryland)

Brian DEaly
dealy@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: ceb@dbrus.Unify.Com (Caroline E. Bryan)
Subject: Re: Natural Insect/Snail Control?
Organization: /usr/lib/news/organization
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 92 00:26:25 GMT

In article <1992Apr14.174734.7135@decwrl.dec.com> shedevil@vix.com (Anne P. Mitchell) writes:
>I'll just bet this is an FAQ, so please forgive me and point me in the
>direction of an FAQ file if there is one!
>
>Something started eating our Pansies <big bites out of their cute lil
>faces :-(>, and our landlord informed us that we have quite a bad
>snail problem around here...pluse we've SEEN oodles of bugs.  He
>suggested various insecticides and snail baits..which we duly bought
>last night, but my animal-rights conscious daughter is really upset at
>the thought of killing the snails (as, I must admit, am I), so we
>decided to see if there wasn't some natural means of repelling
>them..she thought she'd remembered reading that red pepper might work.
>
>This isn't a good place for companion planting (at least I don't think
>it is) as it's a big flower box.
>
>Thanks for any help!
>
>Annie

Try introducing a box turtle to the garden.  It works in the Sacramento,
CA area!


Carrie		ceb@dbrus.unify.com	x6244
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   "The statements was interesting but tough." 	      -- Mark Twain   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
From: dkaplan@cvbnet.prime.com (Debbie Kaplan {x6084})
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Wish List
Date: 6 Apr 92 14:55:12 GMT
Reply-To: dkaplan@cvbnet.prime.com.UUCP (Debbie Kaplan {x6084})
Organization: Computervision, A Prime Computer Company, Bedford, MA, USA

The wish list sounds like a really great idea. Speaking of which, does anybody
know of a source for the following rambling roses?

Rosa 'Blush Rambler'
Rosa 'Goldfinch'

Thanks,
Debbie Kaplan
From: richman@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu (Mike Richman)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Rhaphiolepis indica (Indian Hawthorn) question
Keywords: Indian Hawthorn
Date: 9 Apr 92 19:54:41 GMT
Reply-To: richman@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu (Mike Richman)
Followup-To: rec.gardens
Organization: CIMMS/THE University of Oklahoma

I recently obtained three plants called Indian Hawthorn from a local
nursey.  They did not know a whole lot about it.  The botanical name is
Rhaphiolepis indica and about all the tag says is medium shrub.  It is
an evergreen with pretty pink flowers.  What I'm interested in is some
information on the plant's habit and culture.  Also, soil preference
would be useful.  Does anyone have these in their gardens?  Thanks.
-- 
# Mike Richman                          | CIMMS/The University of Oklahoma #
# richman@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu     | 100 East Boyd, Room 1110         #
# (405) 325-3460 (office) 325-7614 (fax)| Norman, OK  73019-0628  USA      #
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Drought-tolerant lawn grasses (was Zoysia)
Date: 15 Apr 92 20:23:50 -0500
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

jcj@tellabs.com (jcj) writes:
> 	After dealing with the midwestern drought (I know, nowhere
> near as bad as CA, but anyway...) and overseeding and watering as
> much as possible and on and on, my lawn still looks terrible, so
> I've decided to give zoysia a try.  Does anybody have an address of
> a supplier of zoysia plugs?  Anything I should know about this stuff
> aside from it going brown at first frost?  Thanks.

You could also try some of the more drought-tolerant strains of fescue
or bluegrass.  'Olympic Tall' fescue is highly recomended as a good
performer by a number of sources, and it's pretty drought tolerant.
'Midnight'  KY bluegrass takes the summer heat pretty well, and 'Monopoly'
is wear-resistant and tolerant of low fertility.  'Regal' perennial
ryegrass is also drought tolerant and somewhat resistant to a lot
of insect pests.

I prefer a blend of different species and cultivars in a lawn; no sense
putting all your eggs in one genetic basket.

Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI