HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dadams@cray.com (David Adams)
Subject: Re: What Happened to my Tomatoes ????
Reply-To: dadams@cray.com
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 21 Jul 92 14:08:49 CDT

Well, you should see what happened to my tomatoes.  They are five feet
tall and still rocketing.  (I transplanted them about May 20!)  
There is still no fruit set.

My horticulturist frient told me that the problem is too much nitrogen.
(Must bee too much cow manure.)  

He says that if they dry out they will slow down and set fruit.

Oh please don't rain!  Oh please don't rain!
---
--David C. Adams  Statistician  Cray Research Inc.  dadams@cray.com
___________________________________________________________________
       If you have a watch, you always know what time it is.
            If you have two, you're never quite sure.
From: wightman@earvax.waisman.wisc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: RE: Improving clay soil
Date: 28 Jul 92 15:30:24 GMT
Organization: Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Brian Batke has asked about improving clay soil, and several excellent
replies have been posted. The consensus is clearly to add organic matter.
I couldn't agree more. However, if you've got a big area to deal with,
how to add enough organic material to matter is the question. In our
3000 square foot garden, we were stymied until trying a year's worth
of cover crops. This made such an incredible difference to our clay soil
that I thought it was worth a mention here. We sowed a winter rye/vetch
mix in the fall that came up like gangbusters in the spring. It was not
particularly easy to till under, so I doubt we'll do that again. This was
followed by 3 crops of buckwheat. Now, this stuff is wonderful! It took
6 weeks or so to get waist high, and 2 hours to till under! This added
tons (literally) of organic matter to the soil with little effort or cost.
The third crop didn't get too big before frost got it, but the following
spring, when the garden was first tilled, it was like a different garden!
The soil is a long way from loam, but also far from where it started. I
strongly recommend this route to anyone who has a big area to work, and
I particularly recommend buckwheat as the cover crop of choice. Now, buck-
wheat doesn't fix nitrogen like some other crops, but adding nutrients is
a whole lot easier than adding organic matter or tilling. I will stick
with buckwheat.

Fred Wightman
wightman@waisman.wisc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: jjilg@cs.tamu.edu (Jeffrey M Jilg)
Subject: squash borers 
Keywords: squash
Organization: Computer Science Department, Texas A&M University
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 15:49:07 GMT

I think I have squash borers.  Last week I saw some small brown dots on
my squash plants.  Now some of the leaf bases are brown with little holes.
I also saw a grublike creature with a brown head walking up the stem.
(He didn't make it very far since I did MORE than see him :-) ).
The plant isn't doing very well now either.

What is the recommended mode of destruction of these little beasts?  I
don't intend to eat the squash and there is another squash plant right
next to it that doesn't appear to be affected (yet).  I don't mind using
an insecticide since these won't be eaten.  Wouldn't you know that this
happened just when it was starting to look nice and healthy with some
new blooms being set!

Jeff Jilg
From: langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: early blight on tomatoes?
Date: 22 Jul 92 23:36:22 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Tennessee
Distribution: world
Reply-To: langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston)
NNTP-Posting-Host: langston.cs.utk.edu

judith reed asks:

> ...early blight on tomatoes...What can I do?

bravo 75wp is generally recommended for control of early
blight, late blight, grey mold and several other tomato
diseases -- but like most (but not all) fungicides, it's
best used as a preventative, not a curative measure

> Have some chemical from farm store that will supposedly kill
> it, but sounds as if it will also kill me and my family -
> instructions advise masks, protective clothing, gloves, etc.
> - true and necessary?

you didn't say what product you have, but the use of
protective gear, great care and common sense are wise 
when dealing with most any farm chemical

as for bravo, it's rated in the "least toxic" fungicide
group, has a zero-day harvest restriction on tomatoes,
and is registered for use on most (but not all) veggies

it may be hard to find in small quantities (you might
check with your local farmer's coop or its equivalent)

this data changes from time to time -- read the product
label before using -- labels take precedence over other
listings (including this one)

-- mike
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: sfinger@CS.CMU.EDU (Susan Finger)
Subject: Re: Lupines (and aphids)
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 92 20:15:41 GMT
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Distribution: rec.gardens
Originator: sfinger@WYVERN.CIMDS.RI.CMU.EDU


From Vanessa R. Stern:
>The aphids have been at my lupines this year like nobody's business and 
>seem to have literally sucked the life out of them.  I have been spraying 
>with Sevin, but they are way ahead of me.  Will my lupines come back next 
>year?  What else can I do?

I've found green lacewings to be _the_ most effective aphid control.  After a
few releases of green lacewings, all the aphids on my nasturiums and roses
were gone, and they haven't come back.  Unlike ladybugs (which are
entertaining, but not terribly effective), lacewings stick around and eat all
kinds of bugs including scale and whiteflies.  If you look closely, you can
find the lacewing larva vacuuming up the aphids as it roams over your
plants.

I've even released lacewings on an indoor plant.  My arboricola had
been infested with scale for about 10 years.  I could keep the scale under
control using dormant oil and soap - but I could never get rid of it.  (The
scale didn't seem to bother the plant, but it bothered me.)  Last time I got
a shipment of lacewings, I put some on the arboricola - and within a week,
all the scale was gone!

I've bought lacewings from Gardens Alive! (phone order number 812 537-8650).
I noticed the other day that my local food coop is now selling beneficial
insects, so you may be able to find a local coop or nursery that sells the
eggs.  But you'll have to stop using Sevin before you release any insects.
I don't know how long you have to wait after the last time you spray.

Susan
sfinger@ri.cmu.edu
From: dosbears@netcom.com (David R. Preston)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Cashew Tree Seedling Source?
Date: 31 Jul 92 19:46:36 GMT
Organization: DosBears at Netcom

In article <l7iu0vINNqm0@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> jaya@encinitas.Eng.Sun.COM (Jaya Holla) writes:
>
>I have seen several cashew trees in India and eaten the fleshy portion
>of the fruit. The trees are not very tall. The tree shape is
>similar to a persimmon tree.   I remember throwing the cashew part 
>of away because it requires further processing to be useful! 


I've heard it contains an irritant like poison ivy & poison oak.

-- 
Disclaimer: This disclaimer is not required by Leader Kibo.  This article
does not necessarily represent the opinions of Leader Kibo.  Have a nice
day.
********* HAPPYNET: YOU CONTROL HOW IT CONTROLS YOU *********
From: hsbrown@arnold.Princeton.EDU (Scott Brown)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Automated watering of indoor plants
Date: 30 Jul 92 22:34:04 GMT
Organization: Princeton University
Originator: news@ernie.Princeton.EDU


I am planning a long vacation in November and would like
advice on how to automatically water my plants while I
am gone.   Here is my situation and some initial ideas:

I grow about 60 potted plants (mostly small orchids) in
my apartment in a 4 level light rack that I built.  Only
levels are currently in use.  Since the entire rack is
indoors, it is very important that the watering plan be
neat with the water or my landlord will evict me and my
plants.  What I was hoping
to do was to place all of the plants in deep trays and
periodically flood the trays to water the plants.  I could
put a reservoir on the top level and use a timer to open
a valve that would flood the trays on the lower levels.
A little while later, the valve would close and a pump on
the bottom level would pump the water back to the top.  I
am not too worried about the weight of the water as the
rack is very sturdy.

Questions:

Where do I get deep trays cheaply?  Ideally, I would use
      4 ft x 2 ft, 10 inch deep trays.  I would prefer something
      off the shelf but would construct them if necessary.
      I had a heck of a time finding the shallow trays I
      currently use to increase humidity.  For those
      interested, I use the plastic covers to Fluorescent
      light fixtures for this purpose; they are just the right
      size and very cheap (mine were free from an office
      building that was replacing them with newer ones).
      I have heard that restaurant supply houses sell very
      large aluminum trays that may be deep enough for watering.
      Any other ideas on where to get cheap, deep, watertight trays?

What is a good source of inexpensive pumps and valves?  I need to
      pump a few gallons of water 5 vertical feet in a couple
      of hours.  How much should I expect to pay for such a
      pump?  I was at a hardware store recently and they
      had submersible pumps which would probably be overkill
      for this project.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
	Scott Brown
      hsbrown@arnold.princeton.edu
From: fergie@megrez.intel.com
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: MOLD or FUNGUS or What?
Date: 27 Jul 92 15:11:30 GMT
Reply-To: fergie@megrez.intel.com ()
Distribution: usa
Organization: Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA


	Hi...
	  I have several cukumber plants, and a few pumpkin plants
        that have what appears to be some kind of mold growing on 
        them. The appearance of this is grey dust spots. The roses
        out front may have the same thing, at least some kind of
        grey looking spots. Any suggestions?
        Thanks, 

        fergie@mipos2.intel.com 
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 11:05:31 -0400 
From: Colleen.A.Everett@cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Re: mail-order plants


I ordered a bunch of things from Garden Solutions this year for the first
time.  Most of the plants are shipped 'mature plant size', which is a
dormant root.  I only had a few items that didn't come up.  My problem
was getting my order.  I received half of my order, but never received
the other half.  I called them several times (long distance) and the
order was either back ordered or it was shipped.  I finally asked for a
refund, which I received this week.  They didn't give me any trouble with
getting my money back.  Generally I'm not unhappy with what I DID get.
Nothing bloomed yet this year, but I'm not surprised.  Due to their
unreliability with shipping the order, I probably won't order from them
again.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: billmc@microsoft.com (Bill Mcjohn)
Subject: Re: herb questions
Date: 21 Jul 92 18:56:32 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation

In article <1992Jul17.171354.10097@microsoft.com> 
garyj@microsoft.com (Gary L. Jackson (USA)) writes:
>
>RE:  chamomile, aka camomile.  Now I'm really confused on the two
>available varieties:  "German" Chamomile vs. "Roman" Chamomile.
>
Roman chamomile is Anthemis nobilis, a low growing perennial.  This
is the one to use for chamomile lawns.  German chamomile is Matricaria 
something-or-other; it's a rather weedy-looking annual.  You can make
tea from the flowers of either, I believe, but those from Matricaria 
taste better.

>Also:  what is "sweet violet" and what is it used for? Is this 
> an indoor plant? 
Viola odorata -- your average, everyday violet.  You might be able
to grow it indoors, but I think you'd have better luck outside.

>Also, what can I expect from for "rue".  [can you tell I found a bunch of herb 
>plants marked down to $.49 at the local nursery!]  

Ruta graveolens--a quite lovely perennial, typically with lacy grayish
leaves.  Be warned that it can give some people a rash--you might determine
whether you're sensitive to it before you feature it to heavily in your
garden.



From: duanej@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Duane Jacobson)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 22:50:36 GMT
Subject: Re: Alternative Commercial Landscaping
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens


> My guess is that this office park could maintain a meadow of plants
> native to the region with lower water and labor costs and that such
> a meadow would attract free, positive publicity.

I'm sure that this would work.  However, the time required to pay back their
investment (i.e., ripping out grass and putting more environmentally-friendly
landscaping) is pretty long.  I've got to guess that its going to be at least
ten years.  Plus it's not an investment that they can sell if their cash
flow sours in the future.  I just can't imagine that many corporations have
the long-view perspective to make changes like this.

One approach to this problem is regulation (aak, getting the government
involved?).  The City of Aurora (just east of Denver) has passed legislation
that limits the amount of bluegrass lawn in new residential construction on
a per-lot basis (although I'm not sure how they enforce it).

The only other solution I can imagine is to make it very expensive to "waste"
water ...  you pay more for the second 10,000 gallons of water than for the
first 10,000 gallons, etc.  This could get pretty complicated, though, because
it would need to be scaled according to the size of the property and the
usage (residential, office space, industrial).  This sounds like it would be
more complicated than the approach that Aurora took.

Anybody out there have any real success stories to share?
From: jca@druwa.ATT.COM (Jill C. Arnson)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Help me save my ficus tree?
Keywords: ficus
Date: 22 Jul 92 15:02:02 GMT
Distribution: rec


This mail was undeliverable at the address posted so I'm following up to the
net.

robertj@Autodesk.COM (Young Rob Jellinghaus):
> 
> About two months ago I bought a very lush and healthy ficus vine in a
> pot from some sidewalk plant-sellers in San Francisco.  It's about 7
> feet tall (growing up some poles planted in the middle of its pot), in
> 
> watering it every couple of days to the point of soaking all the soil.
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
	This is your problem. You are grossly overwatering the plant.  I live
in Denver (translated DRY!) and I water my plant only once a week.  And my
plant gets the full hot sun in a south window here.  Let the plant dry out.  I
might add that I bought it when it was 6 inches tall and it is now over 5 feet.
A good rule of thumb for watering - stick you index finger down into the soil.
If it is dry to the 2nd knuckle, it is time to water.  You can use this rule
for small plants (4 inch pots) too, only it is to the 1st knuckle.

--
jill c. arnson		AT&T Bell Labs, Denver; (303)538-4800
jca@druwa.att.com or att!(druco/drutx)!druwa!jca
*** "When you climb high, remember that the beauty you see is only an
illusion created by G-d to keep your sanity."
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: kgonsal@eng.clemson.edu (Kenneth Gonsalves)
Subject: WANTED RECIPE FOR APPLE WINE
Keywords: RECIPE WINE APPLE 
Reply-To: kgonsal@eng.clemson.edu
Organization: College of Engineering, Clemson Univ.
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 20:33:02 GMT

Hi everyone,
	I am new to this list. I don't know if this request was made before, but could anyone e-mail me the recipe for making apple wine...

	i would appreciate it if you could e-mail a copy to my e-mail address given below
thanks

Keneth J Gonsalves

=====================================================================================
kgonsal@eng.clemson.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: jcp@islay.dco.dec.com (Jolly C. Pancakes)
Subject: Re: Marigolds/Calendula
Organization: Electric Otter Eel Emporium
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 14:04:56 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.191952.9867@gtephx.UUCP> machanicm@gtephx.UUCP (Mindy Machanic) writes:
>I don't know about the edible part, but Calendula should have the same 
>effect on the cutworms as the marigolds do; they are a natural source or
>pyrethrins, and they do wonders keeping whiteflies away, too.

	This simply is not true. Perhaps Mindy is calling some plant other
than Calendula officialis "calendula" - maybe a feverfew or other
chrysanthemum.  Calendula is the traditional European pot marigold. It
looks a bit like a smaller, more refine zinnia, and prefers cooler
spring and fall weather (hates hot Baltimore summers). The flowers are
edible, and indeed, if you use herbal remedies, calendula is one of the
best - it is both healing and antiseptic. I typically toss a handful of
dried calendula petals into chicken stock to add color, flavor, and
body. They have no pyrethrins.

	The "official" calendula grows fairly tall and can get on the
weedy side, but there are many hybrids which are smaller, and better as
bedding plants. "Kabluna Gold" and "Bon-bon" are two popular cultivars.

	But as far as I know, Calendula will not repel insects the way
that marigolds will - simply doesn't have the same stinky chemical as
the marigolds.



-- 

------------
jcpatilla					jcp@islay.dco.dec.com
From: jschwarz@lonestar.utsa.edu (Jan A. Schwarz)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Squirrels
Date: 23 Jul 92 18:08:04 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio


   Can anyone tell me how to keep the squirrels out of the pecan, peach,
   pear and plum trees?  I'm sure there probably isn't any way, but
   my husband just has a fit about this.  One day there is fruit, and
   the next there isn't!

   Any advice would be welcome.  Thanks.

   Jan
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Essential herb oils
From: kristen@telerama.pgh.pa.us (Kristen McQuillin)
Date: 26 Jul 92 16:26:27 -0500
Organization: Telerama

I grow many medicinal herbs and wonder if anyone knows how to distill
the essential oils from a plant. While most of the medicinal benefits
of the plants I grow are available by making infusions, decoctions,
tinctures and poultices, some of the compounds in the plants are only
found in the plant oils.

None of the reference books in my personal library give instructions on
how to obtain the oils; they just tease me with references about them!

Thanks for any help.

--Kristen
From: dmiller@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Dick and Jill Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Need info on Hemlocks
Date: 24 Jul 92 14:35:21 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT

Cristina Ferla asks:

> The builder of my house, as well as the next door house, planted four
> hemlocks on each as foundation planting.  I have kept mine trimmed
> as well as I could, but they are now about 15 years old and getting
> to have very thick trunks and becoming rather bare in the back (against
> the house) and the bottoms.
> 
> My next door neighbor heard that if we cut them down, they'll 
> come back...  I am a little hesitant to do it, even though eventually I
> may have to have them removed altogether.  I simply cannot cut them
> down and have to have them replaced in the next year.

If you cut down most needle evergreens they NEVER sprout up again.  I cut 
a couple of hemlocks down several years ago and they have stayed down.  The 
only problem is that, unless you dig out the stump, it take a long time to 
rot away.  I just planted a different bush next to it and that old stump is 
now covered so you can't see it.

By the way, contractors who plant hemlocks by foundations should be humg by 
the thumbs from a full-grown hemlock tree.  It wants to grow 100' tall and 
you have to fight it hard to keep it down.  If you ever turn your back the 
tree shoots up past the eaves.  Plus its roots will mess up your 
foundation.

--Jill Miller
--
A. Richard & Jill A. Miller            | Miller Microcomputer Services |
InterNet: dmiller@im.lcs.mit.edu       | 61 Lake Shore Road            |
Voice: 508/653-6136, 9am-9pm EasternTZ | Natick, MA 01760-2099, USA    | 
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: mrh@centerline.com (Mike Huben)
Subject: Re: lady bug like beetle
Organization: CenterLine Software, Inc.
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 14:34:26 GMT

In article <Brr1CA.J17@hsi.com> geiste@hsi.com (Doug Geiste) writes:
>I've found what looks like your typical lady bug (lady beetle) in my 
>garden except that it's black with ~8 orange spots on it's back.
>
>Anyone know what this insect is? If so, is it a good insect or a bad
>insect?

Yes, it's most likely a ladybug.   There's alot more color and pattern
variation in Coccinellidae than most people know.  Some insect field guides
that I've seen do picture these reversed color ladybugs.

>Also, my beefsteak tomatoes seem to be getting eaten by something. They've 
>developed holes on the sides that don't go but 1/4 inch deep. The holes
>are no particular shape. Actually, they are very strange shaped and about
>1/2 in width. The tomatoes that do have holes only have one hole. I suspect 
>maybe tomato horn worms(??).

I've often seen damage matching your description from hornworms.  Fortunately,
they're easy to spot and control: look for their frass (fecal pellets) where
you suspect you have them, and then look for them from underneath the plant.
They're often hard to see from above.  Unless you've got thousands, hand
picking is the simplest control.

Mike Huben
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
Subject: Darlingtonia-Chrysamphora-Darlingtonia
Reply-To: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 13:47:24 GMT


In a previous posting I referred to the California Cobra Lily as
Chrysamphora californica.  I have since learned via the net and elsewhere
that the name of the genus has been changed back to Darlingtonia.

The naming sequence for this genus apparently went from Darlingtonia to
Chrysamphora and then back to Darlingtonia.  It would seem that the gods
of taxonomy and botanical nomenclature are as fickle and arbitrary as
their fellow deities on Olympus.  

If only Brontosaurus-Apatosaurus were equally lucky :-).

J. Del Col
-- 
Jeff Del Col      *       "I'm never lonely,...living in my heavily      
A-B College       *   populated solitude, a harum-scarum of infinity        
Philippi, WV      *   and eternity, and Infinity and Eternity seem to          
                  *   take a liking to the likes of me." Bohumil Hrabal.
From: Bob.Batson@p3.f322.n280.z1.fidonet.org (Bob Batson)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: earwigs
Date: 27 Jul 92 19:50:29 GMT

Distribution: usa
Reply-to: bob.batson@kcufgat.fidonet.org

In a message of 25 Jul 92 you write:

 >   I just trimmed 6"-12" up my tomato plants to remove and prevent more
 >   early blight. I startled a couple dozen earwigs that I watched scurry
 >   under my black plastic mulcher. Seems like an ideal place to raise
 >  them:
 >    dark and damp.  So how DO I keep them under control?  I would prefer
 >  an
 >    organic method if possible.

Earwigs are easy to trap. In the garden, containers such as tuna-fish cans
that hold 1/2 inch of vege. oil or moistenedbread crumbs can serve as
traps without the use of poison. Earwigs are always crawling into small
spaces, so bamboo tubes or rolled-up newspapers also make good traps. The
traps should be placed on the ground near plants just before dark and
checked with a flashlight 12 hours later, or in the morning. Shaking the
trapped insects into a pail of soapy water drowns them.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Bob Batson

 * Origin: From the north forty in Kansas, USA! (1:280/322.3)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: vsummers@polaris.cv.nrao.edu (Vince Summers)
Subject: Re: How do I remove a root?
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 19:40:49 GMT

Question:  Would round-up do the trick if applied to the wound?
Vince Summers
vsummers@polaris.cv.nrao.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens