HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dmiller@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Dick and Jill Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Pillbugs: was - what is it and what to do about it
Date: 28 Jul 92 12:28:32 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT

> From: schiefferr@gtephx.UUCP (Ron Schieffer)
> 
> What kind of bug is this?  
> I have heard it called a rollie pollie, or a potato bug but am not
> sure about what it is...
> It looks kind of like a miniature armadillo with the largest one I've
> seen being about 1/2 inch long.  When you touch them, they tend to
> roll themselves into a little ball.  They also tend to exist under 
> rocks or leaves or wherever it remains moist.
> I live in Phoenix and have thousands of these things in my garden.
> The only thing they seem to bother (among zucchini, cucumbers, 
> cantaloupe (sp?), green beans, corn, and rhubarb (rhubarb in the
> desert???)) is my rhubarb.  They seem to just love the root of
> this plant and have a tendency to reduce the root to mush.
> 
> 1st question:  What is it?

It is a pill bug.  There is a soft kind which doesn't roll up in New 
England (and elsewhere no doubt) which is called a sowbug. I have always 
called them trilobites because they sort of look like them altho they 
aren't really related.

> 2nd question:  How to get it to leave? Or is it something I should
> not worry about?  Can I attract something else to help control it?

I'm not sure if they actually cause the damage or if they take advantage of 
an existing problem (something else causing the mush and they are only 
eating it).  In my garden they eat my strawberries and they will get into 
tomatoes if there is damage from some other agent, e.g. mice, birds, 
splitting from too much water, etc.  They seem to prefer to eat rotting 
leaves as far as I can see.  I haven't tried to get rid of them because 
they really do very little damage here (Eastern Mass.).

> Thanks,

You're welcome.

--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: sheriffp@Software.Mitel.COM (Peter Sheriff)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: How do I remove a root?
Date: 22 Jul 92 18:37:37 GMT
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.


    I have just cut down an old Honeysuckle bush that was getting out of
hand. I have sawn it down to ground level (the `trunk' was about five
inch caliper) but I am unable to remove the root. Does anyone know of a
way I can kill off the roots and have the rest rot in the ground? There
is a bylaw against using fire to burn it out in my town so it would
probably have to be chemicals.

                                    Pete
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: jsimon@rchland.vnet.ibm.com (Gerald Simon)
Subject: Re: Rototillers
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 17:33:54 GMT
Distribution: usa
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM Rochester

		
I recently bought a new tiller for my 60'x60' garden... Since we're
in the middle of building a house, price was a key consideration for me.
I wanted a rear tine tiller with about a 5hp motor.  After shopping around,
I decided on a Sears Craftsman rear tine (reverse rotation) tiller with
a 5hp B&S engine on it.  I've used it 3 times and it's the best tiller I've used
(although, it the first rear tine tiller I've used).  The price was reasonable..
$650.00 vs $800.00 and up for the other comparable tillers I looked at (Snapper, 
Troy Built, Honda).

Jerry
From: kleinj@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Squash bugs
Date: 21 Jul 92 22:53:18 CDT
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

I finally solved my annual squash bug problem organically this year:
Set seedlings in mulch paper and plant full-sized, trailing nasturiums about
2-3 feet away in all directions.  I haven't found any eggs or bugs yet and I'm
finally enjoying zucchini again.  This deterrence method appears to work--
or am I just lucky this year with an extra rainy spring and summer?

Jeanne

P.S. Thanks for offering great advice, Kay Klier.  Hope to hear from you
again when you're back in operation!
From: vrs0@bunny.gte.com (V. Stern)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Japanese Beetles everywhere
Date: 23 Jul 92 13:15:28 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: GTEL

In article <1992Jul22.194214.23667@compu.com> fr@compu.com (Fred Rump from 
home) writes:
> All of a sudden we are being invaded by these little brown critters. 
They seem 
> to love my marigolds. I quickly bought two beetle traps and they are 
slowly 
> filling up. I put one right next to this large container I have with 
various 
> flowers in it but with a big yellow marigold in the middle. I see 10 to 
20 
> beetles sitting there at any one time - all the time. Are some Japanese 
beetles
> not turned on by a beetle trap with its sweet smell?
> 
> These buggers are eating my flowers. Should I spray with something?
> 
> fred
> 
> -- 
> W. Fred Rump    office:    fred@COMPU.COM     'mans feet have grown/so 
big 
> 26 Warren St.   home: fred@icdi10.compu.com  that he/forgets his 
littleness'
> Beverly, NJ. 08010                                      Don Marquis 
> 609-386-6846    bang:uunet!cdin-1!icdi10!fr

I am in Mass. and the critters just started coming out about two weeks 
ago.  The experts say not to use the traps, because all they do is attract 
the things to your yard, and then they go into your soil to lay eggs, and 
then you get a grub problem next year, and then it starts all over again.  
Better to put the traps into your neighbors yards :) .  I've been spraying 
the things with Sevin and it seems to be working OK.  We spray about once 
a week (the guy on the radio here says that Sevin got its name because it 
only lasts seven days.  Sounds good and seems to be so.   

Vanessa R. Stern
vrs0@bunny.gte.com
From: Barbara.Tucker@f29.n130.z1.fidonet.org (Barbara Tucker)
Sender: FredGate@ocitor.fidonet
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Essential herb oils
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 18:35:44

26 Jul 92, Kristen McQuillin writes to All:

 KM> @Organization: Telerama
 KM> @Message-ID: <1992Jul26.162628.1618@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu>

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

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

        If you are only interested in flavor and scent, the easiest way to extract it is to soak the flowers or leaves in a light cold pressed olive oil. The oil will attract the oils from the plant. Use a glass or pottery container, metal or plastic will discolor the oils. Lay the leaves or flowers in layers in a shallow dish, use just enough oil to cover the materials.  Let stand in a dark, cool area for at least 24 hours.  Gently sieve the mixture, pressing the plant materials gently to extract the last



 of the oils.  Add more fresh plant material to the oil, and repeat the process.  Six times through the process seems to be the minimum to get a good lasting scent.  Some plants and flowers need 10-12 times through the process.

        When extracting the oil, remember the 1000 to 1 rule.  It will usually take a 1000 oz. of plant or flower (sometimes more, and it needs to be FRESH, not dried) to get a ounce of oil.

        You can extract the oil using alcohol as the solvent.  Use undenatured ethel alcohol (pure grain alcohol aka Everclear) instead of the oil in the process above.  After the sixth time through the process, you will have a nicly scented alcohol base (it makes a nice base for perfume, or toilet water).  The base can be either steam distilled or frozen.  Distilling is traditional, but freezing is much easier.  When freezing the base, use a tall narrow necked container, and a pipette to collect the oil t



hat rises to the top of the container as it starts to solidify.  Don't let the oil become solid. The alcohol doesn't freeze, so be carefully not to disturb it when lifting off the oil. You can use the alcohol again, but it will retain some oil.

        Almost all herbs can be steam distilled, using water as the base.  Use a very small still, and remember that the first steam contains more of the oils that the steam later.  The temperature the water needs to be held at varies according to the plant, and some herbs "scorch" if the water is too hot.

        It's normally much easier to purchase essential oils, than to make your own unless you have a very large garden and a lot of time.


Barbara

 * Origin:  Mail Drop  (1:130/29)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: schouten@sp17.csrd.uiuc.edu (Dale Schouten)
Subject: Re: Cactus mail order dealer?
Organization: Center for Supercomputing R & D
	<1992Jul28.020432.6345@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu>
	<1992Jul29.134044.18164@news.nd.edu>
Date: 30 Jul 92 10:30:25

In article <1992Jul29.134044.18164@news.nd.edu> johanes@newton.ce.nd.edu (Johanes Suhardjo) writes:
> Can somebody give me the address of a cactus mail order dealer?
METOO!
     ///
    ///		Dale Schouten
\\\///		schouten@uiuc.edu	(and Nothing else . . .)
 \XX/

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: jeanne@cray.com (Jeanne Moses)
Subject: tomatillos
Distribution: usa
Date: 27 Jul 92 16:59:17 CDT

How do you know when to pick tomatillos?  Help.  I think it should be
soon, but I've never grown them before.
From: walker@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Rick Walker)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 21:36:16 GMT
Subject: Re: special interest plant societies
Organization: HP Labs, High Speed Electronics Dept., Palo Alto, CA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens

There is also a USENET listserv mailing list for discussion of carnivorous
plants. 

Topics of interest to the group include:

    1) Cultivation and Propagation of CP's
    2) Field observations of CP's
    3) Sources of CP material
    4) CP trading between subscribers

You can subscribe by sending the one line message "subscribe cp Rick
Walker" to "listserv@opus.hpl.hp.com".  Substitute your own given name
for 'Rick Walker' in the above example. 

After subscribing, you will receive copies of all messages sent to the
group.  To send your own message, send your mail to "cp@opus.hpl.hp.com". 
Your message will then be distributed to all current subscribers of
the group.  

--
Rick Walker
walker@opus.hpl.hp.com
From: langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Getting rid of blackberrie bushes forever???
Date: 30 Jul 92 15:10:48 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
Keywords: exterminate, blackberries

bill daul asks:

> How can I ride (sic) an area of blackberry bushes for good?  

just keep 'em hogged (mowed), and they'll die soon enough

> Is there something I can spray them with that will rid 
> me of them for good?

oh yes, but it's unnecessary -- regular hogging suffices

-- mike
From: ramirez@julia.math.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: nasturtiums
Date: 23 Jul 92 16:14:49 GMT
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department

Jeannie mentioned that after planting nasturtiums her problem with
squash bugs seemed to disappear.  While she didn't specify whether the
bugs focused on the nasturtiums or were repelled by them, her posting
brought to mind my own experience with nasturtiums.

They make an excellent aphid trap.  That is, when I planted nasturtiums
around my winter veggie garden, the veggies remained relatively aphid-free
(perhaps the green onions I interplanted also helped) but the nasturtiums
were full of them.  I then, when te nasturtiums started looking ragged and
ugly,  yanked the aphid-laden nasturtiums stuffed them into plastic bags
for the trash, thereby reducing the aphid population in my garden
dramatically.

And of course, if you can keep or get the aphids off, the flowers make
colorful, peppery additions to salads.  The greens are edible too, although
I personally don't care for them.  All in all a wonderful flower choice,
easy to grow, and it thrives in poor soil.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: stngiam@athena.mit.edu (Shih-Tung Ngiam)
Subject: Re: I have a cool plant but don't know anything about it
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 01:28:02 GMT


  Sounds like a pitcher plant from your description.  It's a tropical
rainforest plant, so I'd guess it would like shady, warm and humid
conditions.  Soil probably doesn't need to be very rich (that's why it
supplements it's diet with insects). 
  I'm just making "extrapolative engineering judgements" from the
fact that such plants come from tropical rainforests.  For definitive
info, you can look it up in a tropical plant book.  Good luck!

Shih Tung
Chem E
Best l'il Tech School
on the Charles
From: aalto@cc.helsinki.fi (Erkki '\rkki' Aalto, University of Helsinki)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: I have a cool plant but don't know anything about it
Date: 22 Jul 92 07:45:19 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki

In article <STNGIAM.92Jul21212755@e40-008-12.mit.edu>, stngiam@athena.mit.edu (Shih-Tung Ngiam) writes:
>
>   Sounds like a pitcher plant from your description.  It's a tropical
> rainforest plant, so I'd guess it would like shady, warm and humid
> conditions.  Soil probably doesn't need to be very rich (that's why it
> supplements it's diet with insects).
>   I'm just making "extrapolative engineering judgements" from the
> fact that such plants come from tropical rainforests.  For definitive
> info, you can look it up in a tropical plant book.  Good luck!
>
> Shih Tung
> Chem E
> Best l'il Tech School
> on the Charles

NO! It is not a tropical pitcher plant. It is a North American pitcher plant
growing in temperate and boreal bogs.

Erkki Aalto

Helsinki, Finland
From: lynx@surrey.amigans.gen.nz (Lynsey Gedye)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Winter Cherry/Jerusalem Cherry Edible?
Date: 29 Jul 92 17:51:11 GMT-12
Distribution: world
Organization: Prime Line, Wanganui, New Zealand

In article <1992Jul27.002823.14181@trl.oz.au> starkie@eddore.trl.oz.au (Brad Starkie) writes:
>I recently aquired some winter cherry seeds (Solanum Psuedocapsicum).
>Are these really from Jerusalem? 

  No, Madeira

>and are they edible? I know they are Solanum's, but they are the edible >nightshades aren't they? 

  You eat first, and ask questions later?  Should I cross post this to
  rec.dead?

  All parts of the plant are poisonous, particularly the berries.

>I'm particularly interested to hear from anybody who comes from where
>they originate and if they appear in the regional cuisine.

  The toxin (Solanocapsine) acts on the heart.  Symptoms include vertigo,
  vomiting, abdominal pain, confused vision, convulsions, occasional
  delerium, paralysis, syncope, and sometimes asphyxia.  You can also induce
  these symptoms by listening to debating politicians. (Joke-ette=:)

  One of the other plants that produces this result is hemlock.  See also
  soc.greek.ancient.history as to how hemlock was used.

>I ate one yesterday and they tasted a little like a tamarillo but not
>as bitter more mentholish. 

  Thank you, I've often wondered.  How'd you feel after?

>My dog stole one from my hand and ate it with relish but then my dog also 
>loves to eat sheep manure. 

  Relish?  Wot, no tomato sauce?

>I like this plant as it fruits in winter (Prolifically) is a perrenial, is
>very hardy and will grow in low light conditions in fact it is usually grown
>as an indoor plant.

  They are a really lovely plant, I saw them in London in snow and they looked
  great.  I figure they're too dangerous to grow near kids - those berries
  look sooooo appealing.

>Thanks in advance.

  No dramas mate.  If you're keen to try solanum fruits, try S.aviculare.
  It's native to Oz, commonly called Kangaroo Apple.  I think it's the 
  same one we use here to extract contraceptive chemicals from the leaves.
  Anyway, the fruit is edible.  The fruit on that other famous solanum,
  the potatoe, is poisonous.

>Brad Starkie

  Er, Brad, are you still there... mate...?  you ok...?
--
           lynx@surrey.amigans.gen.nz    lynx@amigans.gen.nz
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: crussel@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Carol A Russell)
Subject: Re: GREENISH SOIL ?????????
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 12:48:51 GMT

In article <92213.075054KJB6@psuvm.psu.edu> KJB6@psuvm.psu.edu writes:
>
>We have had a lot of rain here, and I have noticed that the soil  in my
>veggie garden, and that around the roses has a greenish tint to it. Is this
>some sort of fungus growing on the ground because of all the rain fall we have
>had? What can be done about it? and will it cause any damage to any of my
>plants???
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>Ken Bauer
>Pennsylvania State University at Erie, The Behrend College


Hi Ken.  I have had similar problems, as we're having one of the wettest Julys 
on record!  This is mold, I believe, that has been showing up in the gardens, 
due to all the wetness.  I have solved it by tilling and hoeing the soil as 
much as possible.  This has eliminated 90% of the mold, and my plants are doing
fine.  As to your roses, I don't know.....

carol
From: jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Sears electric chipper/shredder
Date: 22 Jul 92 01:29:06 GMT
Organization: -

In article <1992Jul20.202943.6242@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, kls@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Kenneth L Shellberg) writes:
> Have been looking at electric chipper/shredders.  While I know
> that gasoline models are more powerful, I really don't want one.
> So, Sears has a 3.5 hp (torque-equivalency) for around $280 and
> a 5 hp for around $330.  

Consumer Reports reviewed chipper/shredders sometime in the last year.

Personally, I went with gas instead of electric.  I'm not wild about
having a gas powered model, but there were so many warnings about the
electric ones jamming.  

You definately want the most powerful one you can afford, even for a
small yard.  It still takes a lot of work to cut up things small
enough for the shreader and even then anything that shreads instead of
chops still clogs the output shoot.

> And I am not committed to Sears. Are there other better deals out
> there?  I am located in central Ohio, by the way.

Home Depot and Sears gas powered models are made by the same
manufacturer.  It also seems like C.R. said there were only 2 main
manufacturers in the U.S.  

Jim

P.S.  My neighbors and I have worked out a "schedule" of when I can
use my shreader and I still have to check with them first.  Luckily
only one neighbor has demanded this so far.  These things are
unbelievably noisy.  Of course, I get to shoot there gardener if he
ever wakes me up before 7:30 again.  I will likely work out other
deals with my other neighbors concerning their un-neighborly sins if
more complain.  I never thought I would be able to use the shreader as
a bargaining tool!
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: renjen@nimbus.com (Sanjeev Renjen)
Subject: help on Geraniums
Organization: Nimbus Technology Inc. (formerly C2 Technology)
Distribution: rec
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 21:35:36 GMT

I have a problem with the Geraniums in the front of my house. They are in medium
size pots, get plenty of sun, get watered every other day and get fertilized 
once a month. But still they are not doing well. The leaves are not lush green
and there a very few flowers. I am almost about to give up. Could not get any help
from the Western Gardening Book. Please send me some suggestions on what I should do with
the Geraniums.

Thanks

Sanjeev
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: vsummers@polaris.cv.nrao.edu (Vince Summers)
Subject: Re: mail-order plants
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 15:23:13 GMT

     I have only one comment.  If wildflowers are desired, some companies
are more reputable than others.  Some grow their own flowers instead of 
paying locals to dig them up out of the woods.  Some flowers they dig
are endangered.  Some are rare and almost impossible to transplant.
For instance, the lady's slipper (pink moccasin) dies if the flower is
picked-- it is that sensitive.  Also, it requires a special fungus in the
soil to survive.  Yet, some companies will push it to the beginning 
customer.  When questioned, they will remark that they have to stay in 
business, or some such.
     Enjoy your gardening!

Vince Summers
vsummers@polaris.cv.nrao.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: dadams@cray.com (David Adams)
Subject: Re: Rabbit!
Reply-To: dadams@cray.com
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 27 Jul 92 16:19:57 CDT

Well if you have a dog in the yard you probably won't have any rabbits.

Now how do you keep the dog from digging in the garden?

---
--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: pharvey@mipos3.intel.com (Paul Harvey)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Lawns was (Alternative Commercial Landscaping)
Date: 21 Jul 92 23:16:05 GMT
Distribution: na

In article <1992Jul21.203341.8209@stsci.edu> 
yen@stsci.edu (Felix Yen) writes:
>Like so many others, I grew up in a family that desperately tried
>to grow a single variety of grass (Kentucky Bluegrass) in a climate
>which bordered on being hostile.
>While driving down 880 from Oakland to San Jose recently, I noticed
>an office park surrounded by a large lawn of green grass.  The grass
>in the hills was brown so I inferred that this company was watering
>their grass and it looked like they were watering it fastidiously.

The industrial bluegrass lawn meets several goals. It is a fire break, it
holds down dust, it is cheap if water is cheap, and it projects the image
of the Northern European aristocracy who invented the lawn as a statement
that they had so much land that they didn't need to grow wheat or rye on all
of their acreage. If you go to S. France or Spain or Italy you won't see
many lawns. Why? It doesn't rain there in summer. This is called a
Mediterranean, dry summer, climate. Kentucky Bluegrass comes from N. Europe
where it does rain in summer. If you go to suburban California you see lots
of green lawns in summer. Why? I don't know, do you? Who are we kiding?

So what are the alternatives in California? It is not easy meeting the goals
above with native flora, particularly the fire break part. CalTrans is
working on it, but our state government is bankrupt. Calif Native Plant 
Society, CNPS, is working to promote native flora. There is a wealth of 
Mediterranean plants from the Romans and Greeks and others that are well 
suited. As long as water is cheap, change is unlikely.