HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sdb@redbeard.physics.fsu.edu (Scott D. Berry)
Subject: Re: Magnetically Treated Water
Summary: I really doubt it
Keywords: Psuedoscience, mythology
Organization: Florida State University
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 21:13:52 GMT

In article <Bvv40G.9H3@andy.bgsu.edu> graue@andy.bgsu.edu (Louis Graue) writes:
>If you'd like to grow brilliant blossoms; vibrant foliage; plus, green lawns;
>luscious fruit, put magnets on your pipes.  Magnetic fields separate water
>molecules, reducing surface tension and suspending minerals allowing water 
>to flow freely.  The water penetrates more effectively, and reaches roots 
>more quickly; evaporation is minimized.
>
>I read this in a suppliment to my local newspaper and just wondered if any
>of you in netland had any experience with this.
>
Do you believe everything you read in newspapers?

I'm not sure what you mean by "magnetic fields separate water molecules,"
but if you mean break the bonds between the hydrogen and oxygen in the molecule
this wont happen with any permanent magnet you could place on a pipe.
(Besides the fact that if the pipe were iron it would tend to capture the
magnetic field and not allow it to significantly enter the water within.)
Also, most of the minerals in water are not magnetic (in the sense of permanent
magnets) and shouldn't be affected significantly by the presence of magnets
attached to a pipe.

Without seeing a scientific reference to this effect, I suspect that someone
has a rather active imagination, or likes to fool newspaper reporters.  Did the
article give a configuration for the magnets on the pipe?

If you want to reduce surface tension - add soap or detergent.

Scott D. Berry    Assistant Professor of Physics    Florida State University
315 Keen Bldg, B-159, Tallahassee, FL 32306-3016    (904) 644-1218
INTERNET:   berry@redbeard.physics.fsu.edu    BITNET:   berry@fsu

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: larry@bradley.bradley.edu (L. D. Stratton)
Subject: Re: Forcing oak acorns to germinate
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 17:19:12 GMT


   It is best to 'winterize' your acorns first.  You can accomplish this
   quite easily by putting the acorns in a baggie tightly sealed and
   pop it in the freezer for 6-8 weeks.  Then pull them out and plant
   them, still frozen, in rich loam and about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) deep.
   Set this in a cool but sunny location, water just to keep the soil
   moist but not wet.  You should see growth in about 4 weeks.

Xref: sparky rec.gardens:7246 alt.bonsai:148
From: dhamilto@gssec.bt.co.uk (David Hamilton)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens,alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: Soft water 'poisoning' symptoms
Date: 7 Oct 92 12:15:29 GMT
Organization: BT, Software Engineering Centre, Glasgow, UK

In article <1992Oct6.153225.21410@mr.med.ge.com>, bartlone@gemed (Mike Bartolone) writes:
|> 
|> Does any one out there know what the symptoms would be if a plant
|> were watered with soft water? I have several plants that are not
|> at all well, and I am not sure if the water I'm using could
|> be part or all of the problem. I'd rather not post the symptoms
|> at this time so I don't get any 'biased' answers. Does anyone
|> know what to do if you have no reliable source of hard water?
|>                                             Mike
|> --

I would agree with the point about soft vs softened water.  The water
where I live, north of Glasgow, Scotland, is very soft and I don't
have any problems.

I've seen plants which have been fed water containing minerals showing
a coating on the leaves.  I don't know any more details but this might
be worth looking for.

Regards,

-- 
David Hamilton                         Email:  dhamilton@gssec.bt.co.uk
BT, Glasgow Engineering Centre,        Phone:  +44 41 553 2116
229 George Street, Glasgow, UK G1 1BZ
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: ceci@lysator.liu.se (Cecilia Henningsson)
Subject: Bourbon rose questions
Keywords: boulle de neige, la reine victoria, bourbon, rose, spacing, hedge
Organization: Lysator Academic Computer Society, Linkoping University, Sweden
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 18:58:56 GMT

Today I ordered two Bourbon roses, one _Boulle_de_Neige, which is
white, and one _La_Reine_Victoria, which is pink. Both of these will
grow to be about 150 to 200 centimeter high and have a spread of 120
centimeter. I want to plant them in a hedge. The adjacent shrubs are
_Salyx_ on one side and _Rubrus_ on the other. The _Salyx_ will be
planted some weeks later than the roses, so I hope it won't get a
chance to try to choke them. I'll keep my pruning scissors handy if it
tries. The _Rubrus_ is much more well-behaved. On the inner side, the
roses will have a small free area suitable for people enjoying
fragrant roses :) and on the outer side there is a walkway.

Questions:

1. I want the roses to be an integrated part of the hedge, as it is
   the only barrier between the garden and a public walkway. Bearing
   in mind the spread of 120cm, how far apart should I plant them?

2. One of the reasons I chose these particular roses, is that they
   keep flowering for most of the season, and not only for a couple of
   weeks in summer. Do I need to dead-head them in order to insure a
   constant flowering? Honestly, I would prefer not to, as rosehips
   make the garden look somewhat less gloomy in winter.

3. Are these roses susceptible to powdery mildew, aphids or any other
   nasties? If so, is there any way I can make an attack less likely
   or less severe? Spacing, fertilizing, lime, mulch, soil amendments,
   water?

4. Do you have any other tips about growing Bourbon roses? I have
   never grown any roses at all, so any helpful hints are most
   welcome.

--Ceci, soon-to-be owner of two Real Roses (tm)
--
=====ceci@lysator.liu.se===========================================
"You should remember that it's peace of mind you're after and not just
a fixed machine." RM Pirsig in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
===================================================================
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: lpaul@krissy.msi.umn.edu (Paul Morin)
Subject: Re: Lead paint in ground\
Reply-To: lpaul@krissy.msi.umn.edu (Paul Morin)
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 15:11:28 GMT

sabat@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com writes
> We are putting in square foot gardening in place of where a deck once stood.
> Underneath the deck is an abundance of paint chips from when the house has
> been scraped and painted over the years.  My wife is worried that these chips
> may contain lead and that we should dig out all the dirt before we begin our
> garden layout.  I think that just removing the paint chips is probably good
> enough.  Does anyone know whether this may be a problem even if the paint had
> lead in it, or any good /cheap ways of testing either the ground or paint  
chips
> for lead?
> 
> Ted  Sabat		sabat@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com

If the paint chips were lead based chances are that the lead has leached into  
the soil.  Contact your local agricultural extention service and ask about soil  
testing.  It should only cost about $10.

Paul Morin

Minnesota Supercomputer Institute
From: hughes@dogwood.botany.uga.edu (Wayne Hughes)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Does Chlorine Kill?
Date: 14 Oct 92 01:59:20 GMT
Organization: Botany Department - U of Georgia, Athens

In article <1992Oct13.223751.19664@casbs.Stanford.EDU> kathleen@casbs.Stanford.EDU (Kathleen Much) writes:
>In article <1992Oct8.170331.7426@iscsvax.uni.edu> klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
>>Yes, Cl- and Br- are both problems for plants in moderately high
>>concentrations.   How high plants can tolerate depends very much
>>on the species of plants involved.  On the other hand, Cl- is 
>>a required nutrient in small amounts.
>
>I put a small amount of Clorox (~1 tsp) in the vases with my cut
>flowers to keep the stems from turning slimy and disgusting. I have
>been putting the dead flowers in my compost heap and pouring the water
>down the drain, but I wondered if that small amount of chlorine would
>damage the compost if I were to pour the water onto my heap, or my
>plants if I poured it into a flower bed or pot. In our California
>drought, any extra water would help.
>
   Clorox is not chloride ion (Cl-), it's  5% sodium 
   hypochlorite (ClO4-).

   To give you an idea, for plant tissue culture we surface sterilize
   (say) leaves by immersing them in 20% clorox for 20 minutes.
   This kills bacteria and fungus without seriously damaging the 
   cuticle-protected leaf tissue.  Tissue can be cultured on
   sucrose media for months without developing contamination.

   The tiny amount (say 2 or 3% bleach) you are proposing to dump  
   into your compost shouldn't hurt anything.

   Wayne
   Never mix bleach with acid.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: london@SunSite.unc.edu (Larry London)
Subject: Re: Hyperaccumulators?
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 05:06:58 GMT

In article <1992Oct6.231520.20515@cs.rochester.edu> dietz@cs.rochester.edu (Paul Dietz) writes:
>
>I just was reading a bit about some plants that are
>"hyperaccumulators": they concentrate normally toxic metals in their
>tissue to an amazing extent (for example, plants that grow on soils
>derived from ultramafic rocks that concentrate nickel in their leaves
>to > 3% of their dry weight).  Are there any plants normally grown in
>gardens that are hyperaccumulators?
>
>	Paul F. Dietz
>	dietz@cs.rochester.edu
A lady in Germany has researched and catalogued some 250 or so plants
identified as hyperaccumulators. I have a magazine article on John Todd's
experiments with biological sewage treatment systems using some of these
plants along with certain aquatic animals, in partitioned lagoons, in
greenhouses to produce acceptably clean effluent. John started the New
Alchemy Institute.
Datura (Jimson Weed) and cattails are reputed to be hyperaccumulators.

From: walker@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Rick Walker)
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 00:35:16 GMT
Subject: Re: Chimeric hyacinths?
Organization: HP Labs, High Speed Electronics Dept., Palo Alto, CA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens

In rec.gardens, klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:

> Someplace over the weekend I *think* I read about cutting two hyacinth
> bulbs in half (say an incipient pink and a blue flowered bulb each) and 
> then swapping halves and binding the two halves together.  This was 
> supposed to produce a chimeric inflorescence.  

I have heard that African Violet varieties (Saintpaulia spp.) have been
produced that have a different genetic material on the top of the leaf than
on the bottom of the leaf. This is used to achieve unusual decorative effects.

I suppose this is done by human manipulation of the meristem, but I 
don't know the technique.  It makes me think that the hyacinth technique
might work...

--
Rick Walker
From: rlwilliams@gallua.gallaudet.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: forcing maple seeds to germinate
Date: 12 Oct 92 14:30:19 GMT
Organization: Gallaudet University

Hi,
	A recent discussion of germinating acorns prompts me to ask about 
germinating Maple and Japanese maple seeds.  A maple tree down the street 
is just gorgeos every fall and I'd love to grow one like it. Suppose I 
collect some seeds from underneath the tree. How can I get them to 
germinate.
A. plant immediately
B. refirgerate and plant ________(when?)
C. put in freezer and plant ________(when?)

I know that japanese maples are often grafted and that makes getting true 
offspring difficult... but I'd like to give it a try. Do the answers above 
apply to to Japanese maples too?

You can e me or post, as is your wont.

skip
rlwilliams@gallua.bitnet
From: mce5921@bcstec.ca.boeing.com (Martin Emde)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Lawns
Date: 8 Oct 92 18:45:48 GMT
Distribution: pnw
Organization: Boeing

Does anyone know if there is a FAQ for this group?  More specifically
I need some general information on lawns and how to grow one.
I planted a lawn from seed last year and it came in quite well.
Now there are more mushrooms and weeds than there are blades of grass?
I just don't get it...

Any lawn experts out there???? If so please help.

Thanks,

-Martin


-- 
Martin C Emde  <mce5921@bcstec.boeing.com>  uunet!bcstec!mce5921 
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group - 777 Electrical Systems
Renton, Washington  USA
From: jacobson@ogicse.ogi.edu (Chris Jacobson)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Help wanted - Ways to kill blackberries
Date: 15 Oct 92 17:10:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: ogicse.44145
Organization: Oregon Graduate Institute (formerly OGC), Beaverton, OR

I'm a proud owner of nearly 1/2 an acre of blackberries on a
occasionally steep lot. The lot doesn't have suitable access
for a cat so I'm thinking of an initial chemical attack followed
by much brush chipping.  I've heard that better chemicals than
round-up exist for berry vines.  Anyone know more on this?
Do the vines go through chipper/shredders OK?

I have also been told that fall is a particularly good time to 
apply chemicals as the "nutrients are being moved to the roots"...
any confirmation?

Any tips would be appreciated at this point!
chrisj
From: arth@sudshead.EBay.Sun.COM
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Secrets for beautiful green Lawns?
Date: 15 Oct 92 16:11:06 GMT
Reply-To: arth@sudshead.EBay.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems
NNTP-Posting-Host: sudshead.ebay.sun.com


Secrets -- 

	1. use a lawn boy mulching mower or a push mower.
	2. cut the fescue high in the summer to shade the ground
	3. cut it lower but not to low in the winter.
	4. i don't use fertilizer but use my neighbors clippings
	   in a jug of water to make a tea and have a siphon attached
	   to my hose to spray the tea on my lawn. works great but
	   the neighborhood stinks for about three days.
	5. keep female dogs off the lawn.

art
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey)
Subject: Re: growing apples without pesticides?
Keywords: apples, organic
Organization: The Duck Pond public unix: +1 408 249 9630, log in as 'guest'.
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1992 03:57:14 GMT

In article <1992Oct15.205121.164847@watson.ibm.com> vinod@.vnet.ibm.com writes:
>I am thinking about planting two or three apple trees. Since
>there are many orchards around (where we can pick fresh apples)
>my main motivation is to get apples without pesticides. However,
>when I called the local county extension service, they told me
>that there is now way I will be able to grow apples without
>spraying. Is this true?  Are there any special disease or
>pest resistant varieties? 
>Also, what's a good mail order source for apple trees? Is it
>better to plant in Fall or Spring?
>--vinod                                        (914)-892-4107

Hmm, what part of the country? Let's see, 914, that's S. NY State, OK.
NY IS APPLE COUNTRY. Look for local varieties, you should be able to
find them. Now, as for growing them organically, that's a problem in the
east, you have humid tropical summers and that is just great for insects
and fungus and etc. I would recommend this book: The Orchard Almanac, A
Spraysaver Guide, Stephen Page and Joe Smillie, Spraysaver Pubs,
Rockport ME, 04856, ISBN:0-9616523-1-4. Spraying dormant oil at final
leaf drop, full dormancy, and pink-bud stage solves a lot of problems
and although not no-spray it is organic. If there are orchards nearby,
you can probably not worry about having the correct pollinator for your
trees. There are some newer resistant cultivars but their fruit quality
is poor. And I would think that in your part of the country it is better
to plant dormant rootstock as soon as it is available. In more extreme
climates, one would wait until late winter to try to avoid the coldest
times, but the trees must be planted well before they break out in
spring.
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: shoaf@helix.nih.gov (Susan E. Shoaf)
Subject: Re: Wanted - The Perfect Tree
Followup-To: shoaf@clinpharm.niaaa.nih.gov
Organization: (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD)
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 18:52:19 GMT

In article <1992Oct14.113722.19640@icf.hrb.com> mas@icf.hrb.com (Mark A. Singer) writes:
>In article <1992Oct14.115303.27343@kodak.kodak.com>, bryant@neural.Kodak.COM (Steve Bryant) writes:
>> I have a spot for a tree in my back yard and I want the perfect
>> tree to put there. The tree has to have most(if not all) of the 
>> following characteristics:
>>    * Flowers other than white in spring.
>
>
>    I think a redbud would be nice.....

There are pink dogwoods....
From: london@SunSite.unc.edu (Larry London)
Subject: Re: Organic lawn feed and weed control?  Groundcover?
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 04:53:15 GMT

In article <Bvnw22.Etq.1@cs.cmu.edu> moody@cs.cmu.edu writes:
>I'd like some recommendations on oranic lawn feed and weed control.  I'd
>rather not use the chemical waste-dump shock treatment approach of the 
>previous owner.
Weed control includes mowing, aerating, de-thatching and organic
fertilization to strengthen the grass. Spot pulling, cutting very low or 
digging up of some of the weeds might be advisable. Briefly, fish emulsion
and liquid seaweed along with proper liming will do a great job of
fertilizing the lawn. Hi-cal lime and dolomitic lime can be used to adjust pH.
Rock or colloidal phosphate, rock screenings from any quarry, granite
screenings, fine pyrophyllite tailings, New Jersey greensand, any
compost i.e. manure, biomass, any complete balanced organic fertilizer
i.e. Erth-Rite or Fertrell applied annually will work wonders. 

>Also, has anyone had success with using clover as a hill-stablizing 
>ground cover?  I need something other than crown vetch (due to my wife's
>allergies). 
Lespedeza is often used: the large growing type - 2'-4' or serecia lespedeza
- low growing but difficult to get started. Tall sweet clover might be 
an option - it roots deeply, grows densely and reseeds itself well.
You could always use blue rug juniper, low-growing cotoneaster or lonicera
yunnanensis. Burdock, comfrey and plantain would be an excellent choice.
Johnson grass??

>By the by, could someone post or e-mail the phone numbers for Gardens 
>Alive! and Johnny's Selected Seeds?  Thanks!

Gardens Alive
5100 Schenley Place
Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 47025
Orders: 1-812-537-8650
Customer Service: 1-812-537-8651

Johnny's Selected Seeds
Foss Hill Rd.
Albion, Maine, 04910-9731
Orders:
       Voice: 1-207-437-4301
       Fax: 1-207-437-2165
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: re: Hyperaccumulators
Date: 8 Oct 92 18:35:08 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

Paul Dietz (with a marvelous memory!) remembered the plant I couldn't--
the one that makes fluoroacetate when grown on soils heavy in fluorine,
and thus becomes toxic to animals.  He also remembered the common name
is "giftblaar", not "giftboom" as I had thought.

Dichapetalum is a BIG genus of 150-200 species of the tropics, particularly
Africa.  It's a member of the family Dichapetalaceae, which may be
related to the Euphorbiaceae, the poinsettia family, according to 
Willis's Dictionary.  Alas, Chiltern Seeds doesn't seem to stock it :-(

------
From:	IN%"dietz@cs.rochester.EDU"  

The genus is Dichapetalum.  The three species to which I referred
are:

	D. cymosum	Makes fluoroacetate
	D. toxicarium   Makes various omega-fluorinated fatty acids
	D. gelonioides  A nickel hyperaccumulator

D. gelonioides doesn't have unusually large amounts of fluorine in
its tissues.  I don't remember if D. toxicarium makes fluoroacetate
as well.
--------

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the library I go... 8-)

Kay
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: amy@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Amy McNulty)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: stupid question re. forcing bulbs
Date: 9 Oct 92 18:46:52 GMT

I'm forcing some crocus bulbs in my refrigerator, for
Christmas flower basket gifts for several relatives.
I put them in the fridge about a week ago, planned
to remove them just before Christmas, and expected
that they would probably bloom in January.

Kay warned me about keeping fruits out of the fridge,
so they're safe from that threat. However, now I've
read the FAQ and realized that I made a rather
serious blunder; instead of planting them in pots
and then putting those pots in the fridge, I just
put the bag of bulbs directly in the fridge. The
problem is that I really don't have room for 3 or 4
good-sized pots in my fridge, so I don't know what
to do. Meanwhile, have I already destroyed the bulbs?
Is there any hope for them if I leave them as is
until December and then plant them and follow the
rest of the forcing instructions?
______________________________________________________________
amy_mcnulty@vos.stratus.com  OR  amy@vineland.pubs.stratus.com
Amy McNulty -- Stratus Computer, Marlboro, MA
Stratus pays me to write, but not to write this!
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: dmiller@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Dick and Jill Miller)
Subject: Re: Mystery greens
Organization: Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 12:58:35 GMT

nrlfs1.nrl.navy.mil (Judy Karpen) asks:

> 3) My neighbor is growing some great greens but neither of us can figure
> out what they are.  They are obviously brassica family, kind of a 
> mild mustart flavor, but have very fine-structured leaves (sorry I
> can't recall the right botanical term --- sort of like those cut-leaf
> japanese maple leaves but green and much bigger).  Also the leaves
> are soft, more like mustard greens or even lettuce than kale or 
> collards. The color ranges from lighter yellowish green in newer or
> central leaves to a dark green. My best guess is mizuna, which 
> I've only seen in a catalog so it's a wild shot. Any ideas?

Perhaps rappini/broccoli-rabe or whatever its called.  One of my favorite 
greens.  How come s/he's growing them but doesn't know what they are?

--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    | 

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: bcking@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Christine King)
Subject: Re: Cosmos Sensation reached 9 feet!
Organization: Interleaf, Inc.
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 19:28:17 GMT

>Try cleome if you want some more unusual comments.

Right.  I tried cleome this year, in addition to my old favorite
cosmos.  And I've come up with some >unusual< comments, like:

  "Are those seed pods, those ugly long spikey things below the
pretty flowers?"
  "Yikes! These have thorns!"
  "What smells so bad?"

And next year I'm afraid it's going to be, "Will I ever see the end of
these volunteer cleome?"
-- 
  Christine King
    Internet: bcking@hq.ileaf.COM
    US Mail:  Interleaf, Inc. / 9 Hillside Avenue / Waltham MA 02154 USA
Newsgroups: rec.gardens