Happy Garden - October 9, 2008

This week we have some great tips from Ellen Brown about Bringing Houseplants Back Indoors For The Winter. We also have more tips from readers and an article about selecting and carving pumkins. If you have any fall gardening tips or pictures of your garden, feel free to share them on one of the contest pages.

Thanks for reading,

Susan

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Photos:

• Using Straw Bales For Gardening
• Garden: Celosia
• Garden: Purple Zebra Mallow
• Garden: Fall Coleus

Tips and Articles:

• Harvesting Herbs For Cooking
• Tips for Bringing Houseplants Back Indoors For The Winter
• Use Your Microwave to Sterilize Your Garden Pots and Soil
• Make a Greenhouse for Late Tomatoes
• Using Your Dried Lavender
• Selecting & Carving Pumpkins for Halloween
• Craft: Bentwood Tables With Tile Tops
• Wash and Freeze Your Apple Harvest
• Use Vinegar as a Weed Killer
• Pumpkins for Outdoor Vase

New Requests:

• Blooms But No Tomatoes
• What Is This Plant?
• Damaged Christmas Cactus
• Bugs In Compost Pile
• Sharpening Hedge Shears
• Saving Money on Irrigation
• Potatoes in Tires
• Removing A Willow Tree
• Foliage Accent Palm Turning Brown
• Sweet Gum Tree Losing Leaves
• Getting Seeds From Zinnias

Crafting for Fun and Money!

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Using Straw Bales For Gardening

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Garden: Celosia

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Garden: Purple Zebra Mallow

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Garden: Fall Coleus

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Harvesting Herbs For Cooking

Question:

Pattie from Seattle, WA

Answer:

Here are some tips for harvesting your herbs:

• The best time of the day to harvest herbs is in the early morning on a dry day (daybreak is ideal) before the sun heats up the volatile oils.

• Leaves and stems (basil, parsley, rosemary, dill, and chives) are at their most fragrant and contain the highest amount of volatile oils before any of the flowers have opened.

• Gather only the best-shaped, greenest leaves and stems. Discard any that are withered or damaged by insects.

• Use a sharp knife or scissors to remove the leaves, stems, seed heads, and flowers. Pulling and tearing may cause damage to the plants, which can delay new growth or create wounds where insects and diseases can enter.

• Flowers (chives) should be harvested as soon as they have fully opened.

• Seeds (dill) are best captured as soon as they are ripe.

• For single-stemmed herbs like basil, harvesting the center tip will encourage bushier growth. For mint, you can use the tops and the flower buds. Take the outside leaves and stems from your parsley plant and leave the center intact. Harvest the leaves and flowers of chives as you need them.

• Are you growing your herbs like annuals? If so, never harvest more than the top half of the plant at one time and you'll be able to get several harvests each season.

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Tips for Bringing Houseplants Back Indoors For The Winter
By Ellen Brown

The end of a summer vacation can come as a shock to some, especially to the tropical houseplants we put out on the deck and patio to reinvigorate over the summer. Once temperatures start to dip into the mid-40s (in some cases 50s), they start to risk becoming injured from the cold. Moving them from full sun and chilly nights spent outdoors to a dim and toasty room indoors can be quite a shock. Here's how to safely reintroduce them to life indoors for the winter.

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Use Your Microwave to Sterilize Your Garden Pots and Soil

I am repotting a few plants and starting some new cuttings to give as holiday gifts. To make sure I am not bringing any insects or fungus into the new soil (new but stored in the garage), I fill the pots and microwave them for a few minutes until very hot, killing off any bad hitchhikers. I usually do this in the eve and then in the AM the soil is cool enough to plant in.

By twodogsmom from Vista, CA

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Make a Greenhouse for Late Tomatoes

It looked like it would soon be raining; I couldn't stand the thought of having so many soon-to-be ripe tomatoes rotting on the vines, so I decided to do something about it. I created a make-shift greenhouse.

It was fantastic that my husband had formed our huge tomato cages from a roll of wire (the kind used for cement slabs). All I had to do was trim the tops of our tomato plants so they would not extend past the top of the 'cages'. I was thrilled that our plants were next to a wire fence, meaning I could use that as one 'wall', attaching the semi-clear heavy plastic to it. I merely pulled the plastic over the wire cages, letting the plastic come to the ground.

I know from previous experience, I'll need to make a way so the plastic doesn't remain on the plants for too long, or else they will mold. Since the plastic isn't touching much of the actual foliage, I figure I'm safe for now. The two ends of the 'greenhouse' are open, but I don't expect any major storms before the last of the tomatoes are picked anyway.

A few days later, I merely made sure to remove any standing water from a couple of places it had pooled on top of my 'greenhouse'. I was able to pick lots of beautiful tomatoes, and expect many more to ripen soon.

By Cyndi from Angwin CA

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Using Your Dried Lavender

Now is the time to harvest some of the stems on your lavender plant to dry out. Put it in a small satchel bag and add to sock drawers, pillow cases, make eye pillows or place a satchel in the dryer and for go dryer sheets one bag can be used over and over again. Saves money and smells really good, and the scent on cloths lasts longer than dryer sheets ever do.

By Gina from Collegeville PA

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Selecting & Carving Pumpkins for Halloween
By Ellen Brown

Halloween has become a huge holiday. According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, consumers spent $3.29 billion dollars on Halloween in 2005. Of that $3.29 billion, $840 million was spent on decorations-second only to Christmas in holiday home decor. Talk about frightening! Even with all newfangled lighting effects, fog machines and animatronics designed to create hair-raising effects, a carved pumpkin is still the best and least expensive way to create a haunting Halloween scene.

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Craft: Bentwood Tables With Tile Tops

This was made out of bentwood. I used it as a BBQ table. It has a plywood top that is covered with broken tile. The tile can be found from a tile company. Most tile companies have scrap tile that is given away free like the one pictured.. The wood can be alder shown or other scrap wood. The pot I also re did with broken tile for they were just cheap clay pots.

By Cathy from Stanwood, WA

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Wash and Freeze Your Apple Harvest

With apples so good and plentiful now, why not freeze them so that you may enjoy sauces and apple desserts all year. Fill empty spots in your freezer with apples that have been washed only. Don't pare, core or peel. Just put in plastic bags before storing in freezer. When you are ready to use them, just peel and slice as with fresh apples. Let apples stand out of freezer for 1 hour before peeling. This makes them easier to handle. Be sure to use them at once before they turn and become soft.

Source: I got this from a local newspaper more than 20 years ago.

By Jane from Piqua, OH

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Use Vinegar as a Weed Killer

This is not original; however, I have discovered not too many people are aware of this. I have been doing this very successfully for many years.

I don't like to put "poison" of any kind in my yard because of pets and children--and frankly, wildlife, but I really don't like weeds--especially in my walk and driveway and up against the house, and pulling them can sometimes be difficult. The solution: pour any kind of cheap white vinegar on them, they die and are easy to pull, you may have to do it twice but it never fails to work. The smell disappears quickly!

Source: I don't remember where I first heard of this or when but I have been doing this for at least 30 years,

By Bunny from Grand Rapids, MI

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Pumpkins for Outdoor Vase

When it's pumpkin time and you have flowers in your yard, why not use your pumpkin to display a bouquet of flowers on your porch or doorstep? I had a lot of marigolds which were still blooming so I arranged them in the hollowed out pumpkin. You can place a jar of water into the pumpkin so your arrangement will last a lot longer.

By sewingmamma from Pittsburgh PA

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Blooms But No Tomatoes

I have the nicest, strongest, biggest tomato plants this year and they are just covered with blooms. Yet, not one tomato. I always thought that tomato plants were self pollinating. How can I or can I force my tomato plants to yield tomatoes? Are they shot? I can't believe all the blooms, but not one tomato.

Cheryl from Port O'Connor, Texas

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What Is This Plant?

Can anyone give me a name for this plant that was given to me? The leaves are smooth and the flowers were light purple before they turned this deep red.

Theresa from Nova Scotia

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Damaged Christmas Cactus

Squirrels devoured my 3 Christmas Cactus. They looked beautiful through the summer and my husband noticed, yesterday, that they were stumps. I want to try and salvage them. Is there any hope?

Hardiness Zone: 6a

Auntdebbie224 from Newtown Square, PA

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Bugs In Compost Pile

I started composting a year ago. I'm not regular about turning, nor consistent about my mix of greens and browns. From what I have read I'm Cold Composting, although my bin got pretty hot when I started adding grass clippings.

I'm finally starting to see some real composted material when I do turn the pile. Which is great, as soon as I can figure out how to separate the compost from the stuff that's still "cooking".

My question is about the bugs that I see in the bin. During the summer I have a lot of fruit flies. Now that it is cooler, I'm seeing other bugs running around in the pile. I'm not sure what kind of bug they are. What kinds of bugs should I expect to see and which ones should signal a problem with the pile?

Hardiness Zone: 3b


Corene from Neenah, WI

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Sharpening Hedge Shears

How can I sharpen very dull hedge shears?

Clydene from Houston, TX

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Saving Money on Irrigation

I am looking for ideas. We just got our water bill and although we have had more rain than normal our 1/2 year water bill was a whopping $600. I believe it is our irrigation "system".

We were thinking of setting up a system in the spring for catching rain water but don't know where to start or how to store it so next year we won't have this insane bill. We have huge gardens of flowers and we have been using drip line hoses and although we used less water than last year with these methods the rates went up and we have a huge bill anyway.

Suggestions?

Maria from Berlin, CT

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Potatoes in Tires

We just had our first frost last week and I dug up my potatoes grown in a tire stack. I was disappointed to find only 6 potatoes. I planted 3 seed potatoes in the initial tire, and partially covered the greens, as they appeared to a final height of 5 tires. Any suggestions as to what went wrong. It would be helpful for next years attempt. Thanks.

Hardiness Zone: 3a

Guy from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

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Removing A Willow Tree

On the right side of our house, 10 feet apart from the house foundation, there is a willow tree, its height is just above the house's roof (two stories). It has been about 7 years old since it was planned by the previous owner.

I am told that if a willow tree is too close to the house, it will cause problems. If it is 10 feet away could it be a problem? I have decided to remove it, any ideas for what would be the best way to get rid of this tree? Thank you for any info.

Charles from NJ

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Foliage Accent Palm Turning Brown

My indoor palm is turning brown and dying. Any ideas?

Hardiness Zone: 10a

Lorie from San Jose, CA

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Sweet Gum Tree Losing Leaves

I planted a sweet gum tree about 4 years ago. In the summer the leaves on the upper portion go black and it defoliates the upper portion. My neighbor has the same problem with their sweet gum. Have any solutions?

Hardiness Zone: 7a


Lance from Touchet, WA

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Getting Seeds From Zinnias

In hoping to get seeds from faded Zinnias. I am faced with either the spent petals (which fit into the flower-head and look like the heads of spears) or a much smaller seed(?) which comes out of the flower head when the flower head looks like a carefully trimmed buzz cut. Which is the preferred product?

Hardiness Zone: 5a


Jim from Detroit, MI

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

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More Information:
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