|
|
|
It was the day after Friday the 13th. If your wondering what a Paraskevidekatriaphobic is, well, it's someone with an irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Friday the 13 is the most widespread superstition in the world.
We had some of our coldest temps so far this fall. Which got me to thinking, if our average frost occurs around November 13, what was our earliest and latest frosts ever recorded? Well, the earliest was September 24, 1988 and the latest was December 06, 1988.
Heavy Petal Pick brought to you by Skinner Nurseries, Marietta, www.skinnernurseries.com: We went into more detail about the Georgia Perennial Associations top 10 picks for sun and briefly recapped the top 10 for shade. For more info go to www.georgiaperennial.org
Creature Feature: I discussed cleaning our bird feeders with a 10% solution of bleach and water. Letting them dry thoroughly. With all the migrating birds in the fall it is so important to do this on a regular basis. I discovered a no waste bird seed mix. The sunflowers come without the shells. The birds eat every bit. There is no waste and no clean up. Now, it is a little more expensive, but heck, it saves me time cleaning up under all my feeders! There are also shelled peanuts. Leave your hummingbird feeders up all winter. And be sure to change the water often as well. I scalled mine out thoroughly about every week in the winter. But during the summer they must be changed every 3 days wether it's empty or not, to prevent bacteria.
Product of the Week: Are you a "rakish" kinda of person or are you a big "blow hard"? When it comes to rakes and leaf blowers the camp is pretty divided. I prefer a rake myself. One, I hate the noise and two I like to think I'm burning calories to boot. Having said that, I sure would love one of those high powered blowers so I could blow off my roof! I prefer to rake all those wonderful leaves into piles; then I run my lawn mower over them and turn them into mulch that I throw on my beds.
My Special Guest: Pam Beck. She is an author, teacher, photographer and lecturer. Pam is regularly published in one of my favourite magazine 'Carolina Gardener' and she co-authored 'Best Garden Plants for North Carolina'. For more information about Pam and to see some of her wonderful photography go to her web site, www.pambeckgardens.com
Special Organic Segment: Winter Squash. It's to late to plant them, but now is the time to be harvesting them. A few tips on growing them for next spring: Winter squash need 3 months of warm frost free conditions to produce fruit. The fruits will tolerate a light frost but not the vines. They prefer a fertile, aerated soil that is warm enough for germination and growing, 70 to 90 degrees. Winter squash grow best in soils with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. They need moderate amounts of potassium and phosphorus and hight amounts of
nitrogen. Winter squash require alot of space between plants. Plant them at least 2 feet apart. They are mature when the vines begin to shrivel.
Recipe of the Week: Culinary expert Virginia Willis brings us her recipe for Acorn Squash for details go to www.virginiawillis.com
|
Posted on Sunday, October 15, 2006 (Archive on Monday, January 01, 0001)
Posted by lisabartlett Contributed by lisabartlett
| | Return |
|
|
|
|
|