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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-04-14, Page 3332 Exeter Thvseei-Achrocete Wednesday, April 14, 1999 Watching out for your nei (IBC) -The police tell us that communi- ty safety is up to all of us, not just the men and women in uniform. That's the idea behind Neighbourhood Watch, a proven programme for reducing break- ins and other neighbourhood crime. The strategy is simple: Residents simply look out for each other and for any suspicious activities. Your police department will assess your community needs and help you set up the pro- gramme. The neighbours decide which one of them will be the contact for the police. But all you really have to do is be Making Healthy Plant Food Choices By Don Gayford (FIO)-Gardeners are very concerned with the elements they use to pro- duce healthy lawns and garden crops. Continuing research has brought many new plant nutrition products into garden and nursery centres. These products usually serve one of two purposes: to improve soil quality (its ability to accept, store and recycle nutrients and water) or increase soil fertility. Using What We've Learned Plants, like people, need nutrients to support Life. Our needs for vita- mins, proteins and carbo- hydrates can be com- pared to a plant's needs for: 1) Nitrogen, which encourages green plant growth. 2) Phosphorus, which helps plants pi- ,- duce strong roots. 3) Potassium, which increases overall plant strength, disease resis- tance and hardiness. -4) Other minor nutrients (like iron, mag- nesium, manganese, zinc and copper) which are important for balanced plant growth. The essential plant ingredients, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassi- um, are present in some degree in any soil capable of supporting plant life. When growing plants remove these elements from the soil, we have two choices: • move to another growing site, or • bring the neces- sary elements to our gar- dens in the form of fertil- izer and replenish the soil. Since most of us spend many years on one property, we are forced, by the demands of the growing plants, to apply some fertilizer. A century ago, we did- n't understand the intri- cacies of the relationship between soil and plant growth. We couldn't test soil to determine its nutrient content, and the products available to maintain soil quality and fertility were limited. In the 1890s, Ontario farm- ers and gardeners were using crushed gypsum, bone dust, slaughter- house waste and salt to treat their soils but with no understanding of how or why those products, would work. Through sci- entific discoveries made over the last century, we can now accurately pre- dict the nutrient levels that plants need in order to maintain healthy growth, and through soil tests, we can determine the fertility levels of our soils. Manure improves soil texture and organic mat- ter, and organic matter is the "stamina" of the soil, improving its ability to hold nutrients and water. Manure is often low (as a percentage of weight) in the essential nutrients that plants need. Composted manure (which has been cured in rows and d reached an internal temperature of 60° Celsius to kill harmful organisms and weed seeds) is also an excellent soil conditioner. Compost recycles organic matter from your kitchen and garden back into the soil. Using com- post will improve the quality,of your soil, but its plant nutrient content is limited, usually contain- ing one percent each of nitrogen, phosphorous and potash as a percent- age of its weight. Fertilizers are applied to improve a soil's fertility and to ensure that the proper nutrients are available in the amounts necessary for the plants you are growing. Organic fertilizers are available from many lawn and garden centres. The available plant nutri- ents in these formulations (again, as a percentage of product weight) are lower than in convention- al fertilizer and may not be enough to support plants with high nutrient needs, such as corn and other garden vegetables. It takes longer for the soil microbes to break organ- ic fertilizers down into a form usable for plants, and the microbes become active only at tempera- tures above 16° Celsius. It may take more than one growing season for plants to access the nutrients in an organic fertilizer. Manufactured fertiliz- ers are also made from very down-to-earth sources. The nitrogen in most commercial fertiliz- ers sold in Canada is extracted from the atmosphere. The manu- facturing process traps It in a form that we can apply. Bene©cial soil bac- teria make it available to plants, and through the plants, the nitrogen is returned to the ecosystem. The two other ingredi- ents in fertilizer are phos- phorus and potash. Phosphorous, the fos- silized remains of ancient marine life, is mined in Florida and North Carolina, and potash (which provides potassi- um) is mined from natu- rally occurring mineral deposits in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. These natural elements are processed in a form that makes the nutrients accessible and available to growing plants. Many lawn fertilizers also offer the advantage of slow-release nitrogen, and the best granular lawn fertilizers have the highest percentages of nitrogen in a slow-release form. These formulations allow consistent nutrient release over a period of six weeks without risk of burning the plant. No one source of fertil- izer is more "natural" than any other, nor is it of any different value to the plant. An effective fertilizer will provide the essential plant nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a form that is easily available to the plant and in the opti- mal proportion. Turf and Garden Committee The Fertilizer Institute of Ontario Inc. alert to what's going on in your neigh- bourhood. If you see a stranger in the neigh- bourhood, ask if you can be of help or ask what they're looking for. If burglars are casing the 'area, the questions might be enough to scare them off. If you spot anything unusual or potentially threatening, notify your neighbours and the police. It's still up to the police to confront suspicious individ- uals and make any necessary arrests. When you set up a Neighbourhood Watch programme a notice is posted in your neighbourhood and the houses get stickers to put up. This can also make intruders think twice about targeting your neighbourhood, and it creates an atmosphere of community spirit. For the Neighbourhood Watch pro- gramme in some big cities, there's a computer system called PC Cops. This system lets a computer contact your Neighbourhood Watch representative on the phone with updates and informa- tion on local crime. It's very useful if there's a prowler or attacker at work in your area. It's a fairly new concept, so bours check with your local police depart- ment. For general crime prevention advice, take advantage of your polioe depart- ment. They'll send a crime prevention officer to your area, apartment building or place of business to make a crime risk assessment and suggest ways to improve security. All it takes is a phone call, and it does- n't cost anything. If you really want to be neighbourly, here's an idea for maintaining security when your house is empty. Burglars often ring the bell to see is anyone's home. If you're away for long periods, talk to your next-door neighbour about installing an inexpensive remote door- bell transmitter, so the bell will ring in the next house. This way, if a burglar rings the bell of a vacant house, the neigh); in look out the window or door Dna St who's there. No burglar wants to be seen. It's a bit of an unusual idea, but, hey, what are neighbours for? Insurance Bureau of Canada s1: DASHWOOD® WINDOW AND DOOR CENTRE Andersen...made beautifully, made better! See what's new for '99 from Dashwood and Andersen:.. visit our booth at the 14th ANNUAL EXETER HOME, GARDEN AND LEISURE SHOW FRIDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 17 &18 We can supply you with the compkte Andersen' line of windows and patio doors. Call! 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