HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-04-13, Page 39Page 15
Why not dry your flowers for lasting beauty
The National Garden Bureau
sent us this article by Amalie
.Adler Ascher, author and lec-
turer on /lower arranging and
drying.
"Make the most of garden
flowers by drying them for ar-
rangements. The method is
simple and involves burying
blossoms in a drying agent to
preserve their natural look.
"Most kinds of garden
flowers can be dried but the
most satisfying are zinnias,
marigolds, roses, small dahlias
and asters. Carnations and
chrysanthemums tend to shrivel
and lose petals.
"The two best agents are sil-
ica gel and sand of the sort sold
for sandboxes. Sand is the least
expensive if you want to dry in
quantity. Any box or pan with
tight seams can serve as recep-
tacle. Line the container with
wax paper.
"Silica gel reduces drying
time and produces the brightest
color. For this you'll need a
cake tin with a tight fitting lid.
"The technique of covering is
the same and both agents are
reuseable. Directions for drying
silica gel are on the package;
sand does not need to be oven
dried.
"Gather flowers when mois-
ture content is low, not follow-
ing rain, nor when they are wet
with dew, or after standing in
an arrangement. Pass up blos-
soms that show signs of age;
they'll shatter when dry. Have
equipment ready so you can
process immediately.
"Remove the stems from zin-
nias, marigolds and other sim-
ilar flowers. Replace stems with
a 2 -inch length of 19 -gauge
florist wire inserted into the
blossom. Lay daisy -type blos-
soms facedown on a 1 -inch
layer of drying agent. Begin by
pouring sand or silica gel
around the edge of petals, pil-
ing it up to the base of the wire
stem.
"Thicker and more intri-
cately shaped flowers like
marigolds should be placed
face up.
"As you build the outside, fill
in between the petals to equal-
ize pressure and prevent
mashing.
"Follow a similar procedure
with spiky blooms such as snap-
dragons. but rest them horizon-
tally. Tap the edges of the box
Amalie A. Ascher demonstrating
drying with sand
to eliminate air pockets. Cover
any exposed parts of blossoms.
,You can leave the box open if
using sand. Mark the date and
flower name to estimate time
for removal
"Never mix flowers of dif-
ferent types nor stack in more
than one layer.
"Drying time varies accord-
ing to flower bulk or thickness.
In silica gel, simple, open
flowers may take only two or
three days while thick, bulky
marigolds may require five days
to a week or more depending
on size. In sand, flowers lose
moisture more slowly.
"In any car, avoid uncover-
ing until blooms are completely
dry. Premature exposure causes
irreversible. wilting. Test first
by brushing off enough of the
agent to feel the tip of a petal.
If crisp, pour off the rest.
"Weil•dried flowers will last
one or two years if carefully
handled to avoid shattering.
Arrangements should be dis-
played in a dry room, out of
direct sunlight or high humidity
that can fade dried flowers or
cause them to collapse."
An opulent arrangement of dried flowers by the author
Transplanting Iipsfor vegetables
Since tomatoes, peppers and
cabbage are the most widely -
grown vegetables in Canada,
home gardeners should consider
the individual likes and dislikes
of these three when buying
transplants.
Cabbage, which is the first to
be planted into the garden in
spring, is hardy and will tolerate
light frosts. Unlike tomatoes and
peppers which are tender plants,
cabbage can be planted about
four weeks before the last frost
date in any given area. Healthy
transplants can be purchased
from bedding plant outlets. They
should be spaced 11/2 feet apart in
a row. Miniature heads are not
yet formed when cabbage is
bought as a bedding plant. Heads
appear after the plants are well
established in the garden. Even
so, healthy cabbage transplants
can cut six weeks from the
growing time.
Broccoli is closely related to
cabbage and can be treated in the
same way with early planting.
Like cabbage, broccoli will not
form heads until about six weeks
after transplanting.
Peppers and tomatoes cannot
tolerate frost and so should not be
Use common sense with pesticides
By F.L. McEwen
Department of
Environmental Biology
University of Guelph -- Today
we have many pesticides and
each one is packaged in a variety
of ways. For the home gardener,
these are formulated as liquids to
be diluted with water and wet-
table powders; secondly, they
can be mixed with water and
sprayed onto the foliage of plants
to be protected from insects and
diseases, or applied to the soil for
control of pests in the soil. The
homeowner can also purchase
dust formulations in shaker carl$.
ready -to -apply or in packages to
be emptied into your own duster
for application.
On each package will be found
a label that specifies how the
product should be used and what
pests it will control. This label is
important. It is your guide tti
successful use of the product.
Follow the instructions carefully
and use the, product only in the
way the label directs.
Insecticides are products to kill
insects. Carharyl (Sevin).
methoxychlor, pyrethrum and
rotenone are good to control most
beetles and leaf -eating cater-
pillars, while Malathion is good to
control aphids and some other
insects. Insecticides should be
used only if a lot of insects are
feeding on your plants. Don't
bother with the sprayer for a few
a , bugs. If only a few are present on
a few plants, it is much easier to
pick them off by hand or shake
them from the plant and destroy
them.
Fungicides are products to
prevent diseases " in plants.
Maneb, mancozeb, captan and
ferbam are some of those used
commonly by the home gardener
for general disease control, and
sulfur is especially good for
mildew on plants.
In using fungicides, bq guided
by past experience. If you have
been having disease problems in
the garden, treat those plants
where the problem has occurred.
Foliar diseases on roses are
usually present and will make
them unattractive and not
productive. With many flowers
and garden crops, however,
fungicides are not needed.
Herbicides are used to control
weeds; 2, 4-D, mecoprop and
dicamha are a few of those
available for, control Af broad-
leaved weeds, while others are
needed to control crabgrass.
Herbicides properly used will
play a major role in keeping your
lawn neat and attractive.
T DIG
I On ffag
Herbicides are intended to kill
plants and one must be very
careful not to accidentally apply
these when they will damage
sensitive crops. Always use a
different sprayer for applying
herbicides then the one used for
insecticides and fungicides.
Label your herbicide sprayer to
make sure it is used only for weed
spraying.
In Ontario, highly toxic
pesticides can be purchased only
by agriculturalists and licensed
pesticide applicators. Those
available to the home gardener
are quite safe to use and will not
injure children or pets, provided
common sense is used. Always
remember that all pesticides are
poisonous.
Keep all pesticides in a cabinet
that is locked and out of the reach
of small children. Do not apply
pesticides on windy days when
most of what you apply will end
up in your neighbor's yard. Apply
them when the air is reasonably
calm and make applications so
that the air movement carries the
spray away from the applicator.
Do not have children or pets with
you when applying pesticides and
make sure that measuring
containers and spray mixtures
are not left around where
children may get them. When you
have finished the job, empty your
sprayer in a safe place and return
it to your storage. Do not pur-
chase more than one year's
supply of any pesticide, and when
the container is empty, dispose of
it in your regular garbage
pickup.
set out as transplants until after
the last frost date in any area.
Tomatoes should be set out with
several inches of stem buried
belo�� ground. The stem will
produce additional roots and
create a healthier plant. Bedding
plant outlets often sell plants with
flowers or fruit already formed.
When these are placed in the
garden, gardeners have an op-
portunity for an early crop.
Tomato vines need the support
of staking. Left to sprawl on the
ground, tomatoes will occupy
more space and be more prone to
disease.
Bedding plant tomatoes in good
supply range from giant -sized
(usually red -fruited hybrids) to
cherry -sized fruits. Yellow -
fruited tomatoes can also be
found at bedding plant outlets.
Although peppers and tomatoes
are closely related and thrive
under similar conditions, the
stem of the pepper plant will not
produce additional roots, so it
should be planted shallow. A
sunny location and fertile soil is
needed to get worthwhile crops of
peppers. The, pepper stem is
generally strong enough to
support the plant without staking,
but when fruit is picked, care
must be taken not to break the
extremely -brittle branches.
Sweet bell peppers are the most
popular kinds in home gardens.
These generally ripen from green
to red, although several good
yellow varieties are also
available.
No losers in
gardening
Lack of information? Lack of
garden space? Indifference? No,
fear of failure, more than any
other reason keeps non -gardeners
from planting their first garden
seed or seedling. says the National
Garden Bureau.
Gardening is perhaps the most
socially acceptable hobby in North
America, enjoyed by rich and poor
alike. Yet some people will go
through life having never suc-
ceeded in raising a plant from a
seed or keeping a houseplant
happy.
Non -gardeners need encourage-
ment and praise from their friends
and relatives, never criticism of
their first attempts, however
bumbling. There is -no such thing
as a "born loser" in gardening.
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