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HELPFUL HINTS

TOMATO TIPS. Irving Allen of Virginia Beach called to tell us he successfully used the tomato-growing tips from Vera Geddes, a Virginia Beach master gardener, featured in the 2000 May issue of Hampton Roads Gardening & Home magazine. Last year, he combined compost, 1/4-cup lime, 2 tablespoons Epsom salts and 2 tablespoons fertilizer for each plant. It was mixed well four to five days before planting. He grew three different tomato varieties among 18 plants. Only one of them had any sign of blossom-end rot and that was a very little bit, says. He rotates his tomatoes to a different row each year to avoid disease problems. He doesn't have a raised bed; for best growth, he waits until May to put his tomatoes in the ground. He has tried them in April, but found that they just sit there, doing nothing because the soil is still cool. He builds a trough to catch water around each plant, and he puts each tomato plant in a supportive cage.

AGENT ADVICE. You may have heard the term Integrated Pest Management. Well, what does it mean? Simply put, Integrated Pest Management - IPM - is an approach to managing pests in a way that is sensitive to the environment.
When using IPM practices in your yard, put the "right plant in the right place." Learn to recognize symptoms or signs of insects and diseases. Your skills at identifying pests and potential problems will improve each time you walk around the yard to inspect your plants. Do this as often as possible.

Use cultural, mechanical or biological methods to control pest problem. Gardening the IPM way does not exclude the use of chemical pesticides. You just minimize their use. - Jim Williams, Hampton extension agent, 757-727-1401

WEED KILLER. Mix 1 gallon white vinegar, 1 pound table salt and 1 tablespoon liquid dish-washing soap and pour into a small pressure sprayer. It's great for killing weeds in walkways, around trees, etc., but do not get the concoction on anything you do not want to kill because it's potent. The mixture lasts for several months; store extra in a separate container such as a gallon milk jug. Clean out your sprayer thoroughly because the mixture can ruin rubber gaskets, etc. in the sprayer. - Nancy Sheppard, Virginia Beach, featured as Yard of the Month in the May issue of Hampton Roads Gardening Home

TRANSPLANT TIP. If you want to transplant a large shrub or tree this fall, do some root pruning on it this summer. Using a sharp shovel, dig down, cutting one third of the plant's roots about 6- to 8- inches deep. Several weeks later, cut another third of the roots; weeks later, cut the final third roots. This gets the plant used to the fact it will be transplanted. Move the plant between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, keeping it watered weekly throughout fall. - Jim Orband, York extension agent

SUPER SODA. Baking soda is a mild abrasive so it cleanses powerfully and gently without having to worry about scratching. It's great for cleaning and deodorizing cutting boards, stovetops, stainless steel sinks and other kitchen spaces and supplies. Don't forget to sprinkle some baking soda down the sink drain and garbage disposal to get rid of musty odors. Rid outdoor chairs, chaises and tables of mildew, stains and dirt using 1/4 cup solution of baking soda in one quart of warm water; rinse clean.

More Tools & Tips

- Around the house: Making a home
- Tools and toys

SANDSPUR SOLUTION. To rid your lawn of sandspurs, look for chemicals containing post-emergent DSMA, MSMA, MSMA + Sencor and Asulox. Read the label because many grasses are sensitive to these chemicals; the first two listed are often sold as Crabgrass Killer. - Randy Jackson, Virginia Beach extension agent

JUICY JUNEBERRY. Serviceberry, shadbush and shadblow are all common names for members of the genus Amelanchier. This early spring-blooming understory tree is lovely in the landscape and the fruits are important food for birds and small mammals. They're good in jams, jellies and pies, too! - Janis Miller, horticulturist, Virginia Living Museum, www.valivingmuseum.org.

TATTERED, TORN. Recycle those tattered, torn jeans. Cut the legs into four pieces, lay them flat and roll tightly. Light one end of each roll, then wave it to extinguish to a smolder. Lay the smoldering jean roll on the ground; it will burn for hours, keeping mosquitoes and pests away. - Dennis Weaver, Hampton

Kathy says: This technique is probably best not used around children; also consider placing the smoldering jean in a shallow, heat-tolerant container.
 

June 2001

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