by Stan Logan | Jul 2, 2018 | Garden tools
One person’s flower is another person’s weed. I thought the moss plants growing in the iris garden were attractive. Today I find that LaVille feels differently. I wish she had told me sooner, as there are now large patches of moss growing among the irises and in the paths. So I started torching the moss plants today. I finally quit when my eyes were burning from the smoke that arose from the conflagrations straight up into my face. My advice to you is that if you purchase a torch, doing your burning when there is a slight breeze. Then you won’t stink of burned debris as I currently do.
Last evening and this morning I spent a lot of time pruning back recent grow on bushes and vines. It is amazing how much growth has taken place in the last few weeks. As I used my favorite thinning pruner that I have shown you several times, I cannot stop hoping that you have purchased this tool. The long slender blades easily reach into a plant to reach the desired stem. New growth is thin, so little mechanical advantage is needed, therefore the blades move more rapidly than those of other pruners. Need I remind you how easily they fit in your back pocket? If you lost my list of tools for the gardener, this pruner can be found on Amazon—Corona FS-4350 thinning shear.
Stan, The Blog Man
by Stan Logan | Jun 11, 2018 | Garden tools
I have been sleeping well at night. Now that SPPC has given me the opportunity to express thoughts, my mind isn’t going crazy with ideas and keeping me awake. Now it’s my wife’s turn. She lost a lot of sleep last night thinking about clay projects. So she left me today to work at Alpha Fine Arts in Sacramento. (She is coming back though.) So much creative talent, and so little time.
While playing in the garden today, several thoughts came to mind. At least some of you have continued to resist removing your lawn to conserve water. I am one of these. I love my lawn. At one time it covered the entire back yard. Now it’s far less than 1000 square feet. It contains no weeds, but there are a few brown spots where my son’s dog has done his thing. I love it best when the grandkids are here. See, they have no lawn. Their house is on a steep slope in the hills above Los Gatos. The creek that runs 100 yards below them represents the line of the San Andreas Fault. So you see, it is a treat for them to have a lawn to play on. The girls do cartwheels and wrestle about. At lunch time they spread out a blanket and they lie on their backs in the shade of the hackberry tree while they eat their Nana special sandwiches (strawberry jam, creamed cheese, and peanut butter}. This is really why I love my lawn.
So if you still have a lawn, I hope you have a mower that has a good vacuuming blade. Practically all mowers come with a mulching blade that does not do a great job at sucking up plant debris. You generally can order a blade that does a good job at vacuuming. There unfortunately is no such blade for my Craftsman mower. What do you do with your clippings? I hope you use them for mulch around your plants in the vegetable garden. If your clippings go into the organic recycle bin, I would suggest that you put a layer of dry plant material in first so that the grass clippings don’t form a gooey mess that sticks to the bottom of the bin. Another suggestion is to leave the bin lid open. This lets the contents dry out and this eliminates a lot of odor and prevents the condensation on the bin inner surfaces that gathers debris when the bins are dumped. Now . . . if you just had a power washer, you could keep all your bins clean enough to eat out of . . . Perhaps that’s a stretch.
Stan, The Blog Man
by Stan Logan | Jun 11, 2018 | Recipes
Since Stan wrote about brown bananas, I am compelled to share a recipe for Banana Curd which appeared in The Sacramento Bee many years ago. I find myself wishing my bananas quickly turn brown so I can make this condiment. Enjoy it on toast for breakfast or graham crackers as a snack. It serves as a chutney for spicy dishes, especially curries.
BANANA CURD
Flavor depends on using very ripe, soft and sweet bananas with dark brown skins. If bananas are barely ripe, add a bit of sugar. A hint of allspice or nutmeg is also good.
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Dash ground cloves
Dash ground cinnamon
Mash bananas with fork or potato masher, leaving a few lumps, to make 1-1/2 cups.
Place mashed bananas in a small saucepan. Add lemon juice and zest along with cloves and cinnamon.
Bring to a boil and simmer gently about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. While simmering, bananas will slowly heave up into mounds and then spout little puffs of steam, like simmering oatmeal.
Cool. Pour into a jar, cover, and refrigerate. Curd will keep about 2 weeks.
Per 1/4 cup: 47 cal; 1 g pro; 12 g carb; 0 g fat, 0 mg chol; 1 mg sod; 1 g fiber; 9 g sugar
Linda Hax
by Stan Logan | May 29, 2018 | Container plants, Garden tools
SPPC 5 23 18
If you have a twist tiller and no longer are using it, I will buy it from you. A member of the Iris Club wants one. She also wants 2 round nose and one flat end shovels, a pick axe, hula hoe, rake, and wheel barrow.
If you have harvested too many bananas at one time, (You do have a banana tree in your garden, don’t you?) as soon as a banana starts to get those brown spots, put them in the frig. They may turn really ugly, but the fruit will stay palatable for days.
A tool you may wish to consider is a rubber mallet. Removing a plant from a pot is generally easy with plastic pots. You are able to squeeze the sides to loosen the soil. But with a clay or ceramic pot removal can be a chore. This is a two man job, but if one person supports the plant and soil on its side or up-side down, the other person can rap on the top of the lip of the pot to knock it loose. Using a block of wood with a regular hammer will also work and keep you from breaking the pot.
Stan, The Blog Man
by Stan Logan | May 29, 2018 | Garage and estate sales
SPPC 5 13 18
I did some serious garage sale-ing the Saturday before Mother’s Day. I landed my best find ever and I am once again a dedicated treasure hunter. I bought an unused irrigation timer for $5. Value on Amazon–$230. I had to buy the same timer 2 years ago when an old one quit. Now I have a spare for the next failure. LaVille told me not to lead club members into thinking that this is a typical experience. But I would like at least to suggest that you give garage sale-ing a try if you never have. Here’s how you get started:
Step 1: Google “craigslist Sacramento.” You will see a huge field of categories. In the “search craigslist” box type in your city and then “garage sales.” Here is your list of upcoming sales. Often there are pictures accompanying the ad. You will likely also see a listing of estate sales. Estate sales are also listed on line at estatesales.net. Estate sales are often interesting in that you generally wander through a house a get a glimpse into the lives of the previous occupants. The garage generally holds the gardening tools and the gardening chemicals like fertilizer you are seeking, but don’t forget to check out the back yard. Occasionally overlooked items can be found out there. Often a company is running the sale, and they have to make their profit, so prices are higher than at regular garage sales. You can expect to buy an item between 10% and 25% of retail at a garage sale. Estate sale prices tend to hover around 30% to 40%. Whereas the higher price may turn you off, you may find a unique item that you wouldn’t find elsewhere. Moving sales are generally good because people often have to get rid of a great number of items and it’s often not just junk common to a lot of sales. Another source of garage sales is your local paper. I check out the classified section of the Davis Enterprise and frankly give those ads more credence than craigslist ads because the sale will likely be of a more serious nature since they had to pay for the ad—either that or they are computer illiterate.
Step 2: Make judgments about the sales. You want to go to most promising sales first. Ideally you would first visit homes in the better part of the city. You want to deal with people who are more interested in getting rid of good quality stuff instead of just making money off of junk.
Step 3: Plan your driving path Friday night. Pay close attention to the sale starting times. They can vary tremendously, but most sales start at 8:00 A.M.
Step 4: On Saturday (and sometimes other days) get up early. Be the “early bird.” It’s really depressing to see an item that you really wanted in the hands of someone else. Check for late listings just before you leave the house. Some sellers put in their ad at the very last minute. Now estate sales are generally so well attended that you will find a line of 25 people standing at the front door when you arrive. Sometimes the organizers will have you sign up on a list when you arrive, and they will restrict how many people can enter at one time. This can use up valuable garage sale-ing time on a Saturday, so visit estate sales on Thursdays or Fridays. You know, sometimes people get in a squabble. It’s entertaining if you’re not participating.
Now a few miscellaneous things: Carry a wad of 1 dollar bills and a few quarters. When you approach the sales person with something in your hand to buy, if no price is on the item, your question is, “How much are you asking for this?”. When they respond, you say, “Would you take so and so?” Generally they will agree because most people realize that bargaining is a part of the process. If the item you want has a price tag on it, simply ask if they would take a certain lesser amount. Occasionally, you will find a child who is selling lemonade and cookies at a sale. If he or she is asking 50 cents, ask if you can have one for 25 cents. Kids need to learn early that small business is a tough go, and that 70% of new small businesses fail. I’m kidding . . . I’m kidding! I generally buy from kids. Besides, your generosity might get you a better deal on an item in the garage sale. Now this bargaining process I’ve described will vary a lot depending on how reasonable the original price is, and also with your relationship with the sales person. Some people are just so nice, that you don’t feel like quibbling over a couple bucks. You will often get a better deal on items if you bundle them. If you approach the seller with several items, you’ll generally get a much lower per item price. Here is another thing I have found: Most of the people selling things at garage sales are really nice people, and I find it a really enjoyable experience meeting these folks that I would never otherwise encounter. Garage sales require a lot of work to put on, the monetary rewards are meager, and afterwards you have to deal with all the unwanted stuff that remains. I often thank sellers for holding a garage sale when I leave.
There you have it . . . my attempt to interest you in the hobby of garage sale-ing. I hope you will give it a try. As per any endeavor, the hardest part is getting started. Once you make it out of bed, the rest is easy and can be very rewarding.
Stan, The Blog Man
