How Often to Change Blue Apple Refill Packets

Summer thunder: message of the trees

In the heat of a summer afternoon, the heat of the sweltering sun bears down on the leaves of oaks and maples and they respond by turning their leaves over to show their petticoats and send a subtle message that they are ready for some rain in the form of an afternoon thunderstorm. Later, the sun hides behind the clouds, thunder rolls, lightning flashes and a hefty rain falls; the leaves flip over to receive the fresh raindrops, and after the rain, there is a cool, refreshing breeze. The leaves are fresh, green, lively as well as upright as if thanking the creator for a wonderful shower of blessing and refreshing.

Vegetables need food, not fertilizers

Organic plant, flower and vegetable food is beneficial to soil as well as vegetables. Organics will dissolve quickly into soil and are finely textured and not pelletized and this promotes nutritional results. You can choose from Plant-Tone organic vegetable food, Tomato-Tone organic tomato food, Garden-Tone organic plant food, Flower-Tone organic flower food and Holly-Tone organic evergreen and azalea food. It is available in four- and ten-pound zippered bags. The four-pound bags are easier to handle and apply and can be sprinkled into the furrows and mixed easily into the soil when sowing seed.

Hoping for few Japanese beetles

As the heat of June increases, we hope the population of Japanese beetles will not increase. As Dog Days draw nearer, we should know what kind of beetle year this will be. If you see them appear, the first measure of control should be to place beetle traps in areas away from the garden and affected areas. If there is a huge infestation, spray a mist of liquid Sevin mixed with proper amount of water in a spray bottle. Allow the sun to dry the mist into the foliage.

Peat moss and Black Kow elixirs

These two organic products will give the garden an extra boost. Both are totally organic and will work wonders in warm summer soil. Black Kow is composted cow manure and comes in 25- and 50-pound bags. A 25-pound bag costs about $6. Peat moss comes in 3.5 cubic foot bales and costs about $12 per bale. Keep a bale on hand and place on seed in the furrow before you hill up soil on both sides of the furrow.

Heat up compost with grass clippings

Using residue from garden harvests, grass clippings and peelings of vegetables and other crops add extra heat to the compost and help decompose and break down the materials by bringing on the heat. Grass clippings also provide great mulch for summer vegetable crops.

Days of summer getting shorter

The days of summer are now getting shorter by one minute each evening now that summer has begun. This will continue til Dec. 21. It will be a while before we can see any difference because summer has just got started and the days of summer are long.

Staying ahead of summer weeds

The weeds in the summer garden do not take a vacation, but will continue to grow and choke out vegetable harvests. The best way to control them is to pull them up by the roots and throw them out of the garden. Those weeds have deep roots and pulling them up by the roots is the best way to destroy them.

Watching out for the deck umbrella

The warm afternoons of summer can trigger a thunderstorm that generates high winds that can blow over the deck umbrella and take the deck table over with it. If a thunderstorm is in the forecast, remove the umbrella. If you go on vacation always do these two things for peace of mind and protection: Remove deck umbrella and store it and switch off the refrigerator's ice maker and don't forget to switch it back on as soon as you return home.

Warm temperatures pave way for tougher grass

Warm June temperatures pave the way for tougher grass and this will make mowing a little harder. Make sure grass is dry from morning dew or a sudden shower. Never mow grass that is wet, but wait until the sun dries out the grass. Make sure the blade is sharp and adjusted to keep from cutting grass too low.

Keep tomatoes fed

Warm days and nights cause tomato plants to bloom and form green tomatoes as we end June. Feed the tomatoes by applying Tomato-Tone organic tomato food on each side of the tomato row and hilling up soil to cover up the Tomato-Tone. Water with the wand in shower mode each week at the base of the tomato plants to prevent blossom end rot. Apply a layer of calcium carbonate (powdered lime) on each side of tomato vines when green tomatoes appear. Cover lime with soil on each side of the row. Water each week when no rain is forecast.

Making a creamy ranch squash casserole

The summer squash are now in season and this casserole is a great way to use some of them. You will need two or three pounds of yellow summer squash, one cup of diced onions, three fourth cup mayonnaise, two slightly beaten large eggs, one envelope crushed saltine crackers, five slices toasted crushed bread, one envelope Hidden Valley buttermilk ranch dressing (dry), one eight ounce package of finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, one stick melted margarine, half teaspoon salt and half teaspoon pepper. Cook squash and onions until tender and drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix mayonnaise, beaten eggs, and crushed saltines, and ranch dressing and the finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Mash the squash and onion mixture and add to the mayonnaise mixture. Pour into a casserole dish sprayed with Pam baking spray. Mix melted light margarine with the toasted, crushed bread crumbs; heat and sprinkle over the squash mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Ethanol oil treatment on two cycle small engines

Ethanol is not good for two cycle small engines. When adding oil to the fuel, always add ethanol free oil treatment to the fuel to protect engines of weed trimmers, blowers and tillers as well as all small engines. You can purchase this additive at Home Depot, Lowe's and most hardwares.

The blueberry harvest to begin

As June is at the close, the season of the blueberry is almost here and the harvest will run all the way into August. Unlike strawberries, it takes a lot of blueberries to compose a gallon, but their flavor in a blueberry pie or a cobbler or sonker makes them well worth the time and effort. Dog Days will soon be here, so the best thing to do is pick blueberries early in the morning before the sun heats things up. It takes patience to pick blueberries as well as a positive thinking attitude. A bit of wise advice — leave the kids with grandma because the patience of kids wear thin in the blueberry patch! One plus of blueberries is that they are easy to prepare and freeze. All you have to do is run cold in the sink. Pour a quart of blueberries in at a time in the water and remove the unripe berries that rise to the top with a tea strainer. Place berries in quart containers after draining the berries on a dry towel for a minute. Make sure berries are dry when placing in the plastic quart containers. Allow half an inch at the top of container before placing the lids. In winter, they will taste just like fresh berries.

Making a blueberry sweet dream dessert

This is a yummy recipe to think about when getting ready to make a blueberry picking visit worthwhile when you get back home. You will need one 21-ounce can of Comstock blueberry pie filling, one quart fresh blueberries, one eight ounce pack softened cream cheese, one tub of Cool Whip, two cups of graham cracker crumbs, one cup 10x powdered sugar, one cup sugar and two sticks light margarine. Run the graham crackers through the blender in "grate" mode and mix with two sticks of melted light margarine and spread in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish or pan. Bake at 350 degrees for seven or eight minutes. Beat cream cheese and add powdered sugar. Spread over the graham crackers. Mix blueberry pie filling, fresh blueberries, one cup sugar and spread over the cream cheese mixture. Cover with Cool Whip or dairy whipping cream and serve. Keep refrigerated.

Harvesting the Irish potatoes

The heat and humidity of July's Dog Days will begin in a few days. Now is the time to check out the Irish potato row or bed and see what's under the vines. Dig under them lightly and don't disturb the skins of the spuds. After harvest, spread a layer of powdered lime over the harvested potatoes to promote drying.

Hoe hoe hoedown

"Rock a bye baby." Son: "Why is Dad singing so much to the baby tonight?" Mother: "He is trying to sing the baby to sleep." Son: "If I were her, I'd pretend I was asleep."

"Tailor made." Customer: "I'm sorry, I wont be able to pay for this suit for two months." Tailor: "Oh, that will be alright." Customer: "When will the suit be ready?" Tailor: "In two months."

"Fun pun:" "I'm going to put all my money into taxes — they are sure to go up."

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Source: https://www.mtairynews.com/opinion/111009/leaves-speak-of-summer-thunderstorms

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