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1) Editor's Comments:Have you ever watched a hummingbird feed? They are fascinating and fun to watch. Today we have a follow-up to our song bird article with a look at hummingbirds. Also, now that July has arrived, it is time to look at some mid- summer topics like our tomato calendar, and everyone's favorite summer pastime, grilling. As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate to drop us a note. Rex Gregor Tom Krueger 2) Hummingbirds:
The best way I know is to plant a hummingbird garden -- hanging a hummingbird feeder is just not enough. These beautiful miniature birds need a place that will provide them a natural diet. Select your flower seeds with care -- hybrid flowers make much less nectar than do wild strains. Hummingbirds feed by sight on regular routes called "traplines." They have an inquisitive nature and will quickly investigate any new source of food; a garden filled with flowering plants attract them and provide them with a bountiful source of food. As we've discussed in recent issues, the use of pesticides around your garden is a bad idea. Killing good garden pests will eliminate a source of food for hummingbirds since they also rely on the protein insects give them. Also, pesticides sprayed on flowers could sicken or kill the birds.
In addition to food sources, you should supply your new found friends with perching opportunities -- this will make your yard or garden more hospitable. They spend about 80% of their time setting on twigs, leaf stems, clotheslines, etc.
NECTAR RECIPE The most common home made nectar for your hummer is a solution of:
Never use honey or artificial sweeteners. Honey ferments early and may cause sores in the birds mouth. Artificial sweeteners have no food value. Some people believe you should use red food coloring to attract the hummingbird, but professionals believe that food coloring may be harmful to the birds. Rely on the color of the feeder or those reflective tapes to attract the birds.
Your feeders need to be cleaned every four or five days using a water and vinegar solution -- no soap or detergent. Clean more often in hot weather. If you see black spots inside your feeder this is probably mold. Do not use a harsh detergent to clean, this might make the bird sick. I also suggest you do not fill the feeder more than half full -- the birds will not get a chance to drink it all anyway before it is time to clean the feeder.
If you never seem to be able to attract hummingbirds to your yard or garden try these tips:
There are about 338 known species of Hummingbirds in the world. The majority are found in South America. Sixteen species are known to breed in the mainland of the United States. Hummingbirds have special flight muscles that control wing beats of 38 to 78 times per second. They are the only birds that can fly backwards, and even upside down! They drink nectar at the rate of 13 licks per second. They also eat small insects. Most hummingbirds, when migrating, fly at about 25 miles per hour. They build tiny nests no larger than a silver dollar. They lay two white eggs. They are known to raise up to three families per year. Some species will migrate at least 1,800 miles from the northeast United States, across the Gulf of Mexico (600 miles with out rest) to Central America. Hummingbirds are fiercely aggressive and will attack even blue jays, crows, and hawks. They will live an average of three to five years. An old wive's tale!! Hummingbirds migrate on the backs of geese!! THIS IS NOT TRUE. Canadian geese migrate at different times, live in different habitat, and migrate to different areas.
Trees:
Best Wishes with your Hummingbird yard and garden. 3) Humor for Today:Upon arriving home, a husband was met at the door by his sobbing wife. Tearfully she explained, "It's the druggist - he insulted me terribly this morning on the phone." Immediately the husband drove downtown to confront the druggist and demand an apology. Before he could say more than a word or two, the druggist told him, "Now, just a minute - listen to my side of it. This morning the alarm failed to go off, so I was late getting up. I went without breakfast and hurried out to the car, just to realize that I locked the house with both house and car keys inside. I had to break a window to get my keys. Then, driving a little too fast, I got a speeding ticket. Later, when I was about three blocks from the store, I had a flat tire. When I finally got to the store there was a bunch of people waiting for me to open up. I got the store opened and started waiting on these people, and all the time the darn phone was ringing off the hook." He continued, "Then I had to break a roll of nickels against the cash register drawer to make change, and they spilled all over the floor. I got down on my hands and knees to pick up the nickels - the phone was still ringing - when I came up I cracked my head on the open cash drawer, which made me stagger back against a showcase with a bunch of perfume bottles on it...half of them hit the floor and broke. Meanwhile, the phone is still ringing with no let up, and I finally got back to answer it. It was your wife - she wanted to know how to use a rectal thermometer. and believe me, Mister, I TOLD HER! 4) Fantastic Grilling:Now that the summer grilling season is half over, are you finding that grill getting rusty or that you'd like to have a more permanent grill?
They also include links for recipes, tips, spices, supplies, tools, and more. If you like to grill, I know you'll find something of interest here. Click Here or visit http://bbq.about.com/cs/buildinggrills/ 5) Tomato Gardening Calendar(For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, these tips would be followed in January.)
Continue to prune, tie, train and cage or stake plants weekly as needed. Make sure the cages or stakes are anchored well - nothing worse than having a heavy mature plant topple over because it is not firmly held. Remember that we can have dry spells during July; be sure to water deeply to maintain even moisture - this will help to reduce blossom-end rot and fruit cracking. Be on the lookout for disease on the lower branches; also watch for insects like hornworm caterpillars. By the way, don't forget that you'll be able to harvest that first fruit during July.
Watch for ripening fruit - heavy foliage can make it hard to spot. Continue maintenance by pruning, tieing, and training. Don't forget about top heavy plants - make sure your stakes or cages are firmly in place. Don't forget to water deeply during dry spells - this will help reduce blossom-end rot and fruit cracking. You also need to be on the lookout for disease and insects like hornworm caterpillars.
Your first tomato harvest often ends in July, except for cherry tomatoes. If you have plants not setting fruit or which show disease, be sure to remove the plants. Hey, this would be a good time to put out transplants for a second crop. You also may want to consider solarizing unplanted beds to reduce weeds, nematodes, and other pests. (Solarizing is basically placing plastic over the bed and allow the heat of the sun to take care of weeds and pests.)
July means the end of your first harvest, other than cherry tomatoes. As in a warm climate, you can remove plants not setting fruit or which are diseased. You can plant seeds for a fall crop. Unplanted beds can be solarized under plastic to take care of weeds, nematodes, and other pests. Hope you find these tips helpful. 6) Quotes for Today:"Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those
of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or
people might think we're stupid." "Do not imagine that Art is something which is designed to give
gentle uplift and self-confidence. Art is not a brassiere. At least,
not in the English sense. But do not forget that brassiere is the French
for life-jacket." 7) Internet Fraud:Have you ever been a victim of Internet fraud? Or do you have concerns about being a victim? Well, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and National White Collar Crime Center have put together the Internet Fraud Complaint Center. You can visit this site to register a complaint online -- they'll pass along your grievance to the appropriate authority of a possible criminal or civil violation. Another nice feature is a statistics link where you'll find reports on past fraud, including auction fraud. Click Here or visit http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp 8) Eggs and Fat:
But what if you cook with eggs? Try to use just the egg whites. If you must include the yolk, simply cut back on the number of yolks and increase the number of whites. Take the recipe and compensate more whites for yolks, don't follow the recipe eggsactly. (Sorry, I had to do that.) 9) Subscribe/UnsubscribeThis newsletter, the Green Thumb Times, is sent out only to those who have requested a FREE subscription by signing up at http://rexseedco.com or specifically asked to be added PRIVACY: Your email address is held in the strictest of privacy. It is never traded or sold to anyone else. To subscribe to The Green Thumb Times To unsubscribe Rex Gregor, Editor Tom Krueger, Publisher Please feel free to forward The Green Thumb Times to a friend. Rex’s Seedco has searched the world for quality
growers of garden seeds. Many of these farmers bring together ancient
wisdom and modern science so people everywhere may have good health
and enjoyment in life. We are dedicated to providing the best wherever
they are found.
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For
years I have enjoyed attracting, watching and feeding hummingbirds.
Upon seeing my active flower garden, many people ask me, "How do
I get hummingbirds to come to my garden also?"
I've
visited About.com in the past for info about virus hoaxes and such,
but I've discovered they have some great info on building your own grill
or smoker. Here you'll find instructions on how to make a variety of
permanent grills, from masonry, to bricks, to stone, to a Texas style
barrel grill.
July
is upon us which usually means we are halfway through the growing season.
We figured it would be a good time to look at dealing with our tomatoes.
As always, our gardening chores can be different depending on where
you live.
Have
you been trying to cut back on your fat intake? Did you know that the
yolk is the part of the egg that is highest in fat?