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1) Editor's Comments:Have you been finding some unexplained spots all over your house or driveway? We may have the answer. We also have a number of other interesting items for you this week. For those in the United States, have a safe holiday. As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate to drop us a note. Tom Krueger Rex Gregor 2) The Fungus Kingdom:
It gets its everyday name, "Shotgun" fungi, because of its unique method of dispersing its spores. The dark brown peridiole sits on top of specialized cells which accumulate water. When the warmth of the sun heats the cells and they contain enough moisture, the cells will explode. Hard to believe, but they have been known to propel the dark brown exploded spores as high as two stories. Once expended, the spores will float in the air until they land on anything suitable, such as the side of your house, your automobile, plant leaves, lawn furniture, sidewalks etc. Generally, people unfamiliar with this fungi and their "explosion" of material, will identify these small match head brown spots as fly specks. Unfortunately, this brown material will stick like glue upon any surface it lands. Some scientists have discovered that these spores will eject towards the strongest light source, such as light colored material. This is why homes are vulnerable to attracting the spores. If your house has a light colored exterior, it would certainly be very disturbing to have it covered with thousands of small brown spots. As we said, these spores are very sticky, and when dry, it takes a lot of elbow grease to remove them. What is the best way to discourage the formation of this fungi? It has been found that the fungus will not thrive as well on bark, as it does on the wood itself because of lower carbon content. Thus, fresh wood-type mulches or wood chips that are about 85% bark give less for the fungus to feed upon. Rot resistant wood mulches such as redwood, cedar and cypress are showing resistance to this type of fungus, but not totally so. If this fungi becomes a problem, we suggest you rake your wood mulch daily during warm damp weather. The air circulation from raking will allow the wood chips to dry out, and thus will disturb the growth of the fungi. As a temporary measure, you can add fresh mulch covering over the spores on the old material. Also unfortunately, most fungicide treatments are of no real value in combating "Shotgun" fungi. Using gravel mulch, stone, pea gravel, or black plastic will remove the problem, but this might not be suitable or fit into your landscape design. So, if brown specks are showing up on your house, car or driveway, and they're awful difficult to remove, you now know the possible source and ways to keep them from returning. *** 15% savings until July 10, 2003 *** Most people do not realize that almost every palm will
make a great container or houseplant. Another unknown, they can be
easily raised from seed at very little cost. They require very little
maintenance and will add beauty and value to your home. Enter the Store and Click on the Sale Link The discount will not show up in your shopping cart -- we will take care of it for you before finalization of your order. (No other discounts apply.) 3) Humor for Today:A boy was assigned a paper on childbirth and asked his parents, "How was I born?" "Well honey..." said the slightly prudish parent, "the stork brought you to us." "Oh," said the boy. "Well, how did you and daddy get born?" he asked. "Oh, the stork brought us too." "Well how were grandpa and grandma born?" he persisted. "Well darling, the stork brought them too!" said the parent, by now starting to squirm a little in the Lazy Boy recliner. Several days later, the boy handed in his paper to the teacher who read with confusion the opening sentence: "This report has been very difficult to write because there hasn't been a natural childbirth in my family for three generations." 4) The Old Farmer's Almanac:While going through the "Old Farmer's Almanac," we found a picture of the world's largest and smelliest flower. It was raised last June at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. This gigantic plant grew to 8'-5" tall and tied a record established in 1937 at the New York Botanical Garden. There are only about 15 such plants ever grown in the United States. The flower looks like an upside-down bell, and is at least four feet in circumference with a dazzling velvet crimson inside and a mottled green outside. The distasteful part -- this flower emits a powerful stench when the bloom opens and lasts for about eight hours. Smelling somewhat like dead fish, the smell is so bad, during the first few hours of bloom, scientists prefer to wear gas masks when entering the greenhouse. Known as "amorpholphallus titanium", it is native to an island near Sumatra. It is sometimes known as "Mr. Stinky" by publicity minded botanists. The plant was discovered by an Italian botanist, Odovardo Beccari, in 1878. No question about it, this plant is a rare, weird giant, with an equally large flower. The family of professional botanists in the United States are drawn to this plant every time one blooms. They have found that the flower can be pollinated by bees and beetles who accidentally tumble down the bell shaped flower and pick up some pollen along the way. Interestingly, the plant lives about 40 years but only blooms a few times. And that bloom will only last for about three days. If you are interested in taking a look, you can visit the National Geographic website at: Click Here to View More on the Stinky Plant 5) Thanks for Our Freedom - We Must Not Forget
It was forwarded to us from John Kline, Sgt. U. S. Army (Battle of the Bulge) Rex H. Gregor, U. S. Marine Corp (Guadalcanal - South Pacific) Hope you'll find it as inspirational as we did. Click Here to View Click Image for Our Palm Tree
Gallery 6) Quote for Today:"It's easy to identify people who can't count to 10. They're in front of you in the supermarket express line." -- June Henderson 7) Reader Mailbag: Got My Coffee Seeds, Now What?"I just got my coffee seeds. What is the best way to germinate and care for the plants?" -----
Plant your seeds in an acid-type rich soil and keep the soil moist - not wet, just moist. After placing the seeds cover the container with a newspaper until the seedlings poke their heads through the soil, then uncover. Peat Moss makes an excellent potting mix to provide acid conditions. Ideal growing temperature is 60°-80° F. (15.5°- 26.5° C.). After transplanting give the roots plenty of room to grow. Hope you enjoy growing your own coffee. (If you are interested in growing coffee, enter our store and click on the search link, and simply enter coffee and you'll see a number of items listed. Click Here and Then Search Link 8) Growing Sunflowers for Yourself and Not for the Birds:So you've planted sunflowers to enjoy. Why not also enjoy the harvest yourself, rather than letting the birds totally enjoy it?
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, or are a valued customer of Rex's Seedco. 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 Click Here or send email to subscribegtt@goalsmint.com To unsubscribe Click Here or send email to unsubscribegtt@goalsmint.com Tom Krueger, Editor and Publisher Rex Gregor, Contributing Editor 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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Many
landscapers and professional gardeners are familiar with a relatively
new type of fungus which is becoming more prevalent each year. It is
known as "Shotgun" fungi, or sometimes "Artillery" fungi.
The genus name is Sphaerobolus stellatus and it tends to colonize on
organic matter, especially wood chips and wood type mulches. (Not pictured
here.)
This is from our friend Chuck Wilkinson. A somber and thoughtful display
in memory of Independence Day.
The coffee plant is very easy to grow. In fact, it makes a very attractive
houseplant and if you treat it nice, it will reward you with a substantial
number of flowers and berries. A six-foot plant may well produce up
to two or four pounds of berries per year if grown in medium light
or filtered indirect sunlight.
As soon as the backs of the flower heads begin to turn yellow and
the seeds start turning brown, you can cut the heads and hang them
upside down in a warm, dry place. Let them hang for about three weeks
before you remove the seeds. If the seeds start dropping out on their
own, you can tie a paper bag over the heads to catch them.