Not This Week, But Winter Is Coming

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Cinthia Milner wrote The Dirt: Do Not Disturb, for the Asheville, NC, Mountain Xpress. In the column, Milner explores the relationship between plants in winter dormancy and the pleasures of our own chances for rest in the winter. Milner says that by Nov 1, she has the bulbs planted and her garden mulched for the winter.
Click to read "The Dirt: Do Not Disturb"; it is a lovely piece of writing.




Here's the little frog that came in with the plants this week. Yes, it is time to bring the houseplants in, clean them up, repot a few and find the saucers we put away last spring.

Common wisdom dictates spraying plants with insecticidal soap before bringing them in for the winter but usually I check them over under bright light and simply rinse them off. A few spiders hitchhike indoors but they don't live very long once they are inside.

PLANT SENSE could be just the help we need for next season's garden planning.
Have you heard about this new gizmo for gardeners? Plant Sense developed and is distributing a product called EasyBloom that uses your computer to help you succeed in the garden.

The EasyBloom sensors measure solar radiation, moisture and temperature over a 24-hour period. The data is download to your PC via a USB port. Then, the information is mapped against a Web-based database of plants. PlantSense suggests types of plants for those conditions.

I found one at Amazon for $60. Here's the click if you want to take a look.

Need Info? There is a new search engine that may help you find information, if you are looking for worldwide stories. Try Silobreaker for research on topics such as agriculture, horticulture, soil science. The site's search results include news, blogs, research, audio, video and other digital media content from global news, shared, user generated and open access sources.

Thanks to Bates Information Services, at www.BatesInfo.com/tip.html, for the for the tip. You can subscribe to the search tips newsletter at that link, too.

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