Home Help: How to make your African violets bloom
Home&Garden Q&A
Q: A few months ago I purchased a purple African violet with an abundance of blooms. It lost its blooms within a few weeks, and shows no signs of reblooming. The leaves seem healthy -- how can I get it to bloom again?
A: African violets require care that is quite different from most houseplants. It sounds silly, but if you know what NOT to do to an African violet, you will grow abundantly blooming plants quite easily.
- Don't place them in direct sunlight or in dark areas.
- Don't subject them to temperature extremes.
- Don't get water on the leaves.
- Don't use cold water to water them.
- Don't use any container other than a cheap 4-inch plastic pot.
- Don't use peat moss.
- Don't leave dead flowers or leaves on the plant.
- Don't forget to fertilize. -- Rockford Register Star
Number to Know: 60,000
Rubles ($2,466) that a suburban Moscow resident is receiving from the government in compensation after a rocket hit his house, according to news reports. No one was in the home at the time of the accident, in which two small rockets veered off course.
Kitchen Clutter
Over the next few weeks, we'll give you some tips on how to de-clutter your kitchen, courtesy of HGTV.com.
Bag your clutter: Get a handle on excess plastic grocery or shopping bags with an inexpensive bag holder. Available as cabinet mounted or freestanding units, these holders contain bags while making them easy to access. Place the plastic bag holder next to the garbage can for extra convenience. When the holder becomes full, recycle the whole bunch.
Coming Soon to Your Home?
Dog or cat doors generally aren't the most attractive things in a home, so if you want to jazz up the entrance, check out Classy Custom's "pet portals." The doggy doors come with colorful decorative frames - in green, pink, white or yellow - or are available in artsy looks (floral, seasonal themes, etc.). And you can get a matching doormat! For more information, go to www.classycustom.com.
How to: Keep Your Pipes from Freezing
When you are having extremely cold weather, let a little water run through faucets near exposed pipes. That can help keep pipes from freezing.
You can also use insulation and electrical heating cable on exposed pipes.
If you have frozen pipes, heat the pipes with a heat gun, a hair dryer or a heat lamp. Open a faucet and then work from the open faucet toward the frozen zone. -- Rockford Register Star
Creature Comforts
Has your doggy or kitty had an accident on the carpet? Here's what to do:
- If your dog has an accident, blot up as much moisture as possible. Rub the spot with a solution of vinegar or lemon juice and warm sudsy water. Blot a few times, then pour straight club soda over the spot and blot again. Place a dry towel over the stain and put a heavy object (like a book) on top of it. Replace towel if it becomes soggy and repeat blotting.
- For cat accidents, follow the same steps but, when the spot is dry, rub with a cloth dampened in ammonia. This will take the offensive odor away, and it will prevent the cat from ever going in that spot again. -- www.bostonapartments.com/pettips.htm
Go Green
A tip from Treehugger.com on how to go green at home:
Harvest your greywater: Water that has been used at least once but is still clean enough for other jobs is called greywater. Water from sinks, showers, dishwashers, and clothes washers are the most common household examples. (Toilet water is often called "blackwater" and needs a different level of treatment before it can be reused.) Greywater can be recycled with practical plumbing systems like the Aqus, or with simple practices such as emptying the fish tank in the garden instead of the sink. The bottom line? One way or another, avoid putting water down the drain when you can use it for something else.
GateHouse News Service