TOMATO CARE

Nip out the side shoots of tomatoes and tie the main stem onto canes. Start feeding the plants when a couple of small fruits have formed. Remember to keep the soil moist and water at a regular time, early evening for example. I didn’t water my plants regularly last year and all the tomatoes ended up in the compost bin. They either split or got blossom end rot.



Horticultural.

HOSTAS

Hostas have become very popular in the garden over the last century. They grow very well in almost complete shade and will form a mass of varied types of leaves. Their colours range from almost true blue to yellow and they can be wrinkled or striped, puckered, pointed, and blunt according to the many types available. Once they are planted they spread well, forming dense clumps which helps keep the weeds down. If the slugs are kept off them when the new shoots appear, they give enjoyment all through the summer. Try growing them in a large container; this will brighten up a dull corner of the garden. The garden Hosta originated in China and Japan. They are also called funkias and more commonly plantain lilies, from the Latin, Planta, meaning “sole of the foot” which the large leaves resemble. They where introduced into Europe after a German eye surgeon Philipp von Seibold sent them back from Japan after accepting Hosta plants as payment for performing the first cataract operation in the country.

Horticultural.

VEGETABLES IN THE BORDER

If a vegetable patch sounds like hard work, try growing attractive vegetables amongst shrubs, flowerbeds, roses and so on. Some vegetables don’t store well, so if only a few vegetables are grown it saves the effort of offloading wheelbarrow loads of spinach on your friends! There are many undemanding plants that will look good in the border. Runner beans can be grown as annual climbers at the back of the border. Some have purple pods, which are particularly attractive. For eye-catching leaves, the chard or Leaf beet is effective, Swiss chard has white veins in its leaves and Rhubarb chard has red veins. These are easy to grow and don’t go to seed until late in the season. Other red leaves to grow would be Beetroot and Lollo Rossa lettuce. There are also a lot of Herbs that can be used for a colourful display. Bronze fennel, purple sage and yellow Margoram for example. For fruits try the cherry type tomatoes. The good thing about growing vegetables and Herbs this way is you don’t feel too guilty if they don’t get eaten!

Horticultural.

THE JOY OF GARDENING

Some of the annual bedding plants I have outside at the moment have taken a bit of a battering this week. The cold wind scorched the leaves of Verbenas and even the perennial trailing plants have been checked back. I’ve no room in my tunnel at the moment, so they’ll have to toughen themselves up a bit. The grass and weeds don’t seem to mind the weather though, as I’ve been working overtime strimming a path down to my neglected vegetable patch. I planted seeds of Broccoli, Brussels, Peas, Beans, Courgette and Leeks, straight into a small nursery bed a few weeks ago. Most of them have been smothered by weeds or eaten by slugs. Julie, very wisely planted the same named seeds into trays and they are happily growing under the protection of the polythene tunnel. So when I clear a space of weeds in the vegetable plot we should have plenty of healthy plants to put in. I also planted a raised bed of Carrots and Radish, but it appears the cat is using it as a litter tray and the dog is burying stale crusts of bread and old bones in it too…the joys of gardening!



Horticultural.

SPENDING A CENT

Ian
I read your comments last week about the high percentage of people that do not wash their hands after using public toilets. I would like to comment about the doors in these establishments. They should all open outwards when you are coming out of both the cubicle and the toilet facility. They do this in most American toilets and it makes perfect sense. This is because you do not have to be touching the door handles with your clean hands after someone has smeared their dirty paws all over them. We here in Buncrana don’t have that problem though. This is because the council closed down the public toilets that were situated at the courthouse a long time ago. There are public toilets of course but you will have to cut your shopping short to travel down to the Festival Park on the shorefront to use the facilities. This isn’t the easiest of tasks when you are ladened down with shopping bags. We are left with the choice of walking embarrassingly into the library when it is opened or dodging the staff in the local cafes to use their facilities. Shops have put signs in their windows telling you that their loos are for customers only which also adds to the challenge. What are we expected to do? Resort to the tactics of the revellers at the weekend and use the alleyways and shop doorways in the town!

Reply
That sounds a bit drastic. If you are on the main road its not far to go to Super Valu. Their toilets are clean and are at the front of the shop. The door opens inward though; it’s something to do with health and safety so you don’t bash someone on the other side!

Environmental.

TOP TIPS

PAINTING PROBLEMS
Prevent paintbrushes from drying out by wrapping up in cling film.

To prevent newly painted doors from sticking when you close them, spray both surfaces with wax polish.

ONE GOOD APPLE
Put an apple in a sack of potatoes. This will keep the spuds from growing roots for longer.

When measuring treacle, dip the spoon in flour first and the treacle won’t stick.

When buttering crackers, put them on a slice of bread. They do not break as easily.

If you catch the Swilly bus on a wet day, put a pair of old gloves in your bag. You can use these to wipe the condensation from the window.

Use cod liver oil on wood scratches. Leave for twenty-four hours then rub off. The scratch will be gone. (Disclaimer….. don’t blame me if it hasn’t!)

Sooth a mouth ulcer by gargling with chamomile tea.

FABRIC SOFTENER
I was given quite a few tips about things to do with fabric softener. I found them quite scary I must say. One suggestion was to save money on plug in air fresheners by putting some softener into a pan of water and then boiling up. This made a beautiful smell throughout the house….I think it would be a more sensible idea to open a window!





Household.

TOP TIPS

I turned into one of those people that you cross the road to avoid last week. I wanted to get some ideas for cleaning tips so members of the public have been stopped in the street to see if they have any ideas that we haven’t heard. I had a list of some that were totally unsuitable for printing but I think some of them are worth mentioning, so here goes.

NEW TOP TIP IDEAS

If you don’t have a paper shredder to get rid of your private papers here is a tip. Fill a bowl with warm soapy water and soak the documents for an hour. Press the paper into a brick shape or a ball. They will not be able to pull apart and cannot be read. If you want to take it a stage further then put the bricks or balls somewhere where they can dry out. They can be used as fuel on the open fire.

Clean gold rings. Put some lipstick on a cloth and rub for a sparkling shine. Do not use on rings with crevices though or you will have difficulty getting it off.

Stale crusts of bread cut into cubes then baked make great dog biscuits.

Small burn marks on the carpet can be removed by rubbing the area with a slice of raw potato.

Keep an old toothbrush near the sink for cleaning graters, blenders and whisks etc.

COOKING TIP
Grate courgettes and carrots into your spaghetti bolognaise sauces. They add flavour and your kids will never tell the difference.

Soak smelly feet in a bowl of green tea or tomato juice for ten minutes. The pong will disappear.

Household.