Newspaper Page Text
2C
♦ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008
Tending to your flower garden in May
Remember the old adage:
“April showers bring May
flowers?” Well, May is a very
pleasant month for us gar
deners, as the heat has not
yet become unbearable and
the early spring coolness has
wandered off to pester some
one else. Herewith are a few
things that you may want to
consider doing during this
fair month.
Plant summer-flowing
plants such as gladiolus,
canna lilies, caladiums, and
dahlias. They all need a
warm soil in order to sprout
and grow properly.
Take cut flowers late in
the day and immediately
place in warm water. They
tend to last longer this way.
When the water cools to
room temperature, the flow
ers are ready for use.
Pinch back annuals that
have gotten leggy, such as
petunias and impatiens, to
encourage the formation of
new branches. Remove old,
faded flowers (deadheads)
often so that plants will con
tribute their energy to pro
ducing more flowers instead
of seeds.
Plant French marigolds
(the small-flowered type)
Water
and need to repair it. It
is often as simple as replac
ing the flapper in the tank.
Don’t use the toilet as a
trash can. Each flush uses
water unnecessarily and
costs you money.
If you have a leaky faucet
that is dripping one drop of
water per second, you can
waste 2,700 gallons a year.
This is a strain on the septic
Biscotti
of the knife.
The recipes are below. The
end result: 4 dozen biscotti
which are now in packed
away in airtight bags. I think
they compare well to the cof
fee shop variety that are usu
ally freshly baked, and are
better than the storebought
boxed variety, because they
stand up well to dunking in
coffee, but don’t have that
break-your-teeth hardness.
This was a cooking project
that took an electric mixer,
two large mixing bowls and
a good sized baking sheet.
I’d rank it a little easier than
making a batch of chocolate
chip cookies.
I am adding a chocolate
glaze recipe at the end which
would go well for either of
these. You can either dip
one end of the biscotti in the
chocolate or drizzle it across
he tops.
Banana Biscotti
This recipe, from Kraft,
makes two dozen biscotti.
They have a banana bread
flavor with the crushed cere
al adding a good texture and
some nuts. I will definitely
make this recipe again. You
could drizzle a chocolate
glaze across the top.
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine,
softened
2 eggs
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups Post Selects
Banana Nut Crunch Cereal,
crushed
Preheat oven to 350
degrees. You need two large
bowls just for efficiency. Mix
flour, baking powder and salt
in one bowl until well blend
ed; set aside. Beat sugar and
margarine in the other large
bowl with electric mixer on
medium speed until light
and fluffy. Add eggs, banan
as and vanilla; beat until
well blended. Gradually add
flour mixture, mixing until
well blended after each addi
tion. Finally, stir in crashed
cereal. You will have a very
thick dough, much like a
cookie dough.
Divide dough in half with
floured hands; place on
lightly floured surface. Roll
each half into 14x2-inch
log. Place, 2 inches apart,
on nonstick baking sheet.
to help control nematodes
in the
flower or
vegetable
garden.
If plant
ed close
to your
plants, the
marigold
roots will
lure the
trouble
some little
.... —
Tim Lewis
Garden
Columnist
worms away from them.
Canna lilies provide a
nice border of color to the
summer flower garden,
but they need to be divided
every three or four years to
encourage flowering. When
their roots are crowded,
they cannot make vigorous
growth, and flower size and
quality will decrease. Set
the divided root sections five
to six inches deep and 15
inches apart.
Stake tomatoes now if
you haven’t already done
so. Try a stake that extends
about five feet above the
ground. One approach to
tomato growth is to keep
all side shoots or suckers
pinched out until the main
stem reaches the top of the
system and adds to the cost
of water and sewer utili
ties. It is simple to replace
washers in your faucets or
to replace the entire faucet
with a more water efficient
one.
We have a responsibility to
conserve water. Take inven
tory at your house. Make
the necessary repairs need
ed to save water. Develop
(These will look like like lon
ger, skinnier versions of the
refrigerator cookies you can
buy in tubes)
Bake 25 to 30 min. or until
lightly browned. Cool for
10 minutes and slice at the
t
diagonal, pushing the slices
apart a little. Bake an addi
tional 15 minutes so they
will be dry and crunchy.
Regarding the cereal,
this recipe is worth mak
ing again, so the remaining
cereal is now in a jar with a
tight fitting lid.
Chocolate Almond
Biscotti
This recipe was adapted
from several I found on the
web. Some suggested cut
ting the tubes into slices
before baking but having
succeeded with the bake
slice-and-rebake method, I
wanted to stick with that.
Using a cake mix might not
sound like “scratch” cook
ing, but it was still cheap
- since I got the cake mix
for 99 cents, and didn’t have
to buy $2.44 worth of solid
chocolate, most of which
I wouldn’t use. I used a
sugar-free chocolate syrup
that I happened to already
have. The remaining choco
late chips and almonds are
in the freezer for the next
time I want to make these.
4^
Accepting New Patients
Dr. Morales has privileges at
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212 Hospital Driue - Suite F
478-225-6402
We accept most insurance plans including Medicare, Tricare,
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stake. • Then pinch the tip
out and let the suckers grow
to shade the ripening fruit.
Prune hedges so that
they will fill out at the bot
tom. Do this by tapering
them inward from bottom
to top. This will allow light
to reach the lower branches,
encouraging foliage to grow
all the way to the ground.
Watch for lacebugs on
your azaleas, pyracanthas,
and sycamore. These are
light brown piercing and
sucking insects with gauze
like wings that feed on the
undersides of leaves, causing
white speckles on the top
surfaces.
Fertilizer recommen
dations are often given in
pounds per acre instead of
a form that is meaningful to
the average gardener. Use
the following conversions
for your garden:
•200 lbs. converts to 4 2/3
lbs. per 1,000 square feet or
8 ozs. per 100 square feet
•400 lbs. converts to 9
1/3 lbs. per 1,000 square feet
or 15 ozs. per 100 square
feet
•600 lbs. converts to 14
lbs. per 1,000 square feet
or 1 1/2 lbs. per 100 square
.Continuedfrom Page iC
habits that conserve water.
Practice water conservation
and make every drop count!
Peggy Bledsoe is the
Houston County Extension
Coordinator working with
the University of Georgia
Cooperative Extension
in Family and Consumer
Sciences and can be reached
at 478-987-2028.
Continued from Page iC
1 box (18.25 ounce size)
dark chocolate cake mix. (I
used Duncan Hines)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/3 cup chocolate syrup
1 stick butter or margarine,
softened
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Put cake mix, flour, eggs,
softened butter and syrup in
a large bowl and beat with
an electric mixer until dough
looks like cookie dough. Use
a wooden spoon to fold in
the almonds and chocolate
chips. .
Using floured hands, roll
this sticky dough into two
or three long tube shapes,
and bake for 30 minutes. Let
cool for 10 minutes and slice
at an angle with a serrated
knife. Then bake again for
about 15 minutes. *
Chocolate glaze
Mix 1 cup chocolate chips
and 1 tablespoon solid short
ening in a microwave-safe
bowl. Heat for 1 minutes
on high in the microwave.
Stir until mixed and smooth.
(You can also buy ready
made glazes)
MijilipJipj
Board Certified in Pulmonary/
Sleep / Internal Medicine
Specializing in shortness
of breath, cough, asthma,
COPD, bronchitis,
seasonal allergies, sleep
apnea, insomnia, and
adult health care.
FOOD&.HO/VIE
feet
•800 lbs. converts to 18
2/3 lbs. per 1,000 square feet
or 2 lbs. per 100 square feet
By the way, one pint of
granular fertilizer weighs
approximately one pound.
I trust that these tips will
help you in your gardening
endeavors.
Tim Lewis is a Georgia
Green Industry Association
Certified Plant Professional,
gardening writer, former
Perry High School horticul
ture instructor, and former
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horticulturalist at Henderson
Village and Houston Springs.
He and his wife, Susan, own
and operate Lewis Farms
Nursery located on Hwy 26
two miles east of Elko, where
he was born and raised. He
can be reached at(478)954-
1507 or timlewis@alltel.net.
CALADIUMS!!!
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Lewis Farms Nursery
2f9KL330 Hwy. 26 East - Elko. GA j
(478)954-1507 I
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