602. AzureNW - Sep. 16, 1998 - 2:38 PM PT
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
603. AzureNW - Sep. 16, 1998 - 2:40 PM PT
"An ostrich's eye is bigger that it's brain."
604. AzureNW - Sep. 16, 1998 - 2:42 PM PT
"In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere."
605. AzureNW - Sep. 16, 1998 - 2:43 PM PT
"If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar."
606. ScottLoar - Sep. 16, 1998 - 5:00 PM PT
re Message #601, but surely that's 7 days between washings, not that the average German wears the same underwear for 7 days? Hopefully?
607. AzureNW - Sep. 16, 1998 - 5:52 PM PT
I have no idea.
608. AzureNW - Sep. 16, 1998 - 5:57 PM PT
I don't think Germans are technically Slavic, although I suppose East Germans did appear to be kind of culturally Slavic.
609. labarjare - Sep. 16, 1998 - 6:05 PM PT
CalGal likes hunting for rats under silos?
Interesting.
610. CalGal - Sep. 17, 1998 - 9:14 AM PT
Well, I like lab rats best of all.
(woof)
611. Ronski - Sep. 17, 1998 - 9:58 AM PT
What was the antecedent for the remarks about Germans and Slavs? Did I miss it? I'm half each, and can so function as an authority.
612. Ronski - Sep. 17, 1998 - 10:01 AM PT
For example, pursuant to an earlier discussion, it was indeed Eastern Germans who gave the garden gnome to the world.
613. Bendigen - Sep. 17, 1998 - 12:17 PM PT
Who was the model that the gnomes were based on - Stalin? In those times, I guess expressions of political discontentment had to be subtle!
614. JustSayYo - Sep. 17, 1998 - 1:19 PM PT
I want a trellis garden archway. a bench inset on both sides of the path. pavers of some variety or stones inlaid level. vines of variety and mild color folliage abounding. Hostas of three varieties and shade. waterfall, six feet up into a very small pool with chinese caligraphy style landscaping. Utilizing both Japanese potted Bonzai manipulations and heavily stylized stone. Carved or molded cement/brick statuettes and vignettes with the small viniest varieties. Moss and lichen covered stones in a shady area under a sweeping Japanese pine with many branches and an expanse of boughs.
615. Ronski - Sep. 17, 1998 - 1:40 PM PT
Bendigen,
They were subtle.
But actually, you'll note I said Eastern Germans, not East Germans. The gnomes are at least a century-old tradition from somewhere around Saxony. The GDR did manage to continue making them, however. German efficiency under trying circumstances.
616. rickc2000 - Sep. 17, 1998 - 1:50 PM PT
Yo; my you don't want much do you. That all sounds quite beautiful. Regarding, " waterfall, six feet up into a very small pool" when you figure out how to make water fall 6 feet *up* into a pool please let me know. I have been working on this antigravity machine of mine for so long with so little achieved that I would appreciate help anywhere (g)
617. Ronski - Sep. 17, 1998 - 2:35 PM PT
For the record, we decided against the old shingle style house we were keen on, after a particularly devastating engineer's report. We just didn't want that much charm.
However, we found a "contemporary log chalet" with 3 bedrooms on more than 9 acres, bordering a state park, and (I think this is the coolest part) bordering the Appalachian Trail.
More to come -- no doubt with requests for advice -- later.
618. rickc2000 - Sep. 17, 1998 - 2:47 PM PT
""contemporary log chalet"' That certainly sounds interesting. What the heck is a *contemporary* log chalet? Does contemporary mean indoor plumbing???? (g)
619. Ronski - Sep. 17, 1998 - 3:03 PM PT
Not only indoor plumbing (I was going to insist on it for a change), but a hot tub, too.
A modern design, somewhat inspired of Swiss mountain traditional. There is a kind of atrium, but it is thankfully not an A-frame.
I believe it is sheathed in plywood, like most homes nowadays, but it is faced in half-logs. It's a real house, not a bungalow at the lake. If any of this helps to describe it.
I can hike over a hill to a ski area, though the one I'm more likely to go to (cause it's bigger and better) is a short drive away.
620. rickc2000 - Sep. 17, 1998 - 3:25 PM PT
Sounds charming. btw, fwiw, I am green with envy, I have always liked the woods of Maine (and the coast and the mountians and...)
621. Ronski - Sep. 17, 1998 - 3:35 PM PT
rickc2000,
I may have created confusion; the house is in the Ramapo Mountains of New York. But I do spend much time throughout New England.
And thank you for the kind words.
622. Ronski - Sep. 17, 1998 - 3:49 PM PT
And speaking of woods, another thing I like about the place is that it's real North American forest. We'd been looking at properties that were wooded, but many of them at been cleared at some time, and were now covered with weed trees, invaders such as Norway maples and ailanthus. This area is native: oak, sugar maple, fir, etc.
623. rickc2000 - Sep. 17, 1998 - 3:53 PM PT
Well I like that part of New York too, and real native trees!!!!!!! Damn.
624. Bendigen - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:28 AM PT
a la Joni Mitchell:
You mean they haven't put all the trees in a tree museum!
625. TheDiva - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:33 AM PT
Dear Home Improvement Mavens,
Before I got my cat, Aretha, fixed, she marked a corner of the carpet in our dining room and no matter what I do, I cannot get the smell out. So far I've tried:
white vinegar
baking soda (not at the same time as the vinegar.)
Carpet Fresh
Lysol
Carpet cleaner
heeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllpppppppppppp........
Love,
Diva
626. Bendigen - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:36 AM PT
This may or may not work, one acquaintance swears by it, but who knows how keen her olfactory abilities are since she has three cats.
Go to a dry-cleaning establishment. Apparently some sell a solution that you place on the stain. I'm unsure if its the same stuff they use for dry-cleaning; but she swears by it and says it works.
Wish I had a product name, but it has been some time since she told me this.
627. TheDiva - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:44 AM PT
Bendi
I'll try it, thank you. I am getting desperate.
628. bubbaette - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:48 AM PT
You could change your cat's name to Urethra.
629. Ronski - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:48 AM PT
Diva,
They have been advertizing something called "Fresh-eaze" or something like that (I really can't remember the exact name) on television that you apply, let dry, and then vacuum off. It's claimed to be wonderful for removing all kinds of odors. I would try that; it must be in any large supermarket by now in the cleaner section. Good luck.
630. TheDiva - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:52 AM PT
LOL @ Bubb!
Well, she hasn't done it since we had her fixed. I think the lobotomy really helped.
Ronski
Yes, Febreze, I think. I may give that one a shot.
631. Ronski - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:54 AM PT
Diva,
That's it. As the co-habitor of three cats, I'd advise getting the large size, just to be safe.
632. bubbaette - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:55 AM PT
I'm going to run home at lunch and look for Lefty (pronounced "Yefty")
He wanted to go outside lastnight and hasn't come back. He's too small and innocent to be in the big wide world alone. I've yost my yefty.
633. TheDiva - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:57 AM PT
Bubb
He's just hiding, he'll come back. Just open a can of tuna on the back porch.
Ronski
Years ago, I had three cats - Irma, George and Herbie. What a crew. I had to give them away when I became pregnant with Diva-ette.
634. Bendigen - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:58 AM PT
Is that a pet or a partner? *g*
635. bubbaette - Sep. 18, 1998 - 7:59 AM PT
Bendigan
Lefty's a six-month old tuxedo cat. DH is my significant other -- he always comes home -- that's where the beer is.
636. Bendigen - Sep. 18, 1998 - 8:03 AM PT
So if both are missing. You put out a time of tuna and a tin of Beer.!*s*
637. bubbaette - Sep. 18, 1998 - 8:04 AM PT
Bendigan
You know those males! *g*
638. Bendigen - Sep. 18, 1998 - 8:09 AM PT
You should take a neighbourhood poll. How many people put out tuna, and how many put out beer.
If there is more tuna, it may not mean that there are more cats missing. Just that they are more worried about the pet.
639. chloel - Sep. 18, 1998 - 10:14 AM PT
And if there's more beer, they might be more worried about slugs.
640. bubbaette - Sep. 18, 1998 - 10:16 AM PT
chloel
Maybe the husbands *are* slugs. (Just joking, DH)
641. thoughtful - Sep. 18, 1998 - 11:26 AM PT
Re cat odor in the carpet. Yeah, all of the stuff you tried sounds hopeful, but I think it may be that it soaked through the rug, into the padding and even into the flooring -- depending on what's underneath the rug. You may want to replace that piece of rug and padding, but even that may not work entirely. I know one place (we've rented places in the past) and the odor finally went away after we pulled and trashed the rugs AND refinished the hardwood floors underneath. (Ya gotta love some tenants!)
642. thoughtful - Sep. 18, 1998 - 11:34 AM PT
Ronski, re woods, the kinds of woods growing tells a lot about the age of the woods. In our area, all of the surrounding woods were clear cut back pre 1930s and used as grazing land. As you walk through our woods, there are stone walls everywhere. When I was growing up (60s and 70s) the woods had lots of smaller trees like cedars and white birch, wild blueberry bushes and some other less interesting trees with a few tall ones here and there. Since then, the white birch especially are completely gone and maples and oaks are taking over growing very tall leaving a nice canopy above. That and the fact that we're overrun with deer means a lot of the underbrush is now gone. When I was younger, you couldn't see through the woods -- now you can see quite far.
643. bubbaette - Sep. 18, 1998 - 4:10 PM PT
Bubbaette's Bulk Salsa
(back by popular demand)
20 cups (2 and a half gallons) chopped tomatoes
15 cloves garlic, diced
4 or 5 medium sized onions, finely chopped and rinsed
4 or 5 large green peppers, cleaned and diced
at least 10 good sized jalapenos -- more it you like hot, chopped w/seeds.
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon tumeric
3 tablespoons salt
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons crushed corriander (optional)
3 tablespoons mustard seed
enough tomato paste to reach desired thickness (usually 12 oz., depending on the tomato type)
bring to a boil, remove from heat and pack in pint jars. Process for 20 minutes in boiling water (about an inch above the jar lids).
644. rickc2000 - Sep. 18, 1998 - 11:46 PM PT
Looks good bubbaette. The mustard seed is an interesting touch. Tomitillas would be a nice adddition (g)
645. AzureNW - Sep. 22, 1998 - 6:42 PM PT
"Despite the many rat infested slums in New York City, only 311 people are bitten by rats in an average year. But 1,519 residents are bitten annually by other New Yorkers...."
Jeez. I've heard New Yorkers can have a nasty attitude.
646. AzureNW - Sep. 22, 1998 - 6:45 PM PT
"A small tribe named the Todas in southern India don't greet each other with a handshake, they thumb their noses...."
647. AzureNW - Sep. 22, 1998 - 6:46 PM PT
I don't know where this stuff comes from. It just shows up in my mailbox with a long list of forwards.
648. rickc2000 - Sep. 23, 1998 - 10:59 AM PT
"But 1,519 residents are bitten annually by other New Yorkers...."
Gee and with all those good restaurants there too!
649. rickc2000 - Sep. 23, 1998 - 11:00 AM PT
"But 1,519 residents are bitten annually by other New Yorkers...."
Gee and with all those good restaurants there too! Are you sure they are biting residents and not tourists (I could understand biting tourists)?
650. Ronski - Sep. 23, 1998 - 12:01 PM PT
Those are just love-bites, and the number is way larger than that.
651. bubbaette - Sep. 23, 1998 - 12:03 PM PT
aww, how sweet, and in New York, whoda thunk?
652. cyrusk - Sep. 23, 1998 - 5:19 PM PT
Attention Fraygrants:
Due to a site upgrade this evening, Fraygrants will be unable to post messages to The Fray for one hour beginning at 9 p.m. PT. I hope this doesn't inconvenience you, but it's necessary. Sorry for such short notice.
Cyrus Krohn
Managing Editor, SLATE
653. rickc2000 - Sep. 24, 1998 - 1:36 PM PT
Ronski; Back to your contemporary log chalet. How much of that 9 acres is wooded? Is it all mature hardwoods (that seemed to be implied in your earlier post.)? If so, how is the wildlife situation in the area/on the property? Have you given any thought to how you might manage your woods? Ie, let it go its own way? selective harvesting? wildlife habitat? ......
654. Ronski - Sep. 25, 1998 - 7:44 AM PT
rickc2000,
Visited the property yesterday for the house inspection. The area is more or less surrounded by state park land, and a privately-owned nature preserve; hunting is allowed (by specific permit) in land on the other side of the road (it is far enough away not to threaten life and limb, though I would have the sense not to trek in that area during deer season).
It is mostly hardwoods (looks like a lot of black oak and swamp maple), and while I will do some thinning near the house itself, mostly to let more light in and increase gardening space, farther up the slice of the mountain we will own (if all goes well) I will generally let nature take its course. Having a particular interest in native wildflowers, however, I will probably try to establish some populations of trilliums, native azalea, that sort of thing, eschewing non-native plants (except near the house, where I'll plant anything).
Wildlife will include the aforementioned deer, plus racoons, possum (they've been spreading north), groundhogs, rat snakes (possible danger of a copperhead or rattler or two), lots of field mice (they're in the house, but I'm coming with cats), and possibly an occasional errant black bear, which have been seen in suburbs farther south (closer to the city) in the last few years (they're captured and taken back to the Catskills or Poconos, usually). Birds of typical N.E. variety; there are hummer feeders on the deck. I'm hoping there's a colony of bluebirds in the area. All this an hour and a half from New York City. It's a special place, so I hope all proceeds smoothly.
655. JustSayYo - Sep. 26, 1998 - 10:52 PM PT
MAN! I was up in my sister's attic this evening. Installing a new bathroom exhaust fan, and wishing I was somewhere else. Her husband is ok with reading and following instructions, but if something isn't quite right he wont touch it.
So, there I am sweating up in a smelly, very dusty attic. Taking out the old, wiring the new and attaching it to vent and ceiling joists. It was just too sweaty and dusty. I don't recommend this one to anyone unless it's for the family. Gotta take care of them.
Then I'm asked to look at the wiring of the ceiling light/fan in the kitchen. It seems that hubby blew the fuse when he connected it and could I check it out. Well the polarity was wrong so I switched the common off the hot and viola it worked. Except for one small problem.
Well I wasn't asked to dismantle the whole fan until I discovered sparks flying from the upper assembly. Why were there sparks flying off the upper assembly? Well it seems hubby didn't take enough care to tape up the old wires and left them exposed and grounding out on the box. UGH!!! All that learned only after dismantling a completely installed fan/light. SO I promised to go back tomorrow and tape it all up and assemble it again.
Oh, before I started all that I changed sis' spark plugs because hubby couldn't get the back three and gapped the front three wrong. He has a regular set of sockets and needs an extension. Of course I have one and am called on regularly to perform this minor task for my relations.
All is well, I was paid.
656. rickc2000 - Sep. 26, 1998 - 11:23 PM PT
So Yo does your sis have you over for dinner alot?
657. arkymalarky - Sep. 27, 1998 - 8:22 AM PT
Yo,
Sounds like your sister's "hubby" needs to leave the handyman jobs to someone else before he burns their house down.
Ant update. The ants are gone, but before they left we looked around the house to see if we could see where they were coming in and there looked like millions of them on the concrete drive and foundation. Hubby poisoned them out there and we haven't seen any since. It must be something in the entire area, because our relatives nearby have been infested and my husband even overheard some students where he teaches talking about ants at their houses. Last summer it was ladybugs. This year it's been granddaddys and ants.(I guess that would be a family affair;-))
658. bubbaette - Sep. 27, 1998 - 12:44 PM PT
Arky
Ladybugs are good, at least in gardening -- they eat other bad bugs.
659. arkymalarky - Sep. 27, 1998 - 1:00 PM PT
Not when they cover entire walls on the inside of your house. Actually, that happened two or three years, and I don't know what caused it. They were literally *everywhere*.
660. bubbaette - Sep. 27, 1998 - 1:03 PM PT
I guess a couple of ladybugs are cute but a swarm is disgusting. Organic Gardening recommends importing ladybugs to the garden for pest control, but they didn't have anything to say about ladybugs as wallcovering
661. arkymalarky - Sep. 27, 1998 - 1:37 PM PT
We've had invasions of different kinds of bugs every summer for the last several years, and maybe I'm overly nervous, but it makes me worry about problems with the balance of nature. I don't remember that sort of thing happening when I was a kid.
662. HCaulfield - Sep. 27, 1998 - 1:41 PM PT
arky -- We don't have ants. The spiders ate them all.
663. arkymalarky - Sep. 27, 1998 - 1:47 PM PT
That's what somebody said would be a good solution to my problem with granddaddy spiders. Get bigger spiders. Needless to say, I passed on that suggestion.
664. bubbaette - Sep. 27, 1998 - 1:48 PM PT
Arky
I remember infestations of tent caterpillars and locusts when I was a kid. Also years when grasshoppers were heavier than normal.
665. JustSayYo - Sep. 28, 1998 - 6:43 AM PT
Attribute large numbers of any living organism to its environment being healthy. A conducive environs as we all know will bring many a joyess life. Not that we will not be bothered by the abundance nature will impose upon the unwilling recipient. Therefore utilize a just means of reciprocal work which best suites the affected and the cause.
Peace.
Yo.
666. elliot803 - Sep. 28, 1998 - 10:07 AM PT
Does anyone know how to slow the growth of cat's claw. I have a lot of the stuff in my backyard, and I like the way it looks, but it seems like I'm forever cutting it back because it grows so fast. I spent an hour on the roof on Saturday hacking it away from the chimney stack. I asked the people at the garden store about it, but they didn't have any ideas. Is there some chemical I can add to the roots that would slow it down? Or maybe just reducing the water (I have a sprinkler system)? I don't want to kill the plant, just tame it a little.
667. bubbaette - Sep. 28, 1998 - 10:12 AM PT
Eliot
See your veterinarian. You can have a cat de-clawed but alot of people think that's cruel.
668. thoughtful - Sep. 28, 1998 - 12:38 PM PT
I don't think the infestations are a result of imbalances in our environment -- I think they have been around since the beginning of time and are quite natural. (Remember the plague of frogs? Locusts?) Mother nature does a good job of keeping things in balance, but there is a natural variation around that balance. I can remember infestations of Japanese beetles when I was growing up, tent caterpillars, inch worms and gypsy moths. Once in a great while we still find a tent or two. Hubby and I wait for dusk, then burn 'em out with a torch -- with nods to Robert Duvall, we love the smell of pillars burnin' in the evening!
I can remember waiting for the schoolbus in the a.m. and there were so many gypsy moth larvae in the woods around me that it always sounded like it was raining -- from their droppings. It took a cold damp spring to wipe out most of them.
I also remember my in-laws having an infestation of ladybugs in their house -- many folks don't realize they bite!
669. bubbaette - Sep. 28, 1998 - 12:39 PM PT
I didn't know they bite.
670. Ronski - Sep. 28, 1998 - 12:41 PM PT
Elliot,
Do you feed birds, and if so, do you use sunflower seeds? The hulls contain a chemical which discourages the growth of plants other than sunflowers. If you were to use them as a mulch at the roots of the cats claw, it might work. Then again, it might just attract critters.
There are chemicals that are used by plant growers to stunt growth. If you see a hibiscus (normally a very sizeable bush) growing in a small pot for the home, it will have been dwarfed by this chemical (which eventually leeches out the soil, causing the plant to resume vigorous growth at some time in the future).
I have not heard of this chemical being available for use around the home, however, which is why your garden store hasn't heard about it, either. Nor do I know what it is called.
But try the sunflowers. And are you certain you want vines growing up along your house? They can damage facades. But on the other hand, they can be very pretty.
671. thoughtful - Sep. 28, 1998 - 1:11 PM PT
Ronski, those are done with chemicals? I thought it was just that a root-bound plant won't grow as quickly -- sorta like bonsai where they trim the roots specifically to stunt plant growth.
672. elliot803 - Sep. 28, 1998 - 1:23 PM PT
Ronski:
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look for sunflower mulch at the store. I want a low-effort solution, and I can't see myself spending a lot of time making the stuff from scratch.
I like the way the cat's claw looks on the walls of my yard and the side of my house (stucco). It would be kind of barren without it. I haven't noticed the plant causing any damage. It does tend to grow into every crack and crevice, which makes it hard to remove sometimes.
673. Ronski - Sep. 28, 1998 - 2:18 PM PT
Thoughtful,
No doubt a root-bound plant will exhibit a bonsai-type stunting, but those hibiscus are chemically treated. They can be quite spectacular, I think, and wonderful in a sunny window indoors during the winter.
Elliot,
I love stucco. My parents' house, when they bought it, had an original stucco that was a kind of warm apricot color, with many visible flakes of mica; the trim was dark chocolate brown. Unfortunately, it's since been painted over, losing the mica sparkles.
The problem with vines is that as they work their way into the surface, water will get in, weaking the material where it binds to the sheathing. In your climate you probably wouldn't have to worry about freezing and thawing, as here in the Northeast, but there can still be some damage, eventually. It may take many years, so you may not have to worry about it.
My late partner, who was English and French, told the story of his grandmother's villa in France (they once had some money), and the dinner they were having one Sunday, when they heard a huge crash, like an earthquake. It happened that the ivy on the front of the building came crashing down, bringing the facade down with it.
Not that I mean to scare you. If it's a concern, an engineer could tell you if you are risking a problem.
On my house in Brooklyn, soon to be replaced by a house in the exurbs, I let a little bit of Virginia creeper (related to the Boston Ivy, and which like it, turns red in the fall and then loses its leaves) grow up by the doorway, because it is pretty. But I gently pull off the leafless vine in late fall, and let the process start again in the spring, so that there is not too much growth and hence too much weight on the front of the building.
Regards.
674. elliot803 - Sep. 28, 1998 - 2:31 PM PT
Ronski:
I can tell you are a true connoseur of flora. I'll keep my eye on the cat's claw, but as far as threats to the structure of my house go, I'm more worried about termites and the long-term effects of the extreme Arizona climate. I have a basement home--the downstairs is below ground level--which keeps my A/C bills low in the summer, but apparently creates some special problems if the ground stays wet for too long (It doesn't rain very often in Phoenix, but when it rains it REALLY rains).
675. rickc2000 - Sep. 28, 1998 - 2:53 PM PT
I am in the process of training a wisteria plant to climb the railing of my front steps. When it gets to the top and around the side of the landing there, I plan to runit up to the edge of the roof of the porch, across the front of the porch, bact down the other side to the porct rail and then back across the front of he porch. Should go well with the grey of the building. Planted it last year. This year it really started to grow and has some runners close to half way up the rail now.
676. thoughtful - Sep. 29, 1998 - 5:57 AM PT
rickc, yikes! I love wisteria, but would be very cautious about training that around a structure you want to last. At my folks' house, the wisteria has pulled down the very heavy cedar post & metal frame my dad built for it to grow on. Over our other house, it too is pulling down the 2x4 trellis which was bolted and cabled together. Additionally, every year we have to go up on the roof and cut it down as the runners will creep up under the shingles and will cause the roof to leak unless removed.
677. rickc2000 - Sep. 29, 1998 - 10:10 AM PT
thoughtful; Thanks! for the warning. I am aware of how strong and tenacious (sp) wisteria can be. The railing it will be (is) growing on is very strong and well anchored. I also knew I would need to be careful that the runners not get under either the roof shingles or my shake siding. Your words are well received. I will be vigilant.
678. chloel - Sep. 29, 1998 - 11:36 AM PT
I've seen pretty big old wisteria on old (80y) structures; all of them, I think, in temperate-to-cold climates. It might be safer somewhere with reliable winterkill; then woody, self-supporting stems would be the ones that survive.
Pruning should do it too.
679. rickc2000 - Sep. 29, 1998 - 11:42 AM PT
Well I have the 80+ yr old house but not the killer cold here. Wisteria does lose its leaves in the fall and that will give me a good unobstructed opportunity to see what the stems and trunk are up to on a regular basis.
680. Ronski - Sep. 29, 1998 - 12:46 PM PT
chloel,
I spoke to my brother-in-law in England, who says he did not know of any sheep that produced cream, but being half-French, he suggested looking into the sheep used to make roquefort, which is a very creamy cheese. I have since found out that the breed is called "Lacaune," but I don't know any more about it.
rickc2000,
Wisteria blooms on old growth, if I'm not mistaken, and enjoys a good pruning, but probably best in the spring, immediately after blooming. If pruned after the leaves fall, it might inhibit flowering.
Are you using the standard blue (lavendar) wisteria? There are also white ones, and one that is almost pink. There are also some double flowered varieties. All these originate from two species, one found in China, one in Japan, I believe.
681. waddened - Sep. 29, 1998 - 1:13 PM PT
Can I ripen tomatoes indoors. I remember when I was a child my mother used to place green tomatoes on a tray between two pieces of newspaper. Over time they would ripen.
How can I do this? Where do I place the tomatoes? How frequently do I check them?
682. rickc2000 - Sep. 29, 1998 - 2:08 PM PT
Ronski; I believe we have a pink one. It is still too young to flower much. This is the first year I am getting good growth. I look forward to copious blossoms next season or the following.
waddened; I have had success ripening them on a sunny window sill but that is only when they are already well on their way to ripe. Can't help you with the serious green ones.
683. ScottLoar - Sep. 29, 1998 - 2:46 PM PT
Waddened, of course you can ripen tomatoes indoors, just try it. How fast do they ripen? Depends on how green they are when you pick'em. It's best to let tomatoes ripen on the vine, but if too many tomatoes threaten the supported vine with collapse or to avoid the depredations of squirrels and neighbors then, of course, pick'em. We just leave the tomatoes on the inside window sill, or place them in a large porcelain bowl and let'em ripen. Avoid damp.
684. chloel - Sep. 29, 1998 - 2:49 PM PT
Reallllly green tomatoes may not ripen indoors, you might as well make chutney or pickles. Green tomatoes thinking about turning pink - the translucency changes - make terrible pickles, so put them in a dry bowl. A slice of apple might help.
685. ScottLoar - Sep. 29, 1998 - 2:58 PM PT
Waddened, I'll be painfully specific. A tomato plucked so green that it may be safely used for batting practice cannot, repeat- cannot, ripen to perfect red tenderness on one's windowsill. It just ain't got it in it to ripen, you see?
686. ScottLoar - Sep. 29, 1998 - 3:03 PM PT
Green Tomatoes Nearly Reaching Boring Conclusion
Several years ago the movie "Fried Green Tomatos" came out, and there is one scene in which green tomatoes are being sauteed. Failing to stop that scene on VCR playback several times there are even recipes on the internet for fried green tomatoes (no, I don't have them at hand). Yes, there is variety of use for the green, green tomato.
687. chloel - Sep. 29, 1998 - 3:12 PM PT
Batting practice, for instance; there's probably an overgrown zucchini to use for a bat.
688. rickc2000 - Sep. 29, 1998 - 3:47 PM PT
overgrown cucumbers make a nice bad as well.
689. rickc2000 - Sep. 29, 1998 - 3:48 PM PT
and an even nicer bat.
690. bubbaette - Sep. 29, 1998 - 4:43 PM PT
waddened
before frost I pull all the green tomatoes off the vine and ripen them on a sunny window sill. They ripen best if they are at least turning a little yellow when you pick them.
Your mom's idea about ripening between two pieces of newspaper may have some reason behind it. When fruits ripen, they release a phermone which causes other fruits to ripen. So if you want fruit to ripen faster, you put it in a paper bag which concentrates those phermones. I don't see why it wouldn't work with tomatoes. Scotts right that the real hard green tomatoes won't ripen up as nicely, but they're still often better than store-bought styrofoam ones.
691. bubbaette - Sep. 29, 1998 - 4:46 PM PT
Also, my husband likes fried tomatoes, though I think they're disgusting. You take a mix of equal parts flour and corn meal seasoned with salt and pepper. Dip the tomatoe in a mixed raw egg, press it in the cornmeal stuff and fry it in bacon fat til it browns nicely. If you like that kinda thing.
692. Ronski - Sep. 30, 1998 - 7:11 AM PT
Addendum:
There are some varieties of tomato which stay green in color when fully ripe; an heirloom variety called "Evergreen" is one.
693. ScottLoar - Sep. 30, 1998 - 7:19 AM PT
To discriminate between a truly unripened green tomato and that varietal please pinch, prod, poke or chomp the tomato. An unyielding nut of a tomato shows it's not yet ripened regardless of size or colour.
694. ScottLoar - Sep. 30, 1998 - 7:21 AM PT
Or, hand the tomato to some of the technical specialists posting in Liberal Arts and let them run some tests.
695. thoughtful - Sep. 30, 1998 - 9:06 AM PT
bbbtt is right. Tomatoes release a gas when ripening, so placing them in a paper bag and closing it up does ripen them inside, and surprisingly, they don't taste too bad either. Depending on how green they are when you put them in, you may want to check 'em every couple of days.
696. Ronski - Sep. 30, 1998 - 9:09 AM PT
And as chloel has pointed out, a ripening apple slice helps -- because it produces the same gas; the gas is both produced by the ripening process and helps speed up the ripening process.
697. rickc2000 - Sep. 30, 1998 - 9:50 AM PT
The other side of that coin is do not put your ripening apples and pears in the same fruit bowl as your rips plums and peaches or the plums and peaches will turn bad quite quickly.
698. bubbaette - Sep. 30, 1998 - 10:06 AM PT
And as we all know, one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, girl.
699. rickc2000 - Sep. 30, 1998 - 10:42 AM PT
bubbaette; Didn't you used to sing with the Jackson 5?
700. chloel - Sep. 30, 1998 - 12:30 PM PT
Ripening fruit gas also makes cut flowers fade more quickly (I don't know about live ones).
Ronski, thanks for the investigation.