The basic materials for casting planter tuffas and leafmoldings are the same: Portland cement, fine play-sand (because it is clean of debris), and water. You’ll also need a garden or cement trowel and a couple of large plastic dishpan for mixing the cement, sand, and water. In one large dishpan, you’ll need to mix some water with the sand until it can be molded by hand as if building a sand castle on the beach. In the other dishpan, you will mix 1 part Portland cement with 2 parts sand. Add water until the mixture is the consistency of thick frosting. Portland cement comes in 40 lb. bags. They can be resealed after use. Play-sand comes in 40 lb. bags that are easily stored for future use. For a casting planter tuffas, select a mold in the design of your finished product. It can be a simple bowl, tub, or…
A Bit of Dirt – Spring 2009
The full pdf copy of this edition is available here. Editor’s Cuff Notes – by Dan Willis. OH, DEER! I enjoy living in a woodland setting. I have slowly grown accustomed to seeing quite a few deer around my home. The quiet, graceful movements, the big brown eyes, the gentle flick of its white tail, all reassure me that there still is a place for wild things in the surrounding environment. One February morning I woke to find 7 does and 3 bucks browsing in my backyard. Two of the bucks were eight pointers with nice symmetrical racks. This spring, a doe gave birth to a single fawn in a little visited part of my front yard. It was fascinating to watch the little guy or gal struggle to follow mama around the yard. It seems that many of the deer in my neighborhood have lost their fear of people…
Home Propagation of Plants: Division And Layering
CROWN DIVISION One simple and reliable method for propagating plants at home is crown division. As a general rule, plants that flower in the spring and early summer should be divided in late summer or fall. Those flowering in the summer and fall should be divided in early spring before new growth begins. For crown division of herbaceous plants, such as irises, the clumps should be carefully lifted and some soil removed from the roots. The crown may then be cut into sections with a knife or other sharp tool. Individual shoots that contain roots may be used to form new plants, or if a larger plant is desired, several shoots may be left together. In large, old crowns, it is often best to discard the older, center portions and replant the young, more vigorous shoots that have developed on the edges of the clump. Table 1: Some common perennials…