The Plant Man column
for publication week of 12/07/03 - 12/13/03
(748 words)
###

The Plant Man
by Steve Jones
www.landsteward.com

Five "must do" tips for winter landscapers

Once again, it's that special time of year between Thanksgiving and
the New Year. The days are shorter and there seems to be more to pack
into each of them.

With so many demands on our attention, it's easy to forget about our
landscape at this time of year. Especially when it's really cold
outside!
But there are some garden and landscape-related activities that you
should be taking care of this month. I call this...

The "What To Do Before Santa Gets Here" list!

1. It's Tool Time
Your tools are probably leaning against the wall of your garage or
basement, still caked with the dried-on dirt from the last time you
used them a couple of months ago. Admit it! I'm right aren't I?
Invest a few minutes and your tools will actually be useable next
spring.

Clean mud and dirt off shovels, forks and trowels at a very minimum.
You can then rub the metal parts with an oily rag. If you've got some
WD-40 handy, that'll work fine. Another tip: professional landscapers
rub the wooden handles with linseed oil to prevent them drying and
cracking.

2. The Mower The Merrier
Before you let the gas mower hibernate, start it up and let it run
until the gas tank is empty. Clean off the blades, and if they need
sharpening call up a mower service shop and see if they have any
winter specials. For a more comprehensive look at winter tool care,
see a previous Plant Man column archived at my web site. You can find
it he
http://www.landsteward.org/page.cfm/5220

3. Give ‘Em The Brush-Off
It's probably not snowing yet when you read this, but here's a tip to
bear in mind when it does. Trees and shrubs can be damaged by the
weight of heavy, wet snow. To prevent or minimize damage, gently shake
the branches of delicate trees and shrubs so the heavy snow falls
away. You can also use a broom to brush snow from the branches. But
resist the urges to whack the branches with the broom! You could cause
severe trauma to the poor tree. And there's a good chance that a heavy
chunk of ice will fall directly onto YOU.

4. Don't Leave Me This Way
Here's a timely reminder from the folks at the Extension Service of
Texas A & M. Don't let fallen leaves remain on the lawn all winter.
Either mow them back into the lawn, collect them to be used as a weed
suppressing and water conserving mulch, or compost them for use next
spring and summer to improve the soil. Leaves left on the lawn can
cause disease problems if a thick layer keeps the grass too wet and
dark. You can find a link to the complete article at the end of this
column.

And an "indoor" tree reminder...

5. Pining Away
"O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how are thy leaves so verdant!"
The answer is simple: water! If you want your tree to stay green and
attractive instead of shedding millions of pine needles on your
carpet, think H2O. A "living" tree needs a thorough watering before
you bring it into the house; and it shouldn't stay indoors much longer
than ten days if you want it to survive outdoors after the Holidays. A
"cut" tree needs water, too. Saw a couple of inches off the cut end
and check the water level once or twice a day. You might be surprised
to know that a cut tree can absorb as much as a gallon of water a day.

Here are some useful resources! You can instantly click on direct
links to all of them (and more) when you find this column under The
Plant Man heading at my web site, www.landsteward.org

Some useful winter garden tips from the University of Nebraska
Extension Service can be found at http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/

Go to the Texas A & M Extension site
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ and find a bunch of winter lawn
and plant care ideas.

Here's a link to December plant care tips from the New York Botanical
Garden: http://www.nybg.org/plants/months/dec.html

For Christmas tree tips from the National Safety Council, go to
http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/xmastree.htm

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs
and landscaping to and for resources and
additional information, including archived columns, visit
www.landsteward.com where you can also subscribe to Steve's free
e-mailed newsletter.

Earl Buchan wrote:
1. It's Tool Time
Your tools are probably leaning against the wall of your garage or
basement, still caked with the dried-on dirt from the last time you
used them a couple of months ago. Admit it! I'm right aren't I?
Invest a few minutes and your tools will actually be useable next
spring.

Clean mud and dirt off shovels, forks and trowels at a very minimum.
You can then rub the metal parts with an oily rag. If you've got some
WD-40 handy, that'll work fine. Another tip: professional landscapers
rub the wooden handles with linseed oil to prevent them drying and
cracking.

But DO NOT wad up the linseed oil-soaked cloth and toss it aside. Spread it
out, outside, so that it will dry completly. This will prevent spontanious
combustion that linseed oil soaked rags are known for.

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 01:01:59 GMT, Retiredff wrote:

But DO NOT wad up the linseed oil-soaked cloth and toss it aside. Spread
it
out, outside, so that it will dry completly. This will prevent
spontanious
combustion that linseed oil soaked rags are known for.

Oh good grief - is that right?! I am known to be gullible, but it sounds
like this might be true.
/goes off to google

I thought that Land Steward site was excellent. It was new to me and has
been bookmarked. Wish there were more pics on the site, but I guess there's
plenty of others around the net.
--
Lynda

Lynda LeCompte wrote:
On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 01:01:59 GMT, Retiredff
wrote:

But DO NOT wad up the linseed oil-soaked cloth and toss it aside.
Spread it
out, outside, so that it will dry completly. This will prevent
spontanious
combustion that linseed oil soaked rags are known for.

Oh good grief - is that right?! I am known to be gullible, but it
sounds like this might be true.
/goes off to google

I hope you googled to your hearts content and found out your gullibility (is
that a word?!) didn't come into play

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 11:44:57 GMT, Retiredff wrote:
I hope you googled to your hearts content and found out your gullibility
(is
that a word?!) didn't come into play

Oh, absolutely.
The words 'linseed combistion' produced 3810 results... after I clicked the
link that said, "Did you mean 'linseed combustion'" lol!

Yep - it's twue!
--
Lynda

But DO NOT wad up the linseed oil-soaked cloth and toss it aside. Spread it
out, outside, so that it will dry completly. This will prevent spontanious
combustion that linseed oil soaked rags are known for.

We had a lawyer burn his house and family down with oil soaked rags
left over from a refinishing job around here a few years back.

Take oil soaked rags, linseed, tung oil, watco , wood stain etc
outside and burn them. They only burn once.

Earl Buchan wrote:
=

1. It's Tool Time
Your tools are probably leaning against the wall of your garage or
basement, still caked with the dried-on dirt from the last time you
used them a couple of months ago. Admit it! I'm right aren't I?
Invest a few minutes and your tools will actually be useable next
spring.
=

Clean mud and dirt off shovels, forks and trowels at a very minimum.
You can then rub the metal parts with an oily rag. If you've got some
WD-40 handy, that'll work fine. Another tip: professional landscapers
rub the wooden handles with linseed oil to prevent them drying and
cracking.

Something I've found, if one has a bench grinder, is to sharpen the
edges of the transfer shovels, spades, machetes. Knives best done on a
whetstone. All this is done after cleaning the utensil.

J. Kolenovsky
http://www.celestialhabitats.com
-- =

Celestial Habitats by J. Kolenovsky
2003 Honorable Mention Award, Keep Houston Beautiful
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

Lynda LeCompte wrote in message ...
On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 01:01:59 GMT, Retiredff wrote:

But DO NOT wad up the linseed oil-soaked cloth and toss it aside. Spread
it
out, outside, so that it will dry completly. This will prevent
spontanious
combustion that linseed oil soaked rags are known for.

Oh good grief - is that right?! I am known to be gullible, but it sounds
like this might be true.
/goes off to google

Yes, wadded uplinseed oil soaked rags can ignite spontaneously.
Linseed oil dries by oxidation which produces a substantial amount of
heat.

This is also true of rags soaked in other oils. They are best kept in
a closed metal can or submerged in water until they can be washed.


J. Del Col

yeah.. well I just gotta get my bulbs in!!!!! Ingrid

(Earl Buchan) wrote:
The "What To Do Before Santa Gets Here" list!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Hey Lynda,
I'm the web designer for Land Steward, and the parent company
(Greenwood Nursery) has a ton of pictures on it's site. The two sites
are actually combined using a content management system so I can pull
images into Land Steward real easy. I've spoken with the owner about
your post and we're working on it! In the mean time, check out
www.greenwoodnursery.com
Earl

Lynda LeCompte wrote in message ...
On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 01:01:59 GMT, Retiredff wrote:

But DO NOT wad up the linseed oil-soaked cloth and toss it aside. Spread
it
out, outside, so that it will dry completly. This will prevent
spontanious
combustion that linseed oil soaked rags are known for.

Oh good grief - is that right?! I am known to be gullible, but it sounds
like this might be true.
/goes off to google

I thought that Land Steward site was excellent. It was new to me and has
been bookmarked. Wish there were more pics on the site, but I guess there's
plenty of others around the net.

On 9 Dec 2003 10:09:30 -0800, Earl Buchan wrote:

Hey Lynda,
I'm the web designer for Land Steward, and the parent company
(Greenwood Nursery) has a ton of pictures on it's site. The two sites
are actually combined using a content management system so I can pull
images into Land Steward real easy. I've spoken with the owner about
your post and we're working on it! In the mean time, check out
www.greenwoodnursery.com
Earl

That's wonderful! Thanks for taking notice of the comments.
Have bookmarked www.greenwoodnursery.com also.
I like the different pictures that appear on the homepage with every
refresh - good job :-)
--
Lynda