[FYI - j jhnsn]

From: Joe Novak
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2006 9:33 AM
Subject: August Sale and Tip for Fire Ant Control

Howdy!

We are having a plant sale this week, Aug. 3,4 and 5. The sale will be at
the Horticulture Building, Room 110 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day.

We will be selling an assortment of herbs, well-adapted landscape plants
that can still go into the garden in late summer, and a wide array of house
plants. Some specific examples of plants for this sale include scented
geraniums, coral bean, calathea, English mint, night blooming jasmine,
chalice vine, clerodendron, salvia, passion vines, jatropha, orchid tree,
orchids, almond verbena, cacti and other succulents, datura, assorted
hanging baskets and many more. We will also have seedy characters, dish
gardens, bottle gardens and other more novel items.

All proceeds from the sale help to support the Holistic Garden located
behind the Horticulture Building. Thanks for all of the support that you
have provided the Holistic Garden in the past. It changes constantly and I
hope that you will have an opportunity to visit the garden in the near
future. New student projects are going up in the Children's "Garden
Discovery Trail" this week and there are a wide array of plants in bloom,
many of which will be in our sale.

Please note that I was not able to get permission to use the Head House at
the greenhouses by the Evans Library for this sale and so I hope some of you
who have been coming to the Friday sales at that location will come over to
the Horticulture Building on West Campus.

Also, I have not been able to work out parking for the week day sales,
Thursday and Friday, and so we have extended the sale to Saturday for those
of you who are not on campus. I will save some of each item for the
Saturday sale so that you will not be getting the "leftovers". There are
two loading areas behind HFSB and so if you do come on Thursday or Friday
and need a place to load plants, you can park for a short time in the
loading areas.

Special Tip: Fire ants are very numerous this year. They are being forced
into our plant beds as a result of the unusual rainy periods that we have
had in July. A good, home-made, natural fire ant control follows:
Make some compost tea by putting a gallon or so of good, home-made, garden
compost in a 4 or 5 gallon bucket and fill it with water. Stir it a few
times and add a quarter cup of molasses to stimulate rapid multiplication of
the microorganisms. Then before using it extract the brown liquid compost
tea and add a couple of tablespoons of citrus oil. Drench a quart or so
into active fire ant mounds. They will soon disappear and don't return.