HOUSE PLANTS & GARDENING -List
ANT CHASER: Sprinkle a mixture of baking soda and red pepper in
the area where the little 'crawlies' are known to frequent. You
can also pour boiling water down each ant hill.
EVERGREEN ROOTS CARE: Protect your young evergreens from winter
frosts. Wash frequently and thoroughly before coming of frigid
weather. This promotes "downward" growth of roots, and a longer,
healthier life. Peat moss or a mixture of tree leaves and straw
provides extra protection to young evergreens.
FERN MAGIC: Ferns will grow like magic in your house if you
punch 3 holes in the soil and pour 1/2-teaspoon of castor oil in
each hole. A good tonic can be made of weak tea, instead of water.
Apply this once a week.
FLOWER BOX WHITEWASH: Whitewash them inside before filling with
soil. This discourages insects and protects against rotting of
the boxes.
FLOWER POT PLUGGING: Plug those holes in the pot bottom with a
button (with 4 holes) large enough to fit the opening. This
gives slow drainage with no soil loss.
GRASS EXTERMINATOR: Grass or weeds growing between sections of
cement walkways can be killed by saturating with salted, boiling
water.
HOUSE PLANT MENDING: If a plant stem has broken, give it a
crutch. Make a tiny splint from toothpicks and tape it onto the
broken stem. It should heal real soon.
LEMON SEED PLANTING: These seeds, planted and treated as house
plants, make pretty little shrubs. Use leaves for flavoring.
Tie a few lemon leaves in a piece of clean cheesecloth and drop
in a container of boiling applesauce. Give a terrific, and in-
expensive flavor!
PEST DISCOURAGER: Plant an onion in the middle of a hill of
cucumbers, squash, melons, etc. It helps banish worms and bugs
that feed on such vegetation.
POISON IVY CHASER: Make a solution of 3-lbs. of salt with 1-
gallon of soapy water. Spray the area (especially the plants)
with this solution. A few treatments may be necessary. The
unwanted plant will then die.
ROSES FRESHENER: To keep fresh from aphids and mildew, water
them ONLY in the morning and NEVER at night. Soak the ground at
the base of rose bushes thoroughly, twice a week or more, in
summer so the soil will not dry out. In hot weather, water in
the EARLY morning, before 8:00 A.M. --foilage and all.
SEED PACKET USES: Secure your empty seed packets to stakes, by
affixing spring-type clothespins upon them. A GOOD METHOD TO
MARK YOUR PLANTINGS!
SICK PLANT CURES: That old stand-by, Castor oil! Just 1-
tablespoon in the soil around the roots with a little water to
wash it down, will help them perk up and become healthy.
SOIL CONDITIONERS (FROM YOUR HOUSEHOLD): Save those EGG SHELLS.
They contain valuable nutrients for your plants and soil. Along
your vegetable rows, dig a trench about 6-inches deep, fill with
crushed eggshells and cover with earth. Crushed eggshells may be
incorporated into a compost pile, where they eventually disinter-
grate. CLUB SODA is nourishing and can be used for watering
plants. CASTOR OIL given as 1-tablespoon in the soil around the
roots with a little water to wash it down. It will help them perk
up and become healthy. SUDS AND ASHES are good for bushes and
young shrubs and appear to give them new life.
TRELLIS TRICKS: Make your own flower trellis for an indoor plant
by using a discarded ice cube divider from an ice cube tray.
VINEGAR RECIPE FOR PLANTS: It may not smell like a rose, but
vinegar can keep sweet-smelling cut flowers fresh longer. Mix
2-tablespoons with 3-tablespoons of sugar and add to each quart
of warm water in the "cut flower" container.
WATERING, WHILE ABSENT: If vacationing, place all your house
plants in the bathtub, filled with 3-inches of cold water. This
keeps plants healthy and prevents soil from drying out. Another
good idea is to water plants thoroughly, then slip a plastic bag
over them. Tie around the middle of the pot with string.
WEED EXTERMINATOR: Grass or weeds growing between sections of
cement walkway can be killed by saturating with salted, boiling
water.
