| 'I gazed out at the mists that have blighted my gardening plans'
CHANGE the time, change the weather, I mused, pausing to recall one of many fine old country sayings now occupying valuable brain cells that could be put to better use. Not that old surely, I mused a little further, keeping the carpet-shampooing machine switch in the "Off" position while gazing out at the mists that have blighted gardening plans this week since the spring forwarding of clocks. .
You gotta get it!
Homemade compost is the surest way to get necessary nutrients into soil so it yields bigger and better flowering geraniums and juicy tomatoes. Composting is simplified when you use the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler, which scored 8.9 out of 10 points in tests by members of the National Home Gardening Club. To use the composter, place shredded leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps - no meat or grease drippings to attract unwanted critters - into the bin. Spin it daily to produce dark brown, organic compost that you work into new or existing plantings. You can also apply a thin layer of compost around plants, a technique called "top dressing." The compact 58-gallon, 22-pound Tumbleweed assembles in 10 to 15 minutes, requiring only your hands and a screwdriver. It features twist-lock animal-resistant lids and built-in vents to let rain water drain easily.
A new chapter as anarchist flag flaps again in New York
New York - It may be the centre of the capitalist universe, but New York still managed to rally hundreds of revolutionaries, students and the plain curious for its first anarchist book fair at the weekend. Not exactly known for its left-wing political agitation, the city could last claim to have an organised anarchist network a century or so ago, but recently formed groups are increasingly flying the anarchist flag here. And while the prospect of barricades on Broadway and violent revolution appear remote, the anarchist movement appears to be attracting a broad spectrum of counter-cultural followers disillusioned with the state of US politics. The book fair is a joint effort by activists who are able to update a centralised website. With titles on offer ranging from Organic Market Gardening and Crimethink for Beginners to the enigmatic Bicycling Science and Animal Rights and Pornography, Saturday's book fair reflected some pretty diverse manifestoes.
Foreign moth threatens crops, landscaping Bay Area ground zero ...
You might take the light brown apple moth for an inconsequential leaf roller. But don't underestimate it. If the Australia native makes California a new home, it could do $133 million or more in damage to the state's crops, state officials warn. Hitherto found only in Australia, where it does millions of dollars in damage annually to agriculture, as well as New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Hawaii, the moth was recently detected in the Bay Area, the first time it has appeared in the continental United States. California Department of Food and Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists on March 22 said a specimen discovered by a retired UC Berkeley entomologist in his backyard in Berkeley was confirmed as a light brown apple moth. Since then, 75 of the moths have been found in traps in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Francisco counties.
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