Show Section Wednesday February 25 2004 The Herald Journal Indoor Page! Thejaia- t- Road Less1 needs attention ' 1 Travelecl Q: What can you tell me about indoor gardening? Answer by: Dan Drost Utah State University Extension Vegetable Specialist Growing vegetables in containers can be both fun and challenging Sur-pri singly most vegetables do very well in containers but it is important to pay attention to light temperature soil media rooting space plant selection watering feeding and pests lighting Generally it is recommended that vegetables get a minimum of six hours of full sunlight This is not a problem during the summer but when growing them indoors in the winter supplemental of novel By I read many of Zane Grey’s hovels in my youth but until this past Octo- ber it had been many years since I had read any of his work Each autumn I am part of a sisters reunion Four of us all women “of a certain age” get together for two weeks of adventure We rotate each year for the reunion Last year it was to be in Arizona The hostess chooses all the activities and everyone goes along It’s great fun and we rarely ' know what to expect We were greeted by weather and a grand list of activities ' cfne of which was a camping trip our hostess had arranged at the Mogollon Rim in Tonto National Forest She gave each of us “Under the Tonto Rim” by Zane Grey — a novel we had all read a$ we were growing up Our hostess had arranged for us to spend a few days reading our books light is need- - ed Purchase grow - especially for 100-degr- ee vegetables that fruit such as tomatoes Temperature tegula-tion Tomatoes and other fruiting vegetables require temperatures near 80 F during the day and 65 F at night These temperatures are wanner than most home settings At cooler temperatures plants grow less vigorously and fruit size and number is compromised Leafy vegetables such as lettuce grow better at cooler temperatures ' Pollination Indoor gardening can create pollination problems Toma- -' joes set fruit best if the flowers are Vibrated when they open Some cucumber Varieties may need to be physically cross pollinated since the plants produce separate male ami female flowers on the plant: Potting mix Purchase a potting mix that drains well enough to avoid ' root rot but also holds enough mois- -' ture to supply die plant’s water heeds There are many good soilless commercial pottinjg mixes that work very well mid are not expensive' Container size The smallest pot size to consider for indoor gardening is eight inches in diameter and eight inches deep This works well for let- tiice radishes onions or herbs A large plant such as a tomato or ' cucumber will require a much larger container to allow for ample root development Make sure the container has sufficient drainage holes to ' avoid root rot ' Seeds or transplants You can start your pots using either seeds or transplants When using seeds over- plant the pots and thin later Be sure to allow plenty of space so the plant can grow without crowding If you want to use transplants either grow them or wait until the local nursery ' or garden center begins to stock them Sometimes it is easier to start ' new plants in late summer for your fall indoors vegetable garden ' Water Proper watering is critical for successful container gardening It is easy to and cause root rot At the same time if you leave for a few days plants can wilt severely or die A good rule of thumb is to apply water when the soil is dry "about qne inch below the surface V Fertilizer In addition to watering container plants need to bis fertilized regularly with a complete fertilizer mix Since there are virtually no nutrients in soilless mixes be Sure die fertilizer you choose has all die r ' essential nptrients heeded for growth! Most container gardeners use a liquid fertilizer at a quarter to half strength every time they water Pests and disease gnats white flies and plant diseases can be a problem in containers If you start with disease and insect-fre- e plants you are less likely to have : pest problems and camping oh the rim about which Grey had written in his novel She had borrowed a tiny very old motor home that was in' need of much repair We envisioned lots of good food basking in the sun ' Tots get a to see otfwf Ask A Specialist oohimns Direct column topics to Juiene Reese Utah State University Extension Logan UT 54322-050- 0 JutenerOexLusuedu j taste (literally in some cases) of life in the snow By Lince Frazier staff writer over-wat- er ! on lawn chairs in shorts and straw ' hats reading our novels and best of all lying on a blanket gazing at the stars at night while listening to coyotes howL'We could hardly wait 1 was driving a car behind the ! motor home when we left the desert floor As we ascended the mountain it became obvious that the motor home had no taillights turn signals or brake lights We decided to co- ntinue however as we would arrive in the afternoon well before dark! We parked on the edge of the cliffs It was a thrilling sight-W- e Could see for miles and the drop was1 spectacular In setting up our camp we were so busy we hardly noticed die shift in the wind It was no longer coming from the southern desert We had left 100 degrees in Tempe ' "" and had expected a drop of perhaps23 degrees in the temperature on the rim but Mother Nature played a nasty trick on us The winds were coming from a cold front in Canada When I say winds it was like a hurri- v Brent StevenaHerald Journal Stokes Nature Center field instructor De Ann Lester shows a group of youngsters some juniper berries during the Family Snowshoe Adventure outing earlier this month : Visit tivWaska Sue Parsoria Rakes : GREEN CANYON— Five : r minutes out and most of the ! youngsters have ajready been in die powder But none of them are complaining In fact the kid in the green coveralls appears to be intention-- ! ' i ally nosediving (He’ll spend the rest of the afternoon sporting an extra coating of snow raising an interesting question: How do 5- ! ‘ Megan Barker soon cut sign and stopped to examine the prints many of the kids dropping to all V foursto get acloser look As Barker explained how to get a rough idea of an animal’s size from the length and width of its '' stride the hopeful guesses began: “Weasel?" “Rabbit?? “WolfT When it was finally established that the tracks belonged to a red fox the children nodded wisely and ate more snow “Something that doesn’t sink down1 very far isn’t very big" Barker continued her tutorial ' “And you see how the tracks go straight up the hill? A wild animal doesn’t wander around the way a dog does" Y-"- ' Indeed dog tracks were the ' most' commonly found and dog poop was the nmst common for-eign object But there were also ice crystals to marvel at juniper berries to pluck and snow to snow and a game bf “wolfpack’' Wolfpack U a game of tag that according to one boy goes like this: “One person he’s the wolf and the other personsbe the deer and the wolf chases the deer” Each deer that is tagged becomes a wolf mid takes up the hunt giv- ing the class an illustration of how the predators use numbers' to their advantage “Wolves huntin packs and use strategy’’ instructor De Ann!-Leste- ds ' ' cane While a latrine was dug I went in ' search of firewood I changed from sandals and shorts into long pants' boots and several layers of shirts My hat had long since blown ova the ' rim so l tied a sweater around my - ' : - head- Without a saw it was hard to gath wood 1 had to walk a long way and finally dragged a large heavy branch back to the camp It was freering Darkness was settling in We got a fire started and carried air our food and supplies into the tiny trailer away from wild animals! A couple of us had planned to sleep outside under the stars by the camp- 'fire but we were forced to go inside ' as the temperature dropped The wind howled and moaned just As ' Grey had described it in his novel I smelted gas in the traila so insisted on cracking a window and hot light: matches ' ing any Next morning we awoke to sun- shine and freezing weather We defined our campsite battened (town " the hatches arid headed down the ' mountain Where we sat in a hot tub the rest of and drank lenxmade the day Like the women in Grey's Y novels I came home a wisagiri a explained Soon after that the group made its way back to the parking lot bright eyes and rosy cheeks V-affirming why Nature Centa offi- dais are expanding this program An extra session this one aimed more at adults has been dated for ‘ March 13 to be led by local natu- ‘ tolerate1 ralist Jack Greene By next win- year-ollaughingly temsnow baths and single-dig- it ter Barirer said the program may ' offered have that their monthly sniffling peratures : “We’re just trying to get folks' parents ready to tiick tail and 'throw i outside and maybe introduce 'i rim?) Within minutes the hikers woe It’s all put of Stokes Nature well-bov- e the soupy burgeoning them to an environment they Center’s Family Snowshoe invasion in die valley enjoying v might not be iised to” Barker I noted “We want to giye people Adventure an annual affair that is the sun’s brief careSs Baiker ! an idea of what critters are activities soon called a halt growing in popularity Feb 14 around arid what the snow is SNC instructors fitted a dozen Y such as hide and keek with a children and their parents with about" ’ owl book stuffed reading from a Even if tiutt interaction consists about birds nests malting snow snowshoes and then set forth to v 'find animal tracks Instructor angels studying different types of primarily oftaste-testin- g face-dow- n ' - V fa fa ' Sue Parsons Rakas is a veteran traveller wtx Nves in Logan |