Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Christmas is over, the egg nog has gone, the relatives have departed... and you're left packing up the lights and ornaments and wondering what to do with the Christmas tree.

Here are some tips on what to do with your live tree as the holidays draw to a close:

• Removing the tree: The best way to avoid a mess removing your tree is to place a plastic tree bag underneath the stand when you set the tree up! You can hide it with a tree skirt. Then, when the holidays are done, pull the bag up around the tree, stand and all, and carry it outside. You will want to remove the stand before recycling the tree. If some needles do scatter inside, it is better to sweep them up; as needles can clog vacuum cleaners.
• Soil erosion barriers: You can use Christmas trees to make effective sand and soil erosion barriers.
• Fish feeders: Sunk into private fish ponds trees make excellent refuge and feeding area for fish.
• Bird feeders: Place the Christmas tree in the garden or backyard and use it as a bird feeder and sanctuary. Fresh orange slices or strung popcorn will attract the birds and they can sit in the branches for shelter. Eventually (within a year) the branches will become brittle and you can break the tree apart by hand.
• Mulch: A Christmas tree is biodegradable; its branches may be removed, chipped, and used as mulch in the garden.
• Living, rooted trees: Of course, next year, you could get a rooted (ball and burlapped or containerized) tree and then plant it in your yard after Christmas.
• Important: Never burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove. Pines, firs and other evergreens have a high content of flammable turpentine oils. Burning the tree may contribute to creosote buildup and risk a chimney fire.

Christmas Cactus

Christmas is just around the corner, so are these colorful Christmas plants.

Schlumbergera is the correct botanical name for... Christmas Cactus. It is possibly the second most popular houseplant for the holiday season. They have been kept as a holiday houseplant since the 1800’s.

Christmas Cactus are normally available in bud or bloom from late October thru December. They can be found in a variety of tabletop container sizes as well as hanging baskets.

Christmas Cactus are best grown in a peat based potting media. A potting soil that has more peat moss in it than any thing else. Christmas Cactus will do best in bright indirect light. Long term direct sunshine can stunt the plants growth and burn the leaves. If you put your plant outdoors for the summer... be sure to place it in a shady location. Christmas Cactus are quite tolerant to temperature. They will survive in temps as low as 35 degrees and as high as 100 degrees. Normal house temperatures of 65 to 80 degrees are perfect. Christmas Cactus are not a true cactus, which rarely need watered. They fit closer to the category of a houseplant. When the soil is dry to the touch... its time to water. They don't require much in the way of fertilizing. Feeding your plant 2 to 4 times per year is sufficient. Use any high quality feed that reads 20-20-20 on the label. If you have lived with your Christmas Cactus for a few seasons you know when the plant usually buds… stop feeding a month before buds appear. If not, stop feeding by the end of October.

It is best to prune your Christmas Cactus after it has finished flowering. Pinch your plant back 1 or 2 leaves. Either cut at the joint with scissors, a sharp knife, or pinch with your thumbnail and index finger. Pruning helps the plant to branch out which should increase your bud count the following season. It also helps to promote new root growth. You can transplant what you have trimmed off to give to someone special next Christmas.

Christmas Cactus are what they call thermo-photoperiodic. This means bud set is triggered by a combination of day length and temperature. When day length is approximately equal to darkness... the plant knows its time to grow buds. The secondary trigger that most  miss is temperature. Chilling the plant at 50 to 60 degrees for a week or two should cause the plant to start setting buds.

Now you know the secrets of Christmas Cactus. A properly cared for plant can live for 20 years or more... flowering year after year. And can be passed down for generations.

National Candy Corn Day

October 30th is National Candy Corn Day!

Candy Corn was created in the 1880s by the Wunderlee Candy Company and, by 1900, was being produced by the Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly), which has continuously produced it for more than a century. Candy corns get their name from the fact that they are shaped like a kernel of corn. Although they are often shown point-up, the yellow end is really the "top" of the corn. The design apparently made it popular with farmers when it first came out, but it was the fact that it had three colors - a really innovative idea - that catapulted it to popularity.

Originally, candy corn was made of sugar, corn syrup, fondant and marshmallow, among other things, and the hot mixture was poured into cornstarch molds, where it set up. This original mixture is probably where the name of the candy corn comes from. The recipe changed slightly over time and there are probably a few variations in recipes between candy companies, but the use of a mixture of sugar, corn syrup, gelatin and vanilla (as well as honey, in some brands) is the standard.

A serving of candy corn has about 22 pieces and contains 140 calories, no fat.

“Forever Plaid”

TUAC to present “Forever Plaid” – One Performance Only!!!

“Forever Plaid” is coming to the R E Lee Auditorium on October 13 for one performance only! The show will begin at 7:00 and tickets, adults $8 and children $6, may be purchased from Thomaston Upson Arts Council or at the door.

“Forever Plaid”, directed by Anita Fillingim, is one of the most popular and successful musicals in recent memory. This deliciously goofy revue centers on four eager male singers killed in a car crash in the 1960's on the way to their first big concert, and now miraculously revived for the posthumous chance to fulfill their dreams and perform the show that never was.

‘Plaid’ is 90 percent music but there’s a lot of character on display from Jinx (Bill Woodall), Francis (Larry Mitcham), Sparky (John Cox) and Smudge (Phil Leverett). Singing in the closest of harmony and executing their choreography with over-zealous precision, the show is a program of beloved songs and delightful patter that keeps audiences amused when they're not humming along to some of the great nostalgic pop hits of the 1950's.

Dr. Keith Huckaby, drums, will join Anita Fillingim, pianist to provide the accompaniment to many of the favorite hits of the 1950’s singing groups such as The Four Aces, The Four Freshman and the Four Lads. “Three Coins in a Fountain”, “Sixteen Tons”, “Love is a Many Splendored Thing”, “Crazy Bout Ya Baby” and many more familiar tunes will bring back fond memories of that era.

Corporate Sponsor for this event: QUAD GRAPHICS.

Julie’s Garden Tips: October

If you want your poinsettia to turn color by Christmas, now’s the time to begin giving it 14 hours of darkness and 10 hours of bright light each day.

The pansy planting season begins now! Plant “six-pack” pansies eight inches apart, larger plants can be spaced ten inches apart.

Cut brown flower stems of purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, daylily and hosta back to ground level.

Move patio plants into shade for two weeks before bringing them inside. This will help prevent leaf drop.

Apply a weed preventer to beds of already-planted cool-season flowers to prevent weed seeds from sprouting.

Finish dividing daylily clumps, iris rhizomes and peony roots. Plant them into a well-dug bed immediately.

Plant spring flowering bulbs, like tulip, daffodil and hyacinth. Old, crowded beds can be loosened and the bulbs divided and replanted now.

Remove faded rose blooms. Clip wayward stems back so the plant has a compact form.

As chrysanthemum and aster flowers fade, cut the plants back to six inches tall.

Root cuttings of geranium, impatiens, begonia and other “outside” plants to bring indoors for the winter.

The Autumnal Equinox

The coming of fall is bittersweet for some but for others, it's the best time of the year! In some parts of North America, the landscape turns vibrant shades of orange and red and there is a freshness in the air that is unrivaled by any other season. In the South, the heavy heat of summer lessens and there is a welcoming coolness.

The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the hours of day and night are equal as the Sun crosses the celestial equator. The Earth's axis isn't tilted at all, and with no tilt, the North and South Poles are virtually straight up and down. 

From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop and the days start to get shorter.

Signs of Fall
The landscape silently explodes with vibrant colors of red, yellow, and orange. The leaves begin to drop off the trees, providing endless hours of jumping into leaf piles for kids and raking them back up for parents! Baseball season hits the homestretch, while football season is just warming up. Temperatures begin to drop, and nights begin to get longer, and animals are storing up for the long haul of winter.

Educational Seminar

My GA DAWGS are Barking: Common Causes and Treatments of Foot Pain
with Bruce Reid, MD (Orthopedics).

Bruce Reid, MD is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon. He will discuss common causes, treatment, and prevention of foot pain including the value of arch supports, stretching and how to select proper footwear. 

Drawing for a FREE FOOT MASSAGE!

Tuesday, September 27th at 3:00 pm. 

This session is FREE and open to members and guests.

To register click HERE

URMC Wellness Center
801 W Gordon St
Thomaston
706-647-4466