Homes: Backyard cuttings

Home & Garden

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Backyard cuttings

Briefs for the gardener.

By JUDY STARK
Published January 27, 2007

ZONED OUT BECAUSE OF WARMING TREND

We're in Zone 9 on the U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness-zone map . . . but things could change. The National Arbor Day Foundation has just issued an unofficial revision of that map that now designates much of the Tampa Bay area as Zone 10 (average annual low temperatures between 30 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit), reflecting general warming since 1990, when the USDA map was issued. View the new map at www.arborday.org/media/zones.cfm, and don't miss the animation that shows how zones changed.

Stay healthy; grow your own veggies

Seed catalogs are piling into mailboxes these days. Our colleagues at the W. Atlee Burpee Co. tell us that, "responding to recent health concerns," they're offering 10 varieties of spinach this year (gardeners would rather grow their own than risk E. coli problems from commercially grown spinach). At burpee.com, check out the plants and read the helpful "Vital Statistics" box on each: "Can I grow this?" plus growing tips, insects and diseases to watch for, and other information that will be helpful no matter whose seeds you plant.

The joys of gardening

If you're new to gardening, or you're introducing someone to its joys and satisfactions, take a look at Down & Dirty: 43 Fun & Funky First-Time Projects & Activities to Get You Gardening (Story Publishing, $19.95). It's a good basic primer for those who garden in the yard, in containers, in flower boxes. Each of the projects teaches a skill that new gardeners can build on: planting from seeds, creating a hanging basket, staking plants, attracting birds, growing herbs (with recipes for food and drinks to use them).

Stay in shape and reduce pollution

Using a gasoline-powered lawn mower for one hour produces as much pollution as driving a car 340 miles, some environmental experts say. New EPA standards go into effect later this year requiring that mowers be cleaner and greener. Until then, bring on the push mower or the electric mower. Give your lungs an additional break by avoiding leaf blowers and other equipment that raises a lot of dust. (Give your ears a break too.) Use a rake or broom instead.