At Home Living 012718

ATHOME

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ORCHARD CARE

NIPPED IN THE BUD FROST CAN DAMAGE FLOWERING FRUIT TREES | PAGE 2

WATER HEATER BASICS, PAGE 6

CARPET REPLACEMENT TIPS, PAGE 7

[METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION]

2018’S HOTTEST COLOR, PAGE 8

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Frost can damage flowering fruit trees Ariel Whitely-Noll Peach, apricot are most vulnerable

W

hen planting fruit trees this spring, frost should be high on the list of considerations for variety selection and tree placement.

Spring frosts can be detrimental to fruit trees with developing and open blooms.

The cold can damage or kill these flowers, resulting in little to no fruit onset. Anytime the temperature falls below 24 degrees — 28 degrees for fully open flowers — there is the potential for flower death.

Apricot and peach trees, in particular, are vulnerable in Kansas springs. If the flowers are damaged by frost, the tree will survive, but it may be an entire year before there’s another opportunity for fruit.

Although other fruit trees can be damaged by frost, apricot and peach are first to bloom, and therefore more vulnerable. Apricots are the most sensitive, because they are the earliest.

Apricot trees offer some “late” blooming varieties in an attempt to save these fragile flowers. Unfortunately, according to research at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, there is a maximum of a four-day difference between blooms on regular varieties and blooms on “late” varieties.

Although the variance is slight, those few days may be the difference between a poor harvest and a bountiful one. Varieties found to be later are Hungarian Rose, Tilton and Harlayne. Harglow

Springtime frosts can damage the delicate flowers of peach trees, and consequently the production of fruit. Planting trees on a hill may help protect them from frost. [METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION]

is also considered a latebloomer, but wasn’t included in Virginia Tech’s research.

Peaches, the next most vulnerable, are more likely to be damaged by a late frost.

There are peach varieties that are bred for later blooming, but there is also the capability for peach varieties to have fruit-bud hardiness.

Generally, hardiness

refers to a plant’s ability to survive extreme low temperatures over the winter. In the case of peach fruit-bud hardiness, the buds are able to survive late frosts but have no greater ability to endure harsh winters. China Pearl, Encore, Intrepid and Risingstar are late-blooming peach varieties. Intrepid is also shown to have excellent

fruit-bud hardiness.

Location can be another key factor in preventing frost damage. If you can, planting fruit trees on a hill will allow some of the cold air to drain down to lower elevations.

Those living in the country may have a disadvantage, because having trees in town will mean they are more likely to have a warmer micro-climate than in an exposed field.

Another method to save the delicate flowers is covering the trees with a cloth or tarp. This will only give trees a few degrees difference from outside air and is only practical for smaller trees.

An overhead sprinkler can be an unlikely frost hero if the cold temperatures are temporary. The sprinkler covers the flowers in water, which will turn into ice. As long as water remains on the top of the ice, it will generate heat.

The sprinkler must remain on until all the ice has melted.

The downside to the sprinkler method: If the cold persists, ice may develop on branches, which can be damaging if the weight becomes excessive.

Some gardeners go to more extreme lengths and supply additional heat with heat lamps and charcoal briquettes. Although protecting your fruit harvest may be a high priority, safety should be a higher concern when considering these measures.

Although there is no fool-proof method for protecting fruit trees from frost, variety selection and location — in combination with a protective method — may be the slight difference your tree needs to survive the cold snap.

Ariel Whitely-Noll is the horticulture agent for Shawnee County Research and Extension. She can be reached at arielw@ksu.edu.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR The Shawnee County Extension Master Gardeners program is offering classes, workshops and other activities throughout the year. Here are some upcoming events: • Feb. 9-11: Kansas Garden Show, Kansas Expocentre, S.W. 17th and Topeka Blvd.

• Feb. 22: “Recycling in the Garden,” 7 p.m., Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 S.W. 10th Ave. Information: shawnee.ksu. edu/lawn-garden/mastergardener; (785) 232-0062

PHOTO CONTEST Information about the Topeka Camera Club’s 2018 Kansas Garden Show Photography Contest can be found at topekacameraclub.org/events-amp-news.

Submissions, which are due at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2, can be submitted at the Shawnee County Extension Office, 1740 S.W. Western Ave.

SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE Shawnee County Extension Master Gardeners awards scholarships every year to local students.

Scholarships are awarded to high school seniors who reside in Shawnee County.

The deadline for applications is Jan. 31.

For an application or more information, visit shawnee.k-state.edu/ or call (785) 232-0062.

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At Home Resource Guide to make debut Guide to list Shawnee County services The Capital-Journal

Are you a plumber, electrician, home construction company, interior designer or any other business in Shawnee County related to home improvement, decor or construction?

If so, you’ll want to be listed in The Topeka Capital-Journal’s At Home Resource Guide,

which will make its debut in late March.

The resource guide will feature 10 categories: plumbing; electricity; heat/air conditioning; floor/window coverings; roofing; painting; lawn/landscaping; home furnishings/design; lighting; and concrete/ asphalt. Only licensed and insured businesses will be accepted in the plumbing, electricity and heat/air conditioning categories.

To be listed in the

resource guide, send the following information to Jan Biles, niche editor, The Capital-Journal, 616 S.E. Jefferson, Topeka, 66607, or email jan. biles@cjonline.com: name, address, website, phone, year established and owner’s name. Also indicate if the business is licensed and insured if it falls in the plumbing, electricity or heat/air conditioning categories.

The deadline for submitting information is March 1.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Brass facts Brass vessels looking tarnished and you don’t have any brass polish in the cabinet? Here are some ideas to clean non-lacquered brass: • Squirt a dab of ketchup on a rag and rub over the surface. Wipe off ketchup with a damp cloth and buff dry.

• Dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in a half cup of vinegar, and then add enough flour to make a paste. Rub onto the brass item, and let stand for 10 minutes. Rinse and buff dry.

• Squeeze juice from half a lemon onto [METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION] a sponge and sprinkle salt on top. Rub sponge over surface, and then rinse off. Source: goodhousekeeping.com/home/

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Getting the dirt on soil types Differences in soils reflect how they were formed

By Lee Reich The Associated Press

“Soil don’t get no respect,” Rodney Dangerfield might have said (but didn’t). Perhaps you know your state bird or flower, but do you know your state soil?

Well, in recent years soil has begun to get more respect. Since the celebration of the Soil Survey

Centennial back in 1999, each state has been given its own official state soil.

It was in 1899 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture started its survey of all the soils in the country.

On the horizon You might wonder what a “soil survey” really is.

Isn’t it all just dirt — some perhaps stickier, or redder or deeper — that lies beneath forest, meadow, farm, home and garden?

There you go again.

Not enough respect.

In fact, soils are distinctive, as different from each other as robins are from blue jays. These differences are hard to appreciate, of course, because soil is mostly underground, hidden from view.

But if you were to dig some holes a few feet deep and then look carefully at their inside surfaces, you would find that soils are made up of layers of varying thickness, called horizons. One soil might differ from the next not only in the thickness of its horizons, but also

in their appearance and feel.

Horizons might be as white as chalk, as red as rust, or as dark brown as chocolate. A horizon might be cement-hard, gritty with sand, or stuff for sculpture.

And if you were to tease the dirt along one edge of the hole so it falls away naturally — wow! — each horizon would reveal its particles clumped together in arrangements like plates, blocks or prisms.

Such information, and more, has allowed soils to be classified, much

as birds, flowers and other living things are.

Classifying soils Modern soil classification goes back only a few decades, when all the world’s soils were grouped taxonomically into a dozen “orders.” Differences among orders reflect the formative influence of a particular combination of climate, plants and animals, topography, time and See SOIL, 9

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HOME IMPROVEMENT

Water heater woes? Shop wisely for replacement Consider type, cost and efficiency when making decision

By Carolyn Cogswell Special to The Capital-Journal

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heating water accounts for 14 to 18 percent of our utility bills. Because of the potential expense, repairing or purchasing and installing a new water heater can be a major decision.

Water heater types Several models of water heaters are on the market. Here is an overview of some of the options: • Conventional-ready reservoir water heaters are the most common type of water heater. These water heaters offer a storage tank of hot water.

• Tankless/demand-type water heaters provide water on demand without a tank.

Tankless or on-demandtype water heaters heat only the amount of water you need when you need it.

• Tankless coil and indirect water heaters provide hot water without a tank, but, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, can be an inefficient choice for many homes.

• Heat pump or “hybrid” water heaters move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly — it’s like a refrigerator in reverse.

•Solar water heaters obtain heat from the sun. Two types of solar water heaters are available: direct and indirect.

Direct solar water heaters work well where it

Shawn Holthaus, an installer for A-1 Appliance Plumbing Heating Cooling Electrical in Wakarusa, prepares an electric water heater before installing it in a customer’s home. Consumers should consider cost, size, energy efficiency and fuel type when purchasing a new water heater. [KEITH HORINEK/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL]

rarely freezes; indirect solar water heaters work better in climates prone to freezing. Solar water heaters also may provide backup for conventional or tankless water heaters.

• Geothermal water heaters utilize heat extracted from the Earth.

Consumer considerations When buying a new water heater, consider four factors: fuel type, energy efficiency, size and cost.

• Fuel. The most common fuel types for water heaters are gas, electric or tankless/on-demand.

Luke Dumler, manager

of McElroy’s Inc. Plumbing Heating Air Conditioning, 3110 S. Topeka Blvd., says natural gas is, overall, the more economical choice.

However, an electric hybrid heat pump water heater is comparable.

Electric hybrid heat pumps pull energy out of the air and are 20-percent more efficient than conventional electric water heaters, Dumler said.

• Energy efficiency.

Different types of water heaters vary in energy efficiency. Efficiency is based on the percentage of gas per cubic foot that actually goes to heat the water; the rest of the heat goes out the flue.

Dumler said a

conventional natural gas water heater is 80-percent efficient. A tankless water heater is 93- to 95-percent efficient.

• Size. The model of water heater selected will depend on the size of your house and your family. According to Kevin Holthaus, parts manager at A-1 Appliance Plumbing Heating Cooling Electrical, 7440 S.W. Morrill Road in Wakarusa, 40-gallon water heaters are the most common and should fit most houses.

• Cost. What you pay for a water heater varies according to its size and type. For example, a tankless water heater costs more initially, but may save money in the long run.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s website at energy.gov, electric heat-pump water heaters typically are more energy-efficient than an electric conventional storage water heater. An electric heat-pump water heater also might be more cost-efficient than a gasfired conventional storage water heater, even though local natural gas costs might be lower.

The average life of a water heater is seven to 10 years. Holthaus usually recommends purchasing a new water heater rather than repairing it.

“It costs half the price of a new one to replace the gas valve,” he said. “If you’ve got one that’s 10 years old, I sure wouldn’t put a part in it.”

There is wide variation in costs for water heaters. Shawn Holthaus, an installer for A-1, recently installed a conventional

water heater costing around $960. With the service charge, he said, the price of acquiring and installing a water heater can be estimated at around $1,000.

Regulations Federal regulations requiring water heaters sold in the United States to meet new energy-efficiency standards went into effect April 16, 2015. In order to comply, manufacturers added more insulation around the tank, which affected the size of the tank.

Kevin Holthaus said the increased insulation requirement now can present a problem when replacing a water heater.

“Larger insulation may affect the ability to put it back in the same place,” he said, adding it might be necessary to rebuild the space that it is in.

“A couple of times we’ve run into it,” he said.

“They’re all different.”

Holthaus recommends a homeowner schedule a service call to make sure the house is up to code so the water heater can be installed correctly.

“When you’re buying a water heater, you’re buying something that can blow up your house,” said Mike Frost, of Custom Sheetmetal & Roofing Inc., 828 N.W. Buchanan St. An energy savings calculator can be found at energy. gov/eere/femp/energycost-calculator-electricand-gas-water-heaters-0.

Carolyn Cogswell is a freelance writer from Topeka.

You can reach her at carolyn.cogswell@yahoo.com.

4 signs your carpet needs replacing

Artwork brings ‘soul’ to home When downsizing, don’t store away art pieces

By Mary Carol Garrity Tribune News Service

S

Stains, odors are clues the carpet needs to go

art I held dear. To Dan's astonishment, I did it.

In my mind, there was never any doubt. Because I know that art is what makes a house feel like a home, gives it its voice.

I've had fun working with Dillon, the gifted artwork display designer at Nell Hill's, to see my old favorites in brand-new ways.

Where could I hang my huge canvasses, the ones that had filled my two-story entry and lofty rooms, so they didn't overwhelm the cottage's snug spaces?

How could I mix up my groupings, putting pieces together with new partners, instead of just replicating the montages I

With proper care and maintenance, you can expect your carpet to last up to 10 years or longer. [DREAMSTIME]

ettling into our cottage has been a long and languid journey.

It started with the Great Purge, when Dan and I let go of many of the furnishings that filled our larger home in Atchison.

Because our cottage is so small, we could only keep the things we loved most. For Dan, it was all those books.

For me, it was artwork (and dishes, but that's a story for another day).

Even though I had miles less wall space in the cottage, I was determined to squeeze in every piece of

substances can absorb into carpet padding and cause mold and mildew buildup.

When this happens — or when professional carpet cleaning fails to remove stubborn stains from your carpet — it's probably time to consider replacing it.

• Lingering odors: Odors resulting from pets and other causes, such as tobacco smoke, should be eliminated or noticeably diminished after a professional cleaning. If odors remain, this could indicate they have penetrated deep into the carpet fibers, the carpet pad or the subfloor. And, in the case of pet urine and other biological sources, it may even indicate mold and mildew growth.

In these cases, it is typically most cost-effective to replace the carpet entirely.

• Age: After several years, even the highestquality carpeting will start to show signs of wear.

Carpet fibers will start to lose their texture and tuft.

Artwork can make a home feel like it’s been in the family for generations. [MARY CAROL GARRITY/TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE]

By Megan Linhoff Angie's List

Carpeting offers a number of benefits. Not only is it cozy, quiet and easy to install, but it's also more affordable than many other flooring options.

And high-quality carpeting can last a decade or more with proper care and maintenance.

Of course, even the best carpets eventually will need to be replaced. Here are four signs that it's time to retire the existing carpet in your home: • Wear and tear: Irreparable matting, tearing and ripping are telltale signs it's time to replace your carpet. Polyester carpet fibers are known to matte and lose their form — and once this happens not even professional cleaning can revive them.

Nylon carpeting is more resilient than polyester. When there is life left in nylon carpet, it will typically respond well to cleaning. It's also possible to repair some small rips and tears. Significant damage is difficult to address, however — particularly on stairs and major walkways.

• Stains: Most carpeting comes with a stain-resistant finish. But over time, this treatment fades and leaves the carpet and pad unprotected. At this point, your carpet becomes more susceptible to deep and stubborn stains — particularly those caused by bleach, wine, mustard and biological substances such as pet urine.

Professional carpet cleaners offer heavy-duty extraction services to address these stains, though biological

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Professional cleaning will yield sub-par results, and color loss, fading and rippling likely will begin to occur. You also may notice increased allergy symptoms as older carpets collect and disperse more allergens and particulate matter.

Most manufacturers say carpet will last about 10 years with proper care. If your carpet is nearing 10 years or older, you may want to start considering a replacement.

How much will new carpet cost?

The cost to replace your carpet will depend on the square footage of the carpeted area and the kind of carpet you choose. Carpet prices start at roughly $2 per square foot and increase with quality.

Mid-grade carpet typically runs from $3 to $4 per square foot, and higher grades cost $5 or more. Experts say you can expect to pay an additional $2.50 to $6 per square foot for new carpet padding and an additional $2 to $6 per square foot for installation.

See ART, 8

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In home decor, orange is the new black The color can be paired with many other tints

By Cathy Hobbs Tribune News Service

Perhaps surprisingly, orange is one of the most versatile colors. Whether as an accent color or the foundation of your color scheme, orange is a color that can lend itself to both formal and casual settings.

Orange is a warm color that can truly go a long way to help warm up a space.

Unlike red, which the color orange is often compared to, orange is subtler, while still being a warm color.

Many shades of orange also have strong yellow undertones, which also help to keep spaces light and fresh.

Orange is the new black in the sense that it can be paired with a number of colors. You can pair orange with cooler colors such as charcoal gray and blue, as well as neutral colors such as white, brown and taupe.

The beauty of orange is its versatility. Orange can be used in social areas such as a living room or family room to create a sense of energy, as well as in spaces where you may want to create a sense of fun, such as a child's bedroom or bathroom.

It may sound daring, but orange also can work well as a paint color

ART From Page 7

loved in my old house? How could I squeeze in all these pieces without making the spaces visually chaotic?

Dillon was a master at taking my vision and making it a reality.

Most recently, we finished decorating our den downstairs, our little hobbit hole where Dan and I cocoon in the winter months, watching way too much Netflix or getting lost in a great read.

Until recently, this room doubled as Dan's home office, a hideyhole where Dan, Lyric (our golden retriever) and the cats reigned. While my husband has many amazing

Accents and accessories such as pillows, throws and lamps add colorful orange accents to this bedroom. [DESIGN RECIPES]

A series of three pieces of artwork helps infuse orange into this living space.

[DESIGN RECIPE]

throughout a room or as an accent color.

When using orange as a paint color, one of the most successful techniques is to incorporate high contrast. You can achieve this by introducing high contrast colors such as white, light gray or cream.

Cathy Hobbs, based in New York City, is an Emmy Award-winning television host and a nationally known interior design and home staging expert with offices in New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C. Contact her at info@cathyhobbs.com or visit her website at cathyhobbs.com.

talents, keeping a space tidy is not one of them. Clutter, pet hair, ugh. So, I evicted him from the room and reclaimed the space.

We moved some of the older furniture over to Mom's cottage next door, brought in a few new pieces and covered the walls with art. I am no longer embarrassed to bring friends down into this private space, and if he's honest, Dan enjoys spending time there all the more now that the space is beautiful and clean.

We had just moved my mom into the cottage next door before she died. I'm sad we didn't have the home finished before she passed so she could enjoy it to its fullest.

But now I'm making it a warm and welcoming retreat, in her honor.

As we decorate, room by room, it's the artwork that has made all

the difference. Once the walls were covered in art, it became a home.

My affair with artwork began when I was just beginning my career. When I had a little money saved up, I bought art. Through the years, I upgraded my pieces and added to my collection. It's made all the difference in my homes. And, that's one of the biggest pieces of decorating advice I give when people ask me to help style their homes: Don't scrimp on the artwork. You may have the most beautiful furnishings in the world, but your home isn't finished — doesn't have its soul — until the walls are filled with artwork that brings you joy.

This column was adapted from Mary Carol Garrity's blog at nellhills.com. She can be reached at marycarol@nellhills.com.

A small home office is made bright and light with the use of orange as an all-over wall color. [DESIGN RECIPES]

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SOIL From Page 4

original rock material.

Just as all vertebrate animals are huddled together by biologists into smaller groupings (mammals, say) and those groupings into still smaller ones, so each soil order is divided and subdivided to include more distinctly different soils.

At the end of the dividing and subdividing, you end up with a “soil series” identified with a proper name — like the Haven series in my vegetable garden, for example.

State, backyard soils A particular soil becomes an official state soil by being widespread within the state; being distinctive chemically or physically; having

A farm tractor scatters dust as it moves across a field on a farm near Tifton, Ga. Soil is an important natural resource that must be preserved against loss by such forces as wind erosion.

[GENE BLYTHE/MAY 2007 AP FILE PHOTO]

some degree of name recognition; and, of course, getting a legislative stamp of approval. Examples include soils like West Virginia’s Monongahela soil, Texas’ Houston Black soil, California’s San Joaquin soil and New York’s Honeoye soil.

Kansas’ official soil

is Harney silt loam.

The job, now, of these “ambassadors” of the benevolent underworld is to rekindle awareness of soil’s value as a natural resource that can only be renewed very slowly. Soil provides food, shelter, clothing and more, yet it is being lost at alarming rates to everything

from blacktop to erosion.

Out in the garden this spring, dig a hole deep and wide enough that you can see and appreciate at least some of the various and distinctive horizons.

Then, if you want the name and a detailed description of that soil — or any soil — look at the maps and descriptions in the Soil Survey Reports issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Search online for “soil survey nrcs” and you’ll find links to soil maps for counties throughout the United States.

Or go to the link to “web soil survey.” At this site, you can type in a street address around which you “draw” your area of interest. The site will delineate the names and descriptions of soils within that area of interest.

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Bidet seat or bidet fixture?

New technology gives each advantages

By Ed Del Grande Tribune News Service

Q: Hi, Ed: I have a resolution this year to remodel my master bathroom. We want to include a bidet, but I don't know if we should install a separate bidet plumbing fixture or install a bidet seat on the toilet to make a combo unit. Can you please let me know the advantages of each?

— Dave, Washington state A: Years ago, a bidet

fixture with a hot and cold mixing valve was the standard choice. But recently, new electronic bidetfunctioning toilet seats and smart toilets have become very popular.

While both styles will do the job, here are a few advantages of each type.

• Dedicated bidet

Electronic bidet-functioning toilet seats have become popular in recent years. [KOHLER]

plumbing fixture: Electrical power is usually not needed; adds classic style and value; full range hot/ cold water mixing.

• Electronic bidet seat: Electric seat warming and water warming; LED night lights; warm air drying.

One final note: Make sure you can fit a bidet and toilet. If not, a single bidet seat/toilet

combo can wash away a small-space issue.

Master contractor/ plumber Ed Del Grande is known internationally as the author of the book "Ed Del Grande's House Call," the host of TV and Internet shows, and a LEED green associate.

Visit eddelgrande.com or write eadelg@cs.com.

Always consult local contractors and codes.

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