At Home Living 071517

Saturday, July 15, 2017 An advertising feature of The Topeka Capital-Journal

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Home decorating

Old things new again Discarded items turn into useful decor page 6 n Invasion of the borers, page 2 n Irrigation: Drip, drip, drip, page 3 n Design with pets in mind, page 7

keith horinek/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

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Emerald ash borer has arrived Infested tree will likely die in 1 to 3 years Editor’s note: This is the first of two columns addressing the emerald ash borer.

Last month, the presence of the emerald ash borer in Shawnee County was confirmed at Lake Shawnee. This inEd Dillingham vasive pest is a killer of ash trees. It is to ash trees what Dutch elm disease was to elm trees in the 1960s-70s, when many communities lost all their shady, elm tree-lined streets and parks to the disease.

Ironically, ash trees were the tree of choice to

replace the elm trees lost to Dutch elm disease.

The emerald ash borer attacks all ash trees, from nursery stock to healthy mature trees. It attacks all varieties of ash trees, except mountain ashes, which aren’t true ash trees. It appears to attack only ash trees.

Since its discovery in 2002 in southwest Michigan, the borer has killed millions of ash trees in the Great Lakes states. The pest’s spread has been aided by the interstate movement of infected nursery stock — moving infested logs to saw mills and, more recently, by unsuspecting campers transporting infested firewood to noninfested areas.

It’s now found in northeast Kansas, most states east of Kansas and all of our border states.

The emerald ash borer is a native of Asia and likely arrived in the United States in wood used in shipping crates for transporting goods from China.

It is a small metallic-green beetle, about 1/2-inch long and 1/8-inch wide. It hibernates as pupae under the bark of an infested tree until it emerges as an adult emerald ash borer May through July.

The female lays eggs in the crevices of the ash tree bark. The eggs hatch in seven to 10 days, and the larvae bore through the bark and into the cambium layer of the tree. As the larvae eat their way —

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

n Master Gardeners will answer lawn and garden questions from 7:30 a.m. to noon July 22 at the Downtown Topeka Farmers Market, S.W. 12th and S.W. Harrison. n Want to become a Master Gardener? The Shawnee County Extension Office, 1740 S.W. Western Ave., will be offering classes for future Master Gardeners from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, September through October. Information and an application can be found at shawnee.k-state. edu. Applications are due Aug. 11. making S-shaped tunnels in the cambium — they cut off the flow of nutrients to and from the top of the tree to the roots.

As a result, the top branches of the tree, called the canopy, start to die. This is usually the first sign the tree is under attack by the emerald ash borer. Other signs include increased woodpecker activity, because the birds seek out the borer larvae and adults; D-shaped holes in the bark as the adult borers bore their way out

of the tree; leafy sprouts at the base of the tree; and vertical splits in the bark.

Depending on the level of infestation, the tree likely will die in one to three years. However, note that drought, diseases and other insects also can kill ash trees. If you see ash trees with these symptoms, call the Kansas Department of Agriculture at (785) 862-2180 for guidance.

The record for successful insecticide use for saving an ash tree from

the emerald ash borer is spotty. Some efforts have shown success with up to 99-percent reduction in the number of emerald ash borers in treated trees as compared to untreated trees in the same area. However, all researched treatment efforts indicate an ongoing annual, biannual and maybe eventually triannual treatment program will be necessary.

Also, some early research indicates that with some treatment techniques, the emerald ash borer population continues to increase in treated trees, although at a slower rate. Therefore, the techniques may be only delaying the inevitable loss of the tree.

For most cities, the solu-

DILLINGHAM continues on 5

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Drip irrigation increases garden’s health ease.

A primitive drip irrigation system could be cobbled together by running water through an old garden hose that’s riddled with holes along its length and has its end plugged. The problem is less water would drip from the holes at the end than from the ones at the beginning, and higher ground would get less water than lower ground.

By Lee Reich

The Associated Press

The gardener who can do a thorough job of watering with hose in hand is rare indeed.

Assuming that the hose spews out about 3 gallons per minute in a circle about 4 feet in diameter, I roughly calculate that said gardener would have to stand immobile for more than 2 minutes before moving on to the next 4-footin-diameter circle of thirsty plants.

Pretty boring, if you’ve got a whole vegetable or flower garden to water.

A sprinkler is one obvious solution.

Even better is “drip irrigation,” a method of applying water to plants slowly and over an extended period of time. Drip irrigation has many benefits, not the least of which is cutting down water

True drip lee reich via THE associated press

Watering with drip irrigation has many benefits, including being easily automated by merely setting a timer. Before the timer is connected to the spigot, install a pressure reducer and filter. use by about 60 percent.

That water savings comes from less evaporation and less waste; water isn’t wasted watering in paths or between

widely spaced plants. So there’s also less weed growth.

Garden plants grow better because they’re never thirsty, and dry leaves mean less dis-

A drip irrigation system that you purchase has water emitters engineered to offer a consistent, specified output over wide changes in elevation and pressure. They’re also made to be resistant to clogging or root penetration.

You can buy tubing with emitters installed, say, 6, 12 DRIP continues on 5

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Drip: As a benefit, the timer saves time Dillingham: Ridding Continued from 3

or 18 inches apart; such tubing is good for watering whole beds. Or you can buy solid plastic tubing and punch in emitters wherever you want — ideal for widely spaced plants.

Emitters, those that you plug in or those preinstalled, typically put out water at a specified, leisurely rate of 1/4 to 4 gallons per hour.

For a flower bed or closely spaced plants like carrots, tubing with emitters already installed wets the whole bed.

Capillary attraction into small pores in the soil draw water sideways even as gravity is pulling water downward, so wetted areas within the soil overlap.

Sideways spreading

Water’s lateral spread depends on soil type, from about a foot in sandy soils to about 3 feet in clays. So in a bed, these dripper lines could be laid out a couple of feet or 6 feet apart, depending on whether the soil is, respectively, a sand or a clay. Soils are rarely pure sand or pure clay, so actual spacing lies somewhere in between.

And organic matter (humus) in a soil helps sponge up water to increase lateral spread of the wetting front.

For individual plants like widely spaced small shrubs and trees, figure on using solid tubing with one or more emitters next to each plant. Emitters

that attach to the ends of thin flexible tubes are useful for watering plants in pots.

With emitters, tubes and a connecting hose in place, we are now back at the hose spigot. Before a connection is made to the spigot, a pressure reducer and filter are needed. The pressure reducer drops the pressure to about 10 psi, which is all a drip system needs, and dispenses with the need for any high pressure fittings. And a 200-micron filter further reduces the chances of any clogging.

Automatic turn-on

Right at the hose spigot is the best part of a drip irrigation system: the battery-operated timer.

This timer automatically turns the water on and off, and at about the rate that garden plants are using water.

Of course, water use depends on the weather and the size and kind of plants, but a half hour of dripping per day is usually about right. That may seem like a lot of water, but remember, the water is just dripping. If a timer can turn the water on and off three times a day, set it for three 10-minute waterings; if six times a day, set it for six 5-minute waterings; etc.

The timer brings an important benefit of drip irrigation: It saves time.

Rather than standing frozen in your garden with a hose, you become free to do other things. Like smelling the flowers.

ash borers can be costly Continued from 2

tion has been to remove dead and dying ash trees.

However, ongoing research is showing enough progress that some communities now are trying systemic insecticide treatment efforts as a cost-effective option to removal and disposal of diseased ash trees.

A home treatment option and chemicals are available. But considering the lower effectiveness and the legal limitations on home treatment efforts, homeowners should carefully consider the ongoing cost versus the likely success of the efforts.

Professional tree specialists have better equipment, greater access to

more effective chemicals and fewer restrictions to successfully treat ash trees for the emerald ash borer.

Homeowners need to consider the value of each ash tree versus the cost of removal or ongoing cost of treatment, which may or may not save the tree.

In any case, research shows that when half of the tree has died, there is little likelihood any treatment can save it.

Here’s some timely advice from the experts.

First, the obvious: Don’t plant ash trees. Second, if someone guarantees that they can protect your ash tree, hold on to your wallet.

Ed Dillingham is a Shawnee County Master Gardener.

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photographs by keith horinek/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Bob Secord, owner of Kaw River Rustics, used a slab of black walnut wood to make an attractive top for a table.

Secord used a piece of driftwood he pulled from a river for the base of a glass-topped table.

Finding new uses for old junk Graber: Ignore problems of an item and consider its upcycling potential

By Whitney Carnahan

Special to The Capital-Journal

Many items can be upcycled for use as lighting. At 4 Girls’ Garage, from left, are lights made of a turkey feeder, whiskey barrel rims and a chicken feeder.

The old chair that is missing one leg. The otherwise beautiful dresser with a broken drawer. The lamp that just needs a “bit of work.”

We all have similar items we’ve inherited or found at garage sales. Sites like Pinterest inspire us to collect the materials needed to upcycle used items, but creating can be a different challenge. That’s where local businesses can help inspire, and customize, your upcycling dream.

Bob Secord is the owner of Kaw River Rustics, 901 N. Kansas Ave., where in addition to 40 vendors there is a gallery with some of his own finished furniture pieces.

“I build the craziest stuff you’ve ever seen. At the moment, I’m busy with

SHOPPING GUIDE

n Kaw River Rustics, 901 N. Kansas Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. (785) 207-7858; kawriverrustics.com n 4 Girls’ Garage, 837 N. Kansas Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. (785) 220-4129; 4girlsgarage.com n Shadden’s End, 7145 S.E. 69th St. in Berryton, is open by appointment. (785) 640-4296; shaddensend.com special orders,” Secord said. “In my world, wood is really it. I like taking 100-year-old hand-sawed wood and turning it into a table. To me, they are a piece of art when I’m done.

I also like working with driftwood from the Kansas River.”

Secord has been creating wood pieces for about five years.

“At the moment, I’ve got a very cool black-walnut conference table with a raw edge, and it’s on an industrial metal base,” he said.

Secord advises to “have a creative imagination” when looking at items to salvage and “know the space you want to put the piece in.”

If you want to try your own hand at making something at home, he suggests having a plan.

“Think the project through, and get yourself a good base,” he said. “Make sure you’re not going to throw things together.

Build it in a thoughtful way, and be creative at the JUNK continues on 7

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Stylish decor, pets can coexist

By Melissa Rayworth The Associated Press

keith horinek/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Judy Graber, of Shadden’s End, and her husband, Kenton, gutted a piano and repurposed it as a storage shelf.

Junk: ‘You have to think outside the box’ Continued from 6

same time.”

And if it doesn’t work out, Secord says he can help.

Carol Ingenthron, coowner of 4 Girls’ Garage, 837 N. Kansas Ave., agrees wood is a good choice when creating upcycled items.

“Any type of furniture we work with is solid wood. Find things that are solidly built — that’s the biggest thing I always recommend,” she said. “If you like a piece, get it. You have to think outside the box.

If you don’t know today, maybe in a month you’ll look at it and say, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ ” Ingenthron says 4 Girls’ Garage also does custom painting and custom pieces.

“It’s just different ideas of taking something somebody loves and making it into something they can use,” she said.

In addition, 4 Girls’ Garage has several upcycled

pieces in their store.

“We have several turkey and chicken feeders we’ve made into lights, as well as olive buckets and egg baskets. We have a gentleman who makes the chicken and turkey feeder lamps for us. We also buy the Edison bulbs for those.

People put them over a bar or things like that. They seem to be real popular,” Ingenthron said.

Judy Graber, of Shadden’s End, 7145 S.E. 69th St. in Berryton, says when she and husband, Kenton, look for items to salvage, they go for “anything we might see along the side of the road. I just hate to see it go to landfills.”

Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore and garage sales are also favorite hunting grounds.

The couple is a team when it comes to upcycling.

“I will think it up, and he can make it happen,” she said.

Wood items are probably the easiest to revamp,

Graber said.

“I see the potential in everything,” she said. “We have taken a piano and gutted it, and I want to make a bar or desk out of it.”

Another project that came out very well was a hall tree they made into a lamp, with a checkerboard table installed at the base.

“I also like to repurpose old games, like I’ll use the board as a book cover,” she said. “We also have taken a dresser, saved the bottom drawer and legs, and put a cushion on it to create a seat. Then, we used the top as a cake table.”

Graber advises to always look at the potential, not the problems, of a item and remember that cleaning may reveal quite a lot about the piece.

“One of my first pieces was a smoke-damaged cabinet,” she said, explaining that once cleaned she realized the cabinet had metal drawers with oak fronts. “It was fun to see the change. You just have to look at the potential.”

It’s gotten easier to have a house full of pets without sacrificing the home decor you want.

Interior designer Vern Yip, a judge on HGTV’s “Design Star” and a dog person, says new technology has led to a variety of stylish and pet-friendly home-furnishing options.

“The furniture and home-decor industry has really rounded the corner and come to realize that this is a way of life for a lot of people,” Yip said.

Durable, easy-to-clean paints, antimicrobial stainresistant rugs and more mean that a beautiful home and a furry pet are no longer incompatible.

Here, Yip and two other interior-design experts — Betsy Burnham, founder of Los Angeles’ Burnham Design, and small-space expert Kathryn Bechen — offer some tips.

Pet planning

Many pet owners today “are designing a space around their animals,” Burnham says.

“Most of the time, I hear, ‘Oh, we’ve got dogs and a couple of cats and three kids, so please be mindful that we can’t have anything too precious.’ Then there are these really specific requests, like, ‘I’d like a built-in dog bed in my island in my kitchen,’” she said.

Often, the planning starts with the biggest elements: walls and floors.

Paints have become

david a. land/vern yip via ap

By creating a dedicated space for pets in a mudroom or laundry room, homeowners can keep their pets’ items organized and have a pleasant space to put pets if guests who aren’t comfortable with animals come to visit. much more pet-friendly (and kid-friendly) in recent years: “There are a lot of paint companies now that have flat paints that are wipe-able,” a feature previously offered only with glossy paints, Burnham says.

Flooring options also have expanded: Wood flooring companies have developed finishes that resist scratching, Yip says.

Ceramic tile designed to look like stone flooring is another practical option.

“It used to be, a few decades ago, that if you put down a ceramic tile floor, it just looked like ceramic,” Yip said. “(This tile) looks like stone, but unlike stone

it doesn’t absorb urine or other things if your dog has an accident.”

And don’t forget the little things: If your pets are very active, minimize the number of items on tabletops and put more fragile things on higher shelves, especially in small rooms, Bechen says. Add a lidded basket or storage ottoman to stash pet toys when guests come over.

Fabric strategies

Fabrics that can withstand life with pets used to be rough and often unappealing to touch, Yip says.

COEXIST continues on 8

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Coexist: Leather a durable choice Continued from 7

Now, you can find stainresistant and antimicrobial fibers in a range of styles and soft textures. Burnham suggests looking for textiles made with a finish called Nanotex, which makes the fibers stain-resistant and waterproof.

If you have cats, it’s also helpful to choose fabrics that are smooth.

“We sort of embrace leathers and flatter weaves so that the cat can’t get their claws into it,” Burnham said.

Leather is also a good choice because it’s durable, and it can look even more attractive with a bit of time and wear.

Bechen suggests avoiding very light-colored fabrics if dark pet hair will frustrate you (or very dark fabrics if your pets have

light hair). Print patterns are less likely to show pet hair than solids are. And it helps to keep an attractive throw blanket on your pet’s favorite furniture, and then remove it when guests come over.

“You’ll notice a lot more hair and cleaning with animals in a small space,” Bechen said. “It’s all condensed.”

Separate space

It’s a luxury to have a room devoted to pets, or to have a large enough mudroom to create a sort of pet bedroom. But Yip says that’s becoming more common.

When guests who aren’t comfortable with animals come to visit, a dedicated room gives pets “a space that’s theirs, that they can retreat to that doesn’t feel

like punishment,” Yip says.

Even if the space does double-duty as an office or laundry room, you can create a secure area for a pet by keeping their bed, food dishes and familiar toys all in one place.

Get creative by adding something to entertain your pet (Yip’s dogs have an aquarium to look at) or a sleeping space they’ll love.

“Cats love to climb,” said Bechen, so cat owners can add a shelf around the perimeter of a laundry room or mudroom and put their cat’s bed up there. It creates a perfect perch for the pet to feel safe while surveying the room.

Litter boxes also can be creatively upgraded: Bechen suggests choosing one with a decorative cover.

Her favorites are designed to resemble tiny, painted houses.

Did You Know…

Our Local Real Estate Market in the month of May had…

503

New Residential Listings on the Market

Median List Price

$129,900

401

Homes Sold/ Closed

Median Sold Price

$122,500

39

Average Days on Market

This information is provided by the Sunflower Association of Realtors and is for all of the residential properties in their entire MLS database, which includes but is not limited to Shawnee, Douglas, Jefferson, Jackson, Osage, Pottawattomie and Wabaunsee counties.

Artwork provided by The Topeka Capital-Journal

MAY 2017

New toilet seat has built-in deodorizer

By Ed Del Grande Tribune News Service

Q: Dear Ed: We’re planning a summer cookout at our home and I have some extra money in my party budget. I’d like to do a little upgrade to our bathroom since everyone will be using that room before the day is over. What is a fun, fast and useful bathroom upgrade we can do that will also impress my guests?

— Patty, Rhode Island A: I do have a fresh idea I can share with you.

I recently worked with new toilet seats that have built-in air freshener systems. These battery-operated seats can be quickly installed on most existing toilets. Just make sure to get an elongated or round front model to match the type of toilet you have.

The deodorizing seats I’ve worked with combine

a carbon filter with a micro-fan-driven freshener system that also releases a light scent into the bathroom.

Other features include slow-close seat/lid, griptight bumpers and even an LED nightlight.

Bottom line: A deodorizing toilet seat can be a fun and affordable upgrade, especially if you’re looking to add a little bathroom humor to your party.

Tip of the week: Quiet the squeaks

Tired of hearing the door squeak when you come and go. Here’s how to quiet it: Spritz a little cooking spray on the door hinge, then swing it back and forth to work it in. Wipe away drips with a paper towel.

Source: heloise via goodhousekeeping.com

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Service Directory

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