At Home Living 091016

real estate

Saturday, September 10, 2016 An advertising feature of The Topeka Capital-Journal

Buying, selling homes Realtors ease stress in process page 6

n Jamie Kidd on harvesting, page 2 n Fake flowers don’t have to look fake, page 4 n Meet Topeka Home Builders Association’s CEO, page 7 n Liven up interior decor with abstract ideas, page 9

homes.cjonline.com JAKE GATCHELl/special to THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

2 | Saturday, September 10, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

Plants signal when they’re ready for harvest Is it done yet? Can I eat it yet? What should it look like when it’s done?

Knowing when to harvest your garden is as important as knowing when to plant your garden.

Each vegetable has its own time frame for harvesting. The seed packet can give you an approximate window, but great flavor isn’t simply a matter of size, color or time.

The right combination of temperature, soil, water and sunlight will ultimately determine “when it’s done.” The time for harvesting also can vary from year to year.

The best clue to determine when a vegetable is ready to harvest comes from the characteristics of the plant itself, according to Cornell Cooperative

Jamie KiDD

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The Shawnee County Extension Master Gardeners will demonstrate how to make and use compost at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 8 at the Master Gardener vegetable demonstration garden in front of the train engine on the southeast corner of the Kansas Expocentre grounds.

jamiehan@ksu.edu

Extension. These signs often are subtle, and it takes practice to familiarize yourself with them.

Freezing temperatures in fall can be the determining factor in harvesting. Some vegetables need to be harvested before frost occurs, while others need a frost or two to improve their flavor.

A frost can occur when the temperature is from 36 to 32 degrees. A light freeze refers to temperatures between 28 and 31

degrees; a moderate freeze, between 24 and 28 degrees, and a severe freeze below 24 degrees.

Many root crops can be left in the ground through the winter if mulched heavily. Cover root crops before the ground freezes with 1 to 2 feet of mulch, such as hay, leaves and straw.

Some vegetables need to be cured after harvest.

This involves exposing the produce to warm dry air so the outer skin hardens and protects the succulent core from rotting.

For maximum flavor

and the best texture, many vegetables are harvested just before maturity. Here is a short list of characteristics for harvesting some vegetables. n Beans.

Taste one and decide.

Harvest snap or string beans when they are about the diameter of a chopstick. Standard varieties are ready to pick when they are about as thick as a pencil and before seeds swell and become visible through the pod. Lima beans are ready when the pods are green and feel full.

Pick when slightly immature for more tender beans. Dispose of beans that have turned white. n Broccoli.

Harvest when the buds (treetops) are dark green and tightly closed. If the underside of the top turns yellow, you’ve waited too long. Don’t expect your heads to be as large as those in the stores. n Chives.

Cut before the purple flowers form, and keep them cut back for the sweetest flavor. n Cabbage.

Harvest when the heads are solid. n Corn.

Look for a tight husk and the silk to be dry and brown. Kernels can be checked by stabbing them with your fingernail. If the

kernel contains milk, it is ripe. If it contains water, it is not ripe yet. If it is tough and dry, it is overripe. n Cucumbers.

Cucumbers are best when slightly immature, just as the spines soften.

Most varieties will be 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches in diameter and 5 to 8 inches long.

Overripe cucumbers can be bitter or pithy, even before they start to turn yellow. n Okra.

Pick pods when they are 2 to 3 inches long and snap easily. Overripe pods become tough and woody. n Green onions.

Harvest when they reach sufficient size. n Dry onions.

Harvest at one-quarter

KIDD continues on 5

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True geraniums return to garden each year

By Nina Koziol Chicago Tribune

“Geraniums” — the word brings to mind images of baseball-size red or orange flowers that are boldly held above bright green scalloped leaves. They’re a lot like lollipops of the plant world — sweet but bland.

But the real name for those plants is pelargonium, and when the first autumn frost arrives, they turn to mush because they are annuals.

True geraniums are hardy perennials that return to the garden each year with a flush of handsome leaves.

In spring and early summer, they can be covered with flowers that are pale pink, blue, purple, violet, rose, magenta or pure white.

These versatile, undemanding and long-lived plants serve as groundcovers, thrive in shady and sunny sites, and can produce large mounds or vaseshaped clumps of leaves and stems that scramble and weave through nearby plants. Another plus: Rabbits and deer seldom bother them.

“You can find geraniums for literally every area of the garden from shady areas to

sun,” said Robin Parer, author of “The Plant Lover’s Guide to Hardy Geraniums” (Timber Press, 252 pages, $24.95).

Parer owns Geraniaceae (www.geraniaceae.com), a mail-order nursery in Marin County, Calif., that specializes in geraniums.

“There are geraniums for rock gardens and containers. They’re easy plants and will survive in less than perfect soil — true perennials,” she said.

There are more than 400 species of geraniums that can be found growing in cool, temperate areas of the world. They grow in the woodlands of North America, as well as in Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Himalayan Mountains, the French Pyrenees, northern Turkey, Iceland, from northeastern Afghanistan to Kashmir, China and elsewhere. Their common name — cranesbill — refers to their beaklike fruits.

“Some geraniums have brilliant colors,” Parer said.

“We’ve got 48 different types of blue, purple and lavender.

The blue is lovely, and there are a few white flowers.

There’s a huge number of pinks. They’re not terribly

timber press

True geraniums are perennials that return to your garden yearly. The long-lived plants serve as groundcovers, thrive in shady and sunny sites, and can produce large mounds or vase-shaped clumps of leaves and stems. fashionable at the moment, but I have hopes.”

Besides geranium species growing in the wild, there are countless cultivars — plants that have been produced by selective breeding. Parer’s book describes more than 140 types suitable for gardens, but one in particular, Geranium Rozanne, has sold more than 6 million plants as of 2016 and is one of the most widely planted.

“I just came back from England in June and brought

71 (different) geraniums back,” Parer said. “I must be sick. I spent two days in a barn in Wales with friends, washing the roots of the plants for shipping back.”

Geraniums charm homeowners and landscape designers with their lengthy flowering period — as much as five weeks or more, which is exceptionally long for any perennial. Some geraniums put out a flush of bloom in the spring and then flower sporadically during sum-

mer. Others offer scarlet or brilliant red leaves in the fall. Depending on the cultivar, they can range in height from 6 to 24 inches.

Most geraniums tend to do best with morning sun and afternoon shade. Others thrive in full sun. Provide them with a free-draining soil enriched with compost and keep them watered, especially during drought, and they’ll be off to a great start.

Once they’re established, little maintenance is needed.

Geraniums also tolerate a wide range of soils, but they don’t like growing in low areas during winter, when water can collect around the roots.

At the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, there are about 80 different geraniums represented in the garden’s collections. Jacob Burns is curator of herbaceous perennial plants there.

“Geraniums are an important collection because they’re a favorite landscape plant and they have multiple attributes,” Burns said.

He has developed a detailed list of 180 different geraniums for the garden’s collection, which has the largest number of geranium types in the United States. Pressed to name a favorite, Burns says,

“For unique flower color, I like Geranium phaeum. It’s an underused species with dark purple flowers, almost black.”

Geraniums can be used in a foundation planting, under trees or with shrubs and other perennials. Their finely cut leaves show off to great advantage when paired with the large leaves of hostas.

“Geraniums are a supporting cast, and you need that in the garden,” Parer said.

Their flowers all have five, equal-size petals that range in size, up to about 2 inches wide.

“I really like wildflowers and the quality that hardy geraniums bring to the garden,” Parer said. “The flowers are simple, by and large, but there are a few that are double. There’s something calming about single flowers.”

Most geranium flowers have veins in light, dark or contrasting hues. Plants may produce more flowering stems over the summer, but if the stems become untidy, you can cut them back a few inches.

“You get the blast in spring, cut them back, forget about them and look at something else,” Parer said.

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Artificial floral arrangements don’t have to look fake

By Cathy Hobbs

Tribune News Service

Artificial florals were once taboo, considered unattractive dust collectors.

Now they are popular with weekend and vacation homeowners, as well as those who desire no maintenance

and colorful floral solutions.

At first glance, artificial succulents often don’t look much different than the real thing. Succulents are attractive and modern decorations and pair well with items such as sand, stone, grasses and branches.

When choosing silk florals, consider arrangements that are both large and small. Small single bloom arrangements may prove to have the biggest effect on a side table, end table or in a bathroom.

Instead of just choosing a traditional floral arrange-

ment, why not consider one that is unusal? From bamboo to topiary, artificial flowers don’t have to look fake.

One of the most successful design techniques is to mix and match, which can also apply when using artificial flowers. Whether in a single room or throughout

the home, mix and match different styles of arrangements for maximum effect.

Making your own arrangements can be fun, easy and affordable. Some basic materials include: a vessel to use for your arrangement; blooms or succulents in bunches or individual stems;

and moss, river stones or sand to create a foundation for your arrangement.

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.

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Many drought-resistant Kidd: Know when to harvest plants also draw pollinators peppers, potatoes, pumpkins

By Dean Fosdick The Associated Press

Water-wise gardens don’t have to resemble sterile moonscapes, devoid of anything but layers of rock and gravel. They can feature scores of attractive, droughtresistant plants that invite bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollen- and nectar-gathering species to your yard.

Xeriscaping is an important gardening approach for the more arid western half of the country, said David Salman, founder and chief horticulturist for High Country Gardens in Santa Fe, N.M. “But regardless of where you live, xeriscaping can be as simple as planting native and Old World plants whose water needs meet an area’s normal precipitation, thus needing little if any supplemental watering once established,” he said in an email.

Both perennials and annuals have a place in pollinator-supportive gardens. Salman recommends annuals that naturalize themselves by reseeding, so they are persistent in the landscape.

He also suggests using a combination of perennials that will bloom from the start of the growing season until hard frost in the fall.

Those can range from trees to shrubs, herbs to succulents, grasses to ground covers.

Start small. Understand what micro sites in your yard favor xeriscaping. Depressions in the ground that retain scarce rainwater, for example. Or dry corners of your property that with some soil amendments could be converted into efficient pollinator pockets.

Environmental controls also will make your yard more attractive to pollinators.

“The use of windbreaks and building-sheltered areas in windy climates is one,” Salman said, a nod toward protecting wind-averse bumblebees. “The use of mulches in dry climates is another. Using runoff water from a home’s roof to water a shade tree would be still another. This saves both energy (air conditioning) and the need for supplemental irrigation.”

Succulents are popular with many gardeners in arid settings, but cacti belong to a plant order with higher durability.

“Some cacti are hummingbird attractors — those that flower bright red,” said James Cane, an entomologist with the U.S. Depart-

ment of Agriculture/ARS Insect Pollinating Research Unit at Utah State University. “Other succulents, like sedums, are pretty attractive to bees. But freezing temperatures can be hard on succulents.”

Go easy on using weed barriers like erosion cloth when xeriscaping, Cane said.

“It’s important to be judicious with it,” he said. “Don’t unroll the whole package and then poke holes in it — at least if you want bees and worms. It packs down and eliminates habitat for the ground-nesting bees that comprise about 85 percent of the wild bee populations in the East.”

Which plants suited to sun-seared settings are most pleasing to pollinators and gardeners alike?

“Many Old World species, like spring-blooming bulbs, catmints, lavender, Russian sage and European salvia, are honeybee magnets,” Cane said.

“Native species like goldenrod, sulfur buckwheat, milkweed and blazing star are nectar sources for native bees and butterflies.

Hummingbird mint, native salvia, orange honeysuckle and beardtongue are eagerly sought by hummingbirds.”

Continued from 2 to 1 inch for fresh table use.; 1 to 1 ½ inches for boiling and pickling, and when the tops of the onion have fallen over and the necks have shriveled for storage and general cooking. Cure onions by placing in a single layer or mesh bag in a dry, well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight for three to four weeks. Remove tops when fully dry. n Hot peppers.

Harvest as needed.

Young, green peppers are hotter than mature, colored ones. For long-term storage, pull plants late in season and hang to dry in a warm, well-ventilated

place. n Sweet peppers.

Harvest peppers when firm and full size. Leave peppers on plants until red color develops if desired. n Potato.

Harvest new potatoes two weeks after blooming.

Harvest main crop after tops have died down and when ground is dry. Dig carefully to avoid bruising and allow surface to dry. Cure 10 to 14 days in a dark, well-ventilated location at 45 to 60 degrees. n Pumpkins and winter squash.

Maturity can be roughly determined by pressure from the thumbnail on the fruit skin. Mature fruit

will be hard and impervious to scratching. Harvest squash with a sharp knife before the first hard frost, leaving at least an inch of stem attached.

Fruit picked without the stem will soon decay around the stem scar.

Cure in a dry, well-ventilated area for 10 days at 75 to 85 degrees. n Sweet potato.

Harvest in fall before frosts and freezing temperatures. Handle carefully in digging, as bruised tubers will rot. Cure for a week at 80 to 85 degrees.

Happy harvest time!

Jamie Kidd is a horticulturist with K-State Research and Extension in Shawnee County.

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Realtors can help with negotiations, paperwork

By Shanna Sloyer

Special to The Capital-Journal

Purchasing or selling a house can be an anxietyinducing experience. But with the help of an experienced professional, prospective buyers and sellers can avoid much of the stress of doing it themselves.

Finding a Realtor who is trustworthy and will protect their interests are high on most clients’ priority lists. Interviewing a few Realtors and understanding what a Realtor does will help aid in the search.

Here are guidelines to help with the process: n Understand the difference between a real estate agent and a Realtor.

According to Carrie Calhoon, president of the Sunflower Association of Realtors, a real estate agent is anyone who obtains a real estate license from the Kansas Real Estate Commission. A Realtor is a real estate agent who is also a member of the National Association of Realtors.

Realtors adhere to a code of ethics that includes the responsibility to protect and promote the interest of their clients, the duty to avoid misrepresenting or concealing information from clients, and an agreement to work together with other real estate brokers in the best interest of clients.

“The functions of a real estate agent and a Realtor are the same, but a Realtor is held to a higher standard of expectations,” Calhoon said. “As a consumer who chooses to use a Realtor, you have the ability to file a complaint if you feel your agent hasn’t upheld their responsibilities according to the code of ethics.” n Know what a Realtor can do for you.

“Realtors provide expertise through the entire process,” Calhoon said.

A knowledgeable Real-

jake gatchell/special to THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Carrie Calhoon, center, a Realtor and president of the Sunflower Association of Realtors, shows a home to buyers Matt and Dee Reid. A Realtor can help the process of buying or selling a home go more smoothly because they can assist with paperwork and negotiations. tor will know which documents need to be completed in a transaction and will work with title companies, lenders, inspectors and other parties to facilitate the home buying or selling process.

They also will provide a market analysis of recent sales in the area, using data from the multiple listing system to determine the best price at which to sell an existing home or to offer when purchasing a new home.

According to Calhoon, a Realtor’s job is to negotiate on behalf of the client to help them get the best deal and to make sure the client understands how the process works. n Be aware of how a Realtor is functioning.

A Realtor can represent a client in one of three ways: as a buyer’s agent, a seller’s agent or a transaction broker.

A seller’s agent represents the seller only. If the buyer chooses not to hire

their own Realtor, they are at risk of being underrepresented in the negotiation process, because the seller’s agent is looking out for the sole interest of the seller.

A buyer’s agent is ethically responsible for protecting the interests of the buyer, including negotiating with other agents and counseling the client on the best price to offer on the home they are purchasing. In this case, a seller would be wise to hire their

own representation instead of attempting to sell a home on their own.

A transaction broker doesn’t work for either party and acts as a neutral agent to complete legal documents and assist in the sale and purchase of real estate. A transaction broker isn’t legally responsible for advocating for or advising either the buyer or the seller on what is in the best interest of either client.

For the average layper-

son with little to no expertise in real estate law and finance, hiring a buyer’s agent or seller’s agent leads to smoother, quicker transactions. The peace of mind that comes with knowing that everything has been done correctly and a contract has been negotiated fairly far outweighs the financial commitment of hiring a Realtor.

Shanna Sloyer is a freelance writer from Topeka. You can reach her at ssloyer@yahoo.com.

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THBA serves as watchdog for construction business, homebuyers

By Liz Montano

Special to The Capital-Journal

When most people buy a new home, their primary concern is whether the house will fit their family and their budget. There usually isn’t much consideration given to everything Weichert it took for the house to be built: government regulations, the necessary licenses and permits, etc.

Ivan Weichert, president and CEO of the Topeka Home Builders Association, thinks about these things and takes them very seriously.

In a new monthly At Home feature, Weichert will discuss topics related to

the housing market and construction industry — from government regulations, which can influence how much you pay for a home, to zoning and code issues, which can affect the overall safety of your home.

In our first installment, Weichert shares his experience in the construction industry and how he came to lead the Topeka Home Builders Association.

Q: When did you first become involved with the construction industry?

Weichert: I started in the industry in 1976, mostly in the cabinet and trim area, and worked for a number of companies, including Whelan’s. I became involved with the community and THBA and started my own construction company in 1980.

When things slowed down

in about 1991, I left the construction business.

Since I’d been involved with the city planning commission and different things, I went into public service. I became Shawnee County zoning administrator and eventually became involved with land-use mapping and GIS (geographic information systems), which took me in a whole new direction.

I was involved in contracts with companies who took aerial photographs which, before they started doing their own, Google harvested. I stayed with that until the end of 2013, when I retired from the state.

Q: Retirement apparently didn’t last long.

Weichert: Well, a fellow I knew from this organization contacted me and said

come work for us. My wife said I couldn’t retire yet, so in January 2014 I accepted the position of president and CEO of the Topeka Home Builders Association.

It’s been a good fit. It’s an industry I know very well. I stayed involved with building and had been very involved with Habitat for Humanity. It was good to come back to an association I’d spent a lot of time with in the past.

Q: Talk about Topeka Home Builders Association, if you will. When was it established, and what’s its main function?

Weichert: The association was established in 1953.

In a large part, it’s involved with supporting the goals of people involved in home building and remodeling, looking out for issues the

government tries to enact and control. We stand in the middle between builders and regulators and make sure those things are appropriate, because it drives up the cost of a house or a project. Sometimes, it’s necessary; sometimes, it’s not.

Q: What’s an example of a government regulation in which the association felt it necessary to intervene?

Weichert: The Waters of the USA Act. One problem is that it could force developers to wait up to three years if there’s any water on the land they want to develop. Then, after three years of waiting, their petition to develop the land could be denied. The National Homebuilders Association is suing the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

since we consider the act to be a real overreach.

Q: It sounds like advocating for the industry and for the homebuyer is perhaps your most important role.

Weichert: Advocacy is a very important part of what we do, on the city, state and national levels.

Education‘s high on the list of priorities. We do a lot of education for all our members — builders, remodelers and people involved in building, (such as) plumbers, electricians, carpet people, bankers. Everything that touches the construction industry could be part of our association.

We also do a lot of social things: golf tournaments, family fun nights … getting people together and getting them to know each other.

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Energize decor with abstract thinking Mixing traditional, classic pieces with contemporary, edgy artwork gives new energy to home

By Mary Carol Garrity Tribune News Service

My 140-year-old Greek revival home in Atchison was about as traditional as you can get. I filled it with antiques, when I could afford them, and to stretch my budget as far as I could, good reproduction cheater pieces. I covered the walls with classic artwork, like botanicals.

As much as I loved it, and felt like every inch was a reflection of me, I never wanted the decor to feel stuck in time. Or dreary and dated. I wanted my home to honor the classic furnishings I’m crazy about, but also be

welcoming to new patterns, colors and styles created by today’s designers.

So Dan and I started to experiment.

We purchased a few pieces of artwork that weren’t our usual fare, works that were more contemporary, a bit edgy.

It was fun to say “no thanks” to the idea that your home has to fit into a rigid design category, either all traditional or all contemporary.

We were amazed by how these tiny touches shook up our home, giving it a jolt of new energy, but still allowed our spaces to reflect the classic style we

adored.

I’m absolutely obsessed with great textiles, so my next baby step was to cover a few of the accent pillows in my living room with more transitional and contemporary fabrics. Maybe it was an animal print or a sapphire ikat.

I mixed these newcomers in with my longtime faves, menswear fabrics like plaids, paisleys and stripes.

It was amazing, the way they worked together to enliven my rooms. I was hooked.

We get to work with a lot of people who have inherited fabulous tra-

ditional pieces, like a to-die-for Duncan Phyfe dining room table or a Sheraton sideboard. They appreciate these family heirlooms, with their timeless lines and expert craftsmanship.

But often, a house full of grandma’s old furniture is not their bliss, nor a true reflection of their own style. So we show them how to both honor these traditional pieces while also splashing up their decor with stunning contemporary artwork and accents.

Our daughter Kelly’s home is a great example of the new traditional style we have embraced.

When Dan and I downsized to our little nugget of a cottage on the lake, we shed lots of our furniture. A number of those pieces found a home at Kelly’s. But Kelly has stirred the pot, adding her own signature with contemporary artwork. For example, over the classic buffet in her dining room, she’s hung an oversized piece of abstract art. It’s jaw-dropping.

Right now, you can find so many statement pieces, like over-scaled abstracts and bold fabrics for furniture and pillows, which act as a refresh button for your spaces.

In a traditional home,

they introduce an important element of surprise, acting as smelling salts, snapping you to attention so you can step back and really take a good, long look.

I will never lose my love for traditional furnishings.

That’s the bedrock of my decorating style.

But I’m so thankful the walls between classic and contemporary have been shattered, and now we can enjoy the best of each in our home decor.

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

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What might cause a sink backup

By C. Dwight Barnett Tribune News Service

Q: My washing machine is in the basement in a room directly beneath the kitchen. When water drains from the washer, it’s going into a hole in the basement floor. The sump pump kicks on, but the water comes back up into the kitchen sink. The water recedes, but I’m not exactly sure to where.

Anytime any water enters the sump hole, the pump

kicks on and water comes back up into the sink.

Could this be caused by the vent pipe on the roof being clogged?

A: I have often seen the arrangement you describe with a basement laundry under a kitchen. In most cases, the main sewer drain is halfway up on the basement wall near the laundry equipment.

The kitchen drain enters the main sewer pipe near where the sump pump drains into the same pipe, or the two drainpipes are connected

together at that point. When the sump pump comes on, it forces water into the main sewer faster than the sewer can drain it away, so some of the water is forced up and into the kitchen sink. When the pump stops, the water from the sink slowly drains back through the sewer.

Most likely, the main sewer pipe is clogged or is damaged, and that’s why it cannot drain quickly. Have a plumber scope the sewer pipe with a camera to check for damages or blockage.

TIP OF THE WEEK

To remove the salt deposits that form on clay pots, combine equal parts white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. Apply the mixture to the pot and scrub with a plastic brush. Let the pot dry before you plant anything in it.

Source: Paul James, host of “Gardening by the Yard” on HGTV

Service Directory

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