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HOLIDAY DECORATING

Bough buying

Saturday, November 26, 2016 An advertising feature of The Topeka Capital-Journal

Consider height, branch weight when choosing Christmas tree page 4 n Growing veggies in your basement, page 2 n 3-D printed home accessories, page 5 n Winterizing outdoor plumbing, page 6

home.cjonline.com CHRIS NEAL/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

2 | Saturday, November 26, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

Move vegetable garden inside for winter harvest

By Dean Fosdick The Associated Press

There’s no reason to stop growing vegetables just because cold weather has arrived. Sun-loving edibles can be cultivated indoors in containers enriched by supplemental LED lights.

But choose the right plant combinations for this four-season gardening.

Some plants are more demanding than others.

“The amount of money and work it takes depends upon your expectations,” said Tuan Bettes, a horticulture agent with Utah State University Extension. “You won’t achieve

(indoors) what you would in sunlight.”

Lettuces, leafy greens, sprouted seeds, radishes, carrots and herbs are among the easiest plants to grow indoors in winter.

They tolerate cooler temperatures and limited light.

They also mature quickly, and many, like chives and parsley, don’t grow tall.

Small fruited or dwarf varieties of tomatoes and peppers also will produce in basement gardens when exposed to the proper lighting. Be prepared to help pollinate your tomato plants, though. Shake them occasionally to release the pollen.

Help avoid plant pests by segregating vegetable containers from houseplants.

“Never put patio plants next to vegetables,” Bettes said. “That’s a good way to introduce aphids and scale insects.”

Many people take the hydroponic approach to indoor gardening by designing their own systems or by buying any number of high-tech soil-free containers with full-spectrum grow lights attached.

Plants grow naturally and faster — up to five times faster — in the ideal climate created by water HARVEST continues on 3

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Harvest: LED lighting great for indoor gardening in winter Continued from 2

reservoirs and LED lighting systems, said Ben Gill, a spokesman for AeroGro International Inc., manufacturers of a line of indoor gardens in Boulder, Colo.

“There’s no dirt,” Gill said. “That makes it a clean way to grow on benches or countertops.”

Many of these small hy-

droponic growing kits can be had in a single package: container, lights, nutrients and pre-seeded plant pods.

“They’re one-stop shopping,” Gill said. “Just add water and you’ve got everything you need to start.”

LED grow lighting has come a long way in a short time.

“They’ve quickly be-

come our best-selling items,” Gill said. “They take less energy to run, grow plants better and you don’t have to change them (lights) as frequently — once every three to five years instead of every three to five months.”

Some hydro kits are designed to mix the LED light spectrum to fit growing conditions. That means

using daylight white LEDs for fast growth, blue LEDs for larger yields, and red LEDs for more fruit or flowers.

“You can literally start a Christmas tree — a 16-inch spruce — in your AeroKit and then transplant it,” Gill said. “You can start your outdoor garden indoors and extend your growing seasons.”

dean fosdick/THE associated press

Sun-loving vegetables can be cultivated indoors in winter when enriched by supplemental lighting. But choose the right plant combinations for your four-season gardening.

Some are more demanding than others.

4 | Saturday, November 26, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

Finding that perfect Christmas tree

By Whitney Carnahan

Special to The Capital-Journal

The Thanksgiving weekend is just being put to rest, and unbelievably, it’s time for many to head out and pick up their holiday tree.

Before you channel Clark Griswold, the bumbling dad in the National Lampoon “Vacation” film series, a few area experts have some tips for picking out and caring for your next Christmas tree.

Eldon Clawson and his wife, Marlene, own Country Christmas Trees in Wakarusa, south of Topeka. While Marlene runs the gift shop, Eldon manages the tree side of the business. When choosing a tree, he says one thing to consider is size.

“Everybody’s got their own idea of the perfect Christmas tree. The first thing I would tell a homeowner or customer is to be sure to look at your space in terms of height and width.

Once you get it inside, it looks much bigger,” he said.

This means choosing the area for your tree well before leaving on your Christmas tree jaunt.

Be sure the site is away from a south window, the heating vents and other heatgenerating areas, because “it’s pretty hard on the tree,” Clawson says. Also, check to make sure there are electrical sockets nearby for lighting.

George Rohrer, who with his family owns Half Day Creek Christmas Tree Farm north of Topeka, also says to check your ceiling height or, at the very least, how far up you can reach.

“What we tell people is, especially first-time customers, consider how high the ceiling is in your house.

The standard size ceiling is 8 feet. You don’t want a 9or 10 foot-tree for an 8-foot ceiling. Most of them know what their height is, and how

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS NEAL/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Eldon Clawson, who owns Country Christmas Trees with his wife, Marlene, checks the branches of the trees at his farm in Wakarusa. Clawson said it’s important to measure the height of the room where the tree will be displayed before coming to the farm to purchase one. far they can reach for ornaments,” Rohrer said.

Another thing to consider is branch size and weight.

“Some people want a softer needle, which is going to be an Fraser fir or an Eastern white,” he said. “The only thing with a Fraser or an Eastern is the branches are softer — they are not as stiff. If you have heavier ornaments, they won’t work on a Fraser. Then you’ll need to go to a Scotch pine.”

Once you’ve chosen your tree, it’s time to cut. Some farms may have your tree of choice already cut, and others will give you a hand with the saw if you need it. Either way, make sure the cut is fresh before putting it in water at home, says Lyn Walther, owner of Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm in Lawrence, where cider and cookies help warm up customers.

If you have cut it yourself

and are bringing it straight home, the cut is probably fine. However, if you buy a pre-cut tree, you may want to trim a bit extra.

“The thing to do is to have a fresh cut on the trunk, especially if it’s off the lot,” Walther said. “Take about an inch, inch and a half off the bottom.”

If you’re worried about needles, many farms will shake the tree for you.

“Trees this year seem to have more moisture, and the needles seem heavier,” said Clawson, chalking it up to the unusually large amounts of rain the Midwest received this year. That said, “trees will naturally lose their needles, and this year is no exception. This year we had so much needle growth because of moisture.”

Most tree farms shake the tree before delivery, but the larger trees tend to shed more. That, however, is nor-

mal, and has no bearing on how long the tree will last, he says.

Once you get your tree home, keep your tree fully watered the first four to five days. “Those trees can drink a lot of water,” Walther said.

“The tree stands we sell hold from one to three gallons depending on size, and the trees can use it all.”

Rohrer agrees: “The first two or three days, they drink huge amounts of water, so you’ll want to check it two or three times a day, morning and evening especially.”

As to what to use to water your tree, that is up for debate. Almost everyone has a different answer.

“We recommend using hot tap water,” Rohrer said.

“A gentleman that had a tree farm years ago, that’s what he recommended. You just use the hot tap water the first two or three days. It seems to absorb into the tree better.

After that, it doesn’t matter as much.”

However, he’s heard of other additions as well.

“I have one lady w h o u s e s b oi l i n g water.

I have a couple that uses 7-Up,” he added. “We recommend hot tap water, and we talk to our customers who have been with us for many years, and they do not have a problem with needle retention.”

As far as what to add to the water to make trees last, Walther says she’s heard it all, from Clorox bleach to lemon juice, and she’s ready to dispel the myth. Kansas State University did a study to see what additives would work best to keep a tree alive and well.

“What they found was that plain water wins the best of everything,” she said.

No matter what temperature of water you use, Clawson recommends putting a mat under the tree holder to catch drips from watering the tree. These are usually round mats, which are sold at the tree farm.

How long will be live tree last? Well, a good month or more, Walther says.

“We get the last tree off the lot and it goes up Christmas Eve,” she said. “We’ve seen some of our trees give off buds in January. That tells me it’s really a fresh tree.”

Wreaths

When looking for the best Christmas tree, it’s always tempting to get a wreath or two while at the farm. Fresh pine, pinecones and red rib-

bon make for the most seasonal decoration. From door swags to mailbox sprays to plain pine boughs, there are plenty of options.

Howe v e r, where y o u hang your wreath can determine how long it lasts.

“We have people purchase wreaths, and they put it facing south,” Clawson said. “Some will put it between the main door and the glass storm door. That will just about bake a wreath.”

To have your wreaths or swags last longer, consider decorating the outdoors.

“If you have it in the house, it’s going to dry out,” Walther said. “If you hang them outdoors, they’ll last a lot longer.”

Tree pickup

The city of Topeka will pick up Christmas trees with the regular trash, as long as they are no longer than 4 feet high. Larger trees should be cut in half.

There will be no collection on Dec. 23 or Dec. 26, so pickups may be moved up or delayed. For more information on your pick-up days during the holidays, go to www.snco.us/sw/image/ content/holiday_schedule. pdf/.

Trees across Kansas

Need a tree elsewhere in Kansas? The Kansas Christmas Tree Grower’s Association has a map of 34 Christmas tree farms across the state from which to pick.

Go to www.kctga.com/ for more information.

3-D printing creations can extend to home décor

By Laura Pearson The Chicago Tribune

Like replicators on “Star Trek” — machines that materialize tomato soup and “Tea, Earl Grey, hot” for peckish starship crew members — 3-D printing has a distinctly sci-fi feel.

While not a new technology, the process of producing solid, three-dimensional objects sans tool or molds isn’t ubiquitous either. Hence, the fantasy element.

“It’s like magic,” says animator Dave Lobser in a video for 3-D printing company Shapeways, “(It’s) being able to take things that only exist on screens and turn them into real objects that you can hold.”

Shapeways is headquartered in New York and, since 2007, has provided manufacturing services to thousands of creative types, like Lobser, who upload their 3-D designs to shapeways.com, choose from dozens of materials

SHAPEWAYS

A 3-D-printed lampshade from Dutch designer Studio Jelle is one of several home accessories available on shapeways.com, a marketplace for 3-D-printed objects. and finishes — e.g., sandstone, porcelain, 14-karat gold and bronze — then wait for their objects to be reviewed, printed and shipped.

Not only does the company print items on demand, but it also functions as a marketplace. The Etsy of 3-D printing, if you will.

It’s not all random

tchotchkes either (though there are plenty of those).

One section of the Shapeways marketplace is devoted to 3-D-printed home accessories and decor, many of which are both inventive and useful — from offbeat cookie cutters and chopsticks holders to air plant vases and geometric lamps.

Service Directory

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Winterize plumbing to avoid burst pipes Drain spigot, sprinkler system lines of water

By Paul Pogue Angie’s List

Instead of waiting for the cold weather to arrive, plan ahead to winterize your outdoor plumbing, including both outdoor water faucets and pipes, in order to prevent frozen pipes and water damage.

Even if you already know to winterize your house, outdoor plumbing fixtures are easy to overlook during preparations, but they’re an important step as you winterize your home.

Pipes usually don’t burst where the pipe freezes; rather, they burst downstream, where the water pressure is stronger. This is usually between the freeze and a closed spigot.

Protecting your outside pipes and outside water faucets against freezing can help eliminate the possibility of a burst pipe.

According to Meredith Saad, service manager of Nick’s Plumbing and Sew-

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er Service in Houston, any un-insulated exterior pipe is susceptible to freezing damage, and a burst pipe in the exterior wall of a home can cause thousands of dollars of water damage to the walls, floors, ceiling and even furniture.

Spigots and valves

Inspect all outdoor spigots and make sure to disconnect, drain and store garden hoses for the winter. Use spray foam insulation to fill any openings around the hose bib to prevent cold air from accessing the interior of the wall and possibly freezing the

pipes inside.

If your outdoor water faucets have a separate shut-off valve, close the valve, open the spigots to drain the lines and leave them open until spring. If your faucets have a backflow prevention device, make sure to disconnect it so that the water drains from the line.

If you don’t have a separate shut-off for your outdoor water faucet, use pipe insulation to protect against frozen pipes. Wrap insulation around the faucet and protect it with an insulated faucet cover.

If you need to winterize an outdoor faucet, wrap the pipe in outdoor-use heat cable, wrap pipe insulation around it and cover this with a slip-on faucet protector. Your hardware or plumbing supply store should be able to provide these materials.

Irrigation pipes

To winterize irrigation pipes in the ground, remove the water from your sprinkler system. Next, shut off the water supply to the system. Open all of the manual drain valves. If your sprinkler system has an automatic draining system, turning off the main water supply should open the drain lines automatically.

Once you remove the water from the lines, open the drain cap on the stopand-waste valve or the boiler drain valve to clear any remaining water.

Make sure you open the test cocks on the back-flow device, and if your system has check valves, pull the sprinkler head from the ground to drain the water from the body of the sprinkler.

If your irrigation system requires a “blow out” method for winterization, contact an irrigation systems specialist, as you could easily damage your lines and sprinkler heads.

SUMMER GALYAN

It is easy to overlook outdoor spigots when getting ready for winter, but that could cost you if they burst and damage your home.

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