How not to kill
For starters, please don’t drown the poor thing. Overwatering is indeed the No. 1 rookie mistake new plant parents make, said Sacramento-area plant expert Mary Bettencourt. Underwatering is right up there, too, along with too much fertilizer, putting the plant directly under a heating or air-conditioning vent, and insufficient light. Or too much light. Bettencourt said she’s heard from customers with burned plants. “They put it right in the window, and it’s a south-facing window, and there’s sunlight coming in,” Bettencourt said. “Burns plants like a magnifying glass.” Bettencourt also recommends holding off on moving the plant to a new pot. “A lot of them want to repot them right away. We tell them not to. In fact, we really do recommend, when they take the plant home, not to repot it for at
least three or four months. Let it acclimate to your environment.” When you do repot the plant, Bettencourt said smaller is better. “They think the bigger the pot, the bigger it will grow,” Bettencourt said. “We recommend one size up when they’re repotting, because if you get too big of a pot, you just have too much moisture that’ll stay in the soil and therefore will usually drown the plant.”
book reviews
Designed for ages 4 to 8, I Want to Be a Farmer Activity Book allows kids to pretend they’re farmers. They can “plant” a field with crop stickers and then at harvest, pop out and play with sturdy-paper vegetables, fruits
Author of the bestselling How to Instant Pot , Daniel Shumski’s new book How to Sous Vide demystifies a technique in which food is vacuum-sealed in a bag in a controlled water bath. This method—once used only by the world’s best chefs—is now available and affordable to the masses. After Shumski gives readers a how-to of sous vide, he offers versatile recipes for entrées and desserts. Paperback from Workman Publishing. $19.95. In The Plant Propagator’s Bible , veteran horticulture teacher Miranda Smith provides fully illustrated, easy-to-follow instructions for cultivating new plants. She shows how to start plants for a garden, greenhouse or windowsill from seed or cuttings and how to use layering, grafting and budding. The book includes a directory of 1,000 plant species, advice for how to fix potential problems and what tools will be needed. Paperback fromCool Springs Press. $16.99.
and farm-fresh goodies like salsa, jam and applesauce. They can even open a farmers market with signs, play money, checklists, shopping slips and a register. Paperback from Storey Publishing. $7.95.
California Bountiful’s Book Reviews highlight books related to rural living and California agriculture. To suggest a book, email cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com.
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