Coyote Valley Nursery Customer Appreciation Day

On Friday, September 20th, Derek and I attended a customer appreciation day at Coyote Valley Nursery, which is one of our plant suppliers. We were able to take a tour of their 15 acres of greenhouses and fields to see how our plants begin their journey to our store for customers to purchase.



They start as a single seed in a tray of 500, and are called plugs. The plugs are then hand transplanted to a six pack and moved to the greenhouses, where they are nurtured and watered until they are big enough to sell or transplant into a four inch pot.





Coyote uses a soil/sand/lava rock/vermiculite mixture (shh, it's secret) to help the seedlings grow and they supply our bedding plants, violas, pansies, snapdragons, ground covers and several perennials.



We finished the day with a BBQ dinner; a lecture on Winter fertilization and the Downy Mildew outbreak  (more info coming soon!); dessert and a raffle, in which I won two prizes - a $25 dollar movie card, and $25 dollar Chipotle gift card! It was an all-around fun, informative and enjoyable event!



-Teresa Smith

VINEGAR WEEK IN REVIEW

We're starting a new month, and therefore are starting a new theme week. This month, its' awesome tips using vinegar - and it's not just for your salad anymore.

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• Kill weeds and grass growing in sidewalk cracks and in the driveway by pouring full-strength white distilled vinegar on them.


• Help acid-loving plants like gardenias, azaleas, rhododendrons and hydrangeas (helps turn hydrangea petals blue or purple if there is too much aluminum present in the soil)  by watering them with a distilled white vinegar solution now and again. A cup of white distilled vinegar to a gallon of tap water is a good mixture.


• Here’s an answer we give a lot: Cure a cement pond before adding fish and plants by adding one gallon of white distilled vinegar to every 200 gallons of water. Let sit three days. Empty and rinse thoroughly. It will help neutralize the alkaline cement.


• Clean your  hummingbird feeder with white distilled vinegar - soap or detergent leave behind harmful residues.


• Added too much garden lime to the soil? Neutralize it by adding some white distilled vinegar to the area.


• Keep cats out of your flower beds! Place sponges or cloths soaked in distilled vinegar around the plants.  Cats can't stand the smell.

Cleaning:

• About a year ago, I had a customer ask me how to fix his extremely cloudy glassware.  Since his glasses were so water stained, I suggested putting all his glassware in the sink, covering it with a full gallon jug of our white vinegar, adding enough water to ensure all pieces were covered, and letting it sit overnight. He was skeptical, thinking some strong chemical was needed, even though he was hesitant to use it on his drinking glasses. Well, two days later he came in, and hunted me down, just to tell me how incredibly pleased he was with the vinegar solution!  You gotta love happy customers.


• For your standard white spots/thin film you can simply soak paper towels or a cloth in full-strength distilled white vinegar and wrap around the inside and outside of the glass. Let sit a while before rinsing clean.


• For coffee makers, remove mineral deposits with distilled white vinegar. Fill the water reservoir with 1 cup or more of the vinegar and run it through a whole cycle. Run it once or twice more with plain water to rinse clean. (As with any appliance, check the owner's manual before doing any home repairs or cleaning.)


• Get rid of lime deposits in a tea kettle by adding 1/2 cup distilled white
  
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  vinegar to the water and letting it sit overnight. If more drastic action is needed, boil full-strength vinegar in the kettle a few minutes, let cool and rinse with plain water.


• Deodorize and clean the garbage disposal with distilled white vinegar ice cubes. Simply freeze full-strength vinegar in an ice cube tray. Toss several cubes down the disposal while flushing with cold water.


• You know that box of baking soda in the back of your fridge and freezer that you're supposed to change monthly? When it gets old, use it to clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so, then run hot water down the drain. (Works fabulously to help prevent hair clogs in the bathroom sink and tub! Use regularly!)


• Want an easy way to remove sticky labels, decals, or price tags? Cover with a cloth soaked in distilled vinegar. Leave the cloth on overnight and the label should slide right off.


• Remove white water rings from wood with a solution of equal parts distilled white vinegar and vegetable oil. Rub with the grain.


• Create an all-purpose window cleaner with a few ounces of white distilled vinegar in a quart of water.


• Remove fireplace soot and grime with undiluted distilled vinegar. Use a brush to scrub and a towel to blot up the wetness and dirt.


• Clean fireplace glass doors with a solution of 1 part white distilled vinegar to 2 parts water. Spray or wipe on, then wipe clean with a dry cloth.

One warning: NEVER  use white distilled vinegar on marble. The acid can damage the surface.

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Laundry:

• Lint clinging to your  clothes? Try  adding 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to the wash cycle.


• To remove soap residue that makes black clothes look dull use white distilled vinegar in your final rinse.


• Get stained white socks and dingy dishcloths white again. Add 1 cup white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and drop in the articles. Let soak overnight.


• Give patent leather shoes and bags a better shine by wiping them down with white distilled vinegar.


• Get cleaner laundry! Add about 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar to the last rinse. The acid in white distilled vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, yet strong enough to dissolve the alkalines in soaps and detergents. Besides removing soap, white distilled vinegar prevents yellowing, acts as a fabric softener and static cling reducer, and attacks mold and mildew.


• Fluff up wool or acrylic sweaters (hand- or machine-washed) and rid them of soap smell with 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar in the last rinse water.

Today’s Vinegar tips include some surprising beauty tips!

• Clean a hairbrush by soaking in a white distilled vinegar solution.


• Tone facial skin with a solution of equal parts white distilled vinegar and water.


• If commercial aftershaves cause rashes and itching, try using undiluted white distilled vinegar as an aftershave lotion.


• Lighten body freckles (not facial freckles) by rubbing on full-strength white distilled vinegar.


• Eliminate bad breath and whiten your teeth by brushing them once or twice a week with white distilled vinegar.


• Stop insect stings and bites from itching by dabbing them with a cotton ball saturated with undiluted white distilled vinegar.


• Soothe sunburn with a spray of white distilled vinegar, repeating as often as you like. Ice-cold white distilled vinegar will feel even better, and may prevent blistering and peeling.


• For cuts and scrapes, use white distilled vinegar as an antiseptic.


• Foot odor? Wash feet well with antiseptic soap daily, then soak them in undiluted cider vinegar for 10 minutes or so. Also helps with nail fungus.


• Make your nail polish last longer. Wipe fingernails with cotton balls dipped in white distilled vinegar before putting on nail polish.

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After learning how to clean with vinegar, garden with it and do our laundry with it, lastly we're going to learn we can cook with it too! Who knew, right?

• Perk up any can of soup or sauce with a teaspoon of red or white wine vinegar.


• Eliminate the greasy taste in food cooked in a deep fryer by adding a dash of white distilled vinegar.


• If you’ve added too much salt to a recipe, add a spoonful of white distilled vinegar and sugar to try correcting the taste.


• Keep molded gelatin desserts and salads from sagging or melting in the summer heat by adding a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar for each box of gelatin used.


• When making tuna salad add a dash of any herb-flavored white distilled vinegar.


• Turn out great rice by adding a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar to the boiling water.


• To make the perfect picnic potato salad dressing combine 1 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons white distilled vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.


• Olives or pimiento covered with white distilled vinegar can be kept almost indefinitely if refrigerated.


• To keep eggs from cracking when boiling add a tablespoon or two of white distilled vinegar to water.


• To make basic vinaigrette salad dressing use 1 part white distilled vinegar to 4 parts oil.


• Make creamy vinaigrette by adding some plain or whipped cream to a mixture of 1 part white distilled vinegar to 3 parts oil.


• Tenderize meat with white distilled vinegar. Use it in marinades or when slow cooking any tough, inexpensive cuts of meat.


• When poaching eggs, add a little white distilled vinegar to the water. The whites stay better formed.


• For extra tenderness with boiling ribs or stew meat add a tablespoon of white distilled vinegar.


• To add a zesty new taste to fresh fruits such as pears, cantaloupe, honeydew, or others, add a splash of rice or balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately to prevent the fruit from becoming mushy.


• Freshen wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water containing a spoonful or two of white distilled vinegar.


• When boiling or steaming cauliflower, beets or other vegetables, add a teaspoon or two of white distilled vinegar to the water to help them keep their color. This will also improve their taste, and reduce gassy elements. This also works when cooking beans and bean dishes.


• Make pasta less sticky and reduce some of its starch. Add just a dash of white distilled vinegar to the water as it cooks.


• Give some extra zest to your white sauce by adding 1/2 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar.


• Try cider or malt white distilled vinegar instead of ketchup with french fries—that’s how the British like to eat them. Either one is also great on fish or any fried or broiled meat.


• Remove kitchen odors that come from burnt pots or when cooking certain foods by boiling a small amount of water with 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar so that the steam circulates throughout the room.


• Make onion odors disappear from your hands by rubbing with white distilled vinegar.


• Add moistness and taste to any chocolate cake—homemade or from a box—with a spoonful of white distilled vinegar.


• To keep frosting from sugaring add a drop of white distilled vinegar. It will also help keep white frosting white and shiny.


• Make perfect, fluffy meringue by adding a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar for every 3 to 4 egg whites.

-Larissa Texter