Cuttings 'n' Clippings Dec 1990

Garlic water is a good, natural way to rid roses of aphids. Simply soak cloves of garlic in water overnight, add a few drops of soap and spray. Watch those little creepy crawlers disappear!

- It has been discovered that dew is an important source of desert water. Desert plants often supplement, and sometimes double, their water rations with dew. Often it can equal as much as ten inches of rainfall in a year.

- In Arizona one acre of land produces about 7,500 pounds of corn. Nearly 1,304,000 gallons of water are need to grow just one crop on that acre. (SAWARA)

- It takes 32,000 gallons of water for one ton of finished steel, the amount needed to build a typical car. A thirty pound bicycle requires about 480 gallons. (SAWARA)

-Before starting on that planting hole you may want to call Arizona Blue Stake (800-782-5348) to have your utility lines mapped. The service is free, and a single call will get your electric, water, gas, phone, sewer, and cable lines marked usually within 48 hours. The marking is done with a latex-based spray paint - blue for water, orange for communications and cable, red for electric, yellow for gas, and green for sewer - and usually carries the initials for each utility. The markings, however, are not exact: they indicate only the approximate location of your utilities and never the depth. For this reason, all digging done within two feet of a marked utility line should be done "by hand" (shovels, not pickaxes). All of these precautions are designed to prevent you from accidentally severing an underground line. If you're thinking that this is an awful lot of bother for a couple of planting holes, consider this: you are liable for any utility lines damaged during digging. Fines start at $5,000.

 

Issue: 
December, 1990
Topic: