A Complete Christmas Tree Care and Buyers Guide

A Complete Christmas Tree Care and Buyers Guide Every year millions of families shop for and buy a real cut Christmas trees from Christmas tree farms and local lots. According to the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), 56 million trees are planted each year for future Christmases and 30 to 35 million families will shop and buy a real Christmas tree this year. Finding your perfect Christmas tree can be a challenge. Shop Early to Find a Christmas Tree The weekend after Thanksgiving is traditionally when most Christmas tree shopping occurs. But you should really shop for a Christmas tree earlier as it will pay off with less competition for higher quality Christmas tree selections and a fresher holiday tree. You should consider mid-November a time to find a tree and follow through on your Christmas tree procurement. Remember, every year is different when it comes to Christmas tree availability. Some years have less shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tree sellers will be busy over a shorter period of time and you might not have as many days to shop for a Christmas tree. Start your tree search early. Natural disruptions (insects, disease, fire, drought or ice) can cause regional Christmas tree shortages which can make certain Christmas tree species hard to find. In any event, if you are buying you need to plan and purchase early to pick from the best holiday trees on the lot or on the farm. 10 Species of Christmas Trees Christmas tree growers offer an awesome selection of Christmas tree species with excellent aromatic varieties that retain their needles through the entire season. At least 10 species of Christmas trees are commercially grown and sold in large quantities in North America. Buying Online You can now shop for and buy a Christmas tree online with only a few keystrokes - and 300,000 people shop this way every year. Buying Christmas trees directly from a quality Christmas tree grower will save valuable holiday time plus you will avoid a cold, overcrowded holiday tree lot only to find poor quality Christmas trees. It is especially handy to order online for someone who has trouble getting out to buy. A special Christmas treat for even the healthy would be seeing a delivery truck delivering their own fresh tree for Christmas (make sure you know the size and varieties they like). Read about five of the most popular internet Christmas tree dealers selling fresh from the farm. You need to order early when using catalogs and the Internet as these companies have limited supplies and may require you to furnish a shipping date. Most will not deliver a Christmas tree after December 12th. Retail Lot Versus Farm Selecting a Christmas tree  at a nearby retail lot or from a Christmas tree farm can be great family fun. To help find a quality Christmas tree near you, check out  NCTAs online member database. The National Christmas Tree Association represents the best tree farms and merchants in the United States. If you are buying a Christmas tree from a retail lot, the main thing to remember is freshness when selecting a Christmas tree. The needles should be resilient. Take hold of a branch and pull your hand toward you, allowing the needles to slip through your fingers. Most, if not all, of the needles,  should stay on the Christmas tree. What to Look For Lifting and tapping the Christmas tree on a hard surface should not result in a shower of green needles. Brown needles that have shed the previous year are ok. The Christmas tree should have a fragrance and a rich green color. Branches should be pliable and bend without much resistance. Actually, none of this will be necessary if you purchase the Christmas tree fresh from a local Christmas tree farm. In most  cases,  you can find a Christmas tree farm close enough to allow you and/or your kids to cut the tree or buy one that the farm has just cut. Harvesting a tree from a local farm is becoming more and more a favorite family event. Again, you need to use NTCAs member database to find a farm. How to Help Your Tree Last Through the Season Once you get your Christmas tree home there are several things you need to do to help your tree last through the season: Cut  one-quarter  of an inch off the base of the trunk if the Christmas tree has been harvested over 4 hours. This fresh cut will encourage the free flow of water into the tree to preserve freshness.Mount tree in a water-holding catchment container attached to a  sturdy tree stand. Avoid stands without the ability to provide water.Keep a constant check on stand water and dont let the water ever go below the fresh cut base. This will cause the base to seal and the trees premature drying out.Maintain adequate watering. Christmas trees are very thirsty and will use up to a gallon of water each day. Check the stand each day for water.Display your Christmas tree in a cool place but out of a draft. Fireplaces can dry your tree very quickly and reduce  tree freshness. Buying a "Living" Christmas Tree People are beginning to use  living plants  as their Christmas tree of choice. Most living Christmas tree roots are kept in a ball of earth. This ball can be wrapped in burlap or set into a container or pot. The tree should be used very briefly as an indoor tree but must be replanted after Christmas Day. Remember that live trees should not stay inside longer than 10 days (some experts suggest as few as three or four days).After Christmas, slowly remove it to the outside using the garage, the shed, then to the  planting  site.You  should not  plant in frozen soil and have heat protecting plastic put down if that possibility exists after planting. Do I Add Anything to the Water? According to the National Christmas Tree Association and Dr. Gary Chastagner, Washington State University, your best bet is just plain tap water. It doesnt have to be distilled water or mineral water or anything like that. So the next time someone tells you to add ketchup or something more bizarre to your tree stand, dont believe it. Most experts insist that plain old water is all you need to keep your Christmas tree fresh through Christmas.   Grow Your Own You may want to start growing your own Christmas trees! If you are curious how Christmas tree farming takes place, the NCTAs  website  is probably the best place to go to get into the business. They help you market  your  trees, pick the tree best suited for your area, give advice on the care of your trees, and more.

10 Tips for Getting Rid of Fruit Flies

10 Tips for Getting Rid of Fruit Flies Fruit flies are one of the most persistent kitchen pests. These tiny winged marauders procreate quickly and stick around long after youve tossed the fruits and veggies that first attracted them. If youre at your wits end with these nuisances, dont despair. Getting rid of them requires patience and smarts but these tips will help you eliminate any potential fruit fly breeding grounds in your home so youll be able to make them go away- and keep them from coming back. 1. Dispose of Any Rotting Fruits and Vegetables First things first: The minute you see even a few fruit flies, its time to purge your unrefrigerated produce. Anything thats beyond ripe, oozing liquid, or has been cut or broken open must go. Dont just throw things in the garbage or compost bin, either- unless your compost bin is outdoors and located a distance from your house. Bag everything up and take it outside to the trash. And be sure to clean up any residual mess left behind on countertops or in containers. 2. Scrub Your Recycling Cans Anything thats sweet or fermented or has a little moisture is a suitable habitat for fruit flies. Empty soda cans, wine bottles, and beer cans completely and rinse them out. After youve taken all bottles and cans out for pickup, give the bin a thorough scrubbing to remove any beer, wine, or juice residue. 3. Take Any Compost Scraps Outside If you compost kitchen scraps and find you have fruit flies buzzing about, its time to clean out the compost bin. Until you get the infestation under control, youll need to take produce scraps directly to your outdoor compost pile. Empty any indoor compost containers and give them a good scrubbing, too. 4. Replace Old Sponges, Mops, and Dishrags Did you know that fruit flies can breed on sour sponges, mops, and dishrags? If you havent changed your kitchen sponge or your mop refill recently, replace them. Throw any reusable dishrags in the wash and put disposable ones in a sealed bag. 5. Clean Your Dishes Immediately Dont wait until the end of the day to wash your dishes, especially if they have residue from things like jelly or wine. At the very least, give the dishes a good rinse to remove any food or beverage remnants. When you scrape leftovers into the garbage, be sure to take the trash outside promptly. If you have a dishwasher, rinse food particles from your dishes and run the load as soon as you can. 6. Check Potato and Onion Storage Bins Most people store potatoes, onions, and other root vegetables in a cool, dark bin or cupboard. If fruit flies persist, be sure to check these storage areas for old, rotting produce. Just one old potato is all it takes to keep a fruit fly population going. Dispose of any soft or mushy potatoes or onions, and give the bin a cleaning before putting in fresh ones. 7. Set Vinegar Traps in Problem Areas Sometimes the quickest way to eliminate a population of insect pests is to wipe out the reproductive adults. Fortunately, fruit flies arent all that smart. If something smells remotely like fermenting fruit, theyll dive right in. Place a few cider vinegar traps around problem areas in your home, and you can quickly get rid of large numbers of fruit flies. You can make a vinegar trap in just a few minutes with things you probably already have in your home. 8. Fix Slow Drains and Keep Plumbing Clean Fruit flies arent above living in the muck, and that includes the muck inside your plumbing. If you have any slow-moving drains in your house, there may be enough organic matter hanging out inside your pipes to support a breeding population of fruit flies. Tape some plastic wrap over suspect drains for a few days to check for fruit flies. If you see adults on the underside of the plastic, theyre breeding in your drain. Fix any drainage issues. Pour boiling water down problem drains to help loosen accumulated deposits. If accessible, you can also use a firm brush to scrub the inside of the pipe to free it of debris. 9. Give the Kitchen a Thorough Cleaning Youd be surprised where food bits can accumulate in a kitchen. If you have a particularly stubborn fruit fly infestation, it may take some elbow grease to eliminate all of their food sources. Check the lip of your kitchen sink. There could there be food bits underneath it. Clean the burner drip pans and lift the stovetop, if possible, to remove spilled food, and check under the refrigerator for sticky spots where juice may have spilled. 10. When Canning, Make Sure Jars are Sealed Securely Not everyone is into home canning but if you are, you should know that a fruit fly infestation can sometimes be traced to even one improperly sealed jar of fruit preserves. If you keep a supply of homemade jellies or sauces on hand, take some time to doublecheck that all the seals are closed tightly. As much as a fruitfly would take delight in supping on something youd inadvertently left open, you wouldnt want to dine on anything that came from an improperly sealed jar anyway, right?