Dryland gardening requires special designs and planning

We are more or less settled in our new home in town. Next we must decide what to do with the yard.

It is different from working with the farmyard that we left. I think I’ve gone to heaven because there is water running from a tap. No more going 15 kilometres with a water tank to a well, or carrying half-full five-gallon pails across the yard to the poor little plants. Also, the area to be looked after is considerably smaller. The down side, I’m thinking, is that expectations are greater.

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A book by Sara Williams, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, has come to the rescue. It is all about low-maintenance, water-efficient gardening. This book was printed by the University of Saskatchewan. To order a copy, write to the U-Learn Office, 125 – 117 Science Place, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask., S7N 5C8, fax 306-966-5567, phone 306-966-5565, or pick up a copy at the U-Learn Office on the campus or at various bookstores. It costs $29.95 plus $2.10 GST. For mailing, the total cost is $36.87.

The word xeriscape comes from the Greek xeros, meaning dry, and scape, from the Anglo-Saxon word schap, meaning view. The word, as Williams says, “conjures up visions of a dry, desert-like landscape, but in fact a xeriscape landscape can be just as lush and green as a conventional landscape. It is not rocks and plastic. It is high quality landscaping.”

Xeriscape is an environmentally friendly approach to gardening. The principles of xeriscape include:

A design for water conservation through grouping plants with similar water needs together and sloping the grade to direct water to where it is needed.
Improving the soil to hold water and nutrients.

Reducing lawn areas to include drought-tolerant grasses and/or flowers, and changing the way we mow, water and fertilize.
Choosing appropriate plants. Over half the book is devoted to xeriscape plants, complete with photographs. Trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, bulbs, annuals and native plants are included. These are plants that are more suited to the amount of rain we get on the Prairies, as compared to many plants we traditionally think of in a landscaped garden that, as Sara says, “are more suited to the lush, green gardens of England.”
Mulching, which is working into the soil an organic mulch such as grass clippings, peat moss, shredded bark, post peelings, evergreen needles and cones, straw, sawdust or newspapers. This is done to conserve moisture, improve the soil and stop weed growth. The book tells us that the depth and evenness of the mulch is critical. A minimum of 10 centimetres is recommended to suppress weeds and a depth greater than 15 cm may inhibit gas exchange between the soil atmosphere and the air above, resulting in oxygen depletion and injury to plant roots. Water thoroughly before and after applying the mulch. It can be done at any time during the growing season. Special circumstances are winter mulch that is applied in the fall to protect perennials from the winter cold, and annual beds and vegetable gardens that are mulched in the spring once the soil has warmed to 20 C.

One of the greatest benefits of xeriscaping is reducing maintenance. Less weeding, watering, fertilizing, pruning, mowing and pesticides will be needed. The rewards should allow more time to just enjoy the yard. Time will tell if that is so for us.

Traveling with medicine

Taking your medicine can be especially challenging during summer. Many medicines are sensitive to heat, humidity and/or light. Always ask your pharmacist about special requirements for medicines you need while traveling.

Some general rules are:

Never store medicine in the glove box. Too much heat can destroy some medicines, and others (such as inhalers) may not work as well when you need them. Unless you use a cooler, avoid trunks for the same reason.
Also keep medicines out of front and back windows, since some are especially sensitive to sunlight. On the floor, away from small children, is best.
An insulated lunch bag is a good way to protect medicine from heat and light. For medicines that need refrigerating, add a small frozen ice pack. Be sure to label bags clearly, so they don’t get mixed up with ones that contain food or drinks.

For safety reasons, carry your medicine with you. Don’t leave it in a vehicle overnight or in a hot vehicle during the day. Always keep them away from small children.

Laser pointer caution

Laser pointers for use during lectures and presentations have become popular. A drop in price has seen them sold widely as a novelty item. Children are now playing with them, unaware of their dangers.

Health Canada has received several complaints of exposure to laser light from hand-held laser pointers. Permanent blindness might occur if one looks directly into the beam of a laser pointer.

The power of light emitted by laser pointers used to be less than one milliwatt, which is still a million times more brilliant than a 100 watt light bulb. But now the power has increased to between one and five milliwatts to obtain a brighter beam. Unfortunately, it also makes the laser more dangerous to the eye.

For more information or to report accidents, contact: Radiation Protection Bureau, 6301B Ð 775 Brookfield Rd., Ottawa, Ont., K1A 1C1 or phone 613-954-0303.

Healthy summer salads

Salads are a part of summer picnics, weddings, family gatherings and class reunions. Do you often ponder, “What salad will I take?”

Salads made with lentils, peas, beans and grains such as bulghur, couscous, wheat and barley offer more choices. They are nutritious and easy to make. Simply soften the legume or grain by soaking and/or cooking, then add your favorite dressing and fruits and vegetables. Because these salads are filling, a little will serve a large number of people.

Whole peas, beans, barley and wheat need to be soaked before cooking, while split peas, lentils, bulghur and couscous do not.

Pulses and grains may be combined in salads for interesting textures and colors. Try different combinations like lentils and rice, red Mexican beans and Great Northern beans, pearl barley and chickpeas or bulghur and black beans. Pulses and pastas are perfect partners.

Add salad dressings to warm lentils, rice and other grains, as they will absorb the flavors more quickly when warm. Use your own oil and vinegar dressing, a commercial bottle, or follow a recipe to combine ingredients unique to that salad.

Try any combination of fruits or vegetables with the pulses and grains such as apples with lentils, melon balls with beans, orange sections with lentils and rice. Green onions, radishes, tomatoes, carrot curls, peppers and celery are popular additions. Use what you have on hand and create your own salad.

Oriental lentil-rice salad

Dressing:

1Ú2 cup canola oil 125 mL

2 tablespoons vinegar 30 mL

2 tablespoons lemon 30 mL

juice

2 tablespoons soy 30 mL

sauce

1Ú2 teaspoon salt 2 mL

Salad:

2 cups cooked Eston 500 mL

lentils

2 cups cooked converted 500 mL

rice

1 can (10 oz.) sliced 284 mL

mushrooms

1 cup sliced celery 250 mL

1 can (10 oz.) 284 mL

mandarin oranges, drained

2 tablespoons sliced 30 mL

green onions

1Ú2 cup slivered almonds 125 mL

In a container with a tight-fitting lid, combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce and salt. Shake well.

Combine lentils, rice and mushrooms.

Pour dressing over lentil mixture, cover and chill for at least one hour.

Just before serving, add celery, mandarin oranges, onion and almonds.

Source: Discover The Pulse Potential by Saskatchewan Pulse Crop Development Board, produced by Centax Books, 1994.

Couscous salad

Couscous is a precooked form of durum wheat.

In a covered saucepan, bring to a boil:

1 1Ú4 cups water 300 mL

2 tablespoons butter 30 mL

or oil

1Ú2 teaspoon salt 2 mL

Add:

1 cup couscous 250 mL

Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for five minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Combine cooked couscous with:

6 chopped green onions 6

2 diced tomatoes 2

1Ú4 cup oil 50 mL

1 cup chopped 250 mL

cucumber

1Ú4 cup chopped parsley 50 mL

1Ú4 cup lemon juice 50 mL

1Ú2 teaspoon garlic 2 mL

powder

1Ú2 teaspoon dry mint 2 mL

1Ú2 teaspoon salt 2 mL

Chill and serve.

Waldorf-style bulghur salad

Bulghur is a process of cooking, drying, partially debranning and grinding wheat into bits. Various types of wheat are used, each resulting in a bulghur with unique qualities.

1 cup dry bulghur 250 mL

2 cups boiling water 500 mL

Pour water over bulghur in a large bowl. Set aside until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and press out excess moisture.

2 teaspoons lemon 10 mL

juice

2 apples, diced 2

Pour lemon juice over apple pieces, mix to coat apple.

2 cups grated carrots 500 mL

1 cup broccoli florets 250 mL

1Ú2 cup chopped walnuts 125 mL

or other nuts

Mix all ingredients, including apple with bulghur.