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Quotation of the Week: "Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Halftimes take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence." — Erma Bombeck

Wishing You and Yours a Very

Some Fun Thanksgiving Facts for You: The Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving feast, in 1621, lasted three days. On October 3, 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued a "Thanksgiving Proclamation" that made the last Thursday in November a national holiday. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving to the third Thursday in November, in order to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy. Two years later, he changed it to the fourth Thursday. In 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, on the fourth Thursday in November. There were no mashed potatoes at the first Thanksgiving dinner - potatoes were brought here later, by Irish immigrants. Turkeys were one of the first animals in the Americas to be domesticated. Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey a noble bird and wanted it to be the national bird of America, rather than the eagle! Native Americans used the red juice of the cranberry to dye rugs and blankets. Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday in October. The pilgrims didn't use forks, they used spoons, knives and their fingers, so if anyone objects to your picking up that drumstick - tell them you are practicing traditional American table manners!

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How To Plant Ranunculus

Ranunculus provide longer lasting color than any other spring flowering bulb. Each large-sized tuberous root will give as many as fifty to seventy-five blooms. Plant starting around mid-November. Choose a spot in full sun where ranunculus haven't grown for three or four years. (If sprinklers keep the bed soggy, pre-sprout the tubers in flats of damp sand; as soon as they've grown some roots plant them in the bed.) Cultivate the soil deeply, adding organic soil amendment, bone meal, and flower fertilizer according to package directions. Water the bed and let it settle overnight. Toss the tubers in drifts onto the bed. Rearrange them slightly so they're approximately 6 inches apart. Plant each tuber where it fell, making sure the points face down. Cover them with 1 1/2 inches of soil in heavy ground or 2 inches in light, sandy soil. Soak the bed deeply. Except in dry, sandy soil or very dry weather, don't water again until green growth shows. Then, if rains are mere sprinkles, water often enough to keep the soil moist but not soggy. The tubers can rot if they're soaked prior to planting or if they're planted in soil that stays soggy wet. Protect the sprouts from birds with wire or plastic garden netting until they're up about 4 inches.

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Get Control of Peach Leaf Curl

Spray peach and apricot trees against peach leaf curl, an airborne fungus disease that impairs fruiting and can eventually kill a tree. This disease thickens and stunts new shoots, and it puckers, thickens, and curls fresh leaves from the time they first emerge in spring. Affected leaves are red or orange when they first emerge, and later they turn pale green or yellow. Later still, a grayish white powder appears on them, and finally the leaves drop prematurely from the tree. Affected trees bear poorly, and the fruit that survives is usually deformed by wrinkles, raised areas, and irregular lesions. Be sure to spray all your peach and nectarine trees — even dwarf ones growing in containers — against this dread disease, even if they've never show symptoms. Since peach leaf curl is caused by an airborne fungus it's carried everywhere, though it's at its worst in wet years. Virtually all unsprayed peaches and nectarines fall prey to it eventually, and once the leaves have emerged there's no cure for the problem. Before spraying your peach and apricot trees, clean them up by removing any loose leaves or mummified fruits and by raking up and destroying all debris in, under, and around each tree. Spray the entire tree, carefully going over the trunk, the branches, and the twigs; also lightly spray the ground under the tree. Spray twice during winter while the trees are dormant, once as soon as the leaves have fallen and again before the buds swell in spring. (The exact timing will differ according to your climate zone, but usually you'll need to apply the first treatment sometime between mid-November and mid-December, and the second in late January or early February.) We recommend Monterey Liqui-Cop as a spray.

Preventing Storm Damage

Late fall and winter weather often brings a natural cleanup, but unless you prepare for it, it can also cause damage. Open up spaces in dense trees. Allow the wind to pass through — a full tree with no gaps in it acts like a sail on a mast. A strong wind may capsize it, especially if the ground is wet. Remove dead and weak branches. Make sure young trees are well staked. Tie them loosely, so they can move back and forth in the wind without being toppled. Trees need to flex in wind in order to develop strong trunks. When using wire for tying, run it through a section of old hose so it doesn't damage bark. Check all staked trees now to make sure no wires are restrictive. Once trees have become well rooted, remove the stakes and wires, so bark doesn't grow over them. Prune top-heavy shrubs: Cut back top-heavy shrubs, such as acacia. Where it is necessary, remove whole branches to allow the wind to pass through. Head back young shrubs to force branching and strengthen their trunks. Prune cane berry plants: Prune selected cane berry plants, including blackberry, boysenberry, loganberry, and spring-bearing raspberry. Cut the old canes down to the ground, leaving new ones that grew this year. On fall-bearing raspberry plants (which only grow well in the mountains) cut off the top of the cane that has borne fruit. Leave the bottom of the cane to fruit in spring. For those in warm areas - don't prune the canes of subtropical (low-chill) raspberries, like 'Oregon 1030,' 'San Diego,' 'Baba Berry', and 'Fallgold'. These are the only kinds of raspberry to grow in warm climate zones, and all of them produce their best berries on new wood. Wait until December or January, then prune these by cutting them nearly to the ground. Dig up the suckers to make new rows.

Garden Tools – Pruners & Leaf Rakes

What You'll Need: 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1-3/4 cups finely sliced leeks or 10 green onions with tops, finely sliced 4 cups lower-sodium chicken broth 1 cup half and half 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. white pepper 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 4 cups low-fat milk 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 4 cups finely chopped cooked chicken (or turkey) 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional) Step by Step: In a large saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. Add leek (or onions) and cook until tender. Stir in the broth, half and half, salt, pepper and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and flour. Stir into the mixture in the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in the chicken. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until heated through. Top with toasted sliced almonds if desired. Yield: 8 servings