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January 18, 2001 |
Issue 5 |
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an affiliation of AVSA |
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| January, the beginning of a new year! This year holds a bright promise of new friends and more african violets than ever before. Light stands are being made to make sure there is room for all the babies we will be exchanging this spring and all are looking forward to the arrival of these gorgeous little plants to groom, feed and enjoy until they too must move on to make room for others in the coming year. Exchanging leaves and small plants through mail is a very exciting hobby and it can bring joy to so many people for so little cost. |
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Homes for african violets that must move on to make room for the new are not hard to find. Take a basket of them to Church to share with others there. Your doctor's receptionist would be pleasantly surprised with gift of a blooming violet. Your child's school teacher would love a violet. Why not have your child pick a friend to help sell them and donate so much to a worthy charity in their name? What a way to make friends! Can't toss away those extra babies? Pot them up in solo cups and donate them to a school near by to use in a project. | |
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Member bio of the month Hello fellow members, my name is Rosemary Mc Lean. I was born in Sydney on the island of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. I grew up, got married, had four children then moved to Thunder Bay Ontario when I was around forty years old, in 1981. I am a widow of three years now but am kept quite busy working full time as a cook and being a grandmother of 15 living grandchildren. Two other grand daughters have passed away and gone home to God. We however are blessed to have had them in our lives for a short time for they did bring lasting love and memories into our hearts forever. I have also been blessed with a great grandson who is four years old now. My
computer and my new beginning with African Violets have helped keep my
sanity and gave me a whole new outlook on life. I have a lot to learn and
know that being a member of this group will help me to grow in knowledge
as my plants progress. I just want to say thanks to each and everyone of
you for being there and helping me to make this the best place on the net.
It makes me feel proud to be a member of VioletReflections mailing
list. |
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Members have complained that certain products like vermiculite are not as large as stated on the package or as a salesperson has assured them. This problem generally arises from a purchase at a retail source. Our policy has been to go to a professional supplier where possible. This usually demands that the purchaser have a sale tax license. I think many of our readers might well profit with the license because it will make many eligible to purchase from a wholesale source. While most of the wholesale sources deal in quantity purchases this can mean for instance one four cubic feet bag of coarse perlite or vermiculite. It may be a savings such that it almost compares with buying a small bag of the same product at a retail store. Those products do not spoil so they can sit around for years but always be available to you. Perhaps a group of people or a club could get together and make a bulk purchase. It is also a good idea to remember that the sales people at the wholesale locations can answer questions. Although they may not be able to sell to you directly they can send you to a place that retails the specific type of merchandise you want. In certain states there is a company called BFG which stands for Burton Flower & Garden. It has outlets in New York, Michigan,Ohio, and Pennsylvania. They may be located in more states. This company supplies greenhouses. They can be depended upon, in our estimation, to give an accurate description of the products they handle. Among other things they carry Scotts non soil products, plastic pots, perlite, vermiculite and certain insecticides. Incidentally we do not profit from that plug. It is only an effort to suggest ways to save money and get a good guaranteed product. Often we read in egroups messages that an individual wants an answer to a question that could well be asked directly to a source. An example of what we refer to is one that comes from how much is the First Class computer program or when is an update due. That question can be answered by the AVSA Administrative Coordinator Jenny Daugereau at avsa@earthlink.net. In other cases an individual’s own computer can find a direct source by checking with the various search engines like Yahoo. If there is a question about Scotts Products their website can be located that way. Solo Cup Company is another that we have found through the search engines. Also in connection with asking for information from some of the companies it may be a good idea to let them know in advance that you represent a wide African Violet raising population. In our case we have learned to point that out when we ask for information we want to order in quantity. This generally results in more gracious service then if the seller thinks we are small quantity purchasers. In some instances people on line have shown some concern about using insecticides in the home to eliminate pests or critters harmful to AV’s. There is one source that I am aware of that deals with natural pest control. They suggest that for thrips a person should use Thrips Predator Mites. If the thrips are the typethat pupate in leaf tissue they suggest Thrips Parasites. (See below for their address.) Many have remarked about the failure of fantasies to retain a true color (sport). If the reader has an opportunity to view the videotape we made of Jim Eyerdom,(Granger Gardens), he talks about the difficulty he and his grandfather had with fantasy colors. I believe everyone has the same problem of that type of plant sporting. Finally many viewers mention that they are new to the hobby in an almost apologetic way. In truth those of us who are dedicated to raising the beautiful plants are happy to help out. We all think that the more people that become interested the more the entire field of AV’s will benefit. Many times it has been mentioned that little satisfaction has resulted when complaining about the failure of a particular product. The more people that enter the hobby the easier it is going to be to obtain satisfaction. It will never be that someone will refuse to answer the question of a novice. Speaking for myself, I will feel that I have let the interest area down if I cannot offer a satisfactory answer or send a questioner to the right source for an answer. |
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Foliar mealy bug 2-3 applications of a pesticide should be used at 7-10 day intervals. Thorough coverage of the stem and underside of leaves is essential. Some are introduced from out of doors on contaminated hands or clothing. They may also enter a home or greenhouse in the fur of animals. Mealy bugs damage plants by inserting their piercing- sucking mouthparts into tender plant tissue and sucking out the sap, much of which is excreted as honey dew. Removing honeydew from plants can be difficult and time consuming. |
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Will Cronks winning
design |
It is official now. Will Cronk's design was voted
winner from nearly 20 other very beautiful submissions. Now we
can start looking for outlets to make up our t-shirts with this logo. Some
of us can even make our own transfers if we have a good color printer.
Thank you Will, we will wear our logo proudly.
Many thanks to all the others who submitted a design for this project. They were all beautiful and it is too bad only one can be a winner! |
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--The Kitchen Korner-- Note:
you can substitute spareribs for the corned beef. The meat is sweeter. |
If you would like to contact AVSA to get information on how to receive their bi-monthly magazine or to order the Master List on their First Class computer program, you can go to their web site: http://www.AVSA.org/home.htm or call 1-800-770-2872
Would you like to be published?
Do you have an announcement, a
favorite recipe, a poem, or have you discovered some information you would like to
share with other members? Congratulations to Rosemary her 15th grand child
was born this past week a healthy beautiful bouncing baby
girl! Welcome to all new list members. |
Congratulations to
Bernadine for winning December's VR-bingo game. Her prize was the 15 varieties she chose to make
up her card.
The new names are out now for the Feb. game so make sure you make your
cards up and send them in before the first of the month.
This month's quote: Hard water in your area? You can correct it by using an acidifier such as cider vinegar, or one of the other commercial preparations available at your local nursery. If using vinegar add one tablespoon to one gallon of water and use at 6 week intervals. |
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the following was released to the list on January 1, 2001 |
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Happy New Year, and may it be a great one for all of you. Our mailing list began May 2, 2000 and it is doing very well at 214 members as I write this. First of all I want to thank each and every one of you for helping to make VioletReflections such a success. If you didn't have questions there would have been no need for this list in the first place! To those of you who have suggested projects and followed through by running them .........I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your time and patience has really paid off. To all the others who have taken the time to answer the questions put to this list I say thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Our moderators are wonderful, helpful and this list thrives because of their devoted dedication. I may have opened this list but all of you are making it work and I think it is a great place to be. In the year 2001 this list will continue to be exactly what you see today. A place where all can learn and feel comfortable, at ease, enjoying the new friends we make along the way. I treasure the friendships made in this small space on the internet and it does my heart good to see there are so many kind, caring people here on this list. Everyone has something to teach. I have found our "successful" beginners with their excited "I've got babies" announcements are a real source of hope and encouragement for the newest members. It gives them courage to go on when it's trying their patience. For this reason I will not put "rules" on message content, we can learn from each other's mistakes as well as their success. We will keep answering all questions as they are put to us, beginners will never be told to look through the past messages for their information, their question is just as important as it was to the first person who asked it. If links are used to answer a question they will be links directly to the information required. Someday we may have a FAQ page, but I still prefer the direct, personal contact we have here at VioletReflections. This is a beginner's list and there will always be beginners! So keep it up everyone! The happy successful phrase we will always enjoy hearing is ..........."I'VE GOT BABIES" I am expecting to lose some of you as you out grow this list. While it is sad to see you leave I can understand your wanting to move on. No one is a beginner for long. When that time comes I would hope you do not unsubscribe from this list, just put yourself on web only/no mail then come back to visit and answer some questions from time to time, remembering when you were a beginner and received your own confidence and information here. |
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Vendor Specials for December through January |
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With all the new varieties being added
to your collections. You may wish for a way to help keep all your information organized. |
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Will Cronk |
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| on to newsletter6 | |||
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