Bordeaux mixture was originally used in France in the 1860s to control grape diseases.The standard formula for bordeaux mixture is four pounds of copper sulfate, four pounds of hydrated lime and 50 gallons of water. Mix four pounds of the lime in four gallons of water. Do the same for the copper sulfate. Strain the lime mixture through cheesecloth, add to 42 gallons of water, and then add the sulfate mixture. Use immediately.

Small amounts can be made by mixing four ounces of hydrated lime in 2 gallons of water. Mix four ounces of copper sulfate in 1 gallon of water. Pour the copper sulfate mixture into the lime mixture.

Bordeaux mixture can cause damage to plants if used improperly. Damage or injury results more in humid weather and when the mixture doesn’t dry quickly.

Bordeaux mixture will leave a bluish-white deposit on the plant.

Bookmark Me

All crabapples are edible, no matter what the size. However, the smaller fruit have the same size seeds as larger fruit, thus they have less pulp surrounding the seeds.

Bookmark Me

Botanically speaking, the tomato you eat is a fruit. So is a watermelon, green pepper, eggplant, cucumber, and squash. A “fruit” is any fleshy material covering a seed or seeds.Horticulturally speaking, the tomato is a vegetable plant. The plant is an annual and nonwoody. Most fruits, from a horticulture perspective, are grown on a woody plant (apples, cherries, raspberries, oranges) with the exception of strawberries.

In 1893, the United States Supreme Court ruled the tomato was a “vegetable” and therefore subject to import taxes. The suit was brought by a consortium of growers who wanted it declared a vegetable to protect U.S. crop development and prices. Fruits, at that time, were not subjected to import taxes and foreign countries could flood the market with lower priced produce. (A hundred years really hasn’t changed anything.)

Bookmark Me