County Extension

As a horticulturist you would think I would have done a soil test on my landscape before I planted anything. Well, I did not and on top of that I added ash to my garden as an amendment which actually increases the pH.
As time went by a few of my prize plants started to yellow and look unsightly. It was now time to test the soil. My suspicions were that the pH was too high. I was right. My pH in several areas were as high as 7.6! Most plants prefer a pH between 5.5 - 6.5, of course it depends on the plant.  Some plant material is pH neutral.  

People have been preserving foods for centuries in an effort to keep food from time of plenty for a time of need. The trend for home preserving is one that ebbs and flows. During difficult economic times, we tend to see more people “putting food up” as a way of helping the budget, but there are many other reasons for preserving.
Flavor and taste: They just prefer the flavor of fresh produce that they’ve canned themselves.

Why are scales so much harder to treat than other insects? It’s because many of them cover themselves with a protective waxy coating.
Indian Wax Scales illustrate this topic very well. They are easy to identify because they look like chewed gum and are usually found on the stems of plants like gardenia, magnolia and holly. Scale insects feed on leaves or branches of many ornamental plants grown in landscapes and nurseries. Adult females are red and covered with bright, white gummy wax.

We’ve received quite a few calls lately from people questioning the safety of or looking for a little advice on their home preserved foods. I had one man call about green beans, as the seals are breaking on the jars he put up last summer. Another caller was concerned about the cloudiness in the liquid surrounding her home-canned sweet peas. A woman asked about a remake recipe for too runny homemade jam.