Categories
How To

What to Buy Someone Going Through Chemo and Radiation for Cancer

picture of red gift box with gold bow on top surrounded by red paper hearts on black paper

When my mom started chemotherapy and radiation, I knew I wanted to get her little gifts throughout the process to cheer her up. But I was also a little worried about what exactly to get. I didn’t want to ask her for ideas and make her use up valuable brain power. (If she had needed something, I 100% would’ve just made sure she had it. This was supposed to be totally unnecessary stuff.) I also didn’t want to get her practical things OR stuff that would exacerbate her symptoms. So many blogs posts out there recommend food baskets (during chemo?!) or products for chapped lips, etc. None of that sounds fun. (Of course, everyone is different!) Here’s what I ended up buying:

Book of 100 Hugs

Link: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/100-hugs-a-little-book-of-comfort-9781449427290

My mom said she loved carrying this little book around with her. It’s light and easily fits in a purse or backpack. She said she’d pick a random page, read it and just feel a tiny bit better.

Flowers in a Dome

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CLNV5GHB/

I wanted to buy her flowers after her first surgery but knew she was also dealing with some pretty serious nausea. Flowers can get smelly. Plus, I knew my dad would have to take care of them and eventually throw them out. It seemed like a bit of a mess when they were already dealing with so much. So I got her these flowers in a dome. They’re supposed to last for ages andโ€”no smell or mess.

Pocket Hug

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LLTQKTZ

They have lots of engraving options for this pocket hug, but I actually thought the message for sobriety was the most fitting for a cancer journey. You can also look for these on Etsy.

Books

Link: https://bookshop.org/

I got my mom a few books that would be engaging but not emotional. Something she could read when she felt up to it but nothing that would require too much effort or emotional regulation. I purchased them on Bookshop.org, which helps support local bookstores! Perestroika in Paris, Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Dark Matter, Sure I’ll Join Your Cult, A Deadly Education Scholomance, Dial A for Aunties, How to be Champion, Get Fuzzy Bunch #14

Positivity Calendar

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Catchyourdreams-Daily-Motivational-Calendar-Inspirational

This one isn’t for everybody, but my mom is really into positivity, and this is a cute calendar that you can use and reuse year after year! I found that the quotes aren’t too sappy and more lovey, which is what I was looking for.

Hug Pillow

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074PBGM1F

Apparently I’m really into hug gifts! This one was cool because I live far away and couldn’t give my mom a hug when I know she could’ve used one. There are a lot of products that you can customize so you can make this as detailed and personalized as you want.

Funny Positivity Frenz

Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1595857600/positive-potato-gifts-with-stand-cute

These are just cute, inexpensive and bring a smile. I doubt this is going to last forever in my mom’s clutter-free house, but it was worth it for a small laugh.

Through Thick and Thin

Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1322282647/friendship-gift-best-friend-gifts-gift

You can find these as key chains, necklaces, rings, etc. I liked the idea of sending a little reminder that we have your back no matter what.

Gratitude Journal

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Gratitude-Journal-Notebook-Self-Care-Affirmations/dp/B086PQXNC6

This gift is definitely not for everyone. Cancer sucks. Illness sucks. Going to the hospital sucks. You get the idea. But if you know your person really well then you can help them acknowledge the bad and the good.

Heart Photos

Link: https://www.minted.com/product/photo-art/MIN-ZRO-GCP/heart-snapshot-mix-photo-art

I thought this was a great idea because it’s decently priced and small enough that it’s not a burden to find a place to keep it. It can also remind your person of fun times you’ve had together and get their mind off of current suckiness.

Feminist Sweatshirt

Link: https://feministtrash.com/collections/sweatshirts

Hospitals are COLD. Get a HUGE sweatshirt so your person is comfy, can layer and also has space for IVs and other hospital accoutrements. I liked these feminist ones because they make you feel badass.

Affirmation Tote Bag & No-Scent Markers

Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1583273746/positive-affirmations-coloring-tote-bag

I got my mom a tote bag should could use to carry stuff to the hospital and some unscented markers she could use to color in the design if she felt like a calming activity. There are lots of options for totesโ€”some of them are really spicy and could be fun for different personalities! https://www.etsy.com/listing/4330766373/personalized-bad-btch-affirmations-mug

Crochet Flowers

Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4345745174/care-package-for-women-going-through

My mom loves flowers, but I know real flowers have an odor and, again, I didn’t want my dad to have to clean anything up. These crocheted flowers are sunny and cute and can get donated to a thrift store guilt-free when they’re done brightening her day.

Practical Gifts

And, finally, we have a list of practical gifts. Some people are just very practical, and I don’t want to leave them out! Here’s what we stocked up on for my mom. I think, for some people, it would be cool to dress it up a bit in a gift basket with a big bow. Make sure to clear all these products by their doctor. For example, many doctors say you shouldn’t eat grapefruit because it can interfere with medicine. Even if it seems benign, always best to ask!

Candies: ginger, people swear by Jolly Ranchers or Sour Patch Kids and cannabis gummies

Good teas for nausea include: ginger, chamomile, honey-lemon, fennel, peppermint and licorice. I read that it is best to try and get decaffeinated tea because caffeine can dehydrate you.

Snacks: salt and vinegar chips, saltine crackers, pretzels, cold foods like popsicles, applesauce, cereal, milkshakes with protein powder, anything with peanut butter like peanut butter pretzels, ensure protein drinks, frozen grapes, goldfish, plain bagels

Drinks for electrolytes: apple juice, pedialyte and pedialyte popsicles, LMNT citrus, Liquid IV

Items: no spill cup (like a Contigo). If you’re in a comfy position or just don’t feel like sitting all the way up, you can still sip without getting messy. Hot water thermos. 9 ft phone charging cable. Imodium. Alcohol swabs to sniff when nauseated. Personal wipes/face wipes. Battery-powered humidifier. Battery-powered dim light. Heated blanket. Noise-canceling headphones. Bougie hand lotion. Vix for nausea. Eye mask. Chapstick. Water bottle. Slipper socks with grips on the bottom. Sanitizing wipes for the hospital. Crossword puzzle. Pillow.

Non-emotional movies: Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, Glass Onion, Knives Out, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Baby Driver, Groundhog Day, Fargo, Punch Drunk Love, Collateral, Star Trek (2009), The Adventures of Tin-Tim, The Gentleman, Snatch, and Sherlock Holmes are pretty fun. Guy Ritchie films, James Bond, Mission Impossible, Jack Ryan, Oceanโ€™s movies with George Clooney, Adam Sandler movies, Edge of Tomorrow, Source Code, the Phonebooth, Heat is a classic heist movie, Young Frankenstein, Magic Mike, Ferris Buellerโ€™s Day Off, Uncle Buck, Elf, Old School, Only Murders in the Building, Horrible Bosses, Inside Man TV show

Pro tip: Many bloggers recommend asking your doctor to schedule hydration appointments after you finish chemo to prevent dehydration and feel better, faster. https://mycancerresources.com/what-is-hydration-therapy-for-cancer-patients/

Photo Credit: Kostiantyn Li

Categories
How To

How to Paint a Couch or Chair

I watched a LOT of YouTube videos (see below).

I think the videos all used “regular” paint. So all the stuff they did to get it to soak into the fabric like scrubbing and then using sand paper is really unnecessary if you just buy the right paint in the first place.

This dye is great if you’re starting out with a white or gray fabric and going darker.

If you’re starting with a patterned chair or something a little darker, you’ll want a paint like this.

I sealed everything with a color fixant in a spray bottle.

Here are how my projects turned out:

Here are some helpful links: Painting a chair, chalk painting, painting upholstery, dye a sofa, dye a velvet chair

Photo Credit for Featured Image: Taelynn Christopher

Categories
Aesthetics

Review of RTZ Hope Retreat

Grief is a tricky thing, especially the grief of losing a child. When my loss was nearing its one-year anniversary, and I was still heartbroken, still processing the grief, I knew I needed more help than a weekly therapy session. So I looked into grief retreats.

I wanted to attend the RTZ Hope Retreat, but I didn’t feel comfortable going because of their lack of understanding regarding service dogs. As someone with a disability, I’m not required to message venues about bringing a service dog. But I always like to give people a head’s up. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s fine, but if there’s a 1% chance that someone won’t welcome my dog, I don’t want to be there.

To their credit, employees wrote to me and told me that having my dog would be OK. But then they wrote to me saying, “service animals do have certification, which emotional support animals do not.” The retreat told me that I would not be able to book specific sleeping accommodations because of my dog.

I explained, “Most people donโ€™t know this, but youโ€™re not required to have a certification to have a service dog. And youโ€™re also not allowed to be segregated to specific areas because of the animal.”

And, “(The information) is available on the federal governmentโ€™s website and on CAโ€™s info page. Hopefully, once they read the laws theyโ€™ll be a bit more welcoming. =)”

Unfortunately, the employees I corresponded with did not admit to their error. I felt like if they didn’t understand the basic laws surrounding service dogs and weren’t willing to look into it then there would be other problems if I went on the retreat. And I didn’t think I could handle trying to deal with those problems while also trying to process my grief.

I wanted to post this review so hopefully the next person with a disability won’t have the same issue I did.

Here is a link to the federal rules regarding service animals:

Here’s another link regarding the federal rules:

Photo Feature Credit: Priscilla Du Preez

Categories
Pro Tip

Things to Know Before Visiting Vietnam

  • Say “not spicy” for everything, even if it’s not a traditionally spicy food.
  • People will pretend to understand you in order to be polite. This is true for restaurant staff as well. Make triple sure they actually do get it!
  • Google maps is unreliable. A paper map from the hotel will suffice.
  • Walk across the street and don’t stop. When you want to cross the street, you have to go confidentlyโ€”and you can’t stop. That’s because there are a lot of cars and mopeds and, while one vehicle may swerve to avoid you, the vehicle directly behind it won’t see you.
  • Don’t smile at vendors or respond to their shouts. A hotel concierge told us that smiling or responding in any way would signal that we wanted to buy something, and that it was more polite to just ignore the attention.
  • There’s no such thing as a one-way street. Look both ways… always.
  • Hire the hotel driver because they have an incentive to follow (some of) the traffic laws. When you’re getting to your hotel from the airport, it’s smart to hire the hotel’s driver. If you get into a taxi, all bets are off.
  • Do not rent a bike or a moped. Unless you’re an absolute pro and “one” with the bike, it’s not a good idea to learn how to ride bikes/motorcycles here. There are just way too many accidents waiting to happen.
  • Wear a mask outside, too. The air pollution can be many dozens of times greater than what the WHO suggests is OK. That means even walking outdoors is bad for your health. Keep that mask on!

Photo credit: Steffen B

Categories
Pro Tip

How to set up Your Aquarium for Mystery Snails

What you need to take care of these aquatic cuties!

  • ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ: I use this heater for my 40 gallon aquarium “EHEIM Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater 100W.” Smaller aquariums can use smaller wattage heaters. Note that ALL heaters you get online are NOT accurate. It’s nice to get a cheapo thermometer to check. My heater is set at 83F and my tank is 76F. Annoying but not a big deal. The reason you need a heater is because it gets too cold here during the winter for the snails to live happy lives! In the summer, you technically don’t need a heater BUT, when the water is warmer, the snails are more active and more fun to watch! Optimal temps are between 68-84F.
  • ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ ๐ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ช๐ฎ๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ: Yes, you can go smaller. This is just the easiest size to take care of. Why? You don’t have to clean it as often! Always buy a NEW tank! Tanks that have been used can contain bad bacteria and the eggs of assassin snails. Assassin snails will eat mystery snails(!!) and they’re REALLY hard to get rid of! I like the brand Aqueon from Petsmart. It’s cheap and hardy.
  • ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ฅ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ: It’s always better to get a filter that’s rated for a tank that’s bigger than yours. Again, bigger filter, you clean less! My tank is ~45gal and my filter is rated for 50-75 gallons. Iike this brand “MarineLand Penguin 350 Power Filter 50 – 75 Gallon Aquarium, 350 GPH “
  • ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ: This one you can’t substitute or do without. The water in our area will 100% kill baby snails. BUT, if you add a few drops of this “Fluval Water Conditioner for Aquariums” then all the bad stuff is neutralized and your snails are safe. Don’t skip this step ever! I have, and it’s bad news!
  • ๐Ÿ๐จ๐จ๐: You can technically make your own snail food or try out different veggies to see what they like. I don’t have time for all that so I just buy calcium chips and snail cookies from https://www.crayfishempire.com/ A bag of each will last you more than a year! You also need to buy some frozen mysis shrimp from petsmart. Snails need some meat in their diet, especially as they’re growing! One packet will last you about two months or longer.
  • ๐œ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ : I have 25 snails so I clean my tank once a week. It takes me about 15 minutes and I use the water to water my houseplants. (It makes them VERY happy!) You can get something super simple like $13 “Luigi’s Aquarium/Fish Tank Siphon and Gravel Cleaner” to clean your tank. I splurged and got “AQQA Aquarium Gravel Cleaner Siphon Kit,6 in 1 Electric Automatic Removable Vacuum Water Changer” It’s $35, but it makes cleaning the tank SO fast and EASY. If you don’t mind spending an extra 20 bucks, I’d recommend it!
  • ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก: You will need the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. It will last you years. I’m still using my original one! Don’t buy anything else… they’re useless and won’t give you accurate results. Once the tank is established, I like to check my water once a week. Luckily, the snails have a habit of telling you when something is wrong… you’ll see them lined up at the top of the waterline! Then you know you need to check and see what’s up.

SIDE NOTE: If you want to keep plants, you’ll need to buy an aquarium light. Do NOT keep the light on at all times. Fish and snails need to sleep. It’s very bad to keep them in the light all the time. I recommend light for no more than 8 hours a day or you’ll get algae growth.

Photo Credit: theaquariumkeeper2

Categories
How To

How to Decorate Your Aquarium

Decorating your tank!

Decorating your tank is SO much fun… especially if kids get involved. You can go wild with decorating! Decorations are also important because it gives your good bacteria a place to grow when you’re setting up your tank. Just keep these tips in mind:

–No metal. Metal will start to degrade and can release harmful chemicals into the water. Baby snails and fish are especially sensitive to changes, and this could kill them.

–No Spongebob-themed stuff. I know! It’s a bummer. But lots of aquarium forums are reporting that there are a lot of Spongebob decorations made of toxic materials… and those toxins have wiped out entire aquariums causing heartache and the loss of hundreds (if not thousands!) of dollars.

–No random plants. Plants can carry bad bacteria and assassin snails. I like purchasing aquatic plants from an online store called Wet Plants. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but I’ve purchased several times and never had a problem! They also have great customer service. If a plant dies really quickly, they’ll send you a new one. You can use fishing string or crazy glue to tie/glue plants to rocks to hold them in place. If you’re using glue, do NOT glue the stem. Only glue a single root. Plants are great because they act like a second filter and make your tank healthier!

–No new snails or fish without quarantine. This isn’t a decoration recommendation, but it’s still important. I’ve had my snails long enough that I know they don’t have a fungus or parasite problem. If you get new snails/fish from a different source, make sure to quarantine them in a separate tank to prevent the spread of disease!

–Substrate. You don’t need rocks or pebbles on the bottom of your tank! It’s actually easier to clean your tank without it. Of course, if you want to, you can add it! I would recommend something that’s not too sharp so it doesn’t hurt the snails.

–Plastic decoration: You can use toys as decorations! Just crazy glue rocks to the bottom to keep them from floating. Make sure the toys are relatively new. (Nothing from when we were growing up!) Newer toys that are made for kids (or, better yet, infants) are less likely to contain any chemicals that might leech into the water and hurt the snails. (No paper, cloth, stuff that will get icky)

–Wood decorations: Lots of people love using drift wood in their tanks! But don’t just use wood you got outside. Buy wood that’s specifically made for aquariums. If you REALLY want to use your own wood, Google how to clean it properly. I believe it needs to be boiled for a long while.

–Air stone: If there’s enough surface agitation, it’s not necessary to keep your snails and fish healthy, but it IS fun to watch the snails float and play in the bubbles!

Photo credit: JadonBarnes

Categories
How To

How to Cycle a Tank

How to “cycle” your tank
Hi! This is going to be a quick guide so let me know if you have questions. Why do we need to cycle the tank? Basically, your snails will poop and cause the ammonia levels to increase in your tank. Once the ammonia gets too high, the snails die. BUT, if you add beneficial bacteria, the bacteria turns the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates, which are safe for snails.

How do we cycle? People used to take goldfish or dead fish and throw them in an uncycled tank to get that ammonia and build up the good bacteria. We won’t do that because it hurts the goldfish, it’s not super accurate and dead fish smell REALLY BAD when they’re rotting.
Instead, buy “Dr. Timโ€™s Aquatics Ammonium Chloride Aquarium Treatment for Fishless Cycling” and the testing kit I recommended “API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT 800-Test Freshwater Aquarium Water Master Test Kit” and some beneficial bacteria “Fluval Cycle Biological Enhancer, Aquarium Water Treatment”
Follow the directions on the Dr. Tim’s bottle and on the Fluval bottle. You’re going to add ammonia and beneficial bacteria and test the ammonia levels in your water the next day. When you can put in ammonia and 24 hours later it’s been eaten by the bacteria and isn’t showing up on your test, your tank is cycled and you can add snails! During the process, keep your filter running but don’t add carbon filtration or UV light (<–some filters come with that).

How long does this take? When I cycled my tank, it took three weeks. SO LONG. What I didn’t have was filter media from an already established aquarium! That filter media is the BEST source of good bacteria. So ask me or someone else on this group for some filter media, and it will be so much easier!

Extra credit: Sometimes your tank can get a little wonky. Maybe you forgot to clean it or a snail died in it and the ammonia levels spiked. BUT you’re busy and you don’t have time to clean. That’s why I like to have this on-hand “API AMMO-LOCK Ammonia detoxifier.” It’ll make your tank safe for 24 hours and buy you some time before you have to clean it. (Only use this for emergencies because snails deserve to have a clean home!)
Photo Credit: HuyPhan2602
Categories
How To

How to Treat Columnaris in Fish in 10 steps

I didn’t mean to get an aquarium.

I met a neighbor who had some aquatic snails. We hit it off, bonding over her lovely garden and the weird way mystery snails glide across a tank. When she moved, she asked me to take a few, and I figured I could keep them alive and well in a vase on my dining room table. I was only supposed to get two… when my husband came home with 24!

So I purchased an aquarium. Fast forward a year later, and now I breed snails and have fish!

Fish are far more difficult to keep alive than any cat or dog I’ve ever had. It turns out that fish get sick when they’re stressed, and when I moved my school from one tank to another, a few of them started showing signs of columnaris.

Columnaris is a bacteria that lives inside of most tanks already and comes in several different strains. One of them acts so quickly that the fish die within 24 hours so there’s nothing to do. When fish get stressed, they become more susceptible to disease and may fall prey to the bacteria.

There’s really not a lot of information out there about how to treat this disease. After hours of research, here’s how I did it:

1. Make sure it’s actually columnaris. My local shops had NO idea how to diagnose this disease so, in this case, Google Images is your friend.

2. Move the impacted fish to a hospital tank. It helps if you have two filters running on your main tank so you can just switch one to your hospital tank and it’s pretty much instantly cycled. I didn’t have a spare filter so I had to buy one. Make sure you don’t get something with UV or carbon because that’ll decrease the efficacy of the medication you’ll be adding later. Also buy a thermometer and heater. I recommend using a 10 gallon tank as your hospital tank because most medications are A) expensive and B) meant to be added in 10 gallon increments.

3. Address the reason your fish were stressed in the first place and fix it. It’s no good if you save your fish from columnaris only to have them get sick again when they’re back in the community tank!

4. I purchased aquarium salt, API Fin & Body Cure, gel Terramycin, a siphon and two new buckets on Amazon.

5. Every evening I siphoned out 75% of the water into a “dirty hospital tank water” bucket. I filled another bucket with lukewarm water, added Prime and filled the tank. (Columnaris likes heat so it’s best to keep your tank as cool as your fish can safely handle.)

6. I added aquarium salt to the box’s directions and a packet of API Fin & Body Cure, also to the box’s directions.

7. I added some gel Terramycin to two clean Q-tips and placed them aside. I scooped out the infection fish with a net and placed it on a clean cutting board. (I’ll sanitize the net in between fish.) I swabbed the gel onto the fish’s wounds and carefully placed it back in the tank.

8. Made sure to give the fish the tastiest food possible. Anorexia is usually part of columnaris so try to entice your fish with their favorite meals!

9. Once the infection is gone, move your little ones back into the community tank and sanitize everything you used in the hospital tank. (For me, the infection cleared up in two weeks!)

10. Celebrate!

 

Photo Source: Abhishek R.

Categories
How To

How to Treat Brown Rot in Peaches

Hi! A few people in my AMAZING gardening group had questions about brown rot. I recently purchased a house and the two peach trees in my backyard have severe brown rot. SO I went on Google Scholar and read a lot of academic papers on how to best treat the disease. This is what I’ve learned.

 

  • The first thing you want to do is figure out how tall your tree is, approximately. That will help you create a budget. As much as no one wants to ever cut down a tree, sometimes that’s just the most cost-effective way to manage brown rot.
  • A little about brown rot… all peach trees are probably going to get brown rot (a fungus) at some point. It’s really a matter of just managing it. Other stone fruit trees can also get the disease. Brown rot attacks twigs and leaves but the main issue is when it gets to your peaches! Once brown rot attacks, it’s only a matter of days before the entire peach is mummified and destroyed.
  • The time to act is now, in the winter. Make sure you collect any mummified peaches that are still on the tree or have fallen to the ground. The fungus likes to overwinter in these peaches. Do NOT compost the dead peaches. Put them in a sealed bag and throw them away so as not to spread the fungus.
  • Identify branches and twigs that are dead and prune these off. The fungus lives in these dead areas and will come back during spring. Also look for branches that crisscross each other and prune one of them off. When the wind blows, the branches will rub against each other and create a raw spot that can then become infected by fungus or pests.
  • Use the right tools. I’ve done hours of research, and here’s what I’ve found works the best. It’s pricey, which is why you want to have a budget. And why can’t you just use the shears you’ve had for years? Rusty, dull shears won’t create clean cuts and it’ll take longer for the tree to heal, which leaves more opportunities for those areas to get infected. This is the best pair of basic pruning shears that gardeners on multiple review sites swear by. This is the best ratchet lopper for getting bigger branches. Here’s the best pruning saw for heavy duty pruning. And, if you have a tall tree like I do, this is the best extendable pruning saw that’ll keep you from having to climb a ladder while wielding a sharp object! Safety first!
  • When you prune, make sure to clean off the shears with a solution of bleach after EACH time you make a cut. This will prevent the spread of infection. Take the branches that you’ve pruned and put them in a bag and throw them away. Do not compost.
  • When the tree begins to fruit, prune off any new peaches that are too close together. Keep each fruit at least six inches apart. That way, if one becomes infected, it’s less likely to infect the others.
  • You’ll also need to buy fungicide. According to some recent academic studies, you can use copper fungicide with “moderate” success. Scientists recommend using a combination of fungicides such as: Merivon, Indar and Luna Sensation. Indar + Luna Sensation had a success rate of 91% when combating brown rot! The reason you want to use two to three different types of fungicide is that brown rot can very easily become resistant to a fungicide when it is applied often.
  • “Small handheld sprayers are suitable for a single tree and a larger backpack sprayer is preferable for spraying multiple trees at once. Spray all the surfaces of the tree thoroughly, as well as the ground underneath the tree; the fungus that causes brown rot overwinters throughout the tree, especially inside the crevices of tree bark and on any debris on the ground. A good rule of thumb is to use one gallon of the fungicide solution for every 5 feet of tree height and width. For example, a tree 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide takes about 5 gallons to thoroughly cover the entire surface area.” Source
  • You’ll want to spray three times. Once, right as the tree is budding. Another time three weeks later, and a third time about one week before the fruit is ripening, when it has color but it’s not ready to pick.
  • Finally, check your tree for cankers. Here’s how to handle them: Link here and this is the knife I’d recommend.

Let me know if you have any questions! After creating a budget for my trees and taking into account the cost of pruning and applying fungicide to 20-foot-tall branches, plus removing cankers, the most viable option is for me to cut down the trees and start over with dwarf peaches that I can care for more easily. I hope this research helps you make the right decision for your yard!

Photo Credit: Charles Deluvio

Categories
Food and Cooking

Unfortunate Branding, Scandinavia