Fertilizers

Gardening topics respondents want to learn more about, based on a random survey of 220 California households. Topic Percent Interested Insect Problems 52.5% Weed Control 45.0 Plant Diseases 41.0 Fertilizers 31.5 Irrigation 28.0 Safe Use of Pesticides 25.0 Bird, Animal Pest Problems 7.0 Other 17.0 SOURCE: R. L. Polk Co., University of California Cooperative Extension.

A malfunctioning golf cart, a faulty electrical system or even arson could have led to the fire that triggered the deadly explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, but federal and state officials said Thursday that their $1-million investigation had yet to find the cause. Fourteen people died in the April 17 blast, including 12 first responders who arrived nine minutes after the fire was reported - and just eight minutes before the explosion shook the town, devastated two schools and shattered a nursing home.

My daughter and I live a short distance from the Tujunga Wash, the last natural watershed and alluvial flood plain in the city of Los Angeles. Magical natural places such as the Tujunga wash are irreplaceable once lost to development. But much more will be lost than the site itself should this golf course development occur. Conditions set forth currently address herbicides and insecticides but not fertilizers. Runoff from the proposed golf course will be rich in chemical fertilizers, which will build up in the soil during dry months and in wet months will run off into the adjacent stream, Tujunga ponds and small new lake at Hanson dam, causing pollution.

When I lived in the Middle East, I learned that tender tabbouleh salad and crunchy fried kibbeh , the celebrated Levantine croquette, share a key ingredient: bulgur. Since ancient times, bulgur has been a staple in the Fertile Crescent, where it is popular today as pilaf and is used in a variety of other dishes, including stuffed vegetables, lentil entrees, meat stews and stuffings for poultry. In fact, the word "bulgur" comes from Turkish, and southeastern Turkey may be the area where wheat was first cultivated.

Re "Muck Runs Amok," Sept. 8: Algae overgrowth may not be high on our list of concerns, but it is a problem that could be addressed by each of us. Without waiting for the EPA to remove toxic items from store shelves (big business would not allow it, and yes, most fertilizers are toxic), we can stop buying products that contribute to this problem. Organic gardeners have long known that lawns don't need any more fertilizer than they get naturally by leaving the lawn clippings where they fall.

Federal agriculture policies keep American farms hooked on chemicals and are the major obstacle to widespread use of environmentally sound farming methods, the National Academy of Sciences said in a strongly worded report released Thursday.

A malfunctioning golf cart, a faulty electrical system or even arson could have led to the fire that triggered the deadly explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, but federal and state officials said Thursday that their $1-million investigation had yet to find the cause. Fourteen people died in the April 17 blast, including 12 first responders who arrived nine minutes after the fire was reported - and just eight minutes before the explosion shook the town, devastated two schools and shattered a nursing home.

Pungent steam rises from a boiling pot of a mugwort tea blended with wormwood and a variety of other herbs. Above it sits a nude woman on an open-seated stool, partaking in a centuries-old Korean remedy that is gaining a toehold in the West. Vaginal steam baths, called chai-yok, are said to reduce stress, fight infections, clear hemorrhoids, regulate menstrual cycles and aid infertility, among many other health benefits. In Korea, many women steam regularly after their monthly periods.

Jackie Apuzzo is 16 weeks pregnant -- something she was beginning to think would never happen. Following nine years of unsuccessful efforts to have a baby, including failed in vitro fertilization, a miscarriage and a diagnosis of endometriosis, the 37-year-old social worker finally visited an acupuncturist on the advice of a friend. After two months of acupuncture treatments and a regimen of Chinese herbs, she became pregnant.

The average man produces hundreds of billions of sperm cells in his lifetime. Only a minuscule fraction of those little guys ever manage to swim far enough and fast enough to fertilize an egg. Successful sperm must be strong. It stands to reason then that they also must be well-nourished. Several nutritional supplements purport to help men take a big step closer to fatherhood. FertilAid for Men, manufactured by Fairhaven Health, contains megadoses of antioxidant vitamins and B vitamins.

HOUSTON - A paramedic who responded to the devastating fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, last month was arrested Friday after federal investigators said they discovered he had the makings of a pipe bomb. It was not clear whether the arrest was connected to the April 17 explosion, which killed 14 people and injured more than 160 others in the small McLennan County town about 70 miles south of Dallas. The explosion had been investigated as an industrial accident, but officials said Friday they had started a criminal investigation.

WEST, Texas - At the Veterans of Foreign Wars post just a few blocks past City Hall here, the donated mattresses form a stack that nearly touches the ceiling. Rows of folding tables are piled high with clothes, and the porch out back has enough water bottles to hydrate an army. That's just Saturday's haul. And the first thing visitors hear when they step inside: "You hungry?" PHOTOS: Texas explosion The smoky scent of barbecue wafted through the room, as did the smell of meatloaf fresh off the grill.

WEST, Texas - Joann Williams is often teased about her fondness for ice cream. On Wednesday, it may have saved her life. Williams, 70, had just stepped away from the couch and walked into the kitchen. She was in the middle of unwrapping her second serving of banana chocolate fudge ice cream from her freezer when the West Fertilizer Co. exploded. At least 11 first responders have been confirmed dead. More than 160 people were injured.  Shattered glass rained down on the sofa Williams had been sitting on. If she'd still been there, she probably would have been severely injured or killed, she said.

WEST, Texas - This tiny Central Texas town with Czech roots continued the grim task Friday of pulling bodies from the rubble of a massive explosion at a fertilizer factory. Among the dead are expected to be 12 firefighters and first responders who arrived to fight a raging blaze at the West Fertilizer Co. when the blast occurred. Authorities also sought to remove additional bodies from a nearby residential complex. Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jason Reyes told the Associated Press that it was "with a heavy heart" that he confirmed a dozen bodies had been pulled from the area of the plant explosion in West, about 20 miles north of Waco.

WEST, Texas -- Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday called for the prayers of all Americans as he described “a nightmare scenario” in this small town where a fertilizer plant explosion injured about 160 and killed an unknown number in a blast so powerful houses were knocked from foundations. Earlier Thursday, officials estimated that between five and 15 people had been killed, including first responders. But Perry said he "was not comfortable" releasing the number of dead as search and rescue operations were underway.

WEST, Texas -- Officials confirmed Thursday that 11 first responders were among the dead in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant that injured at least 160 and devastated a section of this small town. State public safety officials have declined to specify how many people were killed in the explosion. Tom Muska, mayor of West, said early in the day that he feared the death toll could be as high as 35 to 40, “because they are unaccounted for and still missing.” Later in the evening Muska revised his estimate to about 14 after crews had searched 80% of the damaged homes and 75% of the apartments.  "It's still hard to tell.

QUESTION: Our outdoor central air-conditioner compressor unit is located in the hot afternoon sun. Is there any type of cover I can make myself to shade it so it operates more efficiently? ANSWER: Keeping the outdoor compressor unit and the air surrounding it cooler can make your central air conditioner operate more efficiently. Condenser coils can dissipate more heat when the air around them is cooler.

Last year I learned a few things about Iceland poppies and times to plant. Iceland poppies are those brilliantly colored annuals with the crinkled petals that seem to be made of tissue or crepe. Most are shades of orange or yellow and their thin petals glow like stained glass when back lit by the sun. They are not considered difficult to grow and are quite common at nurseries, but some people, including me, find them difficult to grow well .

The West, Texas, fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday was fined $2,300 in 2006 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for not having a risk management program in place, records show.  West Fertilizer Co. settled with the environmental agency in August 2006 without admitting liability, according to records obtained by the Los Angeles Times. The plant, described in regulatory filings as a storage facility, exploded Wednesday, flattening nearby homes and businesses. The blast left as many as 15 people dead and 160 wounded in the small, 2,800-resident town of West, 20 miles north of Waco.

WEST, TEXAS --The mayor of this city said 35 to 40 people are believed to be dead in a massive fertilizer plant explosion “because they are unaccounted for and still missing.” “We are out there searching the rubble, looking in each and every house. We are trying to locate each and every citizen,” Mayor Tommy Muska said in a telephone interview with The Times. Muska said he arrived at the count of 35 to 40 dead because all other residents and first-responders in the area have been identified.