Gauteng Smallholder October 2016 | Page 34

HOME REMEDIES

Glue remover for home bottling

Thrifty smallholders keep a variety of bottles in preparation for the summer bottling season. However, it ' s often hard to get rid of the glue from the original label. Here ' s an easy solution. Ingredients: ❑ 1 Part vegetable oil ❑ 1 Part bicarbonate of soda Soak your jar / container in soapy water to allow the paper label itself to lift off and pull away. Peel it off.( Alternatively: Apply heat with a blow dryer to melt and soften the residue and peel the label off with the back of a kitchen knife) ❑ Mix the oil and baking soda in the amount required to cover the leftover sticky residue on the surface.

❑ Apply the mixture to the residue with a non-scratch scrubber, then let the paste mixture soak into the sticky spots for 10 minutes at minimum. I recommend 15 to be safe! ❑ Wet a cloth with warm

ROOTING

From page 31
into the honey mixture and then stick them into your selected potting medium. You might use potting soil, vermiculite or a mix of your own soil with river sand and compost. Poke a hole for each cutting with a pencil or your finger for insertion, making sure to keep your soil moist. If desired, you may cover with ventilated plastic. When rooting in water, put your cutting directly into the water immediately following water and wipe off the mixture. ❑ Wash the jar / container with regular soap and water. You ' re ready to sterilise the bottle and fill it with your home produce.
its placement in the honey. Once all of your cuttings have been dipped and placed into their potting medium, simply wait for your cuttings to begin rooting, which should be within a week or so, when you can plant them out in your garden. Other natural rooting hormones can be found in your own saliva, but that ' s not practical except for one or two cuttings. You can also try apple cider vinegar, cinnamon or aspirin crushed and mixed with water.
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