MAX FACTS
growing tips, news and trivia
Flamboyant Blooms of Amaryllis
The flamboyant blooms of amaryllis (Hippeastrum) are a stunning sight that’s all the
more welcome in the depths of winter and early spring. They’re easy to grow, and take
between 6-8 weeks to flower. Planted in mid- to late September, they should be in flower
for Christmas. Try Mont Blanc (white), Red Dragon (red) and Apple Blossom (pink) for a
spectacular show. Soak the amaryllis bulbs for a few hours to help rehydrate roots and
speed up the growth process. Fill a pot with compost and sit the bulb on top. Don’t
use a pot that’s too big, Amaryllis like being pot-bound. Top up with compost and water
in. Leave in a warm, dark place for a couple of weeks and don’t water further. When a
shoot emerges, bring inside to a warm, light spot and water regularly.
(Source: gardenersworld.com)
MAXFACTS
Growing tips, news and trivia
Boasting the Most Blueberries
Georgia has been No. 1 in blueberry acreage for the last few years, and with the tally from the 2014 growing season now
complete, Georgia now leads the nation in blueberry production. According to The North American Blueberry Council,
Georgia produced 96 million lbs. of blueberries this year. Michigan, traditionally regarded as the blueberry capital
of the country, produced 91.5 million lbs. “We’ve been gaining a lot of potential over the last five years, and
I think we just reached that potential a little earlier than we thought,” says University of
Georgia blueberry breeder Scott NeSmith, who helped launch the university’s current blueberry breeding program more than 25 years
ago. When Scott started producing blueberry varieties
that could thrive in Georgia’s sandy soils and
warm summers, farmers were only growing
about 3,500 acres of blueberries. Today,
they are cultivating about 20,000 acres.
(Source: freshplaza.com)
Getting Teens to Eat Their Veggies
Videos featuring animated-cartoon teens learning about nutrition may
help real-life teens eat more veggies, according to a new USDA-funded
study. The smart, and sometimes funny, cartoon teens appear in short
videos that are part of the experimental, science-based Teen Choice:
Food and Fitness website. The site was developed by nutrition and
behavioral science researchers who wanted to motivate adolescents to make better food choices and to be less sedentary. The
researchers sought the input of 400 teen volunteers who were
asked to visit the site at least once a week for eight weeks, peruse
its information about food and nutrition, set a nutrition or fitness
goal, and check their progress weekly. The volunteers’ log-on rate averaged 75%—regarded as high for an education-focused Internet site, say
researchers, who hope to make the website publicly available soon.
(Source: freshplaza.com)
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Maximum Yield USA | December 2014