Announcements: Upcoming Meetings:Mark your calendars! Reminders of these meetings will be sent out via fantasyvioleteers list groups 1 week and 2 days before the meeting date. These dates will also be listed on the Fantasy Violeteers website under Meetings. Please remember that we are looking for a new meeting location. Please try to research other possibilities. Thank you!
Minutes of Fantasy Violeteers General Meeting On September 11, 2001 The meeting was called to order by President Briony at 4:15 P. M. at the Butte County Library in Chico, CA.
Members present were Jan Bernhard, Briony Gniechwitz, Marilyn Larrance, Marie Rilea, Betty Garcia and Tina Sorenson.
The Minutes of the August 16th meeting were read and it was noted that Jan Bernhard's name was misspelled. The spelling was Bernard and the correct spelling is Bernhard. The Minutes were then approved as corrected.
TREASURER'S REPORT
There is $66.50 in the treasury as of this date.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The application to the AVASA for membership hasn't been mailed as yet, but Vice President Marilyn will take care of this. There will be a fee of $8.00 included with this application.
NEW BUSINESS
Since Treasurer Marlys will not be able to fulfill her duties for a time, Vice President Marilyn will take over for her.
In light of the above, President Briony proposed an Amendment to the By-laws stating that no member shall hold more than one office at a time unless in times of unforeseen illness or emergency, or any other occurrence that leaves any officer unable to fulfill their duties, at which times a fellow officer may temporarily undertake the duties. In this temporary situation, a member may thus hold more than one office at a time. The temporary holding of an office may not exceed three (3) months. If an officer finds himself or herself unable to fulfill their duty due to situations out of their control that will last beyond three (3) months, than a new officer must be nominated, and voted for by ballot, in which case they shall assume full responsibilities of their office immediately after the meeting at which they are elected. A copy of this proposed amendment was passed out to all members present and will be voted on at the next meeting.
Marilyn suggested that we order seeds to start a project. Marilyn then made a motion that we proceed with this project and it was seconded by Jan. The motion passed.
COMMITTEES
President Briony was nominated for Communications Committee. Marie Rilea and Jan Bernhard were elected to the Hospitality Committee.
CORRESPONDENCE
None
ANNOUNCEMENTS
President Briony said that meetings in the Library are getting very difficult to schedule since they can't give us a set day. She suggested that we think about another meeting place. Marie stated that she may be able to get a room for us in her church in Chico and she will investigate this possibility. We are booked in the Library for October and November.
President Briony suggested that we pay more attention to demonstrations when given.
A list of plants for sale at the Sacramento show was passed around.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:46 P.M.
Respectfully submitted by Betty L. Garcia, Secretary
Members: Recipes/ Hints Re-using Containers by Briony Gniechwitz
I like to reuse containers. Maybe it is because I'm a biology student and am interested in recycling and reuse. Maybe it is because I prefer to throw less away. Or maybe it's because I'm too cheap to go out and buy new containers all the time. Probably, all three. So, how do I reuse those containers while being sure I'm not spreading disease by poor sanitation? I soak all my plastic containers (which is what I use, really) in a tub of warm water and bleach. A rough mixture would be 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, plus a squirt or two of the detergent I use to wash my dishes in the sink (not the dishwashing detergent stuff). I try to leave them overnight (hah, as if avoiding cleaning dirty pots was difficult) and I have heard others recommend a week. Labels, by the way should come off in this (if they don't, soak the label with some kind of oil, and let sit over night. The oil seems to dissolve the glue) as does ink - I label my pots with a black permanent ink marker (Sharpie, to be exact, however I have heard that there are white markers out there as well. I hope I find some one day). The longer the soak, the less you need to scrub. I have recently been led to understand that this bleach water solution becomes less effective after 2 hours - that's it's half-life. The addition of water to the bleach is what makes the solution less stable than the bleach by itself. It would be better, then, to make up this solution immediately before use, and not to mix up large batches for future use. Also, the last time I had a large amount of pots and reservoirs to clean, I put them all in a large plastic container with a seal-able lid. I got a bad migraine the day after soaking the pots and wasn't up to leaning over a sink scrubbing. So, I left it all for another 24 hours. Everything needed much less scrubbing. This might be because the tub was sealed, so the mixture was able to stay more potent for longer with less gas escaping. But, I really don't know.
I suppose you could use the dishwasher for the more sturdy plastics - but it will melt thin plastic, such as those thin saucers you can buy at places like Raley's. The solo cups come out all right, but they're tossed about and the ink / labels don't come off that way. I always run food containers through the dishwasher before use - these include margarine tubs, cottage cheese and sour cream containers.
Reusing containers can go beyond reusing your old pots and cups though. Most of my early reservoirs were margarine tubs and sour cream containers that went through the dishwasher. I would then cut holes in the lids with my Exacto knife. These aren't the most attractive containers, but they're economical and they work. Beyond this, the only limit to reusing your usually "junk" or "garbage" is probably your imagination. I have found that a 3 oz solo cup fits very nicely in the mouth of an empty Yoplait yogurt cup, for wick watering. And, although they aren't containers, other things can be found to use for your AVs. Old blinds (or cheap new ones) can be cut up for labels to stick into pots, after being labeled with permanent ink. Straws can be used to hold up leaves while they root (as can the older Venetian blinds, actually). Baby spoons can be used to add soil into pots when repotting. Stirring straws - you know those tiny red or brown things you can stir coffee with? They're also great for holding up leaves, or keeping a plastic bag/tent up over a plant or leaf for a makeshift Intensive Care Unit for AVs.
Other ideas - glass or ceramic globlets for holding AVs in their pots. If possible, you could even use them as wicking reservoirs. I have also heard of using glass wine glasses or snifters for this purpose. Another idea I've read about in several places was filling the bottom third or half with perlite, then plant the AV in the glass. You have to be careful to keep water in the glass, but never higher than that added bottom layer of perlite. I suppose it could be considered a kind of adapted Texas Potting.
The main point I'm trying to make with this article, is that it is only your own creativity that can be the boundaries of what you can do with these plants. Try looking through your house, or the grocery store with a new mindset - what can I use these things for in my AV hobby? There are literally dozens of Antique Stores in our area - with some determination and luck you may find wonderful deals for older glasses that could make nice center pieces of your currently blooming AV that screams for attention and an artistic flair.
In next month's Newsletter, how Briony Gniechwitz got into growing African Violets.
Visitors since September, 28 2001
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