Independence Day Show & Tricky Plants for Arizona Print

• Learn about the Constitution, here
• Click the link above and figure out "Which Founding Father you would be?" or "Which Founding Father would you vote for?"

Back to the Declaration of Independence.

• Breaking down the actual document and it's 3 parts.
• The process of tweaking the document before it's final draft.
• King George wasn't exactly sane.

• King George (who thought he was a chicken) and the parliments reaction to the Declaration of Dependece.
• How trade effected the decision to leave Great Britain.
• Dr. Dean goes line by line through several grievances declared.
• Facts about the Stamp Act
• The Boston Massacre and other incidents that led to war.

Sign up for the Sanderson Ford Arizona Staycation!!!

*Thanks to The Designing Women of Arizona & Best Western PLUS Inn of Sedona for making our winners trips special.

Wrapping up our conversation on The Declaration of Independence.

• Separation of Powers.
• Giving up certain personal rights to gain overall liberty.

Thanks to Dr. Dean for joining us today!

Jay Harper with Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company is in-studio to take your gardening & landscape questions, plus Julie Murphee with the Arizona Farm Bureau joins us!

• It's prime time for sweet corn. This was your last weekend to stop in at Freeman Farms.
• What the recent rains can do for your plants and Jay talks about his experiences.
• Remember that during monsoon season, you may be able to cut back on your irrigation and other ways to reduce your water consumption.
• Using mulch to keep your garden and trees healthy and moist.

Caller:

• Jim - He has 3 live oak trees and they've never stopped dropping leaves. Is that normal? Plus, he has 3 citrus trees with mulch around the base. Does he need to remove the mulch to fertilize and the replace it?

Recommendation - Yes. They should have a more significant loss around March, but that isn't irregular. As long as it's not losing all of the, he should be good to go.  For his citrus trees, he can leave the mulch in place. Just put it on and water it in through the mulch and make sure it's getting through manually or with his irrigation system.

*Julie talks about the large Arizona's melon crop.

Caller:

• Mike - He has 5 or 6 lantana plants in his yard and every year about this time, they wither away. He talks about his watering schedule and wants to know why they keep dying.

Recommendation - Jay talks through his schedule and why he needs to check his emitters and that he needs to increase the time he uses his drip system. He could cut back on the weekly watering schedule, but let it drip a lot longer to get 1 and a half to 2 feet deep.

*Jay talks about different watering depths for each type of plant.

• We discuss food prices being down right now with Julie and why it is happening. 1 tip....buy more Hickman Eggs and stock up on cheese!

• Julie loves cheese curds from Milk 'n More...sounds delicious!
• Remember, Fill Your Plate is a great resource for finding food from local resources.
• We talk goat milk and cheese and how Fossil Creek Creamery ended up in the business.

Callers:

• Wayne - He's heard about Argentine lemons entering the Arizona market and wondering what Arizonan's can do to stop this?

Recommendation - Write a letter to your local representatives about your concerns. This is something the Arizona Department of Agriculture would be the on to take care of this.

* We discuss the differences between the Department of Agriculutre and the Arizona Farm Bureau and what their roles are.

• Tina - She got two 5 gallon hibiscus plants and two bottle brush bushes to put in pots around her pool. She was told they would tolerate the heat, but once it hit 120, they are all suffering. She's tested the moisture and it seems steady. What can she do to determine if she killed them or how to revive them?

Recommendation - They still have some green on a few of them, but even heat tolerant plants can struggle with temps that high. The pots keep them hotter too, but it's just a struggle because no plants can tolerate this. She could move them into a shadier place when it gets that hot. Listen as Jay talks about what you can do when temps are that extreme.  

Caller:

• Cindy - She wanted to know where the great sweet corn was that we were talking about in Mesa?

Recommendation - It's at Freeman Farms! It was the last day, so if you are reading this, it's too late.

• Describing what you should be doing with your lawn this 4th of July.

Thanks to Julie for stopping by (Find articles at Fill Your Plate) and remember you can reach Jay during the week at Harper's Nursery & Landscaping Company!

• Recapping our first hour if you missed it & what Rosie on the House Remodeling has been up to!
• Changes in home building trends over the years and how remodeling companies adjust over the decades.
• Here's Rosie's article on "4 Keys Ways to Protect Your House from Monsoons"
• A few key points from the article.
• Consider electrical protection! Whole House Surge Protection is important to protecting your electronics. (those little strips aren't going to do anything)

Caller:

• Melissa - She put a new Trane AC system on her home. After 10 days of operation, the system siezed and she discovered that they didn't put in a place for a filter. Now, they want to put one in a space that doesn't seem like a place it should be. What should she do?

Recommendation - It was definitely not done correctly and should have been installed, initially. We would go back to them with something in writing, because they shouldn't just be cutting it into a place after the fact because it was installed wrong.  They have good reviews and she can expect them to do it correctly.

**Reminder, we can not police contractors who are NOT in our network. Go with Rosie-Certified 1st!

• Reviewing products that are new and we discuss particular examples.
• Why does Tucson seem to be the target for every new "latest and greatest" Product?
• Congratulating the U of A on a great baseball season and coming up just short of winning it all!

Callers:

• Audrey - She has had a small amount of mold after an AC unit leaked. Her son is a mold expert and he's convinced that she needs to replace the drywall and insulation got wet. What do we think?

Recommendation - If it was caught really quickly, like it seems like it was, that doesn't sound like  serious enough situation to start tearing into all of that. We recommend getting a test kit to confirm before doing all those repairs.

• Joan - She recieved a letter from her insurance company & they want to lower her rate while at the same time giving her less of a return if it were to be burned down or destroyed. She always thought that rebuilding would be less expensive than just buying a home? What do we think?

Recommendation - She's correct. The insurance companies go off of current home values, etc.  After discussing some details, it doesn't sound right. Rosie is going to his guy, Clay at Phocus Insurance to discuss all this himself. He's going to review his situation and we'll get back to Joan.

• Jeff - His block home needs paint and at a homeshow he heard about all kinds of different paints that can save him money. What do we think about all these products?

Recommendation - We would look at foaming his masonry home first and he can call Thermal Advantage to get it done. Next, look at replacing the windows and shading west facing openings. Finally,  check the attic insulation and his ductwork. As far as the different paints, there has never been one product that we've come across that does any better than standard paint that has been on the market for years.

• Romey talks about all the new veneer products at Marvel Building & Masonry Supply.
• Jennifer talks about recent scams in Arizona. Listen and avoid! If something Just Doesn't Look Right, don't do it!

Caller:

• Tony - He recently started "Super Cooling" his home and he's noticed that around noon his AC system starts running non-stop. Is that normal?

Recommendation - After Rosie verifies that he's on the correct "Time of Day Plan" he walks Tony through the steps he should be taking with his programmable thermostat. Plus, you can listen to the details of how this all works and how to hold the temps through the afternoon.

We interview Dena Cowan,  the community outreach coordinator with The Mission Garden Project in Tucson.

• Details about the museum & it's history.
• The use of irrigation for thousands of years and ag history.
• How a flood preserved a large amount of history in the area.

More on the Mission Garden Project:

• The different themed gardens you can see there.
• How they work with local schools & universities to create the garden.
• Hours you can visit.

Rosie recommends reading "Hole In The Rock" by David E. Miller.  You can find Rosie's Centennial Reading List here.

Callers:

• Bob (Cindy's Husband) - He has an 80 gallon water heater & he's considering putting a water timer on it. Will there be any savings by doing that or is it just throwing money away?

Recommendation - If he is on a "Time of Day" plan and can keep it from coming on during that time, it will save hime money.  He can also call Advanced Home Systems to get an energy management computer installed and it will do it or him automatically.

*Rosie takes some time out to talk about an article in the Arizona Federal Credit Union where he was featured.  He talks about home improvements with different budgets.

• Larry - He's under contract for a home without gutters. He's getting estimates and is considering the traditional type or the half-round type. Is there an advantage of one type or the other?

Recommendation - No, there is no difference in function. It's purely aesthetic. He could consider rain harvesting too.

*We welcome a new partner, Greens Home Design, LLC.

• Another note on the Arizona Federal Credit Union article featuring Rosie.
• Almost every contractor we know is looking for qualified tradesmen. Places likeLyons Roofing, Knight Air Conditioning & Heating, Integrity Air Conditioning & Heating, REEis Air Conditioning & Home Performance, Pro Solution's Air Conditioning & Heating or Intelligent Design Air Conditioning & Heating.

Rosie has a tribute for some recent losses to the Horizon High School Family & wishes you all a Happy 4th of July weekend!

Join Rosie on the House Every Saturday Morning!!!