Saturday mornings are meant for gardening. Many of us live in a concrete jungle, and our gardens are mostly potted plants, but that can be a good thing.
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| Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser |
For starters, your potted garden is movable, so you can put plants where they will get the best light or are most convenient for you to water. You also can rearrange them as you would your furniture.
One of the best things you can do for your plants today is repot them. Repotting helps you get the most out of your home plants, allowing them to grow with you.
A few tips to get your green thumb going:
1. Gather clean pots, soil or potting medium, potting table or bench, watering can and plants to be repotted.
2. Set up an ergonomically comfortable work space.
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| Your house plant should be centered in the new pot. For most types, water thoroughly immediately and allow to drain.
Michael Hayman • Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal
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3. Repot only into one size bigger. For example: transplant from a 4-inch pott to a 6-inch pot. Too large a pot will "drown" the transplant. It's like buying your kindergartner shoes sized for a sixth-grader.
4. Keep the same soil depth on the stem of the plant as you repot. If you replant too deeply, the trunk will rot; too shallow and the roots dry out.
5. Leave about one inch of space below the rim of the pot. This is to make room for watering and maximize soil volume for root growth.
6. Center the plant in the new pot, and straighten as you repot.
7. A key step is to water gently until the water runs out of the holes at the bottom of the pot.
8. Gently firm the new potting medium around the roots, then check the soil level again. Add potting medium as needed or remove some if the stem is buried.
9. Top-dress with cinder, blue rock or coral chips for a nice finishing touch.
10. Water again.
Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable-landscape consultant. Send questions to: Island Life, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; or islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com. Letters may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.
— Heidi Bornhorst
Special to The Advertiser
Chinatown festival begins celebrations for Year of Wood Rooster
Chinatown is in the spotlight as two weekends of Chinese New Year celebrations begin. Admission is free to all events:
Today
• 9 a.m.-11 p.m.: The Chinatown Merchants Association kicks off the 2005 Year of the Wood Rooster with its annual Night in Chinatown festival and parade. The festival, on Maunakea Street (pedestrians only for this event), will feature entertainment and the sale of crafts, T-shirts, clothing, New Year items and food. Bring your camera and expect a big crowd. Oh, and if you come across a dancing lion, offer it some money for good luck.
• 4 p.m.: The parade marks the centennials of the City and County of Honolulu and the See Dai Doo Society, and the 120th anniversary of Buck Toy Club. It begins at the state Capitol grounds on Richards Street and proceeds on Hotel to River Street. Mayor Mufi Hannemann is grand marshal. Ethnic groups will join the traditional martial-arts and lion-dance groups and a 25-foot dragon.
Feb. 4
• 9 a.m.-11 p.m.: The Chinatown Cultural Plaza New Year Celebration features food, fireworks, lion blessings and entertainment.
• 5 p.m.: First Friday Gallery Walk, including 23 galleries and art-related shops, restaurants and museums in the Downtown/Chinatown district.
• 6:30 p.m.: Lion blessings, in which 10 lions will visit Chinatown businesses, begin at 42 N. King St.; sponsored by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District and the Nu'uanu Merchants Association. Fort Street's Wilcox Park will host dance groups, cultural demonstrations and craft and food booths. On the mall at Pauahi street will be a "Friday After 5" craft fair.
Feb. 5
• 9 a.m.-11 p.m.: The Chinatown Cultural Plaza New Year Celebration continues.
Feb. 9
Kung Hee Fat Choy! The Year of the Wood Rooster officially begins.
'The Terminal,' 'Mulan,' special preview screen at 'Sunset' fest
Another pair of Sunset on the Beach festivals takes up residence at Queen's Surf Beach in Waikiki this weekend, with food booths, entertainment and movies on that 30-foot screen.
Tonight's film is "The Terminal," pictured here, starring Tom Hanks as a traveler whose country is hit by a revolution; as a result, he's stranded at an American airport. Catherine Zeta-Jones co-stars.
Tomorrow's event, celebrating Chinese New Year, includes a special preview of Disney's new "Mulan II," pictured above, which heading for VHS and DVD shelves Tuesday; and the screening of the original animated hit, "Mulan." A Mulan and Captain Li Shang lookalike contest for kids will be part of the festivities.
Admission is free. Sunset events begin at 4 p.m.; movies hit the screen after sunset.
Runners alert! Register today for marathon and save $45
It's never too early to plan, right? That's what the Honolulu Marathon organizers are hoping as they offer early — really, really early — registration for local residents beginning today and at quite a discount. So head for the Niketown store in Waikiki (2080 Kalakaua Ave.) today through Feb. 6 for the $15 registration (from Feb. 7 to Oct. 29, the fee will be $60, with forms available at sporting-goods stores and online at www.honolulumarathon.org). And, if you're so inclined, you can buy a $15 ticket to the marathon's lu'au/concert Dec. 9; additional tickets are $20.
A 25-minute video of last year's marathon also will screen at Niketown; there's a photo gallery, too. Ah, the memories!
This year's marathon takes place Dec. 11.
Spiritual tale 'Indigo' premieres in Big Island, O'ahu, Maui venues
Besides the new, mainstream movies at your nearby multiplex, there's another film with an alternative, even spiritual, bent that's premiering nationwide this weekend. It's called "Indigo," and it's a fictional tale about an "indigo" (psychically gifted) 10-year-old girl, her grandfather and the lives she affects.
This film isn't being screened in theaters, but in churches across the country and in other venues, including, in Hawai'i:
• Aloha Theatre, Kainaliu, Kona, 5 and 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow. $10. (808) 322-2122.
• McCoy Studio Theater, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, 1 and 3 p.m. today and tomorrow. $11. (808) 242-7469, (808) 572-3456.
• Spalding Auditorium, University of Hawai'i-Manoa, 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. $10. 223-0130.
'Ukulele wizard in two more gigs at Maui theater
Catch that 'ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro in action on the Valley Island this weekend. He offers two more concerts (in addition to one last night) — at 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow — at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's McCoy Studio Theater.
Admission is $28, half price for kids 12 and younger. Food and drinks will be available from 5:30 p.m. in the courtyard. (808) 242-7469.
Band fans, get your 'zine on tonight with all-ages music at Coffee Talk
We are looking for music this weekend and we are looking for bands with weird, funny/sad and naughty names. We found them: Dead Monkeys, Temporary Lovers and P*** Poor Excuse (not that asterisks are REALLY in that band's name, of course) and others will rock Coffee Talk in Kaimuki at 8 tonight.
The performances are part of Zine Fest 2005, where you are encouraged to share your zine and check out other zines (those magazines — music-related, personal, what-have-you — you make yourself). Admission is $5. It's an all-ages event. 737-7444.
And hey, a couple of rock bands are visiting from Japan: Birushanah and Ryokuchi will be at Pink Cadillac tonight. Birushanah last played in Honolulu in March. Hours are from 6 to 10 p.m., with opening bands Push the Pedal and DeBauch. Admission is $4; this event, too, is for all ages, but there's a full bar for those of drinking age. 946-6499.
Head to Ala Moana for Surf-Nic fest with free lessons, food, games, fun
The best things in life are ... free, free, free! And tomorrow's Surf-Nic at Ala Moana Beach Park (look for the tents near the tennis courts) is free, free, free! It's a surfing celebration — from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — including food, drinks, games, lessons from the Hans Hedemann Surf School, and prizes and giveaways.
It's sponsored by Women's Surf Style Magazine, marking its first anniversary, and the "Dis-N-Dat" television show. Bring your friends, family and surfboard. www.chicksurf.com.
