Home and garden news and notes

Akron Beacon Journal (MCT) - WHAT'S NEW: SPRAY HELPS FIGHT ALLERGENS

A new spray promises to reduce common indoor allergens on soft surfaces up to 90 percent.

The Clorox Co. says its Clorox Anywhere Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray is effective on such allergens as cat and dog dander and dust mite matter. It works by chemically breaking apart the allergen protein, which is the substance to which people are allergic.

Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, a Cincinnati allergist, noted that it can be proved that many products reduce allergens, but it's more difficult to prove they have health benefits. However, he said the spray may be useful as one intervention among many to ease allergy symptoms.

The product can be used on such surfaces as upholstery, curtains, carpets, bedding, stuffed animals and pet bedding, although the company recommends testing it in an inconspicuous spot first.

The spray has a suggested retail price of $2.99 and is hitting the shelves of major retailers nationwide.

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THE SHELF: BOOK UNITES PAINTING, GARDENS

Painting and garden design both are forms of artistic expression. Gordon Hayward explores the relationships between the two in "Art and the Gardener: Fine Painting as Inspiration for Garden Design."

Hayward, a garden author and contributing editor for Fine Gardening Magazine, pairs photos of gardens with famous works of art to point out the parallels between the two. He breaks down elements in the images to help gardeners better understand their effects and schools them in some of the basics of good design.

"Art and the Gardener" is due out in October from Gibbs Smith, Publisher. It sells for $40 in hardcover.

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ASK MARY: VIEWS DIFFER ON SLUDGE SAFETY

Q: I'd like to plant strawberries in an area where I applied composted sewage sludge. Is it safe?

_ Laura Lea Frank, Bath Township, Ohio

A: You raise a good question, but there's no definitive answer.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maintains that Class A biosolids (that is, sludge that has been treated and composted) are safe for use on edible crops. Indeed, they're widely used in agriculture. That classification indicates that any potential contaminants are below a certain threshold, said Mary Wicks of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center's Ohio Composting and Manure Management Program.

However, Murray McBride, a professor of soil chemistry at Cornell University, said some pathogens can survive composting, and others can regrow in composted sludge. The compost is tested, but the testing process might not detect all pathogens, he said. In addition, he said composting processes vary in effectiveness.

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Furthermore, because our sewage systems handle more than just human waste, McBride said he has concerns about organic chemicals such as antimicrobials, plasticizers, flame retardants and surfactants getting into the fruit. That could happen through either contamination or plant uptake, although he said little is known about the potential for the latter. Heavy metals are a smaller concern, because they tend not to migrate into the fruit from the vegetative parts of the plant, he said.

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© 2008, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).