Flour Mill Searches for Ancient Wheat

Do you know that the flour we use today is different from the flour our ancestors used in the mid-Atlantic states used?

The reason is that in times past—from colonial days until the mid-20th century—local flour mills ground locally grown wheat, and that wheat was “soft,” not “hard,” wheat. Hard wheat doesn’t grow best in this climate but has a higher gluten content so baked goods using it rise higher. For bread, think “hard” wheat. For pancakes, think “soft” wheat.

Enough of wheat/flour/baking history. If you have the slightest interest in such fascinating information, you should take five minutes to read “History grows in amber waves: To save an old mill, its owners hope to re-create what once was ground there,” by Debbie Koenig, in today’s Food Section of the Washington Post.

In short, the story tells of how the owner of Annville Flouring Mill in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, has spent seven years tracking down and experimenting historic wheat varieties that were commonly grown in the mid-Atlantic and ground into flour in the 1740s, when the mill was established. The search is zeroing in, perhaps getting close, but ….

To read this fascinating story, CLICK HERE.

Stink Bug Experiment: Assembling and Hanging a Trap

Basic "Stink Bug Trap"

The trap is set. The Home & Garden Information Center asked local Master Gardeners to volunteer to try out a commercial “Stink Bug Trap” that is commonly available in stores—and to report their observations about how they work.

I unwrapped a trap yesterday afternoon, assembled it, and hung it 12 feet from our front door on fencing protecting a Knockout rose. The location is strategic. Brown marmorated stink bugs last fall found multiple ways into our home via our storm door and its retracting screen. The trap also is 16 feet from a Japanese maple that seems to be home turf for scores of stink bugs, and it’s 29 feet from a tomato plant that has scores of stink bugs sipping on the sweet juice of fruits that are damaged beyond human use.

The trap I’ve hung is a “Rescue Stink Bug Trap” by Sterling International, Inc. You’ve probably seen them on sale in neighborhood stores. List prices at one online source: $19.95 each trap and a two-week supply of lure or “Stink Bug Attractant,” a pheromone designed to entice the bugs into the trap. Replacement, seven-week lures cost $9.95 each. A blue LED “Stink Bug Light” ($17.95) is offered to help lure the insects from indoor living places during fall and winter.

Strategic location

The basic kit was simple to assemble. I took 15 minutes, most of which was my reading of all instructions so I would have a good feel for this product. Assembly directions were clear. No tools are required—just fingers. There are nine parts plus several twist-ties for hanging the trap outdoors, all clearly identified in the brochure. After you read directions, assembly shouldn’t take more than two minutes.

The two-sided brochure that comes with the trap is well designed and full of good information. Major sections include: “Summer Outdoor Use Instructions” and “Indoor Use during Fall, Winter, and Spring.” Subsections include “Initial Setup,” “Reusing the Trap,” “Empty and Reload Trap,” “Trap Placement,” and “Helpful Hints.” All information also appears in Spanish.

One of the “Trap Placement” points helped me decide where to hang it. I hung it on a fence—with the trap touching the foliage of a plant, in this case a branch of the Knockout rose. The brochure explains why such “contact” is important. Only mature stink bugs fly. The juveniles have to hike into the trap—via the fence or the rose foliage.

29 feet away...

My stink-bug experiment has begun. Periodically I’ll report what’s happening.