Question: My daughter and her 5-year-old sleep in a bedroom with a hardwood floor, filled with clothing and stuffed animals. She recently added a small table-top air filter and a humidifier that she activates every night, putting a half-gallon of water into the air in a 12-hour period.

I already have a whole-house humidifier on the furnace, and I am concerned that she is going to cause a mold or mildew problem in the room, in addition to the unfinished attic and possibly adjoining bedrooms.

Answer: What motivated your daughter to add the humidifier and filter if you already had a whole-house humidifier, which, if properly maintained, does a fine job adding moisture in the driest of seasons indoors?

Relative humidity indoors in winter should be between 40 percent and 60 percent, depending on the outdoor temperature. The indoor temperature, in this reckoning, is 70 degrees.

The lower the outdoor temperature, the lower the humidity indoors. For example, if the outside temperature is 20 to 40 degrees, humidity indoors should not be more than 40 percent. If the outdoor temperature is lower than 20 below zero, inside humidity should not be more than 15 percent.

I doubt that what your daughter is doing, for whatever reason — typically dry air and the sinus congestion that can result — will cause mold and mildew to form at this time of year, especially if the house is properly ventilated.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that maintaining relative humidity between 30 percent and 60 percent will help control mold. Houses around Philadelphia just don’t get more humid than that during the winter.

Perhaps the whole-house humidifier is not doing its job properly, and your daughter and grandchild are suffering because of it. You may need to keep adjusting it as the outdoor temperature rises and falls.

That’s what I have done since we traded an antique heating system that required room humidifiers for a modern heating and cooling system in our home of 12 years.

Questions? Email Alan J. Heavens at aheavens@phillynews.com or write him at The Inquirer, P.O. Box 8263, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101.
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Americans are a restless bunch. They change locations with a frequency that would tire a migrating songbird.

But there is more to moving day than unpacking boxes; there’s also learning to care for that garden inherited with the new home.

If you were thinking ahead, you asked for an inventory of the plants and accessories that came with the house.

“There’s no problem with asking owners for a list of landscape items and for an explanation about the plantings,” said Shirley French, an agent with the Woodstock, Va., office of Funkhouser Real Estate Group. “Usually, the owners are more than happy to give you a list. In fact, if they know the purchasers are interested, that will make for good feelings on both sides.”

Gardening priorities are determined mostly by the seasons. You won’t be mowing the lawn in February, although you might be combing the seed catalogs.

But where to start with a newly purchased property?

Michael Becker, president of Estate Gardeners Inc. in Omaha, Neb., suggests that putting safety first.

“Check out the dangers,” said Becker, a spokesman for Planet, the Professional Landcare Network that certifies green industry professionals. “Are the retaining walls stable? Are any trees leaning or diseased with dead branches?

“Assess the hardscape,” Becker said. “Is anything heaving, creating tripping hazards? Examine the drainage around the house. More often than not, it isn’t correct and may be damaging the structure. Bring in some professionals to help sort things out.”

As for plantings, be patient with the perennials.

“Go through the seasonal changes,” Becker said. “Learn what things look like in your yard. Determine if it’s aesthetically what you want, or if it’s so high-maintenance you won’t have the time to care for it. Most perennials need pruning and deadheading.”

Other things to consider when dealing with an unfamiliar landscape:

— Make note of the average frost dates. Do soil tests. Map the yard for sun and shade. “If you live in the city and all you have is a porch or a patio to work with, where is all that water going to go that you’ll be putting on plants?” asked Josh Kane, president and head designer at Kane Landscapes Inc. in Sterling, Va. “Also, where do you get the water? You’ll have to figure out how to care for everything.”

— Water fixtures. “Look for care instructions when dealing with special features,” Kane said. “A lot of people get put off or are scared of things like koi ponds, pools and fountains that require startups, maintenance and attention during the seasons.”

— Don’t try to do everything the first year. Mulching will keep the weeds down. Composting will improve the soil. Bringing in some annuals for window boxes, hanging baskets or containers will provide instant color. “Nothing gives you as much impact in a garden as planting annuals,” Kane said.

— Anticipate. Avoid planting trees or shrubs near sewer or water lines, to prevent root damage. Study the plat map for restrictions that could prevent expansions or additions. “A lot of people might want to build a big outdoor room or pool and find they can’t do it because of an easement on the property,” Kane said.

By RITA JACINTO, Flying Blue Dog Farm

Here we are, already at the half way point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Technically that would be February 2, or as we have come to celebrate it, Ground Hog Day. This day actually has as many names as there are cultures around the world for every culture marks these special days. Even if you didn’t know that little tidbit of information I bet you feel it.

The days are measurably longer, the robins and peepers are starting their mating songs, new growth on the trees is coloring up and buds are swelling with the surging sap. And, we have rain! Soaking, drenching wet and wonderful rain.

It is time to get your garden on. The very first thing we plant in the new gardening year is peas. English pod peas, Sugarsnap peas and tender snow peas all benefit from being pre-germinated but are just as happy to be sown directly in the soil.

Pre-germination can be of benefit if the weather is particularly cold and wet. While peas are cold tolerant and can take longer to germinate in cold soil, the combination of cold and wet can do them in causing the seeds to rot in the ground. Pre-germinating the seeds in the house, garage or what have you gives you the advantage of planting out already living plants which are much more able to deal if the weather turns cold and wet. There are lots of ways to accomplish this.
The method we use here is to fill a shallow tray with soil two-to-three inches deep. Next scatter the pea seeds in the tray so that the seeds are barely touching each other and cover with a half-inch of soil. Water well and keep the tray somewhere warm and bright. Depending on the temperature they should be up in 10 days or so. Once they are up with a pair or two of leaves it’s time to plant them out.

Prepare the bed or row for planting, use a trellis! I know some of the pea variety descriptions say that you don’t need to use a trellis, especially on shorter types but I’m telling you it will be so much easier to pick them if you use a trellis.

It’s nice to have the trellis up before you plant then you know exactly where to plant. It is much easier to put the trellis up before planting, besides you know you will never get back to it even though you tell yourself you will do it later.

Your trellis can be anything from orchard prunings rammed into the ground, to fancy store-bought trellising. We use t-posts and orchard fencing; it’s fast, easy and re-usable. Once the ground is prepared and the trellis is up it’s time to plant.

I don’t bother separating each plant out; rather I gently grasp a few plants and tease them out of the tray. Each group of three or so plants gets planted about two inches apart down the row.  In past years I haven’t worried about laying irrigation since the peas are usually done by the time the rains stop. Last year was different and this year may be as well with hardly any rain and heat coming on early.  So we will be laying soaker hose down the row.  If the heat starts early we may be out of luck any how since peas pretty much shut down when the temps reach 75 degrees. For that reason it may be a good idea to plant more heat tolerant varieties.

A 100’ row of pod peas will yield about 20 pounds; snap and snow peas will yield around 30 pounds. There are some great charts online listing expected yields by plant variety. They will tell you how much seed it takes to plant a certain amount of row feet, how much space to leave between plants and between rows and expected yield.

Seed saving is super easy with peas because they have perfect flowers and pollinate themselves as they are blooming. So choose open pollinated varieties as these are the only kind of seeds that will come true the next year. Once the peas are growing and setting pods mark out a section that looks especially healthy and refrain from harvesting them. Make sure that you save at least 10 plants for seed saving in this section. You want to get enough genetic diversity to keep the variety strong. Let them grow on to maturity and when the pods are brown and just before they twist open harvest them into a paper bag. Now you have next year’s seed stock!