INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you're harvesting bamboo for an at-home project, you'll first want to select the proper culms to harvest. Culms are stems of bamboo that shoot up from the ground. Look for culms that are longer and straighter in appearance. These bamboo culms may be sturdier and their width tapers off with height. This means you'll have a variety of sizes to work with when using the culms for at home projects. Before you begin curing and storing your bamboo, remove any infected culms. Culms that contain fungus, bugs, or other problems can infect the rest of the culms.  Look for circular ring patters, which can indicate fungus. While fungus is mostly cosmetic and can be removed, it can be a pain if it spreads. If you only have a few culms that look like they might have fungus in an otherwise healthy batch, you might want to simply toss the infected culms.  Some viral infections leave mosaic-like patterns on bamboo culms. These culms should be discarded. You should also get rid of culms infected with a black, sooty mold.  Bugs and parasites can infect bamboo culms. Watch for a white substance on shoot tips. If you notice such a substance, peel back the culm leaves and look for small, pink bugs. Such culms should be discarded as the pesticides required to treat such infections are pricey and time consuming. Once you've gathered culms and checked for infection, prepare them for the curing process. It's easiest to simply use a grill to cure bamboo for home projects. Therefore, you may want to saw the bamboo culms into manageable pieces of 4 feet or so. You can use a saw or clippers that can be purchased at most hardware stores. You can use an outdoor gas grill to cure bamboo at home. You should remove the racks from the grill and then place the bamboo culms inside one at a time.  Turn the heat to high. Watch for the bamboo to change color slightly. This indicates resin rising to the surface, important to the curing process as it strengthens culms.  Take an old rag and rub the resin into the bamboo culms. The color of the bamboo should slowly change from deep green to mint green. Once the entire culm has reached this color, set it aside somewhere to cool.  Wait for the culm to be cool enough to handle. Then, poke holes in its inner membranes. You can use any tool that can poke through bamboo culms, such as sharp scissors. This will quicken the drying process. Always wear protective gloves during the curing process to avoid getting burned. When setting bamboo out to dry, choose a non-flammable surface to avoid fire.

SUMMARY: Select bamboo to harvest. Watch for infected culms. Prepare  your culms. Use heat to cure the bamboo. Take safety precautions.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Screw the doors and doorknobs into the bases. Keep the area well ventilated for several weeks.

SUMMARY: Apply a polyurethane topcoat with foam brushes. Allow it to dry, and then apply another coat. Wait 24 hours to several days to cure the finish. Reassemble your cabinets.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Trying to cross-breed rose bushes to obtain a new variety is not for the faint-hearted. This may be something best left to commercial nurseries that have huge resources at their disposal as it can take many thousands of attempts over many years to obtain a new variety. If you want to try creating a new variety of purple roses, you will need to cross-pollinate two 'parent' plants. This means taking the pollen from one rose plant and applying it to the stigma of another plant in the hope the two plants will breed together to create an offspring ('hybrid') with some of the preferred characteristics of the parents. Late spring is the time to cross-pollinate roses. It should be done on a day when rain is not expected. Select two plants you want to try crossing. Remove the petals from a bloom on the plant you have chosen to bear the seed of the new hybrid. Remove the anthers from the plant to prevent it from self-pollinating.  Using a paintbrush, remove pollen from one parent and apply to the stigma of the other. It's a good idea to label the flower you have just pollinated with details of which plant it is crossed with and the date, for your future reference. Wait for hips to develop on your cross-pollinated rose bush. After four months harvest the seeds and plant them, using the method in Method 2 above. If you are lucky, these seeds will develop into purple roses.

SUMMARY: Understand that cross-breeding roses is a difficult task. Cross-pollinate two "parent" plants. Attempt to cross-pollinate the roses in late spring. Learn how the cross-pollination process works. Wait for hips to develop, then plant the seeds.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Dirga Pranayama is often called the three-part breath, due to its focus on breathing into and out of three separate regions in the abdomen. It may sound simple, but it can be quite difficult to perfect.  Inhale through the nostrils in one long, continuous breath.  Breathe into the first abdominal target, the low belly.  With the same breath, breathe into the second target: the lower chest, at the bottom of the ribcage.  Continuing the same inhalation, breathe into the third target, the lower throat. You should feel it just above your sternum. Once you've inhaled into each of the three target areas, you'll begin exhaling. On the exhalation, focus on the three abdominal targets, but in reverse order.  Exhale through the nostrils in one long, continuous breath, just like on the inhalation.  Focus on the lower throat first, then feel the exhalation move down into the lower chest and the lower belly. Learning how to breathe into and out of the three abdominal targets may be difficult for beginners. When starting out, it's best to isolate each individual abdominal target. You can do this by using your hands to track the movement of your breath.  Rest one or both hands on each of the three abdominal targets. Focus your breath into and out of each target. You should feel your hand(s) move up and down on the inhalation and exhalation.  Once you've learned how to focus your breath into each of the three individual abdominal targets with your hands, practice each target without touching your abdomen.  When you've mastered breathing into and out of each target area without using your hands, connect each step and practice the entire process in one fluid breath.

SUMMARY:
Inhale to the three abdominal targets. Exhale in reverse order. Practice your technique.