"The breezes taste
 |
| Cosmos |
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
- John Updike,
September
Hi Gardeners
Have you ever walked by your garden and saw something
you didn’t know was there? This has been
my year for that. I think of myself as
an observant person when it comes to nature and gardens but I guess I’m getting
old. Today when I walked by the akebia,
chocolate vines, covering the fence on the east side of the vegetable gardens,
I noticed the fat sausage like fruits clustered in the vine. This is exciting- it’s the first time I have
had fruits from the plants.
I have been picking blackberries close to the vine for
the last month and never noticed the fruits.
The fruit looks like light green bananas right now so it isn’t ripe yet
and I sure hope it gets a chance to ripen before frost. I planted the plants, 2 varieties ‘Silver
Bells’ and Violet’ five years ago and
they have bloomed every year but never had fruit. There’s not a lot of fruit but hey, I feel
quite thrilled I have any. I have an
article about the plant below.
Well it’s September, how did that happen? The garden is looking very mature. The annuals are still going strong, sweet
autumn clematis is in bloom, and the clematis by my barn door has a new flush
of blooms. The toad lilies are blooming,
the little white asters are peaking out here and there around the garden.
I have big buds on my hardy hibiscus but they haven’t
bloomed yet for some reason. Also left
to bloom are the spider lilies, they are peeking up out of the ground now. I have them potted because they aren’t hardy
here. At least I can bring them inside
if they don’t bloom before frost.
I ordered bulbs this week. You can’t have enough tulips. I also ordered a couple new bulbs I haven’t had
before, I try new things each year. I
ordered Fritillaria camschatcensis (Black
Lily), Fritillaria persica, and some
Camassia quamash. What have you
ordered?
Colder weather is on the way here. I have been getting prepared to move the
houseplants back inside. At least I am
not racing to save them from a hurricane.
You folks on the east coast and in Puerto Rico take care and remember
plants can be replaced. Maybe you’ll get
lucky and Irma will fizzle out but it’s not looking good so take care.
 |
| Fruit of the chocolate vine |
September
almanac
The Harvest moon occurs this month on September 6th.
It’s called the harvest moon because farmers often used the light of this
month’s full moon to complete their harvest.
It’s early this year and I doubt few harvests will be complete. Moon
perigee is the 13th and apogee is the 27th.
The autumn equinox, the start of fall is September 22nd. We’ll be down to 12 hours of daylight then,
give or take 8 minutes, depending on where you are. On this day the sun sets exactly due west and
rises due east of your home. Go outside
and position a marker or note it on a landmark if you are into marking
astronomical events. Then you will
always know the true directions around your home.
The birth flower for September is the aster or in some
places, the morning glory. Asters are
said to symbolize powerful love and morning glories just affection so choose
the flower you give this month accordingly.
The September birthstone is sapphire.
September is Hispanic Heritage Month, National Chicken
month, Honey month, Classical Music month, National Preparedness month, and
International Square Dancing month.
Besides Labor Day (4th) holidays in
September include Grandparents day the 10th (who honors us
grandparents anyway?) Patriots day on the 11th, the 13th is National Peanut
day, the 14th is Pet Memorial day, the 19th is National POW-MIA day, 21st is
International Peace Day, the 26th is Native American Day and the 28th is both
Good Neighbor Day and Ask a Stupid Question day.
Growing
Chocolate Vines- Akebia quinata
Do you need a hardy vine for a sunny or partly shaded
spot that’s unusual? Do you want
something pretty that covers an eyesore or arbor quickly? Try a Chocolate vine
or as it’s sometimes called, Raisin vine or Five Leaf Akebia. Chocolate vines grow quickly, have sweet
smelling flowers and produce an edible, decorative fruit. They are hardy in planting zones 4-8. The plant is native to Japan and other parts
of Asia. There are several species in cultivation. Named varieties include “Silver Bells”,
“Violet” and “Purple Bouquet”.
Why this vine is called Chocolate vine is unknown. The vine has leaves consisting of 5 rounded
leaflets. There is a variety with white variegated leaves but it is hard to find.
The vines can keep their leaves all winter in warmer zones but usually shed
them in the fall in colder zones. In
hard winters the vine can die back to the ground but will quickly recover in
spring. The vines can grow 40 feet in a
year and quickly cover a trellis, fence or out building. They will grow in sun or partial shade.
 |
| Akebia, Chocolate vine flower |
Some southeastern states are labeling the Chocolate
vine as invasive, but in colder zones it is no more invasive than wisteria or
trumpet vine. If you are a gardener who
has either of those vines you can guess that Chocolate vine is a vigorous
grower and it is when it’s in a good spot. It can spread by runners and will
cover a lot of ground if unchecked but in northeastern states it rarely spreads
to the wild. Vigorous pruning and
keeping runners mowed or chopped down will contain the plant. In northern zones plants rarely propagate
naturally by seed.
Chocolate
vine flowers and fruit
Chocolate vine has tiny flowers in mid-spring to early
summer in dangling clusters. The sepals
of the flowers look like petals and can be white, pink, yellow and shades of
purple. Older plants in full sun are loaded with flowers in spring and quite
attractive. Depending on the weather and species chocolate vines can flower
before leaves emerge or when the leaves are still small. They have a sweet
scent but its more lilies of the valley or lilac smelling than chocolate. The smell isn’t overpowering but will
pleasantly scent a garden or yard.
If the flowers of Chocolate vine get pollinized they turn
into fat, sausage shaped blue or purple seed pods about 5 inches long which are
attractive on the vine. These ripen in
late summer-early fall. The pods are filled with a creamy white roll of thick
jelly-like material studded with tiny round black seeds. The jelly is edible, but once again it
doesn’t taste like chocolate. It’s the texture of marshmallow or custard and is
sweet but bland. In Japan jelly is made
from the pulp. The pods are sometimes
filled with rice and meat and deep fried.
Pollination of the Chocolate vine can be a problem.
Some gardeners get tons of fruit pods, others none. Bees don’t seem too interested in the plants.
It may be that beetles or some other insect pollinate the chocolate vine in
Japan. In the north the flowers may occur before many pollinators are out or be
frost damaged. It may also be that some plants are just more fruitful than
others.
While each Chocolate vine flower has both male and
female parts they don’t self-fertilize and at least two plants are needed to get
fruit. Many growers recommend two different varieties or species for best
pollination and offer two species in pairs to buyers. However other growers
feel that two plants, whether the same species or not will be enough for
pollination. If you aren’t getting fruit
pods it’s suggested that you can pollinate flowers with a paintbrush, moving
pollen from one plants flowers to another plant’s flowers.
Planting
Chocolate vine
Chocolate vine will grow in most places but prefers a
light or sandy loam soil. Best flowering and fruiting occurs in full sun but
Chocolate vine will grow in partial or even full shade in some cases. Indirect bright light such as on the north
side of buildings is fine. Chocolate
vine doesn’t need fertilization unless your soil is very poor. It prefers moist but well drained soil but
can withstand dry periods.
Plant your Chocolate vine next to a sturdy support as
it can overwhelm and topple flimsy supports.
The different vines needed for pollination can be at least 20 feet apart
perhaps more. Some people have used
Chocolate vines as a sprawling ground cover for preventing erosion with great
success.
Prune Chocolate vine after it flowers if you want
flowers and fruit pods. You can prune it
hard to keep it in bounds or shape it.
If it gets too large and ungainly you can prune it right back to the
ground and it will recover quickly.
Watch that Chocolate vine doesn’t climb into trees as it can quickly smother
them.
Chocolate vine has few pests or diseases and deer and
rabbits seem to leave them alone.
 |
| Akebia fruit |
Propagating
Chocolate vine
Chocolate vines are easily propagated from soft new
growth cuttings about 6 inches long, generally taken in late spring- early
summer. The seeds can be saved from ripe
pods but they must be planted immediately as they don’t store well. Plant them in a fine potting medium inside,
in a warm area. They will need to grow
overwinter in a warm bright area. This
is probably why Chocolate vine does not spread well by seed in northern areas
as the seedlings would be killed by cold.
Medicinal
uses of Chocolate vine
Akebia is used in Chinese/Japanese herbal medicines as
a diuretic and to increase the milk flow in nursing mothers. For this purpose stems are chopped in fine
pieces, dried and powdered then used in teas and decoctions.
Sources for Chocolate Vine
Bulbs
that bloom in fall
Gardeners are aware that they need to plant spring
blooming bulbs in the fall but they may not know that there are some bulbs to
plant in the fall that will actually bloom in the fall. These bulbs often bloom when other garden
plants have faded and provide a needed burst of color to the garden. Most of these bulbs are easy to grow and once
established will multiply and provide you with reliable show each autumn. Gardeners from zones 3 through 9 will be
able to grow at least some of these bulbs.
 |
| Tiny cyclamen flower |
There are four main types of fall blooming bulbs that
are hardy in zones 5-6, the Cyclamens, the Colchicums, the Fall Crocus, and
Sternbergia. Nurseries that sell other
fall planted bulbs that bloom in spring will usually sell some of the fall
bloomers, although some unusual species may be hard to find.
Cyclamen
family
The Sowbread Cyclamen, C. hederifolium, sometimes sold
as (C. neopolitanum) and the rarer Cyclamen cilicium are two members of the
Cyclamen family that bloom in the fall.
Other species of Cyclamen bloom in early spring or are grown in pots for
the florist trade. Sowbread Cyclamen is
much prettier than its name and is hardy to zone 5. It has pretty triangular shaped dark green
foliage with silver spots and streaks that may appear before or after the plant
blooms. The foliage often persists well
into winter. In zone 5 C. hederiflolium
usually blooms in September. The flowers
are tiny pink “shooting star” versions of the familiar florist cyclamen. They will be put up in succession and last a
long while in cool weather.
Sowbread Cyclamen corms (bulbs) are large- good bulbs
will be 4-5 inches across. The bulbs are
round with a slightly flattened top. They can be offered for sale in the spring
or fall. Bulbs planted in the fall
probably won’t bloom until the following fall.
C. hederifolium doesn’t reproduce by splitting off new corms, rather the
bulb itself gets bigger each year, eventually forming a large clump of foliage
and flowers.
Cyclamen cilicium has heart shaped foliage of green
mottled with a lighter color. The
undersides of the leaves are purplish red.
The tiny flowers are variable shades of deep pink to lighter pink with a
red blotch at the center. If you can get
close enough the tiny flowers smell like honey.
C. cilicium is only hardy to Zone 6.
Both Cyclamen species prefer light to partial shade and rich organic
soil. They like to be dry in the summer.
Colchicum
Family
 |
| Colchicum |
There are numerous species of Colchicum that can be
grown in the garden including C. autumnale. C. bornmuelleri, C.Byzantium, C
speciosum, C.cilicicum. There are also
numerous hybrids and species variations.
Most are hardy from zones 5-9 but some are hardy to as far north as zone
3. Some species have narrow crocus type
foliage and others have broader, more strap shaped foliage. Depending on species the foliage may appear
in spring and summer or after the plants bloom in the fall.
Colchicums have flowers similar to crocus but much
larger. However there are double flowered
varieties that look like either small peony flowers or water lilies. The flowers appear from the bare ground on
long stems ( about 6 inches high). They
range in color from white through shades of pink, carmine, mauve and
lilac. Some species such as
C.bornmuelleri and C.speciosum are fragrant.
Flowers may be produced in succession and last well into freezing
weather. Large groups make a fine show
of fall color.
The bulbs of colchicums are large also and should be
planted as soon as you receive them.
They will often bloom even before you plant them, if you delay, and this
isn’t good for the plants. Colchicums
will thrive in sun or semi-shade and like good, organic soil. They spread in good conditions by making
daughter bulbs and also though self- seeding.
Ants like the seed coating and carry them into tunnels, effectively
planting them. Colchicums are poisonous
so are seldom eaten by wild animals.
Make sure pets and children don’t eat the bulbs or other parts of the
plant.
Crocus
family
There are several species of crocus that bloom in the
fall instead of the spring. They include
the saffron crocus, C. sativus, from
which the very expensive spice is made and other species such as C. speciosus,
C. kotschyanus, C.laevigatus fontenayi, C. medius, C. ochroleucus. These have foliage and flowers much like the
familiar spring flowering crocus. Most
bloom in October in zone 5 and are hardy from at least zone 5-9 but check the
zone hardiness when you purchase autumn blooming crocus.
Most autumn blooming crocuses have flowers that are
shades of blue or purple or white. Plant
the small bulbs as soon as you receive them and some will bloom the same
year. Others will need a whole year to
bloom so mark the spot. If they aren’t
eaten by mice and squirrels which like them, crocus will multiply through new
bulbs and through seed. You will get
better blooming if large clumps are dug every 4 years, separated and replanted.
Crocus will grow in full sun to partial shade and like sandy soil.
Sternbergia
Lutea
There is only one member of this family that is fall
blooming. Sternbergia flowers have 6
petals and look much like golden yellow crocus. In fact they are often sold as
yellow fall crocus. They help to add
yellow to the fall blooming bulb palette.
The foliage of Sternbergia is broader than the narrow grass-like foliage
of crocus. Sternbergia are only reliably
hardy to zone 6. They prefer to be
planted in full sun in a spot that will be dry in the summer.
Where
to plant fall blooming bulbs
Since fall blooming bulbs have flowers close to the
ground they need to be planted where mature perennials and annuals won’t block
your view of the flowers. Rock gardens
are good spots for them as is the very edge of a path. Low growing groundcovers like small sedums
or thymes may allow the flowers to peek through. Since many won’t have foliage part of the
year, even when they are blooming, you should mark the location that these
bulbs are in so you won’t dig them up when planting other things.
If the fall blooming bulbs are planted under deciduous
trees, watch that leaves don’t cover the flowers as they fall. After the flowers are finished however, it’s
fine to rake a layer of leaves over them for winter protection. Fall blooming bulbs are a gardener’s special
treat, something pretty and blooming when everything else is dying. Try some in your garden soon.
Rose
of Sharon - Hibiscus syriacus
If you need color in the landscape in late summer and
early fall Rose of Sharon may be the plant you are seeking. Sometimes called Althea or Rose Mallow these
plants have been in gardens for centuries.
Your grandmother may have had one in her yard but even if you consider
yourself a cutting edge gardener there is a Rose of Sharon perfect for your
garden.
Because Rose of Sharon is in the Hibiscus family and
the flowers are typical of that family there is some confusion when using
common names for the plant. It should not be called hardy hibiscus. The Rose of
Sharon or althea is a deciduous woody plant, forming a bush or small tree. Hardy hibiscus are herbaceous plants, they
die back to the ground each year.
Tropical hibiscus of various species are also bushes or trees but they
are not hardy in the United States except in zones 8 and higher and are
generally kept as potted plants.
Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus
syriacus, is native to India and Asia but not to Syria. It has been planted around the world in
temperate regions and sometimes naturalizes.
The natural shape of the shrub is vase like with many long straight stems
rising to a height of about 12 feet.
Nurseries and gardeners often prune and train them into a more tree like
shape, with a central trunk.
Rose of Sharon makes an excellent tall screen or hedge when
planted closely. They are also planted
as landscape accents or garden focal points.
They are easily pruned to keep them within the boundaries of your
garden.
The bark on trunks and stems of Rose of Sharon is pale
gray and smooth. The leaves are about 3
inches long with 3 distinct lobes and a coarse toothed margin. They are
arranged alternately on the stems.
Leaves are green, sometimes tinged with purple or maroon. The flowers are the fall show- the Rose of
Sharon leaves fade to dull yellow brown in the fall.
The flowers of Rose of Sharon are produced profusely
from late July to hard frost, depending on the variety and planting zone. In the single flowered varieties there are 5
petals forming a circular flower up to 4 inches across. There is a prominent protruding pistil in the
center typical of hibiscus flowers.
However many cultivated varieties are now double flowered, looking more
like the rose they are named for or like small peonies.
The flowers of Rose of Sharon come in a wide range of
colors from white, through shades of blue, mauve, pink and purple. There are bi-color varieties. There are no true red or yellow flowered
varieties. Flowers remain open at night. They are attractive to hummingbirds, moths
and butterflies.
Flowers turn into brown, 5 chambered seed capsules.
Older varieties re-seed freely and some gardeners consider them invasive. Newer
varieties, including many double flowered Rose of Sharon are sterile and don’t
make seeds.
Growing
Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharon can be grown from seed quite easily,
although it may take 2 or more years for them to flower. Some varieties are not available from seeds
as they are sterile and are reproduced through cuttings. I recommend gardeners start with plants, which
are sold bare root or potted. You will
then know what color and type of flowers to expect.
For hedges plant Rose of Sharon about 6 feet
apart. Otherwise plant Rose of Sharon as
you would any shrub. They will grow in
most soil situations, except poorly drained areas. Don’t add amendments to the
hole when planting; plant them in the native soil. They prefer full sun,
especially in the north, but can take partial shade in the south.
 |
| Rose of Sharon visited by a Japanese beetle |
Rose of Sharon blooms on new wood, so prune them for
shaping only in winter or early spring while still dormant if you want
blooms. Some gardeners prune each branch
back to 3 buds to make the flowers larger.
If your plant is trained to a tree shape you may want to trim back any
branches that grow too long horizontally and remove branches appearing at the
trunk base.
A light application of slow release fertilizer in spring
as plants begin new growth is helpful for good growth and flowering. Keep plants well-watered as they get
established, after that they are pretty drought tolerant. Flowers will be larger in dry years if they
are given supplemental watering.
Japanese beetles are fond of Rose of Sharon and can
severely damage foliage in some years.
Whiteflies and aphids are sometimes problems also and plants should be
treated with pesticides if pest numbers get high. Rose of Sharon are occasionally hit with
fungal diseases such as rust or leaf spot diseases but they rarely kill the
plant.
If you have a small garden you may want to try a new
Rose of Sharon sold by Proven Winners called Purple Pillar®. While this plant gets tall- up to 16 feet-
it’s very narrow and columnar, only about 2-3 feet wide. It is covered with lilac purple flowers in
late summer.
Edible
and herbal uses
Rose of Sharon flowers and leaves are edible. Leaves are cooked as a green when young or
added to salad. Flowers are added to
salads and both flowers and leaves are made into tea.
In Korean and Asian medicine there are many uses for
Rose of Sharon. Leaves are diuretic,
expectorant and used for stomach problems. A decoction of the flowers
is diuretic, used as an eye wash, and as a treatment for itching and other skin
diseases.
Decoctions of Rose of Sharon root bark are mucilaginous
and are used for diarrhea, stomach cramps, menstrual problems, as a vermifuge,
and externally to treat skin disorders.
I can find no serious toxicity or side effects listed
for Rose of Sharon but as with most herbal medicines use carefully until you
see how it affects you.
Dicamba
drift - Watch out for damage to your plants
This year there have been more than 1000 complaints in
several states of “volatilization drift damage” on crops and ornamental plants
when dicamba, a potent weed killer, is sprayed on some farm crops, notably
soybeans, up to a mile or more away. Dicamba
is an older herbicide but was released this year in several new formulas to
partner with a new soybean variety that was genetically engineered to be
resistant to it, much like round-up ready soybeans.
The new weed killers are called XtendiMax, FeXapan, and
Engenia. As a gardener you won’t be
using these pesticides as they are registered for certified applicator use on
certain crops. But you may be seeing
the damage that they can do on your trees, shrubs and home garden plants,
especially if you live in rural areas.
Last year the new soybean varieties that are dicamba
resistant were being sold to farmers but the new pesticides to accompany them
had not been approved by the EPA yet. So
farmers used old formulations of dicamba on the crops and almost immediately
complaints began about spray drift and volatilization of dicamba affecting
crops and ornamental plants nearby.
Volatilization of dicamba occurs when plants are
sprayed with the weed killer and it evaporates in the sun and becomes a misty
cloud in the air. This cloud is easily
moved by a light breeze and can carry the pesticide at least a mile away, I saw
reports that it was suspected to have moved 5 miles in one case. When it eventually settles on plants in
another area it can cause widespread damage.
Dicamba damage in plants begins with twisted,
flattened, distorted new growth, yellowing of foliage and strap like, puckered
leaves. It can cause serious stunting
and plant death. If food crops are
affected by volatilization drift of dicamba they are considered
inedible/toxic. (And yet soybeans
sprayed by it are considered to be safe for edible uses, go figure.)
You can’t see or smell a dicamba “mist” as it’s
drifting down on your plants. Damage can take a few days to a few weeks to show
up, depending on how much dicamba the plant received and the species of plant. All types of broad leaved plants can be
affected. Grapes, elderberries and
peaches are known to be highly sensitive to dicamba. Farmers who opt not to plant dicamba ready
soybeans are having problems with volatilization drift on their crop. But any broadleaved plant can be injured,
including large trees.
And what about the damage to things other than plants?
That dicamba mist can’t be good for the lungs of people and animals. It does reduce flowering of plants, and
that’s hard on pollinators. Dicamba is
listed as relatively non-toxic to bees, however all the studies were done on
older formulas of the pesticides and the new formulas have other chemicals
added. Here’s a link to a pesticide fact
sheet.
The new dicamba pesticides released this year were
supposed to help with the volatilization problem, but it seems that they
haven’t. Across the mid-western states
complaints from both farmers and homeowners about damage to their plants from volatilization
drift of dicamba are being taken by state agencies. Some states have put bans on the new
products.
Extension researchers and others are scrambling to
figure out why the problem is so widespread and serious. They have found that
even when applicators followed the rules for dicamba application exactly, some
cases of volatilization drift occurred. Monsanto, the developer of both the dicamba
resistant soybeans and some of the pesticides says they are seriously studying
the problem and are offering free spray nozzles designed for the pesticide and
free training for applicators. But they
aren’t pulling the products off the market.
What
to do if you suspect your plants gave been damaged by volatilization drift
If you are a gardener who lives within a few miles of
agricultural crop land, particularly where soybeans or cotton are being grown,
your garden and landscape might be affected by volatilization drift of dicamba. Volatilization is different from regular
spray drift caused by droplets of liquid pesticide “overshooting” their
mark. In regular drift the damage is
close to the field being sprayed and generally stopped by hedges or windbreak
trees.
In volatilization drift of dicamba the damage may occur
some distance from a farm field. The mist can travel for miles. Hedges and windbreaks don’t always stop the
drift. Dicamba is persistent and volatilization
may occur days after the field is sprayed. This can make it difficult to trace
the dicamba damage to a particular place.
And other pesticides and even some diseases and environmental problems
can cause similar symptoms.
First aid for plants damaged by drift isn’t very
helpful. Washing off dicamba gets it
into the ground where root uptake may be worse than the contact damage. You may try removing damaged areas of the
plant (don’t compost) and keeping the plant watered and fertilized in hope it
outgrows the damage. Dicamba damage
doesn’t occur on monocots- grass like plants like your lawn grass, ornamental
grasses, corn, wheat and so on.
If you suspect dicamba drift damage take lots of good,
close pictures. Document the date you
first noted symptoms and what plants are affected. Note where on your property the damage is,
and on what side of plants the damage occurs.
You may want to contact neighbors to see if they notice damage- and to
see if they have used any weed killers recently. There are some older lawn weed killers that
use a weaker dicamba formula. Contact
your local county Extension office and/ or your state department of agriculture
and ask where you can send samples of plants to be tested and how to collect
and send the samples. Tell them you
suspect dicamba drift.
In many states you will have to pay for the testing. If it’s confirmed that dicamba caused the
problem and you can trace the application of dicamba to a particular farm you
may be able to collect damages. Some
farmers have liability insurance and most certified pesticide applicators that
are hired to spray crops will have liability insurance. You may be able to submit a claim and collect
damages. However you may have to hire a
lawyer to be reimbursed for damages.
You may have to be a sleuth to find out who owns a
soybean field, the most likely place a volatilization drift came from. Try using plat maps, usually sold or
available to look at, somewhere in your county government, to find the owner of
the land. Your county Extension crop
“educator” or a state agricultural inspector may be able to help you locate who
owns a field. Then you’ll have to ask
what type of soy they planted and what they sprayed on the field.
Why
do we need another GMO variety of soy?
So why are we having this problem? Some weeds have become resistant to, glyphosate,
(Round Up). Farmers that are interested
in improving their yield want to easily manage weeds by spraying weed killers
that don’t affect the crop. They will
embrace the new technology or be pressured into accepting it. It was estimated that 60% of the soybean crop
planted this year was already dicamba resistant varieties. And if they pay for GMO dicamba ready seeds
they are going to use the dicamba products on them.
Personally I think we need to re-evaluate if we want to
control weeds by GMO means. I am not against
genetic modification of plants to improve yield, increase nutrition, improve
disease resistance and so on. I am not
too worried about consuming GMO plant products.
However it’s been shown that weeds quickly develop resistance to a weed
killer. More and more product has to be
applied and then we head on to another product, which always seems more toxic
than the last. Dicamba is more toxic in
the environment than glyphosate and much more persistent. What will we move on to after dicamba?
Here are links to some additional reading on the
dicamba problem.
Bacon
and Tomato jam
This is a novelty jam that you can make to use up
tomatoes. It’s good on toast. You need some sugar in this to thicken it but
you can reduce the sugar slightly. It is a sweet product, almost like ketchup
to my taste. You can adjust the spices,
but don’t reduce the vinegar. You could use bacon bits from the grocery as a
shortcut but it will taste better if you cook up the bacon at home. It makes
about 2 cups.
This recipe makes a slightly chunky jam. If you want a smooth product, more like
jelly, leave the bacon out, push the cooked ingredients through a sieve and then
add the bacon-of course that will be chunky but you can finely crumble it.
The jam will store in the refrigerator for several
days. You can also freeze it in small
portions for up to 2 months.
Note: to easily peel tomatoes dip them in scalding
water for a minute or two and then into ice water. The peel will easily pull off. It takes about 8 good sized tomatoes to make
4 cups chopped.
Ingredients
½ pound of bacon, (maple bacon is great), fried crisp,
drained and crumbled.
4 cups of very ripe, cored, peeled and finely chopped
tomatoes
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup of sugar
2½ tablespoons vinegar
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic juice (optional)
Put all the ingredients except the bacon in a pan and
cook on low heat, stirring occasionally.
When the jam begins to thicken add the cooked bacon and
continue to cook and stir more frequently as the jam thickens.
Cook the jam until it’s thick and glossy. This jam will take at least an hour of
cooking.
Remove the jam from the heat and let cool, then
refrigerate or freeze.
"For man, autumn is a time of
harvest, of gathering together. For
nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."
-
Edwin Way Teale
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used
without permission.
And
So On….
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share? Post them here by emailing me. You can also
ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
Find
Michigan garden events/classes here:
(This is the Lapeer County Gardeners
facebook page)
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
Newsletter/blog
information
If you would like to
pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity
please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also
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comment directly on the blog. Please state that you want to have the item
published in my weekly note if you email me. You must give your full name and
what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to
ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish
what I want. Contact me at KimWillis151@gmail.com
I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a
hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any
time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know
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ReplyDeleteHey,
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Regards.
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