January 29 garden newsletter

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder, lightning flashing all around and pouring rain.  It sounds like spring but there is still snow on the ground.  It’s an awful, soggy mess out there today and the fog is getting dense and even though it’s supposed to be in the 50’s later I think I will stay inside. 

My computer has been giving me problems and this weekly newsletter may be a little shorter than usual - I’ll see how far I can get today before I get too frustrated.  I have a new computer on the way - hopefully it will get here this week  - and then I have to go through all the problems associated with setting a new computer up and getting used to a new version of windows.  But once I’m through that it should all be fine.

Even though nothing is blooming outside I have a lot in bloom inside right now.  I have geraniums, Euphorbia, African violets, Christmas cactus and abutilon in bloom.  During the last mild spell I brought one of my pots of daffodils inside and it is sprouting.  I am giving them another week on the unheated porch to acclimatize then bringing them into the south window inside.  Hopefully I’ll have daffodils in just a few weeks.  I have been starting cuttings of coleus and will start on geraniums later in the week. 

Yes this is a geranium, unfortunately I don't know its name.

And everyone should have at least one canary singing away in the house as mine are - it makes it sound like spring!  I dump the water from their cups in a plant or two in my office window and some rape seed sprouted in one pot from the water.  The birds now have a few tender green leaves each week from the plant, which they love.

  

Check up for your houseplants

It’s a good time to examine your houseplants for insect pests.  As the days start to get longer these critters get active.  If you see sticky sap on windows, curtains or other items near your plants or the plants and nearby surfaces have a black sooty looking mold your plants probably have one of these insects; aphids, mealy bugs or scale.  These insects excrete a sticky poop from digesting plant sugars and that sometimes leads to the mold growth.  They are sucking the life out of your plants and need to be controlled.

Mealy bugs look like white bits of fluff on the leaves, especially down in the centers of dense plants.  Scale insects look like brown bumps on leaves and stems.  Aphids are small but visible to the naked eye and they can be a number of colors, but are usually greenish indoors.  They are a fat bodied little bug with long legs. 

House plants that are fairly small are relatively easy to treat for insects with this trick.  Cover the pot with a plastic bag to hold in the soil and immerse the plant upside down in a bucket of warm water with a little dish soap added.  Hold all the leaves underwater for at least 5 minutes; more is better but not more than an hour.  Swishing the plant around in the water gently also helps.  Rinse the soapy water off with clean cool water, either in the shower or in a bucket or sink of clean water.  Then place the plants in a room where there are no plants while you clean the area they were sitting in thoroughly.  Clean the windows and adjacent things of any sticky sap or mold, and make sure all old leaves and other plant debris is cleaned up and taken outside before you return the plants.  Examine pots for scale or other insects too.

If the problem was scale insects, those hard shelled bumps on the plant, you should go over the plant leaves and stems with a soft cloth and rub off the scales, as some may survive the dunking.   If you have a large plant with scale and you are patient you can go over the entire plant gently scraping the scale off, even without dunking it.  You will need to make several inspections as I guarantee you will not find all the little buggers the first time.  You can remove heavily infested leaves from the plant; the plant can grow new ones.

For mealy bugs and aphids on plants too large to dunk in water or even on smaller plants you don’t want to dunk, such as blooming plants (soapy water will destroy the flowers) you can purchase a systemic insecticide for houseplants.  Spray type insecticides aren’t too effective, especially on scale and mealy bugs and pollute the air you breathe.

Other pests on houseplants include spider mites and whiteflies.  Spider mites are tiny red moving specks if you shake a plant branch over a white sheet of paper and they leave tiny webs on the backs of leaves and in between leaves and branches.  White flies are tiny specks of white that fly up when you shake or move a plant.  Spider mites are usually bad when conditions are dry.   Give your plants a shower or misting and increase the humidity around them. Dunking the plants can help too.

Yellow sticky traps are used for whiteflies; you can buy them at nursery supply stores.   There are indoor insecticides for white flies and spider mites but use them carefully.    

Another pest that really doesn’t hurt the plants much but can be annoying is fungus gnats.  These look like fruit flies flying around but hatch in your potting medium.  Both fungus gnats and fruit flies can be trapped in an open container of half water and half vinegar with a little dish soap mixed in.  To determine if you have fruit flies or fungus gnats place cut pieces of raw potato on top of your planting medium.  Fungus gnat larvae will come out of the soil into the potato which you can throw away outside.  They will look like dark threads in the potato flesh.  Keep bags of planting medium tightly closed and dry until you use them as they can be a source of the gnats.

Watch that compost

For those of you who buy compost there is new concerns about toxic compost.  There are some chemical herbicides for broad leaved weeds that remain in plants even after they are composted and there is now research that manure from animals which graze fields treated with these chemicals pass the chemical along in manure that gets added to compost.  One research project found that horses eating a commercial big name brand of feed actually had the chemicals in their manure. The feed products tested positive for the pesticides.  It’s not clear yet whether the feeds were accidentally contaminated or as the research hints- the feeds were just made from products treated with these persistent chemicals.

The chemicals in question are actually advertised to be safe if animals graze treated pastures and don’t seem to be posing a problem for animals when in feed.  You can bet that if animals were experiencing health issues that the major feed manufacturers would be more concerned.  However the chemicals do cause major problems for garden plants even after manure and treated plant debris have been composted for several months.  When the compost is added to gardens the plants experience curling leaves, deformities, poor growth and other pesticide poisoning symptoms and may die.

The chemicals that seem to persist forever are picloram and clopyralid which are present in several broad leaf weed killers on the market now.  Also aminocyclopyrachlor, marketed as Imprelis, which killed so many trees a couple years ago, has the same persistence.  The pesticides are not generally for sale to homeowners but are used by farmers and commercial lawn care companies. The pesticide labels do state that treated plants should not be composted.  The pesticides are sprayed on grasses and kill only the weeds (or your trees).

The problem is this.  Commercial composting places collect grass clippings, manure and other organic matter for composting and have no idea if the plant products have been treated with a pesticide or if animals that produced the manure have been grazing pesticide treated pastures or have been fed commercial feed tainted with the products.  .

Some compost facilities are now routinely testing their products because of many lawsuits associated with bad compost applications.  But if you buy compost or manure it pays to be a little cautious.  Ask if the compost or manure has been tested for pesticide residue.

It’s possible that even if you use manure produced on your farm from animals you know didn't graze treated pastures that they may have received those persistent pesticides in a commercial feed you fed them and the manure could be toxic.  You won’t know the manure is toxic unless you have it tested and unless a compost facility tests their product they won’t know if they used tainted manure either.

Making your own compost for the garden is always the safest bet.  If you are composting most garden plants and household food scraps you know that they weren’t treated with broad leaf weed killers.   If you collect lawn clippings or leaves only from lawns that aren’t treated for weeds you are safe.  Manure from organically fed animals is safe as is manure from animals fed primarily on untreated pastures and whole grains rather than commercial feed.   

Compost is still wonderful for the soil and a wonderful way to re-cycle and I don’t want you to fear using compost.  But be a little more cautious with what you compost.  If you experience plant problems soon after applying compost or after planting them in compost enriched soil you may want to remove the compost or transplant the plants.  

Some quirky fun information

Oh what fun some researchers must have.  Some recent research published has detailed how dung beetles navigate.  Dung beetles come out at night and the male beetle seeks manure or dung.  When he finds it he rolls up a ball of it and rolls it to a female who then mates with him and uses the ball of manure to lay her eggs in. That’s how we got the tradition of presenting our loves with candy on Valentines Day by the way.

What researchers wanted to know was how the beetles rolled their manure balls in a straight line right to the females when it was dark outside.  It seems that the beetles use the stars, specifically the position of the Milky Way, which appears to the beetles as a band of bright light, to navigate. They found this out by putting little blindfolds on the beetles outside and by transporting some beetles to a planetarium where they could manipulate the night sky. 

They also found that the straighter and faster a boy rolled his gift offering the more success he had winning the girl.  First come, first served I guess.  Hmmn.  Dung beetle races in the planetarium are considered a good use of research dollars.   Thank God this research was done in Sweden.  And the races were actually filmed, maybe a movie will be made soon or maybe the mob will buy the films for betting purposes.

What wasn’t explained in the report I read is how the boy beetles knew where the girls were in the first place.  To roll a ball of poop toward them they had to know where the girl was.  Do they always line up in a certain relationship to the Milky Way?   Do they wait a respectable distance from the manure heap?  I am sure we need to explore this fascinating behavior more.

Hurry spring!

Stay dry you guys and curl up with a good dung research report.

More Information

Terrariums are really hot this year and I have seen some amazing landscapes in miniature an so many cute plant holders and terrariums are on sale now.  Read more about terrariums here.

While winter keeps most Americans from gardening outside there is some gardening you can do inside that will satisfy your desires both to plan and plant. Miniature landscapes in terrariums or dish gardens are popular right now and they let you combine unique, beautiful containers with exotic to common plants for simply stunning effects. The possibilities are endless for this hobby and even children can design and plant terrariums and dish gardens. Read more here

http://www.examiner.com/article/create-a-beautiful-terrarium

Your plum trees versus black knot

            Winter is the perfect time to scout for black knot in plum trees.

            Posted on January 7, 2013 by Gretchen Voyle, Michigan State University Extension

Black knot is a fungal disease that strikes fear in the hearts of owners of plum trees. It doesn’t matter if they are edible plums or the decorative, landscaping variety, the trees could be fatally affected. Since twigs and branches are easily seen during winter, it is a good idea to check any plums for galls or swollen growths. Michigan State University Extension horticulture educators and Master Gardener hotlines receive many calls about black knot when the leaves are off the trees.

Black knot causes black, corky, swollen growths to form on branches, twigs and occasionally trunks. The nutrient and moisture flow is cut off to the branch that extends beyond the black knot. The spread of the disease has to do with suitable hosts and humid weather during the growing season.

Host trees are plums and occasionally cherries. Very susceptible edible plums are ‘Stanley’ and ‘Shropshire.’ For ornamentals, purple leaf plum and sand cherry are often targets. Edible plums that are moderately resistant to black knot are ‘Damson’, ‘Bluefree,’ ‘Shiro’, ‘Santa Rosa’ and ‘Formosa.’ Japanese plums are generally less susceptible. ‘President’ is the only type of edible plum that is considered highly resistant.

Black knot takes several years to develop. In the first year, small, light brown swellings are visible on the current year or last year’s twig growth, which will be towards the ends of the branches. By the next year, the swellings have grown and become olive green with a velvety appearance. During this year’s growing season, the galls swell and turn black and become misshapen. As the nutrients and moisture are cut off to the twig, the twig could become curved or bent at the location of the gall.

When black knot is found, there are two choices: remove the tree or attempt to treat it. Treatment may remove a large quantity of the branches if black knot is severe. During the winter, the galls need to be pruned out. Prune at least 6 inches away from an existing gall into healthy wood. This may leave very few branches, so this may be the point when deciding whether to keep the tree needs to occur. Burn or bury the pruned black knot wood. Do not drop the pruned galls on the ground. The galls can still spread spores during the growing season. Do not prune during the growing season because the fungal spores can be spread around at this time.

Using a fungicide is recommended only for trees with severe fungal problems or valuable trees. Apply the fungicide when the trees are dormant in the spring – when there are no green buds, leaves or flowers present. Then, spray again when the flower buds color up. The fungicide is to prevent more problems; it cannot cure it. Use a fungicide that has an active ingredient of chlorothalonil or thiophanate-methyl. For many places in Michigan, it will be easier to find a fungicide with chlorothalonil. Be sure to follow the directions. The tree should be sprayed each spring following the timing given above.

Some of these plum varieties are just trouble waiting to happen. This is a very difficult fungal disease to eliminate, but for smart gardeners looking for replacement trees, they now have an idea of what not to select.

Beautiful staghorn fern picture

I want to share this picture of a staghorn fern basal leaf in the sunlight.  This is a new basal leaf sprouting.  These leaves are the ones that clasp a tree or other structure to anchor the plant in the wild.  The other type of leaf the ferns have isn't shown well here, its a strap like long leave with a forked tip, hence the name.  Those leaves are the sexual parts of the plant, producing spores on the underside of the leaf.

I bought my staghorn at the Eastern Michigan State Fair Master Gardener Auction a few years ago.  It was donated to the auction by a fellow MG who has many of them in his home.  In the summer this fern sits outside under a cedar tree, indoors here in a Michigan winter I sit it on a step ladder about a foot from a south window.  

This one is in a pot, you can see how it is starting to clasp the pot in the second picture.  The pot makes it easier to move than if it was mounted on a board as many people do. It has slowly gotten bigger and heavier.  These are very long-lived plants and I have heard that in Florida some get 6 x 6 feet.  Mine just gets a little water poured on the basal leaves once in a while and a little fertilizer in the summer. They seem to thrive on benign neglect.

One is supposed to be able to divide the plant easily, there are new "pup" growths that appear on the basal fronds but I haven't tried it.  I am content to let it just increase in size although I am thinking about how to get it a larger pot.  These ferns don't need soil, the plate like basal leaves collect debris that decomposes and feeds them.  But this pot is getting a bit crowded.

January 22 weekly newsletter

It’s really cold out there - but at least it’s sunny.  My thermometer reads 7 degrees and the wind chill is supposed to be -10 out there and I believe it.  I had to bundle up like an Eskimo to go to the barn this morning.  Most of the animals appear to be fine- they have dry draft free quarters in the barn and straw to burrow into.   I worry a bit about the one cat that showed up here before Christmas.  She isn’t used to being outside. But her chances are better out there than inside with my dogs.  I brought out warm chicken noodle soup to the cats this morning- yes I am spoiling them- and gave them a hot meal.  Some of the chickens helped eat that, the little cannibals.

Our weather is supposed to moderate by the weekend and we may get some snow Thursday.  We actually need a bit of snow anyway as our winter is not replenishing our soil moisture as it should be.  When you make plans for those gardens in the spring think about setting up a drip irrigation system or at least a sprinkler system in case the drought continues.

Winter on the farm 

My brother tells me that Australia is having drought conditions again this year.  His grass has dried up and he is having trouble feeding his cows.  People around here are reporting having trouble feeding their animals too, as hay is scarce and expensive.  If you are in need of hay try this site Michigan Hay Sellers List or call Phil Kaatz at the Lapeer MSU Extension office 810-667-0341.

Red Squirrels

I posted an article at the end of the newsletter about red squirrel damage to spruce trees and I want to add that I have been noticing lots of feeding damage on cedars (arborvitae) also.  The squirrels chew off the tips of cedars to get at the tiny cones.  They also eat the buds off maple and other trees.  This year there may be more damage than usual because the mast (nuts and acorns) production was low this fall due to our weird spring weather.

While other types of squirrels may also due some damage to trees the red squirrels are the worst offenders.  Red squirrels are the small reddish squirrels with white bellies and a white ring around their eyes.  They are nothing but arboreal rats.  They will also enter your attic and even get into basements and crawl spaces, just like rats.  I have some in my attic again this winter and its driving my dogs nuts.  In the warmer parts of the day they are active running around and fighting up there and the dogs are jumping on my plant tables and windowsills trying to get closer to the squirrels they hear in the attic.  I now have lots of coleus cuttings in water because they knocked over a large plant.

I read up on red squirrels- you can follow the links from the article below too- and I found out that they will actually eat baby rabbits and that one of their favorite foods is mushrooms.  They will eat anything, which I know, and are quite vicious with each other and other animals.  They say people hunt them for meat - but with 9 types of tapeworms and 25 types of fleas to name some parasites that frequent them, I wouldn’t want to eat one.   

Rat poison doesn’t seem to work on them.  Rat traps will kill them but they are quite good at avoiding them.  Shooting works if you can hit them.  Some people say to put out corn, nuts and sunflower seed to keep them from eating your trees but other studies have found that’s not very effective.  You don’t stop much of the damage and it allows them to raise more babies with the extra food.

 

New concerns about Imidacloprid

 

Imidacloprid and thiamethoxam belong to a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids. These are insect growth regulators, and were touted as fairly safe

pesticides. They are generally applied as systemic products and not sprayed on.  Imidacloprid is registered for use on 140 crops and used in 120 countries. Now two studies done at the, at the University of Stirling, UK and at INRA in Avignon, France and published in Science say that the pesticide is part of the reason that bees are disappearing and failing to reproduce well. 

 

The latest studies found that when bees consume pollen and nectar from plants treated with neonicotinoids they tend to lose their memory, failing to find their way back to the hive or not remembering how to perform their hive jobs.  The hive often doesn’t produce enough food for its workers and slowly dies.  A hive exposed to the pesticides also fails to produce new queens.  The loss of bees and other pollinators is a serious threat to agriculture and raises the cost of food.  Poor pollination can also affect other plant species other than crop foods and may lead to reduced numbers or extinction of native plants. 

 

Bayer and Syngenta, the largest producers of neonicotinoids, dispute the latest research, saying their own research failed to find significant damage to bees.  European countries are considering a ban on the pesticides.  Many, many trees are treated with imidacloprid products - remember what was recommended for Emerald Ash borer?- and still are.  It’s not known if other animals experience any effects of the products but gardeners may want to think seriously about using these products.  Never use these products on anything that produces food or even near food crops.

 

Quinoa

 

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a grain crop grown primarily in the high areas of Peru.  For a long time it supported the indigenous peoples of the area very well.  Quinoa has an unusually high protein content for a grain and that protein contains all the essential amino acids that meat does. Suddenly quinoa has become a food fad, especially among vegans and vegetarians, using it as meat replacement. 

 

The demand for quinoa has caused the cost of the grain to skyrocket in Peru and South America in general, making it hard for poor people to buy the nutritious grain and instead they must buy imported foods of lesser nutritional value. Even those who grow the crop are choosing to sell it to major marketers instead of eating it themselves or selling it to local markets.  While it may produce some additional income for them, the farmers are not getting rich; they are paid very poorly compared to what the grain sells for in trendy European and American health food stores.

 

Quinoa is not an easy crop to grow and there are no large growers outside of Peru.  That’s not to say that with research and some trials that quinoa couldn’t be produced in other places.  But now with the high cost of fuel to transport it thousands of miles from where it is grown and the damage that removing the crop from its native land is doing to the nutrition of poor people it’s not a positive food choice for Americans and Europeans. 

 

Before I had read about the problems that food faddists had caused with this grain I had circled quinoa in the Territorial Seed catalog as a crop I wanted to try this year.(www.TerritorialSeed.com)  It is actually quite ornamental with spires of pretty red, fuchsia, burgundy, cream or yellow flowers.  The leaves are eaten like spinach as well as the plant producing a nutty flavored grain when mature.

 

Territorial gives a few cultural suggestions but doesn’t mention that this is generally a cool climate crop, even though it takes a long time, about 120 days, to produce a grain crop.  I don’t know if successful grain production could be obtained here.  But for you vegetarians and vegans- or others- who want to try the crop, growing it here would be preferable to buying imported quinoa.  Why not give this unusual crop a try this summer?  Let me know how your trial went and I’ll let you know how mine goes.  For those market gardeners out there this might be a crop that could bring you some cash, if you can get it to grow successfully.

 

More heritage flowers

 

Last week I wrote about heritage flowers in this newsletter and I published a similar article on my Examiner garden column.  Scott Knust, of Old House Gardens, wrote me to say how much he enjoyed the article, and sent me a catalog.  Looking through the catalog made me remember other heritage flowers of my youth, especially the summer bulbs. 

 

My paternal grandmother was not much of a gardener but every year she planted dahlias, rows of them in my grandfather’s vegetable garden.  She would go to Canada in the spring and bring back new varieties to plant by swapping some of her old ones with Canadian relatives.  In late summer she made great bouquets of the flowers in her house, with dozens of colors and styles of dahlias.

 

One season working in the Extension office I helped a gentleman with a problem he was having with his dahlias and he returned the favor by bringing me a bucket of all kinds of beautiful dahlia flowers.  Since then I have grown some dahlias every summer and I am slowly expanding my collection. 

 

A modern dahlia, variety unknown.

Dahlias used to be quite popular, and there are hundreds of varieties, with a broad range of colors, flower styles, pom pom, cactus flowered, dinner plate and so forth.   You see the small bedding dahlias offered in garden stores but the large, gloriously extravagant dahlias generally have to be purchased as tubers from catalogs.  Old House Gardens (www.oldhousegardens.com) has a number of heirloom varieties, some of whose names I remember from my childhood but there are many modern varieties too.  I remember grandma being proud of her Jersey Beauty( pink) and Lavender Chiffon dahlias.  One of the dahlias I remember growing is the beautiful Sellwood Glory (purple with white edges).

 

Gladiolus are another old garden favorite that aren’t being grown much in modern gardens.  I remember that every farmer’s market stall used to have big bouquets of them in buckets of water in late summer and almost every person in the market would be carrying a bundle home.  I grew them for the 4-H fair flower competition as did many other kids.

 

I admit there are challenges in blending them into garden beds but if you look at some of the older varieties such as Atom, a petite red flowered glad with each flower edged in silver that’s loved by hummingbirds; you might change your mind about adding them to the garden. Another great small glad is Boone, which has apricot flowers flushed with a little reddish throat.  These wiry glads need no staking and some have actually survived Michigan winters to return again.

 

Other summer bulbs that need more attention are Crocosmia, Tuberose, rain lilies( Zephyranthes) and Acidanthera ( now classified with gladiolus).  My daughter in law picked up a package of marked down Acidanthera, also called Abyssinian Glads, and planted them against a south facing wall last spring.  By late summer they made a beautiful, fragrant mass that she loved.

 

Cannas have enjoyed a bit of recent popularity for their large, attractive foliage which lends a tropical flair to the garden.  However there are some interesting heritage varieties you might want to try out there.  One of the rarest is Ehemanii which has dangling, trumpet shaped rose pink flowers instead of the usual canna flowers.  It can grow 8 feet high. 

 

People sometimes complain about having to dig up and store these summer bulbs over the winter but you don’t have to do this- how much money do you spend on annuals, tender perennials and tropicals each year that you don’t worry about saving?  If you are buying some of the more expensive heritage bulbs you may want to save them and an easy way to do it is to plant the bulbs in pots and sink them in the ground.  When frost kills the tops bring the whole pot inside to a cool place for winter storage.  I use this method for many bulbs.

 

I won’t discuss the lilies and daylilies we need to preserve this week- maybe next week.   Lilies have always been a favorite of mine.

 

Drink some hot chocolate and keep warm.

 

Kim Willis

 

 

 

More Information

 

Here’s the article I wrote for Examiner on heritage bulbs if you would like to read it.

 

While many of us are familiar with the movement to grow more heritage food plants to preserve genetic diversity and discover better taste, fewer people seem to be interested in preserving heritage flowers. Many heritage flowering plants are annuals and our gardening tastes have shifted to perennial plants. What annual plants we do grow are usually restricted to some flashy new varieties of familiar bedding plants like impatiens, petunias and marigolds.  Read more;

http://www.examiner.com/article/growing-heritage-garden-flowers

 

Another good article

 

If you want a fast growing vine in your Michigan garden to cover an unsightly fence or climb your trellis, plant some morning glories. An old fashioned climber, morning glories thrive almost anywhere and will provide you with beautiful color from summer to heavy frost. For those gardeners with limited space there are new varieties of morning glories that are suitable for containers and hanging baskets.

http://www.examiner.com/article/garden-plant-profiles-morning-glories

January 15, 2013 - Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

From Kim Willis
http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-detroit/kimberley-willis

http://www.examiner.com/country-living-in-detroit/kimberley-willis

http://www.examiner.com/cooking-in-detroit/kimberley-willis

Hi Gardeners

Well we had a taste of spring, now its back to winter.  I sat outside Saturday afternoon on a bench without a coat, just long sleeves, enjoying the sun.  Then of course we all woke up Monday morning to snow.  I was noticing how many of my plants around the yard were still green Saturday, things we don’t normally think of as evergreen.  The bamboo, my lavender and sage were all still green as was the oregano where it had been snow covered.  The heuchera were still “green” too.  The landscape roses by my house all had red swelling buds along the stems.  Spring is there waiting for us. 

There are gardening things to do as we near mid January besides flipping through catalogs to order plants.  It’s time to start saving and washing those plastic deli and bakery trays for starting cuttings and seeds.  Look over your seed starting supplies if you are going to start seeds and get what you need before the stores sell out.  You can make paper pots if you need to.  You may want to actually start the seeds of plants that take a long time to bloom such as impatiens, seed geraniums, coleus, petunias and other tender perennials.  Cuttings from geraniums wintered inside can be taken and started now too as well as potting up tuberous begonias.

You can do your fruit tree pruning any time you feel like braving the weather.  Prune oak trees now if they need it.  It’s a good time to check for any tree damage from deer, rabbits and rodents and protect the trees if needed. 

Give your houseplants a good checking over and treat for pests like scale if needed. Dust and wash plant leaves.  Some plants may appreciate a warm shower as our homes are very dry now.  The best way to do this is to cover the pot with a plastic bag, set it in the shower and use warm water on a gentle spray cycle for a few minutes. Do this early in the day so the foliage has a long time to dry before evening.  Let them drain well before returning to their spots. They will love you for this.  You can start houseplant cuttings now.  Anything that’s blooming can be fertilized, but hold off fertilizing the rest of the houseplants until March.

It’s time to take care of yourself too.  Get a flu shot if you haven’t had one.  If you get a cold or flu chicken soup is scientifically proven to help relieve congestion and sore throats.  Stay away from doctor’s offices and hospitals because that’s where sick people go and that’s where you will catch viruses if you don’t have them. Cancel non-essential appointments until flu season is over.  Wash the handles of shopping carts before use and wash your hands often.

What bees like

New research has determined that iridescence, the shiny flashing colors seen in certain light on some flowers, attracts bees just like neon lights attract bar hopping humans.  The colors are caused by folds in the waxy cuticle layers on the flower petals. The folds have ridges on top with “diffraction gratings”- which bend light and cause the glittery colors. These folds also help bees get a grip on flower petals and help them obtain the rewards they are seeking. 

Bumble bees, one of our top pollinators, are also attracted to red flowers and flowers which have their veins outlined on a flower petal in a contrasting color.  Usually the veins are outlined in red shades because in some plants where the tissues of flower veins touch the dermal tissues of a flower petal a line of reddish pigment forms.  In general plants with vein patterns are highly attractive to bees and reward them with generous amounts of pollen or nectar.  Research has found that bees learn and memorize colors and patterns that lead to food rewards. 

When humans breed plants to modify their flower colors and forms they may inadvertently be breeding plants with flowers that fewer bees find and when bees find fewer flowers - well they make fewer bees - and that will eventually cause pollination problems across the garden - and world.   Do our pollinating bees a favor this spring and grow some plants with flowers that are iridescent, red or that have prominently marked vein patterns so the bees can “bee”  all that they can “bee”.

Heritage Flowers

When I was growing up my grandmother who lived next door had an extensive flower garden as well as a food garden.  I can vividly remember some of those flowers and their cultivar names today.  I saved my babysitting money to purchase little packets of seeds from the back of magazines, which advertised sample packets for 10 cents or 3 for a quarter.  My grandmother also gave me seeds and plants to grow in my own garden. 

While many of us are familiar with the movement to grow more heritage food plants to preserve genetic diversity and discover better taste, fewer people seem to be interested in preserving heritage flowers.  Many heritage flowering plants are annuals and our gardening tastes have shifted to perennial plants.  What annual plants we do grow are restricted to some flashy new varieties of familiar bedding plants like impatiens, petunias and marigolds. 

There are two types of heritage flowers, heritage species that are seldom grown any more and old varieties or cultivars of plants that are now represented in our gardens by newer, “better” cultivars.  It’s true that in some cases newer hybrids are easier to grow and more disease resistant, but just like heritage tomatoes we miss some of the benefits that older varieties of plants can provide if we stop growing them.  

This year why not set aside some space to grow some charming old fashioned flowers?    Many make good cutting flowers, some make good dried arrangements and many are more attractive and more rewarding to bees and other pollinators than their newer counterparts. I am going to list some flowers and some older cultivars that I remember and that I know you can still find on line and in some catalogs.  It makes me laugh a bit that flowers I grew as a youngster are now heritage varieties.

Sweet Peas (annual) used to be the rage and gardeners grew hundreds of cultivars.  They are seldom grown today.  They can be planted in early spring, when you plant regular garden peas, right in the garden.  The scent and colors of old varieties are wonderful.  Look for “Spencer” hybrids, Cupani and Old Spice mix.

My grandmother always had a big patch of Bachelors Button’s which helped cover the iris bed after it quit blooming.  These have gray-green leaves and small tufts of pretty flowers, mostly in blue shades but with occasional pink, red and white colors.  They are annuals but re-seed freely.  We used to search for different and unusual colored flowers and my grandmother would save the seeds to keep the patch diversified.  A “Boy” series sold back then actually had true breeding colors, such as Blue Boy, Black Boy, (I bet that’s not sold anymore) and Red Boy.  Polka Dots is another cultivar name.

Hollyhocks ( perennial or bi-annual) are still grown by some gardeners.  Try these older cultivars Chaters Double, Watchman, and Indian Spring.  China Asters are annual asters that are great for cutting and have large flowers.  An old variety, Giants of California, is still good. Heliotrope is still offered in garden centers.  (It’s not hardy in Michigan.) But if you want good old fashioned blue heliotrope with that amazing scent, look for the variety Marine.

Four O’ Clocks ( annual) open their tubular flowers in the late afternoon and the flowers are often multicolored.  Marvel of Peru is the old cultivar name.  The modern nicotiana varieties ( annual, tender perennials)  do have their place but try one of these old favorites for something different;  Only the Lonely ( N.sylvestris), Louisiana Pirogue, Langsdorf, Aztec Sweet, or Delaware Indian Sacred.

Morning Glories are great for covering fences and trellises.  New varieties are on the market now but these old ones are still beautiful.  Try these varieties; Heavenly Blue, Grandpa Ott, Flying Saucers and Scarlett O’Hara.  While Morning Glories are annuals they often reseed- and cross breed and you’ll have them forever.

Calendula or pot marigolds are edible flowers that bloom best in early spring and then again in the fall.  They were used to color butter and the petals are fed to chickens to produce deep yellow yolks.  Pacific Beauty and Radio are good older varieties.  Nasturtiums are another edible flower that all old gardens used to contain.  Tall Trailing was a sprawling mixture often grown in porch boxes.  Alaska has white variegated leaves. Fiesta is another old variety.  Both calendula and nasturtiums are annuals.

Marigolds have many older cultivars.  I remember how proud I was of the size and beauty of the Cracker Jack marigolds that I grew as a kid. An old smaller variety of marigold is the Signet series.  Cosmos, Bright Lights, Seashell and Sensation make colorful tall bedding plants and are good for cutting.

Zinnias (annual) used to be very popular.  I remember growing State Fair, Cut and Come Again, and California Giants.  All are still available.  Snapdragons were an old favorite for bedding in mass.  Some are actually short lived perennials.  The Rocket hybrids were all the rage.

If you like to dry flowers then try strawflowers, statice, Bells of Ireland, Love Lies Bleeding, Kiss me Over the Garden Gate, and other amaranths, Canterbury Bells, Lunaria, and Chinese Lanterns.  Some are annuals, some are perennials.

These plants don’t have many variety names but are interesting older flowering plants perfect for cottage gardens and a bit of nostalgia.  Maybe you remember some of them; Stocks, pyrethrum ( Painted Daisies), Candytuft, Scarlet Flax, Feverfew, Digitalis, Sweet William, Ipomopsis ( Standing Cypress), Bush Balsam ( Touch Me Not) Tassel Flower ( Emilia javanica), Flanders or Corn Poppy, Larkspur, portulaca ( Moss Rose).

Herbs for hot flashes

If you are a woman suffering from post-menopausal symptoms you’ll be happy to learn that research published January 11 in The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist   has determined that these herbs or plant products, soy, red clover and black cohosh are just as effective in treating post menopausal symptoms as hormone replacement therapy, without the risks associated with artificial hormones.  The plant products are generally used together and can be found in most places that sell herbal products.  However women who have had breast cancer or are at high risk for it because of genetics are advised not to use the herbs.

How to keep ladybugs home

Did you know that ladybugs eat nectar and pollen as well as devouring bad insects?  One of the problems people have when they purchase lady bugs for their gardens is to keep them from flying off.  Other people hope to attract more of them to the garden to eat aphids and other bugs.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Jonathan Lundgren at the agency's North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D., and former ARS entomologist Michael Seagraves were part of a team of ARS and university scientists who are studying lady beetles, which haven’t actually been studied much despite their pest controlling abilities as well as their reputation for sometimes becoming pests.

The researchers found that spraying soybean fields with a sugar solution kept the ladybugs in the fields longer and made the female lady beetles more successful at reproducing. The larvae or young of ladybeetles are avid eaters of aphids.  The sugar solution also attracted lady beetles from other places to the field.   Research determined that lady beetles which ate a varied diet were healthier. 

Another bit of research information that has come out lately is that the redder in color a lady beetle is, the healthier it is and the more toxins it carries to prevent birds and other predators from eating it.  The predators avoid the redder insects.

So here’s an idea for those gardeners who want to attract beneficial lady beetles to the garden.  Mix up a sugar solution and spray some plants.   

More Information

Make those resolutions

It’s a new year and if you are a gardener you have probably started thinking about your next gardening adventure, even if it’s cold and snowy outside. Maybe with all the other resolutions you've made for the new year and a new start you've made some resolutions considering your garden. Here are some resolutions you may want to consider making if they aren't already on your list.  Read more :

http://www.examiner.com/article/making-those-garden-resolutions

Growing annual flowers from seed

f you are a frugal gardener who wants masses of annual flowers for color or for cutting, you’ll be happy to know that many annuals can be directly seeded in your Michigan garden and will bloom and provide color for you through much of the summer. With a little care a small packet of seeds can produce dozens, if not hundreds of flowers for you.  Read more:

http://www.examiner.com/article/growing-annual-flowers-from-seed-the-garden

January 8 weekly garden newsletter

January 8, 2013 - Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

From Kim Willis
http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-detroit/kimberley-willis

http://www.examiner.com/country-living-in-detroit/kimberley-willis

http://www.examiner.com/cooking-in-detroit/kimberley-willis

http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/

These weekly garden notes are written by Kim Willis, unless another author is noted, and the opinions expressed in these notes are her opinions and do not represent any other individual, group or organizations

opinions.

Hello Gardeners

A few sunny days have lifted my spirits a bit.  We just got the cold weather and it looks like a January thaw is on the way.  That’s fine with me, as long as it doesn’t get too warm and start the plants growing.  Temps in the 40’s should be just fine.  I would love it if the hose to the barn would run during the day.  Rainy weather is ahead- I don’t know if I like that.  Be careful if you are out and about Wednesday night or early Thursday as we may have some freezing drizzle or fog.

Boy, have I been getting the garden catalogs.  Making my lists and checking them twice.  I want to try some new edible landscaping plants this year.  (That is this years hot garden trend-edible landscaping, by the way.)  There are so many new things on the market you didn’t see years ago.  Try the Raintree catalog/website for some great ideas.   I have decided to rip out my old strawberry patch and plant a new one.  They need renewal every few years and I want to move mine farther from the chickens- so I get the berries.

I have always wanted some Japanese Forest Grass- almost bought some last year, then decided to wait.  This year it’s on the top of my list because I know just where to put it now.  I see several excellent cultivars I’d like to try.  I also have a spot in mind for some new heuchera cultivars.  I want to develop mostly shaded or partly shaded areas this year.

A few years ago I developed the west side of the front yard, in an area under some cedar trees between the house and the horse pasture, into an outdoor room.  Mulch, chairs, lots of colorful containers of shade plants, grill, picnic table and even a fountain were installed.  However we seldom used the space and after a while I dismantled the fountain and just kept the area mowed where any grass grew. 

Now that the horses are gone and I am retired I am thinking about bringing the outside room back.  It’s a nice place to sit, even if it’s a little close to the road and since we are hoping to use some of the old horse pasture for garden it will be a nice place to get out of the sun.   Garden rooms are a hot trend this year- wow- I am actually following the trends.  That’s a new one for me. 

Oh, I can hardly wait to be sitting in the shade with a good book, with birds singing and flowers blooming. But there’s lots of work between now and then to get done.  I hope all of you are having great garden dreams too.

Time for Hot Tea and Blonde Brownies

Kim

January almanac

The moon in January is at new moon stage January 11, first quarter at January 18 and full on January 26.  The full moon in January is called the Wolf moon.  The length of the day is 9 hours, 8 minutes on January 1 and 9 hours 57 minutes on January 31.  Good days for planting above ground crops are 14, 15, 19, 20, 24, 25.  Plant root crops on January 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 29, 30.   January 10 is Houseplant Appreciation day.  The 21st is Martin Luther King holiday.  January 22 is National Blonde Brownie Day.

January is National Soup, Hot Tea, Oatmeal, Blood Donor and Hobby month.  Happy Days premiered on January 15, 1974.  January 22, 1973 Roe vs Wade legalizes abortion.

January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just after take off, killing all 7 crew members.

January’s flowers of the month are the carnation and the snowdrop.  The garnet is January’s birthstone.  Famous January birthdays include Mel Gibson, Rush Limburg, Howard Stern, Benjamin Franklin, Al Capone, Crystal Gale, Rod Stewart, Kristie Alley, Janis Joplin, Oprah Winfrey and Dolly Parton.

Worms as a protein source

Worried about the increasing price of meat?  Some people are calling for mealworm farming, claiming that mealworms give more protein per acre farmed with less energy used and less pollution than other animals.  The worms are dried and ground into powder to make “meat”.  UGH, UGH and UGH.  Sorry but I will become a vegetarian first and that’s saying something for me. 

Speaking of vegetarians a company called Hampton Creek Foods unveiled its vegetable based egg at the 2012 Food Technologies Expo in Las Vegas.  Called “Beyond Eggs”, the product is said to as good as regular eggs for baking.  No word if you can fry it up for breakfast.

Goggle earth tells all

In many big cities “urban farming” is actually embraced but one researcher, John Taylor, a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois was a little skeptical of the many lists floating around Chicago listing community food gardens and other urban farming sites.  Taylor decided to use Goggle Earth to see just how many gardens there were in the urban area of Chicago.  He used Goggle Earth satellite images to look for gardens in the Chicago area, comparing what he found to lists provided by various sources.  He also made follow up visits where Goggle Earth indicated that there were gardens that weren’t on lists and checked out sites where gardens were supposed to be but Goggle Earth didn’t show gardens.  He also randomly visited many other garden sites

Taylor found that of the 1,236 community garden sites listed only 167 (13%) were actually producing anything.  The good news was that he found some 4,648 back yard type gardens, usually of less than 200 square feet.  By overlaying census information and making site visits he found that these gardens were concentrated in areas with high Chinese, Polish and Eastern European immigrant populations and the gardens often grew foods that these groups would have grown in their native countries.  Taylor also noted that many elderly African Americans had backyard gardens and food plots that reproduced what they remembered from their southern childhoods.

What you can take away from this is that people do garden in urban areas but community feel good projects account for very little of the food produced in these areas.  Taylor and others recommend that empty lots be offered to neighbors for gardening much as England and other countries offer allotments on government owned land for personal gardening.  According to the American Gardening Association more than 43 million people have personal gardens in the US and save about $530 a year per household on fresh produce.

Termites are mining gold

In Australia geologists found gold in termite mounds.  It seems as the termites chew through their subterranean world they ingest gold, which they excrete as little stones, like human kidney stones on the mounds above their burrows.  By examining the mounds and finding the poop nuggets geologists can determine if there is a gold deposit in the ground underneath.  Gold is also being found in African termite mounds.

Orchids

Orchids comprise the largest family of plants on Earth, 10 % of all the plants on earth are orchids.  Just last year two new species of orchids were found on Cuba.  Orchids have always fascinated botanists.  Each species of orchids attracts specific pollinators and there are some 30,000 species to study.  Many orchids offer neither nectar nor pollen to their pollinators, instead they use deceit, looking like a female insect or smelling like one, to attract pollinators.  Yet as a family orchids are extremely successful, occurring on every continent.  Some of our native wildflowers are in the orchid family.

Habitat loss however, has caused many orchid species to become endangered or nearly extinct, even as we find new species.  Orchids are also unique in that when their seeds fall on the ground and germinate in their natural habitats the newly sprouted seeds rely solely on colonies of microscopic fungus to survive.  The fungi species vary from habitat to habitat.  The best colonies of fungi are in older established orchid habitat with a diverse selection of plants.  If an abundant colony of the right types of fungi are not present orchid seeds won’t even germinate.  New forests or other habitat rarely produce good orchid growth conditions.

The reproductive idiosyncrasies of orchids always made them a challenge to domesticate and grow as garden and houseplants until the last decade or so, when tissue culture and other vegetative methods of orchid reproduction are bringing many colorful species of orchids on the market.  Orchids are now considered to be the most popular houseplant on the market and the second largest income producing potted plant, just behind poinsettias.  Hawaii, California and Florida produce most of the orchids sold in the US.

Orchid prices ranges from under $10 to many hundreds of dollars.  You have probably seen them in many types of stores, from garden shops to groceries. Most of the common species are actually quite easy to grow and even get to re-bloom.  I was given a beautiful orchid plant several years ago and it has re-bloomed each late winter-early spring since.  The plants require little care, like most houseplants they need excellent drainage from their containers and they needed to be potted in special orchid planting mix and not soil.  Different species require different light levels; mine thrives in a north window. 

Depending on the species you’ll need to fertilize with either orchid fertilizer or a diluted houseplant fertilizer a few months before the expected blooming period to initiate buds.  You allow the container to dry out just a bit before watering unless the plant is in flower, when they should be kept moist. 

Most species thrive at normal home temperatures, but avoid cold drafts.  There are tiny species and some that grow very large.  The color range is wide and the shape of the blooms also varies.  Some orchids are fragrant- if you don’t pick them.  Orchids quickly lose their scent when picked.  Many orchids bloom in late winter- early spring when their blooms are most welcome.  Orchid flowers generally last for several weeks.

This is a short, generalized summary of orchid care.  The object is to get you to pick up one of those pretty plants as you shop through this dreary winter and bring it home.  Make sure you buy one with a label, so you can research any special care it needs to thrive and re-bloom.    You can grow an orchid- give it a whirl.

January 3, 2013 garden newsletter

Hello Gardeners

I hope your New Years is beginning as well as mine is.  I was wrong about the white Christmas, unless you went way south for the holiday you had one.  The cold spell we are having is supposed to moderate by the weekend and temperatures are supposed to be back above freezing early nest week.  We might even have some sun by Friday.  I can take the cold if I don’t have to be outside much, but give me sunshine!

Already the days are getting longer- but we aren’t really noticing it yet.  I have been getting tons of plant catalogs and its fun to dream over them and compare prices.  I saw a purple and white striped potato; I believe it’s called Jester, that I am dying to try.  (Actually I saw tons of things I’d like to buy.)

We are going to start a new vegetable patch over in the old horse pasture this spring if our health allows.  My old spot is gradually getting shadier.   I also have plans for new flower beds in the front yard.  Planning is so much fun.

I have been experimenting with bread recipes and making yogurt.  I will soon be writing something about the yogurt experiments and I’ll let everyone know how it goes.  That is unless the cost of milk goes up so much I have to quit the experimenting. Milk is predicted to go up to $8 or so a gallon because our inept lawmakers failed to approve a new farm bill- along with the budget fiasco.  I say - fire them all.

I was talking to a friend who lives in a desert region of Arizona.  She had a recent frost that killed her bougainvillea, at least the top parts, but she covered her garden and is still picking tomatoes and peppers!  I am already craving garden tomatoes; I don’t like the picked green and shipped 2,000 miles ones.  So here’s something about tomato plants I have been reading.

Grafted vegetable plants

Although they have been around for hundreds of years and very popular in English gardens for the past 10 years, grafted tomato and other vegetable plants are just beginning to become popular here.   You’ll see them in several garden catalogs this spring and probably at a local garden shop or two.

A grafted tomato or other veggie plant has the same benefits that a grafted rose or apple tree does.  It has superior disease resistance and vigor from the root part of the graft combined with desirable fruit or flower parts from the top part of the grafted plant.   Usually hybrid plants with excellent disease resistance and good growth in a variety of environments are combined with tasty heirloom varieties.

A grafted tomato plant is said to produce a lot of vegetative growth with large plants that need to be well supported and pruned.  You have to keep the grafted area well off the ground or it roots and the rootstock variety overtakes the top variety.  However grafted plants are said to be 2-3 times more productive than regular plants as well as more disease resistant.  In some cases 2 grafts are put on the root system and you can have red and yellow tomatoes, for example, on the same plant.

The grafted plants are pricey; I have seen them from about $7 to $9 per plant in various catalogs.  Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are being offered.  Other plants like melons and cucumbers can be grafted but it’s very hard to ship those.  I have seen grafted plants in the Gurneys (http://gurneys.com/) and Territorial Seed (http://www.territorialseed.com/ ) catalogs.  In the Territorial Seed catalog they also offer the seed for a very good rootstock tomato; Supernatural, (20 seeds for $11.95), and they sell the special grafting clips that professionals use.  Johnny’s Seeds also sells clips and rootstock seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ . You can even find the silicone clips on Amazon!

You could grow your own rootstocks and favorite heirloom tomato and combine them.  Here’s a quick synopsis of what you do.  (While waiting for the right time to start, probably April here, you can read up on it more).  First you grow your rootstock and “upper” or scion plants in individual pots until they each have 5-6 true leaves.  You select a plant of each type with straight, similar sized stems. Water them well.  Cut the plant that is to be the rootstock off just below the seed leaves (first set of leaves) on a right angle.  Use a razor blade or exacto knife.  Now cut off the scion (upper part) just below the last set of leaves on a right angle. Insert the scion in one end of the grafting clip and carefully line it up with the cut stem of the rootstock.  Then you squeeze the clip a bit and stake the newly created plant.  Discard the root part that’s left from the scion.  Make sure to label the plants.

You mist the grafted plants then place a plastic or glass cover over them to retain humidity.  Place the plants in a dark location for three days, opening the plastic cover once a day for a few minutes.  Remove covers after 3 days.  Gradually move them into brighter light so by 10-12 days they are in full light.  Expect about 90 % of grafts to “take”.

Phragmites

You have seen them growing all around Lower Michigan, the tall grasses in ditches and wet areas with the fluffy purplish seed plumes. (I actually like them for dried arrangements.)  Many people call falsely them pampas grass.   Phragmites australis is also called Common Reed.  Farmers hate them because they are extremely difficult to control and rapidly take over ground.  Lake shore property owners and environmentalists dislike them because they displace native plants, dry up wetlands and block the view of lakeside property owners. 

Michigan Technological University's Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), the US Geological Survey (USGS), Boston College and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in a joint venture, have recently finished a satellite survey of the extent of the pragmites invasion.  They mapped all stands of the plant within 6.5 miles of any coast of the 5 Great Lakes.  Lake Huron and Lake Erie had the most extensive coverage of pragmites, with some stands in Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario but few in Lake Superior.  The study group also visited random sites to confirm satellite observations.

There is a native form of phragmites in the southeastern coastal regions but it is not quite as invasive.  The University of Delaware did some extensive research in 2009 to find out why Phragmites is so successful in spreading through the environment; despite the fact it seldom produces viable seed in those fluffy plumes. (Lots of seed forms but little of it germinates.) They found that pragmites produces a chemical poison called gallic acid which in itself is quite toxic but when exposed to UV rays in sunlight also produces a poison called mesoxalic acid.  The one-two punch kills the roots or other parts of any plants that come in contact with it in just a few minutes.

The plant spreads by rhizomes (roots). Things like boat trailers, farm equipment and riding mowers pick up small pieces of the rhizomes and carry them to new places, where they rapidly conquer the area plants and produce dense stands.  Think of them as the Vikings of the plant world.

Scientists predict that as our planet warms and more UV rays pass through our reduced ozone layers, phragmites will soon dominate most wetlands and coastal areas, causing a great reduction of native wetland plant and animals species.  The plant is of little value to wildlife.  Most environmentalists would like to see property owners destroy this plant as quickly as possible and not protect it as some are prone to do.  If you have a chance to educate others let them know that phragmites is not a desirable plant.  You certainly do not want it in the garden where it will kill your plants much faster than walnut roots.

Recommended control of phragmites is an herbicide like round-up applied after the seed heads start forming and then a close mowing 1 month later.  It usually takes 3 years of this to eliminate a large patch.  A month after a herbicide has been applied you can also burn the stand, but burning without first killing the tops with herbicide will only cause the plant to respond with vigorous growth.

Something new for poison ivy

A new product is being developed that will help you determine if any of your tools or clothing have been in contact with poison ivy, so you can clean the urushiol oil off before you get those terribly itchy blisters all over you. The product can be sprayed on those items, or even on suspected poison ivy plants and will glow under an ordinary florescent light. The Journal of Organic Chemistry reports that the product is under commercial development and could be available soon.

Saving the whale barf

Ambergris, a very rare and expensive part of many perfumes, is a giant hairball vomited up by endangered sperm whales.  The whales eat sharp objects like fish bones and coral and their gut coats the sharp things with a sticky substance to protect the gut from being punctured.  This gets spit up and rolls around in the ocean where it hardens into a mass that washes up on shores and makes someone rich.  Surprisingly whale barf has a pleasant earthy scent and good fixative qualities that make it prized for very expensive perfumes.  But it’s rare and getting harder to find each year. 

Now scientists have found that certain genes from spruce trees or from clary sage can be spliced into bacteria and the bacteria will produce a substance much like ambergris.  The clary sage product may also have anti- cancer uses.  This method is still expensive but sustainable and researchers hope to bring the cost down with newer production methods.  Here’s a good use for genetic engineering.

Now go get some cocoa and try not to think of whale vomit.

Kim

More Information

Green recycling of the Christmas tree

Soon after Christmas is over those who had a real tree for the holidays face the fact that it needs to be taken down. And then the question becomes-“How do I recycle my Christmas tree?” After all you choose a green solution to holiday decorating and you want to keep the disposal options green too. And the good news is that there are many green ways to dispose of your Christmas tree.

Read more at

http://www.examiner.com/article/green-recycling-of-christmas-trees