Kim's weekly garden newsletter October 22, 2013

October 22, 2013 - Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

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

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

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

When I went outside this morning I found ice on the water dishes outside the barn.  I and the weather service officially declare the garden season over.  The weather service no longer issues frost and freeze advisories for the season.  Frost and freezes will be the rule rather than the exception from this point on.  And this week we have some really cold weather on the way.  Some people are even mentioning a four letter word.

Dahlia York and Lancaster

My beautiful dahlias were reduced to blackened limp corpses this morning.  I am glad I picked most of the flowers this weekend.  I’ll leave them in the ground another week or so before I dig up the tubers.  I will also be moving in some pots of bulbs this week. 

I caved and moved the huge bowl of coleus I had in the front yard inside although it’s probably not in a very good spot on the porch. It was just so pretty.  I have kept coleus alive by over wintering them inside for several years at a time.  They do get a bit ratty mid- winter but you can start new cuttings from them quite easily.

I have all my bulbs planted now.  I am really looking forward to spring to see some of the gorgeous tulips and lilies I planted.  Speaking of bulbs I had a bucket of potting medium outside that got filled with water and turned into a swamp.  I drained the water off to see if I could salvage some of the soil and found some daffodil bulbs sprouting down there in the cold mush.  They must have been left from last fall when I was trying to re-plant some of the hundreds of daffodil bulbs I dug out of one of my beds.

Now you would think that daffodil bulbs would rot in all that watery mess, not to mention that they must have survived last winter above ground in a pot or something.  But here they were perky and firm, putting up green shoots.  So I planted those survivors in the ground, maybe they will grow.

I brought in a streptocarpus plant that I have had since early spring several weeks ago. The plant had bloomed for months on a windowsill in early spring, bloomed all summer in a partly shady location and is still blooming its head off this fall.  It has pretty blue flowers and if you want a nice house plant I highly recommend it.

I got side tracked this week in reading about ants. I started with one research article which led to another, than another and so on.  Ants have so much in common with gardeners.  I have condensed some of the fascinating things I read in the article below.  Maybe I’ll write more about ants in the future.

World’s first and possibly best, gardeners

Before humans were even thinking about growing food several species of ants were actively cultivating gardens and modifying plants to feed themselves and provide homes for their colonies.  Ants fertilize, weed, prune and defend their gardens in amazingly complex ways.  It makes you wonder if human agriculture came about by people observing ants.  I can see some little hunter-gather girl watching the ants and saying “Hey, why don’t I grow some plants nearby so I don’t have to spend all morning out looking for them?”

Leaf cutter ant.

Probably the most extensive gardening ant species is the leaf cutter ant.  There are 39 -47 species (depending on how you classify them), 3 of which inhabit North America.  These ants are so dependent on their gardening that some species have lost the genes that would allow them to eat any other food than the Leucoagaricus gongylophorus fungus that they grow in special gardens.  It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement because the fungus cannot grow unless it is protected and cultivated by the ants.

In leaf cutter ant colonies special large sized forager ants go out and cut chunks of leaves and flowers which they bring back to the colony and pass to special gardener ants which are smaller.  The gardener ants prepare special plots in underground caverns where they seed the leaves with fungus and continually add new leaves for the fungus to feed on. 

The small gardener ants tend the plots carefully; their bodies have a white waxy coating that comes from another beneficial arrangement with bacteria. This bacteria produces pesticides which the ants use to destroy fungi that would compete with their preferred food.  The bacteria live in “holes” on the ants bodies and receive food as their reward for producing pesticides.

(Scientists studying the bacterial coating that leaf cutter ants use as pesticides have isolated one compound similar to the antifungal Nystatin that they are using in research to produce new antifungals for human use).

Other bacteria found on the ants fix nitrogen from the air.  The ant’s diet of fungus doesn’t give them enough nitrogen for life processes but they absorb the nitrogen the bacteria produce and fertilize the fungus garden with the excess. 

When one of the gardening leaf cutter ants detects a “weed” or intruder in the fungal garden it sends out a signal and fellow gardeners swoop down on the invaders and eliminate them. (Don’t you wish you could do that when you find Japanese beetles on your roses?) The gardener ants also remove debris and dead fungus to special compost piles. They constantly turn the piles to aid decomposition. The gardens feed the entire colony and if the crop is lost the colony usually dies.  As a colony grows there may be hundreds of “fields” of fungus in cultivation.

It’s not only leaf cutter ants that practice gardening.  There are some plants that have hollows in the stems and roots.  These plants are called myrmecophyte plants.  Several species of ants live in these “ant plants.”  The plants evolved the interior spaces because the ants are beneficial to them.  Since ants defend their homes aggressively they keep animals away from munching on the plants.  Even elephants back down from trees with ant colonies as the ants swarm over and inside their trunks, biting them viscously.  If you have ever been attacked by ants in the garden you know how effective their defense can be.

But the ant’s colonies often grow faster than the plant can provide new “rooms” for them.  The ants have developed a strategy that makes the plant grow faster, they prune off any flowers that develop. The plants then concentrate on vegetative growth, making more spaces for ants.  It seems counterproductive to the plant to remove its ability to reproduce but just as we remove the flowers from some plants to develop a stronger framework and root system, this pruning makes the plants stronger.  Eventually they outgrow the ants need for space and begin to reproduce as stronger, larger plants.

Ants are also known to prune back or destroy other plants that interfere with the growth of their home. If a vine starts growing on an ant’s home tree for example, the ants will remove it.  Ants that nest in the ground will also destroy plants that shade or crowd their homes.  A colony of ants may clear weeds and other species of plants away from a tree they are residing in, resulting in what some people call “devils gardens.”   

And ants have another way to modify plants that we are just learning about.  Some ants feed on nectar produced by plants and they have to compete with other pollinators for it.  Nectar can be composed of three types of sugar, fructose, sucrose, and glucose.  Some pollinators prefer one nectar sugar over another and plants may evolve their nectar to attract the pollinator they prefer.  For example hummingbirds prefer nectar high in sucrose, while ants like glucose or fructose.  But some ants carry certain yeasts with them, which when they get into a plants nectar glands, cause the sugar type in the nectar to change.  This may reduce competition for the nectar and may make ants the sole pollinator also. 

Nectar is also a reward for ants defending the plant from insect and animals that want to eat the plant. Ants defend a plant better than butterflies.  Researchers are still studying the relationship with yeast carrying ants and certain plants to see if it’s mutually beneficial or if ants change the biology and reproduction of the plants in a way that may not be helpful to them. 

Although it wasn’t mentioned in the article I read I wonder if the ants we see on peony buds are carrying yeasts to make the nectar in the flowers more palatable to them or if the peony already produces nectar that favors ant visitors that might protect the flowers.

Study identifies the best flowers to grow for pollinators

There are lots of garden articles out there that give lists of plants that are beneficial to pollinators and attract them to the garden.  Surprisingly this has mostly been based on casual observation and not research.  A new research project by the Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI) at the University of Sussex was just published in the October 17 issue of the journal Functional Ecology and adds scientific knowledge to our lists.

The study focused on common garden plants that bloom in summer, when the need for pollen and nectar is at its peak.  It covered 2 years of recording pollinator visits to plants in 21 special gardens on the University campus. Professor Francis Ratnieks and his PhD student Mihail Gaburzov found that flowers pleasing to humans were not necessarily attractive to pollinators and that some cultivars or varieties of garden plants were better for pollinators than others.

Bee on oregano, a favorite flower.

Bees were the most common pollinator attracted to these gardens, but hoverflies, butterflies and moths were also counted.  The study found that marjoram/oregano attracted the most pollinators.  (I can certainly add my observation that bees love the stuff.)  Lavender, even white and pink varieties, was also very popular. Flat flowered dahlias were very popular, although few insects visit double flowered dahlias. Borage and Bowles Mauve Everlasting Wallflower were the other top contenders. The least favorite flower in these gardens were pelargoniums (what we call geraniums).

The study only covered 19 species of summer flowering plants and of course this was in England.  But those of you who want to attract and feed pollinators might want to add oregano, lavender and flat flowered dahlias to your summer garden.

Iced tea can cause kidney stones

Iced tea has become a favorite beverage for many people hoping to give up pop and other less healthy drinks but it could lead to problems in some people.  Iced tea is high in oxalates, which can lead to kidney stone formation.  Dr. John Milner, of Loyola University, Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine warns that people who have a history of kidney stones may want to avoid iced tea.

Hot tea also has oxalates, but people don’t drink as much hot tea.  In the US, 85% of tea is consumed as iced tea.  Iced tea tends to replace other beverages like water in the summer when people are more likely to drink large quantities of fluids. Sweetened ice tea may be even worse as sugar also contributes to kidney stones.  Dr. Milner suggests lemonade from real lemons, not artificially flavored mixes, for a summer drink as lemon juice may actually help dissolve oxalates.

Preparing pumpkin for recipes

There’s more to a pumpkin than making a Jack O Lantern.  Pumpkin is high in carotene, antioxidants and vitamins and tastes great in a variety of treats like pumpkin pie, cheesecake, bread, cake, soup and much more.  But before you can make most of those recipes you need to come up with a pumpkin puree.  Here are some ideas for turning a pumpkin into that puree so you can prepare something scarily delicious. ( Hint: if you paint a face on the pumpkin you can recycle it to puree the day after Halloween.)

Before using any of these methods to make pumpkin puree make sure you scrub the outside of the pumpkin well to remove any soil that could contaminate the finished product. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and the stringy “goop” inside.  A big spoon or an ice cream scoop are good for this. The pumpkin should still have firm flesh inside and not feel mushy.  It should have been fully ripe but it doesn’t have to be orange, white, tan, blue and other color pumpkins can be used.  The best pumpkin for cooking however comes from smaller, dense pie type pumpkins.

Pumpkin soup.  Photo from Northwestern.edu

To bake a pumpkin spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place pumpkin halves on it with the cut side down.  Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half, the pumpkin is done when it feels soft.  Don’t let it burn, that affects the puree flavor.  Use a fork and poke the pumpkin.  If it slides in easily it’s done.

You can also cut the pumpkin in chunks, put them in a big pan, add about 3 cups of water to a medium sized pumpkin, cover the pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.  Once again don’t let the pieces scorch and it’s done when it feels soft and the pieces have “collapsed”.

To use a steamer cut the pumpkin in chunks, place them in the steamer basket, add water to the bottom of the basket and cook until soft.  This is faster but your steamer probably won’t hold much at a time.

You can also use the microwave, cut the pumpkin in chunks, put them in a microwave safe bowl and cover it loosely with plastic or a vented cover.  Cook until soft, checking frequently. 

Once you have cooked the pumpkin remove the skin or rind by either scraping the “meat” off it or pulling the skin off the pieces with your fingers.  Caution Hot!  Then mash the pumpkin with a blender or mixer until it is smooth.  You now have pumpkin puree for all your recipes. You’ll need to season it to your taste.  Good seasonings include salt, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.

Five pounds of pumpkin pieces will give you about 4-1/2 cups of puree.  A 15-16 oz. commercial can of pumpkin puree is about 2 cups.  You can freeze this puree in freezer containers or bags but don’t try to can it.  The puree is too dense to safely can it.  You can pumpkin at home by cutting it in chunks, cutting the outer rind off the chunks, filling canning jars with chunks, covering the chunks with boiling water then processing the jars in a water bath canner.  Consult a canning book for detailed directions. 

Next week I’ll give some pumpkin and apple recipes.   

Cuddle up and stay warm

Kim

Garden as though you will live forever. William Kent