January 14, 2014 - Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter
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.
Hi Gardeners
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| A barn in winter. |
A pleasant winter day is now giving way
to clouds and unfortunately we are expected to get several inches of snow
tonight. Cold weather returns for a few
days but I see we are expected to get above freezing again early next
week. I hope we are going to get another
January thaw.
Because my mailbox is still buried I am
picking up my mail at the post office every few days. It’s amazing how big of a pile you have after
2-3 days of garden catalogs building up.
I am sitting and reading them, looking for new plants to try and ideas
for new garden beds.
The names given to plants are truly
creative, especially in ones with many varieties such as iris, daylilies and
hosta. I try not to choose plants by
their names but names like “Destined to See” (daylily) and “Shakers Prayer” (Siberian
Iris) are tempting. Two fairly new
hostas, “Clear Fork River Valley” and “Curly Fries”, have quite interesting names.
Then there is the label “fragrant”. I suppose there are fragrant daylilies, as
many catalogs list some varieties as fragrant.
But I have never noticed any fragrance in a daylily. And Echinacea’s are also listed as fragrant. I bought some of those “fragrant” ones but
have yet to smell anything you would call a pleasing scent from them. Some catalogs list cleome as fragrant and I
guess a cat pee smell is a fragrance but it’s not something I would promote in
a flower. I did plant some tulip
varieties this fall that are supposed to be fragrant and I am anxiously waiting
to smell them.
Do you have illegal poppies in your garden?
In going through garden catalogs this
winter I became fascinated with some beautiful poppies I saw pictured in one
catalog that shall remain nameless here.
I thought I might buy some of the cultivars pictured, the catalog was
offering both seeds and plants. I then
noticed that these were Papaver
sominiferum, bread seed or opium poppies selections. Something I read in an herb catalog came to
mind and I decided to see if there were certain poppy varieties in that species
that were used for opium production and others that didn’t have the narcotic
properties and therefore were considered just ornamentals. My research turned out to be very
interesting.
Growing any P. sominiferum poppy varieties
or the closely related Papaver
paeoniflorum varieties (which are just double flowered P.sominiferum) is
illegal. The Poppy Control Act of 1942 was repealed in the 70’s but controlling
the growing of opium poppy plants was transferred to current laws and
regulations on producing or possessing illegal narcotics. You can have the seeds of any of these poppies
because the use of poppy seeds in cooking is fine. But cultivation of these species, growing the
plants, is illegal and a federal crime. It
is also illegal to have dried opium poppy seed pods or stalks on your property.
Still, I thought, since so many
beautiful varieties are available- and I found them offered in several other
catalogs too- surely this is a crime that is rarely prosecuted. But it seems that recently the DEA has
stepped up efforts to get these poppies off the market and prosecute
growers. The internet may have had
something to do with this.
Until recently it was commonly thought
that growing poppies to get opium was something hard to do and that the
narcotic poppies had to be grown in certain climates. Processing the opium from
the poppies was considered to be difficult and not something the average person
could do. Even the USDA and the DEA
shared these ideas with the public. But
it seems that some people have always known that opium poppies grow just fine
in the US and most of Europe and that it is extremely easy to harvest raw opium
from poppy seed pods. It was also easy to produce narcotic concoctions from
other poppy plant parts. These people began to share their knowledge on the
internet (a quick search on the net will tell you several easy ways to produce
opium and other narcotics from poppies), and a pamphlet was written that got
the USDA and the DEA’s attention.
Now the DEA is still not scouring gardens
for illegal opium poppies and arresting the average gardener but they have begun
to use the poppies in creative ways. If
some agency suspects you of doing something illegal, they can get a search warrant
based on the fact that you are growing opium poppies and might have illegal
plant parts or drugs in your house or property.
If they want to they can also arrest you for possession of narcotics
just because you have some pretty opium poppies in your garden or even some
opium poppy seed pods in a dried flower arrangement.
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| Oriental - and legal- poppy. |
There have been a few interesting cases
recently where one disgruntled gardener will turn in a friend growing the
poppies and when this is done, law enforcement agencies are required to make an
arrest. In most cases a lawyer will successfully argue that you were a naïve gardener
and you won’t go to federal prison for manufacturing narcotics. But if there is any evidence that you did
know the poppies could produce opium or if you seemed to be storing unusual
amounts of seed pods or stalks, or that any poppy seed pods were “scored” (
cut) in your garden you could be in
trouble. (You could also be in trouble if
you simply pissed someone in charge off because as most of us know- ignorance
of the law is generally not considered to be an excuse.)
Michael Pollan, a well-known botanist
and garden writer, was thinking along the same lines I was a few years ago and
he did some extensive research on the subject of opium poppy growing for
ornamental reasons and he admitted, a curiosity about whether he could actually
produce opium at home. Pollan interviewed USDA and DEA people on several
occasions and he intensively interviewed the man who wrote the booklet on
producing opium at home. This man was arrested and indicted on Federal drug
charges soon after the book was brought to the attention of the DEA by a man
who was fighting with him. He wasn’t
growing any poppies, but he had several dozen dried poppy seed pods in his
house that he had purchased from a local florist.
You can read Pollans article here, http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/opium-made-easy/
It’s a long but fascinating piece. The short version of it is that Pollan
concludes that the growing of opium poppy species carries some risk for the
gardener. Even using the attractive
dried seed pods of the poppy for floral arrangements could be risky. At one time I know these seed pods were sold
in many craft and floral shops. They are
the urn shaped pods with “shaker” holes on top.
Pollan says the DEA began asking floral organizations to voluntarily stop
selling the pods. He also says that
certain public gardens were being asked to remove opium poppy species from the
gardens.
It’s kind of interesting that catalogs
continue to sell seeds and even plants of opium poppy species. Of course seeds would be legal to sell and
possess. But in at least one case a seed
company was asked to stop selling poppy seeds (Thompson and Morgan) after a “raid”
in one garden turned up hundreds of opium poppies and records showed the seed
for those poppies was purchased from that company.
There are poppy species that are legal
for gardeners to grow. Papaver rhoeas, Shirley or corn poppies, Papaver orientale, Oriental poppies, and Papaver nudicale or Iceland poppies are all common ornamental and legal
poppies, at least for now. There are
also plants that use poppy in the common name that are not Papaver species, such
as the Himalayan Blue Poppy and the Prickly Poppy which are legal to grow.
Opium poppies are annual plants but
they readily reseed themselves in the garden.
They can persist for years in even neglected gardens. You may have some and not be aware of what
you are growing. Most double flowered
and pom-pom poppies are opium species and the pretty heritage poppy Danish Flag
is also an opium poppy. Perennial Oriental
poppies are the poppies most often sold in local garden stores and they are not
illegal.
Some gardeners will be fine with taking
a chance growing opium poppies, especially if garden catalogs keep offering
them. But you may want to avoid them if
you have anything to hide or have some bitter enemies. Just in case, I think I
will pass on growing them because I don’t think I would do well in a Federal
prison.
Growing Rutabaga
Now here is a plant that is perfectly
legal to grow yet few people grow it anymore.
But that may change as rutabagas have become popular with fancy chefs
lately. Rutabagas (Brassica napus) are a
root vegetable and while they have some similarity to turnips, they don’t taste
like turnips. Some theorize they are a cross between turnips and cabbage but
they are probably just a selection from the cabbage family as Brussels sprouts,
broccoli and cauliflower are.
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| Stir fried rutabaga. Credit Flickr |
Rutabagas are sweeter than turnips in
taste and they are one of the most nutritious members of the cabbage family. Rutabaga can be sliced and eaten fresh and it
is often cooked in soups and stews. Rutabaga can be cooked and mashed like
potatoes. A mashed rutabaga dish with sour cream and dill is popular in trendy restaurants. Rutabaga pieces can also be fried and taste
like fried sweet potatoes. Traditional pasties use rutabagas in them. The meat pie that my grandmother made for
holidays originally used rutabagas as well as potatoes and I remember my
grandfather growing them. Rutabagas will
store for a long time in a cool place.
Rutabagas have tan or tan and purple roots
that are round or oval in shape. Mature roots are 4-6 inches in diameter. The
inner flesh of the root is firm and usually golden in color. The roots are sweeter after a light frost or
some cold weather. The young leaves of
some rutabagas may be purple Rutabaga leaves can be eaten like turnip greens
when young.
Rutabagas can be planted in early
spring or in July for a fall crop. They
require 90-100 days to maturity. Rutabagas like fertile, well drained, loose
soil. A soil pH of 6 is optimal but they adapt to most soils. Rutabaga seed
should be planted in full sun and the seeds spaced about 2 inches apart. Thin plants to 6-8” apart as they grow. Rutabaga roots can be harvested as soon as
they are big enough to eat, young roots are the most tender, or dug just before
a hard freeze.
A problem with rutabagas common to many
root crops is root maggots. Make sure to
rotate the area where rutabagas are planted in the garden each year. Harvesting the roots when young and smaller
helps prevent root maggots. Some common varieties of rutabagas are Joan, Tweed,
and Lauretian.
Blue Lace Flower
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| Blue Lace Flower- credit nekonomania - commons wikimedia |
Looking for something different in the
flower garden this summer? If you like
the looks of Queen Anne’s Lace but not the weedy invasive qualities of the
plant you may want to try Blue Lace Flower or Trachymene coerulea. ( formerly
Didiscus Coeruleus). Blue Lace Flower
is an old garden flower, an annual grown from seed. It is native to Australia. Blue Lace flowers were once popular in
English cottage gardens where a common name is Blue Island Daisy.
Blue Lace flower has clusters of lacy
looking lavender blue flowers that resemble the flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace. The
flowers have a light, sweet scent. The leaves of Blue Lace Flower are finely
cut but not as ferny as Queen Anne’s Lace in appearance and are a pleasing
blue-green in color. The plant grows to
about 2 feet in height in a nice mounded form.
It may sometimes reseed but is not considered to be invasive.
The Blue Lace Flower prefers full
sun. The seed can be sown where it is to
grow after danger of frost or started inside in pots. (Start in peat or other dissolvable
pots because the Blue Lace Flower does not like transplanting.) Cover seeds
with ¼ inch of fine soil and keep moist. Be patient, the seeds can take up to 3 weeks
to germinate. It tolerates most types of
garden soil. Blooming starts in mid-summer
and continues until a hard frost.
Blue Lace Flower is a nice addition to
the garden bed and it also makes a great cut flower. It will last a long time in the vase and it
is now being grown for the florist trade.
One place to purchase seed is www.selectseeds.com
Snowy Owls showing up in Michigan
Harry Potter’s favorite owl has had a
population boom in the artic in the last few years and this winter the owls have
been seen as far south as Florida. In
the winter the Snowy Owl moves southward to hunt and since there are so many of
them they have really expanded their territory.
There have been numerous sightings of Snowy Owls in Michigan this
winter.
Snowy Owls are large, white, fluffy
looking birds, with a few gray markings on the wings. They are the size of a Great Horned Owl and
are more likely to be seen in the daytime than other owls. They tend to frequent large open areas, such
as airports, frozen lakes and large parking lots, which remind them of their
tundra homes. They are calm and not too
frightened of humans.
Airports in Clinton and Ingham Counties,
Willow Run airport in Romulus and the airport in Grand Rapids have had numerous
sightings of Snowy Owls. Nature preserves
and parks on the east side of the state along Lake Huron and Lake Erie are also
reporting sightings. Here is a link to a blog that has a map of snowy owl
sightings and some excellent pictures.
Watch out for falling snow!
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
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