October 27,
2015, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter © Kim Willis
http://www.examiner.com/country-living-in-detroit/kimberley-willis
Hi
Gardeners
I always thought that May was the busiest month but
this October has been a hectic month for me.
It has flown by and I still have bulbs to plant and chicken coops to
winterize. We embarked upon some home
improvement projects that involved much more time than planned. We decided to paint the house while my plants
were at the least vulnerable stage to being trampled by ladders and feet. One Saturday we worked through snow showers
as we scraped off old paint. But I can
now say the house is painted, some new storm windows installed and a lot of
fixing up is done. For those of you you may have wondered I did not post a newsletter last week because of the big home improvement project.
I did manage to plant 15 new lily bulbs and two new
hardy hibiscus between painting jobs. I
have a hundred tulip bulbs sitting in a box under the table waiting to be planted and another hundred or
so bulbs of various sorts on the way to me.
Yes I like bulbs. I love the way
they pop up in spring and start the garden season. I am always seeing something new I just have
to have. In fact I usually see way more
things I want than I can afford or have time to plant. But hey, plants are my hobby and my
addiction.
Amazingly some plants continue to bloom outside. The landscape roses Knock out and Sunny Knock
out for example, the calibrachoa,(although not as pretty as earlier) an
Osteospermum, regular mums, calendula, even the woodland nicotiania. The heavy frost and even freezes we have had
off and on aren’t doing them in just yet.
I am still harvesting carrots and onions.
I have been seed gathering all season and as soon as I
have time to sit down and sort through what I have I’ll post a list of what I
can share. If you like swapping seeds
and plants you may want to join the face book page Michigan Seed and Plant Swap.
It’s
a heavy Mast year
Acorns and walnuts are raining down like tiny bombs all
over my yard. Mast is a term for nuts
and acorns collectively. While nut and oak trees do alternate light production
years with heavier ones, in some years the production of these seeds is very
high. Some people think that it means
that winter will be hard but the heavy production actually is the result of
stress from the hard winter last year.
If our winter weather goes as the weather service is predicting this
winter will be milder than last year.
Heavy mast years are great for wildlife and mean more
will survive the winter and they will produce more and stronger offspring next
spring. Many things besides squirrels
eat acorns and nuts. Blue jays, crows
and a number of other birds including grouse eat acorns and nuts. The Blue Jays hide some nuts and acorns in
crevices of trees and holes in other things.
They will fly down and get an acorn and then crack it against a branch
in a tree. The crows in my neighborhood
gather in the early morning to eat the walnuts that have been cracked by cars
on the road.
Deer eat acorns, as do woodchucks and many other
animals. These animals don’t seem to be
bothered by acorns tannin content.
However cattle, sheep, goats and horses can become quite sick and even
die from consuming too many acorns.
Acorns can cause birth defects in cattle. Pigs don’t seem to be bothered. Chickens and rabbits generally don’t eat
acorns or walnuts unless someone has cracked them for them, but if you do this
it and feed it to them it can make them sick too. If you have livestock you may want to remove
them from pastures where there are a lot of acorns and from pastures with black
walnuts, which can also be toxic. Keep
oak and black walnut leaves cleaned out of water tanks too.
I was reading through the posts on a facebook group
page I belong to and saw a woman asking something like – “I saw a tree down the
road with a lot of acorns under it. How
can I eat them”. It amazes me that “How
can I eat it?” is the first thing some people think about when coming upon
either a new plant or an abundance of
some plant part like seeds or berries. Most people in the US aren’t in survival
mode, although I do admit it’s shameful how many go hungry here. ( And the ones
on a facebook plant group page aren’t likely to be starving.) There are many
foods you can eat when you need to survive and nothing else is available but
that doesn’t mean those foods are actually pleasant to eat. Acorns are one of those things.
Usually helpful people on facebook start talking about
how Native Americans or our early ancestors used these wild foods someone is
enquiring about. I too, am guilty of
giving ways that Native Americans used a certain plant part when discussing
some plants. However much of what modern
people believe to be true of indigenous people’s diets from earlier times comes
more from folklore than fact. You have
to do your research in the older ethnobiology books where early American
botanists actually talked to native people and asked them what foods they and
their ancestors used, how they used them, and how they prepared them instead of
relying on romantic stories in childhood history books or some modern “wild
foods expert’s” interesting but often inaccurate stories about how “natives”
used a certain plant product.
Take acorns for example. In some groups of Native Americans acorns
were utilized as emergency foods or survival foods. First Nation people marked trees that had
acorns low in tannin- called sweet acorns- and tried to collect acorns only
from these trees unless times were dire.
They did pound some acorns into flour and sometimes made flat cakes but
when acorn meal was used it was generally used in soups and stews to thicken
them and to extend the meat. It might be
made into gruel with water when other food was lacking. Some eastern tribes grew corn and sunflowers,
and these were preferred over acorns as a grain product. A few North-Eastern tribes collected and may
have cultivated wild rice.
Acorns take a lot more time to prepare for eating than
these other grains as they must be soaked and rinsed several times to leach out
the tannins, then dried and pounded. And
the end product, acorn meal, is nutritious but also bland and tasteless. It
does not cook up fluffy baked goods. There were lots of other alternatives to flour-like
products such as the powdered roots of cattails, arrowroot and so on that were easier
to process and tastier and native people used those items too.
Other than tribes who grew grain crops, Native
Americans relied on game meat for their basic diet, the fatter the better. Even farming tribes used lots of meat and fat
in their normal diet. For many native
people grain and plant products were used as flavoring, in season treats and in
times when game was scarce. A small amount might be stored for those hard
times, usually late winter and early spring.
In tribes that farmed squash-pumpkins were dried for winter and these
tribes did store seeds like corn, beans and sunflower for winter use, sometimes
in great quantity. Berries were also
dried and used for special treats.
Native Americans certainly didn’t rely on acorns as a
primary food nor did they make “muffins” with rose infused honey as one
supposedly ethnobotanist taught his
group to do. There were no honey bees
before Europeans arrived on the continent.
Even after colonists brought bees to the new world it took a century or
so before there were many wild colonies for native people to collect honey from
and there is no evidence that honey was widely used by indigenous peoples. Honey use would be equivalent to wheat flour
use, a foreign custom adopted by some people. Every time some naturalist starts talking
about Native American dishes made with honey you can just chuckle.
While it’s alright to experiment a little with a wild
food source, don’t collect a lot of acorns or nuts or anything else until you
know you like the flavor and are confident you will use what you collect. Otherwise you are wasting a valuable wildlife
resource better left in nature. And make
sure you have permission to gather wild foods.
In most parks you are not allowed to carry out plant products.
It’s also a heavy apple year
If you have driven along any country road this year you
have probably noticed lots of wild apples ripening. In my area there are all
kinds of apples along the roads, from small yellow crabapple types to big red
apples. These trees for the most part are not
cultivated. They must have sprung up
from seed when an apple core was tossed from a car or piles of deer bait were
dumped near roads. I am always tempted to take some branches and try to graft
some of the odder types on my apple trees.
(Apples don’t grow true from seeds.) My own trees are loaded and I have
given some apples away as well as processing some for the freezer. Between the heavy mast production and heavy
apple production the animals will eat well this fall.
Apples are one wild food that modern humans don’t have
to learn to like. And by the way- apples aren’t native to America either. You can gather roadside apples and make some
great apple butter or apple juice or even a pie. And the bonus is that not only are the apples
free but generally organic. Do wash them
well to remove road dust before using.
Some may also have been sprayed with mosquito sprays on the roadside. If they are on the edge of someone’s property
get permission to gather apples.
Burdocks
and other sticky things
If you have farm animals or pets you have probably
encountered the annoying “burrs” in their coats, which are the seed pods of the
common burdock, (Arctium minus). And if you have ever walked in the woods or
fields and brushed against these plants you’ve probably had the unfortunate
experience of trying to pull these sticky balls off your clothing. The round
seed clusters of burdock will stick to almost anything. This is an extremely proficient way for the
burdock plant to spread its seeds near and far.
 |
| Burdock seed. |
Burdock is a bi-annual plant. In the first year it puts down a thick, long
taproot and a rosette of large broad leaves.
In the late summer of the second year burdock sends up long flowering
stems. The stems may be streaked with purplish red and they have a grooved,
rough surface. Burdock has purple tuft-like flowers at the top of a rounded
mass of green, hooked bracts. The bracts
turn brown and form the familiar round burr as the seeds ripen and dry.
Left alone in good soil burdock leaves can grow huge -
2 foot long and wide. The leaves have a grayish looking underside because they
are covered with fine white hairs. The
hollow flowering stems can reach 5 feet into the air and are thick and tough.
Burdock usually grows in full sun and prefers rich soil
although it can pop up in other places.
You must be vigilant and remove young plants from pastures and other
areas as soon as you see them as the older they get the harder they are to
remove, and letting them go to seed compounds the problem. Even when kept mowed, burdock will struggle
along and produce its burrs on plants a few inches from the ground. The flowers will continue to ripen and
become burrs if cut from the plant while still green and are often found in
hay.
Asian species of burdock are cultivated for their roots
and American species also have edible roots.
The young leaves of burdock can be eaten as a salad green. The stems can
be peeled and cooked also. Burdock has
many medicinal uses, the roots, seeds and dried leaves are used in a variety of
home remedies.
If pets, livestock or even you get burdocks in your
hair cover the burdocks with gobs of cheap hair conditioner and let it soak in
for a few minutes. The burrs will then
easily comb out. Don’t pick off burrs
from your socks and gloves and toss them on the ground near your house unless
you want burdock to sprout up there in the spring.
Stick-tight,
or Beggar’s ticks (Bidens frondosa) is another plant that
uses stickiness to distribute its seeds. It’s also a common fall “condition”.
The small, dark brown, flat seeds are oval shaped with two prongs on one end
that grab onto fur and clothing. Hundreds
of the small seeds can attach themselves to you as you walk through a field and
will come home with you to grow in your yard next year.
 |
| Stick tights |
Stick-tights grow in moist, sunny areas and are a
common weed in nurseries and home landscapes as well as along roadside ditches
and in moist fields. Because the seed can lay dormant until conditions are
good, stick-tights may pop up in the garden several times each season. They persist until a hard freeze in the fall.
Stick-tights are annual plants that can germinate all
through summer and they mature rapidly.
The compound leaves consist of blade shaped, deeply toothed leaflets
with a prominent mid-vein in groups of 3-5 leaflets. They are attached opposite each other on a
squared stem. On the end of each leaf is
a group of 3 leaflets with the center leaflet being the largest.
The flowers of stick-tight are small sunflower like
things with yellow outer petals and brownish-yellow centers. They develop into a cluster of the hooked
seeds with the true seed enclosed in the brown papery husk that sticks to you. Birds
do eat the seeds, but obviously not enough of them.
Hair conditioner will also help you get stick tights
out of hair and fur. Make sure to
dispose of them in the trash, not in the yard or compost pile.
Common
cocklebur ( Xanthium strumarium) the prickly burrs of this plant
look a bit like burdock burrs but they are smaller and longer rather than round
like burdock burrs. Each burr consists of
two pods with a seed in each. The spines and coating of this burr are very hard
and can cause intestinal problems if animals ingest them when grazing or trying
to remove them from their fur.
Cockleburs are annual plants with stems that are
spotted with brown or purple. The leaves
are triangular with wavy edges and a rough texture. They have 3 prominent surface veins. Mature plants get to be about 3 foot tall and
have several branches and a thick taproot.
The stems and leaves of cocklebur can cause liver damage if animals eat
them.
 |
| Cocklebur. Wikimedia commons |
The flowers of cocklebur consist of clusters of inconspicuous
male flowers and female flowers that have the immature burr (fruit) attached. They are in the axils of the leaves. Each burr is covered in spines but there are
two longer spines on the bottom that help the burr attach to fur or
clothes. Interestingly one seed in the
burr can germinate almost at once but the other will lay dormant for one or
more years.
Cockleburs are generally found in uncultivated fields,
and untended lands in full sun. They are not as common as burdock in this area,
thankfully. They should be eradicated when found because of their dangerous
qualities.
How
are the houseplants?
If your houseplants are losing leaves don’t worry. Many plants lose their leaves when brought
inside and need to adjust to lower light levels. Some plants just drop a few
leaves, others almost all of them. In a
few weeks new leaves more suited to indoor light levels develop. Since plants without leaves require less water
be careful not to over water until new leaves begin to develop.
Some tender perennials that may have gotten too cold
before being brought back inside may go into a short dormancy. For some things like tuberous begonias you
should expect the plants to go into dormancy, dropping their leaves and stems. Leave the tubers right in the pot and store
the pots in a cool, dim place until spring.
Water them just enough to keep the soil barely moist, which can be just
once a month in a cool spot. Don’t let
them freeze.
If you are in doubt whether a plant has died or gone
dormant just leave it alone for a bit, watering it only when the soil feels
dry. If stems remain green and pliant it’s
probably fine.
If a plant is flowering, such as a tropical hibiscus,
you can continue to fertilize it with a blooming plant food. Otherwise do not fertilize your houseplants
until the days lengthen in March.
Check pots before you water them. Some pots will need more water in winter
because the heat and low humidity draw moisture out of the soil. Other pots will need less water than they
needed outside. Overwatering can become
a big problem in the fall before you and the plants develop a new watering
schedule.
Please do have houseplants. Plants help clean the air, raise humidity and
bring calm and peace. If there is any
teachers out there who would like plants for their classroom contact me. I have some houseplant starts I’ll give
you. Every school room needs the homey,
feel good presence of plants. Lots of
plants will survive weekends with cooler temperatures and even extended holiday
breaks.
And
it’s Halloween time again
Halloween is Saturday night, but the moon is full
tonight. In earlier times people carved
out turnips instead of pumpkins (pumpkins were brought to Europe after America
was discovered.) They put candles inside to scare away the ghosts of the dead
which were said to be flitting around on All Saints Eve. They also made little cakes of sweet bread
that were given to appease the dead souls floating around. People wore masks so the dead wouldn’t
recognize them.
Halloween sure has changed since the early days, even
since I was a kid so long ago. One thing
I really dislike is those plastic inflatable decorations. They are hideous and environmentally
evil. Please use natural decorations if
you can. And there are now solar lights
that can light up that Jack O Lantern safely and in an environmentally friendly
way.
 |
| This Jack O Lantern is lit by a solar light. |
Here’s something that may really scare some
people. NASA reports that a new meteor or
asteroid- there’s some debate- just discovered this month will pass relatively
close – (like slightly farther than the moon) to us on Halloween. They say it’s no danger but that doesn’t stop
some people from worrying. The object
will actually pass us early Saturday morning and you’ll need a telescope to see
it. So if you wake up on Halloween it’s
safe to go Trick or Treating.
Remember
to turn your clocks back one hour Sunday.
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
Events, classes and other offerings
Please let me know if there is any event or class that
you would like to share with other gardeners.
These events are primarily in Michigan but if you are a reader from
outside of Michigan and want to post an event I’ll be glad to do it.
Do you have plants or
seeds you would like to swap or share?
Post them here by emailing me.
Four inch
pots of spider plant (house plant) absolutely free. If you want one contact me, (Kim)
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/875574275841637/
Here’s a facebook page link for
gardeners in the Lapeer area
Here’s a
link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road,
North Branch. Now open.
Here’s a
link to classes and events at Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
Here’s a
link to programs being offered at English Gardens, several locations in
Michigan.
Here’s a
link to classes at Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Twsp. MI, and now
combined with Goldner Walsh in Pontiac MI.
Here’s a
link to classes and events at Bordines, Rochester Hills, Grand Blanc, Clarkston
and Brighton locations
Here’s a
link to events at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road Ann
Arbor, Michigan | Phone 734-997-1553 |
http://www.lesliesnc.org/
Here’s a link to events at Hidden Lake Gardens, 6214
Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI
Here’s a
link to all the nature programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in
Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/education/progs/springprograms/
Here’s a
link to events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580
Newsletter
information
If you would
like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer
opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will
print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to
me. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly notes.
You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any
individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do
reserve the right to publish what I want.
I write this
because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across
in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with local people and
horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If at any time you
don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who
would like to receive these emails have them send their email address to
me. KimWillis151@gmail.com
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