Tuesday, January 24, 2017

January 24, 2017, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

 © Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.


Hi Gardeners
Begonia

We got up before dawn today to drive to the hospital for Steve’s cataract surgery.  There was dense fog and drizzle all the way there, another gloomy, wet day.  I can’t drive well when it’s dark, add the weather and it’s a nightmare.  But considering the weather that’s happening around the country- and the world- I probably shouldn’t complain. I’m imagining our weather in Michigan is much like the weather in England right now, the famous London fog and gray winters. 
  
The weather has been very unusual here, as it’s been in most of the country. It seems like a gray March instead of January.  I’d like to think climate change will keep it warm all the rest of winter, but we will be getting colder by the end of the week. I keep reminding myself that all this may be covered with snow again soon.  That’s the problem with global warming, it isn’t a steady rise in one area, and it’s up and down, even though it averages out warmer.  One week we are zone 6 and the next back to 5.

It’s been nice having the hose to the barn run and the chickens have been able to get outside and forage a bit.  So far the deer have left the evergreens alone, although the squirrels are doing a number on them. (See the article about red squirrels later in the blog.)

When walking with Gizmo, who doesn’t mind rain and mud, I keep finding bulbs pushed out of the ground, mostly smaller bulbs like crocus.  The freezing and thawing is heaving them out of our light soil.  I try to dig holes to replace them but the ground is only thawed a few inches so it’s difficult.   I push soil and leaves up around them hoping for the best.  Already the snowdrops are sprouting and the crocus close to the house. 

I don’t think anyone in the country can deny that global warming is happening and our weather is changing.  We may not agree on how much of the change is due to human activity, but we should agree that we should do everything we can to lessen any contribution to the problem and all that we can do to prepare for what the changes will do to our country.

Instead of opening closed coal mines and building more pipelines to carry fracked oil we should be moving to develop wind and solar power, which do not pollute.  We should be driving smaller, more energy efficient cars and growing more food for ourselves in a sustainable manner.  We should be eating locally and seasonally.  We should be protecting our water.  We must prepare for violent and unpredictable weather.  We have to move into the future knowing that the earth is changing around us and we must quickly move from our older, wasteful, and polluting forms of energy and embrace new technology.  That just might save our species.

Starting plants from stem cuttings

Plants have an advantage over animals in that most can reproduce both sexually and asexually.  Asexual reproduction involves suckering by the plant, production of bulbs, corms and tubers, division of the plant, tissue culture of the plant and reproducing the plant from pieces of the plant, commonly known as cuttings. Many plants can be reproduced from stem cuttings, some are reproduced from root cuttings, and some can be reproduced from a leaf or cuttings of a leaf.

When I taught Master Gardening classes one of the most liked classes was the class where we discussed plant reproduction and we actually started a number of plants from cuttings.  Gardeners love getting free plants.  I kept a lot of house plants in my office that were butchered for the plant reproduction class each spring and each fall for a children’s program.  There are probably many, many clones of those plants still growing happily in my area.

One of the generous office plants

Not all plants can be reproduced well from cuttings, plants with a crown system of growth, think hosta and daylilies, may be difficult to start this way.  They are generally propagated by division, or tissue culture.  Some crown type plants put out aerial stems with “babies” on them.  Spider plants and “hens and chicks” are examples.  Other plants produce “pups” at the base. Those baby plants can be easily rooted.  But a great many plants can be started from cuttings and it’s a fun way to begin new plants.

The new plant started from a cutting will be exactly like the parent plant, (with a few odd exceptions) which is one of the advantages of producing plants through cuttings. Many greenhouses reproduce hundreds of types of plants from cuttings.  

There are several methods of starting cuttings and to get the best results gardeners need to know what method works best for each type of plant and if there’s an optimum time in the growth cycle of the plant to take a cutting.  Many references can provide that information.  If you can’t find information on the plant you are trying to grow, use your best judgement and give it a try anyway.  I’ll mention some plants that work best with each type of cutting.

In this article I’m discussing stem cuttings; hopefully I’ll be able to cover other types of asexual reproduction at another time.

Types of cuttings

Softwood cuttings are taken when the plant is growing and has leaves.  The stems are generally green and soft, without bark. These are the cuttings generally taken from houseplants all year round and herbaceous perennials in early spring or fall if you want to carry certain plants through winter.  The best softwood cuttings or stem cuttings come from growth the plant put out in the last few months.  

Plants that start well from softwood are pothos, philodendron, Wandering Jew,( Tradescantia  or Zebrina)  bridal veil, purple passion plant, Setcreasea, Swedish ivy, hoya, peperomia,  petunias, snapdragons, tomatoes, coleus, cane type begonias, wax begonias, impatiens, geraniums ( Pelargonium), sedum, creeping phlox, chrysanthemum, Cuphea, Dipladenia, fuchsia, Hedera ivies (Boston ivy and others),heliotrope, poinsettia, plus many more.

If the plant is a hardy perennial or shrub softwood cuttings are generally easier to start in late spring.

Hardwood cuttings are from woody ornamentals and a few indoor plants.  They are usually taken from wood about the size of a pencil and they are taken while the plant is dormant, held in cold storage and rooted just before the parent plant would break dormancy.  These cuttings may have bark on the stems. Plants to try include willows, junipers, arborvitae, forsythia, euonymus, camellia, privet, gardenia, citrus, cypress, dogwood, blueberries, weigela, mockorange, mulberry, and Rose of Sharon.

Semi-hardwood cuttings are an intermediate stage between a young green steam and an older woody one.  They may be from tropical plants which don’t have a dormant period or taken from plants outside of a dormancy period but before the stems have heavy bark.  Jade plants are an example, as are roses, grapes, ficus, jasmine, Artemesia, Buddleia (butterfly bush), lavender, Caryopteris and brugmansia. Willows will start from semi-woody cuttings, hardwood or softwood. Rosemary can be started from soft or semi-hardwood cuttings.

Basics for all cuttings

All cuttings should have at least two nodes on them.  Nodes are points along a stem where a growth bud is, usually where leaves are found or will grow. Some people refer to nodes as “joints”.   In some plants there are many nodes close together and in others there are fewer nodes farther apart.  For each cutting there should be at least two nodes.  One will form the upper part of the new plant or the shoots, and the other will form the root system.  You must be careful not to damage the nodes when you cut pieces off the parent plant.   Longer cuttings with many nodes are not necessarily better.  Cuttings with more than 4 nodes may not root well.



If cuttings are from the tip of the plant stem, they are called terminal cuttings.  Terminal cuttings usually grow faster than other stem cuttings.  The new growth will come at the end of the cutting, at the tip and you only need one additional node.   If a piece of stem is cut into several smaller pieces, one piece at the end is the terminal cutting and the other pieces are just called stem cuttings.  These stem cuttings will produce new growth from the side of the node.

Plant cuttings will root best if the end of the cutting inserted in the soil or water to form roots is the end which would have been closest to the main stem of the parent plant (down).  This is especially true when making hardwood cuttings.  When making hardwood cuttings that will be stored for a while it’s a good idea to mark the “bottoms” of the cuttings with paint or marker above the cut end so you don’t forget which end is to be inserted into the rooting medium.

When dividing a stem into several pieces for cuttings make it’s a good idea to leave a small “handle “ of stem above the top node of the section. This is generally cut on a slant.  Pick up the cutting by the handle so you don’t damage the node which will become the upper parts of the plant.  Beneath the bottom node of the cutting cut the stem straight across as close to the node as you can without damaging it.  This part will go into the rooting medium.

For rooting all cuttings the medium – or “potting soil” should be a soilless mixture or milled peat or vermiculite.   Don’t use garden soil or compost.  Buy a light weight potting mixture for best results.  Some people use clean sand for rooting cuttings, especially hardwood cuttings.

Some plants will root in water, but cuttings of many plants will simply rot.  If you root them in water they may have a hard time adjusting to being planted in soil later.  You can keep some plants in water indefinitely, adding a little fertilizer from time to time.  But if you intend for your plants to be potted in soil it is best to start them in a solid medium to begin with.

Soft wood cutting care

Softwood cuttings can be rooted at any time.  Prepare the cuttings by removing all but one or two leaves at each above ground node and all the leaves from the nodes that will be underground.  If the plant has very large leaves cut the leaves in half.   Dip the bottom of the cutting in rooting hormone, which can be purchased at most garden stores. All plants won’t need rooting medium, but for the more difficult plants you’ll get better results using it.   

Make a hole in the moistened planting medium; do not push the cutting into the medium because this can damage the node that will make the roots.  Firm the medium around the cutting.  You can bury half the nodes in the medium and leave half above the “ground”. 

Several cuttings can be placed in one container.  Most people enclose the container in a plastic bag or place it under a glass jar to increase the humidity. Make sure that the cuttings do not touch the sides of any covering as the pieces may rot at that spot.  If the enclosed area gets extremely wet remove the covering for a few hours.  Place these covered containers in bright light but not in direct sunlight.  Most of these cuttings do best in warm conditions.

Don’t tug at cuttings to see if they have rooted.  If several new leaves have developed the root system probably has too.  Carefully dig up the cuttings and pot them individually, if desired.  Fertilize the new plants lightly and move into the lighting situation the plant requires.

One special note- cuttings of succulents and cacti should be given a day or two for the cuts to heal and form a callus before being inserted into rooting medium.  I have found that cuttings of pelargoniums (common geranium) also respond well to a day or two of drying before they are put in rooting medium.

Semi- hardwood cuttings care

These cuttings are treated much the same way as softwood cuttings but they are generally a bit thicker and older than soft cuttings.  Most garden plants propagated in this manner do best when cuttings are taken in late spring.  For some tropical plants the season is not important.

These cuttings take longer than softwood cuttings to root.  Don’t let the soil get too wet or they will rot.  You may need to experiment to see if some semi-hardwood cuttings need to be enclosed in glass or plastic to start well.  Many rose cuttings are started under a jar.

Hardwood cutting care

Hardwood cuttings are taken after the plants have gone dormant and they are then stored in a cold- below freezing - dark place for several months.  Hardwood cuttings are generally 8-12 inches long and should have several nodes. They should be kept moist- many people store them in a can of damp sand.   If the cutting is from an evergreen plant, remove most of the needles from the upper part of the cutting and all the needles from the nodes that will be inserted into the rooting medium.

About 6 weeks before the parent plants would normally come out of dormancy, bring the cuttings into a moderately warm 40-60 degree place for a week.  Prepare moistened planting medium as for softwood cuttings, make holes in the medium for the cuttings, dip in rooting hormones and insert.   I find that hardwood cuttings generally need rooting hormone to get started. Keep the cuttings in a cool – below 70 degree place in indirect light.  Do not enclose these cuttings in plastic or glass but keep the humidity up in the room if possible. 

Alternately some people put hardwood cuttings in pots soon after taking them and store the pots in a cold area – even outside in trenches- allowing the cuttings to begin to grow when the parent plant does, or bringing the pots inside earlier and treated as above.

When you see new growth you can carefully transplant the cuttings into individual containers, fertilize lightly and place gradually into brighter light.  It can take a long time for some hardwood cuttings to get growing well. I suggest growing them in containers for one season (to the next spring) before transplanting into the ground.

Problems and tips

If you are having trouble getting a plant to root from a cutting try adding gentle bottom heat.  Seed starting mats or waterproof heating mats on low heat can work.   Many professional propagators use a misting system on cuttings.  I find that starting cuttings outside in a protected area in early spring works well because misty, drizzly weather is common here in spring.  If a cold spell comes move the cuttings inside.  Make sure heavy rain storms don’t beat the cuttings down or flood containers.

If you are having trouble propagating a certain type of plant try taking cuttings at a different time of the year, or using softwood instead of hardwood or vice versa.  Some plants can just be very difficult to start from cuttings.

If the cutting doesn’t put out any new growth after a few weeks, or the bottom of the stem blackens, shrivels or turns mushy it isn’t “taking”.  Discard those and start over.  Some wilting of leaves left on cuttings is normal, sometimes the leaves even fall off but the stem will remain firm and green and new leaves should grow if the cutting is “taking.”

Not all plants start well from cuttings, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Most plants are not hurt from trimming off pieces for cuttings and it even stimulates some plants to grow better.   Start several cuttings if you can.  If you get all of them to grow you can share them with your friends.

Herbs for lice

If you have kids in school you have probably had an infestation of head lice or at least a scare concerning them.  Lice can come home in even the cleanest hair- in fact they actually prefer clean hair.  With a long cold winter involving lots of hats, scarves and hoods often being shared among kids, lice can pop up anywhere.  Usually the cure for head lice involves some very toxic chemicals and a lot of hand “grooming.”  Less toxic, safer alternatives do exist for lice treatment however. 

I ran across an interesting study that proved that mango, rosemary and tea tree oil repel human head lice.  In the study the oils of these plants were mixed with carrier oil such as olive oil, either separately or in combination, and combed through the hair.  Subjects with treated hair were far less likely to acquire head lice when exposed to them than people whose hair was not treated.   Now these oils did not kill existing lice, but kept them away.  This study also stated that research had proved that any type of hair conditioner would remove lice nits (eggs) attached to hair shafts just as effectively as commercial nit removing products.

Further reading led me to some interesting herbal remedies for head lice.  (Warning- before using any herbal mixture on a person’s head put a small amount on some exposed skin to test for an allergic reaction.  And keep all herbal products out of the eyes.) There is a patent for a head louse repellant/ insecticide that contains essential oils of anise, tea tree and lemon with research to prove it’s effective.  In other studies these essential oils were also considered to have effective repellant or insecticidal properties: tea tree, anise, lavender, rosemary, neem, clove, geranium, lemon, eucalyptus, peppermint, clove, thyme and nutmeg.  The first 4 are the most effective.

A study done at Harvard found that plain olive oil worked into hair and left overnight under a shower cap was a fairly effective way to kill lice.  They found that olive oil was the best carrier oil if you wished to try mixing up a repellant/louse killer with essential oils yourself.  The common mixing ratio is 2 ounces of olive oil to 10 drops of essential oil.  After you kill adult lice the eggs or nits must be combed of the hair shafts they are stuck to.  Add some essential oil to any hair conditioner and work it through the hair.  Then comb with a fine tooth comb.

Herbalists suggest adding 10 drops of essential oil to your favorite shampoo and conditioner bottle and mixing well to use as a louse preventative.  Adding a few drops of tea tree, lavender or rosemary essential oil to a hairbrush before brushing yours or your child’s hair may also help. Washing clothing and bedclothes with hot water, soap and with some essential oils added is suggested if there is a louse outbreak.  You can mix essential oil with some rubbing alcohol and put it in a spray bottle to use to spray items that can’t be washed.

Herbal products for lice are on the market but experts warn these are unregulated and vary tremendously in effectiveness.  A heat treatment for lice done in a salon setting is also available in some places.  Now after reading this your head is probably itching and you are ready to look through your essential oils to see what you have!

Red Squirrel Damage to trees

If you live in the north and are noticing lots of branch tips on the ground beneath cedars (arborvitae) and spruce you probably have red squirrels around.  Red squirrels are not the typical suburban squirrel; those are fox or gray squirrels.  They sometimes appear in wooded suburbs but generally they are rural residents.  Red squirrels are native squirrels to northern woods and there are 22 sub species.

Red squirrels are tiny things, with reddish coats with a solid white belly, tufted ears and white eye rings.  They are aggressive even if small.  They will eat anything; one of their favorite foods is mushrooms and they will actually eat baby rabbits, baby birds and the young of other squirrels.  They aggressively and noisily defend territories, even from humans, who are occasionally attacked by them.  When you have red squirrels you rarely see other types of squirrels because the red squirrels drive them off.
 
Red  squirrel
Red squirrels do a lot of damage to trees.  The arborvitae have small cones with seeds in them at the tips of branches.  The squirrels cut off the branch tip, eat the seeds and discard the rest.  They eat the buds of spruce and some other trees discarding part of the branch tip when done.  They also eat the flower buds of fruit and other trees later in spring.  The eating of buds and branch tips can weaken trees and disfigure them.

Red squirrels dig up and eat flower bulbs and will eat plants on porches and decks.  The ones around here seem to be very fond of geraniums.  They will eat them down to the soil line.  For a few years I had them coming inside my enclosed porch in winter to eat the potted geraniums I was trying to over winter there.  I would see them doing it, but was unable to catch them.  They get into vegetable gardens and fruit trees.  They raid chicken feeders, bird feeders and pet dishes.

Red squirrels are more likely to enter homes through holes chewed in soffits and attics, even crawl spaces under homes, than other squirrels.  Inside they also do considerable damage.  For a while we had a terrible time with red squirrels in our attic.  We even had them coming into the main part of the house from the attic, but our dogs quickly eliminated those intruders.

So what can you do about red squirrels? 

They are part of the natural ecology and I always advocate leaving them alone when they stay in the woods.  But most of us can’t tolerate damage to the home and our cultivated plants without wanting to defend ourselves.  These buggers are very hard to deal with.  Things like scented soap, red pepper, commercial pest sprays and so on really don’t work on them.  Rat poison doesn’t seem to work on them and I don’t recommend putting poison outside where other critters could get it.  Poisoned squirrels will also poison birds of prey and other things that might feed on them.

Red squirrels are hard to trap and very dangerous when live trapped.  You’ll need to release them miles away if you don’t want to kill them after trapping them.  An acquaintance tells me of taking a red squirrel to release it and as he let it out of the trap it latched onto his hand and severely bit him.  He had to shake it off and then it ran back at him.  Use rat traps inside the house to kill them.  Ultrasonic devices don’t work.

I have heard people say to feed them to prevent the damage, but like with any pest animals, that usually causes more harm than good.  Don’t feed them. Red squirrels rarely become tame like other squirrels, even for food. Feeding red squirrels is like feeding rats, you’ll just get more.  Protect bird feeders if you can with baffles and feed pets inside.  Discourage them from hanging around.  Fix all holes in houses and out buildings as soon as they make them. 

Encourage natural predators like hawks and owls to get them.  Put up owl nest boxes.  Fake owls help for a short time, until they realize they are fake. Tall perches near squirrel frequented areas encourage hawks. Coyotes also eat them, but you probably don’t want to encourage coyotes near your home.

I have found that cats are a good predator of red squirrels.  Our cats have finally reduced the population of red squirrels to a manageable size.  The squirrels often foolishly attack them, only to become dinner.  All cats won’t kill squirrels; you need the right kind of barn cats to tackle them.  Dogs will kill them too, but often can’t get to them.

Red squirrels are not an endangered species.  You’ll probably at the most just be able to reduce the population around your home, not eliminate it.  A 22 or shot gun does a good job on them. Be careful about weapon laws in your area.  Game laws generally allow nuisance animals to be shot.  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.   That’s another reason not to tolerate them in the house either.

Why not removing pest species may make things worse for everyone

I love animals and we keep a portion of our property “natural” and do many things to encourage wildlife.  However I never feel guilty about defending my “territory” (home) and food supply and neither should you. That is just as natural as the red squirrel defending his.  I wouldn’t have killed the squirrels because they ate my geraniums, but I do kill them when they start chewing their way into my house.  And I don’t mind the cats killing them because then I don’t have to, even though cats cause their own controversy.

The white tail deer is a prime example of how people protect one species to the detriment of other less visible but equally important species.  I just saw another story on the news where a community was up in arms over a planned cull to a huge population of deer. While they are saving Bambi many other living things such as understory trees and shrubs, endangered wildflowers and birds are being lost in the area.  When deer aren’t limited to reasonable numbers for the area by predators, they destroy many native species of plants by over grazing.  When deer eliminate those plant species from the environment, other less noticeable or less “cute” animal species are also affected; birds, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals. 

There is also damage to humans if their car or motorcycle hits Bambi.  The over population of deer also leads to smaller, less healthy deer prone to outbreaks of disease.  We need to stop judging the value of a species by how cute or graceful they are.  We need to think of the big picture.  If we don’t allow hunting or we don’t want large predators in the area, we need to correct for our interference in nature by occasionally culling those deer and not feeling guilty about it.

Here’s a really simplified example of how using reason can change how you feel about killing an animal that eats your food or damages your home. Let’s say squirrels eat all your tomatoes.  You know they are doing it but you just can’t kill them and don’t want someone else to kill them because they’re so cute.  You don’t really have to have tomatoes but you probably won’t go without tomatoes the rest of the year.  Instead you’ll buy them from someone else.  That someone could be a local organic farmer.  Good choice, and then your decision not to kill squirrels may be just fine.

But more than likely most people will be buying tomatoes from a grocery who bought those tomatoes from a large farm, who grew them using pesticides that kill bees and other animals, fertilizers that pollute water and may even have harvested them using slave labor.  (That sounds outdated, but tomatoes ( and strawberries) are a crop that is often harvested by people being held against their will and that crop accounts for a major share of cases involving human rights violations in agriculture.)

You need to weigh the decision to get rid of an animal carefully against what not getting rid of it could do.  Little things can add up to big differences in the whole web of life.  I would rather kill a raccoon that keeps killing my laying hens than buy factory farmed eggs.  I would try to exclude the raccoon first but if that wasn’t working I’d kill the coon and I have. Maybe I could buy my eggs from another person who raises the hens in a way I approve of, but chances are they are having the same type of problem I am. It comes with the territory.  I wouldn’t try to kill all the coons in my woods just the coon or coons that were after my source of eggs.

We need to live sustainably and in cooperation with other species, taking only what we need and not destroying nature needlessly.  We need to always be thinking about how our choices affect the greater good, and we should make those choices with our heads, not our emotions.  There are times when killing even a single animal would be a bad choice.  And sometimes the better choice is to kill or remove an animal from your environment.

We may not have the right to shave the top off a mountain to mine coal but we do have the right – maybe the responsibility – to protect our homes and food. Share the harvest, if you want, with the other critters that occupy your environment. (Like it or not, you will be sharing.) Share your territory if sharing doesn’t harm you.  But you don’t have to give up the entire harvest or your home to other animals out of guilt.

Making  Beer Batter Sweet Potato Fries


You may have had sweet potato fries in a restaurant but you can make them at home too. Sweet Potato fries take more work than making fries from white potatoes but they are a bit more nutritious.  Not really wonderful for a diet but very tasty. You can find them frozen now in stores but why not make your own?  Try this beer batter recipe for some really great eating.

Ingredients
4 medium sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut into strips (boil them until they are just getting soft.)  You can also microwave them.
¼ cup honey
2¼ cups beer, a mild flavored beer is best
1tsp. grated lemon peel
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups flour
Oil for deep frying (not soy), peanut oil is great

Directions

For the batter blend 1/4 cup beer with the honey and lemon peel in a large zip close bag or use a covered bowl.  Add the sweet potato slices and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Now mix together the flour, salt, pepper, garlic, and remaining beer in a large bowl.  Blend until smooth.

Heat the frying oil to 390 degrees F. (195 C) in a deep fryer or deep pan.

Using tongs take a strip of potato from the bag and dip it in the flour- beer mixture. Place the batter coated strips in the hot oil immediately.

Only fry a few pieces at a time, making sure not to crowd them in the fryer, until golden brown. Lift the fried potatoes out of the fryer with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel covered plate.  Serve hot.

 Does January rain make February flowers?

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

And So On….
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me. You can also ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:

An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook

Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook

Newsletter/blog information

If you would like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to me or you can comment directly on the blog. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly note if you email me. You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish what I want.

I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com


No comments:

Post a Comment