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Tuesday, March 21, 2017

March 21, 2017, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter


Hi Gardeners

Amaryllis
It’s so beautiful here today, a sunny spring day.  I remember as a grade school child going out to recess on a day like this, going to the far end of the playground and knowing one of my favorite routes to nature and freedom (the railroad tracks), was only a half block away.  I was always too chicken to sneak away but my whole day was spent longing for school to be over so I could be outside.

Yesterday spring began – hooray!  We have had some winter like weather in the last week so I hope nature respects the calendar and keeps spring in the forecast.  (Unfortunately it’s supposed to get cold again tomorrow, for a day or two.)  The birds are singing like crazy and yesterday and today I even heard frogs.  The turkey vultures are back so that’s a good sign too.

Inside I have a beautiful amaryllis in bloom and the hibiscus is blooming again too.  I picked my first lemon ever from my own tree.  It’s very small but it tastes very lemony.  One more little lemon is left.  Hopefully if I put the tree back outside for summer so its blooms can get pollinated I’ll get more lemons next year.

Outside the winter aconite and the early crocus are blooming.  Some snowdrops are still blooming. The black willow is blooming and buds are swelling on the red maple, redbud, forsythia and other things.  Lilacs are showing green leaf tips.  The honeysuckles that are already leafing out had some damage to the leaves from the cold last week but I am sure they will recover.

I made a summer bulb order last week.  I want to try some of the minor bulbs I haven’t tried before.  Most aren’t hardy here so they will be planted in pots to overwinter inside.  And I ordered some new dahlias of course.  I also ordered some unusual plants, ever hear of Omphaloides?

Yesterday was the vernal equinox, the first day of spring.  Equinox is supposed to mean that the days and nights are equal in length but that isn’t exactly true.  If you count twilight and dawn as day, there are about 13 hours of light, here in Michigan.  The sun is moving from its low, southern inclination to higher in the sky and to the north.  It’s half the distance it will travel upward in the sky at the spring equinox.  If you go outside today you can see exact east and west by looking at where the sun is positioned.  Like the ancient people maybe you can mark this spot, or find a landmark that lines up with it.

The ancient peoples were very aware of the equinoxes.  The Egyptian sphinx points directly to the sun at the spring equinox.  The equinox signifies renewal in the northern hemisphere, a time when everything is awaking from dormancy.  In ancient history the spring equinox symbolized the dividing line between the dark and light times of the year.  Almost every culture has a deity that is resurrected from the dead at this time of the year.  

The Christian celebration of Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon after the equinox (although current historical dating would place Christ’s crucifixion as sometime in late April/early May.) This year Easter is quite late, April 16th.  The March full moon was the 12th, before the equinox and Aprils full moon is the 11th

Around the time of the equinox there is often interruption in services that are beamed off stationary satellites.  That’s because the orbit of these satellites means that the sun will block them from Earth at some point during the day.  As the sun moves higher in the sky this ceases, until the autumn equinox, when the sun is again in the right alignment. 
My tiny lemon

That smell, oh that smell

If you are of a certain age you may remember a song by Lynyrd Skynyrd called Oooh that smell.  When I step outside and smell the spring air, that earthy, sweet smell so associated with spring, that song plays in my mind. (Of course Lynyrd was not referring to the smell of soil.   If you want to listen  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4j7ggZqbiU)  It’s just a catchy song, someone needs to rewrite it for gardeners.

That smell of spring comes from the earth, the smell of actinobacteria in soil waking up and getting to work. The word “Petrichor” was coined by the Greeks and refers to the smell of rain falling on soil.  I think this word would also apply to the smell of soil in the spring, (mostly because I can’t find any other big word to use.)

Researchers say this smell of soil seems to invoke pleasant memories in humans; we breathe deep and savor it, especially when we haven’t smelled it in a while.  Actinobacteria called Streptomyces release an organic compound called geosmin into the soil. When moisture falls on dry soil or is percolated out of soil by the sun on bare soil in early spring, small bubbles form on the surface of the soil. These bubbles release gases into the air containing organic compounds, including that of geosmin, which are what we smell.

Crocus and spring soil

Different soils release slightly different smells. Most people don’t differentiate the smells but some people have a keen nose for soil and can determine different types of soil from their smell.  When plant growth has begun oils from plants contribute to the smell of soil too.  That’s why the smell of rain on soil later in summer is different from wet soil in spring.

Researchers have noted that smelling soil, getting down close to it and handling it, can relive depression and lift the spirits.  Our ancient souls recognize from which we came, a marriage of bacteria and earth.  The Latin word humus means soil and it’s no mistake that the word human is so close to it.  We come from the earth and will return to it.  Get outside and smell the soil.

Its wildfire season

If you are one of the gardeners that uses burning as a clean-up tool, if you burn off the old ornamental grasses, the ditch sides, the piles of branches and debris from winter storms and so on, be very careful.  It may not seem like it but spring weather and landscape conditions can make some areas ripe for fire.  Already there have been some devastating wildfires in the southwest.  While rural areas and small towns surrounding by natural areas are often hardest hit, suburban areas can also be damaged by grass and brush fires. 

Some conditions in the spring that make wildfires more likely include lots of dead grasses, leaves and scattered storm debris coupled with warm days with low humidity and possibly spring thunderstorms.  Even though the landscape is starting to green up there’s a lot of “leftovers” that haven’t broken down.  Windy conditions common in spring help spread fires once they begin.

If you are in a rural community you may be familiar with “red flag” conditions.  When a red flag is flown outside a municipal building, usually a fire department or town hall, burning is prohibited.  Many communities also have permanent rules against burning.

If you decide that you are going to use fire to do some clean up make sure you plan to be present the whole time the fire is burning.  Have some way to control flames that get out of hand.  A shovel, fire extinguisher, buckets of water or a hose, or in some cases large equipment like a tractor with a blade on the front should be nearby.  Don’t start a fire on a windy day and avoid warm, dry days with very low humidity.  If you do some burning make sure the fire is completely out before you leave the area. 

In rural areas you can be charged for a fire run even if your fire isn’t out of control.  If someone sees fire, is concerned and calls the fire department and they respond, you could get a large bill.  You may want to notify neighbors and the local fire department if you are going to be doing large scale burning. 

If you live in a fire prone area get your winter debris cleaned up and in a compost pile.  Wet that down if it’s been dry. Be on the alert for fires and summon help to get them out before they get out of control.

Cheerios seed give away

Going the rounds on line this week is a controversy over “wildflower” seeds being giving away by the manufacturers of Cheerios.  The mascot for the brand is a bee and they are using that to promote saving bees and hence the seed giveaway.  You would think –wow free seeds – how can that be bad?  But some people will complain about anything. (Before you get too excited General Mills has announced the seeds are all gone.)

The first complaint of course, was that some of the flowers in the mix, such as Forget-me nots, were invasive. The second common complaint was that the seed mix wasn’t tailored for each recipient’s distinct locality. The company that provided the seeds should know better they complained. 

Some people debated just how good the flowers in the mix were for bees, and whether we should promote non-native honey bee survival over native bees. Then there were those who criticized General Mills (Cheerios) because they use grain products that are GMO’s and sprayed with Monsanto products, so why are they “pretending” to be environmentally friendly?  Yep, all that controversy over free seeds.

The mix contained Chinese Forget-Me-Not, Siberian Wallflower, California Poppy, Orange Coneflower, China Purple Aster, Lance Leaved Coreopsis, Blue Flax, Baby Blue Eyes, Globe Gilia, Indian Blanket, Tidy–tips, Plains Coreopsis, Tall White Sweet Alyssum, Lavender Hyssop, Fleabane Daisy. New England Aster, Bergamot. As you can see some of these plants are native to North America, some are not.  They were chosen because they provide nectar or pollen or both for bees.  Packets contained 100 seeds; I have no idea what the percentages of each type of seed were.

Gardens are full of plants that aren’t native and bees don’t, for the most part, care about whether a plant is native or not.  The argument that the flowers from the seeds will not help native bees is tenuous at best. There are a few specialist bees, but it’s more important to some plants to have a certain native pollinator than for most bee species to have a certain plant.  Could the bees forsake the plants that need them for these “invaders”?  Possibly but more plants bees can feed on mean more bees so it probably equals out.

Bee on oregano

Will these plants attract non- native bees like honey bees which will out compete native bees?  Once again, invasive plants are rarely the cause of another native plant disappearing.  So if native “specialist” bees are disappearing it’s because conditions in the environment have changed.  Some species of both animals and plants adapt. And it doesn’t mean that if you don’t plant those seeds that native bees will stick around.  Bees of various types usually manage to co-exist quite well.  And if there are flowers that non-native species prefer over native ones, that leaves the native flowers for the specialist bees.

To the complaint that the seeds contained some non-native species I say so what?  These are tiny packages and if they get planted most people will plant them in a little tiny patch in their yard.  If you managed to score a packet of the seeds, plant them on your own property. Then don’t worry about them being invasive.  None of the listed plants are dangerous (but don’t eat them).  Some are annuals, so they won’t be back the second year unless they self-seed.  If you are really worried about them spreading cut the flowers off when they start to fade so they don’t make seed. 

The Forget-me-nots seem to be getting the brunt of the non-native plant hater’s complaints.  These have been grown in gardens for a long, long, time.  My grandmother had them, I’ve grown them.  They were often given as free seed packets in catalog orders.  There are actually two types of plants called Forget –me –nots, Myosotis sylvatica and Cynoglossum amabile, the seed probably in the mixBoth have small, usually blue flowers.  Myosotis is perennial or biannual, Cynoglossum is an annual with sticky seeds. Both attract bees.  Both are often listed as wildflowers.  Both are non-native plants.

These small plants, if they escape, may occupy space that a native plant once occupied, but that doesn’t mean they overpowered the native species.  More than likely the native plants which were once there are no longer there because the environment/habitat has changed.  A replacement plant that is pretty and feeds the bees seems to be a fair deal.

As far as the seeds not being selected for the region, come on, they’re free.  Most of the plants I see listed are very adaptable.  What isn’t adaptable probably won’t grow.  And once again – just because they aren’t native to the region doesn’t mean they don’t have value to the bees.

Many native wildflowers can be tricky to grow from seed, and may take years to bloom.  Many of these are expensive and scarce.  If you want them fine, but don’t expect them in a free packet of seed. I don’t think those who want to specialize in native regional plants regardless of their appeal to humans should criticize those who want something pretty that will also help the bees.  Each to their own.

The truth is that a great many of those tiny packets of seed won’t get planted at all and of those that do, most won’t be planted correctly and actually germinate and grow.  A small percentage of the 1.5 billion seeds that were given out will actually become plants and only a small fraction of those will become “invasive”.

By the way, to start packets of seed like this, packets of mixed wildflowers and so on, you can’t just sprinkle them on the ground.  You need to work up the soil, get weeds and grass out of it, plant the seeds in bare ground with loosened soil and keep them watered until they are up and growing well.

The idea that General Mills shouldn’t offer free seeds because they use GMO plants or plants sprayed with pesticides in their food products is just silly.  If anything we should expect them to offer more free seeds or plants.  General Mills does fund some honeybee research, which is also good.  Why are we criticizing them for trying to do some good for the environment?  We should be thanking them and urging them to do more.

One more little thing being mentioned in all the articles is that General Mills is removing the honeybee mascot from their packages because honeybees are disappearing.  People often mistake the concern over honeybee problems the honeybee keepers are having with domestic hives with the decline of native pollinators.  Honeybees are not endangered. People may be having trouble keeping them in hives but as far as numbers go, they are not endangered. 

Don’t get me wrong, we need honeybees to pollinate some of our food crops, and it is important to try and halt the various diseases and pests or chemical actions that are harming them.  Some (but not all) native bee species are endangered and many populations are declining.  It is important that we also understand what these bees need and how they are affected by things that also affect the honeybee, because they are essential in the environment.  But planting wildflowers is more likely to help than harm native bees, as well as honeybees, even if those flowers aren’t native species.

Here is the original site- but I don’t think there are any seeds left.

Roundup lawsuit controversy

The “is Round Up- (glyphosate) safe” debate is also stirred up again because of a lawsuit working its way through the courts.  In the lawsuit the plaintiff is arguing that Monsanto doctored some of the research on to make it seem glyphosate is safer than it is.  They allege among other things, that people wrote “ghost papers” and just paid researchers to sign them.  They are also alleging that some of the supposedly inert ingredients added to formulations of various products can make glyphosate more harmful than the chemical alone.  That the product causes cancer is one health risk claimed.

I am reading the court documents and trying to decipher if any of this will change my mind on glyphosate.  You can read them at https://usrtk.org/pesticides/mdl-monsanto-glyphosate-cancer-case-key-documents-analysis/  and make up your own mind.  Please keep an open, inquiring mind.  The case is being brought by an environmental group who is openly against Monsanto, the company that developed glyphosate but on the other hand, that doesn’t mean some of the case doesn’t have merit.

This is an interesting debate.  I don’t use the product, because I think it’s unnecessary in most cases, but I do believe, like many professionals that glyphosate is fairly safe as pesticides go.  But also, unlike some professionals, I don’t believe the matter is completely settled.

I am most interested in the idea that when certain things are added to glyphosate, like “stickers and spreaders” that they may change how the chemical interacts with animal bodies.  One ingredient, for example, was found to make the product more fat soluble and therefore it would also penetrate human skin better than plain glyphosate.  I have read research that found different conclusions when plain pure glyphosate was tested against a product made with glyphosate bought off the shelf.  The products on the shelf have additives.

Documents uncovered in the lawsuit also talk about how these additives and maybe even glyphosate itself may interact with things in the environment and produce by-products like nitrates that would not occur in the lab.  It’s conceivable that Monsanto can be right when it claims glyphosate is fairly harmless and yet not truthful when it claims a product like Round Up is harmless.

Some experts are dismissing the lawsuit because it’s brought by environmental activist groups and because they feel that there has been enough research on the product to assure everyone its safe.  They argue that even if research papers were ghost written and people paid to sign them that peer review would have caught any glaring inconsistencies or falsified information. That could be true.  And it’s well known that Monsanto is everybody’s boogerman when it comes to pesticides and chemicals.  For some reason people love to hate Monsanto and there seems to be some bias to many peoples opinion of their products and actions.

What bothers me a bit though is that most of the research done on glyphosate was done decades ago.  I am not so certain it was falsified research but I’m wondering if the formula for many products using glyphosate hasn’t changed greatly in the last decade, which could alter the toxicity of the products.  There are different formulas for products sold in different countries and for commercial/agriculture use and for home use.

Have all these different current formulas been tested under natural environmental conditions?  There’s no quick answer.  My take is Round-Up and other products using glyphosate (other companies now make glyphosate products) should not be considered safer than other pesticides but rather used in a careful, cautious manner only when absolutely necessary knowing that it may carry some risk.  That’s the best way to use any pesticide actually.  All pesticides carry risk, and that also pertains to the “natural” concoctions people whip up at home. 

Calendula

Calendula
Calendula is a plant I almost always have in the garden.  It’s considered to be both an herb and an ornamental.  It’s a great cool weather plant, both for spring and fall.  It’s too bad that many modern gardeners seem to forget this beautiful annual plant.

Calendula is an ancient garden plant, grown throughout Europe and was commonly known as the marigold or Pot Marigold. It was used as a medicinal plant and as an ornamental. Then the other type of marigold was discovered in the New World, Tagetes, the bedding plant that Americans commonly refer to as the marigold.  It was confusing to have two common garden plants with the same name, so now we use the name marigold for the species Tagetes and calendula for the wonderful, but almost forgotten, plant formally known as the marigold.

Calendula grows to about 18 inches high and branches freely.  Leaves are long ovals wider at the end, with a prominent vein down the center and gray-green to medium green.   

Calendula flowers seem to glow or shine, in clear shades of vivid orange and yellow, and they are wonderful in flower arrangements.  The flower is daisy-like and 2-4 inches in size. For a long time calendulas were always a solid color, usually orange or yellow, but recently plant breeders have introduced varieties with blends of colors and some softer pastel colors. Calendula flowers open in the day and close at night or in bad weather.

Varieties
Good ornamental varieties of calendula are ‘Citrus Smoothies‘, very double flowers in pastel blends of apricot and lemon with a light outer edge, ‘Orange Porcupine’, which has a quilled look to the bright orange petals, ‘Geisha Girl‘, which is a another deep orange with a very full look, almost like a small mum, and ‘Neon‘, a deep orange edged in burgundy. 

The ‘Flashback’ strain has maroon on the back of each flower petal and the front of the petal is a contrasting color, including peachy pinks.  The ‘Pacific Giant’ strain has been around a long time and is a blend of many shades of yellow and orange.  It has some resistance to heat. There are other improved varieties of calendula and new varieties are coming on the market every year.

Growing calendula

Calendula is extremely easy to grow.  The seeds are usually planted where they are to grow, but they can be started inside. Outside, plant seeds 2-3 weeks before the average last frost in your area.  If planting inside, start them about six weeks before your expected last frost. Cover the seeds lightly and keep them moist. They bloom quickly from seed, often as soon as six weeks after planting. You can sometimes find calendula plants in nurseries in the spring for immediate color, and sowing seed in early July in the garden will give you beautiful fall flowers as well.

Calendula prefers full sun and average soil moisture. They will grow in almost any soil as long as it’s well drained.  Little or no fertilizer is needed. They prefer cool weather and tend to sulk or die in hot humid weather.  Sometimes plants that quit blooming in the heat resume blooming in cool weather. 

Calendulas also need to have the flowers picked off as they fade, or they will quit blooming.  They are an annual plant, but they will re-seed freely in the garden, and you will get new plants each year if you let some go to seed.  You can also save seed to sow in early spring.



Uses of calendula

Calendula flowers are edible and can be added to salads for a colorful touch.  The petals of calendula have long been used to impart a golden color to soups, egg dishes, rice, cheese and even butter. Calendula flowers are fed to chickens to make egg yolks a deeper yellow and to give the skins of broilers a golden color.  (If you use calendula flowers in food make sure they have not been sprayed with any pesticides.)

Calendula can be used as a tea for stomach upset by steeping 5 teaspoons of fresh flower petals in hot water.  If this mixture is allowed to cool it makes an excellent mouthwash, especially for sore and bleeding gums, because of its antiseptic properties. Crushing a calendula flower on an insect sting will ease the pain.  Calendula is used in soothing salves, foot baths, and facial care products.  If you want the variety used for most commercial herbal preparations look for ‘Erfurter Orange‘.

Chocolate Cherry Crockpot Cobbler

Did you know your crockpot can make dessert too?  Try this easy delicious dessert.  It’s a warm, delicious ending to a meal or eat it as a snack.  I like a chocolate cake with this but you can also use a cherry cake mix, or white or yellow.  You can also use other fruits for different cobblers.

You won’t need an entire cake mix for this so close up the plastic bag the mix comes in tightly and freeze the left over mix for another use.  Or you can double the recipe and use a 6 quart slow cooker.

A 3 quart or 6 quart slow cooker can be used; the larger cooker will actually take less time to cook.  You can spray the inside of your cooker with pan spray to help with clean up or use a crockpot liner.  I’m sorry I don’t have a picture of this.

Ingredients

16 oz. can (2 cups) cherry pie filling
1 ¾ cup chocolate cake mix
1 egg
3 tablespoons cream
½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Grease sides of crockpot, use pan spray or liner for easy clean up.

Put the cherry filling in the crockpot and turn it on high.

Mix together cake mix, egg, cream and cinnamon.  The mix will look crumbly.

Wait 30 minutes and spoon the cake mixture over the cherries in the crockpot.  (Cherry mixture should be hot.)

Turn the heat down to low and cook for about 3 hours- it is done when a toothpick inserted in the cake topping comes out clean.  In some crockpots it will take longer, in some less time.

Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream.

Get outside and smell the soil

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

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

And So On….
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