Hi
Gardeners
 |
| Flowering quince |
We’ve had some cool nights but fairly nice spring days
and flowers are bursting out all over.
The flowering quince and the beach plums are blooming. I was pleased to see the beach plums were covered
with honey bees today, the first honey bees I have seen. The apricot has just about finished blooming,
but the redbud, pears and apples will bloom in a day or so.
I have windflowers, daffodils, early tulips, bloodroot
and Spanish bluebells in bloom. Brunnera, perennial Forget me not-is blooming. A few crocus linger on. I see color on the lilac buds. The yard is filled with yellow dandelions, purple
violets and purple deadnettle. (Dandelion
recipes below).
I have been potting up the new bulbs I ordered. I’m trying some new little bulbs I have never
grown before, planting them in pots. My
bulb order arrived with 7 packages instead of the 8 it should have had. One of
the things I have never grown before is Incarvillea (hardy gloxinia). I had a package marked Incarvillea but it
looked like dahlia tubers, which I ordered but that didn’t seem to be
present. I thought there might have
been a mix up but after talking with the nursery I guess I do have Incarvillea,
the dahlias I ordered are being re-sent to me.
Anyway it will be interesting to
see what happens when the tubers sprout.
Anyone out there growing Incarvillea?
The potted bulbs are in my little greenhouse, along
with lots of seedlings. I like to give
things like dahlias a head start before planting so they bloom sooner. We’ve had a couple of nights with freezing
temperatures but so far everything has been fine in the greenhouse even though
it’s not heated. I just wish I had a
bigger one.
We’ve mowed the lawn for the first time and I have been
busy weeding. I ran into some little
stinging nettles yesterday. I hate those
things, and I don’t care how great of an herb they are, in my garden they are
compost material.
My big task will be weeding out the strawberries this
week. I can’t believe how fast the grass
grows in a strawberry patch. And I have
to get in one of my front beds and weed out all the little alliums that are
coming up, those things spread like crazy.
I think the whole allium family is a bit aggressive.
Still no hummingbirds here, but I expect them any day now
that more things are in bloom.
 |
| Beach or native plums |
One
more mosquito repellant that doesn’t work
After last week’s blog someone wrote to me asking about
another mosquito remedy, this one for spraying around the yard. It was a mixture of “cheap mouthwash”, Epsom salt
and beer. I don’t know where people come
up with this stuff. There’s no basis for
any of those products to repel mosquitoes, in fact the smell of beer actually
attracts some species of mosquitoes.
The mention of Epsom salts in any home remedy for the
garden should be a clue. You can count
on 99% of the remedies for the garden that use Epsom salt to be useless. The only legitimate use for Epsom salt in the
garden would be to correct a magnesium deficiency in soil, which is a rare
problem most home gardeners will never encounter. Oh, and it’s great for soaking your tired feet
after a long day of hauling mulch around.
The article that was sent to me claimed the concoction
kept mosquitoes away for 80 days! What a
joke. Alcohol in beer and mouthwash
would quickly evaporate. Epsom salt
would be washed into the soil in the first rain. Even the best and most effective commercial
mosquito repellants don’t last that long. Who dreams these things up? Don’t
waste your money and time mixing up this mess.
I think some of these products seem to work because of
the placebo effect. You spend time and
money making the remedy and you feel virtuous because you didn’t use any “horrible
chemicals”. You think you saved money
but unless you got the products free you probably didn’t. So your mind tells
you after you went around spraying the yard that there were fewer
mosquitoes. If your mind could keep
mosquitoes from biting you that might help, but I haven’t seen any evidence
that works with mosquitoes.
There have been lots and lots of research on what
repels or kills mosquitoes. None of the
mentioned products kills or repels mosquitoes.
If you don’t want to use chemicals in the yard, and I don’t fault you
for that, don’t use them. Keep all
sources of standing water emptied or treat them with Bt, a natural product that
kills mosquito larvae, so you don’t breed mosquitoes. Wear long sleeves and pants when outside in
the times of day when mosquitoes are most active; dusk, dawn and cloudy damp
days. Use a good mosquito repellant on
your body and clothes. A good strong
breeze keeps mosquitoes away. When
sitting on the deck or porch a fan can be used to provide good protection
without chemicals.
Sometimes we need to weigh the risks against the
benefits. Mosquitoes can carry serious
life threatening diseases. Some areas of
the country have more problems with mosquito borne disease and some people are
more vulnerable to complications of those diseases. Modern mosquito control products for personal
use carry extremely low risks to people using them. Make an educated decision
based on that.
Moss
Do you have moss in your lawn or on your roof? The good news is that moss isn’t harmful, and
just indicates that suitable conditions for moss are present, which may not be
the right conditions for your lawn or roof.
If you change the conditions the moss will disappear.
In lawns moss is most often a problem in compacted
soil, shady areas, wet areas and in acidic soil with low fertility. If you correct the conditions favoring moss
it will disappear. Aerate the soil and
limit travel on those areas if compaction is a problem. Have a soil test done to see if the soil is
acidic or low in fertility and correct those conditions. Improve the drainage in wet areas- or simply
wait for drier conditions to happen.
Shade is trickier.
You may not want to remove a nice tree to keep moss from growing under
it. But grass is not going to grow in
shady places where moss grows anyway.
Moss doesn’t look bad and some people have cultivated it under trees
instead of using mulch or ground cover plants.
Moss is easily removed by sliding a trowel or shovel under it and then
you could replace it with mulch or find a ground cover plant for your shady
conditions.
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| Moss in the lawn |
Moss on the roof is also caused by favorable
conditions, generally a roof that stays damp because it’s shaded. If you can remove the shade and increase
airflow by removing any tree branches hanging low over the house the moss will
probably disappear. There are products
you can buy to clean moss off roofs but be very careful if you decide to use
them. Some can wash off and harm plants
on the ground below. Too vigorous
scrubbing of moss can damage shingles too.
Soap and water solutions generally don’t work very well and one should
never apply them while on the roof, since they are slippery.
Moss is actually a rather neat plant. Each patch is like a miniature forest, take a
look under a microscope and you’ll see tiny insects and snails living in it,
the moss plants looking like tiny trees. Hummingbirds use bits of moss and
lichens to line and hide their nests. Moss
provides nitrogen to some environments, through a symbiotic relationship with
bacteria. There are some 12,000 species
of moss.
Mosses have their own special division of the plant
kingdom, Bryophyta. They are plants
without a vascular system and reproduce by spores instead of seeds. There’s no
real root system, moss absorbs water and minerals through its leaves. Moss can grow on a variety of surfaces from
soil to roofs to stones but a moist environment is crucial for moss.
Some people collect moss and use it in miniature
gardens and terrariums. It’s been used as a lawn substitute. And of course
gardeners know the value of peat moss, the dried mosses from bogs. Native people used dried moss as diaper
lining, as wound compresses and in shoes.
Moss is used on green roofs and was once used to fill the gaps in log
homes. Some northern cultures even made
a type of bread from moss when food was scarce.
Its even used in the production of Scotch wiskey.
Layering
as a propagation technique
If you are out in the garden this spring and decide you’d
like to have more of a certain plant why not try a simple method of propagation
called layering to get some new plants?
Layering is a method where a low branch of a plant,
usually shrubby types of plants, is covered with soil while still attached to
the plant. Under the soil new roots
develop and after the new plant is well established it can be removed and
planted elsewhere. Layering is a slow
but pretty effective means of multiplying many plants.
Plants to try layering on include: roses grown on their
own roots, forsythia, rhododendron, azalea, honeysuckle, honeyberry, boxwood, euonymus,
privet, wax myrtle, lilac, spreading junipers, caryopteris, lavender, rosemary,
blackberries, raspberries, grapes, and any plant with woody or semi-woody stems
that are close enough to the ground that they can be bent to touch it.
Don’t layer plants that are grafted, the roots of the
new plant will not be hardy. Don’t layer
plants that are herbaceous, that is all the above ground parts die back to the
ground each winter. Most larger trees
like maples and oaks cannot be layered.
Remember you can keep trademarked or patented plants you propagate for yourself but you cannot sell them without
a license.
The
technique
When my grandmother wanted to propagate some plants she
simply took a low branch, cut the underside with a pocket knife, pushed it to
the ground and put a big rock on top of the cut area. It worked for her many times. But here’s a better way.
Layering is best done in early spring or fall but you
can give it a try anytime. In the spring
look for a new green branch that’s close enough to the ground you can bend a
good part of it down to touch the ground.
(I have mounded soil up on occasion to facilitate this.) The branch should have buds or new leaves
signifying it’s alive and growing. In the fall look for a branch that developed
this year or a branch without heavy bark and layer it in early fall before it
gets too cold.
The bending alone will cause some plants to put out
hormones in that area to start root production, but wounding the branch makes
root simulation more likely. On the
bottom of the branch where it will touch the ground take a sharp clean knife
and make a small cut, not more than halfway through the branch. Make the wound far enough down on the stem so
that at least 4-6 inches remain to the tip of the branch.
Many times wounding is all that needs to be done. Bend the wounded area just a bit so the wound
gaps a little. Sometimes a toothpick that’s
moistened, rolled in rooting hormone, (which you can buy in garden stores), and
placed crosswise in the cut to keep it slightly open, will help more stubborn
plants make new roots.
Place the wounded branch with the cut side down on soil
that’s been loosened. The branch remains
attached to the plant. You’ll need to
securely pin it to the soil in some way.
I use a piece of stiff bent wire over the stem and into the ground. But the rock is an old and true method. Place the pinning item just past the wounded
area toward the main plant.
Bend the tip of the branch upward gently; you don’t
need a sharp angle, just a gentle curve up.
Place a stake next to it and attach the branch tip. Now you mound soil over the cut area, 6
inches deep is fine. If you get heavy
rains or the soil is very light you may want to cover the mound with a piece of
netting or burlap to hold it in place.
Layering is a slow method of propagation. Do not dig down or otherwise disturb the new
roots for at least one year. For example
if you layered a rose in early spring, you may be able to remove and plant it
the following spring. If the branch was
layered in spring it should develop leaves and grow over the summer but
remember it’s still attached to the mother plant, so it may not be growing roots. If the branch was layered in the fall, it may
bud out in spring but not have roots yet also.
After a year carefully remove some of the soil mound
and look to see if new roots have developed.
If they have you can cut the plant away from the mother plant and
transplant it to where you want it to grow.
Make sure to keep it watered as it establishes itself.
 |
| Layering, picture adapted from wikimedia commons |
Tip
layering, suckers and water sprouts
A few plants will root if branches bend over and touch
the ground. Willows and forsythia come
to mind, but any shrub with a “weeping” form might be a prospect. Where a branch tip touches the ground you
can mound a little soil over it. If you
can weigh the tip down or tether it in some way it has a better chance of
rooting. Normally wind moves branches
around a lot and this prevents rooting.
If a plant puts up suckers, like lilacs do, (that’s small
plants that pop up a short distance from the plant), you can simply dig up the
suckering pieces, cutting the roots attached to mother plants. Let suckers grow a year or two to develop a
good root system. Suckers that grow up
around a grafted plant will not turn into plants that look like the mother
plant and may not be hardy.
If you cut down a shrub or even a tree and it throws a
bunch of shoots or “water sprouts” up from the trunk you can mound soil over
these shoots and let them develop their own root systems. Wounding them near their bases with a small
cut will make them more likely to develop their own root system and not keep
using the old plant roots for sustenance.
Only propagate these water sprouts if the original plant was
healthy. And if the original plant was
grafted the plants growing from the sprouts won’t look like the original tree
and may not be hardy.
Sometimes living trees will put out water sprouts near
the base of the tree. Do not mound soil
around these as it may rot the trunk of the original tree and allow disease and
insects inside.
Should
you only plant native species in your garden?
Here I go again. I saw a post on line where someone
wanted a plant with pretty purple flowers identified, and the poster mentioned
that hummingbirds loved the plant. The
plant was identified and then people went on rants about not growing the plant
because it was a non-native “invasive”.
I mentioned that it must have value in the environment because the
hummers loved it. Then people began the
litany of this non-native disrupting the ecosystem because it took resources
away from natives. I guess they thought
if hummers like this plant they wouldn’t go to native plants. Or maybe it was
just the occupying of space that concerned them. This is what makes me so angry.
There are a lot of plants not native to North America
that bees, birds and other animals are very fond of, and that contribute to
their well-being. There’s never been any
proof that a plant introduced into an environment caused the extinction of a
native plant. And hummers, bees and
butterflies rarely abandon natives; they just use non-natives as supplemental
feeds, or nesting spots, maybe in an area where native plants no longer sustain
their populations. This is a good thing,
not a bad thing, because more species are being saved.
It seems ironic to me that the most invasive,
environmentally destructive, non-native plants in this country are plants that
benefit humans. All that wheat, soy,
rice, oats, cotton, lettuce, cabbage, apples, citrus, those honey bees, in fact
most food crops, are not native. But
they feed us, humans, so they get to stay. And those crops have been the cause
of more harmful changes to the environment than any non-native ornamental plant
in a garden.
So why is it wrong to let plants that feed or house
other species stay? Why do we decide its
ok to root out and destroy plants that birds, bees, butterflies, and other
animals like because they aren’t native?
If people in North America started eating only native North American species
and destroyed all those non-native crops maybe they would have a change of
heart. Believe me, bees, hummingbirds,
butterflies, songbirds, and other animals don’t care where a plant comes from
if it feeds or shelters them.
But
are native plants easier to grow?
And as far as the idea that native plants are easier to
care for, more suited to the environment and so on – well it’s mostly crap, to
put it mildly. If you are new to gardening don’t let people tell you to only
plant native plants because they will need less maintenance and are more likely
to grow for you.
The important thing for any garden situation is to
choose plants that suit the conditions, whether they are native species or
not. Those are the plants that are going
to be easiest to grow, the ones suited to the soil, weather, light conditions
and so on. Those are the plants you’ll
be most pleased with. If you have a
garden that you like, and that suits your idea of a garden that’s the garden
that will be a pleasure to care for.
If you want peonies or poppies or roses and your
conditions are suitable for them don’t let people guilt you into planting
native plants instead. And when it’s your personal garden space don’t be afraid
to choose ornamental qualities of non-natives over “native ” if both plants are
equally suited to the conditions. Consulting
with experts is great, learning about what different species of plants need is
essential, but don’t let other people dictate to you what plants you should
grow.
Most garden environments and even larger pieces of land
have changed over time from their original conditions either because they were
modified by human activity or climate change.
So plants that were once native to that area may struggle to grow
there. Many non-native plants,
conventional garden plants grown for hundreds of years in gardens, are going to
be more suitable for your conditions and easier to care for than native
plants. You are more likely to have
success growing them and success in anything generally encourages you to do
more of it. Growing any kind of plants
is better than growing no plants at all.
 |
| Rudbeckia and monarda, native plants. |
Sure there are hardy and adaptable natives that grow
almost anywhere and those are great for your garden or landscape. I recommend you use some of them. I’m thinking
coreopsis, rudbeckia, monarda, chelone, echinacea, goldenrod and helenium, all
pretty adaptable and easy. And many other
native species may be perfect for your conditions and showy enough for the
garden too. But many native plants aren’t going to grow in your conditions and
don’t let anyone tell you because you live in the “northeast” that all of the
northeastern native plants are the most suitable ones for your garden, because
many won’t be.
There are, of course, some species of animals,
butterflies in particular, that need certain plants for reproduction or food. Monarch butterflies need milkweed plants for
their caterpillars to eat for example.
So if you can tuck some of those larval-host species in the garden or
allow them to grow somewhere on your property you are encouraging and
protecting those species and that’s a good thing.
Some native plants are hard to get established even in
good conditions for them. You can’t just
plop them in the ground and walk away.
They won’t all stay looking nice without pruning and other care. Some native plants can also become a
nightmare in the garden, overrunning everything and becoming almost impossible
to control. And most native plants have
a short bloom period and then many don’t look especially attractive after
that.
Native plants propagated responsibly for sale can be
more expensive than equally suitable non- native species. And the fad for native plants is actually
leading to the destruction of populations of some species as unscrupulous
dealers harvest them from the wild.
It’s not wrong to plant either native species or
non-native species- it’s wrong to plant the wrong plant for the conditions and
for the expectations you have for a garden.
Celebrating
dandelions
Did you know that the dandelion is not a native
plant? They were brought here by early
European colonists as an herbal plant and escaped to live happily ever
after. Lawns lit up with gold splashes
are so pretty after a long winter how could people hate them? Its likely more people would tolerate
dandelions “naturalized” in the lawn if they didn’t turn into those white fluff
balls of seed.
The bees appreciate dandelions too. They are an important source of nectar and
pollen in early spring, and get bee colonies off to a good start. Birds like the seeds of dandelions even
though they are small. Some farm animals
don’t care for dandelion foliage as it’s rather bitter and the plants are often
left to flower in pastures to the delight of the bees.
Dandelions are interesting plants. The leaves are grooved and arranged to funnel
water to the roots and the root itself is a long sturdy taproot capable of
storing water so the plant survives drought well. The dandelion begins flowering when the day
length is slightly below 12 hours, stops flowering when the day gets to its longest
point and then begins flowering again in autumn when the day length is about 12
hours again.
Dandelion flowers are actually masses of small flowers
bundled together and these flowers do not need pollination to set seed,
although they appreciate and reward bees for helping with pollination. Dandelion flowers close at night and when
rain is coming. The dandelion seed
floats away on a tuff of fluff to start new colonies. Dandelions are perennial and if you dig down
beneath the snow you can find the leaves still green in winter.
Herbal
and edible uses of dandelions
All parts of the dandelion are used in herbal remedies
or for food. Young dandelion leaves are
used for salads and are grown commercially for that purpose to include in
“green mixes.” The buds of dandelions
and even open flowers can be used in salads also. The young greens are cooked like spinach,
although they are best mixed with other greens as they are bitter when
cooked. The flowers of dandelions can be
breaded and fried.
Dried dandelion leaves are used as a tea to aid
digestion. Dried dandelion leaves, dried
nettles and yellow dock are turned into an herbal beer once popular in
Canada. The leaves are high in calcium,
boron, and silicone and modern herbals suggest them to aid in treating
osteoporosis. Dandelion flowers contain
high levels of lecithin and choline, two substances modern herbalists use for
treating Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders
Dandelion flowers are used to make dandelion wine. (Recipe
below).
Dandelion roots are dried and ground and used in a
number of medicinal ways. They are a
mild diuretic and laxative and are said to help the liver. The dried roots are also used as a coffee
substitute. The chopped, boiled and
mashed roots are an old remedy for sore breasts and mastitis.
When you pick a dandelion flower the stem leaks a milky
sap. That sap is an old remedy for warts
and other skin conditions. And that sap
can be turned into rubber too. In
Germany a manufacturing facility began large scale production of rubber from
dandelions a few years ago. They hope to
have dandelion rubber tires on the commercial market soon. Besides tires the rubber will be used in many
other applications that traditional rubber and latex are used for, such as
latex gloves.
As you can see a lawn full of dandelions is like a
giant herb and vegetable garden rolled into one! Of course when you pick dandelion parts for
eating and herbal use pick them from areas that have not been sprayed with
pesticides. Why would anyone want to
pollute their lawn with weed killers to get rid of this valuable plant? Don’t hate this valuable and useful
plant-think of it kindly and let some live.
Here are some other great things to do with dandelions.
Dandelion
jelly
This jelly is sweet and mild in flavor. It won’t be bright yellow though, unless you
add a few drops of food coloring. For
the best jelly the calyx, the green area on the back of the flower needs to be
removed. Do this quickly with kitchen
shears or pinch off the green area with your fingers. The petals will then be loose. This will make about 2 pints or 4 half pints.
1 qt. flowers, calyx removed
4 ½ cups sugar
1 ¾ oz. powdered pectin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 qt. water
Food coloring if desired
Boil the flowers in water for 3 minutes, and then
strain off 3 cups of fluid and place in a pot.
Add pectin and the lemon to the fluid you saved. Bring
to a boil.
Add the sugar to the boiling fluid and stir to
dissolve.
Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture
thickens – or jelly stage.
Pour into hot, clean jars and seal.
Dandelion
wine
My grandfather would make wine out of about
anything. This wine recipe is a folksy one;
there are more professional recipes for dandelion wine too. I kind of think it’s more citrus wine
because of the fruit you use, but still it’s a good use for all those dandelion
flowers. It’s a fun thing to try and may
keep your significant other from trying to poison off all the pretty
dandelions.
You’ll need a two gallon or larger crock or glass
jar. Do not use metal or plastic that’s not
food grade. Heavy food grade plastic
buckets could be used. You’ll also need
a strainer and some cheese cloth or some clean old nylon stockings.
Pick one gallon of open dandelion flowers, packed. This is a good family experience. It’s best to pick them early in the morning
when they have just opened. Of course
only collect dandelions from places where you know they haven’t been sprayed
with pesticides.
Now sit there and remove all the green parts from the
back of the dandelion flowers and save the petals. My grandfather just used whole flowers, but
modern wine makers say that leaving the green parts makes the wine bitter and interferes
with fermentation.
Put the flower petals in your two gallon container and
pour boiling water over them until they are completely covered, about 1 ½ gallons
water. Cover your container with cheesecloth or the nylons and let it sit at
room temperature for three days.
Put a strainer over a big pot. Pour the fluid through the strainer. Squeeze and mash the flowers against the
strainer to extract as much fluid as possible.
Discard the mashed flowers.
Clean your crock or jar with hot water and soap and set
aside. You’ll need it soon.
To your big pot of fluid add a 3 lb. bag of sugar. (7
cups)
Chop 4 lemons and 4 oranges up into small pieces, rind
and all, and add them to the pot.
Boil the fluid in the pot for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally,
make sure sugar dissolves.
Cool the fluid to lukewarm and add a package of wine or
brewers yeast or if you can’t find that, two packages of bread yeast, or about
2 tablespoons of yeast. Stir gently.
Pour into the cleaned crock or jar and cover the top
with cheesecloth or nylons. Set the
crock or jar in a dark area with an ideal temperature of around 70
degrees. Too cool or too warm conditions
don’t allow good fermentation.
The mixture in the crock should bubble and smell yeasty. It’s normal for a scum layer to form on the
top, leave it alone. If the mixture
doesn’t bubble it isn’t fermenting. In
about three weeks, when the mixture stops bubbling, the wine should be ready to
bottle.
Pour the wine through cheesecloth or coffee filters to
strain off solids. Discard solids. You
can taste it now but it’s better to let it age a few months. Pour it into clean bottles or jars and cover
with a balloon over the top. This allows some fermentation to occur without
breaking the bottle. After a month or
so you can cork the bottle/ cap the jar. Keep them in a dark, cool place. You’ll get about a gallon of white wine from
this. Folk lore says it should be opened
on winter solstice.
Open
up the windows, smell the flowers, spring is here.
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
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