Hi Gardeners
It’s officially spring! It’s
a sunny day here but quite chilly-36 degrees-with a good breeze too. A great deal of the snow has melted, and my
still blooming snowdrops have emerged fresh and pretty. There are green leaf tips on the honeysuckle
plants. The red nubs of rhubarb are pushing through the ground. The birds have been singing like crazy and
Sunday when the temp got up to 50 I heard a couple frogs, spring peepers, slow
and sporadic, but singing. My remaining
tree frog in the houseplants has been calling too.
The turkey vultures and killdeer are back also. When I see the turkey vultures I know spring
is here. They have a lot of dead deer to
clean up along the roads. That’s one
bird that won’t go hungry waiting for warmer weather. I am seeing flocks of whistling swans and sandhill
cranes flying over going north.
Next week I will start the first seeds for spring planting inside. I have begun watering the stored bulbs in
their pots on the porch and fertilizing the houseplants. Things are beginning to grow as the sun warms
the soil and the day lengthens.
As I hear of another school shooting and another package bomb
today I just keep thinking about the sun shining and the birds singing and how
nature heals. If you are depressed from all the bad news get outside and soak
up some sun, even if you do it with your coat on.
Looking for houseplants in all the
wrong places
The new fad in houseplants is a plant called the Chinese money
plant. It’s a plain green, small plant
whose distinguishing feature is round leaves.
However, people are willing to pay $50 or more for small pots of the
plant. It doesn’t grow well from seed or
cuttings, I guess division must be the means of propagation and that figures
into the price. It doesn’t excite me,
but to each their own.
Many of our tropical houseplants are weeds or at least extremely
common plants in the areas they are native to. (And there are people who come
to the US and marvel at our roadside plants and field weeds.) Do we have any
weeds here that might make good houseplants?
How do we decide which plants to choose for houseplants and are we
overlooking plants that might make great houseplants?
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| Old fashioned geranium |
My grandmother had a collection of scented geraniums, the bruised
leaves smelled like chocolate, lime, roses, cinnamon and numerous other
things. They were the hot thing back
then with hundreds of cultivars to choose from.
Now you rarely see them offered and they would make such wonderful
houseplants. If you don’t like flowering houseplants, these scented geraniums
often have interesting variegated foliage and you could keep the small flowers
cut off.
One could go to the nursery this spring and buy a wide variety of
small potted geraniums, all colors, sprawling ivy types for baskets and large
and small uprights, some with interesting variegated foliage as well as pretty
flowers and many would cost a $1 a pot or just a bit more. Instead of tossing them in the compost pile
at the end of summer bring them inside for houseplants.
Gerbera, sold in almost every nursery and many grocery stores, is
actually a perennial and people used to keep them as houseplants. (See the article on gerbera this week.) They are a little fussy as a houseplant but
not more so than African violets. They
are inexpensive too and will flower all year around in a variety of colors.
Other plants that were once used as houseplants include abutilon,
small flowered fuchsia, wax begonias, Eucharis, Felicia, Glechoma, Heliotrope, Iresine,
Kohleria, Manettia, ( fire cracker plant), Myrtus, Passionfruit (Passiflora caerulea), Plumbago, Chinese
primrose (Primula sinensis), Rhoeo (
Moses in the cradle), Strelitzia ( bird of paradise), some sedums, Sempervivium arachnoideum ( cobweb
houseleek ), and Viburnum tinus. These may be harder to find now but still
make good houseplants.
What about our weeds?
I’m wondering if we shouldn’t look to some of our common weeds as
houseplants. A good houseplant should be
evergreen, and not have to drop it’s leaves and go through a cold period to be
healthy. It should be able to grow in
most homes humidity and heat conditions.
It should have a pleasing shape or interesting leaf pattern and flowers would
be plus. And of course, it should be a
perennial.
If you go outside here in zone 5-6 in the early spring, you’ll see
some plants remained green under the snow and don’t need much light or heat to
begin growing again. I’m sure higher
planting zones have even more plants like this.
Could some of them become good houseplants? Maybe great houseplants with a little
selective breeding?
I brought a small pot of rex begonia (also an older type of
houseplant) I propagated this summer on the deck, inside this winter. I put it
in the laundry room window which faces east.
Some ground ivy popped up in the pot. Ground Ivy, (Glechoma hederacea) is a common weed across the northern US and it
does stay green under the snow. The ground ivy has cascaded down the side of
the pot and is growing nicely. It’s
looked as nice as many other types of ivy grown indoors all winter.
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| Rex begonia with ground ivy. |
And I suspect the ground ivy will bloom this spring, it has pretty
purple flowers. Ground ivy roots easily
at the nodes so propagation would be easy.
I can see a nice hanging basket full of ground ivy. It might have to be given a cute name- maybe
Gill over the Ground, or Creeping Charlie, common names it already has.
There are cultivated Lamiums that we use for ground covers that
were developed from spotted deadnettle, a perennial weed. Many of these have variegated leaves and
pretty flowers in the spring. How many
of these would make nice houseplants?
Slender speedwell, (Veronica
filiformis) is a perennial weed similar to ground ivy but with smaller
leaves. In early summer it is covered
with tiny pale blue flowers with a darker blue stripe. It was actually introduced here as an
ornamental and I think it might make an excellent hanging basket plant.
Moneywort, (Lysimachia
nummularia) might be our answer to Chinese dollar plants. Its a vining plant with glossy round
leaves and there are some ornamental varieties sold as groundcovers. Moneywort has
pretty yellow flowers. Some cultivated varieties have golden foliage. I have this is in my lawn and may try a pot
to see how it does inside next winter.
I am going to try some pots of common native violets (Viola papilionacea) inside next
winter. I believe they would grow and
possibly bloom. There are different
colors of these too. The flowers aren’t scented like English violets (Viola odorata) but still pretty.
While not considered weeds, there are many types of small sedums
that are evergreen. New ones are always
coming on the market. They may make
excellent houseplants. And my grandmother
kept hens and chicks, (Sempervivum
species) in the house. Indeed, these
used to be called houseleeks. You’ll
find a wide variety of colors now in garden shops and they make good, easy care
houseplants.
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| Sedum Tokyo Sun might make a good houseplant , the vine in this picture is Illumination periwinkle- which might also be a houseplant candidate. |
And when you are looking for houseplants you may want to check
places like bulb/ bareroot catalogs instead of pricy houseplant suppliers. For example the black bat flower (Tacca chantrieri) was offered in McClure
and Zimmerman’s bulb catalog for $12.95, which is half what I saw it listed for
in houseplant catalogs. Various species
of oxalis often used as houseplants are grown from bulbs or tubers and these
are very inexpensive in bulb catalogs compared to buying a potted plant.
Species of ginger grown for houseplants are inexpensive when you
buy them as rhizomes in bulb catalogs.
You can also find ground orchids, Eucharis, and several other
interesting bulbs and rhizomes that can be grown indoors when you take the time
to explore catalogs and websites.
So, if you aren’t looking for houseplants in your yard, along the
roadside, in the local garden shop and in bulb and bareroot catalogs maybe you
are looking for houseplants in all the wrong places.
Gerbera daisies
My mother has a fondness for giving gerbera daisies as gift
plants. I don’t know if the large colorful flowers stand out to someone who is
nearly blind, or she just likes their cheerfulness and inexpensive cost. I used
to be rather indifferent to their charm, I considered them to be an annual
flower that was hard to work into my planting schemes. But I have grown to appreciate them and now
that I know they can be overwintered and return for a second or third year and
make good houseplants, I even buy them myself.
The gerbera daisy (Gerbera
hybrida), has been in cultivation a long time now but until the
last 30 years or so it’s full potential really wasn’t realized. Gerbera daisies in cultivation are a mixture
of several species from the southern hemisphere, South America, South Africa
and Southern Asia. Thanks to the breeding work of growers in the Netherlands,
Columbia and California gerbera daisies now come in a wide range of colors and
forms.
Gerbera daisies are the fifth most popular cut flower, with
millions being sold each year across the world.
They hold up in a vase for a long time and are sturdy enough to ship
well. They are also popular as potted
gift plants and as plants utilized in container plantings and even in flower
beds. Gerbera daisies can also be kept
as flowering houseplants.
Gerbera daisies are also referred to as Transvaal daisies or
African daisies in some places. Since
they are a major floral crop, there is a ton of cultural data out there, how to
manipulate light, heat, fertilizer and so on to extend or delay flowering,
control stem length and various other factors.
But this article will focus on what care the average home gardener needs
to give them.
The gerbera daisy has a crown type plant structure, with all the
leaves originating near the base. Plants
vary in size with the average mature plant about a foot high and wide. There are mini-plants and extra-large plants
on the market. The leaves of gerbera are
longer than wide and can be 12 inches long.
They have lobes near the base and are rough and often slightly
hairy.
The flowers of gerbera daisies remind one of small sunflowers.
They have a row of ray flowers or “petals” around a central cluster of “disk”
flowers that are often a contrasting color from the petals. There are now double, semi-double and crested
type flowers on the market. They range from about 3 inches across to more than
6 inches, depending on variety.
Flowers rise from the center of the plant on stems of various
lengths. The longest stems, 6 inches or
more, are for varieties used as cut flowers.
These are usually greenhouse grown and impractical for gardeners.
Gardeners can choose gerbera with modest stems or plants whose flowers remain
quite close to the crown.
Gerbera comes in any flower color imaginable except true blue.
There are flowers with several colors, some with dark centers, some with rings
around the center, the breeders have produced literally thousands of
varieties. The flowers seem to shine in
the light and are attractive to bees and butterflies. They are not fragrant.
The roots of gerbera daisies get quite large and plants grown in
the ground become difficult to transplant.
If you are moving them in and out of the house keep them in pots, even
if you sink the pots in the ground.
Culture of gerbera
Gardeners should probably start with small gerbera plants. There is an almost endless variety of plants
on the market and some are only available from tissue culture. They can be started from seeds, and some
seeds are offered to home gardeners, but they take a little experience and
extra care to be grown this way. Large
mature plants develop several crowns, and these can be carefully separated to
start new plants.
Seed from gerbera is very tiny and it must be kept chilled until
just before planting. Seed must be fresh
to germinate well, and it needs a 6-8-week cold treatment at about 40 degrees
before planting. Seeds should be planted in sterile potting medium that is
light and well drained. They need bottom
heat, air temps between 68-75 degrees and light for germination. Start seeds about 18 weeks before you want
flowers and do not put plants outside until after all danger of frost has
passed. Seedlings are quite susceptible
to fungal diseases.
Gerbera are only hardy in zones 8- with protection – and
higher. In other planting zones they
must be treated as annuals or moved inside before frost. They are perennial plants and will live
several years. In the north gerbera do
well in full sun if kept moist, or partial shade. In the south gerbera do best in partial
shade, preferably morning sun, afternoon shade.
When you buy a small gerbera plant from a nursery put it in a 6-8-inch-wide
pot with some depth – gallon pots are good, and plan to leave it in that pot
since gerbera daisies don’t like frequent transplanting. There must be good drainage and the potting
medium should be well draining also. For
those who are planting them in the ground the site must be well drained.
The top of the crown must be at soil level or slightly above
it. Gerbera planted too deep are
susceptible to crown rot and do not flower well. Check every so often to see if the crown
remains above ground, as settling and watering may move soil into the
crown. This should be removed.
Gerbera needs acidic soil, pH 5.5-6.5 for good growth. They are susceptible to micronutrient
deficiencies if the pH is high. Peat based potting mixes are usually acidic
enough. Potted plants that yellow and
look chlorotic may need an acidic fertilizer.
In good conditions gerbera bloom continually. They are not highly attuned to day length
although they bloom better with 10 or more hours of light. As a houseplant in winter you may need to use
a grow light to get good bloom when days are short.
For good bloom plants need dying blooms removed before they set
seed and regular fertilization. A 15-16-17 or
15-15-18 ratio fertilizer with micronutrients works well. Follow label
directions for application. Slow release
fertilizers are good as are liquid fertilizers.
Gerbera leaves burn easily so if liquid fertilizer gets on leaves it
should be washed off quickly with clean water.
Gerbera is very susceptible to improper watering practices. The soil should be soaked, then allowed to
dry a bit at the surface before watering again.
However, plants should not be allowed to wilt, nor should they sit in
water. Root and crown rot as well as fungal leaf diseases may happen if the
soil is too wet or the humidity is high for a long time. Plants shouldn’t be crowded so that there is
good air circulation around them.
Insects that may attack gerbera are leaf miners, (outside) and
whitefly and spider mites inside. Use
appropriate pesticides. Outside gerbera
are deer resistant.
Gerbera is not edible.
Leaves and flowers contain coumadin, a blood thinner. While not terribly dangerous the plant should
not be eaten by children and pets.
Growing Shallots
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| Shallots |
Shallots originally came from South East Asia where they are still
widely used in cooking, but they also became popular in France and the
Netherlands as cooking staples.
Different countries favor different bulb colors of shallots from reddish
colored to grayish. Shallots have a
sweet, mild onion flavor and most good cooks will tell you that there is a
difference in flavor of a dish cooked with shallots or onions. Shallots have
more calories than onions and slicing them will make you cry just as much as an
onion does.
Shallots may be planted in spring or fall. They like cool weather and can withstand
light frost. At least 6 hours of sun and
fertile, well- drained soil are needed. Keep them well watered to develop the sweetest
taste. Shallots are ready for harvest
when the leaves turn yellow.
Shallots are almost always planted as sets, (small bulbs) - which
are more expensive than onion sets. You
can however, save sets for next seasons or next year’s planting as shallots store
as well as onions in a cool dry place. Plant sets 6-8 inches apart. Either plant in early spring for early summer
harvest or mid- summer for fall harvest.
While some shallots that are left in the ground may over winter and
return in the spring it is better to save some sets inside through the winter
for spring planting.
Shallot seed is also available.
Seed is generally sown outside where the plants are to be grown in early
spring and thinned to about 6 inches apart through the summer until you harvest
a single “clove” in the fall. Some of
those cloves could be saved for spring planting. Each clove or set planted usually will return
you 4 or more shallots in a cluster.
Many shallots are sold just by color, such as gray or red
shallots. You can also look for
Ambition, Sante, Camelot, or French Red.
Shallots can be found at Gurneys www.gurneys.com
or Territorial Seed, www.territorialSeed.com
Shallots are an excellent crop for gardeners who also like to
cook, because shallots can be expensive in groceries and hard to find. They
would also make a good item for farm market sales. Why not try some shallots this spring?
Free Master Gardener Lesson Soil
science part 2- soil chemistry and nutrients
Soil is composed of molecules, which are two or more atoms (the
smallest unit we break matter into) that are connected. Water, for example is composed of molecules
that contain 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. Each molecule has an electrical charge,
either negative or positive. A molecule with an electric charge is called an
ion. In ions remember that opposites
attract, and two similar electric charges repel each other. Keep reading– this seems boring I know- but
you’ll see why it’s important to know soon.
To help you remember this factoid I’ll tell you a story about what
happened in one of the first MG classes I taught. I had a guest speaker for soil science, an ag
educator who worked in our office. He
was eager to teach the subject and a funny guy, but he made a major blunder. When explaining the opposites attract, the same
charge repels aspect of soil chemistry he used a terrible analogy. He said; “it’s like when a man and a woman
meet- attraction- and they go together as a pair, but when two people of the
same sex meet they repel each other and can’t pair up”.
Now there was silence in the room after he said that. People did not laugh but no one spoke up. But I knew I would get complaints after class
and yep, they came. I don’t think the man did this deliberately, he just wasn’t
thinking and seemed confused but contrite when I had to tell him about the
error in political correctness. Opposites
attract doesn’t apply all the time in all situations. But by me telling you this story you may
remember that in soil ions, opposites attract. So, here’s why that’s important.
Most plant nutrients are ions, and most of the important soil
nutrients are positive charged ions which are called cations. Clay soils and humus are loaded with negative
charges. These negatively charged ions attract and hold on to those cations, or
positively charged ions of those important soil nutrients. Both clay soils and soils with lots of humus
have on average, higher soil fertility than sandy soils. That’s an advantage with clay soil gardeners
don’t often appreciate.
Nutrient cations are often released when soil ions exchange them
for other available cations and those released nutrition cations are taken up
by plant roots. A soil test can estimate
how many negatively charged ions are available for exchange. This is called the CEC value. Knowing your CEC value can help you decide
what soil texture you have and how to manage soil nutrients in your soil.
A CEC below 5 is a low value, and means you probably have a sandy
soil of low fertility. CEC value between
6 and 10 means you have a loamy textured soil with some humus and moderately
fertile. CEC values of 10-20 means the soil has more clay and /or humus and can
hold on to more nutrients. If the CEC is
above 20 it probably means the soil is an organic soil like peat or muck
soils.
Plant nutrients
There are 16 essential nutrients for plant growth and
development. They are the
macronutrients; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and
the micronutrients; hydrogen, oxygen, iron, carbon, boron, chlorine, manganese,
molybdenum, copper and zinc. Plants need
more of the macronutrients, but micronutrients are also important.
Hydrogen and oxygen come from water in the soil, carbon comes from
carbon dioxide in the air, but the rest of the nutrients are from the rocks
that broke down to form soil. They are
present in varying levels in the soil depending on what rocks were present to
form the soil and how much of the nutrient has been lost over time through
plant and bacteria use, leaching away and other uses.
I’ll discuss some of the nutrients first and then discuss the use
of fertilizers in the garden.
Nitrogen (N)
Nitrogen is used by plants to make root and shoot growth. Both too much nitrogen and too little
nitrogen can pose a problem for plant growth.
Plants vary in how much nitrogen they need but in general too much
nitrogen results in tall, spindly growth with little fruit and flower
formation. Too little nitrogen results in pale, stunted looking growth
sometimes with a reddish or purple tinge.
Nitrogen, one of the most important nutrients, is also the
nutrient most likely to be lost from the soil and that will need to be
supplemented by gardeners. That’s because it has a negative charge and doesn’t
bind to those soil particles that are also negatively charged. Instead nitrogen
binds to other soil nutrients like oxygen and hydrogen. Plants absorb nitrogen
as nitrate (NO3) and ammonium (NH4+).
Nitrate is sometimes leached through the soil with water and moves
out of the reach of plant roots. (When nitrate gets into the ground water that
people use as well water it can be a serious health problem.) Ammonium has a
positive charge and is less likely to leach through soil.
Nitrogen is a gas in it’s pure form and can volatize out of the
soil into the atmosphere. Ammonium is volatized by bacteria in the soil and the
nitrogen released as a gas. Some bacteria form a partnership with plants,
living in nodules on the roots of legumes.
These bacteria can take up gaseous nitrogen and transform it into a
useable form for plants.
Nitrogen is involved in protein formation in bacteria, plants and
animals and when those bodies are living the nitrogen is tied up and
unavailable for other organisms to use.
When there are a lot of bacteria breaking down organic matter in the
soil they are absorbing the nitrogen from that organic matter and “tying it up”
so it’s unavailable for plant use. Eventually though those bacteria die, and
the nitrogen becomes available again.
Cold, wet soil may also inhibit the uptake of nitrogen by
plants. There may be plenty in the soil,
but the plant can’t use it. But warmer,
drier conditions will restore the plants ability to take up nitrogen and the
symptoms of a deficiency disappear.
Since nitrogen can be lost in so many ways the level in soil
fluctuates frequently. Soil tests don’t
measure the nitrogen level in soil like they do other nutrients, but the test
results will suggest how much nitrogen you should add to the soil based on what
crop/plants will be grown there and other characteristics of your soil.
If gardeners don’t have a soil test to guide their use of nitrogen,
you’ll have to use your judgement based on what the needs of the plant you want
to grow are- for example both corn and lawn grass need a lot of nitrogen- and
also how the plants look as they grow. Flowering
and fruiting plants need nitrogen but too much will result in fewer flowers and
fruit and more vegetative growth. Because too much nitrogen can cause human
health problems if it gets into water it’s wise to err on the side of too
little rather than too much nitrogen.
Phosphorus (P)
Phosphorus is needed by plants for good root growth and in the
development of flowers. It readily binds
to soil particles and other elements, in fact it often binds too well and
becomes unavailable for plant use. Excess phosphorus can leach away and cause
problems though, and gardeners should supplement phosphorus carefully. A soil test will give you the amount in the
soil as well as a recommendation for supplementation if needed. Some states
have banned the use of phosphorus in fertilizer to avoid water pollution.
Too much phosphorus may cause other elements needed by plants to
become unavailable, notably zinc and iron, which is another reason to use it
carefully. A deficiency of phosphorus
causes stunting, changes in foliage color, poor root growth, loss of the lower
leaves and poor flowering and fruit development.
Potassium (K)
Potassium is needed for a strong immune system in plants, stress
resistance, and stem strength. It will
leach from sandy soils or soils with a very high organic content or if applied
in excessive amounts. It’s one of the
three major nutrients often included in fertilizers.
Too much (K) in the soil can cause a deficiency of nitrogen and
magnesium and some micronutrients. Too
little (K) in soil causes reduced growth with a shorter space between plant
internodes. The tips of leaves may brown
and die. Leaf chlorosis, pale green leaves with darker veins may occur.
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| Chlorosis in soybean caused by K deficiency |
Magnesium (Mg)
Magnesium doesn’t leach from the soil very well and in most soils
is rarely deficient. Most gardeners do
not need to apply a source of Mg such as Epsom salts. In fact, don’t apply any Epsom salt to the
garden or potted plants, use a balanced fertilizer if you suspect the plants
need magnesium. Plants need magnesium to
produce chlorophyll and for good growth.
An imbalance of magnesium and calcium can be a problem, especially
in soil with a high pH. (See soil pH later in this article.) Each inhibits the
uptake of the other when the balance is off. That’s why supplying one, like
Epsom salts, may cause more problems than it helps. Too little Mg causes pale, chlorotic foliage,
cupped leaves, and results in poor seed production.
Calcium (Ca)
As mentioned above calcium and Mg must be in balance for plants to
properly use them. The balance is
affected by other nutrients and soil pH.
Plants need calcium for good terminal growth, like buds and root tips,
and sturdy stems and roots.
When plants are deficient in calcium roots may have pits and dead
tips, leaves may cup, and stems may be floppy.
New research has found that calcium deficiency does not cause blossom
end rot in tomatoes.
Sulfur (S) and micronutrients
Sulfur is easily leached from soil but most soil is not deficient
in it, especially in home gardens. Many micronutrients are affected by an
excess or deficiency of other macro and micro nutrients in the soil. It’s rare that gardeners will need to adjust individual
micronutrients and too much experimentation with supplements often causes a
wide range of problems.
Iron (Fe) is often temporally unavailable when soils are very wet. It’s also bound up and unavailable when there
is high calcium, manganese or phosphorus and when the pH is high. Some plants are more affected by iron
deficiency than others, maples and pin oaks are examples. Iron deficiency
causes pale leaves with darker veins, and sometimes the whitening of young
plant tissues.
Boron (B) is used by plants to make seeds and apical buds, too little boron
causes poor seed production and break down of plant tissues. Zinc (Zn) deficiency causes small distorted
leaves, short internodes and leaf chlorosis. Copper (Cu) deficiency is more
common in soils with a lot of organic matter and causes small distorted leaves
and plant wilting.
Manganese (Mn) deficiency often leaves brown spots on leaves and /or leaf
chlorosis with darker veins. Molybdenum
(Mo) deficiency produces distorted leaves also, often with a “tail”. Chlorine
(Cl) deficiency causes leaves to wilt and/or turn bronze, then yellow and
eventually brown. It also causes
clubbing of the roots. People often worry about watering plants with city water
that has chlorine in it. Some plants are
more sensitive to an excess of chlorine than others. In potted plants excess chlorine causes a
salt burn or desiccation of roots and foliage.
Using fertilizer
Different types of plants use soil nutrients in different
amounts. When the same plants grow in
the same spot for a long time the elements they need may become depleted, which
leads to poor plant growth. While
nitrogen may be returned to soil from the air and decomposition of organic matter
some other soil elements are not replenished naturally.
Chances are good that vegetable gardens and plantings of annual
flowers need fertilization. These plants
use soil elements up quickly and because they grow rapidly need fertilization.
Roses generally need fertilization.
Lawns may need some fertilization, especially in fall to promote good
root growth. Fruit trees and things like
strawberries and grapes generally need some fertilization to perform at their
best.
Some plants do better without extra fertilization, they are generally
plants that evolved in places with poor soil and are very efficient in using
what is available. Some perennials and herbs fall into this category. When given fertilizer they may grow
differently than expected and are more prone to disease. Other plants may have
a high requirement for certain elements, called trace elements for good growth.
It’s important to know the species of plants you grow as
perennials, trees and shrubs in the landscape and what their needs are for
fertilization. Most references will give
guidelines for fertilizing common plants.
Some plants like acidic conditions such as blueberries, azaleas and
holly. Using an acidic type of
fertilizer helps them grow. When a plant
is said to be a “heavy feeder” it generally will need extra fertilization.
Too much fertilizer is bad for the plants and bad for the
environment. You can always give plants more fertilizer but if you over
fertilize plants you may burn the roots, cause leggy, weak growth, and more
pest problems. Having a soil test done
every few years will let you know what elements may be needed in your
soil. Plants that are growing well,
especially things like trees and shrubs, may not need fertilization every year.
Types of Fertilizers
All fertilizer bags are required by law to have several things on
the bag. They must have three numbers on
the bag or container. These numbers
signify how many pounds of the major elements plants need, nitrogen, phosphorus
and potash (which converts to potassium), in that order, are in the bag. Nitrogen is first because it is the most
important element for plant growth.
Phosphorus in fertilizer is banned in some states such as Michigan
because it pollutes water so that place will be represented by a 0.
The three numbers on the bag are based on 100 pounds of
fertilizer. A bag marked 15-20-15 would
have 15 pounds of nitrogen, 20 pounds of phosphorus and 15 pounds of potassium
per 100 pounds of fertilizer. If the bag
was a 50-pound bag then you would have about seven and a half pounds of nitrogen,
(and half the other minerals), in that bag.
The rest of the weight would be made up of fillers, micronutrients,
pesticides or other things.
Fertilizer bags also must have a list of active ingredients, the
weight of the bag and instructions for proper use. If there are pesticides in the fertilizer,
such as a weed killer, the pesticide name and the pesticide registration number
must also be on the bag. All the
ingredients can be compressed into pellets that have all the elements in each
pellet or separate pellets or powders containing one ingredient each can be
loosely blended in the bag.
It is possible to buy fertilizer ingredients like phosphorus
separately at farm supply stores, but they are sold in large bags that would
take home gardeners many years to use.
Buy only the amount of fertilizer you can use in one year. Only buy and use phosphorus if a soil test
indicates your soil is deficient in it.
Most fertilizers are made of inorganic/synthetic ingredients. The plants use these ingredients just as they
do the elements found in soil and they don’t care how the nitrogen or other
nutrients got there. It’s no different
than you taking a vitamin pill instead of consuming foods with the vitamins and
minerals you need.
Most modern fertilizers release elements slowly, over a long
period of time. Slow release fertilizers
are less likely to burn plants but try to keep them off leaves and apply only
as directed. Some fertilizers are still quick release, which means the
nutrients are all available at once.
This means a quick green up but less margin for error in applying before
the plants are chemically burnt. They
must be applied more frequently than slow release fertilizers.
Liquid fertilizers also give plants nutrients immediately. Liquid fertilizers must be mixed and applied
frequently. Liquid fertilizers are good
for container plants but difficult to use on large gardens and lawns.
There are fertilizers formulated for certain plants, such as
tomatoes or roses. These contain the
major ingredients found in all fertilizers and certain trace elements those
plants are known to need. If you have
problems with a certain type of plant these may help. Most fertilizers are also
labeled garden fertilizer, lawn fertilizer, flower fertilizer etc. These have different ratios of the major
ingredients. These are the easiest
fertilizers for gardeners to use.
Organic fertilizers are things like bone meal, blood meal, and
manure that have carbon in them. They
were once alive like kelp or bone meal or they come from living things, like
manure and urea. Organic fertilizers
sold in stores should have the same labels as other fertilizers. Most are high
in one nutrient only and you may need to buy a combination of things. New organic fertilizers with more balanced
ingredients are also on the market.
Manure and compost
Some people also fertilize with fresh manure or compost. Both are great for adding organic matter to
the soil but used as a fertilizer they have drawbacks. Manure and compost vary greatly in nutrient
content from batch to batch. You need a great volume of manure or compost, six
or more inches, to equal a sprinkling of slow release fertilizer. Fresh manure can burn plants and it can be
the source of food borne illness if used on food plants. Manure may also bring weed seeds to the
garden and is hard to spread on lawns.
Should you buy the fancy mixtures of micronutrients that are
popping up in garden stores? Most experts think they don’t make any difference
unless you are growing in a soilless mix or hydroponically and are a waste of
money.
The fertilizers that home owners use, both synthetic and organic,
are a major source of water pollution.
Don’t get fertilizer on hard surfaces like sidewalks where it washes off
into storm drains. Always follow label
directions for the amount and way to apply the fertilizer. Don’t store manure where rain falling on it
can run off, carrying nutrients, into drains, ditches and natural bodies of
water.
Lime is not considered a
fertilizer, even though it may contain some calcium, rather it is used to
correct soil pH. See the section about
soil pH next. Don’t add lime to your soil unless a soil test confirms you have
very acidic soil.
Soil pH
The term pH stands for the potential or percentage of Hydrogen
ions in a solution. (The correct way to
write this term is lower case p, upper case H.)
In soil, the hydrogen ions are in the water that fills the pores between
soil particles. The more hydrogen ions in a solution the more acidic it
is.
Hydrogen gets into soil from the rocks, from the breakdown of
organic matter and from chemical reactions in plant root systems. The more
hydrogen in soil the more acidic it gets. Different minerals in the soil dissolve and
become available to plants at different levels of pH.
A pH scale is a way to rate how acidic or alkaline soil is. It ranges from 0-14. Seven is considered neutral. Above 7 is alkaline and below 7 is acidic. The pH increases or decreases by ten times for each point on the scale. A pH of 6 is ten times more acidic than 7 and a pH of 5 is ten times that or one hundred times more acidic than a pH of seven.
So what does pH mean to gardeners?
How acidic or alkaline the water in soil is determines what kinds
of mineral elements get dissolved and become available to plants or get bound
up in complex reactions and become unavailable.
Most plants grow best at pH levels of 6.5 to 7.5. That is where the most beneficial minerals
become available to them. A few plants
have adapted to survive in pH levels slightly higher or lower than that.
In addition, the pH level in soil also affects the microbes and
micro-organisms that break down organic matter that adds nutrients to
soil. They like to grow at about the
same pH level that plants do.
The soil your plants are in can have all the essential elements
needed for producing food but if they are unavailable because of too high or
too low pH the plants can’t use them and will suffer. Certain plants are more sensitive to the loss
of certain minerals such as iron. When
the pH of soil goes above 6.5, iron becomes largely unavailable to plants. Some
plants like Pin oaks will quickly decline.
In other cases, the pH level may cause toxic elements, such as aluminum,
to become too available to plants
Many plants are not terribly fussy about soil pH, but your soil pH
may determine whether some species will survive in your garden. But just because plants will continue to
survive doesn’t always mean all is well.
Marginal deficiencies caused by pH problems may cause your plants to
become more susceptible to disease and insect attack because their immune
systems aren’t as effective.
Pesticides may not work effectively if your soil pH is too high or
low either. They are developed for use in
the pH range that most plants prefer.
The chemicals in them may react with elements available in too high or
low pH conditions.
 |
| Soil nutrients available at different soil pH levels. |
How do I find out my soil pH?
You can get your soil tested at almost any County Extension United States
There are small kits that have you mix water and soil and test the
pH but these are not very reliable. If
you are a person who likes to do it yourself, you can purchase a small meter
that has probes that go into moist soil and reads the pH. The more expensive ones used by professional
growers are pretty accurate.
How do I change my soil pH?
Soil pH can be raised much more easily than lowered. If your
results are only slightly out of optimum range and your plants seem to be
growing well don’t worry too much.
Adding lots of organic matter and working it into the soil will help
balance soil pH. Lime can be added to
soil that is too acidic to raise the pH. This works fairly quickly. Don’t add lime until you know your soil needs
it and then follow the recommendations for your situation. Soil may be acidic if it is too wet from poor
drainage or lacking air from soil compaction.
Changing these conditions may help.
Lowering soil pH is harder and takes longer than raising it. Too much lime or too many wood ashes can raise
soil pH as can natural conditions.
Adding organic matter helps.
Fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate will tend to
lower pH. These are often marketed as
fertilizers for acid loving plants. If the drainage is good lots of rainwater
may leach out some of the alkaline elements over time.
For small areas aluminum sulfate or sulfur can be tried. You will need to consult with your county Extension
Choosing plants that like the soil pH you have in your yard is
another good way to minimize plant stress, providing the soil pH is not too
high or low. There are plants that like
both more acidic and more alkaline conditions.
This is a long article and I think most of the soil science lesson
is completed. Next week’s lesson will be
on composting and will probably be shorter.
For a homework assignment get a soil test done for your garden or find
out your soil pH.
Chocolate -peanut butter cake
This is a quick dessert that my husband loves. I made it this weekend. I make these in small pie tins, like pot pie
tins, which will serve two people. The
recipe will make 5-6 cakes this size and you can freeze some. You could also make this as large cupcakes,
or I suppose as a bundt type cake.
Ingredients
1 chocolate cake mix – I like chocolate fudge flavor mixes
½ cup melted butter- 1 stick
3 eggs
1 ¼ cup water
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 ½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup cream (or milk)
½ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Spray cake pans with pan spray and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend together the cream cheese, peanut butter, cream and powdered
sugar until well mixed. It will be
thick. Set aside.
Mix together cake mix, water, eggs and butter. Beat about two minutes with mixer on high
speed.
Pour about 2 tablespoons- (I use a gravy ladle), of the cake mix
in each pan.
Add about the same amount of the peanut butter mix to each pan.
There will be some of the mix left over, refrigerate for later.
Divide the remaining cake mix among the pans. Make sure to cover the peanut butter mix.
Bake about 15-20 minutes for the small pie tin size. A knife inserted should come out clean.
Let cakes cool and then frost with the remaining peanut butter
mixture.
Get your face in the sun and your
spirits up.
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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