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Tuesday, September 4, 2018

September 4, 2018 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog


Hi Gardeners
Black snake root  Cimicifuga racemosa, in bloom
Well it’s still monsoon season here.  It has rained nearly every afternoon or night for a week, some days accompanied by thunder and lightning and winds that blow my potted plants over. Since last Tuesday we have had over 4 inches of rain.  There’s no real flooding here- the ground is still absorbing it, but there’s a chance of rain for almost every day of the coming week.  We had rain today around sunrise and more may pop up late in the afternoon.
The plants are loving the tropical conditions.  After the rain the sun comes out and raises the humidity to 80% or more, combined with temperatures of 90 plus.  I don’t like central air, I don’t like being closed up inside in the summer, but we are seriously thinking about it before next year.  On the news they keep talking about the smell of fall in the air, all I can smell is sweat and mold.
My tomatoes are all splitting and rotting from the rain.  I think when we have a cooler day I will just tear out the vegetable garden for the year.  The flowers are for the most part doing well.  The chocolate snakeroot is blooming, the anemone and toad lilies are also blooming.  Finally, the peacock orchids are blooming but still no crocosmia. 
Dahlias are blooming well but falling over in the wind and heavy rain.  Other tall plants are also affected.  I am carrying around my bamboo stakes when I venture out to prop up plants.
I have begun repotting some houseplants that are outside on vacation.  I am going to have some huge plants to bring back inside in a few weeks.  It’s hard to imagine today as I swelter but that houseplant vacation will be ending soon.  I need to get some new grow lights and make decisions on what will go where and what I need to just get rid of.
Another garden admirer 



September almanac
This month the various Farmers Almanacs come out for 2019. (There’s the Old Farmer’s almanac and Farmer’s Almanac.)  Both Farmer’s almanacs are calling for a bitter cold, snowy winter.  Problem is the National Weather Service says that’s not what they predict.  They predict a mild winter for most parts of the country.  And they also warn that no one can predict what the daily weather will be more than about a week in advance, secret formulas or not.
So, are the Farmers almanacs accurate?  The Old Farmer’s Almanac said our area would have a mild winter last winter, it was not, indeed it was colder than average.  They got it right for a hot dry summer though.  I checked the daily forecasts for July against my own records and they only got one 4 day stretch right.  I have compared before and I have found these monthly forecasts, generally done in sets of a few days, are greatly inaccurate.  Since it’s a 50-50 chance of a better or worse than average winter or summer it stands to reason they would get that right sometimes.
I am hoping that their prediction for winter is also wrong and the weather service is right.  This year’s weather has not been friendly and we deserve a break.
The Harvest moon occurs this month on September 24th. It’s called the Harvest moon because farmers often used the light of this month’s full moon to complete their harvest.  Moon perigee is the 7th and apogee is the 19th.
The autumn equinox, the start of fall is September 22nd.  We’ll be down to 12 hours of daylight then, give or take 8 minutes, depending on where you are.  On this day the sun sets exactly due west and rises due east of your home.  Go outside and position a marker or note it on a landmark and you will always know the true directions around your home.
September in my area is when the hummingbirds and orioles generally leave along with some other songbirds, for their winter hibernation areas.  Many hawks will also be migrating south, they fly at night so the flocks are rarely seen.  Some say woodchucks go into hibernation this month but here if it’s warm they will be out feeding through October.
The birth flower for September is the aster or in some places, the morning glory.  Asters are said to symbolize powerful love and morning glories just affection so choose the flower you give this month accordingly.  The September birthstone is sapphire.
September is Hispanic Heritage Month, National Chicken month, Honey month, Classical Music month, National Preparedness month, and International Square Dancing month.
Besides Labor Day (3rd) holidays in September include Grandparents day the 10th (who honors us grandparents anyway?) Patriots day on the 11th, the 13th is National Peanut day, the 14th is Pet Memorial Day, the 19th is National POW-MIA day, 21st is International Peace Day, the 26th is Native American Day and the 28th is both Good Neighbor Day and Ask a Stupid Question day. 

Fall Webworms
If you are seeing “tents” full of wriggling worms on the ends of tree branches in late summer or fall they are not “tentworms” but rather fall webworms.  They are not very harmful to trees and if you want more information here’s a link to a previous article I wrote about them.
Maple leaf tarspot
Another problem of trees noticed in the fall is black spotting on the leaves of maples, almost as if someone dropped paint or tar on them.  This is maple leaf tarspot, also not terribly damaging to trees.  If you want more information here’s a link.

Good diet links
Restricting the hours of the day in which you eat may help you lose weight or at least maintain your weight without restricting calories.  The suggested time that you refrain from eating is 14 hours, you are able to eat normally within one continuous 10-hour period. For more about this here’s an article to read.
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Here’s another diet related article you might be interested in. Treatment with the plant camu camu (Myrciaria dubia) prevents obesity by altering the gut microbiota and increasing energy expenditure in diet-induced obese miceGut, 2018; gutjnl-2017-315565 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315565
A Riff on Recycling
Every country in the world has a problem with plastic waste, rich or poor.  But it seems some poorer countries, who may have more practice than some richer ones in recycling waste, are turning waste plastic into a valuable resource. 
In Africa there are entrepreneurs in several countries who have developed various building materials from recycled plastics of all types.  There are interlocking bricks for building, sheets of building material and bricks made for paving roads.  India is making an asphalt type product for roads from recycled plastic. In South America they are also using plastic bricks and paving with plastic materials.
Plastic building blocks are durable, light and strong.  They go up quickly, some interlock.  Building homes with them can cost less than half of what timber framed or concrete block buildings cost.  Because there are all kinds of plastics and melted or shredded plastic can be mixed with things like sand, the qualities and possibilities of plastic building and paving materials are endless.
Old habits are hard to change. What if builders were required to use a certain percentage of recycled plastic materials in every new building or road that was built – here in our country?  The piles of waste plastic might become valuable resources and plastic would be less likely to pollute the ocean and other areas. 
I can see plastic roofs – yes plastic can be made fire resistant, plastic framing like “trex” lumber, plastic flooring made to look like ceramic or wood- (I am installing some vinyl flooring that looks like real wood) and even plastic “plywood”. 
There are some inventors who say specially mixed plastic blocks or even pourable plastic mixes for roads can be every bit as durable as cement and asphalt and cheaper to make.  Think of snap together roads, that would make construction fast and simple and where damaged portions could simply be removed and replaced.  There are even prototypes of these plastic roads.  Wow – a world where all plastic is reused and becomes an asset would be great.
Recycled fabric
Let’s turn to another type of waste that rich countries have a lot of- clothing and other fabric items. Millions and millions of tons are discarded each year in the US.  Some clothing is sold used and that’s great, but there is far more that just goes to landfills and incinerators.
There are companies that are now taking all those used fabrics of various types and recycling them into new fabrics.  Others make items like insulation, cushioning and bedding from old fabrics.  And some just make things like handbags and rugs from old fabrics.
While it could be hard for people to turn recycled plastic into building material even we average adults can take steps to use fabric waste.  Cut old clothing, towels and bedding into wash rags. Cut them into strips and knit or crochet them into rugs or throws. Old raggedy cotton underwear makes good cleaning cloths.
If we encouraged and even mandated a certain percentage of plastic and fabric waste be recycled every year great things could be accomplished for the environment and our economy.

Catfacing, cracking and zippering in tomatoes
Catfacing is a term for tomatoes that seem to have constricted areas of flesh or cavities on the bottom of the tomato.  It may look like several tomatoes fused or that areas of gray, scabby tissue have divided the fruit. Catfacing may cause projections of flesh, often shown in photos where someone is giggling over the resemblance to a penis sticking out of the fruit.

Cat facing
Photo credit Mississippi State U. Extension
Another similar problem of tomatoes is zippering- it looks like the tomato has a zipper running up the side usually with a hole at one end of the “zipper”.  Zippering and catfacing often occur on the same fruit. They can be seen on green as well as ripe fruit.
Cracking usually occurs on the stem end and looks like scabby rings running around the tomato. Or cracks can radiate out from the stem downward, forming a star-like pattern at the fruit top. The fruit actually cracks open and heals in some cases, with the scabby cover forming or before it heals it may mold.  Both ripe and green fruit can crack, but ripe fruit is more likely to mold or rot after cracking.
All of these conditions are physiological disorders, that is they are not caused by disease. There is little you can do under garden conditions to prevent the problems.  Some varieties of tomatoes have more trouble with these problems, particularly large round fruited, older varieties. The fruits are lumpy and unappealing but perfectly edible. 
Catfacing and zippering are generally caused by interference with pollination/fertilization.  If tomato flowers don’t get pollinated correctly the fruit is misshapen.  Nights below 60 degrees during, or even for 3 weeks before flowering, or very hot and humid days during flowering are common causes. Insects feeding on flowers may damage reproductive parts, causing poor pollination.
If you are heavily pruning indeterminate plants, you may cause a lack of auxins (a plant hormone) which may also cause fruits to develop abnormally.  High levels of nitrogen may also be a cause.  Infrequently pesticide drift may be a cause.
Cracking
Photo by Mississippi State U. Extension
Cracking is associated with water problems, usually too much water, sometimes by allowing the plant to get too dry and then watering heavily. If it’s hot and humid the cracks may develop mold and insects are attracted to the cracks also.
There is nothing you can add to the soil or put on the plants to solve these problems.  Epsom salt or fertilizers will not help and can actually cause more problems.  Choosing varieties resistant to the problems, like plum shaped tomatoes, could help if you frequently have these problems.  The good news is that if the weather changes new fruit may not be affected.
Remove badly catfaced and all cracked tomatoes from the plant when you find them, so the plant doesn’t expend more energy on them and so they don’t attract insects. This will encourage more bloom, hopefully in better conditions.
Tomatoes affected by catfacing, cracking or zippering are safe to eat if they aren’t insect infested or moldy. Experts warn that they shouldn’t be used for canning though, as they may be hard to peel and harbor bacteria or be less acidic than normal tomatoes.  Tomatoes with mild zippering are probably safe to use.  Canning is not for produce you don’t want to eat fresh, diseased, overripe, badly bruised or cracked produce should be used fresh or discarded.

Zippering on tomato
University of Illinois plant clinic
Burning Bush- Euonymus alatus
In the fall the gardener’s thoughts turn to fall color and one of the best shrubs for flaming red color in the landscape is the burning bush or wahoo. (It’s not the burning bush of the bible, but it is the symbol of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland.)  It may be a bit overrepresented in the landscape and there’s that “invasive species” label the plant sometimes earns but still this hardy, easy to care for shrub is one of the best sources of fall color a gardener can plant.  Smaller, more compact varieties of burning bush are now being offered to make them suitable for smaller yards.

Burning bush Euonymus alatus
Photo from https://www.plantdelights.com

Wahoo, burning bush or spindle tree is native to Russia, China, Japan and Korea.  It has escaped cultivation in many countries including the US and may be found growing wild along the edges of woodlands and in abandoned fields and other disturbed areas.  They are spread by birds eating the tiny fruits the bush produces.  That is where the invasive label kicks in, but if you know me, you know I think nature doesn’t mind successful competitors. As the climate changes we may all have to be thankful for what will grow in our area, whether it’s native or not.  Euonymus alatus has been in the US since at least 1860, time enough to be a naturalized citizen.

The species is a large, multi-stemmed shrub, 12-15 feet in height and width.  Cultivars have been developed to bring the size down to about 3-5 feet.  And burning bush also responds well to pruning so the shrubs can remain manageable.  Burning bush can be used as foundation or specimen plantings or for hedges. Some nurseries may still use the misnomer, Euonymus alata.
The stems or trunks of the species have ridges of corky bark running down them, often referred to as “wings” as they stick out from the trunk.  Many cultivated varieties have lost these wings and instead have strips of tan bark with green stem showing between them, especially when they are young.  Older trees/bushes may have thick corky bark and be quite wide and strong.  Plants are sometimes trained to a single stem for a specimen “tree”.
Burning bush has 3-inch long, oval leaves with serrated edges arranged opposite each other on the stem.  The leaves are deep green in summer, turning to fiery red in fall. Full sun is needed for the best color and there are some cultivars that have more of a pink tone than red.  The plant is deciduous, losing its leaves by winter.
The flowers of burning bush are seldom noticed, they are greenish white and hidden under foliage.  They appear in late spring.  Flowers turn into papery 4 lobed seed pods that are yellow-tan when ripe and split open to reveal tiny seeds encased in a bit of fleshy red fruit.  This is what the birds like and how the burning bush gets spread into the wilder areas.  The inside of the pods can be an attractive red-orange color, but the seed pods are only rarely seen when the leaves drop before they do.
Cultivation of burning bush
Growing burning bush is easy enough for beginning gardeners.  They will grow in zones 4-8. They prefer well drained soil with a neutral or slightly acidic pH. They will tolerate alkaline soils but may become paler green and have less fall color.  They prefer full sun and develop the best fall color there but will also grow in partial shade. They also prefer regular watering if the climate is dry.
Usually gardeners will start with small plants, which are started from cuttings.  Burning bush can be started from seed but if you want a certain variety it’s best to buy a plant.
To start burning bush from seed the seed needs about 10 weeks above 60 degrees in storage then about 12 weeks of cold, 34 degrees or less, moist conditions.  They are then planted and transplanted into single pots after they develop 2-3 sets of leaves.  Keep the plants in a cool greenhouse or coldframe the first winter and transplant outside after danger of frost in the spring.
You can prune burning bush for shaping at any time.  The plants look best if they are allowed to develop a natural, rounded form but can be sheared into a hedge.  If a large overgrown burning bush needs rejuvenation pruning do it in early spring, before it leafs out and take stems back to about a foot from the ground. It will grow slowly the first year but should rebound the second.
Gardeners will probably want to grow one of the burning bush cultivars that are more compact. Most of the cultivars don’t have the heavy, corky stem ridges that the species has.  If you prefer corky stems try 'Phellomanus' – which is hardy to zone 4, about 10 feet high, but hard to find.
'Compactus' is an old and popular cultivar, but it still gets 10 feet tall. It is hardy only to zone 5. There is a strain- Euonymus alatus 'Bailey Strain' which is hardy to zone 4.   'Select' (FireBall™) is also a bit more hardy and compact, growing 4-7 ft. 'Rudy Haag' is smaller, typically growing from 3-5' tall, hardy to zone 4. 'Kosho Mayune' is a Japanese variety with finer leaves and a pinkish fall color. 'Odom' (Little Moses™) is very compact, only 30-36 inches tall. 'Pipzam' (Pipsqueak™) is another burning bush with small leaves growing to about 5 feet tall.
As a specimen
Wikimedia commons
Problems of burning bush
Most burning bush shrubs are problem free. Spider mites may occur in dry summers. Leaves will look stippled with yellow and fine webbing may be seen under leaves and between stems.  The mites are reddish and very tiny.   Use a strong blast of water on plants several times a week to help control this if it becomes a problem.  Pesticides for spider mites should be used as a last resort.
Winged Euonymus scale sometimes occurs.  It causes yellowing, dropping leaves, and may seriously impact the shrubs health.  The scale insect is brown or gray and appears like a bump on plant stems and foliage.  You will need a systemic pesticide that covers scale insects to control it.
Chlorosis is sometimes seen in poor soils or in alkaline soils.  It looks like dark green veins in light green or yellow leaves. Premature fall color may occur. A high nitrogen fertilizer may help with this problem.
Toxicity and medicinal uses
All parts of the plant are toxic and there are no safe edible uses.  The plant is toxic to cattle, horses and pets although a good amount must be eaten to cause death and serious poisoning is rare.
As with many toxic plants there are old medicinal uses.  Burning bush is used in several Chinese and Korean remedies.  In folk medicine it’s politely called a cure for late menstruation but burning bush is actually used to cause abortions and pregnant women should never consume folk remedies made with it, unless that’s the remedy they are seeking.
Koreans use burning bush to expel worms. Burning bush is also used in Chinese medicine for lowering blood sugar, to stop itching, as a cure for cancer, for headaches and body aches, and to thin the blood. There are modern medical studies showing it may be helpful in diabetes and research is ongoing. Modern medical studies are also testing burning bush derivatives in cancer treatments and immune system regulation medications.

Peach Dip
You can use this tasty peach dip for dipping chicken tenders, shrimp, crusty bread, crackers, or chips or you can use it to glaze chicken and pork before grilling or baking.  It’s a spicy but sweet dip.  Use ripe but still firm peaches for this recipe.  Peaches can be peeled easily by dipping them in boiling water for 1 minute then plunging them into ice water.  The skin should slip off then.
The recipe yields 2 pints, and it can be used fresh or canned or frozen.

Ingredients
4 cups of peeled, pitted and chopped peaches
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup white vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½  teaspoon crushed chilies or red pepper
(spices can be varied to suit your taste)

Directions
Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring slowly to boil, turn down to simmer.
Simmer 1 hour, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and use a hand mixer or blender to blend smooth.  It should be thick and glossy.
You can use after cooling or cool to room temperature and freeze a portion.

To can – return to heat and bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Pour quickly into sterilized jars (½ pint are best), wipe rim and put on lids.
Process in water bath canner for 5 minutes below 1,000 feet altitude, 10 minutes 1001-6000 feet, 15 minutes above 6000 feet.  Times are for ½ pint jars.
I’m still waiting for that smell of fall!
Kim Willis

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

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