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Tuesday, February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog


Hi Gardeners,
Dirty hard snow, ice and gray skies.  I am so glad February is almost over.  We made it through Sunday’s strong winds without losing power, that’s a good thing.  But I need to see flowers – where are my snowdrops?  Some years they bloom in February, last year some bloomed February 20.  If they bloomed this year it was below the snow.  We have more nasty weather forecast for this week, so I probably won’t see them soon.


Well I did it.  I paid $19.99 for a pkt. of sweet corn, Gurneys ‘Simply Irresistible’. I tried to find it somewhere else cheaper, but they were the only one carrying it, at least under that name.  I hope it holds up to the hype.  I loved Gurney’s ‘Gotta Have It’ sweet corn, it was the best corn I ever had.  This one is also a bi-color, large ears, supposed to be early and very vigorous.  If it’s better than ‘Gotta Have It’ as claimed, it will be good.  Even though I had a $25 off a $50 purchase coupon that makes the package of 200 seeds close to $10 – which is still awfully expensive, but sometimes you take a chance.
I could have waited for a year or two until the price came down. But I like trying new varieties and so I just went ahead and ordered it.  If it doesn’t live up to the claims, I will certainly let them know.  And one never knows how many gardening seasons you have left.
It must have been my day for indulging myself because I also ordered an expensive daylily I’ve admired for a couple years, from another company, Roots and Rhizomes.  It’s called ‘Lies and Lipstick’. Its white with red markings.  I love the name, that might be partly why I was attracted to it.  I also ordered a daylily called ‘Simmons Overture’ which is a large flowered lavender with a black eye and ruffled edge.  Daylilies and irises have such fanciful names, I think people pick one over the other based on the name sometimes.
I am so tempted sometimes to make a garden bed with nothing but daylilies or iris or even hosta, those species that have hundreds or thousands of varieties.  I look at the catalogs and see so many I want.  I have seen people who do collect species of plants and they carefully label them, so the names aren’t forgotten.  Sometimes they breed them to create their own new varieties. My grandmother collected irises and my grandfather roses.  Being a plant collector has seeped into my veins.
But I like so many kinds of plants and I don’t have the energy to care for multiple huge beds of separate kinds of plants. There’s nothing better than gardening, but life brings you laundry and cooking and all those other vital pursuits.  So, I’ll be content with mixing a few good varieties of each species into the beds I have.  Something different will be blooming every week this way, at least that’s the goal.
I just can’t wait to get out and garden again!
Giant bee rediscovered
In the islands of Indonesia lives a giant bee, Wallace’s bee (Megachile pluto).  It has a wingspan of 2 and a half inches, huge jaws and a formidable buzz.  But until recently the bee hadn’t been seen since 1981 and entomologists wondered if it had gone extinct.  In January a group of scientists sponsored by the Global Wildlife Conservation organization, set out to find the elusive bee.  They were successful, finding a least one female bee on the Indonesian island chain North Molucca. 
The Wallace bee lives in termite mounds that are made in trees on the islands. They are black and as large as a man’s thumb.  They use their jaws to collect resin and bits of wood to line their nest cavities. Little else is known about their behavior or how many giant bees remain, but scientists hope to learn more and make them a symbol for conservation in the area.  Hopefully they won’t learn that it’s sting will kill you.
A video showing the giant bee has been made.  You can see it here;
Eyelash Begonias
There are hundreds of species of begonias in the world but only a few have become well known garden plants.  Most gardeners are familiar with rex begonias, tuberous begonias, the wax begonias used for bedding, and perhaps the “cane” or angel wing types often sold in spring for outdoor containers. But there are other types of begonias that are interesting and worth seeking out, especially for houseplants.
The eyelash begonia Begonia bowerii (or bowerae depending on the source) and its hybrids with other species is a good example of a begonia that deserves more use as a houseplant.  It has tiny pink or white flowers, but its foliage is the star of the show.  It’s native to Mexico and is not hardy below zone 10.

Eyelash Begonia
credit: Wildfeuer  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)  
Eyelash begonias are named that because the leaf edges are lined with tiny white hairs much like eyelashes. The leaves are shaped somewhat like rex begonia leaves, an uneven heart shape with a pronounced point, but are somewhat smaller than rex begonia leaves.  They are thick, somewhat wrinkly, have prominent veins and generally have a pattern of colorful blotches.  One common cultivar is ‘Tiger Begonia’ which has yellow-orange splotches on a bronze background. ‘Leprechaun’ has green blotches on a reddish background and is compact, with small leaves.  There are many other cultivars of eyelash begonias with colorful foliage although they can hard to find.  
Most of the eyelash cultivars have red leaf stems.  The leaf stems often have “eyelashes” too.  There are very short thick main stems with a clump of leaves, each with long leaf petioles or stems, that pop up along the rhizomes at the soil surface. The rhizomes creep along the soil surface and branch off, producing new plantlets along the way.  Plants are relatively small in height 12 inches for most cultivars, although they spread into nice mounds of foliage.
Care
Eyelash begonias are best planted in pots that are wider than they are deep to allow for plantlets to form.  Use a lightweight potting medium in the pots. The pots must have drainage holes.  Hanging baskets often work well for eyelash begonias. 
Eyelash begonias like bright indirect light.  An east or north window location is good or bright artificial light.  If moved outside in warm weather, they should be kept in the shade.  They can make great fillers for containers in the shade.
Water eyelash begonias carefully.  They need to be moist but too much water will cause stem rot. In winter and in lower light conditions let the top of the potting medium dry out just a bit before watering.  Eyelash begonias also prefer higher humidity levels and a humidity tray beneath them may be needed.
Keep the eyelash begonias above 55 degrees and don’t let them sit in cold drafts or touch cold windows.  Once you find a place for your eyelash begonia try to keep it there.  They are one of the plants that do not like adjusting to new places very often.
Plants can be pinched or lightly trimmed to shape them and promote a bushy form.  Remove dead leaves and flowers to keep them neat.
A liquid houseplant fertilizer should be used every other week, according to label directions, from late winter through summer, when the plant produces it’s small but pretty blooms.  Like most begonias there are separate male and female flowers, which look a little different from each other.
Eyelash begonias don’t have many disease or insect problems. Powdery mildew can be a problem in wet, or very humid environments. Outside snails and slugs are fond of them. The biggest problems they suffer are from improper watering, usually over watering, which causes rhizomes and leaves to rot.
Propagation
All begonias are rather short-lived plants, 3-5 years, but are fairly easy to propagate. The easiest way is to carefully remove a plantlet (a clump of leaves), with a piece of rhizome attached and pot it.  Rhizomes can be cut into pieces with a growing point or two (leaf nodes) and rooted in damp peat or vermiculite. 
In spring a young leaf with stem can be removed and the stem inserted at an angle into a pot of damp medium.  Enclose the pot in a plastic bag and keep it out of direct sun. When plantlets appear at the base of the old leaf stem you can remove them and plant them.
Eyelash begonias make beautiful and different houseplants.  While they may not be found at the local grocery houseplant counter or even in smaller greenhouses, you’ll find them in on line plant stores that specialize in tropical houseplants.  They are well worth seeking out.
Celery Juice hoax
It’s all over the internet and kooky health shows on TV have talked about it-the celery juice “cure”. Celery juice is the newest nutritional/medicinal fad and it’s claimed to cure everything from cancer to baldness.  Sadly, it’s just not true and drinking too much celery juice could be hazardous to your health.
A man named Williams, a self-proclaimed healer/teacher of sorts, claimed “a spirit” told him about celery juice and that it had special salts that cured all kinds of things.  Williams has no degrees or experience in any scientific or medical field.  Yes, he has written books but so have many other people who prey on people’s desire for magic cures. And anyone who claims he gets medical advice from spirits needs to have a mental health evaluation if he truly believes that.  More likely he just descended from a long line of snake oil salesmen. 
Celery is a fine vegetable when it’s eaten whole.  It has some antioxidants and many vitamins and lots of healthy fiber.  It’s tasty and fills you up without a lot of calories. But when you juice it and drink whole glasses of that juice it may not be so harmless. 
Celery does have salts, but there’s nothing special about them and they’ve been known for a long time.  In fact, celery has a lot of sodium, a glass of celery juice has more sodium than 2 large McDonalds fry orders.  If you have high blood pressure or problems retaining fluid celery juice is a very unwise choice.
Some of that salt is sodium nitrate.  Celery is high in nitrates; celery juice and powder have been used to cure bacon and other meats.  Some research has linked nitrate consumption to cancer and heart disease when nitrate transforms to nitrites in the body.  If you aren’t eating bacon because you think it causes cancer, why would you drink celery juice?
(Important: Many vegetables and fruits have nitrates. Normal ways of eating these items doesn’t result in any nitrate/nitrite problems and consumption of fruits and vegetables, including celery is good for you.)
I would never give babies celery juice.  Babies have a difficult time processing nitrates and too many nitrates in the blood affect how much oxygen it can carry, causing methemoglobinemia or blue baby syndrome.  Home prepared vegetable baby foods have been cited as a cause of methemoglobinemia so celery juice would probably be very dangerous for babies.
Celery may also have chemical compounds called psoralens. (Tip- celery with brown spots is more likely to have high levels of psoralens.) These chemicals make the skin sensitive to the sun, causing sunburn, blisters and rashes.  People consuming celery juice frequently need to stay out of the sun.  Celery also has glucosinolates or goitrogens.  These are sugar-sulfur compounds that affect the thyroid gland and could cause goiter.
Celery is in the top ten list of pesticide contaminated foods.  It’s very hard to completely wash pesticides off the surface of celery.  Juicing celery that isn’t properly washed would be producing a drink laced with pesticides.  It takes a lot of celery stalks to produce a glass of juice, so you are concentrating pesticide residue.
People doing the celery juice “treatment” which is drinking an 8 oz. glass of celery juice each morning when you get up and then not eating for 30 minutes, often claim to feel better.  Medical experts say this is probably because of the hydration factor and drinking a glass of water in the morning when you wake would probably have the same benefit.  The mind also has a powerful effect on the body.  If you think you feel better you actually do feel better.
If you are eating celery raw in normal amounts, are using celery seed or powder for seasoning or cooking celery in soups and other foods there is no need to worry.  Celery used like this is healthy and good for you.  But juicing celery and drinking a glass every day is not a wise move and there is no scientific evidence of any medical benefits other than hydration.  Celery juicing removes the fiber from celery, one of the healthiest parts of it. Eat your celery, don’t drink it.

More reading

Seed Planting devices
Since the beginning of agriculture people have devised all kinds of aids to help them plant seeds. Some seeds are large and easy to handle but need to be spaced carefully so there is less time wasted thinning and plants have enough room to grow to their best potential.  Some seeds are very small and difficult to handle and even harder to space properly.
If you are planting seeds inside, in pots or flats, spacing larger seeds isn’t a problem.  But tiny fine seeds can be tricky to plant even inside.  There are a number of handheld seeders you can purchase that can help with this problem.  They usually have dials you can turn to suit the size of the seed you need to dispense.
A pencil with an eraser can also be used to plant small seeds.  Dampen the eraser and a seed will stick to the wet part. You can then transfer the seed to where you want it. 
To better see dark seeds against dark potting medium so you can space them, you can use light colored, fine sand.  You can buy this in many craft stores.  Sprinkle the sand in the bottom of rows you have made or over the surface of a flat. You’ll be able to see where the seeds are against the light background.  Do not substitute salt- it will burn seedlings or flour or sugar, they will cause fungal problems.
You can also use white one ply toilet paper or thin tissue paper in rows or on a flat’s surface so you can see where dark tiny seeds land. Wet the paper before adding the seeds or they may float into clumps when you add water. Be aware paper can wick moisture away from seeds if it dries out.  Cover the paper and seeds lightly with potting medium.  If dry paper shows at the edges of the containers carefully dampen it with a little water.
You can start seeds right on a piece of damp paper inside a plastic bag or container. It’s easy to see where to place the seeds. When they germinate carefully cut or tear off the section of paper with the seedling and place it on a container of potting medium and lightly cover it. The paper will dissolve eventually, and roots grow through it.  This procedure is a bit time consuming, but I have used it to grow seeds of many types, large and small.

Outside planting aids
You can buy pelleted seeds which make small seeds easier to plant outside or seed tapes for spacing small seeds. You can also make your own seed tape with one ply toilet paper.  Lay a piece out – 2-3 feet is a good length- and place seeds in the middle properly spaced along it.  Then put a thin line of a non-toxic glue along the edges of the paper and between each seed and put another piece of toilet paper on top.  Let it dry before moving it.
A very simple seed planting aid that will help you space seeds or even plants, is a flat piece of board or other substance with inches measured and marked on it. I use a piece of white plastic molding.  You just place it beside the row and plant at the proper inch markings for spacing the plant species you are planting.  You’ll be surprised how much neater and well-spaced your rows will be.  A yardstick could be used but you can make a longer planting guide, so you won’t be moving it as often.
To keep from getting a sore back stooping to plant seeds you can simply use a hollow piece of pipe, (I use lightweight plastic pipe), at the right height for you.  You stand over the row, place the pipe where you want the seed and drop a seed down the pipe. You can use a dib, which is just something to poke a hole in soil for a seed and then place the pipe over the dib hole.  You can attach a dib on one side of the planting pipe at the bottom. The dib could be a piece of wooden dowel. Punch the hole, then lift the dib and swivel the pipe so its over the hole and drop the seed down it.
There is a simple seed planting device you can make from hardware store parts that will plant small seeds in a large outdoor row system quite easily.  There’s a YouTube video link below that shows you how to make this clever device.

What is potting medium and which brand is best?
Soil is a mixture of rock particles, decaying organic matter, air spaces, water, and soil microorganisms like bacteria and fungi.  It varies tremendously from area to area.  While soil is what we plant in outside, (not dirt, dirt is something unwanted or undesirable), soil is not the best option for starting seeds inside or growing houseplants.  Potting medium is the preferred option for these growing needs.
Potting medium contains no soil. It is lighter and there is less chance of potting medium containing harmful organisms like the dampening off fungus.  It’s usually pH balanced and shouldn’t harden or crust over.  Most commercial potting mixes/seed starters are composed of some of these; sphagnum peat, other forms of peat, perlite, ground bark or coir, vermiculite, limestone and various wetting agents, some have worm castings or mycorrhizae added. 
Potting mediums can be formulated to suit the needs of some plant species, such as cacti, orchids, African violets and so on. Some potting mediums are considered to be general purpose or useful for a wide range of plants. 
Some potting mediums contain a slow release fertilizer, and some contain special water holding granules.  A general-purpose planting mix could be used for seed starting but it is much better to choose a special mix called seed starting mix. These mixes are finer in texture. They are generally, but not always, sterilized. Sterile potting mediums are great for starting seeds and rooting cuttings to help avoid diseases that can be present in real soil. The label should plainly state – “sterile seed starting mix”.  If you have tiny seed, hard to germinate seeds, rare seeds, or seeds with sentimental value always use a sterile seed starting mix
There is an abundance of seed starting and transplant/potting medium brands on the market and it can be hard to decide which one to purchase.  To add to the confusion some companies have a variety of places making their brand name mixes and each place can make a slightly different mix depending on local resources. One bag of the mix may not look or perform as well as another of the same brand. So, is there a better brand?
There’s a rating below of what potting mediums I like and dislike. To be completely fair about this rating I must say I received samples of Gardeners Supply and Miracle Grow potting soil for testing.  Other brands were purchased for comparison.  I have used all of these soils.  There are many other brands of potting mix/ seed starting soil on the market and although they aren’t listed here it doesn’t mean they aren’t good mixes.


Gardener’s Supply Planting mixes/seed starter- I love both of these mixtures, seed starting and transplant mix.  They are lightweight, the seed starter is fine textured, and they both hold water well. Plants grew very well in both mixtures.  These mixtures contain soil mycorrhizae and are pH balanced. (Soil mycorrhizae help plant roots process nutrients and get plants off to a fast start.) The mixes are very similar to Pro-Mix, an advantage is that you can buy this soil in smaller quantities than Pro-Mix and the cost is quite reasonable.   Gardener’s Supply offers discounts for multiple bags too. Cost is about $8 for a 9 qt. seed starting mix and $19 for 30 qt. transplant mix.  Gardener’s Supply offers an organic seed starter too, (which this author did not try). 
Pro-Mix- if you are going to be starting tons of seeds or transplants this is probably the gold standard.  Pro Mix is light weight and contains both mycorrhizae and a natural bio-fungicide. It holds water very well and is a delight to use.  It does not contain fertilizer. The disadvantage is that Pro-Mix comes in large, 3.2 feet compressed bales that weigh about 70 pounds.  It can be hard to find locally, and shipping is very expensive.   You can store potting mixes from season to season but be aware that soil mycorrhizae can die over long storage and you will lose that advantage.  Cost ranges from $25 a bale up to $65, depending on where you buy it, and discounts are normally offered for multiple bales.  Remember to factor in shipping costs if it is shipped to you.
Espoma planting mixes- have the same ingredients as most potting mediums.  However, they add worm castings which are said to have some nutritional benefits, along with mycorrhizae.  There are organic formulas too. They are good mixes, light and water retentive, but I found no advantage over Pro-Mix or Gardeners Supply mixes. Prices are all over the place, I found Walmart had the cheapest price, at about $10 for a 16 qt. bag.  Other places sell the same bag for about twice that.
Miracle Grow- the Miracle Grow brand name is well known but their potting soil mixes are known for variability, depending on where they are manufactured.  Some mixes seem fine, lightweight and with good water retention.  Others have large pieces of coarse wood, sticks and other debris in them.  Some feel heavy and dense.  I have had bags which were great in texture and others not so good.  All Miracle Grow mixes have fertilizer mixed in, which some growers don’t like.  It’s usually a bit more expensive than other brands; the author found it cost about $10 per 8 qt. bag, although specials and discounts seem frequent.  The soil seems to be fine for filling outside planters and large pots.
Jiffy potting mixes- not terrible but so-so, average in weight, texture and water retention.  They do not contain mycorrhizae and seem overpriced compared to other mixes.  The price I found was about $19 for a 16 qt. bag.  The organic option was terribly expensive at $40 for 12 qt.
Hoffman potting mixes- typical composition, I did not try it this year but I have used the potting mix in the past with few problems.  Its pH balanced, seems to be a fine texture and holds water reasonably well.  It runs about $13 for a 10 qt. bag.
While potting mediums may be safer for plants than soil, in some places potting mediums may have organisms that can cause disease in humans.  This is caused when dust from them is inhaled or the gardener gets the medium into wounds or the mouth.  Wear gloves when using potting medium and don’t eat, drink or smoke while using it. Whatever potting medium you decide to buy should be kept tightly closed when not in use and it should be stored in a dry, above freezing location. Keep it out of direct sunlight, and don’t let water get into it, the warmth and moisture can cause bacteria to grow in it.  

While it is February one can taste the full joys of anticipation. Spring stands at the gate with her finger on the latch.     
-      Patience Strong

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 (or things I want to talk about). 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 or anyone you know 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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