Hi Gardeners
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| Canna flower |
The light is softening, the mornings are dewy, and the
flush of golden and purple flowers portend the end of a season. When the black-eyed Susan’s and goldenrod
meet the purple phlox and New England asters you know summer is racing toward its
end. There are still flowers to come, the mums, toad lilies and anemones but
one can sense the end is near.
If you look carefully the color is starting to tinge
the maples and sumac. The ditches are
sporting fluffy plumes of phragmites and in the meadows the grasses are
mellowing to golden, purple and red. Grapes and apples hang low on the vine and
tree. Seed pods swell and the sunflowers hang their heavy heads. Crickets call
loudly at night, hoping for love before the grand finale. Even though the fall equinox is a month away,
the land knows it approaches.
Late summer is a lazy time for many gardeners. You can take a brief break from weeding and
mowing chores before fall rains get the grass and weeds growing again. There may be harvesting to do, but by now
many gardeners have wearied of plucking tomatoes and beans. Take a moment to sit in the sun while it
still warms you. Close your eyes and
listen to the birds and frogs before their voices are gone.
Take a little pause, a brief bit of time before the
rush is here, back to school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and let
yourself enjoy nature and the serenity of your garden. You deserve it.
Examine your mature garden and get its measure. Start dreaming about changes you’ll make for
next year based on the lessons you learned this season. Buy those bulbs for fall planting, decide
where the houseplants will go when you move them inside, and what projects you’ll
tackle when the weather cools.
Gardens are wonderful. But they are meant to be enjoyed by the
gardener as well as tended. There’s not much time left, so get out there and
enjoy.
Ragweed, goldenrod and your allergies
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| Goldenrod |
Goldenrod
is beginning to bloom. Before you start
sneezing and laying blame on it, please understand goldenrod does not cause
your seasonal allergies. In late summer and fall, before a hard freeze, the primary culprit
for seasonal allergies is ragweed, stinging nettles and amaranths. Goldenrod, a beautiful showy flower is not
the cause of allergies.
Goldenrod
pollen is heavy and doesn’t travel well on the wind. Goldenrod is very beneficial for pollinators
and it’s a pretty plant so leave it alone please. But if you have allergies
don’t cut goldenrod and bring it inside.
Inside, in warm and dry conditions, the pollen dries out and may drift
just enough to cause you problems.
There
are several types of Goldenrod that can be found in the northeast but the two
most common are Gray Goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis, and Tall Goldenrod, Solidago
altissima. Both have the sprays of
tiny gold flowers for which the plant is named.
Gray Goldenrod is shorter, the flower sprays are not as wide and arched
as Tall Goldenrod and each long narrow leaf has two short leaves by it where it
attaches to the stem. Tall Goldenrod can
grow to 5 feet high in good conditions and the flower spikes tend to from a
pyramidal shape at the top of the plant.
Both plants have rough, stiff stems and the leaves and stems are
slightly hairy.
The
sprays of gold are formed by hundreds of tiny yellow, daisy-like flowers which
each have a nectar tube. This nectar is
an important food for butterflies fueling up to fly south and bees preparing
for winter as is the abundant, heavy pollen.
Goldenrod begins blooming in late summer and blooms until a heavy frost.
Goldenrod will grow almost anywhere, in sun and light shade, in moist or dry
locations. It’s a common roadside and
field wildflower.
Ragweed
Ragweed
is also blooming now, although most won’t notice its plain Jane flowers and
it’s the cause of allergic symptoms for many people this time of year. Common Ragweed (Ambrosia
artemisiifolia) has a Latin name many associate with something delightful,
but this almost unnoticed plant is anything but delightful to millions of hay
fever suffers.
Ragweed was once confined to the east coast but has spread
throughout the United States
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| Common ragweed |
As ragweed grows, the leaves become more sharply
divided. Many people mistake the Ragweed
plants for marigolds or tomatoes as the fern-like leaves are similar. In cooler fall weather the leaves may take on
a reddish or purplish tint at the edges.
Ragweed plants can get quite large, up to 5 feet high and branching many
times.
In late summer, about the time goldenrod blooms, ragweed
also blooms. The small greenish flowers
are clustered in long wands at the ends of branches and don’t draw much
notice. The pollen that they release
into the wind and which can float for miles, does make many notice though. If you look at it under a microscope you
could see the hooks and barbs each pollen piece carries, which can wreak havoc
on human nasal and respiratory passages.
Ragweed will grow in almost any soil, although it prefers
heavy, moist soil. It likes full sun but
will tolerate some shade. It is found in
crops and gardens as a weed, on roadsides and in un-mowed fields. The seeds of Ragweed can survive for more
than 80 years in soil, waiting for the right time to germinate, so the plant is
hard to eliminate.
Giant
ragweed, (Ambrosia trifida), a relative of common ragweed, has 3 lobed
(sometimes 5) palmate (hand like) leaves that remind some people of marihuana,
hence the common name wild hemp. The margins of the leaflets are toothed, but
not as obviously as those of true marihuana, and the leaflets much
broader. And giant ragweed leaves do not
have any of the pleasant qualities of marihuana. The leaves are arranged opposite each other
on the woody stem. Both stems and leaves
are covered with fine hairs. The leaf
stem is winged near the main stem. Some plants may have several large
branches. Plants have a short taproot
and a large fibrous root mat.
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| Giant ragweed- young plant |
The
flowers of giant ragweed are greenish white and inconspicuous although the
pollen they produce and release into the wind can cause much distress to hay
fever sufferers. Male flowers are
produced on spikes at the top of the plant, so the pollen is better distributed
into the wind. Female flowers are below
them in short clusters in leaf axils. Each
female flower makes a single seed.
The
woody stems and seed pods of giant ragweed will persist well into winter. Plants will grow in sun or partial shade and
prefer fertile, moist soil although they can pop up in many places. They grow from seed. It is a native plant and found throughout much
of the US and Canada.
Stinging nettles
Stinging
nettle pollen is also allergenic and it’s shedding pollen now too. I know a lot of herbalists rave over stinging
nettles and there’s much folklore involving cures but if you keep some around
at least keep the flowers trimmed off so there won’t be pollen or seeds.
Stinging
nettles is a tall (3-7 feet) sturdy perennial plant. The leaves are dark green, 1-6 inches long
and heavily toothed on the edges. Leaves
are arranged oppositely on the tough, squared stem. The plants usually aren’t branched.
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| Stinging nettles in flower |
The
surface of the leaves and stems are covered with hairs, some of which are
larger and contain the poison that causes such misery. These hairs, called trichomes, are hollow, with
a bulbous base that contains acetylcholine, histamine, 5-HT (serotonin),
moroidin, leukotrienes, and possibly formic acid. They act like a needle to
inject the poison as a defense. These hairs are meant to protect the plant from
animals eating them and they do a good job.
They also break off in human skin causing welts, stinging and
itching. When the plants are dried or
cooked the poison disappears.
Stinging
nettle flowers come in male and female versions on the same plant. They are
small clusters of greenish white and appear in the leaf axils throughout the
summer. The female flowers produce tiny egg-shaped
seeds of tan to brown.
Amaranths, pigweed and others
Pigweeds, of which there are several types, began flowering in
late June and bloom on and off until a hard frost. They can cause allergy symptoms when
pollinating. Pigweeds belong to the
amaranth family. This diverse family has
some edible seeded varieties and some ornamental varieties such as Love Lies
Bleeding, which allergy prone gardeners may want to avoid. Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album, another
common weed that blooms in late summer and fall can also cause allergy symptoms
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| Love lies bleeding |
After a hard frost most pollen shedding will stop. However, another nasal allergen trigger may
cause problems. Mold often causes
allergies and moldy tree leaves can trigger nasal allergies. Plants that have heavy infestations of white
fly, aphids or scale insects often develop sooty mold. Sooty mold grows on sweet secretions or
excrement from insects eating plant sap.
Houseplants often have these pests and then can indirectly cause nasal
allergies.
If your allergies peak in late summer, don’t blame goldenrod. Instead look for the sneaky weeds that are
the real culprits.
Be safe while foraging and using herbs
It’s the season for gathering wild plants and experimenting with
garden plants to make salads, teas and medicinal products. Some people equate “natural”, herbal or “homegrown”
with safe to use, and that isn’t necessarily so, as any poison control hotline
can tell you. Every year we have serious
illness and even deaths attributed to people who are gathering foods from the
wild or mixing up herbal medicines from the garden. Experimenting with wild foods and herbal
medicines and teas can be fine- if you keep some basic things in mind.
Positive identification. There are many extremely
dangerous plants that look remarkably like harmless and helpful plants. Queen
Anne’s lace looks like hemlock for example. If you don’t absolutely know what
the plant is that you are considering consuming, don’t eat it or put it on your
body. Use good reference books or take
classes with experienced people until you are sure you can identify plants you
want to use. Even using some plants on
the skin can cause problems as some harmful plant compounds can be absorbed
through the skin. This is more of a
problem with wild gathered plants, but even garden plants can be misidentified.
Tasting a plant is never a good way to identify it. Classifying plants by how they taste, bitter,
sweet and so on, is inaccurate and unsafe.
And because animals and birds consume a plant doesn’t mean it’s safe for
humans, or even your pets. Different animals and birds can tolerate different
plant products.
It is extremely important to use care and properly identify
mushrooms before using/ eating them. Mushrooms can be very tricky to identify.
Make sure an expert helps you with identification. Some mushrooms can kill quickly with a few
bites. Others don’t seem to produce
symptoms for days, until they begin to destroy your liver and kidneys. Be
absolutely certain of your identification when it comes to mushrooms and make
sure you keep children and pets from consuming any mushrooms they find. Even some so-called experts have died from
eating mushrooms they thought were safe.
Use the correct part of the plant and
know how to prepare it.
In some plants the fruit may be harmless but the leaves or roots deadly
and vice versa. For example, ripe
elderberry fruit is edible when cooked but other parts of the plant can cause
serious illness. Tomato fruit is
excellent eating, but other parts of the plant will make you very sick.
You can eat the shoots of pokeberry plants if you boil them in
water, discard the water and cook them a second time (usually fried). But if you eat the shoots raw or eat the
berries of the plant you will get very sick and possibly die. DO NOT EAT
POKEWEED BERRIES! Despite what some ill-informed people will tell you online,
pokeweed berries are poisonous even if cooked and have even caused deaths.
Before you consume any new plants make sure you know what parts
are considered safe to eat and how those parts should be prepared. Start slowly with any new plant you consume
because you could have an allergy to it.
Realize that overdosing and side
effects can occur with medical plants.
The medicinal compounds in wild or garden gathered plants can vary greatly
depending on where the plant is growing, what soil nutrients are available,
what the weather has been like and many other factors. A dose that was safe from one patch of
gathered plants may not safe from another because certain chemicals in the
plant may have been enhanced by environmental conditions. The way that you prepare a medicinal plant
may also concentrate its effects.
An overdose of some herbal medications can cause death or serious
health problems and some safe doses may be as small as a drop or two. All herbs and wild medicinal plants can have
side effects also, some serious or deadly. The most common side effects are
digestive, vomiting and diarrhea, but even those can be most unpleasant. Without a laboratory analysis it’s impossible
to determine the strength of herbal preparations. That’s why caution, careful measuring of
doses and lots of study and mentoring by experienced herbal practitioners are
important.
If you use prescription or over the
counter medications, you should consult with a doctor or pharmacist before
using wild plant or herbal remedies.
That includes herbal teas used for pleasure or common problems like
indigestion. Most medical professionals today have some knowledge of what drug
interactions can occur with herbal medications and conventional medications and
can advise you.
You don’t want to find out that your birth control medication
failed because you consumed certain herbs, or you have heart failure or kidney
damage because of some interaction. If
one doctor or pharmacist seems to dismiss all herbs as harmful or useless you
can always consult a more up to date one.
There is good information online as to what herbs interact with what
medications but start with a medical professional.
Start with small amounts and monitor
your reactions.
Any herbal medication or edible plant can cause an allergic reaction and
some allergic reactions can be deadly.
If you have many other allergies it’s especially important to play it
safe with new plant foods or herbs. For example, people who have “hay fever” or
ragweed allergy often have an allergic reaction to chamomile.
Use one herb or new food at a time so you can properly judge your
body’s reaction to it. Using a mixture
of herbs will make it hard to decide what caused the reaction. You may want to apply the herb/plant to your
skin before consuming it as many plants will cause an allergic reaction this
way as well as when you consume them. If
you have redness, rash or hives where you apply the plant product, don’t
consume it.
Wait for at least 2 hours after consuming a small amount of a new
herb/plant before consuming more. Most
allergic reactions will have occurred by then.
Shortness of breath, throat swelling, heart racing, red eyes, itching,
vomiting, diarrhea, hives or rash can be allergic symptoms. If you have any allergic symptoms, even minor
ones such as a rash, never consume a second dose as the second reaction could
be much worse. Get medical attention if
you have trouble breathing or other serious symptoms.
Plants with inulin, like Jerusalem artichokes, can make some people
awfully uncomfortable with gas buildup especially if they are first time consumers. While not deadly, some people’s digestive
systems simply can’t handle inulin well. There are other plants with similar
effects so go slow when trying new things.
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| Jerusalem artichokes |
Now that it’s legal in many states, let’s talk about marihuana,
one of the greatest herbal plants ever discovered. The marihuana produced today
is nothing like the pot people used in the 70’s. If you are new to marihuana use or haven’t
used it in 30-40 years let an expert guide you.
Some strains are stronger than others and have different effects on the
body. Marihuana won’t kill you if you
overdose but the experience might be unpleasant. New users should start with
small amounts, including edible things like gummy bears to see how it affects
you.
Stick with modern medicine for some
problems. If you get a deep
puncture wound no herbal preparation can prevent tetanus. Get a tetanus shot if you haven’t had one
recently. If you are having a heart
attack or stroke don’t reach for the medicinal tea, go to a hospital. While some herbal medications may be helpful
for serious problems like diabetes and high blood pressure you should also
consult with a doctor and consider modern medicines.
While many plants are being studied to cure cancer, there are no
herbal remedies known to be totally effective yet. You may want to use both spectrums of care,
herbal and conventional, with the advice of your doctor. Never stop taking conventional medications
for serious problems without consulting with your doctor and careful monitoring
of your condition on any new herbal remedy.
If you use a little caution and common sense and do your research
you can benefit from natural remedies and enjoy nutritious, tasty treats from
the wild, but just because something grows wild or in your garden doesn’t mean
it’s safe or right for you. Never rely
on just one source of information (including this one) - study, research and
safely experiment until you find what’s right for you.
And don’t be the person that turns their back on all modern
medications and treatments. People are
living longer, healthier lives because of modern medicine, and sometime those
medicines are even made from plants. While
we constantly hear of drugs that are dangerous, or overused (like antibiotics),
we shouldn’t assume that all modern drugs and medical treatments are bad or
useless.
It bothers me that many people are turning away from science and
going back to folklore for treating medical conditions. There is no doubt that herbal medicines are
helpful in some cases. But people need
to remember what the death rate was for common illnesses and conditions before
we developed modern medicines. Yes, drug
companies like to make a profit and costs certainly need to be contained, but all
modern medicines weren’t developed simply to make money. They were developed because we needed
medicines that actually worked.
Repotting Houseplants
Now is the time to examine houseplants and see if they need
re-potting. While plants are outside
it’s a good time to repot them and keep the mess outside. If your plants are still inside, you can take
them outside to repot them without worrying they will get cold. Just work in
the shade so they won’t get sunburn. It’s
also a good thing to give plants several weeks to adjust to new soil and pots
before their environment is changed, such as being moved inside.
Over time soilless potting mixes, we use in container plants tend
to compact or break down. You may notice
the plant has sunk down in the pot or roots are on the surface. Your plant may be straining at pot edges
because it’s produced many new roots and shoots or has multiplied with new plantlets.
Water may be running out the bottom immediately when you water because the
plant is so root bound it doesn’t have soil left to absorb water. These are all
signs re-potting is needed. And
sometimes you may just want to put the plant in a more attractive
container.
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| Housplants on vacation |
Move plants up to a pot that’s only an inch or two wider and/or
deeper. Pots that are too large for the plant often don’t get watered
correctly. If you have limited space for
huge plants don’t keep repotting them into larger pots. Instead consider pruning top growth and
replenishing old soil with fresh every few years. This helps limit size.
You may want to divide some plants and start new pots, so get some
extra pots ready. Some plants like jade
plants will surely lose some branches in the re-potting process but they root
easily so have some pots ready for the broken pieces. It’s not necessary to root all broken pieces,
indeed some won’t root. Give away the
pieces or toss them.
Make sure all containers have drainage holes. Use a good container potting medium and not
garden soil or compost. Get the soil
good and moist before you are ready to re-pot.
Some potting mixes have fertilizer in them. If they do, you won’t need to fertilize the
plants for a few months.
Slide those pot bound plants out of their pots and examine the root
system. If the roots are wrapped around
and around at the bottom of the pot trim those roots off straight across the
bottom. Gently wash or shake off most of
the old soil on the roots. Gently swish them in a bucket or use a gentle stream
of water to wash roots. If you have a plant that has many crowns or off- shoots
divide them after you can see the root system well (if you want to divide
them.)
Put some fresh, moistened potting medium in the bottom of the
pot. Now settle your plant in the
pot. Notice where the old soil level was
on the plant, you won’t want the new soil any higher than that. But you will want an inch or so of space
below the pot rim, so you’ll have a place for water. Adjust the height of the plant by adding or
removing soil on the bottom. Then fill
in around the roots with new soil. Water
well to settle the soil and add more if needed. Some plants may need stakes for
a brief time until they develop new roots.
If the pot size seems right for the plant but the pot has lost
soil and there are several inches of space from the soil level to the rim of
the pot, you could try this. Lift the
plant gently and add soil to the bottom of the pot. You do want about an inch of space from the
soil level to the pot rim, to hold water.
Even if the houseplants don’t need re-potting it’s a good time to
prune off dead branches or leaves, dust the leaves or give the plants a shower. Check them carefully for pests too, as warmer
weather and new plant growth often brings a pest outbreak.
You can treat blooming plants with contact pesticides just before
they are moved inside, and you won’t have to worry about bees being harmed by visiting
the flowers once they are inside.
Contact pesticides only last a few weeks on plants. Some active ingredients in contact pesticides
are bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, azadirachtin, and spinosad. Insecticidal soap, not dish soap, is also a contact pesticide.
If the plant doesn’t bloom in the summer outside, and you are
worried about insect pests being brought inside, you can treat the plant with a
systemic pesticide for houseplants.
These might last in the plant until next spring, which is why using them
on plants that will bloom outside next year, like geraniums could be a
problem. But blooming plants like
Christmas cacti are not visited by pollinators as a general rule and could be
treated systemically.
If you repot those houseplants now while you can do it outside you’ll
save yourself a mess and make the plants happy too.
The best way to cook sweet corn
First you need to start with good, fresh sweet corn, preferably
picked the same day. If you are buying it at the farmers market look for ears
where the husks still look green and moist, not yellow and dry. There should be dry brown silks at the
tip. Ears should feel plump and
full. Lots of people peel back the husk
a little to look at the kernels. Sellers
don’t appreciate this but usually tolerate it.
Kernels should look plump and not shriveled.
If it’s your garden corn you can do this test. Peel back the husk a little and poke your
fingernail in a kernel. Corn ready to
eat will have a white milky juice. Corn
too green will have a clear fluid in the kernel. If you get no fluid, just a doughy look, it’s
old and past eating prime. Don’t poke
fingernails in farmers market corn unless you buy the ear.
If it’s more than a few hours between harvesting or buying the
corn store it in the refrigerator wrapped in a damp paper towel. It’s best to
eat sweet corn the same day you buy or harvest it. That’s why grocery store corn never tastes as
good as fresh corn, it’s always a few days old.
Husk your corn right before you cook it. To help get the silks off
you can rub the corn ear lightly with a damp paper towel. Rinse corn under cold
clean running water. Trim off bad areas,
unfilled tips, and break in half if needed.
Add a cup of water per ear of corn to a pot. Get your water boiling then add a stick of butter and a cup of milk, (for 6-8 ears) and then the corn. Cook for 6-8 minutes with a lid on the pot. The corn will come from the pot tasting buttery delicious. Just sprinkle with salt and you are good to eat. It’s much less messy than buttering it after it’s cooked.
Since
we eat corn a lot when it’s in season, I think a stick of butter every time we
cooked it is a bit expensive and wasteful.
So, after I take the corn out, I save the water with the milk and butter
in the refrigerator and use it to cook corn a second night- it is just as
good. And then I give the liquid left to
the barn cats who love it.
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.
— May Sarton
Kim Willis
And So On….
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is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page)
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I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
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Great tips regrading Cannabis. You provided the best information which helps us a lot. Thanks for sharing the wonderful information.
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