Gardening Granny's Gardening Pages: September 29, 2020, spots and pots

Hi Gardeners

Well it looks like true fall weather has arrived. After a relatively warm week it’s now cool and a bit gloomy here. We had some rain yesterday and it was needed. The trees are starting to turn, the Virginia creeper is red, and the soy fields across from me have turned golden. They’ll be harvested soon. My oak tree is shedding leaves like crazy.

Colchicum

I have almost all the plants that need to be inside moved inside. I moved most of the geraniums inside this weekend. I have decided to let the cannas and dahlias go until frost kills them. Then I will dig and store them dormant. I also have crocosmia, peacock lilies and eucomis to dig.

I have dug cannas and potted them to bring inside some years. They will grow and even bloom indoors in winter. But I just don’t have the room this year. The dahlias are so late blooming I decided to just let them bloom until they die. Some were killed by our frost two weeks ago, but others are still going.

New things are actually blooming in the garden, toad lilies and a few anemones. The colchicum or autumn crocus is blooming. The roses like the cool weather and are blooming well. Mums and asters are still blooming as is the black snakeroot. Many annuals are still going strong. Some purple nicotiana that came up from seed dropped last year is finally blooming.

I have begun cutting back and cleaning up in some places. Usually I wait until spring. But we are having the house reroofed in a couple weeks and it will be a mess. I need to be able to see where the things I want to protect are. I have been dreading the roof project but it has to be done.

I’m evaluating what did well in the garden and what did not this year and making notes. I hope you are doing that too. It will help you later this winter when you are looking at all those seed catalogs and online nurseries. I am pretty sure this is the last year I will plant sweet corn. I love it but it’s just too much trouble. And 3 tomato plants seem to be perfect for our use anymore.

I’m going to get new dahlias next year. I lost quite a few this spring. And more lilies too. See, I am already planning for next year!

Seed collecting and drying

Many gardeners are concerned that there won’t be seeds for sale next year, I don’t think that will be a problem. But if you want to save seeds for next year remember two things- seeds saved from hybrid plants will not give you plants like the parents and seeds must be mature before you take them from the plant.

For example, tomatoes should be ripe to the point of rotting before seeds are collected. Peppers should be their mature color, in sweet peppers that usually isn’t green. Beans should be in dry, brown pods. Cucumbers will be yellow-orange. Summer squash/ zucchini will need to mature past the point where you normally eat them. Let them stay on the plants until mature.

Cleome seed pod splitting

For flowers it’s always best to let seeds remain on the plant as long as possible. If you must cut seed pods/heads before they are brown and ripe place them in paper bags in small bunches and let them dry further in a warm, dry location.

Once seed pods open or seed heads are very dry you can remove the individual seeds from them. Some of these seeds may be ready to store as is. If they feel at all moist, they need further drying.

Once fleshy fruits like tomatoes and cucumbers are ripe seeds can also be removed from them. This can be a messy task. The seeds require drying before storage.

The best way to dry a small amount of seeds is to spread them in a single layer in the sun or in a warm inside location. If the seeds are fleshy or still wet put them on a piece of screen instead of paper so they won’t stick to the paper as they dry. Protect drying seeds from birds and animals. You can dry seeds in a dehydrator too. Don’t use high heat on any seeds you are saving to plant or you will damage the plant embryo. But a dehydrator can help if your weather is wet and cold.

Do not microwave seeds or heat seeds in the oven if you want to plant them. However, if the seeds are for eating, you could use these devices.

Large seeds like beans, nuts and acorns can be stored in baskets or other containers to dry. Containers that allow airflow like wicker baskets or crates with gaps are best. It will take longer to dry these. Remove the hulls from walnuts and hickories before storage. When dry nutmeats will be firm and dry in texture, not milky or soft.

After seeds are very dry store them in paper envelopes, properly labeled. These paper envelopes can go into glass or plastic jars. Twist a bit of dry milk or some white rice in a piece of paper towel and store in the seed storage container. It helps remove moisture that can cause mold. Store seeds in a cool dark place.

Most vegetable garden seeds don’t require any special treatment before planting. But many flower seeds need a period of cold stratification before they will germinate. This means they need to be stored moist and cold for a while before planting. For more information on seeds and their needs see this page; http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/seeds-germination.html

Jewelweed seed pods

Repotting plants- tips

In fall many people are repotting plants they are bringing inside or that have been growing all summer and look like they need more room. It used to be that people were very reluctant to repot a plant. I used to hold demonstrations on how to do it and often had to encourage people to take the step. But it seems now that the pendulum has swung the other way and people are constantly repotting their plants.

Repotting a plant too often is stressful for the plant and repotting a plant incorrectly can be a death sentence. Plants don’t change location and the soil they are in very often in nature. And when we keep plants in pots we should be mindful that changing the soil and the location plants are in is not a pleasant experience for them.

Kalanchoe calandiva that needs a new pot

Tip one: Use potting medium not garden soil or compost in pots, especially those in the house. It’s lighter, retains water better, and generally does not carry insects and disease if you use fresh medium. Potting mediums vary in what they are made of, even the same brand, from area to area. But despite all the social media brand bashing there’s not much difference in how they perform for plants.

Only a few types of plants require special potting mediums. Orchids and cacti are two that are most in need of specialized soil. Many potting mediums contain fertilizer now. Make sure you check the bag; it has to be labeled if it has fertilizer. These fertilizers are generally good for several months and you shouldn’t add additional fertilizer during this time.

Potting medium must always be moistened before it’s put in pots. Add water slowly to the potting mix in a large container, a little at a time. Mix with your hands or trowel thoroughly after each addition. Some potting mediums are shipped drier than others. The correct soil texture for potting is moist and clinging together, not dry and crumbly or so wet it doesn’t cling together at all or looks like sludge.

Tip two- all containers MUST have drainage holes. Improper watering is the number 1 cause of houseplant death and pots without drainage simply compound the risk. Putting rocks or other things in the bottom of the pot does not compensate for lack of drainage. These things just raise the wet zone at the bottom – called the perched water level- and keep the soil from drying out. Some plants need the soil in the pot to dry out between watering. All plants need soil that is not waterlogged so the roots can get oxygen.

The proper way to water a plant is to water until water drains from the bottom of the pot. You can’t do this unless the pot has drainage holes. People think they can carefully water a plant and avoid having drainage holes but almost inevitably this causes a problem, plants are either too dry or too wet.

Of course, you will need something under pots to catch the draining water. Pots that are very dry may have water move right through the soil and out the drainage holes. The water will slowly be absorbed back into the soil as the plant sits in the tray of water. But water should be dumped from these trays if it sits there for more than an hour.

If you have a nice ceramic pot you don’t want to drill holes in use it in place of a pot saucer. Find a pot with drainage holes slightly smaller than the ceramic pot and plant the plant in it. Then put the pot in the ceramic container. You may need to dump water out of the ceramic pot so make sure you can easily lift the pot with the plant out of it.

Tip three; Know when your plant actually needs repotting and avoid unnecessary repotting.

If your plant looks droopy, has brown leaves, isn’t growing or you don’t like the pot the plant is in does not mean you should repot the plant. People are far too quick to repot plants now. Repotting a plant is stressful to it and if the plant is already ailing it can kill it. Some plants are fussier than others and really resent repotting.

In rare cases repotting a houseplant may help get rid of insect pests or disease, but generally it doesn’t help much in these cases. If roots are rotting because you overwatered repotting may or may not help. It depends on how much damage has been done. Sometimes simply allowing the pot to dry out – or adding missing drainage holes- may be enough.

When the root ball of a plant has completely filled a pot and there is not much soil left to absorb water it is usually time to repot. When a plant is so large that it is top heavy and the proportion of roots to top is extreme, it may be time to repot, but you would be surprised at what size root ball can support a large plant under proper care.

If something toxic has been spilled in the pot you need to repot the plant. If too much fertilizer or pesticides have been applied, it may be necessary to repot. Cats using the pot as a litter box or someone using the pot as a urinal may necessitate repotting with fresh potting medium.

Most houseplants should not be repotted more than once a year. Very fast-growing plants, especially when they are young, may need repotting every 6 months. Some plants will not need repotting for years. Just because a plant seems to have filled its pot does not mean it needs repotting in all cases. Some plants like sanseveria and certain sedums actually do well with tight roots. If a plant looks healthy and continues to grow its probably fine.

It is tempting to repot a new plant as soon as you get it home. Unless you have strong suspicions there are pests in the pot, like hitchhiking mice or ant colonies, it would be better to let the plant acclimate to it’s new surroundings, give it thirty days or so, before repotting it. If plants have been outside in the summer and need a larger pot before going inside, try to repot them a few weeks before the move.

Tip four- Don’t move plants into pots that are too large. It may seem logical to put a tiny plant into a much larger pot, so you won’t have to repot it too soon. But this is one of the most common mistakes people make when repotting plants. It often results in poor growth or dead plants.

The potting medium and pot interact with plant roots. When you water a plant, it takes up water from it’s roots and moves it up to the top parts of the plant. The water evaporates off the plant leaves, and this process removes water from the potting medium. Oxygen replaces the water removed, aerating the soil.

If you give a plant too much water for the tiny root system to move up and into the air, the roots may rot from being in damp, poorly oxygenated medium. If you give the plant too little water gravity moves it down deep in the pot where the small plant root system can’t reach it, drying out the plant.

It is extremely difficult to correctly water a plant that’s in too large of a pot for its root system. When repotting a plant use a pot only 1-2 inches wider and 3-4 inches deeper than the old pot. If the plant is extremely out of proportion for what size pot it is in and hasn’t been repotted in years, a slightly larger size could be used. A plant that’s properly sized for the pot also looks nicer.

Some miscellaneous tips

Potting medium does break down over time and the plant will sink in the pot. Rather than completely repotting the plant you can gently lift the plant out of the pot and add a couple inches of moist new soil to the bottom of the pot. Try not to disturb the plant root ball. When you replace the plant in the pot the surface of the root ball should be about an inch from the pot rim.

If the pot tapered from larger to smaller diameter there may be a gap between the root ball and pot sides now. Push some moist soil down in this gap. Never add new soil to the top of the root ball to fill the pot. This will kill or damage many plants.

A plant that seems straggly, yellowed or weak may need fertilization rather than new potting soil. Try that first. Make sure to follow label instructions for houseplants or potted plants and don’t use too much fertilizer. Over time as you water nutrients are flushed from the potting medium, so most houseplants can appreciate at least a yearly fertilization. Plants do make most of their own food however from light, and many can go a long time without supplemental fertilizer.

If a white or yellowish crust builds up on the surface of the potting medium or on the pot, there may be too many salts in the pot. Salts come from fertilizers and sometimes your water. The cure for this is to flush the soil with pure water. Do this by sitting the pot in a tub or sink and letting water slowly drip on the soil surface for about an hour. If that isn’t possible[KW1] , pour water on the plant letting it drain and dumping the plant tray several times.

Mold or moss on the surface of the soil means you are overwatering. Remove it and correct your watering.

Fungus gnats look like fruit flies. They develop in potting medium and soil. When you have them you are usually keeping your potting medium too wet. Repotting plants before you have controlled the infestation usually doesn’t work too well. The most effective control is a product called Gnatrol, a safe biological pesticide. For more information about dealing with fungus gnats see this article https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/fungus-gnats-inhouseplants-in-winter.html

Should you wash the roots of houseplants when repotting them? Unless you are trying to get rid of a toxin or disease the answer is no. Washing the roots of trees and shrubs before planting is very popular now. It’s done to find circling roots and other problems before planting. It’s hard to dig up and examine trees and shrubs for root problems once they start growing. But for houseplants there isn’t much benefit compared to the harm done by disturbing and breaking the roots while washing them.

Repot houseplants only when they clearly need it. There are times when plants do need repotting but houseplants that are frequently repotted often grow poorly compared to ones that are repotted less frequently. Every time you repot you damage roots. Plants are not designed for frequent changes of soil conditions or being moved to new environments. Repotting is not the answer for most houseplant problems.

Maple Leaf tar spot

People are asking about the large black spots on their maple tree leaves that look like someone splashed paint or tar on them. Don’t worry, it’s not your neighbors trying to kill your tree or kids playing a trick, it’s a tree fungal disease. Maple Leaf Tar Spot is caused by at least two types of fungus in the genius Rhytisma. In late summer Maple tree leaves develop large black spots with yellow edges. The raised spots resemble paint or tar.

Maple leaf tar spot

This disease causes little damage to trees and no control is needed now. The leaves may drop off a bit early, but that’s ok too. Maple leaf tar spot doesn’t happen every year but can happen several years in a row. It affects only maple trees.

If you want to help break the cycle remove all the fallen leaves from beneath the maple tree and compost them, or at least move them away from any maple trees. The fungus overwinters on the fallen leaves. It’s fine if the affected leaves are moved to a spot by other tree species.

If you have a specimen maple you want to be cosmetically perfect you can try spraying the tree with a fungicide in the spring, just as the leaf buds break. Trees get infected in spring, but the disease doesn’t show up until late summer. The trees need spraying every 7-10 days until the leaves are of mature size. After the tree is infected fungal sprays will not be of any use.

Since the disease doesn’t significantly damage the tree and only becomes apparent late in the season most people simply ignore the spots. If your tree was heavily infected, it can benefit from deep watering if you have a dry fall and after a hard freeze the trees can be fertilized. Root growth still takes place for many weeks after a hard freeze when trees appear dormant.

Apply about 3 pounds of a tree fertilizer per 1,000 square feet of root zone. The root zone is measured from the trunk to about three feet beyond the drip line of the tree, all around the tree. For maple trees look for a fertilizer that contains iron and manganese. Fertilizers formulated as 18-6-12 or 12-4-4 or something similar is best.

Watch those polyunsaturated fats

Since the 1960’s Americans have been urged to eat less saturated fat and more polyunsaturated fats. Vegetables oils largely replaced fats from animals. And also, since the 1960’s, the rate of obesity in Americans has skyrocketed. But in the last 60 years or so we learned a lot more about fats in our diet and what “proper” nutrition should consist of.

Many researchers now believe the type of fat isn’t as important as we once thought. Dietary fat does not cause body fat, carbohydrates do. Many researchers now feel that saturated or animal fat, isn’t harmful. But the ratio of what types of fat we eat might be a clue as to why obesity is more common today than it was before we became so concerned with fat intake.

Some recent research published in Communications Biology, on August 28 found that animals that were fed an unbalanced ratio of fatty acids while pregnant produced offspring that were likely to overeat and become obese. The animals were fed more Omega 6 fatty acids than Omega 3 fatty acids.

The American diet is high in Omega 6 fatty acids since we stopped consuming saturated fats. These Omega 6 fats come from soy oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Omega 3 fatty acids come from foods such as fatty fish, walnuts, flax seed, and chia seeds. Americans eat an average of 10 times as much Omega 6 fatty acids as Omega 3, with soy oil the major player.

Researchers believe that the uneven ratio of fatty acids affects dopamine production, a hormone that regulates appetite. The change occurs in fetuses during pregnancies where moms ate an unbalanced diet. Generations of pregnancies on this diet may have increased the effects.

Most researchers urge people not to give up polyunsaturated fats, but to make sure they keep Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids in balance. Pregnant women may want to decrease how much soy oil they consume- it’s in everything- and eat more fish and walnuts. Adding saturated fats like butter and eggs to the diet could also reduce the ratio of Omega 6 fatty acids.

Soy oil has also been found to increase metabolic syndrome, a condition that often leads to obesity and diabetes. There are many good reasons to avoid it, pregnant or not.

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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

September 29, 2020, spots and pots

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