Tuesday, November 3, 2020

November 3, 2020- oh what a day

 Hi Gardeners

So, I normally avoid political topics here in my blog, but I must say this is an anxious day for me, and probably thousands of other Americans.  I am writing and you can be reading- about gardening to pass the time. It’s nice that across much of the country it’s a beautiful fall day. It’s sunny and almost 60 degrees here, a big change from the snow and winds we had over the weekend.

I saw a monarch outside today. It must be migrating through but where did it come from in the north where the cold wasn’t as bad as here? We’ve had several nights in the 20’s.  And I had a yellow jacket buzzing around me too.  I was hoping those buggers had all died.

My dahlias are now dug, and I don’t think there is anything else I could bring inside. I did bring a diascia inside, as I mentioned in the last blog. Outside a mum by the barn has managed to keep blooming, but most other things are now gone.  The trees around here are mostly bare, the wind we had really stripped them fast.

Inside I have lots in bloom. The hibiscus are really doing well this fall, with 3 of my 4 plants in bloom. Fuchsia, streptocarpus, the peace lily, geraniums, gerbera daisies, begonias, bouvardia, pomegranate and my lemon tree are all in bloom.

I keep having to mess with my plant light timers because we have had several power outages lately. But having those brightly lit windows full of blooming and green plants when fall days are dreary is so nice. And with my canary singing and parakeets chattering it is very soothing. I have been wanting to make an indoor fountain, but my husband might not be happy with that and trying to find some space may be a problem. How about a fountain instead of a Christmas tree?

November Almanac

This month’s full moon, November 30th, is called the full beaver or full frost moon. In earlier times beaver traps were set about this time and of course a large part of the country has now received killing frosts. Moon apogee is November 26th and moon perigee is November 14th.

In England November 5th is known as Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire night.  It originally celebrated to commemorate what was known as the gunpowder revolution but has become known as a day to burn effigies or pictures of hated people and things. If you have an anger issue after the election that night may be your chance to burn some anger. 

Both topaz and citrine are considered to be birthstones for November. November's birth flower is the chrysanthemum. It’s National Adoption month, Native American Heritage Month, Peanut Butter Lovers month, American Diabetes Month, National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, and Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

November 11th is Veterans Day, the 13th is Sadie Hawkins Day, World Diabetes Day is November 14th, World Toilet Day, whatever that means, is November 19th, November 26th is Thanksgiving. Black Friday, which is an actual holiday in some states, is the 27th.  The 28th is also Abe Lincoln’s birthday and American Indian Heritage Day.



Watch for Evening Grosbeaks

Bird watchers across Michigan and other Midwestern states are reporting an increase in sighting Evening Grosbeaks at feeders. In recent years the birds have not been coming very far south and sightings have been rare at US feeders. Speculation by birders is that winter in the north is going to be hard and birds are moving south for the winter. The birds usually move in flocks and far northern US and Canadian forests are their prime habitat.

Evening Grosbeaks may remind people of big chubby goldfinches. They are about the size of a robin. Males are yellow and black, with a white patch on the wings. Females are gray, with black and white wings and a bit of yellow around the neck. Evening Grosbeaks have large, thick conical bills that are light colored. One of their favorite seeds is that of the Box Elder tree, but they are quite happy with sunflower seed at the feeders too.

Burlap shields and rose cones

Should you put burlap shields around evergreens to prevent winter leaf burn?  This depends on how hardy the plants are for your zone and where they are planted. Plants at the limits of their growing zone or where you are trying to “zone cheat” might survive better with a shield. And plants in areas subjected to strong winter winds may need a shield. Broad leaf evergreens are more susceptible to winter damage than needle type evergreens and benefit more from shields.

Leave some space between the shield and the plants and don’t put the shields up too early. Never use plastic for shields – you want the air to flow through and keep plants from becoming too wet.  Plastic also causes plants to warm too much on sunny winter days.

Rose cones are used by some people to protect hybrid tea type roses. Cut the roses back only enough to fit under the cones. Wait to put up the cones until the ground is frozen and cold weather is predicted to remain.  Another way to protect roses is to insert a sturdy tomato cage over the rose while the ground is unfrozen, and then fill it with leaves or straw after the ground freezes. You may need to wrap the cage with burlap or netting to keep the mulch in place.

New soil additive pulls water from the air

The University of Texas, Austin has announced they have produced a new hydrogel product that can actually pull moisture out of the air to keep plants hydrated. The hydrogel is mixed with soil as many hydrogel products already are mixed. It pulls water from the air, mostly at night, and plant roots can access it.

The new hydrogel could be used on farmland where climate change has been producing droughts and allow crops to be grown there. (No information on how expensive that would be.) Researchers are also speculating that it could be used to provide drinking water for humans in dry areas.

More reading

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201102162653.htm

 Houseplants dropping leaves

About this time of year many people begin panicking about their inside plants dropping leaves. Plants do drop leaves for all kinds of normal reasons, so don’t panic if you notice a few- or even a lot of leaves on the floor.

If you just brought your house plants inside and they are rapidly dropping leaves don’t worry. If you didn’t let them get frosted or frozen, they are probably just going through a wardrobe change. Plants develop leaves with cells adjusted to the type of light they are receiving. When plants are brought inside to lower light levels, they get rid of some or all of their leaves to make room for new leaves better adjusted to low light levels.

Not all plants lose a noticeable amount of leaves; some species are more likely to do so. Weeping Figs, brugmansia, and hibiscus, are some species that are more likely to drop most of their leaves when moved inside. But many other species may lose some of their leaves also.

In this case just leave the plant alone. You should notice leaf buds along the stems in about 2 weeks and new leaves soon after. You may need to adjust your watering schedule as plants without leaves or with fewer leaves don’t use as much water. But don’t let the pots dry out.

If you forgot about your plants and they did get too cold before you brought them inside, you may still get them to recover. Expect them to drop most of their leaves or for leaves to blacken or turn mushy. Remove any blackened or mushy leaves and stems. Leave the plants alone in a warm bright location and reduce watering until new leaves appear.

If you left a plant outside until late fall you may have triggered a dormancy period in some plants. It may take a bit before they resume new growth.  The branches should still feel springy and not brittle in woody plants. These plants can be left where it’s warm to see if they recover quickly or moved to a cool frost-free place for a rest.

Other reasons for plants dropping leaves may be improper watering and or temperature. Fall and spring can be tricky times for watering. A spell of warm sunny weather may dry out pots faster if they are in a sunny window.  A period of wet cold weather may leave them soggy. Both plants that are too wet and plants that are too dry will lose leaves. Feel each pot and check the saucer for standing water before you water a plant. 

If you catch overwatering early, simply allowing the soil to dry out a bit will probably let the plant recover. It should put out some new leaves when conditions are better. If a plant has been soggy wet for too long the roots may have rotted. You may need to start cuttings from it. Sometimes repotting the plant in a well-draining medium can help.

Curing underwatering is easy - water the plant. Even if the plant has lost a lot of leaves it may recover quickly. If it is so dry it’s brittle and pieces snap off, it still may return from the roots, depending on the species and how long it’s been dry. Soak the pot in warm water. Let it drain. Be very careful watering from then on. Plants without leaves require less water. Check more frequently to see if it needs water.

Cold drafts from being near doors or warm drafts from furnace vents may also cause leaf drop.  You may need to move the plant to a better location. 

No leaf lives forever. At some point every leaf drops off a plant, or at least it withers and dies.  So, when you find leaves on the floor from time to time, don’t worry too much. Check your cultural practices and think of why the plant may be stressed and letting go of a few leaves. Then relax.

 Where did our domestic apples come from?

The apples we eat today are classified by science as Malus domestica. They are a very ancient combination of two apple species, European crabapple (M. sylvestris) and the central Asian wild apple (M. sieversii). Modern apples descend from this interspecies cross and careful selection of varieties by humans. But how did this interspecies cross first get established?

Researchers tell us it happened along the Silk Road. This was a trade route that connected Asia and Europe. People starting from either end brought apples with them for snacks/food and then tossed the cores with their seeds out along the road. Apple trees sprang up along the route and pollinators facilitated the meeting in the middle.

Researchers have mapped the genomes of the two apple ancestors and of a modern Gala apple and are beginning to understand where traits of our modern apples like sweetness, size, crispness and so on originated. This may allow precise genetic engineering for better apples in the future.

The species M. sylvestris and M. sieversii only account for 90% of the modern apple’s genes, so researchers are also trying to find the other wild species of Malus that went into modern apples. There are between 30-55 species of Malus. There are actually 4 native species of apple in North America. These produce apples similar to what we call crabapples. But most of the apples you see growing wild are from “escaped” domestic apples.

Malus angustifolia, or southern crabapple is native to the southeast and produces tiny, acidic, pear shaped fruits. Malus coronaria, also known by the name sweet crabapple is native to the Great lakes and Ohio Valley area. It’s a shrub like tree, with deep rose flowers that turn into tiny, fragrant green-yellow fruits that stay on the tree well into winter.

Malus ioensis, or the prairie crabapple is native to the Mississippi Valley prairie areas and a small part of Texas. It has very small, hard green fruits. Malus brevipes, with the common name shrub apple or “Wedding Bouget” is native to North America, but its original range is unknown. The species is used as a native ornamental crabapple and crossed with other crabapples for ornamental varieties. It has white flowers and pretty, small red fruits.

The legend of Johnny Appleseed, a man who went around the country sowing seeds of apples does have some basis in truth. But most apples were probably brought in by early settlers since apples were important to European cultures. Those European apples probably crossed with our native species and may account for some of the other 10% of genes in modern apples. However, there are some other wild species of Malus in Europe and Asia and Japan that may have contributed also.

About 2,550 varieties of modern apples are grown in North America, and its estimated there are more than 7,550 varieties grown worldwide. The Lady apple is probably the oldest domestic variety of apple known. The Newton Pippin apple is probably the first apple variety that originated in the US.



Drying apples

Apples are abundant this time of year and you may want to preserve some for eating or dry some for crafts. The drying method is the same but there are some differences in preparing the apples. For eating, select apples that have firm flesh and that don’t have soft spots or worms.  Wash, peel and core these apples.

For craft apples insects and damaged areas are less important. However heavily bruised or rotting apples will not dry well. Most people leave the skin on and cores intact for crafts.  

Slice your apples into 1/4-inch slices as evenly as you can. Immediately dip them in a solution of 1/2 cup lemon juice to a quart of water. Leave them in the solution for a few minutes. This prevents browning of the slices. 

The slices can be spread in a single layer and dried in a food dehydrator- follow your dehydrator directions, or place slices on cookie sheets and put in the oven at 135-140 degrees. It will take 6-8 hours to dry them in the oven.  Slices can also be dried in an air fryer. Arrange them in a single layer and set on the lowest heat setting. Check frequently as drying times vary.

Apple slices can also be dried in a single layer in the sun for 3-4 days.  This requires warm, sunny weather for those days. They must be covered with screen or cheese cloth to protect them from insects and placed where they are safe from larger animal pests. Bring them inside overnight to avoid dew wetting them.

Properly dried apple slices will be dry in the center, but still pliable.  Store them in tightly covered containers with a spoonful of powdered milk twisted in a paper towel to absorb moisture. If mold develops on apples for eating, they should be discarded.

 

Some of the days in November carry the whole memory of summer as a fire opal carries the color of moon rise.”

-      Gladys Taber

 

Kim Willis

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