Gardening Granny's Gardening Pages

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

March 9, 2021 bagging a garden

Hi gardeners

Pansies

It’s so beautiful today it’s hard to remind myself that it’s not gardening time yet. With temps in the 50’s and low 60’s and sun it’s gorgeous here. Snowdrops are now blooming. Winter aconite is next. The redwing blackbirds, grackles, robins, sandhill cranes and killdeer are all back. Birds know when warm weather is going to stick around right? I even saw honeybees yesterday flying about. I don’t know what they could find to snack on though.

Next week I will begin starting seeds inside. I will be staggering planting them through the end of the month and into April. And I will be working on tearing down the old veggie garden as weather permits. It’s on a bit higher ground and protected a little so it warms up fast.

I’ll do a tiny bit of cleanup elsewhere, but I won’t uncover too much yet, I know there will be some more cold weather, heck we can still get a snowstorm. March is fickle and changeable. I’d love it if this is the end of winter but I doubt it will be.

If you like peas and your ground isn’t frozen, you can plant them. Cold won’t hurt them much now. You can sow grass seed, even on top of snow. But in my zone, that’s about it for outside planting. At the end of the month bareroot trees and perennials can probably be put in.

I am examining the garden for winter damage. The deer have really pruned my euonymus this year. My flashing lights are on at night, I am hoping to keep them from munching sprouting bulbs, especially tulips. There was a herd of about 8 deer across the road last evening in the horse pasture and they were looking this way.

Garden conference

I used to enjoy going to garden conferences this time of year. Of course, with Covid, those conferences have gone virtual. Here’s a good conference to consider attending online next weekend (March 19-21). It has over 40 classes in all kinds of garden types.

In most in person garden conferences you have to chose between a lot of good classes at the same time. With registration to the online conference you’ll get to attend some classes live, but you will be able to look at all the classes you missed too, at your leisure, online. The Great Grow Along conference is very reasonably priced too, $29.95. Please go to the link below for more information.

https://www.greatgrowalong.com

Growing in bags? Who Knew?

I’m going to try something different this year. My vegetable garden will be planted in grow bags. My raised beds were looking sad, with many of the pine boards we used 10 years ago warping or starting to rot. In an effort to have as much growing area as possible my paths were narrow, and now that both Steve and I have mobility issues, that has become a problem. And I decided I needed beds that were higher, so I did not have to get down on the ground to tend them.

Grow bags by Vivosun

With the prospect of tearing everything up in the veggie garden area and starting over looming, I decided to look at my options. I had used growing bags before for various projects and liked them, and in looking over garden supply catalogs I noticed the plethora of new styles, sizes and colors of grow bags being offered. I decided that that’s the direction I’ll move, and I’ve purchased the grow bags.

But grow bags may not be right for every gardener. If you are young and healthy and have a decent plot of ground to use, then you may want to stick with conventional gardening. Wooden raised beds can be a good option for some. But some people may find they can garden when they don’t have good land or good mobility by using grow bags.

Grow bags were probably popularized first by those growing cannabis indoors, that industry has sparked a lot of innovation in gardening supplies. But with the boom in home gardens grow bags are getting a lot of attention from back yard gardeners.

Grow bags are just that- a bag to hold soil and plants. Most are now made of a non-woven fabric although plastic bags are still on the market. The fabric bags are made of non-toxic materials, usually from recycled materials. Think of the material used in those reusable grocery bags you can buy, most grow bags are similar.

I would avoid the plastic or tarp like material bags. They don’t allow for good airflow and drainage, even if perforated.

7 gallon cube grow bags by VivoSun

How grow bags work

One of the reasons grow bags work well to grow plants is that the fabric sides allow air in and moisture out. The plant roots sense the air flowing in and stop growing close to the bags side. This is called air pruning. It stimulates the plant to grow more roots and more root extensions, producing a dense, fibrous and healthy root system.

When the roots of a plant grown in a conventional pot hit the wall they tend to circle around the inside. They will curl up in the bottom of the pot in a matted mess. These root systems are less productive than the fibrous one developed in a grow bag.

It’s hard to over water a grow bag and cause root rot, unless you fill it with something like clay. Water seeps through and evaporates off the bag sides. On the other hand, make sure you place the grow bags where they are easy to water, since they will require more water in hot weather than plants in conventional pots or in the ground.

Grow bags also keep plant roots cooler than roots in hard walled pots when the weather is very hot, because of the air flow and evaporative cooling effect. I would still be cautious about putting black grow bags on dark pavement or metal in the sun. You might try white colored bags or sit the bottom of the bag in a 2-3 inch high tray filled with water. In the sun on a solid surface bags will need lots of water.

Rectangular growbags with 3 dividers
by Amphsin

Buying the bags

Go on Amazon and other places that sell garden supplies online and you will see hundreds of grow bag offerings. Sizes range from 1-gallon bags to bags that will hold 200 gallons or more. Most grow bags are round, but you can get square and rectangular bags now too. The problem with square bags is that the flexible sides bow out when filled and they tend to become round bags anyway.

Grow bags were once found only in black, and black is still popular, but grow bags now come in tan, green, white and assorted other colors too.

You can now get grow bags for growing potatoes and other root crops that have a lift up, Velcro close flap on the side, so you can reach in and harvest the crop from the side. People give these good reviews although I will say I don’t think it’s necessary and I wonder about soil spilling out when you open the flap. There are also strawberry bags- tall bags with many openings for berry plants.

Growbags by Joyexion 10 gallon potato

Grow bags are inexpensive compared to buying pots, livestock tanks or plastic tubs, or buying lumber or blocks to build raised beds. But shop around, prices vary tremendously. Pay attention to details and try to read reader reviews. Some bags are better made, have thicker walls and things like handles and loops to insert poles through. Some are deeper than others, look at dimensions.

I just bought 15 bags, 6- 30 gallon, 6 -15 gallon and 3-7 gallon for around $40. That’s enough bag space to grow a lot of veggies. The 30-gallon bags are 2 feet in diameter and 15 inches deep. That’s big enough for a huge tomato plant with some lettuce or green onions in front. Or it could hold 6 potato plants or 10-12 strawberry plants.

Sizing suggestions

Here are some suggestions for sizing. One patio type tomato can grow in a 15-gallon bag, use 25-30 gallon bags for large indeterminate varieties. For a single pepper or eggplant 15-gallon bags are fine. One potato plant does well in a 7-to-10-gallon bag. You could put 4-6 potatoes in the 30-gallon bag. You could grow 1 cucumber in a 5-gallon bag, and 2 -3 in a 15-gallon bag.

Squash and small melons (1 plant) could be grown in a 10-gallon bag, I’d give pumpkins and large melons at least 15-gallon bags, a 25-30 gallon bag might be better. Make sure there is space around the bags for the vines to roam or use a trellis.

Root crops like carrots, radishes, onions and beets, should be planted in the larger 25-30 gallon bags about six inches apart. If you fill the bags with potting medium and not garden soil, root worms will be avoided. Unless you have many bags of these you won’t get a crop as big as those planted in raised beds or the ground, but you can get a small crop.

Beans and peas can be grown in grow bags too. You can use 3-5 gallon bags for 1-2 plants or use larger bags and space them 6 inches apart. You could try sweet corn in the 50 gallon and larger bags.

If you buy the really large bags you could plant them much as you would a raised bed, simply space the seeds or plants as the seed packet suggests. A 100-gallon bag is about 4 feet in diameter. That’s a circle 4 feet around and a lot of growing space.

Herbs can easily be grown in 3-5 gallon bags. For something like a rosemary or sage plant that will grow for more than one season and get large, I suggest a 10-15 gallon bag. Grow bags are good for confining invasive herbs like mints. But you must sit the bags on something solid, not the ground, or the mint roots will sometimes grow through the bottom.

And don’t forget flowers, they too can be planted in grow bags, either individually or in groups. I wouldn’t use the bags for perennials like roses though, unless you are willing to transplant them into new bags every other year or so, since the bags will deteriorate.

To make the bags a bit more ornamental you could sit them in wicker baskets. That allows good air flow and drainage while disguising them a bit.

Strawberry bags by Vinyl Etchings

Other considerations

The biggest consideration in using growbags or any other pot or raised bed, is filling them. It takes a lot of soil/potting medium to fill these bags. If you use soil from your yard or current garden, I suggest filling the bags ¾ full and then topping with purchased potting medium. This will help keep weed seeds from germinating or diseases popping up in the bag while still being a bit more economical.

I would not use heavy clay soil to fill the bags. They may not drain well. Don’t use all peat or all compost. You can mix compost or aged manure with garden soil or purchased soil though to extend it. Topsoil sold in bags varies in quality. Just because it’s black doesn’t mean its good soil. Make sure it’s guaranteed free of contaminants like lead.

Having a load of good soil delivered will probably be cheaper than buying bags of soil to fill grow bags. Start small, with a few grow bags if you need to buy soil and money is a consideration. You can reuse the soil next year.

I don’t recommend filling the bottom of the grow bag with another substance like sand or gravel, plastic bottles, paper or other filler. That might impede drainage and root growth. Remember that if you use potting medium, it has no minerals in it like natural soil and you will need to furnish those with a good fertilizer.

Of course, grow bags are not going to last as long as hard walled planters or raised beds made of wood. Most people get about 3 seasons from them. They last longer if you empty and store them in a dry place over winter. Since they can be folded, a garden’s worth of grow bags can be stored in a small area. They can also be washed in a washing machine between crops to help prevent disease.

You can put grow bags just about anywhere and they are moveable. (Remember most veggies need to be in full sun.) However, the large bags won’t be easy to move despite having handles. Soil is very heavy. Two people might be necessary even for a 20-gallon bag. And I just don’t see a good way to move one of those big 100-gallon bags without emptying it. The bottom might fall out of a heavy bag, especially if it’s been used for more than one season and sat on the ground.

Large growbag by Firlar

If you are placing the grow bags on a deck or porch, they can leave stains beneath them. A tray can fix that. When placing them on the ground you need to consider weeding. Weeds will grow up close to the sides of the bag and you won’t be able to use a weed whip near them, they tear holes in the bag. You’ll want to place the bags on something that weeds can’t grow through and that extends out a few inches from the bag sides.

If you need to stake plants leave room between bags so that a stake can be put into the ground outside the bag if you can. Stakes inserted in the bag might not hold up heavy plants. You could place bags near a sturdy fence instead. To save space heavy duty stair like shelving could be used to hold grow bags.

When placing grow bags plan on how you are going to get close enough to them for weeding, watering, and harvesting. Stagger bags so you can get between them easily or make them only one deep in rows. Are you going to be able to reach to the center of those 100 gallon and larger bags?

I’ll try to document my first season using all grow bags for veggies this year and post pictures and updates. Maybe you can share any experiences you have had with grow bags too.

4' by 8' grow bag by EZ-Gro Victory

The marvelous sugar maple

It’s spring and many people will be thinking about adding a tree to their yard. Because it’s also maple syrup making time many people think about adding a sugar maple to their property. Sugar maples are large, stately trees that provide excellent shade and most have beautiful fall color in shades of yellow, orange, and red. The lumber of sugar maples is valued for furniture and flooring among other uses. And they can provide that tasty sap that one can turn into maple syrup and sugar.

Sugar maples, Acer saccharum, with their many good attributes, are valuable native trees in the northeast and upper Midwest but they aren’t suitable for all yards. They do have some requirements and drawbacks you should consider before planting one.

Sugar maple leaves in fall

Growing requirements

Sugar maples grow well in cooler climates, (zones 6 and lower) southeastern Canada, the northeast and upper Midwest states have the long cold winters that keep maples happy. Tennessee and Missouri are considered the southern part of their range. There are spots in the Appalachians at higher altitudes and in moist valleys where they grow.

There are some subspecies of sugar maple that grow as far south as North Carolina. Chalk Maple (Acer saccharium supsp. leucoderme), Black maple (Acer saccharium supsp nigrum) and Florida maple (Acer saccharium supsp floridanum) are better for southern areas. A non-native tree, the Norway maple (Acer platanoides), tolerates salt and pollution better and is smaller than a sugar maple. It’s often planted as a city street tree.

Sugar maple saplings will tolerate the shade of other trees and they will grow close to black walnut trees. They can grow in most soil as long as its well-drained, they do not tolerate swampy areas or high water tables. They are very susceptible to damage from road salt, so they do not make good trees for roadsides that are salted in winter. They are also intolerant of heavily polluted air.

A sugar maple tree is an excellent shade tree but when they get large few things will grow beneath them in that dense shade. They also have surface roots that rob understory plants of moisture and nutrients. Don’t expect to grow grass under a mature maple tree. Even plants like hosta may struggle.

Sugar maples should be kept away from wells, septic tanks and lines, drains and water lines as the roots may invade and ruin these things. The roots have also been known to lift the pavement of walks and driveways.

The sugar maple is a large tree at maturity, easily over 100 feet high and 50-60 feet wide. They should be planted in open areas away from overhead lines and at least 30 feet from other trees. There are some cultivars of sugar maple that are considered to be dwarf- but even these are about 25 feet high.

Sugar maples drop a massive number of leaves in the fall. These leaves are very nutritious additions to the soil or compost pile, but some people may feel overwhelmed if they like to rake up leaves and keep things tidy. Maple leaves are acidic, with a pH of 4 to 4.9, and over time they will lower the pH of the soil they fall on. This is generally not harmful.

Maple trees can also drop a lot of seeds, winged samaras (often called helicopter seeds) that can end up in flower beds and lawns far from them. You may have tiny maples sprouting in many places.

CAUTION – It’s very important not to plant any type of maple tree in horse pastures or where horses can reach them. Maple leaves are toxic to horses and can cause death. A leaf nibbled here or there is probably ok, but any larger amount consumed necessitates a call to a vet. Wilted leaves from fallen branches are the most toxic, fall leaves the least toxic. Other animals like cows and goats can safely eat the leaves.

Sugar maple description

Sugar maple tree form is a long straight trunk with a broad canopy of spreading limbs, coming to a rounded point, like a broad-based upside-down cone.

Maple twigs are green to brown to reddish brown. The leaf buds are brown, about a 1/2 inch long, pointed, with 4-8 pairs of scales covering them. The bark of young maples is smooth and susceptible to frost cracking and animal damage, but older trees have thick, shaggy bark.

Sugar maple leaves have 5 lobes and are in pairs opposite each other. The bottom lobes are smaller, the upper lobes have deeper notches in the edges, which are rounded. The top lobe comes to a point and leaves are 3-6 inches long. Summer color should be deep green. When you snap off a leaf the stem of a sugar maple leaks a clear sap, while a Norway maple which they are often confused with, leaks a milky sap.

Fall leaf color in maples is variable, from yellow to deep crimson. Often a tree will show several colors. Fall color can start earlier on some parts of the tree than others. If you want a tree with red colored leaves, there are cultivated varieties such as ‘Autumn Fest’ and ‘Legacy’ that have reliable orange red to red color.

The sugar maple flowers in very early spring and is a source of early nectar for insects. Trees do not begin blooming until they are about 20 years old. The flowers are greenish yellow and occur in long panicles in groups of 5-10. The tiny flowers do not have petals. Both sex organs are usually present in each flower but only one sex is “active” at a time. Sometimes the lower part of the tree only produces male flowers, or a limb of the tree may have only one sex of flowers.

Maple flowers are eagerly visited by insects, but trees do not need insects for pollination. Wind can do the work. When pollination has occurred, the flowers turn into samaras, two seeds connected at one end and covered in a papery like substance that flares out like a wing. This wing cause a fluttering, spinning motion that propels the seeds away from the tree and often reminds kids of helicopters.

Maple flowers

Maple seeds require cold stratification to germinate. They will germinate in early spring as the soil warms. Seeds have a strong root that grows rapidly, enabling it to tunnel into deep leaf litter to find soil.

The sugar maple has both deep roots that draw water from lower soil levels and a system of fibrous roots at the soil surface. There are sometimes larger roots that surface near trees which can interfere with mowing or crack pavement.

How to plant

Maples are generally purchased as young saplings (trees). Some sugar maples are grafted now, to get better leaf color in fall. You can start sugar maples from seed, remember seeds need cold winter conditions before they will sprout.

Sugar maple trees are moderately fast in growth. Expect trees to be more than 20 feet tall at 20 years of age. They grow faster in full sun. Keep young trees weeded, asters and goldenrod are said to slow the growth of young maples.

Protect young maple trees from deer and rabbit damage to trunks by surrounding trunks with a wire cage. Shading the south side of a young maples trunk in winter may avoid frost cracking.

For tree planting instructions please see this link.

https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/tree-planting.html

Sugar maple seeds- samaras

Use of maple sap for sugar

Indigenous people in the North Eastern woodlands of North America were making maple syrup and sugar hundreds of years before Europeans arrived. Tribes often claimed areas of land where maples were plentiful and moved there to camp when someone decided the sap was ready to harvest.

While there are species of maples native to Europe and Asia, only North Americans made maple syrup or sugar from their sap. That may be because the maples here, sugar maples and red maples in particular, have a higher concentration of sugar in their sap or it may be that our climate has weather more suited to a concentrated sap “run” in the early spring.

In the spring when days go a little above freezing and are sunny, but the nights fall back below freezing is the time when maple trees are tapped for their sap. Once the trees bud the sap loses much of its sugar content. It takes about 32 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup or 4 and ½ pounds of sugar. Each tree yields between 5 and 30 gallons of sap depending on it’s size, the weather and growing conditions.

(Last week in my blog there was an article about how maple sap is turned into syrup and sugar so that won’t be covered here.)

After a winter when food was often scarce and bland the time of maple sugar harvest was a cause for celebration as well as hard work. Before Europeans introduced the honeybee to the Americas, maple sugar was the best source of sugar for native people, and they harvested as much as they could each spring. Maple sap was sometimes blended with the sap of other trees for special uses.

Tip: After Europeans introduced native people to iron pots, the native people discovered that boiling the bark of maples, white oaks and Eastern hemlock together in those pots would remove rust from the pots.

Maple sugar was a major trade item for some northeastern tribes. It stored well and was easily transported. It could be traded for dried fish, shells, furs, salt, corn, flint, precious metals and other things eastern woodland tribes did not have. Later it was traded to Europeans for pots, blankets, beads and guns.

Native Americans did use some maple syrup in the spring for cooking and for making candy but most sap was boiled down to sugar. The sugar was used all year to cook with, to hide the taste of bitter medicines, to make sweetened drinks, and to trade.

Native Americans believed that consuming maple syrup and sugar was good for their health and modern research has confirmed that. Research has shown that maple sap contains more than 54 beneficial compounds, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins, which are concentrated when water is boiled off the sap to make syrup. Modern research is testing some of those compounds for anti- cancer, anti-bacterial and surprisingly, anti-diabetic properties.

Two of these maple compounds, called carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes, may actually benefit diabetics, even though maple syrup is full of sugar. Maple syrup is also high in zinc, thiamine and calcium. If you are looking for a sweetener with healthy benefits buy some maple syrup- just make sure it’s pure maple syrup and not flavored corn syrup.

Rough bark of a mature maple and tapping the tree for sap

Other edible/medicinal uses for maple sap

The first people knew of other uses for the maple also. Dried inner bark of maples was used to make an eye wash for sore eyes. Maple sap was drunk at many times of the year if water was scarce. Sap and sugar not only impart a sweet taste to medicine but is said to have expectorant properties and is used as a liver tonic.

Maple seeds can be boiled and eaten, similar to beans. They can also be dried and powdered and used as a thickener in cooking. After the sap is no longer sweet it can be collected and turned into vinegar.

You may want to plant some sugar maple trees on your property. Not only is their sap nutritious and relatively easy to harvest but the trees make excellent shade and have beautiful fall color.

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

March 2, 2021 snowdrops and sap

Crocus- last year

I’ve been trying to decide if March began as a lion or a lamb. It was windy and wet in the morning yesterday but by afternoon it was sunny and milder, although the wind was still brisk. Meteorological spring has arrived. Calendar spring is 18 days away. The days are getting longer and the sun stronger. It’s a nice sunny but windy day today.

I was able to get close to my flower beds yesterday and where the snow had melted away from in front of the deck on one end, I can see snowdrops about to bloom. The other end of that area is still buried in snow. I see crocus and other bulbs popping up everywhere the snow is gone.

In the neighborhood maple syrup is being collected. The sap is rising during the day in trees. (I wrote a short bit about maple sugaring below.) You know the trees are waking up and working because the snow is melting in great circles around them and the buds are swelling.

When I go outside, I stop and listen to the birds. The singing has increased and I’m listening for the red wing blackbirds or the robins, sure signs spring is near. At night something else is singing - coyotes and cats, if you can call it singing. It’s mating season for both. It’s mating season for skunks too and you may see them out and about- even in the daytime.

On days above freezing you can step outside and smell the bacteria in the soil working, that pleasant scent of earth that rises up to tickle your brain and make it happy.

Research has backed up what gardeners know instinctively; the smell of soil is pleasing to most people and it lifts the mood. It’s caused by bacteria called Streptomyces, which release molecules of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB). The odor is called petrichor, if you want to get scientific. Do get outside and smell it.

I’m really pleased today since I was just able to schedule vaccinations for me and my husband. If you want one too, I hope you can find a spot to get one. Better days are coming.

Snowdrop

Seed starting tips

It is still too early to plant many types of seed indoors in zones 6 and lower. Late March is a good time for zone 6 gardeners, better wait until mid-April for zones 5 and lower. Patience will be rewarded with healthier plants.

Start saving items to use for seed starting. Deli trays are great trays for pots of seedlings – you can even use the clear domed lid ones as mini greenhouses. Toilet paper tubes can be cut in half, set in one of those trays and used as seed starters.

Foam and paper cups can be used to start seeds. Save used ones or buy them new, it’s cheaper than peat pots. I use 3 oz paper cups to start seeds. They last until you are ready to transplant the seeds, then tear apart easily and can be composted.

Make sure to wash all recycled items that have had food or other plants in them.

A pencil eraser can be used to pick up and deposit seeds. Moisten the end and small seeds will stick to it to be deposited exactly where you want.

Gurneys has some of the best sweet corn seed you can buy. I personally like ‘Bodacious’ and ‘Gotta Have it.’

Winter aconite

March almanac

“As it rains in March, so it rains in June.”

“A dry March and a wet May, fill barns and bays, with corn and hay.”

“When March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb.”

“March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.”

“ A pint of dust in March brings a peck of corn in September”

- Folk sayings

March 14^th begins daylight savings time. Spring those clocks ahead 1 hour. We keep talking about keeping the time the same all year round, but nothing ever gets done about it. I personally like daylight savings time because I am not a morning person. I like more gardening time in the evening.

The full moon in March occurs on the 28^th and is called the Worm moon, because earthworms once more make worm casts on the soil surface, or Sap moon because the trees begin to produce sap again, although that can happen much earlier in March. The moon perigee is today March 2^nd – and again March 30^th. Moon apogee is the 18^th.

The most important date for all gardeners in March is, of course the first day of spring. It’s March 20^th. That’s the date when the length of the day and the night are about the same, the spring (vernal) equinox. In Michigan the length of the day will be 12 hours and 10 minutes. The length of the day will be 12 hours, 42 minutes on March 31^st. Meteorologically though, March 1 is the start of the spring weather season.

Other important dates and holidays in March are: 7^th – Employee Appreciation Day, the 8^th is International Women’s day, the 12^th – Girl Scout Day and Plant a Flower Day, the 13^th is National popcorn day and the 14^th is National Potato chip day and Learn about Butterflies day.

The 15^th is the Ides of March. In ancient Rome this was the beginning of the New Year and also of spring. The 17^th is St. Patrick’s Day and the 18^th is the Goddess of Fertility day. The 19^th is National Poultry day, if you want some information about backyard chickens why not buy my book- Raising Chickens for Dummies.

The 20^th is Alien Abduction day and the 22^nd is Earth Day. The 25^th is National Agriculture day as well as National Pecan day and National Waffle day. The 30^th is National Doctors day.

March is Irish American month as well as National Women’s History month, National Nutrition month, National Peanut month, National Craft Month and National Frozen Foods month. It’s also National Reading month and I encourage you to read up about gardening and plants in general.

March’s birth flower is the daffodil or jonquil, the birthstone is aqua marine. Here’s a link to an article on growing daffodils.

https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/how-to-grow-daffodils-marchbirth-flower.html

Tulip

March Gardening

March begins gardening season for most folks. Whether the snow is just melting or even still around, or you have green grass and budding trees there is gardening to be done in March.

Pace yourself after a long winter. Don’t work too hard for too long at first or you will wake up unable to do much the next day. Give your body a chance to get used to garden work again. And make sure to wear sunscreen and sunglasses. It may still be chilly, but the sun is strong.

Pruning

Pruning fruit trees and grape vines can still be done in zones 6 and lower. Get a good pruning manual and follow the directions. You can get pruning information at your County Extension office also. Pruning your fruit trees and grape vines makes your plants healthier and more productive.

It’s a good time to prune oaks, yews, poplars, willows, honey locust, katsura, sycamore and some other trees. Take out all winter damaged limbs, crossing and rubbing branches, and thin and shape if needed. Don’t prune maples, birch, beech, or walnuts if the temperature is above freezing as it will cause heavy sap loss. Do not prune pines.

Don’t prune fruit trees that are kept just for spring flowers, such as ornamental cherries and crabapples unless you are in a zone where they have already bloomed. Do not prune trees or shrubs you want spring flowers from, like redbuds, dogwood, magnolias, forsythia, lilacs, azalea, rhododendron, witch hazel, weigela, spiraea, flowering quince, and daphne. Pruning now will remove the flowers. If they have bloomed in your area already, it’s a good time to prune them.

Clean up

Check for and repair winter damage (if possible) from rodents and deer. Look at the bottoms of tree and shrub to see if the bark has been chewed. If a tree or shrub is totally girdled, (the bark is eaten off all around the tree) it may die. Some shrubs and even trees may return from the roots. You’ll want to give damaged shrubs and trees extra water and fertilizer as new growth begins to help them recover.

Grafted trees, such as most fruit trees, will not respond with growth like the old tree, they come back from rootstock that is generally undesirable for fruiting. You’ll want to remove those trees if they were girdled.

If you didn’t cut down your herbaceous perennials, (plants whose upper parts died over winter), you can do that cleanup now. Remove old stalks and seedheads. Use caution when cutting back mums. Leave the stems several inches above ground to avoid damaging buds on the lower stems. Work with all plants carefully so as not to damage emerging sprouts or pull them from wet ground.

If you are hearing people cautioning that removing debris too early harms helpful insects consider this – harmful insects also hibernate in debris and so do fungal disease spores. Move the debris to the compost pile and any helpful insects can emerge there. If you have lots of damage from slugs and snails in your garden remove debris early, so the soil dries out and those critters don’t have places to hide and lay eggs.

I let a lot of the leaves and finer debris stay around the plants, but I do try to prune back old stems early and remove any matted areas of leaf mulch. That debris will quickly decay in warmer weather and give its nutrients to the soil.

When you remove dead stems you may want to add a marker to let you know where perennials are until they have emerged. This is so you won’t dig into them or otherwise damage them until you can see them.

Woody and semi-woody perennials should not be pruned just yet in zones 6 and lower. This includes roses. The ends of stems have hardened over the winter, or died back, and are protecting buds farther down the stem. If you cut them back in March a cold snap may kill buds much farther down than you want. Instead wait for mid to late April in zones 6 and lower when the weather is a bit milder to prune woody plants.

Those in zone 7 and higher can now prune off dead rose canes and dead stems on woody perennials without worry.

Don’t be in a hurry to remove any protective mulch you put over plants such as strawberries. If the weather gets quite warm you can remove some of the mulch but leave it close by and be prepared to re-cover plants if a cold snap is coming.

If the vegetable garden wasn’t cleaned up in the fall you can do that now. Remove all old debris to avoid insect and disease problems in the coming year.

You can remove any sprouting weeds and cut down seedling trees which sprouted in the wrong places.

Soil improvement-fertilizing

If the ground isn’t frozen it’s a good time to get a soil test done. You’ll get your results faster than if you wait until later in the spring. Soil tests should be done when you are gardening in a new location, if your plants didn’t do well last year, or if you haven’t done a soil test in a long time. Collect your soil sample and let it air dry if it’s very wet before sending it to the lab.

One of the sure signs spring has arrived is the mud. Don’t get in your garden when the ground is still wet, this compacts the soil and will seriously affect the root systems of plants. Walking on and moving equipment across wet lawns will leave unsightly ruts and make you curse while mowing later in the spring.

Compost and aged manure can be placed on beds. Just be careful not to leave ruts or compact the soil when moving loads of material. Because of “frost laws” in the spring heavy truck loads of mulch, soil or soil amendments may not be allowed on roads leading to your house in March so plan accordingly. Frost laws are set by each county, call your county road commission to see when they apply in your area.

If early bulbs are up and the ground isn’t frozen, you can apply a granular slow-release fertilizer around them. This helps insure bigger bulbs and more blooms next year. Granular slow-release fertilizer can be applied around spring blooming shrubs and trees also.

Anemone

Planning and building

Lay out new beds and remove sod before it gets growing. Build and fill raised beds if the ground beneath them is unfrozen and dry enough to walk on. It’s a good time to measure your landscape if you are planning changes or additions.

You can build or place gazebos, sheds, trellis’s, planters, decks, swings, benches and so on. Move rocks into place. Excavate water features. It’s a good time to put up fences. You may want to build row tunnels or other plant protection. Repair and paint fences and other structures.

You can renew the mulch around beds and on paths. It’s a great time to establish new paths, and mulch around trees.

Planting

Sow grass seed- yes even if it still snows sowing grass seed is fine. Just make sure that your ground is dry enough you don’t leave large footprints or spreader ruts in the soil. The ground should not be frozen when you apply the seed and you should be able to prepare a good seed bed before sowing the seeds.

If the weather is balmy gardeners may even be able to plant a few containers of cold hardy annuals like pansies or flats of sprouted spring bulbs for early color. The garden shops in your area will be offering such goodies if the area and weather are suitable.

You can plant dormant bareroot plants as long as the ground isn’t frozen. Snow and cold weather after planting won’t hurt dormant plants that are hardy for your area.

You can plant crops like lettuce and radishes in coldframes or under row covers in zones 6 and lower and in the garden in zones 7 and above. Near the end of March, you can start plants like cabbage, tomatoes and peppers inside in a warm place in zones 6 and lower. If you like peas you can sow them in the garden in mid-March if the ground is unfrozen.

There is still time to plant seeds of perennials and annual flowers inside in flats or pots. You can pot up tuberous begonias and calla’s and start geranium and coleus cuttings.

Other garden chores

Apply dormant oil sprays. A dormant oil spray is part of the good pest management program for fruit trees. It can be applied when the weather is above 40 degrees but below 80 degrees.

You can scrape and clean any surface that’s going to be painted when the weather is warmer. Get the mower out and sharpen the blades. Make sure it’s in good repair before the mad spring rush to mower repair shops begins. Clean garden tools and buy new ones if needed.

It’s an excellent time to clean, paint or put up more birdhouses. You will want to have most bird houses in place by April. Keep an eye out for returning orioles and hummingbirds and have their feeders ready to put out. I usually put out jelly for orioles in early April here. I watch reports of where people are seeing hummers and as soon as I see they are in Michigan I put out nectar feeders for them.

If nothing else- get out there and sit in the sun. Smell the fresh soil. It’s good for you.

Tulip sylvestris

Maple syrup time

Why not experiment making some maple syrup this spring? In my area the maple trees are being tapped for maple syrup now. The best time to make maple syrup is when days are sunny and above freezing, but nights fall below freezing. Once leaves start appearing the syrup season is over.

Here’s something a lot of people don’t know. While maple trees, particularly sugar maples, offer a sap high in sugar that makes distinctive tasting syrup, many other trees can be tapped for their sap and the sap made into syrup. In Alaska they make syrup from spruce trees, in some states syrup from birch is made. Birch syrup is made after maple syrup in some places because the sap flow starts later. Black walnut tree sap also makes a good syrup.

Hardware and garden stores now carry simple maple sugaring kits in some areas. You need a plastic or metal tube that taps into the cambium layer of the tree, just under the bark. Most people now attach that tube to plastic tubing that runs into a container with a cover. The cover keeps out animals- like deer. Sap has to be collected daily. It takes 10 gallons of sap roughly, to make a quart of maple syrup. Here’s a source for more information.

https://extension.psu.edu/maple-syrup-production-for-the-beginner

If you are considering making syrup from the sap of any trees do it outside. The steam produced from boiling sap leaves a sticky residue on walls and ceilings. You use a candy thermometer in the sap and try to keep it boiling at around 219 degrees. Wide stainless-steel pots that allow more surface room for steam to escape from the syrup are best. People use turkey fryers now to make syrup- that seems like an excellent use for them. Electric or gas sources of heat are much easier to adjust than old fashioned wood fires. Grills and camp stoves work well. Sap needs to be stirred, especially as it nears the syrup point so you will need to be close by while the sap is boiling.

Tapping a maple tree for making syrup

Book review- Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal by Mark Bittman

I mentioned in an earlier blog I was reading a new book on food production and I would review it. It took me a while to finish this but here’s my review.

This is a so-so book. There are interesting moments, but it won’t keep you spell bound. It is more of a vast overview of our current agricultural production methods and food production preferences with some agricultural history. The author tries to cover far more than one should in one book. And there is no attempt to try and cover all sides of the issues brought up. The author disapproves of most modern food production and his distain shows.

Modern agriculture is complicated. While we have done a lot of things wrong and may need a course correction, there are advances in agriculture that are beneficial and do help feed the world in a safe manner. The author is particularly hard on US farmers and food producers, and while our focus on profit in agriculture and food processing does make us vulnerable to criticism there are good, sustainable practices in agriculture and food production being practiced here in the States too.

The authors lack of knowledge of modern farming shows, he is drawing on somewhat outdated and definitely prejudicial ideas about farming. I know modern farming methods need to change, but I also know we are actually moving toward more sustainable food production. Farmers are using no till, pollinator strips and conservation easements, as some examples, in many locations here in the US. More needs to be done, especially in animal production, but lets also talk about what we are doing right rather just condemning all agricultural production.

In this book the history of food production takes up about a third of the book and because this topic is so vast and so complicated it should have been a book on its own. When the author tries to mix this with the more recent developments in food production, concepts for improvement of agriculture and food production, human health implications and even politics, nothing gets covered deeply enough in the book to be truly useful.

There are no footnotes in the book that could back up statistics and research studies mentioned. There are some chapter by chapter notes in the back of the book, but I found them insufficient to corroborate/ fact check many statements in the book.

The author tries to give some examples of how we could improve food production, but I really found that chapter lacking, both in depth and substance. I personally could give many more and better ways to improve our food production systems.

I do agree with the author on many points, particularly that modern western agriculture is not driven by demand, but rather profit. Everything is about making it quicker, easier and more profitable, not how to do it right. Don’t worry about what to do with what is produced, we’ll make a market for it. I just wish the author could have supported that idea better.

"How terrible a time is the beginning of March. In a month there will be daffodils and the sudden blossoming of orchards, but you wouldn't know it now. You have to take spring on blind faith." ―Beatriz Williams

Kim Willis

All parts of this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without permission.

And So On….

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/118847598146598/

(This is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page)

Newsletter/blog information

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

February 23, 2021, magic marigolds

Hi gardeners

The weather is improving. It’s sunny here today and although we got another inch of snow last night and expect another tonight, some of this crud is melting. It’s actually 40 degrees and for once I am not dreading going out to get the mail.

There’s only 5 days until the end of the month. I doubt I’ll see snowdrops bloom this month because the snow is deep, but just maybe, maybe I will. March begins meteorological spring and calendar spring is just 25 days away. So it inches closer.

Last year we had red winged blackbirds return at the beginning of March, so I am keeping my eyes and ears open. When I hear them sing I know spring is near.

The deer damage here is terrible this year. My poor euonymus shrub has its leaves eaten off 6 feet off the ground. There are deer tracks all over the yard. The snow has been too deep to check all the garden, so I don’t know the extent of the damage. But it has probably hidden some plants from damage too.

Inside I have geraniums, streptocarpus, begonias, fuchsia and hibiscus in bloom. There’s a tiny petunia plant sticking out of the drainage hole of a pot I brought inside. I’m going to ease it out of there and plant it in a pot.

I haven’t started my seeds yet. It’s just too soon for me. I admire some of you who coax along your seed babies for months inside. I prefer to start mine just about 6 weeks before the last frost, so I don’t have to do a lot of transplanting and I save room inside. I’m writing about that transplanting of seedlings this week by the way.

But I am plant shopping online. I bought some new dahlia bulbs this week. I think my stored ones have been ruined- it just got too cold out on that porch this winter. And there are just so many pretty dahlias to try. Things are selling out fast again this year so don’t delay your shopping.

If you need places to shop for plants here’s the link to my list of online and mail catalogs.

http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/have-youreceived-any-garden-catalogs-in.html

Seed starting- potting up.

A lot of you out there are already planting seeds indoors for transplanting outside. And if you are starting this early you need to know how to keep your seedlings growing robustly and not getting root bound and stressed before it’s time to plant them in the garden.

There are many things that need to be done to keep seedlings healthy indoors but one of the most important is keeping their roots healthy. That’s what I am going to discuss here- how to keep your seedlings from becoming root bound or developing root rot.

Beginning

Most gardeners start seeds in small containers, and that’s the right way to do it. Some sow the seeds in a flat and then transplant tiny seedlings into individual pots. Others sow directly into small pots. What you should not be doing is sowing seeds into large containers hoping you will not have to transplant them. This rarely works well.

If you are starting seeds in individual pots, the pots for starting most common garden seeds should be similar in size to that of commercial cell packs or about a two-inch diameter pot. You can plant more than one seed in a pot, but you must remove all but one as soon as there are true leaves. Most growers simply cut all but one plant off at the soil line.

Dicot seedlings

A sprouting dicot seed starts off with cotyledon or seed leaves, these are usually rounded and don’t look like the normal leaves of the plant. Dicots are what most common garden plants are, with the exception of corn or other monocots like lilies and grasses. Monocots sprout with a single leaf that generally looks like a regular leaf. After the seedling leaves of dicots are a few days old, true leaves develop.

A few garden seeds are quite large. Examples are squash and pumpkin seed. These seeds are best started in 4-inch diameter pots. And they should not be started inside too early, they do not like transplanting as they get larger. They are best transplanted into the garden when they have 3-4 sets of leaves, so they should not be planted more than a few weeks before you can put them outside.

Why not just sow seeds in large pots?

When we plant seeds directly into the ground we don’t worry about drainage or wet soil, or at least we shouldn’t have to. Indoors though, small plants in large containers often don’t work well. When you water the water sinks below the roots of the small plant. The seedling dries out and dies. Or you notice it wilt so you add more water.

Now the soil is very wet and the moisture at the bottom of the pot is wicked up toward the surface where the seedlings roots are, constantly keeping them moist, and the roots rot. The seedling dies. It’s very hard to properly water a small seedling in a large pot.

If you are going to plant indoors a long time before the plants can safely go outside you are going to have to transplant seedlings several times if you want healthy plants.

Potting up as they grow

Once your seedlings in the 2-inch pots or cell packs reach 6 inches in height they need to be transplanted into bigger containers if they can’t be planted into the garden. Transplant them into 4-inch pots. If the plants are large and bushy 6-inch pots could be used.

Do not assume seedling roots will break through “dissolvable” pots like peat or paper pots. If you see that many roots have penetrated the pot sides already it may be safe to simply place that pot in the new container. A few roots at the bottom are not enough. Otherwise, if you don’t see roots, remove all types of pots when transplanting. This is true even when you are moving the seedling into the ground outside.

A note here- eggshells should never be used to start seeds. They are not large enough and they do not dissolve in the soil. It takes years for them to break down. Plant root systems will be severely damaged.

If you are putting together hanging baskets of flowers several 6-inch-high plants could now be planted together in the basket. How many to a basket will depend on its size and the flower species. Ten-inch baskets can hold 3-4 plants. 12–16-inch baskets can hold 6-8 plants.

Once most garden plants are 10-12 inches high, they need to be transplanted into 6- or 8-inch pots if you can’t get them into the ground. Hopefully by this time they can be transplanted outside before you need to transplant again.

Tomato in 6 inch pot

If you are trying to achieve large blooming plants such as tomatoes inside before transplanting them outside, you’ll need to transplant them additional times. Do not let them bloom in small pots, this will greatly stress the plant and it will not produce well the rest of its garden life. A 2 feet high tomato needs at least a gallon sized pot, a 2 gallon would be better.

At 2 feet in height most plants won’t be harmed by putting them in much larger pots. If you are going to use containers and not plant in the ground, you can put these larger plants right into the container you will be using outside.

A few plants may need supports once they reach a foot high. Vining flowers and tomatoes, maybe some peppers may need this. Bigger pots will give you room to add a stake or trellis.

How fast plants grow and need to be transplanted into larger pots will depend on the conditions and species of plant. What you are trying to avoid are root systems that are packed into tiny pots in a matted mess. Pots filled with roots don’t hold water well and seedlings will wilt quickly. These roots may stay like that once transplanted into the ground and they don’t make healthy plants.

If you slide the seedling out of its pot and you are just beginning to see roots at the bottom and sides of the pot that’s the ideal time to transplant into a larger pot. If you don’t see any roots its fine to leave it for a bit longer.

No roots are showing so this plant can stay in it's pot

For more about seed starting, you can read this group of articles.

http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/seeds-germination.html

Marigold Magic and Myth

The old idea of planting marigolds in the garden to deter pests and help other plants grow is, for home gardeners, largely a myth. Gardeners are told to either surround their vegetables with a row of marigolds or to plant marigolds among their vegetable plants. All kinds of benefits are attributed to this practice, from repelling beetles and other insects to keeping away deer and rabbits and to improving soil health to make plants bigger and more productive.

While marigolds are beautiful annual flowers and that’s absolutely a good reason to plant them, most of the magic assigned to them is false. Whenever myths get started one can generally find a bit of truth or a scientific study that has gotten massaged and manipulated into something far from truth.

One click bait garden site or social media page publishes some poor information and many others use it as a reference, simply repeating and building on false information. And of course, there are old wives’ tales and folklore to fall back on too.

This may be partly that people do not know how to interpret scientific studies or that they feel something they can do at home is equal to the conditions in a scientific study. And because someone you know has planted marigolds in garden and it seems like they had less trouble with pests does not mean the marigolds were responsible.

Because a chemical can be obtained from a plant, purified and concentrated or combined with other ingredients to make an insecticide or repellant does not mean growing the plant in the garden will have the same effect. There are studies that show extracts of various chemicals from marigolds which have been concentrated and refined do have insecticidal properties. But that’s vastly different from planting marigolds around other plants.

Here’s what marigolds can and can’t do.

First, marigolds do not deter most insects from your garden. Researchers at Newcastle University (UK) found that planting French marigolds among tomato plants in a greenhouse kept whiteflies away from them. Marigolds release limonene vapors – a chemical also found in citrus peel - and limonene repels the flies.

Now before you get excited remember that this research was done in a greenhouse, where scents would tend to remain and not be blown away in the wind. It focused on one indoor pest- whitefly. Other research on marigolds in greenhouses has shown some effectiveness of marigolds as trap crops. There still is no research that proves planting marigolds in your garden beds outside would be effective in keeping common outside pests away from plants.

Bees like marigolds and aren’t repelled by limonene. A great many insects aren’t repelled by limonene in the outside environment. Cabbage moths, hawk moths, flea beetles, bean beetles, cucumber beetles, and many other garden pests pay no mind to marigolds. While some insects might not want to munch marigolds, they don’t mind climbing or flying over them to get to plants they do like.

Bee on marigold

Marigolds also do not repel mosquitoes, slugs, snails, snakes, spiders, rabbits, groundhogs, or deer. Rabbits and deer may not prefer to eat them but have been known to do so. And they certainly don’t keep bunnies from eating the carrots next to them.

Research has shown that interspersing flowering plants attractive to pollinators among other plants may help pollinators find those less attractive plants and increase production. Marigolds may also attract insects that prey on harmful insects eating your garden plants.

But the counter to this is that some harmful insects, like thrips and spider mites, and some of those moths and butterflies that have larvae that eat your plants, are also attracted to marigolds. Japanese beetles are attracted to marigolds. They may end up on your vegetable plants or other flowers nearby. You may be better off planting the marigolds somewhere away from the garden, so bugs are attracted to them instead of the garden.

And marigolds certainly do not kill weeds or keep weed seeds from sprouting. A vigorous thick planting of marigolds may help keep weeds down by competing with them but then they also compete with your veggies or other flowers. Marigolds do not improve the soil by adding nitrogen or any other nutrients- unless you compost them.

Down to the roots of the marigold

The idea that the roots of marigolds repel or kill root nematodes is complicated. Nematodes are tiny worms that feed on the roots of plants like tomatoes, beets and carrots. Some types of marigolds release a chemical called alpha-terthienyl, which is a very toxic poison, from their roots. This can kill nematodes by preventing their eggs from hatching. But studies in the field have found that interplanting marigolds among other plants did little to control nematode populations in the roots of nearby plants.

Marigolds don’t repel all nematodes; they attract some of them. These nematodes enter their roots, but then they cannot reproduce after feeding on marigolds. So, they could work to reduce the population of some types of nematodes by working as a trap crop. But some nematodes are also not affected by marigolds.

The key is you have to know what type of nematodes are in your soil and you have to have the right type of marigolds for there to be any benefit. Usually older varieties of African marigolds, Tagetes erecta) and French marigolds (T. patula) are used. The varieties often mentioned are ‘Single Gold’ and ‘Crackerjack.’

Butterfly on African type marigold

It’s possible by growing marigolds as a cover crop for 6-8 weeks in the spot where you want to plant veggies before you plant– and then pulling them up and disposing of them- may help eliminate nematodes from the soil. This would probably work best in a raised bed- where it would be harder for new nematodes to invade the soil.

Most northern gardeners do not have time to do this if they want a crop to mature before frost. But in the south and in tropical areas marigolds are sometimes used as a cover crop to control nematodes. They are planted very densely and then are rototilled into the soil just before planting another crop.

Bottom line

The bottom line is that marigolds make the garden look nice and they can attract pollinators and beneficial insects. But they may also attract pest insects. They may help prevent nematodes in some areas if grown as a cover crop before planting other crops. They don’t repel mosquitoes or snakes.

For more reading about marigolds and pest prevention.

PLOS ONE, 2019; 14 (3): e0213071 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213071

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ng045

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285189207_Companion_planting_and_insect_pest_control

Ten minute chocolate cake from scratch

This is a microwave recipe I just tried and it’s great. You can have a delicious chocolate cake from scratch in just minutes using your microwave. I was surprised that this cake was moist and the texture just like a cake baked in the oven. It’s not like a brownie.

It makes a single layer cake- about a 9-inch microwave safe pan works well. It’s very rich dark chocolate flavored. I didn’t frost mine but frosting or ice cream would be great with it. You could use less cocoa powder if you don’t like dark chocolate.

Ingredients

¾ cup flour

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup baking cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 egg yolks

6 tablespoons butter,

1 cup water

½ cup baking chips or nuts optional- I used Reeses peanut butter chips

Cut butter in pieces, place it and the water in a microwave safe pan, heat for about a minute. (Use a 8-9 inch pan.)

Remove from microwave- stir to melt butter. You may need a few more seconds to melt it.

Blend together dry ingredients in a bowl.

Test the water in your pan, it should feel warm but not so hot you can’t touch it. You don’t want it to cook the egg yolks. Let it sit a minute or two if it’s hot.

Add egg yolks and vanilla stir briskly for a few seconds.

Add dry ingredients and baking chips or nuts, stir until all are blended well.

Microwave on high for about 5 minutes. Center should be dry when tested with a knife.

You can cool it to frost it or just add ice cream or cool whip and gobble it down.

“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