Hi
Gardeners
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| Akebia flower |
We had a frost Monday morning. The temperature just nudged 32. Most things didn’t appear damaged, although it
blackened the tops of my newly emerged potatoes. This morning we had a harder
frost/freeze. Temperatures dipped just
below 29 degrees outside my window and further away from the house I am sure it
got to 28 or lower. I covered the potatoes last night but I noticed even the tulips
were hanging their heads this morning.
They’ll probably recover but I am worried about the fruit tree blossoms. I can’t tell yet if there’s damage.
When temperatures get to 28 degrees about 90% damage to
open fruit blossoms can be expected. The
center of the flower will show a brownish discoloration. Unopened buds will have less damage. It may
take a day or so for the damage to show.
A secondary problem is that freezes impact bees, which seem to be scarce
this year anyway, and good pollination may not occur.
A walk around the yard revealed some damage to bleeding
hearts, Japanese painted fern and ligularia.
I am glad I took a picture of the Akebia flower you see in the photo
because those vines did not look great this morning. The vines were loaded with flowers this year
and I thought maybe I’d get a few fruits, although in this part of Michigan
getting Akebia (chocolate vine) fruit is rather rare. (I have an article about Akebia to the right
of the main blog if you are interested in them.)
This week I have the sweet woodruff (article below)
joining the Akebia, tulips, Crown Imperials, flowering quince, lilacs, trillium,
trout lilies, redbud, bleeding hearts and Forget- me-nots in bloom. The mayapples, dames rocket and dwarf iris will
be in bloom in a few days. Inside my
lemon tree is blooming and my orange jasmine.
My houseplants are really ready for their summer vacation. Let’s hope warm weather gets here soon.
My paw paw tree is loaded with buds this year. If they didn’t get killed by the frost I’d
like to try and get some of them pollinated.
You are supposed to have two different varieties of paw paw for fertilization. Ten years ago or so when we planted that tree
we did have another. But it didn’t make
it. Paw paws are scarce in this area; I
don’t think there are any growing wild.
If anyone in the thumb area of Michigan or SE Michigan knows of a paw
paw tree with blooms could you contact me?
I’d like to get some cotton swabs of pollen to see if I could get my
tree pollinated.
Plant
sale – Lapeer Michigan area
There’s a plant sale in the Lapeer Michigan area to
benefit the Lapeer Area Horticultural Society.
Plants from member’s garden and a selection of nice hanging baskets for
Mother’s day will be featured. It’s on
Saturday May 13th 8 am – 4 pm at the intersection of Lapeer road- (M24)
and Davis Lake road, just north of Lapeer in the Lapeer Auto and Truck
Plaza. Call Dave for more info @
810-656-7770.
Practice
patience
Mother’s Day is next Sunday and it’s traditional to buy
plants for Mother’s Day. But if you are
in zone 6 or lower consider carefully what plants you are going to purchase as our
weather is still unsettled. I’ll be out
this week at the nurseries around me to pick some pretty plants while the
selection is good but I am prepared to move them inside if frost
threatens. I’ll avoid buying bedding
type plants and tender vegetables for a week or two- or three- longer.
The vast majority of annual plants need frost free
conditions to survive. If you plant them
in the ground too soon you will be running around trying to cover them many
times before frost danger is gone. If
you forget to bring that beautiful expensive hanging basket inside just one
cold night it may die. If you must buy
flowers and veggies now leave them in pots and put them on a cart that you can
pull in and out of a garage or shed.
Our weather has been weird this year. Normal indicators of planting time such as
the lilacs blooming are not in sync with actual temperature fluctuations. I
suspect this will be a feature for many years as climate change continues. The gardener must use patience and pay close
attention to weather forecasts. A few
very warm days may not mean it’s safe to plant.
Plants planted in the ground too soon, and then exposed to cold
temperatures may never recover enough to be vigorous, productive plants.
I know we all want to get our gardens to look good and
we want to see flowers all around us, but buying plants and then having to
replace them is a big hit to the soul and pocketbook. Remember, patience is a virtue.
Caring
for hanging baskets
It’s almost Mother’s Day and one of the biggest weeks
for the sale of flowering hanging baskets. Every store will have some beautiful flowering
baskets for you to drool over. But while
the baskets are stunning in early spring they often fizzle by midsummer. Here are some tips to keep your flowering
baskets looking nice throughout the summer season.
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| Tuberous begonia |
Right
plant - right place
Choose wisely by matching the light requirements of the
plants in the basket with those at the site where you intend to place
them. A fuchsia plant that’s popped into
full sun will quickly dry up and die. A
pleasing petunia basket will quit blooming and get straggly if placed in the
shade. Hanging baskets generally list
the plant names and requirements on a tag or label. If they don’t, ask a knowledgeable
salesperson what conditions the plants prefer.
Don’t buy a hanging basket, no matter how beautiful, if you can’t give
it the conditions it needs.
If a plant is listed as performing well in sun or part
sun, it generally needs about 6 hours of direct sun or filtered sun all
day. If it says shade or part shade then
the plant prefers less than 6 hours of sunlight and that sunlight is generally
best if it comes in the early morning or late afternoon.
Wind can also be a factor when choosing the right
plants in a hanging basket. Some plants
are very susceptible to wind damage such as the tuberous begonias. They should be hung in a protected spot. The stems are brittle and break easily. These plants wouldn’t be a good choice where
they might get bumped or brushed frequently either.
Water
- water -water
Hanging baskets require lots of water. There are a lot of roots in those full lush
baskets and little soil. Windy, warm
days may require that you water the baskets twice a day. Plan for watering before you hang the pots. If you can’t access them easily you either
won’t water them enough or you will want to get rid of them. There are pulley systems you can buy or
devise that allow you to lower the pots for easy watering and long curved wands
that you can attach to a hose to water baskets above your head.
Try not to let the plants wilt, even though they may
revive when watered, each time they wilt the plant is stressed. Water the basket slowly with warm water until
water drips from the bottom of the pot.
Try not to let the soil get so dry that it shrinks away from the side of
the pot, then the water you add just pours right through the pot, without much
absorbing into the soil. If this happens
take the pot down and soak it in a large bucket of water that covers the
pot. Leave it for an hour and then
remove it and let it drain. The soil should have expanded to the pot sides
again.
If the hanging basket is set into another container
that doesn’t allow it to drain freely you could over water your hanging
basket. Cool rainy weather and a
container that doesn’t drain well can be a problem. Plants that are over watered
generally have a swampy smell. They will
wilt just like a dry plant because the root system is rotting away. If the soil feels very wet don’t water the
plant. Empty all saucers or catch pots
shortly after you water your hanging baskets.
These sources of standing water also breed mosquitoes.
Feed,
feed, feed
Nurseries and greenhouses feed their hanging baskets a
diluted plant fertilizer almost continuously.
To keep your basket blooming all summer you should feed them too. Use a flowering plant fertilizer designed to
be mixed with water at least once a week.
Follow the label directions carefully and use the directions for
container plants. Do not make the
solution stronger than the label recommends or you may burn the roots of your
plants.
Many of these fertilizers say they can be sprinkled on
the leaves and the plants can absorb them.
They do to some extent but it is better to pour the fertilizer mixture
on the soil. If you plant your hanging
basket yourself or repot it, you can add a granular slow release fertilizer
formulated for flowering plants and mix it into the potting mix. Follow the label directions for container
plants. This should feed the basket for about 3 months.
Promise
to deadhead and protect
Keep dead flowers plucked off to increase bloom. Trim off straggly and broken ends and
generally keep the plant tidy. Some
plants will take a bloom break when the weather gets very hot. Warning - not every plant can be trimmed back
drastically to renew it. This works with plants like petunias, impatiens,
alyssum, lobelia and a few other things.
If you are going on vacation for a week or two trim them back to about 6
inches and in a couple of weeks you will have a bushy plant with renewed
flowering. They must be kept watered
and fed during the transition too. Don’t
cut back plants like tuberous begonias, fuchsia, and lantana. For some of the new and unusual plants in
hanging baskets, ask an experienced nursery person or your Extension office
garden hotline if they can be trimmed back for renewal.
If frost threatens cover your basket or move it inside
a garage or shed. You may extend the
beauty of your baskets for a month or so in the fall if you cover them when
frost is likely. A large old sheet may
be needed to cover a large basket. Make
sure to remove the cover shortly after sunrise the next morning.
Much
about Mulch
In my garden you’ll find little mulch, at least what
most people consider mulch, unless it’s on the paths. That’s my style of gardening; my plants are
crowded and intermingled and there’s little room for wood chips or shredded
bark. There aren’t big areas of bare
ground. There are ground covers under
most trees. There may be some bare areas
in my vegetable garden between plants but that’s it.
I do allow the leaves from our oak trees to blow into
the gardens in the fall and I even re-distribute them from the lawn to the
flower beds. When I’m weeding I often
pile the weeds I pulled between plants, a compost in place solution. The paths between my vegetable raised beds
are mulched and one path across the front yard.
I use coarse landscape chips in those places and the path in the front
also has landscape fabric under it.
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| Mulched garden bed |
That’s my style of gardening. Other people prefer the look of plants
separated by mulch covered areas. Or
they like the look of mulched edged gardens and mulch rings around trees. That’s fine too. But mulch isn’t magic and it’s often misused or
overused. There are also a lot of
misconceptions and bad information about mulch floating around.
There are several good reasons for using mulch. Mulch does deter weeds; it adds organic matter
to the soil and it can conserve soil moisture.
It makes a lot of sense for paths you don’t want to cover in cement or
stone. If you are beginning a garden and
your plants need time to grow and fill in space covering bare areas with mulch
can be a good idea. A mulched area
around trees to keep people from getting too close with the weed wacker or
mower protects the tree. And if you
think that mulch just looks good and gives your garden a neat and finished look
you may want to add it.
Types
of mulch
There are several types of mulch. There are “landscaper chips” which are the product of cutting whole trees down
and chipping them up. It includes leaves
and stems as well as woody areas. This
mulch is actually the kind that many experts recommend for adding organic
matter to the soil. Because there is
green matter mixed in some nitrogen is released when the chips are
decomposing. Its best use is right in
the flower and veggie beds, to suppress weeds and conserve soil moisture. And as it breaks down it adds lots of organic
matter to the soil. You can use it for
paths and borders too, although it isn’t as pretty as some other forms of
mulch. But it’s generally cheaper than
other forms of mulch and sometimes you can get it for free.
Woodchips
are
another form of mulch. This can be
chipped up trees which has been screened to keep out leaves and twiggy material
and sorted to a pretty uniform size.
This is a fairly good mulch material.
Sometimes wood chips can also refer to recycled pallets and other wood
materials which have been chipped up. Some of those materials may have been
treated with various products to preserve them and those products are now in
the mulch. You may not want that type of mulch.
Often wood chips are dyed. The dye isn’t harmful, but
it doesn’t look natural to many people.
Some people, however, like the look.
This kind of woodchips, dyed or not, is good for paths and tree
rings. It can be used among plants, but
it’s a little harder on plants as it initially breaks down because some
nitrogen has to be used from the soil, which could cause a shortage for plants. It will eventually become good organic matter
however and will return the nitrogen to the soil.
Bark
chips and shredded bark are another kind of mulch. If you are using mulch to help conserve
moisture bark products aren’t the best choice.
They do not absorb water and if this mulch is mounded water may run off. They are sometimes added to potting mixes
just to improve drainage. Bark sometimes floats away in heavy rain too. Bark
products break down quickly but their value as organic material isn’t as good
as landscape and wood chips. Some people
do like the look of this finely textured product so use it on paths and tree
rings. Be aware that it tracks in on
shoes more than wood chips.
Cocoa
mulch is sold in some places. It’s the shells from cocao beans. It smells like chocolate but that’s probably
its best trait. It’s light and can blow
or wash away. If dogs eat it cocoa mulch
may harm them, although most dogs probably wouldn’t eat it. It’s generally more expensive than other
mulches and in my opinion not worth it.
It won’t harm plants but it also does not protect them from insects or
slugs as some claim.
Straw,
hay, coir, pine needles and other products can be used for
mulch. These don’t look as nice in
flower beds and on paths although chopped straw might be ok. Hay and straw may actually introduce some
weeds into the garden especially hay.
There is a musty smell when hay and straw get wet and begin breaking
down. Straw can be good mulch in
vegetable gardens if applied deeply and it does add organic matter as it breaks
down. Mice and snakes looking for mice may use straw and hay mulches more than
other types of mulch, if that’s a problem for you.
Pine needles are slippery when wet, so they are not a
good mulch for paths. They may wash away
in rain. If you have lots of them mulching
flower and vegetable beds would be fine.
They won’t make the soil acidic as some claim. Coir is fibrous material pulled off coconut
shells. It’s expensive in some areas of
the country. There’s no advantage in it
over other mulches so if it’s expensive use another mulch.
Other things are available as mulch in some areas, rice
hulls, and so on. The only advantage to
most of these over wood chips is that they can be cheap or free. Lightweight materials may blow or wash
away. You can use compost as mulch, and
its great organic matter for soil, but it does not suppress weeds very much. Sawdust is not for mulching around plants as
it compacts and matts, impeding water and air.
You could use it for a path if you like the look.
Stones,
gravel, and rocks are sometimes used as mulch. For paths these may be fine if they aren’t
uncomfortable to walk on. But for plants
you need to use care when using rock or stone mulch. Not all plants will do well with rock or
gravel mulches. Large rocks compact the
soil. A border of them is fine but using
them among plants is good only if you are making a rock garden and selecting
suitable plants for that garden.
The problem of using white stones and other pebble type
mulches is that they collect debris, leaves, grass clippings, twigs and so on
and start to look dirty and messy over time.
It’s very difficult to clean them up. And rock mulches don’t add organic
matter to the soil. When they are
knocked into mowed areas they can become projectiles.
Plastic
mulches are fine for vegetable and small fruit production. Some are perforated to drain moisture, others
are not. They won’t add organic matter
of course but are very effective at keeping weeds down and fruit and vegetables
clean. To make them look better you can
cover them with a light layer of another, organic mulch. Black plastic gets the soil warm quickly in
the spring. For home gardeners you’ll
need to devise a way, such as drip irrigation, to get water under the plastic.
Newspaper,
cardboard, landscape fabric
Older gardening references often advocate layers of
newspaper or cardboard as mulch or under mulch around plants to help suppress
weeds. Some landscapers tell you to use
landscape fabric, which is a perforated plastic or heavy paper material, under
mulch. Modern plant and soil scientists
say you should not do this. These layers
compact the soil, limit air flow and water and impede the working of soil
microorganisms.
Yes paper products will break down and do contribute organic
material over time. But the amount and
type of microorganisms under these heavy layers is less than where there are no
layers. You want lots of microorganisms
of many types in healthy soil. The soil
can remain too damp or too dry, depending on circumstances. Heavy “sheet” layers can encourage mice and
voles which hide under them. All mulch
should allow for good airflow and water transfer to soil or to the air. For plant and soil health don’t use sheet
layers under mulch in garden beds.
Use layered material under paths that are permanent or
at least long term, if you want.
Stone/gravel paths may need these layers to keep them from sinking into
the soil.
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| Garden with no mulch except fallen leaves and needles. |
Misconceptions
and problems with mulch
Mulch is not necessary in most gardens although it can
be very helpful. Don’t let people tell you that you must have it. Using a variety of plants close together of
different heights and growing patterns prevents bare ground and if you use
leaves and organic matter on the garden in the fall and winter and allow them
to break down you’ll have plenty of organic matter in the soil. You can use groundcover plants under trees to
avoid mowing there or bare areas.
Some people use mulch to protect the roots and crowns
of plants during winter. Mulch can limit
freezing and thawing cycles which can heave plants out of the ground. In this case the mulch should be applied
after the ground is frozen. You may want
to pull back mulch after spring has settled in to allow the soil to warm up.
Mulch doesn’t prevent all weeds. Some weeds will grow in and through it. Although you may save some time weeding when
using mulch you will spend time and money placing the mulch and then keeping it
replenished. Mulch will need to be replenished as often as
every year, depending on the type of mulch. As it breaks down mulch actually
makes some pretty good planting medium.
I scrape up decayed mulch and add it to my potting mixes for outside
plants and throw decayed mulch from my vegetable garden paths up on the beds
each spring.
Most mulch don’t harm plants but on occasion you may
notice signs of nitrogen deficiency (usually yellowing foliage) in plants when
new mulch is breaking down as the process uses nitrogen. This generally corrects itself in time as the
composted mulch eventually adds nitrogen to soil. But you may want to add some
nitrogen rich fertilizer for your plants when adding new bulk wood mulch
without green material like leaves mixed with it. Most bagged mulch has been sitting a while
and won’t cause a problem.
Loading and unloading mulch and distributing it around
the garden can be hard for some gardeners.
Don’t feel guilty if you can’t do it.
Your plants will be fine. If you
like the look, get help with mulching.
Add organic matter that’s light like leaves, or chopped straw in late
fall to help improve soil if you don’t use mulch.
Mulching can conserve soil moisture if you use the
right mulch. If it’s been really dry
water the ground well before adding mulch.
If you have really deep absorbent mulch your soil may not get as much
water as un-mulched areas because water is absorbed by the mulch before it
reaches the soil. Don’t make your mulch
deeper than 3-4 inches.
As mentioned earlier some mulch may actually shed water
but it may also be better for low rainfall areas, if applied thinly, as water
will move through it instead of being absorbed.
Mulch should be spread evenly and not heaped like a
volcano. Don’t let mulch actually touch the trunks or stems of plants. Wet mulch against plants can cause stem rots
or rotted areas on bark. It can also
hide rodents who munch on thin barked tree trunks in winter. Don’t pile mulch too deeply around trees, 3-4
inches is enough. And never put
newspapers, cardboard or landscape fabric under trees and cover it with
mulch. The roots of trees need oxygen
and thick layers of material impede air flow.
This practice can cause a decline in tree health, which shows up over
several years.
Some gardeners believe that mulch may encourage slugs,
snails and certain insects when used around plants. There’s little scientific evidence this is
true but many hosta growers for example, limit their mulching, preferring the
soil dry out and discourage slugs around their plants. Your climate and soil type may be factors in
this decision as well as your plant species.
Fresh wood mulch can occasionally heat up from decomposition
and actually smoke or burn. This occurs
in mulch piles. Get those piles spread
out as soon as possible. Occasionally a
type of fungus called “dog vomit fungus”, which looks like its name, will pop
up on fresh mulch. It’s harmless and
will go away after the mulch has aged some more.
There are some mulches that are being sold that are
treated with a weed killer. Do not use
these in your flower and vegetable beds, they can harm the plants. It’s ok for around large trees and on paths.
Mulch can be helpful to gardeners and good for the soil
if applied properly. But mulch isn’t
right for all situations and for all gardeners. Consider the pros and cons of mulch and rather
its right for your garden before investing time and money on it.
Sweet
Woodruff
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| Sweet Woodruff |
Sweet woodruff, Galium
odoratum,(alternate Asperula odorata) is
a widely planted herb or groundcover that is native to Europe. It is also known as sweet scented bedstraw,
or wild baby’s breath. In Germany where
use of the herb is prominent it is called Waldmeister or “master of the woods.”
It has naturalized in a few places in the northern US and Canada in wooded
areas. Some native plant advocates will
tell you it’s invasive; however its value as a groundcover for shade and it’s
herbal uses make it well worth planting in the home garden.
Sweet woodruff is a lovely groundcover for shade or
partial shade. It is rarely bothered by
deer or rabbits and will grow under black walnut trees as I can attest. It looks good as an understory plant for
larger shade plants such as Japanese Maple, large hosta, astilbe, heuchera and
tiarella. In my garden evening primrose
grows up through it at the edge of the shaded area.
Sweet Woodruff is a perennial plant that is hardy in
planting zones 4-8. The plant has small, blade shaped, dark green leaves that
are arranged in whorls of 6-8 around a square stem. It grows from 8-12 inches tall. The plant spreads by runners and in good
conditions will fill in an area quickly.
In early spring sweet woodruff is covered by small
white 4 petal flowers carried in clusters at the top of the plant. Its bloom time is generally May in northern
areas and the plant is associated with May celebrations. After blooming the flowers turn into small
brown seed pods. Each pod has a tiny
hook that allows it to hitch a ride on fur or clothing to a new growing
location.
The sweet smell associated with sweet woodruff is not
very prominent in growing plants or flowers.
The smell does become apparent when plants are wilted or dried. It is described as a vanilla or hay scent and
most people find it appealing. The smell
is caused by the chemical coumarin, of blood thinner fame.
Getting
sweet woodruff growing
Gardeners will generally find sweet woodruff for sale
as small plants or “plugs”. Sweet
woodruff likes moist, humus rich soil. Plant
them in full or partial shade in early spring, setting them about 6-12 inches
apart. (This plant will not do well in
full sun conditions.) In good conditions
they will quickly fill in and cover the ground.
In the first year it’s important to keep the new plants well-watered.
After establishment sweet woodruff will tolerate
moderately dry shade, but in very hot and dry conditions it may go dormant and
die back to the ground. It will begin
new growth in cooler, wetter fall conditions.
However if you want your ground cover to look good all season you may
want to water it when it’s hot and dry.
Sweet woodruff has no major pests or diseases. In sandy, nutrient poor
soil it may need fertilization in early spring, but in most places it does not
need fertilizer.
Mowing around the area where you want sweet woodruff
contained is generally sufficient to confine it. If you are worried about it spreading to wild
areas keep a mowed strip between it and any wooded areas. If you only want a small amount of the plant
for herbal use you could grow it in a container sunk in the ground.
Uses
of sweet woodruff
Sweet woodruff has many, many, herbal, culinary and
other uses and has been used since the earliest times in Europe. It is dried and used in mattresses, pillows
and strewn on the floor to impart its sweet scent. It is used in potpourri and incorporated into
perfumes and scented soaps.
Culinary uses include May wine – sweet woodruff flowers
and foliage are steeped in white wine with sliced oranges and strawberries and
the mixture is drank at May celebrations.
Sweet woodruff is used in beer making (Berliner Weisse), and in jellies
and jams. It’s used to flavor ice cream
and sherbets and is said to pair up very well with strawberry dishes. The Swiss flavor chocolates and other candies
with it.
There is an important caveat here about using sweet
woodruff in foods. Too much sweet
woodruff can be toxic. It can cause
bleeding problems and liver damage. The
use of sweet woodruff has been banned in commercial foods in many countries for
this reason. If you decide to experiment
with it in foods use it lightly and infrequently.
The herbal uses of the plant are numerous but once
again caution is urged. It is a mild
sedative and can be added to tea for insomnia or for nervousness and hysteria.
It’s a diuretic and the Coumadin in it thins the blood so it is often used for
circulation and heart problems in herbal medicine.
Sweet woodruff is used for migraine treatment but it
also causes severe headache if too much is taken. It is used for nerve pain, to loosen chest
congestion and help with stomach pain and cramps. It is used directly on the skin as a poultice
for skin diseases and as a salve to shrink hemorrhoids.
Caution: Sweet woodruff should not be used if you are
on blood thinner medications and it may interfere with other prescriptions. You should always inform your doctor if you
are taking sweet woodruff. You should
not use it if you are going to have surgery within 2 weeks. Pregnant and nursing women should not use
sweet woodruff.
Sweet woodruff should be used in food and as a
medication in moderation and infrequently.
Over use can cause bleeding disorders, liver damage, fainting and severe
headaches and could cause serious medical issues.
Buckwheat
Have you eaten buckwheat? The Japanese sing songs about
it, it is a Hindu holy food, Hans Christian Andersen wrote a story about it and
at one time it was identified as an American breakfast staple. Yet few people in the United States today
know what buckwheat tastes like, much less what it looks like. That’s a shame because this plant is easy to
grow and can provide some fine eating.
 |
| Buckwheat field, Credit Wikimedia commons. |
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae
Fagopyrum sp., is an annual plant, one of the few grain crops that do not
belong to the grass family. It is related to rhubarb and knotweed. It is native
to central China but was widely grown throughout cooler areas of the old
world. Early settlers brought the seed
to America, where it grew well in the northern states.
Buckwheat has rather spindly stems but may grow to 2’
tall. The leaves are heart shaped or
arrow shaped, and the flower clusters rise up out of the junction of leaf and
stem. The flowers are rather pretty-
small fluffy white clusters somewhat resembling Alyssum. Bees and butterflies
love them. The honey made from Buckwheat flowers has a distinctive dark color
and pleasant taste that make it highly prized.
Buckwheat keeps flowering and producing seeds until frost kills it.
Buckwheat seeds are hard, brown and triangular in
shape. They will ripen at various times
and several harvests may be needed. The
hard shell is ground off before preparing the seed to eat.
Planting
and harvesting buckwheat
Buckwheat would be an ideal small “grain” for home gardeners
to grow. It’s easy to grow and hardy and
a small area can produce a lot of grain. It could become a specialty crop for
those looking for an organic “niche” market.
Plant buckwheat seed in late spring, about the time of
the last frost in your area. You want it
to emerge after the last frost as it is frost tender. Plant in full sun. Buck wheat isn’t fussy about soil, it will
grow even in poor soil. It’s suggested to
plant about a peck and a half of seed per half acre. Sown thickly weeds will not be a problem and
the crop rarely requires fertilizer.
Buckwheat can be harvested several times in late summer
by stripping ripe, hard seeds off by hand into a pouch or basket. Or when a lot of the crop seems to have ripe
seed whole plants can be pulled and let in the sun for a few days and many of
the green seeds will ripen. The seeds
can then be stripped off the plant.
Uses
of buckwheat
In earlier days buckwheat cakes were a common breakfast
staple for Americans, as well as many Northern Europeans. Over a million acres
of Buckwheat were grown in the late 1800’s in the United States. Now only a few thousand acres are grown,
primarily for specialty flours and birdseed mixes. Canada grows a bit more,
primarily for export to Japan. American
farmers find the crop hard to harvest with machinery since it does not ripen
all at once like other grains, and the stems may collapse from storms.
The Japanese call buckwheat ‘Soba’ and make a variety of noodles and
other popular dishes from it. The USDA
has found that buckwheat is nutritionally superior to all other grains because
of its amino acid composition and lysine content. Buckwheat seeds can be ground in a coffee
grinder or powerful food processor to make flour. The flour is gluten free.
Buckwheat makes an excellent fodder crop for livestock
and is grown on soils with low fertility to improve them. It can be used by gardeners as a smother crop
or as a green manure. Buckwheat hulls are used in pillows and are said to
improve sleep. They are also used as
mulch.
Buckwheat is used to make beer in some places and
buckwheat flowers will make a good brown dye.
In herbal medicine buckwheat is used to lower blood
sugar and modern medicine confirms it does have some effect on lowering blood
sugar. It can be taken in a tea or in capsules or as a food product. Dosage
recommendation is 70-100 grams of buckwheat flour daily. It is also used to help with varicose veins. In herbal medicine buckwheat is also used to
help treat eye ailments/vision problems.
Buckwheat is also helpful in curing chronic diarrhea.
Buckwheat tea can be made from roasted seeds or from
flowers and green parts that are dried.
Put one tablespoon of roasted seed in 1 ½ cups water and bring to a
boil. Then let steep 10 minutes and
drain. Or use 2 tablespoons of dried
flowers/leaves to a cup of boiling water and steep 10 minutes. You can buy buckwheat tea products in some
stores.
 |
| Buckwheat pancakes Credit: simple wikimedia |
Cautions:
some people are allergic to buckwheat, particularly if they also have an
allergy to rice. It can cause sun
sensitivity and sunburn when consumed in large quantity. If you take medicine
to lower blood sugar you should inform your doctor if you are using buckwheat
medicinally, and not just as an occasional food product. Buckwheat can cause constipation in some
people.
Buckwheat may have fallen out of favor with American
cooks because the flour is a gray color and doesn’t store as well as other
flours. In American supermarkets
buckwheat flour is usually sold as a pancake mix, mixed with wheat or other
flours. Why not look for some and try some buckwheat pancakes?
Rhubarb
and pineapple cake
The rhubarb season is in full swing and here’s a way to
use that bounty. This cake is fairly easy to prepare and tastes delicious. You could frost it, but it’s great with a
scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, especially while warm. It’s not as sweet as some cakes, but soft,
moist and flavorful. This makes a good potluck dessert, something
different. Rhubarb and pineapple cake
also freezes well.
Ingredients
2 cups of peeled, sliced rhubarb
3/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1 yellow cake mix
1, 20 oz. can of unsweetened crushed pineapple, don’t
drain.
3 eggs
Directions
 |
| Rhubarb and pineapple cake. |
Grease a 13x9 inch cake pan. Preheat oven to 350.
In a microwave safe bowl combine rhubarb and
sugar. Cover bowl and microwave on high
for about 3 minutes. The rhubarb should
look like the consistency of the crushed pineapple.
Add the butter to the rhubarb bowl and let it
melt. In the meantime combine the cake
mix, 3 eggs and can of pineapple in a big bowl.
Pour in the rhubarb-butter mixture.
Beat with the electric beaters until the cake mix and
other ingredients are well combined, about 2 minutes. Pour into greased pan and bake for about 35
minutes- until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool slightly and serve.
It’s
May plant something every day!
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used
without permission.
And
So On….
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share? Post them here by emailing me. You can also
ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
Join the
LAPEER AREA HORTICULTURE SOCIETY on our 35th
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, JUNE 19th at 6 P.M., SUNCREST DISPLAY GARDENS, behind
the Lapeer County Medical Care facility, 1455 Suncrest Drive, Lapeer, Mi.
All Past, Present, and Prospective members are invited to attend
this special event. This will be a special time to meet old friends and share
some of our memories of the activities of this group.
Guests are welcome.
Displays will be set up showing past activities, as well as old
newsletters of the group. Refreshments provided.
For more information contact:
Dave Klaffer at 810-656-7770 or 664-8912
Find
Michigan garden events/classes here:
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
Newsletter/blog
information
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