November 2010

Planters Punchlines
Men's Garden Club of Wethersfield
November/December 2010

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HOLIDAY PARTY TIME! (In lieu of Nov/Dec Meetings)

The annual club Holiday Party will be held on Monday December 6th, 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. @ the Solomon Welles House, in Wethersfield.

Catered Food, Drink, Fellowship, and
Entertainment by the Wethersfield High School Choraleers.

Spouses/guests are cordially invited. $15.00 per person ($30.00. per couple).

RSVP to President John Swingen at 529-5355 by Monday November 29.

WESTON ROSE GARDEN "WINTER OVER" Saturday November 27 @ 8:00 a.m.
The garden will be raked, weeded and covered with compost in preparation for the upcoming cold weather. All hands are welcome. BYO tools.

Compostable Matter By Jim Meehan

Over time two flowers have emerged in the American consciousness as the vegetative symbols of Christmas -- the Poinsettia and the Christmas cactus. And each one comes with its own apocryphal folk story.

"The legend of the poinsettia comes from Mexico. It tells of a girl named Maria and her little brother Pablo. They were very poor but always looked forward to the Christmas festival. Each year a large manger scene was set up in the village church, and the days before Christmas were filled with parades and parties. The two children loved Christmas but were always saddened because they had no money to buy presents. They especially wished that they could give something to the church for the Baby Jesus. But they had nothing. One Christmas Eve, Maria and Pablo set out for church to attend the service. On their way they picked some weeds growing along the roadside and decided to take them as their gift to the Baby Jesus in the manger scene. Of course they were teased by other children when they arrived with their gift, but they said nothing for they knew they had given what they could. Maria and Pablo began placing the green plants around the manger and miraculously, the green top leaves turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers and so we see them today." (theholidayspot.com) "Legend has it the Christmas Cactus dates back many years to the land now known as Bolivia and a Jesuit missionary, Father Jose, who labored endlessly to convert the natives there. He had come across the Andes Mountains from the city of Lim nearly a year before. But he felt the people of this village on the edge of the great jungle were still suspicious. He had cared for the sick and shown the natives how to improve their simple dwellings, which leaked dismally in the rainy season. Most important, he had attempted to teach them the story of the Bible, especially the life of Jesus, though much seemed to be beyond their comprehension. He had told them about the beautifully decorated altars in cities during holidays, yet here it was Christmas Eve and he was on his knees alone in from of his rude altar. Then he heard voices singing a familiar hymn he had taught his flock. He turned to see a procession of the village children carrying armfuls of blooming green branches (which we now know as the Christmas Cactus) that they had gathered in the jungle for the Christ Child. Father Jose joyfully gave thanks for this hopeful budding of Christianity." (santalives1.homestead.com)

Nice stories, but in reality nothing more than urban myths. For the real scoop on the one and only authentic Christmas plant just keep reading.

Robert and Brassica Oleracea were much in love, very married, and quite moneyless.
They were not dirt poor. They did have grass in their yard -- and flowers -- and vegetables. But Robert did not yet have the wherewithal to provide his bride of two years with even the most modest of engagement baubles. Nor did either of them sport a wedding band -- not out of disbelief or disdain, but rather financial necessity.

Brassica made light of this lack of finger ornamentation. She even gave Robert a tiny piece of bituminous, which she unearthed one day during her yard work telling him that this "diamond in the rough" (which she displayed in a small plastic case on one of their living room shelves) would one day turn itself the precious colorless crystalline stone that he so badly wished that she could have.

And she said that jewelry-less hands were actually a benefit to her, as she preferred nothing more then to spend her every waking hour submerged up to her wrists in soil, working the garden.

Indeed it was her heroic horticultural exertions that were responsible for their lush green lawn (the pride of their neighborhood), their flourishing perennial beds (equal to any professionally maintained botanical garden), and their vegetable crop (healthier and more productive than any farm, organic or pesticidal, in the area.) And he was her partner, devoting every available minute he had, assisting her in the yard -- and learning.

Of the three it was her edible plants of which Brassica was the most proud -- but also caused her the most frustration.

Proud because her tomatoes, carrots, squash, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and turnips were the largest and the tastiest that anyone who ever measured or ate had ever experienced.

Frustrated because, as satisfying as all of her work in the vegetable garden was, Brassica felt that, deep down, all she was doing was reiterating someone else's creations. What she really wanted was a species of her own -- something that she had neither the time nor the money to develop.

Which of course is where Robert got his idea. Unable, as usual, to afford anything of significance to give his wife for Christmas, he decided to crossbreed a prototype plant which Brassica could call her very own.

He began his work with furtive trips to the library followed by secret late-night experiments in the dark recesses of their unused cellar. And ended with an unnamed and virtually indescribable blending of a cabbage and a turnip

It was ugly -- vaguely threatening looking and, at first (and second and third) glance, utterly unappetizing. Your first impulse was to turn it over and over in your hand, looking for some sign as to what should be eaten and what should be discarded. From one angle it looked like one of the Russian Sputnik satellites from the 1950's. From another view it appeared to be an unpainted wooden croquet ball with tentacles.

And it seemed to have three distinct parts: a bulbous orb, tubular stems and undersized leaves - none of which looked as if they belonged with the other two, or (taken by themselves or in combination) could possibly be edible.

But time was up. It was Christmas morning and his strange gift had to be ready - ready or not.

She loved it.

With tears in her eyes she removed the tiny piece of bituminous from the shelf and replaced it with her oddly shaped present.

"This will be our new diamond in the rough," she said. "Our very own coal Robby."

And so began the legend of the Christmas Brassica oleracea.

Happy Holidays!

Fall Garden Clean Up By Margaret Hagen, UNH Cooperative Extension (theheartofnewengland.com)

This summer's cool, wet weather made it a difficult growing season for the vegetable garden. Between the weather and a resident woodchuck, what I got the most of was weeds! That means that clean-up will be especially important this fall to reduce next year's diseases and insect problems.

To keep yourself motivated, remember that sanitation is one of the most important steps you can take to insure that next year's garden will be healthy.

Plant disease agents such as bacteria, fungi and viruses all remain alive, though dormant, during the winter months. By recognizing the places where these organisms hide, gardeners can often destroy them and prevent disease outbreaks the following spring.

Many fungi spend the winter on or in old leaves, fruit and other garden refuse. These fungi often form spares or other reproductive structures that remain alive even after the host plant has died.

The fungus that causes scab on apple trees and flowering crabapples forms a thick-walIed overwintering structure, called a perithecium, in fallen leaves.

Other fungi such as Fusarium (causes wilting on plants) survive in refuse in the vegetative state or form small, spore-like structures called chlamydiospores.

Blackspot, one of the best-known rose diseases, overwinters on fallen leaves and twigs and re-infests healthy plants in the spring. And cucumber and squash vines, cabbages, and the dried remains of tomato and bean plants are also likely
to harbor fungi if left in the garden over the winter.

Insects, too, survive quite nicely in pIant debris over the winter months. Female moths of the common stalk borer lay their eggs in late summer on grass, weeds and plant refuse. A single female moth may lay up to 2,000 eggs, each of which will hatch into a borer the following spring. You won't notice it until healthy young plants begin looking sickly, or stems break off above ground.

A common problem in the flower garden is the iris borer, one of the most destructive insect pests of iris. Females lay their eggs on old iris leaves and other plant material in the fall. These eggs spend the winter on leaves and hatch in April or May. Cutting iris leaves back to a four-inch fan and removing other
garden refuse during the fall can save iris plants from serious damage next
season.

To avoid any or all of the above problems, plant debris should be carefully raked up and disposed of in the trash. Do not put refuse on your compost pile unless you know that it will reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes a fair amount of heat to kill these organisms, and you won't want to recycle them right back
into the garden.

Keep in mind that insects and plant pathogens can survive on weeds as well as on garden plants. Many weeds serve as alternate hosts for insects and fungi, helping them to complete their life cycle. Destruction of these weeds removes a source of future troubles. And if you get them before they go to seed, you can
cut down on next year's weed problem. Again, unless your compost pile reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit, you'll want to dispose of weeds with seed pods elsewhere.

While you're cleaning out the garden, take note of which varieties did well and which did not. That information is always helpful in January when it's time to order seed.

If you can fit it in before the end of September, turn the soil and plant a cover crop. It will cut down on erosion, promote soil microorganism activity and add organic matter to the soil in the spring. And think what a treat it will be next spring to look at a prepared garden plot rather than at last year's leftovers.

How To Grow Beautiful Tulips

This man was famous the world over for the Tulips that he grew. People used to come from all over just to admire them and to try and get the secret of how he grew them from him. He was very cagey and would say, "I just put the bulbs in and they come up like that all perfect."

Of course no one believed him, but no matter what ploy was used. no one could discover just what it was that turned ordinary bulbs into the most beautiful Tulip Blooms that anyone had ever grown. Whole fields of them identical and all perfect.

Well he had this friend (we all know friends like this one), who had decided that he would get the secret and make some money on the side. He got the Tulip Grower drunk on Home Made Wine and gradually turned the conversation around to Tulip Growing. You will know how trusting you are when you are drunk and the Tulip Grower was no exception!

He gradually relaxed and to the direct question, "How do you do it?" He replied... "I use Hamsters!" The Cunning Friend said, "Don't be daft, how can Hamsters make Ordinary Tulip Bulbs produce blooms like you can?"

The Tulip Grower said, On my other property I breed Hamsters - not just a few, but thousands. When they are adults I run over them with a steam roller and crush them into pulp. I then bulldoze the pulp into a machine which cans them into 7lb jam tins which I store in a big warehouse. At the start of the growing season I go out at night with lorry loads of the tins and open them and spread them all over the fields, I then get a tractor and plough and I plough it all into the ground and then the next day I plant the Tulip Bulbs and you have seen for yourself the results."

His friend said, "Well I suppose it works, but I don't see how!"

The Tulip Grower said, "Obvious, isn't it? I copied the idea from the Dutch, they are Tulips from Hamster Jam!"

Winter Gardening: Grow Food in Winter Without Heated Greenhouses by Ian Aldrich (Yankee Magazine)

For more than 30 years, Eliot Coleman of Harborside, Maine, has successfully grown food in winter without heated greenhouses. Think outside your zone. Each winter, his gardens head south, to Georgia, without moving an inch.

How?

For every layer of protection--a cold frame, for example--the growing environment shifts 500 miles. By doubling up, says Coleman, winter farmers never have to contend with frozen soil, not even when the mercury drops well below zero. "You might get a little surface freezing, but by 10 a.m. it will be unfrozen," he says. "The minute the sun comes out, all of a sudden it's 50 degrees in there. We've never had a day when we couldn't put seeds in the greenhouse beds."

Hoop Houses:

Coleman says you can find simple, inexpensive options out there to protect your plants. If you're already using a cold frame, he recommends getting six unused 2x4s and building an A-frame around the structure, then wrapping the new enclosure in greenhouse plastic.

No cold frame?

No problem. Coleman is also a big fan of "hoop houses," small enclosures made from semicircle-shaped strips of metal or plastic piping covered in plastic. "I've been doing this a long time, and I'm still like a little kid when I go in there and see what's happening," he says. "It's amazing that it just works."

Begin in August:

Coleman's winter planting begins in early August and extends through mid-September, a period he likes to refer to as a "second spring." "You have to get the plants established while the growing season still has something left to it," he says.

Spinach for Winter

For all would-be winter gardeners, Coleman suggests going with spinach, which can be harvested four times, growing well into February. "It keeps renewing itself," he says.

No Weeds, No Watering:

Unlike summer warmth, colder temperatures mean that pests and even weeds are nearly eliminated. Even better: Between November and February, says Coleman, gardeners don't have to water their plants. "The water table is higher," he says, "and because the sun is so low, there isn't much evaporation."

Baby Lettuce is Better:

It's true, says Coleman: Small really is better when it comes to winter gardening. Baby leaf greens are not only hardier, they're tastier. "A full-size lettuce will freeze two or three times and turn to mush," he says. "A three-inch-tall baby lettuce leaf will freeze and thaw all winter long and recover each day."

Salad Every Night:

Newbie winter gardeners can do just fine--and eat really well, too--with a simple 5-by-10-foot planting space. "With baby greens, if you plant them right--and you can put rows as close as two inches apart--you can have a salad every night all winter long."

Winter Interest Gardening www.wolcottgardentreasures.com

Even when frost has covered the ground and gray skies have pushed away the sun, your landscape doesn't have to be barren and void of color and texture! So take heart, and try some of these fantastic cold-weather favorites to keep up the visual interest in your space, despite our harsh New England winters.

ADDING COLOR:

Barberry, Crimson and Royal Burgundy varieties - both shrubs grow to 2-4' tall and 3-5' wide, and do extremely well in poor soil. Royal Burgundy will keep a more saturated red color, but the Crimson variety also stands out in the winter garden.

Dogwood- Red Twig, Yellow Twig and Ivory Halo varieties provide the ultimate in winter color. With bright red or bright yellow woody stalks that keep their saturated color all year, these Dogwood varieties will stand out like a beacon in your winter landscape! They're also extremely cold hardy and can stand up to even the poorest soil - just a winning plant, all-around.

Holly - a wintertime favorite, most holly bushes require a mate; that is, a male holly requires a famale counterpart, and vice-versa. However, we have a fantastic hybrid holly variety called Berryrific, which is both male and female, so you need not plant a mate. Whichever variety you select, with its dark, lustrous green foliage and bright red berries, holly is a traditional staple for your garden that will look great all year round and give you that punch of color you so desperately need in the winter.

ADDING TEXTURE & FORM

Diablo Common Ninebark is a great 5-8' tall by 6-9' wide tree with exfoliating (excessively peeling) bark that adds lots of texture and visual interest in the winter. Super hardy for the eastern landscape, it also boasts white to pink flowers in May and June over reddish purple deciduous foliage that turns bronze in autumn.

Harry Lauder's Walking Stick is an incredibly unique tree with twisting branches that adds interest to your landscape any time of year. While its yellow-brown catkin blooms demand your attention in the spring, it's not until the foliage has passed that its amazing contorted branches become fully evident. Mature, this tree will grow 8-10' tall and wide, and while it won't add much color, it's a true conversation piece simply by virtue of its form.

Moor Grass - ornamental grasses are always a good choice for adding lots of texture and height any time of year, but they're particularly nice in the winter, when most other plants lose their volume and thickness. The Skyracer variety of Moor Grass, in particular, will grow its head up to 8' above a 2' base of green summer foliage and will remain a real presence in the garden, even in winter.

Native Plants For Fall Color, Winter Interest TheBostonChannel.com

This weekend we take a look at some of the plants that are especially interesting for fall. Deb Strick at the Garden in the Woods in Framingham gave me a hand with the descriptions for many of these plants.

# Purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis) with great fall and winter interest this tough clumper grows to 6-8 inches and erupts in late summer and early fall into an evocative haze of misty purple seed heads turning into little tumbleweeds later in the season. Wide green leaves are tinged with red. Perfect for zones 4-9 in sun to part sun and moist to dry soil. Love ya!

# Bitter panic grass (Panicum amarum var amarum) Don't let the name fool you, this is a top native ornamental grasses. This graceful clump-forming plant grows to 3-4 feet in zones 2-9. Mixes well with countless perennials helps stabilize soil.

# New England aster (Aster Symp novae angliae'Roseus')-purple drama, and a rare plant, to boot this glorious addition to the fall landscape grows in zones 3-8 to a height of 3-4 feet. Pinch tips in early July for bushiness. One inch flowers crown these tall stems that will benefit from division every five years or so.

# Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) With time, this ground-hugging mat of everygreen foliage produces multiple red berries that last into winter. This is one of the few plants that is truly everygreen in our local woods. Best in a spot by itself like a shaded slope or tree base. It grows just to 2-4 inches in part sun to part to full shade in moist zone 3-7 locations. A favorite.

# Gayfeather 'Devil's Bite' (Liatris scariosa var. 'White Spires') This pure white form of liatris produces its ivory buttons on tall stems clothed in thin leaves. It is perfect for a sunny location whether moist or dry in zones 3-9 and grows to 2-4 feet. Try it against warm-toned fall blooms-stunning!

# Slender rosinweed (Silphium gracile) These yellow beauties are a tall standout for sunny spaces in the fall with moist to dry soil in zones 5-9. Very deserving of a primary place in the fall garden.

# Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) gets its name from the zigzag habit of the stems. This woodland edge species has September-blooming flowers born in small clusters along the stem in a wide range of sun to shade and moist to dry conditions in zones 3-9. Great for the beginner and the aficionado alike.

# Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) one of New England's premier native understory trees has a narrow habit and blueberry-like bell-shaped flowers in summer that are great for bees. This cousin of rhododendrons has some of the most brilliant red fall color shows of any plant and grows in sun to part sun in moist to dry one 4-9 conditions. A great favorite of New England Wild Flower Society staff and a must-have in the native garden.

# Half-high blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Northblue') After the berries come some of fall's reddest foliage. Blueberries can tolerate zone 3-7 conditions and like moist to wet soil in sunny locations. This variety has a manageable size even for the small space gardener.

Horti-Culture Corner He Knows No Winter By Sudie Stuart Hager

He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,
For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,
He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds
From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.
When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,
He visualizes autumn's golden yields;
He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain
Precious moisture for his early grain;
He hears spring-heralds in the storm's ' turmoil_
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil.

The Parsnip By Ogden Nash

The parsnip, children, I repeat
Is simply an anemic beet.
Some people call the parsnip edible;
Myself, I find this claim incredible.