Planters Punchlines
Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield
February 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Native Plants for Our Native Birds"
@ Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield February Meeting
Monday February 25 @ 7:00 pm in the Pitkin Community
Center
The speaker
for February Meeting of the Men's Garden Club of Wethersfield will be the
speaker from our cancelled January meeting – Conservationist, Environmentalist,
and Migratory Songbird Enthusiast Michael Corcoran from the Connecticut Audubon
Society Center at Glastonbury. Michael will share his knowledge of how to use
native plants, trees and shrubs to create safe havens for our breeding birds
and to provide migratory birds ‘stop overs’ during their seasonal
movements. The public is invited.
Compostable Matter
By Jim Meehan
When Marsha and I went away for the
Christmas holiday we were providing room and board for between six and eight
acorn-burying bushy-tails. We left them,
and the birds with which they share the dining hall, a full feeder of sunflower
seeds – plus the biggest ear of corn I could find for their exclusive,
tree-side squirrel-feeding device. When
we returned – the canister was empty, the maize was missing, and no furry gray
rodents were in sight.
I replenished
the self-service seed silo and the corn but for several days no one – feathered
or furred – appeared to take advantage
of my somewhat guilt-ridden largesse. A
few juncos and chickadees dropped in.
Soon there was pretty much continuous wing traffic at and below the al
fresco cafeterias – but no squirrels.
Then the
crows came. In what may have been a
foreshadowing of the demise of the Patriots and Forty-niners at the hands of
the Poe-birds from Baltimore, the glossy black intruders overran our landscape
multiple times a day – totally unimpeded.
They somehow
detached the ear of corn that had been screwed onto the squirrel feeder and
tossed it to the ground. There they
took turns tentatively pecking at it and immediately hopping back in fear –
like the monkeys in the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” checking out the monolith
that fell among them.
After about a
week of all-birds-all-the-time a squirrel finally showed up – not early or
aggressively enough to claim its rightful food – but instead obsequiously
dining on leftovers underneath the sunflower feeder.
The squirrel
was fat – borderline obese actually. So
clearly it had not been in any way starving.
After two or three days it climbed (probably being of too much girth to
jump) onto the seed station. Before our holiday getaway the rodents would drape
their bodies along the side of the cylinder, gorging themselves for hours at a
time. This guy’s visit lasted less than a minute. Shortly thereafter a second tree rodent began
appearing on the scene – but not with any regularity.
During this
time we did see one flattened gray furry corpse pressed into the tarmac of our
street of residence. The crows took time
off from their Vegan ways and began takin’ it to the street.
Soon the
corpse was gone. Either our town’s
road-kill remover did his thing – or the carnivorous black birds did
theirs. In any event the ravens are back
in our yard once again in full force – but not so with the bushy tailed
rodents.
It may be
that as long as Edgar Allen Poe’s favorite birds inhabit our property all we
will have is just one or two squirrels – but (as the pessimistic poet
predicted) “never more”.
February Gardening Tips for the Northeast
By Julie Martens (http://www.bhg.com/gardening/)
Indoors:
Start Seeds Sow seeds now for early-season vegetables that can go in the ground
a couple of weeks before the last average frost date in the Northeast. This
includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and leeks. Aim to start these seeds five
to seven weeks before you want to transplant them outdoors.
Consider sowing early lettuce crops in cell
packs. When it's warm enough, you'll have clumps of greens ready to transplant
into pots or the garden.
Sow plants such as tomatoes or peppers six to
eight weeks before the last average frost date. This means you may have to wait
until the end of the month or even a little later before planting the seeds.
Outdoors:
Prune Choose a warmish day to prune landscape plants. Remove any dead or
damaged branches. Thin plants with heavily branched interiors. Do not prune
spring-flowering shrubs or trees until after they bloom. If you prune now,
you'll be cutting off blossoms.
In coastal areas, Lenten roses will begin unfurling
new leaves this month. Remove old leaves, cutting them off as close to the soil
as possible. You can differentiate old leaves from new growth by their darker
color and the fact that they stand above new growth.
Do not prune oaks and walnuts until July to
avoid wilt disease.
Test Garden
Tip: Some trees bleed sap profusely if pruned in spring. It doesn't harm the
tree, but if you want to avoid the mess, wait to prune maple, birch, and
dogwood trees until early summer.
Battle Winter Burn: In February more winter burn or
desiccation occurs. Frozen soil, strong wind, and bright late winter sun in the
Northeast combine to rob plants of moisture, and leaves can burn (turn brown)
as a result. Evergreens, such as rhododendron, azalea, holly, boxwood, or
Nandina, are more susceptible to winter burn. To limit the effects of winter
burn, spray an antidesiccant (also called an antitranspirant) when the forecast
predicts a 24-hour period of above-freezing temperatures. These products coat
leaves to prevent moisture loss.
Use Dormant
Sprays: Spray woody plants while they're dormant to help destroy overwintering
aphids, mites, and scale insects. Read label directions carefully. Most often
dormant sprays require above-40-degree temperatures followed by eight hours
without precipitation or freezing temperatures. Do not spray evergreens that
show signs of winter burn.
Use dormant
oil on evergreens to control scale, on hemlocks infested with woolly adelgid,
on ornamental trees that were infested with aphids or mites last year, and on
roses to deter aphids.
Test Garden
Tip: Beat cane fruit diseases by spraying liquid lime-sulfur on berry crops
such as raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Spray before buds begin to
swell.
Handle Winter
Ice: If a Northeast storm sheathes landscape plantings with ice, act carefully.
With young and/or short plants (less than 15 feet tall), taking action will
help minimize damage. If major limbs look like they're going to break, take
these steps. Wear protective gear to shield your head (such as a hard hat) and
goggles. Never stand directly beneath ice-coated limbs; stand to the side.
Reach up with a long pole or broom and gently tap the ends of ice-covered
branches to shake the ice free and relieve the load on the branches. Wait until
the ice has melted to prune damaged or broken branches.
For more
mature plants (taller than 15 feet), it may be best to allow nature to take its
course. If you can't reach limbs with both feet planted firmly on the ground,
do not take action.
In either
situation, if you're outdoors after an ice storm, keep an eye out for
ice-coated electrical wires that may be brought down if branches break. Protect
yourself from falling ice, too.
Test Garden
Tip: As snow begins to melt, watch for cool-season weeds to appear. Henbit,
chickweed, hairy bittercress, and other weeds will have sprouted last fall and
survived beneath snow cover. Deal with these offenders before they set seed.
Pretty Plants
-- Tuberous begonias are a colorful choice for pots, planters, and windowboxes
in the shade. You can buy them in pots later on, but save money and get better
selection by buying them as tubers and starting them now indoors. Plant the
tubers stem side up in potting soil and keep evenly moist. Grow in your
sunniest window indoors and plant outdoors once danger of frost has passed.
Then, if you're really thrifty, save the tubers from year to year.
Horti-Culture Corner
“Black Birds” by Lisl auf der Heide
When the crows
come
black against
the darkening sky
their wings
obscure the sun
and small
sounds drown
in their
strident caws.
They storm
the walnut tree
snatch the
green fruit
drop it from
great heights
retrieve the
cracked kernels.
Again and
again they dive
From tree to
ground
feathers
gleaming
where stray
sunrays touch.
And when the
mountains turn blue
with the haze
of evening
the crows
lift off in ebony formation
head toward
some secret roost
where they
blend into the night.
Good Bugs, Bad Bugs: Ladybug vs. Aphid
Round 1: Lady
Bugs: Known by many names, ladybird, ladybug or lady beetle, ladybugs are most
welcome in the garden. They are recognized as one of the most beneficial garden
insects.
Aphids are
one of the major foods of all four thousand species of this metamorphosing
insect. Ladybugs eat aphids whole as adults, and one ladybug may eat as many as
five thousand in a lifetime. As youngsters they stab aphids with their
mandibles (biting jaws) and suck out their juices, not unlike the way the aphid
sucks sap from leaves. Ladybugs are often named after the number of spots on
their wing covers. There is ten-spot ladybug, the six-spot ladybug etc. Their
wing covers are most often red or orange with black spots, but variations
include black with yellow or orange spots, yellow with black, orange with white
or even orange yellow and black all in one. In times of danger, ladybugs are
able to roll over and play dead. Their enemies don’t like to eat them because
the joints in their bodies give off a fluid that tastes bad. Their bright
colouring is said to warn birds of their awful taste.
Round 2:
Aphids: Known by many names, aphid, green fly, and plant lice, this insect is
probably the most despised of all garden pests. Most people recognize this
insect and the damage it does well before they know what it is.
The aphididae
family or aphid, is an insect that sucks the sap from the young leaves and buds
of plants. There are many different species of aphid. Some only invade one type
of plant, while others are less discerning. Either way, very few plants are
impervious to some species of aphid. They can be identified as tiny,
soft-bodied, pear shaped insects, which come in a rainbow of colours, green,
yellow, black, grey, red, purple and brown. This variation in colour can be
confusing to someone who is not familiar with them. Some have wings, while
others are wingless. Most aphids have a pair of tube-like structures protruding
from their abdomen called cornicles and a third projection from the tip of the
abdomen called a cauda.
Differences
between aphids are not just a result of variation among species, but are a
result of the aphid’s peculiar lifecycle. In the Spring all of the aphids that
hatch from over-wintered eggs are wingless females. These females are all born
with the ability to reproduce live miniature offspring called nymphs, without
the need to mate. As a result, they will rapidly reproduce all summer long.
This is why it can sometimes appear that an infestation has taken place
overnight. In the Fall, both males and females are produced which subsequently
mate to create eggs for over-wintering. Some of these females have wings, while
all of the males do.
Round 3:
Ladybugs; That schoolyard myth that ladybugs have a spot for every year they’ve
lived is untrue. Ladybugs metamorphose, and those that are long lived hibernate
over one winter. Seeking shelter in protected spaces, such as under a layer of
leaves in the woods, their body temperature lowers and they become inactive
until spring. Post-hibernation, ladybugs mate and then females lay eggs in
clusters. Over about four weeks, they will metamorphose and become adults. The
tiny oval shaped yellow eggs hatch. The ladybugs emerge as larvae, feed for two
or three weeks, then, attaching themselves to a leaf or stem, pupate (the
structure of the larval body rearranging itself completely). A week later, they
split open, shedding their exoskeletons, the familiar looking adult emerging
and leaving the pupal shell behind. At first, their wing shells are yellow and
soft: like butterflies, they must wait for their wings to dry. As they dry,
they change colour. As larvae, they don’t yet need wings: aphids are in good
supply because the momma ladybug has laid her eggs in strategic locations where
aphids are plentiful. The larvae look like tiny, six-legged alligator-like
crawlers, usually dark brown or black. Juvenile ladybug larvae are often
crushed by well meaning gardeners: their bad looks get them mistaken for pests.
Ladybugs
‘mass’ together in huge groups for hibernation: sightings of colonies of
hundreds of thousands have been reported. Scientific factsheets on this insect
also tell of gathering places ladybugs return to year after year.
There are
problems with purchasing and dispersing ladybugs though. Depending on when they
are collected they may have less appetite and reproduce less, or they may
disperse very quickly. Some gardeners even advocate glueing their lovely wings
shut with a mixture of pop and water so they won’t leave the garden. It may be
that species native to a place are better aphid-eaters than imports. Ladybugs
can be attracted with flowers such as angelica and dill, and weeds like yarrow
and dandelion (see aphids for more ladybug attracting plants).
Among others,
these insects are also threatened by the use of pesticides. There aren’t always
enough ladybugs around to control aphids, and if insecticides are used instead,
the ‘good’ bugs are killed along with the ‘bad’. That means even fewer ladybugs
the next year.
Historically
speaking, there used to be a lot more home gardens. Maybe that’s why the ladybug
is a symbol of good luck to many people. Because they have such an appetite for
aphids, there presence is a good sign to gardeners.
Ladybugs have
recently been involved in research on the effect of transgenic crops on
beneficial insects. A Scottish study found that ladybugs that fed on aphids in
turn fed on transgenic potatoes lived half as long and ate half as much.
Round 4:
Aphids: Aphids generally appear in clusters or groups on the stems and young
leaves of plants. Sometimes large colonies will develop on the underside of
leaves. The damage they do to plants includes mutations and stunted growth in
the new foliage that often appear as curling in the leaves, and poor blooms on
flowering plants. When aphids suck sap from plants they can’t metabolize all
the sugar they ingest and secrete a sticky honeydew substance as a result.
Black fungus called “sooty mould” grows on the honeydew secretions causing
further damage to the plant leaves. Aphids also transmit virus diseases from
plant to plant as a result of sucking sap from one plant and then moving to
another plant, much as mosquitoes transmit diseases amongst humans.
The old adage
that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure applies well to organic
gardening. One of the best environmentally sound ways to prevent aphids is to
attract insects to your garden that like to eat them. There are several insects
that will earn their keep, devouring aphids and keeping their populations in
check. The most well known of these is the lady bug [see column to the right].
The lady bug larvae, as well as the adult insect are voracious aphid munchers,
devouring thousands within their short lives. You can attract them to your
garden by planting Queen Anne’s Lace, butterfly weed, tansy, and goldenrod.
Many of these plants will attract other beneficial insects as well. Green
lacewings, lacewing larvae (often called aphid lions), hover fly larvae, or
parasitic wasps are all insects that specifically seek out aphids as prey. You
can even purchase lady bugs if you would prefer a faster method of increasing
the population of beneficial insects in your garden.
But what do
you do if a colony is already invading your plants and you need to get rid of
them now? The first and oldest method for removing aphids organically is by
squishing them. It’s messy but it gets the job done if there are only a few
insects present. The second manual method of removal is spraying them with a
strong burst of water. This washes them off the plant and kills quite a few of
them without any damage or harm to the plant. If you have a large colony
developing, it might be a good idea to try something stronger. Insecticidal
soap, is a foliar spray that can be purchased from Health food or environmental
stores. The soap comes in concentrated form and can be added to a spray bottle
with lots of water. Since the ratio of soap to water is small, the concentrate
lasts a long time and is relatively economical. Insecticidal soap is relatively
mild on your plants but you should still exercise caution when using it. Read
the directions that come with the product before using. You can also make your
own spray using water and citrus peel. The citrus harms the soft bodies of the
aphids but won’t do any damage to your plants. Just steep some citrus peel (any
kind) in hot water and pour the resulting “tea” into a spray bottle for use.
Hopefully
with some of these suggestions, you will not only be able to identify this
nasty critter when you see it, but have a successful plan of attack that you
can put to good use.
Fun gardening quiz (excerpts)
2. What would a gardener do with a dibber or dibble?
a) Scrape mud
off spades and trowels
b) Make holes
in compost from transplanting seedlings
c) Grade soil
particles according to size
6. What is the popular name for the flowering house plant
Impatiens walleriana?
a) Marguerite
b) Black-eyed
Susan
c) Busy
Lizzie
9. Which part of a tree can be used to make cork?
a) The bark
b) Root
tissue
c) Pulped
seeds
10. The love apple is the original name for what?
a) Potato
b) Tomato
c) Quinc
12. When a gardener makes a 'drill' what is he/she
making?
a) A machine
to make holes in the ground
b) A shallow
trench in which to sow seeds
c) A loud
noise to scare away birds
Answers:
2. b) make
holes in compost from transplanting seedlings
6. c) Busy
Lizzie
9. a) the
bark
10. b) tomato
12. b) a
shallow trench in which to sow seeds
Animal Congregations, or What Do You Call a Group
of.....?
Bitterns A sedge
Buzzards A wake
Bobolinks A chain
Coots A cover
Cormorants A gulp
Cranes A sedge
Crows A murder, horde
Dotterel A trip
Doves A dule, pitying (specific to turtle
doves)
Ducks A brace,
flock (in flight), raft (on water) team, paddling (on water), badling
Eagles A convocation
Finches A charm
Flamingos A stand
Geese A flock, gaggle (on the ground),
skein (in flight)
Grouse A pack (in late season)
Gulls A colony
Hawks A cast,
kettle (flying in large numbers), boil (two or more spiraling in flight)
Herons A sedge, a siege
Jays A party, scold
Lapwings A deceit
Larks An exaltation
Mallards A sord (in flight), brace
Magpies A tiding, gulp, murder, charm
Nightingales A watch
Owls A
parliament
Parrots A company
Partridge A covey
Peacocks A muster, an ostentation
Penguins A colony
Pheasant A nest, nide (a brood), nye, bouquet
Plovers A congregation, wing (in flight)
Ptarmigans A covey
Quail A bevy, covey
Ravens An unkindness
Snipe A walk, a wisp
Sparrows A host
Starlings A murmuration
Storks A mustering
Swallows A flight
Swans A bevy, wedge (in flight)
Teal A spring
Turkeys A rafter, gang
Woodcocks A fall
Woodpeckers A descent
1 Of 6
Terrifying Ways Crows Are Way Smarter Than You Think
Mankind has a
long and checkered past with crows and ravens: They have been feared as symbols
of death, because they're all black and scary, revered as creators of the world
because, well, it was either them or the seagulls, and worshiped as trickster
gods, because of their baffling intelligence. Intelligent enough, in fact, for
us to start worrying
Planning:
Planning sucks, because it always makes us do things, but even we have to admit
that it requires a certain level of cognition that transcends what we think of
as "animal." And yet crows do it: They frequently "cache"
food, socking away reserves in case times get lean (and there are no
tube-wielding scientists about to take advantage of). Obviously, this behavior
is not the exclusive territory of the bird world's supervillains: Plenty of
animals do it, like squirrels, but crows take it several steps further.
Since they
are omnivores and opportunists, crows are often thought of as thieves. And
hell, that's probably fair. Even crows admit that. And that's why, when crows
have food they want to stash, they always keep an eye out for other crows. If
another is watching, the crow will pretend to hide the food in their cache,
when in reality, they're stashing it in their chest feathers. Crows have
learned sleight of hand! Then they fly off and bury it in another cache, far
away from prying eyes.
Now here's
where it gets crazy: The watching crows have then been observed to follow the
hiding crows, because they know that sometimes they pull a bait and switch
themselves. This has led to a spiraling thief/counter-thief arms race, like a
little avian cold war. We can only hope and pray there's a badass crow Petrov*
out there, watching out for us when this conflict inevitably escalates.
(*Stanislav
Yevgrafovich Petrov was a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defence Forces.
On 9/26/83 he was the duty officer at the command center when the Soviet
nuclear early-warning system erroneously reported a missile being launched from
the United States. Petrov correctly
judged that the report was a false alarm thus
preventing an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States
and its NATO allies and a likely nuclear war.)
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