Thursday, January 8, 2015

January 2015


Planters Punchlines

Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield

January 2015

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"Hydroponic Gardening by Cell Phone"

@ Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield January Meeting

Monday January 26 @ 7:00 pm in the Pitkin Community Center



Wethersfield resident Paul Langdon will talk about his and Curt Downing's prize-winning compact, vertical hydroponic garden — made of PVC pipe, downspouts and gutters – that grows 160 plants and is controlled from a cell phone. 



Compostable Matter

By Jim Meehan



Marsha and I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico for the Christmas holiday.  Our daughter-in-law and son live there.  She is the daughter of a Master Gardener and an avid, very good plants-woman in her own right.  Our son learned from me and therefore provides muscle when and where he is directed.

             
There was however nothing horticultural going on while we were there – except what transpires secretly under the earths’ surface during its supposedly dormant season.  Despite its tropical sounding name, northern New Mexico (even with its more southerly latitude) is just about as plant-friendly during the winter months as southern New England.

             
The reason?  Particularly out west, altitude equals latitude.

             
A good “rule of thumb” for elevation’s effect on climate (even on the east coast) is 1,000 feet of altitude = 300 miles of latitude = 4 degrees F in temperature.  Here is a “small math” example. Santa Fe is forty miles north of Albuquerque and 2,000 feet higher.  So it is usually about 8.5 degrees cooler.   Wethersfield, CT has an altitude of forty-five feet above sea level.  Santa Fe is about 7,000 feet at its lowest – more than enough to eliminate any temperate effects of Northern New Mexico's more southern latitude.

             
As a result the Santa Fe area has between 150 to 180 frost-free days with the last frost occurring usually between April 20 and May 10.  By comparison CT has around 210 days with a slightly earlier end to the freezing season.  To make matters worse, Santa Fe’s annual rainfall is a measly14.21 inches.  (New Mexico does have some similarities to the country from which it borrowed its name.) CT averages over four times that amount.

             
The story of New Mexico is in large part the story of water – who owns it, who needs it, and how to distribute it.  In rural areas this was accomplished by “acequias” community-operated watercourses with engineered canals that carry snow runoff or river water to distant fields.  Each acequia was managed by its own
“Mayordomo” and commission.  Most of the “engineering” was done by trial and error, experience, oral tradition, and more or less continuous manual labor with shovels and rakes.  One result of this system is that the older properties in the Santa Fe area are laid out long and narrow with access to the waters of the Santa Fe River at one end, and housing at the other.  Inconsequential today when the river is more of an occasional trickle than a rapidly flowing source of sustenance.

            
 Our D-I-L and son live about one quarter mile from the SF River, but not on one of the funky old-time tracts.  (Their area was in fact a Japanese internment during WWII, but that’s a different history lesson.) She uses soaker hoses and generates a very productive harvest that last year included kale, sungold tomatoes, arugula, dill, hollyhocks and buffalo grass.

             
They sent, and we received and sowed a package of NM their hollyhock seeds this past autumn.  There is hope that these biennials will flourish in our plant-loving CT environment.  We have tried this before.  Some succeeded.   Others literally drowned in the overabundance of water – or succumbed to the dreaded Hollyhock “rust”.  This crop is intended to take over the space that was formerly allocated to our miniscule vegetable garden of six tomato plants.

             
But it’s only January – way too early to even think about gardening back here in “The Land of Steady Habits”.  Still, like gardeners in more fertile areas, our D-I-L is eagerly poring over her newly ordered seed catalogs out in the cold, arid “Land of Enchantment” – one of them from Baker Seed, owners of our own home town Comstock Ferre.

             
In his book “A Garlic Testament: Seasons on a Small New Mexico Farm”, author and farmer Stanley Crawford writes “To dream a garden and then to plant it is an act of independence and even defiance to the greater world.”

             
Overdramatic hyperbole to us sea level, drought-free, Northeastern plantsmen.  But spot on accurate for our high desert dwelling family and friends – and their predecessors.



The 10 Worst Garden Weeds

motherearthnews.com - By Shelley Stonebrook



 Weeds are an inevitable thorn in every gardener’s side. While some weeds offer benefits, such as the edible greens of young dandelions and the nutritious roots of burdock, many quickly become a frustrating, ongoing struggle if you don’t spot them early. Garden weeds can steal water, sunlight and soil nutrients from food crops, and some even release toxic chemicals into the soil that inhibit the growth of other plants.

             
To find out which garden weeds pose the biggest problems in gardens throughout the United States and Canada, MOTHER EARTH NEWS surveyed more than 2,000 gardeners. We asked respondents to rate which weeds were the worst in their gardens, and to tell us about their best organic weed control methods. They also rated the effectiveness of specific mulch types, organic herbicides and tools used to cope with garden weeds.

             
Two thousand gardeners can’t be wrong — the best tools for keeping ahead of weeds include several types of hoes (see Hard-Working Garden Hoes), a good garden fork, a garden knife, a dandelion puller (some use an old screwdriver or butcher knife instead), and a high-quality pair of gloves.

            
 Grasses took the cake among the top 10 worst weeds in home gardens with four representatives: crab grass, Bermuda grass, quack grass and Johnson grass. Dishonorable mentions included docks, lamb’s-quarters, knotweed and poison ivy. Hand weeding and mulching heavily with organic matter were far and away the control measures that received the most praise, and nothing beats frequent monitoring and early intervention for protection against serious infestations.

             
1. Crab Grass: Aliases: crowfoot grass, finger grass, pigeon grass, polish millet

             
This super-fast-growing annual is the worst weed plaguing veggie gardens. Thriving in nearly every U.S. state and southern Canada, it makes crabby cursers out of gardeners from California to the Carolinas. “Is there a way to win with this monster?” an Ontario gardener with more than 20 years of experience asked. Many simply pleaded, “Help!”

             
Yes, there is a way to win! Knowing how to spot crab grass is key.. and hoe or pull up the hand-like seed heads throughout summer. This weed is hard to deal with partly because it tends to wait for warm days to sprout, which is likely after you’ve finished your spring weeding and mulching routines and your crops are already coming up. When the weather turns hot, crab grass goes into overdrive, sending out long stems that grow so fast they may flower and go to seed before you even notice them among your carrots. If you do notice them, you may pull what you think is the plant but fail to notice that you left behind some stems that had rooted at the nodes (where secondary stems sprout off from the main stem), perhaps a foot or two away from the main crown. Unnoticed, those pieces will grow and set seeds, and next summer you’ll have even more sneaky crabbies sprouting.

             
If you learn how to spot crab grass and remove it all each summer, you can prevent it from becoming a huge problem. Hand weeding and hoeing were rated as effective control measures, and mulching will help, as long as you spot and remove any seedlings that sneak up through the mulch. Crab grass grows best in acidic soil, so if you’re having trouble with it, test your soil’s pH and add lime to reduce the acidity if needed.

             
2. Dandelion: Aliases: lion’s tooth, blowball, cankerwort

             
Dandelion sprang in at the No. 2 spot, but — wait! — before any dandelion lovers get up in arms about this perennial plant making our worst weeds list, let’s fully acknowledge its benefits. Numerous survey respondents waxed poetic about enjoying all parts of dandelion: tender young leaves for salad greens, flowers for wine, roots for flavoring herbal vinegar, roasted roots for a coffee substitute, and other uses. Many reported feeding dandelions to their rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese, or letting them flower to serve as food for bees and other beneficial insects.

             
But for those of you who do want to control dandelions, our respondents reported several effective methods. Dandelions have one thick taproot that can extend more than a foot into the ground. The fluffy seed heads of dandelions appear from March to fall frost, so getting these weeds before the seeds float all over your garden is crucial.

             
A Washington gardener (more than 20 years of experience) reported payingneighborhood kids to dig up dandelions, including the roots. Pulling without removing some of the taproot is futile, as plants can endure their leaves being plucked several times. “This is a weed that needs the roots dug up, or it must be covered thickly so it can’t come up. Light organic mulches won’t stop it” (Oklahoma gardener, more than 20 years of experience). Others reported success with specialized tools such as a dandelion puller.

             
3. Bermuda Grass: Aliases: wire grass, scutch grass, devil grass

             
This perennial grass was a devil for 51 percent of respondents. Not only is it incredibly difficult to kill, but its roots actually give off chemicals that harm other plants (a phenomenon called allelopathy). When we asked gardeners how they handled this weed, one respondent said frankly, “It handles me.” After the weather warms up, this grass grows rapidly: A single sprig can expand to a 10-foot-wide plant in just a few weeks, and the creeping stems quickly develop a massive root system. The grass sprouts from rhizomes (pieces of root) that break off if you try to dig out the plants. Because of this, tilling tends to make a Bermuda infestation even worse.

             
If you’re dealing with Bermuda grass, mulch heavily. Even though this grass will probably still run above and below your mulch, the mulch will make it easier to pull. You could also try laying plastic or wooden boards over the top of the area where the grass is growing. An Arkansas gardener with more than 20 years of experience offered this tip: “Hand pulling and digging the roots is the only thing that works, and keeping the grass out by digging a moat around the garden is effective after you’ve dug out all you can.” Solarizing affected areas may also help weaken the plant (see “Organic Weed Control: What Works, What Doesn’t” near the end of this article for instructions on how to solarize).

             
4. Bindweed: Aliases: woodbine, lady’s nightcap, wild morning glory, creeping Jenny, hedge bells, possession vine

             
Bindweed, a perennial cousin to the sweet potato, got no sweet comments from the 46 percent of respondents who were dealing with it in their gardens. Many bindweed-battlers noted this weed’s persistence, and one even called it a “zombie plant” because it’s so difficult to kill. Bindweed can sprout, resprout and resprout from wide, spreading roots that can reach as deep as 30 feet underground! And, if you let this weed’s flowers go to seed in your garden, watch out: The seeds can stay viable for up to 50 years. You must dig or pull all bindweed shoots when they first appear, and keep pulling. Repeated pulling will weaken the roots until — hopefully — they die out. If you let bindweed get established, you may never be able to eliminate it.

             
A few respondents had tried bindweed mites with some success. A Colorado gardener said free mites can be obtained from the state insectary (a program of the Department of Agriculture) and worked best in non-watered parts of the garden. A New Mexico gardener with three to five years of experience said, “This darn weed seems to ignore herbicides, and tilling just spreads the plants around. Judicious hand weeding is the only way I have found to keep this prolific weed out of my garden.” Use a fork instead of a hoe to dig up bindweed, as you’ll leave fewer fragments behind, and dig after a rain or heavy watering when the roots are less brittle.

             
5. Chickweed: Aliases: starweed, satin flower, tongue grass, passerina, clucken wort, skirt button

             
Rather than fighting it, several gardeners used chickweed as an edible green (one gardener tosses its leaves with honey and lemon juice to make a tasty salad) and take advantage of its medicinal properties (some make it into a salve to soothe skin irritation).

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Chickweed is a low-growing, c­old-tolerant annual that takes off in early winter. If you notice it then, turn it over with a fork and leave it in the garden. If you don’t get to it until early spring, switch to careful-hand-pulling-and-raking mode.

            
 “Chickweed is the worst for me. It grows so quickly! If you pull it at the wrong time, the seeds pop out everywhere — argh! I hand pull early, then use fabric mulch to cover the spot” (Maryland gardener, 11 to 20 years of experience).

            
 Several gardeners commented on how quickly this winter annual goes to seed. Seeds can germinate after being in the soil for up to 10 years, so if you have a major chickweed problem, stay on top of it before your plants set seed, and don’t compost chickweed plants no matter what stage of growth they’re in (chickweed seeds can continue to mature even after you pull the plant). 

             
One respondent reported that this is the worst weed around perennial crops such as strawberries. It requires intensive hand weeding, but its roots are shallower and thus easier to handle than others that made our worst weeds list. Plus, it’s called chickweed for a reason: Many love feeding this weed to their poultry. “Just pull up the clumps and toss them to your ducks — they love it!” (Virginia gardener, more than 20 years of experience).

            
 6. Ground Ivy: Aliases: creeping Charlie, cat’s foot, field balm, dollar weed

             
This creeping perennial had crept unwelcomingly into the gardens of 38 percent of survey respondents. Common in the eastern half of the United States, ground ivy roots at the nodes and rapidly creates an expanding, densely matted plant. Many gardeners reported that persistence was key with this weed. “Just keep pulling it out, year after year. If you keep on it, it will recede” (New York gardener, 11 to 20 years of experience). Another said, “Hand weeding does the trick, but by God it’s tedious and requires an almost vicious persistence” (Illinois gardener, 11 to 20 years of experience). Many reported that watering the affected area one hour before a thorough hand weeding session made the job easier. Tackle this task before the plants have developed seed.

             
A couple of gardeners reported that using raised beds to keep the soil a bit drier, plus removing all of the underground runners, had helped. As with many weeds on our list, gardeners said tilling made ground ivy come back even more vigorously, as tilling spreads root fragments around and exposes dormant seeds to water and light.

             
7. Canada Thistle: Aliases: creeping thistle, small-flowered thistle, green thistle

            
 Handling this prickly summer perennial requires heavy leather gloves and strong determination. From an Ontario gardener with more than 20 years of experience: “This is hands down my biggest problem. I’ve tried everything, but it only seems to provoke this plant. I’m at my wits’ end and considering an herbicide as this weed is now costing me money in my 6-acre market garden. Help!”

             
Several gardeners reported getting control of Canada thistle by chopping down the plant before it went to seed and then pouring vinegar, salt, or a mixture of vinegar and salt water down the stem area. Repeat this process until you exhaust the roots. Vinegar is a broad-spectrum herbicide, and even though it’s water-soluble and will wash away after a heavy rain, avoid spraying it on weeds on windy days or pouring it right next to crops, or you could harm them, too (see “Organic Weed Control: What Works, What Doesn’t” near the end of this article for more on vinegar and other organic herbicides).

             
Many found success using a fork or narrow shovel to dig deep around the plants (target the mother plant, which is generally taller than others nearby), getting the whole root system, because any root fragments left in the ground will sprout into more plants. Do this when the ground is saturated so the roots will be easier to separate from the soil. Like the other worst weeds, controlling Canada thistle when it first appears is crucial. Neglect it, and you will soon have a serious problem. Some gardeners reported that their goats loved eating Canada thistle, and others said that, instead of fighting it, they used the fibers in the stems of these plants to make rope.

             
8. Burdock: Aliases: clotbur, wild rhubarb

             
Some gardeners controlled biennial burdock by pouring vinegar down the stem on hot days. One offered this tip: “The key to getting rid of burdock is to till the ground between rows or plants every 10 days in the spring and early summer, which halts the weed’s growing cycle” (Tennessee gardener, six to 10 years of experience). This makes sense, as burdock can take over in areas that aren’t worked much. This weed has a deep taproot similar to that of dandelion. Take the time to dig out the taproot of established plants when you can, as this plant “doesn’t much care whether you mulch it — it’s so vigorous, it just pushes right back up!” (Michigan gardener, more than 20 years of experience).

            
 Some beneficial uses of this plant include eating the roots (one respondent pickles them) and using it medicinally for conditions from arthritis to sore throat. Or, you could harvest burdock leaves for composting: “The deep taproots bring up many beneficial nutrients. If you want extra material for your compost pile, purposely plant a few seed balls in rows a foot apart. Keep cutting all but two leaves off and put them in the compost bin. This will provide a nearly endless, fast-growing supply” (Michigan gardener, three to five years of experience).

             
9. Quack Grass: Aliases: couchgrass, quitchgrass, creeping wheat

             
Perennial quack grass — which one respondent called “the worst menace” — spreads primarily via thin, creeping underground rhizomes that release chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. “This weed requires that you remove the runner roots. A garden fork is essential for loosening the soil, followed by a rake, cultivator or CobraHead hoe to lift out the roots” (Wisconsin gardener, more than 20 years of experience). Quack grass roots break easily as you handle them, so go slowly and take care to remove root fragments as you dig up the grass clumps.

            
 “This is the worst weed! It took three years for my wife and me to get it out of the display beds at our garden center. Dig all the roots out, and repeat often until all the bits are gone. A local church that was helping a woman weed her garden used quite a few of the youth to help, and they loved my suggestion to see who could dig the longest quack grass root” (Alberta gardener, 11 to 20 years of experience). When you or anyone helping you pulls quack grass, let it dry fully in the sun before you compost it.

            
 Many respondents warned against tilling this weed, as doing so will make it “spawn many children.” Some reported success with cover crops such as field peas, buckwheat or crimson clover, which outcompete quack grass. This weed is common pasture grass in some areas, so if you’re buying hay mulch or composted manure (quack grass seeds aren’t phased by the digestive tracts of grazing animals) from somewhere this plant is common, make sure you’re not getting a product rife with quack grass seed.

             
10. Johnson Grass: Aliases: Egyptian grass, Morocco millet, false guinea grass

             
One gardener battling Johnson grass referred to this noxious perennial as “Bermuda grass on steroids.” If you want to beat this weed, dig out an entire clump and lay it gently in a wheelbarrow or on your sidewalk without trying to knock off the soil. After it’s out of your garden, start removing the roots from the soil, taking care to get every last fragment. Set the dug-out clumps in a pile and let them rot for several months before tossing the whole lot into your compost pile.

            
 “Johnson grass is very serious for me. It has taken over my strawberries and asparagus beds. We’ve tried to dig up the roots, but they’re an extensive, interlocking system” (Pennsylvania gardener, 11 to 20 years of experience). If Johnson grass has taken over perennial beds, your best bet may be to move your crops to a new location during their dormant season, then plant a cover crop that will suppress the remaining grass. One respondent had success defeating Johnson grass by setting up a chicken house over the affected area, letting the birds eat the sprouting grasses every time they surfaced. Eventually, the rhizomes weakened and died.



Top vegetables to grow in 2015

Get sowing now and try these tasty and nutritious new veg

By Sarah Raven - http://www.telegraph.co.uk



Early in January and February is a good time to flip through all the new seed catalogues and find some exciting new vegetables to grow.

             
Many of us love spinach, but if it's been conventionally grown it's one of the plants which contains the highest pesticide residue, even after a good wash (visit ewg.org). This is therefore a good crop to grow yourself, yet spinach can be tricky to germinate. So instead, choose komatsuna (thompson-morgan.com) ideal for sowing in a greenhouse, or a sheltered spot under a plastic tunnel or cloche. It's easier to grow than baby-leaf spinach, but similar in flavour.

             
The plants are hardy enough to grow right through winter – particularly under glass – but also fine to grow and slow to bolt in spring and summer.

             
Salsola (realseeds.co.uk), is great raw in salads. It reminds me of samphire and is popular with chefs, who wilt it down by quick-frying in olive oil or butter. This is delicious served with almost any fish and is another cut-and-come-again annual (or, strictly speaking, a tender perennial). Harvest it with scissors, cutting off the top shoots. To aid germination, put the seed in the freezer for a few days before sowing.

             
Suttons.co.uk also have true samphire – the delicious stuff usually harvested from the mudflats of East Anglia, Kent and the Brittany coast. There's no reason we can't all grow it as a cut-and-come-again. I imagine it will need regular watering, but I'm certainly going to try it.

             
For later in the summer, I've also fallen for a blue-black tomato 'Indigo Rose' (suttons.co.uk; denieuwetuin.be). Two gardener-grower friends of mine grew this last year and recommend it – sweet, tangy and thin-skinned. The skin contains the same pigment as blueberries and blood oranges (anthocyanin), one of the most powerful antioxidants yet discovered.

            
 Look out also for the almost everlasting sweetcorn 'Red Strawberry' (thompson-morgan.com; denieuwetuin.be), invaluable for looking good in displays and wreaths. I'm hoping to grow a glade of this next summer. And I'm planning to use it as my vertical climbing frame for a new bean discovery 'Helda' (organiccatalogue.com; kingsseedsdirect.com; sarahraven.com), again recommended by friends. It has meltingly tender flesh and no hint of that terrible stringiness which puts us all off grown-too-large runners.

            
 Then, for the end of the year but for sowing this spring, I'm trying out flower sprouts, a cross between a Brussels sprout and kale (dobies.co.uk). I've only eaten these in London restaurants, but this year we should all grow our own. They taste like a mild, sweeter sprout and are very good for you. Like all brassicas, they contain vitamins and antioxidants to boost our immune systems.

             
My final must-sow is kale from Peter Bauwens's unusual list (denieuwetuin.be). We should all eat more of this. It's full of compounds, which turn on the detoxifying system in our own cells and so help protect against various cancers. If you can find kales which look good in the garden as well as being good to eat, and give us a new boost of life, you're on to a winner.



Horti-Culture Corner

http://www.guy-sports.com/humor



Thank God

           

Albert took over an old, run-down, abandoned allotment. The beds were overgrown with weeds, the shed was falling down, and the greenhouse was just a frame with broken glass.

             
During his first day of work, the vicar stopped by to bless Albert's work, saying, "May you and God work together to make this the allotment of your dreams!"

             
A few months later, the vicar stopped by again. Lo and behold, it was completely transformed. The shed had been expertly rebuilt, vegetables were growing in neat rows and the greenhouse had been re-glazed and was full of plump, ripe tomatoes.

             
"Amazing!" exclaimed the vicar. "Look what God and you have accomplished together!"  

             
"Yes, reverend," said Albert, "but remember what the place was like when God was working it alone!"



Cutting the Grass



Michael O'Leary was waiting at the bus stop with his friend, Paddy Maguire, when a lorry went by loaded up with rolls of turf.

             
O'Leary opined, 'I'm gonna do that when I win de lottery, Maguire.'

             
'What's that, Michael?' responds his mate.

             
'Send me lawn away to be cut,' concludes O'Leary.



Short Gardening Jokes



A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.

   

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;

Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

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