Planters
Punchlines
Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield
November/December 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOLIDAY PARTY TIME! (In lieu of Nov/Dec Meetings)
The annual club Holiday Party will be held on
Monday December 7, 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)
Bring a potential member @
the above prices.
If they join the club, then
their first year $15 dues are free.
RSVP (including potential
member-guests) to President Tony Sanders at 860.529.3257 by Friday November 20.
WESTON ROSE GARDEN “WINTER OVER”
Saturday November 14 @ 8:00
a.m.
Branches will be trimmed, & piled next to the driveway (town
will pick up), and compost placed around the bushes. BYO pruners & work gloves please.
Compostable Matter
By Jim Meehan
Sometimes
you are just in the right place at the right time.
Had Mars
and I departed ten seconds earlier we would not have seen the magnificent deer
galloping across the otherwise deserted four-lane highway – or at best maybe
caught a brief glimpse of a brown blur in our rearview mirror.
If we had
left five seconds sooner we would have been an unwilling part of a roadside
sculpture made up of red automobile metal and road-kill venison on Route 70
near New Bern, North Carolina.
We went to
the coastal part of the Tar Heel State in mid-October to extend our summertime
at a beachfront condo that we have rented intermittently for the past ten years
or so.
Mars and I
walked the grounds each morning around seven on our way to fetch the local
newspaper at a nearby upscale trailer park resort. But this year we noticed something was
missing.
As I wrote
in 2010, “The grounds of the condo are landscaped with a mixture of southern
perennials and annuals between the units, and a combination of prickly pear
cactus and white trumpet-shaped flowers on squash-like vines along the sides of
the driving area.
“A few
evenings into our getaway I noticed that these large white flowers were still
wide-open, well after dark. Then, one
day around 10:00 a.m., I noticed that they were completely closed up.
“Mars, who
had observed all of this strange plant behavior days before, opined that they
looked to be a form of Datura – a shrubby annual plant that we had previously
seen in New Mexico (along with the prickly pear cactus). It contains toxic or narcotic alkaloids and
is used as a hallucinogen by some American Indian peoples.
“The
Carolina species was the dusk to dawn version of the plant – sort of a “Deadly
Nightshift”.
“When I got
home I typed “white trumpet night flower” into Google.
“‘The Datura, or bush moon plant has six-inch
or larger white trumpet flowers that open at night and remain open well into
the following day.’”
The late Paul Courchaine, a
former club member, read this and was inspired to pot a few of these night
bloomers in front of Lucky Lou’s restaurant in Old Wethersfield. I think they lasted about a year before Lucas
(the owner) decided that he preferred usable herbs rather than poisonous
perennials at his portal. Go figure!
Now they
are absent from the condo grounds also.
For whatever reason there time had come down there too. Still the land is ‘scaped with an attractive
assortment of plants – some unknown to our Damn Yankee eyes, and others that we
are familiar with, but only as summer annuals in a pot. And, even though all of the flowers have
passed, there still is the pervasive perfume of gardenias throughout – even at
the tee boxes of the golf course at which we hit the stupid little ball on five
occasions.
This is the
latest in the year that we have gone to the Carolina Coast – so we were not
sure what to expect foliage-wise on the return trip, or when we arrived back
home.
Being
principally an area of oaks and pines (mostly Loblolly – my new favorite tree
name) Mars and I did not see much color change while we were down at the beach.
As always
we drove home on the lesser highways of the DelMarVa area and as we moved
further inland the shrubbery and forests became more varied and the leaf-show
began. This size and brilliance of this
Technicolor tunnel intensified through Virginia and Delaware finally reaching a
stunning crescendo of red, yellow, and orange on (would you believe?) the New
Jersey Turnpike. The fever pitch of
foliage lasted through New York State, into Connecticut, down Griswold Road and
into our driveway. In spite of being
lifetime New Englanders it was Mars and my first ever full-on foliage
safari. It was awesome.
The next
day broke sunny and chilly – my definition of autumn – and it took me no time
at all to fire up my mulching mower and to shred the shedded leaves that
blanketed my front lawn.
This is
perhaps my favorite act of gardening.
And my way of reconnecting with the spirits of those primitive plantsmen
who have gone before me – returning to the earth the nourishing vestiges
of nature’s high-rises, with the warm sun on my back and a gentle breeze
cooling my body – while at the same time polluting the atmosphere with the
noxious fumes and carbureted noise of my little red Toro.
Soon
enough, if not already, all the leaves will be down and the skies will be
gray. And all of us will begin counting
the days until that first bud of spring.
In fact I am already planning on setting up camp in my front yard
sometime in the middle of February so as not to miss even one second of this
big event.
Sometimes
you have got to put yourself in the right place, and then sit and wait until
the right time comes along.
5 Weeds You Want in your Garden
by Amy - http://www.tenthacrefarm.com/
Increase
the productivity of your garden by knowing how to harness the power of these
top 5 weeds.
Weeds can
overwhelm even the most patient gardener. Some weeds, however, actually
increase the productivity of a garden if you know how to harness their power.
Here are the top 5 weeds you’ll want to find in your garden.
The Benefits of Weeds
Last week I
wrote about the benefits of weeds. I used to be so frustrated by weeds until I
learned about their benefits. I’m a much happier gardener now that my
perception has changed!
1: Weeds
protect soil.
Weeds are
fast growing, so they can quickly cover bare ground to protect it. Their roots
hold soil together and keep it from eroding away in the wind or rain.
2: Weeds
fertilize soil.
Many weeds
accumulate vital nutrients from the subsoil and bring the nutrients into their
leaves. As the weed leaves die back, they make a healing medicine (fertilizer)
for damaged topsoil.
3: Weeds
condition soil.
Decaying
roots–especially deep taproots–add organic matter to the soil, provide channels
for rain and air to penetrate, and create tunnels for worms and other beneficial
soil microbes.
4: Weeds
attract beneficial insects.
Weeds are
generally quick to sprout, but relatively short-lived. For this reason, they
flower frequently in order to set seed for the next generation. The flowering
and their dense foliage can attract beneficial insects looking for habitat or
nectar.
How I Chose
the Top 5 Weeds
It was
really difficult to narrow this list down to just 5 beneficial weeds! I focused
on the most common weeds (at least, in my area) that fill two important roles:
They accumulate
nutrients. This will reduce the amount of time and money I need to dedicate to
fertilizer. And if I do decide to fertilize with store-bought products, the
presence of these weeds may indicate what nutrients my soil is lacking.
They
attract beneficial insects. This will reduce the amount of time and money I
must dedicate to battling pests.
By
fertilizing and reducing pest populations, these weeds will increase the
productivity of my gardens, it’s simply a matter of knowing how to harness
their power.
All of
these weeds also have medicinal properties and are nutritious edibles. I’ve
mentioned where these properties exist but further study would be required for
usage details.
Top 5 Weeds
5. Plantain
Brought
into North America by colonists, plantain often pops up where soil is
compacted.
Nutrient
Accumulator: Plantain accumulates calcium, sulfur, magnesium, manganese, iron,
and silicon.
Plantain has edible and medicinal
properties.
How to use
plantain in the garden:
Plantain
will benefit the soil if left to grow and die back on its own. For a tidier
garden, cut the leaves back monthly (but leave the roots intact) and tuck them
under the mulch, or lay them on top of the soil to naturally decompose.
4.
Chickweed
Chickweed
shows up in disturbed soil such as garden beds and highly tilled areas,
indicating low fertility.
Nutrient
Accumulator: Chickweed accumulates potassium and phosphorus.
Beneficial Insects: Chickweed attracts
pollinators searching for nectar in the spring and early summer.
Chickweed has edible, lettuce-like
greens and medicinal properties
How to use
Chickweed in the garden:
Chickweed
will benefit the soil if left to grow and die back on its own. For a tidier
garden, cut the plants back monthly (but leave the roots intact) and tuck them
under the mulch, or lay them on top of the soil to naturally decompose. Note:
Cutting it back will reduce its availability to pollinators.
3. Lamb’s
Quarters
The
presence of lamb’s quarters is common in old farm fields, where chemical
fertilizers were used in excess. Over time, these “weeds” will improve the soil quality.
Nutrient
Accumulator: Lamb’s quarters’ deep roots accumulate nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium, calcium, and manganese while loosening the soil.
Highly nutritious edible properties when
found growing in safe environments. The leaves go for a high price to local
chefs.
How to use
lamb’s quarters in the garden:
Lamb’s
quarters will benefit the soil if left to grow and die back on their own, but
one plant can set over 75,000 seeds. For a tidier garden, cut the plants back
monthly (but leave the roots intact) and tuck them under the mulch, or lay them
on top of the soil to naturally decompose.
2. White
Clover
White
clover voluntarily shows up in nitrogen-lacking, dry, abandoned fields and
lawns that cover hardpan clay soil. Lawns where grass clippings are routinely
carted away over time become lacking in nitrogen.
Nitrogen
fixer: Nitrogen is necessary for plant growth. It is present in the atmosphere,
yet it must be converted into a useable form in the soil before it can be used
by plants. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria live on the roots of clover and change the
atmospheric nitrogen into a form that is useful to both themselves and other
plants.
Nutrient Accumulator: Clover accumulates
phosphorus.
Beneficial insects: Clover attracts
ladybugs, minute pirate bugs, and pollinators looking for nectar. It provides
shelter for parasitoid wasps, spiders, and ground beetles. Clover is a
preferred egg-laying site for lacewings.
White clover has edible flowers.
How to use
White Clover in the garden:
Many
clovers are used as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop which is planted in the fall
and turned under in the spring before planting crops with high nitrogen
requirements. White clover, however, is generally not used for this purpose. It
is used more often as a permanent ground cover in orchard areas, where it keeps
the soil and shallow fruit tree roots covered, attracts pollinators and
beneficial insects, and provides a consistent source of nitrogen. In the
vegetable garden, white clover is often used in pathways, fertilizing nearby
garden soil.
When white
clover shows up as a volunteer in my vegetable garden beds, I allow it to
remain in the spaces between plants. Since it voluntarily shows up in areas
that are low in nitrogen, I trust that it is needed there. Prune it away from
individual plants so that it doesn’t smother them.
1.
Dandelion
Dandelion
is one of the most common and arguably the most beneficial of all weeds. It
often shows up in disturbed, tilled, hard-pan clay soils, whether in gardens,
old fields, or lawns.
Nutrient
Accumulator: Dandelion’s deep roots accumulate potassium, phosphorus, calcium,
copper, iron, magnesium, and silicon while loosening the soil.
Beneficial insects: Dandelion attracts
ladybugs and pollinators looking for nectar. It also attracts parasitoid wasps
and lacewings.
Dandelion has edible leaves, roots, and
flowers with highly medicinal properties.
How to use
dandelion in the garden:
Dandelion
will benefit the soil if left to grow and die back on its own, though one
flower seed head can set over 100 seeds. For a tidier garden, cut the leaves
back monthly (but leave the roots intact) and tuck them under the mulch, or lay
them on top of the soil to naturally decompose. Note: Cutting them back will
reduce their availability to beneficial insects.
Beyond the
Five
Weeds are
nature’s way of healing itself. If you have a persistent weed that isn’t listed
here, resources such as Gaia’s Garden or Edible Forest Gardens may be able to
instruct you on other weeds.
Consider
the root structure of the weed in question: are they shallow roots and grow
thickly on the ground, perhaps holding the soil together to prevent wind and
water erosion? If so, mulching heavily might help. Or do the weeds have deep
taproots, possibly loosening soil and dredging up nutrients? If so, adding
organic matter and using a digging fork to loosen soil might help.
Some
weeds–like poison ivy--are a real nuisance, in which case it is better to
eradicate them in garden areas.
Do you see
these 5 weeds in your garden? Has this changed your perception of them?
Increase
the productivity of your garden by knowing how to harness the power of these
top 5 weeds.
The Amazing Yokohama Squash
By Randel Agrella - rareseeds.com (aka Baker Seeds)
(Randel
Agrella is the former manager of Comstock Ferre where the seeds are available.)
Until the mid-19th century,
Japan was seen as a mysterious Oriental land, closed to most westerners and
virtually all Americans. In the 1850’s, with Commodore Perry’s forcible
“Opening of Japan” the situation changed dramatically. Japanese trade goods and
art became available, captivating the imagination of a generation of Americans.
Plants were
part of the cultural avalanche. One such is Yokohama squash, a superior winter
squash that had evolved through centuries of painstaking selection by
meticulous Japanese gardeners.
In America,
Yokohama was introduced by a wealthy New York City horticulturist, James Hogg.
Hogg’s brother Thomas visited Yokohama, Japan on business, sending home seeds
from Japanese varieties hitherto unknown in the West. In 1863 Hogg successfully
grew the variety, naming it “Yokohama.” Hogg claimed it was superior to the Hubbard
types which were at the time the standard in American gardens.
Other
horticulturists enthusiastically agreed, and Yokohama squash soon experienced a
short-lived burst of popularity. J.H. Gregory, as quoted in The Garden, an
Illustrated Weekly Journal, London, 1873 wrote: “It is quite flat in shape,
with somewhat of a depression on each end...It is deeply ribbed, and the flesh,
which is of a lemon colour, is remarkably thick, making it the heaviest of all
Squashes in proportion to its size. The flesh is very fine grained, smooth to
the taste, and has a flavor resembling the [Canada] Crookneck...In external
color, before ripening, it is of an intensely dark green, covered with blisters
like a toad’s back; as it ripens it begins to turn a light brown at both the
stem and blossom ends, and, after storing, it soon becomes entirely of a
copper-like colour, and is covered with a slight bloom.”
Sadly,
Yokohama fell out of favor after a couple of decades, virtually disappearing
until being rediscovered in the early days of the heirloom movement. Modern
gardeners were no less impressed. William Woys Weaver wrote in Mother Earth
News that when he grew Yokohama it “resembled large chunks of hardened lava.
Gray-black, other-worldly, yet hauntingly beautiful, this unique heirloom
vegetable...was a visual study in the Japanese affection for serenity through
form and texture.
“Not only
that, the ‘Yokohama’ possesses one of the most complex flavors I have run
across in any squash or pumpkin I have grown. Everyone’s taste buds are
different, but I detect hints of Asian pear, mango, avocado, lemon balsam, and
if you have experience with tropical fruits, the unmistakable aroma of sapote.
Can this be a squash?”
Yes, it can
be a squash, but of the most admirable kind. Not only is the variety possessed
of singular flavor and texture, but the 3- to 4-pound fruits can be stored for
many months with no loss in flavor. Disease- and pest-resistance come as a
bonus, making Yokohama a world-class heirloom, deserving of a place in every
garden.
Horti-Culture Corner
"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red
berries
And the first white
snows.
With night coming
early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the
gate.
The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to
rest
Until next
spring."
-
Elizabeth Coatsworth
How to Save an Amaryllis Bulb
by Jenny Harrington, Demand Media Google - http://homeguides.sfgate.com
Amaryllis
flowers produce tall stalks topped with large, trumpet-shaped flowers. The bulbs
respond well to forcing, so they are often used for potted winter flowers.
Amaryllis bulbs require a dormant period to bloom again. By managing when
dormancy occurs you can force the amaryllis to bloom when you want it to.
Proper preparation and storage of the bulb allows it collect sufficient energy
and nutrients for flowering while also surviving dormancy without damage.
1 Trim off each flower as it begins to
wilt so it doesn't form seeds. Cut off the top portion of the stalk after all
the flowers finish blooming.
2 Move the pot to a warm window where it
receives all-day sunlight, or move it outside to a sunny area after frost
danger passes. Water the soil when the top feels dry.
3 Fertilize the plant once monthly with
a soluble fertilizer formulated for potted flowering plants, applied at the
package listed rate for the pot size.
4 Stop watering the amaryllis 12 to 14
weeks before the desired bloom time. Bring the pot indoors and store it in a 55
degree Fahrenheit area. The bulb requires about eight weeks of dormant storage
and an additional four to six weeks of growing time to produce new blooms.
5 Remove the dead foliage after it dies
back completely during storage. The bulb requires no watering and can remain in
dry soil for the remainder of the dormant period.
6 Remove the pot from storage after
eight weeks of dormancy. Remove the bulb from the old pot and plant it into a
new pot one inch large than the bulb's diameter. Water lightly and move it to a
warm area with some light. New growth resumes within one to two weeks.
New Plants for 2016: First Impressions
Posted on October 15, 2015 by Mary Schier - http://mynortherngarden.com
I’m one of
those lucky garden writers who receives plants from several plant wholesalers
to test before the plants are introduced to the public. The companies—Proven
Winners and Bailey Nurseries this year—use feedback from writers (and many
other plant testers) to make sure the plants will perform well in home gardens.
These are
plants that you will likely see in nurseries and garden centers next year.
Maybe I’m getting better at growing these new plants or maybe this is just a
particularly good year for introductions, but the plants I tried this year were
overwhelmingly great.
Here are
five that you may want to look for next year.
Campfire™
Fireburst bidens was one of the most commented on plants when my garden was on
a tour earlier this summer. The bright yellow and orange flowers add a dainty
element to containers. The blooms were prolific and the plant bloomed most of
the season. They took a bit of a break in August, but revived with some
fertilizer and more attention to watering.
Superbells®
Holy Moly™ calibrachoa is a cousin to Superbells® Cherry Star, which I loved
for its bright pink and yellow petunia-like blooms. Holy Moly is predominantly
yellow with red-pink accents. It is a prolific bloomer and looked fantastic in
several containers. This calibrachoa is known for continuing to bloom even in
the fall, and that certainly proved true in this warmer-than-average October.
The plant took a break in September, but has been blooming away since then.
Another
container plant I really liked was Lemon Coral™ sedum, a short, chartreuse annual sedum. I used the
plant in containers and it added a textural element as well as brightness. This
sedum can handle part sun and is great for brightening up a shady corner. Some
other garden bloggers have commented that the plant is a bit too aggressive,
but I grew it only in containers and did not find that it took over. That may
be because the containers were usually in part shade areas.
I’ve never
been a huge fan of potentilla, but I really liked the look of the new First
Editions® Lemon Meringue™ potentilla from Twin Cities-based Bailey Nurseries.
The blooms on this plant look like tiny, yellow roses and the foliage is neat.
The plant grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, making it a good option for smaller
landscapes. Potentilla is completely hardy to northern climates and virtually
maintenance free. This looks like a great addition to potentilla options.
The last
plant I’d like to recommend is not new per-se, but is a recent introduction for
those who love impatiens but are concerned about downy mildew on impatiens.
Northern Gardener Plant to Pick columnist Debbie Lonnee recommended the Divine
series of New Guinea impatiens in her column. Since my garden was on a tour and
I have a lot of shady spots, I bought an entire flat of them to use to brighten
up parts of the garden. They were a bit slow to get going, but once they took off
they were gorgeous. (For the tour, I grew some of them in containers, which got
them to a bigger size faster, then planted them on the edge of some of my tree,
shrub or perennial beds.) While the small frosts we’ve had recently, have
nipped some of the Divine impatiens, many are still going strong.
Which
plants did well in your garden this year?
