Planters Punchlines
Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield
June 2016
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANNUAL PICNIC - MONDAY June 6th, 5:30 -8:00 p.m. at the SOLOMON WELLES HOUSE 220 Hartford Ave.
Wethersfield.
Wives, dates, guests, potential
members are cordially invited. The
club will supply hot dogs, hamburgers, etc., beer, wine & soda.
You are asked to please bring a dessert if your name comes
alphabetically between Sey Adil and Fred Odell – an appetizer, salad or side
dish if you are between Charlie Officer and Don Williams. Please bring your own
lawn chairs. Seating on the porch in case of rain.
Call Prez Tony ASAP @ (860) 529-3257 to let him know how many people and what you are bringing.
A brief business meeting will be held before we dine to elect the
2015-16 club officers and to discuss possible July/August activities.The following will be nominated at the
picnic: President: Tony Sanders, Vice
President: Howard Becker, Secretary: James Sulzen, Treasurer: Richard Prentice.
Rose Garden: We will decide at the June picnic/meeting
when we will mulch the garden. And we
will be looking for volunteers to maintain those sections of the rose garden
that do not yet have coverage.
Compostable Matter
By Jim Meehan
I recently read something that describes what the work of
gardening means to me much more clearly than my many previous efforts in this
column. The following is from a Swedish
crime novel called “Open Grave” by Kjell Eriksson. One of the book’s characters is Karsten – a
landscaper. He may well turn out to also
be a murderer (I haven’t read that far yet) – but, so what if he is, all I care
about for now are his thoughts on the activity that brings our merry group of
plantsmen together.
“No machinery could be brought onto the
property. So now he had to dig by hand,
though actually he had nothing against that.
It was hard work that tried your patience, but after a while the precisely
weighed movements created a pleasant pace, an almost hypnotic rhythm, where
repetition gave him the time he needed for reflection, or rather a kind of
meditative calm.
“The rain did not bother him – on
the contrary the made the ground softer.
He toiled on as always, occupied by the monotony. Every shovelful
demanded a similar thought and muscular effort, but with a little variation in
every stroke, invisible to an outside observer, a kind of automated and
polished finesse that amused him, granted him satisfaction. A visitor at the edge of the excavation would
think, Nice that I don’t have to do this mechanical job.
“He had experienced so many times
how the uninformed felt sympathy for him, that he had to toil in this
old-fashioned way, that he did not let bother him. He saw it differently: Others were missing
out on something valuable and were to be pitied. They saw only the sweat that appeared on his
forehead and in his armpits and how his muscles wee forced to work. Nothing else.”
“In the hole he would plant a
magnolia, which stood in a garbage bag against the wall. Alongside were three sacks of compost. As
ground cover he would use wintergreen, an unimaginative choice perhaps, but a
safe bet, hardy and invasive as it was.
And he approached the blue flowers.
The magnolia was a Wada’s Memory, one of the best white-blooming
varieties. It would all be complemented
with a few Himalayan wildflowers and, as a companion to the magnolia, the witch
alder from the neighbor. He would also
dig down a few yellow stars-of-Bethlehem.
Spring dominance with an element of sparkling autumn fire, that was his
intention.
“What a joy it was just to be able
to look at his work, and actually be able to touch it. A bus driver had every reason to be proud of
his job, his trips, but purely physically there wasn’t much to show afterward. A teacher might feel satisfaction when her
pupils understood what she was talking about, but there was nothing tangible
that testified to her exertions.
“A landscaper on the other hand
could return to his workplace five, ten, or fifty years later and see that the
result of his work was there…a horse chestnut or whatever it was, and many
times more magnificent than the design…a striped maple’s full beauty did not
appear until after a couple of decades.
“Whether the magnolia would be alive
in fifty years was uncertain, but it would certainly bloom splendidly every
spring in any event as long as he himself was alive and certainly many years
after.”
Horti-Culture Corner
"17 Tomato Haiku"
by John Egerton - http://www.chapter16.org
Haikus are poems of 17 syllables with five in the first
line, seven in the second and five in the third. Here are 17 Tomato Haikus arranged in groups
of 5, 7, and 5.
5
Organic mother,
Fill my senses to the top
With crimson goodness.
Beefsteak behemoth,
Cover my entire sandwich
With a single slice.
No other Bradley,
Not even Bill the hoopster,
Could ring my bell like this.
Bursting, sensuous,
Your beauty's more than skin deep,
Drown me in your flesh.
Who's the tomato?
She's hot, no doubt about it;
Not a Better Girl.
7
Bacon, mayonnaise,
Lettuce, bread and
kosher salt,
Tomato. Sublime.
For my last supper?
Tomatoes from the
field, cooled,
With coarsely ground
salt.
Three wishes, Genie?
Just so: Creativity,
Love—and Tomatoes.
July, you're a woman,
Ergo, unfathomable.
Fire-engine red bliss.
Tight skin, red as
fire.
Can't keep my eyes off
of you.
I worship your orbs.
Without tomato,
All sandwiches are
feeble.
Kick it up a notch!
Not much to look at—
But any way you slice
it,
Heirlooms are the best!
5
I'd give wealth, riches,
To have Tennessee home-grown
Tomatoes in March.
Tennessee Williams
Couldn't hold a candle to
Tennessee Big Boys.
Were I a vegan,
Tomatoes would be my meat—
And my potatoes.
Tomato worship—
A Tennessee mainstream faith—
Called pagan elsewhere.
Forced to choose between
True love and ripe tomatoes—
Don't push me that far.
Celebrate the Three Sisters: Corn, Beans and Squash
by Alice Formiga - http://www.reneesgarden.com
According to
Iroquois legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters who only
grow and thrive together. This tradition of interplanting corn, beans and
squash in the same mounds, widespread among Native American farming societies,
is a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility
and a healthy diet to generations. Growing a Three Sisters garden is a
wonderful way to feel more connected to the history of this land, regardless of
our ancestry.
Corn, beans
and squash were among the first important crops domesticated by ancient
Mesoamerican societies. Corn was the primary crop, providing more calories or
energy per acre than any other. According to Three Sisters legends corn must
grow in community with other crops rather than on its own - it needs the
beneficial company and aide of its companions.
The
Iroquois believe corn, beans and squash are precious gifts from the Great
Spirit, each watched over by one of three sisters spirits, called the
De-o-ha-ko, or Our Sustainers". The planting season is marked by
ceremonies to honor them, and a festival commemorates the first harvest of
green corn on the cob. By retelling the stories and performing annual rituals,
Native Americans passed down the knowledge of growing, using and preserving the
Three Sisters through generations.
Corn
provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix nitrogen on their
roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen to the
following years corn. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making
them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines
become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from
evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops chances of survival in dry
years. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the
corn and beans. The large amount of crop residue from this planting combination
can be incorporated back into the soil at the end of the season, to build up
the organic matter and improve its structure.
Corn, beans
and squash also complement each other nutritionally. Corn provides
carbohydrates, the dried beans are rich in protein, balancing the lack of
necessary amino acids found in corn. Finally, squash yields both vitamins from
the fruit and healthful, delicious oil from the seeds.
Native
Americans kept this system in practice for centuries without the modern
conceptual vocabulary we use today, i.e. soil nitrogen, vitamins, etc. They
often look for signs in their environment that indicate the right soil
temperature and weather for planting corn, i.e. when the Canada geese return or
the dogwood leaves reach the size of a squirrels ear. You may wish to record
such signs as you observe in your garden and neighborhood so that, depending on
how well you judged the timing, you can watch for them again next season!
Early
European settlers would certainly never have survived without the gift of the
Three Sisters from the Native Americans, the story behind our Thanksgiving celebration.
Celebrating the importance of these gifts, not only to the Pilgrims but also to
civilizations around the globe that readily adopted these New World crops, adds
meaning to modern garden practices
Success
with a Three Sisters garden involves careful attention to timing, seed spacing,
and varieties. In many areas, if you simply plant all three in the same hole at
the same time, the result will be a snarl of vines in which the corn gets
overwhelmed!
Instructions
for Planting Your Own Three Sisters Garden in a 10 x 10 square
When to
plant:
Sow seeds any time after spring night temperatures are in
the 50 degree range, up through June.
What to
plant:
Corn must
be planted in several rows rather than one long row to ensure adequate
pollination. Choose pole beans or runner beans and a squash or pumpkin variety
with trailing vines, rather than a compact bush. At Renee's Garden, we have
created our Three Sisters Garden Bonus Pack, which contains three inner packets
of multi-colored Indian Corn, Rattlesnake Beans to twine up the corn stalks and
Sugar Pie Pumpkins to cover the ground.
Note: A 10
x 10 foot square of space for your Three Sisters garden is the minimum area
needed to ensure good corn pollination. If you have a small garden, you can
plant fewer mounds, but be aware that you may not get good full corn ears as a
result.
How to
plant:
Please
refer to the diagrams below and to individual seed packets for additional
growing information.
1. Choose a
site in full sun (minimum 6-8 hours/day of direct sunlight throughout
thegrowing season). Amend the soil with plenty of compost or aged manure, since
corn is a heavy feeder and the nitrogen from your beans will not be available
to the corn during the first year. With string, mark off three ten-foot rows,
five feet apart.
2. In each
row, make your corn/bean mounds. The center of each mound should be 5 feetapart
from the center of the next. Each mound should be 18 across with flattened
tops. The mounds should be staggered in adjacent rows. See Diagram #1
Note: The
Iroquois and others planted the three sisters in raised mounds about 4 inches
high, in order to improve drainage and soil warmth; to help conserve water, you
can make a small crater at the top of your mounds so the water doesn’t drain
off the plants quickly. Raised mounds were not built in dry, sandy areas where
soil moisture conservation was a priority, for example in parts of the
southwest. There, the three sisters were planted in beds with soil raised
around the edges, so that water would collect in the beds (See reference 2
below for more information). In other words, adjust the design of your bed
according to your climate and soil type.
3. Plant 4
corn seeds in each mound in a 6 in square. See Diagram #2
4. When the
corn is 4 inches tall, its time to plant the beans and squash. First, weed the
entire patch. Then plant 4 bean seeds in each corn mound. They should be 3 in
apart from the corn plants, completing the square as shown in Diagram #3.
5. Build
your squash mounds in each row between each corn/bean mound. Make them the same
size as the corn/bean mounds. Plant 3 squash seeds, 4 in. apart in a triangle
in the middle of each mound as shown in Diagram #4.
6. When the
squash seedlings emerge, thin them to 2 plants per mound. You may have to weed
the area several times until the squash take over and shade new weeds.
Half-Assed, Lazy, and Extremely Successful
http://gardenrant.com
The one
real contribution I hope to make to the literature of vegetable gardening is my
total shamelessness. I’ve been growing so much food for so long that failures
of any kind do not faze me, whether due to Acts of God or my own negligence. I
firmly believe that perfection should be left to the professionals (and also
that even the professionals never achieve it, because Mother Nature has her
moods.) Unlike perfection, half-assedness and laziness are reasonable goals for
people with day jobs. And fortunately, when it comes to growing food,
half-assedness and laziness are generally sufficient for success.
Here’s
proof: My community garden plot, which I visited exactly three times over the
course of the season: Once, in mid-July, to plant. Once, in mid-August, to thin
the carrots, bury the potato plants in their trenches, water, and weed. And
then again yesterday to harvest.
I took the
plot in the inaugural year of a lovely community garden organized by the
delightful Susan Bokan on a patch of vacant land at Wesley, our local senior
housing campus. Since I sold my second home, I now garden in my city backyard,
not in the expansive garden I had in the country–and I often feel a little
claustrophobic there and long to spread out. When Susan called me on June 6th
to offer me a bed, long after I’d gotten my own backyard garden in, I said,
“Susan, it’s a little late in the year, isn’t it?”
But half a
second later, I thought, “second crop of potatoes” and took it.
I wound up
annoying the rest of the community gardeners by failing to plant until
mid-July. Hey, I know my potato schedule very well! But for many weeks of the
summer, my six by ten foot raised bed was the only unpretty square in a pretty
patchwork quilt.
Besides as
many potatoes as I could cram in, I planted only three other crops in my bed: A
strip of carrots at the front, a single row of sweet potatoes, and a row of
collards. And then I forgot about the
whole damned thing, until mid-August when it occured to me that I should really
thin those carrots. The bed was very dry, so I watered, just that once.
I live in
the Northeast, where this particular form of neglect–a failure to get out the
hose–tends not to be lethal.
Yesterday,
I pulled out a lot of potatoes from that little bed and a scary number of
gorgeous, sweet carrots. I’ll let the collards sit a little longer.
And the
sweet potatoes! A total flyer. A crop I’ve never grown before, mainly because I
live in an uncongenial climate for sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are native to
South or Central America and are reputed to want a long growing season and lots
of heat. I thought I would give them a try this year, now that I am gardening
in balmy Saratoga Springs,NY, Zone 5, rather than chilly Washington County, NY,
Zone 4. In spring, I tried getting slips going in the house as per
instructions, using organic sweet potatoes from the supermarket. A total
failure: no slips, just rotting sweet potato bits sitting in jars of foul water
on the windowsill.
Clearly,
planting sweet potatoes in mid-July in upstate New York is ridiculous. But
nonetheless, I did have a couple of sprouted sweet potatoes sitting around the
kitchen as I was planting my community garden bed, and I stuck them in the
ground in the name of science.
My God,
what a productive crop! Each sweet potato yielded dozens of young ones. They
weren’t huge, but surely would have been delicious, except that a vole had
beaten me there and eaten nearly every one hollow. In fact, I disturbed the fat
little vole with the excellent palate while yanking them out.
But I do
not consider this a failure! Instead, it is an illuminating experiment. And
next year, by God, I will make sweet potatoes work.
I love
vegetable gardening! A tiny little plot, the minimum of attention, yet
nonetheless, always the opportunity not just to eat well, but to learn
something new.
No comments:
Post a Comment