October 2013

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Planters Punchlines

Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield

October 2013

Next Meeting - Monday October 28^th  @ 7:00 p.m.

Our speaker is Barbara Austin of Willington, who will present "Edible Wild Plants – or - You Can Eat Your Own Back Yard." She will provide samples of native edible plants, as well as dips and herbal teas made from them. This would be a perfect program to invite our wives, significant others, and other garden clubs to attend.

Mark Your Calendar:

Holiday Party @ the Solomon Welles House on Monday December 2nd

Compostable Matter

By Jim Meehan

First there was just one spontaneously generated bush.  Now Marsha and I seem to have a Rose of Sharon forest forming in the area of our new sun garden.  (This growing area was previously our modestly successful shade garden until the vagaries of Mother Nature necessitated the removal of the tall trees that were keeping the plot in perpetual daytime darkness.)

             

We don’t know how it got started but we are thrilled – but apparently not all gardeners would agree with us.  This is a fair sampling of what folks on the Inter-web have to say: “the shrub has a bad habit of covering the yard with seeds. The seeds quickly sprout into dozens of Rose of Sharon seedlings, and if left undisturbed, they soon crowd out other desirable plants in your garden” – “invasive” – “extremely invasive” – “if you let it, it will take over everything!”

             

To which I say, “Picky, picky, picky.”

             

Not to brag, but our property is already home to several plants that we knew by repute would strive to aggressively take over their surroundings and several others whose pedigree contraindicates such bellicosity but whose behavior belies their polite reputation.

             

And a large part of my gardening activities involves riding herd on these trespassers in order to (a) keep them confined to the area within which we have decided they should live and (b) preventing them from killing off their neighbors in that plot.

             

Sometimes that job is easy.  I’ve had a small Tansy plot for probably about a decade now – the result of a gift from (believe it or not) a Master Gardener who did, in fairness to her, caution Mars and me about the plant’s proclivity to spread.  Fortunately the slight root system of these herbs allows for easy plucking.

             

Not so true for Physalis alkekengi, aka Chinese lantern or Japanese lantern – the former name provided by a Japanese friend, the latter by a Chinese one.  I never pursued the reason for the cross-cultural nomenclature other than getting the impression that each of them considered the flower to me not much more than a weed with a colorful cover over its fruit and therefore was unwilling to grant the colorfully orange plant membership in their ethnic group.

             

This crop came from one of the plant sales of the Mens Garden Club o Wethersfield – not as reliable a source as the Master Gardener program, but still!  The Gardener’s Network website says “Once your Chinese Lantern plants are established, they will grow well, with little or no attention, for many years.”  This might be the understatement of the century.  With a root system that seems to extend to, well, China – and a propensity to pop up miles away from their home base – these peripatetic perennials provide at least two person-days of labor every year.

             

Other traveling plants in our domain include gooseneck loosestrife, goutweed (another Garden Club plant sale purchase), and False Dragonheads (ironically named Obedient plants – another plant sale boondoggle).

             

The most persistent invasives on our land however are the up growths of long-gone Flowering Crab trees, which were removed from our property as part of our retirement plan to re-landscape our yard.  These bushes had long predated our occupancy and had long ago ceased to be anything other than a tangle of flowerless crisscrossing, barbed branches with juicy little berries that tore and stained my shirt and skin every time I tried to prune it back – to the point where I could not tell the juice from the blood.

             

At least twice I hacked the two of them down to the ground in hopes that they would, like the Phoenix, arise in beauteous glory from their stumps – only to have them return to their previous condition only with more and sharper barbs.

            

 Finally we had them removed professionally – roots and all.

             

Or so I thought.  Familiar looking branches began appearing in random places across our property.  I would cut them back.  More would appear elsewhere. I would lop them down.  Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. – to this day.

             

We all want to feel that what we do matters. The best thing about invasive plants is that they really make a gardener feel needed.

Putting the Garden to Bed: Closing Down Your Garden in the Fall

By Marie Iannotti, About.com Guide

Fall is a great time to start a compost pile. Any garden debris that isn't diseased or infested can be tossed on the pile as you clean up the garden.  [A] 3-bin system keeps fresh debris separate from later stages of compost.

             

Putting the garden to bed simply means getting rid of the mess, cleaning up what's left, packing away the things you won't need until spring and making sure everything is ready to go when you need it.

             

Cleaning up debris, scouting for pests and disease and suppressing weeds will mean that much less work to do in the spring, when there are so many other tasks to be done - and all at once. The cooler weather makes fall an ideal season to spend some time in the garden. And you can settle in for winter knowing that when you look out the window, your garden will look contentedly tucked in.

             

How to Put the Garden to Bed

             

I've broken it down to: cutting back, cleaning up, planting, protecting and prepping for spring. Don't feel as though you have to do everything. If you've had a bad pest or disease problem, I would focus there. If you've been meaning to do something about your soil, take advantage of this calm season to get it done. And if you have a lot of tender new plants, you should focus on making sure they are protected. Bite off a little and be amazed by how much you actually get done.

             

Cutting Back

             

Most perennials can be cut back in the fall, although a few, like chrysanthemums, prefer to remain standing, to act as winter mulch.

             

Wait until a frost has caused the plants to dieback. You don't want to encourage new growth that will be hit again. Start with plants that were diseased or had a pest problem and dispose of that debris, don't compost it.

             

Don't prune woody plants, trees and shrubs until they are dormant.

             

Gardeners in areas where it rarely freezes should leave plants up until new growth starts, then remove the old leaves and stems.

             

Leave some plants for the birds and for overwintering beneficial insects.

             

Cleaning Up

             

Pull dead or declining annuals. It's hard to do, but they're not going to come back - get it over with.

             

Harvest everything above ground in the vegetable garden and under fruit trees. Don't leave fruits and vegetables out all winter to rot attract animals and set seed.

             

Clean up overgrown areas, to prevent animals and pests moving in and to make it easier in the spring. You know that out of control area behind the shed or where you piled some brush last spring? We all have areas we mean to get to and fall is a great time. Left messy, you'll not just invite animals, you'll invite weedy trees and shrubs.

            

 Don't forget your tools and containers. It's tempting to wait until spring, but who has time in spring to disinfect or sand?

             

Empty, clean, disinfect and bring in containers. You can store the soil elsewhere, if you plan to reuse it. An easy way to disinfect containers is by spraying them with a bleach cleaner.

             

Clean and store stakes, cages and garden ornaments. They'll last longer if you don't leave them exposed for the winter.

             

Clean and sharpen tools, before storage. Remove all caked on soil, sharpen edges with a file and give them a protective finish with a light coating of oil. And don't forget to clean and sharpen your pruners.

             

Plant

             

Yes, there's still planting to do. Get flowering bulbs, garlic and rhubarb in the ground, before it freezes.

             

If your plants are still looking good, pot some up to bring indoors, including herbs.

             

Take advantage of the cool weather and sow seeds of spinach and mache (corn salad). They start growing for you in early spring and you'll be harvesting when everyone else is just planting.

             

Plant a cover crop. We all know it's a good idea, but we never seem to get to it in time. Maybe this fall is the year you do it.

             

Your plant trees and shrubs until the soil freezes. Fall is a great time for planting trees and shrubs, because they can put all their energy into their roots. But those roots will need water. If the ground never freezes, you'll need to make sure they have water all winter.

             

And it's not just trees and shrubs that need water. All your perennial plants will need to be watered during dry falls. They may be going dormant, but they're not dead.

             

Protect

             

Shield plants animals might eat. Put fencing around shrubs. Use tree guards for trees pothered by deer, rabbits and voles.

             

Make sure all tender bulbs are stored for the winter. Most like to be hit by a frost, before you dig and dry them.

             

Mound soil or mulch around the base of grafted roses. Remember to remove it in the spring.

             

Warmer areas:

             

Be prepared for sudden swings in temperature and protect tender plants. You can either cover them or move them to a protected area. Don't forget to protect tender plants from drying winds.

             

Ease up on fertilizing plants, so new growth won’t get damaged by temperature drops.    

             

Prep for Spring

             

Weed, especially perennial weeds. I know, you thought you were done with weeding. But pulling those weeds now, when the conditions are poor for them to fill back in, will cut down on problems in the spring.

             

Tag plants you want to divide in the spring. You won't remember, when the time comes. I like to label plants while they're still in bloom, so I know what colors are where.

             

Compost & Soil

             

Test and amend your soil. At least test it for pH. Amendments18 can be slow acting and adding them now will make them available in the spring.

             

Prepare your planting beds now, with compost and manure, for planting in early spring. The freezing and thawing will work it into the soil for you.

             

Till the soil to expose insects trying to burrow in for the winter. You'll disturb their dormancy and put them in view of the hungry birds.

             

Start a compost pile. You've got all the stuff you've pulled out of the beds, why not?

             

Shred or mulch your leaves. They are free fertilizer, don't send them to the landfill. They practically compost themselves and the result, leaf mold20, is the most beautiful soil you've ever seen.

             

Consider mulching for less weeds in the spring and better soil. A layer of mulch in the fall will suppress weed seed germination in the spring, while it's protecting your plants. Just make sure you weed first.

Coexisting With Voles

By Sharon Harris – CT Horticultural Society Newsletter

Voles have become an increasing problem for some gardeners in

Connecticut, but these small members of the rodent family are often confused with moles. Because moles and voles are seldom seen, it is important to find out what you are dealing with.

             

Moles construct and use feeding tunnels, usually just beneath the surface of the lawn, and the tunnels appear as raised ridges. Moles enlarge these tunnels as they travel back and forth. The tunnels connect into networks that go deeper into the ground, and as the moles build them, they throw up the characteristic little mounds of earth onto lawns. Moles are carnivores, feeding on earthworms, beetles, ants and lawn grubs. Any damage they do to plants is inadvertent. They actually help to aerate the subsoil.

             

Voles, on the other hand, travel on surface runways that connect their shallow burrows, and they leave visible tracks. Voles are herbivores. Although they prefer the stems and blades of grass, they will attack the root systems and leaves of shrubs, trees, grasses, flower bulbs and plants. If you notice a plant drooping and

pick it up to discover no root system left, you have voles.

             

Their large and frequent families make them difficult to control, but there are some ways to lessen the damage. Keep mulch at least 1 inch to 3 inches away from trees and bushes to reduce hiding areas for voles. They are nocturnal and prefer not to venture into uncovered areas since their natural predators, including owls, will spot them quickly. Be sure your garden is weeded and your lawn mowed.    

Because voles do not hibernate, it is particularly important not to leave piles of sticks and twigs around for them to nest and hide in.   Protect young trees by wrapping the lower trunk with wire mesh. Vole boxes and bait are available at the nursery. Put out year round, they are proving helpful in reducing the vole population. You can also make it difficult for voles to gain a foothold in your garden by using plants that voles tend to avoid—or at least do not seem to prefer. Plants that have a dense root system appear to survive better than those whose root systems are loose and spreading.

Horti-Culture Corner

Vole is.... by K.O.

Mister Vole is a monogamous mouse
loving, living and setting up his house
with his dear stout hearted wife for life
through all manner of trouble and strife

love is for voles as well as mad fools
dyslexia and true romance still rules

The pokeweed: beautiful, poisonous and useful!

Hubpages.com

Pokeweed is one of the best-tasting vegetables on the planet. In United States, settlers learned from the Indians to eat pokeweed. Especially in the South, they made "poke salad"- young shoots boiled in several changes of water to eliminate toxins. The flavor defies comparison with any other vegetable, however there are some dangers in its use, here are some precautions:

             

Make sure you collect only the young stems and leaves only in the spring, never the roots, flowers, berries, or summer and fall plants, which are poisonous (in fact, pokeweed contains the glycoside phytolaccine, which produces gastrointestinal irritation and the concentration of phytolaccine increases as the plant matures).

             

Avoid plants that are more than one meter high. Never eat pokeweed raw or out season- prepare it always following the recipes, or you may get very sick. (Always discard the cooking water from preparing boiled pokeweed). Beginners should use this potentially dangerous gourmet vegetable only under expert supervision.

             

A basic preparation, that is a must for anyone using pokeweed, is:

8 cups young pokeweed leaves and stems,

collected only in springtime

(and without any pieces of the toxic taproot), coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar (optional)

Bring one large pot of water and one medium-size pot of water to a rapid boil over high heat. Place the pokeweed in the medium-size pot and let it boil for one minute. Drain the pokeweed in a colander, discarding the cooking water. Transfer some of the boiling water from the large pot to the medium-size pot, add the pokeweed to it immediately before it can cool, bring the medium-size pot back to a boil, and let the pokeweed boil for another minute. Drain it again, discarding the cooking water. Refill the medium-size pot again with boiling water, add the pokeweed immediately, bring to a boil again, and let the pokeweed boil for 15 minutes. Drain the pokeweed again, pressing the pokeweed against the colander to press out as much water as possible. Discard the cooking water.              

Meanwhile, if desired, gently heat the garlic in olive oil, stirring, 2 or 3 minutes. Stir the oil, garlic and vinegar into the drained, cooked pokeweed greens and serve hot. You can serve the pokeweed so prepared like asparagus, perhaps with drawn butter and a dash of lemon juice or on toast with hollandaise or a light cheese sauce.

             

...some curiosities about it

             

This native North American plant was used by Native Americans in the eastern United States for the treatment of a variety of illnesses including dysentery, cancer and rheumatism, the powdered root was an emetic and cathartic. A salve for sores was made by combining roasted poke root, bittersweet, yellow parilla and elderberry bark to a base of boiled lard and beeswax.

             

The Indians also found pokeweed delicious, and some of the first post- Columbus adventurers on these shores were in such agreement that they took the startings back to England and southern Europe, where the vegetable became popular. During the 19th century, this herb was one of the treatments for syphilis. Indians of the eastern states thus used a poultice of powdered pokeroot to treat tumors and skin eruptions, and the colonists followed their example. It was believed that the plant's high toxic qualities were responsible for its medicinal effects.

             

Folk remedies containing pokeweed are used as a salve for pruritus and as a bronchodilator. The fresh root was applied as a poultice on bruises and painful joints.

Many a soldier writing home during the Civil War cut his own quill pen from the wing feather of a turkey, then squeezed some of the red juice from the ripe, deeply purple berries of the pokeweed to use as his ink. A few of these letters, still legible, can be seen in museums today, recommending the enduring permanence of what are often still called inkberries.

             

One eighteenth-century recipe for pokeberry ink called for boiling together pokeberries, vinegar and sugar; in twentieth century, country people still sometimes used this concoction for special writing purposes. However, the reddish juice from the ripe berries, as country boys confirm when school classes reopen in the fall, will serve as optimal ink for steel pen points.

             

Indians also made a dye with the plant's berries. Connecticut Valley natives stained baskets with it. Other Indians used pokeweed to color clothing, wooden ornaments, and sometimes their own skin...

The Worst Gardening Trends of the 2000s Decade

By Marie Iannotti ,About.com Guide

Gardening is still the #1 hobby in the U.S., which means it’s a huge market. That can be good and bad. On the plus side, there are plant and pest control improvements, lots of useful gadgets and tools and plenty of wonderful gardening web sites to share your enthusiasm and learn from other gardeners. On the negative side are the 10 trends listed below, which added nothing to the practice and love of gardening.

             

1.Buyout of Seed Companies: Over 95% of the seed business is owned by a handful of large chemical companies, among them: Aventis, Dow, Du Pont, Mitsui, Monsanto and Syngent. Aside from the more obvious questions of safety this raises, there’s a disturbing trend toward the elimination of seeds from inventories. It’s just not profitable for companies to sell seed of open pollinated plants when they can charge a royalty every time someone purchases a seed under patent. So we’re losing a lot of our heirlooms and variety in general.

             

2. Plant patents:  I’ve mentioned this in past years. I appreciate breeders wanting to recoup their R&D money, but come on. Half the fun of gardening is multiplying your plants. Doing so shouldn't make me a criminal. Surely the plant producers know that we'll keep spending money on new plants, no matter how many plants are already crammed into our gardens.

             

3. Decline of Honey Bees Honey bees have taken a big hit this past decade. They are extremely sensitive to the chemicals used in gardens and on farms. Mites have taken a toll on hives. Scientists are still trying to find the cause of honeybee colony collapse disorder. Even the radiation from cell phones is now thought to be interfering with honeybees sense of direction, making them forget how to get home to their hives. Yes, there are other pollinators that may fill the void, but it’s disturbing when the status quo shifts and we don’t understand the causes. What’s next?

             

4. Mulch Mania and Volcano Mulching: A little mulch each season is a good thing; it feeds the soil, cools the roots, blocks weeds and conserves water. But we’ve heard so much emphasis put on applying 3-4 inches of mulch each year that many of our plants are being buried alive. My favorite mulch is planting so closely no soil is exposed.

And how does volcano mulching - those hills of mulch at the base of trees - remain so popular in landscaping? Are the nurseries hoping the tree will die from rot or vole damage so you have to buy another one? Does someone think you need to pack soil around the tree base to keep it standing up?

             

5. Uber-Tidy Landscaping: The lawn is manicured, every leaf is blown, every shrub is trimmed, all exposed soil is topped with mulch, the walkway has the appropriate lamp post and hanging basket and there’s not a soul in sight. Even the squirrels are afraid to cross this lawn.

             

6. Ever Bigger Lawn Tractors, Chippers, Blowers...: It seems that as cars get smaller, lawn equipment gets larger. Lawn tractors will be coming with DVD players soon. Until recently, lawn equipment had no emission standards and were not only inefficient burners of fuel, they also exacerbate pollution problems. According to the Mid-America Regional Council, “In one hour, a push mower emits as much pollution as 11 cars, and a riding mower emits as much pollution as 34 cars.” Then there’s the noise. But the device that gets the most demerits from me is the leaf blower. It takes twice as long to blow a lawn clean as it does to send your kids out to rake. Rather than making lawn equipment larger and more powerful, how about making the lawn smaller?

7. Garden and Flower Shows Struggling:  Is there a more welcome smell than the scent of damp soil in late winter? What a wonderful way to work up enthusiasm for the coming season - attending the long anticipated local Flower and Garden Shows. Unfortunately economics forced several of the largest shows to close their doors last year. The New England Flower Show, the longest running show in the U.S., shut down after 137 years! San Francisco came close to shutting its doors and is still fighting for survival. Several others didn’t fare as well. These shows are more than splashy displays and marketplaces. They’re an opportunity to see what the industry considers the finest plants, the smartest gardening techniques and the latest research.

           

 8. New Pests & Diseases and Some Old Favorites: They say there are more types of insects in the world than any other animal and it seems we're destined to meet them all one by one. The Viburnum Leaf Beetle is creeping down from Canada, the Citrus Longhorn Beetle creeping eastward from the west coast and infesting trees other than citrus, the Balsam Woolly Adelgid picking up where the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid didn't go. And then there are the new diseases, like Sudden Oak Death, which is as depressing as it sounds.

             

On the other hand, invasive plants are holding their own. How much Creeping Charlie, Florida Bettuny, English Ivy or Perennial Pepperweed can one gardener be expected to pull? And why is it exotic insects never fly over to decimate the invasive weeds, only the cultivated plants?

             

9. Loss of TV Gardening: Gardening is still the #1 hobby in American and a huge and diverse market, yet try and find a gardening show on television. I’m not talking about those 2 day, mega-buck landscape renovation shows. I’m lamenting the loss of shows targeted toward the hands-on gardener who wants to see what other people are growing and learn more. Shows like A Gardener’s Diary, Gardening by the Yard, The Victory Garden, Rebecca’s Garden and Gardening Naturally. Remember them? Apparently gardeners aren’t a desirable demographic. Thank goodness for the web. At least we can still congregate here.

             

10. Garden Snobs: Garden writers often fall into this category, but I’m sure you’ve all encountered a garden snob on a tour or at a plant swap, too. They’re the gardeners who always need the new and unique, the ones who look down their noses at red geraniums and stripped petunias. Garden snobs don’t think you deserve to be considered a gardener unless you can rattle of Latin names and at least half your garden is from some expensive catalog or tucked away nursery. They don’t garden for pleasure, they garden for prestige.

September 2013

Planters Punchlines

Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield

September 2013

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Garden Club Kicks off 2011-12 Season

Monday Sept. 23 @ 7:00 p.m. Pitkin Community Center

"What Happens in Iowa, Stays in Iowa – Or Not"

The September program will be given by our own Richard Prentice, who will tell us what he did on his summer vacation. Seriously, he joined a group of cyclists who travelled across Iowa! And while he has the floor, I'm sure he'll remind us all to pay our dues!

Open to the public – bring a prospective member!

2013-2014 Club Officers

President:  Tony Sanders              
Vice President:  John Swingen Jr.

Secretary: James Sulzen                
Treasurer:  Richard Prentice

Compostable Matter

By Jim Meehan

Okay.  So, just like all of us do, you go to the health club every day where you spend at least sixty minutes doing a combination of cardio exercises (sprinting on the treadmill, cranking away on the elliptical, spinning your buns off on the stationary bike), and strength (free weights, chin-ups, pushups, flys, dead lifts) topped off by some power yoga for balance and flexibility.

       
And you garden.

       

So, like me, you’ve got to wonder – does the gardening count as a workout?

      

 (Ignore the irony of the question.  The reason that we 21st century people are going to gyms at all is, of course, because we don’t get anywhere near as much physical activity in our every day lives as our ancestors who spent their days horticulturing did.)

       

Anyway – can gardening be the means to a leaner, meaner body?

       

“No way!” says at least one Personal Trainer.

       

“To better understand just how effective gardening is as a form of exercise, let's consider just who can garden. Or better yet-who can't.

      

 “Not many people can't garden. This says something right off the bat. If just about all populations can perform a particular activity, its challenge to the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems is quite minimal.

       

“Gardening is popular among people of retirement age. Also, even people with severe mobility issues can garden. Gardening is busy work. It requires attention to detail, focus, knowledge and patience. It produces relaxation, the satisfaction of a job well-done, and chemical-free vegetables or fragrant flora. Gardening exercises the mind more than the cardio and musculoskeletal systems.”

       

“Peh!” I say.  Obviously this apartment-living city-dweller has absolutely no idea how physically demanding gardening work can be – especially if it is done right, or more accurately if it is done in the most difficult way possible.

       

Take for example lawn maintenance.  Hop onboard the riding mower, turn the key, and tool around the property.  Zero calories calorie burn, zero raise in heart rate, zero muscle strain.

       

But do the same job on-foot pushing a self-propelled mower and, according to the super-scientifically accurate calculator I found on the Internet, you burn 386 calories per hour (if you weight 183 pounds – a number I just pulled out of the air).  BTW you can use up roughly the same number of calories/hour by raking up the mess afterwards.

       

Take away the self-propulsion – like my Toro “Self Pace” model – and the weight loss increases by 104 calories.  (I really like the marketing folks at Toro who came up with a spiffy name for a feature that is essentially the lack of a feature.)

       

Now try the same job with a forty-year old mower motor that refuses to turn over until somewhere between the thirty-fourth and fifty-ninth pull on the starter rope – on a good day.  You can actually feel your arm getting stronger, and longer, with every tug you take.  Alternate your arms for a more complete workout and to avoid the need for custom made long-sleeve shirts.  To get even more out of this exercise, disconnect the spark plug and/or empty the gas tank.

       

And how about watering?

       

In-ground sprinkler = 0 calories.   Above ground sprinkler = 1.  Standing and spraying = 1.5.  But what about watering cans?

       

There is a famous Zen saying, "Before Enlightenment chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water." What’s it mean?  Who knows?

       

Anyway, from another Internet source at least as trustworthy as the above calorie calculator, here is the “Red Can Watering Exercise.”  (My watering pails are orange so I’m probably not getting the full benefit, but nonetheless…)

       

“First get two red 10 L watering cans. (Red watering cans work best but any other color will work too!) Gently raise them up and walk 150 yards to the water supply. Bend and stretch while slowing allowing your can to fill up. Raise and put can down. Repeat with the other can.

       

“Once full point both cans in the same direction to balance out, then return the 150 yards to where your veg plot (or flower plot if you prefer). Drop down the can using a side motion. Then walk to the first bed raise the can above the plants. With a slow side-to-side motion cover the plants in water. If you need to you can support the bottom of the can.

       

“Repeat this with the other can.

      

 “Once the cans are empty gently bend to pick them up. Repeat the whole process another 12 to 14 times each day or every other day for maximum effect.

       

“In a few weeks you will lose weight and have lots of veggies.

      

 “If you need to warm up first, do so by walking a mile or so to the plot. Always consult your doctor before taking any exercise. They will probably say ‘whatever’ and shrug their shoulders - but do it anyway!”

       

Next month – aerobic and acrobatic exercises anyone can do with an 8 ?” Japanese pruning saw, and an eighty foot oak tree.

Guarding the Garden Toad from Harm

By Lois Tilton (LTilton) www.davesgarden.com

By consuming thousands of insects and other pests during the course of a season, the toad is one of the best helpers a gardener can have. Unfortunately, the gardener can be the toad's worst enemy.

       

Every spring, as the ground begins to warm up, I wait for the toads to begin singing down at the pond.  Sometimes, when they are late emerging from hibernation, I worry.  Existence is perilous for a toad.  Environmental degradation has caused amphibian populations worldwide to decline.  Closer at hand, the toads must face the effects of drought in the dwindling pond, and predators, including a burgeoning population of voracious bullfrogs.  The children's book notwithstanding, Bullfrog and Toad are not really friends!

       

The toads that sing in the pond at the edge of my property are the American toad, Bufo americanus.  The details in this article refer to this species, but they may apply to any member of the genus Bufo.  The American toad's skin is mottled,  usually brown with darker spots, and quite warty.  A large female may grow to as much as 4 inches in length.  Like many other members of this genus, it exudes a bufotoxin that coats its skin and makes it unpalatable to many predators [although not bullfrogs].  It is by any measure a common toad, the most widespread species in North America.   While B americanus is not threatened or endangered in its range, individual populations can be put at risk by many local factors.

       

Most threatening are the effects of human activity.  The gardener, who stands to benefit so much from the industry of the toad, can inadvertently do it more harm than any other agency.  The toad's usefulness in the garden is measured by its diet.  It exists primarily on common garden pests, such as slugs, grubs, snails, sowbugs, earwigs, cutworms, and destructive caterpillars.  With its long, sticky tongue, B americanus is a successful predator that can eliminate as many as ten thousand of these undesirables in a growing season.

       

To safeguard the toad, it is important to understand its life cycle.  Many people mistakenly believe the toad is an aquatic or semi-aquatic animal, like the frog, but for most of its life the toad is terrestrial.  Only in spring, emerging from hibernation, does it make its way to the shallow edge of the pond to spawn.  Toads prefer to return to the same body of water where they themselves were spawned, and may travel up to a mile to reach it. There, at night and sometimes during warm rainy days, the males begin their chorus of song to attract females.   

The male tightly grasps the female, who then releases her long strings of gelatinous black eggs into the water to be fertilized by the male.  Each female can lay several thousand eggs that hatch into tadpoles within ten days or less, depending on the temperature of the water.  It can take one to two months for the tadpoles to develop into toads;  during this phase, they are entirely aquatic and highly vulnerable to contamination of the water, as well as predation by such creatures as bullfrogs.  It is a profligate survival strategy;  out of the thousands of eggs laid, less than a dozen will survive to maturity.   

      

 In summer, the toadlets complete their metamorphosis and hop out of the pond to begin their lives on land.  In this phase, it can be hard to tell them from crickets, and they are now vulnerable to predation from birds instead of bullfrogs.  Fortunately, even at this stage they secrete sufficient bufotoxin to repel many predators.

      

 Except in the breeding season, toads are mainly concerned with finding food and shelter.  They do not like the drying heat of the sun, which is why they are nocturnal and why they look for a damp, cool place to make their home.  Since gardens tend to be watered or irrigated, they naturally attract toads, who usually find a plentiful supply of slugs and other toad-appropriate prey.  If a toad settles into a spot and is undisturbed, it will not only remain but return, year after year, to the same location.

      

 Toads are excellent diggers and often excavate dens in soft soil or mulch – toads love mulch.  They dig out a cavity with their rear feet, appearing to sink backwards into the hole.  There they will rest during the day and emerge at night to hunt for food.  When the weather turns colder, the toads prepare to hibernate, either by digging out their den to a deeper level or by finding a more protected location.  There they remain until the warm weather of spring brings them out again to spawn.  It takes two or three years for a toad to reach breeding maturity, and if fortunate it may have another three seasons to live and reproduce.

       

So the toad lived in harmony and mutual benefit with the gardener for hundreds of years.  Unfortunately, changes in gardening technology have been at the expense of the toads.  While tilling and cultivating were carried on by hand, with spade and hoe or horse-drawn plow, these activities did not greatly endanger the toad.  However, a riding mower at full throttle with a speed-crazed teenager at the helm is another matter.  Lawnmowers, rototillers and weed-wackers all wreak carnage on the toad population.  In the garden, a toad's natural camouflage can work against it, making it all too hard to distinguish from a clod of dirt.

       

What to do?  Besides hiring a horse and plow?  First of all, simply taking care will save a great number of toads.. These creatures are alert to danger, with acute hearing.  They can tell when a weed-wacker is approaching the border where they are concealed in the overgrown grass or weeds.  So when you are using machinery,  be aware where toads are likely to be hiding, be alert to spot them, and give them a chance to hop out of danger.  Don't be in such a hurry to get the job done that you run over the toads in your way.

       

Another effective way to protect your toads is to provide them a shelter.  The classic method of making a toad house is to cut a toad-sized opening in the rim of a terra-cotta pot and set it upside down in the soil, preferably in a shady spot.  The unglazed terra-cotta absorbs water and keeps the toad house nice and moist and cool in the heat of the day.  It can be difficult to cut the opening without cracking the pot, however;  some people claim to have success with drilling pilot holes or using a tile saw.  I take the easy way out and simply prop up one edge of the pot with a couple of flat stones.  The toads haven't complained.

       

Some people enjoy providing more elaborate houses for their toads.  But many kinds of garden decorations and building materials can serve just as well as toad sanctuaries – flagstones, retaining walls, statuary.  Toads are not demanding.  A compost heap, a couple of rocks, a woodpile – any of these are likely to harbor a happy toad.  Last year, I found a small colony of them living contentedly in the deep, damp straw covering my potato patch.  They were not so pleased, however, when I raked away the straw and started to dig up the tubers.

The other great danger to toads is through the use of pesticides and other garden chemicals.  Look on the label of these products, and you are likely to see an environmental warning that they are toxic to aquatic organisms such as tadpoles. Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, even nitrogen-based fertilizers – any of these may be poisonous or harmful to amphibians if they contaminate the water in which they breed.  This includes chemicals applied anywhere that runoff can carry them into the pond.

       

But adults are almost as vulnerable as the tadpoles, even after they have left the water. The skin of a toad is permeable;  rather than drinking, it absorbs water by osmosis through the skin of its belly.  In doing so, it also absorbs any chemicals it comes into contact with.  While a toad shelter may provide some protection against direct application, these chemicals can still be deadly when the spray drifts onto the ground.  There is simply no doubt:  the more organic your garden practices, the safer it will be for toads.

       

There is one more thing you can do for toads:  make them a pond.  Without a body of water in which to spawn, toads can not breed.  The pond need not be overly large or even permanent, as long as it does not dry out during the spring and early summer, while the tadpoles are growing.  The ideal pond should have shallow sloping sides where the toads can enter the water.  Besides the toad pond here, I have a smaller ornamental pond elsewhere on my property, where for years I tried to attract toads until I realized that they did not care for its steep, straight sides.  [Small bullfrogs, unfortunately, had no such problem with it, leaping to and from the lily pads.]  There should be vegetation growing both in the water and along the margins of the pond to provide cover for the tadpoles and shelter for the mating toads, as well as attracting insects for them to eat.

       

If you build it for them, the toads will come.  And if you keep the water safe from contamination, they will reward you in the spring with delightful song.

       

Get Frogs & Toads to Eat Your Bad Bugs!

http://www.gardensalive.com

Q. Mike: We have problems with cucumber beetles and squash bugs. We've used organic sprays and hand picking without much effect, and want to avoid chemical insecticides. What can we do about these obnoxious critters?

---Kim in Norman, OK

Do you have a solution to a growing problem with mole crickets on our ball fields? The only answers I can find online involve heavy pesticides, and we try and put nothing on our grounds that would affect the water quality (we like to be able to eat our local seafood) or be harmful to anyone who may “eat grass” in the course of a ball game.

---Cecile; Carteret County Parks and Recreation; Morehead City, NC

I have had trouble with sod webworms in my lawn for a number of years….

---Bob in Pueblo, CO

What is the best way to control potato beetles? Hand picking is not feasible.

---Jim in Titusville, New Jersey

Last year I thought I had ladybugs in my garden only to discover they were Mexican bean beetles! They were so destructive; what can I do about them this year?

---Gwen in Hot Springs, NC

Slugs eat holes in most of my flowers, but I’m concerned about how to stop them because we have a dog. Can you recommend something? Thank you,

---Marsha in Massillon, Ohio

Gypsy Moth caterpillars have denuded our local oaks, pines, mountain laurel and even wild blueberry plants. What can I do to protect my landscape?

---Jim in Chatsworth, NJ

I have little red ants in my organic garden that like to bite. How can I get rid of them?

---Cindy in Central California (Bakersfield area)

Is there a way to control ants with natural organisms like beneficial nematodes? I have two dogs and don't want to use anything that will endanger them. Thanks,

---Bob in Earlville, Maryland (near the Chesapeake Bay)

       

A. Beneficial nematodes control pests like beetle grubs and flea larvae, unfortunately not ants. But all you have to do to stop them is drop the ‘nema’ and get with toads! Voracious predators of garden pests, toads (and frogs) are especially fond of ants.

       

Back when I was editor of ORGANIC GARDENING magazine, our researchers discovered that a single toad will eat tens of thousands of pests in a single season, typically consuming two to three times it’s weight in the above named creatures—plus flies, earwigs, grasshoppers, pillbugs and cutworms—every day. (Actually every evening, as that’s when toads are out a ‘hunting.) And toads and frogs are virtually the only beneficial creatures that eat cucumber beetles, a garden pest that makes itself taste bitter when it feeds on your cuke vines!

       

Attracting frogs and toads won’t harm the local water quality. In fact, access to clean water is one of their biggest necessities. The other is protection from pesticides. Because of their porous skin, frogs and toads (and salamanders and other beneficial amphibians) are helpless against toxic herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. So resolve to shun those nerve toxins and hormonal disruptors this Leap Year Day, February 29th; when conservationists are launching “the year of the frog” to try and raise awareness and stem the tragic decline in amphibian species. Do your part to help keep the ‘leap’ in Leap Year and get rid of your pests at the same time!

      

 (Note: Organic remedies like beneficial nematodes, corn gluten meal and the iron phosphate baits used to control slugs are perfectly safe for use around amphibians.)

      

 Now, toads are ubiquitous—they’re also everywhere; in every state in the union, often reaching deep into the heart of cities, especially cities with well-established park systems. To get these cute little amphibians to control your pest problems, let nearby areas go wild with plants that throw a heavy shade. Or build little toad sanctuaries by placing some bricks on the ground to support boards and then covering the boards with plant pots or soil, creating a cool, damp, dark little cave-like structure they can hide in during the day. If you choose to use those cute little terra-cotta ‘toad abodes’, be sure to keep them in damp, shaded areas; they become toad microwaves out in the sun!

       

You’ll also want to place water sources at ground level near plants having pest problems; birdbath saucers sunk flush to the earth work great for this. The toads will naturally migrate to the moisture when they come out at night and then eat the closest bugs. Rinse the saucers out once or twice a week to keep the water fresh and foil mosquito breeding.

There’s no need to relocate toads from a nearby park unless your garden is a backyard in the middle of a concrete cavern of a big city; and even then, they’re probably still around. Whatever you do, don’t release mail order, pet store or otherwise imported toads or frogs; such non-native species quickly become their own pest problem.

       

Frogs require a fairly large, year-round water source in which to breed. And they prefer to be alone in that water in the Spring, when their eggs and tadpoles are helpless against hungry fish. But such a pond or water feature is well worth the effort, as it will also greatly increase your toad population and attract hordes of desirable birds, butterflies, dragonflies and beneficial insects.

       

And its easy to prevent mosquitoes breeding in that water with a monthly application of BTI. A completely non-toxic natural organism isolated from soils, BTI prevents mosquito (and black fly) larvae from developing without harming fish, birds, or anything else.

Horti-Culture Corner

That afternoon the dream of the toads rang through the elms by Little River and affected the thoughts of men, though they were not conscious that they heard it.

Henry David Thoreau

How to Rid Your Yard of Toads & Their Holes

by Jkalal Assar, Demand Media Google

Toads contribute to the vitality of landscapes, provide valuable services in the yard, such as consuming pests, and serve as good indicators of the ecosystem – if the toads and frogs are healthy, most likely so is your yard. However, for most, toads have an unsightly appearance, croak too loudly and dig unappealing holes when burrowing. The most humane, effective method of getting rid of toads in your yard is taking them out of their comfort zone. That is, reducing their food supply and limiting their options for living areas.

1. Remove all woodpiles, unused planters, empty pots and collections of yard debris in your yard. Toads prefer damp, dark places to inhabit when not feeding. Removing the toads’ living spaces forces them to move elsewhere for shelter.

2. Fill any holes in your yard in winter with soil until it reaches 4 inches from ground level and tamp down firmly. Fill again until 4 inches from ground level and plug with sod if desired. If you decide not to plug the hole with sod, add soil until it reaches ground level. Toads burrow underground in winter and estivate, or enter a dormant stage, until the weather warms. Filling their burrows traps them inside or prevents them from entering the burrow.

3. Pull all weeds in your yard by hand or use a general-purpose herbicide containing the active ingredients 2,4-D or dicamba. Frogs inhabit groups of weeds and lie in wait for insects when feeding in the late hours. Herbicides also purportedly disturb toads’ endocrine systems, causing them to expire.

4. Remove the water from vessels such as fountains, birdbaths and pet bowls. This rids your yard of toads two ways: it removes a natural attraction – water – and reduces mosquitos, one of toads’ primary food sources.

5. Remove open dishes of pet food from the yard. Toads are omnivorous and eat dog and cat food if needed

Welcome the Least-Loved Critters

by GingerVaughan  Farmers Almanac

It turns out that there are some garden “pests” that you should welcome with open arms.  The Old Farmer’s Almanac All-Seasons Garden Guide explains how some other creepy creatures can be great garden helpers. So you may want to think again before sending ill-will towards them.

      

 PRAISE SNAKES: Garter snakes are most common in North America and are no threat at all to humans. Their backyard prey include slugs, grasshoppers, and small rodents, including the voles that chew bark off your fruit trees. They eat bullfrog tadpoles, because adults are too big to swallow. In fact, Adult bullfrogs devour garter snakes, so many that in some areas, garter snake populations have declined.

      

 ROMANCE A TOAD: These amphibians go to work when the Sun goes down looking for mosquitoes, slugs, sow bugs, flies, beetles, cutworms, and caterpillars. Toads have gotten a bum rap as the cause of warts. However, warts are caused by a human virus.

       

BRING ON THE BATS: Without bats, we would be up to our necks in bugs. From dusk til dawn, bats skim the skies with open mouths, devouring mosquitoes, wasps, flies, gnats, midges, moths, and beetles.  Bats are in deadly danger. Millions have been killed by a fungal disease called White-nose syndrome. Insects may be celebrating, but gardeners and farmers are not.

      

 SET YOUR SIGHTS ON SPIDERS: Spiders eat lots and lots of insects. These super predators spin webs to help catch their prey. Their webs are even used by Hummingbirds to glue their nests together.  Did you know, Spider silk reflects UV light, which warns away birds but attracts bugs.

Ginger Vaughan has worked for The Old Farmer's Almanac for over a decade. Like the Almanac she strives to be "useful, with a pleasant degree of humor."

The Final Word on Toads

What do you call an illegally parked frog?

Toad.

What do toads drink?

Croaka-cola

What kind of shoes do frogs wear?

Open toad sandals