Winter

Irises
(Originally ran in Jackson Citizen Patriot Newspaper 6/10/10)

                I remember as a child the sweet fragrance and stunning colors of the species Iris germanica, or Bearded Iris. I can still recall my first encounter when I was about six; I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as a wave of fragrance surrounded me and sniffing, followed my nose.

There, just a few houses up, grew a garden filled with fans of blue-green leaves topped with a rainbow of sturdy flowering stalks. The neighbor woman, whose garden it was that I had just invaded, told me they were Bearded Iris and showed me the fluffy ‘beard’ on the petals. She then gave me a stalk of deep purple blooms that smelled like grape bubblegum. I was hooked!

willowbrooknurseries.com

                Over the years I have come to love the wide assortment of Irises. From the earliest blooming dwarfs to the big boys late in the season. Bearded Irises are long lived, sturdy, fairly drought tolerant and easy to grow, requiring little maintenance. Usually planted in late spring or early summer, they prefer full sun but will tolerate light shade; too much shade and they will not bloom. Grow in well drained garden soil; they will falter in heavy clay, an area that remains wet or when covered with mulch.

                Irises grow from thick fleshy rhizomes that must be partially exposed to the sun. One end of the rhizome has the leaves; it is from this end that they spread. When planting, face this end into the garden to prevent its growing into edging or other areas.

                When planting a bare-root rhizome, the division end must be dried over to prevent bacterial rot. Dig a shallow donut-like trench with a mound in the middle. Place the rhizome on the top of the mound so that 1/3 of the rhizome will be above soil level and exposed to the sun. Spread the thick roots inside the trench and back-fill with soil.

                If you buy Irises from a greenhouse make sure they are properly potted with 1/3 of the rhizome exposed. Plant like any other flower making sure the rhizome is slightly above the rest of the garden soil. Because Irises have thick roots, don’t be surprised if the potting mix falls away when you remove the plant.

                To encourage a nice set of blooms, keep the soil moist but not wet just prior to flowering. To encourage Reblooming Iris to re-flower they should be watered as needed throughout the growing season. The rebloomers do much better in a garden that is watered regularly whereas single season bloomers are excellent in dryer areas.

Deadhead flowers singly from the main stalk, removing the spent flowering stalk by cutting it a couple of inches above the rhizome. In the fall cut the leaves back to 6-8” in an inverted-V.

There are very few pest and disease issues with this sturdy perennial. Bacterial soft rot, crown rot, fungal leaf spots, and Iris borer may occasionally become problematic. To reduce the occurrence of leaf spots and borers, remove and destroy any old leaves, stems and plant debris. With bacterial and crown rots remove, and do not compost, all infected plant parts to avoid the spread of these diseases.

After 4-5 years divide the Irises; this is usually done 4-6 weeks after flowering. Cut leaves down to one-third their length, dig up the clump and remove soil. Snap or cut the rhizomes apart so each section has at least one healthy fan of leaves, a firm rhizome and white roots. Allow the cut end of rhizome to dry for 48 hours before replanting.

With very little care Bearded Iris will live on for generations.

Winter

Colorful Plant Catalogs
(Column originally ran 1/20/11, Jackson Citizen Patriot)

I love seed catalogs; they evoke such hope! I peek at them quickly as they come into the house then set them in a basket next to my reading table. When I have a block of time, which is easier to find in the winter, I pick up the stack and snuggle into my chair. With my feet up, and a cup of tea, I peruse their colorful pages and dream.

And that is when I, and most of my gardening friends, get into a world of trouble. I have learned over the years that it is easier to abstain than to moderate. Today I am going to try and help you moderate the length of your purchase order form.

It’s true that it’s less costly to grow plants from seeds than to buy them in flats. But most of us don’t have grow-tables in our homes and instead use tables next to windows with southern exposure. So first consider the available space in your home for trays of seedlings…and don’t forget about pets or kids assaulting your growing efforts.

Besides the space in your home, consider the space in your garden. Can you really plant three kinds of cucumbers, four different heirloom tomatoes, and a dozen herbs? Is there enough space for five kinds of blue flowers, and are they honestly going to be as blue as the pictures? You know darn well that if all the seeds germinate you’re going to have a hard time tossing the extras into the compost pile.

With so many options, consider purchasing only new varieties of old favorites. I love cucumbers and can buy one or two plants at local greenhouses. But what I can’t buy locally are the lovely round Lemon Cucumbers, so I’ll order the seeds. Marigolds grow well and many of my favorites are also found at nearby growers, except the airy 30” ‘Cottage Red’. So I’d order these seeds too.

Consider growing a new plant that was just introduced into the market and offers a twist, such as the small cherry tomato ‘Green Envy’. This new introduction is super sweet, never turns red and would be wonderful in salsa or soups.

Rule of thumb: don’t take up precious space growing plants you only need a few of and can buy locally.

Another thing to consider is the level of difficulty germinating seeds. I have the darndest time holding onto seeds to scarify them with sand paper or (yikes!) a knife. And using a heating pad under a flat of ‘Bells of Ireland’ to keep them warm is not the most brilliant of ideas no matter how many layers of protective plastic used.

Rule of thumb: check instructions for propagation method. If it’s only one sentence long, and contains the words ‘easily germinated’, go for it.

And speaking of instructions, double check references for growing conditions; many catalog suppliers really stretch the truth. Not only about what Zone a plant will grow in, but also the size of the flower or its invasive tendencies.

Rule of thumb: get suspicious when plants have extremely close-up pictures of flowers, descriptive words like vigorous grower or naturalizing, or suggest they grow well in a protected site.

Take a little time to discern how you’ll spend your gardening dollar, and you may be able to use your dining room for dining this spring.

Summer, originally appeared CWG Blog 5/2011

Amazing Grace

I look at the pattern on the top of a pine cone and am fascinated by its rhythmically increasing woody scales. I notice the fiddleheads of the ferns and their identical unfurling symmetry. A few steps away I take a closer look at the sweet woodruff and it's whorled leaves clasping the stem, perfectly and evenly spaced.

Standing there in the not-yet-shaded area of my garden I remember undergraduate years and all the mathematics requirements. It was a challenge to make sense of problems that involved angles, gradients, percentages and tangential increases; physics was my nemesis. I remember one particularly erratic trigonometry professor who had thick wire rimmed glasses, full beard, and (to complete the look of insanity) long bushy black hair. He told us one day in class that he couldn’t look anywhere without numbers and angles and formulas clouding his vision. I wondered back then if this irregular-kind-of-guy saw his mathematics as a god.

NYU, Courant Institue fo Mathematics, K.L. Ho

Returning to the present, I look again at the top of the pine cone held in my hand. I never expected to find arithmetic in my garden. I think I now understand more fully the unstable professor’s insight of God in mathematical formulas, in the amazing grace of rhythm and symmetry and incremental patterns of growth.

Indoor Gardening

Fresh Lettuces and Sprouts

                Most of us start the New Year with resolutions to eat healthier. Why wait until May or June to fulfill this commitment with fresh produce? There are a lot of seeds you can grow indoors such as sprout or leafy lettuces. And sprouts contain some of the highest concentrations of nourishment of any food source with things like anti-oxidants, protein, enzymes, fiber, numerous vitamins, and more!

The most common seeds used for sprouting is alfalfa, but you can also grow lentils, barley, broccoli, cabbage, mung beans (crunchy), peas, radishes (zippy), soy beans, sunflower, and wheat (sweet). Do not use seeds packaged for the garden; they are treated with chemicals. Health food stores carry an assortment of seeds for sprouting. Lentils can be found at any grocery store.

To sprout seeds all you need is a glass quart jar, a piece of cheesecloth with a jar ring or rubber-band to hold the cloth on, or a screened lid, about 1 tablespoon to ½ cup seeds and water.

For lentils or mung beans: rinse ¼ cup seeds with tepid water a couple of times and then place in jar, covering with about an inch of water, attach cheesecloth/screening. Place jar in a warm dark kitchen cabinet for 12 hours. Then take and drain off the soaking water, rinse seeds with tepid water and drain well. Replacing the cheesecloth/screening and gently lay jar on its side to distribute seeds evenly, returning to the cabinet.

       Once or twice a day for the next three to five days, rinse and drain seeds. They will begin to sprout in a day or two and when they are about an inch or more long, they’re ready to eat; consume within four days.

Growing lettuces is even easier! The clear plastic clam-shell boxes used for food are perfect germination trays; punch several holes in the top for ventilation before you begin. If you have black plastic flats for growing under lights, you can use these as well; cover with clear kitchen wrap, also punched with holes, supported by Popsicle sticks if the flats did not come with lids.

Using a sterile potting mix, not soil or manure, place about an inch in the bottom of the tray and mist with water until evenly moist.  Sprinkle lettuce seeds on top as you would if you were using salt or pepper. Sprinkle a bit more potting mix, no more than ¼ inch over seeds, mist heavily and cover. Place in a warm South-facing window or under grow lights for 12 hours per day. Check daily to be sure growing medium remains evenly moist; if too wet mold will form. Remove clear cover as planst mature.

The first cutting will be ready in three to four weeks, a second cutting in two more weeks. If space allows, plant trays in succession at one a week for four weeks. To harvest, tip tray sideways over kitchen strainer and snip off greens one inch up from base. Return tray to light source for a second harvest in about 12-14 days.

Christmas Plants, Growing Them On, 12/29 Column

This column that appeared in The Jackson Citizen Patriot Newspaper and on MLive.com was to have been run with pictures. Because of another delightful story that ran the same day, mine was significantly cut down to fit in a column and a lot of the growing information was lost. So, here I have given you the full version. Enjoy!

     Houseplants are popular at Christmas. They bring interest to our counters and tables, adding color to our seasonally decorated homes. There are several plants traditionally given during the Christmas season. Knowing how to care for these living gifts can be a challenge. Following are the five most popular plants purchased during the holidays and information on how to care for them.
     Poinsettia:  This is the most frequently purchased plant for Christmas. It ranges from tones of red to white. The colored leafy bracts, which we think of as flowers, can be smooth, deeply lobed or tightly crinkled as with ‘Winter Rose’. 
     This plant is touchy to extremes in moisture, temperature and drafts. To keep it looking good takes some skill. It likes a lot of sun, so if it is next to a window rotate the plant daily to allow light on all leaf surfaces. Keep it in a warm room of 70-75 degrees, away from heat vents and cool drafts. Water when soil is dry. Too much water and a chill cause the leaves and bracts to drop. By late winter this plant wants to take a rest and its leaves will begin to fade. Lay it on its side in a cool dark basement. In May, prune it to about 4”, water well and plant in the garden.
     Extensive research, including studies by Ohio State University, has shown that the poinsettia is quite safe and not toxic to animals or children; if consumed it will cause digestive expulsion.
     Christmas Cactus: First of all, this is not a true cactus and requires regular watering. It is one of my favorite house plants.
     When grown in greenhouses they are regulated to bloom for December sales. In my home they bloom twice a year; in early November and again if not pinched back in late winter. To set buds, these plants like it cool, around 60-65 degrees. Once buds are formed keep them at about 70 degrees and away from heat vents.
     Grow in bright indirect sunlight, rotating plant by one quarter each time you water. Keep soil evenly moist but not soggy while blooming. When done flowering, water sparingly and cut back at a leaf node to encourage new branching (and more buds!). When new growth appears in the spring, use fertilizer every other watering.
     Norfolk Pine: This plant is often decorated like a living Christmas tree. Easy to care for, it can grow quite large.
     It likes it cool, around 62-68 degrees. Grow in bright indirect light, but never in full sun. It does best about 4’ from a bright South facing window. Place closer to windows with sheers or awnings. Rotate by a quarter turn each time you water with a standard fertilizer. Allow soil to dry almost completely between watering but mist the needles with cool water 2-3 times a week if your house has low humidity.
     Rosemary: A common household herb during Jesus’ life, it was used to repel insects and would have been placed under the straw of the manger.
     Grow rosemary in a clay pot to allow the soil to dry completely between watering, place in bright full sun with good air movement but away from cold drafts and heat vents. Fertilize once a month with diluted solution.
     Cyclamen: This plant is commercially forced to bloom at specific times of the year. Outdoors in mild climates it has a dormant period and then comes to life flowering in late winter to early spring.
     Grow your plant in bright indirect sunlight, rotate by ¼ turn each time you water. Water at the side of the pot when soil feels dry to touch, keeping the crown dry. Mist 2-3 times a week or place on gravel in a tray partially filled with water.     
     Snip off old flowering stalks near crown. Eventually the plant will start to decline, needing a dormant period. Place it in cool dark basement until spring and plant in the garden when soil temperature is above 50 degrees.
     Bulbs that usually come as a gift kit are the Amaryllis and Paperwhite Narcissus. Following the packaging instructions will bring beautiful flowers in mid-winter.

C. S. Lewis Quote

He dwells, all of Him, within the seed of the smallest flower and is not cramped: deep heaven is inside Him who is inside the seed...

Composting Misconceptions Column 12/8/11

                I must admit that when it came to composting, I was a reluctant participant for many years. In several gardening circles I would hear others talk about their compost piles like a special pet; feeding it greens, keeping it warm and never adding junk food to its microbial digestion. My eyes would glaze over as temperatures and techniques were debated.

There were several misconceptions I had to resolve before I could really embrace this activity.

Composting is complicate. Those who are into composting are, well, into it. They have read articles and books gleaning information. Good for them. You really don’t need to worry about all that. Pile whatever composting materials you have and it will decompose. Adding water now and then and turning it over will speed the process. If you tend to forget about your pile, as I often do, nature will still run its course.

The yard is too small for compost pile. Think of it this way; if you have a large yard your compost pile is usually larger; with a small yard the pile will be smaller in proportion. If you have a garden apartment or condo, use a 36 gal. black plastic garbage can with tight fitting lid. Drill ½ inch holes around sides and bottom for air movement. To ‘stir’ the compost, lay the container on its side, with lid secured, and roll it around.

Compost piles stink and attract rodents. Most people have this misconception. Compost piles do not attract rodents or have a bad odor unless the wrong stuff is added. The rule here is no animal products: meats/bones, oils, dairy, poo. Do not add sugary materials either. Add only vegetative materials from the kitchen or yard. Healthy compost smells like spring soil.

Compost piles are ugly. Location is everything. Placing it in the middle of the yard or driveway will certainly create an eyesore. Locate it in an out of the way place where it will receive sunlight. You can hide the pile by using fence panels to surround it, or, again, black garbage cans. There are commercial composting containers and bins available on the market ranging from $60 to over $1000 for free-standing tumblers.

Composting costs too much money.  Sure, you can spend a lot on a compost thermometer, tumbler or fancy fencing but there is no need.  To get started make a walled bin from whatever you have lying around—wooden skids, chicken wire and metal posts, even doubled black garbage bags filled and set in the sun work perfectly fine.

I don’t have the time to compost. This was a favorite myth of mine. I believed I was far too busy attending to my and others’ gardens to focus on creating the healthy compost pile that gardeners bragged about. Once my compost pile was started I discovered it took about 30 minutes a month to maintain.

That’s all there is to it. For more information on the perfect pile, contact the County Extension Office or go to the library.