Global Worming

May 2012

Pickaway to Garden

Global Worming

By Paul Hang

That's with an "O" not an "A." Now, I do not mean a worldwide effort to rid our dogs of an intestinal parasite. Although I must admit the title came to me early one morning while in bed listening to the family dog serenade me from her bed. Her digestive system played a symphony of squeaks, squeals, hisses and a few ominous rumbles of percussion. This led me to believe that a visit to the vet was called for or at least a quick visit to the yard. On the other hand the idea of the column came from a recent lecture. Every year I try to attend the Wildlife Diversity Conference put on by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This year's program was titled The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a movie theme. In a talk titled "Dancing with Worms" an expert from Minnesota talked about her research with earthworms.

The astounding fact she revealed was that earthworms are not native to the glaciated portion of the U.S.! That's us here in Pickaway County. There are native earth worms in the south but not here. The worms we have were brought here by immigrants, our European ancestors. They were brought as soon as the colonists established the colony at Jamestown and played havoc with the crops and forests of Native Americans. It was shocking news and I am still not over it. There is, or was, nothing more natural to me than earthworms, red worms, wigglers, night crawlers. Of course they are natural but I was under the impression that they were native,

 that they were always with us. Their presence has always been an indicator of healthy garden soil. Their castings (poop) are a very effective fertilizer. As gardeners we always promote earthworms as soil aerators and decomposition aids that benefit our soil. That is still true but that is not all there is to the story.

In northern forests earthworms are a real menace. They gobble up the natural "duff" on the forest floor. Duff is the leaves, twigs, nuts, shells, hulls and seeds, the organic matter on the forest floor. Without this layer of organic matter the plants and animals that rely on the forest are impacted negatively. In fact, the regeneration, and so the very survival, of the forest is threatened. It was obvious, just by looking, where the earthworms were present in the woods. The effect was first noticed in Minnesota close to lakes and streams where people fished. Turns out that fishermen were simply pouring out the bait worms left after a bout of fishing. This is something I have done many times, but no more.

In Minnesota they are working diligently to stop the spread of the invasive earthworm. Invasive earthworms? The very term seems un-natural. But it is true. What's to be done? Well we can promote earthworms in our gardens and agricultural lands but not in our forests. The promotion of growing worms (vermiculture) to dispose of food scraps is popular among us "nature types." People buy worms for their compost piles although worms will show up naturally after the pile has gone through its heated decomposition process. The challenge is to promote earthworms where they are helpful but not where they can be harmful.

Vermis is Latin for worm. While looking this up I found that it is the root for many familiar words. Vermiculation, vermiculite, vermilion, vermin, and, my favorite, vermouth, are derived from some characteristic of worms. Earthworms, in addition to improving our soil, also remove thatch from the lawn. However they are the major food of moles along with grubs and insects. Moles around here don't tend to eat vegetation. Anyone who has ever had moles in their lawn knows the meaning of frustration. On ohioline.osu.edu there is a bulletin on controlling moles. Trying to remove grubs and earthworms is not an effective strategy. Trapping or poisoning with the proper agent is the most effective.

Now that I have wormed my way through this information it is time to move on.

My gardening buddy, Rusty Scab, dropped by last week to borrow my hedge trimmer. During our small talk Rusty mentioned that peonies need ants to open their buds. I hated to tell him that wasn't true. Ants do many beneficial things for plants but that is not one of them. Ants crawl around on peony buds to gather the sweet nectar exuding from the buds. He wouldn't be the first person to think because some occurrence happens before an event that it is the cause of the event. Rusty was so disappointed he almost left without my hedge clippers.

On May 19, 9am to 1pm the Pickaway County Master Gardener Volunteers will hold our annual Plant Sale at the library parking lot on N. Court St. It is a good opportunity to purchase some varieties of plants not always available commercially. It is also a good time and will get you in the mood to start planting if you haven't already been so motivated. Also our Helpline can be reached by calling 474-7534. A local master gardener will get back to you.

Things to do in the garden:

If you haven't already (weren't you tempted by the warm March weather?) this month you can direct seed corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cucumbers and squash. Those last three are usually planted in "hills" in groups of three or four plants. Place cheesecloth or row cover cloth over them until they are lifted up by the growing vines. With any luck you will have prevented the cucumber beetles from invading the plants.

You can set out tomato, pepper and eggplant plants. There is still a chance of frost but as we go through the month the chances become less and less. Be prepared to cover those tender plants if frost threatens. Don't be tempted to overfertilize tomatoes, extra nitrogen will delay ripening.

Harden off the houseplants you plan to put outside for the summer. A period of transitioning to the new environment will help assure their health and vigor.

You can divide and move perennials. As the soil warms (50 degrees) you can plant summer-flowering bulbs such as caladiums, cannas, dahlias, and gladioluses.

Stake plants that need it. If you stake your tomatoes put the stakes in before you plant to avoid damaging those new tender roots.

You can begin spraying roses for black spot following the directions on the product.

Cut the seed pods off your lilacs, but do not prune the stems. If your lilacs are getting overgrown and leggy, cut the stems at the ground. Do this to a third of the stems this year, a third next year and the final third the year after that. This way you will rejuvenate the bushes.

If you have a home orchard remove any fallen fruit and dispose of them by burying or putting them in the trash. Don't put them into the compost heap unless it is really "cooking." (Our compost heaps don't "cook" unless we turn them regularly.)This will help prevent disease. Remember "June drop." It is a time when trees rid themselves of excess fruit which the tree cannot support. This is a natural process.