Auld Lang Syne

January, 2013

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

 

Auld Lang Syne

 

By Paul Hang

 

You may have sung this old refrain recently, whether or not you were accompanied by Guy Lombardo's orchestra. I am told the Scots phrase stands for "once upon a time," or "days gone by". The old acquaintance that I have been thinking about is winter. Are the winters that I remember a thing of the past? We are experiencing, and are told to expect, that future winters will be milder on average. The past few winters have certainly been unusually mild, or so it seems to me. Until recently this winter seemed to be following the same trend.

 

I did not wade through waist deep drifting snow with no boots or hat for miles uphill both ways in a blinding blizzard to attend a one room school house. However, growing up in central Ohio, I do remember winters a bit more severe than what we have had lately. I remember sledding down west Union Street's hill. I remember playing what passed for hockey, using a tuna fish can with frozen water for a puck, on Hargus Lake and on the Ohio Erie Canal west of town. I remember skating clear across Hargus Lake hearing the boom of cracking ice shooting across the lake with such force you'd swear the foot thick ice was going to part and swallow you up. During one huge snowfall Bill Kelstadt came by our house on Mill Street in a one horse open sleigh and treated my sister and me to a ride around the south end of town that I will never forget.

 

The National Climate Data Center reported that "…the January-November period was the warmest first 11 months of any year on record for the contiguous United States." If we are in for a different climate so is the plant life. We can adapt, I think, but plants as individual organisms cannot. A plant cannot move but a plant species can. They can migrate. We will see some species migrate away and some new ones migrate in. Plants that thrive in more southern zones will thrive here. Plants that do not like the heat or need a longer period of freezing and dormancy may struggle to thrive here. Weeds will proliferate.

 

We will have to change the way we garden. We will have to change some of the plants we grow. We can welcome in some new ones and perhaps some old acquaintances will be forgot. There is no way for me to predict exactly how things will change. The jury is still out on the specifics of how our local weather will change. We know it will be warmer on average. Winter will be arriving later, spring arriving earlier. Extremes of temperature, high and low, will still occur. Snow, except for extreme storms, may become a thing of the past. But I wouldn't sell my snow shovel. Our normally droughty summers may be drier longer leading to the need to use more drought tolerant plant species, something called xeriscaping.

 

The days are getting longer. By the end of the month the sun will set a half hour later than a month ago. We still have more cold weather ahead. A January thaw will entice us to think that spring is on its way. It is, but not yet. The year will have to work its way along. If we have some weather that reminds us of winters gone by enjoy it. We may not see many more. We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? I don't think so.

 

Interested in becoming an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer? Training will begin in April. Email me at phang@columbus.rr.com to express your interest.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

The list of things to do in the garden has gotten shorter. Things we can do about gardening can fill your idle hours, if you have any.

 

Review last year's garden. Draw a map while you can still remember what grew where.

 

Check your supply of old seeds. Are they expired? Do you want to reorder that variety? Read your new seed catalogs and begin to plan next year's garden. It's not nearly as much work. Order seeds now, especially the new varieties. They usually sell out quickly. Believe it or not, by the end of the month, you can begin to grow members of the Allium family; Onions, Leeks, Garlic and Shallots from seed indoors. You can get ready by getting your seed starting supplies together. Make sure you provide plenty of light.

 

The mild weather is allowing biennial weeds to get a head start. One really noxious weed to watch for is Poison Hemlock. (Yes, this is the one that Socrates was forced to drink.) This plant is now growing close to the ground (and in some of my flower beds) in a fern-like basal rosette. It looks like carrot tops or Queen Anne's lace (Wild carrot). It has no hairs while wild carrot has hairs along its stems. Poison hemlock likes pastures and roadsides and was very prolific last year. It can grow to 5-6 feet tall with a purple spotted stem. A similar plant that is beginning to show up is Giant Hogweed which is Poison Hemlock on steroids. Once grown, it can reach ten feet tall with enormous leaves.

 

These plants can be most easily controlled now but BE CAREFUL! Herbicides containing glyphosate such as Round Up can be used as long as the plants are growing. Better yet dig them up. Wear gloves. Don't compost them. Throw them away in the trash in a sealed plastic bag. Don't burn them or inhale the smoke if you do. Giant Hogweed is especially toxic, raising blisters on skin on contact. For more information check ohioline.osu.edu or Google them.If you notice them later in the season do not use your string trimmer on them, the juice can cause trouble if you get it on your skin or worse, in your eyes. They are an acquaintance you'll never forget.