Techie Trees

February 2017

 

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

 

Techie Trees

By Paul Hang

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Who knew? Trees communicate with one another. I don’t mean they talk to one another. I know, you say “of course not, they bark!” No, they use the “Wood Wide Web,” a fungal network. But, you say, “They have no thumbs.” Well science has been able to capture evidence that trees have the ability to communicate with each other. They use chemicals and electrical signals. In his book “The Hidden Life of Trees” German forester Peter Wohlleben relates these and many other aspects of tree behavior in anthropomorphic terms. Trees are social beings, they count, learn and remember, warn of danger through the fungal network. Using isotopes researchers have traced molecules being transported from tree to tree through this network. This is especially so in a forest. Urban trees are often isolated. In a forest trees can actually feed a sick member of their species.

 

Trees are slow growing according to our expectations. Trees transport liquids through their circulatory system. At night their twigs swell as they rehydrate. During the day the twigs shrink as the fluids flow through their leaves in a process called transpiration. This results in a kind of slow pulse during the growing season. When a tree is browsed by animals, including insects, they can communicate this to other trees which in turn begin to produce chemicals that make them less palatable.

 

We often treat trees as objects, as sources of wood and oxygen, when in fact they are living beings, regularly outliving us. We often treat anything outside ourselves as objects, only real in so far as they affect us. Once we learn about things we can escape this solipsism and begin to care about other beings, human and otherwise. So, hug a tree today. You might be surprised at the response.

 

February is a good time to think about gardening. Planning and perusing seed catalogs, reading books on gardening are all activities we can do that do not depend on the weather. To garden knowingly use the internet. Be skeptical of how-to videos on social media such as You Tube and Facebook. Some are based on anecdotal information some are hard to watch and some are just wrong.

 

The best sources to consult are at sites that end in .edu. The Extension Services of state universities of Ohio and surrounding states are the best. Here are the sites to search for Ohio and surrounding states: www.ohioline.edu.osu, (Michigan)www.migarden.msu.edu, (Kentucky)www.uky.edu/hort, (Pennsylvania)www.extension.psu.edu, (Indiana)www.extension.purdue.edu, (West Virginia)www.ext.wvu.edu. And although not close to our climate, but a very good site, is Cornell University in New York www.gardening.cornell.edu.

 

Towards the end of the month look for signs of the coming spring, skunk cabbage sprouting, mourning cloak butterflies, birds sing more, return of male red-winged black birds. When you spot pallets of bagged mulch at gas stations you know spring is coming. However, there are no mammals that I am aware of who can reliably predict when that will happen.

 

Don’t forget, there will be a new Master Gardener Volunteer class beginning the third week of March. To get an application or for information contact me at 740/497-4397 or phang@columbus.rr.com 

 

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Not much. Check perennials for heaving up out of the ground. Press them down gently with your foot. Send in your seed orders. Will our results ever match those of the glossy color pictures? When you make out your seed and plant orders consider planting more native and heirloom plants and vegetables. Native plants are plants that evolved here and are adapted to our conditions, diseases and native pests. While you’re at it try googling the name of a flower you’re thinking about ordering.

 

This is the time to prune trees and shrubs (after you sharpen your tools). You can see their structure now that they are dormant and the leaves are down. Cut out crossing and rubbing branches and unwanted suckers.  Pruning can be done to reduce the size of a tree or shrub to bring it in to balance or to remove overhanging branches blocking a view or path. That is best done by an ethical certified arborist. (Who will not top trees.) Remember, spring flowering shrubs should be pruned after flowering if you want to enjoy the blooms.

 

If you dug up bulbs for storage check on them. Spritz them with water to prevent drying out. Throw away any rotting or shriveled ones.

 

Some seeds can be started indoors this month for setting out in late March or early April, depending on the weather; onions, cabbage, cauliflower, and other members of the Cole family. Check the seed packets for times. Starting seeds indoors? The University of Minnesota has a good discussion, go to www.extension.umn.edu/garden/flowers/starting-seeds-indoors.

 

Google Winter Sowing. There you will read how to use old plastic milk bottles to easily germinate some seeds. It is a good way to raise a lot of seedlings for planting “drifts,” those bands of like plants that wander serpentine through our flower beds.