The Dark Ages

December 2017

 

Pickaway to Garden

 

The Dark Ages

By Paul Hang

 

The Dark Ages have arrived, not the ones caricatured by Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There will be no cry to “bring out your dead.” Although in the plant world there are plenty of dead to bring out. Put them in the compost pile, unless they are diseased. The dark ages I am referring to are the short days of December and January. December brings the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. The arc of the sun in the southern sky is the lowest of the year, its lowest point being the winter solstice which this year falls on December 21^st. As the light diminished, in the northern hemisphere, it resulted in less warming and now we are experiencing the result, colder temperatures. The next six weeks will also be the darkest of the year.

 

Plants need light to live. Light from the sun fuels the chlorophyll in their leaves to produce the food that sustains them, a process called photosynthesis. As the days grew shorter most plants did a cost benefit analysis, so to speak, and dropped their leaves. Not enough light to produce the food for growth so drop the leaves and go dormant. Or, in the case of annuals, die having produced seed for the next generation.

 

Plants, like people, grown in the dark do not thrive. Plant hormones cause stems to grow towards light, the physiological process called phototropism. We have all noticed how plants reach toward the nearest window and need to be turned about 90 degrees every week to keep the plant growth balanced. We also seem to be affected by a kind of phototropism. We are attracted to light.

 

The dark is not all bad. The dark makes us appreciate the light. Who hasn’t thrilled to a cold starry night, with Orion shining down? And, if there is a full moon and snow, Clement C. Moore said it best: “The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.”

 

Many civilizations have celebrations around the winter solstice similar to our Christmas and Hanukah. Using candles, fires, lights and bringing in greenery are ways of staving off the dark and the cold. By the holidays the sun will already be on its way back with a promise of spring, greenery and light. Even the year reaches for the light.

 

This column completes eight years of Pickaway to Garden, 96 columns. Where does the time go? I hope it has shone some light on the dark art of gardening. Past columns are available on the blog pickawaygardener.blogspot.com.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Thankfully, there are not too many things to do IN the garden as much as there are things to do ABOUT the garden. If you haven’t already, clean up crop debris, except for native plants and those you want for winter interest. Shred it and put in the compost heap or till and turn it over to bury in the soil. Get the vegetable garden ready for spring as much as possible. There will be less to do come spring.

 

On nice days wander about your place and notice how some plants continue to develop. If the local temperature reaches 50 degrees they grow, only to cease when the temperature falls. Those bitter cress weeds are small now. I find them in between the bricks of my walk. They and ground ivy in the beds and in the lawn are trying to gain a foothold now while they have little competition. The bi-ennial mullein with its fuzzy lamb's ear like leaves is growing flat against the earth. Rosettes of poison hemlock and teasel continue to grow. Pull them up while you have the chance or spray with an herbicide according to the directions on the label. Get them before the weather turns warm and they turn tougher.

 

If the ground remains open it’s still not too late to plant lilies, tulips and daffodils. You may find some bargains. Avoid the soft and shriveled ones. Check houseplants for insects. Move clay pots inside to prevent breaking. Plant native seeds directly over snow or frozen ground. Go to www.backyardhabitat.info for more information.

 

Wrap young tree trunks with hardware cloth or the plastic wrap made for that purpose. Protect them from ground level to about 18 inches.  This also goes for newly planted shrubs. Place fencing around them. This prevents mice, voles and rabbits from using the bark as lunch. If they girdle the plants, no matter how big or woody they are, the plants will die. While you’re inspecting trees and shrubs a little light pruning while they are dormant won’t hurt. Damaged, rubbing or simply inconvenient small branches can be removed. Never top trees in any season. When harvesting or buying firewood use only local sources less than 50 miles. This helps prevent the spread of bugs and diseases harmful to trees.

 

In the vegetable garden, write down and/or sketch where you planted what this year, while you can still remember. This will aid in crop rotation which helps yields and eliminates disease carry over. Bugs lay their eggs near the crops they “enjoy.” By not planting the same crops in the same place next year you will foil the destructive insects. A rotation rule to remember is “to follow a root crop by a top crop and vice versa.” Go to ag.purdue.edu/btny/midwest-vegetable-guide for an extensive resource for vegetable gardeners.

 

December conjures up thoughts of dreary, bleak, cold, dark, short, freezing days. Use ice melt, not rock salt, on your walks, it is harmful to plants including grass.