FeMg

 

October 2021

Pickaway to Garden

 

FeMg

By Paul Hang

 

Difference and sameness, animals and plants, have you considered how you are like a plant? Of course the differences quickly come to mind. Plants are stuck where they grow. We can move around. Plants don’t have eyes, ears, noses or mouths; organs connected to a nervous system. Science has recently discovered that plants do have mechanisms that enable them to sense the world around them and communicate with other plants. We eat plants and animals that eat plants. Plants “eat” manure, compost and fertilizers that we supply to them as well as the minerals they obtain from soil.

 

In an article by Jeff Cox in Horticulture magazine he says, “Human flesh and vegetable matter are composed of the same elements, although in different quantities and arrangements. There’s not much fundamental difference between us physically.” Later he gives us two chemical formulas, C55H72O5N4Mg, which is the formula for chlorophyll and C2952 H4664N812O832S8Fe4, which is the formula for hemoglobin. These are made up of much the same elements just different proportions of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen. Chlorophyll is based around magnesium and hemoglobin is based around iron. Chlorophyll uses sunlight and carbon dioxide to make sugar which is the plant’s food, energy source and building material. Hemoglobin transports oxygen to all the cells in our body.

 

Sameness is our respiratory function, but we differ in that plants breathe in carbon dioxide (and some oxygen) and breathe out oxygen, we, as animals, do the reverse. We, as animals, ate plants and co-evolved with plants. Plants produce chemicals that we use to live and function. We have developed sensory mechanisms that tell us if a plant is good to eat or not. We are connected to plants in ways we do not yet understand. However, we are connected to plants in ways we do understand and in ways that are becoming more understandable. In elemental ways we are more like plants than I ever imagined.

 

How are we like plants, “Elementary my dear Watson?” This new awareness reminded me of the time our neighbor asked why my father’s tomatoes grew much better than his. The neighbor relayed all the things he had done to them like apply fertilizer, mulch etc. and added, “I even talk to them.” My father replied, “What are you saying to them?”

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Hot caps and covers should be made handy in case a frost or freeze is forecast. Remember that the coldest temperature usually comes a little after sunrise. The earth radiates heat away and the sun hasn’t climbed high enough to begin heating us. If you can protect your plants now, a couple more weeks of warmth is likely to follow, with more vegetables and flowers to harvest. Average first frost for south central Ohio is October 23.

 

Consider bringing in the houseplants. Make sure you don’t bring in any bugs with them; a good blast of water from your hose can wash most of them off. Bring the pots into a sheltered spot for a week or so to help the plants acclimate before shocking them with the warmer temperatures of your home.

 

In October, and even into early November, you can plant garlic and shallots. Cloves from store-bought garlic may not work as some are treated to delay sprouting. You can also order favorite varieties from seed catalogs. Separate the cloves and plant 4 inches apart.

 

Dahlias, glads, tuberous begonias and cannas should be dug and stored in a cool dry place. Most basements are too warm. Caladiums, on the other hand, should be stored at 65 - 70 degrees. Go to ohioline.osu.edu and bring up Factsheet HYG-1244-92 to get specific information on storing Summer Flowering Bulbs.

 

You can still divide day lilies and iris. Cut back the iris leaves to four-inch fans. Stop feeding your roses but don’t stop giving them water. Consider cutting back your roses halfway if they stop blooming. If you have dormant roses you can still plant them. Spring bulbs can be planted as soon as you get them. Plant them at a depth three times their length; place some bulb food in the hole with them. For a better display plant them in odd numbered groups, not single file. For more impact, plant them in a triangular shaped group with a point facing the spot from where they will be viewed.

 

If you planted trees this year (it is still a good time, until the ground freezes) protect the trunks from gnawing rabbits and other varmints with hardware cloth or the plastic wrap made for this purpose. Even older trees can benefit from this if you’ve experienced this damage in the past.

 

It is still the best time to fertilize your lawn. Use a high nitrogen soluble product. You can still sow grass seed.

 

Leave seed heads of native coneflowers and Black-eyed Susans for the birds. Also leave stems for overwintering insects. You can put off most cleanups (but not in the vegetable garden) until next spring! Add mulch around perennials after the ground freezes, assuming it will.