Vegetate

 

May 2022

Pickaway to Garden

Vegetate

By Paul Hang

 

 

Can I convince you to vegetate this spring? I don’t mean sitting in front of the TV watching the NBA or NHS playoffs or golf and tennis tournaments. Vegetate has more than one meaning.  According to Merriam-Webster, the word was first used in 1605. It comes from Latin and, depending on which Latin root you choose, it can mean; “to live, grow” or “to invigorate,” and “lively.”

 

Without getting too far into the “weeds,” our usual meaning of the word is to lead a passive existence, to spend your time in a dull, inactive, unchallenging way. It can also mean to grow in the manner of a plant or to produce vegetation. Yet again, as a transitive verb, it means “to establish vegetation in or on” a place.

 

First, I’d like to take issue with the implication that plants are dull, passive, or monotonous. Plants, we now know, communicate, can sense some aspects of their environment, and even have a sex life. True, they do not have mouths, ears or eyes and, as individuals, they cannot move from where they are planted. However, research has shown that plants are complex organisms and little understood. I have been reading about Native American views of and their relationships to, plants.

 

They consider plants as individuals with which they have a relationship. Corn, beans and squash (the Three Sisters) give us food. Trees also give us food and building materials for shelter, tools and warmth. Other plants provide clothing, healing and insight. In other words, plants share themselves with us. There is a relationship with them. Native Americans are grateful to plants, and other beings, and give back, nurture and protect them. They ask permission to use them. They thank plants. They reciprocate.

 

This spring think about vegetating an area in your yard or a container or two. You may find a new friend that will share with you something to eat, smell, taste or just enjoy looking at, all summer long. And, of course, you can also vegetate with an adult beverage in front of the TV or in a hammock, courtesy of plants.

 

The Master Gardener Volunteers are having their Plant Sale on May 21, 9am-1pm in the parking lot at the Pickaway County Library on N. Court St. Lots of plants, including heirloom tomatoes, are for sale. Our Helpline can be reached by calling the OSU Extension Office at 740-474-7534.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

You can direct-seed corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cucumbers and squash. Place cheesecloth or row cover cloth over vines until they bloom. With any luck you will have prevented the cucumber beetles from invading the plants. This also works on the caterpillars of cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts.

 

You can set out tomato, pepper and eggplant plants if the soil is warm (60 degrees). There is still a chance of frost but each week the chances become less and less. Be prepared to cover those tender plants if frost threatens. Don't be tempted to over-fertilize tomatoes, extra nitrogen will delay ripening and produce more vine than fruit. Remember tomatoes can be planted deep with the top few branches of leaves above ground. Roots will form along the buried stem. If you stake your tomatoes put the stakes in before you plant. Consider pruning your tomatoes and peppers.

 

If you plan to put houseplants outside for the summer, a period of transitioning to the new environment will help assure their health and vigor. Fertilize and place in the shade. 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. You can begin spraying roses for black spot following the directions on the product.

 

Cut the seed pods off your lilacs (after the blooms fade), but do not prune the stems. If your lilacs are getting overgrown and leggy, cut a third of the stems this year at the ground. Do this to a third next year and the final third the year after that. This way you will rejuvenate the bushes. Stake or cage floppy perennials like peonies. For bigger peonies, remove small buds near the larger ones.

 

Thin apples, peaches and other tree fruit (not cherries) to a fruit every six inches. Remember "June drop." It is a time when fruit trees rid themselves of excess fruit. This is a natural process. Pines can be pruned back. Cut just half of new “candle” growth.

 

Mulch your beds after the soil has warmed. When you set out those tender plants protect against cutworms that can chew off new transplants. Use collars of aluminum foil, plastic, cardboard or other material to encircle the stem. The collars should extend into the soil an inch and above an inch or two. There are pesticides that can help control these pests (Google "cutworms extension”). I have also placed a toothpick in the ground right next to the plant stem with success.

 

This is a busy time for pollinators. When you spot a bug identify it before reaching for the spray. Fully 97% of the bugs in our gardens are beneficial or of no threat. Singular bugs are almost always beneficial predators. Crowds are often pests. Know your enemy!

 

Now is a good time to get rid of invasive and harmful plants. Poison hemlock is very poisonous and a biennial. Second year plants have hairless stems bright green to bluish green with obvious purple blotches. Mowing and tilling are partial controls. Don’t get the sap of Wild Parsnip, which often grows with it, on your skin. Post-emergent herbicides are effective this time of year.