Stillness

 

January 2025

Pickaway to Garden

Stillness

By Paul Hang

 

Several days ago the astronomical new year began. December 21^st marked the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year. It was the Winter Solstice. That is the day when the sun appears to stand still, if only for a second. That moment was when the earth’s axis pointed exactly away from the sun, in our annual revolution around old Sol. That pause should give us pause.

 

As the calendar year begins let us pause and be still. Gardening is movement; digging, weeding, pruning, mulching and all manner of activities. At this time of year let’s take a hint from the sun and be still for a while. Take the time to just be still. Being still gives time to contemplate, appreciate, rest.

 

As I have said before, I enjoy thinking and writing about gardening about as much as the activity of gardening. I like to think about what gardening does for me. I get physical exercise, fresh air, a purpose, a reason to get out of the house during my “retirement.” I enjoy the beauty of plants and the wildlife my garden attracts (except for the neighbor’s cats). I like to hear the birds, smell the flowers and the earth, see the insects going about their business. I enjoy the cycles of the seasons and their effect on plants and us.

 

While you’re being still, think about why you garden or why you might like to garden. Even if it is house plant or two, caring for them is gardening. Read a book about gardening or nature. Be leisurely. The days are getting noticeably longer. The earth will begin to stir, ever so slightly. It will be time, soon enough, to mark those seed and plant catalogs with what you might like, to plan and order supplies before another busy season. Ignore the “Things to do in the garden” if just for a little while.

 

If you are choosing to start some plants from seed indoors, better get your supplies together. Peruse the seed catalogs. Dream a little. Someone said “The best gardener is one who does the most gardening by the winter fire.”

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

The list of things to do in the garden has gotten shorter. Things we can do about gardening are: Review last year's garden; draw a map while you can still remember what grew where. Plan your gardens and plantings. One of my favorite guides for this is The Ohio Gardening Guide by Jerry Minnich.

 

Check your supply of old seeds. Are they expired? Do you want to reorder that variety? Read your new seed catalogs. Want some more seed catalogs? Go to gardeningplaces.com. Order seeds and plants of new varieties that you want now. 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.

 

Cut back on watering your houseplants and don’t fertilize until March or April when growth begins as the amount of light lengthens, rinse/dust leaves, turn the pots every few days. When your poinsettias are looking ragged throw them on the compost heap. The same goes for paper whites. In my opinion it is not worth trying to get them to bloom again. If you like a challenge, go ahead but be prepared for disappointment. Amaryllis and Christmas cactus are exceptions and can be kept for re-blooming. Check the internet for instructions.

 

Establish a new bed by placing black plastic or several layers of newspaper, cardboard or even old carpet down over the area you’ve chosen for the new bed. Weight it down so the wind doesn’t disturb it. By late spring the vegetation under it should be dead and the space ready for planting.

 

Learn to sharpen your tools, trowels, pruners, spades and if you are adventurous, your mower blades. Oil them and use linseed oil on the wooden handles. Getting rid of a cut live Christmas tree? Don’t. Use it to serve as a wind break for evergreens. Cut the branches off and use them as mulch for perennials. Put it near your bird feeders as cover. Decorate it with suet, fruit, seed cakes, as a bird feeder. Chip it for mulch. If you have a pond, sink it for structure cover for fish. The needles can also be mulch and will not make the soil too acidic. If you had a balled live Christmas tree, plant it ASAP.

 

Some gardening resolutions: Rotate vegetable crops; water the base of plants, not from above; weed and mulch; use row covers; water newly planted trees and shrubs; visit and scout your garden often. Happy New Year.

Simple Gifts

 

December 2024

 

Pickaway to Garden

Simple Gifts

By Paul J. Hang

 

 

Simple Gifts is the title of an old 1848 Shaker tune made famous by Aaron Copeland in his ballet Appalachian Spring. It is not a Christmas Carol but it is a good recommendation for giving Christmas presents. Consider giving simple gifts. I have lately been telling family members that I would prefer gifts that do not come with an operator’s or owner’s manual. Keep it simple. Like a lot of people, I often don’t read directions until I’m stumped. I like gifts that don’t need directions, simple.

 

We can give gifts and receive them. We can also give ourselves a gift. If you are a gardener, give yourself the gift of leisure this holiday season. Enjoy the time off from gardening chores. Don’t even think about gardening, if you can. If you can’t, don’t beat yourself up about failures. There are many reasons for failures in the garden, pests, disease, weather. Don’t dwell on them but resolve to do what you can next year. If there is something you would like for a gift, tell someone. It’s simple.

 

If you’re giving a gardening gift, make it simple. A simple tool with no owner’s manual is good. My three essential tools are: a spade, a soil knife, a scuffle or Hula Hoe. A close runner-up is pruning shears. Make them good ones. They cost over $50.00. Other simple gifts are: a book, a botanical print, gloves, aprons, boots, knee pads. You could give a plant but be careful. It’s not that simple. They may not be ready. If not, it will be a burden. It might be a source of guilt if they can’t take care of it and it dies, or they give it away. Or, they might not like it. Ask what they might like in the way of a plant or if they would even like a plant. It’s simple. A gift certificate is really simple.

 

It is often said that the best gift is a gift of time, yours or theirs. A hand made gift is usually much appreciated. Or give them some time. Offer to rake leaves, cut grass, spade up or till the garden, help with spring cleanup or planting. Put it in writing. Don’t have the time? Pay someone to do a gardening task. This is especially nice for us old folks or someone who is physically limited. For yourself, put off ordering seeds and planning the garden. There will be time enough for that in January and February. “Tis’ the gift to be simple tis’ the gift to be free tis’ the gift to come down where we ought to be and when we find ourselves in the place just right T’will be in the valley of love and delight.”

 

Gardening questions can be asked at the Master Gardener Volunteer Helpline at our local Cooperative Extension office at 740-474-7534.

​

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 done so, clean up crop debris. Get the vegetable garden ready for spring. Leave stems in the perennial beds. If you must, trim them to 18 inches high for overwintering beneficial insects’ eggs and pupae. If it remains dry, continue to water evergreens and perennial plants, particularly those planted this year, until the ground is frozen hard.

 

On nice days wander about your place (your National Park). Notice the birds, listen for their songs and calls, old nests, egg masses, perhaps a Mourning Cloak butterfly, see the colors and textures of bare trees and plants. Notice how some plants continue to develop. If the local temperature reaches 50 degrees they grow, only to cease when the temperature falls below.   

 

Those bitter cress weeds are small now. I find them in between the bricks of my walk. They, along with false dead nettle and ground ivy in the beds and in the lawn are trying to gain a foothold now while they have little competition. The biennial mullein with its fuzzy lamb's ear-like leaves is growing flat against the earth. Rosettes of poison hemlock and teasel continue to grow. Dig 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.

 

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, they will die. A little light pruning of trees and shrubs 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 from local sources less than 20 miles. This helps prevent the spread of bugs and diseases harmful to trees.

 

In the vegetable garden, write down and/or map where you planted what this year. This will aid in crop rotation. Use sand and/or ice melt, not rock salt, on your walks, salt is harmful to plants including grass and contaminates ground water. Gift ideas for gardeners: a good spade, soil knife, scuffle hoe, gloves, mud boots, books.

Giving Thanks

 

November 2024

 

Pickaway to Garden

Giving Thanks

By Paul J. Hang

 

 

November is one of those transition months. It is not fall and yet not winter.

I feel the year and time is fleeting. The green has gone, hurried by a frost in mid-October. Plant life has either died or gone dormant or underground. With the exception of the oaks and beeches, the trees have shed their leaves accelerated by the gale winds of the Witch of November. The nuts have fallen from the trees and some have run for election. The shorter days, the loss of light as the Sun approaches its nadir, adds to the gloom.

 

November brings elections and voting, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. It brings lots of tasks in the garden and yard. There are leaves to take care of, bulbs to plant and some to dig up and store, vegetable gardens to clean up, and all the things to do in the so-named list at the end of this article. Sometimes I feel like I have so many things to do I can’t get anything done.

 

When I focus on such things that November is not; no bird song, no butterflies, no hummingbirds, no flowers, no ripe tomatoes or corn, I am full of regret and just a little depressed. I regret that I have not accomplished all the tasks in the garden that I should have.

 

Then, I remember that at the end of the month is Thanksgiving. I can focus on the things that November is; birds at the feeder, the smell of wood smoke, a crackling fire, apples and cider, a turkey dinner with family and friends. There are still a few perennials and bulbs and a tree or two to plant. I can still find a few more days to work out doors. Digging in the dirt, physical exercises, admiring the subtle beauty of nature and the light this time of year, all affect my mood.

 

And finally there is this; a microbe found in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been found to increase brain serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant in humans. This happens when people are working in the soil. Just another reason why gardening makes us feel good. Dr. Christopher Lowry of the University of Colorado Boulder is studying these bacteria. You can see his TED Talk on YouTube.

 

Things to do in the Garden:

 

Now is a good time to do soil tests. You have time (3 to 6 months) to amend your soil if required. You will avoid the spring rush. To obtain soil sampling instructions and kits along with specific recommendations contact the local Cooperative Extension Office 740-474-7534.The Helpline is also available at the same number. It’s not too late to plant spring flowering bulbs. Spring bulbs look best in a cluster. Try excavating an area rather than planting them in single holes. Lift tender bulbs (caladiums, dahlias, glads etc.) and store for the winter. Sow seeds of hardy annuals (calendula, bachelor’s buttons). Mums can be “tidied up” but don’t trim back until spring.

 

Tender roses should be “hilled up,” mound the soil a foot deep around the base to protect the crowns. Also a wire cage filled with leaves surrounding them as protection can be added. Final pruning should be done in the spring, but long spindly canes can be trimmed off now. Climbing roses or ramblers should be tied to prevent injury from being whipped around by harsh winter winds. Do not fertilize. Clean up all dead and diseased rose leaves and put in the trash. Peonies can be cut to the ground to control the fungi and disease for which they are prone to develop. Dispose of the stems and leaves in the trash.

 

A light fall fertilization of your lawn can be done now. Do not allow leaves to form a matted layer on the lawn. Rake and compost heavy layers of leaves. Running the mower over the rows of leaves at right angles a couple times will reduce them to half inch pieces which earth worms will pull into the soil. The latest recommendation is to continue to cut your lawn at 2.5-3 inches as long as it continues to grow. Run the gas out of your lawn and garden machinery or add gas stabilizer for storage.

 

November is a good month to plant most trees. For two short informative videos, go to; http://bit.ly/PlantATreeCbus. When your trees go dormant you can view; http://bit.ly/PruneATreeCbus and see how to prune them properly.

Make sure leaves and mulch are not heaped against the trunks of trees. Bring the mulch a few inches to a foot away from the trunks of all trees. You may also want to stake newly planted trees from the winds of winter and early spring storms. Generally new trees more than 2” diameter don’t need staking. Consult ohioline.osu.edu for staking and other gardening information. Evergreens and shrubs should be watered deeply. Apply an anti-desiccant to broadleaf evergreens after it freezes. Wait until dormant to do any normal pruning. Do not prune spring flowering shrubs (lilac, forsythia, spirea etc.) if you want them to bloom this spring.

 

Take stock by taking notes and map your garden while you can still remember where the plants were. This is particularly important for the vegetable garden. Remove the stalks from asparagus when they turn yellow or brown and mulch the strawberries with straw. You can still plant garlic. Clean your gardening tools and put them away. A coat of oil can prevent rust. A light coating of linseed oil on wooden handles prevents splitting due to weathering and drying. Drain garden hoses and store. At the very least disconnect from the outdoor spigots. Make sure underground irrigation lines are drained or blown dry with a compressor.

 

Remove the dead plants from containers and, if not diseased, compost. Unglazed terracotta pots must be stored indoors or they will be destroyed by freezing. The same goes for fragile garden ornaments. Synthetic containers can be left outdoors. Stop or reduce fertilizing indoor plants. Weed the vegetable garden and compost non-diseased debris. Place diseased materials in the trash. Remove stakes and cages, clean and store. Plant a cover crop or cover with mulch, leave no bare ground..

 

Consider leaving the stems and seed heads of perennials, Rose of Sharon is an exception. Nature is not compelled to neatness. She leaves cover for pollinators and butterflies to overwinter themselves or their pupae and eggs. You can clean up in the spring. Cut off dead annuals and, if not diseased, compost them. Now your beds are tucked in and settled down for a long winter’s nap.

Samhair

 

October 2024

Pickaway to Garden

 

Samhair

 

By Paul Hang

 

October is the first full month of fall. The ancient Celts celebrated Samhair at this time of year. They dressed in costumes of animal pelts and lit giant bonfires. At that night the gate between the living and the dead opened and ghosts were able to walk the earth. Christians appropriated the holiday and called it all Saints Day November 1 and the night before, All Hallowed Eve. We call it Halloween.

 

The idea of ghosts roaming the earth gave rise to the tradition of spooky, scary frightening things that go bump on that night. We added witches, black cats, bats, spiders and all number of ghouls and scary creatures and trick or treats. How about decorating with a garden or part of one, a group of houseplants or a centerpiece devoted to scary and creepy plants?

 

Here is my list of some of the best, minus the dangerous ones. I do not recommend that you eat any of them. There are plants with colors representing Halloween like orange and black: Black Elephant ears (Colocasia esculata,’Black Magic’); Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon planiscopus ‘Nigrescens’); Candy Corn Plant (Cuphea micropetala); Chinese Lanterns (Physalis alkekengi) poisonous.

 

There are plants with scary names, some resembling scary, bizarre or disgusting things. Bat Head Lily (Tacca chantrieri); Devil’s Claws, there are several variations of the name, (Proboscides parviflora) or (Parvaflora louisianica) are the two I would consider; Brain Cactus (Mammillaria cristata).

 

Some plants with repulsive looks or weird behavior: Begonia ferox (Begonia ferox); the seedpods of common Snapdragon resemble human skulls; Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula) the most common, there are many cultivars: Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica). These latter two are good for younger goblins.

 

Some plants smell bad: Voodoo lily (Amorphophallus ongsakuti) the smallest of this large genus. There are dangerous plants either toxic and poisonous or have thorns. Other plants with name connections to the holiday are: Pumpkin, Snake Plant, Spider Plant, Toad Lily, Broom Corn and Garlic. I have used the Latin names and cultivars because in many instances there are many varieties and many common names for several different plants. Do your research. Don’t be tricked. You will be surprised at how many plants can be found for Halloween. It’s almost scary.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

For information on fall colors go to The Foliage Network and the Fall Color Map. For Periodic plant and animal life cycles see Natural Phenology Network and visit the Master Gardener Volunteer Phenology Garden at the park in Five Points

 

Hot caps and covers should be made handy in case a frost or freeze is forecast. 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. Protect your plants now and 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.

 

Bring 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. Look up how to overwinter geraniums, begonias, and coleus. 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.

 

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. They will sprout a few inches and take off in spring.

 

 

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. Older trees can also benefit from this. Research the variety you want to plant. Some trees including evergreens are best planted in the spring.

 

It is not too late 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, if it does. Leave the leaves under trees and planting beds. Rake them off the lawn for mulch or the compost heap. Have your soil tested and apply the recommended amendments. They can be working their way into the soil before spring. Contact the OSU Extension office for instructions and bags for samples. The office can also be contacted with your gardening questions at 740-474-7534.

More Dirty Words

 

September 2024

Pickaway to Garden

More Dirty Words

By Paul Hang

Hot enough for you? How about dry? The earth is cracking, splitting like a stretching garment that has shrunk too far on the sitting rear end of its wearer. The soil in our gardens is so dry it looks like dirt. There is a difference. These, and other dirty words, describe the ground under our feet. Coincidently many of them are also four letter words: Dirt, soil, sand, silt, clay. Some are only three letters, hot and dry. All are dirty words.

As I write this in late August, the forecast is for temperatures in the 90’s and a heat index of over 100 degrees. I volunteer for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (www.cocorahs.org) for which I daily report the amount of precipitation in my standardized rain gauge. I have reported zero precipitation for the last ten days and a whopping 0.88” for the month. June and July were comparable averaging about 1” per month. According to NOAA’s drought monitor, our county is under exceptional drought. They won’t get any argument from me.

My vegetable garden is a disaster: small tomatoes and peppers and fewer than usual, cucumbers small and few with vines that have disappeared, green beans with little bites all over them. I did have a bumper crop of elderberries and a lot of my native flowers have done pretty good: asters, goldenrods, cup plants. A lot of my shrubs are struggling. A fothergilla got crispy leaves before I noticed and gave it a drink. The jury is still out on its survival.

I have watered, but evidently not enough. I have been lax on fertilization. At my age I don’t “do heat” the way I used to and have stayed inside a lot.  Are all these a sign of things to come? Well I’m not getting any younger so that’s one thing that won’t change. The heat and droughty summers are pretty standard here but the degree of severity promises to continue. Maybe it won’t be this bad every summer but the new normal might lead us to expect more summers like this one.

What’s a body to do? Virtually every plant label says the plant requires a “moist, well-drained soil.” Cracked dry dirt is neither. What we need to do is change our garden dirt to soil. Better yet, change it to loam. Loam is considered to be the best soil texture for plant growth. It consists of mineral amounts of 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. More importantly loam needs the right amount (5%) and forms of organic matter loosening the soil to introduce oxygen and improve its structure, water holding capacity and drainage. Changing the underlying subsoil and particularly the bedrock is pretty impossible. But we can incorporate varied forms of organic matter, spreading compost and using organic mulches on existing beds.

Now is a good time to test your soil. The prescribed amendments will have time to work their way into the soil and be available to the plants for the next growing season. How do you know what your soil is like? Don’t guess soil test. Go to www.ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/agf-0514 and factsheet/SAG-4. Information on soil testing is also available at the OSU Extension Office as well as the Helpline for general questions at 740- 474-7534. Stay Cool.

Things to do in the garden:

As plants die in the vegetable garden, pull them up. As perennials die back you may leave them for their winter interest and to preserve them for overwintering pollinator eggs, larvae, pupae or cocoons. Dispose of non-diseased plant debris in a "hot" compost heap to kill the seeds. If diseased, bury them or put them in the trash. In the butterfly garden leave the host plants as they are harboring the overwintering eggs and larvae of next year’s butterflies. Those plants that you don’t want to re-seed remove the seed heads before their seeds are scattered. Or, leave them for the birds. Clean up old fruit from around fruit trees.

If you collect, dry, and store seeds for next year, use only heirloom varieties, hybrids will not grow true. Harvest and cure mature winter squash, pumpkins and gourds if they are ready. Leave a two inch stem. Gourds should be finished with growth before you cut them from the vine, store indoors at 60 degrees.

September is the best time to plant grass seed whether you are re-seeding, patching or establishing a new lawn. If you only fertilize your lawn once a year, fall is the best time to do it. Cooler (slows evaporation), wetter fall weather promotes good root growth and your grass will start out next spring healthier. Fertilize in September and then again around Thanksgiving. Read directions for amounts and settings on application equipment. You might also want to consider shrinking your lawn to save on fertilizer and mowing costs.

In those areas in the vegetable garden that are not to be fall planted, plant a cover crop or “green manure” that will be turned in in the spring. Buckwheat, annual rye, sweet clover, winter barley, wheat, soybeans, alfalfa, and hairy vetch make good green manures.

Now is the time to buy and plant spring flowering bulbs. A good rule of thumb is to plant bulbs at a depth about three times the height of the bulb. Most spring flowering bulbs look best planted in groups not in single file. Plant in a triangle, with the point facing the viewer, for most impact. Planting irises and peonies this fall takes advantage of the warm earth. They should be planted about 2 inches deep. If your peonies haven’t bloomed well because of shade from nearby competing trees, now is a good time to move them to a sunnier place in the yard. Once no longer green, cut deciduous peony leaves to the ground and discard.

Watch for yellowing of gladiolus leaves. Dig the corms and hang until the tops turn brown. Then store in a cool, not freezing, well ventilated basement or garage. Do the same with caladium, cannas, and dahlias when their tops turn brown. Fall is a good time to divide Lily of the Valley, primroses, peonies, day lilies, coral-bells and bleeding heart. Adding bulb food and humus will be rewarded in the spring.

You can plant onion seed now for early green onions and bulbs. You can still plant cool season vegetables. It’s not too late to start beets, carrots, kale and lettuce, maybe even bush beans! You can have these for Thanksgiving dinner! This assumes we don’t have a hard freeze. If we do, prepare to cover the plants. If you can find transplants of broccoli, cabbage and cucumbers you can still get a harvest. Order garlic bulbs now for planting later.

Pot up plants of herbs, chives, parsley, rosemary for a sunny window. Bring in houseplants after acclimating them to the indoors. Place them in a protected place for a couple weeks. Check for insects and treat as necessary. Reduce water and fertilizer for houseplants still indoors.

Talking Dirty

 

August 2024

Pickaway to Garden

Talking Dirty

By Paul J. Hang

Over ten years ago I suggested that we should celebrate Ground Hug Day. I realized, after all these years, I haven’t written much about ground, dirt, earth, land, soil, the medium in which plants grow in nature. Soil is basic, without it we wouldn’t have plants as we know them. In fact, without soil WE wouldn’t BE. So, it’s about time we started talking dirty.

Ground is what keeps us from getting sucked into the core of the planet. It is the Earth’s skin. It serves many purposes. We move it around, building levees, hills, and ramps. We dig in it, holes for foundations and basements. I’ve heard it said that if you buy a man a backhoe they will find a lot of places that need holes. Some of us like getting our hands in it.

As gardeners we are concerned with soil. Soil is more than dirt particles, rocks, sand, silt and clay. Soil contains organic matter, leaves, and twigs, the remains of all kinds of dead animals, live worms, bugs and insects. It has fungi, mold, and the rotted remains of things that were alive. Soil has physical, chemical and biological properties.

The best soil for plant growth is called loam. Loam is made up of 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. These are particles that are descending in size, sand being the largest, then silt and finally clay. Soil also is made up of water and air. Mineral particles are not penetrated by water but hold it on their surfaces. The smaller the particles the more water they can hold. Air is in the space between particles not taken up by water.

The different sizes of particles along with certain chemical properties such as the electrical charges on molecules of water, nutrients, and small particles determine how well soil can hold on to water and nutrients. Also the acidity or alkalinity of soil (the pH) affects how available nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and others are to the plants growing in it.

Good soil is alive; it contains macro- and microorganisms, nematodes, arthropods, bacteria, fungi. Soil organisms exude sticky waste products which cause different sized soil particles to stick together into soil aggregates. Soil which contains a lot of aggregates is called aggregated soil. Think of a bag of peanut clusters which are made up of peanuts and peanut pieces stuck together with chocolate. Between these peanut clusters, I mean aggregates, are tiny spaces called micropores. Water and air can flow through these spaces slowly becoming available to the roots of plants growing within it.

Aggregated soil results in what every plant label recommends, a “moist well-drained soil.” We make aggregated soil by adding organic matter to soil. This supports the biological activity of the organisms already living in the soil and attracting new organisms thereby increasing biological diversity. Adding a variety of organic matter is also important. Compost, leaves, straw, dairy, horse and poultry manure are good for enhancing biological activity. I have really simplified a complex subject that I encourage gardeners to pursue further. I certainly haven’t given you all the dirt on soil but the ground work has begun. The Chicago Botanic Garden has a short film on You tube called “The Importance of Soil.” Also check out kisstheground.com and Extension websites ending in edu.

Things to do in the garden:

August is Tree Check month. Water if we don’t get at least an inch of rain each week. Water at the base of the plant and do it in the morning. Water trees and shrubs planted in the past two years or if they look distressed. If you see lichen on your trees, rejoice it’s a sign of clean air.

You can still have a fall garden. Plant healthy looking broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants early in the month. Direct-seed beets, spinach, turnips, and snap peas mid-month. Other vegetables that grow well in cool weather but should be planted a little later are lettuce planted through August and September, carrots and radishes in September.  Count the days before the average frost (mid-October), veggies that have that many days to harvest can still be planted. Check the seed packet. Given our milder winters don’t be afraid to experiment. Keep the seeds and soil moist for best germination.

Harvest vegetables and herbs in the morning for best results. Dig potatoes if the vines have died. Harvest onions when the tops fall over and cure them in the sun for a few days. Consider donating excess to the food pantry.

As plants die back or stop producing in the vegetable garden remove them so bad insects and disease don’t have a place to over-winter. Some landscape plants, such as coneflowers and those with hollow stems, also native ornamental grasses, can be left alone for insects and for seeds for wintering birds or for visual winter interest. Put the debris of healthy plants in the compost bin, diseased plants in the trash. Pull crabgrass and other weeds before they go to seed.

This is the time to renovate or build a new lawn. Do your research at ohioline.osu.edu. Start cuttings of coleus, begonias, geraniums and impatiens for growing indoors this winter. Move houseplants to a shady spot to prepare them to move indoors. Disbud and fertilize your dahlias for bigger blooms. Fertilize (side dress) peonies and roses with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 12-12-12. Order garlic and spring flowering bulbs, plant biennials. Divide, transplant or give away perennials that are overgrown and plant new container grown ones. Add new mulch where needed. Pull weeds before they go to seed.

By the end of the month consider disbudding your tomato plants. Remove the growing tips of each branch and pinch out all the blossoms that bloom. It takes six weeks from blossom to fruit. This results in bigger tomatoes and prevents those marble size tomatoes that never reach the table. Experiment! Try this with melons and winter squash. Consider picking tomatoes before they are completely ripe. They will ripen off the vine if they show a blush of green on an otherwise red, purple or yellow tomato. Totally ripe tomatoes still on the vine can burst with a glut of water from rain or the hose, if we should be so lucky. They can also be sampled by birds and mammals.

Monitor for pests. Check under the leaves. Use organic methods first. Remember, 97 percent of insects are either good or neutral. To eliminate bad bugs, the two-step stomp technique can be quite effective.  Or, just flick them into a cup of soapy water. No bug species has developed a resistance to these tactics.

Need gardening advice? Call the Gardening Helpline at the OSU Extension Office 474-7534. Other resources are ohioline.osu.edu and Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (bygl.osu.edu).

My Word!

 

July, 2024

Pickaway to Garden

 

My Word!

 

By Paul Hang

 

What’s in a name? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So said Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. She made the point that names don’t define the essence of things. Names, words, are funny things. They stand for things, ideas, emotions, actions, places and people, among others.

 

I have tried to come up with a name for my place ever since I saw a dentist’s place named  “Tooth Acres”. When I had more property I referred to my place as “Nagginbak Acres”. Now that I have less than an acre and after spending several hours pulling Canada Thistle ( I eventually counted how many thistles I would pull in an hour (( 188)) and after 6 hours I calculated I had pulled over a thousand of those prickly invasive nuisances) I decided to name my place “This Ole Thistle Patch”.

 

There are a lot of names in gardening. I read an article that said peppers, chilies and aubergines should be pinched after getting a certain height, 12 inches. Aubergines? I  hate it when people use an unfamiliar word without explanation. (I plead guilty) It is aggravating when the word stands for something familiar. Why not say so? I am all in favor of expanding my vocabulary, particularly in gardening (horticulture). That can best be done by telling people what you mean.

 

Not being familiar with the plant named Aubergines, I looked it up. The name stands for a color of purple and is used to refer to eggplant. EGGPLANT! No where in this article did they say eggplant. We are all familiar with people who insist on calling plants by their Latin scientific names and refuse to translate into a more familiar name. Some are just showing off and some are oblivious. The Latin scientific name can be more confusing, not less, if the user doesn’t educate us as to a common name or names for the plant.

 

Some plants have many local names which can be confusing. Science has come up with a system of assigning names to organisms called binomial (two names) nomenclature (a system of names) which is an attempt to be more precise. For instance they use two Latin names denoting the genus and species of a plant or other organisms. A Silver Maple, I’ve heard them called Water Maples, has the scientific Latin name Acer saccarinum. Acer, the genus Maple, is capitalized, the species is not. Sugar Maple’s Latin name is Acer saccaharum and is commonly called Hard Maple or Rock Maple.

 

Would you like to see my Tithonia rotundifolia? It sometimes called Tithonia or Torch sunflower, tree marigold or more commonly Mexican Sunflower. If it is a yellow one it might be a cultivar, an intentionally bred variety, in which case the cultivar name will be in single quotation marks, Tithonia rontundifolis ‘Goldfinger’. The system can be even more precise when referring to hybrids and varieties but for now, call me finis.  

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

The Great Reversal has begun. The sun is on its way back to the equator and beyond. July is the first full month of summer. By the end of the month days will be noticeably shorter and we will have lost over a half hour of daylight. The dog days begin July 3^rd. The year is half over. Thoreau said, “How early in the year it begins to be late.”

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Are you waiting on cucumbers and squash to start bearing fruit? Remember, they get male flowers first then later the female flowers come on. Then, after pollination, the fruit can form. This is the time to dry herbs. Harvest just before they flower. Pick on a sunny dry day and in the morning. Tie them in small bundles with rubber bands. Hang them upside down in a hot, dry, dark, well ventilated spot in an attic, barn or shed. It is time to harvest garlic. Harvest when leaves are turning yellow but there are still one or two green leaves. Hang them or lay them out to dry and cure.

 

Weeding, deadheading and watering are high on the list of routine activities. If July turns out to be bone dry water the equivalent of one inch or more per week. Don’t let your plants wilt. This will cause blossom end rot in tomatoes and other solanaceous plants like peppers and eggplant (aubergines).  Mulch to conserve moisture and keep down weeds. If you haven’t mulched yet do so after a soaking thunderstorm or a good watering. Vegetables higher in water content need more water e.g. tomatoes, watermelons, onions, vs. green beans.

 

Keep your mower blades sharp; cut your grass long, 3-4 inches is ideal. If you use a pesticide for grubs you are also killing the ones that produce fireflies. Consider organic methods if you have a grub problem.  Kill Japanese beetle scouts before they let their comrades know about your garden. Brush them off into a cup of soapy water or alcohol (not Jim Beam). Repeatedly letting the lawn go dormant and reviving it by watering can kill the grass. Either keep watering or wait for Mother Nature to do it for you. Don’t forget to water your compost heap. It needs to remain moist for fast decomposition.

 

Going on vacation? Water well before you leave. Place container plants in a shady area. They should do fine for a week depending on the weather. If you will be gone longer have someone reliable come over and water regularly. Container plants in the hot sun may need watering daily.

 

If grafted trees or roses are suckering below the graft, cut the sprouts off. Keep picking seed pods off the annuals and clipping spent flowers (deadheading) to encourage bloom all summer. Pinch back mums July 15^th for the last time. Thin out fruit on heavily laden fruit trees. Prune climbing roses after bloom. Divide bearded Irises and do not re-plant too deep. Plant gladiolus up to mid-month. Add soil to potatoes as they grow.

 

Always read the labels on your plants for fertilization. Most woody plants have completed their growth and their buds for next year so fertilizing trees and shrubs after early July is a waste of money and may harm the plant. Keep watering trees and shrubs planted in the past 2-3 years. Ten gallons for every inch in diameter every week is good.

 

Consider planting a fall garden later this month. Plants such as cabbage, broccoli, spinach, collards, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts (plant seeds now, seedlings later), kale, Swiss chard even beets and parsnips thrive in our fall weather. Consider starting your plants indoors (except for root crops). Acclimate seedlings to the sun before putting them out in the garden. You can still plant beans, cukes, summer squash, greens and corn.

 

Have gardening questions? Call the Gardening Helpline 740-474-7534. To read about problems facing those of us who “grow things,” check out bygl.osu.edu.