Phototropism

 

January 2021          

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

Phototropism

By Paul J. Hang

 

After all the talk about how glad we were that the year 2020 was over and how 2021 would be better, well, as some sages have suggested, “it can always get worse”. The physical and political health of our country has taken a turn for the worse. A vaccine and new leadership will hopefully be a light at the end of these particular tunnels. As my concern mounts I can look towards the plant world for diversion and perhaps inspiration.

 

Phototropism is the tendency of an organism to turn towards or away from a source of light. It does not mean a politician’s attraction to or tendency to turn towards a camera for a photo-op, although I like that meaning. I have mentioned this tendency before of plants to react to light, or the lack of it. The mechanism is caused by hormones in the plant that cause cells to elongate. The hormone auxin migrates from the side of a plant receiving the most light to the opposite side of a plant’s stem. The auxin causes the cells on that side to elongate thus causing the plant to lean towards the light. Clever huh?

 

Another hormone, gibberellin, can cause the cells in a plants stem to elongate towards the light. When light from above is adequate the cells remain a normal size. If the light from above is inadequate the hormone causes the cells to elongate, thus making the plant taller and “reach for the light.”  This can cause “leggy” spindly plants that can topple over and die. People who garden or raise house plants are familiar with these phenomena.

 

As this year moves on we are receiving more light. As the sun has moved away from the tropic of Capricorn towards the Equator, we are getting more light. By the end of this month the sun will set a half-hour later. We will receive one more hour of light than at the beginning of the month. The plant world will re-act with growth, flowering, pollination and setting fruit. These actions are, in a sense, inevitable, guaranteed.

 

In our human world the “light” (enlightenment?) is not so inevitable or guaranteed. We like to think our actions are determined by us, by our own will. No hormone or its reaction to the amount of light or lack of it controls us, we like to believe. In this coming year I hope “just enough of us” will see the light, turn towards the light and make this a better year.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

The list of things to do in the garden has gotten shorter. Things we can do about gardening can fill your idle hours, if you have any, are: Review last year's garden; draw a map while you can still remember what grew where.

 

Check your supply of old seeds. Are they expired? Do you want to reorder that variety? Read your new seed catalogs and begin to plan next year's garden. It's not nearly as much work. 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. 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 for the next holidays. 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.

 

Plan your gardens and plantings. One of my favorite guides for this is The Ohio Gardening Guide by Jerry Minnich. Need some more seed catalogs? Go to gardeningplaces.com.

 

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. It's always a good idea to consult the experts. Go online and google it.

 

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 my vegetable crops; water the base of plants, not from above; weed and mulch; use row covers; visit and check my garden often.