Chicken Soup or Your Soil

Your soil is the most important part of your garden, but too many people forget to nurture their soil. Soil is a living thing, containing microbes, fungi, insect life and general "creepy-crawlies" vital to plant health and vigor, as well as a receptacle for chemicals and trace elements. 

Doing a little soil prep every fall pays off each and every harvest.

First, add more organic matter. Use your rototiller or your spade, and dig under frostbitten plant material, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, and compost. Avoid using any diseased plant material as compost burn it first if there are no local restrictions on burning. 

If you live near any livestock, cover your garden with 1 2 of uncomposted manure, then disguise that with other organic materials, and let the whole thing winter over. A blanket of snow from December through March will turn all of it into about of the most beautiful topsoil you can imagine.

 

It’s also time to think about soil pH, or the acidity or alkalinity. The addition of organic materials can lower the pH, or make it more acidic. If your soil is already high in acid and you’d like to neutralize it, you can also add lime or wood ashes to your garden. 

Wood ashes are wickedly alkaline, but after a season or two,create an excellent haven for earthworms and add enough potash to the soil to grow wonderful root crops.

Finally, feed your fungi. Really. Many stores specializing in products for organic gardening and sustainable agriculture sell micorrhizal spores, which is a fungus that helps soil release its nutrients more easily. 

Micorrhiza needs to be fed in order to reproduce and survive the winter. Use a hose-end sprayer, and fill it halfway with gooey, blackstrap molasses. 

If you can find the sulphred kind, so much the better. Fill the rest of the sprayer with flat beer, and spray the solution over your garden beds. The sugar in the molasses feeds the existing fungi and beneficial bacteria in the soil, and the yeasts and enzymes in the beer add more.

You’ll literally make your soil come alive, and that will help your garden thrive next year.

Attracting Humming Birds to Your Garden

The oldest historical mention of hummingbirds likely dates back to the Taino Native Americans, who were reportedly the first humans to greet Columbus when he landed in America. The Taino believe that hummingbirds are the spreaders of life on Earth, and their warriors were known as Colibir or Hummingbird warriors, because they are a peaceful bird that will defend their territory with the heart of an eagle.

 

How long they have been in America is unknown, but they have delighted bird watchers for many years, with their quick dashes into the garden, and the shine of the sun on brilliant feathers. While there actually are duller colored birds, the ruby-throated hummingbird is the most commonly recognized for its iridescent feathering, and dazzling ruby-red throat. The color though, is not all it seems.

 

Hummingbirds get their unusual coloring from the fact that not all feathers are pigmented, or colored. In the duller colors, including the Rufous Hummingbird, the brown hue is actual pigment in the feather structure. In the ruby-throated variety, light refracting through the feather segments, breaking it up much like a prism would. Only certain levels of color will be seen by the human eye, and that color will change with every movement of the feather, or angle of the light striking it.

 This is one of the features that makes them so charming to watch as they flit around a garden or feeder. Hummingbirds are very fast, traveling at an average 25 miles per hour, with wing beats of anywhere from 10-15 per second in the Giant Hummingbird, up to 80 per minute by the Amethyst Woodstar. The ruby-throated hummer falls into the middle range, at about 53 beats per second.

 

To sustain such rapid and prolonged activity, the hummingbird’s heart must beat accordingly. For birds that are hot, or sleepy, that can be as low as 50-180 beats per minute, but a heart rate of an amazing 1360 beat per minute has been recorded in a Blue-Throated Hummingbird.

 

All this activity requires a humming bird to eat almost continually, to fuel the activity that will maintain its 105-109F body heat. That means dining as many as 15 times an hour, on high-energy food. In volume, they consume up to eight times their body weight a day. But reduce the nectar to a solid by eliminating the water, and it would amount to their own bodyweight.

 A hummingbird can starve to death in as little as two hours, if still active. That makes rescue of birds trapped in garages or other enclosed areas, imperative within a short time. At night, their thermal generators shut down as they rest, and allow their body temperature to drop, so that less energy is used up while they sleep.

 

If you enjoy watching these delightful little birds, and are also an enthusiastic gardener, why not plant clumps of flowers or bushes, to bring them into your yard? Hummingbirds are creatures of habit, and will develop their own paths to food, checking them frequently and on a daily basis. Once they find out you have goodies, they’ll return over and over. Other hummers will follow, and you may then get to see hummingbird behavior at its worst, as they dive at each other to protect their food sources.

 Good choices of food producing plants for hummingbirds includes such trees or bushes as Azaleas, Mimosa, Weigela, Cape Honeysuckle and Flowering Quince. Another semi-permanent attraction is a perennial bed with Bee Balm, Columbine, Lupine, Coral Bells and Canna. You can also plant a wide range of annuals like Fuchsia, Impatiens, Petunias and Firespike, but consider growing some of your own plants from seed, as many flowers that are nursery grown, tend not to have as much nectar. Hummers will be overjoyed to discover this bonanza of blooms, and the tiny bugs that constitute the protein source of their diet.

To make sure you enjoy these little feathered friends for the whole season, hang some hummingbird feeders around your patio or gardens. But make sure there is a bit of distance between them, to avoid the squabbles, which can be quite a sight!

 

Because hummers are attracted to red flowers, you’ll find many of the hummingbird feeders available, are also colored red. This isn’t an absolute necessity, but it can be a bright spot in your garden. And the feeders come in all kinds of charming shapes from a hanging bunch of grapes, to a giant strawberry.

 

Commercial powdered food formula is available, but you can easily make your own by combining one part sugar to four parts water, and boiling it for two minutes, then cooling and storing in the fridge. Never use honey, which can ferment, or red dye, which can be harmful to the birds.

No Room For a Garden...Try This!

The growing of flowering or foliage plants on window ledges is a form of gardening in which most people can indulge. Those who live in flats, and others who have no gardens, and especially invalids who are confined to their rooms, derive an enormous amount of pleasure from this form of gardening.

Window ledge plants would be more popular if it were not for the fact that a considerable amount of work is involved in filling and emptying the boxes. In addition there is the watering problem; drainage water dripping on to the heads of people in the streets is liable to cause some annoyance. 

By taking proper precautions in constructing the containers and setting them in position, most of these difficulties can be overcome.

Suitable Window Ledge Plants for a Spring Display

(Some of the most popular plants for spring are as follows:)

Arabis albida (double variety)

The procumbent stems of this plant are clothed with grey hairy leaves and bear spikes of double, white flowers.

Aubrietia

It is more compact in growth than Arabis and forms a close carpet of blue, pink or purple flowers.

Bellis perennis flore pleno (Dwarf Double Daisies)

These dainty, free-flowering plants are ideal for window-boxes. There are red, pink and white varieties.

Myosotis (Forget-me-not)

This popular spring-flowering plant is obtainable in several shades of blue and forms an ideal carpeting plant for many types of bulbs.

Primula (Polyanthus)

The Polyanthus does not do well in a hot position and should therefore be used for window boxes which are set in a shady spot. These plants make a bright display, and many variously colored forms are obtainable.

Suitable Window Ledge Plants for a Summer Display

Here again much information can be gained by visiting the public parks in summer, and making

notes of the plants used for filling the flower beds... from florist’s shops many of the plants given in the following list will be readily obtainable. For example:

Ageratum houstonianum (mexicanum)

This is easily recognized by its compact, upright stems which bear small tufts of blue, fluffy flowers. There are numerous varieties in different shades of blue. The plants are compact and the bedding varieties range in height from 4-9 inches.

Lobularia maritima (Alyssutn maritimum)

Commonly called the white or sweet alyssum, this plant is used extensively for edging and carpeting flower beds. The variety Little Dorrit is the most popular. It grows 2-4 inches in height and forms a compact mass of white, sweetly-scented flowers. Lilac Queen and Violet Queen are two excellent varieties of recent introduction.

For edging, the variety Magic Carpet, which has a creeping habit, and forms a profusion of small blooms in many shades of colors, is most attractive.

Begonia semperflorens

For freedom of flowering and for providing a continuous display in summer the varieties of this species of Begonia are unexcelled. The plants grow about 6 inches tall and produce masses of flowers of various shades of red or pink

Grow and Brew Your Own Tea

As gardeners, we tend to spend hours yanking weeds out of our precious flowerbeds. To be honest, I enjoy weeding.

I find it relaxing. I suspect quite a few of my fellow gardeners would agree. Recently I discovered an annoying weed I haven't been able to defeat is in truth a sheer delight.

I speak of the humble Pineapple Weed. Matricaria matricioides! A big name for a weed found in waste areas. But its scientific name is actually touching once defined. 'Matricaria' stems from the Latin matrix meaning 'mother' while 'caria' is Latin for 'dear'.

This gives us 'mother dear'. This name refers to the medicinal use of pineapple weed for easing the pain of the menstrual cycle, as well as for treating colic in babies.

Pineapple weed can soothe the pain of being a woman, a mother, or a baby (which helps Mom even more). This plant's green fern-like foliage and oval greenish yellow flowers often cause people to mistake it for its close relative the chamomile plant.

Pineapple weed looks like chamomile while in bud; only this weed's homely flowers never produce the flashy white petals of its famous cousin. This native annual of Western America makes its stubborn presence known from May to November.

It grows in cracks in sidewalks, parking lots, in any plot of dry earth trampled by us humans. The pineapple weed has spread clear across the Atlantic to Europe. I discovered the hidden charm of this weed while pulling a group out of the ground.

The crushed leaves actually give off the fruity scent of pineapple. Intrigued, I did some research. I learned this weed is not only edible, with the same soothing qualities as chamomile, but was also a big hit with the Native Americans way back when.

 Native Americans traded goods for pineapple weed. The plant was used as a perfume as well as a big repellant. Dried plants were sprinkled onto meat to keep off flies. But what caught my attention while researching is the fact this weed is often brewed as a tea.

Being a devout tea-drinker this delighted me. I already make tea from my peppermint plants. Why not put this pesky weed to good use? After rinsing three dusty plants in the sink I brewed a pot of pineapple weed tea by pouring freshly boiled water into a tea strainer holding flower heads from the plants (the leaves can also be used but they add a bitter note to the brew).

We allowed the tea to steep for three minutes before removing the strainer from the pot. The result was nothing short of wonderful! The delicately fragrant tea tasted like gentle chamomile with honey. A young friend described the tea as tasting like a 'yummy dessert in a cup'.

We no longer buy chamomile tea at the grocery store. Instead I harvest my pineapple weed from a proper garden bed. I allow a few flower heads to develop into seed heads, which I collect for future planting. With good care the pineapple weed becomes a handsome soul a foot tall with attractive ferny foliage.

Collect the brown seed heads from wild plants if you wish to grow it. Grow it as you would chamomile. Pineapple weed can also be used as an accent plant with other more traditional garden plants.

The chartreuse color of the flower heads glow when mixed in with blue-flowering plants. But be careful! We are talking about a weed, and we all know how easily weeds spread. Collect the seed heads before they turn completely brown, or you'll wind up drowning in tea.

Visitors to our garden often point out my pineapple weed bed and tell me I need to weed. I inform them I grow the weeds on purpose. My visitors look at me as if I'm crazy.

Weeds are pests! Has she finally lost her mind? I explain my reason (it happens so often that explaining is growing tiresome). My visitors wind up sniffing the plants and peppering me with questions.

So, the next time you're on your knees in your garden about to yank out another weed stop yourself and take a good look at the plant. You may have found a Cinderella in disguise.

The Inexpensive Green Thumb

When people decide to grow flowers, they have many choices. They can buy potted flowers and replant them. If they are extremely patient, they can grow flowers from seeds.

They can also grow flowers from clippings of other plants. One of the most popular ways of growing flowers, however, is to grow them from flower bulbs.

A huge variety of flowers can be grown from bulbs, including lilacs, lilies, daylilies, cannas, tulips, gladiolus, crocuses, daffodils, dahlias, and many more. Many people choose flower bulbs for their ease of planting and colorful flowers. Growing bulbs is virtually foolproof.

Finding flower bulbs for sale is just as easy. You can buy flower bulbs at local nurseries and landscape supply stores. Some home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot offer flower bulbs for sale. Many department stores, such as Wal-Mart, also sell flower bulbs.

At certain times of the year, discount stores, such as 99 Cents Only, Dollar Tree, or Dollar General, sell flower bulbs. When buying flower bulbs at discount stores, it is important to make sure you are buying viable bulbs. Flower bulbs should be firm and blemish-free.

It is becoming increasingly popular to buy flower bulbs from online nurseries. Many suppliers now offer flower bulbs for sale online, including Nature Hills Nursery, Schreiners Gardens, and American Meadows. You can even order bulbs at EBay!

Be careful when purchasing bulbs online since you cannot inspect the bulbs prior to purchase, you should only buy from a reputable nursery.

Some of the highest quality bulbs, especially of tulips, come from Holland.