Early Summer Chores
Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 · Leave a Comment
With the advent of summer, it is time to buckle down and get a few jobs done in the garden. In the vegetable garden it’s time to thin out extra plants that are crowding each other. In addition to carrots and beets, others like rutabagas, kohlrabi and parsnips that are started by seed in the ground may need thinning.
Carrot seeds are tiny, so we don’t often plant them one-by-one. Instead we tend to sprinkle them and –by gum- most of them grow. I maintain that thinning carrots needs to happen by the Fourth of July, so get to work. If they are real close together, you may want to use scissors to cut off the extras at the soil line to avoid pulling up carrots you are trying to save.
I like to be efficient at whatever I do, and that includes keeping a relatively weed-free garden. Many weeds quickly mature, flower, and produce seeds. Your job is to keep them from producing seeds or crowding out your plants.
The first step of mulching as I do it is to put down newspaper
One way to control weeds is to keep them from getting the sunlight they need to grow. You can do this by mulching. I spread out newspapers over the soil and cover them with straw, hay or leaves. Four to six pages of newspaper keeps out light, inhibiting weeds. Three or four inches of straw will keep the papers in place. Earthworms eat the paper over the summer, and newsprint is done with soy-based inks, so you are not adding heavy metals to your soil (which was the case years ago).
This method works well on walkways and around big plants in the vegetable garden, but is more problematical for onions and carrots which are small and closer together. I use grass clippings or chopped leaves, without the newspaper, around small plants.
Mulching in the flower garden is good, too. It keeps down weeds and holds in moisture. But beware: too much mulch can keep rain from reaching the roots of your perennials. An inch or two of ground bark helps a lot, but 3 or 4 inches will keep quick showers from getting water to your plants.
Some gardeners use landscape fabric under bark mulch, but I generally do not. I find pernicious weeds eventually send roots through the woven fabric and this makes weeding very difficult. Landscape fabric can also constrict perennials as they expand over time, choking them.
What about plain old black plastic? I don’t use it. Sunshine breaks it down over time, and makes a mess. It also keeps air and water from getting to the soil, which must affect soil microorganisms. Additionally, the plastic ends up in the waste stream, which I want to avoid.
This is the time to prune lilacs, forsythia and other spring and early summer-blooming trees and shrubs. They set their buds for next spring in the summer, so if you wait until fall to prune, you will reduce the number of blossoms. But don’t take a hedge trimmer and just buzz of a foot or two. Make each cut thoughtfully.
I start by deciding the perfect height and shape for the shrub. I recently reduced the height of some lilacs from 12 feet or more to a more manageable eight feet or so. I cut back each stem to a place where two branches meet. If you cut any branch to a random spot, the branch may not heal well. It heals best where two branches meet. Try to hide your cuts by cutting bigger branches in places where foliage from other branches will obscure your surgery.
You can also cut back tall fall-blooming perennial flowers by a third to delay blooming and create shorter plants. This is best done in mid –May, but it’s not too late. Sometimes I will cut back the outer stems of a big clump and leave the center stems at full length. That gives me a longer bloom time, and the lower stems help support the taller stems.
Be forewarned: not all perennials will bloom if you cut them back. I wouldn’t do it for peonies or iris, for example, but anything like an aster will respond well. Experiment with just a few plants at first. Better yet, read Tracy DiSabato Aust’s book, The Well Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques. It has detailed advice for most common garden plants.
A watering wand directs a soft spray just where you want it
If we have a dry summer, you may need to water. Established perennials should not need added water, but your vegetable garden might. I don’t favor overhead sprinklers because they water everything: plants, walkways and weeds. I prefer a watering wand, which is a device I attach to my hose. It is a 30 inch aluminum wand with a sprinkler head and a valve. I can direct the water exactly where I want it. I like a brand called Dramm because the sprinkler head allows fast, gentle watering.
Watering cans are good, too. They allow you to see just how much water you are applying. This is important for new trees, which need 5 gallons a week or so. A sprinkler might seem like it is delivering a lot of water, but may not be.
A timer will allow you to water when away. 001
A watering timer will deliver water while you are away on vacation. They attach to your spigot and allow you to use an overhead sprinkler or a soaker hose. So don’t let your garden dictate your vacation schedule. With mulch and a watering system you can come back from vacation with nothing worse than a lawn that needs cutting!
Some Native Shrubs to Consider for Your Landscape
Posted on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Many of the “cast iron” shrubs that no one can kill are now deemed invasive: barberry, burning bush, multiflora rose and bush honeysuckle. And many others, while not invasive, have been overused: lilacs, rhododendrons and spirea, for example are nice but not too exciting. Today I’d like to share some nice native shrubs that support wildlife and add beauty to your landscape. These are arranged here roughly in order of season of interest (for flowers, bark, berries)
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin): I grew up chewing on the twigs and leaves of this small native with a distinctive flavor that I like. It grows in dry shade and has yellow flowers early in the spring, and red berries in the fall. But to get berries you have both males and female plants (and they are not sexed the way winterberries are). The leaves can be used to make a spicy tea. It tolerates some drought, but prefers moist rich soil.
Calycanthus or sweetshrub is a shade-loving shrub I love
Common sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus): This can be a fussy plant – I have moved mine twice to find just the right amount of sun. I have it growing under a tall, sparse pear tree and right now it is loaded with wine-red blossoms, each a bit like a miniature peony. Allegedly fragrant, mine is not, so buy in bloom and sniff first if fragrance is important to you. Reference books generally say it does best in full sun with moist soil, but mine burned in the sun, even with wet soil. Native to the south, but hardy to Zone 4.
Pagoda dogwood showing fall color and interesting branching patterns
Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia): This is a native that often plants itself – with the help of birds- in semi-shaded places. It’s structure is fabulous – it often has 2-feet of stem between horizontal branches arranged in tiers. It prefers part shade, but I do have it in full sun growing out of a high rock wall. It grows 15 to 25 feet tall. Birds love the berries (drupes, actually) in August. White, subtle flowers in June. Not often sold in nurseries, but try it if you can find it. Avoid the variegated-leafed variety, it is not nearly as tough a plant and often fails to thrive
Blueberries: So many gardeners avoid blueberries because “the birds will just eat them”. Well, why not plant some for them? They have lovely white blossoms in June, nice fruit for feeding the birds and lovely red foliage in the fall. The trick to success? Test your soil, and then add sulfur or a fertilizer-containing sulfur designed for hollies and such. You need the soil pH to be between 4.5 and 5.5 to get good fruit production. And who knows? You might get a few berries yourself – even without netting. (I avoid netting as birds get tangled in it and die).
Sweetspire grows alongside my stream and has nice fall color
Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica): New to me, I just bought one at Spring Ledge Farm in New London, NH when I saw one in bloom. It was gorgeous, and although rated as Zone 5 plant and I’m a little colder than that some years, I had to try it. It has bottlebrush white flowers in June and red fall foliage. Best of all, for me, it does well alongside water or in wet places in full sun to part shade – and I have plenty of that. It stays 3 to 4-feet tall, but can spread by root. Full sun to full shade.
Smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens): Along with oak leafed hydrangea, this is a native that grows wild in the forest as an understory shrub. It is stoloniferous (it spreads by roots) and only gets to be about three feet tall, but can form large clumps. I recently read an article about these on research done that cites a named variety called ‘Haas Halo’ that is said to be the best of all hydrangeas for pollinators. Fortunately, I had already purchased some ones last fall. It is, however, attractive to deer. They got eaten last fall, but came back from the roots vigorously this spring.
Rosebay rhododendron (R. maximum): This is another understory shrub, but can get quite large. I like it because it grows in shade or sun, and blooms (for me) in July. It is native to Appalachia, and large specimens dug in the wild are often sold in the nursery business. It can have either white or pink blossoms. Rhododendron State Park in Fitzwilliam, NH is worth a visit in July – there are 16 acres of rhododendrons and mountain laurel.
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia): This is an August bloomer, fragrant and handsome. It blooms well in light to moderate shade, and thrives in moist soils (where full sun is tolerated). The bottlebrush flowers are upright and range from white to pink to red. Many selections are sold as named varieties.
Red-twigged dogwood (Cornus sericea): Common in the wet places in the wild and in roadside ditches. Its best attribute is the bright red bark in winter of first or second-year stems. To keep it looking bright, cut back older stems each year. It can grow new stems up to five-feet tall in one year!
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata): Common in nurseries, these bear bright red berries in winter that are great in wreaths – and for hungry birds. In the wild they grow in standing water, but once established they will do fine in most gardens. Buy a male cultivar for every 5 or so females.
So visit your local nursery, talk to someone knowledgeable, and buy some new shrubs. Ask for native shrubs that are good for our birds and pollinators. There are plenty of others not mentioned here that are nice, too!
Henry is the author or four gardening books, and is available as a speaker to libraries and garden clubs. Reach him at
henry.homeyer@comcast.net.
It’s Not Too Late to Start Some Less Common Veggies
Posted on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 · Leave a Comment
It’s not too late to plant some more things in the vegetable garden. It’s only June, and there is still time. Here are some tips for some less commonly planted veggies – for growing and/or using. It’s way too late to start most things from seed, but you can sometimes buy started plants at a good local greenhouses or garden center.
Artichokes: These are big plants, so you need a two-foot wide square in good, rich, moist soil in full sun. You will get one good sized “choke” on the top of the plant, and a few more as side shoots. Grow them because the foliage and chokes are beautiful, even if not much food. They are nice in the flower garden, too.
Remove top leaves of Brussels sprouts to get bigger sprouts
Brussels sprouts: I get many emails complaining that the little green globes that we eat never get big. But that’s easy to fix: on Labor Day weekend, go to the garden with a sharp knife. Then, as the Red Queen of Alice and Wonderland said, “Off with their heads!” That’s right, slice off the top four inches or so of the plant and it will plump up the sprouts and stop putting all its energy into getting taller. They are incredibly frost hardy so you can harvest as late as Christmas if you wish.
Cauliflower: These guys are fussy. If they get too cold, too hot, too wet or too dry they will only produce a ”button” of a head. But if you’re lucky, you’ll get a mouth-watering delight. And they come in purple, too! But cooked, the purple turns gray – so use them in a salad where the purple will amaze your guests.
Cut away the fine roots of celeriac to expose the bulbous root used for cooking or salads
Celeriac: These are root crops related to celery, but easier to grow. My home grown celery was always stringy and attracted slugs, so I stopped growing it. But celeriac is easy – if you have soil that stays moist. They need lots of water. I usually start seeds indoors in March but forgot this year, so I just bought some plants in a 4-pack at my local nursery. Harvest late in fall to let them get as big as possible.
Kale is a favorite of the Birkenstock crew, but should be grown by everyone. Why? It’s a green vegetable that is easy to grow and, unlike lettuce or spinach, it freezes well. I blanch it, and freeze it in zipper bags to use in soups, stews and smoothies all winter. Your garden center may still have seedlings, but you could start some by direct seeding in the ground for a fall crop. Each plant needs about 16 inches of space, so if starting from seed, plant several seeds in a group at that spacing, and then thin our all but one after they germinate.
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi: These are in the cabbage/broccoli family but are an above-ground root (actually an enlarged stem). The leaves pop out of the purple or light green above-ground sphere. Some should be harvested at the size of baseballs, others are still perfect when the size of a duckpin bowling ball. The seed packet will tell you which you have. They taste a bit like broccoli and can be used raw in salads or cooked in a stir fry or soup. Some like ‘Gigante’ will store for 6 months in a cool cellar or fridge. These grow fast, so you can plant seeds now.
Parsnips I usually plant by seed around June 15 because they won’t germinate in cold soil. Seeds only are good for one year, so share the seed packet with your neighbor. Us “older folks” love parsnips. Parsnips grow like carrots, but get bigger. I leave them in the ground all winter, and harvest them the first thing in the spring. I steam them and serve them with butter and (real) maple syrup (of course).
Pole beans: Unlike bush beans, they keep on producing all summer if you keep on picking them. ‘Kentucky Wonder is the classic, but the tastiest I’ve eaten in ‘Kwintus’, which is still good when picked big. Kwintus seeds are hard to find, but I see they are available from Fedco Seeds.
Rutabagas get big and keep well
Rutabagas: Why do people never raise their hand when I ask a group, “Other than me, who has grown these gems? “ I admit, it’s an old fashioned vegetable, one our grandparents grew. But it’s easy to start from seed, it’s tasty and produces a lot food. Use it just like potatoes in a stew. Its advantage is that it won’t crumble and fall apart after re-heating the stew a few times. And potato beetles aren’t a problem. Just thin them to four inches apart and you will get roots bigger than any of your potatoes. Start by seed now.
Swiss chard is actually the same species as beets, but has been selected for big leaves, not big roots. Plant by seed (or plants if you can find them) now. Bedrock Gardens in Lee, NH (one of New England’s quiet gems) used purple-leafed ones in their garden last year (or was that a purple-leafed beet?). ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard offers stems in red, purple, yellow, orange and green. Plant them in the flower garden, eat them raw or steamed.
Tomatillos are used in Mexican dishes and can be grown here. But you need two plants to get proper pollination. I didn’t know that and only planted one the first time I tried it. It made fruit capsules, but with nothing inside! Look for plants at your local greenhouse.
Thank you, John Lenat (1888 to 1967), my maternal grandfather. You not only taught me how to make a good compost pile, you taught me the joy of eating fresh vegetables only minutes after picking them. I am eternally grateful.
Thinking and Being Green in the Garden
Posted on Sunday, June 5, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Do you want to be a better steward of the environment? If so, the first step is to be a gardener: grow some of your own vegetables, plant some native trees, shrubs and flowers while using no chemicals. But there is even more to think about than what kind of tomatoes to plant, and how many.
I will deliver these to a garden center that will reuse them.
First, what should you do with all those black plastic pots that come with the plants? Most recycling facilities do not accept black plastic pots, but some pots are numbered #2 or #5, and can be recycled. A few have no numbers. Plastic pots are made from oil in factories around the world. I imagine that these factories spew and spill a certain amount of chemicals, and create waste and by-products that are bad for the environment.
My mantra for plastic is this: Refuse, Re-use, Recycle. So how do you refuse to buy plants in plastic pots? Start your own plants. If you save plastic pots and rinse them out, you can re-use them. Some for years. You can also buy peat pots and coir (palm fiber) pots. Some companies like Gardeners Supply sell sturdy flats to use instead of those flimsy 6-packs, but strong enough to be used many times.
Trees and shrubs are most often sold in big black plastic pots. But they are also sold “balled and burlapped”. Those are usually bigger trees that are dug up and wrapped in burlap after years growing in the ground. Some local nurseries still dig their own plants, and I recommend supporting them. When you plant, be sure to take off any burlap and wires that may be holding the root ball together. And beware of any “fake” burlap made of plastic. Don’t buy it.
For years we have been offering sturdy plastic pots to our local, family-owned garden centers. Most just want them cleaned before you drop them off. I find it easiest to do that right after planting, before the soil bakes on. Re-using pots saves the garden centers money, assuming they have the time to sort and store them. Tell those that do how happy you are with them.
Recycling is really not the answer: Many loads of plastic at the re-cycling center are contaminated and end up in the landfill or incinerator. Too much dirt, food, or items of the wrong number can condemn a whole dumpster of plastic.
I was pleased to learn that most Home Depot stores now accept all kinds of plastic pots. I went to the one near me in West Lebanon, NH and there was a rack outside with the plants just for returned pots. The pots don’t even need to have come from them.
Electric mowers have improved greatly in the past few years. They are quiet and non-polluting.
We recently took a big step forward towards being “Green”. We bought an electric lawn mower. I’ve read that the EPA estimates that using a lawnmower is 11 times more polluting than driving a new car. One hour of mowing, apparently, is equal to driving 93 miles. Of course, these statistics are not perfect, as they do not indicate what kind of mower or car is being compared. Older, bigger mowers are worse.
We bought a 21-inch, self-propelled battery-powered lawn mower on sale for $500 at our local True Value Hardware store. It has a quick-charge battery charger that takes an hour or less to recharge the 54 volt battery, which is good for an hour of mowing. The mower has plenty of power and is so much quieter than our old gas mower. Our lawn takes more than an hour to mow, but so what? I have plenty of other garden chores to do while the battery re-charges. The technology in batteries electric mowers really has improved just in the last few years.
Being Green also means using no chemicals in the garden. That’s an easy one. I don’t use herbicides, insecticides or chemical fertilizers. I don’t want something to kill dandelions or moss, neither of which I consider a problem.
There are perfectly wonderful organic fertilizers that offer so much more than the chemical ones. Instead of just offering three plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), they offer calcium, magnesium, and many more nutrients plant use. They do this because they are manufactured using natural ingredients like sea weed, cotton seed meal, ground oyster shells and ground peanut hulls.
Organic fertilizers are also slow-release fertilizers. Pro-Gro, made in Vermont, has about 25% soluble nitrogen that is ready right away. The rest is released slowly as microorganisms break it down and make it usable by plants. And it will not damage root hairs the way some of the chemical fertilizers can if too much is applied.
Compost is one of the best things you can add to your soil. It helps sandy soils hold moisture and loosens up heavy clay-based soils. You can buy it by the bag or –better yet – by the truck load. Even though my soil is terrific, I add compost every year. It is not a fertilizer, but it feeds the microorganisms that work with our plants. And if you get a good grade of compost, it will improve the texture of your soil, not matter what it is.
Re-use these 6 packs yourself or bring them to a vendor who accepts them
Lastly, speak up. If your suppliers are trying to reduce use of plastic, or are taking it back to re-use it, tell them that is why you are buying from them. If they’re not? Ask them to! Every voice counts. We gardeners should be on the cutting edge of reducing plastic and chemical use.
Plants That Thrive in Wet or Moist Places
Posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 · Leave a Comment
I like to say that plants can be as fussy as a two-year old facing a plate of overcooked broccoli. Plants know what they want, and will not behave the way you want them to unless you accommodate their wishes. Today, let’s look at a few that love wet feet.
First, please understand that plants need oxygen but do not get it from their leaves. No, they get oxygen from their roots. Some plants have evolved ways to get their oxygen despite sitting in water-logged soil while others quickly drown or develop root rot. If you have heavy clay soil that holds water, be sure to pick plants that can tolerate wetness.
I have a small stream running though my property so much of my land stays quite moist, even in dry summers. In spring I often have standing water between raised beds in the vegetable garden. Yet I have plenty of wonderful flowers that thrive here. Here are a dozen I like, arranged roughly according to bloom time, from early spring to late fall.
- The drumstick primrose (Primula denticulata) blooms in early spring in hues of blue to red or white. Then comes P. kisoana that spreads by root in either wet or dry places. Last, starting now, there is the candelabra primrose (P. japonica) which sets out a series of blossoms on an increasingly tall stem over a month of bloom-time. All love growing under old apple trees in dappled shade.
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Thalia with Forget-Me-Nots
Forget-Me-Nots (Myosotis sylvatica). I have these blooming now by the hundred everywhere I look, sun or shade. These lovely low-growing blue (or sometimes pink or white) flowers self-sow bountifully. They prefer rich moist soil and will do well in sun or shade. Because they come back from seeds so easily we let them bloom, then often pull them out like weeds to plant something else.
- ‘Thalia’ daffodil. Most bulbs require good drainage, but ‘Thalia’ does fine in soggy soil. She is nearly white, and each bulb can produce three flowers at once. She blooms with the forget-me-nots. Order now for fall planting.
- Globeflower (Trollius spp.). An early summer bloomer, it does best in part sun and moist soil, but will also grow in ordinary garden soil and in full shade. The blossoms are an inch or so across, and bright yellow. Blooms in late May to June, but may sometimes re-bloom in the fall.
- Japanese iris (Iris ensata). These beauties will bloom in standing water, or in damp soil. They are like the Siberian iris, but their falls (petals) lay back almost flat. Blues and purples. Early summer.
- Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis). These flowers are native plants the bloom on 3-foot stalks in fire engine red! I’ve seen them growing on the banks of the Connecticut River, but do well in moist soil and full sun in my garden. Will tolerate some dryness, but prefer wet. I avoid modern hybrids which are other colors, but not as hardy.
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Pollinators are attracted to Swamp milkweed by color and scent
Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). Related to ordinary milkweed, this likes moist soil and full sun. Unlike the wild one, this does not send runners out and spread by root. Mine get 3- to 5-feet tall, and come in pink or white. Readily available at garden centers.
- These flowers come in red, pink and white and various heights. They can survive in drier soil in shade, but really love moist, rich soil and full sun. good cut flower with an almost woody stem.
- Goldenrod (Solidago spp.). There are many species, some of which spread by root, others do not. It is the very best perennial for supporting pollinators. Mid-summer to fall. ‘Fireworks’ is my favorite.
- Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum). This is a native plant that thrives on stream beds and swampy areas that has bee domesticated. A cultivar known as ‘Gateway’ is the best, but gets to be over 6-feete tall. ‘Baby Joe’ is supposed to be a smaller version, but I haven’t tried it yet. Pollinators love this plant which blooms in fall with pinky-purple blossoms.
- Turtlehead (Chelone lyonii). Gorgeous tall stems loaded with pink flowers shaped like helmets – or turtle heads. Will do sun or shade, loves moisture but will grow in ordinary gardens, too. Bumblebees force themselves inside, and seem to growl in there at times. Great cut flower. Fall.
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Henry Eiler rudbeckia does well in a moist, sunny location
‘Henry Eiler’ Rudbeckia. One of the latest flowers I grow. Petals are distinctive: they have space between each one, like missing teeth. Tall, often 6-feet or more. Needs to be staked early, or perhaps cut back in early June to reduce height. Blooms past frost. Full sun, rich moist soil.
If you have a clay-based soil that is sticky when you rub it, wet, between your fingers, you would do well to add compost to the soil before planting any of these lovely flowers. Yes, they like the moisture clay holds, but compost – a shovel or more mixed into the planting hole – will improve their performance.
I’m pleased to report that our new young dog, Rowan, is learning to stay out of garden beds. He’s an 18-month old golden/Irish setter mix with lots of energy. But so far, he hasn’t dug up any plants.
Henry lives and gardens in Cornish Flat, NH with his wife, Cindy Heath. Reach Henry at
henry.homeyer@comcast.net or PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.
Getting Rid of Invasives
Posted on Thursday, May 19, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Well intentioned people of the past century imported many handsome plants. Unfortunately, some of them – absent the predators of their homeland – became pests here in America. These “invasives” generally spread quickly by seed and root, and can take over our gardens and adjoining wild places. Many will grow in sun or shade in wet or dry soil – in other words – anywhere!
This is a good time to work on removing as many invasives as you can. You can obtain the entire list on-line as each state keeps a list of plants that are considered invasive and are prohibited from sale, propagation or transportation. But let’s look at a few that are common and important to remove, no matter where you live.
Honeysuckle leaves are oval and opposite each other on the stem
For me, those include bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). I recently organized a work day on a hiking trail in Cornish that focused on honeysuckle and barberry. We tried to pull these shrubs by hand, but also used a device called a weed wrench for bigger specimens.
A weed wrench allows anyone to pull out invasive shrubs
Although weed wrench is used generically, it was in fact a trade name, but the company has gone out of business. Similar tools be found under the name “Pullerbear”, “Uprooter” and perhaps others. I have used Weed Wrenches, but not other brands. These are steel tools with sturdy handles and a gripping mouthpiece that bites onto the stem of a shrub up to 2 or 3 inches in diameter, depending on the model. You pull back, and with great leverage you pull out the culprit, roots and all. Some brands come in different sizes.
Many invasive plants are hard to eradicate because if you leave a part of the root in the ground when pulling it out, it will re-sprout. And simply cutting down an invasive tree or shrub usually will often not work: the roots will send up new shoots, and may respond by sending up many, many new shoots.
But don’t be discouraged if you can’t get all the roots out. You are severely setting back the plant you pulled and it will be several years before the plant can produce seeds for birds to distribute elsewhere.
Buckthorn often grows with several stems in a tight grouping
Buckthorn is one of those that responds to cutting by sending up many new plants. Instead of one buckthorn or a clump of buckthorn, you get dozens of buckthorn. But you can kill buckthorn by girdling the trunk. Take a small pruning saw and cut through the bark all the way around the trunk. Don’t cut into the hardwood, just cut the bark. Then go 12 inches higher up, and do it again.
Girdling a buckthorn is a slow death: you are interrupting the flow of sugars from the leaves to the roots, which slowly starve to death. I have done this in winter, and the tree leafed out and seemed normal that spring and the next spring. The third spring it never leafed out – it was dead, and did not sent up any new sprouts around the tree.
That said, it is not always easy to girdle buckthorn. They often grow with several trunks that merge near the base and grow tightly together. So a folding saw with a pointed tip is the best way to get into the cluster of stems. Or try to cut the clump twice down low, near the base.
During the recent work day in Cornish, I spoke with someone who explained a theory of invasive plant control that made a lot of sense to me. It was a theory proposed by Dr. Steve Dewey of Utah State University, and was based on the way firefighters approach wildfires. When a fire is raging, sometimes all you can do is try to contain it, and look for places where the wind has sent sparks that are just starting a new fire.
This barberry planted at our posts office has red leaves, but most have green ones. All have thorns and red berries in winter
Likewise, when there is a bad infestation of an invasive plant like honeysuckle or barberry on a property, look around for spots where a single small plant is growing. It will be easier to pull than a big one. And within a few years, a small plant will be a big plant producing seeds for birds, wind or water to move to a new location – and to produce a big patch. So put out the glowing ember first, then work on the big fire – or infestation – next.
An easy invasive plant to pull is garlic mustard. This is a biennial weedy plant and might not be thought to be so bad. But its roots produce a toxin that kills beneficial soil fungi that will, in time, reduce tree viability. It can grow in deep shade in our forests. The toxin it produces will eliminate the mycorrhizal fungi that live in symbiotic relationship with our trees, gradually weakening the trees – and killing them. Not only that, garlic mustard inhibits the germination of seeds of many species of native plants, including many spring wildflowers.
As a biennial weed, garlic mustard has two forms. In the first year it produces a low rosette of rounded leaves. The second year it sends up 18- to 36-inch flower spikes with pointy, heart-shaped leaves with jagged edges. The small white flowers have 4 petals and bloom in clusters about an inch or more in diameter. One plant can produce about 4,000 seeds. And although about 70% of the seeds will germinate the next year, some will remain viable in the soil for up to 10 years.
So organize a work party in your town – it’s more fun than taking on invasives on your own. Try to remove any one of the invasives that threaten our woodlands and wetlands. Your grandkids will thank you one day.
Planting the Vegetable Garden
Posted on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Every gardener has an opinion about when to start planting the vegetable garden. Frost hardy plants like spinach, onions and peas should already be in the ground for most everyone, but tomatoes and peppers? I believe that waiting until June is right for my garden –even if we get no more frost.
Artichoke ready to pick in my garden
Why do I plant later than many others? Tomatoes and peppers like warm soil. In fact, they’d rather be growing in Mexico than Cornish Flat. Yes, you can plant them early but they won’t grow much. They’ll sit there and sulk. If you can get your hands on a little soil thermometer, check your soil down 3 or 4 inches. If it is 60 degrees or more, fine. Have at it.
Another way to decide when to plant is to ask an “old timer”. Ask someone in your neighborhood when it is safe to plant various crops. If she has been gardening in your neighborhood for the last 25 years or more, her advice is probably excellent.
If you started seeds indoors, your tomatoes or broccoli may be tall and lanky. So tall that they will fall over when planted. The solution? Plant much of the stem in the ground – either in a deep hole for the root ball, or sideways in a shallow trench. Remove and low leaves to make it look like a little palm tree. Then make a hole for the root ball with a 6-inch trench next to it. Lay the tomato seedling in the ground, and gently turn up the top while covering the stem with soil. All the buried stem will produce roots. Broccoli or other brassicas I just plant deep if they are too tall.
Potatoes ready to hill
Potatoes can go in the ground now unless your garden is still soggy. In fact, don’t plant anything in soggy soil. I have somewhat soggy place for my garden, but make raised beds which helps with drainage. I have made two kinds of raised beds: raised mounds (30-to 36-inches wide) or wood-sided raised beds. I use rough-sawn hemlock planks that are a full inch thick and 8 inches wide. Pressure treated wood is now said to be safe to use in the vegetable garden, but I prefer untreated hemlock which I find lasts about 10 years.
Potatoes are started from chunks of sprouted potatoes, or from whole, small potatoes. Buy “seed potatoes” at your local feed-n-grain store, hardware store of garden center. Grocery store potatoes are likely treated to avoid sprouting, although organic potatoes are probably fine. Seed potatoes are sold as disease free, which is important. If you cut large potatoes into chunks, make sure each has a couple of “eyes” where they will sprout stems. Leave them in a shady, breezy place for a day or two to heal the cuts.
Loosen the soil well, and dig a hole with a hand tool. You want the spud to be at least 3-inches deep when planted as the new potatoes need space to grow above the seed potato. Cover with just an inch of soil at first, but then fill the hole with more soil after the leaves and stems are up above the soil level.
Peppers and eggplants I plant as small plants in mid-June. To give them even more warmth at night I sometimes cover them with row cover (a thin agricultural fabric sold at garden centers). And I’ve been known to place dark-colored rocks near some special French hot peppers I grow to store heat during the day and kick it back at night. Peppers and eggplants can be wind-pollinated, but bees help, too, so don’t leave row covers on once they start blooming.
Parsnips I plant by seed in mid-June, and they generally take 2 weeks or more to germinate. Most seeds are good for 3 years, but you must buy parsnip seeds every year. Like all root crops, parsnips benefit from having loose soil with few rocks (Oh, sorry, Vermonters).
Artichoke ready to pick in my garden
Be sure to thin all root crops in early July once they are big enough to grab onto. Give the carrots an inch to start, then in a month later, thin to 2 inches. You can eat the thinnings. Beets, same thing. And beet greens are delicious.
What about unusual veggies? I like to buy an artichoke plant at my local greenhouse. I have started them from seed, but it is long process starting in February. Give your artichoke a 2-foot square of space, add lots of compost and a little organic fertilizer, and place it in full sun. Make sure it does not dry out. It will produce one good-sized artichoke at the top of the plant, and smaller ones as side shoots. The foliage is lovely, so you can plant one in your flower garden!
Swiss chard is pretty enough to sneak into your flower beds. Get ‘Bright Lights’ chard, which has red, yellow and green stems.
Artichoke ready to pick in my garden
Beans come as bush beans or pole beans. Bush beans all ripen over a 3-week period and are then done. Pole beans, if you keep on picking them, will keep producing until frost. ‘Kentucky Wonder’ is the classic pole bean, though ’Kwintus’ is my favorite. It’s good eating, even when large.
A word of caution about fertilizers: more is not better. Chemical fertilizers can burn fine roots. And too much organic fertilizer can push growth too fast. Compost is always a good addition to your planting hole.
I never use insecticides in the garden. Their side effects can be awful for you, your kids or pets. Just hand pick bugs, or spray off little things like aphids with a stream of water.
Spring Flowers I Love
Posted on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Shadbush in bloom
Spring has teased us this year: she comes, she goes; warm sunny days are followed by high winds, cold rain and even pellets of ice. But the spring flowers persist, starting with those dainty white snowdrops that appear reliably in early March for me. Let’s look at a few – bulbs, shrubs and trees. Perennials I will do on another day.
Snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) bloom with white blossoms on short stems in early March, but seem a bit depressed, I think. They always turn their faces down to the ground. I have some “double” snowdrops that really are gorgeous, but I only see their extra petals when I bend down and turn their faces up. Probably not worth a dollar a bulb, which is what they cost. Snowdrops tend to naturalize, becoming more numerous each year and moving out from flower beds and into the lawn.
After the snowdrops come Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae). These are cheerful blue, pink or white flowers that look up to look at me. Sometimes I think they wink at me, saying, “Hey dude, look at us. We are spring.” I mainly grow the blue ones. These naturalize well, spreading quickly.
Related to Glory of the Snow, but more intense in color and attitude, come Siberian squill, most commonly referred to by their scientific name, Scilla (Scilla siberica). They are a deep purple, and their faces point down, looking at their sneakers.
Winter acconite blooms about the same time as snow drops
Along with those flowers come a bright yellow one, Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis). These are low-growing, upward facing flowers with 5 to 8 petals (actually sepals, but who cares?). Like the others, they tend to spread and increase in number. Order some now, along with the others mentioned, and plant them in the fall.
You know crocus, but you might not know that there are 80 or more distinct species of crocus. Some are very early, others bigger and later. Go on line and look at all the varieties. These are good for early pollinators hungry for pollen and nectar.
Daffodils are mildly poisonous to rodents and deer, so they avoid them. Mine are now in full bloom. There are 13 classes of daffies, each quite distinct. Tulips are flavor treats for deer, and rodents love the bulbs. So maybe you should grow them as potted flowers. Or take your chances. Having a several cats will help tulip bulbs survive, and a dog will keep the deer away. My favorite is ‘Maureen’, a 24 to 28-inche tall late bloomer, but I love them all!
Most trees do not have showy blossoms. Why not? Most are wind-pollinated, so do not need to attract pollinators with flashy blossoms or great fragrances. You might never have noticed the blossoms of pines or oaks or maples. Actually, you must have seen red maples (Acer rubrum) bloom. They are early, one of the first trees to blossom. The blossoms are small and fuzzy in appearance. But there are so many blooming at once, you will notice them if you hike in the woods in April.
But of the showy trees, the best in my opinion, is a hybrid magnolia called ‘Merrill’ or ‘Dr. Merrill’ (Magnolia x loebneri ‘Merrill’) named after the Director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard in 1952, but actually bred by Karl Sax. It blooms reliably for me in the last week of April and into May. The blossoms are double, fragrant, and 2 to 3-inch across.
Leatherwood blossoms
This week my leatherwood bush (Dirca palustris) is in bloom with heart-stopping beauty. It is a small native shrub that blooms in dry shade for me. It has lovely gray bark much like beech trees and yellow blossoms that appear before the leaves. The blossoms are small and elegant, and almost seem to glow. It is not a common shrub for sale in nurseries. Mine has upward growing branches in a vase-shaped arrangement. I love it and visit every day when in bloom.
Then there is February Daphne. Well, maybe it blooms in New Jersey or Virginia in February, but it blooms in April for me. It has lots of small pink-purplish stemless blossoms up its branches. It is highly fragrant. It is only 3- to 5-feet tall and wide, and rarely needs pruning. It is native to Europe and Asia, not here, and is said to spread by seed distributed by birds. But in 20 years I have never seen a volunteer on my property. Some people react poorly to the sap, and the berries are toxic if eaten by humans. It likes a part sun-part shade spot.
Fothergilla major blooms in May
Perhaps a better shrub to choose would be a fothergilla, which is native and early. There are 2 species, Fothergilla major and F. gardenia, also known as dwarf fothergilla. It has wonderful white bottlebrush flowers in May and best of all, it has fabulous fall foliage color. Red, orange, purple and yellow leaves on one plant! It is not a fast growing plant, and rarely needs pruning.
Another early bloomer and a great producer of berries for birds is small tree or large shrub called shadbush, serviceberry or by its scientific name, Amelanchier spp. I see them blooming along the roadsides in May, nice small white blossoms that remind me of wild apple blossoms. It has nice gray bark, and they often grow as multi-stemmed plants. I have a few, but the fruit is eaten by birds before I ever get to it.
Spring Lawn Care
Posted on Friday, April 29, 2022 · Leave a Comment
It’s about the right time to do a little work on your lawn if it needs it. According to Paul Sachs, the owner of North Country Organics and the author of several books on lawn care, if you want to fill in bare spots, wait until the lawn greens up after winter. And then have at it.
This dead spot was caused by too many footsteps when wet
To fix bare spots I use a short-tined garden rake to scuff up the soil. Then I scatter some seed with my hand, just sprinkling it over the spot. Next I sprinkle a thin layer of compost or fine garden soil over the seed. Not too much: most grasses need sunshine on the seed to germinate. Bury it with an inch of soil, and it won’t do well. Finally, pat it down with your foot, lightly, or with a metal tamper.
It’s important that the seed not dry out while it is getting ready to grow, so often people shade the seed with a fine layer of hay or straw. Of course hay has seeds, so straw is better, albeit more expensive. You can leave the straw and just let the seed grow through it. Later, when you mow the lawn, it will disappear.
Why do places in your lawn need help? Most lawn grasses do not like to grow in compacted soil. So if you park cars on the lawn, or walk over it every day on your way to the mailbox, it will get compacted. Enter (drum roll) CRAB GRASS. Crab grass will grow in compacted soil, but it is an annual so it dies each winter – or by late summer if gets too dry. The solution is simple: build a stone path to the mailbox and park cars only in designated parking areas.
This tamper is useful for lightly packing down seeded areas
Let’s re-think the concept of a lawn. Why do we need a large patch of short grass at an even height all around our house? Sure, people with kids and dogs need some place to play ball or Frisbee. And if you like to have friends over and sit around a barbecue grill, a little lawn is nice. But do you really like mowing an acre of lawn once a week, or paying someone else to do it? Maybe it’s time to reduce the size of your lawn and plant some more native trees and shrubs.
Entomologist Doug Tallamy is the author of a terrific book called Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard. Dr. Tallamy suggests that we can help birds and pollinators by growing native trees and shrubs – and by adding more to replace some lawn, especially in new subdivisions and in-town lots.
Birds depend on the caterpillars of moths and butterflies to feed their young. He determined that 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars are needed to feed a clutch of chickadees from hatching to fledgling. That’s an amazing number of caterpillars, especially since most of us never even notice them.
Those butterflies and moths will mostly only lay their eggs on trees and shrubs they know: our natives. Even if your barberry or burning bush has been growing in your yard for 50 years, they probably will ignore it and look for an oak, a cherry or a willow – trees they evolved with them over tens of thousands of years.
Dr. Tallamy makes a great suggestion about how to think about lawns: think of lawn as you might throw rugs, not wall-to-wall carpeting. Bump out with trees planted along the edges of your property line, reducing the lawn with native trees. Create nice curves, then add some understory shrubs along the edge of the newly “forested” area.
‘Fireworks’ goldenrod is commonly sold in nurseries now
In addition to the oaks, native cherry and willow trees, other “keystone” trees include birches, poplars (he calls them cottonwoods) and elm. He said just 5% of the genera of plants support 75% of the caterpillars. Great perennials include goldenrod (the absolute best), asters, and members of the sunflower family. There are many tame goldenrod species that will not take over your garden, so expand your plant palette to include “Fireworks” goldenrod and other nice varieties.
But back to lawns: my philosophy of lawns is this: If it is green and you can mow it, it’s a lawn. It need not be free of dandelions and Creeping Charlie. Yes, dig out thistles, or anything that hurts your bare feet. But violets? Sure, why not? Anything that blooms will provide nectar or pollen for bees and other pollinators.
Clover actually helps your lawn, despite being called a weed by the companies that promote using the “Weed-n-Feed” chemicals that kill it. Clover fixes nitrogen, taking it from the air and putting it into the soil, reducing a need for lawn fertilizer.
If you want a rich, lush lawn, don’t cut it too short. The longer the grass, the more food produced to grow grass roots. The deeper the roots, the better the lawn will be at surviving drought.
Dandelions in lawn help feed pollinators early in the spring
When you add grass seed to fill in spots, I recommend a mix of seeds, not a pure Kentucky bluegrass, which is the neediest of all grasses. It needs fertilizer, and watering. A “Conservation Mix” will do better for you. And if you are planting in a shady area, get a mix made for shady places. Those sun/shade mixes are not as good for shady areas as those designed for them.
Soil pH is a measure of soil acidity. If you are serious about your lawn, buy a kit at the local feed-and-grain store or garden center to test the pH. If you have chlorinated water, buy some distilled water to use with the kit. If the soil pH is lower than 6.2, add some lime (ground limestone) to your soil to bring up the number. Lawns don’t do so well in highly acidic soil.
When I see a weed-free lawn, I know it‘s been treated with chemicals, and I won’t walk on it barefoot. You, your kids and dogs shouldn’t either.
Growing Vegetables to Share with All
Posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 · Leave a Comment
I recently went to Brattleboro, Vermont, to meet with the organizers of Edible Brattleboro. It is an informal group of people who believe that “access to fresh healthy food is a right for all, regardless of means. This serves as the basis of the work we are doing, and we do our best to eliminate barriers to benefiting from our work, and thus everything we offer is free.”
Edible Brattleboro garden at Brattleboro Coop last summer
The prime movers behind this movement are Tom Green and Marilyn Chiarello, who have been working to turn empty spaces and lawns into places for food production. Both are retired school teachers. Marilyn saw a TED talk by Pam Warhurst in 2015 and decided that something similar could be done in Brattleboro.
That first year Edible Brattleboro approached the local food cooperative and asked for a strip of land between the parking lot and the Whetstone Brook. The Coop agreed, and volunteers built a 4 x 8-foot raised bed. They have since expanded this space, growing strawberries, tomatoes, herbs and more. Volunteers plant, weed and water as needed. Anyone can help themselves to the free food, there are no questions asked.
By now there are gardens and fruit trees all over town that were started by Edible Brattleboro. I went around with Tom and Marilyn and looked at some of their projects. Three cherry trees are planted in front of the town hall, and other fruit trees are planted on school property. Another garden is at an addiction recovery center, Turning Point, where there are raised beds in the front lawn.
These drums with water reservoirs will be full of vegetables later this summer
Another garden is at the Root Social Justice Center, at the edge of their parking lot. Volunteers made container gardens using food grade plastic 55-gallon drums using designs Tom found online. They have water reservoirs so that water wicks up into the soil in the drums, and daily watering is not needed. Tom also got some one-cubic meter “intermediate beverage containers” that originally held sugar syrup. Again, he fitted them with water reservoirs to avoid daily watering.
Edible Brattleboro has had good luck getting small grants to support their activities. Although not a 501-C3 themselves, they work under the auspices of Post Oil Solutions, a local non-profit that sponsors them. But they will work with any organization that will help in their efforts.
Volunteers built this greenhouse that was paid for by a grant
Often low-income residents do not have the tools they need to garden. Fortunately, in Brattleboro that is not a big issue as the town library has a “lending library” of tools and kitchen equipment that they furnished with a grant from the Vermont Foodbank. The library’s grant included money to purchase a simple wooden structure in their parking lot to house the tools, and a part-time librarian to check out tools at specified times. For beginning gardeners, having a source for the basic tools can be an important saving.
We also visited a large green house for extending the season and growing things like tomatoes and peppers in a controlled environment. Tom Green and volunteers put it up this winter, and they look forward to using it shortly. It sits on space offered by the Brattleboro Retreat Farm, a non-profit.
There is a weekly Farmers Market in Brattleboro and Tom and Marilyn couldn’t say enough good things about the generosity of the farmers. At the close of the market each week volunteers from Edible Brattleboro visit the market and collect produce donated by farmers. They got a grant to buy a large refrigerator to hold perishables, and have an outdoor “Share the Harvest” table the next day at Turning Point.
So what can you do? All communities have both needy people and gardeners. What is needed in most town are people like Tom and Marilyn. People with a commitment to helping, time, and organizational skills. Except for Tom’s work building the green house and large self-watering containers, no special skills were needed for what they have done.
Some sort of organizational structure is needed. I like the idea of joining up with an existing non-profit so that grants and donations can be made to a certified 501-C3, allowing donors to take tax deductions. That also lets people know that their money will be used properly.
There are organizations you could link up with, perhaps. You probably already know about soup kitchens and food banks in your town, or a nearby town. So, you could plant a little extra this year with the idea of sharing. Or you could help to organize others in your area to join with you.
Churches are another good place to start gardens. They generally have lawns in full sun, and people who want to help others. The soil in any lawn generally needs improving, but I bet most farmers would be delighted to donate some compost or composted cow manure to add to the soil. Garden centers are generally willing to donate some seeds or seedlings when the time comes, or perhaps a few bags of compost. So all you need is people-power. I bet you will be gratified at how willing others will be to help. So GET STARTED!
Henry plans to share fresh veggies
this year with Willing Hands, a non-profit that serves his town with food for the needy. Reach him at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or
henry.homeyer@comcast.net.
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