Monday, December 31, 2012

Attracting Hummingbirds

The  problem with "Bucket Lists"...
Butterfly Weed Attracting Hummingbirds
Butterfly Weed - Roger Dahlin

The funny thing about lists is they clearly point out what you have accomplished and all that is left to be done. When I finished my web page Attracting Hummingbirds, I was disappointed to learn that I am only growing ten wildflowers that these "high strung" flying machines consider dinner worthy.


Goal for 2013:  Research other plants that hummingbirds enjoy. Thanks to my market friend Paula, I have Lonicera sempervirens -Trumpet Honeysuckle seeds stratifying in my refrigerator. Royal Catchfly (Silene regia) is another plant that I am giving a try. At least I am heading in the right direction; with a little luck I will have some new and interesting plants in the spring.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Deer Resistant Native Plants

Deer in front  yard
Paula and Ken Korber's Front Yard - Suburb of Cleveland, OH

"Oh no they will eat this... and this.. and this"

 

Originally, I was concentrating on raising native plants that attracted native bees and pollinators, along with milkweeds which serve as host plants for Monarch Butterflies. Like everything in life it is important to be flexible and adaptable. I learned this lesson at my first 2010 market. “What plants won’t the deer eat?”, “Do deer like this plant?”, “ Oh no… you are wrong… they love this one and this one and if they are hungry enough this one too!”

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Coffee or Alpaca Beans

These really are my shoes

 Composting 


Last January I had the opportunity to attend, the Cleveland Botanical Gardens Sustainability Symposium, it was day well spent listening to speakers suggesting ways we can improve our health, lives, soil and communities. I always come away from programs like these contemplating how can I put this "classroom" knowledge into practice.

One of the comments that was made by the guest speaker was, we should drink 6 cups of coffee a day. Wow that is a lot of coffee. If he had realized that I was in the audience he would have pointed his finger at "the old lady in the funky pink running shoes" and mentioned that more is not always better.


The only thing that crossed my mind is how beneficial those grounds would be, to both my compost pile and the soil in my market plants. I could drink more coffee, but that didn't seem wise. So the question was how to obtain more grounds?

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Swamp Milkweed

Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, propagting milkweed
Swamp Milkweed Before Pods Were Mature

  Asclepias incarnata

Cold Moist Storage - 30 days

When I was in the 7th grade, we moved to a 100 acre farm in North Vollney, NY. I sometimes wonder if my dad watched too many episodes of Green Acres, as we had no idea how to farm or manage all that property. One lesson I learned quickly was, look as busy as possible before someone found something for you to do. Consequently, we spent many hours "bombing" each other with milkweed pods.

I am embarrassed to admit, that I never considered that these fun little seed pods, when broken open sending fuzzy helicopters helter-skelter played a significant role in the life of numerous insects most notably the Monarch Butterfly. For us they were sheer entertainment.

Many years later, I find myself propagating and raising several varieties of milkweed plants. What is exciting is, after three years I now have plenty of my own seeds.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Wild Columbine



Wild Columbine - Aquilegia candensis


Ameliea Bedelia - Peggy Perry
Amelia Bedelia the main character in children's author Peggy Parish's, possess numerous character traits that would please the most demanding parent. Her one obvious flaw, she took things way to literally. If she were told to put a can of soup on the stove that is exactly what she would do.

Feb 2012 - My first attempt at propagating Wild Columbine  was an "Amelia Bedelia". The seed packet said "needs light to germinate"- after 30 days cold storage. That was straight forward. I placed the seeds in a plastic bag with damp vermiculite and left them in the refrigerator for 30 days. Germination rate - three plants from 2 packages of seed.

As it turns out “needs light to germinate" didn't mean put in under a florescent light. In reality it meant, when you plant these seeds don't cover them with soil as they have an amazing survival mechanism that allows them to sense day light changes. If there is a warm spell in the middle of winter, Wild Columbine stay put, until the length of day light signals them to get moving. I am guessing that the steady temperature in the refrigerator didn't motivate them to start the growing process.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Jack-in the Pulpit & Turtlehead




Jack-in-the-Pulpit , Arisaema triphyllum, propagating Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Jack-in-the-Pulpit - Arisaema triphyllum

When most people clean out their refrigerator they find spoiled food; not me. Yesterday, I found two bags of Jack-in- the Pulpit corms and one bag of Smooth Blue Iris seeds. I had put them in for a second cold storage back in July, then life got a little busy and I forgot all about them.

I almost didn’t bother to open the bags, assuming the vermiculite would be moldy. Then it dawned on me… they had been “tricked” into a period of dormancy. I re-potted my 30 or so corms then set them in the window. Jack-in- the Pulpits are very slow growers, so these guys won’t see the market until 2014. My potting soil is a mixture of peat moss, vermiculite, perlite and Happy Frog potting soil.


Turtlehead, Chelone glabra, Propagating Turtlead
Turtlehead - By Roger Dahlin


Stratifying  Turtlehead - Chelone glabra - 120 days of Cold storage  

 I collected my own seeds this year; my original seeds were from Prairie Moon Nursery, in Minnesota. After three year I have more than enough for myself. This is the way I prepare my seeds for propagation. Of course there are many ways to  "skin a cat", I would love to hear tips and suggestions from other gardeners.