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February 23, 2007
Winter's Gift to the Garden
Master Gardener Column 2/24/07
Suppose I were to tell you about a substance to apply to your garden which would add essential minerals to the soil, protect plants from extreme cold and drying winds, raise soil temperatures by as much as 20 degrees to a depth of several inches, prevent loss of beneficial soil fauna, reduce soil erosion and runoff, prevent frost heave, hasten decomposition of organic debris, and replenish deep aquifers. Would you be interested?
Now suppose I added that application of this substance required no special equipment or, indeed, any effort at all, and that it was available to everyone absolutely free of charge. What could this wonderful substance possibly be, and why haven’t we heard about it before now? Well, in fact, this wondrous “substance” is simply snow! And while there’s nothing especially amazing about snow in Flagstaff, its many benefits to the garden may come as a surprise.
The value of snow as a natural mulch is well known. While plants and the ground are covered by a deep blanket of snow, they are protected from the bitter cold and extremely dry air that often follow a snowstorm in Flagstaff. Snow keeps the soil relatively warm as well, preventing the hard freezing at the surface which often results in frost heave and even spring bulb heave!
When the soil is frozen and broken due to freezing, it is more vulnerable in the spring to being blown or washed away. In tests conducted in Alaska, snow was found to keep temperature of the soil as much as 20 degree Fahrenheit above the permafrost and the air temperature. This relative warmth protects shallow-rooted plants, such as perennials, shrubs, and many grasses.
The warmer soil also provides a home for many beneficial insects and micro-organisms, essential to garden health. A deep layer also shelters mice, voles, and other surface-dwelling critters, whose burrows and winter activities help to break down organic debris, such as dead plants, leaves, and twigs, and convert these to rich soil.
A snow mulch also prevents the soil from drying out and, as it slowly melts, allows water to seep gradually through the soil, eventually reaching the deep aquifers. Rain water tends to run off the soil too quickly to soak down to the aquifers, so snow is essential for maintaining these ancient fresh water reservoirs.
Our atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen (79%) and oxygen (20%), along with a variety of trace gases. As snowflakes fall through the air, they collect nitrogen and trap it on the ground, where it gradually leaches into the soil. Snow also delivers a small amount of phosphorus. As every gardener knows, both nitrogen and phosphorus are highly beneficial to plants. Norma Evans, a Master Gardener in Ontario, Canada, reports in the Peterborough Examiner on an experiment conducted at the Siberian Botanical Garden, in which a variety of food plants were watered with melted snow and ordinary water. Those watered with melted snow grew twice as fast as the others! Clearly, snow has a lot to offer.
So the next time snow falls on Flagstaff and environs, you might want to move some of it from your driveway and front walk on to your garden. Lay it gently over your plants and tuck it in around your trees and shrubs. Let's make the most of winter's gift to our gardens.
By Alice Monet
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call 774-1868 ext. 17 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 10:53 AM
February 17, 2007
Fighting Aphids Requires Eternal Vigilance
Master Gardener Column 2/17/07
A distinctly modern ailment is the crashed computer. If a person is an e-mail junkie or an Internet surfer or shopper, life as he or she knows it comes to an end with a crashed computer. Indeed, even mighty corporations have been brought to their knees by crashed computers. "How the mighty are fallen" (II Sam 1:3).
It is as though a connection to the great unknown, a secular vision of Rudolph Otto's mysterium tremendum et fascinans, is caput. Disconnect! So it is with an infestation of aphids. Like terrorists, worms and viruses, aphids come as thieves in the night, slithering with reptilian velocity. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (I Cor. 15:51), it's all over. No merely vexing matter, computer junkies and gardeners are left with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, impotence and fury.
As with liberty, fighting aphids requires eternal vigilance. Unlike grasshoppers, the Norse berserkers of the horticultural world, attacking in wave after wave like massed kamikazes, aphids slink in unawares. This means that gardeners have to play Dr. Snoop, bending over and peering into the underside of things, particularly leaves, scanning for aphids. Arthritis is no excuse. No pain, no gain.
The adversary is a soft-bodied, pear-shaped insect that sucks the sap out of plants with piercing apparati in its mouth. Not a pleasant sight. Not only that but with twin tail pipes (cornicles) attached to its hind end it emits a sweet slime hilariously called "honeydew." The honeydew goo can ruin glass windows and the finish on automobiles. Also, a fungus called "sooty mold" turns the honeydew black. Grody to the max.
As with all subversives, aphids take on the coloring of plants from which they are sucking out sap. Generally wingless, they grow wings and take flight to other plants in vast clouds, oddly called blooms, when they've run out of room on a leaf they've colonized. Seemingly, they can colonize a plant or bed overnight. On roses they can be spotted right on the bud before it opens, turning it into a sorry deformed husk. On leaves their presence is signaled by curled and discolored leaves as they suck on the underside of the leaves.
Generally, as with all subversives, worms, and viruses, aphids arrive a few at a time. Winged aphids leave nymphs to suck the life out of the plant with their voracious adolescent appetites. These reproduce exponentially, reaching a reproductive age in seven to ten days with each aphid producing 40 to 60 offspring.
The first line of defense is the water hose. Using it as a syringe, aphids can be washed off the buds and from the underside of the leaves. No gentle sprinkling. Even with vigorous washing, however, this technique isn't effective unless done repeatedly on an initial infestation.
In addition to washing off aphids with water, they can be sprayed with insecticidal soap, neem oil, and horticultural oils. Pesticides should be avoided because they kill the friendly insects as well as the enemy ones. Since the aphids are sneaks, these sprays have to be applied on the underside of the leaves. Because they kill only the ones on the leaves at the time, the spray has to be applied repeatedly.
Some of the friendlies that pesticides kill are ladybugs, which actually are beetles, non-biting parasitic wasps, lacewings, midges, and minute pirate bugs which have the wonderful scientific name of Orius insidosus. All of these, especially the ladybugs, should be let loose in the evenings just before sunset, lest they fly away, and in small groups over the spring and summer.
The happy news is that gardens with flowering plants attract aphid eating and disabling insects with the flowers' nectar and pollen. As is always, beauty has the capacity to destroy evil.
Defense against the aphids is the result of eternal vigilance, focused and repeated counter attacks, and counter-terrorist insects. Sadly, there are no fire walls. The conflict is never over, least not until the first frost. However, some things are worth saving, such as gardens, no matter the effort.
By Dana Prom Smith
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. For more information, call 774-1868, Ext. 17 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:22 PM
February 10, 2007
Flagstaff Garden Club
Orchids, hundreds of them, will be the focus of the first meeting in 2007 of the Flagstaff Garden Club at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 3. Deb James has lined up this program at the NAU Biology Greenhouse on north campus. J.J. Callan will show us hundreds of orchids that he is growing, and demonstrate for us how to correctly divide and repot them. J.J. says that the caretaker of the greenhouse will be available as well to answer questions about all the other plants in the greenhouse. In addition, the greenhouse has a small pond, and a 3-barrel system with a recirculating pump. They will explain their set up to us if we are interested.
Did you know that two orchids grow wild in Northern Arizona?
Directions to the NAU Biology Greenhouse #18 A on the campus map: Go south on Beaver Street past South Beaver School, and through the stop sign at Franklin. At the end of the building on your right is a small parking lot. Turn in there, and you will be facing the greenhouse. Enter the greenhouse at the northeast entrance. A sign will be on the door that says "Flagstaff Garden Club."
Any questions, please call Deb James at 527 0750.
Posted by hockmanj at 5:27 PM
More Winter Gardening
Master Gardener Column 2/10/07
Not only do I look at seed catalogs and plan my spring garden this time of year but I also continue to garden. Kale, Swiss chard, radish, broccoli, carrot, garlic, oregano, and peppermint flourish in my winter garden. Our family of six has enjoyed fresh greens and root vegetables from the garden all winter long.
I have continued to garden since the Daily Sun published my article ‘Gardening in Cool Weather Rewards the Efforts’ last August using the Quonset style greenhouse/cold frame that I had described.
I have discovered a simple and efficient way to anchor the plastic sheeting on my, now, 15 foot long Quonset style greenhouse/cold frame. Instead of using rocks or anchoring the plastic under the cinderblocks, I purchased two 16 foot long 2 by 4’s and rolled the plastic sheeting on each side around a board. Of course, when the 2 by 4 is this long it helps to have a person at each end. We set the board with the rolled up sheeting right on top of the cinderblocks but you could also lay it on the ground. With the plastic anchored this way I no longer have problems with the wind blowing the plastic off.
When the first hard frost came, the edges of my carrot leaves turned brown. I figured they were frost bitten as my carrot row is located right next to the cinderblock base of the greenhouse. Cold air seemed to seep in through the blocks. At the time, bags of leaves lined the roadsides so I took a tour of the neighborhood looking for those bagged in clear plastic so I was sure to bring home leaves instead of trash. My sons and I placed the bags along the outside edges of the raised cinderblocks for insulation. This works great - no more frost bitten carrot leaves - and the clear plastic bags blend in nicely with the plastic on the greenhouse. The bags also provide additional anchors for the plastic wrapped boards. As the temperature warms this coming spring, I’ll use the leaves in my compost bins.
After that bitterly cold spell in January, the lettuce plants eventually succumbed to the cold. I lost the large, outside leaves of the Swiss chard. But I left the drooping leaves in place to protect the inner stem and leaves and the cold didn’t hurt the newest leaves. I cut those off when we got a “warm” spell and steamed them for dinner. Chard is easier to grow and wash than spinach and it contains about four times a much iron. My kale and broccoli plants also handled the cold with only an occasional browning around the outside edges of the leaves.
When the temperature drops into the single digits at night, I go out the next morning and sprinkle the leaves with water to melt any ice on the plants before the sun warms the greenhouse. This is supposed to prevent frost damage and it seems to work. Thinking that I may not be able to use the water in my rain barrels, I keep the sprinkling can and a couple of buckets full of water inside the greenhouse so I don’t have to haul water from the house. But I have had only one occasion when I could not access water from the rain barrels which are located on the south side of the house. That was on one very cold morning.
And I continue to garden in winter. Recently sown lettuce is coming up in the greenhouse. Broccoli plants sit on the windowsill as I wait for my kale to peek out from the compost and sand mixture that they are planted in. And I am knotting a string trellis in anticipation of planting my heirloom Dwarf Gray sugar peas.
Note: For the record, the author gardens in Country Club area and the picture was taken on February 7. 2007.
By Rebecca Snow
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call 774-1868 ext. 17 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 2:08 PM
February 3, 2007
Good Enough
Master Gardener Column 2/3/07
My favorite Flagstaff gardeners are Frank Brandt and Bridget Morson. I’d call them my rivals but I’m certainly not in the category of either of them. Frank is the meticulous, artful vegetable grower. We share leeks and tomato starts. His vegetables not only grow prolifically, trellised, cold framed and pruned, but are a work of art, resembling an article in Sunset Magazine. Bridget, is the flower gardener of all our dreams; a cross between Martha Stewart and Mary Engelbright. What she does with color, design, and variety is breathtaking. It is meticulously watered by hand on summer mornings, something always blooming, surrounded by luscious grass, a happy Buddha bursting with joy out of the ground cover. I look forward every year to what will happen in their gardens and every year dream that my garden might bear some resemblance. I, however, will never accomplish that because I have made the choice to be a good enough gardener.
I have opted to have it all. I have an intense job, friends, kids, dogs. I read, quilt, paint, play my mandolin, and try to stay fit. I can have all this and gardening too; the key is “good enough.”
I garden in small amounts of time, a few hours on a Saturday, an hour after work on a summer evening, a good day in February. I have a big vegetable garden. In the spring it always looks impossible, yet I fill it up, by the seat of my pants. In February I’m starting tomatoes in the house. A good day in March I might turn beds, a few, one or two. In an hour on a day off I put in my onions and garlic, before I sit down to paint, after I’ve done the laundry. Then I’ll look at it all week, satisfied to have one planted bed. And it goes on that way, never knowing until the end if I will get it all in, somehow I always do.
Then there is the challenge of maintenance. I can only do so much. I commit to intense watering that first month, usually in my work cloths, early in the mornings. A lot of things have to be put on the back burner to accomplish that watering, but it has to happen and I manage it. Always there are glitches. This year it was grasshoppers. My green beans came up; the grasshoppers took them down in two days. I couldn’t replant. No time. Once was all I could do. That bed stood empty all summer. I ate Frank’s wonderful beans. I shared my bumper crop of chard and peppers. I can do what I can do. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.
I’m trying to landscape my yard, so I too can have Martha Stewart garden parties. I study Bridgett’s garden, and plant perennials, annuals, and bulbs. But there’s the problem of the dog, digging and chewing. When Bridgett comes over I take her on a tour. There, in the daylilies, is a fresh dog poop, and a new shrub pulled out by its roots and dragged all over the yard. One hopeful bed planted with oranges and yellows has not one successful plant to show for itself. Yet there were Shasta daisies, and Black Eyed Susans mingling with the Salvia just like the magazine picture. For me, it was good enough.
It’s February and I haven’t yet finished closing up last year’s garden. I’m in a demanding painting class, and going to yoga often. It was cold yesterday when I had the time, so I turned the compost and spread some manure on one bed. The seed catalogues are coming in and I’m getting excited over next year’s gardening possibilities. I already know some things about my garden. I will find time for the most important priorities but there will always be weeds unpulled, flowers not deadheaded, and compost not turned. I will choose to be happy with what does work, and not grieve over what doesn’t. I will adore Frank and Bridget’s gardens. And for sure, something incredible will happen and I will get some version of good enough.
Teri Dunn
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call 774-1868 ext. 17 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:48 PM
February 1, 2007
Places of the Heart 2007
Friday, February 9 to Saturday, February 24, 2007
The Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
Mapping Flagstaff Through Art and Story
Certain places leave a mark on our lives. They define the spirit of our community and help to shape who we are as individuals. These places are much more than just spots on the map. They are special, even sacred. They are "places of the heart". This event is sponsored by the programs in Community, Culture and Environment and is open to all ages. Come visit this month and see an entry from the Olivia White Hospice Garden.
When Frances B. McAllister established an Endowed Chair in Community, Culture and Environment, her generosity made possible The Program in Community, Culture, and Environment (CC&E) at Northern Arizona University. The program she fostered is an extension of her commitment to civic life, to the role of the arts in culture, to the natural environment, and to collaborative, cross-disciplinary problem solving.
For the past five years, the Places of the Heart exhibit has celebrated Flagstaff’s most treasured sites through locally-produced visual art and creative writing. In 2007, the exhibit will expand to include displays on a number of place-based projects, each of which use the written, spoken, visual, and audio-visual arts to explore what the Flagstaff region means to us.
Places of the Heart 2007 will feature:
A collection of artwork that “maps” our favorite Flagstaff places through visual and written pieces by local artists of all ages. Photo and narrative selections from Northern Arizona University’s Oral Histories project. A video piece on “Home” by 5th-graders from Sechrist Elementary School and their Artist-in-Residence, Debra Edgerton.Visual and written works from the NAU Honors Program’s Flagstaff As Text semester, a program modeled after the City as Text project. Two video-installation works from Reconstructing Home by local artist Debra Edgerton and Canadian artist Marc Siegner. The Places of the Heart exhibit will run at the Coconino Center for the Arts from February 9th – February 24th. The public is invited to an opening celebration on February 9th from 5:30pm to 8pm. The evening will include readings by selected exhibit participants. Refreshments will be served.
Deadline for entries was January 26, 2007. For more information on this project, please contact Tamara Ramirez at (928) 523-0499 or Tamara.Ramirez@nau.edu.
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:15 AM