joene's garden » gardening in Connecticut

Misjudged collaboration causes an NWF GOOPs

joenesgarden — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I've made a lot of gardening oops – GOOPs for short - over the decades. I've placed plants into unpleasing combinations, forgotten where I planted bulbs, and neglected to deadhead prolific self-seeding perennials. I fess up to these GOOPs here on the first of each month hoping that, by sharing my mis-steps, other gardeners may avoid doing the same. My GOOPs may wreak havoc on my discerning eye, my gardening budget, or my gardening time but my faux pas don't hold a candle to the the pile of sewage the National Wildlife Federation stepped into when it announced collaboration between it and Scotts Miracle-Gro.

That the NWF, a much-followed wildlife habitat and wildlife protecting organization, was joining forces with Scotts Miracle-Gro, a dealer of lawn and garden chemicals, caused much of the garden writing world to scream a collective «What the … huh!» The NWF was dancing with the devil. This did not sit well to those who followed wildlife-friendly recommendations made by NWF or developed NWF-certified Wildlife Habitats using organic, environmentally sound garden and land care practices.

Go to the NWF website. It oozes nature. It boasts «working for wildlife» in programs to bring bison back and protect otters. It claims «victory for wildlife» in helping stop the Keystone Tar Sands pipeline. It claims donation money is «Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.»

So why consort with Scotts Miracle-Gro, a company reporting $3 billion in worldwide sales from their products branded under the names Scotts, Miracle-Gro, and Ortho, and as sole North American and European marketer of Monsanto's Round-Up? The NWF claimed money from Scotts would support a shared vision … to encourage children and families to spend more time outdoors. NWF suggested their cozy relationship with Scotts might influence Scotts to change some of its chemical-pushing ways.

I may be skeptical here but I suspect, as many do, that Scotts has a $3 billion reason to not change it's chemical-pushing ways.

A 'Scotts' lawn would never look like this …

filled with violets and other non-grass greenery.

With no intention of ignoring the hypocrisy of the NWF taking money dangled in front of them by Scotts, garden writers responded with blog posts, tweets, Facebook comments, emails, petitions and phone calls castigating the NWF for this misguided collaboration. They questioned how the NWF could expect to maintain any credibility as a protector and promoter of environmentally sound wildlife habitats while taking money from a company that makes its money on the very chemicals believed to harm wildlife and soil-life.

Read some of these posts yourself at:

Your Small Kitchen Garden
A Garden of Possibilities
or, for a compilation of many posts on this subject, head to Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens

In the midst of all this Scotts was fined $4.5 million for distributing wild birdseed coated with chemicals toxic to birds. Does this sound like a company bent on protecting wildlife, or just its own bottom line.

Well, in yet another example of people joining voices to express outrage over the actions of an organization, a company, or a government, collective fury and indignation worked. On January 29, 2012, the NWF announced its turn-around.

The NWF had a «Good job, Brownie» moment. They committed a monster GOOPs, then thankfully saw their blunder.

I don't see a GOOPs of this monster proportion in my future or yours so next month I plan to resume my relatively minor GOOPs tales. In the meantime, tell me about a GOOPs you've made. Either share it in a comment below or post it on your blog and leave a teaser-link below.

Let's help each other … let's garden thoughtfully …

Categories: GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Newsy Items.
Tags: gardening in Connecticut, gardening oops - GOOPs, National Wildlife Federation and Scotts Miracle-Gro.

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Connecticut’s new planting zones

joenesgarden — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:31:15 +0000

The USDA just released a new plant hardiness zone map. Plant hardiness zones are listed on plant tags to communicate the regions in which plant should survive without extra winter protection.

Many will find their zone has changed by a half – mine went from zone 6a to zone 6b, slightly warmer.

Will this alter how I garden or what I plant? No. The map does not take elevation and cover-, slope-, or hardscape-related issues into consideration. Only eyes and experience can do this. I know my property. Plants, shrubs and trees listed as borderline in zone 6 may not survive tough winters without coddling (this means extra winter protection and extra work). If I must have a plant that is borderline in zone 6, I do so with the full knowledge that coddling/extra work will be part of my regular gardening routine.

This is exactly what the USDA recommends on their Maps & Gardening page.

The new map considers 30 years of climate data – a longer period than the 15 or so years previously used and used in other plant hardiness zone maps. More about how the new zone map was created is on the USDA's What's New page.

The new map is more interactive than previously. After choosing to view by State, Region, or Nationally, and choosing a size (try Standard then move on to larger versions), you can preview, open or save your map choice. If you start here, and type in your zip code your zone will pop up under your zip. Or, for a closer-up view, click on the Interactive Map tab and type your zip code. In the interactive map you can activate a satellite image that shows up under the zone colors. If you increase the transparency of the zone color layer it's easier to locate your property on the satellite image.

This is particularly useful when trying to determine planting zones in areas near zone borders. For instance, my property, listed as zone 6a in the older USDA map and in the Arbor Day Hardiness Zone Map, is now located very close to the edge of zone 6a in south-central Connecticut but is newly listed in zone 6b.

Follow the various links above and play with the features, but don't forget that we still must garden thoughtfully. Hardiness zones are guides. Gardeners with the time, experience and where-with-all to push a hardiness zone – say by planting a zone 7 perennial in a zone 6 garden – can be quite successful. Gardeners looking for less maintenance and fuss should stick to their zone or acknowledge that a perennial listed hardy in a warmer zone should be planted as an annual or overwintered with protection.

Categories: Gardening, Zone.
Tags: gardening in Connecticut, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

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Seed Catalogues: Read, Weed then Order

joenesgarden — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:44:59 +0000

January is the time for Connecticut gardeners to dream up plans for the spring and summer garden. For gardeners who start indoor seedlings, it's time to order seeds. This can be a daunting task if you read every catalogue that comes in the mail. Most people don't have this amount of time … I know I don't … so my first weeding project of each growing season involves weeding seed catalogues.

If you've ordered seeds before, you'll have no shortage of catalogues delivered by mail. I go through my stack to find the page or pages with general company and seed information. I avoid seed that is treated or genetically modified and prefer seed organically grown.

Next, companies from Connecticut, or at least the Northeast U.S., go to the top of the stack. Those providing the most information on specific plant types and varieties get my first look. I order from other companies only if I cannot find a sought-after seed variety locally.

I find it much easier to order from a thinned-down group of catalogues. If new at seed ordering, you might want to limit yourself to ordering from just two for comparison purposes. Familiarize yourself with the key, the U.S. hardiness zone map, ordering instructions and general product information for each company, then allow yourself to become entranced with the promises of 'the sweetest, the biggest, or the earliest ever.'

Indulge yourself. Mark all seeds and varieties that spark interest. Then put the stack down and let your senses rejoin reality.

Return to your stack of wishes with a clear head and the understanding that catalogue descriptions, and photos, are there to sell seeds. By all means enjoy these descriptions – someone worked hard to make each irresistible - but when it comes time to develop your actual order do so with a clear head and a realistic understanding of what you have time and space to grow.

Keep repeating the phrase right plant, right place.

If you want to fit multiple edibles into a small growing space avoid rambling squash vines and try seed varieties bred for compact growth.

Understand that most vegetables need a minimum of six hours of full sunlight. They will grow leggy and may not fruit well in less light.

Look at your seed wants versus your space and time needs and concentrate on varieties not available or too pricey at local markets. If, like me, you crave certain heirloom tomatoes and have ample space and light, by all means grow them. Just don't try to squeeze competing edibles into the space your craved plant needs.

If you don't have an indoor space to set up a grow light or lights or a sunny, heated greenhouse, purchase seeds you can sow directly into the soil once it warms. In Connecticut's zones 5 and 6, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers need to be planted outdoors as transplants. Trying to start seeds inside without supplemental light results in leggy seedlings that don't transplant well. You're better off purchasing these and other long-season heat-loving annuals as transplants from a reputable local garden center.

Gardeners with a grow light set-up often start more seeds than they have time to care for or space to grow. I do this every year - intentionally. I like the safety net of having too many, as opposed to too few, transplants. The strongest go into my gardens and to family and friends. The weaker ones become compost.

In spite of all this pre-growing season weeding, you are still likely to order more than you can possibly grow in one season. Don't despair. Most seeds remain viable more than one year. Just store remaining seeds in a dry location – mine stay in their packets in a box on a shelf in my office. I've had great success germinating seed packaged for a prior growing season. Generally, properly stored seed more than two years old will not germinate as well. I don't count on seed more than two years old, but will try germinating them to use as back-ups in case other seeds run into some fatal issue. Experiment to find what works best for you.

Connecticut- and Northeast-based seed companies I have, or would order from:

Kitchen Garden Seeds – great growing information, no photos, but lovely plant drawings, online cookbook and seed gardening guidebook, sign up for their email newsletters for seasonal suggestions, tips and deals. Based in Bantam, CT.
Select Seeds – open-pollinated, heirloom flowers and some edibles. Based in Union, CT.
Comstock, Ferre & Company – the regenerated version of the old Comstock, Ferre in Wethersfield, CT, specializing in hardy northern seeds.
Pinetree Garden Seeds – great prices, most selections sold with smaller numbers of seeds for home gardeners. Based in New Gloucester, ME.
Johnny's Selected Seeds – employee-owned company offering an extensive list of seeds. Based in Winslow, ME.
Fedco Seeds – cold-hardy seeds, trees, fruit, and bulbs. Also a good source for garden supplies. Based in Waterville, ME.

Other seed companies I have, or would use:

Renee's Garden, Felton, CA.
Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah, Iowa.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Mansfield, MO

Try some of these vendors and let me know how you like their products and customer service. If you are a veteran or new seed starter, share your tips and experiences. And, as always, garden thoughtfully.

Categories: Garden Centers/Seed Suppliers, Gardening, Seeds.
Tags: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Comstock Ferre & Company, Fedco Seeds, gardening in Connecticut, Johny's Select Seeds, Kitchen Garden Seeds, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Renee's Garden, seed catalogues, Seed Savers Exchange, Select Seeds.

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Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: January in Connecticut

joenesgarden — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:47:45 +0000

With no blooms in my outdoor gardens eyes are drawn to the subtle colors of a so-far snowless winter. I bundled up for a winter morning photo stroll to see what winter color might reveal itself for this first Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, kindly hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, of 2012.

Temperatures fell below 10 degrees Fahrenheit this morning in south-central Connecticut causing mountain laurel and rhododendron shrubs to curl their leaves in response to the cold.

I think the rhodos jealously eyed my winter garb as I walked by.

Holly, boxwood and pieris of different shapes and sizes add to the green contrast brought by native-growing mountain laurels and gardener-planted rhododendron. Young junipers and spruce will add their blue-gray tones to the landscape as they mature. But now the gardens are dressed in shades of brown highlighted with small touches of whatever green still survives the cold.

Golden shades ornamental grasses pick up early morning sun …

not to be outdone by copper tones of beech.

A newly planted Pieris japonica 'Dorothy Wycoff' hints at the intense purple shades its larger future-self will bring to the winter landscape,

while foxglove and carex dot beds with shades of green.

Winter calls for celebration of even the slightest touch of color. This tiny rose hip could easily be overlooked and that would be a shame.

Inside, protected from the winter cold, an amaryllis leans toward the light as it's companion, a holiday cactus, looks on.

Coleus brighten nighttime views of the window above the kitchen sink.

Houseplants happily soak up whatever morning sun the weather allows.

Garden color isn't always about flowers, or about gardening outdoors. Sometimes we must relish in color, contrast and light during chilly winter walks and from the protected warmth of home.

But flowers do tend to lighten a winter mood so join me as I head over to the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day links posted at May Dreams Gardens. There are always mood-lifting blossoms to enjoy there.

Garden thoughtfully.

Categories: Bloom Day, Seasons.
Tags: Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, gardening in Connecticut, indoor gardening, winter in Connecticut.

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A tad early for narcissi in Connecticut

joenesgarden — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:03:24 +0000

A quick stroll around my Connecticut gardens brought this surprize.

That's right … narcissi bulbs already poking their inquisitive heads out of the ground as if to say, «Is it time?»

My response when I first spotted them on January 2? A resounding, «NO!»

The calendar says January. We should have snow on the ground and be bundled up in front of a roaring fire.

But, outside of a couple of below-freezing days earlier this week it's been ridiculously warm. Today it's 50 degrees outside and there is no snow or winter-type cold in the forecast.

Obviously, bulbs don't follow the calendar. They follow a mysterious internal clock that signals when it's time to grow.

From their point of view they had snow (it came in October), they had some cold here and there, and now they're responding to a stretch of spring-like warmth.

Maybe I should listen to what their presence is suggesting. Maybe … though it's January … mild temperatures will continue. Maybe narcissi will be blooming in February.

I'm not ready to buy this. I still expect to get slammed with a nasty stretch of winter weather. Of course it will hit when all New Englanders have really let their winter guard down and lost their winter blood. That's just the way these things work.

So I did what any mother hen gardener would do.

I covered my early risers hoping a conifer blanket will hold the chill in the soil and slow the bulbs' growth.

Time will tell if this tactic works.

At the very least it makes me feel that I've done my best to fool the young whippersnappers back to sleep.

Categories: Bulbs, Gardening, Seasons.
Tags: gardening in Connecticut, narcissi.

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