I have not put an ounce of commercial fertilizer or manure on these test gardens in 10 years.
For the past 10 years I’ve been conducting a home garden experiment on eight 24 by 24-foot gardens. I started after a discussion with a soil scientist and agricultural researcher at our state university. Part of his job was to analyze trends in the food and dairy industries and to predict what was coming next. What he forecast scared me. Read the rest of this entry »
The leaves fall to form a deep carpet beneath the trees, adding to the dead twigs, flowers and unripe fruit remnants already there. Every year trees shed more than 3,000 kg of waste products in every hectare of woodland and all this breaks down, together with the herbs of the forest floor to form a deep layer of litter. As this litter breaks down so the minerals and other organic substances which were stored in the leaves are released once more, and the resulting layer of humus acts as a natural fertilizer. Read the rest of this entry »
Dodder is perhaps one of the most interesting of the total parasites. It starts its existence normally, the seed germinating and producing a club-shaped taproot which fixes the plant in the soil. The shoot then begins growing, not straight up as is usual in seedlings, but with a circular movement. As soon as it touches a support it encircles it. If, however, the stem fails to find a suitable plant nearby, it is not rigid enough to grow upright and falls back to the ground. Read the rest of this entry »
Most herbs are easy to grow. The following selection provides a variety of flavours to complement home-grown vegetables and enhance everyday food. Site the herb patch in a sunny well-drained spot near the kitchen. Some of these herbs will also grow well in containers.
Coelogynes are a large genus of orchids, of which only a very few species are obtainable and desirable for indoor culture. The main colour to be found among these plants is white, but there is such a variety in size of flowers and lip markings that the following recommended varieties could all be grown without duplicating the same features.
Coelogynes are widely distributed in the wild, with the majority of the cultivated species coming from India. The plants grow as epiphytes and thrive in massive clumps, some several feet across, consisting of up to a hundred bulbs. The plants vary in size depending upon the species, but all produce handsome plants, with highly polished pseudo bulbs topped by a pair of dark green leaves. Some varieties produce an abundance of roots while others seem to make do with just a few spindly roots, just sufficient to hold their anchorage on a tree. Read the rest of this entry »
If required, the plant may now be divided or have a few of its back bulbs removed. The back bulbs are the oldest and leafless bulbs which have discarded their foliage and have been supporting the younger bulbs and their new growths. These bulbs are of great benefit and should not be removed unless they outnumber the green bulbs in leaf. In this case the excess back bulbs become an encumbrance to the plant and should be removed to restore the balance of the plant. A plant which is growing in more than one direction, as indicated by the new growths, may be large enough for division into two plants if at least four bulbs, including both green and leafless bulbs, can be retained on each piece. The pseudo bulbs are joined together by a hard woody rhizome which is visible on Cattleyas, for example, but hidden on Cymbidiums and Odontoglossums. In the latter its position can be determined by gently pressing the bulbs apart. To divide a plant or remove an unwanted back bulb this rhizome must be cleanly severed with a sharp knife or pair of secateurs. As a general rule for most of the bulbous orchids, never reduce a plant or divide it to less than four good bulbs, otherwise it will be greatly weakened and will take several years to restore itself to flowering size. However, there are a few exceptions, such as the Pleiones, where the old bulb decomposes quickly and plants never consist of more than one green bulb each year. Read the rest of this entry »
Because of their slow rate of growth compared with most other types of house plants, orchids are seldom potted more than once a year, and are very often left for two years before it is necessary to disturb them. However, certainly after two years the compost will have broken down and need replacing as the food value becomes exhausted, the plant will have outgrown the pot, and its roots will have become potbound.
There are several indications that a plant is in need of repotting. The compost may be decomposed and this can be determined by pushing a finger into it. If this can be done easily the compost needs replacing and the plant should be repotted. If the leading bulb has reached the rim of the pot or is protruding over the edge leaving no room for future growth inside the pot, or if the plant has pushed itself up above the pot rim, it has outgrown its pot. The foliage may have turned a yellow green which indicates starvation, the food in the compost having been used up. Bulb- less orchids such as Paphiopedilums or Phalaenopsis, which do not progress across the pot in the same way as those with a horizontal rhizome, are best repotted when their roots have filled the pot, or are showing above the rim. Read the rest of this entry »
The water in a newly created pool will quickly turn green with algae and become like pea soup. To many people this is, of course, devastating. But people familiar with pools will not worry about it, for they know that the water will gradually become clear of its own accord, provided the pool has been well planted with submerged oxygenating plants and other aquatics.
On no account change the water when it becomes green, otherwise the problem will never solve itself. The fresh water will simply become green again. Just leave the pool alone to settle down and remember that once the plants are established the water will gradually clear up. As water evaporates the pool should be replenished with fresh water. Apart from this a pool will need very little attention for a few years. Read the rest of this entry »
Of the other erigerons the best-known Is probably the pinky- mauve Quakeress, and her white counterpart. There is also Pink Pearl which is less exuberant, Mrs Beale, azureus, speciocus, Moerheim Beauty, Beauty of Hale and many others. E. Mesa Grande is a great stand-by as she will bloom till November, getting deeper in colour as the season advances. To keep up a generous succession of bloom it pays to cut off the flower stalks near the ground, instead of just snipping off the dead flowers. E. Darkest of All is a lovely newcomer in deep violet, with a greeny-yellow eye, but not quite so lavish with its second thoughts as some of the others. Nor is the salmon, E. B. Ladhams, a regular second bloomer, although one occasionally finds a late flower or two. The rock erigeron, E. glaucus, shares the long season habit with its sisters, and is a useful plant when a wall or rock garden pocket calls for something bold and substantial.
Of all the flowers I know I think penstemons fulfil my requirements as well as any. For some reason they had the reputation of being not quite hardy, but I think they have outgrown that libel. You may, lose them if you savagely cut them down early in the winter, but if this rite is delayed till all danger of frost is over there is no likelihood of trouble. I agree it is very difficult to restrain one’s itching secateurs when the sun shines and the ragged brown leaves defile the landscape, but it is worth the sacrifice. Read the rest of this entry »
