Most of us grow lettuce for the leaves, but celtuce is a variety of lettuce that is more often grown for its stem. Also known as asparagus lettuce, celery lettuce, Chinese lettuce, stem lettuce, or wosun, celtuce tastes like a cross between, you guessed it, asparagus, broccoli, and celery. Popular in Chinese food, celtuce was probably developed along with other lettuces during Roman times and then found its way to China during the Tang Dynasty. Celtuce (Lactuca sativa var. augustana, angustata, or asparagina) is a cool-weather crop that needs consistent moisture to prevent it from turning bitter. Celtuce description These plants look like a giant, open Romaine, with upright lance-shaped leaves. They can grow as large as a cabbage plant. Like other lettuces, celtuce is day length-sensitive, which means it tends to bolt when the days are long. Bolting refers to premature flowering and stem elongation, which makes your celtuce taste bitter. But if it does bolt, let it go. Celtuce can grow 4 or 5 feet tall, providing nectar, pollen, habitat, and landing platforms for many beneficial insects (and you get free seeds!).
How to grow celtuce Plant seeds no more than ¼-inch deep. They germinate best in temperatures from 35°F to 60°F and should be planted 14- to 24-inches apart. These plants will reach maturity in about 60 days. They will be 12-18-inches long. Early leaves can be harvested 4 or 5 weeks after planting, starting at the bottom of the plant. This cut-and-come-again characteristic means you can get a surprising amount of food from a single plant. Mature leaves are edible but tend to be too bitter due to their milky sap. One way to avoid the limitations of a hot summer is to grow your celtuce indoors, where temperatures tend to be more stable. Lettuce and celtuce root systems are shallow, so containers do not need to be especially large. These plants need nutrient-rich soil, so use high-quality potting soil in your containers. Problems with celtuce Aphids, slugs, snails, and whiteflies are attracted to your celtuce. And I’m going to assume that most lettuce problems apply to celtuce. Celtuce stems tend to split after heavy rain, providing entry for pests and diseases. How about sharing a pack of celtuce seeds with your friends and neighbors to see what you think about this delicious crunchy green?
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Imagine a tuber with the texture of water chestnut and the flavor of a starchy apple. This cousin of wood sorrel is called oca. Oca (Oxalis tuberosa) is a perennial edible that overwinters as underground stems similar to sweet potatoes. Oca has been a dietary staple of the Andes region for centuries, and you can grow it at home and enjoy it raw, cooked, or pickled. Highly nutritious, oca is a very flexible plant. The tubers, leaves, and stems are all edible. Oca description The tubers are small and nubby. To me, they almost look like turmeric rhizomes. They can be orange, pink, or yellow, but most commonly are red. The leaves look a lot like Bermuda buttercup. Flowers appear after 3 or 4 months. Oca starts producing tubers when temperatures drop into the low 50s (°F) and the days get shorter. How to grow oca
These plants grow best in cool, wet weather. When shopping for oca tubers, opt for sweet oca over sour oca. Both are edible, but the names pretty much say it all. Plant seed tubers two to three inches deep and 24-36” apart. Like yacón, another Andean native, these plants grow well in poor soil and harsh climates, but need a long growing season. Each oca plant can produce up to three pounds of tubers yearly, though one pound is more likely. Oca pests and diseases Nematodes and weevils can damage your oca crop. Some viral diseases may also appear, but you can reduce most problems with a three-year crop rotation. If you have a plant that looks sick, the first thing you should do is to rule out insect feeding. Insect feeding usually creates holes and ragged edges on leaves, gnawed areas on fruits, or damaged roots. You might see eggs or insects on the underside of leaves, telltale slime trails, or ant brigades. Next, ask yourself where the problem is happening. Is it the leaves, fruit, stems, or the whole plant? If you know the type of plant, you may be able to narrow things down to a family-specific condition. This chart should help you figure out what's happening to your plant: And here's a way to download your won version:
I’ve written about so many foods we can grow at home that it is a pleasant surprise to discover yet another option: shiso. Shiso (Perilla frutescens) is a member of the mint family. This herb from Southeast Asia is called beefsteak plant, rattlesnake weed, and Chinese basil in the US. You can eat the leaves fresh in a salad, stirred into a casserole, or dried and used as a seasoning. They make a tasty garnish, too. And the seed pods can be salted and eaten as a snack. Shiso description Shiso is a substantial plant that can grow 3 feet tall. In Zones 11-12, it can be grown as a perennial. You can also grow it indoors year-round as an edible houseplant or treat it as an annual. The broad leaves have pointed ends and are serrated. There are several varieties of shiso:
When the stalks dry, they make the sound of a rattlesnake’s rattle when brushed. How to grow shiso
Shiso can be grown from seeds. They should germinate in 14 to 20 days. These plants grow well in partial shade and can handle full sun in mild regions. Treat these plants like basil, pinching the growing tips regularly to encourage bushy growth. Add this new taste to your kitchen garden or windowsill today.
Bleaching through sun and air
The most likely culprit of bleaching is too much or too little sun, especially for seedlings and new transplants. Sunburned leaves turn white and die. Air pollution, ozone damage, PAN, and weather flecking can cause bleaching. And if you or your neighbor recently applied herbicides, localized bleaching may be from chemical overspray. Frost damage can also cause bleaching. Bleaching through the soil Zinc deficiencies appear as yellowing between young leaf veins and overall bleaching that does not reach leaf edges or midribs. This bleaching can also cause narrow yellow or white stripes between the veins of the upper leaves. Bleached leaves may also be telling you the soil is low in iron. Persimmon trees, in particular, are sensitive to iron deficiencies. It may be time for one of those inexpensive, lab-based soil tests. If your soil looks lighter than it used to, add more organic material. Bleaching caused by disease White mold can make leaves look bleached. Bleached leaves and stems on tomato or pea plants often indicate Fusarium wilt. If leaf tips are turning white, it may be Ascochyta leaf blight. If your blackberries or raspberries have tiny bleached bits, it means temperatures rose suddenly and humidity levels dropped. This condition is called white drupelet. Trees with silvery or bleached leaves may have silver leaf, a potentially deadly fungal disease. And if you happen to be growing rice in Viet Nam, there is a newish bacterial infection that causes bleached leaves. While you cannot reverse the damage done to bleached plant tissue, you can use that information to help your plants regain their health and productivity.
Preventing charcoal rot Since you have no control over the hot, dry weather that compounds this problem, your best bets are to invest in certified disease-free seeds and seedlings and look for short-season varieties that can develop before the disease takes hold. The pathogen responsible for charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) can remain viable in dry soil for several years.
Healthy plants produce flowers that get pollinated by bees, bats, and wind. Those pollinated flowers turn into the lion’s share of why we garden.
Age
Plants that are too young (or too old) will not produce flower buds. Most annual plants start flower production once temperatures and leaf growth have provided enough resources. Perennial plants, such as fruit trees, can take a few years of root development before producing flowers. In both cases, some growers remove the earliest flower buds to promote further root development before allowing the plant to produce a crop. Plants too old to produce are best replaced with something new, while young plants need more growing time. Food Too much or too little food can eliminate flower production in the garden. Excessive amounts of nitrogen make plants produce lots of leaves but little or no flowers. Not enough nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium can also delay flowering. An inexpensive lab-based soil test is the only way to know what is in your soil. Light Different plants have different sun exposure needs. Raspberries exposed to scorching afternoon sun will put all their energy into recovering from sunburn rather than producing delicious berries. Plants that need lots of sunlight do not generate enough sugar to make flowers if planted in a shady corner. Pruning Prune too much, too little, too soon, too late, or in the wrong place, and flower production can be reduced or eliminated. Plants pruned too heavily may not have the resources needed to generate flowers. Each species has unique pruning needs. Generally speaking, it is better to wait until after flower and fruit production or until plants enter dormancy before any significant pruning occurs. Did you know that young walnut trees produce almost all of their flowers on the ends of long stems? Cut those off, and you will have an attractive little tree and no walnuts. Learn more about production pruning to ensure you are giving your plants the care they need. Temperature Sudden low or high temperature shifts can trick plants into halting flower production. A late frost can also kill flower buds before they emerge. Seeds planted too early in the season will use up too many nutrients to get started to have enough energy for flowers. Some plants require a minimum of chill hours before flower production begins. If winter is too mild, there may be no flowers the following spring. Planting at the right time of year, in an appropriate location, and providing proper care can boost flower production and your harvests. If you squeeze a potato and a pale ooze comes out of its eyes, it has brown rot. Also known as bacterial wilt of tomato and potato and southern bacterial wilt, potato brown rot is not the bacterial wilt that infects cucurbits or the brown rot of stone fruit trees. Instead, this disease targets the nightshade family, infecting eggplant, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes. Oddly enough, bananas, ginger, and olives are also susceptible.
They can remain viable in water for 40 years (under ideal conditions) and in the soil for up to two years. Bacteria enter plants through wounds and natural openings and move to the xylem, where they reproduce, clogging veins and killing the plant.
Managing potato brown rot Chemical treatments are ineffective against potato brown rot, and serious infections require soil solarization, so prevention is your best bet. These tips can help prevent potato brown rot in your garden:
Back in the 1920s, Rudolph Boysen started crossing various cane fruits. He used blackberries, dewberries, loganberries, and raspberries to create a hybrid. It didn’t grow well, and he abandoned the idea. Those canes were rescued by Walter Knott, of Knott’s Berry Farm fame, a few years later. The rest, as they say, is history. You generally won’t find boysenberries in stores because they are so juicy and thin-skinned that they start leaking delicious juice within a day or two of being picked. But boysenberries are easy to grow and provide extra-large, sweet-tart treats all summer.
When shopping for a boysenberry plant, you can select thornless (Rubus ursinus var. loganobaccus) or non-thornless hybrid (Rubus ursinus × Rubus idaeus). Please note that “thornless” is not a guarantee. Thornless varieties generally have fewer thorns than their cousins. And thornlessness can be genetic, hormonal, or created in a lab. Genetically thornless boysenberry plants will stay that way. The others may not. Propagating boysenberries Like other hybrid plants, boysenberries are not grown from seed. You can try, but you are unlikely to get an edible boysenberry. Boysenberries are best grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9, though you may be able to manage in Zone 4. They prefer full sun, soil pH of 6.0-7.0, and good drainage. Boysenberry roots are perennial and will fill spread using underground stems called rhizomes, so plan accordingly. You can buy dormant bare-root boysenberry plants. You can also use root cuttings, root division, and tip layering. As with any new plant, put your boysenberry into quarantine before adding it to your landscape. Caring for boysenberry plants Boysenberry plants only need to be fed when planted and again each spring. Like other brambles, you can let them grow wild or train them up a fence, stock panel, or trellis. Training your boysenberries makes pruning and harvesting a lot easier. When your boysenberries have entered dormancy, prune first-year primocanes, leaving 5-7 per plant. Cut lateral branches back to no more than 12 inches. This pruning will reduce the risk of pests and disease while making room for the next batch of canes. If you live in a cold climate, cover your boysenberries with a thick blanket of straw in winter and use a dark mulch. If you live in a warmer region, apply light-colored mulch and provide a little afternoon shade.
Diseases that may infect boysenberry plants include Anthracnose, cane gall, crown gall, hairy root, and rust. Good cultural practices go a long way toward keeping your boysenberry plants healthy.
How about a boysenberry pie? Or maybe some boysenberry jam? It may be as close as your backyard! Tomatoes seem to be the only plants affected by pepino mosaic naturally. Scientists have mechanically infected potatoes and eggplants in the lab, though pepper plants seem immune for now. Pepino mosaic may not wipe out your crop, but the flavor and appearance of your tomatoes will suffer. And these plants are more likely to contract other viral diseases.
Pepino mosaic symptoms Fruit marbling and other discolorations are the most common symptoms of pepino mosaic. Leaf blistering and interveinal chlorosis may also occur, as well as yellow angular leaf spots, brown stem streaks, and leaf and stem death. The top of the plant may look stunted or oddly clustered. You may also see dark spots on young leaves near the top of the plant. Lower leaves may look scorched. Blossoms may turn brown and fall off. Pepino mosaic is easily mistaken for chemical overspray and tomato brown rugose. These symptoms generally do not appear for two or three weeks after infection. Pepino mosaic spreads rapidly because infected plants remain in place. Pepino mosaic management Pepino mosaic is spread primarily on contaminated tools, shoes, and clothing. Infected seeds may also carry the disease. Unfortunately, bumblebees can also transport pepino mosaic. You can’t do anything about the bees, but you can prevent pepino mosaic in your garden with these good cultural practices:
Before planting parsnips, you should know about parsnip canker. Carrots, dill, parsley, and sunflowers may also get this disease. Parsnip canker is an infection of Itersonilia perplexans and several other fungi that can reduce your crop by as much as 80%. But it is preventable.
Symptoms of parsnip canker Like other cankers, symptoms include dark, mushy areas on parsnip crowns and shoulders. These areas may be black, brown, orange, or purple and typically have pale green halos. Lesions may also occur on the underside of young leaves. Parsnip canker management When growing parsnips, many gardeners mound soil over the crown as the plant grows in a practice known as hilling. Hilling in the UK has been shown to expose pathogens to predators, reducing the chance of infection. Unfortunately, this practice spread pathogens to neighboring plants in Australian gardens. I suspect it has something to do with temperature and humidity differences, but I am only guessing. Other steps you can take to prevent parsnip canker include the following:
Foliar sprays of fixed copper may help treat the disease if applied early enough. And you can cut out the bad bits and enjoy the rest of the root. Parsnips have a lot to offer, and they are easy to grow. The ones you might find in the grocery store are never as sweet and crisp as those you can grow in your yard. As your raspberry and blackberry seasons wind down and you begin your winter preparations, watch for signs of raspberry crown borers, also known as blackberry crown borers (Pennisetia marginata). The first signs of infestation include withering and wilting. Close inspection of the crown at soil level may yield a small hole surrounded by frass that looks like sawdust. There are no biological or organic treatments against this pest. Commercial growers often use Diazinon to combat these pests, but that chemical is highly toxic to bees (and it probably isn’t good for us, either). The more you know about raspberry crown borers, the better equipped you will be to prevent infestation. Is it a moth or a wasp? It all starts with what looks like a wasp. This type of clearwing moth has a one-inch wingspan. It is black with four or more stripes around the abdomen. The antennae are feathery and curled at the tips, the wings have longitudinal bars, and the legs are yellow. First-year larvae are one-half to one-inch long, while second-year larvae may reach an inch-and-a-half long. Raspberry crown borer lifecycle
These fascinating (and destructive) parasites go through a two-year cycle that starts with females laying up to 140 rust-colored eggs on the underside of leaflets in late summer. Take a peek and extermigate any eggs you see. Larvae create tiny blistered hibernaculum (“winter tents”) in the base of the crown, where they are safe from winter weather and predators. As temperatures rise, larvae burrow galleries throughout the crown, feeding as they go. In some cases, these larvae emerge as adults at the end of the summer. They often remain in these protected galleries through a second winter, causing even more damage. Keeping plants healthy and monitoring for eggs and entry holes are the best preventative tools. Any plants infested with raspberry crown borers should be removed and destroyed. No, we’re not talking about the sudden appearance of wax fruit in your backyard orchard. But if your peach trees are languishing, this may be the information you need.
Phony peach is a bacterial disease. Many trees with bacterial infections look scorched. Bacteria block the vascular tissue, so water and nutrients cannot move around, often killing a tree within two or three years. Phony peach disease does not behave this way. This disease gets its name because it makes you think the tree is healthy, maybe just a little slow. But it is dying. Cause and carriers of phony peach disease Xylella fastidiosa bacteria cause phony peach disease. This bacteria is also responsible for alfalfa dwarf, bacterial leaf scorch, citrus variegated chlorosis, coffee leaf scorch, oleander leaf scorch, olive quick decline, and Pierce’s disease. Sharpshooters, especially glassy-winged sharpshooters, carry the bacteria responsible for phony peach disease. Symptoms of phony peach disease Symptoms of phony peach disease initially look insignificant, giving it time to spread before you can start protecting neighboring trees. Remove infected trees right away.If you are aware of and look for these symptoms, you may be able to save the rest of your peach trees:
As the disease progresses, you may also see shoot dieback and a significant reduction in normal shoot development. Phony peach disease management In this case, prevention is the only way to go. Use the following good habits to prevent phony peach disease from occurring in your landscape:
Viruses are nearly always bad news, but sometimes they can surprise you. The tobacco mild green mosaic virus is one of those.
This viral disease can infect your peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes. It can also help out. Symptoms of tobacco mild green mosaic Stunting, leaf mottling and puckering, and deformed fruits are all symptoms of tobacco mild green mosaic. These symptoms look similar to cucumber green mottle mosaic, tobacco mosaic, and tomato brown rugose, and with good reason. The viruses that cause these diseases are close cousins. There are no chemical treatments for tobacco mild green mosaic. Good cultural practices like hand washing, sanitizing your tools, and avoiding infected areas, can slow the spread of this disease. And keep weeds in the nightshade family at a distance. Tobacco mild green mosaic trivia This virus is an approved herbicide in the US. Scientists discovered that the virus responsible for tobacco mild green mosaic is lethal to tropical soda apple. Tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum Dunal) is a spiny, invasive weed that makes farmland, orchards, and pastures less productive. Florida estimated, in 2022, that tropical soda apple infested 1 million acres of their agricultural land. According to the American Chemical Society, this virus can kill parasitic nematodes. In 2017, parasitic nematodes cost the global agricultural industry $157 billion. That’s a lot of zucchini! So maybe the tobacco mild green mosaic virus isn’t all bad. Do your tomatoes have brown or yellow spots? Do they look lumpy? Are the leaves mottled and narrow? It may be a relatively new viral disease called brown rugose. Rugose means lumpy or wrinkled. Easily mistaken for chemical overspray, brown rugose is a close cousin to tobacco mild green mosaic and often occurs in tandem with the pepino mosaic virus (PepMV). First seen in 2015 in Jordan, the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) infects eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. By 2018, it had reached Europe and North America. Symptoms of brown rugose In addition to lumpy, spotted, wrinkled fruit, the brown rugose virus also causes fruits to be deformed, ripen unevenly, or develop a brown inner wall. Leaves may become narrow and discolored. Shoestringing may occur in severe cases. Mosaic patterns and stunting are common. Brown streaking and dead areas may also develop on leaf stems (petioles), flower stems (pedicles), and calyxes (sepals). Brown rugose management
This persistent virus spreads through contaminated garden tools, hands, seeds, weeds, global grocery store and seedling markets, and local pollinators. With all of those avenues of transmission, quarantining new plants and good sanitation are your best control measures. Also, only install seeds certified to be ToBRFV-free and do not use grocery store tomato seeds. These viruses can survive in the soil for more than ten years, so it is better to err on the side of caution. If you suspect brown rugose in your garden, do yourself and your neighbors a favor and contact your local County Extension Office. There’s always a certain measure of chaos in a garden, but chaos gardening has a purpose. Seeds don’t last forever. And few of us get around to using them all. While you can host a fun seed swap, you can also use those seeds to create a chaos garden. Like books sitting on a shelf, seeds left in a packet do no one any good. Monoculture v. mixed plantings In Nature, monoculture rarely exists and never lasts. Pests and disease can quickly take hold, potentially wiping out everything. [Can you say Potato Famine?] Plants grow best when surrounded by other plant species. Meadows are healthier than lawns. Companion planting (in its true sense) is more productive than monoculture. Research has demonstrated that mixed plantings reduce the need for crop rotation, fertilizer, irrigation, pesticides, and added pollinators. And that means a lot less work for you. Chaos garden design takes advantage of this research by throwing every leftover seed you have into the mix. Instead of every plant grabbing for the same nutrients, a mixture of plant species grows at differing rates, using different nutrients at different times, reducing the strain of competition for all of them. This tight mix of plants chokes out weeds. It also attracts a variety of pollinators and other beneficial insects. This increasing biodiversity boosts pollination rates and creates bigger harvests. You can use a bare patch of ground, raised bed, a sidewalk strip, an old kiddie pool, or a window box for your chaos garden. Keyhole garden spaces work well, too. How to plant a chaos garden Unlike most vegetable gardens, which require planning, rows, and lots of preparation, a chaos garden lets Nature take its course and do most of the work for you. The process is simple:
At this point, you can decide whether to water your chaos garden or not. You can fertilize it or not. It is up to you. The downside of chaos gardening
Plants growing close together in a riot of leaves and stems can set the stage for fungal diseases such as blights, rots, and spots, so avoid overhead watering. It can also hide pest infestations. Simply throwing a bunch of seeds into a space does not mean your chaos garden is completely maintenance-free. You should still monitor your chaos garden for signs of pests and diseases. Chaos gardening is a great way to eliminate the waste of unused seeds. And you might be pleasantly surprised when you see how well they grow.
Popular in Indonesian, Malaysian, and Philippine recipes, pandan leaves are floral, grassy, and sweet, much like vanilla beans. They create green food coloring and give basmati rice, jasmine rice, and white bread their characteristic aromas. Pandan cultivation
Unknown in the wild, the only way to create a pandan plant is through cuttings and suckers. Pandan is a wholly human-created plant that has been around since ancient times. When I say human-created, I do not mean someone was splicing genes 5,000 years ago. Instead, people cultivated pandan vegetatively for specific traits. Plants generated in this way are called cultigens. Pandan plants are available for purchase, or you may be able to get a cutting from a friend. As always, place new plants in quarantine when you bring them home. Just in case. Being tropical plants, pandan plants prefer moist, loose soil. They grow best with plenty of bright sunlight but can also grow in partial shade (or in your living room). When watering your pandan, keep the leaves and crown free of water. If your pandan is in a container, it is best to water from the base, filling the saucer instead of from above. The addition of a small amount of vermiculite can lighten the soil, as well as improve its moisture-holding ability. In winter, pandan plants need significantly less water. In summer, they need more to prevent sunburn. Pandan pests and diseases If the leaves start yellowing, it is probably due to overwatering. Allow the top 2 or 3 inches of soil to dry before adding water. Too much moisture often leads to root rot. Yellowing leaves may also indicate aphid, mealybug, or mite infestations. Profoundly cheaper than vanilla, a pandan plant might be just what you’ve been looking for! If you bite into a sunflower seed and find a worm, it’s probably a sunflower moth. Sunflower moths lay their eggs in sunflower heads. When those eggs hatch, tiny caterpillars begin feeding on developing seedheads and burrow into the seeds to feed. In doing so, they create wounds that allow diseases, such as Rhizopus head rot, to get in. And who wants to bite into a worm, even if it is tiny? Each moth only lives for 7-10 days, but females quickly begin laying eggs on the underside of sunflower heads and the inner bracts. Larvae go through five instars as they feed on developing sunflower seeds. Then they fall to the ground, burrow into the soil, and overwinter in a cocoon. There are several sunflower moth species, but they are all prolific and destructive. American sunflower moths American sunflower moths (Homoeosoma electellum) are also found in South America. They have a ¾” wingspan and off-white, feathered wings with dark spots scattered along the forward and outer edges. American sunflower moth caterpillars feed extensively on canola and sunflowers. They also feed on cotton, orange blossoms, and yacón. Banded sunflower moths Banded sunflower moths (Cochylis hospes) are tiny, pale moths with a ½” wingspan. Those wings are tan with a dark triangular band on the forewings. Larva are off-white when they hatch but turn red or green as they grow. Their heads are dark. These moths are found in the eastern United States. Cuban sunflower moths Less is known about Cuban sunflower moths (Heterocampa cubana), which are also found in Florida. These stocky moths have dark forewings decorated with lines and patterns and lighter underwings. Cuban sunflower moth caterpillars are solid green with a yellow, red, or purple stripe along the top and pinhole dots on the sides. These caterpillars feed on sunflowers, mangrove flowers, and probably other plants. Eurasian sunflower moths
Currently found in Anatolia, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and West Africa, Eurasian sunflower moths (Homoeosoma nebulella) are darker and slightly larger than their American counterparts. They have wingspans of up to one inch. Eurasian moth caterpillars are gray with three stripes on top. Their heads are yellow. They feed heavily on sunflowers, ox-eye daisies, tansy, and thistle. Larval feeding interferes with pollination as well as destroys your crop. You may see webbing on affected sunflower seedheads. You can use pheromone traps to determine if these pests are present, but the traps will not eliminate the problem. One way to reduce the risk of sunflower moth damage is to delay planting sunflowers until slightly later in the season. This makes life more difficult for the moths, who will look elsewhere for egg-laying sites. Beneficial insects should also be encouraged with a variety of flowering plants. These predators and parasites will reduce the damage done by sunflower moths. Research is currently underway for resistant varieties of sunflowers, so be on the lookout. If the caterpillars on your sunflowers are dark and have spines, it’s probably checkerspots. Minerals are in that category of things you feel pretty sure you know what they are until you start digging. What are minerals? In my mind’s eye, I always thought of minerals as tiny rocks, but I was only partly correct. Rocks are relatively homogenous, solid geologic materials. Rocks may consist of one mineral or be an aggregate of several minerals. According to the dictionary, minerals are “solid inorganic substances of natural occurrence” which coincides nicely with my rock theory. More accurate definitions describe minerals as well-defined chemical compositions with specific, naturally occurring crystal structures. My tiny rock theory is okay up to this point, but this is where it starts getting tricky. Mineral species Did you know that there are different mineral species and varieties? I didn’t, either. One tiny difference in the composition of a mineral changes it completely. Common quartz becomes amethyst when impurities turn it purple. Other minerals are biogenic. Biogenic refers to materials made from or by living things. Calcite of chalk and limestone fame is a biogenic mineral consisting of the bodies of tiny algae, fairy shrimp, oyster shells, and other marine organisms. The rules about mineral classification are not set in stone, however. Opals and obsidian seem to meet the mineral criteria but don’t quite make the cut. They are mineraloids. I have no idea why. Organic minerals Other minerals are classified chemically as organic compounds. These minerals are organic in the sense of being related to living material. For example, mellite is a mineral made from plant material. And the carbon that makes up all life on Earth is also in this category. The carbon cycle transforms inorganic compounds into organic ones. Of course, scientists are still debating about where the line between organic and inorganic lies, but we’ll leave that line in the sand to them. Garden variety minerals
Plants use minerals as food. When they use relatively large amounts, we call them macronutrients. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are the Big Three macronutrients but plants also use large amounts of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S). Plants also consume tiny amounts of micronutrients such as boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), and zinc (ZN). These minerals naturally occur in the soil. And there’s only one way to find out what’s in yours. That’s with a lab-based soil test. These tests are inexpensive. They provide the information you need to feed your plants correctly. Unfortunately, those cute plastic test kits from your local garden store are not yet accurate enough to be useful. Too much fertilizer can cause some minerals to reach toxic levels, creating more harm than good, especially with boron, chlorine, iron, and manganese. Soil can also contain high levels of aluminum (Al) and sodium (Na) which interferes with plant growth. As of November 2020, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) recognized 5,863 unique minerals on Earth. Of those, nearly 500 minerals came from somewhere else. Now you know. Imagine your landscape in tune with natural cycles and rhythms, filled with a balance of plants, animals, and other organisms that allow it to thrive with little help on your part. Regenerative gardening can make that dream come true. Regenerative gardening and biodiversity You can plant rows of hybrids and install invasive box store specials. Or, you can create an environment that supports biodiversity, reduces pests and diseases, increases pollination rates, sequesters carbon, and creates a nurturing space in your backyard. You can make regenerative gardening a part of your landscape with these simple tasks. Attract birds While some birds, such as jays, will damage your tomato and fruit crops, many others, including chickadees, phoebes, and wrens, will take a big bite out of your insect population. Compost Composting your kitchen and garden waste adds plant nutrients, improves soil structure, and feeds helpful soil microorganisms, and composting is free. Cut the chemicals Natural cycles keep pests and diseases in check. Chemical herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides interrupt those natural cycles, while most organic gardening products do not. Integrated pest management (IPM) can help you win those battles without nuking your yard. Go green During the dormant season, plant cover crops and green manures to feed beneficial soil bacteria, reduce erosion, and minimize weeds. Clovers, blackeyed peas, and other legumes make excellent cover crops as they add nitrogen to the surrounding soil. And sturdy fava bean roots make short work of compacted soil. Herbs and flowers Diversify your landscape by adding herbs and flowers. Intersperse your ornamental plants and edible crops with flowers of various colors, sizes, and shapes. Dill, marigolds, rosemary, sweet alyssum, thyme, and other herbs and flowers attract beneficial insects, such as honey bees and hoverflies. These garden helpers reduce the number of pests in your garden while increasing your harvest. And fresh herbs are always good to have on hand! Mulch
A thick layer of clean mulch stabilizes soil temperatures, retains moisture, reduces weeds, and improves soil structure. You can often get mulch for free from local tree trimmers. Just be sure to keep it away from tree trunks. Nab those natives Native plants already know how to live successfully in your region. Adding them to your landscape provides food for beneficial insects and reduces your workload. Paths for peds Walking on the soil compacts it, making life more difficult for delicate plant roots. A simple path can protect plants, microorganisms, earthworms, and other aspects of your regenerated garden. Rest Digging the soil damages the fungal networks that feed our plants. After harvesting, let an area go fallow for a season to rest and recover. And replace that lawn with a self-sustaining meadow. Take the test You need to know what is in your soil before adding anything. Over-fertilizing is expensive, destructive, and hard to correct. An inexpensive soil test tells you exactly what is in your soil, what is needed, and what has reached toxic levels. Just Google “soil test” to find a lab near you, or use the University of Massachusetts soil test lab. Sadly, those pretty plastic tubes you see in garden centers are not (yet) accurate enough to be helpful. We cannot fix everything overnight, but we can all take small steps that move us in the right direction. Regenerative gardening is one of those steps. |
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