The Yucca plant has a wild and exotic look; it is part of the lily family although by looking at it you would not guess this. There are over 40 plant varieties that grow in the United States and are considered more of a wild plant. However, homeowners have adopted them as a landscape addition. In my zone 5 the yucca known as “Adams Needle” is the variety that will grow in this climate.

The plant has a desert like look with sharp spiny leaves.  It is told that many years ago Yuccas were once planted outside a window to discourage any “peeping Toms.” I am not sure if this is true but it makes a nice story.

American Indians used for soap. The green pods are said to be edible. There have been stories about how the Native women washed their white garments by using the root.

According to the history the green gourd and soapwort were more to their liking but there are times you use what you have available. At the earliest of times they spread their clothing on rocks, rubbed them with a piece of yucca cut big enough to fit into their hand like a bar of soap, and then washed the clothing to brilliant cleanliness.

The white yucca blossoms, which are stunning but only last a short time, can be dropped into vinegar and will keep. This mixture can be used as a hair rinse, by mixing one ounce of the mixture to 8 ounces of water.

The Yucca is a very hardy plant as spreads by a thick root. Shoots will form on this root and can be cut off to form another plant. The plant also has fibrous threads on the leaves that can be pulled out. These threads can be used to make rope.

One of the most unusual aspects of the Yucca is that is pollinated by the yucca moth. If the moth is not present in the area where the yucca grows it must be hand pollinated or it will not produce seeds.

The Yucca will be a welcome addition to the gardens. I will enjoy watching it grow and become part of my garden.

Tags: yucca plant, yucca plant uses, plant lore, plant history

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photo credit: Jonathan Shield

Several years ago I heard of the “Vine Peach.” It’s a seed that is more difficult to find. Heirloom seed catalogs and specialty seed catalogs carry it.  What attracted me to this seed was the fact it was a fruit you could grow annually in your back yard and that it had an interesting background. So… I had to find the seed and grow it in my garden. I did manage to track a package of seeds down and since that time I have harvested the seeds at the end of the season for future crops.

Originally this fruit grew wild across most of the United States. As growth and development began the vine peach started to disappear. It was a favorite of the American Indian and with the rich heritage of numerous Indian cultures in our area I wanted to try this crop.

The peach vine looks a lot like a cucumber plant when it is young and has a lot of the same growing characteristics. It need warm nights to grow successfully and should be planted after the last frost warnings in you area has passed. I grow my vine peaches on a trellis. I find the crop grows better vertical and it saves room in the garden. For color I usually add a few scarlet runner beans to the area.

The fruit could be compared to a cantaloupe but it is much smaller and has a very mellow taste. I found that is was perfect for jams and jellies. It’s a crop that I don’t grow every year but when I do it’s a great addition to the garden,

Technorati Tags: creative gardening, garden history, heirloom seed

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Plants come in rootstock, as potted plants and as trees. They have many colors but red, pink and white are still the popular colors.

Tips for Peony care

• It can take up to three growing seasons for a peony to reach maturity. Proper planting will help the peony to bloom quicker
• You can keep the flowers from flopping over by placing a special round peony stake over the foliage. A tomato cage will also work. As the plant grows in the spring and summer you do not see the cage
• If you want bigger blooms cut off all of the buds, except for the one on the tip. This will mean you have fewer flowers overall.
• Don’t worry if you see ants crawling on your peonies. Ants are attracted to a sticky, sweet liquid on the buds and will not harm your plants. I do check carefully for ants before I bring the plants into the house.

Add a peony to your garden. It will quickly become one of your favorite plants. Check this article for instructions on how to plant peonies: http://thegardenersrake.com/how-to-plant-and-care-for-a-peony-plant

This link will take you to the history of the peony plant: http://www.paeonia.com/html/peonies/history.htm

Tags: Peony plant history, peony medicinal use, peony plant old fashioned favorite

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The shallower beds make fast new gardens and are placed in areas where the soil is ok but just needs new nutrients for better crops.

The three to four foot gardens are placed in areas where you need a lot of new nutrients or where the soil is extremely poor. Another great use for the higher beds is in hillsides where they act as a wall or for people with bad backs or disabilities.

One of my favorite uses for three-foot high raised bed is for planting watermelons and other melons. These plants need extra fertilizer and the deeper beds I fill half full on manure and top with compost. I have great crops of melons with little work. I also sink a plastic milk jug upside down in the center with the bottom cut off for deep watering. Just fill the milk jug when the bed is dry and the planter waters itself. Using this method the water goes deeply into the soil and the soil will not dry out as fast.

Creating a new bed will also improve the spoil. Just mark out the area you intend to use and till or dig up that area. You can either add bags of compost or organic materials to the area and till or dig it up again to mix in the newly added nutrients. Once your new soil is mixed well you will be ready to plant.

Another fast and very easy way to improve the soil is to use the lasagna garden technique. Here is an article on Lasagna Gardening: http://thegardenersrake.com/lasagna-gardening-history-and-how-to-make-a-lasagna-garden

Good soil is one of the most important steps in successful gardening.

Tags: how to improve soil, raised beds, adding nutrients, lasagna gardening

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The tomato tops the list as the most popular vegetable but it is technically a fruit!

Both heirloom tomatoes and new varities of tomatoes are popular along with the cherry tomatoes, which are primarily used in salads.

1. Tomatoes (once considered evil and poisonous by many people)
2. Peppers (hot peppers con be used to aid in colds and cayenne pepper can help heal a deep cut)
3. Cucumbers (the inside of a cucumber can be up to twenty degrees cooler than the outside temperature. This is where the saying cool as a cumber came from)
4. Onions (used as a cold remedy and they are said to help cure many ailments)
5. Beans (Snap beans grow in both green and yellow varieties. There is a purple wax bean that turns green when it is cooked)
6. Lettuce (Americans consume about 30 lbs. of lettuce each, per year)
7. Carrots (English women in the 1600’s often wore carrot leaves in their hats in place of flowers or feathers)
8. Sweet Corn (Corn is the most widely grown crop in America but only 10% is used at the dinner table)
9. Radishes (radishes were originally grown for their size and could be as large as 50 to 100 pounds each)
10. Cabbage. (Babe Ruth uses a cabbage leaf under his ball cap to keep cool. He changed it every two innings)

Tomatoes are grown in over 85% of all gardens and Cabbage is grown in 30% of all gardens.

The potato is not on the list for being grown in US and Canadian gardens but is the most popular vegetable used in United States. Head lettuce is the second most popular followed by onions.

Garden lore and odd facts of vegetables add fun and create stories to tell while gardening.

Tags: ten most popular vegetables, vegetable lore, vegetable facts,

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If you have not dug a hole for your tree is will be your first task. I dig my holes for trees in stages so my back does not tire as fast. It also gives me a chance to see if the soil in this area drains well. I will often pour a bucket of water in the hole to see if it holds water…not a good sign. You need good drainage for the tree roots.

When your hole is dug you can check to make sure the hole is the proper size for the tree. If its too shallow the tree will not get enough water to the upper roots and if its too deep it will be hard on the tree trunk. Both situations will affect the trees growth.

Note: A rule of thumb is to measure the root ball and plan on digging a hole that’s 6 inches wider and deeper than it. This applies for bare root plants too, but I prefer root ball trees and shrubs.

I use some of the soil I dug out of the hole to make a little bed for the base of the root ball in the hole. Tamp it down hard. This will balance your tree while you finish the rest of the planting.

Lower the balled root, which is still covered, into the hole. Carefully Position the tree so that the top of the root ball will sit just under the ground when it’s level. Many people plant the root ball too deep.

The tree may be heavy so be careful when you place the tree root ball on the base you made in the bottom of the planting hole. You don’t want to strain your back. A second pair of hands may be wise. The base must be firm to hold the tree in place.

Now it’s time to remove the wrappings and any clips from the root ball. You will also cut back the natural burlap and twine around the sides of the root ball. You can leave it with the tree in the hole and bury it when you fill in the hole. It’s not necessary to remove burlap from the bottom of the root ball because 98 percent of root growth will be on the sides.

Fill the hole halfway with the soil and tamp it lightly to remove any air pockets. Make sure the tree or shrub is standing straight up. I also add a little water at this time to make sure any air pockets are gone and that the soil compacts as much as it can.

Now I mix the rest of the soil that is left with some additional peat and compost. I add about 1/3 more of peat and compost to the soil and finish filling the hole. Water the tree thoroughly to make sure it has settled and that all air pockets are gone. Add any additional soil that may be needed, Tamp the soils well and enjoy the look of your new tree.
 
Note: I usually stake my trees at first. It makes sure that the tree stands tall and prevents it moving in a high windstorm. Use flat tree straps made of a soft material. Make sure to leave enough slack for some sway in the winds.

Trees add years on enjoyment to a yard. They also add value to your property and homes for wildlife. Here is an additional post that will help you choose a tree for your yard: http://thegardenersrake.com/earth-day-is-approaching-make-plans-to-plant-a-tree-or-shrub

Tags: How to plant a tree, planting a tree

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How the First Earth Day Came About
by Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

The idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political “limelight” once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation’s political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.

After President Kennedy’s tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called “teach-ins,” had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me – why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?

I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.

At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air – and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office.

Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:

“Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation’s campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam…a national day of observance of environmental problems…is being planned for next spring…when a nationwide environmental ‘teach-in’…coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned….”

It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities.

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

Here is the direct link to this story.
http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html

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The Aztec garden plots usually measured between 15 and 30 feet wide and often were up to 300 feet long. To stabilize the sides of the garden the mounds were secured using a wattle type fence system and willows were usually planted to prevent erosion. A waddle fence is a fence made of branches that are intertwined to create a sturdy fencing that breathes like a wire fence would but holds back animals and even soil.

The mounds were built on the soil as it sat which was often decaying vegetation and washed in sediment from flooding. This base would act as fertilizer to the soil that was placed on top. The plants would thrive as their roots reached into the nutrient rich soil. Numerous crops could be planted in the same place during the growing season. Maize, beans, squash, and tomatoes thrived in these growing beds for the Aztec people.

One additional advantage of these mound beds were that the top layer of the ground would be dry but the lower layers were moist and the water could be used by the crops cutting down on watering and supplying the much needed water during the hot summer months.

This gardening technique is still used today in many areas and it has been a form of reclaiming land for horticultural used in other countries and in the United States. Washington D.C., New York and San Francisco used this practice particularly in the early years when immigrants were settling these areas.

This form of gardening will always serve a purpose in many countries and is actually very practical. It cuts down on watering and irrigation problems in hot dry areas. It also supplies the nurtients needed for abundant drops with very little additional effort needed once the mound beds are built.

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Well rotted fish – dug in very, very well.

Horse dung – probably one of the most widely used manures as it was the most widely available. Horse dung from London’s streets and gardens, for example, provided the market gardens surrounding London with over 60 tons of manure per acre per year. Horse manure was at its best once it had fermented a little – most gardeners advised against using it fresh.

Cattle dung - often particularly recommended for very dry and sandy soils.

Compost – almost all working Victorian gardens had at least one large compost heap. Often scraps of vegetation or cast aside vegetables were not composted as such, but merely cut up and dug straight into the soil. Green crops, pond weeds, hedge parings and fresh cut lawn clippings needed no composting at all according to advice – they could be added direct to the flower or vegetable plot.

 Seaweed – particularly recommended for vegetable gardens.

Bird dung – this was highly popular, and several families made their fortune by importing massive quantities of guano from South America. Otherwise gardeners made do with pigeon dung (often available in quantities, and recommended for strawberries in particular).

Sheep and deer dung - not often used in urban gardens as it was hard to procure, it was used widely in rural areas. It needed to be dug in quickly while still fresh so as to retain all its moisture and nutrients.

Soot – another widely available commodity in pre-electrical Britain. Most people depended on coal fires for cooking, and the soot could be sprinkled over the surface of the garden. Soot was not only considered a very powerful fertilizer, gardeners also believed it acted as a deterrent to wire-worms and maggots.

Crushed bone and horn - shavings of bone or horn were believed to provide an excellent manure but were difficult to procure in useful quantities.

Blood – always popular as a gardening fertilizer. Gardeners could collect blood in vast quantities at slaughter houses and butchers, and also at confectionary manufacturers where cattle blood was used to separate out the impurities in brown sugar. Of course, slaughter houses were not the only places blood could be obtained. Useful contacts could be made in the wards and theatres of hospitals, and buckets of blood for the flower bed obtained via the back door. This practice went on so late as the early 1980s, when one of the editors of this site recalls watching a theatre sister handing buckets of blood out the back door to the hospital housekeeper, who kept the hibiscus in the front garden of the hospital in spectacular bloom with patients’ blood dug in during the dark hours.

Salt – a debate raged over whether or not salt was good or bad for the garden. Patently, as there was a debate over it, some gardeners did use salt as a fertilizer, but increasingly by the early nineteenth century opinion was turning against the use of salt in soil.

Urine – whether animal or human, it needed to be used quickly before it ‘putrefied’. Gardeners believed it should be diluted with water. Today, of course, we use it neat on our compost heaps.

Wood ash and charcoal dust – often obtained in considerable quantities from lime or brick kilns.

Sawdust, tanner’s bark and wood shavings.

Lime – used as quick lime, or mild lime Lime was used more in sandy soils than clay based soils.

Coal was also often used.

A recipe for a cheap and useful fertilizer was as follows:Raise a platform of earth, on any spare piece of land, eight feet wide, one foot high, and any length according to the amount required. On the first stratum of earth lay a thin stratums of lime, fresh from the kiln. Dissolve this into the earth with brine from the rose of a watering can and immediately add another layer of earth. Lime and brine as before, carrying it to any convenient height. In a week, it should be carefully turned over, broken and mixed, so that the entire mass may be thoroughly incorporated. This compost has been used in Ireland, and it has doubled the crops of potatoes and cabbages and is said to be far superior to stable dung.

Charles McIntosh, the Practical Gardener, 1828.

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Below is the article. To read it is like stepping back in time but it still has relevant information.

Hotbeds

Those which are mostly used in the kitchen garden, are made with new horse-dung, or with tanners’ bark, in the following manner: take a quantity of new horsedung, in which there should be some litter or straw, but not in too large a proportion: the quantity of this mixture must be, according to the length of bed intended, which, if early in the year, should not be less than a good load for each light. This dung should be thrown up in a heap, mixing it with some seacoal ashes, which will help to continue the heat: it should remain six or seven days in this heap, then it should be turned over, and the parts well mixed together, and cast into a heap again, where it may continue five or six days longer, by which time it will have acquired a due heap; then in some well sheltered part of the garden, a trench should be dug out, in length and width proportionable to the frames intended for it; if the ground be dry, about a foot , or a foot and a half deep; but, if wet, not above six inches; then the dung should be wheeled into the opening, and every part of it stirred with a fork, to lay it exactly even and smooth through every part of the bed; as also, to lay the bottom of the heap (which has commonly less litter) upon the surface of the bed, this will prevent the stream [sic] from rising so plentifully as it would otherwise do.

Farther to prevent this, and the heat from rising so as to burn the roots of whatever plants may be put into the ground, it will be a good way to spread a layer of neat’s dung all over the surface of the horse dung. If the bed be intended for cucumbers or melons, the earth should not be laid all over the bed at first; only a hill of earth should first be laid in the middle of each light, on which the plants should be planted, and the remaining space should be filled up from time to time, as the roots of the plants spread; but if the hotbed be intended for other plants, then, after it shall have been well prepared, it should be left two r three days for the steam to pass off before the earth is laid over.

Always observe to settle the dung close with a fork; and if it be pretty full of long litter, it should be trodden down close in every part, or it will be liable to heat too violently.

During the first week to ten days, after the bed is made, the glasses should be but slightly covered in the night, and, in the day-time they should be raised, to let out the steam, which usually rises very copiously, while the dung is fresh: as the heat abates, the covering should be increased.

The hot beds which are made with tanners’ bark are preferable to the above, especially for all tender exotic plants or fruits which require an even degree of warmth to be continued for several months. The manner of making these is as follows: -

Dig a trench in the earth, about three feet deep, if the ground be dry: but if wet, not above six inches, at most, and raise it in proportion above ground, so as to admit of the tan being laid three feet thick. The length must be proportioned to the frames intended to cover it, but that should never be less than eleven or twelve feet, and the width not less than six.

This trench should be bricked up round the sides, to the abovementioned height of three feet, and should be filled with fresh tanners’ bark, which should be laid in a round heap, for a week or ten days, before it is put into the trench, that the moisture may the better drain out of it.

Then put it in the trench, and gently beat it down, equally with a dung fork; but it must not be trodden, which would prevent it heating, by settling it too close: put on the frame over the bed, covering it with the glasses, and in about a fortnight, it will begin to heat; at which time may be plunged into it, pots of plants or seeds, observing not to tread down the bark in so doing.

These beds will preserve a proper temperature of heat for three or four months, which may be continued two or three months longer by adding fresh bark, whenever the warm begins to decrease.

Frames vary in size according to the plants which they are destined to cover. If designed for bananas or pine apples, the back should be three feet high, the lower part fifteen inches: when the bed is intended for taller plants, the frame must be made proportionally higher; if for seeds only, it will not be necessary to employ frames more than fourteen inches in height at the back, and seven in the front. The glasses of hotbeds may be shifted or tilted at one end, to admit the fresh air, and to let out the steam, as occasion may require.

I use hotbeds in the spring and depend on them for my earlier crops and transplants.

Thank you Carolyn for your submission to the Community garden contest. Your 10 packets of seeds are in the mail! Happy gardening, Denise

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