Are you looking for gardening classes for yourself?
Trying to figure out how to start a garden can be overwhelming. You ask yourself questions like “What do I do first?” “How will I know what to plant?” and “If I put time and money into a garden, will it be worth it?” Let me help you get started and remove some uncertainty about how to start gardening.
On the other hand, you may have been gardening for a while and have a basic understanding of gardening principles, but you’re looking for more in-depth information. You may be looking for ways to make your garden more productive. Thegardening classes I teach may be what you need to take your garden to the next level.
I offer monthly online gardening classes in “Growing in the Garden Academy” through Patreon
“Growing in the Garden Academy” includes a monthly live online gardening class where we cover seasonal topics. I also share what I’m planting, fertilizing, harvesting, and starting indoors (the “Low Desert To-Do List” for my garden) twice a month.
When you join “Growing in the Garden Academy,” you gain access to recordings of all past classes.
Each month, there is a new class with topics chosen by current members of GITG Academy.
I teach in-person classes frequently throughout the Phoenix Area
I offer in-person classes regularly throughout the Phoenix Valley. If you sign up for my monthly newsletter, I first announce my upcoming classes there. In-person gardening classes are always a lot of fun. I love answering questions and want to ensure everyone learns something. We often learn from one another during class.
Upcoming Gardening Classes
(click on the class name to register or get more information)
Are you looking for gardening classes for your organization?
I’m passionate about helping others learn how to garden. Teaching gardening classes is one of my favorite ways to do just that. Whether taught in-person or virtually through “LIVE” online classes, everyone learns together in a fun, relaxed setting.
“I reached out to Angela Judd about teaching gardening classes for the Mesa Public Library after hearing a glowing review of her expertise from another staff member. We set up two classes – Fall Gardening in Arizona and Composting and In-Bed Vermicomposting Basics – to present to the community on two separate nights within a two-week timeframe. The night for Fall Gardening in Arizona was amazing! The library saw a full house of eager gardeners of all levels; wanting tips, tricks, and overall information on how to plant a successful garden in the fall. Angela’s presentation was abundant in advice, covering anything and everything a gardener of any caliber would need. The following week, when she presented her Composting and In-Bed Vermicomposting Basics class, the library again saw a large community of gardeners who were either currently composting and/or vermicomposting or wanting to begin and did not know how to start. Once more, the wealth of knowledge that shined through in Angela’s presentation was seen. With such high praises and a wonderful reception, I can’t wait to have her back at Mesa Public Library for even more classes!”
Brianna Mesa Public Library
In-person gardening classes in the Phoenix valley
Online group gardening classes are available
Online group classes are an excellent option if you don’t live in the Phoenix metropolitan area but would still like gardening classes. The classes are easy to arrange on your platform, or I can set up a class for you using CrowdCast. Live, virtual classes allow everyone to ask questions and participate in real time.
“I reached out to Angela to teach our employees a live, virtual class on composting. Angela was responsive and willing to work with me on how I wanted the class to be done. She did a fantastic job teaching our employees about composting. She had a great deck that she put together, and was happy to answer any questions our employees had.
We recently had Angela back for another live, virtual class teaching us about container gardening and again, she was fantastic! The class was extremely informative, well thought out, and again she was happy to answer all the various questions from our employees. It’s amazing how much she knows about all things gardening! I truly cannot recommend Angela enough; she is a wonderful teacher, great to work with, and we can’t wait to partner with her again in the future!“
Allston Program Manager, Employee Engagement & Community T-Mobile
Is there a topic you would like your audience to learn more about? I’m happy to answer questions and discuss seasonal topics and current gardening trends.
In-studio televised gardening presentation with Arizona Midday“Gardening in Arizona” television segment with Arizona Midday“Fall Gardening in Arizona” television segment with Arizona Midday
Carrots are one of our family’s favorite garden vegetables. We love the flavor of homegrown carrots; there is nothing quite like pulling up a carrot, rinsing it with the hose, and eating it right in the garden. Learn how to grow carrots with these five tips.
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information.
How to Grow Carrots: 5 Tips for Growing Carrots
1. How to grow carrots: Plant carrots from seeds directly in the garden
Sow carrot seeds directly in the garden. Carrot seeds are tiny and notoriously tricky to germinate (see tip #3 for germination tips).
Seed tape makes spacing carrots quick and easy. Carrot seeds are embedded into the tape at correct spacing intervals, requiring less thinning later.
Pelleted seeds are larger and easier to handle; this allows for more consistent spacing.
Do not purchase carrot transplants. Carrot roots do not like to be transplanted.
Seed vendors offer carrot colors like purple, white, red, yellow, and orange. Home gardeners can also choose from many shapes and sizes.
Danvers varieties are sweet, crisp, full-flavored, and easy for the home gardener to grow. Best for eating fresh and shorter storage.
Imperator varieties have less flavor but store well. (This is the variety commonly found in grocery stores.)
Chantenay varieties are good all-purpose carrots that can handle heavy soils.
Nantes types are best for fresh eating, often considered the sweetest and most tender type of carrots.
2. Learn how to grow carrots and take advantage of the long planting season for growing carrots
Start carrot seeds outside 3-5 weeks before the last spring frost. Many locations often have an additional planting in mid to late summer. Check local planting guides for when you can plant.
Plant carrots from September 15 through March in the low desert of Arizona. Carrots are one of my favorite parts of fall gardening.
Plant carrot seeds when soil temperatures are between 45°F – 85°F.
Carrots taste best when they mature in cool soil (under 70°F / 21°C).
Choose an area with sandy, well-drained soil that is free from stones and fresh manure. Rake and smooth the bed carefully before planting. Carrots also grow well in containers.
Thinly sow seeds ¼ inch deep.
Plant carrots every 3 weeks for a continual harvest.
3. Carrots need consistent moisture to sprout and grow
After planting, soil must be kept moist for 10 days. Spray lightly twice a day in very sunny weather. Seeds will not germinate if they dry out.
During hot weather, cover the planted seeds with burlap to keep the seeds moist. Remove the burlap once sprouts appear.
Once seeds have sprouted, regular watering helps them grow quickly and continuously.
Watch the video below for a quick tip for germinating carrot seeds.
4. Thin carrot seedlings for larger carrots
Thinning the carrots ensures each carrot has enough room to reach mature size.
Two weeks after the plants germinate, thin any carrots that touch each other.
In another two weeks, thin carrots to 2 or 3 inches apart.
Use scissors to cut off young seedlings rather than pulling them by hand.
5. Harvest and store carrots correctly
Harvest the largest carrots first to give the smaller carrots room to develop. Fully-developed carrots will have a bit of blunting at the end of the tip and have good flavor.
If you aren’t sure if carrots are ready to harvest, remove soil from around the tops of the carrot roots. Harvest carrots when tops are about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter. The top may begin to “pop” out of the soil.
Leave carrots in the ground until ready to eat, but harvest carrots before the summer heat if you live in very hot places like Arizona. (The heat can turn them bitter.)
A tip to remember — the shorter variety carrots are best eaten fresh, while longer carrots are more suited to storing.
Carrots store best if you clip the foliage, leaving about 1 inch of stem. Leaving the greens on the carrots draws moisture out of them, causing limp carrots.
Let washed carrots air dry before storing them in the refrigerator. Store them in a sealed ziplock-style bag, and they will last for months.
When ready to use harvested carrots, scrub, but don’t peel them! Many vitamins are in the skin or close to the surface.
Chamomile’s daisy-like flowers are a beautiful and practical addition to your garden. Roman and German chamomile are two common types of this popular herb. Learn the differences between the two types and how to grow chamomile with these five tips.
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information.
5 Tips for How to Grow Chamomile
1. Understand the differences between German and Roman Chamomile
German and Roman chamomile have many similarities but also a few key differences:
2. Plant chamomile correctly and at the right time.
German chamomile does best started from transplants. Plant German chamomile after last spring frost date.
Roman chamomile does best started from transplants. Plant Roman chamomile when soil temperatures reach 45°F.
Space both types of plants 8 inches – 12 inches apart.
If growing from seed, scatter chamomile seeds and lightly cover them with dirt. Keep soil moist until the seeds sprout. Thin to groups of 2 or 3 plants about 8 inches apart.
Chamomile grows in full sun, but needs partial shade while roots are getting established.
Plant 1-2 chamomile plants per square foot for square foot gardening.
Flowers to Plant Outside & Seeds to Start Indoors Each Month in the Low Desert of Arizona. • PLANTING GUIDE: Each month lists annual flowers and bulbs to plant outside & seeds to start indoors. • BLOOMING GUIDE: Photos show what may be in bloom that month.
Growing strawberries is a great way to add fresh fruit to your home garden, and it couldn’t be easier.
The first step in enjoying home-grown strawberries is learning what it takes to care for the plants year after year.
I’ve designed this detailed guide to teach you all about how to grow strawberries. I’ve included information on everything from water, sunlight, soil, and fertilizer, to pruning, harvesting, managing pests, and much more.
Strawberries growing on a plant in my garden
Quick Strawberry Plant Care Overview
Scientific name:
Fragaria x anannassa
Classification:
Fruit
Common names:
Strawberry
Hardiness:
Zones 3-10
Temperature:
40-80°F (4.4-26.6°C)
Flowers:
White, pink, or yellow, blooms spring-summer
Light:
Full sun to light afternoon shade
Water:
Keep soil evenly moist, do not overwater
Humidity:
Average
Fertilizer:
Fruiting plant food spring-summer
Soil:
Rich, fertile, well-draining
Common pests:
Slugs, weevils, beetles, fruit flies, thrips, birds, rodents
Information About Strawberries
Strawberries (Fragaria x anannassa) are a cold hardy, fruit-bearing perennial that’s native to South America.
They are known for their thick green foliage and red, sweet fruits, and they make a lovely ground cover. The oval-shaped, fuzzy, serrated leaves and flowers grow on thin stems.
Blossoms typically appear in the spring and are most commonly white, but can also be pink or yellow.
They’re prolific spreaders that can quickly fill up a flower bed or container. After fruiting, they send out runners, or tendrils, that will develop into new ‘daughter’ plants wherever they touch the ground.
Different Types
There are three main categories of strawberry plants, and each has many varieties with subtle differences in temperature tolerance, disease resistance, and more.
Start by choosing the type you’d like to grow, then select the proper cultivar for your climate and garden.
June-bearing – This type is known for a prolific once-per-year harvest of large, sweet berries. It sets fruit in early to mid-summer and the harvest lasts about 3 weeks. Popular varieties include the Jewel, Honeoye, Allstar, and Cavendish.
Everbearing – This one can produce throughout the entire season, but usually has two main fruiting periods: the first in late spring and the second in early fall. They tend to have fewer runners and smaller fruits, but there are more cold-hardy options. Popular cultivars include Ogallala, Fort Laramie, and Quinault.
Day-neutral – These plants produce fruit consistently throughout the growing season from spring through fall. They can produce a large yield overall, but each harvest is generally fairly small. Look for the Seascape, Alpine, or Tribute varieties to try.
Two types of strawberries growing together
Hardiness
Strawberries are perennials in most zones. The exact hardiness range depends on the variety, but anyone in zones 3-10 can grow them.
The plants prefer a cool environment, and will struggle in the heat – especially in hot, dry climates. So if you live in a warmer region, make sure yours gets afternoon shade and regular waterings.
How Do Strawberries Grow?
Strawberries grow from self-fertile flowers after they’re pollinated by bees, insects, or the wind. The tiny fruits start out yellow or green, fade to white, and then become deep red when they’re fully ripe.
The fruits will begin to form in the center of the flower shortly after pollination, and it takes about 4 weeks before they’re fully ripe.
More blooms will continue developing, even as the strawberries begin to ripen. So check back daily to pick the mature ones, which can help encourage the plant to keep producing more.
Before discussing the proper care, we should talk about where and when to grow your strawberries first. The right timing and location are critical to a bountiful yearly harvest.
Where To Grow
The best location for your strawberries is somewhere that gets full sun and has fertile, well-draining soil.
Make sure to leave 8-12” of space between each crown so they have plenty of room to spread. They do great in raised beds and containers too, which makes them easier to control.
When To Plant
Plant your strawberries when it’s consistently above 40°F (4.4°C), or as soon as the ground is workable in early spring.
Ensure the crown sits just above the soil line. Planting them too deep can lead to rot, but if they’re too high the roots can end up drying out.
Raised bed filled with strawberry plants
Strawberry Plant Care & Growing Instructions
Now that you have the perfect growing location picked out, it’s time to talk about how to care for your strawberries. My tips below will help make them a simple and prolific addition to your garden.
Sunlight
Strawberries need a minimum of 8-10 hours of full sun daily. Too much shade can inhibit growth, flowering, and fruiting.
If, however, it regularly gets above 85°F (29.4°C) in the summer where you live, use a shade cloth to protect your plants from the intense afternoon sun to prevent wilting.
Water
Strawberries like even and consistent moisture, and do not like to be over or under-watered. Aim to provide at least 1” per week from spring through fall.
You’ll need to irrigate more when your plant is blooming, sending out runners, and during the late fall when it stores energy for winter. If you have trouble getting the amount right, a moisture gauge is a useful tool that can help.
Always water near the base of the plant to avoid splashing soil or moisture sitting on the leaves, both of which can lead to disease or fungal problems.
Strawberries growing in pots
Temperature
Strawberries grow best when it’s between 60-80°F (15.5-26.6°C). The foliage will begin to go dormant at around 35°F (1.6°C) or lower.
If it gets colder than that where you live, cover the crowns with a 4-6” layer of mulch, such as shredded leaves or clean hay, to protect them from extreme winter weather.
High heat can quickly wilt the foliage, cause flowers to drop off, and damage existing fruits. So provide shade during the afternoon if it’s going to be above 85°F (29.4°C) for an extended period of time.
Fertilizer
Regular feedings of an all-purpose or fruiting plant fertilizer are a great way to help maintain the soil nutrients in your strawberry patch.
Start applying liquid options, like compost tea or fish emulsion, in early spring once you see new growth, and repeat every 2-4 weeks through the end of summer.
If you prefer, you can apply slow-release granules or side-dress with compost or well-rotted manure in the spring and summer.
Soil
Strawberries grow best in a rich, well-draining, and slightly acidic medium with a pH of 5.5-6.8, which you can check with a soil probe.
Amend garden beds with compost or well-rotted manure to help improve fertility and drainage. For containers, choose a loamy, rich, high-quality potting soil.
Pruning is a key part of long-lasting health, pest management, and controlling the runners. Strawberries are prolific spreaders but, though they can multiply and grow quickly, they’re easy to manage.
So trim off any offshoots you don’t want with clean, sharp precision pruners as needed to prevent them from overtaking your garden.
Once the foliage starts to die back in the fall, remove all of the dead leaves. This helps prepare them for winter, and rejuvenates them for new growth in the spring.
Pest Control Tips
Unfortunately, many bugs and animals enjoy the sweet taste of strawberries as much as we do. Weevils, slugs, thrips, spotted wing drosophila, rodents, and birds are some of the most common offenders.
The best method of control is prevention. Keep your plants clear of debris from old leaves, dying foliage, fallen or rotten fruit, weeds, and old mulch. An insecticidal soap, slug bait, or diatomaceous earth can also help to control bugs.
For animal pests, bird netting or row covers are helpful, but wait until after flowering to apply them, or they can inhibit pollination.
Disease Control Tips
Strawberries are prone to several diseases and fungi, such as leaf spot viruses, powdery mildew, gray mold, root and crown rot, and verticillium wilt.
Discolored or spotted leaves, misshapen fruit, gray or white furry growth, or soft, brown rotting stems and fruit are signs that your plant may be infected. While a fungicide may help slow the spread, prevention is key.
Keep the ground between your plants covered with clean mulch and clear of dead or rotting foliage or debris. Prune them regularly to maintain air circulation, and always water properly to prevent moisture from sitting on the leaves.
Tips For Harvesting Strawberries
Wait until the fruits are entirely red before harvesting them. Don’t pick any with white edges, shoulder, or tips. But do not leave fully ripe ones on the plant for too long, or they could begin to rot or attract pests.
The exact timing and duration of your harvest will depend on the type of strawberries you grow. Look for red fruits in early to mid-summer, or about 4 weeks to one month after flowering starts.
Use clean, sharp micro-snips to cut the ripe strawberries from the stems just above the leaves, as pulling them off can damage the crown. Store your crop unwashed in the fridge for the longest shelf life.
Strawberries are easy to grow once you understand what they need, but there are several common issues that you may face. Use these tips to help get your plants back on track.
Wilted Leaves & Stems
High temperatures, overwatering, root rot, and drought are common causes of wilting and limp foliage.
Give your plant shade in the afternoon when it gets above 85°F (29.4°C). Ensure the soil is consistently moist and not soggy, but never leave it bone-dry for extended periods.
Brown Leaves
Improper watering, disease, pests, high temperatures, or too much fertilizer could all be causes of brown leaves on your strawberries.
Keep the soil moist without leaving the plants in standing water. Provide shade in the afternoon during high heat, and reduce how often you’re fertilizing, or try diluting the dose.
Soft, Mushy Fruit
Over-ripened strawberries, wet growing conditions, or diseases can all lead to mushy fruit.
Pick them as soon as they’re red, maintain proper air circulation with consistent pruning, and irrigate at the base of the plant rather than overhead.
Holes in Fruit
Large holes or chunks missing in your strawberry leaves or fruits are a sign of bugs, birds, or rodents feasting on them.
Apply a bird net or row covers to deter animals, and regularly clean the area around the plants to reduce areas for bugs to hide.
Spotted Leaves
Many forms of leaf spot disease can affect your strawberries. They cause red, orange, purple, black, or brown spots to appear on discolored leaves. It may look bad, but it’s not usually harmful to the fruit.
Proper watering and plant maintenance are the keys to keeping them healthy. Once affected, prune away any damaged fruit or foliage and apply an organic fungicide to prevent the spread.
Dry brown strawberry plant leaves
FAQs
How long does it take for a strawberry plant to produce fruit?
A strawberry plant can produce fruit in the first year of growth. Once bees or wind pollinate the flowers, it takes about 4 weeks for the fruits to fully ripen.
Are strawberries easy to grow?
Strawberries are easy to grow in the right environment. Choose a variety that’s hardy in your zone and plant it in a full sun area with rich, fertile, and slightly acidic soil. Keep them evenly moist, water at the base to prevent soil-borne diseases, and trim them regularly for the best success.
Do strawberry plants come back every year?
Yes, strawberry plants come back every year in growing zones 3-10. They typically bear fruit for 3-5 years, with reduced yields as they age. Allow runners to root and produce new plants annually to replace older ones.
Do strawberry plants spread?
Yes, strawberry plants spread via runners. They send out rooting tendrils after fruiting has finished. June-bearing types produce the most runners, but all varieties can spread this way.
If you’d like to learn how to make the most of your space and get as much homegrown food as possible, then my Vertical Vegetables book is perfect! It will teach you all you need to know, has tons of gorgeous photos, and includes 23 DIY projects you can build for your own garden. Order your copy today!
Impatiens flowers are like jewels in the garden. They bloom reliably and for a long time in vibrant, colorful hues. Some thrive in shady areas, and others shine brightest in full sun.
They’re low maintenance and the plants are covered in flowers, with some species blooming from spring through fall. There are types perfect for hanging baskets, containers, or garden beds.
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
The only downside is if you want dozens of plants like I do, it’s going to eventually hurt your wallet.
Even if you buy the cheapest annuals in the clearance aisle, the cost will add up if you want lots of them. So what to do? Start your impatiens from seed! Seed packets are the most affordable way to get these annuals started in your garden.
No matter the species you want to fill your garden with, you can start the seeds in the same way.
Here are the steps of the process that we’ll go over:
Impatient to start? Gather those supplies and let’s start digging in.
When to Sow
You can direct sow impatiens seeds outdoors if you want, but you’ll have more success if you start them indoors, as it gives you more control over the growing environment and the process.
Plus, you can give them a headstart when the weather is still cold and miserable outside.
Impatiens can’t survive a freeze. So if you intend to start them outdoors, you would need to do so after the last predicted frost and when the soil temperature is around 75°F. That’s the soil, not the air temperature.
Otherwise, start them indoors and put those pots or containers onto a heat mat to keep them nice and toasty.
Maintaining the right temperature is key. If you don’t, the seeds will take too long to germinate, and they’ll likely rot before they can even get started.
Impatiens are slow and can take two or three weeks to germinate. After germination, you need about four to eight weeks for the seedlings to grow large enough to transplant outside. So you’ll need to sow the seeds indoors about 11 or so weeks before you intend to plant.
Count back from the last predicted frost date in your area to figure out when to start the process. If the last predicted frost in your area is the end of April, then you should plan to sow in early February.
Preparation
It’s easiest to sow in a tray or cells, but you can also use individual pots if you like. If you go that route, use a small container that’s about four inches in diameter. I prefer to use a plug tray.
I recently discovered iHORT’s QPlug Propagation Kit, and it’s a game changer for my propagation projects.
It comes with a plug tray and an outer tray to catch the draining water. It also has pre-drilled plugs made of coconut coir, sphagnum peat moss, and coconut shell.
Whatever you use, it should be clean and have drainage holes for the water to exit.
Place your pots or trays on a heating mat. If you aren’t using a plug system like the one above, grab yourself some seed-starting medium and fill your trays or containers.
Since you’re starting indoors, you’ll need to place grow lights about four to six inches away from the seedlings once they emerge.
The plants need about 12 hours of bright, indirect light, so if you can’t provide that from a window, you’ll need supplemental lighting.
It’s easiest to moisten the seeding medium in advance of sowing. You can either soak the soil with a spray bottle or set the containers in water to soak up the moisture from below.
If you wish to direct sow outdoors, work some well-rotted compost into the soil and sow them after the last frost or if you live in a frost-free area, in early February. Just make sure that the soil has warmed up to 75°F.
Sow Your Seeds
The timing is right, and the area is prepared – it’s time to sow those impatiens seeds!
Impatiens seeds are tiny, so handling them can be a bit of a challenge. You can either sprinkle them on the surface of the soil, use a moistening toothpick, or get yourself a seed sower.
I have been singing the praises of seed sowers ever since I received one as a gift. I typically do my best to sprinkle them evenly, but you know how hard it can be, they clump and fall too close together as you sprinkle them out of your hand or the packet.
A seed sower makes the job super easy, and it has saved me from wasting a ton of seeds and then having to do the thinning work later on after they germinate.
Place two seeds next to each other and set the groups about an inch apart. Press them into the surface of the soil, but don’t bury them as they need light to germinate.
Set a piece of glass or plastic over the trays to help retain the moisture while the germination magic happens. Keep the medium around 75°F by setting your heat mat to the appropriate temperature.
The soil needs to remain moist but not soaking wet while you wait for germination. Remove the cover and use a spray bottle to mist the potting medium so you don’t dislodge the seeds.
Remove the cover when they germinate and thin the seedlings to about four inches apart. Remember, you have to be patient with Impatiens species – it can take weeks for germination.
Continue to care for the seedlings by keeping the soil evenly moist until they have two true leaves.
Transplanting
When the seedlings have two true leaves and all risk of frost has passed, it’s time to transplant.
Impatiens need to be slowly exposed to the outdoors. Give them a day in a shady spot before moving them to the area where you’ll be growing them.
Leave them there for an hour and then put them back in the shade. The following day, give them two hours in the new location before moving them back to full shade.
Keep adding an hour each day until a week has passed. Now, you can put the seedlings into the ground or your chosen container if you’re going that route.
Prepare your planting site by working in lots of well-rotted compost into the soil, then dig holes twice as wide and the same depth as the plugs or containers the seedlings are currently growing in.
Gently remove the seedlings from their containers and place them in the holes you have prepared. Backfill with soil and water in well.
If you want to give harvesting and planting your own seeds a go, the process is a blast. Honestly, I go out and pop the seeds of my plants just for fun. It’s the little things in life, right?
Impatiens use what is known as “ballistic dispersal” to send their seeds far and wide. When ripe, the pods burst open in explosive dehiscence, sending the seeds several feet away from the plant.
If you want to catch the seeds before the pods burst, look for a pod that is full and plump but hasn’t split open yet. Gently lower a clear plastic bag over the top of it and turn it upside down. Pinch off the pod, keeping the plastic bag in place in case it bursts.
When they’re really ripe, the slightest touch will cause the pods to burst, and they shoot out harder than you might expect.
I’ve been hit in the eye and shot in the cheek, and both times it left a mark! That’s why you want the bag around the pod when you touch it, otherwise, the seeds might go anywhere.
Not all harvested seeds will grow true to the parent plant, so it’s best to purchase them if you want to be very certain about what you’re growing.
You can purchase them at many retailers, including places like Burpee.
Or grab a 50-milligram packet of Midnight Blend in vibrant red, burgundy, wine, lavender, raspberry, lilac, fuchsia, and pure red, available at Botanical Interests.
If you prefer the tall plants and big blossoms of balsam impatiens (I. balsamina), you can find a gram, ounce, or four-ounce packet at True Leaf Market.
Your Patience Is Going to Pay Off
If there’s something more satisfying than starting a big, healthy plant from a teeny, tiny seed, I don’t know what it is.
You started with a tiny nugget, and now you’re enjoying bounteous blossoms. It’s like alchemy. So long as you keep them warm and moist enough, these plants are pretty easy to propagate.
Which species are you starting? Have you run into any trouble with the process? Let us know what’s going on in the comments section below and we’ll help you sort it out.
Here at Gardenista, we love a good podcast, but niche-topic shows are often hard to find. With no designated categories for “home” or “design”—let alone “gardening”—on the major podcast platforms, it can be tricky to discover garden voices. So, we searched the streaming platforms and queried our community to find out what plant-obsessed podcasts we should be listening to. Below you’ll find eight garden podcasts that either the Gardenista team loves or are recommended by trusted friends and colleagues. But this is by no means a definitive list: As new shows launch (and we hope they will!) and as we discover others, we’ll plan to add them to our faves. Leave a comment below if we left out your favorite garden podcast.
Perhaps the original garden podcast, Margaret Roach’s “A Way to Garden With Margaret Roach” is a 25-minute public-radio program that airs weekly on Connecticut’s Robin Hood Radio and as a podcast on all the major platforms. Each week Margaret hosts a garden expert to discuss a seasonally-relevant topic. Over the 14 years it has been on the air, the show has won three silver medals from the Garden Writers Association of America.
Another public radio co-production (this one with North State Public radio), garden writer Jennifer Jewell’s “Cultivating Place” is less concerned with the daily activities of the garden, but rather “how and why we garden—what we mean when we garden.” Jennifer goes deep with her guests in every episode, and always leaves us with new ideas to consider. (For a review of her latest book, see Required Reading: ‘What We Sow’ by Jennifer Jewell.)
Jewell recommends this podcast from the Pacific Horticulture Society about “innovative thinkers contributing to a climate-resilient future through the power of gardens.” Jewell says, “I like how hard this podcast leans, with heart, into the academic “hard” sciences.” The podcast focusses on how gardens and gardeners can bfoster climate resilience and become leaders in the effort to slow climate change.
Above: The last time we rounded up our favorite podcasts was in 2017. Photograph by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista, from The Best Garden Podcasts of 2017.
This show aims to show home gardeners how they can make their yards and gardens healthier and more sustainable. Produced in collaboration with the Berkshire Botanic Garden, the “Growing Greener” host Tom Christopher, a garden designer and writer, interviews gardening experts who are also leaders in working in harmony with nature.
Growing Greener’s Christopher confessed that he is not much of a podcast listener himself, but he does enjoy episodes of “The Native Plant Podcast,” a multi-host effort that publishes episodes sporadically. The hosts, who originally connected at the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference, liken themselves to a “garage band,” but Christopher says the relaxed, conversational tone is exactly what he likes about the show. The Native Plant Podvast had some of the leading native plant experts on the show, so there’s lots in the archive between new posts.
The podcast from Gardens Illustrated magazine asks its guests, “If you could create your dream garden from pieces of all of your favorite places, and if you could grow any plants in the world, what would you choose?” Despite the predictable format, garden designer Susan Nock told us that “it elicits super varying answers, and the host follows the guest’s lead and has really lovely conversations about their work and ideas.” Because this show is idea-based, it’s a fun listen for gardeners in different growing areas–not just the U.K.
Another podcast from a magazine, “Let’s Argue About Plants” is hosted by editors Danielle Sherry and Carol Collins of Fine Gardening. Plant nerds, this one’s for you: Sherry and Collins talk exclusively about plants and host horticultural pros, who “offer their wisdom and opinions about what you might want to grow in your garden.”
A promising newcomer, this podcast is hosted by author and houseplant expert Hilton Carter and his colleague Mollie Lee. After dabbling in podcasts in 2020, Carter has leaned into the medium with this new, weekly show. In addition to the conversations between Carter and Lee, they plan to sprinkle in guest features with plant community personalities, designers, and creatives, in general.
Today we’re in Redding, California, visiting with Carol Cowee.
Here’s how it started—bare ground that would become the new rose garden.
The soil was compacted, horrible red, rocky dirt. It took two men three hours to dig/chisel just 10 holes!
All that hard work paid off. Here is the rose garden at three years old.
A huge climbing rose, ‘Mme Isaac Pereire’, grows up a huge arbor made of chain-link fence posts. ‘Mme Isaac Pereire’ is an old rose in the bourbon group with incredible fragrant flowers.
A wildfire in 2018 destroyed 170 roses and the house. It was heartbreaking to see those burnt stems, which had been covered with fragrant flowers.
But there are survivors. Carol’s childhood wagon, made by her father, managed to survive the fire, and Carol found three baby cacti under the burned mother plants. Here is the cactus in full bloom; the little plant produced 35 blossoms.
A gorgeous, massive red lily (Lilium hybrid, Oriental group, Zones 4–9) is growing strong despite being in a small pot, and it blooms heavily in July when it’s 105°F daily.
A perfect rose is highlighted in a water bowl.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
People often think about how the weather will affect them. What should they wear to be comfortable throughout the day? Will their game get rained out? As climate change ramps up, extreme weather and temperature changes can significantly affect your home as well.
Fluctuating temperatures cause residential damage if you’re unprepared. Here are essential things to look out for when the weather changes and how to properly weatherize your house.
Impacts of Fluctuating Temperatures on Your Home
In recent years, climate change has induced unpredictable weather conditions, from downright hot January days in Pennsylvania to below-freezing temperatures in the southern states. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, December 2023 was about 10 degrees Fahrenheit above average in the Great Plains. Abnormal temperatures also occurred for much of the nation in the new year.
Cold or hot temperatures may not affect you much if you stay indoors — simply turn up the heat or lower the air conditioning. However, over time, fluctuations in temperature can do the following to your home:
Create cracks in the foundation, leading to structural problems and water damage
Warping walls and floors with high temperatures and indoor moisture
Mold and mildew growth
Pest infestations
Strains on your HVAC and air conditioning systems
Reduce roof life spans and leaks
Freezing and burst pipes
For instance, Charleston, South Carolina, endured a cold front over Christmas 2023, leading to frozen and burst pipes across the city. Utilities responded to over 400 leaks per day immediately after the event, as temperatures began creeping up to the usual winter range.
7 Ways to Protect Your House From Fluctuating Weather
Inclement weather and fluctuating temperatures are out of your control. However, protecting your home is not. Here are seven ways you can weatherize your house and stop temperature-related problems in their tracks.
Schedule Annual Inspections and Repairs
Your roof, chimney, HVAC, water heater, septic, foundation and pool should all undergo occasional inspections and maintenance — some every year. You’ll especially want to check your roof regularly for damage and leaks if it’s over five years old and you live somewhere with unpredictable weather, heavy precipitation and wind.
Professional inspectors will check your home for signs of trouble, allowing you to stay ahead of potential problems and correct them before they cause significant and costly damage.
You should also inspect your roof from the ground during irregular temperatures. Freezing precipitation leads to the creation of ice dams, which may impair shingles and gutters, leaking water into your attic.
Adding weatherstripping to windows and doors will keep warm air inside and cold air outside. It also creates a sufficient seal to protect your home from rain and wind.
Weatherstripping is a DIY project you can complete in a weekend. In fact, you can buy weatherstripping kits with easy application instructions — such as adhesive foam — from the hardware store.
Caulk may be a more appropriate weatherproofing technique for stationary items like window or door frames.
If your home’s insulation is old or insufficient, adding new insulation can help protect it from extreme weather changes. Insulation improves circulation by closing air leaks, keeping your home warm in the winter and cool during the summer. Insulation also lessens the strain on your HVAC system, improves its performance and prolongs its life span.
Quality insulation — especially in the basement, crawl spaces, attics, walls and floors — will ensure proper indoor humidity, preventing condensation. Air moisture and wetter conditions encourage warping and mold.
The type of insulation you use depends on your climate, budget, where you plan to apply it and if you intend to add it yourself or hire someone. Spray foam and fiberglass insulation are most commonly found in homes.
Prepare Pipes for Cold Weather
When outdoor temperatures reach 20 degrees or below, you usually need to worry about frozen pipes — especially if you live in the south, where pipes get installed differently.
Never set your thermostat below 55 degrees when under a deep freeze warning. Also, it is best to allow faucets to drip to avoid freezing. Insulating pipes and faucet covers are other practical ways to maintain adequate plumbing temperature throughout the house.
If a pipe bursts, leaks water and refreezes, it can cause thousands of dollars in damages. Likewise, water leaks can turn to mold and mildew, affecting your household’s health.
Protect the Foundation With Landscaping
You can protect your home’s foundation from fluctuating temperatures by sprucing up the landscaping. Creating garden beds along the perimeter of your home insulates the structure during the hottest and coldest seasons.
You should avoid planting bushes and other ground cover directly against the siding. Many plants grow quickly and take up the necessary space anyway. Deciduous trees can also offer shade in the summer heat and allow warmth to enter your home through windows in the winter.
Winterizing shrubs with a plastic tarp protects them from frost and creates a greenhouse effect, locking in heat and warming the ground surrounding your home.
Scientists believe termite habitats could increase by 30.2% as global temperatures rise from climate change. This poses a significant risk to a home with wood decay. Of course, other types of pests may also infest your home amid fluctuating weather conditions.
If you notice feces resembling coffee grounds or sawdust, it could mean you have termites. They especially like to conceal themselves in dry wood in attics, eaves, cabinets and furniture. Mice, rats, squirrels and raccoons may also make themselves at home to get out of the freezing temperatures.
Call an extermination company immediately if you detect household pest infestations. Whether it’s termites, rodents or another unwelcome critter, an exterminator can address and manage the issue before your home undergoes severe damage.
Upgrade HVAC for Energy Efficiency
Installing a programmable thermostat will improve your home’s energy efficiency and indoor comfort while helping you save money on utility bills. It’ll also ensure your indoor temperature remains sufficient to prevent weather-related damages, like freezing pipes or excessive humidity.
Save up to 10% on heating and cooling costs by decreasing indoor temperatures by 7-10 degrees for eight hours during the day. Ideally, you can save the most energy at 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit while awake and even lower when you’re out of the house or sleeping.
Don’t Let Fluctuating Temperature Ruin Your House
Small changes go a long way in protecting your home from fluctuating temperatures. Investing in weatherization and ensuring your home is adequately sealed makes a significant difference in indoor comfort, prevents damage, and improves your household’s health.
Author Bio
Jack Shaw is a freelance writer specializing in home improvement, gardening, and caring for the outdoors. He’s the senior writer of Modded and has contributed his advice through sites like CAD Details, House 2 Home Organizing, Log Cabin Hub, and more.
Nobody wants to live in an unsafe home – a home where, rather than being comfortable and secure, you’re at risk of injury. Plus, if you’re not the only one living in your home, whether the other residents are family, friends, or pets, you won’t want them to get hurt either.
To avoid issues, you need to take steps to ensure your home is as safe as it can be. If your home is safe, you’ll not only be reducing risk; you’ll also enjoy being there a lot more and you’ll be more relaxed, which in turn can make life happier.
Here are three simple things you can do to get started on making your home safer.
Carry out regular maintenance checks
Something that can make a house unsafe, or at least less safe, is maintenance issues that go unresolved.
It might not seem like too much of a problem to ignore a dripping tap, for example, but that dripping tap could be a symptom of a larger leak that would lead to damage and mould, both of which are potentially dangerous. Or what about a loose floorboard or a piece of carpet, some faulty wiring, damaged foundations, or an out-of-date fire extinguisher… the list goes on.
By fixing these things as soon as you notice them, and by carrying out regular (perhaps monthly) maintenance checks around the home, you can ensure the place is as safe as possible for anyone who lives there or visits.
Fire safety measures
One of the most frightening things that can happen in a home is for a fire to break out. Fires can get out of control very quickly, and the damage they cause can be catastrophic. And of course, a house fire can cause nasty injuries – or worse. That’s why having good fire safety measures in your home is vital.
Some examples of home fire safety measures include fire doors with the right fire door handles, in-date fire extinguishers, fire blankets, a fire exit plan (just in case there’s a fire, this plan means everyone knows how to get out safely and where to meet), and, of course, smoke detectors on every floor.
A first aid kit
No matter how safe and careful you are, accidents can still happen. This fact makes having a good, up-to-date, fully stocked first aid kit in your home a great idea. Having one on the premises means if anything untoward happens, you’ll have everything you need to help the injured person.
Your first aid kit should indlude:
bandages
plasters
dressings
alcohol wipes
tweezers
scissors
disposable gloves
eye wash solution
painkillers
antihistamines
plus anything else you think would be useful to specific members of the household.
The more stocked your first aid kit is, the more help you can be. Of course, you might still need to see a doctor or call an ambulance after an accident, but as the name suggests, a first aid kit can help you provide the initial care when an accident occurs.
Don’t forget to check your first aid kit on a regular basis, and restock it when you’re running low or when something is out of date. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Do you love the idea of carefree grape hyacinths naturalizing in your lawn for pretty waves of colorful spring flowers?
Many perennial spring-flowering bulbs, like Muscari, thrive when planted in grass and easily become well-established, multiplying readily and returning every spring to brighten yards with early color.
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
But they still need to receive the right conditions to flourish, like well-draining soil and full sun.
And it’s important to choose early-flowering varieties so they finish flowering before the lawn mower comes out – trimming the tips is usually okay, but the foliage needs to remain intact to reenergize the bulbs through photosynthesis.
So if you’re ready for a sea of pretty blue, purple, and/or white flowers in your yard, let’s have a look at the steps involved to naturalize grape hyacinths in your lawn.
Here’s what you’ll find ahead:
When to Plant
Grape hyacinths, Muscari spp., are spring flowering perennials that need to be planted in fall for blooms the following spring.
Photo by Lorna Kring.
It’s helpful to wait until autumn rains arrive to provide regular water as the small bulbs can dry out quickly. They need to go into the ground before freezing temperatures render your sod unworkable.
This makes October and November the best time to plant in the Northern Hemisphere, but the exact timing varies depending on your region.
How to Plant
Generally, planting bulbs in lawns for naturalizing is pretty much the same as planting them in garden beds – the difference being you have to work with established turf.
Photo by Lorna Kring.
The simplest method is to choose a full sun location and peel back selected areas of sod in rectangles or squares.
To do this, use a sharp spade or sod lifter to cut through the grass on three sides, cutting to a depth of three inches to clear the roots.
This creates a planting site that’s the ideal depth for these small-sized bulbs.
Once the three sides are cut, lift the sod in one piece and flip it backwards over the fourth side.
If needed, loosen the soil underneath lightly with a cultivator, spade, or trowel.
Scratch in a couple of tablespoons of bone meal for strong, healthy roots then place your bulbs onto the soil. Use one tablespoon of bone meal for each group of five to 10.
For the best visual impact when they are in bloom, plant them in groups of 10, 20, or 30, using all one color or a combination of your favorite shades.
Ensure they’re spaced a couple of inches apart with the root side down – the root side is the flattish bottom part.
Once the bulbs are set, flip the turf back into place and tamp down gently. Water gently to settle in place.
As an alternative to peeling back rectangles of sod, you can create individual pockets in the lawn using a bulb planter, hand trowel, or narrow spade, which is effective for smaller plantings.
Use your selected tool to dig down to a depth of three inches and pull back a small flap of sod and some soil.
A trowel or narrow spade creates a small burrow while a bulb planter pulls out a plug of grass, roots, and soil much like a cookie cutter.
Mix one tablespoon of bone meal into the soil and set the bulbs in place with the flat, root-end down, and spaced a couple of inches apart.
Replace the flap or plug and tamp down gently then water to settle in place.
Muscari often sends up shoots of foliage in autumn and if this occurs, is nothing to be concerned about – they’ll survive winter just fine for spring flowers!
If you need tools for the job, this Burpee Classic Bulb planter, available at Burpee, is made of bend-free stainless steel and features an oak handle. It has a five-year guarantee.
Or you can stand up on the job with a stainless steel model that features a sturdy step and T-handle. It’s available from Walensee via Walmart.
Early Flowering Varieties
As a general rule of thumb for bulbs planted in lawns, you want them to finish flowering about six weeks before your lawn needs to be mowed for the first time.
This is because the foliage needs to capture enough of the sun’s energy through photosynthesis to produce big, healthy bulbs for next year.
Cutting the leaves back too soon typically results in a poor performance in their second year.
The most popular Muscarivarieties come from the species M. armeniacum, but these are mid-season bloomers that usually flower when the grass needs cutting.
To keep the foliage intact for a floriferous second season and beyond, make your selection from the early-flowering varieties.
Beautiful early flowering species include M. azureum, M. botryoides, and M. latifolium, all of which make a good choice for spreading and naturalizing in lawns.
‘Album’ is a gorgeous, pure white M. azureum cultivar that blooms early with a light, fruity fragrance.
You can find blue M. azureum in packets of 20 from Daylily Nursery at Walmart.
M. latifolium species are characterized by two-toned florets, sky blue at the top with deep indigo bottoms that flower in early spring with a light, sweet fragrance.
‘Grape Ice’ is a cultivar of M. latifolium that features fantastic two-tone flowers, white on top with grape purple bottoms that appear in early spring with an airy, sweet scent.
Once your grape hyacinths are planted, they’ll multiply freely and continue naturalizing with no further assistance from you.
As mentioned, the bulbs need to recharge and store energy by absorbing sunlight.
Ideally, the foliage should be left undisturbed until it turns yellow, withers, and dies back on its own – which means no mowing until about six weeks after the plants finish flowering.
You can always mow around the patches of grape hyacinths, but choosing early flowering varieties is an easier, and tidier, solution.
No additional fertilizing is required after flowering but they need regular applications of water during their growing season.
If spring rains are inadequate, provide approximately one inch of water per week. Once they’ve gone dormant, water can be withheld without damaging the bulbs.
Naturalizing readily by offsets and seeds, grape hyacinths add outstanding swaths of blue, purple, white, and bicolored flowers to lawns as they wake up from winter.
In fall, plant multiple bulbs for large drifts by lifting generous sections of turf with a sod lifter, or plant smaller pockets with hand tools like a bulb planter.
Choose early flowering varieties to work with your lawn mowing schedule and keep the plants watered during the growing season, you’ll love how fast these low maintenance beauties multiply and brighten up your yard!
Do you have any questions about how to naturalize grape hyacinths in lawns? Drop us a line in the comments section below.
Starting flowers from seed may not be as popular as vegetables, but they deserve a spot in your seed-starting tray this spring. By growing annuals from seed, you can have a garden full of colour, fragrance, and pollinators at a fraction of the price. Here are the best annual flowers to start from seed.
Seed starting season is here, and I’ve got more than vegetables and herbs on my mind. Annual flowers are a beautiful way to add quick pops of colour to gardening beds, containers, and baskets.
While just a pack or two of annuals doesn’t cost much, their price can quickly add up if you have multiple pots or spaces to fill. But growing flowers from seed isn’t as difficult as you may think.
The trick is to know which annuals from seed to grow. I have a bunch of recommendations for you, including those that are quick to grow, those that can be directly sown, and those that can get started indoors.
Let’s get into my recommendations!
Begonia ‘Unbelievable Miss Montreal’
Fast Growing Flower Seeds
If you have a short growing season, are getting a late start, or simply want some quick-blooming flowers, these annuals from seeds are some of the quickest and easiest to grow.
Traits: vibrant colours, perennial in temperate areas, cutting flower.
Petunia
Petunia spp.
Days to maturity: 6-8 weeks
Timing: start indoors 10-12 weeks before last frost
Sunlight requirements: full sun
Traits: great in containers and baskets, lots of variety in colour and flower types, fast-growing.
Annuals From Seed to Direct Sow
Many annual flowers can easily be started from seed and enjoyed that same year. Sow these flowers directly in your garden outdoors in the spring and watch them bloom in no time!
Spider Flower
Cleome spp.
Days to maturity: 10-11 weeks
Timing: direct sow 3-4 weeks after last frost
Sunlight requirements: full sun
Traits: exotic looking flowers, attracts beneficial insects and hummingbirds.
Purple Hyacinth Bean
Lablab purpureus
Days to maturity: 12-13 weeks
Timing: direct sow after the danger of frost has passed
Sunlight requirements: full sun
Traits: vining plant, fast growth, showy seed pods.
Here are some other great annuals from seed to start indoors before the growing season. They have longer growing times to reach maturity and need a head start indoors.
Ageratum
Ageratum houstonianum
Days to maturity: 8-10 weeks
Timing: begin indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost
Sunlight requirements: full sun to partial shade
Traits: looks good in mass plantings, long bloom period, unique blue colour.
Scabiosa
Scabiosa spp.
Days to maturity: 13-14 weeks
Timing: start seeds indoors 4-5 weeks before the last frost
Timing: start seeds 10-12 weeks indoors before last frost
Sunlight requirements: full sun to partial shade
Traits: edible flower, variety of colours available, cold tolerant and hardy.
Snapdragons
Antirrhinum majus
Days to maturity: 8-12 weeks
Timing: start seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before planting after last frost
Sunlight requirements: full sun to partial shade
Traits: available in a wide range of colours, cutting flower.
Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Flowers From Seed
What is the best time to plant flower seeds?
Some annuals from seed require cold stratification to grow. This means it’s typically best to plant them while there is still a chance of frost or in autumn.
Otherwise, most seeds are best planted after the threat of frost has passed or started indoors. Most seed packets will tell you when to start the seeds. For an early start, many gardeners can begin starting seeds 6-8 weeks before the last frost.
How do you start a flower from a seed?
When seed-starting flowers indoors, you’ll want a good quality seed-starting soil mix. You can use many household items as seed starting containers, such as egg cartons or toilet paper tubes.
Moisture is necessary for the seeds to germinate. Keeping the soil damp with a greenhouse dome on top will keep the environment humid. Once the seeds have germinated, they will need lots of sunlight either from a sunny windowsill or a grow light.
For more detailed information on starting seeds indoors, view this post.
What are the easiest flowers to grow from seed?
If you’re looking for easy, then look for annuals from seed that you can directly sow. Beyond supplemental watering and the usual thinning, they should require less maintenance compared to those that need to be started indoors. If you’re a beginner, avoid starting perennials from seed.
Should I sow flower seeds directly?
Direct sowing is the easiest way to grow flowers from seed, but not all flowers are well suited for it. Avoid direct sowing if the seed requires high soil temperatures to germinate or requires a long time to reach maturity.
On the other hand, some flowers don’t like to be transplanted and are best to be only directly sown. Most seed packets should advise on whether or not to direct sow or begin seeds indoors.
Last week we planted about 45lbs of potatoes in the Grocery Row Gardens.
We have another 50lbs of Yukon Golds that need planting, hopefully this week. Those will be planted in a dedicated potato area.
One of the things I love about Grocery Row Gardening is that it’s a big patchwork space where you can fit bits and pieces into the gaps. At this time of year, there are a lot of gaps!
Potatoes are the first crop we plant since they like cooler weather and don’t die easily during frosts.
In order to plant potatoes, we first cut up our seed potatoes, leaving at least an eye or two on each piece. Then we let them sit out for a day or so to dry a little bit.
Then we pull back the mulch in the Grocery Row Gardens and dig a roughly 5″ deep hole for each piece.
We plant them in the soil:
And we leave the mulch pulled back so they can sprout up through the soil.
In that picture you can see the potato “pockets” in the mulch, alongside the trunk of a dormant mulberry tree.
There are all kinds of things sleeping in the rows right now, from dormant gingers to sugarcane cuttings. We just plant around them as best as we can. Yes, we hit occasional roots and do some damage, but it’s nothing catastrophic. After a few hard freezes, a lot of things have died down to their roots and disappeared. Some of them will no doubt be competing with potatoes when they come back in a couple of months, but that’s okay. It’s rather like a crowded forest edge. We don’t need everything to produce at 100%. Our overall yields will be good, even if some plants aren’t as happy as they would be when isolated. And the additional benefit of less pest pressure due to planting in a polyculture also helps yields.
Finally, potatoes give you a quick yield when planted in the midst of your long-term perennial crops. We’ll probably get about 200-250lbs of potatoes from this planting. Other crops that work well in the Grocery Row Gardens to give you large yields in a short period include turnips, daikons, sweet potatoes, watermelons and cucumbers. They can easily fit into the gaps between perennials and provide a substantial weight yield.
You can see us planting potatoes and how this all works in the Grocery Row Gardening from Scratch presentation we filmed over a few months last spring.
There you can see some friends and I putting in a brand-new Grocery Row Garden and getting yields in a very short period of time.
I need to go back this spring and film an update – it’s really done beautifully.
Unloved and perhaps perceived as unlovely, quinces are a curiosity for many cooks who did not grow up with the fragrant fruit. Like apples, they ripen in fall, and come to market at the same time. Unlike apples, they remain an enigma. Chefs might pounce on them, and anyone with quince-eating cultural roots will scoop them up with delight. Owls and pussy cats like them (eaten with a “runcible” spoon). But often, quinces sold in the US languish. Pick up a fruit, and breathe it in. It is intoxicatingly aromatic, and its floral scent translates into flavor when it is cooked. Raw, quinces can be eaten as a lightly spiced sambal.
Above: Pale yellow or light green, quinces resemble bumpy apples, and are sometimes covered in soft fuzz.
Uncooked, quinces are dense and difficult to slice, and their flavor is astringent. Salting the raw, grated fruit tames its tannins, while cooking makes quinces versatile enough to be eaten as a dessert, a preserve, a jelly (like membrillo), or as a savory addition to North African tagines and other meaty dishes. Cooked quinces’ flavor is gently apple-like, and their scent somehow conveyed in each bite.
Above: Local quinces are sold from fall through late winter.
Originating somewhere around Western Asia and the Caucasus, quinces have been cultivated for millennia around the Mediterranean and in the Middle East. Turkey produces the most quinces for export. The fruit I encounter at greenmarkets in New York City are grown in the Hudson Valley, in USDA hardiness zone 6a. Quince trees are hardy down to Zone 5 and have significant cold-tolerance. While the fruit requires summer rainfall, the humid, tropical summers of the Northeast are not ideal. Humidity encourages fungal infections, and cold winters might also see damage to the tree’s early, beautiful blossoms. Cedar apple rust, hosted by Juniperus virginiania (eastern red cedar), and blight are potential issues on this coast. The quince’s happiest place is anywhere with long, hot, dry summers.
Above: A raw quince sambal.
My own quince background belongs to South Africa, where the fruit is associated with the dusty roads of farms in the Karoo and Overberg regions, and where they hang like fat, pale moons on branches bent low by their weight in late summer.
The way quinces are prepared in South Africa is influenced by Cape Malay traditions, centered around Cape Town. This cooking-style is a blend of Dutch colonial cooking and Afro-Asian influences brought to the Dutch colony by enslaved people and political exiles from the East Indies (present-day Indonesia), Southeast Asia, and Madagascar in the 17th and 18th centuries. Quinces in South Africa are typically eaten as a fruit leather, a sweet preserve served in its pink syrup, in a savory bredie (a slow-cooked mutton stew featuring a single, seasonal vegetable), or a sambal (a refreshingly spicy fruit or vegetable condiment).
Above: Quinces at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan in January.
When I find quinces (usually grown by Locust Grove Farms, New York), from fall though winter at greenmarkets, I do two things: Bake them for dessert, with fresh, home-grown bay leaves and foraged juniper, or with fir sugar; and grate up a spicy sambal, whose recipe comes from a cookbook that is also a piece of Africana: Hilda Gerber’s Traditional Cookery of the Cape Malays. It is essentially a transcribed, invaluable oral history, published posthumously from a manuscript Gerber completed in 1949, which was found in her belongings after she died in 1954.
Above: New York quinces atop South African food traditions.
I live in the countryside of northern Minnesota on 8 acres of beautiful soil that was once cattle pasture. Not a rock in sight. I raise chickens, so I use a lot of composted bedding to keep the soil healthy. This garden was started in 1998.
Pink flowers of Primula denticulata (drumstick primrose, Zones 2–7) surround the soft yellow of Erythronium (Zones 4–9) in spring.
A gorgeous peony (Paeonia hybrid, Zones 3–8) is in full bloom in front of a pond. It looks like it might be the classic variety ‘Bowl of Beauty’.
This ruffled Siberian iris (Iris hybrid, Zones 3–8) is stunning. Siberian irises are durable, easy-to-grow plants, and newer hybrids have larger, more ruffled, and more diversely colored blooms than the old standards.
Native to dry spots over pretty much all of eastern North America, prickly pear cactus (Opuntiahumifusa, Zones 4–9) looks cool all year but really shows off when it blooms in early summer.
Asiatic lilies (Lilium hybrids, Zones 4–9) are a group of hybrids that have the widest color range of the genus and are generally easy to grow.
Jackman clematis (Clematis ‘Jackmanii’, Zones 4–8) is a classic old hybrid, first introduced in the mid-1800s, and it is easy to see why it remains popular today. Few plants can match that incredible flower display.
More Asiatic lilies, in every shade of red, are accented with some whites in the back. One lily is beautiful, but a mass of them like this is just incredible.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
It can sometimes seem like lettuce and fungal issues go hand-in-hand.
Both these leafy greens and many nasty fungal pathogens love nothing more than moisture and cool temperatures.
If you’re seeing white spots on your lettuce, it’s usually a safe bet that a pathogen has infected your plants.
But it’s not just fungi that can cause white spots on lettuce leaves.
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
There’s also a pest that strongly resembles a fungal disease and has fooled more than one experienced gardener into thinking that their crop had some sort of disease, when really it was an infestation.
In this article, we’ll help you narrow down the cause of white spots on your lettuce and figure out how to treat the problem so you can get back to enjoying your favorite salad.
If you’re seeing spots, you need to act sooner rather than later, so let’s dig right in and look at the three common issues that cause white spotting on lettuce crops.
1. Downy Mildew
Downy mildew has pretty distinct symptoms.
This disease, caused by the water mold (oomycete) Bremia lactucae, appears as yellow or light green angular spots on the top surface of the leaves.
On the undersides, you’ll find blotches and spots of white fluff.
As the disease progresses, the upper lesions turn brown and dry, and if left unchecked, the leaves might die entirely.
It typically starts on the older leaves and rapidly spreads to new growth. If downy mildew takes hold at the seedling stage, the plant will likely die.
The pathogen attacks all species in the Lactuca genus – and a few other genera, too – and thrives in moist, cool conditions. It spreads via water, so rain, high humidity, and irrigation can send it far and wide through your lettuce patch.
Beyond reducing moisture by watering at the soil level and spacing plants appropriately, you can use a preventative fungicide if the conditions in your garden are conducive to the disease – or you have experienced it before.
Otherwise, it’s best to plant resistant cultivars and there are lots to choose from. The following are just a sampling of cultivars resistant to downy mildew.
‘Adriana’
‘Antonet’
‘Australe’
‘Auvona’
‘Bauer’
‘Blend’
‘Bluerock’
‘Breen’
‘Butterhead’
‘Carlsbad’
‘Cherokee’
‘Conversion’
‘Edox’
‘Elf Ears’
‘Frisygo’
‘Green Star’
‘Gondar’
‘Intred’
‘Milagro’
‘Mottistone’
‘Optima’
‘Powerhouse’
‘Red Cross’
‘Red Rosie’
‘Starfighter’
‘Teodore’
‘Willow’
Note that resistant doesn’t mean immune so if you have a bad outbreak in your garden, even these may become infected.
By the way, I love ‘Optima.’ It’s one of the few cultivars that I have never, not once, had a problem with. It’s a butterhead type that matures in just 52 days.
It starts out looking like someone splattered patches and spots of flour on the leaves, and before you know it, the powdery growth is coating the entire head.
Even worse, as the disease progresses, the leaves might become deformed, dry up, and turn brown.
If you’re seeing these symptoms, it’s likely that your crop is suffering from powdery mildew, a disease caused by the fungus Golovinomyces cichoracearum.
Powdery mildew is distressingly common, and there are a variety of ways to treat it.
From applications of milk to sophisticated fungicides, there are a number of different treatment options which you can read about in our guide.
3. Mealybugs
Wait, what? We’re talking about white spots on lettuce here, not bugs.
Mealybugs are sap-sucking insects in the family Pseudococcidae, and they could easily fool you into thinking your crops were infected with a disease.
Mealybugs are small, somewhat flat, and they move very slowly. So when you go to check out your plant, it looks like white waxy lumps growing on the foliage – but those aren’t lumps, they’re insects.
They can also be slightly yellow or a grayish color, and they generally like to cluster in hidden areas under the leaves, along the stems, or the middle of a rosette.
We usually know they’re around because we see the insects themselves, but they can also cause stunted growth and yellowing as they suck the life out of your leafy greens.
Since it’s the leaves of the plant that we eat and not the fruit it produces, it’s all the more devastating when the foliage develops white spots.
Make sure to monitor your garden regularly to watch for the first sign of any of these issues. If you see them, act fast and you can save your crop.
Are you seeing spots? Which of these dastardly foes are you facing? Are you having trouble figuring things out? Let us know in the comments section blow and we’ll try to help.
And for more information about growing lettuce in your garden, we have a few other guides that you might want to check out next:
Chamomile’s daisy-like flowers are a beautiful and practical addition to your garden. Roman and German chamomile are two common types of this popular herb. Learn the differences between the two types and how to grow chamomile with these five tips.
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information.
5 Tips for How to Grow Chamomile
1. Understand the differences between German and Roman Chamomile
German and Roman chamomile have many similarities but also a few key differences:
2. Plant chamomile correctly and at the right time.
German chamomile does best started from transplants. Plant German chamomile after last spring frost date.
Roman chamomile does best started from transplants. Plant Roman chamomile when soil temperatures reach 45°F.
Space both types of plants 8 inches – 12 inches apart.
If growing from seed, scatter chamomile seeds and lightly cover them with dirt. Keep soil moist until the seeds sprout. Thin to groups of 2 or 3 plants about 8 inches apart.
Chamomile grows in full sun, but needs partial shade while roots are getting established.
Plant 1-2 chamomile plants per square foot for square foot gardening.
Flowers to Plant Outside & Seeds to Start Indoors Each Month in the Low Desert of Arizona. • PLANTING GUIDE: Each month lists annual flowers and bulbs to plant outside & seeds to start indoors. • BLOOMING GUIDE: Photos show what may be in bloom that month.
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), as its name implies, is a shrub with a thorny nature.
It has a number of other common names, including sea berry, sandthorn, and swallowthorn. But if you ask me the best moniker is “Siberian pineapple” – a reference to the plant’s cold hardiness and the flavor of its berries.
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
These little orange berries – called sea berries – have made sea buckthorn popular thanks to their “superfruit” status.
The berries are commonly found in baked goods and cosmetic products across North America, but sea buckthorn is still not a familiar sight in home gardens.
In this guide we’ll discuss how to grow sea buckthorn. Here’s what I’ll cover:
What Is Sea Buckthorn?
Sea buckthorn is a medium to large size shrub or small tree, growing between 13 to 20 feet tall with a spread of about 11 feet.
Its native territory spans the subpolar and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere – except for North America.
Often found naturally growing in subalpine, coastal, as well as desert regions, this versatile shrub is highly adaptable to many climates. It is very cold hardy, thriving in Zones 3 to 8.
Classification of the genus Hippophae is still evolving. Currently, there are six species in the Hippophae genus.
Of these, Hippophae rhamnoides is the most well-known and wide-ranging species. Other notable species include H. salicifolia and H. tibetana.
Sea buckthorn is a capable shrub that fixes its own nitrogen in the soil. Its quick growing root system and suckering habit makes it useful in preventing soil erosion and for use as a windbreak.
If you have a small garden, you can still plant sea buckthorn, but you’ll need to remove the suckers to prevent the plant from spreading through your garden. And if you want fruit, you’ll need two plants.
Sea buckthorn is dioecious, which means the plants are either male or female so you’ll need one of each for successful pollination.
If you want more than one berry-producing shrub, aim for a ratio of one male for every four females in a small garden.
The flowers are pollinated by wind, so male and female shrubs should be planted about six to eight feet apart. If you want a dense hedge, aim to plant shrubs three feet apart.
Male and female blooms share certain characteristics – both are subtle, yellow flowers which open before the leaves appear in mid to late spring. They are not easily damaged by frost.
Your sea buckthorn will begin to flower once it’s four or five years old, at which time females will produce berries.
The berries – which are usually orange although they can vary in color from yellow to red – ripen in late summer to fall. The taste is a unique melange of pineapple, orange, and lemon – quite tart with a hint of sweetness!
The berries grow very close together in bunches on thorny branches, making hand harvesting a formidable task. The reward? The berries are highly nutritious and loaded with vitamins C and E, protein, carotene, fatty acids, and flavonoids.
The bright berries contrast beautifully against the shrub’s narrow, silver leaves.
Although sea buckthorn is deciduous, its long leaves – from three quarters to two and a half inches long – may stay on the bush through most of the winter, along with some berries.
True to its name, sea buckthorn sports one-and-a-quarter-inch sharp thorns along its branches. Fortunately, new cultivars are being developed with fewer and more delicate thorns.
Sea buckthorn belongs to theElaeagnaceae, aka the oleaster family. Plants in the Elaeagnaceae family share a characteristic silver or reddish-brown luster which comes from hairs on the plant’s leaves, twigs, and buds.
You may recognize similarities between sea buckthorn and other members of the same family like silver buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) – a North America native – which also has edible fruit and is often grown as a hedge.
Let’s take a look at why people first started cultivating this useful shrub.
Cultivation and History
Sea buckthorn has a long history of use spanning centuries. The genus name Hippophae comes from “hippo,” the Greek word for horse, and “phao,” which means “to brighten.” This refers to its use as horse fodder to promote shiny coats by the ancient Greeks.
Although it is slowly becoming more commonplace in North America, its medicinal and nutritional qualities have been known in China, Tibet, and Mongolia for hundreds of years.
In the 1940’s scientists in Russia began studying the biologically active compounds in the fruit, leaves, and bark.
Sea buckthorn was brought to North America – more specifically the Canadian Prairies – from Russia in the 1930’s by Frank Skinner, a self-educated plant breeder and horticulturist.
He was looking for plants that could thrive in the harsh prairie climate. The introduction was a success and the shrub was used in shelter belts and to stabilize soil in the prairies.
But the potential for the berries as a food source, in North America at least, remained unexplored until Bill Schroeder, a Canadian researcher and plant collector, saw how they were being utilized by Russians in the 1980’s.
Russian astronauts were using sea berries as a food supplement in space. Realizing the berries high nutrient potential, Schroeder began breeding sea buckthorn for larger and sweeter fruit. This gave rise to a number of Canadian cultivars such as ‘Harvest Moon.’
Today, the sea buckthorn industry is well-developed in both Russia and China. They have planted large commercial orchards of H. rhamnoides for research and development of sea berry products.
Sea buckthorn is used in China and Russia in a number of medical applications such as to treat heart disease and heal burns and wounds.
In North America, you can find sea buckthorn oil, made from the seeds, in cosmetic products for rejuvenation of skin, treatment of eczema, and as a UV filter.
The global market for sea buckthorn is projected to steadily grow, so you can expect to see more products containing sea berries in the coming years.
Now that you’ve learned about some of the many uses for these exceptional shrubs, let’s discover how we can propagate them at home.
Sea Buckthorn Propagation
H. rhamnoides can be propagated in a multitude of ways. Let’s take a look at some methods:
From Seed
If you don’t mind waiting five years to know the sex of your plant, you can start sea buckthorn from seed. The upside of this method is that it’s simple – it just takes time.
You can either sow sea buckthorn seeds directly outdoors or start seeds indoors in winter. Seedlings started indoors have a higher chance of succeeding, but they require a bit more work.
For best results, start sea buckthorn seeds indoors in winter. To promote germination, sea buckthorn seeds must first be scarified. To do this, simply rub the seeds gently between two pieces of sandpaper.
Then, soak the seeds for 24 to 48 hours to soften the seed coat. Use room temperature water and change the water a few times.
After this, the seeds need to go through cold stratification for 90 days.
To cold stratify seeds, place them on paper towels moistened with water and keep them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for three months. Check every once in a while to make sure the paper towel stays moist.
After this time, sow the seeds in individual pots that are up to 12 inches deep and two to four inches wide. Fill pots with a pre-moistened mix of peat and perlite. Cover the seeds with a quarter of an inch of the media and keep the pots in a spot with bright light.
Water the media so it remains moist but not wet. The seeds will germinate in about three weeks to one month. Grow them in pots for about three months until they can be transplanted outdoors in spring.
Sow sea buckthorn seeds outdoors in fall or spring. Scarify the seeds first as discussed above.
Prepare your planting area by smoothing out the soil with a rake. Sow seeds on the surface of the soil a few feet apart.
If you’re sowing seeds in fall, they will be cold-stratified naturally over the winter months.
Cover your planting bed with six inches of mulch to keep the soil warm – leaves or straw are good options. When the snow melts In the spring, take the mulch off of the planting bed. Water so the soil is moist but not drenched.
If you are sowing seeds in spring, you’ll need to cold-stratify them first. After sowing, keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged, and the seeds should germinate in about a week.
If you want to move your seedlings to another location, allow them to grow for one or two years before transplanting.
From Hardwood Cuttings
Unlike seeds, hardwood cuttings will be clones of the parent plant. So if you want to be sure that your new sea buckthorn is either a male or female, it’s best to propagate via cuttings. Remember, only female plants will produce fruit.
It’s relatively simple to propagate sea buckthorn from hardwood cuttings, and plants started this way may fruit earlier than those grown from seed.
When taking hardwood cuttings, it’s important to choose cuttings from the lower, lignified part of the shoot. This part will feel rigid and woody – unlike the softer, bendable ends of shoots.
Harvest your hardwood cuttings in early spring before the buds break, and the plant is still dormant. It’s a good idea to wear gloves to protect your hands from the thorns.
Ensure that your cutting tool is clean and sharp. Take six inch cuttings from the last season’s growth – that woody, hardened part – making the cut just below a bud.
To root your hardwood cuttings, soak them in room temperature water with two or three buds above the water level for six days until the buds swell, making sure to change the water everyday.
In about a week, you’ll see roots forming. When the roots are an inch long, you can plant the cuttings in pots and keep them indoors in a bright, sunny location.
Your planting tray or pot should be six inches deep. Use half perlite, half vermiculite for your propagation medium.
Stick cuttings about three inches deep into the rooting medium and space them three inches apart. Water regularly so the media is moist but not drenched.
After around two months, check to see if the cuttings are well-rooted by gently lifting the cutting out with a tool like a pencil or dowel. At this point you can transplant them outdoors.
From Softwood Cuttings
Propagating from softwood cuttings has an even higher rate of success than hardwood cuttings.
Unlike hardwood cuttings which are already woody, softwood cuttings should be more flexible and less rigid. Take your softwood cuttings in late spring or early summer.
Prepare propagation pots that are six inches deep with holes for drainage. Fill them with a pre-moistened mix of half perlite and half vermiculite as a rooting medium.
With clean, sharp pruners or a knife, and your gloves on, take four- to six-inch softwood cuttings from the tips of healthy shoots. Remove the leaves from the bottom two inches of the cutting, leaving two to four leaves at the top.
Apply rooting hormone to the bottom inch or so and stick them into the medium with two nodes buried. Keep the pots indoors in a bright location such as a sunny windowsill.
Water the media regularly but don’t allow it to become waterlogged. Keep softwood cuttings in the media for one to two months before transplanting.
Check that they’re fully rooted by carefully lifting the cutting out of the pot with a pencil or dowel. When they are fully rooted, transplant them into the garden.
Transplanting
The best time to transplant your new potted sea buckthorn plant is in early spring. Cuttings can be transplanted when they have developed sufficient roots.
Dig a hole that is slightly deeper and wider than the original container. Ensure the soil in the hole is free of rocks and debris.
Remove the plant from its container and inspect it. If the plant is rootbound you’ll need to make shallow, vertical cuts in the ball of soil. Also cut two crossing lines on the bottom of the root ball.
Place the plant into the soil so the top of the root ball is level with the surface of the soil. Backfill with soil and pat it down. Water in well.
Keep your new plantings evenly moist but not waterlogged until they are established.
How to Grow Sea Buckthorn
There’s no way around it – sea buckthorn needs full sun to produce those wonderful berries. Although it can survive in partial shade, it will not thrive.
Take it from someone who has tried to coax fruit out of a sea buckthorn planted in less than ideal growing conditions – it won’t work! After just three years of growing in partially shady conditions, my sea buckthorn was already suffering so much that it didn’t make sense to keep it.
Another requirement is well-draining, loamy soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.5. Waterlogged soils are unacceptable for sea buckthorn, but the plant can tolerate saline soils.
Don’t allow weeds to invade the area near your sea buckthorn as it’s becoming established. Your shrub will benefit from mulching with organic matter like compost or peat moss.
Mulching helps the soil to retain moisture and has the added benefit of suppressing weeds.
Place two to three inches of mulch around your shrub all the way to the dripline – keeping the mulch four inches away from the trunk.
If you take the time to care for your shrub, your sea buckthorn should provide you with berries for 20 years or more!
Once it’s fully established after one to two years, sea buckthorn is drought tolerant.
But if you want to maximize fruit production, you’ll need to provide supplemental irrigation, especially during dry spells. Watering with drip or trickle irrigation is the best method.
You’ll know it’s time to water when the top six inches of soil are dry. To check, use a shovel or a similar tool to dig into the top six inches of soil. If it feels dry instead of moist at this level, it’s time to water.
Watering deeply but infrequently is better than more frequent, shallow waterings.
Avoid watering solely around the trunk of your shrub as this can actually cause decay. Instead, aim to water the entire surface area of the roots out to the dripline.
Fertilizing
This capable plant has a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria so it doesn’t require additional nitrogen and may even be harmed by its application.
If you notice new leaves that are smaller than usual, or older leaves that are changing colour to a dark blue-green, your shrub may be deficient in phosphorus.
In this case, try adding a fertilizer with only mineralized phosphorus – not an all purpose fertilizer which will include nitrogen as well – such as this one from Arbico Organics.
Growing Tips
Plant in full sun.
Water regularly while shrubs are becoming established.
Mulch to suppress weeds.
Pruning and Maintenance
Pruning is a necessary task when growing sea buckthorn. Make sure to wear gloves that will protect your hands and arms from the shrub’s thorns.
As these plants can be quite dense, thinning them out allows sunlight to penetrate and improves airflow. It also encourages fruit to develop on the interior branches.
In general, female plants should be pruned to maintain a compact shape that will make harvesting easier, while male plants should be left to grow tall to aid in wind pollination.
Your overall aim when pruning sea buckthorn should be to keep the main stem and three or four main branches that grow off of the stem – these will be where most of the berries develop.
Prune off any shoots or suckers that come up from the ground, as well as any side shoots. Also cut off any branches that droop at their ends – these will shade the inside branches.
Sea buckthorn should be pruned the first year of planting, in late winter before the buds begin to break. As your shrub ages, aim to prune wood that is six years and older.
If allowed to sucker, sea buckthorn will form dense thickets which is good if you want to grow a windbreak or hedge, but not so good if you want one neat shrub.
To prevent suckers from getting out of hand, you’ll need to contain them by mowing, or simply pulling or pruning them out.
Sea Buckthorn Cultivars to Select
Sea buckthorn is normally available at your local plant nursery or garden center. There are also a few notable cultivars.
Chuiskaya
‘Chuiskaya’ or ‘Chuyskaya’ is an older European female variety that is one of the most commonly planted in Siberia so you know it’s extremely cold-hardy!
With minimal thorns, this variety is simple to hand harvest. It will grow up to five feet tall and is hardy to Zone 3.
Harvest Moon
‘Harvest Moon’ is a Canadian female cultivar that produces large, red-orange berries and a hefty harvest.
It has fewer thorns than the species plant and is easy to harvest by hand. It’s hardy to Zone 3 and grows up to 10 feet tall.
Lord
A popular male cultivar is ‘Lord,’ a Russian variety that contains few thorns and grows to 10 to 12 feet tall.
It’s hardy to Zone 3 and boasts beautiful foliage and pretty flowers in spring which don’t bear fruit. A male is needed as a pollenizer for a female plant.
Managing Pests and Disease
Fortunately for us, the list of insects and diseases which affect sea buckthorn is mercifully short and not usually a cause for serious concern.
Herbivores are another story, however, as they may at times cause quite a bit of damage. Here’s what to watch out for:
Herbivores
There are a number of critters that may enjoy your sea buckthorn as much as you do. Among them are birds, deer, rabbits, and rodents.
Deer
Deer will flock to sea buckthorn given the chance. They’ll happily feed on foliage and branches as well as any fruit.
They can also trample young plantings. Giving deer an alternative food source or using repellents may lessen the problem.
Rabbits and rodents like field mice, meadow voles, and pocket gophers will cause the most damage on young shrubs, established plants are usually safe.
Use wire or mesh to prevent rabbits from chewing new buds and bark. Mice will usually do their damage in winter. Pocket gophers tend to eat sea buckthorn roots.
You can prevent these critters from harming your shrubs by keeping any tall grass around the sea buckthorn mowed. If they become a big problem, you can trap these rodents to control their populations.
Insects
There are only a few pests that will go after your sea buckthorn – these include Japanese beetles and aphids.
Aphids
These tiny pests are just an eighth of an inch long with soft, pear-shaped bodies that can be green, yellow, black, brown or red.
It’s uncommon to find just one or two aphids – where there’s one there will usually be many! They congregate on leaves or stems and they don’t move much when you disturb them.
As they go about their business of sap-sucking, they expel a sticky honeydew on the plant leaves which can promote sooty mold that suppresses the plant’s ability to photosynthesize.
The good news is that moderate numbers of aphids won’t damage your sea buckthorn. The bad news is that large infestations can cause damage and even transmit plant viruses – and these little suckers reproduce quickly.
You’ll know the aphid infestation is large if you notice yellow leaves and stunted shoots on your shrub.
So what can you do? Fortunately, there are quite a few natural and effective controls.
Monitor your plants, especially new growth, for the presence of aphids so you can prevent a big population from forming.
Another preventative measure is to plant flowers that attract natural predators like lacewings, hover flies, lady beetles, and parasitic wasps which feed on aphid colonies.
If you want to use chemicals, opt for an insecticidal soap with a low risk to beneficial insects such as Bonide Insecticidal Soap available from Arbico Organics.
The pesky Japanese beetle has become an increasing nuisance in North America in recent years and sea buckthorn is on its “to eat” list.
This metallic brown and green beetle will munch on the foliage causing damage by feeding between the major leaf veins, leaving large holes. These leaves will eventually turn brown and fall.
Managing Japanese beetle populations must be approached differently depending on the time of year and stage of the insect’s life.
The adults feed on the leaves, so once the beetles start flying in the middle of summer, you’ll need to take control.
Removing beetles by hand is a tedious – and slightly gross! – but effective method. Put the beetles you pick in a bucket of soapy water so they don’t fly away.
Try to do this as soon as you see the beetles and don’t give up – daily removal will help you keep on top of them.
Beneficial nematodes can be used in late summer or early fall to manage Japanese beetle populations for the next year. Nematodes are a type of roundworm present in the soil.
The nematodes enter the body of the larvae and kill them by emitting a bacterium. These nematodes are great because they attack only insect larvae and are nontoxic to other animals, plants, and humans.
It’s important to note that while nematodes will manage grubs in your soil, they won’t prevent beetles from migrating to your sea buckthorn from elsewhere.
Sea buckthorn is a robust shrub that isn’t affected by many diseases. That being said, verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt can sometimes be an issue.
Wilts
Verticillium wilt resulting from Verticillium albo-atrum and Verticillium dahliae or fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium spp. cause a variety of symptoms including yellowing, wilting leaves, and dieback.
The disease shows up when shrubs are five to eight years old and it only takes one or two growing seasons to finish off its victim.
Since the pathogens are soilborne, you should destroy affected plants and avoid planting sea buckthorn in the same location for at least three to five years.
Harvesting
Sea buckthorn will produce an abundant annual harvest in the late summer to fall, depending on your growing zone.
Different cultivars produce berries of varying colours. Some are yellow when ripe – others orange or red. Try to harvest fruit as soon as possible because the skin becomes thinner as it ripens.
Since most sea buckthorn plants have at least some thorns, harvesting the fruit can be tricky.
The other factor which can make it difficult is that the berries do not have an abscission layer – a layer of cells that causes the fruit to detach when it’s ready – so even when they’re ripe, they don’t detach easily from the stem.
There are a few ways to go about harvesting the berries. If you want to harvest by hand, take hold of a berry, twist it around, and pull it off.
I found harvesting berries one at a time was easier than trying to strip a whole bunch off at once because the fruit has thin skin and may squish easily – but of course, this takes longer.
I prefer to harvest sea berries with my bare hands and try to avoid the thorns. If you want to play it safe, wear gloves to avoid being scratched, but you may find thin gloves make the task easier than thicker gloves.
Another common way to harvest is by cutting and freezing fruiting branches. This is quite easy to do since sea berries grow tightly bunched together on the branches.
When the berries are ripe, cut off branches with fruit and put them in your freezer. Once the fruit has frozen, remove the berries by knocking them off the branches.
The catch with this method is that you should only cut a third of the fruiting branches or you risk damaging the plant and a much smaller harvest next year.
Sea buckthorn leaves are also full of antioxidants and vitamins. You can harvest the leaves any time of year and dry them to steep for tea.
If you want to harvest a big batch of leaves at once, it’s a good idea to use the male plants since they don’t have to put energy into fruit production. You can also harvest the leaves from branches during pruning.
Preserving
Fresh sea berries don’t have a long shelf life. You should refrigerate them as soon as possible after harvest and use them in one or two days, or freeze them to use later.
To freeze, place your berries on a baking tray in a single layer. Freeze them for a few hours and then store them in a sealed plastic bag or airtight container.
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
Sea berries truly are superfruits – they are rich in vitamins C, E, and K as well as carotenes, flavonoids, amino acids, and antioxidants.
And although the berries taste quite sour on their own, they can be transformed into jelly, jam, sauce, and juice.
One of the first ways I was introduced to the unique citrusy pineapple taste of sea berries was through a delectable cocktail made with fresh juice.
In fact, I often enjoy a non-alcoholic version of this made by simply boiling the frozen berries for 10 minutes, straining the seeds and pulp, and adding bubbly water for a refreshing spritzer.
If you want to try making your own dessert, you can find a sea buckthorn mousse recipe from our sister site, Foodal.
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Plant Type:
Deciduous shrub or small tree
Flower/Foliage Color:
Yellow/silvery green
Native to:
China, Russia, Mongolia, parts of Northern Europe
Water Needs:
Moderate
Hardiness (USDA Zone):
3-8
Maintenance:
Low
Bloom Time/Season:
Fall (berries)
Tolerance:
Drought once established, saline soils, wind, poor soil
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil Type:
Sandy loam
Time to Maturity:
2-3 years
Soil pH:
5.5-7.5
Spacing:
5-6.5 feet
Soil Drainage:
Well-draining
Planting Depth:
Slightly deeper than nursery container (transplants), quarter inch (seeds)
Aphids, deer, Japanese beetles, rabbits, rodents; Fusarium wilt, verticillium wilt
Species:
Rhamnoides
A Fruit That Wears Many Hats
Sea buckthorn is an incredibly versatile plant – it offers a generous harvest of super healthy berries, it boasts beautiful foliage almost year-round, and its thorny nature allows it to be used as a defensive planting.
Sea buckthorn has something for everyone – it’s extremely cold-hardy, not bothered by too many diseases or pests, and quite low maintenance. Why not try growing one in your garden?
If you have experience growing sea buckthorn, share it with us in the comments below.
WATCHING BIRDS lifts my spirits, as it has for decades, and who couldn’t use their spirits lifted right about now? But there’s another much bigger potential benefit, which is that sharing my sightings helps scientists understand what’s going on with bird populations in a changing world.
One of my favorite citizen-science efforts, a global project called The Great Backyard Bird Count, is coming up Feb. 16-19, and its project manager is here today with tips on using the latest technology like the Merlin app, along with our old-school observational powers to improve our bird ID skills.
Becca Rodomsky-Bish manages the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a collaboration founded in 1998 between Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where she works, the National Audubon Society and Birds Canada. Becca is also a passionate habitat-style gardener herself. (Photo above of pine siskins by Julie Blondeau/Macaulay Library.)
Read along as you listen to the Feb. 12, 2024 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
counting birds, with becca rodomsky-bish
Margaret Roach: Hi, Becca. How are you?
Becca Rodomsky-Bish: Hi. I am great, Margaret. I am a big fan of all of your work around gardening, so it’s an honor to be here.
Margaret: Well, we’ve collaborated on things before. You’ve always taught me—you and your colleagues over the years have taught me so much, and I’ve put in a plug for the Lab of Ornithology. I’ve been a member for a million years because I’m a million years old, and I’ve just learned so much from your resources there and from participating, which we’re going to encourage everybody to take some time to do.
So before we get started in the meat of the conversation, just let’s briefly set the scene. It’s Feb. 16-19, the Great Backyard Bird Count. This is a global event. How many people do this?
Becca: Yeah. Well, what’s amazing about this event is I always think every year we’ve hit our max and then every year we get more people. It’s so inspiring. Last year we reached about a half a million people, which was record-breaking. So the love of birds and people’s interest and willingness to get outside and look at what’s around them seems to be growing, which is wonderful news.
Margaret: I believe it’s Birdcount.org is the main URL for the website. Is that correct? Do I have that right?
Becca: That is correct.
Margaret: Birdcount dot org. So the word “backyard” is in the title Great Backyard Bird Count. But that doesn’t mean I have to just watch in my backyard or does it? What’s the deal?
Becca: You’re right. That’s sort of a historical creation, and we’ve debated whether to change it, but we’ve sort of symbolically kind of thought of the world as our backyard, right? And when we started this project in 1998, as you referenced, we really were focused on backyard birdwatchers, specifically their feeders, and it was a little bit of a test trial run. We focused mostly in the United States, where birdfeeding is incredibly popular, and it was actually sort of the precursor to eBird. They were curious if people would actually even enter their sightings in their backyards, and people did. So eBird thought, well, what if we made a tool that you could ID birds anywhere, no matter where you are or where they are? And that was sort of the impetus.
So it’s sort of a historical name, but you are 100% correct. We are not limited to our backyards. In February in the Northeast like you and I both are, sometimes it’s sort of nice and cozy to just stay in the house and watch our birds from the inside. But we are not limited to that now, especially since it’s global. Go out: your street, your local parks, your schools, your businesses. Birds are everywhere. So we are interested in hearing about your birds no matter where they are.
Margaret: And you’re going to have some webinars, various sort of preparatory webinars that people can learn more in advance of the event. So that’s another way to get ready.
And you don’t have to do all four days, right? I mean it’s not like you have to sit for four straight days during daylight hours and stare at birds. That’s not the idea. What’s the minimum contribution, so to speak?
Becca: That’s correct. The minimum contribution is we ask people to watch for 15 minutes, or listen. So 10 minutes is not bad, but just sit, listen, watch for 15 minutes. A lot of people are using the Merlin Sound ID now, so there may be just going to record maybe not for a whole 15 minutes, but they’re going to record what they see. Or if you’re observing using your eyes, just take a look around you. And all we ask is for 15 minutes at least once over those four days.
And that’s a really intentional change compared to some of the other bird counts because we really want GBBC to be something that people, no matter where they’re at in their journey of watching birds or connecting to the natural world, feel like they can make a contribution. So we do try to keep the entry level relatively reasonable. That said, we do have people that do what you said, Margaret, and they just sit, and watch all weekend [laughter]. So it runs the gamut in terms of what we get in terms of submissions. [Above, a dark-eyed junco by Rowan Keunen/Macaulay Library.]
Margaret: Yes. So I wanted to talk about some of the tools and you mentioned Merlin. I started counting birds and submitting my observations when it was still on paper a long time ago, because I’m 200 years old [laughter], and now it’s all digital and so forth. And it’s incredible. I mean the support, so to speak, the tools we can have literally in our hand to help us to become better birders. I mean, I don’t think Merlin’s even that old, maybe a decade or so, and things like the Sound ID function I think is only maybe what, 2021 it came out or something.
Becca: A couple of years. Yeah.
Margaret: Yeah. So tell us, first of all, I guess we should be eBird members. If we’re going to do this, we register an eBird. How does it work? What should we be doing to be ready to utilize some of these new tools?
Becca: Yeah, that’s a really good point and you make me realize very quickly or remind me that it can be a little confusing because you get lots of choices in terms of tools. I like to try to tell people the GBBC is the event, and the tools that they can use to participate are Merlin and eBird. So you don’t actually have to register ahead of time. Some of your listeners may be project feeder watch participants, maybe they’re Lab of Ornithology members. And if they are, they probably already have a username and a password. So that is what you can use. If you’ve participated in the past, use the same username and password so that all your data goes into the same account for you so you can look back at it. And you don’t need to do it ahead of time.
I do recommend that people, if they’re going to use the tools for the first time, make sure you download them ahead of the account weekend so that if you are having issues, you can reach out to us maybe before things get really, really busy. But download the tools ahead of time. If you don’t have an account with any of the lab projects, you’ve never taken a Bird Academy course, you’ve never entered data, you never used Merlin, go ahead and set up your account ahead of time, which the tools, whether you’re using eBird or Merlin, it’ll prompt you to do that. So that’s going to be kind of an automatic to use the tool. And create those accounts and make sure if you’re using a unique password, you remember it or write it down somewhere [laughter]. If you get logged out, you’ll need it again.
And then just get on your tool and tell us what you hear or see over the weekend. Some people prefer to use eBird, because the big thing I say is if you’re brand new to birds, try Merlin at least a couple times. You’re going to ID birds one at a time, either through sound or through walking through a workflow. But if you really know your birds, if you know species, if you have feeders and you can quickly identify and count them, you can create a checklist in eBird. And it can be a little bit of a learning curve to learn the tool, but if you really are confident with your bird species, use eBird. Otherwise, I do recommend beginners to use that Merlin tool for the first couple of entries.
Margaret: And I’m sort of like one of those half-and-half people. I’ll have a piece of paper and I’ll write down 18 mourning doves or whatever. I’ll keep writing down how many of them, maximum, I see of something is at any given time of day and all my species, and then I’ll put it in my eBird online later. I may not do it right in real time, into the eBird, or you can do that. So whatever you’re more comfortable with, the point is to engage and to do it, not to do it however you can, I think.
Becca: Exactly. And you made that really good point. It’s the maximum number that you see at any given time. So many of us have chickadees and titmice and these sort of quick back-and-forth feeders, but if you never see two chickadees at once or if you never see two titmouse at once, you would just use one as your total.
And I think your point about tallying is really important. I have a child and it’s much easier to sit down with him with paper and pencil and do that in front of us and then go back and we enter the data together. So it’s definitely a stylistic thing, and I recommend people to just go with what they’re most comfortable with.
Margaret: So with Merlin, what got me using it was the Sound ID, when Sound ID was introduced, because it’s like someone, a birding friend told me about it and I was like, “Really?” Because I’m in a wood, like a state forest, state park kind of an area surrounds me, lots of voices in the breeding season especially, and I don’t necessarily see all the birds. So it was interesting for me to utilize that, but I’m not fully using Merlin. And you just said there’s sort of a workflow thing. It also can help us ID either from a photo or by asking us, I think it’s three questions, like how big’s the bird, what color is it, and what’s it doing? There’s a list of things that it could be doing like is it on a wire or is it feeding it a feeder or I think those are the types of things, and then it narrows it kind of for you?
Becca: Yeah, absolutely. Merlin, and you kind of referenced this early, Merlin only really exists because of eBird. These are tools that have been feeding each other or do feed each other. In order to create Merlin, we had to have machine learning. We had to have enough bird sounds: calls and songs. We had to have enough pictures of birds that had their main attributes marked and decoded. So that’s kind of why Merlin’s taken a while to evolve, is because we had to really activate a global bird audience to be able to make it happen.
But yeah, Merlin has three major ways that you can identify birds using this very complicated machine learning. The one you referenced is the most important feature right now, which is Sound ID. And what’s really fun about that is that there’s sort of this immediacy of information that people get about their local place that they’re in, and that’s powerful.
So you literally open up Merlin, you’ll be prompted with sort of the three ways you can use the tool, Sound ID’s at the top, you would hit Sound ID and then you would hit “record,” literally. And Margaret’s used it, you just hold it out as close to the birds that you’re recording as possible. And you’ll be surprised that not only the bird that you think you’re looking for or ID-ing, but many others that may be in the backgrounds in the treetop and shrubs also list, which is what’s so fun. It’s this discovery tool that you realize, “Wow, I’ve never seen that bird.” But according to Merlin, it is picking up either its call or its song and it’s just magical. It’s magical. I am a lover of birds, but every time I use particularly the Sound ID feature, it really does literally blow my mind how amazing it works.
Margaret: And so then the other two ways are, again, you can do it from a photo if you happen to grab a photo, or you can answer those three questions about the characteristics of the bird and it can help narrow your focus.
Becca: Yeah. And one of the reasons I like the step-by-step, I use that a lot. I highly recommend the step-by-step, especially if you’re traveling. And it kind of goes to what you and I talked a little bit about, Margaret, is that the step-by-step actually makes you pay attention slightly more closely to the birds because it’s going to ask you about the birds.
Sound ID is just sort of this passive pickup. But the step-by-step really asks you how big is the bird? What colors are sort of the three dominant ones; you can pick up to three dominant colors. And what is the bird doing? So then you start to connect to maybe lifestyle and behaviors and habitat preferences and so forth. So I like the step-by-step ID. I actually use it probably just as much as the Sound ID, and I use it a lot when I travel, because if I’m in a new area and I maybe just get a quick glimpse of a bird and it’s not singing or it’s not calling, then I can use some of those quick observations that I made and walk through the workflow to try and narrow down what I’m seeing.
Margaret: Well, so speaking of which, even before all this great stuff, machine learning stuff happened and came out, we had our own observational, built-in observational tools, right? [Laughter.] And I don’t want us all to lose those. I want us to still sharpen our skills to look, right, to look carefully.
And you probably—well, certainly because it’s your area of expertise—know how to look a lot more carefully than I do. But I have learned over the years certain things, like for instance, the biggest mistake I made for many years was I see a bird, I go, “I don’t know what that is,” and I’d grab the field guide and then bury my nose in the field guide [laughter], and no, no, no, Margaret, you should be looking at the bird and soaking in as much visual data, so to speak, as you can while you have the opportunity. Because the minute you look up from the field guide, he or she is gone, and you don’t have another chance. So things like that.
But what do you, Becca—you see a bird that’s not a chickadee or a titmouse, and what do you want to take in right away? What are the attributes of the bird that you want to take in right away to help you toward an ID? [Above, a winter wren by James Davis/Macaulay Library.]
Becca: Yeah, that’s a really good question and I appreciate how you want to keep those natural observation skills that we have alive and well. Size and shape are sort of the two that come to me quickly when I’m looking at a bird. And when I say size and shape, it’s not just the bird itself, but I kind of try to focus in on the beak, in particular, can be very informative. So I think about size and shape of bird and beak. And even tail depending on the species that I’m looking at, length of tail can be telling.
And I also look for unique features and coloration. And the two places, there’s kind of three, but the two main ones I always go to are the eye and the wings. A lot of different birds, especially those tricky birds like warblers and vireos and so forth, they have sometimes eye rings or not eye rings.
So if I see a marking or a black band or a not-black band, the eye marks help me, the wing bands help me. And then I would say the third for me is tail coloration or tail pigmentations I look for, too. So those are kind of the quick looks. And then what I also try to do as I’m soaking all of those features in, I try to quickly see if I can put the bird into a specific family. So am I looking at a sparrow? Am I looking at a warbler? Am I looking at a cardinal? Am I looking at a mockingbird-thrasher-catbird family? So I try to lump the bird in my brain as I’m taking in sort of those size, shape and color questions.
Margaret: Yeah, it’s interesting, like you were saying, I mean sparrows, that can just be like, oh my goodness, that can be really confusing, because a lot of places have multiple species of sparrows that you might encounter. And that’s where you don’t want to look away. You want to really look, and I live alone so have the privilege that I can talk out loud to myself [laughter]. So I’ll say when I see I’m like “spot on chest, spot on breast,” or I can say “striped head gray and tan,” or I can say aloud what I’m seeing so that hopefully, and I could scribble it down, but again, I don’t want to look away. I can try to remind myself and is the tail is squared off or notched? Is it long or short? You know what I mean?
I’m trying to find little things, but I tend to look at the heads and the tails and like you say, obviously the coloration and the size first and foremost. But yeah, there’s certain birds, I mean people ask all the time, was it a hairy or downy woodpecker, was it a purple finch or a house finch? Which sparrow was it? Was it a crow or a raven? Speaking of where the beak, I think the raven, you look at its face even if otherwise you’re not seeing everything else, I mean that’s some beak going on there [laughter].
Becca: Yeah, definitely.
Margaret: So it’s fun when you learn to tune in and as I said, I don’t want people to stop looking because it’s so amazing what you see. And also just because all these apps record the stuff for us say, “Oh yes, that’s that bird,” I also don’t want us to stop reading about.
You talked about the life histories and things like that, because I mean go, if it’s a new bird to me, I go to the allaboutbirds.org, the sort of species profiles on the Lab of Ornithology, the Cornell site, and I’ll look up like, does it migrate, and where does it live, and where does it nest, and what does it eat and all these different things. And it’s how many broods does it have and all these kinds of amazing things that, because to me it’s not just like, “Oh, I saw this bird, I can check it off my list.” I want to know a little bit about this beautiful animal. That’s my thing is who is it, right? [Above, pileated woodpecker by Steve Luke/Macaulay Library.]
Becca: Absolutely. Yeah, each of these birds have a story, and they’re really fun stories, too. And I feel like it’s a privilege that we have as much information as we have that we can begin to understand these birds on a deeper level. So I’m like you too. I will list and I have listed, but I bird for something that’s a little more about the bird itself and the connection that I feel. And sort of, it’s almost like unlocking a mystery, right? Like this little creature shares this habitat with me. What does it do? Where does it go? How many babies does it have?
Margaret: Yes.
Becca: Really the questions are quite endless. And a plug for, that’s another plug for Merlin. I want to make sure that people definitely download bird packs with Merlin for the areas that they are birding in. There’s one that’s specific to the Northeast, which is a smaller data set if you have limited space on your phone. Or you can get the pack for the whole United States and Canada, which allows you to see some of the more rare or migratory or unusual birds in a broader area.
But when you download the pack, that’s where you’re going to get the field guide stuff. So I definitely think field guides that I hold in my hand, they’re valuable, I use them, but you can also get access to a lot of that field guide information right in Merlin, too, as long as you’ve downloaded the pack for your area. But yeah, I encourage people, and that’s one of the reasons why birds are so popular, is because they really can be sort of this gateway to a deeper knowledge and connection to what’s living around us and co-existing with us, really.
Margaret: Yeah. And sure enough, what you saw, like the behavior or whatever, you read about it and you’re like, “Oh, right, it does that. I saw that.” Do you know what I mean? It just connects all the dots and that’s a characteristic behavior; it’s fascinating. And sure enough, you see the bird in the type of habitat that it’s supposed to be in. It’s just so great to study them a little bit after seeing someone new.
So as I said in the beginning, kind of a habitat-style gardener because of your love of birds and me similar. Do you have water in the winter in your garden? Because that’s where the action is. For me, I keep, in one of my water gardens, a hole in the ice, so to speak. And boy, that is the most popular place.
Becca: Nice.
Margaret: Water. Do you have water that’s unfrozen or in your garden?
Becca: Yeah, it is a really important feature to have in this area. I will admit I do have water baths that I use in the warmer months, and I have a spot in my front yard where my husband and I are in the middle of a more elaborate water feature that we’re building by hand. So I will have a water feature year round that moves and we keep warm, but at the moment I only offer water in the warmer months. But I love that you keep water access. And yeah, the other thing is even in the warmer months, you will get birds at that water feature that won’t come to your feeders or-
Margaret: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I think water, I always say, people say, well, what’s the most powerful bird plant you ever planted? And I’m like, water [laughter].
Becca: Water. That’s great. What’s your favorite bird you’ve seen at your water? I’m just curious.
Margaret: Oh, who the most…? Well, I had a non-bird, last year I had a mink swimming in one of the ponds in the winter. No, it’s nuts. It’s everyone, and the bobcat comes and drinks. Everybody drinks at the water. Other animals, mammals and so forth as well. No, it’s crazy.
So some of the winter finches when there have been irruption years, some of the winter finches. Pine grosbeaks, because I had a whole flock of them a number of years ago, and they loved the water. They would sit on the little deicer, this bobbing sort of thing. They’d sit on it and they, it’s just hysterical. So yeah, lots of fun uses of the water.
And I wanted to ask you about, what was I going to ask you about [laughter]? Oh, the leave the leaves. Are you getting a lot of questions already from people who are, especially a lot of areas have had sort of a mildish winter and a lot of thawing and so forth. I’m already getting a lot of questions in early February about when can I clean up the, I did the leave the leaves to encourage overwintering places for so many beneficial organisms and when can I clean up? Can I start removing stuff? Can I start doing cutbacks? In your garden how do you sort of handle that? What’s your sort of timing or guideline?
Becca: Yeah, that’s a really good question. It is hard when all the snow sort of melts and you look out and you’re like, “Oh, the seed heads, they’re really kind of smashed down now. And is it time?” Yes, I probably am saying what you probably are saying to folks, resist the urge [laughter]. [Above, Carolina chickadee by Brad Imhoff/Macaulay-Library.]
Margaret: Yes.
Becca: Still so much foraging potential out there. Every time I walk outside to my gardens, there’s a flock of sparrows or finches that fly up. They’re in there and they’re still using it. So I tend to not clean up my garden until generally it’s more like April really. I mean we’ll see about this year, but when I feel like the days are consistently warm, around 50 degrees, and there’s a couple of consecutive ones.
And I generally clean up in a way that I’m thinking about my pollinator population. So I don’t tend to cut my hollow stems down to the ground. I tend to leave them a foot to 2 feet really actually standing, because that provides that hollow chamber for our chamber bees and so forth to use in the summer.
So even when I clean up, I try to be mindful of minimizing taking too much out. And then what’s really fun, with my perennials, is as they grow up, they tend to sort of hide that brown stuff that I’ve left for the pollinators to use as foraging and nesting space. So yes, not till April, not till we’re seeing consecutive 50-degree days and literally the ground seems to start to be waking up is when I start my cleanup.
Margaret: Yeah, ditto; same here. Absolutely. Well, Becca, I’m so glad always to speak to you. And really the resources, I just can’t say how much they’ve enhanced my life over the years, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology resources, old-school and new-school ones now. Just amazing, amazing, amazing work. People can sign up for the count at birdcount.org. And I’ll be counting, so I’ll send in my counts and so forth. And thank you, thank you for doing this and for being the project manager of this important thing, and I hope I’ll talk to you again soon.
Becca: Sure. Thank you, Margaret. It was a pleasure.
more birding stories
join the bird count
prefer the podcast version of the show?
MY WEEKLY public-radio show, rated a “top-5 garden podcast” by “The Guardian” newspaper in the UK, began its 14th year in March 2023. It’s produced at Robin Hood Radio, the smallest NPR station in the nation. Listen locally in the Hudson Valley (NY)-Berkshires (MA)-Litchfield Hills (CT) Mondays at 8:30 AM Eastern, rerun at 8:30 Saturdays. Or play the Feb. 12, 2024 show using the player near the top of this transcript. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes/Apple Podcasts or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
More Asiatic lilies, in every shade of 
