Category: Knock It Off

Podcast Season 2 is here!

My abject apologies for being late in posting this week.  I’ve been in Angel’s Camp, California since Tuesday – a lovely, wonderful place – but without anything above 2G wifi.  Needless to say, posting on the blog was impossible.  So I’m in the Sacramento airport, enjoying a glass of wine and a crab Louis before I leave for Seattle, and finally able to access a 4G connection!

In any case, here’s the beginning of Season 2’s podcasts.  I’m assured that soon we will be on i-Tunes, but for now you can download the podcasts here.  The first podcast is built around the theme of “Scary Garden.”  A little late for Halloween, but there you are.  For this first podcast, I take on lasagna mulching and bring you some garden tips for the fall/winter season.

Let me know if you’ve got some ideas for upcoming themes throughout November and December!

Phosphate toxicity and iron deficiency

Bert’s post yesterday reminded me of some work one of my graduate students did about 10 years ago.  We were curious to see whether a transplant fertilizer containing phosphate was correlated with foliar iron deficiency, which is visualized as interveinal chlorosis:

 What Scott did was to plant 10 rhododendrons per treatment into pots containing containing a name brand azalea, camellia and rhododendron food (5-5-3) at 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 times the recommended amount. Here are some of the results of that study:

 
Total number of chlorotic plants

Total foliar iron vs. fertilizer treatment

Chlorosis as a result of phosphate fertilizer. 1= Normal (green leaves), 2= Light chlorosis in young leaves, 3= Moderate chlorosis, 4= Severe chlorosis, young leaves white

 For gardeners, the take home message might be that the control plants – those without any transplant fertilizer added – did the best. Don’t add phosphate to your landscape and garden soils unless you have a verified deficiency.  And only a soil test will tell you this conclusively.

You can’t fly by the seat of your pants on this one, folks.

Any PR is good PR…I think…

Virginia Tech (my institution of employment) does a good job of bringing newsworthy research and outreach stories to the university’s home page.  With a huge college of engineering, robotics seems to be the dominant theme (no matter how lame the robot is) closely followed by solar-powered cars etc.  So it’s a rare and thrilling event when a news items with a horticultural topic is featured on the VT web site!

As I read it yesterday, my heart sank a bit. A little less drama and a little more fact-checking would have gone a long way (the demise of which is a re-occurring gripe here on Garden Professors). I do seriously appreciate that something horticultural made the news,
and the efforts of the writers to make it interesting. I also realize a
great majority of the readers will not split hairs like I have.

If you’d like to read the brief and pleasant article, click on the link. My carping will make much more sense.

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2011/10/101911-unirel-ialropenhouse.html

In a nutshell, a lab associated with Virginia Tech has developed a tissue culture protocol for the propagation of an Icelandic poppy cultivar at the behest of a cut flower grower.

Hurrah, right? Absolutely. But the article mucks it up a bit.

(On with the hairsplitting!!!)

1) Icelandic poppy (Papaver nudicale) is in no way endangered or about to go extinct. You can buy seed by the pound. The cut flower grower mentioned  (a fabulous grower and just as wonderful a person) has a favorite cultivar. ‘Temptress’  is a selected, named variety of P. nudicale – of which there are many (20? 30?).  Cultivars are lost all the time, but they do not "become endangered" or  "go extinct" – this terminology implies it is found in the wild. Which ‘Temptress’ is not, because it is a man-made selection.  If ‘Temptress’ is indeed a hybrid, the parents could possibly be crossed to hopefully the same end. Extinct…is forever. 

It may be rare, it may be difficult to propagate by the usual means of seed or cuttings, and micropropagation has apparently worked to sustain the variety. Micropropagation has been used to save many heirloom fruits and vegetables.  But back to our poppy.  True, it may not continue to exist if a viable method of propagation is not found, as the grower notes.  But the authors incorrectly interpreting the quote.  The world is not losing a species; rather, one cut flower grower is losing his favorite color of poppy.

2) Though fine scientists in their own right, the two faculty named in the article did not (nor did they claim to) "pioneer a technique known as micropropagation."

I think I just heard Dr. Toshio Murashige have a cow.

Micropropagation (a form of tissue culture) has been around since the 30’s and is now a HUGE industry around the world.  For example, nearly every orchid and fern sold at Home Depot is a product of micropropagation.  

Micropropagation involves many variations on and combinations of plant hormones, growth regulators, minerals, etc.  The researches mentioned (and their staff) formulated a successful protocol (recipe) for this particular species. It was indeed a challenge, and it’s great that they came up with the correct combination of the umpteen variables required to generate root and shoot growth. This is often called "cracking the code" and would have been the correct angle for the article authors to take.  Finally, microprop is NOT a “plant breeding method” as stated in the photo caption. And since the Icelandic poppy is not fragrant, there will be no "fragrant scent wafting." No. Wafting.

Though it sounds lovely.  Thanks for listening.

The Genetically Modified Kentucky Bluegrass Problem (The Anger As Promised)

One of the nice things about my job is that I get to work with a lot of other researchers who work in a lot of different areas.  One of these areas is molecular biology and I certainly know people who have genetically engineered plants to do one thing or another.  Maybe it’s because I know so many people who work with them, but I’m not fundamentally opposed to genetically  engineered crops. Which isn’t to say I’m not concerned about certain genetically modified crops, but in general I think that the systems we have in place to review them have done a decent job of making sure that nothing too terrible is released.

Until now.

A few years ago a grass called creeping bentgrass was genetically modified to be resistant to Roundup.  This grass was never released to consumers, but it was released for testing, it escaped, and now this grass, though not widely distributed, has made a pest of itself in various spots – and we can’t use Roundup to control it. 

The above is obviously a problem, but not the problem I’m concerned about.

This past July APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service — a department of the USDA) confirmed that a new genetically engineered Roundup resistant Kentucky bluegrass was not subject to regulation because it had been made without using organisms that are considered pests (Most genetically modified plants are).  So, for the first time, the government is actually saying that a genetically modified crop is exempt from oversight.  The other two governmental entities that usually look at genetically modified organisms, the EPA if a plant produces a pesticide and the FDA if a food is being produced, don’t need to look at this grass because it doesn’t produce a pesticide and it isn’t a food.

This, in my opinion, is insane.

This non-native grass is a known invasive across the Midwest where it fares pretty well out on the plains.  In fact, according to the USDA (which includes APHIS) it is listed as an invasive weed in the Great Plains States and Wisconsin.  The USDA also lists one of the preferred controls for this grass as glyphosate (Roundup).

WHAT?!?! 

Look, I know this is kind of a tricky thing what with the way that this grass was made and all.  But it seems to me that if APHIS wanted to consider this a potentially noxious weed it could, thereby mandating some review. 

What it comes down to is that I am very scared that the company which made this grass – Scotts Miracle-Gro — might actually release it and cause some problems similar to those caused by the Roundup resistant creeping bentgrass – but at a much larger scale.  Sure, there are other pesticides which can be used on Kentucky bluegrass if it gets out of hand, but losing one that is so effective and so safe (on a relative scale of course) seems crazy.  I guess you could argue that using this grass might reduce the use of other, scarier, chemicals in yards, but jeepers crimeny, wouldn’t you like some non-partisan governmental organization to at least look at it?

In my opinion this whole thing is just nuts.  And let’s not lose sight of something that is potentially even scarier: By figuring out how to avoid government regulation, Scotts Miracle-Gro has drawn a map for other companies to avoid regulation with their genetically modified crops.

Sugar and Spice and Misnomers

At a lively hobnob with friends and colleagues, the discussion ranged from critique of the Virginia Tech offensive line to the logic/mystery behind commercial carbon offsets.  Someone mentioned Domino Sugar’s efforts in that direction. Apparently their product has been certified “carbon free” by a business carbon offsets program that they pay a fee to. This led to hoots and snorts as to their selection of terminology since it involves a molecule (sucrose) that is 27% carbon.


From the fascinating thus time-eating www.exploratorium.edu. Serously, don’t click the image unless you’ve got an hour to burn.

I’d forgotten all about it until I saw a post (on ESPN.com of all places) that also brought it up.  The product in question:

Now I can appreciate that the point of this branding/certification is not to advertise a dearth of carbon; rather their good intentions,  as it is Carbonfree, not carbon free.  But the marketing staff perhaps need to be reminded that in addition to the inorganic carbon gases that are of major concern, carbon is a part of all organic life…and essential to both sweet tea and the suffering of Biochem students everywhere.

Amazing water slices!

Here it’s already Wednesday and no GP postings!  My excuse is that I had a seminar to give yesterday before catching a late night flight to Pullman.  Bert (who should have posted Monday) must still be lost in a mai-tai fog somewhere in Hawaii.  Or maybe he’s looking for Holly, who’s been AWOL for a week.  They’re supposedly at the ASHS meetings.  Right.

I’m kind of liking the idea of finding fun new products for the busy gardener.  Much to my delight, after Goggling the phrase “best new garden product of 2011” I was introduced to amazing water slices.  Here’s the text of the announcement/sales information:

“WINNER OF BEST NEW GARDEN PRODUCT OF THE YEAR AT THE HORTICULTURE WEEK/HTA AWARDS & GARDEN RETAIL AWARDS

“A pack of four amazing water slices – so simple to use, they can retain enough water to keep your plants happy for up to 3 weeks.

“Simply soak each slice in water for 3 hours. Use inside or underneath pot plants, hanging baskets, flower pouches, etc.

“Use in layers, too: one slice=one week’s watering. So three slices will give up to 3 weeks watering.

“Cut to shape – one slice can fit two smaller pot plants.

“An extremely efficient and water-saving product – highly recommended.”

And here’s what a “water slice” looks like:

It’s a sponge.

They said to write about it, so I will…

Please tell me – am I crazy?  Or just not the gardening trend-setter that I should be?  Should I be spending $10 on this? Check out this excerpt from Garden Cuttings Newsletter, with the note “Please feel free to use this information in your stories and columns”:

“Instead of sending dried leaves and other yard waste to the landfill, compost it! DeComp-9 Organic Compost Booster speeds up the composting process with patented microorganisms that quickly break down leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste. When added to compost, the microorganisms in all-natural DeComp-9 will grow on organic material, feed on decaying and dead plant matter and convert this waste to nutrient-rich compost that helps build stronger and healthier plants. Just mix DeComp-9 with water according to the product label and apply on compost piles. Each 20-gram package of DeComp-9 makes 10 gallons of solution – enough to treat 27 cubic feet of compost material. DeComp-9 is available for about $10.”

 

High-end WOW (Why oh why)

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to speak to the Portland Garden Club and see some absolutely gorgeous private gardens.  But alas…even in the midst of such botanical riches I still managed to find something to make me shudder.

Now I have nothing against garden remodels – or boxwood hedges (though I generally find them unimaginative).  But here’s a good example of shrub salvaging gone horribly wrong:


Deadwood boxwood

And again

It will take a long time for these boxwoods to fill in.  If you’re going to spend the kind of money that’s going into this remodel, why get chintzy with the hedge plants?

Maybe green spray paint is in order?

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Is this title too extreme?  I’ll leave that up to you.

Most of you are aware of the frog controversy that surrounds Round-up.  A few years ago a professor from Pittsburgh showed that this chemical can kill aquatic creatures if it gets into a pond. Particularly tadpoles.  Not that Round-up is intended to be used around water, but still, it is a concern and I don’t want to minimize it.  Nor do I want people to forget that other supposedly safer products have their own set of dangers.

This past Sunday I was in the back yard pulling weeds (there is the possibility that my post last week led to this fate…but I’m not going to examine that here).  One of the places where I pulled weeds was under the deck at the back of our house.  This area is covered with rock mulch and hasn’t been weeded all year.  I started out pulling the large weeds, which took about 15 minutes, and then I started pulling the smaller weeds.  After another 15 minutes I realized there was no way that I was going to be able to pull all of the small weeds in what I considered a reasonable time.  So I went to the garage where I found a bottle of 20% acetic acid – that super strong weed killing vinegar spray that I’ve mentioned before.  I knew the stuff was too strong and not a great choice — I had been planning to take it in to school and use it for some experiments there, but I figured what the heck, it ought to do some damage to the little weeds, even if it doesn’t completely wipe them out.  So I started spraying.

The first things I noticed were things that I’ve had to cope with before when using this trigger-spray bottle.  The spray misted onto my hand and hit a small cut making further spraying uncomfortable –  but I pressed on (At this point you should all be screaming at me PUT SOME DAMN GLOVES ON – You’re right this was a stupid move on my part) and the smell was almost overwhelming.  But I expected these things, so I figured I’d finish.  Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw something coming from an area that I’d just sprayed — moving across the gravel and approaching fast.  It was a small toad, no doubt there to eat slugs.  He was hopping all over the place with no apparent direction.  Random leaps here and there.  I picked him up – and noticed that his eyes were glazed.  I called for my wife to bring a bowl of water – which she did.  I washed him off, but he had already stopped moving.  A few minutes later it was no better – just random twitches and nothing else.  His eyes seemed covered by a fine film – almost like cataracts.  I put him in a cool moist shady spot hoping that he might get better, but I didn’t have the heart to check on him.  The vinegar did him in.

I kill insects and other critters all the time and I’m no vegetarian — so why should I whine about this little guy?  Because it’s always a shame when a life is lost without a purpose.  This guy was helping me out underneath that deck and I killed him because I made a stupid decision by using a pesticide which I knew was a bad choice.  If I’d used Round-up (which I have accidentally sprayed a small amount of on adult toads without apparent effect)– or better yet taken the time to pull the weeds by hand I would have avoided this whole situation and I could have done a better job killing the weeds too.