Sunday rant – the evils of chemicals

It’s days like this that I am so grateful to have this blog at my disposal!

It’s 7 am on Sunday and I’m just finishing the paper, drinking Earl Grey tea, and listening to NPR.  Liane Hansen just finished an interview with Martha Stewart, who among other things was discussing healthy eating for the new year.  She’s a proponent of organic food (as are many of us), and mentioned two reasons she doesn’t like conventionally grown produce. … Continue reading this article “Sunday rant – the evils of chemicals”

Friday Foliage Fun!

Take a look at these three closeups of foliage from three different plants in a landscape in Washington state:

 

You’ve been asked to diagnose what’s going on in this landscape that would cause these foliar abnormalities.  (I get photos emailed to me all the time asking these kinds of questions.)  Bugs?  Disease?  Nutrient deficiencies? Environmental conditions?  All of the above?

More photos and answers on Monday!

Is It Worth Anything?

Plant aficionados everywhere are constantly looking for something which they can patent and make a million bucks on — something like ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea which captured the public’s attention — and their wallets.  Many of the new plants we see today came from something called “branch sports” which are basically segments of a tree — like a branch — which has somehow mutated so that it offers something a little different than what the original tree did. … Continue reading this article “Is It Worth Anything?”

Invasives! Natives! No, wait, biodynamics

Just had to get your attention there.  We’ve had a great discussion over native and nonnative plants over the last few weeks.  I’m going to completely switch gears and move on to another topic  – biodynamics.

If you’re not familiar with this term, let me refer you to my online column here.  Biodynamics is a set of agricultural practices based on a belief system, not science, but is an increasingly popular approach, especially in the wine industry. … Continue reading this article “Invasives! Natives! No, wait, biodynamics”

Is there any future for a scientifically-sound gardening magazine?

(You’ll see two posts from me today.  This first one is easier to do at 6 a.m.)

One of the efforts I’ve been involved with is serving as science editor (and writer) for MasterGardener Magazine.  We started this quarterly publication in 2007 (take a look at it online at it here) – not just for Master Gardeners, but for anyone interested in sustainable gardens and landscapes.  Sadly, the publication went to an annual issue last year because of the economic downturn and now may be eliminated altogether.… Continue reading this article “Is there any future for a scientifically-sound gardening magazine?”

Pop Quiz!

Bet you weren’t expecting this on TUESDAY, eh?
Heh, heh.

Situation:  these photos are from a grad student project.  We wanted to create, observe, and record nutrient deficiency symptoms, so we grew the plants hydroponically in a made-from-scratch nutrient solution, containing everything except one particular nutrient. There were 12 separate batches of solution, one missing each essential mineral nutrient (N,P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, B, Mo, Zn – couldn’t exclude Cl as it’s too common in salts). … Continue reading this article “Pop Quiz!”

Are natives the answer?

Last week Jeff kicked off a lively discussion about invasive plants.  Let me state up front that no one on this blog is promoting invasive plants.  But the issues surrounding invasive plants are extremely complex and have profound implications for many groups with whom we work in landscape horticulture and urban and community forestry.  It is essential in these discussions that we separate fact from hyperbole.  In some quarters, lines have been blurred and people fail to make key distinctions and lump exotic, alien, or non-native species together with invasives. … Continue reading this article “Are natives the answer?”

Friday quiz

Thought we’d take a break from the invasive discussion (I have some throughts I’ll weigh in with on Mon.)  In the meantime, here’s a photo of dwarf Alberta spruce not too far from my boyhood home in Olympia, WA.  I get 2 or 3 of these calls each year; usually with a homehowner exclaiming, “I’ve got a tree growing out of my tree!”.

A thought about Invasive Plants

Recently there was an article published in the journal Science (widely considered one of the most prestigious science journals in the world) by two professors who I knew while I attended college in Pennsylvania (Franklin and Marshall College — Anyone ever heard of it?).  I found this article particularly interesting because it explained how the beautiful Pennsylvania scenery that we assume is natural was actually created over the course of three hundred years.  Saw mills and dams changed water flow patterns — those pretty streams that flow through the Southeastern PA (and nearby areas) that I grew up in aren’t natural at all.… Continue reading this article “A thought about Invasive Plants”

Notice Any Similarities to Compost Tea?

Linda sent me a link to This Comic the other day.  Funny stuff — and not a little bit analagous to our friends who think that compost tea is the cats meow!