The Garden Professors™ – Page 59 – Advancing the science of gardening and other stuff since 2009

Superstorm Sandy aftermath: A modest proposal

Initial estimates from insurers indicate that Superstorm Sandy may be the second costliest storm in US history. A large portion of the damage attributable to Sandy and several of the deaths associated with the storm were due to falling trees. In many cases the winds were severe enough to topple healthy trees, but I’m sure many GP blog readers share my frustration in looking at storm-related tree damage photos and seeing obvious defects that a professional arborist would have readily spotted.

This brings me to a modest proposal: I propose insurance companies provide discounts for homeowners to have a hazard evaluation of trees on their property. I did a quick search on the major insurance companies and they currently offer homeowners discounts of up to 15% for, among other things:

Smoke alarms

Burglar alarms

Fire extinguishers

Security systems

Roofing materials

Sprinkler systems

The rational is self-evident; the cost of the discounts is more than off-set by damage and subsequent claims that are prevented. How much of a discount should homeowners get for a hazard assessment? I dunno, but I’m sure there are actuaries somewhere that could figure out cost-benefit breakdown of identifying hazards and removing them on a calm, clear day versus waiting until they come down in a major storm and destroy a car or a house or worse.

Webinar update – yes, YOU can attend!

A few days ago I posted about a webinar I’m doing on using academic databases for gardening myth-busting. At the time I wasn’t sure what the rules were for viewing the webinar, but happily I’ve found out we can have outside viewers! So here’s the information about when and how to log on to Adobe Connect (keep in mind this is Pacific Standard Time here).

Speaker: Linda Chalker-Scott

Date: Wednesday, November 7

Time: 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Address: http://breeze.wsu.edu/ext_skills/

We have 99 slots for people, so there should be plenty of room. And if you can’t make it, no worries. The presentation will be archived so you can watch it over and over and over…

I’ve gotten some great ideas from you – thanks! Hope to see some of you there.

Aphids Marching

Was out enjoying the last of the SW Virginia fall color from our deck, the day before we got our dose of Sandy…the wind was picking up and the barometer and temperature were dropping

Twenty-four hours later, we had an inch of snow and 40 mph winds. No more fall color.
Looked down at the railing and the ENTIRE length of it – 45′ – had aphids streaming back and forth. They were absolutely pouring off a Clematis terniflora vine (the same species that attracted all the blister beetles this summer – what a prize) that had clambered up over the deck. It was like two lanes of traffic, going in each direction, and at a (relatively) high rate of speed. I’ve never seen aphids move so fast. But to where??

I believe it’s time to re-stain the deck.
We also had the interesting phenomenon of congregating swarms of lady beetles (the Asian species – Harmonia axyridis) a couple of weeks ago. The south side of the house and my Jeep were covered. At least there’s an upside to that infestation – I’ve noticed lots of larvae around.

As you know, lady beetle larvae are very effective predators of aphids, and were out in full force amongst the aphids…I counted 30. But they couldn’t make a dent in the thousands of aphids streaming along the rail. Upon closer inspection, they were actually trying to avoid the aphids. They had obviously had their fill and could barely move. I swear they looked nauseous.

“No thanks, we’re full.”
So – any thoughts on why the aphids were so active?

Who says you can’t get decent fall color on the west coast?

Thanks to our gingko, contorted larch, Japanese maple, and viburnum we’ve got it all:

Happy Halloween!

What to do with storm damaged trees?

For those of you whose trees suffered storm damage this week, the ISA (International Society for Arboriculture) has an online article that may be of use.

If any of you have photos or questions regarding tree damage, please comment below. Photos can be sent to me (lindacs followed by @wsu.edu).

Ideas needed for webinar

I’m doing a webinar for WSU Extension folks next week with the decidedly unsexy title of "How to run literature searches when writing extension publications and how to develop client material using the information from the lit search." In reality, it’s how to research gardening topics, identify the myths (those practices and products with no basis in science), and then write up the valid scientific parts for use by gardeners. I’d hoped to get some ideas from this group on specific topics to demonstrate the process, but have gotten nothing. And I’m doing this a week from tomorrow.

So…how about you all? What practices or products that we’ve covered on this blog (or haven’t) that you’d like to see put through my sorting process? I don’t think people outside the WSU system can watch the webinar, but I’d be willing to post something on the blog about it later.

Feel free to comment below – the earlier the better, as I have to have this done by the end of the week so I can develop the presentation. And thanks in advance for your ideas!

It’s the bomb!

Between Hurricane Sandy and the inglorious end of the Tigers’ season, the news today has been pretty depressing here. So I figured I’d stay with something light today and talk about a bombing incident that occurred on campus last Friday. In case you’re wondering how a bombing on a major university campus can be considered a light event, I need to point out that this was a Yarn Bombing incident. Yarn Bombing (also referred to as Yarnstorming or guerrilla knitting) is type of street art – in this case garden art – where trees and other objects are covered with colorful yarn. What’s the point? I don’t know; does art have to have a point? Anyway, to add a little whimsy to your day, here are some photos from this weekend’s Yarn Bombing at the MSU Gardens.

For more photos go to the MSU Gardens website

Something different to end the week

Thanks to Neil H. for sending this my way.

This is from The Tree Whisperer:

ALERT! HOW TO HELP THE TREES. Hurricane Sandy is coming to the East Coast, USA

If you are inclined to talk with trees–and aside from the practical things you can do–here is another way you can help your trees through the storm: Hurricane Sandy. (Or send help, if you are elsewhere.)

Go outside and walk among your trees and plants on your property. You may also touch them.

In your heart, say the following phrases to all your trees and plants.

(If you are elsewhere, ask your trees to send these wishes to the trees on East Coast USA.)

I care for you. There is a big storm coming.
Roots, please grip soil and earth with all your might.
Trunk, branches, and stems, please be supple and bend like a dancer.
Leaves, please drop if you can, or become slippery and turn on edge so the wind-driven rain slips past you or any snow slips off.
Community of Green Beings, please tighten your web of connections.
Ecosystem, please become connected and interconnected.
Element of Earth, please hold roots tight.
Element of Air, please caress, not assault.
Element of Water, please flow smoothly over.
Element of Fire, please give strength to the whole.
Spirit of the Land, please meet the Spirit of the Storm with serenity.

Please do this more than once in the coming days, if you can.

When the storm arrives, see to your own well-being first. Continue to send these messages to your trees, even from inside the house or from afar.

An Interesting Idea

This past week one of our loyal followers, Karen, sent me a link to a New York Times Article by Mark Bittman. I have read articles by Bittman before and have found them to be kind of a mixed bag, some good, some not so good (but then I suppose many of you could say the same thing about my articles – so I’m not complaining). Anyway, this article was good. It discusses a study conducted in Iowa which demonstrated that growing different crops over time is healthier for the soil, reduces inputs like fertilizer and pesticides, and increases yields. Basically they’re saying that growing more than just soybean one year and corn the next is a good thing to do. For example, you could grow soy then corn then alfalfa. And basically I agree with the article. One of the things that it drives home really well is that there is a happy medium between dosing our soil with chemicals and going organic. I do have one complaint though. In the New York Times article Bittman seems to imply that yields of corn and soybean are higher when more crop rotations are used, and this isn’t exactly true. Certainly the yields were higher on a per year basis, but since corn (for example) was only grown for one out of every few years instead of once every two year, over the course of a decade you’d still produce more corn on the conventional plot – of course you would have additional crops, oats and/or alfalfa, planted to make up for this, but still, this is a significant concern and not one that can be brushed off quickly. There are certainly other concerns with this model if it ever became large. Would we be producing too much alfalfa? This study utilized cow manure as a fertilizer – how many cows per acre would you need? Still, I think this is a neat study and one which we should pay attention to as it’s stuff like this, rather than what we now call organic, which has real potential to decrease our pesticide and fertilizer use.

A followup on the WOW post of last week

There was considerable interest in my post last week, where I shared a photo from Canadian garden writer David Hobson. I wasn’t impressed with the production method and materials for the petunia that was illustrated, but readers wanted to know a little more about the plant (how did the top of it look?) and the mesh encasing the root ball. So I contacted David, and he graciously shared some more information and photos with me.

Here are David’s comments:

“Attached are three photos. Not the best, but the one beside the broom is the original that I sent you. It’s been lying on the patio and has lost a few stems. I don’t have a shot of it in flower as I didn’t particularly like it — one of those new wine and yellow striped things. It was in a container with a couple of other plants and did flower somewhat, but not noticeably well.

“Next shot appears to be a coleus — slightly more roots, but hardly a star.

“Sadly, I can’t tell what number three is for sure as I retrieved it from the compost heap, but it has had an awful time trying to burst free with its tuberous roots.

“I do plant as many as 100 containers in all shapes and sizes each spring and all are all well tended, planted in my own compost mix, supplemented with water soluble fertilizer, watered as required, and suitably oriented.”Certainly, how well these plants thrive and produce blooms is an issue, but given the restrictive nature of this material, it does not appear to be at all biodegradable, a quality that one would think essential. After almost six months in soil, it has barely changed its structure.

“As an after note, I removed the fabric from the petunia and dried it. It is a very fine mesh. I then subjected it to a heat source whereupon and it shriveled and melted as one would expect a plastic material to perform — draw your own conclusions.”

The first photo is the petunia from last week’s post. I think it’s fair to say that the root system is significantly impaired and would require frequent watering to support the above-ground portion (which is pretty wimpy looking). The other photos show the same problems. And it’s apparent from David’s description that the plug wrap is probably made of a plastic of some sort.So, yes, I think it’s the production method – specifically the plastic mesh – that’s creating these poor quality root systems. Gardeners will have better luck with seedling liners filled with loose media.