A little about bugs

I’m not much of an entomologist.  (Okay, I’ve never had a single bug-related class.)  But I do appreciate insects in all of their bewildering shapes and behaviors.  And after this weekend I’ve become a little more entomologically educated.

I spent the weekend in Prescott, Arizona at the annual MG conference.  Besides meeting lots of great Master Gardeners (and Extension educators) in that state, I also met Dr. Whitney Cranshaw from Colorado State University.  He gave a keynote talk called “Gardening for Insects – or not!” … Continue reading this article “A little about bugs”

The people have spoken…

OK, the results are in for our reader poll to design a landscape tree transplant study here at MSU next spring.  And the winner is…er, I mean, winners are: Root ball manipulation and Fertilization at the time of planting.  Root ball manipulation drew 74.3% of the responses, Fertilization was chosen by 63% (voters could chose more than one favorite topic).  All other proposed topics were under 40% (Mycorrhizae – 37%, Crown reduction- 31%, Cambistat – 11.4%, Bioplex – 11.4%).… Continue reading this article “The people have spoken…”

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.… Continue reading this article “Any PR is good PR…I think…”

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.… Continue reading this article “The Genetically Modified Kentucky Bluegrass Problem (The Anger As Promised)”

Reader input wanted for new book

(Note:  I’ll be doing another blog posting later today.  Just want to be sure I get this out.)

I’m writing a new book on plant physiology for gardeners – a book that explains how plants work and why they sometimes do weird and unexpected things. I’d like to hear what kind of “how” or “why” questions you’d like to see answered in this type of book.  Please add your comments to this post, or send them to me directly.… Continue reading this article “Reader input wanted for new book”

Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em…

(As an aside, I wrote this before I read Jeff’s Oct. 13 post so don’t read this as a rebuttal!)

 

One of the hallmarks of science is that it pays to keep an open mind.  We all tend to have biases so it’s good to get a reminder once in a while that some things that seem ‘out there’ can actually work and provide some useful information.

 

A case in point.  At the American Society for Horticultural Sciences annual meetings I make a point to wonder through and browse all of the poster presentations – even those that appear to have little relevance to issues I typically deal with.  … Continue reading this article “Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em…”

Problems with New Crops

A few years ago I listened to a new crop presentation which I found very interesting — So I looked it up to see if it was on youtube — and yep, there it was.  Very moving — I’m still wiping the tears from my eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7YBaiJMnik 

Disagreeing With Colleagues

There are lots of things that people write about that I strongly disagree with.  Mostly I keep my mouth shut because my comments would amount to:

A. Preaching to the choir
B. Supporting the phrase "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still" (I’m not sure who to attribute this saying to — I’ve seen a few different authors named).  My interpretation of this phrase is that you can’t convince someone of something they don’t want to be convinced of.… Continue reading this article “Disagreeing With Colleagues”

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.… Continue reading this article “Sugar and Spice and Misnomers”

Opening up a can of roots (or worms as the case may be)

Blog reader Alan Haigh asked if we could start a discussion about tree planting recommendations.  He sent along these guidelines from the Colorado State Master Gardener Program.

While I’m glad to see that the consensus now seems to be that burlap, wire, twine etc. do not belong in the planting hole, there’s still plenty of issues to contest.  Here are just a few that I found on my first read:

1)  Not mulching over the root ball;

2)  Assuming that all B&B trees are “field grown,” which I *know* is incorrect for so very, very many B&B trees;

3)  Not including the root-washing technique for B&B, which is not only research-based but is actively promoted through the International Society for Arboriculture’s workshops (see this posting for instance). … Continue reading this article “Opening up a can of roots (or worms as the case may be)”