My brother mailed me some anise hyssop seeds 20+ years ago and a UM student gave me two tulsi basil plants several years ago at “Maryland Day” on the College Park campus. I am deeply indebted to them both for introducing me to these mint family members that quickly became mainstays in my garden. I love both plants for being easy to grow, healthful, and attractive to many species of beneficial insects. They grow abundantly in my yard with little human assistance. They seem pretty dependable under the extreme weather conditions of climate change, although varieties within each species will certainly differ. They tolerate hot, dry weather, as well as periods of high rainfall, as long as soils don’t stay wet. Big bonus: deer don’t seem very interested in these plants!
Every part of anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) smells and tastes of anise. It is native to the U.S. upper Midwest and Great Plains and is also commonly known as blue giant hyssop and lavender giant hyssop. It grows well across Maryland as an annual or tender perennial (overwinters most years at my Howard Co. home). Although it self-sows readily it has not been terribly aggressive; I haven’t seen it spread beyond its main planting sites.
Robust anise hyssop plants in mid-summer holding their own in a weedy bed. Photo credit: Jon TraunfeldBumble bee on anise hyssop flower. Spikes produce many flowers that are frequently visited by insects. Photo credit: Jon Traunfeld
Tulsi basil (Ocimum sanctum or Ocimum tenuiflorum) is also known as holy basil. It is revered in India as a sacred, medicinal plant. Tulsi grows rapidly and blooms continually from June through first frost. Individual plants can easily cover 10 sq. ft. but can be pruned to fit smaller spaces. It’s one of the very few types of basil not infected by basil downy mildew, the scourge of basil lovers. It is not a culinary substitute for Italian basil but is widely used in South Asian cuisines. Continue reading →
There seem to be new lighting choices for indoor plant growing every year. If you’ve been starting annual flower and vegetable plants indoors you probably learned early on that natural light entering through windows is hardly ever adequate. Some type of supplemental light is essential to produce healthy transplants. But what types of bulbs and fixtures work best? And how much money do I really want to spend on something I’ll use for 8-12 weeks each year?
Fluorescent lights
Many gardeners use 2 ft. or 4 ft. long fluorescent tubes in a fixture (a.k.a “shop light”). The T number is the tube diameter in 1/8 inch units. The traditional T12 tube (1 ½ in. dia.) has been largely replaced by slimmer T8 (1-inch dia.) and T5 tubes (5/8 inch dia.). All fluorescent tubes give off a small amount of heat– rarely a problem, even when foliage grows into them. Heat from the ballast in the fixture can help hasten germination and plant growth, especially when your set-up is covered with plastic.
PVC light stand with 4 ft. long T5 fluorescent fixtures. Plants stretch to reach available light. To produce stocky plants the tubes should be only a few inches from the plant tops. Photo: Jon Traunfeld
LED grow lights
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) give off very little heat, use less energy than fluorescent tubes, and last about twice as long. They are also mercury-free and made from plastic so won’t shatter like glass. LEDs appear to be the wave of the future for indoor lighting. Horticulturists and lighting engineers are working worldwide to customize wavelength combinations for specific plant production goals in commercial greenhouses and indoor vertical farms. Continue reading →
This is a good time to think about what worked and what didn’t work so well in our 2018 garden spaces. What was unexpected, which weeds and diseases were challenging, how can we prevent problems and have greater success next year? In that spirit, and before they become dim memories, I’ll share a few observations from the past growing season.
Weather
No two years are alike when it comes to weather and food gardening, but wow, 2018 was unusual! We had a slow spring warm-up and record rainfall in Maryland for the May-July period with multiple 2+ inch rain events (NOAA, 2018; Baltimore Sun, 2018). Unfortunately, extreme weather events and above-average rainfall is consistent with the climate change models for the mid-Atlantic region.
The combination of environmental factors- excess rain, wet soils, wildly fluctuating spring temperatures, and high heat and humidity through much of the summer- contributed to a lot of plant stress, leached nutrients, soil erosion, increased disease and weed pressure, and decreased yields.
Learn more about climate change and how gardeners can meet the challenge on HGIC’s climate change page. Also, at the bottom of the page you will see Climate Change in Your County. This little gem is from the Climate Smart Farming program at Cornell University and presents data graphs of temperature and precipitation changes since 1950 in all Northeast counties.
Edema (burst plant cells) of tomato seedlings
Photo: Submitted to University of Maryland Extension by a client
Too much water inside the home! Jerry Brust, Ph.D., Vegetable IPM Specialist, identified excessive watering as the cause of these tomato transplant symptoms. “Loving them to death” is a common gardening disorder. Let the top of the growing medium dry a bit before watering.
Leaf spot diseases on Roselle hibiscus
Roselle sabdariffa is a fabulous plant grown by many gardeners of Indian and West African descent. It has a lemon-sour taste similar to French sorrel. There are several leafy types that are harvested throughout the growing season.
Photo: Jon Traunfeld
I’ve observed these plants in community gardens in Central Maryland for many years and saw no disease problems. This year, leaf spot symptoms appeared late summer in Howard Co. I sent a sample to the UM Plant Diagnostic Lab. Three different fungal pathogens were found on the sample and the symptoms are most consistent with Cercospora leaf spot, a disease known to infect Roselle. The lab provided excellent recommendations for preventing or minimizing the problem next year: keeping the foliage dry (no overhead watering), remove infected debris at the end of the season to reduce inoculum, and plant it in a different part of the garden next year.
Rainstorms washed away precious soil
Photo: Jon Traunfeld
Torrential July downpours washed unprotected soil onto streets and down storm drains across the region. Clay and organic matter particles were washed away with the rain leaving silt, sand, and stones in the road. Negative environmental effects at one location affect the ecosystem downhill and downstream.
All boys (for a while) club
This young zucchini plant produced 12 male flowers (on straight stalks known as pedicels) before the first female flower (undeveloped fruit, the ovary, forms below the un-opened flower). Be patient- this is normal for most species and varieties in the Cucurbitaceae family.
Photo: Jon Traunfeld
Must prevent tomato diseases, must prevent tomato diseases, must prevent…
Photo: Jon Traunfeld
The principal fungal leaf spot diseases of tomato, early blight (above) and Septoria leaf spot, can be effectively managed so that decent crops are harvested each year. Reduce infection and spread by planting clean seed and transplants, 2 ft. minimum spacing, removing lower leaf branches, watering at plant base, removing all plant debris at season’s end.
Go deep for dependability
Photo: Jon Traunfeld
Photo: Jon Traunfeld
I love these examples of deep and productive raised bed gardens at the Friends House community garden in Sandy Spring.
Life is impermanent (including blackberry)
Photo: Jon Traunfeld
The excavated crown of an 8-year old blackberry plant that was infested with rednecked cane borers. The plants were also infected with spur blight, a fungal disease and possibly other pathogens. HGIC strongly recommends bramble fruits because they are dependable and can be grown organically. But they are susceptible to many insect pests and diseases and may become so weakened that they need to be removed.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and start dreaming about next year’s garden!
Plant and animal existence depends on healthy, functioning soils but humans too often treat it like dirt. We can improve soil health in gardens and on farms by:
limiting soil disturbance (tillage)
planting a diversity of plant species
keeping soil covered throughout the year
These practices reduce erosion and nutrient run-off, build organic matter, and increase carbon storage in soils which helps mitigate the effects of climate change.
Leaf Cover
A thick layer of leaves (preferably run over with a mulching mower) is a terrific winter cover for small vegetable and flower beds. Bags of leaves from your yard or from neighbors’ yards are plentiful this time of year and allow us to sustainably recycle nutrients.
Whole leaves protect soil and garlic plants.
Try a Living Cover This Fall
We’ve had a number of relatively warm falls in recent years and can expect a continuing lengthening of the growing season as a result of global warming. We are past the recommended best date for sowing winter cover crops in Maryland. However, if you live in Central or Southern Maryland or on the Eastern Shore I think you can risk sowing winter rye or winter wheat with a legume, either crimson clover or hairy vetch, through the end of October. The soil and air temperatures should remain sufficiently high for germination and root establishment. Continue reading →
A team of UME Master Gardeners working with UME field faculty created an outstanding Learning Garden that inspired and educated residents during the 11 days of the Maryland State Fair. Practical, small-space gardening techniques were demonstrated in 25 distinct beds.
A dramatic “three sisters” bed served as the central point of visual interest, attracting people from across the fairgrounds: ‘Honeybush’ butternut squash at the base, sunflowers (instead of corn) growing upright, and ‘Algarve’ pole beans climbing to the top of the bamboo frame:
On July 21 I grabbed my umbrella and joined three UME faculty (Wanda MacLachlan, Sara Via, and Kelsey Brooks) to judge seven community garden finalists in the Charm City Farm & Garden Contest, sponsored by the UME Master Gardener program in Baltimore City. We spent an amazing day zig-zagging through the city and visiting gardens, ably guided by MGs Robert Cook and Derek Joost. We were all in awe of the creativity, skill, perseverance, and resourcefulness of the gardeners.
Here are some gardening tips and photos from four of the gardens:
Conkling St. Garden
Murals are a common sight on walls next to gardens. This garden serves Highlandtown and the Baltimore-Highlands neighborhood. There are 20 large raised beds, plus flowers, herbs, fruit trees.
A majority of Baltimore community gardens are located on vacant lots with no topsoil. Raised beds are typically filled with compost (often mushroom compost) or mixtures of compost and topsoil. High quality growing media combined with deep beds produces large, healthy plants and high yields. Electrical conduit is used to support clear plastic to extend the season.
Harwood Community Garden
Love the artwork in this Adopt-a-Lot community garden in East Baltimore. People garden collectively and share the harvest, a growing trend among community gardens.
These tomato plants, planted as a double row, are over 6 ft. tall and loaded with fruit.
They used the “Florida-weave” method to support plants between runs of heavy twine or string. Tie off on the end post and wrap around each post in the row, and then repeat on the other side, tying off where you started.
Our Community Garden
This amazing West Baltimore garden is really a series of gardens created over 25 years on vacant lots that had been a dumping ground. Hard work, community organizing and many truckloads of city leaf mold made it a success.
Garden leaders recognized on wall of the Memory Garden: Justine Bonner (center, deceased) was the garden founder and a Master Gardener. Hannah Trent (right) is a Master Gardener and the current garden leader.
Victorine Q. Adams Memorial Garden
This garden started as a project to clean up two vacant lots. It’s now a beautiful and productive garden, a source of community pride, and this year’s winning garden in the Vegetable/Ornamental category!
Mega-healthy purslane grown as an “under crop” beneath collards.Clever use of a plastic pallet to support winter squash plants, saving garden space. Community space next to the garden features a stage, barbecue pit, and African-American history.
We got wet on that Saturday but left inspired and better educated about community gardening in the city. I hope I get invited to judge next year!
In a mid-March post, I wrote about the advantages of using heavy-duty weed barrier fabric to smother weeds and create a no-till plant bed. In mid-June, I found myself with two beds that were starting to get weedy. The winter cover crop that had protected the soil was quickly decomposing and crabgrass and broadleaf weeds were emerging.
Rapidly growing weeds are quickly brought under control with weed barrier fabric.
I threw on 3-ft. wide strips of the weed barrier material and after five days of very hot weather all of the vegetation was dead. Continue reading →
