Jamie McIntosh's Blog
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Yesterday I spent two hours paddling a river with class II rapids with my family. Class II doesn't sound like much of an adventure, unless 2/3 of your paddling party has the upper body strength of a tree frog. At each of the eight named rapids we traversed, we paddled like hapless fools in one direction, while the current ignored our feeble splashing and guided us toward features like the "surprise hole" and the "double drop." While hung up on some of the boulders that punctuated this journey, I did have a few moments to observe some of the wildflowers that lined the river banks. I was most impressed with the rhododendrons, which grew as spindly specimens in some places and 15 foot natural hedges in others.
If you visit the Smoky Mountains, bring a wildflower field guide with you to help you identify the more than 1500 flowering plants that grace this national park, including approximately 300 rare plants. And if you go white water rafting, bring a life jacket, if not a guide!
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
When was the last time you saw an earthworm? Chances are, you didn’t think much about the sighting. If you were working in the garden, you may have disturbed some in the soil. If it was after a heavy rain, you saw them writhing on the sidewalk. If it was three days after that rain, you saw their desiccated carcasses, frozen in their last flight like the mummies of Pompeii.
Whether they make you feel squeamish or indifferent, earthworms are a vital part of a living, healthy soil. Consider life without earthworms: the soil would become flat, hardpan, as lifeless as the sphagnum moss in an artificial flower arrangement. The extinction of the earthworm could serve as the premise for an apocalyptic novel. After all, as T.S. Eliot said, “the world will end, not with a bang, but with a whimper.”
Considering the lowly member of the annelid family in this stark scenario, how can organic gardeners protect and nurture the earthworm?
- Stop using chemicals on plants and in the soil.
- Place at least three inches of organic mulch on bare earth to retain moisture.
- Maintain a healthy soil pH of at least 4.5.
- Avoid walking on the soil, which compacts it and reduces earthworm traffic.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
I was so busy fussing over my plants that were withering away in the 90-degree heat that I forgot to protect my skin the other day. One minute I was adding mulch to my rosebushes, the next minute I felt like a rotisserie chicken sizzling in the oven. The sun felt so intense, I looked at my shoulder with alarm, expecting to see a shade of magenta, or angry purple, or anything but a healthy glow. There really isn’t any such thing as a healthy tan, especially for someone one shade shy of alabaster. I love to linger in the sunscreen aisle, even if I have several new bottles at home. I have a sunscreen for every need, the way some women have a different moisturizer for every body zone.
In addition to choosing a sunscreen that smells nice (or not at all), doesn’t wash off, and doesn’t make my face look like an oil slick, I’m concerned about the safety of my sunscreen ingredients. Many sunscreens include ingredients that help the skin absorb them, but some sunscreens are absorbed into the bloodstream, raising the possibility of toxic effects. Furthermore, some sunscreens contain ingredients that mimic hormones or cause allergic reactions. If you aren’t sure about the safety of your sunscreen, check it against the Environmental Working Group’s safety database. They rank the safety of nearly 900 sunscreens on a scale of 0-10, and provide detailed information on the ingredients of top sunscreen brands.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
I don’t know how Mother Nature managed to align herself with the calendar so perfectly this year, but our temperatures shot right up into the upper 90’s on summer solstice and haven’t come back down since. This weather is harsh to cool weather-loving plants like fuchsias and snapdragons, but it can be a death knell for spring favorites like pansies, lettuce, and spinach. If your pansies are still clinging to life with their last ragged petals, it’s time to replace them with hot weather annuals, like zinnias or coleus. If you’re lucky enough to have a salad garden that hasn’t bolted yet, it may not be too late to get a few more lettuce and spinach leaves for the plate.
Bolting occurs when warm temperatures signal the plant to produce flowers and seeds. In leafy greens, bolting brings out undesirable bitter flavors in the plants. Shade cloth can keep temperatures a few degrees lower around leafy vegetables, which can delay bolting a couple of weeks or more. If you don’t want to invest in shade cloth, an old gauzy curtain also does the trick. Perhaps this will be the year that the lettuce lasts long enough to top with some tomatoes harvested from the organic garden.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
This week my garden has been the recipient of copious amounts of rain, including four inches in one night alone. This isn’t a bad thing when the temperature is a withering 95 degrees, but wet conditions can encourage the proliferation of various pests and diseases. In my area, a major pest I must contend with is mosquitoes. Mosquitoes aren’t a garden pest per se, but swarms of this insect keep me from attending to weeding and other garden chores.
I grew up in Florida, and I have memories of running for the house when the “mosquito trucks” came rolling down the street, blasting the surroundings with a miasma of poisonous spray. I can’t imagine what kind of negative health and environmental effects this type of pesticide had, but there are safe and organic ways to control mosquitoes. The best way to control mosquitoes is to remove all standing water. Mosquitoes can breed in as little as a teaspoon of water, so don’t overlook small puddles. In flooded areas or stagnant ponds, apply an organic mosquito larvicide. Active ingredients may include mineral oil, or look for mosquito dunks that use a biological pesticide. Finally, use a DEET-free mosquito repellant on the skin. Active ingredients like neem oil keep mosquitoes and other biting insects away.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Seasoned parents will tell those with challenging youngsters to enjoy the time, as the days are long, but the years are short. So it is with gardening. It seems that one minute, I was complaining that winter would never end. Now, as summer solstice nears, I can’t believe that the gardening season is halfway over. The foliage on my spring bulbs has already withered and been cut back. Fall bulb catalogs are arriving in the mail. The sunflowers are developing buds, and the summer annuals are at their peak. This is the time for every gardener to relax and enjoy the fruits of his or her labors, as one has a finite number of gardening seasons to enjoy in one’s lifetime. Whether your challenges lie in entertaining little ones through the long summer months, or in cultivating the perfect flower or vegetable garden, enjoy the gifts that today brings.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
I cut back on my edible plantings this summer, because I know I’ll be on vacation during some of the peak harvest times. Who wants to tend to a vegetable garden all spring, only to leave the fruits of your labor to the squirrels and rabbits? I hope that between a mixture of good luck, good neighbors, and good technology, I will still have a thriving garden to come home to after my travels.
If you’re traveling this summer, make a small investment in one of my favorite tools, a programmable irrigation timer. A garden hose timer turns your water on and off according to the duration and days of the week you program into the unit. I move my containers under the sprinkler zone, and set the garden hose timer to run for about an hour every other day, from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Gardeners may like this system so much that they use it even when not on vacation! After all, who really waters their gardens at dawn, like the experts recommend?
If necessary, supplement the sprinkler timer with a plant sitter. You may barter house sitting, plant sitting, and pet sitting with a neighbor. If your garden care is complex, hire a neighborhood teen to provide the care. For a reasonable fee, a hired plant sitter should provide weeding and perhaps one or two lawn mowing services, to keep the house from appearing vacant. It’s always exciting to come home and see how much the plants grew while I was gone!
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Sometimes I get questions from gardeners about adding eggshells to the compost bin. Yes, eggshells are appropriate compost ingredients, but they break down very slowly. If you plan to add eggshells to the compost bin, you can grind them up with a coffee bean grinder or blender first to achieve uniform, crumbly compost. Gardeners with a compost worm bin can use eggshells to provide necessary grit and calcium to the red worms.
Eggs and eggshells have other uses in the organic garden. If you prepare boiled eggs, save the cooking water to use in the garden to revive tired plants. The calcium and other micronutrients are beneficial to both vegetables and ornamental plants. Tomato plants especially need the calcium boost to prevent blossom end rot, so add eggshells directly to the planting hole.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
This morning I went to an estate sale on a whim, after sending my husband yesterday to scout out a drill press and some camping supplies. Estate sales are a fun way to get a peak into the way some people live their lives, and they are an opportunity for collectors and hobbyists to pay a dime on the dollar for gently used items. For example, this woman had hundreds and hundreds of cow items (click on the image below to get an idea of the scope of this collection). Cows aren’t my particular favorite, but I’m close to a cow collector, so I got some gift shopping done.
Garden items are commonly offered at estate sales. After all, every homeowner needs a few basic tools to maintain his plot of land, and these are sold when the estate is liquidated. Even if you don’t need another shovel or lawnmower, look for unique pottery items, gardening books, and even live potted plants. Go early on the first day of the sale to snatch up hot items that sell quickly, and go on the last day of the sale for the 50% off specials. You may never pay full price again!
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
While watching my sons ride their bikes in the street in the evenings, I can rarely resist getting out my pruning shears, dandelion digger, or watering can to tend to some needy tenant in my front yard flower garden. Tonight, as I observed that my Russian Sage is about to bloom, I noticed an invader that required immediate attention: the delicate tendrils of a bindweed vine were reaching toward the sun. If I don’t get this weed under control before the sage blooms, I had better rent a beekeepers outfit to work on the problem. My neighbor is a beekeeper, and her bees love the bluish-purple blossom sprays of this perennial best of all.
Don’t let the delicate appearance of the bindweed fool you: this perennial weed will wrap its twining stems around every piece of foliage within grasp, until your garden is covered in a blanket of heart-shaped leaves and small funnel-shaped flowers. These vines look pretty when scrambling across a field, but terribly shabby in the flower garden. Pull the seedlings as soon as you identify them, and definitely before they flower and drop seeds. If the infestation is severe, cut the vines to ground level and smother them under a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
I start off my spring gardening season with the best intentions for controlling weeds, but inevitably a week of rain combines with a week of vacation, and my perennial plants have a growth spurt that conceals an intruder in their midst. By the time I discover this established weed, it’s usually too well rooted to dig out. I need to use my organic weed spray to weaken or kill the plant, and my natural herbicide of choice is horticultural vinegar.
The challenge with using horticultural vinegar is that it is not a selective herbicide, so it can damage or kill neighboring landscape plants. Organic gardeners must take steps to protect desirable vegetation from herbicide overspray:
- For weeds on the edge of a plant border, pin the weed down with a u-pin, and then spray the weed. Remove the pin when the spray has dried.
- For weeds in the middle of a thick flower patch, use a small paintbrush to apply the weed killer.
- For large thorny weeds, such as thistle, cut the weed down to ground level and paint the stump with the herbicide.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
For me, one benefit of moving from the south to the Midwest was the shift from palm-sized spiders to quarter-sized spiders. I know that spiders are beneficial, but that didn’t make my nocturnal encounters with the golden orb weaver any less creepy. The impressive webs these spiders wove didn’t break on contact, rather, they seemed to stretch in their efforts to catch the large prey passing beneath. At least, that’s what I imagined as I half slapped the hair off my head in an effort to dislodge the arachnids.
No organic gardener wants to kill the spiders in their garden, but it’s OK to use some natural repellants, especially if the resident spiders are aggressive or poisonous, such as the black widow spider.
- Place hedge apple fruits from the Osage orange tree around the garden to repel spiders.
- Relocate brush piles to an area of the garden you don’t frequent, as spiders seek shelter in brush and debris.
- Keep the garden meticulously weeded.
- Remove webs with a broom or jet of water before the spider builds her egg sac.
- Reduce your use of garden lights, which attract the spider’s prey at night.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
This weekend we attended my husband’s family reunion, and many of the activities took place on a 3000-acre farm in western Kansas. My sons were in heaven, exploring empty grain bins, climbing over dormant combines and tractors, and scrutinizing the juxtaposition of modern equipment against relics like icehouses and antique blacksmithing tools. This farm didn’t have a whisper of organic practices, and I wouldn’t have wanted to make our 76-year old host feel uncomfortable by questioning his farming methods.
Our visit did increase my respect for this difficult and necessary profession. Regardless of the methods used, I feel that one must have a deep-seated calling to endure the hardships of farming. All farmers face the same determined insect pests and indifferent whims of Mother Nature. Fifty-five years ago, my husband’s uncle didn’t have a market that valued organic produce. He did what was necessary to feed his family, and that meant conventional farming. I am grateful that today agricultural innovations and health-minded consumers allow farmers more choices about the way they tend the earth.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
We’ve had some bird drama in the garden this week. If you’re six and four years old, these are the kind of occurrences you talk about for months. First, my sons and I helped to return a baby blue jay to its nest. Normally I’m very hands-off about baby birds that have fallen from their nests, but this little guy was sure to be snake food if he spent the night on the ground, and the nest was only about 10 feet up in the tree. The bossy squawking of a group of blue jays turns off some people, but if you’ve ever observed a mating pair calling to each other, you may also notice that they can exhibit a melodious whistle.
Today’s bird moment was hilarious: a flock of red-winged blackbirds chasing a pair of turkey vultures around and behind our property. The bold vultures wouldn’t be dislodged, and neither would the blackbirds give up their harassment. This made for a good 25 minutes of aerial entertainment.
As you care for your garden this summer, think of its place in the food chain. If you’re cursing the caterpillars on your tomato plants, remember that they provide a protein-rich diet for many songbirds. Restrict your deadheading in the flower garden so oil-rich seeds like coneflowers can provide a snack for native birds. Most importantly, avoid using toxic chemicals in your lawn and garden that can harm wildlife.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Yesterday, I spent 20 minutes pulling plants I had planted in my garden seven years ago. One packet of four-o-clock seeds was enough to install this annual flower permanently in my garden. Annuals that volunteer, or self-seed, in the garden can be a blessing or nuisance in the garden. Sometimes, they can be both! Self-seeding annuals don’t replant themselves where you want them to be, nor do they limit their progeny. However, there’s no easier way to have a low maintenance flower garden than to choose plants that return from the seeds they drop. Some other good choices for flowers that self-sow include:
- Cosmos
- Cleome, or spider flower
- Forget-me-not
- Morning Glory
- Sunflowers
- Verbena bonariensis
- Viola
Planting flowers that self-sow is cheap, and a fun way to fill in gaps in the garden with unexpected surprises. While you’re thinning over-abundant self-seeding annuals, save some for the container garden, and save even more money!
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
A reader recently wrote me with a question about the right container for organic vegetable gardening:
- I am interested in growing some vegetables in containers. My concern is that the containers themselves are toxic and will leach toxic chemicals into the foods grown. Which containers are not toxic? Are there any? Plastic, pressurized wood, and even concrete I think are out...what's left?
Great question! Terra cotta is always a good choice for a natural container garden.
Drawbacks of terra cotta include its expense, that it cannot be left outdoors during subfreezing temperatures, and its heavy weight.
Plastic containers are still OK for growing vegetables. Choose a plastic that's stable, and doesn't leach hormone-disrupting phthalates into the soil. Look at the "chasing arrow" symbol on the plastic. #1, #2, #4, and #5 plastics are safe. Avoid using #3, #6, and #7 plastics.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Last night, my 4-year-old had his end of the year recital at his preschool. He had warned me multiple times that he hates to sing, and that he would refuse to perform, but my husband and I gently ignored his protests as we drove to the performance. Sitting in the audience with my sister-in-law, husband, and two other sons, we watched as my 4-year-old silently and stubbornly stood with his arms crossed and lips pursed together for the entire concert. As the old saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”
This story makes me think of gardens I’ve observed with faltering plants. These gardeners aren’t plagued with pests or diseases. Instead, I see weak rose bushes stuck in a shady corner, their leggy canes straining toward a nearby shaft of sunlight. I notice hostas with scorched leaves baking in the middle of a sunny rock garden.
Gardeners, you can place a plant in the location of your choice, but you can’t make it perform. For the most successful garden, follow the guidelines for sun exposure, soil, and spacing on the plant marker. If you observe these basic steps, you’ll be singing your garden’s praises all summer.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
I’m sure I’m not the only one who wonders what to do with those flimsy plastic six packs after planting the flowers and vegetables they contain. There isn’t any “chasing arrow” symbol that signifies that this item can be recycled. They certainly can’t be reused, as the plastic tears away from the plants as they are dislodged.
The light weight of disposable plant six packs makes them cheap to ship, but some horticultural industry officials argue that standardization of nursery pots would make them easier to recycle. Meanwhile, gardeners can reduce waste by starting more plants from seed at home. In lieu of plastic six packs, home gardeners can fashion biodegradable pots from newspaper, or can purchase cow pots made of compressed cow manure.
If your recycling center doesn’t take the #2, #5, or #7 pots commonly used in the nursery trade, save the heavier duty pots for planting up divisions for friends. After several years of hoarding some of these quart-sized pots in my garage, I was thankful to have them when giving away excess ostrich ferns that were taking over my shade garden this year.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Last weekend, my family had its first vacation at home, without even leaving the yard. My husband set up a tent in our backyard, my sons helped to dig a fire pit, and we drug out every piece of camping gear my husband ever drooled over from his Cabela’s catalog. Between our lanterns, camping pads, and fold-up tables, no comfort was spared! How fortunate that a fast food kid’s meal earlier in the week yielded three magnifying bug viewers to give us our first activity. For once, I was happy when I opened the compost bin and swarms of insects came buzzing out. I’ve never examined a fruit fly so closely. Did you know that they have orange eyes?
After roasting our hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire, we made leaf and bark rubbings with crayon and paper. This made me realize that I can’t identify every species of tree in my backyard. A trip to the library is in order this week, to get a tree identification field guide.
After dark, I allowed the internet to provide me with a range of age-appropriate ghost stories. The keepers went into a file, and the losers stoked the fire. The best part of the evening was retiring to the house and my comfortable bed around 10 pm, as our tent wasn’t quite big enough to hold our family of five. A backyard campout, with a mother’s day bonus of sleeping in for me. Perfect!
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Newsweek recently ran a photo gallery reporting on the efforts and foibles of celebrities and their green lifestyles. We’ve always examined the private lives of celebrities under a microscope: Now, instead of seeing how they look without makeup or in a swimsuit, we get to decide if they’re eco-hypocrites as well.
For example, Madonna donates her voice to raise funds for LiveEarth, but her charitable foundation holds stock in companies that drill for oil. Then there’s Mary-Kate Olsen, who arrives at a Generation Environment dinner party in an armored SUV.
It’s fun to entertain the occasional fantasy of living as a Luddite, and shunning all trappings of modern technology. However, who can claim to live a life completely free of gasoline, oil, and coal?
I would like to own a shed full of garden tools made from hand-forged metal and sustainably harvested wood, but I still rely on my petrochemical-derived plastic trowel. I would like to have a premium reel mower, but we still use a gas-powered mower.
I’m still striving to make environmentally friendly changes in my home and garden, but meanwhile, I’m glad I don’t live under the microscope of eco-paparazzi.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Once a year, I get together with my best friend from college for a long weekend of gossip and shopping. Finding a hotel with a comfortable bed close to shops and attractions always tops the list, but this year we discovered a green hotel that exceeded all of our expectations. The Q Hotel and Spa in Kansas City reinvented itself as a green hotel in 2007, starting with an idea for in-room recycling and extending the green notion to sustainable operations in everything from its Prius guest shuttle to its organic, fair trade coffee in the lobby bar.
I’ve stayed in hotels that give a nod to water and energy conservation by requesting guests to use their towels for multiple days in a row. This feels chintzy; more like a way for the hotel to realize savings than a true attempt at corporate responsibility. However, when a hotel exhibits sustainable decisions at all levels, I feel better about reusing towels or making other small changes to help the business reduce its environmental footprint.
If you’re looking for a green hotel to complement your eco travel plans, consider one that engages in some of the same practices as the Q Hotel and Spa, such as:
- Green Seal approval
- Use of recycled products and in-room recycling
- Composting of food waste
- Organic food and beverage choices
- Energy Star appliances and compact fluorescent bulbs
- Eco-friendly bathroom amenities
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Gardeners sometimes spend so much effort trying to keep their dogs from trampling new seedlings and cats from making unauthorized deposits in freshly dug soil, they forget that the garden can be a dangerous place for pets. During National Pet Care Week, remember to protect your pets from potential hazards in the garden:
- Pesticides and Herbicides: Even products approved for use in organic gardens can be poisonous if consumed by animals.
- Fertilizers: If you use organic fertilizers in your vegetable garden but can’t let go of your conventional lawn fertilizers, consider the exposure animals get when they tread on these chemicals with their paws. Switch to an organic product with ingredients like corn gluten meal, soy, alfalfa, or blood meal.
- Cocoa Bean Mulch: This mulch is beautiful and fragrant, but some dogs find it as appetizing as chocolate, and it’s just as toxic to a dog’s digestive system.
- Poisonous Plants: Many ornamental plants are toxic or even fatal to pets, including azaleas, English ivy, lantana, and yew.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Although I use my plastic compost bin frequently for kitchen scraps, I’m really grateful for my homemade compost bin. Made from four shipping pallets wired together, this bin isn’t much to look at, but it holds a wealth of leaves from our deciduous trees in the autumn. I don’t have a problem with rodents, since I put all the cantaloupe rinds and other smelly goodies in the enclosed plastic bin. In the spring, when I’m overwhelmed with nitrogen-rich grass clippings, I have enough carbon-rich leaves saved in the pallet compost bin to get the blend I need to make quick compost.
If you don’t have access to shipping pallets, a three-sided bin made of cinder blocks makes a good storage area for excess leaves. If desired, gardeners can make a four-sided bin by using masonry nails to attach lumber to the open side of the bin.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Although ants are beneficial insects, in that they aerate the soil and consume the eggs and larvae of garden pests, I had my last straw with this insect when I checked the mail yesterday. As I reached for my bills and magazines, a horde of angry ants came swarming out. Bless my mail carrier for delivering our mail anyways, through sleet, hail, and insect invasion.
Our mailbox is surrounded by decorative wooden planks, and I haven’t helped their longevity by training vines up over the box each year. This gently rotting wood creates the perfect habitat for several species of ants. Spraying poison into the mailbox was out of the question, but could I stand to wait several more days for a natural ant repellant, like mint oil, to take effect?
In the end, the cheapest solution turned out to be the most effective. I poured pot after pot of boiling water onto the mailbox, until every last insect and egg was boiled alive. Sorry, but even an organic gardener has her limits when it comes to beneficial insects.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
When I think of celebrity gardeners, my mind wanders to Martha Stewart or Michelle Obama. However, the latest celebrity to relax in the garden is somewhat unexpected: Britney Spears. The star claims that she wants to learn all she can about horticulture, and is even replacing her unauthorized pharmaceuticals with “flower therapy.” For a woman who has become a caricature of herself in the last several years, perhaps this marks a turning point for Britney. Here is a hurting soul, still trying to find the rhythm of motherhood while coping with career swings, divorce, and substance abuse. I hope that she finds the solace she seeks in nature, and that we may even encounter her participating in a garden forum sometime.
If Britney asked me for garden tips, here are three things I would share:
- Involve your children in the garden. They are two and three years old, the perfect time to start digging in the dirt and hauling a watering can.
- Learn the tenets of organic gardening. You’ve experienced enough toxic chemicals for one lifetime.
- Grow easy, low maintenance plants. The success you will have with these will bolster your confidence and inspire you to try advanced garden projects.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
People sometimes ask me how I achieve such excellent weed control in my organic lawn. Is there a special organic spray? Do I know of a virulent strain of grass seed that crowds out all weeds? These questions are analogous to asking the owner of a well trained dog what special biscuit he uses as a reward. Achieving a healthy organic lawn, or an obedient dog, is a process that requires daily intervention from the gardener or pet owner. Like a rivulet of water carving a rock over time, small actions add up. Ten minutes of daily reinforcement with a dog mean more than one week with an obedience class. Similarly, 10 minutes a day yanking dandelions and clover are more valuable than an annual chemical dump.
If you think your lawn is too far-gone for hand pulling, try this strategy for two weeks: focus on pulling the weeds in the quadrant of your yard that is the most displeasing to you. Carry a bucket for the weeds in one hand, and in the other hand, carry a bucket of compost mixed with grass seed. Sprinkle your compost-seed mixture in your wake, as nature abhors a vacuum, and will fill up your bare spots with more opportunistic weeds. This activity is especially beneficial in early spring, when rains help the new grass germinate. At the end of this trial period, compare this area of your lawn with the rest of the yard. With continued vigilance, at the end of the season, don’t be surprised if your neighbors ask you what weed killer you’ve been using in your lawn.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
This morning I did something I should have done 10 years ago: I went to my city’s recycling center and loaded up my truck with as much free compost as I could carry away. Although I have two large compost bins at home, my planting plans always seem to exceed my homemade supply. I was skeptical about getting the free compost made from the city’s yard waste collection program, as I imagined all sorts of sticks and garbage that the compost might contain. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the compost was thoroughly sifted and screened, and had a wonderfully earthy aroma. My boys eagerly used their miniature shovels to fill every bucket we had, and other than the price of a slightly achy back, my gardens will benefit from this free recycled material.
In my city alone, more than 12,000 tons of yard waste are diverted from the wastestream each year through this program that benefits gardeners and the earth. Contact your city’s sanitation services to see if they recycle the community’s yard waste into free compost and mulch for its citizens.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
This weekend, my 6-year-old was mulling over the new dandelion-digging machine he plans to invent. Oh, how have I warped the minds of my young boys, who should be daydreaming about superheroes and stock car racing? Perhaps my son is on the right track however, as he would probably make a much greater fortune with his imagined garden tool than he would racing cars or creating comic books. He acknowledged that his machine would be “tricky to build, because it would need to dig up the roots without breaking the stem.” This child has spent too much time watching mommy wrestle with lawn weeds this week.
Until this miraculous dandelion digger hits the market, organic gardeners can tackle dandelion problems in three ways:
- Dig dandelions with a steel, two-pronged weed digger after a heavy rain, when the roots yield easily.
- Spray dandelions with horticultural vinegar. Avoid spraying neighboring grasses or plants, as this organic weed killer is non-selective.
- Apply corn meal gluten early in the season as a pre-emergent. This stops seeds from germinating, so apply it in late winter or early spring.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
After a long winter spent indoors, often exposed to cold and flu viruses, one would think that a dose of fresh air and gardening would bring nothing but beneficial health effects. However, for some individuals, gardening invites a rare but deadly fungal disease to infect the body. Blastomycosis is a lung disease caused when individuals inhale fungal spores that reside in the soil, and it causes pneumonia-like symptoms. Symptoms are vague, but patients report a fever or unproductive cough. In fact, many patients receive treatment for pneumonia, but fail to get better.
Researchers aren’t sure what causes some people to get blastomycosis, while others don’t. Avoid stirring up the soil by practicing lasagna gardening, rather than using a tiller. Individuals with compromised immune systems may consider wearing a surgical mask during gardening activities, and can ask the doctor about the possibility of blastomycosis testing if flu-like symptoms don’t improve.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
I always thought I had a pretty high tolerance for insect encounters. Like any gardener, I find the most interesting, and healthy members of the insect species in my compost pile. My squeamish level ranges from low for dime-sized spiders, to full-on heebie-jeebies for any unexpected swarm or colony of bugs that numbers in the thousands. So yesterday, when I saw a house centipede on my vaulted ceiling, I was only mildly concerned.
If you aren’t familiar with house centipedes, you must Google this insect to appreciate this frightful looking creature that resembles a silverfish on steroids. Many hours after observing this large specimen, I was seated under its perch, talking on the phone. My memory of the sighting was jogged only when I felt something land—FOOF—in my hair. “EEEEIIIIII!” I screamed, and threw the phone across the room. I know these arthropods are beneficial, as they eat small insects, but can’t they be beneficial in someone else’s home?
If you have house centipedes, get rid of them by cleaning and drying the places they like to dwell in, such as basements or firewood stacks. Homeowners can also sprinkle diatomaceous earth around foundations and basement crevices.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
As I stated in a recent article about organic gardening myths, peat moss is not an ideal soil amendment. Peat moss takes centuries to develop, and its harvest from wetland bogs destroys habitat and releases greenhouse gases into the air. This is surprising to many gardeners, who may rely on peat moss to lighten and acidify the soil.
One woman who spearheads the effort to educate others about fragile peat bog ecosystems is Kathy Browne. Through her nonprofit organization, Green!USA, she shares alternatives to peat moss in the garden. Examples include compost, coconut fiber, leaf mold, and pine needles. This is another easy change organic gardeners can make to improve the environment for earth day.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Although I’m celebrating the end of a very long Midwestern winter with much fanfare and unauthorized garden purchases, I’m not looking forward to the return of insect pests. There isn’t much growing in my garden yet, but that hasn’t stopped ants and houseflies from invading my house. The ants are under control, but with three small children opening the door about once every three minutes, the smack of the flyswatter is second only to the noise of the door slamming.
However, I’ve heard about a novel technique for repelling houseflies, without using ugly flypaper, ineffectual “electrocution” lights, or stinky traps. My southern relatives clued me in on a homemade device that exploits a housefly’s keen eyesight. Simply fill a quart-sized zippered plastic bag ¾ full of water, and hang it above the doorway. The subtle movement and shimmer of the water gives the appearance of a possible predator to flies, and they avert their flight pattern. I’ve heard of restaurants and bars with these “fly bags” leaving their doors open, without a single invader onsite. I can’t wait to see if it works for me.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
In the last month, my garden has morphed from a few crocuses to a range of spring-flowering bulbs, pansies, and emergent perennials. Now, with the calendar officially showing that the seasons have changed, the weather forecast predicts a spring snowstorm. What will my plants look like after 6 to 12 inches of snowfall this weekend? At least the temperatures will hover around the freezing mark; very different from last year’s May temps that dipped into the teens, killing a mature clematis and climbing hydrangea in my garden.
If the meteorologists predict a hard freeze in your area, defined by temperatures below 26 degrees for two or more hours, take steps to protect your garden plants:
Place all container plants in a sheltered area, such as an unheated shed or garage.
Cover large planted areas with a floating row cover or sheet. Don’t use plastic tarps, which conducts the cold to the plants.
Create makeshift bell jars out of milk jugs, buckets, or any other vessel large enough to cover the plant. Keep milk jugs steady by piercing the base with garden stakes, and secure each bucket with a large rock. Remove these when temperatures rise above 30 degrees F.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
A guest blog from Jamie's mother:
When we head west to visit my daughter and her family, it is always a venture into a very different terrain and environment.
As usual, Jamie's garden was sprouting the weather appropriate blooms, and the daffodils met us with a welcome yellow surround. I always marvel at her green thumb and wonder if I hang around long enough; I will pick up some hints. I am a sixty something grandma, and I am determined to make learning new things my mantra for the remaining decades I have left to me.
Early one morning during my visit, I heard a whoop of uncontained joy, followed by an exuberant "Alright"! Had the prize patrol pulled up? Not exactly. Jamie had just learned she and her family could now recycle additional items through the city's recycling program. Nothing goes to waste in this household. I felt guilty for all the recyclables that I had dumped in Florida! Jamie was teaching me.
Organic waste disposal methods were also a learning curve for me. I usually burned up the garbage disposal in my house when cooking. For Jamie, the preparation of a fresh apple pie was another opportunity to add to her growing compost pile. Oh, boy...was I learning!
I always thought I should treat my grandsons royally while I was in town. How about one of those mini amusement parks or out for burgers? She suggested a walk through the dog park and then home for lunch where whole grains, fruits and vegetables waiting. Was that really my youngest grandson eating lettuce by the handful? I thoroughly enjoyed all the activities, and they were as natural as my daughter's garden.
Thanks for reminding this grandma that fun and good eating are just as natural as a walk in the park and homemade apple pie. We look forward to more good times in the
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Yard art has sunk to a new low. No longer content to distract passers-by from an unkempt lawn with plastic flamingoes and dollar store garden gnomes, homeowners are indulging in the ultimate in artifice: grass paint. This is exactly what it sounds like. Grass paint is a product one sprays across the entire yard, like spray paint, to give the appearance of something growing. Say what?! This is no St. Patrick’s Day prank. People are so desperate for the look of a well-groomed lawn that they are willing to apply permanent green dye to the earth.
This is at once funny and disturbing. It isn’t difficult to imagine a homeowner, faced with water restrictions or severe growing conditions, trying to maintain the façade expected in many suburbs. However, there are many fine alternatives when a lawn refuses to grow. Xeriscaping in dry areas, shade gardens in forested areas, and ground covers are just a few possibilities. Furthermore, these alternative plantings provide a habitat for wildlife, unlike an artificially colored surface. So, consider replacing your dead lawn with native plantings if possible, because even plastic yard art deserves a natural foil.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
When I think of reducing my carbon footprint, the first thoughts that come to mind are energy saving activities most of us are familiar with, such as adjusting the thermostat, using CFL light bulbs, and driving an energy efficient car or using public transportation. However, composting as much food waste as possible also reduces your carbon footprint.
How is it possible for a few slimy celery stalks or coffee grounds to increase the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere? The answer lies in the type of bacteria that consume food waste in an oxygen-free environment. The anaerobic bacteria at work in landfills release huge amounts of methane gas as they decompose your food scraps. This gas has an even more potent greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide.
Every two pounds of food scraps that gardeners put into the compost bin instead of the landfill ultimately keeps a pound of greenhouse gases out of our atmosphere. Although it’s difficult to quantify the amount of food that ends up in landfills, researchers estimate that Americans alone discard more than 29 million tons of food each year. That’s a lot of garden gold going to waste.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Today I saw a caterpillar racing down the sidewalk. Something’s not right here. You aren’t supposed to see caterpillars, or anything from the insect world for that matter, in February in the Midwest. That caterpillar was racing away from his fate, which is to freeze or starve shortly when faced with the reality that spring is yet a long way off.
The birds don’t seem to care, as evidenced by a cacophony of hooting, tweeting, and cackling that sounds like it emanates from an aviary at the zoo, rather than a suburban backyard.
I feel like joining their happy hooting, as this unseasonably warm weather has sent my cabin fever packing for a few days. Before the snow and single digit temperatures return, there’s time to tidy the garden and organize some tools so that when the warm weather stays for good, I’ll be ready to start gardening.
If you have an unusual warm day in late winter, you can:
- Rake up leaves that have blown in, and add them to the compost bin.
- Give the compost a good stirring, if it isn’t frozen solid.
- Clean and sanitize seed starting materials.
- Cut ornamental grasses back to six inches above the ground.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
I feel lucky that I was able to make it almost four decades without ever experiencing the pain of stripping wallpaper. This project, taking place in my half-bathroom, seemed like a small undertaking at first. I read a tip in a home improvement magazine that suggested using vinegar as an easy method to remove wallpaper. The accompanying photo showed a man (wearing a tool belt, of course) peeling entire panels of wallpaper cleanly away from its stronghold with one grab. This man can probably also take the peel of a hardboiled egg off in one continuous strip.
After ripping off a few dozen postage stamp-sized wallpaper pieces, I felt victorious when I wrenched off a piece as big as my hand. The next day I gave up on the vinegar, rushing to Wal-Mart to buy whatever wallpaper removing chemical they had in their aisle. “Non-toxic!” the product label read. It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed the fine print beneath, which read, “This product contains a chemical that is known to cause cancer in the state of California.” “Whew, sure glad I don’t live there,” I thought, spraying my nemesis freely. The problem was, the wallpaper didn’t yield to this product either.
Finally, I called my neighbor, a realtor and experienced home improvement source. I knew she would have the lowdown on the best chemical or tool, and I was ready to buy it. I will reveal her surefire method here: water. Just fill a spray bottle with hot water, soak the paper, and slowly scrape it away with a putty knife.
I’m happy to report that my bathroom is almost ready for a fresh coat of paint. The next time I need to update my home’s interior, I’ll remember that as in the garden, sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
Last week, I was in parrot purgatory. My youngest son was turning four, and when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he inexplicably replied, “a stuffed parrot.”
I laughed, thinking he had just seen a commercial or a photo in a magazine. My son loves trains and Hot Wheels, but parrots? As the birthday drew closer, I casually asked him every few days what he wanted the most. The wish list waxed and waned, but he was steadfast in his desire to have a parrot.
On the day of honor, I had no parrot. I went to every big box store in a 10-mile radius, some dollar stores, and even a pet store, thinking I might find a parrot cat toy. Finally, I called my husband in desperation, and sent him on a parrot hunt at the large zoo about 30 miles from our home. Success, and it only set us back about 10 dollars!
Gardeners looking for their “parrot” know that a mere teddy bear won’t do. Gardeners looking for ‘Cypripedium parviflorum pubescens’ Lady’s Slipper Orchid aren’t going to be satisfied by planting yellow snapdragons as a replacement. Fortunately, there is a wealth of nurserymen catering to the most discerning gardener. One must order early, however, as these plants are often difficult to propagate, and sell out early.
Check out Heronswood Nursery, bought out by Burpee several years ago but still maintaining a robust online ordering service. Gardeners who’ve won the lottery might consider purchasing the 15 acre Heronswood estate in Kingston, Washington for $2.6 million.
Gardeners concerned with preserving diversity can shop Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. With over 1200 non-GMO heirloom varieties, including 40 types of cucumbers and 50 eggplant varieties, organic gardeners can find something to please every palate.
Posted by Jamie McIntosh
My two older sons have reached a turning point in their interests and maturity. They would rather watch Nova than Sesame Street, and their number one request on my twins’ Christmas wish list was a chemistry set. Santa brought them the novice variety, one that would allow them to make fun potions without risking an explosion. However, on day 18 of our Christmas break, I was ready to conduct any experiment to occupy this motley crew, risk of chemical burns notwithstanding.
We chose a seemingly harmless project: making a super bouncy ball from a packet of bright green plastic polymer granules. As I was reading the instructions, my exuberant 5-year-old exclaimed that he was going to open it, and before my lips could form a response, he tore the packet open.
The resulting explosion wasn’t dangerous or harmful in any way, if you don’t mind a myriad of lime green polymers the size of grits coating a quadrant of your kitchen. My other 5-year-old sat stunned, his head covered in vivid tidbits like an ice cream cone covered in sprinkles.
My anger was tempered by memories of garden mistakes resulting from impatience and excitement. Tender seedlings set out without hardening off, scorched by the sun. Young transplants burned by excessive fertilizers. After a long winter, we can’t wait to see what our gardening endeavors will produce. Watching the earth for the first green sprout is like the proverbial watched pot failing to boil, and I wish all my fellow gardeners serenity and self-control during these long weeks of winter.