Meredith Nichols Schnelle's Blog

Posted by Meredith Nichols Schnelle

The Cup Plant is one of the showier native tallgrass prairie plants in America. Its height alone at over eight feet tall is enough to make it distinctive. Like many other prairie plants, its root go down five or six feet deep. The bright profusion of eighteen to forty chrome yellow blooms at the end of each of ten or more four sided stems is another eye catcher. The Cup Plant got its name from its rough textured deeply toothed leaves. At five to ten inch intervals, they join together in pairs along the stem forming a small receptacle that does hold rainwater. Perfoliatum is from the Latin for "leaf surrounding the stem so that the stem perforates the leaf". I've seen many birds come in to take a sip.

Pioneers named this plant after they were grateful to get a drink of water during their journey across the Great Plains. Although best known as a prairie plant, the Cup Plant also thrives in moist meadows, savannahs and edges of woodlands. In Michigan, it is considered endangered. In Connecticut, it's on the banned list as potentially invasive.

I love it in my garden as a specimen plant. That is, I have just one. At this size, one is enough! I do have to stake it at this time of year, which is a formidable task. I wear gloves, long sleeves and turn my shirt collar up around my face a bit, as the leaves are quite rough on my skin. Multiple stakes might be a good idea, as it is somewhat heavy.

When I stake any plant, I do it in a way that gives the plant some leeway as it grows so I avoid cutting off water circulation or cutting into the plant tissue. I do this by using wide soft material to tie the plant, and tying it loosely.

Posted by Meredith Nichols Schnelle

Today, just about every magazine with a garden section will cover organic gardening practices on a regular basis. Slowly, natural solutions to garden challenges are becoming widely accepted. Televised garden shows often highlight environmentally friendly alternatives. There are far more books on the subject of ecology at every level of life than there ever was before.

That's pretty exciting to this gardener. I remember writing to my senator when I was in eighth grade about clean water. I remember growing up in a household that recycled newspaper, metals and glass. My mother didn't want to quit after WWII and my father and brother collected newspapers regularly as a fundraiser for their Boy Scout troop. We had a small kitchen garden just outside the back door where we grew tomatoes, parsley, green beans and other vegetables.

Over time, products to assist growing things were invented. Organic gardens gradually got the reputation of being kept only by elderly gardeners who "didn't know any better" or hippies out on communes. Mother Earth News was the back to earth manifesto for the fringe of our society. The rest of society was steeped in an enthusiastic pursuit of convenience and chemical solutions. Discoveries about the long-term consequences for some of those conveniences are changing the common conscience.

Now that we know better, let's do better.

Posted by Meredith Nichols Schnelle

A compost heap naturally contains earthworms, especially if it is kept watered. I usually water my compost heap only when the garden needs to be watered. That way, it doesn't get too much water and become soggy.

Earthworms tunnel their way through the compost heap just as they tunnel through the soil. They eat as they go, and leave nutritious castings behind. The tunnels aerate the heap, another benefit.

Organic practices key in to nature's way. Each method works with the natural order of things. In nature, the surface of the earth breaks down organic material through decay. Decay is aided by fungus and bacteria. Insects and other animals, including earthworms do their part by consuming some of the detritus on the ground. We think of decay in negative terms. Decay means destruction, loss.

In reality, decay is simply a function of life. In the right circumstances, decay turns refuse into valuable nutritious organic material that is a vital part of our garden plants' well being. It may seem as though you are making little difference in the vast amount of refuse we generate, but as the contents of your composter expands, you will see just how much you are keeping out of the waste stream.

Organic practices do make a difference. It all adds up to a more efficient, cleaner way of life.

Posted by Meredith Nichols Schnelle

For the first time in eighteen years, I saw a deer in my back yard. He cleared the fence effortlessly as soon as he saw me. There was a tree frog snuggled into a milkweed leaf in my front yard one day. He found a different place to sleep after that, a place more private. From the butterflies and dragonflies fluttering through the day, to the lightning bugs glittering in the dusk and dark, the organic garden finds a place for them all. Yes, the deer ate two large lily blooms and the caterpillars from the butterflies eat a few holes in some plants. Nonetheless, they are all welcome in my garden.

Six spruce trees provide shelter for a wonderful variety of birds. Birdbaths and bird feeders operating year round have built up an impressive population on this 100 square foot lot. As I was weeding a patch near the chain link fence a baby chickadee so tiny it perched inside a square in the fence. He eyed me curiously until his mother's panic stricken cries lured him back up into the trees.

All living things are involved with each other. When we try to use an "all or nothing" approach to cultivation, we can do more harm than good. Besides, nature puts on quite a show every day. I wouldn't want to miss it.

High summer arrived early this year. It hit 100 degrees on my backyard thermometer today. The corn and summer squash is growing so fast I'm going to test stories I've heard about actually hearing plants grow on still, hot summer nights. I'll let you know.

Posted by Meredith Nichols Schnelle

Organic gardening contributes important health benefits. Chemical enhancement leaves substances in the food that cause unintended problems. Years ago, the concern was for growing children, but time has shown that cumulative effects of many agricultural practices can be devastating to consumers of all ages. Many so-called cost cutting devices are being reconsidered in the wake of Mad Cow disease, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other health issues. In the long run, the short-term benefits are overtaken by the long-term consequences.

The federal government has taken possession of the term "organic" in all food labeling. Clear guidelines have been established to insure that anything with the word organic on the label cannot contain toxins such as fungicides, insecticides, growth hormones or antibiotics. Certified professionals, increasing in rank as the demand for organic products continues to rise, produce commercial organic foods.

So your organic garden is making an important contribution to the well being of your family, your property and the earth itself. You can grow along with the ever-burgeoning movement towards healthier food.

Posted by Meredith Nichols Schnelle

If fall is for reaping, winter for sleeping and spring for reawakening, then summer surely represents life at its peak. Summer's birth each year is marked by its solstice, the day that has the most hours of sunlight. This annual gift from nature affords us more time in the garden for socializing, or simply relaxing.

* In this age of multi-tasking and an unrelenting emphasis on productivity, rest and relaxation are rapidly becoming a lost art. It is currently thought to be a waste of time or laziness that leads to lost opportunities. Indeed, I believe the opposite to be true. The restorative properties of rest and relaxation are too numerous to name. The brain cannot function at its best without some breaks once in a while. Creativity is limited by too much pressure to perform. Humor is bound to flag when life lacks the rewards of doing the things that have no reason other than enjoyment.

*Gardening is an excellent example of an activity that leads to serenity. Getting "down to earth" frees our minds of worries while we concentrate on the task at hand. Sometimes, the best ideas and solutions come to us then. Being outside in the open air and sunshine refreshes us. The sight of our lovely plants and the birds, butterflies, and other wildlife lifts our spirits. So here's to summer, the height of the gardener's year, the season we've been waiting for.

Posted by Meredith Nichols Schnelle

This is the time of year when many new gardeners are overwhelmed by the gardening experience. If you are one of those gardeners, don't throw in the trowel just yet. Even gardens with lots of weeds can benefit from mulching. Here's how.

Pull the weeds that are within six inches of your plantings. Rake down or cut back the rest of the weeds. Cover the whole bed with a ten-page-thick layer of newspapers, laying them down close to the stems of your plantings. After you make sure there are no gaps in the layer of newspapers, wet it thoroughly. Apply the mulch two to four inches deep without covering any of the leaves your plantings.

Your weeding duties will be reduced to a fraction of what they were.