The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden Musings

The towering spires of delphinium are often compared with church steeples, yet it is the long nectary of the flowers that provides the inspiration for the name: The dolphin’s nose, Greek delphis, gives us delphinium, and the feet of larks inspired the nickname larkspur. Lovelier still to the tongue is the Spanish nickname espuela del caballero—the cavalier’s spur.

While delphiniums are beautiful in their own right, their qualities are appreciated all the more because they often require a lot of care. The gardener who anticipates the challenges in advance will have a better chance of success.

Seed catalogs reveal a multitude of color choices, including stunning and varied shades of blue, pastel pinks and lavender, spritely yellows, whites, and two-tone varieties. Plants started in February will bloom the same year.

The sunny days and cool nights of coastal New England, plus its ample rainfall, present optimum growing conditions, as does the western United States. In fact, in the cooler zones delphiniums can be expected to survive for a number of years, whereas in warmer regions a plant may last only a season or two. The species forms of delphinium seem to be longer-lived than the hybrids.

In addition to living in the right place, the delphinium grower needs to be diligent about modifying the immediate conditions. While moisture is essential, wet soil will cause crown rot. Delphinium plants should be set in rich, well-drained soil. The bed should be prepared deeply, enriched with compost, and sweetened with lime, bone meal, or wood ashes. Plants emerging from self-sowing of the previous year should be thinned so that there is adequate ventilation between them. Fertilize regularly or top-dress with rich compost or composted manure.

Because the spectacular flowers are so top-heavy, solid staking is essential. Wooden stakes may be stained green to be less conspicuous. Thin bamboo stakes (often available in green) should be pushed deeply into the ground. Stake each stem separately to keep the blooms erect. If your landscape is informal, you might also consider using large twigs or small branches for staking.

Rototilling the vegetable plot can be quite satisfying. A compacted, rutted piece of ground harvested last fall is transformed into a fresh, new, rich-looking expanse of earth ready to be planted with this year’s dreams. Some expert tiller operators, eager to justify the ownership of a thousand-dollar-plus soil-stirring machine, have perfected their art to such a degree that they can rototill a large garden site without so much as leaving a footprint in the newly prepared ground.

But not all gardeners agree with rototilling the soil every year—if at all. Each time that soil is cultivated or tilled, thousands of weed seeds are brought close to the surface, where they find just the right conditions to prosper. Roots of perennial weeds such as quack grass and dandelion may be sliced into several pieces, each chunk capable of producing another plant. It’s no wonder that weeds most often beat the crops up on a newly planted vegetable bed.

The solution? Try no-till farming. Used properly, it conserves soil moisture, protects soil structure, and doesn’t disrupt beneficial soil organisms. Once the garden site is readied, the soil warmed, and the first flush of weeds dealt with, apply a thick mulch such as a few inches of compost, several inches of straw, or even sawdust. (Since sawdust robs nitrogen from the soil as it breaks down, add some fertilizer with it.)

The results of mulching are many: Weeds are kept at bay, nutrients are released slowly to the soil, and plants are protected from temperature extremes. Above all, soil moisture is conserved during periods of drought. Adding new mulch every year, instead of tilling, keeps the soil in excellent shape. Just pull the mulch back to sow seeds or set plants.

Before taking out a classified ad to sell your rototiller, remember: Tilling is still considered beneficial when starting new gardens, borders, and lawns because it is a good way to incorporate soil amendments. Anyway, most of us still can’t resist starting a vegetable garden on a piece of ground that wipes last year’s slate clean.

Tomatoes bring a considerable amount of pleasure even before they are eaten. (This is assuming that as a true gardener you like to putter and experiment.) In addition to deciding between different types of fruit, you get to choose between determinate and indeterminate varieties. The former (more recently developed) are sometimes called self-pruning because they stop growing at a certain point and require neither staking nor pinching back. Determinate tomatoes will ripen virtually all at once (i.e., over a seven- to ten-day period). This is great if you are growing large numbers for sauce, but for general eating it’s a rather short season.

Indeterminate varieties are often favored not only for a longer yield period, but also because they are higher in sugar, and the yield in terms of numbers of fruits can be significantly larger. That latter point is no guarantee, however—you’ve got to keep to the task. Indeterminate types usually need pinching back and staking to keep them from putting all their energy into leaves.

If your tomatoes are indeterminate, stake or cage them soon after planting. A cage can be surrounded by a foot-high wall of roofing paper to cut the wind and retain heat, giving the young plant a further boost. Many gardeners believe that staked plants are less subject to soil-borne disease. And of course, fruit from staked plants is easier to get at. (However, some gardeners make an argument for letting tomatoes sprawl, on the basis that the horizontal foliage will shelter fruit from sunscald and the drying effects of wind and hot sun.)

An alternative to staking that will benefit both determinate and indeterminate types is mulching. A thin organic mulch of dried grass clippings can be effective. Apply it after the soil has warmed up. Plastic mulch is effective as a barrier and as a heat collector. Just be sure to leave enough of an opening right around the plant to allow water to penetrate.

Given all these factors, the gardening maxim that there is no one right way to do anything is particularly applicable here. After all, isn’t that what makes gardening so interesting?

Growing plants in window boxes puts them at eye level, which lends a different perspective than having them in your garden. The plants will become part of your view to the outdoors. And from the outside, the plants and container become part of the architecture.

Since wood looks nice in almost any location and can easily be custom-built to fit the length and width of a windowsill, it remains the medium of choice. Its life can be extended significantly by using the box simply as a holder for a metal or plastic planter or for several potted plants. Wood is also the easiest for mounting to your house. A word of caution here—do not set the box directly against the wood of your house. Leave an inch or two of breathing space so that moisture does not build up.

All window boxes need drainage holes every few inches. Cover the bottom with a piece of large-mesh hardware cloth before adding a layer of 3/4-inch stones. Use a standard potting mix from your garden center, or mix your own using soil, peat, sawdust, sand, and a little bonemeal. Fill the box to within an inch of the top, then water and mix thoroughly. Add more soil if it has settled, and water and mix some more.

What to plant? Petunias, geraniums, zinnias, nasturtiums, and begonias are good choices for main-theme flowers. Fill in with things like wandering Jew, ivy, euonymus, heather, or vinca, which will cascade over the edge of the box. Impatiens do well in shady locations. More subtle choices include coleus, heliotrope, and salvia.

If you’ve got an accessible location, try planting edibles. Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, kale, and herbs will do nicely in a window box. Like flowers, they will need water every couple of days and fertilizer every two weeks. (Since a window box is just a breeze away from your living quarters, you might want to avoid aromatic fertilizer like fish emulsion.) Be sure to cultivate the soil regularly so that the water will penetrate throughout rather than just run off.

Winter is tough on plants. A snowless one exposes the soil to extreme temperature fluctuations that can damage the roots of trees and shrubs and actually heave perennials right out of the ground. Too much snow, especially the heavy or icy variety, snaps limbs and may even topple whole trees. Add to this drying winds, road salt, hungry animals, and even bright sun, and it’s a wonder plants make it through the winter at all.

Choosing the hardiest plants for your particular location will eliminate much winter loss. ‘Reliance’ peach, for instance, is a tough variety that can be planted instead of ‘Elberta’ or ‘Red Haven.’ (If your spot is really cold, forget peaches altogether and stick to apples and pears.)

Proper site selection will save a lot of headaches, especially when establishing evergreens. Brisk winter winds and sunlight intensified as it is reflected off snow can pull moisture from leaves and needles faster than it can be replaced. Plants such as holly, hemlock, rhododendrons, and laurel should be grown in filtered sunlight. They can be protected from wind and from browsing animals by installing barriers of snow fence or staked burlap.

Not all plantings can be perfectly situated, so often it is necessary to afford them some winter protection. First and foremost, make sure plants are healthy as they head into winter. Keep watering all plants as late into the fall as possible, especially the evergreens. Plant roots grow and take in moisture long after the air temperature drops below freezing. Fall feeding should be done with a low-nitrogen fertilizer so that new growth is not stimulated. Use mulch where you can on all plants. Many perennials favor the lightness of salt marsh hay over a heavier bark mulch. Apply hay 8 inches thick over all beds. It is weed free and easily removed in the spring.

Sunscald, caused by rapid heating and cooling of bark, can kill a newly planted tree quickly. Protect against scald by wrapping the trunk with tree wrap or burlap. Be sure to remove the wrap in the spring because it may harbor insects.

Long before exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe became a Christmas tradition, this curious plant was thought to possess magical and healing powers. European mistletoe is a partial parasite that has no roots and lives on the trunks and branches of host trees. Although it has evergreen leaves and can manufacture food through photosynthesis, it robs nutrients and water from its host by sending out flat-tip, rootlike extensions called “holdfasts” that tap into the tree through fissures in the bark.

In the Celtic language, mistletoe means “all heal.” Ancient Druid priests held this bushlike herb sacred; they harvested it in ritualistic ceremonies and used it in sacrifices celebrating the winter and summer solstices. Because mistletoe keeps its green color and persistent white berries into winter, it became a symbol of life and fertility. In the Middle Ages, mistletoe was hung over the doors of houses and stables to protect those inside from evil spirits. The Scandinavians believed that mistletoe was a symbol of peace: When enemies met under it they could throw down their weapons and declare a truce, and quarreling couples could kiss under it and make up. During the Christian era, mistletoe was brought into the home for decoration. The 18th-century English are credited with creating kissing balls adorned with mistletoe and ribbons. It was said that no young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe could refuse to be kissed. Nowadays, we know that mistletoe berries are poisonous, especially to children, so artificial berries adorn the sprigs sold for the holiday season.

These traditions came to North America with the settlers and were bestowed upon American mistletoe, commonly called Christmas mistletoe. Christmas mistletoe can be found on trees from New Jersey to Florida and west to Texas. Like its European cousin, it is a semiparasite that rarely kills host trees but may stunt them and slow their growth. Birds spread mistletoe from tree to tree by eating the white berries, which contain sticky seeds.

From the earliest times, mistletoe has been considered an aphrodisiac. Perhaps this is due in part to its kissing connection. In any event, kissing under the mistletoe is one tradition that we feel will be around for a berry long time.

The American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, is a true North American native that was unknown in Europe until the colonists learned of its virtues from Native Americans. The berries, rich in vitamin C, were a welcome fresh autumn fruit that could be dried for winter use. As a medicine, they were eaten to fight colds and fever and to prevent scurvy. Today, cranberry juice is a known diuretic and is commonly used to treat urinary infections. High in antioxidants and flavinoids, the tart red berries may play a role in preventing cancer.

Cranberries are low-growing evergreens, hardy to Zone 2, that send out runners much like strawberries. Each runner may grow up to three feet long and send up numerous uprights that bear thumbnail-size fruit. The plants thrive in the moist soil along the edges of bogs and wetlands. The ability of cranberry plants to survive under water for long periods of time has helped growers protect the blossoms and berries from spring and fall frosts. Cranberry bogs are constructed so that they can be quickly flooded when freezing weather is predicted. Water is often left in bogs throughout the winter to protect the plants from severe cold. 

You don’t need a bog to grow cranberries; in fact, they are a great addition to the home garden. A 5x10-foot plot will yield up to ten pounds of delicious berries every September and October, just in time for holiday sauce and desserts.

For best results, cranberries should be grown in full sun in a 50-50 mix of garden soil and peat moss. If your soil is sandy, remove the top eight inches and line the bottom of the bed with a sheet of six-mil plastic. Poke plenty of drainage holes in the plastic, and then fill the bed with the soil mix. Scratch in one-half pound of 10-20-10 fertilizer, and you are ready to plant.

Cranberries are best planted in late April through the end of May. Six three-year-old plants spaced evenly throughout the bed will grow together to form a thick mat and should produce during the first season. A light mulch of sawdust or sand will help to root the runners. Water the new planting every day for two weeks and then as you would the rest of your garden. Fun to grow and easy to care for, cranberries are one crop that shouldn't bog down any gardener.

Before electricity and refrigeration were commonplace, and when fresh produce was only seasonably available at the grocery store, most every home had a root cellar in which to store fruits and vegetables for winter use. This was usually a separate room that was built into the north (coldest) corner of the basement and vented to the outside to provide circulation and to help regulate the temperature to just above freezing. Often there were two vent pipes: One brought in cold air close to the floor, while the top vent let out lighter, warmer air. Rock walls and a dirt floor provided enough moisture to create the high humidity needed to keep many stored crops from drying or shriveling. Apples, cabbages, and root crops such as carrots, beets, and potatoes could be kept for months when properly packed away.

Even though fresh produce is now available year-round from supermarkets, many gardeners still find that a root cellar provides a convenient way to store a bountiful harvest and lower their grocery bill. Modern basements are warmer and drier than those in older houses with fieldstone foundations, but they can still be fitted with a root cellar. To provide humidity, lay two to three inches of crushed stone on the concrete floor and keep it moist with frequent sprinklings.

Vegetables store best when harvested at their peak of ripeness and as late in the season as possible. A second midsummer planting of many crops will give you a lot of produce ready to store at just the right time. Root crops such as carrots and beets are good keepers; just brush off most of the dirt, clip the foliage back to about an inch above the root, and store roots in boxes of moist sand or peat moss. Potatoes simply need to be piled in a bin and covered with straw or burlap. Not all crops like cold, damp storage. Pumpkins and squash, for example, prefer a high shelf in the cellar where conditions are a bit warmer and drier. With practice, you will be able to keep celery, radishes, and even perishables such as tomatoes for months.

Chances are that your great-grandparents depended on a root cellar for produce during winter. Continuing the tradition may just help you to get back to your roots.

Asian pears are not a cross between a pear and an apple, as their nicknames “oriental apple” and “apple pear” might suggest. They are a species of pear that was first cultivated in China thousands of years ago and brought to this country by Chinese miners during the days of the California Gold Rush. The white flesh of this sweet, aromatic fruit is juicy and crisp like that of an apple, but with a succulent pear flavor more often associated with familiar European pears such as ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Bosc’.

The Asian pear has thousands of varieties, most of them round or oval in shape. The three dozen or so cultivars produced in the United States include ‘Hosui’, a pretty, rosy, gold-skinned pear with an intoxicating aroma of brandy; ‘Seuri’, an orange-skin variety with the essence of apricot; and ‘Shin Li’, with yellow-green skin and a slight cinnamon fragrance.

Unlike European pears, which are picked green and ripen only in storage, Asian pears ripen on the tree, making theirs a great backyard tree for anyone who enjoys fresh-picked fruit at its flavorful best. Asian pears are highly ornamental and make a great addition to just about any landscape where a small- or medium-size tree is needed. A mature tree may reach 20 to 40 feet in height, while dwarf varieties will grow to only about 10 feet. Large, white, spring flowers; glossy, green, summer foliage that turns bright yellow in the fall; and bushels of colorful ripe pears all add interest throughout the seasons.

You can grow Asian pears almost anywhere that European pears will grow. Be sure to check with a local nursery to see which varieties will do best in your area. All that pears require is a spot that is sunny for most of the day; rich, well-drained soil; and a thick layer of organic mulch or compost that will continuously nourish the tree while retaining soil moisture.

Most Asian pears are at least partially self-fruitful and do not require another pear in order to set fruit. However, cross-pollination will create larger fruit and a bigger yield. Some European pears—especially ‘Bartlett’—can be used as pollinators for most Asian varieties; when grown together, they may just make a perfect pear.

Read more about how to grow Asian Pears.

If misery loves company, then hay-fever sufferers should never have to be alone. Thirty-five million Americans have pollen allergies that may cause itchy eyes, ears, and throats; difficulty breathing; or all of the above.

Insect-pollinated plants have bright flowers and heavy, sticky, pollen grains that tend to stay put and cause few allergies. It’s the wind-pollinated plants that cause the most problems for allergy sufferers. Their small, dull, inconspicuous flowers produce clouds of tiny, light, pollen grains that are blown aloft for great distances and can easily penetrate window screens. To increase the chances that at least some pollen grains will reach the appropriate female flowers, plants produce many more grains than are needed—and some end up on our hair, on our clothes, and, alas, in our eyes and nasal passages.

Trees, grasses, and weeds are responsible for most windblown pollen. Big offenders include large shade trees such as oaks, maples, and beeches; most lawn grasses; and common weeds such as lamb’s-quarter, pigweed, and ragweed, which may produce a million pollen grains on just one plant. Goldenrod, which blooms along with ragweed, is often blamed for allergies, but it is bee-pollinated and causes few problems.

There has been a huge increase in hay-fever sufferers in recent years, partly due to a growing interest in fruitless and seedless “litter-free” trees. Many of these are males that may be litter-free, but they are definitely not pollen-free. To make matters worse, fewer female trees are being planted, so less pollen is being caught. Instead, it falls to the ground, where it can be stirred up by mowers and foot traffic.

For gardeners or anyone who has allergies but loves the outdoors, there are steps that can be taken to limit discomfort. Plan your outdoor activities when pollen counts are lowest, such as in the late afternoon or during cool, wet weather. Plant only all-female trees and shrubs, and limit grassy areas by planting insect-pollinated ground covers. By carefully choosing the right plants and gardening when pollen counts are low, you can make your yard a healthier and more enjoyable place to be, which is nothing to sneeze at.