All the Dirt on Gardening

Growing herbs is popular and deserves to be more popular. Many annual and perennial herbs grow well in Oklahoma, their flowers provide nectar for butterflies and they are useful in the kitchen. Photo: Black and Blue Salvia , Jewels of Opar and Basil bloom together in a nectar garden. Before science brought us modern chemistry, the scarcity of physicians and money led to self-medication using herbs. Today, many people sip mint tea to calm their stomach, drink basil tea to calm ulcers and nerves, apply an Aloe Vera leaf to a burn, and eat garlic as an antibiotic. Chicago botanist Joseph E. Meyer (1878-1950) founded the Indiana Botanic Garden in 1925. There, his family, including 8 children, harvested, dried and packaged herbs. His 1918 book The Herbalist described herbal remedies known at the time. Then, from 1925 to 1979 his company published a free annual Herbalist Almanac based on customer testimonials and recipes. His son, Clarence reprinted 50 years of the Almanacs in The Herbalis...

Joe Benton of Oklahoma State University Extension wrote a column about saving seeds that had some fascinating tidbits in it. Benton is an extension educator for Pottawatomie County. Benton said that we should collect seeds from non-hybrids because hybrids do not come true from their seed. The best candidates for seed collecting include: beans, broccoli, dill, corn, chives, leeks, muskmelon and garlic. They are bee pollinated except for beans which are self-pollinated and corn, which is wind pollinated. Maybe you knew all that, though I did not. Here are a other few facts that were new to me. "Most flowers are pollinated by bees, butterflies and moths. Bees can't see red, so the flowers they pollinate tend to be yellow, or sometimes blue. Some of these have ultraviolet landing patterns which they see also. Butterflies see well, and red, but have a weak sense of smell. So most of the flowers they pollinate have little or no fragrance. Moths are nocturnal, so the flowers they...

The beautiful black Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly has been in our yard for weeks and evidently found the spicebushes ( Lindera benzoin ) we planted for them. The University of Florida has plenty of information about them here . The U Florida site says they are Papilio troilus troilus . Yesterday I noticed that the leaves of the bush were shredded but thought it was from the storm we had the night before. But they were so raggy that I took a closer look So, on closer examination I found the caterpillars! Here's a closer look. Also from U Florida's site: "First instar larvae bend a leaf edge over and silk it down. Older larvae spin a silk mat on a leaf that contracts to curl the two lateral leaf edges upward and together to form a leaf nest. Larvae usually hide in the leaf nest during the daytime and to molt when birds and other predators are unlikely to see them. They come out to feed at night. Young larvae are bird-dropping mimics, and mature larvae with their s...

Teaching children to love nature, plants, gardens and the outdoors in general is a responsibility we love. Giving a little one some seeds to plant, letting them pick flowers and participate in a vegetable harvest are experiences they deserve. Something so simple can make a difference. A site called India Parenting mentions the fact that even most parks are too manicured to give children a real feel for unstructured nature as we knew it. The Children and Nature Network exists to help reconnect children with the natural world. Click on the "get involved" link at the top of the page for tips on what you could do in your community. The best selling book, The Last Child in the Woods is already in its second edition. From author Louv's site, "nature-deficit disorder" ... has created a national conversation about the disconnection between children and nature ..." State Legislatures around the country are launching No Child Left Inside initiatives. Carol Zelaya ...

We grow butterflies. We plant plants the adults enjoy for nectar and we grow plants for the babies to eat when they hatch. There have been 4 hatches of Monarchs this summer in our yard. The swallowtails are going crazy on the fennel. Each plant is taller than I am and several of them are tucked between tomato plants. Others are near shrubs so they are all reasonably well protected from the birds. I put this one in my hand so you could enjoy seeing how big they are growing. In this photo you can see the tomato plants protecting the caterpillars. Several great companies are having sales right now on fall planted bulbs - don't miss out. Home Garden Seed Association sent out a reminder that it is time to plant our fall gardens with calendula, beets, salad makings, peas, radishes, cilantro, etc. On that topic, Pinetree is having a summer clearance on garden stuff, including an interesting item used to root woody shrubs - right on the plant. It's called a Rooter Pot. The other i...

The middle of summer is a good time to assess what is thriving and where the bare spots are in the garden. Also take a look at what could be replaced. The shrubs we put in ten years ago are now thick-stemmed green blobs that no longer inspire. "400 Trees and Shrubs for Small Spaces" by Diana Miller provides help with selecting, placing, pruning and propagating small trees and shrubs. Of the 215 pages, 134 are descriptions of evergreen, flowering and deciduous trees, shrubs and vines for all growing zones. Miller, who lives in England, points out that hedges add fruit, flowers, wildlife habitat, privacy and a background for your perennials. But she also reminds us that if we want to reduce the amount of work in the garden, we can have beautiful spaces by selecting the correct shrubs and trees. Dwarf shrubs are supposed to grow to one and one-half feet tall. For example, Mini Crape myrtles or Lagerstroemia indicta , grow to one or two feet tall ( http://www.crapemyrtles.com/ )...

Peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes are the harvest at this time of year - well, in the years we are lucky enough to have a harvest. The peppers are an assortment of varieties we started from seed in late winter/early spring plus a couple we got from Blossoms Garden Center when they ran their pre-season-order-ahead special in the Muskogee Phoenix. - This 6-inch tomato is one of the first to come from the Blossoms' plants. There are many more green ones on the vines. These are Johnny's Orange King tomatoes - we started the plants from seed in February in the shed. Lights and heat provided by Oklahoma Gas and Electric of course. Not bad for one day of picking - after 6 months of effort of course. What's more fun the growing or the harvesting? What's growing and blooming in your garden?