All the Dirt on Gardening

The Scientist http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32966/title/Natural-Born-Doctors/  reported that animals and insects self-medicate when they have the need. Excerpts: Michael Huffman CHIMPS " More than 30 years ago, Michael Huffman , who studies evolution of social systems at the University of Kyoto, noticed that wild chimps were treating themselves by ingesting foods with special properties that fight intestinal worm infections."  . . . "Huffman first encountered self-medicating chimps in Africa in the 1980s. He recalls watching a sick chimpanzee suck juice from the bitter leaf plant. A traditional healer, Mohamedi Seifu Kalunde, told Huffman that bitter leaf was used medicinally by the local people, the WaTongwe. The plant didn’t provide nutrients to the chimpanzee, and is rarely used by healthy chimps, but sick animals are commonly observed ingesting the plant, and their symptoms usually resolve soon after. Huffman’s later work identified s...

Here's an update to my still-popular 2008 post on how to build your own self-watering planters, sometimes called Earth Tainers - Complete plans are at Tomato Fest under earthtainer http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/  John Reinhardt at Technorati There's a variation on the theme at    http://beclecto.com/tag/earth-box/  and http://beclecto.com/2010/03/spring-earthbox-planting/ If you'd like to see it on video, Kansas State has a Master Gardener presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oYZtqs9AlM www.dummies.com After you go to the click, look at the list on the right - there are another 20 methods using a variety of container sizes, styles and materials. www.Lechuza.com   If you prefer to purchase self-watering containers, remember Lechuza - gorgeous, functional solutions to watering inside and out. http://www.lechuza.us/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Home-Show

Our friend Harry Pfohl has taken spectacular photos of the scenery around D.C. and his home in MD. Most of us visualize huge structures and concrete when we imagine the  D.C. environment and I thought you'd enjoy his views of that part of our world. Dogwood leaves and berries. Last November, several of Pfohl's D.C. nature photos were in the Washington Post and you can see them here - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/washington-dc-fall-scenes-from-weather-gang-readers/2011/11/18/gIQAlP6hYN_blog.html Dogwood leaves in all their fall splendor.

The Oklahoma State University Master Gardener program is coming back to Muskogee in January or February 2013. The new Extension Educator, Mandy Blocker is taking names of the people in our community who would like to be on the email list to hear more about the program. Msukogee County OSU Extension Educator Mandy Blocker Blocker spoke at Muskogee Garden Club last week and said that there are three questions interested students should ask themselves: 1) Do you want to learn more about the culture and maintenance of many types of plants?; 2) Are you eager to participate in a practical and intense training program?; and, 3) Do you have enough time to attend the trainings and serve as a volunteer intern?   The Master Gardener program is a volunteer training program with the purpose of developing community volunteers. In most areas of the state (and around the country) Master Gardeners are a vital resource for their communities.   The program is designed for any...

From Duke Today Graduate Student Fay-Wei Li at the moment he discovered Gaga germanotta alive in Costa Rica. Durham, NC - Pop music megastar Lady Gaga is being honored with the name of a new genus of ferns found in Central and South America, Mexico, Arizona and Texas. A genus is a group of closely related species; in this case, 19 species of ferns will carry the name Gaga. At one stage of its life, the new genus Gaga has somewhat fluid definitions of gender and bears a striking resemblance to one of Gaga's famous costumes. Members of the new genus also bear a distinct DNA sequence spelling GAGA. Two of the species in the Gaga genus are new to science: Gaga germanotta from Costa Rica is named to honor the family of the artist, who was born Stefani Germanotta. And a newly discovered Mexican species is being dubbed Gaga monstraparva (literally monster-little) in honor of Gaga's fans, whom she calls “little monsters.” "We wanted to name this genus for Lad...

Bryan Reynolds of the Butterflies of the World Foundation in Oklahoma, has updated his webpage to include new photos. Highlights include some Phaon Crescents, Great Purple Hairstreaks and a Southern Cloudywing Egg, most photographed at the Pontotoc Ridge Preserve and the Oka'Yanahli Preserve in Pontotoc and Johnston Counties respectively. " Go to http://www.botwf.org/index.html Click on "butterflies" to see Butterflies by Family - photos and narrative. Click on "slide show" to enjoy a lovely photo show of Bryan's pics. Click on "links" to go to reference links, see Reynolds' choice for binoculars, books, etc. Click on "programs" to see Bryan's workshop list and his speaking schedule.

At Gurney Seeds, regular green leaf castor bean seeds, Zanzibariensis, are 10 for $4.00 plus shipping - 40-cents each. At Johnny's Seeds the green leafed variety is 50 seeds for $25.   The Carmencita Bright Red seeds are aslo 50 seeds for $25.00. Dust Bowl Seed www.dustbowlseed.com sells them $2.49 for 20 seeds.   These gorgeous tropical looking plants originated in East Africa, probably Ethopia but they were also found in Egyptian tombs dating from 4,000 B.C. Lots of information about these unique plants are at   Wayne's Word. palomar . edu which is an online natural history textbook.   The oil was part of my growing up years - my mother and grandmother tried to disguise the horrible taste of castor oil with sugar but it really never took with me. Better the oil should be used for its ancient use - as lamp oil. Castor Bean - male stamen clusters - white flowers   Castor beans are monoecious, each plant has male and ...