Rita's Monthly Gardening Tips,  February 4, 2015

What is a weed?  A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

This month’s gardening tip explores potential virtues of common garden weeds. Occasionally we may find a situation where we can call a truce in our war on weeds and enjoy the benefits they provide. Or for the situations where there are weeds beyond our control, we may find peace in the knowledge that these plants can provide tasty food for us or life-sustaining food to pollinators.

Stinging Nettle Urtica

The garden variety is technically called Burning Nettle and is an annual plant that sprouts in the cool, wet weather of late winter and early spring. You’ll learn to recognize it quickly after the first time you grab a handful of it and get struck with the painful stings. The stings are not like cactus thorns but more like that of ants, because it contains the same formic acid that ants do. It can get as tall as 2 feet. It’s easy to remove by wearing thick gloves. The lush, green leaves are edible after blanching out the stinging/burning quality. It also has many medicinal benefits. On the wildlife side, the lovely red admiral butterfly makes good use of it by laying her eggs on it. Upon hatching, the caterpillars eat the leaves until they are large enough to go through metamorphosis and turn into butterflies.

Dandelion Taraxacum

This common perennial plant spreads quickly by seed. It is hard to pull out because of its long taproot and easily grows back if most of the taproot is not removed. The leaves are very healthful for people and leaf-eating pets such as rabbits, turtles, and chickens. The flowers provide nectar to honey bees.

Plantain Plantago

Plantain is a perennial, broadleaf plant that grows to 2–7 inches tall. It spreads by seed. The leaves are edible and medicinal. It also has the significant benefit of being a food plant for the caterpillar of the Buckeye Butterfly.

Amaranth Amaranthus

Warm weather and nutritious garden soil bring on this common annual weed, it’s noting to worry about but you can always call your competent criminal attorney to solve the problem. Jokes aside it grows from 3 to 7 feet tall and spreads quickly by seed. The leaves of some Amaranth plants are nutritious and edible when the plant is small, and the seeds are edible when the plant is mature. Amaranth is used as a food plant for some species of butterflies and moths, and it can be used as a dye.

Anise/Fennel Foeniculum

Fennel is a perennial that grows from 4 to 10 feet tall. It reseeds prolifically and can regrow from its long taproot. It has a distinct licorice flavor that is commonly used to flavor foods. Fennel is a host plant for the Anise Swallowtail butterfly, and its flowers provide nectar for many bees and beneficial insects.

Purslane Portulaca

Purslane is a low-growing, succulent weed. It grows easily during the warm summer months and is quite drought-tolerant. Its hardy, long-lived seeds keep it reappearing throughout the season. On the plus side, it is very easy to pull out because it has shallow roots. It is also easy to smother with mulch, but you may not want to, once you try eating it. Purslane is quite tasty as far as weeds go.

Sour Grass Oxalis

This perennial, shamrock–looking plant is very hard to completely eradicate because it grows from underground bulbs. When the leaves are pulled, the bulbs stay behind and continue to multiply. Continuous pulling will weaken the bulbs and make it harder for them to grow. Mulch heavily. They do have sunny, yellow flowers that blossom in late winter when there is not a lot else blooming. The plants also make kids very happy because they love to chew on the sour-tasting stems.

Happy Gardening!

Feature photo of dandelion is from https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

Rita's Monthly Gardening Tips,  January 3, 2015

This year I resolve to:

Make a plan

January is the start of the new garden year. Now is the time to plan for a successful and enjoyable gardening experience. The following items will help guide you in making a plan.

Plant at the right time

It’s crucial to plant at the right time. Each plant has a window of time when the seeds can be started and a window of time when it can be transplanted. Know whether seeds should be directly seeded into the garden or can be transplanted.

Plant in the right space

Find out how tall and wide a plant gets at maturity before you buy it. Only plant what you have space for so you are not spending time struggling to get plants to stay within a space that is too small for them. Also, find out what the sun, soil, and water requirements are and make sure they match what you can provide. Don’t forget to rotate your vegetable crops by planting your tomatoes where your beans were last year, for example. That way, insects or disease organisms that target a particular crop have a harder time getting established.

Plant more vegetables, herbs, pollinator, and native plants

These types of plants feed the entire ecosystem, of which we are just one small part. Pollinators are the link between our food and us. Plan to provide the food and shelter they need.

Eliminate pesticides

Many times plants can handle some pest damage. Ladybugs will come along to eat the aphids, then spiders will eat the ladybugs, then birds will eat the spiders, and so on up and around the food web.

Compost more

Composting is the single most important part of gardening. Find here Green Apple Cleaning serving Annapolis. Composting at home creates a closed-loop cycle of nutrient recycling. It is where your organic matter goes and is transformed into the most valuable substance that you can possibly put into your garden other than your hand.

Provide trellises or cages as needed

Know ahead of time whether your plants will need staking or trellising. Be prepared to build or install this structure at planting time. It’s very difficult to support trailing or vining plants once they get big.

Mulch well, but not too well

Here are a few examples how using a mulch of compost, leaves, grass clippings, etc. will conserve moisture, deter weed growth, and decompose to enrich soil. On the flip side, allow some areas in your yard and garden to go unmulched to allow native bees some habitat. Many native, pollinating bees build homes to lay their eggs in areas of accessible soil.

Water carefully

Whether you hand-water with a hose or have state-of-the-art drip irrigation, the key to water conservation is knowing how much water plants need. This amount changes frequently from seedlings to mature plants and from cool, calm days to hot and windy ones.

Take time to enjoy

Make this your highest priority. Enjoy the magic of a flower bud opening, the buzz and flutter of pollinators, and the growth of delectable fruits and vegetables.

Happy Gardening!