Jim’s Notebook April 10, 2008
Hits & Misses: Consistency & disappearing perennials
Question of the Week: Which rose varieties make a great hedge?
Science & Technology: Surveying the Pollinators
Rat tail radish may not sound like a particularly appetizing vegetable, but I’m staring at a package of it on my desk as I write this week’s notebook. The seed comes courtesy of Vera Komadoski from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, a wonderful lady I met at the Gardenscape show in Saskatoon. When Vera and I talked a few weeks ago, she mentioned how much she loved the flavour of rat tail radish. Apparently, one doesn’t eat the roots; it’s the long, rat tail-like seed pods that are used to spice up stir-fries and the like. Now that I have the seed in hand, I just have to find a spot to plant them.
Hits & Misses
Hit: Consistency
Uniformity and consistency are two words that greenhouse growers hold dear to their hearts. Growers want nothing more than to have basket after basket and pot after pot of a particular plant variety perform exactly the same—regardless of whether or not it was the first one transplanted or the five hundredth. Variability is a desirable trait between varieties but never a good trait within a single variety. This year the uniformity within varieties is the best I’ve ever seen, which I think is a reflection of the quality of the cuttings we grew this year. Whatever the reason, it’s good to know that the five hundredth pot of cannas will keep customer five hundred just as happy as the first canna made customer number one.
Miss: Disappearing perennials
The mystery of the disappearing perennials from our coldframes was solved recently. For the past couple of weeks, a rather cute but voracious gopher has been making regular visits and enjoying the vast buffet of plants. “Gopher” is really a misnomer for this sneaky little rodent; the proper common name is Richardson’s ground squirrel, although if you want to be scientifically accurate, the Latin name is Spermophilus richardsonii. The genus name, Spermophilus, has nothing to do with reproductive prowess (although these rodents do produce a prodigious number of offspring); Spermophilus means “lover of seeds.” I think that lover of perennials might be equally apt. To my way of thinking, if it’s Richardson’s ground squirrel, then Richardson is more than welcome to come and pick up his pet.
Question of the Week
I’m planning my landscape and I’d really like a hedge that’s a bit different. I’ve chosen to go with roses. Which varieties are best for this purpose?
For a short hedge, use varieties from the Pavement series. If you want a larger hedge, try red or white Rugosa, or ‘Scabrosa’. I’m partial to informal hedges. What I mean by that is plants grown in a row but not right up against each other. For a rose hedge of this type, I really like ‘Adelaide Hoodless’, ‘Morden Blush’ or ‘Morden Centennial’ roses. Just remember that to create a formal hedge, you have to prune often and this means less flowers.
Science & Technology
Surveying the Pollinators
I believe that home gardeners are the single biggest untapped resource in the horticultural research field, so I was really interested to hear about Pollination Canada. It’s a new program aimed at surveying the over 1000 species of pollinating insects in our vast country. By observing pollinators (something gardeners just seem to do naturally anyway) and participating in the survey, gardeners can contribute to valuable information collection and ultimately analysis. The survey is available on line at www.pollinationcanada.ca.
The following quote may have been falsely attributed to Albert Einstein, but it does pose a thought-provoking idea: “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.” Get out there and count those bugs!
Trend SpottingBeauty meets energy efficiency! These solar powered lanterns were so popular last year that the company producing it has introduced a couple of new designs.
Did You Know?
Vermicomposting is a term used to describe the process where worms convert organic waste into nutrient rich worm castings. Vermi means worm, which (rather unappetizingly) is where the pasta vermicelli gets its name.
“Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than Emperors.”
–Mary Cantwell
