“Originally published: New York : Random House, c1996”.
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English Pages 232 Year 2000
FARMERS
A
and delightful collection of gardening advice and tips from the pages of The Old Farmer's Almanac fully illustrated, informative,
Cynthia Van Hciztnga and the Editors of The
Old Fatmet's Almcinac
Previously Published at
For
centuries,
$25
The Old Farmer's Almanac
has been offering
its
unique combination of
science, folklore, humor, and no-nonsense
advice on a variety of subjects. The
OF GARDtN WISDOM
offers the
same
mixture of practicality and fun with tion of
gardening
tips, secrets,
BOOK
singular its
selec-
advice, and
information.
•
LEARN TILL,
•
HOW— AND WHAT—TO
AND HARVEST
DISCOVER TECHNIQUES FOR ELIMINATING
•
PLANT,
GARDEN PESTS
LEARN THE BEST AND FASTEST- GROWING
VEGETABLE VARIETIES •
EXPLORE REMEDIES USING HERBS
YOG GROW .
FIND
OCT THE BEST KIND OF SOIL
FOR DIFFERENT PLANTS
Gardening
is
an area of recreation as well
as a huge industry, and at
all
times
it
is
both art and science. For the urban weekend
[Continued on back
flay]
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Book of Gatdca^3^isdom
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The Old Farmer's Almanac
BOOK OF LOVE
The Old Farmer's Almanac
Book of Gatden^^?isaom Cynthia Van Hazinga & the Editors of
The Old Farmer's Almanac
Gramercy Books
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York
Copyright
©
1996 by Yankee Publishing,
Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The
old Farmer's
almanac book
of garden
wisdom
/
Cynthia Van Hazinga and the editors
of the Old farmer's almanac, p. cm. ISBN 0-517-16297-0 1
.
Gardening. Cynthia.
III.
—
Gardening Gnited States. Old farmer's almanac.
2.
I.
Title:
Garden wisdom.
II.
Van Hazinga,
SB453 .039 2001
635— dc21 00-062233 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
I To my mother,
Sylvia Wartiainen
Van Hazinga,
whose enthusiasm
ignited
my
for nature
own.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS would Taylor,
like to
thank
three editors
and Sharon Smith
rators, especially
I
my
the book.
— and
Benjamin Watson, who contributed sidebars to
Society, especially for the use of
Library and
librarian.
its staff;
the
Thanks
New
Public Library in Hillsborough,
A
our colleagues and collabo-
New
appreciate the help of the
1
Kathryn Powis,
all
— Georgia Orcutt, Sandy
book has many
Random House; Corsey, who did
parents.
library
its
also to the
York Horticultural
and the assistance of
New
Hampshire State
York Public Library; and the Fuller
New
Hampshire.
Thanks
to Carol Jessop,
who
the art research; to
the facts; and to Barbara Jatkola,
also to
Candy
who
David Rosenthal of
designed the book; to Gianetti,
Mark
who checked
copy-edited the text.
CONTENTS
Introduction
xi
2
1
Planting
2
The Weather & Your Garden
32
J
Garden Design technique
50
4
The Flower Garden
?8 1
5 6
,{?.j„*-..
./i*^
Growing Fruit
102
TheHerbGarden
138 f'
7
The Vegetable Garden
164
8
TheHarvest
190
INTRODUCTION
"to plow, to plant, to hoe, is
the work which
lies
before us now."
— The Old Farmer's Almanac, 1882 Researching
and writing
book has
this
led the author
and the
Old Farmer's Almanac into close contact with our
editors of The
horticultural past
and added
to our respect for the experience
and wisdom of those Gardeners
Who
Have Gone
The
Before.
journey also has given us a strong sense o{ nature's enduring patterns, those forces that guide gardeners. For the gardener
meddling
is
only nature's
con-
assistant, at best a caretaker of the earth's resources,
nected to the process and part of the plan.
Again and
again, in compiling our
observation, calling
on
reminded that nothing
tradition is
book of advice, anecdote, and
and lauding innovation, we were
new under
the sun.
Some
of the most ven-
erable directives, whether offered in 1828 or 1909, parallel the latest
when the 1882 edition of The Old Farmer's Almanac "We ought to raise more seed, and not pay so much for what we know so little of," the seed savers of 1996, newly awakened to the
research. Thus, advises,
importance of the global gene pool and the need
for biodiversity,
emphatically. In 1849, The Old Farmer's Almanac reported, world, now-a-days,
is
nod
"The
divided into Conservation and Reform, that
the old and the new, and so
it is
in farming."
Today
is,
ecologists battle
developers on the troubled border between civilization and nature,
and gardeners use down-to-earth methods on skyscraper
roofs.
And
now,
as then,
even
great joy,
as
it
we
&
feeds us.
Some
ing like a weed.
Smith
gardening
garden;
a
prime recreation and a source of
Gardening
gardeners see
Hawken) and some
we
is
a
is it
as a calling.
practice a craft that
is
growth industry
as a lifestyle
We
both an
— grow-
(uniforms by
are gardeners because art
and a science; we
garden instinctively and knowingly, by tradition and inspiration. As
we
cultivate
we
fill
and
plant,
our lungs with
we
air,
learn from nature; as
perhaps lower our blood pressures, as the therapists
Farmer's
asserts.
At any tion,
XII
is
new breed
and
of horticultural
in 1893,
"and never lead
astray,
but always
purer and better." Perhaps.
rate, as gardeners,
and wholly
prune,
"Flowers have a refining influence," The Old
Almanac noted
upward to what
we weed and
train our ears to the songs of the birds,
ourselves.
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
we
are part of nature, part of civiliza-
THE OLD FARMER'S ALMANAC
ROOK OF GARDEN WISDOM
y^(.'u
PLANTING "A GARDEN
IS
NOT A
LITTLE THING;
FOR SOPHISTICATED CONVERSATION.
BUT NEITHER If
IS
IT
A SUBJECT
YOU REALLY WANT TO DRAW
CLOSE TO YOUR GARDEN, YOU MUST REMEMBER FIRST OF ALL THAT
YOU ARE DEALING WITH A BEING THAT
HUMAN
LIVES
AND
DIES; LIKE
THE
BODY, WITH ITS POOR FLESH, ITS ILLNESSES AT TIMES REPUG-
NANT. One must not always see
it
dressed up for a ball, man-
icured AND IMMACULATE.
"A GARDEN
IS,
ABOVE
ALL,
THE HUMBLE EARTH.
.
.
.
00^
"The SIMPLEST peasant, the lowliest GARDENER, KNOWS DEEP INSIDE HIMSELF
man's
life,
THAT THE EARTH
but ALSO
IS
HIS PEDESTAL.
NOT ONLY THE TRUE SOURCE OF LET THOSE
WHO DON'T
LIKE
TO
dirty their hands think about this: let them consider themselves a little like the sacrificial priest,
hands red with
sacred blood; let them think earnestly about the office
they wish to fears, let feel like
fulfill.
then, having learned to repress their
them carefully wash their hands; they will then
the purest of men."
— Fernand Lequenne, My Friend the Qarden
^\$^.
te
si/N&S*
B 1
H^-^
^/,
^w^iiflH ^*5i
^ff^r^ '0.
^0/^
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOOT EARTHWORMS? And
do they
really whistle while they
you turn over your garden
soil,
work?
stop and rest
— and
now and then
As
look for worms. For they are the real plow horses of fertility.
"It
be doubted," Charles Darwin wrote, "whether there are
may
many
other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as
have these lowly organized creatures." Darwin, some
researchers have concluded, considered earthworms of greater value
than horses, more powerful than African elephants, and even
more important
Even
to people than cows.
Minnich notes
in
so, as
author Jerry
The Earthworm Book, Darwin did not give
the earthworm credit for what sidered
its
is
now
con-
most important function:
incubating within tract
its
digestive
enormous quantities of
microorganisms, and then casting
them
basis for
i
It is
before there
worms
become the
off to
humus.
amazing to think that
European settlement,
were essentially no earthin
North America. Eleven Ice
Age
stripped the planet nearly bare of earthworms.
They
thousand years ago,
the
existed only in a narrow area that included the world's
three great agricultural valleys: the Indus, the Euphrates, and the Nile.
The
soil
was rich and
fertile in these
three river valleys, crops grew
almost without cultivation, and great civilizations grew up those days, sacred,
earthworms were appreciated; Cleopatra decreed them
and Egyptians were forbidden
to kill them.)
In that same period, few regions in what
supported extensive agriculture. sparse,
as well. (In
widespread,
and
is
now
the United States
The Native American population was
largely
based on hunting and gathering.
According to Minnich, "Before European contact, the only lumbricids Ithe
common American and European earthworm
terrestris]
and
is
Lumbricus
native to the United States were some lazy species of Bismatus
Eisenia, essentially worthless as soil builders."
So what happened? Immigrant earthworms (and
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
their egg capsules)
^
Gardener's gold.
Not-So-Humble Huius Gardenino, or the cultivation of
same Latin word gave us both the noun humus and the
The adjective humble. But the contribution of humus to den
soil
anything but humble.
is
Humus
mixture between a solution and a suspension.
amounts up
to 75 percent of
its
volume.
fruits
sort, is
a colloid, a coarse
It
can hold water in
Humus
is
the reason good
can be held in the hand without running through the
soil
why
it
crumbles
like
chocolate cake, and
why
it
and
fingers,
drains well but
holds moisture.
be regarded as
civilization.
lates
form of a
itself.
Any
They
soft,
most soil
feast, a plant's
dark loam that
ideals, ideal soil
is
is
and physical powers, promotes
and
rare,
but
soil
is
After
makes the
and
always improv-
can be helped along with humus
in the long run, the soil
among
the
humbler
neither evaporate
rich in organic matter
suit
all,
diffuses peace, con-
and places within
—
that
is,
its
reach a large amount of luxury in the shape ofdelicious fruits and
magnificent flowers.
the gardener's requirements. plant,
and the plant
— The Old Fakmek's Almanac, IS50
soil.
Think of humus not
their
picnic ready to spread
composition can be manipulated to
makes the
of
and inviooratestlie mental
classes,
nor leach away; they contain a
ing
It
tlie test
tentment, and happiness, stimu-
frugahty
served up by microbes for the use of plants.
nutrients. Like
some
habits of industry and domestic
In the moisture are essential minerals, processed, prepared,
in the
(lowers, may, in
ideal gar-
as feeding plants but as feeding the soil
itself.
Planting
wedged into the shoes of colonists' horses and packed
crossed the Atlantic
into the root balls of plants the immigrants brought.
soon
and
New
England meadows were
Earthworms work fast;
Midwest was a vast garden,
lush, the
fields of grain stretched across the continent.
Earthworms produce more compost other organism.
As
are bathed in a
mucus that
faster
and more
stiffens
and moisten the
the walls of their tunnels.
nels in turn aerate
worms
earthworms consume nearly everything in their paths
sacred,
and Egyptians to
kill
them.
and minerals
When
—
as
than any
soil.
The
Omnivorous and unfussy
Cleopatra declared earth-
were forbidden
easily
they burrow (constantly eating and excreting) they
— including sand
they propel themselves powerfully through the earth.
they have digested everything and excreted
Worms
again the beneficiary.
neutralize their
own
the gardener
it,
them on account
bank with
in the soil
able nitrogen, seven times the phosphate,
^ potash o{ anything
is
castings (with three
pairs of calciferous glands near their stone-grinding gizzards)
deposit
tun-
eaters,
and
five times the avail-
and eleven times the
else in the top 6 inches of soil.
(They dig down
farther than that, too, going as deep as 15 feet, helping to drain
the earth.) Castings are totally available organic humus, and every
earthworm produces
amount
its
own
weight in castings every day. This can
to 5 tons of castings
on
1
acre o{ land in a year.
And
as if
were not amazing enough, some researchers report that earth-
this
worms
whistle while they work.
One devotee
of Lumbricus lyric opera, C. Merker, wrote in the
1940s that earthworms have voices and can actually sing in "a definite
and changing rhythm" by deliberately opening and
closing their mouths.
Although they have no
lungs,
could hear them sing up to 12 feet away, and singing
may be
in search of love
—
for
much
worms have
Merker of the
five sets of
double hearts and meet to copulate in good weather, producing almost two hundred offspring annually. Like the microbes, their
companions under the
soil,
the more organic material
they encounter, the faster they reproduce.
Which silent,
is
lucky for
us.
Because whether they're singing or
where would we be without earthworms? Note: For further fascinating
'
•-
see Jerry Minnich's Press,
facts
about earthworms,
The Earthworm Book (Rodale
1977) and Peter Tompkins and Christopher
Raird's Secrets of the Soil
(Harper
&
from which we learned much. -^^
Row, 1989),
""
4 Gardener,
Old-time farmers knew as to
Know Thy Soil
that the types of plants that flourished in a particular area gave strong clues
the type of soil to be found there. Look to the plants that do well, they counseled, and you'll
learn as
much about
your garden as any modern
soil test
can
you.
tell
As
Soils that are acidic give root to trailing arbutus, trilliums, buttercups, mare's-tails. Azaleas indicate acidic soil, as
and most
tomed
lilies.
Many
plants from woodlands
to acidic soil. Potatoes
in acidic soil.
and wetlands
and many other
common
Thriving local species often provide clues to
Type
soil
So do
ferns,
are accus-
it.
content. For example:
Likely Type of Soil iris,
wild onion
Alkaline
Buttercup
Wet
Ferns
Heavy, possibly clay
Fireweed, nettles
Fertile,
Once you know what
you've got, just adapt the
soil
giant tater, clearly satisfied with
-ij«::*
M^
moist
— or your choice of plants — accordingly. One
:
right.
chrysanthemums,
— including oaks and pines —
vegetable crops prefer
of Plant
Burdock, chicory, saltbush, wild
i^
were
do rhododendrons, camellias, and magnolias.
and blueberries grow strong
Blackberries, raspberries,
usual, they
chamomile, rushes, and
t\o^
its soil.
.
A HEAD-START PROGRAM When
starting seeds indoors, plant
them
in
anything from seed blocks
to
jump of 4
to
eggshells
a question of timing. Seeds started indoors can get a
6 weeks on It's
crops
seasons, this
sown
means
indoor plants have sive to
in the ground. In regions with short growing
a great deal. less
In their vulnerable seedling stages,
competition from weeds.
grow your own seedlings than
to
And
it's
less
expen-
buy plants from a nursery.
HP AHQTi
Gardeners
start seeds successfully in all sorts
great lengths to coddle lets,
them
cubes, or peat pots;
Moisture
at this vulnerable stage.
some
is
Some
plant in pel-
wooden
use paper or plastic cups,
Our grandmothers used
recycled cans.
of containers and go to
or
flats,
eggshells.
the ruling principle at this point. Gardeners using mois-
ture-wicking peat pots or paper bands must take special care not to
them
dry out.
It's
ing. Seedlings
are cut apart,
that take a
also important to
grown
for the
way the
let
roots are form-
some root strength when they
in pots or flats lose
and those grown
in individual pots
*o«
..
develop circular roots
good while to recover. For strong, healthy seedlings, try
soil
blocks, available through garden supply catalogs.
*•«''/
Container and growing medi-
Bu "'''
Be,,,,,
/-«'«»„
um
""«' II,;.,,
all in
made
one, each 2-inch soil block
is
^'''""op
lU.,.,
of compressed potting mix, a bit
wetter than most, which contains a
^ '•""« Hl„,
good quantity of fibrous material
*'
Roots
fill
and then
the soil blocks to the edges
when
stop, so that
''^"'
' 'irfoi,
•'"'"..•../,.,
blocks
are set out in the field, seedlings
become
established quickly
and ^'^""^
ll,.„d
without trauma
With any kind
ting soil mix. Press
into the
soil,
iv
of container,
premoistened pot
start seeds in a
them
firmly hi^>r,yr '
then cover them
'"'"'''"1'.
..
'"t''>,i(„.r,
/
.
^
"
"'uiii;,,..
with glass or plastic (a plastic
bag works well) and keep them
warm
until they sprout
Above
indoor
all,
seedlings need light
sunny, south-facing win
dow
or
the
benefit
of
fluorescent lighting equip
ment. Give seedlings 14 to 16 hours of light a day and
keep them moist. Once they
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^m ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^HI^H
^^^^^^V
watch
^H
have a second
set of leaves,
they will need a weak solu t
ion of fertilizer
t»,
4i
»
%^a*—.^
.
d:hM^%l ii^l^' ^^
Tips for Transplanting owing
is
one thing; transplanting young seedlings
for success.
Here are
is
an equally tricky business with
its
own
rules
a few of them:
S
«•"
Handle with
care. This
tender touch and
all
is
the time to have a
on your
inevitable, but continued decisiveness
supplies at hand.
part
crucial to the late-summer yield. For a
is
beautiful crop of tender lettuce, for example,
*" Choose is
your moment. The best time to do
on a misty
sow seeds every month and transplant them
it
soon
or cloudy day or late in the after-
noon when the sun
is
as they are ready. Toss out seedlings that
have been crowded in
low.
opment (•"
Make
as
their beds, their devel-
and impotent.
arrested; they are old
contact. Poke a hole in loose soil and
press the roots firmly in contact with the soil.
'^^
Toughen them up. Seedlings
started indoors
need a period of transition (about 2 weeks) '•*
Water
sparingly. Seedlings
course, but don't overdo
need moisture, of
before they are exposed to the outdoors. This process,
it.
known
as
hardening
off,
allows
to adjust to wind, direct sunlight,
'^ Be
protective. Don't allow the seedlings to be
damaged by strong winds
or strong
ating
or
day or
so, or
row cover
night. Later,
may
provide them with a cloche
to raise daytime temperatures
On
their
plants need shelter and must
light.
Shield the young plants from direct sunshine for a
temperatures.
come
outings,
in for the
when they have toughened,
they
stay out overnight in a sheltered spot.
i*'
Keep
a
warm
spot for
warm. Cold frames
with the very young.)
are
them good
— but not too
for
hardening
but never leave them closed on a
warm
off,
day.
young
seedlings.
Entire crops have been lost in a few hours
of the season, this
may seem
when
selective. Transplant only
At the beginning
fluctu-
and
speed growth. (Remember, you are dealing
•" Be
and
first
them
the temperature rose too high too
Pl.ANTIN(;
fast.
19
WAIT TILL THE MOON At
least if
omantics and affairs
FULL
IS
you're growing potatoes
.
.
.
scientists agree: the
moon does have an effect on the
of men, although whether that effect
ed to the ebbing and flowing of the tides
And
emotional or limit-
is
a subject of debate.
is still
moon
traditional gardeners hold that the
also has
an
effect
on your garden. For centuries, es of the
it
common
has been
moon. Tradition has
it
to link planting times to the phas-
that crops that grow underground
root crops such as potatoes, carrots,
and beets
— should be sown during moon
the dark of the moon, from the day after the before
it
is
new
again.
(They reason that
this
the day
full to
is
Biodynamic gardeners explain that during
time, the plant orients itself toward the root, is
this
sap rushing downward.
its
also a favorable time for transplanting.)
—
leafy vegetables, grains, cab-
bage crops, parsley, peppers, and cucumbers
— should be planted during
Crops that mature above the ground
the light of the moon, from the day the
During
this period, the sap
the plant with
Many after the say,
is
said to flow
is
change to the new moon. The
moon
upward more
full
last quarter,
is
always the
of spring. Just two days before Easter
it is full.
strongly, filling
moon, beans
most
moon
many
the gravitational pull of the
plant's roots to
shown
places.
first is
Sunday
Good
after the
Friday, tradi-
Thus, potatoes planted on
its
it
moon
raises
makes sense that
it
moon.
ground water the way
may
pull nutrients
leaves, thus stimulating growth.
Some
it
from a
studies
have
that seeds do take in water and germinate according to a lunar
Others have documented that certain flowering plants, such
sweet peas, need a period of total darkness to bloom. If
right
planters
Friday will begin to settle into the soil during the dark of the
does the ocean's tides,
cycle.
to the day
vitality.
tional potato-planting day in
If
new
is
gardeners plant potatoes right after the
Churchgoers point out that Easter
Good
moon
a barren time, best for weeding and cultivating.
first full
sweet peas
start to set
buds during the dark of the moon,
be that the extreme blackness triggers
bloom. Budding during the delayed by the
full
moon, then, would be
light.
toes after the full
moon and
see for yourself ....
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
it
the hormones that cause
Does lunar planting work? Try planting your pota-
20
—
^^
;
may
as
\>^^.
:~\.
THREE WAYS TO HELP MOSS SPREAD Relatively instant aging techniques for
ome
new
rock gardens.
gardeners distike moss; these are usuatty
tlie
peopte wlio work
themselves into dementia or an early grave trying to achieve the "perfect" turf lawn.
growing in with acidic
soil,
its
The
fact
is,
though, that moss
natural environment —
one that receives shade or
is
beautiful
preferably a cool, partial
when
damp
spot
shade during the day.
Cool, green moss also softens the look of landscape rocks or rock gardens, lending an air of noble antiquity.
All true mosses are bryophytes, nonflowering plants that branch out rather slowly try
that
is
when
it is
understood that itself,
it
in this
for
to speed
cannot be sup-
but only in combi-
is
salt, like
sodi-
II
its
most practicable,
form
able to plants.
asked
— some ancient, some quite modern —
must be
form ofnitrates that
application
and
it
ammonium, or potassium
is in this
tricks
spoken of as an
nation with some uffl,
own. To create the impression of an older garden,
a gaseous body, so
element of plant food,
plied bf
some of these
their
up the process and encourage moss to spread.
A BAG OF NITROGEN?
Nitrogen
on
it is
readily avail-
The farmer who
a bag of nitrogen was
surprised to find that there was
no such
thing.
— The Old Farmer's A.M,',^
"^':'
The Tradilional Japanese Method The Japanese are masters of rock mossy rocks happy by sprinkling
gardening, and they keep their
them with water
in
which they have
rinsed rice. This rice water contains starches that nourish the moss.
22
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
The Big Rock Candf Mountain Meliiod If
you have an area where moss would grow well
moss-covered rock from a
site that
naturally, bring in a
has similar conditions of light and
moisture. Position the mossy rock near other rocks that are already in
place and sprinkle the bare rocks with a sugar-water solution to encour-
age the moss to spread onto them. Keep the rocks slightly wet until the
moss
is
established.
The High-Tech Kitchen Appliance Method We recently heard of a gardener who had propagated moss some
existing moss from her back yard
some buttermilk (which has an
and putting
acidity that
moss
it
by taking
in a blender
likes).
with
After processing
the moss and milk into a kind of horticultural frappe, she sprinkled the
mixture over a prepared bed and watered established.
it
lightly until the
moss became
|^ Planting
23
24
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
.
when
a boulder not a rock?
is
Why, when
it's
a tea table for
upwardly mobile picnickers.
WHAT MAKES ROCKS The push-me'pull'you
RISE? how
theories of
all
those rocks got into our
gardens
ne of the givens of gardening crop of rocks that spring.
Most
folks
rises to
North
in the
is
the
bumper
the surface of the ground each
assume (quite correctly) that rocks
rise
on
account of frost action in the ground. Yet only recently have
determined
scientists
how
freezing
and thawing over the winter
actually bring the stones to the surface.
Water expands when
it
freezes,
and geologists have long pos-
tulated that this frozen moisture in the soil could
the surface in one of two ways
—
move
rocks to
either by pushing the rocks up
from below or by pulling them up from above.
The Push Theory assumes
that freezing temperatures penetrate
subsurface rocks faster than the soil surrounding them. This causes
water underneath a rock to freeze (and expand) before water in
the surrounding
soil,
pushing the rock upward.
thaws in spring, the theory holds, a platform of rock until
The
which
it
The rock
soil
rock has
can
slip
moved
down
first,
it
the
same place into
frost.
Theory claims that
grabbing
the soil
into the cavity underneath. Result:
up, staying roughly in the
was pushed by the Pull
When
ice supports
and pulling
soil freezes it
upward
as
around the top of a it
heaves with
Planting
frost.
25
A
From the looks of
Wlien
things, rocl
^^
4^
this
would
about 10 years
last
—
until
it
was ripped out by the next land-
scaper to tackle the First Garden.
— landscape — worked under the approving
Andrew Jackson Downing and editor of The
gardener, architect,
author,
Horticulturist
of Millard Fillmore.
Downing redesigned
popular English romantic
the First
Garden
eyes
in the
ripping out the earlier formal
style,
landscapes. He made complex, grandiose designs, fired men who had worked on the gardens all their lives, hired new workers, and cut down trees to make way for a statue of Andrew Jackson. In the end, however, most of
Downing's plans went unrealized
own untimely death Fillmore's
truncated
approaching
in
a
— interrupted by
his
steamboat explosion,
career,
and the tragedy of
civil war.
Franklin Pierce, the next occupant of the
House, was a Yankee with simple
White
tastes. Pierce built a
neat white picket fence around the private presidential flower garden. eral at the
He
also installed greenhouses (the first of sev-
White House)
filled
with flowers and foliage and
heated with a big coal-burning furnace.
Greenhouses became conservatories and were a dential private
life
House nearly half
until
large part of presi-
Theodore Roosevelt moved into the White
a century later. Roosevelt
conservatories demolished and removed
all
had the greenhouses and the intricate flower beds
Frederick
Law Olmsted,
a.k.a. the Father of
from the front lawn.
Landscape Gardening. After that,
it
was largely a game of horticultural musical
chairs, con-
tinuing right up until Franklin Delano Roosevelt called in the illustrious
landscape architect Frederick
many
Law Olmsted. Olmsted's
plans returned to
of Jefferson's ideas: he retained the thick stands of trees and shrubs
bordering the lawns, installed an oval drive on the south
side,
and
replaced the iron fences around the grounds. Flower beds near the east
and west wings evolved into the two major gardens
at the
White House First
today.
According to Irvin Williams, current superintendent of White House grounds, things aren't likely to change
Olmsted plan friend
Lady Lucy
poses
is
much anytime
our Bible, so to speak," Williams
Bunny Mellon
did redesign the
says.
soon.
"The
John F Kennedy's
West Garden, now the famous
Rose Garden, where ceremonial functions are held, and also worked
in
servatory right)
the in
Webb
Hayes
White House con-
1879 with
Fanny and
Scott
(left to
Hayes
and Carrie Paulding Davis. Mrs. Hayes made extensive improvements
in
the conserva-
a prome-
tory, converting
it
with Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson in the East Garden,
nade
dinner guests
now known as the
from whiskey and liqueurs.
First Lady's
Garden. Both areas have wide flower beds.
Garden Design
to distract
&
to
Technique
57
as well as shrubs
Other than
forming a background for seasonal changes of bloom.
that, things
goings, plantings
seem
pretty stable after
and uprootings of
all
the comings and
earlier administrations.
Throughout
our history, presidents faced with waging war or balancing the national
budget have found that
it's
far
simpler to have an impact on the
House grounds than on the U.S. Congress. The lawns today
White
are dotted
with thirty-four commemorative trees planted by the presidents. that the In
John Quincy Adams elm, a victim of
disease, has
Now
been taken
the early nineteenth century,
the
down, two magnolias planted by Andrew Jackson near the South Portico
White House garden
featured a fancy French-style parterre to the south
have
and
Jefferson's pavilion to the west.
seniority.
The White House year, in call
gardens are open to the public two weekends a
mid-October and mid-April. Admission
(202) 456-2200.
|^
IS-iy IIBCSE^'^
I 5
k
I
M-M
p
58
iUn^Hl
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
m
is
free.
For information,
»— 4
F"^
They Called Her "Aunt Bumps" Gertrude
Jekyll (1843
- 1932) was more than
just a
garden designer. She was
— and —
a gar-
is
dening legend.
(pronounced JEE-kill) was the mother of the
Jekyll
her harmonious color schemes and bold foliage
and
effects,
lush,
opulent English garden. Noted for
she also emphasized a controlled layout
free planting (creating a sort of natural anar-
chy), maintaining a large plant
list,
a gardening style to a particular
sounds very modern,
it
and matching
site.
If all
that
goes to show what
we
learned from Jekyll.
To
Jekyll, trained in
her youth as an
artist,
the garden was a palette. She called her planting plans "garden pictures"
and compared the
variety of plant shapes to brush strokes.
An
admirer of British painter J.M.W. Turner, she set
out her plants in enormous clumps, creat-
ing the effect of an impressionist painting
when
seen from a distance.
A great designer in her own right, Jekyll also
was capable of highly productive
Working
laborations.
with
col-
architect
Edwin (Ned) Lutyens, who was twentysix years
her junior, as well
as
she created some 350 gardens (It
many
other architects,
— most of them,
unfortunately, lost today.
was Lutyens's children who called her "Aunt Bumps"; she took them
trim, four-wheeled
pony
for rides in her
cart.)
Eccentric and energetic until her 89th year, Jekyll refused to travel and almost never
even to look
at the gardens she
highly attuned to detail; wall.
To
it's
was designing. She didn't need
said she could explain
down
create her legendary designs, she was able to
to.
to the last pebble
work
strictly
results
She was
No
have been described a remarkable
wonder
they're
woman
still
as
some of the most
home,
how
to build a stone
from architectural drawings of
houses, demonstrating an amazing ability to evaluate space and light and
The
left
Intensely practical, Jekyll was
remember
visual images.
beautiful gardens ever made.
by any measure.
evoking her name.
Garden Design
&
Technique
59
GOING NATIVE Perfection
After has
is
out,
and "natural"
decades
in.
is
— even centuries — of Anglophilia, Anglophobia
arrived in America.
If
you've suffered from an inferiority
complex regarding English border gardens,
American garden design
is
going native.
relief
Or
is
is it
at
hand.
neonative?
Following nature's lead and planting native species gives you a sure-fire route to a stable,
low-maintenance garden design while adding
beauty to the landscape and conserving our natural heritage. Choosing native plants If
you garden
is
particularly rewarding
if
you garden
in a dry region
— or
any other area where growing conditions are extreme and conventional in
a dry region,
choosing native plants
plants struggle to succeed. is
particularly wise.
Herewith, our six best ideas for going native in the garden.
ILet
nature hardscape your garden. Before you begin to play with gar-
den design, take the landforms
a long look at the
soft or
hand nature has
jagged? Bright or subtle?
or varied?
Take notes, then take the
walkways
is
hint.
to re-create natural elements
—
ural stone in natural patterns
Is
Are
dealt you.
the topography
flat
Your goal in building walls or
on
unless there
a smaller scale, using natis
no
stone, for then
it
will
look out of place.
Take note of native plant groupings. Whether you decide to plant
2
only natives or not, local plant masses provide an important example of
what
Match
already
it.
the soil and the plantings.
sen plants need alkaline
3
Grow what
succeed and look wonderful.
will
grows, or a variant of
soil,
If
your
soil
is
acidic
and your cho-
Work
you're in for a struggle.
nature and select plants that will thrive in the
soil
NATURE'S WAY
with
you already have. The
4
Buy propagated wild plants from
a reputable nursery.
Seeing the collection of plants from the wild
close observer
who
fully real-
izes the beauties of nature never
as a sort of
looksonahedgetrifflmedsoasto
shoplifting, "ecologically correct" nurseries
have sprung
up in every region of the country, offering both wild plants and information on
how
to
grow them. Instead of collecting ever-
scarcer native flora from the wild, you
may want
to support
show a
level top
lar sides
these nurseries by purchasing the stock they've propagated.
without a feeling of dis-
and
gust;
to the
and perpendicu-
his
sympathy goes out
man who handled
shears with so
little
the
conception of
Blur the garden's edges. Unlike conventional gardeners,
5
either the beauties or the
who may end
plantings with an edge or a nice, tidy line, demands
going-native gardeners aim to link their gardens to the larger landscape.
To blend
a garden's edges
gradually reduce the planting density toward the perimeter of
the garden, perhaps floating a few islands of plants into the wilder landscape to lead the eye outward.
Don't
6
fertilize
nities thrive
when you
plant.
in areas of
low
plants a big mqal of nitrogen ally
is
fertility.
when you
set
at
first.
them out
Mulch, weed frequently, and wait
plants are established before you decide to give
ments. Root growth should plants
Giving wild
of tremendous benefit to surrounding weeds. Take
and easy
seem
to be
making
come
first,
a slow start.
ever saw a tree grow
naturally with a perfectly level top,
and limbs reaching just as
from the trunk
Most wildflower commusoil
Who
with the landscape,
it
usu-
of nature.
far
at the top as at the
bottom? When
man demands
of
nature a change so great arid so unnatural, she rebels and refuses
slow
to
submit
until the
them
supple-
so don't be disturbed
—
Ti't-
Hfi) Fa«mfr's AiMAVAi
IRQ4
if
-^^
Garden Design
&
Technique
61
't^-&r
GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD SENSE They can be both
attractive
and
supportive. Sometimes they even
keep out the deer.
you garden, you are not alone. Woodchucks, raccoons,
When
and even
rabbits, squirrels, deer, crows,
watching your garden from the very
first
field
mice
day some
this at the start, the
the ground
is
may
critter trims
be
moment you slam
the back door and pick up a shovel. Their aim
your garden with you. Although you
will
is
to share
feel philosophical
about
your 6-inch pea shoots to
the day you will start thinking seriously about fences.
Americans have al spirit pleads,
a love-hate relationship with fences.
"Don't fence
me
in!"
Our nation-
and coast to coast we treasure
the concept of endless greenery stretching from front yard to front yard,
neighborhood to neighborhood, unfenced. Yet we know that
fences lish
we
make
—
sense
to enclose gardens, to exclude animals, to estab-
boundaries. Besides, fences and Americans go back a long way; inherited the tradition from our European forebears,
who have
long had a tendency to contain their gardens.
So we compromise.
We
build fences not just as exclusionary
devices but also as backdrops and important stylistic statements. use
them
and
as supports
trellises for
tomatoes, cucumbers, melons,
pole beans, squash, peas, and other climbers.
more fences
Wood
— out of every material we can
And we get our
build
more and
hands on.
has always been the most popular fencing material in
America, from the
civilized white-painted picket fences of early
England to the rough-hewn post-and-rail
affairs
worming
Jefferson specified a fence 10 feet high
young hare
in."
Open
and so
New
across great
stretches of the Midwest. For his fruit garden at Monticello,
a
We
Thomas
tight "as not to let
even
or closed, horizontal plank or upright picket,
whitewashed or weathered, wooden fences have long been essential for protection against
Wood
is
far
wandering livestock.
from the only popular fencing material. The
Victorians fancied metalwork fences outside their more urban homes.
Latecomers
in
the race to claim farmland
to settle virgin forest.
At
first
it
seemed
in
their
Washington Territory had main crop was stumps,
and their farms became known as stump farms. Coming up with fencewood was not a problem. 62
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
.^-rm
\
^
i
'.
il
wi ,11
.^-v
*-^Wa.
You may have
to
throw the
switch to deer-proof your
garden.
Ranchers strung miles of barbed wire. Both amateur and professional
gar-
deners have long grown hedges of every twiggy plant and have clipped
them cept
into shapes geometric
is
and
fanciful.
One
extension of that con-
the living fence, sometimes called the Belgian fence. This looks
like primitive wattle
fencing of interwoven poles but
and can be extremely handsome. (The same
is
is
true of
actually rooted,
open fences cov-
ered with grapes or other vines.)
But can
Wood,
keep out the garden pests?
it
metal, barbed wire, hedges, living fences
add beauty to a homestead and But when there's
The high,
it
no
comes
—
all
can
offer other benefits as well.
to reliable, no-nonsense pest control,
substitute for electric fencing.
ultimate deer-proof fence
and
exclude the
Some
electrified. critters
is
sturdy, at least
6 feet
gardeners manage to
with two strands of electric wire, one
6 inches and one about 2 feet above the ground. Just
remember never
let
that
in.
and hesitant
install electric fencing,
or your current.
—
until
to keep testing the waters. You'd be wrong.
Legally Speaking parts of early America, fences
Inweren't just an attractive addition to the front yard; they were a legal require-
ment. Residents of the colonial capital of
months
houses were
64
Virginia,
were
to erect picket fences
given
once
evidence,
we
carefully
one day the power went out and the
less
6
their
built.
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
It
than 6 hours to catch on.
a
Williamsburg,
you must
You'd think they might have been fooled by past shocks
the hapless gardener reports,
some
As
one gardener whose plantings were
guarded by electric fencing
came
you
down your guard —
offer the story of
deer
if
took them,
-|^
This Ha-Ha
Is
No Laughing Matter
hen
W
is
a fence not a fence?
Wtien
it's
a tia-lia.
In the green English country-
the pastoral urge
side,
is
strong,
and
people enjoy looking out over their
and lawns
fields
cattle.
Only
at grazing
trouble
is,
sheep or
you don't want
the odd sheep to amble through the open
French doors and into your
The
solution
Relatively
little
to
known
in
sunken fence or ditch dug
parlor.
problem
this
is
the ha-ha.
America, a ha-ha
is
a
edge of a property,
at the
usually with a reinforcing wall to guard against erosion. Its purpose
is
to separate
without interrupting the view
two pieces of land
as
an ordinary fence
would. Etymologists believe that the term ha-ha comes
from the French interjection "ha ha!" expressing surprise. That's possible;
you do come upon these
sunken fences quite suddenly. But we suspect that
anyone unlucky enough to
fall
into
one
while daydreaming would probably use stronger
language to describe the event.
I
Garden Design
&.
Technique
65
CHICKENS IN THE OUTHOUSE? GO WITH THE FLOW! The
birds will provide heat, the theory goes, they'll be
Call
Call Call
it it
it
hard
to forget,
and
agrosynergy.
natural landscaping. ecological planning.
Call
it
permaculture.
the eggs will be
handy
I
been hearing about the energy-efficient system
We've sustainable agriculture called permaculture
— ever
since Bill Mollison,
from Australia to spread
it.
who
for
for designed,
some
years
Mollison's ideas have generated a
and some controversy. But what exactly
great deal of excitement
now
coined the word, came over
is
per-
maculture ? Permaculture
planning that world around
is
deliberate design, a strategy of long-range ecological
calls for us. It
fundamental changes in the way we
treat the
begins at a philosophical level with questions about
what we would make of
a piece of land
and goes down
to the
most prac-
tical considerations about planting peas and sheltering chickens.
To
a great extent, permaculture
P^MMMM^^^™ — ™"!™""""""™""""""
4
— —
is
a program of laissez faire.
™™™™™™™™™""""""" -"
The Big Four ur calling as gardeners
is
complex, and yet in a sense,
it is
very simple. In the end, plants want
only four things:
1.
PLENTY OF SOIL MOISTDRE
2.
PLENTY OF AIR IN THE SOIL
3.
PLENTY OF PLANT FOOD
4.PLENTY0FSDNL1GHT
All we have to do
is
figure out
how
to give
them
providing irrigation and proper drainage, mulch,
these four essentials. In general, this
fertilizer,
cultivation,
and the
means
right location.
---I
68
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
may
Land, Mollison observes,
when plowed and
fenced. Nature
ticular site's history,
its
yield
more
knows
best.
in
natural state than
its
Thus,
we look
if
patterns of ecology, and the flow of
can learn much about that
life
at a par-
there,
we
resources and potential.
site's
In permaculture, everything functions together, and
it all
works with,
rather than against, nature. Tree crops and other perennial plants yield
food while modifying climate and counteracting pollution. Buildings
and fences form
bugs and
the garden.
trellises for
mals and hosts transient fertilize
wildlife.
The
The garden feeds people and
ani-
chickens, allowed to run free, eat
the garden. Roosting in a combination outhouse/chick-
en house, they help heat the building and get frequent attention.
Masanobu Fukuoka, author of The
Scientist Mollison hails as his guru
One-Straw Revolution. Fukuoka selves
and help each
season
when
other.
calls for
He does
they would naturally
systems that take care of them-
not plow, but broadcasts seeds in the fall
or lets plants reseed themselves.
Instead of tilling or killing weeds, he uses
method
of growing "involves
little
mulch and
spreading straw," Fukuoka explains, "but
it
has taken
me
over 30 years to
reach this simplicity." In this
spirit,
LAZy DAISIES
rotates crops. His
more than broadcasting seed and The coninion
coneflowerplanled around the
you might
barnyard pond that reflects
install a
warm house
light
on
a slope planted with fruit trees.
weed the garden and feed the
The pond
family, supplying
will host
down,
eggs,
and eventu-
meat. Feeding on fallen
trol
the pest population. In the orchard, chives and nasturtiums at the
fruit,
foot of dwarf cherry trees lure
A steep slope
is
the ducks
away or
fertilize
the garden and con-
and aphids; they
repel borers
at the foot of the slope, coreopsis yields birdseed
Such and
is life
at
bright
and helps control is
1,
is
where one to
These
will
come up year
year and need very
little
after
care.
to place gardens
landscape, working outward from the center of greatest activity,
zone
and
cultivate a variety of (lowers.
-
If that's
addition,
insects.
activities in zones organized in roughly concentric circles in the
usually the house.
and pretty
has neither time nor strength
also
make honey). And
Permaculture Acres. Part of the plan
makes a very
especially desirable
held with Saint Johnswort, an herb that pro-
vides pollen for bees (which cross-pollinate crops and
in patches,
ducks that
ally
spice salads.
yellow fldisf or
which
The Old Farmer's r
is
then zone 2 would be the area imme-
diately surrounding the house, the place for the chicken shed, gardens,
and greenhouses, which need daily attention. Zone for trees
and somewhat
self-sufficient crops.
3
would be the place
Zone 4 would hold the
woodlot or berry patches.
Sound
a bit like the old-fashioned family farm?
Mollison's books Permaculture started.
One and
Read more about
in
Permaculture Two, or just get
According to Mollison, the answer to "Where do
your doorstep."
it
I
start?"
is
"At
^v^
Garden Design
& Technique
69
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Garden Design
»&.
Technique
77
^m^
THE FLOWER GARDEN "Often
I
hear people
LIKE THIS?' AS
'How do you make your plants flourish
say,
THEY ADMIRE THE LITTLE FLOWER PATCH
I
CULTIVATE IN
SUMMER, OR THE WINDOW GARDENS THAT BLOOM FOR ME IN THE WINTER; '1
CAN NEVER MAKE MY PLANTS BLOSSOM
SECRET?' ALL,
And
1
LIKE THIS!
answer with one WORD,
*LovE.'
WHAT
IS
YOUR
For that includes
— THE patience THAT ENDURES CONTINUAL TRIAL, THE CONSTAN-
cy that makes perseverance possible, the power of foregoing ease of mind and body to minister to the necessities of the thing
beloved, and the subtle bond of sympathy which if
not more
so,
than all the
as a witty friend of mine, in
rest.
who
for though
says
i
is
as important,
cannot go
so far
that when he goes out to
sit
the shade on his piazza, his wisteria vine leans toward him
and lays her head on
his shoulder,
i
am fully and intensely
aware that plants are conscious of love and respond to they do to nothing
else.
you may
it as
give them all they need of food
and drink and make the conditions of their existence as favorable as possible, and they may
grow and bloom, but there
certain ineffable something that will be missing
if
is
a
you do not
love them, a delicate glory too spiritual to be caught and put into words."
— Celia Thaxter, An Island Qarden
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3^,
/r^^
TRAMPS & STOWAWAYS Many it
of America's hest4oved plants
turns out, aren't natives at
f
America
all
.
a melting pot, so are her flower gardens
is
an extent that few of us plants (and nearly
ing:
all
The examples
lands.
.
.
realize.
—
to
Most of our cultivated
of our weeds) are imports from other
sometimes
are
bizarre, often fascinat-
European cornflowers came to bloom
in Pennsylvania
imported from Belgium was unpacked in a
after glass
meadow
there. In Connecticut,
when
a rubber recla-
mation factory stripped the waste from shoes and boots,
it
simultaneously deposited
soil
the earth's four corners just before the
from
over the world took root.
all
chamomile recently found
— where workers
a
new home
at the Celestial
fall rains;
plants
And German Colorado
in Boulder,
Seasonings tea-packing plant
home
sometimes inadvertently carry
and seeds from
seeds in their cuffs and
shoes.
Ever since the foreign plants have for the ride.
satchels;
Europeans landed on American shores,
come along
Some were
in horses' hoofs.
— intentionally or otherwise —
lovingly imported, tucked into shawls or
some were secreted
virtually unnoticed,
ago,
first
in pockets
and hems; others came
stowed away in packing straw or embedded
Some, unknown
in this country a century or
have changed the very look of the land. Consider
Golden
.
.
Ms
In the past 90 years, forsythia's neon-yellow sprays have a ubiquitous sign of spring across
wasn't always the case. Before it
had even been introduced
golden
two
.
bells)
it
much
of
become
North America. But that
became popular
in
America, before
in Europe, forsythia (also
grew wild on the South China coast.
It
known
as
wasn't until the
mid-nineteenth century that, from the point of view of Westerners,
Tramps and stowaways are
Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
often irresistible.
fortune found them. Robert Fortune, that
Royal Horticultural Society of London,
is
who
—
a plant hunter for the
disguised himself in native
garb and pigtails to canvass the countryside for
new
plants. In 1846, the
plant hunter carried a sample of forsythia to London, where
named
after
William Forsyth,
founding
a
member
it
was
of the society and also
the superintendent of the Royal Gardens at Kensington. Forsythia
made
way
its
to
England to Massachusetts, but
it
America
in
about 1860, sailing from
did not appear in nursery catalogs until
the end of the century. Since then, the hardy shrub has
become known
for withstanding
enduring pollu-
tion,
on
northern climates
like a crusty native,
high winds, and cold winters. Like
resting in winter. Therefore,
it
cousin the
its
lilac, it
does
insist
does not do well in the Gulf states or
THE REFINING INFLUENCE OF CULTIVATING FLOWERS
the Southwest.
Do not think
Dooryard Blues
Some directly
cultivate a
people claim that the
first
from Persia to Portsmouth,
American
New
lilacs
were imported
George Washington
at
Mount Vernon. Whatever
Mount Vernon
Washington went on record
vations of them: "Feb 10, 1786, Buds of
den book entry this country,
earlier,
lilac
vate a love of Oowers in their chil-
the source o{ the
early with his obser-
much
Thomas Jefferson had
for April 2, 1767: "Planted lilac."
swelled and seem
recorded in his gar-
They
aren't native to
dren from earliest years, as Oowers have a refining influence,
and
never lead astray, but always
upward ter. If
to
what
is
purer and bet-
one's time and strength are
were early immigrants. bed one yard square,
they kept moving. Lilacs (Syringa) reproduce rapidly with freely
suckering stems.
As
no small measure dlers.
It
judicious for parents to culti-
limited, a
And
I
to let
later sent to
and they may not have come over on the Mayflower, but
lilacs definitely
few (lowers, or
the children have a Oower bed. is
from one of these early bushes was
ready to unfold." Even
d waste o[ lime to
Hampshire, around 1695. The
story goes that a cutting
lilacs,
it
settlers
migrated west, so did the
to the countless itinerant venders
lilacs
known
— thanks as plant
with a geranium and a few nas-
in
ped-
Packs on their backs, these professional Johnny Appleseeds
followed the pioneers over the mountains and soon found that just as the
homesteaders were ready to purchase pots and pans from other traveling salesmen, they also were eager to invest in shrubs and flowers that
turtiums, for instance, can give
pleasure to the whole household;
and these flowers
will
bloom
all
the season, until the frost blights
them. A few flowers
in pots
are
reminded them of home.
Today
lilacs,
both white and "old blue"
tion of the Persian
word
for indigo
— the name
— have become
better than none. lilac is
a corrup-
a symbol of spring-
time in this country. Growing everywhere except the Deep South, they
— TH£OmF,AR.M£R'sALMA\AC,
1893
bring a fragrant dream of Oriental beauty to roadsides, parks, and gardens across America.
The Flower Garden
81
The Settlers' Companion Tlie
purple foxglove
tall,
traveling: there are eighty
the wind shakes
and
a hardy plant,
is
it
packs light for
thousand foxglove seeds to a single ounce.
them out of their papery
Each
fall
them
lavishly across the land.
Rich
capsules and scatters
in oil, starch, protein,
and
sugar, the
seeds have a high rate of germination and thrive in well-drained, ordi-
nary
soil,
sometimes forming
large colonies in the wild
(and creating a
stunning sight on a remote roadside or in a forest clearing).
Foxglove
{Digitalis
Europe, where
German
came
settlers
fingers")
When
is
native to
English and
to America, they brought foxglove seeds
them on the edges
tered
meaning "purple
purpurea,
has grown in gardens for centuries.
it
of their homesteads.
It
and
scat-
didn't take long for the
plant to escape the coastal settlements and begin the trek westward. In ?»«l*»-
when John Bradbury
1809,
set
out to collect wildflowers in the newly
acquired land of the Louisiana Purchase, he could trace the paths of the
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED... pioneers in the
More A garden ofkrdy perennials more and
satisfactory
on the wliole
less expensive
liedding plants, less care
is
and
than one of lliey
require
than annuals. No one
tors,
who noted
where
grows.
it
— and
plant
of foxglove they
trails
recently, the striking flowers
that foxglove
it
new
iron deposits
became the
had been recognized
as
must be considered. The ofthe plants
is
small,
first
and
cost
practi-
leaves
glove
and is
known
as
in
its
seeds,
fox-
perhaps
best
the primary
source of the commercial
cally they last forever.
drug
-!
found
digitalin
digitalis.
But you don't have to ,1916
be a cardiac patient to appreciate the beauty of these purple masses of bells.
Like other beautiful
immigrants, foxglove adds
one more dash of color and variety to
its
adopted land. As
does another colorful traveler
82
coalfields the plants
the physician's friend.
medicine. Raised today for the
hmited or because expense
and
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
in the soil
helicopter for masses of the
marked.
researcher's assistant, however, foxglove
need refrain from having such a
is
a clue for Russian prospec-
an indicator of minerals
was known to be a potent heart garden because the area of land
behind.
They began searching by
for the
Long before
is
left
became
.
.
As
early as 1768,
it
Roadside Ramblers Orange-red
daylilies
came
to Europe from
Ages. They were brought to the
New World
and widely cultivated here. Today Hemerocallis fulva (the
name means
China during the Middle
in the
carefree,
seventeenth century patches of
persistent
"beautiful for a day") blaze in desert-
ed American cellar holes and form brilliant borders along country roads. In either spot, they offer living testimony to Hemerocallis spreads almost solely by division.
ed by gardeners.
Sometimes
it
Sometimes
it
sends out
human
Sometimes
history
—
for
transplant-
it's
underground rhizomes.
appears unexpectedly, the offspring of the bits and pieces
torn and tumbled along by snowplows or road graders.
— baked — and medicine — the form
In ancient times, the daylily was valued as both food custard with rich milk, butter, and salt
into a
in
of a poultice applied to burns. Daylily buds are edible, but today this
proud plant most frequently to hold
soil
on
hillsides
we
use
and brighten
those corners of the garden where a rugged, pest- and disease-resistant
perennial
is
needed. -^^
Roadside ramblers
really get
around.
The Flower Garden
83
SEASONS OF A SUMMER FLOWER GARDEN How
to
keep the color going
all
summer
long.
harmoniously arranged flower garden, often compared to an artist's palette,
phony. ideal
A
might
palette
summer
much more
— or even
accurately be likened to a sym-
a painting
—
is
static,
whereas the
flower garden develops in waves, reaches crescendos
of bloom, and depends
on chronological succession
as surely as the
British monarchy.
When planning your garden, Cupid plays makeup
artist,
fragrance, of course
— but
choose flowers for their
also consider the season in
color, beauty,
putting the final touches on a
Avoid planting midsummer bloomers
pansy's face.
groups of them throughout the garden. This will draw the
through the whole area, creating the
84
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
all
in
one
and
which they bloom.
spot; instead, distribute
effect of a greater
visitor's
eyes
expanse of color.
What combinations
of plants will keep your garden
colorful all
Here
are
summer
some
long?
suggestions.
Summer
Earlf
(mid-Ma)! through mid-June)
Bleeding hearts
Delphinium Early roses {Rosa hugonis; damask, eglantine, and gallica roses) Iris
magnifica
Oriental poppy
Peony
Midsummer (late
June through July) Astilbes
Bee balm Daylilies (try Stella de
Oro)
Early-blooming white phlox
Hollyhock Hollyhock mallow Regal
lily
and Asian hybrids such
as
Enchantment
Snakeroot
Lale
Summer
(July through early September)
Asters
Fall-blooming anemones
Globe
thistle
Harrington's pink aster
Japanese Late
lilies
and
iris
daylilies
Monkshood Pink and white phlox Tiger
White
lily
boltonia
The Flower Garden
85
%
%.
\
f ^t.-
W4^ -m»m
5^
K-.'JS4- -
li-'-'T.
^•'
makes
it
flutters
way.
each blos-
Once
a bee
to the top blossom,
down
the
to
it
next
tiW'
flower and starts over again.
Climbing up takes than flying up, so saving approach.
less
it's
energy
a calorieV,
k'^*
^ '^^
m.i^
THE CARNATION: SECRET AGENT OF FLOWERS more common than
there are few cultivated flowers
Today the carnation
(Dianthus caryophyllus)
,
that ubiquitous fix-
ture of floral arrangements that seems to
occasion (even larly unlikely
Day,
St. Patrick's
when
shade of green). Earlier in
its
fit
almost any
dyed a particu-
it's
history,
though, the
carnation served a very different purpose, totally unrelated to
its
beauty or popular clovelike fragrance. In the eighteenth century, the carnation a lover's flower, a symbol of hidden passion
Someone
became fashionable
and
as
secret confidences.
discovered that a message could be concealed in the car-
nation's calyx (the
little
leaflike structures at the base of the
flower), to be read by the object of one's affection
and hidden from
the prying eyes of jealous husbands or disapproving parents.
The most famous
story of the carnation's cloak-and-dagger past
concerns Marie Antoinette,
Temple, awaiting
trial
husband, Louis XVI, in 1793. de Rougeville,
who remained
and execution,
imprisoned in the
after the
beheading of her
A bold young royalist, the Chevalier
somehow gained
access to the queen's cell
and
"accidentally" dropped a single carnation at her feet. Marie read
the message hidden under the flower, which outlined the knight's
bold plan to rescue her, and used a pin to prick out a sign on the
paper indicating that she had read and understood the note.
Unfortunately foiled the
for
Marie, her
jailers also
discovered the paper and
attempted jailbreak. Today the note
French National Archives in Paris
— bearing
preserved in the
is
silent
testimony to
the carnation that almost saved a crown.
^
Who
knows what
secrets their carnations
may
hold?
The Flower Garden
95
Nocturnal seducer Morticia of the Night
Addams
could be membership chairman
Garden Club. Meetings run
late.
^
FLOWERS THAT WORK THE NIGHT SHIFT For a
delightfully different garden,
evening bloomers make great
scents
ost plants live for the daylight hours, light
into energy
insects
ate
on
and
with their showy
attract bees
when
they can turn sun-
and other pollinating
floral displays.
But some plants oper-
a very different schedule, waiting until night to
open
up their blossoms. There, in the dark, these flowers of the night send forth their sweet, heady fragrances
—
attracting not only
also nocturnal garden pollinators such as
moths and
humans but
beetles.
Instead of making your garden just a dawn-to-dusk attraction,
consider planting a night garden especially of those flowers that love the dark. Look
first
for
white or pale blossoms, and for the strong
fra-
grance characteristic of night-blooming plants. This brings to mind
images of jasmines and gardenias, but these subtropical shrubs are either too tender or too fussy for outdoor growing in
some
most of the
United
States. Try
96
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
of the following plants instead.
*
I3/ASNV
Thh
Fi
(nvHR
Garden
101
ii'lii
^r*-»-
GROWING FRUIT "It
may
be said at the outset
that the fruit orchard will not
'live by faith alone.' It
REQUIRES watchful, INTELLIGENT CARE AND CONSIDERABLE INDUSTRY TO MAINTAIN THE FARM
ORCHARD
IN FIRST-CLASS CONDITION.
WHILE THIS
IS
TRUE, THERE ARE FEW THINGS THAT BRING
BETTER RETURNS OR GIVE GREATER SATISFACTION FOR THE LABOR BESTOWED. THE FARM WITHOUT
—
ITS FRUIT ORCHARD IS LIKE PANCAKES WITHOUT MAPLE SYRUP POSSIBLE BUT NOT ENJOYABLE. The farm orchard should supply the family and friends with the cheapest and MOST enjoyable fruit the year through, as well as many dainty dishes the housewife knows
so well
how to
prepare."
— John McLennan, Manual of Practical Farminc;
Dorothy might soy
apple tree has been a
this
bit
overstimuloted.
HOW TO
SAVE AN OLD APPLE TREE
Let's face
you could hardly make
^^^ ew 4
it:
trees
have more character than ancient,
gnarled apples. But what
t
j
apple tree looks like
k
Appleseed
worry. a
No
it
if
your backyard
was planted by Johnny
— and ignored ever
matter
how
mature tree may be,
Where
worse.
it
since?
can probably be saved.
to start? There's
no
question: the path to
is
When?
Late
generally best, but a busy
farmer once told us that "a good time to prune
whenever you can
get around to
When you do get up
around to
for years of neglect in
stimulates growth,
which
say that they prune as they'll
have
less to
do
to
neglected and out of control it
salvation begins with careful pruning.
winter or early spring
Not
is
is
it."
it,
don't try to
make
one afternoon. Pruning the reason experts often
little
later.
as possible so that
Many
experts advise a
3-year plan for saving a badly overgrown old tree:
plan to remove one-third of the unwanted growth
each year
for 3 years.
three" involves three
(Not following the "rule of risks:
sunscald from the mas-
sive dose of sudden, direct light; so
new growth
that you have nearly as
much vigorous much to cut off
again next spring; and a smaller crop of
because apples bear
fruit
fruit,
only on old wood.) (continued on page 108)
Growing Fruit
105
WHERE & WHY TO PRUNE THAT
TREE
A. Decapitate.
No
FAMODS YANKEE APPLES
apple tree needs
be more
to
the gods,
you can punish those
Bring 'em
down
B. Let the
Sun Shine
regarded
as,
hest of our
on the whole, the
New England
apples,
1
8 feet
tall
—
10
feet
is
better. Like
pride has raised up too high.
where you can reach
to
their fruit.
In.
Branches that aim for heaven do nothing but shade those neighbors who,
more generously, swoop toward The Baldwin, which must be
tfion
whom
C. Pare
Away
earth with their bounty. Lop the high risers.
Crossed Branches.
All
Too many children Too many piggies
the playpen,
in
the poke.
in
Apple branch crossing another. originated in the town of
My
chainsaw does provoke.
Wihnuigton, Massachusetts, and
Take Off Some Underbranches. Down-growing branches are the ones you want to encourage, but not of them at once. Be selective, show your good taste, pick, and pare. D.
was named
after
Loammi
Baldwin, the engineer
who
laid
out the old Middlesex Canal from
Up
Bind
E.
Lowell to Boston.
the
Rotten cavities
The Hubbardston Nonesuch
bacterial
life,
all
Wounds. and
open
cuts are
gouge out
sores. Unless
the rotted
wood and
you
fill
feel
a sympathy for
the cavity with pitch.
No
bandage necessary. originated in the town of that
name
in
Worcester Countf. The
Water Sprout? Cut
F.
Cutting
away water
tation.
The poor old
It
Out.
sprouts
is
the family planning of apple tree rehabili-
Minister originated on the farm of
a Mr. Saunders,
The Porter was
in Bowley,
first
Mass.
it
tree
trying to
is
make
babies, far
more babies than
can raise up. Curb that urge.
raised by the
G. Hey Suckal Get Outta Town. BeverendS. Porter of Sherburne,
Root suckers should not be tolerated. They are
Mass. The Wilhams originated on
springing up from the roots of the old tree.
the farm of Major Benjamin
Williams of Boxbury, Mass. All
dental.
these favorites were acci-
They have been, perhaps,
somewhat unproved by
cultiva-
Massage
H.
I.
Now
but they were not the prod-
uct of any attempt to create
tree, all the
way
out to the drip
should be
Mulch.
compost a foot from the trunk of the tree camping out there and chewing on the tree.
to
discourage rodents from
new J.
Rest.
(Stop looking; there
done good Farmer's .Al\l^\ac, 1888
service,
your yard with a
is
no
J
saved a
there.)
Take the
tree, rebuilt
living structure that will
Arboreal immortality.
106
line,
Dress the entire rototilled area with compost to feed the roots. Hold back
varieties.
—The Old
making,
remove competing sod.
the tion,
trees in the
the Media.
The topsoil under the rototilled to
new
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
rest of the
day
off.
You have
an apple machine, and adorned
be there
after you're
gone.
Growing Fruit
107
So take
make to
do
it
in stages, but
do take
in pruning," says Catskill
it
Mountain
Begin with the parts that are clearly
the healthy
good harvest
for pies,
apples for
apple cores ters.
yields apples fritters,
to feed the crit-
Berkeley County,
Virginia, 1910.
West
fruit
biggest mistake people
expert Lee Reich,
"is
not
it."
large areas of
A
"The
on.
disease.
deadwood
wood
are swelling), cut
A rotted-out it,
use a free
it is
out.
to prevent the bark
two branches of equal length and
«
9^
V
best to
l^^^^i *«^ ""isM §
iW
as the
is
common on
when you can
branch comes
— places where the
.j
on
a doorway for
is
the final cut
from tearing
size. It's
the buds
saw or a two-man crosscut.
make
if-
kLl'^^
when
Deadwood
a job for a chain
Next, look for any bad crotches
Igw
it
or any large branch, in stages;
hand
your apple tree has
low branch, almost a second trunk,
old trees, and removing
Remove
lost causes. If
(easily spotted in late winter,
off.
tree forks into
remove one o{
these,
or at least cut ally.
Cut
just
back so that
it
becomes subordinate and heads
it
off later-
above the wrinkle where branch and trunk meet, not flush
with the trunk, to leave a slight "collar" and the smallest wound possible.
Now aim your saw higher. When upper branches are
allowed to grow
vigorously, they often shade the lower ones. In addition, apple trees grow fast,
up to 30
— well out of the average
feet tall
height for a backyard apple tree too.
Most
orchardists
about 10
is
aim to give each
feet.
picker's reach.
The shape
is
The
best
important,
tree a modified central leader (the
predominant upper branch, the one that seems to be leading growth). To encourage
back the top of the
this formation, cut
tree, leaving a
some-
LET US RAISE PEACHES!
what horizontal branch as the leader. This lowers the tree, making shorter and letting light
— and
Speaking of those branches, the center of the tree to
light.
pickers it's
—
in to the lower branches.
time to prune them out, opening up
"Prune so the birds can
tree in any direction," an old farmer advised
hand hook Cut out
or, for
it
us.
And
growers have
through the
fly
This usually
calls for a
very high branches, a pole pruner with a long handle.
"suckers," the little branches that spring from the trunk or major
branches.
The great mistake many peach-
is
to encourage the tree to
do well enough
cuts,
—
all
which
branches that grow up from the main horizontal
vertical
few years' growth the roots meet
will stimulate a rush of twiggy growth.
Cut
off inside
branch-
is
much
work,
like a sculptor
important to remember that a
it's
and needs
to take stock of the
A peach
food.
er, it
tree
is
a gross feed-
makes wood rapidly and
it
requires abundant space, though
a
As you proceed with your
ground and rob each other
ofproper nourishment and plant
should go. Keep in mind the "rule of three" and avoid large
es before the outside ones.
pruner
a
at first but after
grow out and down.
Branches that cross and rub, branches that grow too close together,
boughs
in setting
cut out any snarls or tangles (sometimes called "mare's
Your goal
and vigorous
is
the trees too near together Thef
in the
nests").
made
medium
or even a poor soil
is
to
be preferred rather than one too
emerging rich.
With a rather poor
soil,
we
shape of his or her project. Step back from your cutting frequently to see
how the tree looks from a distance, and modify your approach accordingly. Once you're comfortable with the overall appearance, you can move on
to the details.
most of the
fruit
Thin any crowded and grow
less
spurs
— those stubby
than an inch per
year.
areas that bear
This will allow
fruit
can feed to
them back
to strong buds.
And
cut
this point, you're
almost through pruning
quite.
Take a few extra minutes to scrape
you'll
not only improve the
hiding places. This
way
to
do
it,"
is
he told
needs,
and a consequent lender growth of
wood
that is quite liable to
winterkill.
—
T,
.,
n, n
F.ARMER'S ALMAN.AC, 1886
almost, but not
off any loose pieces of bark,
and
recommended by Lee Reich. "A good
us, "is to ball
carefully over the bark.
it
appearance but also deprive insects of
tree's
a practice
what
away any root suck-
ers at the base of the tree.
At
just
without the risk of overfeeding
to be evenly distributed along the branches. Invigorate a few individual
spurs by cutting
it
up chicken wire and run
[The bark] looks wonderful."
it
lightly
and
^^ Growing Frl
i
i
109
BACKYARD BANANAS What's a tropical-looking plant
.
.
.
like this
siCH POP'PAWs!
doing in North America?
— Lumps
o'
raw
— oozy th'ough With ripe yaller — like you've saw
Gold and green,
jes'
custard'pie with no crust to.
— James Whitcomb Riley, "Up and Down Old Brandywine" Pawpaws,
sometimes called "Hoosier bananas," rate high on our
list
of exotic natives well worth cultivating. Everything about paw-
paws
improbable: their luxuriant, drooping, spear-shaped leaves;
is
their funny, yellow-green tropical fruits
(What
are these doing in
the Midwest?); even their taste and texture, so unlike most other
Temperate Zone
delicacies.
pawpaws must have long ago
In fact, hardy
the tropics and found a
the
Ohio and
home
in the rich river
Mississippi river valleys.
strayed northward from
bottoms and uplands of
They grow wild from New York
State to northern Florida, and as far west as Nebraska, usually in thick-
they have a habit of throwing up suckers from their roots.
ets, for
Pawpaw
which
trees,
are
30
feet tall at most, are long-lived;
have been known to survive 100 years and bear Hardy pawpaws look
like
fruits
something straight from the tropics, but in fact they
wild as far north as state.
do look something
like
stubby bananas
fruit for 60.
— but
smooth, green potatoes or enormous green peanuts. In
some
Their odd
even more
like
flavor,
pawpaws
to bananas, but the likeness stops short. Ripe
pawpaws
grow
New
York
are also
compared
are full-bodied,
with flavors hinting surprisingly of vanilla custard,
pineapple, and mango. There's nothing quite like them. taste tropical, but they're
With
this
They look and
hardy to minus 25 degrees.
kind of endurance,
little
it's
wonder that no one
hun-
a
dred years ago ever thought pawpaws would be considered exotic.
At
the turn of the century, the
fruits
were widely sold in markets and
were so abundant in the wild that when
much
of the country's fertile
bottomlands were commercialized, few folks bothered to save them. If
you're ready to reverse the trend, be sure to plant
two
for cross-
pollination. Plant seeds or cuttings (handling the brittle taproot
with care) in well-drained to grow,
and they shrug
soil
and
off diseases
partial shade.
and
pests.
Pawpaws
are easy
Recommended
vars include Overleese, Sunflower, Fairchild, Taylor,
and
culti-
Ketter.
^^
\
/^
1972 '^SAHsof^'^
Elizabeth Testa, Miss
Chiquita 1994. Unlike the tropical fruits in her colorful headdress,
exotic-looking
pawpaws
can be grown even the
in
American Midwest.
•l
THE ROMANS CALLED
IT
THE LOVE APPLE This old'fashioned fruit has been everything from a
symbol of fertility
Quince.
to
a hair-setting
Ancient Romans called
apple," considered at
wedding
riage,
held
and
it
symbol of
fertility.
The
sacred and associated
It
it
the "love
and served
sacred,
feasts as a
ove — an association that tures
gel.
love,
it
mar-
early Greeks, too,
women and
with
it
persisted in later cul-
Country people once thought that mulberry
and quince should be grown together
as
husband and
wife to ensure fertility for the land where they stood.
Others believed that quince was the bidden
fruit
irresistible for-
eaten in the Garden of Eden, but that
never stopped them from gathering the bright fruit
and stewing
and
jellies
it
into sharp
and
Quince made the
malade, for the word
itself
flavorful
jams
original mar-
comes from
marmelo, Portuguese for "quince." It
was the Portuguese
who brought
quince to the Americas, but
who ting
listed
quince as essential
it
the
first
was the Pilgrims
equipment
up a civilization in the wild.
for set-
A few gener-
ations later, the pioneers carried the bright fruit west, adding a piquant
touch to the perfect apple serves, and, oddly,
in small
making
pie,
cooking them into lovely sauces and pre-
a gel for hairdressers by soaking
Don't give up Dippity-Do, but do plant quince for
The
delicate flavor. pears, grows spring.
quince seeds
amounts of water.
The
woolly, pear-shaped
on deciduous
trees that
trees adapt to almost
what drought
fruit,
distinctive
and
related to both apples
and
its
have exquisite, fragrant blossoms
any
soil,
tolerant. Best propagated
require
full
sun,
in
and are some-
from cuttings and by budding,
they are slow growers, so start with a young plant, which can either be
formed into a
Quince favor
when
is
tree or allowed to sucker into a bush.
inedible raw
so
— the reason, some claim, that the
many cooks gave up
preserving.
however, the strong, musky flavor of the raw
When
fruit
is
quince
fruit lost
is
cooked,
transformed into a
sweetish peach-pear taste. Unless bruised, quince can be stored for
months. In the words of a tenth-century poet, "[The quince] has the per-
fume of
a loved
woman and
the same hardness of heart."
^%
THEBEAL JOHNNY APPLESEED?
The
first fruil
raised in this country was
upon
Governor's Island in Boston Harbor, from which on the 10th of October, 1639, ten fair pippins were brought to the town.
The words of the
being not one apple or pear of the country, but to
have belonged,
first
upon
up
old record are, "there
tree,
planted in any part
that island.'"
at that time, to
The
island
seems
John Winthrop, the
governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay
— The Old Farmer's Alma^'ac,
1888
Growing Fruit
113
and
Blue as a July sky
just
as enticing.
THE BEST OF THE BERRIES A handful of secrets for growing your own. trendy as raspberry vinegar and as old-fashioned as blueberry pie,
As
berries are America's favorite fruits.
Why
do we love them? For
and the fun of
their sweet compactness, their jewel-bright colors,
picking berries
them
— "one
makes sense even
grow or produce
for the pucker,
one
for the pail." Planting
in a small garden, for few fruits are as easy to
as abundantly. Besides,
although wild berries are
still
abundant, the cultivated varieties are generally bigger and easier to pick
— and
there's
nothing
having a handful of heaven right outside your
like
door.
The Secret
of Planting Blueberries
"As big
end of your thumb,
as the
way Robert
No its
Frost described
them
in "Blueberries."
foliage (especially in the fall) as well as
as they
have
and easy to grow even
strictly acidic soil. If
growing them in tubs (sunken
and
and heavy." That's the
other berry quite matches the ail-American blueberry, prized for
are tough, hardy,
filled
with acidified
soil);
leaves turn yellow.
114
real sky-blue
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
oil
you
its fruit.
All our native species
in northern climates
live in
an alkaline
—
as long
area, consider
drums punched with drainage holes
give
them ammonium
sulfate
if
their
/
'4#^
•V^.
>'^*
\\
V
'^
s^
/ /
Plant blueberries in the spring and in This preservation technique still
is
experimental, but explo-
sion-dried blueberries can be reconstituted with boiling
to start with 2-year-old potted plants
pollination.
And
there's a secret to
full sun. It's best,
—
at least
two
experts advise,
varieties for cross-
growing blueberries. These plants
— the wispy help most plants absorb root among water and nutrients — depending instead on a fungus that lack
roots that
profuse,
hairs
lives
water
for baking. Scientists
say their flavor
is
almost iden-
tical to that of fresh berries.
their roots
and does the same
job.
The
secret of successful planting
is
to
mulch gathered from nearby
take a few handfuls of topsoil and leaf
healthy wild blueberries and sneak them into each planting hole to inoculate the
water water.
new
plant.
Tamp
down
firmly around the plant
Water very important — mulching Regular watering — well
it
well.
after all, berries are
is
results in larger berries
116
the soil
as
as
85 percent
to hold moisture
and can double the production of a bush.
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
and
—
A
Better strawberry
Modem strawberries and transport
— not ripe.
weed them),
characteristics to savor in a shortcake. But straw-
grow and
berries are easy to
picked really
are bred for color, cold tolerance, rot resistance,
definitely delectable
Maybe you
or pick
them
when
sun-ripened and
already grow strawberries (and hate to
yourself at a local farm.
We
have a proposal
M ANCUESTEK.
one degree more divine.
that's
compact alpine strawberries bear
Tiny,
all
summer
long, don't send
out runners (except for the Cresta variety), and can be started from seed.
They
also
have an old-fashioned wild-strawberry flavor
and exquisitely
sweet-tart.
From
distinctive
frost to frost, alpine strawberries sparkle
with white blossoms, red or white rarely bothered
—
berries,
and green
by pests or diseases, are very drought
leaves. They're
resistant,
and need
only about 4 hours of sun a day.
Even
if
alpine strawberries didn't bear
den planners. They can be planted also ideal to al border.
ble
mix with
making
fruit,
they would appeal to gar-
bed by themselves, but they are
a beautiful addition to a perenni-
Since they don't send out runners, they make great
— edging
they'll
flowers,
in a
make
plants. Set out a
a lovely
set
them out when each plant has
ger of frost
is
past.
Be sure
path.
to give
them
at least four leaves
late winter,
and the dan-
a steady supply of moisture.
you have a stand going, you can increase your holding by dividing 3-year-old plants or saving seeds from mature fruits,
Kentucky. edi-
few dozen plants about a foot apart, and
mounded hedge along the garden
Alpines are easy to grow from seed. Start them indoors in
then
— and
fruits.
Once 2- or
Unlike seeds of many
alpine strawberry seeds yield plants that are fairly true to type. C'.vPT.
Mt. Vkrson, ok Kikkwood.
Seth Botden, No.
30.
Jack.
LONOKELIAIW.
Growinc Fruit
1
17
These
Grazers, take note!
With
berries are the best for eatirig out of hand.
a higher pectin content then regular strawberries, they also
well in any standard strawberry recipe crop.
One
gardener
and reports that so
The Luxurf
—
we know has found
if
work
you can beat the birds to your
he plants white alpines
a way:
the birds haven't caught on.
far
of Raspberries
Raspberries are the aristocrats of the berry patch and have long been associated with rarity
and
luxury. (During his unsuccessful
tion campaign. President Martin
Van Buren was
1840 reelec-
evocatively attacked for
"wallowing lasciviously in raspberries.") Fragile and perishable, they can be costly in markets, but
wallow a
bit
—
if
you grow them
at least for the
month
yourself,
of July.
Raspberry plants are very hardy and like sun.
good
soil
vating,
and keep them mulched,
and no weeding. "Keep
gardener told
up hidden
us.
in
they readily
you may be able to
they'll ask for
—
off in
no watering, no
culti-
you
and
start
their feet cool,"
one
or your lovely berries will
end
their heads hot
And keep them pruned
them
If
an impenetrable tangle of thorns. Pick raspberries when
fall off
the bush and into your hand;
instead of tickle, wait another day.
if
you have to tug
0^
'™
4
Don't Shrug al Shrub you ever sipped raspberry shrub? This old-fashioned Have sweet-and-sour beverage was a favorite of farmers making hay you can make
in raspberry season, but
and enjoy
it
Combine berries
1
cup white vinegar,
with 3 cups
sugar. Let the
starts to boil.
Serve over
ice,
Remove
it
1
cup water, and
Then
from the heat,
1
quart rasp-
heat the mixture until
strain,
and allow to
diluted with water, seltzer, juice, or ginger ale.
2 quarts.
™»»»iw118
with frozen berries
mixture stand until the sugar
melts and the berries give up their juice. it
it
year round.
all
cool.
Makes about
»» »»»-
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
^ Blackberries:
The Opportunists of tlie Berry Patch
here were only a few species of black-
T
berries
was
America when the country
in
first
settled, but clearing the
land for farming apparently ere ated a situation of natural hybridization.
we
Even today
notice that blackber-
ries are
among
shrubs
to
recently
as
we knew
follow the log-
first
over
take
burned
logged land; dren,
the
or chil-
to
ging roads, berry pails in hand. Cultivated,
homegrown
blackberries give
higher yields than those in the wild and pro-
duce larger berries that many consider
more
flavorful.
less.)
(Many
also are thorn-
Since different cultivars have
highly variable temperature preferences, be sure to choose tried
and true
for
one
that's
your region. Give
the plants good soil and sufficient
moisture,
and
enough
for jams,
juice,
and eating
they'll jellies,
bear pies,
fresh.
Growing Fruit
119
OLD-FASHIONED BERRIES WORTH
ANOTHER LOOK Gooseberries are the stuff of fools
,
and mulberries
rhymes. But don't write them off ...
Few of today's know the plant it
children would if
they
fell
into
— but "Here We Go 'Round
the Mulberry Bush"
heard
in
is still
schoolyards and
playgrounds across the nation.
the subject of nursery
.
oth gooseberries and mulberries are great, easy-to-grow berries fering from bad press. Gooseberries sour; mulberries are
messy
—
really
sound messy
silly
are
sometimes
ripe
— and
they stain your clothes.
But oh! The flavor of a choice cultivar! There's a huge difference
between a good-quality cultivar of gooseberry (such
120
and
when dead
suf-
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
as
Poorman,
Silvia,
or Clark) and a sour one with a tough skin. cloyingly sweet, but
Some
many domesticated
wild mulberries can be
varieties
(try
Ever-
Illinois
bearing, for one) have a tart edge.
— and
In medieval times, mulberries were used to dye fabrics
syrupy juice can stain the
who consume them
lips,
hands,
feet,
their
and clothing of enthusiasts
with casual gusto. They're very
and perishable,
soft
delicious right off the bush, but they also can be used for wine, preserves,
or tarts.
Be warned: don't wear your
when you dance around
finest
the
mulberry bush. Gooseberries, neater to consume, inspire similar enthusiasm. Gooseberry lovers
have been known to drive major distances and commit minor crimes
for a taste of the sweetish berry, especially blers, tarts, preserves,
cooked into gooseberry
and fools. Gooseberries of one variety
may be picked
so they
in
one
cob-
pies,
THECDITDREOF
ripen at once,
all
When
day.
THE GRAPE
fully
they are delicious eaten fresh.
ripe,
Every fainier, and everf owner of
Eighteenth-century England gave
rise to a
a collage with a rod of land, ought
gooseberry-raising
# V
mainly on
size
mania that concentrated
— and
the mid-
at its height, in
nineteenth century, resulted in berries the
size
of small apples. In America, gooseberry breeding
came
berries
to a halt in the
1920s,
when
the
were implicated in the spread of the
to cultivate
a few choice grapes.
Thef require but a small space; thef are ornamental either
pruned as a shrub or trained as a vine; they are
among
the most
white pine blister rust fungus, and a federal law healthy and luscious of
restricted their cultivation.
fruits;
rieties proliferate
and gooseberries
ing.
1966),
some
states
still
ban was
restrict
grow-
So before planting them, consult your agent to
agricultural
make
sure
state
they
and with proper care and
attention, they
produce an annual
crop equal to any other in
money
value.
are
allowed in your area. If
our
are not very
susceptible to the disease (the federal lifted in
all
Although wild va-
—The Old Farmer's Almanac,
1861
you decide to grow gooseberries, choose a
site carefully
—
a plant can live for
more. These berries need good
20 years or
•awigia.
air circulation
but tolerate shade and usually thrive in areas
where summers are
cool.
Mulching
iSggjk
and some pruning
^^H
gooseberries are not demanding.
is
is
helpful,
necessary, but in general
As new
gener-
^^^B
ations taste
^^^H
diet a resurgence in the popularity o{ these
some of the sweet
delicious old-fashioned fruits.
cultivars,
we
pre-
i»^ %^ ^m^
Growing Fruit
121
GRAPES FOR THE RACKYARD GARDENER If
you've never tasted homegrown grapes, you've never
tasted grapes.
n Greek mythology, King Tantalus was condemned
when he
stand in water that receded
tried to drink,
to
and
beneath bunches and bunches of grapes that the wind
blew away when he reached
Robbed of the sheer But
a pleasure
it's
the standard Concord.
them
And
Much
— and
to
Flourish?
trellised
and
Van Buren, than super-
life
grow them
begin with, which
thank you
will
for
young maples, old bedsteads, and stone reports that her grapes
to
all,
What Do Grapes Need
full sunlight, to
more
there's
But most of mind.
be
grapes.
don't stop with
for their dependability.
in
like to
And
Grow them
more.
for their productivity.
know
keep these pointers
Air and
should.
you've ever tasted Interlaken,
If
Canadice, or Niagara, you already
market grapes.
homegrown
pleasure of eating
you can enjoy
them. Poor Tantalus.
for
grow best on
climb.
They
but they also will climb
walls.
fir trees.
them, make sure your grapes have good
for their taste.
why grapes
is
it,
Grow
An
Oregon gardener
Wherever you grow
air circulation to
prevent
fungal disease and encourage pollination.
Regular pruning. Be brave and hack away with goodwill in
aim to keep
fruit
and cane
canes (the year-old fruit will
grow.
wood
each vine, save about four
of the plant), because that's where the
By each cane, leave
couple of buds — which far better to
in balance. For
late winter;
a spur
will provide the
— a cane pruned down
next
new to a
year's fruiting canes.
prune as best you can than never to prune
at
It's
all.
Judicious feeding. Begin each season with a good dose of nitrogenrich
fertilizer.
them
Thereafter,
sparingly, or they
if
your vines are producing admirably, feed
may run
to brush,
which
winterkills easily.
Grapes need potassium and are quite fond of nitrogen, but when you fertilize,
do so widely. Their roots stretch horizontally up to 8
feet
Poor King Tantalus —
from the main stem, and they go deep in search of water, which
tantalized forevermore.
why
122
grapes don't
mind
a dry year.
The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom
is
-
9
78051 7"1 62972