The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

December 20, 2018

Protecting my bonsai from bitterly cold winter temperatures

There’s some talk among weather prognosticators about a speed bump developing in the polar vortex this winter. Some are saying very cold, below normal temperatures are just over the horizon and heading our way. If you haven’t already done so, now’s the time to finish up prepping your garden for winter.

I’ve done all I can for my gardens making sure they are all set for the cold weather . The last item I had on my outdoor things-to-do list was winterizing my bonsai trees. Usually I have them all tucked in around the first week of December but this year it’s been so mild that I left them out until this week.

Every year I change the way I winterize them but there are a couple of important things I always make sure happens. First, the roots and tops are protected from the extreme cold and fluctuations in temperature. I do that by digging an over-sized  hole in a protected area big enough to bury my pots.

The second thing is to make sure melt water doesn’t settle in to the pots. Re-freezing of water in the pots can cause them to break due to the expansion that occurs when water freezes. So, I tip the pots on their sides keeping the water out.

Placing them on their sides also allows part of the top branches to be in the hole. The surrounding soil helps moderate the temperatures that they are exposed to.

This year I dug my hole in a well-drained area near a group of white pine trees. The trees will slow down brisk winter winds lessening the chance of desiccation.

After placing the trees in the hole I covered them with a layer of white pine needles. That will help insulate them and make it easier to clean off the soil when I take them out in the spring. Then I took the soil that was left from digging the hole and covered the needle covered plants.  I also banked up the soil on the pot end of the hole giving additional protection to the roots.

Here the plants are in the hole and partially covered.

Here the plants are in the hole and partially covered.

Finally, I hauled in tree leaves and covered the entire area including the plants. A small amount of branches are still peeking up through the leaves. Later, when the Christmas tree comes down I’ll cut off boughs from it and lay them over the mound. The boughs will help catch snow allowing it to drift over the spot and provide even more insulation.

I know this sounds like a lot of work for a few plants but my bonsai are valuable to me. I’ve been caring for one tree for seventeen years so I sure don’t want to lose it now.

Bob

Last minute gift idea for chicken fancier

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a flock of chickens that not only provide eggs but also help out in the garden. For example, in the spring I let them out to weed fallow areas and to dig up grubs and other underground garden pests before I plant.

I’ve had hens for eighteen years and in that time have become very familiar with their behaviors, habits and even personalities. Yes, chickens have individual personalities that become easy to spot once you get to know them.

Through the years I’ve read a lot of articles and books about chickens, so good and some not so good. Most I read or skim and never go back to them again. Recently, a book from New Zealand caught my eye, “Cluck A book of happiness for chicken lovers” edited by Freya Haanen.

"Cluck" is the perfect gift item for the chicken enthusiast who has everything.

“Cluck” is the perfect gift item for the chicken enthusiast who has everything.

It’s loaded with charming photographs of chickens in their natural habitat, which is just about everywhere and anywhere. What tickles me is how she was able to capture those chicken personalities perfectly through her selection of photographs.

The book also contains memorable quotes about chickens from philosophers, poets, scholars and great thinkers throughout history. Some serious, some amusing and some just leave you scratching your head.

This is not the type of book filled with facts, figures and how-to’s. It’s one that you keep around the house and keep coming back to. Folks who long for a flock of hens of their own but can’t swing it right now, for what ever reason, will love it.

Bob

 

 

December 6, 2018

Digging dahlia tubers late

Last week I talked about my potatoes that I dug up very late in the season. What I didn’t mention was that same day I also dug my dahlia tubers that were still in the ground. Turns out they where in fine shape shape as well.

It makes perfect sense that the tubers would look so nice.  The ideal storage temperature for dahlias is around forty degrees Fahrenheit and that’s about what the soil temperature was. I checked the soil temperature in my garden again this morning and found that even now, during the first week of December, it’s running about 40F.

What kind of surprised me was how warm the soil is even with the colder than normal November we experienced. Looking back on the several weeks,  a pretty good set of circumstances lined up for my dahlias. First, the tops were froze back by the frost back i October. Then I left them in the ground for well over a month. That allowed the tubers to develop healthy “eyes”, just like the eyes on a potato. With strong eyes, my tubers should make good, strong growth next spring — that is if I take good care of them over winter.

Tubers before separating.

Tubers before separating.

There’s a few simple tricks to keeping dahlias over winter. The first is to store them at the proper temperature and we already know what that is — just don’t let them freeze.

The second crucial factor is humidity. If left out in the air during storage, the tubers will dry out due to the low humidity we typically have in our homes in the winter heating season. So the solution is to store them in air tight containers. For a small amount of tubers, maybe under a hundred or so, I find keeping them in zip-loc bags is a good way to go. I usually separate the clumps of tubers into singles, then place one or two in each bag. To maintain good humidity I add moist sawdust to the bag. If you have more that one tuber per bag, the sawdust also keeps the tubers from touching each other. While you’re at it, add a tag so you know what variety it is.

This is a typical dahlia tuber but they come in wide variety of other shapes and sizes.

This is a typical dahlia tuber but they come in wide variety of other shapes and sizes.

Even though I had success in the past using peat moss, potting mix or garden soil, I’ve found that sawdust works best for me. I’ve heard of people using shredded newspaper but have never tried it. However, with so many people opting to get their news online, printed newspaper is getting harder and harder to find these days . You can easily solve that dilemma by subscribing to Detroit News home-delivery, but I digress.

The third and final secrete is to check on them once in a while. Open them up and make sure the packing material is still moist. Also, toss any rotting tubers you might find. It’s pretty disappointing to open them up in the spring only to find out your tubers were ruined due to neglect over winter.

Those plants you bought from the garden center and planted in your garden, most likely grew a set of usable tubers. Since soil temperatures are still hovering around 40 degrees F, it may be fun to check in your garden to see if your dahlia tubers are still good. Dahlia farms are asking $3.00 and up for each tuber (not including shipping) so it may be worth your while to poke around in the garden. Let us know in the comment section what you find.

Bob

 

 

Powered by WordPress