Author: Brian

One of the facts of life in this business (maybe all businesses) is that of repeating questions and the most common questions we get are about watering. Sometimes people don't even know their question is about watering!

In training our own staff to water the most important instruction we give is that you have to make a judgment first before you water. I am sure (I hope!) that at the outset this appears to be a daunting task. Every plant in the garden centre must be checked and a judgment made about its level of dryness along with factoring in how long it will be before you might be able to check them again. Once that decision is made the next part is easy …. apply sufficient water to saturate the soil. 

How do you know when the soil is dry enough to water? That comes with experience but our rule of thumb is the water them just before the point of wilting. As you observe the reaction of any plant as the soil dries you will be able to predict that point. Like so many things in gardening their is no substitute for experience. Judgment > apply water if needed > repeat. 

The reason that you need to let the soil dry out is that the roots need oxygen derived from the air. Water holds less oxygen than air and if the roots are saturated for too long a period of time they will start to die from a lack of oxygen. 

If you let the plants dry out to the point of wilting for too long a period of time you will start to desiccate the fine root hairs that are so valuable in increasing the surface area of the roots. Back to my our own staff. In training we always take plants out of pots and look at the roots with a magnifying glass (see image from above). When you do that you will see many fine hairs and it is very easy to see how they could be susceptible to being damaged from drying out. 

Once you damage those fine root hairs from either over-watering or under-watering the result is the same. The plant no longer has sufficient root system to support its top growth. As with many statements of "fact" there is a qualifier. Plant top growth tends to match the root system other wise the plant would not be able to take up enough water and nutrients. It seems like common sense but in fact conditions can arise that  will make a plant ill-prepared for the conditions it is facing. If a plant has come out of a greenhouse it has likely been a very humid environment. Once moved outdoors it will be subjected to very different conditions. The plants root system may not be prepared for the differing conditions and the plant may wilt even with wet soil. Remember my rule before was a "rule of thumb" ….this is the exception. What you can do to help the plant adapt is give it some shade and/or a bit of a misting to increase the humidity around the plant so it is not giving off as much water from its foliage (transpiring). Once it has larger root system capable of doing the job your special treatment can end. 

What is the most common question we get? " How often should I water it?".  If you understand what I have written above then you know that the answer to that question is a complex one and that you cannot water on a schedule. You should check your plants on a schedule . I think Yoda said in Star Wars "Water not Luke, check"….or words to that effect!

This is an image of a Tortoise Beetle. If you grow ipomea then you have seen these. That would include morning glory and all forms of sweet potato vine, ornamental or not.

I must admit that I have horrified some people with my exuberant enthusiasm for this …pest. How could I have any kind thoughts for something that puts wholes in the leaves of ours and your ipomea? Well my reasoning is partly along the lines of "if you can't beat em". The fact of the matter is I have never seen plants in landscape circumstances that have not had some holes in the leaves caused by Tortoise Beetles.  Secondly I have also never seen enough damage caused by these creatures to effect the growth of the plant.

Now even the most die hard skeptic must admit that this is one of the most handsome bugs they have seen in the garden. They are a brilliant golden colour with some variations having some spots about the size of a lady beetle.  For me they are the perfect example of how you can learn to appreciate all elements of your garden and in the process allow a balance without the battle.

But I have not finished with my story and enthusiasm for the Tortoise Beetle. The larval stage of the beetle (likely responsible for the bulk of the damage) is not without its charms. The larva has a defence mechanism that makes it one of the coolest show and tell creatures in your garden. It has a tail about the length of it s body that it folds back along the top of its body. On its tail it deposits…its poop.  It ends up with this poop encrusted tail curled over its back. As if that was not enough to discourage predators it will flick its tail in the face of any threats.

So now the next time you are having a backyard barbecue and your guests are admiring your beautiful gardens you can show them both the most beautiful and coolest thing in your gardens …just don't let them get too close with their drinks!

Our friends Orrie and Andrea were part of the courageous group of customers who came

out on Saturday to purchase plants for their garden. I gave them a bit of a tour showing them the garlic, greens and green onions we are growing. The trunk and back seat were full before they left (note; always a good idea as unbalanced plant loads in your car can be a major hazard!) . Andrea called me over to see how lovely the back seat looked with the new flower and vegetable “arrangement”.

One of the pleasant aspects of this business is that customers are by and large happy. They are purchasing beautiful things that allow them to connect to their environment and they are full of hopeful plans as they pull out of our parking lot.

One of my Mom’s favorite and most impassioned stories was of chasing down a red tail hawk as a small girl.

Mom loved animals. She had banty hens in the hen house next to our house. She nutured them and talked to them every day. There was nothing she loved more than to bundle up and get loaded on a sliegh pulled by our draft horses. She was a farm wife and not unfamiliar with the stables and our dairy cattle. But when it came to wildlife Mom was conflicted. Many times she had witnessed skunks, raccoons or foxes ravage the chickens.

I once red a story about Pierre Elliot Trudeau demonstrating white anger as opposed to red anger. Red anger was diffuse and chaotic. White anger was focused and in control.

Well on that day when she was ten years old my Mom demonstrated white anger. She saw it in the form of a red tail hawk and she raced screaming across the field while the hawk tried desperately to escape with its prey. Moms determination was so focused that she managed to get the hawk to release the chicken. I don’t now how the chicken fared but I know Mom’s white anger about hawks stayed alive until the day she died.

The last few years we have had a pair of red tail hawks nesting just below the house where we lived. They have provided a great deal of joy watching them soar over the barn and defend themselves from the Ravens.

I realize that Mom had justification for feeling how she did and I believe that my sisters and I were the beneficiaries of her white anger in defense of us.

So Mom Happy Mother’s Day an I just want you to realize that those hawks were mother’s to!