Root Concerns

An E-mail Gardening Newsletter from Cornell Cooperative Extension

of Rensselaer, Albany and Schenectady Counties March 2015

We have an abundance of unloved places – visit almost any strip mall,

office park or industrial site to pick up a vibe of neglect. Even a be-

loved garden can fall from favor when the bond with its creator is

broken and no one new steps in keep things growing. So a place that

has been loved continuously for centuries, first by generations of pri-

vate owners and now by paid caretakers, is rare, and in the case of

Stourhead, both lovely and beguiling. Head gardener Alan Power

shared his passion for this jewel in Wiltshire, known as a beautiful

and mysterious corner of southern England, at Berkshire Botanical

Garden’s recent Winter Lecture.

Stourhead is not a garden in the sense of fences and flowers, but rather an extensive

landscape of water, hills, trees and man-made features. Home to the Stourton family

starting in 1448 and named for the point from which the Stour River springs, it was

recognized as an attractive spot called “Paradise” with rich clay soils and rolling to-

pography. In 1717 a wealthy Fleet Street banker named Henry Hoare acquired

11,000 acres here and set about creating a country seat in the new pastoral manner.

He quickly built a rich Palladian-style house that Thomas Jefferson would have ad-

mired, then made a lake in the valley nearby. While other men of means wanted gar-

dens of precise geometry with shaved hedges and raked gravel in the European tradi-

tion, Stourhead became a garden of naturalistic views and vistas. Today we’re famil-

iar with this vision, as seen in our own Hudson Valley gardens and some rural ceme-

teries, but back then Henry was

a trend-setter, breaking new

ground. Only a few others –

such as designers William Kent

and Lancelot “Capability”

Brown at Stowe in Buckingham-

shire – had similarly broken with

horticultural tra-

dition.

I was fortunate

enough to stroll

A Genius of a Place

Volume 10, Number 2

“Cornell Cooperative

Extension is an em-

ployer and educator

recognized for valu-

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Notes from the underground

www.comptonabbasairfield.co.uk

Temple of Flora by C.W. Bampfylde, 1753

Stourhead’s idyllic landscape on two occasions so I can offer my own firsthand

impressions. Each turn of the path offers beautiful vistas across the lake’s 15

acres or up to the surrounding hills. Stone features, including the multi-

columned Pantheon, Temple of Flora and Temple of Apollo are intentional

reminders of Virgil’s Aeneid, but there is also the watery Grotto, Bristol High

Cross, Alfred’s Tower, Gothic Cottage and Stone Bridge to stimulate the mind

and please the eye. Countless native oaks and beeches, some over four hundred

years old, as well as American imports such as the tuliptree, add to the timeless

air. And gigantic rhododendrons, themselves as large as small trees, amaze

those of us who hail from climates where these evergreens struggle.

One of Alan’s challenges is to make sure the look of today’s Stourhead approxi-

mates that of two centuries ago. Fortunately, numerous prints, paintings, draw-

ings, descriptions and maps exist. For most gardens these records were simply

never created, but Stourhead quickly became an international destination, and

such extensive interest generated documentation. Add to this the extensive gar-

den planting and maintenance records, as well as the popularity of the garden

today, and Stourhead’s health seems well assured for

the future.

Page 2 Root Concerns Volume 10, Number 2

Yikes! What Is This?

Text by David Chinery

“I gave up trying to find the answer to this one and was hoping you could

pass it along to one of your crack specialists.” So started an email re-

ceived shortly before Thanksgiving. It is just such tantalizing inquiries

which make me appreciate my job.

“If you can’t ID it, I’m gonna call it a maggot ball. It has a fragrance to

it. It’s about the size of a softball. Do you think it would spice up the

stuffing on Thursday?”

Botanical thinkers know this plant as Osage orange, or Maclura pomif-

era. Planted nationwide as living fences before the invention of barbed

wire, this species is native to the Red River valley in southern Oklahoma and northern Texas. In that locale,

they commonly grow under a bevy of odd names, including hedgeapples, horse apples, or hedge balls.

The fruits of Osage orange look as unappetizing as they are inedible. The pulp is white, tough and stringy.

The seeds, the most digestible part of the entire mass, are covered with slimy goop. Cattle sometimes die

when they swallow Osage oranges after too little mastication effort. So why would a tree go to such great

lengths to produce such an unappealing fruit? Perhaps they were designed to attract some now extinct critter

that roamed the Oklahoma plains eons ago. As for the stuffing, stick to bread

crumbs. Text by David Chinery

Temple of Apollo from

img.wikinut.com

For more information on Stourhead, visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead/

Roots & Wisdom is a youth agriculture program run by Schenectady

County CCE that engages the diverse population of the county in

serving their community through the support of a sustainable local

food system. We bring together urban, suburban, and rural Schenec-

tady County residents to grow organic vegetables for donation to local

food pantries and for sale within the county. Roots and Wisdom

teaches its participants about sustainable agriculture, hunger, nutrition,

and diversity.

Roots and Wisdom runs two main programs out of two sites at Cen-

tral Park in Schenectady. The first is a 9-12 month program aimed at

providing employment and support to youth who are working on get-

ting their TASC (formerly GED). This crew works part time at Roots and Wisdom and part time in school. One

goal of this program is to tailor the garden experience to work on skills, like math and writing, which the youth

may be struggling with in their classes. This program is also designed to be a stepping stone, a temporary job to

give the youth job training and a new skill set, to help them be a better employee in the future. The second crew is

the summer crew. This crew is made up of a group of high schoolers in the Summer Youth Employment Program

in Schenectady County who come from all different backgrounds. It’s a six week program at the height of the

summer when there is the most work to be done. Each week this crew prepares for harvest share and manages a

weekly farm stand.

In addition to the job skills and employment, Roots and Wisdom provides youth with a new context in which to

see the world. Many youth can’t identify all of the veggies in the garden at the beginning, but by the end of their

time at Roots and Wisdom they not only know the common name but they could also tell you the Latin family it

belongs to and which other veggies in the garden are in the same family. These youth have never been exposed to

any type of agriculture or even gardening; they have grown up in a place that

has little access to fresh produce and little green space. For many, this is

their first experience getting their hands in the soil.

On top of all of that, Roots and Wisdom gives Schenectady County youth a

sense of place. The program provides a unique opportunity where youth are

removed from all of the constant distraction of their lives and really listened

to. There are no cell phones or head phones in the garden. Youth interact

with each other and adults in a way that’s not very common anymore. Casu-

al and serious conversations take place over weeding and harvesting. The

youth work in the garden and feel like they are a part of it. They take pride

in the garden and in themselves for caring for it. They know that they are in

a safe place and know that the garden is there whenever they need to visit,

which they often do just to check in and see how things are growing.

Roots and Wisdom provides Schenectady County youth with meaningful

employment, education and community. It is a much loved program in

Schenectady because of the unique way it supports the community.

Roots and Wisdom

Page 3 Root Concerns Volume 10, Number 2

Text and photos by Angie Tompkins

It seems as long as men walk the earth, beer will be popular. Perhaps

that’s why, in the month of January alone, I’ve had four inquiries about

growing hops. The prospective growers ranged from someone who

had never grown a bean seedling to a talented farmer, but they all are

seeking to be part of the locally-grown, micro-brewery trend. Not all

will succeed, yet with this many inquiring minds, the hop is sure to be

part of our Hudson Valley culture once again.

It’s a revival rather than a birth, since upstate New York was once Hop

Capital, USA. While most of the industry was in central New York,

Rensselaer and surrounding counties grew a fair share to supply local

brewers in Troy and Albany. But then came along aphids, mites, powdery mildew and the worst character, downy

mildew, and the party was over. Most hops production moved west, and with the advent of Prohibition, New

York growers were through. Today, Uncle Sam is unlikely to suddenly turn killjoy, but growers need to have a

pest management plan, as the bugs and the fungi haven’t faded into history in the slightest. Witness last summer,

when I diagnosed one hops entrepreneur’s sad-looking vine as suffering from a healthy dose of spider mites.

Given full sun and a well-drained soil of decent fertility and sufficient moisture, hops will readily grow. This is a

perennial vine crop with a rhizomatous root system, meaning the grower must provide a trellis system for the vines

to climb along with guidance to avoid an unruly jungle. If happy, hops will thrive indeed – a system of poles 16 to

20 feet high is typically required. About 900 plants are used per acre, three feet apart in the row, with rows 11 to

12 feet apart. Hops varieties can be either aromatic or bittering types. Local brewers are likely to be interested

mostly in the aromatic varieties such as ‘Willamette’ and ‘Cascade’ which were developed in the Pacific Northwest

but perform well here.

When all goes well, a small harvest of the highly aromatic, cone-

shaped flowers can be expected in the second year, with a full

harvest in the third. Traditionally, the vines were cut down and

the flowers hand-harvested in early to mid-August by every able-

bodied soul who could be rounded up. A local historian pos-

sesses an early photo showing farmers, a nun, and either children

or prisoners (possibly both), harvesting hops. Since labor from

nuns, children and prisoners is now limited, machines have been

developed. But then there is the pesky question of money. Cor-

nell Hops Specialist Steve Miller has estimated that it costs

$12,000 per acre to start a hops farm, with a minimum of 10 acres needed for a financially-profitable operation.

So while hops are a plant of fairly easy culture, the hours of work and the initial investment required will keep

many big-time hops barons in the dreaming stage. Of course, anyone can grow a few vines in their backyard, and

that’s the best way to test the waters.

Page 4 Root Concerns Volume 10, Number

Hops To It

Text by David Chinery

aesop.rutgers.edu

For more information on growing hops in New York, see:

http://madisoncountycce.org/agriculture/hops-program

* Replant frost heaved plants. Look for evidence of moles and other critter damage. Inspect for wind and snow damage, too.

* Review seeds on hand. Check catalogues, websites and local nurseries for needed or wanted items and new ideas.

* Check garden supplies – potting soil, fertilizer, mulch, bird netting, etc. Replace expired fertilizer. Sharpen and clean gardening tools.

* As days lengthen, divide, repot, and fertilize house plants and prune as necessary. Don’t over-fertilize, use at half strength.

* Pot up summer flowering bulbs (cannas, dahlias) for earlier bloom.

* Start seeds of vegetables and annuals indoors. Check the number of growth weeks required. Count back from the last two weeks in May to de-termine when to start a particular seed.

* Peas, radishes, lettuce and spinach etc., can be sown in outside beds.

* Check the pH of soil and adjust as needed. Soil testing is available at your county’s office of Cornell Cooperative Extension (see page 9 for contact information).

* Turn your compost pile and add a sprinkling of nitrogen fertilizer if it appears inactive.

* Visit local nurseries and Flower Shows, for information, new ideas and advice. The inspiration and new ideas you come home with will repay you tenfold for the time invested.

* On maple, birch and dogwood you should wait to do any pruning until they have some leaves. Otherwise, cleaning out dead wood or damaged and weak material at this time is advantageous.

* Clean out your bird houses for the arrival of new nesting couples.

Page 5 Root Concerns Volume 10, Number 2

Text by Master Gardeners Susan Roberts, Peggy Gulliver and Warren Weiss

What to do in March

Sit back on this cold winter day and envision a canna. Are you seeing a clunky

Victorian leftover or an exciting tropical for today? A colorful container plant for

the backyard deck or a leafy herd encircling a municipal flagpole? A medicinal

plant or what’s for dinner? Cannas are all these things, and when anyone or any

plant is so multi-dimensional, he, she or it is sure to attract naysayers along with

dedicated followers.

Whilst our Master Gardener group was pondering possible plants to feature at this

year’s Schaghticoke Fair, someone said, why not the canna? Good question. They

are easy to grow, loving sunshine, lots of water and fertilizer, and heat. Most are

big and bold, with large, flattish leaves and colorful blossoms on a plant as tall as a

cornstalk. The canna-producing nursery industry has varieties featuring colorful

foliage, blossoms in a rainbow of shades, and even aquatic types for a pool or wa-

ter tub, all at reasonable cost. The glory of the canna waxes with that of summer,

reaching full crescendo at fair-time’s Labor Day weekend. I know it is never wise

to count your cannas before they sprout, but I can

already see the waves of dancing color amidst the midway hawkers and tractor displays, as the

cow barn aroma wafts by.

True, the canna is largely scentless so it will be of little de-odorizing value for us, but their

long history in cultivation is proof of their worth. Cannas are known to be an entirely Ameri-

can phenomenon, with all 20 or so species indigenous to our tropical or sub-tropical locales,

from South Carolina down to Argentina. Sailing ships quickly moved them throughout the

world, dropping them in Europe by at least the late 1500’s.

English herbalist John Parkinson described two varieties in

his playfully entitled gardening book, “Park-In-Sun’s Terres-

trial Paradise,” which hit bookstores in 1629.

Not only novel, cannas also proved easy to propagate from both their rhizomes and via

seed. So simple to hybridize, too, that soon literally hundreds of new canna varieties ap-

peared, along with a great confusion about the proper names of them all, a mess which is

still being sorted out today. Perhaps the canna craze reached its zenith at the 1893 Chi-

cago World’s Fair, where a canna display was described by none other than Cornell’s

own esteemed professor of horticulture, Liberty Hyde Bailey. “This great display of

Cannas, extending over a total length of a thousand feet, is now the most conspicuous

feature of the environs of the Horticultural Building. The varieties... represent the best of

the new French or dwarf Cannas, a class of plants which has been greatly improved in very recent years, especially in the

best qualities of bloom.... J.C. Vaughan [a prominent Chicago mail-order nurseryman] shows eighteen beds of Cannas —

the central bed in the south area being the best.... The central portion of this bed is occupied by a heavy planting of Flor-

ence Vaughan.” One hopes that the Florence planted was Vaughn’s canna, not his wife.

Shall It Be Cannas?

Page 6 Root Concerns Volume 10, Number 2

Ausgardener.com

Text by David Chinery

Flowerwood.com

Baldur-garden.at

Page 7 Root Concerns Volume 10, Number 2

It’s been a tough winter for us all, whether human, animal or plant. And while garden-ers are anxiously anticipating the big melt, we might not like what is revealed. One thing is certain: we’ll have a pioneer’s share of work to do to repair the damage and get our gardens back all a-trim.

While I thank goodness for snow plows and the people who drive them, their work can damage nearby lawn something terrible. Contrary to popular feelings and television commercials, spring is not the best time to plant a lawn – late summer into early fall actually is optimal – because weeds such as crabgrass are itching to germinate as soon as the soil warms into the low 50’s. Grass seed, especially Kentucky bluegrass, is notori-ously slow to get out of the gate, and in spring the weeds often win. But a naked spot waits for no man, and everyone is itching to get their fingers dirty, so even the well-informed gardener seeds bare patches in spring.

If the area has been exposed to de-icing salt, start by saturating it with water two or three times to flush the salt away. Begin this process as soon as the snow melts (July?) and you can get outside to work. Most lawns are low in nitrogen, the nutrient that grasses love, and some are also deficient in phosphorous, which years of plant science tells us is important to germinate and nourish young seedlings. Special “starter” lawn fertilizers contain goodly amounts of both, and it doesn’t hurt to make an application to spring’s skinned soil. What about the 2012 New York State fertilizer lawn, which bans the use of phosphorous on lawns, you say. Well, the law contains a useful loophole which allows for the use of starter fertiliz-ers on new lawns. Perhaps some of our lawmakers are actually lawnmakers as a side career.

After tilling in the fertilizer (or at least scratching it in well), choose your seed. If you are trying to match an existing lawn of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue or tall fescue, you don’t really have much choice. But if you want grass as fast as possible and the area is reasonably sunny, plant perennial ryegrass. In field experiments I conducted years ago, perennial rye was the only grass that germinated quickly enough in the spring to be competitive with crabgrass. Un-der favorable conditions perennial ryegrass can germinate in as little as three to seven days, but don’t expect it to be quite that quick in early spring.

Some sort of cover is now in order. Traditional lawn enthusiasts use a light layer of wheat or oat straw, avoiding hay with all its weed seeds. A thin application of dark-colored compost or peat holds heat, a definite plus. Geotextile (vegetable garden row cover) also makes a great topping, but be sure to tack it down. Hydration is crucial to baby seedlings, so water carefully as needed. With any luck your lawn’s bald spots will fade along with memories of old man winter.

Fixing A Bad Patch

Text and photo by David Chinery

For more information about seeding in the spring, visit: https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.cce.cornell.edu/attachments/4597/Spring_2008_Overseeding_Project_IPM_Report_KBG_and

_PRG.pdf?1416287882

For more information about starting a lawn from seed, visit: https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.cce.cornell.edu/attachments/4832/Establishing_A_Lawn_From_Seed.pdf?1416953204

Green Shots: The Gardening World in Pictures This month’s photos come from Rensselaer County Master

Gardener Helen Dolan. Helen has a lovely garden and the

wildlife certainly agree! These are some of the visitors to her

backyard, prompting us to ask — is this a garden or a animal

sanctuary? I’m sure my of you can relate to these photos.

Western peony

Root Concerns Page 8 Volume 10, Number 2

Wary Whitetails

A Shot of Wild Turkey Pepe Le Pew

A Snake in the Mulch

The Moth and The Marigolds

Page 9 Root Concerns Volume 10, Number 2

“I consider every plant hardy until

I have killed it myself.”

Sir Peter Smithers

British lawyer, politician, diplomat, scholar,

photographer, spy and gardener (1913-2006)

Gardening Questions?

Call The Master Gardeners!

In Albany County: Call 765-3514 weekdays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM and ask to speak to

a Master Gardener. You can also email your questions by visiting their website at

www.ccealbany.com

In Schenectady County: Call 372-1622 Mondays and Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 12:00

Noon, follow the prompt to speak to a Master Gardener and press #1. You can also email

your questions by visiting their website at http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/schenectady/

In Rensselaer County: Call 272-4210 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and ask to speak to a Master Gardener. You can also email your questions to Dhc3@cornell.edu

“Root Concerns: Notes from the underground” is a shared

publication of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer,

Albany and Schenectady Counties. It is published by Cor-

nell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County David Chinery (dhc3@cornell.edu and (518) 272-4210).

Newsletter editor, designer and layout technician

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County Sue Pezzolla (sep37@cornell.edu and (518) 765-3516) and

Chuck Schmitt (cds34@cornell.edu and (518) 765-3500)

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schenectady County Angie Tompkins (amj22@cornell.edu and (518) 372-1622)

Staff Contributors

Cornell Cooperative Extension

provides equal program and em-

ployment opportunities. Please

contact Cornell Cooperative Ex-

tension if you have special

needs. No endorsement of

products is implied.

Seed Starting 101 Thursday April 9th Sign-up for time slot: 4:00pm, 4:30pm, or 5:00pm

Join us in the greenhouse to start your own seeds. We provide the seeds, soil and flats to get you start-ed. Your seedlings will be cared for by CCE staff, Master Gardeners, and Roots and Wisdom crew mem-bers for 6 weeks. They will be ready for transplant when you pick them up the week of May 11

th. Cost is

$20.00 for one 50 cell flat, $35.00 for 2.

Shade Gardening Thursday April 16

th 6:00-7:30 pm

You might spend a lot of time and effort tending to your sunny garden, but that shady area of your yard can be turned into a cool, tranquil and beautiful spot. This class will cover the design, planning and mainte-nance of a shade garden. We will discuss hostas and ferns, the shade garden staples, and will also share information about the many annuals and perennials that can add to the beauty of your shade garden through the seasons. $5.00 per person.

Container Herb/Veggie Gardening Thursday April 23

rd 6:00 – 7:30 pm

This class will cover all the techniques necessary to create and maintain your beautiful container garden, such as plant selection and planting tips; design considerations; watering and fertilizing. Hanging baskets and placement of your container for greatest impact will also be covered. After the presentation partici-pants will create their own container garden to take home. A selection of veggies and herbs will be availa-ble to choose from. $20.00 per person.

All classes held at 180 Ptl. Arthur Chaires Lane, Central Park,

Schenectady next to the tennis courts.

Pre-registration is highly recommended. To register contact Grace at 518-

372-1622 ext. 240 or ges17@cornell.edu.

April Gardening Classes With Cornell Cooperative Extension

of Schenectady County