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Winter does a garden good

Just one good snow or ice storm or really cold day can get people grumbling about winter. Sure, we had a lovely Michigan fall. In every conversation about the weather, everyone — family, friends, neighbors and shop holders– agreed that this autumn was one of the longest, mildest and prettiest in recent memory. True winter arrived this week, however, bringing a dump of snow, icy roads, and school closures– and accompanying complaints.

Winter transforms the garden too. Snow and ice bring out textures and shadows we don’t normally see. Wintertime gives gardens and gardeners a much needed rest period, although we can keep pretty busy with planning and dreaming.

Winter also provides plants with vernalization, which is a requirement for some species. Vernalization is a physiological process in some plants where the flowers, or sometimes the seeds, must go through a prolonged period of cold in order to blossom or germinate in the spring. The amount of cold required by a plant is measured in chill hours. (If I read this chart correctly, we get about 1400 chill hours annually in our area– brr!) In terms of species of fruit trees, apples have the highest chill requirements, followed by apricots and peaches. Nuts trees and berry bushes also have varying chilling requirements.

So what’s a little cold then, if it means we get to grow apples and peaches and berries. I’ll put on a sweater and settle in with my seed catalogs and garden plans and think about spring.

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By 20 Minute Jan – December 14, 2010

More Great Gifts for Gardeners

What if a gardener already has a compost bin? Here are a few more ideas for gifts that gardeners will appreciate. They range from practical to ornamental, reasonable to a little pricey. If you have a good idea of the gardener’s needs, wants, and tastes, gift selection is always easier. Feeling overwhelmed or puzzled? Gift certificates are the answer.

Remember that gift-giving success is not guaranteed so it’s always a good idea to investigate a store’s return policy. That’s one advantage to shopping locally; you can inquire about returns and refunds before you check out. So although online shopping may provide a lower cost, returning a gift purchased online can add extra hassle for everyone involved.

Garden Dress Ups
• Bird feeders. We like our Droll Yankee feeder, which is easy to clean and has proven durable over many seasons. The birds like it too. Add a bag of birdseed for the whole package.
• Thermometers and rain gauges. For those who like keeping statistics.
• Whiskey barrel planter. We love these but they can sometimes be hard to find.
• Huge ceramic pots.
• Bird house.
• Bat box. Encourages natural insect control. A single bat can eat 500 to 1000 mosquitoes in one night.
• Mason bee house. Mason bees are excellent pollinators who make their nests in holes. They don’t produce honey, but they also do not sting unless squeezed or stepped on.


Tools & the Like
• Pruning saw.
• Tool totes. Bags or belts are handy.
• Nice gloves. If you know the size needed, gloves can be a great gift. (I lost one of my favorites last summer. Leather. Medium. Hint.)
• Clogs or boots.
• Tool sharpener.

Gardens in Print
• Magazine subscription. From Fine Gardening to Organic Gardening, there’s something for every gardening style.
• Garden books. You can never have too many books, right?

What are the gardening gifts you’ve ever received? What would give you joy to receive this year?

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By 20 Minute Jan – December 7, 2010

Great Gifts for Gardeners, Part I

For some people, the expectation of gift-giving or gift-receiving is something expensive, or fancy, indulgent. In our family, we like best to give gifts that are perfect for the receiver. What makes a “perfect” gift? We generally agree that it has to do with giving a person something that she may not even be aware that she needs or wants, something that’s just right for a particular person. Granted, one has to know the intended gift recipient really well and sometimes do some research to find a gift that fits in that category, but we think that’s worthwhile effort.

If you are in or near to celebrating a gift-giving holiday or thinking ahead for other holidays or birthdays, here are some suggestions to consider for the gardeners on your list.

Green gifts
Most gardeners will especially appreciate an ecologically minded gift that helps with garden growth and maintenance. For a beginning gardener, a compost bin or a compost tumbler can be very useful, but even those who’ve gardened for a long time could have need of another bin. Compost bins are available from the Washtenaw County Conservation District now and also from local stores and online. Downtown Home and Garden carries a nice range of designs of bins and tumblers.

A kitchen compost bucket for holding scraps on their way to the compost bin outside can also be a handy gift. Our favorite is a stainless steel bucket with handle and a lid, but again many different styles are available.

Rain Barrel Installed

Another practical gift for gardeners is a rain barrel, which can be purchased from the Washtenaw County Conservation District or local garden stores. Offering to install or help with installation can also be part of the gift.

Want to give a gift that will really surprise? The promise of a load of compost or manure come spring could be just what a gardener needs. Make a certificate to let the gardener know that a load of gardening food will arrive at the earliest convenient date.

Gift Certificates
If you’re stuck, the “get out of jail free” card is the gift card or gift certificate. Shoppers who are baffled can purchase a gift card from just about every store– so pick your gardener’s favorite place to browse and shore. A gift card to a garden center or a local nursery will allow the gardener in mind to make those difficult purchasing decisions for himself.

If a giver is feeling particularly generous, however, he might make a gift certificate that includes, as least in part, a gift of his own time and energy. If offered, many gardeners would welcome some assistance in their garden, with spring clean up, moving soil or compost, planting, weeding, or harvesting. We love our gardens– why else would we put this much effort into them? — but still would love the company and labor of a helper. Another idea is to give a gardener “Vacation Coverage”; a decade back, I enjoyed our three-week excursion to the west even more knowing that a friend was monitoring the rainfall, discouraging the weeds, and picking the ripening vegetables and berries in our absence.

In all, finding the perfect gift for a gardener — or anyone, for that matter– requires paying attention to that person. Asking pointed questions around the holidays can give away one’s intentions, but there’s no need to wait until the holidays to “research” a recipient’s needs or wants. A gift that shows interest and care, originality and insight is always in season.

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By 20 Minute Jan – December 4, 2010

Resources for Kitchen Gardeners

The tradition of gardeners turning to other gardeners for inspiration or advice is probably as old as the practice of cultivation. Most gardeners love sharing information and practices. I have had great conversations over the fence and walking through the neighborhood about the triumphs and tragedies, on a smallish scale, in our flower beds and back yard plots. Even when the ground freezes and weather drives us inside, the gardening discussion continues on the web.

While exploring the internet, I’ve met gardeners from around the world and from Ann Arbor. Those contacts have had an impact on my gardening. I was encouraged to try growing potatoes this summer. I was reminded that there is more than one way to kill a weed— and many of them don’t involve messing with chemicals (boiling water will do the trick). I have been dazzled by the beauty gardeners create with flowers and vegetables. For a moment as least, I have contemplated challenges of gardens that grow year round and opened my mind to the idea that somewhere there are home gardens containing mangoes, or lemons, or papayas — even if my own gardening experience makes that seem like an impossibility.

In the spirit of sharing, here are a few of the gardeners, scattered around the map or here in Ann Arbor, who I turn to for ideas, information, recipes, or a chuckle.

This garden is illegal— Based in Cleveland, the author has created a fun site that includes annual Tomato Tastings of heirloom varieties and a What kind of flower are you? quiz.


Garden Faerie’s Musings— I came across her garden blog online, read her posts at mlive and now here on AnnArbor.com. She’s generous with her gardening knowledge and posts lovely pictures.

Eat Close to Home— A blog focusing on two of my favorite topics, gardening and eating, with an emphasis on local foods.

Project Grow— A fantastic Ann Arbor non-profit organization that provides gardening workshops and classes as well as community garden spaces.

Cold Climate Gardening— The fitting tagline for this site is “Hardy Plants for Hardy Souls.” Lots of resources about gardening in our climate and a sizable directory of others doing the same.

Home Grown Evolution— This site is run by couple of pro-biking DYI-ers in LA who garden, brew, raise chickens, and experiment with self-sufficiency. They’ve written an inspiring and resourceful book, The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Suficient Living in the Heart of the City.

Kitchen Gardeners International— A site that encourages kitchen gardeners around the world with forums, recipes and groups. Includes a map directory feature showing members around the world.

Blotanical— Started by a garden blogger in Australia, this is cool site that provides a worldwide directory of garden blogs. I like the map feature which allows you to zoom in on the garden bloggers in a particular area (that’s where I first read Garden Faerie’s blog!)

No where can you meet more gardeners than on the internet. Where do you look for gardening ideas, information, encouragement, or recipes?

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By 20 Minute Jan – November 13, 2010

A Blanket of Leaves Tucks in the Garden

For the last couple of weeks, we have spent some of our 20 minute garden sessions gathering leaves from our yard and some of our neighbors’. Some bagged leaves are keeping dry in our barn for use next season, and some leaves have gone directly into our compost bins. A nice thick blanket of leaves now covers most of our garden beds. They will nourish the soil as they break down over the winter and discourage some of the weeds from popping up in the spring.

Here’s a handy technique we use for keeping those leaves we have rounded up in the garden bed. When we are planting in the spring, we usually put a ring of marigolds around the edge of our large bed, which is a circle 12 feet in diameter. Marigolds are one of Jim’s favorite flowers, and we both like the look of the ring of flowers. They provide a bit of color early in the growing season and develop into a pretty hedge surrounding the vegetables by mid-summer. We have also read that marigolds provide some natural insect repellent due to their not-so-attractive fragrance.

In the fall when we remove the spent plants in the garden bed and compost them ourselves or put them in yard bags, we leave the marigold ring standing. The marigolds serve as a natural fence for keeping the leaves corralled on the bed. In a couple of rains and frosts, the leaves start to mash down enough that they are no longer in danger of blowing away. It’s another sign that the garden is almost ready for a long winter’s nap.

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By 20 Minute Jan – November 6, 2010