Herb Garden

There is a special satisfaction that comes from cooking with herbs and vegetables from your own garden. Beyond the feeling of self-sufficiency, beyond the satisfaction of knowing you are battling global warming, beyond the richness of garden fresh veggies and herbs,there is something intimate about eating food that you grew yourself. A satisfaction that is something akin to watching your child walk for the first time. It's the taste of accomplishment. Today I planted an herb garden in a raised bed in one corner of my veggie patch. It's the first time I've had a spot just for herbs. I used a rectangle made of 2"X10"s five foot by three foot. Then, I back filled the box with about 9 cu. feet of store-bought topsoil. I arranged my herb-starts in a formal garden style, each herb separated by a little stone wall. In a circle in the center I planted garlic. I've heard garlic is really easy to grow, so I just peeled some cloves and stuck them in the ground, just barely covered. Then, in each of the four corners I planted basil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. These are my staple herbs. Along with salt and pepper and cumin, I pretty much don't use any other herbs. The radio is issuing a frost warning for tonight, so after I got everything planted, I built a little coldframe over the herb garden. All in all, I've got potatoes, onions, chard, squash and cucumbers growing and I've just planted carrot and corn seeds, which should come up in a couple of days. I'm looking forward to a bountiful harvest this fall. That is, if all my plants don't die from in the frost tonight. It's May 18th, for Chrissake.

Propagating Columbine

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)is one of my all-time favorite flowers, and a native to the lovely Blue Ridge Mountains. I've just finished an assignment for school that involves specific directions for growing this flower from seed, and I thought I'd share it with all of you. I might add that I've been growing it myself, as well, and it doesn't really need all of this to grow. It's quite happy sending up a shoot in some moist potting soil by the window sill. But, if you want to do it well, here's how:

Seed Collection

Columbine seeds turn jet black when they are mature and ready to be harvested around the end of July through August in my region (Western North Carolina). A stalk containing ripe seeds should be cut off and placed in a paper bag upside down. Leave the stalks in the bags for a few days, until they dehisce (dry out), then shake the bag vigorously. Then, seeds can be collected from the bottom of the bag, ready to be sown.

Preparation

In preparing to germinate the seeds, fill the germination plug tray (material 2) with Fafard germination mix medium (material 4). You should fill the individual units to ¼" of the top of the tray. Then wet the medium thoroughly using a sanitary water source, such as drinking water. Do not add fertilizer. Fertilizer may damage seedlings at this stage of growth(Davis).


Stratification

It is not necessary to provide Columbine seeds with a period of cold stratification, but in studies it has shown to improve the germination time. Therefore, a chilling period of 3-4 weeks at a temperature of 41 degrees F (Hartmann et al. p. 815) is recommended. Sow 2-3 seeds on the surface of the growing medium in each unit of the germination tray. Medium should be kept somewhat moist during the stratification period.

Germination
Once the seeds have been stratified, they should be watered thoroughly and placed in the greenhouse for germination. Columbine needs alternating day/night temperatures. Hartmann and Kester recommend day temperatures of 76 degrees F and night temperatures of 68 degrees F (Hartmann et al. p. 815). The growing medium should be kept evenly moist during germination. Regular misting will help maintain high humidity, as well, which can reduce transpiration and promote growth.

Vigorous Growth Period

Once the roots of the seedlings have begun to fill the germination tray units, it is time to transplant them to the larger multipot containers. In a large bucket, mix the Fafard Pro-Mix BX with the Nutricote Fertilizer at a rate of 0.15lbs of Fertilizer for every cubic foot of medium. Once the growing medium is mixed, fill the multipots about ¾ of the way up. With you finger or a pencil, make a small hole about ¼" to ½" deep. Carefully take seedlings out of the germination tray units by pushing up from the bottom of the units. *Caution* if you pull on the seedlings, the stems or foliage may break, resulting in plant death.
After transplanting the seedlings, pat the growing medium down around the plants and thoroughly water using a mist system or bottom watering system to avoid breaking the stems.
If the seedlings are crowded in the multipots, they must be cut back to allow for proper air circulation. This will help reduce the chance of fungus attacking the plant and prevent smaller plants from becoming lost under the larger ones (Davis).
Keep day/night temperatures the same as during germination and keep an eye on the roots of the plants. If roots outgrow the pots, they can cause the plants to die. Once roots have filled the multipots, transplant the seedlings to quart pots filled with the same growing medium mixed with fertilizer.

Hardening Off

By this time, plants should be reaching saleable age and should be transplanted to quart pots, in which they can be sold or transplanted into the ground. The plants should be give a 2-week period of gradual hardening off in which they are slowly exposed to the outdoor environment and more variable day/night temperatures. After two weeks, the plants should be strong enough to survive in the ground. *Cation* - Be advised that even after hardening off, a hard frost can kill the foliage. In case of frost, cover the plants. The plants will not flower the first year, but the second year they will make a wonderful display, after which they will reseed themselves.

Citations and References

Armitage, Allen M. 1997. Herbaceous Perennial Plants. 2nd Edition. Stipes Publishing. Champaign, Illinois

Davis, Kathy M.; Kujawski, Jennifer L. 2001. Propagation protocol for production of container Aquilegia canadensis plants (Container plugs); Beltsville - National Plant Materials Center, Beltsville, Maryland. In: Native Plant Network. URL: http://www.nativeplantnetwork.org (accessed 3 May 2007). Moscow (ID): University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, Forest Research Nursery.

Hartman, H.T., D.E. Kester, F.T. Davies, and R.L. Geneve. 2002. Plant Propagation Principles and Practices. 7th ed. Prentice Hall: New Jersey.

The Great Smoky Mountains

Wild Orchids

The Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) is an arresting flower, especially when encountered in the wild. The plant consists of two large football shaped leaves that fan out from the ground with a single pubescent stalk, a quarter of an inch thick and a foot high, protruding from between them, upon which is perched the flower. The entire flower measures about 1 1/2" to 2" across and is composed of a pink, oblong sac hanging down like a lip and a three reddish, skinny petals above the lip. A green sepal hoods the upper petal and the opening to the sac. The sheer complexity of the flower is astounding, but there is something more than just scientific wonder that stirs inside me when I see it. Somehow, this flower reveals the entirety of the forests: This whole wild mountain range with it's peaks and valleys, trees and flowers, animals and humans, rocks and dirt. The whole of the ecosystem throughout history is reflected back at me when I stare into the intimate folds of this flower. I cannot get enough of staring at it, but I manage to pull myself away, pick up my 70 pound backpack and head up the trail. Later that day, as I crest the highest point in my three day journey, I look out onto the Smokey Mountains and I get the same feeling of historical awe. There it is: 180 million years of geological and biological history. Above me, thick, dark, primeval clouds blow across the grey sky. I can see in the distance patches of light shining down into the valley where breaks in the clouds let the sun shine down.

It's my second day in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I'm hiking the Gregory Bald loop that begins and ends at the Twentymile Ranger station in the South-West corner of the park. Two nights and about 5 miles a day through some of the richest, most abundant preserved forest land in the country. There are at least 100 species of native trees in the park and over 1,300 flowering plants. There are two major reasons why the plant and animal life is so diverse in the park: One, the park is located in a temperate region that sees long warm summers, mild winters and lots of rainfall. Two, the variation in altitude is extreme ranging from 840 feet above sea level at the mouth of Abrams Creek to 6,643 feet above sea level at the peak of Clingman's Dome. In fact, an ambitious project called the ALL TAXA BIO-DIVERSITY INVENTORY (ATBI) is taking a detailed inventory of ALL the flora and fauna of the park. As of October 2006, the ATBI has identified 651 species new to science and 4,666 species previously not known to inhabit the Park.

With all that life abounding, it helps to have a focus: mine is wildflowers. Late April is an ideal time to see wildflowers and even with the late frost, I am not let down. I see no less than 5 species of Trillium with a great deal of color and size
variation, from the sessile Little Sweet Betsy's (Trillium cuneatum) to the Great White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) and Nodding Trillium (Trillium cernuum) ranging from pure white to bright pink. I see at least two different Solomon's Seals (Polygonatum spp.) of which I have not yet identified the species.
As I get closer to the top of Gregory Bald, the vegetation begins to change. The taller, more succulent plants like Trillium and Solomon's Seal give way to more prostrate plants that hug the ground to stay warm in the bitter cold winters. Plants like Bluets (Houstonia caerula) line the edges of the rocks and paths. I enter a hardwood cove and the ground around me is literally carpeted with Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica): The lush green foliage peppered heavily with the creamy white and hints of pink. It's there, among the Spring Beauty that I come across the largest patches of Yellow Troutlilies (Erythronium americanum) I've ever seen.

The vegetation on Gregory Bald is somewhat different than that of Max Patch (see earlier post). The clumping grasses are more lush and less trod upon and there are 3-4' brambles, plus a couple of brave trees. The view is nothing short of spectacular. Native Flame Azaleas not yet in bloom cover the Northern edge of the bald and I can't help imagining them all glowing orange as I head down the other side to my camp.

Backcountry camping is highly regulated in the park so that the damage us hikers do to the ecosystem is negligible. High cables with pulleys are rigged to keep food out of reach of bears. This camp, at around 4,500 feet above sea level is surrounded by Spring Beauties. I lay in my tent and read Gerard Durrell's My Family and Other Animals. Out of the corner of my eye, through the thin trees, I see something move. My stomach jumps like a spooked moth. A bear? I see it again, a light brown patch moving slowly through the trees. Deer. Four of them to be exact. I jump up and grab my camera and start tiptoeing through the woods. I am no stealthy hunter, and even though I'm upwind of the animals, I'm sure they have spotted me. Even so, they pay me little mind and soon I'm within ten feet of the youngest fawn. There is a mature doe and what seem to be her three offspring, two older and this one, still wobbly on his feet. They are grazing the woods for none other than Yellow Troutlilies. I'm aghast. Can't you eat something else? Now I realize the far reaching effects that Coyotes have had on this ecosystem. After the red wolf and the cougar were driven to extinction in these mountains, the deer population exploded. As a result, flowers like the Yellow Troutlily were in decline. Now that a large predator has filled that niche, namely Coyotes migrated here from the West coast, flowers like Troutlilies have a chance to repopulate. As I'm following the deer, I happen to catch a patch of Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) which is an amazing looking flower that looks kind of like a pulled tooth or, sure enough, like a pair of puffy pants.

On the way down the mountain the next day I catch another Pink Lady's Slipper and another wild orchid, the Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis), in a small cluster. Each plant boasts three or four delicate flowers consisting of a white lower lip and a
pinkish hood. These little orchids stand only 4-6" high and are quite rare. Tiny Dwarf Crested Irises (Iris cristata) line the banks near the creeks and huge drifts of wild Geraniums(Geranium maculatum) created thick, beautiful masses of green and lavendar. I finish my hike, tired and happy, my head spinning with colors and scents. Next time, maybe I'll see how many different ferns I can find...