In The Garden

• Agriculture / 4H

In the Garden

Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener

      The steamy days of the last half of July may seem like a strange time to be talking about cool-season crops, but if you want to have a successful fall garden, now is the time to get started.  Just as one plants seeds in winter to have plants for summer crops, it is now time to plant seeds for fall crops.  Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower may be planted now to grow transplants that will be set out in September and will mature in October and November.  These crops will withstand some frost and many people find that these vegetables taste better when they mature in cooler weather.

      There is still plenty of time to seed many other crops and the reasons to do so are many.  By planting a fall garden, you may find that you have avoided the life cycle of some of the major insect pests.  Imagine growing green beans without the presence of bean beetles.  Our early frost date is not until October 10, and in recent years, our first frost has come much later than that.  Look at the seed package and note the “days to maturity” statement.  If that number is below 90, then there is adequate growing season to get a crop.

     With root crops, the window is even larger.  Since the root is in the ground, and the ground remains warm long after the air begins to cool, root crops may often be harvested well into December.  My grandfather used to say, “Plant turnips on the twenty-fifth of July, wet or dry.”  There is a great incentive for planting turnips, even if they are not your favorite vegetable.  They may be grown either for the greens or for the root.  Even if left unharvested, turnips make a good green manure crop.  Just let them stay in the ground and till them up in the spring.  The roots help break up clay soil and the decaying turnip will add organic matter to the soil.

     Carrots and parsnips are also good fall crops.  Like the cole crops, the cool weather tends to sweeten these root crops.  In fact, many people say they do not like parsnips until they have gone through a freeze.  Radishes take fewer days to mature than most crops, and fall radishes tend to hold their crispness better than those planted in the spring.  There are even radishes that have been specifically bred for fall planting, and some of those “winter radishes” may be stored and enjoyed for months.

     Of course, the traditional fall garden crops are the salad greens.  Besides turnip greens, one may grow leaf lettuce, mustard, kale and most of those trendy oriental greens.  Just like with beans, note the number of days it takes to mature to see if there is enough growing season for the crop to mature.  Even if there is not enough time for a mature crop, you may plant most of the greens to harvest early as micro-greens.  If you have ever purchased micro-greens in the supermarket, you know that they command a hefty price.  For the price of a few packets of seeds, you will be rewarded with a lot of micro-greens.

     Fall planting is not just for vegetables.  There is still ample time for some annual flowers to mature to blooming stage.  I have been out pulling weeds and clearing some areas to throw out some of the zinnia and marigold seeds I have saved from last year.  I am planning a century celebration at Sandhill Gardens for late September, and those annuals should be blooming just in time.

• Agriculture / 4H
• Garden

In the Garden

Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener

      Long-time readers know that my vacations always include visiting gardens, and my recent trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee with two great-nephews and a great-niece was no exception.  While the rental house in which we spent our week lacked any landscaping, we found several gardens to visit in the area.

     One of the must-see venues in Chattanooga is the aquarium.  That may not be a garden, but the aquarium actually has some interesting garden areas.  The attraction is divided into two portions, one being a river theme and the other concentrating on oceans.  While the river side has exhibits about the rivers of the world, a large portion deals with the ecosystem of the Tennessee River, which flows right by the aquarium.  Ecosystems involve the plant life along and in the water, and the exhibits showcased many native plants.

     Just down the street from the aquarium is the Discovery Center.  While not as lavish as the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, there was plenty to keep the children busy for several hours on a rainy day.  Again, plants play an important part in some of the inter-active exhibits.  A section on pollinators included the plants that attract and feed pollinators, including both native plants and other flowers and herbs.  There is also an exhibit promoting honeybees.  Again, the plants that supply the nectar from which the bees make honey were an important part of that exhibit.

     Also in the downtown river district is an area of several blocks known as the arts district.  The district includes several galleries and stores selling the work of area artists, but surrounding the stores and along the river are some beautiful gardens.  I was especially impressed with an area where American holly had been sculpted into tight hedges.  Interesting sculptures, both modern and traditional, are surrounded by gardens featuring both native plants and non-natives.  My personal favorite garden in the arts district was a vertical herb garden.  It was made by affixing a six-foot section of a hog panel between up-right four-by-fours.  Several troughs were fastened to the fence wires, and herbs had been planted in each trough.  It is something I would like to replicate here at Sandhill Gardens.

     Chattanooga and the towns in the suburbs have many parks, and there are several state parks near-by.  The parks afford opportunities to get out into nature, both on land and water.  It seems my car also automatically pulled into the lots of nurseries and garden centers, and I found an herb plant for which I have been searching.

     The area does have a noteworthy botanical garden.  That garden is found just over the Georgia border in Rock City.  The gardens included a lot of native shade plants, including oak-leaf hydrangeas, azaleas and laurels.  They also have made good use of some of my favorite shade plants, such as hostas and hellebores.  However, the star of the garden is the mountain itself, on which native stones have been used to construct amazing venues.  We crossed a swinging bridge to reach the famous look-out, from which portions of seven states may be seen.  Even a youngster who “does not like looking at plants” found this garden to be a fun place to visit.  The gift shop included many items to bring a memory home to the garden.  I chose a rain-chain windchime, but I regret that I did not purchase a birdhouse that looks like the barns where Rock City has been advertised for more than 80 years.

     Even the trip home brought a chance to view gardens.  I stopped in Nashville and took a couple of hours to visit the conservatories that make up the Opryland Hotel.  Although I have visited there many times, I never tire of experiencing the beauty of the gardens and man-made landscapes.

• Agriculture / 4H
• Garden

In the Garden

Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener

     One of the most celebrated native berries in recent times is the American elderberry, Sambucus candensis.  An examination of botanicals in a pharmacy or health food store will turn up several products containing extracts of this plant.  In addition to the berries, which are actually drupes, the leaves, stems, flowers and roots are often used to manufacture concoctions that are sold to address many health problems.  Many cold and flu medications contain Sambucus, as do many medications for inflammation and balancing blood-sugar levels.  However, I recommend leaving these applications to trained pharmacists and herbalists, as many parts of the elderberry plant contain toxins.

     The unripe berries may have low levels of toxins, but ripe elderberries are fine, especially after they have been cooked.  Elderberries have been used for making syrups, jellies, wine and confections.  They are low in calories and contain many nutrients, being especially high in antioxidants.

     I have to confess that my favorite food from the elderberry plant comes before the berries appear.  I love to dip the flower clusters in batter and deep-fry them.  I have also had a simple syrup made by infusing the flowers in boiling water and adding sugar.  That syrup may be used as a glaze on cakes and cookies.

     Like the brambles, elderberries may become a nuisance to farmers.  The seeds are often dropped by birds, and they spread by root suckers to form thickets.  However, the root systems are not extensive, so it is easy to pull them out in the spring.

     Elderberries do best in full sun and in moist, well-draining soil.  Their shallow roots mean they suffer during periods of drought, but they also do not want to be in standing water.  They will grow in partial shade, but berry production is usually adversely affected by the lower light.

     Elderberries are susceptible to some fungal diseases, but plants rarely die from these diseases.  If you see elderberry plants that look diseased, cut them to the ground and remove the diseased foliage.  They will usually grow back and be fine.  There are some insects that feed on the elderberry foliage, but I have never seen a thicket destroyed by insects.  They are a host plant for several moths and butterflies, including the cecropia moth, more commonly known as the giant silk moth, North America’s largest moth.  The flowers are a great pollinator food source, attracting moths, butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

     Until recently, elderberries have been relegated to the category of road-side weedy plants, but in recent times, they have been included in the landscape.  The flower umbrels are very attractive at bloom time and the thickets may be used as a screen.  A few years ago, Black Lace, a cultivar of the European Sambucus nigra was widely touted as a replacement for Japanese maples in northern areas.  I planted a couple of them, but they lasted a few years and disappeared over winter.  More recently, a chartreuse cultivar of Sambucus racemose, has been released in the nursery trade.  I have not yet tried them, as they are a little pricey.

     The pithy stems of the elderberry also have many uses.  I have made many houses for native bees by bundling stems of various diameters.  Perhaps my favorite childhood use for elderberry stems was making whistles.  I caution you to not try to blow a whistle made from a green stem, as the toxins in the stems may burn your lips.  However, as the stem dries, the toxins dissipate, and you may then whistle to your heart’s content.

• Agriculture / 4H
• Garden

In the Garden

Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener

     The blackberry is known as the Queen of the Brambles.  Like the raspberry, the blackberry is in the genus Rubus, which is in the rose family.  However, the blackberry bears its cluster of drupelets attached to a juicy white core, while a ripe raspberry separates from the core when picked, making the berry hollow.  In general, blackberries are larger than raspberries, and the blackberry season is a little later than raspberry time.

     There are literally tens of thousands of blackberry cultivars, including natives and hybrids.  They range from the groundcover dewberries to giant bramble reaching eight feet tall.  Like raspberries, wild blackberries can become weedy and can take over an area.  However, they play an important part in the ecosystem.  The leaves provide food for various insects, including being a host plant for some butterfly caterpillars.  The blooms are very rich in nectar, as one can clearly see by the number of bees that visit during this stage.  Not only do humans enjoy the berries, but they are food for many birds and other animals.

     Southern Indiana is also home to one of the superstars of the blackberry world.  In 1975, Mr. Thomas Doyle patented a new blackberry cultivar that continues to be one of the best.  This was accomplished on his farm in Barr Township of Daviess County.  Doyle’s Thornless Blackberry became an instant hit and they are still hard to beat.  Being thornless makes picking much easier.  The berries are also huge, often double the size of wild blackberries.  They are also exceptionally sweet.   The sugar content of most blackberries is about six percent, but Doyle’s berries are around eleven percent.  The large canes also yield well, with a three-year-old plant capable of producing up to twenty gallons of berries.

     Although Thomas Doyle passed away in 2001, a few months past his 100^th birthday, his family continues to sell the patented plants from the farm at 1600 Bedford Road, Washington, IN 47501.  If you are wanting to start a blackberry patch, I heartily recommend buying Doyle’s Thornless Blackberries.

     Blackberry canes may be planted any time between the spring frost-free date up until two weeks before the autumn freeze date.  That will ensure that the plants become established before the ground freezes.  While sandy loam is the best soil for blackberries, they will tolerate almost any soil type, as long as there is good drainage.  Hybrid canes should not be planted within 600 feet of wild blackberries to ensure diseases do not transfer to the new bramble patch.  Like raspberries, blackberries should not be planted where vegetables in the nightshade family have been grown.  Most of the serious blackberry diseases are fungal-related, so the best defense is cultural.  Plants should be planted to give them good air circulation, and pruned to keep the patch open.  Plants may be grown against a trellis or espaliered on a wall or fence.  Plants usually produce a crop in the second season, but the third season is usually when they really come into their own.

     Blackberries may be eaten fresh, cooked in cakes and pies or made into jams and jellies.  They may also be juiced, and that juice may be served alone or mixed into various drinks.  Blackberries are high in vitamin C, iron and antioxidants.  Once established, a healthy blackberry will continue to produce fruit for several decades.