Why Did My Plant Die?

Pumpkin Pictures

I can tell by the empty crates in the shops that a lot of us have bought pumpkins this year. I might be wrong but I’ll bet that most of us don’t take them into the kitchen and make good old pumpkin pies. I think most of them will be used to make a spooky faced doorway Halloween candle holder to scare the trick or treaters knocking at the door.

There are some really inventive carving ideas out there and you can even get special pumpkin carving tools if you are taking things very seriously.  Have you been creative this year? If so could you send me your images of the scary work of art, I can post the best ones on the Gardening Matters blog and maybe even put a really scary one here next week. Either send the images to me at info@gardening.ie  or directly to the Inishowen Indo via email, Tweets or Facebook. We look forward to being spooked!!

Back in the 1980’s, Geoffrey Charlesworth wrote a book called “The Opinionated Gardener,” In the book is a poem in answer to why a plant has died. I read it and had a bit of a chuckle to myself initially but then realized that intervening in the course of nature can be a tricky business. A self-set plant in the garden will grow quite happily, but when we get involved the list of things that could go wrong are long. I think Geoffrey has covered most of the answers as to why a plant dies when we try to grow it in his poem. Hopefully it won’t crush your self-confidence; I for one can tick off every one of the reasons as I have done them myself at one time, and still like to garden!

Why Did My Plant Die?

    Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

    You walked too close. You trod on it.

    You dropped a piece of sod on it.

    You hoed it down. You weeded it.

    You planted it the wrong way up.

    You grew it in a yogurt cup

    But you forgot to make a hole;

    The soggy compost took its toll.

    September storm. November drought.

    It heaved in March, the roots popped out.

    You watered it with herbicide.

    You scattered bonemeal far and wide.

    Attracting local omnivores,

    Who ate your plant and stayed for more.

    You left it baking in the sun

    While you departed at a run

    To find a spade, perhaps a trowel,

    Meanwhile the plant threw in the towel.

    You planted it with crown too high;

    The soil washed off, that explains why.

    Too high pH. It hated lime.

    Alas it needs a gentler clime.

    You left the root ball wrapped in plastic.

    You broke the roots. They’re not elastic.

    You walked too close. You trod on it.

    You dropped a piece of sod on it.

    You splashed the plant with mower oil.

    You should do something to your soil.

    Too rich. Too poor. Such wretched tilth.

    Your soil is clay. Your soil is filth.

    Your plant was eaten by a slug.

    The growing point contained a bug.

    These aphids are controlled by ants,

    Who milk the juice, it kills the plants.

    In early spring your garden’s mud.

    You walked around! That’s not much good.

    With heat and light you hurried it.

    You worried it. You buried it.

    The poor plant missed the mountain air:

    No heat, no summer muggs up there.

    You overfed it 10-10-10.

    Forgot to water it again.

    You hit it sharply with the hose.

    You used a can without a rose.

    Perhaps you sprinkled from above.

    You should have talked to it with love.

    The nursery mailed it without roots.

    You killed it with those gardening boots.

    You walked too close. You trod on it.

    You dropped a piece of sod on it.

Green Spuds

I don’t know about you but I find the cleaned spuds we buy from the shops go green really quicky, even stored in the cupboards away from light. It might be the fact that they are clean with all of the soil washed off, or it could be that they were ‘turning’ anyway before I got them. I don’t grow potatoes myself so have to look closely at the ones I do buy, which isn’t always easy when they are stored in brown paper sacks. 

Have you ever wondered how toxic green potatoes are? I don’t even eat the green crisps when I buy a packet so it’s been instilled into me never to eat the green bits. 

Green-Skinned Potatoes

Why do potatoes turn green? The green is chlorophyll, caused by the potatoes being exposed to light. Chlorophyll is not poisonous. But the same conditions that promote chlorophyll production also increase the formation of solanine, which is poisonous. So the green is an indicator of likely trouble, but is not trouble itself.

Potatoes can also have dangerously high levels of poisonous solanine without being green. This can happen if the potatoes are diseased or damaged, or they are stored in warm temperatures, or they experience a spring frost and make only stunted growth as a result.

Solanine is one of the potato plant’s natural defenses against diseases such as late blight, and against pest attacks.

Just discarding all green-skinned potatoes won’t remove all the solanine from our plates. Solanine is a glycoalkaloid found at some level in all nightshade crops. 

Apparently the amount of solanine in an average-sized serving of potatoes is easily broken down by the body so we don’t need to worry. Green skins contain 1500-2200 mg/kg total glycoalkaloids though which can be poisonous.

The British Medical Journal of 8 December 1979 reports that there is normally a high concentration-gradient between the peel and the flesh, but this is lost when potatoes are exposed to light or stored in adverse conditions. This means the level of solanine quickly drops as you peel deeper into the potato, unless the potatoes were exposed to light or were stored in a warm place for several weeks or more.

Green Potato Myths, Dispelled

The Department of Animal Science at Cornell University says that solanum-type glycoalkaloids are not destroyed by cooking. There isn’t any real evidence to say it increase arthritis conditions either.

“Solanine is water-soluble, so boiling lowers the levels.” An infamous 1979 case of 78 London school children getting very sick after eating boiled potatoes that had been stored improperly over the summer vacation seems to prove this belief not true. (All made a full recovery.)

The US National Institutes of Health advises never to eat potatoes that are green under the skin. This is ambiguous and has been interpreted to mean either: throw out all potatoes with any green bits, or cut off the green skin and also any green flesh under the skin and eat the rest of the potato. Most of us  seem to cut off the green bits and use the rest.

10 Steps to Safe and Healthy Potato Eating

1. If you do grow potatoes, try to cover them fully with soil or mulch, so that they are not exposed to light.

2. Give plants enough space so that the developing potatoes are not crowded and pushed up above the soil surface.

3. If mowing to reduce weeds before mechanical harvest, keep the length of time between mowing and harvest to a minimum. For the same reason, harvest soon after removing mulch. Hand digging can be done without removing weeds or mulch first, but there is a limit on how much one person can hand-harvest.

4. When harvesting, minimize damage to the tubers.

5. When sorting potatoes for storage, do not put all the ones showing any green in the same container. Leave the green-skinned potatoes mixed with the others, so that no-one gets a higher amount than average.

6. When storing potatoes, keep them in the dark, and cool. Don’t store them for longer than necessary. There seems no need to worry about storage up to one year or so, as generations of potato growers have provided for their family needs this way.

7. Apparently there is no reason to use green potatoes sooner than others. Nor is there apparently any advantage to storing them longer in the hope of de-toxifying them.

8. When preparing potatoes for eating, cut off and compost the green bits. Don’t use all the greened potatoes in the same meal. Reduce the risk by mixing greened and plenty of non-greened potatoes.

9. When eating, spit out any potato that tastes bitter.

10. Enjoy eating your potatoes fried, boiled, mashed, chipped, baked or roasted.

Honesty Seeds

I was in the Buncrana Credit Union last week where someone asked me where I could get Honesty seeds from. I reminded myself that I had this plant in quite a few gardens over the years but it was one that I failed to take with me in my many house moves.  

Thinking about it there are a lot of plants that I don’t take with me and now I am restocking strawberries, raspberries and currents with cuttings and plantlets obtained from varieties that I gave away to other people in the past. Sharing your plants is a great way to ensure you can restock I have found.  

This doesn’t seem to be the case with Honesty, I neglected to take any of the seeds with me.  If you are not sure what these plants look like it’s probably because you are used to seeing the lovely translucent seed pods that come in autumn. These transparent tissue like seeds heads are very popular in floral arrangements and can last for years neglected in a jar on a windowsill. The flowers are pretty enough with colours ranging from white, pink and purple. They remind me of perennial geraniums or phlox so do have a place in the flower garden.

Honesty

Honesty or Lunaria annua to give it its Latin name is a biennial belonging to the brassica family. When it is happy, which is most of the time since it generally chooses for itself where to live, it can develop into a robust, branching plant, 2ft tall and 1.5ft across.

It is a gregarious plants and often seeds in a crowd when its effect can be magnificent. Unfortunately it has no scent. Although a biennial, with each plant living only two years, when it is established it will go on forever, becoming a feature of the late spring garden. When left to its own devices it often turns up in unexpected places, it can sometimes be seen in roadsides but I haven’t seen any around Inishowen yet.

Lunaria annua has several different forms, mainly biennial, but there is a perennial honesty Lunaria rediviva that is an exceptionally beautiful plant. It has a simple grace with metre-high stems clothed in fresh green heart-shaped leaves. Its cross-shaped flowers are pale lavender and sweetly scented. They are followed by elliptical seed-heads with the same papery texture as those of Lunaria annua.

And for wildlife? Well, this is one of the very few flowers that Orange-tip butterflies will stop off at to nectar in spring. And the females will lay their eggs on the leaves.

Growing tips

To sow the plant yourself start collecting seed when the papery pods are mature. Spread out the heads on a piece of drawing paper when they are dry and crisp. Each disc is composed of twin circular plates locked together and enclosing three large flat seeds. These are also disc-shaped.

At the top of each case is a tiny ‘catch’ that you pull like a ring-pull on a can to peel off one layer. The three seeds stick to this thin skin, leaving the backing-sheet clean and translucently silver, still attached to the stalk.

Some can be sown in situ, where they should survive and flourish. Others can be sprinkled on loam-based seed compost, covered with grit and kept in a warm, light place.

They are big seeds and if they are station-sown - one to a module compartment or in separate pots - they can develop individually and be planted out without root disturbance. When sowing in situ, cover the seed lightly and water well. If planting from modules or seed trays dig in a little old compost first.

Honesty develops thick storage roots, almost like tubers, and, in common with other brassicas, has deep tap roots. Keeping them in pots for any length of time prevents the roots developing properly and, if plants are not put out promptly, they will dwindle.

Lunaria annua will cope in most situations and seems happiest growing among other plants. In common with most brassicas it prefers lime and resents peat or very acidic conditions. Avoid overfeeding and do not use manure.

This is a plant of scrub and waste ground and needs no pampering. Lunaria rediviva prefers slightly damper conditions. Prepare the planting hole with plenty of good home-made compost or leaf-mould but, again, no muck.

If you are in the Credit Union in Buncrana and have some seed heads from an Honesty plant I’m sure the staff member would be more than happy to take a few bunches of seed heads from you, they will be in good hands. It will also ensure that if you do move house and forget to take some with you, there will be a ‘seed bank’ for you to rekindle your stock in the future.

Vegetables to grow for winter

How many of these cabbages could you eat in a month?

One cabbage a month. That’s more than enough for anyone when they are growing their own. 

One large plant can provide enough greenery for about five meals, and like kale we sometimes grow a bit too much of it. It’s good news for the compost bins though.

Growing your own veggies is always a fine balance between feeding yourself and family or the compost bin so the longer we can stretch the season, the less likely we are to get fed up of one type of vegetable. How many times have you looked in the cookery books to find yet another way of cooking up your courgettes? A lot I’ll bet. With the help of a bit of cover, and carefully selected varieties of seeds, it is possible to grow vegetables and herbs all year round in our climate, and there are advantages to doing this too.

Advantages to growing vegetables in winter:

Mature overwintered veg keeps growing until December under cover, stands for the winter then comes on quickly in February. They can be picked for much of the winter. There might be lean pickings in January but there is usually something – perhaps a bit of kale, land cress, claytonia, lamb's lettuce, herbs and carrots.

Later autumn sowings will overwinter as seedlings that get going quickly again in February and are ready long before spring sowings. This eliminates the 'hungry gap' – that period of time when seeds have been sown in spring but little is ready to eat.

Vitamins and minerals are harder to obtain in winter, especially vitamin C. Having something fresh from the garden can make a big difference.

Fresh organic produce is more expensive in winter. Therefore winter veg saves you more money than summer veg. Rocket, radishes, salad leaves, parsley and mint are all expensive in winter yet easy to grow at home and  the ground is as well growing something as sitting there empty.

What to grow in winter

Loads of vegetables can be overwintered. Perpetual spinach, chard, parsley, rocket, lettuce , radish, Land cress and lamb's lettuce, Pak choi, leeks, broccoli and  greens can be juiced, used in salads or frozen 

Winter planting

Winter lettuce

Cut-and-come again varieties, such as Niche Mixed, can be sown until very late in the season. Plant under a fleece.

Broad beans

Planting these beans stops nutrients leaching through otherwise fallow soil, which allows its structure to deteriorate.

They are ready a good month earlier than those sown in April, and they don't get black fly. If the beans are in an exposed position and grow too tall (above a foot ) over winter, they can wave around and split just above ground level, so put in canes or sticks and string if necessary.

If you pick out some tops to cook before the pods are formed you will delay pod production, which can help stagger your crop. Small pods are delicious cooked and eaten whole.

Asparagus

Asparagus varieties are now available for autumn planting, which helps them establish that bit quicker. You do wait for two years before you can cut them, but it is a small price to pay for a gourmet extravaganza.

Peas and pea shoots

For a late spring crop, it's worth trying sowing seeds now. If you sow direct into the ground, plant them one inch deep and relatively closely at about one inch apart, to make up for a higher loss rate.

With peas, don't forget the pea shoots are tasty: just pick off the tips and add to stir fries and salads for that intense, delicious fresh pea flavour.

Sugarsnap peas

Although not usually known for sowing now, their slow growth over winter helps to produce a crop of smallish, edible pods earlier next year.

Garlic

This is the easiest crop to grow. Plant the cloves individually to a depth of 2.5in deep on light soils and a lot less deep on heavy soils, but always a minimum of one inch below the surface.

Onions, spring onions and shallots

There are quite a few varieties of onions from sets that can go in now. This is the easiest way to grow onions, and they can be harvested earlier on in the year.

Many garden centres have shallots available for planting now.

Lambs lettuce

This is good filler: it's undemanding, easy to grow and useful for bulking out the salad bowl.

It is useful in that it does not need high light levels and tolerates low temperatures, and so can be sown up until the end of October outside; it can be picked until December or into the New Year with some fleece or milder weather.

Spinach

Pick it young and just wilt the leaves rather than ruin it with overcooking. It’s great in salads, too.

Spring cabbage

Young plants can be bought now.

Plant 12in apart each way and earth up the soil around their stems after they have got going to help them against the cold. If it gets icy in colder areas, fleece or cloches can help. Remember though, there’s no need to plants too many unless you are thinking of giving them away to passers-by.