DC's Growing Sidewalk Hazards

On WAMU radio today (and repeated over the weekend), we are debating the topic of vigilante bike riders who chop back plants deemed in their way. In "Another Side of the Clippers," we give a different perspective on the issue of gardening and sidewalk obstructions. Listen to this segment here. Then go to WAMU's Conversation comment board and join in the frey.

One poster wrote on that thread: "Whether or not bicycles belong on the sidewalk (and, having biked all around DC for years, I think they don't), the plants are either private property of the homeowner, or public property belonging to all of the people of the District. A non-owner has no business hacking up plants that don't belong to them. Even for bikers who are also competent gardeners, a better option might be to carry preprinted notes for the homeowners. If there's a plant you particularly object to, leave the note in the mailbox asking the HO to trim the offending item. I mean, do you really want to be responsible for the murder of someone's valuable Japanese maple or their baby American elm? Keep in mind, however, that shade and lush greenery are part of what make these streets so appealing to ride on. If you can't get your way with the problem plant, you can always ride in the blazing sun and tailpipe exhaust on a big street."

Amen, sister!

Meanwhile, NBC4TV at 4pm yesterday picked up our Feeding Birds On A Budget story from the current issue of Washington Gardener where we offer "Ideas For Saving Money On Bird Food." Watch the short segment here.

Potluck Surprise

Here is the online link to this week's The List: Top Gardening Events for the week ahead on page 35 of today's print edition in the Washington Examiner. You can find the Examiner in the many red street-boxes around town. I saved a screen capture of the listing as a JPG and posted it here at left -- you can click on it to read at 100%.

This weekend I won't be attending any of these listed events. Instead, I'm continuing work on the Sept/Oct issue layout and attending several parties, picnics, and potlucks. One has stipulated "vegetarian dishes only" - while I don't cook meat or seafood, I do bake with eggs, milk, butter, etc. And sorry, total vegans, it is just not the same without the real things. What I do is just label the cake/pie/bread that dairy and eggs were used, that way folks are fully informed and can partake as they wish. Actually, it'd be nice at potlucks if all dishes were well labeled. Don't you just hate biting into something and finding mid-bite that the one ingredient you are repulsed by is hiding in the middle? There you are with a mouth full of nasty, looking for a napkin or nearest trashcan, and trying not to let the torture show on your face as you chat with the dish-bringer.

Fair Warning

I played hooky yesterday and spent the better part of it at the Montgomery County Fair. I did end up cutting a number of flowers and enter 15 for the Flower competitions. I won no firsts or seconds - but a number of thirds, fourths, and fifths. No biggie - I'll just try harder next year :-), Here are a few fun Fair pictures: the frog was a winning flower arrangement that caught my eye. I'm in the photo with the plastic calf along with my two nieces. The Master Gardener display included the squash vines growing through a crape myrtle and a wonderfully inventive screen-table full of edible greens. It runs through this Saturday so get on down there!

Celebate Farmers Market Week

From August 3-9 is National Farmers Market Week. According to the USDA, over 4,400 farmers' markets bring the freshest, locally and regionally grown and harvested foods to communities all across America this year. For farmers' markets near you, visit LocalHarvest or the USDA search page.

While at a meeting in Rockville, MD, this week, I happened to catch that city's wonderful Wednesday lunch-time market. (They also have a large Saturday morning market.) I bought a single ear of corn and a personal-sized cantaloupe. Unfortunately, my purchases were limited by the fact that my tote bag was already weighing me down from earlier stops. I also chatted with "the pickle guy" and made a mental note to myself to come back to buy one of each of us pickled concoctions to try them out.

Nearby was the "From Farm to Market" art show which runs through Sunday, August 17 at VisArts at 155 Gibbs Street (just around the corner from the Rockville Library). Free to the public, the show "explores the impact farming has on our lives, revealing its influence through a fascinating spectrum of art." Okay, that sounds fairly highbrow, but really the first thing you will think upon entering the main gallery on the second floor is "cow!" Your next thought will be "tomato!" The mushroom picture above is from the exhibit and my advice is don't go there hungry! The best part of the show is the intelligent commentary and captions. At most exhibits you breeze on by these, but these really make you stop and think about our connections to local agriculture and relationship with food. More information on the show is at visarts.

To Cut or Not?

Here is the online link to this week's The List: Top Gardening Events for the week ahead on page 33 of today's print edition in the Washington Examiner. You can find the Examiner in the many red street-boxes around town. I saved a screen capture of the listing as a JPG and posted it here at left -- you can click on it to read at 100%.

Number 2 on the list is the Montgomery County Fair which opens this weekend. I'm once again planning on entering a few cut flowers into competition. I've been holding off cutting flowers for indoor bouquets for the last two weeks due to that. I'm afraid I'll cut something I may "need." It's silly, really, as those flowers from two weeks back are surely not competition worthy now. But I'm always thinking "what if these are the best?" -- kind of like not using the "good" china or linens and then ending up never taking them out to enjoy. At least with flowers, you can enjoy them yourself indoors or leave them out for the world to enjoy -- both are lovely choices.

Let It Rain: Weeds and Slugs

Catch me tomorrow (Thursday, 8/7) on Channel 4 at 4pm. Here is the little bump they gave me at their blog today. We'll be talking weeding, slugs, and weather - oh my! Yes, all the glamorous gardening topics. Now if I was really ambitious I'd set out some slug traps in the garden tonight so I'd have a few to show on the air tomorrow. The thought though of catching and transporting them with me on the metro to the studio is giving me the creeps. Can you imagine if the container broke open in transit? Urgh!

UPDATE: Here is a link to the online video of the Channel 4 segment. Bizarre pop-up storms forced us indoors for it. I did get one viewer email chastising me that pennies are not pet-safe. Um, yeah. I had recommended copper, and pennies in particular, as slug barriers and then earlier commented that our slug remedies shown (beer, iron phosphate, etc.) were pretty pet-safe versus the harsh pesticide alternatives. Apologies for any confusion. As a cat-person, I must say my brain does not automatically take into account that certain dogs can and will eat anything.

Seeds of Gold

Jack traded the family cow for a handful of beans. They called him a fool, but you may soon think he got a bargain as you'll need to exchange a bigger chunk of your hard-earned pay for seeds this coming year and next.

You heard it HERE first. Seed prices are about to double and triple. Seed catalogers and suppliers I've been talking to are experiencing sticker shock. Those who have already printed their 2009 catalogs and seed packs are going to feel the pinch the most. If they survive to 2010, expect to see a big increase in their prices. Those that who have yet to print their prices, will be able to adjust according to their costs for 2009, however they will be also be greatly hurt as consumers will naturally question why some seed packs are more than double the others when comparing the artificially low prices on pre-printed seed packs. Catch-22 for all.

Why the coming seed price increases? The same inflationary impacts as are effecting our food crops are trickling down now to the seed markets. Fuel, pressure to grow energy crops, land-use restrictions, increasing taxes, etc. are squeezing the seed suppliers and they are going to have to pass that along to the seed catalogs, retailers, and consumers.

What is a home gardener to do? Start collecting seeds. Go out now and get as many free ones as Mother Nature will provide. And be nice, collect only from your OWN garden, unless you have gotten the special permission of the owners to collect from them. (Note: public parks, gardens, zoos, etc. are not up for grabs either. Many of them will be collecting their seed bounty for their own propagation next season as well.)

Next, mark your calendars for January 31, 2009 -- the date of Washington Gardener Magazine's annual Seed Exchange and National Seed Sway Day. We'll be hosting it once again at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, and for a very low entrance fee (even lower for magazine subscribers), you'll get a goody bag full of seed packs and be able to swap seeds with other DC-area gardeners.

What else can you do? Go through your current seed pack collection and ensure it is well stored. That means out of heat, light, and most of all, away from any moisture. Storing them in tightly sealed jars is best. Take care of seeds and don't let them get damp and they can last for decades. Just because a packet is stamped "best by 2007" does not mean seeds they will not be perfectly viable. Think of the grains found in Egyptian tombs that can still grow today or of weed seeds that lay under the surface for years waiting to be stirred to the surface and sprout. Seeds are tough; they may soon be scarce and expensive as well. Spread the word to your gardening friends.

Paint the White House Green

Now here is something ALL Washingtonians, no matter their party affiliation, can get behind. Check out Eat the View 's campaign to turn part of the White House lawn back into a productive landscape. They have a new Youtube video which can be viewed here. In addition to being entertaining and educational, the video is a call to action to encourage people to sign their online petition.

The video shows Roger of Kitchen Gardeners International up in Maine doing some strenuous sod-busting to create a nice clean veggie patch in the middle of his front lawn. It is a dramatic effect. However, I'd recommend lasagna (aka layer) gardening instead for those who want to get rid of a significant chunk of lawn and start new planting beds. It'll save your back and be much quicker. We described exactly how to do that in our November/December 2006 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine, but you can Google it and find instructions easily on the web too.

Back to the topic at hand, let's cast our vote for a "green" White House by demanding whoever our new president may be (*cough* OBAMA *cough* :-) use some of those 18 acres to feed their household and the hungry of this city.

Dog Days and Cactus

Here is the online link to this week's The List: Top Gardening Events for the week ahead on page 33 of today's print edition in the Washington Examiner. You can find the Examiner in the many red street-boxes around town. I saved a screen capture of the listing as a JPG and posted it here at left -- you can click on it to read at 100%.

The dog days of summer are now coming upon us and our traditional area drought is looming. With all the rain we have gotten already this year, I'm certainly not complaining. We just need to remind ourselves that for the next six weeks our usual weather pattern is nary a drop. So if you are going out of town, find a gardening buddy or neighbor to swap watering chores with. And while you're at it, why not attend the Cactus Show and pick up a cheap hardy succulent or too to fill in a few barren holes in your growing beds.

Tomato Tasting at FreshFarm Market – Silver Spring

‘Big Boy’ vs. ‘Mortgage Lifter,’ hybrid vs. heirloom, the tomato wars have just begun. Everyone is sure that their tomato pick is the tastiest. Join Washington Gardener Magazine at the FreshFarm Market in downtown Silver Spring, MD, on Saturday, August 23 from 10am-1pm for a Tomato Tasting. Best of all, this event is free!

Farmers at the market will contribute their locally grown selections -- from super-sweet ‘Sungold’ to not-so-pretty ‘Cherokee Purple’ – and we’ll explore which tomatoes make the short list of favorites. We’ll have tomato growing tips, tomato recipes, tomato activities for kids, and much more – all to celebrate one of summer’s greatest indulgences – the juicy fresh tomato.

Gardeners Repent!

At the Maryland Native Plant Society meeting last night there was an open forum discussion of native gardening versus regular home gardening. I kept quiet as ridiculous statements were made such as "home gardeners only do it for themselves, while native gardeners do so for the betterment of the world" and "native gardening is morally better to do than other forms." Yes, that's right folks. By planting roses, apple trees, and garlic, you are going to burn in the fires of Hades. Shame, shame on you for wanting to feed your family, commune with nature, beautify the world, experiment, get some exercise, socialize with others, stop your hills from eroding, or one of the hundreds of other reasons we all garden outside of the natives-only palette.

Judging by the packed house last night, many came to learn about introducing natives to their home gardens as the night's talk was promoted, but many left early as the evening turned into a preachy and strident confab on why natives-only is the righteous way to go.

I have many natives plants in my own garden, but I'm far from native-only and can't say I'll ever go that route. The natives-only advocates and purists actually kind of frighten me in their dictation that their way is the only "right way." Talk like this starts down a road of intolerance that I find dangerous.

IMHO, native-only home gardens are just as artificial a contrivance and imitation of nature as any other form of gardening. If that is your thing, go for it, but don’t dare dictate how others should garden or pass judgment on those who have other gardening passions. Being native-only is a hobby pure and simple. And really, there is nothing wrong with that.