Willow By Any Name

Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Kansas-NC basketball game is over and I can get back to some writing. It's been a long but productive day. The rain was doing its thing when I awoke and it continued on and off much of today. When I came out of the woods at almost 4 it was tapering off. I approached the woodpile with the 9th tractor bucket of blocked wood and thought I should go for a couple more but my wet shirt convinced me enough was enough.

My off season Sunday routine is to go to the local store and pick up my paper and come home for another coffee and the news. For some reason the Burlington Free Press, my preferred paper since 1966, has decided it doesn't want to be timely with deliveries. They came out with some new paper format a month or so ago and have been promoting on-line news but to the wrong guy. I remain one of those "hold newspaper between two hands" kind of guys and the absence of that feel irritates me. I intentionally went to the store later just hoping the paper would be there and as I drove in, the paper lady drove out. Success in a rural world!

I headed down to the flower farm for a quick visit as Gail has been working there for several days cleaning up and getting ready to uncover all the pots. I walked from one end of the 5 acres to the other and stopped for a few minutes to look over the willows. Salix has always interested me and I recall how my mother looked forward to spring when Pop would cut her big handfuls of 3 foot tall stems which she put in a tall vase he sent back from a WWII tour off the coast of China. I never heard or don't remember where the vase was actually acquired but Navy men swapped dollars in many places. My dad always loved my mom and always sent gifts and letters.

Willow is a nice name too and seeing willows in bloom at the flower farm made me feel good on a rainy morning. The supple stems move in the morning wind but today the rain drops held tightly to the catkins as if Super Glued on despite the weather. Back in the 60's Willow was used as a name and I knew a Willow that slipped away someplace towards the end of the 60's. Don't know where she went but she took a special memory with her.

So three years back I bought a couple willows that interested me because of their use in the floral industry. The image up top here shows the two willows planted in parallel rows. On the right side is Salix sepulcralis 'Erythroflesuosa', The Twisted Willow, originally from Argentina. Although it is recommended for zone 5, I know many people who grew it in colder climates. It grows crooked like a Lauder's Walking Stick and from winter on it exhibits a nice red-bronze color to the golden yellow stems. Florists like it because it gives them an interesting vertical representation and contrasting color combination different than other filler material.

Just behind the Twisted Willow and to the left is the Japanese Fantail Willow also known as the Dragon Willow, Salixundensis 'Sekka'. It is pictured by itself in the second picture down. This one can reach 15 feet wide and 20 feet tall over time but I am trying to build populations so I coppice them each spring right after the go to seed.



The Fantail Willow is peculiar because it puts out an abundance of beautiful stems with many fine catkins but also has heavily fasciated stems that twist and turn as flattened steps that are peppered with catkins in lines or appearing irregularly from everywhere. Once again, this is a florist's delight to work with but you have to know your audience or the oohs and aahs could turn derogatory. The next couple pictures give the perspective and I expect you either like them or you don't and I already know some will share opinions with me on this willow. As I write this I'm listening to 21 Adele and I'll bet she would be in the "I like 'Sekka' column.




Willows are very easy to grow and propagate. The Internet has many growers and an unrooted stem is usually less than $1.75 plus Shipping. They are sold like most floral products in bundles of ten and although they might look a little sorry when they arrive, a quick soak in a bucket of water and they'll be ready to plant. The Twisted Willows just below here are in abundance at the nursery from cuttings I took last summer and propagating simply means pushing a cutting into wet or damp soil and waiting.

Willows also have a history of being a natural rooting agent. In old days farmers would often take a couple branches of willow and cut them in 2"-3" pieces and leave them in a bucket of water for a few days. The resulting water can replace modern day rooting agents that cost $5-$9 for a one ounce container. Try some as the results will be equal or better.

As my album draws to a close, so do my thoughts about willows. We won't be officially open for business until Mothers Day in May but if you see the flower farm gate open and want to try your hand at willows, stop by and say hello. I can probably find some cuttings to get you going.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the wind has stopped but the temperature holds at 40°.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
At VFF we are always available to help you grow your green thumb!

Sugaring

Monday, March 19, 2012

Morning is slow to start here on the mountain today. I took Karl the Wonder Dog out earlier and the 2 mph wind blew lightly in my face and the 47° temperature was obvious. Karl abbreviated his walk and tail-between-legs headed to the house because the coyote convention in the adjacent field was overwhelming to him. It was well attended enough that I had no desire to go there either. We both retreated to the house and here I am awaiting sunrise.

Yesterday was a different story for me and I was out of here early to cut some trees for some friends at the Marshfield Inn and Motel. Then I headed to the Stranahan Memorial Town Forest to check out the sugaring operation there. Last year maple syrup producers in Vermont set a new record of well over one million gallons of syrup produced. This year is a different story and many producers are just catching up to last year's daily totals, some are exceeding them, but many are down significantly. The mild weather, lack of snow pack to keep the tree roots cool, and the unusually warm temperatures, especially at night, have slimmed production. Nightly temps must fall to freezing and mornings like this one do not encourage a good sap flow.

The Stranahan Forest is adjacent to Hollister Hill Farm which is a great place that juggles farming and a bed and breakfast. As I slowed to avoid some road ruts I noticed four cars in the parking lot with three out of state license plates suggesting visitors. The farm is managed by the Light family and maple sugaring is part of what they do very well.

Sugaring has modernized itself in an attempt to cut labor costs and that means that using galvanized buckets to catch sap and then hand collecting the sap into a tank has been replaced in part by many sugarers. That is not to say that as you travel Vermont you cannot find many sap buckets hanging from trees along the road and in the forests. The new pipeline networks lead the sap through plastic tubing back to the sugar house or into storage tanks. The issue is labor versus price and many do not have the money to make the conversion even though it makes sense. Each tap that involves pipeline averages an installed price of $10 so that's quit a financial commitment for smaller producers. In the days when I was a kid, most every farmer sugared and I remember the old farm ladies next door telling me that the purpose of sugaring was to pay the farm taxes. I suspect that was common back then but now you have to produce a lot of syrup to pay property taxes in Vermont.

So the choice of sap collection is by buckets or pipeline and now there are even more technological recommendations, many coming from the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center, and some coming from sugarers themselves. Research has led to using a vacuum system on the pipelines to actually suck the sap out of the trees. Maybe it would be better to say the vacuum "gently teases the sap out" so you aren't left with the vision of an empty hulk of a maple tree at the end of the season. Fact is that pressure does not appear to harm the trees at all and it does increase sap volume collected.

Another advance is the use of reverse osmosis to separate water from the main sugar product. This means that the evaporation process that is used to reduce sap to syrup takes less energy and works faster. A sugarer gave me an example yesterday from the night before when he had all his tanks full of sap but through reverse osmosis he boiled everything down to 110 gallons of syrup in about 2 hours versus 15 hours if he had used an oil fired evaporator. If he had boiled down that same sap with a wood fired evaporator it would probably have taken even longer. Neither of these technologies is cheap and in the world of big time syrup production you have to think of payback over ten years.


The taps that are used have gone from the metal spouts from my day to plastic spouts. The latest generation of spouts encourages longer sap flow, less bacterial build up (hence less tissue cell closure and end of flow) and almost no clogging with a new design that was just released last year. What some folks forget when pouring syrup on their pancakes is that these systems must be kept clean and the osmosis rigs have to be cleaned every day and the entire systems have to be made spanky clean at the end of the season. Miles of pipeline means running water and cleanser through the entire systems and trust me folks, this is a bigger job than washing your dishes in the sink or home dishwasher--lots bigger!

I had a nice time catching up on sugaring and want to remind you there's a little time left to get to a sugar house yourself and see how this is done. It takes 35-40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup and there's a lot involved to get to the end product. Like anything agricultural, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that users don't often see. Kinda like growing flowers which reminds me, I have my own chores to get to today. Need to scoot!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the birds are reminding me the sun is up but the bird feeders are empty. Have a nice day!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And remember, we're always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Starting Seeds

M0nday, March 12, 2012

Just in from a morning walk trying to get out into the field before the temperatures rose enough to melt the crust and no longer hold my "winter overweight" without snowshoes. My goal was to find a few birds nests left from last year to photograph for a later blog but despite always seeing birds, locating nests is not as easy as it might seem. There are a couple popular places further down Peacham Pond Road and I'll go there a little later when the snows melt more. For this morning I had to be satisfied with the beauty of the day and the freshness of the air.

Spring is not officially here for a while longer but today was a signal I tend to go by. I looked out at the hanging feeders and eight grackles had arrived and were fighting over the suet bags. The grackles always keep their big eyes in watchfulness for intruders and their hearing is better than mine ever was. Clicking on the camera was enough to frighten them away so I didn't get a picture today. I convince myself they are good scavengers but truly they are messy feeders just like blue jays. But they remind me of spring and after any winter, even one as mild as this one, thoughts of spring are nice thoughts.

As I grew up, we lived next door to a centruy old farm and the farm ladies were responsible for starting vegetable seeds for eventual transplants. The official day for planting tomatoes and peppers was Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March. In later years the day made no sense to me as by the time of last frost the first week of June, the seedlings were very leggy and needed extra care to plant.

Now days greenhouses start plants according to computer profiles and they manage the last couple weeks before sale according to daylight and temperature. Those controls are far better than one of the farm ladies putting another log in the kitchen stove or moving small flats from window to window for more or less light. Just the same I have had the opportunity to follow all methods of production and as long as the end result is baskets full of tomatoes, who cares.

Tomatoes are a popular fruit and they always will be. In recent years there has been an insurgence of early and late blight and crops have been devastated. Part of this is getting the right tomato and the other part is good plant care.

The high tunnel greenhouse up top is an example of how growers have taken climate change out of the equation. There are giant greenhouses around the world that grow millions of tons of tomatoes internationally and the products are most often blemish free. The tomatoes that used to be described as "tasting like cardboard" now have very good taste as well as being capable of holding up to transport to distant markets. Hybridization has come a long way and will continue to improve world wide.

The middle picture is a row of Romas grown by a friend down the road from here. The year of this planting he lined out a row alongside his house in an attempt to better deal with temperature and water fluctuations. The theory provided a good crop of toomatoes which he always dehyrdated and then froze for year round use.

The picture of tomato seeds is of a tomato named Amsterdam. They were hybridized by a company interested in growing a grape type tomato that had good flavor and high sugar content. They are plum shaped and grow quite tall when trained vertically. They have a very high brix level which is the food industry's sugar measurement. In adition to their positives for sweetness and high output, then seem to be able to fight off current fungal challenges.

On a day like today you might be tempted to plant some tomatoes or peppers and you can. But I'd suggest waiting a little longer. If you persist and end up with leggy plants, you can always dig a trench of sorts and lay the majoritiy of the "height" into the trench and then upright the last 6 inches of plant. It will produce a major root system and catch on real fast. Do what seems right and report back to me sometime after July. Can you smell and taste the tomatoes yet?

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where morning sun is pushing the thermometer to almost 60° already. Get out and get a little sunshine.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Remember please: We'll always help you grow your green thumb!

Inside The House

Sunday, March 11, 2012

A quiet morning here on the mountain, perhaps because of the time change when we spring ahead for an hour wishing at the same time that the early morning light we were growing to enjoy would spring with us. It doesn't happen that way. Almost 6 AM right now which was 5 AM just yesterday. The bright moonlight is fading and we'll have to be patient for a few days while sunrises catch up with the hour's change. By the end of March I am beginning my favorite time of year because the morning starts earlier and I can get so much done before lots of folks are kicking off the bed sheets.

18.0° here this morning and already two log trucks have gone by and the first trout fisherman has headed to Peacham Pond for brown trout. I suspect there may have been earlier fisherman than this truck but I made no notice in the dark. The wind is now at 3 mph and that will probably increase a little as the sun begins to rise and this next weather front comes in. There should be a good maple sap run today which is much needed after the spring we have had so far.

Gardeners have many pursuits besides gardening, especially in a state like Vermont where some killing frosts come in early September and winter snows do not always stop until spring is really under way. In the four previous years we have been at our "no longer new" nursery location, one year we had snow on Mother's Day/May 9th and a couple-three years back we had 18" of snow on April 28th. Those things happen.

So with the unpredictability of weather, gardeners spend their time doing different chores. On February 28th my friend Michelle closed on her first ever house, a 1915 Craftsman style house that needs some help but will be a beauty when finished. I said I would help with the rough part of the clean up and I have already gotten myself in trouble because I am liking what I am doing so much I haven't tended to my own chores here at the flower farm. Michelle knows I need some redirection and last night she told me to go home and stay there but I can't seem to get out of the history involved in the old house.

We stripped the carpets that had covered very nice hardwood floors for over 40 years, maybe longer, and then tackled the wallpaper in the dining room. The entire house was wallpapered as was common in older days. The trouble with wallpaper is it usually was not one layer but many and in this situation, the paper was apparently stripped back to the lath and horsehair plaster about 50 years ago as there are 5 layers to be removed.

Wall paper removal is like building good soil. It takes a lot of time but when you're finished there's a reward involved that brings on smiles. Yesterday I got the dining room down close to "mostly stripped" while Michelle was away at her day job and the electrician she had hired worked to bring the kitchen and bathrooms into compliance with some ground fault protected outlets. The wallpapers were interesting and the quality back then was really exceptional. I think the last layer probably went on 15 years ago as the owner was getting along and wall color was probably less of a concern.

Right now Michelle is researching the best way to patch the old plaster as some has worn around the archway into the living room and around a couple windows, and under another. You Tube makes research a bunch easier and what looks easy really is not all that hard except that there are supplies and tools to purchase for most homeowners and there's a need to build a little confidence which is not something that comes with a price tag.

There are many, many things which this house will require to return it to vintage form. It reminds me of a couple years back when I was asked to speak about daylilies at an area historical society. Our discussion set the membership upon a look-see into what flowers had been originally planted around the building and this stimulated thoughts of of a different type of restoration. This house will be a lot of fun and despite Michelle's scolding to go home, I know I'll sneak back and help some more. Kinda like planting time at the nursery when people show every spring to volunteer to help with spring planting because they have to get their hands into the soil and get the feel of plants. You probably know that feeling too!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the first two loads of logs just went by heading for Jay, Maine. I should hear the trucks stop--right about now--for the drivers to remove the tire chains. 6:24 AM. Have a nice day!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always available to help you grow your green thumb!

Thoughts of Spring

Monday, May 5, 2012

A surprise this morning after days of rain, wind and snow. The temperature was close to zero for some time and then as the sun rose and the winds came up, stopped, started again, stopped, the temps bounced up and down around zero degrees as last night's snow drifted powder-like from tree branches everywhere. March in Vermont is not like many other places in America and here it's still a long time before the weather warms and we see flowers. In contrast, the southern east coast is seeing apple and cherry blossoms and wildflowers, none of which are even thinking of breaking dormancy here.

Down around South Carolina and Georgia there are reports of trilliums coming into bloom. I love trilliums and always have. As a kid growing up in Woodstock the only one we regularly saw was Trillium erectum and it wasn't until many years later that I even knew that Stinking Benjamins had a real name. It was even later in life that one of Gail's friends told be she knew them as Nosebleeds. Regardless of the name, and there are many, many other common names, they are still a great wild flower.

Every August I pluck firm seed pods and crush them between my fingers and then with one finger, I make a hole and push the whole, broken pod full of seeds into the ground and cover. A couple years later the germination is obvious and four to six years after that there is the start of a nice colony complete with small flowers. The next picture shows some 3-4 year old seedlings I dug to line out and also pot up for future sales. You will notice a horizontal rhizome-like root at the bottom of each stem. As the plants mature past age 7-8 years, you can dig these in the spring and slice them in half to increase production. They root well and are quicker to produce nice flowers than by starting seed.

These pictures show the 3-4 year old seedlings, split out of a clump, in a clump and then leafing out in one of our gardens.









There are three native growing trilliums in Vermont although many of the 52 varieties found in North America will grow here. In New England there is a fourth native only found in Maine. In order below here are grandiflorum, erectum and undulatum. Each has it's own requirements but they will grow any place in New England. The yellow luteum at the start of this page is likewise a non native but it too will do well here.








So as winter snows turn to spring rains, give some thought to greater use of wild flowers in and around your property. Trilliums are fun to grow and still bring a lot of "What is that's?"


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the snow in the driveways tells me that I need to plow before Gail gets back home at 1. Use care on the roads and give thought to your gardens. Drop us a line with questions and we'll try to make your gardening in 2012 more successful. We are always glad to help you grow your green thumb!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm