Hello My Dear Gardening Friends,

Can you believe this beautiful weather? I have spent the past two days working in the garden, not planting but bringing in the things that I want to save for next year. I had stated over and over that I wasn’t going to do so this fall, but how can I just let these entire lovely canna’s, calla’s, begonias, etc. freeze to death? Apart from that I am cheap.

My daughter had another birthday on the 14th! The day that she was born in Montreal, we had to dig the car out of four feet of snow to get to the hospital. Two days later it went up to 80F and stayed like that for two weeks, and then it snowed until the next June. As this was only my second winter in Canada, I began to think that my mother was correct and that I would be living in an igloo before the end of the winter. Of course she was not correct and I would not live anywhere else. Canada is indeed my home she gave me my wonderful Jack. We spent Saturday at the ecology garden learning how to identify trees, I felt him all around us. The pity was I did not have a really good joke to tell him!

I want to thank everyone who has written and has asked about the flower fairies. Seemingly you love them as much as I do! Yes I will continue to write about them in these little articles for you.

It is apple time - many of our apples are ripening now. In fact my Macs have almost finished falling from the tree. Crops harvested under Libra should be reaped during the old phase of the moon, the waning third or fourth quarter, thus counteracting the moist influence of the Scales, and any bruised spots would heal. When fruit was picked during the new moon it is contended the bruises will rot. Autumn is good time for planting new fruit trees, or shrubs. They will grow a little underground during any mild winter that we may enjoy (global warming has some benefits) and be well established by spring. It is even better to wait to harvest apples “for keeping” until the waning moon under Scorpio October 23rd to November 22nd. Old-timers believed that Scorpio’s watery and fruitful sign; fixed the sugar and juice in winter apples, then they were carefully stored away in nettle hay (sounds very “itchy”)! Of course this is all old wives lore – but fun to read about.

October is cider-making time, and I must think about my next batch, apple butter is also on the agenda. I found this recipe in an old cookbook, and thought that you might enjoy it:

This is generally made in large quantities. Boil down a kettle of cider to two-thirds the original quantity. Pare core and slice juicy apples. Put as many into the cider as it will cover. These need not be all the same variety. Try Delicious for sweetness, winesaps and even a few crab apples, whatever you can find. Boil slowly using a flat stick or wooden spoon, when the apples are tender to breaking point, take them out with a perforated skimmer, draining well against the sides of the pan. Place in a large crock, put in a second supply of apples and stew them until they are soft. Do this as often as the cider holds up. Take the pan from the fire, and pour into the first batch, cover and let stand about 12 hours. Return to the pan and boil down stirring all the time, until it is the consistency of soft soap, and brown in color. You may add spices if you wish - cinnamon is good. Keep in stone jars, in a cool place, and this “butter” should last all winter.

I have been asked about Poison Ivy:

Contact with any part of poison ivy can cause an intensely itching rash of small blisters caused by merely brushing against the plant.

Look for:-

1) Three oval but pointed leaflets, as long as 10cm each, the edges may be ruffly, scalloped or straight.
2) Plant may appear as a ground cover, shrub or woody vines.
3) Leaves are reddish when they first appear in the early spring, then turn green
4) Autumn colour is intense and very beautiful, blazing red, orange and yellow
5) It has clusters of small, greenish white flowers
6) Small, white berries are formed in the summer and stay on most of the winter
7) The dark brown vines may look hairy as they have long aerial roots

Life cycle is forever just about – it is a perennial so it will grow in full sun and shade, in wet or dry soil, even gravel on my property! It is visible year round. Right now the berries are glistening in the sun, as the leaves have dropped. Do not pick them, they are viable all year. The seeds are dispersed by the wild life eating the seed containing berries, and then deposited everywhere. It can climb many feet up trees and over bushes, it does have several other names, cow-itch, mercury etc. This plant is a real thug in the garden!

How can we get rid of it? Try hand pulling, with or without the help of a dandelion tool. This makes quick work of the plants in early spring. Be sure to drop them into a garbage bag. You can try slipping your hands inside plastic bags and then turn the bag inside out so that the vine is in the bag. Protective clothing is a must, rubber boots and plastic gloves, long sleeves - be very careful how you remove the clothing and be sure to wash any clothes in hot water and separate from the rest of the laundry.

Poison ivy is really tough to get rid of once it is settled in, because its roots spread far and wide. Repeated applications of herbicides are necessary. Be sure to choose a product that is labelled specifically for poison ivy and follow the directions to the letter. Although Peterborough is a pesticide free zone, you may use toxic herbicides for poison ivy. When they find a really good use for poison ivy I am going to be very rich!!!!!!!!

Question:
I have had a phone call asking me if people can be infected by the viruses that plants develop from time to time?

Answer:
Viruses are usually hosts specific, living and reproducing themselves only when they are in certain kinds of animal or plant cells, but not both. Many viruses are spread from plant to plant by insect pests, but the insects are not harmed. We can spread tobacco virus by touching infected cigarettes and then handling healthy plants, whilst we are not harmed by the same virus. Having said that, a few years ago I picked wet bush beans in the garden and developed ringworm from the spores on the plant/beans – took ages to clear up and I had the scar for a long time.

Question:
I made hypertufa dish garden containers (equal parts of Portland cement, peat moss and vermiculite) how can I prevent the cracks from forming in the finished containers? I made nine of them and when I planted and watered them from the bottom, all of them developed hairline cracks near the top. Can it be possible that the peat and vermiculite expanded when I wet it? All of the containers were reinforced with small chicken wire.

Answer:
It is quite possible that the water did expand the peat moss and vermiculite. I would suggest that you coat the containers with several applications of clear urathene, which should render them waterproof and will not harm the plants. I have two columns; one yellow the other red. They are four feet long. In the three years that I have had the plants, they have been in constant bloom. Now the stems are losing their leaves, especially up near the pot. No new leaves are coming out and I have both plants in their usual location and I haven’t nor can see any bugs, or pests.

I purchased more bulbs this week and am waiting for another beautiful Indian Summer day to plant them. My beloved grandsons have put most of the summer “stuff” away. I walked down to the lake and surprise surprise the hose is still in the lake, all the lake water has been turned off – we will have to get it out before the ice comes. I have most of my fish inside – I was surprised to find that the larger ones had bite marks in their sides; I think that the raccoons had been trying to have a fish feast.

My grandmother dried flowers of lavender, loving them for the nice fragrance they gave to her clothes, and linens. The leaves and seeds went into sachets. Lavender is easily grown from seeds, cuttings or roots divisions. Give it a light side dressing of wood ashes in the spring. Do mark down in your diary to plant lavender next spring.

Well my dears that is all for this week – I hope that you are having wonderful gardening, remember you do have to get it all done at once – we have a lot of good weather to come yet.

So hats, gloves, sunscreen and bug repellent. Good gardening to us all!

Lovingly,
Beryl