Vol. 12, No.6
November/December 2008
University of Illinois Extension, Pike County Horticulture Newsletter
Pike County
1301 E. Washington St.
Pittsfield, IL 62363
Phone: (217) 285-5543
Fax: (217) 285-5735
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate
in any program we offer, please contact University of
Illinois Extension, Pike County at 217-285-5543.
Articles in This Issue:
Upcoming Events ................................................. 1
Leaves, Leaves, Everywhere ................................ 2
How Do Insects Survive Winter? ........................ 2
Plan for a Spring of Color Now .......................... 3
Burning Wood ..................................................... 4
Make Bird Feeding Safe for Birds ...................... 4
Keep Jack Frost from Nipping at Your Plants .... 5
Icky Insect Invaders............................................. 6
Wow’em With Christmas Tree Facts .................. 7
Yule Logs ............................................................. 9
U of I Ext, Pike Co Holiday Office Hours .......... 10
American Chestnuts ............................................ 10
The Master Gardener’s Plot ................................ 11
Catch the Wave of Ornamental Grasses
February 24 at 1:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 20
For all-season interest in the landscape, you can’t beat
ornamental grasses. Available in a wide range of
shapes, colors, and sizes, there is a grass for almost
every garden. Get re-introduced to old favorites and
discover what’s new at the garden center.
Registration Details
Each session is $5. Handout materials will be in color.
Advance registration is needed one week before the
program you attend. If you would like a CD of the
program, add an addition $2.
For More Information or to register, contact the
Pike County Extension Office at 217-285-5543
Other Upcoming Seasonal
Horticulture Telenets:
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Winter Horticulture Telenet Series
Cool Season Vegetable Gardening
January 27 at 1:00 P.M.
Registration Deadline: Friday, January 23, 2009
Vegetable gardening is not just for summer!
Many crops need the cooler temperatures of late
winter into early spring. Learn how to extend your
growing season and your supply of fresh veggies.
Spring Flowering Shrubs for the Home
Landscape - February 10 at 1:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 6
Would you like something besides forsythia and lilacs
for your spring landscape? Expand your flowering
shrub palette with many different types of springblooming shrubs.
Spring
Warm Season Vegetable
Gardening; Buy Local, Eat
Healthy; Building a Basic
Water Garden
Summer
Turfgrass Diseases; Don’t Blame the Plant;
Landscaping on the Wild Side
Fall
Tree Maintenance; Poisonous Plants; Bonsai
Watch upcoming newsletters for more details!!
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Leaves, Leaves – Everywhere
As the 'ole saying goes, "What goes up, must come
down" – and leaves are no exception. With the advent
of the cooler autumn temperatures, many trees begin
to display a magnificent display of color. However,
even the prettiest colored leaves will eventually fall to
the ground, although some trees, such as the oaks, will
wait until late winter for leaf drop to occur. But leaf
disposal should not present a serious problem for the
homeowner because there are a variety of uses for
them.
How many leaves might a typical homeowner have to
rake this fall? Well an ordinary, mature tree may have
as many as a quarter of a million leaves on its
branches. So, if you live on a one-half acre lot and
have 10 mature trees…..well, try not to think about it!
Leaves make an excellent mulch beneath trees, shrubs
and other landscape plantings. As compared to fresh
green grass clippings, tree leaves that drop in the fall
are relatively dry and can be used as mulch with little
or no odor problems. Leaves collected in the fall with
a lawn mower bagger will contain some grass
clippings. This mixture of leaves and grass can also be
used as a mulch without odor problems.
Leaves are also an excellent
source material for compost. The
microorganisms found on leaves are
sufficient to start the composting
process. When placed in a compost pile
in the presence of adequate moisture, leaves will
decompose into an excellent organic soil amendment
that can be used as a soil conditioner.
According to research studies, leaves from different
tree species will decompose at different rates, but the
product is the same. Leathery leaves such as oak
leaves contain more lignin and other woody
substances and therefore take longer to decompose
than fine-textured leaves. Leaf decomposition can be
accelerated by increasing the surface area by mowing
the leaves while they are being collected or shredding
them after collection.
Since grass clippings contain
more nitrogen than the leaves,
they will help to increase the rate
of decomposition. Additional
nitrogen will also speed the rate of
composting.
2
Dry leaves will require moisture for composting. In
early autumn, leaves will have a moisture content of
30-40%. Late season leaves will have less than 20%
moisture. Leaf composting proceeds best with 40-60%
moisture. It is a good idea to use a garden hose to wet
leaves that are to be composted. Since fresh grass
clippings contain 60-70% moisture, they can be mixed
with leaves to provide moisture. If the compost pile
begins to smell, it is an indication that it is too wet.
Oxygen is needed for aerobic decomposition to occur.
If the oxygen supply is too low, anaerobic
decomposition will occur and the compost pile will
begin to smell. This problem can be corrected by
turning the pile to add more air.
As leaves decay, they produce heat. The heat of an
active compost pile will peak at 140 – 150 degrees
Fahrenheit (F). When the temperature of the compost
pile begins to decrease it is time to turn the pile.
Ideally, the turning process should be repeated three
to four times to get finished compost. Once the leaves
turn into leaf compost, it be used as a soil conditioner
to improve the tilth and fertility level of soils in the
yard and garden.
How Do Insects Survive Winter?
During the winter months, we often get many
questions from homeowners and gardeners hoping
that extremes in weather will reduce the number of
their most hated insect foes. However, such hope is
often unwarranted due to the insect's ability to adapt
to many different weather-related challenges.
In order to survive winter, insects push the pause
button, actually the diapause button.
The definition of diapause (and coincidently also the
definition of an evening spent watching TV) is "an
inactive state of arrested development." The shorter
daylight lengths of fall trigger insects to enter
diapause. During diapause an insect's metabolic rate
drops to one-tenth or less, so it can use stored body fat
to survive winter. Also, many insects produce
alcohols for antifreeze. Their bodies can supercool
(reach temperatures below freezing) without forming
cell-damaging ice.
Insects spend the winter in various life stages: egg,
nymph, larvae, pupae, or adult. Many overwinter as
eggs. Aphid eggs can be found in the bud scales of
woody plants. Bagworms hang out as eggs inside this
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
3
year's bags. Tent caterpillars spend the winter as egg
masses on branches.
with pointed petals that open wide. 'Stresa' is golden
yellow and red.
Many insects, such as mourning cloak
butterflies and bean leaf beetles, spend
the winter as adults in protected areas such
as under loose tree bark and in fallen
leaves. Native ladybugs overwinter in herds under
fallen tree bark or firewood. Asian multicolored lady
beetles look for a warm spot in our homes to wait for
spring.
Tulipa greigii has lovely green leaves with maroon
markings at 6-20 inches tall. The most popular is the
brilliant red 'Red Riding Hood'.
Other insects overwinter in the larval or immature
stage. Turf feeding grubs overwinter deep in the soil
as beetle larvae. European corn borers survive as full
grown larvae. Others, such as cecropia moths and
swallowtail butterflies, overwinter as pupae in
cocoons or chrysalis.
In order for insects to continue to the next life stage,
diapause has to be terminated. The "play button" is
generally warm temperatures. However, it would be a
deadly mistake for an insect to "wake up" too soon.
Therefore, most insects do not come out of diapause
unless a long period of cold precedes the warm
temperatures.
Insects are certainly adaptive, but winter conditions
can affect their survival. Cold temperatures,
fluctuations in temperatures, how long cold
temperatures continue, how protected the
overwintering location is, and if any snow cover is
available all affect an insect's survival.
Plan for a Spring of Color Now
Tired of hearing about the bad economy or trying to
figure out which candidate will really do what he says
he is going to do? Perhaps you need to take a break
and do a little spring time planning and planting in
your garden with bulbs.
To maintain 4 to 6 weeks of color from tulips in the
landscape next spring select several cultivated
varieties (cultivars) with various flowering times.
Here are a few to consider for a spring
full of color:
Very early types - late March to
early April
Water lily tulips are 4-12 inches tall
Emperor tulips are12-15 inches tall. 'Red Emperor' is
a fiery red.
Early tulips - mid April to early May
Single early are fragrant, but you will have to bend
over to reach the 10 – 18 inch tall plants. 'Couleur
Cardinal' is a dark cardinal red.
Double early tulips resemble a peony at 10-12 inches
tall. 'All Gold' is a deep golden yellow.
Tulipa praestans is 8-12 inches tall with multiple
flowers per stem. 'Fusilier' is orange scarlet.
Mid season - late April to mid May
Triumphs have sturdy stems at 18-24 inches tall in
many colors including bicolors.
Darwin hybrids have large flowers on 24 inches tall
plants. Flowers come in shades of mostly red.
Tulipa tarda has star-like yellow flowers with white
edges at a mere 4-6 inches tall.
Late - mid to late May
Darwin tulips are very popular large flowers on 24-30
inches tall plants. They come in all colors and are
sturdy, resisting damage from wind and rain.
Cottage tulips have egg-shaped mostly pastel colored
flowers on 22-30 inches tall plants.
Double late tulips are peony flowered on 8-24 inches
tall, very sturdy stems. 'Angelique' is a lovely pink.
Rembrandt tulips have streaked petals on 2 feet tall
plants.
Lily flowered have slender urn-shaped buds with long,
curving petals that turn outward at the tips. The
flowers are long lasting and come in varied colors.
Parrot tulips have large fringed, ruffled petals in
vibrant colors.
With some tulips, successive flower shows fail to rival
the first season's bloom. Public gardens often treat
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
tulips as annuals and replace them every year.
Reportedly the longer lived types include single early,
species types, Darwin, Lily flowered, Fosterana and
Gregii cultivars. For long-lived tulips look for ones
labeled "good for naturalizing".
Tulips and all the spring flowering bulbs such as
crocus, daffodils and grape hyacinths should be
planted in October. For best growth plant tulips 8
inches deep in masses in sunny areas with welldrained soil. Dry soil in summer will help tulip bulbs
to live longer.
Tulips can be planted in ground covers such as
English ivy or vinca. Plant tulips near perennials such
as daylilies, hostas, asters, peonies, and fall anemones.
To keep rabbits at bay, plant tulips surrounded by
daffodils, grape hyacinths, or lily-of-the-valley. Since
tulips rise and shine early in the season they can be
planted in the back of a flower border.
For more information:
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/bulbs/
Burning Wood
With increased energy prices, more
and more people are showing interest
in burning wood. Many people are
particular when it comes to the
types of wood they want to burn in their
fireplaces. Typically, oak, hickory and ash are sought.
Each species has its own burning qualities, but on a
weight basis, all species of wood generate the same
amount of heat. What makes species like oak and
hickory more desirable?
The answer lies in the density, or weight per unit of
volume. A cubic foot of oak weighs considerably
more than the same volume of soft maple. More
maple would have to be cut and used to get the same
amount of heat as a lesser volume of hickory or oak.
There are several hardwoods, such as osage orange
and black locust, that have higher densities, and
therefore higher heat values per cord. These woods,
however, are harder to split, harder to start burning
and—especially in the case of osage orange—tend to
pop or spark.
How much wood is supposed to be in a cord? A
standard cord contains 128 cubic feet of wood, but
actually is closer to 80 to 90 cubic feet, due to the
4
space between pieces. A facecord and rick are
sometimes used interchangeably with cord, but many
times these are smaller than a cord.
A standard-sized pickup with wood randomly thrown
in to the top of the bed will equal about one-third of a
cord. If the wood is neatly stacked, the amount of
wood will be closer to one-half of a cord.
When storing wood, keep the pile covered, off of the
ground and not in direct contact with buildings.
Firewood should be seasoned for six to nine months
prior to burning to remove moisture that sacrifices
energy and produces smoke.
For more information on firewood, visit the following
website:
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/forestry/timber_harvest/
firewood.html.
Make Bird Feeding Safe for the Birds
For many gardeners their interest shifts in the winter
from plants to birds. I switch from fussing over the
container plants all summer to fussing over the bird
feeders all winter. I guess I'm determined to be a part
of the landscape no matter what the weather. I need to
check on the legality of the compost pile as a final
resting place.
The first step to encouraging birds and other wildlife
into our yards is to have a diverse landscape. There
should be areas of trees, shrubs, ground covers, lawn
and flowers. Evergreen trees provide important winter
shelter and seed. Many attractive plants provide food
for wildlife. In designing a landscape keep in mind
birds need shelter, water and a fine place to raise the
kids.
Commercial birdseed can be used to supplement
natural foods in the landscape. Bird feeding can bring
us great enjoyment, but if it is not
done properly it can become a
dangerous activity for the birds.
Since many birds congregate at feeders,
feeders can be a source of disease. Spoiled
food and contaminated water and
surfaces can be sources of infection from
bacteria and virus. Sick birds may die
directly from disease or may become more susceptible
to the effects of harsh weather or poor nutrition. We
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
can recognize sick birds by their unkempt feathers, or
they may appear less alert, feed less and are often
reluctant to fly away when approached.
5
Winter Preparations - Ways to Keep Jack
Frost From Nipping at Your Plants.
Here are a few tips to keep bird-feeding fun for all.
Keep feeders clean. Clean and disinfect feeders at
least once or twice a month. Use a bristle brush to
clean the feeder than immerse it for two or three
minutes in a 10 percent solution of household bleach.
Illinois winters can be exciting with sledding,
tobogganing, skiing and doing doughnuts with the car
in parking lots. Okay, maybe we
shouldn't say the latter, but they
are still fun, as long as it is in a
parking lot and not on the road.
Allow the feeder to air dry before refilling.
Every few days, use a shovel and broom to remove
seed hulls, uneaten seed and droppings from the
ground.
It's also a time that while you're
snug inside, interesting things
can be happening to the plants
outside and not always a "good" interesting.
Use several feeders to avoid over crowding, plus you
will attract a greater variety of birds with different
kinds of feeders and seed.
Illinois winters are as predictable as our
summers. And spring. And fall. In other words, the
only thing predictable is that they are unpredictable.
This winter could be one of the mildest on records, or
one of the worse.
Use only fresh seed. Do not use any seed that smells
or looks moldy.
Every day, rinse birdbaths and replace the water.
Periodically scrub the bath with a detergent and rinse
thoroughly before refilling. Once every two weeks,
scrub bath with detergent, rinse, then let it stand with
a 10 percent bleach solution for two or three minutes.
Make sure birds do not try to use the bath with bleach
solution. Pour bleach out and allow bath to air dry,
then rinse it well and air-dry again before refilling.
To protect yourself, wear gloves and wash your hands
after cleaning feeders and birdbaths.
Place the bird feeder where cats cannot hide and
pounce. Although birds like some cover nearby, keep
several feet of open area around feeders and baths. Do
you know what cats call a bird feeder? Smorgasbord.
So better yet, do not let cats roam outdoors. In some
areas it is illegal. Despite popular opinion, putting a
bell on a cat does not protect wildlife. Cats will
usually wait silently for an opportunity to pounce.
Plus wild animals do not necessarily associate the
ringing of a bell with danger. Even a well-fed tabby
will kill wildlife. The urge to hunt remains strong
even in domesticated cats. Few birds or small
mammals will survive a cat attack even if they get
away before becoming lunch. Infection from the cat's
teeth or claws or the stress of capture usually results in
death.
If you plan on feeding the birds, do it responsibly to
protect bird safety.
Since we can't change the weather, we can do our best
to make sure the plants survive.
First, plants in containers probably won't do well
during the winter, though some might. It's better to
either move the containers into a warmer location, or
take the plants out of the pots and put them in the
ground. The sooner this is done, the better.
Some plants may survive the cold, but not all the
frozen water around their roots. Even if the frozen
water doesn't cause initial problems with root
breakage, it might cause root rotting as the roots
receive no oxygen even in the middle of winter.
Moving ceramic containers and pots inside during the
winter also prevents them from cracking and
shattering, and saves the expense of buying new ones
next year.
The sun can cause some problems with plants as well,
and the effects, of course, vary from plant to plant.
Dehydration is one of the biggest cold problems,
especially with evergreens. The sun shines on the
needles or leaves of pines, yews, hollies and
boxwoods, and causes the leaves to start losing
moisture, just as it happens during the summer.
However, since the ground is frozen, the roots can't
absorb any more water. Or worse, there isn't any more
to absorb if snowfall and/or winter rains are
practically non-existent.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Which is always the reason to make sure the ground is
moist before it freezes. If that means turning on the
sprinkler at Thanksgiving, so be it. While they won't
express their thanks verbally, the plants really will
thank you.
Watering is the main way to avoid winter drying, but
you can apply anti-desiccant products such as WiltPruf, which are waxy substances that create a barrier
to prevent water from transpiring from the leaf. Make
sure to read and follow all the label directions.
Misapplication can literally kill the plant, sort of like
putting a plastic bag over your head.
Don't forget mulching. This insulates the soil and
prevents some water from evaporating. While the
summer rates are four to six inches, you can add a
couple more inches for the winter. Just make sure to
remove some of it by next spring.
Protect young thin-barked trees against frost cracks by
wrapping the trunks with sisal-kraft paper or strips of
burlap, tying a six-inch board upright on the southsouthwest side of the trunk, wrapping young trees
with tree wrap, or applying a coat of whitewash, the
latter being the most unattractive and least effective.
Frost cracks may reopen each year, providing entry
for wood decay fungi and insects. Trees that are often
subject to frost crack when growing in exposed
locations include apple, ash, beech, elm, horse
chestnut, linden, maple, oak, poplar, sycamore, tulip
tree, walnut and willow.
Boxwood, junipers, yews and other multiple-stemmed
evergreens that tend to spread, split apart and break
under a load of ice or snow can be protected by tying
the branches together this fall with strong cord, but
leave a slight bit of slack to prevent the plants from
snapping off.
The best way to protect from rabbits is to wrap the
tree and shrub trunk or trunks with chicken wire, at
least two feet higher than the typical snowfall, and
leave at least an inch gap between the wire and the
trunk.
Deer are more difficult, and I've come to
the conclusion that it might be better to
nip some branches off an evergreen at
Christmas or a few fruit trees and pile
them up near the edges of the woods for the deer to
eat.
6
Icky Insect Invaders
There's nothing as exciting as getting all the fixings
ready for the Thanksgiving dinner with thoughts of all
the aromas filling the air as the turkey and trimmings
are cooked.
And then, right when you're reaching for the spices,
stuffing, flour or biscuit mixes, you discover the
cupboards crawling with all sorts of little pests. Of
course, if you have bad eye sight, or have been tipping
your elbow a little too much while watching the
football games, you may not even notice them.
Kitchen insects seems to become more noticeable
during the late fall or early winter months, though
their presence can be high throughout the year. Maybe
it's the cooler weather or the fact that the house is
usually closed up for the winter that makes us notice
them a little more.
Cockroaches, of course, are the most widely known,
but generally least seen. Roaches tend to be more
nocturnal and scurry at the sound of approaching
footsteps. It's only when we deep clean, move a
refrigerator or reach behind a box in the cupboard, and
disturb them that we notice them.
Less likely to run away are the pantry pests, a broad
group of bugs that include beetle and weevil grubs
and moth larva. Seldom do we find the beetles in the
kitchen and even more rarely the moths. That's not to
say that they aren't there, because they can be,
especially when you open up that spice container and
shake out a few.
Most of the pantry pests prefer to feed on grain
products and spices, though they are fond of
chocolate, dog food (probably with grain fillers), dried
flowers and Thanksgiving decorations such as Indian
corn. What they won't go after is usually easier to
figure out than what they will - they don't like highsugar content and pure salt.
Cake mixes are fair game. So are the ever popular
Ramen noodles with their flavor packets. Spices in
metal containers are more commonly infested than
glass containers, but the insect usually starts out in the
container before you even bring it home.
Cardboard, paper and plastic are no match for the
insects. They'll chew right through the sides of one
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
package into the other. Thick plastic containers often
prevent them from spreading.
The first thing to realize is that these insects don't
pose any safety problem. Sure, they can be classified
scientifically as "icky" but they are a high source of
protein and few calories. Most are white and when
you accidentally bake them in a cake, biscuit, mashed
potato or sauce, no one usually notices.
Of course, if they do, just say "Well, my, my. Isn't that
weird? Who do you think will win the football game?
More cranberries anyone?" That should do the trick.
Then, when everyone is shopping for holiday
presents, do some good thorough cleaning.
Go through all your mixes. Throw out the ones that
are insect infested. If you question whether something
is in there or not, put the box in the freezer for 24
hours. That should be enough to kill any insects there.
Some people even store some of their cake and biscuit
mixes in the freezer, bringing them out a couple of
hours to warm before using.
Once a year, remove everything from the cupboards
and wipe the cupboards down with hot sudsy water.
Rinse with some bleach water, and then give a final
rinsing.
Your grandmother probably used shelf paper in the
kitchen, but it can hide some of the bugs. Get rid of it.
Consider storing mixes in plastic containers to prevent
cross contamination.
Keep Fido's food tightly sealed, and if in the kitchen,
away from other products.
Don't keep spices and herbs around for more than a
year. That same storage time should apply to most
grain products.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/bugreview/pantrypests.
html
7
Wow’em With Christmas Tree Facts
As people are hustling and bustling through
the holiday season, probably few take a
moment to marvel over the history and life
of a Christmas tree. The Christmas Trees
and More website offer these intriguing
factoids. Be sure to keep these handy
for small talk at your next party.
The following are some Christmas tree facts that you
can use at any holiday gathering to impress all your
friends and family members. Memorize them; don't
write them down on an index card.
Oregon grows the most Christmas trees and has the
most acreage planted for trees. Roughly 6.5 million
trees will be cut this year for sale and shipping.
Pennsylvania has the most Christmas tree farms with
roughly 2200.
There are over 500 Christmas tree growers in Illinois.
Growing Christmas trees provides a habitat for
wildlife.
More than 98% of all Christmas trees come from
farms. Gone are the days when trees were cut from
forests.
Years ago, pines were the top sellers, with the Scots or
Scotch pine, depending on how technical you want to
be, being the top seller followed by the white pine.
These days, firs are jumping ahead. Maybe "jumping"
is putting it mildly; leaping might be more exact.
Fraser and Balsam firs are the top sellers, with Canaan
fir coming in third. Many Midwest Growers are
finding that Canaan firs do better during the summer,
losing fewer needles and maintaining the density that
consumers are now demanding.
Christmas trees grow on marginal land that generally
isn't conducive to other crops.
The average Christmas tree grows for 10 year or less.
From day one, it's subjected to all sorts of weather
extremes from droughts to floods to ice and snow
storms. On top of that, deer find many of the
evergreen particularly tasty, but mainly those that
appear to be ready for sale.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Early Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a feast in honor
of Saturn, the goddess of agriculture, by decorating
their homes with evergreen boughs.
The first recorded Christmas tree was in Latvia in
1510. A tree was decorated with artificial roses of
some material that probably was not plastic; men
danced around it, and then the tree was set on fire.
The first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared
in Germany in 1531. Early German laws restricted
trees to roughly 8 shoe lengths, or 4 feet.
Those same Germans decorated their trees with
apples, a holdover to this day. Apples were a holdover
from church celebrations of Adam and Eve day,
which was normally held on December 24 in early
church calendars.
Feather trees were created in Germany in the 1800s
and used as a substitute for small trees. A tree form
was covered with goose, turkey and chicken feathers,
and then painted green. As weird as it sounds, those
feather trees now command high prices at antique
stores.
Germany was also the source of the original tinsel.
Back in the 1600s, they shredded real silver, which
unfortunately tarnished and was difficult to polish.
According to records, the first Christmas trees were
sold in New York City in 1851 with trees harvested
from forested lands.
The first Christmas tree farm didn't appear until 1901
in New Jersey, a year after an outcry from
conservationists that harvesting practices were
devastating local forests. The conservationists
recommended that homeowners create "snow trees" -a deciduous branch covered with white cotton balls.
While it didn't catch on with homeowners, it did catch
on with first grade teachers.
Franklin Pierce is credited with bringing the first
Christmas tree into the White House in 1853.
Real Christmas trees are 100% bio-degradable and
contain no lead paint or PVCs.
That leads us to the fact that most artificial trees are
made in China.
8
Artificial trees will last for six years in your home, but
for centuries in a landfill.
According to the National Christmas Tree Growers
Association, there are more than 500,000 acres of
Christmas trees planted. Each acre provides enough
oxygen for 18 people. On average 2,000 Christmas
trees are planted per acre.
The first artificial tree was manufactured in the 1930s
by the Addis Brush Company, which also
manufactured toilet brushes throughout much of the
year. Insert your own witticism here at a cocktail
party.
Like just about everything else, you can buy your tree
on-line. Of course, you don't get to bundle up the kids
and roam around the lots looking at all the trees. It's
not as fun, but it may be warmer and a little saner.
Between 1887-1933 a fishing
schooner called the "Christmas
Ship" would tie up at the Clark
Street Bridge and sell spruce trees
from Michigan to Chicagoans.
In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lit until
December 22 because of a national 30-day period of
mourning following the assassination of President
Kennedy.
In 1979, the National Christmas Tree was not lit
except for the top ornament. This was done in honor
of the American hostages in Iran.
Recycled live trees have been used to make sand and
soil erosion barriers, placed in ponds for fish shelter
and make great winter protection for perennial
flowers.
59 percent of real Christmas trees harvested are
recycled in community programs.
Most Christmas trees are cut weeks before they get to
a retail outlet. To get a really fresh tree, check out a
local tree farm.
Christmas trees take 7-10 years of managing insects
and diseases, shearing and weathering all kinds of
environmental problems to produce a saleable tree.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including
Hawaii and Alaska.
32.4 million families purchased a real tree in 1998.
You should never burn your Christmas tree in the
fireplace. It can contribute to creosote buildup.
Other types of trees such as cherry and hawthorns
were used as Christmas trees in the past.
Thomas Edison's assistant, Edward Johnson, came up
with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in
1882. Oh, if Ed could see them now!
Christmas tree lights were first mass produced in
1890.
What Christmas tree decoration did the government
ban at one time? Tinsel originally contained lead, now
it's made of plastic.
Keep your tree well watered. In the first week, a tree
in your home will consume as much as a quart of
water per day.
Real Christmas trees are involved in less than onetenth of one percent of residential fires and only when
ignited by some external ignition sources.
So, please use caution when you get your Christmas
tree home and decorated. Be sure it gets plenty of
water and turn the Christmas tree lights off when you
go to bed or leave the house. Make Christmas a safe
and happy season for you and your family. And be
sure to recycle your tree after the season is over.
9
Yule Logs
What in the world makes a log a
'Yule log'? I can remember
campfires where we joked about
great big logs being 'the Yule log' and you hear about
it during the holidays, but what is it? I've also seen
log-shaped cakes called Yule logs, confusing the topic
even more.
The Yule log has its origins in pagan rituals in Europe
surrounding the Winter Solstice. In ancient times,
winter was truly a scary time. It was dark and cold,
and sickness often took many lives. Rituals
surrounding the Winter Solstice, the longest night of
the year, usually incorporated light and the promise of
Spring and new life. The Yule log is no exception.
The Yule log tradition varied in different regions of
Europe, but all in some way linked the Yule log to
health, fruitfulness and productivity of the home. It
was part of the larger celebration of Yule, a pagan
celebration of the Winter Solstice.
Yule begins the night before the Winter Solstice, and
continues for thirteen nights, concluding on about
January 6th, which Christians now refer to as 'twelfth
night'. Pagans believed the spirit world became very
close to our world on the night of the Winter Solstice
and through the celebration of Yule. Lights and
feasting were part of the merriment.
A ritual that became part of the Yule celebration was
the burning of the Yule log, which was traditionally
oak. The ancient pagan traditions linked this to their
veneration of trees, and sacrifices to honor the gods.
Ideally, a log was chosen that was large enough to
burn for the entire Yule celebration. Legends say a
Yule log may not be purchased, it must be found on
your property, or your neighbor's.
The lighting of the Yule log symbolized the coming of
more sunlight after the Solstice, and the firelight was
believed to scare away evil or mischievous spirits that
may roam the earth during Yule. Ashes and fragments
of the Yule log that remain in the home through the
year are thought to bring luck and protection. Some
traditions require a fragment of the previous year's
Yule log be used to light the current year's log. Other
variations on the Yule log tradition attach decorations
and good wishes for luck in the New Year to the log.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
More modern versions of the Yule log are typically
decorated with greenery and other holiday decorations
and adorned with candles, so the log is not actually
burned.
The French came up with a far more delicious version
of the Yule log sometime in the late 1700's or early
1800's, when pastry chefs created a cake version of
the Yule log. They called it 'Bûche de Noël' and it
became a wildly popular Christmas dessert. Many
bakeries offer this tasty cake at holiday time.
Some communities have revived the true Yule log
tradition. The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois has
a traditional 'Hunt for the Yule Log' each January.
While it doesn't coincide with the traditional Yule
celebration on the calendar, the modern revival does
try to reflect the ancient traditions. Participants hunt
for the Yule log on the Arboretum grounds, and after
it's found the celebration begins, with caroling, food
and drink, and of course, a bonfire containing the
Yule log. The hunt is on January 6, 2008. For more
information check out www.mortonarb.org.
The ancient pagans may have had some wild beliefs
about spirits and sacrifices to the gods, but ultimately
their wish was not any different from any modern
person. They simply wanted protection and luck in the
New Year. I can't think of anyone that wouldn't want
that today. Their feasts and lights brightened dark
winter days and reminded them that Spring would
come. We do the same thing today, lighting our
houses and celebrating with family and friends during
holiday time.
10
American Chestnuts
We've all heard the familiar holiday
tune that begins "Chestnuts roasting
on an open fire....", but here in
central Illinois chestnuts are not a familiar
site among native stands of trees.
The American Chestnut, Castanea dentata, was at one
point one of the most important forest trees in the
eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. It was also one
of the largest, growing up to 150 feet tall with a trunk
up to ten feet in diameter.
The species name 'dentata' is Latin for 'toothed' and is
given to the American Chestnut in reference to its
leaves. The leaves are up to eight inches long and four
inches wide with a distinctly notched edge, much like
a saw's teeth.
The wood from American Chestnut trees was at one
time a prized commodity. It has a straight grain, is
easy to split, and is very strong wood. The wood is
highly resistant to decay, making it a good choice to
use in outdoor projects.
As the song tells us, the nuts were also valued as food,
and especially are good roasted. Some cooks also use
them raw, or ground into flour. As American
Chestnuts have become harder to find, some stores
more often sell the commonly available Sweet
Chestnut.
For Thanksgiving the office will be closed
November 27 & 28.
The nuts were also an important source of food for
both wildlife and livestock on farms. The stately trees
were anchors in the landscape and a source of
valuable shelter for birds and other wildlife as well.
But in the early 1900's the beautiful American
Chestnut began to disappear from forests in the U.S.
and Canada. The culprit is a familiar theme heard in
other tragic demises of plant species: foreign disease.
Asian Chestnut trees (Castanea crenata or C.
mollissima) were imported into the U.S. in the late
1800's as specialty trees. Unfortunately there was a
hitchhiker on these trees, the fungus that causes
chestnut blight, Cryphonectria parasitica.
For the Christmas and New Year holidays, the
office will close at 4:30 p.m. on December 23
and will re-open at 8:00 a.m. on January 5,
2009.
The fungus infects a tree through wounds such as
cracks in the bark, and the blight disease develops
which eventually girdles and kills the tree. Scientists
hypothesize there may be an insect or some other
carrier that helps the fungus spread from tree to tree,
I don't have room to burn a Yule log, but I'll be
lighting some candles and hoping for a peaceful New
Year this holiday season. I hope peace finds all of you
this holiday season as well.
Pike County Extension Office
Holiday Hours:
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
or it may just spread through airborne spores or be
washed from tree to tree by rain.
The Asian chestnut species have co-evolved some
resistance or tolerance to this fungus, but the
American chestnut had no exposure to the fungus
prior to its arrival in the U.S. in the early 1900's, so it
was completely vulnerable. The first trees to show
symptoms were noted in the Bronx zoo in 1904.
Experts estimate that 3.5 to 4 billion trees were lost to
chestnut blight across the eastern U.S. and Canada in
less than 50 years. By some unknown mechanism,
rare stands of American chestnut that had been
planted outside of their native range were spared the
death sentence of chestnut blight.
Today, researchers are very interested in these rare
stands of trees. They are the only surviving relics that
can provide clues on the American chestnut's role in
forest ecosystems, and perhaps provide insight as to
why these stands did not succumb to chestnut blight.
Other research efforts involve breeding the American
chestnut to be resistant to chestnut blight. The method
scientists use is called backcross breeding. Asian
cousins of the American chestnut have resistance to
chestnut blight, so they are the source of genes
conferring resistance to chestnut blight in the breeding
program.
An American chestnut is crossed with its blight
resistant Asian cousin, and the offspring are
genetically 50% American chestnut, 50% Asian
chestnut. Among those offspring, individuals that
most closely resemble the American chestnut and
have blight resistance are crossed back to the
American chestnut.
These offspring are 75% American chestnut, and 25%
Asian chestnut. The process continues as before,
selecting offspring that resemble the American
chestnut but also have blight resistance. Breeders have
carried this project out to the point of having blight
resistant trees with 94% American chestnut genetics.
Though breeders appear to have had promising
results, there are more challenges remaining. There
are laws in many regions governing public lands
where American chestnuts used to flourish that
prohibit interference by man. Planting trees in itself
violates these laws. Besides what the law says, many
consider the new blight-resistant trees to be hybrids
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artificially created by man, so they should not be
planted on public land because they are not 'natural'.
While public sentiment may prevent the blight
resistant trees from populating the forests, there may
be opportunities in the future for landowners to
acquire these blight resistant trees for the landscape.
Asian chestnut species are still available, and may be
a good choice for landscapes with room for these
large trees.
“My long two-pointed ladder’s sticking though a tree
“Toward heaven still,
“And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill
“Beside it, and there may be two or three
“Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough.
“But I am done with apple-pIcking now.”
Robert Frost
“After Apple-Picking”
The Master Gardener’s Plot
by Duane Lanchester
Six days ago I heard a really funny joke -- of course I
can’t remember it. But sixty years ago I was listening
to “Fibber McGee and Molly” and I can remember
Molly said Fibber rarely predicted things correctly.
He predicted Wendell Wilkie would beat Franklin
Roosevelt. He predicted World War II would be over
in a month.... But she said he did get one thing right.
“Last night when we were getting into bed he said,
‘Tomorrow will be another day.’ And sure enough it
was.”
(Maybe that seemed funnier when you could hear the
studio audience laugh.)
A year ago I made two predictions. A late spring
freeze had killed the fruit in my mini-orchard. I
thought since there were no apples, a generation of
apple worms would fail to develop; so I predicted that
this spring there would be very few moths to lay the
eggs to become the worms in this year’s apple crop.
Twelve months later I’m proud to say I was correct.
My apples were almost worm free.
(Oh, my second prediction? For similar reasons I
predicted that there would be some brown rot on my
peaches. Perhaps it was the wet weather, but almost
all my peaches developed that fungus. Well, one for
two....)
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Not only were my apples worm-free, they were also
abundant. I picked apples and ate them. I picked
apples and filled all the drawers in the refrigerator. I
picked apples and, lacking apple barrels in which to
store them, put them in boxes in the basement. I
picked apples and made apple sauce. I picked apples
and tried to give them away. (That wasn’t easy
because everybody else had an abundance of apples.)
There are still enough apples left rotting on the
ground in my mini-orchard to make sufficient apple
butter for several dozen Lions’ Club pancake
breakfasts.
Non-cooks: just in case there is an abundance of
apples again next year, let me urge you to make apple
sauce. It’s simple. The hardest part is to get rid of the
skins and cores. Some people just cut their apples in
quarters, cook them until they are soft, and then run
them through a food mill. A food mill is a strange
device which looks as if it should be part of something
else. A rotating blade pushes the cooked apples
against holes in a plate so the sauce goes through the
holes and the skins don’t. When done properly this is
a great time saver. When I try, my food mill gets
clogged with peels. So I prefer to peel the apples
before I cook them. I can peel them by hand, but my
wife bought me a modern version of an 18th century
apple peeler. It wastes some apple - and I feel kind of
silly - but shaves off the skin, removes the core, and
turns the apple into a strip that looks like a Slinky Toy
which I cut into pieces and cook. (I put a little water
in the bottom of the pan so the bottom layer won’t
burn. After a couple minutes the cooked apples will
give up enough of their own juice that if you stir them
occasionally they will boil rather than burn.) I stir the
well cooked apples with a wire whisk until they reach
the consistence I like. If they are too watery, I leave
them on the stove a little longer.
If you want your applesauce smooth, put it in a food
processor or push it though a sieve. Apple sauce is
amazingly good without any additional ingredients,
but I like a little cinnamon - and maybe some nutmeg
- and I usually add a dash of ground cloves. How
much? Just try it and taste. If you used too much
spice, cook up some more apples. Sugar? Never!
(Well, maybe for summer apples.) Tell your friends
and family “I made it myself.” They will be amazed!
This is the time of year when I pretentiously quote
Ezra Pound, “Winter is icumen in; Lhude sing
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goddamn.” I’m not that negative, but I am ready to
stop gardening for a season.
To quote Frost:
“For I have had too much
“Of apple-picking: I am over tired
“Of the great harvest I myself desired.”
So my advice is: Take a nap.
Do something you yourself will enjoy during the
holidays. Read Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely
True Diary of a Part-time Indian. (I’m about to start
Trollope’s Vanity Fair; people say it’s funny and I
think people will be so impressed when I tell them.)
Relax! I predict the apple trees will still be there in
February.
The articles in this newsletter have been
provided for you by University of Illinois
Extension, Pike County office.
The following have contributed articles to this
newsletter:
David Robson
Sandra Mason
Jananne Finck
Jennifer Schultz Nelson
Robert W. Frazee, Extension Educator
Horticulture Educator
Horticulture Educator
Nutrition and Wellness Educator
Horticulture Unit Educator
Natural Resources Management
Compiled and Designed by Cheryl Westfall, Secretary
If you have any questions or comments regarding the issue of
“Down To Earth”, please contact University of Illinois Extension,
Pike County, at (217) 285-5543.
Jennifer Mowen, County Extension Director
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
United States Department of Agriculture • Local Extension
Councils Cooperating University of Illinois Extension provides
equal opportunities in programs and employment.