Vol. 13, No.1
January/February 2009
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
2009 Gardener’s Palette ...................................... 1
Winter Woes and Icy Trees .................................. 2
Remember When Winter Was Fun? ................... 2
Resolve to Garden in 2009 ................................... 3
Fooling Mother Nature ....................................... 4
Propagating Grapes ............................................. 4
New Container Gardening Website ..................... 5
Miniature Roses Make Nice Valentine Gifts....... 5
Just What is Dormant Oil? .................................. 6
Warm up with Hot Peppers ................................. 7
Move Over Iceberg............................................... 8
Diagnosing Houseplant Problems ....................... 8
The Master Gardener’s Plot ................................ 9
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Winter Horticulture Telenet Series
Spring Flowering Shrubs for the Home
Landscape - February 10 at 1:00 p.m.
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
Upcoming Seasonal
Horticulture Telenets:
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!!
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.
2009 Gardener’s Palette
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.
Gardener’s Go Green is the theme for this
year’s annual gardening conference.
Attend this fun workshop to sweep away
the winter ‘blues’. Expect to be inspired.
Fourteen interesting sessions will be
presented by Horticulture educators and speakers from
across the Midwest. Seven sessions feature
environmentally-friendly ‘green’ topics. The fee
March 7, 2009 - 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Paul Heath Center, JWCC, 1301 S. 48th St., Quincy
$40/person
Deadline for advance registration: Friday, Feb. 27.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
includes your choice of workshops, lunch and beverage,
coffee and morning snacks, a folder containing written
materials from all classes, and vendor fair with the latest
lawn and garden products.
Sessions include choices of: Midas Touch, Herbal
Beginnings, Plant Propagation, WaterSmart Gardening,
Hot Herbal Trends, Ferns in the Garden, Water Gardens
and Fountains, A Year in the Rose Garden, Ornamental
Grasses, Black Gold-Urban Composting, Late-Summer
and Fall-Blooming Perennials, Local Flavors-Preparing
Spring Greens, Plant Propagation II, Organic Lawn
Care-Are You Brave Enough
Contact the Adams/Brown Extension Unit at 217-2238380 or go on-line to register at:
www.extension.uiuc.edu/adams
Winter Woes and Icy Trees
At first glance trees encased in ice
have a magical quality. The magic
quickly vaporizes once damage
becomes evident.
About the only thing to do once trees are covered in
ice is to hope for warmer weather. Some branches
may be propped up with boards until the ice melts. If
branches are not broken, most trees will slowly regain
their original shape.
Many of our upright evergreens such as arborvitae
have multiple trunks that are susceptible to breakage
from ice. Damage can be prevented or reduced by
tying the trunks together with soft material such as
pantyhose. If necessary, support can be secured while
arborvitaes are covered in ice. Be sure to remove the
ties in spring.
Trees with broken branches require evaluation. A
certified arborist may be needed. Any trees with
broken branches that may be a danger to people and
property should be pruned as soon as possible by a
professional. Damaged branches should be removed
by cutting back to a side branch or the trunk. Do not
top trees or leave branch stubs.
Unfortunately ice damage often rips branches from
trees leaving ragged wounds. First decide if the tree is
worth saving. If a tree is grossly disfigured or has lost
several major branches it may be best to remove the
tree.
2
If the tree is determined to be salvageable, the best
course of action is to remove the branch completely
than remove the jagged edges from the wound with a
sharp knife. Try not to remove much of healthy, tight
bark. Tree paints for wounds are not needed or
recommended.
Check out this website for more information on
repairing ice damaged trees.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/icedamage/
Pruning trees on a regular cycle will reduce a tree's
susceptibility to damage by removing deadwood and
structurally weak branches. A good tree framework
starts with proper pruning and training early in a tree's
life.
Remember When Winter Was Fun?
Ice, sleet, and freezing rain. Slip sliding our winters
away. Do you remember the fun?
On the first day of winter my true love
said to me, "Isn't it nice I don't have to
mow the lawn."
On the second day of winter my true love said to me,
"I love the change of seasons". I could never live
anywhere without it."
On the third day of winter my true love said to me,
"The air feels so crisp. Let's go for a hike in the
woods."
On the fourth day of winter my true love
said to me, "Oh look it's snowing. Let's
make snow angels."
On the fifth day of winter my true love
said to me, "Hey the pond is frozen. Let's go ice
skating."
On the sixth day of winter my true love said to me,
"How long can I wear the same long johns?"
On the seventh day of winter my true love said to me,
"Hey my nose is frozen. Do you think it can break
off?"
On the eighth day of winter my true love said to me,
"Oh drat it's snowing again. How many days are there
‘til spring?"
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
On the ninth day of winter my true love said to me,
"I'm so tired of skating down the sidewalk. Do you
think we can move the mailbox closer?"
On the tenth day of winter my true love said to me, "I
think I see frozen angels stuck in the snow."
On the eleventh day of winter my true love said to me,
"Is there a reason for the change of season? Do you
think Dad's extra bedroom in Florida is available?"
On the twelfth day of winter my true love said to me,
"Will I ever get to mow the lawn again?"
Resolve to Garden in 2009
It's January and I find myself
contemplating the germination
potential of the poppy seeds atop
my bagel. As much as I tire of
winter, I love gardening in Illinois.
Every spring is a required "do over."
Gardening is the opportunity to reinvent our yards, but
also ourselves for a healthier and happier 2009.
For many of us January 1 marks our renewed
commitment to exercise more, eat more nutritious
food and have a healthier lifestyle. What if I told you
there is an activity that can provide strength and
cardio training and increase flexibility. Plus the
activity can relieve stress and provide nutritious food.
You get all that and you don't have to buy an
expensive towel rack to do it. No surprise this wonder
activity is gardening. Still not convinced? Consider
these reasons for adding a gardening season in 2009.
Gardening provides the regular physical exercise
listed in the prevention of heart disease, obesity, adultonset diabetes and high blood pressure. It also
provides the strength training important in the
prevention of osteoporosis. Put a gallon sprinkling can
full of water in each hand and you got your 8 pound
dumbbells. Finish off with lifting a wheelbarrow and
you got your bicep workout. If watering cans and
wheelbarrows are too much, no problem; gardening
can fit any lifestyle. With any physical activity it's
best to learn proper techniques. Check with your
doctor for any specific concerns.
Gardening provides fresh local fruits and vegetables
and the encouragement to eat them. Once you are
blessed with a bushel basket of tomatoes you will
3
have new found interest in recipes requiring tomatoes.
A mother once commented that her son would never
eat peas on his dinner plate, but he would eat them
right out of the garden. A strawberry picked from your
garden tastes sweeter.
In addition when you grow your own food you have
control over what pesticides or fertilizers are used.
Fresh herbs are also a bonus from the garden. Herbs
enhance the flavor of foods thereby reducing the use
of salt and sugar. Most herbs are very easy to grow
and herb growing is one of the best ways to jump into
gardening.
Gardening requires you to use your head and your
creativity. The time spent planning the garden and
researching different plants is a great brain workout.
Gardening gives us a chance to be creative. Let your
personality shine through in your garden.
Gardening connects you with people. It's like walking
down the street with a new puppy. Everybody talks to
a gardener. It's also a great activity to do with kids.
Give them a section of the garden all their own. Some
of the best lessons can be learned in the garden such
as delayed gratification and don't leave a rake on the
ground with the head pointing upwards.
Gardening connects you with nature and the rhythm of
life. Gardening requires you to live in garden time.
We all could use a lesson in slowing down. Studies
have revealed just viewing a garden or nature has
healthy psychological benefits.
Gardening can be especially beneficial for people with
special needs or those recovering from illness.
Gardening promotes an increased range of motion,
develops eye-hand coordination, improves motor
skills and increases self esteem. Over the past few
years special tools and garden designs to make
gardens more accessible have become readily
available.
Have fun gardening. Relax and remember your garden
doesn't have to be picture perfect. Resolve to have a
garden this year. Whether it's a window box or an acre
garden, you will be healthier for it. Never
underestimate the multiple powers of gardening. I
read somewhere that "gardening is a labor of love. A
treadmill is just labor."
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Fooling Mother Nature
A clap of lighting and a stern matronly voice proclaims,
"It's not nice to fool Mother Nature." According to the
TV commercial from several years ago Mother Nature
doesn't like it when her butter is replaced with
margarine. With our recent winter weather I'm thinking
she is ticked off about something beyond margarine. As
gardeners we are always trying to fool Mother Nature.
We want tulips in January or tomatoes in December. It
may not be nice to fool her, but it sure is fun when it
works.
We often modify the growing
environment of our plants. We add sulfur
to the soil for acid loving plants and lime
to the soil for alkaline plants. We add
organic matter to the soil in the form of
compost to improve drainage and add
nutrients. We build boggy areas and ponds for the water
loving plants. We build raised beds and berms for the
plants needing "dry feet."
We suffer from zonal envy so we grow plants beyond
their winter hardiness zone. We use winter mulches of
leaves or rose cones. Some gardeners go to extremes
with elaborate contraptions of chicken wire and
carpeting to protect tender plants. We adore pushing the
envelope of what we can grow.
Gardeners also love to extend the season. A quick
indication of our obsession is the spontaneous
blossoming of bed sheets billowing across landscapes
with the first fall or late spring freeze warning. Some
gardeners have graduated from bed sheets to floating
row covers. This is spun polyester of polypropylene
material that transmits light, air, and water. Row covers
can keep plants 5-10° warmer than outside air
temperatures. They are also used to slow water
evaporation, prevent wind and rain damage and as an
insect barrier to keep out nasties such as Japanese
beetles.
Cold frames are more advanced forms of this season
extending obsession. Cold frames can be used year
around, but they do take management and forethought.
In spring use them to start seedlings, grow early crops or
harden off seedlings. In summer cold frames can be used
as nursery beds for fall crops or perennials. In fall they
can extend summer crops and grow cool crops into
winter. In winter cold frames can be used to force bulbs,
store root vegetables or to propagate trees and shrubs.
Gardeners are also obsessed with having flowers out of
season. We manipulate light so poinsettia,
chrysanthemum and Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus will
4
have 13 hours of dark per 24 hours to bring them into
bloom. This time of year we can trim branches from
forsythia, redbud, crabapple or pussy willow to have
them bloom early indoors.
We force spring flowering bulbs into bloom by storing
them in the refrigerator for 12-13 weeks just so we can
see the first tulip of the year. Often perennial plant seeds
need a cold period before they will germinate. Enter the
gardener's Mother Nature fooler - the refrigerator.
Fooling Mother Nature? I'm not sure we ever really fool
the old gal. I think she just humors us for a while. Just
when we think we have it all worked out, she gives us
thunder in December or tornadoes in November. It's
enough to keep a gardener humble.
Propagating Grapes
If you want to start a grape vine, you should
know most grape vines in Illinois will root
from dormant cuttings. This method of
starting new vines is relatively easy to do.
Start by taking cuttings from a healthy vine
growing in full sunlight. Dormant cuttings are taken
from plants after leaves drop through early spring before
buds swell. Take the cuttings from one year old wood
which is the new growth from this past summer.
Each cutting should have three to five buds. To prevent
confusion in terms of which end to plant while taking
cuttings, cut the end closest to the trunk at a diagonal.
The other end or growing tip should be cut straight.
Store your cuttings in a well drained site by digging a
trench 12 to 18 inches deep. Fill the trench with three
inches of sand. Place the cuttings flat in the trench; cover
them with two more inches of sand. Now cover them
with soil and straw to protect them through the winter.
Plant the cuttings in early spring before growth starts
about one foot apart. Remember the diagonal end goes
into the ground first. Two to three buds should be in the
ground and one to two buds should be above the ground.
Now keep the cuttings watered throughout the year. You
can expect that at least half of the cuttings will not
survive. But for those that do they may be moved next
year to a permanent location. The location should be in
full sun with good drainage because grapes do not like
wet feet. Now you have a plant that will always remind
you of Grandpa. He would have been proud to know you
cared.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
New Container Gardening Website
Transcending the barriers of
time and space is one
attraction of container
gardening and University of
Illinois Extension has
launched a new website to
help create special gardens to
fit any situation. "Successful Container Gardens" The
website can be found at
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/containergardening/
In a world of limited time and space, container
gardens seem to make more and more sense.
Containers allow you to enjoy growing plants in
places that might be thought of as impossible or
unthinkable.
Poor soil or no places to put plants in the ground are
no longer excuses for not being able to enjoy the
simple pleasures of gardening and the popularity of
container gardening has "exploded." In Europe,
container gardening has become almost an art form as
gardens show up in window boxes, balconies, and
decorative pots filled with flowers, vegetables, and
herbs on the most modest of properties.
The new website discusses choosing a container,
selecting soil mixes, choosing and combining plants,
fertilizing, watering and grooming basics. It also
includes special containers including water gardens,
hanging baskets, and topiaries as well as creating
whimsical containers.
A special section, Blueprints for Building Containers,
shows plans for creating specific containers.
The website includes several videos to demonstrate
the various techniques and concepts.
With appropriate containers and proper handling,
anything that can be grown in the ground can be
grown in a container.
Several of the videos will be posted on the new U of I
Extension YouTube site (at
http://www.youtube.com/UIExtension)
5
Miniature Roses Make Nice Valentine's
Day Gifts
Roses share a colorful history with
people. They have been symbols of love,
beauty, war, states and nations. Roses were in
such high demand during the seventeenth century that
royalty considered roses or rose water as legal tender.
Roses were also an important symbol in meetings. If a
rose was hung from the ceiling at a meeting, all those
present were vowed to secrecy.
Garden cultivation of roses began some 5,000 years
ago, probably in China. Roses have been grown not
only for their beauty but for cosmetics, fragrances,
medicines and for making rosaries.
Roses have their own day of celebration – Valentine's
Day. Roses and chocolate tantalize all your senses.
Valentine's Day not only brings out bunches of long
stemmed red roses but also pots of miniature roses.
Miniature roses are indeed miniature, miniature
flowers, leaves, thorns and plants. Miniatures range in
height from 3 inches to 18 inches. Flowers are about
the size of a quarter. Most are continuous bloomers
and very adaptable in sunny gardens. Unfortunately
most have little or no fragrance due to their lineage
from a single dwarf China rose called “Rouletii.”
"Cinderella" and "Sweet Fairy" are among the more
popular ones that do have fragrance. Miniatures were
very popular with Chinese gardeners long before they
became popular in the United States just after World
War II.
Miniature roses make nice gifts. They can be grown
indoors this winter than transplanted outdoors once
frost is unlikely. Most miniatures are very winter
hardy. Few miniatures are grafted. So even if the top
dies back or gets eaten by rabbits, the plants will send
up new stems. Miniature roses are excellent outdoors
in containers, borders, rock gardens, and other small
spaces. Plus your sweetie can remember you and your
thoughtfulness for years to come.
Once you get your mini home, make sure it is well
watered. If the soil is really dry, soak the pot for about
an hour in a dish of warm water. Tiny miniature roses
are often marketed in tiny miniature pots. They are
definitely going for the cute factor. For the rose it's
like us wearing shoes two sizes too small. It's best to
repot the roses into 4 or 6 inch pots with drain holes.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
These pots can then be set into a decorative pot.
Soilless mixes are good potting mixes since they
retain moisture well but also drain well.
Roses are sun loving plants so indoors they will need
a south or west window. Supplemental lighting will
keep them blooming longer. A combination of cool
white and warm white fluorescent bulbs about three
inches from the plant work well. Even a desk halogen
light will help. Light should be kept on 14-18 hours a
day.
Indoor temperature for roses is pretty much what we
like. They are best at low 70's during the day and low
to mid 60's at night. Roses do appreciate some extra
humidity indoors. They can be placed on shallow
dishes of wet pebbles.
Miniature roses should be kept
evenly moist, but not soggy. Just
feel the soil to test for dryness. If
the roses dry out too much, the
lifetime of existing flowers will
be reduced and any flower buds
may fail to open.
Spider mites can be a problem. The pot and soil can
be covered with a plastic bag and the plant given a
warm shower. Insecticidal soap is also effective
against any of the soft bodied insects.
For more info on roses:
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/roses
Just What is Dormant Oil?
During dreary winter days I envy a plant's ability to
go dormant. I've considered putting a sign on my
office door stating, "Dormant - do not disturb until
spring." In March the plants may still be dormant, but
gardeners aren't.
This time of year we see the recommendation to spray
dormant oil to control insects on everything from fruit
trees to lilacs. But is it just any oil sprayed when the
plants are dormant? Most commercial dormant oil
sprays are refined from petroleum oil. A few are made
from cottonseed oil. Unlike home remedies,
commercial spray oils have an emulsifier added to
allow the oil to mix with water. Many of the newer
commercial oils are more highly refined than past
6
dormant oil products. The new formulations are
labeled to also be used, usually at a reduced rate,
during the growing season. These are generally listed
as horticultural, ultrafine or summer oils. Read and
follow all label directions for proper timing and rates.
Oils kill exposed insects and mites by either
suffocating them (covering up breathing tubes) or by
directly penetrating the outside cuticle and destroying
internal cells. Spraying trees with dormant oil after
bud break and leaves have emerged will still control
the pests, but it may kill the young leaves or cause leaf
edges to turn black if the correct oil is not used at the
proper rate.
Dr. Phil Nixon and Dr. Raymond Cloyd in the U of I
Extension Home, Yard and Garden Pest Newsletter
outlined the benefits of making an application of
dormant oil. Advantages include: (1) a wide range of
activity against most species of mites and scales,
including some activity on eggs; (2) minimal
likelihood of insects' or mites' developing resistance;
(3) generally less harmful to beneficial insects and
mites than other pesticides (4) relatively safe to birds,
humans, and other mammals. Disadvantages of using
dormant oil are (1) potential plant damage if incorrect
oil is used or used at improper rate during the growing
season and (2) minimal residual activity to kill new
pest infestations.
Dormant oils are effective in controlling certain scales
that overwinter as nymphs or adults such as cottony
maple, euonymus, lecanium, and obscure scale.
However, dormant oils provide minimal control of
oystershell and pine needle scale because both these
scales overwinter as eggs. In addition, eggs are
generally stacked on top of each other, and the
dormant oil may not contact the bottom layer. As a
result, applications of summer oils after egg hatch are
generally required. Accurate identification of the scale
is important for proper control.
Honeylocust mite, European red mite, and spruce
spider mite are controlled with dormant oil sprays,
because they overwinter as exposed eggs on plants.
Dormant oil sprays do not kill two-spotted spider
mite, as they overwinter on the ground in leaf debris.
Summer oils are best used to control slow soft bodied
insects. They do little in controlling pests such as
white grubs, cabbageworms and apple maggots.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Dormant oil applications must be made when
temperatures stay above freezing for 24 hours. Be sure
to follow all label directions because oil sprays may
damage certain plants, including Amur maple,
Japanese maple, redbud, and sugar maple. In addition,
the foliage (needles) of Colorado blue spruce can be
discolored (change from blue to green) by dormant oil
applications.
In addition to oils other pesticides may require
dormant application. Peaches should be sprayed now
with lime sulfur if peach leaf curl has been a problem.
Peach leaf curl appears as a thickening, curling and
puckering of leaves. Fruits become swollen and
deformed. This is the only spray that will control this
disease. Lime sulfur may also be used on raspberries
to control anthracnose. Be sure to read and follow all
label directions.
Warm Up with Hot Peppers
Recently I declared how I enjoyed hot
peppers now more than ever. Upon that
statement, my ego balloon filled with
feelings of my daring lifestyle and
adventuresome attitude. Just as my balloon was about
to soar into uncharted territory, a co-worker
commented that actually since I was getting older my
taste buds were dying off and I could tolerate hotness
better. I was crushed. With her reasoning, my exploits
were more closely tied to bifocals than bravery.
Whether you are chronologically gifted, brave or
enlightened, peppers are easy to grow, attractive in the
garden and a tasty way to liven up your meals.
Peppers offer tremendous variety in shape, taste and
color.
Hotness or pungency of peppers is not gauged by the
quantity of sweat or intensity of screams they
produce, but in Scoville heat units. There are now
more accurate ways to measure the amount of
capsaicin, the main active ingredient in peppers, but
Scoville units are still popularly used. The really hot
part of a pepper is the white flesh inside. Hotness
varies with varieties and growing conditions.
In Scoville units bell peppers are rated 0, Anaheim
chili types are around 150 to 2500, cayenne and
jalapeño are 10,000 to 18,000, tabasco at 40,000 and
habaneros at 300,000 Scovilles. Here are just a few of
the more common groups of peppers.
7
Bell peppers are probably the most well
known pepper in the United States. The
fruits are large, blocky and like most
peppers start green then turn red as they
ripen. Most bells are sweet and not hot.
Green bell peppers are popular, but red
peppers are sweeter. If you grow green
peppers, just let some of them ripen to red and see
what I mean. However overall production will be less
with red peppers. Some other colors in bell peppers
include lilac, orange, yellow and creamy white.
The fruits of the Anaheim chili group taper to a point.
Most chilies are moderately hot except for the nonpungent paprika types. Paprika is the dried form of a
non-pungent chili and not a particular pepper. Ancho
chilies are a nice medium hot pepper stuffed for chiles
rellenos. Anchos are called poblanos when fresh and
anchos when dried.
Cayennes, a subgroup of Anaheims, are more slender
and irregularly shaped with wrinkled thin walls and
highly pungent. Cayennes are used in pepper sauces
and as a powdered spice.
The highly pungent fruits of the jalapeño group are
small, bullet shaped and smooth skinned often with a
network of corky lines on the skin.
One of the hottest peppers available is the habanero.
Habanero 'Red Savina' is reported to be the hottest at
100 to 300 times hotter than jalapeños. Habaneros are
small gnarly looking things that pack a punch. They
need a long hot season to produce a fiery crop.
Pepper plants are warmth lovers and will not tolerate
extended periods of temperatures below 50°F. Don't
even think about putting peppers in the garden until
the soil and air has warmed in about mid to late May.
Sweet peppers grow well at temperatures between 65
and 85°F, but hot peppers grow best at 75°F and
above. High temperatures above 90°F may cause
flower abortion in sweet peppers. However with hot
peppers warm temperatures will increase fruit set.
For best results start seedlings indoors about April 1
or start with transplants from garden centers. Be
careful when handling seeds and seedlings of hot
peppers. Use rubber gloves or wash hands thoroughly.
In case your daring spirit out does your tolerance,
relieve the fire by eating bananas, bread, pasta, yogurt
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
or potatoes but do not drink water. Water just moves
the fire around.
Move Over Iceberg
Iceberg lettuce is a lot like a red delicious apple. True
to its iceberg name it has a lot of crunch but not a lot
of flavor. Thankfully for our
gastronomical pleasure, salads have
drifted far beyond icebergs.
Arugula to radicchio all kinds of
leaves are appearing in salad mixes.
For growing most salad greens the trick is cool
weather. Most thrive when the average daily
temperature is between 60–70°F. At high
temperatures growth is stunted, the leaves may be
bitter and the unloved seedstalk forms quickly (called
bolting). Early spring or late summer plantings are
best.
Beyond iceberg few vegetables are as attractive, tasty
and easy to grow as lettuce. The diversity is amazing
with colors and shapes of leaves. Seed packets often
contain a mixture of varieties.
There are five distinct types of lettuce. Leaf (also
called loose leaf), Cos or romaine and butterhead are
the most popular to grow in the garden. Crisphead
varieties or iceberg types so commonly found in
grocery stores are adapted to northern conditions and
require the most garden care. Stem lettuce (also called
asparagus lettuce) forms an enlarged seedstalk that is
used mainly in stewed, creamed and Chinese dishes.
Leaf lettuce is by far the easiest to grow. Some of the
most popular varieties of leaf lettuce are the green
leaved 'Black Seeded Simpson' and 'Oakleaf' and the
red leaved 'Lollo Rosso,' 'Red Fire,' 'Ruby' and 'Red
Sails.'
Cos or Romaine lettuce forms an upright elongated
head and is an excellent addition to salads and
sandwiches. Popular varieties include 'Cimmaron'
with a unique, dark red leaf and 'Green Towers.'
The butterhead varieties are generally small loose
heading types that have tender soft leaves with a
delicate sweet flavor. Suggested varieties include
'Buttercrunch,' 'Nancy,' 'Summer Bibb,' 'Tom Thumb'
and 'Merveille des Quartre Saisons.'
8
Salad mixes often contain the red leaves of radicchio.
Their unique, tangy flavored leaves have been grown
in Italy for years. The heads are used in salads, as
mixed greens or may be grilled. Although there are
many colors and forms of radicchio, the tight heads of
wine red leaves with white midribs are most often
seen. Radicchio is not the easiest of the leafy crops to
grow due to its cool weather requirement.
Recommended varieties include 'Rubello,' 'Firebird,'
Giulio' and 'Caesar.'
Another favorite for salad mixes is arugula. As a spicy
member of the mustard family it is also known as
roquette, rocket salad and white pepper. Roquette was
the common name until trendy producers decided
arugula was a snappier name. It is commonly used in
salad mixes, soups or as a cooked green.
Unaccompanied the leaves have a biting peppery
flavor that is a bit too much for most of us, but add a
zest to otherwise bland foods.
As cool season vegetables most salad greens can be
planted anytime in the spring when the soil is dry
enough to rake the surface, usually after March 1 and
again in late summer as a fall crop. Whether you are a
novice or experienced gardener, you are sure to
appreciate all that growing your own salad greens has
to offer.
Check out UI Extension website
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/vegguide/ Also UI
publication Vegetable Gardening in the Midwest is a
great resource available online at
https://pubsplus.uiuc.edu/ or phone 1-800-345-6087.
Diagnosing Houseplant Problems
Is there a film on your philodendron? Does your fern
look fried? As the dull dreary days of winter droll on,
our houseplants can look as forlorn as a gardener after
the first fall frost. The dry air of our homes in winter
along with the lower light levels can send our
houseplants into a downhill spiral.
Some plants are more tolerant to adverse environments.
Philodendrons and pothos take all kinds of abuse before
they show symptoms of decline. Other plants such as
rosemary, ferns and gardenias are not as forgiving and
may not survive even one episode of extremes in
watering, temperature, and light. Do some homework to
discover proper care for your particular houseplants.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
The lower humidity of our homes in winter is also a
problem for plants. To raise the humidity around plants
use a humidifier, group plants together or use pebble
trays. Plants can be kept on a tray of wet pebbles or
sand. As the water evaporates, it will increase the
humidity around the plants. Misting plants does little to
increase humidity unless done continually throughout
the day. Lower light levels can also be a problem.
Supplemental lighting with fluorescent lights can help
especially if they are within 8 to 10 inches from the
plants. Even the addition of an incandescent light will
help plants to make it through the winter in better health.
With all due respect to Mr. Edison, fluorescent lights are
a better choice. Incandescent lights are an inefficient
light source with most of the energy given off as heat.
Leaves can be burned if placed too close to the light.
If your house is really warm during the winter, some
plants will suffer. Rosemary and Christmas cactus prefer
a cooler environment between 50 and 65 degrees F.
However others such as African violets may not bloom
at low air temperatures.
If your houseplants are looking like they are on their
way to the compost pile in the sky, you may have to play
detective to come up with the cause. Is your husband
emptying his coffee cup into the coleus? Are the kids
leaving the front door open too long? Here are a few
symptoms and the possible causes of unhappy
houseplants. To really confuse us, notice over-watering
and under-watering can show similar symptoms and a
variety of symptoms.
Leaves fall off quickly






extreme temperature changes
extreme changes in light
root loss after transplanting
over-watering
under-watering
exposure to your son's new hairdo
Gradual leaf drop









not enough light (common with weeping figs that
vacationed outdoors over the summer)
insufficient fertilizer
over-watering
under-watering
wilting of entire plant
exposure to cold
excess fertilizer
over-watering
under-watering
9

exposure to cold thoughts, cold hearts and cold
deeds
Spotted leaves







sunburn (distinct light tan spots)
cold water on leaves (especially fuzzy leafed
plants such as African violets)
leaves touching cold windows
bacterial or fungal disease (spots may have
concentric rings or brown border)
air pollution
over-watering
mite damage (looks like tiny yellow speckles)
Leaf tips turn brown








low humidity
soil pH not correct
air pollution
water quality (some plants such as spider plants
and dracaenas are sensitive to fluoride)
not enough fertilizer
too much fertilizer
over-watering
under-watering
Dark bumps on leaves or stems




scale insects
sticky spots on leaves and sometimes even on the
floor around the plant
aphids
scale insects
After perusing all that can go wrong with houseplants
you may be thinking silks are a better choice. Studies
have affirmed the calming effects real plants have on
us in our environment, indoors or outdoors. You can't
get that from an "artificial botanical."
Check out http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/houseplants
The Master Gardener’s Plot
by Duane Lanchester
Gardeners, take heart! The days are
getting longer; the traditionally coldest
day of the year is past; a month from
now you can scatter lettuce seed on top of the snow for
an early spring crop - and it might even grow!
Spring is sure enough coming, but what do we do in the
meantime? (Actually I would be content to sit by the
fire with a cup of tea and a good book. But here are
some things I ought to do.)
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
1. CLEAN UP FROM LAST SUMMER - My tools are
filthy - probably have crud from a couple seasons. I
could get the dirt off and sharpen them up. Our potting
shed is a mess; like the world in Genesis 1:2, it lacks
order or distinctiveness. All sorts of stuff in there but I
can’t find anything,
2. PLAN FOR NEXT SUMMER - I already have a
garden area where I can plant tomatoes, peppers,
potatoes, etc., because I didn’t grow any tomatoes,
peppers, potatoes, etc. there last summer. It is really,
really good to rotate your crops. I should look at some
garden catalogues and plan what to plant this spring; do I
want to start seeds or just get seedlings from nurseries?
3. WORK IN MY MINI-ORCHARD BEFORE THE
SAP RISES - I could easily spend ten full days pruning,
mulching, planting and just working on my orchard. (In
the middle ages an acre was not measured in feet but in
how much land one man could “work” in a day. By that
standard my orchard gets larger every year.) I should
also trim our ornamentals, but I can postpone that until
after they bloom.
That’s enough things to keep me either busy or feeling
guilty all though February and March.
10
I shared the recipe in this column last winter - and the
winter before. Remember? Well, here it is again. (So
try it already!)
1. One pound of lard (Do not try to substitute vegetable
oil.) and one cup of peanut butter melted together over
low heat.
2. Half a cup of flour, half a cup of cornmeal, and
one cup of sugar mixed together and added to lard
mixture.
3. Bread crumbs to absorb all the liquid. This might take
quite a lot; perhaps half a loaf. (You can substitute other
bread-like things: old doughnuts, left-over pancakes,
stale buns, etc.)
4. An apple or other fruit chopped in small pieces and
- if you really love those birdies - half a cup of pecans.
5. Pour it all into a 9X5 inch bread pan and
keep it in the refrigerator. When you need
a slice to put in your suet feed, just slice it
off the end. It doesn’t make neat slices like
butter, but it is easy to load into your feeder
because it is malleable - and greasy.
And for mid-winter enjoyment there are house plants
(My wife has a magnificent Christmas or Easter cactus
blooming here halfway between the two dates.) And
birds.
We have a crab apple tree outside our kitchen
window where birds sit and watch our birdfeeders and while we watch the birds. Half a
dozen or eight bright red male cardinals perched
in the lower limbs of that crab apple look like
something Mary Engelbreit might have drawn.
This winter we have fed only black-oil sunflower seeds.
I agree with “Southern Living Magazine” that Nyjer is
“worth the price” as a finch feeder, but I stored the finch
feeder in our potting shed....
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
recommends black-oil sunflower and cardinal mixes.
Cardinal mix is sunflower, safflower and peanuts. They
also suggest if you want to avoid the mess of sunflower
seed hulls, try sunflower hearts.
For the last three years we have supplemented seeds with
a faux-suet that is popular with woodpeckers as well as
the cardinals and some smaller birds. (Also some years,
blue jays and (sob) grackles.)
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
Martha Smith
Greg Stack
Ed Billingsley
Horticulture Educator
Horticulture Educator
Horticulture Unit Educator
Horticulture Educator
County Extension Director
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.