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ARTICLE: The dirt on dirt (aka soil) – Part 1 – Soil Texture
Posted on by ridgetownrick
Let me preface this piece with the caveat that I am not trained as a soil scientist (though I did take a couple of university soils courses many years ago). Nevertheless, as a gardener I am always working with soil, and I’ve been curious enough to do some more research over the years.
In any good book on growing plants, you are likely to come across terms such as clay-loam, soil alkalinity, humus, topsoil, etc. Understanding what some of these terms actually mean, and how they relate to your gardening, will help you to be more successful at growing your native (or other) plants.
First off, some definitions.
Texture: refers to the size of the soil particles (this is not the clumps of soil you may see in your garden, but the elemental particles that make them up). Soil scientists have determined that there are 3 basic soil particle sizes – Sand, Silt and Clay – and these combine to form 12 soil types that you would typically see in gardens (more on these later).
Sand is made up of ground minerals and rocks that are rounded or irregular in shape. These range in size from 2 mm down to 0.05 mm in diameter and feel gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Keeping an Edge
But all plastic edging is not created equal. The small (usually 3-4”) lightweight stuff is, in my opinion, a waste of money as it will work out of the soil with frost heave in only a couple of years. Go for the heavy duty stuff – 5” or more – and you should be good for years to come.
PLANT OF THE MONTH:Bue-stemmed Goldenrod
In my mind, fall is the season of Asters and Goldenrods.
As I looked through my previous Plant of the Month posts, I realized I’ve covered a couple of Asters (Smooth and New England) but I have not yet talked about any Goldenrods.
Of the 140 species of Goldenrods worldwide, 115 are native to Canada and the US.
Where I live in southern Ontario, we have at least 25 species that are indigenous to the region and I have at least 16 of them planted in my garden.
There’s a goldenrod for every garden. Some, like Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) or Grass-leaved Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia) are probably too aggressive for most garden spaces, but we have many well-behaved goldenrods to choose from. And there is a goldenrod for shade, sun, dry, moist and everything in between so you can add some to your garden, too.
This month I’ve picked one of my long-time favourite goldenrods – Solidago caesia, or Blue-stemmed Goldenrod. It is easy to grow, loves part shade, and produces beautiful sprays of yellow all fall.
NATIVE PLANT NURSERY: Haliburton Micromeadows
Posted on by ridgetownrick
Owner/Proprietor: Baz Conlin
Address: 1274 Lochlin Rd, Lochlin ON
Facebook Page: @haliburton_micromeadows
Instagram: @haliburton_micromeadows
I have been following Baz Conlin on Facebook for quite a while. I was super impressed with the native gardens he created around his parents’ house in Peterborough, ON. He packed a ton of plants into a postage stamp sized yard on a busy street corner. It was pretty apparent that Baz knew what he was doing with native plants.
So I was really pleased when I saw that he opened his own native plant nursery, called Haliburton Micromeadows, this spring in Lochlin, ON. (I had to look up where Lochlin was – for those familiar with the Haliburton region, it’s just east of Minden, and about halfway between Bracebridge and Bancroft.)
Baz says “The name ‘Micromeadows’ refers to the size of most meadows in Haliburton, which are usually small openings in the forest that provide habitat for pollinators and create diversity in an otherwise homogeneous see of dark forest. These small, diverse meadows can easily be installed in the home landscape to create islands of diversity. We are also a small nursery and our space is limiited!”
BOOK REVIEW
Book Review 13: Attracting Native Pollinators – Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies
Posted on by ridgetownrick
By The Xerces Society (E. Mader, M. Shepherd, M. Vaughan, S.H. Black and G. LeBuhn)
- Publisher: Storey Publishing, 2011
- Paperback: 384 pages
- ISBN-10: 1603426957
- Dimensions: 7” X 10”
- Price: $30.37 (Amazon.ca – currently a 20% discount); $16.49 (Amazon.com – currently a 45% discount)
Consider me suitably impressed. I received this book as a Christmas present last year, glanced through it and thought it looked interesting, but then shelved it till I had time to read it. Ten months later I pulled it off the shelf – not because I was that keen to read it, but because I wanted to do this book review and this seemed as good a book as any to review. Well, was I surprised. This is not only a good read, but it is chock full of fantastic information and loads of great photographs.
The book is divided into four sections: Pollinators and Pollination; Taking Action; Bees of North America; and Creating Pollinator Friendly Landscapes. I will hit what I think are the highlights (and a couple of drawbacks) of the book.
Other Random Stuff
Check out the November\ Jigsaw Puzzle!
