CROCUSES

A group of purple Crocus vernus, with one white specimen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A crocus is a well-loved perennial flower that grows that grows to be 3 to 6 inches tall with yellow, purple, lavender and white cup-shaped blooms. A member of the iris family, the crocus is a hardy plant that commonly blooms in the spring, with the exception of a few species of crocus that bloom in the fall.

The crocus plant has over 80 species, about 30 of which are raised commercially. The most commonly planted crocus is the Dutch Crocus, also known as the crocus vernus, which also has the largest bloom. Other common species of crocus are crocus chrysanthus, which is one of the first to bloom in late winter or early spring, crocus sieberi, which is also fairly short and blooms very early, and the crocus tommasinianus, another early bloomer that comes in various shades of purple.

Crocuses can be planted both indoors and outdoors, in either flower beds, borders or containers. Crocuses do well with full exposure to sun and can grow in poor to average soils if the soil is well drained.

When planting crocuses outdoors, the best time to plant bulbs is in the fall when the weather is cool. It is also advisable to plant them where there will be little to no disturbance throughout the winter and plant them away from small animals that might take them as food, such as squirrels, mice and rabbits. A protected, sunny flowerbed is preferable. Be sure to plant your crocus bulbs under half an inch of soil in shallow holes. Grass cuttings, leaves and straw make an excellent mulch and should be used while growing the plants. The bulbs should also be watered throughout the winter when you are in a snowless area. If there is snow in your area, then water the crocuses until the first snowfall arrives. Shoots should become noticeable when the snow cover melts or in the early spring. Bloom times are in the early spring to early fall.

When planting indoors, be sure to plant the bulbs immediately in small pots containing a layer of small stones or gravel on the bottom, followed by sterile potting soil within an inch and a half of the top. Make sure you plant the bulbs with the pointed end up, an inch apart then cover with the soil. The next step is to water the bulb thoroughly and allow the pot to drain. Place the pots in a cold dark place, about 45 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit, for six weeks and check once a week for roots growing and appearing through the drain holes. Once the roots establish themselves, it is time to move the bulbs to a sunny place at room temperature. In three weeks the crocus blooms should appear.

Whether you grow them indoors or outdoors, the crocus will make a lovely addition to your home and/or garden.

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Best Recipes: Pumpkin Pie Bars

Pumpkin Pie Bars with a Pecan Crust - Photo: Flickr

A great treat to make for Halloween parties and Thanksgiving get-togethers are Pumpkin Pie Bars. These scrumptious cookie bars taste like mini pumpkin pies, and best of all, they’re portable. A yummy way to celebrate the arrival of the fall season.

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

1 14 oz. can (1 ¼ cups) sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground allspice

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 cup of the crumb mixture.

Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom and halfway up sides of ungreased 2-quart rectangular baking dish.

In another large bowl, stir together pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. Pour into crust-lined baking dish.

Stir pecans into reserved crumb mixture. Sprinkle pecan mixture over pumpkin mixture.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Chill in refrigerator for up to 2 hours. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Author: Donna Monday

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Easy Fall Plant Propagation Techniques

Plant Propagation - Photo: Wikimedia

As a home gardener, fall should be a very special time for you. Fall is the best season of the year for plant propagation, especially for home gardeners who do not have the luxury of intermittent mist. The technique that I am going to describe here can be equally effective for evergreens as well as many deciduous plants.

The old rule of thumb was to start doing hardwood cuttings of evergreens after you have experienced at least two hard freezes. After two hard freezes, the plants are completely dormant. 

However, based on my experience it is beneficial to start doing your evergreen cuttings earlier than that. So instead of doing “by the book” hardwood cuttings, you’re actually working with semi-hardwood cuttings. The downside to starting your cuttings early is that they will have to be watered daily unless you experience rain showers. The upside is that they will start rooting sooner, and therefore are better rooted when you pull them out to transplant them.

To prepare an area in which to root cuttings you must first select a site. An area that is about 50% shaded will work great. Full sun will work, it just requires that you tend to the cuttings more often. Clear all grass or other vegetation from the area that you have selected. The size of the area is up to you. Realistically, you can fit about one cutting per square inch of bed area. You might need a little more area per cutting, it depends on how close you stick the cuttings in the sand.

Once you have an area cleared off all you have to do is build a wooden frame and lay it on the ground in the area that you cleared. Your frame is a simple as four 2 by 4’s or four 2 by 6’s nailed together at each corner. It will be open on the top and open on the bottom. Just lay it on the ground in the cleared area, and fill it with a coarse grade of sand.

This sand should be clean (no mud or weed seed), and much coarser than the sand used in a play box. Visit your local builder's supply center and view each sand pile they have. They should have different grades varying from very fine to very coarse. You don’t want either. You want something a little more coarse than their medium grade. But then again it’s not rocket science, so don’t get all worked up trying to find just the right grade. Actually, bagged swimming pool filter sand also works and should be available at discount home centers.

Once your wooden frame is on the ground and filled with sand, you’re ready to start sticking cuttings. Wet the sand the day before you start, that will make it possible for you to make a slit in the sand that won’t fill right in. In this propagation box, you can do all kinds of cuttings, but I would start with the evergreens first. Taxus, Junipers, and Arborvitae.

Make the cuttings about 4” long and remove the needles from the bottom two-thirds of the cuttings. Dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the sand about an inch or so.  Most garden centers sell rooting compounds.  Just tell them that you are rooting hardwood cuttings of evergreens.

When you make the Arborvitae cuttings you can actually remove large branches from an Arborvitae and just tear them apart and get hundreds of cuttings from one branch. When you tear them apart that leaves a small heel on the bottom of the cutting. Leave this heel on. It represents a wounded area, and the cutting will produce more roots because of this wound.

Once the weather gets colder and you have experienced at least one good hard freeze, the deciduous plants should be dormant and will have dropped their leaves, and you can now propagate them. Just make cuttings about 4” long, dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the bed of sand. Not everything will root this way, but a lot of things well, and it takes little effort to find out what will work and what won’t.

This is a short list of just some of the things that root fine this way. Taxus, Juniper, Arborvitae, Japanese Holly, Blue Boy/Girl Holly, Boxwood, Cypress, Forsythia, Rose of Sharon, Sandcherry, Weigela, Red Twig Dogwood, Variegated Euonymus, Cotoneaster, Privet, and Viburnum.

Immediately after sticking the cuttings thoroughly soak the sand to make sure there are no air pockets around the cuttings. Keep the cuttings watered once or twice daily as long as the weather is warm. Once winter sets it you can stop watering, but if you get a warm dry spell, water during that time.

Start watering again in the spring and throughout the summer. The cuttings should be rooted by late spring and you can cut back on the water, but don’t let them dry out to the point that they burn up.

By fall you can transplant them to a bed and grow them on for a year or two, or you can plant them in their permanent location. This technique takes 12 months, but it is simple and easy.

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Salmon

Atlantic Salmon - Photo: Pixnio

Salmon is the common name for the several species of fish from the Salmonidae family. Their flesh is generally red, but there are some white-fleshed wild salmon. 

There are several species of salmon, divided into Atlantic and Pacific Ocean species.  The two groups are as follows:

Atlantic Ocean species

• Atlantic Salmon is the species after which all the others are named.
• Land locked Salmon
• Salmon Trutta is another Atlantic species, also known as trout

Pacific Ocean species

• Sockeye salmon is known locally as "red salmon" or "blueback salmon."
• Chinook Salmon is also known locally as king, tyee, spring Salmon, quinnat, tule, or blackmouth salmon.
• Coho Salmon or silver Salmon
• Cherry Salmon

Salmon is a popular source of food and is the most popular among all consumed fish. This could be due to the fact that salmon is one of nature’s healthiest foods as it contains well-balanced, easily digestible protein (known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)), omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, vitamin D, the B vitamins, and phosphorus. Salmon is also extremely healthy, as they contain a lower level of cholesterol than previously thought. Of course, another factor that makes salmon the most popular fish

is its delicious taste and the various ways it can be prepared.

Omega-3 fatty acids are the oil found naturally in fish, and salmon has a higher quantity of this acid compared to other fish.  This plus the other essential nutrients and its exquisite flavor make salmon the most popular fish. Eating a balanced amount of salmon can potentially reduce heart disease, relieve rheumatoid arthritis, promote healthy brain function, fight colitis and cancer, and control blood triglyceride levels.

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Building a Tree House or Fort: The Ultimate Backyard Experience

Tree House - Photo: Pixabay

Each year, a large number of children play outside. Unfortunately, many of those children easily experience boredom. If you are the parent of one of those children, you may have searched high and low for the ultimate backyard experience.  In your search, it is likely that you may have come across tree houses or forts. These structures offer most children an unlimited amount of fun.  In fact, you may find that your child doesn’t want to leave their newly constructed tree house or fort.

While tree forts or houses are fun to play in, there is something that is even more exciting than playing in them.  The process of making and designing a tree house or fort is something that you and your child will likely never forget. Therefore, if your child does not already have a tree house or fort, you may want to consider making one.  To get the most out of this experience, you will want to make it together.

To build a tree house or fort, you may need to have a tree.  While a tree is a vital part of a tree house or a tree fort, it is not necessarily required.  If you only have small, unstable trees in your backyard or none at all, you can still build your child a fun play fort or house.  Instead of building the structure in a tree, you will just have to build it on the ground.

The first step in building or designing your own tree house or fort is to familiarize yourself with all of your options.  When making your child a tree house or fort, you can design the structure of a number of different ways. Despite this freedom, you are advised to examine popular tree house or fort designs and plans. In addition to giving you structural ideas, you may also be provided with detailed construction manuals. 

Perhaps, the easiest way to familiarize yourself with tree house or fort designs is to use the internet. By performing a standard internet search, using the words tree house designs, you should be provided with a number of different links. These links should take you to a website that offers tips, detailed directions, or ideas for building a tree house or fort. If you are able to find the treehouse or fort of your child’s dreams, you may want to print off all applicable information, including building guides or instruction manuals.  

In addition to using the internet, to familiarize yourself with tree house or fort designs, you may also want to visit your local bookstore or library. There are a number of books and resources guides that are available. These resource guides, like the ones found online, should provide you with pictures and detailed directions.  If your local bookstore or library does not have any tree house or fort books, you may want to search for books online.  

Once you have found the tree house or fort that you would like to build, you will need to purchase building supplies.  These supplies may include, but may not be limited to, wood, nails, screws, and other common tools. In most cases, you should be able to purchase the supplies that you need from your local hardware store. If your local hardware store does not carry all of the needed materials, you should be able to find them for sale online.  

When it comes time to build your child’s tree house or fort, you will want to keep them involved in the process. While they may be uninvolved in the actual building process, there are other ways that you can use their assistance.  After you have reviewed the construction directions, you may want to have your child read you the directions as you go along or hand you the materials that you need.  No matter how large or small their part is, your child will likely be happy that you involved them in the process.  

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Enjoy Fall's Bounty With Comfort Foods

Butternut Squash Soup - Photo: Flickr

Autumn, with its vibrant leaves, crisp, clean air, and bountiful harvest, invokes a sense of comfort and family togetherness that no other season can match.

With harvest festivals aplenty, this is the time of year to enjoy the bounty of your garden or the harvest of farmers in your area. Choosing local harvest foods, such as pumpkins, apples and squash, is a great way to support your community and the environment, too.

"Squash is a traditional staple food, rich in beta-carotene, fiber and a satiating sweetness," said Autumn Brennan, Organic Valley Family of Farms' food aficionado. "It's a versatile veggie with a well-rooted history and diversity in flavors. From the caramelesque aroma of delicate squash roasting in the oven to spicy pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day, squash surrounds you with a sweet and subtle warmth that soothes the nerves and delights the senses."

To enhance the flavor of your squash recipes, Brennan recommends using high-quality organic butter, produced without synthetic chemicals, hormones or antibiotics.

HARVEST MOON SQUASH SOUP

(Makes 4 servings)

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup shallots, minced
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 3 cups Organic Valley butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon Organic Valley Salted Butter
• 1/2 bay leaf (remove prior to serving)
• 1 large Granny Smith or tart baking apple, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• Water (as needed for thinning soup)
• 2 cups organic low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup Organic Valley Sour Cream 

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, saute onion, shallots, carrots, and bay leaf in butter until softened.

Add the squash and apple, chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water.

Add curry, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 45 minutes or until squash is tender.

In a blender, puree the soup in batches, transferring pureed soup to a clean saucepan. Add enough additional water to thin soup to desired consistency.

Top each bowlful with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy with hearty whole-grain bread.

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The Humble Potato May be the Solution to the World Food Crisis

Photo: Pixabay

A rise in food prices has affected the entire world, especially third world countries like Egypt and Haiti, where the high cost of food has already lead to rioting and violence. 

A variety of factors have been blamed for the global food crisis, including the rise in fuel and energy prices and increased demand in countries with suddenly booming economies, like India and China, as well as climate changes wreaking havoc on crops. Many farmers are changing their crops from food to fuel, speculating on the interest in alternative fuels. The solution then would be a crop that is not being used as an alternative fuel, like the potato. To focus attention on this, the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a "hidden treasure." 

Potatoes are native to Peru and can be grown at almost any elevation or climate: from the barren, frigid slopes of the Andes Mountains to the tropical flatlands of Asia. They require very little water, mature in as little as 50 days, and can yield between two and four times more food per hectare than wheat or rice. The humble tuber is less expensive than wheat or rice and provides excellent nutrition in the hungry world. 

Some discount potatoes for being carb-heavy, but they have a lot of nutrition, including being just 110 calories. Potatoes have nearly half of the Daily Value of vitamin C and are one of the best sources of potassium and fiber. Potatoes also have more protein than corn and nearly twice the calcium when boiled. 

Interest in alternative fuel sources has led many of the world's farmers to speculate on their crops, using their fields for biofuel crops like corn and wheat, rather than food crops, which has been part of the food crisis. The potato is now being investigated to help with food security. 

In Peru, the government has implemented a program encouraging bakers to use potato flour, rather than wheat flour in an effort to bypass the high cost of wheat. Potato bread is being used to feed everyone from school children to prisoners and the military in the hope the trend will catch on. 

Although potatoes originated in Peru, Peruvians eat significantly fewer potatoes than European countries. The developing world is where most new potato crops are being planted, and as consumption rises, poor farmers have a chance to earn more money. 

Potatoes do not have a lot of speculative interest in the global economy because they are difficult to transport without getting blight. But thanks to experiments in German engineering, virus-free potatoes are on the way, making transport and the sale of potatoes on the global food market a real possibility and a potential solution to the problems the food crisis has brought about.

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