Hits & Misses: Purple hedges & a lack of concentration
Question of the Week: Why do my corncobs have missing kernels?
Science & Technology: Garlic trials

This past week at the beautiful Blackhawk golf course in Edmonton, I had the honour of co-chairing the 10th Annual Dave Hancock Charity Golf Classic with Richard McCallum, of McCallum Printing. The tournament is dedicated to raising funds for Success By 6, a community initiative focused on ensuring that preschool children develop skills that support a lifetime of healthy growth and learning. The golf tournament has raised over a million dollars for the program since its inception. As for the golfing itself, if you want to know what my score was…forget it! I am not a golfer. In my defense, though, I did drive a mean golf cart.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Purple Hedges
Everyone is talking about the Verbena bonariensis (verbena ‘Buenos Aires’) that is growing in the show garden. It is about 1.5 metres tall and full of gorgeous purple flowers that the bees have been enjoying since early summer. In addition to making an unforgettable hedge, it’s the perfect drought-tolerant plant for those difficult spots in the yard.

Verbena bonariensis ‘Buenos Aires’

Miss: A Lack of Concentration
Where did the nutrients go? The last sample of poinsettia soil we sent to the lab showed rather low levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. Fortunately, this is an easy problem to correct: just increase the fertilizer concentration by punching a couple of numbers on the fertilizer-injector keypad. I attribute the low numbers to a long string of sunny days and warm temperatures—the perfect combination to increase a poinsettia’s demand for nutrients. The one thing that’s without question, though, is this: lab tests are worth their weight in gold when you’re growing thousands of poinsettias.

Question of the Week
Why do my corncobs have missing kernels?
Spotty filling of corncobs is a very common problem and likely due to poor pollination. To help prevent this problem next year, plant your corn in blocks rather than in single rows. It may sound like a weird solution, but by clustering the corn, you increase the chance of the pollen hitting the corn silk instead of the ground—and that’s a big deal. Corn pollen has to touch each thread of silk for complete pollination because each strand is attached to a single kernel. Heavy rainfall at the time of pollination can also produce poor fill.

Science & Technology
Garlic Trials
I came across an interesting article about garlic in the August issue of HortScience. Apparently, researchers from the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation at the US Dept. of Agriculture tested garlic varieties to see how they performed in various growing regions, one of which was a test site in Ontario. Among other things, the trial results revealed just how much one variety of garlic can vary from location to location. For example, the colour of a bulb’s wrapper was highly dependent on location. Some red cultivars grown in southern areas had much more intense violet stripes and blotches than those grown in northern areas.

Garlic’s skin colour can vary dramatically,
depending on where it was grown.

Did You Know?
Small concentrations of nickel will injure most plants. All it takes is as little as five micrograms of nickel (one millionth of a gram) per gram of a plant’s dry weight. But, as always, there’s an exception—alyssum can tolerate nickel levels 10,000 times higher.

“Thoughts can be used one of two ways, like a Band-Aid or like a rubber band. Choose to stretch.”
–Rhonda LaShae

first published September 10, 2009

I rather doubt that gardeners need to be told how to deal with ripe tomatoes any more than they need advice on what to do with a cold beer on a hot day. No, the tricky part about growing tomatoes is knowing what to do with the green ones. More specifically, knowing how to turn them from green to red once they’re off the plant and in the house. Well, wonder no more. Here’s a little 411.

If we are going to start at the top, we may as well start at the top of the tomato plant too—which is exactly where the greenest tomatoes live. Well, my advice for harvesting these little green marbles is this: don’t bother trying. There’s absolutely no cajoling fruit that immature into ripening. The reason is simple. Immature fruit contains immature seed. And immature seed won’t mature once it’s removed from the mother plant. In essence, it’s a genetic dead end. Think about it: a tomato plant wants nothing more than to pass on its genes to future generations. When humans eat tomatoes, we become (theoretically at least) good vehicles for partially digesting and eventually…urm… “distributing” the seed to good growing sites. One of the ways tomato plants encourage us to spread those mature seeds is by tipping the gastronomic scales in favour of ripe fruit. Simply put, we eat what tastes good. And immature fruit loaded with bitter glycoalkaloids is a tomato plant’s way of saying “Don’t eat me!’

Okay, that leaves the green tomatoes on the rest of the plant, the ones I like to think of as “tomatoes in transition.” Now, provided that transitional fruit is not too green, it can be rather easily transformed to red. Here are the three most common techniques.

Some gardeners swear by the old technique of hanging an entire tomato plant (stem, leaves, fruit et al.) upside down in the basement or garage. It works quit well, too. Many of the green fruit make the transformation easily thanks to leaves and stems that continue (at least for a little while) to pump water and nutrients into the fruit. The technique still isn’t sufficient to transform highly immature fruit from green to red, but it works well on the marginal fruit.

A second technique is to pile the tomatoes into a cardboard box, lined and covered with newspaper. Contrary to popular belief, there’s nothing miraculous about the newspaper itself (although it is remarkably good at wicking moisture from the tomato skins, thus reducing the incidence of fruit rot). What is miraculous is the ethylene gas that the tomatoes produce. Not only is the ethylene gas something plants produce naturally, it’s also what’s ultimately responsible for turning the fruit red. Important to note, however, is that the ripening process isn’t necessarily accelerated by “trapping the gases” beneath the newspaper. All the newspaper really does is reduce physical damage to the tomatoes.

The last technique involves placing the tomatoes on a sunny windowsill. The common belief here is that the sun will ripen the fruit, but the ripening process really has more to do with sunny sills being warm, and it’s that increase in temperature that aids the ripening process in this instance.

And that’s all there really is to know about harvesting green tomatoes. In fact, I think the hardest thing to understand and accept is that you’ll always have more green fruit than you can ever use. After you’ve transformed, fried, made into relish, crushed into sauce, eaten fresh out of hand or thrown at a sibling, September will still provide more than its share of inedible fruit. January does the same; it’s just known as “field-grown imported.”

We recently put out a ‘casting call’ to our staff for teddy bears for an upcoming photoshoot and the response has been overwhelming. Everyone from the Hole family on down has been bringing in their special bear for its chance at fame and fortune. Some of these bears are over 50 years old and all of them are adorable.

Just some of the bears who have showed up to strut their stuff!

Hits & Misses: Perfect poinsettia weather & not-so-cute behaviour
Question of the Week: When should I plant my fall bulbs?
The Business: Fall myth busting

The laughter at my jokes sounded genuine during my speech for friends and supporters of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Science, but I’ve been fooled before. The one thing I was self-conscious of—throughout my entire talk—was how many of the attendees had PhDs in biology, entomology, pathology and other “ologies.” I, of course, spoke about gardening. Specifically, about sustainable gardening. Thankfully, judging by the enthusiastic questions at the end of my talk, I didn’t mangle the science from anyone’s field of specialty….or were they just being polite?

Hits & Misses
Hit: Perfect Poinsettia Weather
Our poinsettias are benefiting from the exceptionally warm and sunny fall. Under these conditions, poinsettias develop more growth before the onset of the shorter days, which invariably commence in late September. So this year, our poinsettia plants are destined to be bigger and have even more green leaves than usual.

Miss: Not-So-Cute Behaviour
OK, squirrels are cute—I’ll give you that—but those little brown tree rats have managed to cut every spruce cone off my trees and drop them onto my flowerbeds and driveway. And as if that weren’t enough, Rocky and his friends have begun tunnelling beneath one of my concrete pads. I suspect that’s where they plan to stuff the spruce cones and who-knows-what-else they feel inspired to store for winter. The definition of cute originally meant clever and shrewd…seems tailor-made for those beady-eyed tree climbers.

Question of the Week
When should I plant my fall bulbs?
For the most successful results, you shouldn’t wait too long. Aim to have your bulbs planted before October rolls around. That’s because fall-planted bulbs need time to develop a root system before winter arrives. Besides, bulbs are perishable and should be planted promptly after purchase. Of course, you also need to start with healthy bulbs—firm, heavy-for-their-size ones that don’t have visible cuts or bruises.

The Business
Fall Myth Busting
Have you ever wondered if cedars should be wrapped for winter, if you should be pruning your trees and shrubs in the fall, or if your grass should be cut short before winter? Then join me in our Show Garden on Saturday, September 19 from 1–2 p.m. I’ll be available to answer your questions and help dispel some common myths about fall gardening.

Did You Know?
Conifers, such as spruce and cedars, lose water through their foliage during the winter, but the water loss is only about one percent of the amount lost in summer.

“Like a welcome summer rain, humour may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.”
–Langston Hughes

By Bill Hole

On a record hot, 32ºC September day, we toured members of St. Albert city council around the Enjoy Centre construction site. It was wonderful to see their excitement for our project and to hear their words of praise.

As the councillors quickly discovered, the views of Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park are spectacular from our new site, located on the east side of Ray Gibbon Drive. In fact, the views of both the park and Big Lake were so fantastic that we were almost able to forget how hot, dry and dusty it was. As we all contemplated the magnificence of a park built around a wetland, the conversation turned to the proposed pedway for pedestrian access to the park. The pedway would adjoin the park at the spot where plans also call for an interpretive centre. The park, which is 1421 hectares (about 3500 acres), is a great asset to the City of St. Albert and will become even more valuable as it develops. Should the pedway get the go-ahead, we’ll happily provide an easement through our property so that people can access the pedway easily.

St. Albert city councillors recently toured our construction site.

What’s in a Name?
by Bill Hole
Communicating a vision is hard to accomplish, especially when that vision is called “the Enjoy Centre.” It should come as no surprise then to hear we’ve spent a lot of time and money trying to paint the proper picture in people’s minds. Websites, drawings and site visits have all helped, but it wasn’t until the 3D videos arrived last week that we were actually able to show people what a truly magnificent building we’re creating. Seeing the 3D concepts made the project “real” for a lot of the staff and left us all overwhelmed with excitement and pride.

Several of the 3D renderings included views of the café and emphasized just how much glass dominates the space. In fact, it’s such an important feature of the café that we thought it should be reflected in the name. So far, Café Verre (which is French for glass) is in the lead, but the final decision won’t be made for a few more days. Until then, take a look at the 3D renderings on our website. We hope you’ll be as inspired by them as we were.

Hits & Misses: Disappearing pots & rotting tomatoes
Question of the Week: What can I do to combat apple maggot?
Science & Technology: Toughening petunias

Over the weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to gardeners at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum’s Harvest Festival. For those of you who don’t know, the museum in Wetaskiwin is dedicated to showcasing Canada’s amazing automotive and aviation history. While there, I couldn’t help but marvel at the spirit and ingenuity of mankind as I looked at the larger-than-life Avro Arrow jet a mere stone’s throw away from a steam-powered threshing machine. Of course, the homemade cinnamon buns baked on site were nothing to sneeze at either.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Disappearing Pots
Our experiments with biodegradable pots this year look very promising. We’ve tested ones made from wheat, rice, coconut and straw. I’m impressed with how they hold up to greenhouse conditions yet still manage to breakdown in soil. In the future, you should be able to toss the biodegradable pots into your composter or simply transplant your plants—pot and all—straight into the garden.

Miss: Rotting Tomatoes
I’ve had an inordinate number of questions from gardeners about “mysterious” black patches on the bottoms of their tomatoes. It’s called blossom-end rot, but it isn’t a plant disease. The rot is typically caused by a fluctuation in soil moisture levels, particularly at the time fruit is filling out. When the movement of water to the fruit is interrupted, plant cells collapse and the result is rotting fruit. Exceptionally cool or hot conditions during fruit fill can also cause blossom-end rot. The solution? Be vigilant with watering, and hope for good weather.

Consistent moisture levels are key to
avoiding blossom end rot.

Question of the Week
What can I do to combat apple maggot?
Apple maggots have become firmly established in Edmonton and, unfortunately, look as though they are here to stay. The maggots are the larvae of small black flies that have a particular affinity for apples but that also infect other fruits from the rose family (e.g. plums, cherries and pears). How they attack is like this. The black flies lay their eggs in the fruit and, after hatching, the larvae (apple maggots) tunnel through the fruit. From late summer through fall, the larvae move out of the fruit, tunnel into the ground and overwinter there as pupae. The following summer the flies emerge to, once again, wreak havoc on the apples. The best way to control them is to break the reproductive cycle by picking up all fallen fruit. Special pheromone-baited traps, which attract the flies, also help to reduce apple maggot populations. Finally, insecticidal sprays can be used during the summer to control the adult flies. But keep in mind that all three controls are often needed to reduce apple maggot populations down to reasonable numbers.

Traps with pheromone bait help control apple maggots.

Science & Technology
Toughening Petunias
I read a very interesting (but not surprising) study on petunias in the latest issue of Hortscience. Researchers selected a couple of petunia species and studied how much influence short days and slow, sustained reductions in temperature had on the plants’ cold tolerance. They found day length had little influence on the petunias’ frost tolerance but that a gradual drop in temperatures was extremely important in helping petunias battle the cold. In fact, one experiment showed that dropping temperatures from 15ºC to 3ºC enabled the petunias to endure lows of –5ºC. Can’t say I’m surprised. We’ve had comparable results through trial and error at the greenhouse, but it’s nice to see some scientific proof to back it up.

Did You Know?
At any given time, a single plant cell can contain 10,000 or more types of proteins.

Life is something that happens when you can’t get to sleep.
–Fran Lebowitz

first published August 27, 2009

I’ve always believed that for any homegrown apple to be considered truly great, it needs to have more than great flavour and texture; it must also obey the six-bite rule. In other words, if it takes less than six bites to eat or you have to squeeze one eye shut to swallow it, you don’t have a winner.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a crabapple hater by any stretch of the imagination, but a golf ball-sized apple just doesn’t have the cache of a six-biter. Getting that too-large-to-wrap-your-hand-around size, however, doesn’t happen based on genetics alone. It takes choosing the right variety for your region (i.e. ‘Honey Crisp’ and ‘Prairie Sun’) and understanding a few basic growing principles. Here’s what you need to know.

At this time of the year, apple trees are working full-time to synthesis sugars in their leaves and to transport those sugars to the rapidly developing fruit. But for that developing fruit to reach its full potential, there has to be a sufficient amount of water available to the tree at that time. Applying a good soaking of water around the base of your tree each week will ensure that the fruit get enough water to fill out properly. Just keep in mind that lawns intercept a fair bit of water, so consider using a root feeder that can be pushed beneath the grass root zone and down to the tree’s roots.

Fruit thinning is another way to increase fruit size. Few home gardeners remove fruit because (A) it takes time; and (B) it seems counterintuitive when the objective is to grow lots of apples. The reality, however, is that there are only so many leaves on an apple tree. And if those leaves have to partition the sugars to thousands of fruit, well, there’s only so much to go around. Some commercial growers will select only the “king” fruit or the dominant fruit in a cluster and prune off the others. The result is a tree with fewer, but much larger, fruit.

Exposing each of the tree’s leaves to as much sunlight as possible is another key to growing large fruit. If you think of leaves as equivalent to nature’s solar panels, it makes sense that shade is a curse to sugar production. Therefore, if you want the best fruit, always do a little pruning in the spring to “open” your apple leaves to sunlight. Ideally, pruning is best done when the buds are still dormant, but a little pruning during the growing season is fine.

Soil nutrition is also important for producing quality fruit, but contrary to what many people think, it’s not critical for producing big fruit. Normally, a single application of fertilizer in the spring is enough to provide plenty of nutrients for the apples that develop during the summer. I recommend using a root feeder and a small amount of water-soluble fertilizer.

And now a little something for the mathematically inclined. If you want to determine the volume of an apple, simply cube the diameter of it, multiplying that value by pi (3.14) and then multiplying that product by 1/6. What’s rather surprising when you do the math is that a 10 cm apple has a whopping 8 times the volume of a 5 cm one!

Math aside, growing large apples really is a satisfying endeavor. And why wouldn’t it be. Having sink-your-teeth-into apples within a stone’s throw from your door is a pretty great thing. So get out there and see what a little TLC can grow. Of course, for some of us, a six-bite apple could be as big as grapefruit…but I guess that says more about the genetics of the grower than it does of his or her apple tree.

Hits & Misses: Big-rooted perennials & dry and dire
Question of the Week: How do I make sure my pumpkins ripen before the frost?
Science & Technology: Honeybee mystery a matter of genetics

While I was in the mountains this past weekend, enjoying the great weather and phenomenal scenery, the Jasper Park Lodge kindly provided me with a quiet spot to take phone calls for my regular Friday CBC radio show. As I listened to callers describing the myriad of bugs attacking their plants, I watched a couple of elk traversing the grounds, looking for a free meal. The more I watched, the more I realized that bug problems pale in comparison to having elk in the garden. It really is a strange relationship. In fact, I suspect Jasper elk see humans as benevolent paparazzi who relentlessly snap photos, while thoughtfully providing a variety of plants that complement an otherwise mundane diet. I’m just glad I don’t have to stare down one of these deer-on-steroids in my own yard.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Big-rooted Perennials
Many of the perennials we’ll be selling next spring have already arrived. And because many of them (hostas, daylilies and peonies) arrive as bare-root plants, they’ll need to be potted up and allowed to root in the coldframes for a couple of months before we let them become dormant for the winter. The bare-root perennials are some of the biggest I’ve seen in years, which means by next spring they should be very impressive specimens.

Miss: Dry and Dire
I know I’ve harped on about the drought in our region…but here I go again. This has got to be the driest summer I’ve ever experienced, and I fear the consequences could be dire for numerous trees. In fact, based on the amount of crispy, yellow leaves I saw fall in August, I suspect the worst is yet to come.

Dry weather means trees are likley to drop their leaves early and
show drought damage the following year.

Question of the Week
How do I make sure my pumpkins ripen before the frost?
The best way to increase your chance of carving homegrown pumpkins at Halloween is to pick off all new the blossoms as soon as three or four fruits have formed. You’ll know it’s time to harvest the pumpkins when they are a deep, rich-orange and have skins that cannot easily be pierced by a fingernail. Harvest them too early, and they probably won’t turn orange.

Science & Technology
Honeybee Mystery a Matter of Genetics
According to an article in Discover magazine, the mystery of the great honeybee die-off seems to be solved. And, no, contrary to speculation, the problem doesn’t appear related to cellphones or pesticides. Instead, it seems that the population crash is due to inbreeding. In short, there hasn’t been a lot of mixing of outside genetics. And that’s thanks to us, not nature. You see, by selecting and breeding bees to pollinate huge plant monocultures, such as apples and almonds, we’ve restricted genetic diversity and reduced their ability to withstand environmental changes. Hmm…chalk one up for natural evolution—I guess it’s still a better system for long-term survival of a species.

Did You Know?
A grey garden slug (Deroceras reticulatum) eats the equivalent of 40% of its body weight each day. To quantify that a bit more accurately, slugs chew through about two square centimetres (60 milligrams) of plant tissue per day and will travel about 90 centimetres to get it done.

“The guy who wrote ‘A job well done never needs doing again’ has never weeded a garden.”
—Anonymous