Green Plants Improve our Health

St. Patrick’s Day reminds us to look for green. Green is the color of peace and serenity and important for our psychological wellbeing. Plants play a big role in filling that psychological need. Much research has been done on the importance of plants in our lives.

Have you ever noticed how people choose seats next to plants when given a choice in malls or parks? Our world is busy, and we are constantly bombarded with noise, movement, and chaos. Plants help relax us. Because of their simplicity, plants, or natural scenes, reduce physical and mental excitement and improve our health.

Research has found that in offices with plants, employees are more content and comfortable. Plants in an office result in higher office morale and less absenteeism. Employees exposed to plants were more creative and productive. This, in part, is why you find plants in most business settings and other interior settings. The federal government has strongly endorsed the use of plants as an integral part of office interiors.

Shamrock plants in the University of Illinois Conservatory

As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, remember how important plants are to our psychological wellbeing. A popular St. Patrick’s Day plant is the shamrock. Although there are several types available, the most popular is the Oxalis due to its shamrock leaves. The leaves are in threes, with each individual leaflet 1½ to 2 inches wide. Available with purple or green leaves, this plant is easily grown for table tops or hanging baskets. An added plus is the white or pink flowers that open in winter and spring and continue all year round with sufficient light.

The shamrock plant is a bulb or tuber. After flowering, leaves may die down and the tubers benefit from rest in drier soil and cooler temperatures. As new growth resumes, move it back to a warmer location, increase watering, and resume fertilizer applications. The plant prefers bright light without direct sun.

At times I have seen other plants sold as shamrocks. These include ordinary lawn clovers, weedy oxalis plants, and other clovers. However, the shamrock described above is the only one that makes a nice, long-term houseplant.

Another good green St. Patrick’s Day plant is the green carnation. These are white carnations dyed green. Use them in a vase or as a corsage. These are usually readily available this time of year. If not, you can easily dye a carnation green by letting it drink green colored water. White flowers can also be painted green with special floral paint.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Originally Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column on 3-13-1999

Gardening with Kids

Gardening is for everyone but is especially important for children. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of gardening with kids. It encourages personal growth, environmental stewardship, hands-on learning, improved nutrition, community involvement, and family interaction.

During my 25-year career with Extension I’ve attended many programs on how to garden with kids. Each time I come away even more convinced that every child must have an opportunity to do hands-on gardening. It is vital information they will use for a lifetime.

My sons had fun gardening in our yard. 

Make gardening fun! Here are some ideas to consider.

• Play detective and investigate the site. Look for sunny and shady spots. Dig in the soil and discover its characteristics. Run water and watch where it runs away or sits.
• Do an art project to draw out the planting. Have them measure, graph, create shapes, and count outside. 
• The fun part is preparing and planting. Let them do it! Granted, it might not be perfect and it might not be the way you would do it, but to a child it is great.
• Maintenance sounds dull and hard to most people but make it a game. Play a watering race using spoons, cups, watering cans, and the like. Go on a weeding mystery mission to find the “dreaded bad weed of the day.”
•  Develop awards for the best flower, vegetable, weed-free bed, etc. Let everyone win!

Want more ideas? There are many reference books available for reading by adults and children. There are storybooks for children, videos, smart apps, and computer programs. Have kids join 4-H and do one of their many plant-related projects. Search the Internet. University of Illinois Extension has several interactive horticulture sites for kids, including The Great Plant Escape, The Adventures of Herman (the worm), Let’s Talk About Insects, Secret Life of Trees, and Trees Are Terrific.

Teach kids about plants. While doing so, we will teach kids fundamental science principles that are necessary for life.

Originally Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column on 9-16-2000

Earthworms ...Not just good fish bait

One of my fondest childhood memories is dew-worming with my Dad (Ron Simmons). We’d go out at dusk with a red lighted flashlight, sometimes after Dad had watered an area earlier in the day. I don’t remember ever buying worms; we just “harvested” them ourselves. Even as a child I learned the best way to grab a worm without breaking it before it escaped back into its earthly home.

Dad and me fishing on Anderson Lake

Most people know that earthworms (also called night crawlers) are very beneficial for our soil. They daily consume their weight as they grind large organic materials into smaller ones. The University of Illinois Extension Herman the Worm website) calls the earthworm “one of nature’s top soil scientists.”

Worms benefit the soil in many ways. The add air and water, which produces a perfect growing environmental for most plants. They essentially “turn” the soil as they bring organic matter down and mix it with the soil below. When they eat, they leave behind castings that area very valuable type of fertilizer. The equivalent of about one third pound of top-grade fertilizer is produced per worm each year. As the website says, “Having worms around in your garden is a real good sign that you have a healthy soil.”

A fact about earthworms that most people don’t know is that they are not native to North America. Early European settlers brought them here during the 1600’s and 1700’s. They tagged along in the soil of plants brought from their country. Fortunately, this foreign critter has proved to be mostly beneficial.

Here are some other interesting facts about worms. In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms. The slimy excretion of earthworms contains nitrogen, which is required for plant growth. Baby worms hatch from cocoons smaller than a grain of rice. Worms don’t have eyes, but they can sense light (which is why Dad and I covered our flashlights with clear red covering). The number of rings or segments of the body is species dependent: the common earthworm has about 150 segments while the red worm has about 95.

Obviously, worms are an important component in any composting process. An increasingly popular form of worm composting –vermiculture –uses worms to turn kitchen scraps into compost. It is easy and cheap. This process uses a red worm, not the larger earthworms. Take a plastic bin with holes drilled in it, newspaper, soil, worms, and fruit or vegetable peelings and you’ll soon have “black gold” to use in houseplants or outside.

So, the next time you thread a worm onto a fishing hook, remember that they are much more than fish bait. Good luck fishing and Happy Father’s Day!

Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column on 6-15-2013

NOTE: Since this article was written, the invasive jumping worm has been found in Illinois. View this Invasive Species Alert: Jumping Worms for more information. 

The Bald Eagle

Today (2-2-2002) is Eagle Days in Havana. Numerous eagles spend their winters right here in central Illinois. Many can be easily seen from Riverfront Park in Havana. If you’ve never seen a Bald Eagle in the wild, I encourage you to take a drive to Havana this morning.

On January 13, the Champaign County Audubon Society did its annual Eagle Count along the Illinois River from Havana to Beardstown.  They counted 206 Bald Eagles (95 adult, 111 immature) and one adult Golden Eagle.  The Golden Eagle was at Emiquon refuge across the river from Havana.  There were also lots of Bald Eagles at Lake Chautauqua, just north of Havana, where there were also thousands of Canada Geese, many Snow Geese, and 21 Swans.

My family has really enjoyed watching Bald Eagles this winter. I find this really awesome especially knowing that the eagles came very close to extinction. The story of the Bald Eagle comeback includes an important lesson for us all. 

The Bald Eagle was originally classified as endangered in 1967. Shortly after World War II, the use of chemicals such as DDT and other related compounds (including Chlordane) became widespread. These chemicals last a long time in our environment and started to accumulate in Bald Eagles due to their natural feeding habits. The DDT impaired the eagles’ eggs, resulting in thin eggshells and reproductive failures. Since that time, the US-EPA has banned such chemicals and conservation and breeding efforts have brought our national bird populations back.

I tell you this because I think it is a great story of how humans can fix a problem we created. Think of this story each time you use a pesticide. Pesticides are anything used to control a pest and include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc. Almost all of us use them. When you grab the ant killer under the kitchen sink, you are using a pesticide.

To assure you apply pesticides in a safe and effective way that will obtain the control you want and still protect your family and our environment, you simply need to read the label. Reading the label is extremely important and it is the law! Labels change frequently, so you need to reread them each time you use the product. Carefully follow all directions on that pesticide label.

Whether you use pesticides or not is a personal decision, but if you do use them with respect and READ THE LABEL!

Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column on 2-20-1999, 2-2-2002, 2-1-2003, 2-5-2005

Worm Composting

Composting is not just an outdoor activity. It can also be done indoors to get rid of those food scraps in your kitchen.

Worm composting involves using worms to turn food scraps, newspapers, and cardboard into a rich compost, which can be added to potted plants, lawns and gardens. It is convenient, and you can do it indoors (even in apartments) or outdoors.

Don’t worry! When done correctly, worm composting will not cause an odor or have worms crawling all over your house. The worms are quite small, but could still be used for fishing.

Worm composting (or vermicomposting) is one of the easiest methods for reusing fruit and vegetable scraps from your kitchen and yard. All you need is a container filled with moistened bedding, worms, and food scraps.

Even in cool winter weather, where outdoor compost piles lie dormant, you can compost your food scraps indoors with worms and reduce the volume of your household garbage by as much as 25%. The end result is unsurpassed as an organic soil builder and plant fertilizer, containing high amounts of nitrogen.

Worm composting is easy, rewarding, and fun! Given the right environment and a little routine attention, a handful of worms will multiply rapidly and digest your kitchen scraps.

Worm composting is a great way to recycle food scraps indoors all year long. 

To learn more about vermicomposting make sure to read Oregon State University Extension’s “Composting with Worms"

Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column 1-28-2006

New Plant Hardiness Zone Map in 2012

This has certainly been an unusually warm winter so far. Many people are concerned that the warm temperatures will results in plants sprouting too soon or in heavy summer insect problems.

Some people wonder if our climate is changing due to various factors, including global warming.

Source: Illinois State Climatologist  

The USDA released their new Plant Hardiness Zone map recently. The 2012 changes show that we are indeed experiencing overall warmer winter temperatures.

The USDA hardiness zones are based on average winter minimum temperatures. According to Jim Angel, Illinois State Climatologist at the Illinois State Water Survey, “This is certainly an improvement on the old USDA map that was based on data from a relatively short and cold period from 1974 to 1986.” Angel says that the new map is based on a longer period that includes the milder winters of the 1990s and early 2000s.

The new map can be found at http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.

To reflect these milder winters, most zones have shifted northward. Angel says, “Here in Champaign I used to be in the middle of Zone 5 according to the old USDA map. Now I'm almost in Zone 6.”

These maps are a useful guide. Most garden catalogs list the hardiness zone rating for their plants. The hardiness zone is an important plant selection guide, but it is only one factor in determining if a plant will survive the winter. Other factors, such as moisture levels and critters (voles, rabbits, and mice), also affect a plants chance of winter survival.

Speaking of critters, will this mild winter affect insect populations this summer? According to Phil Nixon, Extension Entomologist, mild winters or cold winters have little effect on the number of insects that people typically notice.

Nixon says that it is true that in a mild winter, more pest insects survive, but so do more predatory insects, parasitic insects, and other natural enemies. Contrary to popular belief, Nixon says that the most important impact on insect numbers is spring weather. Cool, damp springs encourage the development of fungi that attack insects and slow the development of insects. The result is fewer caterpillars and other insects surviving through the spring.

And finally, if you have daffodils sprouting or plants leafing out early, don’t fret. Although some of the early growth could experience freeze damage later, the plants should be fine overall once our official spring finally arrives. You can add a layer of mulch over the sprouting plants to provide additional winter protection, but it is probably not essential.

Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column 2-4-2012

Removing Tree Stumps

Recent droughty summers, a cold winter, and various other environmental and pest problems have killed many trees in our area. Usually when a tree is removed a stump is left behind. Here are several suggestions on how to remove tree stumps easily, quickly, and economically.

According to Bob Frazee, retired University of Illinois Natural Resources Educator, the cheapest and easiest method of removal, although not the quickest, is to cut the stump at or below the ground level, cover it with soil, and keep the soil moist. Decay organisms will then rot the wood. Grass may be planted in the soil if the thin layer over the stump is kept moist during dry seasons. The decaying method may be hastened by boring several vertical holes in the stump before it is covered with soil. This method may be used any time during the year. 

Frazee says that stumps may also be burned out. However, before burning stumps, be sure to check your local ordinances to see whether open burning is permitted. Frazee suggests that stumps may be burned out rather quickly with charcoal or coal by making a “stove” from an empty 5-gallon metal container. A stove is made by removing the bottom and top from the can and punching 4 to 5 one-inch holes in the side near the bottom. Place the stove on top of the stump and build a fire in it. A hot fire is required to burn out stumps, since the wood absorbs moisture from the soil and burns like green wood. Stumps will burn best during dry seasons.

Grubbing or digging out stumps is another option, according to Frazee, but it is hard work. Stumps larger than 15 inches in diameter are usually rather difficult for the average person to remove.

A popular option for homeowners to explore is use of a commercial stump grinder. Mechanical stump grinders that chip the wood are available from some landscaping firms, tree removal services, and some community street departments. A stump-cutting or grinding machine is often the quickest and most satisfactory means of removal. It can chip out a stump to 8 or 12 inches below ground level in minutes.

Stump removal is not easy. Many people resolve to leave the stump and let it decay naturally. Chemicals are available that can help speed up the decomposition process. Instructions for stump removal chemicals will vary from product to product, but all require drilling several holes in the stump. A measured amount of chemical is poured in each hole, and then water is added to fill the holes. Let the mixture stand for four to six weeks. Repeat applications may be necessary.

Sometimes the decaying stump is included in the landscaping. I saw a stump used as a miniature fairy garden recently that was really cute. Try adding containers on top of the stump for a different look. I once put a wooden wheelbarrow filled with annual flowers on a stump and added more annual flowers around the stump. Use your imagination and you may find leaving the stump is a good option.

If the tree is not completely dead when it is cut down the stump may produce sucker growth. You have two options to solve this problem. The quickest solution is to immediately treat the cut surface with an herbicide. You can also cut off all new sucker growth before it reaches eight inches to gradually deplete the stored food, but this can take five to ten years to be completely effective.

Finally, remember that dead trees are an important part of our ecosystem. Many birds and small mammals nest in dead trees. Consider leaving the tree if it is located in an area where it won’t be an eyesore or cause safety issues over time.

Originally Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column 6-21-2014; News Release 6-24-2013