Growing Mushrooms

If you have a green thumb, you may want to consider growing mushrooms.

If you are successful then you'll have delicious mushrooms to enhance just about any meal.

Growing mushrooms is not simple.  It requires precise conditions and constant attention.  With all of that, you may wind up with a heap of moldy wood chips (or whatever you’re using to grow them.)

The growing medium must be sterile and the environment must be precise.  If either the temperature or humidity are off for even a day, it can spell doom for your attempt.

The mushroom is a fungus that grows underground as mycelium.  When you dig down into your substrate, you will see fine threads.  This is the actual fungus.

Once it uses up the available nutrients, it will produce “fruit” in the form that we recognize as mushrooms.  These protrusions appear above ground in order to produce spores that can be blown to a new area full of nutrients.  When we grow  mushrooms, we control the environment so that it produces more mushrooms and spends less time underground.

So what do I recommend as your first project?  Just go to the store and buy a package of mushrooms.  It’s much easier and less expensive.

If you do decide to try it, then I wish you luck!

Black Pussy Willow

Most of us have seen Pussy Willow.  Even if it’s not in the ground, we see the cuttings on display in the grocery store floral department every year in the spring.  The long stems are covered with soft silver catkins that are oh so soft to the touch.

If you buy them and put them in the ground, they will often sprout roots and grow into a water-loving shrub that can get very tall.

But have you ever seen a Black Pussy Willow?

The striking feature is the ebony-black catkins growing from reddish stems.

These come out in spring and function as the flowers for this shrub.

Since Pussy Willows have male and female bushes, it’s good to know which you are getting.  On these shrubs, the catkins on the male plant are more impressive so see if you can find one.

They like full sun and soil that’s a bit more moist than usual.

If you can find one, consider adding it to your garden.

Wooly Lamb’s Ears

A plant for a child’s garden, a strange intruder, a lovely accent plant – which is it?

 The Wooly Lamb’s Ears plant can be whatever you’d like it to be.

 This unique plant invites people to stroke its soft leaves.  The silver hairs growing out of pale green foliage is simply beautiful.

 This member of the mint family is a tough survivor that will gradually expand throughout your garden.  In summer you will be treated to tall stalks covered with pink flowers.

 In addition, the leaves can be dried for crafts.  They do a good job of holding their color.  You can use them as an accent for a dried arrangement of make a wreath entirely of of Lamb’s Ears.

 Bees love them but deer and other pesky critters avoid them. 

 Enjoy then!

The Native Flowering Dogwood Tree

“Cornus florida” is the proper name of the native dogwood trees you see growing on the edge of the woods throughout northern New Jersey.

It is native to the eastern half of the United States from northern New England down into Mexico.

As long as the tree has a steady supply of moisture – not too much and not too little – it isn’t fussy about the conditions it lives in.

It provides shelter for birds and small animals, pollen for insects and berries for animals to eat.

It prefers the warmth of southern climates where it can grow over 40 feet tall but it still does well in our area where it reaches a respectable 35 feet in height.  It can be a bit wider than tall but has a nice proportion that has made it a well-liked ornamental trees for residential properties.

The native flowers are usually white or a pale cream color but the tree has been developed into hybrids with colored flowers, different leaves and sizes that fit any landscaping project.

‘Black Dragon’ Cryptomeria

If you’re looking for a unique statement plant, take a look at the ‘Black Dragon’ Cryptomeria.

This evergreen starts out in spring with new light green growth that turns very dark – almost black – in summer.

It’s narrower than a lot of evergreens and often a bit irregular in shape which only adds to its appeal

It’s a slow grower that matures around 6-7 feet in height but over time might get as tall as 10 feet and up to 4 feet wide.

It likes full sun but otherwise isn’t fussy about its environment.

It is relatively deer-resistant and its tiny cones don’t make a mess.

This is definitely an attention-getter.

Lady’s Mantle

This lovely perennial got its name because the leaves look like the old-time capes that women used to wear.

The plant is known for its striking foliage.  It is at its best when the morning dew beads up on the leaves.

The flowers appear in chartreuse cloud-like clusters above the scalloped leaves.

It tolerates sun and shade and is resistant to deer and other browsing animals

It is very hardy and will self-seed if the flowers are not removed.

The clumps make a beautiful border plant as they are less than 18” tall.

Periodical Cicadas

This is the year!  It’s the year when “Brood X” will dig their way out of the ground and make their presence known in a big way.

These are the insects we often refer to as “17-year locusts” but they are no locusts.

There are many broods other than “Brood X” and also broods with a 2- to 13-year cycle but this brood seems to have a larger population than the others.

The nymphs live underground eating fluid from tree roots.  They emerge in unison to become adults, mate and repeat the cycle.

They’re not the prettiest bug around but they’re certainly not harmful to humans.

Periodical cicadas provide food to just about every type of wildlife.  The biggest negative impact is their damage to plants.  It’s not like the images on TV of locusts destroying thousands of acres at a time – after all, these are not locusts.  The damage comes from them laying their eggs in tender twigs of plants.  The twigs may die off along with the flowers or potential fruit and nuts grown from the flowers.  This process is indirectly destroying some crops.

So watch, listen and enjoy this rare treat – and don’t get too grossed out!

Poison Ivy and Global Warming

As if global warming in itself isn’t bad enough, now we’re hearing that it is something that poison ivy loves.

 The higher temperatures encourage stronger and more rapid growth.  It seems that this pest just loves the heat.

 We learned the cycle of plants of animals and their use of the atmosphere in elementary science classes.  Animals use oxygen and release carbon dioxide.  Plants feed off of the carbon dioxide and release oxygen. 

 Plants feed on carbon dioxide as part of photosynthesis.  The more carbon dioxide is available, the more chlorophyll they produce.  Chlorophyll is one source of food for plants and since there’s more, the plants grow faster and bigger.

 Poison Ivy is one plant that is very sensitive to the amount of available carbon dioxide.  In addition, it not only increases the production of urushiol which is the oil that makes allergic people itch.  The urushiol is also becoming more potent.

 With over 80% of the population allergic to poison ivy, this should be one more incentive to try and stop global warming.