By Wes Porter ——Bio and Archives--November 1, 2015
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Research from the University of Delaware shows that non-native plants reduce the diversity of insect populations in gardens, even where the non-native plants are closely related to the native plants, scientists report in the journal Ecology LettersNovice gardeners may be tempted to leave the garden to take care of itself over winter. Why not wait until spring? Not the least reason is that dead plants, matted leaves and other debris offer perfect sites for the survival of pests and pathogens. A few perennials should be left until spring. Amongst the commonest are ornamental grasses, tall sedums and grey-foliages plants – these latter tend to be evergreen.
A tip of the gardening hat to Milan Lucas,13, who took first and second prize at the Roland Pumpkin Fair, Manitoba with a 1,348-pound and a 1,283-pound pumpkin he grew himself in Winnipeg after a couple of years of unsuccessful attempts.Time to move to indoor plants care: At the end of November, cease fertilizing foliage plants until early March in order to encourage dormancy during short-day, low-light conditions. And don’t be surprised if larger plants require far less water during this period. Those in bud or full bloom should continue to be fed, however.
?37,000 art project that aimed to capture the sound of falling beechnuts from an 11-year-old tree in Bristol is scuppered as the tree they chose had no fruit, reported the Daily Mail, suggesting it was ‘totally nuts’ Weary already from hand gardening tools? Spare a thought for the super-gardener required to wield the world’s largest spade, manufactured by Bulldog Tools of Wigan, U.K., a firm in business for over two-and-a-half centuries. It is 11-foot-8 tall, with a blade 23?-inches wide, and weighs not far short of 500-pounds. But down in Texas they really know how to shovel it. The world’s largest shovel was made last year by Garden-Ville of San Antonio of wood and metal. It is 40 feet high and weighs 5,000 pounds.
The world’s largest collection of fossilized poop was unveiled one recent Saturday at Bradenton’s South Florida Museum for National Fossil Day. The Amazing Coprolite Collection, certified by Guinness World Records in August, includes 1,277 individual pieces of fossilized poop, called coprolites, from 15 states in the United States and eight countries, reported the Bradenton Herald.If there’s water on Mars as NASA scientists recently reported, could there be plant life? Don’t bet on it. Bacteria yes, which have been shown to survive almost anywhere, but that water is brine, poisonous to plants. In addition, the Martian atmosphere is so thin as to allow blasts of the Sun to pound the surface, making plant survival unlikely. Some years ago a senior scientist was queried if he expected to find life on Mars. ‘No,” he replied. Then what did he expect? “Politicians.”
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Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.