2015 International Year of Soils -- Don't Call It Dirt

Are there any uses for old Christmas trees? Certainly! Most municipalities chip the collected discarded décor, using the shredded material as mulch in parks and plantings. Home gardeners can use them to protect rhododendron and other young broadleaf evergreens from winter winds. More exotic uses include spruce collected by Garrison Brewery, Halifax, Nova Scotia to brew into traditional spruce beer. Needles from Douglas firs have been suggested for sterilizing nano devices destined for medical applications, according to the International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Parry Sound, Ontario farmer Charlie Farquharson (aka Don Herron) explained in his 1976 Allmynack that on 7 January it was, “Time to re-sickle yer Christmas tree. Heave it in lake by dragging it on ice. Law of Gravelty will do her by spring. Makes a good crappie bed for them fish” (original spelling retained). Remove the decorations first.

Diversion No. 1

How cold can it get? Last night was so cold, the flashers in New York were only describing themselves, claimed the late Johnny Carson

To fertilize or not to fertilize houseplants, that is the question the Bard might have written. Many of our indoor specimen plants are the juvenile forms of rainforest trees. Fertilize them and they’re going to outgrow the home. Professionals who tend such plants in malls and offices keep such applications to a minimum for this very reason. There’s another reason for such: poor growing conditions in winter. Short days, low light levels and dry air from December through February can play havoc on new growth. In their native habitats, there is usually a dormant season, so have no fear of imitating this for these months. And do not be alarmed at how little water these trees require. Of course there are exceptions – aren’t there always? Plants that are in bloom require regular feeding and watering. These include spathe flower, cyclamen, gloxinia and the ever-popular African violets. But treat smaller foliage plants the same way as specimen ‘trees.’ Encourage dormancy until our northern claims brighten up again come next March and April.

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Diversion No. 2

Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper is 156 times hot as a jalapeno. A tester ‘took a bite and fell to his knees and threw up, so I knew I had something,’ Ed Currie told the Los Angeles Times

As snow flies and we count the days until spring, pots of flowering bulbs are irresistible indoor accessories. Keep in a bright place, cool but not freezing with ample water – they are surprisingly thirsty. Having given their all to bring cheer it seems a shame to discard when the blooms fade. Cut back the dead flowers but not the foliage. Continue to position in a bright, cool window with adequate water. When the ground has thawed and warmed, pull from the pots and plant out in the garden, cutting back the tops as they die. It will probably take a couple of seasons for them to recover from their indoor sojourn, continuing to burst into bloom during future autumns.

Diversion No. 3

Fruit-wielding Nathan Channing, 27, was sent to Mesa County jail after he pointed a banana at officers pretending it was a gun, reported Colorado’s Daily Sentinel. Channing coincidentally hails from Fruitvale, Colorado. Would we make these things up?

It’s the International Year of Soils – but don’t call soil ‘dirt’! Dirt is what politicians try to sweep under the carpet. Every garden nurtured, vegetables, fruit and grain raised, forest and prairie that flourish all grow in soil. Science takes soil seriously. Within 48 hours in early December three major studies were released that confirmed this. Neglecting the health of Africa’s soil will lock the continent into a cycle of food insecurity for generations to come, the Montpellier Panel warned. Logging destabilizes forest soils over time, Dartmouth College scientists found in a study appearing in the journal Global Change Biology:Bioenergy. A 12-year University of Illinois study showed that, although the use of cover crops does not improve crop yields, the practice does increase the amount of sequestered soil organic carbon (Open Journal of Soil Science). Under temperate conditions, a mere quarter-inch of soil can take a century or more to create. Think about it the next time you see heavy machinery pushing it aside to ‘develop’ a new subdivision.

Diversion No. 4

A southwest Ohio family is searching for Sasquatch no longer. The Spence family in Delhi township, west of Cincinnati, said their 400-pound concrete statue of the mythical beast which was reputed stolen one Saturday, has been found. A friend saw the statue in a nearby open field [Sources: ABC News, The Miami Herald]

On 20 January, Icelanders celebrate Husband’s Day, a tradition that extends back to Viking times. In many households, lucky hubbies may dig into mid-winter yummies of dried fish, smoked lamb, putrefied shark, sour blood and liver pudding, and, if they’re in luck, pickled lamb testicles, reports Iceland Review. Somehow, the care and culture of houseplants gets ever more attractive . . .