Catalogs: Best of times for Gardeners

One of the best times for a gardener – checking seed and plant catalogs. Many are now only available online. Gone are the days of snuggling down in bed and then dropping into a dream-filled sleep. Order early! Other gardeners are similarly engaged and supplies can run out.

Diversion No. 1

Staff ‘banana-proof’ areas for a Swedish minister’s phobia, according to BBC News. A Swedish minister’s phobia of bananas has reportedly lent government officials asking for rooms to be free of the fruit. Local media outlet Expresen has quoted from leaked emails it has seen, in which staff working for gender equality minister Paulina Brandberg ask for any bananas to be removed before official visits.

Marketed as ‘biosolids’ fertilizer, it is sewage sludge. Used historically to improve soil and increase crops, in recent years some controversy has arisen. Delighted to pass off increasing loads of sewage sludge, municipalities have given it to farmers to spread on pastures – and crops intended for human consumption. But, with ‘live-forever-chemicals widely detected in the same ‘biosolids’ – and proof of insufficient treatment against pathogens – concerns are being raised.

Diversion No. 2

Flamingo Estate’s best-selling candle may surprise you with its scent: tomato according to The Daily Beast. The fragrance captures the evocative aroma of freshly watered tomato vines and leaves at their most fragrant. The Roma Heirloom Tomato Candle sells for US$58. Of course, it may also set off your smoke alarm . . .

Bad enough to have your plants infested with whiteflies. Worst yet to know that fossils of the pest date back to at least the Miocene, 15 million years ago. The minute fossils, barely visible to the naked eye, presumably dropped the same, sooty mould gathering feces in the New Zealand forests of that time. Nowadays this may be the first indication of an infestation. Like that other pest, spider mite, it is discouraged by daily spritzing plants with tepid water.

Diversion No. 3

Researchers in China have developed a robot that identifies different plant species at various stages of growth by “touching” their leaves with an electrode, according to the study, published in the journal Device.

This may horrify lily lovers, but historically, about a dozen species in China have been eaten. Both the bulbs and flower buds have featured on menus of the Celestial Kingdom, purposely cultivated for that purpose. Recently, a new variety of edible lily, the “Zhongbai No. 1,” has been bred by the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. While the bulbs have not yet reached Western food markets, other, older varieties may be found. Approach eating or growing them with caution. Tiger Lily, Lilium lancifolium, and Lanzhou Lily Lilium davidii, are edible. Many others are poisonous – and not just to cats.

Diversion No. 4

Plastic-eating insect discovered in Kenya, writes The Conversation. There’s been an exciting new discovery in the fight against plastic pollution: mealworm larvae that are capable of consuming polystyrene. They join the ranks of a small group of insects that have been found to be capable of breaking plastic down though this is the first time that an insect native to Africa has been found to do this. The lesser mealworm is the larval form of the Alphitobus darkling beetle.

Spider mites are some of the worst pests of plants outdoors and indoors, especially under hot, dry conditions. Unfortunately homes overwinter are often just that. Often resistant to pesticides (anyway in some areas banned), we have in the past discouraging the beasts by frequent spritzing with tepid water. Now, a science study appears to confirm this.