Category Archives: Horticulture Tips

The dialogue will be about how to grow plants and make them healthier.

A Few Good reasons to Garden

On the increase in horticulture is the production of locally grown vegetables. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables are the best thing for your health, no chemicals, and grown to ripeness that can easily be digested in your body. Another trend is to grow and donate those that need the food the most. A production schedule can be made that will not only produce food on a weekly basis but will also have reserves that can be donated to those that need a better diet. The Bible saws that 10% of the crop should be left for the poor.

Many gardens are started with good intentions, a few become very productive but many withers due to countless issues. This is an opportunity to get fresh fruits and vegetables on a weekly basis.  The growing season is between 180 and 188 days, vegetable will provided on a weekly basis as they mature. The season can be increased early or late by many methods.

Vegetables that can be grown are beans, peas, summer squash, winter squash, beets, kale, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, lettuce, spinach, okra, eggplant, radishes, white potatoes, sweet potatoes. There are also other plants that be grown to season and flavor the main crops (herbs of many aromas).

Always try something new, it also helps fill in gaps and it may add something new to your diet.

KW © 2021

Ken Wilson

Book Review “The Allergy Fighting Garden” by Thomas Leo Ogren

Book Review “The Allergy-Fighting Garden”

by Thomas Leo Ogren

The Allergy-Fighting Garden Reviewed by Kenneth Wilson “The Gardening Whisperer”.

This review is prepared to be on www.Gadeneningwhisperer.com.   This book was written by Thomas Leo Ogren, 2015 and edited by Lisa Regul of Ten Speed Press.

Thomas has a Masters Degree in Agricultural Science with an emphasis on plant flowering systems and their relationships to allergy. He is the creator of (OPALS) or the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale.  He has been a teacher, business owner, landscaper, has been on TV. He has written many books and articles about plants and allergies. His whole career has been given to helping those with allergies.

I have learned a lot in my many years in horticulture and thought I had figured out a lot of answers until I read Tom Ogren’s book about Allergies.  In the beginning, he lays out the dilemma about allergies he noticed that his wife’s asthma attacks happened when her allergies were at their worst and pollen was everywhere.  He then isolated the plants that were producing the major pollen problems and then started to design a yard without the male pollen spores and used female plants that would attract and hold the pollen so it did not blow about causing problems. He has written several books and has been seen on television on several programs. He established the (OPALS) scale or the (Ogren, Pollen, Allergy Scale), which rates from one (1) to ten (10) the severity of a plant to be an irritant that would cause allergies to humans. He uses several variables to determine this number.

He describes how pollen and allergy have been on the increase in the United States and how the practices of horticulturists have increased the number of pollen grains flying around. His explanation is that the drive to produce more male plants so as to reduce female plants so there is less trash to pick up under female trees. The increase of male trees which has added more pollen and fewer female trees to grab hold of the pollen has added immensely the amount of air-born pollen.  His explanation of how a plant is pollinated is excellent and he lists some of the major plants that are wind-pollinated.  He gives advice on establishing a plant screen to help reduce the amount of flying pollen.

At the end of the book, Tom has included in this book are one thousand plus plant and their (OPALS) number.  It contains all types of plants, trees, shrubs, grasses, annuals, and perennials this is very helpful in designing your allergy-free garden.  Unfortunately, there are many plants in the United States and this list is only a start.

It is an excellent book and must be read to think about what other horticulture practices are doing to unbalance the environment. These practices may also affect the pollination balance with native plants thus affecting bee problems.

Get yourself a copy of “T
he Allergy-Fighting Garden” by Thomas Leo Ogren and enlighten yourself.

©Ken Wilson Gardening Whisperer 2016

GROUNDHOGS DAY

GROUNDHOGS DAY

As told by Tree Frog:

Weather Frog

It is only One (1) more days until Groundhogs Day, so what. Why silly people have been using a Ground Hog or whatever they can find to predict the coming of spring and fresh flowers. Their guesswork is based on years of practice and refining. A tradition from the Pennsylvania German as it’s called Grundsaudaag or Murmeltiertag is celebrated on February 2.  If it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will persist for six more weeks.

The human’s dress in their funny costumes and old hats only to get bitten by a cranky groundhog that wants no part of their ancient traditions only to be left alone so he can go back into his winter borrow until its spring.   Why humans do not look at a calendar to know it probably will be about six weeks more until spring I do not know.

As for me, I rely on the small flies and insects to predict spring. When they are flying I am filling my stomach. As the temperature warms, I start to warm and so do the insects.  I start catching my lunch as they fly by. It is the best time of the year unless some stupid human misused insecticides last year and killed my lunch, which will be bad for me.  Humans just disrupt nature to please themselves with no regard for what is going on around them.

The weatherman here is calling for rain so maybe we will have an early spring. Whatever happens on groundhogs day and his shadow, the flavor of the day at Culver’s is Twix Mix. Have a happy Ground Hogs Day.

©www.gardingwhisperer.com 2016

This entry was posted in Horticulture TipsUncategorized and tagged Ground Hog DayInsectsWeather on February 1, 2016, by Ken WilsonEdit

END OF 2015 START OF 2016

END OF 2015 START OF 2016

To my many friends ;

This is an ending picture of the year; it is a tribute of lilacs of past spring and the consideration of next spring’s blossoms to come. I hope you’ll (southern term) have had a grand 2015 and will have an enormous 2016.

I hope 2016 will bring me time and energy to write more and take more incredible photos so I can share it with my friends.

Once again have Happy 2016.

This entry was posted in Horticulture TipsWeather on December 31, 2015, by Ken WilsonEdit

GLADIOLAS

GLADIOLAS

GLADIOLAS

Gladiolas Pink

Gladiolas or Glad’s as some people call them are a great summer bulb. Their attractiveness has diminished in the last decade or two. They were highly used as a cut flower in massive bouquets.  They do not winter hardy and have to be dug and stored over the winter and planted the following year. As it is not a native and the time involved to grow them many a Gardner has chosen not to grow them.

If you grew them this year it is the time to dig them and store in a 45. degree non-lighted area.  Do not let them freeze.

However, this all said they are a glorious addition to a garden and are a great cut flower. Look now for some great looking colors for next spring.

© www.gardeningwhisperer.com 2015

This entry was posted in Horticulture Tips and tagged Cut FlowersGladiolasSummer Bulbs on September 27, 2015, by Ken WilsonEdit