Handout for April 2010 Neighborhood Gdn Tour

Dunleith Garden Tour Eddie & Linda Rhoades 667 Longwood Court

You will notice there is no front lawn, it's all one big mulch bed. Why should I waste my life cutting grass? Plus lawn mowers are like little cars that burn gas and oil and give off emissions not to mention lawns need other maintenance like watering, fertilizing, edging and raking. Then if you have a lawn service you are really contributing to the pollution of the planet because they spray poisons, not because you have a problem, but to prevent your having a problem. About those little signs they put out, bees and toad frogs can't read. So when is the last time you saw a honeybee or a toad frog? This garden's focus is on edible landscaping. Of course there are flowers but notice the cold hardy pineapple guavas, pawpaws, seedless American persimmon, Oriental persimmon, English walnut, mulberries, blueberries, figs, kiwi, pears, pomegranates, two types of cold hardy citrus, Shiitake mushroom logs (notice the clusters of short vertical stumps in back, that's them), two types of edible fruit dogwood, maypops, muscadines and jujubes. Some of these trees I grafted myself. Others are the very best varieties to be found anywhere. Besides the fruit trees we grow vegetables: usually okra, tomatoes, asparagus, onions, cucumbers, lettuce, collards, squash, zucchini, peppers, herbs, butternut squash, melons and others.
There are a few elements of whimsy and yard art that I try to keep confined to the back yard.
To establish a wildlife habitat I have bird feeders, bird houses, water sources and brush piles. Some of the brush piles also function as compost piles. In the Fall I gather bags of leaves from the neighborhood to use all over the yard for smothering weeds. Since leaves develop lift and blow around I add a sprinkling of pine straw to stop this and for esthetics. You might also notice the rain barrel where I capture rainwater and transfer it to gallon milk jugs. These come in handy during our inevitable dry spells. Some of the plants I grow are more for wildlife than human consumption: chokeberry - aronia arbutifolia, beautyberry - calicarpia Americana, both purple and white, elderberries, poke weed, mayhaw, crossvine for hummingbirds and crabapples. I plan to add heartnuts and a bee hive. I am not so much gardening for show as I am gardening for myself. I don't grow anything that has to be dug up and taken in to over-winter. I have been a Master Gardener for 30 years. Come visit me on my website at
http://www.bittersweetgardens.com. I also have two CDs released with a gardening song on each.

THE ORGANIC BUZZWORD

There is an organization of organic gardeners and there is even a national magazine called Organic Gardening. Their precepts are honorable and good but, like most things, we don’t “do” it, we “overdo” it. I’ll start with the most ludicrous case: I recieved a catalog in the mail that advertizes their seeds as being organic. I emailed them and asked what makes their seeds organic and they replied that they were taken from organic plants. Say what? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? As far as I am concerned ”ALL” seeds are organic. There is no pesticide that can carry over a generation through a seed. So therefore what their claim amounts to is a marketing ploy. That’s right, if your product is labled organic you can charge more for it. So it’s not about safety and wholsomeness, it’s about money. Even more absurd was the Paste magazine advertisement I read for cigarettes made from organic tobacco. So you’re going to buy a theoretically more healthy product to give yourself emphysema and cancer? Now the question comes to mind as I wander through a Farmer’s Market and see a product labled organic, is it naturally organic or is it certified organic. Now don’t be afraid but I must tell you the government has gotten in on the act. There are precise regulations on what determines certified organic. For three or four years you must monitor not only the amount of pesticides and fertilizing and sprays you use in your garden but also your neighbor’s gardens. The fact that this country could (at one time) raise more food than we could eat is what helped us become a great wealthy nation with stocks of food available for us to store and to sell to other countries. During this time we used lots of chemical fertilizers. We also used lots of terrible poisons. Thanks to Rachael Carson, author of Silent Spring, we no longer use DDT but you can bet that before it was taken off the market a lot was probably stockpiled by farmers because they thought it was necessary. I’m sure it has all been used up by now but there are other poisons on the market and there are no regulations on who can buy it nor how much they can buy. I’m the first to admit we did a lot wrong back then but where is Rachael when we need her? Who is going to say to the homeowners of America “You are responsible for the price of food going up because you have a lawn service.” Let me explain: It’s okay to have someone cut your grass or blow your leaves into the storm sewer ( I suppose), but these companies, in order to make more money, also spray your lawn with chemicals. Is it because you have a problem? No, it’s to PREVENT your ever having a problem. Think about how there are less and less honeybees not to mention I never see toad frogs anymore or June bugs. Could it be because of all that unnecessary spraying of poison? Oh but these companies put out little signs warning that the lawn has been sprayed. As soon as the bees and frogs learn to read everything will be okay. And what about these guidelines to spray Sevin and other chemicals in orchards sometime around petal drop and at certain late hours when all the bees are supposed to be back at the hive. Has anyone studied this to see if it’s 100% effective? I know for a fact some bees are too far from the hive when it gets late so they spend the night inside a flower and resume working the next day. And so, the little bit of poison they track back to the hive weakens it. Multiplied by lots of bees you have a collapse of their system. The frogs are eating bugs that have crawled across the lawn and coated themselves with poison. Then it gets into th e water supply and the food chain. Can our scientists not figure this out? I guess it's like global warming, some scientists say it's happening, some say not. When something like this is written it brings down the wrath of the great chemical companies who have lots and lots of money and lawyers and scientists and politicians on their side. But I say to you, my fellow Americans “What part will you play in this?”
Eddie Rhoades

Trivia and Severe Water Shortage

Trivia questions:
1 What is the world's largest commode?
2 How many chinese do we need?
3 Does Georgia have a water shortage?
4 Can you name one animal that is becoming extinct?

Trivia answers:
1 The ocean
2 Evidently billions
3 No, we have plenty of water, we just have too many people
4 Me neither, I can't think of a single animal on the verge of extinction but if there are any I'm sure the government is handling the problem.

About The Drought -
It's funny how I can be out in the garden and think of lots of things I want to say but later when I get back inside I can't remember them. I may hop and skip around a bit here but that's why we named it Eddie's RAMBLING Blog. We are in what is classified as an extreme drought and it was all I could do this summer to keep my valuable plants alive. Reduced to its lowest common denominator I could say we have plenty of water, problem is we have too many people. Not only are people suffering but plants and other animals as well. Be sure to keep birdbaths and other water sources clean and filled during this critical time. You and I can walk inside and have a drink of water but plants are rooted to one spot, they can't do that. You might try digging in some crystal polymers like Water Grabber or other brands. Pike nursery has this product mixed with fertilizer. You don't want that. The fertilizer would only increase water needs. Be sure to presoak the crystals before you dig them in. Also, you can add more mulch to keep moisture from evaporating from the soil surface. I have greatly reduced the size of my lawn and you can do the same. A side benifit of a smaller lawn means less mowing naturally, but it also means more growing space for flowers, shrubs and trees. Me, I'm installing two rain barrels. Every little bit makes a difference.