Happy Earth Day

Posted on 2011-04-22 by admin

Earthrise over the moon as seen by the astronauts of Apollo 8 on December 22, 1968.

This was not the first image of the isolated Earth from space. It was the first which contrasted in the same image the wet, blue and green, atmospheric Earth with the barren, dusted, lifeless Moon.

The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft near 110 degrees east longitude. The horizon, about 570 kilometers (250 statute miles) from the spacecraft, is near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from the Earth. On the earth, the sunset terminator crosses Africa. The south pole is in the white area near the left end of the terminator. North and South America are under the clouds. The lunar surface probably has less pronounced color than indicated by this print.

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Links

Wikipedia: Earth Day
Apollo, NASA

Street Tree Walking Tour, Sunday 4/17

Posted on 2011-04-07 by admin

Update 2011-04-16: As nasty as the weather is as I update this on Saturday night, it will be beautiful tomorrow for the tour, windy, but temperatures reaching into the upper 50s and low 60s. Added a Google Map of the tour below.

The Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour of April 2009. Photo: Sustainable Flatbush (Flickr)

The 4th Annual Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, April 17, the day after the Plant Swap. (It’s a busy weekend for us!) We’re following the same route as past tours, so if you’ve only been able to enjoy our fall foliage in the past, come enjoy the spring blooms!

Once again tours leave from Sacred Vibes Apothecary at 11am and 12noon. Your tour guides will be Sam Bishop of Trees NY, neighbor and gardener Tracey Hohman, and me. On the tour, you can see:

Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
Amelanchier, Serviceberry
Betula nigra, River Birch
Cercis canadensis, Redbud
Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
Pinus strobus, White Pine
Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
Styphnolobium japonicum (Sophora japonica), Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
Taxodium distichum, Bald Cycpress
Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.
When: Sunday, April 17. Tours set out at 11am and 12noon. The tour lasts 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Where: Tours leave from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, just down the corner from Cortelyou Road, across the street from the Tot Lot, catty-corner from the Greenmarket. The route is about a mile in length, looping back to where we started.
Suggested Donation: 5$

View 2011 Spring Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

April 2009. Photo: Sustainable Flatbush (Flickr)

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Links

4th Annual Street Tree Walking Tour!, Sustainable Flatbush
Sacred Vibes Apothecary
Trees NY

Dividing Ornamental Grasses

Posted on 2011-04-04 by admin

As we approach the Second Annual Great Flatbush Plant Swap, I’m hoping to post some tips on how to divide perennials to bring to the event. Now is the time to do it, as foliage has just emerged, plants are actively growing, and most will recover quickly from any perceived insult of being lifted out of the ground and ripped into pieces.

I have to do with this with perennials in my gardens, so I’ll use them as examples. Today I divided one of my larger grasses.

This is a three-year old clump of Panicum virgatum ‘Cloud Nine’, a cultivar of our native switchgrass I ordered from Plant Delights in Spring of 2008. Two weeks ago, I cut back all the dead foliage from last year, leaving the stubble you see here. The clump is roughly a foot in diameter. This is ready to be divided.

One way to divide is to slice into the plant while it’s still in the ground with a garden spade, taking out slices as if it were a cake. I’ll use that technique on some of my Hemerocallis, Daylilies. Today, I chose to lift the entire clump out of the ground to separate it using two garden forks. This also made it easier to photograph to demonstrate the technique.

Clumping grasses like Panicum often have deep roots, contributing to their general drought-tolerance. To keep enough of the roots, first cut straight down with a deep-bladed garden spade, all around the perimeter of the clump.

With the perimeter cut, slice beneath the clump to sever the deeper roots. This took a bit of work until I was able to loosen the clump and fork it out of the ground.

Here’s the intact clump, viewed from the side and from above, set on a tarp for division. Note how deep and dense the roots are, even after severing them with the spade.

Next take two garden forks. (If you don’t have two forks you could divide the clump with the garden spade at this point.) Place the heads back-to-back, with the handles slightly offset from each other, and drive them down their full length into the center of clump. Note that both heads go straight down, and the handles are splayed out from each other. That provides the leverage you need to separate the clump.

Keeping the tops of the fork heads against each other as a pivot, push the handles toward each other. You’re using the forks as levers to spread and break apart the clump. Push from both sides. If that’s awkward, try standing with one fork toward you, the other away, then push the closer fork away while pulling the further fork toward you. Watch your fingers! When the clump gives, it will release quickly, bringing the handles – and your knuckles – together. Gloves help! Once it gives, simply tease the two halves apart to complete the separation.

It looks like mitosis!

With a large clump like this, I repeated the same process on each of the two halves. I was then able to break apart the four quarters into smaller pieces by hand, giving me a dozen generously sized clumps to replant in my garden and share at the Plant Swap. Some of them will also go to the new native plant gardens for the Flatbush Reform Church communal garden, another project of Sustainable Flatbush.

Slideshow

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Second Annual Great Flatbush Plant Swap

Posted on 2011-04-03 by admin

Do you have extra seed-starts? Leftovers from dividing perennials? No place for that shrub you just dug out? Bring them to the Second Annual Great Flatbush Plant Swap on Saturday, April 16. No plants? No problem: everyone can bring home a plant, even if you have none of your own to swap. And it’s a great way to meet other local gardeners, whether you’re a beginner or a pro.

Sponsored by Sustainable Flatbush and the Flatbush Food Coop, the First Annual was, coincidentally, just last year. It was a great success, especially for an inaugural event: we distributed over 330 plants. Let’s see if we can distribute even more this year!

When: Saturday, April 16, noon to 3pm
Where: Flatbush Food Coop, 1415 Cortelyou Road, at Marlborough Road

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Links

Flatbush Plant Swap, April 16th, Sustainable Flatbush
Flatbush Food Coop

Upcoming Events for Brooklyn Gardeners

Posted on 2011-04-01 by admin

Saturday, April 16

Rain Barrel Giveaway, NYC DEP
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Marine Park Parking Lot
Avenue U

Millions Trees NYC Tree Giveaway
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Green-Wood Cemetery
500 25th St, Brooklyn
100 TREES

2nd Annual Great Flatbush Plant Swap
12noon to 3pm
Flatbush Food CoOp
1415 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn
Sponsored by Sustainable Flatbush and the Flatbush Food Coop

Sunday, April 17

4th Annual Sustainable Flatbush Spring Street Tree Walking Tour
11am & 12noon

Sunday, April 23

Millions Trees NYC Tree Giveaway
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Restoration Plaza
1368 Fulton St, Brooklyn

Sunday, May 1

Millions Trees NYC Tree Giveaway
Grand Street Campus
10:00 a.m. – noon
850 Grand Street, Brooklyn

Friday, May 6, through Sunday, May 15

NYC Wildflower Week
Events city-wide

Saturday, May 7

Millions Trees NYC Tree Giveaway
Neighborhood Housing Services of East Flatbush
noon – 2:00 p.m.
Holy Cross Church School Yard
2530 Church Ave., Brooklyn

Sunday, May 15

My garden will be on tour for NYC Wildflower Week!

Saturday, June 4

Millions Trees NYC Tree Giveaway
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Blessed Sacrament Church
198 Euclid Avenue, Brooklyn

Cellophane Bees Return

Posted on 2010-04-27 by admin

Colletes thoracicus, Cellophane Bee, is a native species of solitary, ground-nesting bees. Solitary, because each nest is burrowed out by a single queen, who constructs several chambers in which to lay individual eggs. Solitary, yet communal: where they find the right conditions, the nests can be densely packed.Here’s a short video showing the activity on Saturday morning.

This is the third year for what I’ve come to think of as “my little bees.” I noticed the holes earlier last week, and saw all this activity last Saturday, as I was readying for the Plant Swap. This is the earliest in the year that I’ve noticed them.

Make Your Garden Bee-Friendly

These bees took up residence in a “neglected” spot of the garden, one of the benefits of being a lazy gardener/ecosystem engineer. Different species of bees have different requirements. Here are some things you can do to make your garden bee-friendly.

Avoid chemicals, especially pesticides.
Leave some areas of bare or muddy ground for ground-nesting species.
Set aside “wild” areas, even a few square feet.
Provide bee nesting houses.
Forego that perfect lawn, minimize lawn area, and/or mow less often.
Plant a diversity of flowering plants; bees prefer yellow, blue, and purple flowers.
Provide a succession of blooming plants throughout the growing season, especially early spring and late fall.
Provide a mix of flower shapes to accommodate different bee tongue lengths.
Emphasize native perennial plants. (See plant lists under Links below.)
Minimize the use of doubled flowers.
Select sunny locations, sheltered from the wind, for your flower plantings.
Practice peaceful coexistence.

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White-Nose Syndrome Reaches Missouri

Posted on 2010-04-23 by admin

White-nose Syndrome (WNS) continues to spread north, south, and west. It was discovered earlier this year in Ontario and Tennessee. It has now also been confirmed in a Missouri cave.

In mid-April, 2010, the Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed Missouri’s first signs of a new disease in bats that scientists have named “White-Nose Syndrome.” The name describes a white fungus, Geomyces destructans, typically found on the faces and wings of infected bats.
– MDC monitoring new bat disease in Missouri, Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)

White-Nose Syndrome and Bat Hibernation Areas – April 19, 2010, Bat Conservation International

This is the westernmost spread of WNS since it was first discovered in bat winter-hibernation caves – hibernacula – in New York in the Winter of 2006-2007. This reaches far past even the discovery of WNS in Tennessee, within the bounds of Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Biologists at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have received confirmation that one Little Brown bat collected from its hibernating refuge in the Park’s White Oak Blowhole cave tested positive for Geomyces destructans [the fungus and the presumptive causative agent of White Nose Syndrome (WNS)]. White Oak Blowhole cave contains the largest known Indiana bat hibernacula in Tennessee. The Indiana bat is a federally listed endangered species which has seen declines in the Northeastern U.S. due to WNS. White Nose Syndrome has killed in excess of 90% of the bats in many of the caves and mines in the Northeast, and is just now showing up in the Southeast.
– Great Smoky Mountains National Park Bat Tests Positive for White Nose Syndrome Fungus, Press release, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 2010-04-19

I put up my bat house two years ago in response to learning about WNS. I fear it may never receive any tenants. Without critical scientific breakthroughs on the mortality of this disease, we may see the extinction of several bat species within a decade.

Mortality rates approaching 100 percent are reported at some sites. White-nose Syndrome has now moved into Canada, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Maryland. It threatens some of the largest hibernation caves for endangered Indiana myotis, gray myotis, and Virginia big-eared bats. Ultimately, bats across North America are at imminent risk.
– White-Nose Syndrome, Bat Conservation International

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Links

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Bat Tests Positive for White Nose Syndrome Fungus, Press release, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 2010-04-19
MDC monitoring new bat disease in Missouri, Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)
White-Nose Syndrome, Bat Conservation International

40 Years of Earth

Posted on 2010-04-22 by admin

Earthrise over the moon as seen by the astronauts of Apollo 8 on December 22, 1968.

This iconic image has become my regular Earth Day illustration. It was not the first image of the isolated Earth from space. It was the first which contrasted in the same image the wet, blue and green, atmospheric Earth with the barren, dusted, lifeless Moon.

It is easy to deceive ourselves that we can exploit the Earth and dehumanize others – basically, sh*t where we eat and sleep – without consequences. It is hard to see, concretely and measurably, how interconnected and interdependent we are.

Images like those above remind us that we are alone, isolated, and fragile. We are stewards of the Earth. We are gardeners of the world. It’s our responsibility now.

The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft near 110 degrees east longitude. The horizon, about 570 kilometers (250 statute miles) from the spacecraft, is near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from the Earth. On the earth, the sunset terminator crosses Africa. The south pole is in the white area near the left end of the terminator. North and South America are under the clouds. The lunar surface probably has less pronounced color than indicated by this print.

Despite the origin of the photo at the top of this post, I am opposed to the human “exploration” of space at this stage in the development of our species and civilization. (Reporter: “What do you think of Western civilization?” Gandhi: “I think it would be a good idea.”) We know all we need which can be learned from sending and keeping humans in space, other than hot to keep humans in space. That should not be our priority. It is far too costly, in economic, human, and environmental costs, for the benefits. We have far more pressing and urgent investments to make, in education, health, and our increasing hunger for things.

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Links

Wikipedia: Earth Day
Apollo, NASA

Not just for Tree-Huggers: Street Tree Tour Sunday, 5/2

Posted on 2010-04-20 by admin

RESCHEDULED: The Tree Tour has been rescheduled for the rain date of Sunday, May 2, same times and location.

340 Argyle Road, Beverley Square West, April 2007

Sustainable Flatbush’s 3rd Annual Spring Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, May 2. I’m proud to once again be one of your guides.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That’s me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka (Flickr)

Tours start at 11am and 12noon from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, between Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads, and loop through the historic neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and landmarked Prospect Park South. In addition to architectural beauty, the area boasts a rich variety of street trees, as well as ornamental trees and shrubs.

View Sustainable Flatbush Spring 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

On the tour, you can see:

Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
Amelanchier, Serviceberry
Betula nigra, River Birch
Cercis canadensis, Redbud
Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
Pinus strobus, White Pine
Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.

The suggested donation for the tour is $5. From the Sustainable Flatbush Web site:

On Sunday, May 2, Sustainable Flatbush will host our fourth Street Tree Walking Tour! Join tour guides Chris Kreussling (better known as Flatbush Gardener) and Tracey Hohman (professional gardener) for a fun, fulfilling and enlightening tour of Brooklyn’s diverse canopy.

On the Street Tree Walking Tour, you will learn to identify a variety of trees (think of how you can impress your friends!), examine local natural tree history and tree lore (no textbooks needed!), explore the way street trees benefit urban areas (you’ll become a tree’s best friend), and find out how you can obtain and care for street trees yourself!

Become a street tree defender as you walk your way around Victorian Flatbush! The tour (recommended by Brokelyn as a great cheap date!) will take about two hours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the weather and the walk!

The Street Tree Walking Tour is about “connecting people to streetscape,” according to Chris Kreussling. Street trees remind us that we are not separate from nature, but instead dependent upon it for our survival and safety. So grab a friend — or three! – for the walk of the season, and fall more in love with the beautiful foliage of Brooklyn!

What: Street Tree Walking Tour
Where: Begins and ends at Sacred Vibes Apothecary (376 Argyle Road, btwn Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads)
When: Sunday, May 2 — two tours are scheduled: one at 11 a.m., one at noon

Suggested donation $5

Keep an eye out for Sustainable Flatbush’s Street Tree Walking Tour next fall!

Directions:

Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road Station and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road.
As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.
Buses that stop on or near Cortelyou Road include the B23, B103, B68, and BM1,2,3,4 and x29 express busess.

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Links

Street Tree Walking Tour April 25th!, Sustainable Flatbush

Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Peak Everything

Posted on 2010-04-18 by admin

Today, after this morning’s rains ended, Blog Widow and I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was my scheduled date to pickup my signature plant order: a pair of Paw-paws, and another native, unfamiliar to me: Meehania cordata. I shall be glad to make its acquaintance.

The Garden was peaking today. Like the King in Amadeus, I wanted to declare, simply: “Too many colors.” I didn’t get to see everything I wanted today. The Rock Garden was also peaking, but I only got to walk past that on my way to the plant pickup area. But I got enough to satisfy my jones for the day.

I’ve learned to carry deep photographic backup when I’m out on an excursion: two cameras, and two batteries for each. Today it paid off. The battery on my primary camera died just as I was taking the final shot for the panorama of the Cherry Esplanade.

That’s when I discovered I was missing the backup battery. (It’s still missing.) My secondary, point-and-shoot, camera is small enough that I have it with me all the time, tucked into my shoulder bag or, like today, in my jacket. Then the battery died on the P&S, and I resorted to its backup battery, which held up for the rest of the afternoon.

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Saturday, April 16

Sunday, April 17

Sunday, April 23

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Friday, May 6, through Sunday, May 15

Saturday, May 7

Sunday, May 15

Saturday, June 4

Make Your Garden Bee-Friendly

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