Meatless Monday: Planning Your Summer Garden

With the cold winter we’ve been having, I’ve been spending plenty of time planning for spring.

If you are fortunate enough to have a large enough space with ample sun, perhaps you, too, are thinking ahead — to a summer vegetable garden.

If you are a newbie to gardening, or feel like you could use some helpful gardening tips, let me suggest a visit to Organic Gardening, a terrific blog by my Master Gardening Mentor Rachel Ziesk. In her most recent post she described a method for determining if those seeds you’ve saved are likely to sprout.

I’m sure she’s turning the pages of her favorite seed catalogs right now, dreaming about what she’ll plant this year.

Rachel and I live in Connecticut. Last year Rachel planted her first seeds indoors on February 17th. You can read about how she got started here. Maybe her posts will inspire you. 

Some of Rachel's beautiful late season harvest. 

If you are thinking about heirloom or organic seeds, here are a couple of links to some interesting catalogues:

• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds [with a store at the historic Comstock, Ferre & Co. in Wethersfield, CT]
• Johnny’s Selected Seeds 
• Seeds of Change
• Burpee also sells organic seeds and garden supplies.

This should be enough to get you going. Happy planning.

Have a great week. Stay warm. Eat well. 

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

More on the Emerald Ash Borer

When the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) was detected in Prospect on July 16,  2012, Connecticut joined the ranks of 15 other states where infestations of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) have been found. [Details on its life cycle and the press conference which announced its discovery can be found in my initial blog post of July, 21.] The EAB feeds exclusively on ash trees and is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees, of all species, from the Mid-West to New York state and south to Tennessee. Infestation of an ash by EAB usually leads to the tree's death, often within two to three years.

How was the EAB discovered?

Purple detection traps, known as “Barney traps” because of their color, baited with manuka oil (a chemical lure to attract any EABs in the area), have been used in Connecticut since 2008. They are hung in ash trees in May, checked three times, and then removed in September. Initially, a total of twenty traps were deployed. In 2011, in anticipation of the EAB's arrival from New York, 940 traps went up. In 2012, 540 traps were hung in more carefully targeted areas. Traps, however, were not the means by which the EAB’s presence in Connecticut was first detected.

Dr. Claire Rutledge hanging a purple trap.
Photo by Mioara Scott.

The EAB is a prey of Cerceris fumipennis, nicknamed the “Smoky-Winged Beetle Bandit,” a ground-nesting, non-stinging native wasp, which hunts beetles in the family Buprestidae, which includes EAB. Scientists along the eastern seaboard and in parts of the Midwest have been using Cerceris as a bio-surveillance tool. They have recruited an army of citizen scientists as “wasp watchers,” who monitor baseball fields adjacent to woodlands during the peak of Cerceris hunting time — late morning to early afternoon on hot, sunny summer days. Their assignment? To intercept the Cerceris prey before she (always a female) can get her catch into her underground burrow. If the EAB is in the area, it is evident in the Cerceris catch. Dr. Claire Rutledge, a scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) in New Haven, has been assembling a cadre of Cerceris watchers in the state for the past several years. This past summer, the watchers included 17 Master Gardeners who signed on after wasp watching was approved as an official outreach activity.

Mioara Scott, who has worked with Dr. Rutledge for five summers, was the one who found Connecticut’s first confirmed EAB — in Canfield Park in Prospect, in northern New Haven County. She caught the Cerceris wasp carrying the female EAB that then was sent to USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service (USDA APHIS-PPQ) offices for verification. After the initial discovery, watchers captured 25 more EABs at Canfield, and three more at nearby Fusco Field. An EAB was caught in Beacon Falls later that week. EAB was also discovered in a catch sample submitted by the wasp watcher (a Master Gardener) assigned to Canfield Park. This triggered an early check of purple traps in the area. A trap in Prospect yielded three, and EABs were found in traps in Naugatuck State Forest and in Bethany. Summer surveillance in Fairfield, Litchfield, and Middlesex counties has not yielded any EABs; the newly confirmed infestation seems to be confined to the Prospect area. 

The Prospect, CT EAB
(Actual size approximately 1/2" long)
Photo by Katherine Dugas

Why Is everyone so concerned? 

Ash makes up 4% to 15% of Connecticut’s forest and is a common urban tree. An important source of food for a wide range of native wildlife, ash is already in decline because of a disease called ash yellows. There is concern that the EAB could reduce the population of ash in the state to a point where it might not be able to recover, potentially causing a ripple effect in the ecosystem of Connecticut’s forests.

How did the EAB travel to Prospect? 

Prospect is a good distance from Dutchess County, New York, along the Hudson, where EAB was detected earlier this year. Some speculate that the EAB may have blown into Prospect on storm winds, but more likely the EAB arrived on firewood. The EAB has great flight potential. Movement of firewood containing EAB to a new location gives the beetle the opportunity for rapid expansion of its territory —the quickest way to spread the infestation. 

What are the current action steps and goals?

• Establishing the borders of the current infestation. Now that wasp-watching season has ended, and the EAB’s adult life cycle stage is about over, means of detection will shift to physical examination of trees in the Naugatuck State Forest for signs of EAB presence. 
• Slowing the infestation’s spread. On August 9, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station issued the terms of a quarantine on the movement of hardwood and hardwood products out of New Haven County, to take effect immediately. You can read the full text of the quarantine here.

What can you do to stop the EAB?

• Inform everyone you know.
• Don’t Move Firewood.
• Be alert. Watch for visible signs of infestation. If you see something, immediately call CAES (203-974-8474) or email: CAES.StateEntomologist@ct.gov. 
• Become a wasp watcher. Volunteers normally watch once a week for an hour or two at a time during the six to eight week Cerceris hunting season, from late June until early August. Visit cerceris.info for more information, and then email Dr. Claire Rutledge (Claire.Rutledge@ct.gov) if you are interested in joining the program. You will need to commit to a one-hour training session and approximately ten hours of active wasp watching.

Thanks to Cerceris and the wasp watchers, we know EAB has arrived in the state. Connecticut now has an action plan. People are mobilized. Let’s hope it’s in time to save Connecticut’s ash trees.

Saturday Short Subjects: DIY Insecticidal Soap

For much of this year, as a member of the 2012 Class of the U Conn Extension Master Gardener Program, I have been immersed in the study of plants, their habits, their uses, and their problems. Having completed the course work requirement of my training, I am out in the field volunteering as an intern, and staffing the county extension office under the supervision of my mentor Rachel. In the extension office, Master Gardeners (and supervised interns) answer questions, study samples mailed in or dropped off by clients, report suspected outbreaks to the proper authorities, and dispense advice.

The other day I submitted some sample cuttings from my friend’s rose bush, which were covered with some lively little critters and lots of white fluffy-looking matter. Many other plants in the yard, of several different species, had the same problem. Rachel and I looked under the microscope and, after consulting a number of books and then googling for images, determined that the critters were clearly aphids, soft-bodied sucking insects. Also known as “plant lice,” their most distinguishing identifying feature is the two short cornicles, or tubes, which extend from the end of their body. The ones on the rose sample were of the wooly aphid variety. There are over 1,375 species of aphids in the U.S. and Canada.

Rachel suggested that my friend spray the affected plants with insecticidal soap, repeating every few days, until the aphids disappeared. The soap works by drying out the aphid’s protective outer membrane, or cuticle, and entering their vulnerable cells.

There are a number of products commercially available, but many home gardeners make their own. Here is one such recipe: Nearly fill a clean 1-qt. spray bottle with water. Add 4 tablespoons of Ivory liquid (or some other very mild soap) and mix well. That’s it.

This recipe has many variations. Some call for the addition of other ingredients. Several recommend Dr. Bronner’s, but those recipes call for less soap. The key is to use MILD liquid Soap, NOT detergent, and not too much, or you might harm the plant or the neighboring vegetation. Watch for any damage to the plant, and cut the amount of soap by half immediately if you find some.

This soap is effective on any aphids (including the bright red ones we also saw in huge quantities in my friend’s yard) and other soft-bodied insects. 

Go get ’em, my friends. Happy hunting. 

Stay cool. And have a great weekend.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

On My Radar 5.5.12

Recent News. Happenings. Discoveries…Here are some of the items on my radar.

GOOD NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

The Green is on the mend. And thanks to a number of generous donations, the price tag for the City of New Haven is much lower than was expected. You can see photos of the air spading and composting here.

Rock to Rock met its $100, 000 fundraising goal (double the amount of last year’s)! The total raised was well over $90,000 on April 21, the morning of the ride. On May 2, event organizer Joel Tolman emailed this news: “This morning, IKEA New Haven chipped in with the amount we needed to reach our $100,000 goal.” Over 750 riders participated in the various rides (and had lots of fun). The money raised supports the efforts of 21 environmental groups. The money is still coming in. As of today, the total is $100,154! 

Chris Randall captured two loraxes passing West Rock.

Neighborhood Housing Service’s Home Improvement and Energy Conservation Lab was awarded Platinum LEED status. Read more about it and check out the before and after photos here. This is a big deal. The lab joins three other LEED Platinum buildings in New Haven – Kroon Hall (Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies), Yale Sculpture Building and Gallery, and 360 State Street (a 500 unit apartment building).

Higher One celebrated the opening of its new headquarters in Science Park. 

MakeHaven, a gathering place and workshop for makers, creators, tinkerers and dreamers, has opened on 266 State Street. The May 16 workshop on “Light Your Bike” (with electroluminescent wire) is filled. But you can purchase a ticket ($60) for a second workshop, date TBA.

There’s a new source of news in town – The Daily Nutmeg, an online publication delivered free to subscribers via email.

United Community Nursery School is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Happy Birthday UCNS! Thanks for providing a great start to school (and life) for hundreds of New Haven kids over the past 5 decades.

GOOD EATS

Sustainable fish is often on the IKEA New Haven restaurant menu. The fish? Saithe from Norway. More about this in a future post.

The number of owner/members in the Elm City Market continues to grow. When the store opened its doors on November 2, membership was at 750. There were 1505 members when the store’s site was last updated.

SlowFood Shoreline made a well-attended (as in sold out) foraging expedition to Wolfe Park in Monroe on April 28. I was sorry I had to miss it.

CitySeed Farmers Markets at Wooster Square (Sat.) and Edgewood Park (Sun.) resume their summer schedules this week.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

TONIGHT, MAY 5th

11:34 pm ET

Supermoon 

The perigee (closest to earth) full moon on May 5, 2012 will be as much as 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons of 2012. Don’t miss this spectacular free event!

May 12th

9:00 am - noon

Yale Day of Service 

My friend Tim and I will be planting trees in Wooster Square.

May 16th

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

New Haven Green Drinks 

Marydale DeBor will speak on Plow to Plate

at Sitar Indian Restaurant

45 Grove Street, New Haven

ontheroadtogreenness NEWS: 

I passed my Master Gardener written test and am now out and about doing my community service hours and fielding questions in the New Haven County Master Gardening office. Need some free advice? Call us at 203.407.3168.

I have added a new gadget to the blog – Google Translate. You can now read my blog in nearly every language, including Esperanto, instantly. Give it a try.   

I survived a cyberattack from South Korea which resulted in an advertisement for Windows in my comments section on a number of posts. I think I caught them all, and  since I will now be approving all comments before they are posted, it should never happen again.

My page views continue to rise. Thanks for all the tweets, +1s and forwards. Please “visit” again soon. Together we can make a difference.

On My Radar 12.29.11

Recent News. Happenings. Discoveries…Here are some of the items on my radar.

NEWS from ALL OVER:

The ethanol subsidies have come to an end. You can read more about the history of ethanol support and the long road to its final demise in many sources. Here is a particularly good summary by John Voelcker for GreenCarReports posted at TPMIdeaLab. 

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has posted an interactive map which leaves no doubt that this was a year of extreme weather events across the US. The bold copy above the graphic announces:  In 2011, there were at least 2,941 monthly weather records broken by extreme events that struck communities in the US. The summary for my state of Connecticut lists the following events: “Record-breaking heat in 5 counties and a total of 13 broken heat records; Record-breaking rainfall in 3 counties and a total of 8 broken rainfall records; Record-breaking snow in 6 counties and a total of 12 broken snowfall records; Multi-million dollar losses from extreme flooding and hurricane damage; 3 billion dollars in damage from October snowstorm; Snowiest January on record.” [I remember that month very well.] Visit the site to check out the graphic and also to read more about the NDRC’s view that extreme weather and climate change are directly related.

In late November, a report by author Elizabeth Grossman in Yale Environment 360 warned that the acidification of the world’s oceans from an excess of CO2 has already begun. Author Carl Zimmer had issued a similar warning in February 2010. 

For the last few days, it was widely reported in a number of blogs that McDonald’s had pulled out of Bolivia. Today’s Marketplace Morning Report confirmed this story. Here is part of the exchange between Marketplace’s Adriene Hill and Reuter journalist Monica Machicao in Bolivia: “Hill: …Tell me, why did these McDonald's in Bolivia close? Machicao: There are a number of hypotheses. One of those — people prefer local food rather than McDonald's. It's the fact that it's more cheap; and in fact, it's really more tasty. Hill: So the local food is actually cheaper than McDonald's fast food? Machicao: Absolutely. Local food can even cost a third of McDonald's.” The same report also stated that Wendy’s was returning to Japan with a premium menu after a two year absence.You can read the rest of the transcript here. 

Gray whales are arriving early and in record numbers off the coast of Southern California. Check out the photos here. 

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

Frank Criscuolo, a beloved figure from the downtown New Haven restaurant scene, died unexpectedly at home on December 14, at the age of 62. Husband of Claire Criscuolo, Claire and Frank were co-owner and proprietors of the 35-year-old vegetarian restaurant Claire’s Corner Copia and Basta Trattoria (for ominvores) next door. He will be greatly missed. You can read his obituary at the New Haven Independent.

The number of owner/members in the Elm City Market continues to grow. When the store opened its doors on November 2, membership was at 750. There were 1200 members when the store’s site was last updated.

The new Connecticut chapter of Slow Food USA, Slow Food Shoreline, has held a number of events including happy hours and a food-centric art gallery tour. Read more about them at their new website.

With its roll-out in the Hill neighborhood in mid-December, the new brown toters for trash have now been distributed in every neighborhood and single-stream recycling in the large blue toters (formerly used for trash) is the rule of the day. You can read about more about the nuts and bolts of the program at the City site and reports of the program’s successes and challenges at the New Haven Independent. 

DISCOVERIES:

During a recent tour of New Haven specialty shops, I was happy to learn that many socks are made in Vermont. Idiom featured colorful non-matching socks from Solmate Socks from Vermont's Sock Lady. At J. Crew I learned that all their socks were sourced from Vermont. After checking out the company website, my guess is that they come from Cabot Hosiery Mills. Chances are if you bought “Made in the USA” socks from L. L. Bean, Orivs, or Bass, they came from Cabot. The mill also makes its own private brands, Cabot & Sons Vermont and Darn Tough Vermont.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 1

11:00 am - 1:30 pm

Lighthouse Park, New Haven

New Haven First Day Winter Festival featuring the 

Polar Plunge for Parks and Community Gardens

You can dive in and collect pledges, or sponsor a hardy soul if you don’t want to take the plunge yourself. Your choice. Either way it sounds like a good time. Check out www.firstdaynewhaven.org/ for more info.

January 4th

6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Pint Night

Co-sponsored by Trailblazer and Box 63 
in the Broadway District of New Haven

Also in support of the New Haven Land Trust. 

More details here.

BLOG NEWS:

On December 8 I briefly left my comfort zone and gave a talk based on some of my blog discoveries. Finding Your Own Way to Greenness: Tips and Tools for Greening Up Your Holidays was part of the Sustainable Quadrangle speakers series at the Yale Divinity School. Notes to what I discussed that day are posted here. 

On Thursday, January 5th, aspiring Master Gardeners in New Haven County begin their studies at Edgerton Park. I am one of the new students in this intensive course which is part of the University of Connecticut Cooperative Exension System. I guarantee you will be kept abreast of my progress and discoveries over the next four months. Wish me luck!

Meatless Monday posts will return on January 2, after a one-week break.

Happy New Year. I hope you will visit often in 2012. I like to think that together we can make a difference!