Shopping Thoughts

Just about every retailer celebrates the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday. No need to spell out what this whole movement means other than to buy more stuff which may eventually end up in a garage sale, recycled, given to charity or thrown away. There's also the Opt Outside movement to spend Friday out of doors. I think this additional name for the Friday after Thanksgiving was started by a retailer. You know what Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are all about.

Garden Gift Ideas

You will find no complaints from me when it comes to selling and buying stuff - as they say, to each their own. I have enough stuff, really, the only problem I have is coming up with ideas of stuff to give others for the holidays. Giving cash is so impersonal, we only do that for the local niece and nephew still in secondary school. 

My siblings are gardeners, so they are easy to buy for. Over the years they've gotten some useful garden gifts. A mason bee house, frost protection blankets, garden magazine subscriptions, garden gloves, seeds, seeds and more seeds. If they all didn't live out of state, I'd send them Colorado made compost, fertilizer or plants grown here. One year my sister gave to a wonderful food charity on our behalves, great idea Lee! 

This year I veered from gardening gifts for my siblings and gave them all a 2019 desktop calendar in honor of our Mother who passed away exactly a year ago at Thanksgiving. She had given up active gardening the past few years, other than caring for her indoor plants and geranium slips. She enjoyed the Maxine character immensely and often gave a desk calendar to her siblings. She outlived all but one of her siblings. Her sister, my dear Aunt Jo passed away a few months ago at the age of 95. She was the remaining generation of ten children and one of my favorite Aunts, also a life long gardener. I'm her namesake - Betty Jo.

So what am I doing this Friday as I write this blog post?  No driving or shopping that's for sure. Sorry garden retailers, but I'll see you another time soon. I spent the morning on a sunny, crisp walk around the park with Glen and Ferris, then planted some holiday containers which I'll write about very soon. The red and green plants put me in the holiday spirit so after planting I pulled down the ornament boxes from storage and am ready to decorate. 

We've officially begun another holiday season. Wouldn't you know - snow is expected in the Denver area tomorrow. 

My Mom, "Dickie" (third in from the right), her siblings (not shown, Martin "Buddy" died when he was seven).
Her parents 50-year wedding anniversary photo, 1955

Cranberries, Not Just Another Side Dish

Canned or cooked cranberries? That's a good opening question on Thanksgiving when seated next to your cousin twice removed. Go ahead and ask while the dish is being passed. Hopefully you both like each others answer. 

What version did you grow up with? Maybe you turned up your nose or shook your head with the "no way" universal food language of "please remove that red concoction from the house." 

I think we all agree that cranberries look pretty, they're red, shiny, just the right size to pop in your mouth (give it a try and see what happens). As a kid when you saw the bags of Ocean Spray cranberries show up in the grocery store you knew Thanksgiving was getting close and Christmas was close behind! 

Internet Photo - Pinterest

Let's talk about the finer points of cranberries, after all Thanksgiving side dish blogs probably aren't on the top of everyone's reading list. Skip ahead and read the last line to know my preparation preference or spend eleven seconds and learn more about this North American native fruit. 

Internet Photo - Pinterest

First, the name. The internet says cranberry was originally called craneberry in 1647. Named after the German word kraanebere by John Eliot, a Native American missionary from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Seeing cranberries for the first time in their new country, John and perhaps other colonists saw the resemblance of blooming cranberry flowers, petals and the stem growing on the shrub to the head, neck and bill of a crane. That works.

Back in the day Native Americans picked lots of cranberries. Algonquins called them sassamenesh which translates to sour berries. They pounded cranberries into the first ever energy bar made up of dried deer meat and fat and stored them in small animal skin sacks to last several months.

Cranberries have excellent antibacterial properties and historically used by Native Americans to make poultices for wounds, to treat stomach issues and fevers. Dyes from the red skin of the fruit were used for clothing and jewelry.

Later when European colonists arrived they figured out quickly that cranberries and all their vitamin C helped keep away scurvy. Today cranberry juice and tablets are taken to prevent urinary tract infections. Cranberries are full of chemical proanthocyanidins (repeat that ten times quickly) which keeps bad bacteria from sticking to the surface of the inner tract. 

You're looking for the passed dish of cranberries right about now, aren't you?

The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is native to the swamps of the northeast. It belongs to the heather family (Ericaceae) which also include huckleberries, blueberries and rhododendrons. The latter two and cranberries don't grow well in Colorado because of our alkaline soils. Cranberry shrubs are low growing, woody perennials with small oval leaves on their vine-like shoots. They form dense mats from their runners or horizontal stems that grow and root along the soil surface. They flower dark pink from May to June which then form berries in late September to October. The shrubs don't grow in a lake of water like the television commercials. Rather, fields are flooded for ease of harvest. Read more information about the natural history, growing and harvesting American cranberries at this link.

Today, five states grow the most cranberries - Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington. 

Now for the decision. 

Do you prefer molded jellied cranberry? Directly out of the can this wiggly gelatinous tube once sliced moves with simple, sliding ease onto any plate no matter how highly piled with Thanksgiving Day "good eats."

Or, do you prefer the stove top cooked version of whole cranberries with cups (the number is up to you) of added sugar. The end result looks more like pie filling.

Internet Photo from chowhound.com

Drum roll please...I'll take either - whatever you're serving on Thanksgiving!
 

Thank you Veterans

From the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. I took these photos on our recent fall getaway.

November Reflection but Keep Gardening

November is a good month to sit back and reflect on the garden season. Be thankful. The weather challenges this past growing season reminded us to be ready with plant covers for shade or hail protection. We persevered. We were grateful for the harvest small or large. It was a very good season for spring blooming ornamental and fruit trees which brought on a delicious harvest. Be thankful.
 

Indoors –

• Take a few minutes to take photos and jot down notes about this past garden season. What worked, what didn’t and ideas for next year.
• Keep track of where, what and how many outdoor bulbs were planted. You can still plant until the ground freezes.
• Store left over seed packets in a dry place like glass jars or plastic boxes. Some seeds are viable for several years if properly stored.
• Forcing bulbs indoors including tulips, crocus, narcissus, hyacinths and iris requires potting and then storing the planted pots for 10 to 16 weeks in cold storage at 35 to 50 degrees (tricking them like they are growing in the ground outdoors). They can be placed in an unheated garage or shed that won’t freeze, or outside in the ground buried at soil level. After the chilling period bring them inside the house. Plants will bloom in two to three weeks. 
• The three common indoor seasonal cacti explode with color usually around Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. Cool temperatures (60 degrees at night) and nine hours of sunlight cue these plants to bloom after six or more weeks. Reduce watering when the flower buds form, then weekly as the buds swells. Flower color deepens when the plant is allowed to dry out between watering (too dry and the flowers will drop). 
  
• Houseplants enhance your indoor spaces with warmth, fullness and interest. Plants need us most in the winter with our dry air, fluctuating temperatures and light conditions. 
• Know your plant and what kind of moisture it prefers, too much or too little watering are common problems. The general rule is to water when the top third of the soil is dry, water until it drains from the bottom of the container (if it doesn’t drain, make drainage holes, even in foil gift wrapped plants). 
• Rotate plants so they get light evenly around them. Move them away from heater vents and open windows. Groom regularly, cut off yellow or withered leaves. Watch for whiteflies, mealybugs or scale insects, many pests can be treated with insecticidal soaps. 
• Most houseplants don’t need fertilizing this time of year unless they are getting ready to bloom.
• When purchasing plants from the garden center or grocery store before heading to your car cover them with bags or cloths to prevent cold exposure. Isolate plants for a few days to make sure they aren’t carrying hitchhiker insects. 
• The easiest indoor plants to grow have thicker leaves like the ZZ plant, Chinese evergreens, and philodendrons. Don’t overlook gorgeous bloomers like orchids, cyclamen, and bromeliads. For fragrance try gardenia, jasmine and lavender.

In the Landscape –

• Finish up, clean up and put away is the general landscape theme this month.
• Rake fallen leaves and use as plant insulating mulch throughout the landscape or vegetable beds. You don’t want the leaves to mat, so mow over them first or shred using a mulching machine. 
• Don’t like to rake? Leave the leaves to improve your turf and soil life below by mowing over them several times in different directions (leaves should be dry). These small pieces of leaves are organic gold to your lawn. 
  
• Check wiring, straps and stakes on newly planted trees to make sure they aren’t pinching or girdling the trunk or nearby branches. These supports are only necessary for a short while on new trees (one to two growing seasons). 
• Fall is a great time to soil test your lawn, planting beds or vegetable garden, especially if you suspect nutrition or soil quality issues. The results will tell you how to correct these areas. A soil test makes a wonderful gift for any gardener. For soil testing, click here. Click on horticultural applications.
• Turf grass appreciates a final fertilization before it goes dormant for the season. Nitrogen benefits the root system and greening up in the spring. It doesn’t have to be a “winterizer” labeled product, just make sure it has nitrogen. The lawn should still be green when fertilized and moist so there’s good absorption. If it’s been dry, water a day or two before application. Bonus for turf roots is aerating first, then fertilization. 
• Lawn mower - prevent damage to the carburetor by using up all the gas in the lawn mower. Disconnect the spark plug, clean the underside with a putty knife or wire brush and sharpen the blade before storing for the winter. The oil can be drained and changed now or early next spring. 
• After several hard freezes mulch newly planted or tender roses like hybrid teas with a mound of well-draining compost or shredded bark. 
• Drain outdoor hoses after use, but keep them handy in case you need to winter water trees or new plantings. Homes without insulated hose bibs or connections may need covering to prevent freezing. 
• Why wait? Clean and sharpen your garden tools before they are forgotten until next spring. Many hardware and garden centers offer tool cleaning and sharpening services.