As we move into October, many of us are sticking our noses in the remaining beautiful flowers, hoping to store enough memories of their scents to last us until next season. However, there would be an exception to this if one of us had planted the inimitable Corpse Flower. It is considered one of the rarest and largest blooms on our planet so it would not fit all too comfortably into our 4x4 boxes, if that were what would hinder us from planting it. It can grow between ten to fifteen feet tall and weigh over 200 lbs. Its fragrance has been kindly compared to decaying bodies and I would pretty much bet that that would discourage any of us from planting it should we be graced with the opportunity. Plus it blooms rarely and for only a short time, which is great news for the living. But why would any beautiful flower have such a smell?
The components of the scent can be compared to the following chemicals found in the following items:
cooked onions and limburger cheese
garlic
rotting fish and ammonia
sweaty socks
jasmine and hyacinth
Chloraseptic throat spray
mothballs
Tom Pollock, from our own Chicago Botanic Garden says, “The smell, color, and even temperature of corpse flowers are meant to attract pollinators and help ensure the continuation of the species.” But what kind of creature would get off on the worst smell ever? (Certainly not a two-legged one, I don’t think.) It seems that insects that are repelled by the Keto diet and totally dig dead flesh are Our Corpse Flower’s heroes. Dung beetles, flesh flies and any other carnivorous insects are the ones that ensure the survival of this botanical oddity. The smell and burgundy color are intended to imitate a dead animal to attract these bugs.
Amazingly, the Corpse Flower can heat itself to 98F to further trick these insects. They think they have hit upon a food source, enter the flower and instead of finding food, pollen sticks to their feet as they fly out. This scenario guarantees the survival of the species and once the process is complete, the flower implodes within two days.
To see these incredible plants in their natural habitat, you would need to go to the tropical regions of Asia. So unless Asia is on someone’s travel list for next year, I think we are safe from the presence of this beautiful but stinky plant for next year. But let this be a warning to those who are contemplating planting common duckweed, skunk cabbage, calla lily and jack-in-the- pulpit. They are all relatives of the Corpse Flower.
Susan Marcus sqmarcus@gmail.com
Winterizing Your Garden
Another thank you is due to Ellen Phillips of the Cook County Farm Bureau Speaker's Bureau. We appreciate all of the information she shared with us. Her lecture delved into the the ability of plants to adapt to to changes in temperature, specifically the cold. This in depth knowledge will help us know how to protect our plants and plots. If you plan to overwinter some perennial plants, Ellen had some crucial recommendations: prune roses down to be more easily covered, protect the top of your plant with a frame so the frost blanket isn't weighing on your plants, insulate your plant top to bottom, don't let it get too humid, and keep your fingers crossed that we don't have an Arctic Blast. It is unlikely anything will survive in our plots if the roots get down to zero degrees.
What we all can do is mow down our plants, leaving the roots intact to self compost and return nutrients to our medium for success next year. Cover the plot with frost blanket and secure it with staples. Start planning for the first planting next spring!
Mixology With Herbs
Vodka--Vodka is a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol, but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings. Traditionally, vodka is made through the distillation of cereal grains or potatoes that have been fermented, use fruits or sugar.
Vodka may be distilled from any starch- or sugar-rich plant matter; most vodka today is produced from grains such as sorghum, corn, rye or wheat. Among grain vodkas, rye and wheat vodkas are generally considered superior. Some vodkas are made from potatoes, molasses, soybeans, grapes, rice, sugar beets and sometimes even byproducts of oil refining or wood pulp processing.
In the United States, many vodkas are made from 95% pure grain alcohol produced in large quantities by agricultural-industrial giants Archer Daniels Midland, Grain Processing Corporation, and Midwest Grain Products (MGP). Bottlers purchase the base spirits in bulk, then filter, dilute, distribute and market the end product under a variety of vodka brand names. Similar methods are used in other regions such as Europe.
Rosemary Honey Spritzer
INGREDIENTS
● 1 oz. vodka --can be left out for a mocktail
● 1⁄2 lemon, juiced
● 1⁄2 oz. honey rosemary simple syrup or any simple syrup with rosemary
● 1 sprig rosemary for garnish
● Club soda
● Lemon slices, for garnish
Directions: To a shaker filled with ice, add vodka, lemon juice, honey, and rosemary sprig.
Shake for 20-25 seconds until combined.
Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top with club soda.
Garnish with a lemon slice and rosemary sprig, if desired.
Raspberry-Herb Smash Cocktail
INGREDIENTS
● 6 raspberries
● 3-4 leaves of your favorite fresh herb- torn mint, basil, lemon balm and sage
recommended
● 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
● 1/2 lime juiced
● soda water
● 1 shot vodka --optional
● ice
Directions: Combine vodka, raspberries, herb and sugar in the bottom of a glass.
Muddle until raspberries are completely broken up and mushy.
Add juice of half a lime and ice.
Top with soda water.
Looking Forward:
Optional Close Dates- Gardeners will choose between these two optional
dates, or they will be expected to do it on their own.
Option 1- Sun October 6 (anytime between: 10 AM- 2 PM) to get help
Option 2- Sat October 19 (after the Brunch 12:30-3 PM) to get help
Hard close- Wed October 30 (Garden, water source and deck box no longer
available- plot must be completely winterized by 4 PM)
Closing Brunch
Saturday October 19, 11am
Even if you haven't made it to many events, at least now there are about 40 faces you will recognize in the elevator. Join your fellow gardeners in a celebration of our inaugural growing season's success. Bring a dish to pass, let Vicky know what it is, and be there at noon when Vicky and Gene unveil a surprise. Our garden was beautiful and we've become a community that's something to be proud of and celebrate.
DETAILS of renewals- The Monday, March 2, 2020 meeting is where you will sign & get a copy of the 2020 rules and pay your new dues for 2020. It is due by March 15. The membership is still $20 per person (sharer), and an additional $25 per plot to refurbish it for the entire season (and add what is needed inside the medium and 2020 supplies). We need to have an idea of what you are doing. As a leaser if you determine that you are not renewing, it is reabsorbed back to the Commission and we will do a total refurbish, and by lottery assign it to a new gardener. There are a couple people on the "wait list" for abandoned plots that become available. You do not sell or designate who it goes to as we are all "leasers", and our lease is up Oct 30 for this year. As a current lease holder, you have first right of refusal.
Ask Rose,
What is better than a garden bed full of tulips in the springtime? Daffodils, nope, not enough diversity to impress. Crocus, they're sweet be not as grand. Baby bunnies, fluffy and cute, maybe, but they don't inspire like springtime tulips. Tulips are not the first sign of spring, but they seem to welcome days with more sunlight. They come to greet spring after the snow tolerant crocus have had their moment in the sun. When the tulips are in full bloom, one can look forward to warmer days and hope for the summer. Tulips short spring bloom signals a farewell to winter.
Knowing the risks of planting in the fall, the other method for blooms in the spring may be preferable. Tulips can be planted in the spring after experiencing cold indoors. This can be achieved by storing a loosely closed tulip bulbs in the refrigerator.
The bag has to be open enough so you have some air circulation. If the bulbs get moist, mildew and fungi could grow and kill the bulbs. Make sure you don’t store bulbs in your refrigerator if you have apples in there. Apples release ethylene gas, which can kill the embryonic flower inside the bulb. In Imperial Towers, you may also find a cold place under the window sill against the exterior wall. This spot may not have much insulation and could be just the spot for a big bag of bulbs. Be sure not to store your tulips near a radiator in the wall. Tulips will need to be chilled to about 40F for about a month before they can be planted in order to bloom. As soon as the garden opens, the tulips can be transferred to your plot.
Coming soon is the first winter our plots and their inhabitants will weather. After the trial and error of this winter, we will recap what we've learned for future best practices recommendations.
Best of luck with your bulbs, I'm hoping for spring sunshine to fuel their grown.
Truly,
Rose
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