For any body interested in the flora and fauna of India then explore the Wikipedia online encyclopedia. Only yesterday I read an article in the Irish Times newspaper about how the Indian Ocean influences the climate of the entire Asian subcontinent, even as far away as Australia. Farmers in Australia are now making use of weather data gathered from RAMA. The following article from Scientific American demonstrates how the Indian Ocean weather data is being utilized:
"Data from the network, called the research moored array for African-Asian-Australian monsoon analysis and prediction (RAMA), would also help scientists better predict the impacts of phenomena such as the Indian Ocean Dipole, a fluctuation in ocean surface temperatures.
When it is in a negative phase, it creates cool water west of Australia and warm Timor Sea water to the north. In a positive phase, the pattern of Indian Ocean temperatures is reversed, weakening the winds and reducing the amount of moisture picked up and transported across Australia.
Australian farmers were already using forecasting data about the dipole to plan their cropping."
Scientific American, (Editing by David Fox), May 6, 2009
Amazing how such a body of warm water can have a such a far reaching impact.
Here is the update to Gardener's Question Time from last Sunday's programme.
Two standard Bay trees which are growing in containers the leaves of which are turning brown. Possible causes could be cold easterly winds and water logging of the containers. For container grown bay trees the compost should be kept reasonably dry. It’s advisable to check the container drainage holes which might be blocked with debris. It’s best to pull the tree out of the container to ascertain this fact.
Also why do bay tree leaves which have turned brown tend not to fall off the branches? This fact is also noticeable with beech tree leaves which cling on for dear life even though they have turned brown during autumn. The reason for this is that the branches and stems are still alive which tend to cling onto the dead leaves.
Rosemary can be used to replace a lavender hedge or border over the years has become woody. Lavender becomes very woody in its stems and branches after a period of five to ten years.
A Smoke tree – Cotinus coggyria about nine feet high which is a good height for this tree, has split at the bottom of the trunk. At the end of March next year prune the tree back hard. Remember the Smoke tree is short lived and might not survive hard pruning, but it is worth a try. (Bob Flowerdew).
Club root disease can survive in the soil for up to twenty years. The pathogen ( ) will cling to any plant debris of soil organisms in an attempt to survive. Club root dislikes good drainage so grow brassicas on ridges of soil or raised beds. Increase pH by making the soil more acidic. Sow green manure such as mustard and when up plough the crop into the soil. This method will weaken the club root pathogen. However, this process takes from five to seven years to seven years to be effective. (B.F).
A lady lives in a flat and has a small garden. What plants can she grow which will encourage beneficial insects and wildlife to come and live in her garden? Plant red currants, cherries, strawberries, coriander and Limnanthes (Poached egg plant) which will attract both beneficial and pollinating insects into the garden. Also place a little pile of sticks or logs in the corner of the garden which will encourage insects and birds to forage.
What is the best way to cultivate Clematis armandii? Before cultivating dig in plenty of well rotted compost of farm yard manure (FYM). Place old tiles loosely around the base of the plant which will keep the roots cool and moist.
Now some information about Beetroot { Beta vulgaris }
Beetroot probably originated in West Asia and the Mediterraneanand has been used as a vegetable since early Classical times. Originally beetroot appears to have been prized for its leaves, the roots being 'discovered' much later towards the end of the Middle Ages. As with many vegetables, in early times beetroot's ‘medicinal’ properties were more important than its eating qualities. http://www.lovebeetroot.co.uk/
How to cultivate Beetroot: Prepare soil for sowing by digging. Remove weeds, large stones and rake to leave a fine finish. Seed can be sown directly into the soil from April to July. Make a 2cm (0.75in) deep trench with a cane and drop in two seeds every 10cm (4in). Cover, water and label. Thin out seedlings when 2cm (0.75in) tall, leaving one every 10cm (4in). Keep well watered and remove weeds from bed. Depending on variety, harvest roots 90 days after sowing, when they're between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball. If you have a tiny garden, beetroot are easy to grow in pots.
Information about beetroot http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/
BBC Radio 4, GQT: Programme broadcast from 'The Potting Shed.'
Today the panel of expert gardeners were in the potting shed answering questions about the following plant related questions.
Ailing box hedge, the top of the plants leaves are going brown. Box blight was ruled out due to the following possible causes of plant damage. There is a path of concrete slabs beside the plants; water leaching from materials in the slabs could damage plant roots. Also path weed killer which is harsh and long lasting might have been used on the broadleaved weeds in the lawn and on the path itself; the residue from this persistent herbicide would cause damage to the plant roots, hence the uppermost plant leaves turning brown. Another reason could be soil compaction near the paving slabs which would constrict plant roots resulting in poor root development out into the soil and reduced ability of roots to absorb water and minerals from the soil.
What type of plants could be grown near the base of a domestic house furnace vent? Realize that this vent will be emitting heat and gas vapours which could damage plant foliage so care should be exercised when choosing and planting suitable plants. Phlomis fructicosa, Cytisus and Lavender are all Mediterranean plants that like sun and heat which could be grown in this situation. These plants are low-growing, but should be trimmed occasionally to prevent them blocking the furnace vent.
’More is less’ is an old gardening maxim that still applies today when planting a mixture of plants.
Alan Titchmarsh has a new soft back book about garden design (2009) which is available at Eason Bookstores nation wide. It can also be purchased online at www.amazon.co.uk and www.booksunlimited.ie
Yucca which has over the years grown to be a large tree reaching up to the height of upper window of a two storey house. What should be done to remove the tree which is blocking light entering the windows? The panel were of the opinion that this overgrown tree was in fact a Cordyline as it would be rare for a yucca to reach such a height. Note that the flowers of cordyline are very attractive to pollinating insects which is a good thing. Yucca produces knobbly roots which can be cut off and potted up. After about two years these roots will produce new plants. In the case of Cordyline, the tree can be cut right back to ground level which will ensure that it re-grows. Obviously it will take several years before it reaches the height of a two storey house. If the tree must be totally removed then it is best to employ the services of a qualified tree surgeon who will safely remove the tree and its roots.
Can asparagus be grown in containers? Container grown asparagus will not produce much of a crop due to the small amount of root space. A better planting option would be raised beds which will retain a certain amount of moisture and the plant roots can spread out into the soil. In a field in England asparagus roots have been found growing up to thirty feet in either direction of the main plant. The reason for this is that asparagus plants need room for their roots to spread allowing absorption of water and nutrients which are required to generate energy to produce numerous asparagus tips. Bob Flowerdew recommended ‘Gjnail’ which is a good Dutch variety of Asparagus.
The following plant topics were also discussed:
Pampas Grass which has stopped producing its fluffy white flowers
Pyracantha scab – what treatment is necessary?
Supermarket herbs are forced and will not re-grow
Sow vegetables from seed now! Full moon means that growth of seed will be extra good – Bob Flowerdew
http://www.wateronceaweek.blogspot.com/ an interesting Canadian gardening blog
A very helpful site all about growing vegetables for the your family:
I will expand these points in the next blog post. Until then enjoy your garden even if it’s a humble window box or just two or three plant containers. Remember the old gardening maxim “More is less”.
Dig In is the new gardening website on BBC Radio 4, which promises to supply the knowledge or know-how you need to sow, grow and harvest your own food plants. On Friday I listened to the programme to discover that The National Trust says 60% of natural fruit orchards have disappeared since the 1950s, putting local varieties of apples, cherries, pears, plums and damsons under threat. Conservationists have warned that traditional fruit orchards are vanishing from England's landscape - with serious consequences for wildlife.
In 1999 The Independent reported that 'INTENSIVE FARMING and the unwillingness of supermarkets to stock home-grown fruit have destroyed more than half of Britain's apple and pear orchards.' Read the full online article to learn more about the decline of England's fruit orchards.
A useful website is The Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) which is the only outlet for the purchasing of Native Irish Apple trees. The main objective of ISSA is to halt the depletion of our native agricultural biodiversity, and to support our plant resource by recreating orchards containing traditional varieties of native Irish fruit trees we want to encourage farmers to create and maintain apple orchards with specific varieties traditional to Ireland to ensure the survival of this unique resource. This will increase biodiversity of the local landscape and provide a habitat for wildlife on the farm.
The following post is information which could be seen as closely related to gardening; since plants produce their own food in a totally 'green way' by using the energy obtained from sunlight and minerals from water and organic matter.
What do you think of the world's largest tidal turbine which is located in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland? This device which is called a SeaGen turbine is a 1.2 megawatt turbine which will generate clean electricity for approximately 1ooo homes. According to Marine Current Turbines this is a prototype turbine which it hoped will be replicated on a large scale over the coming years.
Explore Marine Current Turbines website for information and pictures about the SeaGen turbine. On the 18th December 2008 SeaGen Tidal Energy System Reaches full power. Check out this animation of SeaGen which shows how the turbine actually works underwater.
Advantages of the SeaGen tidal turbine:
The world’s first commercial scale tidal turbine, SeaGen is more efficient, safer, easier to maintain and best suited to the challenging marine environment.
SeaGen is based on MCT’s experience with its predecessor, the 300kW Seaflow system installed off Lynmouth Devon in May 2003 and still thriving in open sea conditions. Experience with large scale technology in offshore operational conditions lies behind the design process that led to the development of SeaGen.
SeaGen is more efficient both in the amount of energy it can extract from the current and in cost. This is because it uses a pair of pitch-controlled axial flow rotors, which for good reason are the technology of choice in the closely analogous low-head hydro and wind generator industries.
What applied in the fields of hydro and wind power seems unlikely to be significantly different in the field of water current kinetic energy conversion because similar laws of physics apply.
The rotor design also provides the capability for controlling a large power system as the rotor blades may be pitched into a neutral position to stop the turbine gently even at full flow – an essential requirement for any power generation system; by comparison fixed pitch turbines require a powerful brake to stop them and if the brake fails they cannot be stopped.
SeaGen’s rotor blades can be pitched to limit the power to a pre-chosen “rated power” at times when high velocities are experienced; this greatly reduces the loads on the turbine structure, the rotor blades and the power take-off – and reduced and controlled loads translate into reduced costs and safer and more reliable operation.
The most difficult engineering problems are the high structural loads to be dealt with and in effect solving the question of “how do you nail it to the floor?” The weakest material to which the turbine is attached is the seabed itself, even if it is rock, so the foundations need to be sized so as not to overstress the seabed and cause the turbine to move or break loose. In order to attach the turbine piles were drilled deep into the bedrock of the seabed.
Do you like Eucalyptus trees? I like these beautiful plants because of their unique leaves which are lance shaped (lanceolate - long, wider in the middle) and the magnificent bark which has the following characteristics:
Stringybark - consists of long-fibres and can be pulled off in long pieces. It is usually thick with a spongy texture
Ironbark - is hard, rough and deeply furrowed. It is impregnated with dried kino (a sap exuded by the tree) which gives a dark red or even black colour
Tessellated - bark is broken up into many distinct flakes. They are corkish and can flake off
Box - has short fibres. Some also show tessellation
Ribbon - this has the bark coming off in long thin pieces but still loosely attached in some places. They can be long ribbons, firmer strips or twisted curls
cf: Wikipedia
Some vital stats about - EUCALYPTUS:
Eucalyptus are a diverse genus of trees dominate the tree flora of Australia
More than seven hundred species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia
A gardener I know who visits Australia every couple of years told me he noticed that vast areas of eucalyptus forests were severely damaged by bush fires annually. The following Wikipedia extract explains the phenomenon in detail:
'On warm days vapourised eucalyptus oil rises above the bush to create the characteristic distant blue haze of the Australian landscape. Eucalyptus oil is highly flammable (trees have been known to explode[5][6]) and bush fires can travel easily through the oil-rich air of the tree crowns. The dead bark and fallen branches are also flammable. Eucalypts are well adapted for periodic fires via lignotubers and epicormic buds under the bark.
Eucalypts regenerate quickly after fire. After the Canberra bushfires of 2003, hectares of imported species were killed, but in a matter of weeks the gum trees were putting out suckers and looking generally healthy.[citation needed]
The two valuable timber trees, Alpine Ash E. delegatensis and Mountain Ash E. regnans, are killed by fire and only regenerate from seed. The same 2003 bushfire that had little impact on forests around Canberra resulted in thousands of hectares of dead ash forests. However, a small amount of ash survived and put out new suckers as well. There has been some debate as to whether to leave the stands, or attempt to harvest the mostly undamaged timber, which is increasingly recognised as a damaging practice.' cf: Wikipedia
Apparently eucalyptus will regrow quite quickly after fire damage as their plant cells have adapted to overcome such events. Feast your eyes on these amazingly clear photos of eucalyptus trees growing in their sunny Australian habitat. Just look at those clear blue skies! If only we had that beautiful weather here in Ireland.
