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September 2002 BULBS
TO BRIGHTEN THE GARDEN Kneeling
Weeding, Peony Planting and Other Perennials, Pruning Trees and the Use of Moose
Saliva plus
regular features Garden Web, Horticultural Happenings, Gardening in the
Headlines and more “Other than that it was just a
very summer day at Rideau Hall,” said Stewart Wheeler, spokesman for the
Governor-General, back in the summer of 2000 after the removal of a moose from
the grounds, according to the Ottawa Citizen. Ah yes, the excitement of a
typical Ottawa garden. One suspects though that most Canadians would agree with
Groucho Marx’s retort to an invitation to vacation on the French Riviera with
Alexander Wolcott: “I can think of forty better places to spend the summer,
all of them on Long Island in a hammock.” City Gardening
sincerely hopes you have followed the latter advice at least locally since the
garden requires some seasonal attention. As with every week through the
long, hot summer it is advisable to continue to empty the birdbath, clean with a
mild solution of bleach and refill. Ornithologists tell us our feathered friends
relieving themselves in the water do nothing for sanitation. Dirty, unchanged
water is responsible for many bird deaths, they say. And if that doesn’t move
you, think stagnant water, mosquitoes and think West Nile virus. Another
necessary task is the weekly weeding. Sharpen the hoe with a flat file and work
just under the soil. And for those hard-to-get little blighters lollygagging in
the lupines and reposing in the roses, down on the hands and knees. As one wit
said, although John Paul II might not agree, gardening is like going to church
– you spend much time on your knees, only the language is different. On the subject of roses, towards
the end of the month, cease dead heading the blooms as they die, Leaving them to
form their fruit, or hips, sends the signal that winter is approaching and it is
time to prepare for dormancy. Don’t give up deadheading spent perennial
flowers, however. Preventing seed formation allows the energy to go to produce
other parts of the plant. Also perennials such as summer phlox have the bad
habit of “reverting” if permitted to go to seed. These fall to the ground,
resulting in seedlings of dubious providence, usually the wretched putrid pink
form, equally notorious for contracting and spreading powdery mildew disease. Finally convinced those wonderful
heirloom peonies must be lifted, split and perhaps even relocated? If they are
not flowering well, this may be a necessity even if they do subsequently
“sulk” for a few years before bursting into bloom again. Apart from a sunny
location, peonies adore a rich, organic and well-drained soil, so don’t stint
on the compost. But beware of planting the “eyes” on the top of the root too
deep or shallow. Two inches (5 cm) is exactly the right depth, no more and no
less. Unlike other perennials, established peonies also will benefit from an
application of high-phosphate fertilizer later in the month. On the other hand, if the urge to
plant perennials is the logical outcome of summer viewing of other gardens, then
consider the offerings of Loewen Garden Plants. This mail order perennial
nursery (PO Box 1150, Ridgetown, Ontario N0P 2C0, fax 519-674-5783) took over
from Stirling Perennials when they decided to retire from business. While their
selection is not large it is as excellent as the prices are reasonable – and
the plants are all field grown. Just one problem for keyboard addicts, and be
prepared for a shock, they are not online. So fax and request the free
list then order the same way. September
is also an excellent time to consider pruning trees that are likely to pour sap
when cut: maples, birches, poplars and willows. Home gardeners can undertake
thinning, removing suckers from the base preventing branches from crossing and
so rubbing against each other and cutting away and dead, dying or diseased wood if
it can be reached while standing on the ground, possibly be using extension
tools. Large trees require professional attention. Yes, there is the story of
the tree surgeon who fell out of his patient. But he was almost certainly
wearing a safety harness. City Gardening doesn’t like losing
readers. Next
month it will be time to pot up and bring indoors tender tropical bedding
plants, perhaps repot certain houseplants, start some ‘Paperwhite’ and
‘Grand Soleil d’Or’ narcissus or other prepared bulbs, top dress the
perennial border with composted cattle or sheep manure and, later still earth up
roses. All this requires various commercial soils, composts and possibly peat
moss. For reason best known to themselves, garden centres invariably seem to run
out of these very early in fall. Stock up now, not forgetting rose collars for
well-dressed over wintering (more on this in November). While
at the friendly local garden centre, lawn fertilizer will be another purchase to
be applied immediately. Urban gardens are often small enough that the generous
bags offered by retailers will last for several seasons. Manufacturers seem
loathe to mention this on the bag, but we can: fertilizer will keep from year to
year, even if frozen, so long as it is kept dry. Do not try this with pesticides
or herbicides, or any liquid fertilizer. Continue to mow the lawn to 1½ to
2-inches high and apply a half-inch of water every three days unless there is a
very heavy rain. Leaving the sprinkler on for an hour will apply this amount of
water. If
this isn’t enough, how about that poinsettia saved from last spring? Can you
get it to bloom again? Yes, but it must go through a cycle for each and every
24-hour period in September of 12 hours dark and 12 hours bright light exactly.
This plus feeding with a flowering plant food should have it in bloom around
Christmas. And you could be right: it might be too much trouble. Then, of
course, there is the fall ritual of bulb planting. More, much, much more
on this below . . . September September Flowers Aster or Morning Glory September Month Early in month Ireland’s Rose
of Tralee Festival Mid-month Spain’s Sherry Wine
Harvest at Jerez de la Frontera North American Native Peoples Full Moon Harvest Moon
September Weeks 2nd Week National Rub
a Bald Head Week 3rd Week Tolkien Week
(containing 22nd September) Final 2 weeks Snack and Pickle
Time September Days 1st-2nd
Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival appropriately held near Ottawa 2nd Labour Day 1st Sunday after
Labour Day National Grandparents Day 5th Be Late for
Something Day, Procrastinator’s Club of America
(still checking this one out) 8th Grandparents’
Day 10th Swap Ideas Day 22nd Hobbit Day 23rd First Day of
Autumn 24th Kid’s Day 4th Saturday National
Hunting and Fishing Day 4th Sunday National
Good Neighbour Day September Birthdays 9.
William Bligh, of breadfruit
trees and HMS Bounty fame, 1754 (died 7 May 1817 14. Alexander
von Humboldt, naturalist, explorer, scientist, 1769 (died 6 May 1809) 30. William
Wrigley Jr, founder of chewing gum company in 1891 and so promoter of the chicle
tree born 1861 (died 26 January 1931) September History 1.
Last passenger pigeon dies at
Cincinnati Zoo, 1914 7.
Frogs fall rom the sky onto
Leister, Massachusetts, 1953 9.
Plane from Japanese submarine off
Oregon bombs U.S. 1942, starting a small forest fire, the only damage 16.
Mayflower
sets sail from England 1620 September Canadiana 3.
Paul Kane, artist, born 1810
Mallow, Ireland (died Toronto 20 February 1871) 4.
Isabella Preston, plant
hybridizer, horticulturist, born 1881 (died Georgetown, Ontario 31 January 1965) 5.
Michel Sarrazin, naturalist, born
France 1659 (died Quebec City 8 September 1734) 8.
Michael Sarrazin, botanist dies
Quebec City 1734 (born 5 September 1659 in Burgundy, France) 19. Donald
Hugh Harron aka Charlie Farquharson, born Toronto 1924 22. Elizabeth
Posthumous Simcoe (ne. Gwillim) baptized England 1762 (died 17 January
1850) 23. Last
passenger pigeon shot in wild 1907 by a Quebec hunter in woods at St. Vincent 24. James
Henry Fleming bands the first bird in Canada at Toronto, 1905 30. Donald
Chant, educator, geologist, born Toronto 1928 September Saints 1.
St. Fiacre;
hermit died c. 670; patron of gardeners and Paris cab drivers; invoked against
all kind sof physical ills, including hemorrhoids and venereal disease St.
Giles,
abbot death date unknown; patron of Edinburgh, the indigent, the crippled,
spurmakers; invoked against cancer, sterility in women, insanity and night
dangers 14.
St. Notburga,
virgin, d.c. 1313 patroness of poor peasants and hired servants so, possibly,
garden centre employees Bulbs to Brighten Spring Gardens A botanist may classify them
variously as true bulbs such as narcissus or hyacinths; corms such
as crocus or gladiolus; tubers as in dahlias and some begonias, or even rhizomes
as exemplified by bearded iris. No matter; to gardeners and garden centers
alike, they are all bulbs and botanists bedamnded. By whatever name though, when
purchased the larger it is the better and more prolific will be the blooms. So
ye pays yer silver an’ yer takes yer choice. Bulbs as offered through catalogs
of which no finer is to be found that Gardenimport of Thornhill, Ontario www.gardenimport.com
are of incredible size. Also, let us admit, for the uninitiated or those whose
experiences are limited to packaged specials in the big box gigastores, equally
surprising. And don’t buy the line that a little mould on a bulb is anything.
Something is most emphatically seriously wrong and guess who is the sucker who
will find out six months or more hence? A few fast tips to cover most of
the common queries of neophyte bulb buyers and not a few more experienced
gardeners: §
Spring blooming bulbs will grow anywhere there is good,
well-drained loam including under deciduous trees which will not leaf out until
after the display is over. §
A good fertilizer specifically formulated for bulbs is
essential. Worried about chemicals? Read the package – you’ll be amazed how
many are based on natural materials. §
Blood meal fertilizer only works against the ravages of
squirrels for a day or so, less if the pet pooch licks it up and then breathes
in your face. §
Powdered cayenne or chili pepper also works for a very
short time although, contrary to the wackiest of tales, it does not cause the
beast to scratch their eyes out, just to drain the birdbath. §
Instead, spread chicken netting over the area planted
with bulbs, removing in spring when the first shoots emerge or limit your
plantings to narcissus, daffodils and scilla, all of which are poisonous to
squirrels §
Purchase and plant bulbs as early as you can, preferably
September and October. November may be risky and December most certainly is. §
Smaller-flowered bulbs, usually early-blooming, as well
as scented forms, are best located near a walkway used daily where they can be
admired and enjoyed. §
Hyacinths are famous for their scent but only really
bloom well for a single season; try also blue muscari, narcissus such as
‘Suzy,’ ‘Cheerfullness,’ ‘Yellow Cheerfullness,’ the puzzlingly
named ‘Geranium,’ and the daffodil Carlton. Tulips such as 'Angelique,' 'Prinses Irene' and 'Apricot
Beauty' are also scented. §
Be wary of ‘species’ tulips: that pic on the package
has been produced by Dutch photographers shoving their lens down the poor little
flower’s throat. If you’re looking for restraint, these are for you – not
if you wish to imitate the Ottawa Tulip Festival. §
Ditto on Allium, which simply means onion. Peddled
by the fashionably frivolous, few ever live up to expectations, although
‘Drumsticks’ is worth a try and, for those who seek the spectacular, the
giant alliums such as the aptly named ‘Goliath’ or ‘Globemaster’ will
leave the neighbours green with envy. §
Also the Imperial Fritillaria, in oranges, reds and
yellows, although it must be planted six to 10-inches deep and always laid on
its side to prevent rot (why the packages rarely give this tip is a mystery) §
Although bulbs invariably seem to be packaged in even
numbers, as with most garden plantings, odd numbers always look better. And
don’t skimp; plant closely in patches rather than spreading out. Leave the
mass plantings to parks and politicians who will be using your money anyway. §
Loose bulbs in bins are often more economically priced
than those in packages. And not all come from Holland; some daffodils and
narcissus especially are from southwest coastal B.C. §
Finally, the Netherlands Flower bulb Information Centre, a
professional organization, advises to ignore recommended planting depths given
on packages when it comes to Canadian climes. In this country, they say, “all
spring-blooming bulbs should be planted three times as deep as the bulb is
high.” If the Dutch don’t know, who does? William Wordsworth is famed for
his vision of “golden daffodils” beside a northwestern England lake. But
perhaps today E. O. Parrott’s
words have more appeal the busy, bustling suburbanite: I
spotted these daffs by the lake And
a right pretty picture they make. Because
of these flowers, I’m
dreaming for hours – Which
gives my libido a break. Our files are full of moose
stories. A couple of summers back, a quarter-ton young bull moose spent several
hours sampling the Governor-General’s flower beds at Rideau Hall in Ottawa
but, disdaining the G-G’s organic veggies, demonstrated it was not au fait, and so summarily evicted. A little later in 2000, nude
sunbathers basking at Hanlan’s Point on Toronto Islands were narrowly missed
by a falling moose when, on Labour Day, a fiberglass full-size replica replete
in a leather aviator jacket, a leather pilot's cap and a white scarf, fell
200-feet from its sling below a helicopter. Now comes the news that moose mucus
makes shrubs grow better. Just what every gardener needs to know: moose saliva
or, as Natural History magazine calls it, moose drool, is just the thing
to perk up the potentilla. And, since it is natural, it should appeal to all the
environmentally minded as well. First the facts, though: it
appears that a curious scientist, Margareta Bergman, of the Swedish University
of Agricultural Sciences, noted grass nibbled by both cows and mice grew more
vigorously. This is thanks to the substance thiamine found in both cow and mouse
saliva. Could moose mucus have the same effect on woody plants, she wondered?
Obtaining the jawbone of a moose that just happened to be handy, Ms. Bergman
hacked away at Goat, or Sallow, Willow (Salix caprea). She then treated a
proportion of the battered shrubs with moose saliva. Almost four months later,
she was able to triumphantly demonstrate that, yes indeed; an as-yet unknown
substance in moose mucus causes the shrubs to sprout profusely. (“Can Saliva
from Moose, Alces alces, Affect Growth Responses in the Sallow, Salix
caprea?’ Oikos 96, 2002) One can imagine the glee with
which the news will be received by nursery propagators at such businesses as
Sheridan and Weall and Cullen. A quick pass with the power pruners, apply moose
mucus with a will and wait a few months. Just one problem: Ms. Bergman does not
inform us of a reliable source of moose saliva. Now moose are pretty common in
Ontario. But they are also the largest of the deer family, fully-grown perhaps a
half-ton or so, as many a northern motorist can vouch for. In fact it is on
record that a Shabaqua OPP officer following a red Honda Civic west on Highway
17 toward Kenora saw the Civic pass clean under one massive moose without a
scratch to either. One can only fall back on the
resources of the Toronto Zoo, always looking for extra income. Nothing for it
but that Toronto Councillor George Mammoleti, the city’s head hombre at the
zoo, must tear himself away from his support of gorillas and focus on a less
exotic but more profitable creature, the zoo’s moose, Alces americana.
Come councillor, it is little different after all from the floor of
Toronto City Hall council chamber and much more fruitful. Kid’s Gardening Little Tim was in the garden filling in a hole when his
neighbour peered over the fence. Interested in what the cheeky faced youngster
was up to, he politely asked, “What are you up to there Tim?” “My goldfish died,” replied Tim tearfully without
looking up, “and I just buried him.” The neighbour with some concern said, “That’s an
awfully big hole for a goldfish isn’t it?” Tim finished patting down the last heap of earth and then
replied, “That’s ‘cause he’s inside your dumb ole cat.” [with
thanks to Doug Herbert of Mariposa, truly a fellow gardener] Movie Clangers True gardeners are polite about
other’s efforts almost all the time, but a limit is reached with certain
movies, usually otherwise well produced but, well you don’t have to go to the
extremes of Little Shop of Horrors or Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
Could the delicious Kathryn Grayson really pluck a rose so effortlessly
in The Desert Song while the Scottish vegetable harvest in Brigadoon
clashes with the profusion of daffodils in bloom? Alas, unless City Gardening
takes on the task, horticultural horrors receive scant attention but it is fun
to turn to Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics, yet another site brought to
our attention by the journal Science. By the way, why do all those
alleged “man-eating plants” invariably feature as the victim such
outstanding examples of female pulchritude? B.C.
Ethnobotany Ethnobotanist Kelly Banister from
British Colombia has decidedly different ideas from the majority of researchers
when it comes what she sees as her subject’s perceived rights. For her
doctoral thesis, Banister studied 70 plants used by B.C.’s Skeetchestn tribe
for medicinal purposes. But upon completion of her doctorate in 2000, the
tribe’s leaders required more time to study and publish their own knowledge,
so Banister agreed to seal her thesis for five years. Meantime, she has
developed the Community-University Connections program at the University of
Victoria which collaborates with indigenous peoples in such potential valuable
commercial areas as her own field, ethnobotany. Plant
Photos High quality photographs of North American plants –
or any other for that matter – are hard to come across, or at least those
which may be reproduced freely for illustrated talks or educational purposes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers these and other nature subjects,
including mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates in the National Image
Library at images.fws.gov Pressure Treated Lumber Is the now-controversial PTL safe or have we, amateur
and professional alike, been lied to? Does the all-too-familiar green-stained
lumber leak arsenic into its surroundings or is this another frankenbull story
put out by environmentalists? As is often the case with such, stories abound,
muddying already murky water. However, one fact is definite: the lumber industry
is withdrawing PTL treated with CCA (chromated copper arsenate) by December of this year. Given fungi and such insects
as termites won’t withdraw their attacks though, Health Canada is to approve
amine copper quarternary (ACQ) and copper azole for similar wood protection.
Both apparently have other satisfactory uses in close association with humans.
Meanwhile, should you replace retaining walls, fences, decks and the kids’
play ground equipment built of that green-stained lumber? Health Canada and the
Canadian Institute for Treated Wood seem to think it is still just fine. Judge
for yourself at their respective websites, but be prepared to wade through a
plethora of facts and figures. http://www.hcsc.gc.ca/pmra-arla September Horticultural
Happenings Toronto Field Naturalist Outings Free guided walks; children
welcome but please no pets; all are TTC accessible; dress according to weather,
bring beverage, camera, notebook and binoculars. 4 September Mt. Plessant
Cemetery: Trees morning only meet 10 am at Davisville subway station 8 September TFN Meeting 2
pm visitors welcome; Emmanuel
College, 75 Queenn’s Park Circle East (entrance on south side); talk: Ontario
Rocks – 3 Billion Years of Environmental Change by Professor Nick Eyles 11 September Summerlea Park
Nature Walk morning only; meet 10 am nw corner Albion & Irwin roads 14 September Etobicoke Valley
Nature Walk meet 10 am at bridge over the creek on Lake Shore Blvd W., west
of Brown’s Line; bring lunch 19 September Highland Creek
Nature Walk morning only; meet 9:45 am at McCowan RT stop, McCowan/Progress 21 September High Park Nature
Walk 10 am – noon; meet at
park entrance on Bloor West opposite High Pk. Ave. 28 September East Point Park
Nature Walk 10 am – 3 pm; meet east end of Guildwood Parkway at the foot
of Morningside Ave; bring lunch Richters Free Seminar 8 September Bringing Herbs Indoors with Koidu Sulev of Richters; Sunday, 2 p.m. at 357 Highway 7, Goodwood, Ontario 1-800-668-HERB or website Kettleby Herb Farms Workshops Pre-registration and a $20
deposit is required for all the workshops listed here; to register, phone
905-727-8344 or fax 905-727-1415; e-mail info@kettlebyherbfarms.com 13 September ‘A Dinner to Die
For’ 7 to 10 p.m. with John, Sue and Liz of Kettleby Herb Farms; $65/person 15 September Harvesting, Drying
& Processing Your Herbs 1 to 4 p.m. with Sue Britnell; $50/person 22 September Soap Making 2 to 4
p.m. with Sue and John of Kettleby Herb Farms; $30/person 29 September Herbal Skin/Bath
Care 1 to 4 p.m. with Sue Britnell; $80/person A ½ hour drive north of Toronto at 15495 Weston Road; more at www.kettlebyherbs.com Valleybrook Gardens Annual Sale 7 September Valleybrook Gardens, an outstanding wholesale perennials grower, holds their once-a-year sale this Saturday in a not-to-be-missed event. 961 Line 4, RR#6 Niagara-on-the-Lake; more from 1-800-668-6347 or www.perennials.com Ontario Rock Garden Society 8 September meeting at Civic
Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Ave East, Toronto commences with plant sale at 12:30
followed by speaker at 1:30 p.m.: David Tomlinson on “Trouble Free Cultivation
& Propagation of Rock Garden Plants.” Visitors welcome Ontario Daylily Society Meeting 14 September Ontario Daylily
Society Annual Fall Meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn, Burlington details
from www.ontariodaylily.on.ca
for membership contact mstrong@cgocable.net Greater Toronto Raptor Watch 14 September High park from 9 am
at “Hawk Hill,” north end of Grenadier Restaurant parking lot; experienced
ornithologists on hand to help identify almost 20 different birds of prey as
they migrate south. Mycological Society of Toronto 20 September Cain Foray in
Muskoka; further details call 416-444-9053 23 September Fungi Fair at
Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Ave E. at Leslie Ian Wheal Heritage Walks 21 September Gravel and Sand
Pits of East Toronto meet 1:30 pm south exit Victoria Park subway station 22 September Giant Trees of
Old Dovercourt Forest. Meet 11 am se corner College & Dovercourt; bring
lunch 28 September West Humber River
Walk (Claireville) meet 11 am sw corner Humberline Blvd and Humberline Dr.;
bring lunch Canadian Iris Society 28 September Annual Meeting &
Luncheon at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington; check out the CIS website
for details at www.members.roogers.com/cdn~iris Toronto Entomological Association 28 September 1 pm, Northrup Frye
Building, Room 119, 75 Queen’s Park Circle East; confirm at 905-727-6993 Richters Workshop 29 September Making Fresh and Dried Herb Wreaths with Koidu Sulev from Richters, $40/person, 2 p.m. at 357 Highway 7, Goodwood, Ontario 1-800-668-HERB or website www.richters.com Nature
Conservancy Travel Trips For more information, call 703-841-7413, visit www.nature.org/magazine/spring2002/journeys
or e-mail jcadams@tnc.org 6-8 September North Carolina
Black River canoe trip, oldest trees in eastern North America, neotropical birds 13-15 September Arizona’ Hart
Prairie Preserve Field Trip 20-23 Virginia’s Clinch Valley
Ecotours Quest Nature Tours Oaknagewn Valley & Cathedral
Lakes 7 through 14 September wit guide Kim Asquith commences and ends in Kelowna,
loopin through alpine wildlife and a Canadian desert zones. Algonquin Highlands, Ontario; 23
through 27 September with Muskoka naturalist Robin Tapley who runs the nature
program for Grandview Inn. Fall colour with flora and fauna for the delight of
all, including mycologists, from Algonquin Park to Georgian Bay's Missasauga
Park. More: 416-633-5666 or
1-800-387-1483; or visit www.questnaturetours.com Environment
Days with Toronto’s Councillors Toronto resident? Need a blue, gray box or yard waste
bin, even a composter? Could your garden do with free leaf compost? Do you want
to donate computer equipment, small appliances, bicycles, eyeglasses and similar
items? How about recycling
telephones, fax machines, radios, household hazardous waste, tires? You can do
all of these and have the thrill of meeting you ward councillor at the same time
this spring and summer on Toronto Environment Days. Most councillors choose
certain Saturdays. 10 a.m. to 2
.p.m.; a few prefer Sundays or Thursday
evenings 4 to 8 p.m. 7 September
David Soknacki
Morningside Works Yard, 891 Morningside Avenue 7 September
Lorenzo Berardinetti
McGregor Park, 2231 Lawrence Avenue East 14 September
Denzil Minnan-Wong
Parkwoods Village Shopping Centre, 1`277 York Mills Road 14 September
Bas Balkissoon
please check with number below 22 September
Rob Ford
please check with number below 28 September
Gerry Altobello
Warden Power Centre, 725 Warden Avenue Further
information from the Events Line at 416-392-9585 Farmer’s Markets in Toronto Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto
City Hall: Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. East York Civic Centre: Mondays
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Etobicoke Civic Centre: Saturdays
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mel Lastman Square, North York
Civic Centre: Thursdays 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Music Garden Located at foot of Toronto’s
Spadina Avenue on Queen’s Quay, this innovative new garden was suggested by
the world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma, designed by landscape architect
Julie Messervy and inspired by Bach’s Suite No. 1 for – what else but
– Unaccompanied Cello. Free guided tours Wednesdays June through September,
meeting 11 a.m. at the west entrance to the garden Allan Gardens South side Carleton Street between Jarvis and Sherbourne Streets; open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekends and holidays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; further information 416-392-7288 or www.allen Spring
Preview Show:
late January to end of April. Thousands of forced spring bulbs plus jasmine,
cineraria, calceolaria, primula, genista, schizanthus and more. Fall
Chrysanthemum Show:
Late-September to mid-November Centennial Park Conservatory Three greenhouses with a total of
more than 12,000 square feet of interesting and changing plant collections. 151
Elmcrest Road. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information at 416-392-8543 Summer
Show:
1 June to September The flower show features plant
sculptures from the fable The Hare and the Tortoise Cloud Garden Conservatory A walk-through greenhouse that
recreates the lush tropical foliage of a Costa Rican cloud forest. South side of
Richmond Street, between Yonge and Bay Streets. Open Monday through Friday 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed on holidays). More information from 416-392-7288 Golf Courses “A good walk ruined,” claimed
Mark Twain. But too many of City Gardener’s friends are enthusiasts and since
Toronto has the world’s only golf courses accessible from a subway, plus four
others, why not? Advance bookings essential, call in advance; all operated by
the city. Dentonia
Park Golf Course: par 54; this is the one you can reach right from the
Victoria Park Subway Station. East side of Victroia Park just north of Danforth
Avenue, 416-392-2558 Don
Valley Golf Course:
par 71 Yonge Street one stop light south of Highway 401, 416-392-2465 Humber
Valley Golf Course: par 70 Albion Road and Beattie Avenue, just north of
Highway 401 416-392-2488 Scarlett
Woods Golf Course: par 62 southwest corner Jane Street and Eglinton Avenue
West 416-392-2484 Tam
O’Shanter Golf Course: par 71 Birchmount Avenue north of Sheppard Avenue East
416-392-2547 Gardening in the Headlines A bumper
crop of the past few weeks news of interest to gardeners Landscaping §
The ashes of a Florida woman, reports the National
Post, have been mixed into concrete blocks used for making an artificial
reef in waters off Marco Island. No doubt a planting container composed of a
Californian’s ashes will shortly follow this (In March 1999, the Financial
Post reported Alex Carey of Casket Stores, Inc., Mississauga, as offering
some nifty garden monuments to be used for the loved one’s ashes.) §
An
interesting problem for landscape architects: Marion County, Florida’s new
220-hectare aviation community of over a hundred homes, each with its own
taxiway for residents’ private aircraft, one of which will be a Boeing 707
belonging to actor/pilot John Travolta. §
U.S. landscape artist Kathryn Gustafson’s fountain
design is selected as a gushing memorial to Britain’s Princess Diana, to be
erected alongside the Serpentine Lake in London’s Hyde Park next year. Lawns §
Summer
wouldn’t be complete without a drunken lawn mower ride. This one is from
Norway, where a befuddled man stole a ride-on mower, driving it 45 km to his
friend’s home in Steinvik. The journey took him six hours at an average speed
of just 7.5 km/h. The police discovered him asleep when they arrived to arrest
him. §
Toronto
Councillor Jack Layton, long-time environmentalist, calls a press conference to
announce he is running for leadership of the federal NDP. The location of the
press meet? The lawn on Parliament Hill. Jack, as a practicing
environmentalist, has no lawn at his Huron Street, Toronto, home. §
Thanks to
extensive new housing construction, St. John’s, Newfoundland, demand for sod
causes shortages and a five-fold price increase following which chinch bug
devastates many lawns. §
Ellen
Goodman of The Washington Post manages to equate lawns with
extraterrestrial activities, while disparaging lush green suburban scenes since
“we can’t eat, wear or sell” them. Trees §
Screams coming from the forest near Aachen, Germany
scared neighbours on several occasions before they finally called the police. A
25-year-old man was warned to find somewhere else to relieve his stress §
800 hectares of forest in the former Soviet Republic of
Belarus has gone up in flames, and with it contamination caused by the Chernobyl
disaster. Meanwhile, in Siberia 7000 square kilometres of forest have been on
fire so far this year. §
Move over
Smokey the Bear: An Indonesian forestry official suggests training wild
elephants to be forest rangers, believing the mere thought of a tusked guardian
will scare off illegal loggers. § The new International Spy Museum in Washington. D.C., features, amongst other exhibits an artificial tree stump, with equally artificial bark, used in the early 1970s by the CIA to intercept transmissions from a Soviet military base. What did they do about dogs? Don’t ask. Located at 8800 F Street; (202) 393-7798; www.spymuseum.org §
Japanese researchers find a new use for wood in their
search to silence cellphone addicts in restaurants and theatres: Add minute
magnetic particles that absorb microwave signals, use the wood to build fittings
and furnishings and blissful peace descends over all. §
38,000
acres of California’s Sequoia National Forest go up in flames, the fire
reaching within a bare mile of half the world’s remaining mammoth trees in
328,000 acre Giant Sequoia National Monument. §
Just in
time for fall: filmmaker Woody Allen’s New York warehouse of film props are
sold and , amongst other items, are bags of carefully dried fallen tree leaves. §
The fuehrer
of Toronto’s Forestry department join in partnership with the Friends
of the Don and
the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Urban Forestry to survey the trees on
private property in the city’s “urban forest.” Perhaps if the city
Pooh-Bahs would learn to care for the new trees they plant properly this would
sound more convincing, Shrubs §
While the
devout believed damp stains appearing on Jerusalem’s Western Wall signified
the return of the Messiah, archaeologists and geologists determined a more
prosaic explanation: resin from the roots of a shrub. Flowers §
There are 420,000 flowering plant species in the world,
according to calculations by botanist David Bramwell, director of the Jardin
Canario Viera y Clavijo, Las Palmas, Canary Islands. This is 100,000 more than
was previously believed. The bad news is that 20 per cent could be in danger of
extinction. §
1,800-square-metres
of begonias are used form a floral carpet at the Grand Palace in Brusells,
Belgium §
As a
recuperating King Fahd of Saudi Arabia head for the Spanish resort of Marbella,
local florists hope for a repeat of a 1999 visit, when spending of $140-million
included $2,300 of fresh flowers every day. Down
in the Vegetables §
Potatoes genetically engineered to resist sap-sucking
insects turned out to be vulnerable to other pests, Nick Birch’s team at the
Scottish Crop Research Institute, near Dundee, says (Annals of Applied
Biology, vol. 140 p. 143) §
About 15%
of the world’s food raised in urban areas, says the magazine New Scientist,
citing the UN Development Programme’s urban agriculture
network. Honk Kong raises half its vegetables, for example. It also an excellent
way to use composted waste, save on transportation and create green space, the
magazine claims. §
Surprise,
surprise: the Prince Edward Island fish kills – five of them totalling at
least 12,00 dead fish – may be caused by pesticides in soil eroding off the
island’s spud fields. The ubiquitous “officials” “are investigating.” §
P.E.I.
potato farmers are warned to amend their polluting ways and stop planting fields
within 10 metres of waterways, as required by provincial law, to prevent
pesticide runoff and the resulting fish kills § 28 August marked the annual La Tomatina at Bunol, Spain, where, for no apparent reason, local and tourists a like squelch through the town splattering each other with 40,000 kilograms of ripe tomatoes. Tomatoes are supposed to be good for your health, ward of mosquitoes and plain taste good, but this? You’ve missed this year’s extravaganza but check out next season at www.okspain.org §
Quaker,
those good folk who brought you fat-filled granola, introduces ‘Spudz,’ a
potato snack. This news and the accompanying commercials provoke reporters,
during the summer “Silly Season,” to such gems as “a-peeling,” “airing
dirty roots in public,” and, of cousre, accusations of “masher.” City
Gardening is green with envy. §
School’s out for over 2,000 western New Brunswick
students as they head for the fields to pick potatoes, a traditional chore in
that province. Fruit
& Nuts §
The blueberry facials available at the Cliff House Resort
& Spa, Maine, are made from extracts and do not stain the skin, reports The
Boston Globe, thus halting rumours that the federal Tories in Ottawa were
proposing to send Joe Clark there. §
A banana
day keeps strokes at bay – and so will avocados, leaf green veggies and nuts
according to a study reported in the journal Neurology. High levels of
potassium are the answer, it seems. §
Blueberries
growing near Cape Breton’s notorious tar pits are tested for pollution at the
University of Guelph Spices
and Herbs §
Amazing what a little of parsley can do: Morocco occupies
a football-field-size island 180 metres of its Mediterranean coast that Spain
has been claiming since 1668. Perejil, or Parlsey Island, had a dozen Moroccan
soldiers guarding a few springs of the herb, in turn surrounded four Spanish
warships . . . then Spanish special forces took over until sanity prevailed,
everybody withdrew and left Perejil once more to the goats. Parsley is, of
course, native to the Mediterranean littoral. §
First it
was Singapore in the saga of the infamous Chinese herbal diet pills, now it is
Japan where 300 have been sickened and four died. Japanese authorities have
ordered recalls, arrested a woman peddling the pills. § Garlic gourmets delighted at B.C.’s South Cariboo Garlic Festival in late August, reportedly sampling, among other delights, garlic chocolate, garlic ice cream, garlic fudge and garlic jam.www.kariboofarms.com Container Gardening §
In one of our weirder stories, the area around Venice is
being plagued by a mystery bomber. The deranged individual is thought to be
involved in at least 20 incidents of freshly purchased prepared food containers
exploding. There have also been cases municipal flower planters being similarly
booby-trapped and even an ornamental urn in a cemetery. Propagation §
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has
established a commission to examine the genetically modified corn kafuffle in
which it is claimed that native Mexican corn varieties became contaminated. Seeds §
Seeds of
about 40% of Scottish plants pass through the guts of local sheep and rabbits,
and still germinate successfully, reports Pakeman and his team in Functional
Ecology. The word for it is endozoochory. §
Perennials, which flower at irregular intervals, have
long been a mystery that now seems solved at least in part from the study of the
grass species Chionochloa pallens from New Zealand. It appears that both
resources and climate in certain patterns of agreement spark the vital forces. §
A new endowment fund of US$260-million is being raised to
provide permanent funding for seed banks at 16 major agricultural institutes
world-wide by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and
the Consultative General Group on Agricultural Research: www.futureharvest.org, Bugs
and Gardeners §
Locusts
can be useful. In China, The Guangzhou Daily
wrote that readers could use them for a delicious dish. The province has a
reputation elsewhere in China cooking and eating anything that moves. Albertans,
inflicted with their own plague of hoppers, remain unenthused. §
If it had not appeared in the respected journal Nature,
we would have wondered, but success against slugs has been achieved with a 1 to
2 per cent solution of caffeine. Finally, a use for cola drinks, instant coffee
and brews prepared from tea bags. §
Steven Milloy, publisher of JunkSience.com, and adjunct
scholar of the Cato Institute, claims that the DDT ban of 30 June 1972 was based
on extremely shaky science, appalling lobbying, and misrepresentation by that
icon of environmentalists,. Rachel Carson of Silent Spring fame. §
Some fear that African killer bees have reached Los
Angeles when a belligerent swarm, which also routs the dog’s owners and drives
grade-school children from an elementary school, kills a poodle. §
Winnipeg’s
‘Alloway Rebellion’ erupts when a small group on a single city street of
that name decide to block trucks spreading a fog of malathion against mosquitoes
since, according to provincial health authorities after finding three dead crows
and a jay infected with West Nile virus, residents are at risk of the disease. A
few days later, police-escorted spraying trucks complete the operation
overnight. §
Oromocto,
New Brunswick, spent $152,370 to successfully control mosquitoes this season,
reducing the wretches by 95% while residents relax and garden §
Australian scientists have formed the Entocosm Pty Ltd, a
company intended to research possible drugs from insects. In true Digger fashion
they obtain these from the bugs by having a brew-up of the beasties’ bodies,
then analyze the resulting liquid. §
Farmers
north of the South Saskatchewan River are plagued with the worst attack of
grasshoppers in a decade on top of the worst drought in 133 years. Long before
harvesting, many are forced to apply for claims under the Saskatchewan Crop
Insurance. §
Canada
has 74 species of mosquitoes, only the females bite to obtain the blood which
nourishes their eggs, and they are more attracted to men than women, reports
Julia McKinnell of the National Post. §
Squirrels
bugging the bulbs? Out in Torrington, Alberta, where ground squirrels, or
gophers, are considered a major pest, they have the Gopher Hole Museum, which,
since 1996, has featured the critters’ stuffed furry bodies dressed up and
mounted in dioramas depicting local life around the 187-member village. This
museum attracts 10,000 visitors every year. For the Birds §
Problems
with pigeons? In Buenos Aires they have been driven from the city core by
continuous very noisy protests against the government’s economic policies –
or lack thereof – perhaps not quite the thing for suburban neighbourhoods
here. §
Five swans succumb to overfeeding on bread handouts by
visitors at Stratford, Ontario §
Toronto
Health Department spokeswoman Mary Margaret Crapper announces citizens will
henceforth be expected to dispose of dead crows and blue jays themselves when
the birds are discovered on their properties. There is, she says, no danger of
contracting West Nile virus from the carcasses but they should be handled with a
shovel and deposited in double plastic bags. §
Pigeons
are “almost entirely unaffected by opium,” The Globe and Mail’s
Michael Kesterton tells us. Bang goes another way of controlling the flying
vermin. Weeds §
Parks in
the Lithuanian city of Kaunas are overrun with weeds and, er, weed. Cannabis is
happily self-seeding as lack of municipal funding prevents eradication. §
San
Francisco’s Public Utilities Commisison hired a herd of 400 goats to control
weeds and brush along its rights-of way, reports Michael Kesterton in The
Globe and Mail. The company that supplies the natural weed whackers answer
to the name of Goats-R-Us, we are told. Composting §
Mixing
sewage sludge from large urban areas, including that derived from hospitals and
nursing homes, and spreading it on agricultural land, is a serious hazard to
human health, causing sickness and at least two recorded deaths, says the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency after a two-year study by researchers the University of
Georgia. Ten sites where sewage sludge was so used were monitored, including on
near Cedarville in eastern Ontario. §
The
wonderfully-named ‘Zoo Poo,’ composted manure from Toronto Zoo, may soon be
a thing of the past, as that institution receieves federal financing for a
feasibility study into producing “green electrical energy” from their animal
waste. Never mind, we still have the zoo’s head poobah Councillor George
Mammoliti. Gardening
in the City §
When
Toronto’s water consumption rises to 2.1 billion litres a day, leaving a scant
0.1 billion litres in the reservoirs, Patrick Newland, director of
Toronto’s water supply, while emphasizing there is no shortage, requests
citizens cut back on outside use. §
NASA satellites show that areas downwind from large
cities receive up to a third more rainfall, thanks to rising warm air pushing
moisture aloft. Torontonians’ belief that residents of Scarborough (‘Scarbaria’)
and points east are all wet may have some basis in meteorology. §
British publication New Scientist is usually
enjoyably accurate but their knowledge of North America may have startling gaps.
The magazine recently described the raccoon as a “forest-loving animal.” Any
city gardener here can tell you otherwise: authoritative estimates for Toronto
alone are some 12 per cent of the human population – which latter is presently
about 2.5 million. §
Did The
Toronto Star cause false environmental concerns when they revealed
pressure-treated wood playground equipment in Toronto parks was leaching arsenic
into the surrounding soil? City Council puts a hold on sealing 260 such
structures until tests are in this November. The tests will cost $90,000,
sealing the wood $300,000. §
According
to Richard Ubbens, Toronto’s forestry fuehrer, the city has some three million
trees on municipal property but this represents only 20% of the total in
Toronto, most being located in home and commercial areas. §
University of Toronto’s Botany Department historic
greenhouses at College and Queen’s Park will not be destroyed as originally
planned but, at a cost of over $1-million to the U of T, will be dismantled and
re-erected in Allan Gardens at the north end of the municipal conservatory. §
Will
Toronto be once again be assaulted by aphid clouds followed by their predators,
the orange Asia lady beetle? Fear not, say entomologist at the Ontario Ministry
of Agriculture and Food: the populations of both have crashed and, as of the
time of writing in late August, they have stayed that way. §
In
Toronto, expect racoons and skunks under the backyard deck. In Calgary, a
resident discovered a 45-kg cougar under his deck. Wildlife officer Paul
Lupyczuk claimed the incident as “a typical day in the city.” Tools §
Russian Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the famed AK47
automatic rifle, says he would have rather spent more time in his garden and to
have invented some thing useful rather than destructive like, he says, a
lawnmower, certainly a cut above everything else. §
The Globe
and Mail’s Michael Kesterton thoughtfully prints advise from Dr.
Maureen Finnegan of the University of Texas, on how to preserve fingers or toes
involuntarily amputated by the lawn mower: They should be “cleaned with salt
water, wrapped in gauze, placed in a watertight bag, put on ice and brought to
the emergency department.” We learnt this in first aid, but didn’t need the
reminder – but see below. §
A York Regional Police constable retrieved two toes lost
by a 4½-year-old girl in a ride-on lawnmower accident in Markham, Ontario. They
were delivered to Toronto’s Sick Kid’s Hospital for doctors to attempt to
reattach. §
A St.
Catharines, Ontario, man attempts to attack police officers with a weed-whacker,
is dissuaded by a friend and charged with assault with a weapon, assaulting
a police officer and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. Soils §
Something
to ponder when purchasing peat this fall: 119 peat fires flare out of control in
the immediate area of Moscow, creating the worst smog conditions there in 30
years. Fertilizer §
Genetically
modified corn with protein better suited to livestock results in manure
containing less nutrients, especially nitrogen, so reducing pollution of
waterways – and less smell, reports New Scientist, arguing that “rigid
organic doctrines may stand in the way of environmental progress” §
If next year your Ontario-grown spuds taste kinda funny,
you should know that at last one potato farmer in Caledon, Onatrio, has applied
for permission to use sewage sludge to fertilize his land. Burp. Pardon. Inventions §
Researchers
at Japan’s Mitsubishi have come up with landscaping pavers that absorb
pollutants from the air. In sue for some time in many Japanese towns as well as
Hong Kong, Westminister
City Council in London, England has tested also tested them. §
Gardening
in the heat getting to you? Something called a ‘Climate Control Bandana
Cooler’ is being flogged at $8 a crack by Uniquely Yours, 519-344-5268; deeddon@sympatico.ca.
It keeps its cool for up to four days and is reusuable. Science
and the Gardener §
Jonathan Knight, writing in Nature, points out
that while the human genome consists of 3,200,000,000 base pairs, that of the
trumpet lily (Lilium longiflorum) is 90,000,000,000 but the tomato (Lycopersicon
esculentum) has only 655,000,000. §
New Scientist
notes that the last reason given for plants on English Nature’s website,
beside many others, is that they “keep botanists in work.” §
Analysis of ancient Mayan cook pots from Colha, Belize,
shows that Mayans had discovered the joys of chocolate by at least 2,600 years
ago §
The French science journal Comptes Rendus, founded
1838, admits few people read science papers in French and will, henceforth, will
prefer English. The rumbling sound you heard was de Gaulle spinning in
his grave. § Monarch butterflies heading south this time of the year are guided by the sun, say Henrik Mouritsen and Barrie Frost of Queen’s University www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.152137299 §
Why do plants produce vitamins? The answer, say
scientists at the University of Graz, Austria, is to help them survive droughts
by clearing up free radicals. §
Mould gardens used to be the ‘in thing’ for budding
botanists. Interesting organic items are placed in tightly sealed jars and
results eagerly awaited. New Scientist correspondents offer ideas to
recreate this ‘Manic Mould’ with fresh cow dung, cooked basmati rice, Greek
yogurt, tomato and leftover pizza. Science fair ideas, perhaps? §
Scientists at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization report they have isolated the gene in rice that
is responsible for shorter, more prolific plants, and saying this will enable
others to accelerate the creation of new rice varieties. §
Michael
Kesterton reports in The Globe and Mail that Dr. Richard Axel of Columbia
University in New York is searching for substances that will
“throw mosquitoes off human scent and get rid of them without
pesticides.” Travel §
The Earth
Summit in Johannesburg this month produces 500,000 tonnes carbon dioxide
greenhouse gas by way of air flights, vehicles and hotels its 60,000 delegates
use, equal to that produced in an entire year by about half-a-million ordinary
Africans. § As summer fades in the Northern Hemisphere, spring enters South Africa, bringing with it the staggering floral displays of the semi-desert Namaqualand well into October in the northwest part of the country. More on one of the planet’s greatest natural displays at www.northerncape.org.za §
A maze
cut out of eight acres of forage corn on a farm in West Sussex England is shaped
like the tiger the maze seeks to raise funds for to protect in the wild. §
A corn
maize is created on a farm near Carman, Manitoba, in the shape of the
Nonsuch, a English ship that traded for furs in 17th-century
Hudson Bay. §
The Newstiese
of Syracuse, New York, coins the word ‘agritainment’ for the
newly-discovered “maize maze
craze” which, contrary to the name, are actually cerated with near-corn
relative sorghum. §
Munich’s
English Garden was laid out in the 19th-century in imitation of those
in London, England. Those suffering a surfeit of botanical abundance may be
moved to observe in summer at least the grounds are a favourite spot for
nudists. Alas, to the city’s horror, this advertised tourist attraction is
severely down in numbers, with a mere 1,000 a day airing their differences in
public. §
Fungus
Fest in Crystal Falls, Michigan, celebrates one of the planet’s largest living
organisms, the 10,000-kg Armillaria bulbosa
fungus that occupies 15-ha near the community, almost all of it, alas,
underground and so invisible. Weather §
Every cloud has a silver lining and drought-doomed
Alberta farmers split $325-million from a concerned provincial government, which
the federal government tops by some 40% of that amount. §
The
journal Science reports accelerated melting of glaciers in B.C., the
Yukon and Alaska is an indication of global warming – and rising sea levels of
17 to 37 mm annually §
“A future climate with warmer winters in the U.S. would
have a positive economic outcome,” Stanley Changon, on his suggestion that the
warm winter saved the U.S. $21 billion and prevented a recession (University of
Illinois press release quoted by New Scientist) §
Sunny South Africa? Not this winter in the southern
hemisphere where eastern Cape Town was battered by several days of heavy snows,
killing about two dozen people. §
Alberta
and Saskatchewan are hit by the worst drought in 133 years and the third
consecutive year rains have failed to arrive over much of the province. Lack of
forage crops for livestock threatens the breeding industry as farmers in Ontario
volunteer to ship railroad cars full of hay to help out. Donations
can be made by calling 1-866-HAY-WEST. §
Calgary, Banff, Canmore, Rocky Mountain House and Sylvan
Lake in Alberta receive up to 5 cm of snow on 2 August, while parts of
neighbouring Saskatchewan receive up to 3cm of frost, raising a ruckus with
global warming enthusiasts. Two weeks later, southern Alberta gets hit be snow
again to the amazement of many tourists. §
200
Nepalese women plough their fields at a midnight hour sans clothing in a
successful effort to bring rains to their parched fields. If it works in Nepal,
perhaps in Alberta and Saskatchewan? §
Bad
enough nattering nabobs and fellow travellers have pushed the price of
Valpolicella region wine to new heights of decadence but Italian vintners are
now putting out signals that perhaps “not a drop” will be produced this year
following disastrous floods and hail storms that have swept northern Italy Law
and Gardeners § A California man is sent to trial for allegedly adultering his ex-girlfriend’s medication and lipstick with insecticide. §
Botanist Kristina Schierenbeck, California State
University in Chico, helped police find the body of the slain 11-year-old
daughter of a man who had committed suicide from plant debris found on his
truck. §
The eco-freaks that inhabit the European Parliament
propose that all genetically modified food be labeled, even down to
animal feed. §
Despite
the attractions of medicinal marijuana, claims by three Californians for refugee
asylum after fleeing from prosecution in their home state, are said by
authorities to be “unlikely” to be granted. Nice try, guys, now butt out and
return to Uncle Sam who has extradition orders on you. §
Over six
years, 1995-2000, Peter Vonditsianos over billed Newmarket, Ontario, for
landscape work to the tune of almost a half-million dollars, according to Canada
Customs and Revenue who accused him of tax evasion and evading paying GST. He
received a $40,000 fine after pleading guilty. §
Italian
gardeners in a cemetery in Rome, angry at being denied private cleaning
contracts, desecrate 50 Jewish graves in an attempt to disparage the cemetery
supervisor. §
30 Sicilian
farmers pump out the River Sosio into their fields, killing fish and
plants downstream and affecting two generating stations and several reservoirs. §
Not
another television channel, PMTV is a serious virus of potatoes which has been
discovered in seed spud imports from the U.S. Known also as mop top virus, it
has caused the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to restrict sales from the
American states involved, telling them, in effect to go play their tubers
elsewhere. Business §
A report by Leonard Gianessi and a team at the National
Center for Food and Agriculture Policy in Washington D.C., shows that last year
biotechnology saved U.S. farmers US$1.2-billion in production costs, created 1.8
million tons extra crops, all while using 21,000 tonnes fewer pesticides. §
Move over cotton, welcome stinging nettle fibre, or so
believes Melvyn Askew of Britain’s Central Science Laboratory who, according
to New Scientist, declared: “Here we have a new crop that’s really
helping the environment and we can use it for something constructive like posh
frocks.” Sounds rash to us. §
Quebec medical equipment company Hydro Medic advises it
has the equipment to allow those permitted to indulge in marijuana for medicinal
reasons to grow their own pot. Health Canada says it isn’t in its field. §
Forget
the lumber wars: Frustrated by a U.S. ban on imports of industrial hemp seed,
Canada’s company Kenex Ltd. of Chatam, Ontario, the continent’s largest
producer of hemp seed with some 10 employees, files a lawsuit against the U.S.
under the
North American Free Trade Agreement. §
A
reprieve for 24 out of 31 bankrupt White Rose stores, purchased by newly formed
White Rose Home and Garden Centres Ltd. Leader Fern Reeves says to look for a
“new home and garden concept that has never been tried before.” Martha
Mapleleaf, perhaps? §
Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Los
Angeles-based Reason magazine and author of The Looming Trade War Over Plant
Biotechnology, openly accuses the EU “Eurocrats” of fostering junk science
and imposing in effect a trade ban on GM crops. For good measure, Bailey also
claims this is preventing North American relief corn being sent to Zimbabwe and
other starving African nations, who are afraid of bucking the EU. §
Meanwhile,
Monsanto admits that it will be at least 2005 before they expect the EU’s
deadlock to be defeated. §
China,
while developing GM crops at a starting rate, set off alarm bells in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) by announcing new restrictions on imported GM
crops such as soy beans this December. Not to worry, it won’t affect you, U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Anne Veneman was assured on a recent trip to the Celestial
Kingdom’s capital, Beijing. Environment §
Pesticide
runoff from farmers’ fields into Prince Edward Island’s Wilmot River killed
more than 4,500 fish, Environment Canada determines, and a farmer faces charges §
“The only thing constant about climate is change,”
says paleoclimatologist Dr. Tim Patterson of Carlton University, Ottawa,
debunking “the pro-Kyoto rhetoric coming from the federal government,
environmental lobby groups and many in the media.” §
Ontario’s
new premier Ernie Eves joins Alberta’s Ralph Klein to pour scorn of the Kyoto
Accord scam §
The noise
from snowmobiles raises stress hormone levels in elk and wolves, reports
Scott Creel of Montana State University, Bozeman, in the journal Science.
This once again questions the wisdom of allowing the machines in U.S. National
Parks – and elsewhere. §
The
British-based journal Nature reports that with Japan signing the Kyoto
Protocol, the international agreement now has the required 55 countries but
falls far short of its 55% target of global carbon dioxide emissions from 1990. §
The
Washington-based Nature Conservancy organization attains an exclusive meeting
with President Jiang Zemin of China, who expressed
appreciation of the organization’s work in Yuan and urged continuing
cooperation. §
Mellon Lake, an ecologically sensitive area of eastern
Ontario is opened up by the provincial government for granite quarrying §
Sand dunes are less than a hundred miles from Beijing as
a fifth of China has become desert, reports New Scientist §
Thanks to invading European grasses that burn all too
easily, the unique desert plant communities in California, Arizona and Nevada
are threatened with extinction, along with the more spectacular forest fires in
these same states. §
University of Kent, England, economist Ian Swingfield
proposes in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A that
privatization of global resources is the answer to conservation, the classic
bureaucrat-based operations having been dismal failures. §
A dozen
flattened circles appear in a barley field near Montreal. Astronomer Andre
Bordelau say they are a hoax but some are not so sure with speculation of
aliens. If so, will the Quebec language police insist negotiations be conduction
in French? Health §
“There is no convincing evidence that any food
contaminant [including pesticides] modifies the risk of any cancer, nor is there
evidence of any probable casual relationship,” says Terence Corocan in the Financial
Post, quoting from a 1997 report prepared under the auspices of the World
Cancer Research Fund, the American Institute of Cancer Research, the World
Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer: §
Back in February, The Globe and Mail’s Michael
Kesterton reported the scorn heaped upon expensive non-fruit juice imported
from Hawaii and Tahiti into Thailand, thoroughly aired in The Bangkok Post.
Thailand has long produced its own economy-priced version. Toronto’s alternate
NOW weekly reports that even the expensive stuff is of questionable use
and suggest orange or grape juice might be just as effective. §
The tongat ali of the Malaysian rainforest may or
may not be an aphrodisiac as believed, a study reports but it does show activity
against HIV virus and cancer. §
Hay fever sufferers are more prone to panic attacks
according to research by Renee Goodwin of Colombia University in New York City.
This may explain a number of panic calls made by City Gardening to Robert
and Ryan, two computer wizards. §
Microwave
popcorn? U.S. health authorities say its safe but the New England Journal of
Medicine reports the artificial butter flavour is most emphatically not, at
last on an industrial scale as its use in a Missouri popcorn factory inflicts 8
workers with incurable lung disease. §
The Daily
Mail of London, England, claims the bark of a “gum
tree” from Ghana called yamoa is “soaked in clean water and
then dried naturally, so the finished product contains no chemicals or
additives.” The finished product is supposedly a cure for hay fever and
asthma. §
Israeli
scientists identify widespread use of opium and hashish as medicinal narcotics
throughout the Middle East during the Bronze Age, kept special ceramic
containers shaped like an opium poppy pod. §
A bat
tests positive for rabies so the Markham, Ontario, family in whose house it was
discovered undergoes inoculations against the disease. |
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