May/June 2000 issue

Members' Forum
 

SmartGarden™.

In reading the description of the SmartGarden(tm) program in the "News from AHS" section in the January/February issue, the following caught my eye: "Heroic efforts in the past to maintain delicate or demanding gardens were predicated on abundant natural resources and are no longer justifiable..." I suggest that gardens can be very wasteful, and yet not harm the earth. They remind us everyday of our place on the planet, of what is rewarding and meaningful in life, especially in a consuming society. Also, there was one plant omitted from mention. It is the plant that is coddled and cut often weekly at considerable expense, with a great loss of irreplaceable resource, under great stress, with considerable noise pollution; a monoculture requiring more pesticides than the nation's corn crop. That plant was originally an English convention, maintained by pastoral sheep. Waste no time on gardens consuming energy and heating up our earth. If each of us reduces the national lawn by ten square feet, we will have made a remarkable contribution to environmental awareness. Then we can cut the remaining blades with a solar powered mower. Paul Steinkamp Altamont, New York

Editor's Note: We did not mean to imply that gardening in itself was inherently wasteful or should be curtailed in any way. The point of the SmartGarden(tm) program is to promote successful gardening practices that are more efficient and environmentally responsible. But in the end, any form of gardening is better than not gardening at all. Your point about lawns provides a perfect illustration of the SmartGarden(tm) concept. While lawns provide open space for recreation and have aesthetic value in setting off other plantings, by reducing the amount of space in our landscapes devoted to standard lawn grasses, we can conserve natural resources and cut maintenance time. In many areas of the western United States, buffalo grass offers an ideal, drought-tolerant substitute for traditional turf. And there are dozens of options for beautiful, low-maintenance ground covers available to gardeners anywhere in North America (for examples, see "Beauty Beyond Bluegrass" by Andy Wasowski in the May/June 1996 issue of The American Gardener). By replacing part of our lawns with a variety of plants, we can diversify our gardens and reduce pest and disease problems that have been linked to monocultural plantings.

Toxic Taters? 

I would like to add a cautionary note to the response to the question published in "Gardeners Information Service" in the January/February 2000 issue regarding whether the tubers of Ipomoea batatas 'Marguerite' and 'Blackie' can be eaten. While these two plants are grown principally as ornamentals, I have seen them form roots large enough to be eaten. If you are interested in eating them, however, be forewarned that professional greenhouse growers often add systemic insecticides to such plants or spray them with other chemicals not intended for food crops. If you buy them at a garden center, check with a manager or the grower to find out if any products were applied that might make the tubers unsafe to eat. Kevin Dahling H.J. Benken Florist/Greenhouses Cincinnati, Ohio

Editor's Note: Thanks for the warning. Better yet, order regular sweet potato slips-root sprouts-from a company that specializes in edible plants, or start your own from untreated tubers-store-bought tubers are often treated to prevent sprouting. To develop slips, use firm, unblemished sweet potatoes and bury them a half-inch below the surface in a container filled with moist sand or sawdust about two weeks before the last frost in your area. Store the container at 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and keep the medium moist but not wet. Within two weeks, shoots should emerge from several "eyes." Once these shoots form leaves and reach a height of six to nine inches, use a knife to detach each "slip," retaining a sliver of the flesh and as much of the root system as possible. Plant the slips three and a half feet apart on 10-inch-high ridges or mounds of soil amended with compost or well-rotted manure. Sweet potatoes need a growing season of 90 to 150 days and are very frost sensitive. One mail-order source for sweet potato slips is Territorial Seed Company, P. O. Box 157, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. (541) 942-9547. www.territorial-seed.com. Catalog free.