While researching Mulch To Be Desired for the Spring 2012 issue of GardenMaking magazine, I visited the mulch-making site of Gro-Bark in Caledon, just north of Toronto. Sales rep Kerri Stevenson and technical sales rep Chelsea Stroud showed me around, pointing out how the mulch is dyed, the differences between the various mulches and generally filling me in on the making of mulch. I had an up-close look at my favourite mulch, too – composted pine bark. The crisp fall day was full of the earthy pine scent. It was bliss! Thanks Kerry and Chelsea!

On the way back from Gro-Bark, I passed this mountain of mulch mounded up over the roots of this spruce hedge. Hmm, not my favourite colour and those evergreen roots will soon be smothered to death!

Jeff Lowenfels

Jeff Lowenfels travelled all the way from Alaska to Canada Blooms to dish the dirt on soil to Toronto gardeners — and I’m glad he did. His lecture on Wednesday afternoon was all about mycorrhizal fungi, protazoa, nematodes and bacteria. Yes, I’ve heard about these micro-organisms but never in such an entertaining way. Somehow, he pulled together what I’d learned as a bunch of disparate information and made sense of it all. Did you know:
1.) 96 percent of plants form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi
2.) There are 2 kinds of nitrogen: NO3 (nitrates) and NO4 (ammonia)
3.) NO3 is bacteria-dominant and is beneficial to annuals, bulbs and crops
4.) NO4 is fungi based, which aids perennials, shrubs and trees
5.) Slugs are good guys (especially if you’re not fond of hostas…), which live underground as well as on hosta leaves. In the soil, they help break down fungi and bacteria, and that’s a good thing.
6.) Birds are taxi cabs for protazoa (that’s another good thing)
7.) Rototilling is bad for soil health (but you knew that, right?)
8.) Soil depleted of microbes can be rejuvenated by adding compost, using compost tea, mulching and adding mycorrhizal fungi
9.) Mulch with green organics to attract bacteria (to benefit annuals, bulbs and crops)
10.) Mulch with brown organics to attract fungi (to help perennials, shrubs and trees)

Hooked on soil? Buy Jeff’s book, Teaming with Microbes. It’s the best thing you can do for your plants!

9. BirdCam
“Look at the birdie!” has never had more meaning. While roaming the exhibit hall for new gardening products at the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, I found a great bird-watching gadget. The Audubon BirdCam actually lets you capture images of the birds that visit your backyard feeder. This weather-resistant outdoor camera can be strapped to a nearby tree trunk, mounted on a tripod or clamped to the pole that holds your birdfeeder. Then, as birds visit the feeder, their motion triggers the camera, and voilá, you have a gallery of photos that can be downloaded to a computer or viewed on a television screen.

The PlantCam is a similar product that clicks and stitches together pictures of your garden and its plants as they grow, providing a time-lapse view as flowers open, seedlings grow or bulbs pop out of the ground. Hmm, maybe this is just what I need in my basement to monitor the seedlings that invariably succumb to crop failure of some sort due to my neglect. The PlantCam would operate just like a baby monitor, telling me when plants are crying out for water!

Has anyone used either of these products?

Cardinal photo by audreyjm529 at Flickr

Praying Mantis at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens

3. Jim Chatfield
Got diseased or buggy plants? Who you gonna call? Ohio State University professor Jim Chatfield, that’s who! This pest and disease myth-buster talked for oh-so-short a time on Why Good Plants Go Bad in an entertaining and practical way that made troubleshooting plant problems almost sexy. Among his bon mots, did you know that only 7.4 percent of all insects are pests, and that only .7 percent actually cause significant damage, or that once you see symptoms, it’s too late to control a disease (isn’t that a comfort?). To help you diagnose pesky problems in your garden, download 20 Questions on Plant Diagnosis and learn the dos and don’ts of how to keep plants healthy.