The goldenrod flowers pictured in the Sept. 26 “Garden Notes” have now aged to motley, brown-gray fuzz. Sitting at the dining table, I observe the patch’s activity through the window; it is constantly atwitter with a small flock of chickadees. Obviously, they highly value something there that has neither gardenesque nor ornamental value.
Frost is still playing tag with many areas of the Island. The brisk winds of the past couple of weeks have left woodlands suddenly bare and bleak-looking. (More on this below.) Combined with lack of rain, the winds have elevated fire risks across the state.
Digging and planting now finds soils very dry, unusually for November. Formerly “usual” weather patterns would have created soil moisture by mid-November. Inconveniently, the dryness requires diligent watering of new plantings, in spite of outside water being turned off and drained.
In the garden
Not much sign of winter moth activity yet. Summer’s lone star tick assault is receding, with deer ticks, a winter tick, now prevalent. They hitchhike indoors on outerwear and pets, but find us instead. Deer are moving about, and pose risks to cars and drivers.
Buck-rubbing is ongoing — why is it that bucks choose desirable specimens, and not just any old sassafras sapling? Check trees for it, and protect the trunks and limbs affected. An MO appears to be that a tree, once rubbed, is returned to for a couple of years.
Dahlias, quoting my Gazette colleague Lynne Irons: Time for the “big dig.” Tag and store tubers frost-free in shavings, or with soil still clumping. (I reuse the plastic bags that soil mixes come in.)
Deciduous trees
Deciduous trees have evolved clever strategies. As noted above, the woods suddenly look very bare. By reducing windage from wintry blasts, deciduous trees protect themselves from clinging ice and snow, and so breakage of branches and limbs is reduced as well.
In temperate climates, with winter approaching, these trees send their foliar nutrients down into their root systems for storage and eventual reuse. They then shed (“abcise”) the leaves onto the ground that covers the root run, as self-made mulch. Animals, weather, insects, soil life, and time all process those leaves into leaf mold, humus, and topsoil.
In garden shrub borders, leaf muddles and small branchlets lodge in tree branches and shrubs, adding to snow and ice breakage later. Removing and adding them to compost piles supplies the substance now known to be the secret sauce for soil creation: ramial wood chips.
Ramial wood
Ramial wood is indeed the tree’s “factory” for producing wood, lignin, polysaccharides, “oxides” (glucose, saccharose, fructose, mannose, etc.), and proteins. It originates in the twigs and small branchlets of hardwood trees. It therefore represents an important source of nutrients and energy for living things at all levels (mofga.org/resources/mulch/ramial-chips).
The Vineyard originated as a pile of sand in the Atlantic, left by the retreating glacier: hardly a promising site to grow bountiful crops or beautiful gardens. Therefore we must be concerned with building the soil quality that supports the results we want.
Ramial wood and wood chips can be a part of every Island garden’s process of improvement. Those who grow and garden want healthy plants and beautiful surroundings. Ideal for that is soil that is fertile, free-draining but moisture-retentive, with high percentages of humus. This is also the description of soils that store more carbon. Leave this debris on your land or in your compost pile, not in the landfill!
Pamphlets
The Vineyard Way has published best-practices pamphlets for homeowners and landscapers. These are the “Vineyard Lawns Initiative” booklet and the “Plant Local” folder. Look for them at garden centers, and check them out — thank you, BiodiversityWorks, Martha’s Vineyard Commission, Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness, Polly Hill Arboretum, Vineyard Conservation Society, and their supporters, for making this initiative!
Thanksgiving with alpha-gal
Thankfully, turkey and cranberry sauce are not alpha-gal triggers. However, much of the rest of the meal is. For many, butter is out, to be replaced by olive or other oils. One-inch chunks of peeled winter squash tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary and roasted in a hot oven (425°) for 20 minutes make a tasty and safe vegetable dish. This recipe index should be useful: alphagalcooking.com/recipeindex.
Green burial
“Life into death into life.” This parable is something gardeners accept in the garden. Compost, humus, soil micro-life, and returning all once-living matter to the soil is the way to good soil, good produce, and good eco-outcomes.
The late Ginny Jones, a daughter of West Tisbury and Martha’s Vineyard, opted for a green sendoff in the town that was her lifetime home.
Like many West Tisbury women, Ginny Jones was known as very smart, articulate, and outspoken. A town benefactor (Howes House, land for library), officeholder, and public servant until almost the very end of her life, Ginny was a tireless and acerbically fierce defender of West Tisbury, of Martha’s Vineyard, and our lands and waters. Even those she crossed swords with will miss Ginny’s voice. Being authentic is a tough act to follow.
The choice made by Ginny Jones and her family is for a green burial, as these are now legal in the commonwealth, if conditions are met (greenburialma.org/home-burial). The positives are many: “A green or natural burial uses no embalming, no metal casket, and no burial liner or vault; the marker, if used, is typically flat and level with the ground.
“Proponents often refer to it as ‘traditional’ burial, because it reclaims the more natural way in which nearly all were buried prior to the Civil War — one that is still used by much of the world’s population. Because only biodegradable materials are used, in green burial a human body and its burial container enrich the soil.”
So, like Ginny Jones, why not we ourselves, when we have no further use for our physical bodies?
