Hello
Gardeners!
As
National Arbor Day is April 24th, I am celebrating trees this month.
So here is another tree quiz.
1.
Roughly, how many trees are on the Earth?
a) 1 billion
b) 2 million
c) 3 trillion
d) 4 quadrillion
2.
The first known tree occurred 385 million years ago and its fossil was found
in:
a) What is known today
as Russia
b) What is known today
as Brazil
c) What is known
today as Australia
d) What is known
today as New York
3. How many trees do
you need to add to a pasture to improve the number of bird species in that
area? (Increase the biodiversity of birds from 0 to 80)
a) add 1 tree
b) add 10 trees
c) add 100 trees
d) add 0 trees as
there is no connection between birds and trees
Actually the number
of trees worldwide has dropped by 46% since the start of agriculture 12,000
years ago. If you guessed 3 trillion you would be about right 3
Trillion and counting. This is just an estimate as trees seem to ignore any
census counting forms and the last I knew they aren’t into entering their stats
on computers either!
Though 385 million
years ago seems like a long time, it has only been in the last 10% of earth’s
existence that trees have been around. The first known plant was a type of
algae about 1 billion years ago. It took a while for plants to figure out how
to make a structure to keep them upright. The oldest tree is the Wattieza
and it was found in what is known today as upstate New York! It formed the
first known forests.
By contrast the first
known flower found as a fossil is
only 130 million years old. This plant is called Montsechia vidalii. but scientists believe flowers came before
that and have hypothesized what they
looked like.
Amazingly enough all you need to do is add 1 tree to a pasture to
increase the bird diversity from 0 to 80! But as you remember from the last
email, trees like to live in groups and a tree living in a forest usually will
outlive a sole tree. So plant a tree or two this month in honor of Arbor Day!
There are some new gardeners who received seeds from the seed library
and maybe are wondering:
I got some seeds now what do I
do?
Here’s a repeats of what I sent before.
Everyone has their own method for determining when to plant seeds
outside, but here are some general rules:
-Know your last frost date. For most of us living in zone 4, the
average last frost date is between May 5-15. Remember this is an average, every
year will be different.
-Know what are considered cool season crops and warm season crops. Cool
season crops prefer to grow when the temperatures are cooler such as early
spring and late fall. Warm season crops think the sunnier and hotter the
better. Below is a general guide line as I’m sure some of you who are
experienced gardeners have your own timeline.
Seeds to start early indoor as
they need a longer growing season then we have here:
Basil, Broccoli, Eggplant, Oregano, Onions, Peppers, Peppermint,
Tomatillos, Tomatoes
Seeds to direct sow as soon as
the soil can be worked, i.e. cool season crops:
Cilantro, Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Onion sets, Peas, Radish, Spinach,
many native plants
Seeds to direct sow after all
danger of frost and soil has warmed, i.e. warm season crops:
Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Cabbage, Chard, Cucumber, Dill, Melons,
Parsnips, Squash, Sunflowers
Plants to transplant outside
after all danger of frost: (I usually wait until temps are at least 50 degrees
at all times)
Basil, Broccoli, Eggplant, Oregano, Onions, Peppers, Peppermint,
Tomatillos, Tomatoes
Here are some good places to find more information:
Seed Distribution
I will have another
seed pickup on Saturday April 25 from 9-10 am at the White Bear Lake library’s
parking lot. To pick up seeds on this date you must email me your order by 7pm
Friday April 24, (wblseedlibrary@gmail.com). You can read the
details at the blog site WBL blog site.
A note about the Seed
Library’s blog site, WBL Seed Library. As it is a blog
site the most recent post will be first or the most visible. Previous posts
will be under ‘Archive’ on the far right. To find information of the seed
distribution and the lists of seeds available you need to look under the
‘Archive’ heading and then under “March’.
Please consider
planting an extra row or plant or two for the seed library! We will especially
need pea, bean and lettuce seeds for the next season.
Happy Planting!
Pam
Contact info for the
Seed Library:
Email:
wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog
site: WBL Seed Library
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