Extension News: April 2006 Archives

The Lee Town Meeting in 2002 voted to place a conservation easement on most of the nearly 200 acres of wooded property the town owns, permanently protecting it from development.

But without an inventory of the plants and animals that lived there, how could we effectively protect them or detect long-term changes in their populations?

I decided to start by identifying the birds. I figured I could handle that. I had one memorable experience right away. In May of 2002, a Lawrence’s warbler - a rare hybrid - appeared on the property and sang for 10 days before departing. Wow! I’d never seen that species before, and had the good fortune to see and hear it several times over 10 days.

After making substantial progress on the birds, I decided to add herbaceous plants to my efforts. A UNH colleague, Janet Sullivan, helped me hone my rusty herbaceous plant identification skills. Chairman of Lee Conservation Commission (and retired UNH forestry professor) Dick Weyrick had already identified most of the trees and shrubs, so I worked on finishing that piece of the inventory as well. And, since I was familiar with wildlife, it was easy to look for animals while I was in the field looking for birds and plants.
           
I became a familiar figure to the people (and dogs) who regularly hike the trails. Usually I had books, lenses, binoculars, and note pads with me. In 2005 I often had insect nets, which aroused considerable curiosity.

I discovered two large American chestnut trees, the only mature ones I’d ever seen. This is rare; chestnuts were wiped out in the early 1900s by introduction of a fungus from Europe. We hope these two are resistant to the fungus.
           
One morning I sat quietly in a blind, my telephoto lens aimed at a gray fox den. After 90 minutes with no signs of the fox, it surprised me by coming from behind and suddenly barking, no more than eight feet away. I’ll bet my blood pressure spiked to 140 then.

Another time (a rainy early April night) I stood at the edge of one of the vernal pools and netted a spotted salamander almost nine inches long. I’ve caught and kept trout smaller than that!

One July day I slogged through the wooded swamp, and surprised a moose. Later that same day, a mother ruffed grouse pretended to have a broken wing, while her chicks scurried to safety. Further on, a beautiful milk snake sunned itself on a stump. It must have recently shed its skin, its colors were so bright.
           
Several bird-watching friends kept asking me about dragonflies and butterflies. “What? You’re an entomologist, but you’re not counting the dragonflies and butterflies?” I eventually relented and added them to my list. But some things defeated me. Fungi were one group I had no hope of including. Mosses (very difficult) were another. Bats were another group that would take some pricey equipment and time to cover.

I finished last fall. My lists show that we have a diverse group of plants and animals living in the town forest, including a couple of rare specimens. Fortunately, we have very few invasive plant species.

Why not pay a visit yourself? The property is criss-crossed with well marked trails, with several points of easy access. You could park your car at the Lee Town Library, the transfer station road, safety complex (police/fire) or on Rita Lane and begin walking on trails that depart close by.

You’ll find lots of interesting things to see and hear. There are picnic tables at Durgin Park (the piece along Wheelwright Pond). You could even launch your canoe or kayak there. The bog has an observation platform, so you could see pitcher plants without getting your feet wet. When there is fresh snow, you can find tracks of fisher, fox, deer and ruffed grouse.

If you do make a visit, make sure you check yourself for ticks at the end of the day (ticks are abundant in southeastern N.H.). Say hi to me when you’re on the trail. I’ll be out there somewhere.

And if your town owns some acreage worth protecting, why not volunteer to begin a bioinventory yourself. You don’t need special credentials. Ask others to join you. Who knows? Your town may harbor a forester, a few passionate bird-watchers, a couple of gardeners who really know their wild plants, a wildlife biologist—maybe even an entomologist like me.

By Alan Eaton, UNH Cooperative Extension entomologist and Lee Conservation Commission member

For more information call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Center's Info-line (toll free) at 1-877-398-4769 or send us an email. Volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday 9:00am to 2:00 p.m.

4/20/06

The battle began about eight years when I noticed that almost everyone I knew was feeding wild birds. Articles appeared in numerous nature publications explaining how to feed, when to feed and what to feed to attract the most “desirable” species.

A common blue jay was out, a cardinal was in. The goal was also to make a sighting of a rare bird that had just by-passed your neighbor’s yard for yours. Along with the thrill of recording each new species, I began to feel a moral obligation to save all the feathered creatures in my yard from certain starvation during our cold New Hampshire winters.

My first attempt at feeding was an instant success. I purchased a thistle seed feeder and flocks of gold finches rushed to my deck. The first winter came and went without incident, except for an occasional crash to the deck (me) during those early morning feeder refills. No broken bones, but a few near misses taught me to check for black ice before venturing out on to the deck without my “creepers.”

Unfortunately, a few birds crashed as well. Sometimes, huge waves of birds would take off in an instant and invariably one would hit the window and crash to the deck. Luckily, most of the crashes resulted in just a stunned bird, which I would put into a cardboard box where it could recover. After an hour or two in the box, it would usually be ready to rejoin the flock. There were, however, a few real casualties. I justified each death by thinking of the hundreds of birds I was confident I had saved from certain starvation. Were a few deaths too high a price to pay for the survival of so many?

By spring, I had 20 or 30 birds waiting for their turn at the now two feeders. The male goldfinches were coming into their beautiful gold and black plumage, a truly amazing sight. This first attempt was such a success I increased the number of feeders to include one with sunflower seeds to attract a wider variety of birds. After that, I decided to continue feeding right through the summer.

I read that you must take the feeders in every night once the bears leave their dens in the spring, as they start looking for food, and bird feeders are a quick and easy source. I did take the feeders in every night—well, almost every night. Unfortunately, bears, either with their keen sense of smell or their knowledge of human fallibility, knew exactly the nights I left the feeders hanging on the deck.

One night I awoke to a loud noise. The whole family trooped downstairs to investigate. We found a huge bear on the deck, so large its back was even with the deck railing, pulling down all the feeders. Lights, dog barking—nothing alarmed the bear as he enjoyed the sunflower seeds. I knew when he knocked down the third and last feeder with his powerful paw that I would need to buy more duct tape.

In the past eight years, I’ve lost nine feeders. One time, the feeder with the iron support rod disappeared; I never saw either the eight-foot rod or the feeder again. I still have a graveyard of bird feeders hanging from the rafters in my basement, each in a different stage of repair. Some have perches missing. Others I’ve repaired with duct tape or coat hangers. The ones beyond repair I’ve kept for spare parts. One remains in pristine condition. Why? Because it\s the only one never raided by bears.

Two years ago, I surrendered to the bears and stopped feeding the birds. Although no one single event made me raise the white flag and end the fight, I was moved by the news of yet another bear, accustomed to an easy meal at feeders, shot for invading a human space.

Whatever the reason, I decided to attract birds the way that nature does. I planted shrubs, trees and other plants that will provide the birds with food and shelter.

I doubt I’ll ever hang bird feeders again. As much as I enjoyed seeing a flock of goldfinch taking to wing, or a single golden bird pecking the small thistle seeds from a feeder, I’ve decided to let Mother Nature provide them food as she has done for millions of years.

by Linda Shaw, UNH Cooperative Extension Master Gardener

For more information call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Center's Info-line (toll free) at 1-877-398-4769 or send us an email. Volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday 9:00am to 2:00 p.m.

4/13/06

A walkway of irregularly shaped stepping stones led to a side door of the house I grew up in. Between and around those stones grew woolly thyme that bloomed and attracted bees all summer. When I stepped on it, crushing the leaves, it released a wonderful fragrance.

What I remember most (besides the bees, which always frightened me), is the resiliency of that thyme. No matter how many people trampled it, the fragrant plants never looked beaten or worn down.
           
I’ve always been interested in groundcovers for their different textures, colors, forms, and—let’s face it—their utility. There’s nothing like the dense, glossy leaves of European ginger to keep the weeds out. And, who can resist the delicate flowers of Epimedium nodding in the breeze or the way the wind ripples over its heart-shaped leaves? For years, professionals have been telling us to replace all or part of our lawns with moss or a variety of native plants and groundcovers.
           
Ground-covering perennials can help replace a lawn, fill in spaces in a pathway, hold the soil on a slope, absorb excess water under a faucet, or spill over the bricks in a patio. Some companies make planting “walkable” ground covers easy for even a novice gardener, offering plants whose tags tell you how much traffic a plant will bear, the amount of sun and/or shade tolerance it has, and how to grow it.
           
For lightly-trafficked areas, you might choose Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) instead of grass to form a lawn. When walked on, the chamomile exudes a wonderful fragrance. It will also thrive in well-drained soil in spaces between patio stones. This is not a particularly tough plant, so make sure it gets planted away from main traffic areas.
           
Another group of plants for light traffic areas is the sedums. Individual plants are tough and indestructible. They need very little water and even less attention. They like good drainage and hot, sunny sites. Under these conditions they spread rapidly. If walked on more than a few times each week, they begin to look unkempt. Look for varieties of Sedum hispanicum, for Sedum acre or for Sedum spurium ‘John Creech’. Miniature stonecrop (Sedum requieni) is the exception. It can take the heaviest foot traffic.
           
For areas in which you walk once or twice a day, you might want to try ajuga (“bugleweed”). It does well in sun or shade and comes in an amazing array of colors and variegation. Apiga ‘chocolate chip’ is a small, tight groundcover with leaves that resemble chocolate chips in color.
           
Creeping Jenny or Lysimachia will also do well in areas with moderate traffic. It likes moist areas with partial shade, but will tolerate harsher growing conditions. It has leaves the size of a nickel and spreads by runners. Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ has gold foliage. Lysimachia japonica ‘Minutissima’ has super tight evergreen foliage. Unfortunately, this one is a slow grower. Other creeping groundcovers that do well in areas of moderate traffic include Mazus reptans “Alba” or Purple, a bright green, low-growing mat that spreads quickly, as well as many of the speedwells (Veronica species) and Labrador violets.
           
For areas of heavy traffic, thyme is a great survivor. It tolerates being walked on several times a day and has a wide range of leaf colors, including golden, variegated, and different shades of green. Flower color varies from white to pale pink to deep purple. Look for white or red creeping thyme, woolly thyme, miniature thyme or Thymus x citriodosus ‘Doone Valley’, a type with green and gold variegated leaves that develop a hint of red in winter.

Irish moss, Sagina subulata ‘Irish Moss’, which forms a dense carpet, also bears heavy traffic.
           
To get started with stepable groundcovers, follow these suggestions:

• Pick the right plant for the right spot. Make choices based on how much sun/shade you have, how moist your soil is, and how much foot traffic you will have.
• Calculate the number of plants to buy by measuring the size of your planting area (or the spaces between your stones or pavers) and dividing it by the spacing recommended for the species you’ve chosen to plant.
• If you have tight spaces you can divide the plants to fit them.
• Plant at the same depth as the soil line in the pot.
• Water well after planting; continue to water on a regular schedule until plants are established.
• Once your plants have become established, keep them contained by mowing or edging.  
        

By Margaret Hagen, UNH Cooperative Extension Agricultural Educator

For more information call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Center's Info-line (toll free) at 1-877-398-4769 or send us an email. Volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday 9:00am to 2:00 p.m.

4/7/06

Topsoil. Some biologists call it the most precious stuff on earth. It takes nature 500 years to make an inch of it.

In the past 30 years topsoil has become a hot commodity in New Hampshire, removed by land developers and sold to meet the swelling demand from homeowners and businesses looking to establish or improve lawns and gardens.

Land scarcity in many areas, combined with new building techniques, allows construction on steep, rocky sites once considered unbuildable. This makes importing topsoil the only option for home or business owners who want a lawn or garden on those sites.

The soil you buy might have come from recently-cultivated farmland, from a recently clear-cut tract of forest land, or from a long-abandoned field. It might contain herbicide residues that could inhibit germination of some of the plants you want to grow. It might be full of roots and rocks or undesirable weed seeds.

A vendor might even have adulterated the original topsoil with a lot of additional sand, adding commercial wood ashes to darken the final product. On the other hand, some topsoil vendors manufacture a superior growing medium, amending native topsoil with just enough wood ashes to bring its pH into the optimum range for lawns and gardens, then adding compost to boost the soil's water- and nutrient-holding capacity.
Like most states, New Hampshire has no regulations defining quality standards for topsoil or governing its sale. To protect yourself, experts suggest learning as much as possible about the soil you plan to buy before you buy it. Consider it worth your time. After all, you can't take this product back to the store!

This list of guidelines from experts will help boost your confidence that the topsoil you buy will grow good vegetables, fruits, flowers, or a nice lawn:

• Know your supplier and ask about the source of the topsoil he or she sells. If a vendor has advertised an "amended" product, ask for the 'recipe'-in writing.
  
  
• If you plan to buy your soil from a garden or landscape supply center, ask the vendor for the product's test data. If the vendor hasn't had the product tested, ask for a small sample and have it tested yourself. Call the UNH Cooperative Extension Info Line (1-877-398-4769, Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.) for information about soil testing.
  
  At the very least, soil experts say, the soil analysis should include pH (a measure of the relative acidity of the soil) and soil texture class (a classification based on the relative percentages of sand, silt and clay particles in the soil).
  
  While you can raise or lower a soil's pH and add nutrients, you can't realistically change a soil's texture. Look for a texture classification of loam or sandy loam. Soils with a high percentage of sand won't hold water or nutrients well, while high-clay soils won't drain well and can become extremely difficult to work.
  
  
• If you haven't seen the topsoil, ask if the vendor has screened the loam to remove rocks and roots. For the right price, you might find yourself willing to rake them out yourself if the price is right, but it's definitely something you'll want to know about up front.
  
  
• Don't buy a product that has a chemical smell or other off-odor. Vendors might have adulterated the topsoil with petroleum-contaminated soils or other potentially toxic waste products.
  
  
• Occasionally, topsoil stripped from former farmland may contain herbicide residues that could hinder crop germination. If you have concerns about residues, take a soil sample home, plant a few seeds in it and see if they germinate well. Herbicide residues can affect some crops but not others, so plant a variety of different seeds, especially if you plan to plant a vegetable garden in this soil. The process of test-germinating seeds will also help a prospective buyer determine if the soil is infested with difficult-to-control perennial weeds, such as quackgrass or thistles.

Whatever its source, the topsoil you buy may lack organic matter, important for holding moisture, improving soil structure and retaining plant nutrients. Add plenty of organic matter in the form of compost and animal manure. Make sure to compost manure before adding it to soil that will grow food crops, or plant a cover crop and turn it under before planting vegetables.

For more information call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Center's Info-line (toll free) at 1-877-398-4769 or send us an email. Volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday 9:00am to 2:00 p.m.

4/06/06