In the Garden with Kerry Heafner

December gardening tasks may seem minimal but there’s never a shortage of tasks to accomplish outdoors.  Let’s start with firewood.  First be aware of what is and what is not a full cord of firewood.  A standard cord measures 128 cubic feet.  This is typically measured 4 feet high by 4 feet deep by 8 feet long. Firewood is typically sold by the “face cord” or “short cord.”  This measures 4 feet high by 8 feet long by 2 feet deep.  The definition of a “rick” varies among states.  In our area, a “rick” is approximately one third of a standard cord.  Also, notice whether the firewood you’re buying is seasoned or green.  Seasoned firewood will weigh less than green wood because of the lower water content.  Seasoned wood also produces more heat.  In our region, oak and hickory are the main heat producers.  Black walnut, hackberry, honey locust, mulberry, and persimmon are also good fuels.  Try to buy firewood locally so as not to transport it over parish lines.  Forest pests like ambrosia beetles and the emerald ash borer are spread by transporting firewood across parish lines.

Plant fruit trees/shrubs/vines now through January or early February.  Pay special attention to variety name when making selections for the home orchard.  Make variety selections for our area based on chilling requirement.  Each variety needs a specific number of hours of cold below 45 F.  A good winter for us is around 800 chill hours.  Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake.  Last December, we got a little more than we bargained for, but the damage wasn’t nearly as extensive as we feared it would be.  With the exception of planting blueberry bushes, don’t forget to lime the soil.  This is a most important step that most home gardeners overlook.  Because our soils are generally acidic, lime will be necessary to raise the soil pH to the optimum range of 6.0 to 6.8.  Agricultural or horticultural lime is calcium carbonate.  Dolomitic lime also contains magnesium, an important nutrient in chlorophyll production.  Calcitic lime lacks magnesium.  Lime often takes at least two months to regulate the soil pH so hopefully this has already been done at planting sites.

This season, bring the outdoors indoors for holiday decorating!  A festive holiday season is made even more so by taking advantage of our fall and winter gardens.  Wander out into your landscape and gather the makings for a homemade holiday wreath. Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) will not only have glossy foliage, but will also have clusters of fruit, technically an aggregate of follicles, with the red seeds still attached. Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and arbor vitae (Thuja sp.) are two conifers that have foliage perfect for Holiday decorations, and should have small, blue, berry-like female cones for added color. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is very common and available in our area with its unmistakable needles and cones.  Female hollies will have both glossy green foliage and red berries that you’ll have to compete with birds for.  If you have an herb garden, sprigs of rosemary and sage will add to the greenery and texture of the wreath.  Also add some color by finding some leaves of deciduous trees like hickory for yellow, and even Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana) for scarlet.  A touch of blue can be added if you can find some leftover bunches of our native fox grape (Vitis labrusca).  Florist wire from a hobby shop can be used to attach these to a frame made from muscadine vines (Vitis rotundifolia) or pepper vine (Ampelopsis arborea).  “Hairy” vines, such as poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), should be left alone.

Indoors, live plants add to the holiday atmosphere of any room. Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) should be situated in a sunny location where room temperature ranges from 60 to 70 F.  Water only when soil is dry and do not fertilize while it is flowering.  Bright red, leafy bracts surround small, yellow flowers.  Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgessii) should be kept between 70 and 80 F.  Water only when soil is dry, fertilize with a low nitrogen fertilizer (less than 10 percent N), and pinch off new growth in spring for rooting.

Are you using a real Christmas tree this year?  If so, chances are it’s either Fraser fir, Scotch pine, Leyland cypress, or Eastern red cedar.  With its Christmassy scent, Frazer fir (Abies fraseri) is the most popular Christmas tree species used in the southern United States.  Unable to tolerate the heat and humidity of Louisiana, Fraser firs are farmed in many counties of the Southern Appalachians and trucked all over the country.  When the holidays are over, remember that used Christmas trees make great habitats for wildlife.  If you live near a pond or lake, sink the tree cement blocks to provide structure that fish and other aquatic wildlife will use for habitat.  As many of our native game fish ambush their prey, the tree will provide them a good hiding place.  Next spring, when the bite is on, you’ll be glad you put your used Christmas tree to good use.  If you don’t live on or near a body of water, then consider using your Christmas tree in your backyard as a way to attract birds. Treats made from suet, peanut butter, birdseed, and like material can be hidden among the branches for our feathered friends that overwinter in the area.

I snapped this picture of Bayou DeLoutre last month as I had occasion to be in the Tiger Bend area of Union Parish one day.  On my way back to the Ouachita office, and for the first time in forever, my brain told me to stop, go back, and enjoy the scenery and, more importantly, the moment.  I didn’t know then what in my head told me to stop, but after giving it some thought, I recalled the art lessons I took in my early teens, and realized this particular scene presents a perfect example of perspective.  In person, the location itself is certainly three dimensional, but it also appears that way in a two-dimensional picture.  Even on a flat screen or on paper, there’s depth and distance that seem to translate into something more than the mere optical illusion it really is.  While standing at this site, I wondered what I would find if I walked downstream into the distance.  What else is back there around the bend?  When I look at a picture of the site, my eye is still drawn to the distance with a curiosity of what may be back there.  There’s another type of perspective afforded by this scene.  A mental point of view.  For some reason, this scene changes my perspective of a hurried existence.  Typically, I don’t stop for much of anything when I’m traveling from parish to parish.  An inner voice told me that whatever was back at the office would still be there when I got there and that right now, this was more important.  Slow down, enjoy the scene, and, more importantly, savor the moment.  That’s exactly what I did.  And it was wonderful.  I not only enjoyed the scene, but I enjoyed the moment and simply being there.  All the colors, the pleasant temperatures, the silence save for the breeze blowing through branches and crinkly leaves and the sound of trickling water, and the aroma of woods.  It all begs the question, why don’t we do this more often?  Just stop, pause, and savor the moment.  Are moments like this really that infrequent or have we simply forgotten how to recognize them when they happen?  To someone who is always in a hurry, it’s a hard question to answer.  I remember other times when I took time to savor a moment.  Sitting around a dinner table listening to a conversation about the natural history of the Macon Ridge or standing on a dock over the water of Lake Providence enjoying fall temperatures, a bright Carolina blue sky, and the  breezes coming down from the north or, in what seems like a previous life, standing on the summit of Mt. Mitchell and looking off into the distance, or being up on the Blue Ridge Parkway at night at an overlook and looking down at the silent lights of little towns and home sites below, like constellations down in the woods.

As all of you spend time with family and friends this holiday season, I hope you’ll have many moments where an internal voice tells you to pause and savor them because they happen all too infrequently, and each one becomes more precious as the years pass.

Thank you for nine wonderful years of being your extension agent. All of us at the LSU AgCenter wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!