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Show CASTLE VALLEY TIMES BLOOMING TIMES Castle Valley, Utah - Volume 2, Number 4 - April 15, 1993 - Too Many Bloomln' Things To Do! 1' 3:: . 7*)3“ :q . 2‘": -' 2‘- if: 5N.. ‘I..:-si"‘,. r- ' ‘31.: ._ J. “I": .’ 3-1" a l a .. The Worm Turns, Turns, Turns At a recent yard sale I picked up a two-volume set called Earthwormsfor Ecology and Profit. Though I’ve never had anything against earthworms, except that they’re so unlike me, I was surprised and delighted to discover their great potential for solving (with some help from us) two very grave and important challenges we face as a world community: managing our solid waste and increasing our food supplies. Not that I’ve ever heard earthworms brag. The ones I’ve been around have tended to mind their own business because there isn’t air left in their burrows to breathe. That when we see them in puddles, it is because they know they will die if they dry out. That they can make tilling unnecessary. That their presence definitely increases crop yield. That in the early winter they leave eggs, which hatch in spring after most of the adult worms have been killed by frost; that’s why we see so many small worms in the spring; they’re youngin’s. That earthworms can, and do, turn almost anything organic—plant matter, garbage, cannery waste, wood pulp, cloth, paper & cardboard, leather, and many other and do their work. Although I’ve never been mean to them intentionally, I have to admit that I’ve never gone out of my way to help them, either. I had a change of heart as I read tious, crumbly soil. That’s all I can say right now how the earthworm has been known by naturalists for 100 years (and by about worms, except I’m very glad to know them better. You are welcome to Greece’s natural philosophers for 2,000!) as great benefactors, and I began to feel a little sad that it’s taken me so long to give them the appreciation they deserve. I’m seeing how crucial they could be as I grow herbs, flowers, trees, and food this summer. In my mind they are no longer just squishy little creatures who turn up for a free meal, they’re my . . . well, er . . . partners in this enterprise! Here are some things I’m leaming borrow my books. —Cris Coffey or thinking more about: That worms, waste products—into porous, nutri- Free SunflowerIItA Seeds f4\ m3" e Availabl . 21.1")"{:59 .K , \t for Bll‘d Habitat soils, and crops are interdependent—— they need each other. That worms started as aquatic creatures and moisture is absolutely essential to their health. That worms will leave a garden which doesn’t provide the nourishment and moisture they require (1 don’t yet know where they go). That they love manure. That their burrows let water and air into the soil and provide passageways for roots. That they pull tasty items from the soil’s surface into their burrows, digest them, and eliminate them in the form of castings, the stuff of rich, fertile soil. That they leave the earth when it is saturated with water The Department of Wildlife has given Castle Valley 50 pounds of Black Oil Sunflower seeds to be planted for bird habitat. This is a great opportunity to attract birds to your land, who in turn will help you by eating insects. We can also turn Castle Valley into a sunflower garden while creating windbreaks for our plants and orchards, plus filtering some of the road dust. Sunflowers are the workhorses of the flower world. They provide an excellent food source, protective habitat, and beauty. What better symbol of happy summer days? The seeds should be planted in at least four rows, the rows four feet apart. To plant the seeds, just scratch a small trough in the soil with a hoe, plant the seeds close together. cover with soil. The larger the field you can plant, the more birds you will attract. An ideal space would be a plot ten feet long by 16 rows deep. The seeds will need some water to get started, but the Springrains should be enough to get them sprouting and growing. As the seeds are coated with a fungicide, do not scatter them on the ground; the birds will eat them and get sick. Also, the seeds will not sprout and give you the flowers you want if animals eat them. Of course. do not eat them yourself. They are not for human consumption. The four rows planted together will create a safe place for the birds while they eat, and will serve as a windbreak for you. Sunflowers should be left on the stalk, not harvested, to provide winter feed and a perch for birds above the snow. If planted along the roadsides, the plants act as a dust trap, because the sticky leaves catch the blowing dust—a real plus for Castle Valley! Although most birds like seeds, Sunflowers are especially attractive to quail, jays, grosbeaks, finches, pine siskins, American goldfinch, towhees, sparrows, nuthatches, and chickadees. And besides nuts, these birds also love to beat insects. Nuthatches, grosbeaks, and chickadees eat insects gleaned from tree bark, tree leaves, and shrubs, a great benefit to people with fruit trees. Consider rows of sunflowers around your orchard. Do yourself a favor and do the birds a favor. Contact me at 259-7560 to get your free sunflower seeds. The time to plant is NOW! The birds will repay you by eating your insects and singing you songs. -—-Maria Loe fie‘efi‘e |
