All posts by Gina Kleinmartin

garden, money saving, plants, Winter

Overwintering plants or Closing the garden

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I know many people throw away their seasonal live plant decorations. I find that terribly hard to do, but I also don’t know how to take care of them. I have collected this information together for me to know how to take care of the plants that do not want to be outside in the winter.

Amaryllis:

My mom died in 2016. She sent me an amaryllis bulb her last Christmas. That plant is important to me. I move it outside as soon as the weather is nice enough (after last frost) so it gets lots of light to make a healthy bulb. Amaryllis will grow outside in our zone (now 6b), but it will not bloom. And, that kinda defeats the point of an amaryllis, right?
They want to naturally go dormant in the winter, so when the leaves are yellow and dying, snip them off, and tuck the plant away (still potted) in a cool space for about 2 months. A basement that’s not too wet, a cool closet, under the stairs- they don’t take up a lot of room. Do not store near fresh foods! So not in a root cellar or pantry, as they fruits and veg emit gasses that can hurt the plant.
When ready, you can either repot the bulb or just add fresh soil. You do not want to give the plant a lot of room if you want flowers— but if you want babies, a larger pot will encourage the bulb to spread outward. Since you are kicking the plant out of hibernation, this is the perfect time to repot. You can put several bubs together in one pot to have a fuller bloom, if you want.

After repotting or adding soil, water thoroughly and put in a warmer place in your home. Water sparingly to make sure the bulb does not dry out, but do not water often until it starts to grow. Then you can start to fertilize the plant again. Hopefully you will see blooms two months after waking the plant up! (Move the plant to a cooler area when it has buds to keep the blooms longer.)

Mums:

Those beautiful pots of autumn mums that decorate homes in their pots from September to Thanksgiving! Who doesn’t love them? It breaks my heart when I see piles of them in the trash in late November, but left outside in their pots, they will die anyplace that has winter.

So bring that huge pot in before the first frost, because those pots give no root protection. You’ll want to cut off all the spent flowers and buds someplace that can get dirty (outside? I did it over my kitchen sink). No, don’t think this is a detailed and long job. Don’t pick off the flowers one at a time, give the plant a good shave like it’s just enlisted in the military.

You’ll need a cool location, but not a closet for this one. It wants little light. Ours is in the basement near a glass block window. It wants to be cool, so it can rest. Every other week, just give it a sip of water so it doesn’t dry out.

Now, the amazing thing to me is *you can plant this in the spring*. In your garden. You can’t plant them in fall, because they need a good 2 months before the first frost to be in the ground, and they are normally purchased too late for that. But come spring, after the last frost, you can put them in the ground and expect it to bloom in fall every year.

If you want to keep it in the pot and winter it over every year, replant it with fresh soil. You can move it into a larger pot or split it, as it will grow new roots prior to blooming.

Either in your yard or in pots, cut the stems down to the root line (see, taking off the flowers is not a time consuming job!) and it will start to put out new growth. It will want to bloom in late summer, so if you want it in autumn, simply cut it back in June and August.

Mums you have planted in your garden should not be trimmed down in fall like the ones you brought in. They will use that layer as protection. Adding leaves to protect the root base is also a good idea. If you left it in a pot, just repeat the cycle.

Boston Ferns:

Again, I see so many porches with these beautiful ferns all summer, only to see the ferns in the garbage come fall. Just like mums, they can’t handle a hard frost in their pots.

You can give it a trim if it needs one. Unlike mums, it doesn’t need much more than a cleaning up. If you don’t have a lot of indoor space, feel free to trim it back to a reasonable size. Doing this outside is neater; again, I used my kitchen. A cool basement again is a good place for overwintering a fern. They like a little light, and they like to have a little moisture on their fronds, so feel free to place on a tray with gravel and water, or mist it every week or so. Don’t leave them in bright light, or they can dry up. Expect the plant to turn pale and drop some leaves. If it’s dropping a lot of leaves, make sure to keep it a little more humid.
In the spring, decide if you are going to split the fern or leave it in its pot. Either way, it’s always good to pop the plant out and put it in fresh soil.

There we go. My amaryllis, mums that were gifted to me, and a neighbor’s fern are all in our basement, waiting out the long Buffalo winter and bringing us joy in the spring.

Buffalo, Food, health, pulses, whole grain

Ceci ‘wing’ bowl

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This is a relatively fast, moderately healthy, and delicious meal that has a ton of fiber and taste.

If you are craving Wings, this may help hit the spot.

This quantity will serve about 4 people.

4 cups prepared bulgur*

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Toss these together.

2 carrots, cleaned and diced

3 scallions, diced

2 large celery stalks, diced

Mix all of these together in a bowl and remove about 1/3 of a cup for an end garnish.

Cook the rest in about 2 1/2T of butter, with salt and pepper for about 3 minutes. You want these lightly cooked, not soggy.

Toss the cooked veg with the bulgur and portion into 4 bowls

3T butter

2 cups (a bit more than 1 can) ceci/chickpeas/garbanzos/chana
1/4 tsp salt


In the same pan you did the veg in, melt the butter and add the ceci. Stir it up.

3 Tablespoons Frank’s (or other good hot sauce you like to taste)
1T white vinegar

Add to the ceci

Top the bulgur with the ceci. Then add the reserved veg.

3T blue cheese crumbles

Add to the bowls. Serve with blue cheese dressing.

* bulgur is amazing. Think of it as a whole grain minute rice- it’s cracked and steamed wheat that you basically just have to either pour water over in the morning and let it soak while you go about your day, or bring it to a boil and let it sit for about 15 minutes while you get the rest of your meal on. And it’s delicious- creamy and nutty and a whole grain that is just perfect for getting your fiber up!

People You May Not Know About, Uncategorized

Anne Newport Royall: A PYMNKABPS

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 “She was a Holy Terror: Her Pen was as Venomous as a Rattlesnake’s Fangs; Former Washington Editress: How Ann Royall Made Life a Burden to the Public Men of Her Day.”- Washington Post headline from 1891

The newspaper called Paul Pry aggravated many readers, as it was dedicated to exposing political corruption and religious fraud. This was pre internet, so when postmasters refused to deliver the paper to its subscribers, the readers couldn’t read it. Undaunted, the editor and owner changed the paper’s name to The Huntress, and attacked nepotism and graft in the government, as well as political corruption and religious fraud. She also published the names of all the people standing in the way of her paper and her readers. She also made sure every article about financial waste ended with how that money could have been put to good use supporting the members of our society who needed it.

Before running the papers, Anne Newport Royall had traveled extensively in the young United States, as a solo woman. Her travel books also got her into hot water, because she named each inn that overcharged and took advantage of travelers. But it was the time between her travel books and the founding of her paper that got her into the most trouble. She took aim at a popular Reverend, exposing his religious fervor as a cover for his political ambition.

She wrote: “Their object and their interest is to plunge mankind into ignorance, to make him a bigot, a fanatic, a hypocrite, a heathen, to hate every sect but his own, to shut his eyes against the truth, harden his heart against the distress of his fellowman and purchase heaven with money.”

People hated her for this so much, they threw rocks at her windows, pushed her down the stairs, whipped her with horsewhips and of course, bought her books and burned them. She was 60 years old at this time. But when people prayed under her windows and tried to convert her, she told them off.

And that’s what led to Anne becoming the first person in America to be found guilty of being ‘a common scold’ at her trial in 1829. Punishment for this was supposed to be a dunking in water, and the chair was actually built just for her, but instead she was fined $10 and allowed to go on her way. Shortly after she started Paul Pry, with the aid of orphans of the city to set the donated type and deliver the papers. It was one of her young workers who named the publication.

Over the course of the 23 years she ran her papers, she wrote about land fraud targeting Native Americans, slammed abolitionists for their infighting, criticized the temperance movement, and argued against the interference of the government interfering in peoples lives. She was also a widow of a Revolutionary War veteran, at a time when each widow had to travel to DC to petition for their husband’s pension. She argued over decades that women should not have to be individually granted pensions, and in 1848, a new pension law was passed that reflected this. Her inlaws fought her in court, and gained her husband’s pension for themselves. They had previously won a case denying her anything from her husband’s property when he died 15 years after they were married, in 1812. After a seven year court battle, the courts annulled the will.

At her death in 1854 when she was 85 years old, her papers closed. But her writings shaped our country and kept people in all states informed. And though you may not have heard of her, you know one word she coined for her travel books: redneck.