Notes from a Master Gardener’s Notebook
November – I’m a shutterbug…so I have a camera in my hand whenever I want to make notes about my garden. As I stepped out onto my patio, I saw my ‘Thanksgiving Cactus’ is in bloom; it blooms every November. With the cooler weather coming, I brought it inside for protection, but I also wanted to move it inside to enjoy the flowers. While admiring the iridescent color of the flowers, I began to wonder about the difference between a ‘Thanksgiving Cactus’ and a ‘Christmas Cactus’…so I did a little research on the internet.
Although they look more like succulents, they are indeed cacti. Today’s resellers often refer to them as “Holiday Cactus” but they could be either Thanksgiving (Schlumbergera truncate) or Christmas (Schlumbergera x buckleyi). The main difference between the two is the timing of the blooms under certain conditions. But the easiest way to tell the difference is to look at the stem segments. The Thanksgiving cactus stem segments will have several little ‘points’ on the edges of the segments while the Christmas cactus stem segments will look more like the shape of a cloud.
Go to http://cactus.biology.dal.ca/paul.html to get additional interesting information on these cacti including how to care for them.
Flower Garden
I went outside again to check out what was still in bloom in November. The zinnias are coming to an end, but the chrysanthemums I purchased at the grocery store three years ago are in full bloom. And I just bought a 6-inch pot of verbenas. I couldn’t resist buying one because the flowers were deep red…the only color of verbenas my mother grew. I glanced at my husband’s collection of bromeliads and many are still showing their colors.
Fruits and Vegetables
There is no sunny space in my yard to grow a citrus tree, so we are conducting a naval orange tree experiment on the south side of the house. With not much space for one to spread out, we have been pruning and tying the branches espalier style. The tree is now four years old and we have 16 oranges this year.
WOW! After counting the oranges, I turned the corner and saw a visitor in my front yard. I quickly took a snapshot and moved on so he could finish feasting on insects.
I love the fall vegetable garden. We grow our vegetables in 4 small raised beds. This time of year we have sugar snaps and green beans on a daily basis. There’re a few broccoli and lots of shallots to put in the freezer. I’m ready to go to the kitchen to cook up my mother-in-law’s recipe of Oyster Dressing; so, I’ll pick some shallots, parsley, and thyme from my garden.
In the Kitchen
Here is a photo from last year when I did the Oyster Dressing. If this doesn’t give us something to give thanks for . . . For a copy of the recipe, click HERE.
The LSU Ag Center has information on what to plant and when to plant flowers, fruits, nuts, and vegetables on their Web site at www.lsuagcenter.com under the topic ‘Lawn and Gardens’. Monthly garden tips are included in their GET IT GROWING calendar. You can order one online at http://www2.lsuagcenter.com/getitgrowingcalendar.
submitted by Linda Vinsanau