What if I told you there was a super easy way to decide when to plant, when to
weed, and when to fertilize? Then what if I told you that all it took was a little
observation of the natural world around you to decide when to do these things?
Too good to be true? Not with phenology. And what is phenology
exactly? Not to be confused with phrenology, which is the study of the
bumps of the skull, phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal
biological activities. While this may sound complex it simply boils down to
things that happen in nature over and over again. These are occurrences like
what time each year do lilacs bud in your area? When do the vultures usually
return in the spring? A big one for me is- noticing when I start seeing skunks dead
on the road. Which is unfortunate but it's then that I know that they're
coming out of hibernation and spring is about to begin. The technical term for
these natural reoccurring phenomenon is phenophase and commonly observed pheno-
phases include: the leafing and budding out of certain plants-- lilac is a very
common one. The migration and nesting habits of birds, and the hibernation,
mating, and birthing cycle of animals. Modern phenology is thought to have
begun in the mid 18th century in Europe. The phrase comes from two Greek words
'phainos' meaning to appear and 'logos' meaning to study. So it's essentially the
study of appearances, or the time that things appear in nature. But people have
been using phenology long before it ever had a fancy name. Ancient cultures relied
on nature's signs to tell them when to plant, when to harvest, when to hunt, when
to look for certain mushrooms, and when to be on the lookout for certain pests
and predators. For example, Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest would use the
ripening of the salmonberries to tell them when the local rivers would be full
of the salmon that they relied on for their well-
being. In the old world, the common advice was to wait until the apples were in
blossom to put your cows out to pasture. indigenous peoples of British Columbia
Canada would use the nettles as an indicator for when they could harvest
seaweed. Phenology can be a boon for all of us in the modern world, but perhaps we
as gardeners stand to gain the most from the use of phenology. We can utilize this
branch of biology to plan and plant our own garden and perhaps now more than
ever this can be useful. With dramatic shifts in weather patterns and
unprecedented climate change, knowing how to plant with nature's signs could be
more useful than any book, blog or video could ever be. The basic concept is that
you use certain phenophases to determine when to tackle certain tasks and when to
plant certain seeds and when to be on the lookout for certain pests in your
garden. Quite a few of these have already been well documented. These include
things like: the first dandelion blooms indicate that it's a good time to plant
potatoes, beets, carrots, cole crops, lettuce and spinach. The first crocus
blooms can tell me that it's a good time to plant spinach or radish. The first
daffodil blooms are a good indicator that it's time to plant beets, carrots,
chard and peas. And lilacs budding out indicate it's a good time for beets,
carrots, cole crops, spinach, lettuce, cold tolerant herbs and hardy annual flowers.
Additionally you can look to forsythia blooming
tell you a good time to fertilize your lawn or to prune roses.
Now I've already captured one of the indicators earlier this spring and this
is a fun one, it's one that I really enjoy. I read somewhere on the internet
that when spring peepers start peeping it's time to plant peas and that advice
seem to be pretty spot-on for me in Ohio. As the season progresses I'll be on the
lookout for several other signs. Daylilies beginning to bloom indicate it's
time to transplant peppers and tomatoes. The chicory blooming means I need to be
on the lookout for squash vine borers laying their eggs. And this is another
one of my favorites-- when the oak leaves are the size of a mouse's ear it's time
to plant sweet corn. I've also heard that when the, when it's the size of a mouse's
ear it's time to look for morel mushrooms, which is always a great time
of year in our household. With a little time and patience you can also create
your own completely customized planting log. So if you keep track of things that
are occurring in your own surroundings and then keep track of planting dates
you can actually create a log that will tell you exactly when you can look out
of your back door and see the first dandelion bloom, for instance, and know
that you should be planting radish seed. For example in my own backyard I've
noticed that the bloodroot, trout lily, spring beauty, purple cress and cut leaf
toothwort are all in bloom, and the mayapple leaves begin to unfurl
about the time that I want to be planting most of my cool season seeds in
the garden. There are a lot of great resources out there if you want to start
your own phenological record-keeping. I'll include them below in the show
notes. And I'd love to hear from you-- do you use nature signs to help you with
your planning and planting? What are the most reliable indicators where you live?
Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time!