Heart's Ease - 2022 Herb of the Year™

 

Viola tricolor easily self-sews
.(Photo: MurielBendel, CC BY-SA 4.0) 

Heart’s Ease, also called Johnny-Jump Up, is the 2022 Herb of the Year™ of the International Herb Association. This delicate little woodland herb will jump up out of the warming spring earth in April. It is in the violet family (Violaceae) and parent of cultivated pansies. The herb is native to Europe and came to the United States with the colonists.

They are good container and edging plants, a lovely addition planted amid spring bulbs. The edible blossoms are interesting garnishes and decorations and are reported to have a wintergreen flavor. The face-like flowers draw bumblebees and honeybees for nectar and pollen.

This plant is an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial depending on where it is grown in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3-8. The flowers can produce up to 50 seeds in each capsule and will easily self-sow, but it is not invasive. It prefers well-drained, moist soil and will grow in full sun to partial shade.

The plant grows from 6 to 8 inches tall. The flowers have 2 lips and are tri-colored, as the name implies, in violet, white and yellow. The drooping head allows rain and dew to fall on the back of the flower. Its leaves have a variety of shapes. The lower blades are heart shaped and the middle and upper leaves are oblong ending in a point. Unlike some other violets there is no leaf rosette at the base. 

The many other names for this plant include wild pansy, call-me-to-you, and come-and-cuddle-me. It is linked to Cupid in Roman mythology and is often associated with affection and love.  The name pansy comes from the French word pensée, which means thought and its drooping head, suggesting deep in thought, relates to the florist’s symbolism of thought.

Pansy (Photo: Laurie Collins)

In Midsummers Night Dream Oberon says:  

Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell,

It fell upon a little western flower,

Before milk-white, now purple with loves wound,

And maidens call it love-in-idleness

The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid

Will make a man or woman madly doat

Upon the next live creature that it sees.

CKagan, Master Gardener

 #     #     #

SPECIAL Price reduction.

Interested in herbs? Looking for Gardening Gifts?

 Check out the Herb Sampler on this Blog  

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon. Just click this link to find it.

 

Egg Shells for Tomatoes

 

Egg shells (J. Harasewych)

Post-Easter, even after deviled eggs, egg salad, potato salad, and breakfast burritos you still have the shells. Questions about using egg shells in the garden to prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes brought many comments on the Master Gardener Facebook pages in addition to questions from relatives and friends. Here's some research-based information.

*Also, check the link below for a suggestion to provide calcium for backyard birds. (They make eggshells, too.) from Audubon. "Your breakfast discards can serve as vital nutrition for females as they make their own eggs." No research-information found on safety of artificially dyed eggs. If you use natural dyes all is clear. 

Blossom End Rot 

This is a common problem with both green and ripening tomatoes. This shows up as a black or brown sunken area at the end of the fruit. It is caused by low levels of calcium in the soil or inconsistent watering. An excess of nitrogen in fertilizer (the "N" in fertilizer numbers N-P-K, e.g. 5-10-5 = 5% Nitrogen, 10% Phosphorous, 5% Potassium, the balance is filler) supports foliage and can cause a problem.

If you had a soil test, and Calcium levels are in the medium (801 to 1,200 lbs. Ca/acre) or high range (>1,200 lbs. Ca/acre), soil should be good for growth. Calcium helps root and leaf growth and production of firm tomatoes.

Here is an informational article about egg shells and calcium from Christopher Enroth, Extension Educator, Horticulture, University of Illinois Extension.  

Enroth notes "For years, eggshells have been recommended as an amendment to soils and containers due to their high calcium content. Some gardeners who grow tomatoes swear by adding six or more eggshells in the planting hole, with the idea that the extra calcium will reduce blossom end rot of tomato fruit. Other gardeners compost their eggshells to add calcium to their finished compost. So do eggshells make a difference? Or is this egg wash?"

The Answer

Yes, adding egg shells does work but most gardeners miss a critical step. Thanks to Jerry Harasewych, one of my favorite researchers, for his step-by-step experiment and photos.

Egg shells need to be ground to release the calcium. They can be ground in a mortar and pestle but they are still chunky pieces. These larger pieces, although smaller than just crush shells, take a long time to dissolve and release calcium. 

They can be ground in a coffee grinder and the result is finely ground eggshells.  A research study in Alabama found finely ground shells performed as well as pure calcium and outperformed agriculture lime. 

Enroth also says,  "Don't have a coffee grinder but still have an abundance of eggshells? Another trick is to boil 10 to 20 eggshells and then let the concoction sit overnight. The next day strain the eggshells out of the water, and you have liquid calcium solution. Each eggshell adds four milligrams of calcium. Two cups of the solution per plant should be adequate. Apply about every two weeks. (Ref: Gillman, 2008)"

Water Calcium Connection

The Lackawanna County, PA, Master Gardeners share information about watering and calcium in tomato plants. 

"Blossom-end rot happens when a number of conditions come into place. The disease is especially prevalent when rapidly growing plants are exposed to wide fluctuations in water amounts. Calcium cannot be taken from the roots to the rest of plant and sustain healthy tomatoes. The fruit doesn’t have the necessary nutrient and the bottom of the tomato begins to rot. Other factors include a pH out of range and damage done to the roots from cultivation too closely. Heavy applications of nitrogen will contribute to blossom-end rot.

Other Tips

To manage blossom-end rot, take these steps:

Tread lightly around the roots of the plants to avoid damage.

Water consistently if there's a lack of rain, about 1"per week. Water slowly at the plant base.

Add mulch to your garden, this conserves moisture.

Use fertilizer low in nitrogen.

Do not spray any type of pesticide, as this is not a symptom of insect, bacteria, or fungi damage pesticides are ineffective on blossom-end rot.

Consider a soil test, this will give you a complete analysis of what your garden needs and will give you a head start for the next growing season."

** Special thanks to Jerry Harasewych for his grinding experiment and the photos.

 * Audubon link:

 https://www.audubon.org/news/give-nesting-birds-calcium-boost-saving-your-leftover-eggshells

Ref:From Univ. of Illinois  site:  Using Eggshells in the Garden and Compost

https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2018-03-28-using-eggshells-garden-and-compost

~ Carol Kagan 

**********

Are you interested herbs? Check out the Herb Sampler on this Blog 

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon.