January, when the weather doesn’t even.

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market. January has been strange hasn’t it? The weather fluctuations have made it hard to enjoy nature as it’s been cold wet and then suddenly summer-like. With a keen eye however you might notice that this has not stopped cold-season weeds from emerging and greening up sections of your lawn. At the test gardens there is already a sea of purple-green thanks to Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule)which is edible. Pale greens come from spots where Chickweed (Stellaria media) has emerged and the vibrant medium-greens are from Cat’s ear dandelions (Hypochaeris radicata). All of the aforementioned are either edible (henbit and chickweed) or have a medicinal use, and yet if you believed certain parts of big-agra you’d think these little plants were committing a war crime for existing. I urge all of you out there to go look at the little details and maybe you’ll realize that it is a myth that winter is a dead three months. But clearly no one told the wildlife as I saw this little critter scurry by at the test gardens.

 

Xystodemidae family subgroup, possible Apheloria - Millipede

I know some of you might be reaching for a can of Raid, but keep in mind, millipedes are decomposers, they tend to live in places that are damp frequently like piles of leaves, compost piles and in mulch. They actually for the most part are harmless and are a sign that an area is damp but also that decomposers are working on the excess organic matter present. These creatures work unseen much like worms throughout your garden. They’re part of the big picture and sometimes you can find groups of them by moving fallen leaves in the middle of winter. I makes one think for a moment about how many moving parts there must be in a cubic foot of soil that make the soil what it is. But onward to some indoor color to make winter less drab.

 

 January is also a good moth for Holiday Cactus, as they are in full bloom and you get a reminder of why you grow such a plain looking plant most of the year.

Of course what is a mention of Holiday Cactus without a representation of the impossible pink hues one can get from the species.

White is also an option, though I've yet to obtain a pure white specimen, and this off-white one is spectacular none-the less.

 Here is another off-white specimen with a noticeably darker pink blush. In case you are wondering why the flowers are curved down, it's probably because they in their native habitat, are pollinated by moths. Also given the fact these true cacti are epiphytes and would be dangling down from tree branches it protects the pollinator a bit.

 Ah yes a true red one, with a pink center. Now this  is definitely a show-stopper. The red blooming Holiday Cactus always sell faster, even if they are physically identical to all other colors except in bloom color. It's something about how dramatically visible they are in the dead of winter after the Poinsettias have faded.

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. Also, as of the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

Plants & Stuff Available Now:

All the Stuff:

Soup Kits: $6.00

Seasoning Packets: $2.00

Ginger, 4oz Packet: $2.00

Wormwood Packets: $2.00

Lavender Packets: $2.00

Pepper Packets: $2.00

Garlic, Whole Bulb: $1.00

Coming Soon:

TBA

These days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

                        This brings to a close the second LITFM post of 2020, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 7^th of February. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.