The benefits of chickens:

• great addition to your garden ecosystem
• local protein
• no need to worry about the humanity of the source of your food
• helpful composters
• pest control, they love to eat bugs
• they’ll eat your left over fruits and veggies

Luckily it seems you don’t need a rooster, which neighbors will be happy about.  For more info, take a look at UrbanChickens.org.

Some favorites to consider that are low maintenance and low light:

• Spider Plant helps purify the air in your home, (for a full list of detoxifying plants check out Green Lifestyle Magazine)
• Ferns of all types
• Zee Zee plant (mrBrownThumb has a full article devoted to this plant)
• Pothos
• Snake Plant
• Philodendron
• Swedish Ivy

Some favorites for a bright window:

• Succulents
• Cacti
• Aloe (great for skin care)
• African Violet
• Oxalis
• Christmas Cactus
• Begonia
• Herbs like rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, or lavender
• Bromeliad

(Better Homes and Gardens has wonderful slideshows concerning houseplants)

image from Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Matthew Hodges

First off, why is this happening?   Thoughts on La Nina, active solar storm season, and global warming all come to one’s mind.  With solar storms come beautiful auroras, that were highly visible last Tues in some parts of the world (image above is Matthew Hodges‘).

Now, what can one do for the garden?  Well, mostly we let nature take it’s course.  Most plants are in tune with the length of the daylight, but some might start coming alive with the warm weather. 

Here’s a checklist for the best a gardener can do to help.

• If bulbs are heaved out of the ground with the freezing and unfreezing of the ground, gently push them under the soil line.  Careful to not push them too deep.  Just enough to help them go dormant again if the temperature drops.
• If leaves are sprouting and the temperature drops, the plant may have some frost damage; but it’s nothing that will kill the plant.  Once Spring temps stay stable, a little pruning and you’ll be good as gold.
• If plants are spouting and a drop in temperature is forecast, consider mulching.  The warmth from the ground should help the plants survive the cool temps.  Just remember to remove the mulch from the plant in “real” Spring.

All in all, mother nature will survive.

What is the downside of this mild winter?

• More pests, lets hope this doesn’t spread the Asian beetle.
• Fruit trees may set blooms too early, and the trees may not get the cold they need to produce quality fruits.
• May have more invasive weeds that didn’t get their “winter kill.”
• More fungal plant diseases this growing season.
• If you threw seeds that need stratification (a period of cold needed for germination), you may not see those this year.

Image from Huffington Post and NBC

I’ll be traveling in February and hope to see this at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, located between terminals 2 and 3.  Food grown in the airport’s urban garden is served in the airport restaurants!  More at NBC.

USDA's plant hardiness for Illinois

This past week, the USDA announced a new map that lets you find your zone specific to your zip code.  I’ve thought Chicago was all zone 5b, but I’m happy to announce my move into 6a.  What does that mean?  Well, it’s a warmer zone, so possibly plants that might not survive in zone 5b will in zone 6a.  My planting dates are pretty much the same, about April 15th for the last frost date and Oct 15th for the first frost.  It’s not a huge change, but considering this winter, maybe the trend is a continuing one.  Perhaps in another 15 years we’ll be in zone 7a like the very southern tip of Illinois?

Some options:

• Elbow Grease-get out there as soon as the snow has fallen
• Sand-this will make the slick spots visible and give you some traction
• Bird Seed Millet-visible and a little snack for our feathered friends, avoiding drives would be best
• Boots with Traction-getting a good pair of snow boots with soles made for ice will help you from a slip-n-fall

If you happen to live on a street where trucks spit salt during the winter months, it would be wise to make a burlap fence to protect trees and shrubs from the salt thrower’s path.