Editors' Blog
Here's what the Zone 4 editors have to say.
January 4, 2012: A Very Warm Day!
Bozeman Montana. 2:00 p.m. 58°F in the sun (46° in the shade) and I’m out in my driveway in a sleeveless shirt shoveling off the last of the ice that hid in the shadows. I had a sweater on to start, honest, but it was just too hot! Any time I’m engaged in gardening in my front yard it is an invitation for neighbors to come over and ostensibly see how I’m doing since Dr. Bob passed, and often their visit includes a gardening question or two.
The obvious one with this type of weather in January is, “What’s going to happen to our trees and shrubs?” We’re all worried that this spring-like weather will force our woody plants to break dormancy, only to get hammered by the inevitable cold weather that is yet to come. Woody plants in our area have something called a chilling requirement. After our deciduous plants have hardened off in the fall and drop their leaves, they enter into dormancy. We all know that. What folks don’t always know is that the first phase of dormancy is called dormant-rest, in which plants’ physiological processes simply cannot begin until they’ve had a certain number of hours at low temperatures. To overcome rest, buds must be subjected for about 4 to 8 weeks to temperatures of 
24° to 50°F.
As you can imagine, the temperatures and length of time differs between species. This is not well studied, nor is it documented for many of our plants. We do know, for example, that apples usually require a longer chilling than do peaches, which is one of the reasons peaches don’t do well here. They break rest before winter loses its hold for the year. After the chilling requirement has been fulfilled, the plants are in a state of dormant-quiescence. In this state they are ready to go, and are simply waiting for appropriate spring temperatures to get in gear. Kind of like seeds waiting for the appropriate conditions to germinate. In many locations our fall was not as cold as we typically see, so we can all cross our fingers that our woody plants are all still safely in dormant-rest.
Wow! Castle Mountains Music Fest!
Any of you folks who are concerned about the future of America, concerned about who is going to lead this country in the turbulent years ahead, would have been heartened to spend last weekend (July 29-31) in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. Readers of Zone 4 will know that Red Ants Pants are the so-called "Carhartts for women" made in the U.S. of A. by Sarah Calhoun, a beautiful young woman with more friends than a politician.
Why White Sulphur Springs? Because she couldn't afford Bozeman.
Why women's workwear? Because women deserve the same as men.
Why a music festival to benefit her town, small-acreage farmers and ranchers, and women in small business? If you don't know the answer, you don't know Sarah.
Somehow she managed to lure to White Sulphur Springs—population 900 something—the likes of musicians Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Carrie Rodriguez, and a bunch of other talented bands, to play for what turned out to be an audience of around 5,000 adoring fans. Fans of these musicians, yes. But also fans of Sarah.
This was no rowdy bunch of methed out punks. But a crowd of all ages, appreciative of the music and the purpose. Following the headliner bands of Saturday and Saturday night, on Sunday morning Sarah took the mic and gave the security report: No fights. One DUI. One post-concert accident, from which the driver walked way unhurt, but the cow had to be shot.
With Lyle Lovett and Jerry Jeff Walker gone, attendance the second day wasn't quite what we saw the first day. Rodney Crowell came on at four, following the all-girl band from Austin called the Trishas, who he brought back for help on a few tunes, as well as old buddy Guy Clark. Things were getting loose, freestyle. At six the last band took the stage: Micky and the Motorcars. They got in two or three songs when the heavens opened, rain pelted the fleeing crowd, and the winds blew. Andra and me, in our Zone 4 tent, closed up shop and took shelter.
When the squall passed and the sun returned, as it does in Montana summertime evenings, Micky and his band returned to the stage, but the electricity was gone. The small crowd surrounding the stage exhorted him to play anyway. And he did. You had to be up close to hear him, but play he did. Sympathetic for him, Rodney Crowell and the Trishas came back to the stage to lend moral support if not some volume.
So the festival ended on a very sisterly and brotherly gesture of giving to one another. And that's what Sarah wanted for her foundation all along. She's already announced dates for 2012, in late July again. Go to www.redantspantsmusicfestival.com for more information.
Pippi the Clown Loves Zone 4!
Andra and I recently exhibited Zone 4 at the Red Lodge Health, Home and Garden Show, held at the county fairgrounds. The city's sponsoring Chamber of Commerce arranged a variety of events to entice people to attend, including tap dancers, belly dancers (check out the video on our website!), Bosco the drug dog, and best of all, Pippi the Clown. A small group of adoring little girls followed her round the building as she made clever hats, backpacks, and other things out of long, thin balloons. Check her out at www.pippitheclown.com.
We'll be featuring the wonderful community of Red Lodge in an upcoming issue. The folks in this town of 2,300 really come together to help one another. There are some interesting characters to meet, and a strong local foods movement. stay tuned.
Maggie At Work
Beginning with the Spring 2011 issue we are making an even stronger commitment to fresh local food in the pages of Zone 4. In No. 9 we feature Sola Cafe, owned and managed by Tiffany Lach, and chef Megan Reed, pictured here cradling some early-season Swiss chard. For the photo shoot she made Spring Vegetable Risotto with Fennel and Spinach, and a Spinach Pesto. Not shown is a delicious Italian Sausage, Cannellini Bean, and Swiss Chard Soup. Check 'em out on pages 60-61 of the current issue!
One thing we realized was that a good photograph is important if you're trying to persuade readers to actually go out and buy the ingredients to a recipe, and make it. Lighting is critical. Experience helps. And, well, there's a knack to it. A friend told us about local chef Maggie Garver who also loves to photograph food. We checked out her website www.bentforkphotography.com and were impressed. So we signed her up to shoot Megan and her dishes. You'll see more of Maggie's work in future issues.
And if you have a favorite recipe using fresh local ingredients, please send to me at dan@zone4magazine.com. You don't have to be a professional by any means. We'll consider all submissions for publication in Zone 4.
Austrian pine dieback in the zone
I’ve been watching my neighbors’ Austrian pines’ leaders turn brown for at least a year now. I’ve seen this phenomenon elsewhere in the zone and wondered what it was all about. The Plant Disease Diagnostic clinic here at Montana State University – Bozeman (where I used to work) just put out a press release that says they suspect it’s a fungus that causes a disease called blue stain. This disease is also found in trees killed by mountain pine beetles. Another suspect is a fungus that attacks the roots. Many of the trees with dieback are planted in lawns where they may receive too much water and fertilizer.
Earlier recommendations were to remove the tops, cutting well below the dead area. But as we continue through the seasons, it appears the trees continue to die from the top down. Unfortunately, the diagnosticians tell us, there is nothing that can be sprayed onto the tree to kill the fungus and save the trees. They say it’s possible that there is a root drench that might help, but there’s no scientific data to support this. (This treatment should be done by a certified pesticide applicator who specializes in trees.) It’s recommended you not replace dead trees with more Austrian pines.
Please keep in mind that ornamental trees in the landscape, as opposed to fruit trees, need little to no fertilizer. Overfertilization can cause lush growth that is more susceptible to diseases and pests.
I feel badly for my neighbor who is losing her trees, but maybe it’s sweet revenge on some level – she’s been whacking away on her side of our cotoneaster hedge and spreading fireblight like crazy, and we may end up losing our hedge!
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