Q. Should I store my Hummingbird feeder for the winter? If not, how do I go about protecting it from the cold? Also, could I capture one and keep it as a pet?
A. Hummingbirds are active during the winter months as long as they have a source of food. Hummingbirds have the highest energy expenditure of any warm-blooded animal. A Hummingbird needs to intake more than its body weight in nectar each day, and that can be difficult during the winter. With little to no flowers for nectar, a liquid feeder is their only option, so I wouldn’t be inclined to take it down. I’d also replace my Hummingbird food with Kaytee Hummingbird ElectroNectar. Kaytee Hummingbird ElectroNectaris the first-ever, hydrating energy drink for Hummingbirds. This naturally clear nectar was developed to mimic flower nectar with added electrolytes and no added colors for overwintering hummingbirds. On those nights when the temperature is going to dip below thirty-two degrees, you have two options. You can bring the feeder inside at night and put it back out early in the morning. Hummingbirds need to start feeding early in the day after coming out of a torpor. The torpor stage is similar to hibernation, and it occurs when their metabolism slows down or when food is in short supply. Your other option is to insulate the feeder by wrapping the bottle in bubble wrap. Keeping a hummingbird as a pet is possible with the right size structure and food sources; however, it is illegal to do so. In the United States, capturing a hummingbird violates the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. This law makes it illegal to possess or capture any migratory bird, including hummingbirds. In addition to the prohibition of holding or capturing a hummingbird, the act also makes it illegal to keep a hummingbird nest, egg or baby. The penalties forbreaking this law include a steep fine.
Note:Hummingbird facts from a variety of sources:
A hummingbird can fly in any direction at speeds of thirty miles per hour or more and have a heart rate of over twelve hundred beats per minute. Hummingbirds are capable offlapping their wings at a staggering rate of eighty times per second and lick their food at a rate of about thirteen licks per second. They do not use their feet for walking or jumping, but only for perching. Hummingbirds have a lifespan of about four years and grow to about eight inches in length and weigh less than an ounce.
Q. I’ve had poor luck growing garlic. The cloves are small while others never develop or rot away. What can I do to improve my success?
A. Garlic Sets, along with Onion Sets and Shallots are planted in the fall and winter months. You harvest those planted in mid-September through Thanksgiving in June with the late January through February plantings later in the summer. The key to successfully growing garlic is the soil preparation and planting Certified Seed Garlic and not those found at a supermarket. Seed Garlic is available at your favorite garden center. It looks just like the supermarket garlic, but it’s different. Supermarket garlic was grown for consumption, and not to be replanted. The variety may not be suitable for this area. When planted, the harvested cloves are under size, and the yield is inconsistent. Also, they’re sprayed with a retardant to reduce sprouting, which explains why some cloves never develop. Seed Garlic produces large, full-size cloves and is variety specific for our area. Garlic needs drainage to prevent the cloves from rotting so generously amend your soil with organic matter, or compost. The soil microbes then convert the organic matter into plant nutrients. I’d also add an organic vegetable food at planting and use a minimal amount of animal manure. Soak the cloves for five minutes in one part Clorox to ten parts water, to help with the rotting issues and remove any flower shoots. Garlic grows from individual cloves broken off from a garlic set or bulb. Plant the cloves with the root end facing down. Each clove will multiply in the ground, forming a new bulb that consists of five to ten cloves. The cloves are planted two inches deep, in rows, four to six inches apart, and you space the rows a foot apart. If it’s too muddy to plant, I’d then consider using containers.
Q. I was very successful in growing and forcing Paper White Narcissus into bloom in a shallow dish of water. They were very fragrant for Thanksgiving Day. What should I do with the bulbs? I’d like to store them and use them again next year.
A. Paper White Narcissus or any other bulb that is grown in water and sand should be thrown away when the flowers are spent.Unlike those planted in soil, forced bulbs have no capability of rejuvenating themselves for the following year. A bulb is a storage chamber. Besides the food manufactured by the leaves, bulbs will store nutrients from the soil. Once this is completed, the bulb goes dormant. The foliage turns yellow/brown and easily separates from the bulb at ground level. Depending on the bulb type, you can let them naturalize in the soil or dig them up and store them for the following year.
Note: Flowering Tulips, Daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs growing in containers shouldalso be discarded. They are usually growing in sand and not soil. Sand has little nutrient value but does drain quickly.
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