Jump On Spring or The Mystery of The Disappearing Plant Tags

At the recent Jump-On-Spring event the ODS Team handled a myriad of questions, from the simple - to the unexplainable (Why did my tiger-lily not come up last year?) Keep in mind that at JOS one meets with a very diverse range of gardeners. Some who have been putting seeds into the ground for over 75 years, as well as those whose first experiences will begin with Spring 2003 when the snow clears from their new home's backyard. Besides questions, event guests shared many a garden adventure, problem, achievement, etc. They told theirs and we of course, told ours. But one problem was of particular interest to me as I believed that I could explain the mystery the gardener had experienced. ........ The case of the disappearing aluminum plant tags. The type that you write on with a ball-point pen to emboss the details on (in?). Not all went missing. There was no discernable pattern to their disappearance. One tag from here. Three from over there. Another from that end row. Perplexing ........unless you know and understand crows. Crows are complex birds that figure things out for themselves quite readily. They hunt for food by observation, analysis, deduction and reasoning in my opinion. Most amateur naturalists can recount crow stories - teasing dogs on chains, opening containers and garbage bags, stealing food from feeders (Competition for the squirrels.). And, crows have hobbies too. One of which is to occasionally collect bright and colourful objects. Just about now, and over the next several weeks, you will notice crows flying overhead carrying sticks, large feathers, various objects - most destined for their nest. However, they collect interesting (to them) items at any time and usually have a cache somewhere. Sometimes it's their previous nest. Sometimes a notch way up in a nearby tree. Sometimes in the corner of an eavestrough, or behind a chimney. Always in a place that they feel is secure for their treasure. "Treasure" found in crow caches have included kitchen spoons, cigarette paper foil, candy wrappers, coins, shiny fishing lures, bright stones, coloured drinking straws, - and in this case I would bet, aluminum plant tags. Unlike pack-rats, they don't usually "exchange gifts", dropping an item to take up a more appealing one. They simply take what interests them. And pulling up a wire stake with the shiny, interesting aluminum tag attached is easy, it's transportable, and so versatile when you think of it. It could be both a treasured find, as well as an effective "stick" to add to the nest. Crows have visited many a garden and farmers field and let others get the blame for their "Dirty Work". Ever have a row of onion sets pulled up after sprouting? Or sweet corn seedlings pulled up and left to wither on top of the ground? Or maybe to have 6 or 8 corn seedlings broken off at the ground and left to die? In the latter case cutworms usually get blamed but crows are often the culprits. The corn that pulled easily last time is now so firmly rooted that it breaks off, rather than slip from the soil. After a few fruitless tries the crow realizes - (I said they were smart) - and moves on to something more productive. They'll do it also with daylily seedlings I would expect (But know of no such case) as daylily seedlings resemble corn seedlings. The crow pulls the plants for two reasons, harvesting and hunting. They "harvest" the corn kernel from the seedling and they hunt for hapless worms or insects pulled from the ground when the root system disturbs the soil. This is why onion sets are sometimes disturbed - as the crow doesn't appear to eat the onion itself. And 'though I have a high opinion of crows, I don't believe they do it for spite or amusement. They will turn over small rocks or branches in a similar hunting technique. Crows have been around for a long time. They've adapted to humans and their fabricated enviroments ... and they'll be pulling up plant stakes for some time to come I would expect. By Garry Patterson