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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

April 1, 2014 Kims Weekly Garden Newsletter



These weekly garden notes are written by Kim Willis, unless another author is noted, and the opinions expressed in these notes are her opinions and do not represent any other individual, group or organizations opinions.

Hi Gardeners

Wood sorrel.
Well March went out like a lamb and April is already providing showers so let’s hope we have May flowers!  I can actually see my crocus coming up now and the tulips and daylilies too.    I saw two turkey buzzards near our woods and that is a sure sign its spring.  I haven’t heard any frogs yet but when I do I know it will be an even better sign of spring.  But it’s nice to get outside and work in the sun.

I spent a lot of the day outside yesterday working on cleaning up the yard from our ice storm way back in December.  I have such a mess I think I will spend many, many days just getting things cleaned up before I can ever get to new planting.    My beautiful white pine in the back yard and my nice apricot tree are both almost complete losses.  There was also damage to our black willows, some birch, poplars and even the ancient cedars on the west side of my house.  All around me neighbors are chain sawing up trees and burning the brush.  Anyone who burns wood for heat should find plenty of free wood this spring.

I think some of you may have read this in the newspaper but it looks like the Lapeer Farmers market will be moving to the Center Building- or at least most of the old vendors will be.  The Lapeer Down Town Development Authority really did market master Denise Becker wrong- they let her know she was fired when someone called her to ask how they could access the  Farmer’s Market website and casually  mentioned they fired the market master, not knowing who they were talking to I guess.  ( I wonder if she gave them access?) 

Well the Center Building offered an alternative place for a market to Denise and the vendors loyal to her and it looks like they will be there.  Good for them.  The Center Building is a much nicer place for a farm market, with easier and free parking, restrooms and much more space.  If you liked some of the vendors at the old market downtown in Lapeer, you’ll most likely find them at the new Center Building market this spring.

A potato that causes weight loss will revolutionize diets!

The Peruvian people grow hundreds of varieties of potatoes for many different uses.  Some are for boiling, some are for roasting, some are for drying and making flour, and some are for medicinal uses.  Researchers at several colleges have obtained many different types of potatoes for testing and breeding purposes.  Some are used to bring genetic diversity into current potato cultivars and others were tested for other uses.

Is this a Miracle?  Wikimedia commons
When researchers at Idaho Agricultural Institute were testing one potato variety found in Peru they discovered something amazing.  Animals fed the potatoes lost weight while remaining healthy and active and reproducing normally.  A study where the potatoes were fed to mice of a genetically obese strain caused the mice to lose excess fat and become lean and healthy.    Next the researchers tested the potatoes on dogs which were obese and had diabetes and found that once again a diet containing the potatoes caused the dogs to lose weight and after the weight was gone, most of the dogs no longer needed insulin for their diabetes.

The potato named “Pink57” was found to contain chemical compounds that acted on body metabolism in several ways.  The starch in the potatoes is not turned into sugar and is almost totally eliminated from the body.  The chemical compounds also acted on the animals brains, causing them to become alert and more active than normally fed animals.  And furthermore the Pink57 potatoes caused fat stored in cells to move into the blood stream and be burned for energy.

The Pink57 strain of potato was a lumpy, pinkish fleshed thing that did not cook well so researchers set out to breed it with more conventional potatoes.  After several years they have a nice, long potato with light pink flesh and darker pink skin.   The potato fries and bakes well and the taste is indistinguishable from common US potatoes.   A second strain is being developed for making potato chips and a third for making potato flour.  The new potato is being called Miracle Pink.

A research trial with 200 human subjects has just ended and the results are amazing.  Subjects that were at least 50 pounds overweight were fed potatoes for each meal.  Hash browns with breakfast, French fries for lunch and mashed or baked potatoes for dinner.   The subjects were required to eat at least 3 oz of potatoes at each meal (which is not a lot) and they could eat as much of the potatoes or any other foods as they wanted.  After just 6 weeks of the Miracle Pink potato diet participants had lost an average of 30 pounds while a control group eating regular potatoes averaged no weight loss. 

After 12 weeks the study was ended because most of the Miracle Pink potato eaters had lost all the weight that they needed to lose.   Average weight lost in the study was 75 pounds!  No side effects were reported and the subjects were healthy and reported more energy than before the potatoes.   They were given Miracle Pink potatoes in frozen French fry form to keep the weight off if they needed it.

Because the potatoes are normal foods and the strain has been created with normal means of plant breeding FDA approval is not needed to sell the potato although weight loss claims will have to wait until more studies confirm the results.  Researchers are growing huge fields of the potatoes in anticipation of releasing seed potatoes to several commercial growers for 2014.  In 2015 small amounts of the potatoes are expected to be released to home gardeners.  Look for Miracle Pink potato products to hit the store shelves this fall. 

New purple daffodils

When spring comes daffodils are one of the first plants to bloom.  They are deer resistant, extremely hardy and multiply quickly, making them an ideal garden flower.  As a bulb they are easy to plant and grow in most sunny areas without mu
ch attention needed. They come in various shades of yellow, orange and white but now two new varieties of daffodils will extend the color range.



Pretty in Purple  is a beautiful daffodil with a deep purple center cup and white flushed with pale lavender outer petals.  It is a medium early bloomer.  Late bloomer Jester’s Folly is a daffodil that’s hard to describe but incredibly beautiful.  It has yellow cups with red veining and deep violet tips and the petals surrounding the cups are pale yellow shading to white near the tip and a deep violet edge.

Both daffodils are quite expensive, at $20 per bulb average but remember daffodils multiply.  They should be available this fall in limited quantities.

New garden classes begin in Michigan- The PRO-GARDENER™ series

A consortium of Michigan garden writers, speakers, teachers, former Extension agents and other experts decided that Michigan needed a new model for delivering good, research backed garden information.  They wanted to make it available to all counties in Michigan and affordable to the average person.  So they developed the new PRO-GARDENER™ course.   The course is supported with funding from the new Farm Bill and from local and national sponsors.

The PRO-GARDENER™ course is suitable for both the home gardener and the person who wants to go into gardening or garden related fields as a professional.    A home gardener can audit the course and the person who wants a professional certificate will pay a small extra fee and take an exam which when passed will lead to a certificate suitable to use for employment or as professional credentials.  A course completion certificate will be issued to all persons who complete all course requirements also.

Pro-Gardener course will be offered in every county where a minimum of 10 people sign up for the course.  One course per county per year with a maximum of 50 people per class will be offered.  People will be able to take the course in any county, although preference will be given to each county’s residents for a course in that county.  The course will be offered at a convenient location in each county.

Pro-Gardener program consists of 16 weeks of classes, two days a week, 3 hours per day and 15 workshops where hands on experience will be given.    No volunteer hours are required, but volunteer opportunities so students can use their new skills will be presented.  Computer experience is a big help in this course but will not be required.  No previous garden experience or classes are required.

Subjects covered in the classes include basic botany, soil improvement, perennials, annuals and tender perennials, interior plants, roses, native plants,  ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, small fruit, tree fruit, plant propagation, vegetables, herbs, composting and vermiculture, lawns and lawn substitutes, garden design, garden water features, garden hardscape, greenhouse management, hydroponics, plant diagnostics and pest management, garden and landscape management and pruning.  Some subjects will be covered in more than one class.  Classes are taught by a number of experienced garden teachers.

The cost of the class is $100. with an additional $30 for the exam for certification.   The cost includes 3 textbooks and numerous handouts plus most workshop materials.  A few workshops may require a materials fee, not exceeding $25. per workshop.  Pre-registration and payment are required.  Beginning dates will vary.   Those who are Master Gardeners are welcome to attend PRO-GARDENER ™classes.

While the information offered is the newest and best available the course is also a place to meet other people who share your love of gardening.  You’ll have fun while learning, we guarantee.  Accommodations for handicapped individuals can be arranged.  To find PRO-GARDENER™ courses near you please call 1-555- 552-2525 or email www.PROGARDENER.com/

New way to get rid of Japanese beetles!

Here’s a nifty and organic way to get rid of Japanese beetles and it works on all kinds of plants.  Simply soak a handful of paper clips or old fashioned bobby pins in Tabasco sauce overnight.  Then using gloves, put one soaked paper clip or bobby pin on each plant branch you want to protect.    It helps to clip one paper clip beneath each rose blossom also.  Put a soaked paper clip next to each clump of grapes you want to protect.

These paper clips must be removed and re-soaked in Tabasco sauce after each rain.  It is best to have two sets, one soaking and one on the plants so you can rotate them.  This method of protecting plants was studied by the North American Plant Research Council and found to be 99% effective.

Killer plants

Be wary of new plants on the market, especially if they are carnivorous ones.  Researchers were growing a new specimen of carnivorous plant brought back from a South American jungle two years ago and named Pulcher funestus.   It’s growing in a greenhouse at the Center for Plant Discovery and Adaptation in Greenway, Iowa.   The plant has upright facing tunnel like flowers about 20 inches long and maybe longer as ages.  The flowers of Pulcher funestus are gorgeous, with swirls of lavender and pink on a translucent cream background.  They have an intoxicating scent, truly intoxicating it seems, which is described as a mixture of sweet orange and lily, and each flower has at its bottom a small amount of sweet pink nectar. 

The plants grow like a vine with a thick sturdy stem that attaches to anything in sight.  The original one at the research center has quickly grown to more than 25 feet in length with the main vine as big around as a human arm.   The plant starts easily from the smallest cutting and the research center had high hopes of developing the plant into a viable commercial plant.  They had more than a 100 small plants started.  The vine had even sent roots beneath the greenhouse floor, coming up on the outside of the greenhouse and surviving the Iowa winter. 

Beautiful Deceiver   Flickr.com
Personnel at the greenhouse had noticed the plant attracted mice and dead mice were often found in the flower tunnels.  The mice were left and it was found that they dissolved in less than a week.    When a greenhouse cat went missing and was found in the flower tunnel of the vine it was assumed the cat tried to get mice caught in the tunnel and was overcome by the intoxicating fumes of the flower.  The cat too, was left for the plant to eat and was gone in 22 days.  The plant was nicknamed the Beautiful Deceiver.

Researchers began to study the scent of the Pulcher funestus flowers as they noticed that people working near the plant often complained of feeling drowsy and dizzy.  As the plant grew and produced more and more flowers, with fifty flowers often open at one time, this “intoxication effect” became even more pronounced.    Signs were posted near the plant warning people not to linger by the plant. 

Last month however, the child of a greenhouse employee was in the greenhouse when his school had a snow day.  When his father noticed he hadn’t been seen lately he searched for him and found him passed out near the Pulcher funestus vine.  One of the child’s arms was inside a flower of the vine.  When the child’s hand was removed it was found that the ends of his fingers had dissolved up to the first knuckle.

As you can imagine the area of the greenhouse where the Pulcher funestus vine is growing has been isolated with all the smaller propagated vines moved to that area also.  Only certain lab personnel are allowed to enter.  Plans to sell the plant have been put on hold but researchers are avidly studying the plants scent and nectar for pharmaceutical use. There is some concern because it is believed several started cuttings of the plant are missing, probably stolen by employees and that the plant may end up growing where it will become a serious problem.
  
Here’s hoping you have a great April Fool’s Day and get a good laugh out of this issue.  Back next week with more accurate information. PS. Below here all the info is true and factual to the best of my knowledge.

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

More Information

Caring for Spring Bulbs
By Kim Willis – previously published on Examiner.com

All of the wonderful spring flowering bulbs like crocus, tulips and daffodils make spring in Michigan a sight to behold. Generally spring flowering bulbs are planted in the fall, although you can now find spring bulbs in pots and flats in some garden stores in the spring.   For those of you who forgot to plant bulbs these can be a quick garden fix, but planting the bulbs in the fall is really the best way to go.

As soon as you see the green shoots popping up and the ground begins to thaw sprinkle a little slow release fertilizer around the bulbs.  A basic garden fertilizer such as 5-10-5 or a flower formula fertilizer will work.   The fertilizer helps the bulb prepare healthy foliage to make food.   Leaves producing food allow the plant to make next years flowers and enables some types of bulbs to produce “baby” bulbs.

Don’t worry if the weather turns colder or if it snows and covers emerging bulbs.  For most bulbs that emerge early this doesn’t harm them.  Sometimes snow after bulbs have come into full bloom will smash the flowers or wilt them but this doesn’t happen often.  Many pictures have been taken of flowers like daffodils and crocus blooming right through a late snow.  

If you have had a deer or rabbit problem in the past you may want to add a light barrier of some black nylon netting.  You can use thin garden stakes to hold it up and if stretched tightly the netting won’t be too visible from a short distance away.   For deer the netting must also cover the tops of plants.  Put stakes behind the plants and put the netting over the stakes in front then over the back stakes.  This deer or bird netting is found in most garden stores.

Usually Michigan springs have plenty of moisture but if we get a dry spring water your bulbs once a week.  This is especially important if spring is hot and windy.  But after bulb foliage has died down they do not need watering, in fact most bulbs prefer dry conditions when dormant.

Remove the flowers of bulbs as they fade, unless you are trying to get seed from something.  Producing seed takes energy away from the bulb which needs to store reserves of food to produce next year’s flowers.  Sometimes the seed heads of bulbs like large alliums are left for structural interest.  A hint here- the seeds of alliums will drop off and readily start new bulbs, although it may take a few years before they bloom.

Do not remove the foliage of bulbs until it has yellowed and died down on its own.  The foliage is needed to produce food for the bulb.  After a bulb blooms its leaves start producing food reserves for the bulb and next years flowers.   If leaves are removed too soon next years flower may be smaller, or the bulbs may not bloom at all.

If you naturalized bulbs in a lawn this means you cannot mow until the bulb foliage has yellowed and withered.  This is difficult for some people to tolerate, because they like a neat, mowed look to the lawn.   That’s why naturalized bulbs work best when planted in groundcovers or at the edges of lawns.

Yellowing bulb foliage can be hidden by emerging perennials or you can plant hardy annuals around the bulbs to hide the foliage.  Daylilies make excellent perennial covers for dying bulb foliage.   If you are planting something to hide the foliage, make sure you don’t disturb the bulbs.

How long bulb foliage takes to die back depends on the species of bulb and the weather but most bulb foliage will be gone by the end of June.   After the foliage is gone there is little you need to do for bulbs until next spring except remember where they are so you don’t disturb them planting other things.  Anytime after the bulb foliage has died back you can dig the bulbs to divide them or move them.  You can plant them immediately or store them in a cool, dry place until fall to plant them.

Tulips may not reliably return each year in Michigan gardens.  That is because they prefer to be dry over the summer and because they are eaten by many animals.    Many people dig up tulip bulbs after the foliage has died down and store them inside in a cool dry place until fall, when they are again planted in the garden.
If this seems like too much work choose tulip varieties that are marked as being “perennial” varieties or chose the smaller flowered species tulips. Or you can simply plant more tulips each year to make up for those that are lost.

Bulbs are only effective if you see them bloom.  Plant small bulbs like crocus, snowdrops, grape hyacinths and iris reticula close to the house so you will see their cheerful blooms.   Buried in the garden somewhere they may bloom and die before you get out there to see them.   Bulbs planted near the house may bloom weeks before those out in an exposed place.
 
Warm weather when bulbs are blooming will speed up the bloom cycle with many species blooming all at once instead of an orderly progression of bloom.  And each individual flower won’t last as long in the garden when it is warm.   We can’t change the weather but luckily Michigan gardeners usually get a long spring full of gorgeous flowers blooming.  With careful selection of early, mid and.

Events, classes and other offerings

Please let me know if there is any event or class that you would like to share with other gardeners.  These events are primarily in Michigan but if you are a reader from outside of Michigan and want to post an event I’ll be glad to do it.

Master Gardeners if you belong to an association that approves your hours please check with that association before assuming a class or work day will count as credit.
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me at kimwillis151@gmail.com

New-  It’s All About Plants, May 3, 2014, 8 am – 4:15 pm.  Plant and Soil Science Building, 1066 Bogue Street, MSU, East Lansing, MI

MSU Horticulture Gardens presnts this day long garden event with four top garden speakers/experts, Art Cameron, Hardy Perennials and Graceful Grasses, George Papadelis, New and Underused Annuals, Tim wood, The Hunt for New and Improved Flowering Shrubs and Steve Keto, Growing Native plants. Approved for 5 MG credits.

Your registration fee includes lunch and parking plus hand outs.  $79.00 until April 21, $89 after April 21.  Email www.hrt.msu.edu/sp-register   or call Jennifer Sweet 1-517-355-5191 ext. 1339

New- MSU Horticulture Gardens Public Plant Sale May 17th , 7 am-2 pm.  MSU Horticulture Garden, East Lansing, MI.

Your chance to get some of the newest and oddest plants as well as old favorites.  This sale is very popular, arrive early.

New- Growing Beautiful Hydrangeas, April 10, 7 pm – Kulick Community Center, 1201 Livernois Street, Ferndale, MI.

Learn about hydrangeas from Cheryl English.  Presented by the Ferndale Garden Club.  Call 248-541-6427  for more information.

New- Peppers: Selecting, Growing, & Cooking, April 24, 12am  6:30pm, At Telly's Troy.

Learn how to grow many of the varieties that are available while enjoying recipes & samples. $5. www.tellys.com. Register: 248-689-8735.

New- Landscape Design Fri, April 25,1-3 pm and Sat April 26, noon- 2pm, 2014,  Auburn Oaks, 3820 W Auburn Rd, Rochester Hills, MI

Landscape designer Paula Smith helps you learn about designing a garden.  Call 248-852-2310 for fees and registration.

New- International Herb Day Sat, April 26, 10am-3pm, At Hidden Lake Gardens 6214 W Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI

Herb Day is an international celebration of herbs and herbal products. This one-day event is aimed at educating and sharing ideas about the many ways herbs bring joy and well-being into our daily lives. We celebrate herbs’ use in food, beverages, medicine, beauty products, and crafts, along with the art of growing and gardening with herbs. There will be cooking demonstrations, gardening tips, educational seminars, activities, and a wide array of plants and products for sale.  $5 per person
www.HiddenLakeGardens.msu.edu,   517-431-2060.

New- Sustainable Gardening Practices Sat, April 26,  1-2 pm At Campbell's Greenhouse, 4077 East Burnside Road, North Branch, MI 48461

Clay Johnson discusses maintaining healthy soil, crop spacing/rotation, crop nutrition & companion plants for insect control. $5.  Call  810-688-3587.

New- Hidden Lake Gardens Plant Sale Sat, May 10,10am-2pm- 6214 W Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI
Lots of plants from natives to conifers for sale.  www.HiddenLakeGardens.msu.edu , 517-431-2060.

Growing and Cooking with Herbs- April 5, 2014 10 am – 1 pm Heavenly Scent Herb Farm, 13730 White Lake Road, Fenton, Michigan.

Steve Mathews will give you tips on growing and cooking with a wide variety of herbs.  There will be lots of taste testing.  Reservation required, $28.75, call 810-629-9208

New- Come Hang with Steve- April 12, 2014 10:30 am – noon. Heavenly Scent Herb Farm, 13730 White Lake Road, Fenton, Michigan.

Learn all about hanging baskets, window boxes and cascading containers in this class.  It’s free, no registration required.

New- Detroit Garden Works Spring Fair – April 12- 9-5 pm, April 13 – noon to 4 pm.  1794 Pontiac Drive, Sylvan Lake, Michigan.

Local growers will be offering plants, garden art and supplies.  Snacks and drinks provided, free admission.  Detroit Garden Works was named in 2004 one of the top 25 garden stores in America by Garden Design Magazine, we are equally as pleased to be included in The Garden 50: 50 favorite products, projects and places inspired by the world of gardening in the March 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. (248) 335-8089. 
    
The Sensual Garden of the Night -Wed, April 9, 12am –2:30 pm at Big Beaver United Methodist Church, 3753 John R Road, Troy.

Troy Garden club presents a session on planting a garden that will be beautiful at night and appeal to the senses.  $7 includes lunch.

Gardening in Containers & Raised Beds Saturday, April 12 at 10 a.m. All English Gardens stores
Just about anything can be grown in a container. We’ll share tips and information to make you successful when growing plants and vegetables in containers and raised beds.  Free.  Click here for a store near you. http://www.englishgardens.com/shop-online/workshops.html

Woodland Wildflower Workday Friday, April 4, 1:00 pm Seven Ponds Nature Center, 3854 Crawford Road Dryden, MI  (810) 796-3200

Come help us ready the Woodland Wildflower Area for the beautiful array of blossoms that will be coming our way soon. Fulfill Master Gardener Hours.

Botanical Easter Eggs- Sunday, April 13, 2:00 pm- Seven Ponds Nature Center, 3854 Crawford Road Dryden, MI  (810) 796-3200

Sign up to learn this old-fashioned way of coloring Easter eggs. Wrapped in flowers and leaves and soaked in a natural dye, these beautiful eggs are sure to become a yearly tradition in your house. Pre-registration is required. Ages 12 and up. Fee: $5.00 ($2.00 members).

Gifts from the Herb Garden, April 5, 2014, SMITH FLORAL, 1124 E. Mount Hope Ave, Lansing, MI from 10am until noon.

Coleen French will be showing you how to make Layered Fragrant Bath Salts, Personal Perfumes, Herbal Dryer Sachets, Room Sprays, Car Fresheners, and More! Recipes and handouts included. $10 per class, pre-registration is REQUIRED. Sign up by calling 484-5327 or 484-6085 or stop in and register in person.

“Gardening and All That Jazz!”  Saturday, April 26, 2014, 7am to 4:15pm-Oakland Schools Conference Center, 2111 Pontiac Lake Rd., Waterford, MI. 

Speakers include Allan Armitage "Buying the Right Plants", Stephanie Cohen "Native Plants", David Perry, Garden Photo Magic" and Stacy Hirvela "Shrubs, Making your Dream Garden Reality".  Sponsored by the Master Gardener Society of Oakland Co. Jazz concerts at morning check in and lunch.
$70 before March 15, $80 after March 15.  Pricing includes continental breakfast, lunch, snacks, and program materials. 

Register at. http://www.mgsoc.org/registration.htm  Direct conference registration questions to: Registrar Phone: 248-770-0524  E-mail: registrarmgsoc@gmail.com

Day-long gardening classes including a catered lunch, Goodie bag and door prizes Also includes Free admission to Yard & Garden Expo.  $50 registration/person ($60 after March 1)  For details on this seminar you need to request a flyer from Marie at 989-859-1294

Newsletter information
If you would like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to me. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly notes. You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish what I want.

Once again the opinions in this newsletter are mine and I do not represent any organization or business. I do not make any income from this newsletter. I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with local people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive these emails have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com


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