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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

June 17, 2014 Kim’s 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

Mock Orange.
Oh it’s a scorcher today.  There is a chance for severe weather today and tomorrow so keep an eye on the sky or weather radio.  The whole week is supposed to be warm and unsettled. I am pleased to say that I had an inch of rain last week and it did wonders for the garden. 

The mock orange is blooming; most of my shrub roses and at least one clematis is in bloom.  Weigelas are in bloom.  Ox eye daisies and yellow rocket are coloring the roadsides. The peonies and poppies are fading however.

Garden produce is pouring into the farmers markets.  You should be able to find all sorts of greens, peas, green onions, radishes, baby beets, broccoli, and strawberries.  Some young yellow squash and zucchini are available and some cucumbers will shortly be ready. A few hoop house grown tomatoes may be available but if you see someone with lots of tomatoes, especially large tomatoes, it’s a good sign they weren’t grown locally.  Also suspicious are peppers, melons, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, and sweet corn.  

The problem with these crops is that Farmers Markets are meant to feature local foods, fresh foods.  If someone is trying to deceive you with these crops as being grown locally then they are probably deceiving you in other ways such as if the crops are organic or fresh or even what country it was grown in.  They buy these out of season crops in the same place supermarkets do- and if you want that stuff you might as well buy it in the supermarket where it will probably be cheaper.

Bob Tritton from MSU is reporting some unusual “collapsing” of apple trees this spring.  Trees show wilting branches and die back.  I have just such a tree, it is usually my heaviest bearing tree and it had no blooms this year.  It leafed out but lower branches are dying. Unfortunately he believes it is winter injury to the tree trunk and that the trees will completely die.  I will hope my tree survives but it doesn’t look healthy.  

The apple and cherry crop both look like they will be lighter than usual this year, in some places much lighter.  Peaches and plums are also having poor crops.  This is primarily due to winter damage.  Raspberry crops may be small until fall raspberries ripen.

A safe natural pesticide for Poison Ivy?

Gardeners hate poison ivy.  Once the plant invades your property it’s hard to get rid of without using lots of dangerous pesticides.  But leaving the plant alone risks a painful rash even if the plants oils just get on a garden tool.

Poison Ivy
When John Jelesko, a gardener and also a researcher at Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences got a nasty rash from poison ivy while gardening and decided to do some research on how to destroy the plant.  He and a colleague were trying to develop a strain of poison ivy for lab studies when some of their plants began dying of a fungal disease.  They isolated the fungus and found it to be Colletotrichum fioriniae, a fungal disease that was known to infect and kill some insect pests.

Jelesko found that when this fungus was sprinkled on poison ivy plants it killed them.  It causes plants to wilt, lose their chlorophyll and die in a few days. The fungus also keeps poison ivy seeds from germinating.  There is great hope that this fungus will soon be formulated into an all-natural granular product that can be sprinkled on poison ivy.  Let’s hope this product soon makes its way to stores near us!


Culinary Uses of the rose

Continuing the theme of roses this month is a discussion of using rose parts for foods.  When you consider using roses for food remember to use only roses that have not been treated with pesticides.  Avoid collecting rose hips or petals from roadsides because the plants may be contaminated with pesticides or heavy metals from pollution.

The hips or berries of roses have been used as food for thousands of years.  They can be eaten fresh or turned into jams and jellies.  They are fairly high in pectin, depending on the variety of rose you may not need to use jelling agents to get a good jelly or jam.  Follow a recipe for apple jelly and substitute rose hips.  Rose hips vary in size and sweetness depending on variety also.  Rose hips were also fermented for wine in Russia and Sweden.

Rose water has been used in cooking in the Middle East and India for hundreds if not thousands of years and is still used in many dishes.  Before vanilla became a common, affordable flavoring agent rose water was also used in European dishes. Marzipan was a rose flavored confection.   Rose water is used to flavor pastries, candies, milk products, and cold drinks.   The red coloring in rose petals was often used to tint foods pink. 

You can experiment by using rose water in many dishes.  Make sure you make your own rose water (see last week’s newsletter) or purchase food quality rose water.  Use rose water to flavor tea or lemonade.  You could make rose water ice cubes to drop in drinks. Use rose water in rice pudding, sherbet, yogurt, or ice cream.  Cookies and other pastries can have rose water added for a subtle floral taste.  Rose water has also been used as a substitute for red wine in cooking.


Rose petals can be thrown in salads or used as garnishes.  Use roses with a strong fragrance for best flavor. Slightly crushed rose petals can be layered with sugar and stored for a few days in the refrigerator.  Sift out the rose petals and the sugar will taste faintly of rose.  Use the sugar on cookies or in tea.   Rose petals can also be used to flavor butter.  Layer clean fresh rose petals with soft butter, layer of butter then one of overlapping rose petals, repeat,  and refrigerate overnight.  Remove and discard the petals before using the butter.  The butter can be used in cooking and baking or try the elegant tea sandwiches below.

Rose tea sandwiches

Cut bread into shapes, round, heart and so on with cookie cutters.  Butter the shapes with soft rose butter, then add a layer of fresh rose petals and top with a piece of cut bread.  Allow the fresh petals to peek out between the bread for a pretty look.   Serve at once or store in refrigerator, wrapped tightly, for a few hours.  I have heard of the sandwiches being sprinkled with pink tinted rose sugar.

White bread helps you stay healthy

You must have seen this coming.  Every food that has ever been dismissed as bad for us eventually gets something good said about it.   And now its white breads turn to see a little improvement in its image.   Research done in Spain and published last week in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that people who often ate white bread had higher levels of good gut microbes, Lactobacillus in their intestines. 

Exploring the gut microorganisms has led to some astounding findings on how they affect our health.  Many diseases and chronic conditions are being linked to the wrong kind or lack of microorganisms in our gut. This research also found that pectin from citrus fruits like oranges actually led to lower levers of good gut bacteria.  So skip the orange juice, eat the toast.

Eat some fat with your salad or lose the benefits

It’s the best time of the year for salads, with all kinds of vegetables and greens appearing in the garden and farmers market.  In fact it’s the only time of the year when you should eat salads, when everything is grown locally.  Vegetables have many nutritional bonuses for people in the form of vitamins and antioxidants such as carotenoids.   But here’s something you may not know.  Without adding some fat to that salad your body will absorb very few of those vitamins and healthy compounds. Your intestines won’t absorb the helpful nutrients from salad unless they are connected to fat molecules.  You are basically flushing away any benefits the salad had if you eat it without fat. 

That non-fat dressing you like to use won’t help your body pull nutrients from the vegetables and greens.  You would be better off just to skip the salad.  Instead research done at Purdue University and published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research shows that to obtain much benefit from vegetables and greens in salad you need to add the right kind of fat.  And the right kind of fat is saturated or mono-saturated fat not the poly-saturated fat found in most salad dressings.

Saturated fats will help you get the most from vegetables and greens and mono-saturated fats are a close second.  Saturated fats include butter, lard (bacon grease), coconut and palm oil.  Mono-saturated fats include olive, peanut, sunflower and sesame oils.  Poly-saturated fats don’t help as much as the first two categories and in addition there is now some research that these types of fats may be harmful, causing an increase in cancer, inflammation, obesity and diabetes.  Unfortunately commercial salad dressings are full of these unhealthy oils which include soybean, corn, safflower, canola and cottonseed oil.

Your best bet is to getting the most from your veggies is to make your own salad dressings using one of the better fat choices.  A nice wilted salad of greens and tomatoes with a bacon dressing will actually be better for you than a salad with non-fat dressing poured over it.  And those non-fat dressings usually have more calories – check it out- per teaspoon than fat dressings- because they add sugar or corn syrup (another unhealthy food). 

Is road salt harming the Monarchs?

Emilie Snell-Rood a behavioral and evolutionary biologist with the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences wondered whether the massive amount of salt placed along roads in winter would have any effect on animal species that frequented roadside areas.  Her study published in the June 9 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that road salt may indeed affect animals such as the Monarch Butterfly. 
Monarch on milkweed.
 

Monarch butterflies often feed on milkweed beside roads and that milkweed often has a higher sodium content than milkweed found in other places, because of road salt that runs off from winter applications. Butterflies also use a behavior called “puddling” where they take up minerals from mud puddles.  Mud puddles along roads have higher sodium levels.  Monarchs were found to have higher sodium levels in the blood when they ingested higher sodium milkweed.

Interestingly some additional sodium actually helps Monarchs, giving the males stronger wing muscles and the females’ bigger brains.  But when sodium levels increase too much the Monarchs experienced a much higher mortality rate.  Because urban roads are more highly salted Snell-Rood suggests that populations of Monarchs feeding on roadsides in those areas may be experiencing greater mortality.  However their country cousins may actually be a bit better off, feeding on plants with only a slight sodium increase.

Have some rose flavored lemonade and kick back today.
Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

More Information
Calming with Chamomile
By Kim Willis

German Chamomile.  Wikipedia .com
Chamomile has been used as a remedy for calming the nerves and the stomach, and easing sleep, since herbal remedies were recorded. Chamomile is one of those herbs that even beginners can grow and it is hardy through much of the United States.  Chamomile is also used in a variety of beauty products currently on the market from shampoo to skin cream.

Modern medical research has determined that chamomile has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, good for use on minor wounds, and skin conditions and as a gargle for sore throats and inflamed gums.  Chamomile also relaxes the smooth muscles, particularly in the intestines and is used to calm upset stomachs, and to relieve gas pain, cramping, and minor diarrhea.

The most common herbal use of chamomile however, is to calm the nerves and aid in getting a good night’s sleep. Research has confirmed that it has sedative properties. It can be used alone or with other herbs with sedative properties such as valerian and catnip.  Chamomile is widely available on the market as a tea, capsules, powdered herb, or essential oil.  It is easy to grow your own chamomile for herbal use also.

Growing Chamomile

There are two types of Chamomile grown by herbalists, German , [ Matricaria recutita], and English or Roman [Chamaemelum nobile].  Both are easy to grow, similar in appearance, and are used for the same medicinal uses.  German Chamomile is the plant used to grow commercial crops.  It is the most studied, but most experts believe the medicinal qualities are very similar between the two types of Chamomile.

German Chamomile is an annual plant that needs to be planted each year; Roman Chamomile is a perennial, hardy in zones 3-9.  German Chamomile gets about 2 feet tall but Roman Chamomile is a groundcover plant that rarely gets more than a foot high.

German Chamomile is started from seed or small plants can be purchased.   In cold climates it would be wise to start the seeds inside about 6 weeks before the last frost.  Transplant them outside after your last frost as they are not frost hardy.  Seeds can also be sown in the garden when the soil is warm.

Roman Chamomile can be started from seed but germination is less reliable than German Chamomile.  Roman Chamomile produces runners, little plants that can be separated from the main plant.  New gardeners will probably want to buy plants or get a start from a friend.

Both types of Chamomile have tiny, narrow gray-green leaves that give them a ferny appearance.  German Chamomile grows upright as a single plant.   Roman Chamomile grows as a tangled mat of plants produced by rhizomous roots.  The leaves of both types have a characteristic smell when crushed, somewhat like apples. 

It is the daisy like flowers that produce the medicinal qualities.  The flowers are white, with 15-18 petals drooping down from a raised yellow cone.  They are about an inch across. Plants begin blooming in mid summer.  A double flowered variety of German Chamomile has been grown since the 16th century

Chamomile likes a sunny spot, with sandy soil.  It tolerates dry conditions but will bloom more freely if watered regularly.  It will not grow in wet areas.  Unless the soil is very poor chamomile does not need fertilizer.  If you are growing Roman Chamomile do not cut the plants back in the fall.  Wait until spring to carefully remove the dead branches from the previous year.

Growing chamomile near other herbs is said to make those herbs have stronger medicinal qualities and make the neighboring plants stronger and healthier.

Harvesting and Using Chamomile

Harvest the flower heads as they bloom.  You can just clip them off the plant. You can use them fresh or dry them for later use. To make an herbal tea, steep about a cup of fresh flower heads in a pint of boiling water.  Use about 2 tablespoons of dried powdered flower heads to a cup of  boiling water.  Keep a lid on steeping chamomile as some of the medicinal qualities may be lost if it is left open. Strain before drinking. 

To calm the nerves and bring on restful sleep, drink a about a cup of warm tea.  Cooled tea can be used as a gargle for sore throats or inflamed gums and cold sores.  Tea is often mixed with ginger ale to help upset stomachs.

Adults should drink no more than 2-3 cups of tea a day.  Children under 5 no more than half a cup and ages 5-18, about a cup. See the other cautions below.

 For use externally, as a poultice for skin problems or minor wounds, make the tea much stronger, about 3-4 cups of fresh flowers to a pint of water or 6-8 tablespoons dried herb to a cup of water.  Cool before using.  This can also be used as a rinse for blond hair to restore highlights.  Cool chamomile tea is also used as a spray for seedlings, to prevent fungal disease.

The flowers can be crushed and then slowly steamed, which will produce pale blue oil.  When such oil is produced at home it is hard to judge the quality and strength.  It’s also hard to produce a sizable quantity.  If you would like to use chamomile oil for herbal lotions or remedies it might be wise to purchase a standardized extract at a health food or drug store.

If you don’t like tea and want to try chamomiles soothing properties you can purchase capsules and tinctures in many stores.  Follow the label directions for dosage.

Warning
Chamomile should not be used by people allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemums, or asters.  It should not be used by persons with asthma or pregnant women before consulting a doctor.  People on blood thinners should not use chamomile.  Chamomile reacts with many drugs.  If you are on ant-depressants, sleep medicines, birth control pills, sedatives, anticonvulsants, some allergy medications, statins or pain medications you should talk to your doctor about using chamomile.   In fact, you should always consult your doctor before mixing herbal and other medications.  Alcohol use with chamomile should be avoided.


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- Third Annual Bee Palooza from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, MSU Horticulture Garden, East Lansing Mi.  Note: This was just posted on line.

In celebration of National Pollinator Week, Michigan State University is hosting the Third Annual Bee Palooza from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, 2014. This interactive event is for people of all ages to learn more about pollinators by visiting a series of seven stations set up in various parts of the beautiful MSU Horticulture Gardens. Learn about the 400 bee species found in Michigan, view the inner workings of both honey bee and bumble bee colonies, learn how to build your own solitary bee nesting box, and learn about bee-friendly gardening. In addition, there will be pollinator-themed face painting and a scavenger hunt for the young at heart.

Pollinators play an important role in the production of many seed, nut and fruit crops, including almonds, apples, blueberries, cherries, coffee, melons, squash, sunflowers and tomatoes. Some people think only of allergies when they hear about pollen, but pollination — the transfer of pollen grains to fertilize the seed-producing ovaries of flowers — is essential to plant reproduction. Many trees, shrubs and wildflowers depend on bees and other pollinators to move this pollen between flowers.

This annual event is free and open to the public, and more details are available on Bee Palooza’s Facebook page. Maps to the MSU campus and to the MSU Horticulture Garden on the west side of Bogue Street south of Wilson Road will help you find the gardens and nearby parking.
For more information, contact Julianna Wilson at jkwilson@msu.edu or Rufus Isaacs at isaacsr@msu.edu.

New- The Busy Gardener-  June 24, 2014 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Oakland County Executive Office Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford, MI

Tips for the gardener who wants to make the best use of precious time and money. Janet will present ideas and answer questions to help you get your garden, shrub and lawn work done in the spring in ways that will make summer more relaxing and beautiful.  Cost $20. Contact Linda Smith, 248-858-0887, smithlin@oakgov.com

Rochester WNF&GA- Garden walk Thursday, June 19, 2014, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm  Rochester Hills Museum, 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills.
The Garden Walk is an intimate look at the unique and private gardens in our community. It is co-hosted annually on the third Thursday of June by the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm and the Rochester Garden Club. You are invited to attend a program at 2:00 pm in the newly renovated Calf Barn. Kathy Miller from Fogler’s Greenhouse will present, Creative Container Gardening. This is your opportunity to learn how to spice up your containers with interesting combinations of flowers.

The Open Aire Garden Market will feature vendors on the grounds of the Rochester Hills Museum from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  And don’t miss the Cookie Room in the Dairy Barn for delicious refreshments. Tour tickets can be purchased at the Rochester Hills Museum Dairy Barn Wed-Sat 1:00-4:00 p.m. in advance and on the day of the Garden Tour   - In advance – $10 for Museum members, $12 for non-members, $14 the day of the Tour. Museum Phone: (248) 656.4663

Crocker House Garden Walk Saturday, Jun 21, 2014 9am-4pm, Crocker House Museum, Union Street, Mount Clemens, MI,
Sponsored by the By Macomb County Historical Society at Crocker House Museum. Cost is $15.which includes the walk, breakfast & presentation.   More info contact www.crockerhousemuseum.com.

Monarch Butterfly Conservation Kickoff Saturday, Jun 21, 2014 1-3pm, Leslie Science & Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road, Ann Arbor, MI
Help us develop our "Monarch Waystation" & learn how to create your own.  Register: 734-997-1553.  Cost is $38/family, $11/person.

Summer Solstice Concert- Sun., June 22, 3 pm Matthaei Botanical Gardens 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor
Join us for a free outdoor concert of live music at Matthaei in celebration of the year’s longest day. Headed by local musician and composer Robert Spalding Newcomb. Free.

Walking Tour of the Herb Garden, Mon., July 7, 7 pm Matthaei Botanical Gardens 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor
Description: Presented by Evening Herb Study Group July is a peak month for the Alexandra Hicks Herb Knot Garden at Matthaei. Meet outside in the Gateway Garden prior to 7 pm.  Free

What is Popping in the Ponds?, Sunday, June 29, 2:00 pm Seven Ponds Nature Center, 3854 Crawford Road, Dryden, MI  (810) 796-3200

Wetland plants will be blooming and birds will be singing on our walk to see what is popping.

Build a Hypertufa Leaf Birdbath, Saturday, July 5, 10:00 am Seven Ponds Nature Center, 3854 Crawford Road, Dryden, MI  (810) 796-3200

A hypertufa birdbath nestled into a garden space will attract a myriad of bird species. In this class we will learn the process using a real leaf as a mold. Please bring a blanket to cradle your project on the way home and a bag lunch. Please call to preregister for this adult (12 and up) class. Fee $15.00 (members $12.00).


The Lapeer area Horticulture Society is looking for new members.  There are no education or experience requirements to join; only a love of gardening is needed.  The Horticulture Society meets the third Monday of each month for socializing, networking and a brief educational presentation.  Next meeting is at Swoish’s Greenhouse, North Branch, May 19th 6:30 pm.  Everyone is invited to join.  Dues are only $15 a year.  For more information on joining or meeting locations contact Bev Kobylas at bkobylas@yahoo.com

The 3rd Annual Michigan Honey Festival- Saturday, July 12, 2014 10am - 5pm at  The Harvey Kern Pavilion in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

Attend educational seminars and learn all you need to start beekeeping! Purchase all your beekeeping supplies from a variety of vendors.  Lots of Michigan honey for sale. Learn how to brew honey beer and mead and attend the many cooking with honey demonstrations.   There is a children’s craft area and a demonstration garden done by Master Gardeners.  Watch a bee beard demonstration.  There will be lots of interesting products to sample and buy made from honey or bee’s wax. 

This year’s festival is all indoors, so no weather worries.  Admission is $5 for adults, children 12 and under free.  More information ? http://www.michiganhoneyfestival.com/contact.html


Master Gardener College (open to public) June 20-21, MSU, East Lansing, MI
This year’s event features exciting full day tours and hands-on workshops on Friday followed by a delicious dinner at the University Club in East Lansing. Saturday features two entertaining and educational keynote speakers, as well as eighteen exciting sessions to choose from in order to feed your mind with science-based gardening knowledge.  And, of course, there will be plenty of buying opportunities.
Key note speaker Charlie Nardozzi will speak on Foodscaping...A Growing Revolution   Almost a third of American households now do some kind of food gardening. While everyone wants  to grow their own food, many are unwilling to give up precious yard space or have their yard, perceivably, look unruly.

You do not have to be a Master Gardener to attend. Re-certified MG get a discount. There is a wide variety of pricing options for this event starting at about $65 for a single workshop to about $200.00 for the 2 day event.  Please go to http://events.anr.msu.edu/event.cfm?folder=mgcollege14  for more information and to register.

You must pre-register. Registration fees are refundable until May 31, 2014, less a $20 cancellation fee. After May 31, refunds are no longer available.  For more information, contact Betsy Braid at 517-884-7081 or braidbet@msu.edu.

Garden Day August 2, 2014, 8 am – 4:15 pm,  Michigan State University Department of Horticulture, East Lansing Mi.


MSU’s annual garden day is on Saturday this year.  The keynote speaker is Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Plants, Flower Confidential, and The Drunken Botanist and other books.  Ms Stewart is also the concluding speaker and you can also stay for a reception after the event where she will discuss the Drunken Botanist. You can choose from a number of excellent workshops/classes, 1 morning and 1 afternoon session. Classes include Herbal housekeeping, Best Herbaceous perennials, Creative Containers, Dividing Perennials, Herbs at Home, Pruning Basics, Gardening in the Shade, Unusual Trees and Shrubs, Creative Edge, and Going Native.

Cost of the event is $85 until July 22nd , $95 after.  Lunch and free parking included. Additional $39 for evening reception.  Go to hrt.msu.edu/garden-day-2014  for class descriptions and to register.


2014 MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION - GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN GARDEN TOUR – June 22nd 2014.

Celebrate spring by enjoying a stroll through beautiful gardens in Genesee County's east side. Each site has its own unique features. The homeowner or a Master Gardener would be delighted to answer any questions. Although each garden looks very different, all of the homeowners share the passion of watching their garden grow and expand each year. Much thought has been put into every loved plant or garden art. The gardeners believe that the garden is an expression of them. Fortunately for us, they want to share their masterpiece with us.

Please join us in touring nine outstanding gardens on Genesee County’s east side Sunday, June 22 10:00AM - 5:00PM.and visit the For-Mar Truck Farm at one of the sites. Mark your calendar for the easy self-guided tour. The total tour is 16.3 miles with easy access from I-69 to start at site #1 and I-75 to end at site #10 home. There are no rules where you start or finish, but the routemoves nicely goingfromnorth to south or south to nor

Advance tickets will be available on May 23rd at the MSU Extension office for $10.00, $2.00 for children under 12. Advance tickets will also be available on May 23rd from the following merchants:

Bordine Nursery 9100 Torrey Rd, Grand Blanc - (810) 655-5588
Jenny B’s Garden Party 9063 Clio Rd. Clio - (810) 687-7742
Piechnik Greenhouse,13172 McCumsey Road, Clio - (810) 686-9211
Walker Farms & Greenhouse 5253 Atherton Road, Burton (810) 743-0260

Tickets may also be purchased the day of the tour (Sunday, June 22rd) at any of the garden sites. Site addresses will be posted on the web page the night before the tour. The photo on the ticket cover was by a student that won the coloring contest at one of Swartz Creek’s elementary schools.
Gardens will be open for viewing on June 22 from 10A – 5P, Rain or Shine.
Visit the web site for driving directions/questions: http://GCgardentour.weebly.com/
NOTE: Gardens open only on this specific day and time. PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE!
Accommodations for persons with disabilities may be requested by calling Jim Harrow, Plant & Pest Hotline (810) 244-8548 two (2) weeks prior to the event to ensure sufficient time to make arrangements. Requests received after this date will be met when possible.

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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