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
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| Lily Vice Versa, a hybrid lily. |
Its 88 degrees and humid today and once again we are looking
for storms later. These storms will be
scattered so if you have containers that need watering better not wait for
rain.
I am getting tomatoes more frequently now- love those Early
Girls. My tomato plants however are
really starting to suffer from fungal disease.
I also started getting a few ripe raspberries this week. Once again I am competing with wild birds and
chickens for my berries. My early sweet corn has some nice ears forming and the
pumpkins are as big as soccer balls now.
The Oriental and Trumpet lilies and their hybrids are
beginning to bloom. I love the smell of
lilies although some people do not. My
Casa Blanca lilies aren't as tall as they are most years; I suppose that’s caused
by the hard winter too. My new lilies
are quite short but I know lilies tend to be smaller the first year they bloom
in a new spot.
I just had to go outside and rip Jewelweed away from my
office window so I can see out again.
After the rain last week it grew by leaps and bounds. I like to leave some around the yards for the
bees and hummingbirds but I don’t like it blocking my view and breeze. Another weed that is sky rocketing toward
the sky is lambsquarters. There’s an
article below on that weed.
As far as the noxious weed – Giant Hogweed – that I spoke
about last week is concerned - so far no cases in Michigan. I spoke with MSUE in Livingston County today
and they said no hogweed has ever
been identified in that county. They do get tons of photos and samples and all
have turned out to be cow parsnips or water hemlock or other weeds.
I am a bit concerned with the attitude of various regulatory
agencies toward the plant. The USDA is
the one that puts out bulletins warning about it and listing it as a dangerous
weed that needs reporting. But when they
are contacted they say to call the state department of agricultural and natural
resources and when they are contacted they say to call MSU Extension. According to one county horticulture agent
MSUE doesn't have any funding or agreement with those other agencies to remove
hogweed. They will ID it if they can but
they won’t come to your home.
This ho hum attitude is not what it takes to keep a
dangerous plant from taking hold in Michigan.
I know that the vast majority of calls about hogweed turn out to be some
other plant from Queen Anne’s Lace to water hemlock. I even got photos of ferns and cheese mallow
which look nothing like hogweed from people wanting to know if they have
hogweed. But still if the plant is to be
kept out of the state we need some agency to step up and be responsible. To me it seems like it should be the USDA or the
MDA that is responsible for eradication and site visits.
Well it’s hot out today but I hope you can get outside to
just sit a while. Take off your shoes
and socks and let your bare feet rest on the ground. The earth contains an electromagnetic field
that helps set your internal clock and keeps you healthy and happy.
The benefits of cinnamon
Two new and interesting studies on the benefits of an
ancient spice have recently been published.
Food researchers have been trying for years to find natural food
additives that can control harmful bacteria in foods. Researchers at Washington State University
found that Cinnamomum cassia oil can be used to kill food bacteria without harm
to humans or animals. Ten drops of oil
to a liter of water will kill E.coli bacteria.
Researchers developed bio-films for packaging meat and other
foods subject to spoilage and food borne pathogens. They also recommended that the Cassia oil be added
to food washing solutions for produce and meat.
They also suggested that the oil could be incorporated into ground meat.
In other news about cinnamon Cinnamonum verum, the sweeter cinnamon
often used in cooking, may have some benefit in treating Parkinson’s disease. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center
in Chicago found that cinnamon, given orally, was metabolized into sodium
benzoate. Sodium benzoate was found to
reduce the loss of important proteins in the brain, improves neurotransmitter
levels and improves motor function in animals with Parkinson’s disease. If you know someone with the disease it sure
wouldn’t hurt to add abundant cinnamon to their diet.
This weeks weed- Lambsquarters
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| Young lambsquarter plants. |
Common Lambsquarters, (Chenopodium album ) is also known as
White Goosefoot, Fat Hen, and Mealweed and it gets those names in an
interesting way. Europeans used the weed
to fatten poultry and sheep, and also as a cooked green, similar to
spinach. Native Americans collected the
seeds, which were eaten raw or ground into a flour to cook. They also ate the plant as a green.
Common Lambsquarters is an annual plant that grows just
about anywhere. It likes rich soil and
often comes up in manure piles and barnyards.
Animals eagerly seek it out to eat when it is young and tender.
Common Lambsquarters has roughly triangular leaves, with
notched edges and sometimes small lobes.
One large leaf on the tip of a stem is often followed by two small
leaves that are opposite of each other.
The rest of the leaves are alternate on the stem.
 |
| Flowers of lambsquarter |
Lambsquarter leaves have a grey, somewhat fuzzy underside,
especially when young. The plant makes
thick sturdy stems that have vertical ridges and are often red tinged. It can grow to 3 feet or even larger in great
spots.
The plant has inconspicuous, greenish grey flowers that look
like tiny knots on spikes near the top of the plant. Common Lambsquarters produces two kinds of
seeds, a hard, black round seed that can survive in the ground for a long
period of time, and a lighter brown, flattened oval seed which generally
germinates quickly. The plants produce
thousands of each type of seed each year.
Feeding sugar to bees may be part of their decline
Bees are on the minds of many gardeners these days and many
gardeners have begun to keep a hive of bees as a hobby. Bee keepers have long used the practice of
giving bees’ sugar water to eat when food supplies are scarce. Now researchers are saying the practice of
feeding sugar solutions to bees may be a contributing factor to what is known
as colony decline or collapse. Both
cane/beet sugar and high fructose corn syrup were found to be poor sources of
bee food.
Let’s face it; sugar is not good for us or many other
animals. Bees are designed by nature to
feed on honey from their hive when nectar and pollen are scarce. When bees are fed sugar or corn syrup
researchers found that an organ called the fat body (similar to our liver and
fat tissue) had different gene activity than bees eating honey. This gene
activity was related to immune function, metabolism, and brain function. Colony collapse has often been linked to poor
immune response and poor storage of fat reserves in bees.
This study was done by the University of Illinois Institute
for Genomic Biology and published in Scientific
Reports. An earlier study done
there found that honey has the ability to neutralize some pesticides that bees
consume while foraging. The take away
from this is that bee keepers should leave enough honey for the bees so that
they don’t have to be fed sugar solutions and if supplemental feeding is necessary,
pure honey might be the best choice.
This also got me to thinking about our practice of feeding
hummingbirds a sugar solution. Could we
be hurting the hummers? I have written to the researcher, Gene
Robinson, who worked on the bee study to see if he has any thoughts on that
topic. I’ll keep you informed.
Plant fungicides may cause resistance to human fungicides
This is the season for fungal diseases to run rampant in the
garden, given the right conditions. Fungal
infections plague all living creatures and man is no exception. Aspergillus fungal spores are found in soil (and
also in other places, even indoors) and gardeners may be more susceptible than
others to breathing in the spores which can cause allergic reactions or the
more serious disease of the lungs called Aspergillosis. People with compromised immune systems are
more susceptible to fungal diseases but people with normal immune systems may
also become infected.
Aspergillosis is treated by giving people anti-fungal
medications called triazoles. These are
very similar to fungicides used in agriculture/horticultural to control fungal
infections in plants. In studies done in the Netherlands and now from Radboud
University Medical Centre and The University of Manchester it was found that
Aspergillosis and other human fungal diseases are becoming resistant to
anti-fungal medications.
The current research found that resistant strains of fungi
were more common in agricultural areas where the use of crop fungicides is
common. The research strongly suggests
that just like antibiotics used in livestock are contributing to strains of
antibiotic resistant bacteria, crop fungicides are causing fungicide resistant strains
of fungi.
Fruit fungus may cause asthma in humans
So on to more fungal news.
Alternaria alternate is a common garden fungal disease that infects many
kinds of fruits and vegetables. You have
probably had this fungus in your garden at one time or another. Different kinds of produce have different
names for the disease symptoms Alternaria alternate produces, but the same
lovely fungal species is involved.
 |
| Alternaria fungal disease of tomatoes - fruit root and early blight. Photo from coursewares.MJU.ac.th |
Early blight of tomatoes and potatoes, leaf spots of fruit trees,
fruit spot on peppers, black rot of carrots, head rot of broccoli are all Alternaria
alternate diseases. Apples, cucumbers,
kiwi, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, broccoli- all produce can basically have some
Alternaria alternate fungal disease.
Research done at the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and
Genomics of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid has found that Alternaria
alternate fungi can cause asthmatic reactions in people when they ingest the
fungi on fruits or vegetables. Research
suggests this fungus could be a major cause of childhood asthma. Alternaria alternate can also cause fungal
infections of the skin, eyes and lungs in humans.
Alternaria alternate fungi generally create rotted areas on
fruits and vegetables but can be present on produce with no visible signs. The fungi can be found on fruits and
vegetables in stores and farm markets as well as on the farm and in the garden. This is another reason why you must thoroughly
wash all produce, even organic produce, which may be even more susceptible to Alternaria
alternate spores being on it, because no or weaker crop pesticides are used. Also do not eat fruit and vegetables with
rotted areas or use them for canning or juice.
Cannabis may shrink tumors
 |
| Marijuana- a medical miracle drug. |
Yes I love good news about cannabis. I believe the medical uses of this plant are
many and it is being underused and understudied. However some countries are actively
researching marijuana’s medical properties. Research done recently at University of East
Anglia and Universidad Complutense de Madridin, Spain has shown that the active
ingredient in cannabis- THC –shrinks or stops the growth of cancerous tumors.
The research was done with human breast cancer tumors. Research suggests it’s effective on other
forms of cancer tumors too. The
researchers say they hope a synthetic drug can be developed that mimics THC but
I say – just legalize marijuana and let people self-medicate without fear.
Lovely Lantana
If you are struggling with sandy, poor soil in a sunny
location and want lots of color then lantana is the plant for you. This lovely plant thrives in situations many
plants would struggle in. Lantana
flowers attract butterflies and bees. It is a favorite of swallowtail, skipper
and some brush footed butterflies. The
foliage is also a food plant for some moth and butterfly caterpillars.
There are several species of lantana; they are native to
tropical America and Africa. Some
lantanas have naturalized in the southern states and have become invasive
pests, even if they are beautiful.
Gardeners will want to stick with hybrid lantana plants that are
sterile, even if they plan to grow them in the north as an annual. The sterile varieties bloom better and
longer. These are the varieties most
often found in the garden shop.
 |
| Lantana- tough but pretty. |
Lantanas come in upright and trailing types. The leaves of Lantana are long, gray-green
and blade-like with toothed edges. They
feel rough to the touch and have a strong odor when crushed. While some people profess to like the smell,
most avoid bruising the leaves after smelling them.
Lantana flowers come from the tips of the plant and from
where leaves join the stem in half round clusters of numerous, small 4 petal
flowers. The small flowers turn color
as they age so most flower clusters contain two or more colors. Colors are in the hot range of oranges,
yellows, and reds, with a few pinks and lavenders. The flowers also have a slight scent, which
again, some like and some don’t.
DANGER- Wild Lantanas produce small fruits that are juicy
and blue-black. Birds are fond of them
but they are poisonous to humans and animals.
The sterile varieties found in garden stores don’t produce fruit.
Growing Lantana
Because the best varieties for blooming are sterile,
gardeners usually buy plants. Lantana
seed can be found in some catalogs though.
Many lantanas are not labeled with variety name in garden stores.
Lantana is a tender tropical plant. It must not be put outside until all danger
of frost has passed. In the north it is
generally treated as an annual. In frost
free areas it can be planted in the ground and is perennial.
Lantana must be planted in full sun. It thrives in well drained sandy soil of low
fertility. In rich moist soil it is
prone to disease and produces more leaf than flowers. While drought tolerant, lantana plants must
be watered until they form a good root system.
They will also bloom better if they are watered once a week in hot dry
weather.
Lantana is a great container plant as long as the container
has good drainage. They should be
watered a little more frequently in containers than in the ground. Try to water the soil around the plant and
not get water on the leaves. Wet foliage
may cause disease problems.
Plants in containers may benefit from a little slow release
fertilizer but lantana plants in the ground seldom need fertilizer. If the
plants get woody and lanky cut them back by a third.
Deer and other animals do not usually eat lantana, although
some insects do. If grown in moist areas
the roots may rot. Lantana in shade is
prone to fungal disease.
Remember- bare feet on the ground makes you healthy and
happy.
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
More
Information
Controlling raspberry cane borers
Wilting shoot tips signal that this
easy to control pest has found your raspberry patch.
This time of year, Michigan State University Extension
educators, including myself, get calls from homeowners complaining that the
shoot tips of their raspberries are dying. I ask if there are two rings cut
into the stem below the wilting. If the answer is yes, I know they have the
raspberry cane borer.
Raspberry cane borer, Oberea bimaculata Oliver, is a beetle
pest of raspberries that is widespread in Michigan. The beetle lives its life
feeding on raspberries. The adults emerge in June. They feed on the tender
shoot tips of new raspberry canes. The females lay their eggs about 6 inches
below the tips of the new primocanes (first year shoots emerging from the
ground). First, she chews two rings around the stem about 0.5 inches apart.
Then she lays an egg between the girdles. The girdling causes the stem tip to
wilt.
Control is easy and organic, just remove the portion of the
stem between the two girdles and throw it in the trash. If not removed, the
larvae burrows down the cane to the base and into the crown the next summer.
Affected canes are weak and often break or die the next year. The larva pupates
in the soil and emerges the next year to attack the shoot tips.
This pest seldom requires insecticide sprays and can be
controlled by scouting for wilting shoot tips in the summer and removing the
stem sections with the eggs before the larvae can burrow into the cane. If
there is a severe pest infestation, pesticide sprays are targeted on the adults
in the immediate pre-bloom period, just before the flowers open.
This article was published by Michigan State University
Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu.
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 - Eastern Michigan
State Fair- July 29th – August 2nd Imlay City Mi. (M53 just North of I69)
One of the best fairs in Michigan is
early this year. See the large Master
Gardener exhibit as well as other exhibits of flowers, veggies and fruits. Lots of animals, fair food and carnival rides
too. Daily circus and alligator shows. Rodeo on July 29th, 7 pm.
Price- July 29th and 30th
all tickets are $10.00 before 2 pm otherwise admission is $15. Admission price includes all shows and
rides. Parking is free.
Weeds and Herbs from the Wild -Tuesday, August 19 at 7: 00pm at Seven Ponds Nature Center 3854
Crawford Road, Dryden, MI
The Friends of Herbs at Seven Ponds will host speaker: Jim
McDonald- innovative Michigan herbalist and wildcrafter. He will share
with us what herbs and weeds can be harvested during this time of year.
Preregistration is required by calling 810-796-3200 to reserve your seat. Join us for a
wonderful informative program, cost is $5.00 per person.
Herb & Butterfly
Garden Tours -Sunday, August 10, 2:00 pm
-Seven Ponds Nature Center, 3854 Crawford Road, Dryden, MI
We have the loveliest cultivated gardens totally maintained by
volunteer gardeners. This is a walk suited for those who cannot venture too far
from the center. Non-members- $3.00 adults, members and children 12 and under free. (Tour is being conducted by park
naturalists.)
Garden Party &
Daylily Dig- Sat, July 26, and Sunday July 27-
9am-6pm, Merrittscape, 5940 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford Township, MI.
Featuring over 200 varieties of award
winning daylilies for sale. You pick
'em, we dig 'em. 1000's of plants. We have over an acre and one half of
spectacular ponds and display gardens to enjoy and inspire. 248-681-7955.
Cool Plants for
Shady Areas- Sat, August 9, 10am English Gardens,
all locations (Ann Arbor, East Pointe, Clinton Twps., Dearborn Heights, Royal
Oak, Commerce Twps., West Bloomfield
call 1-800-335-Grow
Creating a beautiful garden is
possible even in the shade. This program
will cover basic information on planning, planting and maintaining flowers and
plants in the shade. Special emphasis will be given on perennials. FREE.
www.EnglishGardens.com.
Michigan Ag Expo 2014- July 22, 2014 - July 24, 2014
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Ag Expo is
Michigan’s largest outdoor agricultural show. With more than 250 vendors,
demonstrations, educational sessions, and ride and drive equipment available,
there is something for everyone. Admission to the show is free!
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.
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. 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
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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