March 31,
2015 Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter © Kim
Willis
Hello Gardeners
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Well I must
say I was disappointed this morning when I woke up to see 4-5 inches of heavy
wet snow. Its melting fast and I guess
we did need the moisture but still… I
heard frogs singing yesterday, slow and sleepy but singing. I hope the poor things don’t freeze before it
warms up again. After being outside
yesterday doing barn and yard cleanup having to wear boots to get to the barn
this morning wasn’t fun.
I spent
Sunday potting up some plants I got from Logee’s, tender perennials like
Jasmine, Brugmansia, tropical hibiscus and others. They were beautifully packed and very healthy
plants, but a little large for the 2 ½ and 4 inch pots they were in. Then I spent an hour or so shuffling things
around to find window space for them until the porch is warm enough and the
squirrels are gone. I still have some
dahlia and begonia bulbs to get potted this week. I put in a big seed order too, and now I need
to get some decent weather so I can get my raised beds ready for planting. We are supposed to get some 60 degree weather
soon so maybe I can get that done.
The tulips
and daffodils are a couple inches above ground and just maybe the crocus will
bloom in a few days. I am actually
seeing less winter burn on the arborvitae this spring than last year. I noticed the forsythia had large buds but
whether they are leaves or flowers is hard to say.
While this
was one of the driest Marches in history here it looks like we are in for a lot
of wet days in the first week of April.
I noticed our pond was lower than last year so maybe we will catch up a
bit. We are predicted to have
thunderstorms this Thursday. It’s time
to check the weather radio to make sure it’s working properly because the
severe weather season is just around the corner.
How
to make salads healthier; add eggs and red lettuce
It’s been known for a while that you need to eat fat
with your salad to get all of the healthy carotenes, flavonoids, vitamins and
minerals from those greens and veggies. Now research from Purdue University has
shown that adding cooked eggs to your salad (or vegetables to your eggs) is the
best way to maximize absorption of vitamins, minerals, beta-carotene,
alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The cooked eggs also provide
protein, healthy fats and additional amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin as well
as choline, all essential for a healthy body.
And while you are choosing the greens for that salad
make sure to include both dark green and red lettuces,(or other greens). Research done at the University of Pisa in
Italy on the antioxidant qualities of lettuce found that red leaved varieties
provided the body with a fast release of antioxidants while dark green leaved lettuces
provided a slower, more sustained release of antioxidants. Combining red or purple
leaved varieties of greens with dark green colored greens provided the best
nutrition. Iceberg type lettuces with
their pale green or yellow colors have little nutritional benefit.
So the healthiest salad would be that with red and dark
green lettuce, lots of colorful raw vegetables, whole cooked eggs, and maybe
some nuts, seeds, or fruit along with a high fat dressing- preferably not one
made from soy oil. The calories in this
higher fat salad are more than offset by its greater nutritional value and we
now know that healthy fats from eggs and good oils do not transform into body
fat.
Making
chocolate healthier
At the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the
American Chemical Society researchers from the University of Ghana described
some new techniques they found in processing cacao beans into chocolate that
help the chocolate retain more healthy
antioxidants and make the chocolate sweeter and deeper in flavor. The antioxidants in chocolate have been proven
to boost heart health.
Normally cacao beans are fermented shortly after
picking. Research shows that allowing
the beans to age for 7 days before fermenting increased the polyphenols (antioxidants)
in the resulting chocolate and made it taste sweeter and more “mellow”. Also roasting the cacao beans at a slightly
lower temperature for a slightly longer time than is traditionally done retained
the healthy properties and produced higher quality chocolate. The research got funding from the Belgian government
so look for that Belgian chocolate.
Do
urban farm markets actually offer healthier foods?
 |
| Farmers Market in Lapeer Michigan |
While farm markets are certainly great for finding
local foods and introducing them into what are known as urban food deserts, researchers
are beginning to question just how much better food at a farm market is for buyers
than at a conventional store. In urban
areas, those that seem to need farm markets the most, farmers markets may not
be the healthiest option for food purchases.
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of
Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center studied the 26 farm markets
scattered around the Bronx in New York and analyzed the food that could be
purchased there over a season. They
found that the farm markets contained a lot of unhealthy foods. At least a third of the foods offered at
stands were sugary, highly processed foods like bread, muffins, fruit juices,
and candy. Other items were obviously not
grown locally, bananas, oranges, and so on and were more expensive than the
same items at conventional stores. Food
offered as organic often tested positive for agricultural pesticides.
In general they found that the produce offered at urban
farm markets was of no better quality than similar foods at conventional markets
and almost always more expensive. And
despite the myth of produce being unavailable in these urban areas researchers
found that there was a conventional store selling produce within a few blocks
of each farmers market, although organic produce and the variety of items
offered may not have been as available.
In suburban and rural areas farmers markets may offer
slightly lower prices and more produce that is truly grown organically and
locally, although that premise is still being tested. Junk food, like pies and breads,
may be even more prevalent. But one other research study is pointing out that
there still may health concerns with farmers markets that consumers should be aware
of.
Researchers at Chapman University's Food Science
Program and University of Washington conducted tests for bacterial
contamination of foods at farmers markets in California and Washington
State. They found a high percentage of
produce was contaminated with E.coli and some produce also tested positive for salmonella.
Home producers of fruits and vegetables and things like
baked goods do not have to follow the rigorous rules of wholesalers selling to
conventional stores nor are their products tested for contaminants. They may
transport items for sale in dirty vehicles and containers and the produce is
often unwashed. They may use manure inappropriately on organically grown crops.
In addition items displayed in the open air may be handled by people with
unclean hands or even have contaminants carried to them by wind.
Shopping at farmers markets is a great way to support
the local economy and get locally grown produce. But shoppers should also be mindful to choose
from clean, neat looking stands, to ask questions about the organic status and
where the produce was grown and to make sure the produce is fresh and displayed
properly. Never eat things from the
stands without washing them thoroughly, even if you are told they are organic. It does no good to buy organic produce if you
are going to come down with a nasty case of diarrhea from E.coli contamination.
Rhodiola
rosea may cure depression as well as prescription drugs
Rhodiola rosea, commonly known as roseroot, has been
used in Chinese and Russian medicine for a long time. It’s a sedum relative that grows in cold
mountainous regions of North America, Asia and Europe. It has several short stalks with fleshy
leaves and in summer it blooms with tiny yellow 4- petal flowers in clusters at
the top of the stalks. Roseroot has separate male and female plants. The thick, stubby root is the part used in
herbal medicine and the ground dried root smells like roses, leading to the
common name.
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| Rosewood. en.wikipedia.org |
In herbal medicine roseroot is used to increase
stamina, relieve fatigue and help alleviate altitude sickness. It was also used to cure sexual and
reproductive problems in men and women.
It was thought to regulate the thyroid.
The dried root is usually used in tinctures.
Recently research done at the Perelman School of
Medicine of University of Pennsylvania and published in the journal Phytomedicine found that patients with
mild to moderate depression had as much improvement taking a roseroot extract
as those taking a prescription anti-depressant called sertraline with far fewer
side effects. The improvement in
depression was measured by several clinical tests.
Roseroot seeds are available for herbalists to try and
grow but they are tricky to germinate.
Plants can also be grown from cuttings.
The plant likes coarse, gravely soil and full sun. Rosewood could be
grown in a rock garden. It does not do too well in warmer climates however and
must have very good drainage.
Are
non-native garden plant species really bad?
The fad is
still raging for native plants and many gardeners are a little confused – both about
what plants they should grow and whether they are harming the environment if
they plant non-natives. A growing amount
of research is suggesting that most non-native plants that “ go wild” aren’t really that bad for the environment in
the long run and that some are actually beneficial. Of course there are some bad players- plants
that poison livestock for example- but in the long run research is saying that
most of the worry over non- native plants pushing out natives is much to do
about nothing. Gardeners should stop
feeling guilty about causing environmental destruction if they choose to plant
exotic plant species in the garden.
 |
| Autumn Olive |
Pollinators
are one of the concerns of the native plant crowd. But honey bees, one of the preferred
pollinators, aren’t native to North America.
It stands to reason that they adapted to new plants and that native
pollinators adapt to exotic plants too. In
fact a bee would rather find a good source of nectar and pollen in a non-native
plant then spend a lot of time visiting poor sources of those foods from native
plants. Some non-native plants that
provide food for bees in the early spring are the dandelion, crocus, and
various fruit trees that are not native plants.
Without them bumble bees and other native bees would have a harder time
finding good early food sources.
The worry
that non-native invasive plants will crowd out native species is also somewhat dramatized,
according to the newest research. When
you look at a field over taken by Autumn Olive, for example, you think it’s a terrible
thing. But the truth is that that
abandoned field would have become covered with some other brushy plant if the
Autumn Olive hadn’t shown up. That’s what
fields do- if left alone first shrubs grow and then trees. It’s called succession.
And a
native brushy plant may not have been better than Autumn Olive. (This is just
one example.) Autumn Olive provides lots of nectar for bees, it is nitrogen
fixing and actually improves the soil and it provides berries for birds and
other wildlife. Trees grow faster among
Autumn Olives than among many native shrubs. Eventually those trees will
replace the Autumn Olive. Yes, the habitat for wildlife changes in the
transition from meadow to brush land but it was going to change anyway.
There are
cases when non- native plants may need to be severely controlled as when an
endangered native plant species may be further endangered by plants that can
utilize that environment more efficiently. (And a competing native plant can
also endanger a species whose environment has been altered.) But remember that the non-native species is almost
always not the cause of the native plants original decline. It declined because its environment
disappeared or became altered. That allowed a non-native who could utilize that
altered environment to occupy it. When
native plants have the right environment they are generally better able to
survive than invading exotics.
For one
thing our climate is changing and plant species will need to change with
it. Since man has been on earth we have
been responsible for altering the plant species around us, both by changing the
environment and by introducing new species through our travels, both
deliberately and accidently. In the vast
majority of cases the new plant species have a neutral effect on the natural
ecology of an area. Yes, things change,
but the change is the way nature sustains life.
 |
| Dames Rocket |
The time
spent pulling Dames Rocket, a rather pretty plant that’s considered invasive,
and some other exotics, is probably wasted.
They have been around for decades if not centuries and in the broad view
of things have changed the environment very little. They may seem overwhelming in some areas-
along roadsides and around human dwellings for example- but the roadsides aren’t
really natural environments anyway. They
have not caused the extinction of any native species.
Research
has found that non-natives may take over certain areas but those areas are
generally patchy and already becoming unsuitable for the native plants
displaced. The journal “Proceedings of
the National Academy of Science” have recently published research studies
that conclude most non-native plants do little damage to natural environments. If suitable unspoiled native environments
exist they are for the most part occupied by native plants adapted to them. There are sometimes “bursts” of non-native
plants in an area until insects, wildlife, and diseases adapt to utilizing them
and control them so that they become part of the environment and not the domineering
species. But over time these bursts and
pockets of non- natives do little harm to the environment.
Gardeners
should be more concerned about exotic plants overpowering their landscapes than
worrying about them “escaping”. Some
plants like Japanese Knot weed and comfrey can make your life as a gardener
very hard. But so can some native plants
like Virginia Creeper and Black Walnuts.
Of course you must respect state laws that prohibit certain plants and
you shouldn’t deliberately plant non-native plants in wild areas. But don’t think you are doing something terribly
wrong if you decide to grow plants in your garden that aren’t native. Native
plants may or may not be easier to grow in your garden. Some non-native trees, shrubs and garden
plants may actually grow better in your human altered environment and be less
invasive than natives. The best gardens
contain a mixture of native and non-native plants.
Facts
about dandelions
Did you know that the dandelion is not a native
plant? They were brought here by early
European colonists as an herbal plant and escaped to live happily ever
after. Lawns lit up with gold splashes
are so pretty after a long winter how could people hate them? Its likely more people would tolerate
dandelions “naturalized” in the lawn if they didn’t turn into those white fluff
balls of seed.
The bees appreciate dandelions too. They are an important source of nectar and
pollen in early spring, and get bee colonies off to a good start. Birds like the seeds of dandelions even
though they are small. Some farm animals
don’t care for dandelion foliage as it’s rather bitter and the plants are often
left to flower in pastures to the delight of the bees. The only place that
dandelions should really be removed from is orchards. Bees will often bypass fruit tree flowers for
dandelion flowers and that isn’t a good thing if you want fruit.
 |
| Dandelions mean spring. |
Dandelions are interesting plants. The leaves are
grooved and arranged to funnel water to the roots and the root itself is a long
sturdy taproot capable of storing water so the plant survives drought
well. The dandelion begins flowering
when the day length is slightly below 12 hours, stops flowering when the day
gets to its longest point and then begins flowering again in autumn when the day
length is about 12 hours again.
Dandelion flowers are actually masses of small flowers
bundled together and these flowers do not need pollination to set seed,
although they appreciate and reward bees for helping with pollination. Dandelion flowers close at night and when
rain is coming. The dandelion seed
floats away on a tuff of fluff to start new colonies. Dandelions are perennial and if you dig down
beneath the snow you can find the leaves still green in winter.
All parts of the dandelion are used in herbal remedies
or for food. Young dandelion leaves are used for salads and are grown
commercially for that purpose to include in “green mixes.” The buds of dandelions and even open flowers
can be used in salads also. The young
greens are cooked like spinach, although they are best mixed with other greens
as they are bitter when cooked.
Dried dandelion leaves are used as a tea to aid
digestion. Dried dandelion leaves, dried
nettles and yellow dock are turned into an herbal beer once popular in Canada. The leaves are high in calcium, boron, and
silicone and modern herbals suggest them to aid in treating osteoporosis.
Dandelion flowers are used to make dandelion wine. Fresh flowers are picked and fermented with
sugar and yeast, usually flavored with a little lemon and orange to make a wine
that is said to taste good and provide you with lots of vitamins and
minerals. Dandelion flowers contain high
levels of lecithin and choline, two substances modern herbalists use for
treating Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders.
Dandelion roots are dried and ground and used in a
number of medicinal ways. They are a
mild diuretic and laxative and are said to help the liver. The dried roots are also used as a coffee
substitute. The chopped, boiled and
mashed roots are an old remedy for sore breasts and mastitis.
When you pick a dandelion flower the stem leaks a milky
sap. That sap is an old remedy for warts
and other skin conditions. And that sap
can be turned into rubber too. In
Germany a manufacturing facility began large scale production of rubber from dandelions
in October of 2013. They hope to have
dandelion rubber tires on the commercial market within five years. Besides tires the rubber will be used in many
other applications that traditional rubber and latex are used for, such as
latex gloves.
As you can see a lawn full of dandelions is like a
giant herb and vegetable garden rolled into one! Of course when you pick dandelion parts for
eating and herbal use pick them from areas that have not been sprayed with
pesticides. Why would anyone want to
pollute their lawn with weed killers to get rid of this valuable plant? Don’t hate this valuable and useful
plant-think of it kindly and let some live.
Gardener’s
health tips
Gardening season begins soon! In fact you may already be out cleaning and
pruning the garden. Gardening is healthy, both for the body and mind but there
are some health considerations gardeners should be aware of.
Don’t overdo it the first few days, especially if you
have been house bound all winter. It’s
so nice to be out in the sun, working in the soil that time passes quickly and
before you know it you have spent hours working. The next day however you may not feel like
working at all because you are so sore.
Alternate activities, do some pruning for an hour, then some raking,
then some hauling of mulch. This will
keep you from getting too sore. Stay off your knees as much as possible and
watch the heavy lifting. Don’t forget to
do some sitting and daydreaming too.
All gardeners should have a tetanus booster at least
every ten years. Tetanus is a soil borne
disease and gardeners have lots of contact with soil. Wear mosquito repellant when working in the
garden. Mosquitoes carry the West Nile Virus
and every year many people in the United States die of West Nile Virus. If you are handling peat or vermiculite while
potting plants wear a dust mask. These
dusty products can harm your lungs.
Wear sunscreen or protect yourself with a hat, long
sleeves and pants. Even if you are not
concerned with skin cancer, heavy tanning makes your skin wrinkle and look
older much faster than people who keep tanning to a minimum. Check any prescription medicine you are
taking to see if your exposure to sun could cause a reaction also. Protect your eyes from glare by wearing a hat
with a brim or a visor even if you wear sunglasses or color changing
lenses. The glare coming over the top of
the frame can damage your eyes.
Don’t get fooled tomorrow.
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
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. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
A new herb group is forming!
The Lapeer Herb
Circle will meet the 2nd Wednesday of the month at Rebekah’s Health
and Nutrition Store, 6 pm. at 588 S.
Main, Lapeer ( next to Office Depot).
March’s topic will be herbs for bees.
They also have a facebook page you can join.
Attention Beekeepers!!! We are looking for individuals to
participate with a state-wide apiary registry. We are currently developing the
website/database for this project and we are looking for beekeepers who will
come in on the ground floor of this project and help us get it launched. Not
asking for any money, only your time and/or input. Please send us an e-mail if
you are interested in helping the bees or want to know more.
In specific, we are
looking for people with beekeeping experience to be board members for the
organization, inspectors for different areas around Michigan and volunteers to
help us get the word out at different clubs, festivals, etc. Please consider
helping us and the bees too! Visit our website and let us know if you can help!
www.MichiganApiaryRegistry.org
Here’s a link to
classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road, North
Branch. Now open.
Here’s a link to
programs being offered at English Gardens, several locations in Michigan.
Here’s a link to
classes at Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Twsp. MI, and now combined
with Goldner Walsh in Pontiac MI.
Here’s a link to
classes and events at Bordines, Rochester Hills, Grand Blanc, Clarkston and
Brighton locations
Here’s a link top
events at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road Ann Arbor,
Michigan | Phone 734-997-1553 |
http://www.lesliesnc.org/
Here’s a link to events at Hidden
Lake Gardens, 6214 Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI
Here’s a link to all
the spring programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in Dryden,
Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/education/progs/springprograms/
Pollinator Gardens
and Native Plantings, April 11, 2015, 10:00 am –noon- County Farm Field Operations Building 2210
Platt Rd., Ann Arbor right next to the red playground.
This new course will explore developing
pollinator gardens and native plantings.
Strong fruit and vegetable production
often depends on the tiniest of garden visitors – native bees and honey
bees. Learn how to design a beautiful
garden that will boost your crop production, attract beneficial insects, and
support native biodiversity. This course is taught by Washtenaw County
Naturalist Shawn Severance.
**New for 2015** $5/class fee for all classes to discourage
no-shows; registration is required. Call (734) 996-3169. Walk-ins are welcome.
ReLeaf Michigan is having its annual
tree sale, order online and pick up at several locations around Michigan. http://releafmichigan.blogspot.com/p/tree-and-shrub-fundraiser-sale.html Check out the unusual selection
of trees and shrubs.
ReLeaf Michigan's annual tree and
shrub sale helps to reverse Michigan's loss of tens of thousands of trees due
to the emerald ash borer, storms, and old age.
Our tree sale is a fundraiser that also encourages the public to plant
trees to improve the overall tree canopy of their community. Purchasing and
planting our trees and shrubs offer environmental benefits that also provide
ReLeaf Michigan with much-needed revenue to support our ongoing tree planting
and educational programs. Thanks for
your support!
Spring Into
Gardening Conference, Saturday, April 25,
2015, 9:00am to 4:00 pm, Mt. Pleasant, MI
A day-long Master Garden Conference
held in Mount Pleasant, Michigan at the Comfort Inn and Suites. Sponsored by the Master Gardener Association
of Isabella County. This conference is
for the beginner to advanced gardeners who love to learn about gardening. Please invite a friend to come along for a
fun filled day! Public welcome-Not
restricted to MG
Speakers:
Barb Balgoyen, topic - Perennials
Jason Erickson, topic - Water
Features
Chuck Martin, topic - Divine use of
Vines
Mary K. Hausbeck, topic - research on
diseases of ornamentals, herbs and vegetables
Requires pre-registration. $60.00
cost includes - Four Speakers, Lunch, Vendors and door prizes
Behind the Scenes at
Hidden Lake Gardens- Thu, April 16,
2015, 6:30pm Hidden Lake Gardens,6214 Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI
April’s topic: Harper Collection
Explore behind the scenes with HLG’s
Managing Director, Paul Pfeifer. This is an opportunity to enjoy a
behind-the-scenes perspective on different areas of HLG’s collections. Bring
your questions and learn a few tips and secrets.
Cost: $5 per person / free for
Friends of HLG
Trees for Tomorrow: Planting &
Maintaining Healthy Trees, beginning March 30, 6:30-8:30pm, Pleasant Ridge
Community Center , Pleasant Ridge, MI
This is a 5 week
series sponsored by SOCWA. The $40. Fee
includes a class reference book. You
must register by Feb 23rd by
calling 248-546-5818.
The MSU Hort Club 2015 Spring Show
and Plant Sale Saturday April 18th 2014, 9am-6pm and Sunday April
19th 2014, 10am- 4pm located in the head house of the Plant and Soil Sciences
Building (PSS) at Michigan State University, 1600 Bogue St, East Lansing (located
on the corner of Wilson and Bogue.)
No information is
given about what the show entails or whether there is a fee to enter but if you
want to see the list of plants they are selling you can go here.
There is parking in
the 4H Children’s garden parking lot just south of the PSS bldg, in the vet med
lot across Bogue and the Horticulture Department lot to the west of PSS.
(*Note: locations are marked on the map with 'Parking') Be sure to read parking
signs as parking tickets are common on MSU's campus. Please enter through
either the south door of the head house or through the greenhouses.
MSU Horticulture Gardens’ Spring
Program: Can You Dig It?, May 2, 2015 8
a.m. - 4 p.m., Plant and Soil
Sciences Building, 1066 Bogue Street, East Lansing, MI
Sessions include: Woodland wonders from the wild, Art
of Gardening, Joy of Propagation,
Cultivating the recipe garden, lunch from Grand Traverse Pie Company
included. Rare plant sales. Early registration (on or before April 21)
for MSU Horticulture Garden Member $69 Early registration (on or before April
21) for non-MSU Horticulture Garden Member $79 Registrations received after
April 21 $89
Register
online: http://events.anr.msu.edu/register.cfm?eventID=F981110CAB81205F®isProcessID=78A6375F6399E682
Contact:
517-353-0443, hgardens@msu.edu.
Gardening and All That Jazz –
Innovation and Sustainability For Your Garden, Saturday, April 25, 2015 – 7 am – 4:15
pm, Oakland Schools Conference Center 2111 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford
Sessions
include: Will Allen – Growing Power and the Good Food Revolution: A visual
story of how Growing Power came to be and of Will Allen’s personal journey, the
lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our
nation eats., Will Allen – How To Put “Growing Power” in Your Backyard: How to
make your own compost bin, outdoor and indoor worm bins and raised beds.
Matthew Benson – Growing Beautiful Food: Cultivating the Incredible, Edible
Garden - Kerry Ann Mendez – Gardening Simplified for Changing Lifestyle:
Exceptional Plants and Design Solutions for Aging and Time-pressed Gardeners
Lunch and snacks
included in cost. Garden marketplace and
jazz musicians. Early Bloomers Registration Fee: $70 After March 14, 2015 Fee:
$80 Registration at the door is not available. Registration Deadline:
Wednesday, April 20, 2015 Registr by
going to http://www.mgsoc.org/2015Conference_registration.pdf
For more info: Nancy Strodl, Phone:
248-552-5095, E-mail: nancy_strodl@comcast.net
MSU offered a variety of on line
seminars for those who were interested in beginning farming topics of various
types. Some of those are now available
free to watch at the address below.
Gardeners may be interested in topics like organic pest control. Get the list of topics and links here.
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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