April 7, 2015,
Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter © Kim
Willis
Hi
Gardeners
 |
| Winter Aconite |
Well it’s
Tuesday and that means the weather is going to change right? If you live north
of I69 in Michigan there is a chance of freezing rain tonight and tomorrow so
be prepared. The rest of you will get plain rain. I remember about ten years ago we had a heavy freezing
rain around this time in April that knocked out power and brought down a lot of
trees. We don’t need that. And by
Thursday thunderstorms are predicted.
Rain seems to be the forecast for the rest of the week.
I loved
yesterday, I got some lettuce planted in the garden,, I planted my dogwood that’s
been on hold on the porch outside and did some more clean-up and
fertilizing. I have crocus and winter
aconite in bloom, I couldn’t find any snowdrops, they must have gotten eaten by
something. I did see them in bloom at my
mom’s in Pontiac. Hyacinths, tulips,
alliums, daffodils are shooting right up.
I brought in some forsythia branches to see if I can get early blooms.
I had heavy
winter damage on my heather (Erica), remaining holly, and azaleas. I don’t think I will bother to replace those
plants if they die, it’s just luck when they survive winter well here and
lately luck hasn’t been helpful.
The grass
is greening up and this week’s rain should help that. Chickweed and ground ivy are growing. The spring peepers are singing their heads
off and I am hearing bigger frogs join the chorus now. Robins are everywhere and all of the turkey
vultures seem to be back. I haven’t seen
hummers yet or bumble bees and honeybees, although one of the little native
bees was following me around yesterday in the garden and I saw a mosquito. I intend to hang the hummingbird and oriole
feeders at the end of the week, after this latest cold snap passes.
April almanac
April’s
full moon was April 4th and is known as the Pink moon, egg moon or
grass moon. If you garden by the moon the best time for planting above ground
crops in April is today until the 17th and you can plant underground
crops from April 18- 30. April
17-18 is a good time for weeding and mowing and the 25-27th for
pruning.
Easter
occurred April 5th this year
but other holidays are Golfers day the 10th , National Pecan Day 14th, National
Garlic Day 19th , Earth Day 22nd ,
Executive Administrative day and Zucchini bread day the 23rd , Arbor day 25th , International Astronomy Day
the 28th .
April is
National Lawn and Garden Month as well as Keep America Beautiful month. It’s also National Humor month, National
Pecan month and National Poetry month.
April’s birthstone is the diamond and the birth flower is the sweet
pea. In the language of flowers the
sweet pea means goodbye or blissful love.
Winter Aconite
There’s a
picture above of this pretty yellow spring bloomer. Winter Aconite, Eranthis
hyemalis, is also called Yellow Wolves Bane.
You plant this tiny bulb in the fall and the trick to getting them
established is to plant them as soon as you get them and look for nurseries
that package them specially or dip them in wax so that they don’t dry out
before planting. They can be planted in
part shade to sun conditions in just about any soil, although they prefer organically
rich humus soil. Winter Aconite is hardy
in zones 5-7.
The pretty
shiny yellow flowers of Winter Aconite bloom when the early crocus bloom with
their flowers held above the palm shaped leaves. The flowers close at night and
on cloudy days. Winter Aconite will
spread quickly in a good location and fill it with color. If you are troubled
with crocus and other bulbs being eaten by squirrels and mice plant Winter
Aconite instead. The bulbs are poisonous
and animals don’t eat them. Deer won’t
eat the plants or flowers either. Make
sure that kids and pets can’t eat the plants or bulbs.
Winter
Aconite will naturalize under deciduous trees and is good for the edges of
woodland gardens. You can also plant
them along paths, in rock gardens, or near patios for early color. The leaves
die back in summer so you may need to mark the spot they are planted so as not
to disturb them with new fall plantings. Don’t remove the leaves until they had
yellowed and dried on their own. Winter
Aconite does not like transplanting and if you move some, re-plant the dug
bulbs immediately. Seed is sometimes
offered for Winter Aconite but it may take 2 years before seed started plants
bloom. The plants spread both by seed
and by creating new bulbs.
What to plant in April
April is
the beginning of planting season in zones 5-6, while we may still have snow
showers there are many things that you can and should get started growing. April days are generally warm enough to work
outside comfortably but be aware that if we have a wet April some areas of the
lawn and garden should be avoided so that foot traffic and equipment don’t
compact the soil.
It’s an
excellent time to plant grass seed, whether patching bare spots or re-seeding the
entire lawn. Grass seed likes cool, wet
conditions to germinate. Work the soil
up lightly in bare areas before sowing seed.
Areas for new lawns should be tilled and raked smooth. If the area where grass seed is being sown is
sloped you will need to cover the area with chopped straw or special netting
sold for this purpose to keep spring rains from washing the seed downhill.
April is a
great month to plant trees and shrubs, whether bare root or potted. As long as the soil is thawed you are good to
go. It’s an especially good month to do re-forestation
projects where you will be planting small seedlings. You won’t have to cut through as much
vegetation to plant and the trees generally get enough moisture from April
rains to start growing well.
Dormant
perennials can be planted now, the bare root plants you mail order and plants
you get from local nurseries that have been kept in the open and don’t have much
new growth. Be more careful with
greenhouse grown perennials which have lots of new growth or that may even be
in bloom. An April snow or heavy frost
may damage or kill these. Use
established garden plants growing nearby to make your decisions. If the new plant
has the same amount of growth as older established plants of the same species growing
outside you can probably plant it safely.
For example hostas that are just furled shoots peeking above ground are
probably safe to plant in the garden in early April, plants with a few small
leaves in late April. But wait until May
to plant large, fully leafed out hostas in the garden in zones 5-6.
 |
| Diascia can be planted early. |
The
greenhouses will be filled with flowering annual plants in April but only a few
bedding plants are ready for outside planting in April, even if we have a
really warm stretch of weather. Frosts
and freezes are common in April. Some
plants that will survive light frost in the fall won’t survive it in spring if
they have come from nice warm greenhouses. However pansies and violas can be planted in
containers and beds in early April.
Calendula, diascia, and snapdragons can probably be planted from mid to
late April. Be patient and wait until mid-May
for the rest of the container and bedding plants.
In the
vegetable garden you can plant peas, kale and lettuce in early April, as soon
as the soil can be worked. Frost and
even light snow won’t hurt them. By mid
to late April you can also plant spinach, radishes, beets, onion sets and plants, carrots, turnips, cabbage,
broccoli and Brussel’s sprouts as seeds or plants. You can plant asparagus and rhubarb roots
also. Strawberries, raspberries and other brambles, and grapes can be planted
in mid-late April
Other good garden chores for April
It’s a good
time to do heavy work like spreading mulch, building raised beds, making paths,
moving rocks and putting up fences and trellises. Clean out bird baths and
garden ponds. Just make sure the soil is
dry enough so that you don’t make deep ruts or compact the soil as you are
working. Clean your tools and shop for
new ones if needed. Check the lawn mower
and other equipment.
April is a
good month for fertilizing. Plan to
fertilize just before a spell of rainy weather for best results. Lawns, emerging perennials, trees and shrubs
all benefit from April fertilization.
Work compost into vegetable garden beds but don’t add manure now.
April is a
good month for dividing and transplanting most perennials. Wait until after
iris and peony bloom to divide them. If
you need to re-work a garden bed so plants have more room, or need to remove or
add plants April is a good time to do it.
Remember that plants look smaller in April. It’s easy to plant too closely or decide
things don’t need dividing or removal.
If you have good photos of the garden in a mature stage or good notes
from the previous season to refer to it always helps. Also read plant tags and catalog descriptions
for recommendations on plant spacing.
Put out the hummingbird and oriole
feeders and help the bees too
Although I
haven’t seen them yet the hummingbirds and orioles usually return sometime in
April. Flowering plants are usually
scarce and these birds really appreciate a little help from feeders. Feeding them early will make them more likely
to stick around and nest in your area. You may have to bring in feeders if a hard
freeze is predicted but sugar does lower the freezing point of the nectar
solution. For hummingbirds use only
plain sugar and water in feeders, never honey, corn syrup, or artificial
sweeteners. You don’t need red dye or
flavorings either. If the feeder
structure isn’t colored red a small dab of red nail polish or paint near a
sipping port will draw the hummers. You
can also attach a red silk flower to the feeder as long as it doesn’t block a
sipping port.
Orioles can
be fed with nectar too but they need perches on feeders and larger feeding
ports. A better way to feed them is to
use cheap jelly, grape will do or any other flavor. The jelly can be in a dish under a roof to
keep out rain, or cute jelly feeders can be purchased. Orioles are also attracted to fruit like a
half of an orange stuck on a nail cut side up or grapes.
When you
put out a hummingbird or oriole feeder you also feed the bees, especially in early
spring when few things are flowering. (If
you are afraid of bees or allergic to stings don’t hang feeders close to the
house.) Since we are trying to boost bee
populations putting your hummingbird feeder out early in April can help early
pollinators survive. If your feeder has
bee guards you may want to remove them until later in the spring. Some people are now hanging a syrup feeder
close to the ground for bumble bees and other pollinators in early spring, who
are looking there for early flowers.
Healthy food news- peanuts and
blueberries
Research
published last month showed that when a small amount of peanuts were consumed with
a fatty meal the peanuts helped reduce triglycerides in the blood and kept
arteries flowing normally after the fatty meal. The study suggests that peanut consumption
may help those prone to “clogged” arteries.
The research was done at the Department
of Nutritional Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.
Research
done at Louisiana State University found that the superfood blueberries may
also aid post-traumatic stress disorder. Blueberry consumption altered neurotransmitters
in the brain in a more effective way than current drugs used like Paxil and
Zoloft. The research continues and will
try to pin down the most effective method and form of blueberries to ease PTSD. In the meantime if you or someone you know
are suffering from PTSD a big slice of blueberry pie with ice cream sure wouldn’t
hurt.
Can fungi make us see ghosts?
Oh, this
research is an “eye opener”. Clarkson
University is a private Engineering and Environmental health research based
university in New York and a professor there, Shane Rogers, has involved some
of his students in a ghost buster project.
It seems that some fungi that grow in old houses, those that are frequently
the site of hauntings, induce symptoms in humans that include anxiety, depression,
delusions, even severe psychosis, when the indoor air is polluted with their
spores and dried particulates. Students visited “haunted” houses and found a
high correlation between them and certain types of molds and fungi.
We know
that some molds are indicated in human respiratory health problems and now it
seems they may affect the mind also.
Some people are more sensitive to mold exposure also. The
students continue to explore the connection between mold/fungi and ghosts. What a fun research project! Give it enough time and science can explain
most unnatural phenomena. That ghost you
see may simply be a mold induced delusion.
Getting more from a small garden
If space is
limited in your garden don’t despair.
There are many tricks to help the space challenged gardener attain good
yields of garden vegetables, herbs and even small fruit. Even a gardener with lots of space may want
to make the most out of every inch devoted to the garden, saving water,
fertilizer and time. Here are some ideas
to help you utilize every inch of garden space and even find that space.
Use raised
beds intensively planted
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| Raised beds |
If you want
to grow more in a small space, forget the conventional rows in the ground
garden. Instead use raised beds that are
intensively planted. Yes, raised beds
need rows between them, but with intensively planted raised beds there will be
far less space devoted to pathways. Raised beds improve drainage, warm up
faster in spring and it’s easier and less expensive to amend the soil in them.
Raised beds
can be built to fit almost any space.
They should be a minimum of 8 inches deep but they could be as high as 3
feet with an edge you could sit on to garden.
Make raised beds only as wide as your arms can reach across to weed and
harvest. That’s about 2 feet if
accessible from one side, 4 feet if you can access both sides. Raised beds can be used for all types of
plants.
Inside the
raised beds should be soil that’s loose, light and enriched with compost and
other organic material. Instead of
making rows within raised beds you plant your seeds or transplants as far apart
as suggested on the seed packet or tag instructions throughout the whole
bed. For example, if the seed packet
says plants should be 6 inches apart in the row, plant the bed with all plants
6 inches away from each other, solidly throughout the bed.
If you had
4 feet of conventional, in the ground row and you planted transplants 6 inches
apart you would have room for 8 plants.
Then you would leave at least a 2 foot access path and plant the second
row of 8 plants for a total of 16 plants.
(Each row of plants spans about a foot).
If you had a raised bed that was 4 feet by 4 feet, (taking up the same
amount of space as the sample above) and you planted the plants throughout the
bed at 6 inches apart you could plant
about 32 plants, doubling your production.
Even if you
insist on more conventional in the ground planting, use intensively planted
wide beds with fewer paths and you will gain space.
Grow up
Many, many
crops can be trained to grow up instead of sprawling on the ground. That saves space and may help with some plant
diseases and make harvest easier.
Instead of bush type beans use pole beans trained on poles or
trellis. They are more productive than
bush beans to begin with. Cucumbers are
easy to trellis. Tomatoes definitely
need to be staked or trellised to help keep fungal disease at bay. Squash like
zucchini are great for trellises. Even
pumpkins and melons can be trellised.
They need strong supports and large fruit may need slings to keep them
from pulling off the vine. In the spring
peas can grow up trellises inter-planted with leaf lettuce.
Livestock
panels, found at farm stores make excellent, strong trellises for the
garden. They are 16 feet long but can be
cut with bolt cutters or a hack saw.
They can also be bowed to form an arbor, with plants trained up the
outside of them. Heavy fence wire can be
used for some crops, securely held up by posts.
Metal or
wood posts can be spaced through a garden with thick wire stapled at several
levels along them. Plants are woven
through the wires as they grow. And
plants like beans just need a pole jammed into the ground to climb.
Any plant
you can get growing up instead of sprawling over the ground will leave you room
to plant something else at its feet, like lettuce, chard, radishes or onions.
Try companion
planting
Native
Americans knew the trick of combining different crops to get the most yields
from an area. You can use this trick
too. Beans can be planted so that they
climb up cornstalks for support. Beans
put nitrogen in the soil, which corn needs a lot of, and the corn helps get the
beans into the sunlight. Sunflowers
could also be used for bean support.
 |
| Companion planting. |
Small fast
growing crops like lettuce, green onions, beets, and radishes can be planted
around slower growing crops like tomatoes and peppers and harvested before the
larger crops get big enough to shade them.
Plants can
be tucked into borders around other crops.
A border of green and purple basil around the tomatoes is tasty and
pretty. Leaf lettuce of assorted colors
will make a nice border early in the year.
It can also be planted in the fall to replace tender annuals killed by
early frosts and will give you a late crop.
If you have
mostly flowerbeds many vegetables and herbs are quite pretty and can be tucked
into flower beds instead of occupying space of their own. Dill, basil, oregano, (perennial) and thyme,
(perennial) are quite ornamental. Some
sages are ornamental but make sure to get culinary varieties as all sages are
not equally good in cooking.
Some
peppers are quite pretty, even having variegated foliage but if you want edible
peppers make sure to use a variety that furnishes them. Some ornamental peppers have fruit too hot
for most tastes. Chard often has
beautiful colored stalks. Some other
edibles that can share space with ornamentals are eggplant- use a small fruited
variety and okra which has pretty flowers and interesting seed pods. Beans like scarlet runner and American beauty
have colorful flowers that turn into tasty green beans.
Practice Succession
planting
Never let
good space sit idle in the growing season.
Before its warm enough to plant tomatoes or peppers plant a crop of
spring greens, peas, green onions or radishes in their intended bed. While the squash or melons are getting big
enough to sprawl over a large area use some of the space for the crops
above. Brussels sprouts and cabbage
often have space early in the season for radishes or green onions to be planted
between them.
As you
harvest a crop, have something to tuck into its place. When a row of green beans have finished in
mid-summer, sow carrots there or onion sets, lettuce, rutabagas, turnips,
Chinese cabbage or even fast maturing potatoes, all crops that can survive
light frost in the fall. Remove a head
of early cabbage and stick in some onion sets.
When spring lettuce has been used or has to be pulled because hot
weather has made it bolt to seed, replace it with carrots or beets.
Planting
quick growing crops in several small batches throughout the season or using
early mid and late maturing varieties of one type of crop can help get you more
crop from the same space. Season
extenders like tunnels and row covers can help.
For example start your beans before the last frost under a plastic
tunnel. They will be finished in mid
summer. Plant a second crop of beans and
use the tunnel near maturity if frost threatens to be early.
Be creative
If you only
have a small sunny spot in the back yard use the sunny front yard for herbs,
vegetables or a small fruit planting.
Maybe a cucumber plant can climb up the deck railing or the clothesline
pole. Can you put up trellis in the small space beside the garage wall and grow
beans, peas, cucumbers, or zucchini?
Don’t have
room at home for a garden? Maybe there’s
a spot where you work you can garden on your lunch hour. Maybe the church you go to has unused space
you could borrow. A neighbor may let you
use land in return for a share of the goodies.
Older gardeners in the neighborhood may already have a nice garden spot
that they can no longer tend and would be happy to let you use it.
If the
children have outgrown the sandbox fill it with good soil and plant an
intensive garden. If the trampoline is
no longer in use, use the frame to support beans or tie tomato plants to it. Old swing sets make admirable bean teepees
with just some twine, or by throwing strong rope or wires over the top frame
and anchoring them on the ground on either side, even squash and pumpkins could
be grown on them.
Only have
cement slab, deck or patio stone space?
Grow a garden in containers on the hard surface. Raise the container bottoms with little wood
blocks or brick pieces under them to leave a small gap between surface and pot
bottom. This keeps the roots a little
cooler and aids drainage. You can purchase
containers or recycle any number of items, including sturdy woven bags for
containers.
A person
who wants to grow some of their own food can always find a way. The creative gardener who thinks outside the
box can take a small area and make it very productive. Be sure to keep your intensively planted
gardens fed and watered and use lots of organic soil amendments. You’ll be rewarded with big harvests from a
small space.
Star of Bethlehem- weed or garden
flower?
Star of
Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum, is not a native Michigan plant. It is an escapee from gardens and is
sometimes still sold in bulb catalogs.
It is however, a pesky weed in many Michigan lawns and also finds its
way into ditches and woodland edges. It
is also called wild onion for its great resemblance to the onion family. Other names include
The leaves
of star of Bethlehem resemble onion leaves as they emerge in the spring, with
rounded, narrow leaves. As plants
mature the leaf blade broadens and looks more like a grass leaf. It has a groove in the middle of each leaf
that sometimes appears as a white line.
Plants form clumps and by midsummer the foliage has dried and
disappeared.
 |
| Star of Bethlehem |
Star of
Bethlehem has bulbous roots that resemble small onions attached to a thick
fibrous root system. In Michigan the
plants most often multiply through their bulb like roots, which divide into
numerous bulblets. Although the star of
Bethlehem roots may look like onions they should never be eaten, all parts of
the plant are poisonous.
The flowers
of star of Bethlehem are actually quite pretty. They arise on long naked stems that divide
into smaller stems each with a shiny white flower about an inch across. The flowers appear to have 6 petals, 3 of the
“petals”, however are actually sepals.
These may retain a faint green line across the back. The airy flower clusters appear in May.
There are 6
stamens in the center of each star of Bethlehem flower, each with a broad white
base and a yellow anther on the end.
These surround a greenish pistil with a star shaped top. It’s almost as
if there was a tiny crown in the center of each flower. If fertilized the
flowers turn into little seed pods with 3 segments, containing hard black
seeds. In Michigan the plants don’t
often set seed.
If star of
Bethlehem is left in the landscape for its ornamental nature make sure that
children and pets don’t eat it. It would
be wise to avoid using the name wild onion. If ingested the plant causes severe
pain, vomiting and diarrhea and irregular heartbeats which can cause
death. Grazing animals eating the plants
have died quite rapidly and this plant should always be removed from pastures.
Remember April showers bring May
flowers.
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).
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/
Here’s a link to
events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580
New-Spring Pond
Cleaning and Start-Up April 18, 10-11am,
The Pond Place, 3505 W Highland Rd.,
Milford MI.
FREE. Clean-up options, dividing
water plants, water treatment & fish health. Register: www.PondPlace.com.
(248)889-8400
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
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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