June 30,
2015, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter © Kim
Willis
Hello Gardeners
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| Shasta daisy Banana Cream |
I am sad to
see June go; it’s always such a pretty month. I hope everyone has a safe, happy 4th
of July.
My rainfall
this month has been about average although many people, some only a few miles
away, had a lot more rain than average. I
am fine with the cooler weather too, although I have heard some people grumping
about that. I heard a weather forecaster
saying we are about at the end of the cooler weather cycle that we here in
Michigan have been experiencing the last 2 years. They are predicting a warmer drier fall, and
I hope a warmer winter.
The perennial
gardens are about to enter their prime, with daylilies, lavender, bee balm,
coreopsis, shasta daisies, rudbeckia, hydrangeas and many other things in
bloom. My hollyhocks are shorter than
they normally are, but they are beginning to bloom. See the article about growing them
below. The yucca is starting to bloom;
it’s shorter this year too.
The annuals
are really looking nice now, don’t forget to use some flower fertilizer on your
hanging baskets and containers to keep them blooming. I have cleome and cosmos from garden sown
seed beginning to bloom. The cleome is
everywhere- I had 4 plants last year that I planted among my dahlias but they
must have shed seed lavishly and this year I have closer to a hundred probably-
if I bothered to count.
Many people
are remarking about the abundance of white clover in the lawns that is blooming
right now. Some want to get rid of it
but they may want to change that plan.
White clover is even added to some grass mixes. It’s a legume that adds nitrogen to the
soil. Bees love white clover, and we
want to keep them happy. Also some
studies found that rabbits prefer to eat white clover rather than your garden
plants. Leave the clover in the lawn to
keep them away from your flowers. Besides,
when you mow clover it looks as nice as grass.
It’s so silly to use pesticides on a lawn to make a monoculture of
boring Kentucky bluegrass when a varied palette of grasses and broad leaved
plants is so much more natural and good for the environment.
In the vegetable garden
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| The flowers of heritage pea Carouby De Maussane |
Lettuce seems
to be slower to bolt this year and the harvest continues. Pull up and discard any lettuce that goes to
seed. My early cabbage has small heads.
Late cabbage is just beginning to head up. Onions are starting to bulb up. Use some for green onions if you need to thin
rows. Carrots may need thinning again
and keep them weeded. I am getting lots
of peas right now, and pea harvest should be about over, with bean harvest soon
to begin.
Potatoes
should be blooming, or just finishing bloom.
You should be able to harvest new potatoes soon.
Sweet corn
should be about knee high (18-24 inches) by now. It’s time to side dress sweet corn with some
high nitrogen fertilizer. Simply
sprinkle a slow release fertilizer along the rows. One that says “vegetable fertilizer” will
work but a grass fertilizer that doesn’t contain any weed killers is also good. Corn uses a lot of nitrogen during growth.
The
conditions are right for a number of fungal garden diseases and they are
showing up in Michigan gardens. Insect
pests are also affecting gardens.
Tomatoes
I have had a
few ripe tomatoes already from the variety Early Girl. Tomatoes should have green fruit by now. My plants are about 3 feet in height.
Many
gardeners are already seeing early blight on tomatoes. Early blight causes dark brown spots with a
yellow area around them on tomato leaves and stems. Green fruit can also get spots. If you look at a spot under a microscope you
may notice rings of darker color. Leaves
turn yellow, then dry up. The problem
begins at the bottom of the plant and works upward. While the plant continues to grow and set
fruit, the plant doesn’t produce as well as a healthy plant and the taste of
fruit may change, although they are still fine to eat.
After the
disease is on the plant, in the case of early blight, spraying with fungicides can
offer some protection to new foliage.
Spraying before you get any infection is the best method to protect
plants though. Several fungicides are on
the market, some are considered organic, but most testing has found commercial “organic”
sprays and home brewed remedies have little effectiveness. Fungicides with chlorothalonil are probably
the best ones for home gardeners to use – read and follow label directions and
make sure the spray you pick lists vegetable crops as suitable for spraying.
If you don’t
want to use fungicides be vigilant in removing any yellowing or spotted leaves
you see and dispose of them away from your tomato plants. Keep plants off the ground and remove leaves
that touch the ground. Pruning off the
bottom leaves and lower stems helps the ground dry out and reduces fungal
spread too. Keep plants weeded, some
weeds harbor fungal diseases and pass them to tomatoes. Water at the base of
the plants if they need it and don’t use organic mulches under tomatoes, this
keeps the ground wet. Plastic mulch is
said to help keep fungal disease down. Feeding the plants with a fertilizer designed
for tomatoes according to label directions will help keep the plants healthy
and producing. By the way potatoes also
get early blight, although it doesn’t affect production as much.
MSU is
warning that late blight may become a problem for tomatoes and potatoes this
year, although it hasn’t been diagnosed here yet.
Cucumbers,
squash and other vine crops-
Most
cucumbers and some squash and melons are beginning to vine out and
blossom. Some people are harvesting
cucumbers, although I have yet to get one.
Downy mildew,
a serious fungal disease has been diagnosed in Michigan fields already this
year. It cannot be cured, only prevented
with fungicidal sprays applied regularly.
If home gardeners don’t want to use fungicides they must pull up and
dispose of any plants as soon as they notice symptoms on them. Downy mildew causes yellow to brown spotted
leaves with a fuzzy gray to purple growth on the undersides of leaves. Leaves may curl upward. Cucumbers are the plants most likely to die
from infection, but other vine crops that are affected will not grow well or
produce very many fruits.
Cucumber
beetles are now out and heavy in some areas.
They eat the flowers of cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins and prevent
fruit from forming. They also eat holes in leaves, fruits and damage stems. The
beetles carry viral and fungal diseases to plants also. Cucumber beetles are ¼ inch long and yellow
and black striped. You can use
insecticides safe for food gardens or hand-pick them to control them. Rotate where you plant your vine crops each
year.
Spruce budworm
If you have
property up north – upper Lower Michigan or the UP or you are a reader who
lives there you may be interested in the latest news release from Michigan
DNR. It seems that spruce budworms, a
native insect that primarily feeds on white spruce and balsam firs (sometimes
other spruce, pines or tamarisk) were particularly abundant this year and the
DNR is going to assess and map their damage.
In the Lower Peninsula Huron County is probably the southern- most
county that has reported widespread spruce budworm damage in the past.
Spruce
budworm, like many insect pests, has boom years when it is particularly
abundant. Every 30 years or so there is
a large outbreak that kills many mature trees
over a 2-3 year span. The tiny brown and black caterpillars have white dots on
each segment and spin webs on the tips of spruce and balsam branches where they
feed on new needles. They are often seen
dangling from a silk line as they move from branch to branch. The needles turn brown and eventually fall
off. If a tree is heavily defoliated two
years in a row it often dies, with older mature trees being the hardest hit.
Once the
caterpillars are mature and feeding spraying does little good, but trees can be
sprayed in spring just as the new needles are emerging to control the
caterpillars when they first emerge from dormancy. The caterpillars spin cocoons and turn into
small copper colored moths, which lay eggs on spruce and balsam needle
clusters. These hatch in a few weeks but
do little damage the first year. They
overwinter on the trees and in the spring develop ravenous appetites for new
needles and do a lot of damage. This is generally in May and June.
While trees
may be suffering this year from the budworms birds like warblers and other
forest dwelling birds may have a banner breeding season because caterpillars
are abundant for feeding their young. The
loss of large trees opens up the forest canopy and provides new habitat for
several other species of wildlife. It’s
the cycle of life, Nature compensates.
How to make a bouquet garni
Do you have
herbs but don’t know many ways to use them? If you read cookbooks you may come
across the term bouquet garni. This is an assortment of herbs used to flavor
cooking, usually soups and stews. Since
this is the season for fresh herbs here’s how to make a bouquet garni from the
garden.
Combine 1
tablespoon of washed and chopped leaves from these herbs, sage, rosemary,
thyme, tarragon and marjoram. Place them
in a spice ball or tie in a cheese cloth packet and drop them into soups,
sauces and stews. Discard the herbs
after cooking.
Another good
use for the bouquet garni herb mixture is to mix it with 1/2 cup of melted
butter or olive oil and spread it over chicken to be baked. This oil/butter/herb mix can also be brushed
onto bread just before it finishes baking.
Happy is the garden with hollyhocks
Tall and
stately, hollyhocks have graced gardens for hundreds of years. Although not as
popular now as they used to be, hollyhocks are a country charmer for gardeners
who admire the cottage garden look or who are nostalgic for the old fashioned
flowers that Grandma grew. Hollyhocks are so easy to grow to grow even a child
can grow them and children love to play with hollyhock flowers. No country
garden should be without a few hollyhocks in the back of the border, or against
the barn wall.
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| Hollyhocks |
Hollyhocks
are often used as a screen to hide undesirable views. Indeed, hollyhocks are
sometimes called outhouse flowers because they were often planted to hide
outhouses. A polite lady didn’t need to ask where the outhouse was- she looked
for hollyhocks. Hollyhocks could be planted around children’s playhouses to
make them a little more secluded. If you never made dolls from hollyhock
flowers you missed out on a wonderful childhood experience.
If you don’t
spray your hollyhocks with fungicides the flowers make edible decorations for
salads and baked goods.
Hollyhocks
are bi-annuals, which means that they make a rosette of foliage the first year
and then send up a long flower spike to bloom in the second year. There are
some varieties of hollyhocks that will bloom the first year, especially if
started early indoors. Some gardeners believe that if you deadhead the flowers,
the plants will come back to bloom in the third year. Hollyhocks re-seed quite
freely, and once established in the garden you should have some in bloom every
year. Hollyhocks will grow in zones 3-9.
Hollyhocks
have large, rounded, rough looking and feeling leaves that may have 3-5 lobes.
The first year the leaves form a large clump up to 2 foot across and 2 foot
high. In the second year hollyhocks send up one or more flower stalks, these
have smaller leaves on them and may shoot up to 9 foot high. Along the flower
stalk, buds develop which open starting from the bottom. As the season goes on
the hollyhock bloom stalk gets longer, producing more flowers near the top.
Hollyhock flowers open up like colorful saucers, up to 5 inches across. There
are also some double flowered varieties that look like large pom-poms. Colors
range from nearly black to white. Although there is no scent to hollyhock
flowers, bees and hummingbirds like to visit them. Hollyhock seedpods look like
a fat button, with a neat circle of flat seeds inside.
How to grow hollyhocks
Hollyhock
seed can be sown where it is to grow up to 2 months before your first frost in
the fall. Or you can start the seed indoors about six weeks before your last frost
in the spring for flowers the second summer. Some varieties will flower the
first year if started inside about 10 weeks before your last frost. Plants are
often available in garden stores. If you are going to transplant seedlings from
a friend’s garden, choose smaller, first year plants. These seem to establish
easier. Pot grown plants can be transplanted even in bloom, although they may
need a little extra attention.
Hollyhocks
like full sun and deep rich soil, but they will grow in less accommodating
environments. In windy areas the tall flower stalks may need to be staked or
the plants can be grown against a wall or fence that supports them. In the
second year, to promote good flowering, fertilize hollyhocks with a slow
release flower fertilizer in early spring.
If rainfall
is less than 1 inch a week, hollyhocks should be watered. Try to water at the
base of the plant and avoid wetting the leaves since hollyhocks are prone to
fungal disease.
The major
disease problem that hollyhocks face is rust, a fungal disease. It starts as
orange, powdery looking spots on the bottom leaves. These spots turn into holes
on the leaves. The plants continue blooming but begin to look very ugly. To control
rust you can use a floral fungicide beginning as soon as the weather gets warm
in your area. Some newer varieties of hollyhocks are being bred to be rust
resistant. Keep hollyhocks thinned out so that there is good airflow around
them and water at the base of the plant if possible.
Some varieties
Single
flowered hollyhocks are often sold as Old Fashioned mix or Barnyard mix.
Sometimes single colors are offered but after a few years you will find your
re-seeded plants will be a variety of colors.
‘Indian Spring’ is a single variety that will bloom
the first year if started indoors. ‘Happy
Lights’ is a hybrid variety with single flowers about 3 inches across, that
is rust resistant and will bloom the first year if started inside. ‘Creme de Cassis’ has single and
semi-double flowers of rich plum red in the center that shade to pink on the
edges. ‘Summer Carnival ‘ has
semi-double to double blooms in a variety of colors and it will bloom the first
year if started indoors. ‘Peaches and
Dreams’ has lovely, huge double flowers in a blend of yellow, peach and pink.
‘Queeny Purple’ is a dwarf hollyhock
with huge flowers of rich purple.
How to make Hollyhock dolls
If you are an
adult of a certain age, one who was sent outside to play as a child, you may
remember making dolls out of hollyhock flowers.
If hollyhocks are abundant in your Michigan garden why not introduce a
child to the joys of gardening and playing outdoors by teaching them how to
make hollyhock dolls, or as the young boys say hollyhock “people”. And if you never made hollyhock dolls here
are the simple directions.
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| Hollyhock dolls |
First choose
some hollyhock flowers of various colors in various stages of opening. You’ll need some buds for heads, some half
opened flowers for torso’s and fully opened flowers for skirts. The flowers don’t wilt too quickly but don’t
pick them too far in advance of assembly.
You can have
the children find straight thin sticks for connecting the flowers or you can
furnish them with some toothpicks. Start
by choosing heads for the dolls. Round
hollyhock buds, with just a bit of color showing work well. If the child has a marker or pen they can
draw a face on the head.
Next find the
half opened buds that will form the middle of the doll and one or more pretty
fully opened flowers for the skirt. Make
sure to leave the green sepal leaves on the back of each flower. They keep the flower together and are tough
enough to hold the fasteners securely.
Single flowered, not double flowered hollyhocks, make the best doll
parts.
Stick a head
on a toothpick or stick and then through a torso flower. If the toothpick or stick is long enough you
can stick it through the skirt flowers next, or you can use another toothpick
to connect head and torso to skirts. One
or more layers of open flowers for the skirts in layers of different colors
makes a pretty effect.
The open
skirt flowers will generally hold the dolls upright, especially if a few layers
of flowers are used. After children get
the hang of it, they can let their imaginations roam, combining colors,
layering flowers, making arms and legs out of sticks and hats for the heads
from single petals or other flowers.
Next they can imagine scenarios like weddings and fancy parties to enjoy
playing with the dolls.
Older adults
often enjoy making hollyhock dolls too. It might make a clever shower or party
activity, making hollyhock dolls, and then having someone pick the most attractive
or unusual one as the winner.
Unfortunately
there’s no good way to preserve the dolls.
But hollyhocks flower abundantly and all through the summer so more
makings are always there. You may want
to supervise children as they collect flowers, so that plants aren’t completely
denuded of their glory. But if you allow
a group of hollyhocks to grow in a special place, just for doll making,
children will always have a source of flowers.
They’ll learn to ration the picking if you explain how plants form flowers
and how long it takes.
In the age of
TV’s in cars, the internet and oodles of cheap plastic toys an activity that
gets children outside and into a garden and using their imagination is
priceless.
Crown vetch- is it a weed or desirable
plant?
Crown vetch,
Securigera
varia or alternately Coronilla varia, is often included in
weed books, but it’s also still sold as a ground cover for difficult, sunny
places and for erosion control on banks and ditches. It’s another plant that conservationists
imported and once promoted but are now wringing their hands over. While it’s not native, (it was imported from
Europe) crown vetch is related to our native vetches and has a similar growth
cycle and pattern, but it is a little more showy and admittedly aggressive in
growth. It’s a perennial plant that is
quite winter hardy, to zone 5 or lower, although it may die back to the roots
in harsh winters.
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| Crown vetch. |
Crown vetch
was once widely planted along roadsides for erosion control and it is
widespread across the Eastern US. It’s
still a good use for this plant. However
some conservationists believe that crown vetch crowds out native vetches and
other plants and often spreads where it’s not wanted. They believe this factor outweighs its
benefits to pollinators and wildlife.
You probably
won’t want crown vetch in the garden, since it does spread quickly and thickly
and its lax, sprawling stems might bury other plants. But if you have a bank, ditch or other patch
of exposed ground that you need to cover quickly crown vetch may be the plant
for you. A pasture with compacted, poor soil can be improved with crown vetch-
(unless it’s for horses). Like most legumes, crown vetch improves the soil over
time by adding nitrogen, contributing lots of compostable foliage that improves
soil structure and its thick fibrous roots keep valuable topsoil from washing
away. It’s also a magnet and great food
source for bees and other pollinators, a patch of blooming crown vetch will
usually be buzzing with bees.
Crown vetch
has compound leaves consisting of 15 -25 pairs of tiny oval leaflets, and
vining, sprawling stems. Plants grow
about 2 feet high and can spread to cover 10 square feet or more. The flowers are small, typical “pea” flowers
of lavender pink, (sometimes more rosy pink or white), that are arranged in
circular clusters, hence the “crown” part of the name. Blooming begins in late June in zone 5 and
continues through much of the summer.
The flowers turn into small “pea pods.”
Crown vetch
can be toxic to horses and other non-ruminant animals if consumed in quantity so
you won’t want it in horse pastures.
Most horses avoid grazing it anyway.
However crown vetch is eagerly consumed by cows, goats and sheep
(ruminants), and is not toxic to them.
The feed value is nearly the same as alfalfa and hay can be made from
crown vetch for ruminants. Deer and elk
are highly attracted to crown vetch and will dig through snow to eat it in
winter. It is often sold in forage mixes
to attract deer.
Crown vetch
spreads by both rhizomes and seeds. If
after careful consideration you want to grow this plant you can sow seeds or
start with small plants called plugs. While it will survive some drought when
mature, keeping it well watered when young will insure the best growth. The plant grows best in full sun but will
tolerate partial shade. It will grow in
poor dry soils to moderately wet soils.
If you want
to get rid of crown vetch repeated mowing is a safe, non-toxic method. It can also be killed with herbicides. But before you destroy it consider whether it’s
providing a valuable resource to pollinators and wildlife. It’s often growing where other native plants
won’t grow well anyway.
Do the world a favor and buy plants instead of fireworks this
week.
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.
Here’s a seed/plant
sharing group you can join on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/875574275841637/
Here’s a facebook page link for
gardeners in the Lapeer area
Here’s a
link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road,
North Branch. Now open.
Here’s a
link to classes and events at Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
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 to 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
Garden Day 2015, August 1, 2015, 8
a.m. - 4:15 p.m. Veterinary Medical Center / Plant & Soil Sciences Bldg.,
MSU campus, East Lansing, MI
This is
MSU’s horticulture departments annual garden seminar. The public is welcome. Key note speaker is
Rick Darke, a widely published author, photographer, lecturer and consultant
focused on regional landscape design, planning, conservation, and enhancement. You
get a choice of 2 other classes and a closing speaker also.
Cost is
$85.60 for non-2015 Garden members prior to July 24, $95.60 on and after July
25th this includes lunch but not the evening reception.
Please
visit www.hrt.msu.edu/garden-day-2015/ for a full schedule, workshop
descriptions and more. Contact:
Jennifer Sweet, CMP, CTA, at 517-355-5191 ext. 1339 or hgardens@msu.edu.
MSU Plant Trial Field Day, August 4,
2015, 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. 1066 Bogue Street, Plant & Soil Sciences Bldg.
(1st floor), East Lansing, MI 48824
Commercial
growers, landscapers and advanced gardeners are invited to this annual event to
learn about some of the superior new plants and how they perform in
mid-Michigan in the MSU Trial Gardens. Plant performance, ornamental
characters, and special needs of plants will be covered. We will also host
presentations on the most recent research on the development and spread of
impatiens downy mildew and up-to-date discussions on the evolving ethics of
American gardeners. For this important and timely topic, Entomologists and
Horticultural Extension Specialists will bring us up-to-date on the latest news
in pollinators, native insects, and pesticides such as neonicotinoids.
The
$42/person registration fee (by July 30) includes morning refreshments, lunch,
parking, trial booklet, and the program.
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.
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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