April 5,
2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter © Kim Willis
Hi Gardeners
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| Begonias |
It’s
Tuesday and once again the weather is about to change- how many times have I
said that? Tuesday must be the day of
change around this part of the country.
It’s nice and sunny today but just above freezing and we have a winter
weather advisory for tonight as we get snow, sleet, rain, and then more snow
through tomorrow. It’s mild and rainy
for a day the back to cold for a few days.
Ugh and more ugh. But we had 2
inches of snow on this day last year so I guess it’s not unusual.
I have been
patient but with phenology timing running about two weeks ahead of last year I
decided to plant the flat of pansies I had on the porch for the last 2 weeks a
few days ago. Poor things, I hope they survive.
Some daffodils bloomed in my garden just before the rain last week, now
they are limp and water soaked. I’m glad
the main crop of daffs and tulips have not yet bloomed.
People have
been telling me about their magnolias blooming and the flowers being ruined
too. It’s a shame but nature does what
it does. I thought I would get a bunch
of seeds started in my new lean to greenhouse this weekend but decided to
wait. I did sit at the kitchen table and
plant some seeds though. I left them
inside for now- hopefully by the time they sprout and need more light it will
be warm enough in that unheated greenhouse to put them out there.
I started seeds
of cerinthe, more hosta’s, moonflowers, eucomis, annual phlox, heuchera, foxglove and a mystery seed I forgot
to label as I collected it last year.
The daylilies, oriental lilies, petunia exserta, hosta, and a few other
things I started earlier are growing well but I need more space for them. Many
of the things I planted are experiments, to see what nature bred on her own in
the garden.
I had plans
to start lettuce and peas this week- but that’s on hold. Hopefully next
week. I do have some new blooms
happening inside- my orange jasmine is starting to bloom, and one of my new hibiscus, its only about a
foot tall, has a bud.
Speaking of
seeds-I still have hosta, lily, Ligularia desmonda (daisy–like flower), Ligularia
rocket – spires of flowers, Baptisia
blue, cleome white, hollyhock, rose of Sharon, yucca, anise hyssop and morning
glory seeds left to share, free. Just
contact me and I’ll tell you where to send a stamped self-addressed envelope.
I am
getting tons of catalogs now for bulbs to plant in the fall. I’m sure they do that because people are
seeing bulbs blooming in other people’s gardens and wanting some. Personally I don’t have money to spend now on
bulbs for fall because I’m spending all I can on spring plants! But come fall I’ll be ordering more I’m sure.
I’m getting excited to see what I
planted last fall bloom.
New
gardeners keep asking where they can get tulips or daffodils to plant and while
you can find flats or pots of them in some nurseries now, these spring bloomers
are best purchased and planted in the fall.
Planting them in bloom gives instant satisfaction, but isn’t the best
way to get them growing in your garden.
I just had
a neighbor ask me to dig up some daffodils to give her and last year a neighbor
wanted me to share some tulips when they were in bloom. The tulips were expensive ones I had just
planted the fall before, and there were only a few of them. I told the gentleman how he could order tulips
but he pouted a bit. I told the neighbor
that wanted the daffodils I would dig some for her in the fall, but I wasn’t
disturbing my beds now because I didn’t want to damage any perennials in the
beds that hadn’t sprouted so I knew where they were. Besides, those bulbs do better when planted
in the fall.
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| Early tulips 2015 |
I am
generally happy to share plants with people when I can. People stop and I give them a bristly locust,
or a catalpa seedling, or daylilies or other things. However there is a best
time and place and a limit as to what I want to part with. I had one woman I didn’t know stop and tell
me her daughter bought a house down the street and needed some plants for the
yard. What did I have to share? I gave her daylilies, hollyhocks, a lilac, a
hosta, evening primrose, phlox and a few other assorted things. I started to wrap them in newspaper but she
wanted containers so her car wouldn’t get dirty. I found some containers.
The next
day I saw her car in the driveway, went outside and saw her with a shovel in my
front flower bed starting to dig by a caryopteris (a shrub) that was in bloom. I asked her what she was doing and she said
she was just going to take a little “start” off the shrub. Well, we had a little talk. I told her that all plants couldn’t be
divided like that, especially things like shrubs and trees. And I told her to never dig up anything in my
yard without permission. She left in a
huff.
Most people
are very nice when they ask for something and really grateful when you
share. I’ve had some wonderful plants
given to me too. Sharing is a great part
of gardening. But some things can’t be
divided, some things resent disturbance and there are some things a gardener
just may not want to share.
If you are looking
for plants its fine to ask another gardener if they have some to share. Just be understanding if they don’t want to
share or ask you to wait until a better time. Try going to plant sales and swaps too. On that note the Lapeer Horticulture Society is
having a plant sale May
7, 2016, from 8 am - 4 pm, at Siciliano's, 1900 North Lapeer Road, Lapeer. Stop by and get some inexpensive plants from
other gardeners.
April almanac
April’s
full moon is April 22nd and is known as the Pink moon, egg moon or
grass moon. The perigee and new moon fall on the 7th and the moon
apogee is a day before full moon, April 21st. If you
garden by the moon the best time for planting above ground crops in April is 12th
-13th and you can plant underground crops from April 4th
-5th and 23rd.
Holidays in
April 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 either goodbye or blissful love, depending on who’s translating
I guess.
April Gardening
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.
If you
start your tomatoes, peppers and other warm crops from seed now is the time to
plant them inside. They’ll be just about
the right size for planting outside after the last frost. You can also start annual and perennial
flowers that take a long time to bloom now inside. By the middle to near the end of April these
seedlings can be moved to a coldframe or unheated greenhouse as long as
temperatures are above freezing.
Pot up your
dahlias, canna’s and glads now in a warm place if you want to have early
flowers. (If your tuberous begonias haven’t already been planted, you should
get them planted too.) You should have a
good sunny spot that stays above 45 degrees if you do this. Otherwise wait until later in the month or
early in May for planting inside an unheated greenhouse – or until after the
last frost when they can be planted directly in the garden.
If you are
holding plants like horticultural geraniums, semi-tender bulbs in pots, brugmansias,
herbs and so on in a dormant state, now is the time to get them growing. Move them to a bright, warm spot and water
with warm water. When new growth appears
give them some liquid fertilizer or work some slow release fertilizer into the soil in the pot. You’ll need to gradually acclimate them to
outside conditions when the weather warms up outside. Some can go out before the last frost but
most semi-tender plants should wait until late May here in zone 5-6.
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. You may
want to get the seeds germinated in a coldframe or unheated greenhouse and then
move them to the garden, especially if early April remains very cool.
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 in a dormant
stage can be planted in mid to late April.
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 open, natural conditions
and don’t have much new growth. Don’t
hold dormant plants too long in the house after buying them. If they begin new growth inside because of
the warmth they may have a hard time adjusting to chilly spring temps outside. If dormant plants are supposed to be hardy in
zone 5-6 then they can be planted in a dormant state as soon as the ground is
thawed.
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.
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.
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 dormant 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.
Don’t forget the houseplants
In the rush
to get growing outside we may neglect the houseplants. They may be putting out lots of new growth
and sun and warm temperatures may make the pots dry out faster. Check to see if they need water more
frequently and if you haven’t fertilized yet, you may want to start.
Some plants
that have been doing great on the windowsill may now be getting too much strong
sun and the leaves will scorch. Move
them back from the windows just a few inches.
You may want to rotate plants so all the new growth doesn’t appear on
the window side of the plant.
House
plants also tend to have more pest problems in spring. Watch for scale, aphids and white fly. If you need to treat plants with pesticides
you may want to move them on to the porch or deck on a warm day that isn’t
windy, spray with pesticides and let them dry before moving them back
inside.
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 peonies 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
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.
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. Boil 3
cups of water and dissolve one cup of plain sugar in it. Let it cool and fill the feeders. You can freeze the excess and melt it in the
microwave when needed. You don’t need red dye or flavorings either and these
can be harmful to hummers. 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.
Get the bird houses out- and keep
the bird feeders filled
Bird houses
should be placed around your property in April before birds begin nesting. You may want to clean out existing bird
houses. Keep those feeders filled
including the suet holders. In the
spring you may see unusual species of birds at the feeder as they migrate
through. Pairs may be tempted to nest
where they feel there’s a good food source.
Some early nesters may even use the seed and especially your suet to
feed new babies.
Growing Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus)
The lovely
sweet pea was widely grown in English gardens in earlier times and are still
more popular there than here. However,
if you have a cottage garden some of these fragrant old fashioned beauties are
sure to be a hit. If you are into nostalgia or heritage plants sweet peas will
also charm you. They are fairly easy to
grow and come in a wide range of colors.
While sweet peas are related to garden peas, their pods and peas
shouldn’t be eaten but only admired.
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| Sweet Pea |
Sweet peas
are native to the Mediterranean and Aegean Islands. The wild sweet pea is lavender in color and
fragrant but early English and Scottish gardeners worked with the plants to
develop a wide range of colors and to intensify the fragrance. Cultivated varieties also have larger flowers
than the native plants. A Scotsman named
Henry Eckford, was famous for developing many sweet pea varieties and starting
a craze for exhibiting the plants in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
In
Victorian times sweet peas were widely grown for bougets and they are still
grown in greenhouses for the floral trade.
White sweet peas are often found in late spring and early summer wedding
bougets. In the language of flowers the
sweet pea signifies blissful love. But
sweet peas do well in the garden also.
Sweet peas
have spade shaped leaves of blue-green to gray green. Each leaf consists of two
leaflets, which look like a pair of leaves on opposite sides of the stem. Stems can look flattened or ridged. Stems also have tendrils which wrap around a
support to pull the plant up and into the sunlight. The flowers are typical of the pea
family. They have two larger, backswept
petals, two smaller petals in front and another petal in front of them which is
tube like and curled toward the back.
Cultivated sweet peas come in almost every color except yellow, from
white to scarlet, shades of blue and purple, and interesting cocoa and other
colors.
How to start sweet peas
Gardeners
will almost always start with seeds, rarely one may find small plants offered
at a nursery. Sweet Peas can be planted
where they are to grow early in the spring.
In zone 5-6 mid-to late April is usually best. They take 75-85 days from
germination to bloom. To get them
growing well in time to beat the heat of summer some gardeners start them in
pots inside 2-4 weeks before planting is feasible outside. A cool greenhouse or cold frame can
work. In warmer climates they are often
seeded where they are to grow in the fall and they sprout and bloom in early
spring.
Sweet peas
don’t transplant well, so they should be started in pots that dissolve, only a
few weeks before they can be transplanted outside. You want to disturb the roots as little as
possible and the plants should only have 2-3 sets of true leaves. Paper pots work well. Peat pots or Velcro pots that open are other
ideas.
Whether you
start them inside or outside the seeds need to be soaked in warm water for a
few hours and then nicked for the best germination. A pair of toenail clippers works well for
nipping the seed coat. You only want to
crack the coat or take a small bit out on the side away from the seed
scar. This allows moisture to penetrate
the seed coat and stimulate the seedling to begin growing. Seeds treated this way should germinate in
7-14 days. If not soaked or nicked
germination can take much longer.
The trick
to growing sweet peas is the timing.
Sweet peas like cool weather but don’t survive hard frosts. They are a cool weather annual, that needs to
be started early for early summer bloom.
When summer turns hot they fade and die.
But if you allowed pods to form and dry you can collect seeds for the
following season.
Sweet peas
are a vining plant and need to be trellised, staked or grown against a
fence. They range between 3-6 feet in
size depending on variety. They will
grow in full sun to light shade and in almost any soil, but the area must be
well drained. Fertilizer generally isn’t
needed. Don’t crowd them as this tends
to increase powdery mildew. Space them
6-8 inches apart.
Sweet peas
will flower for a longer time if the dying blooms are pinched off and not
allowed to make pods. Some people also
pinch the ends of growing stems when they reach about 3 feet long to encourage side
growth and bushier plants.
One of the
best ways to display sweet peas in the garden is on a fence or trellis where
later blooming vines will take over and cover the dying foliage and continue
the bloom. Good pairs are hyacinth or
scarlet runner beans, cypress vine, morning glories and moon flowers. Some people make teepees for them or allow
them to climb up suspended strings.
Other
problems for sweet peas other than powdery mildew are snails and slugs in some
places. Deer and rabbits will also eat
sweet peas. Grown inside aphids can be a
problem, but in the garden that isn’t usually a problem.
Varieties of sweet pea
While there
are perennial sweet peas offered, (usually
Lathyrus latifolius) the full range of color and fragrance is only realized
in the annual varieties of sweet pea, Lathyrus
odoratus. Wildflower and native
plant companies sometimes offer vetches and similar pea type plants that are US
natives but they should not be confused with sweet peas. Occasionally garden sweet peas re-seed and
turn up in odd places but that is rare in zones 5-6.
Some
varieties of sweet peas that are easy to find include; ‘Old
Spice mix’, ‘Mammoth mix’, ‘Knee High mix’,( shorter stocky vines) ‘Royal mix’, ‘Elegance series’- (single colors are often offered in this series),
and ‘Spencer Ripple Mix’, bi-colors
and streaked flowers. There are some older, rarer varieties still
being grown but they can be hard to find. Some places offer dwarf sweet peas,
these grow about 2 feet long. Two seed catalogs that carry sweet pea seeds are
Johnny’s Seeds (www.Johnnyseeds.com )
and Pinetree Garden seeds,www.superseeds.com
You can
save seeds if you allow the pods to dry and ripen on the vine, then collect the
peas and save them in a dark, cool place.
The flowers probably won’t look like the parents but will be pretty.
Don’t eat sweet peas
While sweet
peas may resemble garden peas they are not good to eat. Some people giving out sweet pea growing
advice confuse the flowering sweet pea with edible peas and this isn’t a good
thing. While you may not feel sick immediately the sweet pea contains
substances that inhibit collagen formation and may cause neurological and
muscle problems. Sweet pea consumption has been linked to aortic aneurysms
also. The illness caused by sweet pea
consumption is called Lathyrism. Animals
should not eat the seeds either.
Why not try
some sweet peas this spring in your garden?
They make long lasting, sweet smelling cut flowers and can provide a
pretty vertical accent in early summer.
The sweet pea is a flower that all gardeners should try at least once in
their lifetime.
Straw bale gardening- Is it really
so great?
One of the
newest fads in gardening is the straw bale garden. In this unusual style of gardening people
plant their garden directly into bales of straw after they have been
conditioned for a few weeks. Aficionados
of straw bale gardening claim it’s the best thing to happen in gardening since
garden gloves. They describe bountiful
harvests, great environmental benefit, and the incredible ease of this type of
gardening. Like most fads and things
that seem too good to be true straw bale gardening is not the great innovation
in gardening it is often claimed to be.
Now there
can be times when a straw bale garden might be a solution for allowing someone
to garden when they couldn’t otherwise do so.
A straw bale garden might be a good idea when the soil is contaminated or
very poor and the gardener can’t afford raised beds or large containers and the
good soil to fill them. Straw bale
gardens might be a solution for a more accessible garden, at least until more permanent
and better solutions can be found. And
straw bale gardens might be an option when a person is not allowed to garden in
the ground because they are renting property, face laws against in ground
gardening, or are in a temporary living situation. However the rather messy look of straw bale
gardens might also be a turn off for a landlord or homeowners association.
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| Straw bale garden. Photo Flickr.com |
Straw bale
gardens are not better than in ground gardens or raised beds, or even in most
cases containers, for gardening. If any
of these options are available to you they are a far better way to garden,
unless you are just interested in experimenting with novel methods. Even if your soil is poor, you can generally
improve it and have a better garden than using straw bales. If you don’t have the funds for raised beds
and soil to fill them you might want a small straw bale garden just until you
can build raised beds. There is absolutely
no verifiable environmental benefit to straw bale gardening.
Straw bale basics
In case you
are still thinking- yes, straw bale gardening is something I want to do- here
are the basics of how it is done.
First you
must find and purchase straw bales and then transport them home, or pay to have
them delivered. And it should be straw,
not hay. Straw is the leaves and stems
of a crop plant that are left after a grain harvest and few seeds are left
behind to sprout in your straw bale garden.
Hay, on the other hand, runs the whole gamut from weedy, grassy fields
cut and dried, to stands of pure alfalfa and other managed hay crops that are
harvested before they go to seed. You
want straw because there will be less weeds sprouting up in it, although there
still may be some weeds. Straw is generally cheaper than hay. A tip- straw usually looks gold or brown, hay
looks green, although colors can vary.
Straw never looks green though.
Small bales
of straw are getting harder to find and are more expensive than they used to
be. Modern farmers often mulch the stems
of crop plants back into the field now instead of bailing them. And when they are bailed it is often in the
huge round bales now instead of the small square bales. Those large round bales do not make a good
straw bale garden and are very hard to maneuver around or transport without
special equipment. Get your straw as early
in the spring as you can, sellers often run out of stock by late spring.
When you do
locate straw it doesn’t have to be good straw- it can be old, even moldy. It should, however, still be tightly bound or
you will have a mess. Most bales have 2
strings around them. Both should be
intact and the bale compact and firm. Buying
older straw could save you money but you will generally need to spend
something. And if you can’t transport it
to your house, you’ll probably pay for that too. Using straw bales may not be cheaper or
easier than buying lumber to build a raised bed or buying containers.
How much
straw will you need? That’s hard to
say. Most people use a single layer of
straw to garden in. But if you are looking for a garden that’s accessible to
someone seated, a 2 bale stack may be better. Bales come in different sizes but
average around 3 feet long by 18 inches wide and 12-18 inches high. They weigh
anywhere from 30 pounds to 70 pounds each, depending on many factors.
Most people
place the widest dimension down (you’ll see both strings facing you) making a bed
about 12-18 inches high and 18 inches wide by 3 feet long. Or you can turn the bale the other way and make the garden taller and narrower. Decide what you want to plant, and look up
the spacing for the variety, using the same spacing as in the soil. Then figure
out how many bales you’ll need for what you want to plant, making sure they’ll
fit in your allocated space of course.
Here’s an
important thing to remember. Keep your
straw dry until you get it where you want to garden! It is very hard to move heavy, wet bales of
straw and they will often fall apart.
You’ll want to have the bales set up where you want to garden at least a
month before you intend to plant for conditioning them. For most crops the bales should be in a full
sun location. You can place bales on the
ground, or on cement or asphalt. Using a
tarp under the bales makes fall clean-up easier.
Next you’ll
condition your bales. This means soaking
them with a solution of fertilizer and water every few days for 3-4 weeks. It’s your choice of organic or conventional water
soluble fertilizer but it should be high in nitrogen, to counteract the use of
nitrogen by the decaying straw. Read label directions for the amount of
fertilizer to use per gallon of water, following the directions for container
plants. You’ll need about a 2-3 gallon bucket of water- fertilizer mix per bale
per treatment. Soak bales every 3-4
days.
After a
month of conditioning the bales should be ready to plant. Put plants and seeds in them just like you
would plant them in soil. Keep the bales
watered as your plants grow, just as you would water plants in soil. A mid-season fertilizer treatment is
generally needed, and fertilizing more often might be required for some
crops. If you are lucky you will have a
harvest comparable to that of a crop grown in decent soil. At the end of the season move the straw to a
compost area.
Here are
some other things to consider with straw bale gardening. The wet bales can mold and they do have a
smell as they decompose. If you have
mold allergies this method may not be for you.
In wet weather the bales can stay too wet and crop roots may rot. The
bales can dry out too often in hot, dry weather and actually take more water than
conventional gardens, although that’s less likely than the too wet scenario.
Some crops
grow poorly in a straw bale, such as carrots, beets and other root crops. Straw bale gardening does not prevent tomato
blights or most other garden diseases and pest infestations, despite some far-
fetched claims. And straw bale gardening
can’t be used for perennial crops like asparagus and rhubarb.
The strings
on wet bales can rot and break, causing the bale to fall apart and potentially damaging
your plants. The look of straw bale
gardens is often not as pleasing as other forms of gardening, if looks are
important. Mice, snakes, bees, and other
critters sometimes take up residence in straw bales. Weeds do grow in straw bale gardens, either
from the straw or by seeds blowing onto the bales, although there may be fewer
weeds than conventional gardens.
At the end
of garden season you will have a lot of old, wet, rotting straw to haul to a
compost pile or find some way to dispose of.
You could use it to mulch plants for winter but it’s more likely to matt
down than fresh straw. The disposal
problem looms large for those with limited space for a compost pile or rules
not permitting one and the disposal of the bales should be planned before you
start such a garden.
In short,
straw bale gardening is not ideal gardening.
It’s not miracle gardening, rather its make-do gardening for those who
can’t garden in the ground or a raised bed or container. It should be viewed as a temporary solution
or a fun experiment.
Patience, spring always comes.
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.
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share? Post them here by emailing me. You can also
ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
Invitation
If you are a gardener
in Michigan close to Lapeer we invite you to join the Lapeer Area Horticultural
Society. The club meets once a month, 6:30 pm, on the third Monday at various
places for a short educational talk, snacks and socializing with fellow
gardeners. No educational or volunteer requirements for membership, all are
welcome. Membership dues are $20 per year. Come and visit us, sit in on a
meeting for free. Contact Julie Schröder, LAHS Secretary, 810-728-2269 - Julie.Schroder@brose.com
New-Lapeer Area
Horticulture Society, Plant and Garden Sale,
May 7, 2016 8 am - 4 pm at Siciliano's, 1900 North Lapeer Road, Lapeer. A variety of plants and garden items from LHS
members will be for sale. Please stop
and shop.
New- A
new way of looking at “invasive plants”. I will be speaking at the Lapeer Horticulture Society
meeting April 18, 6:30 pm, Mayfield Township Hall, Lapeer. I’ll be exploring some of the new research
that suggests we are not thinking about non-native plants correctly. Most
non-native plants are not our enemies or the ecological problem we think they
are. Come and listen. If you need directions call the number above
for the Lapeer LAHS secretary.
Companion Planting” Tue, April 19, 6:30-7:30pm, MSUE
Assembly Room, 21885 Dunham Rd # 12, Clinton Township, MI
Mary
Gerstenberger will discuss friend & enemy plants. Sponsored by Macomb
County Master Gardener Association MCMGA meeting to follow- $5.
Heritage Peonies: Beautiful Then,
Glorious Now Fri,
April 22, 9:15am, Meadow Brook Hall,
480 South Adams Road, Rochester MI
A talk
about heritage peonies and how to grow them, featuring guest speaker Dr. David
C. Michener. Sponsored by Meadow Brook Garden Club $5. 248‑364‑6210.
2016 Educational Gardening
Conference, Sat,
April 23, 8 am – 4:15 pm, Oakland Schools Conference Center, 2111 Pontiac Lake
Rd, Waterford Twp, MI
Keynote
Speakers: Karen Bussolini,(Jazzing Up the Garden), Ellen Ecker Ogden, (The Art of Growing Food), Barry
Glick (Woodland Wonders from the Wild). Garden marketplace, entertainment and
more.
Sponsored by
Master Gardener Society of Oakland County, Inc. $80. No registration at the door. Registration brochure at http://www.mgsoc.org/2016_ConferenceRegistrationColor.pdf
Attracting Bees & Maintaining
Beehives, Thu,
April 14, 1pm, Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center Utica, Mi.
The Shelby Garden Club presents bee keepers
Mary Jo Showalter & Joanne Gartner for a quick session on attracting bees
and beginning beekeeping. FREE For more
info call - 586-873-3782..
MSU Horticulture Gardens’ Spring
Program: The Garden Professors
April 9, 2016, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Plant and Soil Sciences Building, 1066 Bogue
Street East Lansing, MI
Looking to
bust through gardening myths and dig down to the truth? Join the creators of
The Garden Professors, a blog where expert professors from around the country
use science-based information to provide you with the facts about gardening
from every aspect. We will host two of these professors and they will be joined
by organic farming expert, Adam Montri. Attendees will have the opportunity to
submit questions in advance, many of which will be answered by these experts
during a final Q & A session! Early registration (on or before March 31)
for MSU Horticulture Garden Member $70, Early registration (on or before March
31) for non-MSU Horticulture Garden Member $80 Registrations received after
March 31 $90
Contact:
Jennifer Sweet at 517-353-0443 or hgardens@msu.edu
Here’s a facebook page link for
gardeners in the Lapeer area. This link
has a lot of events listed on it.
Here’s a
link to all the nature programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in
Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/
Here’s a
link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road,
North Branch.
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 events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580
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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