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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

April 5, 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

April 5, 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter    © Kim Willis

Hi Gardeners

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. 
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.

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.
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. 2483646210.

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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