© Kim Willis - no
parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.
Hi
Gardeners
Summer is ending; you can feel it in the softening of
the light, the quickening of twilight and hear it in the song of crickets. I am starting to evaluate the season and plan
for next year. Each garden year is
different, some things are more successful in some years, some less. Gardens follow succession steps just as other
ecosystems do. Trees grow, plants mature
and die, and new species are introduced.
Since it’s a garden, whether we use native plants exclusively or not, we
need to be mindful of how we guide that succession. The best way to do this is thoughtful
reflection at the end of each season.
And take notes- lots of notes!
In my garden some annuals are going strong, but in
general it was not the best year for them. Many of my petunias and calibrachoas are done for the year, hastened to their death
by the heat and dryness. On the other hand the tuberous begonias are thriving
and gorgeous. My woodland nicotiana is finally starting to bloom, but it’s only
3 feet high instead of 6 feet high like last year. The sweet autumn clematis is beginning to bloom;
it seems to be normally vigorous. My
dinner plate dahlias also remained short this year, and they are late, just
starting to bloom.
In the vegetable garden I am pulling out the sweet corn
stalks, it’s done now. The tomatoes are
rapidly succumbing to fungal disease, but I am still getting plenty. Cucumbers are still producing. I am being overrun with gourds and there is
one nice big pumpkin, but the melons were disappointing this year. The melons and cukes have symptoms suggesting
downy mildew now, so they may not last much longer. The cabbage is all ready to harvest and this
week I’ll be making more freezer coleslaw- the recipe is further down in this
blog.
Our delicious apples are almost ripe and we are getting
some ripe grapes but both apples and grapes are small this year. I am still getting a handful of black berries
every few days.
I was very bad and ordered a new hibiscus from Logee’s
this week. It’s a rare white one (Hibiscus
arnottianus) which has a light fragrance that’s seldom offered. I’ll find room for it inside somewhere.
The bulb catalogs are arriving in force now. I have 75 lily bulbs already ordered but I
will be ordering more tulips and maybe some other things soon. I don’t think you can have enough bulbs in
the garden. If you want flowers in the
early spring now is the time to order your bulbs.
By the way Scott Knust from Old House Gardens is retiring
next May after 24 years of providing gardeners with heirloom bulbs of many
types. The company, based in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, will continue to offer bulbs however.
Many of you Michigan gardeners- and some from other places- may have
heard Scott speak at one time or another. He’s an excellent speaker and I wish
to thank him for his many years of educating people on the value and beauty of
those heirloom bulbs. I have some of
those bulbs in my garden. Want to check
out the bulbs offered? Go to http://www.oldhousegardens.com
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| The glad 'Atom' an heirloom. |
You may notice some differences in the formatting of
this blog this week. I have to use a
different browser because for some reason Goggle Chrome, which works best with
many programs like this blog, is refusing to perform for me. The pages keep becoming unresponsive and
freezing. I have tried all the usual
fixes, uninstall and re-install, deleting cookies and unused extensions and so
forth to no avail. If any of you are
computer geeks and know why this is happening and how to fix it, please let me
know.
Growing
Brugmansia
You will see the beautiful Angel’s Trumpets advertised
in many garden catalogs. The plants have pretty trumpet or funnel shaped
flowers that are often have a light, sweet fragrance. In the north these plants are excellent tub
plants for decks and patios. It can be
tricky to overwinter them but you will be rewarded with larger and more
beautiful plants each year. A flower
loaded Brugmansia is a traffic stopper.
 |
| Two year old brugmansia |
Brugmansia are plants belonging to the Solanaceae (nightshade)
family, the same family that tomatoes and potatoes come from. Modern botanists generally regard Brugmansia as
having 9 species. Brugmansia originate in South and Central America, although
they can come from many different climates in those countries. There are literally hundreds of named
varieties of Brugmansia with many hybrids between the species.
Brugmansia species are semi-woody perennials, forming
bush or small tree shapes. In the wild
some species are 30 or more feet high.
They have long oval leaves, sometimes toothed, that can get quite large.
Brugmansia foliage tends to be a dark green and there are Brugmansias with
variegated foliage.
The trumpet shaped flowers of Brugmansia typically
dangle downward although some face out horizontally. They can be a foot long,
sometimes longer. Brugmansia flowers
come in a wide range of colors from white to peach, rose, pink, lavender orange
and recently red. They often change color as they age. There are many double
flowered Brugmansia varieties.
Brugmansia flowers are not self – fertile and they do
not come true from seed. When breeders
find a Brugmansia plant they like they propagate it by cuttings. Brugmansia seed pods look like a bean pod
with a corky covering in some species.
Brugmansia seed rarely survives a cold winter, so it seldom spreads on
its own.
Culture
of Brugmansia
Brugmansia are usually purchased as rooted cuttings. Most catalogs show large plants loaded with
beautiful flowers but be aware that it can take two years for that little
potted plant to get to blooming size and many years before it makes a large
plant. Some plants started indoors early
will flower the first year.
Brugmansia are generally kept as tub plants and overwintered
inside. Temperatures must be kept above
40 degrees F. In zone 8 and above they
can be planted directly in the garden.
(Some zone 7 gardeners have had success overwintering Brugmansia
outside. The plants die to the ground
and then are heavily mulched.)
For tub plants use a non-soil potting medium and do not
plant the cutting in too large of a pot, let it nearly fill the pot with roots,
then transplant to a larger pot. Indoors
the plants should be in as bright of light as possible, preferably a greenhouse
or sun room. Watering should be reduced
if the leaves drop, as many plants shed leaves indoors. If the light level is too low or the room
cool some plants will go semi-dormant.
Some people actually prefer to let plants go semi-dormant for the
winter.
Plants are moved outside after all danger of frost has
passed and the nights are reliably warm.
Brugmansia prefers a dappled or partly shaded area when outdoors. They will quickly respond to bright warm
conditions and grow larger each year.
Brugmansia likes moist, well drained potting medium and
should be fertilized with a dilute flower fertilizer every other watering or
have a slow release flowering plant fertilizer worked into the planting
medium. Evenly watered, well fertilized
plants in warm conditions and good light usually bloom almost continually once they
start blooming.
Toxicity
of Brugmansia
All parts of the Brugmansia are extremely
poisonous. Brugmansia contains 3
poisons, atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine.
Indigenous peoples used the plants various parts in religious and
divination ceremonies. The plant parts
often cause hallucinogenic symptoms or loss of conscious control of the body. They can also cause respiratory failure or
heart problems.
Any person or animal that has ingested any amount of
Brugmansia should be immediately taken to a hospital. A drug called physostigmine can counter the
effects of Brugmansia poisoning if given promptly. Cardiac and respiratory support may be needed
and the stomach will be pumped. The
patient may need restraints to prevent harm to him/her self.
Despite being poisonous, brugmansia are wonderful
tropical plants that deserve a place on the porch or patio of the adult plant
lover.
Fall
Grass Planting
Not everyone is a “lawn” person. But if you like a nice lawn fall is an excellent
time to plant grass seed or lay sod for a new or improved lawn. Grass germinates and grows well in the
cooler, wetter fall weather. Grass needs
about 6 weeks to grow before the ground freezes, but can survive frost and
light snow without a problem. In zones 5-6 that means you can plant grass
seed or lay sod from early September to mid- October.
New
Lawn
If the area you are going to seed or sod is hard packed
soil, till the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches, even if you intend to put down
topsoil. You can work topsoil, compost
or peat into the existing soil but do not mix sand into clay soil hoping to
improve it. Instead you will create
cement.
If you are going to totally renovate a lawn and there
is existing vegetation in place you are going to need to remove it. The easiest way is to do this is to use
glyposphate (one brand name is Round-Up®) according to label directions. Wait about a week and rake off the dead vegetation. Then till the soil to about 8 inches deep,
rake and smooth. If you used the
glyphosphate properly you should be able to seed within a week.
If you are a non-chemical person you will need to
remove the old grass and weeds with a shovel and some sweat labor. Using a
slicing motion under the grass roots and lifting off chunks of old sod is a
good method. Some deep rooted weeds will
need to be dug out. All this discarded
vegetation can go in the compost pile.
Spot
Renovation
Sometimes only parts of the lawn need repair. Remove any weed patches with glyphosphate or
your shovel. Fill holes and level high
or low spots then till the soil in the bare areas, rake and smooth. You may have to till small areas by hand.
Seeding
In the north the best grass seed to use for mostly
sunny areas is some variety of Kentucky Bluegrass. If the area you intend to seed is shady a
mixture of various Fescue grass varieties would be better. Don’t use a seed mixture with a high
percentage of annual or perennial rye in it.
This will green up fast and is cheap, but the annual rye won’t be back
next spring and the perennial rye will look coarse and unattractive.
Spread the seed evenly over the ground and don’t skimp.
The package will tell you how much square footage it will cover. Measure your lawn and figure the square
footage before shopping for seed so that you will know the proper amount to
buy. If you have a large area to seed
you may want to use a spreader.
Seed may be rolled with a light weight roller to get it
in contact with the soil, or just lightly covered with topsoil or mulch. In small renovation spots you can lightly rake
seed into the soil. If you experience a lot of heavy rain in the fall that
could wash seed away, you may want to apply a mulch of straw or other organic
material, especially on a slope.
Laying
Sod
Almost all sod sold in northern states will be Kentucky
Bluegrass and sod works best on sunny lawns.
In some cases you can do the prep work to save money and have
professionals lay the sod. Some people
may want to do all the work to save money.
Keep sod in the shade and moist while you are waiting to lay it and try
to lay it the same day you purchase it.
Carry sod rolls carefully to the new lawn site and
unroll them where they are to lay, with the green side up of course. Butt the
edges of the sod rolls together as closely as you can but do not overlap the
edges. Sod is generally rolled with a
lawn roller after it’s laid to get it in contact with the soil. You can cut sod with a sharp shovel or knife
and fit pieces into odd shaped areas. Sod does not require mulch.
Care
of new lawns
After planting your grass seed you will need to water
it if fall doesn’t give you rain or snow.
Until it is up and growing the soil surface should remain moist. That could mean watering every day. After the grass is up and growing it needs at
least an inch of moisture a week. In
sandy soil that drains quickly, 2 inches may be better.
Sod will need watering daily also if it is warm and
dry. You can cut back watering to an
inch a week in two or three applications after the first two weeks if the weather
is cool.
Do not fertilize new seedlings or new sod this fall,
wait until spring. If the lawn grows
more than 3 inches before winter you can cut it back to 3 inches, otherwise do
not mow until spring. While it’s better
to mulch tree leaves into an established lawn, keep fall leaves off new lawns
by gentle raking so new seedlings won’t be smothered or sod dislodged by
mulching mowers.
Don’t
let your kids explore with their mouth
I was at a MG booth at our county fair many years ago
when a man approached with a tow headed boy whose head just came to the top of
the table.
“I’d like to know if these red berries I see along the
road are safe to eat” he said.
“Okay”, I replied, “Do you have a sample?”
“Naw,” he said, “didn’t bring one. They’re little red berries. I had him eat some”, he said nudging the boy,
“and he didn’t get sick or nothing. I
want to know if I can make wine with them.”
The man then went on and explained that he didn’t allow
the boy to drink pop or milk because those weren’t safe. His family only drank cider, beer and wine he
made himself. Even the kids.
We had a discussion about the berries where I
determined they weren’t raspberries from his description, but I wasn’t sure
what they could be- maybe elderberries or pokeberries. I urged him to bring me a sample into the
office the next day. I then warned him
about allowing his kids to taste things that he didn’t recognize as safe. He shrugged:
“Kids always explore with their mouths, ain’t hurt none
of them yet.”
He never appeared with a sample at the office.
Hopefully he changed his mind about making wine from unknown berries. For a person who mistrusted the safety of pop
and milk for his kids he sure didn’t seem to care if they died from some berry
plucked from along the road.
Please don’t encourage your kids to taste things they
find outside. Far too often adults
encourage kids to taste things they pluck from around them without explaining
to the kids that they know the plant well and giving them a lesson on how to
identify the plant again. We are not
talking about the garden, where you allow a child to pick a ripe tomato or eat
a tiny carrot. We are talking about
hiking and camping and going on walks to the neighboring woods. Some people are eager to share information
about edible wild plants but there’s a certain danger when children don’t quite
understand how to identify safe and unsafe plants.
Children should be warned never to eat something that
they aren’t absolutely sure they know the identity of and to ask an adult if
it’s ok first. Some kids still roam
unattended outside and they do sometimes explore with their mouth, especially
if they see adults doing it. There are
some plants that a child could come upon that could have serious or fatal
consequences.
It’s wonderful to teach your child about survival
foods, edible wild plants, medicinal plants and the like if you yourself are
sure you can identify those plants and you stress to the child not to experiment
with things they aren’t sure they can identify. Remind them that birds and
other animals may eat things that humans cannot eat safely. And this includes plants in the yard and along
the roads. Here’s another cautionary
tale.
I had a woman appear at my office with a paper towel
full of mushrooms, frantic for my help.
I had a rule that I didn’t identify mushrooms as safe to eat or not to
homeowners because identification of mushrooms can be tricky and the
consequences of a mistake deadly. I
referred them to MSU’s plant lab if they really needed to know, which was not
the instant answer they often wanted.
But when I heard this woman’s story I quickly took a look at the
mushrooms and decided to help.
The woman and her husband frequently hunted wild
mushrooms such as morels, and cooked them at home. The children liked the mushrooms and heard
how much the parents valued them. They
decided to do some mushroom hunting of their own.
For about 2 weeks the boys had been fine at bedtime but
woke up at night several times a week with severe stomach pains and vomiting. By
morning they felt fine. They had been taken to a doctor who thought they might
have a stomach virus. But one night the
father dragged a bedspread outside that had been vomited on. In the morning as
the woman was picking it up to clean she noticed pieces of mushrooms in the
mess and knew the boys hadn’t recently been served mushrooms with their meals.
She woke up the eldest boy and questioned him. He explained that he and his brother hunted
mushrooms in the yard while they played after they came home from daycare each
day. He led his mother around the yard
and showed her several mushroom patches they had sampled, even telling her
which ones tasted good and which didn’t.
And here she was with a towel full of mushrooms asking me to help her ID
them. (Fresh samples) She had called her
doctor first, and he told her to get them identified. The boys were as usual feeling fine that
morning so the doctor wasn’t overly concerned.
 |
| Keep children from tasting mushrooms |
When I took a look at the mushrooms, I was immediately
concerned. I knew mushroom
identification wasn’t my strong suit, but some of the mushrooms in the
collection sure looked like deadly amanita species to me. Amanita mushrooms don’t cause symptoms
immediately after you eat them, the problems come several hours later. Then after a few hours the symptoms often
disappear. But all is not well; the
poison in the mushrooms is affecting the liver and kidneys silently.
I took a picture of the mushrooms and emailed it to a
mycologist (mushroom specialist) at MSU after calling and explaining the
situation. In a short time a state trooper was dispatched to bring the samples
to MSU and our worst fears were confirmed- the boys had consumed amanita
mushrooms, probably on several occasions.
The boy’s doctor was notified and the boys were sent for testing and
treatment that probably saved their lives.
I tell this story because I hear and read so many
stories about people introducing their kids to wild foods and then having
similar problems occur. And even when you don’t point out things for kids to
taste they get curious and try things on their own. A child doesn’t have to go far to find something
poisonous to taste. Our yards are full
of plants that can cause problems. In
the sidebar to this blog is a page with poisonous plant articles. In one article there is a list of common
garden plants that can cause problems.
If you have children and pets it’s a good idea to read it.
You probably won’t need or want to exclude every plant
with toxic qualities from the landscape.
If you did you’d have few plant choices left. But you may want to exclude some of the most poisonous
or things that have tempting fruits or berries.
You know your child better than anyone else. When children reach the age of 5 or 6 they
can generally be trusted not to eat things they find outside, especially if you
have explained some things may be dangerous.
(If there’s a certain plant you want them to avoid just tell them it
will make them throw up and have diarrhea.
Most kids want to avoid that at all costs.) But some children have learning disabilities,
behavior problems or are just too ornery or too curious for their own good. And kids do things on dares or are bullied
into doing things they don’t want to do.
Pets are a whole different scenario- telling them they might vomit
usually doesn’t work.
Now I am not suggesting that no one should introduce
their children to wild foods and tasty weeds.
It’s wonderful to teach children about these things. But you must be very, very careful to stress
that they don’t experiment on their own.
And set a good example. Don’t
taste plants you can’t identify. Don’t
make up batches of medicinal teas or tonics for children unless you are an
experienced herbalist. Children’s bodies
may not tolerate the doses adult bodies can handle.
So let’s go on to another topic in a similar vein.
Is
Pokeweed poisonous? (This week’s weed)
Pokeweed
(Phytolacca Americana), is an interesting plant because it is sometimes eaten
and very poisonous. It is a native North
American plant with ornamental qualities and a role in natural ecosystems. It can be found both in gardens and along
roadsides and in fields. Some other
common names for the plant include Ink Plant, Pokeberry and American Cancer
root.
 |
| Pokeweed |
Most
reputable herbalists and all medical sources classify pokeweed as
harmful/poisonous. There are a number of
chemicals produced by the plant that are toxic.
You can get the full list of those here: https://www.drugs.com/npp/pokeweed.html
The American
Association of Poison Control Centers lists Pokeweed in the top 5 list of
poisonings caused by plants.
If a plant
can cure something it has to be toxic on some level and a cure versus death by
poisoning often depends on a very fine line of dosage strength or method of administering
a dose. Even aspirin can kill or cause
severe injury if you take too much. It’s
too fine of a line in the case of pokeweed. In research chemicals are often isolated from
the whole plant in order to try and remove dangerous chemicals from those that
might be helpful. And in the case of
pokeweed even that process has been fraught with problems, most compounds that
even showed promise proved too toxic to be safely used.
Some people
claim the ripe berries are not harmful if cooked. That claim has generally been discredited
with several poisonings reported from pies made with the berries. It has been claimed that an adult can eat 10
uncooked berries without harm, but that report never says what happens when you
eat the 11th berry. CDC and
poison control centers have several documented cases where children were
poisoned with just a few berries. There
are undoubtedly many cases of mild poisoning that have occurred without being
reported.
The roots
and mature leaves and stems of pokeweed are extremely poisonous. Powdered concoctions of these are used as
herbal remedies but without extreme care these can have serious or fatal
consequences. Even handling mature plants
and getting plant sap on the skin can cause poisoning.
And while
poke salad is a southern tradition there’s evidence that even that practice has
risks. People desperate for something to
eat in early spring learned that if you boiled the young leaves of pokeweed for
5 minutes, then poured off the water rinsed the leaves, and then boiled them
again for 5 minutes you could eat the slimy mess. That tradition still has its followers, even
though safer greens are now usually available.
For this “salad”
practice to be safe the leaves have to be picked very young, before they have
picked up a reddish tinge. All parts of
the pokeweed plant are poisonous; the poison is just less concentrated in young
leaves. If done incorrectly or the
plants gathered are unusually toxic due to weather or soil conditions problems can
result. One such poisoning was
documented by the FDA. (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/detail.cfm?id=4830)
In this
case a day camp in New Jersey decided to cook some pokeweed for campers to
sample. They followed the boil, rinse
and re-boil practice. Between 30 minutes
and 5 hours after eating the pokeweed 20 of the 46 people who tasted the
pokeweed became ill, 18 had to be treated in emergency rooms and 4 were hospitalized. Most of the ill people had eaten more than a
teaspoon of the poke weed and those who didn’t become ill had barely tasted it. The CDC did extensive workups on all the food
served to exclude other causes of illness.
What happens in pokeweed poisoning?
When raw
plant parts are ingested there is generally a burning sensation in the mouth. That’s
a warning not to eat more. Usually mild poisoning results in vomiting, stomach
cramps and diarrhea. Since in earlier
times purges were considered to be good for the body people experiencing these
symptoms might not classify it as poisoning, just a good spring purge.
But larger
doses of the various toxins in pokeweed result in severe projectile vomiting, profuse
bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, excruciating pain in the stomach, weakness, severe headache, muscle
spasms, convulsions, rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, and difficulty in
breathing or respiratory failure.
Pregnant women may abort, poisoning causes uterine contractions and
bleeding. It is also thought that
pregnant woman who survive may have babies with deformities or medical issues.
Pokeweed
poisoning can cause death. Postmortem
findings have included gross lesions caused by severe gastroenteritis;
congestion of internal organs; histological lesions, and stomach ulcerations
with hemorrhage. If one suspects
pokeweed poisoning medical attention should be immediately sought. This is especially important in the case of
children.
Pokeweed is
not a plant for home herbalists to experiment with. There are many safer herbs and medicinal
plants. There has never been any
scientific evidence that pokeweed used as an herbal remedy has cured anything.
Facts about the plant
Pokeweed
becomes a large plant, up to 6 feet high, with thick, sturdy reddish
stems. It is a perennial plant that dies
to the ground each year and forms progressively larger clumps when it
returns. The leaves are thick, long and
oval in shape, larger at the base of the plant, and arranged alternately on the
stems. New spring leaves have red veins
and may be tinged with red. The plant
has a big, thick taproot. The impressive
size and color of the stems convince many gardeners to plant it for visual
interest.
In the north
Poke begins blooming in July. The small
greenish-white flowers are on long spikes at the top and sometimes on smaller
side shoots of the plant. Each flower
turns into a green berry that ripens to purple black. The juice of the Pokeberries is a deep
red. It will stain hands and clothing
and was used by early settlers in place of ink. The plants prefer rich soil and
grow in full sun or partial shade.
Birds love
the berries and spread the seeds far and wide, making purple stains as they go.
As a native plant pokeweed has a place
in nature, but gardeners should make an educated decision as to whether they
are a candidate for their garden. Once
the plant is in the garden it is often an aggressive spreader.
All parts
of the plant are considered poisonous. The plant juices can be absorbed by the skin
and are poisonous. Wear gloves when
handling plants. Berries are attractive
and care should be taken that children don’t eat them. The plants are poisonous to pets and
livestock also, with the exception of berries eaten by birds.
In
conclusion pokeweed is a poisonous plant.
Research has confirmed that and a wise person would disregard anecdotal stories
about miracle cures and avoid herbal remedies made with it. People have been eating poke salad for
centuries and if that’s your thing, just be really careful how you cook your
greens. Pokeweed shouldn’t be eliminated
from all places. If we did that with all
poisonous plants we’d have few natives left.
If you want it in your garden because it’s pretty and you understand its
dangers, go for it.
Freezer
Coleslaw
Do you need a way to preserve some of that cabbage
growing in your garden? In my
grandfather’s day the whole plant was pulled up and hung by the root in a root
cellar. This actually will keep cabbage
edible for a couple of months. However
few of us have root cellars anymore and warm homes don’t always keep cabbage
nicely. You can ferment the cabbage into
sauerkraut but not everyone likes it, and it can be a trick to get conditions
right to get a good batch. Cabbage
doesn’t normally freeze well so when I tried this recipe I found in an old book
I was pleasantly surprised to find it actually stayed crispy.
1 medium cabbage, shredded, chopped or sliced
1 carrot, grated, chopped or julienned
1 green pepper, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
1 cup white vinegar
¼ cup water
1 ½ cups sugar (Do
not use artificial sweeteners)
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon canning salt
Wash and prepare the cabbage and carrot as you like
them for coleslaw. Dice the onion and
pepper.
In a large bowl toss the cabbage and salt together. It seems like a little salt for a lot of
cabbage but it will work. Let the
cabbage sit 1 hour.
Put the vinegar, sugar, water, mustard and celery seed
in a pan and bring the mixture to a boil.
Boil for 1 minute stirring. Let
cool to room temperature.
After an hour pour any moisture formed off the
cabbage. Squeeze the cabbage a bit to
get out any excess moisture and drain
off. Add the onions and pepper and mix
well.
Pour the cooled syrup mix over the cabbage and mix
well. Divide into freezer bags or
containers in the portions that best suit your serving needs. The recipe will make about 4 pint sized
containers.
Freeze the coleslaw.
After 2 or 3 days you can try a batch.
Defrost for 8 hours in the refrigerator before serving. Keep leftovers refrigerated.
Other
ways to preserve cabbage
If you have just the right storage conditions, like the
root cellar mentioned above, cabbage can be stored whole for 2-3 months. Leave the outer leaves and root on. Hang in a cool 32-40 degree spot that has
high humidity, 70-80%. Keep it away
from other vegetables or they may taste like cabbage. Cabbage tastes stronger after storage.
Cabbage can be sliced thin and dried in a food
dehydrator but then must be stored in the refrigerator for best keeping and
flavor. It is used in cooking. Cabbage
can also be sliced, blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes, dipped in ice
water to cool, drained and frozen. This
cabbage will be soggy when thawed and is used for cooking only.
When you bring a cabbage in from the garden and use
part of it wrap the remainder tightly in plastic wrap and store in the crisper
of the refrigerator. You may want to
place it in another ziplock type bag because it can give its flavor and smell
to other vegetables.
The April 26, 2016 blog has an article on growing
cabbage.
Don’t
delay, buy tulips today!
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
susanmklaffer@yahoo.com Phone
810-664-8912
For Sale: I have baby parakeets for sale, hatched this
spring $10 each without cage, $20 for bird with small, new cage of assorted
colors. They are not hand fed. Beautiful colors, lutino, (yellow) and shades
of pale green, olive green, and sea green.
Some I can sex now, others are a guess.
You’ll need to bring your own cage if you don’t purchase one. Parakeets are active birds that are a lot of
fun to watch. Call at 989-761-7609.
Also for sale Muscovy
ducklings, black laced, about 3 months old, fine to be without mom but you must
buy at least 2, unless you have other ducks.
$5 each. Call the number above.
Muscovy are flying ducks, large sized and make good meat ducks. They do not quack- and are very quiet.
Mary Lou Lafond has a
huge, 5 feet +, Norfolk Island Pine to
give away. You must move it. Norfolk Pines are indoor plants, must be
inside before frost. For more info
contact her at marylafond@frontier.com
Native Shrubs & Trees- Thursday, Sep 8, 2016 6:30-8:30pm,
MSU Tollgate Education Conference Center, 28115 Meadowbrook Rd, Novi, MI
Come
discover the usefulness of native woody plants in the landscape. Gardeners
wishing to include more natives in their plantings have lots of beautiful
options. Natives look good, often require less care, and can be more beneficial
to native insects and other creatures than are non-native ornamentals. A
component of this class will be a walk around the Tollgate grounds to view some
of the plants discussed in the lecture. Mary Wilson has been an MSU
Horticulture Educator for 30 years with a focus on environmental horticulture. $25.
For more information http://tollgate.msu.edu/events.
Southeast Michigan Dahlia Show, Sep 10 – 11, 2016 Orchard Mall, 6337 Orchard Lake Rd,
West Bloomfield Township, MI
See hundreds
of dahlias on exhibit during the hours the mall is open presented by the
Southeast Michigan Dahlia Society. Free.
For more information: judy892@wowway.com.
New- 13th
Annual Fall Into Spring 2016 - October 1, 2016, 8 am – 3 pm. Mott Community
College Event Center, 1401 E. Court Street, Flint MI
Master
Gardener Association Genesee County presents:
- A
wonderful way to experience tips and ideas to create a beautiful garden for
next year. A fun-filled and inspirational event full of ideas and guidelines to
benefit any gardener -- from basic to the most experienced.
**Early
Registration is $65.00 by Friday, September 23, 2016.
Registration
AFTER Friday, September 23, 2016 will be $70.00**
The
Speakers:
Janet
Macunivich Professional gardener. garden designer, educator, author, columnist
for Garden A to Z. Her topic: “Low Maintenance Gardening.”
Jan Burns,
Owner, Burns Botanicals, Oxford, MI, will teach us the many ways we can grow
anduse garden herbs in “Herbs: How to Grow and Harvest”
Jan Bills,
Owner/operator Two Women and a HoeTM. Her topic“Dirty Little Secrets”gives us
insight into practical gardening secrets that will make us love, not labor over
our gardens.
George
Papadelis, Owner, Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy, author & educator. George
will give us a sneak peek at the new annuals and perennials for 2017.
The Garden
Market: Shop our market of vendors who offer for sale many hand-made or
one-of-a-kind items, including garden stones, garden art, herbal products,
unique gardening supplies & more! *Note: Some vendors take only cash or
checks.
Make checks
payable to: MGAGCM
Mail
registration to:
Genesee
County Master Gardeners
Fall Into
Spring Conference
P.O. Box 34
Flushing,
MI 48433
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/blog
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 or you can comment directly on the blog. Please state that you want to have
the item published in my weekly note if you email me. 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 people and horticulture.
It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and
at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you
know anyone who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog
is published have them send their
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