Real Dirt

Contents (Click on a title or scroll)

Finding happiness one bloom at a time

Keep your amaryllis growing for years

10 Things Nobody Tells You About Poinsettias

Botanic Garden Update

Finding happiness one bloom at a time

Reprinted with permission from Dixie Sandborn, Michigan State University Extension – originally published, December 8, 2020

Stuck at home? Bring a little bit of happiness to your life with flowers this Winter.

Many of us have been safe at home for many months. One way to make your homestay a little cheerier is to add flowers. A recent study published by Jeannette Haviland-Jones, PhD, reports that research now proves flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. A professor of psychology at Rutgers University, Haviland’s study reported participants felt less depressed, anxious, and agitated around flowers. This confirms a long–held belief about flowers, as Haviland noted, “Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy.” In other studies, it is also noted that workspace is positively affected when flowers are present, to which Haviland commented, “Flowers bring about positive feelings in those who enter a room.”

So how can you bring a little bit of happiness to your life with flowers this Winter? Cut flowers are always great, but there are also many flowering plant options available for gardeners as well. Flowering plants tend to be a better value as they last longer, some for many years.

Amaryllis are a great addition to any holiday décor.

During Winter months, forcing bulbs indoors is a great way to do some cold weather gardening. Easy Winter favorites that are readily available now include are Paperwhites (narcissus sp.) and Amaryllis. Paperwhites and Amaryllis are tropical bulbs and do not require a cold period. Both types are a great addition to any holiday décor.

African violets are another all-time favorite that does well indoors and can be easily propagated by leaf cuttings. The stem of the violet can be placed in water or in soil for easy rooting and many violets can be started from just one stem cutting. Start several at a time and pass the happiness around by sharing with friends and family!

Orchids are another great indoor plant that has become very popular in recent years. Orchids are a very affordable option, these flowers last weeks at a time, re-flower, require little care and come in a variety of interesting colors, shapes and sizes. As a result, orchids have become an all-around “go to” plant for all occasions.

These recommendations are not the only plants that will flourish inside this Winter. Potted miniature roses, holiday cactus, kalanchoes, periwinkles and primroses are also good options and can be transplanted to a semi-shady outdoor location this Spring. In addition, there are always interesting options at local grocery stores and box stores. Head to a retail location near you to see what new plants and varieties are available, as well as old favorites.

Michigan State University Extension encourages you to let the inner gardener in you nurture a plant during these Winter months. It will lift your spirits and bring happiness to those you live and work with!

Keep your amaryllis growing for years

By:  Dawn Chalker, AEMG

The amaryllis plant, originally from South Africa, produces beautiful, showy flowers to cheer up the Winter gloom.  Select a large, firm bulb.  Choose a pot that will be large enough to allow roots to grow and tall enough to provide support for a large bloom.  Plant it with one third of the bulb above the soil line, water it enough so that the roots are wet but not soggy and put it in a place with bright light.  If it dries out, give it a little more water.

It may seem slow to get started, but eventually it will produce a leaf or a bloom stalk. Each bulb seems to be different about which comes first.  Don’t worry, as it will eventually produce both.  When you see growth, the plant will enjoy Winter sun but doesn’t require it to bloom.  Water the bulb so it doesn’t dry out, but don’t keep it too wet so that the bulb rots.  When the flower blooms, it may require staking as blooms can be tall and heavy. 

Once your amaryllis has bloomed, it would be a shame to give up on it.  Just cut back the stalk of the bloom and treat it like a houseplant.  Some of the leaves will probably die back, but new ones will take their place and by Spring it will look green and healthy.

What your plant will prefer is for the pot to be put outside for the Summer in a sunny spot protected by the wind.  During a hot spell it may prefer partial shade.  Water it when it seems dry.  A key factor is to fertilize it regularly, biweekly works well, with an all-purpose plant food such as Miracle Gro.  Occasionally, one of the bulbs will decide to bloom again in the Summer.

Bring it inside before frost and stop watering and feeding it.  Let the foliage die back as you would Spring bulbs outside.  Some of bulbs are quite stubborn and seem to refuse to die back.  After the leaves have mostly died back, pull off the dead leaves, take the bulb out of the pot, shake off the dirt, and let it dry out.  Put it in an open sack or box and leave it in a basement or other cool place where it won’t freeze.  Check on it occasionally. (Michele Worden’s comments on what to check, “possibly a desiccated or moldy bulb.  Those are the two issues.  That is why I just leave them in the pot and put them in a paper bag and put them in a dark corner.  3 months later they will be growing.  If you are late checking on them, they will look like ghost plants – all white.  But they green up soon enough in the light)

Let the bulb rest for at least six weeks.  Repot it in a pot that gives the roots enough room to spread out a bit.  If the roots seem long, you can trim off the ends of some of them.  Once you have planted it, put it back in the place where it grew before. The length of time letting it rest can be coordinated with when you want it to bloom again, but if you wait too long to replant it, leaves may start shooting up without your help.

Often over the Summer, some bulbs will produce bulblets along the side.  If you want to create more plants, pull them off gently and plant them again when you replant their parents.  They get bigger quickly, but it may take a year or more before they bloom.  I have shared five over the years with friends and family and still have three from the original bulb. I traded one bulb with a neighbor, who also had started a bulblet, and now have two of another color.

Amaryllis are wonderful plants, forgiving of a bit of neglect and will continue to delight you year after year.  Using brief instructions from Downtown Home and Garden, a retailer in Ann Arbor, MI, I experimented to see what would work.  The above are guidelines, but your amaryllis will be in a different location than mine and you may have to adjust.  One advantage of keeping the same plant year after year is that you will become familiar with what it prefers.

Enjoy!

10 Things Nobody Tells You About Poinsettias

Written By Michelle Slatalla  Published: December 21, 2020 on the Gardenista website

https://www.gardenista.com/posts/10-things-nobody-tells-poinsettias/?utm_source=10%20Things%20Nobody%20Tells%20You%20About%20Poinsettias%20-%20Gardenista%20Daily%20-%2012/22/2020&utm_campaign=4c8fc5189b&utm_medium=email

Shared by Molly Bacon, EMG Trainee

Michele Worden, our president, forwarded an email with a link to this article. I learned new information about the Poinsettia, to include the ‘i’ is not silent; I have always pronounced it incorrectly.  The one fact I did know and had experience with is their growth habits in nature. While living in Southern California, we had a Poinsettia growing on the side of the house. Every year, it would grow up to the roofline and have some spindly red and green leaves. Though many years ago, I still find this fascinating.   

Another informative article can be found at

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/poinsettia/facts.cfm

Botanic Garden Update

By:  Karen Schmidt, Botanic Garden Coordinator

2020 was such a challenging year for our country – a terrible pandemic, divisive political issues, extreme storms, and other weather conditions.  With the stress of all these factors, the public found comfort, peace, and inspiration in the Botanic Garden.  Record nursery sales highlighted a renewed interest in home gardening, and that was reflected in visitors to the Botanic Garden as well.  People flocked to the Garden to walk the labyrinth, hike the trails, stroll around flower beds, practice yoga or tai chi on the lawns, picnic on the pavilion, meditate in the Secret Garden, read on a shady bench, or visit with friends.  The Garden was a safe outdoor place where visitors could maintain distance from others while enjoying the park.  Masks were a common sight.  2020 reinforced for us how important and how valuable public gardens are for a region.

There was a great deal of construction going on this Summer as well. The Sugar Maple Allée, with its tall native maple trees and 14’ wide beds and 10’ wide walkway, was extended all the way down to the new labyrinth.  A 150’ long circular garden was planted around the labyrinth, featuring Gingko biloba trees and medicinal perennials and shrubs as a component of the Healing Garden.  A beautiful new steel pergola was constructed over the Secret Garden and subtle landscape lighting installed in both the Stable Garden and Secret Garden, making it a magical place after dark.  A new Fairy House Trail was constructed in the Garden’s woodland and hundreds of native woodland flowers were planted along the trail. Thousands of Spring-blooming bulbs were planted this Fall in several of the gardens, and 28 trees and shrubs were installed. 

The largest project this Summer and Fall was the construction of new paved roads and parking lots throughout the park.  Old gravel roads were harvested and replaced with topsoil, seeded, and mulched, adding almost two and a half acres of new planting areas for the Botanic Garden.  The design of the new paved roads, along with berms, water retention swales and underground pipes allow for the capture of storm water run-off, redirecting it to the wetlands and preventing erosion and stream damage.   Thanks to the Traverse City Garfield Township Recreational Authority, the roads project has been transformational for the park!  If you haven’t seen it yet, you will be amazed and delighted. 

Although the Visitor Center is closed for the Winter and COVID keeps us from offering in-person classes and workshops, our Program Committee is working on a series of on-line classes.  November’s Make-And-Take Winter Porch Pot class was a real hit and there are more online offerings to come.  Check out our website, www.TheBotanicGarden.org, and our Facebook Page for additional information.  A new feature on our website, under the ‘visit’ button, is our self-guided audio tour.  Whether you listen to it at home or on your phone as you walk the Garden, this audio tour will explain both the history of the site and the various features of each garden. 

2020 was a dark and challenging year for all of us, but there were rays of sunshine as well, and we have exciting new plans for the future.  Here is to a new year, where gardening and gardens continue to enrich our lives.

Contents (Click on a title or scroll)

Food of the Month:
Butternut Squash (Cucurbita moschata)

Roasted Butternut Squash, Onion and Apple Pizza

Will you be ready for seed starting?

Book Review

MGANM Garden Book Club

Food of the Month:
Butternut Squash (Cucurbita moschata)

By:  Jane Denay, EMG Trainee

Squash have a long relationship with human civilization, with seeds dating back 12,000 years ago found in Ecuadorian caves. In the Americas, squash was one of three primary crops, the other two being maize and beans. Known as the “Three Sisters” by the Iroquois, these crops worked symbiotically. The corn provided a growing structure for the climbing beans and the bean vines better rooted the corn to ground so the stalks were not as easily blown over or washed out. The beans fixed nitrogen in the soil to fertilize the corn and squash, especially since corn uses a lot of nitrates out of the soil. The squash vi

Butternut squash blossom

nes acted as living mulch to shade out weed plants and retain moisture in the soil, while the prickly stems deterred pests from “helping” with the harvest. When the three crops were eaten together, they provided a nutritional balance of carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and vitamins. The word “squash “comes from the Narragansett Native American word askutasquash, which mean “eaten raw or uncooked.”

The Cucurbit

Butternut squash grown vertically saves a lot of garden space and the vine has no difficulty supporting large fruit.

a moschata are the Winter squash. They are botanically distinct from the Summer squash. The moschata take longer to mature, have hard skins and their stems are round. Picking does not begin until after the vine decline. Allow them to cure in garden for two to three weeks before storing. Butternut squash will keep longer than other moschata, Winter squash, so use the others first. Store in a dry and dark place where the temperature is between 50 and 55°F. For prolonged storage, do not pile the squash more than two fruit deep. It is preferable, where space allows, to place the fruits in a single layer so that they do not touch each other. This arrangement minimizes the potential spread of rots. With proper storage they can keep 3-6 months.

For specific information on planting refer to your Extension Master Gardener Training Manual.

Squash Bee information:

https://www.canr.msu.edu/master_gardener_volunteer_program/for-extension-master-gardeners/squash-bee-pollinator-citizen-science-project

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/tillage-and-squash-bees

Additional reference information:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2011/11/from-the-victory-garden-american-history-told-through-squash.html

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/veggies/wsquash.cfm

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/how-did-squash-get-its-name/

Roasted Butternut Squash, Onion and Apple Pizza

By:  Jane Denay, EMG Trainee

You will likely not find this pizza on a restaurant menu, but you will find it in your garden or at this time in your root cellar. You will not find specific measurements as the construction is rather organic and up to you.

½ Butternut squash (or other Winter squash) peeled and chopped into ¼-½ inch cubes

1 small to medium onion coarsely chopped

1 apple large chopped (no need to peel as the peel adds nice color)

Gorgonzola cheese crumbled

Mozzarella cheese grated

Olive oil

Pizza dough for one pizza

Several handfuls of Arugula for serving

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• On a cookie sheet, lightly drizzle olive oil over chopped butternut squash and onions
• Roast at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally until squash is tender.
• Put your pizza stone in the oven during roasting.
• When squash and onions are tender, remove them and the pizza stone from the oven.
• Turn heat up to 425 degrees.
• Sprinkle cornmeal on hot pizza stone putting pizza dough on top of it.
• Brush pizza dough with olive oil and sprinkle roasted butternut squash and onion over the crust, then apples, gorgonzola, and mozzarella cheeses.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes
• Sprinkle arugula on top of pizza for serving

Bon Appetit!

Will you be ready for seed starting?

By:  Molly Bacon, EMG Trainee

Along with the MGANM February presentation on seed starting, it would be a good idea to start preparing the items needed so you are ready to have fun, without scrambling around locating supplies, with seed starting. This is especially important if some items will need to be ordered and slower shipping times may happen. This year it appears that many more people became enthused about home gardening and I imagine they will try their hand at seed starting. Planning early is best so you do not get caught short.

Picture only for representation. No brands are being recommended.

The categories include:

Location: Your seedlings will take up some space for several weeks and moving them is not usually a good idea.

Containers: There are so many possibilities from formal seedling trays to Styrofoam cups and egg cartons.

Growing Medium: Appropriate seed starting mixes are critical and it is best to not reuse last year’s mixture.

Temperature: Since most seeds germinate quicker when the soil is consistently 70 degrees or higher (some need 80 to 85 degrees) you need to decide how to keep the seeds warm. Heat mats are a simple way to ensure the proper temperature but be careful since some are not temperature controlled and this can be a problem.

Moisture: Mini greenhouses can be accomplished with plastic wrap or a fancier dome over the containers. A spray bottle works well to not harm the seedlings.

Light: Once the seeds sprout the proper lighting will make the difference between sturdy seedlings and leggy/spindly seedlings. A shop-light fixture on a chain that can be raised/lowered is an inexpensive way to provide the correct light.

Fertilizer: Once your seedlings start to grow a quality, water-soluble fertilizer will give them the necessary nutrients.

Transplanting: Think about what containers should be the next step and what tools might be needed to move the seedlings without harm to them.

Seeds: This is the most fun since soon the various seed companies will start to send their catalogs. Going online is also a great way to start making choices. Making the selections and ordering early is a good idea, especially if there is a larger than usual amount of people ordering seeds this year.

Speaking of seeds, a good article from Joe Gardener, The Informed Seed Shopper: What to Know Before You Buy

Book Review

The Well-Gardened MIND: The Restorative Power of Nature

Author: Sue Stuart-Smith, Copyright: 2020, Published by: Scribner

Reviewed by:  Jane Denay, EMG Trainee

What brought you to gardening, what keeps you gardening, what inspires you to share your passion for gardening? In Sue Stewart-Smith’s The Well Gardened MIND: The Restorative Power of Nature you may frequently find yourself on her garden paths.

Stewart-Smith is a psychiatrist, gardener and student of literature who brings together life experiences with research exploring the relationship between our evolutionary brain, mental health, and gardening. She offers cultivation as an inward and outward activity that can make us whole. Prisoners given both opportunity and training to garden are less apt to reoffend. At risk youth, who are able to get their hands in soil, are more likely to stay in school. For the elderly, gardening provides a source of existential contemplation of the seasons of life and hope that a seed or bulb can provide. Through the eons, there is evidence that soldiers have been found to engage in gardening activities in conflict zones.  Thus, not surprisingly, those healing from illness, trauma and burn-out are able, transform their lives through the restorative power of gardening.

In reading The Well-Gardened MIND, you will be renewed in your own knowing that gardening is an activity in which “we can experience a different kind of knowing, one that is sensory and physical, and which stimulates the emotional, spiritual, and cognitive aspects of our being.” Master Gardeners will be validated in their projects that serve their communities through the generative power of gardening.

Stewart-Smith lives in Hertfordshire, England with her husband Tom Stuart-Smith, a celebrated garden designer, where they have created their phenomenal Barn Garden.

“To make some sense of life.

We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good

We’ll do the best we know

We’ll build our house and chop our wood

And make our garden grow…

And make our garden grow.”

~ By Leonard Bernstein from Candide

MGANM Garden Book Club

We are excited to announce the beginning of the MGANM Garden Book Club beginning January 1, 2021.  The first selection is a wonderful book titled Uprooted:  A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again by Page Dickey.  There will be a Zoom meeting near the end of January to discuss the book and have a little fun. 

 If you are interested, please log into MGANM.org and enter the Member’s Area.  Update your profi

le by selecting “Garden Book Club” under Committees”.  You will then start receiving 

emails and links to the Zoom discussion.  In the meantime, please get a copy of uprooted and start reading.  

Contents (Click on a title or scroll)

The Importance of Garden Journals

Pruning Matters… Or the Matter of Pruning

The Importance of Garden Journals

By: Nancy Popa, AEMG

Generally, a garden journal is a place where you record details, patterns, observations and plans for your garden.  I have two types of journals that serve me well.  I have an electronic journal and a spiral bound journal.  Of course, a garden journals can take any form that meets your needs.  Ring binders are convenient in that you can add inserts such as graph paper, calendar pages, pockets for seeds and tags.  Hard cover journals provide a surface to write on.  Some specialty journals are waterproof. A Garden Journal is very personal, there are no rules, and you can use it in any way that meets your needs! 

My electronic journal has two sections that are continuously updated.  The first section is a calendar in paragraph form.  January, February, March etc.  In each paragraph I list the tasks that I must do year to year in that particular month for example…April-thin boxwoods, May-feed heavy flowering plants, June-stake asters.  I also identify when to start looking for certain pests. For example, look for saw fly larvae on Lysimachia mid-June, around 400 Growing Degree Days (that is another article).  The fact that I can continuously update this section and keep it in chronological order is very convenient.  The second section in my electronic journal is the area where I alphabetically identify each plant by genus and species, common name, and optimal growing conditions.  It is always nice to be able to quickly look up one of the plants in your yard and be reminded that they thrive in moist soil or like to be cut back at certain times.  The ability to update and keep it alphabetical makes it extremely easy to keep track of your plants.  Another advantage of this level of documentation is that when you share a plant with someone, you can be sure you tell them everything they need to know. Take a look at Nancy’s Journal by using this link (opens a pdf): Garden Calendar. 

My second garden journal is the one that I love to write in out in the garden!  I have sketches, “must have plants”, a list of this year’s Fall moves and divisions, notes on where I top dressed in the Spring before I ran out of compost, lecture notes and much more.  I carry this one around in my garden wagon…it gets dirty and sometimes wet…but it has all the good stuff in it.  The daily observations and ideas make gardening so fun.  I strongly recommend getting started with some type of journaling and see where it takes you.

Pruning Matters… Or the Matter of Pruning

By:  Cheryl A. Gross, AEMG

Pruning can be fun and beneficial to trees and shrubs. On the other hand, pruning can significantly damage trees and shrubs! The Master Gardener Volunteer Training Manual lists nine reasons to prune most of which are included here. The secrets to healthy pruning are timing, goal, and technique.

Timing:

A gardener should remove dead, diseased or damaged branches any time of the year. Late Winter and early Spring are the best times to prune most woody plants.  They are dormant and there will be little insect or pathogen present to attack the open wounds.

There are exceptions. Some shrubs should be pruned shortly after they are finished blooming in Spring. Examples are forsythia and lilac.  They bloom on year-old stems so later pruning limits the profusion of blooms the following year.  Major refreshing of all shrubs will be addressed later.  This timely advice is for size and shape control.

Deciduous trees are best pruned in Winter, although some can wait until Spring.  Waiting until the leaves are off the trees and shrubs allows a much clearer view as to branching structure. In Winter, insects are no longer active, and the tree is dormant making Winter pruning the healthier option.  This is especially true for Oak trees.  Temperatures must be at or below 32 degrees for an extended period of time for safe pruning to prevent an opening for Oak Wilt.  Also, shrubs that need a major reshaping or resizing should be pruned in Winter when you can clearly see the branch structure.

Evergreen trees should be pruned, only when absolutely necessary and then in late Spring.  Any cuts will produce a flurry of growth so can be useful when looking to fill-out the shape.  The exception are spruces and firs which should be pruned in Winter.

Goal:

Most of shrub pruning is used to shape or re-size the plant.  If a shrub has a natural globe shape, keep that shape.  If the shrub has a natural vase or arching shape, keep that shape.  Please, never cut a naturally vase-shaped shrub into a globe.  The most obvious example of this mistake is seen in forsythia pruning.  If a forsythia is shaped like a lightbulb, it has been mistreated.

Tree pruning is performed to shape the tree as it grows.  Trees grow in two directions:  wider from the trunk and longer from terminal buds. A branch 8 inches off the ground will never grow up.  Therefore, tree pruning especially, on young trees, is accomplished primarily by removing entire branches from the trunk.  As a tree grows through each terminal branch end, please do not remove a terminal end anywhere along the branch.  Take that stem back to where it began on the trunk or a larger branch.  Topping a tree is never a good idea, although utility companies do it as necessary to protect the power supply.

Technique:

Always use proper tools for the job.  Sharp hand pruners, a pruning saw, loppers, and ratchet loppers are all helpful in a pruning toolbox.  Include alcohol and a rag for wiping the blades between plants.  Bypass pruners are preferred as they are better for the branch being cut; anvil style pruners can bruise and crush the branch.

Begin by taking a good look at the plant.  Stand back and examine it from various angles.  Globe or topiary-shaped shrubs are shaped and reduced in size by snipping the outside edges of the plant.  Before beginning, dig down inside the branching and remove any dead/diseased branches.  On evergreen shrubs, always keep a conical shape to allow the sun to reach all branches, down to the ground.  A top-heavy evergreen will shade the lower branches allowing them to lose needles and look straggly and dead.

On vase shaped or arching branch shrubs look first for anything dead and remove it at the ground or at a larger, live branch.  Then, look for interior branches that cross other branches, especially if they rub against another branch.  The goal here is to clear-out the internal branching for light accessibility and to limit branch damage.  Stand back once more and evaluate the size and shape.  Many times, the first two steps may be enough to keep the shrub healthy.  Use a thinning technique to open up the plant to light and more vigorous growth.

Once a plant has gotten larger than the location allows, it is time to refresh.  By refreshing, the pruner is taking the shrub back to a dramatically smaller form.  This process should take three years and includes significantly cutting back the shrub a third each year.  Refreshing does not act like a buzz saw to “top” the plant.  It is accomplished one branch at a time.  First-year cuts are deep into the shrub and remove large stem/branches to open the lower sections of the shrub to light. In the second year, the first-year cuts begin to branch and fill in when the second third of deep cuts are made.  By the third year, the first cut regrowth should be vigorous while the second-year regrowth is beginning.  By spreading out the significant pruning action, the plant has strength to regrow and maintains a semblance of attractiveness.

Many plants are stimulated by pruning and will quickly push out new branches and leaves, especially when pruned during peak growing season.  This is desirable when refreshing an overgrown shrub, shaping a Christmas tree, or to fill-in a cedar.  If done improperly or at the wrong time, pruning can actually make the shrub larger!

Finally, there are shrubs that can be refreshed by cutting back to the ground.  This is especially helpful with red twig dogwood which has old branches turning brown.  It is easy to remove these selectively and the shrub will push new growth.  The plant can be completely cut to the ground and will regrow, but there will be an unsightly blank where it once filled the space. 

For more detailed descriptions and illustrations, review the Woody Ornamental chapter in the 2013 edition of the MSU Master Gardener Volunteer Program Training Manual.

Additional resource:  Pruning Made Easy: A Gardener’s Visual Guide to When and How to Prune Everything, from Flowers to Trees, Lewis Hill, Storey’s Gardening Skills Illustrated, c. 1997

Pruning Young Trees

Minimal Annual Pruning

Refresh Pruning Over Three Years

Contents (Click on a title or scroll)

Help Needed – MGANM Programming Chairperson

Traverse City Has a Botanic Garden?

MGANM Annual Meeting Minutes and Recognition Event Summary

Help Needed – MGANM Programming Chairperson

MGANM is in desperate need of a Programming Chairperson.  The programs for 2021 have already been identified as well as many of the speakers.  We are looking for someone to take the lead on securing the speakers, writing short press releases, and writing speaker biographies.  You will be working with an awesome group of people on the programming committee.

Please give Nancy Popa a call at 231-944-9509 if interested.  

Traverse City Has a Botanic Garden?

By Pam Filkins, AEMG

“Traverse City has a botanic garden?!” This was a comment frequently made by co-workers when I first began volunteering at The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park in Traverse City in 2016.  After over a decade of careful planning and preparation, the garden is coming alive.

I am part of the “container team” which means that once a week I visit The Botanical Garden to water, weed and deadhead the container plants that surround the Visitor Center. Frequently, potted plants and shrubs are at the Center waiting to be planted and they also require a regular drink as does the Salad Garden behind the Visitor Center. Generally, I spend a little over an hour gardening, answering visitor questions and assisting them in identifying the plants The Friendly Garden Club has beautifully planted the containers. I meet visitors from all over and thoroughly enjoy helping them to have a great experience at the Garden while discovering new plants and shrubs. Getting to know the docents at the Garden has been so much fun.  They are a wonderful, dedicated group!  Having been a small part of The Garden for the last four years, watching everything grow and bloom, makes me feel rooted in something beautiful.

Read more at the Botanic Garden Update

MGANM Annual Meeting Minutes and Recognition Event Summary

By:  Erin Paxson, EMG Trainee

To watch the meeting, click on this link: https://mediaspace.msu.edu/id/1_wa6e469j

The meeting began on November 8^th, 2020 with Association highlights of 2020 from Michele Worden. This year, nine education programming events took place this year with six being virtual.  Programming attendance was slightly higher for the virtual programs. Currently there are 99 active members and a 15% increase in followers on social media. There were two openings available for The Real Dirt; one for content editor (now filled) and the other for a layout editor.  A tentative calendar of events for 2021 programming was presented; the program content is inspired by survey results. Michele mentioned the financial report should be available by February.  This year the Mills Community House accounted for 20% of all volunteer hours. And the scholarship recipient this year was Haley Hildebrand who has previously worked with the Groundwork Center in Traverse City.

Nancy Popa revealed the early membership renewal raffle winner was Carla Benson-Burns.  Voting took place to increase board member terms from 2-two-year terms to 3-two-year terms which passed. The new slate of directors are: Michele Worden as President, James Egan as Secretary and Joanne Johnson as Director B.  Congratulations were given to Fern Spence and Michele Worden who both won the Service to the Association Award.  Fern was a project leader for the Downtown TC Planter Project and was interviewed in the Record Eagle.  Michele is the face of MGANM and puts a tremendous amount of effort into membership and marketing.  There is a need for leads for Programming, Events, and the Boardman River Center Committees. If you are interested, contact Nancy Popa at 231-944-9509 or nanook551@gmail.com.

The first program of the evening was presented by Sue Newman.  The title of the program was “My Garden: The Good, the Bad and the Fungal-y”.  Sue is an avid vegetable gardener.  She has been certified as a master gardener since 2001. Sue moved to Traverse City in 2015 and grew up in Clarkston.

Sue’s garden is aptly named Windy Acres. This 48x75ft garden was built by Sue and her husband after much careful planning. It features 16 cinderblock lined raised garden beds and is surrounded by a five-foot chain-link fence with an additional three feet of support posts. Sue claims the height of the fence successfully keeps deer out of the garden.  The presentation was filled with veggie gardening tips and tricks.  Using cinderblocks to create the raised beds allows soil to heat up quickly in the Spring and stay warm later in the Fall by efficiently retaining heat. Raised beds delay frost events, allow for easier harvesting and planting. Soil does not become compacted and row covers can easily be added.  Sue has her beds oriented north/south, planting tall plants on the north side for maximum sun exposure.  Espalier semi-dwarf apple trees save space as does planting small plants in the holes of the cinderblocks. 

The irrigation system consists of a water timer with four zones and a water line with retractable hose.  Sue utilizes plant supports due to the wind and prefers square cages as they fold up for easy storage.  Pepper ladders, and hog wire trellis provide support. To control pests, Sue prefers cultural control methods like hand-picking larvae and adult insects and using row covers as physical barriers against pests. Constant monitoring, picking off infected leaves, and using organic fungicide are Sue’s methods for disease control. Post season care tips include soaking pots, any staking materials, potato bags, etc. in a 10% bleach solution for 20 minutes or a wipe down with rubbing alcohol.  This impressive garden also hosts a flower garden that provides fresh-cut flowers and brings in pollinators.  It is clear the years of garden experience Sue has acquired as a Master Gardener have culminated in this productive, neat, and beautiful garden.

The next presentation was titled “Victory Garden” and focused on how to safely preserve home grown food. Kara Lynch and Karen Fifield are food safety educators with MSU extension. Kara began with a reminder to practice good sanitation prior to food preservation. Tips for freezing food included: circulating inventory, organizing by types of food, inventory lists and checking the thermometer periodically. When packing food, it is best to pick a container that is made for freezing and avoid recycled single use containers.  Cool before freezing, if blanching, place vegetables in an ice bath for good color. Pack food in serving size quantities up to 1 quart.  Tomatoes, onions, peppers, zucchinis do not need to be blanched before freezing.

When canning high acid foods use a water bath or atmospheric steam canner.  Salsa can be canned in this manner only with appropriate recipes. Any vinegar used must be at least 5% acid.  Jars should be made to handle the temperature changes.  Quick pickling without processing takes only 30 minutes.  Low acid foods will need acid added and the correct amount of salt is vital. Leftover brine can be used for a few days but must be refrigerated.

Karen finished the presentation with pressure canning.  This type of canning is used when mixing high and low acid vegetables in one jar, for soups, meats, and most vegetables.  It is best to preserve clean, quality produce. Altitude affects the amount of time at pressure and pressure gauges should be calibrated periodically. Venting the canner for 10 min after the jars are in place and using sanitized utensils are key.  The Ball Blue Book and Michigan Fresh are good resources for approved recipes.

The MGANM meeting concluded with Master Gardener recognition:   

• Newly certified EMGs included: Molly Francis, Katrina Verlac, James Egan, Elaine Michener-Israel, David Merrell, Connie Veverica, Linda Racine, and Patricia Compton.
• Advanced EMGs with 100 Volunteer hours: Sandy Coobac, Jean Jenkins, Laura McCain, Yvonne Nault, Laurie Schneider.
• Lifetime Service Awards
  • 250 hours: Molly Francis and Jacqueline Hice
  • 500 hours: Judy Van De Weghe
  • 1000 hours: Gary Michalek, Steve Stephens, Sue Warren
• Master Gardener of the Year
  • In Benzie County, Gary Michalek was awarded for his donation garden work in the Good News Garden and Mills House.
  • In Grand Traverse county, Michele Worden for her work with MGANM and the Downtown TC Planters.
  • In Leelanau county, Lillian Mahaney for her work with the EMG News and Jr. Master Gardeners.

Citizen Science Project

MSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, MGANM, and the Downtown Development
Authority are collaborating on a citizen science project based around the flower planters
running down E Front St. between Park, Cass, and Union Streets. To participate all you have to
do is count pollinators for 3 minute intervals. You can enter the counts via an online survey that
you can reach by scanning a QR code that will be located on a sign in each planter. An example
of the sign is below

Citizen Science Project Real Dirt 7_2020 (1)

Thank you for participating in our citizen science project! Your responses will help us learn about how these planters are helping pollinators and how we can be better at helping them in the future. 

What is the number on the sign in this planter?

Please use a timer set to 3 minutes, stand in one place near the center of the planter and use the sliders below to record how many of the 2 main categories of pollinators you see in 3 minutes of observation time. Use the “Other” category for insects that don’t fit into either the “Bees/Wasps/Flies” category or the “Butterflies” Category.

Upload a photo of the planter today (optional)

Bale Raised Beds: My experiment and project for this year’s growing season

By, Michael O’Brien, AEMG

Part 1

Twenty, Twenty was the year to rotate my crops.  I had been growing tomatoes in the same garden for the past two years.  Tomatoes are one of those plants that are prone to root rot disease when they are grown in the same spot for three years or more.  Root rot disease is better known as Fusarium wilt which will kill the plant.

Back in May I watched a webinar on Season Extension Techniques for Growing Food by Dr. John.  In his discussion he mentioned that rotating crops is different for a home owner than a farmer.  A farmer can move that crop to the other side of his field which is far away from where the plant was previously grown.  For a homeowner that can be difficult being the available growing garden area in the yard is either limited or the yard is small.  Another method that was recommended was making a raised bed with straw or hay.  Hay will put nutrients back into the soil which straw doesn’t.  Yes there is the issue of seeds in the bales of both.

My experiment and project for this year is a raised bed created with hay bales.  It would be quicker for me than preparing the soil for my veggie plants.  My raised bed is about fifty feet long by three feet wide.  First, I lined the bottom of the raised bed with cardboard. By doing that all of the weeds will suffocate and become compost. Next, the raised bed was filled with roughly six tons of top soil and one ton of mulch.  I also had a few bales left over so I created a cold frame bed.  Thanks to my neighbor’s remodeling project, I will be using a shower door for the cover.

I started my plants indoors back in March so I was running a bit behind schedule and my plants were starting to show signs of stress before transplanting.  Currently I have planted tomatoes, squash, leeks, sweet potatoes and few more vegetables will be added as time permits.

As for my cold frame I will be planting seeds or plants around the end of July.  Those plants should be ready around October.

I will continue with this article through the growing season for you to see what worked for me and what may be a mistake too.

Editor, Real Dirt

If you like to write and have moderate to good writing skills, editing the MGANM Real Dirt is a TERRIFIC volunteering opportunity.  I did it for over 5 years and enjoyed it very much.  You get to work with a team of gardeners and writers who provide support and feedback.

Read about the job here: MGANM Real Dirt Editor/Chair

Job Summary:

The Real Dirt (RD) is the bi-monthly electronic newsletter of MGANM.  The Editor/Team Chair sets the tone for the RD Committee and contributors.  All articles are to be researched, scientifically-based and represent the most recent best-practices in horticulture.   The Editor/Chair begins the issue development process, brainstorms possible topics, receives suggestions from contributors, and sets deadlines.

Job Duties:

• By the first of the month, prior to the bi-monthly issue, the Editor sends out emails to the team of contributors.  The email contains ideas for brainstorming relevant topics based upon the season and current events.           
• Selects topics to research and write for each issue; encourages others to write.  The Real Dirt is divided into six categories:  News and Events, Administration, Serve, Beautify, Nourish, and Steward.  The four latter categories roughly include the chapters in the MG Volunteer Training Manual.  These topic areas are important to keep readers up-to-date on changes in the content.
• Receives, reads and comments upon articles submitted by others.  Shares all writing with the established team members for inputs and edits.  Relies on those most skilled at editing.  Uses the 15th of the month as an editorial deadline.  Gathers photos to accompany articles when possible.
• Roughly, by the 20th of the month, begins entering the submitted articles into a content format.  The format follows how articles will appear in the electronic version.  Writes a brief introduction or ‘teaser’ for each article.  The intro should be one to three sentences long and direct the reader as to what will be found in the article content.  Submits the Real Dirt content to the Technology Chair for uploading into the on-line format by the 25th of the month.
• Receives a draft of the electronic format for final editing.  Re-reads all content and introductions.  Checks each link to ensure that it takes the reader to the proper article.  Sends any changes/concerns to the Technology Chair for final blast on or about 1:00 am on the first of the month.
• Represents the Real Dirt Team to the Board, MSUE, and MG Training classes.  Recruits contributors. 

MGANM Technology Chair

Job Summary:

The MGANM Technology Chair manages technology-related areas: Website, membership management software, social media, and Mail Chimp for the Real Dirt on-line newsletter and email.  The use of Facebook and social media is an extension of the website as well as a way to network with people and organizations.  Mail Chimp is a program that is used to publish the Real Dirt and to email MGANM information to members or the public.

Job Duties:

• Maintains log-ins and passwords for all online accounts including MGANM website, Wild apricot, social media, and MailChimp.
• Works with an outside consultant, currently ProWeb Marketing, who hosts and maintains the functionality of the website to manage aspects of the website such as title fonts, and colors. ProWeb can assist with all major changes or updates.
• Ensures that the website is kept up-to-date.
• Creates social media posts and re-shares posts (from external sources), photos, and events that adhere to the Master Gardener Code of Conduct as laid out in the Master Gardener Manual.
• Creates and maintains a template inside MailChimp to use for all Real Dirt publications. If any changes to this template are to be made, ensure that the Real Dirt team supports the changes. While the publisher has vast control of creativity with the online format, it is important to value the input of all team members and ensure that they are proud of the final product.
• Attends Board Meetings and Membership meetings.

Get Ready for the 2021 Northwest Michigan Fair

by Gayla Elsner

I was saving some terrific salsa from last year to enter in the Northwestern Michigan Fair, but with the fair cancelled this year I popped it open to enjoy.  I’ll make an even better version this year, for 2021.  While your garden is peaking a why don’t you make some plans to be an exhibitor at next year’s Northwestern Michigan Fair?  Now is the time to decide what vegetables, fruits, flowers, and field crops to plant, to enter in the Fair.  I’m sure you are keeping track of what is working well and what you’ll do differently next year, even while you are picking, freezing and canning your harvest.

Master Gardener Volunteer and teacher Duke Elsner has gotten involved with the Fair, and yours truly is his assistant.  Duke has revised the Horticulture, Agriculture, and Floriculture categories in the premium book to update them for the varieties we grow in our home gardens now.  Another change he’s working on is allowing an additional day/time to drop off exhibits, as requested by some of the farmers, who are out in the field working on those grain entries on Saturday and would like to bring them to the Fair on Sunday. While Duke and I are not Fair Board members, we are Supervisors of the Tanner Building, so we attend meetings.  I am flabbergasted by the amount of work and planning it takes to run this excellent Fair, and how early they have to start!

Take a peek at the 2020 Fair Premium Book for some ideas.  You can find it online at northwesternmichiganfair.net.   It is a PDF file. Before the pandemic, the premium book could also be picked up at various locations around town, like the County Extension Offices.  That’s not happening this year, as the premium book didn’t go to press.  The book is organized by building; look for the Tanner Building, which houses Agriculture, Horticulture, and Floriculture.  Also check out the Evelyn Heim Building. This is where the jams, jellies, and preserves are entered.  I bet you can be competitive in Culinary Arts like Food Preservation and Baked Goods.  Duke comes home from teaching Master Gardener with many tales of goodies you have made to share with your classes so I know you are wonderful bakers!  There are also categories for yard art and photography that you might be interested in entering.  Note that there are Youth and Differently Abled categories in both buildings that might be of interest to your family and friends.  Over and above those categories, there is a whole world of 4H for kids.

Dates to know:

Now! The 2020 Fair Premium Book is on-line.  The 2021 premium book will be published in April next year.

Registration Deadline: This year’s would have been July 20. You have to have your registration form completed and at the Fair office by this day.  The form is on page 73 -75 of the Fair Premium Book. You also have to have your entries paid for by this date.  Yes, you do have to pay to enter things in the fair, but don’t worry it’s cheap.  The fee is $5 for every ten items you enter. However, you win a $3 premium for every class in which you take first place, so you could easily win your money back!  Do everyone a favor and get your registration form in early.  The real reward is satisfaction and maybe a little bit of bragging rights.  You mail the form in to the Fair office or you drive it over there.   The address is right on the form.  The Fair Board is working on an online system, but for now it’s still mail-in or drop-off.

Dates of the Fair:  August 8-14, 2021. There will be certain days and times to bring in exhibits and certain days and times to remove them.  Read the rules on page 45 (Tanner Building) of this year’s premium book to get an idea, and page 33 (Heim Building). Don’t worry if the exhibits looked a little wilted by the time you saw them last summer, they are judged at their peak.

How to win:

Entries are divided into animal exhibits and non-animal exhibits, then further divided into departments and classes. Read the rules for the department in which you are entering, on pages 33 and 45 of the Premium Book, as above.  Then read the description of the class(es) you are entering. 

There are rules for how to display your entries.  For example, vegetables are to be on a plain paper plate and preserved foods are to be in a clear glass jar.  Make sure you enter your item in the right class.  A common mistake in the horticulture section is to misidentify an herb! 

I don’t think growing a wonderful specimen is going to be a problem for you Master Gardeners.  Note that many entries ask for a certain number of veggies like three carrots or five radishes.  Judges are looking for produce that is representative of the variety, not necessarily the biggest or anything unusual.  Health of the product is very important.  Judges may use the descriptions in nursery catalogs to figure out what the representative characteristics are of the variety.  Remember if it’s a bad year for tomatoes, it’s a bad year for everybody.  Enter anyway; your small specimens may still be the best.  Or maybe you have figured out a better way to grow that fruit and would like to show it off.

Volunteer Opportunities:

This may be the best part of the fair.  You get to participate.  Take a shift in the Tanner Building keeping the displays tidy and answering questions about the Master Gardener program.  There will be program literature for you to distribute.  The Tanner building is cool and shady, people will stop and chat, you get to meet other Master Gardener Volunteers and network with them about your projects.  The building is also conveniently located near the restrooms and the food court.  Last year my favorite, Norma’s Tamales, was just outside the door.  Contact Nate Walton or Duke Elsner to sign up next year.

Contents (Click on a title or scroll)

DEER, BUNNIES, MICE…OH MY! – Throwback 2016

Lawn Removal by Smothering OR Creating a Landscape in a Lawn

DEER, BUNNIES, MICE…OH MY! – Throwback 2016

By Lillian Mahaney, Advanced Extension Master Gardener

As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, I have always tried to help people understand that there are many ways to keep the various forms of wildlife from destroying their gardens.  I’m sure that almost every Master Gardener has also received the question “how do I protect my gardens without harming the wildlife?”.  I have included a number of suggestions below that have had successful results over the years:

Rodents love to burrow under the nice mulch surrounding plants in the winter since this gives them a nice home and a food supply.  Tucking an unused fabric softener sheet (the stronger the fragrance the better) under the mulch usually sends them to less “smelly” homes.  This also works well if you are storing a boat, car, closing up a cottage or have a rodent problem in a garage or shed.  Just be sure to not place the dryer sheets on surfaces where the oils can do damage.  Placing a few sheets under a deck also helps to keep animals from using that area for a winter den.

Please do not use any type of rodent poison (such as DCon or TomKat) to control rodents.  These rodenticides have a large amount of an anticoagulant and if another animal eats the rodent it will suffer the same fate.  Owls, hawks, opossums, skunks, raccoons and even dogs and cats are dying at an alarming rate.  The entire wildlife rehabilitation community has been trying to have these products banned.  Using the old fashioned snap mouse traps is a much more humane way to control rodents without harming the other species.

A good method for keeping deer and bunnies from browsing vegetation is to buy some of the little inexpensive muslin drawstring bags from your local feed store.  Put a small piece of Irish Spring Original Scent soap in the bag.  The bags can be tied to tree branches, fencing or even to small bamboo skewers placed at intervals around the area you want to protect.  The lower bags work well for the smaller animals like bunnies.

As it rains or snows the scent permeates the bag and usually makes the odor more intense.  The soap doesn’t seem to drip from the bag and just soaks into the muslin.  Just remember to keep the bag at “nose level” for the particular animal species.  The soap seems to work for a much longer time than other things like hair, blood meal, etc.

There are many other products on the market such as Liquid Fence, garlic products and predator urine.  These products have good results also, but they can be costly, may not last for as long a time and sometimes the odors are offensive to OUR noses.  Using the castor oil products (Mole Med, etc.) are good ways to deter moles without harming the animals.

If you have a good sense of humor and want to be the talk of your neighborhood I suggest buying some of the little foil pinwheels to keep bunnies and deer from your gardens.  They twirl with even the slightest breeze and seem to work better than the foil strips in most cases.  They also have the added benefit of making you a fun topic of conversation with your neighbors!

You may need to try a few different methods before you find one that works well for your circumstances.  I have a cherry farmer friend that uses the muslin drawstring bags in his orchard and has had great success and another that thinks the fabric softener sheets work better in his orchard.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to give me a call….231-256-8844.

Lawn Removal by Smothering OR Creating a Landscape in a Lawn

By Cheryl Gross, Advanced Extension Master Gardener

As gardeners we tend to like plants.  In fact I love many, many plants including trees, shrubs, perennials, clump forming grasses, sedges, and ferns; EXCEPT turf grass AKA lawn.  I do not like lawn.  I do not like how people care for it either.  Lawn belongs somewhere else, where it has rich soil and ample moisture without hot, dry summers.  The root of turf grass is about 3 inches deep.  This means it has difficulty accessing nutrients and moisture, as it is mostly out of its reach.  Homeowners spend countless hours and expense on maintaining this out-of-place plant.  However, it can be walked on which is its ONE big advantage over all of my favorite plants.

Ecological gardening practices encourages homeowners to increase the number and diversity of native plants in the landscape.  An ideal way to do that is to replace existing lawn with native plants.  There are about four methods to get rid of lawn:  -dig it, -apply herbicide, – solarize it, or -smother it.

-Digging lawn is hard work.  To remove the lawn you take up about 3 inches of reasonably fertile soil and disturb any beneficial activity in the root layer.  Then you need to decide whether to replace the space with additional soil and decide what to do with the sod.

-Herbicides are effective in killing lawn and I advise it on a steep slope where smothering is not effective because of gravity.  The advantage is that you may be ready to plant in a few weeks.  The disadvantage is the chemical.

-Solarizing is an effective method when done in summer.  Apply a thick sheet of black plastic held down by landscape staples or another method and wait until the lawn is completely burned.  A black plastic lawn patch is not very attractive, although effective.

-Smothering is my favorite.  Outline the bed shape, trench the edge, cover with layered newspapers and mulch and wait a season… smother in fall to plant in spring or smother in spring to plant in fall.

In early April while self-isolating, I began a new landscape bed in my daughter’s yard.  My gardening clothes emerged from winter hibernation… jeans with patched knees, Birkenstock gardening shoes, and heavy duty gardening gloves.

The plan was a second landscape bed to mirror an existing one and smothering the lawn for fall installation.  Measuring tape in hand, we marked the distance from the front walk and distance from the road. We measured an approximate shape/size and used marking spray paint to outline the bed.  Note:  Marking spray is much easier to use than regular spray paint because it is designed to spray down.

Next, we made a small trench along the line to cut grass roots. This is where an edging will go. When landscaping in a lawn, especially with native plants, I believe it is important to edge the bed.  It gives a clear indication that the plants are purposely designed to be there. The soil/sod clumps were shaken and divided to settle into the new bed.

Finally, we layered 4-5 sheets of newspaper, tucking new layers under the previous with a big overlap. Do this only when wind is NOT an issue. It was still when we began, but we wrestled with layering the last sheets when the breeze began.  As we layered the newspaper, we piled on 3 inches of mulch. Usually I prefer shredded pine bark mulch from Four Season Nursery, but with them closed we settled for cheap bagged shredded wood from Menards.

We are done now. The bed will sit and decompose till September or October when we return to install plants. There will be no need to remove the newspaper or the mulch.  The benefits of this method include leaving the soil undisturbed AND adding the dead plant material, newsprint and wood chips to the ecosystem.  

Seeing the bed site over the season will help us to evaluate the available light under the two oak trees facing east for morning sun. It will be easier to decide design and plant layout with the bed in place.  Plus, understory plant choices will be fun.  

Please note:  this simple method is most effective on turf grass with typical lawn weeds.  Invasive species such as spotted knapweed, bladder campion, English ivy, periwinkle/ vinca, and smooth brome grass are more difficult to eradicate.