Monroe County Master Gardener Association

Naida sent this article for a reminder to us all:
Wanted to give all my gardening friends a heads up on a problem you may
not have experienced. Several days ago I decided it was time to start my
“Big Mama” and “Super Sauce Hybrid” tomato seeds. First I had to clear
a path inside my potting shed, where all my large summer garden
containers and statuaries were in winter storage, but managed to get to
the seed starting mix and a tray to bring to the house and sterilize.
I was concerned because the mix was several years old and the zip lock
top had opened allowing the soil to dry out, so I called Jennie to see
if she thought it would be good to use. She assured me that it would be
fine but to make sure to wet it thoroughly.
That done I filled each cube with my starting soil and set it in the
sink to absorb water. Day 2 – noticed that the soil was still dry as a
bone so I filled a spray bottle with water and started spraying the top
of each cube. Day 3 – top looks wet but when digging down found soil
from center to the bottom still completely dry. I continued spraying
the top while still soaking in the sink – even had my husband spraying
every time he walked by – but soon realized that the water was just
running out the bottom without being absorbed in the mix. Day 5 – soil
still dry from center down so I emptied the tray into a large pan and
wet and mixed thoroughly – Mission Accomplished and a good lesson for
next year learned!
I now realize that my problem with seed germination last year (3 plants
germinated out of 25) was probably that the starting mix was not wet
enough.

I found this article on moles and voles and thought it was worth posting. If you have an issue with these guys here’s the link:

How To Get Rid Of Moles And Voles (And Gophers)

FYI, Jackie sent me this information to post for members. Below is the link to the article.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/taylor-orchids-end-of-an-orchid-era/32049180

Today we welcomed Scott Bates from Grass Roots nursery to our Master Gardener meeting. He spoke to the group on water gardening. Below are a few note I made from his presentation. I thought those who could not attend might be interested in what he had to say. Oh, yes, I’ve added some of my general pond knowledge along the way as well. The photos are from my garden and pond.
Grass Roots nursery began in 1972 as a commercial landscape business and developed into water gardening later. When you visit you will see peacocks, chicken, tadpoles, frogs, and yes Koi. Koi are hardy in ponds 28” or deeper. Koi, butterfly koi and goldfish. Goldfish is really a general term. There are many varieties: Shubunkin, Commets, Fantail, Vailtail, and a few dozen more that will do well in a pond. Before you purchase though, make sure that they will survive the winters. Those mentioned typically survive with no problem. When I first put in a pond, about 15 years ago, I was surprised at how smart koi are. It doesn’t take long before they know that the figure standing along the pond probably has some food. They are so friendly that they’ll eat from your hand. Keep a healthy pond and you’ll have healthy fish. They will entertain you for hours while you watch then dance through the pond. Mesmerizing for sure they’ll put you in a trance. Good for the blood pressure I’m sure. The smaller fish will help out by eating mosquito larvae; although if they are smaller than the koi’s mouth, they may become food themselves. Small….but not too small. It’s best to do a bit of research. I’ve always purchase the food for mine from Scott’s business. I feed them differently…using a spring mix introducing them to food again after the winter and a fall mix to fatten them up for the hard winter. They mix their own blend for the seasons. It’s much easier to purchase premixed by them. You only need to feed them once or twice a week. Feeding daily will just create issues with keeping the pond clean. Let’s not pass up the use of tadpoles and frogs as well for cleaning the pond and of course entertainment

Beyond fish, we need a few more things for the pond. Barley bales are used to help keep the algae at bay. We also want some plant life. Good choices for the bog…shallow wet areas are tropical plants. Cannas, black major tarot, cattails, water iris, Louisianan iris, Hibiscus, and papyrus are great choices along with some tall grasses to make it look natural. He also introduced us to a butterfly plant…that he says smells like wet musty socks…but the monarch butterfly loves it. For water iris he suggest Blue flag iris which is a native, or lilac dream. The Louisiana iris blooms later in the season. For cannas, Scott suggested Bangle tiger, which grows 4-5 feet or Little Lady, a small canna growing 18-24 inches.

Inside the pond water lilies are the flower of choice. There are other like water hyacinth, or water lettuce. They may get out of control however. They make good compost if they get too invasive. Scott mentioned that the Hardy lilies do much better here in Michigan. These bloom in the daytime seem to survive our winters. The bloom lasts about 3 days. I have purchased the tropical lilies however. My findings is that the tropical bloomed more often in my pond and later in the day (which is good, because I worked during the day and could enjoy them when I came home). They also bloom above the water, and in purple…one of my garden colors. Whichever you choose, keep in mind, plant them in mud. There are pill shaped fertilizers that you can stick into the mud about once a month to help the blooms. Deadheading is important with these as well to keep blooms coming. We don’t want the energy to go to seed. Divide maybe once every two years. Of course tropical will be a larger investment, since we treat them like annual flowers. Most of us don’t have an area in the home to keep them during the winter. Remember a minimum of 6 hours of sun per day for good blooms. So place a pond where it will get at least that amount.

Let us not forget, the favorite of Monroe, the Lotus. Lotus need a lot of heat. Generally in May, June you may have one leaf in the mud. But, once the weather heats up, you will see the buds and blooms. He suggest that there are some dwarf varieties to use in the pond for better scale and proportion. The more sun you give it the better growth.

Naida asked that I post this information to advise all of the following event potential

“After hearing rumors that The World Cup of Gardening on Belle Isle would
not be taking place in June of this year, I emailed Belle Isle
Conservancy and learned that the decision had been made to postpone the
event until 2016. No further information was provided.
I believe Belle Isle is still a worthwhile tour for our master gardener
group this June and we could pair it up with Detroit’s Eastern Market
and/or Pewabic Pottery. The other tour possibility that was being
considered was Schnormeier Gardens in Gambeir, Ohio. I would invite you
to google all mentioned options and I’m hoping at our February meeting
we can vote on which tour or tour combination you would be most
interested in. Both Eastern Market and Pewabic Pottery are only about 2
miles from Belle Isle (some say walking distance) but with all the other
walking my choice would be to drive. We will plan on a car pool with
more information at a later date.
Another thing I learned as I was trying to get information on the World
Cup of Gardening event is that the MSU Master Gardener College, which
was always scheduled for two days in late June, has been canceled this year.”

Thanks,
Naida

I was asked to post the link below for a great event at the Toledo Zoo. There are a number of topics being presented that should be of interest to our MG members: Native Plants in the Home Garden, Pruning Shrubs and Ornamental Trees, Tips for Your Best Vegetable Garden Ever, Of Birds and Butterflies (plants that attract our winged friends). It’s a good way for some educational hours.

Click to access Toledo_Zoo_Garden_Show.pdf

Want to identify a tree? Well, there’s an app for that. That is if you have an iphone or ipad….not sure there’s one for an android. But if we find one…we’ll post it.

Naida gave me the following information to post:

Several people have asked me about a tree ID app I have on my cell phone. I told them I would ask you to post the information on the Blog in case anyone else might be interested.  I learned about
it from a MSUE News publication I subscribe to.  There is a small one-time charge of $3.99 for the app but I think it is worth it because it is from Purdue and “backed by the expertise of Purdue extension forestry
specialists.”  This is the link folks can go to to read more about it along with the link to purchase it.

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/mobile_app_for_midwest_tree_identification_available_for_iphone_and_ipad

Thanks Naida, I’m sure it’ll come in handy for some of us.

The Michigan Master Gardener Association posted this article on their Facebook Page. I thought I should share it. There’s a good video to watch of a monarch emerging as well . The link is below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/15/how-well-intentioned-americans-trying-to-save-monarch-butterflies-may-actually-be-destroying-them/

During our October meeting, Jennie passed around pawpaw fruit. Several of our members took seeds. She sent me photos of the fruit and flowers to post along with some information you will find interesting. I’ve edited the information for blog article:

Judy and Bob Dluzen write a blog, “All Things Green”. One of the posts described the procedure to get pawpaw seeds to grow. Since several of our members took seeds in October from the demo garden fruits, a link to that is included below for you to view. Bob Dluzen was at Monroe MSUE Extension long before her and then was gardener for Tom Monahan of Domino fame for many years. There are several articles you will find interesting on their blog; so browse through it. I’ve added a link on our blog for quick access it in future. Thanks Jennie for the info.

Here is the link to their Blog: http://www.blogsmonroe.com/gardening/2014/12/paw-paw-tree-from-seed/

2014 is the year that technology hit the garden. I get several architectural posts to my Facebook to explore. This product was one that was introduced this year. It’s called Edyn. I thought that I should share this with all. It was introduced on Kickstarter, a sight where inventors post for funds. This product has been funded and is now available for pre-order purchase. It can change the way we view our gardens. The cost is reasonable. Watch the short video and enjoy what technology is bringing to our garden:

https://www.edyn.com/