Dial-A-Garden provides timely tips

Dial-A-Garden is a service of the Washtenaw County/Michigan State University Extension, which consists of a system of prerecorded telephone messages relating to garden activities. This public service allows a caller to use a touch-tone telephone to select the Code of the Garden Message they wish to hear. Messages are changed monthly or bi-monthly to suit current gardening concerns. To reach the Dial-A-Garden Message system, call 734-971-1129.

Code     Garden Message 
101 Nov. - Dec. Schedule.
102 Winter protection of trees, shrubs and tender plants.

103      Read MSU Horticulture Newsletter Online.
104      Home invading pests.
105      Planting hardy bulbs.

201 Giving garden tools a fall cleaning.
202 Lawns fertilizing & late fall fertilization.
203 Choosing and Care of Christmas Trees.
204 Digging & storing summer flowering bulbs.
205      Overwintering houseplants: Watering & Humidity.

301 Autumn garden clean up.
302 Winter protection for tender plants.
303 Preventing Winter damage from deer, mice and rabbits.
304 Caring for holiday plants.
305 Growing vegetables indoors.

401 Light and houseplants.
402 Ash Tree Alert.
403 Insect & Disease Diagnostic Services.
404 Tips on selecting an arborist.
405 Don’t prune Oaks due to Oak Wilt.

Frost is inevitable here in Michigan

As summer fades away and the nights get cooler, frost will soon arrive. The only thing that gardeners can do is prolong the life of plants for awhile.Weather forecasters have not predicted frost for the upcoming week.
Some plants don't mind frost. Brussel sprouts actually need it, in order for the sprouts to sweeten up.

Protecting plants from frost
There are things you can do, to protect plants from frost. Rather than cover with your best blanket, try watering before nightfall (the water vapor will keep the air a little warmer) or water before the sun comes up in the morning. You need to water plants before the sun shines on them. Many plants will die a wilting death if the sun shines on them after a hard frost. I've lost pepper and tomato plants in the past along with the peppers and tomatoes that I had not picked.
I leave peppers and tomatoes on the vine as long as possible, so they stay alive and don't start decomposing in the house. They will continue to ripen until it gets too cold. Most vegetables have actually stopped growing or producing new fruit, by this time of year, except for greens.
Tomato cages covered with newspapers can provide a make-shift shelter. Then remove the papers after the sun comes up.

Favorable conditions for frost
Frost is sure to happen when the conditions are right: when the temperature falls below 32 degrees F., there is no breeze and there are no clouds. Big orchards use giant fans, which circulate air, keeping the frost from setting in.
Container plants are the most vulnerable to frost. If you can't move them to shelter, try to cover them.
Although the best time of year for gardeners is passing by, there are still indoor plants and sprouting on the kitchen counter. Beyond that, in our hopes and dreams, there's planning the perfect garden for next spring.

Apple orchards and ciders mills are open

Most apple orchards and cider mills will be open this fall despite the unfavorable weather this year for fruit trees. There are still apples to be found, even if it means orchards have to import apples from the west side of the state. Mueller’s Orchard of Linden  is closed this year because their apple crop was wiped out.

Following is a list of apple orchards and cider mills in the area.
Ashton’s Orchards & Cider Mill, 3925 Seymour Lake Road, Ortonville, 248-627-6671.
Blake’s Big Apple Orchard, 71485 North Ave., Armada, 586-784-9710;
Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill, 17985 Armada Center Road, Armada, 586-784-5343. www.blakefarms.com/.
Diehl’s Orchard & Cider Mill, 1479 Ranch, Holly Township, 248-634-8981, diehlsorchard.com/.
Erwin Orchards U-Pick &Cider Mill, 61475 Silver Lake Road, South Lyon, 888-824-3377, erwinorchards.com/.
Fogler’s Orchard & Farm Market, 3985 Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 248-652-3614.
Franklin Cider Mill, 7450 Franklin Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-626-2968, www.franklincidermill.com/.
Glei’s Inc., 4295 Orion Road, Rochester, call 248-652-8450.
Hy’s Cider Mill, 6350 37 Mile Road, Romeo, 810-798-3611, www.hyscidermill.com/.
Long Family Orchard and Farm, 1540 East Commerce Road, Commerce Township, 248-360-3774, www.longsorchard.com/.
Middleton Cider Mill, 46462 Dequindre Road, Utica, 586-731-6699.
Miller’s Big Red Apple Orchard, 4900 32-Mile Road, Washington Township, 586-752-7888, www.millers-bigred.com/.
Paint Creek Cider Mill, 4480 Orion Road, Oakland Township, 248-656-3400, paintcreekcidermill.org/.
Parmenter’s Northville Cider Mill, Inc., 714 Baseline Road, Northville, 248-349-3181 www.northvillecider.com/.
Parshallville Grist Mill, 8507 Parshallville Road, Fenton, 810-629-9079, www.parshallvillecidergristmill.com/.
Porter’s Orchard Farm Market & Cider Mill, 12060 E. Hegel Road, Goodrich, 810-636-7156, www.portersorchard.com/.
Rochester Cider Mill, 5125 Rochester Road, Rochester, 248-651-4224, www.rochestercidermill.com/.
Spicer’s Orchards, 10411 Clyde Road, Fenton, 810-632-7692, www.spicer orchards.com.
Stony Creek Orchard and Cider Mill, 2961 W. 32 Mile Road, Romeo, 586-752-2453, www.stonycreekorchard.com/.
Verellen Orchards, 63260 Van Dyke, Romeo, 586-752-2989, www.verellenorchards.com/.
Westview Orchards & Cider Mill, 65075 Van Dyke Road (M-53), at 30 Mile Road, two miles south of Romeo, 586-752-3123, www.westvieworchards.com/.
Yates Cider Mill, 1990 E. Avon Road, Rochester Hills, 248-651-8300, www.yatescidermill.com/.

Pickles to snack on from the fridge

Vicki Arsenault posted her Mom's Sweet Refrigerator Pickles on her blog A recipe for life. Here's the link

http://family-arecipeforlife.blogspot.com/2012/09/moms-sweet-refrigerator-pickles.html?spref=fb

 

Free mulch or wood chips on Saturday

Oakland County Parks and Recreation is offering mulch or landscaping wood chips free of charge from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Orion Oaks County Park in the parking lot on Clarkston Road between Baldwin and Joslyn roads. First-come, first-served. Bring your own shovels, buckets or wheelbarrows and if hauling a trailer, bring a tarp. Not for commercial haulers. For information, visit DestinationOakland.com.

Rhubarb's still in season

Here's rhubarb recipes per my Daughter's request. Can you mail some of those rhubarb bars to Mom? He he.

 

Rhubarb Bars

3 cups rhubarb, chopped

1 ½ cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ¼ cup water

3 Tablespoons corn starch

1 ½ cup rolled oats

1 ½ cup rolled flour

1 cup brown sugar

½ tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter

½ cup nuts

Combine rhubarb, sugar, vanilla, cornstarch and water. Cook on stove until thick, cool  slightly. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, soda, butter and nuts. Mix until crumbly. Put ¾ of mixture into 15 1/3 x 10 ½  jelly roll pan.  Spread rhubarb mixture on top. Cover with remaining crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

 

Cream cheese rhubarb pie

¼ cup corn starch

1 cup sugar

½ tsp salt

½ cup water

2-1/2 cups rhubarb, cut in ½ inch pieces

1 unbaked pie crust, regular or graham cracker

Topping

1 package 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

In a saucepan, combine 1rst 3 ingredients, then the water and rhubarb.  Bring to boil, stirring often until mixture thickens.  Pour into pie shell and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Protect edges of crust with aluminum foil.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile beat topping ingredients until smooth.  Pour on top of pie.  Bake for 35 minutes in 325 oven or until set.  Chill and garnish with whipped cream, and sliced almonds or strawberries.

 

Zucchini Bread

½ cup canola oil

2 cups sugar

½ cup applesauce

3 eggs, beaten

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped nuts

In a mixer, beat sugar and canola oil, then add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees or pour into muffin tins (makes 24) and bake 20 minutes.

Recipes for fresh produce

Here's some recipes for fresh produce in season now. There's a Recipe page  on the right with more recipes. Bon appetit!

Blake’s Fresh Salsa

Combine the following and chill covered for 1/2 hour.
2-3 cups chopped Roma tomatoes (when canning salsa, its best to blanch and de-skin the tomatoes. This is not necessary for fresh salsa.)
½ cup red onion
½ cup green pepper
1 Jalapeno, 1 green chili and 1 Poblano or whatever you can find, (Use one Jalapeno pepper per two tomatoes, more or less.)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground black pepper
¾ tsp. salt
1 Tbs. white vinegar or lime or lemon juice
2 pinches finely chopped cilantro

Roasted root vegetables

Preheat the oven to 425F°. Peel and cut vegetables into approximately 3/4 inch cubes.

1 pound potato

1 pound rutabaga or parsnips

1 pound sweet potato

4 Tablespoons olive oil

2 tsp. dried rosemary or other herb

2 cloves garlic

salt

Use some of the olive oil to oil the pans. Mix the rest with the garlic, finely minced or pressed, and the rosemary. Using your hands, rub oil mixture all over the vegetable pieces. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared pans. Salt lightly and place in preheated oven.

Turn once, after 20 to 25 minutes (pull pan out of oven to do this) and continue roasting until done, a total of about 45 minutes. Vegetables can be roasted at a lower temperature for a longer time, if  necessary to accomodate other food being roasted. 

Tabouleh 

1/2 c bulgar, cover with boiling water for 30 minutes, then strain very well.
1 1/2 cup of chopped parsley, maybe more
1/2 cup diced green onion
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh mint, optional
Mix ingredients and serve or refrigerate.

Hummus is easy to make and is often served beside tabouleh.
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/appetizerssnacks/r/hummusbitahini.htm

Fried Thai basil eggplant 

1 tablespoon oil

2 -3 garlic cloves, minced

1 big  or 2 small eggplant, cut irregular

1 tablespoon sugar

1 bunch basil, washed and stems removed

2 chile peppers finely chopped or other hot peppers

2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce

Cut eggplant into uniform irregular shapes. Heat oil in pan and cook garlic and peppers until lightly browned. Add eggplant, 1/2 cup water cover and simmer 5 minutes, until eggplant becomes translucent. Add more water as needed. Stir in sugar and fish sauce or soy sauce. Turn off the heat and add the basil, stirring gently. Serve with rice.

It's harvest time

Fresh produce that has been preserved, is far better than what is available in the grocery store in winter. Freezing vegetables is my favorite method of preserving our garden. It's fast and easy and makes preparing a meal quick, the produce is already washed and prepared.

Here's more:
The Oakland Press: Saving produce for winter


Jerry Holcomb of Michigan Backyard Farms runs a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in White Lake. He also creates and manages gardens on people's property. I love seeing his photos and comments on Facebook. His lucky customers get fresh produce throughout the season. Here's the Facebook link.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Michigan-Backyard-Farms-CSA/108275069253162

Courtesy of Jerry and Robyn Holcomb of Michigan Backyard Farms in Commerce Township.

Garden snapshot

Our garden today. In spite of the dry summer, it is doing pretty good. We use Cap'n Jack spray to get rid of bugs and since we didn't apply compost this year, we've added some Miracle Grow to fertilize. Ken has rototilled for weed control. Picking now: green beans, broccoli, cabbage, celery, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini. Soon the second planting of Swiss chard will be ready. In the raised bed garden, kale, green onions and basil are all that is left from the deer and rabbits' midnight snack sessions. I love gardens. I would like to fill this blog up (is that possible) with pictures of peoples' gardens.

Oxford Mill Street Farmers Market



Clarkston Farmers Market

Here's a list of Macomb and Oakland county farmers markets  http://gardentogarden.blogspot.com/p/farmers-markets-in-macomb-oakland.html

Thai basil eggplant recipe

Here's a good and easy recipe, that is different and delicious. It's great with fresh eggplant and basil. It's a great use for all that extra basil out in the herb garden.
I fry sliced chicken breasts in the pan first, then prepare the recipe and serve with rice.

Fried Thai basil eggplant

1 tablespoon oil

2 -3 garlic cloves, minced

1 big  or 2 small eggplant, cut irregular

1 tablespoon sugar

1 bunch basil, washed and stems removed

2 chile peppers finely chopped or other hot peppers

2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce

Cut eggplant into uniform irregular shapes. Heat oil in pan and cook garlic until lightly browned. Add eggplant, 1/2 cup water cover and simmer 5 minutes, until eggplant becomes translucent. Add more water as needed. Stir in sugar and fish sauce or soy sauce. Turn off the heat and add the basil, stirring gently. Serve with rice.

Farmers markets are all open

Linda Torovny of Nature Harvest Organic Farm at the Clarkston Farmers Market

The Chamberlain family shop at the booth of Farmer Fred of Hadley. He had corn, tomatoes, onions and more at the Clarkston Farmers Market.

Time to plant AGAIN

If you have any room left in your garden, now is a good time to plant for fall harvest. You can plant peas, spinach, lettuce, parsley, green onions, leeks and cabbage. Also cilantro,  for making salsa in September. The seedlings will need some extra care; cover with shade cloth or plant them near taller plants. Be sure to water frequently, especially due to this heat wave and drought that seems to be affecting most of the Midwest.
My beans are finally coming in, thanks to my husband, who really saved the garden this year. With lack of rain and onslaught of insects and woodchucks and rabbits and deer. He kept things watered and uses Captain Jack's spray on the insects and set up some traps for the Japanese beetles in the nearby trees. Eddie the garden troller, took care of the woodchuck along with a mole or two.

Picking herbs keeps them young

This is great weather for tomatoes, sunny and hot just how they like it. We should get a bumper crop of very red tomatoes, packed with flavor. But herbs are taking the heat. Watering is very important now. Picking herbs and greens helps prevent them from forming seeds. The best way to pick parsley, and many herbs and leafy vegetables, is to snip the whole leaf and stem from the stock. Sometimes you can twist them off, when you pick parsley and Swiss chard.
Basil's a little different. You should cut the stock or branch, just above leaves, well below the leaves you want to harvest. Picking in late morning is the best time of day, especially for greens and herbs.
Pick leaves often to prevent the plants from going to seed. Because once they go to seed, many of the plants lose their herbiness flavor.
For Rosemary and sage, cut 5 inch branches and hang to air dry or chop and freeze in herb ice cubes or clumps in a freezer bag.

Weeding can be a full workout

Weeding can really do some damage to the back. I overdid my limit on bending over last weekend and had to use ice, then heat and ibuprofen for several days.
My friend Mickey told me her trick to weeding which I had forgotten to use. It's the three poses of weeding, (no kidding).

Bend over and pull. If you do that too many times, you'll feel it for a week.
Squat down on your haunches. I can only do this for a few minutes.
Kneeling. This works great until you need to move.

You can add various yoga poses, like crossing your legs while stretching over to pull weeds, maybe meditate a bit too while you're down there. You can spread your legs and do a leg stretch in between weed pulling as well. The main thing is to change positions to prevent repetitive motions.

Back exercise. Here's a quick back exercise that is like the reverse of bending over. Lean back against a flat wall, press the small of the back against it with feet flat on the ground and hold for a minute or two. Repeat a few times everyday.

Weeding tips. It's best to weed when the soil is not too dry. You will need to water after weeding. A tool like the hula hoe which looks like a hoop on a stick or the mini rake or a pronged tool can help loosen the soil. You can use a hand trowel to dig up the big weeds.

Swiss chard blues

I picked our first batch of Swiss chard.  It was so tender and delicious, just heated with a bit of water and salt and pepper. Then, we went on vacation and the deer came and cleaned out our crop.  Deer love Swiss chard, just as much as I do.
I need to plant it in the maximum security garden and leave the raised beds for parsley and other herbs. Deer don't like smelly stuff. We need to break out the Irish Spring too, so they can at least stay clean while they eat our garden. I also need to look up a previous post on back treatment, because I am suffering after weeding yesterday.

Here's my favorite Swiss chard recipe.

Swiss Chard
olive oil
1/4 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/8 tsp. dried crushed red pepper, to taste, optional
1 bunch of Swiss chard, washed and chopped

2 Tablespoons water
salt and pepper, to taste

Saute the onion, garlic and red pepper. (You can use a large saucepan or large skillet.) Then add the rest of the ingredients and heat on medium heat for 10 minutes. As a variation, substitute 1 tablespoon of water for vinegar and add smoked turkey or ham pieces.

Compost from SOCRRA

SOCRRA offers compost for pick up at 1741 School Road in Rochester Hills (Mon thru Fri 8am -- 4pm and Saturdays in May and June 8am – noon). 
Residents of SOCRRA communities (and Rochester Hills) can shovel their own compost at the compost site for FREE.  $5 charge for residents of all other communities.
For larger quantities loaded by SOCRRA bucket loader, a charge of $5 per cubic yard with a $15 minimum applies.
From the SOCRRA website, "Compost is a natural organic soil amendment and fertilizer made from a variety of yard waste and food scraps.  Compost improves soil structure, retains water, encourages root growth, aerates soil, releases nutrients slowly, supports beneficial organisms and earthworms, and suppresses some soil-borne diseases. Compost also helps protect water quality because it absorbs rainwater and filters out many pollutants. It is useful as a soil amendment throughout the landscape – including lawns, trees, shrubs, vegetable gardens and flower beds."

How is SOCRRA compost made?
Leaves, grass clippings, woodchips, other yard waste and food scraps are collected from SOCRRA communities.

Some communities have compost available for residents at their Department of Public Works yard.  Call your city’s DPW for availability and hours.  What does it cost?
Characteristics of SOCRRA compost (as analyzed by Midwest Laboratories): Compost Analysis March 2012
 pH: 8.1 (alkaline, like many soils in Southeast Michigan)
Total nitrogen :0.82%
Phosphorus (P) :0.11%
Potassium (K) :0.51%

Find SOCRRA on Facebook or call 248-288-5150 or visit www.socrra.org/

As the worm turns on your worm farm

1. To start a worm farm, get a wooden container that has holes. Small holes can be drilled into the container, not big enough for escapees. Plastic containers aren't a good choice because they keep the farm too wet. You also need a lid to keep the rain out.

2. Add bedding material like dead plants, leaves and/or newspaper clippings and some soil.

3. Add green material like household fruit and vegetable scraps and egg shells.

4. Just add worms. You can dig them up in your yard. (A great place to find worms is under dead wood in moist areas. Don't dig them up from the garden though, leave those there and don't name them. You can also buy them at various places. I saw Gurney's is selling them in their garden catalog.

5. Periodically, add more bedding material and scraps.

The article below tells all about worm composting.

http://www.professorshouse.com/Your-Home/Gardening-Plants/General/Articles/What-Do-Worms-Eat/

Waterfall project that didn't flow

 We had the good fortune, if you can call it that, to come into some rocks. While rocks are pretty and make great landscape material, they are really really heavy. I wasn't much help on this project. The weeds are hard to get to, so it's a constant battle keeping the weeds out from between the rocks. We ran out of money before we could get the pump and apparatus to create a waterfall. We laid weed barrier cloth down before placing the rocks and there's still weeds. The pool is fed from an Artesian spring. This flows into our pond.

This is our waterfall project. It turned out to be a lot more work and expense than anticipated.

Eddie thought it was a pee on me, not peonie.

Take it slow, weekend garden warriors

When weekend lawn and garden warriors dust off their posteriors and jump headlong into yard patrol, there may be some ill effects. One of the best tips, may be this doctor's first one, "begin slowly."
Here's a real backsaver from Dr. David Wang, a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine (www.kaplanclinic.com)

  “Over 80% of people will have low back pain at some point during life, although most of them fortunately recover on their own.” explains Dr. David Wang, a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine (www.kaplanclinic.com), located in McLean, VA.  “When it comes to gardening and back pain, your body may need a few weeks after the long winter to become accustomed again to the physical stresses of gardening, such as squatting, twisting, lifting and digging.” 
Precautions you can take to limit back pain when gardening include:

• Begin slowly, rather than trying to do too much in one session.  Split larger gardening projects into several shorter sessions while you build your stamina.
• Think of it like other forms of physical activity, and always warm up before you begin with 10-20 repetitions of gentle exercises like standing hip circles, toe touches, back bends, and leg lifts.  Again, gentle is the key! 
• Pay attention to your body position when lifting heavy objects, such as planters and bags of fertilizer.  Keep the item close to your body, and bend your knees (squat) so that you can keep your back as vertical as possible when you pick up the object, allowing you to lift with the leg muscles rather than straining the back muscles.
• Be sure to take breaks and to change your position every 15 minutes or so, especially if you are kneeling, squatting, or sitting in a bent or twisted position.
• Invest in good, long-handled gardening tools, which will help minimize the amount of back bending that you need to do.
• If back pain is a consistent problem, consider creating raised garden beds, which will also help to reduce the amount of bending that is needed.

When it comes to minimizing back pain when playing sports, much of the same advice holds true.

• It is important to always warm up, avoid over-exerting muscles, use proper equipment, , and take breaks to give your body time to rest.
• If your muscles are not very flexible, it is also important to stretch after activity, holding each stretch for 30 seconds, to gradually improve your flexibility and reduce your risk of injury.
• Consider working with a physical therapist or highly-qualified and experienced personal trainer for several weeks before starting the sports season.  This will allow you to properly prepare and condition your body for sports-specific activities.

Although most episodes of back pain get better on their own, there are certain situations where you should see a physician.  These include pain that is progressively worsening or lasts longer than three weeks, back pain accompanied by problems with your balance or bladder/bowel function, or back pain accompanied by leg pain, numbness and/or weakness.  If you do end up requiring medical care, it is important to realize that not all back pain is the same, and it can actually be quite complex.  “Several different factors may be contributing to your symptoms, including ligaments, tendons and mechanical alignment, and not just the discs, joints and nerves which are sometimes inappropriately blamed for back and leg pain,” states Dr. Wang.  “As such, be sure to see a specialist who has knowledge about a wide range of diagnoses and treatments, both surgical and non-surgical, and who focuses on treating the whole person and not just the symptoms.”

Rhubarb recipes: easy and good

The rhubarb is coming up now and here are my favorite rhubarb recipes. Rhubarb and asparagus are our first garden products. I don't think they'd taste good in a dish together, but we've had a few meals which included both. We've grilled asparagus, rubbing the spears with olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Enjoy these desserts with the perpetual rhubarb, it keeps growing and growing.

Cream cheese rhubarb pie

¼ cup corn starch

1 cup sugar

½ tsp salt

½ cup water

2-1/2 cups rhubarb, cut in ½ inch pieces

1 unbaked pie crust, regular or graham cracker

Topping

1 package 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

In a saucepan, combine 1rst 3 ingredients, then the water and rhubarb.  Bring to boil, stirring often until mixture thickens.  Pour into pie shell and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Protect edges of crust with aluminum foil.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile beat topping ingredients until smooth.  Pour on top of pie.  Bake for 35 minutes in 325 oven or until set.  Chill and garnish with whipped cream, and sliced almonds or strawberries.

Rhubarb Bars

3 cups rhubarb, chopped

1 ½ cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ¼ cup water

3 Tablespoons corn starch

1 ½ cup rolled oats

1 ½ cup rolled flour

1 cup brown sugar

½ tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter

½ cup nuts

Combine rhubarb, sugar, vanilla, cornstarch and water. Cook on stove until thick, cool  slightly. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, soda, butter and nuts. Mix until crumbly. Put ¾ of mixture into 15 1/3 x 10 ½  jelly roll pan.  Spread rhubarb mixture on top. Cover with remaining crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Asparagus recipe with ham and swiss

We've been picking asparagus for 3 weeks. My favorite way to prepare it is to roll the spears in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill it. Here's another tasty treat with asparagus:

Appetizer
Ham and Swiss, asparagus spirals. Pre-fry spears in olive oil, lay on a slice of ham and cheese, dollop with Dijon mustard and roll up with the asparagus in the middle. Slice into spirals 1-1/2 inches wide. Dip in seasoned bread crumbs, insert toothpick to hold each spiral together, and fry.

Is it really Spring?

It has been a somewhat uncertain Spring. At first we thought it would be an early growing season, but now that doesn't seem to be happening. It's late enough to plant broccoli, cabbage, celery, Brussels spouts and cauliflower outside, but we are waiting until the threat of hard frosts are done. Even cold weather plants usually grow really slow when it's cold, so you don't gain much growing time by planting when its too cold.
We always wait until mid-May to plant beans and squash seeds outside and we wait until the end of May to plant egg plant, peppers and tomato plants.

Lasagna gardening cuts down on weeding

Lasagna (or sheet) gardening is an easy way to start a garden in a new spot or enrich an existing garden. Not to be confused with the Italian dish, this method eliminates the need to work the soil with shovel or rototiller. The reason for the name is because it requires layering of newspapers and compost.
My neighbors used a form of this method for their garden 10 years ago. They mulched with lake seaweed and decomposed chicken manure... it worked well. There were still weeds though and I don't see how you can completely eliminate the need to weed. One of my coworkers uses a weed eater when her garden gets really overgrown. Here's the steps to start a lasagna garden, minus the pasta and weed eater.

1. If you are starting a new garden, pick a spot that will get sunlight most of the day and that will drain well. You don't want your garden in the low spot or the high spot in the yard. Outline the area where you want the garden and mow the grass short.

2. Cover with a thick layer of newspapers, 5 pages thick. Then saturate with water.

3. Next layer with 2 inches of peat moss or other brown organic material such as: leaves, pine needles, straw, rotting hay, composted horse manure or other compost, humus, sawdust, grass clippings, barn litter, coffee grounds, seaweed, paper, cardboard and wood ashes. (whatever you have available).

4. Next layer with 1 inch of green material such as grass clippings, vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, unwanted plants or weeds-that haven't gone to seed. (Fresh grass clippings are high in nitrogen, so don't use very much). It is ideal to use twice as much brown material as green.

5. Continue layering 2 parts brown and 1 part green, as deep as the roots of the plants prior to planting, (usually 8 to 10 inches).

6.  Plant the plants, covering around the roots with organic matter. Or... let the raised beds sit and decompose before planting. Either way, give the bed a good saturated watering right away. After planting, continue mulching around the plants as they grow.

In an existing garden, stomp the weeds down or use a weed eater. Then follow steps 2-6 above.

Meadow Brook Garden Club meets April 27

The Meadow Brook Garden Club will meet at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, April 27 in the Coach House adjacent to Meadow Brook Hall on the estate grounds at 480 South Adams Road, Rochester. Coffee and refreshments will be served with program to follow at 10 a.m. Guest speaker Evelyn Hadden, an award winning author and renowned speaker, will present a tour of dozens of gardens and design strategies. Guests are welcome. There is a $5 non-member donation. Reservations are not required. Membership fee is $30 per year, or $45 per couple. For information, contact 248-364-6210, email MBHGCMembers@gmail.com, or visit www.meadowbrookhall.org.

Garden happenings in Oakland County

Healthy Lawn Workshop is 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19 at Oak Park Community Center, 14300 Oak Park Blvd., Room B, Oak Park. Featured speaker is Gary Eichen, Bioturf manager, Mike's Tree Surgeon's Inc. Register at 248-691-7497 or email LFDean@aol.com


Buy garden compost, made from grass, leaves, and woodchips by the SOCRRA, Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority. Free to residents of SOCRRA communities, non residents pay $5 per cubic yard, (minimum $15). Loaded by bucket loader at SOCRRA's Yard Waste Compost Site, 1741 School Road. For information and times to pick up, call 248-288-5150 or visit www.socrra.org

Don't Guess...Soil Test! is offered by participating garden center stores in cooperation with SOCWA, the Southeastern Oakland County Water Authority and the Soil Nutrient Testing Laboratory, Michigan State University through Sunday, April 29.
It is $25 per sample, includes lab analysis of soil plus organic matter test and delivery. Fertilizer recommendations are mailed or emailed.
The package price includes pH, lime requriement, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium testing.
For more information, call 248-288-5150 or visit www.socwa.org.

City of Auburn Hills Perennial Exchange is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at River Woods Park. For more information, visit auburnhills.org or call 248-364-6946.

Auburn Hills Farmers' Market 3 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, beginning June 7 at Auburn and Squirrel Road, behind Duffy's.

Planting delayed due to Bittersweet vines

I hate it when the temperature warms up outside and then gets cold in the Spring. It's not good for the fruit trees and flowering trees. But it doesn't really faze the greens, onions and peas, as long as it stays above freezing most of the time.
If I had planted St. Patrick's Day weekend, it would have been fine. But alas, instead of planting Swiss Chard and other greens, we had to counter attack a siege of mean Oriental Bittersweet, (not so sweet) vines that seem to have only one purpose: Kill all trees nearby or even several yards away. They intertwine themselves around the tree, then, like a boa constrictor, they choke it, slowly. The only way to kill is with herbicides, which also kill the trees. So we were manually cutting and removing the vines. With this method, we will have to stay vigilant on guard against their regrowth because they have an underground network of roots.
People actually plant Bittersweet vine when landscaping. The American variety is not invasive, like the Oriental variety.
For more information, visit landscaping.about.com/cs/groundcovervines1/a/bittersweet.htm

Swiss chard is a good provider

I may have mentioned in an earlier blog, but this bears repeating....SWISS CHARD IS AWESOME! Not only is it delicious, it usually grows all summer and fall in Southern Michigan. Add to that, it is usually low maintenance, fairly easy to weed, fast to pick, (just twist and snap) and good for you. It may not be as nutrient-packed as kale or spinach, but I think it tastes much better than kale and lasts a lot longer in the garden than spinach.

Time to plant the greens

It's so warm, it really feels like Spring and most greens should be planted right now. I took advantage of some complimentary seeds from www.Reneesgarden.com/ and have planted some container lettuce: Sweetie Baby Romaine and Garden Babies Butterhead.
My husband worked some fresh soil into our container box garden and tomorrow I hope to plant Broccoli Raab Super Rapini, Sweet Curly Parsley, Salad scallions, delicious duo, container chard Pot of Gold and Portugese Kale.
Renee Shepherd's seeds are her selection of heirloom, open-pollinated and hybrid varieties. Her seed packets come with good descriptions and planting instructions tailored for each plant.

There are so many different types of seeds available to us now. It is a bit overwhelming. Not only are there different varieties of the same plant, there are different ways the seeds are produced. There are cultivar (cultivated variety which can be a hybrid or open-pollinated); genetically engineered; genetically modified; open-pollinated; hybrid; heirloom and of course organic.For more information on this, visit  www.ezfromseed.org/.

Michigan Home & Garden Show

The Michigan Home & Garden Show brings an abundance of ideas for homeowners’ landscaping, gardening, home improvement and energy-efficiency projects at the Pontiac Silverdome, March 9-11
“All the major home product categories from heating and cooling, kitchens and baths, windows and doors to room additions, siding, closets, vacuums, appliances, fixtures, furnishings, landscaping and decorative accessories are represented,” said Mike Wilbraham, show producer of ShowSpan Inc. of Grand Rapids. “There truly is something for everyone, whether they are interested in new homes, green living, remodeling or maintenance.
Twiggy, The Water Skiing Squirrel, sporting a life jacket and water skis and pulled by a remote-controlled boat in a custom-made swimming pool, as seen on ESPN, “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with David Letterman,” will entertain and teach the importance of life jackets and safety on the water.
Author Joey Green will present strange but useful household tips during his “Wacky Uses for Brand Name Products” such as polishing furniture with Spam, removing carpet stains with Pampers and cleaning diamond rings with Efferdent as seen on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Good Morning America” and “The View.”
Outdoor living space will be shown in professionally landscaped gardens and landscapes with blooming annuals and perennials, reflecting ponds, waterfalls, fountains, brick walkways, decks and patios created by area landscapers.
Michigan Garden Clubs Inc., members of the National Garden Clubs Inc., will display a flower invitational exhibition of floral design themed “Memories of the Past Forging into the Future.”
Free educational seminars and how-to demonstrations for new ideas and instruction led by gardening, interior design, home improvement and cooking experts will be on the Food, Home and Garden Stages. Chefs will cook and provide recipe cards on the Food Stage. America’s Master Handyman and WJR radio host Glenn Haege will be among the experts covering design, home improvement and energy on the Home Stage. Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association experts will conduct the seminars on the Garden Stage. Children will have the opportunity to climb on inflatables and a portable climbing tower at the Cran-Hill Family Zone.
Decorative home accessories, Michigan landscape and nature photography and food products will be available for purchase at the Garden & Art Market.
Homeowners can compare products and services and find professionals for landscaping, building, remodeling, do-it-yourself and home decorating projects. Experts will be on hand to provide tips, advice and knowledge on home renovations, improvement, maintenance, environmentally friendly living, gardening and landscaping.
The Pontiac Silverdome is at 1200 Featherstone Road, north of M-59 and west of Opdyke Road in Pontiac. Show hours are from noon to 9 p.m. March 9; 10 a.m. to  9 p.m. March 10 and 10 a.m. to  6 p.m. March 11. Admission is $10, $5 for children 6-14 and children 5 and under admitted free. Discount coupons for $2 off Friday or Sunday adult admission are available at show’s website and participating Wendy’s restaurants. Advance tickets are available online at www.SilverdomeEvents.com. Family Day is Saturday with free admission until noon for children 14 and under and special activities and demonstrations. On-site parking is available for $5. Follow the show at Twitter.com/MIHomeShow and become a fan on Facebook at SilverdomeHomeShow.com/Facebook.
For more information, visit www.SilverdomeHomeShow.com or call 1-800-328-6550.

Seeds may be responsible for contaminated sprouts

Jimmy Johns E. coli O26 Linked to Clover Sprouts: Seeds Likely to Blame but No Formal Recall

http://www.recalllawsuit.com/2012/02/jimmy-johns-e-coli-o26-linked-to-clover-sprouts-seeds-likely-to-blame-but-no-formal-recall/

E.coli can originate in sprout seeds

Regarding the recent e.coli outbreak that was linked to clover sprouts from Jimmy John's. Read more at  The Oakland Press
I have looked for information on how e.coli can be introduced to sprouts. It can happen during growing, transportation, storage and serving. The big shock to me is that the seeds themselves can be contaminated with the pathogen. In light of this, I am waiting to find out more info. about where seeds are produced. I am still using the mung bean seeds that I purchased in November. I recommend using caution with growing your own sprouts until the origin of the clover sprouts contamination is clarified. I will update this blog when I learn more.

Growing sprouts helps beat the winter blues

I started growing sprouts in my kitchen. They grow so fast and easy and its such a green thumb ego boost. All you need is a jar with lid, a strainer and sprouting seeds.
Here's basic instructions:
For bean sprouts (I'm using the popular mung bean seeds). Rinse the seeds to wash the dirt off. Then put them in a jar and fill with water to soak for 8  to 12 hours. Then drain and keep them in the jar, rinsing and draining every 8-12 hours for 3 to 5 days. That is basically all there is to it. In 2 days, you see signs of sprouting. It's like springtime in a jar!
For more information, visit http://organicgardening.about.com/od/vegetablesherbs/a/growingsprouts.htm

There are seeds for sale at http://sproutpeople.org