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PLEASE NOTE: In the autumn of 1995, we hatched the idea for a free, local gardening publication. The following spring, we published the first issue of Michigan Gardener magazine. Advertisers, readers, and distribution sites embraced our vision. Thus began an exciting journey of helping our local gardening community grow and prosper.
After 27 years, nearly 200 issues published, and millions of copies printed, we have decided it is time to end the publication of our Print Magazine and E-Newsletter.

We will continue to update our Website with articles and enter current gardening events in our website Event Calendar. All the best wishes for 2024 and beyond.

Poisonous death cap mushrooms give fungi hunters pause

March 20, 2016 • 1 Comment

Death cap mushrooms launch spores from gills from to reproduce. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Archenzo)

NPR’s The Salt:

Donna Davis thought she had hit the jackpot with the two bags of mushrooms she collected in the woods of Northern California’s Salt Point State Park. Instead, she ended up in the hospital, facing the possibility of a liver transplant, after mistakenly eating a poisonous mushroom known as the death cap.

The 55-year-old life coach and her boyfriend had collected chanterelles, matsutakes and hedgehog mushrooms, all sought-after edible species.

That night, Davis made mushroom soup for herself, her boyfriend and a group of their friends.”It was amazingly delicious,” Davis says. So good, in fact, that she had two bowls.

And she felt fine. Until the next afternoon.

Read the rest of the story and watch a video from PBS…

New study says organic production can boost nutrients in foods

March 3, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Results of a new study published this week in the British Journal of Nutrition adds to the evidence that organic production can boost key nutrients in foods. (Photo: USDA)

NPR:

It’s often a split-second decision.

You’re in the produce aisle, and those organic apples on display look nice. You like the idea of organic — but they’re a few bucks extra. Ditto for the organic milk and meat. Do you splurge? Or do you ask yourself: What am I really getting from organic?

Scientists have been trying to answer this question. And the results of a huge new meta-analysis published this week in the British Journal of Nutrition adds to the evidence that organic production can boost key nutrients in foods.

The study finds that organic dairy and meat contain about 50 percent more omega-3 fatty acids. The increase is the result of animals foraging on grasses rich in omega-3s, which then end up in dairy and meats. The findings are based on data pooled from more than 200 studies, and research in the U.S. has pointed to similar benefits.

“Omega-3s are linked to reductions in cardiovascular disease, improved neurological development and function, and better immune function,” writes study co-author Chris Seal, a professor of food and human nutrition at Newcastle University in the U.K. “So we think it’s important for nutrition,” Seal told us. That said, organic meat and dairy contain far lower concentrations of omega-3s than what are found in fish such as salmon.

Read the rest of the article…

Dividing ornamental grasses

February 23, 2016 • Leave a Comment

We have 3 zebra grasses and all are growing nicely from the outside of the circle that each forms. The center of each plant is brown and has no new growth. We have heard that you are supposed to burn the grass but that sounds a little drastic. Is there any way we can get rid of the brown centers and yet preserve the healthy parts of the plants? C.T., Farmington Hills

You might have confused “burning grasses” with the prescribed burn method used to rejuvenate a planted prairie situation. With ornamental grasses, such as Miscanthus, feather reed grasses (Calamagrostis x acutiflora), or switch grasses (Panicum), the appropriate method is to cut them down to the ground in late winter (late March here in Michigan). This allows the gradually longer daylight hours to reach the root crown and stimulate new growth.

Your zebra grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Strictus’) is considered a “warm season” grass, which means it needs the warmer temperatures of May to kick into gear. The feather reed grasses are “cool season” grasses and will show new shoots as early as mid-April. This is why it is very important to cut down your winter interest grasses by the end of March to take advantage of the increasing daylight.

Because yours are showing “melting out” in the center, this is a sure sign they need to be divided. This should be done shortly after cutting them back, before active growth begins, and as soon as the soil is workable. You will need strong shovels, spading forks and possibly a pickaxe and a handsaw. Dig out the entire root ball of each grass and lay it on its side on a tarp. You may be lucky and be able to break the root ball apart with a sharp shovel. However, it often takes two spading forks placed back to back into the root ball and two people prying back on them with plenty of determination to make a dent in separating out chunks of the root zone. If you don’t mind sacrificing a hand saw to dirt and plant roots, that works very well also, especially if you are the only one working on the job.

Once you have broken the root ball, it is not difficult to separate the viable roots from the dead center into transplantable pieces. You not only have more plant material for free but have also revitalized the grass as a whole. The transplanted sections will welcome having more space to grow.

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