Bill introduced in House yesterday defining Cottage food operation and exempting such operation from certain licensing and inspection provisions of State Food Law

HB 5837 was introduced yesterday by State Representative Pam Byrnes (D-Chelsea). The bill would amend the Food Law of 2000 to define a “cottage food operation” and allowable products of such an operation, and make those operations exempt from the licensing and inspection provisions of the Food Law. The exemption does not include an exemption from the labeling, adulteration, and other standards in law.

In addition to existing labeling and disclosure requirements imposed, the bill would require a cottage food operation to place on the label of any food it produces or packages a statement that substantially complies with the following:

“MADE IN A HOME KITCHEN THAT HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED BY THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE."

Sale of allowable foods by a cottage food operation would be limited to homes, farm markets, or roadside stands; municipal farmers markets; county fairs; and town celebrations, festivals, and events. A cottage food operation would not be allowed to sell its products at craft shows, flea markets or other for-profit events; by means of the internet or other media inside or outside this state; at permanent sales venues other than farmers markets, homes, or roadside stands; or by means of consignment or in other licensed retail establishments.

Gross sales of eligible products by a cottage food operation could not exceed $15,000 annually. The bill would allow the Dept. of Agriculture to request written documentation to verify the gross sales figure.

An exemption under this new section of the Food Law would not affect the application of other state or federal laws or applicable local ordinances.

The bill defines “cottage food operation” as “a person who produces or packages non-potentially hazardous food in a kitchen of that person’s primary domestic residence.”

The bill defines “non-potentially hazardous food” as “a food that is not potentially hazardous food as that term is defined in the Food Code, which includes, but is not limited to, baked goods, james, jellies, candy, snack food, cereal, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, and dried herbs. Non-potentially hazardous food does not include home-canned low acid or acidified vegetables, home-canned salsa, or home-canned food; food service items; ready-to-eat meals, mean, sandwiches, cheese, or custard pies; garlic in oil; food that requires temperature control for safety; and bottle water, home24 produced ice products, and other beverages and products.”

HB 5837 is now before the House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Huckleberry. Those wishing to express their views on the bill should communicate to their own state representative (to find your state rep., go to: http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp ) and copy Chairman Huckleberry in your messages/letters (MikeHuckleberry@house.mi.gov)

By Joe Lamp'l - Scripps Howard News Service - Published: Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 10:31 a.m. MST

Strolling around my garden in the morning with my cup of coffee provides peaceful meditation, but also a time for daily plant inspection. Those of you who have followed my writing know I'm an avid composter. Once I've finished drinking coffee for the day, I compost not only the grounds, but the filter as well.

As I meet gardeners across the country, they ask questions such as: Should I worry about using too many coffee grounds in my compost? Will it affect the soil acidity? Should I apply coffee grounds directly around plants?

Great questions. To answer them, let's start with a short review of compost:

Compost is produced from the natural breakdown of organic matter, such as grass clippings, leaves and vegetable debris, yielding what gardeners call "black gold." Yard waste and food scraps make up about 23 percent of the U.S. Municipal solid-waste stream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Disposal of these materials in landfills is unnecessary and wastes space. As yard wastes decompose in landfills, they generate methane, a colorless, explosive greenhouse gas that is released as bacteria break down organic materials.

Coffee grounds are great in the compost pile because they are rich in nitrogen, providing bacteria the energy they need to turn organic matter into compost. Coffee grounds contain about 2 percent nitrogen, 0.3 percent phosphorus, 0.3 percent potassium and some micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur and copper, according to Jeff Gillman, author of "The Truth About Garden Remedies."

Like other "green" nitrogen sources such as grass clippings and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds help balance "brown" carbon components such as dry leaves and newspaper. When mixed with brown materials in the compost bin, grounds generate heat to accelerate decomposition.

Don't assume the grounds will make an acidic compost just because the coffee in your cup is acidic (pH 5 to 5.5), says Linda Chalker-Scott, associate professor of horticulture and landscape architecture at Washington State University. When researchers measured the pH of coffee grounds, the results varied between mildly acidic (pH 4.6) to somewhat alkaline (pH 8.4). In fact, when coffee grounds were added to soil, the pH increased after a couple of weeks then gradually decreased after that.

Some gardeners tell me they put their coffee grounds directly around plants. Coffee grounds benefit different plants in different ways when added directly to the soil, says Gillman. Some plants, such as lettuce, seem to benefit, while others, such as alfalfa, do not. Other plants, such as tomatoes, are negatively impacted. Coffee contains allelopathic chemicals that inhibit the growth of some plants.

"The best use of coffee grounds is to add them to compost and let them break down into their organic components so the plants can benefit," adds Gillman.

The bottom line: When you use coffee grounds at between 10 percent to 20 percent of the total volume of compost, they are an excellent addition to your pile. There are various "recipes" for ratios of greens to browns. But try not to get hung up on that. Just don't add too much of any one thing. I have seen recommendations for equal parts brown and green as well as two parts brown to one part green. Ratios will vary slightly depending on exactly what you throw into your heap. You can accelerate the compost rate by keeping the pile moist (like a damp sponge) and turning it often, to provide oxygen to the center of the pile.

Tea bags are good to compost as well. You can also check with your local coffee shop to see if they offer free coffee grounds to gardeners, as many do. For those of you who want to read more about composting, these Web sites should give you all the information you need: www.compostguide.com and www.howtocompost.org.

Don't forget that worms have affection for coffee grounds, too. Vermicomposting, or worm composting, can be accomplished easily in worm bins in your home. This is great for gardeners with limited space. Once the worms consume organic matter, they produce nutrient-rich worm castings.

Recycling such a valuable soil amendment and compost ingredient makes sense economically and environmentally. Enjoy your coffee and feel good about your grounds!

Joe Lamp'l, host of "GardenSMART" on PBS, is a Master Gardener and author. For more information visit www.joegardener.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)
© 2010 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

By John Hogan | The Grand Rapids Press - January 31, 2010, 1:33AM

On Tuesday, an overweight, short-leg rodent commonly associated with chucking wood will let us know if we’re in for an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Punxsutawney Phil, arguably the world’s most revered groundhog, who gets pulled from his heated, simulated tree trunk and put under the glare of television lights, will see his shadow. At least that’s my prediction.

If you’ve followed Groundhog Day at all, (the event, not the movie), you know if the groundhog in Pennsylvania sees its shadow, we’re in for another six weeks of winter. No shadow means an early spring.

The odds lean towards a prolonged winter. Phil has seen his shadow nearly 9 out of every 10 times going back to 1887. With TV lights and camera flashes, it’s no wonder.

Weather forecasters, like Beth Bishop, also pay attention. She knows extended eight-day weather forecasts often change, so she finds Punxsutawney Phil’s prognostication perplexing. (Say that eight times fast).

Bishop and researchers from the National Weather Service, Michigan State University and other scientific communities rely on probes, thermometers and other handy tools to provide more than bus stop weather.

As coordinator of MSU’s Enviro-Weather program, she wants to see gardeners base planting and pest control on science, not a rodent held by a guy in a top hat.

Bishop, sans a top hat, trumpets a weather Web site for accurate forecasting and useful climate data. It’s helpful to farmers, gardeners and assorted weather Geeks.

“For non-scientists, it is a great source for information about the impact weather has on plants and pests,” she said.

Enviro-Weather offers weather-based information such as soil temperature, heating degree days and monthly summaries. You can use the site to make sound decisions on when to plant, when to control crabgrass and when to prepare for Japanese beetles.

Its home page has drop-down menus for hot-button topics such as vegetables, turf grass and trees.

Sensors collect data at 64 locations, including Sparta, Kent City and Hudsonville. Gardeners should know how warm and wet the soil is before planting. Now, you can find out without getting dirty.

Winter-weary gardeners often jump the gun when we have a string of warm days, thinking it is OK to plant. Flurries and bone-chilling days bring us back to reality.

Too often, we rely on air temperature, rather than soil temperature, to guide planting. It’s a strategy fraught with peril.

“If you plant certain seed too early or the soil is still cool and moist, it’ll rot in the ground,” Bishop said. “You can’t always rely on the calendar for planting dates; conditions vary year to year.”

Zucchini squash seeds and tomato transplants do not like cool soil, even if the air temperature is 74 degrees. Plant too early, and they will reward you with stunted growth and lackluster performance.

Bishop recommends visiting the Web site to become familiar with the tools available. You won’t find current soil temperature because it’s hard to stick a probe in frozen ground. But you can review data from last year to get an idea of how the season progressed. Once we get into March, data for this growing season will appear.

Pay close attention to heating degree days. A heating degree day is a measurement of accumulated heat, with plant growth and insect activity proportionate to heating degree days, Bishop said.

“Lots of studies have looked at the relationship between plants blooming and insects emerging,” Bishop said. “This provides a way for gardeners to know what plants are ready to be set outside and what insects might be ready to hatch.”

Want to know when to apply crabgrass pre-emergent fertilizer other than using the old “when the forsythias bloom?” The site helps you determine the best dates.

Dandelions are a whole different subject. If the lawn is riddled with them each spring, ask Punxsutawney Phil to visit. Woodchucks are very fond of dandelions.

ONLINE

• To learn more about Enviro-Weather service and how you can use it. Check out: http://enviroweather.msu.edu/homeMap.php
• The Michigan Automated Weather Network provides weather data from scores of reporting stations in agricultural areas.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Keeping workers employed is an important issue to everyone right now. Members of one group who spend all of their time toiling outdoors, making a nearly $8 billion contribution to U.S. agriculture, want their share of the green, too -- but it’s not money.
A Michigan State University (MSU) entomology research team has found that native bees and insect predators that have access to native plants do a great job of pollinating and consuming insect pests. This can add up to lower pest control expenses and higher yields at harvest.
In a two-year study recently published in the Ecological Society of America’s journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, they found 26 native Michigan plants that were highly attractive to pollinators and beneficial predatory insects. By establishing native plants that support beneficial insects, farmers may be rewarded with improved pollination and pest control. That can mean decreased costs and increased profits along with the associated environmental benefits.
Though the study was aimed at finding plants for use in agricultural settings, the same plants will perform similar functions in suburban and urban landscapes. With more people growing large gardens, that can mean more improved harvests at the end of the summer.
“Homeowners can benefit from including these plants in their landscapes,” says Rufus Isaacs, MSU associate professor of entomology, an MSU Extension entomologist and the report’s principal author. “Squash, pumpkins, strawberries and raspberries will yield larger fruit with good pollination. Providing these plants to improve your habitat for bees and other beneficial insects pays dividends to the home gardener.”
The study required the team to monitor insect activity on 43 native plant species. But how do you count flying insects? It takes a Hoover. The researchers used a retrofitted shop vac to suck insects from the plants, then took the filled bags to the laboratory, where they identified and counted the numbers found on each plant species when it was in bloom. The top 26 insect-attracting plants are listed online.
The results of their work indicate that planting such species as Culver’s root, blue lobelia and Riddell’s goldenrod along a fence row or a garden’s border can entice native bees. Golden Alexanders, sand coreopsis and pale-leaved sunflowers were among the species found to attract native predators.
“We see this as a win-win for agriculture and the environment,” says Doug Landis, MSU professor of entomology and one of the study’s authors. “All of the plants we tested are prairie and savanna plants that were once common in our region, but these have become relatively rare in agricultural landscapes. Reestablishing these species on farms adds natural beauty and can benefit a variety of native wildlife such as birds and butterflies in addition to beneficial insects.”
Though this study took place in Michigan and its results can be immediately put to use across the Great Lakes region, it can be replicated elsewhere. According to a 2006 study published in BioScience, native pollinators make contributions to U.S. agriculture worth $3.1 billion, and natural enemies contribute pest control worth $4.5 billion each year.
The work has gone beyond the MSU campus. Isaacs and the team are setting up conservation plantings on western Michigan blueberry, cherry and apple farms and are now testing a mix of the best plant species for attracting pollinators and predators especially for those crops.
It’s also jumped across oceans. With input from the MSU researchers, a similar project is under way in Argentina. Landis and other MSU researchers are also traveling to the central Asian countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to check on studies they have initiated there.
“Every region of the world has its own unique native plants and insects. We teach people the basic techniques, and they conduct the screening for themselves,” Landis says.
This work was funded by Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), the plant industry initiative at MSU, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension program and its National Research Initiative, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Posted by Brenda Brissette Mata
The Flint Journal March 22, 2009 06:00AM

We're all interested in saving money, and many Americans have found that a vegetable garden is one way to help relieve the cost of feeding the family. With spring here, it's time to start thinking about garden preparations.

The National Gardening Association estimates that a vegetable garden can yield a $500 average return per year. The association predicts an increase in home gardening for 2009 based on seed sales and a telephone survey.

Burpee Seeds, the largest mail-order seed company saw a 20 percent spike in sales last year.

To learn more
Michigan State Cooperative Extension Service
Address: 4215 W. Pasadena Ave., Flint, MI
E-mail: geneseeplantpest@anr.msu.edu
Hours: 8 a.m. To 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Starting a home garden, in pots or backyards, can be even less expensive if you start from seed instead of buying flats of plants.

Erin Caudell, outreach program coordinator for the Ruth Mott Foundation at Applewood, said a package containing anywhere from 45 to 50 or more seeds can cost $1.50 compared to transplants in cellpacks that often cost twice as much for only a couple of plants.

But step one is preparing the soil.

Terry McLean, Michigan State University Extension Service horticulture educator, said information on soil preparation is available in various forms.

"We have bulletins and materials that we can mail out, we have a plant and pest hot line that people can call and they can access us by e-mail," McLean said.

Start by determining which area in the yard gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight every day.

"You won't have much success with veggies without full sun," she said.

Also make sure water is accessible.

"You don't want to have to schlep water by the bucket," she said.

Once you have the spot, remove the vegetation cover. McLean said a sod cutter works if it's lawn or select a weed killer with glyphosate.

"That's the active ingredient that will kill all vegetation but doesn't persist in the soil," McLean explained. "But some folks are strident about being organic and might not agree with the use of an herbicide."

McLean said using a rototiller is fine, but if the area you are tilling up for a garden is full of quack grass, chopping up the grass and roots is only going to propagate the weed.

"Cutting the sod or killing the sod is more successful," she said.

A plain old spade works, too. "That's good physical labor," McLean said about using a spade to turn over the area for planting.

Preparing the soil for a garden can start as soon as the frost is out of the ground.

"One of the best things I can recommend is start small," she said. "Most folks get excited and start with a huge space or area and can't get a handle on all the weeds and it becomes a failure. Start small the first year, couple tomato plants, couple pepper plants, keep it manageable."

McLean also suggests you get the soil tested. "Bring in about three cups of dirt from all around the dug up area," McLean said. The test costs $12 but will get you an analysis of soil nutrient levels, pH levels and suggestions about how to improve your soil.

"I did 333 tests last year," McLean said.

Think about plants that will feed your family. There is no point in planting broccoli if nobody in the family eats it, unless you plan on giving it away.

Caudell said when selecting seed packages pay attention to the information on the package.

"The older the seed packet, the less likely they will germinate," she said. "Also look to see how long seeds need before they can be transplanted outside.

Caudell said she started her own tomatoes and peppers last week.

"The frost free date for Michigan is not until May 30," Caudell said, cautioning that plants cannot be put outside until then. But now is the perfect time to start seeds. Caudell recommends peat pots or cardboard egg cartons as containers for seedlings. That way you can transplant pot and plant directly into the ground. "Less shock for the seedling," she said.

Another great source for seedling pots is the newspaper. There are numerous online sources for directions.

She cautions against using dirt from outside. "You are likely to bring in bacteria. Seedlings are tender and could get disease."

Caudell said start with a sterile seed mix in your pots -- you don't need much. "A small bag costs $5 or less and could probably fill 30 to 50 cups."

To see which seeds will germinate, Caudell shares a trick her mother used to use: "My mom always made a weak tea solution and would dip a paper towel in the solution and put the seeds on it. Put that in a plastic zip bag and (the seeds) will germinate."

Do not put the plastic bag in a window or the refrigerator, room temperature is all that's necessary.

Gently place the seeds that did germinate into the sterile mixture in your planting cups (roots down, leaves up). "Don't bury it," Caudell said. "It will find its way down into the soil."

Even the tiny seedlings need 6 to 8 hours of light, so you will have to buy a lighting source.

"I think the cheapest route is to get a shop light, about $15," Caudell said. "You can, but you don't have to, spend a few extra bucks and get the full spectrum bulb, but fluorescent will work."

Caudell said she doesn't suggest a window because plants will try to stretch and get leggy.

"You want a light darned close to those plants," she said. By close she means about 12 inches; less than that will burn the tender sprouts.

To help keep the plants warm, gardening centers sell a seed mat. Caudell said sometimes a heating pad will do trick.

"Especially if you keep them in the basement. You can use a heating pad on a low temperature, it's about the same," she said.

Don't water the plants, instead moisten the pots, mist the plants or just leave the pots in a shallow tray with a little water that will soak the bottom. If you've used waxed cups, be sure to poke holes in the bottom.

Caudell said it takes six to eight weeks for tomatoes and peppers to grow from seed.

"Herbs like basil and chives are great to start from seed," Caudell said.

Root vegetables and vining plants should be started in the ground.

Both Caudell and McLean say compost is key.

"But it takes a while to get good compost," McLean said. "If you are an active composter you can have a finished product in three months, but for most folks it takes six months. If you start this year you might get to use it at the end of this summer or the next season."

You can also save money on ornamentals by starting flowers from seed.

Zinnias, marigolds, snapdragons, sunflowers, nasturtiums, cosmos, petunias and cleome (also known as spider flower) are popular choices.

On the Net:
National Gardening Association: www.garden.org
Growing plants from seed: http://extension.umd.edu/publications/PDFs/FS551.pdf
© 2009 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.

Kevin Anderson - Lawrence Journal - World & News - Thursday, March 5, 2009

“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.” — Thomas Jefferson, August 23, 1785

Thomas Jefferson was a firm believer in the art of growing plants, the wealth of knowledge that flora can offer and the self-sufficiency acquired by honing such skills.

In 2009, we might want to take a look back at gardening in order to move forward. During World War I and World War II, the United States government asked its citizens to plant gardens to maintain the war effort. These gardens were coined the names “victory gardens,” “liberty gardens” and “war gardens.”

Because the nation’s allies had suffered food shortages, American leaders wanted to prepare their country for hard times. The call to action was met with fervor as millions planted gardens. In 1943, Americans planted more than 20 million victory gardens, and their harvest accounted for nearly a third of all the vegetables eaten in the U.S. That year.

The government emphasized the family and community spirit involved, that it wasn’t drudgery and toiling but a pastime and a national duty. It aimed to encourage residents to use less fuel, conserving it for the war. Even Eleanor Roosevelt joined in the cause and created a White House victory garden to generate positive press.

Peanut butter, tomatoes, cilantro, spinach and even baby formula have all been the more recent food scares that unsuspecting consumers have faced. The notion that these mass-produced foods are unhealthy and possibly even harmful certainly is catalyst enough to start taking control over what we put on our tables. Combine those “risks” we take in trusting our foods to an outside source and then couple that with the idea that the average food today travels a whooping 1,500 miles from farm to table. The energy alone in processing the food, packaging the food and then transporting the food is astronomical. Now, imagine traveling in feet rather than miles, fresh from your garden plot to the table.

The victory garden concept may be an old one, but its merits are vast. This bygone experiment of self-sufficiency and an intimate knowledge of where food comes from might be worth taking a gander at again.

Karen McVay, who lives near Pomona, around 30 miles southwest of Lawrence, has been working toward a self-sufficient lifestyle for four years now. She explains how her interest was piqued.

“I became interested in the topic of sustainable living during and because of my residence on two different islands,” she says. “While living abroad, it was not uncommon to have boats be delayed and the grocery shelves became empty. Soil was also an issue. Either due to overworking the soil and not giving anything back, or Mother Nature herself creating inhospitable terrain as in the case of lava flow — all led to my interest in soil fertility. I realized how I’d taken my food source for granted my whole life.”

McVay grows just about anything you can imagine, from vegetables to fruit trees. She also has taken the concept a step further by raising chickens for eggs. After living on an island and being dependent and vulnerable, when she moved to Kansas she began to educate herself on what grows here, about the loss of vitamins that mass-produced foods suffer from and the only way to give a vegetable more vitamins is by feeding the soil.

“It is worth the effort, but it is definitely a labor of love.” McVay says. “The payoff is the quality of food which time and time again blows me away in the taste category. Being able to walk one minute to a garden, pick a vegetable, eat it raw is a whole different food experience that I’ve become addicted to.”

McVay makes it clear that you don’t need a lot of space to grow ample amounts of food. If room is an issue, consider peppering in vegetables to your perennial gardens, use containers for savories or approach a community garden.

Jessi Asmussen is co-coordinator of Lawrence Sustainability Network’s Support for Local Urban Gardeners (SLUG), which is an all-volunteer group assisting both new gardeners and old pros.

“I am aware of at least 10 community gardens throughout Lawrence,” she says. “Some community gardens use the ‘share the labor, share the produce method.’ Other community gardens are divided into plots, and each plot is assigned and cared for by an individual or family. Many have communal work days, so you can meet your neighbors, work side by side and share information. The compact plot is a good example of how much food really can be grown in a small area.”

Asmussen explains the reasons to become a self-sufficient gardener: “Due to fluctuations in fuel prices, an unstable economy and climate change, the future of our food supply and distribution is unstable. Not only is there a need for more people to start growing food, we also need existing food gardeners to share their knowledge with beginners.”

Not only do the current political and economical upheavals directly affect our food costs, but Asmussen thinks more Americans could use a basic crash course in Horticulture 101.

“The victory gardens were popular because growing your own food was one way to save money and resources, and it was something most people were able to do,” she says. “Since then, many Americans have become unfamiliar with the basic skills needed to grow, preserve and even cook our own food. Community gardens are a great way to begin reconnecting with fundamental food knowledge.”

— Jennifer Oldridge, a Kansas University graduate, is an avid gardener who previously operated a landscaping business.

The Seattle Times - By Valerie Easton

Even in this tattered economy, we'll keep on gardening. In fact, many of us will step it up as an antidote to the rest of life. And we'll probably be around home more to enjoy what we plant.

For those, like me, whose jobs are evaporating or changing beyond recognition, we may well have nothing but time in '09.

Our time may have lost value in the workplace, but every moment put into the garden is fully recompensed. I don't mean to sound like one of those maudlin "priceless" ads. But in contrast to the gyrations in the value of our homes and retirement accounts, fresh vegetables and fragrant flowers are as precious as ever. Maybe more so.

Can you imagine anything that offers more solace and satisfaction than cultivating living things? Gardening, with all its vicissitudes of wind, weather and slugs, is still a relatively sure thing. Stir up the soil, plant some seeds, and you'll have flowers and a harvest in a few months. Dropping your gym membership and working up a sweat growing your own food sounds like a pretty sweet strategy to me.

From their traditions of passing along plants to the victory gardens they grew in the war years — including the one Eleanor Roosevelt planted in front of the White House — gardeners are used to hard work, figuring things out along the way, and sharing knowledge as well as seeds and starts. I can't count the number of times my garden has taught me to adapt and make do, lessons that we all need in this crazy roller-coaster of an economy.

Simpler gardening is a sign of the times. We're lucky that plants come with the innate urge to grow and reproduce. Nature aids and abets with sun and rain. Sometimes we just need to get out of the way.

Bonus easy-gardening strategy: Cover the ground with weed-discouraging carpeters like this creeping Jenny and liriope beneath a canopy of oak leaf hydrangea. Pavers and pebble mulch can also help create a weed-resistant tapestry of colors and textures.

Consider these seven strategies to make your life easier and more pleasurable out there in the garden:

• The first step is always, always to prepare the soil, for ornamentals or edibles. Well-drained and composted soil grows healthy plants and discourages weeds.
• Remember that rain is your friend. It not only cuts down on water bills, it's also much easier to dislodge weeds and pull roots after a good rainstorm. It's also wise to fertilize when it's raining or rain is predicted, so fertilizer will be gently and thoroughly watered in by nature rather than by a blast of the hose.
• Load up on double-duty plants because they make the best use of your time and garden space. Strawberries, for instance, cover the ground while yielding pretty, delicious fruit. Blueberries and artichokes are not only nutritious but sturdy, handsome landscape plants in all seasons. Nasturtiums, calendula and violas look as good in the garden as they do in the salad bowl.
• If December's deep freeze didn't already do it for you, rid your garden of plants you've been coddling. There's no reason, in this world of fabulous plants, to struggle with anything ill-suited to your location or gardening style. Use your precious time, space and sun to grow the plants you most want to look at, pick or eat. When a garden is spare rather than overcrowded, every detail stands out to full advantage. This is the luxury of enough. (I admit this is still a theory for me, but I'm working on it.)
• Don't waste your time over-grooming; a casual garden is a comfortable place to be. Birds and insects love the ripeness of overblown plantings, and if you can stop yourself from constant clipping and cleanup, you'll learn to appreciate plants in all their life stages.
• Use simple, natural, nontoxic products; they're effective and inexpensive. Alfalfa meal pushes bloom in roses, dahlias, clematis and other flowering plants. Boiling water and white vinegar kill weeds. Epsom salts nourish plants and help them germinate.
• Slow down out there. Look closely at your plants as you tend them, breathe in their fragrances, feel the sun and the breeze, listen to the birds. Soak up the garden's beauty and mystery while you work, and you'll grow your own health, tranquility, sense of wonder and yes, endurance.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer. Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "A Pattern Garden." Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net. Jacqueline Koch is a Seattle-based freelance photographer.

Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company

By Adrian Higgins Washington Post Thursday, July 17, 2008

If you garden long enough in one place, you realize that no two growing seasons ever match up.

Some years, there are subtle changes: a rare late frost that punishes those who jumped the gun or a tropical storm that brings down an old tree.

In other periods, you wonder if you are living in the same place. This year, for example, with a spring and summer that have delivered abundant rainfall when plants are programmed to grow their most. The contrast to last year's punishing drought makes it all the more extraordinary.

Last fall, I came across gardeners who were spending hundreds, even thousands of dollars keeping water running through hoses as a form of survival gardening. Now, after about 30 inches of rain so far this year, it's a jungle out there. Hoses remain coiled like snakes.

This is mostly positive news. The elusive quest for a green lawn in summer seems attainable, and a lush garden makes its owner look and feel good. There are a few downsides, however.

When the weather turned hot a month ago, virtually every fungal and bacterial disease encouraged by warm, wet conditions made an appearance.

There's fire blight on apples and pears, including the Bradford and other ornamental varieties of the callery pear. This bacterium produces dieback in stems and leaves, yielding a classic shepherd's crook at the stem end and a blackening as if the branch had been burned. Experts have come up with a clever way of pruning out the dead branches in a way that stops the disease from forming in lower branches. It's a two-step process that initially leaves a stub. See the Maryland Home and Garden Information Center Web site, http://www.hgic.umd.edu.

I'd say that black spot in roses is becoming a problem, but only in roses that still have their leaves. Weather-induced or not, in May and June there was an outbreak of rose slugs the likes of which have rarely been seen. The pest, which is the larvae of a sawfly, munches on the underside of rose leaflets until it chews right through. "More [damage] than I have ever seen in all the years I've been doing this," said David Yost, a horticulturist at Merrifield Garden Center, who runs a diagnostic plant clinic for customers. He also reports unusual numbers of bagworms and wonders if the mild winter is a factor.

But the drumbeat is more of foliage problems. This has been a banner year for leaf spot on redtip photinia as well as anthracnose disease on sycamore leaves. The black-eyed Susans in my garden are robust, but the lower leaves are heavily marked by a fungus named Septoria. I sometimes remember to spray them in May with a lime-sulfur fungicide (this prevents the disease from gaining hold), but I didn't this year. Must have been singing in the rain.

My tomato vines are just showing signs of early blight, a disease that turns the lower leaves black and yellow. Mulching the bed will help, as will removing the infected leaves and avoiding overhead watering.

As Yost points out, most of these diseases are not going kill their hosts and are part and parcel of a rainy year. However, perennials and herbs that favor free-draining soil, typically those with silver or gray leaves, will croak in wet clay soil, from root or crown rot. Heavy organic mulches increase the risk.

Another problem, if it is a problem, is the sheer amount and weight of fruit and flowers on shrubs and trees. Peach tree boughs are groaning in spite of repeated thinnings of developing fruit, said Matt Davenport, manager of Hollin Farms in Delaplane, Va. Cherry trees are similarly fruitful, the corn is "phenomenal," he said, and the hay meadows produced two to three times the normal amount in May and June. His crews are getting ready to cut a second crop of hay in late July, a resource unavailable in last year's drought.

This bounty is seen, too, in ornamental plants. Trees that might grow a foot a year have doubled their fresh growth. In my garden, I've spent the last month thinning tree and shrub canopies and cutting back some perennials that have bloomed. A bank of fig trees, big shrubs really, have filled out wonderfully at the base of a red oak tree. The climbing hydrangea is now half covering the window of my second-story bathroom. A pair of plant pots, left in April at the edge of an embankment, are now partially engulfed by a burgeoning ground cover, leadwort.

Weeds are having a ball, and anyone who has neglected to weed on a weekly basis can expect to see pokeweed approaching shrub size.

There is another price for all this abundant moisture: the explosion in mosquito populations. "They're breeding in a lot of places, going by trap counts and what my larviciders are telling me when they're running out of the woods," said Jeannine Dorothy of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Larviciders have the unenviable job of going to wet breeding grounds to spray the mosquito larvae.

The presence of vernal pools (temporary woodland ponds) has created "a tremendous early-season problem," she said. "Probably at least 60 to 70 percent more mosquitoes" than usual.

Reducing mosquito populations means policing the yard to find and remove any source of standing water, which is easier said than done. Even corrugated drainage pipes can hold, in their interior indentations, enough water for the pervasive Asian tiger mosquito to breed.

This recent import, as we all know, defies native mosquito behavior by being active in broad daylight.

The key is to eliminate the waterborne larvae before they become blood-sucking flyers, said Jorge Arias, of the Fairfax County Health Department. But if your property is overwhelmed by the adult insects, you can spray an insecticide called permethrin labeled for use against mosquitoes. This pesticide is toxic to fish and beneficial insects, so follow the label directions carefully.

Arias pointed out that mosquito problems are made worse in neighborhoods with unoccupied homes in foreclosure. "With people not living there, they don't take care of where the water is accumulating," he said.

So you can imagine my relief when a public relations person named Dustin called out of the blue to tell me about a new product that has outdoor enthusiasts "raving about the head-to-toe protection they get" from the "Don't Bite Me! Patch." This is applied like a nicotine patch, except it infuses your bloodstream with Vitamin B1and aloe, and then you give off an odor that is offensive to mosquitoes.

"I don't think it's going to protect you that much," Arias said when I told him about it. I followed the instructions to the letter and stepped into the garden at 7 p.m., prime time for mozzies. By the time I had dunked a watering can in the fish pond and delivered it to a wilting hydrangea, an Asian tiger was on my index finger probing with her needle. I went over to the veggie garden, where I was unable to offend three more hungry tigers.

Ah, well, back to lemon eucalyptus spray.

Even with the pests, this is a good year in the garden. Last year, the drought withered not just the plants but the gardener's heart. This year's lushness has given us a redeeming paradise.

Posted by John Flesher | The Associated Press July 16, 2008 15:08PM TRAVERSE CITY — Foreign species that slipped into the Great Lakes in ballast tanks of oceangoing cargo ships cost the regional economy at least $200 million a year, said a University of Notre Dame study released Wednesday.

a separate report issued by the National Research Council rejected the proposal of some activists and politicians to stem the species invasion by closing the St. Lawrence Seaway or declaring it off-limits to oceangoing freighters.

Instead, the U.S. And Canada should work together to make sure that saltwater ships exchange their ballast water -- or rinse their tanks if empty -- while still at sea, said the report by the council's Transportation Research Board.

The reports come as environmentalists are prodding the U.S. Senate to approve a bill ordering ships to install systems for killing invasive fish, mussels and other critters that can disrupt the Great Lakes ecosystem. The measure has cleared the House but supporters say its prospects will be dim unless the Senate acts before its August recess.

"Politics are holding up our ability to stop the next invader," said Jennifer Nalbone, invasive species campaign director for Great Lakes United.

Of the 185 exotic animals and plants that have established populations in the lakes, 84 have arrived since the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, providing a navigational link between the lakes and the Atlantic.

Fifty-seven of the newcomers likely caught a ride in ballast water scooped up in foreign ports and dumped into the lakes when ships took on cargo, the Notre Dame report said. Among them: the round goby, the spiny water flea and the Eurasian ruffe.

They also include zebra and quagga mussels, which have been especially damaging to the regional economy by clogging water intake pipes and gobbling algae at the base of the aquatic food web.

Estimates of their cost to the economy have varied widely. The Notre Dame scientists suggested a price tag of $300 million last spring. But their latest report, using a different analytical method, pegged the loss at $200 million, saying it could grow with additional research.

The total refers only to costs for the eight U.S. States on the Great Lakes. Canada also has suffered from the species invasion, said David Lodge, director of the university's Center for Aquatic Conservation.

"We wanted to apply objective scientific research to one of the most pressing questions being asked today: What are the benefits and costs of shipping in the Great Lakes region?" Lodge said. "The distributions of losses we found with invasions from shipping may be the tip of the iceberg."

Sport fishing has taken the biggest hit: $123.5 million in 2006, the year on which the data are based, the report said. Participation is 11 to 35 percent lower on the lakes than it would have been if fish populations hadn't fallen because of exotics.

Other damaged sectors of the economy include wildlife viewing ($47.6 million loss); raw water use by municipalities, power plants and industry ($27 million); and commercial fishing ($2.1 million).

The study results "really point to the importance of recreational values in the Great Lakes," said David Finnoff, a University of Wyoming economist who joined the project.

The National Research Council study was requested by the Great Lakes Protection Fund, a nonprofit founded by the region's governors. The mission was to halt the species invasion while also boosting global trade.

Because of that dual mandate, the research panel dismissed shutting down the St. Lawrence Seaway or excluding ocean freighters, said chairman Jerry Schubel, president and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific. Doing so "clearly would not be trade-enhancing" and would lead to lengthy battles in Congress and the courts, Schubel said.

But a strategy based on requiring ballast exchange and tank flushing could be implemented quickly, he said. The U.S. St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. Imposed such a requirement this year and Canada did likewise in 2006.

The two nations should adopt International Maritime Organization standards for ballast water cleanliness while developing better systems for monitoring compliance with exchange and flushing regulations, the report said.

It recommended continued research of onboard sterilization methods such as chemicals and ultraviolet irradiation but stopped short of calling for them to be mandatory, as the House bill would do. Technology hasn't advanced enough for that, Schubel said.

Stuart Theis, executive director of the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association, praised the council for supporting continued operation of the seaway.

"The proposal to just do away with all the jobs and all the commerce that the maritime industry brings to this part of the country would be ridiculous," Theis said.

But Jeff Skelding of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition said, "In the absence of immediate congressional action to control invasives, why would we take the option of closing the seaway off the table?"

© 2008 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.

July 16, 2008
What: Blueberries. Michigan is a national leader in blueberry production. Mid-July is the time when they start coming in. In the nutrition world blueberries are superstars because they contain disease-fighting phytochemicals. And their fiber content makes them winners when it comes to lowering LDL cholesterol. Steve Elzinga, owner of Erie Orchards and Cider Mill in Erie, has 4 acres and three varieties of organically grown blueberries. You can pick your own or buy them picked at the orchard. "Right now with all the moisture and with the nice summer we're having, the berries are beautiful and about the size of a nickel," Elzinga says.
Cost: Blueberries cost about $2.50 per pound for U-pick. Quart containers holds about 11/2 pounds. Already picked blueberries sell for $2.50 per 1/2 pint. Erie Orchards has 10-pound boxes for $39.95.
Choosing: Blueberries don't ripen at the same time. They turn from green to purple and then to blue. Go for the biggest blue ones.
Storing: Blueberries are highly perishable but if stored properly can last several days in the refrigerator. In the freezer, they will keep at least one year. You don't need to thaw them before using. To freeze it's best to pack the berries in 1- or 2-cup portions in freezer-quality bags. Put the blueberries in a colander and rinse. Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. Place the blueberries on the paper towels, cover with more paper towels and pat dry. Let the berries dry for several hours. Place the berries in individual freezer bags, squeezing all the air out, and freeze. They will keep 9-12 months.
U-pick blueberry farms:
Erie Orchards & Cider Mill in Erie, 734-848-4518.
Dexter Blueberry Farm, Dexter, 734-426-2900.
Spicer Orchards, Fenton, 810-632-7692.
Hazen's Blueberry Farm, Howell, 517-548-1841.

Susan Selasky
The Detroit Free press
Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Sunday May 04, 2008, 5:21 AM -
The Grand Rapids Press
By John Hogan

April came in with a trace of snow and ended on a cold note.

In between, we enjoyed 11 days with temperatures of 70 degrees or better, helping us end April warmer than normal, a welcome change from previous months.

The warm weather has spurred many of us to assess the lawn -- or lack of it. Bare spots are likely the work of European chafer grubs, which are busy eating turf roots. Their numbers often are higher in lawns that were dry last summer and fall.

If the lawn is pock-marked with holes, it is likely the work of critters digging for grubs. Dead patches in lawns -- especially lawns with sandy soil and areas that have a slope to them -- are likely places for grubs to be active now, Michigan State University entomologist Terry Davis says.

To determine if dead patches are the work of grubs or the neighbor's dog, dig at the edge of the bare spot and look for 5/8-inch long, c-shaped grubs.

If present, it is likely the larvae of European chafer beetles. Any you don't kill will emerge in late June and early July as light-brown beetles.

If damage is limited to a few patches here and there, rake out the dead grass -- it'll be easy without roots holding it in place -- and overseed. For heavy infestations, apply Dylox or Sevin to the affected area. Either product can be used through mid-May.

Using either product after May 15 is likely a waste of money; grubs stop feeding in late May and it takes several days for the products to work down to where the grubs are in the soil.

Milky Spore, meanwhile, is an organic grub control product that works anytime, with one application lasting 10 to 15 years.

"The spores can be applied as long as the ground isn't frozen," said John Venman, who runs Venman Landscape Services in Rockford. "I like the powder form the best as it is a one-time treatment rather than three applications for the granule product."

Grub control products containing imidacloprid or halofenozide will not control grubs in the spring, MSU's Davis said.

Wait two months before using Scotts Grub-Ex, Bayer Advanced Season Long Grub Control and Spectracide One Stop Once & Done, he recommends.

"Applied in early July and watered into the ground, these products will give 90 to 100 percent grub control," Davis said.

Seedy characters

If brown splotches of turf do not come out easily with a hard rake, it may be the victim of something other than grubs, perhaps salt injury or snow mold.

"In most cases, the snow mold has probably not killed the turf but has simply killed all of the leaf tissue," said Kevin Frank, an MSU professor of crop and soil sciences.

Rake out the damaged area to remove dead grass and to allow air and light to penetrate.

If you plan to reseed the lawn, wait a week if you've put down a grub control product.

It's not a bad idea to fertilize newly seeded areas with a starter fertilizer or one of the many organic lawn fertilizers on the market.

Just be sure the fertilizer you use is not one that inhibits seed germination -- specifically, fertilizers with a crabgrass pre-emergent. It works on crabgrass seed and lawn seed without discrimination.

"Young seedlings don't tolerate herbicides very well, and the guideline is usually to wait three 'real' mowings before applying any herbicides or, in some cases, at least 60 days," Frank advised. "By 'real' mowings, I mean you're actually cutting significant grass, not just running over the area to trim down weeds."

Frank recommends a good cover of mulch if you're not around to water seeded areas several times a day.

Hopefully at this point, it is straw -- and not snow -- that blankets the lawn.

There is no known treatment for VHS in a lake or river. Preventing the spread of VHS is the best way to protect Michigan's fish stocks from the disease.

As summer approaches and fishing season shifts into high gear, the Department of Natural Resources is reminding anglers that preventing the spread viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) will take the effort of everyone.

Although long known in Europe, VHS is a relatively new disease to the Great Lakes region that is capable of killing numerous species of fish by causing internal bleeding. First discovered in the Great Lakes in 2005, VHS has caused fish kills in northern Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River, Lake Erie, and inland in Budd Lake near Harrison.

Anglers can help prevent the spread of disease by following two simple rules: Don't move water and don't move fish.

Anglers are asked to empty their live wells and bilges when they leave a lake or river. Live wells should be disinfected with one half-cup bleach per five gallons of water before the boat is launched on another body of water.

Fish should never be moved from one body of water to another, including minnows used for bait. Please dispose of leftover minnows away from the water; do not empty your bait bucket into the lake, which is illegal. Anglers who collect their own minnows should use them only in the same waters where they were collected. Certified VHS-free minnows can be used anywhere in the state and now are widely available in bait shops. Uncertified minnows may be used in the specific VHSv Management Areas indicated on the receipt provided by the bait shop. If there is any doubt, anglers should use uncertified bait only in the VHSv Positive Management Areas.

For more information on VHS, CONTACT: Gary Whelan 517-373-1280, Todd Grischke 517-373-1280 or Ann Wilson 906-228-6561 or visit the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnrfishing.