The annual Don’t Guess…Soil Test! program, co-sponsored by Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Water Stewardship Program, Southeastern Oakland County Water Authority and local retailers is now available through Sunday, May 1, 2011.

Through this program, gardeners can obtain a soil nutrient and organic matter analysis through the Michigan State University Soil and Plant Nutrient Lab for the special price of $19.00 per sample. The price includes delivery of the soil sample to the MSU laboratory as well as a customized fertilizer recommendation.  

Gardeners should consider having their soil tested to identify nutrients already in the soil and identify appropriate fertilizer options. Without a soil test, fertilizer application on the lawn or garden is guesswork. Over-application of fertilizers wastes money, can reduce plant quality and can pollute local lakes and rivers.

Soil testing kits are now available at the following retailers:

• MSU Extension office, 2nd floor of the North Office Building – 26East- Pontiac
• Auburn Oaks- Rochester Hills
• Bordine Nursery- Rochester Hills & Clarkston
• English Gardens- West Bloomfield & Royal Oak
• Four Season’s Garden Center, Berkley
• Glenda’s Garden Center- Novi, 
• Goldner Walsh- Pontiac
• Hamilton’s of Ortonville
• Wojo’s Greenhouse- Ortonville and Lake Orion
• Mulligan’s Landscape and Garden Center-White Lake
• Oxford Farm and Garden-Oxford
• Shades of Green- Rochester Hills
• Telly’s Greenhouse & Garden Center, Troy
• Uncle Luke’s Feed Store, Troy

Further information and instructions on how to take a sample can be found at www.oakgov.com/msu.

The event calendar has been updated with over 100 events, classes and seminars beginning today and running through May. Check out the list – there is something for everyone! If you attend an event, be sure and tell them you read about it in Michigan Gardener!

This weekend, check out some extraordinary works of glass art mixed with collections of exotic and unusual botanicals at the new Planterra Conservatory in West Bloomfield. These works of art are the work of Detroit-based Furnace Design Studio.

The exhibition, jointly produced by Planterra and Furnace Design Studio, will offer special lectures, tours, and videos. The artwork presented within a garden setting is also a demonstration of the healing benefits of color and horticultural therapy. A special roundtable discussion on art and color therapy will take place on March 29th.

The exhibition is open to the public from 10am-5pm beginning March 24 through March 29. For more information visit www.botanicalglass.org.

From NPR:

With remnants of once-legal lead paint, leaded gasoline and other pollutants from the nation’s industrial past tainting land in U.S. cities, soil researchers warn that the growing number of urban farmers and community gardeners need to test their dirt and take steps to make sure it’s safe.

Read the full story here…

Be sure and check out the calendar for some new events that were just added for the month of March. Spring is near…the April issue of Michigan Gardener will be in stores in two weeks!

David Milarch founded Archangel Archive with the goal of re-growing old growth forests:

“In our infinite wisdom, we’ve destroyed 98 percent of the old growth forests that kept nature in balance for thousands of years,” said David Milarch, the group’s co-founder. “That’s what we intend to put back.”

Milarch, a tree nursery operator from the northern Michigan village of Copemish, and sons Jared and Jake have been producing genetic copies of ancient trees since the 1990s. They’ve now joined with Elk Rapids businesswoman Leslie Lee and a team of researchers to establish Archangel Archive, which has a staff of 17 and an indoor tree research and production complex.

Read the full story here…

Organizers of the Ypsi Garden Fair hope to bring together ideas, products and knowledge, in order to promote gardening and sustainabilty within the community. Their goal is to make it easier for everyone to have access to fresh food and a healthy lifestyle.

There will be demonstrations, live entertainment, children’s activities, workshops, products and more. All proceeds from this event will go directly back into the community.

Friday, April 1, Garden Tea Party 3pm-7pm
Saturday, April 2, 11am-6pm: Regular fair hours & 5pm-midnight: Solar powered rock concert
Sunday, April 3, 11am-6pm: Regular fair hours

For more information, please visit http://sites.google.com/site/ypsigardenfair/home

NPR’s All Things Considered:

Just over a month ago, the Department of Agriculture announced that it will allow American farmers to plant genetically engineered alfalfa, which is widely used as feed for dairy cows and horses.

Organic food producers opposed the USDA’s decision — some more fiercely than others. That split has provoked angry debates within the organics community, with some activists accusing organic businesses of “surrendering” to the biotech company Monsanto. And it has reopened some old arguments about what’s most important in the label “organic.”

Read or listen to the full story here…

New York Times:

Researchers at Colorado State University said Wednesday that they had created the platform for just such a plant-kingdom early warning system: plants that subtly change color when exposed to minute amounts of TNT in the air.

Read the full story here…

The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) has revised its Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) quarantine to protect Great Lakes islands and to adjust Quarantine Level boundaries in several counties in the Upper Peninsula—effective immediately.

“The Keweenaw County quarantine was revised to reflect the confirmation of an EAB infestation. This is the county’s first identification of EAB,” said Gina Davis, acting director of MDA’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division. “The quarantine revisions are being made following survey work conducted by MDA, conservation districts, and Michigan Technological University in 2010.”

The U.P. counties currently under quarantine are Alger, Chippewa, Delta, Houghton, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, and Schoolcraft. The Lower Peninsula continues to be quarantined in its entirety.

In addition to the quarantine boundary changes, the revised quarantine impacts a number of islands in the Great Lakes. It is now prohibited to move hardwood firewood, and the other articles regulated by the quarantine, from anywhere in Michigan to the following areas without a compliance agreement.

1. Beaver Island Archipelago (including North Fox Island and South Fox Island) in Lake Michigan
2. Big Charity Island and Little Charity Island in Saginaw Bay/Lake Huron
3. Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior
4. North Manitou Island and South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan, which are part of the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.

“Although, travelers are able to freely move firewood throughout the Lower Peninsula, and some areas of the UP, we are urging them not to do so as there are other invasive insects besides emerald ash borer – such as Gypsy Moth, Asian Longhorned Beetle and Sirex Woodwasp – that can hitch a ride on it,” said Davis. “Please continue to only use local sources of firewood, burn all you buy, and don’t take any unused firewood back home or to the next location.”

MDA continues to ask hunters and other travelers not to move firewood to help prevent the artificial spread of the emerald ash borer. Campers and hunters should purchase firewood locally when visiting state parks, recreation areas and state forest campgrounds as it is a violation of state land use rules to bring ash firewood onto state forests, state parks, recreation areas, and state forest campgrounds. 

The ban on moving hardwood firewood north across the Mackinac Bridge remains in effect and quarantine violators can still face fines and penalties. Additionally, MDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Station at the Mackinac Bridge remains in place to prevent hardwood firewood and other regulated material from entering the UP.
   
EAB is an exotic insect native to Asia that attacks ash trees. In its larval stage, EAB feeds undetected under the bark of ash trees, disrupting water and nutrient flow—ultimately killing the trees in three to four years. First discovered in 2002, the borer is responsible for the death or damage of approximately 35 million ash trees in the Lower Peninsula.
 
Additional information about EAB, quarantine details, and a map of the quarantine boundaries are available at www.michigan.gov/eab or www.emeraldashborer.info.