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Young Christians To Share Harvest
A Helpful Harvest
 | Students in Debbie Kohlberg's science class, at Oshtemo's Heritage Christian Academy, are learning the laws of science and practicing good stewardship at the same time. An area on the school campus has been set aside for a garden where students will prepare the soil and plant vegetable seeds. They will take turns maintaining the garden throughout the summer growing season and will donate the harvest to the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.
According to the Gospel Mission's web site, the Kalamazoo area community helped to provide 6,340 nights of lodging and 12,411 meals during the month of April. "The Mission's Food Service Ministry serves those who are hungry physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Our doors are open not only to our clients, but also to anyone in the community who is in need.
In 2008 we fed more than 208,491 meals with the help of your donated food. Without you, our food ministry cannot go on. "
Congratulations go to the students of Heritage Christian Academy for taking on the responsibilities of such a worthwhile project. Wedel's is happy to have supplied soil, seeds and plants to assist in their endeavor.
If you would like more information about the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, click on the Mission's seal below.
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The Gold Star
Goes To... |  | |
Barb Trenter! Barb was the first to respond with the correct answer to April's trivia question: "After what is rhubarb named?" It is named after the river Volga (Rha in Greek) and barbarum (uncultivated) because it grew naturally along that river.
Barb won a $15.00 Wedel's gift certificate and you could too! Just be the first to respond with the correct answer to our monthly trivia question.
Congratulations, Barb! |
| Mark Your Calendar! |  |
Wedel's Country Fair Days
As seminars are confirmed, topics and times will be posted here and at:
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"Now is the month of Maying,
When merry lads are playing.
Fa la la...
Each with his bonny lass,
upon the greeny grass.
Fa la la...
The Spring clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at winter's sadness.
Fa la la..."
- Thomas Morley, Now is the Month of Maying
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May
Shopping
List
Bird seed
Hummingbird feeder
Hummingbird nectar
Plant labels, stakes, twist ties
Vegetable and flower seeds
Lawn fertilizer program
New patio furniture
Weed Free Zone
Repellex Mole Repellant
Vegetable plants
Espoma Rose Tone
Fire blight spray
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| Did You Know? |  |
1. Dragonflies can fly up to 20 miles per hour.
2. Butterflies taste with their feet.
3. In a full grown rye plant, the total length of roots may reach 380 miles.
4. The seeds of an Indian Lotus tree remain viable for 300 to 400 years. |
| Pretty Garden? |
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If you have a garden, a feeding station or bird pictures that you are proud of, send them to us. We'll share your pictures with our readers. Send pictures to:
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Store Hours
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Monday - Saturday
Closed Sundays
Wedel's now stocks Rain Bird
irrigation system replacement parts.
The average last day of frost in our area is May 15.
To Do In May
Apply Scotts Step 1 with crabgrass preventer.
Apply Scotts Lawn Fungus Control.
Apply weed preventer to perennial beds.
Take sod sample to Wedel's for analysis.
Apply Repellex mole control.
Spray hostas and lilies with Repellex.
Clean bird bath.
Get rid of lawn weeds with Weed Free Zone.
Dead head spent blossoms of bulb flowers.
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Just for Grins... 
What do you get if you cross a four leaf clover with poison ivy?
A rash of good luck. Carl Souse' |
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| Volume 3, Number 2 May, 2010 |
Spring's Flower Show
Spectacular
by George Wedel |
George Wedel | The first week of May could not have been better for us green-thumbers. Good working temperatures and abundant rainfall has both plants and gardeners very, very active. The last two weeks we have been blessed with an outstanding display of flowering dogwood, redbud, crabapple and silverbell trees.
This week we all will be treated with the beautiful blooms of the red horsechestnut, the brilliant leaf colors of tricolor, copper and purple beech, Japanese red leaf maple and the outstanding chartreuse leaves of the fullmoon maple. These trees are able to "light up" most any garden and landscape with their mid-spring blooms. We're just now getting a preview of some other flowering ornamental trees such as flowering Japanese tree lilacs and Korean dogwood.
In addition to the beautiful array of flowering trees, there were many flowering shrubs such as Pieris Japonica, lilac, white spirea, yellow kerria Japonica and large blooming rhododendron. Then we all enjoyed a beautiful display of long-lasting tulip blooms and bright flowering pansy plants. This spring's spectacular flower show really gets most gardeners "pumped up". At Wedel's Garden Center, the spring planting season is certainly in full swing with excited gardeners relishing in the wealth of blooms and plants.
Just a few of the new items you will find at Wedel's this year are:
· Alberta Peach Semi Dwarf
· Bartlett Pear Semi Dwarf
· Morman Apricot Semi Dwarf
· Saturn Peach
· Italian Plum Semi Dwarf
· Empire Apple Semi Dwarf
· Golden Delicious Semi Dwarf
· Granny Smith Semi Dwarf
· Jonathon Semi Dwarf
· September Wonder Fugi Apple
· Zestar! Apple
· Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea
· Bloomerang Lilac
· Astible Drum & Base
· Caryopteris Grand Bleu
· Hibiscus Sultry Kiss
· Hosta Blue Mammoth
· Hosta Little Treasure
· Peony Scarlet O'Hara
· Sedum Autumn Charm
These are just a very few of the new varieties of plants you will be able to find at Wedel's this year.
So now, where do we begin once we've decided what we want to plant and where we want to plant it? Well, I wouldn't put the first seed in the ground, or even begin digging a planting hole until I checked the soil structure. If you have heavy clay soil, add clay soil conditioner, sphagnum peat moss, composted cow manure, and gypsum. Place around every plant that is set out, whether it be sandy or clay soil, some mycorrhizae. Placed around the roots of newly planted plants, it encourages much faster growth and expanded root system.
Stir this mix of ingredients thoroughly into the existing soil. This will improve aeration, help to prevent over-watering, and provide for a soil that will give better root growth. All of this is important if you are going to have healthy plants in clay soil. If your soil is sandy, increasing the percentage of organic content is critical. Add composted cow manure, sphagnum peat moss, and composted yard waste to these soils.
In summary, plants need a loosely structured soil that provides the roots with organic matter, moisture, nutrients, and air circulation. However, it is a rare plot of earth that does all this without a little help. So this spring before you plant trees, shrubs, lawns, flower or vegetable gardens, be sure you condition the soil well. Bring a soil sample into Wedel's and we will be happy to inspect it and give you a plan for making it the perfect home for your new plants.
The most asked question this week was, "Is it too late to apply crabgrass preventer?" The answer is no, there is still time for Scotts Lawn Pro Crabgrass Preventer to be applied and have 100% success. I would suggest irrigating the lawn after application to activate the crabgrass preventer. The second most asked question this week was, "Is it too late to sow grass seed?" The answer is no, if you haven't already applied a crabgrass preventer to the area to be seeded. Grass seed can be planted most any time in spring, summer, or early fall if irrigation can be provided. Don't ever plant grass seed without providing adequate moisture. If irrigation isn't possible, then sow grass seed on September 15th or on November 15th. Remember, when watering grass seed, it is frequency, not quantity, that is important. Keep the top half-inch of soil, where the seed is, continuously moist with several sprays of water daily. Spreading EnCap Seed Mulch with your grass seed will reduce the need to water as often.
Tent caterpillars and pine sawfly larvae are now active on susceptible host plants. Examine long-needled pines for sawfly larvae and crab, cherry, and apple trees for tent caterpillars. If found, spray with all-natural Spinosad for complete control.
It's time to protect valuable trees from the destructive Gypsy moth larvae. Most folks can protect smaller trees and shrubs from this hungry pest with sprays of Spinosad or Sevin. Larger trees that are more difficult to spray can be protected from Gypsy moth larvae with Sticky Tree Bands. These bands form a barrier around the tree trunk that insects cannot cross. Have the Sticky Bands in place before the Gypsy moth larvae become aggressive and defoliate your prize trees.
Dead patches in lawns that haven't responded to irrigation are likely the result of grubs eating the grass roots. Don't wait to control lawn grubs any longer. It is important to know that not all grub controls will work at this time of year. Twelve-month controls, such as Grubex, must be applied in May through July. The best grub control to use at this time is Dylox. Dylox applied now and irrigated well with three-quarters to one inch of water gives excellent grub control. Apply Grubex late spring to mid summer and there will be no need to apply a spring control next year. |
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Roger Taylor roger@wedels.com | Q. I enjoy woodpeckers; could you tell me more about them and should I offer suet in the summertime?
A. The last question first, yes but only if you enjoy seeing woodpeckers in your yard. Watching parents bringing the young to the feeder is great fun. The best choice in flavors is peanut, preferably suet without seed and fillers, since most woodpeckers eat very little or no seed.
The woodpecker family got its name for an obvious reason -- the method they use to extract food from trees. There are over 200 species inhabiting woodland regions around the world; there are 20 species in the USA and seven in our part of Michigan.
First what do woodpeckers have in common? In terms of color most woodpeckers are black and white in coloration. Some, but not all woodpeckers have red markings and a few have yellow. When flying all woodpeckers have an undulating pattern -- making several quick beats, then a pause. In the mating season the males drum with their beaks on hollow trees and limbs, and even on metal roofs, downspouts and flagpoles. Drumming can be heard for several miles when a hollow object is used. Drumming and vocalizations are heard only during breeding season and is used to guard a territory.
The woodpeckers have, with a few exceptions, two toes pointing in each direction. This makes it easy to work even under branches. Their tails are not simply flight feathers as in most birds. Spines make the tail stiff enough to prop the bird on a tree. That's why it's called "tail propping." That's also why a tail prop suet feeder or a suet log should always be your first choice in woodpecker feeders.
Yellow Bellied Sapsuckerr | Let's begin with the two species whose behavior is out of the woodpecker norm, the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker and the Northern Flicker. Sapsuckers make holes in trees as their name implies and consume tree sap. They then capture insects attracted to the sap as their protein source. An interesting side note is commensalism with hummingbirds. Commensalism is a relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected. In this case the fact that hummingbirds use the holes made by sapsuckers is harmless to sapsuckers. We see sapsuckers in the southern part of the state as they migrate from their breeding range in the northern part of the state to their winter range from Kentucky southward.
Northern Flicker | The Northern Flicker is made up of two races, the red shafted race seen in the west and the yellow shafted race seen in our area. What makes them different from others is their propensity for ground feeding. Flickers eat ants both on the ground and in trees. An ornithologist once autopsied a flicker and found over 30,000 ants in its stomach. They are the only woodpecker seen regularly eating on the ground.
The Red Bellied Woodpecker is a southern bird whose range has
Red Bellied | been slowly expanding northward reaching Michigan in the late 70's and early 80's. Their range now includes the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. Like most woodpeckers, it is beneficial, consuming large numbers of wood-boring insects as well as grasshoppers, ants, and other insect pests. It also feeds on acorns, beechnuts, and wild fruits. It is one of a minority of woodpeckers that caches food.
Hairy | Two of our woodpeckers are nearly identical - the Hairy and the Downy. The coloration is indistinguishable making overall size and the size of the beak the only difference. The field key field mark is the beak: if it is nearly the size of the head it's a Hairy Woodpecker, if it is half the size of the head then it's a Downy Woodpecker. Interestingly, these species are not as closely related as looks would make it appear. They are actually, from a
Downy | DNA perspective, not closely related at all. It is an example of convergent evolution the reasons for which are not clearly understood. The current assumption by ornithologists is it is related to different sized food stuffs since there is little competition between the species. Again I'm reminded of the more we know the more we know how little we know.
Red Headed | The red-headed woodpecker is listed as a vulnerable species in Canada and as threatened in some parts of the U.S. The species has declined in numbers due to habitat loss caused by cutting down dead trees and being struck by cars when hawking insects, the loss of small orchards and treatment of telephone poles with creosote. Other reasons are mentioned but it's likely not just one reason but all of the above - we really don't know.
Pileated | The last and certainly not least of our local woodpeckers is the Pileated Woodpecker. This is the largest woodpecker since they are crow sized. The feeding excavations of a Pileated Woodpecker are so extensive that they often attract other birds. Other woodpeckers are frequently seen picking up the crumbs under the table, so to speak. Pileated Woodpeckers are cavity nesters, a hole is made each spring by the male which attracts a female for mating and raising their young. Once the brood is raised the Pileated Woodpeckers abandon the hole.
Everywhere, including Southern Michigan, pileated is a thinly populated species with extremely large territories. Pileated seem to be recovering from population lows seen about a hundred years ago. It is the comeback of the pileated that gave rise to the hope the Ivory Billed Woodpecker was not extinct. One of the reasons for the comeback is trees in rural shelter belts have reached maturity and Pileated Woodpeckers have spread out into the countryside, where formerly they were restricted to areas of century old natural forests.
Two other trends have probably helped the pileated woodpecker population in our area, as well. One is the human habit of feeding birds. Pileated Woodpeckers come to suet feeders. The other, perhaps more important reason is the widespread planting of ornamental fruit trees. Pileated Woodpeckers and other wintering birds such as waxwings and robins and bluebirds are fond of crabapples left to weather on the branch. This is the time of year to consider plantings for winter feeding of our feathered friends.
Watching woodpeckers is fun at all times of the year so don't miss out on the fun of summer.
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Happy Mother's Day!
A Mother's Day Bouquet |
"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ~Washington Irving
We will be celebrating Mother's Day on Sunday, just a couple of days away. Mother's Day, as it is celebrated today, began when, on May 12, 1907, Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother who had passed away just two years prior. By 1914, Mother's Day was a nationally recognized holiday.
Interesting facts about Mother's Day are that Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases, "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day" in 1912 and that "She was specific about the location of the apostrophe; it was to be a singular possessive, for each family to honour their mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world." according to Louisa Taylor writing for the Canwest News Service.
We have the opportunity to honor mothers worldwide every day, as we should. On Sunday we will take the opportunity to honor our own mothers, specifically, in a very special way and the way we choose should be as unique and individual as she is. Of course, her greatest pleasure would be the gift of you; your time and your attention. Take over her duties, the ones she is willing to relinquish, for a day and provide for her what she provides for you during the rest of the year.
As subscribers to Wedel's News, it is pretty well a given that you have interests in landscaping and gardening. (Maybe those interests are a gift from her to you?) The relaxation and sense of accomplishment offered by time spent outside are hard to match and if you are searching for just the right gift for mom, besides you, consider a new perennial or some annuals or maybe even a tree to brighten her yard. A Mother's Day bouquet set on a new patio table would be something she remembers everytime she enjoys a glass of iced tea outside. Take her to dinner or make dinner for her and then spend some of the afternoon enjoying the time with her, planting the new additions to her yard. Then pour a couple of glasses of tea on Sunday evening. |
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Borers Cause | |
Serious Damage |
Borer Damage |
Trees such as birch, ash, white pine, spruce and dogwood are some of the most beautiful and valuable elements of your landscape and some of the most serious threats to them are borers. Borers are insects that tunnel under the bark where they damage the moisture and nutrient carrying layers of the sapwood (cambium). This damage is usually fatal for the tree.
Adult borers lay eggs on or in the bark, the eggs hatch producing larvae, the larvae chew their way into the wood under the bark where they continue to feed from a few months to several years. Once mature, the adult insects chew their way out and begin the cycle again.
In order to protect your investment and the beauty of your landscape you need a well planned strategy. The procedures aren't difficult nor are they expensive; they merely take a desire and commitment to maintain value of your outdoor living areas.
Strong, healthy plants are less susceptible to all manner of ills including disease, drought and insect damage. Even mature trees benefit from regular feeding and watering. Valuable landscape and garden trees should be fertilized each year with Fertilome or Espoma tree food. Eliminate as much competitive grass as possible and replace with shredded cedar mulch. Irrigate trees during dry summer months with one inch of water every ten days.
To control borer damage, take a two-pronged offensive. Use Fertilome Systemic Insect Drench and Hi-Yield 38 Plus insecticide. Fertilome Systemic Insect Drench: use a formula of one ounce of drench per inch of trunk circumference, at approximately four feet from ground level, mixed with one gallon of water and apply it at the base of the tree. Mix two to four teaspoons of 38 Plus, along with Spreader Sticker, in a gallon of water and treat lower branches and tree trunk beginning on May 15. Repeat 38 Plus treatment two additional times, three weeks apart. Stop by Wedel's and we'll help you set up a program just for you.
These simple steps will help you preserve your landscape by protecting the valuable investments you've made, your beautiful trees. |
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Saturday Mornings
Birdwatch 8:07 a.m.
with host Roger Taylor answering all of your birding questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Over the Garden Fence 9:07 a.m.
with host Andy Wedel answering all of your landscape and gardening questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Visit our web site at www.wedels.com for archives of previous Birdwatch and Over the Garden Fence programs! | |
Note from the Editor
If you look toward the top of this newsletter, in the left column, you'll see a panel called "Quick Links." There's a new icon titled "All Star Award" at the bottom of that panel. By clicking on it you will see an announcement stating that Wedel's News has been presented with an industry "best practices" award by Constant Contact, the company that provides the marketing tools we use to produce Wedel's News. Receiving awards is always nice but what does that mean for you, the Wedel's News subscriber? What that means for you is that we value you as a subscriber, a friend. We have used, and pledge to continue to use, the industry's best practices in bringing this newsletter to you and just one of the ways we do that is by protecting your information in that we will never sell, loan or share that information with anyone.
By opting in or choosing to subscribe to this newsletter you indicate your interest in gardening or landscaping or birding which means you are, most likely, apt to invest some of your resources pursuing that interest. That adds monetary value to your name, your address, your information. There are those willing to pay for that information. But we aren't willing to sell. As I said, we value you as a subscriber and a friend and, to us, friendship is priceless. So be assured, the purpose of Wedel's News is to provide timely information and maybe a bit of entertainment to you each month and to occasionally send an Extra Edition to you with information that can't wait for the next regular issue. We are proud to have received the Constant Contact All Star Award but we are prouder to be able to consider you a green thumb friend.
"May and June. Soft syllables, gentle names for the two best months in the garden year: cool, misty mornings gently burned away with a warming spring sun, followed by breezy afternoons and chilly nights. The discussion of philosophy is over; it's time for work to begin." - Peter Loewer And the work has begun, here at the garden center! As I'm sure you know, May is an exceptionally busy month for us because it is such a busy gardening month for you. The time for planning is over; the time for doing is here. We've been doing too and there is so much new at Wedel's this year that it is impractical to try to tell you about all of it in Wedel's News. As George mentioned, he barely scratched the surface as far as new plants are concerned. You really have to stop by to see everything. The same is true for our tool, birding, chemical and decorative sections. We have new furniture, decorative containers and more in our floral department. The list goes on so when it's time to take a break from your projects, come by and have a look. Who knows? You might find inspiration for a couple of more projects. This is the time of year we were dreaming about all winter!
'Til next time, the happiest of Mother's Days to you!
"Your arms were always open when I needed a hug. Your heart understood when I needed a friend. Your gentle eyes were stern when I needed a lesson. Your strength and love has guided me and gave me wings to fly."
- Sarah Malin |
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