 Photo and article by Donna Iverson With July on our doorsteps, you may think planting time is over. But there are some flowers and vegetables that can still be added to the garden. It’s not too late to plant beans and radishes, herbs like dill and basil, and flowers, like calendula and nasturtiums. Summer seems like a perfect time to try interplanting, i.e., planting in bare spots in and around plants that are already growing. Radishes are the ideal veggie to give this a try. Radish seeds sprout in a couple of days, and are ready for harvest in two to three weeks. They don’t take up much space although they don’t like overcrowding, so follow the seed packet directions and place them four inches apart. In this heat, you will need to water daily until they are established and then once or twice a week to encourage growth. Unless of course, we get some rain. If you are interested in micro-greens, the radish sprout can be eaten like a baby leaf when it is about one inch high. It has a crunchy spicy flavor. But don’t wait too long, the radish leaves will get hairy very quickly. In the fall, and after flowing, the seed pods are also edible. Pick while they are still green. They can be eaten raw or pickled. There are many varieties of radishes but basically they can be divided into two groups, the standard small round or oblong radish and the Asian radishes which are larger and often cooked like other root vegetables, such as the turnip. Today, radish skins come in many colors including white, red, pink, yellow, purple and black. My favorite farmers market vendor calls them rainbow radishes. Radishes are root vegetables, members of the Brassica family, along with arugula, broccoli and cabbage. There is also a specialty radish called a watermelon radish. It is an heirloom variety of daikon radish that originated in China. They look like miniature watermelons, green on the outside and vibrant pink on the inside. Like other radish varieties, they can be eaten raw, pickled or cooked. The bottom line is, growing radishes is no longer just for kids.
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A demo on drawing Deadpool?
Children’s July Events Storytimes for babies & toddlers (up to age 3) will be on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. through August 3rd. Family Storytime (up to age 5) will be on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. through August 4th. There will be no Storytimes on July 20th & 21st. On Game Day we’ll have lots of fun family games to play in the Children’s Department and on the patio on July 20th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. We’ll also show an afternoon movie (title coming soon) on July 28th at 3:30 p.m. Saturday Storytime will be on July 30th at 11:00 a.m. Our very popular Discovery Tuesday programs will take place in the Community Room on Tuesday mornings. On July 5th, Marvel Comics Illustrator Jerry DeCaire will be here at 9:45 a.m. (please note this earlier starting time) to give a live drawing presentation where art and fantasy are created. Magician Jeff Wawrzaszek will bring us will bring us an Oceans of Possibilities Magic Show on July 12th at 10:00 a.m. Our Children’s Summer Reading Finale Party will host Susan Harrison for an interactive family concert on July 26th at 10:00 a.m. Wrap up the summer with music, snacks, and we’ll give away lots of prizes! Teen July Events Marvel Comics Illustrator Jerry DeCaire will be offering two more programs on July 5th, as well. At 10:45 a.m. he’ll give a Comic Art Fantasy drawing presentation for tweens and teens, and at 11:45 a.m. he’ll teach a Comic Art Workshop for tweens and teens—bring your own drawing materials to this one! A Pirates vs. Mermaids program with crafts, props, and more will be in the Community Room on Thursday, July 14th at 2:00 p.m. The Teen Summer Reading Finale Party will take place on Thursday, July 28th at 2:00 p.m. Wrap up Summer Reading with snacks, lost at sea survival games, and prize drawings! Adult Events Our free Fit for Life Exercise Class will continue from 12:00-1:00 p.m. on July 6, 11, 13, 25, and 27. We’ll have Restless Viking here to present Battles of the Great Lakes for Live @ the Library. This will be in the Community Room on Tuesday, July 12th at 7:00 p.m. We’ll also have a Movie Monday on July 11th at 2:00 p.m. to show Jaws. Rated PG; 124 min. Snacks provided! Please note that this movie was rated PG in 1975 and parents may wish to look up information about the content of the movie before bringing kids under 13. Parental attendance (if bringing children) is strongly encouraged. Adults who attend one of these events can count it as one book read on their reading log. The Wednesday Readers book group will meet on Monday, July 11th at 7:00 p.m. to discuss The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe. The Daytime Book Group breaks for the summer. New members are welcome to our book groups! Let’s Go to the Fair: Burlap & Floral Wreath Class is on Thursday, July 14th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. This is a craft for ages 10 & up that could be entered into the fair if you wish. There is a $10 charge for this class to cover materials and registration is required by calling 231-928-0256. The Fremont Area District Library’s Summer Reading Program is in full swing, and all ages are still welcome to come in and sign up to earn prizes for your reading. Children can earn a free ice cream from Elsie’s, a movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, Spanky’s pizza, a shark glider toy, a free book, Whitecaps and Griffins passes, and entry into a grand prize drawing for a trip to Great Lakes Crossings! Teens can earn free pizza from Spanky’s, ice cream from Elsie’s, a movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, a free book, and for every book they read, they can enter for chances to win many prizes from local restaurants and stores. Plus finishers will be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $100 Meijer gift card! Adults can earn free ice cream from Koffee Kuppe, a movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, a free book from the Friends Gift Shop, and for every book they read, they can enter for chances to win many prizes from local restaurants and stores. Grand prize drawings are a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card and a $100 Meijer gift card! The Summer Reading Program is important in helping to prevent the “summer slide,” which is the tendency for students to lose some of the achievement gains they made in school the previous year. So grab some books, have fun reading, and come to our “Oceans of Possibilities” (FREE) events this summer! This year’s Summer Reading Program is generously sponsored by: Blades Hair Design CBD Store of Michigan, Dave’s Auto Clinic, Elsie’s Ice Cream, Fremont Cinemas, Geers Family Chiropractic, Happy Hearts Naturals, Koffee Kuppe, Meijer, Moon Dance Café, Newaygo County Council for the Arts, Northern Rustic Designs, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Red Pine Crafts, Rite Aid, SHB Gifts & Décor, Spanky's, The Original Print Shop, Tractor Supply Co., Walmart, Discovery Toys (Pat Durham), Friends of the Fremont Area District Library, and the Fremont Area Community Foundation. For more information about library programs, visit http://www.fremontlibrary.net, or call 231-924-3480.  Photo and article by Donna Iverson Being a part of a community gardening community, we are always looking for volunteers ..volunteers to weed, water and share gardening wisdom. But there’s another kind of garden volunteer that is equally welcomed. It’s a volunteer beneficial plant that shows up unexpectedly. This year, two new volunteer plants showed up in my raised bed ..a sunflower and some milkweed plants. Both are high on the list as pollinator plants attracting bees and butterflies. In fact, the endangered Monarch butterfly needs the milkweed plant to survive . Both appeared next to a sage plant to form a kind of triple pollinator grouping. While some people plant herb gardens, or cottage gardens, or cut-flower gardens, I am focusing on growing a pollinator garden, with special attention to attracting native bees. A little research revealed that bees are attracted to yellow, purple, blue and white flowers and ironically, they are my favorites also. So herbs and flowers with these colors are being seeded. Vegetables like lettuce and arugula are being allowed to bolt, producing small yellow and white flowers that are already attracting bees. Even the parsley is doing its bit. In the last few years, our entire community garden has focused on planting for pollinators. Dozens of milkweed now grow along the garden edges. That is probably how a milkweed seed found its way into my garden bed. More and more native plants are arriving and can be found among the herbs and vegetables. I recently spotted Joe Pye weed, yucca, coreopsis, and spiderwort to name a few. One native plant that has arrived and is not entirely welcome is mint. It has invaded just about every raised bed in the community garden and is capable of choking out just about everything it touches. Pulling it out is difficult as it has long roots and even a piece of root that is not removed, can produce another plant. So if you love mint, plant it in a container and bury it in the garden so it’s roots can’t spread. Finally, I can’t leave the subject of volunteer plants without mentioning lambs quarters. For years, it has unfailingly appeared as a volunteer in my garden each spring. It is edible and nutritional as well as tasty. It is one of the first spring greens to bless my plate. And while milkweed and sunflowers are showy and capture most people’s eye, the diminutive lambs quarters is also a welcome volunteer.  Damian Colombini shows off his Summer Reading Log. Summer Reading Brings “Oceans of Possibilities” at Fremont Library The Fremont Area District Library kicked off its Summer Reading Program on Friday, June 3rd. This year’s ocean-themed program for all ages is called “Oceans of Possibilities.” Within the first day after the kickoff party, 295 people of all ages were signed up. We think this might be the most people every signed up the first day, so THANK YOU to our community and sponsors! In the Children’s Department, children had fun playing with bubbles, applying ocean tattoos, and making some fun ocean crafts. Kids were excited to pick out their books and start earning prizes for reading! Prizes for children this year include a coupon for free Elsie’s ice cream, a free movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, a personal pizza at Spanky’s, a shark glider toy, a free book, and passes to White Caps and Griffins games—not to mention being entered into the grand prize drawing for a trip to Great Lakes Crossings when they finish the program! Teens had a kickoff party in the Community Room with a showing of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Prizes for teens this year include a coupon for free Elsie’s ice cream, a free movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, a personal pizza at Spanky’s, a free book, and entry into the grand prize drawing for a $100 Meijer gift card. Each book teens read also gives them entry in their choice of many other awesome prize drawings (see www.fremontlibrary.net/teens for more info). Prizes for the adult program include a free ice cream from Koffee Kuppe, a free movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, a free book, and entry into the grand prize drawings for a $100 Meijer gift card and a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card. Like the teen program, each book adults read also gives them entry into their choice of prize drawings from many wonderful sponsors! See https://www.fremontlibrary.net/adults/adult-summer-reading for more info. The Summer Reading Program encourages families to read together so that kids maintain or improve their reading skills throughout the summer and enter school ready to succeed in the fall. Visit the Fremont Area District Library to get signed up and start earning prizes. The library will offer many exciting events to attend this summer, so visit www.fremontlibrary.net or the Fremont Area District Library Facebook page to see what’s available! Next week’s events include:
This year’s Summer Reading Program is generously sponsored by: Blades Hair Design CBD Store of Michigan, Dave’s Auto Clinic, Elsie’s Ice Cream, Fremont Cinemas, Geers Family Chiropractic, Happy Hearts Naturals, Koffee Kuppe, Meijer, Moon Dance Café, Newaygo County Council for the Arts, Northern Rustic Designs, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Red Pine Crafts, Rite Aid, SHB Gifts & Décor, Spanky's, The Original Print Shop, Tractor Supply Co., Walmart, Discovery Toys (Pat Durham), Friends of the Fremont Area District Library, and the Fremont Area Community Foundation.   Photo and article by Donna Iverson Sedges are often overlooked and underappreciated. Unbeknownst to many, grasslike sedges (Carex) are the largest genus of native flowering plants in North America and found in nearly every habitat ..from wetlands, to arid sandy soils, to forests to sun baked road beds. There is a native sedge adapted to any habitat, including your lawn. In fact, sedges are an excellent choice for gradually replacing your lawn with a sustainable plant that needs no mowing or watering. Sedges can withstand light foot traffic and are deer resistant. Seasonal bulbs like tulips and daffodils can be planted between clumps. The trick is finding the sedge plant that is best suited to your specific soil type and light availability, be it sunny or shady. Check with your local nursery for advice on which of dozens of varieties would be suitable. Or go online when making your selection at https://hoffmannursery.com/assets/files/files/HoffmanNursery_CarexChart.pdf Sedges popular with Midwestern gardeners include Oak Sedge, Wood Sedge, Gray’s Sedge and Sprenger’s Sedge. Identifying sedges is easy. They look like grass clumps but have solid triangular stems. Even in the north, they are mostly evergreen. A favorite saying of botanists in regard to identification is “sedges have edges.” Although originally associated with wetlands, today they are found all over the world except Antarctica. Sedges also provide habitat and food for pollinators like caterpillars and butterflies as well as wild turkeys, and song birds like sparrows. Depending on the variety, they grow 12 to 24 inches high and are members of the cattail family. Sedge leaves vary from short and fine to bold and wide. And if you are ever inclined to visit the Shakespeare Garden next to the Hackley Public Library in Muskegon, check out the bard’s favorite plants, including sedges. He refers to them in Much To Do About Nothing, Act 2, Scene 1.  Lake Michigan Shipwreck Presentation at Fremont Library
Live @ the Library, a series of events including author visits and writing workshops is welcoming Ross Richardson to the Fremont Area District Library to present Seeking the LORD: The Search for the Jarvis LORD Shipwreck. Join shipwreck hunter and author Ross Richardson in exploring the depths of Northern Lake Michigan while looking for lost ships and missing aircraft. Dive down to Lake Michigan’s newest shipwreck discovery and meander through the histories and mysteries of the Manitou Passage, the most dangerous place in Lake Michigan. This free program will begin in the library’s Community Room on Tuesday, June 14th at 7:00 p.m. Adults who are signed up for the Summer Reading Program may count this as one book read on their reading logs.  The Fremont Area District Library begins their summer reading program on Friday, June 3rd. All ages are welcome to come in and sign up on or after June 3rd to begin earning prizes for your reading. Children can earn a free ice cream from Elsie’s, a movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, Spanky’s pizza, a shark glider toy, a free book, Whitecaps and Griffins passes, and entry into a grand prize drawing for a trip to Great Lakes Crossings! Teens can earn free pizza from Spanky’s, ice cream from Elsie’s, a movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, a free book, and for every book they read, they can enter for chances to win many prizes from local restaurants and stores. Plus finishers will be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $100 Meijer gift card! Adults can earn free ice cream from Koffee Kuppe, a movie pass to Fremont Cinemas, a free book from the Friends Gift Shop, and for every book they read, they can enter for chances to win many prizes from local restaurants and stores. Grand prize drawings are a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card and a $100 Meijer gift card! The Summer Reading Program is important in helping to prevent the “summer slide,” which is the tendency for students to lose some of the achievement gains they made in school the previous year. So grab some books, have fun reading, and come to our “Oceans of Possibilities” (FREE) events this summer! Children’s June Events Our Summer Reading Kickoff party takes place in the Children’s Department on Friday, June 3rd from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Sign up for Summer Reading, make summer crafts, and get a temporary ocean tattoo! Storytimes for babies & toddlers (up to age 3) will be on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m., starting June 15th. Family Storytime (up to age 5) will be on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m., starting on June 16th. Saturday Storytime will be on June 11th at 11:00 a.m. We’ll also show an afternoon movie (title coming soon) on June 30th at 3:30 p.m. Our very popular Discovery Tuesday programs will take place in the Community Room on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. and last 45 minutes to 1 hour. On June 7th, a visit from Outdoor Discovery Center with live animals will kick off our Discovery Tuesday programs. Storyteller Jenifer Strauss will bring us science, stories, and songs from the deep blue sea on June 14th. From June 21st-24th, we’ll have a Scholastic Book Fair in the library’s Community Room. Hours are: Tue, Wed, Fri 10:00-12:00 & 1:00-5:00; Thur 10:00-12:00 & 1:00-7:00. Air Zoo will teach us about ocean creatures and conduct experiments on June 28th. Teen June Events The Teen Summer Reading Kickoff Party will be on Friday, June 3rd, at 1:00 p.m. We’ll watch Pirates of the Caribbean, sign up for summer reading, and eat snacks. Rock Painting will be in the Community Room on Thursday, June 9th at 2:00 p.m. We’ll show The Big Miracle and eat snacks on Thursday, June 16th at 2:00 p.m. Try your hand at pickleball on Thursday, June 23rd at 2:00 p.m. when we host a Pickleball Clinic that includes demonstration and play. We’ll meet at the library and walk to the courts. A Viking Day with games, props, and more will take place on Thursday, June 30th at 2:00 p.m. We’re also having some craft programs for ages 10 & up. These are called “Let’s Go to the Fair” classes, and for these, registration is required, and your finished craft could be entered into the Newaygo County Agricultural Fair. Call 231-928-0256 to register and to ask for recommended Fair section and class codes for each project for both youth and open classes. Classes include: Junk Journaling on Thursday, June 16th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. All materials provided. Make a junk journal to enter in the fair. T-Shirt Hula Hoop on Monday, June 27th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Class is free; bring 5-6 old t-shirts you’re willing to cut up and scissors. Hoops provided. On Thursday, July 14th from 6:00-8:00 p.m., we’ll have a Burlap & Floral Wreath class and there is a $10 charge for this class to cover materials. Be sure to call and register for these! Adult Events The adult Summer Reading Program will run from June 3rd to July 28th. Come in to sign up, and this year, there will be some events that adults can attend to count toward their reading. We’ll have Ross Richardson here to present Seeking the LORD: The Search for the Jarvis LORD Shipwreck for Live @ the Library. This will be in the Community Room on Tuesday, June 14th at 7:00 p.m. We’ll also have a Movie Monday on June 13th at 2:00 p.m. to show Free Willy. Bring the whole family—snacks provided! Adults who attend one of these events can count it as one book read on their reading log, but anyone is welcome! The Wednesday Readers book group will meet on Monday, June 13th at 7:00 p.m. to discuss High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews. The Daytime Book Group breaks for the summer. New members are welcome to our book groups! This year’s Summer Reading Program is generously sponsored by: Blades Hair Design CBD Store of Michigan, Dave’s Auto Clinic, Elsie’s Ice Cream, Fremont Cinemas, Geers Family Chiropractic, Happy Hearts Naturals, Koffee Kuppe, Meijer, Moon Dance Café, Newaygo County Council for the Arts, Northern Rustic Designs, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Red Pine Crafts, Rite Aid, SHB Gifts & Décor, Spanky's, The Original Print Shop, Tractor Supply Co., Walmart, Discovery Toys (Pat Durham), Friends of the Fremont Area District Library, and the Fremont Area Community Foundation. For more information about library programs, visit http://www.fremontlibrary.net, or call 231-924-3480.   An edible delicacy- Fiddleheads Photo and article by Donna Iverson It’s native. It’s an edible delicacy. It’s easy to grow. It’s a favorite foraging plant. It's perennial. It’s a fiddlehead. No need to search the woods for them in the spring. You can grow them in your yard or garden …all you need is a damp shady spot. The very best fern to plant for fiddleheads is the Ostrich fern. Easily recognizable by its large vase shaped fronds which can reach six feet in height. There are dozens of ferns native to Michigan including the Maidenhair fern, Cinnamon fern, Hay-scented fern, Sensitive fern, Bracken fern, Lady fern and the Ostrich fern. But only the last three sprout edible fiddleheads with the Ostrich fern being your safest choice. In fact, botanists claim that only the Ostrich fern produces a true fiddlehead. Plant Ostrich ferns in a moist shady place. Dig a hole deep enough for the roots to spread and position the crown just above ground level. Ostrich ferns are slow to take hold as they put most of their energy into strengthening their root system the first year. They spread both by their root system and spores under their fronds. Even though the Ostrich fern has the least toxins of all the ferns, Ostrich fern fiddleheads still need to be boiled or steamed for fifteen minutes before eating. To my palate, they taste an awful lot like asparagus. Herbalists list them as having medicinal qualities including easing back pain. Most intriguing is their history. They are ancient plants covering the earth before the dinosaurs when they grew to massive heights. They predate flowering plants. They survived extinction after extinction. Ferns in the yard and as houseplants are seeing a revival of interest partially because of their survival powers. In a time of political and climate upheaval, the Ostrich and other ferns symbolize stability, longevity and ancient roots. Planting a few Ostrich ferns now, means your own fiddleheads in the spring. Harvest them when they are less than 6 inches high and still tightly furled. And then enjoy the elegant fronds from spring, through summer and into the fall.  Ostrich Fern  Bradford Pear trees Photo and article by Donna Iverson A Facebook post appeared recently on my news feed that said Ohio had banned the Bradford pear tree. In case you are unfamiliar with this ornamental pear tree, it blooms in the spring with lots of white flowers. It has an attractive oval shape and is popular as both a landscape tree and a street tree. At least it has been for the last few decades. But now scientists are taking another look. While the tree is attractive, disease resistant, and grows fast, there is a downside. Seeds from the Bradford pear are spread by bird droppings and the offspring revert to the wild variety, called a callery pear. The wild pear is invasive, displacing native trees. So far it has been banned in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York and Ohio. In Kentucky, if you cut down a Bradford pear tree, they will give you a free native tree to replace it. The timber can be used for firewood or donated to woodworkers with whom it is popular. The story of how the Bradford pear came to America is a fascinating one. A native of China, the tree's seeds were first brought to America in 1908. They were collected by an Dutch emigrant named Frank Meyer. Meyer died at sea possibly by suicide, but his seed collection ended up in a test orchard in Oregon. In the 1950s, the Bradford pear became popular as a street tree and was prized for growing in the poorest soil, with few pests or diseases and needing little care or watering. By the 1980s, scientists were warning of the Branford pear’s invasive nature but the warnings appeared in scientific journals that were not widely read. It wasn’t until the last decade, that the tide turned against the Bradford pear and states, one by one, began banning its sale. Although sales of the Bradford pear have not been banned in Michigan, it might be wise to invest in native flowering spring trees like the dogwood, magnolia, cherry tree or redbud.  Collard Greens Photo and article by Donna Iverson Lettuce, crucifers, and oriental greens are the basic plants in a salad garden. Also some edible flowers like nasturtiums, violets, and pansies for garnishing the salad bowl, When it comes to leafy salad plants, choose from leaf and head lettuces, or other greens such as chicory, radicchio, endive, spinach, arugula and chard. Crucifers include kale and cabbage. Some orientalist salad greens to try include pak choi and muzuna. Early spring lettuce is the staple of my salad garden, mostly leaf lettuce and arugula. But each year, I like to try something new. So recently, I ordered collard green seeds from my favorite garden catalog. Directions said to plant any time after the last heavy frost until midsummer by pressing seeds into the ground to the depth of a fingernail. Then thin to about six inches apart once they sprout. Collard greens will tolerate both heat and cold, prefer full sun, and need regular watering. Plants emerge in about five to ten days. A member of the beet family, collards are grown for their leaves while beets are grown for their roots. Collards go by many names including Swiss chard, Chilean beet, perpetual spinach, and Roman kale. Leaf and stem colors include white, red and purple. In the kitchen, collard greens can be eaten raw in salads or cooked. Mature leaves can be tough so remove outer young leaves early if you plan to add to your salad. You can remove ribs from the leaves by folding the leaf in half and then cutting away the ribs. The ribs can then be cooked like asparagus. When cooking, add to stews and store fries. Collards keep about a week in the refrigerator. Collard greens are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and will continue producing all summer. Favorite varieties include Bright Lights, Fordhook Giant, and Lucullus. Try the variety Barese Chard for baby greens and harvest when they are about seven inches tall. The variety called Fordhook is an heirloom plant, dating back to the early twentieth century. |
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