Gardening in Michigan: What can you grow every month of the year?

Welcome back to the Grow Yourself Podcast. Today I'm talking with one very, very special person. Tell us your name, where you're from, the name of your business, and what amazing thing you do.

Hi, my name is Rachel Carter. I live in Detroit, Michigan, and my business is called Floriculture Gardens. I serve busy homeowners that want homegrown vegetables. So no matter their space, space limitations, time limitations, expertise, I try to serve them by filling in those gaps, building gardens, and teaching people how to use them.

I love it. And I love that you started with all the limitations, because we can hear them in our heads, can't we? Yeah, like, but, but, but, but, but. And you got the answer to all of it because you. You've done it in small spaces, big spaces, little bit of sun, cold weather, you still make it happen.

Yeah, especially in Michigan. There's always such an emphasis on the summer season, but there's so much more than that.

Well, let's dive into it. Can we talk through the whole year in the garden? Yeah. Okay, so I'm going to name the month, and then you tell me what's growing. Okay, so January.

Microgreens inside.

Love it. And, like, what's happening under that snow? Anything?

The garlic is sleeping. Onions. If you put them there, there might be, you know, you know, overwintering cold flowers.

Wow.

Tulip bulbs.

Ooh, now that makes me happy. Oh, yeah, Michigan, you guys do tulips?

Forgot daffodils. I love cut flowers.

Oh, daffodils, too. Okay, so fun. All right, so then, February, what's growing in the garden?

I would say much of the same. It's starting to warm up, but it's not that warm yet.

You're still kind of not feeling great.

Right?

Right. You're still kind of sad.

But inside, starting seeds inside, that's when it really gets going.

Okay, so what's inside?

That's when I start the cool season. Vegetables. So broccoli, cabbage, kale, all the good stuff that's gonna go out in the next month is started inside.

Oh, so fun. So you just. You've got a garden inside. Like, you've got happiness on the inside, even if the outside is just, like, frigid.

Yes. It's something to do, something to look forward to.

Yeah. I love it. I love it. Okay, so then we're in March. What's happening?

Oh, okay. So March is when I find that the snow is us.

Yay.

It's starting to become workable soil.

Amazing.

And the garlic starts peeking up.

Oh, garlic's first.

Yeah.

Okay. Cool.

For me, it's usually first and sometimes. Sometimes spinach and cilantro are still there. I didn't mention those before, but if I leave them in the fall, sometimes they're still alive under that snow.

Oh, amazing.

That's a nice surprise.

Yeah.

But then that's when I start planting peas and all that.

What's all that? All that.

All the green. All the green. I always think, like, St. Patrick's Day. Plant green.

Yes.

And that's in March, so you heard.

It here, like, genius. St. Patrick's Day. Green, green, green. All right. So are you moving anything from inside out yet, or. This is just gonna be seeds in the dirt.

Seeds in the dirt. It depends on the year. Some years, I might start planting by then.

Okay.

Most years, I'm starting to move all the inside stuff out to get used to being outside, but it's not going into the beds.

Okay. You're, like, warming it up. You're like, this is what it's like to live in Detroit and not in my living room.

Exactly. Get used to it.

It's. Toughen up, people. Get ready. I. Okay. Yeah. I learned that when I moved to Chicago. My neighbor was, like, a crazy gardener, and, like, emphasis on the word crazy. And he was like, St. Patrick's Day is P Day. P Day is St. Patrick's Day. And that was so easy to remember. It's just like, okay, if I can't do anything else, I can at least put some peas in the dirt and, like, pretend like I. Like, spring is on its way. Right. Even if it didn't feel like it.

Exactly. And it's so true. Because, like, seeds are smart. Plants are smart, and if it's too cold for them, they're just. They just won't sprout yet.

Yeah. Because they'll just hang out. Because if they weren't in a garden, if they were in, like, just the wild, they don't have someone planting them. Yeah, right, right.

They're just there.

They just dropped to the ground in the fall, and then they just, like, took a very long nap and waited until it got warm enough to wake up.

Exactly. It's. And winter sowing. I know. Is becoming a big thing, too.

Yeah, it is.

And it's basically the same thing.

They're.

You put them out at any time, but they'll sprout when they're ready.

I mean, I think these plants might know what they're doing.

Yeah. Yeah. We should stop telling them what to do.

And it might be a little bit less stressful if we Thought that way, right? Exactly. So cool. I love it. You're inspiring me again for spring. Okay, so we've got the green things in March, and then what's happening in April?

April is the good stuff, and it's what I find most people miss out on all the salad greens that you can grow.

Oh, so sad. Yeah.

It's our first salad season in Michigan, so lots of lettuce, more spinach. Now we're adding in the cabbage, the kale. I'm sure I'm missing a ton of things. Broccoli, cauliflower. The peas are there. Basically just loads of green. But then some beautiful flowers that like to grow in the cold, too.

Yeah. Do the tulips pop up yet or. Not yet.

They're starting to.

Daffodils already?

Daffodils already.

Yeah. So cool. So you can have, like, daffodils and salad.

Yeah.

So great. And maybe you can take off your gloves every now and then and, like.

Not freeze and enjoy the sunshine.

Yes. So good. Okay. May.

May is when you're gonna start harvesting lots more of the green stuff that you just planted.

Okay. It's like salad every day.

Yes. And what's awesome is now you're getting to enjoy your garden and everything that you're planted while most people are just getting started.

Yeah. They didn't call you, so they have no idea.

Yeah, they're. They're putting in tomatoes and whatnot. And I'm already eating from my garden.

They were watching Netflix.

Right.

And cuddled up on the couch. And you had, you know, all the seeds in the garden.

Yes. Yeah, I was already going Months. Months before that.

Okay, so you're eating, eating, eating all the greens. And when do you have your last frost?

Usually mid May. Historically, on average.

Okay, mid May. And then what happens?

Then I start, you know, making space base for the bigger stuff, the peppers, the tomatoes, eggplants, putting in seeds of cucumbers and whatnot. So I'm starting to add those into my garden while I'm enjoying the other stuff that was already growing.

Very cool. And then June. Similar.

June. Pretty similar.

Yeah. Yeah.

And, you know, I'm always adding in new things, especially if maybe something didn't go well. Instead of leaving the space empty, keep adding things in. I keep adding things in until, like, August.

Yeah. There's no such thing as a fail. There's just more room, more opportunities.

What's next?

Exactly. It's like, okay, you didn't want to come to the party. Who does? Right?

Exactly.

I love that. Okay, what does your Garden look like in July?

Oh, July is when it's starting to get, like, really full.

Yes.

The height is starting to rise.

Oh, yes.

I really love it because then I find things are just starting to really. They might start draping over the sides a little bit more, and it gets a little wild, but more beautiful. For sure.

Yeah. And then you start to. You can kind of like, hide yourself inside of there.

Yes. Yeah. The rooms of my garden wall are closing in on me. And then by August is like. Things are at the top of the arch trellis.

Welcome to the jungle.

Yes.

I love it. The food jungle. Yes. Okay. Did you have to pull out. Does it get hot enough, or. You have to pull out your cool.

Season stuff by, like, the end of June.

Okay.

Yeah. It's. I find most things have flowered. They've lived their best life. I've enjoyed them. And then. Yeah. I give space to the other stuff.

Yeah. So when those vines are starting to go crazy, the greens come out of their way, and then they just take off, right?

Yeah, exactly.

Very cool. Kat, is there any green you can grow in the summer there where it's not too hot? Yeah.

I mean, we all love salads and smoothies. And so then I switched to arugula, kale, things that tolerate the heat a little bit more in my area.

That's so great. So you almost have, like. You're starting in March with greens. You've still got greens in July.

Yes.

Same with August. So August, you already said we did it. The jungle.

Yes.

So now we're in September. What's happening?

Yeah. So back to school time. Back to salad time.

I love it. Back to school. Back to salad.

And so everything that was planted in the spring is gonna get planted again, but we're just gonna find space for it underneath the wildness of the tomatoes and the peppers, because much of that is shorter. So we'll just tuck it in.

Yeah. And it helps protect it a little bit from. As it transplants and all that, which is so cool, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

God, nature. I mean, it's almost like it knows what it's doing or something. Okay, cool. So you've got your cool season in, and then when do you have to take out your warm season?

When our frost comes and kills it.

And that's October.

Mid October, usually.

Yeah.

Yeah. For this year, it was Halloween, so we got a really.

Oh, late.

Yes. Yeah. But every year it's different, but most of the time it's mid October.

Okay. So you take out your warm season, and then how long do you have.

With those greens in Michigan usually until like December.

No, you're lying. December in Michigan, that's when you're ice skating, right?

Yeah. No, everybody thinks that we're lying, but our ground doesn't freeze until at least mid December.

That is amazing.

Keep it going. But then there, I mean, there's so much that's frost tolerant, isn't there?

Yeah. So you're having greens, like for Thanksgiving from the garden. Yeah.

And the brussels sprouts.

Oh, my goodness.

So many dishes.

That is amazing.

Herbs. The herbs are still going, still harvesting them.

And then let. And then it gets cold, cold.

And then it gets cold, cold. December, the end of December and then January.

So in December, do you close shop?

Yeah, for sometimes if I'm feeling adventurous, I'll put, you know, a little bit of a tunnel over some of the beds if I want to keep some of my lettuces going and harvest.

Does that work?

It does work. Yeah.

Really?

As long as they're already mature, I find that, you know, I can tuck them in with some protection and frost.

Cloth or plastic?

I use plastic.

Plastic, yeah. And where do you get your plastic?

Amazon.

Okay. Oh, literally. Is it like an agricultural plastic?

Yeah, farm grade plastic. 6 ML millimeter. Millimeter.

6 millimeter farm grade plastic from that place on the Internet.

Yes.

Got it. Okay. And you put it over hoops.

Yes.

And that gives you greens like into January and Detroit.

Yeah. As long as you can't start planting at the end of the season. But as long as they're mature, I find that they'll keep going.

That is crazy good. I love it so much. Okay, so we have covered the whole year. So let's pick one of those plants because, I mean, we. I don't know if you. I think you listed could be wrong with my math, but I think it was like a million and 21 plants. So pick one and teach us how to grow it step by step.

Oh, can I pick one that I didn't mention? But it's my favorite. I get the most questions about ginger.

Ginger. Okay.

I think it's because I'm in Michigan, which is the opposite of tropical. And ginger is a very tropical plant, but we can grow it in Michigan. So let's talk about it.

Let's do it.

Ginger. Because it likes tropical weather.

Yeah. And I just saw this video, by the way, so just so you know, I saw Rachel harvest her ginger and wash it off and I was filled with envy. Yeah.

So you see, it. It exists.

It exists. So I'm just Testifying for her like, she knows how to do this. Okay, go for it.

Every year I get better at doing it too. And so it's always an experiment. Gardening is a big experience.

Yes.

But I start sprouting it in March.

Okay.

So indoors, you have to start sprouting it. It can take up to six weeks for the little eyes that are on the ginger to actually start sprouting.

Six weeks. Is it in dirt?

Yeah.

Is it under a light?

It's under a light. It's on a heating mat.

Okay.

And it's in dirt. I recommend that you soak them first. Just a little bit. You don't want it to rot. And then you're gonna put it in.

The dirt under a light. On top of a heat mat.

On top of a heat mat for six weeks. It can take up to six weeks. So if you check after a week and they're not sprouted, you're just gonna keep. Keep it there.

Then you're 16 of the way. So hang on tight, buddy. Right?

Yes.

I love that. Okay.

Once they start sprouting, you'll see the little green sprouts coming out of them, and then you'll see the roots start growing too. And it's amazing. So you'll just keep them going until your frost has passed. Because these are tropical plants, they're not frost tolerant. So after your frost has passed.

Okay, hold up, hold up, hold up. Keep them going, keep them alive.

Keep them.

Explain define. Did you move it out of the thing you sprouted it in?

No, they're still in the dirt. I make sure that the dirt stays a little bit wet.

Okay. Does that have like a draining system? So it's not.

Yeah.

Yes.

Like a standard growing tray.

Okay. But it's not in a pot. You didn't pot it up. It's just sitting there and it's got some little sprouts.

Yes. Cool.

Following you. Now we're in. It's not frost anymore.

There's no frost anymore.

Okay, carry on.

So now it's time that it can go outside.

Okay.

I find that because ginger grows horizontally, that I like to give it someplace where it can expand horizontally. So that's what I pick, what to put it in.

Cool.

So anything that has a lot of space horizontally is a good choice. The depth, so much doesn't matter.

Oh, so neat. Yeah, that opens up the possibilities.

You can. You can tuck it in anywhere.

Yeah, very cool.

And the most amazing thing is it's used to growing, you know, in tropical places. The sunlight preferences I have found don't matter.

No.

So I grew it. Four hours of sunlight, and I got the same exact yield as full sun.

Nope. That breaks all the gardening rules. Can't be possible, Right? You grew it in shade. Four hours of sunlight.

I grew it in four hours of sunlight.

So why is it being tropical? Make that. Make it tolerant of shade.

I think it's because it's used to growing in the understory of taller things. And so it likes to be constantly moist, constantly wet.

Okay.

Like a rainforest would.

Yes.

Don't quote me on this. I haven't actually checked Ginger's tropical growing conditions.

Grew it. You grew it in Michigan. That's enough.

My interpretation.

You're suddenly a pro, an expert.

So as long as you're keeping it wet all the time, give it place to grow. The sun doesn't matter. So if I have spots in my bed that are maybe behind other taller plants, I just tuck it in.

That is so wild.

You can put it anywhere.

Too crazy. How many. Like, how many little. What are they called? The pieces? Fingers or something?

Yeah, that's. I don't know.

I think it's like a finger of ginger. Is that weird? I don't know. But those little things, how many of those do you need to get, like, a sizable harvest?

Yeah. So each little piece that you plant out, maybe it'll be about the size of, like, a finger. Yeah. Will become about the size of your palm, I find.

Oh, is it called a hand when it's. Maybe it is, because it looks like a hand and it's really weird as.

I'm using my hands.

Yeah. Even as you said that, I'm like, I think it's called a hand of ginger. And if you're listening to this and we are totally wrong, then we just made it up.

Yeah.

And we. We can do that because we're gardeners. Okay. So. So cool. So. So you put it out in May, and then when do we get to dig it up?

Yeah. So Michigan. Because we are not tropical.

You have to. Oh, it's not.

It's. I wish it was. I wish it was, but because it's not. When your frost is a pending doom and cross problem, you have to harvest it or move the ginger inside to keep growing.

I see. Because if it fills the frost, it's like I'm no longer at home.

Yeah, it's.

And I'm out of here.

Yeah.

I see.

And so I don't have space to bring it inside to keep growing. Cause it's probably not done growing yet.

Oh, okay. So you could have brought it in, had a huge light and kept it going, put it under a tanning bed, and then it'd be happy.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

But you went ahead and just harvested because frost was on the way.

I just harvested, yeah. So as a gardener, without the true season that it needs, I just accepted that it wouldn't be as big as it possibly could have been.

Yeah. But a little is a lot if you've never done it before, especially when.

It'S natural, homegrown, organic ginger.

Okay. Like, tell us if you can, with, like, what you. How much you started with and how much you got at the end.

Yeah. So I started with, I guess, a hand. If we're using a hand of ginger and I chopped it up into a.

Lot of small pieces.

Small pieces? Like thumb sized pieces. As long as they all had an eye in it, the eye would sprout. So from one hand to about maybe 10 thumbs and then each screw back into its own hand.

So you got 10 hands out of one hand?

Yeah.

So you. 10 times. Did I.

10 times it, yeah.

I was just wondering if people get that kind of return from the stock market these days or real estate. I don't know.

Like, it wouldn't taste as good.

I'm thinking not 10 times your investment in one year.

Yeah.

Pretty much. Only possible in the garden.

And then you could just take that and sprout it again.

Oh, wait. Yeah. So that's just the beginning. Yes. Because you could take those 10 cut little pieces and do it 10 again.

10 again.

Like the next year it could be a hundred.

Yeah.

Whoa.

Yeah.

Crazy good. I am so doing this next year. I'm so inspired.

I hope you do, because you can put them anywhere.

Now compare the taste. Grocery store ginger. Compared. Floriculture garden ginger.

It's definitely like the. The fresh ginger. It hits different, it's stronger. It's perfect for like, those little shots that people make.

Yes.

With like, turmeric in it too. Yeah.

Does it make your eyes water a little?

A little bit, yeah. A little goes a long way.

Is it like a. Wow.

Wow, that's fresh.

Yeah.

Yeah. I don't need very much of it to make those.

Oh, that's incredible. I cannot believe a gardener from Michigan.

Just taught us how to grow ginger, of all places.

The amazing ability to push your limits. You the woman that does that.

Thank you.

All right, if you could go back to your former. Former. Former. Before you were gardening self.

Yeah.

What advice would you give her? Oh.

Before I was gardening.

When did you start gardening?

10 years ago.

Wow.

I know, I know.

At your home now.

No, I was at a different home.

Okay. Same in Detroit. Still in Detroit, it was.

No, it was a different home. It was. Everything was in containers, and I really had the. Like, the watering down, but, like, I didn't harvest anything. And it was all poor setup, poor timing, all of that. Yeah, yeah.

So we all do, right?

Like, we all do if we don't.

Have a garden consultant help us.

Exactly. If I can do it, anybody can do it.

Okay. So what would you tell her?

To connect back with Earth, natural things, whether through gardening or just taking a walk outside, looking at the sun, getting out of office buildings, to find some way every single day to connect with the natural world around us.

Yeah.

I think it's really important.

Yeah. How does that help shape you as a gardener to do that?

I think it built the principles that I used to garden, because now natural gardening is all I do. It's all I know. It's all I teach.

Yeah.

And it helped me understand how plants operate. To listen to plants. They're telling you what they want.

Yeah.

And so just being able to pay attention and open your eyes to what. What's around you.

I love that. I heard one time, like, the best artist is, like, really just a really good observer. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Exactly. And the garden is no different.

Yeah. So cool. All right. So you help install, design coach clients all over Detroit area, maintain gardens, and maintain these beautiful kitchen gardens. What got you going? What got you started doing this incredible thing? And what keeps you going? What's your big, big dream?

So before I was doing this, my degrees are in environmental science and biology, and I was working a lot in environmental chemistry. So understanding toxics.

Wow.

And chemicals and soil. So I think about chemicals a lot more than most people do. And that was my professional career. And it kind of makes you spiral a little bit. And so I got out of that job because I couldn't handle. The more. It's like, the more I knew, the more depressed I got about the truth of things. And so then I got into gardening as a way to control the things I could control.

Wow.

Like, such as what's in the food that I'm growing.

Yeah.

And so that's how I started. And I feel like that same mission, everything that I know about the environment and biology is best served in teaching other gardeners how to do this themselves, teaching other people. And that's what keeps me going, because there's people out there that want to learn this and that appreciate that I can help Them.

Wow. And what a background. I had no idea. Rachel.

Yeah.

So what's your big, big dream? What are you going for? What can you. What keeps you going?

Trying to create the world that I want. That's definitely what keeps me going. Yeah. I don't want grass everywhere. I want a world where, you know, there's just edible things that are wild. I want people to be outside. I want people to know how to grow food.

Yeah.

I want my kids, most of all, to understand where their food comes from. And over the years, like, they know how to identify more herbs and probably most adults than I know. And that's the coolest thing.

Wow. So say that again. What? You. You want to change the world you live in? You want. You want to create the world that you want to live in?

Yes, exactly.

I love that line. I actually saw that on your Instagram this morning.

Yeah. It's top of mind for me today.

Really?

Yeah.

Yeah. Because you said, I want to go from. I went from grass to edible yard. Edible. And then your. Your caption, it just got me. It said, I made the world I wanted to live in.

And I. Cause I find that I sit often, especially with, you know, topics of sustainability. It's always, you know, how do we help other people change? But I think reflecting back, what can I do differently? It's powerful. And I think everybody has something they can do differently. And a garden is a great place to start with that.

Yeah. And we all eat.

We all eat. Yeah. We all probably could eat a little bit fresher.

And it can start with a little pot of ginger, right?

Yeah.

Even if you live in Detroit, Michigan.

Even if you live there.

That is so beautiful. Well, I am so honored that you're part of Gardenary. I love getting to call your name, see your face, watch your Instagram, follow you. I just. I think the world of what you do and the gardens you create, they're just gorgeous. Thank you. I would love to be your student, and I don't want to live in Detroit, but I would love for you to teach me how to survive it. I mean, my goodness, you make the most of your space and the seasons, and it's awesome. So I hope you never quit. And I want you to tell everybody listening and watching where they can follow you, learn from you, watch you, and bring you over to their house, their business, their school, and. And have you create a magical place for them where they can have the world they want to.

Yeah. Yeah. I would love to. So you can connect with me. I'm most active on Instagram. I'm floraculture gardens and my website URL is the same. Floraculturegardens.com if you are in Detroit and you want to know what you can grow in Detroit, I have a free planting calendar that you can download right from my homepage.

Oh, so cool. A planting calendar for Detroit. Probably anywhere around Michigan, it would be like somewhat applicable. And they can get that for free.

They can get that for free right on my homepage.

On her homepage. Flora f l o r a culture.com and you guys are going to want to follow her Instagram because her video today is going to make you be like, oh, yeah, I'm ready.

Yeah, I hope it inspires.

For sure. It's done. It already inspired. They just have to look at it. All right, well, thank you guys so much for listening and watching the Grow youw Self podcast. Thank you. Stay tuned next time. And thank you again, Rachel, for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

See you next time, guys, thanks so much for listening to the Grow youw Self podcast. You can keep listening anywhere you love getting your podcast delivered on Apple podcasts, on Spotify, iHeartRadio, you name it, we are there for you. And if you wanna read the notes and get our free resources to help you grow more, you can go to gardenary.com podcast.