Growing season in various MI locations

Hi, I'm from the Lake Orion area (SE MI, near Pontiac). We are considering a move sometime in the next few years to another area of Michigan, and we are "interviewing" the possibilities. One of the considerations (for me, at least) is the length of the growing season. Down here (and I know this year might be unusual) daylilies are 8 inches tall and forsythia and magnolia are in full bloom. New growth is coming up everywhere. The "season" for flower gardening lasts into October, often. I'm only a beginning veggie gardener, so I can't speak for that season here.

I'm curious about the growing seasons and conditions in other regions, particularly the Empire/Sleeping Bear, Marquette, and Hessel/Les Cheneaux areas. How long can you garden outdoors? What are the conditions like (soil, weather, etc.). Any other tips (politics, jobs, etc.)?

Hopefully I'll hear from some of you :-)
Thanks,
Barb

We are mid michigan on the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. Right now my daylilies are up about 5 inches but they are in a raised bed. The only thing I have blooming right now are daffodils and Lenten Rose. Tulips should be popping any day now. The soil is tillable now. I saw some of the farmers out discing yesterday. I never plant my vegetables till Memorial Weekend just to be on the safe side. I don't like babysitting plants during a late freeze. If we have one of those el nino winters and super hot springs I might plant mid May but that's as early as I'd plant unless it's cold weather crops. We are zone 5 here.

You can't get any guarantees though. The seasons and zones are changing I believe. Down south for two years in a row now they have had late hard freezes that have killed off anything blooming and farmers have had to replant crops. If you want to be extra careful plant things that are one or two zones hardy to the zone you are in and cross your fingers.

Jobs are hard to find anywhere in Michigan just about unless you have a special skill or training like in medical.

Good luck.

Hi Barb, here in the Traverse City area, our forsythias have just begun to bloom. Day lilies are about 5" tall. Daffodils, hyacinths and some muscari are in full bloom. Species tulips have been blooming for about a week, but the rest are still in bud. Apricots just bloomed yesterday (they're always the first of the fruit trees to bloom). My star magnolia bloomed yesterday. Roses are just beginning to break dormancy. Like Loon, I never put out annuals or vegetable seedlings until Memorial Day.

Soil in this area tends to be sandy and alkaline (we're on a limestone base), but the glacial moraines along the lake area make for major differences within the same garden some time. I'm out on Old Mission Peninsula and some of my neighbors have sandy loam like me, while others have clay. One spot on the peninsula has very acidic soil (a gift from a moving glacier) and they have a wonderful blueberry farm. The rest of us couldn't grow blueberries for all the sulphur in China!

Because of Lake Michigan's tempering affect, we tend to have longer falls and later frost-free days and nights in the Autumn, but cooler springs, and later frost-free days in spring. That's why farmers in this area can grow so many cherries and apples - the trees break dormancy and bloom later, so they're less likely to be nailed by a late frost (although it still happens sometimes). That's only the case along the shoreline, and about 15 miles inland.

My sister lives in Troy, and she's often about 2 weeks ahead of me in the spring. Good luck with your moving plans. If you ever want any more information about my area of the mitten, just let me know.

Karen