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Yellow Springs Elementary School

Mrs. Smith’s Class Planting Black-Eyed Susans

November 5, 2014

Special Programs

Seminars

January 17

Basic Vegetable Gardening – Dan Kuebbing

Seed Starting - Penny Huth

January 25 Plant Wisely, Control Storm Water Runoff, Encourage Wildlife

Dedra Salitrik, Suzanne Hill

February 7 How to Create Terrariums – Regina Baker

February 28 Early Spring Planting, Succession and Planting Fruits and Berries

Don Ludke, David Muns

March 7 Attracting Pollinators and Birds with Native Plants

March 28 Practical Structures in the Garden

AG Week at FSK Mall February 16-21

Green Neighbor Forum at Hood College Sponsored by Friends of Baker Park, February 28

“Make and Take” activity for children offered by Master Gardeners, 10 am - Noon

Frederick County Master

Gardener Meetings

Winter 2015 330 Montevue Lane, Frederick MD 21702

January 13 7-9:00 pm

February 10 10 am- 12 Noon

March 10 7-9:00 pm

MASTER GARDENERS

Frederick County University of Maryland Extension

Winter 2014-2015

2015

2015February

2014

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For more information on these and other seminars and events: http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-

county/home-gardening/mg-happenings

Frederick Master Gardener Intern Training – Spring 2015 Thursdays March 5 – May 28

Current Frederick Master Gardeners are welcome to attend intern classes as refreshers which also may be

logged as continuing education hours.

More information at http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-county/home-gardening/mg-administrative-

information

Recent Frederick News Post Master Gardener Articles http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-county/home-gardening/mg-news-articles

December 4, 2014

Trio of Holiday House Plants – Susie Hill

November 6, 2014

Who Needs Grass? – Sheryl Massaro

What Can We Do For You? - Newsletter about Master Gardener Events and Services

To subscribe, email fgardenersnews@gmail.com (write “subscribe” in the subject line)

Master Gardener Steering Committee 2015 Newly elected Steering Committee members for 2015 are: John Day, Gabrielle deSilva, Linda Hause,

Dawne Howard, Deb Keimig, Betsy Mahmassani, Lois Royer, Dave Sullivan, and Harriet Wise.

For more information on the Frederick County Master Gardener Program and helpful links:

http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-county/home-gardening/master-gardener-program

For more information available to current Master Gardeners: http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-

county/home-gardening/mg-administrative-information

Seminar Notes

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GrowItEatIt (GIEI) Seminar January 17

Gardening 101 and Seed Starting

The first GIEI seminar of 2015 at the Frederick County extension office was attended by 12 people.

Assisting with this seminar: Dan Kuebbing (presentation), Penny Huth (presentation), Dewey Stewart,

Betsy Mahmassani, Rochelle Kithcart, and Joanie Poddo.

Dan discussed the basics of starting a garden. He talked about soil prep, raised beds, starting a plot using

the lasagna method and the importance of composting. His presentation was Gardening 101 for the first-

time gardener.

Penny gave a presentation on starting seeds. She talked about frost dates and when to sow different types

of flowers and vegetables, stratification and scarification of a variety of seeds.

Bay-Wise Seminar January 24

Plant Wisely, Control Stormwater, Encourage Wildlife

An enthusiastic group with lots of great questions attended. Suzanne Hill started the seminar off with “Be

a Bay-Wise Gardener,” giving us a bit of history and what has happened to the land on which we live.

Because we live on the water shed, protecting our bay is every ones responsibility.

She followed with a visual demonstration of “Who polluted the bay?” The answer - all of us.

Dedra Salitrik explained how she converted her backyard storm water disaster to a bay-friendly work of

art, with lots of examples of how she rebuilt her yard of hard clay runoff into an absorbent water-

purifying, animal friendly yard!

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Next up Suzanne explained how to use the Bay-Wise yardstick as a guide to help create your own Bay-

Wise yard. She also had lots of examples of native plants and their benefits to the environment.

Lastly Dedra showed how we could incorporate Storm Water Management ideas into our yards. We

learned about gardening practices like rain gardens, installing rain barrels, compost and practicing IPM, to

control the storm water runoff that comes onto or even through our property. Controlling the runoff

ensures that water stays on our property and less polluted water runs down our streets into the bay.

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January 13, 2015 – MG Recognition Night

Dawne Howard presented the Class of 2014 with Maryland Master Gardener recognition certificates and

Lois Royer presented each intern with a Master Gardener inscribed canvas bag. Dawne presented fifteen,

ten, five and three year pins to Master Gardener recipients who each then chose a potted plant as a gift.

Master Gardener Class of 2014

Members present and recognized from the Master Gardener Class of 2014 included:

Lori Davis, John Day, Jan Knox, Mary McSherry, Beth Molesworth, Joanie Poddo, Beth Propps, Vicky

Shelton, Sharon Smart, Dewey Stewart, and Donna Street. Other members not able to attend included

Telly Encarnacion, and Clare Mix.

Yearly Pin Recognitions

Betsy Devilbiss received her fifteen year pin.

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Joyce Church received her ten year pin.

Five year pins were presented to Linda Hause, Penny

Huth, Sylvia Nye, and Donna Scherer. Joanie Poddo accepted the pin on behalf of George Poddo.

Three year pins were awarded to

Suzanne Bailey, Regina Baker, Patty Byrne, Betsy Mahmassani, David Muns, Karen Sheahan and Pat

Strawder. Bill Bugg, Margaret Hindman, and Margie Lance were also recognized.

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Meeting Attendance - Shurleen Zeigler was recognized for her perfect attendance at all twelve monthly

meetings in 2014. Deb Keimig, Pat Strawder, Dave Sullivan and Don Ludke were recognized for

attending eleven monthly meetings. Devra Boesch, Gabrielle deSilva, Margaret Hindman and Penny

Huth were recognized for attending ten monthly meetings.

Bay-Wise Heron Pin

The final recognition was the presentation of a Bay-Wise heron pin to Suzanne Hill, the first recipient of

this award for completing three presentations and leading three landscape certifications. This Bay-Wise

recognition will be awarded to MGs who complete three or more presentations and/or leading three or

more landscape certifications.

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Committee Chairs and Others

Bay-Wise: Regina Irizarry

GrowItEatIt and Demo Garden: Dan Kuebbing Youth Gardening: Dave Sullivan announced 2015

will be the “Year of the Library” with three requests for MG assistance already received.

Yardening: Edee Tyler

Therapeutic Gardening: Bill Bugg; Devra Boesch noted a write-up of a book by Bill in the Senior

Living supplement.

Ag Week: Penny Huth announced the event will take place February 16-21 at FSK Mall, 10-6:00

M-Th, 10-9:00 F & Sat, with children’s activities on Monday and Saturday.

Demo Garden: Ron Dudley

Frederick Fair: Deb Keimig also recognized Dave, Marianne, Jan and Betsy.

Plant Sale: Pat Strawder and co-chair Joanie Poddo announced that the “captains” are in place

and planning this annual event at the FNP on April 25.

Plant Clinics: Betsy Mahmassani thanked Dawne Howard, Dave Sullivan, Pat Stawder, and many

interns for helping with the new format on Saturdays at the MG office on Montevue Lane. Plant

clinics will begin again in April and will include more work in the Demo Garden.

Steering Committee members

Coordinators and Administrators

FNP Column: Lee Royer

Display Boards: Pat Strawder. A catalog or library of MG powerpoints, demonstration materials

and display boards is in the works.

Newsletter: Blanca Poteat

Photography: Gabrielle deSilva, Harriett, Dan Kuebbing

Publicity and WCWDFY: Devra Boesch, Margaret Hindman, and Linda Hause who announced

that WCWDFY now is emailed to 600 people in the community.

Seminar Coordinator: Suzy Bailey

Special Events and Speakers: Betsy Mahmassani

Scribes for meetings: Margaret Hindman, Blanca Poteat

Calendar, website and FaceBook: Jann Rabin, Betsy Mahmassani

Volunteer Tracking: Anne Gallagher

Sunshine: Billie Homberg

EAC Representative: Dawne Howard

Committee Notes and Ongoing Activities

Bay-Wise - Regina Irizarry

Bay-Wise Meeting Dates for 2015

Monday 1/26 3-5 pm

Wednesday, 3/18 5-7 pm

Tuesday, 5/19 3-5 pm

Thursday, 7/23 5-7 pm

Monday, 9/21 3-5 pm

Thursday, 11/12 5-7 pm

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LANDSCAPE CERTIFICATIONS

EVENTS

Green Neighbor Forum, February 28, 8:30 am-2:30 pm, organized by Friends of Baker Park, at Hood

College

AG Week 2015, February 16-21: Bay-Wise display

Beyond the Garden Gates Tour organized by Yardening Committee

TALKS/SEMINARS

Bay-Wise Seminars

Plant Wisely, Control Storm Water, Encourage Wildlife

January 24, 1pm – 3pm

Attracting Pollinators and Birds with Native Plants

March 7, 10 am-12 Noon, Joint project with Yardening Committee

PROJECTS

Monarch Waystation project at Kim Weddle Park in Brunswick: Telly Encarnacion has been working on

this project with Brunswick Crossing HOA volunteers.

Support for Demo Garden: Native Hedgerow and Rain Garden: Weeding, sediment removal, marking

plants, and new plant additions in rain garden.

Native Plants Handout: Developed from Telly Encarnación’s intern project focused on locally-available

native plants for the Frederick area, with Margaret Hindman.

Weed Identification Series with Cunningham Falls/Gambrill State Parks to educate ‘weed warriors’ on

prevalent weeds in these parks.

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Volunteers Needed for Administrative Projects

Volunteers are needed to file brochures into the Bay-Wise files and to print and apply address stickers to

the new Yardsticks.

Youth Gardening - Dave Sullivan

Youth Gardening Committee Meeting Dates for 2015

Tuesday, Jan. 6th 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Feb. 3rd 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Mar. 3rd 12N – 2pm

Tuesday, Apr. 7th 10am – 12N

Tuesday, May 5th 12N – 2pm

Tuesday, Jun. 2nd 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Jul. 7th 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Aug. 4th 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Sep. 1st 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Oct. 6th 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Nov. 3rd 10am – 12N

Tuesday, Dec. 1st 10am – 12N

WIC: Katie Kierle will speak at February meeting to talk about WIC and our plans for 2015

TRI-FOLD BROCHURE in development.

FSNE TEAM: Haylee Staruk presented about FSNE, Growing Healthy Habits, and other topics. Title 1

teachers will have a week of training this summer at UME Frederick. 130 teachers are now FSNE

trained. Grants available through FSNE are $500 for start-up expenses, and $ 250 per year thereafter for

two years.

Planting Black-Eyed Susans at Yellow Springs Elementary School

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Glade Elementary (Walkersville): Request for assistance to start a school garden.

STEM Night January 22nd

, 6-7:30 pm. Students will ID vegetables and determine seed starting dates

(indoors or outdoors) for spring planting and fall planting.

C. Burr Artz Library Terrace Garden Project: Library has raised beds and ornamental containers on the

Terrace Level (open-air) built in previous years and gardened by children with the help of Library staff.

There is a STEM lab adjacent to the Terrace Level. The Library is interested in having Master Gardeners

assist in planning an educational gardening curriculum for children using the Library. They have most of

the necessary gardening tools available. Y.G. Committee will create a curriculum with

interpersonal/gardening activities. Curriculum can be used on other Youth Gardening programs.

FCPS Garden Coordinator Position: Reaching out to FCPS administrators for input and guidance.

Need to outline the importance of nutrition and the role that school gardens would play, our role in

assisting schools, and why/how a Garden Administrator would be pivotal in accomplishing those

endeavors.

Children’s Garden: Update on plans (Beth Propps). Develop a follow-on plan for the new intern class.

Microwave Flower Pressing: Beth Molesworth gave a great demo.

Indoor Lighting For Vegetable Plants: Assembly and breakdown of inexpensive lighting assembly.

Speaker Request from Frederick County Public Library, Middletown Branch, from Barbara Barnette,

Library Associate II-Children’s Services. One Program for age group 3-5; 45 minutes – 1 hr. Two

programs for children ages 6- 11 as part of Children's Garden Club to kick off the gardening season.

Additional summer dates for Master Gardener presentations also requested.

Frederick Community Foundation: Grant information provided by Gayle Sutch, Director of Donor

Services: Competitive grants offered once per year – late summer (July) to 501c3, religious organizations

serving a non-sectarian purpose, long-standing community organizations serving a charitable cause.

Frederick County Public Library – Walkersville Branch

Advocates for Homeless Families

Workshops on Feb. 19 and March 19 at All Saints Episcopal Church from 6-7pm will include Hands-On

Youth Gardening Projects.

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Other Updates

For more information available to current Master Gardeners: http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-

county/home-gardening/mg-administrative-information

Recent Master Gardener Monthly Meeting Notes

November 18, 2014

Speaker: Dr. Drew Ferrier, an aquatic biologist, Professor of biology and Director of the Coastal Studies

program at Hood College in Frederick MD. Dr. Ferrier presented information and slides regarding the

current health of the Chesapeake Bay and its local tributary streams, as well as strategies for improving

aquatic resources in Frederick County and the region.

January 13, 2015

2015 Master Gardener Intern class: The new class will begin in March and continue through May 21, on

Thursdays from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. While priority is given to Frederick County and Maryland residents,

several out of state inquiries have been received as well. Many interns also come from word of mouth

referrals from current MGs.

Refresher courses: MGs may participate in intern class training sessions as refresher courses and include

these sessions with their continuing education hours.

FNP Community Gardens: David Muns reported that he has 600 square feet of the FNP community

gardens under cover and is still harvesting greens.

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Martin Luther King Day Celebration: David Muns announced the MLK Celebration on January 19

hosted by Seeds of Life Gardens with many family activities throughout the day at the Bernard Brown

Center’s Juice Plate, across North Market Street from the Habitat ReStore Center. The FNP Community

Garden will help with the first Seed Trays planting activity.

Masters in the Garden visitation program: Don Ludke announced plans for the Masters in The Garden

garden visitation program for fellow MGs, now in its third year. Plans are for scheduled visits April

through September or October, with one or two visits per month. Sundays are preferred. Potential garden

hosts should contact Don with preferred dates, special garden features, possible extended hours, and any

special conditions (pets, children, parking, bathroom facilities, etc.).

Giant Hogweed weed control brochure: Dawne Howard discussed Giant Hogweed, a toxic and invasive

plant which resembles Queen Anne’s Lace or Elderberry. It often grows in wet and flood areas and can

be spread as it is washed downstream. She warned MGs not to try to eradicate the plant themselves

because exposure is more toxic than poison ivy. The brochure suggests that chemicals administered by

professionals are the only currently effective solution.