Help Desk: 703-771-5150 - 1 - e-mail: [email protected]VolumeV, Issue 3 www.loudouncountymastergardeners.org LCMG’s Newest Community Outreach Initiative… The Loudoun County Master Gardeners (LCMGs) have established a new program called “Garden to Table.” The mission: encourage residents to grow fruits and vegetables in community gardens and backyards using sustainable organic methods. With the President and First Lady leading the way by establishing a food garden on the White House lawn, Americans are embracing vege- table gardening in numbers not seen since the Victory Garden era dur- ing WWII. For the past 16 years, LCMGs have embraced teaching vege- table gardening by maintaining a large organic vegetable area at our Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee. Backyard vegetable gardens provide multiple benefits such as educat- ing family members about how vegetables are grown, a nutritious way to supplement the family dinner table and creating an opportunity for families to get outside and interact. Community gardens foster a sense of strong community relations, as well forming desirable green space within neighborhoods. Our program focuses on providing assistance in the following ways: LCMGs mentor groups that wish to establish community gardens. Vegetable garden-themed presentations made to groups of interested resi- dents at clubhouses, other meeting places or at a community garden site, Public seminars throughout the gardening season. See our website for spe- cific dates. The “Garden to Table” group will provide a seminar at the Demonstra- tion Garden at Ida Lee Park on Saturday, June 20 th , beginning at 9am. There will be a panel discussion with Q&A followed by a tour of the garden. Also, LCMG workers are in the Demonstration Garden every Tuesday and Thursday morning, so come visit and see the produce grown for Interfaith Relief. If you are part of a group that would like to have more information about our “Garden to Table” program, please contact the group’s coordinator at [email protected]. Trumpet Vine LOUDOUN COUNTY MASTER GARDENER MONTHLY MEETINGS FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Unless noted, meetings are held at the Virginia Tech Extension Office, 30B Catoctin Circle SE, Lees- burg at 7pm June 4, Creating an Urban Oa- sis, Mary Stickley, Gardens and Grounds Manager for the Mu- seum of the Shenandoah Valley, will speak on using design and native plants to create mini habitats for birds and insects. July 9 – Children & Youth Gar- dening, Shawn Akard, Outdoor Education Coordinator for Hollin Meadows Science and Math fo- cus School in Alexandria, VA August 6 – Native Plants for Birds and Bees, Kim Strader, Curatorial Assistant at Blandy Arboretum, will speak on native plants we can use to provide year-round care for our birds and bees. September 3 – Master Gar- dener’s Favorite Native Trees & Shrubs Lunch and Learns – First Tues- day of Month, Noon – 1pm at Demo Garden at Ida Lee Park June 2, Butterfly Gardens July 7, Composting August 4, Veggies September 1, Floral Arranging For more Information about these meetings and other events, please visit our web site: http://www.loudouncountymasterg ardeners.org/ Summer 2009 Knowledge for the Community from the Loudoun County Master Gardeners Summer Trumpet Vine: Veggies Galore! With summer upon us, it’s time put those vegetables into the ground. You may have to purchase plants vs starting from seed, but don’t miss this opportunity to have your own bountiful harvest! This TV edition provides many tips!
LCMG’s Newest Community Outreach Initiative… The Loudoun County Master Gardeners (LCMGs) have established a new program called “Garden to Table.” The mission: encourage residents to grow fruits and vegetables in community gardens and backyards using sustainable organic methods.
With the President and First Lady leading the way by establishing a food garden on the White House lawn, Americans are embracing vege-table gardening in numbers not seen since the Victory Garden era dur-ing WWII. For the past 16 years, LCMGs have embraced teaching vege-table gardening by maintaining a large organic vegetable area at our Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee.
Backyard vegetable gardens provide multiple benefits such as educat-ing family members about how vegetables are grown, a nutritious way to supplement the family dinner table and creating an opportunity for families to get outside and interact. Community gardens foster a sense of strong community relations, as well forming desirable green space within neighborhoods.
Our program focuses on providing assistance in the following ways:
LCMGs mentor groups that wish to establish community gardens. Vegetable garden-themed presentations made to groups of interested resi-
dents at clubhouses, other meeting places or at a community garden site, Public seminars throughout the gardening season. See our website for spe-
cific dates.
The “Garden to Table” group will provide a seminar at the Demonstra-tion Garden at Ida Lee Park on Saturday, June 20th, beginning at 9am. There will be a panel discussion with Q&A followed by a tour of the garden. Also, LCMG workers are in the Demonstration Garden every Tuesday and Thursday morning, so come visit and see the produce grown for Interfaith Relief. If you are part of a group that would like to have more information about our “Garden to Table” program, please contact the group’s coordinator at [email protected].
Trumpet Vine
LOUDOUN COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
MONTHLY MEETINGS FREE and OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC Unless noted, meet ings are he ld at the Virginia Tech Extension
Off i ce , 30B Catoct in Circ l e SE, Lees-burg at 7pm
June 4, Creating an Urban Oa-sis, Mary Stickley, Gardens and Grounds Manager for the Mu-seum of the Shenandoah Valley, will speak on using design and native plants to create mini habitats for birds and insects.
July 9 – Children & Youth Gar-dening, Shawn Akard, Outdoor Education Coordinator for Hollin Meadows Science and Math fo-cus School in Alexandria, VA
August 6 – Native Plants for Birds and Bees, Kim Strader, Curatorial Assistant at Blandy Arboretum, will speak on native plants we can use to provide year-round care for our birds and bees.
September 3 – Master Gar-dener’s Favorite Native Trees & Shrubs
Lunch and Learns – First Tues-day of Month, Noon – 1pm at Demo Garden at Ida Lee Park June 2, Butterfly Gardens July 7, Composting August 4, Veggies September 1, Floral Arranging For more Information about these meetings and other events, please visit our web site: http://www.loudouncountymastergardeners.org/
Summer 2009 Knowledge for the Community from the Loudoun County Master Gardeners
Summer Trumpet Vine: Veggies Galore! With summer upon us, it’s time put those vegetables into the ground. You may have to purchase plants vs starting from seed, but don’t miss this opportunity to have your own bountiful harvest! This TV edition provides many tips!
Color for Summer Summer is the time your garden can come to life, jump with color and sing for joy. It can get us through the hot, humid days in Virginia with fond memories of a beautiful garden, porch, patio or balcony. Let’s get started by checking out the color wheel as a gardening tool. We know the primary colors to build on: red, yellow, blue. The secondary colors of green, violets (purple) and orange and the neutral colors of white, grays and silvers. Try these color combinations for a pleasing affect. You can choose one hue and use it in various shades, tints and tones or you can even choose a white garden and white is the last color to be seen in the garden as night approaches. A blue garden can be cooling, relaxing and meditative. Start with your favorite color and build from the wheel. Here are plants that will provide color through the summer that will add color, depth and intensity to your land-scape. “The love of gardening is a seed once sown never dies” Gertrude Jekyll
Coleus blumei: Coleus plants are durable and easy to grow. They are best known for their bright colors and variety of foliage forms.
Coleus plants may be grown in the garden in bright, indirect light, or in partial shade. How-ever, the foliage color is often enhanced when they are grown in the shade. Although these plants are a member of the nettle family, they are a mint and do not have the stinging proper-ties of the nettle. Coleus likes a well-drained soil. Feed monthly with all purpose fertilizer. Pinch the center stems to induce bushier growth, and be sure to pick off flower spikes as they form.
Helianthus annus: Sunflowers are annual plants native to the Americas and were a key crop for native peoples. Their seed make a wholesome snack for people as well as birds! Growing sunflowers attracts birds, bees and butterflies to your garden. They like full sun and warm weather. In recent years, sunflowers have come into their own as cutting flowers. There are lots of new cultivars in many shapes –
from standard ray flowers to pompoms or fuzzy disks. Sizes range from dwarf to giant.
Nepeta, or catmint, is a member of the mint family. It is an extremely easy growing plant with few pests or problems. The billowing foliage is topped with spikes of flowers in early summer with repeat blooms throughout the season. Certain varieties are very attractive to cats, both as a living plant and dried. After blooming, you can sheer for re-bloom.
Celosia cristata: Celosia is also called Cockscomb and Woolflowers. Celosia makes a very showy, unusual display in borders and as edging. Celosias are wonderful for bouquets, fresh or dried. To dry these flowers, hang them upside down in a cool, dark and dry place for about two months. Celosia likes full sun. They need rich soil with lots of compost to produce big brilliant plumes. Water during dry periods and add all purpose fertilizer once a month. To produce more plumes, pinch back the first one.
Barbara Berge & Betsy Mayr, Loudoun County Master Gardener Interns
Ask the Hardscaper Question: What kind of trellis can I make for my vines, climbing fruits, and veggies? What kind of materials should I use?
Making a trellis for climbing fruits and vegeta-bles such as cucumbers, peas, beans, toma-toes, grapes, and squash can be a fun and re-warding experience. A vegetable garden trellis keeps your harvest off the ground and away from pests and rot. It also increases the amount of horizontal planting area available in the vegetable garden by allowing your climbing or trailing plants to use vertical space. Your trellis can be a simple square frame with a grid of twine or wire, A-frame, lean-to, tepee (tuteur), arbor, obelisk, or fence. You can cre-ate a trellis of almost any shape and from a variety of materials.
When designing your trellis, consider the weight of the full-grown plant and its fruit. En-sure your trellis can stand up to this weight and keep in mind the trellis with a full vegeta-tive cover will have great wind resistance and act as a sail in the wind so it must be well se-cured to the ground or other structural object. Remember when creating a trellis for produce, to have openings large enough to get your hands through for easy harvesting, or ensure you have access to both sides of the trellis. You can utilize the shade provided by your climbing plants to grow others that don’t thrive in the summer’s direct heat. For exam-ple, plant a crop of lettuce underneath your trellis of cucumbers to shield the lettuce from the strongest rays of the summer sun.
Trellises are not just for plants in the vegeta-ble garden. They can also be used for climbing vines like ivy, clematis, and wisteria. Utilize trellises to create a gateway into and out of different garden spaces, create ‘walls’ to en-close garden spaces, against buildings to cre-ate the look of vine covered buildings without the damage to your building’s exterior, and in general as a focal point or garden art. Trellises
create privacy, add height and background to flat areas, and hide unsightly objects such as a/c units and garbage cans.
A general rule of thumb when selecting the materials for your trellis is the sturdier and larger the material, the more maintenance-free seasons you will get out of it. Also, do not be afraid to paint your trellises to protect them from the elements, match existing color schemes, or further decorate them for a fanci-ful look. In the dormant season, if your trellis is a permanent garden structure, consider decorating it with seasonal cuttings and out-side strand lights to provide year round inter-est.
Some readily available materials that can be used for trellis making:
Redwood, cedar, pressure-treated pine, willow, and bamboo
Hardwood branches or logs Wooden, string, or wire lattice in frames Copper or iron piping Old window or door frames or other “found” items Upside-down tomato cages Wooden or wire fencing Building plans for many different trellises:
Compost 101 As a gardener of some thirty years, I probably should be embarrassed to admit that I am a lackadaisical composter. I was given a simple black recycled plastic composter years ago and in the nine years I have been living in my current home have used it in a half hearted, non think-ing way. I dump stuff in it from my garden when I am out there and try to remember to take stuff from my kitchen when I think of it – it's a hit or miss kind of thing. I haven't turned the pile once … in nine years. That said, I don’t know why I don’t take advantage of this compost as I have seen the benefits of using compost first-hand in my front garden.
When I first moved here my landlord was very courageous and told me to “do what ever you want with the yard”. Did he realize what he was saying? Obviously not a gardener himself – he had no idea what havoc I could and would wreck upon my new front yard.
I live on a tiny plot that faces south - my front yard bakes. It was hard clay when I first started working in it. Now, nine years later, it is a beautiful garden teeming with earthworms, bees, birds and blossoms. Not a week goes by that someone walking past my historic district home stops me and thanks me for the beauty of my front garden. Life is good. But I digress. Back to the composting.
When I first started in the front yard there were few earthworms, some bees and many weeds. That first year I killed off some of the “lawn” and expanded the beds to which I added a layer of leaf mulch. It was a mix of dark, rich composting leaves. When spread out over my beds, my whole front yard had a mist rising over it from the heated compost. It smelled wonderful.
Now, after nine years of leaf mulch applications, I have a garden with deep rich soil that pro-vides my plants with lots of nutrients, thereby allowing them to thrive and bloom and provide months of joy. So I know the benefits of composting. Below are some basics of composting set out in a Q&A format with several websites for more information. I hope this will encourage you to try it, and maybe be a little more active about it than I have been. Happy composting!
Just what is compost? According to the EPA's website “Compost is organic material that can be used as a soil amendment or as a medium to grow plants. Mature compost is a stable mate-rial with a content called humus that is dark brown or black and has a soil-like, earthy smell. It is created by combining organic wastes (e.g., yard trimmings, food wastes, manures) in proper ratios into piles, rows, or vessels; adding bulking agents (e.g., wood chips) as necessary to ac-celerate the breakdown of organic materials; and allowing the finished material to fully stabi-lize and mature through a curing process.”
Why compost? There are several benefits to composting. The main one for us gardeners is richer soil, less use of fertilizers, less need for watering and less waste hauled off to the dump. Another little tidbit of information from the EPA's website...” Yard trimmings and food residu-als together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream.” For more infor-mation about the benefits of composting to your garden see http://earth911.com/blog/2007/04/02/benefits-of-using-compost/ .
How do I compost? There are several ways to compost, from a simple pile on the ground to a three bins system. If you do one like I do – I have a commercial bin that I just add stuff to and never turn – it's considered a “cold” pile and doesn't break down quickly for useable compost. If you build a pile with sides to it, regulate the ratio of materials that go in it so that it heats up and turn it on a regular basis it is considered a “hot pile” and will provide you with compost
to add to your garden. To learn more about building different compost bins, check online. Don't forget to check your local ordnances to see if you have any restrictions.
What can I compost? You can add untreated grass clippings, fruit, veggies, tea bags, coffee grinds, egg shells, leaves, untreated wood chips/sawdust, weeds that haven't seeded and dead plants that aren't diseased, shredded non-glossy paper, pine needles.
What shouldn’t I compost? Don't add meat/dairy products, pet waste including cat litter, dis-eased plants, any grass/plant clippings that have been treated with chemicals, and treated wood chips/sawdust glossy papers, charcoal ashes.
More Helpful Information: http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/060105v.shtml, http://home.howstuffworks.com/composting.htm/printable
Becky Phillips, Loudoun County Master Gardener
Book Review - Do Plants Exploit People? Michael Pollan in his book The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World, explores this question with interesting historical facts, humor and flights of fancy. He uses four plants that have thrived under human care: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes to examine the interplay between plants that satisfy our desires and how we react to them.
Sweetness is a flavor valued by people all over the world and sweetness is what apples offer us. Pollan’s apple tale starts with Johnny Appleseed and his bizarre mission and ends in Kazakhstan where apples originated and where the greatest genetic diversity still survives and may be the hope of the apple’s future.
Are humans, like bees, drawn to flowers? What caused the 17th century Dutch to sell all their belongings, mortgage their homes, and invest their life savings in slips of paper that represent future flowers? People were blinded by their desire for instant wealth. In February of 1637 the tulip market crashed. Sound familiar?
Marijuana represents the forbidden plant, the plant of intoxication. In years past, plants were valued for their medicinal powers and sacred plants were used to inspire visions and spiritual knowledge. Marijuana’s prohibition and popularity make a remarkable story that includes as-sassins, witchcraft and highly potent plants grown indoors in Amsterdam.
After apples, tulips and marijuana how could potatoes possibly be interesting? Yet, the jour-ney of the potato is the most fascinating. Again the home of a plant is where it is the most di-verse. Peruvian Indians plant hundreds of types of potatoes. But a single type traveled to Europe, revived Ireland, allowed a population explosion (Did you know that potatoes and milk provide all the nutriments that a human needs?) and when it succumbed to a blight, it caused horrible suffering throughout Europe, especially in Ireland. Now potatoes in the US are being genetically engineered to repel the potato beetle and provide the perfect McDonald’s French fries, satisfying the human desire for control.
The broader subject of The Botany of Desire is the complex reciprocal relationship between humans and nature as illustrated through plant domestication and gardening. Whether or not you are convinced that plants can manipulate people, this book is fun and informative and a good read. In addition to the Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan has also written Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food.
Try Some “New” Natives Native plants support wildlife, need less care and represent the beauty of our Virginia land-scape. We are all aware of our common native plants that are now readily available at the lo-cal garden centers — butterfly weed, joepye weed, conefowers, river birch, etc. It’s a long list, but just as we moved beyond nandina and Japanese holly, we can branch out and try lesser known natives. Obtaining these may take a little more effort, but once established in your gar-den, they are beautiful, sturdy and very rewarding.
Pennsylvania sedge Carexpennsylvanica. A great alternative ground cover. 4-18 inches high, cool season clumping grass, sun to shade. Tolerates slightly acidic and relatively
infertile soils. Grows in a wide range of land-scapes and climates, but it performs best in dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and open areas. Establishes quickly in disturbed areas through vigorous production of rhizomes which are variable in length and subsist in the top 4 - 5 inches of soil.
Indian woodoats or Northern Sea Oats Chasmanthiumlatifolium. This is a 2-4 ft., clump-forming, perennial grass bearing large, drooping, oat-like flower
spikelets from slender, arching branches. The blue-green, bamboo-like leaves often turn a bright yellow-gold, especially in sunnier sites, in fall. Attractive, low-maintenance sun to part shade grass. Nice for dried arrange-ments.
Marsh marigold Calthapalustris. This spring bloomer is good for stream banks, shallow pond margins, and wet bog gardens. It has
glossy, kidney-shaped leaves and sunny yellow flowers that resemble large buttercups. The entire plant dies to the ground by midsum-mer. Deer usually leave this plant alone!
Mistflower or Wild ageratum Conocliniumcoelestinum. This is the native, perennial form of the
favorite garden-center annual. Unlike the an-nual, this flower grows 1-3 ft. high, it is hardy, spreads by rhizomes and also self seeds. It will fill a space in just a couple years and you’ll have plenty to give away. Full sun to part shade. Attracts butterflies.
New Jersey Tea Ceanothusamericanus. The leaves of this shrub were used by Revolution-ary War soldiers to make a tea-like beverage. This 3 ft. shrub is tough, tolerates dryness, at-tracts butterflies and song birds. Small white flowers occur in 2 in., branch-tip clusters on the new shoots. The base is woody, while the
upper portion of the plant is made up of herbaceous, spreading branches. This very adaptable species can withstand inhospitable conditions because of massive, deep roots. Full sun to part shade.
Eastern hop hornbeam Ostryavirginiana. This understory tree’s name derives from its very distinctive seeds resembling hops. Birds and small mam-
mals feed on the seeds. A tree with a trunk that looks like sinewy muscles and a rounded crown of slender, spreading branches. Eastern hop-hornbeam or ironweed is a graceful tree, typically growing 30-50 ft. If you attended the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show, you may have been lucky enough to pick up one of these seedlings free from the Leesburg Tree Commission!
Something Bugging Your Vegetables? While some garden insects are destructive, many are perfectly harmless. Some insects even perform a service by keeping down pests that do harm to your crop and others pollinate the plants. Avoiding pesticides can help you have a safe, healthy garden.
Here are some simple guidelines and products for the home gardener.
For all bug problems make sure garden debris is cleared promptly from veggie beds to rob pests of a hiding place. Plant small flowering plants among veggies or in wide strips in and around veggie areas to encourage beneficial insects that will help rid your garden of bad insects. Some of these companion plants are dill, parsley, yarrow, coreopsis, anise, and cosmos. Another version of companion plants is trap crops. A trap crop is a plant that attracts bad insects away from attacking nearby vegetables.
Row covers (shown above) work well to protect your crops from a wide variety of pests; a summer row cover will not trap in the heat and will allow maximum light. Summer row covers are made of polypropylene fiber.
Pyrethrum powder is a completely organic, environment-safe insecticide derived from 100% African Chrysanthemum flowers. It is toxic to many garden pests and decomposes rapidly in the environment.
Surround W. P. is made from 95% kaolin clay, a naturally occurring mineral. When applied to fruit trees, crops, and other plants, it forms a white film. It can be applied up to day of har-vest and is easily rubbed off when the fruit or produce is ready to eat.
Pest Vegetable Prevention / Treatment Flea beetle Tomatoes, peppers,
eggplants Row cover. Plant trap crops such as radishes around area (allow it to go to seed). For severe infestations use a spray containing pyrethrum.
Squash Bugs All squash, but espe-cially winter squash and pumpkin
Cover newly planted hills with row cover immedi-ately after planting. Remove row cover at blossom time. Spray newly emerging seedling leaves with Surround WP topside and bottom; keep leaves coated with Surround at directed dilution rate. Handpick bugs and larvae off leaves in early morn-ing. Spray with pyrethrum sprays.
Japanese bee-tle
Mainly beans, corn, to-matoes
Spray veggies with Surround WP before beetles ar-rive in the area; keep leaves coated with Surround WP but avoid getting spray on blossoms. Cover with row cover before beetles arrive. Handpick beetles off of plants and drop in soapy water in the early morning.
Aphids Nearly all types of vege-tables but especially the new growing tips of plants
Row covers on spring plants, direct strong hose spray at leaves where large infestations are occur-ring; repeat at least every 2 days. Use insecticidal soaps.
Veggies You Can Plant Now I started out last fall with the best of intentions, but here it is the beginning of June, and I still haven’t planted my vegetable garden. My plan to transform a modest 4’ by 8’ raised bed into a photo shoot-worthy garden is still largely in my mind, but I’m not completely out of luck. I can still harvest a great quantity and variety of warm- and cool-season crops, but I need to start right away.
To get started, I need to select vegetables that will thrive if I plant them now. Once I know what I’m going to plant, I need to prepare my vegetable garden beds accordingly. Because I’m off to a late start, I will plant my veggies in a variety of ways: in pots, in my ornamental flower border, in “lasagna” beds, and in plain old garden soil.
But first things first; just what vegetables can I grow at this time of year? It’s too late for cool season veggies like peas, broccoli, onions, and beets. But it’s the perfect time to put in warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons, squash (both summer and winter), corn, sweet potatoes and beans.
Some warm-season veggies take a while to mature. Because I want to actually eat my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants this summer and not right before the cold weather hits in the fall, I’m going to rely on transplants that I purchased. However, I still have time to direct sow (plant from seed) my beans, melons, squash and corn.
I don’t have a lot of time to prepare new vegetable beds, but I don’t want to plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in the same plot I used last year. Fortunately, these plants grow just fine in pots and other containers, as well as in my ornamental flower beds. Melons and squash take up too much room for pots, so I’ll have to plant them in the ground. Because I need to expand my garden, I’m going to prepare lasagna beds by putting down a layer of newspaper, covering it with compost and topsoil and planting directly into this bed. Vegetable roots don’t go very deep, so as long as I keep this bed watered, it will do just fine. Finally, I’m going to use my existing raised bed for my beans and corn. They should be very comfortable there.
Even though I started late, I will be able to take advantage of the summer season to realize a great harvest. But I haven’t given up my dream for an
extensive vegetable garden. You should see my plan for the fall vegetable garden – it’s incredible!
Refer to http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/index.html for more gardening information.
Fun in the GardenWhat do several horticulture trade magazines, websites and consumer table top magazines have in common? Vegetable Gardening! That’s right – they are all talking about the up-swing in the vege-table gardening. And the biggest trend? Vegetables in your front yard! Below are some new intros along with a couple other fun companion plants for you to ponder. It’s not too late to plant any of these. Some ideas follow on how to incorporate them into your front yard garden beds. Who knows, you just might be a trend setter in your neighborhood. Check plant tags/seed pack for cultural needs.
Basil Boxwood – how cute is this? A potted topiary basil? Or maybe as edging to the front of your flower bed? Thriving in the dog days of August, this is a great addi-tion to anyone’s garden. The more you clip and use, the tighter and denser the growth. Basil is a great com-panion plant for tomatoes and who doesn’t love fresh basil with their tomato sand-
wich?
Speaking of tomato sandwiches. A new variety to try this spring, ‘Tomatoberry’ is a high yielding with deep red color and heart shaped fruit. With a sweet flavor, the fruits average 1”x1” in size. Plants are indeterminate so might not be best in the front yard unless you train them on a
decorative trellis.
Leaf lettuce is another great vegetable to try in the front yard. Lots of colors and tex-tures to chose from, it makes great edging. As it dies back in the summer you can re-place with annuals such as marigolds or nasturtiums to
use as garnishments in your salads.
I’m not an eggplant fan – though I must confess I have never tried it! It just seems like one of those vegetables whose texture I wouldn’t ap-preciate. Having said that, I might try growing ‘Gretel’. Between the white petite fruit and the purple blossoms this would be a neat addition to my flower beds in the front. ‘Gretel’ is described as having few seeds with a sweet taste and reaching about 4” in size. Because ‘Gretel’ will reach approximately 36” to 52” tall with a spread of 2’ to 3’ I think the back of the bed is the best place for her.
‘Honey Bear’ squash is a new compact winter squash, coming in at a pound. It has a vigorous growing habit and is easy to serve – cut in half, add some brown sugar, bake and serve! A perfect size for two. ‘Honey Bear’ is listed as highly disease resis-tant and grows well into the end of autumn
Nasturtiums are a great plant, serving several purposes: adding vibrant color to the garden and the salad. With a nice peppery flavor, the darker the color the stronger the flavor. ‘Papaya Cream’ offers the best of both worlds with it’s two tones. Great to fill in places where your bulbs are dying back or that leaf lettuce is looking a little leggy.
Veggies Your Kids Will Love to Plant and Eat! Growing your own vegetables at home or on a community plot is a good way to make sure your children eat healthy and grow to love their veggies. Nothing beats the taste of home-grown fresh vegetables. I remember as a child not liking tomatoes. It always seemed they were either not
ripe enough or too soft, and always bland in taste. It wasn’t until my family started growing our own red cherry tomatoes that I started to understand the difference between store bought and home grown… and oh what a big difference! The difference in two words: delicious & sweet. I think growing our own tomatoes was the ‘ah-ha’ moment for both my parents. To their delight, they quickly realized they could turn their children’s enthusiasm for watching and watering tomatoes towards other vegetables like snow peas, eggplant (my favorite now as an adult), and baby bokchoy (snow cabbage). As children, our fear of getting acquainted with, let alone eating, ‘yucky’ vegetables gave way to our underlying and natural tendency to explore: put things in our mouths (anything bright and especially red were our favorites), sowing seeds, watching and touching plants as they grow, and then finally harvesting and eating (sometimes not in that order) the fruits of our labor. Children who garden and grow vegetables reap the benefits both at home and in school. It definitely gave me a leg up in my elementary school’s health and science classes.
A quick and easy way to begin growing vegetables with your children is to buy a small plant from your local garden center or nursery. Depending on the space you have in your backyard, you might want to dedicate a special area for your children to grow whatever they want: fruit, veggies, and flowers. Before you start sowing your seeds or planting, testing the soil’s PH is always rec-ommended. Giving the garden area your child’s name, like “Maddie’s Garden” or just simply “Kids Garden”, personalizes the garden and gets them excited about having something belong to them. Also, painting and decorating the garden sign could be a fun and easy craft activity for your children too.
Worried you don’t have enough space to plant vegetables? Here’s some good news – you don’t need much space. Vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, leaf lettuce (and many more!) and just about any herb, do as well in containers as they do in the ground. Containers for vegetable gardening come in a variety of sizes and shapes. A good way to promote family recycling at your home would be to possibly use: old baskets, large cans, and empty pails & buckets as con-tainers (remember a hole in the bottom is necessary for good drainage). Or, you can use prod-ucts like the ‘Earthbox’, a self-watering container. Mary Jans of Aldie enjoys using the Earth-box. It makes growing herbs and vegetables on her backyard patio relatively easy for her and Catie, her 4 1/2-year old daughter. Catie has been an avid vegetable and herb gardener since she was 3-years old. Mary says, “Growing our own veggies came with so many benefits. They are organic, they are much less expensive than store bought veggies and they've proven to be a great way to get our daughter excited about them.” Catie enjoys watering, helping trim off
(4 ½ year old CatieJans of Aldie watering her tomato plant)
Ed Note: As children are exiting school, now is a great time to start a vegetable garden as a summer project. Each of the plants listed can still be planted!
buds, removing weeds, and she especially enjoys cutting herbs that are included for dinner that evening. Her favorite veggie is broccoli. “She loves it with a little lemon juice, but even more so with some pine nuts, parmesan cheese and lemon zest! Another little trick we use, Catie has always loved pickles. So we now put our carrot sticks in the jar of pickles and she just gobbles them up!”
Here are some veggies your children will love to grow (and grow to love!):
Warm Season Veggies Cool Season Veggies
Sugar snap peas - naturally sweet and fast growing. Vines can be grown on trellises, fences or left on the ground. Also a cool season vegetable
Carrots - for something fun and different, try growing ‘Purple Haze’ or ‘Purple Dragon’. The purple pigment found in these carrots are the same ones in blueberries and red grapes and have the same powerful antioxi-dants.
Pole beans - trellises for these beans make great tepees to play or hide in. The ‘Dow Purple Podded Pole Bean’ is a very tasty dark purple flat bean that grows well in partial shade. Also a cool season vegetable
Broccoli - high in vitamins A &D. It’s no surprise the home-grown broccoli is more tender and sweet than the commercial store-bought variety.
Small tomatoes - cherry tomatoes are bite size and per-fect for little mouths. A cherry tomato variety called ‘HoneyBunch’ is delicious & sweet. Children will love this honey tasting cherry tomato. Indeterminate.
Butter Lettuce - perfect for salads or in sandwiches. Try ‘Organic Brushed Butter Oak Bibb’. Light green & rose rosettes are tender and slightly sweet.
Sweet peppers - they come in many different color and sizes. Try ‘Chocolate Beauty’ hybrid. Starts out green but matures to a rich chocolate color. It does not taste or smell like chocolate, but they are considered to be one of the sweetest bell peppers and kid’s love the name.
Note: Pole Beans and Snap Peas are also cool season vegetables.
If you would like more options or would like to see examples of vegetables that grow well in our local area, why not visit a local farm or ‘Pick-Your-Own’ with your children. Better yet, come visit our Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg today and take a peek at what’s growing in our veggie beds.
Jane Nordahl, Loudoun County Master Gardener
Lunch and Learn in the Demonstration Garden Perhaps your children are old enough to visit the new AV Symmington Pool at Ida Lee Park by themselves? This summer, drop off the kids and take a walk to the Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee and join one of Lunch and Learns. Lunch and Learns are scheduled for the first Tues-day of each month from noon until 1pm. Bring a bag lunch and learn a little gardening! Here is the schedule (also listed on page one):
Seven Different Varieties of Turf for Your Home Lawn The Loudoun County Master Gardeners recently planted seven plots of turf, each 8’x8’, in its Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg. Their purpose is to provide samples of grasses that may prove suitable to local home owners who are about to establish or refurbish their home lawn. Adjacent to the turf plots will be a handout that provides the same informa-tion contained in this item. Prominently on the first page of the handout will be this caution:
Fair Warning. Home owners should recognize at the outset that growing a lawn in Northern Virginia is both difficult and expensive. The Mid-Atlantic States were covered in hardwoods centuries before colonists arrived, so no truly native grasses developed that we can cultivate today. Moreover, Northern Virginia is located climatologically in a transition zone, requiring home owners to choose between warm weather grasses more suitable to areas further south, or cool weather grasses more suitable to areas further north. Neither is entirely satisfactory here. The dollar cost of a lawn also surprises most people. In one study, the EPA estimates $700 per year per 1000 sq ft of lawn, including installation, maintenance, and watering. That means the usual quarter-acre lot with 3000 sq ft of lawn costs over $2,000 per year, or $10,000 every five years. Given such dollar costs, plus the dangers of the overuse of fertilizer and harmful pesticides, many people are opting to reduce the size of their lawns or even eliminate them entirely. Master Gardeners nevertheless concede the enduring appeal of a well tended lawn for most home owners. For them, we have planted seven turf varieties: Kentucky blue grass, fine fes-cue, tall fescue, Bermuda, zoysia, buffalograss, and blue grama. A handout available nearby lists the growth characteristics of all seven, presented in three groups: (1) cool season grasses, (2) warm season grasses, and (3) grasses native to prairie states that have proven adaptable here. With this basic information, thoughtful home owners should be able to select a turf that will meet their aesthetic needs, minimize their water bills, and obviate the need for excessive fertilizer or harmful pesticides.
Shown below are the three principal types of cool season grasses used in Northern Virginia.
Cool season grasses will go dormant or "brown out’” in a drought, and in the colder part of winter.
Grass Type Shade Tolerant
Disease Resistance
Wear Tolerance
Nitrogen Requirement
Heat Toler-ance
Drought Resist
Recovery Potential
Kentucky Blue
Fair Variable Good Variable Fair Good Fair
Tall Fescue Fair Good Good Low Good Excellent Moderate
Fine Fescue Good Good Fair Low Good Good Moderate
Kentucky Bluegrass provides a dense, green turf. It is reported to be the most widely used cool-season grass in Northern Virginia, and is usually the most expensive. With regular mowing it makes a thick, uniform lawn, growing strongly in spring and fall, little or not at all in hot weather unless watered, and going dormant in winter when temperatures become cold. Ken-tucky Bluegrass grows best in full sun but very poorly in shade. It needs average, well-drained soil and steady moisture. The root system is shallow and not resistant to drought. In dry condi-tions it goes dormant but will revive with watering. The optimum mowing height for Kentucky blue grass is three inches.
Fescue is used in cool, temperate areas such as Northern Virginia and regions to the north. With regular mowing it makes a thick, uniform lawn, growing strongly in spring and fall, little or not at all in hot weather unless watered, and going dormant in winter when temperatures become cold. Although there are about 300 species of fescue, lawn choices generally resolve into two groups, referred to simply by most gardeners as “fine” and “tall.”
Fine fescue includes small grasses that grow to a four or five inches in height with very fine thread-like leaves. It is drought tolerant and generally proves a good choice for shady areas, i.e., that get less than five hour of sun daily. Until the turf is mature, it tends to grow in clumps and may flop over, so is less tolerant of heavy wear than tall fescue. Its optimum mowing height is three inches.
Tall fescue includes taller, coarser grasses with broader leaves. It is more tolerant of sun and drought condi-tions, and is generally the choice for play areas that get heavy wear. Most popular brand grass seed mixtures use a predominance of tall fescue. Its optimum mowing height is three inches.
Most grass seed mixtures sold in Northern Virginia blend one or more of the cool season varie-ties. Blending is a precaution against the rapid spread of disease among a single variety, and an effort to make the seed cover a broader range of growing conditions. The actual percentages of different types of seed should be shown on the packaging.
Warm Season Grasses
Warm season grasses go dormant (brown out) after the first hard frost in the fall and stay that way until April-May.
Grass Type
Shade Tolerant
Disease Resistance
Wear Tolerance
Nitrogen Requirement
Heat Tol-erance
Drought Resist
Recovery Po-tential
Bermuda Fair Fair Good Low Fair Excellent Moderate Zoysia Good Fair Good Low Good Excellent High
Home owners who want to reduce their water bills may want to look closely at warm season grasses.
Bermuda is grown as grass primarily in warm temperate regions, such as the Sunbelt where it is valued for its drought tolerance. Propagation is by rhizome, stolon, or seed. In some cases it is considered to be a weed; it spreads through lawns and flower beds, where it can be difficult to kill with herbicides without damaging other grasses or plants. It is difficult to pull out be-cause the rhizomes and stolons break readily, and then re-grow. Optimum mowing height is an inch-and-a-half.
Zoysia can tolerate wide variations in temperature, sunlight, and water, and is widely used for lawn in temperate climates. It is used on golf courses to create fairways and teeing areas. It resists disease and holds up well under traffic. It is available commercially as sod in this area, although its high cost persuades most homeowners to propagate it with plugs. It is popular be-cause of its fine texture and soft feel, and low growth habit. It can form dense mats and even mounds that grow over low features. It generally requires less fertilization and is less prone to insect and fungus damage, depending on environmental conditions. For best appearance, turf experts recommend an inch-and-a-half cutting height.
Native Grasses
Numerous native grasses are available for purchase, but generally not in typical garden cen-ters. They are specialty items that must usually be ordered online. Loudoun County Master Gardeners have had little experience with them. The two shown in the Demonstration Garden are being grown on a trial basis.
Grass Type Shade Tolerant
Disease Resistance
Wear Tol-erance
Nitrogen Re-quirement
Heat Tol-erance
Drought Resist
Recovery Poten-tial
Blue Grama Fair Excellent Fair Very Low Good Good High Buffalo Fair Excellent Fair Very Low Good Excellent High
Blue Grama is a native warm season bunch grass with fine blue-green leaves and a short growth habit. It grows in all well-drained types of soil including sandy and alkaline. It is taller than buffalograss, and more drought tolerant. Its uses include recreation areas, roadsides, me-dians, cover between small tree plantings, warm season pasture, and turf. It is mixed with buf-falograss for low maintenance areas with sandy or coarse soils. Blue grama is valued as fodder, and for landscaping and erosion control. It is the State Grass of Colorado and New Mexico.
Buffalograss is a fine-leaved native grass that has prospered on the Great Plains for centuries. It has survived severe weather extremes and has evolved into a water-efficient, sod-forming grass, which works as low-maintenance lawn grass. It greens up two-to-three weeks later than Kentucky Bluegrass in spring, and stays green all summer with little or no care. It goes dormant at the first killing frost and turns a beautiful buff color until it breaks dormancy again in the spring. Unlike many native grasses, buffalograss grows quickly, as much as 5 inches within 50 days after planting. In nature, it germinates very slowly, but with a non-toxic priming of potas-sium nitrate to break down dormancy, germination can be accelerated to 14 days. It spreads fast on runners or stolons (like strawberry plants), but is not a pest. Each node on these stolons sends down a root, which creates another plant. This holds the runner in place. Buffalograss requires six-to-eight hours of sunlight and does especially well on hot, droughty sites where bluegrass dies out. It requires sunlight and well-drained soil and often is used for erosion con-trol.
Note! Selecting a grass is just the first step in establishing a new lawn. Then you must plant it, nurture it, and intermittently renew it. A lawn can become a demanding and frustrating enter-prise. Loudoun County Master Gardeners can help you through some of that. Call our Help Desk at 703 771-5150, or email us at [email protected].
Subscriptions If you would like to receive The Trumpet Vine via e-mail, please contact us at [email protected] or call 703-771-515
Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. An equal
opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Poly-technic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture co-
operating. Mark McCann, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; Alma C. Hobbs, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State, Petersburg.
![EFFECT OF PLANTING COLEUS BLUME] TARO (COLOCASIA … … · EFFECT OF PLANTING COLEUS BLUME] ON INSECT POPULATIONS IN TARO (COLOCASIA ESCULENTA) FIELDS IN AMERICAN SAMOA A. M. VARGO,](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5f06fa377e708231d41aaead/effect-of-planting-coleus-blume-taro-colocasia-effect-of-planting-coleus-blume.jpg)
