The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression. LOOSELEAF A Publication of the University of Maryland Extension Howard County Master Gardeners 3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, SUITE 240 • ELLICOTT CITY, MD 21043 (410)313-2707 • FAX (410)313-2712 http://www.extension.umd.edu/mg/locations/howard-county-master-gardeners AUGUST 2016 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • UPDATE FROM GEORGIA Summer is a time for preparation—a time for cleaning out the files and the storage area, and for envisioning plans for the busy year ahead! So, I'm starting to arrange the 2017 MG training. I am looking for a few MG volunteers who would like to work with me on the upcoming training program. The topics for discussion will cover everything from the application and interview process to mentoring to the trainee evaluations. Let me know if you would like to assist. My thanks to Jim Wilk and his team for their evaluation report on the 2016 training. It will be a very useful document while we plan for subsequent MG training. I am currently working to coordinate the Master Gardener annual luncheon meeting. This year it will be on Tuesday, September 20 from noon to 2:30 pm at UME. The lunch will be catered. You are welcome to bring along your favorite dessert to share with your MG colleagues! Last year we had quite a tasty variety of desserts. This luncheon is a great chance to catch up on all that we have accomplished this year, and to explore plans for 2017. Please plan to attend. My summer vacation included a visit to some of my family in South Carolina. At home I'm still cleaning up after the June tornado. The incredible storm left extensive damage in my woodland! On the hot days, I do some indoor catch-up. I hope you are enjoying the results of your labor in the vegetable garden, the flowers in the perennial and annual garden, and a vacation wherever you can relax! I look forward to seeing many of you at the Howard County Fair! —Georgia Eacker, MG Coordinator, WSA Liaison, 410-313-1913, [email protected]INSIDE — 2 Native Plant Foundation Bed 3 Grow It, Eat It News & Veggie Vibes 4 Calendar Highlights & Mt. Pleasant News 5 Bay-Wise & From the Editor 6 Continuing Education & HoCo Fair 7 Latin for Gardeners: Lobelia 8 Patuxent Research Refuge SYH 9 Book Review
Transcript
The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.
LOOSELEAF
A Publication of the University of Maryland Extension Howard County Master Gardeners
3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, SUITE 240 • ELLICOTT CITY, MD 21043 (410)313-2707 • FAX (410)313-2712
Summer is a time for preparation—a time for cleaning out the files and the storage area, and for envisioning plans for the busy year ahead! So, I'm starting to arrange the 2017 MG training. I am looking for a few MG volunteers who would like to work with me on the upcoming training program. The topics for discussion will cover everything from the application and interview process to mentoring to the trainee evaluations. Let me know if you would like to assist.
My thanks to Jim Wilk and his team for their evaluation report on the 2016 training. It will be a very useful document while we plan for subsequent MG training.
I am currently working to coordinate the Master Gardener annual luncheon meeting. This year it will be on Tuesday, September 20 from noon to 2:30 pm at UME. The lunch will be catered. You are welcome to bring along your favorite dessert to share with your MG colleagues! Last year we had quite a tasty variety of desserts. This luncheon is a great chance to catch up on all that we have accomplished this year, and to explore plans for 2017. Please plan to attend.
My summer vacation included a visit to some of my family in South Carolina. At home I'm still cleaning up after the June tornado. The incredible storm left extensive damage in my woodland! On the hot days, I do some indoor catch-up.
I hope you are enjoying the results of your labor in the vegetable garden, the flowers in the perennial and annual garden, and a vacation wherever you can relax! I look forward to seeing many of you at the Howard County Fair!
The purpose of Sara Tangren’s native plant foundation bed class is to convince Master Gardeners to plant a large number of the same type of native plants in order to create a native plant seed resource. The beds would be registered with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) and seeds would be registered by MDA as certified seed.
I took this class in 2014 and 2015, during which we rescued native plants from a field that was destined for new home construction. We rescued lots of plants, but I had nowhere to put them on my property.
A class was held at the University of Maryland’s greenhouses in 2015, where we transplanted seedlings which Sara had started. As luck would have it, I had to have my septic system replaced, so I now had about 4,000 square feet of my front yard covered with good old fashioned Howard County subsoil (clay). I asked Sara if this area would be suitable for the seedlings and she suggested Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed).
I covered about 1,000 square feet of the virgin soil with drip tape and DeWitt P5 barrier so I wouldn’t have to weed my foundation bed. I planted approximately 100 plants on a 2.5 foot grid, watered them occasionally with the drip system and watched them grow. Most of the plants were small, one to one and a half feet tall, but they did bloom. Photos above show the foundation bed in 2015 (left) and in 2016 (right).
Later in 2015, we had a final class where Sara demonstrated how to collect seed, remove it from the spent stems and run it through a sieve to separate the seed from the chaff.
In the spring of 2016, the Vernonia noveboracensis reappeared. A week later, they had grown another 12 inches. I still had room, so I started some Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan) under lights. The Rudbeckia hirta didn’t get planted until June and is not doing well, as shown in photo above (left).
As of July 20, the black-eyed Susan and New York Ironweed are starting to bloom. The New York Ironweed ranges between 3 to 6 foot tall and its propensity to develop multiple stems largely fills the 2.5 foot spacing between plants. It is attracting pollinators such as honey bees, flower flies and even a brown marmorated stink bug. Photo above (right) shows an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail that was feeding as I was taking photos.
The GIEI team has been very active lately. We had a booth at the Howard County Film Feastiville at Elioak Farm and have held Ask a Master Vegetable Gardener sessions at Long Reach and Howard County Conservancy community gardens.
The Feastiville is always fun. It kicks off Howard County Restaurant Week each summer, and there is a variety of food to taste from local restaurants, and vegetables and fruit to buy from local farms. MGs Karen Koelbel, Ming
Pang, Claire Ramirez and Kathy Rosendale answered client’s questions about vegetables, vegetable pests and fall vegetable gardening. And Georgia Eacker stopped by the table while our team was helping a County resident.
Now is a good time to start planning your fall vegetable garden. Fall vegetables such as Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and kale can be planted early to mid-August. Check GIEI publication GE 007 for time frames to plant various fall vegetables. Lettuce and spinach can be planted late August through early September. Spinach likes cooler weather to germinate, and cooler temps will slow bolting.
August brings us the height of the tomato season. The Howard County GIEI team is hosting a Tomato Taste-off at the Miller Library’s
Enchanted Garden on Saturday, August 20 at 1:00 pm. Bring your favorite tomato to the taste off and compare it with some of the other varieties grown by HC MGs. I will bring several paste tomatoes (Big Mama, Amish Paste and Gilbertie), a number of heirlooms (pink and red Brandywine, big rainbow and Kellogg’s breakfast), my favorite cherry tomato (Sun Gold) and two varieties I have never tried: Joe Thieneman’s Australian Heart and a recent release Unamin hybrid.
On Saturday, August 27 at 8:00 am, members of the GIEI team will answer questions at the West Side Community Garden. Come join the fun and see what other HC gardeners are growing. You might get some interesting ideas for next year. All upcoming GIEI events can be found on the HC GIEI calendar which is on the GIEI website under “Take a class.”
This past month the demonstration garden at the Howard County Conservancy came into full production of squash, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and a variety of greens and herbs. We were able to supply the Howard County Food Bank with 301 pounds of produce with the addition of produce from the Fairhaven retirement community garden.
During the hot weather we will continue to have regular workdays every Friday morning from 8:00 to 10:00 am, weather permitting. We could use help from a volunteer (or a couple of volunteers who want to rotate) once or twice a week to water our salad table. Please let me know if you would like to earn a few hours every month. It won’t take long to water! Come join us in the garden whenever you can. Occasional drop-in help is always welcome.
SAVE SOME SEEDS! We are planning to have a seed swap in January 2017 and would like you to start saving seeds to share and swap. The event will be at Miller Library, and will be open to the public. We will recruit volunteers later this year to help organize and coordinate. Contact Jo Ann Russo if you would like further information or to volunteer.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR! View the MG electronic calendar in your preferred format: Month, Week or Agenda. Click here for the calendar. You will find times, locations, and contact info for these events in August.
HIGHLIGHTS FOR AUGUST: 1 Bay-Wise meeting
7 MG Booth at Howard County Fair
9 Continuing Education - Woodland Gardening
20 Tomato Taste-Off at Enchanted Garden (Miller Library)
20 LooseLeaf Deadline!
WORK DAYS— Enchanted Garden (Miller Library) on Tuesdays
Whipps on Thursdays • HC Conservancy on Fridays
ASK A MASTER GARDENER—Volunteer for a session or two
Highlights from the Home & Garden Information Center —
Have you noticed a different looking large bee flying around your flowering plants lately? Sometimes confused for carpenter bees,
mining bees, or European hornets, they are giant resin bees (Megachile sculpturalis). Giant resin bees are an introduced species and are aggressive towards carpenter bees, a native pollinator.
Other Trending Topics for August are Bagworms, and Brown Patch in
Maryland lawns. There is also a Library of Frequently Asked Questions, Monthly Gardening Tips, HG Publications, informative Videos, and Links to various resources. A treasure trove of information at your fingertips— http://extension.umd.edu/hgic
Stewardship Educator at Wye Research and Education Center
Lyle Almond will cover the basics of an ecological landscape gardening practice that seeks to balance functional, aesthetic, and environmental performance standards focusing on both the rationale and the methods for reducing and replacing turf lawns, using a palette of native plants to increase ecosystem diversity, managing stormwater runoff, and inviting wildlife to share our landscape with us. He will then discuss several of the aesthetic principles of designing the woodland garden, including distilling the essence of the forest, sculpting with layers to orchestrate light in the understory, and using organic architecture to create portals, pathways, and woodland sanctuaries by choreographing textured foliage in mixed plantings.
SEPTEMBER 13
Time TBD
Field trip to Patuxent Research Refuge (PRR)
Anne Cottle, MG
Orientation video of PRR goals and research methods, a schoolyard habitat tour, and a tram tour of the South tract.
OCTOBER 11
9:30 - 11:00 am
Bringing It Together
Ann Coren, MG
Ann teaches how to garden for pollinators, birds, and water quality. She brings concepts from soil science, insect life cycles, songbird life cycles, native plant ecosystems, food gardening, along with simple "how to’s."
NOVEMBER 8
9:30 - 11:00 am
Upcoming Advanced MG Training, plus Overview of Other State MG Programs, Activities, & Training
Alicia Bembeneck, University
of Maryland Extension State Training Coordinator
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED — HOWARD COUNTY FAIR
We are looking for volunteers for the MG Exhibit at the Howard County Fair! We typically have a great location to meet and greet Howard County residents.
It’s also an ideal opportunity to talk about gardening, and to recruit for the intern class of 2017.
We need volunteers every day during the Fair, from Sunday, August 7 through Saturday, August 13. Select your favorite two-hour shift, starting at 11:00am and ending at 9:00pm. There are six shifts per day, so you may even want to sign up
for more than one! Parking is free and you'll receive a pass to enter the Fair.
Interns will be paired with an experienced MG. If you would like to work one or more shifts, please contact MG Michele Wright at 410-465-6057 (before 9pm),
If you love the planning-designing aspects of conservation landscaping, then the Schoolyard Habitat (SYH) is the place for you! We are currently re-designing 1,700 square feet of the SYH. The Refuge and Habitat are in Prince Georges County. The SYH lies between the parking lot and the visitor’s center. When major construction was being done, the machinery driven across the SYH left a swath of barren land, giving us an opportunity to re-landscape.
We have so many decisions to make: how to rehabil-itate the compacted clay soil, what plants to choose, and most importantly, what kind of conservation design we want to display for the public and how it will serve our educational goals. This space is an interesting puzzle: the uphill half is transition between meadow and woods, the downhill half is transition between a seasonal wetland and woods. Most of the area is in full sun while the edges vary from wet shade to dry shade.
We welcome your expertise for this project. We have applied for a grant and hope to be planting on September 10 and 11, so let us know your thoughts soon.
We are frequently reminded that we are working at a wildlife refuge. While hauling mulch for the pathways we were greeted by a baby snake, accidentally shoveled turtle eggs into the mulch wagon (that we carefully put back in place), and saw toads sheltering in a sidewalk niche.
To volunteer please contact:
Ann Coren, Master Gardener (MG 2013) coordinating the project, [email protected], or
Diana Ogilvie, Ranger and Volunteer Coordinator at the PRR, [email protected], 301-497-5565.
Discovering wildlife in wheelbarrow mulch – Ranger Dennis Hartnett, Volunteers Ann Cottle, Ron Clements, Sue Priftis, and Rosa Kirk-Davidoff
Bill Laws (2015), F+W Media Inc., Blue Ash, Ohio. (223 pages)
A REMINDER …
> A mention of specific products or businesses in LooseLeaf does not imply or constitute endorsement by UME.
> You’ll want to earn 10 continuing education hours during 2016 to remain certified. Ideas: Go to an MG presentation at the library, attend a UME workshop,
read a book on your favorite gardening topic, or go to the Continuing Education sessions.
> On presentation slides, fliers, posters, brochures, signs, news releases, etc., always use our full name: University of Maryland Extension Howard County Master Gardeners. This request comes from the University to support branding efforts of the MG program.
