ASCENSION S SCOOP GARDENING JACKPOT-FREE PLANTS AND INFORMATION-HUGE SUCCESS!

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1 ASCENSION S SCOOP Ascension Parish Master Gardener Associa on May 2017 Newsle er APRIL 25, 2017-GARDENING IN ASCENSION PARISH - JUST KEEPS GROWING! 2017 SPRING LIBRARY SERIES FINAL PRESENTATION GARDENING JACKPOT-FREE PLANTS AND INFORMATION-HUGE SUCCESS! OVER 100 FOLKS PARTICIPATED IN THE ANNUAL SPRING PLANT SWAP TUESDAY EVENING AT THE GONZALES LIBRARY. CONCHITA RICHEY INTRO DUCED CRAIG ROUSSEL, OUR LSU AGCENTER AS CENSION PARISH/ST JAMES PARISH COUNTY AGENT, WHO CONDUCTED A QUESTION ANSWER SESSION THAT COULD HAVE LASTED HOURS. TIME CONSTRAINTS SHORTENED THAT OPPOR TUNITY AS SHEILA BILLINGSLEY INSTRUCTED EVE RYONE ON THE SWAP PROCEDURE. HUNDREDS OF CUTTINGS, BULBS, SEEDS, ROSES, HERBS, VINES, VEGETABLES AND FRUITS WERE EXCHANGED. THE LIBRARY TEAM OUTDID THEMSELVES THIS YEAR! CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM AND ALL THE MASTER GARDENERS WHO HELPED MAKE THIS SPRING SERIES AN EDU CATIONAL AND FUN EVENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.

2 MORE PHOTOS OF THE GARDENING JACKPOT 2

3 MORE PHOTOS OF THE GARDENING JACKPOT 3

4 APMG PLANT HEALTH CLINIC The weather certainly cooperated at Louisiana Nursery in Prairieville on April Fool's Day for the Plant Health Clinic. Ascension Parish Hor culture Agent and Master Gardener Coordinator Craig Roussel and Master Gardener's Mary Beth Roussel, Lynn Ebeyer, Tom O'Bryant, Harold Bourgeois, Becky Floyd and Susan Gilbert were willingly cha ng with customers as they shopped. Plant lovers all enjoy the beau ful display of plant material and were eager, as usual, to talk with representa ves of the LSU Ag Center. Topics such as lichens, weed control in lawns, vegetable gardens and tree issues were discussed. Lynn and Mary Beth were able to provide much needed advice to a young couple who were replacing plants with new shrubs in their home they recently purchased! If you have not done so before, please consider signing up for the Plant Health Clinic. You may learn that you know more than you think you do! ~Ar cle and photos by Mary Beth Roussel (2015) Next PLANT HEALTH CLINIC is Saturday, May 6th 8AM to Noon Louisiana Nursery Hwy 42, Prairieville 4

5 ST. JAMES PARISH AG DAY AT THE FAST FOOD FARM April 19th was a day of teaching students about agriculture and its connec ons to our daily life. Harriet Buckner is a team leader at the Fast Food Farm and she reported there were a whopping 1,155 lives touched that day! Ascension Master Gardeners gave generously of their me and energy at the event. Kathy Guidry, Dale Bowman, Charlo e Melancon, and Lyn Taylor were at the EDIBLE LIFECYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY. Charlo e reported, It was a very busy day at the bu erfly tent. Our demonstra on was geared for the kindergarteners. But the older ones would stop by and have a look too. We had paper plates with representa ons of the 4 stages of the life cycle of bu erflies. Marshmallows for eggs. Gummy worms for larva. Tootsies rolls for the cocoon and gummy bu erflies for the adult. Our two 4H club girls really got into doing the presenta ons as you can see. They took turns on the chair and the kids paid a en on. They enjoyed the treats as well. Harriet Buckner manned the "MR BEEMAN" sta on. She demonstrated how bees pollinate and use pollen and nectar from flowers. Keric Buckner held court at the "5 STAR BIRD FEEDER" tent. Keric said, I demonstrated how to make a Bird Feeder out of pipe cleaner and Cherrios and/or Fruit Loops cereal. The children then proceeded to make their own bird feeder, which they brought home and hopefully hung in a tree or bush so the birds would have a healthy snack to nibble on while in search for their daily meals of worms, insects, and grains found in nature. The HOW BUGS EAT booth was operated by well seasoned gardeners Eddie Bowman, Terry Tripp, Richard Babin, and Donald Guidry. Richard s recount, First we explained what an insect is and that it had three body parts (head, abdomen, and thorax and that they had three pairs of true legs). Secondly we talked to the students about good and bad insects and let them name a few. Thirdly we talked about the four ways insect ate and explained why. Then we had the students try to replicate these methods as described in our teaching guide. Lastly we had some plas c model insects and we asked the students to describe how each one ate. This was a fast paced day. We had very li le me to rest. Congratula ons Master Gardeners for a great job and thank you Charlo e Melancon (2015), Keric Buckner (2016), Richard Babin (2009), and Craig Roussel for insights and photos. 5

6 WORK DAY AT LAMAR DIXON EXPO CENTER On Thursday, April 27th, Ascension Master Gardeners Charlo e Melancon, Donald Guidry, Kathy Guidry, Barbara McCormick, Terry Tripp, Mary Jo Pohlig, June Thomas, Richard Babin, Helen Causey, and Mika Whi aker spent a good part of the day refreshing beds and replacing plants in the flower bed s ends and sugar ke les at the main entrance to the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. The new plants are all warm season annuals and include LSU Superplants Senorita Rosalina clemoe, Bu erfly pentas and Henna coleus. They also cleaned the up the bu erfly beds and planted a few Pentas in there too. Photos provided by Craig Roussel. 6

7 GROWING CONTINUES AT SORRENTO PRIMARY S GREAUXING GARDENS Photos provided by Mary Jo Pohlig (2011) HARVESTING AT SORRENTO PRIMARY COLLARDS AND GREEN ONIONS! 7

8 MILKWEED LEAF BEETLE Labidomera clivicollis This beetle is of the family Chrysomelidae and can be fierce compe on for the Monarch Bu erflies when it comes to Milkweed. It is dis nc vely marked, large orange and black, and is commonly called "swamp" milkweed beetle, a er their preference for the swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. Leaf beetles feed strictly on plant materials. Most larvae live subterraneously, feeding on roots and rootlets, but others will consume foliage as well. The milkweed leaf beetle has a complete metamorphosis life cycle of egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Like the monarch, this species has 4 larval stages, called instars. The last instar burrows in the ground to pupate. A er pupa on, these beetles emerge as adults. Beetles that are s ll alive when winter begins go into hiding for the winter. In the north, these beetles only have one genera on, but here this species has at least two genera ons every year. Milkweed Leaf Beetle Eggs Lay Horizontally Across The Leaf Caterpillar and adult monarch bu erflies store cardiac glycosides from milkweed, making these organisms distasteful. A er ea ng a monarch caterpillar or bu erfly, its bird predator will vomit and will avoid ea ng similar individuals in the future. Species that feed on milkweeds are usually aposema cally colored. Aposema c species are those that adver se their distastefulness by being brightly colored. References: JR, Ross H. Arne et al., American Beetles, Vol. II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea Jürgen Gross, On the Evolu on of Host Plant Specializa on in Leaf Beetles (Logos, 2001) Line, Les. The Audubon Society Book of Insects. Harry N Abrams, From The Wikipedia "Herbivore adapta ons to plant defense. 8

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10 APMG MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS (volunteer hours) LSU AgCenter Ascension Office at Lamar Dixon Expo Center at 9AM. Mee ngs are usually held on the third Tuesday of odd numbered months. If you have an item for the agenda, please contact interim President Conchita Richey. May 16* IMPORTANT ELECTION July 18 September 19 (may change due to MG Classes) November 21 APMG EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETINGS (volunteer hours) LSU AgCenter Ascension Office at Lamar Dixon Expo Center at 9AM. Mee ngs are usually held on the second Tuesday of odd numbered months. The board welcomes sugges ons and comments. May 9 July 11 September 12 (may change due to MG Classes) November 14 THE REFLECTIONS IN THE GARDEN SERIES (Educa on Hours) Burden Conference Center, 4560 Essen Lane, Noon 1PM, $10 nonmembers, , culturalsociety.com. MAY 1, Monday, Dr. Crissy Morgan, POLLINATOR GARDENING & BEES JUNE 5, Monday, Dr. Ron Strahan, WEED CONTROL FOR LAWN AND LANDSCAPES JULY 10, Monday, Chef Celeste, COOKING UP LA. TREASURES EVENTS AROUND TOWN May 3, Wednesday, Spring Garden Day Trip-Acadiana Ramble to Jefferson Island Avery Island, 7:30am-8pm, , hilltop@lsu.edu May 4, Thursday, EBRMG Garden Talks- Succulents, Goodwood Main Library, 6:00-8:00pm, ebrmg.com May 6, Saturday, New Orleans Botanical Garden, Culinary Herb Bags,$15/person, limit of 25 people, preregister , scapley@nocp.org May 6, Saturday, Plant Health Clinic (details on next page) May 7, Sunday, LSU Hilltop Arboreteum, We Are Family, Gardens Bring People together, garden tour of Old Goodwood, Riverbend and Webb Park neighborhoods, 1-5pm, hilltop@lsu.edu 10

11 May 6-7, Saturday 10am-5pm-Sunday 1-5pm, Le Tour des Jardins,Pioneer Heritage Center, Shreveport, Tour of eight gardens and homes $15 tickets, , May 13, Saturday, Plant Sale, New Orleans Botanical Gardens Please bring your own cart/wagon to transport your purchases. For more information, call May 20, Saturday, Children s Garden Series, LSU AgCenter at Burden $15 per child, Children will receive snacks and neat garden take-home crafts! atangwall@cox.net or call Visit events for more information. June 2-4, Friday and Saturday, 10am-9pm-Sunday, noon-4pm New Orleans Orchid Society Annual Show, Lakeside Shopping Center June 8, Thursday, EBMG, Backyard Fruit: Beyond Citrus and Planning for Fall Vegetables Fairwood Library, 6-8pm June 10-11, Saturday, 9am-5pm, Sunday, 10am-4pm Acadian Orchid Show Ira Nelson Horticulture Center Lafayette, Admission is free or to janet.gianelloni@gmail.com. Plant Health Clinic May 6th Saturday, 8AM Noon Louisiana Nursery, Highway 42, Prairieville, LA Help the community with plant problems, sugges ons and recommenda ons (volunteer hours) May 20th-INSECTS AND DISEASE-We make it easy June 3rd-GARDENING ANYWHERE-In the shade June 17th-SUCCULENT GARDENS-Easy to care for All classes start 10AM at all 3 Louisiana Nursery locations JUNE 30th LSU AGCENTER MIDYEAR REPORTING DEADLINE FOR MASTER GARDENER HOURS Enter your Volunteer and Education Hours through June Go to: 11

12 THANK YOU! FOR SENDING PHOTOS AND INFORMATION. WE LOVE TO SHARE THE WONDERFUL THINGS MASTER GARDENERS DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY. AscensionMasterGardeners Ascension Parish Master Gardener Program 9039 St. Landry Road Bldg. C Gonzales, LA (225) As of Mid March Conchita Richey began serving as interim President. The Nomina ng Team is expected to present a slate of members who have agreed to serve and complete the term of president through July Anyone interested in serving or nomina ng a fellow member for the posi on please contact one of the team members below. NOMINATING TEAM MEMBERS: Pa Mouton (2014) Emily Young (2009) Charlo e Melancon (2015) VOTING IS PLANNED FOR OUR MAY 16TH MEETING 12