In This Issues. From The President. The Bridge to Knowledge Volume 88, Issue 10

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1 20 18 The Bridge to Knowledge Volume 88, Issue 10 In This Issues 1 President s Message 2-7 MCMG Corner Upcoming Events MG Member articles 8 Meeting Notes From The President Fall has arrived, bringing much needed rain and cooler temperatures. Who doesn t love the crispness of autumn air, bonfires, brilliant leaves and football games? Gardeners are weary of weeding and watering so we welcome the end of the growing season. Do you make photos of the plants that performed well into the fall season? It is helpful when making Spring plant selections to have a visual reminder of what lasted through the Summer heat and what did not. On October 4th the UT Gardens Jackson will have their Fall Plant Sale from 3:00-6:00pm. Vincent Simeone will speak at 1:30 pm and again at our 6:30 pm Master Gardener Meeting. Vincent (Vinnie) has worked in the horticultural field for over 27 years. For the last 25 years he has worked in public horticulture at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in New York. He has published six books and contributed to the first ever textbook on public garden management. You will not want to miss this speaker. I have a secret to tell; the Board has voted to make Richard Montemayor an honorary MCMG Member. He comes to the monthly meetings and assists his wife, Diana, in unloading the supplies and beverages needed to set up for our Bring-A-Dish. They stay and clean up all the serving pieces, dirty tables and left over food and drink then load the leftover supplies back in their car, take it all home, unload and store it for the next meeting. His commitment to our cause deserves this token of our appreciation. We hope to surprise him, so please don t say anything ahead of the meeting announcements. Afterwards you may thank him and Diana for their service. Elizabeth Edwards, President MCMG 1

2 . The UT Fall Plant Sale will be Oct. 4 from 3:00 to 6:00pm Jason and Richard say the crop of winterberry hollies, Slender Silhouette sweetgum, and Mariken dwarf Ginkgo woodies along with formosa lilly and Trevi Fountain Pulmonaria (lungwort) perennials look great. Winterberry hollies come into full glory in November. Leafless, the geometric structures of Slender Silhouette and Mariken provide striking winter interest. As usual there s will be a great selection of colorful pansies and violas. Check out the NEW tab that has been added to our webpage! It is fully functional with all of the videos recorded by Carol, Jason, and myself. Keep checking back for updates and additions. This will be where we house all of the information compiled by the CMBS Taskforce. I hope this can be a wonderful resource for everyone to utilize as we educate our communities. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions! 2019 Regional TEMG Meeting The dates are set, and planning is underway for the 2019 Western Region TEMG Meeting. The Western Region meeting is scheduled for October 12 th, 2019 at Lone Oaks Farm and will be hosted by Hardeman County Master Gardeners. The Hardeman County MG s, are a rather small group and welcome assistance and volunteers from other surrounding MG organizations. If you, personally, or a group of MCMG s would like to provide assistance, please sign-up at the meeting or let me know. Some Ideas of ways to help: Organize the door prize donation/give away, host a hospitality table, contribute to decorations, sign-in table, ect We are excited to have an opportunity to share the beauty of this property and future home of West TN 4-H Camp with the TN Extension Master Gardeners. Hope to see you there! 2

3 TALK OF THE TOWN Celeste Scott October 2018 Volunteer Updates October 2018 Project Update We have been busy bees the last few weeks with more to come in October. So far, we have had great participation, and I hope that continues through the fall as we prepare projects for the fall/winter season. For those who do not report continuously throughout the year, now is the time to check your records and verify where you are with volunteer service hours. If you are short a few, look into helping with some of these upcoming project work days. Date Project Name Time Leader Contact Info. Sept. 29th JCM-Early College High 9:00- Noon Jack Baudo jackrabbit5875@msn.com Oct. 6th Liberty Garden Park 9:00-Noon Jack Baudo jackrabbit5875@msn.com Oct. 13th Downtown Planters 9:00-Noon Carol Emery emeryboard4@eplus.net Other upcoming Volunteer Opportunities that do not have set work dates yet include: Keep My Hood Good- Fence Construction Project Hands-up Preschool- Fall Cleanup Project Learn, Grow, Eat, & Lincoln Elementary- Pilot Program in Madison County with Youth 4-H Madison County- Help assemble yearbooks, & folders Volunteer Development Sessions In 2019, I am planning a series of enhanced Master Gardener Trainings that will be specifically focused on relevant continued education topics for volunteers. My hope is that by empowering you with more focused training on specific areas, we can begin to develop our speakers bureau, which will be a key component to community outreach and our mission of education. I am looking to you all for suggestions on topic areas that you would like to learn more about and share with others. I already have responses for interest in Rain Gardens, Catching & using rain water in the landscape, & greenhouse construction & use. Some other topic suggestion examples: IPM (Integrated Pest Management), Insect ID, Disease ID, Weed ID, Youth Education (Ag in the Classroom/Jr. Master Gardener) Program Development, Power Point, How to Build a Presentation/Talk, and the list could go on and on. Essentially, think about areas that you would like to learn more about and let me know what they are!! NEW TEMG Handbook Our state coordinator, Natalie Bumgarner, has put together an ordering offer for TEMG members across the state to allow current members the opportunity to purchase the NEWLY revised TEMG Handbook. The current price is $75 per handbook. If we, as a county, order 6 books, the price will go down to $65. If we order 12 or more, the price will go down to $60. This is your chance to obtain a WONDERFUL resource at a discounted price. I will be taking orders at the OCTOBER meeting. I will hold the orders until we have 12 so that each of you gets the BEST price possible!! If you are unable to attend, please let me know if you would like to be added to the order list. NEW REPORTING DATABASE There have been many changes brewing at the state level. The Master Gardener Work Group, which consists of county agents, specialists, and MG representatives from each region, have heard the need for a more user friendly reporting system. This new system is super easy and has more options for county coordinators to track project participation, contacts by MG volunteers, and individual member service hours. Our OLD system will be discontinued in Several smaller county organizations have already transferred to the New system. We can let them figure out all of the kinks before we 3

4 attempt to swap everyone over! I have opted for Madison County Master Gardeners to continue using the OLD system through our 2018 reporting year. After reporting is finished in December, we will begin to roll over all of our archived information from the old system to the new system. Every member will have to have their own address before the roll over is initiated. If you share an e- mail account with your spouse, or do not have a functioning account, please have your own individual account set-up as soon as possible and update it on your profile in our current system. If you don t know how to do this, just give me a shout and I or a member of our tech team will be happy to assist you. I had sign-ups for those interested in participating in the Tech Team at the September meeting and already have about 13 volunteers, but I am happy to have as many as would like participate. I will have the list posted again at the Oct. meeting. This Tech group have a training on the NEW system this fall/winter and will be able to help me educate EVERYONE on its use. I am hoping to have one of our monthly meetings in early 2019 dedicated to membership training on this new reporting system. We will have several computer and or ipad stations set-up with trainers at each station. This way, everyone will have an opportunity for more of a 1-on-1 training and be able to ask questions. So, for now, just keep reporting like you always have, but know that change is coming! Social Media Update I have made some changes and additions to both of our social media outlets on Facebook. As I am sure many of you have noticed, I have updated the descriptions of each page to reflect what our purpose is within each group and reinforce the TEMG mission statement. I have also been recommended, by our state TEMG Coordinator & County Extension Director, to set some participation guidelines. These guidelines are in line with University of TN Institute of Agriculture communications department guidelines for social media interaction. We have been very specific about the purpose of each group, and how they should be used. These guidelines can be found under the About Tab on the left hand side of each page, under the heading Group Rules from the Admins. Following is a brief synopsis of the updates. MCMG-members only group page Description This group page is for Madison County Master Gardeners Members only and not open to the public. The purpose of this group is for all our members to be able to communicate with each other about Madison County Master Gardener news, updates and activities including: meeting information, official announcements, projects, speakers, trips, opportunities for volunteer hours, and to provide all our members with an environment that promotes learning, encouragement and support in all that we do to meet our mission as Madison County Master Gardeners. TEMG Mission The TN Extension Master Gardener program seeks to improve the lives of Tennesseans by promoting environmental stewardship, non-commercial food production, and human health and well-being through residential and consumer horticulture education delivered by a dedicated and skilled volunteer network. Guidelines 1) Goal- Our goal is to provide all our members with an environment that promotes learning, encouragement and support in all that we do to meet our mission as Madison County Master Gardeners. 2) Content- Considering group size & purpose, it is important that content be restricted to posts relating to horticulture/gardening & MCMG news, updates, & activities including meetings, announcements, projects, speakers, trips, & volunteer service. 3) Be Kind, Courteous, & Respectful- You must be kind, courteous, and respectful to others while demonstrating behaviors appropriate for a positive role model. 4) Representative of UT Extension- As representatives of the University of Tennessee Extension, your actions and behavior while in that capacity should always promote the best interest of UT Extension and spirit of this program, which is one of service. 5) Harassment or Negativity- Harassment of any member or negativity will not be tolerated. 4

5 6) Post Removal- If a post is in any way contrary to these values, the administrator reserves the right to remove said post. Repeated violations of these guidelines may result in removal from the group. 7) Administrative Suggestions/Questions- Administrative suggestions, questions, & constructive criticism should go through the proper channels to express those concerns. All project committees welcome feedback. Contact a board member for issues relating to association admin & project chair for project suggestions. 8) Resources- For guidance in conduct, respect for persons, and reporting of grievances and dismissal, refer to these documents: Section 2 of the TN Extension Volunteer Statement of Principles, TEMG Program Volunteer Handbook Statewide Guidelines & Procedures MCMG-open group Description This group page is administered by the TN Extension Master Gardeners of Madison County and is open to the public. The purpose of this group is to provide members with an environment that promotes learning, encouragement, sharing, and support in all areas of horticulture. Our goal is to provide educational support to gardeners in an effort to meet our mission as Madison County Master Gardeners. TEMG Mission: The TN Extension Master Gardener program seeks to improve the lives of Tennesseans by promoting environmental stewardship, non-commercial food production, and human health and well-being through residential and consumer horticulture education delivered by a dedicated and skilled volunteer network. Please read and abide by the following guidelines to ensure the best experience for all members of this group. Those who violate these guidelines will be removed from the group. Guidelines 1) Content- Posts should be restricted to any & all topics relating to horticulture, UT Extension News and/or Programs. 2) Be Kind, Courteous, & Respectful- You must be kind, courteous, and respectful to others while demonstrating behaviors appropriate for a positive role model for youth. 3) Harassment or Negativity- Harassment of any member or negativity will not be tolerated. 4) UT Extension Representatives- As representatives of the University of Tennessee Extension, MCMG s request that all actions & behavior in this group be held to the highest moral and professional standards. 5) Post Removal- If a post is in any way contrary to these values, the administrator reserves the right to remove said post. If unacceptable behavior continues, you will be removed from this group. 5

6 Ramblings David Sams October 2018 New York: New York was a dream trip for me with much of my enjoyment coming from things I have long dreamed about but only hoped to someday see. These included Grand Central Station, Times Square, the Empire State Building, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I would not want to live in New York even if I could afford it. I am not temperamentally suited to Fifty dollar breakfasts and 3 hour travel times to go 8 miles by car and have no interest in $150 per ticket plays or dinners. Let those who enjoy these things live there. Our Next Trip: We leave Thursday, September 13, for a pie bird convention in Branson to begin reducing our household stuff. We then go on to Colorado with the first of many loads to be moved over the next few years. Let the irrigation deal with the yard. What survives will survive! Last Month s Program: The program on starting plants went well. Dividing plants is easy as is layering. Rooting cuttings or starting plants from seed is within the capability of every master gardener. When doing cuttings pay attention to stem maturity, cut below a node and reduce leaf surface. I find things root best in sterile media rather than water and use plastic, newspaper or a growing chamber to maintain high humidity. Proper seed germination and seedling growth requires attention to light intensity, temperature and fertility. Google will supply a wealth of information concerning propagation most plants. Use it! Next Month s Program: The October program with its special speaker, and plant sale is a high point of the fall for many of us. Don t miss this day if you can possibly attend. Climate: We finally got rain! We now enjoy the cooling nights and lower humidity and look forward to Colorado where humidity and night temperatures will be consistently reduced. Animal Control: My mole trap has eliminated moles in the yard for the moment. The armadillo trap has now caught 12 armadillos and the live traps continue to catch a steady stream of possums and raccoons for relocation. You, too, can eliminate these pests! Temporarily! What is doing especially well? My seedling rain lilies are multiplying rapidly. While they have not flowered this year I have great hopes for next year as the bulbs will be more mature. Our giant fig bush which was cut to the ground is now up to the eves of the house. It has even ripened a handful of fruit. Watch for the last of the great fig giveaways next spring. Irrigation: Our 24 irrigation zones have ended the current drive to develop ever more zones although 2 more zones are badly needed. Just now I need to deal with the fact than container plants require more frequent and much heavier applications of water than do plants in the ground. It should be possible to water the zones differently but I am out of time to test that. Hypertufa: Should we do this one more time? Probably. When can we work it in? Maybe not until November. Maybe we can watch the weather and do a workshop on short notice. No one wants to make hypertufa in the rain and it won t dry then anyway. Planting day: We will have a planting day in October. I hope that we have enough pots. Ferns, figs, hardy begonias, peacock fern and even Shasta daisies do better for us if planted in the fall. A cold frame is necessary to winter some of these over and one must stay around to open and close it as needed. There are automated systems for opening and closing cold frames. I need to investigate them but am now beginning to face the fact that somethings will never get done! Life is too short for all of one s interests. 6

7 SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBERS Jason Reeves grew up on a farm in West Tennessee, where he fell in love with the world of plants. He received his Master s degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 2002, he became a research horticulturist and curator of the University of Tennessee Gardens located at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson, Tennessee. Jason s colorful plant combinations and unique garden art, made by recycling everyday objects, draws several thousand people each year to the Center's annual lawn and garden show, Summer Celebration. His past experiences include work at the Opryland Conservatories in Nashville, Missouri Botanical Garden, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, and in private gardens in New Zealand. When he s not bringing the grounds to life with his imaginative garden displays, he s evaluating hundreds of new and unique plants for the state s green industry. Jason enjoys speaking at gardening symposiums and traveling the world leading gardening tours. In 2010 he began serving as a contributing editor to Fine Gardening magazine. He is also a landscape designer and consultant whose influence may be seen in landscapes across Tennessee in the form of distinct plant combinations and his signature garden art. 7

8 North American Bats A Call for Conservation Seven of the 47 North American bat species are listed endangered and an 8 th is threatened. Bats are found in all areas of the earth except the most extreme climates (arctic & desert) and inaccessible islands. There are 47 species of bats in North America. They are in the scientific order Chiroptera meaning, hand wing. There are two broad types of bats: Microchiroptera (small) and Megachiroptera (big). North American (also called New World Bats) bats are Microchiroptera (small), the largest weighing less than 2 ½ ounces. Bats in Tennessee are about the size of a mouse. In fact, the German word for bat is fledermaus. If you translate it literally back to English it means Flutter Mouse. If you ve watched them fly that is exactly what it looks like! In other parts of the world the Megachiroptera (Old World Bats) can be very large. The Flying Fox (Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands) can have a wingspan of 6 feet and can weigh over 3 pounds. Bats are poorly studied due to their diversity in diet, habitat, and nocturnal behaviors. Contrary to folklore, bats generally have excellent vision. Maybe we should say Blind as an Armadillo instead?! The New World Bats (ours) have a varied diet but all will eat insects. In fact, a nursing-mother bat may eat 4,500 insects a night. That is a lot of mosquitoes that are not going to bite me! Bats use echolocation (a type of sonar) to locate water, prey, and for navigation. In addition to pest control, bats also pollinate plants when they eat nectar and they disperse seeds through their guano (scat). It is estimated that if we lose our bat population, there will be a $3.7 billion loss in agriculture. That s billion with a B. Bats are the only truly flying mammals but they cannot lift off to fly. They must drop from a height in order to fly. It looks like a leaf falling from a tree until they open their wings to fly. This also means they cannot land to drink water. They will swoop and skim the surface of a body of water in order to catch a mouthful of water. If a bat is on the ground it is in trouble! It must hobble to a tree or tall object, climb it and then drop to catch

9 Wanted!! Articles for the Newsletter October Meeting You can earn volunteer hours by writing about some garden you visited, some technique you tried which worked (or did not), or share your enthusiasm for some special plant, or condensing a gardening article you read. Keep contributing. Keep reading. Keep sharing. Please send your contributions to: Liz Whitsitt lizv@tds.net Pam Stanfield pamstanfield@gmail.com Fall Plant Sale & Vincent Simeone October 4, 2018 West TN Research Center Please bring a dish to share. Check Out UT Gardens Jackson On Facebook! Lots of great info being shared there, and you don t have to wait for a monthly newsletter! The Bridge to Knowledge The University of Tennessee Extension Madison County 309-C North Parkway Jackson, TN Phone Fax cscott52@utk.edu (Celeste Scott) Board of Directors President- Elizabeth Edwards Board Members Mary Kay Havranek John Overby Tammy Overby Vicki Bunch Rob Johnson Wayne Gerler Susan Luckey Bill Wyatt Master Gardener financial standing information is available upon request.