March ISU Polk County Extension 1625 Adventureland Drive, Altoona, Iowa Phone Visit the website

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1 1 March 2013 ISU Polk County Extension 1625 Adventureland Drive, Altoona, Iowa Phone Visit the website I was reading about hydroponics yesterday and remembered the idea of taking a non woody po ed plant and adap ng it to life in water. This will not work for every plant but it would be fun experimen ng...the scien st in me comes out. You can take a po ed plant and put the bo om 1/4 to 1/3 in water for two to three weeks. The submerged roots seem to adapt to the water environment. The rooted pot can be totally submerged in water and may adapt to an aqua c condi on in your outdoor water feature. Immerse only the roots not the vegeta on so that photosynthesis will con nue. Usually it is the lack of oxygen around the roots that kills the plant, but apparently the plant adjusts to anaerobic condi on. If you try this method and are successful, please let me know so I can compile a list. While on the subject of water, I came across a rather unique method of watering something like tomato plants in the garden. I asked a friend of mine to try this in the community garden and it was successful. Use a length of 1 ½ inch PVC pipe that matches the root depth plus the stem height. The capped end of the pipe will eventually be placed in the ground with the open end up. To prepare the pipe: first apply a pretreatment cleaner for PVC to the outside of the pipe and the of inside of the cap; then apply PVC cement to both pieces and put them together for 30 seconds to a minute. When the capped pipe has set up, drill small 1/16 to 1/8 inch diameter holes just above the cap on one half of the pipe extending about 4 inches above the cap. Bury the PVC in the hole next to the tomato roots with the cap down. You will have a pipe with the open end up and it can be filled with water. You can water without danger of ge ng the leaves wet. The water will seep out and maximize the water ge ng to the roots. You can add fer lizer to the water and also use the pipe to e up the tomato plant. Smaller versions can be used for large po ed plants even in mul ples. A single experiment but I hope this helps the happy gardener to conserve water in drier mes. Jerry Ferrell, Steering Commi ee Chairman ferrell45@msn.com March is our busiest month at the greenhouse. We have seeds to sow and plants to transplant every work day, so come on down. Our work begins at 9:00 AM and ends when all is done. If you need to come later then that or leave before work is done, that's OK. We appreciate every hour volunteered to help us. Jerry Ferrell is March Captain, so see him when you arrive for a task. Bob Helvey (o) bob@tsmcgrp.com

2 2 I'm not certain I can believe the groundhog yet, but it seems as though Spring could be peeking her head around the corner! With spring comes our annual Spring Planning Mee ng. This year it will be held on Monday, March 25 at 6:30 pm in the Urbandale Public Library, Mee ng Room A. We will be mee ng new interns, talking through plans for the spring and iden fying where help is needed. In fact, the Birdhouse Island bed will need a new leader with Nancy's news. Nancy Bork has been in charge of the Birdhouse Island for a number of years and has worked hard to make her garden a nice home for birds as well as making it a beau ful mix of flowers. If there was any one at the Demonstra on Garden who could get a perfect a endance award for our work nights, it would have to be Nancy! We will miss Nancy's smiling face and chats. If you are interested in taking leadership of the Birdhouse Island, please let me know. Spring also brings pruning labs for the interns. These are for both apple orchards at the Demonstra on Garden. Those dates are March 30 and April 3. If you want to get some hours in or just feel like doing some gardening, you don't have to be an intern to a end. Just bring your loppers, pruners, gloves, and warm coffee! Usually we have a brisk wind at one of the two sessions! We need some help to sort the branches out (the long water sprouts go in separate piles for the Twig Party. Right a er the pruning lab we follow up with a Twig Party this is an opportunity to show your crea vity with the le over water sprouts and branches. Whether it be a fence panel, something for your clema s to climb (such as a tepee) or any other decora ve item, we have reserved April 12, from 5:30 to 9 at the Polk County Extension Office to par cipate in this event. Feel free to bring wire, fishing line (10 pound test), twine, beads, or nails/hammer. We will have a potluck as well. Please let Mary know if you will be a ending so we can be sure we have enough. If there are fewer than 6 we will not have the event. Happy Spring! Margaret Spikes margaretspikes@wellsfargo.com A er a series of tests, Nancy Bork has been diagnosed with lung cancer metasta c to the brain. She has decided to forgo any radia on or chemotherapy. She will be under the care of her daughter who has taken a leave of absence from her job in Florida and she meets her Hospice nurse this week. Nancy feels very well although the stress of the tests, the doctors and the decisions she has had to make in the last two weeks have obviously been difficult and taxing. She is looking for new homes for her cat and beloved dog Swee e who is 6 years old. Nancy would appreciate seeing old friends sooner rather than later. You can call her at or drop her a card at 1713 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, IA Checks can be made out to PCMG with a note on the memo line that this is for Greenhouse Building Fund. Mail to the Polk County Extension Office, A n: Mary Farlow, 1625 Adventureland Dr., Suite A, Altoona, IA

3 3 We are really looking forward to our trip to Madison, Wisconsin on May 17th to May 19th. We will be visi ng Olbrich Gardens, Allen Centennial Gardens, some great private gardens and we will shop at Flower Factory and a place specializing in orchids. The bus is filling up very quickly for this trip! Please fill out the registra on form on the PCMG website and send it in with your check in order to hold your spot on the bus. Contact Laurie Barrick (barrick8792@msn.com) with any ques ons. Recurring MG Calendar! Monday evening work nights at Demonstra on Garden, Urbandale. Done for 2012 Tuesday & Saturday mornings Botanical Center Gardeners Show House work sessions. Tuesday evening work nights at Enabling Garden, Altoona. Done for 2012 Wednesday and Saturday mornings at PCMG greenhouse. See you in Feb Wednesday evening work nights at Discovery Garden at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Done for 2012 Friday morning work session at BC River Walk, suspended un l construc on is finished. I have been in California for the past week. The weather in California has been very spring like; the flower trees are all a bloom here and the bulbs are up & flowering. Here in Iowa, even though we s ll have snow on the ground, it really will be only a few more weeks un l the weather starts to break and we can start ge ng excited about being outdoors again. Once again, we had a produc ve planning mee ng at the end of February and con nue our planning process for our Arbor Day Celebra on. The celebra on will be held on Saturday, April 27th at 11:00 AM in the Garden. Dr. Mark Shour, ISU Entomologist & Pest Management, will be our feature speaker, talking about the loca on and transplan ng of trees. Our commi ee members are working with many vendors to pull together a fun and educa onal session for all ages. Our next planning mee ng is set for Wednesday, March 20th with a 6:00PM mee ng start with a 5:30 social. The mee ng will be held at the Polk County Extension Offices in the Board Room. Please join us for fun and fellowship. Have a good St. Pa y's Day. EG Co Chairs: Chris ne Barker, Sandie Hamilton, Paula Winslow & Paul Wilkens. We held our planning mee ng on 2/20, which was very produc ve. We had the pleasure of mee ng some interns from the fall and spring classes. We are looking forward to another year at the garden. Our schedule will be appearing on our web site and the ISU site. Since this is March and some of us celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and some of us have Irish heritage( as I do), I want to share this with you. an Irish Blessing "May there always be work for your hands to do; may your purse always have a coin or two; may the sun always shine on your windowpane; may a rainbow be certain to follow the rain; may the hand of a friend always be near you; may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you." Co chairs; Jean, Cheree, Dean and Patrick

4 4 The PCMG Plant Sale Commi ee kicked off the new year with a mee ng in January. Sale dates are Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5. As in previous years, Master Gardeners can shop early on Friday, May 3, from 5:30 to 7:00. To gain admi ance, you must wear your ID badge. We have the Friday night volunteer schedule filled at this me but is s ll asking for volunteers for Saturday and Sunday. Shi s are 7:30 to 12:00 and 11:30 to 4:00 on Saturday and 11:30 to 4:00 on Sunday. This is a great way to get your volunteer hours in and meet other master gardeners at the same me. It is also lots of fun! Volunteers are strongly encouraged to wear their Master Gardener t shirts to make it easier for customers to iden fy us. If you do not have a PCMG t shirt, it is fine to wear a plain white shirt with your name badge. MG Shirts are available through the Polk County Extension office for $8.00. Like the rest of you, the commi ee is beginning to "think spring " (just 24 days by our count!) and are talking about what stays and what goes in the coming season. If you are going to divide some of your plants, please consider dona ng them for the sale the commi ee would love to have them. If you know of a school, church, or other organiza on that might like to be informed of the Plant Sale, please send the informa on to Charity McCauley Andeweg at mccauley4028@msn.com. There are many churches and schools that are now tending community gardens or offering neighborhood meals. This would be a wonderful way to get their gardens started at a very reasonable cost. Last, we will be sending out flyers to all of our members in the near future. Please feel free to print them off ad hand them out the more the merrier! Best wishes to all of you as you shop the garden catalogs and get your own seeds planted! If you haven't been to see our "Mysteries" exhibit yet, you s ll have three weeks! Our next show, "Crea ve Gardenscaping" will open on March 23rd, just in me for spring. Stop in to visit when you work in the greenhouses. We have some exci ng exhibits planned for fall and winter, too. There are s ll two openings for our September show, Children's Gardens. And for our holiday exhibit, we plan on installing our very own Garden Railway! We are looking for help with that, too, so if you've always wanted to play while you garden, here's your chance. Contact Mary or Ann if you want to join in on the fun. Our next planning mee ng will be Monday, March 18th, at 6:30, in the cafe at the Greater DM Botanical Garden. All are welcome. Mary Howell Williams mhwphoto@mchsi.com Ann Goecke: goeckeae@aol.com

5 5 Volunteer Opportuni es: Hang posters up at businesses to promote the Garden Tour. Contact: Michelle Walke Help one of the tour gardeners weed, water, mulch, etc. to get ready for the garden tour. Contact: Beth Jordan Serve as a guide at one of the tour gardens on tour day. Contact: Virginia Hunnell vihunnell@yahoo.com This year's Garden Tour will wind its' way through the Urbandale and Johnston area. Tickets go on sale May 22. Tickets are $10/ea. in advance and $15/ea. on June 22. Garden Previews "A 2 acre lot provides a woodland backdrop to gardens that range from full sun to full shade. As you move closer to the wooded areas of the property, the garden beds begin to incorporate na ve plants to blur the line between cul vated and natural. Venture into the woods... winding trails beg to be explored. The Master Gardener is even a "transplant". Born in Australia, she is enjoying the challenge of gardening in a completely different climate. Be sure to check out the Australian Aboriginal inspired garden art, dry creek bed, sunken fire pit, and pond." "This award winning garden began in The Master Gardener designed their en re dream garden and built everything except a few hardscape features. The first tree added to the garden that year was a Concolor Fir. This Master Gardener collects Clema s, Conifers and Lilies, but you will also find unusual woodies such as Chionanthus retusus (Fringe), Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip), Magnolia 'Bu erflies' (yellow), Robinia pseudoacacia 'Twisty Baby' (Locust), Heptcodium miconioides (Seven Sons), Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Red Fox' (Katsura), Lespedeza, Vitex agnus castus, containerized Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey' (Fig) and Lagerstroemia indica "Pink Velour' (Crape Myrtle). Be sure to explore every garden room: entry walk thru pergola with succulent display; the berm garden; front porch area; lime green/white rock garden room; water garden (the stream was designed to depict the farm stream this MG o en spent me at in their childhood); small veggie garden/compost area. The garden gate on the east side of the home was made from the end panel of the MG's own baby crib. And don't miss the mul tude of container plan ngs. A garden room was even added in 2000 solely to over winter many of the special container plants!" Community Requests Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens Contact Susan Cory if you would like to learn more about these openings: scory@dmbotanicalgarden.com, Looking for challenging ways to meet your Master Gardener volunteer hours? Interested in educa ng others about plants? These opportuni es at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden might be op ons for you: New Program! Field Trip Guide Leader: Developed to offer a hands on experience in the world of plants for schools and other youth groups, this program combines age appropriate ac vi es with mini tours within the conservatory. Volunteers are trained in both ac vi es or may select to master just one. Each ac vity/tour combina on is approximately 30 minutes in length allowing small groups 2 to 4 different learning experiences per visit.

6 6 Tour Guide: The Botanical Garden offers a world of plants that we don't see in our Iowa backyards! Guide groups through the conservatory and Gardeners Show House while providing informa on on new plants and that are not familiar to many people. Tours are primarily adults but may include some youth also. Crea ve Thinking Table Coordinator: Organize simple ac vi es which are made available on going for young visitors to do as they wish. Develop ideas for interac ve ac vi es, cra sheets/ac vi es or plant inspired work sheets. Use the changing display beds, Show House themes or e into a specialty garden such as the bonsai or orchid collec on for ideas. Ac vi es are changed monthly. This role offers a lot of crea ve flexibility for the coordinator. Most work can be done off site. Winter is a great me to complete the 6 hour educa on requirement for the year. PCMG Winter Program Thursday March 21, 2013 Note me change from previous years we'll start at 6:30. Speaker MG Ron Hun mer Ron will show us several storm water management prac ces including rainscaping. The bonus of storm water management is that our city streets and sewers greatly benefit too! ************************************************************************ Iowa Network for Community Agriculture presents Eat Fresh Southern Iowa Local Foods Conference. March 22 & 23, 2013 in Albia, Iowa For more informa on, click here. ************************************************************************ GRAFTING WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, :30 P.M. 8:30 P.M. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is pleased to offer this educa onal program. Dr. Patrick O'Malley, ISU Extension Hor culture Field Specialist will cover this class in talking about gra ing techniques with the main emphasis on the "whip and tongue" gra ing. Gra ing knives, tape and sealer will be provided along with informa on on where these supplies can be purchased. Each par cipant will receive two rootstocks onto which they will gra a scion of a popular apple variety to take home. Several varie es will be available. You may also purchase addi onal rootstock for $5/each. Cost: One person $35 (includes two rootstocks), two or more people registering together $30 each (includes 2 rootstocks/each) To register for this class and arrange payment, please contact Mary Farlow at mfarlow@iastate.edu. Pre registra on is required and class will be limited to par cipants. ************************************************************************ April 6 Knoxville Federated Garden Club's Annual Garden Gala., Go to for more informa on. Pre registra on is required by Wed, March 22nd.. Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, na onal origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.