The Mason Jar Mason County WSU Master Gardener Newsletter

Transcription

1 MG Highlights: Mason County WSU Master Gardener Newsletter Volunteers needed for Monday Clinics 12-3 pm Bean Trials gathering, Sept. 21 at Pat and Steve Edmondson s home, 2 pm Upcoming training for new MGs starts Sept. 20 Seeds For Thought R. Jeanne Rehwaldt August 2013 Plant Sale 2014 meetings begin Sept. 5th Catalyst harvesting 9-11:30 a.m. Mason Jar article deadline first of every month; send to Christy Rowe Inside this issue: Plant Sale 2014 News and Info Willow Leaf Beetle Info Don Tapio article Master Gardener Contact Info 2,3, marks the 40th anniversary of the WSU Master Gardener Program. The first of its kind in the United States and there are now over 4000 Master Gardener volunteers across the state. They staff plant clinics in 105 communities at 171 locations. Each Master Gardener received approximately 60 hours of training and volunteers a minimum of 50 hours as a community educator in his or her community. They extend the service of the University to more than 500,000 people each year. Some have served actively in the program for more than 20 years. We would like to reconnect with some of the past Master Gardeners in Mason County. Invitations will go out to many past MGs to attend the bean trial event at Steve and Pat Edmondson s home on September 21 at 2 pm. John Adolphson presented his invention Hook and Grow, a system to trellis up limbs of tomato and other plants with just a dowel and a small plastic cap. He is offering a bulk group rate for the caps. If you are interested, please let me know so we can put in a group order. The cost is 32 cents each. Master Gardener training begins September 20th. Please let me know if you are interested in being a mentor or helping to teach a class. We really want more hands on training activities for this class than we have had in the past. Margie Plebuch, our Treasurer, has asked that everyone who is asking for reimbursement for purchase of supplies please use the form created for this purpose. It can be found on the mason.wsu.edu website under Master Gardeners. Tape the receipt to the back of the form. Be sure the chairperson of the project signs off on it before it is given to Margie. The position of Fair Superintendent for the Agriculture and Floral Departments is vacant. Please contact Nancy Dillon if you would like to fill the position for next year. Nancy has offered to mentor the new volunteer for this event. You can attend the next Fair Board meeting on September 6:30 pm, located at PUD#3 building on John s Prairie Road. Minutes from July 2013 Meeting 7,8 Master Gardeners of the Month for JULY 2013 Calendars Aug. and Sept. 9 10, 11 Calendars 12, 13 Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Master Gardener Program Advanced Education Conference Everett, WA September For more info, contact Jan Janmut@msn.com Also check the website for more

2 Page 2 Coming Soon to a Plant Sale Near You: By Mary Bigger This newest component of our plant sale isn t so much new as it is a new approach to handling the non plant items we have historically offered. As we have grown, it has become apparent that we need to focus on this piece, update it, and give it a home. Kneeland Park has given us some challenges. How to present the non plant items has been one that cries for attention. The gazebo stage had access issues and the table for whatever became muddled and hard to see what was there. With every solution, there will be options, suggestions and improvements. We have taken a look at the plant sale 13 evaluation comments and believe the Garden Store approach will offer positive ways to deal with many of the concerns expressed. Books and magazines need to be protected from the weather. Other items need to be more visible and some like the fertilizer need point of sale information. A specific location for many things from fertilizer and birdhouses to crafts will speak to this. Lisa Stroman and Michele Lapp have agreed to take the lead for the Garden Store. This puts us in very good hands. They will be your contact people for inventory items and ideas. In order to facilitate the $500 to $1000 opportunity this component offers, it became apparent that we would need people who could give point of sale information, a location that maximized customer access, and products that enhanced the gardening experience. There are many talented MGs whose crafts embrace this! The hope is that you will let Lisa and Michelle know what you will donate so they will have time to stage it as it deserves. Everything from candles to lavender wands has its own presentation needs. Anything garden related or made by a Master Gardener is within the operating scope of the garden store. Whether it is plant material based or something that enriches our lives through our gardening connection is all that matters. We will set up a pop up tent in the vendor row. By making it the first one from Larry s Dahlia wall we can guarantee him the space he needs for his crowd. Historically we have had donated a variety of lovely cards, birdhouses, container gardens, books and magazines, dried flowers, house plants, and other delightful items. I m hoping that a mix of new ideas along with the tried and true will create a solid foundation for our Garden Store. A crucial piece will be having a range of price points. This will both welcome a variety of customers and make it profitable for us. If we had had better point of sale information for our table of books and fertilizer last May, our sales would have done much stronger. If we had had a single place to send customers when they asked about non plant items, this would also have facilitated sales. We want it to be easy and fun for the customer. The Garden Store concept is designed to clarify the current situation and create a foundation for a new more diversified approach. In order to reach our goal of a $10,000 sale, we are going to need a variety of strategies. All ideas are welcome. This concept is an umbrella and Lisa and Michelle will be our weather people.

3 Page 3 (plant sale cont. from page 2) Wouldn t it be nice if these were magic as well as lavender? These sell on Etsy from $5 for the small ones to $20 for the larger ones. See you at the store! Please put Mother s Day weekend 2014 on your calendar NOW! A plant sale is in their future, tell your plants it s a spa moment Please propagate. It is good to go forth and multiply. Summer is a perfect time. We are already outside, and being outside is a wonderful thing. Just think vitamin D, exercise, no kitchen temptations and the opportunity to pot those stray enthusiastic plants for the plant sale. Life is good! If every person with the opportunity pots those extra plants we will be one step closer to the 3K needed for the sale. Last May the Greenhouse crew grew half of that and the rest were donations. Now is the time to take your friends and relatives up on any plant offers. This plant base is the heart of the sale. Every plant is a piece of that goal. A basic system I ve used is to pot the item and place it in sprinkler range under a shrub/rhody. Those will protect it from the wind and the heat of the day. By next spring these garden foster kids will be looking fine and have root systems to support superior growth. I know, it s a lazy way for me to do it, but it s surprising how many serendipity plants one can accumulate with only a potting and placement effort. We are all busy and the plant wants to live so it s a win/win situation. It can be fun to estimate what your contribution will bring. A flat of 25 4 pots at $2 each equals $50. That s not bad in my book, especially when the rhody and the sprinkler have been doing all the work. Look at these happy Jades and flats of ground cover! Sedums and Hen and Chicks are another story. Because they take so little soil and are often low growing I have found that they are perfectly happy in flats. I put a thin layer of newspaper in the bottom so the dirt won t fall out; spread the starts around for good growing space and put the flats on the down side of the garden berms or behind slightly taller

4 Page 4 (Plant Sale articles continued from page 3) plants. These screen the flats from view. The sprinkler system takes it from there. We used a lot of these in the Tufa container gardens and sold the extras in 6 pots for $3 and $4. Again it is a minimum of up front work and very little ongoing effort for a sustainable plant multiplication system. Strawberries will be sending out baby plantlets and Raspberries will be having runners. Beat the deer to the berry plants. Those are a high demand item. People have especially asked for ever bearing strawberries. If you have those, we will be bowing. All kinds of berry plants have been a great sale item. Don t compost! Pot! While you are out and about and thinking of how you might want to modify your garden, please consider the plant sale. Many of you have expressed the hope that this year we will make the $10,000 goal. The only way we can do that is if we have the necessary volume of plants. Every plant donated by a member gives us the best possible profit margin and gives our cliental the pleasure of talking to the person who can give the plant s history. Priceless! This plant parade is an ongoing accumulation since our plant sale. The hardy scented geraniums are May cuttings. They are being treated to my behind the berm but in a sprinkler zone system. The baby walnut trees are courtesy of our resident ADHD squirrel. This herb garden is just getting established. It doesn t look like much now, but will be in great shape for transferring to the tufa containers when we do the January planting. Time is on the side of the gardener. The plants we are able to prep now will bring us prime dollar come spring. It is our major fund raiser and getting maximum return on all our efforts is a wonderful thing. The plant sale meetings will continue to be the first Thursday of the month, 5PM, Memorial Hall. See you there. Don Tapio s Garden Advice Title: Notorious Tomato Blight Common Here Its that time of year when many gardeners are eagerly awaiting their first ripe tomato fresh off the vine. Unfortunately, just as tomatoes begin to ripen they often fall victim to the notorious late blight fungus. Late blight is one of the most devastating diseases of potatoes and tomatoes worldwide. It was responsible for the Irish potato famine of the 1840 s and continues to be a challenge to commercial potatoes as well as home gardeners. With tomatoes, in less than four days, this aggressive disease can result in the complete destruction of not only green and ripening tomatoes but the entire tomato plant as well. Our warm summer temperatures combined with Continued on page five...

5 Page 5 Willow Leaf Beetle in Western Washington Several reports of damaged willow and alder have reached DNR s Forest Health program in Olympia recently, including many western Washington observations made by aerial surveyors. Some questions have recently come into the WSU Clinic Office in Mason County also. According to Karen Ripley, Forest Health Program manager, DNR there have been reports of this beetle near Belfair, WA and Olympia, WA. Damaged willow and alder leaves may also be occupied by grubby black insect larvae. Larvae look somewhat like black lady beetle larvae, with a head, six short legs and a long tapering body. These insects are leaf beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. For more information, please go this link: willow-leaf-beetle-in-western-washington/ If you have observations to report please contact Karen at: Karen.ripley@dnr.wa.gov Don Tapio s Garden Advice continued from page 4 dew, fog and rain are ideal conditions for the development of this disease. Late Blight appears on potato or tomato leaves as pale green, water-soaked spots, often beginning at leaf tips or edges. The circular or irregular leaf lesions are often surrounded by a pale yellowish-green border that merges with healthy tissue. Lesions enlarge rapidly and turn dark brown to purplish black. During periods of high humidity and leaf wetness, a cottony, white mold growth is usually visible on lower leaf surfaces at the edges of lesions. In dry weather, infected leaf tissues quickly dry up and the white mold growth disappears. Infected areas on stems appear brown to black and entire vines may be killed in a short time when moist weather persists. On green tomato fruit, Late Blight fungus produces large, firm, brown, leathery-appearing lesions which are often concentrated on the sides or upper fruit surfaces. If conditions remain moist, abundant white mold will develop on the lesions and secondary soft-rot. Bacteria may follow, resulting in a slimy, wet rot of the entire fruit. Fortunately, home gardeners can do a couple of things to prevent their tomato crop being infected. First, placing a temporary roof over the plants thereby keeping moisture off the foliage will do much to prevent infection. Avoid wetting foliage when irrigating, especially in late afternoon and evening. Staking and pruning plants to provide good air circulation will also help. Fungicide sprays, applied before disease begins, is the only method that can prevent complete crop destruction. Fungicides registered for use include Bravo Weather Stik and Kop-R-Spray. Fungicides applied now, according to labeled directions, will protect plants from infection. The disease is equally devastating to both tomatoes and potatoes. The fungicides Bravo, Maneb and Mancozeb are all registered for use on potatoes and provide an effective protectant against the disease when used according to labeled directions.

6 Page 6 CONTACTS: Office: 303 N. 4th Ave Shelton, WA Ext. 680 Fax Extension Staff: Robert Simmons Director Ext.690 simmons@wsu.edu R. Jeanne Rehwaldt Master Gardener Coordinator Ext. 688 rehwaldt@wsu.edu Michelle Lapp AmeriCorps Ext. 687 Michelle.lapp@wsu.edu Master Gardener Ext 687 Gardener.master@gmail.com Foundation Representative Janet Mutter Janmut@msn.com Executive Board President Pat Carpenter patandlexi@gmail.com President Elect, Mason Jar co-editor Christy Rowe carowe@hcc.net Vice President Lou Schmidt willilou@q.com Secretary Evon Masteller hatmast@comcast.net Treasurer Margie Plebuch quilted2@aol.com Directors at Large Sybil Jones sybiljones@hughes.net Lisa Stroman wisawobby@gmail.com

7 Page 7 MINUTES: Mason County WSU Master Gardener General Meeting Agenda for Monday, July 8, 2013 Present: Pat Carpenter, Pres.; Christy Rowe, President-Elect; Lou Schmidt, Vice-Pres.; Margie Plebuch, Treasurer; Jan Mutter, Foundation Rep., Lisa Stroman, Reporter-at-Large, Evon Masteller, Secretary; Jeanne Rehwaldt, WSU Coord.; Michelle Lapp, AmeriCorp. MG Membership: Erika Stewart, Nancy Dillon, Bonnie Day, Karen King, Lisa Henderson, Dave and Karen Shephard, Puja Pecovsky, Mary Bigger, Carol Freytag, Bonnie Ross, Beatrix Blackerby, Cheryl Stewart, Sherry Clemmens, Steve Edmondson, and Karen Paxton. Approval of June 13th, 2013 minutes. Officers reports: - Treasurer s report - Margie Plebuch Amounts were reported and in the files of the Secretary and Treasurer. One thing that Margie would like to stress is getter an okay from her before charging on our Tozier s account before making purchases for the various activities we are working on. Also we need the paper trail that should be handed into Margie as soon as possible. - Vice president s report & programs - Lou Schmidt: We have the Library reserved for us until the end of the year. Please help in the Rain Garden at the WSU Ext. Office after this meeting. Docent training for those who will be attending will follow this meeting. After the Aug. 12th meeting we will be visiting Doug Wright s Greenhouse that supplies the Little Creek Casino s food bin - Secretary s report - Evon Masteller: All minutes have been submitted for distribution to Jeanne Rehwaldt. - Foundation Rep. report - Jan Mutter: The Conference is coming - on Thurs. night there is the Sharing of Success presentations. We will be offering our Catalyst Park, Squash patch and Children s Garden information boards. We were able to award 2 candidates from Ken Brown s FFA group at the Shelton High School $1,000 each. Both these students showed equal qualification for this money, thus they both were awarded the same value each. - Coordinator s report - Jeanne Rehwaldt: Fair Board - Annette McGee is working on reducing the fee. We need to show up on July 16th, 2pm to the Commissioners meeting at the Hwy. 101 Office to show our support. A newsletter will be released tomorrow. Clinic is doing great. Committee and project reports: -Plant Sale - Start next year s planning in August - put leftover plants out for adoption. The fist meeting will be in September. Planning is in process now with our adoption of this past year s plants that are in a holding pattern at the Pioneer Greenhouse location, outside on the east side of the building. -Catalyst/Children s/community Garden - Bonnie/Lisa Stroman/Sybil Jones Catalyst Park had 69 lbs. harvest last week. Pumpkin Garden has a drip line and we barked the aisles and weed waked the area this past week. Children s Garden has William our young Master Gardener from the class of 2011 interested in planting beans around a painted ladder and calling it Will s Beans. There s a big tree trunk donated. Rocks were painted by parents and their children. Edible plant grant will be available for future plans. Some plants put in by children in Key Hole Garden. Community Garden - Pat Carpenter reporting : People have been taking really good care of their gardens and weeding around them. (We have had poor turn-out for the various lessons the last 2 months, maybe we taught them too well last year - Evon.)

8 Page 8 (Meeting minutes cont.) - Garden Tour - this coming Saturday - Pat Carpenter/Lou Schmidt: Connie West wanted to know how long the tours are. Maybe ½ hour for the smaller ones and 1 hour for the larger ones, which equals about 4 hours in total for all 6 gardens. Ads have been submitted for the Shelton Journal and other publications and their calendars (Olympia and Pacific Gray s Harbor Weekly. 28 Docents have signed up. Michelle Lapp was on the radio this morning. Flyers are available through M. Lapp & WSU EXT. Office. 10 tickets on site at each of the gardens for sale. Look for the brilliant pick signs on Arcadia. - Pioneer project - Michelle Lapp: Turned in write-up of the grant accompanied by pictures, people were pleased. All except winter squash has been planted. Michelle will be gone in August and therefore Jeanne Rehwaldt with her committee will water through that month. Drip lines were put in. - Farmers Market - note about Hope - Garden produce looking good. Vegy s were pricey at $4 for each vegetable weighing about a pound. For a good cause is their selling motto. Broccoli and Cabbage had huge heads. Radishes need a little help that we will pass onto Delphina and Katie. Lisa Stroman will be administering our booth for the rest of the season. She ll feature a topic every week with flyers of the M.G. Program. Will and his sister are attending as well through the summer while school s out. Harstine Island Farmers Market - Margie: Going well, clinic - what is this and why type of questions is what she s receiving. - Fair update - Nancy Dillon: Tying us Together is our motto this year. Focusing on small farms, living off the grid in the city, from soil and Vermicomposting to harvest subjects like water, Obnoxious Weeds booth, Food Preservation, Natural Resources, 4-H, Living Roofs, Hugelkultur, the bee guy and more. Please sign up for duties and call Nancy if you have any questions. The fair dates are Setting up on Wed. July 24th, Incoming exhibits on Thurs. and the fair will be from Fri.- Sun. Other items for discussion: - Sign up for clinic - more volunteers needed this is our busy season- August needed in Mason Jar. - 40th year to celebrate with a Summer Reunion and bean trials. Steve Edmondson volunteered hosting his and Pat s home for September 21st being the date of the event. We will invite past M.G. s and show case what we re doing now. - Info on free fertilizer from Waste Treatment - Class A exceptional biosolids. Contact person is John Ozga, call to arrange pick-up, , bring containers, 1700 Fairmount Ave. in Shelton. NPK is , form is pellets, great for lawns. Jeanne has more information. This is an option for folks but treat as a cautionary measure like hazardous chemicals. Sounds good for lawns, fruit trees and ornamentals. Salmon Center has lots of tomato plants available for free - Michelle Lapp - Master Gardener for June - Mary Bigger and Evon Masteller, Garden Sale mavens. Dates to remember: July 11th Thurs. Catalyst Garden meeting 11am at the garden July 13th GARDEN TOUR 10-4 pm BBQ afterwards at Walter Dacon Winery July 29th Mon. MG Board Meeting WSU Aug. 12th Mon. Next General meeting Library Tour of Wright Greenhouse afterward Adjourn Program: Short meeting with Garden Tour docents, assignments, tickets info sheet. Rain Garden weeding afterwards at WSU Ext. Office. *Note: All minutes printed and filed in the bottom drawer in the Respectfully submitted, Evon Masteller, Secretary Master Gardeners desk at the WSU office. 7/15/2013

9 Page 9 Master Gardeners of the Month - July 2013 Mary Bigger and Evon Masteller ~ The Plant Sale Mavens Mary Bigger earned her Master Gardener certification in Mason County in She grew up in Skagit Valley where her family had a 300 acre dairy farm. Mary s job was to ride the fence lines and bring the stock back when the water lifted posts and laid the fences down. Mary s career was as a special education teacher with expertise in behavior modification and reading instruction. She retired after twenty two years of teaching. In addition to working in the education field Mary and her husband Gary of fifty three years have purchased and repaired apartments and rental properties for the past forty years. They currently have a project called Northcliff Park Estates and are putting the second house on it starting in August. As a M.G. volunteer she has been the lead for creating our tufa containers for the plant sale, been our security guard on site at the Park during the sale and propagated numerous plants for the sale. This has been a major focus for Mary because the plant sale if the umbrella funding source for all our MG programs. Mary will continue as a co-chair next year for the May 2014 sale. In addition to propagating plants for the MG sale, Mary has been providing plants for the St. Edward s sale for the past fifteen years. She says Progating is magical, life! One of her favorite aspects of the MG program is the training she has received which helps to focus research questions and create better research paths. It is also great to be with people whose eyes don t glaze over when you are excited about finally solving a propagation problem. Currently Mary is transitioning her lovely English country garden style to a senior citizen minimal upkeep garden. It can be hard to admit that one stage of one s life is over when the new possibilities are yet to be loved. Mary s advice to our newer MG s and trainees? Follow your heart, I hope it leads you to the plant sale. Thank-you Mary for all the energy and time you give to the MG program. Evon Masteller has been a Master Gardener since 2010 earning her certification in Mason County. Originally living in King County she moved to Mason County in Her past profession was first as the International Director Secretary to the Seattle King County Education Development Council where she started as a Kelly Girl temp. This gave her a strong base in business, working with people and her secretarial skills which we currently benefit from. Her next career was as a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines. This job satisfied one of her loves travel. In addition to travel Evon is also very interested in reading and learning about history. Currently she is very involved with the care and adoption of kittens and recently adopted four kittens to share her home with her twelve year old cat. When asked what her favorite season is in the garden, Evon said spring because there is so much hope in the spring. She loves to pick the fruit of growth the harvesting is a favorite activity. One little tip she would like to share that she learned years ago is to use shredded nylons to cinch up plants. From her days as a flight attendant, Evon has lots of nylons that she keeps in a pillow case from Japan. Evon s advice to new MG s and trainees? If you have a questions, ask. If you need help, ask. You re not expected to know everything and by asking you give another person a chance to help. She really loves working with fellow MGs it feels like we are all ten years old again playing in the woods and having fun! As gardeners, we are explorers and scientists more than any group I have been involved with. It s the spirit of exploration, cooperation and learning together that give her joy being a Master Gardener. CONGRATULATIONS MARY AND EVON!

10 Page 10 Important Information for Master Gardeners: Plant Sale 2014 Co-chairs: Mary Bigger and Margie Plebuch Garden Tour 2014 date set July 12, 2014 focusing on Downtown Shelton gardens *this year s Garden Tour netted $1800 New MG Training Sept. 20 through Dec. 20th; mentors needed and presenters for classes to be held at the Public Works building. October 18th pruning class at Hope Island; all welcome! ; new revisions to deadlines and requests for articles: *First of each month articles and submissions need to be sent to: christyrowe7@gmail.com * will go out online soon after the monthly General Meeting *Committee Chairs should submit any updates, information, requests for volunteers etc. *Looking for recipes, gardening tips and ideas, decoration inspirations, photos etc. Through the Garden Gate workshops to continue in 2014; January March on Saturdays at Memorial Hall, $10 per class. First committee meeting Sept. 4 p.m., Memorial Hall Bean Trials and Celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of the Master Gardener Program Saturday, Sept. 21st at Pat & Steve Edmondson s home. BYOB and potluck Request for Payment / Reimbursement: new forms have been developed to submit requests for payment / reimbursements to the Treasurer. No form, no receipt ~ no money! WSU Office Garden needs attention; volunteers needed KMAS replacement for Steve Edmondson needed! Contact Steve for more information. Monday WSU MG Clinic volunteers needed 12 3 p.m. Squaxin Island Wellness Fair August 24th; Lou, Erika and Tim have volunteered Conference in Everett Sept th: donations of raffle items and silent auction items needed. Contact Jan Mutter if you have something to donate. Oysterfest Oct. 5 6: volunteers needed for the MG booth Sept. 9th, General meeting: Program after business mtg. bring recipes, questions, samples from your garden, sharing etc.

11 August 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 4 5 CLINIC 12-3 P.M CLINIC MG Genl. Mtg. Timberland Library Tour afterwards of Wright Greenhouse CLINIC Pat C & Bonnie Day CLINIC CJ Nichols & Jinx Board Mtg. 10 am 1 Plant Sale Mtg. 5-7 p.m. Memorial Hall Squaxin Island Wellness Fair

12 September 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Mason Jar DEADLINE 2 Holiday Office closed 8 9 General 10, Timberland Library Clinic: Pat C Clinic: CJ Nichols Beatrix Blackerby Clinic: Lou Schmidt Sherry Clemmens 3 MG Board 10 a.m., WSU Catalyst 9 11 Clinic Vol needed! 10 Catalyst Catalyst Catalyst Through the Garden Gate 4 p.m. Memorial Hall Plant Sale 5 p.m. -Memorial Hall 6 7 Community Garden Catalyst, 9 a.m Garden Tour Pat Carpenter s, 4:45 p.m MG training begins at Public Works 9 am 4 pm: Vegetables and Catalyst Conference in Everett 21 Bean the Edmonson s home, 2 p.m., BYOB & potluck