ISSUE Volume 4

Transcription

1 BEEKEEPER TO SPEAK ATJULY 2014 MASTER GARDENER MEETING... 2 ISSUE Volume 4 VOLUNTEERING AT THE VILLA PINES LIVING CENTER....3 NATIVE TREE DISEASES AND PESTS SPEAKER ON AUGUST 26TH... 6 TOGETHER W E BLOOM & GROW Master Gardener news Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, WI is an award winning, 20- acre non-profit botanic garden, home to many dramatic and themed gardens. Janesville Botanical Garden Bus Tour June 25, 2014 On the 25th of June, the Adams County Master Gardeners will be going on a bus tour. We will be enjoying a day of gardening pleasures. Our first stop will be to the Janesville Botanical Rotary Garden. We will be bringing our own lunches and enjoying them where they have a lovely Terrace. Our second stop will be K & W Nursery. The cost of this day trip is $ Tour sign-up for ACMG will be open until May 10th, after that it will be open to the rest of the community. There will be door prizes and snacks on the bus. PLANT PROPAGATION Gardening is a gamble, but plant propagation increases your odds of winning by many times! Plant propagation is a rewarding and fun way to add a lot of color to your gardens. The more cuttings you start, the more you win in the way of healthy, home grown plants. Sharon Hartz, certified Adams County Master Gardener, will present a hands-on Plant Propagation program at the May 27th meeting. Join us at 6:30 at the Adams Co. Community Center, 569 N. Cedar, Friendship, where Sharon will share some tips on plant propagation. Then you can try your hand at starting your own cuttings.

2 Beekeeper to Speak at July 22nd MG Meeting What kind of honey is it? People ask me, "What kind of honey is this?" I tell them, "its everything that s blooming when the bees are around. Its honeysuckle, goldenrod, vegetables in the garden, crab apple blossoms, even dandelions." How does the honey taste? My honey has a unique flavor that is light, floral, and spicy. It also changes with the seasons. I extract honey from my hives every few weeks to showcase the changing of the seasons and flavors in the honey. What are the benefits to urban honey? For people who use honey to combat their allergies, this is a great product. The urban honey contains the pollen from flowers and trees in the neighborhoods where they live. It's hard to get more local than that. You are also helping pollinate your garden and your neighbors' gardens. You are helping the city grow and thrive. Nathan Clarke is owner and founder of Mad Urban Bees LLC, an urban apiary located in Madison, WI. His beehives are located in the cities of Madison and Middleton and are hosted in backyards, back lots, and on rooftops. These bees pollinate the gardens, flowers and trees of the city and produce a honey which is unique to Madison. Nathan is a self taught beekeeper of eight years. He now manages over 80 hives in the Madison area, including Olbrich Botanical Gardens. He teaches beekeeping classes throughout the year. He lives in Madison with his wife, Beth, and two daughters, ages 4 and 8. Mad Urban Bees honey is extracted in small batches, is never blended or heat-treated, and contains local pollen. Healthier bees mean better tasting, healthier honey! His honey is available for purchase at over a dozen Madison locations. Nathan is the son of Dan and Laura Reger and will speak at their home at 3680 W 11TH Junction, Wisconsin Dells, WI on Tuesday, July 22 at 6:00 PM. He will also bring honey for tasting and for purchase. Master Gardeners will have a potluck supper that evening, so please bring a dish to pass. You may also tour Dan and Laura's gardens. Reger s home is located 18 miles south of Adams on Hwy 13, left on south Gale Pass, left on 11th Junction Visit their website at Master Gardener Blog Page If you haven t had a chance yet please check out our Adams County Mas- Subscribe to our Master entering in your You will then be notified notices that are too late ter Gardener blog page at acmga/ Gardener blog page simply by address and clicking submit. of up & coming events and for our news letter! All Master Gardeners, volunteers and public are encouraged to subscribe to this MG website, You will never miss a beat! So tell your friends and neighbors too! Additionally this new blog will be easier to navigate through and find the important information you are looking for!

3 The American Robin by Meghan Shinn, editor of Horticulture SPRING BIRD-GARDEN TASKS MEGAN SHINN, HORTICULTURE MAG. The American robin is considered a sign of spring, but in most areas it s actually present all winter long. WOULD IT SURPRISE you to learn that the American robin actually lives year-round in most of the United States? Now, it will spend time in Canada and Alaska only during the warmer months, and some will only winter in the Southwest and the Gulf Coast. Everywhere else it is considered a full-time resident! So why do so many of us count on the return of the robin as a sure sign of spring? Villa Pines Living Center Volunteers Well, in a sense robins do go away in the winter. During the coldest months they spend their time roosting in tall trees. They are nearby, but we don t typically see them. If they do venture out, it s generally in a group that we might assume is a tardy flock passing through on it way to warmer climates. As the weather warms, robins become more active on the ground, and solitary. That s Villa Pines Living Center is an 85 bed nursing home located on County Trunk J in Friendship, across from the Adams County Fairgrounds and Saint Joseph s Catholic Church. Many of our residents use wheelchairs to move around, so we have four raised garden boxes for them to plant each year. Master Gardener volunteers can assist with every aspect of gardening from helping the residents to choose flowers and vegetables to plant in the spring to the planting, watering, weeding and harvesting. For more information please contact Mike Boucher, Activity Director, at In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence. ROBERT LYND when we suddenly see one or two running across the grass, pausing for a juicy worm. An affinity for open lawns, relatively large size and that trademark bright red breast make the robin stand out from other common garden birds. The robin is a sign of spring-but the truth about its winter residency reminds us that spring is never really as far off as it seems. If you are receiving this newsletter via regular mail, and would instead receive it via or view it on our blog page please contact: Lynn Dolata lynn.dolata@ces.uwex.edu This spring, take some time to make sure your garden is truly a welcoming place for birds in that it s safe and healthy for them. Avoid using pesticides, which can harm birds through contact and when they ingest treated insects. The robin hopping across the lawn is a good reminder of this point Attract birds with birdbaths, nesting boxes, supplemental food and adequate cover. They will repay you by controlling the insect population naturally. Keep cats indoors to prevent them from killing birds. If you have a window that birds often hit, attach bird netting to the window frame stretching it taut across the glass so birds bounce off of it.

4 Master Gardener Calendar of Events May 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Board Mtg Community Ctr., 4:30 PM Gen. Mtg. Community Ctr., 6:30 PM June 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Board Mtg Community Ctr., 4:30 PM Bus Tour to Janesville, WI Check your Newsletter and the MG Blog Page for changes and updates at Time qualifies for your volunteer hours Time spent qualifies for your Continuing Education Hours

5 Renew Your Membership You can renew your Adams County Master Gardener Association membership at any of our General Meetings, or Garden Tours. Dues are $10.00 a year per person. You can also send your dues to our treasurer, Nancy Simonis, along with your name, address, phone #, and e- mail address at 1858 State Road 13, Friendship, WI Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities Villa Pines Living Center - Mike Boucher, Adams County Humane Society - Christina Akkerman, (see pg 6 for hours) Moundview Memorial Hospital Planters - Betty Conrad, Adopt-A-Highway - Sharon Hartz, Elementary School Garden - Angela DeSmith, Each year the ACMGAV publishes a list of volunteer opportunities. Some are on-going throughout the year, and others are one-time dates. All of these activities qualify for your volunteer hours. We will add to the list as opportunities become available. If you have any questions, wish to chair or be a co-chairperson for any events, want to volunteer, or need additional information, please contact the chairperson(s) listed after the event. Our volunteer activities will be starting soon. We always need volunteers, chairs and cochairs. If you have a volunteer activity you wish to promote, please contact any officer or board member. 1 OR LIMITED DAYS VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES Brat/Burger Fry, A-F County Market - Joanne Elliott, , Fri. 5/2, 8AM-3:30 PM, and on Saturday August 9 Women s Night Out - Shirley Horner, Speaker Ideas? If you know of anyone who you think would like to speak at any of our General Meetings on a subject in horticulture, or sponsor a Garden Tour, please contact an officer or Board Member with the information for consideration. You are always welcome to come to our Board Meetings and submit your ideas or suggestions. General Meetings and Garden Tours are usually held the 4th Tuesday of the month, January thru April or May and possibly 1 or 2 dates in the fall. We still need speakers for General meetings or Garden Tour hosts for October, and November. * May 13 ** May 27 General Mtg., 6:30 PM, Community Center, Plant Propagation Isn t As Hard As you Think. * June 10 **June 25 Bus Tour to Janesville Rotary Gardens & K&W Greenery in Janesville. *July 8 **July 22 General Mtg., 6:00 PM, Community Center, Beekeeper * August 7-10 Adams County Fair **August 12 **August 26 Master Gardener Volunteer Training, 5:30 Community Center **August 26 General Mtg., Native Tree Diseases & Pests

6 Adams County Humane Society Volunteer Need The Adams County Humane Society is in need of volunteers to cut grass, rake leaves, pick up and trim branches, pull weeds and help maintain the dog walking path. All of these activities qualify for your volunteer hours. If you would like to help, please contact Christina Akkermann, during open hours - Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 12-5 PM and Sunday, June - August, 12-4 PM. All volunteers must register in the office. Native Tree Diseases & Pests 8/26 MG Meeting The August Master Gardener Meeting to be held at the Community Center on August 26th, at 6:30 p.m. will feature Austin D. Felts, Adams county DNR Forester. Austin will be presenting on Native Tree Diseases and Pests, concentrating on Oak Wilt, Tip Weevil, Pocket Decline, and Gypsy Moth. He will also touch on the Emerald Ash Borer (which has not yet been spotted in Adams County). Be sure to bring questions you may have on Native tree Diseases and Pests. Light refreshments will be served. Confessions of a Floweraholic by Ione Weir, Sonara, California, Birds & Blooms Apr/May 2006 I am considering starting a 12-step recovery program for floweraholics - people like me who lose control in a nursery. I want to be strong, like the gardeners who can just buy a few seedlings and leave, but I can t help myself. Cosmos, tulips and sweet peas cry out to me. The new varieties of petunias seem brighter and more lovely every year. Each pansy has such a sweet face that I can t decide which is the most appealing, so I buy several. It doesn t matter if I ve spent too much on flowers already. My heart beats faster when impatiens beckon to me. If they re double impatiens, I m doubly vulnerable. I ve attended lectures and never heard a word the speaker said because I was too busy admiring the mums at his feet, wondering if they re for sale. I m such a compulsive flower shopper that I even buy plants I can t identify. An old poem I know advises: If of they earthly goods Thou art bereft And from thy slender store Two loaves to thee are left, Sell one and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed the soul. Yes, hyacinths...and petunias, and pansies, and geraniums, and daisies....

7 Beneficial Insects by National Wildlife Federation expert, David Mizejewski writing for Birds & Blooms Apr/May, 2014 Good gardeners know good bugs. Here are the good bugs and why you want them in your yard or gardens. Predatory beetles and bugs: hundreds of thousands of beetles and true bugs that are predatory creatures, which dine on their plant eating kin. Among them: tiger, soldier, ground and ladybird beetles and assassin and pirate bugs. Bees, Wasps and Ants: all bee species are important pollinators, wasps and ants are avid predators, constantly patrolling, and picking your garden clean of pests. Caterpillars: turn into butterflies and moths who are also important pollinators, but more important, they attract birds, who in turn eat pests. Spiders: they are among the most feared and maligned, but also some of the most helpful in the garden because they are predatory and feed on insects. Dragonflies and Damselfies: as adults they feed on all kinds of flying insects and their aquatic larvae devour the larvae of the same pests. To attract these beneficial bugs : Plant native species which an support 60% more native insects than non-native species. Don t be too tidy. A natural design provides hiding and hibernation spots, food, and places to nest. DO NOT use pesticides which kill beneficial insects, disrupt the natural order, and make it more likely you ll have overall pest problems. The three worst bugs : Mosquitoes, Fire Ants, and Ticks. Take proper precautions to keep them from biting you, and maybe your beneficial bugs will also help keep their populations down Fruit Tree Sale a Success!! The 2014 Fruit Plant Sale was a big success. We made over $1500. More than twice what we made in I would like to thank everyone who helped me with the 2014 Fruit Plant Sale. My wife Sharon who put up with my mess on our desk for the past 5 months. Mike Thorne who came and lifted and hauled trees so I could get them to the fairgrounds. From the Fair Committee Jim Grabarski and Steve Chichacki who helped me get permission to use the building. Ace Hardware of Adams for rescuing us when we ran out of small bags. My neighbor Bob Daniels who helped Sharon unload trees from a semi while I was out of town. Lynn Dolata for copying and handling the mailings to promote the sale. And most importantly the many volunteers who came out on two cold, stormy days to pick orders and help load them into our customer s cars. Thank you all. We couldn t have done it without you. ~Mike Hartz