Volume 7 Issue 9 October 2016

Transcription

1 Over the Garden Gate Monthly Newsletter Clinton County Master Gardeners Volume 7 Issue 9 October 2016 Editor: Carol Machael, cmachael@gmail.com; Published on the first Monday of the month except during January and December. To submit an article it must be sent by as a Microsoft Word attachment to the above address. To be accepted for publication in the next newsletter, articles must be received 10 days before the first Monday of the month. Articles will be accepted or rejected at the discretion of the editor. If you are mailing something to me please use new contact info: 502 Apple Valley Lane, Clinton. WANTED: Master Gardeners interested in becoming a member of the advisory board. The board meets once a month, either at the Iowa State Extension office in DeWitt or the Arboretum in Clinton for usually 1 to 1 ½ hours. Please contact Linda Lamp at ; lklamp@hotmail.com for further information. To Do in October Plant grass seed and lay sod the first half of the month. Plant spring-blooming bulbs this month, the ideal time. If necessary, plant perennials. They may not have enough time to get established, though, before very cold weather hits. As long as the soil doesn't freeze and you can dig down deep enough, you can continue to plant spring-blooming bulbs into November, though it's not ideal.

2 Volume 7 Issue 9 Page 2 October 2016 CLINTON COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES SEPT 20, 2016 EXTENSION OFFICE-DEWITT, IA-9 AM ROLL CALL: Linda L., Deb M., Brenda C., Deb N., Bonnie M., Willard L., Roger R., Margo H., Mark S APPROVAL OF MINUTES-Approved by all. FINANCIAL REPORT-Mark-balance of $ MARK'S REPORT-Orientation mtg tonight. 17 people taking the class. Class day in Ames is sedueduled for Oct. 8th. Classes are moving towards computer quickly, although there is some pushback not to rush. BICKELHAUPT ARBORETUM- Margo-"Art at the Arb" will run through Sept. Lots of visitors enjoying the grounds while doing the Pokémon Go thing. Hoping to get the "2020 American Conifer Conference" in Clinton next time. COMMITTEES/PROJECTS/EVENTS OLC-Willard-Have a wedding on Oct 1st. will clean up day before. Will schedule workday to clean up and pick plants to be dug for next year's plant sale. Work date will be Oct 26 weather permitting. PUBLICITY-Deb- Social Event-Oct 15th at 12 PM at the Arboretum. Deb will send invitations to new class members to join us for a ' Meet & Greet ' event. Monarch Butterfly Project- Butterfly lady had bus trouble on way down and was not able to give her presentation. Other people helped out by giving talks & viewing the OLC. Hopefully we will have her another time. OLD BUSINESS Memorial Spending- Brenda still looking for in old minutes. Write-ups of Committee Events-members involved will continue to add information to notebooks Shirts-will address next month By-Laws & Guidelines-adv. board members to read and review any changes that need to be made next mtg. Christmas Party-need members to help on party committee. Party is Dec. 5th at Buzzy's in Welton. Advisory Board-have 2 people going off this year, need to get nominating committee set up and looking for replacements. NEXT MEETING OCT 18TH AT BICKELHAUPT ARBORETUM IN CLINTON AT 9AM. Willard made motion to adjourn. Brenda 2nd. Approved by all. Brenda Council, Secretary

3 Volume 7 Issue 9 Page 3 October 2016 HAVE YOU MARKED YOUR CALENDAR? CLINTON COUNTY MASTER GARDNERS ANNUAL HOLIDAY/AWARDS BANQUET December 5, Buzzy s, Welton, Iowa 5:30 pm - Social Hour, 6:30 pm Buffet Dinner Come join your fellow master gardeners for a fun filled evening celebrating the holidays and our accomplishments during the year. Volunteer/education awards will be presented. There will be door prizes. AND: anyone interested in serving on the Holiday Banquet Committee, please contact Debbie Neels at We will meet 3-4 times before the event to discuss the program, dinner, door prizes, & decorations. Your ideas & input will be very much appreciated! Annual Fall Picnic (Please note new date & location!) Bickelhaupt Arboretum 340 S. 14 th Street, Clinton October 15 th 12:00 Noon Come/visit/connect with other Master Gardeners Meet the new Master Gardener interns Reminiscence about our projects & activities this year Enjoy the beautiful grounds of the arboretum after lunch The picnic will be held indoors so no need to be concerned about weather issues! Please bring a dish to pass, your own beverage & table service. This gathering is casual & informal. Families & friends are welcome to join us.

4 Volume 7 Issue 9 October 2016 How To Use Fallen Leaves: Everybody knows that the absolute best use for fallen leaves is to rake them into a high, crunchy pile in the middle of the lawn and then jump in. Second best? Use fallen leaves as mulch. Deciduous leaves are packed with the same minerals as fertilizer you buy. Use leaves as mulch in garden beds: it prevents weeds, encourages worms, and makes heavy soil fluffier. You can mulch two ways, with shredded leaves or whole leaves. If you don t have a mower or shredder, mulch with whole leaves. Spread a thin layer of leaves in garden beds so water still can penetrate to plants roots. To make shredded mulch, rake leaves into a long row about a foot wide. Then run a lawn mower over the leaves, back and forth, a few times. Spread a 1-inch layer of shredded leaves around the roots of plants. Seed pods and ornamental grasses can look beautiful" - but there's more to gardening than just looking beautiful. There's a growing movement amongst gardeners who realize that a garden is a opportunity to participate in nurturing and healing our increasingly troubled eco-system. By adjusting our thinking beyond our own desire for things to "look beautiful", and considering what wildlife, from bees to birds to furry 4-footers, needs to make it through the winter, we can have gardens that are truly beautiful on more levels than just the superficial. We can retrain our eyes to stop thinking of things looking "messy," and see "natural" as a good and more beautiful thing. Often fall cleanups destroy so much habitat so please think before you go chopping/digging/mowing, etc. Gardens are not just for humans. Cloches for winter gardening: Cloche for "bell." The original cloches were French market gardeners placed over miniature greenhouses. At one time, outside Paris that supplied out-ofand restaurants. (pronounced kl-osh) is the French word large bell-shaped jars that 19th-century plants in spring and fall to act as portable these glass jars covered acres of fields season vegetables to the city's households available but have some significant limita- heavy glass and are small, the air trapped The classic glass bell jars are still tions. Because they are made from within can quickly get too hot on sunny days and possibly kill plants. Pay close attention to ventilation. Obviously, they provide great protection for any newly planted seedlings, but they also protect mature plants in fall, such as a sea kale (Crambe maritima), a perennial that is both ornamental and edible but borderline hardy in the garden. MASTER GARDENERS VOLUNTEER : Extension Office Plant Partners: Willard Larsen willardllarsen@gmail.com Eagle Point Nursing Home and Rehabilitation or Community Garden: Willard Larsen OLC/County Fair: Roger Rittmer rogr@iowatelecom.net Bickelhaupt Arboretum: Margo Hansen mahansen@eicc.edu Curtis Mansion: Liz Clements and justice for all The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Many materials can be made available in alternative format for ADA clients. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14 th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC

5 Article adapted from UW-Extension Garlic a member of the onion family been cultivated for thousands of years for both culinary and medicinal uses. Garlic has also been promoted to treat colds, coughs, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, fungal infections, cancer, hyperglycemia, high cholesterol, roundworms and hookworms. Proponents advise eating a raw clove of garlic a day to boost the immune system. Recent scientific studies have shown that certain compounds in garlic prevent blood clot formation and may affect blood cholesterol levels. Garlic is only propagated from the bulbs, since it has lost the ability to produce fertile seeds some varieties don t even produce flower stalks or flowers. Garlic varieties can be broadly categorized as either hardneck (subspecies ophioscorodon) and softneck (subspecies sativum). Hardneck types are quite similar to wild garlic. They all produce a woody flower stalk called a scape while softneck types do not. If flowers are produced they usually abort and form bulbils (small, aerial cloves) instead. Although these bulbils can be planted, the bulbs they form will be very small, requiring two or three years to reach usable size. Some types may not produce large bulbs unless the flower stalks are removed. Hardneck types typically have four to 12 cloves in a single circle surrounding the stiff stalk (which can t be braided) and generally do not store well. These types perform best where winters are long and the season of vegetative growth is relatively short. Rocamboles are the most commonly grown hardneck garlics, having exceptional flavor. Rocambole garlics have dark green or blue green leaves, a moderate spreading shape and a tightly coiled flower stalk with one to three loops. The bulbs are off-white with various amounts of purple blush or streaking, and 6-11 plump, dull colored, easy-to-peel cloves. Because they begin root growth in the early fall, they generally have a limited season of 3 to 4 months before quality deteriorates in storage. Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) is not a true garlic it is actually a type of leek. The extremely large bulbs with 5-6 cloves can weigh as much as a pound. The flavor is much milder than true garlic, but a sharp or bitter taste sometimes develops in cold climates. Most commercially-produced garlic is grown in mild areas of California, centered around Gilroy ( The Garlic Capitol of the World ) in southern Santa Clara County and in the San Joaquin Valley. The varieties grown there, such as California Early and California Late, do not adapt well to our colder climate. Planting cloves from garlic purchased at the grocery store is not recommended. Over the years many other varieties that are much better suited to cultivation in cold climates have been selected, and they often have better garlic flavor than the types grown in mild climates..

6 Iowa State University Clinton County Extension 400 East 11th Street DeWitt, Iowa Boxelder bugs (Boisea trivittatus, Family Rhopalidae, scentless plant bugs) are common insects from mid-summer through fall, and sometimes in spring. The gray and red adults are about ½ inch long. Nymphs (immatures) are bright red with darker heads and look like the adults, but without developed wings. They tend to be most abundant after summers when we have had a very warm May and a dry July. Both nymphs and adults remove plant fluid from newly developing leaves that may result in distortion of the foliage. Severely infested foliage may appear chlorotic (yellow). In addition to foliar feeding, boxelder bugs may also damage flowers, tender twigs, and seeds of boxelder. Populations of this pest have been reported to prefer development on the female trees; thus, monitor for this species on these trees Both nymphs and adults remove plant fluid from newly developing leaves that may result in distortion of the foliage. Severely infested foliage may appear chlorotic (yellow). In addition to foliar feeding, boxelder bugs may also damage flowers, tender twigs, and seeds of boxelder. Populations of this pest have been reported to prefer development on the female trees;, so monitor for this species on these trees. Removing boxelder trees or spraying heavily infested trees with a registered insecticide in mid-summer may help reduce boxelder bug numbers. Also, remove any accumulations of boxelder, ash, elm and maple seeds since the bugs can feed and reproduce on these, as well as on trees. However, the adults are good fliers, and can move a considerable distance from host trees, so this will not eliminate boxelder bug problems. Clusters of bugs on the sides of buildings can be sprayed with registered insecticides, insecticidal soap or hot, soapy water. Sprays may need to be repeated as more boxelder bugs arrive, especially when using soapy water. Once inside, the best method of control is to vacuum them up. For large numbers, a household aerosol spray containing pyrethrins can be used, but these are often not effective..