Clinton County Newsletter Over the Garden Gate

Transcription

1 Clinton County Newsletter Over the Garden Gate Volume 9 Issue 8 September 2018 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 - Bickelhaupt Arboretum......through the eyes of a 4 year old who was so impressed she chose to draw this picture. Involve Children in Gardening! Keep it simple. Give children their own garden space. Involve older children in the planning and design of the garden. Use lightweight, easy-to-handle, correct-sized tools and garden equipment. Encourage children to dig in the dirt. (Younger children love making mud pies) Grow interesting plants such as sunflowers, corn, pumpkins, tomatoes and strawberries. Use a trellis or teepee to grow beans or sweet peas. Plant flowers that attract butterflies or birds. Don t forget to take extra produce to local food pantries in DeWitt and Clinton!!! It encourages healthy diets for those who have little.

2 Master Gardener Advisory Board Meeting Minutes for August Bickelhaupt Arboretum, 9:00 am Roll Call - Deb M.,Margo H.,Bev C.,Linda L.,Mark S.,Mary M.,Dave M.,Brenda C.,Bonnie M.,Loren A.,Kathy S.,Gayle P.,Willard L.,Deb N.,Carol Y. Approval of July Minutes - Correction to reflect corrected last name from Bonnie H., to Bonnie M. Motion to approve by Bonnie M., second by Linda L. Financial - Mark S., explained new transaction report. Balance as of August 13, 2018 is approximately $4, with possible transactions pending post fair expenses. Mark report - Only 2 students have signed up for fall classes. Those 2 students will travel to Quad Cities for their classes. New cards were distributed to members which reflect a phone hotline for questions. HORTLINE Bickelhaupt - Margo H., reported that, Art in the Arboretum, will continue until the end of the month. Arts at the Arboretum, artist reception will be at 5:00 p.m. on August 30th. Committees/projects/events - Container/fairy garden contest will need to save expenses for the future. A new guideline letter will be composed and mailed out to past contestant's. Gayle P., and Linda L., along with a committee will be updating this information. Monarch Migration - Deb M., Rhonda Brady with her bus the Ms. MariPosa. The Monarch bus will be at OLC, August 25, from 10:30 until noon. Volunteers need to be available at 9:00 a.m. to help set up tables. Please wear green shirts and name tags. OLC - No watering schedule at this time. Waiting for a frost to work on changes to work on irrigation system near new rose bed. No work day at this time. Publicity - Deb N., each event that is published by Master Gardeners has cost between $ 250.-$ 300 per event. Discussion about flyers and time and man hours needed to post in surrounding communities. Old Business - Food donations to food pantries need to keep track of date and weight of food donated. New Business - Brenda C., cautioned fellow M.G. s to watch out for discarded syringes when cleaning up around community parks. Next meeting - Dewitt County Extension office 9:00 a.m. All Master Gardener's are invited to attend. Motion to adjourn by Linda L., second by Brenda C. Carol Y., Secretary Iowa State University Extension and Outreach does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or status as a U.S. veteran. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Ross Wilburn, Diversity Officer, 2150 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, , wilburn@iastate.edu. EOADV.15.04W November 2016

3 Can you believe planning is underway for next year s garden walk!!! Do you know of possible garden sites for in the future? Call or Bonnie Meyers TO DO s for Indian Summer bon.meyers1@gmail.com Early fall is an excellent time to plant perennials, container trees and shrubs, and roses. This month, as you are aware, it can still be hot. Do the planting on a cool, overcast, or rainy day to prevent heat stress. Usually the mantra is WATER, WEED and RAKE, but this year you can skip the water! Keep weeding. Late summer and early fall are when many of the worst weeds go to seed. Let them go now, and they'll scatter thousands of seeds all over your garden. Basic cleanup in late summer and fall will prevent far more cleanup and weeding come spring. Lower the blade on the lawn mower as soon as temperatures cool. Lower slightly next month again too until you wind up mowing quite short the last time or two.. Start raking. Don't worry about leaves that collect around shrubs and perennial plantings-- they'll actually protect your plants. But don't allow leaves to hang out for more than a few days on lawns. They suffocate the grass. Stock up on bulbs. It is still too early to plant them, but supplies can go fast. Buy bulbs when you see them and keep in a cool, dry place (65 F or under, if possible) until planting time. Brighten your garden with mums. Buy them now in full bloom either florist's mums, which aren't winter-hardy but are very tidy-looking with large flowers, or garden mums, which are more wild-looking but will come back again next year. Consider cool-season annuals such as flowering kale and cabbage, pansies and lobelia. They will brighten bare spots and outdoor containers for 4-8 weeks. Fertilize the lawn with a winterizing fertilizer later this month, a low nitrogen formula such as ratio, to strengthen the lawn before winter without encouraging fast growth.

4 Bagworms: Enemy of Conifers As I walked my dog along part of Clinton s riverfront, it was easy to see the damage to tree after tree that Margo Hansen had told me about. Eight or more dead trees all in a row, with little sacs hanging from branches. Here what ISU Extension says about bagworms: The bagworm caterpillar lives its entire life inside a tough protective case made of silk and camouflaging bits of foliage. Each caterpillar makes its own bag that it carries around as it feeds with the head and legs sticking out the open, top end of the bag. As the caterpillar eats and grows the bag is enlarged until by the end of the summer, what started as tiny pods only one-quarter inch long will have grown to almost 2 inches in length. In the end of the summer the bagworm caterpillars stop feeding and seal each bag shut after securely tying it to a twig, stem or even nearby structure. Inside the bag the caterpillar transforms to the moth stage. The adult female moth does not leave the bag the caterpillar created. She remains inside while the winged, male moth does emerge to fly about the infested tree to locate the waiting female. After mating the female lays 500 to 1000 eggs within her bag and then she dies. The eggs remain in the bags on the trees till the following spring and hatch about mid-june to start the cycle over. If you have had bagworm infestations in the past, or if you have conifer trees in the southern half of the state, carefully inspect trees and shrubs for the bags or pods. The bags hanging on the trees in the fall and winter contain the eggs for the next generation (they will hatch the following year). These can be removed from small trees by hand and discarded anytime before June. Caterpillars emerge from overwintering eggs within the bag in June and create small bags as they begin to feed. It is important to watch for the tiny caterpillars and treat only when caterpillars are present. Look carefully for the small bags. The young bagworms are hard to see at first; stare intently and watch for the wiggling bags made of bits of plant material. When many small bagworms are present and feeding, an insecticide may be needed to prevent serious damage. Insecticides become much less effective as the season progresses because of the increased size of the larva and its bag. Treatment in late June to early July before bags exceed 1/2-inch long is recommended. Small larvae are more vulnerable to insecticides, and feeding damage is relatively minor. It is too late in the season to treat now but most commercial and home landscape insecticides are effective against small bagworms. Read and follow label directions and purchase a product labeled for the site and host you will treat. Examples of commonly used insecticide active ingredients for homeowners include azadiractin, Bacillus thuringiensis, bifenthrin, carbaryl, cyfluthrin, permethrin and spinosad. Climate change appears to be part of the problem because winters are becoming milder, said Donald Lewis, extension entomologist at Iowa State University. Infestations have a cyclic nature, he said, but the insects have been able to establish populations further north with a decline in extreme cold. A bad year occurs when the eggs survive winter, Lewis said.

5 Monarchs aren t alone in loving milkweed1 If you have observed milkweeds or hunted for monarch eggs you ve encountered some other insects on those plants. Not many insects are able to feed on milkweeds. The sticky white sap that gives milkweed its common name and the leaves contain toxic chemicals (cardiac glycosides) to deter mammals and insects from feeding on the foliage. Only certain insects which have evolved to be able to deal with those chemicals without being poisoned can thrive on the plants, and have become specialists on milkweeds. Monarch caterpillars sequester and concentrate the toxins in their own bodies, giving them a bitter taste and protection against predators, and other milkweed insects including milkweed bugs, milkweed longhorn beetles, and milkweed leaf beetles have done the same. The insects that have this ability typically have aposematic markings, or warning coloration, advertising their toxicity. This is why so many insects found on milkweed plants have conspicuous red or orange colors or markings. A few other milkweed specialists have developed ways to eat around the sap to avoid its toxic effects. There are two true bugs (family Lygaeidae, order Hemiptera) that are associated with milkweed mostly in late summer and fall, the large milkweed bug and the small milkweed bug. Both are gregarious, feeding exclusively on the sap and seeds of plants in the milkweed family and both have the aposematic colors of red and black. Although they will feed on young leaves, flowers, and developing pods, their preference is for the seeds, which provide the best growth and reproduction, and large congregations of all stages of the insects together can be seen on milkweed plants. Like all true bugs, they have sucking mouthparts to inject digestive enzymes into the plant tissue and then suck the liquefied plant material through their straw-like beak. Because of the length of their mouthparts they are only able to feed on the outside layers of seeds in each pod, leaving many interior seeds intact for plant reproduction. Females lay light lemon yellow eggs in crevices between the seed pods, depositing up to 30 eggs a day for about a month. The eggs change to a bright orange or red color before the nymphs hatch in a few days. Two beetles are commonly found on milkweed the red milkweed beetle, T. tetraophthalmus is one of them. The adults eat milkweed leaves, buds, and flowers, and reduce the flow of the sticky milky latex (which could gum up their mouthparts) by severing leaf veins below their feeding site. The sap drains from the leaf, and the beetle can feed on the drained area beyond the cuts. The females lay their eggs on stems near the ground or just below the surface. The larvae hatch and bore into the stems to travel downward to the roots or go through the soil directly to the roots to feed on the roots through early fall. They overwinter in the roots, pupate in the spring and the adults emerge in early summer. The second beetle is the swamp milkweed leaf beetle, Labidomera clivicollis, a leaf-feeding beetle Both the brightly colored adults and larvae chew on the foliage of milkweeds, primarily swamp milkweed, although they have been recorded on common milkweed, butterflyweed (A. tuberosa), and a few other plants. Bright yellow oleander aphids with black legs and cornicles can be found on milkweed plants occurring in large clusters on new shoots, stems, buds, and leaves. (adapted from an article by Susan Mahr, U. of Wisconsin)

6 Are Flooded Veggies Safe to Eat? How concerned you have to be about using garden produce after flooding depends, to a large degree, on how clean the flood water was or whether it was likely to have been contaminated with sewage, river or creek water, farm run-off, or industrial pollutants. The most conservative answer one that eliminates any and all risks is that gardeners should discard all produce that was touched by flood water. However, if flooding occurs early, there will typically be weeks left in the growing season, and you will likely wish to salvage some crops.. Produce can be cooked to ensure safety. This is the best choice if anything that was touched by flood water will be served to those most at risk for serious consequences from microbial food-borne illnesses: young children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. Note that cooking will not eliminate the risk posed by industrial pollutants. Discard all produce that is normally consumed uncooked (raw), including all leafy vegetables such as lettuce or spinach, regardless of how mature the plants are. It is not possible to clean these crops as they have many ridges and crevices that could contain contaminated silt or bacteria. All soft fruits that are ready to harvest, such as strawberries or raspberries, should also be discarded unless they can be cooked; they too are impossible to thoroughly clean and cannot be safely consumed raw. Other produce may be salvaged depending on the crop and how far along it is in the growing season. In general, any produce where the edible part was directly touched by flood water presents a potential risk to health if consumed. This includes produce that was submerged or splashed by flood water. The ability to salvage crops that will be eaten raw with minimal risk depends on the source of the flood water, time to harvest, and whether potential contamination will have been internalized into the plant tissue. Early season crops that are to be harvested within a few weeks after a flood, and that remain above flood waters should be safe to eat if cooked or peeled. Examine any produce carefully before harvest. If it is soft, cracked, bruised, or has open fissures where contamination might have entered, throw it out. Intact produce can be eaten, but should be rinsed with clear tap water (DO NOT use soap) followed by a brief soak (2 minutes) in a weak chlorine solution of two tablespoons bleach in a gallon of water. Finally, rinse the produce in cool, clean tap water. Peel or cook these items thoroughly before eating. Take care to prevent cross contamination in the kitchen. Change the bleach solution if the water is no longer clean. Underground vegetables such as beets, carrots and potatoes that are still early in their growth (at least four to eight weeks from harvest) should be safe if allowed to grow to maturity. Root crops (i.e. new potatoes) that will be consumed within a month after flooding should be washed, rinsed and sanitized as directed above before cooking thoroughly. Note that beets may be peeled after cooking, if desired. Melons and other fruits that will be eaten raw should not be consumed. Recent food-borne illness outbreaks linked to melons suggest that these low-acid fruits may not be safe even if surface-sanitized. Late-season vegetables that result from flowers produced on growth that develops after flood waters subside should be safe. This group of vegetables includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, cucumbers, and other similar vegetables. To increase safety, cook these vegetables thoroughly, or at least wash them well and peel them, if possible, before eating. Flood-damaged garden produce that is otherwise unfit for eating should not be canned or otherwise preserved. Garden produce that would be safe to consume after washing, sanitizing and cooking (see above) may be safely canned. Because the low temperature of home dehydrators does not destroy high numbers of bacteria, do not attempt to dehydrate produce from flooded gardens. Never sell produce from a flood-damaged garden at a farm market or farm stand until you are sure that all contamination has been removed from the garden, usually a period of at least one month after the last incidence of flooding.