Master Gardener Association of Blanco Count 2013 October Meeting Square Foot Gardening Lecture Presented by: Andy Chidester

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1 Seedlings~ Master Gardener Association of Blanco Count 2013 October Meeting Square Foot Gardening Lecture Presented by: Andy Chidester Tuesday October 8, :30pm Methodist Church, Blanco Located at 281/1 st street Please join us for our October MG mtg. Andy Chidester will discuss the method of Square Foot Gardening in the Texas Hill Country. Square Foot Gardening is a simple system that adapts to all levels of experience, physical abilities, and geographical locations. Grow all you want and need in only 20% of the space of a conventional row garden. Save time, water, work and money! Refreshments: Margaret Becker & Mary Nabers Coffee and tea will be available throughout the evening. Contact Cindy Stomberg at (830) or Cerice Spivey at (830) for additional information. Minutes of the September Meeting The September meeting of the Master Gardeners of Blanco County was held at the Becker Vineyards and Lavender Farm in Stonewall. We were called to order by the president, Carol Rankin. Cindy Stomberg thanked members who had filled in for her while she was out of town this summer, and announced that our October meeting will be a presentation about square foot gardening, given by Andy Chidester from Lady Bug. Carol Rankin described various ideas about scholarships for our members who take classes for certification as specialists, or just to further their knowledge. The members approved moving $ into our scholarship fund at the August meeting, and we need a process for application and payment to members who take the classes. Carol will write up the possibilities, them to everyone, and we will vote on them at the October meeting.

2 Rita LeBert, Glenn Bishop, and Mike Troutman have now completed their volunteer hours--congratulations! Betty Mucha, who chaired the nomination committee, announced the slate of candidates for next year: President-Carol Rankin Vice President-Glenn Bishop Secretary-Henrietta Smith Treasurer-Barbara Counts There were no other nominations from the floor. We will vote for new officers at the October meeting. Carol announced that Georgia Carroll-Warren has moved, and we need a webmaster to replace her. Mary Joyce introduced her niece, Chris Perrenoud, our speaker for this meeting. Chris is in charge of events at the lavender farm and talked to us about Becker Vineyards, which started with 15 acres for growing grapes, and now includes vineyards in Mason and Ballinger as well. After a trip to France, the Beckers decided to grow lavender, and the fields at Stonewall are beautiful. Lavender is an herb, so you can cook with it, dry it, use the flowers to extract essential oils, or just enjoy it growing in your garden. The Spanish lavender is very hardy and does well in the hill country, while the English and French lavenders are trickier for our climate and soils. They all like rocky soils and only need tiny amounts of nutrients. The plants need to be cut back once a year to encourage root growth and a tidy plant. Chris suggested that we cut the flower stems, bind them together with a rubber band, and hang them in the kitchen to dry--handy for cooking and nice to look at and smell. It takes about a month for these branches to dry, and then you can rub the flowers off with your fingers and use them in sachets or for flavoring. We all received a lavender, rosemary, and sage plant to take home, and adjourned to stroll the grounds and shops. Karen Casey Chris s suggestions for using lavender: In cooking, a little lavender goes a long way! The lavender lemonade served was just right. Dry lavender tied in a bunch, upside down in a dark closet. You can mix it with other herbs while drying. These are the plants Chris gave us: lavender, sage rosemary, and Wait--We re missing thyme! Use lavender and sunflowers to make a lovely summer/fall wreath.

3 October 2013 Plant ID by Blanco County Texas Master Gardener Chris DeBremaecker Common Name: Mexican Olive, Anacahuita Scientific Name: Cordia boissier Family: Boraginaceae (Borage family) Leaves: Large, soft, ovate, dark green evergreen to semi-evergreen leaves Flowers: Bisexual. Large, showy, trumpet-shaped white flowers with yellow throats that are sometimes described as looking like crepe paper or chiffon. Blooms all year. Form: Ornamental shrub or tree to 30 feet Fruit: Purple or reddish brown 2-3 cm Requirements: Good drainage, full sun ok, alkaline soil-circumneutral. Maintenance: Very drought resistant once established but initially requires lots of watering. Habitat: Well-drained caliche, sand, sandy loam, medium loam, clay loam, clay, or gravel soils and full sun. Native from northern Mexico to south Texas. Cold winters can cause die-back. A sheltered southern exposure would help. Wildlife: Attractive to insects, birds, and butterflies. Excessive fruit intake can cause tipsiness in deer and cattle! Uses: ornamental. Fast growing. Availability: Not hard to find. Sources: National Wildflower Research Center s Plant Database and Gallery accessed 9/28/2013

4 The beautiful grounds Pretty Chris Perrenoud, our speaker about lavender at Becker s.

5 The last class of Landscape Sehool at A & M for Henrietta, Mary and Peggy., Great instructor Landscape Architect Alan King Dr. Bill Welch with Barbara Coody We have bought several of Dr. Welch s books If you ever get a chance to hear Greg Grant Take it! Mary with Dr. Neil Odenwald, who talked about color in the garden.

6 Todd takes the mike at the Leadership Advisory Board Luncheon, Sept. 6.. Mike, Cindy. Betty. And Diana enjoy a laugh. We adjourned for Jarrod s homemade ice cream! (Glenn, Betty, and Beverly) Mike, Mary J., Leona, Pat, Jim, Beverly listen to Mary Rowe, one of Todd s first 4 H teens. See you on the 9 th at the Blanco Methodist Church at 5:30 for Square Foot Gardening!

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