Volume 8 Issue 1 February 2017

Transcription

1 Over the Garden Gate Clinton County Master Gardener Newsletter Volume 8 Issue 1 February 2017 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, please provide articles 10 days before the first Monday of the month. Brochure will be mailed...if you do not receive one, call Margo Hansen at the Bickelhaupt Arboretum Experience the following presenters: Keynoter, Mark Hirsch, with his reflections on That Tree an oak which changed his life after an accident. He is a photographer and author and will give a session on landscape photography. Mark Roberts, who will discuss the success of reintroduction of trumpeter swans to the county and another session on Iowa furbearing mammals. Our own Deb Monroe and Margo Hansen, with sessions on topiary and showcasing your houseplants. Denny Schrock, PhD from ISU, talking on improving the quality and production from your vegetable garden, as well as providing an overview of new veggie varieties. Michael Wiant, PhD from the Illinois State Museum, who will discuss Cahokia and the cultivation of sophisticated plants in North America s First City. Emily Swihart, with a refresher course on tree planting and maintenance Registration fee is $30 before 2-19; $35 afterward or at door. Lunch and refreshments provided.

2 Volume 8 Issue 1 Page 2 February 2017 CLINTON COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 17, 2017 EXT. OFFICE/DEWITT 9AM ROLL CALL-Linda L., Deb M., Bonnie M., Brenda C., Deb N., Kathy S., Willard L.,Mark S Election of Officers- Willard Larsen/Treasurer Approval of Minutes-approved Financial Report-Balance of $ Finally getting reports arranged to read easier. Mark's Report- Iowa State Website has lots of new things being reported. We can submit items to be put on website concerning our events. Items to be sent to Mark for approval. He will let us know the deadline for submitting items when he finds out. Committees/Projects/Events OLC-Willard-getting meeting together about 1st week in Feb to decide spring plans. Will have meeting for Master Gardeners Day at the Fair committee after. He will send notices about meetings via . Deb will submit the OLC project for recognition by the Iowa Master Gardener Conference. Linda will submit information on the OLC garden for the Plant, Grow, Fly project, hoping for a plaque of recognition for all the hard work done in the OLC garden to promote pollinators. Stan Bates will be trimming some of the trees in the OLC and anyone is welcome to help or just get ideas on how to prune. Info to be announced when available. Publicity-Deb N.- Committee being formed to help with all types of info about MG events & projects. 3 interns have volunteered to help with this. Deb N. will continue to help on this committee. Eagle Watch-Brenda-14 people volunteered to help, glad to see so many were our new interns. Suggestion made to have MG events & projects listed on table, maybe purchase a nice tablecloth to cover table with MG logo on front, fix stand up sign, so easier to set up and handle. Christmas Party-Deb N. 58 attended Pizza Ranch work night-was a slow night because of weather, but still made $ We are listed for This year, so will be waiting to hear back on date. Social Events-Deb N. -will be scheduling dates for spring and fall get-togethers. Dates will be put on MG calendar in newsletter. Old Business Write up of Committee Events-ongoing project thru out the year to get things on file for help in future. Shirts-will get prices and discuss further next meeting Master Gardener Room-will be labeling and organizing shelves. Scholarships-will be sending out information to area schools Newsletter-will send out copies by mail to those who don't have New Business: Hort. in Heartland Event-Willard-no meeting yet. Next meeting Feb. 21, 2017 at Bickelhaupt Arboretum in Clinton at 9AM. Secretary, Brenda Council

3 Volume 8 Issue 1 Page 3 February 2017 Dates to put on your calendar for fun with fellow MGs, learning new things and earning hours! Hort in the Heartland March 4 Spring Social April 6 Plant Sale May 20 & 21 Garden Walk June 25 MG Day at the Fair July 12 Monarch Migration September TBD Christmas Party December 4 Other opportunities for learning and for hours: Joys of Gardening Workshop, Feb. 18, 8:25-3:30 pm. Highland Community College. Freeport, IL. Cost, $25 ($30 after 2-10) Ready, Set, Go Gardening Workshop, March 18, 8-3 pm, Sauk Community College, Dixon, IL. Cost, $40 Register for each of these at web.extension.illinois.edu. Lunch is provided. Brenda Council plans to attend and is willing to carpool. Master Gardener Advisory Board Members Lamp, Linda 1324 G Springbrook Ln DeWitt, IA lklamp@hotmail.com Monroe, Deborah th Street DeWitt, IA monroe@iowatelecom.net Larsen, Willard 2892 Hwy 67 Camanche, IA willardflarsen@gmail.com Council,Brenda 818 9th Ave. Fulton, IL catgirl101948@yahoo.com Meyers, Bonnie 624 Scenic Drive Clinton, IA bon.meyers1@gmail.com Kathy Sander Bev Christiansen

4 Volume 8 Issue 1 February 2017 Foeniculum vulgare...even the name is great! Otherwise known as fennel. Antares is an All-American selection for this year. What is extremely fun about this winning plant is its many uses: as an edible bulb; for its ornamental fronds; as a seed producer; and as a favorite food of pollinators, namely swallowtail caterpillars. Antares is Described as a very uniform, pure white, beautiful plant with a much improved, almost sweet, licorice/anise flavor as compared to other market varieties. It was also 7-10 days slower to bolt than comparison varieties. ***(Try this! Rave reviews every time. And easy! ) Abelmoschus esculentus It s beautiful! It s Okra Candle Fire, another award winner for this year. It received high marks for productivity, taste, texture and tenderness as well as the ornamental value of red pods on red stems. Candle Fire okra is quite maintenance free to grow, except for the frequent harvesting, which is a great thing! Candle Fire thrives in the heat and is disease resistant. It is suitable for both fruit producing and ornamental use. Aged fruit can be used in flower arrangements. Dry seed can be used as coffee (without caffeine.) Plant requires soil with high organic matter content. Sandy and clay soil should be avoided. The cultivation environment should be about 68-95F degrees, sunny and with good ventilation. Direct seed sowing or seedling transplanting are both recommended. The seeds should be soaked with water for 12 hours before being sown, which is the necessary process to enhance germination. Pruning is not necessary. With proper irrigation, this variety is easy to be managed because it is not susceptible to any special disease. Flower formation starts 50 days after sowing. The fruit can be harvested in 5-7 days after flowering. After the plant starts to bloom, every 10 days it should be supplied with water and fertilizer so as to ensure long-term harvest.. 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, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC

5 Do you know your oaks? How about Quercus macrocarpa? The answer is Bur Oak. The second part of the scientific name, macrocarpa, means large seed or fruit and the bur oak produces the largest acorns (up to 2 inches in diameter) of all the oaks found in North America. Fully mature trees can grow massive 8 10 diameter trunks with a huge open crown, that can be as wide as the tree is tall. They are slow growing trees, although when they are young they can grow inches a year in height and grow long tap roots very quickly. Amazing fact: Bur oaks bear seed up to an age of 400 years, older than reported for any other American oak. The minimum seed-bearing age is about 35 years, and the optimum is 75 to 150 years. Good seed crops occur every 2 to 3 years, with no crops or light crops in intervening years. The acorns are disseminated by gravity, by squirrels, and to a limited extent by water. The tree may live up to 1000 years under optimum conditions. At maturity, the bark on the trunk and branches of the Bur oak is very thick, deeply ridged and sometimes corky. This helps the tree resist fire. Winter accentuates the magnificent structure of the tree. By January, the deciduous tree has dropped its leaves to reveal the structure. Winter is also a great time to observe the unique, deeply furrowed bark of this tree. The bare bur oaks provide winter interest in much the same way seed heads and grass stands do. Because of its size, this tree is most suitable for parks or large-scale landscapes. It is also referred to as mossy-cup oak. Bur oak reproduces by seed and stump sprouting. It is commonly browsed by herbivores and grows in areas where fire is more frequent (savannas, prairies). Young bur oak shoots may be browsed or burned back only to re-sprout numerous times. This results in a root system that is older than the aerial portion of the plant. Male and female flowers occur separately, but on the same tree at leaf out. The males are clusters of drooping catkins. Bur oak wood is durable and of high quality. It is used for cabinetry, barrels, hardwood flooring and fence posts. Native Americans used bur oak to treat heart ailments, diarrhea, broken bones, and as an astringent (to close bleeding wounds). Interesting local fact: There is a very large specimen on the Bickelhaupt Arboretum grounds, at the southeast end. Because of its size this tree attracts visitors, especially children, who enjoy the way the beauty of the branches as they dip to the ground. Other interesting local fact: Bur oaks were among the trees planted about a year ago in Eagle Point Park by both MGs and Trees Forever volunteers. Bur oaks are the dominant trees that grace Arbor Day Farm on the banks of the lower Missouri River. It is the most western of the eastern oaks, extending all the way to the foothills of the Rockies where it is reduced to a shrub. In pioneer days on the plains, it came to the rescue of unfortunate travelers who needed new wagon tongues, wheel hubs or spokes. Sioux City, Iowa, is the location of the Council Oak, so named because Lewis and Clark held council with the Native Americans under its already 150-year-old branches.

6 Iowa State University Clinton County Extension 400 East 11th Street DeWitt, Iowa Lithops are small, interesting plants from southern Africa that are relatively easy to grow indoors. The first Lithops was discovered by William John Burchell in 1811 during a botanical expedition in southern Africa. During his travels in the Northern Cape Province, he found a strange looking brown stone with a fissure across the surface. On closer inspection, this strange-looking stone turned out to be a succulent plant. Each individual plant consists of two succulent leaves fused together in the shape of an inverted cone (although some species will produce multi-headed plants). The fissure at the top of the plant is the division between the two leaves. There is no stem; the taproot joins abruptly at the base of the leaves. The thick leaves can store enough water for the plants to survive for months without rain. In periods of drought (almost all the time) they shrivel and shrink below the soil level. Because they thrive in low humidity, need infrequent watering and care, and are relatively easy to grow, Lithops are popular novelty houseplants. With their small size and slow, compact growth these plants do not take up much room. Lithops are long lived up to 40 or 50 years. It is quite possible to keep a plant in the same pot for 10 or 20 years. Lithops are non-toxic to humans or pets.