Monthly Newsletter. December 2015 L A K E A R E A. Volume 9, Issue Club Officers

Transcription

1 L A K E A R E A Monthly Newsletter December 2015 Volume 9, Issue Club Officers Tamara Jorstad, President Phone: tjorstad@gmail.com Debbie Laemmli, Vice President Phone: dlaemmli@gmail.com JoAnne Gitchell, Secretary Phone: jogi65634@gmail.com Roni Vollmer, Treasurer Phone: ronivollmer@hotmail.com Past President Jan Mitzel Phone: jmitzel@yhti.net Standing Committee Chairs 2015 Garden Walk Gail Conavay, theconavays@gmail.com Club Photographer Glenda Hinrichs, glenda_hinrichs@yahoo.com Historian Sally Burke, burke.lakelovers@gmail.com Hospitality Rita Burks, ritab001@hotmail.com Membership Tamara Jorstad, Year Book tjorstad@gmail.com MU EXT & MOMA Winnie McKinley, mckinleyw@hotmail.com Newsletter Charli Allee, normcharli@aol.com Projects Jeannie Robbins, jrobbins2081@sbcglobal.net Publicity Ways & Means Charmaine E. Guyot guyotcharmaine@gmail.com Mildred Webster or Miller County Extension P O Box 20 Tuscumbia, MO Phone/Fax A message from the 2015 President... Here we are at the end of 2015 and what a fun year it has been. It sure seems to have gone quickly and now I'm writing my last newsletter input as the 2015 LAMG President. My first comment is to state a great big THANK YOU! to all club members. You have all been supportive and it is very much appreciated by all the board members. This year we even had some wonderful survey responses with ideas and comments. I will be reviewing this info at a meeting in December as the out-going board members meet with the incoming board members. Please do not hesitate to send additional input while we are on our annual winter break. Please remember that all members need to have paid dues and all input for the year book must be submitted by January 8, 2016 to be included in the year book. Dues may go directly to our Treasurer, Roni Vollmer. Contact me if you do not have her address and I am glad so send it. Next I'd like to again thank all the board members. It has been fun and informative to meet monthly to discuss programs and plans, MOMG and the Extension -- as well as our gardens. I believe my best experience with the club has been the board meetings and seeing the ideas and plans we make come to fruition with the help of all members. I know that the new board has a lot of energy and great ideas, too, so I look forward to continuing as an LAMG member and Missouri Master Gardener. I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday and may now focus on a terrific Christmas holiday with family and friends. Whatever your plans, may the peace and joy of the season be with you -- with wishes for a healthy and happy See you at our next meeting, February 9, 2016!! Warmest regards, Tamara

2 PAGE 2 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDERN S LEWS LETTER December Gardening Tips Plants in Flower Witch Hazel Indoors: Amaryllis, Cyclamen, Poinsettia Plants with Colorful Berries American Beautyberry, Burford Holly, Chinese Holly, Foster Holly, Nellie R. Stevens Holly, Nandina, Pyracantha, and Washington Hawthorn. Fertilizing None needed on plants outside. Use wood ashes on your vegetable garden, bulb beds and lightly on your lawns if soil ph is below 6.0. Fertilize house plants as needed. Planting After Christmas, plant live Christmas trees in the landscape. Keep these trees indoors no more than 14 days. Pruning Prune berry producing plants if berries are desired in table arrangements over the holidays. Lawn Care Keep tree leaves from collecting on your lawn. Propagation Take leaf cuttings of your favorite house plants like African violets and begonia. Hardwood cuttings of your landscape plants like forsythia (yellow bells), flowering quince, weigela, holly and hydrangea can be taken this month. Specific Chores Keep your living Christmas tree outside until you are ready to decorate. White pine is a type of living tree that will do well in much of North Carolina. Make a list of needed repairs on garden tools and equipment. Repair or have them repaired after the holidays. Greenery will last longer if sprayed with an antitranspirant. Keep your cut Christmas tree in water throughout the holiday season.

3 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDERN S LEWS LETTER PAGE 3 What is the Best Way to Deal with Falling Leaves? The time-honored ritual of raking leaves during the fall months is a chore many homeowners would like to avoid. In fact, there are several ways of putting leaves to better use in a yard according to Patrick Byers, horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension. "From an ecological point, the best way to deal with leaves in the landscape is to mulch them where they fall and let them decompose to release their minerals back to the soil," said Byers. In well managed turf, leaf drop from shade trees is not always a nuisance that requires raking. Even if a moderate amount of leaves are chopped with a mulching mower they can normally be allowed to decompose into the turf. "Leaves are high in nutrients like iron, zinc and copper. They are also rich in organic matter, a valuable commodity for the turf, existing trees and shrubs," said Byers. The acidity of the leaves is a common concern with many homeowners. Fresh oak leaves may initially lower soil ph but as leaves decompose, the ph will gradually build to a neutral level causing little concern. Another concern is smothering out the turf if leaves are allowed to remain. Leaf cover that is too thick may cause excessive moisture under the leaves or drastically reduce sunlight to the turf. "In some cases, leaves may accumulate to a depth that, even after mulching, will smother out the turf. If so, it is best to remove the leaves and shred them in another location," said Byers. Other options are to incorporate them into an annual flower or vegetable garden, start a compost pile, deliver them to a yard waste recycling center to be composted or create leaf mold. More information on what to do with leaves is available by requesting Guide 6956, "Making and Using Composts," from your local University of Missouri Extension Center.

4 PAGE 4 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDERN S LEWS LETTER Lake Area Master Gardeners November 10th, 2015 Minutes The Lake Area Master Gardener executive board (the Board) meets each month prior to the regularly scheduled club meeting to review the upcoming agenda and coordinate club activities. The executive board is comprised of the President, the Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and the immediate Past President. Any club member may attend the board meetings. The board met November 6, 2015 at Honey B s restaurant in Greenview. Club officers Tamara Jorstad, Jan Mitzel, Roni Vollmer, and Jo Anne Gitchell were present. Officer-elect members Suzanne Albright, Susan Osgood, and Nancy Hall were also present. The agenda included discussion of the agenda for the November graduation ceremony and meeting, new officer installation, plans for a transitional board meeting in December at Tamara s home, treasurer s report to include money set aside to replace computer/projector replacement, and the 2016 program schedule. A discussion was held on possibly continuing the scholarship for the current recipients. Winnie McKinley was attending the MOMGA meeting so there was no update from her. The Lake Area Master Gardeners met at Willmore Lodge in Lake Ozark, Mo. Eight new graduates of the spring class and one guest were present for the graduation ceremony after completing all requirements to become an active Master Gardener. Twenty six members of the club were present. A wonderful dinner of roast pork, mixed green salad, tortellini pasta salad, mixed seasonal vegetables, pumpkin cake with cream cheese center and cookies, catered by BaBa s Bistro of Camdenton, Mo, was enjoyed by everyone. More information on the caterer may be found at facebook.com/babasbistro Drawings were done for door prizes. A 2016 calendar with butterfly photographs was won by Debbie Laemmli. A Welcome Door Mat with a garden motif was won by Winnie McKinley. A pair of gardening gloves was won by Virginia Rice. Tamara Jorstad welcomed the new graduates on behalf of the Lake Area Master Gardener s. Tricia Barrett, Ag Business Specialist, Miller County Extension, congratulated the graduates on behalf of the UM Extension Program. Tricia Barrett and Winnie McKinley, LAMG class organizer, awarded certificates and active Master Gardener name badges to Suzanne Albright, Susan Osgood, Janet Johnson, Neil Ismert, Virginia Rice, Nancy Hall, Debbie Guthrie, and Sharon Cole. Tamara Jorstad then inducted them into the Order of the Trowel by presenting each graduate with a garden trowel from the Lake Area Master Gardeners. Tamara Jorstad presented Tricia Barrett, Ag Business Specialist, Miller County Extension, with a plaque of appreciation for her support of the Lake Area Master Gardeners. Installation of officers for 2016 was conducted by Tamara Jorstad. She gave a brief speech comparing being an officer of the club to a successful gardening process. The outgoing board members, Jan Mitzel, past president, and Jo Anne Gitchell, secretary, were recognized and thanked for their efforts. She presented Roni Vollmer, current treasurer, with a gardening fork. Nancy Hall, incoming secretary, received a garden trowel. Susan Osgood, incoming vice president received a garden knife. Suzanne Albright, incoming president, received garden gloves. Tamara Jorstad will remain as past president. There will be no LAMG meeting in December or January. The new officers will assume duties for the February, 2016 meeting. Tamara Jorstad, president, called the meeting to order. The minutes for October were printed in the monthly newsletter. Debbie Laemmli made a motion to approve the minutes. Charmaine Guyot seconded the motion and it passed. The treasurer s report was submitted by Roni Vollmer. There was a beginning balance of $ 8, with outflows of $ for the October glass art program and Willmore Lodge expenses. Income of $1, included Central Bank donation, dues, meal payments for Nov meeting, glove sales, and missing nametag payment. Ending balance was $ $9,

5 PAGE 5 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDERN S LEWS LETTER PAGE 5 Committee reports were given: Projects: Charmaine Guyot reported she had spoken with Central Bank regarding planting next year. This was turned over to Roni Vollmer Central Bank: Roni Vollmer reported Central Bank had donated $550 this year instead of $500. She will organize the plantings for next year. A discussion was held regarding not using plants which contain neonicotinoids for the bank plantings. Roni will have a discussion with Central Bank to see if plants can be purchased from growers who do not use this insecticide. It was recommended to try to educate the Lake Area Master Gardeners by providing information in a future newsletter. It was also recommended to educate the public regarding this subject by submitting an article to the paper. Willmore Lodge: Kathy Fayant reviewed the upcoming scheduled workdays November 12, from 11AM-3PM, and November 14, also from 11AM-3PM. Anyone may work at Willmore at any time, these are scheduled workdays for anyone who can assist in fall cleanup and winter preparation of the beds. Kathy will be presenting the program at the February meeting regarding planning for Willmore for the upcoming year. Garden Walk: Suzanne Albright reported Sylvia Riley has completed the descriptions for the gardens to be used in the tickets for next year. Nancy Hall will be working with the committee on the brochure and tickets for next year. Membership: Tamara Jorstad reported the membership book should be available at the February meeting. Pictures for the 2016 yearbook may be taken tonight or the one from last year can be reused. There is an informational form to fill out for new members. There is also a survey available for members to take regarding any ideas they have for the club. Only those members who have paid dues by February meeting will be in the yearbook. Tamara also reported that $2 of the yearly dues goes to pay the member s MOMGA dues. Scholarship: Tamara has been in contact with the second scholarship recipient. She has received the money. Ways and Means: Mildred Webster reported she still has gloves. Tamara reported one of the garden clubs may want to share in the purchase of gloves to sell to their members. One person failed to have a name tag and paid the fine of $.25. Historian/Scrapbook: Sally Burke reported she is working on back years of the scrapbook as she has the current one up to date. Photographer: Glenda Hinrichs asked if anyone else wanted to be photographer for the club. Charmaine Guyot and Sally Burke said they also take photos. Nancy Hall raised the idea of using the club Facebook page more, adding more information by members (anyone can add posts and upload photos) to make the page more useful. LAMG Class: Winnie McKinnley reported there were enough names of persons interested in the next class. Planning has started, no dates set yet. More information on when the class will be held will be available later. MOMGA: Winnie reported she attended the November meeting. Minutes should be sent out in the next MoMGA newsletter. The next MOMGA meeting is March 4, She reported there have been 2 graduates in this area who took the online offering. There is discussion about online graduates not getting volunteer hours as promised when signing up for the class. It is being considered to charge a higher fee for the class and then give a reimbursement of part of the fee after the volunteer hours are completed. It is also being considered to have some volunteer hours required to be entered before the

6 PAGE 6 next section of the online class can be taken. LAKE AREA MASTER GARDERN S LEWS LETTER Hospitality: Rita Burks thanked everyone for the refreshments brought last year. She has a sign up form for next year. Tamara Jorstad thanked Debbie Laemmli for arranging the catered meal for this meeting. Old Business: Report hours on line at This is the only way hours can be counted. Notify Tricia Barrett at Miller County Ext office if you need help with the program or wish her to enter hours. New graduates have until Oct 2016 to complete their volunteer hours. Current Master Gardeners need to have their hours entered as soon as possible. The deadline is Dec 31 st. Patricia discussed the fact that counties use these volunteer hour numbers in their annual reports. Volunteer hours are assigned a value and are used for planning. She will provide a program next year at a meeting regarding the importance of getting your hours entered by Dec 31 st each year. Library books are available. Please Tamara if you want to sign one out and she will bring it to the meeting. Members are encouraged to bring garden related books/items to the meetings for trade among members to be placed on the Share Table. Any items remaining at the end of the meeting must be taken back by the person who brought them. Jan Mitzel thanked everyone who came to her house for the October meeting. New Business: The meeting schedule for 2016 is nearly complete. All meetings are held at Willmore Lodge, except occasionally, a meeting may be held at another location, such as doing the art glass craft project at Jan Mitzel s home. Willmore Lodge normally charges for use of the lodge for meetings, but since we have Willmore Lodge beds as a club project, they allow us meeting space at no charge. Dues for 2016 are due. They are $20. Please contact the treasurer Roni Vollmer at ronivollmer@hotmail.com if you have any questions. Volunteer Opportunities: Willmore Lodge Bed maintenance: Contact Kathy Fayant at kathyfayant@yahoo.com for more information. Garden Walk June 4 th, 2016: (Also pre garden walk activities) Contact Suzanne Albright at suzannealbright47@gmail.com for more information Camp Wonderland: Requesting volunteers to help with plantings natives at the camp. Contact Tricia Barret at barretpr@missouri.edu if interested or for more information Share the Harvest in the Greenview and Camdenton areas: Always looking for volunteer help with the high tunnels, even in the winter months. Notify Tricia Barrett at barretpr@missouri.edu for contact information. Hours to report: Meeting: 2 Jo Anne Gitchell, Secretary Making A List and Checking it Twice 1. Lake Area Master Gardeners Due 2. Turn in Volunteer Hours

7 PAGE 7 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDERN S LEWS LETTER Putting the Garden to Bed for the Winter The 2015 gardening season is over and now is a good time to start planning for next year according to Patrick Byers, horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension. The first step is to clean up the garden. Remove debris that could harbor diseases. This is especially important with tomatoes. Step number two: get a soil test. Now is a good time to test your garden soil, and plan any needed applications of lime, sulfur, or fertilizers. Best of all, the Greene County Extension Center is taking $3 off the cost of soil tests during November and December. The third step is to apply some manure and compost to the garden. This allows time for decomposition before next season's garden. Finally, now is the time to mulch the perennial plants in our vegetable garden. Items like strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb will appreciate a mulch that is fluffy and does not pack down. Clean straw, four to six inches deep, is a good option. For more information on gardening, call University of Missouri Extension in Greene County at (417) or online at Take Steps to Prevent Salt Damage to Home Landscape During the winter, people rush to the car wash to rid their vehicle of accumulating salts. Just as salts cause vehicles to corrode, it can also create problems for landscape plants according to Patrick Byers, a horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension. Winter storms result in tons of salt added to the roads and sidewalks each year. When snow is cleared, it often ends up being sprayed, shoveled, and piled on trees, lawns, and perennial beds. The symptoms of salt injury include stunted yellow foliage, premature autumn leaf coloration, death of leaf margins, and twig dieback. On evergreens, needles may turn yellow or brown in early spring, said Byers. Salt damage is often confined to branches facing a street. Many plants can recover from an occasional salt spray. If it is a yearly occurrence however, death of the plant may result. To prevent salt damage, do not plant closer than 50 feet from the road. If this is not feasible, screens of fencing or burlap can be used to deter salt sprays. Snow from salted streets and sidewalks should not be piled onto plants. Salts not only injure plants directly but also can change the structure of the soil, causing the soil to become compacted. Where runoff of salt is unavoidable, flush the area around the plants in early spring by applying two inches of water over a two- to three-hour period, and then repeating three days later. This will leach much of the salt from the soil, said Byers. If salt spray from the road surface is a problem, use water to rinse the foliage and branches of any affected plants when salt spray is heavy and again in early spring. In problem areas, the salt levels in the soil can be tested. Contact the nearest county extension center for information on soil testing. The common salt used on roads and streets is sodium chloride. Alternative salts include calcium chloride and calcium magnesium acetate. Although more expensive, they will not harm plants if applied at low levels, said Byers. Another idea is to use materials like sand or sawdust on slick surfaces to improve traction. Where salt sprays can t be avoided, plant salt tolerant species or cultivars that are resistant to salt damage. Contact your local nursery or call the nearest University of Missouri Extension Center for a list of recommended salt tolerant plants.

8 L A K E A R E A UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI EXTENSION Lake Area Master Gardener Club P O Box 20/ Courthouse Annex Tuscumbia, MO Our Mission: Helping Others Learn to Grow and To Have Fun Along the Way! Lake Area Master Gardener Meeting NO MEETING IN DECEMBER December Birthdays! Phyllis Mossman Rita Burks Larry Roberts JoAnne Gitchell Mary DeLacy Dec 7th Dec 14th Dec 27th Dec 30th Dec 31st To help new and returning members remember LAMG Club Member Names Starting 2015 a twenty-five cent fee will be charge to an member failing to wear his/her LAMG/Maser Gardener name badge at the monthly meetings. Fines are to be collected by the Ways and Means Chair, Mildred Webster, and funds added to the club s income. Items for the monthly newsletter are due to the Newsletter Chair, Charli Allee, by the 26th of each month Send to normcharli@aol.com