A Publication of the Howard County Master Gardeners. December 2013 January Educating People to Help Themselves

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1 LOOSELEAF HOWARD COUNTY 3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, SUITE 240, ELLICOTT CITY, MD HOWARD COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS (410) FAX (410) A Publication of the Howard County Master Gardeners December 2013 January 2014 From Georgia s Desk With the approach of the end of 2013, we have an opportunity to look at some of our accomplishments. One of the noteworthy additions to our educational activities is participation in health expos. We staffed exhibits at three such events: one at Howard County General Hospital and two others for Howard County employees. It is appropriate to take part in these events since encouraging good health includes proper eating, and what better way to do that than by growing your own vegetables! The Ask an MG program at three libraries was coordinated by Barbara Smith. With thanks to Barbara for overseeing the program, and conducting sessions at Glenwood Library. With many thanks as well to Paul Kojzar (Central Library), and Barb White (Miller Library). Fifty-three MGs staffed the 58 clinics, resulting in contacts with 545 clients. Great record! Be sure to take a look at the 2014 syllabus which is enclosed. Roy Heath is seeking mentors and Molly McElwee will need support by training assistants and food hosts. These are all great volunteer opportunities and please keep in mind you are welcome to sit in on all classes. In recognition of the newly certified MGs and those providing service for 3, 5, 10 and 15 years and over 100 hours, a Recognition Event will be held at Miller Library, January 12, 2014, 3-5:00pm. Please put this event on your calendar since it is our only opportunity to recognize all of you for your dedication and effort. As of the November 6 data, a total of 8,019 clients were contacted and you have contributed over 5,568 hours of volunteer time. I suspect that when all the data is submitted (please do so by December 13), those numbers will greatly increase! As long as you have your 2014 calendar handy, if you re interested in native plants, Sara Tangren will conduct a three day advanced training on Native Plants of the Piedmont on Tuesdays, April 22, 29, and May 6, 9:30 a.m 3:30 p.m. Classes will be held at UME Howard County. It s been a busy, challenging and rewarding year for us! Best wishes for the holidays, and I look forward to working with you in 2014! Georgia Eacker Master Gardener Coordinator geacker@umd.edu Educating People to Help Themselves University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.

2 Dec 2013 Jan 2014 Looseleaf 1 From Georgia s Desk 2 Mt Pleasant 3 Whipps 5 Conservation Stewardship 7 News From State Office Suzette Holiday, MG, Editor webbrats@hotmail.com Training Assistants Needed for 2014 The 2014 Master Gardener training program is scheduled to run January - March, on Mondays and Wednesdays (exact times TBA). We are in need of volunteers to assist with equipment/room set up, taking roll, distributing daily handouts and room clean up. You will be able to count this time as either volunteer hours or as advanced training hours. If you are interested in participating please contact Molly McElwee at mygarden13@gmail.com or at SUBMITTED BY MOLLY MCELWEE Calendar Notes Volunteer Opportunity Fair Mark your calendar! The Volunteer Opportunity Fair will be held at the Conservancy, Mt Pleasant, Wednesday, February 19 from All master gardeners are welcome. This is a great chance to meet the 2014 class and learn about some new volunteer opportunities. SUBMITTED BY BEV DEVUONO, MG Pruning Presentation On Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 7:30 pm, Pruning will be presented at the Kings Contrivance Community Center. Please confirm attendance with Dawn Linthicum at SUBMITTED BY ANN VIETH, MG Doings at the Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant On Saturday, December 7 join the Conservancy for the Natural Holiday Sale and Crafts, from 10:00 am 3:00 pm. You will find an assortment of unique and locally crafted items for sale including natural holiday decorations from the woods, gardens and local farms and markets. Children and adults can make whimsical critters from pine cones, pods and seed heads. Shop for local pottery, hand crafted soaps and bees wax candles, jewelry, hand crafted accessories, nature and gardening books, nature photography items, kids books and finger puppets. All proceeds benefit the Conservancy s environmental education programs. This is a free event. The garden has been put to bed for the winter. Our final total of produce contributed to the food bank was 374 pounds. The first week of November we dug the last of the potatoes and planted garlic and spinach for next season. Heavy layers of leaf-gro have been applied to the rows and plants for next spring s sale have been heeled in for next spring s plant sale. Now we are free to spend the winter perusing seed catalogs and devising new ways to protect our crops from our constant animal visitors. Plan to come out to the Conservancy for a winter hike and see what is in bloom on the property. BY JO ANN RUSSO, MG AND TABBY FIQUE, MG December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 2 Howard County Master Gardeners

3 Whipps Garden Cemetery Many thanks go to the volunteers (Master Gardener, Glenelg Country School students, and Thrive volunteers) who contributed many hours pushing the heavy wheelbarrows full of mulch and chips, planting and transplanting plants, making trips to Alpha Landfill, raking the leaves, watering, and turning the compost bins. A very special thanks also goes to the support and donations of both plants and money which is the lifeblood for maintaining the cemetery. Our big accomplishment this year was updating the Rose Garden by Paul Kozjar. It continues to be a work in progress as we deal with growing the roses. Immediately after planting the roses, the deer found them to be very delectable and still do. It s interesting that only certain roses were targeted. More attention needs to be given to protect these plants next year. If you have any solutions to help deter deer we would appreciate your suggestions. A second planting of vinca plants was done in the Whipps Garden. A special deer/animal repellent and cover were added to protect the plants. Unfortunately, the voiles found the plants very tasty again. Again this year, we received a donation of 75 certified daylilies from Fred Briscoe, an Ellicott City Daylily grower, to be sold at the 2014 annual plant sale. To bring in new varieties every year, he needs to dispose of many prize varieties. Whipps is fortunate to be the recipient again this year. A special thanks goes to Jim Pede and Roy Heath. They completed the PCP water lines throughout the cemetery. Digging trenches to bury the PCP pipe was a tedious task for Jim and Roy, and it will always be appreciated when we can stop dragging water hose throughout the one acre cemetery. It doesn t sound like a big job, but dragging the water filled hose from location to location when it is hot is a heavy job. This year we received five loads of donated wood chips to spruce up the paths. Thanks to the Thrive volunteers and these donations, our paths are looking good. The cemetery seems small only one acre but its many pathways require lots of wood chips. Many of these donated chips are partially shredded so it takes an extra thick layer to maintain a decent thickness. Next year, we will continue with our current project and plan to enhance the front entrance. On Thursday, January 30, at 10 a.m., a planning meeting will be held at UME. At this meeting we will make our initial plans for Daffodil Day, Saturday, April 12 to be held again at Whipps Garden Cemetery. Note: the day has been moved one week later because our traditional potted plants would not be available earlier. The availability of potted bulbs, which we sell every year, is planned around Easter. With Easter coming later in 2014, we needed to change the date by one week. Our Annual Plant Sale will be held again at the First Lutheran Church, corner of Chatham and Frederick Roads on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10, will also be discussed. Please bring all your thoughts and ideas as this is our big fund-raiser. Don t forget Whipps when you start your spring gardening and divide your plants. It is the donation of your plants that keeps the Whipps Cemetery looking great. Donations and these fund-raisers are the only support given to maintain and beautify Whipps Garden Cemetery. Limited work at the cemetery and planning will continue at Whipps throughout the winter with falling leaves and preparation for Daffodil Day and the Plant Sale. If you are interesting in participating with our April Daffodil Day Celebration or the May Plant Sale, either with plant donations or the event itself, please contact me at agravelle@verizon.net or (cell) or (home). More information will be forthcoming on the listserv. Thank you and Happy Gardening to All. CALL FOR PLANTS Our annual plant sale will be held on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10. We invite you to share any extra garden perennials and small shrubs (no invasives, please) you are dividing with us for the sale. They can be delivered to Whipps Cemetery at 3651 St. John s Lane starting in May. Please have the plants potted up nicely and labeled common and Latin name if you know it. We have large wooden craft sticks available, if needed. It would also be nice to indicate Native" and "Sun" or "Shade". If you have plants and cannot pot them, please call me. We will not refuse them, but will need time to pot them so they get well established before the sale. Aleta Gravelle agravelle@verizon.net (cell) or December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 3 Howard County Master Gardeners

4 Whipps Garden Cemetery The Whipps Rose Garden, above, and the Whipps Herb Garden, below. BY ALETA GRAVELLE, MG December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 4 Howard County Master Gardeners

5 Middle Patuxent Environmental Area Conservation Stewardship Project A small group of volunteers met on October 22 to clean off and repair the deer-exclusion tree shelters in the spring seep portion of the Woodcock Habitat Management Area of the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. Luckily for us we finished just as it began to rain. Joining us this time was Bruce Leipold, a Columbia resident who has recently become involved in local environmental issues. Bruce is seen in the photos below. Seeing that more barberry remained untouched, a few of us returned the following Tuesday to continue the removal. Berries on some of the larger, less accessible bushes were cut off and bagged to be destroyed later. I never knew (or I've forgotten) that the smooth alder was monoecious (has catkins of both sexes on the same tree). In the photo at right, the slender, drooping catkins on the right are male; the rounder, more erect on the left. Going to the web, I just learned that since the 1950s many electric guitar manufacturers have used alder bodies, note the Fender Jazz Bass, Precision Bass, Stratocaster and Telecaste. Alder is appreciated for its claimed tight and even balanced tone, especially when compared to mahogany The catkins of some alder species are somewhat edible (though not too tasty) and may be rich in protein. Finally, alder is a host plant for many butterfly caterpillars. See List_of_Lepidoptera_that_feed_on_alders. BY AYLENE GARD, MG December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 5 Howard County Master Gardeners

6 Observing Precipitation With CoCoRaHS The motto for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) Network is "Every drop counts." I've noticed it's pretty dry in this part of Howard County, so I signed up this summer as a CoCoRaHS volunteer. I bought my professional rain gauge. A few weeks ago we got more than six inches over three days. One morning during that rain it was coming down in buckets at 7 am. I decided right then a second gauge would help a lot. Then I could put a dry one on the pole and take the one with accumulation indoors to get my reading without getting drenched myself. There was an article in the Baltimore Sun about the rain accumulation during those three days. The article cited "CoCoRaHS data" without defining what "CoCoRaHS" stands for. I was proud to show up in the newspaper in even such a subtle way. This volunteering takes just a few minutes every day. I'm hoping it snows this year so I can participate in measuring that. You can read more about CoCoRaHS at I go out every morning at 7 am and look to see what's there. CoCoRaHS wants as many observations at the same time of day as possible. Most are done at 7 am so I do that too. Many mornings in recent weeks my rain gauge showed zero accumulation. Those zeroes are as important as days with precipitation. As you can see from the photo, there's a middle section in this gauge with marked increments. Those increments are hundredths of an inch and that entire inner column holds just one inch of rain. The outer portion holds another 10 inches. By Deborah Patton, MG December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 6 Howard County Master Gardeners

7 MG News and Advanced Training Classes for Feb & March 2014 Vegetables, Native Plants Ask a MG (Plant Clinic) Statewide Meeting Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014 at the Maryland Dept. of Agriculture in Annapolis, 10am-1pm. This is not a class. This is a meeting to which all folks who take leadership roles at Ask a MG plant clinics are invited to attend. We will share what works and what doesn t, tips on how to get trained, have a successful event, and attract clients. You will learn, get new ideas, and be inspired. Please let Robin know if you want to attend (rmhessey@umd.edu). MG Annual Training Day will be Thursday, 5/29/14 at the University of Maryland College Park. Save the date!! ADVANCED TRAINING CLASSES FEB, MARCH 2014 Registration Form Grow It Eat It 2014 Train the Trainer Learn all the ways you can educate about vegetable gardening. While powerpoint presentations and giving classes are important, we can also teach through school and community gardens, creating demos and demo gardens and more. Learn about different types of gardens, where to find resources, proven teaching methods, and answers to the most common questions and issues. We ll share a new GIEI training presentation for the public as well as a new cucurbits presentation because 2014 is GIEI s Year of Cucurbits. MGs have made GIEI a hugely successful program over the past five years and it s still going strong. Join us to find out what we ve learned and how to take it to the community. Presenter: Jon Traunfeld; Registration Fee: $15 Three locations: UME Washington Co. (Boonsboro) Cylburn Arboretum (Baltimore) UME Calvert Co. (Prince Frederick) Tuesday, Feb 25 9:30-12:30 (Snow Date: Mar. 4) Wed. Feb pm Wed. Mar. 5 5:30-8:30pm Reg. Deadline: 2/18 Reg. Deadline: 2/19 Reg. Deadline: 2/26 Native Plant Essentials This course will serve as the basic introductory course to all MG Advanced Training native plant classes and as a survey course for folks who want to know what it s all about. Our presenter, Sara Tangren, Ph.D., will consider what s native and why, soils, ecology, climate and the concept of native plant communities. Why are native plants important and what does their preservation and success mean for all of us. We will also have a hands-on component at the end of the day with either identification exercises or a field walk to observe geology, soil and natural plant communities. December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 7 Howard County Master Gardeners

8 Presenter: Sara Tangren, Ph.D.; Registration Fee: $35 Cylburn Arboretum (Baltimore) UME Washington Co. (Boonsboro) Anne Arundel Co. Dairy Farm (Gambrills) Saturday, March 15 9:30-3:30 Tuesday, March 18 9:30-3:30 Thursday, March 20 9:30-3:30 Reg. Deadline: 3/7 Reg. Deadline: 3/11 Reg. Deadline: 3/13 Organic Vegetable Gardening Tuesday, March 25, am-4pm UME Montgomery Co. (Derwood) Presenter: Jon Traunfeld Registration Fee: $35 Registration Deadline: 3/18/14 You too can have a successful organic vegetable garden! In this program we will define the terms "organic" and "sustainable" and teach you about the products and techniques that will help you succeed. We'll also discuss contaminants, safety, climate change, reading labels, soils and fertilizers. Get this important overview and the specific information you'll need for both your own garden and for teaching others. This is an intensive, interactive class where we will be doing pre-class assignments on-line so that we can spend more class time doing hands-on activities. Participants will need to make arrangements to have computer access to complete pre-class learning assignments. Registration Form SUBMITTED BY ROBIN HESSEY, MG All MGs Invited to Subscribe to the HGIC Newsletter This November issue of the Home and Garden Information Center monthly e-newsletter is the 6 th produced this year. Dan Adler, our Web & Communications Coordinator, developed it, produces it each month, and distributes it to 4,000+subscribers. Dan also includes a fresh video clip each month. The newsletter is FREE. Please subscribe if you re not getting it and encourage MGs and all your clientele to subscribe. The newsletter is aimed for the general public but has timely and important information for MGs. All issues are archived on the HGIC website under Information Library. SUBMITTED BY JON TRAUNFELD, DIRECTOR, HOME AND GARDEN INFORMATION CENTER December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 8 Howard County Master Gardeners

9 December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 9 Howard County Master Gardeners

10 Wishing you and your family a very safe and Happy Holiday Season From University of Maryland Extension Howard County Office Master Gardener Program December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 10 Howard County Master Gardeners

11 Come Join us for the Master Gardener Holiday Celebra on Monday, December 9, :30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. 4-H Activities Hall at the Howard County Fairgrounds 2210 Fairground Road, West Friendship, MD We will celebrate with a Pot Luck Luncheon. Please bring your favorite appetizer, main course, salad or dessert. Please RSVP to Karen Palm by December 6, 2013 Palm.Karen@gmail.com or and let her know what one food item you will be bringing. Please wear your MG name tag.

12 All Master Gardeners are invited to attend our 2013 RECOGNITION EVENT The Class of 2013 will receive diplomas and other MGs who have achieved milestones will be recognized! Family members welcome! Sunday, January 12, :00 p.m. 4:45 p.m. Miller Branch Library Ellicott Room RSVP to Karen Palm by January 8, 2014 or December 2013-January 2014 Looseleaf 12 Howard County Master Gardeners