The Guadalupe Gardener July 2010 A monthly publication of the Guadalupe County Master Gardeners in cooperation with the Texas AgriLIFE Extension, Guadalupe County Notes from the Garden - of Linda Bruno, President July in Texas hot and hotter. Time for fall gardens. That s the interesting part of being a gardener if you aren t a full season ahead then you re behind. The same thing applies to what we as a group have coming up in events. The County Fair, the start of the new class, the children s tours at the Agricultural Heritage Center, to name three of the big ones. We still need someone to coordinate the County Fair for acceptance of field crops and information booth setup. We are also looking for a volunteer to help with the test grading for the class. And there are on-going workdays at the Schertz Community Garden. Please try to fit some of these events into your volunteer schedules. There is plenty of information in the newsletter about who to contact. And you should be getting updates by email. If not, please let me know. Officer elections will also be coming up soon. If you are thinking about running for an office, we would love to have you sit in on the Board meetings. Thanks to all of you who were able to attend the Ice Cream Social in June. The flower bingo was fun, the ice cream was wonderful and the desert table was a work of art. Please thank the ladies who made it possible when you see them. July Meeting July 15, 2010 Greg Collum will present wildlife management of property; how increasing the habitat for wildlife can result in property tax reduction. Jan Quello, Marilyn Anderson, & Georgia Speir have graciously agreed to provide refreshments. Don t forget to bring your plants for the plant exchange table. In This Issue Page 2 - Ice Cream Social Page 3 - New MGs, Community Garden Page 4 - Class 22 Page 5 - Springs Hill Demo Garden Page 6 - Festival of Flowers, Beware Snakes! Page 7 - Compost Specialist Training Page 8 - Education - Classes - Seminars Page 11 - Volunteer Opportunities Page 12 - Gardening Events Page 13 - Calendar July Newsletter Deadline - July 24th As always, if you have any questions or comments, please let me know. Linda Bruno jlbruno@gvec.net or 210-363-8380 Please help with this earlier deadline. I will be going on a trip to Alaska, leaving July 28th. Won t leave much time for the Newsletter. Thanks. Elaine 1
Association News JUNE ICE CREAM SOCIAL The June Ice Cream Social had a great turn out of Master Gardeners and guests; 57 in all. There was a wonderful selection of Ice Cream and Goodies. We sampled gourmet ice cream flavors such as the Lavendar Lemon from the Teweles; Virginia Biggs famous Peppermint Ice Cream, Yummy Mango from Martha Edwards, Homegrown Peaches-N-Cream, Chocolate-Chocolate Chip, Poteet Strawberry, Vanilla and the list goes on. There were so many cookies, pies and cakes, we barely made a dent. Debra Elia brought enough paper goods to last us for months. Thank you to everyone that provided the great treats and ice cream toppings. The cheerful decorations were made by Peggy Jones, Pat Schultze and Iris Seale. A special thanks to Pat Schultze for calling the Flower Bingo. What fun! There were about 35 bingo prizes thanks to Betty Hughes. We viewed the award winning video from Nueces County Master Gardeners on their Junior Master Gardener program Learning to Grow. I hope it will inspire us to do something similar. Oh and most important of all we certified 3 new Master Gardeners: Nancy Cude, and the Johnstons, Eddie and Joyce. Again many thanks to all for coming and participating. Ice Cream Social Chair, Peggy Jones Pat Schultze calls Flower Bingo What a Spread! Quite a Crowd! Starting young Thank to Linda Bruno for the camera and Nancy Stuhl & Linda Bruno for taking the pictures. 2
Update on the Schertz Community Garden Even from the small number of plants we have growing in the Garden, we have been able to take three offerings of tomatoes, squash and cucumbers to RACAP. Not a lot, but they did seem pleased with what we provided. The plants are suffering with the heat now and the cukes are pretty much finished. We are starting to prepare for fall planting. We have set Tuesday mornings as a standing workday; weekends will be scheduled as needed. Unless it is raining, we will be there Tuesday mornings at 8:00 a.m. starting on June 29 th. If you want to join us, just show up. If you email me at jlbruno@gvec.net, I ll put in extra water for you or will be happy to let you know what we are doing. Again, if you have extra tools, a wheelbarrow or wagon, that is taking up space in your garden or shed, we would love to have those items to leave at the Garden. Hauling everything we need to work takes up a lot of time. Contact me if you can help. Linda Bruno jlbruno@gvec.net or 210-363-8380. The Master Gardener Association is a volunteer organization We need YOU to help with our projects. Newly Certified Master Gardeners Linda Bruno presents new Guadalupe County Master Gardeners their certificates and name tags. Nancy Cude Joyce and Eddie Johnston 3
CLASS 22 - CLASS 22 - CLASS 22 THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for promoting Master Gardener Class #22!! As of Monday, June 21 st, we have 14 paid applications! Many of the new students want to take the course due to the encouragement of their Master Gardener friends and positive experiences with our community activities. Our new students are enthusiastic about the course and the Master Gardener Program. The size of our classes is nominally 20, to cover expenses; but, we will accept up to 30 students, all that our classroom can hold. We shouldn t have any problem filling the 20 spaces, but it would be nice to have more prospective Master Gardener Interns. The next critical class date is July 15 th when the 10% registration discount expires. The deadline for student applications is July 30 th. The Master Gardener class will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 PM in Seguin at the Agri- Life Extension building. Full details on the class, class registration can easily be found on our website http://www.guadalupecountymastergardeners.org/ Class Schedule Aug 11 ORIENTATION Travis Franke, Guadalupe County Extension Agent; Linda Bruno, Presi dent, Guadalupe County Master Gardeners Aug 18 - Plant Growth & Development Liz Palfini, Texas Parks and Wildlife Park Ranger, Botany Instructor at Northeast Lake View Community College, MS degree in Botany, University of Florida Aug 25 - Soils, Water & Plant Nutrients - Malcolm Beck, founder of Gardenville, author of The Garden-Ville Method Lessons in Nature & The Secret Life of Compost. Co-author with Howard Garrett of Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening & The Texas Bug Book Sep 1 - Lawn Care Dennis Hale, Wilson County Extension Agent Sep 8 - Firewise & Wildfire Preparedness in Landscaping - Jan Fulkerson, Texas Forest Service, Urban Wildland Interface Specialist focusing on Neighborhood & Community Planning; Oak Wilt Mark Duff, Staff Forester II with the Texas Forest Service responsible for implementation of Oak Wilt Suppression & Forest Stewardship programs Sep 15 - Home Fruit & Nut Production - Dr. Larry Stein, Professor & Extension Horticulturist, Texas A&M. Emphasis on production horticulture working with pecans, fruits, grapes & vegetable crops. Sep 18 - Saturday Class 12 Noon 4 PM Plant Propagation - Susan Jung & Tommy Clayton Travis County Master Gardeners, assisted by Sandy Foss and Kathy Carroll, GCMGs, all are Propagation Specialists Sep 22 - Backyard Vegetable Growing - Patty Leander, Travis County Master Gardener and contributor on vegetable gardening to the Master Gardener newsletter as well as Texas Gardener magazine. She has a BS degree in Nutrition from Texas. Sep 29 - Botanically Speaking, Wildflower, Weed Identification and More Flo Oxley, Director of Conservation & Education, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; BS Botany & MS Mycology. Staff member of the LBJ Wildflower Center for fifteen years; oversees the seed bank and herbarium programs. Oct 2 - Saturday Field Trip 8 AM to Noon, Visit My Father s Farm, a Certified Organic Farm, presentation by Pedro Schambon Jr.; and Green Gate Nursery in Seguin with tour by Joe Tocquigney, owner. Meet at My Father s Farm at 8 AM. (Continued on following page) 4
(CLASS 22 - Continued from preceding page) Oct 6 - Landscape Horticulture and Design Mike Pecen, Landscape Architect and Instructor, Palo Alto College. Oct 13 Entomology 101 and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Molly Keck, IPM Program Specialist, AgriLife Extension, Bexar County. BS Biology; MS Entomology. Oct 20 - Herbs - Mary Dunford, Owner of Natures Herb Farm Oct 23 Saturday Class 9:00 AM 1:00 PM Rainwater Harvesting - Liz & Fred Romero and George Ammermann, GCMGs, Certified Rainwater Harvesting Specialists Oct 27 Native and Adapted Plants/Xeriscaping Deedy Wright, GCMG, President, Guadalupe Co. Native Plant Society of Texas. Nov 3 - Diagnosing & Managing Plant Problems - Dr. Mark Black, Professor & Extension Plant Pathologist, Texas A&M. Nov 10 - Tree Care - Nancy Masterson, Certified Arborist, GCMG Nov 17 - Organic Gardening - John Dromgoole, The Natural Gardener, has oldest continuous organic gardening radio show on KLBJ, Owner of The Natural Gardener Inc., manufacturer of Lady Bug products. Nov 24 - NO CLASS Thanksgiving Evening Dec 1 Graduation and The Texas Master Gardener Program Jayla Fry, Extension Assistant and Master Gardener, Co-Editor of the Texas Master Gardener Handbook; Travis Franke, Guadalupe County Extension Agent This is the Water Wise Garden at Springs Hill Water Company that the Master Gardeners did. It looks pretty great, doesn't it? Photos taken by Clara Mae Marcotte on June 23rd. 5
FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS Betty Hughes manning the Native Plant Society Booth,;George Ammermann and Pat Schultze and Peggy Jones enjoying the exhibits; Barbara McIntyre, Elaine McIntyre and Pat Schultze at the Vegetable Seminar. Photos courtesy of Peggy Jones. BEWARE! Keep your eyes open and watch where you step. Shown with big game hunter Joe Bruno, this lovely rattlesnake was coiled up on a shelf on Linda Bruno s mom s back porch. It was rather slow since it had just eaten. The snake is minus it s head in the picture but is about 5 feet plus. 6
Composter Specialist Training th Elaine McIntyre and Linda Bruno attended the Specialist Compost Training class which started June 9. The first two days we were at the San Antonio Botanical Center listening to a group of excellent speakers. We also had the opportunity to assist in construction of a demonstration compost bin and there is nothing worse than a group of Master Gardeners critiquing construction of anything done for the garden. Of the twenty plus students, we all had twenty plus different ideas about how the bin should go together and how it could be improved. We sure had fun! The third day we spent the morning at the New Earth facility with the owner, Clayton Leonard, who gave us an amazing tour. He takes playing in the dirt to a new level. To see what he starts with and the wonderful compost that results gave us hope that we could duplicate some of those efforts in our own gardens. We are still digesting all the information and the research sources that were provided. Lots of credit to Lou Kellogg and David Rodriguez of Bexar County for putting together an awesome program. Are Elaine and Linda ready to pass on all the information we learned? Not yet, but we are working on it. We ll get back with you once the internal temperatures have heated up, the microbes have really started working to break everything down and we have some good potent compost created. Class views lots of compost Linda Bruno in awe of monster row turner Clayton Leonard with heavy duty temperature meter New Earth compost operation 7
Master Gardener Specialist Training Update Citriculture Specialist Training - July 29-30 Fort Bend County Ag/Extension Center, Rosenburg Plant Propagation Specialist Training - Aug 26-28 in Taylor County Citriculture Specialist Training - September 2-3, The Neighborhood Place, 3014 Rivas St, San Antonio Entomology Specialist Training Sep 27 Oct 1 in San Antonio Irrigation Efficiency Training - October 27-29 in Dallas County For more information see listings on the TMGA website http://www.texasmastergardeners.com/ Classes at San Antonio Botanical Garden Tomatoes, Peppers and More (Earth-Kind Landscape Series) Saturday, August 14-1-3 p.m. Want to have the first tomatoes on the block? Like hot or sweet peppers? Well, come visit with Extension Horticulturist David Rodriguez of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service to learn about improving your spring vegetable garden production and a whole lot more. Limit 30. Fees: $20.00 per session. Please make your check payable to Bexar County Master Gardeners. To register, please contact Sasha Kodet at 210-207-3270 or sasha.kodet@sanantonio.gov. Participants must register by noon on Friday, August 13. Junior Master Gardener Class 5 July 26, 2010 (Mon) Junior Master Gardener Class 5 will be held at the San Antonio Botanical Garden from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. The JMG program is a new and innovative 4-H youth gardening program. This class offers horticultural and environmental science education, and leadership and life skills development though fun and creative activities. This program is committed to helping children become good gardeners and good citizens so they can make a positive contribution to their community, school, and family. If there is anyone from Guadalupe County who wants to take the class, they would be most welcome. It s close and it s reasonable in price. Contact Jeremy Stavinoha at 467-6575 for more information. 8
NEW - Earth-Kind DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS Website Providing relevant, high quality Extension educational information on DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS is an important Earth-Kind objective for 2010. To meet this objective we have assembled a variety of different educational resources on a NEW website http://earthkind.tamu.edu/drought/ Earth-Kind Evaluation Evaluation is one of the key strengths of the Earth-Kind program. We encourage you to use the scanable evaluation forms and cover sheet as part of any Landscape Water Conservation programs you present. ALSO - be sure to encourage the use of the on-line evaluation form where/when possible. REMEMBER - you can access your County evaluation data using our Earth-Kind On-line Evaluation Database. Available on the Agent Only Section of Aggie Horticulture (see instructions above for access). If you have questions or comments please contact Extension Horticulture at your convenience. What is Earth-Kind Landscaping? Earth-Kind Landscaping uses research-proven techniques to provide maximum garden and landscape enjoyment while preserving and protecting the environment. The objective of Earth-Kind Landscaping is to combine the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles to create a horticultural system based on real world effectiveness and environmental responsibility. Earth-Kind Landscaping Encourages: Landscape Water conservation Reduction of fertilizer and pesticide use Landscaping for energy conservation Reduction of landscape wastes entering landfills Individuals using Earth-Kind landscaping principles and practices can create beautiful, easy-care landscapes, while conserving and protecting natural resources and the environment. For more info visit our website at: http://earthkind.tamu.edu 2010 Plant Propagation Classes at San Antonio Botanical Garden: Thursday, September 9, 9 am - 11 am, San Antonio Botanical Garden Learn the techniques our horticulturists and volunteers use to propagate plants in the Garden. Participants will make their own cuttings to take home and have the opportunity to explore the greenhouse and purchase some of the beautiful plants expertly cultivated by the San Antonio Botanical Society Plant Sale Volunteers (exact cash or check only). Most plants are $8/gallon. Limit 20 participants. Fee: $20/class. To register, please contact Sasha Kodet at (210) 207-3270 or sasha.kodet@sanantonio.gov 9
Guadalupe County (Schertz/Seguin) Chapter Native Plant Society of Texas We will hold a meeting in July and take just one month's summer "break" in August. Trees are a major investment in any landscape, in money, water and time, so selecting the right trees is critical. On Tuesday, July 13th, the Guadalupe County (Schertz/ Seguin) Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas will learn from Nancy Masterson, Certified Arborist, about selecting, planting and caring for native trees. Nancy is a retired public relations executive who has been a Certified Arborist since 1993. She was previously employed by American Forests, a national non-profit organization that promotes tree planting and care. The Society meets on the second Tuesday at their new location, The Library, 500 Bulldog, Marion. There is a plant exchange and getting to know you at 6.30 pm followed by the program at 7pm. We welcome all visitors. For more information or an application to join NPSOT contact: www.npsot.org/ GuadalupeCounty/ FUTURE PROGRAMS Aug 19 -- Liz Palfini, Texas Parks and Wildlife - Plants and Human Affairs Sep 16 -- JoNelle Zager - Irises Oct 21 -- Flo Oxley - Seeds of Success Members in Service Texas Master Gardener Board of Directors Deedy Wright Two Year Term Kay Wolverton One Year Term Pat Schultze - Alternate, Two Year Term Sandy Foss - Alternate, One Year Term Herbs for the Garden, Kitchen, and Bath July 24th - 9:30 a.m. Savor the joys of an edible and useful landscape! Herbalist and horticulturalist Diane Lewis will present a PowerPoint with great herb pictures and discuss the herbs best suited to this area and how to blend them into everyday life. Learn how to cultivate, harvest, and store herbs and save money! Have fun learning how to make a relaxing tea blend and bath salts with samples to take home. Enjoy lunch (recipes will be provided) and a guided tour of the herb garden at the Botanical Garden. Fee: $43. A supply fee of $10 is payable to the instructor and covers materials, herbal tea, bath salts and an herbal-based lunch. Admission to the gardens included in the cost of the class. 10
Volunteer Opportunities MORE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES There are a number of volunteer opportunities available for Master Gardeners. First of all, there are several projects where a coordinator is needed. This, of course, does not mean you do all the work. It means you find volunteers or set workdays. Christmas social Pecan Festival in October Guadalupe County Fair in October (need coordinator and lots of volunteers) Ag Fair ( need three weeks worth of volunteers) Anyone who needs hours or who feels like doing a good deed should go on over to the extension office. There are weeds (and baby pecan trees) growing in the flower beds and in the walkway. Also, the wildflower seeds need harvesting out of the wildflower area. Contact Clara Mae Marcotte at rcm.marcotte@gmail.com or call 830-379-3485. Molly Keck needs bugs! She is hosting an Entomology Camp in July and would like to start collecting bugs to give to the kids to complete their collections. If you guys are finding the dead katydids, millipedes, walking sticks, and whatever else we are being plagued with right now, she would LOVE to have them! Just stick them in the freezer or rubbing alcohol to keep them preserved until you get a chance to come by the Bexar County Extension Office. 11
Gardening Events Third Annual Gourmet Chili Pepper & Salsa Festival July 23 & 24, 2010 Join us and "Spice It Up!" at the Gourmet Chili Pepper & Salsa Festival, held on the grounds of Wildseed Farms, 7 miles outside of Fredericksburg! Festival includes: Guest Chefs & Speakers (topics will include cooking with peppers and spices),.specialty food booths, Entertainment, Hot Air Balloons, Wildflower & pepper fields, Butterfly Haus, and Food Court Hours: FRIDAY - 3 PM - 10 PM SATURDAY - 10 AM - 11 PM Admission: Adults - 12 & over are $10 each. 2-day passes are $16. Kids - 12 & younger are $5 each. 2-day passes are $8. San Antonio Cactus & Xerophyte Society 21 July 2010 Meeting is at the San Antonio Garden Center. The program will be Overcoming the Odds--An Island Cactus Garden near Rainy Vancouver BC, city of the winter Olympics, by Bjorn Steffenson a member of our club. Social starts 6:30 pm food, drinks. There will be a show & tell so bring a couple plants Plants should have at least the common name. This would be a good time for you to get them named properly for the April show. There will be a plant or things (plants, pots, planting mix) auction. Program starts at 7:30 pm. For more information call or email Claude at 210-655-8959 or ctownsend@satx.rr.com. 12
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2` 3 KWED Radio 1580 AM Lawn & Garden Show 9:05 a.m.. 4 5Master Gardener Office/Library Open 8:30-NOON 6 7 8 GCMG Board Meeting - 6:30 p.m. (tentative) 9 10 KWED Radio 1580 AM Lawn & Garden Show 9:05 a.m. 11 12 Master Gardener Office/Library Open 8:30-NOON 13 14 15 GCMG Meeting 7 p.m. 16 17 KWED Radio 1580 AM Lawn & Garden Show 9:05 a.m. New Moon 18 19 Master Gardener Office/Library Open 8:30-NOON 20 21 22 23 24 KWED Radio 1580 AM Lawn & Garden Show 9:05 a.m. Newsletter Deadline 25 26 Master Gardener Office/Library Open 8:30-NOON 27 28 29 30 31 O Full Moon 13
Guadalupe County Master Gardeners, Inc. 210 East Live Oak St. Seguin, TX 78155 Guadalupe County Master Gardeners http://www.guadalupecountymastergardeners.org 830-379-1972 Ext 210 Guadalupe County Extension Office http://www.guadalupe-tx.tamu.edu/ 830-379-1972 Texas Master Gardeners http://www.aggie-horticulure.tamu.edu/mastergardener GCMG Officers & Board of Directors Linda Bruno President George Ammermann President Elect Doug Biggs Vice President Dale Odvody Secretary Betty Hughes Treasurer Open Education Chairman Peggy Jones Publication Chairman Clara Mae Marcotte Volunteer Chairman Sandy Foss New Member Support Bob Teweles Class 22 Coordinator Randee Malmsten Web Master Travis Franke AgriLIFE Agent Master Gardener Coordinator July Meeting Thursday, July 15, 2010 Time 7 PM AgriLife Extension Building 210 E. Live Oak, Seguin, Tx Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination by the Master Gardeners is implied, and no endorsement by the Master Gardeners is implied. Educational programs conducted by the Guadalupe County Master Gardeners serve people of all ages, regardless of socioeconomic level, color, sex, religion, handicap, or national origin. Elaine McIntyre, Editor (elaine@tindomorgans.com) Marilyn Moltz, The Wandering Gardener Marcia Richardson, Reporter 14