Roots & Shoots April / May 2010 April 6, 2010 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI  48304 Speaker : Peter Bray–Education: “Peak Oil, Food Supply & Home Gardening’” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. Note Date Change ? May 11, 2010 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI  48304 Speaker : Jan Bills and Dawna Tennant of Two Women and a Hoe –Education: “Pruning Techniques, Mulch & Compost” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. June 1, 2010 @ 6:30pm MGSOC General Society Meeting & Location Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 5631 North Adams Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI  48304 Speaker : Peggy Kernstock and Dan Draves of the Dahlia Hill Society of Midland –Education: “Planting, Growing and Caring for Dahlias” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational Program. Carol’s Corner Well we’ve weathered the winter and hopefully seen the last of the snow. With spring comes more and more volunteer opportunities, so I hope you’ve had a restful winter and are now ready to jump into action! We are gearing up for the Ask a Master Gardener…Helping People Grow annual fundraiser. This will take place on Saturdays starting May 8 and running through June 5. This is the only time we have MGV’s going into retail garden centers to help relieve their employees by answering questions from their patrons. No stocking shelves or unloading trucks allowed. The garden centers give a donation to our Oakland County MGVP office for every hour you are there. This year we have 4 ACO hardware stores with garden centers participating. I hope you will consider volunteering at one of them. All stores give a discount to the volunteer on the day they are volunteering to show their appreciation for this service. Denise Jones is once again taking the leadership for this program. She’s been doing this for us for many many years. THANK YOU DENISE!! Watch for the sign-ups to appear in an upcoming issue of the Oakland Gardener. Most Farmers Markets will be starting up the first week in May. This year we are adding the Lake Orion market to our list of markets with MGV information tables. This is a Wednesday afternoon market and the table needs to be staffed from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. Last year I heard great things about this market, so go and check it out! Volunteering to staff the information table is the perfect excuse for a road trip! Look for the farmer market information email this month. THANK YOU RUTH!! The Master Gardener Volunteer Recognition Banquet will be on May 27 at White Lake Oaks. The email invitation with all the details will be posted after April 1 which is the deadline date for the winter class of 2009 to get their hours to us. The majority of the certificates handed are from the 2009 classes. Anyone wishing to donate a door prize can contact me. Wishing all of you a beautiful spring filled with blooming bulbs and weed free gardens! Reminder: The grace period for late dues payment expired March 1st, 2010. If you have not paid your dues for this year, a guest fee of $3.00 is required for attendance at the monthly Master Gardener Society of Oakland County meetings. If you wish to renew your membership at the next meeting and have been recertified by submitting your volunteer and education hours to the Extension office, applications are available at the Hospitality desk. Dues are $15.00, payable by cash or check. Help! The Master Gardener Society of Oakland County (MGSOC) is seeking one or two people to assist the MGSOC Programs Team Leader, DeeAnn Bauer, in meeting, greeting and introducing the speakers at the monthly MGSOC general meetings. The Program team members will also assist the Team Leader in selecting possible speakers for the 2011 general meetings. If the Team Leader is unavailable, the Program team assistant will occasionally be called upon to represent the Program Team leader at the MGSOC monthly meetings or the MGSOC board meetings. If you are interested in participating on the MGSOC programs team, please contact the MGSOC Program Coordinator, DeeAnn Bauer, at mailto:DMBauer@comcast.net Healthy Lawn Care Gary Eichen, who has been an arborist for 22 years, gave a talk about the facts and myths of healthy lawn care at our February meeting. The Healthy Lawn Care Program for Watershed Protection is sponsored by the Michigan Green Industry Association for the Lawn Care Professional of Michigan. Members are dedicated to lawn care that does not pollute the five watersheds in southeast Michigan. In general, we put too much effort into our lawns, and we do not follow certain basic principles that would make our work easier. There are three elements that we need to consider: soil, grass and cultural practices. Soil is formed by layers with organic matter on the top, surface soil next, then subsoil, then substratum. The organic matter on the top is full of microorganisms; in fact, one teaspoon of soil contains between 100 million and 1 billion bacteria. They have a symbiotic relationship with the grass, processing organic matter so that the grass roots can get more food and effectively increasing the root surface that can take up water. So first and foremost, we need to protect and feed the microorganisms. Annual soil testing is highly recommended. Plants like grass create their own food through photosynthesis. In order to spread and get thicker, the grass needs oxygen. Different varieties of grass reproduce in different ways: by stolons, rhizomes or bunching. Cool season grasses like fescue, rye and Kentucky blue grass have a natural cycle of growth: late winter and early spring is a time for root growth; late spring and early summer bring blade growth; in late summer and late fall the grass stores energy in its roots for the winter. The greatest root and shoot growth takes place in spring and fall. In a healthy lawn 1 cubic inch of soil contains 2000 roots with 1 million root hairs. It is best to have different varieties of grasses in your lawn to prevent the spread of disease. Cultural practices include watering, mowing, fertilization and pesticide use. For best results you should not water after 5 p.m. so that the grass will not get fungal diseases. Light, frequent watering is most effective – optimum is 0.5 inches 3 times per week. Fertilizer should be used carefully so that excess nutrients are not washed into nearby waterways. Fertilizer should be at least 50% slow release. Nitrogen gives color and growth; phosphorous feeds the root system; and potash feeds the root system and increases winter hardiness. Since soils in Michigan are rich in phosphorous and excess phosphorous causes algae blooms, fertilizer with low or no phosphorous should be used. More fertilizer is not better! One pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet is adequate, and there should be a buffer zone of 15-25 feet around any body of water. A broadcast spreader gives a more even application than a drop spreader. For optimum results, the fertilizer should be watered in. Gary recommends the holiday schedule of fertilization: Memorial Day, Labor Day and Halloween. Since the grass needs its blades for photosynthesis, it should not be mowed too short. On his own lawn, Gary mows short the first time in the spring, and then lets it grow to 6 inches before mowing again. After a few days, he mows at 4 ½ inches, then at 3 ½ inches the rest of the season. Core aeration should be done annually in mid-spring or early fall and is very important because it gets oxygen into the organic and surface soil layers. The cores themselves redistribute and liberate soil nutrients as well. Coring decreases compaction and thatch. Cleats just don’t do it! Thatch is a layer of organic matter on top of the soil that helps to regulate soil temperature and cushions the grass when people walk on it. Deep thatch is destructive to the grass because it impedes water and air flow and results in shallow root growth. Core aeration is the best remedy for removing an excessive thatch layer. A thick lawn is the best defense against weeds, since weed seeds need to make contact with soil in order to germinate. The kinds of weed killers used on grass are growth accelerators and should be used with gloves and eye protection. Make sure to read and follow the application procedure on the label. Weeds take 7-10 days to die. Bull thistle and ground ivy have hairy leaves, so weed killers are ineffective until after the first frost has killed the hairs. Spotted spurge and common purslane are succulents with milky juice, and standard weed control will not be effective. Triclopyr and clopyralid work but are very long lasting and should be spot sprayed only. Glyphosate is a non-selective weed killer and should not be used on grass. Diseases can destroy lawns. The best defenses against disease are a strong healthy lawn made up of different varieties of grasses and proper watering practices. A brown spot in the lawn is not necessarily due to lack of water. Overseeding should be done in the fall using rye grass seed, the best grass for sun. Fescue grasses do best in the shade. A lawn service should do an initial on-site consultation, offer soil nutrient testing, use slow release fertilizer with low or no phosphorous and use integrated pest management practices. Information on healthy lawn practices can be found at www.landscape.org and at the SOCWA website. —Submitted by Jean Gramlich Forgotten Harvest Although the highly anticipated March educational program, “Organic Fertilizers and Soil Amendments” was unfortunately canceled due to the illness of Dale White, owner of Uncle Luke’s Feed Store just the day before it was supposed to take place, Master Gardeners are neither deterred by such setbacks nor short on ability to handle them. And it was a Master Gardener by the name of Anne Ginn (aginn@forgottenharvest.org) who graciously came to rescue our program when a speaker was needed. Anne is the Public Policy Director for Forgotten Harvest, the second largest food rescue operation in the country. Founded in 1990, Forgotten Harvest was formed to fight two problems: hunger and waste. Its mission to relieve hunger in the Detroit metropolitan community by rescuing prepared and perishable food and donating it to emergency food providers is organically coupled with the activity of reducing waste by meeting it head-on before it becomes waste. Wasted food has a major environmental impact because it produces methane gas. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in estimates from 2007, claimed there were over 31.7 million tons of solid waste. This, while agencies claim having to turn away 26% of the people who asked for help to feed themselves and their children because the cupboards were running bare. Anne told us that people who live on food stamps are really getting only $3.32 per day for expenses. Food stamps typically only last about a third of the month while every day perfectly edible vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy products advance their way to waste sites. In their 2008/2009 year, Forgotten Harvest rescued 12.5 million pounds of food by collecting donations from a variety of sources such as grocery stores, restaurants, caterers, dairies, farmers, wholesale food distributors, and other Health Department-approved sources. This donated food, that would otherwise go to a landfill, is delivered free of charge to emergency food providers in the metro Detroit area. The individuals and families served are as diverse as the community’s residents – young and old, from all races and faiths and for many, this re-harvested resource may be the only nourishment they get in a day. In 2009, Forgotten Harvest began a mobile pantry program at 13 sites in South-eastern Michigan. In cooperation with the Rock City Kitchen, the harvested foodstuff is reassembled into individual and four-person packages designed to contain 50% protein and 50% starch and vegetables, which are then distributed via the mobile pantry. Already business is up over 30% from last year and it is expected that 18 to 19 million pounds of food will be rescued in 2009/10. Forgotten Harvest fully under-stands the harmony and synergy between the activities they champion and continues to explore ways to improve the process and opportunities to grow. One way to facilitate operations is to become a USDA-certified processor themselves and Forgotten Harvest is on the way to accomplishing that goal. Amazingly, Forgotten Harvest accomplishes so much and yet gets little or no government financial support. Occasionally they receive funding from FEMA but the Department of Agriculture (USDA) only provides monies when there is some collaborative effort between the two organizations. Revenue actually comes primarily from foundations, corporations and individuals. And that’s where we as MGs might factor in. Whether we work a Plant-A-Row garden at Tollgate, Bittersweet, or Bower Farm or take our own garden bounty to a pick-up site, we can be an important part of this growth process. After all, it’s what we do, isn’t it? —Submitted by Susan Tatus McLarty Someone / Somewhere Living in Detroit near 6 Mile and Mt. Elliott, this little boy went with his grandfather to their three lots of vegetables and flowers for many days and many years. They grew corn, potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, squash, etc., and wonderful rows of raspberries. How delicious! Of course, there was always weeding that had to be done, but he didn’t mind since he got to eat this wonderful bounty of earth. When he wasn’t gardening, he was singing in the church choir. At age 12, he was the boy soprano. When he was older he became the baritone bass at Edwin Denby High School in Detroit. When he worked for AAA in Dearborn, he organized a choir. He obtained the accompanist and choir director, as well as his co-workers. They were given a room to practice and became so good, they gave Spring and Christmas Concerts. Just who is this wonder of gardening and music? Why, it’s Tom Hershberger, the Co-Master Gardener of the Year for 2008. The things you learn when you are young, stay with you throughout your life. In July of 1991,Tom had quadruple by-pass surgery. While recuperating, his mother suggested he take the Master Gardener Course. Since he loved gardening, it seemed the logical thing to do. Tom obtained his Master Gardener Basic Certification in 1992 and his Advanced Master Gardener Certification in 1994. He has almost 1,800 volunteer hours, and is looking forward to reaching the 2,000 hour mark. When Tom needed to get hours, he volunteered as assistant with each new MG class for 3 or 4 years. He has also manned a table for “Let’s Go Gardening”(now known as Ask a Master Gardener… Helping People Grow), going to 2 or 3 nurseries in the month. For 11 years he worked the Information Booth at the Michigan State Fair, with the last four years as Coordinator between Oakland County and the Fair. As many of you know, there are a lot of serious and comical questions when working the MG information booth, so it was an interesting and fun experience. Tom was also the MGSOC Society Membership Chairperson for a few years. He was Vice President of MGSOC for 1 1/2 years and President in 2008 and 2009. Tom said, “It was an honor to be the President; a lot of work but also a lot of fun.” Throughout the years, MGSOC had obtained so many new members, it outgrew the meeting area at Bowers Farm. While President of MGSOC, Tom was able to obtain a new meeting site for the Society, with the Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, in Bloomfield Hills. As we mentioned earlier, Tom worked for the American Automobile Association (AAA). He was the Director of the Collections Dept. with approximately 100 people reporting to him. He retired after 34 years and then worked for another 12 years for a professional hair care wholesaler. Tom met his wonderful wife Kathy, while working at AAA. They have been married for 33 years and have two children and 3 grandchildren. They must have inherited Tom’s musical talent because all of them play musical instruments, and Tom and Kathy enjoyed the musical concerts they have heard down through the years. Tom is also a sports card collector. At one time he had 500,000 cards, however, when they moved from Clawson to Warren, he sold most of them. He also collects autographs; Lou Gehrig, Mitzi Gaynor, Charlie Granger, and Lowell Thomas, just to name a few. His DVD collection numbers in the 400’s, and his CD collection is huge. Tom continues to garden, with Day Lilies and Hostas among his favorites. As we close this article on Tom we can only say. . . . Growing up with music and gardening - how perfect can it get! Growing up in a flower shop was a lot of fun for a little girl. Surrounded by flowers everyday makes you feel good, gives you a love for all the pretty colors, shapes, smells, and varieties. Her parents not only owned a flower shop, their home was connected to it, and the little girl’s appreciation of flowers grew through the years. Among other things, she remembers folding boxes for corsage’s, and wearing a bunny suit and waving at people in cars to come in and buy flowers. The little girl’s grand-parents were farmers, and this trait probably passed on to her. This appreciation and love for flowers and plants led Priscilla Needle to becoming the Co-Master Gardener of the Year for the Master Garden Society of Oakland County for 2008. When it was time to strike out into the world, Priscilla worked as a Senior Engineering Associate at the General Motors Proving Grounds. It was here that she met Paul, who was hired into her department after she had been there a while. Three years later, they were married. They have a daughter named Caitlyn, son-in-law, Jeff, and a wonderful 6 month old grandson named Anderson James, who they take care of once a week. During the 34 years Priscilla and Paul have been married, they acquired Lilly Pearl, a Jack Russell dog, a cat named Lucky, an outside stray cat they named Louis, and Basil, a lost cockatiel that few into their hearts as well as their home. You cannot really count as pets, the number of deer, raccoon, rabbits, coyote, and other numerous little creatures that wander onto their land in West Bloomfield on Upper Straits Lake, even though they nibble on their plants and trees. About a year after her retirement, a neighbor was talking to Priscilla about taking a Master Gardener class. It sounded like a good idea, so she took the course. Priscilla received both her Master Gardener Basic Certification and Advanced Master Gardener Certification in 2004. To date, Priscilla has from 1200 to 1300 volunteer hours and keeps on volunteering for more. Where did this accumulation of hours come from? The Detroit Zoo, Bowers Farm, SOCWA, Tollgate, being a co-team leader at Walled Lake Farmers Market, helping with the landscaping at a church, and giving classes, just to name a few. The Detroit Zoo is fun because you get to work in different gardens and help with varied projects, and there was always something to do at Bowers Farm. Tollgate is just 10 minutes from her house, so a lot of volunteer time is spent there. In 2004, Priscilla received the Golden Shovel Award from Tollgate. It is awarded to the new volunteer who contributes the most hours, the first year they are there. For a couple of years Priscilla was in charge of the Dry Shade Garden at Tollgate, as well as helping with other projects. The day I met Priscilla for this interview, she and Paul were at Tollgate helping cut down the grasses. In May 2007, Priscilla and Paul were both recognized as SOCWA Four Star Volunteers, “recognizing long-term service in support of Healthy Lawns and Gardens Education”. There is a tree in the SOCWA gardens in Royal Oak with their names on it. Priscilla’s husband Paul became a Master Gardener in 2006 and together they teach a Cement Leaf Casting Class and a Cement Sphere Class at the Master Gardener Headquarters in Pontiac. Retirement for Priscilla embodies the spirit of Master Gardeners: To go forth and help others and to spread your knowledge of gardening. —Submitted by Sylvia A. Schult Organic Gardening Notes MINUTE PARASITIC WASPS – INVISIBLE GARDEN PEST CONTROL Between 50,000 and 60,000 species of minute parasitic wasps have been identified so far. They are between ½ and 5 millimeters long, so most are for all practical purposes invisible. Some of them probably control pest insects in your garden; if they weren’t present then your plants would be under severe insect pressure. Female wasps lay eggs in insect eggs, larvae, or pupae depending on their species. Wasps that parasitize insect eggs usually inject one wasp egg; those that parasitize larvae or pupae will inject many eggs; others will inject one egg that divides many times to produce clones inside the host. Parasitic wasps tend to specialize on a single prey species or family, hence the great number of species. Their purpose, of course, is to provide food for their young. This is a basic rule in the insect world: adults live to breed and larvae live to eat. The most common sign of the handiwork of parasitic wasps in Michigan gardens is the corpse of a tomato hornworm on a tomato plant with 20 to 40 empty cocoons stuck to its skin. The tomato hornworm is a voracious caterpillar that does a great deal of damage; its nemesis is a member of the Braconid family of parasitic wasps. When the wasp larvae emerge from eggs inside the caterpillar they produce a chemical that controls its metabolism to keep it alive and eating so that they can eat it from inside and grow – until they emerge and pupate on its skin. I enjoy a different benefit from another parasitic wasp, probably one of the Trichogrammatid family, that parasitizes cabbage butterfly eggs. This butterfly produces a hungry caterpillar which ruins cabbages. Every year cabbage butterflies do their aerial mating dance in my garden and, I assume, lay their eggs on my cabbages. But I never see the caterpillars or any caterpillar damage. My invisible benefactor has been at work laying eggs in the caterpillar eggs without missing a single one. You would be correct if you suppose that parasitic wasps do a better job of pest control than chemical pesticides. They are certainly cheaper and leave no toxic residues. But the real take-away here is that pesticides kill minute wasps along with whatever pests they are designed to kill. (This doesn’t apply to the organic Bt pesticide used on caterpillars.) By using chemical pesticides you might be killing your invisible allies. Trichogrammatid wasp Eulophid wasp larvae Braconid wasp and cocoons on tomato hornworm —Submitted by Peter Bray United States Botanic Garden My twin daughters are like many other young graduates of Michigan colleges – they have fled the state for jobs. Why do I tell you this? It is to set the stage for my most recent garden tour – the US Botanic Garden (USBC). One of the girls (and her husband and precocious Siamese cat Elliot) lives in Arlington, VA. We visit her at least two times a year. Each visit we try to do something or see a site we haven’t visited or seen in a long time. After going through endless days of gray and snow, we decided it was time to see the DC area. This could be a challenge at this time of year due to travel through the Pennsylvania mountains. Add to that this is the snowiest season on record for DC. Nevertheless after a string of days with warmer weather in DC, we elected to cast our lots with the gods (not our politicians) and headed off to DC. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. The days were relatively tropical for us (60’s). I even worked outside in their yard. Then it was time to have some fun and see the USBC. We took the Metro (DC’s subway system) from Arlington. Take either the blue or orange line and exit at either Federal Center SW or Capital South. We exited at Capital South and walked past the Capital to the Garden which is located at Independence Avenue and First Street SW. Unless you are staying near the Capital, I would ride the Metro (don’t drive). The Metro is clean and safe, especially during the day. Avoid the rush hours as it is very hectic and remember to stay on the right side of the escalator. The left is for those who are in a hurry and want to walk up or down the escalator. Locals can get surly. Once we arrived at the Garden, we went inside the Conservatory. It is comprised of eight garden rooms and exhibit space with almost 29,000 square feet of growing space. Some of the permanent garden rooms and exhibits are World Deserts, Hawaii, Garden Primeval, Plant Adaptations, Jungle, Plant Exploration, Southern Exposure, Rare and Endangered Species, and Orchids. There is also an East and West Gallery, and a West Orangerie – all have displays, demonstrations, temporary exhibits, etc. I almost forgot. There is a Children’s Garden but this was closed in the winter. As luck would have it, we hit upon a special Orchid exhibit (Orchids: A Cultural Odyssey). This is a collaborative effort involving the collections of the USBC and the Smithsonian Institution Horticultural Services Division. The USBC normally has about 5,000 specimens with hundreds on display in the Orchid Room. Due to the special exhibit (largely in the Garden Court), we were inundated with even more exotic and rare orchids than normal. Let me stop here and say that I love orchids but this is not one of my specialties. I have not had much luck with growing them but I did manage to keep some alive and actually had one re-bloom. This exhibit totally surprised me and my family. It was packed with people (early Sunday morning) all oohing and aahing and taking pictures that will never do the plants justice. I started copying down the names of the various plants I liked and took pictures of them. Here is a list of my favorites: Jewel Box Sophrolaeliocattleya, Dendrobium Farmeri, Cymbidium Ben Venue Cooksbridge, Cymbidium Via Diablo Mrs. Claus, Odontocidium Globe Red Star, and Beallara Tropical Splendor Golden Gate. In the Garden Court I met a USBC volunteer who was giving orchid demonstrations. She offered some pointers and asked if I wanted a tip sheet. Of course I did as I am still in the orchid rookie league. Let me devote a few sentences on some of the other areas. I have some mixed feelings on cacti but I did learn (in the World Desert Room) that barrel cacti are endangered. Not much was in bloom at this time in the room but there were fine specimens from South America. In the Jungle Room, there is a tropical rainforest. The dome rises over 90 feet and has a mezzanine level to view the canopy. I didn’t get an opportunity to walk the mezzanine but it did look interesting. There is also a water structure (narrow pool) that goes the length of the exhibit. I did enjoy the Hawaii Room and saw a number of plants that I someday hope to see their cousins in that tropical paradise. The Orchid Room contains the hundreds of orchids normally on display which in itself is fantastic. I took some pictures here but noticed there were two topiary bears that were holding up some orchids. It isn’t Disney but was nicely done. All in all, the Conservatory is well worth it but frankly, the special Orchid exhibit stole the show. Let’s spend a few moments about the outside gardens. There is the National Garden and also Bartholdi Park. The National Garden is the newest outside garden and features a mid-Atlantic garden, a rose garden, a butterfly garden, and a First Ladies Water Garden. I remember this was one of the first places where I became acquainted with lantana. As a result, I planted them in my landscape for two years. Unfortunately the local deer herd found them the second year and decimated my plants. I would give the National Garden a thumbs up. As for Bartholdi Park, it was created in the 1930’s and named for Frederic Bartholdi, the sculptor of the historic fountain in the Park. The literature claims it is a “secret” garden of Washingtonians. I can’t confirm or deny this. However, the plantings have been redesigned and are continuously updated to reflect current trends in US horticulture and new plant introductions. In summary, the USBC was a beautiful oasis in the late throws of winter. It was our good fortune to be able to visit during a special orchid exhibit. I would highly recommend that you consider the USBC during your next DC vacation. Summer would be an ideal time to experience everything the USBC has to offer. One other side trip that can be combined with the USBC is a weekend visit to the Eastern Market (Eastern Market Station, orange or blue line). While it has a similar name to Detroit’s market, it is somewhat different. It is largely housed in an old but restored building that contains meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, plants, and a restaurant. It is sort of a mini Detroit Eastern Market and Gratiot Central Market rolled up into one. Outside the market are some stalls that contain jewelry, clothing, sculpture, paintings, maps, posters, etc. (a small flea market). I am sure there is more later in the spring or summer as crops come into season. I would go there for breakfast (blueberry pancakes are a specialty) or buy some fruit or cheese or vegetable to eat there. Then you can take a walk (or cab) over to the USBC. Food and drink are discouraged in the Conservatory. There are no dining facilities available inside the Conservatory. More information on the Eastern Market can be found at www.easternmarketdc.com. The USBC website, which can be accessed at www.usbg.gov, has information on hours, events, programs, directions, planning your visit, gardening tips, recipes, and more. Best of all, the USBC is free (your tax dollars at work). Some pictures of the orchids from my visit are on the following page. —Submitted by Jim Oldani US Botanic Garden photo by Jim Oldani US Botanic Garden photo by Jim Oldani A Letter from HAVEN, Recipient of the 2009 Holiday Party Collection Dear Friends, Thank you for your generous donation to HAVEN’s 2009 Gift Giveaway. Your donation helped to make this year’s event a great success. This year we were able to serve 157 families, including 402 children, who have experienced the devastation of domestic violence and sexual assault. Thanks to your support, each child was able to receive a winter coat, toys, books, a game, a stuffed animal and clothing to make the holiday season brighter. Every adult was able to receive a household item, linens, clothing, bath items and a small gift. . Your gifts not only directly helped families in need, but shows your support of our mission to treat and eliminate domestic and sexual violence. I look forward to your continued support. If you would like to receive a monthly emailed newsletter, please email me at bkleinberg@haven-oakland.org. Thank you again. We wish you all the best in 2010. Sincerely, (signed) Belle Kleinberg Hornung In-Kind Donations Coordinator At Your Newsstand Now! Writer Cindy La Ferle, who spoke at our May 3, 2006, meeting on “Things I’ve Learned from My Garden”, developed that talk into a full gardening essay that has been published in the March/April 2010 issue of Victoria magazine. In the essay she references the aforementioned 2006 MGSOC meeting. Notes From Nutcase Nursery There may be only three kinds of people in this world: those who grow tomatoes, those who would like to grow tomatoes, and those who just don’t know it yet. Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable to grow in the home garden, even if your garden is just a five gallon bucket. That’s why I became borderline apoplectic when I read that 40% of the people who had a home garden last year will not try it again this year. Where did we go wrong? How did we fail these photosynthetically pathetic, horticulturally unhooked masses? As Master Gardeners, we are volunteers charged to be community resources under the Michigan State University Extension. Essentially we are extensions of the Extension. We have a multitude of opportunities to offer our expertise to our communities by working information booths at the markets, fairs, garden walks, and various nurseries and green-houses, especially during the “Ask a Master Gardener” season, which opens in May. Starting on the 8th, every Saturday in May and the first Saturday of June, Master Gardeners will be welcomed at various sites around the county to share their talents with the community. Two to four people for each time slot will be needed and shifts run 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The “Ask a Master Gardener” program is a fund-raising endeavor that benefits the Extension so please watch for more information from Denise Jones, who has been coordinating this event for the past twenty years. This year the Extension programs came dangerously close to being cut and we need many hands to play an active role in the only program that gives us a real kick in the budget. Right now though, you should take a little time out from the hundreds of spring chores on the list (assuming you haven’t already planted all your starter seeds, steam cleaned the carpets, swept the chimney, de-loused the birdhouses, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera) and let’s devote a few minutes to talk tomatoes with the hope of being well-prepared to very soon meet our adoring public. Traditionally, when working in an information situation, you meet a lot of people that fall into just a few categories. You have the newbies, who are novices and want badly to get some soil under their nails. You have the veterans who may have weathered problems for more than a few years and who might be on the verge of giving up because of those problems. And then there are those people who just don’t talk to strangers. So how do we help people that don’t know they need help? I use a technique I call “stealth listening,” but it’s really just plain eavesdropping. Unfortunately, this tact only works if more than one person is in the potential tomato parent pool. I think it’s wonderful that partners garden together and I promise you, there is always a discussion when a couple tries to choose vegetable plants. And they provide so much entertainment value. All you have to do to get started with them is just gently float in the direction of the conversation and listen in while straightening out the stock. Of course you could save time and just be direct by asking “May I help you with something?” Now your foot’s in it and you must be prepared for whatever comes next. Remember, if you run into something you can’t handle, you can always defuse any situation by asking if they’ve had a soil test. But ask anyway. If your customers are newbies, usually the first problem that needs to be addressed has to do with culture. New tomato parents always want to take the six-pack home and plant the little angels immediately. This practice accounts for hundreds of tomato plant deaths each year, although actual statistics are not available. Worse yet, most of the unfortunate prematurely planted ones that don’t succumb outright never really get to be all they could be, except in the disappointment department. Generally, if the response to your offer of assistance results in a sad story of how they have tried and failed in their quest for the perfect home-grown tomato, you will want to catalog the problems they encountered. But we will address that scenario a little later. If the response to your question is something like “We’ve never grown a garden before,” be happy because this is the easiest “problem” to deal with. These are beginning gardeners who have yet to be depressed by failure and sincerely want to start off on the right foot. You have a clean slate, a new frontier, virgin territory. Definitely soil test. This is where your design training comes in handy. The first step in any landscape design is to determine what is desired from that space. So your initial questions might be something along the lines of “Do you want to have tomatoes just for eating fresh or will you want to be putting them up? Or both?” Canned, pickled, fried, frozen or fresh, it’s at this point that you might explain determinate versus indeterminate. Then briefly throw in semi-determinate. Ask them if they want to harvest most of their tomatoes at one time or do they want to have a few tomatoes fairly regularly? Most importantly, don’t let them leave with 8 6-packs of tomatoes unless they swear to you that they know all about Forgotten Harvest, or some other Plant a Row for the Hungry project. It should go without saying that in preparation for this exchange you would have familiarized yourself with the varieties available for sale at the location you’re working. If they prefer the first scenario, a good choice for them would be Bush Early Girl Hybrid because she is the determinate sister of the indeterminate Early Girl Hybrid. Both Early Girls produce meaty, tasty, bright red, good-sized fruit. And they both start production in less than 60 days. But it’s pretty much a deal breaker if you suggest a variety that the seller doesn’t carry. You might note that by this time, your customers’ eyes have begun to glaze slightly. This only means that they are dazzled by your brilliance and not drunk from information overload. Yet. You must continue. Go ahead and further explain the main culture difference between the categories, so they understand that the indeterminate tomato plants must be given plenty of room and support because they continue growing until nature stops them. If space is an issue, determinate varieties concentrate early energy into growing to a certain size and then blooming all over so the crops come in during a much smaller window of time, and a smaller window of space. You can tell your customers are just eating this stuff up. They might be starting to twitch a bit, simply because they are excited to be standing next to someone so knowledgeable, not because they are dying to get out of there. By now, a few more people are usually gathered around, not because you have blocked the aisle but because they, no doubt, have become as equally enthralled as the original pair of clients. You go on. Now it gets scarier. If your victims, I mean clients, are not newbies, this is where only the brave dare tread. Inject a little Dr. Phil drama so people remember what you’re telling them. “Have you had problems growing tomatoes before?” (It is only necessary to use this question now if a problem hadn’t been mentioned earlier, like when, in a split second, you might have inhaled a little too slowly and your clients were actually able to say something.) Be prepared. They will no doubt describe some of the 218 thousand maladies from which tomatoes might suffer. Ask them what variety they grew in the past. If you can identify it as an heirloom then the issue of disease resistance might be something to mention. Heirlooms just don’t tend to have the resistance that’s bred into the hybrids. What were the signs and symptoms? If you can narrow down the disease, there may be a tomato plant for sale that possesses a resistance. It is at this time you need to launch into what the strange alphabet on the tag means. Very important for planters with problems. Wilts are fairly easy to diagnose. If the plant starts to die from the bottom up, it’s probably a wilt. If it wilts, partially or completely, say it loud, - - IT’S WILT. Thus far, Verticillium wilt is quite one-dimensional is the disease department. Fusarium, on the other hand, has managed to expand its brand and there are now at least three strains. But finding a plant whose tag indicates a resistance to V, for verticillium, or F, FF, FFF for the fusarium strains, might take care of the problem. When you get past the wilt topic, the next probably should be what the N stands for. Explaining the difference between good nematodes and bad ones is probably not really critical. Fact: Bad nematodes stunt the plant. Hopefully your clients will simply accept that picking a tomato plant that has an N on the tag is just part of being a good tomato plant parent. The explanation for the T can be quick but it might be better to take just a little more time with it than you did with N. Mosaic diseases are caused by many different viruses. Tobacco mosaic is just one kind of mosaic and the only one we’re concerned about since we’re only discussing tomatoes so far. Bean and cucumber mosaics will just have to wait for another time. Tobacco mosaic affects all tomato family crops, such as eggplant, potatoes, etc., as well as nicotiana, beets, spinach and even some members of the cabbage clan. If you handle any kind of tobacco products, you should never pet your susceptible plants. Mosaic disease can be transmitted by insects, such as the ever-popular aphids and cucumber beetles, or it can be in or on the seeds themselves, and easily spread by pruning activities. The virus enters the plant through a tiny wound and you might as well just kiss the infectees goodbye because once the tomatoes are infected, the disease escalates rapidly. It is suggested that the plants be pulled and burned if mosaic is identified. It is also suggested in Rodale’s Insect, Disease & Weed I. D. Guide that milk be used to disinfect hands and tools because it inactivates the virus. By the way, how often do you “sterilize” your garden gloves? I shudder to think of what I may have spread along my way through the years. There are a few more letters to decipher and then we’ll hit some of the diseases that tomatoes may not resist. Viruses are one thing: diseases are a whole ‘nother story. The A is for Alternaria stem canker. There are, unfortunately, several maladies with the name alternaria. Something so specific as “stem canker” makes me think that this re-sistance is not to be confused with a resistance to Alternaria solani, or as we endearingly know it, the dreaded early blight. I haven’t run across a lot of varieties as yet that have the big A but I suspect that each year we’ll see a few more. You may receive a complaint about dark, sunken spots with target-like rings, sometimes with spores in the center of the depressions. Those are the symptoms of anthracnose. This warrants a short discourse on crop rotation because there aren’t as yet anthracnose-resistant varieties as far as I know. A mulch would help keep the infection from splashing up from the soil. Overhead watering should be discouraged. In fact, it’s suggested that an awning-like structure be used to protect the plants from free irrigation (rain and dew) as well. Let people know that they should never, never work in the garden when it’s wet. It’s kind of sad so many of the tomato family’s diseases are exacerbated by moisture, the very substance that gives them their juicy lives. The widespread reports of blights last year came about from the rash of abnormally cool temperatures with high moisture. In late August, we were told to expect lows in the 40s. Tomatoes drop their blossoms when the temps dip into the 50s. The poor things were just hittin’ fourth gear and the bottom fell out. The point is not to give up gardening when faced with a failure or two. Or six. It’s all part of the great experiment. It’s a lab class and the only thing that matters, really, is that we learn from the experience. The awning tactic can be a solution to many of the other maladies that are aggravated by moisture in Tomatoland, a good place to recycle old umbrellas. By now your customers are gasping for air and there are so many more things to tell them. Alas, they are in danger of growing roots in the dirt floor of the greenhouse. So refer them to the Hot Line and the Internet, telling them to give priority to university sites first. Show them the diagnostics references that you brought. (do not let them actually touch the documents because they will want to keep them) Tell them that the wrong kind of nourishment, like too much nitrogen, makes for leafy growth and little fruit. Tell them that compost tea fermented for at least a week is an excellent tonic for disease control when sprayed. Tell them that nearby black walnut trees are toxic to tomatoes and the symptoms of juglone poisoning mimic wilt and blight. And that they need to rotate crops to avoid the negative effects that crops endure for wearing out their welcome. Speaking of which, I have worn out mine and I’m nowhere near done blithering. There’s still Stemphylium Gray Leaf Spot (St) and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) resistance we haven’t covered. And TSWV is becoming a greater threat according to my sources. Omigosh, I didn’t even get to tomato hornworms…. or blossom end rot from lack of calcium. There is a Native American saying, “The more you know the less you need.” It’s up to us Master Gardeners to save the greenhorn gardeners and those who want to throw in the trowel. In the process of preparing for the task what we learn is the bonus. The more we assist home gardeners, the more we benefit the community. If we can help people eat locally, and manage yard waste by composting, and conserve water, and share their produce with others, the better off we will all be. It’s not the planet we are saving; it’s ourselves and our children. Happy Earth Day! Some Information You Should Know MGSOOC Board Members President: Christine Covell………………...…….(248)852-1890 Vice President: John Grant……………………….(248)852-3758 Secretary: Ruth Vrbensky ……………………….(248)969-6904 Treasurer: Jean Gramlich …………………..….. (810)714-2343 Team Administrator: Susan McLarty ……… (248)673-8092 MSU Extension Oakland County Coordinator Advisor: Carol Lenchek ………………………… (248)858-0900 lenchekc@oakgov.com Team Coordinators Bowers Farm: Wayne Lapinski……………….(248)391-6269 Project Support: Susan McLarty …………… (248)673-8092 Hospitality: Mary Golla………………….…..(248) 371-0476 Membership: Julie Kowalk …………..………(810)655-2228 Programs: DeeAnn Bauer ……………..….(248)828-7385 Door prize Coordinator: Janie Grissom…..(248)887-6096 Trips & Tours: Sandie Parrott ………….….....(248)394-1532 Corresponding Secretary: Margy Truza…… mat4744@aol.com Roots & Shoots Editor: Dick Wanat………...(248)644-5699 Web Site Address: www.mgsoc.org Webmaster: Sheri Trout sheri@oaklandweb.com Web Site Calendar: Chris Wilder cwilder@wowway.com Currently Available Opportunities: Communications, Education, Project Support, Volunteer Activities North Office Building, #26 East Carol Lenchek…248-858-0900 1200 N. Telegraph Road Extension Educator~Master Gardener Program Pontiac, MI 48341 Email: lenchekc@oakgov.com Office Hours: M- F 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Linda Smith…248-858-0887 Beverly Terry…248-858-0885 Horticulture Office Assistant County Extension Director Email: smithlin@oakgov.com Email: terryb@oakgov.com Cathy Morris…248-858-1639 Lois Thieleke…248-858-0888 Clerk & Contact for Certification of Volunteer Extension Educator~Food & Nutrition & Education Hours Email: thielekel@oakgov.com Email: morrisc@oakgov.com Charlene Molnar…248-858-0902 Bindu Bhakta…248-858-5198 Horticulture Advisor Extension Educator~Water Quality Plant & Pest Hotline Email: bhaktabi@msu.edu Hours of operation vary seasonally Saneya Hamler…248-452-9726 Robin Danto…248-858-0904 Extension Educator~Children, Youth & Family Extension Educator~Food Safety Email: hamlersa@msu.edu Email: dantor@oakgov.com Tom Schneider…248-858-0905 Eva Poole…248-858-1993 Extension Educator~4-H Youth Programs Extension Educator~Children, Youth & Family Email: schneidert@oakgov.com Email: ander204@msu.edu ?? ?? ?? ?? - 1 - Michigan State University Extension- Oakland County “Bringing Knowledge to Life”