Roots & Shoots January 2006 Master Gardener Society of Oakland County HAPPY HANUKKAH January 4th, 2006 @6:30pm MGSOOC Society Meeting & Location MSU Extension Office, 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac, Building 26 East, Lower Level Classroom Education: "Plants That Heal" Speaker: Sarah Smith, Nutrition Team Leader, Whole Foods, West Bloomfield. Sarah is a certified herbal counselor as well. She will talk about native plants that we think of as weeds that have healing properties as well as flower essences and homeopathy. February 1st, 2006 @6:30pm MGSOOC General Meeting & "SPECIAL" Remote Location 3301 John R. in Troy, 1/2 mile north of Big Beaver (16 Mile) Rd. on West side of the road. For directions call (248) 689-8735. Education: "Cuttings" Speaker: Judy Cornellier from Telly's will take cuttings and share with those in attendance. MGSOOC Contacts President: John P Humphrey (248)542-8213 Vice Pres: Tom Hershberger (586)573-3954 Secretary: Ruth Vrbensky (248)969-6904 Treasurer: Jean Gramlich (810)714-2343 Team Adm: Sherry Jones (248)442-9866 MSU Extension Oakland County Coordinator Advisor: Carol Lenchek (248)858-0900 lenchekc@co.oakland.mi.us Team Coordinators Bowers Farm: Martha Humphrey babylon6@ameritech.net Communications: John P Humphrey (248)542-8213 Hospitality: Pat Banaszek (586)677-2048 Membership: Tom Hershberger (586)573-3954 Project Support: Clay Ottoni (248)454-9800 Trips & Tours: Sandie Parrott (248)394-1532 Web Site: Sheri Trout (248)328-0557 sheri@oaklandweb.com Web Site address: www.mgsoc.org Mission Statement It is the Master Gardener Society of Oakland County's Mission to assist, enable, and encourage its members to use their horticultural knowledge and experience to help the people of their communities, enrich their lives through gardening and good gardening practices. Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly, Fa-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La! Deck the halls and all the merry people will come, dressed in their "Holiday Finery". That is exactly what happened Dec. 7th at the Master Gardener Holiday Pot Luck, held in the large FAB building at Bower's Farm. Hospitality Chairperson Pat Banaszek and her team of helpers did a wonderful job of setting up tables and chairs and decorating every nook and cranny. Nutcracker Soldiers and garland decorated the tables and there was even a four-foot Christmas tree. One half of a large table was covered for the gift exchange, while the other half was covered with gifts that were going to The Lighthouse of Oakland County. Julie Bird delivered the gifts to the Lighthouse, which was so wonderfully donated by our great Master Gardeners. A variety of delicious food was brought by everyone; even pumpkin soup. I'm sure no one went home hungry. The ham and turkey were donated by MGSOOC, which Nora Wojciechowski and her husband sliced and assembled before the party. As always, the highlight of the party was a reading of "The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolff", written by Francois Coppee, and read by Tom Hershberger. We all look forward to the different reading Tom has for us each year. The great voices of the Master Gardeners were heard as we all sang carols, led by Susan Tatus-McLarty. At least we all thought we sounded great! Susan treated us to the song she composed, "The Master Gardener Anthem". Look for the words at the end of this article. If you want the music, you'll have to call Susan. So Once again, a great time was had by all, and we look forward to next year's Master Gardener Holiday Party. Submitted by: Sylvia Schult THE MASTER GARDENER ANTHEM There's a pastime, we adore it, We are friends of snakes and insects Hard to do the year around; We're not killers or hell-bent But as gardeners, we go for it We believe in conservation In containers or the ground. We believe in conservation We are friends of snakes and insects There is no friend like a gardener, We're not killers or hell-bent. Sharing plants and gardening sense We believe in conservation True ones give you little cuttings, And integrated pest management. Stuff to grow upon your fence. We are all like little flowers Growing, bending in the wind. When you're with a Master Gardener, You will cultivate a friend. Susan Tatus McLarty Master Gardener Conference, June 1998 ************************************************************************ Web-Based Record Keeping System The Web-Based Record Keeping System has been greatly refined over the last year and I urge all of you with Internet access to try it. The System Administrator, Julie Winegard, deserves a round of applause for doing such a great job on this gigantic project. She listened carefully as we passed your concerns and problems on to her and has worked diligently to improve the system. If you want to get onboard, contact Cathy Morris at 248-858-1639 and she will give you your personal login and password. *************************************************************************** The Addled Agriculturist: Dumb Luck or Gardener's Grace? By: Susan Tatus McLarty When it comes time, we gardeners must forgo the sweet smell of sun-warmed soil and verdant visions of nature, vibrant in every shade of green, it's probably half-past fall in Michigan. And it can hit you hard, and as fast as frost fries a fern. Many gardeners seek to control the intensity of Seasonal Affective Disorder suffered by the change, but those of us most afflicted know there's really no cure. There are only two seasons for us --- it's either Gardening or Not Gardening. You confirm your need for detoxification, when a sale paper shows a series of ads featuring a football surrounded by brilliant green turf in the middle of January. When in actuality what you view is an advertisement for a wide-screen TV, just in time for the Super Bowl. You quickly break a newly-grown nail grabbing for it, thinking there's an early sale on fertilizer! One suggestion for surviving winter's dormancy is armchair gardening in the form of a good read. Catalogs arrive earlier and earlier each year, but just cause more problems in the long run when certainly more substance is desired. In fact, catalogs merely wet the appetite, like eating only one square of a Hershey's bar. It's a medical fact. Ask anyone who's a member of Gardener's Anonymous. As a garden junkie, I have a library of books collected expectantly for personal growth and potential downtime. Last winter, after coaxing the houseplants into speaking to me again, penitent for a summer of benign neglect, and being flat broke from attempting to single-handedly save Frank's from bankruptcy, I tried to content myself with a good book or two. Something I have always wanted to tackle for ages is Volumes 1 & 2 of 10,000 Gardening Questions. Written in a convenient question and answer format, they are easy to take in whatever time chunks your schedule allows. But I really wasn't prepared for the flood of emotion these books triggered in me. I came face to face with hundreds of facts concerned with the mortality of all things green. After only two chapters, I was ready to give up gardening completely! Reading about the many pitfalls that can be encountered during what I had considered blessed recreation; I was struck with fear every ill-fated flora in my domain. Trees, shrubs, perennials, vegetables, bulbs, vines --- all doomed. There were descriptions of every sort of disease, fungus, insect, bacteria, worm to inflict, infect and infest my foliage. It was horrifying! With my confidence sorely shaken, I wondered how I ever managed to grow anything, let alone eat what I grew. But I needed to get a grip. So as not to question every habit I employ, I forced myself to think back to activities that were successful. Gardeners are always learning, whether that knowledge comes in the form of a class, a good resource book, observation or conversation. I also believe in inspiration, dumb luck, or what I like to call gardener's grace. For example, when I bought my home, there was a reasonable looking sandy loamed vegetable garden. To conserve every penny, I cut-up black plastic garbage bags to use as mulch around my tomato and pepper plants. I had heard that black plastic allowed more warmth, less watering and weeding. One year I was in too much of a hurry, though by that time I was purchasing rolls of black plastic instead of using garbage bags, and I decided to ignore my usual practice. I lovingly and carefully set out my best seedlings late Saturday afternoon and found them all mowed down by cutworms Sunday morning. How could this happen? Had the black plastic actually protected them and me from cutworms, in addition to its other benefits? I spent a lot of time questioning my habits. I realized that because of other chores and weather constraints, there was usually at least a week between laying the plastic and planting the plants. Perhaps the heat buildup under the mulch killed the cutworms by the time I was able to get back to planting. Now, I no longer skip this step and rarely find a cutworm in the garden. Luck or grace? I will readily accept either. And was it a happy accident when I found a hole in the stem of one of my squash plants during the investigation of a suddenly wilted leaf? Angrily muttering "Holy Compost" (which translates quite differently when the words actually hit the air) I stomped into the house in search of a weapon. I grabbed a really big paperclip on the table and headed back to the site of the invasion. I stretched it out, heated it with my lighter and shoved it up the stem, really not knowing why I did it. Actually, at the time, I didn't even know squash borers existed. After responding so angrily I later felt sorry for stabbing the plant and remorsefully propped it up with a hill of nearby soil. As it turned out, it was the proper thing to do. The plant thrived to produce zucchinis the size of a three year old (which I left on my neighbors' doorsteps after dark). Was it dumb luck, a happy accident, or a blessing? Whatever you want to call it, it worked. Unfortunately not every scathingly brilliant idea succeeds. One of my greatest garden fiascos also came as a result of dumb luck, but it was a different twist of the phrase. I periodically use garden fabric to lengthen my growing season usually as frost protection. Occasionally I've used it to protect my cole crops from the dreaded cabbage butterfly. One particular year, I noticed that they were having much too good a season. I needed to fight back. This time I was feeling a little more benevolent and chose a preventive measure rather than annihilation. One sunny Saturday morning I wandered out to "survey the estate." I had planted a 15 foot row of cabbage at the edge of the plot and used my floating row cover as a safeguard. It was a beautiful summer day and there was a playful breeze in the air. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed even more movement than there should have been underneath that cover. To my horror, I had incubated several hundred cabbage worms and they had now all erupted from their last instar. Apparently I was a wee bit too late getting the fabric out. But what a sight!! It was both beautifully breathtaking and ultimately ugly at the same time. To avoid incrimination, I won't say how I dealt with it. But it does remain my most vivid lesson when I think back to the chapter that taught us about degree days in Master Gardener class. As Master Gardeners we should never stop learning and sharing our successes and failures. It's part of our credo as Extension extensions. The new season is upon us and we are lucky here in Michigan to have a winter break to read, learn and maybe rest a bit. But only a bit, since soon it will be time to get in shape for a new season. And I need to practice my swing. I'm still chasing those little white butterflies. 3 WINTER DAYDREAMS: by Chris Emmons This is the time to brew a cup of tea and gaze out over the remainders of last year's gardening efforts. Perhaps you are also as fortunate as this gardener and your view includes plants that offer winter interest. A variety of grasses of differing colors, heights and textures wave gracefully teased by the winter gusts. The backyard habitat continues to offer food and shelter, encouraging a constant dance of feathered friends, including their natural predators who occasionally boldly sweep in for a moment of chaos, followed by eerie quiet. This too, has its place in the overall scheme of a natural landscape. This is a time to dream of new possibilities for the outdoor space called "garden." A wonderful time to reflect on all that your space can be in the New Year. Perhaps next season will be the time to design a Memorial Garden for those who remain forever in your heart. Doug's Garden is a special place for a long deceased brother, full of the native plants that the dedicated outdoorsman loved. In my Grandmother's Garden, plants reminiscent of my childhood memorialize two loved Grandmothers who gardened. Deep brown-purple irises grown by a Great Grandmother I never met are abundant. Several other plants given to me by my maternal grandmother - lamb's ear, ferns, lily of the valley, forget-me-nots, and ajuga - have flourished for decades. My Moon Garden is a tranquil all green garden of ivy under the willows dedicated to a Great Grandmother I did get to know, and her daughter, my lovely Great Aunt Genevieve. Two pink and white striped Adirondack-style chairs offer their spirits a place to rest - and a spot for me to enjoy the view of the rising moon. What would be a Moon Garden without a Sunset Garden facing the opposite direction? There are many evenings I watch the sunset in the West, next turning to the East, walking a few paces and then settling down for the moonrise. Perhaps next season will be the time for a Sensory Garden. My sensory garden emerges from a small Haunted Forest and as a result of the contrast of dark to light, is full of colorful eye-candy plus fun-to-touch-taste-and-smell blooms as well as a small wind chime to honor the final sense. Next to the Sensory Garden is the Emotion Garden designed to create the emotions of fun, embarrassment or even horror. Plants with names such as "Party Girl," "Baboon's Bottom" and "Pandora's Box" are a few of these offerings. This garden includes a Bottle Burial Ground - a spot where wine bottles from garden parties are buried, bottoms-up in a display of glittering glass. Perhaps next season is the time for a theme garden. Keeping the land fertilizer- and pesticide-free creates a safe environment for the fairies that frequent my Fairy Garden and for the dragon and butterflies that visit my Winged Garden. Perhaps time to create your own Beach with plants that appear tropical? A Nurturing Garden full of herbs, vegetables and cutting flowers? A Miniature Garden full of plants designed to stay very, very small? An Oriental Garden with the textures of rock and water? A Labyrinth for meditation? A Fire Circle for storytelling? A Hedgerow or Backyard Habitat to support wildlife? A Welcoming Garden sure to please your neighbors and visitors? A Café for dining? A Gazing Garden to enhance your view from a favorite indoor window? Perhaps a Meadow of native plants? My entire property is free of the drudgery of a "lawn." Gravel pathways ribbon through all 21 gardens - each with their own stories reflected in every stem, petal, bloom and ornamentation. As you gaze out onto your garden in this time of winter daydreaming, what visions come to mind for your own cherished space? ************************************************************** Wishing all of you good things this New Year! May your seeds grow strong and your gardens grow lush (of course, with no weeds). I hope you are all proud of the volunteer work you've done this year. I'm certainly proud of you! You are shining examples of the best this world has to offer and I thank you for your tireless efforts, rain or shine. From your admirer, Carol Lenchek Season's Greetings! We wish you the best for 2006 and hope that Bower's Farm has another successful season. The 2005 season at Tollgate was enjoyable and successful. Our Spring Plant Sale was our main fund raising event with a good turn out of volunteers and purchasers alike. The mid-season open house was planned and set up but fell victim to a torrential downpour that pretty much washed out the planned quilts in the gardens displays. The volunteers had a nice lunch that day and a raffle was held that brought in additional funds. The 2005 Fall Fair was the best attended event to date with vendors, educational demonstrations, children's crafts and entertainment. This is shaping up to be a very popular family/community event. The gardens were off to a good start with the second full season for the newer East portion of the Xeriscape designed by Donna Mrozek and Activity Center Garden beds under the care of Area Garden Leader Carolyn McQuiggan looking most improved. The Demonstration garden continues to mature with good examples of trees and shrubs and ground covers. Projects included brick work completed in the Rose Garden, irrigation added to multiple sites, new walkway up to the Enabling Garden and upgraded maple syrup production equipment. Our biggest endeavor for 2006 is the redesign of the Children's Garden for more kid fun, eye catching themes. These include the Peter Rabbit Garden, a water garden, touchy/smelly plants, shade retreat, dinosaur dig and jungle garden, and a prairie garden display. Our season ended with the Volunteer Recognition Dinner with The Americana Foundation providing the wonderful catered dinner. There was a folk duo for entertainment, door prizes and slide show/ pictures presentations. This year the recipient of the Golden Shovel Award for the new volunteer with the most contact hours was Judy Poole. Liz Novak was the Ginger Meyer Award winner for 2005 as nominated by fellow Tollgate Gardeners and voted by the Board of the Americana Foundation. This special recognition is for the gardener who displays a commitment to the Tollgate Gardens, a love and knowledge for gardening, and a willingness to share these talents with others. Liz, a long standing Tollgate Garden Volunteer, embodies all of this and more. Please feel free to visit Tollgate, share your talents and enjoy the rewards this beautiful site has to offer. Best wishes for the Holidays and New Year, Renee Cottrell TGV President NOTES FROM CAROL As I write this on the second day of winter, we've weathered a few significant Snowstorms but this day is rainy and predicted to hit the 40's! Another typical Michigan winter... I planted some ornamental grasses two years ago and even after the last heavy snow they are standing straight and tall, adding movement to the flower bed as they sway with the NW winds. The native plants I put in last year gave me quite a show, both with their beautiful flowers and, better yet, with the flocks of birds visiting daily to feast on the seeds. I even rearranged the porch furniture to face the show! Gardeners and bird lovers would understand, though interior designers would shake their heads in dismay! I leave many seed heads standing over winter. Yes, it gives me more to clean-up in spring when that task list is long, but it's worth it because it adds so much to our winter landscape. CONTINUING EDUCATION COMMITTEE Thank you for responding to our online survey. We had a very respectable response rate and we are busy compiling the information you gave us. Your responses have provided valuable information we will use as we work on future programming. We are excited about the Growing Vegetables Organically series on February 4, 11, and 18. We may still have some seats left, so if you're interested, give us a call (248-858-0887) or better yet, go to our website www.msue.msu.edu/oakland and click on Upcoming Events. You'll find the course description and registration form. If you are interested in container gardening and want to try taking a class online, be sure to sign up for the Horticulture Gardening Institute's The Art and Science of Container Gardening Class. We will come together for a kick-off session on March 15 from 6:00 to 8:00p.m. Mary McLellan, our State Master Gardener Coordinator, will be teaching (and no doubt entertaining us) with her container gardening wisdom. We will then guide you though the process of going online using a PowerPoint presentation. The registration material will be available shortly after the New Year. WINTER 2006 CLASS SCHEDULE MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEER TRAINING Oakland County MSUE will be offering two training classes this winter. If you would like to sit in on any of these classes please call Carol at 248-858-0900 to make sure seats are available. TUESDAY CLASS 6:00-10:00 P.M. Date Topic Instructor 1/3 Introduction/Plant Science Carol Lenchek 1/10 Soils/Composting Darren Bagley 1/17 Water Quality/Diagnostics Bindu Bhakta/Charlene Molnar 1/24 Small Fruit Culture Jim Lincoln 1/31 Vegetable Culture Peter Bray 2/7 Lawn Care Jenny Burrows 2/14 Woody Ornamentals Mary Wilson 2/21 Indoor Plants/Native Plants Carol Lenchek/Ruth Vrbensky 2/28 Flower Culture Janet Macunovich 3/7 Household Pests Gretchen Voyle 3/14 Tree Fruit Culture Mike Creller 3/21 Plant Health Care Hannah Stevens 3/28 Volunteering Carol Lenchek 4/4 Snow Day (if needed) THURSDAY CLASS 6:00-10:00 P.M. Date Topic Instructor 1/5 Introduction/Plant Science Carol Lenchek 1/12 Soils/Composting Darren Bagley 1/19 Small Fruit Culture Jim Lincoln 1/26 Lawn Care Jenny Burrows 2/2 Water Quality/Diagnostics Bindu Bhakta/Charlene Molnar 2/9 Indoor Plants/Native Plants Sandra Richards/Ruth Vrbensky 2/16 Vegetable Culture Peter Bray 2/23 Flower Culture Janet Macunovich 3/2 Household Pests Gretchen Voyle 3/9 Tree Fruit Culture Mike Creller 3/16 Plant Health Care Hannah Stevens 3/23 Woody Ornamentals Mary Wilson 3/30 Volunteering Carol Lenchek 4/6 Snow Day (if needed) Please take the opportunity to welcome Jean Gramlich as our newly elected MGSOOC Treasurer. "I had my first garden when I was 4 years old (with a little help from my mother). We had a huge vegetable garden and shared the bounty with neighbors and friends. I remember seeing early issues of Organic Gardening and Farming around the house, so gardening is in my blood! Everywhere I have lived, no matter how inhospitable, I have had an organic garden. This year I moved to Rose Township from Birmingham, so I am finally back to my roots in the country. I took the summer off from working in other gardens, to work on the landscaping at my new home. I attended the Master Gardener class in the fall of 2002 and received the Basic Certification and Advanced Certification in 2003. I have enjoyed finding new gardening buddies, with so much knowledge about so many gardening topics. I have written many articles on our monthly meeting talks for Roots and Shoots. I now look forward to serving as your Treasurer". **************************************************************************************************** Now at the same time, please make it a point to thank Julie Bird, for her contribution of outstanding service to our Society. Stepping Stones From the President Dateline Jacksonville Airport: The first leg home originated here at Gate A, aboard Southwest 515. With the long layover in Nashville, Tennessee, gave me time to pen these notes to you all. For five days, this perennial excursion briefly removed me from "Life's" responsibilities. The opportunity to re-visit far away relatives is something I anticipate with enthusiasm. I approached this Christmas with special thanks, for what I have and what I hope to receive in 2006. To each and every one of you who voted in the MGSOOC election for President and Treasurer, I thank you! This is your society and as always, your active participation is the most important component to our future successes. In 2006, along with your help, we need to develop a MGSOOC "Frequently Asked Questions" section to our web site, www.mgsoc.org. The logistics are possible, how about a few volunteers to "take the ball and run with it". As always, I thank you for your time and consideration! Regards, John P Humphrey Michigan State University Extension-Oakland County Bringing Knowledge to Life North Office Building, #26 East Office Hours: 1200 N Telegraph Road Monday through Friday Pontiac, MI 48341-0416 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Beverly Terry...248/858-0885 Carol Lenchek... (248)858-0900 County Extension Director Extension Program Coordinator E-Mail: brookse@co.oakland.mi.us E-Mail: lenchekc@co.oakland.mi.us Yard and Garden Hotline...248/858-0902 Cathy Morris.... (248)858-1639 Charlene Molnar, Horticulture Advisor Clerk & Contact for Certification Hours of operation vary with seasonal needs. Of Volunteer & Education Hours E-Mail: morrisc@co.oakland.mi.us Food Safety Hotline . . . . (248)858-0904 4-H Youth Programs Tom Schneider Michigan State University Master Gardener Program Mary McLellan, State Coordinator 517/355-5191, ext 408 E-mail: mg@msu.edu The Oakland Gardener only accepts submissions via e-mail. E-mail needs to include a description of request, contact person's name, phone number and e-mail address. This info will be "cut and pasted" into this online newsletter. Roots & Shoots is a joint publication of MSU Extension-Oakland County and MGSOOC. Submit articles for publication by suggested deadlines below. January 1 for February/March Issue March 1 for April/May Issue May 1 for June/July Issue July 1 for August/September Issue September 1 for October/November Issue November 1 for December/January Issue Effective January 6, 2006, postal rates are increasing. With this in mind, if you have Internet access we encourage you to read Roots & Shoots online at the Master Gardener Society website www.mgsoc.org. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status.