Roots & Shoots February 2008 / March 2008 February 6, 2008 @ 6:30pm MGSOOC General Society Meeting & Location MSU Extension Office, 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac, Building 26 East, Lower Level Classroom Speaker : Annick Hivert-Carthew–Education: “Emily Dickinson's Garden” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational program. March 5, 2008 @ 6:30pm MGSOOC General Society Meeting & Location MSU Extension Office, 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac, Building 26 East, Lower Level Classroom Speaker : Cheryl English–Education: “Clematis” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational program. April 2, 2008 @ 6:30pm MGSOOC General Society Meeting & Location Bowers Farm, Alternative School Building, 1219 E. Square Lake Rd. http://mgsoc.org/Images/Bowers_streetMap.jpg Speaker : Jim Veldheer–Education: “Tulips” A business meeting will take place, prior to the start of our Educational program. Carol’s Corner WINTER 2008 MASTER GARDENER CLASS SCHEDULE The Winter 2008 Master Gardener Training Class started on January 10th. This is a Thursday evening class (6:00pm-10:00pm) being held in the Conference Center at the New Executive Office Building located at 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, Building # 41 West. The Executive Office Building is just east of the Oakland Farmers Market. The class schedule is below. If you are a Certified Master Gardener, you are welcome to come and sit in on any of the classes and you will be able to submit 2 (full credit) educational hours for attending a class. We ask that you sit in the back of the classroom and make sure that the students receive any handouts before you take one. Please call Linda Smith (248-858-0887) before attending any of the classes to make sure we have not had to change the class schedule. DATE SUBJECT January 10, 2008 Introduction/Native Plants January 17 Plant Science January 24 Soils and Composting January 31 Water Quality/Invasive Plants & Pests February 7 Flower Culture February 14 Plant Health Care/Diagnostics February 21 Indoor Plants and Propagation February 28 Backyard Fruit March 6 Lawn Care March 13 Household Pests March 20 Vegetable Culture March 27 Woody Ornamentals April 3 Volunteering April 10 Snow Day (if needed) Useful Websites Master Gardener Volunteer Record Keeping System (to report your hours online): https://mi.mgrecord.com Oakland County MSU Extension Website: http://msue.msu.edu/oakland MSU Educational Bulletins: http://web2.msue.msu.edu/bulletins/ Turf/Lawn: www.turf.msu.edu Weeds: www.msuturfweeds.net U.S.D.A. Plant Database: http://plants.usda.gov/ Michigan Master Gardener Volunteer Program Website: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/mastergardener/ Master Gardener Shopping Mall: http://www.mastergardenershoppingmall.com/ American Horticultural Society: http://www.ahs.org/index.html Used Book Sale A Book Sale will be held at 6pm, March 5 before the general meeting at the MSU Extension building lower level classroom. All proceeds from the sale will be used to aid the Society’s fund-raising, education and grant activities. For more detail please contact Diane Rix at calrix1@comcast.net. Garden Displays At Rest Areas Nancy Dillingham, a member of the Genesee County Master Society, gave us a talk in January about the society’s rest area garden project. Starting in the year 2000 the group has planted gardens at three rest stops including two on I-75 near Clio and one on US-23 near Fenton. The gardens make the rest stops visually appealing and are also educational for the 5 million visitors. Team members put out a Master Gardener sign and also label the plants. On some holidays, members set up an information booth at the garden and have made 3000 contacts with individuals. Master gardeners have put in 2100 volunteer hours at the sites. The group developed a partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation, and roles are carefully defined. The team designs the gardens and puts the plant and materials order in to MDOT which has paid about $5000 annually for the project. MDOT helps with some of the major parts of the project like delivery of soil amendments and hardscaping including sprinkler systems. The team plants, maintains and staffs the areas. The project has been a great team-building mechanism. In October the group designs the gardens for the next year and develops the plant order. They also clean up and amend the soil at that time. In April they recruit new master gardeners to help the old hands and set up a plan for planting and maintenance for the year. May is planting month with the development of the final maintenance and educational outreach plan. There is a project coordinator for each rest area, and the teams are organized slightly differently for each. The design starts with evaluating the site for sun and wind exposure and a soil test. Since they are ordering far in advance, they carefully calculate the plant and amendment needs and order suitable plants with some extras. They use various books and plant calculation guides to determine what plants and how many to order. They review the plan with the MSUE horticultural agent. They use weed inhibitors in the spring and fall. Planting takes lots of volunteers who bring their own tools. Maintenance includes determining the sprinkler system schedules, removing weeds and identifying and treating diseases and pests. Educational outreach includes signs at the sites as well as brochures and bulletin boards. They staff the areas a few times a year and give gardening advice. One day they did a firewood blitz, explaining to people why they should not move firewood around the state. Fall maintenance involves cleaning up plants, adding soil amendments, using weed inhibitor and raking. They return the signs to the MSUE office to be used the following spring. I happened to stop at the rest area on northbound I-75 at Clio last summer, and it was really quite impressive and gave a great impression of Michigan to visitors. —Submitted by Jean Gramlich Organic Gardening Notes 1. Peak Oil, The Food Supply, And Home Gardening Peak Oil M. King Hubbert, an oil geologist, developed the concept of “peak oil” in 1956. He observed that the output of individual oil wells followed a bell-shaped curve. He projected that the total production of oil in the USA would similarly follow a bell-shaped curve and would peak in the 1970’s. He was proved to be correct. Some oil geologists believe that worldwide production of oil and natural gas may already be at its peak. Others believe it will peak within the next 10 years. A recent article in the Detroit Free Press (“Oil economy is on slippery slope”) projected 2026 as the most probable peak year. We won’t know, of course, until after the peak has been passed. Peak oil doesn’t mean the end of oil, quite the opposite; it means maximum production—after which output will level off and then begin to decline. So far, increasing worldwide demand for oil has been met by increasing worldwide supply. After the peak, demand for oil will continue to increase, but supply will not. This will result in higher oil prices. These won’t be the kind of temporary price spikes that we have already experienced. Once oil supply has peaked, we will experience something quite different – steadily increasing prices. One can predict that prices will rise at a much faster rate than the reduction in supply because of the economy’s strong dependence on oil. Oil and the Food Supply We all know that the US economy is hugely dependent on oil. Less well known is that the US food supply is also very dependent on oil. Transporting food long distances from producer to processor to retailer is the most obvious and most significant expenditure of oil in food supply. But the agricultural industry itself uses 400 gallons of oil a day per person in the population (1994 data, including the oil equivalent of natural gas). This includes: manufacturing nitrogen fertilizer-31%; operating farm machinery- 195; TRANSPORTATION -16%; IRRIGATION-135; raising livestock -8%; crop drying -5%; and pesticide production -5% (Source: Eating Fossil Fuels, 2004, by Dale Alan Pfeiffer.) US crop yields increased 3-fold in the 50 years following World War II. Much of this increase was based on developing crop varieties that responded to large inputs of artificial fertilizer; machine-powered irrigation; much increased mechanization of field operations; and use of pesticides. All these inputs depend on oil or natural gas. The question is not whether the agricultural industry will be able to afford the increased prices for oil and natural gas, but how the industry will adjust to steadily decreasing availability. The challenge will be somewhat similar to that faced by Cuban agriculture, which had a crash course in adjustment following withdrawal of support from the Soviet Union. The Cuban adjustment is still taking place, but chemical-based monoculture has already been replaced by smaller farms, which – for lack of artificial fertilizers and pesticides- are organic and more labor-intensive. The Future of the 3000 Mile Salad How US agriculture will adjust to declining oil supplies is, of course anybody’s guess; for what it’s worth here are some of my own guesses. It’s safe to forecast that we in Michigan won’t be eating lettuce grown in a 1000-acre, laser leveled irrigated field in California, treated with nitrogen fertilizer and artificial pesticides. More likely lettuce- and many other vegetables – will be grown locally, in small truck farms, market gardens, or in home gardens. Consequently, land that was once farmed in Michigan will be brought back into production. As for nitrogen fertilizer, large quantities of natural gas are used in its manufacture. As natural gas becomes scarcer, farmers will increasingly obtain nitrogen from peas and beans grown in rotation, and from manure. The manure will come from dairy and beef cattle raised on the same farms as crops. Pest control will become organic of necessity; phasing out pesticides will allow the growth of populations of beneficial insects. Farmers will revert to building soil organic matter to improve fertility, and this will produce stronger plants that will be more insect resistant. Specific vegetables and fruit won’t be available year round; many growers will have greenhouse operations, with supplemental heat in winter from geo-thermal heating. Growers and customer will interact more. Older vegetable varieties, now in national seed banks, will be grown because they are less dependent on artificial fertilizers and more naturally resistant to insect pests and plant diseases. More intensive methods of cultivation will become more common. And this will cause agriculture to become more labor-intensive. Similarly, we won’t be eating steaks produced in the feedlots of the Corn Belt. We will be eating local beef that will more likely be grass-fed than corn-fed. The breeds will tend to be the beef/dairy breeds, rather than Herefords or Aberdeen Angus. Mixed farms will solve the problem that faces feedlot operators- how to get rid of all that manure, and the reverse problem that faces grain farmers- how to get enough nitrogen for their crops. Home Gardening Many more people will supplement their food purchases with home-grown vegetables and fruit. Pesticides and synthetic fertilizers will either be prohibitively expensive or not available at all. So gardeners will make a virtue of necessity by growing organically. They will eat vegetables and fruit in season and extend the season at either end with cold frames. They will re-learn their great-grandparents’ methods of storing produce: canning, jam making, root cellars, and storage of root crops in the ground. Eliot Coleman’s Four Season Gardening is an excellent source book for much of this. Lawns will be less easy to maintain without nitrogen fertilizer and oil derived pesticides, so many will be turned over to vegetable and fruit production. The changes in the structure of agriculture and horticulture will be profound. Many of these changes will be things we are presently unable to visualize. The effect of oil production leveling off and then declining could possibly affect the food supply more than any other sector. It’s as well to start thinking now about how the future will unfold, and how to make the best of it. To all appearances our political representatives are oblivious of these issues; so it’s a question of self-help. We can begin to grow some of our own food. We can encourage local growers with our food dollar. We can relearn canning and jam-making. And we can research and discuss. —Submitted by Peter Bray 2. SOME IDEAS ABOUT AERATED COMPOST TEA Many of you will be familiar with the process of brewing compost tea. At its simplest, you: half fill a 5-gallon bucket with good compost; top up the bucket with rainwater and stir well; start an aquarium pump with the air-stone weighted to stay on the bottom of the bucket; stir twice a day; after two days switch off the pump at to let the compost settle overnight; pour off the liquid in the morning and apply it to the soil or foliage. The whole idea is to separate microbes from the compost, make their populations grow, and so boost the biological activity in the soil. All of which makes plants grow bigger and healthier. An excellent book: Teaming with Microbes, a Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web by Lowenfels and Lewis has a chapter on compost tea, which has some new ideas -- at least mostly new to me – to improve the resulting product. First, if you don’t collect rainwater or have a well, you can use chlorinated city water, although chlorine is a microbe killer. Let the aquarium pump bubble through the water for a few hours before you add the compost to allow the chlorine to evaporate. Second, while you need to brew compost tea in warm weather, when microbes are more prone to multiply, keep the bucket out of direct sun because ultra-violet light is also a microbe killer. Similarly, choose an overcast day to apply compost tea to foliage. (Foliar application is used to employ good microbes to suppress the bad ones that infect leaves.) Third: compost tea is bacterial dominated, because fungi don’t multiply much in two days. This is fine for vegetables but not trees and shrubs, which like fungal dominated soils. So if you want to boost biological activity in those soils you need compost tea with lots of fungi. Sprinkle oat bran on the top of the compost a week before you plan to brew; after a week the fungal growth will be quite visible. You could also add some fish emulsion to the brew. I have used a can of cat food for the same effect. By the way, some people add fine rock powder to encourage microbial activity and add mineral content to the brew. If you like this idea I suggest you try soft rock phosphate. Fourth: your air-stone can become clogged with bacterial slime. An alternative is to duct-tape a length of soaker hose to the end of the air pipe. You will need to seal the end with one of those end pieces that come with soaker hoses. You could find that soaker hose needs a stronger pump than an air-stone. In any event, the desired effect is lots of very small bubbles which maximize the surface area for the transfer of oxygen. Fifth and finally: some people have difficulty separating the liquid from the compost slurry. Teaming with Microbes recommends stretching pantyhose (size Q) over the mouth of the bucket and filling the legs with compost. I haven’t tried this because I suspect that it might limit the amount of contact between the water and compost, but I’m always ready to be corrected and learn. —Submitted by Peter Bray What’s All the Buzz… It was May, the beginning of spring, time to begin another gardening season, time to enjoy the burst of life as we know it here in Michigan. But wait! News of a serious problem with our bee population has surfaced again. A golfing friend of mine showed me an article in the newspaper about the decline in our honeybees. A mysterious ailment was causing our great pollinators to lose their way home. Scientist had coined this ailment as Colony Collapse Disorder. Will springtime be the same? In June, another article appeared on the front page of our local paper. Beekeepers in the area are worried that people don’t know the value of the honeybee. “Without them,” they claimed, “we must rely on wind pollination which means we’re down to eating oatmeal and cornmeal mush!” Of the 124 crops in Michigan, 65 rely on bee pollination. Michigan has the second highest diversity of crops after California. ” Zachary Huang, a professor of entomology at Michigan State University claims that since last year, CCD accounted for approximately an 8 percent loss of our honeybee population in this state. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture claims losses of between 651,000 and 875,000 of the nation’s estimated 2.4 million colonies in 35 states. That would be about a 25% drop for this country’s commercial beekeepers. What’s concerning researchers now is the outcome this spring. An immediate second wave of CCD would mean a major economic blow to beekeepers. CCD means either no or a very low number of adult bees left in the hive with a Queen bee, and no sign of dead bees. In fact, disappearances similar to this have happened as far back as 1890. There are theories which include pesticides, parasites, stress, and the food given to the bees in the winter, but researchers have found nothing! One theory some beekeepers seem to agree on, is that CCD seems to affect migratory bees. These are honeybees that are transported cross country in 18 wheelers to pollinate another farmer’s field. The stress of travel and the close quarters could exasperate the disorder. But I don’t remember any 18 wheelers being on the road in 1890. Another rumor blames the use of cell phones. Then there is the hype about genetically modified food. There is no evidence to support these claims. In September I spoke with a local beekeeper here in Davisburg. I was relieved to hear that her colonies seem to be normal. Blanche Barber owns 400 colonies, and sells honey locally. She told me some very interesting things. The problem seems to be mostly in the South, she said. Michigan can always expect a 50% winter kill rate. That sounds tremendous, until you hear how prolific the little insects are. There are 3 castes of honeybees in a colony. The workers, which are sterile females, are responsible for feeding the Queen, maintaining the hive, gathering pollen and nectar, and protecting the hive. The drones, which are fertile males, mate with a new Queen. The Queen is responsible for reproduction. Most of us see only the workers since they fly in and out regularly. The Queen lays about 2000 eggs per day. The drones get pushed out of the hive in October when their job is done. But the worker bee, which does all the collecting, maintaining, and protecting, only lives 3 to 5 weeks, and produces just ¼ teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. Blanche also mentioned quality of honey. Her products are filtered, not processed. Filtered honey retains its nourishment. Processed honey, the kind you find at the grocery store, has a very long shelf life, and usually comes from China, Japan and Argentina. It seems to be a good idea to support our local beekeepers by purchasing local honey from them. Honey fulfills Hippocrates’ requirement for an ideal food: “Our food should be our medicine – our medicine should be our food”. While driving thru Georgia in October, a small restaurant we stopped at had a product called Nature Cure Bee Caps. This supplement contained pollen, royal jelly, raw honey and propolis, all four important bee products in one caplet. Pollen contains all the ingredients necessary for a balanced diet. Twenty two nutrients required by the human body are found in this “perfect food”. Royal jelly is a milky white food made by the worker bees. It transforms an ordinary female bee into a Queen, increases her lifespan of three months to over five years and enables her to produce twice her own weight in eggs each day. Royal jelly provides a natural source of B complex vitamins, trace minerals and amino acids. Raw honey is virtually bacteria free and contains all the essential minerals needed to sustain life and is an instant energy building food. Propolis is responsible for neutralizing any bacteria, fungi, or virus which enters the hive, and is one of the most powerful antibiotics found in nature. Just when I thought all my information had been digested, another friend handed me another approach to the problem called “Plan B”. This report says America has nearly 4,000 species of native bees. From tiny sweat bees to furry bumblebees. One such native bee called the squash bee is considered the most prevalent pollinator of summer and winter squash like pumpkins, acorn and butternut. This could be attributed to the work ethic of the bee. They seem to get up earlier in the morning than the honeybee. Tomatoes, eggplant, blueberries, and some other crops hold their pollen in tiny tubes. It takes “buzz pollination” from the bumblebee, to capture this pollen, and is the reason why growers of tomatoes bring bumblebees into the greenhouse. Even the tiny orchard mason bee is given credit for working in colder and wetter weather. One major factor remains, only honey bees produce honey! How can we help? Keep those flower gardens blooming and provide a nesting space of bare ground and wood chips, and a little water. But I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir. Also, if the neighborhood permits, take it easy on weeding the lawn. Dandelions and clover are favorites of the honeybees. I have to brag that my husband will cut around patches of clover. He says they are buzzing with activity and doesn’t want to run them over. Besides, the clover is no taller than the grass, and is quite pretty, so what does it matter. One more controversial statement claims that Albert Einstein said, “Without bees, the human population would have 4 years until extinction.” Did he mean to say honeybees? Did he mean any and all insect pollinators? Or did he foresee those 18 wheelers! I want to thank all my friends who persuaded me, gave me information, and showed concern. Thanks Adeline, Carol, Sylvia, Blanche, and Jean. Friendship is a sheltering tree. —Submitted by Diane Opria Job Posting Merchandisers needed to care for plants in local garden centers, seasonal, part-time position with flexible hours. Position will begin in April. We are a grower of annuals, mums and poinsettias. Merchandising is everything that happens to plants after they are delivered to the garden centers. Typically we: * Condense Product * Remove unsaleable product * Put out new deliveries * Group by SKU, displaying by Color and variety * Water and clean plants - deadhead or prune as needed * Arrange product so all tables are full * Straighten and Face shelves * Sign all product * Clean litter from area/keeping isles open while working * Organize any extra racks out in front of the store, blocking wheels * Take empty cages to pickup area * Communicate with Post supervisor and store management daily Interviews will begin soon so please reply to Betty@postgardens.com and also Kim@postgardens.com Notes from Nutcase Nursery Early 2008 If ever one feels the need for public confession, it’s at this time of year. The new page of the new calendar is literally the clean slate to which resolutions spring like nightcrawlers after a rain. –Wait, that’s completely inaccurate imagery. Nightcrawlers might wind up on clean slate but they don’t spring, they slide up from the soil to keep from drowning. Sometimes, though, that’s how I feel after the holidays. Especially when the new year, the “season of resolutions,” forces me to reflect on my year of shortcomings. Apparently I am perfect is all aspects of my life except gardening because that’s all I think about. My mother always said “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” When you create unrealistic expectations for yourself, you can find yourself pretty miserable about it. Sure, it’s good to have goals and visions. We have lots of visions here at Nutcase, but not every job gets done, not every plant gets in the ground, not every seed has a home. The poor hardworking scarecrow merely needed a twenty minute makeover entailing a new shirt and stomach but he never made it out of the shed until Halloween. How long does it take to stuff an onion bag with wadded up plastic ones? That chore never even made to the very long list of “missed opportunities” that would be very depressing if I let it. In order to get on with life, what I need to do is publicly declare that I am miserable for not having lived up to my own expectations and then get over it. Sadly, I can’t even say that nothing died because of something I did or didn’t do; a few plants kicked and I’m heartily sorry for that. So, to finally get it out of the way, I am confessing that I was a bad gardener last season. And I really can’t pinpoint the actual moment I became a failure. First, I thought I had only failed Fall. Further analysis made me realize that I had been slipping all along. I should have seen it coming; I was on the path to hell right from the start. There were plenty of “should haves,” “could haves,” “would haves.” Should have checked the dahlia tubers. Could have pruned the shrubs better. Would have had more apples if the spraying schedule was followed more diligently. Either there just aren’t enough garden minutes (you know there never are) or I have been a victim of a cruel and vicious warp in the space/time continuum. As a child, my most fearsome nightmares were of being chased by something like a black, upside-down ketchup bottle and only being able to move in very, very slow-motion. (The ketchup bottle monster was the only visual my Dad found useful in answering me when I asked what a tornado looked like.) I’m thinking that I may be living one of those nightmares in slow motion. Either that, or the earth has sped up. Quite possibly both. Another physics problem. It all boils down to time, ticking away louder and louder. And faster. I’m always thinking that there is more of it. More time to harvest the vegetables, more time to shred leaves, more time to trim and clean up. I don’t know what happened. Potatoes were picked but froze in the barn. The pot of caladiums was too heavy to carry inside. The green tomatoes left hanging from the rafters became popsicles; cabbages froze right on the stems. Some broccoli got harvested but not even cooked. I hated myself. There I was, approaching the new year, flat on the bottom of a bushel basket of gardener’s guilt. I needed a thaw day. I promised I would “force” myself outside on a thaw day and breathe in some free air.* And then, very slowly, a miracle began to unfold. I found myself rising from remorse, an inch at a time, pulled by the power of the winter solstice. How can you be bummed when each day the light stays a little longer? There is nothing like a new year to kindle and renew the ability to forgive oneself. It could be just rationalization. Or maybe, just maybe, it could be the realization that it’s all just a cycle, a circle, a season that comes and goes. Our spirits ebb and flow like tidewater. I’m sure it’s completely natural and healthy. (So what if the tides are controlled by the moon and “moon people” are called lunatics. It simply fits the insanity that sometimes is gardening.) Another beautiful thing that quickens at this time of year is the gardener grapevine, a network of people who share and compare their stories. When you realize that your voice isn’t alone with its tale of woe, a salving effect takes place, like aloe on a burn. It’s the “safety in numbers” policy at optimum operation. The more stories I heard from fellow gardeners bemoaning lists of chores not done, the less I felt like whining. I saw a woman loading a leaf rake into the back of her car in the ACO parking lot on January 9th. Who cares what dispels the guilt as long as it’s gone? What to do now? Greet the season by celebrating the promise of new life on the horizon and check on your seed stock! (Didn’t see that coming, did you…?) If you have been keeping your seeds in optimum storage conditions such as cold, dark, and sealed, you might expect to enjoy them for the following viability periods: One Year Two Years Three Years Four Years Five Years Six Years onions sweet corn beans beets cucumber lettuce parsnips leeks broccoli Brussels sprouts collard greens parsley okra carrots cabbage endive peppers celery cauliflower radish Chinese cabbage Swiss chard muskmelon kohlrabi eggplant peas pumpkin spinach squash tomatoes Remember: When in doubt, sprout. Remember, also, that when things get ‘out of order’ or you think you have run out of time, there are quite a few crops that can appreciate a waning planting season. And if we have an extended season you will surprise yourself with the bounty. There’s always something to enjoy, especially if the wind doesn’t launch your coldframe on a trip to Ottawa. The middle of July is a great time to plant cukes, snap beans, carrots, Chinese cabbage, leaf lettuce, and peas from seed. Many times the peas I’ve missed have gone on in the afterlife to raise another generation of vines. I don’t double-sow carrots because I leave that until almost winter to pick. I also don’t replant beans. I make sure I keep picking and if they seem to lag a bit, I let them rest for about a week. With a boost from a side dressing of fertilizer they will reward me with many more beans. Pak choi and dill spring eternally by themselves but I could hurry things up by planting seed sooner than the volunteers sprout. Or at least at the same time if I paid attention. But why bother? I kind of like their little maintenance-free system. You can also transplant late maturing cauliflower varieties in July. And if you’re not doing anything in August, you can plant beet, endive, kale and Bibb lettuce seeds. You can also transplant late broccoli pups. I usually start my cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts from seed late April or early May in a corner of the big garden where I can keep an eye on it. After the corn stalks are pulled, the soil is prepped for the cole crop transplantation extravaganza. Plants are tucked hither, thither and yon with plenty of water and a little bone meal, cottonseed meal, or compost. If you promise to be finished by the beginning of September, you can plant more leaf lettuce, spinach, arugula, and turnips. Your most fearsome enemy is lack of water. The soil will still be quite warm and water is the key to the success of your late season harvest. Think how smug you might feel bringing food you picked, just hours before, to the next Society meeting! So it seems, now, that we have come full circle in my bout of madness. We had to experience my garden’s guilt. And remorse. And public declaration. Forgiveness? Maybe not so much. Renewal is all that really matters. I am a gardener and I know that I was destined to accomplish a certain amount of things in my life. At the rate I’m going, I will never die. To contact us, email nutcase_nursery@yahoo.com *We here at Nutcase Nursery have long believed that there should be mental hygiene leave available for time off from work to delight in events like the January thaw and the sporadic spring feverish days sent to tease us. Check with your management. November 19, 2007 Board Meeting Motions In Attendance: John Humphrey, Tom Hershberger, Jean Gramlich, Ruth Vrbensky, Carol Lenchek, J. Grant, Clay Ottoni, Pat Banaszek, J. Bird, Diane Rix, Susan T. McLarty, Dick Wanat, Sherry Jones, Guests: Absent: Sheri Trout, Martha Humphrey, Janie Grissom, Sandie Parrott, DeeAnn Bauer, Quorum present Secretary Report: R. Vrbensky presented Board minutes from October 15 and Nov. 7, 2007. Motion: R. Vrbensky moved to accept minutes of October 15 and November 7, 2007 as presented. T. Hershberger support. Approved. Treasurer Report: J. Gramlich presented Motion: R. Vrbensky moved to approve the Treasurer report covering period October 15, 2007 through November 19, 2007. T. Hershberger support. Approved. Motion: T. Hershberger moved to donated $800.00 to Oakland County Horticulture Program. S. Jones support. Discussion. (withdrawn-see later) Motion: S. Jones moved to spend in 2007 $600 to Oakland County MSUE Master Gardener Program, $200 to Bower’s Farm team, $800 to Oakland County MSUE Horticulture Program. T. Hershberger support. Motion amended to remove Bower’s Farm $200 donation. T Hershberger support motion as amended. Approved. Tom withdrew his previous motion. —Submitted by Ruth Vrbensky Important Note 2007 Receipts must be submitted to treasurer Jean Gramlich by February 15, 2008, in order to receive reimbursement. 2008 3-Day Garden Bus Trip to Indiana! Save the dates: August 1-3, 2008. Expected destinations include International Friendship Garden in Michigan City, Tabor Hill Winery, Shipshewana Antique Show, Amish Acres Farm, Minnetrista-Oakhurst Gardens in Muncie, and Carolee’s Herb Farm. Final arrangements are being made. Watch the Oakland Gardener for details. Some Information You Should Know MGSOOC Board Members President: Tom Hershberger ………………..…. (586)573-3954 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: Martha Humphrey mlhgrows@ameritech.net Project Support: Clay Ottoni ………….. ……..(248)454-9800 Hospitality: Pat Banaszek …………………. (586)677-2048 Membership: Tom Hershberger …………… (586)573-3954 Programs: John P. Humphrey ………….(248)542-8213 Trips & Tours: Sandie Parrott ………………..(248)394-1532 Web Site: Sheri Trout …..................... (248)328-0557 sheri@oaklandweb.com Corresponding Secretary: Diane Rix calrix1@comcast.net Web Site Address: www.mgsoc.org Currently Available Opportunities: Communications, Education, Project Support, Volunteer Activities 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 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 Master Gardener Program Coordinator E-Mail: terryb@oakgov.com E-Mail: lenchekc@oakgov.com Mary Wilson…248-858-0887 Linda Smith…248-858-0887 Horticulture Educator Horticulture Secretary E-Mail: wilsonm1@msu.edu E-Mail: smithlin@oakgov.com Yard & 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@oakgov.com Food Safety Hotline…248-858-0904 Robin Danto, Extension Educator 4-H Youth Programs…248-858-0905 Water Quality Education…248-858-5198 Tom Schneider, Extension Educator Bindu Bhakta, Extension Educator Lois Thieleke….248-858-0888 Children, Youth & Family…248-452-9726 Extension Educator- Food & Nutrition Saneya Hamler, Extension Educator 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 newsletter. Roots & Shoots is a joint publication of MSU Extension-Oakland County and Master Gardener Society of Oakland County. 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. ?? ?? ?? ?? - 1 -