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August 2018
Established in 1980
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In this issue you will find:
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It's monsoon season!! |
- Upcoming Events
- Member Tours & Events
- Seminars
- Feature Articles
- "In Your Plot"
- Wanted - Board of Directors Candidates
- Tidbits from Club Archives
- Make a Donation to GVG via AmazonSmile
- Project Updates
- Allen J. Ogden Community Garden
- Arid Garden
- Desert Meadows Park
- GVG Gardens at Historic Canoa Ranch
- Committee Updates
Would you like to submit an article or a photo for the August newsletter? Please submit it to [email protected] by August 29.
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Seminars will resume in September
Member Tours & Events
Member activities will resume in September/October
Visit our
website for a complete calendar of events
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| Keeping your garden free of debris and weeds discourages pill bugs from taking up residence and eating your germinating seedlings. |
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"In Your Plot"
by Lorna Mitchell
August is a time of renewal in the desert garden; a new beginning for many kinds of vegetables and therefore a chance for the gardener to start over. Temperatures will continue to soar but humidity should remain high and as long as water flows through our tubing the plants will grow rapidly. Rains will probably be sporadic so keep the irrigation timers turned on unless you are present daily.
Mid-August is good planting time for seeds of green beans, squash, corn, kohlrabi, carrots, Swiss chard, radishes, leaf lettuce, and cucumbers. Consider covering the seed bed with a light cloth which allows light and moisture to penetrate; remove it when the seedlings begin pushing it up.
Start seeds for winter plants in pots at home: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts. Keep them moist and in the full sun, which means lots of attention. These plants should go in the garden the end of September or beginning of October at the age of 8 weeks. Even if you don't grow your own, research varieties so you know what to look for later. It's good to browse seed catalogs and decide on new varieties of winter crops to try, too.
TOMATOES: Continue vigilance for tomato hornworms and spray with Bt to control. Be sure the sprayer has never had weed killer or pre-emergent solutions in it. For indeterminate tomatoes, prune out spurs that originate at the leaf nodes to prevent gangly vegetative growth and channel energy into fruit. Determinate tomato varieties should put on another crop soon; if they are not flowering and setting fruit cut back about one third of the overall size. Keep ground clear under plants to prevent disease and mold. Transplants of quick fruiting tomatoes can yield harvests if put in very soon.
Green fruit beetles, which are native to the Southwest, will swarm sweet ripe fruit to suck its juice. They are very poor fliers and bump into things continually. They are considered harmless and no chemical control is recommended, if they are a particular nuisance try mechanical control.
SQUASH: Watch for the stem borer; pulling out the caterpillar at a very early stage may save the plant. When spraying tomatoes with Bt, also spray the base of the squash plant; it may prevent a caterpillar from entering a stem. Better yet, remove the old meandering plant and start seeds for a new crop; it will produce before you know it.
High humidity and moist soils encourage growth of fungi and pests. In places of dense and neglected overgrowth (such as in a bean patch or sprawling tomatoes) it's possible to get pathogenic fungi such as powdery mildew or rust. Open up these areas by removing dead leaves, thus allowing circulation of air and light to prevent damage. Pill bugs and/or sow bugs thrive under decaying leaf matter on moist soil and emerge to eat your germinating seedlings, even if they are yards away. Don't believe they only eat dead leaves; they should be your first suspect when expected seedlings don't appear. Keep the ground clear of debris, including weeds, for a healthy garden.
Those are my plot thoughts for now - happy gardening!
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Wanted - Board of Directors Candidates
The Nominating Committee is looking for members interested in serving on the Green Valley Gardeners Board of Directors.
Board members have the very important responsibility of establishing and administering club policies and giving direction to the president. The board also provides input as to the programs and projects the club undertakes.
The term of office for board members is three years. Board members are elected in October and take office in November.
If you would be willing to serve or would like to nominate a member, please contact Bill Carley at
[email protected]
or 920-344-6563.
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Tidbits from Club Archives
The 1983 GVG Plant Sale profit was $146 !!
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Shop AmazonSmile and Benefit the Garden Club
Green Valley Gardeners is now listed on AmazonSmile. When you shop Amazon, log into AmazonSmile, use your existing personal account login information, select Green Valley Gardeners as your non-profit of choice. The club will receive a small donation for each qualifying purchase you make. Thank you!
To shop AmazonSmile go to
http://smile.amazon.com/
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Allen J. Ogden Community Garden
b
y George Stone
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| Picking peaches at Apple Annie's. |
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This week I spent Sunday indoors while temperatures hovered around 95 outside. Not too much to do at home except maybe do some exercise - so I did. Let the dog out, let the dog in, let the dog out, let the dog in. By 2 p.m. I was worn out and ready for a peach. Ah, a peach! I had plenty of those little babies, for on Saturday July 21st a group of diehard gardeners travelled by car to Apple Annie's in Willcox to pick peaches right from the tree. Kathy and I got carried away at the orchard and brought back a bushel of those delicious little nuggets, while the others used a little more common sense and picked a bag or two. Now it was decision making time. Was it going to be a peach daiquiri, peach punch, Malibu peach smoothie or just a peach shake? I settled for just a peach and took a nap.
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Dr. Katie Ge |
On July 27 we said goodbye to Katie Ge, our professor from China on loan to the Sahuarita school district where she taught Chinese to elementary students. Katie came to us last year and believes she is taking back a wealth of knowledge regarding community gardening. While attending our 2017 pig roast Katie requested a special cut. She wanted the pig's head, feet and brains. No problem Katie, you got it! Lots of luck from your fellow Ogden gardeners.
The Peppadew. What the heck is a Peppadew you ask. Well, let me tell you, they are the real deal - the real McCoy. The Peppadew is a small sweet pepper discovered in the wild in South Africa. I had read something about them several years ago but could not find any to buy so just sort of forgot about them until David O'Brien and I were driving around Tucson. We were near The Lost Barrio when I remembered we were near Roma's, Tucson's famous Italian Deli at 627 South Vine. We decided to make a quick stop to see what was on the menu. Shopping the display case there it was - the Peppadew. The peppers looked small and were a brilliant red, which I find appealing. I could see they were stuffed with some sort of cheese and that also appealed to me. I bought four to share with David. Oh my gosh, they were great! They tasted extremely sweet, which balanced out the little heat there was. So, if you like peppers, you will need to try these. So far, I have only found them at Roma's but am on the lookout for them at other locations. If you see them give me a call. Trust me, these are special.
Garden kitchen/cannery: Many members have made contributions toward equipping our kitchen and we are forever grateful.
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The Mexican Tree Ocotillo at Arid Garden looks unlike the more
common Ocotillo, but adds its luxurious green to the garden.
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Arid Garden
by Mary Kidnocker
Recently joining our family of garden volunteers are Bill Carley and Craig Surprise. Welcome gentlemen!
For safety, the garden's two large mesquite trees have been professionally trimmed by Bartlett Tree Service, removing dead limbs and reducing weight at branch ends. Also performed was root flare injection treatments to the four pine trees to help suppress pine engraver and bark beetle infestations. Additionally, we've deep soaked the 60-70 ft. pines to help reduce any drought stress.
Following a flood of large, winged ants on mid-garden walks, suddenly they totally disappeared. The mystery was solved when one of our volunteers spotted a chunky Colorado River Toad in the adjacent area... with a round belly and a big smile on his face!
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Newly trimmed Velvet Mesquite tree at Arid Garden.
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Aloysia bushes are presently filled with vanilla-scented flowers
sending sweet fragrance throughout the Arid Garden.
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The July rains were beneficial to the park's plants. Unfortunately, they also germinated mesquite seeds. |
Desert Meadows Park
by Chuck Parsons
We logged about 2½ inches of rain at the park in July. It was much needed after weeks of zero precipitation. The plants responded with glee! Many cacti burst into bloom which was a pleasant surprise for many park visitors. Not a surprise, and not pleasant for the volunteers, was the germination of unwanted plants throughout the park, especially mesquite seedlings! It is amazing how quickly a mesquite seed can germinate, and how deep it develops a tap root, when conditions are conducive.
Work continues in the new water-harvest garden. The volunteers had completed the ground contouring, as directed by Charlene Westgate, prior to the monsoon rain. We were pleased to see that the swells did in fact capture a considerable amount of water.
Green Valley Gardeners assumed stewardship of Desert Meadows Park in January 2014. By the last week in July we achieved a major milestone. Members had volunteered 20,000 hours! Also, worthy to note, by the end of July 12,500 pounds of fresh produce had been donated to the local food banks from the garden plots at the park. Thanks go to many members!
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GVG Gardens at Historic Canoa Ranch (HCR)
by Bill Carley, Raydine Taber, and Jack Davis (emeritus)
It's that time of year. Monsoon and weeds. We love the rain but so do the weeds. So far, we have been able to keep up with the lighting fast, weed growth. Rain brings on the weeds but it also softens up the soil, making the weeding a lot easier.
Meet our newest residents at the Manning Sr. House, Herb Garden. We are not bird experts but suspect it is a house finch. Two years ago, we had another finch family grow up in our Herb Garden. The parent birds selected our pot with the Black-eyed Susan and Pole Bean growing in it. The nest is located in the center of the growth and about my eye level (4.5 ft.) high. We will be careful not to disturb the nest.
This has been our month for wildlife coming inside the fenced area. Two weeks ago, while weeding the cactus garden, there was a commotion just northeast of the Sr. House. Looked up to see a Javelina running down the fence line. One of the HCR crew was chasing it out of the inner ranch area. Yesterday, we were informed to be on the look out for a Bobcat. One has been spotted east of the main houses. Not to be left out, one of our resident cotton tails found relief from the heat under the orchard trees.
Considering all that wildlife, we have not had any of the orchard plants feasted on. As an experiment, we put basil, mint, society garlic, heritage chiltepen peppers and Mexican oregano around three of the trees in the orchard. These plants are planted out in the open and not protected. They were planted back in March/April and, as of today, they have not been eaten. We will continue to experiment, with companion plants, as we add various herbs and flowers around the orchard trees.
We invite all of you to join us, on our Tuesday gardening adventures, at "the ranch".
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Membership
by Mark Thompson
As a result of the survey we conducted last spring, we know that a great majority of our members are satisfied with their membership. There are many benefits of membership besides getting your hands dirty, and everyone has their own favorite perk. Elissa Dearing and her crew at Desert Meadows Park have come up with a new benefit for all our members. They have two raised garden beds loaded with fresh herbs for your use. So, the next time you need some fresh rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, chives, basil, or mint for that special recipe, head on over to DMP, check in with Elissa, and snip away. Enjoy - and thanks for being a member!
New members joining our ranks last month are:
- Mary and Nick Norton
- Rose and Robert Blaylock
- Jeffery Sralla
- Pat Boeck
- Jack McGowan
Please make them feel welcomed!
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