September 2017
Established in 1980 
In this issue you will find:
Echinopsis in bloom at Desert Meadows Park
  • Message from the President
  • Upcoming Events
    • Member Tours & Events
    • Seminars
  • Feature Articles
    • "In Your Plot"
    • Make a Donation to GVG via AmazonSmile
    • Pima County Master Gardeners Fall Plant Sale
  • Project Updates
    • Arid Garden
    • Allen J. Ogden Community Garden
    • Desert Meadows Park
    • GVG Gardens at Historic Canoa Ranch
  • Committee Updates
    • Membership ~ New Members
    • Fall Plant Sale
Would you like to submit an article or a photo for the July newsletter? Please submit it to [email protected] by September 27.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Of Historical Note :  I have recently come into possession of a notebook dating back to 1985 and the founding of our Club, then known as the Men's Garden Club of Green Valley. The notebook chronicles the birth of our Club, its growth and development, along with nearly all of the original Sands 'N' Seeds (hard copy, black and white no electronics). I want to make these documents available to Club members and will discuss with the Board a process for doing that. For any "historian/librarian" types in the membership that want to take a look and make suggestions about care and maintenance, I would appreciate your contacting me.
 
The Club was randomly selected by the Arizona State University Seidman Research Institute in conjunction with the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits to participate in a Arizona State University state-wide on-line survey, titled "The Arizona Nonprofits - Social Return on Investment (SROI)". Here are some interesting data points:  
  • At the end of 2016 our membership was +/-400
  • During 2016, 224 Club members volunteered for one or more projects, parks, and events
  • During 2016 a total of 10,565 volunteer hours are documented and valued at $249,017.05 (i.e., $23.57 per hour in 2016) 
I am looking forward to the start our fall season of events and hope you can take time to participate in the upcoming seminar and member activities events. Use our website to update your calendars with regard to what we have to look forward to.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Seminars
Learn how to grow beautiful desert wildflowers at the September 28 seminar.
  • September 14 ~ Desert Hills Seminar
    • "Growing Cool Season Vegetables" ~ Lorna Mitchell, GVG Member and experienced southern Arizona vegetable gardener
  • September 28 ~ Desert Hills Seminar
    • "Sonoran Desert Spring Wildflowers from Seed" ~ Gary Maskarinec, Nighthawk Natives Nursery
Member Activities
  • October 8 ~ The "Big Pig Gig" at Ogden Gardens
Be on the lookout for separate email blasts, providing details for each of these seminars and member activities.

Visit our website for a complete calendar of events
FEATURE ARTICLES
Transplants of broccoli can go in near the end of September or early October.
"In Your Plot"   by Lorna Mitchell

September in southern Arizona usually signals the end of monsoons and six more weeks of summer. Maintain irrigation systems and clocks and closely observe emitter openings because they can easily clog due to hard water deposits. Water delivery is once again a high priority.

This is also a good time to apply a little extra nitrogen to our actively-growing plants. Soluble nutrients get washed out with rains and constant irrigation. A simple way to do this is to dissolve a teaspoon (or a little less) of Miracle Grow in a gallon of water and pour a little at the base of all your plants in addition to regular watering.

Prepare soil for success now by digging in composted steer manure, peat moss, granulated fertilizers and other organic material. As you dig, remove and destroy grubs that lurk among your roots nibbling away. Nourish our friends, the earthworms, by adding veggie scrap smoothies that you make in your blender at home and dig into the garden.

Nights will eventually get chilly so we need to put in seeds of winter crops soon so they can sprout while the soil is warm. Seeds of these vegetables can be put in anytime this month and next; carrots, beets, kohlrabi, turnips, rutabagas, collards, parsnips, Swiss chard, cilantro, kale, etc. Spinach and peas will prefer to wait for next month. Transplants of broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, etc. can go in near the end of September or early October.

Grasshoppers are often a serious problem in the late summer months and they will not go away until the weather turns cold. They eat their way through everything in short order. Consider protecting seed beds with a cover of an old white sheet until the plants start pushing it up. Fine netting (think bridal veil) supported by some posts and held down on all sides by soil will keep predators off small plants. Gallon milk cartons with the bottom cut off, and the lid off, placed over a small plant will give it a chance to grow without being eaten. Be sure water is reaching the roots of the plants. 

Those are my plot thoughts for now, Happy Gardening!
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/.
Pima County Master Gardener Fall Plant Sale

The Pima County Master Gardener Fall plant sale is scheduled for  October 7, 2017 , from  8:00 to11:00am at the  Pima County Cooperative Extension, 4210 N. Campbell Avenue in Tucson.

There will be over 2000 potted shrubs, trees, and perennials looking for a new home. Figs love the climate in Tucson, as well as our grapes and pomegranates. Cacti, succulents and many other hard-to-locate plants will be available for purchase.

Arrive early for the best selection. Cash and check only; no credit/debit cards please.
PROJECT UPDATES
False Poinsettia "weeds" pop up throughout the shade garden
Arid Garden  by Mary Kidnocker 

Weeds, weeds, weeds ! Volunteers have kept busy during the past month with ridding the garden of continuing weed growth... and getting pretty good at it. The biggest challenge has been deciding which are worth keeping and which to eradicate. A special thanks to Elissa Dearing who has a "plant catalog" in her head and is our chief identification consultant.
 
Among newly-arrived keepers are: more penstemon and desert marigold, lots of bahia, mallows, dicliptera, red salvia, Texas ranger youngsters, false poinsettia, and gorgeous sacred datura plants. Unwanted annual grasses, amaranth, and quantities of spurges have been pulled out or sprayed.
 
Small vitex and kidneywood trees have been especially full of fragrant blooms during August. The garden continues very full and lush, although rainfall has been scarce the past couple of weeks... still worth a visit!

A small Vitex tree covered with sweet-scented purple flowers is a  butterfly favorite in the Arid Garden.


Both uninvited and appreciated, Sacred Datura in bloom with Indian  Mallow plants in background.


Our magnificent tree- climbing cactus with eleven flowers, all in one night . Photo by Linda Gregory. 


Closeup of tree-climbing cactus flower. Photo by Linda Gregory.
Allen J. Ogen Community Garden  b y George Stone

 

At Ogden, we always look forward to September in the garden as it usually means the monsoon rains are over and temperatures start to cool. Gardeners I talk to say they are ready for the cool season crops, and I agree. We are still trying to catch up with those pesky weeds which really ran amok during June and July.


 Our four laying hens, Egg White, Eggnog, Egghead and Henriette are experiencing some molt (loss of feathers), and as a result egg production has slowed. During the summer, the pen was enlarged and the chickens are enjoying more freedom. Our garden kids still enjoy playing with them and feeding them their treats.

 

Upcoming Member Activity: The Big Pig Gig will be held at the Allen J. Ogden Community Garden on Sunday October 8th, from 12:00 pm to 4 pm. This is a first-time event for the Club. Watch for an email blast which will provide additional details about this activity.

 

Finally, I couldn't help but include this in the newsletter. Our Granddaughter, Katherine Burlack, from Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded the blue ribbon and a check for $1,000 for the best in division at the prestigious Fountain City BBQ contest held in Kansas City. Katherine won for best steak in the Kids Que age group (11 to 15) with 75 contestants. Katherine is 12 and has been BBQing for four years and competing for two years.
Grandparents Kathy and George Stone are proud of their Grandaughter's prize-winning achievement!
Desert Meadows Park by Chuck Parsons

The Freeport-McMoRan Foundation grant was approved! That's our big news for this month. Our application was fully funded at the $56,500 we requested. We volunteers are very pleased - I think it speaks well for how effectively we managed the first grant and what has been accomplished at the park so far.
 
Approximately 50% of the grant will be used to improve pathways in the park, 35% for visitor/tourist improvements, 5% for community garden expansion and 10% miscellaneous park improvements/enhancements. We intend to lay another top coat of decomposed granite on the parking area and pathways, but this time stabilize it to create a harder surface. Freeport-McMoRan identifies specific areas for community improvement that they will fund. On our last grant, we focused upon improved health of residents using the park - a target in 2014. This grant we focused on park improvements to draw visitors and tourists - a target in 2016. We will add drinking fountains, professional dog bag dispensers and collection containers, an information board along the Anza Trail for posting information of interest to residents and tourists, expand significantly the number of plant identification stakes, etc. In the community garden, we proposed to add 4 additional raised-beds, I believe we can add 6 within the budget using a different supplier - at present we have 9 members on the waiting list for a raised-bed.
 
Ilse battling bugs!
First it was too dry - then came the rains, but that generated too many weeds - not only weeds but mosquitos too - most recently it's been pesky gnats. Oh, the trials and tribulations of we volunteers! This week Ilse Gudehus arrived at the community garden to harvest for the food bank wearing a hat designed to take care of the bug problem. A gift from her husband while traveling in Australia. Nancy Lucas commented that she used to sell them in Alaska.   

Elissa's surprise !!
Generally, you can go to the park and find Elissa Dearing working in the garden plots every morning, of every week, of every month! Not for the next couple of months. Her daughter is about to have a baby boy so Elissa has headed for Texas. Before she left, Sara Hein and Leslie Campbell arranged a surprise 'Grandma shower' that was held at the Barrio Garden. Volunteers that work with Elissa at both the park and the Arid Garden attended. We caught her by surprise - not a small feat. She typically knows every little thing that goes on at the park. 
 
A Pipevine Swallowtail makes the tedious task of weeding more enjoyable!
GVG Gardens at Historic Canoa Ranch (HCR)  by Jack Davis and Raydine Taber

Lots of, monsoon-loving weeds have been growing in the Grijalva and Junior House Courtyards and the East Cactus Garden. Tedious work to remove some of those weeds but a little friend stopped by last Tuesday and lent a helping "hand". A Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly (similar to the picture) spent the entire time flying around while weeds were being pulled and some of the summer crops were being removed.
Even prettier with open wings!
Pretty as the above picture is check out what he looks like when he opens his wings. This little friend made for an enjoyable morning.        
 
HCR future event:  The 5th annual Anza Day will be Saturday, October 14th, 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Be there in the A.M. for the Anza Coalition Color Guard reenactment or just enjoy the vendors, Folklorico entertainment, food and exhibits available throughout the day. Docents will be available with stories and information. Come out to the ranch; see how GVG contributes to the restoration of the Historic Hacienda de la Canoa at Raul M. Grijalva Canoa Ranch Conservation Park, 5375 S I-19 Frontage Rd. (South of Green Valley Hospital).
COMMITTEE UPDATE S
Membership - New Members
 by Mark Thompson

The summer monsoons in Green Valley brought more than weeds this year as we have ended up with eight new members. This brings our total membership up to 392 gardeners from 268 households. Please welcome the following new members:  
  • Ann Goff
  • John and Ellen Munger
  • Ruth Flanders
  • Lenny and Dusty Friedman
  • Sandy and Phil LaVoi
I'm sure that they will have their new name badges on at the next event, so please make them feel welcomed. And, don't forget to include Green Valley Gardeners in your planned charitable contributions and your estate planning.

Thanks for your support!
Fall Plant Sale  by Kathy Stone

~ Mark your calendar please ~

Our fall plant sale will be held October 26, 27 and 28 at the Continental Shopping Plaza. Set up for the sale will be Wednesday prior, October 25 th . We will begin asking for volunteers toward the end of September.

I will be asking for extra support this time - my second time at chairing this event. In the spring, I could rely heavily on Elissa Dearing for support with all her past sale experience. She will be in Texas being a grandma during the sale this fall. Elissa not only worked the sale during the event, but helped in all the preparation and setup. Please contact me at [email protected] or 520-270-4859 if there is a particular role you'd like to do this fall. Thanks!
Editor: Linda Gricius | Green Valley Gardeners | [email protected]  | www.greenvalleygardeners.com
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