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Anne Arundel County Master Gardener News | |
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September Meeting: Suburban Leaf Litter Management
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Max Ferlauto grew up in Arlington, Virginia where he gained an appreciation for native plants and insects through local environmental organizations, such as the Potomac Chapter of Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS). He received his bachelor’s degree in Plant Ecology from Juniata College. He is now a third year PhD student at the University of Maryland Entomology Department. Litter removal is a surprisingly understudied topic that may have negative consequences to biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Max outlines his PhD dissertation research and discusses preliminary results on how landscaping practices, such as leaf litter management and how it may affect urban ecosystems including plant-insect interactions.
Location: Virtual Zoom Meeting
Registration Link:
https://umd.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcodeqtqDMtHdHfnORlpTEdj_eh21HYnnT-
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Coordinator's Corner
Rachel Carey, Master Gardener Coordinator
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Sense of Place
There are many reasons to “go native” with our gardens. Most of our Master Gardeners who have a special interest in native gardens have their own “why”.
What is your “why” with native gardens? Remembering our own keeps the power behind our enthusiasm which oozes out of us when we teach! I’d be happy to read to your “why’s” if you’d like to write your stream-of-conscious and send it over.
For me, it has always started as recreating the sense of place. When I was a teenager, I liked the idea of cultures, local foods, a different feel of the air, and a sense of place everywhere you go. I didn’t want to think these other places were “cooler” than my own. Our area was surely given its own specialties. I wanted to own up to where I was from and appreciate it as much as I did an exotic place. It started, and continues, by learning names of plants around me on nature walks, and anecdotes about them. Then which plants nature has provided for us to eat right where we are. Which plants our unique animals dub as the “hot local spots”, where they gather, and which plants they need to still be here with us. Then came gardening.
To me, gardening is a very human thing to do. We love order, as a species. Gardens are just organization of what is around us in an aesthetic or useful way. I have imagined, much more often than once, being plopped in the middle of the woods and rearranging all the plants all around me to create a pretty circle plot with like-plants together in groups and cool entrances. I do know that if we were to do this with our yards, we would realistically have pretty groupings of nonnative weeds, such as henbit, and invasives, such as buttercup fig, LOL.
There are many thoughts to think branching off this topic. Not a lot of right or wrong here. Send your stream-of-conscious “why” over to careyr@umd.edu. Grammar doesn’t matter. Can’t wait to learn about my Master Gardeners more deeply.
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Master Gardener Project Reports
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The summer has continued to be pleasant, with a few hot weeks in late-July and early-August. The project will continue to meet through the end of September. Each week we weed, de-bug, water and harvest, and the families share the watering responsibilities twice-per-weekend. The gardens were blessed with enough rain, and the family gardeners were very dedicated to their watering responsibilities. The gardens were productive and there was produce to share.
There have been more pests as the season progressed, and parents and children have been squishing or dropping the pests in a bucket of soapy water.
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Tomatoes (lots of cherry tomatoes), a variety of peppers, basil, some beans, and small gherkins from the common spaces were shared among the families. Plus, the herbs from the Mediterranean garden, including sage, rosemary, lavender and chives were popular “picks” for family cooking. Okra was the surprise vegetable this year, growing well in several of the family spaces.
Milkweed and black-eyed Susans, along the outside of the fence, are thriving, and sunflowers, yarrow, zinnias, snapdragons and sweet alyssum are growing in the back corner of the garden.
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At the end of August, we began removing spent vegetable plants, and demonstrated the planting of crimson clover cover crop.
Some gardeners are planning to plant seeds and starts in late-August and early-September for a second fall crop of greens.
Although the project ends in September, the Kinder Farm gardens remain open until frost, and the families can continue to tend their plants. By the end of the month, garden clean-up will be completed, and crimson clover planted in all the open planting areas.
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Sincere thank-you’s to Kathy Albers, Wendy Boardman, Kathy Enderle, Lourdes Hergenroeder, and Kristin Silva for their volunteer participation. All help is much appreciated to work with the parents and children, to maintain the common planting areas and the outside edges of our community garden plots, and to provide extra garden checks.
A busy September is planned as we wrap up the season, and you are welcome to join us any Wednesday at 6:30pm at the community gardens at Kinder Farm Park in Millersville. Children are always welcome.
Co-chaired by Janet Clauson and Deb Fritz
janetclauson301@gmail.com, 410.987.2027
debfritzdesign@gmail.com, 410.279.1077
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Composting and Native Plants | |
The Compost and Native Gardens site has been well attended this summer. Plenty of MGs have worked to turn, harvest and spread compost on our recently donated plants as well as weed and water the native plant beds. We continue to have excellent attendance at the compost demonstrations. Recent visitors also include these Monarch cats that are enjoying newly planted milkweed. | |
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Greeting from the Dairy Farm Project.
We have had great turnout of volunteers at our work parties. We continue to maintain, weed etc. Plants are thriving and blooming well. MG workers continue to do a wonderful job keeping our gardens in great shape.
We have many bees, butterflies, including Monarchs in our gardens and some preying mantis.
The veggie garden is close to end of season. We still have tomatoes, zukes, eggplants and green bean coming in. Fall squash is producing, no squash bugs. We took down two small, raised beds and excavated all the rock etc. and possibly diseased soil. We will be rebuilding some now and some in the Spring. Thanks to the hardworking crew that shoveled and moved the old materials.
If you are interested in the Dairy Farm Project, please feel welcome. All are invited, including interns.
Our next scheduled work session is Saturday, September 10, and Thursday, September, 22 from 8:00 – 11:00
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE SHIFTING TO SUMMER HOURS FROM 8:00 TO 11:00 TO AVOID THE
HEAT.
We have tools, but please bring your own as well as gloves, water, etc.
NOTE REGULAR SECHEDULED WORK SESSIONS ARE THE SECOND SATURDAY AND THE FOURTH THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH FROM 8:00 -11:00
If you have any questions, please contact one of us.
Main Gardens, Malcolm Doying, oldcelt100@aol.com
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MGs Loretta Gerbrick, Julie McBride, Diane Lewis, Betsy Beck, Teresa Rosello and I worked in the lavender field over a two-week period in preparation for seeding crimson clover between the rows. Besides providing soil cover, the clover looks gorgeous in bloom and is a feast for the honeybees.
Milkweed pods are drying out and starting to distribute seeds. If anyone wants seed pods, text or email me. Did you know??? “Seventy-five years ago in the height of World War II, milkweed was valued for its floss, a naturally buoyant and water-repellant fiber used to fill life jackets for soldiers. It took two 20-pound bags of milkweed pods to make one life preserver. “ For more information, click on this link https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/wnrmag/2019/Fall/back#:~:text=Seventy%2Dfive%20years%20ago%20in,to%20make%20one%20life%20preserver.
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Volunteers are always welcome on Sunday afternoons from 1:00-4:00. RSVP willnancy3@verizon.net or text 410-952-9554. You can also reach out to me to see if other times might work.
Happy gardening,
Nancy
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It has been a slow summer month at Tawes with many gardeners out of town and the August weather being sluggish. The good news is that the rain has been a blessing and has allowed the Tawes Garden to flourish in spite of the heat. It is a true testament to the value of planting natives. The garden is a palate of colors this month, wth phlox, black-eyed Susan, butterfly weed and Joe Pye weed all adding their colors. There have been many busy pollinators, including many swallowtail butterflies. We are looking forward to a very busy September because we have been, once again, fortunate enough to have been awarded a Unity Gardens grant to continue the transition of the Tawes Plant Mural to a more native-friendly design. September's cooler weather will allow us to do some necessary tweaking of last year's design. Specifically, we will shift some planting blocks to better accommodate the height of some existing natives; we will consolidate some blocks to yield more densely planted blocks, hopefully further discouraging weeds; and we will remove some non-native plants and replace them with new native selections.
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In order to accomplish all this in time for an October 4th Unity Gardens Planting Day, we would love to have the help of any MGs who would like to join us. We meet staggered Tuesday and Thursday mornings. If interested, please contact Cindy Wells (cwells5953@cs.com) or Kathy Devine (kathy.j.devine@gmail.com). And mark your calendars for Tuesday October 4th for our 2022 Planting Day. Thank you Unity Gardens!
If you have any questions, contact one of us.
Cindy Wells Cwells5953@cs.com
Kathy Devine Kathy.j.devine@gmail.com
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2022 is the Year of Soil Health!
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Collect Native Pollinator Seed Training
USGS Bee Lab
September 8, 2022
4:00-6:00 PM
Host: AAMG RePollinate Project
SOLD OUT: Reduce Your Waste with Composting
Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis
September 8th, 2022
9:30 am - 4 pm
Host: State office & AAMG Composting Project
Biodiversity & Diversity in Bio: What's the Point?
Live Zoom Event
September 12, 2022
7:00 PM
Registration link - https://umd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nsdQisVkS5OrZvqsw4s17A
Host: State office continuing education
Flower Show Public Showing at Anne Arundel County Fair
145 Generals Hwy, Crownsville
September 14-18, 2022
Host: AAMG Flower Show Project
Fall Vegetable Garden Evaluation: Is it time to redesign your garden?
Live Zoom Event
October 10, 2022
12:00 - 1:30 PM
Registration link - https://umd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tV7oQBnMTNOLDKuseyYJvw
Host: State office continuing education
Anne Arundel County Extension Fall Festival
97 Dairy Lane, Gambrills
October 14, 2022
1:00 – 5:00 PM
Host: Anne Arundel County Extension Office
Hydroponic How-To
Live Zoom Event
November 3, 2022
12:00 PM
Registration link - https://umd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2p5H3nJpThWRxbRhOqnTgg
Host: State office continuing education
Fall 2022 Basic Training begins September 6th! Welcome our new interns!
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