SAND'n'SEEDS March 2021 Serving Our Community Since 1980

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Message from the President Now that it looks like we’re past the worst of Green Valley winter I’m excited to be seeing more leaves sprouting, flower buds, cacti blooms, and the sweet smell of citrus blossoms. This is a great time of year to go for walks or drives and to look for signs of spring – Kelly green low growth seen along the Anza trail, Texas rangers and oleanders sprouting out, a butterfly flitting between early flowers.   Despite the warm days, it’s still possible to get some cold night. Avoid the temptation to plant tender vegetables and annuals. You can scout out the best plants at area garden centers including the Desert Meadows Park Nursery where we’ll be holding a plant sale March 13th – 27th with opportunities to volunteer to help with selection and purchases on Saturdays.   Don’t forget the Zoom seminars being put on by Green Valley Gardeners! The next one is on pack rats, on Thursday, March 4.    Happy gardening! Marilee Crumley

We Accept Charitable Donations You will be asked for an amount, your contact information and credit card information.   Donations go toward operating expenses. If you want your donation to go to a specific project or in honor of an individual, please indicate your intention in the comment area.  You also can mail in a donation to: Green Valley Gardeners PO Box 86 Green Valley, AZ 85622-0086 Donations to a 501.C.3 are tax deductable. Please check with your tax accountant for more information on this deduction. Would you like to help, have fun and meet new people? Arid Garden:  Fridays at 7:30 a.m.  Contact: Mary Kidnocker 520-648-7949 or jdkidn@aol.com Canoa Ranch:   Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m. Contact: Raydine Taber rs.taber@msn.com Desert Meadows Park: Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m.  Contact: Chuck Parsons 520-904-9020 or chuck.dana@gmail.com

GVG Seminar Committee Volunteer Opportunity Are you interested in all things gardening in Green Valley? Do you wish you could learn more and are willing to do the research to find people who can share that knowledge? If you are, we could use your help.   2020 was not a typical year for us. As you know there have been fewer seminars. The seminars have temporarily been switched to the Zoom platform rather than in person. This has been difficult to say the least! We can fill you in on all the details. Importantly, it is a great opportunity to mingle with friends and watch in person presentations about gardening in this beautiful and challenging area.  Fingers crossed this will be what seminars will be in the fall!!   Contact Rhonda Rinn at rinnrr@yahoo.com

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/

Upcoming GVG Seminars  Zoom with Us March 4 - 2pm - Pack rats Chris Brown (Mr. Pack Rat) March 18 - 2pm - Gardening in Pots Deborah North April 1- 2pm - Good Plants for the Garden Toni Moore

All seminars will be conducted with Zoom. A link will be sent to all members by email the day before the seminar. If you would like more information, please contact: Rhonda Rinn rinnrr@yahoo.com

In Your Plot ... By Lorna Mitchell Our plots are full of cool season vegetables, some of which are reaching the end of their harvests – cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. But turnips, carrots, chard, collards, beets, fennel, parsley, kale, lettuce, and even Brussels sprouts will continue to offer tasty bounty for a while. One of the terrors of the garden is wreaking havoc in your plot even as you read this – cabbage aphids. They are tiny gray/blue/green sucking insects and seeking every crevice of every Brassica plant in your plot. The scientific name is Brevicoryne brassicae and at this time of year are all female, cloning themselves to form dense populations. In summer they are not usually a problem because of the heat and we only plant their favorite food in winter; but they can survive temperatures down to 5°F. Technically, you “can” eat them, but really? Aphids are generally transported by external means such as wind or people moving them unknowingly. A strong jet of water may remove aphids from your plants or a spray with dish soap or insecticidal soap (found with pesticides) may help. If a plant is heavily infested it may be best to harvest what you can and carefully remove the entire plant, keeping as many aphids on it as possible, far away from the garden.  Onions are growing beautifully and they will start to bulb according to day length as spring comes on which won’t be long. March/April is our big planting time for summer veggies so now is a good time to dig in composted steer manure, mushroom compost, and granulated fertilizer. Examine irrigation systems and plan for water delivery to new plantings. Consider a splitter coming off the faucet so you can work two clocks with different settings; perhaps one to onions and another to rows of beans, zucchini, cantaloupe seeds, etc. that go in soon. Visually inspect batteries in clocks to make sure they are not corroded. Also, clean out debris from the washer screens on both ends of the clock and check fittings for leaks and drip emitters for volume as they easily plug up with our hard water. Keep coverings on faucets and clocks as freezing nights can still come upon us.  If you have started your own tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers for transplanting, give them as much full sun outside as temperatures above 50°F allow. Continue to move them inside at night and in cool weather or when winds could damage them.  If buying plants, look for vigorously growing ones that are not root bound. Inspect them carefully and remove any hitchhiking pests. For tomatoes, decide if you want indeterminate (main stem continues to elongate bearing new fruit all season) or determinate (growth stops and all fruit ripens about the same time). Tomatoes can go into the garden at the end of March, but watch the weather and cover them if temperatures drop. As you put them in the ground, bury the stem up to the first true leaves which will grow new roots. Eggplant and peppers like warmer temperatures so wait at least until the middle of April to transplant those.  Plant seeds of chard, radishes, and leafy greens this month but wait a few weeks on beans, corn, summer squash, and melons. Hard squash, okra, and cucumbers like the warm soil of May. Seeds will germinate faster if soaked in water overnight before planting. A covering of light weight cloth that allows light and water to penetrate may protect seedlings from predators and moderately cool nights.   Those are my plot thoughts for now, Happy Gardening. Aphids, shown here in a cluster on a leaf. Activity Updates Arid Garden … By Mary Kidnocker As temperatures are moderating, the garden irrigation upgrading project is resuming. Working toward completion of this large job are Bill Carley, David Duffy, Jerry Sampson, and Mike Jensen. They are currently trench-ing through the Butterfly Garden, and will next re-do along the south wall to finish all. Photos, maps, and physical descriptions will assist in finding water lines for the convenience of future gardeners. There is now a new paved setting for the bench under our lower pine tree. The view from the seating area shows off more of the garden and pavers allow for ease of entry by wheelchairs and walkers, with all positioned so the lovely old pine can share its shade with visitors. Another great job, thanks to Barry Gillaspie and helper Doug! Since arriving, winter volunteer Hans Hohle has evaluated the conditions of all wood structures in the garden. He then sealed, repainted, and stabilized wherever possible, including the storage shed, bridge floors, entry pergola, seating benches, and potting storage shelf. More improvements in the garden, with our appreciation to Hans.  Volunteer Daffodils that appear in the Arid Garden each spring for at least the last 17 years – origin unknown. The beginnings of a “Saguaro Forest” at The Arid Garden. How many do you count? This “Valentine” Emu has been in continuous bloom for nearly                    8 weeks, right through Valentine’s Day!

Desert Meadows Park … By Chuck Parsons

In the Community Garden at the park The team of volunteers working in the garden has made nice enhancements during the past month. Irrigation basins have been created around the peach and two pomegranate trees. Another park enhancement using the pile of rock donated by Dan Schreckengost a couple of months ago. Nursery Expansion at the park This project is nearly done ~ or perhaps I should say the intended work for this winter is nearly done. We’ve improved the potting area, completed the shade structure, and expanded the table space for both sales of plants and for storage of plants in process. The garden between the nursery and the Hummingbird/Butterfly Garden has been converted into an open space art gallery. Local artists of yard art can now display items for sale. The garden club receives a commission on each piece sold. Bob Lane, Jerry Cuffe, Maria Duane and new member Char Ouellette have created this new garden for us ~ again taking advantage of the rock pile. Julie Jacques is the contact person for artists interested in displaying art. Gabions have been added to strengthen and enhance the shade structure. This work is actually putting a dent in the size of that rock pile!  The garden club plant sale this month will be held in this area of the park.

Plant sales area of shade structure from Art Gallery Garden. Photo credit Chuck Parsons

Art Gallery Garden from shade structure. Photo credit Chuck Parsons

Work along the Anza Trail Bill Kernan and Jim Campbell have completed the irrigation expansion. New member William Pitre has adopted a section east of the Anza Trail. He has an interest in selecting butterfly plants to improve upon that section now that irrigation is available. Joyce Hayes and Janice McMullen already have adopted sections along the trail, and they are delighted to have irrigation available to maintain and enhance their sections. Other park enhancements Lisa Diaz recently adopted the native grasses garden. It’s looking very nice and is ready for new growth in 2021. The grasses suffered a bit in 2020 for lack of rain. Carmen Johnson continues to evolve the Barrio Garden. She recently noticed that visitors were taking plastic chairs from the Barrio and creating a conversation circle outside the Barrio wall. She has now added new metal chairs to formalize this conversation area outside the wall. We pulled three picnic tables out of storage. These were put in storage to reduce density of seating in the Barrio, the Sunset Pavilion and the Butterfly Ramada for Covid. Several trees have grown sufficiently to provide shade, so we have dispersed the three tables throughout the park. A couple are very close to curbside parking to make it easy for visitors using walkers. Thanks to all volunteers for making this a special place for our community residents and visitors!

Historic Hacienda de la Canoa ... By Raydine Taber   Looks like we are going to have an early spring.  Thanks to David Duffy and Jerry Simpson, we have ALL (over 55) Pomegranate bushes pruned. Until the winter of 2019, none of the HCR (Historic Canoa Ranch) pomegranate bushes around the Junior House, had ever been pruned. It has taken us two years to finally get them shaped up. For these bushes, severe pruning should be a thing of the past.

One of our signs of spring is both of the apple trees are producing blossoms. After the first blush of flowers, we recorded an overnight temperature below thirty-two degrees. Twenty-eight, was the temperature reported. We lucked out and the few blossoms were spared any frost or freeze damage. This will be the first year both trees have bloomed during the spring season. The first year the Dorsett Goldens were in the ground, they bloomed in the fall. Being very young, guess they were a little confused as to what season it was.

Another sign of spring is this unique bird nest that used plastic strips from several of the tarps covering the adobe walls. Not sure who owns this nest, but we did see the Crimson Flycatcher hanging around. Plastic is a little modern construction for a bird’s nest.  Last year, we found a traditionally-constructed hummingbird nest in one of the pear trees. This nest is in one of the very large Pomegranate bushes.

One last sign of our early spring: A lone yellow iris. Sad to say last week’s one night of below thirty-two degrees did damage this lovely blossom. However, two more opened this week.

Not to be out done by the spring bloomers, at the ranch, our two mature Bush Germanders, both located in the Junior House Courtyard, are in full bloom and attracting a large number of bees. Both of the bushes begin blooming around January or February and continue until, sometimes, April.

Our time at the ranch is not all fun and lovely flowers. We are in the process of burying the quarter-inch irrigation lines used in the landscaping of the Tradesman’s House/Welcome Center. Some of the new plants are already showing spring green.

Cool weather crops have been harvested and those areas are being prepared for the warm weather crops. Since most of our vegetables are grown at the Grijalva House, this spring we will be returning to a few of the more traditional Mexican crops. Tomatoes, peppers and basil are part of the selected crops for the March planting.  All of the Society Garlic has been dug up and divided. A few will go back into the Sr. House Herb Garden and some will be planted out in the Orchard as companion plants to the fruit trees. The following trees benefit from growing along side garlic: apple, apricot, pear and quince. This spring we will be planting two apricot trees. We need to thank Barbara Martin for all her hard work inside the Junior House. She is very meticulous about the health of our plants. Can not wait for visitors to see the Junior House's sun room climbing plants. The Passion Flower and Mandeville’s have already bloomed twice.     Larry Bennett is one of our newer volunteers and has contributed to cleaning up the winter debris in the Junior House Courtyard. He was solely responsible for bringing the salvia back into shape for their spring growth. He also assisted in fertilizing the fruit trees and beginning to prepare the vegetables plots.   In the Junior House Courtyard, the large trellis has been repaired and returned to its original location. We will be planting Crossvine to climb this trellis. Crossvine is a lot lighter in growth and will not overweigh the trellis. They will also bring all seasons’ color to the courtyard.      Our last mention for a thank you, is Jim Campbell. Jim walks the Canoa Lake and the Cienega area looking for weeds and anything that might hinder visitors' ability to access those areas. Jim’s tasks are somewhat demanding in that he needs to clean up the areas but he also needs to keep them as natural as possible. We cannot thank our volunteers enough. Everything you do is absolutely and positively appreciated. One of the Pima County, Environmental Education group representatives was on site last week and commented how well everything looked. A gardening compliment in the middle of winter? Now that makes our efforts worth it. THANK YOU ALL for making HCR one of the best Southern Arizona historic locations.  Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in order to protect the public, the Historic Canoa Ranch compound is not open to the public. HCR is owned by Pima County and must comply with the pandemic regulations. The lake area, the Cienega and the Pollinator Garden Acres are open to all visitors. Please wear a mask. As we begin to control this virus, many venues around the USA are beginning to reopen. As soon as Pima County notifies us that they are reopening the HCR compound, I will immediately, via email, notify the membership.

40th Anniversary Median Project ... By Phyllis Barboza, Co-Chair Median Project The medians are doing well, and only a few plants were lost during last year’s hot summer. Some of those plants will be replaced this spring. The volunteers are doing a great job keeping our medians clean and watered. Thank you! The last four median permits should be sent into Pima County for approval by next week. We hope to get started by the end of March 2021. I need a volunteer for the first median South of Esperonza on Abrego. This is a completed median and the couple who have been watering have other obligations. If you would be interested, it would be a commitment of approximately one year. Please contact Phyllis Barboza swiftdoe@comcast.net .  I have included a couple photos of the medians that we just completed and are going to be planting this spring. It is always nice to see what has been accomplished and could not have been done without our fantastic volunteers! Hope to see you on the medians!

Membership ... Mark Thompson, GVG Member Services We had six new members join last month. So, please welcome them to our gardens:        Roxanne Hills        Ruth Olivas        Carlos Olivas        Ken Baker        Cher Ouellette        Mary Grgich  As with most folks, these people have joined because they want to learn about gardening here and they want the fellowship of other gardeners. I received a nice note from one new member who got immediately involved at DMP. She wrote:  “I … really enjoyed working at the Desert Meadows Park today and meeting some of the great people who volunteered.”  That new member is certainly learning fast. I guess we’ll just have to continue to make a difference, one gardener at a time.         Our membership renewal campaign has ended and we are now showing 421 members on our roster.  This pandemic has reduced membership in many organizations and we are no different as we ended last year with just over 600 members. if you have renewed your membership, please know that we really appreciate both your continued membership and your support.  Together, we will make 2021 a banner year for sure.  If you have any changes to your contact information, please email those changes to me at memberships@greenvalleygardeners.com. And, don’t forget to order your GVG branded clothing or get your fresh herbs at DMP.

Green Valley Gardeners Mailing Address: PO Box 86, Green Valley, AZ 85622-0086

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