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Anne Arundel County Master Gardener News | |
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July Meeting
SERC: Smithsonian Science in Your Backyard
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The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), in Edgewater, may be one of the best kept secrets in Anne Arundel County. A 2650 acre campus on the West/Rhode River watershed provides the perfect setting for the long term study of coastal ecosystems where the Air, Land and Water come together on the largest coastal estuary in the United States. For more than half a century, SERC scientists have taken on environmental issues on the Chesapeake Bay and around the world and uncovered new ways to protect the planet. Among the most pressing issues being studied are water quality, fisheries and aquatic foodchains, invasive species (both land and sea), conservation, impacts of CO2 and Mercury, land use and climate change.
Come take a virtual tour of SERC and hear highlights of its research in this Zoom session led by Cate Bower and Bruce Ogden, SERC Docents and members of the SERC Director’s Circle, who will provide insight into some of the SERC research projects and the lessons that have been learned.
The SERC campus is open Monday-Saturday from 8:30-5:30 for hiking, kayaking and canoeing as well as citizen science research.
Biographies:
Cate Bower (Immediate Past Chair): An Anne Arundel County native, grew up in the Midwest and returned to Maryland in 1994, moving to West River where she lives with her husband and rescue labradoodle. Her career began in corporate communications with a major mid-west utility, then moved into not-for-profits, where her responsibilities spanned publishing, issues management, public relations, strategic planning, and governance. She began her consulting career in 1991, when she founded Cate Bower Communications and affiliated with Tecker Consultants, LLC. In 2009 she co-founded Cygnet Strategy, LLC, focusing on governance and strategic planning, with a particular emphasis on scientific and medical societies. In 2017, she founded Flip the County, to focus on local elections and recently completed service on the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the County’s General Development Plan 2040. She was an avid sailor and remains a dedicated environmentalist and gardener, with a newly developed passion for dahlias.
Bruce Ogden: Bruce has been sailing and boating on the Chesapeake Bay since moving to the area from Chicago over 25 years ago. Bruce is past Commodore of the West River Sailing Club, a member of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, holds a USCG 100 Ton Masters License and now resides with his wife on Chalk Point in West River, MD. Prior to retiring from CenturyLink Communications (formerly Level 3), Bruce enjoyed a rewarding and multifaceted career in technical sales, marketing and business development specializing in Telecommunications Network Services, Data Center Colocation, Hyperscale Cloud Network Access and Satellite Earth Observation. Witnessing the changes in the Bay first hand over the past 25 years has inspired Bruce to become more actively involved in SERC and the study of Global Climate Change.
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Coordinator's Corner
Rachel Carey, Master Gardener Coordinator
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Happy July all!
I have some questions for you.
1) Do you have a backlog of hours you need to add into our Volunteer Management System (VMS) because you secretly don’t remember how to do it?
We have super opportunity for you to hop on zoom and take some VMS-anxiety out of your life. Talbot County’s MG Coordinator, Mikaela Boely, has planned a VMS Training for MG volunteers on the eastern shore PLUS AA county. How lucky are we to be included?! Scheduled for Thursday, July 21st from 10-11am. Message me for the zoom link and password.
As a reminder, the 2022 season is in full operation for our program which expects 20 hours for all active Master Gardeners to be submitted by the end of the 2022 calendar year OR ELSE (the consequence is too yucky to name here). Please keep our program prestigious. Communicate if you need to be put on hiatus.
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2) As a Master Gardener, you know that you are an educator helping get UMD-quality information to our communities. But do you also have no idea where to start with giving UMD information to the public? Start with these super convenient PowerPoint templates that our Presentation Project has judiciously researched, designed and gotten approved by Extension. You are welcome to remove slides to appropriately size them for your audience. Now you can confidently say YES when approached by someone requesting for a presentation for their community. Talk someone into being your co-presenter, help them earn hours, help our communities, and help yourself crush the presentation with confidence! Find the templates in our Just for Master Gardeners webpage under “Presentations”.
I had more to say, but that’s plenty for now, right?! We want to read about ya’ll projects - the best content of the month!! I love this stuff. Talk to you all soon – Rachel
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Master Gardener Project Reports
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Greetings all Master Gardeners and interns.
It is time to start thinking about the County Fair in September and make room on your calendar for a fun experience. The Fair for us begins on September 10, when we clean up and prepare our booth and ends on September 19, when entries are released.
All are invited to participate and get your last- minute hours. No need for experience. We will have a training class in August.
In the past we have held a Make-it-take-it project for kids on children’s day. There is no one right now to handle this event, so if you would like to coordinate this
event, let us know.
We continue to have a great turnout of MG’s for this event and we are so grateful. Without you, this project could not continue.
Contact information to sign up:
Claudia Ploor,cploor@aol.com, Pat Shema, pshema@aol.com, Trish Lilek, trish.lilek01@verizon.net
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The Apprentice Garden spaces are fully planted with plants started as seeds or planted as sets all growing well. Summer crops of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, okra, basil, cucumber and squash have been added to a wonderful mix of spring greens and early root vegetables (onions, potatoes, radishes, carrots and beets), peapods, string beans, and the four brussels sprouts plants. In June, the families picked all kinds of greens: lettuces, spinach, kale, chard, and collard greens, plus radishes, beets and basil. The children picked lots of strawberries from the plants which have completely covered the front corner of the garden.
A special Strawberry Festival was hosted in the garden as is customary in the Apprentice Garden each year when berries are plentiful. The children made strawberry shortcakes, cutting the berries and adding as much whipped cream as they want - first making a treat for their parents and then their own bowl. This was followed by second helpings until the berries and cream run out!
The perennial flower gardens planted by the Master Gardener volunteers are getting established, especially the milkweed, which was blooming at the end of June and wonderfully fragrant. MG Kristin Silva successfully transplanted milkweed from the planting beds to the outside edge of the fence. MG Kathy Enderle has milkweed and Black-eyed Susans among other perennials on the south side of the
fence. And, MGs Kathy Albers and Wendy Boardman have planted and maintained sunflowers, yarrow, zinnias, snapdragons and sweet alyssum in the pollinator garden in the back corner inside the fence. Gray Goldenrod planted by Elle McGee are attracting beneficial insects to the garden. The Mediterranean herb garden is full and beautiful - the lavender is blooming; the sage blooms were pruned and it is now re-blooming; the rosemary is tall and sturdy; the oregano and thyme are spreading.
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Master Gardener volunteers in the Apprentice Garden have done a terrific job participating in work parties, tending the gardens, and most especially, working with our families on Wednesdays. Many thanks to the Master Gardener volunteers: Kathy Albers, Wendy Boardman, Kathy Enderle, Lourdes Hergenroeder, and Kristin Silva and Ray Palasik.
Throughout the season, April through September, the project meets at 6:30PM every Wednesday at the community gardens at Kinder Farm Park in Millersville. Please consider volunteering in the Apprentice Garden. Volunteers, and interns are welcome anytime. You can do the Wednesday meetings, and/or do other-day garden checks and extra watering. Your children are welcome to join you. There is always a sign-in sheet in the garden mailbox for noting your presence and recording your hours. Many thanks.
The names of Apprentice Garden volunteers are provided to the gatekeeper so there is no entry fee for people participating in the Apprentice Garden project. So, please advise Deb if you are new to the project.
You are welcome to join us in the Apprentice Garden this summer, and if you would like more information, please contact Janet or Deb.
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 Gardens | |
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The Compost and Native Gardens project continues to have excellent turnouts for the monthly compost demonstrations. The most recent one was Sat. June 18th, given by Catherine Salam and Lisa Schick.
If you haven’t been to a compost demo to learn how to compost your yard waste and kitchen scraps please join us on the Wildwood Trail at Quiet Waters Park at 10am on Sat. July 16, Sat. Aug. 20, Sat. Sept. 17, Wed. Oct. 5, Sat. Oct. 15 or Sat. Nov. 5.
Pam Dennison, Project hair
Composting and Native Gardens at QWP
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Greetings from the Dairy Farm Project.
MG workers continue to do a wonderful job keeping our gardens in great shape. Blooming now is Salvia, Spirea, Coreopsis, Oak Leaf Hydrangea, Liatris, Summer Phlox, Echinachea, Gladiolus , Dahlia, Zinnia, Marigold. Butterfly Bush, Button bush.
We had a washout at our last work session, but things are still looking really good.
The veggie garden is now of the most interest. We have experienced some real issues this year. After consulting with Dave Meyers, our extension agent, we determined that we had a root rot fungus brought in by not well-composted horse manure from the farm. A soil test also revealed a low sulfur content as well as a 24% organic matter, which is way too high. Be careful with too many amendments.
I put down sulfur in the form of MgSo4, which is nothing but Epsom salts at one Tbls/2.5 gallons of
water and the plants perked right up. I would never have considered a sulfur deficiency without the soil
test and Dave’s guidance. Flea beetles and Leaf hoppers on the potatoes have been eliminated.
Peas. Kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, spinach have been harvested and replanted. Green beans are coming in
great.
The most interesting thing was the discovery of a Golden Tortoise Beetle on the Sweet potato. This
beetle looks like a lady beetle but is pure gold (not yellow). I suspect it came in on a purchased sweet
potato plant. See the photo.
If you are interested in the Dairy Farm Project, please feel welcome. All are invited, including interns.
Our next scheduled work session is Saturday, July, 9, from 8:00 – 11:00
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE SHIFING 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
Veggies, Pat Shema, pshema@aol.com
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MGs Carole Fullagar, Nancy Goetschius, Loretta Gerbrick helped me conduct soil-themed activities for ninety-two 5thgraders from Jacobsville Elementary School on Monday, June 6th. Twenty-one adults (parents, chaperones, teachers, and aides) accompanied the children. Friends of Hancock’s Resolution docents led other farm related activities which the kids rotated through.
The Farm’s Lavender Day was held June 12th. That morning’s weather was iffy but turned out great. Approximately 130 guests attended and were invited to make lavender sachets and wands, tour the fields, gardens, historic buildings, and barn/visitor center. MG’s Betsy, Beck, Mary Ellen Keck, Loretta Gerbrick, Anneliese Greksa, Neva Leigh provided support. Farm docent Dianne Feeney sold lavender-flavored iced tea and lavender short-bread cookies. Many Master Gardeners attended the event including AAMG Coordinator Rachel Carey and her family. AAMG beekeepers also participated. Great seeing everyone!
A significant amount of lavender was harvested on June 21 by Sunny Bohlander, Loretta Gerbrick, Mary Ellen Keck, Dennis Krizek, Sallie Luck, and Annette Sanders. Cut lavender was nested in trays for drying and future use in potpourri and sachets.
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Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks hosted overnight camping June 24-25. This was part of Camp Out America, which introduces families to camping. This was a new event for Hancock’s Resolution and enjoyed by participants none of whom had previously visited. On Saturday morning Friends of Hancock Resolution Docent and I gave a brief introduction to the site, and I helped participants make lavender wands and provided garden information.
June 26th brought a group of twelve kayakers to the site. They had launched at Downs Park at 10:30 and arrived before noon for a lunch/snack break and to tour the site. The trip’s organizer, Sue Stevens, is a Howard County Master Gardener who has visited before. She volunteers for Bay-Wise and Plant Clinics in her County. Members of the group were quite knowledgeable about native plants. Other visitors came by car and participated in more lavender wand making and also garlic and turnip harvesting.
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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The Presentation Project had its final meeting until September on Wed. June 22, 2022. Rachel shared
with us how we can use Google drive to share our work, the review process, and guidelines. A future
“Train the Trainer” for presentations was also discussed. We looked at Ellie Malone’s additional slides
for Binominal Nomenclature about the state flower. The possible topics for further investigation were
also looked at.
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Tawes Garden has had a busy month of recognition from local officials and journalists. Earlier in the month, State Senator Sarah Elfreth and State Delegates. Shaneka Henson and Dana Jones toured Tawes Garden. Senator Elfreth is very interested in the environment and the state parks so perhaps some extra funding may come our way from her efforts. Later in the month, journalist Jeff Holland toured the garden with MG Meg Hosmer and Horticulturist Suzanne Weber and wrote a great article about Tawes in the June 19th Sunday Capital. This is the link:
https://www.capitalgazette.com/lifestyles/ac-cn-hooray-for-butterflies-20220619-lkeabpw3ujhrhoa5sstbvh476y-story.html
The garden is starting to fill out with all the plants that were installed last fall as part of our Unity Gardens grant. Some plantings are coming up a bit taller than expected so this fall we will relocate some existing beds and hopefully install some new ones. We plan to apply for another UG grant this fall to purchase additional native perennials and to continue our mission to transition more beds to natives. Meanwhile, we are maintaining the new plantings and waiting to see how they fare over the course of the summer and fall. Volunteers are always welcome and special thanks go to Sandy Patterson, Ginny Klocko, Meg Hosmer, Cathy Crowley, and Cindy Ferris. Work days for July are alternate Tuesdays (July 5 and 12) and Thursdays (July 14 and 28), anytime from 8am-noon.
If you have any questions, contact one of us.
Cindy Wells Cwells5953@cs.com
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Field Crops Research Twilight, Barbecue
and Ice Cream Social
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You are invited to a Fields Crops Research Twilight, Barbecue and Ice Cream Social at the Central Maryland Research & Education Center, 2005 Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, Maryland on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 from 4:00 to 9 PM. A barbecue dinner will be served at 4:00 pm followed by homemade ice cream prior to the evening tour. University of Maryland Extension Educators and Specialists will showcase their field crop, vegetable and fruit research plots.
Barbeque begins at 4:00 PM
Ice cream Served at 5:15 PM
Crops Twilight at 6:00 PM
Please arrive on time as the tour will start promptly at 6:00 PM. This event is free, however a reserved meal ticket is required.
REGISTER ONLINE
Note: This event will be replacing our August monthly meeting!
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2022 is the Year of Soil Health!
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