The Gardengoer
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THE GARDENGOER THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ST. TAMMANY PARISH MASTER GARDENERS ASSOCIATION VOLUME 17 Issue 11 November , 2014 Class of 2014 Class of 2104 1 President’s Message 2 County Agent’s Corner 3 MG Programs for 2014 4 Gardengoer Word of the 5-6 Month Christmas Party 7 Southern Region Master 8-11 Gardener Conference Master Gardener Field 12-14 Trip Magic Butterfly Wings 15 Garden And Monster Mash Wooden Boat Festival 16 Slidell Library Herb 17 Festival Renewing STMGA 18 Membership for 2015 Membership Renewal 19 Form MG Merchandise Order 20-22 Introducing the Class of 2014 ! October Meeting 23-24 Minutes 25 October Meeting Photos Left to Right: Vegucator Calendar 26 Back Row: Melanie Juul, Cathy McFarland, Mike O’Brien, Victoria Key, Rob Wahl, Barry Pierce, Monica Pierce Calendar of Events 27 Middle Row: Theresa Rheams, Ann Satterlee, Carol Wilkinson, Dana Directory 28 Easley, Mimi Padgett, Tassie Wahl, Jim Dougherty, Jr Editor’s Notes 29 Front Row: Will Afton (County Agent), Jan Gardner, Karen Firmin, Dawn Lavoie, Hilda Bickham Inserted: Bill Boyce President’s Message I think we set a new record for the number of education programs we did for the public over the past couple of months. These programs include the Mandeville Watershed Festival, Slidell Li- brary Herb Fest, Madisonville Wooden Boat Fest, St. Tammany Parish Hospital “Monster Mash”, and US Fish and Wildlife Refuge’s “Wild Things”. Still to come is the November 5th fall gardening program at the Abita Library. Through our participation in these events we pro- vided horticultural education to over 1300 children and nearly 2000 adults. Thanks to all who were able to volunteer their time and talent to these very successful programs. The actress Hel- en Mirren was quoted as saying, “Gardening is learning, learning, learning. That’s the fun of them. You’re always learning.” Our efforts at these fall programs have hopefully spurred an interest in learning about gardening in many of the participants. We are in the home stretch of 2014 and looking ahead to a busy 2015. I am excited about add- ing the graduates of the MG Class of 2014 to our ranks and working with them on our projects, seminars, etc. They will begin working on plans for our Spring Seminar, which will be held on Tuesday, February 3, at First Baptist Church in Covington. Information on conference speakers and registration should be available in early 2015. Fall hasn’t quite decided to stick around as I write this, but we are expecting another bit of cool air in early November. My winter crops are coming along but would be happier with more reg- ular rain and cooler days. I hope those of you who have planted fall gardens are having success. The fall wildflowers along roads and in wooded areas have been lovely and if you look closely you might see a hint of fall color in a few species of trees. Just a reminder – if you have completed your required volunteer and education hours and have not yet renewed your STMGA membership please do so ASAP. Information on renewals is available in every issue of MoM. Thanks to our Membership Chairperson Sue Stoltz for han- dling this very important task. Happy gardening. Susie Andres, STMGA President 2 County Agent’s Corner Greetings St. Tammany Master Gardeners, October has come and gone but the nice fall weather is here to stay, at least for a little while. I hope that everyone is doing well and is looking forward to a wonderful holiday season. While preparing for Thanksgiving parties and dinners do not forget about the garden. Use gar- dens plants to accent your front door or patio entrance in order to show your guests where to go. Chrysanthemums come in many different fall colors and make for excellent table centerpieces that you can also send home with guests afterwards. The Louisiana Master Gardener never sleeps! I would also like to take this moment to inform everybody about some of the calls I have been receiving as of late. There are several issues that concern me and we as Master Gardeners can take this opportunity to educate our friends and neighbors on the correct ways of managing our fall landscapes. I have taken many calls regarding whether or not to fertilizer the lawn and prepare it for winter. As you should know, fertilizing with nitrogen this time of year can cause more harm than good. Especially if you have a history of take all (brown) patch. The addition of excess nitrogen will cause this fungal pathogen to spread rapidly and if we get abundant amounts of rainfall could do some major harm to centipedegrass and st. augustinegrass. The only type of fertilizer that can be added this time of year should be potassium (in the form of muriate of potash). The only way to know if you are deficient in this nutrient is to do a soil test and now is an excellent time to do so. There are a few other lawn practices clients ask about and one of them just amazes me. Someone asked me if it was a good idea to cut his lawn as low as he could before winter ar- rives! We all know this is absolutely not the case. Cutting and exposing the crown of the grass plants will definitely do more harm than good. As the lawn slowly loses its lush green color, it is recommended to continue mowing as you did earlier in the season. Mow often enough to re- move 1/3 of the plant. The best thing about mowing grass this time of year is that you will not have to mow as often because of the seasonal change. As the days get shorter the lawn will slow its growth rate. This leads me to two other lawn practices, aerating and dethatching. Both of these practices injure your lawn and should only be done while it is actively growing. The lawn needs to be actively growing so that it has time to recover itself. If you have been meaning to get this done I recommend waiting until next spring once you have mown your grass 3-4 times. The last thing I want to bring to your attention is citrus trees. Many people have been calling and wondering why their citrus trees are not producing like they did the year before. Many clients have seen about a 75% reduction in the amount of fruit between this year and last year. This can be attributed to the cold weather we experienced last winter. We had three cold events last year and one of which we recorded low temperatures of 15°F in Folsom and 17°F in Mandeville. Citrus trees are a semi-tropical fruit and will be damaged by extended periods of temperatures below 32°F. If your tree was not completely killed, I can bet that it definitely took some damage. Give these trees a couple of growing seasons and you will be right back where you were. Just be patient and hope we don’t get that cold again for another 20 years! Like al- ways I wish you the best in your gardening adventures and never be afraid to ask for help. Your County Agent, William Afton 3 STPMG 2014 Program Month Speaker Topic Hint Problem Share Hours January 15 Castine Joe Lapine Growing Mirlitons Center Master Gardener 2013 Yes Yes Yes 1 February 19 Castine Keith Williamson Guardi- Combining Drip Irrigation and Center an AG Plastic Mulch No No Yes 1 March 19 Daniel Wells Castine Center Researcher at Hammond Louisiana Superplants Yes Yes Yes 1 Station March 25 Field Trip Afton Villa 4 Rosedown Plantation April 16 Bobby Fletcher Barn No speaker Spring Plant Swap No No No 0 May 21 Dan Gill Associate Profes- Castine Center sor Consumer Horticul- Scholarship Awards No No Yes 0 ture LSU Ag Center June 18 Barbara Moore Castine Center Master Gardener African Violets Yes Yes Yes 1 July 16 Deborah Nolan “The Story of vegetables” Castine Center Master Gardener Yes Yes Yes 1 August 20 Castine Suzanne Turner “Martha Turnbull’s Garden Center Professor of Landscape Diary: Unlocking Rosedown’s Yes Yes Yes 1 Architecture LSU Story” “Christmas Tree Production September 17 Clarke Gernon Sr. in Louisiana…from Start to No No Yes 1 Castine Center Shady Pond Tree Farms Finish and all that Happens in Between…” October 15 No speaker Fall Plant Swap No No No Castine Center October 28 Field Trip Longue Vue Home & Gardens City Park Botanical Garden 4 November 19 Castine Gerry Ballanco Center Master Gardener 2009 Gardening in Alaska Yes Yes Yes 1 December 17 No Speaker Christmas Party 4 GARDENGOER WORD OF THE MONTH WORD OF THE MONTH PHENOLOGY As a Master Gardener you are probably familiar with what’s going on in your own back yard. You know what plants you added, what lived, what died and what insects bothered you the most. But …….did you keep a record of it? These events and others, such as first leaf-out, first blossom, pollinator visitation, etc. are important to follow and record, (and are critical to scientists) both those in your yard and across the world. Trusting your memory is a fleeting task, but phenology can come to the rescue. Phenology is the scientific study that observes and records the natural, the seasonal, and the climatic events of the year and compares these events to previous years. It’s a record of the bird migrations near you, butterfly visitations, first and last frost and many, many other events.