BOWIE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS NEWSLETTER THE GARDEN DIRT

Vol. 2 , Issue 4 April 2021 Bowie County Extension Office 710 James Bowie Drive New Boston, TX 75570 Phone: 903-628-6702 It’s 2021 and We have Al-

Important Dates and ready had three projects! Information ********** The year has started off with April Birthdays our ability to get volunteer  hours with three projects. Our first was February 26 None I know of when we did the tree giveaway in New Boston. Next, we helped Miller Count MGs with another tree giveaway, Next MG Meeting is and then we built five raised beds for Crestview Ele- Unknown  mentary School.

Snack Team

 Activities

Bowie County Master Gardener ANOTHER FREE TREE GIVEAWAY— Officers for 2020-21 with Miller MGs  President: Teresa Slack On Saturday, March 6th, both Bowie and Miller Vice President: Dan Titus county Master Gardeners helped with the Tree Secretary/Treasurer Giveaway at Spring Lake Park. This was a drive- Karen Cassels by giveaway with the trees prepackaged in bundles of 10, just like we did at the tree giveaway in New Boston. The bundles were a mixture of Cherry Bark Oak, Sawtooth Oak, and Cypress. MGs helped setup, hand out tree bundles and literature, got signatures on the register list, and help direct traffic. By the 9am start there were over 50 cars already in line and at 9:45am all the trees had been given out. Just 3 cars that came in after 9:30am didn't get Happy trees. April Gardening

RADISHES WORK!

I tried this tip last season around my squash and I never had a problem with the borer. The dreaded squash vine borer could possibly be avoided with just a few icicle radish plants around each squash . This fast-growing vegeta- ble may be all that is needed to But when spring left my garden, prevent the adult squash vine Springtime Its work so deftly done, borer from laying its eggs on Many, many Daffodils your squash plants. Do not pick Oh, spring came to my garden Were dancing in the sun. the radishes when mature. Allow And caught it unaware the radishes to go to seed. Wearing just a few old leaves And a dejected air. BOWIE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS NEWSLETTER THE GARDEN DIRT

Page 2 Vol 2—Issue 4 April 2021

From the Presidents Desk

Hello Master Gardeners,

First of all, I am SO GLAD that SPRING HAS SPRUNG !!! I am definitely not a “Winter Person” and I am really enjoying getting out in my yard to see what is left over from the “Snow-Pallooza” a few weeks ago.

I really think we are s-l-o-w-l-y getting back to normal. We had a great time handing out trees in New Bos- ton and Texarkana in February and we also had a great group of Master Gardeners build and deliver 5 raised beds for Crestview Elementary School in New Boston in March. We had the best time! It was good to be out- side and we installed the beds and filled them with potting soil for the kids to plant vegetables. When they are ready to plant, we will be there to help them!

We have a few more Opportunities for Service coming up: 1) Cherrie is speaking with the Hooks Middle School about us getting with the students there—more info soon.

2) The folks at the Rose Hill Community Apartments are gearing up to start planting their raised beds soon. We will keep you informed about that information.

3) And Collene—the Interim Director of the Ag Learning Center—is asking for Volunteer help at the Four States Fair this year from April 2 – 11. If you would like to help out at the Fair call her at 903.293.1905.

Also, I would like for us to have a Members Meeting sometime in the new few weeks. We are still meeting outdoors—so tell me this:

1) What outdoor place works best for you ? Trail Head Park? Bringle Park at A&M inTexarkana? A church? The Slack Lodge? Where?

2) What day and time works best for you? Morning? Afternoon? Weekday? Weekend? I figure our meeting should last about an hour to an hour and a half….good Volunteer hours. So let’s see if we can find a time and place that works best for all of us? We need to keep in touch to keep go- ing in a positive direction.

Also, I hope you are getting in your Education hours. Remember you need a minimum of 6 education hours for 2021. For right now, they will all be on-line videos and classes that A&M presents. My favorite is “Aggie Horticulture” on Facebook. They are live twice a week and cover different topics and each program is about 30 minutes.

And PLEASE take advantage of our Volunteer hours when you can. We will need 12 Volunteer hours for 2021. I am committed to making sure you have plenty to choose from in order to get your quota.

I believe that that this coming year, 2021, Texas Master Gardeners will not be waiving hours like last year. That is why it is so important to get your hours in and not wait until the last minute. If you have any concerns about getting your hours in, just get with me.

PLEASE let me hear from you about meeting together. Let’s find a time and place to meet to keep the momen- tum going. I am looking forward to this coming year and making Bowie County Master Gardeners the best it has ever been! I thank each and every one of you for helping with that endeavor.

I will see you soon!!!

Teresa Slack Your President

BOWIE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS NEWSLETTER THE GARDEN DIRT

Page 3 Vol. 2 Issue 4 April 2021

MASTER GARDENERS PUT IN FIVE RAISED BEDS AT CRESTVIEW ELEMENTARY IN NEW BOSTON!

Eleven Master Gardeners showed up at the Extension office to as- semble five 4x8 foot raised beds for the school We then loaded them on a trailer and took them over to the school. We put them in place, filled them with soil and had everything cleared up in 2 hours! Now THAT’S TEAMWORK! Here’s some pictures of the time doing what we do best—supporting and helping the community in the area of garden- ing. Looking forward to working with students in growing in the beds.

WHERE TO FIND TRAINING HOURS In order to get our Educational Hours until we can begin meeting and hold our own training, we are suggesting you find some training opportunities at the fol- lowing sites— For now crank up your computers and find some interesting training at these locations: - https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ Lots of opportunities for training at this site - On Youtube and Websites - Aggie Horticulture on Facebook easttexasgardening.com Have an interesting Training on butterflies in northeast Texas. - Another good place Cypress Basin Master Gardeners Facebook page!

BOWIE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS NEWSLETTER THE GARDEN DIRT

Page 4 Vol. 2 Issue 4 April 2021

GARDENING CALENDAR

Roses Prune climbing roses. After your climbers have bloomed, you can trim them back or reshape them. Fertilize roses. To keep roses blooming all summer, begin fertilizing them now and continue every month until September. Add warm-weather annuals to the mix. As the weather heats up, replace cool-weather annuals such as snapdragons and viola with

annuals that stand up to heat, such as coleus, marigolds, and petunias.

Caladiums and calla lilies Put them into the garden this month. Add these beauties around the entryway of your home to wel- come guests. Move houseplants outdoors. Indoor plants, such as snake plant and majesty palms welcome fresh air and rain. Place plants in a shaded spot so they don’t get burned. Learn more about summering houseplants outdoors.

Plant vinca. Waiting until April is best for planting vinca (periwinkle). Setting plants out too early can result in a fungal blight. Mulch to help keep plants healthy. Add more warm-weather crops. Plant herbs, tomatoes, and peppers for summer salsas. Grow up. Tropical vines such as mandevilla are ideal for patio containers. Learn more about mandevilla. Watch for pests. Mites and thrips like warm weather. And tomato horn worms may be looking for a meal. Oleander caterpillars may appear (on oleanders). Inspect plants for interlopers and treat with appropriate remedy for that particular pest. Not all insects are bad though; learn the difference between good and bad bugs. Get Growing! “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” And hopefully, these gardening tips will help!

THE SUBJECT IS DRAGONFLIES

A home gardener called into an extension office with this question: “How do I get rid of these darn Dragonflies”? I love dragonflies and was amazed someone wanted to get rid of them. Dragonflies are harmless to humans, they do not sting or bite, but they are very curious. Encourage them; they help control the mosquito population. We have more than 5,000 species of the Odonata (dragonfly) with only about 400 living in the US. Some can live for up to 3 years, sprouting wings only before mating. When you see a flying dragonfly it is at the end of it’s life cycle and will only live for a few weeks. During it’s life cycle it can consume thousands of mosquito larva and as a flying adult that can go up to 30 mph and move forwards, backwards, sideways, and hover in place, they are well suited to picking insects out of mid air. SO, enjoy, they are one of the useful, beautiful creatures given to us! So protect and enjoy these beautiful creatures!! BOWIE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS NEWSLETTER THE GARDEN DIRT

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The Lily Have you ever thought about the history of the Easter Lily? Well here is some information. Tradition states that the Easter lily originated in the Garden of Eden by the tear- drops of Eve that she spread while leaving the Garden of Eden. They were teardrops of repentance. The Easter Lily is symbolic of the resurrection of Christ. White lilies have been associated as much with the Virgin Mary as they have with Christ. Early paintings depicted the Angel Gabriel presenting Mary with white lilies while announcing that she would give birth to Jesus. The most famous Biblical ref- erence comes from the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus was speaking to the crowd and said to “consider the lilies of the field.” Another tradition is that lilies sprang up in the Garden of Gethsemane after Jesus prayed there during his final hours. They are referred to as the “White-Robed Apostles of Hope” in commemora- tion of the resurrection. Legend also has it that after Mary died, white lilies were found at her empty tomb. The white pet- als represented her body and the golden anthers represented her soul. Easter lilies are botanically longiflorum, native to the Ryuku Islands of southern Japan. began cultivating it during the 1880s. The bulbs were then shipped to the U.S. By the turn of the century, Japan had taken over exporting Easter lilies and continued dominating the market until World War II began. Louis Houghton, an American World War I soldier, returned home to the southern coast of Ore- gon in 1919 with a suitcase filled with hybrid lily bulbs. He gave them to friends who started growing them as a hobby. After Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, bulbs were no longer available from Ja- pan. Easter Lily bulbs increased dramatically in value and people who had been growing them as a hobby began growing them as a business. The bulbs were referred to as “White Gold” and growers saw this as a money-making crop. Today, only 10 farms produce 95 percent of our nation’s bulbs, all from parts of two counties on the California/Oregon border. It takes three to four years to produce a mature, flowering-size bulb. During that period each bulb is handled as many as 40 times, first as small bulblets along the stems of the mother plants, then on to yearlings and eventually as mature, salable bulbs. You can plant your Easter lily into the garden once it quits blooming. Find a moist, semi-shady spot where you’ve prepared the soil well for other plants and then set it at the same depth at which it was growing in its pot. It will bloom later next year. Hope you had a nice Easter, Andrea

Gardening Tips Corner

SOAK SEEDS BEFORE YOU PLANT THEM: If you soak seeds overnight before you plant them in soil, they germinate faster. Go ahead and try—it definitely can’t hurt. LABEL YOUR PLANTS: It doesn’t matter whether we’re Grandma’s age or as young as a spring chick, it’s easy to forget what we planted where. Plus, you want to make sure to keep track of all the varieties. Make a chart or label plants directly in the garden. SAVE SPACE: Just because you’re tight on space doesn’t mean you can’t grow a productive food garden. Vining veggies such as cucumbers and melons can grow up on a trellis, some tomatoes do great in hanging pots, and potatoes and strawberries can grow in barrels or boxes. SAVE THOSE COFFEE GROUNDS: Coffee grounds make an excellent addition to compost bins, and they can also be used as a direct mulch or side dressing for nitrogen-hungry crops such as to- matoes and squash. Don’t layer too much coffee straight into beds, however, as it could lead to mold growth. Many local coffee shops will give you their excess coffee grounds for free if you’re trying to cover a large area.