Barron County Master FALL 2014 Gardener Volunteers SEPTEMBER Hello Everyone—Joel McReynolds I have met many of you during gardens can truly be. If you are part of an OUR MISSION the summer Master Gardener meetings, organization, committee, group, club, etc. STATEMENT but in case we’ve missed each other I am that would like to learn more about these Joel McReynolds, the current Americorps issues please contact me about presenting Encourage, foster, VISTA with UW-Extension. I will be at one of your meetings. support, and promote spending the next year with UW- Help Assess Community Interest horticulture for all Extension working on a wide range of Before creating a community garden Master Gardener issues, including food insecurity. Being we must first find out if people are Volunteers and residents food insecure is simply when people do interested in a garden and would use it. We not have enough access to healthy and plan on using a variety of methods to of Barron County and to nutritious food options, often because it determine this, including offering gardening promote the UW- is too expensive. workshops and cooking classes to get people Extension from which we Creating a community garden interested in growing their own food. We are founded. would help ease the struggle for people also hope to work with several area clubs to to have healthy and distribute surveys and collect available food, while information. Would you like to also creating a place help with a class? Are you involved for people to with a club that would be celebrate the joy of interested in helping with the gardening. It is my surveys? Do you have any other Inside this issue: goal to establish a ideas about how to assess community garden in community interest? Please let me Powdery Mildew 2 Barron, and if know! successful, continue Join Our New Coalition Tomato Disorder 3 to add community We are planning on gardens to creating a new county-wide Aster Yellows 4 neighboring municipalities. I have coalition that will focus on the financial received a grant to specifically study and needs of the county, as well as food Ornamental 5 determine whether Barron is interested issues. Whether you are a business owner, Grasses in and ready for a community garden, and member of an organization, or a concerned this is where I need your help. Below I citizen we would love to have you join our outline three different areas where you group and bring your opinions, expertise, Mystery 6 can partner with me in bringing aid to the and input to the table. Let me know if you Caterpillar hungry and gardening to those without would like to join this exciting new their own land to enjoy it. movement in the community. Garden Glimpses 7 Invite Me to Speak Please contact me if you are In order to bring a community interested in helping out with any of the garden to Barron there needs to be a lot areas I mentioned. I can be easily reached of people who understand why a by emailing [email protected] community garden would make a or calling (715) 537-6380. Additionally, you difference. Awareness is key to getting can talk to me at the Master Gardener the community engaged. Awareness meetings. I look forward to partnering with about the reality of the hungry in Barron you in this exciting new endeavor that could County, and how wonderful community bring great positive change to our community. Powdery Mildew Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathologist What is powdery mildew? control. Fungicides containing dinocap, Powdery mildew is a disease that occurs on the dithiocarbamates, myclobutanil, triadimefon, triforine, above-ground parts (especially the leaves) of many sulfur or thiophanate methyl are registered for use agricultural crops (including vegetables), as well as against powdery mildew. A combination of baking soda deciduous trees and shrubs, herbaceous ornamental (1 1⁄2 tablespoons) and light weight horticultural (e.g., plants, and indoor houseplants. Conifers are not affected Sunpray®) oil (3 tablespoons) in water (1 gallon) has also by this disease. What does powdery mildew look like? been shown to be effective for powdery mildew control. The name of this disease is descriptive. The upper and Most products should be applied every seven to (less frequently) lower surfaces of leaves, as well as stems 14 days from bud break until humid weather subsides. of infected plants, have a white, powdery appearance. Be sure to read and follow all label instructions of the They look as though someone has sprinkled them with fungicide that you select to ensure that you use the talcum powder or powdered sugar. fungicide in the safest and most effective manner Where does powdery mildew come from? possible. Powdery mildew is caused by several closely Also consider pretesting any product you decide related fungi that survive in plant debris or on infected to use on a small number of leaves or plants before plants. These fungi are fairly host specific. The powdery treating a larger area to make sure there are no toxic mildew fungus that infects one type of plant (e.g., effects, particularly when treating during warmer pumpkins) is not the same powdery mildew fungus that weather. infects another (e.g., phlox). However, if you see powdery How do I avoid problems with powdery mildew in the mildew on one plant, then weather conditions, usually future? high humidity, are favorable for development of the Consider buying plant varieties that are powdery disease on a wide range of plants. mildew resistant. This won’t guarantee that your plants How do I save a plant with powdery mildew? will be powdery mildew-free every year, but should DO NOT panic! For many plants, powdery mildew result in less severe disease when it occurs. Reduce the is a cosmetic, non-lethal disease. For other plants (e.g., humidity around your plants by spacing them further cucumbers, squash, pumpkins), powdery mildew can apart to increase air flow. Be sure not to over-water as cause severe leaf loss. When a highly valued plant has this can lead to higher air humidity as well. Finally, at had severe leaf loss due to powdery mildew for several the end of the growing season, remove and destroy any years, you may want to consider using a fungicide for infected plant debris as this can serve as a source of spores for the next growing season. Plants for Cold Climates If you were left with dead plants after this past Whitman (revised 2011) has become a classic for the harsh winter or you need to add or replace shrubs or serious gardener. The foreword to the first edition was ornamental plants in your MGV projects, you might want written by UW’s Ed Hasslekus and the book has beautiful to consult the book, Cold Climate Gardening by Rebecca photographs. Atwater Briccetti (2000). The book has chapters on Cold climate blogger, Don Engelbretson says “The short season vegetables, herbs, roses, hardy trees and authors include virtually every winter-proven, worthwhile shrubs, designing landscapes to be viewed from indoors variety of plant, such that the book covers over 950 much of the year, season extenders and microclimates. different shrubs and trees” proven to thrive in cold The 122 page book has 50 photos and lists of the best climates. This 448 page gook, organized like an plants for northern gardens. encyclopedia, includes everything from pronunciation of Another book, Growing Shrubs an Small Trees in names to lists of suppliers. Cold Climates, by D. Lonnee, N. Rose, D. Selinger and J. 2 Tomato Disorder: Physiological Fruit Problems Environmental factors can affect the look— variable. and sometimes the flavor—of developing tomato Blotchy ripening fruits. Because these problems are not caused by What to look for: disease organisms, there are no pesticide As the name suggests, recommenda•tions for prevention or manage•ment. blotchy ripening is charac•terized by areas of the fruit that For information about addi•tional fruit problems, fail to ripen properly. White or yellow blotches appear on please refer to Extension publication Tomato Disorder: the surface of ripening fruit while the tissue inside remains Post-Harvest Fruit Diseases (A3799). hard. The affected area is usually on the upper portion of the fruit. Symptoms are similar to those produced by Blossom end rot tobacco mosaic virus, but with the latter you will also see What to look for: mosaic discolorations on the leaves. Initially, water-soaked spots appear at or near the blossom end of mature fruits. The spots enlarge Why it happens: rapidly and may merge to form large damaged areas. Blotchy ripening is caused by inadequate fertilizer As the damaged tissue dries, the surface becomes application or low availability of nutrients. This problem is shrunken, leathery, and dark brown to black. The more prevalent in cool weather and is exacerbated by too lesions provide an entry area for secondary organisms much or too little water. that cause soft rot and fruit decay. In some cases, What you can do: there may be no external symptoms, but the inside of Blotchy ripening is cultivar specific and appears the tomato may be discolored and shrunken. more frequently on older cultivars. Why it happens: Blossom end rot is caused by a shortage of Catfacing calcium in the developing fruit. Calcium, which is What to look for: carried in the water-con•ducting vessels, becomes Catfacing describes the presence of deep deficient when water is limiting. Even slight wilting is indentations in the blossom end of the fruit. In some enough to cause calcium deficiency in the fruit.