Over the Garden Gate Monthly Newsletter Clinton County Master Gardeners Volume 6 Issue 10 November 2015 Editor: Carol Machael, [email protected]; 563-357-7537 Published on the first Monday of the month except during January February and March. To submit an article it must be sent by E-mail as a Microsoft Word attachment to the above e-mail address. To be accepted for publication in the next newsletter, articles must be received 10 days before the first Monday of the month. Articles will be accepted or rejected at the discretion of the editor. If you are mailing something to me please use new contact info: 502 Apple Valley Lane, Clinton. Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) The yellow-green fruit are commonly called "hedge apples." The Osage-orange is a small- to medium-sized tree. It commonly grows 30 to 40 feet tall, and leaves which are a shiny medium to dark green, turning yellow in the fall. The Osage-orange is dioecious. Male and fe- male flowers are produced on separate trees. The small, green flowers appear in May or June. The female trees produce 3- to 5- inch- diameter fruit which ripen in September or Oc- tober and fall to the ground. According to the Des Moines Register, Todd Johnson, 51, a chemist and entrepreneur born and raised in Bloomfield, is turning this neglected bounty into gold. He's trademarked "pomifera," after the scientific name for the fruit, "Maclura pomifera." His company, Osage Healthcare Inc., produces oil for use in the cosmetics industry. Earlier this year, Johnson inked a deal with LimeLight, a product line from cosmetics company Alcone that plays up its emphasis on natural ingredi- ents. Next month, LimeLight will begin selling oil from this unappreciated fruit for $85 per half ounce. Local farmers, 4-H kids and the Amish bring him hedge balls that they've scavenged off the prairie. Johnson said that he ends up paying $180 per ton, compared with a market value of about $120 per ton of corn. Studies in recent years established that hedge balls do have anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties. Johnson says he has produced a skin product that suggests “good results” with “alleviating” eczema, psoriasis and rosacea, plus "unprecedented hydration and healing properties for both the hair and skin." The hedge balls first are ground into a bright green pulp, a mash that sort of resembles wheelbarrows full of cole slaw or chunky guacamole. The slop is further refined to isolate and clean the seeds from the rest of the fruit. Water is a key part of the process as workers carefully sluice through the harvest. Volume 6 Issue 10 Page 2 November 2015 CLINTON COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES October 20, 2015 9AM Bickelhaupt Arboretum-Clinton,IA Roll Call-Tom, Brenda, Linda, Charles, Margo, Mark, Deb, Becky Approval of Agenda-approved Approval of Minutes-approved Financial Report-Mark-Balance of $4309.41 Copies passed out of new MG Volunteer Manual. Explains all activities, terms, & requirements to be ac- tive MG. Can be viewed on State MG website. Reports: Committees/projects/events Bickelhaupt Arboretum-Margo- Programs coming up are' Conifer Door Swag' on Dec 2 and 'Keep it Green Terrarium" on Dec. 6. Call Arb for info on class cost and time. Publicity-Deb Annual Holiday Party-Dec 7 at Buzzy's in Wilton-invitations are being processed. Committee people needed. Cost of dinner yet to be determined. Deb made a motion to provide $300.00 for items at the party. 2nd by Charles. Fall Picnic-18 attended-good time for all. Old Business: Advisory Board Election-Willard(via email)- Need people for 2 positions on board. He will run again. Those showing an interest will be contacted to submit a short bio for ballots. OLC-Linda-group planted a lot of daffodils around the gardens. Fundraiser for OLC has met its 50 do- nations and will receive the gift of $1000 for OLC projects. Eagle Point Park tree project-Brenda-Oct 3-all trees planted in a short amount of time will all the help. Each group will care for their trees for 3 years. All groups given a Thank-you award for their help. Water- ing is the most important factor this fall. New Business: Nov. mtg- will choose MG of Year & Intern of Year. Must have nominations in by that meeting. Willard will be glad to work on the awards portion(hrs both local & ISU) for holiday party. For the good of the cause: Willard wants to remind members of submitting their hour before the next advi- sory board mtg. to qualify for awards and helps with state numbers for our group. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Council, secretary Wish Roger Rittmer a Happy 80th Volume 6 Issue 10 Page 3 November CLINTON COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS ANNUAL HOLIDAY/AWARDS BANQUET December 7, 2015 @ Buzzy’s, Welton, Iowa 5:30 pm - Social Hour 6:30 pm – Buffet Dinner Join your fellow master gardeners at the annual holiday/awards banquet. We will be celebrating the holidays and our accomplishments during the year. Volunteer/education awards will be presented. There will also be door prizes. Invitations will be sent mid- November. Kindly return your RSVP by November 25th. REGARDING VOLUNTEER/EDUCATION HOURS: Certain awards and recognition will be given to Master Gardeners at the banquet. The advisory board re- quests that Master Gardeners update their volunteer and education hours to the state recording system at this time. For these hours to be considered for special recognition, they must be recorded by December 1st. Hours may be entered at: mastergardenerhours.hort.iastate.edu/. If you do not have access to a computer or are not comfortable entering your hours with the new system, please contact Mark Schroeder at [email protected] or call the Iowa State Extension office at 563-659-5125 for assistance. MASTER GARDENER OF THE YEAR & INTERN OF THE YEAR AWARDS: At the banquet, the Clinton County Master Gardeners will also present awards for Master Gardener of the Year and Intern of the Year. These awards are based on volunteer hours and service to the organization. To nominate an individual(s) for the award(s), please submit a letter(s) of nomination to the Advisory Board de- scribing the achievements of the person. Letters of nominations should be mailed to the Extension Office at Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Office, 400 E. 11th Street, DeWitt, Ia. 52742. The nomination letter(s) may also be forwarded to Willard Larsen at [email protected] . The Advisory board will select individuals based on the letters received and hours recorded for the current year. The deadline for submitting nominations is November 16th. SO……….. MARK YOUR CALENDER: 2015 HOLIDAY/AWARD BANQUET DECEMBER 7TH STILL NEED VOLUNTEER HOURS? We have several members who do not have computers and need to have their hours recorded. You can get volunteer hours for doing this. If you are interested in recording hours for these people contact Willard at 563-249-2476 or Peggy McGranahan in the Extension office at 563-659-5125. Volume 6 Issue 10 November 2015 Want More Color in Your Yard This Winter? Read This from ISU Extension (Rich Jauron) An excellent way to brighten the drab winter landscape is to plant evergreens (pine, spruce, fir, etc.) and trees and shrubs that possess brightly colored fruit. While crabapples (Malus spp.) are usually planted for their flowers, many varieties also possess attractive, persis- tent fruit. Crabapple varieties with red fruit include 'David,' 'Donald Wyman,' 'Jewelberry,' 'Mary Potter,' Red Jewel , and Sugar Tyme . Reddish orange fruit are borne on 'Indian Magic,' Molten Lava , and 'Professor Sprenger.' 'Doubloons,' Golden Raindrops , and Harvest Gold have striking yellow or gold fruit. Hawthorns are another group of small, flowering trees that possess attractive fruit. Hawthorns produce white flowers in spring. In fall, their fruit turn red and persist into winter. Red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) is an upright, spreading shrub. It produces small, white flowers in spring, followed by red berries in fall. The common name chokeberry is derived from the astringent taste of the fruit. Red chokeberry grows 6 to 8 feet tall. Cranberry cotoneaster (Cotoneaster apiculatus) is a low, spreading shrub that grows 2 to 3 feet tall. Plants pro- duce small, pinkish white flowers in late spring. Round, 1/3-inch-diameter fruit develop after flowering. The fruit turn cranberry red in late summer and persist into winter. A large shrub or small tree, eastern wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus) com- monly grows 10 to 12 feet tall. Plants produce small, dark purple flowers in late spring. Then pink to purple fruit split open in early fall revealing fleshy, reddish orange tissue (aril) that covers the seeds. The attractive fruit per- sist for several weeks in fall. Eastern wahoo is native to Iowa. It is typically found in moist, open woods... Hollies are dioecious, producing male and female flowers on separate plants. Only the female plants produce fruit. However, a male plant is required for pollination and fruit set. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is a native, deciduous holly. It grows 6 to 8 feet tall. The berry-like fruit on fe- male plants turn bright red in late summer and persist into winter. Female varieties noted for excellent fruit dis- plays include 'Afterglow,' 'Red Sprite,' 'Sparkleberry,' and 'Winter Red.' Suitable male varieties are 'Jim Dandy' and 'Southern Gentleman.' The staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) has foliage varing from yellow to orange to red. It also produces showy fruit. Female plants produce upright fruit clusters that turn crimson red in late summer and persist through winter. Plants are best utilized in naturalized areas, slopes, and low maintenance areas.