budding
MARCH 2015
BCMASTERGARDENERS.WEEBLY.COM
news
A PUBLICATION OF UME MASTER GARDENERS OF BALTIMORE COUNTY
C a le n d a r
MARCH
11 Demo Garden Meeting, 5-7 p.m.
12 General meeting, Monarch butterflies,
6:30-8:30 p.m.
19 Seed starting workshop, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
28 Free Demo Garden lecture: Deer
resistant plants, 10-11 a.m.
APRIL
6 Spring Lecture Series: Native Plants
9 General Meeting, Vegetable gardening,
10-12 noon
18 Plant ID training, 10-12 noon
25 Free Demo Garden lecture: Growing
your own mushrooms, 10-11 a.m.
MAY
4 Spring Lecture Series: Container
Gardening and New Plants for 2015
7 General meeting: Plant sale prep. (Note
special date for plant sale preparations.)
9 Plant Sale, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
30 Free Demo Garden lecture:
International herbs at home, 10-11 a.m.
JUNE
1 Spring Lecture Series: Small Space
Vegetable Gardening
4 Annual State Training Day, College Park
11 General Meeting, Pollinator garden,
10-12 noon
Ka th e rin e S c o tt:
MG & F o o d
J u s tic e Ad vo c a te
Katherine Scott has been actively
involved in gardening education in her community of Turner Station for many years.
Her vision is to teach nutrition and health
through gardening and to promote a healthier and sustainable food source for the
underserved in overlooked places.
Katherine's audience often involves
the most unlikely people. She first gathered
kids to share what her grandparents taught
her. “I have fond childhood memories hanging out with my grandparents in their garden, surrounded by fruits, and trees, flowers
and vegetables. Their place seemed to be
alive with crawling and flying insects, colorful flowers, and singing birds. While
chasing butterflies and fireflies, I often
enjoyed my favorite activities: making corn
cob dolls and mud pies from the rich red
southern clay. My love for gardening, as
you can see, is in my DNA.”
While searching for something positive
to do, Katherine found the garden to be an
escape from noise and stress. “I'm looking
for ways to engage young people in activities that stimulate creativity with action and
community service. I have sometimes failed
in my attempts to engage kids, but somehow, gardening keeps me motivated.”
Katherine has tried many creative and
innovative approaches to get kids outside
with nature. She has tried to transform a
community one child at a time by working
on everything from after school clubs focusing on nature and getting children outside,
to organizing 4-H clubs, to working with
the Girl and Boy Scouts. It’s been challeng-
ing yet
rewarding.
“The children
are always
watching.
Someone has
to do the
messy work; I
am unwilling
to give up.”
After the
long winter, the spring is the best time to
engage children. By summer, they transition
to vacations with grandparents, summer
camps, or even move away.
Curiosity, though, continues to attract
more children. They find their way to the
garden to explore. Kids ask endless questions. "What does a watermelon plant look
like? When can we eat it?” Their questions
are filled with excitement and wonder.
While in the garden some harvest the beans,
tomatoes and surprisingly wonder why they
are the best tasting grape and cherry tomatoes they’ve ever eaten. Katherine envisions
that, one day, the children will be organized
and equipped to take over and manage their
own individual plots. That is why she spends
so much time teaching them these skills
while they are young…so that they can have
a garden of their own where they can grow
and explore nature.
Katherine says her favorite things
about gardening are teaching, cooking, and
eating fresh produce, or sharing it with others. Her greatest experiences are observing
the playfulness, and the children’s laughter
as they discover something new every day.
She truly believes that “lives are being transformed from this experience of planting a
seed to harvesting.”
Katherine Scott, con’t on page 4
budding
NEWS
NORMAN’S PATCH 47
NORMAN COHEN
Th e va g a rie s o f
ra s p b e rry c u ltiva tio n
From Norman’s Patch 25: “Last year (2012), the Grow It
Eat It committee started a raspberry patch. The two selected
raspberry species, which the University of Maryland Extension
recommended, were R. idaeus var. strigosus ‘Heritage’ and
‘Caroline.’ ‘Caroline’ and ‘Heritage’ are primocane-bearing-late
summer through fall harvest. ‘Caroline’ has excellent flavor and
is harvested a few weeks earlier than ‘Heritage,’ which has vigorous, medium size fruit, is harvested from late August to frost.
I will attest to their excellent taste; I ate enough of them while
working in the garden. Raspberries require a soil pH from 5.8 to
6.8, soil well amended with organic matter and staked. An
excellent resource for berries, grapes, pome and stone fruits is
Home Fruit Production Guide published by the University of
Maryland Extension. The biggest complaint with raspberries is
birds and yellow jackets. A possible solution is the use of floating row covers as soon as the appearance of fruit set.
My game plan was simple, in late July, I would harvest the
raspberries, sit under the umbrella at the picnic table as usual,
enjoy the fruits of Tiffany Bower’s labor and read the “Grow It
Eat It” diary. During the 2013 season in June, the ‘Heritage’ started to decline with very little flowering and the wilting of leaves.
Leptospaeria coniothyrium. In 2013, the decision was made to
treat in the spring of 2014 with copper fungicide, a replacement
for Bordeaux powder, when the plants start to leaf out.
I used Bonide’s Copper fungicide which is not Office
Materials Review Institute (OMRI) approved, but is identical to
copper compounds that are approved by OMRI. I cannot stress
enough to read directions especially taking note: protective
clothing, application, storage, disposal, environmental hazards,
re-entry to the sprayed area and posting in a Pesticide Log, that
the Demonstration Garden keeps on file. Copper fungicides are
extremely toxic to fish and aquatic organisms. After two applications, the second being ten days later with no improvement,
all agreed to unceremoniously remove the raspberries.
When the plants were removed huge crown galls were
found on the root system of the plants. Pictures were wisely
taken by Linda Emerick and sent to the experts (not me) for
identification. All agreed that the raspberries had Agrobacterium
tumefaciens that has been renamed, Rhizobium radiobacter, and
a virulent bacterium that contains a tumor-inducing plasmid.
The plasmid has the ability to integrate into the chromosomal
DNA of its host plant cells. No cure or treatment exists.
Economically, A. tumefaciens is a serious pathogen of walnuts,
grape vines, stone fruits, nut trees, sugar beets,
horse radish, and rhubarb.
In retrospect, when the plants were first
diagnosed with cane blight, one plant should have
been immediately exhumed to check the health of
the root system. Possibly then the crown gall (pictured above)
would have surfaced. In the GIEI garden, our problems are centered on leaf eating and sucking insects, which have simple IPM
solutions. The world of plant diseases is complicated because of
similar symptoms and at times difficult diagnoses. Where is the
plant pathologist when you need one?
Even though I didn’t eat any raspberries last summer, the
Demonstration Garden proved to be an excellent learning experience for the Master Gardeners. One last thing, let this be omitted at an introductory or intermediate vegetable gardening presentation, or else the audience might contemplate another avocation, possibly philately!
Our diagnosis led us to believe that the plants were suffering
from cane blight (shown above), which is caused by the fungus
PAGE 2
BALTIMORE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS
budding
NEWS
NOTES ON A NATIVE…
KIM BARNES
C a re x p e n s ylva n ic a
P e n n s ylva n ia S e d g e
As c le p ia s p re -s a le
a t Ma rc h m e e tin g
The Master Gardeners have located
Asclepias incarnata in quart pots that has
been sourced from Pennsylvania seed, but
not Piedmont ecotype guaranteed. There
will be a pre-sale at the March 12 meeting
with delivery sometime in April.
Asclepias is late to wake in the spring so
the delivery date may be in time for our
April meeting, otherwise they will be
available later in the month or during plant
sale preparation week.
The quart pots of Asclepias will sell
for $4 each, two for $7, and three for $10.
Pre-payment will be expected at the
March meeting, which will be highlighting
the importance of growing the host plants
for the Monarch butterfly. If you can’t be
at the March meeting, please send a check
to Anna made out to BCEAC with your
name and the number of plants that you
wish to reserve. There will be no pre-sale
the day before our plant sale so this is
your opportunity to secure these plants.
Members can reserve bareroot Peony varieties ITOH and tenuifolia for late March
delivery from the Netherlands.
Ne w we b s ite
H T T P :// E X T E N S I O N . U M D . E D U /
BALTIMORE-COUNTY/
MASTER-GARDENERS
At this season of the year, there are certain plants in the garden that you will notice
if you look down, ones that still have a presence, even after several weeks of winter and
a few light to moderate snowfalls. Pennsylvania sedge is one of those plants. Even
in early February, there are some streaks of green among the faded clumps of this
grass-like plant.
Carex pensylvanica is native to dry, open woodlands of Eastern and Central
North America. It prefers part to mostly shade conditions, where the soil is average
to dry and well drained. Pennsylvania sedge grows 6-12 inches tall, forming soft
clumps with its arching, medium green, grass-like leaves. In addition to providing
cover for wildlife, it is the host plant for 36 species of caterpillars, including skippers (according to the new book The Living Landscape by Rick Darke and Doug
Tallamy). The slightly taller flowering stems appear in early spring, with a cream
colored inflorescence at the top, producing pollen and nectar for insects—although
the flowers are wind pollinated. The fruit is a terminal cluster of brown seed capsules. It spreads primarily by rhizomes,
creeping more quickly
in areas of my garden
where the soil is loose
and moderately moist,
but it is not difficult to
control. Carex pensylvanica is relatively
easy to divide and
transplant, and I have
been able to establish
patches in several
shady spots over the
years. I am planning to try some as a “spiller” in some containers this spring.
I found several references to Pennsylvania sedge being suggested as a grass
substitute for dry, shady, low-traffic areas of a lawn. Some of the patches in my
landscape get walked on occasionally, but I haven’t actually tried it as turf. It is definitely an excellent year-round ground cover in the proper conditions, and purportedly even deer resistant!
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EXTENSION...SOLUTIONS IN YOUR COMMUNITY
PAGE 3
budding
budding
NEWS
NEWS
CONTINUING
EDUCATION
M A R C H 12, 6:30—8:30 P M
Mona rch butte rflie s
Pam Spencer II will discuss
Monarch butterflies. After some background information and what makes
them so special, Pam will share her own
experience rearing Monarchs. What can
we do to help? Learn the pitfalls to
avoid and why Monarchs are at risk.
Pam is a 2014 graduate of the MG
class. She is a registered nurse and
spent her entire career working with
children. Pam says, “Gardening lifts
my spirits...nothing feels better than to
dig in the dirt!”
We will also be having a brief discussion about the new fact sheet “What
Counts as Baltimore County Master
Gardeners Hours?” so if you have ever
felt unsure or had questions on this
topic, please be sure to attend.
A P R I L 9, 10 A M -
NOON
Ve g e ta b le
G a rd e n in g
Jon Traunfeld, principal agent,
director, and state MG coordinator, will
talk about what’s hot in the vegetable
garden as well the the state’s Grow It
Eat It program.
Starting its seventh year, GIEI is
thriving on the growing public demand
for food gardening information and
help. Jon will discuss important
updates on plant problems and pests,
some trending crops, cultivars, and
techniques, and provide advice that will
help clients be more successful in their
vegetable gardens.
PAGE 4
He lp s p re a d
th e wo rd !
It’s time to spread the word about all
the exciting Baltimore County Master
Gardener events coming up soon. The
Spring Lecture Series has already begun,
the Free Demo Garden Seminars are starting up this month, and the Plant Sale is
just about two months away.
Please share the flyers and website
links wherever you can. You might post the
pdfs or website links on your Facebook
page, share them on your neighborhood
blog, submit them to your community or
organization’s newsletter, and maybe even
print a few out to post at local businesses.
Anna Glenn emailed the pdf flyers several
weeks ago, but are available by request. If
you would like a larger quantity of printed
flyers, please contact Kriss Cocoros (kcocoros@umd.edu) who will prepare them
for pick up at the Ag Center.
R e g is te r fo r n e w
MG p riva te we b s ite
This private website has replaced the
Weebly website as a more secure location
to share internal documents, reports, contact information, event updates, and more.
All MGs should register to get connected;
already 50 people have.
The website that will strictly house all
our internal content can be found at AGNR
Groups: https://agnrgroups.umd.edu/baltimore-county-mg. To access this content,
each MG will need to create a username
and password, request permission to join
the group, and then be added to the group
by the website administrator (Anna).
Instructions are available at: https://agnrgroups.umd.edu/how-use-site/informationnew-users/registering. Please note that this
username and password are separate from
those used to complete online hours.
Katherine Scott, con’t from page 1
She goes on to say that “I feel the
greatest impact of growing your own food
is the health of people and the planet. It
builds relationships, gives a sense of wonder and provides hope. Kids are seeing
nature in action and the work is hard, but
rewarding. I am also seeing a growing interest in individuals, groups, and others interested in knowing how to grow their own
food. This is why I have become a food justice advocate, because if you teach people
to grow their own food, they will eat for a
life time.”
Now seven years later, she continues.
“I originally started this garden with a small
group of children and one adult, this was the
tipping point for my passion. Seeing the
engagement and the excitement of the kids
fueled my desire to learn more about gardening. Just a year later I completed Master
Gardener training and my purpose became
clearer. I became a part of the vision to get
more Marylanders involved in Grow It Eat
It, which gave me a sense of purpose. The
MG mission aligned with my core values
and helped me push forward even when it
was difficult and discouraging.”
“BCMG's support, training, and
encouragement has always been appreciated. Many thanks go out to Katie Dott, who
was so generous with her time and support. Without the support of many volunteer groups, from semi-pro football players, to a police department grant, the
Community Greening Resource Network,
the children, youth and families, and
numerous others over the years, this
would not be a place for kids.”
“My Master Gardener training has
helped me become more passionate about
the health of our earth. The people and the
planet would be better off if we took better
care of our earth and each other. Otherwise
we all suffer. I think becoming a MG
requires us to do something to share what
we have learned and put it into action.”
BALTIMORE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS
budding
NEWS
POLLENNATION STATION
Come out, come out,
whe re ve r you a re !
POLLINATORS EMERGING IN
M A R C H -A P R I L I N M A R Y L A N D
SARA YOSUA
Hallelujah! Spring is finally more
than some far off promise. As the ground
warms, it signals many living things to
come out and get an early start on the season. Hopefully, the timing of spring’s
warmth supports the phenological synchrony between the plants blooming to
provide a food source for the first insects
emerging from a long winter’s stasis. If
the plants bloom too early, there are no
pollinators to fertilize them and they will
not reproduce; if the insects emerge too
early, there is little food to support them
and they may perish.
The first pollinators to appear are usually bumble bees (Apidae Bombus), which
are active in temperatures as low as 40
degrees Fahrenheit. Only the adult queen
bee lives in diapause (similar to hibernation
in mammals) through the winter underground, in cavities, or in abandoned mouse
nests. She was fertilized the previous season
and, upon emerging, immediately begins
finding a spot to build her new nest.
Sweat bees, like Augochlora pura, are
also tolerant of cool weather and emerge in
late winter to early spring. Larvae overwinter in tunnels in rotting wood or under-
ground in loose soil, then emerge as adults
after feeding through the winter on pollen
and nectar left by the mother.
The Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis
antiopalina), the Red Admiral, pictured
here, (Vanessa atalanta), the Question
Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), and the
Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) will
be the butterflies earliest to appear; they
overwintered as adults in tree cavities and
beneath tree bark. These butterflies all
feed on tree sap, fermented fruit, and dung,
so they are not pollinators unless their primary food source is unavailable. Nectarfeeding butterflies that emerge from
chrysalides in early spring and are effective
pollinators include the Spring Azure
(Celastrina ladon), the Cabbage White
(Pieris rapae), and the Orange Sulphur
(Colias eurytheme).
Hover flies (Syrphinae family of the
Diptera order) can be active in warm spells
of winter, but warmer weather with an
abundant food source really encourages
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EXTENSION...SOLUTIONS IN YOUR COMMUNITY
their numbers to increase. Hover flies
overwinter as adults in sheds and hollow
trees, as well as pupae attached to plant
stems. Females will mate before finding a
secure place to overwinter, then each lays
80 to 200 eggs upon emerging on the first
warm days in spring. Hover fly larvae are
excellent predators and feed heavily on
aphids.
Ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae family), although they are ravenous predators
instead of pollinators, are among the first
beneficial beetles to appear in early spring,
along with their primary diet of aphids.
Some species of ladybird beetle prefer
other pests, such as mites, white flies, or
scale insects. The “ladybug” lives up to
two years and overwinters as a group of
adults in leaf litter at the base of trees or
plants, or along buildings.
Be sure to plant an abundance of
early blooming flowers for these early risers. In addition to early blooming maple,
eastern redbud, and willow trees, common
serviceberry and highbush blueberry bushes, Maryland native herbaceous plants such
as cranesbills, lupine, phlox and wild sweet
William, pussy willow, sage, and violets
are all good choices. While early spring
bulbs like daffodils, crocus, winter
aconites, snowdrops, and scilla attract pollinators, compact flowering plants like
heather, glory of the heavens, or early
spring grape hyacinth can have scores of
bees working the plant at the same time.
Hellebores are also an early blooming rich
source of pollen.
For more plant choice options, refer
to the Selecting Plants for Pollinators publication from the North American
Pollinator Protection Campaign http://pollinator.org/PDFs/EasternBroadleaf
.Oceanic.rx18.pdf
Watch for next issue of the
PollenNation Station, “April Showers
Bring ...,” in the April Budding News.
PAGE 5
budding
NEWS
S e e d s ta rtin g
wo rks h o p
G
S
SM
M
Baltimore County
There will be a seed-starting workshop Thursday March 19 in the 4-H barn
from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Tiiu Mayer
will provide a short talk about the fundamentals of seed starting after which she
will be available for questions and coaching as we put seeds to soil for the plant
sale and your own garden.
This workshop is intended for all skill
levels, so if you want help with your firstever attempt, this is for you! Experienced
seed-starters will enjoy the camaraderie of
a group seed-in. Everyone will enjoy sifting through the 50+ varieties of tomato
seeds on hand. There will also be an endless supply of yellow marigold seeds.
Sign up at the March meeting or
email Nancy Lewis by March 13th so we
can have the right quantity of cell packs
and seed-starter mix on hand. Please bring
your own supplies and seeds for larger
efforts.
2
2O15
O15
Spring
Sp
pring
Baltimore
Ba
a
altimore
Co
County
ounty
y
Master
a t Garde
G
deners
Master
Gardeners
Lectu Series
Le
Lecture
March 2
Anybody can plant a tree but how do you raise a tree?
Stephen Allgeier
Native Shrubs
Stan Kollar
April 6
Get on board about natives
Connie Schmotzer
May 4
Growing a work of art (container gardens)
Marilyn Sparks
What’s new in 2015
Pat Sherman
June 1
Small space vegetable gardens:
How to get a lot from a little
Chrissa Carlson
All classes are from 7 pm to 9 pm at 1114 Shawan Road, Cockeysville, MD 21030
Registration Required. Lectures $15 each or $50 for 4 nights.
For more information about the Spring Lecture Series, Disability Accommodations,
Baltimore County Master Gardeners, or the University of Maryland Extension please
call or go to our website at: 410-887-8090
www.extension.umd.edu/baltimore-county/home-gardening/2015-lecture-series
INFORMATION ABOUT ALL
MG A D V A N C E D T R A I N I N G
CLASSES MAY BE FOUND AT:
H T T P :// E X T E N S I O N .
UMD.EDU/MG/ADVANCED-
Registration: To sign up online go to https://15lectureseries.eventbrite.com
or you can register at the door with cash or check made out to BCEAC.
TRAINING
The University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because
of race, age, sex, color
color,, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability
disability,, religion, ancestry,
ancestry, or natural origin, marital status, genetic information, political
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budding
NEWS
Editor: open
Designer: Natalie Hamilton
Submissions are welcome!
Please forward to
infobcmg@yahoo.com
The Maryland Master Gardener Program was started in 1978
as a means of extending the horticultural and pest management
expertise of University of Maryland Extension to the general
public. The program is designed to train volunteer horticultural
educators for the University of Maryland Extension—the principal outreach education unit of the University of Maryland.
UME B A L T I M O R E C O U N T Y E X T E N S I O N
1114 Shawan Road
Cockeysville, MD 21030
Phone: (410) 887-8090
Fax: (410) 785-5950
NEW website:
http://extension.umd.edu/baltimore-county/master-gardeners
Anna Glenn, Horticulture Faculty Extension Assistant,
amglenn@umd.edu
University of Maryland Extension (UME) programs are open to any person and
will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.