4-H Strawberry Plant Sale

Support Franklin County 4-H clubs in a very tasty way. Order these high quality plants at very reasonable prices. No strawberry bed? At $7 for 25 we bet you can have two nice STRAWBERRY POTS to greet visitors at a sunny spot or provide a few sweet bites after dinner.

4-H will be taking orders for high quality strawberry plants. Proceeds from the Strawberry Plant Sale will assist Franklin County 4-H youth through scholarships for district and state events. These plants come from virus indexed, tissue cultured mother plants. 

Plants come in bundles of 25; each bundle contains a single variety. The cost per bundle is $7.00. Orders and payment are due by Wednesday, March 18, 2015. See the strawberry order form below. You may contact Lori Clopper with any questions 717-263-9226 or lac19@psu.edu.

 

Did you know Franklin County 4-H has over 22 4-H clubs? Some clubs are for those as young as 5 years old. Check these sheets for more information. From sewing, gardening & crafting to horses, tractors and seeing-eye puppies, there's something for everyone.

 

 

Visit the 4-H Franklin County Facebook Page to learn more about their programs.

 



4-H Garden Club Visits the Greenhouse

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

The 4-H Garden Club visited our greenhouse where Juanita Kauffman explained plant growth cycles focusing on the greenhouse process. They gathered outside since the greenhouse was really hot inside.

Juanita passed out some seed packets and led the group through reading about germination rate, when to plant, germination time, and time to maturity.

The group sanitized their shoes and went inside to see the transplants. Juanita explained the steps to growing transplants from seed to potting up and taking care of the plants.

Prior to heading up to the greenhouse, the group gathered for a fun picture in their gardening clothes.

Rescue the Redbud Tree

I wanted to post some pictures this week of a little redbud tree. The picture is of a much larger tree that fell in our woods about a month ago.  You can see the little redbud tree attached and amazingly still living and even bloomed.

We would like to salvage the Redbud tree but are not sure where the roots to the dead tree stop and the smaller trees roots start.

We were wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I’ve included pics of the root ball and various angles.

Update on My Seed Starting

On day five and six nothing had sprouted. On day seven my cabbages, dianthus, bachelor’s buttons and bunny grass have sprouted.

 

 

 

 

Day eight and nine and nothing new sprouted but the ones that already sprouted got taller.

We purchased our fence and gate. We also measured where we’re going to put our fence.

We had to take our rototiller to get the seal on it fixed and, hopefully, it will be done this weekend.

We know from the past garden that no garden will survive without a fence. We had deer, possums, ground hogs and many more unwanted visitors.

Bird Sanctuary and Starting Seeds

More from Emmalee, our 4-H Garden Club blogger.

Bird Sanctuary (Emmalee)

Here’s a picture of our failed garden. Last year we turned the garden into a bird sanctuary. As you can see from the picture the stuff that’s growing on the right side of the bird sanctuary is smaller than the other side because the right side is closer to the black walnut tree.

After doing my sunlight test I have new location for my garden. I don’t have that dug yet but we’ll be doing that soon. We purchased a walk-up greenhouse and we put it together on Saturday.

Seeds planted in plastic cups (Emmalee)

I planted the seeds of 10 varieties of vegetables and also planted 10 varieties of flowers. I used plastic cups and poked holes in the bottom. Here’s a picture of the greenhouse.

Greenhouse (Emmalee)

When I checked it later that evening it was very moist and hot. Today is day three and nothing has germinated or sprouted yet.

4-H Garden Club Plants Radishes and Learns About Black Walnut Trees

Here's an entry by Emmalee from our 4-H Garden Club. As the year goes on, she may contribute more to the blog. Welcome, Emmalee.

In the 4-H Garden Club we can't wait to start planting and learning more about growing vegetables!

Last week we planted radishes and got to take them home. The radishes I planted have already sprouted.

Radishes have sprouted since last Thursday's planting

When I was  small child I remember having a garden and planting plants and seeds and having such a successful garden.

Then the third year the black walnut tree killed our garden. We found out about what killed our garden at home through the  4-H Garden Club.

I can't wait to dig a new garden at home this year and I look forward to getting support through the 4-H Garden Club.

____________________

As Emmalee notes, black walnut trees can be a problem.

Black Walnut Tree (Courtesy Penn State)

Mary Ann Ryan is the Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator serving Adams County shares this information from a Hanover Evening Sun article:

“Black walnut trees contain juglone, which is a chemical substance that may be harmful to some plants if they are grown under or near the trees. Plants that are susceptible to juglone suffer from deformities and slow or stunted growth.

A large variety of vegetable crops are unable to tolerate the juglone exuded by the black walnut. You can successfully grow carrots, snap beans, beets, parsnips, onions, corn and lima beans in the soil around or near black walnut trees as long as they receive a sufficient amount of sun light each day. Squash and melons will also thrive when planted close to a black walnut.”

Check out these links for more information:

Penn State Black Walnut Trees
http://extension.psu.edu/cumberland/news/2013/black-walnut-trees

Penn State Extension: Black Walnut Trees Are a Valuable Resource

http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_23828260/penn-state-extension-black-walnut-trees-are-valuable

Black Walnut Tolerant Plants

http://www.ehow.com/list_7365291_black-walnut-tolerant-plants.html

4-H Garden Club Tours the Franklin County Demonstration Gardens

by Carol Kagan

On Thursday, April 10, the newly formed Franklin County 4-H Garden Club, and many of their parents, toured the demonstration gardens and various working areas at the Penn State Extension Ag Heritage Center on Franklin Farm Road in Chambersburg.

They met at the Clubhouse, an area adjoining the barn, saying the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H Pledge as they start every meeting. Club Secretary Emily took attendance and ran out of room on her membership chart which had 15 lines. We had 18 members in attendance!

The group began their tour with leader Jess Kaufmann and Master Gardener Barb Petrucci providing narrative.

What did they see?

Travelling through the Pollinator Garden

The Pollinator Garden, recently tidied up looks great. The Drought-tolerant Garden has a few evergreens showing and needed a bit of an explanation. The Perennial Garden, also recently cleaned up, has a few crocus showing. The Herb Garden remains neat from last fall. The 10 raised bed themes were highlighted by the fragrance bed with tall stands of overwintered lavender and the rose trellis.

Learning about the Perennial Garden

The group was awed by the size of the area designated for their club garden (as yet unnamed). Even with a group of 18, and no doubt many grown-up helpers, preliminary plans are to use just a portion.

View of the future Garden Club garden site

The Holding Area and Greenhouse (just a peek inside) was particularly of interest to the parents who not only didn't realize all these gardens were here but didn't know that our plant sale is different than many others; ours offering plants grown by Master Gardeners and not ordered in.

At the Pergola in the Wildlife Area

The Wildlife Area provided a leisurely stroll with lots of evergreens and some new shoots popping up. There were questions and interest in the Certified Wildlife Habitat designation. The compost area and, last but not least, the Victory Garden where the overwintering sunflower stalks will make an appearance on next week's scavenger hunt.


Radishes waiting to be planted! (Carol Kagan)

The tour ended back at the Clubhouse where the gardeners planted radish seeds to take home and nurture. They were provided with a copy of the seed packet to review planting depth, germination, maturity date and other information.


Learning about planting depth before planting their radishes.

Next week: Let's see if they can remember what they saw and where as teams go on a scavenger hunt, recording their finds as digital pictures.

Unless noted, all photos courtesy of gardener Abby Pugh.

And here's Abby's radishes as of Monday morning





Master Gardens and 4-H Team Up for Youth Garden Club

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

Planting the Seeds of Gardening

Franklin County 4-H Youth Start Garden Club

Chambersburg, PA – Although Michelle Obama’s White House garden gets a lot of media attention, it’s the growth of local and community gardens that have an impact IRL (in real life). This year 4-H of Franklin County is starting a Garden Club.

Franklin County is considered the No. 4 farm county in the state and earns more than $300 million annually in agricultural sales. With the farming community all around, many are inspired to learn about gardening and have gardens of their own.

Last year, Master Gardener Jessica Kauffman was asked if there was a junior Master Gardener program. While there is no Master Gardener program for youths, Kauffman’s inquiries planted the seed for a 4-H Garden Club.

The first organizational meeting will be held on March 27 at 6:30 PM at the Ag Heritage Building at 185 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg. Meetings will be held weekly on Thursday evenings.

“The … Garden Club is a great opportunity for children ages 8-18 in the community to learn all aspects of gardening,” said Jason Goetz, Extension Educator in the 4-H Youth Development Team.  Like other 4-H Clubs, he said, they will also learn “skills that will allow them to succeed in society.”

The Master Gardeners of Penn State Extension, Franklin County and the 4-H club are teaming up with Kauffman and Carol Kagan as club leaders. Other Master Gardeners will share their expertise as well. The club will have a garden at the Ag Heritage Center gardens on Franklin Farm Road.

In past years Master Gardeners partnered with the 4-H Harvest 4-Health and Kids Learning After School (KLAS) programs, helping establish a vegetable garden at Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School in Chambersburg. This is a local effort to teach the newest generation about growing fresh, nutritious food, much like the White House garden.

Students at Thaddeus Stevens do spring planting (Photo: Public Opinion)

Donna Scherer, Master Gardener Coordinator said, “It’s important that we reach out to our youth to connect them to where their food comes from and to empower them with the ability to grow their own food.”

For the 2014 year, the Garden Club will focus on Vegetable Gardening. Youth will have the opportunity to grow vegetables on the Ag Heritage grounds during the regular growing season. They will also have support and resources for any home-based vegetable gardens.

Club members will learn about gardening from planning what to plant through how to harvest and use the vegetables they grow. Along the way to harvest, they will learn about the life-cycle of plants, what they need to grow, and how to care for them to get a good harvest.

“I'm so excited to be a part of the new 4-H garden club! Kids seem to have an innate curiosity and excitement about nature,” said Kauffman, adding “I'm sure it will add to the energy at club meetings.”

In order to fund the Garden Club, 4-H is offering strawberry plants at $7 (incl. tax) for a bundle of 25. Varieties available include Earliglow, Honeoye, Northeaster, Allstar, Jewel, Cabot, Montery (day neutral plants).

Perhaps the White House could use a few more strawberry plants for their garden.

For more information about the club, becoming a member or to order strawberries call the Penn State Extension office at 717-263-9226.

For more information about this program contact:

Jason Goetz, 4-H  Youth Development Educator- Jjg300@psu.edu or 717-263-9226

Donna Scherer, Master Garden Coordinator- Dks14@psu.edu or 717-263-9226

To be added to the e-mail event schedule list, please call 717-263-9226.

2013 4-H Strawberry Sale - Not Too Late!

But getting close:

The 4-H Strawberry Plant Sale is going on now!

The Franklin County 4-H program is sponsoring a strawberry plant sale. For only $5.83 you get 25 strawberry plants. There are eight different varieties to choose from - early, mid, and late season, as well as day neutral everbearing varieties. Strawberries are perennial, so you'll have several years of production from just one planting. Strawberries take well to container gardening and can also be used in an ornamental pyramid planting. Here are some fact sheets from Virginia Tech and the University of Arkansas.

Plants will be available for pickup at the Franklin County Extension Office on Wednesday, April 10th, 2013.

1. Email orders to jlw69@psu.edu by March 26, 2013. Make sure to include the number of bundles, variety/varieties and the total cost as well as your name and phone number.
2. Follow up by mailing the above form and payment to:

Penn State Extension
Attn: Strawberry Orders
181 Franklin Farm Lane
Chambersburg, PA 17202

Here is a video on how to plant strawberries from the University of Maine.

4-H Robotics Club of Franklin County

Looking for a great way to promote your business? The 4-H Robotics Club is putting together a Sponsor Book to help cover costs for their educational programs and competitions throughout the year. The book will be handed out to the public at 4-H Robotics Events including ChamberFest, Franklin County Fair, and many others. Sponsors may submit a 1/4 Page Ad for $10.00, a 1/2 Page Ad for $20.00, 3/4 Page Ad for $30.00, or a Full Page Ad for $40.00. You may also be listed as a Robotics Friend for $5.00, which would just include your name or business name. FOr more information about becoming a sponsor, please call 717-263-9226 and speak with Jason Goetz or email him at jjg300@psu.edu

The Summer/Fall issue of the Penn State Ag Science Magazine has a cover story on Robot Dreams, where you can read about 4-H Robotic Clubs efforts across the state.  

The connection between 4-H and robotics might not be instantly apparent. “Robots aren’t warm and fuzzy, and you don’t sell them in a sale,” said Patty Anderson, Penn State extension educator for 4-H youth development and science curriculum.

But it doesn’t take Anderson long to make a case for robotics being an exciting way to introduce engineering to a generation that is hooked on computers, video games, and other forms of digital entertainment. “Our kids are in an environment where things are changing faster than ever because technology is taking us there,” she says. “They have no fear of technology,” she says. “They’re the ones embracing it. They’re the consumers that the apps are being driven for. And if they don’t get what they want, they make it.” In other words, their comfort level with technology primes the pump for an interest in engineering.

As a way to address what 4-H leaders see as a declining trend in the nation’s science, engineering, mathematics, and technology workforce, the organization has set its sights on engaging one million young people in science by the year 2013.

Here's a way to support our own Franklin County club.

Penn State Extension and Franklin County Conservation District Joint Annual Board Meeting - January 25, 2013

The 3rd annual joint Meeting and Banquet of the boards of Penn State Extension and the Franklin County Conservation District will take place Friday, January 25th at Solomon's Lutheran Church, 4856 Wayne Road, Chambersburg.  Tickets are $12.50 for adults, $6.00 for children aged 5-11 (under 5 free) and are available at the Extension Office (263-9226), or the Conservation District Office (264-5499).

The program will include:  

• 4-H Centennial: Generations making the Best Better for 4-H and Agriculture in Franklin County. Join the fun as four generations of 4-H members Siah Burkholder, Lucy Crider, Dr. Daniel Oliver, and Paul Lehman share a brief story on how 4-H impacted who they are today.
• Conservation Farmer of the Year Award

Agenda:

• 6:15 p.m....Fellowship & Displays
• 7:00 p.m....Dinner

Menu:

• Oven Baked Chicken
• Ham Loaf
• Scalloped Potatoes 
• Green Beans
• Pepper Slaw
• Pie

History of 4-H

In 1907 or 1908, the first emblem used nationally was designed by O. H. Benson as a three-leaf clover. It stood for head, heart, and hands. In 1911, Benson suggested that the fourth H should be hustle, and the 4-H Clover design was adopted.

Later O. B. Martin suggested that health replace hustle. The 4-H emblem has stood for head, heart, hands, and health ever since.

In 1912, O. H. Benson established federal-state-county programs through cooperative agreements, which tied the three entities of Extension work together. Twenty-eight such cooperative agreements between the Office of Farmer Cooperative Demonstration Work and the land-grant colleges promoted youth club work.

You can read an abbreviated history of 4-H in Pennsylvania here, or download a 14 page detailed history here.

Art from the Heart

While looking for the mosquito video on the Public Opinion web site, I came across another video from Penn State Extension here in Franklin County for the Art from the Heart fund raiser for the Therapeutic Riding Center, a part of Penn State Extension's 4-H Program here in Franklin County.  2012 is the 30th anniversary of the program.



This year, the horses got involved.  I talked with Stephanie Corum about the project and she tells me that it's Bridgette's tail, and James Bond's hoof (we think) in the video, but that all the horses will have artwork available at the sale.  Come out and buy works from struggling artists like Bridgette and her stable mates Silver, Woody, Patrick, Reno and Teddy and support Franklin County's Therapeutic Riding Center.

When:  Sunday, September 23rd from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Where:  Chambersburg Country Club

3646 Scotland Road
Chambersburg, PA 17202

Going Off to College

Thursday (8/2/12) was the last day here for Itron, Karen Hack's 4-H Seeing Eye Puppy, who is now going off to College to complete Seeing Eye Training. 

Here's Itron taking a last lap through the Demonstration Gardens.  A bit sad to see him go, and we'll miss him, but content ourselves that he's graduating to do important work. Pictures taken by Karen Hack.

Good luck Itron - we know what a good boy you are!

There's wildlife in there ...

I can smell it ...

Knew it - a bird.

Read more about the 4-H Seeing Eye Puppy Club and its important work at SeeingEye.org