2015 Greenhouse Seeding List

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

When planning your seed purchase or what you want to plant, look over the list below to see what we plan to offer this year at our Greenhouse Sales, May 9 and 16 from 9 am to 1 pm, near the barn across from the Extension Office, 181 Franklin Farm Road.

Note: Plant availability depends on seed germination. Some varieties may have limited supplies so plan to come early on May 9.


This year, as part of the Master Gardener Monarch and Milkweed project we plan to have milkweed plants available, again, dependent on germination. On February 2nd the Greenhouse Team spent two hours preparing milkweed seeds for planting by stratifying the seeds to be chilled before seeding.


Following suggestions from last year's customers, we will be offering a catalog with descriptions and information about these plants, available at cost, prior to the sales. Look for more information about where and when it may be available.

Click on the list photo for a full size display.

Fall into Gardening: A Day at the Demonstration Gardens

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

Saturday, September 6th, the Penn State Master Gardeners, Franklin County, hosted the Fall into Gardening event. The weather gods held the rain off until 2 pm, the end of the event, but the price was heat and humidity. Nevertheless, lots of visitors came and discovered the demonstration gardens as they transition into autumn.

Sedum in the Drought-Tolerant Garden (C. Kagan)

The day included a self-guided tour of the demonstration gardens, with docents available to provide more information about the gardens and answer questions. Laurie Collins and her team freshened up the Pollinator Garden and greeted many visitors.


Laurie Collins (L) with visitors in the Pollinator Garden (C. Kagan)

More pollinator plants and pollinators below.



Barbara Petrucci answered questions and talked about herbs with visitors.

Barb Petrucci (L) showing off pineapple sage (C. Kagan)

Corn, tomatoes & more in the Victory Garden (C. Kagan)

Visitors were allowed to stroll through the Victory Garden along the brick path. Ruth Young, Linda Horst and Maria Giles were the main docents for this area.

Denise Lucas identified lots of the plants in the Perennial Garden for visitors eager to know what is blooming this time of year. More perennial plant photos below.

Denise Lucas (R) with visitors in the Perennial Garden (C. Kagan)

Linda Secrist gave a bulb planting demonstration at the pergola in the Native Plant while Cindy Fair helped visitors identify various plants such as the northern oat grass.

Northern Oat Grass in the Native Garden

The plant sale did a brisk business and many of the collectible daylilies were purchased. Billy Morningstar sold some of the garden décor items MG's made earlier this year.

Local Boy Scout, Avery, helped at the Welcome Table, giving out tour maps and scavenger hunt items for the kids. Cathy Campbell also had a pollinator activity and some giveaways for the kids as well.

Visitors could glean information from many of the exhibits in the Clubhouse. The 4-H Garden Club shared some of their Round-Up exhibits along with the pollinator display and herb garden renovation exhibit.

At the end of the day most Master Gardeners felt that they had introduced the gardens to a lot of new visitors and were able to both show off their hard work in the gardens and share their gardening knowledge.

 

More plants from the Pollinator Garden:

Caterpillar on a dill plant (C. Kagan)

Bee on cosmos (C. Kagan)

More bees - well, it is a pollinator garden!

More plants from the Perennial Garden:





Autumn Clematis, Phlox, Black-eyed Susan and some interesting seed pods (C. Kagan)

Beautiful bright orange flowers (C. Kagan)

A cleome (C. Kagan)

Beautiful seed head of Purple Coneflower (C. Kagan)

It's beautiful, n'est-ce pas?

September: Learn about Bulbs, Compost and Getting More Plants

The September programs are now taking registrations. The Fall Into Gardening event is free but register now for the other programs.

Bulbs-Fall Planting program: Find out about choosing, planting and caring for spring flowering bulbs. Learn how to force bulbs to flower during the dreary winter days. More about this interesting topic at "Trick Bulbs Now for Winter Treats." $10 - You'll think it's a bargain when beautiful blooms brighten your windowsill on a gray January day.

"Composting" is a valuable resource and money saver. Learn which of the variety of methods you can use at your house. $10 Sign up now and start composting this month.

Perennials at MG Nancy Miller's house (Laurie Collins)

"Dig, Divide & Multiply Perennials" will help you figure out when and how to divide your perennials to keep them healthy - and to share with others, too! $10 is a bargain for all the money you'll save multiplying your plants.

All course and events are held at the Agriculture Heritage Center, 181 Franklin Farm Road, Chambersburg, unless noted.

Our programs are growing in popularity and now require pre-registration. Call 717-263-9226 for more information and to register. We now accept credit cards to make phone registration easier.

Tomato Day and Fall Into Gardening - Two Great Events

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

14th Annual Tomato Day

This event, held by the Master Gardeners of Penn State, Franklin County, will host lots of visitors on Saturday, August 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Agriculture Heritage Center, 181 Franklin Farm Road, Chambersburg. As in years past, this event will be on the lawn by the stream but this year it is scheduled on a Saturday. No excuse to miss it!

Preparing for the taste test (Laurie Collins)

Tomato Tasting
The most popular destination on Tomato Day is the big tent covering tables laden with 20 or more varieties of tomatoes, cut-up and coded with a letter. Visitors do a blind taste test, recording their rating for taste and appearance. Paste tomatoes, beefsteak, slicing, cherry, and heirloom types are included in the samples.

At the end they receive a key to the codes and discover the names of the tomatoes. The ratings are tallied at the end of the day and posted on the Franklin County, PA Master Gardeners Facebook page.

Salsa Verde (made with green tomatoes (Public Opinion)

Salsa Contest
Everyone is invited to enter the Salsa Contest. Competitors bring their salsa and recipes along with a bag of chips. Although typical salsa recipes are made with ripe red tomatoes, past winners have included a mango salsa and salsa verde (green tomato) variations. Last year’s winner, Charles White, will be among the judges for best salsa but visitors can also taste and vote for the “People’s Choice” award.
Largest Tomato Contest
If there’s a “big ‘un” in your garden that will be ripe around August 23, consider entering this contest. Past winners have clocked in at about 2 pounds. The 4-H Garden Club will be entering and has some mighty big Mortgage Lifter variety tomatoes and one will definitely challenge all comers.

'Mortgage Lifter' in the 4-H Garden

Join the fun and enter the contests. Deadline to register for the Largest Tomato and Salsa contest is August 18. Call 717-263-9226 to register or for more information.

Flower arrangement display

Flower Arrangements
Master Gardeners will display a large variety of floral arrangements using seasonal flowers and greens from both the demonstration and home gardens. These will be on display in the lobby of the Agricultural Heritage Building.  Stop by and get some new ideas of how to display your beautiful blooms.

 

 

Fall Into Gardening

A new Master Gardener event this year will be on Saturday, September 6, 2014 - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. near the barn across from the Agriculture Heritage Center, 181 Franklin Farm Road, Chambersburg.

This family-friendly event will have a self-guided tour of the eight demonstration garden areas, a scavenger hunt for younger visitors, a demonstration of planting bulbs for forcing, and a fall plant sale plus interesting exhibits in the Clubhouse near the barn.

Garden areas, created and maintained by the Master Gardeners of Penn State, Franklin County, include drought-tolerant, perennial, herb and pollinator gardens. Stroll through the Woodland Meadow and Native Habitat area and check out the Victory Garden with a variety of vegetables and fruits as well as the new 4-H Achievement Garden.

Pink hyacinth (tomylees)

 

For the younger visitors up to age 12, accompanied by an adult, there will be a scavenger hunt. Prizes are available for the first 75 participants.



Learn how to plant beautiful flower bulbs that will bloom during both the holiday season and the gray days of winter.

Daylilies to Highlight the Fall Plant Sale

A Fall Plant Sale will be held in the newly renovated holding area near the greenhouse. Locally grown perennials for sun and shade plus a variety of herbs, shrubs and trees will be available. Of special interest is the wide variety of unusual daylilies (Hemerocallis). They won't be blooming  but here are a few waiting for you to grab them up.

'Frances Joiner': This stunning mid-season re-bloomer, is a light yellow with rose eye above a greenish yellow throat

'Francis Joiner'

'When My Sweetheart Returns': A small, single mid-season re-bloomer in pale yellow with rose eye above a greenish yellow throat

'When My Sweetheart Returns' Daylily (Nancy Miller)

'Morning by Morning': Eye-catching fragrant, early season coral pink double flower with dark coral eyezone above a yellow throat

'Morning by Morning'

'My Sweet Rose': A very fragrant, mid-season bloomer in rose pink with cream to deep green throat

Master Gardeners will be available at each of the gardens to answer questions and share information as well as at the Patrick Gass Garden at the north edge of the parking lot on the west side of Franklin Farm Road. This is a work-in-progress project but already has historic plants and information signs.

Free. Parking at the Agricultural Heritage Center lot, west side of Franklin Farm Road.

Tomato Day & Fall Into Gardening Events plus Succulent and Turfgrass Workshops

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener


Succulent Plant from Bob Hyatt's Greenhouse

Simply Succulents Workshop

 August 2, 2014 – 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. – Ag Heritage Building – 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg – Learn how to grow and propagate these beautiful and nearly indestructible plants.  This workshop will highlight hardy succulents that can be planted outside as well as those grown as houseplants.  Pre-registration is required by Monday, July 28, 2014.   Call the Extension Office at 263-9226 to register. (Cost is $10 per person.)



Turf Grass (Courtesy Univ. of Wisconsin)

Turf Grass Workshop

August 9, 2014 – 9 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. - Clubhouse at the Barn – Learn how to properly maintain a lawn.  This workshop will feature a demonstration of aeration equipment. Other topics to be covered include weed control, seeding and controlling thatch. Pre-registration is required by Monday, August 4, 2014.   Call the Extension Office at 263-9226 to register. (Cost is $10 per person.)

Blind Taste Testing (Photo: Laurie Collins)

Tomato Day - Now on a Saturday!

August 23, 2014 - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Ag Heritage Grounds- Blind taste tests on over 20 varieties of tomatoes grown by Master Gardeners. Rate the tomatoes, taste salsa recipes for  the People's Choice award, see winners of the biggest tomato and ugliest tomato contest. Free.

Angela Weathers Salsa Verde

Fall Into Gardening - Tours and Plant Sale

Perennial Garden

A new Master Gardener event this year will be on Saturday, September 6, 2014 - 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. across from the Ag Heritage Center near the barn. Tours of the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens, fall plant sale and more. Visit the drought-tolerant, perennial, herb and pollinator gardens. Stroll through the Woodland Meadow and Native Habitat area and check out the Victory Garden with a variety of vegetables and fruits as well as the new 4-H Achievement Garden. Free. Parking at the Ag Heritage Center lot.

Woodland Meadow and Native Habitat Area has paths to stroll through

The plant sale will include plants, shrubs and trees grown here in Franklin County.

Are you interested in becoming a Penn State Master Gardener?

A new class is forming soon. Contact the office at the number below.

To register for workshops or receive e-mail or regular mailings of our upcoming events, contact the Franklin County Extension Office at 717-263-9226.

  

Spring: Part Three

April 11…Apr 25…now May 9.  Spring picks up speed and continues to feast our eyes (though I don't ever remember the redbuds, cherry blossoms and dogwoods in bud all at the same time!)  Just a quick visual of how far we've come in 4 weeks (my other posts are "And You Thought It Would Never Get Here" on 4/11/14 and "Two Weeks On…Is Spring Here Yet?" on 4/26/14).

The rose is down to business now, just filling out its leaves and getting ready for some later color.

Rose - May 9

The Liberty Elm is leafing out nicely but slowly.  The canopy is getting thicker.

Liberty Elm - May 9

The forsythia is pretty much done (for those of you who use that as a reminder: the forsythia blooms are falling so get your crab grass killer on if you hope it to be effective!).

Forsythia - May 9

Big difference in the Viburnum - it has put a lot of energy into those blooms over the past two weeks…

Mohawk Viburnum - May 9

The Weeping Katsura has interesting shaped and colored leaves, especially right now when they are young.

Weeping Katsura - May 9

The Sedum is off on a growth spree, already up about 6 inches.

Sedum - May 9

I never got to enjoy the cherry festival this year - the blossoms were so late that the leaves were already opening up, so just a bit of pink in between the new leaves fro this year.  I'm disappointed.

Cherry - May 9

And the Maple does its maple thing…leaves out, ready to push out some chlorophyl…

Maple - May 9

Enjoy these warmer days, and don't forget to pick out your next-year's spring buds and blossoms at the Master Gardener Plant Sale at the Franklin County Extension Office on Saturday May 17th, 9AM to 1 PM!