They're Back!

One of the more popular features of this blog last year, based on the comments and emails I received, was the link to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Web Cam in a nesting blue bird box.

The webcam is up and running again this year and can be viewed here.  From the press release:

“The best way to get Pennsylvanians – in fact most Americans – excited about wildlife is to show them what makes wildlife so irreplaceable and priceless,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “We decided to set-up and use this live webcast to help us educate the public about the importance of wildlife, how to make backyards friendlier to wildlife and also provide a way for folks to simply get closer to bluebirds. Last year, it was a huge hit, and we expect that the broadcasting of this year’s activities again will be well received.

“The nestbox camera provides the public a closer look at the entire nesting process of bluebirds. I’m not sure how many people have ever seen a bluebird form a nest by plowing the materials with its wings. But nest-forming is a fascinating example of nature at work. And it’s something you’ll never see unless you’re checking out our nesting camera.”

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) also has a web cam on a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons.

UPDATE: 4/14/2010 - There are 5 eggs in the Falcons' nest!

Victory Garden

The first planning session for the season-long Victory Garden class took place this morning.  Cover crop was cut, the garden was tilled, raised beds were spaded over, and general weeding took place.

Donna and Darl inform me that the class is not yet full, so talk it up with friends and neighbors.  It is probably the best deal that we offer, including not only the terrific information and hands-on experience of planning, planting, and growing a vegetable garden, but also the added bonus of bringing home the harvest.

Look for an article in this week's Public Opinion about it.

Contact the office at 263-9226 to sign up.

A list of the rest of our Spring classes can be found at the link to the right called Upcoming Events and Workshops.



Check out this History of Kitchen Gardens from Cornell University.

My Father's Garden

Way cool video:



A little over 6 minutes. From professional film maker Mirko Faienza.

Weather, IPM, Soil, and More ...

Another one of my colleagues, Jonathan Rotz, the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Agronomy Educator, has installed a data gathering weather station over at the Horticulture Center Gardens.  He hopes to have the data available online, so that real-time local data will be available to farmers, growers, and us gardeners.  One benefit will be calculation of Growing Degree Days using precise local conditions for help in predicting pest emergence as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program.

The station also tracks soil temperature and moisture at 2 inches and 1 foot as well as leaf wetness.

So far, soil temperatures at the office are averaging about 51 degrees at 3 inches.  That means it's OK to sow cool season crops like arugula, fava beans, kale, lettuce, pac choi, parsnips, peas, radicchio, radish and spinach seed, which will germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40 degrees.  With a soil temperature above 50 degrees, Chinese cabbage, leeks, onions, Swiss chard, and turnips can be planted.

Still need to wait on beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, and the rest.  Here's a good article on when to direct sow vegetable seeds, or transplant those started indoors, based on soil temperature.

If you want to try to fool mother nature (always a risky venture) and artificially raise soil temperatures, you can build cold frames and hot beds, as described here.  Please use caution when using uncomposted manures.

Native Plant Tour Update

My colleague, George Hurd, the Franklin County Environmental Educator, sends the pictures below from last night’s Native Plant Tour at Spring Haven Nurseries. Lots of Hellebores, Trilliums, Bluebells (a white one – how cool is that?), and other woodland Spring ephemerals. Nursery owners, Dave and Dianne Cornman have added bog beds and pitcher plants to their inventory since the last time I was there. No worries if you couldn’t make it, or if the rain changed your mind about attending. Our next general meeting, April 27 will take place there.

 I was pretty good, spending less than $25.00, getting another trillium, twin leaf, and something new that caught my eye – Merrybells or Bellwort, aka Uvularia grandiflora.

Enjoy the pictures!

Turf Wars

The other day I watched with interest as a pair of bluebirds made an attempt to roust a pair of house sparrows from a bird house mounted on the side of our shed. I was conflicted in who I was backing.
The house sparrows have been living there since we installed it last summer. Yet I would love to have a pair of bluebirds to watch. The bluebirds ran the sparrows out and seized the house.
The sparrows went only a few feet to the lilac bush. Where they proceeded to voice their objections very loudly and without end. 

I suppose seeing the new nesting materials being installed outraged them enough where they got up sufficient gumption to take on the bluebirds.

At least the two males were actively going at it. Chasing each other away from the house. The battle ensued for several hours with each pair taking turns occupying the house for only a few minutes.

The females on the other hand seemed to sit back dumbfounded and patiently wait for some sign as to whether they were moving in or moving out.

Each of them taking turns possessing the perch on the house.

At last, the sparrows won. Perhaps possession really is nine tenths of the law. I was sad to see the bluebirds go. Now there's only one thing left for my husband to do.......build more bird houses!

A Symphony of Daffodils

April 24–25, The Chambersburg Garden Club and Tuscarora Daffodil Group will present the 74th Annual Standard Flower Show and the 38th PA State Daffodil Show. The Theme is “Symphony of Daffodils”.

Times for the Show: Saturday April 24, 2010 –1:30 to 7 pm, Sunday April 25, 2010 from 12 noon to 4 pm. Place: First Lutheran Church, 43 West Washington St., Chambersburg. Open to the public, free admission.

Franklin County Master Gardeners will have an educational display highlighting our public outreach efforts on pollinators.

Dr. Holly Scaggins, the Virginia Tech contingent from the Garden Professor's blog, recently posted some interesting facts about our favorite Narcissus, sharing her research into the reasons why daffodils are such bad neighbors when it comes to sharing space in a floral arrangement:

So is there really an effect and if so, what makes daffodil sap deleterious to the other flowers in the vase? The study “Effects of Daffodil Flowers on the Water Relations and Vase Life of Roses and Tulips” by W.G. van Doorn appeared in the Journal of Horticulture Science. Dr.van Doorn found the mucilage (sap) was indeed to blame, with just one daff shortening the vase life of both the tulips and roses by almost half. But what component?

He split out the alkaloid fraction and the sugar fraction of the sap, and then added them as individual components to the vase water. He drew different conclusions as to the cause: the research indicated that the effect in roses is mainly due to the sugar and polysaccharide fraction of the mucilage stimulating bacterial growth. This clogged the rose’s vascular system resulting in bent neck. You’ve seen this before – the bud, yet to open, flops over, never to recover.

These same sugars didn’t impact the tulips negatively but the alkaloids sure did. Even touching the sap to the tulip foliage produced a yellow spot. He was not able to distinguish which of the six alkaloids detected were responsible, but at least narrowed down the cause.

Oh, and the reason they are left alone by squirrels, deer, and such:

There is such a thing as “daffodil picker’s rash” which has been reported in the journal of Contact Dermatitis (Julian and Bowers, 1997). The authors attribute this rash to the “crystals of calcium oxalate in the sap, in conjunction with alkaloids, [which] act as an irritant, and also cause the characteristic sores.”  Said calcium oxalate crystals are found throughout the daffodil, in the bulb, stem, sap, flowers, etc. Micrographs show that these crystals are needle-sharp, and apparently very painful. This is why deer and bunnies will not eat your daffs.

I plan to be a little more careful when I pick them in the future.

Speaking of the Garden Professors - lookit who got a gold star for guessing last week's diagnosis problem correctly. 

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...or is it?

Although its name would lead you to believe otherwise, the Lenten Rose is not a rose, but a member of the genus Hellebore.  Helleborus  x hybridus  derives the name Lenten Rose from its flowers' resemblance to small roses, and the fact that its blooming season is very early, coinciding with the pre-Easter season of Lent.  If ever there was a plant that needed a new name, it would be hellebore. No part of that name sounds like something you would want. Sounds more like someone you would not want to invite to a cookout. Actually there are some 15 species of hellebores with ornamental appeal.

Hellebores were mentioned in medieval medical texts as a treatment for worms and as a purgative. Gerard, the author of a famous 1633 English herbal, notes that Hellebores were to be found in many a London garden. He also mentions two species found growing wild in English countryside. It is possible that these were introduced as early as the 4th century A.D. by members of the Roman legions, according to the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension.

 Hellebores.org states that if you were to go to your local nursery or garden center and pick up an unbloomed hellebore plant, chances are its color would range from shades of white to magenta, with various pinks and mauves (spotted or unspotted) being common.  Your plant would almost certainly be Helleborus x hybridus. There are endless combinations of spotting and veining, along with the possibility of doubles or semi-doubles. The flowers would have a range of  shapes and sizes, from round cup-shaped overlapping sepals to pointed star-shaped sepals. 

Garden Guides offers some good information on hellebores.  In late winter, new evergreen leaves emerge along with a flowering stem which produces several 2 1/2-inch flowers. The flowers are extraordinarily long-lasting, persisting for six to eight weeks. Flowers are in shades of white and pink, changing color during their long bloom, with white flowers turning more greenish, and pink flowers becoming a deep, rosy tan. A mature plant forms a clump about 24 to 30 inches wide, and nearly as tall, and can have well over 50 blooms in various shades of color. 

Lenten Rose like well-drained, fertile soil.  They will grow in full  shade,  but flower better with some sun. They are quite drought tolerant, requiring little extra watering once they are established. The foliage is evergreen, but when the new blooms emerge in late winter, it is best to tidy the plant by carefully trimming off the old, tattered leaves.  The leaves can cause a mild skin irritation, so gloves are recommended when handling this plant.

Both the flowers and leaves are poisonous, making the Lenten rose a good choice in gardens where deer grazing is a problem, since they will not bother it. The University of Illinois Extension Service recommends Lenten rose as both a specimen plant and as a ground cover planted in mass. It makes a good companion for other early-emerging perennials such as bleeding heart, trillium and ferns.

I have just recently become enthralled with Lenten Rose.  Once you discover hellebores (in addition to your favorite old gardening shoes and mulch), you will wonder how you ever gardened without this 2005 Perennial Plant of the Year...I know, I am a little slow.

Paper Clover Campaign

Help support 4-H at Tractor Supply Co.  – Today, the Tractor Supply Company (TSC) store in Chambersburg joined 4-H in support of local youth with the TSC Paper Clover Campaign, a national in-store fundraising effort to benefit state and local 4 H programming in each of the communities where a Tractor Supply Company store is located.

Beginning Friday, March 26, through Sunday, April 18, shoppers will have the opportunity to support 4-H by purchasing paper clovers for just $1 at checkout. All funds raised through this local TSC Paper Clover Campaign will be donated to 4-H, and will support local camps, after-school programs and other 4-H youth development program activities here in Franklin County.

“Many of our stores have been involved with 4-H clubs for years. Now, Tractor Supply Company is proud to have an official chain-wide relationship with 4-H,” said Tractor Supply Company Chairman and CEO Jim Wright. “For us, this is an outstanding way to support our current and future customers and future team members, and it’s a way to give back to the 900-plus unique communities we serve.”

Franklin County 4-H will be hosting a special promotion at the Chambersburg store on Saturday, April 10 from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Farmdening

The Summer Garden Experience is an annual event that takes place at Penn State’s Research Facility in Landisville, just a couple of hours away from here. Here are weekly results and commentary from the 2009 flower trial season.  This year (Saturday, July 31), the featured speaker will be Lee Reich, PhD who worked in agricultural research for Cornell University and the U. S. Department of Agriculture before moving on to writing and consulting. He grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables on his farmden (more than a garden, less than a farm), including many uncommon fruits such as pawpaw, hardy kiwifruit, shipova, and medlar. He is the author of several books, including A Northeast Gardener's Year, The Pruning Book, Weedless Gardening, Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden, and Landscaping with Fruit.


He did a guest blog post recently at the Garden Rant (profiled here) describing what he does, and differentiating it from the relatively new practice, “permaculture”. I thoroughly enjoyed his rant:

I wish I had a catchy name for the kind of farmdening I do. (A farmden is more than a garden, less than a farm; I used to have a garden, now I have a farmden.)

Despite the assertion of one young, “expert” permaculturalist, I am not a permaculturalist. (Perhaps in a futile attempt to strengthen his argument, he went on to say that all gardening/farmdening except commercial agriculture is “permaculture” and that, “as a teacher of permaculture,” he should know!)

Whippersnapper!  Go read the whole thing. I added Dr. Reich’s own blog, In Lee's Garden Now, to the list at the right.

The Summer Garden Experience is Cooperative Extension’s premier horticultural public relations event for the Southeast Region. Master Gardeners from the region, including us in Franklin County, are a major part of it, so mark your calendars, and plan to attend.

(Thanks to Laurie C. for the pictures)

Apple Scab Alert

Dr. Henry Ngugi and Dr. Noemi O. Halbrendt of the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville have sent out an alert for apple growers.  The first mature spores of the disease were detected on March 24, 2010. The numbers were high for March, being more typical of those observed by mid-April in most years. The findings indicate the growing season is 3 weeks early in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Copper spray applications no later than ¼ inch green tip are highly recommended to manage scab (dormant rate depending on the label). Warm temperatures early in the season will allow large numbers of ascospores to mature and be available for infection at the next wetting periods.

You can purchase a comprehensive guide Fruit Production for the Home Gardener from the office for only $12.00, or view the same information on-line here.  The section on Apple Scab can be found here.

Picture and diagram are from Cornell's Fact Sheet.

Native Plant Tour - Spring Haven

The Cumberland Woodland Owners Association (CWOA) is sponsoring a Native Plant Tour at Spring Haven Nursery in Newburg at 6:30 PM on Thursday, April 8th and invites all Master Gardeners.  Spring Haven Nurseries specializes in native woodland plants and shade perennials grown either in propagation beds or in the gardens located there. Nursery owners, Dave and Dianne Cornman, will lead the tour and explain how to protect native plant communities and how to practice responsible landscaping. The tour is open to the public. You do not have to be a member and there is no cost to attend.

If you recall, we visited there a few years ago.  It's where I purchased one of my favorite Spring Ephemerals, Twin Leaf, or Jeffersonia diphylla.  I saved some seed from last year's bloom (check out the strange seed pod below) and I'm using Karen's Winter Sown technique that I learned in January as a way to try and propagate it.  We'll see how successful I am in a few weeks.  The plant is featured in the Native Plant Garden at Rutgers Gardens.  It is increasingly rare.

Twinleaf is protected by state laws as a threatened or endangered plant in New York, and New Jersey. Named by John Bartram for his friend, Thomas Jefferson, this plant has beautiful and unusual foliage, with two oval leaves arranged opposite each other on a stem. Attractive white flowers appear in April. Woodland soils and shade.

Interesting thing I just learned:

Native Americans used the root as a tea for cramps, spasms, nervous excitability, diarrhea, a diuretic for kidney stones and urinary infections, and as a gargle for sore throats. Externally it was used as a wash for rheumatism, sores, ulcers, inflammation, and cancerous sores. The plant is probably toxic, so caution should be used if preparing it for modern day use!

More here.

First Garden Workday of 2010

Much thanks to all the folks who turned out for the first garden workday on Saturday. We had good representation from the new class, and thanks to Jane and Karen, learned proper pruning techniques. Sometimes, there’s a drawback to learning what you’re supposed to do, because after I went home, I saw all the things that I should have been doing all these years, and haven’t been. I keep falling back on the “Savage Garden” “Natural Look” explanation. Yeah. That’s the ticket. My story and I’m sticking to it.

We also got an introduction to our new Mantis Tiller and the old(er) Chipper/Shredder. Both are 4-cycle engines and use straight gasoline, no need to mix in oil with the fuel.

Enjoy the pictures.

Spring has Sprung!

Well Kathy, it's more than a glimmer now.  Here we are a mere week later and Spring has begun!  At last the snow has done it's retreat.  And in it's place have marched forth all of those lovely spring bulbs as well as a few perennials.  The robins are doing their mating rituals, mockingbirds are gathering nesting material, and the pond critters and fish have come out of their winter hideouts!

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year.

I am so eager to be done with the snow and cold.  Realizing there's no certainty of no more snow for a some weeks yet.  I'm filled with excitement about my flower beds and what cool creatures I might photograph this year.
My heart beats fast over the plant and seed catalogs.
And yet.....I know it's the beginning of 8-12 weeks of seriously hard work.  Waking up mornings feeling like I've contracted polio overnight from gardening the day before.  This year, Wii Fit has entered my life.  Maybe that part won't be so bad.  Or perhaps that's wishful thinking.  

Spring:  Time has a way of evaporating into thin air, causing me near angina, for fear of not getting to something in time.  Plants could care less what your schedule is.  They don't wait for you.

In addition.......all of those "over the winter" projects I had delusions of grandeur about, have now moved to the "git r done or forget it" pile.

We're talking mere hours left to wrap things up here people!

Especially challenging when you work full time.

I begin a season of laundry piling up, dishes left in the sink and dust buffalo rolling around the house .  Yes you heard me, dust buffalo.  They replace the bunnies when spring hits.

More angina.

I did say I love this time of year, didn't I?

Bring it on!

Signs of Spring

I worked out in the front walkway garden yesterday cleaning around the birch tree so we could see the crocus that are blooming. My husband thinks the rabbits will be much happier now that dinner is on display.  I was really dismayed at the broken branches on some of the shrubs. The viburnum carlesii has a large branch that was partially split. I read in George Weigel's blog that sometimes if you tie the branch together with an old nylon, the branch may bond. I did this once with a foxtail spruce and it worked. I'm going to give it a try since I have nothing to lose but a branch. Some of the boxwoods had mangled branches, but after trimming them they don't look so bad. I won't mention all the vole trails...that's another day.

No matter how severe the winter damage, the crocus bloom gives me hope.

Master Gardener Banquet

Don't forget to sign up for the Master Gardener Banquet scheduled for Saturday, March 20, 2010 at the Ag Heritage Building. We need confirmation of your attendance by the end of this week (Friday, March 12) to send a head count to the caterer. Tickets are $20.00 apiece.

Menu

Hors d'oeuvres
Tossed Salad
Roast Pork Loin with Stuffing
Chicken Marsala
Red Skin Potatoes with Parsley
Peas and Baby Carrots
Coffee, Tea, Iced Tea
Assorted Cakes and Pies

Contact Nicole at the office to sign up at 263-9226.

Forest Regeneration - Dr. James Finley

On Thursday, March 11th, at the Cumberland Woodland Owners’ Association meeting, Dr. James Finley, Penn State Professor of Forest Resources, will give a presentation on forest regeneration and reforestation in Pennsylvania. The meeting will start at 7:00PM at the Franklin County Extension Office which is located at 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg. The event is open to the general public and there is no cost to attend.

In Pennsylvania, forest regeneration, or regrowth, requires sufficient numbers of desirable tree seedlings to be available to replace today’s forest following harvest. Under many circumstances, regeneration is not easy. Competing plants, deer, and insufficient light on the forest floor can interfere with regeneration and, in the long run, may threaten forest sustainability. Recent U.S. Forest Service data from Pennsylvania’s statewide forest inventory (2004) document regeneration problems.

In forest stands where light conditions are adequate for regeneration development, less than 50 percent have adequate seedlings and saplings to regenerate the forest. This finding includes all tree species capable of growing into the forest canopy. When only commercially desirable species are considered, less than one-third of these forest stands have adequate regeneration to replace the existing forest. Sustainable forestry is defined as managing our forest resources to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The Cumberland Woodland Owners Association (CWOA) is an organization of forestland owners and others interested in forestry issues in south central Pennsylvania. The mission of the association is to provide information, education and an exchange of ideas to its members and others about the methods and benefits of proper forest management. For more information about the meeting or the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association, contact Fred Peabody at 717/776-3565 (email: fredp5@earthlink.net) or George Hurd at 717/263-9226 (email: grh5@psu.edu). Directions to the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office in Franklin County are available at:

http://franklin.extension.psu.edu/.

Addicted to Caffeine and Nicotine

Interesting recent study notices that Bees and people have something in common:

Bees prefer nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine over nectar that does not comprise these substances at all, a study from the University of Haifa reveals. "This could be an evolutionary development intended, as in humans, to make the bee addicted," states Prof. Ido Izhaki, one of the researchers who conducted the study.

It also turns out that caffeine is a pretty toxic substance. If it were labeled as a pesticide by EPA, it would fall into category 2, carrying a signal word "Warning" based on its LD 50.

If you want to learn more about pesticides, bees, toxicity, etc., come to the March 25 workshop, Can I Wash Dishes With Insecticidal Soap?

Garden Rant

I've added the women at the Garden Rant to the blog list on the right. A popular blog that's been around since 2006, the purveyors of Garden Rant have the following manifesto. They are ...

Convinced that gardening MATTERS
Bored with perfect magazine gardens.
In love with real, rambling, chaotic, dirty, bug-ridden gardens.
Suspicious of “the horticultural industry.”
Delighted by people with a passion for plants.
Appalled by chemical warfare in the garden.
Turned off by any activities that involve “landscaping” with “plant materials.”
Flabbergasted at the idea of a “no maintenance garden.”
Gardening our asses off.
Having a hell of a lot of fun.

One of the ranters is Amy Stewart, the author of "Wicked Plants", profiled here. They sure do seem to have a lot of fun, as well as provide a lot of good information.

March Workshops

Upcoming Public Workshops – This Saturday, March 6, 2010 at Elmer G.’s place – Hands-on Pruning. We have 23 registered and can take 7 more. Next Saturday, March 13, 2010 Pruning for Safety and Health of Trees, targeted for backyard woodlot owners. Lots of space still available for that one with 9 people registered out of a maximum class size of 30.



And finally, March 25, 2010, Can I Wash Dishes With Insecticidal Soap? – a general public introduction to integrated pest management techniques and pesticide safety for the home and garden. We have 13 signed up for that one, and can take 25.

March Lunch and Learn for Master Gardeners – Entomology 101 – March 17th 10:00-1:00. Very useful if you’re covering the hotline and are worried about giving advice to people bringing in bug samples. This class is intended to learn the basics of insect ID, with an emphasis on household pests, and the common ones we get in the office.

Contact the office (263-9226) if you want to sign up.

Strawberry Plant Sale

The Franklin County 4-H program is sponsoring a strawberry plant sale. For only $5.50, you get 25 strawberry plants. Strawberries are perennial, so you'll have several years of production from just one planting. Sign up (call 263-9226) for the Small Fruit in the Home Garden class coming up on Saturday, April 10 to learn the best ways to grow them, along with cane crops like raspberries and blackberries. Strawberries take well to container gardening and can also be used in an ornamental pyramid planting. Here are some fact sheets. Virginia Tech. University of Arkansas.

Here is the order form. Just print it out, fill in, and mail to the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office. Orders and payment (checks payable to 4-H Development Fund) are due by Monday, March 29.

Plants will be available for pickup on Tuesday, April 27, after 1:00 PM.

Flying is Hard!

A Public Service Announcement

Last week, Dr. Holly Scoggins, one of the Garden Professors, from Virginia Tech, our Land Grant University counterpart for the Commonwealth of Virginia, posted this sobering account of her state’s budget woes, and its effect on Cooperative Extension.

Cooperative Extension has been prone to budget cuts for quite a while now – for most states, the fat was long ago cut away, and further cuts are going straight to the bone.

This proposed budget would effectively close down Extension in (by far) the most heavily populated areas of Virginia – Northern Virginia, the Richmond area, and the Virginia Beach area.

Go read the whole thing. These kind of budget cuts are happening all over the US, so we need to be diligent in making sure that our legislators and commissioners are familiar with what we do and realize the value of Extension and the Master Gardener program, so that Pennsylvania remains supportive.

The annual Extension Capital Day is coming up on March 9. Both Donna B. and Cindy S. have volunteered to represent Franklin County Master Gardeners on a visit to Harrisburg, along with volunteers from 4H and the farming community. You can support their efforts by contacting your local representative and reinforcing with them, the many good works that our program does for the citizens of Pennsylvania. As Dr. Scoggins said, it's not just "Plows and Cows" anymore. Web sites with contact information are here:

Senator Richard Alloway
Representative Rob Kauffman
Representative Mark Keller
Representative Dan Moul
Representative Todd Rock

UPDATE: And Happy 100th Birthday, Extension!

UPDATE II:  May be off on the 100th year.  The Smith-Lever Act which established Cooperative Extension was signed in 1914.

Real Truck Farm

Angela W. sent this link. Enjoy!



Now that's fresh.

Moon Rue and Mary's Root

Linda S. and I met with Dr. Doris Goldman of Renfrew today, to discuss the plants we'll start from seeds for the historic vegetable gardens at Renfrew, as well as a smaller subset for John Brown’s House. Extras will be made available for the plant sale. We’ll have cabbages, cauliflowers, collards, brussel sprouts, kale, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. These are all varieties that were used in the 1800's in the kitchen gardens of the time. New for this year are two varieties of cotton and an artichoke, as well as medicinal herbs rue and black lovage. Alas, cardoon is not on the menu. Perhaps one of these zone 7 perennials that we planted last year, will overwinter and produce seeds.

Dr. Goldman will be the first speaker in a Spring Lecture series at Renfrew, talking about the Pennsylvania German Four Square Garden. The lecture is this Thursday, March 4 at 7:00 PM at Renfrew. Details for the whole series can be found at the link. We purchased a copy of her book, Moon Rue and Mary’s Root, and loaded it on the MG computer for your use. It will make great reading during down times when you're covering the hot line.

Update: Here's a beautiful slideshow of the garden at Renfrew. I'm looking forward to the updated, larger version coming this Spring.

Mailing List

The Franklin County Master Gardener mailing list is undergoing a mandatory periodic purging in order to comply with U.S. Postal Service regulations on newsletters and publications that use bulk mail. If you wish to continue to receive periodic mailings, please notify the extension office by email, or fill out the form enclosed in the last mailing, or call in the following information:

Name, Address, Phone Number, and County of Residence. Email address, if you want to be included on email notifications, is optional. Demographic data on gender and ethnicity is voluntarily requested for compliance with U.S. Department of Agriculture Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action regulations.

Penn State Cooperative Extension, Franklin County
181 Franklin Farm Lane
Chambersburg, PA 17202

717.263.9226 X234

Email: LBS112-at-psu.edu (replace the -at- with @)

Currently, our previous list with over 1000 names, is down to less than 100.

Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention

Master Gardeners in the region have been asked once again, to help out as volunteers at the annual Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable convention in Hershey February 2-4, 2010. Volunteers are needed at the publication booth, and to help as roaming survey takers throughout the convention. As a reward for covering a four hour shift, volunteers get a free pass to the convention for the day, and a lunch ticket for a meal there. In addition to your volunteer hours, attendance at any of the workshops counts as advanced training hours. There is also a trade show exhibit hall with suppliers showing off their products and services. Franklin County volunteers can contact Linda S. at the office at 263-9226 Ext. 234 to sign up for a time slot to help out. You can read more about the convention by clicking on the link above. From their website:

The Convention has been jointly sponsored by the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, the Maryland State Horticultural Society and the New Jersey State Horticultural Society for the past 32 years, making the 2010 Convention the 33rd meeting. The National Peach Council will meet at the Convention for their annual meeting as well. The Pennsylvania State University, University of Maryland and Rutgers University Cooperative Extensions all assist in organizing the three days of educational sessions. The Convention has become one of the premier grower meetings in the Northeast.

You’ll also have an opportunity to taste and provide consumer input to judge cider and the best value-added fruit and vegetable products from farm markets across the region. Details on the contests are also provided at the site.

Managing Deer Damage in the Landscape

George H., the Environmental Educator here at the Extension Office, alerts us to a free webinar sponsored by the University of Maryland. It is scheduled for January 14, 2010 - 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Space for this webinar is limited; please make your reservation at least two hours prior to the start of the webinar by calling Pam Thomas at 301-432-2767 x315 or by email - pthomas@umd.edu. You will receive instructions on signing in when you register.

This webinar will look realistically at lethal and non-lethal management options available to individuals and communities such as vegetation management, fencing, repellents and scare techniques, as well as population management using hunting. Many communities have worked together to educate citizens, stakeholders, and government officials to build consensus and develop strategies to manage overabundant deer populations using non-lethal techniques as well as managed hunts, sharpshooters, and more widespread use of legal hunting. After many decades of dealing with deer problems in Maryland this webinar will look at what works, what doesn't, and the types of strategies are needed to implement effective community deer management in a developing landscape.

The speakers for the webinar will be Jonathan Kays, Extension Natural Resources Specialist and George Timko, Deer Biologist with the MD DNR Wildlife Division. Much of the information covered is found in the extension publication, Managing Deer Damage in Maryland.

More from the IPM site at the University of Connecticut here and here.

By the way, George has also started a blog, Franklin County Environmental Education which I added to the sidebar.

Beginning BeeKeeping

The Franklin County Beekeepers Association (FCBA) is offering a beginners beekeeping course. The Thursday evening classroom sessions will be on March 4, 11, 18, & 25, 2010, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Franklin County Extension Office. There will also be a field day at a local apiary on Saturday, March 27. Cost for the short course is $35.00 per family or $30.00 for FCBA members and their families. Subjects that will be covered include an introduction to beekeeping, bee biology, beekeeping equipment; maintaining healthy bees, installing packages and apiary colony management. Registration is required and is limited to the first 50. You do not have to be a member to register. Registration includes a beekeeping manual, disposable gloves, refreshments and membership in the FCBA. For additional information, contact the Extension Office at 717/263-9226.

Garden Photography Workshop

This Saturday, January 9th – Garden Photography. We currently have 14 people registered and can take up to 30, so there’s room for more. This is a hands-on workshop to learn better use of your digital camera for close-up photos of flowers and insects. Laurie C. will discuss how to compose pictures, lighting, and naming techniques. Call the office at 263-9226 to register. Some examples of Laurie’s work can be seen elsewhere on the blog:

Shelob in the Lavender
Monarch Caterpillar
Bumblebee, Monarch, and Dragon Fly
Landisville Gardens (terrific hummingbird shot)
Swallowtail Caterpillar on Dill
Eyed Click Beetle

The Mulch Queen

Angela W. sends this link to a 2004 Mother Earth News article reprinting the work of Ruth Stout, the Mulch Queen. Here’s the introduction:

'Mulch Queen’ Ruth Stout claimed to have smashed saloons with Carry Nation in Prohibition-era Kansas and worked au natural in her roadside Connecticut garden, but her labor-saving, soil-improving, permanent garden mulching technique is what earned her lasting fame. Stout was born in 1884 and lived to be 96; by the1950s, she was writing lively gardening books, including How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back and Gardening Without Work. Both are out of print, but Stout's technique remains consistent with the "no-till" gardening methods soil experts recommend today (see Building Fertile Soil). We thought you might enjoy meeting Stout through this excerpt from Gardening Without Work, which was reprinted most recently by The Lyons Press. — Mother

Lasagna gardening is similar to the process described in the article. Here's a fact sheet from Oregon State University.

The Master Gardeners of Adams County, PA and Frederick, MD profiled Ruth Stout at their blog here.

UPDATE: 6/12/2010 - Recent research shows that sheet mulching and lasagna gardening are not good practices, I've recently learned, because they interfere in the water and air interaction with the soil.  (Here's a better way).  It turns out that Ruth Stout's methods were way ahead of her time.

Historic Vegetable Gardens (Part 2)

Other historical gardening books for further reading and research:

The Family Kitchen Gardener by Robert Buist, published in 1861.

The Kitchen Gardener's Instructor by Thomas Bridgeman, published in 1847. Here's an excerpt on my favorite big berry:

A celebrated writer observes, that " the common Tomato
made into a gravy, by stewing over the fire, and used as a
sauce for meat, has been known to quicken the action of the
liver and of the bowels, better than any medicine he ever
made use of." He states farther, that " when afflicted with
inaction of the bowels, headache, a bad taste of the mouth,
straitness of the chest, and a dull and painful heaviness of
the region of the liver, the whole of these symptoms are
removed by Tomato sauce, and the mind, in the course of
some few hours, is put in perfect tune."

And that was long before we heard anything about lycopene!
A New York Times article from 1993 discusses historical gardening and highlights Pennsylvania's Landis Valley Museum and its Heirloom Seed Project.

If you are interested in the vegetables and flowers grown by the Germans who settled in Pennyslvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster, Pa., offers seeds through its Heirloom Seed Project.

"One of our most interesting seeds is the Mosteller wild goose bean," said Nancy Pippart, the coordinator. "This bean has stayed with the Mosteller family for 125 years, and it was first found in the craw of a Canada goose by a woman who went to dress the bird."

The Wild Goose Bean is one of the beans we planted at John Brown's House, and saved for next year. They were donated by Plasterer's Florist and Greenhouses here in Chambersburg from their Landis Valley Heirloom Seed Project section. A PDF with seed descriptions is here.

Historic Vegetable Gardens (Part 1)

Linda S. took these pictures of the gardens at John Brown’s House in Chambersburg earlier this month (We promise to get some pictures of the garden in season next year.) In case you were unaware, the Master Gardeners of Franklin County worked with the folks at the Franklin County Historical Society-Kittochtinny, to establish a demonstration kitchen garden to go along with the restoration of the boarding house used in the mid 19th century. Its most famous roomer was, of course, John Brown, who planned and executed the raid at Harpers Ferry from these premises. You’ll have to take the guided tour at the house to learn about the “Bean Pole Incident” that we tried to portray with the supports you can see in the picture. If you go on certain Fridays, our leader, Linda S. will be your host guide, all gussied up in period costume, hoop dress and bonnet.

Those poles were cut from the woods behind my house, and lashed together by Donna B. using techniques described here and here. (I really like those 1863 hoop training tomato supports shown here in "The field and garden vegetables of America" book).

The garden was designed by our own Jill H. and planned with help from Renfrew Institute's staff biologist, Dr. Doris Armstrong Goldman, the recently published author of Moon Rue & Mary’s Root, Plants of the Pennsylvania Dutch Four-Square Garden. The comprehensive volume covers more than 400 plants—cultivated and wild—grown and used by Pennsylvania Germans (also called Pennsylvania Dutch) in their traditional “four square” gardens.

Entries include fruits, vegetables, cooking herbs, ornamentals, and plants used for medicines, soaps, perfumes and children’s toys from around 1800 through the Civil War era. More than 100 botanical illustrations highlight the text.

Each entry in the book includes the scientific, Pennsylvania Dutch and common English names for the plant, plus geographic origin, when the plant was first used, and how it was used by the Pennsylvania Dutch and others. Tips on traditional medicinal uses, recommended historical varieties and hints for cultivation are also included. The volume is published on a CD using PDF format.

Although the privy in the picture above is for display only, and non-functional (it houses some garden tools), the archaeological excavations of the outdoor privies at Renfrew show that many of the seed varieties covered in Dr. Goldman's book were grown there.

Some of the historical vegetable seeds used at Renfrew and John Brown’s – heirloom varieties that were grown at the time - include Cardoon, Salsify, Scarlet Runner Beans, Goose Beans, Spelt Beans, and German Red Limas, hot pepper Hinkelhatz (chicken heart), as well as the variegated leafed Fish Pepper. Tomato varieties included Amish Paste, Riesentraube Cherry, Purple Calabash, and Pittman’s Plum. There were multiple cabbage varieties, as well.

Master Gardeners worked with Dr. Goldman this past Spring, starting about 600 plants for both locations at Renfrew and John Brown’s House. The Four Square Garden at Renfrew is planted entirely by school children of Franklin County. In 2009, there were over 41 classes, representing over 900 children learning both history and horticulture.

In 2010, the Four Square Garden at Renfrew will be moved to an expanded area.

You can order Moon Rue and Mary’s Root by contacting Renfrew Institute at:

renfrewinst@innernet.net

It’s priced at $24.00 including shipping, or $21.20, if you go there to buy it.

I'm looking forward to continued collaborative efforts with Renfrew and the Historical Society in 2010.

Pollen Pics

Tom Butzler at the Gardening in the Keystone State Blog, points us to these incredibly beautiful close up pictures of pollen grains from the December issue of National Geographic. Wow!

In allowing plants to have sex at a distance, pollen, and ultimately flowers, led to explosive diversification, turning a brown planet green and then red, yellow, white, orange, and all the rest. Pollen diversified too. In the 300,000 pollen-bearing plant species on Earth, there are 300,000 different forms of pollen. The great variety in colors, shapes, and textures of the grains has evolved in accordance with each plant's biological particulars. Beetle-pollinated plants tend to have smooth, sticky pollen, the better to adhere to the lumbering beetles' backs. Plants pollinated by fast-moving bees or flies may have spiny pollen that lodges easily between the insects' hairs. Plants pollinated by bigger animals, such as bats, sometimes have bigger pollen, though not always—perhaps not even most of the time. In the details of pollen's variety, more remains to be explained than is understood.

Read the whole article here.

Extension Board Annual Meeting January 2010

The Penn State Cooperative Extension Board of Directors of Franklin County invites all Master Gardeners and the General Public to attend the 92nd Franklin County Cooperative Extension Association Annual Meeting.

This year’s speaker is Professor H. Louis Moore of the Agricultural Economics Department of Penn State University, whose topic is “The Need for Food by Emerging Countries and its impact on Franklin County Agriculture.”

The event will take place on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at Solomon’s Lutheran Church, 4856 Wayne Road, Chambersburg, PA, from 6:15 PM – 9:00 PM. Tickets are $12.50 for adults, and $6.00 for children aged 5-11. Tickets are available from the Extension Office at 263-9226, or any Extension Board member. Dinner is included.

Blogs at The College of Ag Sciences at PSU

The College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State provides a link page to blogs of interest throughout the state. Our blog is the most recent entry. Check out the others, including one from our own Jonathan Rotz – Franklin County Agronomy. I’ve added a permanent link to the side bar (click on the “Read our Blogs” item on the left of the page at the site.)

Here's another MG Blog from Clinton/Centre Counties, Gardening in the Keystone State.

And one from Dr. Chris Raines, an Associate Professor in the Department of Dairy and Animal Science, Meat is Neat.

Seed Catalogs

Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge Tomato from Baker Creek Seeds

Need to whet your appetite for the next growing season? Some 2010 garden seed catalogs are out already. Judging from my mailbox, Baker Creek, Pinetree Garden, and Totally Tomatoes win the early sweepstakes. Got any others?

The Three Minute Gardener

Check out the archived videos of Penn State's "Three Minute Gardener" series. These are short videos, about 3-4 minutes long covering various garden topics. The two soil test videos below were originally part of this series. Some examples:

Container Gardening
Rain Barrels
Lady Beetles
Forcing Bulbs

Many more at the site. I added a link in the sidebar.

Soil Test Videos

Penn State Professor of Horticulture, Rob Berghage, explains the process and benefits of a soil test.



Ever wondered how the lab processes your soil sample? Here's a behind the scenes look at soil analysis:

Forest Resources On-Line Seminars

The School of Forest Resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State has put on-line many of its recorded internet seminars, or webinars. They can be accessed here.

http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu/PAForestWeb/previousseminars.html#

Just click on the ‘view’ button at the site to watch the seminar, or, alternatively, download the power point presentation and read at your leisure. The site includes links to handouts that can be printed, or viewed on-line. Each of these seminars count as advanced training for MG credits.

Some of the topics that I’ll be watching over the coming months are:

1) Summer Tree ID made easy
2) Invasive Plants in Your Forest
3) Invasive Insects in Your Forest
4) Wildlife Habitat

I’ve added a permanent link in the sidebar: ‘Forest Resources - Webinars’

If you register at their site, you can subscribe to their on-line publication, Forest Leaves, their quarterly newsletter, and receive email announcements of upcoming Webinars.