ECHO Jul-Aug 2004 - (Collin County) Master Gardener Association

ECHO
Extension’s Community Horticultural Outreach
Hello Friends,
It’s time once again to conduct another Collin County
Master Gardener Training. This year’s training will
be held in the Whitehurst classrooms at TAMU-
Dallas. You’re invited to attend the class sessions for
continuing education credit hours and an all-around
fun time. The morning session of the first day of
class, and the entire last day of class will not count
towards continuing education credits. A class schedule is included in this
newsletter for your reference.
As usual, we’ve got a fantastic group of Interns that will make you proud.
Come to my place and meet these folks and eat some bar-b-que on Tuesday,
August 17 th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Piper and I live at 3203 Weeping Willow
Court in McKinney. Bring your spouse, and RSVP to Sheila (972/548-4232)
if you will be attending.
JULY-AUGUST 2004
Educational programs of Texas
Cooperative Extension are open to
all individuals without regard to
race, color, sex, disability, religion,
age or national origin. The Texas
A&M University System, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and the
County Commissioners Courts of
Texas cooperating.
Keep on keeping on,
Landry Lockett, CEA-Horticulture, Texas Cooperative Extension
Cook Book Project
By Karen Lai
I’M BA-A-CK!!!
Just when you thought you had heard the last from me! As the project is
nearing its final days of completion, I want to thank you all.
Thank you for your recipe contributions, support, ideas, humor, encouragement, helping out a little here
and there, in one way or another, etc. etc.! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, sharing your family
recipes, and most importantly, sharing your time. Without your input and participation, there would be
no cookbook. I have had great pleasure in pulling this project together, with the great help of Lonna
Jochetz, Diane Sharp, Nancy Furth and many others.
Because of the nature of my job, I cannot always attend every meeting or function, nor can I participate
in many front-end projects. However, working behind the scene is how I can contribute best to
(Continued on page 3)
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Fall 2004 Collin County Master Gardener
Training Schedule
Below is the schedule of Master Gardener Training classes for the fall. Classes will be held at TAMU—
Dallas. Remember that session attendance counts for continuing education hours.
DATE TOPIC SPEAKER
August 24 A.M. History of Extension Lamont Cunningham
P.M. History of Gardening Bill King
31 A.M. Horticulture Basics Landry Lockett
P.M. Environmental Horticulture Dr. Doug Welsh
September
October
7 A.M. Horticulture Basics Landry Lockett
Composting
Master Gardeners
P.M. Soils Lynn Rawe
14 A.M Vegetable Gardening Jerry Holmes
P.M.
21 A.M. TO BE ANNOUNCED
P.M.
TO BE ANNOUNCED
28 A.M. Plant Propagation Dotty Woodson
P.M. Tx. Smartscape Dotty Woodson
5 Plant Pathology Dr. Kevin Org
12 A.M. Woody Plants Landry Lockett
P.M. IPM for Homeowners Janet Hurley
19 Entomology Kim Engler
26 Turf Maintenance Dr. Jim McAfee
November
2 EARTHKIND Roses, Dr. Steve George
Texas SuperStars & Landscape Design
Gardening w/Annuals
Dr. Cynthia
and Perennials
McKenney
16 Course Review and Game plan Lockett and MG’s
for the future
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From this
To this!
A Trick for the Gardener’s Toolbag
By Nancy Furth
My husband is the recycle king around our house. He
finds a use for almost everything I want to throw away!
This season he hit on a great way to recycle those old
Christmas lights that don’t work but keep reappearing
year after year.
He separated the multi-strands of flexible plastic-coated
wire and cut them into usable lengths for me to use as ties and supports in the garden. It is very
strong, yet flexible enough not to harm the fragile stems of most plants. It ties firmly, and the green
color blends in with the plants. It sure beats spending money for all the plastic tape and velcro rolls I
had been buying! Hmmm . . . how many more plants can I buy
(Continued from page 1)
CCMGA, and this Cookbook project has given me the opportunity to share my
knowledge and commitment to volunteerism.
Diane and Lonna have represented the committee well at our general meetings,
holding up funny signs, wearing silly aprons, coaxing you all to contribute recipes,
or to buy advertisements. Thanks for enduring all the endless e-minder requests
and special reminders for you all to submit this and that. We did not want anyone to miss out on being a
part of this project. It has all come together very nicely.
Our first Cookbook will be special, because we are sharing the best of us, unconditionally. The Cookbook
will be ready to go to Press the first week of August! It will be a wonderful book, that I am proud to
be part of, and hopefully you all will be too. We should have the finished product around the first week
of October 2004.
As Landry always says to us - “you guys are the best”. Believe him, because it is true. We are the best
of the best!!! Hence, we have chosen the book title: SHARING OUR BEST, Recipes From The Master
Gardeners of Collin County.
For those who cook and cook well, we have not let you down. Even for those of you who do not cook
very much, or have no interest in cooking, this book, in my opinion, exceeds a lot of expectations. The
cookbook features an easy to read layout of 450 recipes. The contents go beyond recipes! It has a
laminated hard cover, with well-chosen appropriate artwork. Personally, what I also like about the book
is that it is in a 3-ring binder, which means I can continue to add favorite recipes as time goes by. Not a
great big bulky binder, but an elegant 8½ x 5½, with eight matching artsy category dividers. Plans are
underway to have additional blank pages printed, matching the paper weight to that of the cookbook; 3-
hole punched for convenience! Get this--it even comes with an
EZ-el Bookstand made of thick durable plastic that securely holds your cookbook open and upright
for easy viewing while you cook, and can be conveniently stored inside your cookbook when not in use.
What more can I say, except that this Cookbook is a keeper, and definitely a gift we can give with pride.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share and make it happen.
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Susan Owens, Nancy Furth, Judy Toole, Mary
Nell Jackson, Don Tillerson, Linda Hornbaker,
Larry Everett, Diane Sharp, Lonna Jochetz and
Diane Poston
By Nancy Furth
The entire Collin County Master Gardeners Association has spread its wings this year, expanding our
services in many areas and exploring new territory. As coordinator of our Speakers Bureau, I am thrilled
to be able to announce the completion of over a dozen new PowerPoint presentations available to all
our members who would like to share horticulture information with the public. Our bureau team members
not listed above include two dedicated members of the production staff, Katherine Ponder and
Becky Alexander who have worked hard to enhance the presentations with researched information and
graphics. In addition, Mary Lou Cole, who joined our association this spring, has already given volunteer
time by co-producing and presenting a special talk on Gardening for Wildlife.
The goal we set at the beginning of the year was to have ready-to-go presentation boxes available containing
CDs, program outlines with printed slides, speakers notes and handouts. The bulk of this work
has now been completed and the remainder will be finished by September 1. The programs available
run the gamut from basic topics such as raised bed gardening techniques, Texas Superstar plants,
steps to successful home landscaping, and go all the way to specialty talks on ornamental grasses, butterfly
gardening and vermi-composting 101.
The bureau and our organization are also very fortunate to have founding members Mary Nell Jackson
and Edith Hiett who have been sharing the wealth of their knowledge through their own personal programs
representing the Collin County Master Gardeners. Their experience is golden! Our speakers
bureau should be ready to fill the diverse needs of community groups throughout our community, and
we will continue to try to fit the right presentation format and speaker with the right group. It will always
be advantageous to have presentations in a variety of formats to reach as many audiences as possible.
Our primary goal is to make sure that we provide accurate, up-to-date, Extension-supported horticulture
information.
Our speakers bureau committee has taken the last month or so and worked hard to identify all the parts
that have to come together to make a speakers bureau run efficiently. After numerous reviews, we have
adopted official guidelines so that all of our members and new interns will know the procedures and feel
comfortable when representing Collin County Master Gardeners through the speakers bureau. Copies
of these guidelines are available upon request.
The next exciting step in our development will occur on Thursday August 19th from 9 a.m. until noon,
when another new member to Collin County Master Gardeners’ Speakers Bureau, Pat Marquardt, will
lead a Presentation Skills workshop. Several of us will assist Pat with this workshop and are pleased
that she has offered to share her training skills will us. If speaking in public makes your heart race, your
voice shake and your knees weak, don’t miss this opportunity to learn the ‘tricks of the trade’ in a friendly
stress-free environment. I know I am excited to hone these skills so that I can share my passion for gardening
with as many people as possible. Please call me if you have any questions. You do not have to
participate in the Speakers Bureau to attend. . .everyone is welcome! It will be held in the Whitehurst
Education Building at the Dallas Extension and Research facility on Coit Road.
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Plant Propagation Workshop Review
By Janice Miller
Photos by Diane Poston
Christmas in July That’s what it felt like after attending the Plant Propagation
Workshop. All the attendees went home with a self-watering propagator,
a leaf cutting propagator and many new plant cuttings. In addition to the
plant cuttings, we gained knowledge on many aspects of plant reproduction.
Workshop leader, Beth DiGioia discussed both sexual plant reproduction
from seed and asexual reproduction (vegetative propagation).
Beth began the sexual reproduction discussion with the plants life cycle then
briefly discussed the parts of a seed, monocots and dicots and the germination
process. She also talked about seed dormancy, and then discussed how
to best sow seed and collect seed.
Mary Nell Jackson and Sandi Seiser
CEMAP Gardening Update By Mary Means
The vegetative propagation portion of the workshop included discussions on cuttings,
layering, division, budding and grafting, and tissue culture. Beth also discussed
stock plants, and detailed the various types of cuttings such as internodal,
nodal, wounding, and heel cutting. She completed the topic by discussing the
environment needed for successful propagation.
Informative handouts were provided on how to build plant propagation shelves,
share Perennials, start seeds, take rose cuttings, and propagate foliage and flowering
plants. The Perennials to share article detailed the steps for dividing all types
of perennials including those that clump, sucker, layer, rizome and seed. Another
handout, Timely Tips on Starting Seedlings at Home by E.E. Janne and Dr. R.E.
Judy Toole and Sara Garretson Roberts, provided many tips. This article included a recipe for making a soilless
mix for starting seed, and other information pertinent to seedlings such as watering, fertilization, transplanting and
even a problem solving checklist. The handout, by Dr. William C. Welch on Rose Propagation from Cuttings,
provided rose lovers everything they need to know to start new rose plants. The Propagating Foliage and Flowering
Plants article detailed which types of plants can be propagated from leaf cuttings, vein cuttings, root and stem
section cuttings and those that root in water.
The last portion of the class time was spent in putting together different types of plant propagators. We each made
a self-watering propagator in which to start plant cuttings. Plants cuttings were selected from the vast number that
class attendees had graciously brought. Beth then led everyone through the process of “sticking” the cuttings into
the propagators. When we finished, we each had a pot full of new plants! We also had time to take some leaf cuttings
and start those new plants in a leaf cutting propagator. I loved having the opportunity to try some of the
propagation methods that Beth had discussed. The hands-on time gave us the opportunity to ask questions and be
saved from making mistakes.
Thanks to Beth DiGioia and everyone else who helped make the workshop a success. I love all of my new plants
and now I can share all of my favorite plants with friends!
Thanks to all the folks who have come out to sessions in the CEMAP Gardens. The pathways are clean
and the beds are tidy and filled with colorful flowers. I asked Dr. MacKay about upcoming needs and he
sent me the following reply: "I would expect that we won't have much weeding to do in August so the
next time that we would need some help will probably be in September. Normally we will be cleaning up
some of the beds and getting ready for the fall plantings in late September-early October. Then we will
be planting the fall trial material in October-early November if all works out. Thanks again for all of your
help!" As far as that no weeding in August Hummm.... we'll see. Thanks everybody for your help, your
interest, and your comments.
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This and That
Hungry for BBQ Don’t forget to reserve your place at Landry’s on August 17 th . He is hosting
a get-to-know, come-and-go for the new interns. Please bring your spouse and kids. RSVP to
Sheila no later than August 11th at 972 548-4232. The Landry’s are at 3203 Weeping Willow
Court, McKinney. Yee-haw!
August 24 Luncheon- Plan to attend the Kick-off luncheon to welcome the new class of Master Gardener
Interns. To be held at TAMU—Dallas.
Next Meeting will be August 26th at the Heard Museum. Please email Judy Toole at
Castor13@aol.com to sign up for refreshments.
Special Delivery to the Ponder Family!
Elizabeth Marie Ponder was born to Katherine Ponder on July 25 at 11:25 am and
weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz. and was 21 1/2" long. Big brother John is excited to have his
new sister and Mommy and Daddy all home with him.
Native Plant Garden Update By Scherle Barth
The garden has had some weeds and seedling trees but all have been removed. Most of the plants
look quite good but the appearance will be better next year. Two original red buds have reluctantly died
and need to be removed. The staff at the center should do that.
Texas Discovery Gardens Events and Volunteer Needs
(Although a worthy volunteer activity, this does not qualify for MG volunteer hours)
During the State Fair, Texas Discovery Gardens’ Conservatory becomes awash in brilliant color as thousands of exotic
butterflies feed, flutter and fly through the lush, tropical foliage. As a Texas Discovery Gardens Docent, you will be
sharing this fascinating world of butterflies and enjoying the excitement and wonder on the faces of the children and
adults alike. Docents will learn all about interesting butterfly behavior such as nectaring, roosting and the different
flight patterns exhibited by different species. You will become familiar with a wide variety of nectar and host plants,
both native and tropical. This is also the time of the annual migration of the Monarchs going south to Mexico and Texas
Discovery Gardens is right on their flight path. Butterflies will be everywhere feeding, mating, and laying eggs all over
the plants in our beautiful display gardens.
After extensive Butterfly and Plant Training you will be asked to volunteer a minimum of 3 four hour shifts.
General Orientation and Butterfly training is on Saturday, August 28 from 9:00 – 4:00. Plant Training is on Tuesday,
August 31, choose either 10:00 – 12:00 or 6:00 – 8:00.
If you would like to be a part of this exciting volunteer opportunity please contact:
Melissa Martin, Volunteer Coordinator
Texas Discovery Gardens
214-428-7476, ext. 25
mmartin@texasdiscoverygardens.org
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July 2004 N. Furth
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Bulbs for North Texas Landscapes
Presented by Collin County Master Gardeners Association
August 14, 2004 10 AM – 12 PM
Spring Creek Campus, Collin County Community College
Every autumn dedicated North Texas gardeners purchase spring flowering bulbs
and place them in their refrigerator to trick the bulbs into thinking they are back
in the North where they originated. This technique works surprisingly well, and
these gardeners are often rewarded with a glorious spring display. Unfortunately,
these imported beauties often refuse to bloom the following year; they
dwindle away or simply rot in our black gumbo.
Take heart! There are bulbs that North Texans can plant that will beautifully bloom and re-bloom (and
even increase in beauty) year after year. The trick is in finding the varieties that are suited to our climate
and soil.
Diane Poston of the Collin County Master Gardeners Association has the facts about the bulbs that are
suited to our climate, where to plant them and how to maintain them in your home garden.
A selection of the recommended bulbs will be available for order at the meeting.
Space is limited, call (972) 424-1460 ext. 4232 to reserve your place now! Continuing Education hours
will be given for CCMG’s.
CCMGA
Texas Cooperative Extension Office
825 N. MacDonald Street
Suite 150
McKinney, TX
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