the real dirt-2013-04r - parker county master gardeners · ♦ specialist training conclave texas...
TRANSCRIPT
President’s Letter
Spring is HERE! Plants are blooming and growing which puts me in the mood to plant,
plant, and plant. Good thing the Plant Sale is just around the corner on the 13th at 8am
for the public but 7:30 for all Master Gardeners. All our calendars should have the 13th
in bold and circled. Even if you can’t come on Saturday there are plenty of
opportunities to contribute to the success of the day – preparation days are on
Thursday and Friday from 8am to noon.
On another note, the Willow Park City Council declared March 27th Parker County
Master Gardeners Day. This shows us that our hard work is seen and appreciated by
the project’s beneficiaries.
There are many other opportunities for each of us to participate in the following
months:
♦ Native and Adapted Plant Presentation by Pat Posener at the Extension
Office April 4th at 6:30.
♦ Weatherford Blooms on April 27th, 9am-3pm –Signups at the next meeting.
♦ National Earth-Kind Specialist Training, Abilene on April 17-19
♦ Plant Propagation Ft Worth on April 26 -27
♦ Specialist Training Conclave Texas A&M Campus May 28th-31st (This includes
Vegetable Specialist, Earth-kind Landscape Specialist, and Pecan Specialist)
All specialist training courses are listed on the state master gardener website with the
details on cost and other specifics. Don’t forget that the PCMGA will help with tuition
costs for the courses.
Another exciting project just
beginning is a “Gardening Guide for Parker County”. This project is
being headed up by Jerry Parr and will be an ongoing project for some
time. There are plenty of opportunities for anyone wanting to help this
project in any way.
I know I have left out some activities but as you can see, there are
plenty to choose from, so get out and have some gardening fun!
Karen Lail
APRIL MEETING
April 9, 2013
Time: 12:15 – 3:00
Program: Yes, You Can Grow
Roses
Presented by Dr. Keith Roland
12:00 – 12:15
Social Time &
Refreshments
The presentation will
start at 12:15, to
accommodate his busy
schedule. So please be
on time
April 2013
Editors: Catherine Miller & Jerry Parr
In This Issue
Section Page Minutes 2 Treasurer’s Report 2 Projects 3 Committees and Study Groups (NEW!) 5 Member News 6 Rainfall (NEW!) 7 Monthly Tips 8 Photos from Chandor 9
Remember the deadline for newsletter
submissions is one week prior to the end of the
month.
Regards,
Catherine Miller, [email protected]
Jerry Parr, [email protected]
There is nothing pleasanter than spading when
the ground is soft and damp. --John Steinbeck
- 2 -
Minutes: March 12, 2013
Monthly General Membership Meeting
Program: Phil Craighead made a presentation on “Gardening for Birds and Wildlife.”
Announcements:
♦ Refreshment reminder sign up was passed around for volunteers.
♦ The 2013 Membership Directory was also passed around for corrections and additions.
Business Meeting
♦ Minutes for the prior month’s meeting were read and approved. Treasurer’s report was read and approved.
Projects Special Announcements:
♦ Aledo: Gay announced that after the Aledo work day, there will be a class on how to make compost tea. The class
will start at 11 a.m. Also, next Wednesday the 20th, we will be having a class on successful container gardening.
♦ Chandor: Docent training on the 25th from 1-3 p.m. Greenhouse dedication was great!
♦ Extension Beds: Everything looks good. Next Tuesday at 10 a.m., prep work for the plant sale will begin.
♦ Weatherford Public Library: Quilt bed is looking fine. Working on plant labels.
♦ Vietnam Memorial: “Helicopter and Bunnies” work day is Monday at 9 a.m.
♦ Willow Park: Work days are 3rd and 4th Thursday. On March 27th at 7 p.m. the City Manager will be recognizing
Master Gardeners. We will be working on the irrigation system next work day. Karen also added there is a new
project at the court house to add color and prettiness by end of April.
Communications:
♦ Garden Information Committee is a new committee to work on P.R. to the community. Any time you have any
information you would like to share, tell them at least two weeks ahead of time.
♦ Plant sale flyers will be given to be distributed.
♦ Dr. Roland will be speaking next month.
♦ Field trip was a success. Next trip will be June 6th and 7th to Texas A & M.
♦ External Communications: Jerry gave a presentation on other Master Gardener Association’s news materials…a 44-
page booklet. Would like for us to create something like this. Asking for volunteers.
♦ Speaker’s Bureau: Recently renamed “Public Education Committee.” Asking for volunteers.
♦ Directory: There will be one per member and please make any changes necessary before printing.
♦ Food Sign-ups: Thank you to those who brought food this month. And, please remember to sign up for next month.
♦ Timekeepers are looking for time sheets.
♦ Patti asked interns to stay after meeting for Intern Project meeting.
Ways and Means:
♦ Please remember to wear blue shirts for plant sale.
Meeting was adjourned and 1 hour EX and 1 hour of CE was
awarded.
Treasurer’s Report
February 2013
Beginning Balance $15,017.10
Income 1,616.90
Expense (551.83)
Balance $16,082.17
Joan Lipscomb, Treasurer
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Project News
Aledo — In April we will begin each workday at the
Aledo Community Center at 9 a.m. We will work on April
3, 10, and 17.
Since the construction is taking place for the new road,
the city hall will have little need for upkeep plus it might be
dangerous to work close to the activity.
On the 3rd we will work on the gardens and then take a
trip to Leila Collin's homestead on Old Weatherford
Road. She and Neil were instrumental in the beginning of
Parker County Master Gardeners. We built the rose
garden in his memory. Leila has moved to a smaller place
in Weatherford and wants to share some of her gardening
things she has collected through the years. I think a trip
over to her place and then lunch with her would be grand
fun.
On the 17th we will have our monthly horticulture lesson
for the residents of Parker County. It will be Care of
Roses. Neil's rose garden should be in full bloom. The
class will start at 10 a.m.
Our class on Successful Container Gardening was well
attended and a home schooled family won the pot with
the thriller, filler, and spiller plants. They took notes and
the children helped mix the materials for the container.
See you at Aledo in April.
Gay Larson and Ellen Woodward
Azle Central Park — A big thank you to everyone who
came to help on our March Workdays. The Park looks
great. Azle had a soaking rain last night and hopefully
more to come.
Our next workday will be on April 5th @ 9 AM. We will
be planting in the Gazebo and Entrance Gardens. We will
give a 30 minute Horticulture program on "Annuals Old
and New that love our Texas Summers".
Master Gardeners have such a busy month in April, but
isn't it fun, especially when you are able to garden and
share with other gardeners.
See you in the Garden.
Vera Beck & Gwen Williams
Chandor Gardens — Chandor work days in April will
be Tuesday the 2nd and 23rd with our NEW start time of
9:00 am. The Gardens are really starting to come alive
with color. Hope you can join us for our work days we
still have some trimming to do to get the Garden looking
even better.
The Memorial Gardens are really looking good, paper-
whites have been planted on the edges of the parking lot
and they look beautiful and the smell is breath taking. Stop
in and look at this new area, we will be adding some more
features shortly.
The dedication of the Greenhouse on March 6th was a
mix of happy and sad feelings. It had been a year since
Nancy Newby Brown passed away so unexpectedly. But
to know her generosity lives on with the Greenhouse
made it a happy occasion. Several of the Master Gardeners
and Heritage Society members attended along with Charlie
& Kay Brown; the Weatherford Democrat had a very nice
article with pictures in the paper. If you haven't seen the
Greenhouse stop in and check it out, I would be happy to
give you a tour.
Spring Fling at Chandor Gardens will be Saturday April
6th from 9-3 & Sunday April 7th from Noon-4. This is an
annual event that grows a little larger every year. Hope
you can make it out, we will have several vendors out in
the garden and in the mansion, from painters, jewelers,
metal workers, along with the PCMGA 'Ask a Master
Gardener' booth and a representative from the Texas
Forestry Service to answer questions. We even have a
few Master Gardeners that will be vendors, live music will
be performed, a face painter will be here on Sat. and a
food vendor both days. If you know anyone that would
like to be a vendor, have them call the Gardens at 817-
613-1700 for more information; it is free for vendors to
set up. Admission is $1.00 per person, so tell your friends
to come out and enjoy the Gardens.
We have had several Master Gardeners sign up and take
the Docent Training class and we are so grateful to all
that are willing to help give tours and help educate the
public about the history of the Gardens along with plant
information. I will have one more Class; if you are
interested it will be April 23rd from 1-3. Give me a call if
you would like to attend 817-613-1700.
Lee Ann
- 4 -
Project News (Continued)
Extension Office Demonstration Gardens — The
gardens look beautiful. On March 19th we had a great
turnout for the workday. A big thanks to all that helped.
We fertilized the roses and daylilies, put down compost,
and pulled a lot of weeds. We know the gardens will look
great for the plant sale.
The 2013 intern class project has been decided. They will
re-do the kitchen garden and do a keyhole garden. The
class is very excited and ready to work as soon as the
plant sale is over. This fresh look will be a welcome
addition to the Extension Gardens.
Our next workday is April 16th and we will start at
9:00AM. Come be a part of our home gardens and keep
them looking beautiful.
Pat Posener and Phil Craighead
National Vietnam War Museum Gardens (NVWM)
— In spite of the fickle weather we finally got to have 2
productive workdays at the museum gardens. On March
11th , we had several hardy gardeners and one grandchild
come out to work in the gardens. We weeded the lower
labyrinth, trimmed off the freeze damaged tips of the
boxwoods, weeded and cut back ornamental grasses in
another bed. We had some excitement with a helicopter
landing on the grounds and then finding a nest of baby
bunnies. Surely the baby bunnies were announcing the
arrival of spring! On the second workday the design for a
small island bed was laid out and planted with perennials.
This bed will feature red, white and blue as people walk
along the pathway from either direction. Purple Trailing
Lantana was planted in front of the visitors' center as a
beginning for that garden. Red Yucca was planted in the
bed near the upper labyrinth where the Gulf Muhly had
died.
In April we hope to get the new arbor installed at the
beginning of the lower labyrinth and plant Evergreen
Wisteria on each side of it. This will give the gardens a tall
focal point where people can walk under the arbor as they
begin their stroll through the garden.
We are so thankful for all of the master gardeners and
interns that volunteer to make these very public gardens
beautiful. If you haven't been to the gardens in a while,
come out and see the changes and join us for a fun
workday.
C Ya N the Gardens!
Linda Fewell and Iola Messinger
Weatherford Public Library Literary Gardens —
Workdays in April will be Monday April 1st and Monday
April 15th. We will continue to begin at 10 am. April
should find a whole lot of color showing up in the beds,
from irises to roses to other perennials. The fall asters in
the Quilt Bed that sustained a lot of trampling while
installing the new edging are showing just how hardy they
are by coming up nicely.
The plan for our part of the Kick Off for the Library’s
Summer Reading Program in June is to allow the kids to
plant watermelon and pumpkin seeds in the children’s bed.
We planted pumpkin seeds once before and got several
great pumpkins that sat at the checkout desk for a very
long time.
Patti Lankford
Junior Master Gardeners — The JMG joined with 5th
grade at Ikard Elementary School to learn about soil and
plant classification March 25th. 68 students from 3 classes
learned about soil texture and the properties of soil
particles. Students were able to classify leaves and seeds as
monocots or dicots. I want to thank Deborah, Darlene,
Linda, Coby, Liz and Dorothea for making this a successful
day.
Thresea Tabor
- 5 -
Committees and Study Groups
Gardening Information Committee
By La Donna Stockstill
This committee has been very busy drafting articles for
publication in the local newspapers. The Weatherford
Democrat has decided they want to publish an Ask a
Master Gardener column every Sunday with one feature
article each month. The first Ask a Master Gardener
column appeared on March 24. The committee has sent
articles to the Weatherford Telegram, but with no
response yet. Thanks to Homer Babbitt, Patti Lankford
and Jerry Parr for writing the first few articles and Carol
Welch for proofreading and editing. We will be adding
other local media to our list as we continue to show
Parker County residents what Master Gardeners have to
offer to aid them with their gardening questions.
Landscape Design Study Group
By Nita Whiteside
This group met twice this month on March 4 at Debbie
Collier’s and March 25 at Anita Falasco’s. Debbie has a
well-established landscape and needed some help on a
west facing wall as well as ideas for how to hide her septic
system. Anita has a new and large landscape and needed
advice on how to control an erosion issue in her front
yard as well as increasing her living space in her back yard.
Jerry Parr and Debbie Collier researched the topics of
stewardship and sustainability and led discussions on these
topics.
Courthouse Redesign
By Patti Lankford
Judge Mark Riley has asked the Master Gardeners to assist
the county in developing a better landscape plan for the
courthouse. The goals are to have more color, especially
during certain times such as Weatherford Blooms, the
Peach Festival and Fourth of July. While a number of long
term design ideas are in the works, a quick short-term
solution had to be found to improve the courthouse for
some special events occurring in April. These events are a
children’s art/photo contest in early April and tours of the
courthouse at the end of the month. To address this
short-term issue, we advised them to plant red geraniums,
so last week over 100 geraniums were planted. The
county wants to install drip irrigation in the beds and turf
grass (after April) and we are recommending the pecan
trees be pruned a bit to improve appearance and let in
more light. Courtney Blevins from the Texas Forest
Service came over and advised us on which limbs to prune,
but recommended we not do both the subsurface drip
irrigation and the pruning in the same year to avoid
stressing the trees. We hope once this April event has
passed we can begin work on the long term plan with less
reliance on annuals.
Public Education Committee
By Jerry Parr
The newly formed Public Education committee met on
April 28 to discuss the role of the committee, to plan
events for 2013 and to begin discussing events for 2014.
For 2013, the following events are planned:
♦ April 4 Native and Adapted Plants
♦ May 11 Drip Irrigation and Rainwater
Harvesting
♦ June Firewise
♦ Fall Propagation
Planning for the April event is well underway; look for
more details about the other events later this year.
Garden Guide to Parker County
By Jerry Parr
The group who volunteered to work on this new
publication also met on April 28. We envision a 24 page
booklet with many photos. The booklet has been outlined
and writing assignments made. The guide will have the
following sections:
♦ Introduction to Gardening in Parker County
♦ Plant Selection
♦ How to Make your Plants Thrive
♦ Why Plants Die
♦ Undesirable Plants
The guide is to be written for the typical homeowner, not
a gardener, and will stress water conservation.
- 6 -
Association and Member News
March Field Trip
We visited the Green at College Park at UTA and Whiz Q
Stone for our March field trip. The Green at College Park
is an extraordinary example of conservation and control of
water runoff from the UTA campus. They have a huge dry
river bed with numerous rain beds which has cut down
the amount of runoff that reaches Johnson Creek, an often
flooded waterway. They have planted native and adapted
plants such as vitex, mountain laurel, sumac, cedar elms,
wax myrtle, Knock Out roses, ornamental grasses and
many others. They have buffalo and zoysia for lawn
grasses and have used recycled materials in walk ways.
Whiz Q Stone is a very large and well stocked exterior
landscape material source. They have large examples of
the types of exterior installations they specialize in. FREE
Weekend Seminars taught by Whiz-Q Professional
Contractors are starting in April. For schedules and times
log on to www.Whiz-Q.com.
Email Changes
Joe McAdams, [email protected]
Please send all address, phone and email changes to Karen
Floyd at [email protected]
Intern Class
The Interns have determined that their Intern Project will
be to build a Keyhole Garden in the existing Kitchen Bed
at the Extension Office. Jan Rodgers has been to
Granbury for an instructional session and she and Joy
Williams went to Abilene to Big Country Master
Gardeners for their seminar for this type of bed. It is a
very efficient way to grow vegetables in a compact space.
If you are not familiar with this type of planting bed, it will
be a raised bed of approximately 6’ in diameter with a 2’
diameter central compost core. They are busy gathering
supplies to prepare for installation. The name “Keyhole”
results from the profile of a notch in the exterior wall of
the bed which allows close access to the compost column.
It should result in a great teaching tool for the public.
April Birthdays 4/12 Missy Crouse
4/21 Rebecca Jones
4/22 Donna Winbourn
4/22 Nita Whiteside
4/23 Lynda Lentz
4/28 Linda Lawson
4/30 Mary Mathieson
Iris Hill
Don't forget about the open house at Happy &
Gorden Carvers home on Friday April 12th 9-6. I
can hardly wait to see all of the Iris in bloom, I
know it's going to be beautiful. We are very
lucky to be getting the opportunity to check out
Iris Hill before the Iris Convention begins.
If you signed up to take cookies Happy said it
would be great if you bring them on Friday and
she can freeze them until the tours. Thanks to all
that signed up to help with the cookies and if you
didn't get a chance to sign up feel free to take
some with you when you go to look on the
12th. The address for Iris Hill is 448 Azle Hwy.
(FM 730) if you need directions please give me a
call 817-991-8860.
Thanks to Members who brought refreshments to the March Meeting
Grenetta Bledsoe Janna Betsill Charlsie Colvin Dorothy Babbitt Pat Posener Joan Lipscomb
Karen Lail And be sure and thank the members who will be bringing refreshments to the April meeting
Diane Fraser Jacque Brock Taresa Kelly Joy Williams
Marilyn Springer Sunshine Lockley
- 7 -
Rainfall
By Cat & Jerry
The National Weather Service has rainfall data for Weatherford (32º 45' N 97º 46' W) going back to 1883 at:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=ntexclima. We are going to use that data to provide a monthly update (monthly data as well
as cumulative) to show how we are doing on rainfall for the year versus the average of the last 123 years. The first of these
graphs are below. We are also providing the data for 2012. Our total for 2012 was 28.5 inches, a little below our average of
32.3.
Note: December data missing; used data from Mineral Wells.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2013 3.8 1.6
Average 1.8 2.1 2.4 3.4 4.7 3.3 2.2 2.2 2.9 3.2 2.1 2.0
00.51
1.52
2.53
3.54
4.55
2013 Rainfall vs Average
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2012 6.27 2.38 4.54 1.5 1.16 3.26 1.8 3.78 2.37 0.4 0.03 1.00
Average 1.8 2.1 2.4 3.4 4.7 3.3 2.2 2.2 2.9 3.2 2.1 2.0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2012 Rainfall vs Average
Cumulative Rainfall:
January - February
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
2013 Average
- 8 -
Monthly Garden Tips: April
Remove spent flowers and trim back excessive growth on
annuals in order to rejuvenate them and extend their life.
Tropical annuals can be planted late this month including
allamandas, bananas, bougainvilleas, firebush, Mexican
heather, purple fountain grass, tropical hibiscus and others.
Now is good time to plant summer and fall-flowering
perennials. Check the appropriate chapter of the
handbook for recommended varieties.
Seeds of amaranth, cosmos, marigold, portulaca, zinnia and
other warm-season annuals can be sown directly in beds
where they are to grow. Keep areas moist until seeds
germinate. Thin plants as soon as they are large enough to
transplant. Surplus plants can be transplanted to other
areas.
Herbs can be planted in beds or containers this month.
They make great additions to garden.
Check houseplants to see if they need to be repotted into
next larger size pot with fresh soil. Trim and prune
overgrown or leggy houseplants to encourage them to fill
out.
Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines soon after
flowering. Keep natural shape of plant in mind when you
prune and avoid excessive cutting except when necessary
to control size. This will maintain good form and will
encourage vigorous regrowth.
Prune climbing roses to remove weak branches entirely
and cut vigorous canes back by 30-40%.
“Pinch” back new shoots of chrysanthemums, coleus,
copper plants and fall asters with your fingers. By removing
the growing shoots, you will encourage side branches so
they will not become so tall and lanky.
If you have been applying compost and mulch to plant beds
regularly, evergreens, shrubs, shade trees, vines, will need
very little, if any, extra fertilizer. Have soil tested and add
only recommended fertilizer. At least ½ required nitrogen
should be in slow-release form. Watch for iron-chlorosis
(yellowed leaves with dark green veins).
Container plants need to be fertilized with diluted
complete-and-balanced, (equal parts of NPK (Nitrogen,
Phosphorous, and Potash (Potassium) such as 15-15-15)
water-soluble fertilizer.
Continue to check rose varieties susceptible to black spot.
Black spot causes black-brown spots encircled by bright
yellow tissues. Many Earth-Kind roses have considerable
resistance to black spot. Thrips cause buds to turn brown
and fail to open properly.
It will soon be time for bagworms to attack junipers and
other narrow-leafed evergreens.
Treat canna leafrollers on cannas before they become a
problem.
Continue to remove weeds in flower garden. Early
competition with small plants can delay flowering. Mulch
will discourage weed growth and make those that do
come through easier to pull.
TURFGRASS
St. Augustine and bermudagrass can be planted from mid
April-early June. Until lawn is well established, keep new
grasses moist; do not let them dry out. Water lightly once
or twice daily for first 2 or 3 weeks. Gradually water more
deeply but less often.
FRUIT TREES
Continue fruit spray programs according to schedule from
Extension Office or in the Insect and Disease Chapter of
this book.
VEGETABLES
Eliminate loopers and other chewing pests on cole crops,
other vegetables and landscape plants.
WATER
Depending on the amount of rainfall you have received,
check and water as needed.