1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

Plant SalePlant SaleGray skies, a chance of rain and temperatures south of

normal for May 4th in Mid-Missouri could not dampen the enthusiasm of Lake Area Master Gardeners as they began setting up for the annual Plant Sale. Table after

table were arranged in the parking lot of Prewitt’s Point Shopping Center. Each table soon sported a bright fuchsia plastic cover and an assortment of plants that included succulents, natives, vegetables, annuals and perennials. The creative talents of our members were

May 2019

Continued on page 2

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

also on display. Bird houses, planters, yard art and stepping stones are some of the examples of their handiwork.

As the day progressed the temperature rose, the skies cleared and the crowd increased. Mary Hardesty has reported that we surpassed last year’s Plant Sale day total. Items that were not purchased at the sale will be available at our Garden Walk on June 1st. With a little luck that day we should experience record total sales.Let’s see all LAMG’s smiling faces at the Garden Walk.

Previous page: Jan and Dan Mitzel brought their vintage station wagon and trailer.

Bellow: Carolyn Rugloski, Deb Finn, Ted Ferguson, Bev Dungan, Lori Eisenhardt, Nancy Hall, Susan Osgood, Linda Shumway, Becky Witt, Cathy Thompson, Mary Hardesty, Glenda Hinrichs, Jan Mitzel, Donna Webb, John Webb, Debbie Larkin and Kathy Fayant braved the morning chill.

2

I’ve been experimenting with my Hydroponic

to Soil to Table (HST} gardening approach for

a few years; my interest was captured promptly

when my son gave me a 3-pod hydroponic garden

on Christmas Day. Now, my AeroGarden collection

totals nine with various 3, 6, 7 and 9-pod AeroGarden

designs all lined up on garage shelving …humming,

gurgling with bright lights glowing the new seeds

starting sprouting up quickly [Photo 1].

It’s easy doing HST veggie gardening and quite

exciting to observe seedlings grow (up to 5 x faster)

in the hydroponic gardens!

Once the seedlings rooted, I prepared the appropriate

soil for each plant container and transplanted each

into correctly sized pots allowing enough room for

root growth – wow, this Genovese Basil grew fast

[Photo 2]! For example, kohlrabi requires a lot of root

depth and width while thyme

requires much less. I

also experimented

with different

companion plant

combos, for

example, mustard

greens and carrots

- they are quite

happy together!

[Photo 3].

HSTSimple as

1-2-3 By Carolyn E. Rugloski

1

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

Let me share with you some successes and a few

‘lessons- learned” in Spring 2019. Referencing the,

“From Seed to Harvest and Beyond Garden Journal

+ calendar” manual from extension.missouri.edu

(MP928), I planted two rounds of seeds including

‘cold tolerant’ plants like beets, carrots, kale, kohlrabi,

lettuce, mustard greens, pumpkins, radishes, spinach

and a few herbs (basil, chamomile, chives, cilantro, dill,

mint, parsley, savory, thyme) [Photo 4].

3

4

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

increase veggie-variety with seeds purchased from

American Seed, Ferry-Morris. Heirloom Veg Seed,

Morgan Seeds (locally) and SowNOGMO.

Using the ‘Indoor Seed Starting Record’ chart, I kept

detailed info on first quarter plants recording the

plant name, seed source, date planted (in hydroponic

garden), transplant date (transplanted into the soil

container) and notes about the appearance of the

seedling(s). I am looking forward to Spring with

Round 3 seedlings already pushing upward in their

pods [Photo 8]….it’s as easy as 1,2,3 !

We enjoyed serving wonderful home-grown salads

and herbal salad dressing at our dinner table in

March-April [Photo 5 & 6). The next planting included

beets, brussels sprouts, eggplant, kale (‘Red Russian’),

sugar snaps, and swiss chard. These ‘cold weather’

vegetables have fared well in the nursery through

the fluctuating cold nights/warm day temperatures

first quarter [Photo 7]. After moving all the successful

seedlings to soil, I contacted AeroGarden to report a

few of their pods that didn’t germinate; AeroGarden

guarantees their pods to germinate so they promptly

sent replacements. I also made my own pods to

5

87

6

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

Rita Burks and Carolyn Rugloski select herbs for the Willmore herb bed.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

Shirk’s Shopping Spree

Shopping for plants to place in area Central Bank and Willmore Lodge beds is always an exciting and fun time for

Master Gardeners. This year was no exception. Shirk’s had a wide selection of beautiful and healthy plants for us to choose from. Making up our minds and limiting our selections was the hardest part.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

But eventually, with Kathy Fayant’s guidance and a little self control, decisions were made and our thoughtful choices were brought to the counter to be purchased and loaded. A successful conclusion to our Shirk’s shopping spree.

Kathy Fayant checks her plant choices while Linda Shumway is purchasing hers.

Winnie McKinley grabs a tray to begin gathering plants for the Willmore Lodge beds.

Someone loaded a wagon full of beautiful plants.

Norene Fields, Ted Ferguson and Carolyn Rugloski are excited to get busy making their selections.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

HIGHlIGHtSfrom tHeAPrIl meetInG

At the April meeting we were honored

to be enlightened by two representative of the Missouri Department of Transportation(MoDOT). Stacy Armstrong, MoDOT Roadside Management Specialist, and Todd Miller, Supervisor of Winter Operations and Roadside Maintenance for MoDOT.

Todd and Stacy informed us that a decision was made about 10 years ago to be more practical with the design and operations of Missouri roadways, including mowing practices. There are two reasons for maintaining the right of way around roadways:

1. Visibility (a 15-foot swath with 3 mowings per year.)

2. Clear recovery zone (30-foot swath mowed every other year after the first frost of fall. This is done on the odd- numbered years.)

The mowing practices are designed to strive to keep wildlife out of the

Todd Miller and Stacy Armstrong from MoDOT

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

Below right: Cathy Thompson won the door prize drawing.

Bottom left: Patricia Barrett presented Susan Osgood with a certificate for her many hours of volunteer service.

HIGHlIGHtS from tHe mArCH meetInGmedians and away from road sides. Although the idea of planting milkweed and other plants for monarch butterflies and other pollinators in the areas near roads may seem like a good idea, the dangers that traffic brings to the area may offset the advantages.

Missouri is ranked 7th in the nation for the most roads that must be maintained. However we have one of the lowest fuel tax to help fund that maintenance. Missouri spends around 19 million dollars per year on mowing. Missouri is divided into 7 maintenance districts. Each district can set their own priorities as long as they fit within the general guideline of State established regulations.

MoDOT plants fescue beside the roads because of its tolerance of mowing and extreme conditions followed by annual rye and native plants and wildflowers further out. A discussion of the impact of Sericea lespedeza was held. Stacy had many pieces of literature available. Was anyone able to complete the origami monarch butterfly?

Donna Webb and Bev Dungan prepare to mulch the herb bed.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

A Mountain of Mulch

Grab your buckets, garden forks and rakes. Put on

your gloves and jackets and let’s get down to it. Time for spreading that mountain of mulch at Willmore Lodge. Kathy Fayant said the mountain was smaller than last year, but that was hard to see when we first arrived. But as everyone pitched in and began to fill buckets and load ATVs the mountain started to recede. Speaking of ATVs, this year we had TWO! Mary and John Hardesty brought theirs and John and Donna Webb, 2019

John & Mary Hardesty, Norene Fields, Bev Dungan, Dale & Patricia Griffen begin their conquest of the mountain, loading mulch into buckets to be driven down the hill and placed in beds.

Rita Burks and Kathy Fayant discuss where mulch is needed.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

Master Gardener class members, were able to borrow one from Ameren where John works. This really helped speed things up. Just had a couple of traffic jams on the path down the hill. With the two vehicles and all the great volunteers we were able to finish in really good time.

John Hardesty takes a break from driving to stretch his legs.

Say cheese Mary. Mary Hardesty spreading a bucket full of mulch near the gazebo.

Just a little hill left after all the beds were covered. Even this was gone by the next day.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

Lori Eisenhardt does some deep knee bends as she spreads mulch.

Kathy Fayant, Rita Burks, Winnie McKinley, Nancy Hall and Mary & John Hardesty were on hand to help with mulch day.

Lori’s raised beds with irrigation ready to be planted.

Lessons from Lorilessons from loriStarting in early

April, Lori Eisenhardt begin getting her

raised beds prepared for planting. She removes all leaf debris and unwanted plants from her beds and applies compost. She also checks her irrigation system so that it is ready to water her crops, especially while she is in Mexico at her vacation home. She doesn’t water much in early spring however, to avoid root rot. By now she has moved the majority of her plants she has started from seed to her greenhouse. Cool season crops such as brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale have been planted in raised beds. When all danger of frost is gone she will begin moving warm season crops outside. With her tomatoes she will remove lower leaves before planting. A hole is made deep enough to bury all but the top few leaves of the plant. Roots will form all along the stem that is planted underground. A sprinkle of fertilizer at the bottom of the hole gives the plant a needed boost. Lori has also been starting new warm season plants from seed.

Tomato plants ready to be planted outside.

Healthy pepper plants with roots filling the soil cubes await planting in the garden.

Above: Cool weather plants are already nearing maturity.

13 14 15 16

Items for the monthly newsletter are due to the Newsletter Chair,

Ted Ferguson, by the 20th of the month Send to laketimeted@gmail.com

Visit & Contribute to LAMG Facebook Page:

www.facebook.com/lakeAreamasterGardeners

Remember to Report Master gardener volunteer hours online at

www.mg.missouri.edu

JUne 1, 20199 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Rain or shine

Save the Date

Miller County ExtensionP O Box 20

Tuscumbia, MO 65082Phone/Fax 573-369-2394

2019 Club officersBeverly Dungan, President Phone: 573-480-3137E-mail: bjdungan42@gmail.comSally Burke, Vice President 573-480-7815burke.lakelovers@gmail.comnancy Hall , Secretary Phone: 913-221-9007E-mail: candonancy@gmail.commary Hardesty, treasurer Phone: 573-345-4900E-mail: maryhardesty@mac.com

Standing Committee Chairs2019 Garden Walk, Gail Conavay 573-286-5064 theconavays@gmail.com

Club Photographer, Glenda Hinrichs 573-964-5601dannavajo@icloud.com

Historian, Sally Burke 573-480-7815burke.lakelovers@gmail.com

Hospitality, rita Burks 573-434-4144ritab001@hotmail.com

membership, mary Hardesty 573-345-4900 maryhardesty@mac.com

mU eXt, momGA, mG Classes Winnie mcKinley 573-793-6231mckinleyw@hotmail.com

newsletter, ted ferguson 816-896-1862laketimeted@gmail.com

Projects, Glenda Hinrichs573-552-5337 dannavajo@icloud.com

Publicity, Paula Phillips 785-840-6525 apaulaphillips@gmail.com

Plant Sale, Deb finn 225-324-7011 dfingardner@gmail.com co-chair, Susan osgood 816-289-4774 sllatimer1@gmail.com

Scholarship, linda Shumway 573-480-2793shumwaylinda@hotmmail.comYearbook, nancy Hall 913-221-9007 candonancy@gmail.comWays & means, mildred Webster 573-363-5650 or 573-346-7211

13 14 15 16

mary Delacy

mary is at home and getting stronger every

day. She is on her way to a full recovery. At home rehab will continue for another week or so. This is really good news!