The Compost

Inside this issue:

Hot Dog Social 1

CC MG County

Coordinator

Comments/

Monarch Mania

2

Peter Rabbit/La

Plata Fall Festival

3

Southern MD Food

Bank’s Community

Learning Garden

Project Updates

4

Bel Alton Demo

Garden

5

Calendar/

Miscellaneous

6

International MG

Conference

7

Greens Workshop/

Working the CC Fair

8

Melwood Updates 9

Root Washing 10

CC MG Basic

Training/Compost

Workshop

11

Resources 12

Autumn 2019

CC MG ANNUAL HOT DOG SOCIAL, AUG 27

Once again CC MGs had a wonderful time at the annual hot dog social at

Gilbert Run Park in Charlotte Hall.

The weather cooperated and attendees brought great food and good cheer

to share. Many delicious salads, some chicken and desserts made for a great

pot luck and we all enjoyed the evening to the fullest.

Thank you Luke for making all the arrangements and for working so hard to

prepare another wonderful event for all of us!

Article and photos courtesy

of CC MG Tina Bailem Photo by

CC MG Terry Thir

The Compost Page 2

COORDINATOR’S CORNER

Looking back on the growing season, this year we went from very wet to quite dry. The past few months have brought drought conditions that have been quite stressful on gardens and landscapes. Trees and shrubs that are drought stressed this fall may be more likely to become damaged by cold weather this winter.

The past summer and fall have been busy with the Charles County Fair, Plant Clinics, Melwood, the Food Bank Learning Garden, various community events and much more! Thanks to everyone who has helped with the planning process on the demonstration gardens here at the Extension office. I look forward to seeing them blossom into beautiful gardens and learning spaces.

If you are looking for additional education hours on a tight schedule, there are a number of webinars available listed in the weekly email announcements. If you are in need of more or know of other education opportunities, please let me know!

Thanks for all you do to educate and inspire Charles County residents towards a greener thumb!

By Luke Gustafson, CC MG County Coordinator

MONARCH MANIA

This year’s event was held on Saturday, October 5 at the Cobb Island firehouse. CC MGs Jan Lakey-Waters, Suse Greenstone and Terry Thir staffed the MG booth. For this year’s activity, they brought Thithonian (Mexican Sunflowers) dried flower heads. Children and adults were taught how to collect the seeds and then took them home to plant next spring. Everyone was excited to learn about the pollinator value of native plants. The MGs also participated in the tag and release of live Monarchs. It was a fun event for all.

Article courtesy

of CC MG Terry Thir,

photos by CC MGs Terry Thir

and Rose Gazarek

The Compost Page 3

PETER RABBIT AT THE FAIR

Once again, CC MGs performed “The Misadventures of Peter Rabbit in Farmer McGregor’s Garden” at the Charles County Fair.

We had a fun audience of curious and enthusiastic children. It is always so rewarding to see the joy on the children’s faces. Kids have no inhibitions and say the funniest things.

The cast included CC MGs Gail Walker, Jim Corby, Rose Markham, Theresa Jones, Jackie Jenkins, Sally Matts, Karla Costello, LaVerne Madison, Jan Lakey-Waters, and Terry Thir.

Article and photos courtesy of CC MG Terry Thir

LA PLATA FALL FESTIVAL

Article and photos courtesy of CC MG Terry Thir

Another great La Plata

Fall Festival - the CC MG

Booth received a lot of

attention and we even

had a chance to meet

Mrs. Maryland!

L.-r.: CC MGs Karen Westhead,

Linda Ivko, Terry Thir,

Mrs. Maryland and daughter and

CC MG Janet McGrane

The Compost Page 4

The garden progressed well – we survived the hot summer weather because several CC MGs rose to the occasion and diligently came to water the garden! A big “Thank You” for that goes to CC MG Intern Inette Furey, CC MGs Sally Matts, Karla Costello, Gail Enid-Walker, Kay Redman, Rose Markham, Terry Thir, Tina Bailem and Lester Bailem. Over the months we worked on cutting bamboo for tomato stakes and trellises and erected them to plant beans, peas and cucumbers. CC MGs Karen Westhead, Linda Ivko, Tina Bailem, myself and CC MG Intern Inette Furey worked hours weeding, planting and relocating wild flowers from the walk-ways into beds and pots. We also put together a demonstration balcony/patio container garden, created plant labels, cleaned up the (sweet potato) tire planters, which, incidentally brought a great harvest and readied additional beds for planting some winter crops.

During the summer we had a few classes from a variety of summer programs visit us to learn about gardening and plants in general and we very much enjoyed working with them. We recently harvested tomatoes, some of which were donated by CC MG County Coordinator Luke Gustafson originally, a

variety of peppers, yellow wax beans, yellow crooked neck squash, peas, zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes and herbs. The UM Extension Nutritionist even used our basil in a dish she prepared for the Food Bank. Some of our mammoth sunflowers were over 7 feet tall, and our cantaloupes we are told, were delicious. They certainly smelled good.

Since the SMD Foodbank will be in this location for another year, we will be working on improving growing conditions in the garden this late fall and early spring 2020. We will raise and enlarge the garden beds and improve the soil. Join us! To do so, contact me at b361220601@comcast.net.

Article by CC MGs Brent Burdick and Tina Bailem/photos by CC MGs Brent Burdick, Tina

Bailem, Linda Ivko and CC MG Intern Inette Furey

L.-r.: Carter and Cody

Simonds (grandsons of

CC MG Linda Ivko) assist

CC MG Karen Westhead

in watering the garden

beds

SOUTHERN MD FOOD BANK’S COMMUNITY

LEARNING GARDEN PROJECT UPDATES

CC MG Intern Inette

Furey harvests a potato

basket

CC MG Brent Burdick harvesting the last of

the green beans

CC MG Brent Burdick with

summer class students

Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

The Compost Page 5

BEL ALTON DEMONSTRATION GARDEN

We are getting started on the first phase of the demonstration gardens at the Extension office in

Bel Alton. Master Gardeners held several planning meetings throughout the late summer and fall. The

purposes of the various gardens are to:

- Educate the public about horticulture and how to grow healthy gardens and landscapes;

- Showcase best practices for Charles County residents;

- Inspire visitors to incorporate ideas from the Demo Gardens;

- Increase the visibility & presence of the MG Program & University of Maryland Extension.

As a logical first step, we decided to focus the efforts for the first garden plot on the area around the

historic sign by the front entrance. The garden is themed largely after the Maryland flag colors and the

flowing feel of the river rock feature is a nod to Charles County’s extensive shoreline. At the October

2019 CC MG meeting, Master Gardeners approved the demo garden team’s request for up to $1000

towards the installation of the garden. We plan to break ground on the garden and plant the shrubs,

grasses and bulbs in November and add more perennials along with flowering annuals in spring of 2020.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the planning process: CC MGs Kathy Jenkins, Harriet Beck,

Terry Thir, Rose Markham, David Lewis, Brent Burdick, Janet McGrane, Linda Ivko, Marlene Smith and CC

MG Intern Inette Furey. With all the space along the front foundation of the building, there is space for many

more gardens with a range of themes. We welcome anyone who would like to join the team!

The Compost Page 6

11/05

9:00 am

First Garden Planting Workday

for new Extension Garden

Luke Gustafson Extension Office, Bel Alton

11/19 2:00 pm Luke Gustafson St. Ignatius Church,

11/26 10:00 am General

Membership Meeting Luke Gustafson Extension Office, Bel Alton

12/02 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Carol Teets $20

12/03 6:00 pm

CC MG Holiday Party Luke Gustafson Extension Office, Bel Alton

01/28 6:00 pm General

Membership Meeting Luke Gustafson Extension Office, Bel Alton

02/25 10:00 am General

Membership Meeting Luke Gustafson Extension Office, Bel Alton

CC MG CALENDAR NOV THRU FEBRUARY

Cauliflower Mushroom

(Sparassis crispa) growing in

CC MG Linda Ivko’s garden this

summer

MISCELLANEOUS

My first compost harvest using a

pallet composter that CC MG Gail

Walker showed us how to make at

Melwood, Nanjemoy last fall. The only

thing I put in this composter was leaves.

By CC MG Cynthia Gariepy.

The Compost Page 7

INTERNATIONAL MG CONFERENCE

The International Master Gardener Conference was held June 17-21 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The theme for the conference was" PENN'S WOODS, Digging into our Roots". An appropriate theme considering the location.

The conference included tours of Philadelphia area gardens, keynote speakers, field studies, advanced certification classes and an inspiring collection of advanced training classes. We even had the pleasure of meeting the founder of the Master Gardener program, Mr. David Gibby. You can just imagine how proud he was to have 1100 volunteers eager to learn about "The Roots of the Master Gardener program".

SAVE THE DATES!

2021 September 12-17

Norfolk, Virginia

Hotel Conference Center: Hilton Norfolk

The Main (http://www.themainnorfolk.com/)

2023 June 18-22

Overland Park, Kansas

imgc2023info@gmail.com

Article and photos by CC MG Carol Teets

L.-r.: CC MGs Gail Walker, Harriet Beck,

Bob Peregoy, Pauline Spurlock, Carol Teets,

Kathy Jenkins and MG Debbie Sindt from

Fredericksburg, VA

The Charles County Master Gardener program was represented by CC MGs Terry Thir, Rose Markham, Pauline Spurlock, Gail Walker, Harriet Beck, Kathy Jenkins, Bob Peregoy and Carol Teets. I would encourage anyone who would like to attend the next conference to mark your calendar now and spend some time with anyone who attended this conference - they will agree it is a bucket list trip!

L.-r.: CC MGs Rose Markham,

Carol Teets and Terry Thir

“Black Swallowtail caterpillars on

my parsley” - photo by

CC MG Linda Ivko

The Compost Page 8

The vast majority of people come to the Charles County Fair to have fun. Oh, there will always be one or two that has a picture on their cell phone of a diseased plant, ready to expire, but most just come for a good time. Their children are the first to run up and stick their face in the Monarch Butterfly or the Praying Mantis. Their parents are right behind whipping out their cell phone camera. As they’re snapping the pictures, you’re getting the free seed packs and kid’s stickers ready to offer them.

A few will grab the goodies and offer some feeble excuse why they need to leave. Most will notice the two electronic boards and spend some time testing their knowledge. Some will be interested in the upcoming workshops and a few will sign up for the Master Gardener Program. All-in-all, you meet a lot of nice people who have a genuine interest and love of gardening. Over a four-day weekend, you’ve put in your volunteer hours for the year and you’ve made a lot of folks happy. That’s a good investment I’ll look forward to making again next year.

2019 GREENS WORKSHOP

You are cordially invited to join your fellow CC MGs and the public for our

holiday season fundraiser. The “Greens Workshop” will be held at the Extension

Office on December 2, 2019 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm. The proceeds from this program

will go toward the Extension Office demonstration garden that is in the planning

and installation stage.

The fee is $20.00, and it will include a wreath for your holiday enjoyment.

Details for registration will follow in an evite. Workshop is limited to 20 attendees

so gather your friends and join in the holiday cheer!

Carol Teets

Greens Workshop Project Leader

carolnwbrg@aol.com

391-643-2885

CC MG Carol Teets

demonstrates how to

make a wreath in last

years workshop

WHY I LOVE WORKING THE CC FAIR

Carter Simonds at the MG

booth - photo by his

grandmother, CC MG

Linda Ivko Article by CC MG George Gazarek

The Compost Page 9

Summer is gone....well at least it should be! Our pollinator garden was lavished with lots of colorful blooms and really matured from last year. Many happy butterflies, bees and hummingbirds enjoyed their nectar. Now the birds are eating the seeds and insects are finding fall shelter. Our coral honey suckle has really grown and is beginning to cover the garden entrance arbor. We added another arbor on the other side of the garden and are deciding what vine we will plant. We are thinking about planting a passion vine.

Our new Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) and zinnias garden was gorgeous and attracted lots of pollinators. The combination of bright orange and purple flowers popped. CC MGs assisted Melwood participants in planting flower and vegetable seeds then transplanted them into the gardens. Everyone was thrilled to see the results of their efforts and enjoyed all the pollinators. This spring a vegetable garden was planted in the Learning Garden. All of our hard work paid off. Weekly, we have been

picking 90 - 100 lbs of vegetables, with more fall harvest to come. Next, participants planted fall vegetables (arugula, winter squash, egg plant, beets, various melons, zucchini, Swiss chard, peppers and much more.)

The Farm to Table Garden program has been teaching participants how produce can be turned into delicious meals. All have enjoyed prepping and cooking with the vegetables from the garden. Recently, we made zucchini boats with turkey meat, egg plant, peppers, and herbs, all harvested from the garden. It was delicious. Fall/winter projects will focus on topics like where pollinators go in the winter, what is migration, what

happens to the leaves, and much more. CC MG’s plan to conduct the “Who Polluted the Potomac” activity and perform the “Misadventures of Peter Rabbit in Farmer McGregor Garden” in the near future. The mural arts project will focus on painting pollinator images on the exterior walls of the Arts and Crafts Classroom Building and wording and/or nature symbols on garden elements, such as visitor brochures mailbox holders, which will be installed soon.

MELWOOD UPDATES

Article and photos courtesy of CC MG Terry Thir

Melwood Chef Julie and

CC MG Kathy Davis

prepare vegetables for

salsa and zucchini boats

CC MG

Barbara Hill

CC MG

Jan Lakey-Waters

Page 10 The Compost

Autumn is the best time of year for planting perennial plants including trees and

shrubs. Larger shrubs and trees can be expensive to buy and difficult to replace if they

fail to establish well in the first few years after planting or develop root issues years

down the road. It is important to take steps right at planting to help plants get off to a

good start.

Unlike with bareroot plants, the root structure of container and B&B woody plants

are a mystery without taking the extra step to wash the soil and potting mix off the

roots. This allows the gardener to correct or prune girdling root issues, remove potting

mix/soil that can interfere with roots establishing themselves in native soil and find the

root flare to prevent planting below grade.

Root washing is simple and can be done with a bucket of water

or a hose with a spray nozzle. Lift the plant out of the pot and place

in a bucket of water. As the root ball absorbs water, some of the soil and potting mix will

fall away. Shake and agitate the root ball with your fingers. For dense root systems, try

working down from the top of the root ball and gently tease the roots apart. If needed,

cut dense fine root mats to continue removing the potting mix. Once clean, prune off any

larger roots that are “J” or “L” shaped or circling back so that roots radiate out from the

center of the plant.

Once washed, the shrub or tree is ready for planting. Dig a hole no deeper than the

depth of the roots and wide enough to spread the roots out, radiating from the center of

the plant. Place the plant in the hole, and cover the roots with the soil removed from the

planting hole. Water the roots to allow the soil to filter down into the root system and

ensure good root to soil contact. Thorough root to soil contact stabilizes the plant and

reduces the need for staking trees.

For more details on root washing and planting of larger B&B trees, check out the

write-up by Linda Chalker-Scott, Extension Specialist with Washington State University. Because this does

cause some initial root disruption, root washing is best done when planting in the fall or early spring.

Although this approach may make some gardeners cringe as the roots are initially disturbed, the shrub or

tree will have a much better chance of surviving and thriving in the long run.

https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/bb-root-balls.pdf

ROOT WASHING FOR TREE AND SHRUB PLANTING SUCCESS

Article and photos by CC MG County

Coordinator Luke Gustafson

Established

landscape tree with

significant girdling

root issues

Page 11 The Compost

MG VOLUNTEER BASIC TRAINING

FALL COMPOST WORKSHOP

The October 2019 compost workshop marked the sixth anniversary of the partnership between UME and Charles County Government’s Division of Environmental Resources. This autumn’s event was a success with 52 people in attendance and 50 Geobins distributed.

Thanks to CC MGs Doris Santimays, Jennifer Godlewski and Paula Hutzell for answering questions, signing people in and representing the Master Gardener program!

Article by CC MG County Coordinator Luke

Gustafson/photo by Bill Hubbard, UME

Find us on the Web at:

http://extension.umd.edu/charles-county/home-gardening

Submit articles, photos, reports, events, and other items for publication to Tina Bailem at nicholas8555@msn.com by January 15, 2020 for the Winter 2020 newsletter. If you send a photo, please include a brief description of the activity and names of persons included in the photo, as well as the photographer’s name. If you send a photo of a plant, please include the scientific name.

The University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural

Resources programs are open to all and will not discriminate

against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual

orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or

national origin, marital status, genetic information, political

affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

Published Quarterly by the

Charles County Master Gardeners

University of Maryland Extension, Charles County

9501 Crain Highway, Box 1

Bel Alton, MD 20611

Phone 301 934-5403 or 301 753-8195

Luke Gustafson, CC MG Coordinator Tina Bailem, Compost Editor

Janet McGrane, Compost Calendar

Check out the new Charles County Master Gardener page on Facebook! If you haven't already, please like us and share with your friends. This will be a great way to expand our reach into the community! https://www.facebook.com/charlescountymastergardeners/

Photo by CC MG Linda Ivko