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Turnip News
Master Gardeners
Prince William
April 2018
Editors: Maria Dunbar Stewart Rebecca Arvin-Colón
Earth Day Garden Tea 2
Upcoming Events and MGPW Meetings—At a Glance
3
Container & Small Space Gardening 4
Landscape Ready for Spring 5
Teaching Garden Workdays 6
Saturdays in the Garden 7
The Frozen Side of Herbs 8
In Praise of Apples 9-12
Upcoming Events and Meetings 13
Native Seedling Sale 14
Compost Awareness Day 15
Donations for Spring Plant Sale 16
Community Shredding 17
Drinking Water Clinic 18
Gardening with Wildlife in Mind 19
Index to “Turnip News” 20
PUZZLER 21
Inside this issue:
MG President’s Message An Honor. It is an honor to be part of an outstanding Board of Directors that is dedicated to representing the Master Gar-deners of Prince William (MGPW) in the best way. Thank you for your support and all you do for our organization.
Board Member Changes. Thanks to our two departing board members. First, Janene Cullen for her leadership as our Treasurer. Due to Janene’s thoroughness she received high ku-dos from the MGPW auditors over the past two years. Second, Jeanne Lamczyk for her tireless efforts to support the organiza-tion as our Member-At-Large. Jeanne constantly sought feed-back on how to make our organization even more effective. Wel-come to Christina Hastings as our new Treasurer and Spencer Williams as our new Member-At-Large. Both have impeccable credentials and will be superb additions to your Board or Direc-tors.
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Recertification Meeting. Thanks to the superb presenters. Much valuable information was shared. Your Board and Virginia Cooperative Extension appreciate you taking time to provide us feedback on how we can guide the organization to better fill your needs. My observation has been that high performing organizations, like ours, have members and leaders who are 1) technically knowledgeable and 2) attuned to making sure personal interactions are positive and fulfilling. Your Board is interested in your input on both areas. Let us know your thoughts over the coming year.
MGPW in 2018. I know you join me in looking forward to this coming year with optimism. To-gether we will do our part to improve the environments in our county and cities for the betterment of our citizens, plant life, and critters. It will be a good year. Thanks for all you do.
- Larry Lehowicz, President, The Master Gardeners of Prince William, Inc., [email protected]
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Upcoming Events and MGPW Meetings—At A Glance
April
May
WEDNESDAY
11
MGPW Board Meeting
SATURDAY
14
Saturday in the Garden
SATURDAY
21Billi Parus with
Making Herbal Ice Cream
SATURDAY
28Prince William
Compost Awareness Day
SATURDAY
5Saturday in the
Garden and Plant Sale
THURSDAY
31
Composting Class
SUNDAY
8
Bluebell Festival at Merrimac Farm
SUNDAY
29
BioBlitz
SUNDAY
22
Earth Day Garden Tea
SATURDAY
7
Container & Small Space Gardening
SATURDAY
14 Getting Your
Landscape Ready for Spring
THURSDAY
5Manassas Plant A
Row Produce Collections Start
SUNDAY
6Dale City Plant A
Row Produce Collections Start
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2018 Teaching Garden Workdays
Tuesday Mornings,
9:00 a.m. – Noon April 3, 10, 17, and 24
May 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29
June 5, 12, 19, and 26
July 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31
August 7, 14, 21, and 28
September 4, 11, 18, and 25
October 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30
November 6 and 13
Thursday Evenings,
6:30 p.m. – Dusk April 12, 19, and 26
May 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31
June 7, 14, 21, and 28
July 5, 12, 19, and 26
August 2, 9, 16, 27, and 30
September 6, 13, 20, and 27
Saturday Mornings,
9:00 a.m. – Noon April 7 and 28
May 19
June 2
July 7
August 4
September 1
October 6
Join us at the Teaching Garden—9535 Linton Hall Road, Bristow—on any of the below scheduled workdays to help keep our garden looking beautiful!
Email Leslie Paulson at [email protected] with any questions.
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2018 Saturdays in the Garden
Also join us at the Teaching Garden for Saturday in the Garden!
Register online at www.pwcgov.org/grow or by contacting the Extension Horticulture Help Desk at 703-792-7747 or
Saturday Mornings, 9:00 a.m. – Noon
April 14 - Plant Propagation Increase your knowledge and success making new plants through seed starting, cuttings,
layering, and division.
May 5 – Best Practices for Your Landscape and MGPW Plant Sale Speakers will cover lawns, annuals, perennials, bulbs, vegetables, and tree care. This class will
help you come up with a plan to keep your landscape healthy and sustainable.
June 9 – Container Gardening Container gardening know-how is in high demand, particularly in suburban settings. Learn
how to create a container garden for your patio, terrace, or entryway that is both functional and gorgeous. Discover techniques for getting your plantings to thrive. Vegetables, ornamentals,
and irrigation will be covered.
July 14 - Spectacular Salvias and Comforting Cut Flowers Get to know the popular cultivars of the genus Salvia that grow well in Northern Virginia.
Also, learn how you can have cut flowers all growing season long.
August 11 – Growing Herbs This class will teach you the basics of growing your own herb plants. Learn the soil, light,
temperature, fertilizing, and climate requirements for the basic culinary herbs. See our herb garden and wall of herbs at the Teaching Garden.
September 8 - Native Shrubs for the Home Garden and MGPW Plant Sale There is a native shrub for every location and desired seasonal interest. This class will help you
decide which native shrub for your landscape is right.
October 13 - Fall Weed Identification and Management This class will focus on common broadleaf and grassy weeds found in our landscapes and turf
and includes a walk to see these weeds up close and personal.
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In Praise of Apples by Abbie Panettiere and Vincent Panettiere
A pples are my favorite fruit, but alt-hough I’m very familiar with them when it comes down to crunching on
one, I was aware that there was much more to know in addition to their delicious taste. Know-ing that their recorded history goes a long way back, I decided upon a little research and won-dered if any of the descendants of the originals are still with us. Malus sieversii is thought to be the ancestor of apples we see today. As it turns out, they are native to southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang, China. There are said to be ancient forests of these ancestors of the modern apple still living in various places. From the descriptions, they have had similar success that weeds have in surviving from gen-eration to generation by coping on their own with their surrounding situation. Their genome has not been effected by generations of careful selection and backcrossing. The cultivation of apples, while breeding in de-sirable traits such as taste, color, shape and size, may breed out qualities such as disease resistance, which the apple tree needs to sur-vive. Parenthetically, “good” traits may be put back in by backcrossing a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent, in order to achieve offspring with a genetic identity which is closer to that of the parent. An article by Josie Glausiusz in a 2014 Nation-al Geographic covered the ancient apples. A British forest conservation ecologist, Adrian Newton, visited forests in the western Tien Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan to conduct a survey of these trees, which are currently un-der threat by being cut down for fuel, grazed by
local farm animals, disease or other pests, and the warming climate. In the article, Glausiusz quotes Newton on the subject:
“One of these threatened species, Malus sieversii—a wild apple that Newton describes as ‘small but highly colored with a very nice sweet flavor’—is one of the key ancestors of all cultivated apples grown and eaten around the world. So rich and unique is this species, Newton says, that on one wild apple tree, ‘you can see more variation in apple form than you see in the entire cultivated apple crop in Britain. You can get varia-tion in fruit size, shape, color, fla-vor, even within the tree, and cer-tainly from tree to tree.’”
Apple trees are thought to be the earliest trees to be domesticated, perhaps in Central Asia 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Alexander the Great, in the midst of conquering the world, is said to have found dwarf apples in Kazakhstan in 328 BC. The development of the Silk Road, begun during the reign of the Han Dynasty when Chi-na opened trade with the west in the year 130 BC, helped the spread of apples westward along these routes as humans, horses, and camels ate the apples and discarded the seeds by the wayside. This process also helped in the genetic crossing of the species, creating new varieties along the way. “Modern” apples were brought into this country in the 17th century. The first known apple or-chard was planted by Reverend William Blax-ton in 1625 in Boston.
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The modern apple tree, Malus pumila, is a member of the Rosaceae family. All of the breeding and hybridization over the centuries has produced more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples presently, which are bred for different purposes such as cooking, eating raw, and also for the production of apple cider. The require-ments for each sort of apple are different, de-pending on their intended use. For apples in-tended for eating raw, modern tastes prefer a large, sweet apple, though tart apples are pop-ular as well. Apparently, apples that are very sweet and have little or no acid flavor are pre-ferred in Asia and India. Apples for cider need to have a rich flavor and those making it use varieties that are too tart to be enjoyed raw such as those hybridized with the European crabapple which helps produce a smaller, tart apple. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Or-ganization has statistics that in 2014, “...the worldwide production of apples was 84.6 mil-lion tons, with China accounting for 48% of the total.” In 2010, a group of Italian scientists who se-quenced the genome of the ‘Golden Delicious’ apple at Washington State University found it to have 57,000 genes which, at that time, was the highest number of genes found in any plant. To put us humans in our humble place, we have only about 30,000 genes in our ge-nome. The intent of these scientists was to help in discovering genes and gene variants that helped the plants deal with drought and dis-ease so that future scientists are able to prac-tice better selective breeding. The research was also able to confirm that Malus sieversii was the wild ancestor of the domestic apple; appar-ently this had been in doubt in certain quar-ters. This brings us to an excellent and much-loved example of the modern apple, the Honeycrisp apple. This apple was developed by the Univer-
sity of Minnesota and was scheduled to be dis-carded but, after being saved from this fate, was released commercially in 1991. This is one of the most popular varieties available today and is, it turns out, about as far from a wild plant capable of living without the defensive efforts of human kind as you could imagine. The trees are patented and growers must ob-tain a permit from the university before they may propagate or grow them. Growers pay the university for each tree they buy, which helps to explain why a pound of Honeycrisp will cost you perhaps several dollars more than a pound of Red Delicious. Its parents were originally thought to be “Honeygold” and “Macoun” apples, but a group of researchers studied the apple’s genetic struc-ture and determined that the ‘Keepsake’ apple - also developed by the University of Minnesota - was one parent and the other was a cultivar developed by the university and given a num-ber: MN1627. That one never made it to the public. The grandparents of Honeycrisp on the side of that unnamed parent are the Duchess of Oldenburg, an apple that was brought into America from Russia during the 17th Century, and the Golden Delicious apple. On the Keep-sake side, grandparents are MN447 (another University of Minnesota variety) and the Northern Spy. The requirements for growing Honeycrisp are extensive and from the descriptions, quite ex-hausting. One site quoted a grower as saying that Honeycrisp were the most difficult trees he had ever grown. One of the growers said that the “trees which grow Honeycrisp apples are relatively weak and break easily and they yield very large fruit, so they require a trellis system to hold them up and keep their branch-es from breaking or hitting the ground.” The apples are very thin-skinned, which is an attractive feature, but it means that they have to be handled very gently during picking to
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avoid bruising. This adds to the cost and time of harvest. Workers are paid by the hour in-stead of by bin of apples picked. Pickers must also clip the stems as closely as they can to each apple so that the stem won’t bend and graze the skin of the apple. The proof of this is on the apple. I went to check what I had chilling in the fridge and the stems were in-deed cut very close to the apple. Generally, most apple varieties are picked all at one time, but the Honeycrisp crops don’t come ripe all at the same time. It takes three pickings before the season ends (sometime in November), which certainly would also add to the cost of the fruit. The apples are hardy, growing between zones 3 to 9. However, like most apples, Honeycrisp are not self-fruitful, so a good pollinating apple, such as Golden Delicious, must be planted as well increasing the need for space in the or-chard. They are picky, requiring full sun and good air circulation to thrive and to be pollinat-ed. The University of Minnesota itself acknowl-edged that their vigor as trees was “low to moderate”. As you would probably expect by now, it is commonly afflicted by the usual suspects: cedar apple rust, codling moths, leafrollers, aphids, apple scab, scale, and fireblight. And, finally, Honeycrisp trees are likely to produce a crop only every two years. However, several sources pointed out that “...its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. It has much larger cells than most apples, which rupture when bitten to fill the mouth with juice.” Maybe I’ll check the refrigerator and see if there are any apples that require my attention.
Apple Information
https://goo.gl/qvWFXF National Geographic Apples of Eden: Saving the Wild Ancestor of Modern Apples Josie Glausiusz May 9, 2014 https://goo.gl/CkE7VM University of Minnesota Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Honeycrisp https://goo.gl/aieFsN University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Re-source Sciences Who’s your daddy, Honeycrisp? Uncovering the Honeycrisp family tree Echo Martin https://goo.gl/317cRE Nature Communications Genome re-sequencing reveals the history of apple and supports a two-stage model for fruit enlargement Naibin Duan, Yang Bai, Honghe Sun, Nan Wang, Yumin Ma, Mingjun Li,…Xuesen Chen August 15, 2017 https://goo.gl/Q6dDgM SFGate Problems With Growing Honeycrisp Apples https://goo.gl/4QLuhR The Guardian Geneticists trace humble apple's exotic lineage all the way to the Silk Road Nicola Davis August 15, 2017
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https://www.ancient.eu/Silk_Road/ Ancient History Encyclopedia Silk Road Joshua J. Mark March 28, 2014 https://goo.gl/1v1M2b Orange Pippin Fruit Trees Specialist fruit trees for your orchard or back-yard Triploid apple varieties https://goo.gl/jpfcPp Growing Produce The Dark Side Of Honeycrisp Christina Herrick January 27, 2015 https://goo.gl/N5mVBS Stemilt World Famous Fruit Honeycrisp Apples
https://goo.gl/u39rTS Wilson’s Orchard Duchess of Oldenburg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple Wikipedia Apple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backcrossing Wikipedia Backcrossing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeycrisp Wikipedia Honeycrisp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus_doumeri Wikipedia Malus doumeri
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https://extension.umd.edu/smallfruit/tree-fruit/apple
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Upcoming Events and MGPW Meetings
MGPW Board of Directors Meeting—Wednesday, April 11th, 5:30 p.m. at Sudley North Government Center, Room 102 D (8033 Ashton Ave., Manassas, VA) As always, all Master Gardeners and Master Gardener Interns are welcome and encouraged to attend! Manassas Plant A Row Produce collections start Thursday, April 5 (weather permitting) and continue every Thursday until November. Arrive at the Harris Pavilion (9201 Center St, Manassas, VA), and introduce yourself to other Master Gardeners near the ice skating building (you will see the pick up trucks) at 12:30 p.m. (earlier, if you want to shop). For additional information, email Patti Thompson at [email protected] or Kyleen Dodrill at [email protected]. Dale City Plant A Row Produce collections start Sunday, May 6 and continue every Sunday through some of November. Arrive at the farmers’ market entrance (14090 Gemini Way, Dale City, VA), and check in with the Master Gardeners standing near the Vulcan trucks between 12:15 and 12:30 p.m. You are usually finished at 1:30 p.m. For additional information, email Jeanne Mitchell at [email protected].
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DONATIONS FOR THE SPRING PLANT SALE
By Leslie Paulson, Master Gardener
It may be hard to believe that the Master Gardeners Prince William Spring Plant Sale is just around the corner, but it is only one month away!
Master Gardeners, please consider donating: Non-invasive plants from your own gardens, and/or
Plants or vegetables you may be starting from seed - new this year!
Remember: ∗ Plants need to be of good size and healthy.
∗ Quart size pots will be allowed this year, to accommodate the starter vegetables and plants.
All donations are gratefully received.
Thank you for supporting our
beautiful Teaching Garden!
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Bev Veness, Master Gardener Announces: Index to “Turnip News” is Now Available!
Due to Master Gardener Bev Veness’s hard work, there is now an index to the “Turnip News.” The Index can be found on the Master Gardeners’ website mgpw.org. The online issues are also at the website under NEWS – ARCHIVES. Have fun reading through the index to find articles
and/or notices of interest, or just to enjoy recalling the past. You can also use “Control F” on your keyboard to find any word in the index.
Take a look at the index and peruse the older online issues of the “Turnip News!” Enjoy!
Click above or here to check out the new Turnip News Index:
http://www.mgpw.org/index.php/news
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PUZZLER
Do you know
what this is?
See next month’s
Turnip News
for the answer!
Last Month’s
Answer:
Henbit
(Lamium amplexicaule)
Henbit:
“Henbit is a sparsely hairy winter annual with greenish to purplish, tender, square stems. Its opposite leaves are broadly egg shaped with bluntly toothed margins and prominent veins on the underside. Up-per leaves are sessile (directly attached to the stem) and lower leaves have petioles. It has a fibrous root system and can grow to a height of 16 inches. Henbit’s distinctive flowers are reddish purple in color with darker coloring in spots on lower petals. It flowers in the spring with the flowers arranged in whorls in the upper leaves.” / “It most commonly occurs in open disturbed sites, often in fields and along roadsides. It is also found in home lawns.” / “Henbit is commonly confused with purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum). However, purple deadnettle has upper leaves that are triangular, occur on peti-oles, and are distinctly red or purple-tinted, unlike the upper leaves of henbit.”
Source: Clemson Cooperative Extension: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/weeds/hgic2321.html
![The enormous turnip[1]](https://img.pdfslide.net/doc/110x75/5583959cd8b42a1f098b4752/the-enormous-turnip1.jpg)
