Clinton County Newsletter

Volume 10 Issue 10 November 2019

Editor: Carol Machael, cmachael@gmail.com; 563-357-7537

Published on the first Monday of the month except during January and December.

To submit an article it must be sent by E-mail as a Microsoft Word attachment -

Over the Garden Gate

Dan Mays (below) discussing elements of starting a new garden bed with

interested gardeners on October 5.

Do It Now! Log Your Hours!

To remain active, Master Gardeners

have to log 20 volunteer hours and

10 hours of continuing education.

Sign in to the Volunteer Reporting

System to log your 2019 volunteer

hours now. Your username is proba-

bly your e-mail address.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Christmas celebration at Buzzy’s in

Welton on December 2. This is the major social and celebratory event

of the year and a good time to network and take pride in our MG ac-

complishments.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, genetic information,

Clinton County Master Gardeners Advisory Board Meeting

Bickelhaupt Arboretum October 15, 2019, 9 a.m.

Roll Call - Margo H., Bonnie M., Deb M., Carol Y., Sam J., Mark S., Willard L., Andrea W., Linda W.

Approval of September Minutes - Motion to approve Bonnie M., Second by Andrea W.

Financial Report - Per Mark S., the current balance as of 10/11/2019 is $5,716.02.

County Extension Report - Per Mark S., a new County Extension Director has been appointed for

Clinton County, Sam Jenson. The current Master Gardener classes are progressing well and have

two more Saturday classes. Clinton schools are considering the addition of school learning gardens

in their class curriculum.

Bickelhaupt Arboretum - Per Margo H., there will be a propagation class for the new Master Gar-

dener class and any other M.G.’s who might like to attend on October 26th. “Hort in The Heart-

land” is scheduled for March 7, 2020. “Make and Take” ideas were discussed. The National Confir

Convention will be held in Clinton, Iowa on the last weekend of June 2020. The Arboretum will be

featured during this convention. Margo will need volunteers from Master Gardener's to assist in

this event.

OLC - Per Willard L., a clean-up day will be planned after the first hard frost to prepare planting

beds for winter.

Annual Banquet - Will be held at Buzzy’s in Welton on December 2, 2019.

Respectfully, Carol Young, Secretary

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, genetic information,

marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or status as a U.S. veteran. (Not all prohibited

bases apply to all programs.) Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Ross Wilburn, Diversity Officer, 2150 Beardshear Hall,

515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, 515-294-1482, wilburn@iastate.edu. EOADV.15.04W November 2016

Welcome New MG Board Members

The three new board members are Barb Boeckmann, Gayle Powell, and Linda

Watson. We greatly appreciate these volunteers stepping forward to fill

the vacancies.

Thank you to the current board members for all you do and for the members

that have finished their terms: Carol Young, Bonnie Meyers, and Deb Mon-

roe. These active and talented board members will be missed!

This spring the MG's were asked to help refur-

bish the SE corner garden at the Clinton Public

Library. After a design layout was approved by

the Friends of the Library, Andrea Witt & I

took on the task of pulling weeds & removing

plants that were overgrown or too aggres-

sive. Next we planted a Butterfly friendly gar-

den with annuals & perennials. A watering

schedule was taken on by the Friends of the

Library. The garden flourished with such good

care.

During this renovation many painted rocks were

found, probably from a past library project we

guessed. We decided to create a dry riverbed

"River of Knowledge" we named it & incorpo-

rated the painted rocks in the stream. Hope-

fully a future project will add to the stream.

Through the summer, many comments were made on how

nice it looked. During one of my visits to check on the gar-

den I found one very small Butterfly Weed plant com-

pletely covered by monarch caterpillers (15 when I was

there). I called Margo Hansen at the Arb. telling her I

was afraid they would kill it, so she sent someone over to

collect them and raise them off site. Successfully I'm

sure since they would be the ones to fly south. So hope-

fully everything will survive the winter and come back

next year bigger & better. A beautiful spot to sit and

enjoy.

By Brenda Council

Linda Watson completed Master Gardener classes in 2018 in Scott County after retiring.

She learned to grow flowers and vegetables from her mother and grandmothers, and one hor-

ticulture class as a student at Iowa State. She lives in DeWitt.

Gayle Powell was born and raised in Iowa on a 3-generation Century Farm. She and her hus-

band moved to De Witt 44 years ago, to raise their 5 children. After retirement, she be-

came a Master Gardeners and has been involved with many MG activities and events, such as

publicity, monarch migration, plant sale, garden walk and MG

Day at the Fair.

Barb Boeckmann lives in Wheatland with her husband Dave.

They both regularly take honors at the Clinton County Fair

container contest.

Did You Know...?

You can listen to webinars through ISU on topics that may be of interest to you… Here are some ex-

amples.

The Ins and Outs of Termite Treatments

Pantry Pests

Pantry Pests, Carpet Beetles and Clothes Moths

Winterizing Your Home to Keep Out Pests

Don’t Let Bed Bugs Hamper Your Vacation Plans

Log in to ISU Extension, Master Gardener program, type in webinars,

and find a wealth of information!

Osage oranges also known as hedge apples, are softball-size fruits that ripen in

early autumn and eventually fall to the ground. Hulls are tough, difficult to open

and the fruit inside is not a significant source of nutrition for animals. However, the

seeds are edible and favored by squirrels.

Many people place hedge apples along the perimeter of their homes or in basements

and crawl spaces as an insect repellant. Folklore describes hedge apples as a preven-

tative that keeps away spiders, cockroaches, crickets and other insects. Iowa State

University conducted tests on hedge apples and discovered a chemical inside the

fruit that repels cockroaches. However, the university cautioned that "whole fruit

have not been proven to repel or control insects in homes."

Holiday Cactus

A holiday cactus is a true cactus, in the same plant family as the giant saguaros of Arizona.. The origins

of these cacti are found in the mountainous jungles of Brazil, where they grow as epiphytic plants, with

their roots anchoring them to branches high up in forest trees, or sometimes growing in shady areas of

cliffs or rock outcrops. Because of their rounded and flattened appearance, the stems are often con-

fused for leaves, but, like most cactus, there are no true leaves.

Although young plants have an upright form, as they age the ends of the branches tend to sag, giving a

very graceful appearance. In age, the basal stems get thickened and woody, helping support the weight

of the younger stems and, seasonally, the great profusion of flowers.

Schlumbergera is the genus and S. truncata has distinctly pointed projections at the edges and ends of

the stem segments, whereas S. x buckleyi has more rounded, scalloped edges. S. truncata blooms ear-

lier, closer to Thanksgiving, while S. x buckleyi blooms closer to Christmas. Hybrids between the two

have intermediate blooming times.

When caring for these plants it is important to think about

how they grow in nature. Since they grow in mountain forests of

Brazil, they get cool, especially at night, but never cold. They

generally thrive at 75-80 with minimum temps of 55-60.

They do not well tolerate prolonged periods of strong, direct

sunlight. They prefer bright indirect light, or the light shade of

a lath house or shade house. Some people have great success by

putting them outdoors in the frost-free period, such as hanging

them in their pots in the branches of a shade tree, but avoid the

deep shade found under large mature trees such as Norway maple.

In nature, they are growing in locations of perfect drainage, hanging from tree branches or rocky

cliffs. In the rain forest, they receive frequent rains during the wet season, but the water runs off

rapidly and the roots do not persist in waterlogged soil. Even in the dry season, they may get 2-3 inches

of rainfall monthly. Frequent watering is good if the soil mix is very well drained. If the soil is heavier,

allow it to dry between waterings. Some growers recommend slightly reducing the watering regimen in

August and September to harden the stems that will be bearing the flowers, and then resuming normal

watering once the flower buds start to swell noticeably.

Soil should have some humus and be slightly acidic and well drained. In nature Schlumbergeras receive

a constant supply of nutrients from decaying tree foliage, bird droppings, and other natural fertilizers.

They grow more rapidly than desert-dwelling cacti and therefore can be fertilized more like a conven-

tional houseplant. Use a good-quality, balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10. If using full strength ac-

cording to label directions, fertilize monthly. Otherwise, cut the fertilizer rate to about 25% of what

is recommended on the label and fertilize with each watering. Stop fertilizing in September to reduce

vegetative growth and help stimulate bud formation .