The Compost

Inside this issue:

Nat. Rebuilding Day 1

CC MG County

Coordinator

Comments/Colonial

Charles Community

2

Mistaken Identity/

Needs for Seeds

3

Southern MD Food

Bank’s Community

Learning Garden

Project Updates

4

SMD FB Community

Garden Cont.

5

Calendar/Photos 6

Blackberry Lily/CC

MGs Assist at 4H

Camp

7

Bay Wise

Certifications/Are

You Bay Wise

Smart?

8

Melwood Updates 9

Melwood Cont. 10

Climbing

Cucumbers

Resources

11

12

Summer 2019

NATIONAL REBUILDING DAY 2019

On April 27th, the Charles County Master Gardeners, in

partnership with the College of Southern Maryland and the

‘Rebuilding Together’ Organization celebrated spring by

participating in a day of rebuilding and beautification. The

project focused on eight homes across the county while Master

Gardeners worked on a single family home in Nanjemoy.

The volunteers from the College

of Southern Maryland (CSM) started

the day by working on rebuilding a deck and repairing rotted soffits

and then quickly joined the Master Gardeners in preparing the soil

for planting of annuals, assorted containers and some hanging

baskets. This gave CC MGs Brent Burdick, Paris Reed and Carol

Teets the opportunity to teach proper horticultural techniques

including planting, dividing existing plant material, mulching and

watering. Our team effort was most rewarded by full-filling our

mission to educate and the CSM volunteers were eager to learn.

Upon completion of the project the

driveway entrance was beautified with

two large pots containing colorful annuals, the flower beds at the

front of the home were completely planted, and the hanging

baskets were strategically hung to make the house most

welcoming. The homeowners could not have been happier and

they were looking forward to caring for

their new plantings. Spring had sprung!

“Thank you” to CC MGs Brent Burdick and Paris Reed for

supporting this project. Brent was instrumental in creating the

partnership with the College, performing a site visit in a timely fashion,

and helping with the plant material selection and pickup while Paris

came with tools and a smile, anxious to work, educate and help to

beautify.

Since the ‘Rebuilding Together’ Organization has shifted to

providing services year round we look forward to a school project in

the Fall at which time Master Gardeners will celebrate the 17th year

of our partnership. Until then mark your calendars for next

year...Project Day will be April 25, 2020.

Carol Teets

Project Leader

L.-r.: CC MGs Paris Reed

and Brent Burdick

Article and photos courtesy

of CC MG Carol Teets

CC MGs Paris Reed

and Brent Burdick

worked with CSM

volunteers

The Compost Page 2

COORDINATOR’S CORNER

The growing season got off to a warm start with higher than average springtime temperatures and slightly above average May temperatures. By mid-summer, we are feeling the full force of its heat! As Maryland gardeners though that is not enough to deter us from gardening. It does mean I aim to be out working in the cooler parts of the day and always have a water bottle by my side!

I am looking forward to a number of upcoming projects, one of them is developing a demonstration landscape around the Extension office. There is so much opportunity to not only beautify the facility, but also to provide a valuable learning environment for anyone who visits the office. As September draws closer, I look forward to the Charles County Fair. It is always a great chance to see familiar faces as well as introducing new people to the UMD Extension and this great group of people I get to work with, the Charles County Master Gardeners!

By Luke Gustafson, CC MG County Coordinator

COLONIAL CHARLES COMMUNITY PROJECT

We have finally completed installing boulders in the landscape entrances to Colonial Charles (Adult only) Community. The locations are on McDaniel Road at Shadow Park Drive and on Shooting Star Lane in Waldorf, MD.

Donna Ball, a resident of the community, and Charles County Master Gardeners Karla Costello, Sally Matts and Bill Allen, who also reside in the community, executed the project.

The boulders were selected by the team at Patuxent Nursery with installation by Andre Agbele, a licensed landscape designer and his crew.

We worked as a team to design the layout and scope of the project from start to finish. This process allowed us to add aesthetic features to the community landscape.

Article and photos courtesy

of CC MG Bill Allen

The Compost Page 3

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Do you ever wonder whether a plant you come across in your yard or woods is a native plant or an invasive? Sometimes when I am weeding, I come across a patch of plants that I can’t identify, but I hesitate to immediately consider them a weed and pull them if there is a chance they are a native that I should encourage.

While researching a patch of grassy plants recently, I came across a good reference guide, Mistaken Identity, Invasive Plants and their Native Look-alikes, an Identification Guide for the Mid-Atlantic. The guide presents a side-by-side illustrated comparison of the key characteristics (leaves, flowers, stems, fruit, etc.) needed to confirm identification of the plants. It is available online at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs144p2_024329.pdf

Article and photo courtesy of CC MG Marlene Smith

NEEDS OF SEEDS ACTIVITY

Article by CC MG Tina Bailem/photos courtesy of

CC MG County Coordinator Luke Gustafson

CC MGs Teresa Jones and Brent Burdick teach how

to plant seeds in cups

CC MG Tina Bailem and CC MG Intern Inette Furey teach

how to make seed bombs

On June 17 and 18, CC MG County Coordinator Luke Gustafson, CC MGs Brent Burdick, Teresa Jones and Tina Bailem and CC MG Intern Inette Furey went to various Elementary and Middle Schools in the area to assist the CC Parks & Recreation Department with children’s activities for their day camps.

Three stations were set up to serve a total of 125 kids. At one station the children learned about the variety of and our dependency on seeds, germination times, the difference between annuals and perennials and so on. At another station they made seed bombs out of a dirt mixture and seeds, the third station taught them how to plant a seed in a cup and how to care for it.

The children enjoyed the process and getting their hands dirty, and although a few initially balked at the idea of muddy dirt, a thorough hand washing session and splashing about in water afterwards made up for any inconvenience. All helped to clean up and we left happy to have sown the seed of gardening in the hearts of a few future MGs.

The Compost Page 4

SOUTHERN MD FOOD BANK’S COMMUNITY

LEARNING GARDEN PROJECT UPDATES

CC MG Brent Burdick repairing benches before

painting them

The Community garden features a colorful fence

CC MG Tina Bailem preps gate for painting while CC MG

Intern Inette Furey and CC MG Brent Burdick

'slap on' the paint

CC MGs and a CC MG Intern got their hands dirty these past few months getting the Southern Maryland Food Bank’s Community Learning Garden up and running. The beds are planted, some crops are getting ready to be harvested, the pallet fence has been painted, garden tours have commenced, and youth education has been initiated.

The garden has a new look. The old pallet fence was painted. Children attending the Food Bank’s Outreach Programs will be putting their hand prints on the pallets with their names to reflect their participation in the 2019 season.

The vegetable beds feature a variety of trellis styles, most utilizing bamboo. Single pole trellises support tomatoes, tepee-types support cucumbers, A-frames with fencing wire support peas, a bamboo frame with bamboo cross pieces supports cantaloupes and Butternut squash and a bamboo frame holds strings for pole beans.

The garden also has a 4’x4’ gardening-by-the-square-foot demonstration garden, as well as a demonstration patio/balcony container garden. Several beds hold tomato plants, pepper plants and summer squash plants.

The Food Bank held its first ‘story time’ outreach program for youth in June. MGs assisted with the program and provided garden tours to the children and their parents/grandparents. Each child planted their own seed cup with bush beans and received a small basil plant that had been grown in the garden.

Southern Maryland Food Bank & Outreach Services Director Brenda DiCarlo stated that although June offered only one session, there will be two outreach youth programs in both July and August. CC MGs are being asked to help plan the programs and conduct stations in each of the youth ‘story time’ activity sessions.

Director DiCarlo is also working to include a near-by church summer camp program with 90 youths participating in the Food Bank’s Outreach activities.

Article continued next page

The Compost Page 5

SOUTHERN MD FOOD BANK’S COMMUNITY

LEARNING GARDEN PROJECT UPDATES - CONT.

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

CC MG Intern Inette Furey

L.-r.: CC MG Intern Inette Furey and CC

MG Rose Markham assist children with

making seed cups

using bush bean seeds

CC MG Intern Inette Furey runs string

on trellis for Pole Beans

L.-r.: CC MGs Rose Markham and Carol Teets check for pollinators in the flower bed while CC MG Tina Bailem checks what is left of the Spring Peas

So, wanna get YOUR hands dirty? Wanna help with a demonstration garden? Wanna promote community food production? Wanna help train the next generation in backyard gardening? If so, come on out and join the project! The Southern Maryland Food Bank’s Community Learning Garden needs

YOUR expertise!

Let’s show them what Master Gardeners can do! Get on CC MG Brent Burdick’s email list of project volunteers (B361220601@comcast.net). Let’s Grow It Eat It!!!!!

The Compost Page 6

08/01

06:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Fall Vegetable Seed

Starting Workshop

Luke Gustafson

Registration thru

Eventbrite $10

Extension Office, Bel Alton

08/03 08:00 am - 3:00 pm

Plant Clinic Luke Gustafson

Charles County Farmer’s Market,

La Plata

08/14 06:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Plant Clinic Training Luke Gustafson Extension Office, Bel Alton

08/17 08:00 am - 3:00 pm

Plant Clinic Luke Gustafson

Charles County Farmer’s Market,

La Plata

08/27 6:00 pm General

Picnic Social Luke Gustafson Gilbert Run Park

09/7 08:00 am - 3:00 pm

Plant Clinic Luke Gustafson

Charles County Farmer’s Market,

La Plata

08:00 am - 3:00 pm

Plant Clinic

Luke Gustafson

Charles County Farmer’s Market,

La Plata

6:00 pm General Membership Meeting

Luke Gustafson

Extension Office, Bel Alton

10/5 08:00 am - 3:00 pm

Plant Clinic Luke Gustafson

Charles County Farmer’s Market,

La Plata

10/19 08:00 am - 3:00 pm

Plant Clinic Luke Gustafson

Charles County Farmer’s Market,

La Plata

10/22 6:00 pm General

Membership Meeting Luke Gustafson Extension Office, Bel Alton

CCMG CALENDAR AUG THRU OCT

Photos courtesy of Amy Peregoy,

(wife of CC MG Bob Peregoy), taken

during the 2019 International Master

Gardener Conference

Photo by CC MG Tina Bailem

09/21

09/24

09/12-15

MG booth at Charles County Fair

Charles County Fairgrounds

The Compost Page 7

BLACKBERRY LILY IRIS DOMESTICA

About 35 years ago, I bought a Blackberry Lily at a plant sale at the Mount Vernon Plantation in Virginia and it is still going strong. This Asian perennial is actually a member of the Iris family. President Thomas Jefferson received seeds from his nurseryman in 1807. The Lilys were sown at Monticello, where today they are seen naturalized throughout the grounds.

Within a few weeks I will be seeing lots of small, showy, six-petal orange blossoms, speckled with red spots. It is a full sun, erect perennial growing 2-3 feet tall with flowers growing up to 2 inches across. Even though the individual flower lasts only a day, new flowers follow.

By late summer, after the flowers fade, the pear-shape seed pods crack open to reveal clusters of black seeds that look like blackberries. These are as attractive as the flowers.

Blackberry lilies are self-sowing, so you can leave them alone and new little plants will come up in late spring; seeds sprout where they land. If you want them in a new location, sow the seed carefully as soon as they are loose from the pod. Cover them lightly with ground leaves or composted lawn debris.

Since the roots of the seedlings are initially shallow, they should be watered occasionally in dry weather. Clumps slowly expand by creeping rhizomes. I hope you, too, will enjoy this lovely plant.

A Word of Caution for gardeners with pets and small children: The seeds are poisonous!

Article and photos by CC MG Pauline Spurlock

Enthusiastic campers successfully used the nets to capture three species of bees, two butterfly species, and a few Japanese beetles. They observed the intricate features of their finds using a stereo microscope as well as specialized collection containers fitted with a magnifying top. The interactive larva and adult butterfly match-board was also a big hit with the campers! Thank you to our 4H Counselor, Annette for helping us and the campers with each activity! We also thank Camp Director Bonnie Boydton for asking us back and look forward to next year!

CC MG’S ASSIST AT 4H CAMP

Campers are waiting for

the nature prints to dry

Making seed bombs!

Article by CC MG Kay Redman

From June 24-27, CC MGs Kay Redman and Bill Allen conducted daily, 1-hour gardening sessions for 4H campers at the CC Fairgrounds.

This year's activities included using photo-sensitive paper to create nature art prints, constructing small bird houses, using sweep nets to collect pollinators and making seed bombs!

The Compost Page 8

BAY WISE CERTIFICATION

Bay Wise display at the La Plata

Library by CC MG Gail Enid

Walker. Photo provided by

CC MG Gail Enid Walker.

L.-r.: CC MGs Barbara

Hays, Tina Bailem,

Rose Markham, Janet

McGrane and Cindi

Barnhart.

Article by CC MG Rose Markham/photos

by CC MG Intern Inette Furey and

Mr. Ashley Madison Jr.

ARE YOU BAY WISE SMART?

On May 16, Bay Wise members certified

CC MG Tina Bailem’s property in Waldorf. Tina’s

garden was full of surprises as we explored her

wonderful landscape design that envelopes native

plants, flowers and many herbs. She created a

natural habitat for wildlife and a warm and inviting

space for all. Congratulations!

Congratulations also to CC MG LaVerne

Madison. On June 7, our Bay Wise team visited

LaVerne’s home and spent a pleasant afternoon

enjoying her property. She has combined a

beautiful landscape with native plants, exceptional

flowers, herbs and a welcome array of gardens.

We very much enjoyed certifying her garden.

L.-r.: CC MGs Tima

McGuthry-Banks, CC MG

Intern Inette Furey,

CC MGs Gail Enid Walker,

Rose Markham, LaVerne

Madison and Doris

Santimays.

The Compost Page 9

Nanjemoy a) Greenhouse - Seeding and transplanting of vegetable plants for late summer and fall crop in the ‘Farm to Table Garden’ and cutting sun flowers for the Pollinator Gardens.

b) Expansion Garden - A new fence garden bed has been established by CC MGs Barbara Hill, Paula Hutzel, Marlene Smith and Rose Markham working with Melwood Workforce Employment young adults who are learning pre-vocational job skills. These students have been instructed in building and shaping a raised bed, laying black poly mulch and planting through it, installing stepping stones and then laying drip irrigation. The new garden bed features tall pollinator plants such as Tithonia, Asters, Zinnias and some Basil varieties.

c) Weekly Farm-to-Table classes with Melwood summer camp youth ages 10 - 18 years of age have commenced, featuring instruction about seasonal vegetables and fruits and how to plant them. On the second day, participants take part in a culinary class that features the same vegetables and fruits. Class size has varied from week-to-week, ranging from 12 to 23 youths plus staff. We are into the third week, subjects have been: Week 1 - Beans; Week 2 – Pizza with, Herbs & Veggies; Week 3 - Melons.

In addition to these classes, new garden beds and container gardens have been and are being incorporated with either soaker hose or drip irrigation being installed as each new produce planting is being added. Adult participants coming in on Fridays have also been helping with the development of the new ‘Farm to Table Garden’ by assisting with installing individual bed irrigation timers and drip pipe and tubes. They also assisted with planting tomatoes and using the Florida Tomato Weave method, instead of traditional staking or caging.

d) Irrigation Installation - During the 1st two weeks of June, the perimeter of the Pollinator Garden was dug up and water lines were installed for above ground connections to all garden beds and planters. Weather permitting, by mid-July, the entire Pollinator Garden should be on automatic drip irrigation. The installation of the above ground irrigation is being directed by Master Gardeners who work with the Pollinator Garden project and who took the Irrigation Workshop in October of 2017. They are now teaching other participants how to install drip irrigation as well. CC MG Marlene Smith has been working closely with Suse Greenstone, HTR, Manager Horticulture Therapy and a fellow CC MG, to identify the specific system parts and its operation, which is sincerely appreciated.

d) Creative Arts - The fence garden mural has been installed in the Pollinator Garden - as well as stepping stones in the new Fence Garden planting. Creative Arts class participants are Melwood adult participants who have been learning flower and pollinator image painting and coloring techniques under the direction of CC MG Karla Costello who is also an artist. Assistance has been provided by CC MGs Katherine Davis, Gail Enid Walker, Sally Hopp, Teresa Jones, Jan Lakey-Waters, LaVerne Madison, Rose Markham, Pam Sarvis and Terry Thir between last fall and this summer.

MELWOOD UPDATES

Article continued next page

Page 10 The Compost

On June 13, the adult group of Melwood participants who took part in the Creative Arts mural painting and stone arts were presented with ‘Certificates of Achievement and Participation’ by CC MG Karla Costello. In addition, a video was shown which was produced by Bill Smith (husband of Marlene Smith and Pollinator Project videographer volunteer). This video beautifully illustrates the development of the mural arts project – with the first finished product of the fence garden mural. It also illustrates the Melwood Creative Arts participants taking part in an art class, where they are learning about butterfly biology and how to identify local butterfly species - through drawing, coloring and painting. We are so appreciative

of Karla and Bill for what they have done and are doing to promote nature-based Creative Arts projects with Melwood participants over the past months, as well as the team of MGs who came to assist and support the different art formats in this program since last fall.

e) Watering Team - A special “Thank You” to CC MGs LaVerne Madison, Rose Markham, Pam Sarvis, Cindy Gariepy, Terry Thir, Jackie Jenkins, Paris Reed, Jerry Reed, Barbara Hays and Barbara Hill for diligently watering the gardens, especially on all the hot, hot days. Please let us know if you are willing to help to water. Contact me at sgreenstone@melwood.org.

Creative Arts - Upper Marlboro Campus

On June 27, the Creative Arts participants took part in a Stained Glass demonstration featuring beneficial insects and floral images at Melwood's Garden Center facility located in Upper Marlboro - Dower House Road campus. The demonstration was presented by CC MG Sally Hopp with assistance provided by CC MG Pam Sarvis and was a great success. Special thanks to both Sally and Pam for traveling to this Melwood campus to provide such an interesting, fun, and beautiful session!

Farm-to-Table - Pinefield/Waldorf Campus

Bi-weekly vegetable garden patio projects and planting took place at Melwood's "Nike" campus location in Waldorf/Pinefield with Melwood adult participants. Eight raised planters were cleared of last year's fall vegetable planting and prepared and planted with warm season tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Assistance was provided by CC MGs Katherine Davis, Jan Lakey-Waters and LaVerne Madison. Beginning July 11, this group will meet at Nike every two weeks to work on establishing more of the patio gardening plantings, participate in some "tastings" of herbs and vegetables coming from the patio garden and also work on other projects, such as garden crafts and starting fall vegetable seeds for germination under Grow Light racks located indoors in the Nike facility.

MELWOOD UPDATE - CONT.

Article by CC MG Suse Greenstone/

photos courtesy of CC MG Terry Thir

CC MGs and Melwood

participants installing soaker

hoses

Melwood participants planting

tomatoes

Page 11 The Compost

I am a big fan of trellising in the vegetable garden since it makes it easier to see and harvest the produce and, especially with vining crops, will keep your garden from turning into an impassable jungle! In previous years, I have used fencing and wire panels, but they can get rusty, hard to work with and bent out of shape after one or two seasons.

This year, I tried a different approach. Using recycled 4x2s that my neighbor was getting rid of, I made a few fittings to slide snugly onto eight-foot steel t-posts that I had driven two feet into the ground and spaced 10 feet apart. In each wooden trellis piece, I drilled two holes 12 inches apart and ran high tensile wire,

the kind used for fencing. I anchored each end of the wires to three-foot post at both ends.

Once the cucumber plants were about a foot tall, I tied five-and-a-half foot lengths of string to the top wires, one string per vine. I then used large tomato clips to secure each plant to a string to start training them up. As they grow, they have a tendency to wander back to the ground or to another string. I can simply retrain them every four days using more clips until they reach the top wire and grow horizontally. At the end of the summer, I can cut the strings and leave the wire up to use for other cucurbits or indeterminate tomatoes next season.

Even if you do not have a large space, you can still trellis cucumber plants. A simple zigzag of plastic twine every eight inches between two posts also makes an effective trellis. See the spring 2018 Compost article for more details on that type of trellis.

Regardless of the size of your garden or the varieties you grow, I encourage everyone to try some type of trellising for their cucumber plants and other vining crops. Happy harvesting!

CLIMBING CUCUMBERS

Article and photos by CC MG County Coordinator

Luke Gustafson

Cucumber plants just after I

clipped them onto the strings.

These fittings were made from recycled 2x4s and decking screws.

Large plastic tomato clips

(25 mm) accommodate

cucumber plants and other

vines and are available either

online or from local produce

supply companies.

Happy harvesting!

‘Bristol’ is the cucumber plant variety that I am growing this season. It is a very productive variety and has resistance to many of the common cucurbit diseases including angular leaf spot, downy mildew and powdery mildew. The seeds are a few dollars more per packet than older, standard varieties like Marketmore or Straight Eight, but the increased yield throughout the season more than makes up for the price difference.

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 October 15, 2019 for the Fall 2019 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