President’s Letter

Signs of fall are appearing everywhere. Last weekend my family ate the last cucumber of the summer, picked off the vine just before dinner. After sampling the cucumber, my son Dan, age 27, asked me to show him how to grow cucumbers next year. How valuable a tasty cucumber can be! One sign of fall is the start of a new Master Gardener Intern class. I had a chance to visit the Tuesday session last week – what a diverse, talented group of people! Not only do we have at least one farmer, but we have several carpenters, retired teachers, world travelers, and a scuba diver! Please come and meet them - volunteer to help with a class by bringing snacks. Contact Joyce for open dates and visit our new interns. And many thanks to the several interns who volunteered to help with the Healthy Harford Fair and the Steppingstone Fall Festival last Saturday. Another sign of fall – the Mt. Cuba Center is advertising fall classes. Mt. Cuba Center, in Hockessin, Delaware, one of my favorite places, is offering several gardening classes. If you hurry, you can join a trio of classes being held on Saturday, October 3rd, which is Fall Gardening Saturday. A total of three, one-hour classes are being held for $12.00 each - Fall-Fruiting Trees and Shrubs, Putting your Garden to Bed, and Top 10 Autumn Perennials. You can take one or more of these classes. If you want to find classes later in October, they offer Growing Native Plants from Seeds (October 14th), Fall Planting Trade Secrets (October 15), and even a Moss Gardening Workshop (October 23rd). Later this fall you can attend Native Plants for the Autumn Garden on Saturday, November 7th. Each of these classes is $38. You can view the course listing: http://issuu.com/mtcubacenter/docs/fawi15_program_guide?e=14731861/14447371

THE GARDEN FENCE

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER BY AND FOR THE HARFORD COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS October 2015

OFFICERS Ellen Haas-President, Anne Spelman-Vice President

Carrole Kesselring-Secretary, Kathy Ullrich - Treasurer

2 | P a g e

A third sign of fall – several fat swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley! two weeks ago, I was sharing my parsley with a total of seven swallowtail caterpillars. Thanks to Anne Spelman, who sent me the information, (we’re both “raising” a group of these caterpillars), I now know that this group of caterpillars will overwinter as a chrysalis. My group of four fat caterpillars turned into three, and

now two. I was able to find one chrysalis under my window, close to the parsley (see photo). I’ll let the chrysalis alone, since the porch window is a somewhat protected environment. I plan to keep a chrysalis watch throughout the winter! A final sign of the season – leaves are beginning to fall. As a Master Gardener, I’m thrilled to find a plethora of information of what to do, and not to do, with fall leaves. Fall leaves are packed with trace minerals that trees draw up from deep in the soil, and when added to your garden, can feed earthworms and beneficial microbes. The University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center recommends that leaves be shredded with a lawnmower and left to decompose naturally. The lawnmower can be run over accumulated leaf piles to break them into small pieces. However, deep piles of leaves need to be removed from the lawn because they may kill turf crowns. What can you do with the remaining leaves? Those leaves can help sandy soil retain moisture, make a good garden mulch, insulate tender plants from the cold, and serve as a great carbon source to balance the nitrogen in your compost pile. Be sure to use your leaves – they are valuable.

Happy Fall to all Master Gardeners and Interns!

Some of the interns hard at work in the MG training class - pruning flowering shrubs at the 4-H Camp

3 | P a g e

by Marlene Butler and Mary Greveris For the past several years, Mary Greveris and Marlene Butler have planted the Earth Boxes and large pots that adorn the patio at the Welcome One Emergency Shelter. One of the homeless guests is assigned the task of watering the plants and this year Don was given that job. He not only watered the plants, but he took cuttings from the coleus and rooted them. He recalled his past experiences as a gardener and was so glad to have an opportunity to work in the soil while working on getting his life back together. His cuttings are now growing where he planted them among the other annuals and perennials in the large pots on the patio at the homeless shelter.

Horticulture Therapy

Eden Mill donates the harvest from their vegetable garden to the food pantry at Bel Air Methodist Church. Thanks to the volunteers who harvest and take the time to deliver the food to the food pantry!

4 | P a g e

Say Goodbye to Bananas As You Know Them One of the world's most popular fruits is in big trouble.

Article submitted by MG Linda Baker. Taken from: http://www.delish.com/food-news/a43306/bananas-extinct-fungal-disease/

Bananas are in big trouble. While the beloved fruit remains as popular as ever, its crops across the world have been hit with an infectious fungus and the damage is irreparable.

The Cavendish species of banana, which was introduced in 1965, is currently the primary banana export in the world. And it's being completely ruined by Tropical Race 4, a fungal disease that began in Malaysia in 1990 and has since spread to Southeast Asia, Australia, and finally Africa in 2013.

Believe it or not, this is not the first time a fungus has wiped out an entire species of the bright yellow fruit. By 1965, the Gros Michel species of banana—which lasted longer, were more resilient, and didn't require artificial ripening—was eradicated after what was called the Panama disease, a different strain of a similar fungal disease wiped out the world's commercial banana plantations. After that, the industry looked for a new version of the crop, settling on the inferior Cavendish as it’s only alternative. It was then cloned and grown across the globe, making the single species (aka a monoculture) extremely susceptible to spreading infection—once one plant gets hit with the fungus, they're all in

trouble. As a result, we're facing the same issues from 50 years ago. And it's impacting the livelihoods—ranging from food security to income—of more than 100 million people. The biggest hurdle is that the fungus remains in the soil. It affects the plant's vascular system and prevents it from picking up water from the ground. This means that the only way to remove it is to burn the banana plantations to the ground, then begin fresh in a new location with a new species of banana crops. The disease is spreading because bad practices from the 1960s are still in place. "It cannot be eradicated but it can be limited if a wide range of strong preventative and mitigation initiatives are put in place and rigorously implemented," Joao Augusto, a plant pathologist told CNN. "In countries where the disease is endemic, the growers have learned to live with it." While there are other species of banana for countries to lean on, the yield is nowhere near that of the Cavendish. Plus, the disease is beginning to creep into the local varieties' crops as well. Our only hope is that growers don't throw in the towel but instead make positive changes to their farming practices and keep the industry alive.In the meantime, might we suggest taking full advantage of the fruit you love while it's still with us. Perhaps, make a summertime appropriate frozen version, a classic banana split or even eat a banana split for breakfast.

Bananas in trouble!

5 | P a g e

I teach several Grow It Eat It classes throughout the year. This year, I wanted to create a portable “salad box” that I could take with me to my GIEI classes. I wanted my box to be easy to carry, to grab participant interest, and to show people that planting vegetables could be creative and fun. Since I have a store of clementine boxes (and they are easy to find at the grocery store during clementine season), I decided that a clementine salad box would be a fun, creative and portable solution. For this project, I used a purchased clementine box left over from a previous grocery run. The box, made out of thin, light plywood, was 11 inches wide, 7 ½ inches long, and 3½ inches tall (other Clementine boxes from different vendors seemed to have the same dimensions). Each box that I saw had several ½” holes punched in the bottom. I bought nylon window screen netting to keep the soil from falling out. Then I stapled the netting to the outside of the box on each side, taking care not to block the colorful box label. I thought that stapling from the outside would make stapling simpler, and prevent potentially sharp staples from poking through to the outside. Since I didn’t know the origin of the box plywood material, I thought that there might be a chance that the plywood could be treated with chemicals. I recommend lining the inside of the box with plastic (chemical-free plastic, please!), and be sure to poke holes in the bottom of the box to let water out.

Next, I filled the box with moist seed mix combined with a handful of worm compost. I made sure that the soil filled the box to the top of the front slats. After that, I sprinkled an envelope of “Grow It Eat It” lettuce mix on top of the soil, covered the seeds with a sprinkling of seed starting mix, then I placed plastic wrap over the top of the box. I placed the box on a gardening heating pad. When the seeds started to sprout, I removed the plastic wrap from the top of the box and placed the entire container under my grow-light.

A few weeks later, my lettuce was a few inches high and I was able to bring the box to my GIEI classes. My students loved it, and it the box seemed to inspire an interest in growing lettuce in offbeat containers.

Gardening in offbeat containers

6 | P a g e

All class descriptions and registration links can be found at: http://www.extension.umd.edu/mg/advanced-training

September

Native Plant Essentials: Online Class Native Plant Foundation Bed Workshop-

Oct though Nov in Howard Co and at the College Park Greenhouse Prince George’s County – Community Gardening – October 1

Washington D.C. – Garden Tour of United States Botanic Garden – Date: TBD Carroll County – Beginning Native Tree Identification – Date: TBD

Winter 2015

Carroll County - Winter Native Tree ID – Date: TBD Check the Website for additional information.

Alicia the state coordinator for all Master Gardener Advanced Trainings will answer any question you have at aliciafb@umd.edu

Food Preservation Classes-Harford County 2015 Month Produce Recipe Resource Date Oct Pumpkin/

Winter squash Cubed So Easy to Preserve (page 87) October 22

12pm-4pm Nov Apples Butter Balls Blue Book 5th ed. November 6

12pm-3pm For information call Harford Co. Extension 410-638-3255; Or register online at

http://gieipihc.eventbrite.com

MG’s Advanced Training

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/112238215688779771/

7 | P a g e

Photo credits: Figure 1: http://www.guy-sports.com/fun_pictures/pumpkin_organic.jpg

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.

October Calendar of Events October 1 – 7 pm Annual General Meeting

October 21 – 10 am Day Time Study Group

October 21 – 7 pm Evening Study Group

October 29 – 10 am Steering Committee

Oct 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29, MG Intern Training, 9 am – 1 pm

October 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31, Bel Air Farmer’s Market, 8 am – 12 noon (new start and end times)

October 3, 10, and 24 – Bel Air Library, 10 – noon (Check the calendars for topics) November 5- 10 am Annual General Meeting

Joyce Browning Urban Horticulturist

Master Gardener Coordinator Harford County Office

THE MARYLAND MASTER GARDNENER MISSION STATEMENT

The Maryland Master Gardener mission is to support the University of Maryland Extension by educating Maryland residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices

that build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities.