July 2018

Issue 55

Upcoming Meetings 2

Annual Bus Trip 3 & 4

Garden Work at SAGES

5

Learning Opportunities 6

Community Produce

Drive

6

From Our Gardens 7

Inside this issue:

Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home

Dodge County Master Gardener Association

Digging in Dodge

Pink-spotted Lady Beetle (Coleomegilla maculate)

• Native • Often seen on agricultural crops. • Both adults and larvae eat aphids along with mites, insect

eggs, and small larvae. Plant pollen is 50% of their diet.

Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens)

• Native • Most commonly known of the ladybugs. • Gets its name from the two converging white lines on the

neck shield. • Used in aphid control in roses and other crops with aphid

pests.

Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

• Non-native • Effective biological control of aphids and other pests • Nuisance, it invades homes during the winter. • Comes in different colors, with deep orange being most

common. The 19 black spots may be faint or missing. There is a black “W” mark on the thorax.

• https://hort.uwex.edu/files/2014/11/Multicolored-Asian-Lady-Beetle.pdf

Native or non-native, ladybugs, or more accurately, lady beetles are beneficial insects for agricultural crops and the home gardener. Lady beetles will eat 5,000 aphids in their lifetime. Larvae (resemble tiny alligators) are very active as well, consuming hundreds of aphids during the month or so of their growing period.

Once very common, the native lady beetles are becoming harder to find. It’s un-clear exactly what has led to their decline. The non-native lady beetles, introduced intentionally or by accident, are flourishing.

Lady beetles have four life cycle stages - eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults, that they go through over an average of 20 days, with the adult living up to one year

There are over 500 species of lady beetles identified in the United States and over 4500 in the entire world.

A lady beetles bright colors are a warning to predators

Lady beetle photos courtesy of Kate Redmond aka The BugLady Chris Jacobs Certified Master Gardner

Carol Shirk

Upcoming Meetings

Anyone with an interest in gardening is welcome to attend the following free programs. Master Gardener meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of the month. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are at 6:30 p.m. in the Administration Building, 127 E. Oak Street, Juneau.

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Master Gardener Websites http://www.wimastergardener.org/

http://dodge.uwex.edu/master-gardener/

Master Gardener E-mail

askamastergardener@att.net

https://wimga.org/

August 23—Food Preservation Inspiration by Becky Gutzman. New equipment, new recipes and new ideas are making food preservation more popular than ever. Join Food Preservation Educator and Master Gardener Becky Gutzman for updates on methods and tips for success that will inspire you to head for the kitchen! Becky Gutzman is a Columbia County Master Gardener Volunteer, and a retired Food Preservation Specialist for UW-Extension. One of her great joys is canning, freezing and drying foods for her family to enjoy all year around.

September 27—Gourd Prep 101 by Barbara Rothwell. Growing, Curing & Cleaning, with a little extra thrown in on the fun side for finishing off a gourd. We’re going to talk about preparing a gourd to enter the art world. Take a walk with me through the Life of a Gourd in the Art World. Gourds have been used throughout the world and throughout history as useful vessels for food, water, arrows, wearing apparel, tools, toys, and musi-cals instruments. Barb is a member of the American Gourd Society, and a Past President of the Wisconsin Gourd Society. She’s always on the lookout for new and interesting uses of and for gourds. In the fall of 2012, she traveled to Japan and Korea to exhibit gourds and demonstrate different techniques for working on gourds. Barb is the owner of the Creative Visual Workshop, where creative ideas are transported into reality through fabric, metal, and gourds.

October 25—Growing Microgreens is easy and fun by Caryl Watterson, owner of BrynTeg Farm LLC of Ashippun/Oconomowoc, WI. In this hands-on workshop, Farmer Caryl will help you get your hands dirty

learning about microgreens, a perfect green-thumb activity for the winter. In this workshop, you will learn to prepare your seeds, containers, and soil medium and to understand planting methods and watering tech-

niques, and of course, you will take home your own container of microgreens. Farmer Caryl grew up helping grow her family’s food on the family’s dairy farm. She started her market-farm business in 2009, and began selling produce at local farmers’ markets and through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), providing a

box of produce directly to individuals and families on a weekly or biweekly basis. Today, the farm continues with CSA offerings, but its produce is also included in a local artisan grocery delivery service and is incorpo-rated in the menus of several local farm-to-fork restaurants. Farmer Caryl enjoys and desires to teach the

next generation about good food and farming practices. Putting action behind words, the farm actively partici-pates in farm-to-school endeavors in coordination with Sprouting Together Inc., a local not-for-profit organiza-

tion.

Katelyn Fischbach

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Garden Work at the School for Agricultural & Environmental Studies (SAGES) in Fox Lake.

SAGES' Community Garden Project - Collaboration between SAGES' learners and their family, as well as a few Waupun Area FFA members, plus the City of Fox Lake and local farmer has made the task of removing sod and creating a new plot for sweet corn possible.

SAGES' ABC Flower Garden - With inspiration from the storybooks, "Zinnia's Flower Garden" and "Alison's Zinnia," SAGES' Kindergartners made used plant catalogs and seed packets to make plans in spring to expand the gardens at school with the addition of an "ABC Flower Garden." This summer families came to-gether to complete the project by adding cardboard and mulch over the existing grass.

SAGES' Sunflower House - During the 2017-18 schoolyear, SAGES' 2nd graders studied sunflowers and along with completing math and measurements of Mammoth Sunflowers made comparisons between annual and perennial plants. To apply their new learning, they planted a few varieties of sunflowers, yellow cone-flowers, and black-eyed Susan’s in the "Sunflower House," a space for learning and discovery, as well as play!

Submitted by Sheri Hicken, Certified Master Gardener

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Learning Opportunities

Community Produce Drive Many residents of Dodge County are living without enough food, especially healthy food. In an

effort to provide families with access to healthy eating options, the YMCA of Dodge County

will be collecting produce donations between August 20—August 31. Bring in a donation of

fresh produce and receive a Family Day Pass to use or to gift!

Produce donations must serve four or more; no spoiled or rotten produce will be accepted.

Multiple donations are accepted with a limit of one Family Pass per day/donation. Donations

can be dropped off in bins located at our Welcome Center.

Donations accepted Monday—Thursday (August 20—31) only as all produce is delivered daily

YMCA of Dodge County, 220 Corporate Drive, Beaver Dam

Native Gardening Conference UW-Madison Arboretum, Madison WI Sunday, September 16, 8:45–4:30 p.m. $65, general public, $30, students with ID

Native by Design: Gardening for a Sustainable Future promotes sustainable gardening practices and use of native plants in home landscapes. Workshops, a garden tour, an illuminating keynote, and a bountiful resource table will help you be a successful native plant gardener. Keynote: "Native Plants in Urban Settings" by garden writer Lynn Stei-ner. Registration is open through September 6. Preregistration is required, no walk-ins. https://arboretum.wisc.edu/visit/events/native-gardening-conference/ngc-registration/

Fall Garden Clean-Up Waupun Public Library, 123 S. Forest Street, Waupun Thursday, September 20, 6—7 p.m. Learn what tasks you should be doing in the fall to prepare your garden and land-scape for a long winter's nap. With these tips straight from a master gardener (Carol Shirk), you will be ready to "spring" into action next year.

Basic Flower Arranging Waupun Public Library, 123 S. Forest Street, Waupun Tuesday, August 21 6—7 p.m. Let's create! Heidi of Rens Floral will be showing us simple flower arranging tech-niques to create beautiful arrangements from cut flowers or from flowers grown in your own garden. **This program requires a $10 per person fee to cover supplies. Spot is ONLY secured AFTER payment has been made at the library. Spots are limited- stop in ASAP.

Gardening for Gold, Fall Symposium

Saturday, November 3, 8:45 a.m.—3:30 p.m.

Horicon Marsh Education Center, Horicon WI

Speakers for the day include Neil Diboll, Jennifer Kazmarek, Jamie Patton and Tim

Eilbes. The day will also include lunch and a silent auction. Registration information

coming soon. Cost $40.

Explore the Y. 2018 Spring/Summer Program Guide YMCA of Dodge County

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From Our Gardens

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of

things growing in the soil, getting dirty without

feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.

~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com

Cabbage—Carol Shirk

Green Radishes

Diane Hemling

Volcano White Eye Phlox

Kimberly Fay Lily—Nicki Poetter

Shade Container

Katelyn Fischbach

Ostrich Ferns—John Schellinger

Board of Directors

Al Krause

Local Representative to

the WIMGA

920-261-7939

Dodge County Master Gardener Association

UW-Extension, Administration Building 127 E. Oak Street, Juneau, WI 53039

Phone: (920) 386-3790

Loretta Ortiz-Ribbing

Crops and Soils Agent

UW-Extension Office

920-386-3790

Diane Hemling

President

920-960-6351

Connie Alderden

Vice President

920-887-3638

Jan Krause

Secretary

920-261-7939

Chris Jacobs

Treasurer

920-887-2250

Gae Bergmann

Local Record Keeper

920-928-3486

Foxtail Lily - Kimberly Fay