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MISSION: The mission of the association shall be to organize and promote volunteer efforts that

support Extension programs advancing sound horticultural practices in Nueces County.

Nueces Master Gardeners, Inc. Issue 4 April 2015

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MG Officers and Elect 2015

President

Deborah Holliday dholliday@mygrande.net

(956) 433-7110

El leElect Elect

Debra Martin

(361) 815-1867

Vice President Alene Burch

Lenahope9@yahoo.com (361) 334-1021

Elect Thorunn Kelley (361) 985-9818

Secretary Linda Lamprecht

argonmill@yahoo.com (361) 215-7738

Elect Beth Spirko

(610) 349-1099

Treasurer/ Bookkeeper

Theresa Stelzig

cstelzig@stx.rr.com (361) 643-6491

Elect Suzy Murray (361) 816-2464

Publicity ALL MASTER GARDENERS

Gazette Editor Jenny Mohundro

jlmohundro@gmail.com

(361) 816-4646

Ex-Officio

Norma Hernandez

cluestar@swbell.net (361) 816-8206

Members-at-large

DeAnna Baumgartner, Carlos Valdez, Sandra Williams

State Directors Jenny Mohundro, Betty Rogers Alternate: Huxley Smith

Volunteer Hrs. Coordinator

Betty Rogers

banrogers@aol.com (361) 877-7060

Extension Office

Lisa Martinez

llmartinez@ag.tamu.edu (361) 767-5217

MG Helpline

(361) 767-5250

Plant Winecup

Botanical Name

Callirhoe involucrata

April Topics

MG Officers President’s Corner Happenings Agent’s Notes Thinking of You Potluck Lunch Meeting Dates Scholarship Garden Council Birthdays Note from Betty Botanical Garden

Classes Volunteer

Opportunities Meeting Hours MG’s In Action Big Bloom World of Water Doing Business Surfactants Texas Mountain

Laurel Legend of Winecup

Callirhoe involucrate, commonly called wine cups, purple poppy mallow, or buffalo rose is a member of the mallow family and is native to Texas and the Central United States. With its sprawling, spreading habit, wine cups make a great groundcover in sun or part-sun and grow in rocky soil. Its evergreen foliage looks great all winter and the spring show of flowers is breathtaking. An unusual feature of this flower’s foliage is that it is different in the winter when it grows in a low cluster with wide scalloped leaves. Then in the spring it sends out long stems for the flowers but also produces thin, deeply notched leaves. The bright magenta flowers attract many bees and small wasps.

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Other Happenings

April ‘15

Wed. April 1 *Coastal Bend Cacti & Succulent Society, 7pm, GC, 852-7700 Thurs. Apr. 2 *Orchidology Class, 7pm, BG, 854-7624 *Rose Society, 7pm, GC, 853-7554 Sat. Apr. 4 *Big Bloom Plant Sale and Dollar Day, 9-5, BG, 852-2100 Wed. Apr. 8 *Rockport Herb & Rose Study Group, 10am, ACISD Maintenance Dept., 619 N. Live Oak St., Room 14, Rockport, 361-790-0103 Sat. Apr. 11 *”Antique Roses for South Texas”, seminar, 10am, BG, 852-2100 *2015 Earth Day/Bay Day Celebration, 10-5, Heritage Park, 882-3439 Tue. Apr. 14 *Corpus Christi Area Garden Council, 10am, GC, 537-8231 Wed. Apr. 15 *Municipal & Residential Water Workshops: Municipal - 9-12noon, St. Christopher’s by the Sea Episcopal, 820 Wildcat Dr. Portland, April 10 by calling 361-364-6234 Residential - 6-8pm, Portland Community Center, 1900 Billy G. Webb, $20, RSVP by April 10 by calling 361-364-6234 Wed. Apr. 16 *Bromeliad Society, 7pm, GC, 658-8650 Tue. Apr. 21 *MG Executive and General Meetings, 10am and 12Noon, GC, 956-433-7110 *Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener Association, 10am, 892 Airport Rd., Rockport, 361-790-0103 *”Who is Doing What in My Garden?”, brown bag, 12-1pm, 892 Airport Rd, Rockport Ext. Office, 361-790-0103 Thu. Apr. 23 *Bonsai Society, 7pm, GC, 992-0009 BG=Botanical Gardens GC=Garden Center (Greely Senior Center) Remember! You get CE credits for the program portion of horticulture-based meetings that you attend which are not Master Gardener Meetings.

Deb Holliday

President 2015

Nueces Master Gardeners, Inc.

Happy April! Happy Spring! Happy Planting!

I want to commend everyone who certified and re-certified as

Master Gardeners and give special kudos to those of you who

earned milestone badges and pins. Congratulations to Betty

Whitt, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, to Hope

Romero and Robin Arndt, who both received Rookie of the

Year Awards, and to Carlos Valdez for Going the Extra Mile!

This month we will return to our regular schedule of

Executive Committee meeting at 10 a.m. and General Meeting

and program at noon. Meet and greet is 11:30 - noon.

Please plan to attend monthly meetings. There is always

something interesting and new to discuss. We need your

input and your vote when we make decisions. Everyone has

something valuable to contribute. The best decisions are

distilled from the combination of all the ideas that go into

them.

Speaking of new and interesting, I introduced at the last

meeting the 2015 Earth-Kind Water Smart Landscape Water

Conservation Program. (see the minutes for details) The

board decided that our participation would be predicated on

being able to identify and recruit a minimum of 25 households

to participate. Those of us who volunteered yesterday at the

rain-barrel event succeeded in collecting 23 of the 25

households we targeted. We will continue our recruitment

efforts at Big Bloom next Saturday. More on that at our

meetings. See why we need you there?

Learning to Grow - Two requests. 1) Please work with

DeAnna and the LTG team to catch up with bed building this

month. 2) Assure the success of LTG by participating in the

school mentoring program (no heavy lifting required, just site

visits and consulting with the coaches - a mere 5 school

commitment).

See you at Big Bloom this week, and at the monthly meetings

on April 21.

Deb

President’s Corner

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Jason P. Ott, CEA-Ag/NR Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Nueces County

I am sure that most of you are glad to see more sunshine, warmer days, and a little dryer conditions in the forecast than we have seen in the past few months. On average, Nueces County has received 226% of average rainfall since January 1st, making for a very wet spring. Thankfully, this week planters are starting to get across some of the fields in the area and I know many gardeners have been just as anxious to get their planting done as area farmers. Plans are under way to support a Vegetable Show on May 2nd for CCISD classes being hosted by the Junior League in collaboration with Master Gardeners and AgriLife Extension. This adds a competitive slant to the Learning to Grow garden beds, as each school will be entering vegetables in the show to compete for some very nice awards. Therefore, I encourage you again to consider lending your support to this program to help scout these garden beds and make suggestions to keep the school of your choice in the hunt for some very nice awards. To help as a “Garden Scout” you do not even have to teach kids; you just have to help the teacher assess the condition of the beds and give them guidance to keep the project moving forward. Many thanks to the Master Gardeners who helped with the city’s rain barrel distribution event! Officially, 741 barrels were distributed to 430 households. Once installed, these barrels will save a significant amount of drinking water that would have gone to landscape use, and equally as important, will reduce the amount to storm water runoff entering our city drainage systems. Well over 60 participants stopped by the Master Gardener Demonstration Booth to learn how to install a rain barrel, irrigation options, and the fate of rain water! Those in need of CE should make plans to attend the April 15th Municipal and Residential Water Workshops in Portland. Both programs will feature Dr. Dotty Woodson, Extension Water Specialist, from Dallas. She will be discussing Management of Municipal Water Supplies from 9 – 12pm, and during the Residential Water Workshop from 6 – 8pm, she will discuss plant selection, irrigation audits, lawn watering restrictions, and irrigation system checks. Please call 361.364.6234 to RSVP or obtain additional information on these two programs. These will be great workshops to learn how to get the most out of every drop of water. Recently Nueces County, along with 5 other Texas counties, was requested to participate in a Water Smart Landscape Water Conservation Program. This will be another great opportunity for Master Gardeners to showcase their expertise in water conservation. The goal of the program is to provide two comprehensive 6 hour workshops on water conserving practices to at least 25 households at each program. We will be recruiting MG volunteers who would like to help conduct these workshops. Participating volunteers will receive additional in-depth training on water conservation curriculum including Earth-Kind Landscaping, Irrigation Efficiency, and Rainwater Harvesting to prepare them for teaching the program. Finally, I have had many question regarding refilling the Horticulture Agent position. In terms of an update, I can say that interviews have taken place for the position and we are waiting for the rest of the hiring process to play out. In the meantime I am happy to continue to serve as the interim Nueces County MG Advisor and hope that we can find programming opportunities to collaborate on even after I transition from that role.

Agent’s Notes

April Meeting Lunch

Frank Eicholz 877-2689 Sandra Williams 986-1582 Sandra Davis 387-1322

To volunteer for future dates, contact Rita Phillips 991-0750

or e-mail rnphillipscctx@grandecom.net.

Next MG General Meeting

NOTE: We are back to normal time with a meet and greet at 11:30 and meeting and program at noon

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Next MG Board of Directors Meeting

April 21st, 10:00 a.m. at GC

(3rd

Tuesday monthly, except December)

Garden Council Meeting

Tuesday, April 14th 10:00 a.m. at the Garden Center

Program: South Texas Landscaping Speaker: John Bivens McNamee’s Landscaping Host: Port Aransas Garden Club

Need a charitable donation for your taxes?

Want to honor someone? Wish to memorialize a friend or loved

one? Or just like helping a deserving student?

Consider making a donation to the

Master Gardeners Scholarship Program.

Dan Dain Our caring thoughts are

you with you as you recover

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Ongoing: Ray High School Greenhouse

Behind Ray H.S., Staples & Texan Trail

Tuesday MG Workday 9:00-11:00

Ongoing: Food Bank Project “Outgrow

Hunger” 826 Krill Dr. (Navigation

then right on Savage Lane to Krill).

Tuesdays 8:00a.m.( Except MG meeting day

then Wednesday) Contact: Mary Lambert

813-7596 or e-mail her at

cwlmel@yahoo.com

Ongoing: Nature Conservatory, Mon., March 10

& March 24, 4:00 & Blucher Park 5:00

until sundown (Behind the Main Library)

Bring gloves, bug spray, plus a bag lunch &

chair if you plan to stay for our Chat &

Chew time.

Contact: Karen Smith 877-9723

Ongoing: Courtyard Maintenance at the

Senior Garden Center, 1st Monday,

9:15 a.m. Contact: Betty Whitt 991-5375

Ongoing: Botanical Gardens,

Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m.

Contact: Jessica Latimer 993-6013 Areas to work:

1. Hummingbird Garden

2. Butterfly Garden (new)

3. Sensory Garden

4. Earth Kind Garden

Please notify the MG Gazette editor before the last

day of the month if hours for your work project

change.

Check With

Michael,

Carol, Billy or

Brenda for

work tasks.

04-02 Phyllis O’Brien Class 16

04-13 Deb Houlihan Class 21

04-30 Beverly Leach Class 15

04-30 Betty Rogers Class 15

February 17th MG Meeting Hours

Volunteer Hours

Executive Meeting = 1 hour

Master Gardener Meeting = 1 hour

Time Traveled = Figure your own

Continuing Education Hours

MG Volunteer Recognition Ceremony = 0

A NOTE FROM BETTY ROGERS

Volunteer and CE hours are NOT interchangeable. You must complete at least 30 volunteer AND 6 CE hours annually to re-certify.

Botanical Garden Events

April 4, 9:00a.m.-5:00p.m. The BIG BLOOM!, South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center’s annual mega Plant Sale, garden festival, and Dollar Day! Visitors may shop and tour the Botanical Gardens for just $1 per person. Members will be admitted free, and may begin shopping at 8 a.m. April 2, 7:00 p.m.. The Orchidology Class meets the first Thursday of each month on a continuing basis. The orchid class series—taught by Orchid Curator Sam Jones—is an on-going Orchid chat-and-learn, for novice to experienced growers, in the Education Station classroom. April 11, 10:00 a.m.- 12 Noon Antique Roses for South Texas. Robbi Will of Antique Rose Emporium will discuss the best varieties of antique roses for our area and give tips to make them thrive. May 2, 10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon Psychology of Color in Landscape. Learn how our brains interpret color, and how to strategically design and plant your landscape for moods and special effects, from Gill Landscape Nursery designer, Kathy Hubner. May 9, 10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon Marvels of Mama Martins. Louise Chambers of the Purple Martin Conservation Association shares insights of Purple Martins’ ideal housing; and a peek into a martin colony as she conducts nest checks. Learn what it takes to mother these ravenous baby birds. May 16, 10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon Organic Gardening 101. Love to garden, but don’t like chemicals to keep your plants attractive? Learn several organic gardening styles, techniques, products and how best to utilize them in a seminar with Andy Chidester of Ladybug Organic Gardening. May 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon Cooking With Cactus. J. T. Garcia of the Texas Cactus Council lectures on growing edible cactus; and demonstrates preparing delicious meals. May 30, 10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon Beekeeping Basics. Justin Hodge of Coastal Bend Beekeepers Association shares importance of these garden pollinators, starting a home hive, and other backyard beekeeper knowledge.

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Rain Barrel Distribution For City Project

Annual Master Gardener Volunteer Awards

Even Plants

Take A

Spring

Break

Betty Whitt Lifetime Achievement Award

Carlos Valdez GEM Going the Extra Mile Award

Hope Romero and Robin Arndt Rookies of the Year Award

Huxley Smith explains rainwater harvesting to young citizens.

Agent Jason Ott discusses rain barrels while Ana Abarca shows the downspout.

Norma Hernandez and Beth Spirko distribute information as cars arrive. The AgriLife tent is busy as Carlos

Valdez, Ana Abarca, Suzy Murray and Deb Holliday answer questions for visitors.

John Balcar and Jessica Latimer 20 Years of Service Award

President Deb Holliday and VP Alene Burch had the pleasant task of presenting certificates of recertification to Nueces Master Gardeners. Pictured are Carol Barragy, Sandra Davis, Ronda Dizney, Martha and Romeo Gonzales, Norma Hernandez, Deb Holliday, Thorunn Kelley, Mary Lambert, Linda Lamprecht, Beverly Leach Bobby Leach, Debra Martin, Sabie Morlan, Jenny Mohundro, John Seip, Huxley Smith, Theresa Stelzig, and Sandra Williams. Also honored and pictured here are the MG’s who certified during 2014: Hope Romero, Beth Spirko, Robin Arndt, Frank Eicholz, and Suzy Murray.

These tomatoes grown from seed at the Ray High School Greenhouse took a detour and hit the beach during spring break before going to the Earth-Kind garden at the Botanical Gardens. Visit them during Big Bloom!

Submitted by Ronda Dizney

DeAnna Baumgartner and Pat Botkin 2000+ Hours of Service Gold Badge

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April 4 brings Botanical Gardens

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The BIG BLOOM!, South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center’s annual mega Plant Sale, garden festival, and Dollar Day, will be 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday, April 4, on Gardens & Nature Center grounds. Visitors may shop and tour the Botanical Gardens for just $1 per person. Members will be admitted free, and may begin shopping at 8 a.m. Plant selections will include popular orchids and plumeria; water-conserving natives and xeriscape; other durable landscape choices; tropicals and exotics; good selection of wholesale-priced roses; and a limited number of Easter lilies. Independent vendors will offer more plants plus outdoor décor and other nature and garden-related merchandise. Nueces Master Gardeners will be on hand for plant selection and horticulture questions. Eco-entertainment will feature two NAVYARMY Community Credit Union Butterfly Releases; Flint Hills Resources EcoFun Tent with Resident Reptile shows, Parrot Talks, and kids ‘Touch & Learn’ projects; H-E-B Kids Fun Zone with Easter Bunny visits and inflatables; plus three Lady Bug releases, nature trail walk-and-talks led by Texas Master Naturalists, and Wetlands Boardwalk birding scopes. Dollar Day sponsors include NuStar Energy, Port Corpus Christi, City of Corpus Christi Solid Waste Services, Valero and Whataburger. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own plant carriers. Parking is free with festival entrance through Rose Garden Pavilion. Vendor spaces are available through March. For more information, call 361.852.2100.

ATTENTION MASTER GARDENERS! YOU ARE NEEDED FOR HELP ALL WEEK! Wednesday, 9:00 AM – Finish Plant Pricing and clear debris from grounds Thursday and Friday, 9:00 AM - Move and stage plants in the sales area. Carts will be available. Also, put signage in place Saturday, all day - MGs are needed to help in several areas such as answering customer questions. Saturday, 11:30 AM – 5:00 PM -Butterfly House (2 people) Saturday, 2:15 – 5:30 PM – Under the pavilion (8 people) Feel free to work any hours. Help is needed morning and afternoon. Gate opens for Botanical Garden members at 8:00 AM. General public entrance begins at 9:00 AM.

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Saturday, April 25

9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

South Texas Botanical Gardens

& Nature Center

Sponsored by the City of Corpus Christi:

Environmental & Strategic Initiatives & Utilities Departments

Master Gardeners will be hosting a table and demonstrating water pollution using our dynamic water display. Be sure to sign up for a time slot.

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Doing Business the Nueces Master Gardeners Way

From time to time, Master Gardeners are in a situation to pay for an official trip, purchase food for

events, buy plants, amendments and tools for work projects or make other monetary transactions. It is

important to know the guidelines and rules to do the purchases correctly for your own experience and for

the good of the organization.

PLAN AHEAD BEFORE committing to any purchase and discuss the purchase with your Chairperson,

the Treasurer or President to see if the item is budgeted or within the budget. Chairpersons are

responsible for knowing their budget limits and for keeping track of income and expenses. Unbudgeted

or over budget purchases need PRIOR Executive Board approval.

To stay within guidelines, always follow these procedures.

1. Obtain a copy of the tax certificate. This is a non-profit organization and does not pay sales tax.

2. Keep all receipts to turn in for reimbursement. Make copies of receipts for your own records.

3. Fill out the Funds Request Form. Then make a copy for your own record to put with the receipt.

4. Submit the original receipt and the Funds Request Form to the Treasurer at the next MG meeting.

5. The Treasurer will write a check for the purchase and submit to a check signer for signature and

to the Executive Board for review and approval.

6. The check will be presented to purchaser as reimbursement.

7. Schedule the purchases so reimbursements can be handled at the monthly meetings when

Executive Board members are available to give their approval.

ALL PURCHASES OVER $750.00 must be approved by the Executive Board and the general

membership prior to purchase. They will review these proposed purchases at the monthly board

meetings. NO ADVANCES will be made. Also remember that NO REIMBURSEMENTS WILL BE

MADE FOR SALES TAXES. Each month, the Treasurer will prepare and submit to the Executive

Board a list of all the expenditures from the previous month, including the receipts and Funds Request

Forms.

CHARGE ACCOUNT PURCHASES

Master Gardener members cannot charge purchases without prior approval of the Executive Board,

Treasurer, or Committee Chair. Even with approval, charges can be made only where accounts are

already established.

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Surfactant / Adjuvant / Sticker = Dishwashing Liquid Soap

Submitted by the MG Gazette Team

One of the first gardening hints we all received, many years ago, was to add some liquid

dishwashing soap to a liquid sprayer when applying just about anything (pesticide,

herbicides, fungicide) to plants. This process is called using a surfactant and using dish

detergent made sense - at the time.

Surfactants decrease the surface tension of the liquid and allow the liquid to have better

adhesion to the leaf or fruit surface. In fact using dish detergent was commercially

recommended by major garden chemical distributors - back then.

Many plants have leaves that are waxy, or have other properties, that give them the ability

to easily shed most liquids. When using liquid dishwashing soap, as the surfactant, most

gardeners personal observations confirmed that whatever was being spraying stayed on

the leaves longer and it appeared that better results were achieved using the dish

detergent surfactant. And it was so simple, easy and very inexpensive; just go to the

kitchen and get whatever liquid dishwashing soap was there, add it to the sprayer and

ready to go. The amount of dish detergent that was added to the spray was predicated by

the beliefs and feelings of the person squeezing the bottle, only a few drops or a couple of

good squirts; whatever amount they thought did the job.

Well, nowadays, there is not much support for using dish detergent as a surfactant.

Recently a lot of time was spent searching the web for a definitive answer – and a clear cut

yes or no could not be found from a highly reputable source. It appears that opinions are

split fairly evenly. And those that recommend using dish detergents as a surfactant

generally suggest that the mildest (least abrasive or least strong) or organic be used.

A common recommendation is that if a surfactant is to be used that a commercially

available product specifically manufactured for that purpose be used. Bear in mind that

the selection of these products is wide ranging with many options available, so you will still

have to do your homework on what is best for your applications. And a different

surfactant may be required for each of the different types of spray that is used.

As always; check the label of both the spray and the surfactant and follow manufacturer’s

directions.

The final option is still yours; use dish detergents or choose a commercial product.

Whichever way you decide to go, just make sure that you do your own research and follow

the advice of your most reliable and trustworthy source.

(Continued on p. 10)

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The following are excerpts from four different types of web site articles and is intended to

show examples of some of the opinions that are available.

10 Common Herbicide Mistakes (excerpt from Texas Farm Bureau)

By Ellen Humphries April 19, 2000

Full article at - http://www.texasfarmbureau.org/TexasAgriculture/2002/041902/041902herbicides.htm

Number 6—Use Surfactants: "The sixth common mistake or rule is a basic thing

and it's simple and cheap," McGinty says. "Add a surfactant to the spray mix when

using a leaf spray." Leaves are covered with wax which causes water-based

herbicide mixes to bead and run off. With a surfactant, such as liquid dishwashing

soap or a commercial surfactant, the surface tension of the water is destroyed and

the spray mix flattens on the leaf. "Then we get maximum absorption of the

herbicide through the stomata in the leaves and the leaf surface. So the addition of

just a few cents worth of surfactant can be the difference between getting good

results and bad results."

Adjuvant Use With Herbicides: Factors to Consider (excerpt from Purdue University

Cooperative Extension Service)

Full article at - https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/WS/WS-7.html

Thomas N. Jordan, Extension Weed Specialist-IPM WS-7 (Reviewed 5/01)

Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service

-Adjuvants are materials that facilitate the activity of herbicides or that facilitate or

modify characteristics of herbicide formulations or spray solutions.

-Surfactants are materials that facilitate and accentuate the emulsifying, dispersing,

spreading, wetting, or other surface modifying properties of liquids.

-Wetting agents are compounds that, when added to a spray solution, cause it to

cover plant surfaces more thoroughly.

Surfactants

Confusion frequently occurs concerning the proper selection and use of surfactants

with herbicides. It is wrong to assume that any product that lowers the surface

tension of water or increases the wetability of a spray solution can be used as a

surfactant.

For example, such products as household soaps and detergents can combine with hard

water to form precipitant or scum that will interfere with the performance of spray

equipment.

(Continued on p. 11)

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Also, most liquid detergents have a fairly low concentration of surfactants (10 to 20%)

compared with a 50 to 90% concentration which is usually found in agricultural

surfactants. Agricultural surfactants do not form precipitants, and they are equally

effective in hard and soft water as well as cold or warm water.

Can a “sticker” such as dishwashing soap be used in a fungicide spray on tomatoes and

other vegetables? January 07, 2008 (excerpt from extension.org)

Full article at - http://www.extension.org/pages/35286/can-a-sticker-such-as-dishwashing-soap-be-used-

in-a-fungicide-spray-on-tomatoes-and-other-vegetables#.VPccbi6rE64

Most gardeners have heard about spreader-stickers, adjuvants, and surfactants, but what

do they do? Basically, they help the spray solution spread evenly on the leaf and fruit.

They also increase the solution penetration of the contact material on insects. Having a

spreader-sticker available increases the total effectiveness of the pesticide. Spreader-

stickers will also give longer residual of the pesticide by reducing the breakdown from

sunlight and rain and prolonging the presence. The label on your pesticide may give

specific information about the use of spreader-stickers.

What about the effectiveness of dishwashing soap to assist the fungicide? A small squirt of

dishwashing soap will break up the surface tension of the water and provide a better

coverage on the waxy leaves and fruit surface of many plants. However, the longevity of

the pesticide may not be increased. Household detergents have ingredients added to clean

dishes and clothes that may be harmful to plant foliage. The horticultural spreader-

stickers are formulated to protect your leaves. They are generally available, more

economical, and less harmful to your plants.

Will using dish detergent with my weed killer increase its effectiveness? (excerpt from

www.zamzows.com}

Full article at -

http://www.zamzows.com/lawn___garden___pond/lawns/?newsType=ArticleView&articleId=898

It is a known fact that using a surfactant will dramatically increase the effectiveness of

herbicides as well as many other garden chemicals. Some will give the advice to use a

liquid dish-washing detergent in place of a commercially manufactured surfactant in an

attempt to save a little money. This suggestion usually stems from more seasoned home

owners giving advice to an uncertain friend. But I personally would not recommend it,

and here are my reasons why.

(Continued on p. 12)

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Although using dish detergent was commercially recommended by major garden chemical

distributors back in the 70’s, technology has changed. It has recently been deemed

possibly ineffective. For this reason it is more likely that dish detergent could decrease the

effectiveness of your weed killer.

I say this because the active ingredients in dish detergent are intended to molecularly

break down chemical bonds in oil and organic based compounds, thus it is possible that

adding dish detergent to your weed killer could tear apart the molecular structure of the

chemical, making it less effective if not completely ineffective in killing your weeds.

Meaning that though it is possible that adding a dish detergent to your weed killer as a

surfactant could increase the adhesion of the chemical to the leaf of the weed, it would not

necessarily increase the effectiveness of the weed killer in killing the weed like a true

surfactant would.

****************************************************************************

Alene Burch submitted this photo of a beautiful blooming purple Texas Mountain Laurel Tree, Sophora secundiflora, in her front yard. Alene and I are both especially fond of this tree because our favorite color is purple and more importantly, we both have birthdays in early March when this tree graces us with its gorgeous blooms. It always makes us feel special! Do you have a special, glorious sight or a favorite meaningful plant at your home? Share it with me. Jenny Mohundro Editor, Master Gardener Gazette

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The Legend of the Winecup

According to a legend from India, there was once a great ruler, well loved by his people for

his wisdom and for his kindness. When he became very ill, everything possible was done for

him, but nothing helped, and the doctors despaired of his life. A favorite dance in India was

the Dance of the Wine Cup, in which a goblet of wine was balanced on the hand of the

dancer. When the dying ruler asked Ivan, his favorite servant, to perform the dance for him

one last time Ivan rejoiced that he could do something to please his master, and he

determined to dance as never before. The next morning while the dew was on the grass, the

ruler sat at a window watching as Ivan performed the Dance of the Wine Cup as it had

never been done before. Moving with great speed and grace, he refused to stop until he

finally stumbled from exhaustion dropping the fragile goblet, which shattered on the ground,

splattering the wine far and wide. Ivan was distressed, but his master comforted him telling

him that the dance had restored his strength and started him on his way to recovery from his

illness. Then Ivan gathered up the bits of the goblet and left, and the next morning the

people of the court were astonished to see the lawn dotted with a new flower of a rich red

wine color in the shape of the goblet Ivan had broken.

Sinverthorne, Elizabeth. Legends & Lore of Texas Wildflowers. College Station, Texas

A&M University Press, 1996. p.91.

Quotes from Lady Bird Johnson “Some may wonder why I chose wildflowers when there are hunger and unemployment and the big bomb in the world. Well, I, for one, think we will survive, and I hope that along the way we can keep alive our experience with the flowering earth. For the bounty of nature is also one of the deep needs of man.” “Though the word beautification makes the concept sound merely cosmetic, it involves much more: clean water, clean air, clean roadsides, safe waste disposal and preservation of valued old landmarks as well as great parks and wilderness areas. To me…beautification means our total concern for the physical and human quality we pass on to our children and the future.”

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Jason Ott, CEA- Ag/NR Editor: Jenny Mohundro Disclaimer - the information herein is for informational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Master Gardeners is implied. Educational programs of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating ******************************************************** Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid, service, or accommodation in order to participate in any Extension event are encouraged to contact their County Extension Office at 361-767-5217 at least one week in advance of the program in order for proper arrangements to be made. ************** In the event of a name, address or phone number change please contact the office at: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service 710 E. Main, Suite 1, Robstown, TX 78380 Attn: Horticulture