The

Grapevine November 2011 Rain Garden Workshop

Learn about Yamhill County gardening through the Grapevine

Master Gardeners and other members of the community learned how to design and install a rain garden in their yard at a recent workshop co-sponsored by OSU Extension and OSU Sea Grant. The practical hands-on course was taught by OSU Extension educators Derek Godwin and Linda McMahan.

Students begin with an overview of rain garden principles in the classroom.

The site of the practical exercise is the house of MG Randy Williamson in Mac. His WaterWise garden is in the foreground.

OSU educator Derek Godwin instructs the class in testing soil for drainage and slope and locating the rainwater catch basin. Participants try their hand at designing a rain

garden with native plants.

November 3, Thursday Insect Committee Meeting, 10am in the PW Auditorium November 12, Saturday YCMGA Annual Retreat, Planning Session and Potluck. No separate YCMGA Board meeting this month. November 17, Thursday Insect Committee Meeting, 10am in the PW Auditorium November 22, Tuesday Wildflowers of the Swiss Alps. 7pm program for the Native Plant Society in the Carnegie Room of the McMinnville Public Library November 24 & 25, Thursday & Friday Yamhill Extension office closed for Thanksgiving Holiday.

This Month’s Master Gardener Calendar 2

Gail Langellotto has been working on the Master Gardener reference websites. There is now a page specifically for Master Gardener volunteers. Please visit the site and if you have comments or suggestions, contact Patty Driscoll at: driscollp@hort.oregonstate.edu MG Volunteer website address: http://groups.hort.oregonstate.edu/content/i-am-

oregon-master-gardener-volunteer

All the positions for 2012 OMGA Executive Committee and appointees are filled except for one. We still need someone to take charge of the OMGA Newsletter. A single editor in chief is welcome, or this can be a team affair. Consider joining with several others to form a team and have a lot fun reporting on happen-ings around the state. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact our local OMGA representative, Randy Williamson, at ac7nj@arrl.net or 503-376-6299

MENTORS NEEDED FOR 2012 TRAINING CLASS!

Randy Williamson is the chair of the Mentor Committee this year. He is looking for volun-teers to help with the vital and rewarding task of mentoring the new class of 2012, starting in January. Randy would like to have a mix of veterans and 2011 Class graduates on the committee. The fresh perspective of the new graduates combined with the experience of the veterans is a winning combination. Randy is also looking for a co-chair to help him with organization and preparation. If you are interested in this opportunity (which also qualifies as volunteer hours), please contact Randy at acy7nj@arrl.net or 503-376-6299

Linda’s Corner by Linda McMahan

So what’s good about Master Gardeners? People I meet casually sometimes ask me what OSU Master Garden-ers do, and the question often leaves me momentarily tongue-tied. The problem is not ex-plaining what you do, but trying to put into words the multitude

of activates and benefits that Master Gardeners provide—in the short “sound bite” that most people expect. Just looking at this newsletters is an example. You are assisting with the training and appreciation of new Master Gardeners by co-hosting the December 1 Graduation and Potluck, providing decorations, coordina-tion, and awards. Each year you chair the Mentor Com-mittee and volunteer as mentors for new class mem-bers. You continue to learn by taking classes like the recent Rain Garden Workshop in which Randy W. also served as a host for the hands-on activities.

Then there is the service, with all of its facets. In this issue, service examples include helping to supervise plant-ing at the new Food Bank building in McMinnville, and co-ordinating and serving at information booths at the McMinnville and Newberg Farmer’s Markets. Ruth Rogers’ receipt of the Diamond Pioneer Award was based on her service to her own community through the OSU Master Gardener Program. The award of travel funds from the YCMGA to the McMinnville High School FFA students helped them succeed at a national competition. And this month’s newsletter didn’t even cover many of the other volunteer aspects such as community gardens and teach-ing in the community. Try putting the activities listed in just this issue in a sound-bite. If you succeed, let me know so that I can survive future social events without looking stupefied.

The 2011 YCMGA Annual Plan-ning Session, aka “Retreat” is scheduled this year for Saturday, November 12. It is to take place in the PWA room (a new location from past years) at Yamhill County Extension building starting at 9:00 AM until about 3:00 PM. There will be a Potluck Breakfast Luncheon

plus a few snackies to get us started. All MG’s, veterans and trainees are welcome! We will discuss next year’s budget, ongoing activities, new activities or projects, YCMGA business, etc. This is your chance to speak up and have an impact on YCMGA activities for 2012. If you have an item/idea to add to the agenda for the retreat, please contact me asap via email or phone with your request. I’m hoping not to forget any-thing, so please remind me again to add your item/idea/comments to the agenda. If you are bringing a “new activity or project” to the ta-ble, it is recommended that you include the following in your written request:

-why should it be considered (purpose) -how will it be executed (manpower, dollars, etc.) -when will it start/end (timeframe)

-who will be responsible -where is the project

An email will be sent out the week prior to the Retreat to the YCMGA membership with the Retreat Agenda for all to review. Print off a copy and make your notes to bring it along to the meeting. All are encouraged to come and ex-press their thoughts and help set the direction for 2012. And don’t forget your covered dish for the potluck!

November’s Board meeting will be held on

Saturday, November 12, at 9:00 AM just prior to the YCMGA Annual Retreat. It is usually very short.

December’s Board meeting will be held from 4:00 PM

to 5:00 PM just preceding the Graduation/Recognition Dinner on December 1.

Mark your calendars for the 2011 Graduation/

Recognition Dinner to be held on Thursday, December 1, at 6:00 PM. Our MG trainees have been hard at work trying to get all of their hours in to graduate. Come to congratulate and cheer them on. As always, it is a potluck event and guests are welcome.

Keep on enjoying the fruits and veggies of your labor!

From the President by Marcia Sherry 3

But see, in our open clearings, how golden the melons

lie; Enrich them with sweets and spices,

and give us the pumpkin-pie!

~Margaret Junkin Preston

Greetings from the New Grapevine Editor by Kyle Hunter 4

Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea’ is a purple-leaf relative of our wine grapes. Unlike its agricultural relatives, this hardy climbing vine grows to only 30 feet, but it may be pruned to keep it lower. What they have in common is that fall is “their time of year.” In late October, commercial grapes are ready for har-vest, with fruit hanging heavily on the vines. This is also the time when the Purple Leaf Grape is a real show-off with fall color of deep reddish purple. Although this vari-ety also makes fruit, they are considered by some to have a rather unpleasant taste. However, its ornamental fea-tures and use as either a climber or as a groundcover, make up for the lack of fruit flavor. Three years after planting, the two vines in front of the OSU Extension Office in Yamhill County are just beginning to reach eye-catching size. It has been well worth the wait, and many visitors have already commented on them and asked questions. Because of its success and non-invasive characteristics, we featured it in GardenSmart Oregon as an alternative to English Ivy. Although it adapts to many different soils, growth and color are best in full sun. It is also considered to be WaterWise, so can be used in drought-tolerant land-scapes. To add to its credits, the species has also been selected as a “Great Plant Pick” by the Elizabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden

Remember, fall is a great time to plant woody trees, shrubs, and vines. Purple Leaf Grape is commercially available in Oregon at specialty nurseries, so now is a good time to search it out.

Purple Leaf Grape on an arbor mixed with regular table grapes. Photo by Deb Zaveson

Plant Profile: Purple Leaf Grape by Linda McMahan

Greetings and happy autumn. My name is Kyle Hunter and I am part of the 2011 class whose trainees have just finished their required volunteer hours and are now ready to join the ranks of the veteran s in the Yamhill County Master Gardeners Association. Originally, the Master Gardener class was of interest to me because I naively have a desire to ab-sorb everything there is to know about general plant care, composting, greenhouse building, sus-tainable land management, insect identification, and chicken psychology. But as it turns out, there are more things to learn on each topic than any one individual is capable of retaining. There are over 300,000 beetle species and almost 12,000 species of ferns. Thank goodness for the OSU Extension Services and the YCMGA. The resources available here are

enough to answer the most challenging questions and suggest the most probable solutions. Data is documented and tracked on how many interactions with the public there are; what types of questions are asked, and the solutions that have been offered. That data is evidence of the quality of service provided by the staff, and volunteers of this organiza-tion. The Grapevine is one of those copious resources. And like most enjoyable things around here, it requires the input and services of its volunteer core. We would like to fill the upcoming issues with pictures of your gardens, plants, harvests, insects, and animals seen wandering the area. We also need your information on upcoming events, comments, advice, articles, and even more photos to fill what is already a great source for learning and educating. It is a fun time of year where we can learn from our missteps and reflect on our accomplishments. We'd like to be

able to document as much of it as possible in the Grapevine.

Buggy Bits by Bob Grossmann 5

The Sands of Time Almost every continent has a sandy desert or seashore that contains a vast number of insects and other arthro-pods, some of these with unique life activities. Sand wasps, which depend on this type of environment for survival, make cavernous burrows into dry sand using their front legs as digging tools. Their vigorous excavation can throw sand grains up to a foot away from the mining site. After producing a suitable nursery cave, the female wasp heads off to find prey for her young. She struggles with and paralyzes spiders with a sting and then drags the quarry back to the burrow. After collecting a proper amount of food, she lays an egg on the spider and closes the opening of the burrow. The hatching larva will then begin to feed on the paralyzed spiders until it matures and spins a cocoon to emerge as an adult wasp. Scorpions are nocturnal desert critters that spend the day under rocks and in crevices where they can be free of being eaten by some daylight predator. When the sun goes down, they do their own brand of hunting for soft bodied prey. Scorpion collectors use portable ultraviolet lights to locate their quarry at night. The bodies of the scorpions emit a greenish glow in the presence of ultra-violet rays. Sounds almost like a scene out of a science fiction movie, huh? In the vast Namibian desert are some darkling beetles that have a unique ability. There are no water sources in the desert except for a nighttime haze that floats across the sand. The beetle has a long pair of hind legs that it uses to lift the rear end of its body above the sand during

this haze time. Water collects as dew on the body of the beetle and coalesces into droplets that migrate forward on the body until it finally reaches its mouth where it can get its daily supply of water. Tiger beetles live on the sandy beaches of lakes and streams. They have large grasping jaws and long legs that let them run fast and grab the insects they eat. The lar-vae do not have these long legs, but they do have a mas-sive head for their size and a set of large jaws like the par-ents. They too are predaceous, but use other methods to gather prey. The larvae make a burrow in the sand and, using their large flattened heads, cover over the entrance to the burrow. They lie in wait until a suitable meal wan-ders close to the burrow and then it springs up and grabs the unwary beast. This sounds like a science fiction movie too, huh? Insects and other arthropods live in almost every type of environment on earth and adapt readily to the harsh-ness or opportunities of their situation. Let’s hear it for the “bugs”, whether they are “good” or “bad”!

Botanical Bookmarks by Linda McMahan

During the last year, I have subscribed to daily emails similar to those for vocabulary word of the day. I am sharing these links with you so you can go take a look and choose if you too would like to subscribe, or perhaps just bookmark the sites for occasional reference. The first one is Botany Photo of the Day, produced by the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. To take a look, type the following into your web browser http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/ (or click on the link). Once there, you can choose to take a look around or subscribe. In the past few weeks, I have seen fabulous photographs of plants ranging from tropical orchids to native plants, to today’s photo of a tiny liverwort. Another site of interest is Science Daily Botany News. It features short articles based on new publications about plants and crops. Today’s entry was about what it took to figure out how plants make auxin, one of the most impor-tant plant hormones. You will get one to three headlines daily, and you can click on the links to view the short stories. The writing is good, and many of the topics are fascinating. To check it out and perhaps to subscribe, check out http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/botany/ If you like the science of other subjects, it is easy to navigate around and find information about other topics. Enjoy.

November Desk Calendar 6

MG Desk Calendar: November

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OFFICE CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING

Mac High School FFA Horticulture Wins National Award by Kerry Naylor, MHS

The hard work paid off for the McMinnville High School, Oregon FFA National Floriculture Contest Team. They placed 4th in the nation as a team score, earning them a gold plaque! Thanks for all of your assistance! Individual scores included: 18th, 19th and 36th in the nation - all Gold Awards and 80th in the nation-Silver Award., This year students competed in: Selling face to face order, job application, resume' & interview, problem solving - math!, team activity - they are given a huge floral order to fill and watch to see how they work together to accomplish the task, general knowledge test, plant identification, potting, corsage, and flower arrangement and billing. For a team picture – see the MHS website www.msd.k12.or.us NOTE: The YCMGA donated $1000 to send these students to the National competition. YCMGA member Alan Wenner was a judge in the district competition.

Congratulations Horticulture Team!

Farmer’s Market Thank You by Marcia Sherry

Thank you Yamhill County MG’s for all of the time and effort that went into

having a YCMGA presence at both weekly markets! Just think of the number of

questions that were answered, the face-to-face contact and the new MG friends that

you made over the 20 plus weeks of volunteering. A special thanks goes out to Beth

Durr and Maren Davis for overseeing each market and making sure there were

volunteers each week.

Ruth Rogers: 2011 Diamond Pioneer

In the October issue of the Grapevine, we announced that Ruth Rogers had been honored with a registry as a Diamond Pioneer for her service as a volunteer. Here is a partial list of the volunteer accomplishments that led to Ruth’s recognition:

Joined Yamhill County Master Gardeners in 2000. Participated in Amity Daffodil Festival. Represented Yamhill County Master Gardeners at Oregon State Fair. Worked in booth as a Master Gardener at demonstration garden at Yamhill Co. fair. Attended work shops and meetings at Oregon Master Gardener Mini college at OSU. Made and donated wreaths for OMGA auction at Mini College. Was Secretary for Yamhill County Master Gardeners in 2005 and 2006. Taught a class in dried wreaths in McMinnville and assisted in Christmas wreath making

classes at Newberg Chehalem Senior Center 3 years. Was on welcoming committee for Oregon Master Gardener quarterly meetings in 2006 and 2011. Has taken many classes offered by Yamhill County Master Gardeners and local nurseries. Also, joined the propaga-

tion committee of Yamhill County Master Gardeners in 2009 and used this knowledge to promote further projects in her Dundee home Community.

Has renewed Yamhill County Master Gardener Certification yearly by filling the requirements of doing desk duty at the local Extension office or Master Gardener Plant Clinics to answer questions regarding plant problems for the public.

Participated in annual sale of plants grown by Yamhill County Master Gardeners every year. Manned a Master Gardener booth at the Newberg Farmers Market which she plans to continue to do through the

season. Helped with sign-in of Horticulture exhibits at the Yamhill County Fair for two years. Joined Dundee Garden Club in 2007 and serves on the Dundee Garden Club committee to establish speakers and

classes for the membership. Taught a class on herbs at Dundee Garden Club. Propagated seedlings and divided perennials for Dundee Easter Egg Hunt and

Party in the Park. Introduced Yamhill County Master Gardeners to the City of Dundee and since

the committee has started a water-wise garden in front of City Hall, where it has expanded to many other plantings to help with the beautification of the city.

An annual planting basket was placed at the Fire Station along with plantings in other containers to beautify the area. As a member of the same committee, she participated in the planting of an area on 5th street by the Dundee Post Office

New Regional Administrator Named OSU Outreach and Engagement (formerly Extension Service) has recently approved a change that will create “regions” comprised of several counties. Yamhill county joins the “West Central” region along with Marion, Polk, Linn, and Benton counties. As part of this plan, a new RA (Regional Administrator) has been appointed to oversee the functions of the West Central region. We would like to welcome Derek Godwin as our new Regional Administrator. Derek has been serving as the staff chair of both Marion and Polk counties. He has also served as the statewide Watershed Management Specialist and taught the recent Rain Garden workshop in McMinnville.

In the new administrative plan, the staff chair positions in each county will be replaced with a new “County Leader” position, chosen by the RA, that will focus on networking with local community and county organizations. County Leaders should all be appointed by January, 2012.

Ruth Rogers: 2011 Diamond Pioneer 7

Cuttings from the Board by Patty Sorensen 8

Cuttings from the Board - a synopsis from the October 12th Board meeting

Inventory of our library books has been started by Library committee, but there are still books missing. (Did

you borrow one by mistake? Please return so that all may enjoy it, too!)

MAC & Newberg Farmer’s Markets are over for this year. Ray V. plans to do a canopy demo in Newberg.

Mentoring Committee is starting to form. Randy Williamson has agreed to be a Co-chair but he still needs

someone to Co-chair with.

2012 Retreat is scheduled for Saturday, November 12th at extension at 9:00 AM. Email Marcia if you wish to

have anything on the agenda. There will also be a potluck luncheon.

There was discussion about having a “brainstorming session” the week prior to the retreat. Then follow up

with a “goal matching” session.

Those attending decided to re-instate Cuttings from the Board to be included in the Grapevine. Patty S. will

co-ordinate with Marcia and Deb.

Clinic Notes by Linda McMahan

By far the most interesting sample that came in this October was from a client who had purchased hay. He brought in the sample because he had what looked like small bites on his body, but couldn’t see any insects. Being very, very careful, Ronda and I took a look at the sample and called in Bob Grossmann, our insect guru, to take a look. We saw nothing--no weeds, no bugs. But when Bob got home, he did a little research and found out there is a small mite that sometimes appears in hay, providing us with a picture of the tiny creature and the kinds of bites it inflicts. It looked like a possible match to us, but our microscopes here in the office just aren’t powerful to see mites this tiny. So we took the sample down to OSU, complete with information on our suspicions about the culprit. It turns out we were right on. The insect clinic identified it as belonging to the genus Pyemotes or the Order: Trombidiformes. And it is called the “straw itch mite.” It is indeed very tiny, and although they could not identify to species, they assured us that they are all pretty much alike in their activity. Pyemotes are “parasites on insect pests” so “in the larger sense they are beneficial”. However, they do bite humans and other mammals. They develop in the field before harvest and continue to feed on the pest insects that are present even after harvest. They are capable of producing a new generation every six days. The recommendation was not to do anything unless the animals were showing signs of being bitten, which did not appear to be the case. We recommended also to clean up promptly after handling the hay and use insect repellents to help deter the pests from biting. Thanks again to Bob for his detective work and to the staff at the Insect ID clinic at OSU for helping us out with this problem.

YCAP Planting Day 9

Last month, several Master Gardeners donated time to the community by supervising a large crew of volunteer planters at the new YCAP (Yamhill Community Action Partnership) regional foodbank and client services building on Dustin Court in McMinnville. Master Gardeners made sure that planting was done properly and that the (donated) plants were all placed correctly according to the landscape design plan. YCAP is celebrating with an Open House at their new location on Tuesday, November 8 from 5-7pm. RSVP is

requested at the following website: http://www.yamhillcap.org/ or by calling 503-472-0457. Thanks to all who helped with this community project!

Yamhill County Extension 2050 NE Lafayette Avenue McMinnville, OR 97128-9333

Linda R. McMahan, Yamhill County

Extension Faculty for Community

Horticulture

Yamhill County Master

Gardener™ Association

Executive Board

President: Marcia Sherry

Vice Pres.: Rachael Cornell

Secretary: Patty Sorensen

Treasurer: Anna Ashby

OMGA Rep: Randy Williamson

OMGA Alt.Rep: Terry Hart

Members at Large:

Maren Davis, Linda Coakley

Past President: Cathy Burdett

THE GRAPEVINE

The Grapevine is published monthly by the Yamhill County OSU

Extension Office in cooperation with the Yamhill County Master

Gardener™ Association, 2050 Lafayette Avenue, McMinnville, OR

97128-9333. (503) 434-7517. For free subscription by email, send

request to:

yamhillmg@oregonstate.edu

General meetings of the Yamhill County Master Gardeners™

Association are announced in the newsletter and open to the public.

Grapevine Editor: Kyle Hunter

OSU Master GardenerTM Program Director: Linda R. McMahan,

Contributors: Linda McMahan, Bob Grossmann, Marcia

Sherry,Kerry Naylon, Doris Crimmins, Patty Sorensen & Kyle Hunter,

We’re on the Web!

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/yamhill

Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs,

activities, and materials without discrimination based on age, color,

disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin,

race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status. Oregon State

University Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Page Articles

2 November Calendar of Events

3 From the President, Linda’s Corner

4 New Editor, Plant Profile

5 Botanical Bookmarks, Buggy Bits

6 Desk Calendar, Market Thank You

7 Diamond Pioneer, New RA

8 Cuttings, Clinic Notes

9 YCAP Plantings