the diggers...the diggers dorchester garden club october-november, 2015 4 division i –...

THE DIGGERS Dorchester Garden Club October-November, 2015

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Mark Your Calendars

OCTOBER, 2015 9 DGC “It’s a Green World – Botanical Boggle” Dottie Howatt, Four Seasons Garden Club and President Delaware Federation of Garden Clubs 11 am, Cambridge Yacht Club 10 Nanticoke River Jamboree at Handsell Indiantown Road. 10am-5pm Raindate Oct 11 13 The Art of the Cutting Garden Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane Bethesda, MD 7-9 pm Registration $30 at door 13 Oxford Garden Club “Women Build” fundraising Cocktail party benefitting Choptank Habitat for Humanity, Oxford Community Center 5-7pm

Tickets $25 15 FGCMD Photo Field Trip to Blackwater Refuge

Meet at Visitor Center 3:15 pm. Raindate Oct 21 email [email protected]

21 “Horray for Hollywood” Kent Island Garden Club Standard Flower Show 24-25 “Mums on Vacation” National Chrysanthemum Society Show and Convention hosted by Old Dominion Chrysanthemum Society, Hyatt Fairfax At Fair Lakes, Fairfax, VA Sat 1-5, Sun 9-4 25-29 C.A.R. Conference and Symposium Gettysburg Wyndam Hotel

NOVEMBER, 2015

5 Art of Bonsai Oxford Garden Club Oxford Community Center 2-3 pm 10 FGCMD Board Meeting 12-13 “Growing Your Knowledge of Horticulture” Gardening Study School Counsel, Baltimore County Center for MD Agriculture and Loyola Univ. of MD Graduate Center 13 DGC “Designing with Pumpkins & Succulents” Workshop presented by Faye Phillips at Zion United Methodist Church. Business Mtg/ Brown Bag lunch 11 am, workshop 12:15-2 pm. 14 FGCMD Design Day presented by David Powers, Clyburn Arboretum, Vollmer Center. Tickets $25. 10am-Noon

DECEMBER, 2015 1 Holiday Wreath Workshop Zion United

Methodist Church, Cambridge 9am-3pm 11 “Celebrating the Holidays” DGC Annual Holiday Luncheon, Suicide Bridge Restaurant Hurlock, MD. 9:30-10:30 entries, 10:30-11 Vendor Shopping, 11 am Musical Program, Lunch/Shopping, Program Information for programs sponsored by other Clubs is at http://www.fgcofmd.org/Calendar_Events.html

http://www.fgcofmd.org/Calendar_Events.html


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Dorchester Garden Club September 11th Meeting: “A Bird Friendly Garden” The Eastern Shore Hospital Center extended their usual warm welcome for our club’s September 11th meeting at English Hall. Following the official business portion of the meeting, members and guests were treated to a delicious, gourmet luncheon buffet prepared and served by the Eastern Shore Hospital Center’s talented catering staff. The September program “A Bird Friendly Garden” featured Dr. Jennie Carr, Assistant Professor of Biology at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Her informative and engaging presentation discussed ways that gardeners are able to meet the needs of birds by providing the three critical components of Food, Water and Shelter. Dr. Carr stressed the importance of feeding birds during the upcoming winter months which can mean the difference between life and death for our feathered visitors – and shared tips on having a wide variety of food, feeders, water and shelter sources to support the diverse needs of both year-round and migrating bird populations. Below are some photos from the day, including a sampling of the many lovely horticulture entries and winning designs.


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Division I – Horticulture Class 1 Rosa (Roses) 1a. Miniature single: 1stJane Parks 1c. Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora: 1st Mary Jo Papin, HM Jane Parks 1d. Floribunda, Polyantha, Carpet, Climber: 2nd Lynne Davis, 3rd Helen Saum 1e. Shrub, Old Garden Rose: 1st Annilly Jones, 2nd Fran Collins, 3rd Pat Beck Class 2 Conifers-One branch 2a. With Cones or Berries: 1st Celi Dragich, 2nd Beverly Shelly 2b. Without Cones or Berries: 1st Cookie Brohawn Class 3 Broadleaf Evergreen Tree or Shrub-one branch 3b. Foliage: 1st Beverly Shelly, 2nd Celi Dragich, 3rd Judy Slaughter, HM Cookie Brohawn, Clara Mae Stephens 3c. Fruited: 1st Cookie Brohawn, 2nd Beverly Shelly Class 4 Deciduous Tree or Shrub-one branch 4a. Flowering: 1st Ellen Rindfuss, 2nd Susie Middleton 4b Foliage: 1st Susie Middleton 4c. Fruited: 1st Dee Terry, 2nd Susie Middleton, 3rd Donna Harms Class 5 Ilex (Holly)-one branch 5a. Foliage: 1st Beverly Shelly, 2nd Susie Middleton 5b. Fruited: 1st Cookie Brohawn, 2nd Beverly Shelly Class 6 Container Grown Plants 6a. Flowering: 1st Helen Saum, 2nd Cookie Brohawn, 3rd Kathy Miller 6b. Foliage: 1st Susie Middleton, 2nd Helen Davies, 3rd Beverly Shelly Class 7 Open Class 7a Annual: 1st Gloria Warner, 2nd Mary Jo Papin, 3rd Wanda Ciekot, HM Nancy Hastings, Helen Saum, Pat Beck 7b Perennial: 1st Susie Middleton, 2nd Mary Jo Papin, 3rd Annilly Jones, HM Fran Collins, Deana Kozak, Beverly Shelly, Gloria Warner, Donna Harms 7d. Bulb, corm, rhizome, tuber: 1st Beverly Shelly, 2nd Mary Jo Papin, 3rd Cookie Brohawn 7e. Vines: 1st Susie Middleton, 2nd Ellen Higgins, 3rd Cookie Brohawn, HM Fran Collins Class 8 Herbs 8a Same Cultivar: 1st Cookie Brohawn, 2nd Mary Jo Papin, HM Susie Middleton, HM Beverly Shelly 8b. Different cultivars: 1st Kathy Miller, 2nd Cookie Brohawn, 3rd Pat Beck Class 9 Dahlias 9a. Single: 1st Susie Middleton, 2nd Clara Mae Stephens, 3rd Pat Beck Class 10 Five fruits or vegetables on a tray 1st Cookie Brohawn, 2nd Ellen Rindfuss


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Division II-Design

Design Class 1 “Potted” A Pot-et-Fleur Design

Patti Hopkins Jeanne Bernard 1st Place 2nd Place

Design Class 2: “It’s the Little Things that Count” A Miniature Design

Patti Hopkins Shirley Chatham Susie Middleton 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place


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Judy Slaughter Kay Karminski Honorable Mention Honorable Mention

******************************************* Reminder to everyone to save your 6x6 Clay Flower Pots for May 2016 “The Potting Shed” Flower Show! More to come from Faye Phillips!


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Forging a beautiful partnership: Dorchester Garden Club and Dorchester Career and Technology Center

Special thanks to DGC club members Ching Stanton, Annilly Jones, Nancy Hastings, Kathe Scanlon and Winkie Jones for preparing the Court House Garden for the September 27th Dorchester Showcase. These ladies worked in partnership with Terry Nuwer, director of Agricultural Science at the Dorchester Career and Technology Center at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School. Terry and her students created the stunning swags that adorn the Court House doors. Beautiful job – and beautiful beginning of a new and promising partnership between our club and the Dorchester Career and Technology Center. A win-win for all of us. Thanks to Cookie Brohawn for sharing the story and photo!


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December 1 is just around the corner – and so is the DGC Holiday Wreath Workshop!!!!

It will be here before we know it!!!! A friendly reminder that our club’s Annual Holiday Wreath workshop will be held Tuesday December 1 from 9am -3pm at Zion United Methodist Church on Glasgow St. Cambridge. Now is the time to get outside and start stocking up on all the wonderful things in your yards that will make for beautiful adornments. We need pine cones, okra pods, hydrangea blooms, dried yarrow and any other items that you think would look great on a wreath. In addition, we will need berries, boxwood, pine, holly, magnolia leaves, or other natural materials. Soups, desserts and beverages will be available. A signup sheet will be circulated during the October meeting. BOW MAKERS ARE NEEDED, tutoring is available! Thanks to Fran Collins for sharing this timely reminder! Contact Franif you would like to purchase wreaths @ $35 and participate in this fun event – or to sign up to help out!


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Fall Soil Preparation: Autumn’s the time to soil test, clean out pests, and add amendments … from planetnatural.com

You’ve heard it said a thousand times: the key to a great garden is great soil. Working the dirt in autumn can be a relaxed, pleasant experience, not as intense or rushed as the heavy-turning, fine-tuning soil preparation of springtime. The things you do now, in the days of fall, go a long way to ensuring a quick, healthy start come next growing season. You’ve cleaned out this year’s garden (or are about to), disposed of any plant debris that may harbor disease or insect pests and composted the rest. Here’s what we like to do ahead of putting our plot down for the winter under a protective blanket of mulch.

We turn the entire plot. A small plot meant a turning spade and less than an hour’s good work. Big plots call for the roto-tiller. Whatever the size of your garden, its good to turn out the soil, bring up any plant roots that might have been missed, turn under any remaining plant material — and there’s always some — so that it has a chance to decompose. The big reason to turn over your soil now is to bring pupae left just under the surface up to the light of day where the neighborhood birds, those passing through this time of year and those who never leave, can claim them. And claim them they do. You’ll see the fat, segmented brown or white or spotted creatures yourself as soon as you turn them over. I finally learned to resist the temptation to squash the future leaf muncher right where I found him. The birds were watching. Even in small patches, I’ve had daring grackles swoop down, strut around, and gobble up what they found, most of what was too small for me to see, even as I continued spading nearby. These pests — corn earworms, cabbage loopers, and the like — wouldn’t otherwise be threatened by frozen ground later because we mulch. They’d be all nice and cozy until spring when they, as larvae, will seek out their greens of choice. Enlisting the birds to do the dirty work is mutually beneficial. They’re getting rid of your pests as you’re supplying them with the protein they’ll need along the flyways. Win-win.

Birds will be encouraged to visit if you have seed available as well. When cleaning up your garden, leave the heads of asters, black-eye Susan, coneflowers, sunflowers until the birds have finished with the seeds. Then compost them, hoping that the birds did a good job.


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After you’ve turned your soil over is a good time to gather some for testing. You can send it off to your local agricultural extension — or you can do it yourself. Today’s soil tests kits are simple to use — some pH testers are now electronic and feature digital read out. Sure, you can get your soil tested in the spring. But testing your soil in the fall, especially testing soil pH, gives you the time to make adjustments that will be effective by the time you’re putting plants in the ground. Anybody throwing down lime to sweeten their soil knows that it will be a good several months before that lime is taken fully into the soil. Get your soil tested and get the lime or the elemental sulfur that will give you the perfect acid-alkaline balance now. In some farming areas, it good to get your soil in for testing ahead of the rush when farmers start flooding services with samples. And sometimes, getting ahead of the crowd saves you money. When you’re done with all this? Lay down the mulch. Time for you and your garden to take a well-deserved rest.

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I saw this chart on one of the Baltimore Master Gardeners Facebook page and thought it was interesting. Seems to be some controversy about whether this is used universally across the US, but worth checking out on your next trip to the grocery store!


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Too Pretty to Eat (Almost!) Growing Kale Varieties for the Fall and Winter Garden … motherearthnews.com/organicgardening

Count kale as one of the true treasures of the fall garden, with its sweetness revealed only after old Jack Frost has kissed its leaves a time or two. This ultra-cold-hardy, leafy green vegetable is a reliable deeply satisfying addition to any cool-weather garden. Some types have tender leaves perfect for salads. Some are great steamed or in stews, and some are so hardy you can harvest them even in the dead of winter almost everywhere. And they’re beautiful, too. Many of the folks who buy their produce in season from local farmers have learned to love this unusual, old-fashioned fall and winter vegetable — even though they may not have grown up eating it. Kale is a little-known relative of broccoli and cabbage, with a taste that appeals to both adults and children. During my years as a kale lover, I’ve run into a number of kale-eating families with young children

who relish the vegetable steamed and served simply with butter or perhaps vinegar, with salt and pepper to taste. Deb Kaldahl of the Abundant Life Seed Foundation in Port Townsend, Wash., says steamed kale is one of the few cooked vegetables her children will eat. An elite member of a highly nutritious family of foods called the “dark-green leafy vegetables,” kale is kin to broccoli and collards, which are its closest relatives; spinach; Swiss chard; and beet, mustard and turnip greens. All are good sources of vitamin K, the B vitamin folic acid, and beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the liver. Dark-green leafy vegetables are also exceptionally high in other carotenoids, including zeaxanthin and lutein, which are powerful antioxidants that protect us from degenerative illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness among the elderly). For years, kale also has been touted as one of the best vegetable sources of calcium — which is especially important for vegans and others who don’t consume dairy products. The newest research on calcium’s role in human nutrition sheds even more light of how important kale, collards and broccoli can be: It shows that, in order for the body to assimilate dietary calcium, magnesium must also be present in a meal. Dairy products


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are rich in calcium but have relatively little magnesium. Kale and its relatives have substantial amounts of both nutrients.

Growing Kale Varieties Kale thrives in cold weather and has a venerable history of nourishing people throughout the cold, dark months of the year, when few other green vegetables are to be had. The most common kale, the so-called Scotch or Scotch Curled (Brassica oleracea, Acephala group), is a primitive cabbage. The other kind of kale, the Siberian or Napus type (Brassica napus), is actually more closely related to rutabagas. With its tender leaves, it has become popular in recent years as an ingredient in many of the imaginative salad mixes being grown by home gardeners and market farmers. Thanks to the introduction of new colors and forms in the past few years, an excellent selection of both Scotch Curled and Napus types are available commercially. In keeping with their identity as salad greens, the Napus types were faster-growing and more robust than the Scotch Curled types, which grew more slowly and deliberately. For vigor and ability to produce a steady harvest, the Napus variety `White Russian’ was tops, followed by another Napus, ‘Winter Red.’ The third variety to really shine in terms of productivity, though, was the Scotch Curled type ‘Winterbor,’ which even edged out ‘White Russian’ and ‘Winter Red’ in harsh climates. Also showing respectable yields in this category was ‘Lacinato,’ which did significantly better than its Italian look-alike, ‘Nero Di Toscana.’ ‘Vates’ also had a good showing for yield. In the end, cold temperatures proved the great equalizer between the two types of kale. In Oregon, for example, a sudden, unusually frigid blast of cold, dry weather sent temperatures plummeting on three consecutive nights to 24, then 20 and 15 degrees — the coldest readings all winter. “That definitely hurt the Napus types here,” says Morton, who watched as the ‘Red Ursa’ and then the ‘Winter Red’ got pretty badly beaten up. His ‘White Russian’ only sustained moderate damage; the ‘Winterbor’ and especially the ‘Vates’ held their own.

When It Comes to Kale, Flavor’s the Thing When it comes to kale flavor, which should be sweet and robust, folks who know their kales are quite passionate about their favorites. Anyone who has had the good fortune of dining on high quality cold-weather kale from market farmers has probably tasted ‘Winterbor,’ the standard for 20 years. It is so delicious, it sets the bar. ‘Vates,’ in our taste tests, seemed quite comparable to ‘Winterbor,’ but ‘Redbor,’ despite its brilliant red color and market appeal, fell sadly short. The best bet for improving kale’s popularity among those yet unacquainted with its charms appears to be ‘Lacinato,’ however. Morton, with his years of experience growing and selling kales, says of this old Italian variety now gaining popularity in the United States, “It is not the most productive, the most cold-hardy or the most uniform, but ‘Lacinato’ is the most sought-after by customers — and by the farm crew, too.” If you want kale for cool-weather salads, try the beautiful ‘White Russian’ or ‘Winter Red’. To stretch the season through the cold, be sure to grow ‘Winterbor’ and ‘Vates’ . If you love the flavor of cooked kale, be sure to try ‘Lacinato’. If you’re really adventurous, try a little of each and enjoy kale throughout the year!


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Why You Should “Leave the Leaves” -- Savvy gardeners know that keeping fallen leaves on their property benefits wildlife and the environment … National Wildlife Federation nwf.org

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN: The air turns crisp, the leaves turn red and gold and homeowners turn to the annual chore known as “fall garden cleanup”—including disposal of those leaves after they fall to the ground. Traditionally, leaf removal has entailed three steps: Rake leaves (or blast them with a blower) into piles, transfer the piles to bags and place the bags out to be hauled off to a landfill. Yet, increasingly, conservationists say these actions not only harm the environment but rob your garden of nutrients while destroying wildlife habitat. The alternative? “Let fallen leaves stay on your property” says National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski.

Leaves in Landfills According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, leaves and other yard debris account for more than 13 percent of the nation’s solid waste—a whopping 33 million tons a year. Without enough oxygen to decompose, this organic matter releases the greenhouse gas methane. In fact, solid-waste landfills are the largest U.S. source of man-made methane—and that’s aside from the carbon dioxide generated by gas-powered blowers and trucks used in leaf disposal.


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For gardeners, turning leaves into solid waste is wasteful. “Fallen leaves offer a double benefit,” Mizejewski says. “Leaves form a natural mulch that helps suppress weeds and fertilizes the soil as it breaks down. Why spend money on mulch and fertilizer when you can make your own?” Removing leaves also eliminates vital wildlife habitat. Critters ranging from turtles and toads to birds, mammals and invertebrates rely on leaf litter for food, shelter and nesting material. Many moth and butterfly caterpillars overwinter in fallen leaves before emerging in spring. Need one more reason to leave the leaves? “The less time you spend raking leaves,” Mizejewski says, “the more time you’ll have to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather and the wildlife that visits your garden.

Every Litter Bit Counts What should you do with all those fallen leaves you're not sending to the landfill? Here are some tips: • Let leaves stay where they fall. They won't hurt your lawn if you chop them with a mulching mower. • Rake leaves off the lawn to use as mulch in garden beds. For finer-textured mulch, shred them first. • Let leaf piles decompose; the resulting leaf mold can be

used as a soil amendment to improve structure and water retention. • Make compost: Combine fallen leaves (“brown material”) with grass clippings and other “green material” and keep moist and well mixed. You’ll have nutrient-rich compost to add to your garden next spring. • Still too many leaves? Share them with neighbors, friends, schools and others. Some communities will pick up leaves and make compost to sell or give away. • Build a brush shelter. Along with branches, sticks and stems, leaves can be used to make brush piles that shelter native wildlife. For more wildlife-gardening tips, visit www.nwf.org/garden.

http://www.nwf.org/garden


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Fall Bulbs on the brain??? Reminder to Help Support District I by ordering your bulbs from Brent and Becky and a percentage of the proceeds will help support our District I Clubs. It couldn’t be easier… Step 1: Go to www.bloomingbucks.com Step 2: Select our organization: DISTRICT I – FGCMD, INC. Step 3: You will automatically be sent to Brent and Becky’s website to order Step 4: Repeat Steps 1-3 all year long and share with family and friends! You can also call Brent and Becky’s Bulbs at (877) 661-2852 to request a catalog or place an order. Just be sure to tell the representative know that this order is for fundraising for District I FGCMD BEFORE placing your order!

http://www.bloomingbucks.com/

the diggers...the diggers dorchester garden club october-november, 2015 4 division i –...

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