the tollgate farm news - college of agriculture & natural ......laura steiner pam stopper chet...

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The Tollgate Farm News Volume 19 Issue 3 March 2013

Tollgate Garden Volunteer Important Dates and Events Mar Meetings Apr Activities

21 TGV General Meeting 7:00 PM 6 Pond 9:00 AM

Mar Activities 13 Par Prep and Nursery/Division 9:00 AM

16 Mulch Nursery Paths 9:00 AM 20

Spring Clean-Up (Pancake Break-fast at Noon)

9:00 AM 23 Demo Mulching 9:00 AM

Apr Meetings 27 Spring Clean-Up and Hosta Garden 9:00 AM

2 TGAC Meeting 7:00 PM May Meetings

9 Fall Fair Meeting 7:00 PM 7 TGAC Meeting 7:00 PM

18 TGV General Meeting 7:00 PM 14 Fall Fair Meeting 7:00 PM

20 Volunteer Orientation 9:00 AM 16 TGV General Meeting 7:00 PM

MSU Tollgate Gardens Volunteer General Meeting in the Conference Center Thursday, March 21, 7:00 PM

Edible and Ecological Landscapes: Theory Edible and Ecological Landscapes: Theory Edible and Ecological Landscapes: Theory and Practiceand Practiceand Practice

On Thursday, March 21, dive into the theory and practice of edible and ecological landscaping. Discover how nurturing a healthy soil food web creates the grounds for truly successful and ecologically viable gardening. Learn the hows and whys of tree crops and food forestry, ecological garden management, closed-loop fertility systems, and more.

Mark Angelini and Trevor Newman are the owners of Roots to Fruits Ecological Design. They have a wealth of practical knowledge in the garden and have been involved with the southeastern Michigan local food movement for several years. They bring a unique perspective to the world of gardening and farming informed by ecology, whole systems thinking, and the principles of permaculture design.

From their web site, http://rootstofruits.biz: Roots to Fruits is a whole systems ecological design and edible landscaping firm that specializes in creating abundant, beautiful, and durable human habitats. They work with homeowners, businesses, and farmers to develop ecologically regenerative and economically viable landscapes that produce a bounty of yields--food, fuel, medicine--and ecosystem services--soil building, water filtration, carbon sequestration. In addition to design, consultation, and implementation, they offer an array of educational services to further the practice of ecological agriculture, homesteading, and edible landscaping.

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GREETINGS

Greetings All,

March is maple syrup season! The 2013 Tollgate maple syrup season officially got underway Satur-day, February 22nd with a very successful tree

tapping extravaganza! Many eager volunteers came to Tollgate to assist in this activity day. We tapped about 100 trees, all connected to tubing. With tree tapping that has been done both before and after what was done on February 22nd, we now have well over 250 taps in the tubing system. All of that hauling of buckets through the woods, tripping over branch-es, vines and squirrels is now a dimly remembered thing of the past. The 2013 season also brought a new approach to field trips to the sugar bush. Tollgate Education Coordinator extraordinaire, Alan Jaros, has taken over the responsibility of organiz-ing and conducting tours of the maple operation. Over 400 kids have visited Tollgate’s sugaring operation so far in the first few weeks of March! For the rest of the season we do not have any scheduled maple related workdays. Our activities in the sugar

bush will be dictated by the vagaries of weather. Volunteers interested in the maple syrup project are informed of events via e-mail. If you are interested in being put on the maple syrup e-mail list, please let me know ([email protected]).

The Evening in the Gardens class series that is hosted by Tollgate each year is now complete. An on-line link to the class list will be distributed soon. A brochure listing the classes will soon be available at our monthly meetings and at our Saturday Activity Days. Lots of great classes!

Spring is right around the corner. 2013 promises to be another eventful year in the gardens.

from the Tol lgate Farm Manager

Roy Prentice

I need your newspapers (no shiny ads) for the PAR garden. They can be dropped off in Volunteer Communication Center through the end of May. Any extra newspaper will be recycled.

John Woodrich

WANTEDWANTED

Hopefully, the Last Big Snowfall

Farm Snow Photos by Roy Prentice

Photo by Darretta Ferasin

NNNotes from the President Happy March and hopeful spring. Another gardening season will be upon us quickly! As I write this, we have just had a beautiful sunny and mild March

Sunday. I enjoyed it, did some seasonal pruning, but I refuse to be fooled. It is still a little too early for most garden activities but not too early to plan.

The plant selections for the re-designed Entrance Garden are being de-veloped in hopes of an early planting to give the new perennials the best start

on the season.

The Open House theme this season will be Art in the Gardens. We hope to have artists on site displaying their work and entertaining with their music.

The early activity days are focused on activi-ties we can do in the colder weather, such as mulching and pruning. See the Activity Cal-endar on the web site for the year. We have listed the planned areas to work for the 2013 season but reserve the right to reschedule or change as weather and circumstances dic-tate. E-mail reminders are sent out weekly, any return messages should be sent to me directly rather than by using the reply button.

It is never too early to be thinking of the Spring Plant Sale.

Our members are asked to donate divisions of interesting plants. We are always looking for healthy, labeled and potted plants to boost our nursery stock for Plant Sale. We will not be taking hosta donations this season.

Pots of the one and two gallon size are needed as well and can be dropped off at the stor-age shed by the Nursery. Smaller pots are too quickly overgrown and larger ones are rarely used. Please find another way to re-use or re-cycle those sizes.

Any members interested in maintaining the nursery as a team member for this area should contact me for more info.

As always at this time of the year, we are looking to recruit new Area Garden Leaders/Teams for various size areas located on the grounds. To monitor an area for the horticulture needs and assist in the activity days for any area greatly benefits the overall presentation/education value of the gardens. An interest to learn about the plants in the area is the only requirement. We encour-age team arrangements and will be happy to place you with a more experienced member to guide you along. If you are interested in becoming an AGL or Team member see/contact me for the available areas. [email protected] or 248-398-2562.

RENEW your membership yearly! We don’t want you to miss any important notifications or invi-tations that may pop up throughout the season. The TGAC plans projects based on estimated volunteer hours/participation, membership enrollment and previous trends. Membership renewal and accurate sign in when on the property helps us in those decisions.

A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN IS A WORK OF HEART - Unknown

Thank you for being a Tollgate Garden Volunteer.

Renee Cottrell, President

Software Generated View of Proposed Entrance Garden by Frank Allen

BAKERS NEEDED FOR 2013 Feel like baking or did you see some delicious bake goods in the store? Please feel free to bring some treats to our monthly Thursday evening meetings. No need to sign up. Need ideas? Let me know.

Yvonne [email protected]

In Memory of Mary Garth

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who sent cards of sympathy, have ex-pressed thoughts of comfort and love, and have supported me throughout my Mom's illness and at the time of her death. I appreciate your kindness more than you will ever know, Mom visited Tollgate many summers before moving to Michigan in May of 2010. Her favor-ite places at Tollgate were the gardens. She always looked forward to our gar-den walk. She loved sitting on the patio with her cup of coffee, dogs by her side, enjoying my hosta and shade gar-den, I remember fondly the last sum-mer she visited before moving to Michi-gan, It was a beautiful sunny day and we headed out for our walk, She was wearing a bright pink shirt which looked particularly stunning in the gardens. She wanted her picture taken in each garden. I cherish the day that I took her picture in the chil-dren's garden, her pink shirt brightly shining among all the colorful flowers. Despite her battle with Alzhei-mer's she never forgot the joy of a garden. I will always remember her happy days at Tollgate.

Cindy Prentice

Sandy Rosa, Nancy Roggers, Kay Pratt, Kathy Coleman, Susan Bremer, Charlotte Jones, Kelly Gies

Absent: Judy Poole

Tollgate Quilting Bee Again “Amaze” with the 2013 Tollgate QuiltTollgate Quilting Bee Again “Amaze” with the 2013 Tollgate QuiltTollgate Quilting Bee Again “Amaze” with the 2013 Tollgate Quilt

The Pattern is "A-maze-ing Star". It is Queen Size. Tickets Available Soon

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Wanted: Your photos of Tollgate. To submit photos - please be sure they are in landscape format, on a CD. They can be turned in at Roy's office or at a Tollgate Volunteer meeting directly to me, Nancy Roggers, by June 17th.

Nancy Roggers

Photos by Darretta Ferasin

A Special Thanks!A Special Thanks!A Special Thanks! To all of you who made a donation to help the Tollgate Gardeners make Tollgate a more

beautiful place. Your donation is greatly appreciated! The support that you have provided will continue to help our program prosper and grow. Thanks again and Happy Gardening!

Marilyn Alimpich Frank Allen Beth Anthony Susan, Mark, Lauren, Charlotte Atkinson Lynn Barber Cherry Lee Baker Kathy Barker Larry and Linda Bolam Susan Bremer Inge Brieger Kathy Brooks Paula Brose Galen Bulles Pat and Jack Canfield Kathy Coleman Mary Courvisier Joe Costa Audrey Cosgriff Donna Crawley Doug Crossman Maureen Dinverno Bernie Ethridge Irene Fahey Darretta Ferasin Brian Frol Linda Galante Adine Golemba

Tom and Margo Gray Gery Gross MaryJane Guc Anne Hargrave-Thomas Cathy Heller Hal Henderlong Keith Heraty Deidre Hope Vera Hurchik Sue Janczarek Dana Jelsch Charlotte Jones David Komraus Martha Larsh Paul Lukasiewicz Sharon Mazguth June and George McCarthy Carolyn McQuiggan Liz and Don Millington Barb Near Paul and Priscilla Needle Hans and Lynda Neuroth Denny Nielson Liz Novak Karen Ng Clay and Julie Ottoni Peg Palmer Judy Poole

Lucy and Russell Propst Joe Pyden Cheryl Quinn David Rogers Pam Rusin Bob Savageau Anthony Senatore Dave Sharpe Susie Sherman-Hall Diane Smith Gerald Spezia Dennis Standiford Laura Steiner Pam Stopper Chet Tarczynski Nancy Taylor Gabe Tiberio Ann Tupper John Turchin Sandy Uroda Carolyn and Jeff Volk Martha and Wayne Watson Wanda Whalen Betsy Wilds Candy Williams John and Barb Woodrich Laura Zigmanth

Farm Snow Photos by Roy Prentice

Spring Pruning

Day 2013

Photos by Darretta Ferasin

MEMBERSHIP Shortly after May 1st the membership list will be updated. Everyone who has turned in their membership forms will continue to get the news-letters and workday notices, plus other tidbits that come up through the year. Please don't be left out, get those membership forms in before the cut off date of May 1st.

NOTE: If you have any changes in your contact information, phone #, address, e-mail address, or emergency contact person, you can contact me directly at [email protected]

Nancy Roggers

Spring is great. There is a fresh and new feeling all around. The same is true with the Fall Fair com-mittee this year. Janice McNulty has stepped up and joined our team. She will be handling all the duties that Sue Janczarek has done for the last 5 years and thanks to her excellent records and her working with Janice already, we will carry on. Thanks again Sue for all your help.

Also new this year is a craft called lily pad flower. For this craft we are seeking cardboard toilet pa-per rolls and paper towel rolls. In the coming weeks, there will be a receptacle in the Volunteer Communication Center. Please save these and bring them in and I will announce when we have enough for the craft.

At this time, we can start accepting your returnable bottles and cans again. Each year we collect over $200.00 dollars in cans and it is an important addi-tion to our Fair funding. Thanks to all those that chose to help us in that way!

The First official meeting of the Fall Fair Commit-tee is next month April 9th, at 7:00 PM. We hope to see you there, as always any comments or sug-gestions are welcome and you can contact me at [email protected].

Submitted by Dennis Roggers

Tollgate has been selected to receive temporary attraction from the DIA. Each year the Detroit Institute of Arts places reproduc-tions of works from its collection around the Detroit area. From April through June of this year Tollgate will be hosting one of these works. It will be located near the main parking lot just west of the welcome area. The DIA will develop promotional materials that will include the Tollgate installa-tion. The placement at Tollgate is part of six works that are located throughout the Novi community.

Should be fun, Roy The Lily Pond by Harry Charles Eaton

DIA Exhibit Soon to Arrive at Tollgate

Dorothy McLeer Delighted the Audience with her Spider Enthusiasm at the February TGV General Meeting

Photo by Jackie Stengel

FallFallFall FairFairFair

THE HOSTA VIRUS X THE HOSTA VIRUS X Disinfecting Garden Tools Coming into Contact with Hosta Plants

All garden tools coming into contact with hosta plants must be cleaned before and after each hosta is touched to avoid the spread of the Hosta Virus X (HVX) whether you are cutting leaves, scapes (flower stalk) or digging near the root system. The hosta sap and soil must be removed from the tool. Tentatively, the HVX Cleaning Station is located in the garden tool shed. Disinfecting kits are being created to carry to your worksite. Buckets are available to scrub large tools. Below is the proposed cleaning process:

Spray pruners or scissors with bottle labeled “Alcohol”. Wipe with blue toweling swatch to remove any hosta sap.

For trowels, hand weeding tool or hedge trimmers use the “Lysol® Dual Action Disinfecting Cloths” and let the tool air dry. If the these tools are heavily soiled, it may be necessary to scrub the tool in a bucket of water with “Dawn®” detergent first.

For shovels, garden forks or rakes scrub the tool with a brush in a bucket of “Dawn®” detergent and water. Take the bucket to the water spigot that is on the side of the shed and do your cleaning outside the shed. If you are working in the hosta garden add some detergent to the bucket and fill it with water at the spigot in the hosta garden. A large kitty litter box will be available for scrubbing rakes. Use the “Lysol® Dual Action Disinfecting Cloths” to disinfect the tool. Let the tool air dry.

Collect used blue wipes, disinfecting cloths and disposable gloves in the provided kit carrier (plastic tea jug) and dispose of them into the trash can near the HVX Cleaning Station in the shed.

Used detergent water can be dumped in the dry rock ravine bordering the hosta garden. Other locations to be determined.

Disposable gloves have been provided to wear alone or over your garden gloves. You will find these at the HVX Cleaning Station in the tool shed. Clean and disinfect gloves that come into contact with the hosta sap.

The above process is evolving. The cleaning regimen may extend to other garden areas to prevent the spread of new garden viruses.

Darretta Ferasin

Portable Disinfecting Kit for Pruners Scissors, Trowels,

Hand Weeding Tools or Hedge Trimmers

Disinfecting Kit Contains Alcohol, Blue Shop Towel

Swatches and Lysol® Disinfecting Cloths

Buckets, Dawn® Detergent, Brushes and Lysol®

Disinfecting Cloths are Available at the HVX

Cleaning Station

Proposed HVX Cleaning Station in the Tool Shed

TRASH

Volunteer Activity Day and Meetings Information

248-347-3860 ext. 400

● The Tollgate Gardens Advisory Council next meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 7:00 PM in the Tollgate Office Building. All Tollgate Gardens Volunteer members are welcome to attend.

● Listings to contact individual Council Members and Area Garden Leaders are available at all general meetings and in the Volunteer Communication Center.

● Tollgate Volunteer Membership is renewed annually. The 2012 Tollgate Garden Volunteers membership is from December 1, 2012 to November 30, 2013.

Farm Manager Roy Prentice - 248 347-3860 ext. 251 e-mail - [email protected]

President ........................... Renee Cottrell Vice President… ............... Peg Palmer Secretary… ........................ Dave Komraus Treasurer ........................... Sue Janczarek Membership ...................... Nancy Roggers PR ....................................... Yvonne DeMattos Fall Fair .............................. Dennis Roggers Programs ........................... Jackie Stengel Hospitality ......................... Yvonne DeMattos Farm News Editor ............. Darretta Ferasin

For membership questions or to update your current membership information send e-mail to:

[email protected]

MSU Tollgate Gardens Volunteers For general information and questions

Contact Roy Prentice

Tollgate Garden Advisory Council

Activity Days Activity day hours are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM unless otherwise noted on the Tollgate Garden Volunteer Important Dates and Events listed on the first page of the Tollgate Farm News or by the Area Garden Leader (AGL).

Lunch will be provided - veggie alternatives are available upon request.

This schedule does not exclude you from working independently on the site. However, on non-scheduled days, your efforts will need to be self-directed with guidance from the garden area clipboards located in the Volunteer Communication Center.

If you aren’t getting The Tollgate Farm News

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Tollgate Volunteer Information

THE TOLLGATE FARM NEWS

Tollgate Gardens Volunteer Office 28115 Meadowbrook Novi, MI, 48377-3128 www.tollgate.msu.edu

Trowel Hand Pruners Loppers Garden Scissors Your Favorite

Weeding Implement Hand Saw

Plant Division Forks Shrub Rake Sun Screen Gloves Knee Pads Insect Repellant

List of Suggested Gardening Implements to Bring

from Home as Needed

Garden Tools Available for Use at Tollgate

Spades

Garden Rakes

Brooms

Wheel Barrels

Weed Buckets

Leaf Rakes

Garden Hoe

Long Handled

Garden Forks

the tollgate farm news - college of agriculture & natural ......laura steiner pam stopper chet...

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