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September 30, 2007
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
Things are beginning to wind down in the gardens. Frost damage had been seen on some of the more tender annuals.This week our crew only numbered four - myself, Nancy Palmer, Leslie Penick and Elsie Ellis. I spent my time cleaning up spent sunflowers surrounding the new aspens - sounds easy, but they were more than 6 feet tall. I also had to rework the tree wells which had all but disappeared. Leslie spent time spreading mulch in the inferno strip, which recently had a drip system installed. We will be doing more of that in the next several weeks to cover up plants for the winter. Nancy worked on moving some of the more tender annual herbs into pots to put in the sun porch for the winter, inbetween providing treats for Zane who followed her all over the garden. Elsie cleaned birdbaths, filled feeders, dead headed petunias and swept the walkways.
Plans for the month of October include:
More mulching
Some deadheading
Moving some plants in the Rose Garden in prep for the drip
Drip system in the Rose Garden
Planting bulbs - October 20th 9am-12pm with the Youth Corp
Continued work on the Native Garden
Moving compost
Weeding
General clean-up
Cleaning the shed and tools
Fall color spotted in the garden:
Burning Bush
3-leaf Sumac
Blaze Maple
Fall Asters
Some Virginia Creeper
If you want to help with any of these tasks we are in the garden every Thursday from 8am-12pm (through the end of October - weather permitting) and will have some special workdays this month. Call or e-mail if you have questions.
Thanks,
Loni Shapiro
522-8635 or maxmaddy@infomagic.net
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:01 AM
September 26, 2007
Harvest Festival!
Urban Lifeways Project & Native Movement Artist Collective present a Harvest Festival at the New Start Garden in Flagstaff.
What : Local Foods, Live Art, Recycled Fashion, Dance, Music, Garden Things!
Who: Native Movement Artist Collective and Urban Lifeways Project
When: Saturday September 29th from 2 pm - Sundown
Where: New Start Garden. 415 N Mogollon St., Flagstaff
Come help us celebrate our second season at the New Start Garden! There will be local food from the garden and live music throughout the afternoon and evening. Live art will be created and displayed by local artists. Local designers will reveal their latest creations including recycled fashions. And for those of you who want to get your hands and feet and face dirty there will be several activities for you too. We hope to see you there !
Live Performances by:
• Chocolate Helicopter (Santa Fe, NM) www.myspace.com/chocolatehelicopter
• Karna and Friends (Acoustic Blues/Jazz;Flagstaff) www.myspace.com/goodkarna
• Emlord (Local DJ; Flagstaff)
• Spitfury (Dance Troupe; Flagstaff)
• Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy (FALA) Dancers
Recycled Fashions and Art Show
Hands-on Activities:
• Stencil Making
• Medicine Making
• Youth-led Garden Tours
• Seed Exchange (ie; bring your seeds if ya wanna swap some)
• Bicycle-Powered Corn Grinding (bring your own if you like)
*The Urban Lifeways Project and Native Movement Artist Collective are youth-led initiatives working to build healthy communities for ourselves and our families. We integrate urban agriculture, zero-waste initiatives and public art to reclaim our connection to the land and each other while living in an urban environment.
Contacts:
Rei Begaye at reibegaye@gmail.com or (928)380-1317
Brett Ramey at brett@nativemovement.org or (928)310-8059
Posted by hbraun at 1:29 PM
September 25, 2007
Calling all Weed Warriors, Litter Lifters & Thistle Thugs!
Northern Arizona Audubon is having another work day on the east Rio de Flag. We will be picking up trash and digging up non-native, invasive thistle and other noxious weeds.
Date:
Saturday, October 6th
Time: 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. (or whenever you get tired and decide to leave)
Directions:
From Flagstaff, go north on Hwy 89 toward Page, past the Mall
Turn right onto Townsend/Winona road
Go approx 4.5 miles and turn left onto dirt road. (If you get to Slayton Ranch Rd, you've just passed us).
Go left at the fork in the road and follow it down to the Rio (you'll see all the other cars there).
We will have a banner and a couple of folks out by the road at 9:00, so we shouldn't be hard to find.
Please bring:
Gloves, hat, sunscreen, water and a folding chair or bucket to sit on for lunch. Shovels, spades and other implements of weed destruction. I also recommend wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
County Supervisor Deb Hill has graciously offered to provide lunch for our volunteers, so PLEASE let me know if you are planning to come out and help, no later than Tuesday, October 2nd, so we can plan for enough food.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Kathie Satterfield
N. AZ Audubon
Volunteer Coordinator
928-522-0375
k.satterfield@yahoo.com
Posted by lunaticchick at 5:54 PM
September 23, 2007
Natural By Design
Master Gardener Column 9/22/07
Apache plume, fernbush, three-leaf sumac, serviceberry – these are just a few of the many wonderful native plants that thrive in Northern Arizona. When we use these or any number of other native plants in our gardens, we capture the feeling of the natural surroundings in our landscape and create a landscape that can be identified with our region of country.
Besides being beautiful, native plants are adapted to our high, dry environment. If planted in conditions similar to their natural habitat, native plants form a landscape that is more sustainable because it uses less water and fewer chemicals. Gardens planted with natives provide food and shelter for butterflies, bees, birds and other wildlife. Using native plants also increases our appreciation of our local natural communities.
One of the best ways to gain an understanding of native plants is to visit them in their habitat and take cues from our natural surroundings. Do so by taking a hike and observing where plants prefer to grow and which plants grow together. Take pictures and notes, or sketch what you see. By studying plants in their natural environment you can learn much about their cultural requirements and growth habits.
Judith Phillips, a New Mexican plantswoman, landscape designer, and writer, has done much to promote the use of native plants in the landscape. An expert on arid-adapted native plants, she uses an ecosystem-inspired approach to landscape design. She strives to educate gardeners about native plants in the natural environment so that gardeners can then create landscapes that are water efficient, easy to maintain, and very beautiful.
In her book “Natural by Design: Beauty and Balance in Southwest Gardens”, Phillips teaches us how to apply nature’s patterns to gardens. The book concentrates on several southwestern ecosystems and includes illustrations for several of Phillips’ garden designs as well as plants recommendations for specific plant communities.
Her companion book, “Plants for Natural Gardens”, provides more details about the many plants used in her work, specifically those from elevation ranges between 3,500 and 7,500 feet. She translates their use and care to a garden setting.
Phillips and her husband, Roland, are partners in Bernardo Beach Native Plant Farm, a small nursery devoted to increasing the diversity of native and climate-adapted plants available to high desert gardeners. They have over 25 years' experience growing beautiful, heat-loving, cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant southwestern native plants suited to the gardens of central New Mexico.
High elevation gardeners will have the opportunity to hear Phillips’ at the Eighth Annual Arizona Highlands Garden Conference. She will give a keynote talk titled “Southwestern Highlands Gardening: Love Where You Live”.
The conference is sponsored by Master Gardeners from Coconino, Gila, Navajo and Yavapai counties. The conference location rotates between these four high elevation counties. This year the conference host is Gila County and it will be held Oct. 11-12 at the Apache Gold Casino, just outside of Globe. Phillips’ talk will be on Oct. 12. Besides Phillips, twenty-one presenters will be speaking on a wide range of topics with one thing in common: how to garden successfully in the higher elevations of Arizona -- 3,000 to 7,500 feet elevation.
Pre-registration is required because seating will be limited. Lunches; continental breakfast; coffee, tea and juice at breaks; hand-sewn goody bags; door prizes and more are included in the registration. Registration fees are $65 for one day or $125 for two days. Registration forms, agenda and other details are available on-line at www.cals.arizona.edu/gila/horticulture. Or call the Gila County Cooperative Extension office at 928-402-8585 for more information.
By Hattie Braun
The author is the Master Gardener program coordinator for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:21 AM
September 20, 2007
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
On Thursday we had a small crew but much was accomplished. Many of our regular volunteers were on vacation this week. David Hockman and Linda Daugherty worked on weeding and adding compost to the Native Garden on the north side of the house.
Kathy Pate weeded, added mulch and watered the Rose Garden. Elsie Ellis cleaned bird baths, dead headed, and swept path areas in preparation for the ceremony for Olivia White tomorrow. I cleaned the raised vegetable beds and other areas to get ready for the ceremony for Olivia White.
While we were busy in the garden, Joanie Abbott from Foxglove Landscapers brought a crew to begin installing the drip system. They were busy digging trenches for the main pipelines. YEAH! At last our drip begins - only 5 years into our project.
While I was in the valley last week our volunteer coordinator, Doug Grant, took down hanging baskets and put them inside on the sunporch, because of the frost danger. We wanted our gardens to look beautiful this week for the Olivia White ceremony. Her cremated remains were interred in the gazebo floor on Friday. A granite marker replaced several blank bricks. Her family was here from Texas and her grandparents from Forest Highlands to host the ceremony The spirit of Oliva White is a wonderful symbol for all that happens at Olivia White for residents and families. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and all the flowers surrounding the gazebo were awake and watching before their winter sleep. The gardens have become even more special with the spirit of Olivia White to host the visitors.
Thanks this week to:
Our regular volunteers ( David Hockman and Elsie Ellis). Linda Daugherty from Ash Fork and Kathy Pate.
Joanie Abbott and her crew from Foxglove Landscaping for work on the drip system.
New plantings:
Colorful bearded Iris in the Rose Garden
Plans for 9/27/07:
Cleaning - birdbaths and dropping throughout the walkways
Moving more compost to the north garden
Moving some iris and other plants that have grown too much
Moving plants on the sidewalk from the Rose Garden in anticipation of work on the drip system
Watering/weeding as needed
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful gardens.
Come join us in the garden any Thursday - from 8am-12pm - probably through the end of October, weather permitting. The work that remains includes watering, weeding, deadheading and some special projects. - the Faerie Garden, the Native Plant garden walkway, planting bulbs, restaining the gazebo and beginning installing of the drip system. Call or e-mail if you have interest in helping.
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
928-522-8635 maxmaddy@infomagic.net
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:48 PM
Mountain Meadow Farm's Benefit Tour
Saturday, September 22, 10 to 11a.m.
Plant and Farm Products Sale 9am until noon.
100% of tour donations and 20% of plant sales benefit Flagstaff Foodlink and Flagstaff Youth Gardens
See and hear how our small farm uses the permaculture design system. Wherever you live, permaculture can assist you in creating a more sustainable future with your gardening, landscaping, farming, ranching or construction. This tour includes a short bee-keeping intro by local bee-keeper and educator, Patrick Pynes, and a short introduction to Fall planting by horticulturist Jan Busco. A $5.00 per person donation to benefit Flagstaff Youth Gardens is requested. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. From 9am till noon we will feature farm-grown native plants and herb starts, plus newly harvested shallots, sunchokes, Armenian cucumbers, and other crops that are ready for sale; plus composting red worms. Fall is the best and easiest time to plant many native plants, perennials, edibles and herbs and nursery plant sale prices are reduced 30% for this event ($3.00 plants, now $2.00; $6.00 plants now $4.00, $8.00 plants are $5.00); other extreme deals as marked. A listing of plants (subject to availability) is on our web site.
Directions: Rt 66 to Locket (one block east of Fanning turn north at the "Chevron"), immediate right onto Kasper to N Mt Meadow Dr. We are at the end of the street at the base of Mt Elden. Map at: http://www.mountainmeadowfarm.org/about_directions.html . Phone 527-0986
Chuck McDougal, Farmer
Jan Busco, Horticulturist
Mountain Meadow Farm
4509 N. Mountain Meadow Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
928.527.0986
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:28 AM
September 16, 2007
Working with Bulbs is Easy
Master Gardener Column 9/15/07
One of my favorite stories to tell as an Arboretum docent is about tulips. “Can someone tell me what part of the world tulips come from?” Invariably someone says Holland and I get to tell my story. The tulip is not native to the Netherlands but originally comes from central Asia. Taxonomists believe that tulips first appeared on the slopes of the Pamirs and flourished along the foothills and valleys of the Tien Shan Mountains. In case you aren’t familiar with that part of the world it is where China and Tibet meet Russia and Afghanistan. Because the environment wasn’t very hospitable, tulips were smaller with narrow petals and closely hugged the ground. Tulips have been cultivated over the years and we have the Dutch to thank for the beauties we have today. If you want to learn more about tulips, read “Tulipomania” by Mike Dash.
Needless to say, something that can survive in that environment should do well in Flagstaff. Bulbs are not only good survivors but are very low maintenance. Many multiply with time and most come in a wide range of varieties and colors. Recently I have had success with many less common bulbs such as allium, scilla, galanthus and species tulips.
Planting season for bulbs happens twice a year. Most of the familiar spring bulbs including tulip, daffodil, iris, hyacinth, crocus, most lilies, allium, galanthus, fritillaria, and scilla should be planted in the fall when evenings are cold but the ground as yet to freeze. The best time is usually in October. Summer bulbs including gladiolus, anemone, dahlia, begonia, and canna lily should be planted in the spring. In Flagstaff this means May or June. These bulbs are less tolerant of our cold winters and need to be dug up in the fall and stored inside over winter.
When selecting and planting bulbs, consider whether you have critter problems. Tulip and lily are a favorite deer snack. Deer will occasionally eat other bulbs but these two are preferred. Rock squirrels can also be a problem. I place chicken wire over newly planted bulbs then cover the wire with dirt. Otherwise rock squirrels will dig them up. They usually don’t eat the bulbs but leave them on the top of the ground to shrivel and die.
Bulbs can also be forced in pots for indoor winter color. Most of are familiar with an amaryllis bulb, but there are many other bulbs such as daffodil, tulip, hyacinth, snowdrop, scilla, crocus and muscari that can be forced. By forcing you are inducing a plant to produce its shoot, leaf, and flower ahead of its natural schedule. Plant the bulbs in regular potting soil in a container and place the pot in a cool, dark place such as a garage, cold frame or refrigerator to initiate root and shoot growth. When the new shoots are about 2-3” above ground, bring the pots inside and place under cool, indirect light. Water well. Depending on the plant, it can take between 12-16 weeks for shoots to emerge so plan ahead.
Our local nurseries carry many of the tradition bulbs you may want to plant. For more unusual varieties try one of these catalogs:
Breck’s - 513-354-1511 or www.brecks.com
Brent & Becky’s - 877-661-2852 or www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com
Dutch Gardens - 800-944-2250 or www.dutchgardens.com
McClure & Zimmerman - 800-374-6120 or www.mzbulb.com
John Scheepers - 860-567-0838 or wwwjohnscheepers.com
On September 29th, from 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, I will be teaching a class on bulbs at Coconino Community College. We will talk in more detail about planting bulbs, varieties available, sources and will plant bulbs for forcing. To register or for more information call 526-7644.
By Loni Shapiro
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:46 AM
September 14, 2007
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
The garden is still looking beautiful - especially with many of the fall asters that Andrea Joseph donated many years ago.
Roses are still blooming and some of the grape hyacinths are peeking out. The tomatos are coming fast and furious - Juliet. The agastache are in full bloom throughout the garden and have been visited recently by many hummingbird moths.
On Thursday we had a large crew busy throughout the garden. David Hockman did some work on the Native Garden pathway and hauled mulch to the Rose Garden in preparation for that first frost. Elsie Ellis did her usual bird bath cleaning, watering and some weeding. Linda Daugherty moved some bellflower that had wound its way around the Rose Garden and cleaned out a patch of walking onions that had traveled too far. Kathy Pate watered the Inferno strip and aspen trees. Karen Kent did some dead heading throughout the garden. Marcia Lamkin planted a few plants, watered, and cleaned in the Faerie Garden. Leslie Penick worked on spreading the mulch she hauled from Ft. Tuthill and hauled off some pallets to the dump. I spent most of my time trying to keep everyone busy. Ed Decker and Joanie Abbott did some planning work on the drip system - yeah! At the end of the day we got a large truckload of prime compost delivered from Karen Meyers.
Next Friday, Olivia White's ashes will be interred in the garden. It will be a special event and we hope the first frost holds out at least until Saturday. Next week many of our regulars will be out of town and we need extra help to weed/dead head to make the garden beautiful for that special day. Come join us on Thursday anytime between 8am-12pm.
Thanks this week to:
Our regular volunteers (Karen Kent, David Hockman, Leslie Penick, Marcia Lamkin and Elsie Ellis). Linda Daugherty from Ash Fork.
Ed Decker and Joanie Abbott for planning work on the drlip system.
Karen Meyers for a large load of compost.
New plantings:
In the Faerie Garden - columbine, gaura and blue flax
Plans for 9/20/07:
Cleaning - birdbaths and dropping throughout the walkways
Weeding in preparation for the event on Friday
Weeding on the north end of the property
Moving compost to the north garden
Moving some iris and other plants that have grown too much
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful gardens.
Come join us in the garden any Thursday - from 8am-12pm - probably through the end of October, weather permitting. The work that remains includes watering, weeding, deadheading and some special projects. - the Faerie Garden, the Native Plant garden walkway, restaining the gazebo and beginning installing of the drip system. Call or e-mail if you have interest in helping.
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
928-522-8635 maxmaddy@infomagic.net
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:33 AM
September 9, 2007
Getting the Garden Ready for Winter - Aunt Emily
Master Gardener Column 9/8/07
Aunt Emily was an elderly, pale, downy-faced myopic Fundamentalist with killer halitosis and a bristling mustache. For seventeen years during my childhood and adolescence she repeatedly announced that the end of the world was “just around the corner” and that I had best get ready for the coming apocalypse. The last time I heard her end-of-the-world sermon was the day I left home for shipment overseas. I feared that the end of my world was just around the corner. Like James Thurber’s “The Get Ready Man,” she was a community curiosity along with the man who kept himself from falling down by hanging on to strap around his shoulder.
Aunt Emily urged me “to set my house in order.” I never understood what she had in mind. However, now I do. The end of the summer is upon us, and the first freeze, une petite apocalypse, is statistically scheduled to arrive September 21. It’s time to set our gardens in order. There is always some unpleasantness on the horizon for which we must get ready, April 15, final exams, I-17 to Phoenix, and September 21. For the skier, it might be the harbinger of glories to come. What’s one person’s meat is another person’s poison.
What the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. We’re on the threshold of taketh away time in the garden. After the good times rolled during summer’s garden party, it’s time to clean up and put away. Even well-tended gardens accumulate debris, and debris is often a haven for creepy crawly, clandestine horticultural terrorists. Get rid of the debris and their cover is blown. It’s CIA outing time in the garden.
Once while I was taking a respite from picking weeds, Aunt Emily found me sleeping behind a huge eucalyptus tree. Poking me with her cane, she screeched in a thin crackle, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways.” Aunt Emily favored the Book of Proverbs. As a ten year old dawdler, I was a sluggard at picking weeds. Alas, now that I’m well past Aunt Emily’s age, I realize that autumn is not a time for sluggards or dawdlers. It is pruning time, a time to get ready for the death, desiccation, destruction, and decay of autumn and a time of gloriously beautiful trees.
The first to feel the knife are those spent, dried-up shoots, vines, and stalks, the likes of corn, hollyhocks, and sun flowers, those annuals and perennials who’ve lost their bloom or been blighted with powdery mildew. It’s sans merci. If pruning and pulling times are put off, then l’apocalypse grande will overwhelm a garden with piles of debris.
In addition to cut, pull, and trim, it’s save time, as in gladiolus corms and dahlia tubers. After the autumnal blitz has struck, they have to be saved because they cannot inherit the winter’s freeze. In short, like high maintenance beauties, they must needs be dusted and saved in a peat moss comforter.
After cut, pull, trim, and save, it’s time to get ready for spring, as in pruning trees and bushes to get rid of dead, diseased, and non-productive branches and stems so they’ll perform better next year. Pruning requires an artist’s touch to groom aesthetically.
It’s also a time to plant the rhizomes and bulbs of such beauties as irides, tulips, and daffodils. If there is one constant in gardening, it’s that there is always some pleasantness on the horizon. The trick is to plant now for glory in six months. Along with planting, nearly everything in the garden needs to be covered with some kind of mulch for the coming winter.
Finally, it’s time to prepare the soil in the vegetable and flower beds for spring, as in spading, digging in new compost and manure, and raking. After the get ready time of autumn, winter gardeners, like sluggards can lie down for a snooze. As they nap and nod with their seed catalogues and gardening magazines, they can dream of spring when, as the Cajuns would say, “Laissez les bons temps rouler” (Let the good times roll.)
By Dana Prom Smith
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:25 AM
September 7, 2007
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
On Thursday our regular crew (Karen Kent, David Hockman, Marcia Lamkin, Elsie Ellis & Leslie Penick) was joined by Linda Daugherty from Ash Fork. Karen and David continued work on the Native Garden pathway.
Linda weeded and deadheaded the north Inferno Strip which is full of fall color. Elsie did her usual birdbath cleaning and helped plant some mums for fall color. Marcia did some work on the Faerie Garden and Leslie weeded. Karen, Marcia and Leslie all spent time gathering rock to line the native pathway. I spent my time watering, planting some asters/mums, and weeding where needed.
Dana Prom Smith stopped by with another load of that 'black gold' for the Faerie Garden. We also had our usual resident visitors in the garden with David Hill and Zane. For a moment we thought we had deer in the garden when I caught Zane munching on a rose. I guess he needed something green after all those beef treats we gave him.
Thanks this week to:
Our regular volunteers (Karen Kent, David Hockman, Leslie Penick, Marcia Lamkin and Elsie Ellis). Linda Daugherty from Ash Fork.
Dana Prom Smith for a load of "black gold" which was used in the Faerie Garden
New plantings:
A variety of fall aster and mums throughout the garden, including pots for the gazebo.
New blooms in the garden:
Our first bloom on the 4 new clematis planted this year - 'Pink Flamingo', and many asters/mums planted last fall.
Plans for 9/6/07:
Continued work on the Native Garden pathway, and the Faerie Garden
Cleaning - birdbaths and dropping throughout the walkways
Rose Garden - powdery mildew control on some of the roses more prone to this problem
Weeding as usual
Moving some iris and other plants that have grown too much
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful gardens.
Come join us in the garden any Thursday - from 8am-12pm. The work that remains includes watering, weeding, deadheading and some special projects. - the Faerie Garden, the Native Plant garden walkway, restaining the gazebo and beginning installing of the drip system. Call or e-mail if you have interest in helping.
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Thanks, Loni Shapiro
928-522-8635 maxmaddy@infomagic.net
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:57 AM
September 3, 2007
The Arboretum at Flagstaff
2007 Wildflower Walks
Join botanist Dr. Gwendolyn Waring for a two-hour tour through woodlands, meadows, and cultivated gardens to learn about a large variety of wildflowers as they are in bloom over the course of the summer. The wildflower walk will take place on The Arboretum's 200 acres on September 29th.
Tours will meet at 9:30 a.m. in the courtyard and will conclude at 11:30. The program is free with the regular price of admission ($5 for adults, $2 youth aged 6-17, children under 6 are free). Please sign up on arrival, as walks are limited to 20 participants.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:12 PM
September 1, 2007
Evening Master Gardener Training Course This Fall
Master Gardener Column 7/28
Coconino County Cooperative Extension will once again offer the Master Gardener Training Course to county residents. For the first time since the Master Gardener Program was introduced to Coconino County, the class will be offered as an evening class beginning this fall.
The opportunity to provide this class is possible due to the generous support of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, a beneficent grant from a private foundation and numerous contributions from Master Gardeners themselves. I want to thank everyone for their support of the Master Gardener program and enabling us to continue to offer the class. I am truly grateful.
Applications are now being accepted for the Master Gardener Training Course. The course is part of a nation-wide certification program that provides horticulture training to volunteers for the purpose of enabling them to help their communities through horticulture education.
This course is designed for those who are interested in learning more about high elevation gardening and who are willing to share this knowledge with others. This will be the 17th year for the Coconino County Master Gardener Program. Tom DeGomez, former Agricultural and Natural Resources Extension Agent, introduced the program to our county in 1991. Now the Extension Forest Health Specialist for the University of Arizona, Tom continues to contribute to the Master Gardener Program and will be a guest lecturer for two of the classes.
The Master Gardener Program began in Washington State in 1972 in response to numerous requests for home gardening information. The idea was to involve horticulture cooperative extension faculty in training gardeners to assist in providing horticulture information to the community. The concept has since spread to all 50 states and several Canadian provinces. In Arizona, the Cooperative Extension service is part of the University of Arizona.
The Master Gardener Training Course will be offered in Flagstaff from September 5 thru December 5, 2007. The class will meet on Wednesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the NAU campus. Registration for the program is $185. A $50 rebate for completion of the volunteer portion of the program is offered. A copy of the Arizona Master Gardener manual can be purchased for $40 but is also available on line for free.
An interest in plants, a personal commitment to volunteerism, and an enthusiasm for sharing knowledge with others are the only prerequisites for the course.
Participants will learn the keys to successful gardening in high elevation environments. University of Arizona Extension specialists and instructors, local experts, and Master Gardeners will teach classes in basic botany, soils, plant propagation, plant problem diagnosis, insect management, pruning, fruit trees, vegetable gardening, Xeriscape, ornamental plants, composting, and arboriculture.
After completing the course, class members perform 50 hours of volunteer service. There is a wide range of volunteer activities available. The projects you work on are of your choosing and done at times that are convenient for you. Possible projects include: answering “hotline” questions, writing articles for the newspaper, working with a local non-profit organization to improve the landscape at their facility, propagating plants for re-vegetation projects, helping with a garden tour, or volunteering at the Arboretum at Flagstaff. After completion of the 13 classes and your volunteer hours, you will be awarded the title of Certified Master Gardener.
Contact Coconino County Cooperative Extension at (928) 774-1868 ext. 10 to request an application or for more information. The class is first come, first serve and class size is limited. A limited number of scholarships are available based on need.
By Hattie Braun
The author is the Master Gardener Program Coordinator for Coconino Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at (928)774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:57 PM
Powdery Mildew
Master Gardener Column 9/1/07
August brings not only afternoon moisture but also the disease powdery mildew especially on the leaves of lilac, rose, and squash. The climate of Northern Arizona promotes few fungal problems but powdery mildew is one that thrives under drier conditions. This is the time of year that favors infection, warm days followed by cool nights with higher humidity.
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease with over 300 different species. Most species are specific to the host. This means that the species that attacks roses will not likely affect lilac or squash. But many different plants, beside lilac, rose, and squash, can become infected including crabapple, dahlia, delphinium, honeysuckle, euonymous, phlox, zinnia, privet, bee balm, grape, and cucumber.
Powdery mildew often appears as white, powdery blotches on the leaves, shoots and buds of the host plant. Plants are adversely affected by infection as the fungi interfere with photosynthesis. Leaves may turn yellow or brown and drop from the plant. Powdery mildew may also cause stunting and distortion of leaves and buds.
Fortunately, this disease rarely kills but repeated infections may weaken the plant.
Once plants are infected, powdery mildew can be difficult to control but there are many cultural practices that you use to reduce or prevent infection.
The simplest way to limit the disease is to grow disease-resistant cultivators or species. If you consistently have problems with powdery mildew on summer squash, try growing the cultivars ‘Sungold’ or ‘Sunray’.
If resistant varieties aren't available, avoid planting susceptible plants in shady locations. Plants should receive a minimum of 6 hours of sun daily. Mugo pine is susceptible to powdery mildew when planted in shade but rarely gets infected when grown in full sun.
Do not over fertilizer especially with nitrogen because this practice encourages excessive growth. Tender, succulent growth is more prone to infection.
Provide good air circulation by properly spacing plants and pruning when needed. Dense foliage creates pockets of high humidity which are for ideal for spore germination and infection.
Avoid overhead watering especially late in the day to reduce humidity around the plant.
In fall, cleanup and discard any infected material, and prune out all dead and diseased branches to reduce the amount of spores that can start infections next spring. Do not compost infected plant debris.
With established plants that are repeatedly infected, a spraying regiment may be required. Before spraying, consider whether spraying is even needed. On lilac, it is not necessary to control infection because the disease usually occurs late in the season and rarely has much affect on the overall health of the plant.
There are two types of powdery mildew sprays: preventatives that ward off infections and eradiacants that kill disease once it is established. A preventative spray will do little once infection has occurred and an eradicant will have no affect if sprayed before you see any signs or symptoms. Regular spraying of a preventative is required to avoid infection.
Sulfur dusts and horticultural oil sprays are effective treatments to prevent infection. Care must be taken when using sulfur as it can burn leaves on hot, sunny days. It should not be used in conjunction with an oil spray.
Research has shown that a simple fungicide made by mixing 1 Tbsp. baking soda, 2.5 Tbsp. horticultural oil and 1 gallon water can prevent infection. Use sparingly as excessive use of baking soda may damage plants and can have deleterious effects on soil structure.
Plant based insecticidal oils such as neem oil or jojoba oil can be used to eradicate mild to moderate infections.
Commercially produced, synthetic fungicides that control powdery mildew are also available. To be effective, these products must be used at the first sign of infection. Few products will cure a severely infected plant. A combination of the proper cultural practices in conjunction with a fungicide is the best way to achieve acceptable control.
Remember, when applying a fungicide, always read the label carefully and follow the instructions exactly. Make sure that the host plant is listed on the label.
By Hattie Braun
The author is the Master Gardener Program Coordinator for Coconino Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
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