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May 31, 2008
Rosemary for Remembrance
Master Gardener Column 5/31/08
A beloved herb, rosemary’s botanical name rosmarinus officinalis is derived the Latin rosmarinus which means “dew of the sea.” For the ancient Romans, they recalled the abundance of its blue flowers by the Mediterranean Sea. With a history dating back thousands of years, garlands of rosemary were worn by students in ancient Greece to help them remember their studies. In the Middle Ages it was placed under pillows to ward off evil spirits, dispel bad dreams, dispatch witches, and prevent the plague. Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet placed rosemary on the grave of her father Polonius with these words, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember.”
An evergreen shrub, rosemary’s numerous branches have an ash-colored, scaly bark and bear opposite, leathery, thick leaves which are dark green above and downy white underneath.
The leaves and flowering tops are used for medicinal purposes. The stimulant action of rosemary helps promote liver function, the production of bile, and proper digestion. CAUTION: excessive amounts of rosemary taken internally can cause fatal poisoning. Often rosemary is used externally. Leaves cooked in wine or salves made from rosemary oil are useful for eczema, bruises, and wounds. Rosemary also makes a good mouth wash. To prepare a tea or infusion steep 1 tsp. dried flowering tops or leaves in ½ cup hot water or ½ oz of rosemary to a pint of boiled water and steeped for 10 minutes. If used in a tincture, the dose is from 5 to 20 drops per day. Maximum is one cup a day.
Recently, researchers at Pennsylvania State University have identified carnisol and ursolic acids in rosemary as effective in protecting against breast cancer.
Older records describe the use of rosemary for headaches and, as such, may be used as a substitute for aspirin. It has been described as useful for indigestion, colic, nausea, gas, and fevers. High in calcium it is easily absorbed and, therefore, helpful to the nervous system. Used with coltsfoot in a pipe, it has been useful for treating asthma and mucous congestion of the lungs and throat. As a cooled strong tea, it is good for the hair and scalp as a rinse after shampoo.
In the kitchen, fresh or dried leaves are used to flavor meat, especially lamb and kid, sausages, stuffings, soups, and stews. Very small amounts, often ground or powdered, are added to cookies or jams. Fresh sprigs are steeped whole in vinegar, wine, or olive oil, to give rosemary flavor to sauces and dressings. Its flowers can be added to salads.
Rosemary likes a neutral soil and tolerates soil pH 5-8 range. A perennial in warmer climates, rosemary dislikes cold, wet winters and rarely survives prolonged freezing. Although drought tolerant it’s intolerant of Flagstaff’s winters. It is listed as zones 7–10 for hardiness which is warmer than Flagstaff, meaning as a perennial it has to be brought indoors during the winter. It can be propagated by seed sown in spring or by semi-ripe cuttings in the summer. Leaves and flowering tops are collected in the spring and early summer and distilled for oil, or dried for infusions, decoctions, extracts, spirits, and tinctures.
Rosemary is an aromatic, evergreen shrub, with the aroma varying by sub species. Effective in warding off moths, carrot flies, and bean beetles, it is also useful as an insect repellant.
The prostratus group, creeping rosemary, has an arching or prostrate habit and is good for hanging baskets, banks, walls, rock gardens, and bonsai. As a smaller shrub, it can come in during the winter and go out when the deep frost is past.
Queen Izabella of Hungary claimed at 72 and crippled by arthritis and gout, she had so regained her strength and beauty by using rosemary tops macerated in alcohol that the King of Poland proposed to her. As with the Greek students of old, students nowadays might want to keep a rosemary plant on their desks near their computers to help them remember their studies.
For more information about the medicinal use of herbs contact Sue Collins, RN, Family Nurse Practitioner and Certified Herbalist, at suecollins46@msn.com.
Susan B. Collins is a Master Gardener volunteer. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer, is coordinating editor for the Master Gardener Column. He can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For gardening questions, call the Master Gardener Hotline, 774-1868, x19, or visit MG Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 8:33 PM
May 30, 2008
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
Thursday was a great day for gardening so many of our regular volunteers and new master gardeners came to help in the garden. David Hockman did his usual great job digging holes and finding many treasures left by contractors who dumped on this site in the past (plastic toy solder and plastic bags). I even found a horseshoe in the compost pile. David planted one tree (a new elderberry) and one shrub (a low growing sumac). He also moved our fernbush for the 2nd time. We can't seem to find the best place for it. Karen Kent along with the help of our new volunteer Gus Delgadillo moved mulch from the center of our rose bushes and fed them. With more than 40 roses that took the whole morning.
Linda Guarino one of our new master gardeners planted some summer blooming bulbs, and then worked on making sure we have drip lines to all the plants. Elsie Ellis cleaned bird baths and watered the back garden. Nancy Palmer and Marcia Lamkin supervised the tree planting in the Faerie Garden and planted herbs and veggies throughout the garden. Joe Harte stopped by and did some weeding.
New plantings:
Low Growing Sumac (Rhus aromatica)
Dark Leafed Elderberry
Kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli
Parsley, sage, chocolate mint, peppermint, thyme
Scented geranium, tri-colored sage, nasturtiums
Dahlias, brodicea, canna, gladiolas
New blooms:
Ox-eyed daisy, coral bells, clematis
Thank you:
Viola's Garden - $50 gift certificate for summer Garden Party
Mary Swanson - original watercolor for summer Garden Party
Come join us this week on Thursday (8am-12pm). Our plans include continuing to work on drip lines to make sure they are on plants (Faerie Garden, Inferno Strips), weeding, watering east gardens, cleaning bird baths and checking feeders, planting tomatoes, herbs, and vegetables, work the compost pile, plant a large lavender (5 gal.) Park in the 1st Congregational Church lot on Turquoise just past Switzer Canyon Drive. Bring a hat, gloves and any tools you prefer (we do have both) and sun screen (it should be hot). We will provide water and snacks.
Thanks,
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:38 AM
May 27, 2008
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
With all the strange weather this week we did not get much done in the garden. Thursday was wet, snowy and cold. A couple of faithful new Master Gardeners (Linda Guarino and Vicki Goodwin) showed up and did some weeding while the soil was wet. Linda finish weeding the Faerie garden and replaced a couple of stepping stones. Gus Delgadillo came to learn the ropes for feeding the birds and providing water. He also placed a brick in memory of his wife of many years, Lucy. When she was in the garden she always enjoyed watching the birds, so Gus wants to help keep them in the garden for others to enjoy. I spent most of my time moving starts to the sun porch for protection from the snow and covering the standing raised bed with frost cloth. Laura Davis (who started this garden) was visiting from Tucson. She tried to help us on a couple of days but the weather just wouldn't cooperate.
We were supposed to have a Saturday workday this week but cancelled due to cold and snow. We did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon. I planted a couple of buffalo berry shrubs and watered new plants as well as our CSA starts. Sabrina Robinson and Joe & Susan Harte came and weeded. We have a whole new crop of weeds from all the moisture.
The gardens are looking surprisingly well with all the moisture even if it was snow. All the new plantings in the Faerie Garden have returned – even the miniature roses.
New plantings:
Buffalo berry shrubs (2)
New blooms:
Many iris and clematis with speedwell at their feet.
Thank you:
Al Katte for repairing our fountain. I thought it had died when it froze but it needed a trip switch turned on and its filter cleaned. It is back up and running.
Come join us this week on either Thursday (8am-12pm) or Saturday (9am-12pm). Our plans include continuing to work on drip lines to make sure they are on plants (Faerie Garden, Inferno Strips), weeding, watering east gardens, cleaning bird baths and checking feeders, planting tomatoes, herbs, and vegetables, work the compost pile, move one shrub, plant a tree, and feed the roses. Park in the 1st Congregational Church lot on Turquoise just past Switzer Canyon Drive. Bring a hat, gloves and any tools you prefer (we do have both) and sun screen (it should be hot). We will provide water and snacks.
Thanks,
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:34 AM
May 25, 2008
An Horticultural Murphy's Law
Master Gardener Column 5/24/08
Murphy’s Law, named after the aerospace engineer Edward A. Murphy, Jr., reads “If there’s more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way.” In other words, someone will always drop a slice of bread on the floor, buttered side down. While originating in aerospace engineering, Murphy’s Law is applicable to gardening, especially to growing tomatoes and that an annoying plague on tomato plants, early blight with its circular lesions, cankers, and fruit rot.
Murphy developed something else equally as important, called “defensive design,” a way of avoiding disasters that aren’t necessarily inevitable.
Defensive design in gardening begins with sanitation. As in the bathroom and kitchen, the first line of defense against disease is picking things up and washing things off. The spores of the fungus hang out unseen in plant debris, even over the winter, so it’s always pick-up time in the garden.
They also stay in the soil of a diseased plant. Another aspect of Murphy’s defensive design is rotating crops, a practice beneficial for many reasons. Tomatoes should be planted in different beds each year for at least three years, and so with potatoes and eggplants. If containers are used, clean the container thoroughly and change the soil every year. Soil can be sterilized with hot water or by covering the soil with black plastic sheets or black plastic bags for a couple of weeks. However, it’s safest to change soils.
The next defensive design is air circulation. Space the tomatoes far enough apart so that air circulates within the vine. Non-productive branches, branches without blossoms, can be pruned to increase air circulation in the plant. A word of caution: too much pruning will expose the fruit to sunburn. Remember air circulation and protection from sunburn.
Overheard watering, such as sprinkling, will likely foster early blight spores and burnt leaves. Dusty leaves are allowable in defensive design sanitation.
Early blight comes about because of conditions favoring the fungus Alternaria solani. In Flagstaff, those conditions are the monsoon season, July through September, when the winds circulate from the south and southeast rather than the west and northwest, bringing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California. In other words, Alternaria solani like it moist and hot. Sadly, blight strikes only after gardeners have watched a tomato plant come to maturity. Grief happens.
Tomatoes are best planted early during the dry season so that they have time to develop and thus can more likely resist infestation. If beginning with seeds, make sure that the seeds are certified as disease-free. If seedlings are purchased from a commercial nursery, choose disease resistant varieties and inspect them with a fine-tooth comb. Commercial nurseries like hospitals are hotbeds of disease.
If old tomato plants are used in compost, make sure that they aren’t blighted. It may be wise not to use that compost to enrich the soil where tomato plants will be grown again, just in case spores were undetected.
Since the Alternaria solani are invisible to the naked eye, early blight can only be detected with magnification or after it’s begun. The signs are brownish black bulls-eye circular lesions on the older leaves, and as the blight grows the tissue around the spots may turn yellow. If the affliction is advanced, the stems will be girdled with the cankers and the fruit will rot with freckled and spotted lesions. This means daily inspections.
If these defensive designs are breached, then treatment is possible, such as sulfur dust or the fungicides chlorothalonil, commercially named Bravo and Daconil, and azoxystrobin, known as Quadris. As with any pesticides, read the labels and follow the directions exactly.
Sometimes, defensive designs don’t work and the slice of bread hits the floor buttered side down. At the first sign of infestation, cut, prune, and send the blighted leaves, stems, and fruit to Environmental Services, remembering the times when ripe dusty tomatoes were plucked warm from the vine on the sunny afternoon and eaten with chin-dripping juice.
Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer and coordinating editor of the Master Gardener Column for Coconino County Cooperative Extension, can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For gardening questions, call the Master Gardener Hotline, 774-1868, x19, or visit MG Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:34 AM
May 18, 2008
The Magic of Seed Saving
Master Gardener Column 5/17/08
In ritual as old as civilization, indeed a ritual responsible for civilization itself, a tribal farmer planted seeds from a corn cob slightly larger than a fingernail. He took care at harvest to save the seeds from the largest and best ears, planting them again, and harvesting them anew each season, producing better ears of corn every year. After eons of this ritual, other farmers have harvested corn from their best seeds, resulting in its modern sizes, shapes and colors.
In this priceless ritual farmers throughout the years have practiced open-pollination which means an uncontrolled, natural pollination by bees, winds, insects, and birds, creating a variety of characteristics. In contrast, artificial, controlled pollination by cross-breeding different varieties creates a specified set of characteristics.
Nowadays, the danger of controlled pollination is the loss in one generation of an agricultural diversity 10,000 years in creation. As late as 1900, food for the planet's population was provided by at least 1,500 different plants, each one differentiated into thousands of cultivated varieties. In contrast, today over 90% of the world's nutrition is provided by 30 different plants with only four (wheat, rice, corn and soybeans) providing 75% of the calories consumed by human beings. Where once diverse strains strengthened each local botanical community, currently a handful of "green revolution", super-hybrid varieties are "mono-cropping" farms and gardens worldwide.
The danger inherent in “mono-cropping” is vulnerability because diseases or pests attack individual varieties. The strength of any botanical community is variety. If only one variety of potato is planted, as was done in Ireland in the early 1800's, the result is likely to be the loss of the entire potato crop in what is called the Irish potato famine.
In 1970, 50% of the genetically uniform corn crop in the southern United States worth more than a billion dollars was lost to a single disease. Without botanical diversity, the danger is the loss of an entire crop because diseases and pests are constantly emerging into new diverse forms. Each year newly emerging strains of influenza require new combinations of strains in the flu shots to immunize against emerging influenza viruses.
Today, potatoes are grown in Ireland and corn in the South because disease resistant varieties were found in other varieties. Botanists search for varieties resistant to new diseases in the "Vavilov centers," named after Nicolai Vavilov, the famous Russian botanist. Once these centers were banks for a variety of seeds, but now they are being planted with a handful of genetically narrow "green revolution" hybrids. The genetic center for wheat in Turkey is in danger of being planted completely with hybrids.
Thousands of native and heirloom wheat varieties are disappearing, becoming unavailable to botanists looking for varieties resistant to the future plant diseases. The threat is a genetically uniform agriculture with little or no diversity to protect it.
Individual gardeners and farmers have long created and sustained a rich genetic heritage. Now, they can continue by saving seeds from the best performers of their non-hybrid (open-pollinated) varieties, sustaining the diversity, remaining open to the future as was done in the past.
In Siberia, nearly everyone saves garden seeds, seed saving being an integral part of their gardening experience. As with gardeners everywhere, competition is intense, resulting in selective seed saving.
Without a background in genetics, Siberian gardeners select seeds only from plants with desirable characteristics. Creating new varieties, gardeners have designed simple selection system, planting the same variety in different environments or by planting different varieties in the same environment.
The story of Dima is a case in point. He lives Novosibirsk, Siberia, where he grows watermelons. Although agricultural experts in Siberia claimed that watermelons wouldn’t grow in Siberia, Dima after several years produced a single, small, tennis ball-sized fruit. He carefully saved the only two seeds produced by the melon and planted them the following spring. Success again. Dima saved several seeds from the largest fruit. Ten years later, Dima was well into his "melon adventure" with his garden consistently producing kilo-sized melons. He created a unique, new treasure, contributing to genetic diversity besides enjoying fresh watermelons in the short Siberian summer.
For further information contact Bill McDorman at www.seeds trust.com.
Bill McDorman of Seeds Trust in Cornville, AZ, is a pioneering authority in seed saving and high elevation horticulture. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer, is coordinating editor for the Master Gardener Column. He can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For gardening questions, call the Master Gardener Hotline, 774-1868, x19, or visit MG Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:05 AM
May 17, 2008
Flagstaff Community Market
Flagstaff Sunday Community Market 6/8/08 8:00 am-12:00 pm
This is the first day of the summer community market which will run through October 14.
The Flagstaff Community Market (FCM) is a regional producers market that operates for growers and producers of agricultural and related products. The primary purpose of the Market is to support small and medium sized independent growers and producers by providing citizens with a local alternative to corporate and globalized food production.
It is our intent to connect growers and consumers and encourage people, both urban and rural, in growing more of their own food. A secondary purpose is to provide an outlet for small-scale producers of value added food products, local artisans, and community and sustainable agricultural groups.
Additionally, it is the purpose of the Community Farmers Market to provide a Community gathering space for residents and visitors to Flagstaff to mix in a relaxed, educational, and fun environment.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:57 PM
Mountain Meadow Farm Tour & Sale
June 1, 2008, Sunday 11am - 12:30.
Experience our small urban farm in spring on a guided public tour and sale Includes a 30 minute Bee Keeping introduction by Patrick Pynes. $5 adults, $2 of which goes to Flagstaff Foodlink to support their Youth Garden Project. Children admitted by donation to the Youth Garden Project. (Any amount acceptable.) We will have farm products available for sale.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:50 PM
May 16, 2008
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
On Thursday, we had some of our regular crew (Karen Kent, Nancy Palmer and David Hockman) and several new master gardener volunteers (Joe Harte, Vicki Goodwin, Crystal Wells and Gloria Bradshaw). Karen Kent and I finished changing the drips on the roses and making sure all plants in those beds were on a drip. Karen also added drips to some moved roses and a new shrub so she had to dig a little to find the main lines. The drip will save us time in the long run, but learning the skills and getting everything up and running has been time consuming this spring. Next year should be easier. Vicki Goodwin, Crystal Wells and Gloria Bradshaw all spent their time weeding and deadheading. David Hockman brought his electric saw and trimmed some pondersosa trees and then helped weed. Nancy Palmer planted many new hardy plants. It was a good day for it with the cloud cover and occasional sprinkles. They have been on the back porch hardening off for more than a week. Joe Harte came and hauled some brick and dug a big hole for a new Sumac tree from High Country Gardens. I spent my time setting-up (getting plants out for planting and materials for the volunteers), helping Karen and David as needed, and watering some transplants and new plantings. Our tomatoes are in the greenhouse and getting ready for planting in a couple of weeks. We got our first CSA plants (spinach, kale, onions, parsley) and after hardening them off a bit have them mostly in our raised beds.
New plantings:
CSA plants (bulb and bunching onions, spinach, kale, parsley),
Others: asparagus, strawberries, lettuce and horseradish
New blooms:
Iris, alliums and the trees (chokecherry, crabapple and apple).
Thank you:
Vicki Goodwin for a city composter and a copper birdfeeder
Coconino County Adult Probation Community Service for sanding and staining the gazebo over the last 2 weeks
Ray & Joan White for 16 memorial bricks for their grandchildren
Sharon Super for $40 for annual plants
Come join us this week on either Thursday (8am-12pm) or Saturday (9am-12pm). Our plans include weeding, watering new plants, checking drip lines, planting (some herbs-veggies- and hardy annuals/perennials, bulbs), cleaning (Tea Garden, shed) and feeding Roses. Park in the 1st Congregational Church lot on Turquoise just past Switzer Canyon Drive. Bring a hat, gloves and any tools you prefer (we do have both) and sun screen (it should be hot). We will provide water and snacks.
Thanks,
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:32 AM
Summer Gardening Classes at CCC
Come to the last gardening class for CCC for the summer session.
Container Gardening
Saturday, June 7, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Willow Bend Environmental Education Center
Instructor: Loni Shapiro
Container gardens for small and large spaces will be demonstrated with emphasis on advantages for use in Flagstaff. Ideas include successful flower combinatons, vegetables and herbs. Bring a trowel and gloves so you can create in the dirt for the last hour of the class. We will again be meeting at Willow Bend Environmental Education Center, which is a great place to explore native plants.
Fee $30.
To register or for more information call 928-526-7644 or 1-800-350-7122x7644 or visit www.coconino.edu/discover
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:15 AM
May 11, 2008
The Rape of Lucrece
Master Gardener Column 5/10/08
In The Rape of Lucrece Shakespeare asks, “Why should the worm intrude the main bud?” and answers with the couplet, “But no perfection is so absolute/That some impurity doth not pollute.” Such is the perennial question asked by all gardeners as spring arrives only to find aphids swarming over a rose bud or, worse yet, little holes in the bud drilled by the rose weevil. Actually, Shakespeare was writing about the “tragic flaw” in fallen heroes and heroines, but he began quite appropriately with worms and bugs.
If not tragic, there’s always a flaw of some kind in the garden that “doth pollute.” Theological speculations about the problem of evil from the asylum ignorantiae don’t help. Turning to friends is more useful when the afflictions seem overwhelming, friends such as ladybugs and green lacewings. They eat aphids, mealybugs, thrips, whiteflies, leafhoppers, mites, scale, and insect eggs, and so it’s difficult to find better gardening friends than these predators.
Lady bugs are far more charming than green lacewings which are cannibalistic and aren’t as cute. No one makes green lacewings into pets as with ladybugs, but both are marvelous predators, especially their larvae. Actually, the phrase “lady bug” refers to the Virgin Mary. During the Middle Ages, when insects were destroying the crops of the farmers, they prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. When the ladybugs arrived to eat the insects and save the crops, the farmers called the insect eaters "Our Lady’s beetles,” the phrase eventually becoming ladybugs.
One of the ironies of affliction is that both the ladybugs and lacewings need the pests to eat, and without them they will either leave or perish, especially their larvae. As Shakespeare observed, “from creation to general doom” affliction is always with us. In every garden, aphids, mealybugs, white flies, and their kindred lie in wait. Not to worry! The pests haven’t left but are waiting hidden as eggs to strike again.
Actually, green lacewings don’t eat the garden pests. Their larvae do. However, adult ladybugs and their larvae are both predators.
The life cycles of green lacewings and ladybugs are similar. Beginning as eggs, they hatch into larvae. The larvae are the voracious eaters. After getting their fill, they become pupae which eventually become adults. The whole cycle takes about a month.
Pesticides are lethal for ladybugs and green lacewings, killing them along with the noxious insects. If gardeners spray their beds with pesticides, it’s “Shock and Awe” carpet bombing, taking out everything in sight, killing friends as well as enemies. Nowadays, it’s called friendly fire. Also, pesticides “doth pollute” the environment, human beings being the only animals who befoul their own nests.
In addition to avoiding pesticides, creating a congenial environment for these two friendly predators will more likely assure that they hang around the garden. Apart from aphids, ladybugs and green lacewings need other sources of food, such as pollen and nectar, after they’ve been successful knocking off the aphids. The specific types of plants they like have umbrella shaped flowers such as fennel, dill, cilantro, and yarrow. They are also attracted to cosmos, coreopsis, and scented geraniums.
Unlike human friends, ladybugs and green lacewings can be bought over the Internet or from a local nursery. There are four watchwords with these bribed friends. Release them in the evening because like a lot of purchased friends, they tend to wander and fly off. Make sure they have water. Refrigerate them before releasing them so that they won’t fly off so easily. If the infestation heavy, drape the plants, making a tent in which they will be confined to eat up the nasties.
Finally, as with all friends, sometimes they can be too much of a good thing. If they’re set loose in the house, they’ll leave little yucky, foul-smelling spots on the walls which are actually spots of their foul-smelling blood designed to repel their adversaries. They have to be given that, but not in the house. As with endangered trout, it’s catch and release, only with lady bugs it’s vacuum and release.
Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer and coordinating editor of the Master Gardener Column for Coconino County Cooperative Extension, can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For gardening questions, call the Master Gardener Hotline, 774-1868, x19, or visit MG Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 3:26 PM
May 8, 2008
Olivia White Hospice Garden Project
With one small rain the gardens really greened up and added much new spring growth. We had our 2nd workday in the garden for 2008. Several of our regulars attended - David Hockman, Karen Kent, Nancy Palmer and Elsie Ellis. We also had some new Master Gardener volunteers. Dave Hill and Zane returned for the season to bring residents out into the garden. Zane is now an official Delta Society dog, but still likes looking for treats and drinking from the bird baths.
Karen continued to work on the compost pile (with a new composter from the city of Flagstaff) and she helped me get the drip going for the Rose Garden. David worked on fencing our last aspen tree from the deer and Nancy returned and began getting the Faerie Garden and Birdhouse Trellis set-up for the season. She also planted some red runner beans.
Our new master gardener volunteers deadheaded and weeded some of the perennial beds. My Mom did her usual watering of the back gardens and cleaning and filling bird baths.
On Saturday a Community Service crew came from the county jail adult probation. They sanded the gazebo and were able to get half of it stained. The top is yet to be done because we are looking for some 8-10 foot a-frame ladders. We hope to get it finished on Saturday.
While they were working I planted some summer blooming bulbs, watered, and filled hummingbird feeders.
Plans for 5/15:
Continue work on the drip
Weeding & deadheading
Getting the Tea Garden set-up
Planting some hardy perennials from High Country Gardens
Seeding some greens and planting hardy herbs
Getting pots ready for annuals and planting some summer blooming bulbs.
Come join us on Thursday any time between 8am-12pm.
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 9:23 PM
May 6, 2008
NAU Master of Arts in Sustainable Communities 2008 Summer Institute
Permaculture Design Certificate Course
MLS 599 - Section 801 - Class Number 2130 & Section 802 - Class Number 2224
Available for 4 units of graduate credit or as a non-credit workshop
Permaculture ethics & design principles
Understanding natural patterns
Creating healthy soils
Plant selection, plant guilds & food forests
Site analysis & design
Mapping & microclimates
Water harvesting
Bioregional theory and permaculture
Community land access
Local food systems
Co-housing, eco-villages and city repair
Design for peak oil
Ecological Economics
Course includes all dates:
June 13-15, June 20-22, July 25-27, August 1-3
Learn how permaculture design can meet human needs by turning human gardens and communities into fully functioning ecosystems. Receive hands-on experience on how to apply the principles of ecological design in your own home, neighborhood, and city.
Instructors:
Josh Robinson, M.A., Ecological Landscape Design and co-founder of Eden on Earth
Lisa Rayner, Permaculturalist and author of Growing Food in the Southwest Mountains
Guest Speakers: Brad Lancaster & Andrew Millison
This course involves field trips, travel, site visits, hiking, and overnight camping. NAU course fees apply.
This course is for: Home owners, renters, gardeners, ranchers, landscapers, architects, builders, developers, civic planners, elected officials, educators, environmentalists, students … everyone who wishes to learn how to live sustainably and apply the principles of holistic design to their respective fields.
Available for 4 units of graduate credit as MLS 599 - Class Number 230 and 2224 - or as a non-credit workshop.
To enroll for course credit, register on-line for both class numbers to receive 4 units at www.nau.edu/louie.
To enroll for the workshop, please complete the registration form and return with payment of $600.00 to:
NAU, Master of Arts in Sustainable Communities, P.O. Box 6031, Flagstaff, AZ 86011.
Enrollment is limited; a $200.00 non-refundable deposit to be applied to the balance of the workshop fee will confirm your workshop enrollment.
For more information contact Holly Hulen at (928) 523-9359 or holly.hulen@nau.edu
www.cal.nau.edu/mls
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:36 AM
May 4, 2008
Flagstaff Garden Club Update
Ordering NoLo Bait, Our Seedling and Plant Exchange on May 10, and Dana Prom Smith's recipe for Tomato Soup
The Flagstaff Garden Club meets when we have an invitation to visit a garden or to hear a presentation on a gardening topic. There are no dues. To receive email announcements of events send your name, email address and your phone number Garden@npgcable.com. If you want to be removed from the mailing list, send a note to Garden@npgcable.com.
Ordering NoLo Bait NOW!
It's time to begin treatment with NoLo bait. This organic grasshopper insecticide is effective when used as directed and over time.
Again this year, we are ordering a 25 lb. bag of NoLo Bait direct from the manufacturer in Colorado and will have it available in two pound sacks. Please contact Jean Hockman immediately if you want to purchase any. The price is $8.00 for a two pound bag.
For details on the bait, go to www.goodbug.com
To order, email Jean at djhockman@npgcable.com or phone 526 5813.
Seedling and Plant Exchange Saturday May 10, 10:00 a.m. 57 Chof Trail (Kachina Village )
Join the Garden Club for a seedling and plant exchange on Saturday, May 10th at 10a.m. Charlotte Fox has invited us to her Kachina Village home for this event. Everyone is welcome. Charlotte is revamping her courtyard for the first time in five years. If you have nothing to exchange, please still come and be a consultant. She will host another gathering in August sometime so you can see the result of your consulting work J Charlotte has groundcover to share. Bring a plastic produce bag to take some home in.
Driving directions: I-17 South to Exit 333. Exit Right.
At “T” in the road (Kachina Trail) turn LEFT
First street off Kachina Trail is Toho. Turn RIGHT
First street off Toho is Chof Trail. Turn RIGHT and follow the road down the hill, and curve up the hill.
Charlotte is on the right side of the street and has a 6’ cedar fence surrounding her courtyard.
Dana Prom Smith's Recipe for Cream of Tomato, Basil, Artichoke, Carrot and Avocado Soup
Dana served this soup at our recent meeting to discuss the joys and sorrows of growing tomatoes in Flagstaff.
1 jar (26 oz) of quality pasta sauce
1 can (28 oz) fire roasted whole tomatoes (non-fire roasted whole tomatoes OK)
2 cans artichoke crowns (bottoms, not hearts)
2 packages of fresh basil (five or six sprigs)
2 avocados
1 can (12 oz) can evaporated milk
4 celery stalks
1/2 large sweet onion
1 can (12 oz) butternut squash purée
3 medium-sized carrots boiled until soft in honey water
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 quart chicken broth
3 dashes vanilla
(1) Slice off fibrous part (bump) on convex (out-facing) side of artichoke crowns and cut up. (2) Mince onion and de-string and mince celery. (3) In a blender liquify pasta sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, artichoke crowns, fresh basil leaves, avocado flesh, minced onions, celery stalks, carrots, water, and chicken broth. Will take two or three blender jugs. Blend for a few minutes each time. (4) Dump in pot and stir. (5) Bring briefly to boil. (6) Reduce heat to simmer for ten minutes. Stir in evaporated milk just before taking off heat. (7) Stir in vanilla after taking off heat. (8) Serve hot with grated cheddar cheese or parmesan and croutons. (9) Serve chilled in summer with avocado slices and a few basil leaves.
If bits of celery and onion are desired in cream soup, sautée finely minced celery and onion in olive oil, and add after blending. Avocado is added as a thickener (better than cornstarch) as well as for its delightful flavor.
Best cream of tomato soup ever. Does well for snacks, breakfast, lunch, dinner entree. Impresses everyone with culinary skills of host or hostess.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:54 AM
May 3, 2008
Master Gardener Hotline & FAQ's
Master Gardener Column 5/3/08
Along with flowering plums, budding lilacs, and buzzing gnats, the Master Gardener Hotline has arrived with the winds of spring. As an example of government actually working and even being helpful, the MG Hotline has answers for those beset by gardening quandaries and woes.
The Coconino County Master Gardener Program and the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension sponsor the MG Hotline. A free service, the Hotline operates from May 1 through September 30, 2008. Questions can be left anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on the Master Gardener voice mail.
When calling the Hotline, clearly state your name and phone number, provide a description of what ails your garden, and leave the best time to return your call. An MG volunteer will research the problem and return your call within 72 hours. The hotline phone number is (928) 774-1868, ext. 19.
The Master Gardener Program trains volunteers in horticultural knowledge and skills. After the training, the MG volunteers serve the community by answering gardening questions, conducting gardening programs, working on community beautification projects, and writing for the Master Gardener Column in the Arizona Daily Sun. The 2008 class is completing its requirements to become certified Master Gardeners by answering hotline calls. For information about the Coconino Master Gardener Program, leave a message on the hotline or email hbraun@ag.arizona.edu.
While not all questions are easily answered, volunteer Master Gardeners will do their best, using their training and the Arizona Master Gardener Manual and other resources.
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions:
Why are the pine trees along the interstate turning brown? Are they being attached by bark beetles?
The culprit is salt damage from the de-icing salts used on our roadways. De-icing salts harm plants by pulling moisture out of roots and reducing the uptake of water and nutrients to the plant. On conifers (pines, firs, junipers, and spruces), the damage appears as brown needle tips. Prolonged drought increases the damage. Browning usually appears in late winter and becomes more pronounced through spring and summer. The safety benefits of de-icing salts compel us to live with browning trees.
I have grown fruit trees here in Flagstaff for over 20 years but even though the trees look fine, I rarely get any fruit, except in 2005 when the trees were loaded. What am I doing wrong?
The problem with fruit production in the high country is cold night-time temperatures in the spring. Though many fruit trees are winter hardy, the developing fruit buds and flowers are sensitive to frost damage. Newly opening buds can usually withstand temperatures in the mid 20’s, but the blossoms of practically all fruit trees will be killed if the temperature drops below 24oF. When a heavy frost is expected, covering the trees may sometimes prevent bud or blossom injury though that’s only practical with dwarf cultivars. To increase the odds of getting a fruit crop, try growing later-flowering apples and plums rather than peaches and apricots that flower earlier and are therefore more likely to suffer from frost damage.
I recently saw a newspaper advertisement for the royal empress tree. The ad claims this hardy tree will grow 12 feet in one year, has fragrant purple flowers, tolerates any soil, and will grow almost anywhere. Our lot has no trees to speak of so we are desperate to plant some fast-growing trees. Is this tree too good to be true?
If an advertisement sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The royal empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa), also know as princess tree, is an exotic from China, introduced in the United States nearly 150 years ago as a landscape tree. Growing quickly, it litters, is messy, its wood is brittle, and only its root system is hardy. The weedy, aggressive tree has yet to invade the southwest but is considered an invasive exotic in many states. A noxious problem in many eastern states, it invades riparian areas, disturbing and displacing native species as a quickly growing nuisance.
When plants are featured in slick newspaper ads, beware! Research the plant before ordering. Caveat Emptor.
Hattie Braun is the coordinator for the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program and a Master Gardener. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer and coordinating editor of the Master Gardener Column, can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:37 PM
May 1, 2008
Volunteering at the Grand Canyon
We Need You!
The Grand Canyon Vegetation Program relies on volunteers to help complete most of its projects in the park. These dedicated individuals contribute between 13,000 to 20,000 hours each year to the program. This is also a $250,000 to $370,000 value to the park. It’s also the equivalent of hiring 16 to 25 seasonal employees!
Volunteering for the Vegetation Program is fun!
Volunteers get to enjoy and explore areas of the park that most visitors never see. They get to work with park staff to complete tasks on the South Rim, the North Rim, at
corridor trail sites, and in vast reaches of the park’s backcountry.
The work includes:
-removing invasive plant species,
-collecting native plant seed,
-salvaging native plants,
-maintaining the native plant nursery,
-planting former disturbance areas
-inventorying rare and exotics plants,
-monitoring vegetation projects.
You can also contact the Vegetation Volunteer Coordinator, Kassy Theobald, at 928-638-7857 or kassandra_theobald@nps.govfor more information. For other volunteer opportunities, please contact the Park Volunteer Coordinator, Todd Nelson, at 928-774-7278 or todd_nelson@nps.gov.
You can volunteer too! The Vegetation Program lists all its volunteer opportunities on the web in
cooperation with the Grand Canyon Trust at www.gcvolunteers.org. Through the website you
can apply for trips, find out more details, and print all the required paperwork.
Upcoming Opportunities at Grand Canyon, AZ
Start Date/End Date/Location/Task/Meals/Lodging/Crew Leader
3/28-3/29
Lee's Ferry
Sahara Mustard Removal
Breakfasts, lunches, and one BBQ dinner
Group camp site provided
Molly Boyter
4/9-4/14
Indian Gardens
Blackberry Removal and Monitoring
Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners
Group camp site provided
Molly Boyter
5/23-5/26
South Rim
Invasive Species Removal
Breakfasts, lunches, and one BBQ dinner
Group camp site
provided
Molly Boyter
6/26-6/29
North Rim
Seed Collection, Cutting Collection, and Invasive Species Removal
Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners
Group camp site provided
Kassy Theobald
7/26-7/27
South Rim
Seed Collection, Cutting Collection, and Invasive Species Removal
Lunches and snacks
Group camp site provided
Kassy Theobald
7/26-7/27
South Rim
Native Plant Nursery Maintenance and Propagation
Lunches and snacks
Group camp site provided
Jan Busco
8/9-8/10
South Rim
Seed Collection, Cutting Collection, and Invasive Species Removal
Lunches and snacks
Group camp site provided
Kassy Theobald
8/9-8/10
South Rim
Native Plant Nursery Maintenance and Propagation
Lunches and snacks
Group camp site provided
Jan Busco
8/29-9/1
South Rim
Native Plant Nursery Maintenance and Propagation
Lunches and snacks
Group camp site provided
Jan Busco
9/8-9/11
South Rim
Native Plant Nursery Maintenance and Propagation
Lunches and snacks
Group camp site provided
Jan Busco
9/27-9/27
South Rim
Invasive Species Removal
Lunches and snacks
Group camp site provided
Molly Boyter
9/27-9/28
North Rim
Planting, Seed Collection, and Cutting Collection
Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners
Group camp site provided
Kelly Gleason
Posted by maxmaddy at 8:56 PM
Volunteer Needed Colton Community Garden
Volunteer Help Needed May 17th at Colton Community Garden!!!
From: Rosemary Logan (RLogan@mna.mus.az.us)
Hello Gardening Enthusiasts!
We'd like to invite you to join us for a volunteer garden work day at the Colton Community Garden- located on The Museum of Northern Arizona's campus (collaborative project between MNA and Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy). Details for this event are pasted below.
Thanks so much for your support! Please call me with any questions or for more details. Rosemary 774-5211 x222.
Take care, Rosemary
Youth Program Coordinator
Museum of Northern Arizona
3101 N. Fort Valley Rd.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
www.musnaz.org
Garden Volunteer Day at The Colton Community Garden
May 17th 9 am-4 pm
Celebrate spring by joining Museum of Northern Arizona and Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Staff and students as they get the garden ready for spring. Some projects will include the construction of beds for the new community garden expansion, and construction of research beds for the Northern Arizona Plant Materials Project- a joint project between MNA, The Arboretum, NAU, and the Forest Service.
Refreshments will be provided!!!
What to bring: work clothes, close-toed shoes, sun hat, sunscreen, lunch, and work gloves.
How to get there: Head North on Fort Valley like you're heading to the museum. Turn right off of Fort Valley following signs to Peaks Senior Living Community. Go straight instead of turning into the Peaks. Driveway will end in "T." Park at end of T or in lot on left.
Questions? Call Rosemary at 774-5213
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:03 PM