a publication by and for the potter county master...

small cacti just starting to become

visible. I am sure the heat and dry-

ness of the last two years have

been a big factor in their abun-

dance.

For those that want to take a

chance on fall planting, some great

bargains can be found. All of the

nurseries seem to have plenty of

Many thanks to all who helped

man the Tri-State Fair booth. It

was a huge success because of

you. Some of you worked enough

to earn your certification.

Our Fall Garden Workshop is

coming up on October 20. Please

tell your friends and neighbors

about this to spread the word.

At the October board meeting, we

discussed having t-shirts or polo

shirts printed with the MG logo.

Some thought polo shirts would

work well for public appearances

such as classes and working

booths while t-shirts would be

good for work-related projects. We

will research this more before

making a decision.

The board also discussed having

an auxiliary program for inactive

members. We need to gather more

information and clarification on

this before we can fully discuss

this with the organization.

Finally, the board decided that the

High Plains Food Bank garden had

too much Bermuda grass to make a

perimeter xeriscape landscape feasi-

ble. I will be contacting Clint

Stoddard for more information on

the Sixth and Taylor Park.

Jayla, Texas A&M Master Garden-

ers Coordinator, will be in Amarillo

on Tuesday, October 9 to discuss

what master gardening is all about.

All current board members and

gardeners coming on the 2013

board are encouraged to attend a

meeting at the Potter County office

on Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m.

until noon. There will be a session

held from 5:00-9:00 p.m. for all

certified Master Gardeners and in-

terns. A spaghetti supper will be

served at 5:00 p.m. We need all

members present at this meeting for

the election of officers and board

members for 2013.

Oh, how beautiful the rain has

been! My lawn and garden are the

greenest they have been for over

two years. The fall wildflowers and

even some late summer bloomers

have vibrant colors. As I look

around my property, I find many

"Everything that slows us

down and forces patience,

everything that sets us back

into the slow circles of

nature, is a help. Gardening

is an instrument of grace.”

May Sarton

Message from the President

I N S I D E

T H I S

I S S U E :

The Veggie Corner 2

Fall Gardening

Workshop 2

Master Gardener

Training 3

A Great Evergreen for the Fall Garden

3

Share a Garden 3

Garden Now for

Spring 4

Tri State Fair Re-

cap 4

To Do This Month 5

Upcoming Meetings Tuesday, October 9, 5:00 p.m. - General meeting at Potter County Extension Office. A short business

meeting recognizing the newly certified MG' and election of 2013 officers. A spaghetti dinner is being

provided followed by volunteer training.

Tuesday, November 6, 6:00 p.m. - Board meeting at Potter County Extension Office.

Tuesday, November 13, 6:00 p.m. - General meeting at Potter County Extension Office. The 2013

officers will be installed. Brandon will present the program on "How to Water in Winter". Members

will receive one hour of recertification credit; interns will receive one hour of education credit.

No meetings in December. Meetings resume in January.

Master Gardener Connection Nurturing Ideas and Cultivating Results

A Publication by and for the Potter County Master Gardeners

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 9

PLEASE Send your hours to:

Linda Loper

4413 Chandler Amarillo, TX 79109

[email protected]

OR you may report your hours online

through our website.

Hours worked are due on the last day

of each month.

Wally’s Sprouts

P A G E 2

“In every

gardener

there is a

child who

believes in

The Seed

Fairy.”

Robert

Brault

Bloomsdale Long Stand-

ing Spinach has a texture

and hardiness that is re-

markable.

The Veggie Corner VEGETABLES IN LATE FALL By Janean Thompson

M A S T E R G A R D E N E R C O N N E C T I O N

Although it seems very late, there

is still time to start spinach for a

fall and early spring crop. It will

sprout with the warmth we still

have and will begin to grow, then

hold all winter and start again in

spring. Should you decide to try

it, you will have spinach well

before anyone next spring. I have

had great success with overwinter-

ing spinach. One of my favorites

to carry through the cold weather

is Bloomsdale Long Standing.

The texture and hardiness of this

variety is remarkable. I have actu-

ally picked spinach from under

snow for a great winter salad!

Should you still have carrots in the

ground, you can also carry them

through any weather with a thick

blanket of hay or straw. Six

inches will insulate the earth

around the roots and protect them

from damage from the cold. It

won't help if you have burrowing

animals like mice, prairie dogs or

squirrels. They will forage all

winter and might cause damage.

One way to prevent that is to

cover the hay with a layer of poul-

try fencing weighted down or held

in place with landscape pins.

Swiss Chard is fairly sturdy and

will last through light freezes, but

will melt when it goes too far

below 32 degrees. I have loved

the color it brings to the garden,

even if it wasn't delicious! A long

time gardener told me how to take

the earthy taste out of the leaves

so it can become a favorite green

vegetable. Simply bring the

leaves and a bit of water to a boil.

Then drain, add fresh water and

bring to a second boil. The double

cooking removes any unsavory

taste. And it is loaded with vita-

mins and minerals. I also love to

use the leaves as wraps with a bit

of meat and cheese. Really inex-

pensive, tastes great and is one

fast and easy way to use chard.

Until we experience a frost, there

are more vegetables that will con-

tinue to produce although slower

than in the warmer season. Okra

might still be putting on pods, but

will decrease as the temperatures

cool. Almost all herbs begin to

concentrate flavor during the early

cool days. They can still be used

in meal preparation, but use a bit

less. Remarkably, the tender look

of herbs is deceiving. They are

nearly all hardy - even in our win-

ters. If they die back, they will

emerge in spring with added size

and growth.

So, despair not. Just because the

days are shorter and beginning to

cool, we are still able to do some

valuable gardening. And, doesn't

every gardener secretly love the

break from the struggle with

weeds, insects and disease? I

think so. Winter is the perfect

time to research new varieties,

consider refurbishing beds, enlarg-

ing or creating new planting

spaces, the list is endless. And

just think, massive numbers of

catalogs will start arriving just in

time to save you from gardeners'

anxiety early next Spring.

Swiss Chard is sturdy and lasts

through light freezes.

Mark your calendars – our Fall Gardening Workshop will be offered on Saturday, October 20, 2012, 8:30

to 11:45 am. It will be at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 6500 Amarillo Blvd.

W. Please plan to attend. Education credit will be given.

The purpose of this workshop is to assist the public in getting their gardens, turf and trees prepped for

winter.

Workshop Agenda:

8:30 - 9:00 am Registration

9:00 - 9:20 am Preparing Your Lawn and Trees for Winter

9:20 - 9:45 am Preparing your Flower Beds for Winter

9:45 - 10:30 am New Landscape Bed Preparation and Soil Amendments

10:30 - 10:45 am Break

10:45 - 11:00 am Tool Maintenance

11:00 - 11:30 am Hands-on demos: Tree Pruning and Plant Division

11:30 - 11:45 am Wrap Up and Evaluation

Fall Gardening Workshop By Doris Rogers

Find us on the web

at: www.txmg.org/

potter/

Master Gardener Training By Doris Rogers

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 9

Tuesday, October 9, will offer volun-

teer training for all involved with

Potter County Master Gardeners,

including interns. The sessions will

be at the Potter County Extension

office.

Jayla Frye, Texas A&M Master Gar-

dener and the Association’s Treas-

urer, Donna Hagar, will be here to

conduct the training. This training

will be invaluable because our Asso-

ciation is new and most of our mem-

bers and interns are new. This is an

exceptional opportunity for you!

Board and committee training will be

Tuesday morning, 8:00 a.m. to 12

noon. All association officers and

committee chairs should attend.

Master Gardener Volunteer training

will be from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Interns are encouraged to participate.

There will be an opportunity for you

to ask questions and get answers

from our State Coordinator.

Members and interns may attend both

sessions. If you have interest in be-

coming more involved in a commit-

tee or a board position or perhaps

want to know more about the struc-

ture and how the system works, you

are encouraged to attend both ses-

sions.

PCMG general meeting will be at 5

pm. This is an important meeting

because new officers will be elected.

Come and vote. Also, newly certi-

fied Master Gardeners will be recog-

nized.

In addition to all the festivities, there

will be a spaghetti dinner. Come

learn, share, and cast your votes!


Share a Gardens Prove to be

Unique Visits

Share a Gardens (top to bottom):

Marvin McFarlin, Cristina

Zepeda, and Wes Maness.

Like us on

Facebook - Potter

County Texas A&M

AgriLife Extension

Nandina “domestica’ is a great shrub for

your garden. It will give you year round

interest. It has lacy foliage, year around

color, interesting flowers and autumn ber-

ries. It can be grown in full or part sun.

The color is more vibrant if in full sun. The

new growth is often bronze becoming green

with age.

It is often called Heavenly Bamboo, but it is

not a bamboo. It is a member of the bar-

berry family.

This shrub is great in a grouping or by itself

for spot color. It is easily cared for. It

needs to be planted in well-drained soil but

it adapts to our alkaline soils. It needs only

moderate water during the year. Container

grown plants can be planted anytime

throughout the year. Nandina needs a light

application of an “evergreen type” fertilizer.

A 10-8-6 is recommended, providing nitro-

gen, phosphorous and potassium. Apply in

the early spring and water in well.

It is easily pruned. Although the plant re-

mains compact, the taller stems can be

pruned by cutting back to the ground. This

controls the plant height and the newer

stems remain healthy and vibrant. You may

prune this shrub anytime of the year.

Nandina “domestica” reaches a height of 5 –

8 feet. However, there are many varieties

giving you options that fit your landscape.

Nandina ‘gulfstream’ reaches 3-4 feet tall

while Nandina ‘firepower’ and ‘nana’ are

dwarf varieties.

The picture below was taken in my back-

yard last winter. As you can see, the colors

are magnificent and the berries are beauti-

ful.

A Great Evergreen for the Fall

Garden By Doris Rogers

For our gardens to be awakened

with the first sign of spring color,

it is time to plant spring blooming

bulbs. There are many kinds of

bulbs to plant in our gardens, Muscari, hyacinths and crocus to

name a few. But, our most popu-

lar spring blooming bulbs are tu-

lips and daffodils.

Fall is an inviting time to be out-

doors in the garden. We can en-

joy cooler temperatures and lower

humidity. Although the gardening

season is winding down, it is also

a time of beginnings. This is the only time to plant spring bloom-

ing bulbs. So, plant your bulbs

now. Bulbs require cold tempera-

tures in order to give you the best

possible flowering next spring.

Bulbs require a well-drained soil

and full sun. In preparing your

soil for planting, loosen the soil to

a depth of about a foot. It is help-

ful if you amend the soil with compost. Bulbs should be planted

at three times the depth of the

bulb. Your larger bulbs will need

to be planted at a depth of 9 or 10

inches. The smaller bulbs will not

be planted as deep. It is recom-

mended to use bone meal or a

slow-release high phosphorous

fertilizer at the time of planting

and another application in the

spring when foliage begins to appear. Place the bulb in the soil

with the pointy end up. Place

larger bulbs 5-6 inches apart,

smaller bulbs, 3-4 inches apart.

Fill the hole with soil, pressing the

soil around the bulb. Water in

well.

If you have heavy clay soil, it is

recommended to not plant the

bulbs quite a deep and use a mulch to make up the difference.

Watering during the fall is essen-

tial for good root growth before

the ground freezes; however, do

not water excessively during the

summer months when bulbs are

dormant.

Deadhead after flowering – NOT

TO PROMOTE FLOWERING –

but to channel energy into bulb development. Do not remove the

leaves until they die on their own

so they can continue to send en-

ergy to the bulbs, using photosyn-

thesis. This is one of the impor-

tant reasons why your bulb contin-

ues to bloom from year to year.

Bulbs should be lifted and divided

in the fall. They need the chilling

time during the fall and winter in order to give you the maximum

bloom ability. Replant using the

same techniques stated above.

Keep in mind that hybrid bulbs

look beautiful the first year, how-

ever, in the second season they

produce smaller flowers and after

about three years, no flowers at

all. This is especially true of tu-

lips. Species tulips flower for years, multiply and sometimes

produce more than one flower per

bulb! Buy a high-quality bulb,

free of bruises or soft spots.

Remember to keep your bulbs

blooming year after year, make

certain they are planted in the sun,

the hotter the better for tulips.

Daffodils can take a little more

shade. Bulbs require well-drained soil; proper moisture in the fall,

dryer in the summer, and a high

phosphorus fertilizer in the fall

and spring. Keep the blooms

deadheaded and do not remove the

leaves until they have died back

on their own.

Garden Now for Spring by Doris Rogers Tri-State Fair Recap by Janean Thompson

This was a record year for our Tri State Fair event. Records

were broken in a lot of areas. First, every single intern worked

hours in our booth. That is a first. Recently certified Master

Gardeners helped as well. In all, six interns reached 50 volun-

teer hours and certification thanks to their work at the fair. And

several "old" MGs helped too. It was a great mix of people and

every group learned a lot, shared a lot and strengthened friend-

ships.

Second, we visited with over 1260 people during the event - our

highest number ever. I know it was more because some were

missed I am sure. When things got busy, we may have missed

recording a few visitors. No problem. We did a great job. I can

tell you that the last day was a madhouse. We had over 325

visitors, compared to our low day of only 71 - but most days

were in the 120-130 range.

Third, the double booth gave us room to display and have lots

of MGs on staff. That was great. It made us look far more

"involved" than the smaller booths. With so many interns and

Master Gardeners, questions were answered very well. The

booth garnered many comments - even from other MGs. Sev-

eral visited with us and told us how nice the booth looked. So

did total strangers. Harry Potter, the tarantula, was most popu-

lar. We may do that again next year. He was a traffic stopper.

Fourth, our major goal was recruiting interns and we did very

well. At last count we have 23 interested in the Master Gar-

dener program. We will have other opportunities to get a great

class for 2013 so keep your eyes and ears open to any opportu-

nity.

Fifth, we met people willing to teach classes and/or coordinate

activities with us in the future. One man has researched and

grown, very successfully, five 50' rows of strawberries and is

willing to do a program for us on his work/research/results.

Another has a horticultural education from WTAMU and wants

to give a seminar. The lead of grounds management at four

AISD schools is willing to give a program. Large scale opera-

tions is different from home gardening and could be most inter-

esting. One visitor has offered us free cactus: Prickly pear and

Cholla - just dig and it is yours. Telephone: 433-8677

As I wrote in an earlier email, the displays done by Gene

Strouse and Janice Joyner were exceptional. The info they

shared was priceless and very timely since they concentrated on

rainwater collection and xeric plantings respectively. We had to

reprint their handouts twice! Thanks again you two!

Think about how you can contribute next year. Sarah Lawson

and Mary Milton will head up the effort and will appreciate

your help. Consider volunteering to take on a display table of

pertinent information/displays/handouts/examples. The visitors

loved this year's efforts.

PAGE 4


3301 E. 10th Ave.

Amarillo, TX 79104

806-373-0713

Potter County Master Gardeners are here to serve Potter

County and surrounding communities with gardening educa-

tion and information.

Our goals are to serve the community in a friendly and helpful

manner, share research based gardening information with all

citizens, and create beauty and bounty - one garden at a time.

Shared by many gardeners in the Texas Panhandle, our long

term goal is : Make Amarillo the gateway to Southwest gar-

dens!

Master Gardener Connection

Editor

Doris Rogers

Publisher

Sarah Lawson

Contributors Wally Herpich

Doris Rogers

Janean Thompson

Potter County Master Gardeners

2012 Board

President

Wally Herpich

Vice President

Kathie Bryant

Secretary

Judy Alexander

Treasurer

Judy Nunn

Certification Coordinator

Linda Loper

Communications Coordinator and Past

President

Doris Rogers

Education Coordinator

Jaton Black

Newsletter Editor

Doris Rogers

County Extension Agent/

Master Gardener Coordinator

Brandon Boughen

The Texas Master Gardener Program is an education/volunteer program con-

ducted by the Texas Agrilife Extension Service and is open to people of all ages

regardless of socio-economic level, race, color, gender, religion, handicap or

national origin. Any reference to commercial products or trade names is made

with the understanding that no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by

the Texas Master Gardeners is implies.

TO DO THIS MONTH by Doris Rogers

Still time to apply pre-emergent to cool season

grass

Overseed, reseed or sod cool season grass

Aerate your lawn

Dig and divide cannas, daylilies, irises, peonies,

dahlias, tulips, and daffodils

Store cannas and dahlias in a cool, dry place until

planting in spring

Plant new, spring blooming bulbs before the first

freeze

Dig, divide, and replant perennials

Plant shrubs, trees, and perennials (do not fertilize

until spring)

Continue to deadhead annuals and perennials

Pull out any spent annuals

Pull out any weeds from beds to prevent spreading

of seeds

Keep mowing the lawn. Should not go

into winter too long

Do prep work for new beds

Keep records of your landscape for im-

proving next year’s look

PAGE 5


a publication by and for the potter county master...

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