gardening on the edge newsletter, april 2006 ~ monterey bay master gardeners

8/9/2019 Gardening on the Edge Newsletter, April 2006 ~ Monterey Bay Master Gardeners

1/8

April 2Monterey Bay Master Gardeners


In This Issue

Rose Pruning

Psoralea pinnata

Gardening Faire Update

What MGs Are Reading

d ^ o a bk fk d = lk = q e b = b a d bk===j=_~=j~=d~

k=NNS===============================================================^=OMMS

father of the saying Themore things change, the morethey stay the same. He isalso the father of the Frenchcut flower industry, whichstarted in Nice. Given the

opportunity, I have no doubt

that he would have applied tothe MG program. His loveof plants was intensified byhis desire to share them withothers.

Sharing thats what theMaster Gardener Program isall about. We share plants,knowledge (science-based aswell as Grandmas legacies),recipes, and finally, our lifeexperiences as gardeners andas human beings.

Fast forward to the 21stcentury and the first meeting

It cost me $542.50 to writethis article. I was looking fora meaningful quote thatwould reflect my feelingsabout the UCCE MontereyBay Master Gardener

Program as it ends its firstdecade and commences itssecond. The MG programhas been a life-alteringexperience for me. These lastten years have been a journeyfull of knowledge, fun,service to the community, arenewed appreciation for theenvironment, and a newgroup of friends that will bewith me through the last halfof my life. I was looking forrose petals, not just words, todescribe the joy of being aMaster Gardener.

So there I was in LogosBook Shop in Santa Cruz(used/rare books/ music)when three leather-bound,very old English gardeningbooks entitled Flora andSylva caught my eye. Whilecarefully turning the 103-yearold pages (with incrediblehand-colored pictures of

nineteenth century Englishflora), I came across this

In my garden is anazerolier, which in the Fall ishung with little scarletberries of the richest lustre. I

have given several cuttings

from it: far from obtainingpleasure from the privationof others, I strive to scatterand make common the treesand plants which I love; it isto me, as to those who reallylove flowers for theirbrilliance, their grace andtheir perfume, amultiplication of pleasure,and of the chance of seeingthem. Alphonse Karr

Alphonse Karr was a 19thcentury French critic, authorand floriculturist. He is the

of what would become theUCCE Monterey Bay MasGardeners. It was 1994 anflier hanging in a localnursery announced a meetat the Gate House at UCSC

Farm & Garden. I contactthe organizer (CherylDevlin) who said she whopingto draw enoughinterest to start a prograin Santa Cruz County.Little did she know

The Gate House wasoverflowing withinterested gardeners. Ashow of hands, somegardening discussions,

we were off in newly-formed committees toorganize the program. went looking for theperson who had to agrethe formation of a UCCMaster Gardener prograHe was Steve Tjosvold,

the Farm Advisor for SantCruz County. He liked theidea but suggested we waifor the new UCCE CountyDirector, Sonya Hammondto come on board.

Late in the summer of1994, in the very courtyardwhere MGs lay out theirgreat raffles, a group of usmet with Sonya and Steve discuss the MG program.Sonya and Steve did notmince words. The

(Continued on pa

1995 2005UCCE Monterey Bay Master

GardenersThe First Ten Years by Cynthia Jordan, MG

1995 - First Plant Sale


2/8

April 2006 Monterey Bay Master Gardener

2

conversation went somethinglike this Theres nomoney for the program. Wesaid, Well find some.They said, There may not bea classroom because the

building is shared with othergroups. We said, Wellmeet in the rain if we haveto. They said Our platesare full and we may not beable to give you muchsupport. We said, Wepromise to never bother you.They said, The programmust include Santa Cruz andMonterey Counties. Wesaid, Were so excited, well

include the whole world!And so it began Steve,Sonya, and later LauraTourte, were wrong aboutone thing though they havegiven us tremendous helpover the years and remain ourstaunchest supporters.

January 1995, five monthsafter that meeting, 73students sat in the classroomon a rainy Saturday for the

inaugural class of the UCCEMonterey Bay MasterGardener Program. You whohave sat in the MG classroommight ask how we got 73people in that room?! Andwith no overhead lights andwith no PA system and notenough chairs & tables and

The First Ten Years(Continued from page 1)

an old wall clock that wasforever telling the wrongtime. We didnt care. Theclasses were incredible.Experts in every field fromall over northern Californiataught us, just as they donow. We met and made

awesome new friends. It wasthe beginning of a legendaryprogram that renews itselfevery year witheach new class,just as ourgardens comeback to life eachspring.

MG life wasmore difficultthe first several

years of the program. Therewere no off-Saturdays;classes lasted 6to 7 hours +lunch + raffletime; the classes started at thebeginning of January and wetook no Saturdays off tillgraduation at the end of June.That first class created

folklore still talked about atMG meetings when old-timers are present. 1995 wasthe year of the 100-yearflooding of the Pajaro andSalinas Rivers. The SanLorenzo River overflowed itsbanks, too. It seemed like theheavens waited for Saturdays

MG class days - andopened up with no remorse.Getting to class in 1995 wasequivalent to trekking acrossthe prairie in a coveredwagon. The weekend of thebig flood when HighwayOne was closed around the

entire Bay, the MGs fromCarmel and Monterey wentthe long way round (inland,

north, then south again) andcame to class anyway. OneMG, who lived in themountains where a tree camedown across the driveway

the night before, cut throughthe tree with a chainsaw toget the car on the road andget to class. It neveroccurred to anyone to miss aclass. We loved it so.

The UCCE MG programis not your usual gardeningclub. You made acommitment to go to fivemonths of classes, return for20 hours of advancedtraining and put in 30 hoursvolunteering in thecommunity. And to remaincertified, you do theadvanced training andvolunteer hours again everyyear. We have one of themost successful MGprograms in the State. Infact, we have one of the mostsuccessful volunteer

programs, period. I do a lof volunteer work. I knowonly a few organizations thcan look at its volunteer baand find the same namesunder the active categoryear after year, ten years laSome of my happiest

memories have been at MGfunctions where a classmawho has been away from t

program foryears, returnto the fold.MGs come btime and agafor the classethe fieldtripsthe functionsand for the

friendships.MG Projectand

Memories

I asked MGsshare with mmemories th

have harvested over the yeHere are some favorites:

Al Derrick, MG95, theMaster Gardener of MasteGardeners, the male MG th

most female MGs want tomarry if ever his wife givehim up because he gives smuch of his time to the MGprogram, remembers:

I remember making thHyper tufa troughs in yourdriveway and the MESS wleft you with, not once butTWICE. I also rememberhaving a lot more energy fsuch projects. It is only 10years and I miss the old daLast night we had the annuChristmas party at the SanRosa Mens Garden Club the master of ceremonies wthe last remaining foundinmember going back morethan 50 years. They justdont make them like theyused to. Amen to that, A

(Continued on pa

1998 Safehouse Work Group


3/8


We all say the same thingabout you!! And even thoughyou moved back to yourfamilys Calistoga homesteadmore than 5 years ago, youstill come and teach

classes for us.Anne Hayden,MG95, remembers:Projects I worked onand really enjoyed:working with rangersn Pogonip to eradicate

non-natives; theTriangle Park at theWater St./Soquel Ave.unction, designing,getting plants donated

and planted; spidermite research at a rosegrowers greenhousesn Watsonville; Golden

Torch Mobile Home raisedbeds for the childrens center;he numerous SF Flower and

Garden Shows. One of theweirder ones was giving myfirst propagation speechbecause Robin Sanders said

she had my name on a list?)

o a group of 7

th

DayAdventist housewives. Therehave been others, of course,but those were my favorites.Anne Hayden is an MG ofncredible energy. While the

rest of us admit to slowingdown, Anne has just startedclimbing mountains!

Melita Israel, MG95,remembers in a stream ofconsciousness: Introductorymeeting April 1994 at UCSCFarm & Garden Gate House.Sign-up for those interested.Sonya Varea Hammond, CoDirector UCCE gavepermission to have the MasterGardener Program. Interestedpersons meet at Cynthias.Nancy Collins designed ourogo and it is adopted. June

Clinch volunteered to do thenewsletter. Melita Israel was

The First Ten YearsContinued from page 2)

treasurer, but couldnt open abank account because wedidnt have a tax ID number.First class lots ofpreparation. Big binders fullof class material to becovered. 73 people in the

class and it was jammed.Lots of refreshments. Firstgarden tour was held inSanta Cruz area, September12, 1998, Michelle Swansonin charge. Other projects in1998 were the creation of theButterfly Garden at Main

Street School inSoquel. RobinSanders, MG95,a board memberand thenPresident,suggests projectgrants, thecreation of theYouth Garden inAugust with theSC CountyProbation Dept.We had a booth atthe Central CoastHome & GardenShow at the Coconut Grove,Anne Hayden in charge.Developed Little WingsGarden at Redwings HorseSanctuary. Al Derrickmoved to Calistoga, has classon building garden structures

at Cynthias. In 1999 piqueassiette classes at Cynthias.In 2003 Marilyn Slingerlandcreates a garden at the SFGarden Show and we have abooth, too.

The memories of MGprojects are

numerous:Carolina Bayne,MG95, teachingfruit tree pruningclasses at herorchard inCarmel Valley.Alan Schlenger,MG96, teachingcompost classes.Kate Stafford,MG95,

HorticulturalTherapy. RobinHazard, MG98,organizing public

workshops on the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter.Outstanding Hot Linevolunteers. Pam Gallaway,MG95, and team organizingPlant Clinics. Kay Derrick,MG98, organizing gardenclasses at Palomares, a

group home for teen boyswith substance abuseproblems. The SeasideGreen Team, brainchild ofMary Wilson, MG96. LaMirada Adobe gardenproject, thanks to Jo Irmas,

MG96, et al. Mary EdmuMG98, the force behind thMG support of the HomeleGarden Project. BonniePond, MG00, whose famepique assiette classes madeall of us feel like artists.Youth Garden saints: John

Van Dyke, MG98, AlanSchlenger, Robin Sanders,Candice McLaren, MG01al. The Pulitzer prize-winning newsletter you hin your hand, worked on bdozens of great volunteersnamed on the back of thisnewsletter, and overseen bexpert editors: June ClincMG95, Pamela Mason, M99, Sharon Ettinger, MG0

Joan McLeod Mertz, MGI know I have not evenbegun to chronicle the namof MGs who have been thebackbone of the program fthe last 10 years. At the riof hurting feelings by notnaming all the names, justknow that I love and cherieach one of you anew as Ireread all the MG names oall the MG rosters since 19

The next ten yearsthey seem to be movat warp speed. Eachyear brings a repeat othe things we love abthe MG program as was new ideas broughtabout by new MGs.Like our gardens, theUCCE MBMG progrsustains itself becausof the nutrients we brto it: knowledge,friendships, joy,community service, athe understanding tha

long after we are gone, ourlegacy remains. Gardenergardens - and MGs - areforever.

P.S. Yes I bought thold gardening books whi

I will gladly share!g

2003 Santa Cruz Home & Garden Show

2003 - Linda Caruthers & Steve TJosvold


4/8


4

Prickly Pursuit byChristina Kriedt, MG Saturday, February 25th,

started out cloudy and chilly,but after a pep talk from ourfearless leader PaulMcCollum, MG 04, thirty-four intrepid members of theMaster Gardener Class of2006 donned gloves andackled the two-dozen or so

hybrid tea roses and the twomassive climbers at theYouth Garden. Cheri Callis

and John "PJ" Holden, YouthGarden principals, andMalcolm Fraser, MG 04were all on hand to offer theiradvice and tools. Brenda

Wood, MG 06 and memberof the Monterey Bay RoseSociety, Elizabeth Burns,MG 06 and holder of ahorticulturaldegree fromMPC and TomKarwin, MG99, author,grant writer,and member ofthe Monterey

Bay RoseSocietywere alsopresent.We werethankfulforeveryonesexpert

guidanceandassistance

and forthe eventual warmingsunshine.

After Cheri led us on atour of the garden and Paulmitigated any fears we might

have had about vegetativemutilation, we set offenthusiastically to beautifythe garden. I believe a good

time was had byall; and despitewarnings aboutimpalement, weall managed tocomplete ourtasks withoutlosing too muchblood. I am

confident thatthe roses willrecover in notime to befabulouslyglorious andmake us proudthis spring.

We who worked on thenorth side of the gardenphotographed our prunedplants and recorded fertilizapplications. We will takemonthly photos and documthe results, hoping to see adifference between plants treceived the alfalfa/Epsomsalt treatment and those thadid not, and between thosethat were more or less heavpruned. Well keep youinformed of the results of thighly scientific experimen

g

Paul sharing his knowledge

Mac enriching one of the four compost pil

Cheri was ready for us


5/8


because I have a climbingPeace in that condition.

Properly shamed, Iresolved to tackle the job

before thenext rain. Myright hand atthe momentis swollenfrom theresult of athorn goingthrough the

glove, but itis better thanyesterday.My strategywas to beginat the bud and

remove theoldest canes flush with thebud. With a newly acquired

cordless saw adapted as apruning saw, removing canes

at their source was the easypart. It was necessary to

follow all four of the severedcanes up onto the arbor

A recent conversationamong gardeners on theCalifornia forumof the GardenWeb carried thatheading. A

popular reply waspruning aclimbing roseneglected forseveral years.This wasparticularlyrelevant to mebecause a SonomaCounty MG friendwho prunes rosesfor part of his

ncome mentionedrecently he does not take theob to bring back an

overgrown climber for anyamount of money. Also

removing sections of each I progressed into the thicke

on the arbor. Thecanes appeared to knitted together.When all the cutof

material wasextracted, theremaining needed be secured to thearbor. I alwaysdisliked seeing thegreen plastic tapecircling the redwoarbor to hold the rcanes in place.Screwing eyesupports into the

wood in aninconspicuous place, I usedsisal binder twine to wrap t

canes andhold themplace. Thefasteningmaterial ialmostinvisiblewith the rin the

dormantstate, andwhen it leout, thetwine wildisappear

altogether

The Gardeners Most Disagreeable Job by Al Derrick, MG

Cane Jungle

Canes Before Canes After


6/8


6

Psoralea pinnata - The Grape Kool-Aid Plantby Stuart Walzer, MG

Several years ago, whilevisiting the Lone PineArboretum at Cal State, SanLuis Obispo, I saw a plant

hat caught my eye. It wasabout 8 feet tall with fernlikeeaves and covered

with tiny blue andpurpleflowers. The smellwas familiar andmost fragrant. Itsmelled like grapesonly stronger. Inhe Arboretum

store I soon foundhe plant under its

name - the grapeKool-Aid plant.

I bought twoone gallon cansand planted themat two separateocations in my

garden. One of the plants,planted in full sun, has growno be about ten feet tall and

blooms prolifically insummer. The other, plantedn cool shade is s much

smaller, more on the order ofa 5-foot shrub, and gets veryfew flowers. Both plants,however, are quite attractiveby reason of their fernlikeopen foliage.

And why the name GrapeKool-Aid plant? It smells just

like its name: like grapeKool-Aid! For those of youwho dont remember Kool-Aid, it was a fruit flavored

powder used to make into aninexpensive drink. The

powder came in variousflavors, one of which wasgrape. The powder wasmixed with water and servedwith meals. It wasubiquitous in the Army and Iam told in prisons. It had ahigh profile until it became amajor instrumentality in theJonestown massacre. For allI know it may still bearound.

Recently I went lookingfor the plant again without

knowing its botanical name.The sight of my neighbors10 feet high trailer hadbecome so annoying that I

needed a tall plant to blockout the eyesore. Isearched theinternet for thebotanical name ofthe Grape Kool-Aid plant. Theonly thing I couldfind was Texasprivet whichapparently has asimilar smell. I

persisted,narrowing myinternet search toCalifornia. Ifound the nameof my plant,Psoralea pinnata,also known as the

African Scurf Pea.The African Scurf Pea

has its origins in South Africabut has spread to many

continents. In some places,such as the wetlands ofAustralia, it has become aweed, springing upeverywhere. It is a fastgrowing shrub with a greatshow of purple-blue andwhite pea flowers when itblooms. Psoralea pinnatawill grow best in moderately

well drained soils but willsurvive in heavy soils ifsummer water is usedsparingly. The plant is fros

tender if temperatures dropmuch below 28 degreesFahrenheit. It can grow to feet but usually tops out at8 feet. Older branches on tinside die off and need to bremoved to keep the plantlooking its best

Recently I found myseback at the Lone PineArboretum shop surroundeby plants for sale. With a

great flourish I asked theattendant for Psoraleapinnata. The response wablank look. After muchdiscussion and reference tothe grape Kool-Aid plantthe attendant said she wouconfer with a higher authoat the Arboretum and getback to me. Just then Iglanced down at the plantssurrounding me and there my feet were two plantsclearly labeled grape KooAid plant. I bought them the spot.

The plant is a Perennialwhich prefers cool sun orlight shade. It bears clusterof sweet-smellinglavender blue flowers. It is

easy to grow.g


7/8


Gardening Faire Update by Sheryl McEwan, MG '03 and Tom Karwin, MGHi Everyone. Just wanted

to update you on the "SmartGardening Faire".

Things are rolling rightalong. We have lots and lotsof enthusiasm from Vendors,

Exhibitors,Speakersand MasterGardeners!Everygardeningenthusiastshould havethe "SmartGardeningFaire" June24 marked on their calendar!

This is going to be such a funevent!!

I have listed ourProspective Sponsors andProspective Exhibitors in an

e-mail to all MGs. We haveinvited these groups toparticipate, and we'rebeginning to receive theirconfirmations.

Here is our list of currentopportunitiesfor MasterGardeners tojoin in the fun.This listidentifies theMasterGardeners thatare chairingparticularsections and

areas in which you canhelp. (You might think ofadditional areas of value. Wecan grow with your ideas!)Please give us a call if you

would like to join us.g

The Faire Players

Co-chairs Sheryl McEwan, Tom KarCoordinator of Arts & Crafts Melita IsraelCoordinator of Exhibitors Paul McCollum

Coordinator of Music Mary NosseCoordinator, Plant Propagation Robin SandersCoordinator of Signs Open for VolunteersFaire Crew Open for VolunteersFood Vendors Amy SavageFundraising Tom Karwin, TK &

AssociatesBetsy Shea, Shea-CampbeAssociatesBonnie Pond

Gardening Book Sales Open for VolunteersMarketing Betsy Shea, Shea-Campbe

AssociatesSet-up/Layout/Tear-down Simon StapletonSpeakers Cynthia JordanSurvey Designer Sharon EttingerThe Faires Voice Alicia MolinaWebmaster Gina Strup

NEXT MBMG QUARTERLY MEETING

Sunday, April 9, 2006. 10 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m.

IPM Training on Ant and Weed ControlShort Business Meeting

Potluck lunch.For more information contactPatty Nicely 831-663-5835.

What MGs Are Reading - A Book Reviewby Natalie Chambliss, MG

Natural Enemies Handbook The Illustrated Guide to

Biological Pest Control byMary Louise Flint and SteveH. Dreistadt, University ofCalifornia Press, 154 pages,ISBN 1879906414 paperbound version.

This book is part of theUniversity of Californiastatewide IPM project and ischock full of informationincluding over 300 colorphotographs and drawings. In

the back are resources,

suppliers and an excellentindex. I bought my copy a

few years ago from theUCCE office so you could gothere to look it over.

For quick reference, beginwith Chapter 2s QuickGuide to find your pest alongwith a list of specificreferences in the booksremaining 7 chapters. Forexample, the quick guidebegins with a list of 20 pests,from aphids to whiteflies with

page references in the quick

guide. If you pick aphids andgo to that page you will see

(1) a list of natural enemieswhich will attack manyaphids along with the pagenumbers to reference, and(2) another list of specificaphids (15 of them).Supposing your pest is thewalnut aphid you could thengo to pages 67-68 for furtherspecific information.

The photographs anddrawings in the book are

outstanding and I often use

them to identify insects I'munfamiliar with and also

especially spiders since Ihave no good reference fothem. Its also interesting tjust read I had no idea thwere 500 species ofLadybugs (in Americanorth of Mexico) and didknow that they converged migrated during the year. Iadmit to being a bit of a bojunkie and this was onereference book I couldn't

resist!g

Heads Up!!Here are the gardens that will be on this years tour.

September 9, 2006

Robin Hazard, MontereyPhyllis Hilton, Monterey

Maryann McCormick, Pacific GroveBetsy Shea, Carmel Valley

Stuart Walzer, Carmel


8/8


8

For 12 issues, send $15 to:Master Gardeners Newsletter

432 Freedom Blvd.Watsonville, CA 95076

ttp://montereybaymg/ucdavis.eduHotline: 831-763-8007Ad rates: $25 per month from gardening

riented businesses.Address change: contact Robin Sanders at

26-1942 or [email protected].

Copyright 2006 MBMG. All rights reserved

Advanced Training Opportunities by Sharon Ettinger, MG 00 and Sharon Tyler, MG

d ^ o a b k f k d = l k = q e b = b a d b =k===j=_~=j~=d~=

Fri., April 7, 1-4 & Sat., April 8, 10-4,South Valley Fleu

annual plant sale, Grass Farm Garden Accents, 11155 LenAvenue, Gilroy, 408-846-4555.Fri.-Sun., April 14-16, Wildflower Show, Museum ofNatural History, Pacific Grove, 648-5716.Fri., April 21, 1-2:30 pm,MBMG Newsletter Committee

Meeting, Applebees restaurant on Green Valley Rd,Watsonville.Sat., April 22,Annual Monterey Bay Rose Society Rose

Show, Capitol Mall.Fri. & Sat., April 28, & 29, 10-4,Secret Gardens of Palo

Alto Garden Tour, www.gamblegarden.org.

Sat., April 1, 9:30-12:30, Fruit Trees with Bill Coates; 1:15-4:15, Vertebrate Pests, with Thomas Wittman, UCCEclassroom, Watsonville.April 1, 10-1,Seed Starting and Spring Garden Preparation

with Christof Bernau, garden manager, UCSC Farm, LouiseCain Gatehouse, $10 members/$15 non-members.

Sat., April 8, 9:30-4:15,Insects with Bill Chaney, UCCEclassroom, Watsonville.Sun., April 9, 10-1, QUARTERLY MEETING,IPM

Training on Ant and Weed Control, potluck lunch, informationo follow.

Sat., April 15, 1-3, Free Wormshop, Wilder Ranch State Park.Call 427-3452 or www.compostsantacruzcounty.org toegister.

Sat., April 22, 9:30-4:15, Vegetables with Laura Tourte, UCCEclassroom, Watsonville.Sat., April 29, 9:30-4:15, Trees & Woody Shrubs with BarrieCoate, UCCE classroom, Watsonville.

April 29, 10-noon, Organic Rose Carewith Orin Martin, SanLorenzo Garden Center, Santa Cruz.

Other Garden EventsSat. & Sun., April 1 & 2, 10-5, Central Coast Home and

Garden Show, Cocoanut Grove, Santa Cruz, 423-2053,www.cocoanutgrovesantacruz.com, $3 admission.

Editor: Joan McLeod Mertz

Assistant Editor: Sharon EttingerDesign/Layout: Robin SandersCirculation: Crystal BertheauStaff: Bonnie PondAl Derrick Natalie ChamblissTom Karwin Mary KochChristina Kriedt Jan OlafssonKari Olsen Nancy RuizKathleen Sonntag Sharon TylerStuart Walzer Ellen WrightSpecial Thanks Cynthia Jordan

I love spring anywhere, but if Icould chooseI would always greet it in a garden

- Ruth Stout

gardening on the edge newsletter, april 2006 ~ monterey bay master gardeners

Documents