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June 2016

Muscatine County

As you can see, jackets were required for the first 2nd Saturday in the Park (at Zoo Garden); for the Arboretum Tour; and for our very successful Plant Sale. We caught a warmer day for the third of our Greenhouse Tours. Re-gardless of the weather, all of our Master Gardeners who came out for these events were richly rewarded!

May was a busy and productive month for Muscatine County Master Gardeners

PAGE 2 WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

Muscatine County Master Gardener Events — Mark Your Calendar!

June 7 Summer Webinar “Got Shade?” 6:30 pm Muscatine County Extension Office

June 11 Perennials for Butterflies 8:00 am Zoo Garden; by Kathy Chalupa

June 14 General Meeting & Fair Preparation 6:30 pm Joyce Gauger’s Garden Tour 613 N. Perkins Street, Lone Tree, Iowa

June 28 Linda Starcevich Garden Tour 6:00 pm 2615 Bidwell Road, Muscatine

June 28 Summer Webinar “Tree Problems” 6:30 pm West Liberty Regional Learning Center

July 9 Tai Chi in the Garden 8:00 am Zoo Garden; by Caleen Pagel

July 19 Bucket Brigade Judging 6:30 pm County Fairgrounds Floral Hall

July 21 Flower Show; lead by Joyce Gauger 6:00 pm County Fairgrounds Floral Hall

July 23 Flower Showing Information Session 9 & 11 am County Fairgrounds Floral Hall

Aug. 2 Summer Webinar “What’s All the Buzz” 6:30 pm Muscatine County Extension Office

Aug. 9 General Meeting & Demo Farm Tour 6:30 pm ISU Research Farm

Aug. 13 Trees for Wildlife 8:00 am Zoo Garden; by Hannah Howard

Sept 10 The Mississippi Flyway 8:00 am Zoo Garden; by Ron Knopik

Sept 13 Board Meeting 6:30 pm Extension Office

Sept. 20 Fall Training Orientation 6:30 pm Muscatine County Extension Office

Oct. 11 General Meeting; Ron Knopik (F&WL) 6:30 pm Extension Office

Nov. 8 Board Meeting 6:30 pm Extension Office

Dec. 13 Annual Meeting 6:00 pm New Hope Church, 3215 Tipton Road

Additional Upcoming Events Hosted

by Master Gardeners in Iowa

(Check ISU Website for Details)

What: Pruning Flowering Shrubs When: June 1; 12:15-12:45 noon Where: Multicultural Family Center, Dubuque

What: Container Water Gardening When: June 2; 6:00-9:00 pm Where: Des Moines Botanical Garden

What: Rustic Dish Gardens When: June 4; 9:00 am—noon Where: Des Moines Botanical Garden

What: Integrated Pest Management When: June 8; 10:00 am—noon Where: Reiman Gardens, Ames

What: How to Prune Lilacs When: June 9; 5:30 pm Where: Dubuque Arboretum

What: Quad Cities Pollinators Conference When: June 23-24; All Day Where: River Center, Davenport, Iowa

What: Tour of 7 Gardens When: June 25; 9:00 — 4:00 pm Where: Dubuque

What: Tour of Gardens When: June 25; 9:00 — 4:00 pm Where: West Des Moines and Clive

What: 2016 Upper Midwest Regional MG Conf. When: September 14-17 Where: Wisconsin Dells (it is fairly close to Iowa)

You can earn Education Hours throughout the State of Iowa and beyond. Please take advantage of the many opportunities that are available close

to home and within our region.

Hello Master Gardeners, Here’s some information for your summer gardening planning schedule: Growing Season Webinars:

June 7, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the ISU Extension and Outreach Muscatine County office, 1514 Isett Avenue, Muscatine - Got Shade? ISU Extension and Outreach horticulturist Denny Schrock will teach participants how to utilize shade plants in the landscape while focusing on plants native to Iowa.

June 28, 6:30-8:30 pm at the Regional Learning Center, 119 E. 3rd Street, West Liberty - Getting to the Bottom of Tree Problems, with Lina Rodri-guez-Salamanca, ISU Extension and Outreach plant pathologist and diag-nostician with the ISU Plant and Insect Clinic. Participants will become familiar with some of the common symptoms of tree problems and learn what to keep an eye out for.

August 2, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the ISU Extension and Outreach Muscatine County office, 1514 Isett Avenue, Muscatine - What’s all the Buzz About? Nathan Brockman is the curator of the butterfly wing of Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University. Attendees will learn about insects na-tive to Iowa and what to do to increase the enjoyment of these six-legged garden visitors.

Webinars are open to the public and are $5 each, payable at the door. Thank you to Doug Cocklin, Bill Koellner and Kathy Haltmeyer for agreeing to host.

Master Gardener Fall Training: Master Gardener fall training is set to start in September! Please help us recruit by talking to your friends and others about why YOU enjoy being a Master Gardener! New this year – applicants apply online at www.mastergardener.iastate.edu. The fee is the same as last year, $195. Those NOT interested in the volunteer component of Master Gar-deners can participate and receive a Professional Horticulture Certificate for $550. The orientation for trainees is set for Tuesday, September 20 at 6:30 pm. We would love for our current Master Gardeners to attend and welcome our new trainees!

Enjoy the summer,

Director’s Input

By Krista Regennitter , Muscatine County Extension Director, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Telephone 563-263-5701

PAGE 3 JUN E 2 01 6 WORTH WH ILE D IR T

This is a great opportunity! Invite your

friends to join you as a Master

Gardener!

PAGE 4 WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

Greenhouse Tours

By Jane Hodge

A large group visited Hilltop Greenhouse on April 19th. After walking through

Maria McCully's vibrant greenhouses she gave a presentation on pollinators.

April 26th found us touring Mariet's Garden Greenhouse. Shane Mariet, an ISU

horticulture graduate, walked us through his greenhouse and agriculture business

answering many questions along the way.

Garrison's in Wilton now called Blooming Ideas hosted Muscatine's Master Gar-

deners on May 3 and provided delicious snacks and door prizes. Colleen Hanson,

an expert in hybridizing daylilies, explained the process with a digital presentation

of new plants.

These tours are so worthwhile: lovely scenery, 1/2 hour education hours each

time, AND 10% off plants!

Muscatine’s Mississippi River Bridge Garden

By Laura McGinnis

The bridge planting has began! Many weeds had invaded

the area and surrounding the sign. Sara Carroll and Twyla

Woodward helped get the nasty burr-type weed out. We

planted pink geraniums, two hibiscus and two cannas. Add

a few marigolds, too. The weather after planting was so hot that now the plants

are suffering. Pray for rain — we watered twice. If you can add to this garden

please do. People do notice the flowers when crossing the bridge.

PAGE 5 IL WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

Please get involved to support our Muscatine County Master Gardeners!

Muscatine County Master Gardeners General Meeting Minutes May 10, 2016

Muscatine County Extension Office

By Louise Adballah, Master Gardener

Co-Chair Lynn Pruitt called the meeting to order at 5:00p.m. Board member’s pre-sent were: Emma Mae Pruitt, Lynn Pruitt, Louise Abdallah, Deidre Zihlman, Carolyn Lemaster, Mary Danner and Jane Hodge. Also present was intern member, Chris Humrichouse, Board Advisor and past Presi-dent, Susan Cradick, and Extension Liaison, Krista Regennitter. Absent was Co-Chair Bill Koellner and intern member Ed Moreno. The meeting was held at the Ar-boretum prior to the tour being held at 6:00 p.m. Treasurer’s Report: $5,062.76. No changes reported. The minutes of the March 8, 2016 meeting were unanimously approved. The future meeting dates for 2016 were updated and confirmed: Board Meetings General Meetings May 10 (this meeting) June 14 July 12- no meeting (fair) August 9 September 13 October 11 November 8 December 13 (annual meeting) There was a discussion of the following future educational meetings, tours and presentations:

May 14 - Plant Sale. Master Gardeners will be directed to drop of plants at the Extension office by 6 pm on Friday for pricing. A motion was unanimously approved for Jane Hodge to run an ad for 2 days in the Muscatine Journal garage sale classified advertising for $17.

June through September - Farmer’s market

June 14 - Joyce Gauger garden tour and fair presentation training. There will be a carpool for members who show up at the Extension Office at 6:00 p.m. Jan Koellner will bring a sign-up sheet for the fair.

June 28 - Linda Starcevich Garden Tour at 6:30 p.m.

June 7, June 28 & August 2 – Growing Season webinars (6/7 & 8/2 at Extension office, 6/28 at Regional Learning and Cultural Center in West Liberty)

June and July- tour other member’s gardens (none scheduled).

(continued next page — MINUTES)

(Continued from previous page — MINUTES)

July 19 - Bucket Brigade Judging.

July 20 - 24th - Muscatine County Fair.

August 9 - ISU Research Farm Tour Highlighting Donation Garden and Pollina-tors. Time to be announced.

October 11 - General Meeting with Ron Knopik from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

There was a discussion of upcoming events and projects: There will be more information in the newsletter regarding the schedule for the ISU donation garden project. Intern member Chris Humrichouse will send out an email 1 week in advance requesting volunteers to come in to harvest or transport the vegetables. The schedule for the summer webinar series is:

Got Shade? June7, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at Muscatine Extension Office. Host: Doug Cocklin

Getting to the Bottom of Tree Problems. June 28, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at Regional Learning Center in West Liberty (located by Strand Theatre). Host: Bill Koellner

What’s all the Buzz About? August 2, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at Muscatine Extension Office. Host: Kathy Haltmeyer.

All webinars count for two educational hours, each webinar is $5 per per-son. It was suggested that the position for the Chairman of the Art of Gardening committee be filled by someone on the current committee because they would have some experience in organizing the event. A tour of the Greiner Family Nature Preserve was proposed by Jane Hodge. This was to take place later in the summer when flowers are in bloom and there is a lot of diversity. This is located about 6 miles northwest of Muscatine, in Muscatine, County. Krista Regennitter proposed that a group order be placed for Master Gar-dener T-Shirts. These can be ordered through ISU or Phoenix Products. Jane Hodge is exploring the options and will provide a report on this.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Louise Abdallah

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PAGE 7 JUNE 20 1 6

Random Thoughts from Co-Chair

by Lynn Pruitt,

Master Gardener

What a wonderful Spring! While it was cool early on, it has warned very nicely these last few weeks. And, we have been

blessed with rain when needed, although we have had to water in between showers.

May was a very busy Master Gardening month in Muscatine County. We con-cluded our three greenhouse tours, very successfully — thanks to Jane Hodge for organizing these tours! Susan Cradick orchestrated a great Plant Sale which brought in over $600 to our treasury. Speaking of money coming in, we are putting it to good use. We have donated a $500 scholarship to an as-piring horticulturist, Hailey Daufeldt of West Liberty. Thanks to Ed Moreno for making the presentation.

Our last monthly General Meeting included a wonderful tour of the Muscatine Arboretum hosted by Charles “Rick” Rickey, with assistance from Dennis Latimer. Our next General Meeting, June 14, will be held at Joyce and Ron Gauger’s home on the north edge of Lone Tree. Be sure to be there to enjoy there new garden and some edible treats that Joyce has promised. She will also help us get ready for floral demonstrations at the Muscatine County Fair. That reminds me to remind you to get your Bucket prepared for the Bucket Brigade!

Second Saturday’s at the Zoo Garden in Muscatine’s Weed Park are a must do event. We enjoyed Randy Elder’s presentation in May and look forward to more throughout the summer.

Linda Starcevich is opening up her yard on June 28. The Summer Webinars are getting started this month. Check the schedule on page 2 for details of these and other opportunities for education and volunteer hours.

As editor of this newsletter, I keep looking for photos to in-clude. If I don’t get yours, you will have to put up with what Emma Mae and I grow...

Happy Gardening! Lynn

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PAGE 8 JUNE 20 1 6

History of Cottage Gardens

by Emma Mae Pruitt

All of you receiving this newsletter are lovers of growing things, whether vegetables, fruit trees or flowers. The reward is really the process of watching our choice of plants grow. We don't have to wait until a plant is ma-ture to get satisfaction from our labors.

The challenge and fun of planting a garden is what we choose to plant and the design of how plants will relate in our landscape. There are all types of gar-dens -- formal, cottage, country (similar to cottage) and pollinator gardens to name a few. The style of garden I believe most of us cultivate is the country or cottage style garden.

A cottage garden originally was composed of vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and perhaps a beehive. Flowers were used to fill any spaces in between. These gardens were connected to working class people , go back several cen-turies, and were English in origin. The cottage garden reinvention in stylized versions grew in 1870 England in contrast to the more structured and rigor-ously maintained English estate gardens.

The earliest cottage gardens in England were created after the outbreak of the Black Death plague in 1349. The plague killed a third of the population. This resulting shortage of labor caused landowners to let their land to ten-ants. For the first time free laborers had their own cottage and a means of growing food for themselves.

In the Middle Ages, monasteries also had an early influence on cottage gar-dens. It was in the monastery gardens that the idea arose of segregating dif-ferent types of plants into separate beds. These often were separated by bor-ders of lavender.

The first plants in cottage gardens were natural variants of wild plants. There wasn't money to invest in new plants so garden plants became established by exchange of clippings and seeds among neighbors and friends.

The 17th century was the time of great exploration and plants from all parts of the world were sent back to England for study and cultivation. Plants intro-duced from North America were Virginia Creeper and Virginia Stocks. The Scottish plant collector, David Douglas, introduced the California Poppy and the Flowering Current from North America. English designers, William Robertson and Gertrude Jekyll, helped cottage gardens to become more popular in their books and magazine articles.

Modern day cottage gardens include many regional and personal variations of the more traditional English garden. Use are made of ornamental grasses and

(continued next page — COTTAGE)

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PAGE 9 JUNE 20 1 6

(Continued from previous page — COTTAGE)

native plants. Self sowing annuals and freely spreading perennials are com-mon in a cottage garden. Flowers common to an early cottage gardens in-cluded primroses and violets along with flowers chosen for household use. These included calendulas and various herbs. Other choices of flowers were old fashion roses and daises.

One of the fun things of being a Master Gardener is the enjoyment of seeing other members' gardens. I am sure in these visits we will find many many flowers common to an English cottage garden.

Master Gardener Scholarship Award

On May 10, 2016 I presented the Muscatine County Master Gardener (MCMG) 2016 Scholarship to Hailey Daufeldt at the West Liberty High School Scholarship Awards Ceremony. Reading Hailey’s application made quite impression

me. Hailey Daufeldt received many scholarship awards in addition to ours. She is an outstanding student who had accrued a 4.4 GPA, was ranked number one in her graduating class, Senior Class Valedictorian, and superstar athlete. Her ACT score was exceptional and she is going to National FFA Com-petition as a State of Iowa Champion. She took a lead role with the high school’s greenhouse. West Liberty High School’s exceptional teacher and mentor, Zach Morris has influenced her along with strong family support and agriculture background. She will further her studies at Iowa State University majoring in Spanish and Horticulture. I’ve attached the presentation introduction for this years MCMG scholarship and will forward a couple of pictures of Hailey and I and Hailey and her family, who must be very proud. Ed

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FARMERS’ MARKET SCHEDULE 2016

By Susan Cradick, Master Gardener

Following is the current schedule. Others are interested but do not want to commit far in advance so I will keep you posted and as times get nearer you can let me know. Par-ticipants are responsible for getting three or so recipes to

Carolyn Lemaster a week in advance so she can type and get to Krista for copying. You can then pick up the sheets when you pick up the equipment (canopy, literature, etc.) the Thursday or Friday before you’re scheduled to work. One of the recipes is to be the one you prepare for “samples.”

June 11 Janet Martz/Susan Cradick

June 18 Mary Danner

June 25 Lori/Jeff Underwood

July 2 Holiday

July 9 Susan Cradick/Janet Martz

July 16 (open)

July 23 Muscatine County Fair

July 30 (open)

August 6 (open)

August 13 Chris Humrichouse

August 20 Jane Hodge/Carolyn Lemaster

August 27 Bonnie Reeb

September 3 Holiday

September 10 Laura McGinnis/Carolyn Lemaster

September 17 Laura McGinnis/Sara Carroll

September 24 (open)

This is a repeat from last

month — just because it is

still current and still impor-

tant !!!

WORTHWHILE DIRT PAGE 10 JU NE 20 16

DON’Ts

1) Do not use artificial plants.

2) Do not water before judging (they will be watered after judging and every day at the fair).

3) Do not overdo décor.

4) Do not use anything of value in using accessories, as they may be lost at the fairgrounds.

JUDGING

Judging will be in the Floral Hall. Bring buckets to the outside of the floral hall. A variety of live plants should be used to express the theme.

Use yellow for the Iowa State bird (goldfinch); pink for the Iowa State flower (wild rose); and orange for the Iowa sunsets). The buckets will be used as decorations around the fairgrounds after judging.

Hint: fill bottom of bucket with pieces of Styrofoam, empty water bottles, or pop cans upside down with potting soil on top. Be sure to have drainage holes in bucket. Buckets weighing over 30 pounds will not be judged, but will be used only as display on the fair-grounds.

Buckets should probably be started a few weeks before the Fair. Buckets can be painted and decorated to show the theme.

Accessories may be used, in or on the bucket. Keep in mind the buckets will be on display around the fairgrounds during the fair so don’t use valuable accessories.

(Continued next page — BUCKET)

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Muscatine County Fair

Bucket Brigade

July 19, 2016

Entry: 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Judging: 7:00 p.m.

Theme: “Iowa; that’s where the tall corn grows!”

Colors: Pink, Yellow and Orange

The Do’s and Don’ts listed below are a summary of the rules for designing your bucket for entry in the 2016 Fair.

DO’s

1) Bucket – use a five gallon plastic bucket

2) Holes – drill 3 holes for drainage.

3) Fillers – for bottom of bucket for weight control.

4) Plant – must use live plants using the theme.

5) Outdoor – use plants for “outside” conditions.

6) Weight Limit – must weigh less than 30 lbs.

7) Be Creative – decorate according to this year’s theme.

8) Accessories – help maintain them, keep it simple.

9) Enter as many buckets as you want.

10) Pick up bucket no earlier than 4:00 p.m. on Sunday

More information in the 2016 Fair Book or online @muscatinecountyfair.com.

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(Continued from previous page — BUCKET)

Premiums: Judging Categories – Scale of Points:

Best of Show - $5 Foilage Color Showing 25

1st-$5; 2nd-$4; 3rd-$3; 4th-$2; 5th-$1 Condition of Plant 25

Interpretation of Title (including bucket)

25

List No.: Suitability for Outdoor Display 25

1) Master Gardeners

2) First Time Master Gardeners

3) Any Adult

4) Youth- A=Older*

5) Youth- B=Younger*

TOTAL POINTS 100

*Put age of youth on entry tag. There will be two youth categories that will be de-

termined the night of the judging, depending on how many enter and the ages of the

contestants. Every effort will be made to equalize the number of contestants in

these two list numbers.

Main Street Garden

By Laura McGinnis

Nancy Dew Hy-Vee dietician wrote a grant to make gardens at the corner of 5th Street and Mulberry Avenue by the Main Street Hy-Vee store. The Flickinger Center children between the ages of 5-9 helped with planting veggies in raised bed garden

spots. We met on Wednesday afternoons picked out plants and seeds at the Hy-Vee garden center and started planting! With 14-15 children it was an adventure. We ask the children their foods that would like to grow-- a nice variety of things. Kale, green beans, tomatoes, cabbage, green pep-pers, melons. And a favorite: potatoes. I took seed potatoes; talked about where potatoes come from. No one child had planted the eyes of a pota-toes-- so each child took an eye as I cut them and planted their own hill! It will be an ongoing project. I am waiting for Nancy to inform me of our next step. The Jesus Mission folks are to water veggies.

WORTH WH ILE D IR T PAGE 1 3 J UN E 20 1 6

SAVE THESE DATES:

WEED PARK ZOO GARDEN VOLUNTEERS

PRESENT

SECOND SATURDAYS

COFFEE IN THE GARDENS

May through Sept 8-10 a.m. Programs start at 9 a.m.

Topics for Remainder of 2016

Jun 11 — Perennials for Butterflies

Kathy Chalupa Kellor & Kellor Landscape Jul 9 — Tai Chi in the Garden Caleen Pagel Physical Therapist

(please bring a lawn chair & meet at the cabin) Aug 13 — Trees for Wildlife Hannah Howard Trees Forever Sep 10 — The Mississippi Flyway Ron Knopik USDI—Fish and Wildlife

Randy Elder presenting on Wild Flowers and History of Weed Park

May 14, 2016

Report on First Session — We hosted the second Saturday coffee at the Zoo Garden on a very busy Saturday. We did have a good turn out in spite of the chilly, windy weather. The roaring fire in the Sunrise Shelter helped, along with lots of coffee. Randy Elder was the featured speaker. He shared many stories with us about the early history of Weed Park and Dr. and Mrs. Weed. Randy is a landscape architect and worked for the City of Muscatine in the Parks Department. He pre-sented photographs he had taken in the park during his years as an employee of the city. We ended the session by going on a Wildflower walk, but were not too successful in finding many wildflowers. Randy did say that at one time the park was loaded with many varieties of wildflowers, but that over the years the park has seen many changes to it’s landscape, which might account for fewer numbers and varieties of wildflowers that remain for us to enjoy.

PAGE 14 WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

Bagworm or Webworm? By Bill Koellner

Lifetime Muscatine County Master Gardener 2016 Co-Chair

Fall webworms or tent caterpillars are unsightly and bring gardeners concern. They are sometimes called

‘bagworms’, and wrongly so. They are seen as white webbed nests on the ends of branches in cottonwood, crabapple, walnut, and other trees. The caterpillars hide in the webbed nest during the day and feed on the trees at night.

Tree health is not usually affected until more than 50 percent of all leaf struc-ture is skeletonized. Sometimes, the white webbed nests will be on more than one branch of a tree. If that occurs, then the multiple nests will consume a con-siderable amount of leaf structure. Many times, you can use a broom to break up the bag of webworms. I then use water from a garden hose to remove the caterpillars from the tree. I have also used “Eight” or “Conserve”, both insecti-cides to treat the area. I have also used pruners to remove the infected branch. Trees that have heavy infestations this year won’t necessarily have a similar outbreak next year.

Bagworms are different from webworms. Bagworms will feed on trees and

shrubs, but they mainly on evergreens, especially junipers or cedars and spruce.

Some people also refer to eastern tent caterpillar and fall webworm as bag-worms. Eastern tent caterpillar occurs in late April. The larvae gather at a fork of

a tree and build a web or "tent," but they leave the web to feed except on cloudy

or rainy days and at night. Fall webworm occurs later in August and September.

They build large, protective nests (webs) that usually start on the ends of

branches, unlike tent caterpillars. Nests increase in size as caterpillars feed. They

do not leave the nests until they are ready to pupate. Heavily infested trees can

be completely covered with nests up to three feet long enclosing the ends of

branches. Fall webworm feeds on over 120 different species of deciduous trees

including crabapple, ash, oak, elm, maple, hickory, sweet gum, and black walnut.

Fall webworm generally doesn't feed on conifers.

If you notice brown stressed needles on your junipers at the tips of the branches, you have bagworms. Heavy infestations of bagworms are capable of completely defoliating a tree or shrub. This can cause stress to the plant or even kill it if damage is great enough. If you have bagworms on any deciduous plant, ones that lose their leaves every year, they are able to re-grow foliage. Caution, you will need to pick up the leaves this fall and dispose of them.

(continued next page — BAGWORM)

Webworms

Bagworms

PAGE 15 WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

(continued from previous page, BAGWORM)

Usually bagworms quit feeding and pupate in mid- to late August when they are about 1-1/2 inches long. Once they quit feeding, spraying with insecti-cides is useless. More than likely it is too late to spray late in the year. Use “Dipel” or “Thuricide” as these are effective especially on young caterpillars. With fall webworm and tent caterpillar use high spray pressures to break up the web and get the insecticide inside to the caterpillars and the leaves. If the caterpillars are not there, then insecticide sprays are useless. At that point just good maintenance, including watering during drought periods, is your best tactic.

Where’s Aldo?

By Kathy Chalupa

That’s the theme of the upcoming poster contest sponsored by Muscatine

Branching Out.

We are celebrating 25 years of tree planting by providing educational opportu-

nities throughout 2016. This year’s theme explores the Aldo Leopold Land

Ethic.

Although open to all ages, we will kick off a poster contest on June 9th at the

Musser Public Library’s summer reading program. We would like partici-

pants to exemplify Leopold’s land ethic as it shines though today in any me-

dium that will stick to an 8 ½” x 11” size piece of heavy paper.

After June 9th, applications will be available at the library and the Extension

office.

In addition to age group prizes, the winner(s)’ work will be featured on tee

shirts, tote bags, and note cards. Prizes will be awarded at a free public screen-

ing of Green Fire in August at The Palms Theater.

PAGE 16 WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

June Gardening Guide (Courtesy of Nebraska Extension)

Here is a checklist of gardening tasks that should be done in June:

For hanging baskets in cool, shady locations, use tuberous begonias, ferns, impa-

tiens or fibrous rooted begonias in combination with trailing plants, such as English

ivy.

Remove old flower heads from annual bedding plants to keep them blooming.

Disbud chrysanthemum flowers to secure large, beautiful blooms on straight,

strong stems. To disbud, remove the small side buds along the stems which form

in the angles of the leaves.

Plant annual flowers in tubs or large containers for the porch or terrace. Make

sure there are holes in the container's bottom to provide good drainage.

Remove foliage from spring bulbs after it turns yellow and begins to dry. Set out

bedding plants to cover the bare spots using care not to damage the bulbs.

Watch for and control blackspot and powdery mildew on rose foliage.

Use bark mulch around young trees to protect them from lawn mower damage.

Spring flowering shrubs such as spirea, viburnum, lilac and forsythia should be

pruned as soon as they are done blooming.

Mid to late June is an excellent time to take softwood cuttings of shrubs to start

new plants. Some shrubs which can be propagated in this way are spirea, lilac

and viburnum.

When you buy nursery stock that is container grown, check the root ball and

make sure it is not bound too tightly. A mass of circling roots will stay that way

even after it is planted in the ground.

(continued next page — GUIDE)

PAGE 17 WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

(continued from previous page, GUIDE)

If you do not have much room to landscape, consider using some of the many

dwarf varieties available. These are plants that have slow growth and stay small,

so there is little pruning maintenance. There are numerous dwarf evergreens,

flowering trees and shrubs from which to choose.

After your vegetable garden is well established, it is best to water it thoroughly

once a week rather than giving it a light watering everyday. That way, a deeper

root system is encouraged, which will later help the plants tolerate dry weather.

Keep a close eye on the quality of your spring crops. Hot weather causes lettuce

to bolt and become bitter. Plant a warm season crop as soon as the spring vege-

tables are harvested.

In most cases, blossom-end rot on tomatoes, peppers, squash and watermelons

can be prevented. Do this by maintaining uniform soil moisture by mulching and

watering correctly, planting in well drained soil and not cultivating deeper than

one inch within one foot of the plant. Also avoid high nitrogen fertilizers.

Continue planting warm season vegetable crops such as beans, squash and cu-

cumbers.

The best time to harvest most herbs is just before flowering, when the leaves

contain the maximum essential oils.

Identify garden pests before you attempt to control them. If you decide to use

chemical control, read the label carefully.

Bats can be an effective way to control insects. One big brown bat can eat 3,000

to 7,000 insects each night. Attract bats by building and placing bat houses in

your yard.

Leftover vegetable and flower seeds may be stored in a cool dry location to be

saved for planting next year.

PAGE 18 WORTH WH ILE D IR T JUNE 20 1 6

Muscatine Master Gardeners — at your SERVICE

Arboretum: - Charles Rickey 563-260-5807

Art of Gardening – Chair position open for 2016-17

Bucket Brigade: - Barb Woods 563-506-4506 and Linda Wells 563-263-0292

Community Donation Gardens – Chris Humrichouse 319-210-4038

Fair Floral Hall: - Joyce Gauger 319-330-5235

Garden at Melpine School: - Joyce Gauger 319-330-5235

Farmer’s Market Committee – Susan Cradick 563-288-9809

Historian – Chair position open. Volunteers: Don Paul, Carol Gundrum

Hy-Vee — Main Street Garden — Laura McGinnis 309-791-0054

Manning Desk at Extension Office – Krista Regennitter 563-263-5701

Member’s Garden Tours — Chair position open: Volunteers: Linda Starcevich, Joyce Gauger

Mulford Community Gardens – Heather Harroun 563-554-0028

Muscatine Branching Out – Kathy Chalupa 563-299-0887

Muscatine County Fair Office Garden – Bill Koellner 319-627-4545

Newsletter: Lynn Pruitt 319-723-4362

Newspaper Articles: Linda Meloy 563-263-8473

Muscatine Bridge Entry Sign Area – Laura McGinnis 309-791-0054

Publicity: - Ed Moreno 319-331-0713

Senior Resources – Louise Abdallah 563-299-0212

World Connection Garden – Linda Meloy 563-263-8473

Zoo Garden: Maryrose Peterschmidt 563-263-0846

Gardening Quotes and Quips

Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts — Sigmund Freud

He plants trees to benefit another generation — Caecilius Statius

A good garden may have some weeds — Thomas Fuller

Interns & Mentors

for 2016:

Pam Viner

Kathy Chalupa

Mary Wildermuth

Jo Ann Christofferson

Janet Lohse

Emma Mae Pruitt

Ed Moreno

Lynn Pruitt

Bill Koellner

Chris Humrichouse

Janet Koellner

Linsay Sauer

Susan Cradick

Muscatine County Extension Office 1514 Isett Avenue Muscatine, IA 52761-4629 563-263-5701 or 800-992-0894

Krista Regennitter Muscatine County Extension Director Master Gardener Liaison

. . and justice for all

Iowa State University Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.

Iowa State University and U.S. Department of Agriculture coop-erating.

2016 Muscatine County Master Gardener Board

Board Members Bill Koellner, Co-Chair (16) Lynn Pruitt, Co-Chair (17) Louise Abdallah, Secretary/Treasurer (16)* Carolyn Lemaster (16)* Deidre Zihlman (16)* Emma Mae Pruitt (17) Mary Danner (17)* Jane Hodge (17)* Chris Humrichouse (Intern) Ed Moreno (Intern) ( )Year term expires as of Dec. 31

* Going off Board Dec 31, 2016/2017 but eligible

Current Emails and Addresses As a reminder – keep both the Extension Office and Lynn Pruitt current on any changes of e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or mailing ad-dresses. These need to be current to keep you — our members — informed.

Garden Tours are FUN !!!

WORTH WH ILE D IR T PAGE 1 9 JUNE 20 1 6

Editorial Comments:

Thanks to the various contributors to this month’s Muscatine County Master Gardener Newsletter. Please remember, this is YOUR newsletter. Your articles, photographs and other tidbits are welcome. Send them by the end of each month to pruitt.lynn@gmail.com or call 563.260.0234

— Lynn Pruitt, Editor —