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Volume 26 Issue 8 august 2020

The Tollgate Farm News

Greetings Tollgate Garden Volunteers!

We are into August, the top of the summer season. We continue to strive for a safe and

meaningful interaction in the gardens. Pro-gress has been made in corralling the

weeds in the Farmhouse and children’s gar-den and team efforts continue in PAR and

the nursery gardens.

Like last season around this time, we have

had some high heat days limiting our activ-ities but not our enthusiasm. I am grateful

to all who have been out to participate in the maintenance of the gardens and the

food security efforts in PAR.

Let your talents show and grow!

I am interested in hearing from any mem-

ber who would like to participate in social media efforts to keep our members con-

nected. We would welcome new ideas, newsletter articles and assistance. Contact

Roy or myself to get started. rmcot-trell4@att.net

I recently got a shot of nature on a self- guided drive through the Shiawassee Na-

ture Refuge near Saginaw. Several acres of managed flooded wetland units are con-

trolled by pumping and selective draining for the refuge of migrating birds and water-

fowl. We saw the usual cast of characters including herons, deer, swans, ducks,

cranes and a few unexpected ones- otters, eagles and PELICANS. And yes one lazy

woodchuck.

Get out and find your nature fix!

Renee Cottrell,

President Tollgate Garden Volunteers

Notes from the President Renee Cottrell

“Summer breeze, light fluffy

clouds…Mother Nature has a canvas for every season.”

-Terri Guillemets

Photos by Renee Cottrell

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Greetings all,

I hope and trust that this issue of the Tollgate Gar-den Newsletter finds you all well. It has been a challenging time for the gardens and for life. With no organized Saturday workdays, some of the gardens are looking a bit scruffy. Even so, many volunteers have made it through MSU’s online Volunteer Selection Process (VSP) and are com-ing to the farm on their own or in small teams to take care of the gardens. Their work has been in-valuable in keeping the gardens from turning into weed demonstration plantings. It is also good to see so many familiar faces. I certainly encourage all volunteers to stay within their comfort area. Do not feel any pressure to join us on the farm any sooner than you feel comfortable doing so. How-ever, Tollgate offers an outdoors working environ-ment where it is easy to maintain an appropriate distance from others. If you are willing to come back to the farm, your help would really be appre-ciated.

VSP Process

I strongly encourage all volunteers to work their way through the VSP process. Participating in the VSP process is required of MSU’s thousands of volunteers state-wide by the end of 2020. The pro-cess can be intimidating, but it is not overly diffi-

cult. Tollgate site director, Mike Mathis, has tasked Tollgate staffer, Carmen Hamilton, with helping the farm’s volunteers work their way through the VSP process. Carmen is a very caring person who has really become a master of the VSP process. If you have difficulties, please let me know. Carmen and I can get you through it!

Although MSU Extension had originally projected an opening date for the farm of September 1, the pandemic is still very much with us. It may well be that campus will extend the farm’s closure beyond September 1. The farm is pretty quiet these days. The open spaces and worthwhile work in the gar-dens make it a good place to be. When you are ready to get out of the house, Renee Cottrell or I would be happy to help you connect with a garden project that would suit your interests.

Garden Newsletter Editor Needed!

Our current garden newsletter editor, Jennifer Roberts, will be leaving her position at the end of 2020. The garden newsletter is one of our primary communication methods within our garden organi-zation. It keeps us all informed about workdays, special events, meeting speakers, and lots of oth-er garden happenings. We all enjoy the informa-tive articles and wonderful pictures of the farm and gardens. Jennifer and past editors have devel-oped a template for the newsletter, so the process of putting it together is as easy as it can be. All of the articles are submitted by Tollgate volunteers and MSU staff. Please contact myself or Renee Cottrell if you are interested in learning more about this opportunity to support the farm.

Tollgate Garden Facebook Page

I would like to start a Facebook page for our Toll-gate Garden community. Access to the page would be limited to Tollgate garden volunteers. Members could post thoughts and images on any horticultural area, including the Tollgate gardens, their own gardens, or garden topics in general. The page could be a forum for talking about what’s happening in the Tollgate gardens, upcom-ing events, gardeners seeking gardening advice, “what’s wrong with my plant” questions, etc. Much of the discussion would probably be similar to what we talk about on our Saturday workdays. I am looking for someone who would like to work with me and Tollgate’s garden advisory group to help administer this Facebook page. If you are interested in this project, please contact me and we can discuss it further.

Thanks!

Roy

Roy Prentice

FROM THE TOLLGATE

FARM MANAGER

GREETINGS

Photo by Roy Prentice

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The Nursery Team is continuing to enjoy

our summer in the nursery! It’s been a very

different year, as we’ve worked in small so-

cially distanced groups of 2 or 3, rather than

the larger work groups working shoulder to

shoulder for our big potting sessions on Satur-

day workdays. But we have stayed focused

on what needs to be done to reclaim the

nursery from the weeds, and then maintain

them.

We’ve focused primarily on keeping our

plants growing and healthy. After going

through the entire nursery to weed and identi-

fy dead plants to remove from the nursery, we

fertilized all the pots to provide the best oppor-

tunity for them to not just survive, but to thrive.

We have been watering our plants regularly –

using the automated irrigation system where it

is available in the nursery rows under the trel-

lis and watering the pots in the shade house

at least 3 times each week. We routinely walk

the rows and look for weeds. Plants growing

in a pot need to use all the space available for

strong healthy roots, so we work hard to keep

the crown of the plant just an inch or less from

the top edge of the pot. We often re-pot plants

that have sunken low in the pot to provide

maximum space for roots to grow. This also

helps to protect plants through the winter –

with less space for snow and ice to accumu-

late and melt during warmer spells, there is

less moisture held in the pot that results in

dead plants in the spring. Some plants are

particularly susceptible to problems of ex-

cess moisture in the pot, and thus are hard

to overwinter successfully – Asclepias tuber-

osa (Butterfly Weed) is the famous example

of this problem!

YES, we will be requesting donations of

some of the great plants in your home gar-

den to help us stock up the nursery! I know

many of us have had much more time than

normal to focus on our gardens at home this

summer – and fall is a great time to renovate

and move some things around in your garden.

Look for a message later this month with di-

rections on how to donate plants to Tollgate

this fall.

If you are missing Tollgate and the Nurse-

ry, see the pictures nearby. Hope that they

will take you on a bit of a stroll through the

nursery to check out what’s there and maybe

bring back pleasant memories of the Nursery

and Tollgate workdays

As always, If you have questions, want to

learn more about the Nursery or find out about

joining our team for next year, please contact

Peg Palmer - pegpalmer@mi.rr.com.

VOLUNTEERS TOGETHER DIVIDING GROWING SHARING

NURSERY NOTES Peg Palmer

NURSERY NOTES

Above photo provided by Peg Palmer

Asclepias tuberosa—Butterfly Weed

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F

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Y

Opuntia humifusa—Prickly Pear Cactus Ferns—Ostrich, Japanese Painted and more

Geranium ‘Azure Rush’—Hardy Geranium Rudbeckia—Black Eyed Susan

Eutrochium purpureum -Joe Pye Weed

Polygonatum -Solomon’s Seal (Variegated, Giant)

Hosta -Green Leaves

Photos on pages 4 & 5 provided by Peg Palmer

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F

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Darmera peltata—Indian Rhubarb Dicentra—Bleeding Heart

Bergenia cordifolia—Pigsqueak Corydalis lutea (yellow), C. ochroleuca (white)

Astilbe—Rheinland (mostly)

Aquilegia—Columbine Asclepias incarnata—Swamp Milkweed

Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ - Bugloss

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Photos by Renee Cottrell

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Photos by Renee Cottrell

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Photos by Roy Prentice

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Photos by Roy Prentice

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Left: This turkey family that makes frequent

appearances all over the property. It ap-

pears to be two hens that have combined

their families, the chicks being of two dis-

tinct size groupings. They can be seen in

the back fields, walking along the drive-

ways, or strolling through the gardens.

Photos on this page by Roy Prentice

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Take a Tollgate Picture

Now that we have permission to resume volunteer activities at Tollgate, consider tak-

ing some pictures for the Tollgate calendar. The preferred format is jpeg, landscape files.

Send photo files at full or actual size in separate emails if necessary. Please email your files to Larry Bolam at TollgateCalPics@Gmail.com.

Summer is a beautiful time at Tollgate, think about capturing that beauty in a photo

for the Tollgate calendar.

Wishing you a wonderful summer outside & in your garden!

Click on this link to the form on the MSU Extension Tollgate Farm and Education Center website: MSU Tollgate Garden Volunteers Membership Form. Forms will also be available at the

next Tollgate Volunteer General meeting and attached to this newsletter.

Thank-you!

Angie Carter

tollgatemembers@gmail.com

Photo by David Komraus Photo by Roy Prentice

Photo by Renee Cotttrell Photo by Roy Prentice

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Volunteer Activity Day and Meetings Information

248-347-3860 ext. 400

● The next Tollgate Gardens Advisory Council

meeting will be held on Tuesday, September

1st at 7:00 pm. All Tollgate Gardens Volunteer

members are welcome to attend.

● Listings to contact individual Council Members

and Area Garden Leaders are available at all

general meetings and in the Volunteer

Communication Center.

● Tollgate Volunteer Membership is renewed

annually. The 2020 Tollgate Garden Volunteers

membership is from January 1, 2020 to

December 31, 2020.

Farm Manager Roy Prentice - 248 347-3860 ext. 251 email - prentic1@msu.edu

President .......................... Renee Cottrell

Vice President… ............... Marilyn Alimpich

Secretary… ....................... Dave Komraus

Treasurer .......................... Sue Janczarek

Membership ...................... Angie Carter

PR ...................................... TBD

Programs .......................... Jackie Stengel

Hospitality ........................ Teresa LaRosa

Farm News Editor ............. Jennifer Roberts

For membership questions or to update your current membership information send email to:

tollgatemembers@gmail.com

MSU Tollgate Gardens Volunteers For general information and questions Contact Roy Prentice or See Website:

http://tollgate.msu.edu/volunteering/

Activity Days Until further notice group work activity days are on hold. Volunteers may work individually at Tollgate following the guidelines established by MSU Extension. You may contact Roy at prentic1@msu.edu to be re-ferred to the appropriate Area Garden Leader/ or Renee to be assigned work activities. Watch your e-mails for updates as available. We strongly recommend you bring your own tools for your garden activi-

ties during the pandemic crisis. All tools borrowed from the toolshed

must be sanitized with a 10% bleach solution prior to returning to the

shed after use

If you aren’t getting

The Tollgate Farm News

email, Check your

SPAM folder

• Trowel

• Pruners

• Loppers

• Garden Scissors

• Your Favorite Weeding Implement

• Hand Saw

• Plant Division Forks

• Shrub Rake

• Sun Screen

• Garden Gloves

• Knee Pads

• Insect Repellant

List of Suggested Gardening Implements to Bring

from Home as Needed

• Spades

• Garden Rakes

• Brooms

• Wheelbarrows

• Weed Buckets

• Leaf Rakes

• Garden Hoe

• Long Handled

Garden Forks

Garden Tools Available for Use at Tollgate

Page 13

In the event of an emergency please notify:

____________________________________________ __________ - _____________________________

Name Phone

Were you a Tollgate volunteer member last year? Yes ( ) No ( ) Are you interested in serving on a committee or garden project? Yes ( ) No ( )

If yes, please note below if you have a particular area of interest.

________________________________________________________________

A donation in support of the Tollgate Volunteer organization would be greatly appreciated ($20 suggested). If you would like the newsletter mailed to you rather than

emailed, please include an additional $10 to cover postage. Check here to have the newsletter mailed to you. ___

Make checks payable to: Michigan State University

Return to: Tollgate Gardens Volunteer Office 28115 Meadowbrook

Novi, MI 48377-3128

Questions: Phone: 248-347-3860 Ext. 251

2020 Membership is from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 Please read this Privacy Policy:

By filling out and submitting this form you authorize the Tollgate Garden Volunteers (TGV) and MSU to

use your contact information to communicate with you via email, newsletters and other formats. If you

wish your email and other identification information to not be used by the TGV and MSU, please check

this box ( ). (By checking this box you will not receive email notification of workdays, or other volunteer

Name_____________________________________________

Address____________________________________________

City _______________________________________ MI

Zip______________ - _________

________________________________ Name you would like on badge

Telephone Number Day ______ - ___________________________

Evening ______ - ___________________________

Email ____________________________________

Date Submitted __________________________

2020 Please print all entries. Thank you.

MSU Tollgate Garden Volunteers Membership Form