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Paradise Garden Club, Inc. January 2018
TODAY’S PROGRAM
Tip Wilmarth, Coordinator and Instructor, Ornamental Horticulture,
Butte Community College “Small Fruit Tree Production, Care &
Varieties Suitable for Containers”
January 2018
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
PGCI BOARD MEETING Monday, February 5
Newsletter Submission Deadline
Tuesday, February 6
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REMEMBER JANUARY, MARCH, MAY, JULY, SEPTEMBER and NOVEMBER
are the months we have a plant sale, a benefit drawing & horticulture
display of plants from your garden. Gardening gloves will also be
available for $5 at the plant sale table.
Start saving shallow cardboard box tops to transport your camellias when we take them to convalescent homes.
Editor: Lee Brasel, 530/872-3756 [email protected].
Paradise Garden Club, Inc. (PGCI) is a member of the Pacific Region of the California Garden Clubs, Inc. and National Garden Club, Inc. To learn more about the Club’s people, programs and activities, visit www.paradisegardenclub.org
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Happy New Year to one and all!
What a beautiful first day of the New Year we had last week and then rain to quench our thirsty plants. A good start for 2018. A new year r means looking forward to new experiences but lets not forget what makes PGCI interesting...guest speakers, camellia month, thousands of blooming daffodils (yes, thousands), Gardens of the Month, and our June Garden Tour, to name a few. A lot to look forward to.
And we begin this month with our guest speakr, Tip Wilmarth with information on the new trend of training pear and apple trees by espalier and vert con methods.
Enjoy! Julie Jones, President
FEBRUARY’S PROGRAM
Fire Safe Council & Paradise Cal Fire Chief, David Hawk to Educate
us on Preparation for a Wildfire,, Evacuation Plan and a “Go Bag.”
The Watercan Post Paradise Garden Club, Inc.
“An Hour in the Garden Puts Life’s Problems
in Perspective”
From website www.expressions
catalog.com
Paradise Garden Club, Inc. 2 January 2018
CONVENTION CORNER
Julie Jones and I attended the Buttes District Directors General meeting in November. The Chico Floral Arrangers were there and demonstrated how to create floral table center pieces. They were very impressive and were then set up for pictures and later became door prizes. Julie won one!
The business meeting included a summary of the successful CGCI Fall Board meeting, the upcoming CGCI Winter Board meeting and ideas for future Buttes District meetings.
Ward Habriel, CGCI Committee Chairman of Water Conservation
SEED SAVERS - The Return of the Light
The winter solstice marks the beginning of the days becoming longer and ancient celebrations honored this “Return of the Light” as a moment of transition and renewal where humans tried to make sense of nature.
How do seeds and plants celebrate the return of the light?
Dried, stored and packaged seeds are dormant and for those seeds to germinate, the dormancy needs to be broken. Moisture breaks that dormancy for many, others require fire or pressure to break their husk. Others require light.
Phytochrome, a pigment existing in most plants, reacts chemically to light, causing the light-sensitive seeds to break dormancy and sprout. Dill, lettuce and some peppers are vegetable seeds that need light to germinate. Coleus, snapdragon, and Shasta daisy are some of the flower varieties that also require light and seeds should be sown on the surface of the soil. Cover with a fine layer of compost, anchoring the seeds while still allowing light to penetrate.
Photoeriodism, or the effect that daily hours of light and dark have on flowering. Onion seeds can be described as long-day, short-day or day neutral varieties. The length of sumer days increases as you go farther north where long-day seeds can be used.
Phototropism occurs when auxin, a plant hormone, causes cells on the dark side of a stem to grow longer. That’s how sunflowers follow the sun from sunrise to sunset and allows English ivy to grow away from the sun, making it easier for them to climb toward dark, solid objects such as trees and up the walls of your house.
Photomorphogenesis, where plant hormones respond to changing light conditions during the growing season. Sunlight contains light in all ranges of the spectrum, and the blue light of the lengthening days of summer gives plants what they need for growing and flowering.
Photosynthisis is the process where plants, using the pigment chlorophyll, utilize sunlight to produce chemical compounds for their energy. Photosynthesis also releases oxygen into the air. A welcome addition to any human celebration. So, while humans are celebrating the “Return of the Light,”seeds and plants are doing the same thing; just more elegantly
Paradise Garden Club, Inc. 3 January 2018
SUNSHINE
December was a busy month. I sent:
A thank you card to Richard Gray, chorus director for our Christmas celebration.
Christmas cards to all Life Members, as well as to Donna Beronda and Thea Max.
Thank you notes to Carol Mordock and Sue Harrington for making the reindeer tree and centerpieces.
A card of encouragement to Jackie Owens and her husband.
Jeudie Lovell, Sunshine Chairman
BEAUTIFICATION
Aloha and Happy New Year,
The beautification crew was very busy in the month of December. Our first little project was doing beautification at Elliott & Skyway; not a easy task, as we walked away with a large truck load of pine needles piled high at the sides of the roads. Thank you, Town of Paradise, and Mark Maddox, for arranging pickup of all the green waste on such a short notice. We should not have to go back to that location for several months. Thank you for all who helped. I think we had a record turnout.
Saturday, December 30th, we again had a big turnout. This time, we planted daffodil bulbs on Sky-way, In the planter under the tall wooden sign, greeting people to Paradise. We planted 170 bulbs. Thank you for the following club members who helped: Ron Watts, Julie Jones, Jeudie Lovell, Mimi McKalson, Carolyn Melf, Jim Johnson, Peg Schrader and Jim Dill. We have no beautification dates for January; in fact, it will be several months before we meet again.
Aloha, Jim Dill, Beautification Chair
Paradise Garden Club, Inc. 4 January 2018
PGCI SCHOLARSHIP NEWS UPDATE
At the January meeting, the Board voted to award five $1000 scholarships in 2018.
Club scholarships are awarded to qualified Butte College students who 1) are majoring in Environmental Horticulture or related fields,2) are in their second year or higher,3) have a 3.0 or higher GPA, and4) are Butte County residents.
Applications are usually reviewed online during April. If you are interested in being a reviewer, please contact me at [email protected] or 877-3472. Your input is truly valued.
Since 1998, PGCI has awarded scholarships totaling over $54,000 to many outstanding students. On behalf of the Scholarship Committee, I thank all PGCI members for your generosity. Your gift has helped academic dreams come true!
Colleen Francis, Chair PGCI Scholarship Committee
UC MASTER GARDENERS OF BUTTE COUNTY
WHAT’S HOT NOW?
Winter and early spring are the best times to plant bare root trees. If the planting area is too dry, water thoroughly a few days prior to planting, but do not plant in wet or saturated soil.
Which of the following planting rules are false?
1, Dig the planting hole at least twice as wide as the spread of the tree’s roots, digging just deep enough to remove any compacted layers. 2. Score the sides of the planting hole with a shovel to aid root growth outward from the hole.3, Plant the tree deep, burying the graft union (the point at which the scion joins the rootstock.)4. Create a slight depression in the soil around the trunk to ensure it stays wet.5, When filling in the hole, get good root contact with the soil by firming gently, eliminating large air pockets.6. Water thoroughly after planting.
Answer: Numbers 4 and 5 are false. The graft union needs to be at least two to four inches above the surface of the soil; and to reduce the likelihood of crown rot, the soil line on the trunk should be one to two inches above the level of the surrounding ground.
Excerpt from Master Gardener News—January 2018
HAVE YOU PAID YOUR 2018 CLUB MEMBERSHIP DUES?
Paradise Garden Club, Inc. 5 January 2018
Carolyn Melf introduces Richard Gray and
the Paradise Middle School Chorus
Mimi McKalson surveys the table. Sue Harrington at Membership Table
Jeudie Lovell setting things right
Jeudie Lovell & Candice Boggs
at the Reception Table
Ward Habriel all decked out for the
occasion as official pourer of cider.
Ada Hamilton in background.
Lee Brasel stirs her salad
Paradise High School Chorus
New member, Karen Quattlander, was
the lucky winner of the basket prize
Donna Orr, Robin Robar and
Mary Stanley wins a prize!
Franci Lamb was lucky winner of the
Reindeer Christmas tree
Franci Lamb
won the
Reindeer
Christmas
tree
Paradise Garden Club, Inc. 6 January 2018
JANUARY IN THE GARDEN
Cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower starts can be transplanted from mid-January through early February. Before transplanting, harden off seedlings by gradually increasing their time outdoors. Direct-sow onions, leeks, peas, lettuce, carrots, spinach, and radishes. Tomatoes and peppers can be started indoors or in a greenhouse. Use sterile pots and soil mixes in order to
prevent diseases such as damping-off. (See Dec. newsletter for milk-jug greenhouses.) Start pruning roses, cane berries, deciduous trees, grapes, and wisteria. This is the time to move dormant shrubs and trees to better locations in your yard. Finish pruning fruit trees, removing 15% of older growth on plums, apples, and pears; 10% on
cherries; and 50% on peaches and nectarines, saving new reddish-colored one-year-old shoots. Apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale and mites.
Source: UC Master Gardeners of Butte County http://ucanr.edu/sites/bcmg/tips
Some of Farmer Fred’s Garden Rules: http://www.farmerfred.com Get Growing w/Farmer Fred Lifetime Master Gardener, KFBK 1530 AM or 93.1 FM Sundays 8-10 a.m.
All Gardening is Local. In your own yard, there are microclimates where certain plants will have a betterchance for success. For example, monitor the morning low temp. in various areas of your yard to find thewarmest home for citrus trees.
Right Plant, Right Place. The Sunset Western Garden book is a good source for finding out how much sun orshade your plants need where you live.
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch. Benefits of mulch: retains moisture. Keeps soil temperature constant, reducing plantstress, suppresses weeds. Gradually increases soil organic matter, feeding the soil. Attracts beneficial organ-isms that improve soil fertility and porosity. Mulch encourages healthier plants, reducing the needs for pesti-cides and fertilizers. On hillsides and around rural homes, it suppresses the spread of brush fires.
GARDEN OFFERINGS AND SERVICES
FREE listings are available here for your gardening related offerings and services. For more information, contact editor at: [email protected]
FREE! Several years of Garden Gate and Gardening-How-To magazines. Free to any interested gar-dener. These magazines are full of wonderful information, projects, planting ideas, etc. I’ve run out of
room to store them so I’m reluctantly giving them up. Call Cheryl at 877-3435
Tom Piantanida 530/534-3309 You want fresh manure; I've got it fresh. You want aged manure; I've got it aged. It’s raked up into a pile on my place. I'm about 5 miles from Hwy 70 along Cherokee Road, close to the covered bridge. If you want any or all of it, please call me.
Ward Habriel 877-3435 Tractor/backhoe service to Paradise Garden Club members at a discount (town of Paradise area only).
Dennis Barrett 965-2624 Tractor Service: Backhoe, post holes, grading, and rototilling. Discount to PGCI members.
Franci Lamb 966-0770 Healing Mind, Body & Spirit. Certified Massage Therapist offers Hot-stone and Swedish massage therapy. Gift certificates available for that hard working someone special in their life or their favorite gardener! [email protected]