A Master Gardener's Journal

Continuing our discussion from the last post, here are five more environmentally friendly gardening practices for home gardeners:

(1) Reduce, reuse, recycle Think before you buy. Do you really need it? Find a way to reuse items instead of throwing them out. Don’t send anything to a landfill unless you have to. Recycle everything you can. Give items you no longer want to Free Cycle Network, a grassroots nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reusing and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Membership is free.
Why? There are many environmental benefits to the three “R’s”…. they reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollutants, save energy, conserve resources, supply valuable raw materials to industry, create jobs, stimulate the development of greener technologies, conserve resources for our children's future, and reduce the need for new landfills.
Benefits to you: a cleaner environment, save money, clear your house of items you no longer need without sending them to a landfill. For more information, go to US Environmental Protection Agency

(2) Reduce the size of your lawn by planting more shrubs, trees and native plants.
Why? Lawns require mowing, watering, fertilizing, weed control and reseeding. A lawnmower pollutes as much in one hour as a car driven for 350 miles! Buy a cordless electric mower for the lawn you decide to keep.
Benefits to you: Save money and time. Increase the value and beauty of your property. Help prevent flooding from storm water. Enjoy a cleaner environment.

(3) Add native plants to your garden
Why? Natives are easy to grow because they are already adapted to the area. Natives take care of themselves—they don’t require fertilizer or extra water. They promote biodiversity, provide food and shelter for wildlife and they’re beautiful!
Benefits to You: Save time and money, increased enjoyment of nature, contribute to the protection of biodiversity.

(4) Remove invasive plants from your property.
Why? Invasives destroy native plants and wildlife habitat as they run rampant over the landscape. They are one of the greatest threats to our natural ecosystems. Invasives disrupt the ecology of natural ecosystems, displace native plant and animal species, and degrade our nation's unique and diverse biological resources. Go to Alien Plant Invaders for more information.
Benefits to you: Protect your garden from being taken over by invasives, feel good about helping to preserve and protect our planet.

(5) Protect biodiversity by planting native plants, installing a birdbath and birdfeeder, abstaining from pesticides and installing a small pond.
Why? Every single species has an important role to play in life on Earth. Biodiversity is our foundation. It’s essential for our very life. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat all depends on the Earth’s biodiversity. Trees play an important role in absorbing greenhouse gases and cleaning the air we breathe. Rivers and watersheds provide the clean water that we drink. Plants and animals provide us with food and medicine.

Biodiversity is necessary for a healthy planet. It allows the ecosystem to prevent and recover from a variety of disasters. Rich soil, clean air, clean water, abundant forests and the rich biodiversity of species on our planet are essential for our life.
Benefits to you: Save money by using less water, fertilizer and chemical pesticides. A healthier environment. For more information go to Investigate Biodiversity

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Seventy percent of the US population has a garden. That’s a lot of gardeners! Home Gardeners play a very important role in helping to protect the environment. Let’s all do our part by being environmental stewards of our land. Here are five environmentally friendly gardening practices to get you started:

(1) Use shredded leaves as a mulching agent and a soil enricher. If you can’t shred the leaves on your property, put them in a pile and let them turn to composted material. If you don’t have enough leaves for your needs, ask your neighbors for theirs.
Why? Shredded leaf mulch is the best way to retain moisture, prevent evaporation and enrich your soil. It contains no harmful ingredients to contaminate the earth or our water supply.
Benefits to you: Save money. No need to buy commercial mulch.

(2) Make your own compost from kitchen and yard waste. Use compost as both a mulching agent and a soil feeder. If you don’t have enough, check with your township to see if they offer free compost. To find out where your local compost pick-up site is located, .go to Compost Directory.
Why? Recycling kitchen and yard waste keeps these materials out of our landfills and puts them to good use. Compost is an excellent soil feeder.
Benefits to you: Save money. No need to buy chemical fertilizers and commercial mulch.

(3) Practice IPM (integrated pest management). If you must use pest control products, always use the least toxic product. Be sure to identify the pest you want to control so you can use the appropriate product. Read labels to be sure that application is applied at the correct time and in the correct way.
Why? Many pest control products end up in the soil and water. Using the wrong product for a particular pest will be ineffective. Products applied in the wrong way or at the wrong time will be ineffective.
Benefits to you: Save time and money, live in a healthier environment

(4) Conserve water by planting drought resistant plants and native plants, using soaker hoses or drip irrigation with a timer, installing a rain barrel, and placing water-loving plants in the wet areas of your yard.
Why? Our entire country is facing a water shortage in the near future due to climate changes from global warming (the West and the South are already having problems). Water bills are increasing astronomically.
Benefits to you: Save money on your water bill, help conserve a precious resource.

(5) Help reduce flooding and water contamination by installing a driveway of pervious material. Then plant a water garden to capture run-off and allow rainwater to percolate through the soil instead of running into overloaded storm drains and carrying contaminants with it.
Why? Excessive run-off into overloaded storm drains-- especially during heavy rainfalls—is caused by the increase in impervious surfaces (houses, driveways, walkways, patios, roads). This produces a double whammy of flooding and contamination as overloaded storm drains flow into sewage drains.

In PA, we have both combined sewer overflow and sanitary sewer overflow systems. In combined sewer overflow, “sanitary and storm sewer contents flow into common pipes which carry the total flow to sewage treatment plants. Sanitary Sewer Overflow involves sanitary sewer systems with old pipes that are not water-tight, allowing storm water to enter the system and be carried to the treatment plant.

In both instances, wastewater treatment plants become overloaded during heavy rains, reducing their ability to provide adequate treatment. This results in the discharge of waste directly to our streams. This is a major source of contamination in many parts of Pennsylvania and particularly affects older communities with deteriorated and inadequate facilities.”*
Benefits to you: Clean water and less flooding.

*from PA Dept of Environmental Protection website

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When we Americans decide an issue is important, we go whole hog! For instance--growing some of our own food. There’s a real trend going on—more and more people are tearing out part of a perennial bed to make room for a kitchen garden or growing veggies in containers and raised beds—even in the city!

Why are we turning into backyard farmers? A number of factors have come together to create a growing interest in fruit and veggie gardening: the increasing price of food, the desire to eat organic produce, the occasional salmonella contamination of our food supply, concern over climate change (which is turning people on to the importance of “going green”) and the locavore phenomenon.

So what’s a locavore? Locavores are people who commit to eating local food as much as possible—even if it means growing their own fruits and veggies. Why the desire for local or home-grown food? Because locavores realize how much fossil fuel is used to deliver food from across the country or around the globe. (Food travels an average of 1,500-2,500 miles before it ends up on our plates!) Locavores also want to live sustainably, support local organic farmers and eat fresher food that tastes really good.

But not all locavores have kitchen gardens. Other options are shopping at a local Farmers Market, joining a CSA (community-supported agriculture), and lobbying supermarkets to carry locally produced food.

If you choose to have a kitchen garden, you’ll enjoy many advantages. Growing your own fruits and veggies saves money, provides needed exercise and offers a pleasurable connection with nature. Home-grown fruits and vegetables are fresher and taste infinitely better than their mass-marketed commercially grown counterparts. After you’ve tasted how delicious home-grown vegetables are, you’ll never want to settle for ordinary store-bought produce again!

If you decide to try a small home veggie garden and need advice, be sure to call a Master Gardener. We have all the information you’ll need.

For more information on Locavores, read Barbara Kingsolver's delightful book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Check out Garden Girl, who grows veggies in the city of Boston. What an inspiration!

For a really easy way to have a veggie garden, check out Square Foot Gardening.

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By Joe Daniels, Delaware County Master Gardener

Vegetable Gardens:
1. Continue to plant heat resistant vegetables like beans, chard, and cucumber.
2. Provide shade to lettuce, radishes, and spinach to discourage bolting (stretching and flowering).
3. Watch for tomato hornworms; hand-pick these large caterpillars off.
4. Prepare for your fall garden with potatoes, broccoli, carrots and other fall crops.
5. Continue to weed your vegetable garden and apply fertilizer as needed.

Lawns:
1. Be careful not to cut grass too short--most should be around two to five inches to avoid drought damage problems.
2. Leave nitrogen rich clippings on the lawn to keep it greener.
3. Water your lawn in any week where there is less than an inch of rainfall.
4. If using herbicides, be cautious about applications during very hot days, injury to desirable plants increases then.
5. Aerate lawns to improve drought resistance. A step-on plug aerator is okay for small areas.

Perennials, Biennials, & Annuals:
1. Continue pinching mums and asters so that plants can flower in late summer and fall (but not after mid July).
2. Echinacea, some sedums, and astilbe produce decorative seedpods which you may want to cut for dried arrangements, or leave them on the plants for winter garden enjoyment.
3. Deadhead (remove) dying and dead flower heads from flowering plants, unless you want them to reseed the area. Columbine and foxglove are among the many plants which will re seed.
4. A mid-summer application of liquid fertilizer will help to keep your flowers coming through the remainder of the summer.

Trees & Shrubs:
1. Native trees and shrubs may require additional watering if there is not at least 1" of rain per week.
2. When you shear hedges, remember to shape them so that the bottom is wider than the top if you look at the plants from the side. This will help keep growth full to the ground.
3. Many shrubs can be propagated from cuttings in July and August. Most will take five or more years to reach the size of the plants you usually find in nurseries, however, producing your own plants can be very satisfying.
4. Remove dead, dying, or hazardous tree limbs.
5. Remove sucker growth from trees.
6. Keep plants mulched to conserve water and keep the soil cool
7. A report from Michigan State University indicated that in 50 years a healthy tree can produce $31,250 worth of oxygen, recycle $37,500 in water, provide $62,000 in air pollution control, and $31,250 in soil erosion control. Consider adding a tree to your landscape this fall.

Compost:
Keep the compost pile moist, but not wet. Comfrey is an excellent compost addition. The large succulent leaves help break down "browns".

If you've kept up with your gardening chores so far, you'll have earned a chance to relax just as the weather starts to heat up. Take some lemonade into the garden and take mental or written notes of what to change or do differently next year. Relax, stay cool and drink of plenty of water. Have a great summer of gardening and remember all the fun plans you have for your landscape this fall when the weather cools off.

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

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One of my favorite native shrubs is Birch Leaf Spirea (Spiraea betulifolia)—a plant that doesn’t look very much like a spirea, but has all the desirable characteristics of the family. It’s hardy to zone 4 and is native to many states in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and from PA through the South Atlantic. There are many cultivars of this lovely deciduous shrub. I chose 'Tor' for my garden.

Tor has gorgeous blue green foliage and adorable white flower clusters in spring. If you’d like to prune it, do so after it blooms. Tor grows two to three feet tall and wide, is not fussy about soil or water, is happy in full sun to part shade and even has colorful foliage in the fall. And like most natives, it basically takes care of itself.

Use Tor as a specimen in a border, as a low hedge or to line a walkway. This wonderful shrub can be easily propagated by taking softwood or hardwood cuttings, dividing the root ball or by layering.

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

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by Tracey Carson, Delaware County Master Gardener

Taking every step possible to save our planet is no longer a popular trend, or a hip movement to be a part of--it’s a necessity. Educating ourselves on what we can do and varying levels of involvement from every person on the planet is crucial to sustaining a healthy global environment.

Education is the key word behind the reversal of our environmental duress. When education is teamed with action, urgency and dedication, the power to change the fate of a dismal destiny lies directly within our reach. Through programs that focus on finding a balance between environmental conservation and agricultural output, the founders of Earth University in Guácimo, Limon, Costa Rica, are equipping the youth of the world with the knowledge and skills necessary to about-face the present course of our natural world.

Earth University is a private, international non-profit university. With a student body made up of young people from twenty-five different countries, their curriculum is “dedicated to education in the agricultural sciences and natural resources.” Students attend classes six days a week, forty-five weeks a year for four years, earning an Agricultural Science licenciatura degree (between a BS and a MS), then graduating as Agronomists.

Eco-consciousness by way of formal education is also spreading like wildfire right here in the United States...

Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA houses several buildings with green roofs. Originally begun as a class project, these roofs were created by students.

The daily use of bicycles at UCLA has ballooned by 50%. One of the Berkley campuses’
cafeterias has a certified, completely organic kitchen.

Berea College of Berea, Kentucky prides itself with a five-acre “Ecovillage”, which is
complete with rainwater collection structures, wind-powered generators and solar energy panels.

The 13-acre organic farm of Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA boasts a state of the art compost facility. This school is powered by 100% un-polluted energy.

The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine renders bachelors and masters degrees in solely one major--Human Ecology. They also are the first college or university in the country to go carbon neutral by decreasing and offsetting their entire output of greenhouse gas discharge.

As a home gardener in the tri-state area, enrolling in a major academy or traveling to Costa Rica for hands-on Agronomy schooling are not your only options. Just contact your local County Extension Office to utilize the varying levels of expertise available from your county’s Master Gardeners.

Area Master Gardeners have been trained by time-honored, accredited learning institutions such as Penn State, Rutgers, and the University of Delaware through their respective Colleges of Agriculture. If there is a charge for any of their horticultural education-based programs, the fee is always minimal---whereas, arming yourself with the knowledge to do your part on the environmental battlefield is priceless!

Note from Marion: Our own Penn State University is a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship. PSU ranks fifth in the world in total number of citations in the area of global warming and in the total number of citations per paper. The only university that ranks higher than Penn State is Stanford, demonstrating Penn State's considerable influence on the field of research related to global warming. In global warming research by scientists over the past decade, PSU’s Dr. Eric Post, associate professor of biology, ranks ninth.

To find out what Penn State University is doing for the environment, go to Center for Green Roof Technology and Center for Sustainability at Penn State.

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

UPCOMING MASTER GARDENERS EVENTS

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Seventy percent of U.S. homeowners have gardens. And they spend over $11 billion a year on pesticides. That’s a lot of pesticides!

If you knew that pesticides harm wildlife and pollute our air, soil, food and water, would you want to replace the use of chemicals in your garden with something safer? How about if you were aware that pesticide use on home lawns and gardens actually exceeds the use of pesticides that farmers use on agricultural crops. And that pesticides can be harmful to your family’s health. Would you be willing to try something safer, like biologically based tactics to control weeds, insect pests and plant diseases?

Penn State University advises that home gardeners adopt the practice of IPM—integrated pest management. IPM is economical, effective and safer for you and the environment. IPM consists of

• proper pest identification
• understanding pest life cycles in order to treat at the most appropriate time
• monitoring for pest presence, location and abundance
• establishing an action threshold (how much leaf chewing are you willing to tolerate?)
• considering and selecting multiple tactics for pest suppression
• choosing the least toxic method for control
• evaluating results

Here are ten safer ways to control pests:

1. Check your plants for pests on a regular basis so you can address the problem early.
2. Correctly identify the pest and then choose an appropriate solution.
3. Encourage beneficial predators (birds, bats, frogs and beneficial insects) to take up
residence in your garden by planting a diverse mix of flowers, tress and shrubs
(especially natives) and installing bird feeders, bird baths and bird houses.
4. Use beneficial nematodes and milky spore to get rid of Japanese beetles.
5. Prune, bag and dispose of diseased plant parts. Do not add them to your compost pile.
6. Treat only the affected plant or area that is diseased or infested.
7. Don’t over-fertilize plants. All that resultant tender new growth is attractive to pests.
8. Be sure to place plants in conditions they prefer. (sun, shade, moisture) Stressed plants are more susceptible to pests and disease.
9. Read labels and follow directions for the remedy you choose. Don’t spray when
beneficial insects are active.
10. Use the least toxic pesticide for the identified problem. Horticultural oil and insecticidal soaps are good choices.

Keep your kids and pets safe. Be an environmentally friendly gardener—practice IPM. And tell your neighbors, too!

For more information on IPM, go to Penn State IPM

For comprehensive information on pesticides, go to Cornell University’s online tutorial

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

UPCOMING MASTER GARDENERS EVENTS

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One more possible explanation for the decline in bees and other pollinators has been discovered by the University of Virginia. Their Department of Environmental Sciences study showed that air pollution from power plants and vehicles is destroying flower fragrance, which interferes with the ability of pollinating insects to find flowers. Bees need nectar for food. Think about it.

Read more about the University’s study at Flowers' Fragrance Diminished by Air Pollution.

Read the abstract at Atmospheric Environment Journal

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

UPCOMING MASTER GARDENERS EVENTS

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One of my favorite native shrubs is Ninebark ‘Summer Wine’ (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Seward)’. It has all the characteristics I long for in a plant--drought tolerance once established, beautiful flowers and stunning foliage.

Ninebark Summer Wine is a hybrid of Physocarpus opulifolius 'Nana' and P. O. Diabolo. The baby was blessed with the best traits of its parents—a dense, compact habit and wine-colored leaves. According to my artist friend Marty, the leaves are the color of Merlot wine. To my untrained eye, they look like a purplish chocolate.

This delightful deciduous shrub celebrates late May and early June with clusters of small pinkish-white flowers, which contrast beautifully with the dark foliage. Summer Wine grows to just 4 to 6 feet tall and wide, so it’s a good choice for mixed borders and foundation plantings. As an added bonus, it fruits in the fall.

As if stunning foliage, beautiful flowers and fall fruit were not enough, Summer Wine provides even more fascination when the bark on older plants peels into interesting papery strips.

Like most natives, Ninebark is easy to grow. It’s hardy to zone 2 and is happy in average soil and full sun to part shade. Feel free to prune immediately after flowering to maintain the shape and height that looks best in your garden, but never prune after mid-August—that’s when flower buds form for next year. And save those foliage cuttings for flower arrangements!

If you fall in love with Summer Wine like I did, you’ll have to buy it. Although Ninebark can be propagated by cuttings, ‘Summer Wine’ propagation is prohibited by law--even for personal use.

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

UPCOMING MASTER GARDENERS EVENTS

Registration required for all events. Please call 610-690-2655 for more information or visit our website for a registration form.

by Joe Daniels, Delaware County Master Gardener

Compost
Keep the compost pile turned.

Add moisture as needed. Keep as moist as a wrung out sponge.

Continue adding garden waste from weed seedlings, kitchen trimmings, and garden clean-up.

Vegetable Gardens
Continue to sow heat tolerant vegetables of beans, chard, and cucumber.

Watch out for squash bugs on squash - they will appear on the underside of the leaves.

Complete setting out the initial plants of tomatoes and other warm season transplants, including eggplants, pepper, cantaloupe and watermelon.

Harvest any remaining cool-weather crops, including lettuce, radishes, carrots, scallions and asparagus.

Plant more vegetables in the garden - especially if the others have rotted or become diseased.

Fertilize vegetables transplants moved outside 6-8 weeks after they were sown.

Be aware of flea beetles eating small holes in flower and vegetables seedlings.

Don't forget to purchase seeds of cool weather veggies (broccoli, cabbage). The plants may not be available later in the season.

Pull up bolted lettuce, spent broccoli stems and other cool weather crops that are finished to make way for new warm weather plants.

Make certain all crops have sufficient water. Peppers especially need to be well watered.

Tomatoes like a steady supply rather than a wet-dry cycle, or else blossom end rot will occur.

Lawns
Leave nitrogen-rich clippings on the lawn.

Maintain your mower by sharpening the blade at least monthly, or before the grass starts looking torn when cut, and check the engine oil.

Spot treat for broadleaf weed problems such as dandelions or ground-ivy.

Mulch borders to keep down weeds.

Perennials and Annuals
Continue pinching chrysanthemums to make them full throughout June. Stop pinching around the 4th of July. Remember to pinch back mums by half until the middle of July if you want your mums to bloom in October. Otherwise, they will bloom earlier in September.

Deadhead peonies after they flower.

Remove spent blossoms of some perennials to prevent plants from self-seeding.

Don't forget to check your annuals for pests, as they usually arrive before the beneficial insects. The most common are aphids, who love those tender, juicy young plants. Handle aphids by pinching off the infested stems, washing them off with a forceful water spray from the hose, or spraying with insecticidal soap or fine horticultural oil (read the directions first).

Guide and control the growth of summer and fall blooming perennials that tend to become overly tall and lanky (beebalm, artemisias, asters, goldenrod, and others) by cutting back newly developing stems by about half after they grow to about 10 or 12 inches long. This will delay flowering somewhat, but it will result in shorter, fuller plants that may not need staking.

Pests
Take preventative steps whenever possible. In Delaware County, bring samples to the Smedley Park Cooperative Extension office for diagnosis on Tuesday or Thursday mornings from 9:00 until noon.

For more of Joe's June gardening tips, go to our web site.

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

UPCOMING MASTER GARDENERS EVENTS

Registration required for all events. Please call 610-690-2655 for more information or visit our website for a registration form.