A Master Gardener's Journal

Environmental stewardship is the practice of consciously choosing to tend and protect our land and its resources so they will still be here for our grandchildren. Penn State University is committed to the practice of environmental stewardship, and so are PSU’s Master Gardeners.

Master Gardeners, volunteers trained in research-based horticultural practices by Penn State University’s County Extension, focus on teaching home gardeners how to become environmental stewards of their land by…

composting to recycle kitchen and garden wastes

planting trees, shrubs and perennials that encourage biodiversity and offer food and shelter for beneficial birds and insects

planting site adapted plants (the right plant in the right place)

practicing IMP (integrated pest management)

creating healthy soil

conserving water and protecting water quality

encouraging environmentally friendly lawn care

Perhaps you think that one home gardener can’t make a difference. Think about it this way: Seventy percent of Americans have gardens. Each home gardener’s land is a strand in the giant web that makes up our country. Every garden--big or small--is important to the health of our planet. Every state has Master Gardeners who are eager to help home gardeners become stewards of their land. Environmental stewardship is a hot topic these days. Hmmm…

For more information on how you can become a steward of your land, call our Delaware County hortline at 610-690-2671.

Check out PSU’s fact sheets,Creating Healthy Landscapes.

For information on PSU’s environmental stewardship initiatives, go to Green-PSU.

Even kids are doing it! To see what school students in southeastern Pa are doing to improve the environment, go to Delaware Valley Earth Force

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

It's time to get out the pain killers and start crawling and digging through your gardens. Enjoy the month of May and all the fun gardening chores that are associated with it. Here are a few more chores to try and accomplish...

Check your soil by purchasing a soil test kit from your county extension office. It will tell you if you need to adjust the pH or add nutrients.

Make those fun trips to the local garden centers to see what is available for your garden this summer. Make sure to place your new annuals and perennials in the right spots. Read those labels so you’ll be able to place plants correctly.

Don't be concerned about ants crawling on your peonies, as they are not harming them. They are seeking the sweet juices that healthy buds secrete.

Weed control. It's a fact of life that the weeds in the garden grow faster than the flowers and vegetables you plant. Not really, but it sure seems like it. That's why it's important to stay on top of the weeding. It's a lot easier to pull a few weeds every day or squirt them with a natural weed killer as you stroll by the garden beds than to pull a lot of weeds once a month.

Start a new compost pile or bin if you do not have one. Check for our upcoming compost workshops.

Turn the compost pile. Now that it's warm again, soil organisms will be swinging into action turning those leaves, grass clippings and kitchen waste into rich organic soil.

Vegetable Gardens
Begin to prepare tomato plants raised indoors to be moved outdoors by the end of the month or when all danger of frost is over.

It is best to wait until May 15 –or even Memorial Day--to plant summer crops of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, limas, squash and other warm season vegetables.

Apply 2 inches of mulch to plants after soaking the ground, but avoid over-watering and do not cover small plants.

Slugs may be a problem for seedlings and transplants. Check plants in the evening around 10:00 PM with a flashlight to confirm this (don't worry about the neighbors...they already know how gardeners act). Setting out small pans of yeast and water or beer will act as slug bait.

Lawns
Mow your lawn regularly, generally once a week, but adapt this to the type of grass you have and how fast it is growing.

Sow new lawns and reseed older ones before summer heat takes its toll.

If you did not apply fertilizer earlier this spring along with an herbicide and turf growth is slowing down, fertilize the lawn to maintain its color and health.

Look for grackles and starlings feeding in lawns, as this may indicate an infestation of sod webworm.

Here is some sage advice given to me many years ago...

May the light always find you on a dreary day.
When you need to be home, may you find your way.
May you always have courage to take a chance,
And never find frogs in your underpants.

This is a warm and witty wish and a funny reminder to be grateful for the little things. Enjoy your spring gardening. And watch out for those frogs.

For more of Joe’s May gardening tips, go to May Gardening Tips

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 Alyce Zellers, Delaware County Master Gardener

Spring is what every gardener’s been dreaming of since putting the garden “to bed” the previous fall. Once warmer weather is a constant, we’re all quite anxious to start buying plants. I’ve compiled several strategies over the years that make my plant excursions efficient and cost effective, as well as keeping down “plant lust”--which seems to overcome most gardeners when confronted with endless shrubs, perennials and annuals.

Before you head out the door, take a moment to walk around the garden and assess what you like and dislike. Notice what thrived or died. If something is adding good structure, such as boxwoods, then plan on purchasing a few more. Hopefully you know the cultivar. If all else fails, take a cutting with you to compare leaf coloration.

While reading garden magazines and books and wishing for spring, I hope you took notes on new plant introductions that might be a good addition to your garden. An excellent choice for keeping notes and taping reference photos to the pages is a small wire-bound notebook of index cards.

In addition to notes, I keep lists for annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees etc. This helps keep me focused for purchases as well as serving as a reference just in case I find a new cultivar. If you’ve had bad luck with certain plants, you may want to keep a list of those so you don’t end up buying them again!

Before setting out on any plant buying trip, I pack up several helpful items. I have a few collapsible crates that are very handy in giving me vertical stacking space in my car. If you can’t find these, just visit the grocery store. The produce gentlemen are usually happy to give you either apple boxes or stackable fruit boxes. Instead of making multiple trips, save gas by making one trip and using the maximum space in your car.

Another handy item to include is a container of water. I like to use an old milk jug. Spring brings on some warm weather and if you’re going shopping all day, plants can dry out. Spending the day in a hot car without at least a small drink will put further stress on them. If you are thirsty, they probably are too.

Hopefully you’ve been consulting your spiral-bound index cards for items that you definitely need. Most likely you succumbed to plant lust and bought something that was not on the list, but sure looked great. Whatever came home with you needs to be recorded in some way. I use an inexpensive small photo album. If you’ve converted to digital, you may already have an album.

Discount stores sell 5 x 7 plastic-pocketed albums that allow you to slip plant tags quickly into the pocket and don’t mind dirt or moisture. You could easily have several albums to organize annual, perennial or woody purchases. I have several years’ worth of tags from my plant purchases. My album allows me a quick reference (with pictures) to assess what I might like to buy again this year.

All my methods for spring plant shopping come from my love of efficiency and thriftiness. If you can save time at the nursery, you’ll have that much more time in the garden!

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.

Why should we care about protecting biodiversity? Is it really that important? Yes!

We live in an interconnected and interdependent biologically diverse world. 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.

As home gardeners, we play an important role in nurturing and protecting biodiversity. The choice to create a native plant area in our gardens can make the difference between life and death for many species, including our pollinators. We need our bees! No pollinators--no flower or crop fertilization.

Here are a few other choices you can make to increase biodiversity on your land:

Stop using pesticides. Pesticides pollute our soil and water supply—and kill beneficial insects as well as the pesky ones we’re trying to eliminate.

Put up a bird feeder and birdbath to attract birds to your yard. They’ll help take care of the insect problem.

Use less fertilizer and water by reducing the size of your lawn. Plant native plants in the new space you've created.

Use an electric lawnmower—it won't pollute the environment. And your neighbors will love the dramatic reduction in noise. Check out the cordless Neuton mower. Black & Decker also makes an electric cordless mower.

Install a shallow pond in a sunny area. All it takes is eighteen inches of water to make the local wildlife happy.

For more information about what you can do to protect biodiversity, go to Conservation International.

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.

Last night I attended a lecture given by Jeff Jabco at Swarthmore College’s Scott Arboretum. Entitled Water in the Garden: An Opportunity for the Gardener to Help the Planet, it was the first in the Arboretum’s new Sustainable Series lectures that focus on sustainable practices in the garden.

Jeff began by telling us that water shortages are expected in thirty-six states by 2018. That’s a sobering fact, don’t you think? He went on to say that water is the issue of the future—like gas is now.

Jeff discussed how to manage rain water on our lands with methods such as porous paving, appropriate selection of plants, lawn alternatives and storm water infiltrations systems such as rain gardens, biostreams, swales, rain barrels and green roofs. These methods will help keep storm drains from overflowing which results in flooding.

Jeff gave us the following six tips for watering wisely:

1. Trees and shrubs do not need to be watered after their first five years in the garden unless there is a drought.

2. Water vegetable and flower gardens only if rainfall is less than one inch per week. Don’t rush to water if plants wilt in the sun. Check the soil first to see if it’s dry.

3. Mulched gardens need less watering than un-mulched gardens. Mulch holds moisture in the soil and helps to prevent evaporation.

4. Water deeply or not at all. Shallow watering results in shallow root systems that need to be watered more frequently.

5. Water the soil, not the leaves. Plants need water at their roots. Watering the leaves can result in leaf burn from the sun and disease if leaves are wet at night.

6. Don’t waste water! Choose plants that rarely require extra water. Native plants and drought tolerant plants are a good choice.

I hope you will join me in attending these free lectures, which are intended to teach participants "how to protect our planet’s natural systems, become proper land stewards and encourage wildlife in the garden.” To view the schedule, go to Scott Arboretum’s Events Calendar.

Ok Julie, I’ve fulfilled the obligation we were entrusted with—to tell five other people what we learned by attending last night’s lecture.

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 guest blogger Mary Concklin, Horticulture Extension Educator, PSU-Montgomery County

Fireblight is a bacterial disease that affects a wide array of plants. It is caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. The bacteria enter plants through natural openings, such as open blossoms, and through wounds caused by pruning, mechanical injury (such as mower cuts), and hale cuts. Erwinia amylovora is spread by insects, rain and pruning tools.

This disease is fairly easy to spot with its classic “shepherds crook” at the terminal end of growth. When blossoms are infected, they will appear water soaked, turn brownish black and wilt. Severe infection can result in the death of the plant.

When pruning out an infected branch or portion of a branch, make your cut at least four to six inches below any visible signs of the disease. Disinfect pruning shears after each and every cut with a dilute chlorox solution or alcohol to avoid spreading the disease. Research has shown wiping the pruning blades in more effective than dipping them in the solution.

Spraying to control Fireblight is limited to Streptomycin (where resistance has not developed) and copper sprays. Another option is to plant Fireblight resistant plants. If you suspect you have Fireblight on a plant but are not sure, drop off or send a sample to our extension office for positive identification.

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.

“...we are going to have to make a commitment, each of us in our own way,
to being an agent of change for the environment.” Jeri Pollock, Professor, Pepperdine University

70% of Americans have the gardening bug. We love our gardens. But how do our gardening activities affect the environment? This is a question of vital importance.

Home gardeners can play a key role in protecting the environment by making eco-friendly gardening choices as we tend our land. In today’s world of dwindling water supplies, global warming, and air, soil and water pollution, using environmentally friendly gardening techniques is every home gardener’s responsibility.

Whenever we create a garden, we’re manipulating nature and changing the ecology of our land. We clear away existing vegetation and introduce something new. If that something new is not suited to the area, local birds and insects won’t be able to survive. And our gardens will need extra water, pesticides and fertilizer.

Why should we make more work for ourselvesand take a chance on harming the environment? Get in the habit of buying easy care plants that thrive in our area. Native plants like the beautiful Birch Leaf Spirea (left) and their cultivars are an excellent choice, because they basically take care of themselves. Planting natives ensures the return of species that belong in our area.

Let's keep soil healthy, use water judiciously and protect biodiversity. We can keep soil healthy by feeding it with organic matter (compost and shredded leaf mulch) instead of chemical fertilizers. When soil is healthy, plants will be healthy too.

We can conserve water by using soaker hoses or drip irrigation, installing a rain barrel, watering only when absolutely necessary and planting drought tolerant plants.

Encourage and protect biodiversity by removing invasive species, planting a variety of native plants and using the least toxic pesticide—only when absolutely necessary--if an insect or disease problem arises that requires the need for control. Pesticides are often not necessary if we're willing to tolerate a certain amount of chewed leaves. Remember, caterpillars need to eat to become butterflies.

Using eco-friendly gardening principles will allow you to enjoy birds, butterflies and bees frolicking in the beauty of your garden, knowing that you made their existence possible by being an environmentally responsible gardener.

For more information on how you can protect the environment, contact your local County Extension office. In Delaware County, call 610-690-2671.

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.