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1
The Best Dirt
A Publication of
Ozaukee County Master Gardeners
Port Washington, Wisconsin
Volume 14, Number 1 SPRING 2015
Heirloom plant sale takes
months of careful planning;
Heirloom Plant sale...1 Volunteer slots still open
By Jane Spalding
In this issue
President’s Message...2
2015 Officers, Board...2
Flower Arranging Workshop...3
Important Dates ...4
Starting sweet peas...4
Ask a Master Gardener ...5
Annual Pot Luck photos…5
The Queen of Quercus...6
Lac Lawrann Wildflower Sale...6
2015 Ozaukee Co Fair booth...7
State, National Conferences...7
Attracting Orioles...8
Herbs Lecture Series...9
Ozaukee Master Gardeners
Mission Statement
To serve the needs of gardeners in
Ozaukee County by providing university research-based horticulture
information and educational opportunities designed to supplement
programs of the University of Wisconsin— Extension (UWEX).
To promote understanding of responsible gardening practices and
provide a link between the community and UWEX.
To develop and increase horticultural knowledge for all Master
Gardeners, thereby providing effective horticultural resources and
expertise for Ozaukee County residents.
The 2015 Heirloom Plant and Herb
Sale will be Saturday, May 23 from
9 am to noon at Concordia University Field House, Mequon. Our threehour Heirloom Plant and Herb Sale
actually takes all year and all of us!
OMG’s biggest event is now well
into its preparation: supplies, plants
and people are getting organized to
be ready for the big days. I say
days because while the public, and
perhaps some of our members, see
the sale for just a few hours on the
Saturday, OMG volunteers work
well ahead of May and are needed
for all three days at Concordia:
Thursday “setup”, Friday “plant arrival”, and Saturday “sale day”. It’s
certainly not just a 3-Hour event!
Here’s a list of some varied jobs
related to our sale. (Obviously this
is not all the tasks!)
Thousands of colored plastic pricing
stakes are washed/ sorted/counted
and stored after last year’s sale.
Herb sale mailing list (2000+)
spreadsheet is updated in preparation for label printing and the postcard labeling and stamping “party”
in early May.
Bare-root roses are individually potted and carefully tended including
moving in and outdoors daily as
needed.
Stored supplies and equipment get
transported from various OMG closets at the County Administrative
Center in Port Washington to the
Concordia gym on Thursday before
sale (and back on Saturday) including but not limited to signs, sign
stands, merchandise, and cash
boxes. Credit card machines get
“updated” to be ready for their once
-a-year use. OMG volunteers gather cardboard flats from various retail locations weekly, for months.
Fliers and posters are designed,
printed and distributed throughout
Ozaukee and surrounding counties.
Newspaper feature articles are written.
Planting tomatoes from seed is a task our
volunteers perform each year for the
Heirloom Plant and Herb Sale.
Facebook and Constant Contact
messages are written and posted.
Recycled garden containers get
saved (occasionally by dumpsterdiving) and cleaned, ready for OMG
(Continued, p. 3)
2
President’s message
By Mary Reilly-Kliss
Spring has arrived, evidenced
by returning robins which have
begun bathing in our pond, and
the geese which are now flying
north instead of south. Though
tradition has it that we begin the
calendar year with resolutions,
my “New Year” begins in the
garden.
2015 OMG officers and Executive Board Members:
President Elect
President
Past President
VP Operations Committees
VP Project Committees
Community Garden Coordinator
Treasurer
Secretary
Member at Large through 2015
Member at Large through 2016
Member at Large through 2017
Member at Large through 2018
Jerry Nelson
Mary Reilly-Kliss
Carol Ross
Erin Schanen
Lynn Schmid
Mary Reilly-Kliss
Pat Moreland
Jean Schanen
Jim Eberhardt
Candy Witt
Marion Kanack
Mary Ingles
I invariably resolve to try a new
vegetable in our plot at the
Outgoing board members Jane Spalding, Jerry Thurman, and Susie
Washington County Community
Granzow were thanked for their service at the January 2015 Annual
Garden. Last year, it was kale,
Meeting.
which, truth be told, I pretty
.
much gave away because I just
Ozaukee Master Gardener
Moreover, we do it without a lot of
don’t get the kale mystique.
fanfare because gardening for the
Committees
This year, I resolve to plant my common good is what we do.
Read more on our website
parsnips earlier so that they
http://ozaukeemastergardeners.org/
As
you
begin
your
volunteering,
Click “Our committees” to get the full
have a better chance of maturconsider
this:
“Many
people
are
descriptions, as well as the email
ing before frost, and I am going
addresses for the committee chairs.
good
at
talking
about
what
they
to plant the okra seeds which I
are
doing,
but
in
fact
do
little.
Othpurchased last year! Enough
Advocates Shelter
with the resolutions, on to the ers do a lot but don't talk about it;
Kuhefuss House, Cedarburg
they are the ones who make a
business at hand.
Lasata, Cedarburg
community live.” (Jean VaniOzaukee County Fair, Cedarburg
On behalf of the Executive er, Community And Growth).
Pioneer Village, Town of
Board and the general memberSaukville
Heirloom Plant and Herb Sale,
ship, I would like to welcome the Thanks, in advance, for what you
Mequon
Intern Ozaukee Master Garden- do to build community.
Port Washington Triangle Garden
ers who trained in the fall and
Tendick Park, Saukville
are now finding their fit in the
USS Liberty Memorial Public
wide variety of projects which
Library, Grafton
our organization offers. Our acWashington County Community
tivities, and others which qualify,
Gardens, West Bend
are the basis for the volunteer
Webster School, Cedarburg
hours needed for certification as
Membership
a Master Gardener, explained in
Newsletter
Education
greater detail elsewhere in this
Publicity
newsletter.
One of the things which we may
not consider as we tally our volunteer hours is the way in which
our work builds community.
When we work on gardens for
seniors and students, present
educational seminars, tend to
site beautification, and host one
of the seminal plant sales in the
area, we make connections.
Website
Yard & Garden Line
2014 OMG Officers:
President: Mary Reilly-Kliss
President-Elect: Jerry Nelson
The baton is passed: New President
Mary Reilly-Kliss took the helm of
Ozaukee Master Gardeners from outgoing President Carol Ross.
Ozaukee County Agriculture
Agent: Dan O’Neil
3
“Feels great to get my hands water. Remember that tulips con- Plant sale
tinue to grow in water—sometimes (Continued from page 1)
dirty again!”
Flower Arranging Workshop as much as 2” taller.
volunteers to use when they dig
a delight for eager gardeners
As with all OMG events, we also up/divide plants from their home
gardens to donate to our very popenjoyed great snacks!
ular Kaleidoscope table. Cooks
“It feels great to get my hands
create wonderful baked goods for
dirty again!” exclaimed an OMG at
our lobby sale.
our latest workshop, as she gleefully separated tiny Tête à Tête
daffodil bulbs from a pot, then
rinsed them in water.
by Mary Ingles
The calendar said it was spring,
and warm weather had teased us
a few days earlier, but temperatures had plunged below freezing
again and the howling wind outside threatened snow. Inside it
was warm, however, as Nancy
Witte-Dycus, of Fantasy Flowers
in Thiensville, taught 23 Master
Gardeners how to create our own
arrangements using colorful fresh
flowers and spring bulbs.
Sharon Poehlman and Mary Hefle
organized the “Flower Arranging
Workshop” held at the Pavilion on
the Ozaukee County Fairgrounds
in Cedarburg on March 24, 2015.
We created table-top centerpieces
using mums, tulips, alstroemeria,
statice, moss, curly willow, myrtle,
asters, ruscus and ferns in addition to the Tête à Têtes. All materials were provided, including the
use of bunch cutters that the
OMGs could purchase at a discount after the workshop.
Some tips that Nancy shared: As
you build a centerpiece, look at it
from the side, not the top, since
that’s how people will look at it
when they’re seated. Insert flowers from the sides, not just sticking
straight up in the middle. Don’t fill
your container solidly with oasis—
flowers can get some liquid from
it, but the real source of water is
the reservoir around the oasis, so
fill the container to the rim with
Yes, there’s real work involved.
Some jobs are solo tasks. Other
jobs are accomplished in groups.
There are tasks to be done now
and in the days closer to the sale.
Volunteers also have fun, learn
new information, meet and get to
know new friends. We share the
load or we’d never pull off this
huge once-a-year event successfully. Our Heirloom Plant and Herb
Sale is shared work and shared
fun!
I urge you to get involved. Don’t
forget to invite family and friends
to join you for we need volunteers
beyond our membership. Please
contact Connie Baldwin, volunteer
coordinator, to find the task(s) that
will work for your schedule/your
interest. Her email is [email protected]
Please contact Jane Spalding if
you have any questions/concerns/
comments about the sale. The
telephone number is (262) 6923943, and email address is
[email protected]
REMINDER: Plant Sale Meetings
from 6-7:30 PM on Thursday, April
9 and Wednesday, May 6. All are
welcome.
4
2015
Important
Dates
touched. I kept the pots at between 60 and 65 degrees using a
seed-starting mat with a thermostat in a dark place.
Estimated germination time for
sweet peas is between 10 and
28 days, but one seed germinated within six days.
April 23—General Meeting: Port
Washington Community Garden;
Dan Stacey.
May 23— Heirloom Plant and Herb Starting sweet peas:
Sale, Concordia University,
a mini-trial
By Erin L. Schanen
9:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m.
There are a lot of opinions about
June 25– General Meeting: Farms
the best way to grow sweet peas.
and Gardens in Cuba; Mary Ann
People tend to be strong in their
Ihm.
convictions about how it should
August 27– General Meeting: Na- be done. Intent on growing sweet
peas this year, I ordered some
tive Plants; Dan Boehlke.
seeds from a specialist English
September 24—General Meeting: sweet pea nursery and did an unPine View Animal Rehab; Jeanne scientific germination trial of two
Lord.
varieties while I waited for the
right time to start them inside in
October 22— General Meeting: earnest (which is roughly the midLandscape Design; Carrie Hennes- dle to the end of March depending
sey.
on your last frost date).
December—Date, event to be
The directions on the seed packdetermined.
ets suggested soaking or nicking
the seeds and specifically said it
NOTES:
There are no General was not recommended to try to
Meetings in May, July or November. start them using any other methOMG general meeting programs od. However, much of what I’ve
begin at 7 p.m. at the Ozaukee read about growing sweet peas
County Administration Center Audi- said it was not necessary to pretorium in Port Washington, unless pare the seeds in any way prior to
sowing.
otherwise stated.
Remember: our event dates are
online on our website at
http://ozaukeemastergardeners.org/
current-events/
Quotable
“Spring is the time of plans and
projects.”
― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
I chose a Spencer variety, which
has longer stems and is usually
grown for cut flowers called Lake
Windermere and an heirloom variety known for its scent called Fire
& Ice. I put three seeds of each
variety in 4-inch pots filled with a
seed-starting mix. My intention is
to plant the pots in their entirety in
the garden so as to minimize disturbance to the roots.
In each variety, I soaked one
seed for 22 hours, nicked one
seed and left the third seed un-
Here are the germination results:
Day 6: Untouched Fire & Ice.
Day 8: Untouched Lake
Windemere.
Day 10: Nicked Fire & Ice
Day 13: Soaked Fire & Ice
With the majority of seeds germinated, I moved the pots to a
bright, cool spot on Day 14.
Certainly my test was not scientific, but it would indicate that
there is no advantage to preparing sweet pea seeds in any way
prior to sowing. However, given
that all of the Fire & Ice seeds
germinated within a week of
each other, this trial would also
suggest that it doesn’t necessarily hurt to soak or nick seeds
ahead of time.
5
Ask a Master Gardener
Q. I'm looking for a good tree
pruner to do some immediate
much needed pruning of several trees on our property.
Ozaukee Master Gardeners
provide support to the public
who email OMG at [email protected]
A: Unfortunately, Master Gardeners cannot endorse individYard & Garden Online provid- ual contractors. However, if you
ed these seasonal questions look up "Tree Service" in the
and responses.
Yellow Pages, you will find several tree specialists who will be
Q. I have three lilac bushes
able to provide the type of serthat I planted about 5 years
vice you request of them.
ago. They are beautiful bushes about 4 ft tall and very
green but I can't get them to
bud. I pruned them back last
fall and added blooming fertilizer but still nothing. Any ideas would be welcome.
A: Pruning your lilacs in the
fall is the reason your lilacs
are not blooming in the spring.
Lilacs bloom on the previous
year's growth, which you are
cutting off by pruning them at
that time. Lilacs should be
pruned right after the blooms
have faded in the spring and
just before new growth starts.
Whatever new growth they
make over the summer is
where the blooms for next
spring will set.
Q: I have successfully used
newspaper underneath woody
mulch (bark nuggets, etc) a
number of times to create
mulched beds on top of grass
and/or weeds. How many
sheets thick should my newspaper layer be?
A: The following website from
the University of Vermont Extension recommends that you
use at least 10 layers of newspaper: http://www.uvm.edu/
pss/ppp/articles/jun99tip.htm
Kathleen Awe and Susie Granzow were honored in January at the Annual Meeting and Pot Luck for their service to Ozaukee Master Gardeners. Each has accumulated 2500 volunteer hours. Other photos of the potluck are above.
6
The Queen of Quercus
By M. Lynn Schmid, Certified
Master Gardener
A.A.S. Landscape/Horticulture/
Arboriculture
Wisconsin boasts several species of oak trees— all in the genus Quercus:
swamp white
oak, pin oak, bur oak, red and
white oak, and chinkapin. But in
our southeastern states, Quercus virginiana is the prevalent
native oak tree in that region.
Named “Southern Live Oak” or
simply “Live Oak” it is a tenacious tree, handling salt spray
and moderately saline soil. With
its sprawling branching habit,
the tree’s dense and widespread canopy provides shade
and shelter for birds and wildlife.
Its acorns are a food
source for several creatures,
and it is a host plant for a native
butterfly in the South.
As a young tree, it sets a deep
tap root, but later develops a
complex lateral root system
which helps anchor it securely
during sustained winds and hurricanes. Quercus virginiana is
classified as USDA zone 7, and
its trunk can achieve six feet in
diameter with a towering canopy—it is a formidable sight! As
you can see from the photo
(right) I could not possibly wrap
my arms around this tree, but
was content to place my hand
on the trunk… so much history
here.
Although Southern Live Oaks
are prevalent in the streets of
Savannah (usually draped with
a non-parasitic air plant called
Spanish moss), the iconic specimen I loved most is named
“Angel Oak.” Owned by the
City of Charleston and located
on John’s Island, SC, this
amazing tree boasts a circumference of more than 25 feet; it
is 65 feet tall. Angel Oak provides
a shaded area beneath of 17,000
square feet! Its sinuous branches
are low to the ground and outspread almost like an angel’s
wings (a bit of imagination is required!) Its leaves are leathery
and long, resembling feathers,
and often remain on the tree all
year long. When foliage falls, its
leathery nature does not decompose quickly, creating a soft walkway for visitors. How many visitors have strolled under this tree?
Angel Oak has survived nearly
FOUR CENTURIES! I can only
imagine how many people have
admired this stately, iconic
“Queen of Quercus.” May this
Angel live another hundred years!
Lac Lawrann Wildflower Sale
By Cindy Boettcher, Lac Lawrann Plant
Sale Committee
May will bring the 28th annual Wildflower sale at Lac Lawrann Conservancy in West Bend, featuring
many native plants.
Natives have the grit to withstand
periods of no or low rainfall, and
are not dependent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to thrive.
You can encourage valuable native
insects by incorporating native
plants into your landscaping plan.
Find butterfly magnets such as
Marsh and Whorled Milkweed and
others at the sale.
The sale is on Saturday, May 9th,
beginning at 9 am and ending by 1
pm. There is a selection of woodland plants that are suited to shady
areas. If your soil is more clay than
loam, check out Cardinal Flower,
Blue False Indigo, Ironweed or
many other beautiful yet tough prairie plants. You will appreciate the
reasonable prices and all proceeds
support the educational and outdoor activities offered at the conservancy.
Friends of Lac Lawrann
Conservancy Wildflower Sale
Saturday, May 9, 2015 (Presale
Friday, May 8 for Friends of LLC
members.)
Location:
Lac Lawrann Conservancy
300 Schmidt Road
West Bend, WI 53095
7
two volunteers working with one
Yard & Garden Line specialist
(Plant Health Advisor). This is 12
By Cindy Behlen and Jim Layvolunteers per day; however, volunteers wishing to work more than
ton, Booth Co-Chairs
one shift may certainly do so. RePlans are underway for this year’s member, it’s a fun way to log volbooth at the 2015 Ozaukee County unteer hours and do what gardenFair, which runs from Wednesday, ers love to do – talk about gardenJuly 29 through Sunday, August 2.
ing!
PROJECT REPORT : 2015
Ozaukee County Fair Booth
Our booth theme for this year is
SMALL SPACE GARDENING,
which will encompass the topics of
vertical gardening and trellising,
containers, raised beds, square
foot gardening, and more.
This is the second largest project of
Ozaukee Master Gardeners (next
to our spring Herb and Heirloom
Plant Sale). We have a public
presence for five days, and we
need the booth to be attractive and
educational.
All OMG members are encouraged
to participate in some way. We
could use your help with one or
more of the following:
Garden Photographs
We would like to use gardening
photographs submitted by our own
Master Gardeners that relate to our
booth theme. Photographs can be
of your own gardening projects or
some you took while visiting other
gardens. They just need to relate
to the theme as described above.
Photos must be of high resolution/
digital quality in order for us to enlarge enough to display on the
booth walls. If they are not, we still
may be able to use them in a different way at the booth. Please email
photos with the caption “Small
Space Gardening Photo”, along
with any other info you may want to
provide, to Cindy Behlen at
[email protected].
All volunteers should be aware
that we have reference materials
from our Yard & Garden Line office at the booth, and last year
several volunteers were looking
up
information
on
their
Smartphones and tablets. You
can also write down questions,
email addresses and phone numbers so a member of our Yard &
Garden Line can research and
respond within a few days after
the fair. Jim Layton and Cindy
Behlen (Fair Booth Co-chairs) will
have the fair sign-up sheet available at the monthly meetings beginning with the March 26th meeting.
You can also email Cindy at
[email protected] to get your
name down for a time slot that will
work for you. (FYI: shifts are
10am – 1pm; 1pm – 4pm; 4pm –
7pm; 7pm – 10pm). Get on the
schedule soon if you have limited
flexibility.
and educational opportunities.
County Fair is certainly a venue
to accomplish this.
Cindy Behlen and Jim Layton are
Fair Booth Co-chairs. Contact
them at either of the following
email addresses:
[email protected]
[email protected]
The Ozaukee Master Gardeners’
booth at the 2014 Ozaukee County
Fair featured a wealth of gardening
information, and prizes to win.
State and National
Conferences Coming Up
The Wisconsin Master Gardener
Association will hold its 2015 Annual Conference in La Crosse,
WI, July 31- August 1,
2105. The Bluff Country Master
Gardener Association is hosting
this event.
Learn more at http://
www.bluffcountrymastergardener
s.org/wimga-2015.html
Plants for display
We are hoping to display lots of
plants this year that fit in with our
small space theme. If you are interested in growing a compact variety of vegetable or a plant that
can be trellised to grow vertically,
and are willing to nurture it until
fair time, please let Jim or Cindy
know. For many booth visitors,
seeing these gardening tech- The International Master Gardeners’ Conference is scheduled for
niques in action sparks interest.
September 22-25, 2015 at the
Our mission is to serve the needs Mid America Center in Council
of gardeners in Ozaukee County Bluffs, Iowa.
Volunteers for daily shifts
by providing university researched Learn more at http://
We need to fill four 3-hr shifts per -based horticultural information mastergardener.unl.edu/
day, with each shift consisting of
imgc2015
8
Attracting Orioles—spring’s
flashy visitors
Those flashy orange and black
visitors to our backyards in early
spring are Baltimore Orioles. It’s
not hard to attract them to your
yard. It simply takes patience, and
the correct food and feeders.
Here are tips on attracting orioles,
directly from the experts at
www.BirdsandBlooms.com:
Start early. Your best chance of
attracting orioles is when they first
arrive in early spring.
Use the same nectar recipe for
orioles as you do for hummingbirds-four parts boiled water to
one part sugar. Keep nectar fresh,
and don’t use food coloring.
Make sure your feeder has large
enough perches and drinking ports.
It’s not unusual for orioles to try
hummingbird feeders, but their bills
are often too big. Orioles love the
color and taste of oranges. Offer
These birds are attracted to the orange halves on a branch or feedcolor orange, so look for a sugar- er. Orioles will also eat grape jelly.
water feeder specifically designed Serve the jelly in an open dish or
for orioles.
cup, and keep it fresh.
When placing the oriole feeder in
your yard, think like a bird. Instead of hiding the feeder under
an awning or tree, put it out in
the open so the birds can see it
while flying overhead.
Hang your feeder near a birdbath. If your bath has a bubbler,
even better. Orioles love the
sight and sound of moving water.
Put out yarn and string. Orioles
and other backyard songbirds
will use it for their nests.
If you don’t attract orioles in your
first year, keep at it. It often
takes several seasons to find a
following.
Read more: http://
www.birdsandblooms.com/
birding/attracting-birds/birdnesting/how-to-attract-orioles/
#ixzz3VnsjoV3D
A highlight of the Annual Meeting
and Pot Luck in January was the
awarding of door prizes, including a
beautiful handmade wooden bowl
with inlaid turquoise rim. The bowl
was made and donated by Bill Greymont. Bill poses with the winner,
who happens to be our new OMG
2015 President Mary Reilly-Kliss.
9
10
The Best Dirt
SPRING 2015
Ozaukee Master Gardeners
www.ozaukeemastergardeners.org/
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