The Dirt for October 12, 2017: Design with Natives

School Garden Mentor Training

School Garden Mentors visited the garden at Hamilton Elementary in North Kingstown last week.  These specially-trained URI Master Gardener volunteers provide gardening advice and support to local school groups.  Here, Nicole Swanson, the “school garden champion” shows off the school’s square foot garden plots.  After the tour, we exchanged ideas.  Such an inspirational group!

November Continuing Education Classes

We invite you to join us for class next month! These are the final offerings via the URIMGP Continuing Education Program for 2017. If you are in need of continuing education hours to complete your 10 hour requirement, feel free to watch a class recording on our internal website or check out the newsletter or continuing ed calendar for workshops from external organizations.

Advanced Composting & Soil Test Interpretation
Saturday November 11th, 9am-12 pm
URI Kingston Campus, Pharmacy 240

Dr. Robert Rafka gave his new Advanced Soil Testing lecture at the Westerly Library last week.  Says fellow MG Sandra Carmichael,  “It was fantastic!  Anyone involved in soil testing, or considering ordering an advanced soil test should see this.  His ability to explain concepts, and inject some humor, are unmatched.  We ran over time as there were so many good questions.”

There are only a few spots left in this URIMGP class. Please register in Volgistics.

Hands-on Composting at East Farm
Saturday November 11th,  12:30-1:30 pm
URI East Farm Demo Garden, Kingston, RI

In the Demonstration Garden at URI East Farm attendees will learn techniques to put a compost pile together using material from their garden and yard and how to maintain the pile through the winter so it is composted and ready to use in the spring.  Please register in Volgistics.

NEW! Designing with Natives:
Making Your Life Easier 
11/16 from 1-3pm
URI East Farm Building 75, Kingston RI

From living mulches to edibles species for shady gardens, there is not a spot in New England that can’t be filled with beautiful, low-maintenance plants. Join Dan Jaffe of the New England Wild Flower Society for a crash course on all things native. Emphasis will be placed useful plants that solve problems in the landscape while also providing ecologically important habitat for local wildlife.  Please register in Volgistics.

Is Costa Rica Calling You?

You can join Susan Mahr, Wisconsin MG Program Coordinator, on a special trip as we leave the typical tourist route to visit some of the most exclusive areas of this stunningly beautiful country to discover the vast array of endemic plants in the rainforest, learn about tropical horticulture and crops, see abundant wildlife — monkeys, butterflies, birds, frogs and more — in their natural habitat, and much more.

The trip is January 4 – 13, 2018. You can DOWNLOAD ITINERARY  To register contact: Kari Harper, 573.303.2872 or kari@hiddentreasurestours.com

Or, if January is too soon, you can join the Master Gardeners from North Carolina Feb. 22 – March 1, 2018 for a week tour.Tour highlights include: Lapaz Waterfall Gardens, Irazu Volcano, Manuel Antonio National Park, Sibu Chocolates, Villa Vanilla Spice Farm and much more.

For information on the itinerary see  http://go.ncsu.edu/emgv-costa-rica

Download the Registration Form

Updated "Quick Tips" Resource for MG's

Rosanne Sherry is officially retired and has left us with the parting gift of Master Gardener quick tips.  This seasonal guide is intended as an internal resource of frequently asked questions.  Peruse the new fall tips before your upcoming kiosks or project events! 

Click here for the MG Quick Tips which includes information on fall lawn care, woodchucks, fall houseplant care and more!   Click here for a full index listing of quick tips.

Would you like to send a message to Rosie?  We will be forwarding her your messages of farewell sent via this survey link. 

Class of 2017 Profiles in Service

The 2017 class has already volunteered over 2,000 hours! Congratulations to all of you who have already completed the 50 hour internship requirement and will be receiving your pins in September. Learn more about the interns who have already become URI Master Gardeners over the next few weeks through our “profiles in service” articles!

davidvissoe

Name: Donna Ferrigno
Hometown: Wakefield
Favorite Project/Service:  East Farm Demo Garden and the Charlestown Schoolhouse
Quote:

I would have to say that the East Farm Demo Garden and the Charlestown Schoolhouse gardens bring me to my “happy place”. Every care and worry is set aside as I work with a group of the friendliest, most amazing people doing something that we all love together. One garden brings beauty to many people.  The other garden helps to feed the hungry. It doesn’t get much. Better than that.

FAQ: Where do I find the Budget and Report Forms?

This is the time of year where project leaders and school garden mentors are completing year end reports and budgeting for next year’s supplies.  Thank you!  If you need to find the forms or any supplementary materials, please visit our internal documents page. 

Steps to find documents page:

  1. Visit our website: web.uri.edu/mastergardener
  2. Click on URI Master Gardener login
  3. Enter the password – seeds
  4. Click on “Documents” from the menu on the right hand side of the page.

Calling all Gardeners for the 2019 Garden Tour

Summer is winding down and I am sure most of us are looking at our gardens and thinking about the changes and or additions we want to make.  This is also the perfect time to consider offering your garden for the June 2019 tour.

Thinking about being on the tour now is great because all the garden centers are having their sales so it is the perfect time to plant. Time to add that bed you have been considering or to spruce up your existing beds with some pollinators and or natives. The Garden Tour committee will be looking for gardens next spring and touring them in June to make the selections.  So fall 2017 is the time to decide.

If you are saying sign me up please contact Mary Ann Buckley [mabuckley08@gmail.com] . If you have some questions or need a little more persuasion feel free to talk to any of the committee members Gail Woodward, Sue Stephenson, Mary Ann Buckley, Tom Hoagland, Vanessa Venturini, or Gail Skidmore.

The committee is also looking for new members. If interested please contact Mary Ann Buckley [mabuckley08@gmail.com] if interested.

2017 URI School Garden Conference : Growing Connections in Schools and Communities

Saturday, October 21, 8:30 – 3:30    —    URI Kingston Campus

This full-day conference will bring educators, school administrators, volunteers, gardeners, parents and others together to learn about ways of utilizing school gardens as learning platforms that build student and community engagement, and foster academic achievement and environmental stewardship. Topics include:  The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans – Patricia Klindienst, Award-Winning Author; Connecting Cultural Diversity to Biodiversity in School Gardens – Dr. John Taylor, URI Dept of Plant Sciences and Entomology;  The School Garden as a Vibrant Habitat –  Cynthia Corsair, US Fish and Wildlife Service;  Lessons Alive! A School Garden Curriculum Round Robin –  URI Cooperative Extension, Audubon Society of RI, GEMS-Net & more; and A Farm Visit @ The Compass School

Registration closes 10/13/2017. Read more and register. Full scholarships are available to all.

Upcoming RIWPS Education Programs for Master Gardeners

Seed Workshop: Cleaning and Processing
October 25 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Join Rhode Island Natural History Survey botanist Hope Leeson for the last of three sessions in our Native Plant Seed Workshop Series. This indoor session, at the Rhode Island Native History Survey in Kingston, will focus on cleaning and processing the seeds that were collected in a previous session at the Arcadia Management Area in West Greenwich.   These seeds include those from Lobelia cardinalis -cardinal flower, several species of Solidago – goldenrod, and asters as well as others.

Although this workshop is a part of a series, participants do not need to attend each program in the series.

Fee:  $15.00
Advance registration required.
More detail and registration at
http://riwps.org/event/seed-workshop-cleaning-processing/

Master Gardener Quick Tip

Click here for the full listing of MG Quick Tips which includes information on fall lawn care, woodchucks, fall houseplant care and more!


Boxelder Bug vs. Milkweed Bug

Two similar true bugs that are native to north America and commonly seen in the fall.

Boxelder bugs can try to get into the house to find an overwintering location. The larvae feed primarily on boxelder trees and cause minimal damage.

Milkweed bugs may be more prevalent in your garden if you are planting to attract Monarch butterflies. They rarely feed on other plants.

Winter Moth – Fall

Seen in late November and early December as moths. They emerge from the soil and are active whenever air temperatures are above freezing.

The flying moths are males, the females cannot fly and stay in the trees. They will lay eggs in the loose bark of host trees.

By late October, trees can be wrapped with safe materials like cotton batting or canvas at 4-5 foot height. No chemicals need to be applied. Females crawling up the tree will get caught. Clean up the wrapping regularly as long as you see activity. Eggs start hatching as early as late March.

For more information check this document.

http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/forest/pdf/wmothctrl.pdf

Praying Mantis

Predatory and solitary insect. Most prominent in late summer and fall. Observe it methodically moving through the garden every day.

Look for egg cases in shrubs. It looks like a dirty marshmallow attached to a twig.

Potentially can eat other beneficial insects like bees and butterflies.

Don’t purchase egg cases for release or bring one indoors. They are cannibalistic! One will dominate and eat it’s siblings.

For more information check this website:

http://extension.umd.edu/hgic/insects/predators-praying-mantid-mantis.pdf

Kettle Pond Native Plant Garden: A NEW URIMGP Project

The Kettle Pond Native Plant Demonstration Garden is a newly approved project located at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center at 50 Bend Road in Charlestown RI.  The project will showcase an important conservation message with the creation of native plant landscape gardens designed for different environmental conditions: full sun, sun/shade and full shade.  We are using RI native pollinator plants to show their diversity and to demonstrate biodiversity in the environment. Our visitors, young and old, urban and suburban, novice and expert will experience the native wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs abuzz with bees, butterflies, songbirds and more. 

The garden’s goal is to be an educational resource for RI public schools to learn the importance of native plants, biodiversity, and the role of pollinators in everyday life.  Visitors will learn to identify native plants that they may want use in their own landscapes.  They will learn how to maintain RI native plants using Integrated Pest Management strategies.  They will also learn how Native People used the plants and the folklore surrounding them. This project is a collaboration between United States Fish and Wildlife Service, URI Master Gardener Program, Tomaquag Museum and the Providence Parks Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership.

Volunteer with us!

URI Master Gardeners work on the project on Monday’s 10:00 to 12:00pm and Thursday’s from 1:00 to 4:00pm  If you are interested, please join this group filled with excitement, wonderment and eager to share the beauty of RI Native Plants and how they fit into your garden space.  Contact Dave Vissoe – Project Leader at dvissoe@gmail.com 

Learn with us! Indigenous Uses and Folk Lore of Native Plant

We invite you to visit us on Saturday, October 14 at 1pm and learn about Indigenous Uses and Folk Lore of Native Plants.  Loren Spears of Tomaquag Museum will teach using the plants in the Kettle Pond Visitor Center Native Plant Garden, a new URI Master Gardener Program demonstration garden. This workshop is free and eligible for MG Continuing Education hours. More info.