EarthWords - txmg-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com...LRBMGA DEMONSTRATION GARDEN 2006 2nd Place Winner of State Project State Junior Master Gardener of the Year 2008 Nathan Schupp of Cameron

be sure to check the date on the

packet.

No need to be fancy. Start your

seeds in anything that is available.

Try butter tubs, cut off milk jugs,

egg cartons or left over take out con-

tainers. It is best to wash all your

tools and the containers in a 10%

bleach solution. Have you ever

started seeds and then you see a

(Continued on page 2)

L i t t l e R i v e r B a s i n M a s t e r G a r d e n e r A s s o c i a t i o n

January-March 2010 Volume 3 Issue 1

Seeds are a living organism in a

resting state just waiting for you,

the avid gardener, to provide the

conditions that are needed to con-

tinue their life cycle.

Many of you will have seeds that

you have collected or that have been

given to you by someone else. These

can be fun, but do not always provide

a high rate of success. I spent

weeks collecting seeds from one of

my plants, and when I planted, none

of them came up. Perhaps they were

collected at the wrong time or not

allowed to dry properly. Be sure not

to collect fruit or seeds from the

ground because the seeds may al-

ready be in bad condition.

Purchased seed packets are more

reliable. They have been harvested

under strict conditions and some of

them have also been coated to help

germination. This also takes care of

any need to worry about seed dor-

mancies or seed scarification. Just

SEEDS ARE ALIVE!

Inside this issue:

Coming Events 2

Growing Vegetables in Raised Beds

3

When-How-Where to Prune Roses

4

JMG Accolades 5

Milam County Nature at It’s Best

6

Heavenly Visitor/Camp Brad-ford Chili

7

Garden Variety-Garden Wisdom 8

Persimmon Cookies/Buffet Po-tatoes

9

EarthWords staff: Anne Barr Ann Collins Katherine Bedrich Pat Camp Janice Johnson Susan Humble Dorothy Rachui Sherrie Shutt Pat Runcie Michael Vidrine Shawn Walton

LRBMG Contributors: Connie Anderle

Master Gardener supporters from Texas AgriLIFE EXTENSION: Jon Gersbach, Cheryl Walker, Erica Evans, Marcia Felton and Diann Mitchell.

Contact us at:

[email protected]

EarthWords The Texas Master Gardener of Texas activities

are coordinated by AgriLIFE EXTENSION,

Texas A&M System. Texas Master Gardener

programs serve all people regardless of socio-

economic level, race, color, sex, religion, disabil-

ity or national origin.

2007 Texas First Place Award Winning Newsletter

Small Division

EarthWords is a bi-monthly publica-tion of Little River Basin Master Gardener Association to educate and inspire our gardeners in an entertaining format.

Jon Gersbach, MS

County Extension Agent

Milam County

254.697.7045

[email protected]

LRBMGA DEMONSTRATION

GARDEN

2006 2nd Place Winner of State

Project

State Junior Master Gardener

of the Year 2008

Nathan Schupp of Cameron

Photo by Katherine Bedrich

By Connie Anderle

EarthWords Volume 3 Issue 1

January-March 2010 Page 2

fuzzy gray film all over the sur-

face of your seed bed? Give

yourself the best odds possible

by being sure things are clean,

with no leftover fungus from

the last time you tried to start

seeds.

Soil is very important. It

should be uniform, well aerated,

loose, but capable of holding

moisture. If you do not pur-

chase seed starting products,

try making your own potting mix.

Use 1/3 sterilized soil (bake soil

at 250 degrees for ½ hour), 1/3

sand or vermiculite or perlite,

1/3 peat moss.

When planting seeds, the num-

ber one error is planting the

seeds too deep. Be sure your

(Continued from page 1,‖Seeds are Alive!‖) containers have good drainage

and fill them with potting mix.

Place seeds on the damp me-

dium and gently sift soil over

them to cover. If seeds are

very fine, mix in your palm with

some dry sand and then sprinkle

over the medium.

Hopefully you can now set

your container in a pan of water

and let it soak from the bottom

so you will not be disturbing the

seeds. Keep them moist, not wa-

terlogged.

At first you can cover the

containers with clear plastic if

you choose, but if you do not,

just be sure they do not dry

out. Put them in a warm, bright

place and be patient.

As soon as seedlings emerge,

remove the plastic and begin to

reduce the temperature and hu-

(http:grovesite.com/mg/lrb)

January 13-1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Board Meeting

January 13– 9:00am -1:15 pm, Advanced Training-Landscaping (Build your own pond on a

budget)-Milano

January 20-Regular Monthly Meeting, Jo Ann Young’s-Composting

February 10– 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Board Meeting

February 17– Regular Monthly Meeting

February 24– Herb Book Meeting at Shawn Walton’s, 11:00 am-12:00 Input sheets should

be completed.

March 7-1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Board Meeting

March 17-Regular Monthly Meeting

midity. This will help to begin

the hardening process. Harden-

ing is a gradual process that

takes about two weeks. They

need this time to be ready to

transplant. You can feed them

with a very mild liquid feed. Do

not put outside at temperatures

below 45 degrees or in windy

weather unless you are pre-

pared to protect them.

Even the tiniest of seeds can

reward you with a vegetable or

a beautiful flower. Life is truly

a miracle. Do what gives you

pleasure and enjoy every minute

of it.



Raised bed gardening is an an-

cient concept, which has gained

popularity in the new millennium.

Our ancestors actually raised

the soil to plant crops; but they

did not enclose the area for

planting. Making a structure to

grow vegetables can be reward-

ing.

The first thing you want to

consider is, what do you want to

grow? Do you want to plant

seeds or seedlings or both? Do

you want to grow vegetables

that need large areas to pro-

duce like tomatoes, squash or

cabbage? Will you be planting

year round or seasonally?

After you decide on the vege-

tables you plan on raising, you

need to determine the place for

the raised bed. Vegetables

need 8 hours of sunlight. Find

an area which will be sunny most

of the day. You will tend your

vegetables if you can see them.

Therefore have the area as

close to the house as possible.

Your raised bed can be any size.

The area you pick will determine

the size of the bed. Most

raised beds are 4’ x 4’; 4’ x 8’ or

2’ x 8’; but you can have any size

or shape. Let your imagination

be your guide.

There are many materials to

use in building the raised bed.

New lumber made with plastic

will last forever. You can use

leftover lumber, cinder blocks,

the time of planting. This will

give the microbes an opportu-

nity to work and have the soil

nutritiously ready for the

plants. Keep the soil damp. Wa-

tering is an important element

in gardening. The soil in a

raised bed dries out quicker.

You need to check daily for

moisture. Fertilize as required

for vegetables.

Now you are ready to plant.

Get the seeds in the soil and

watch your vegetables produce

fresh food for you to gather

and enjoy.

GROWING VEGETABLES IN RAISED BEDS Katherine Bedrich

and metal containers. The

amount you want to spend on

this project will help you de-

cide. If the raised bed is sit-

ting on the ground, you will

need to decide how tall you

want the structure. Mel Bar-

tholomew recommends 6‖-8‖

on his raised beds. If you

want to sit while working, you

may want to make the beds

taller and use wider material.

Another type of raised bed is to

actually raise the bed above the

ground. These boxes need to be

carefully constructed. Because

the soil will be very heavy, sup-

port structure is important.

Once your bed is built, you are

now ready to add the most im-

portant ingredient – soil. Good

soil mixture will guarantee a

productive vegetable garden.

There are different garden

mixes suggested from the pros.

All are good. Doug Welsh’s

Texas Garden Almanac has in-

formation on how to prepare

soils. I use the soil in my area

(blackland clay) and mix in sand

and organic material, compost

and manure. The manure has

been setting out for several

years; do not use fresh manure

in your garden. The mixture

should be loose. A loose, well-

prepared soil helps the roots to

absorb the nutrients in a

quicker and easier way. The soil

should be prepared ahead of

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES:

http://aggie-

horticulture.tamu.edu/

http://aggie-


lawn_garden/veg_fruit_nut.html

http://aggie-


publications/guides/E-

560_raised_bed_garden.pdf

AN EXCELLENT BOOK:

All New Square Foot Gardening

by Mel Bartholomew

Old tractor rim used to construct raised bed



ter Gardeners, gives the follow-

ing advice for rose pruning:

Old roses don’t require the

stringent and careful pruning

that is needed by many modern

roses. A good rule of thumb is to

remove all dead canes and clip

back no more than 1/3 of the re-

maining bush, thus encouraging

full foliage and heavy bloom with-

out destroying the vigor and

natural attractive form of the

plant.

Everblooming varieties can be

lightly trimmed or ―tip pruned‖

several times a year since they

flower on new growth. Roses

that bloom but once annually are

best pruned after they have

bloomed. If left unpruned, some

varieties will produce attractive

hips to brighten the winter gar-

den.

The best time to prune roses

that bloom all summer is in early

spring, before the leaf buds open

but after the danger of several

days of severe cold is past. Val-

entine’s Day is generally a good

time to remove dead or damaged

canes, suckers, and cut back by a

third to a half. Cut back to an

outward-facing bud, about ¼ inch

from the bud. Doug Welsh, Texas

A & M Extension Horticulturalist,

gives further advice when pruning

roses:

The first step in spring prun-

ing of Hybrid Teas, Grandiflo-

ras, Floribundas and Climbing

roses is to remove any canes

that are dead or just old and

non-productive. These canes

are usually gray in color and

scaly. Remove any ―suckers‖

which arise from the rootstock

below the graft union.

The next step involves taking

a good look at the bud union. If

you have any old, dry, scaly

wood on the union, remove it.

Use a dull knife to scrape the

bud union to remove the scaly

wood. This will make it possible

for new basal breaks to come

about.

(Continued on page 5)

…According to Neil

Sperry:

―much of your roses’ health and vigor will depend on your pruning program. Remember that pruning is an ongoing thing, to be done several times every year. Most bush roses are pruned in mid-to-late winter 4 to 6 weeks before the last killing freeze for the area. Climbing roses should be pruned immediately after their flush of spring blooms.‖

Prune Hybrid Tea and Grandi-

flora roses by removing all weak,

spindly stems or canes and by re-

ducing the overall height of the

bushes to 18-24 inches. Always

cut right above a bud that faces

away from the center of the

plant, so the branching that de-

velops will be spreading away

from the crown of the plants…

PRUNE, TOO, THROUGH THE

GROWING SEASON. Keep old

flower heads and weak growth

removed. Floribundas should be

pruned less severely but do re-

move weak growth. On Climbing

Roses, head back the most vigor-

ous canes to 4-5 ft. Remove the

weak, spindly twigs that develop

along the stems….but always

prune after flowering.

The Real Dirt, a gardening

handbook by Parker County Mas-

By Pat Camp



It is also important in warm

weather climates as it induces

the plant into a kind of dor-

mancy, which is something that

cold weather plants automati-

cally receive in the winter.

Roses are very tough plants…

don’t be afraid to prune. It is

not rocket science ---it will

grow back if you mess it up!!!

sealing compound such as orange

shellac or even Elmer’s glue.

When pruning is completed,

remove any old foliage left on

the canes and rake up and re-

move any leaves or twigs to re-

duce the chance of disease and

insect damage on new shoots.

The final product should be a

rose bush about 18-24 inches

tall with 4 to 8 canes. Add

some fertilizer, water, and TLC

and you will soon have a shower

of flowers.

If this all seems too tedious

for you, the Rose Magazine of-

fers one more method called

the ―easy care‖ method. Simply

cut the bush in half, straight

across with a hedge trimmer.

Leave all wood, but if you wish

you can cut out all dead wood.

Interestingly enough, experts

that have experimented with

both the moderate and easy

care method, report that there

are no noticeable differences

later on in the growth and bloom

of the bush.

Whatever method you choose,

pruning gives you a wonderful

yearly opportunity to shape the

growth and health of your rose.

Beginning to fine tune the

pruning, remove all twiggy

growth on the remaining canes.

Try to clean out the middle of

the bush as much as possible

for good air circulation.

Now you are ready to prune on

the good healthy canes. It is

important to prune each cane

back to a dormant bud. A bud

that has already begun growth

and is then pruned will simply

continue to grow vigorously and

bloom very little. Make sure to

pick a good bud that is facing to

the outside of the plant.

Another guideline in pruning

back an individual cane is to cut

the cane at the point when the

diameter of the cane is the size

of a pencil or slightly larger.

Normally this is at a height of

18-24 inches. If there is the

need to prune back to a dormant

bud, the size of the cane may

be larger and the cane length

may be shorter.

If old and large canes have

been removed to the bud union,

it is good practice to seal these

large cuts. Use some sort of

(Continued from page 4, ―How to Prune Roses‖)

How To Prune

1. Step back and look at your

rose before you start

pruning. As you choose

which canes to cut, re-

member that you want to

open up the center of the

shrub for good air circula-

tion.

2. Remove crossing and rub-

bing canes—those areas

will create wounds that

could let in disease.

3. Cut back blackened, winter

-damaged tips, trying to

keep all the canes about

the same length.

4. Prune old canes back as

close to the base as possi-

ble.

The Rockdale 21st Century after school program painted flower pots with a fall design, filled them

with candy and sent the pots to the nursing home.

A group from the Cameron JMG's entered a skit for the National Junior Master Gardeners contest,

winning second . If you would like to view the contest results, go to the JMG website, http://

jmgkids.us/

JMG ACCOLADES



reach is for 46 coun-

ties. Should have lots of par-

ticipation from that angle. A

patch is being designed for all

children to earn when they have

completed a round of activi-

ties. TPWD is loaning us molds

to make animal tracks with

plaster of Paris. Several adults

did this activity at the TMN

Conference and they had a

ball. The kids will love it!

On Friday night Lee Ann Li-

nam and Marsha May will be do-

ing their "Sounds of the Night"

program. Those attending will

be treated to a really fun ex-

perience listening for frog

sounds, insects, bats, and night

birds. If the sky is clear we

might even be able to do a bit

of stargazing. The park at

night will be a great new ex-

perience for many of us.

There will be a Na-

ture Photography competition

with prizes in several catego-

ries. So, get out your cameras

and start looking at the nature

all around you. You may enter one

picture in each area, including

Wildlife, Plants, Scenery/

Landscapes, and People in

Nature.

A fun exhibit will be one

on Yard Art. There is a

museum exhibit based on

Jill Nokes' book that will

be at Lady Bird Johnson

Wildflower Center a bit

later this year. We have

a real expert in the

field of yard art working

on this.

Plan to set aside the

dates of June 11 and 12,

2010 as a really fun outing

for all ages and inter-

ests. We have history, litera-

ture, art, as well as science

speakers and exhibits for you to

enjoy. If you have any interest

in helping with any aspect of the

Festival please let me know. We

can put you in the perfect slot

for your interest.

The Festival is a multilayered

experience. We will be sharing

more information as time goes

on. There are lots more fun

things planned. This is just to

whet your appetite.

El Camino Real Master Natural-

ist Chapter will be hosting a

family oriented Nature Festival

in June of 2010 at the historic

Wilson Ledbetter Park in Cam-

eron. The committee has lots of

interesting speakers and activi-

ties lined up for the two day

event. We have Andrew San-

som to speak about water in

Texas. He is the best and we

are very fortunate to have him

on board.

We are working with Flo Ox-

ley to create a wildflower

meadow near the old Boy Scout

Hut. She will be speaking about

wildflowers and doing activities

for children.

We are also working with Bar-

ron Rector to create a Native

Prairie Exhibit. Barron has

agreed to come and be the

speaker. That is always inter-

esting. We never seem to get

enough of him.

Mark Klym is working with us

on a wildscape near the old

bridge. He will be giving talks on

how to make a wildscape in your

own backyard.

These will become permanent

additions to the park and will all

just get better with time.

There are lots of fun activities

planned for the children. We

are hoping to attract Girl Scouts

from the Milam County area

which includes Austin. This out-

MILAM COUNTY NATURE AT IT’S BEST By Ann Collins



She sits serenely among the roses, watching the petals of pink and yellow and white fall

onto the ground while waiting for a butterfly

to perch on her shoulder. No one knows the

day she came into the garden….no one knows

how she arrived or from where she came. But

she has made her home in the Triangle Garden

and brings a smile to those who discover her.

This sweet angel statue was first sighted in

early Fall. Through the months that followed

she remained at her post, observing the col-

ors change in the garden, the butterflies

come and go and the air become frosty. She

sees children arrive early to begin their

school day; then leave at the end of the day to return to their homes. It must seem that she

has found a little piece of heaven here on earth and will continue to grace our garden for many

months to come. Take a moment to notice our guardian angel next time you visit the garden.

By Pat Camp

CAMP BRADFORD CHILI

From the Kitchen of: James & Jo Ann Bradford

In Large Pot (lightly greased) brown chili meat and pork loin, with crushed garlic.

Continue cooking until meat is tender approximately 30 minutes on high heat.

Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, crushed tomatoes and tomato soup.

Continue cooking approximately 45 minutes on low heat.

ENJOY!!

6 lbs chili meat (beef) 1 teaspoon crushed cayenne pepper

2 lbs tenderized pork loin (cut in

cubes) 1 teaspoon salt (or to desired taste)

¼ cup crushed garlic 1 can crushed tomatoes

¼ cp chili powder 1 can Campbell’s Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon cumin



Pisces at the end of winter. This

is more sensible to a gardener

than starting in January – the

dead of winter – which the Ro-

man calendar does. Taurus, an

earth sign, is a good time to

plant root crops, especially if

fast growth is desired. Leo, on

the other hand, is a barren sign,

as is Gemini. These times are

favorable for cutting your lawn,

weeding, or cultivating.

The moon also plays a major

role in the garden. Consider cu-

cumbers. They are pollinated by

insects; it is believed that in

periods of bright moonlight the

insects will party all night, and

thus be too tired during the day

to pollinate. Thus you should

plant them when they will bloom

in the dark of the moon.

Whether or not you believe any

of this, it is delightful reading.

Most of the sections are not

as whimsical as the one on as-

trological planting. For example,

there is a lengthy discussion of

insect pests and methods of

Old Fashioned Garden Wisdom

Tips, Lore, and Good Advice for Creating a Beautiful

Healthy Garden

This small book (159 pages) is

easy to read and is chock full of

information presented with a

large dose of humor along the

way. The contents are divided

into 42 sections, starting with

―composting‖ and finishing with

―facing your mistakes. ―

For instance, under

―Astrological Planting‖, you learn

that to a gardener, the signs of

the zodiac rule each day. The

astrological year begins in early

spring with Aries and ends with

controlling them. The book is

slanted toward the use of or-

ganic methods but does cover

chemical ones as well. One of

the quotes from the book that

really struck a chord with me

was:

―Problems arise when something swings out of balance (a situation often caused by the gar-dener), and some-times the remedies applied actually make things worse.‖

The author goes on to state

insecticides, whether based

upon nature or man-made chemi-

cals, should always be handled

responsibly and used very spar-

ingly.

He has sections on growing

vegetables and herbs, annuals,

bulbs, roses, lawn care, shrubs,

trees. In short, he covers a

wide range of subjects with

tips, lore, and good advice. Just

as the title says.

GARDEN VARIETY

Book Review

Written by Larry Maxcy

Illustrated by Joanna Roy

Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, 2001

www.metrobooks.com

By Susan Humble

We currently have over forty books in our Master Gardener/Master Naturalist library which is located

in the Extension office in Cameron. The books cover a wide variety of topics including gardening, wild

flowers, grasses, birds and bird feeding. Some books are very technical but many are just good reading.

For a complete list, visit our website. Be sure to take advantage of these wonderful resources.



We’re on the Web :

http://grovesite.com/mg/lrb

President - Connie Anderle

Past President - Ann Collins

1st Vice President - Debbi

Harris

2nd Vice President - Vivian

Dixon

Recording Secretary -

Susan Humble

Corresponding Secretary -

Anne Barr

Treasurer - Janice

Johnson

Historian - Dorothy Rachui

Board Member – Pat Camp

L i t t l e R i v e r B a s i n M a s t e r

G a r d e n e r A s s o c i a t i o n

Got questions? Ask the experts at:

http://aggie-


plantanswers/web.html

and http://

www.plantanswers.com/

Combine liquid ingredients; add seasonings and spices; stir

well.

Add remaining ingredients and stir well again. Drop by tea-

spoon onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375* for 12-15 minutes.

Store in a sealed container with waxed paper between layers

to prevent cookies from sticking together.

You may freeze ripe persimmons and use them for this recipe

later

Drop Persimmon Cookies

2 lbs. frozen hash brown potatoes 1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped onion 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup Topping:

1 pint sour cream 1 cup cornflakes

10 oz. grated cheddar cheese 1/2 cup margarine

Thaw potatoes about 45 minutes before assembling.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, then bake in

a 9 x 13 pan for 1 hour at 350*.

Melt margarine and pour over cornflakes, then put

them on top of the potato mixture and bake another

5 - 10 minutes.

(12 servings)

Buffet Potatoes –An Easy Dish to Prepare for a

Crowd Dorothy Rachui

Dorothy Rachui

1 cup persimmon pulp 1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg, beaten 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup melted margarine 1 cup raisins

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon soda 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Documents

EarthWords - txmg-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com...LRBMGA DEMONSTRATION GARDEN 2006 2nd Place Winner of State Project State Junior Master Gardener of the Year 2008 Nathan Schupp of Cameron