HOWARD COUNTY · 3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, ·SUITE ......Submit items for the December 2014-January 2015 Looseleaf by Thursday, November 6 to the editor at [email protected] Submit

A Publication of the Howard County Master Gardeners

November 2014

From Georgia’s Desk

It was a great delight and surprise to have 72 MGs participate in our September 24 general meeting! Many thanks to Kathy Hartley, who went over the website and on-line tracking system. Great job!

Our appreciation to the Program Coordina-tors who summarized activities: JoAnn Russo, Molly McElwee, Aylene Gard, Barbara Smith, Linda Decker, Phyllis Yigdall, Ann Vieth, Janice Winter, Michele Wright, Rose Marie Meservey, Karin DeLaitsch, Joanna Cumbie, Janine Gross-man and Pat Hooker. Thank you to Roy Heath who facilitated the session, and Janine Grossman who did a very thorough task of providing a written summary of the session. As mentioned in the meet-ing, the summary is included in this Looseleaf so that everyone has knowledge of the content of the meeting and the subjects which will be given fur-ther consideration in the future.

Also included in this issue is the UM Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Race and Eth-nicity Data Sheet, which I hope will help in deter-mining race and ethnicity of our clients. A final note: it was great to have such a turnout for the September event—-it’s another indication of the dedication, enthusiasm and concern of our MGs—what a great group of people and I thank you for all your good work! We still have more to do, more challenges to meet but we do enjoy what we do! Georgia Eacker Master Gardener Coordinator 410-313-1913 [email protected]

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation,

and gender identity or expression.

Educating People to Help Themselves

HOWARD COUNTY · 3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, ·SUITE 240, ELLICOTT CITY, MD 21043

HOWARD COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS · (410) 313-2707 · FAX (410) 313-2712

www.mastergardener.umd.edu/local/howard/index.cfm

LOOSELEAF

November 2014 Looseleaf 2 Howard County Master Gardeners

November 2014 Looseleaf 1 From Georgia’s Desk 3 Conservation Stewardship 5 Mt Pleasant 8 Bay-Wise 10 Report from General Meeting

Suzette Holiday, MG, Editor [email protected]

Mark Your Calendar

Nov 3 Bay-wise Committee meeting, UME @ 1 pm Nov 6 All about Orchids, Miller library @ 7 pm Nov 11 Climate Change, continuing ed, UME @ 12:30 pm Nov 12 Compost Education Committee, UME @ 10 am Nov 19 Bring in the Greens, Glenwood library @ 7 pm Nov 25 Conservation Stewardship, MPEA @ 9 am For details, go to our Calendar on the Howard County MG Web site. Click here for a direct link. SUBMITTED BY JANINE GROSSMAN, MG [email protected]

Submit items for the December 2014-January 2015 Looseleaf by Thursday, November 6 to the editor at [email protected] Submit items for the calendar to Janine Grossman at [email protected] or Roy Heath at [email protected]

Community Education Events Data Collection It is important to remember to record the demographic makeup of the populations that we interact with when giv-ing presentations, demonstrations or work at exhibits. This important data is used for various reports submitted to the county, state and federal government. It reflects the size and scope of the population that we serve through our many activities. The data should be recorded on The University of Maryland Extension Community Ed-ucation Events Summary. This form asks for the date, location, event name along with the number and make up of both the youth and adult populations attending the event. It should be recorded by once for each event. This form can be found in the extension office in the tote bags stored with our brochures and equip-ment. If youth are present at your event, you must also record their demographic makeup on the Youth Educa-tion Reporting Form that is in the same location. Or, you can send the data to me at [email protected]. Please do not confuse recording event data with the activities data (volunteer hours) that we also record on our Volunteer Activities Log. At this time we cannot capture event demographic data from the data recorded on the Volunteer Activities Log. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. ANN VIETH, MG [email protected]


Conservation Stewardship Project Middle Patuxent Environmental Area

During our September 23 event, we successfully cut numerous honeysuckle and bittersweet vines but saw that many others had already pulled to the ground/and or deformed trees and shrubs of all sizes. After a while some of us felt compelled to stray from the agenda to attack the less obvious, but potentially more damaging, Japanese wavyleaf basketgrass we noticed in scattered patches among the trees. Bagging it became the order of the day. Cheryl Farfaras, Natural Resources Manager of the MPEA was on hand to demonstrate Monarch butterfly capture, tagging and release methods but regrettably, nary a Monarch but-terfly appeared. She did give an in depth talk about the natural history of Monarch butterflies with excel-lent visuals. Our next event will be trail-side autumn olive removal, Tuesday, November 25 at 9:00 a.m. Take Route 29 to Route 108W towards Clarksville OR Route 32 to Route 108E. Turn onto Trotter Road to South Wind Circle (about 1 mile). Enter the circle and proceed to trailhead on left (opposite Misty Top Path). Contact MG Aylene Gard, 410.992.9889 or Jeff Claffy, Assistant Natural Resources Manager, MPEA, 410.313.6209 for more information. BY AYLENE GARD, MG

At left, Clare Openshaw, Rita Moy and Jeff Claffy bring Japanese honeysuckle into the pic-ture. Below, Rose Marie Meservey and Jeff Claffy display a small section of a much longer Orien-tal bittersweet vine. Photographs: Aylene Gard


Plant Survey Continues in November

Would you like to participate in the plant survey at the

Baltimore County Center for Maryland Agriculture and Farm

Park? Well known Maryland botanist Charlie Davis and Master

Gardener Judy Fulton are running a series of plant workshops and

labs. You can use these as either advanced training or volunteer

hours:

Plant collection at the Ag Center on Thursday November 6

from 10 AM to 1:00 PM: We will first have an interesting time

finding and collecting specimens of plants. Participants can ex-

pect to learn a lot about the plant species we see and how they

look in the fall. Afterwards, we will press the specimens so that

they can be identified and included in an inventory of what grows

at the Ag Center.

Plant identification labs 7 PM - 9:00 PM every second and

fourth Mondays of the month at the Natural History Society of

Maryland: During these labs, we will have fun identifying and

learning about the plants collected from the Ag Center. Instead

of lectures, expect to roll up your sleeves and work with knowl-

edgeable botanists and other interested people. Participants with

all levels of experience are welcome.

These activities are sponsored by the Baltimore County

Master Gardeners in conjunction with the Natural History Society

of Maryland, and are part of a much larger project: an inventory

of the plant species growing throughout the seasons of the year

and in the varied habitats at the Baltimore County property (e.g.,

fields, woods, stream banks and strips bordering paths). Species

of trees and shrubs, grasses, sedges, and herbaceous plants will all

be included in the inventory.

You can come to any or all of these activities. Find full

descriptions and sign up on Meetup by clicking on the events

listed on the calendar at www.meetup.com/marylandnature/

events/.

BY JUDITH P. FULTON, MG

[email protected]

Bidens spp. Taken on September 19, 2014at the Ag Center. Photograph: Judith P. Fulton.


Doings at the Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant

Now that we are at the end of our official gardening season I would like to thank all those who contributed to a very successful growing year. I won’t attempt to mention all of our volunteers except for our faithful regulars who came nearly every week: Monica May, Michelle Bryden, Bob Kiwak, Paul DiCrispino, Rita Moy and Lisa Geisler. I would also like to thank those who helped out at the Conservancy’s Fall Festival. Janine Grossman and her volunteers did compost demonstrations and handed out a number of compost bins. With a good crew of volunteers we netted $140 from the plant sale which will help support the demonstration vegetable garden in the coming year. By early October we had contributed 925 pounds of produce to the Howard County Food Bank and were still harvesting. Whether we work into November will depend upon the weather, but we will continue to harvest until there is a hard frost. Before we quit for the year we will be planting garlic and spinach, healing in perennials left from the plant sale and preparing the beds for the winter. BY JO ANN RUSSO, MG [email protected]

MGs Host Plant Sale and Compost Demonstration at Conservancy Fall Festival The Howard County Conservancy held its annual Fall Festival on Sunday, October 5. There were lots of family-friendly activities, including hay rides. The University of Maryland Extension Howard County Master Gardeners were among the exhibitors. Jo Ann Russo hosted a plant sale and the Compost Education Committee had a nearby compost demon-stration. The day was cool and sunny…and a bit windy at times! It was a great opportunity to talk with County resi-dents about gardening and composting.

BY JANINE GROSSMAN, MG [email protected]

Lots of visitors to the Plant Sale and Compost Demo.


At the Howard County Conservancy Fall Festival, Margaret Mauro gives away another compost bin. At right, Jo Ann Russo and Dot Rockstroh chat with two young gar-deners.


The Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebirds, a lecture given at Howard Com-munity College by Mrs. Pat Harrington, MG, on 2/20/14 at the Sustainability Lunch & Learn Series, was an in-formative and comprehensive presentation given by a de-voted, passionate, and hands-on bluebird aficionado. The PowerPoint presentation, along with numerous props, per-sonal photos, and shared experiences captivated the at-tendees. There was plenty interaction with the audience. Have you ever seen or heard of a heated bird bath --- one attendee uses it every winter. Collective observations and monitoring over several years gave valuable and useful information. Here are a few questions answered in this lecture.

DO YOU KNOW: a. how to attract bluebirds to your yard? b. how to identify the male, female and their offspring? c. what the bluebird nest consists of? (a real nest with an unhatched eggs was presented) d. what color are the eggs? e. the number of times a year the female lays eggs and the number of eggs laid? f. the period of incubation? g. the bluebird house dimensions, the height and place-ment of the house, and why there is no perch on a bluebird house? h. when to setup the houses and when to clean the blue-bird houses?

i. when is it safe to view the eggs and fledglings in the nest? j. where do the bluebirds go in the winter? k. what is the maximum documented life span in the wild for a bluebird? l. what is altricial young? m. how to create a bluebird habitat in your yard planting specific plants? n. how to discourage marauder birds? o. What do they eat? (what are mealy worms?)

A decade ago the bluebirds were almost extinct. Knowledge and awareness of our environment coupled with special interest groups and individuals have helped to preserve these beautiful creatures. On March 7, 2004 the new Maryland Bluebird Society (MBS) was formed. A non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to the eastern bluebird. Their mission is to assist in monitoring and in-creasing the population of the eastern bluebird, support research on the bluebird and its habitat, and cooperate with other organizations with similar conservation purposes. Dues is $10 a year or $25 for three years. Access the inter-net if interested. If you want to know the answers to the aforemen-tioned questions you are welcome to attend the next few lectures on bluebirds by Mrs. Pat Harrington, MG.

JanMarie Wms-Nguyen, MG [email protected]


This year the Bay-Wise team hosted a garden tour in the Village of Long Reach. When the home-owner, Janine Pollack, applied for Bay-Wise Certification the team visiting her was so clearly impressed with her landscape and how completely it incorporated the Bay-Wise principles that they asked her to host our tour. When the 1/3 acre property was originally purchased it had the standing water and erosion issues typical of many of the properties the Bay-Wise team visits. Installation of multiple rain gardens, large plant-ing areas, rain barrels and permeable pathways eliminated the problems. A small pond has attracted frogs and birds and butterflies inhabit the native plantings. Still there is room left for three young boys to play as well as a compost area, vegetable garden, outdoor shed, conversation area and fire pit. Over 250 people toured the property on September 20. Master Gardeners staffed nine information stops throughout the property and signage identified the native plants and drew attention to key features and their purpose. Based on feedback, the tour sparked an interest in planting natives and installing water man-agement features. People were also impressed with the compost demonstration; compost bins available for “adoption” were quickly claimed. John McCoy from the Columbia Association offered native plant bro-chures and information about the Columbia rain garden program. Gauging by the amount of activity at his station there will be a number of new rain gardens installed. Great weather and a great article in the Baltimore Sun and local papers brought out the visitors but it took a great team to make it happen. Thanks go out to Holly McFarland, Pat Harrington, Bev DeVuono, Linda Bussey and Cathy Latham, the team that pulled the event together, and the other Master Gardeners who came to interact with visitors on tour day.

BY LINDA DECKER, MG, [email protected]

Bay-Wise Garden Tour

The Bay-Wise Garden Tour draws a crowd in front of the Pollack home.


Scenes from the 2014 Bay-Wise Garden Tour


Report from General Meeting University of Maryland Extension Howard County Master Gardeners

UME Office – September 23, 2014 AGENDA 1) Introduction & explanation of the new online Volunteer Hours Log, officially called the Maryland Master Gardener Track-ing System. It is to be used to track our volunteer hours and continuing education hours. 2) Activity Reports from Committee Chairs. 3) Lunch. 4) Open Discussion. MEETING NOTES Georgia Eacker, Master Gardener coordinator, opened the session. She welcomed the group, reviewed the agenda, and noted the most current wording for the AA (affirmative action) statement and MG logo. The AA statement and logo must be on all printed materials and presentations, so please make certain you are using the updated versions. Note: See last page of this document. Georgia spoke about working with the CAG (communication advisory group) throughout the year on internal and external issues and opportunities. She introduced Roy Heath who served as moderator and Kathy Hartley who is our Webmas-ter. Approximately 65 MGs were in attendance. Kathy Hartley demonstrated the online Tracking System. It is simple and easy to use, and all you need to get started is a User Name which Kathy will provide. Send her an e-mail to request a User Name at [email protected] She will reply with your User Name (typically your first initial and last name) and a temporary password. During your first visit to the Tracking System you should change the password to something you will easily remember. Kathy reminded everyone to submit Volunteer hours at least quarterly (April, July, Oct and mid-Dec) although the new Tracking System makes it easy to log your hours anytime. Some MGs said they post Volunteer hours as they are earned rather than waiting to post quarterly. It is important to record all of your volunteer hours. It helps to show the value that your efforts provide to our community. The Web address for the Tracking System is www.agnr.umd.edu/MG. There is a User Guide online. It’s located on the “For MGs” page on our Web site, in the right-hand column. Click here to go to the Howard County MG page. Look in the right-hand column. You will see the Calendar, current issue of Looseleaf, the Looseleaf archive, and “For MGs.” The Tracking System User Guide is one page. Hint for MG Interns: Continuing Education hours earned during this calendar year may be entered as Continuing Education hours in 2015. But, enter them as earned in 2015 since the system only allows for current-year tracking. In the description area, please note that the hours are from 2014. Example: if you attended the Annual Training Day in May 2014, you may enter 5.5 hours of continuing education on your 2015 log (under any date). Once you enter Volunteer and/or Continuing Hours, remember to hit the “submit hours to county” tab. Your log will be sent to Carolyn Kulp who reviews them and submits all of our logs to the University. The online tracking system allows you to enter hours, demographics and mileage. Reminder – enter demographics if you are doing an event or project by yourself. The chairperson or leader of a group event or project will enter demographics for the group. NOTE: Please continue to enter hours once you have reached the qualifying hour target. For example, Interns should track all hours – don’t stop once you have reached 40 hours! And Active MGs should continue tracking hours for everything beyond 20 hours. The Tracking System operates on all platforms. It works best on Firefox, but works well on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and MAC.


REPORTS FROM COMMITTEE CHAIRS Roy Heath reviewed activities for CAG (communications advisory group). He noted that CAG evolved from the MG sur-vey, which garnered a 65 percent response rate. Members expressed their opinions on communications and the CAG team has prioritized projects based on responses. The first goal was to update and enhance the MG calendar. It now highlights the entire calendar year and includes contact information, event/project description and an address plus a Google map func-tion. He reminded everyone that no password is needed to access the calendar. It resides on the Howard County MG Web page. Moving forward, the next project will be working with editor Suzette Holiday to enhance the Looseleaf newsletter, which will be online only as of the November issue. MGs who wish to receive a printed version may request it with a written note to Georgia Eacker. The CAG team is also looking for someone to assist with the Howard County MG Facebook page. The team expects to tackle additional projects for Georgia and will surely add a few projects following today’s meeting. Anne Cottle asked if the calendar will allow MGs to sign-up for projects or events online. She knows an MG in Florida who spoke about that capability. The CAG team will investigate. Jo Ann Russo, chair of the demonstration garden at HC Conservancy, reported that they had a banner growing season. She and a dedicated group of MG volunteers cultivated a variety of vegetables including eight varieties of squash – but no zucchini! Among the selection were beets, Swiss chard, lettuces, spinach, potatoes, beets and turnips. She reported they donated 877 pounds of produce to the Food Bank. A misguided groundhog visited the garden plot, but they discouraged the intruder with bottles of ammonia in his tunnel. For more info: [email protected] Molly McElwee reminded the group that we need assistants for the trainee class starting in January. She is looking for training assistants to help with room and equipment set-up for each class, and food assistants who will bring baked goods, snacks or fruit. If interested, please send an e-mail to Molly at [email protected]. She will schedule a meeting prior to beginning of class in January. Aylene Gard, chair of our Conservation Stewardship team, reported on activities at MPEA. Her group works in conjunc-tion with the Howard County Recreation & Parks to remove invasives from the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. The team meets on the fourth Tues of the month from March through Nov (except July & August). She invited everyone to join her on Oct 28 when the topic is Sweeping the Seep, and on Nov 25 to learn more about Autumn Olive. For more info: [email protected] Barbara Smith heads up our Ask-A-Master Gardener teams who made 560 contacts with Howard County residents this year…so far. She thanked all of the volunteers and especially the coordinators at area libraries, including Barb White at Miller and Clare Openshaw at Glenwood. She noted that she will be coordinating AMG through next June, and is looking for a volunteer to take over her duties. If you are interested, please send her an e-mail at [email protected]. Linda Decker, Bay-wise chair, spoke about the success of the Garden Tour. She noted the stories in the Baltimore Sun and its local weekly publications. More than 300 attendees learned about rain gardens, water management techniques, and backyard composting. The BW team now has 34 more requests for consultations from area homeowners! She compliment-ed Phylliss Yigdall for the new presentation on trees, mentioned the Bay-wise window display on trees at the library, and spoke about the new BW display that will be used at the CMRRC in early October. She thanked Corliss Glennon for her efforts to get native plant vendors at Greenfest, and noted that the team is working on ways to maintain established rain gardens at several local schools. The BW team distributes rain barrels at Alpha Ridge on selected Saturdays. BW meetings are the first Mon of each month. For more info: [email protected] Ann Vieth coordinates our external presentations for libraries, community centers and garden clubs. She has developed a catalog of available topics and speakers, and is always looking for fresh ideas and/or updates to current presentations. She specifically referenced several of the presentations created by this year’s intern


class including the one on garden apps. Contact Ann if you have ideas or updates: [email protected] Janice Winter heads up our Youth Education committee. As Janice said, “If we don’t help kids get outside and show them about gardening and the environment, they probably won’t get out.” She coordinates a variety of programs includ-ing OEOH (Our Environment in Our Hands) in conjunction with the HCPSS. She noted there are many receptive schools and teachers in the county looking for assistance with school gardens as well as other educational projects. If you would like to join her committee: [email protected] Michele Wright coordinates the MG display at the Howard County Fair each year. Planning begins in April so think about joining the team this year. She thanked all of the MGs who volunteered for a shift or two during the Fair. And she acknowledged the help of Rose Marie Meservey who was instrumental in developing this year’s display. Michele also thanked Georgia as well as Carolyn and Amy in the UME office. For more info: [email protected] Karin DeLaitsch coordinates our Continuing Education series along with Joanna Cumbie. They schedule speakers for the second Tues of each month. Sessions are held at UME from 9:30 to 11:30 am. They are looking for topic ideas for 2015, so if you have one or want to suggest a speaker, please contact Karin: [email protected]. Audience question: Have they considered alternating Continuing Education classes between daytime and evening hours? She said they would look into that. Another question: What’s the difference between what Karin does and what Ann does? Karin’s speakers are for MGs. Ann coordinates speakers for the public. Karin also serves on the Howard County Extension Advi-sory Council, and distributed a survey with questions about level of awareness about UME. Janine Grossman co-chairs the Compost Education Committee with Jerry Fitzpatrick. There were 55 demos at 5 locations plus five events during 2014. She thanked the many dedicated volunteers and the demo coordina-tors: Darcy Bellido deLuna, Richard Freas, Susan Levi-Goerlich, Michelle Bryden, Jim Wilk, Jerry and herself! She noted that the team distributed 189 bins in 2012. Last year they gave away 239 bins. This year – with six more demos and one more event scheduled – they’ve distributed 224 compost bins. Among the successes are the compost demos at Miller Library, which coincide with AMG sessions. Last year: 39 bins. This year: 81 bins! Everyone is invited to the Compost Committee meeting on Wed, Nov 12 at 10:00 am at the UME office. For more info: [email protected] Pat Hooker coordinates our Rake & Take Program which matches folks with too many leaves with people who want leaves for composting. Pat encouraged us to let our neighbors know about the R & T program, especially the neighbors who bag a lot of leaves and leave them curb-side. She asked that we take copies of the single-sheet flier about the pro-gram to share. For more info: [email protected] QUESTIONS & COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE 1) Looseleaf. The last paper version will be the October issue. As of November, Looseleaf will be online only. Note: no password is needed. An e-mail message with a one-click link to the newsletter will be sent to all MGs each month. 2) E-mail attachments won’t open on AOL – it may be a computer issue rather than access issue. 3) Generic business cards. Georgia noted that it’s not so much a funding issue as a design issue. Proper use of logo and space for specific info need to be addressed. The CAG committee will add this topic to its list of projects. 4) Request for donations following MG presentations. Georgia stressed that it is entirely at the discretion of the group or organization. If a donation is suggested, we should mention that it would be used for reference materials and/or equip-ment. Checks should be made out to: Howard County Extension Advisory Council. In the past, checks have ranged from $35 to $100. 5) Continuing Education hours. Yes, you may submit excess Continuing Education hours from one year to the next. Example: If you earned 20 CE hours this year, you may submit 10 for 2014 and 10 next year. 6) Diversity. How do we reach different populations? If you have a suggestion, please send a note to Georgia: [email protected]. CAG has discussed, and will use a display window/shelf at Miller Library to promote the Master Gardener program in October. MK Muncie suggested an ad hoc committee to address diversity and develop timelines, and she volunteered to head up that committee. 7) Printed materials. It was suggested that we have a more professional generic brochure and/or table-top sign about HC


MGs. It could be used for AMG tables and presentations. CAG will address. 8) Help during presentations. A request was made for another MG to attend presentations and workshops to help with demographics, ma-terials, etc.

CURRENT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION STATEMENT To be used for all printed materials and presentations. (Note: It may be set in small text such as 8 pt or 9 pt. Make it large enough to read, but not same size as text.).

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affili-ation, and gender identity or expression. ------------------------------------------------- CURRENT MG LOGO Available at http://extension.umd.edu/mg/adminreports/mg-and-ume-logos Or hold your Ctrl key and CLICK HERE for a direct link. Just scroll down to Howard County! Save the logo to your computer. Use on all printed materials and presentations. ------------------------------------------------- CURRRENT UME LOGO Available at https://agnrgroups.umd.edu/faculty-staff/faculty-staff/logos Or hold your Ctrl key and CLICK HERE for a direct link.

9) Community gardens. Comment was made about expanding to a new location based on popularity (and waiting lists) of existing gar-dens. Georgia is working with the Rec & Parks folks on the issue. 10) Monthly message. Can there be one monthly message with upcoming activities sent as a reminder? Every effort will be made to distribute one message regarding community activities but it is not always feasible because requests directed to Georgia are submitted at different times during the month. 11) Multiple hours. If an MG earns volunteer hours for the same activity over several months, can the hours be combined in one entry? It would be best to submit hours for each date earned rather them combining into one.


Documents

HOWARD COUNTY · 3300 NORTH RIDGE ROAD, ·SUITE ......Submit items for the December 2014-January 2015 Looseleaf by Thursday, November 6 to the editor at [email protected] Submit