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Art Explosion Image Library

The Garden Fence Monthly Newsletter – December 2017

Harford County Master Gardeners

What to Read in the Winter – Gardening-Related Books I’m always interested in gardening books. And now that the holiday season is approaching, I’m looking for books that I can give or get as gifts. And, to paraphrase a term from the Maryland Grows blog, why not read when you can’t weed! So, according to Maryland Grows, which is published by the University of Maryland Extension and the Home and Garden Information Center, here are a few recommended books for gardeners in the USDA Hardiness Zone 7A. Note: most of Harford County is located in Hardiness Zone 7A. Ira Wallace is one of the founding members of the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and is one of my go-to sources for growing garlic. Her book, Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast, is a good reference for any food gardener, and the Maryland Grows blog recommends it particularly to new gardeners, with the caveat that it does cover the entire southeast part of the U.S. This means that not every plant or technique mentioned is going to work here in the upper-upper southeast. The text specifies regional differences, however, so you’ll just need to pass your eyes over what goes on in Georgia or Florida, and stick with what’s realistic here. The book starts with a “Gardening 101” section, continues into monthly to-do lists with information relevant to each part of the year, and also includes an alphabetical list of edibles with growing, harvesting and seed-saving information, plus recommended varieties. Throughout the book, you’ll find tons of useful hints discovered through lots of on-the-ground experience. Are you interested in soil? One book recommended by Maryland Grows is Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis. This book discusses the amazing stuff that’s in your soil – if it’s healthy, and if not, you’ll acquire a strategy for making it better. To till or not to till, is a question addressed in this book. You’ll find an anti-tilling argument to stimulate your thinking. Happy reading, and happy holidays,

~Ellen Haas – 2013 Reference: https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2014/08/19/book-reviews-localregional-food-gardening/

Inside this Issue President’s Message 1 Yellow Jacket? 2 MG Hours 2 Winter Animals 3 Training 4 Calendar of Events 8 Officers Ellen Haas President Anne Spelman Vice President Lisa Scowden Secretary Greg Murray Treasurer Quick Links Harford County Extension Office Home & Garden Info Center MG Hours Online

President’s Message

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Those aren’t giant yellowjackets. Those are European hornets. And they don’t get much bigger than 1.5”. Doesn’t that make you feel better?

European hornets are a social insect, living in paper nests in protected places such as hollow logs or in walls and attics. Colonies sometimes exceed 300 individuals by fall, but they all start out from a single queen insect in the spring. Active both during the daytime and at night, they predate bad insects (grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars) and good (honeybees, praying mantises), sometimes capturing them on the wing. Especially in autumn, they frequent outdoor lights, feeding on the flying insects attracted to the lights. Autumn is a time of decreasing food availability, making ripening fruit and the content of garbage cans attractive to the hungry hornets, bringing them into contact and conflict with gardeners.

The extension services of Pennsylvania and Maryland disagree about how aggressive these hornets are, but it seems to be accepted that their sting is quite potent. Discretion says, don’t mess with them. If you are not certain whether the large hornet in your yard is this one or the less prone-to-sting Cicada Killer, just remember that the European Hornet is prominent in the autumn, while the Cicada Killers are all dead by this time of year.

~Gary Hass 2017 Bibliography: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/european-hornets http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/european-hornet https://ag.tennessee.edu/EPP/Extension%20Publications/European%20Hornets%20Tapping%20at%20Your%20Window%20at%20Night.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hornet http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/outdoors/2006/09/24/Wildlife-European-hornets-a-fall-pest/stories/200609240215

DEADLINE FOR ONLINE HOURS IS EARLY THIS YEAR!! Dec 15th!!!!

And it is an absolute date without exceptions. Volunteer hours that miss this deadline are lost and untracked for all of eternity.

Please follow the dates listed below. If you have not started entering your hours or are having an issue, please email me at dgracew@comcast.net I will work with you to make sure your hours count for you and the state Master Gardener program.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 -- Deadline for Master Gardeners to enter hours. If you know you have MG service hours planned after that final date, the system will allow you to enter these anticipated activities early. Go ahead and enter your service activities, served between December 15 and December 31, before the deadline of December 15!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22 -- Deadline for coordinators to approve hours.

Eek! There are giant yellowjackets on my fall fruit harvest!

DEADLINES for entering MG Volunteer Hours

https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/european-hornets

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DECEMBER 23, 2017 TO JANUARY 5, 2018 -- No one can access the online system.

JANUARY 6, 2018 -- Site opens up for Master Gardeners to access for 2018 hours.

Thank you all for your hard work as Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners contribute in a great way to the State of Maryland!

~ Grace Wyatt 2000

by Caitlin Finnerty

Chesapeake Bay Program https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/six_chesapeake_bay_animals_best_seen_in_winter

The sky is gray, the wind blows cold, and all the earth seems devoid of life. It’s winter in the Chesapeake Bay region. But if you venture outside, you’ll likely catch a glimpse of many critters that are most common during the coldest months. Some of these animals only visit our region this time of year. (That’s right – they actually like our winters!) Get your winter critter-fix by learning about these six beautiful Bay animals. Then leave us a comment letting us know about your favorite wintering Chesapeake Bay critter! 1. Lion’s mane jellyfish Chesapeake Bay locals experience their fair share of sea nettle stings during summer swims. But very few of us have been stung by a lion's mane jellyfish: the largest known jellyfish species in the world! Thank goodness that these jellyfish only visit the Bay from January to April. But if you're doing a Polar Bear Plunge, be careful! Lion’s mane jellyfish prefer to hang out in the northern latitudes, and travel to the Bay in the winter because the water temperature is appropriate. The further north you travel, the larger the lion’s mane jellyfish becomes! The largest recorded specimen washed up along a beach in Massachusetts in 1870, had a bell (body) with a diameter of 7.5 feet and tentacles 120 feet long. 2. Tundra Swan Sure it gets cold here in the winter, but it’s even colder in the Arctic! That’s why these beautiful white waterfowl take refuge in the Chesapeake Bay from late October to March. Tundra swans, also known as whistling swans, breed in the Arctic and subarctic tundra's pools, lakes and rivers. They fly in a V formation at altitudes as high as 27,000 feet before arriving at their wintering habitat, which is usually coastal marshland and grassland. Looking for a place to view tundra swans? The coast is best (I've seen them near Salisbury as well as Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge in Rock Hall, Maryland), but if you're inland, you may be in luck, too! Last winter, I was lucky enough to see a flock at Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge in Laurel, Maryland. 3. Bald Eagle The bald eagle is not only the national emblem of the United States, but also the face of an environmental movement born out of its near extinction. Pesticides (particularly DDT) and increased development left this beautiful raptor on the brink in the mid-20th century. But bald eagles have since made a remarkable comeback, enough so that the federal government removed them from the "threatened" species list in 2007. Winter provides an excellent opportunity to view bald eagles. They are often found perched on the highest branch in loblolly pine forests, scouting for prey in nearby fields and wetlands. Although these birds prefer

Six Chesapeake Bay animals best seen in winter

Derek Keats, Wikipedia.org

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areas that are not human-heavy, one bald eagle family moved into Harlem in New York City last February. Closer to the Chesapeake, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, Maryland, and the Conowingo Dam near Port Deposit, Maryland, are excellent places to view bald eagles in big numbers. 4.Canvasback If you see large, reddish-brown heads out on the Bay this winter, they may be canvasbacks! These diving ducks spend winter in the Chesapeake Bay before returning to the Prairie Pothole region to breed. Why do they fly across the Mississippi River Valley to splash around in the Chesapeake all winter? One reason may be food: the canvasback (Aythya valisineria) was given a scientific name for its fondness of wild celery (Vallisneria americana).

However, diminished populations of wild celery and other bay grasses has meant decline in "Can" populations, too. In the 1950s, the Chesapeake Bay was home to 250,000 wintering canvasbacks – about half of the entire North American population. Today, only about 50,000 winter in the Bay. But these numbers seem to be increasing. You may be able to spot "Cans" in places like Pickering Creek Audubon Center in Easton, Maryland and York River State Park in Williamsburg, Virginia.

5. Bobcat Unlike most mammals, bobcats don't hibernate during the winter. In fact, female bobcats increase their home range during the coldest time of year, meaning there's a greater chance one will end up near you! These cats start breeding between January and March, when males begin travelling to visit females. These winter warriors also have padded paws, which act like snow boots to protect them from the cold weather. They are excellent hunters and are most active during dusk (before sunset) and dawn (before the sunrises), often travelling between 2 and 7 miles in one night! Bobcats may be found in Spruce Knob and Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, and other natural areas in the northern and western portions of the watershed. 6. Northern cardinal A brilliant flash of red can brighten up any dreary winter scene. The northern cardinal is a permanent resident of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and its plumage never dulls like some birds. The female cardinal is one of the only female birds that sings, although it is usually during spring, when she tells the male what to bring back to the nest for their young. In the winter, cardinals can be seen foraging for seeds in dense shrubs near the ground, usually in pairs. So take a hike and find a few of these wonderful winter sites! Pictures from Joyce Browning’s birding hike on Monday 12/5 around Hart-Miller Island State Park

Frank Schulenburg, Wikipedia.org

Tundra Swans and uncommon Snow Buntings

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The Harford County Extension Office is moving December 14 & 15 to the new location at 3524 Conowingo Road, Street Maryland, 21154. Our phone number remains unchanged. During the move we will be out of computer service from about December 12 to December 20. Since we are the first group to move in the newly renovated building I expect there will be challenges and hurdles. We expect the new office to be fully prepared to serve walk-in’s by the last week of January.

The next Master Gardener Training course is planned for March 4 - May 9, 2018 on Wednesdays from 12:30-4:00 pm at the new Harford Co. Agricultural Center (our new office name). Currently six gardeners have been approved for the class and ten are in process. With this nice number of 2018 applicants we probably won’t run another wide publicity campaign. We ran advertisements in the Aegis and Delta Star in November. But please do pass the word that we have a few more chairs available!

All Master Gardener meetings are cancelled until the Steering Committee Meeting January 25. No December steering committee meeting.

No monthly January 4 meeting. Cancelled due to the move.

The new office will be closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Everyone enjoy this special season of the year! Joyce Browning

December 9, 2017, 2:00 p.m. Lecture: “A Wilder Garden”, Winterthur, Wilmington, DE Join author Marta McDowell for lessons from The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, a world of prairie, forest, farm, and garden. Book signing to follow. Free. http://www.winterthur.org/?p=950 December 9, 2017, 1:00 p.m. Conifers and the Winter Garden, Winterthur, Wilmington, DE Formerly known as the Second Saturdays Garden Walk, these walks are on the second Saturday of each month, year-round at 1:00 pm (unless otherwise noted). All walks begin and end at the Visitor Center and are free for Members and included with admission. Join Winterthur’s Director of Garden & Estate Chris Strand on a special walk highlighting interesting and seldom seen parts of the Winterthur landscape! Walks last about 90 minutes. Be sure to dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, an update message will be left at 302.888.4915 approximately 3 hours before the walk. http://www.winterthur.org/?p=1192

Training Opportunities

Harford County Office Move

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Calendar of Events December 5 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Brightview Brightview December 7 6:00 p.m. MG Holiday Party Liriodendron December 16 10:15 a.m. – noon Garden Series – Holiday

Plants Bel Air Library

December 25 Christmas Office Closed December 28 Cancelled MG Steering Committee

Meeting Cancelled

January 1 New Year’s Day Office Closed January 4 Cancelled Jan. Monthly Meeting Cancelled

January 25 10 am -noon Steering Committee Ag Center in

Street

Joyce Browning

Urban Horticulturist Master Gardener

Coordinator Harford County Office

The University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources programs are open to all and will not

discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry or national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

The Maryland Master Gardener Mission Statement

The Maryland Master Gardener mission is to support the University of Maryland Extension by educating Maryland residents about safe effective and sustainable horticultural practices

that build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities.

Our new office: Harford Co. Agricultural Center 3525 Conowingo Road Street MD, 21154