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As the Garden Grows

A Publication of the Gonzales Master Gardeners Gonzales, Texas

December 2013 Volume 3, Issue12

Volunteers of the Year

The board was proud to honor not just one but two of our Master Gardeners with awards for their service this year. Irene Rinehart and Bill Storey were recognized for their leadership and volunteerism. Irene and Bill have teamed up on several important projects, including the WIC Garden and the Greenhouse, sharing the burden and helping each other out. In addition, Irene is serving as a Class Assistant this year. Bill is always there when needed—doing all those less glamorous things like installing water lines and fixing leaks. Join us in honoring their service!!! Congratulations, Bill and Irene.

Congratulations

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Winter Social

Master Gardeners held our winter social this month. Shirley cooked the turkey and gravy and Fran cooked the ham. Everyone brought a little side dish and we had a wonderful lunch—despite the incoming cold front! These opportunities to sit together and share a meal and each other’s company are always one of my favorite times of year. It reminds us that we are Master Gardeners not just because we serve our community but because we enjoy each other’s company.

A Thought from Gail

WOW!! Fall is over. And it sure was a busy one. A new class started. Children’s Garden. Second Grade and the Parts of a Plant. Black Walnuts. Grow Teams. Moldy gourds. New building sign finally up. The greenhouse filled to overflowing. WIC Garden humming along. And let’s not forget, finally, the kind of recognition you deserve. Five Texas Master Gardener Association awards. A very packed fall. By my reckoning, you reached over 600 children. Many of them more than once. Master Gardeners are special people with lots of energy and lots to give. But please don’t forget to give to yourself—and your families and friends. So at this very special time of year, take some time off from all your busy labors and enjoy the season—and rest. Spring will be here before you know it. The Plant Sale is right around the corner!! And thank you all for everything you do for the community. Good job, Master Gardeners. Good Job. And Merry Christmas.

3 Visiting the Children's Garden

(Submitted by Fran Saliger)

The first graders from East Avenue visited their gardens on November 20 and 21 to see how the vegetables were growing. They were surprised to see everything growing so well. They measured the leaves and the height of their vegetable plants and were amazed at how big they had gotten. Then the fun began has they started to harvest their “Easter Egg” radishes (some were as big as Easter eggs but their many colors were also a hit). Then onto picking lettuce and spinach. The carrots and broccoli were not ready to harvest. The volunteers took all the produce back to FSB, washed, and prepared the vegetables for an afternoon snack of salad with Ranch dressing.

Another harvest date was planned for December 12 & 13 in hopes that the broccoli and carrots would be ready to harvest, but the weather was too bad for the first graders to come. There was still plenty of lettuce and some radishes and spinach to be harvested and another afternoon snack of salad went to school!! Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped with the harvest and vegetable preparation. Stay tuned to your emails about a future harvest date in January 2014 before we start to plan for the spring gardens!

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Second Graders Study Leaves (Submitted by Gail Johnson)

The Second Grade was back at Fair Street to continue their studies of the parts of a plant with an up-close look at leaves. Students learned what part of the plant makes the food. They shared a book reading of Plants Make Their Own Food and examined and drew a leaf. The leaf was lettuce from the Eggleston Children’s Garden. Most of them fondly remembered their vegetable garden from last year and told us that they love salad. In fact, most of them would have been happy to eat the leaf after they finished their drawing!!! The students reported on the lima bean experiment from the first session (which will need some improvement next year!) They learned many big words like chlorophyll, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and

photosynthesis but several were stumped by the spelling of “leaf!” In this session, the project team scheduled all of the classes in a single day and while it took some coordination by the team, it worked quite well to have all six sessions in one day. Thanks to Nancy, Arline, Fran, Sandy, Shirley, Robin and Cheryl for all their help in planning and executing Session 2 of The Parts of a Plant.

Black Walnut Tree Project (Submitted by Nancy Foster)

The GISD third graders planted over 220 black walnut seeds on November 13th - what an accomplishment for all involved – Master Gardener volunteers; Gonzales Elementary principal, teachers, and students, and community businesses!

5 The students were asked to look, listen, and raise their hands when they recognized TEKS key words from social studies and science studies incorporated into the black walnut audiovisual presentation. The presentation showed the students Augustus Kleine’s trip from Germany to Gonzales and how Mr.

Kleine became a valuable citizen of Gonzales through his carpentry business and the special quality of his black walnut furniture. Key words such as environmental change, drought, floods, soil, air, resource loss, and pollution were included in a discussion of the loss of black walnuts in Gonzales. The children learned that by planting black walnut seeds, they can become resource conservationists and make a difference in their own environment.

Texas Forestry Service staff Kari Hines and Linda Drabek were on hand to talk about the rewards of working outdoors in Texas’ forests

and to show a tree cross section that Kari called her tree cookie. Carl Bauer showed the students samples of black walnut wood and talked about black walnut lumber.

Each student planted a black walnut seed in an especially deep seed pot pre-filled with soil. (Just like Mother Nature would do it—half the depth of the seed!) Since many of the students were among the initial group of first graders to plant in the Children’s Garden, the presentation built on those experiences to compare and contrast vegetable seeds with tree seeds. The seed pots will stay at the south end of the greenhouse, so they will be in an environment similar to nature. The students can watch them grow from their playground, but were warned not to expect much before Easter.

Thanks to the plastic milk crates lent by HEB, students could easily plant four pots at a time and volunteers could transport them. A team of volunteers moved milk crates filled with pots from the growing area outside in and out of the classroom.

All the people who collected and prepared the seeds, planned the program, organized the event, and participated in the event were terrific! Thanks to the GMG volunteers: Carl Bauer, David DeMent, Julie Fairchild, Cheryl Hillman, Lynette Jarrett, Gail and Jim Johnson, Sandy Llewellyn, Susan Moncrief, Cheryl Nance,

Irene Rinehart, Pam St. John, Arline Rinehart Schacherl, Dee Dee Sengelmann, Mary Shafer, Jo and

6 Ron Swiger, and Carolyn Whitmire. Thanks to Ms. Iley, GISD elementary principal for the second through fourth grades, and Ms. Nerada, the third grade coordinator, for selecting key words from third grade TEKS social studies and science curriculum. Thanks also to Kari Hines and Linda Drabek of the State of Texas Forestry Service, who helped inspire the children about the pleasures of working to conserve our wooded environment. And thanks to local businesses: Ross Tieken for samples of black walnut, HEB for loaning the milk crates for handling the tree pots, the County Archives for a

copy of an old newspaper article, and Reese Printing for laminating the document to preserve it for future use. Again, special recognition is due to all the GMG volunteers who made this complex process work so well!

Greenhouse News (Submitted by Irene Rinehart)

The MG greenhouse is in full production. Several grow teams as well as the Plant Sale Committee is using the greenhouse. Kudos to you. We have had to lower the curtains for several cold fronts. When the curtains are lowered, we have been getting a 12-degree increase inside. At one point when the curtains had been lowered for 6 days and with the lack of sunshine, we were able to maintain a 6-degree increase inside the GH. We will not lower the GH curtains unless we are expected to have freezing weather. As of today, 12/6/13, a heater has been purchased and installed in the GH. Between the 55-gallon barrels full of water (solar heat) and the electric heater, we should be able to skirt any freezing inside of the GH. In addition, for our final piece of insurance, we have row cover purchased just in case of a low temperature season. The misting table will be completed this month and will be available to be used by any of the grow teams. Thank you for your patience as we get the GH into full production. The GH plants are being checked as well as record keeping in the GH journal. This journal is critical to future management of the GH. Shirley will be the only one to water the cacti and succulents. Thank you volunteers Doyle, Pam, Shirley, Fran, Sandy, and Carl. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Fran. Last week Class 4 learned several management techniques for the GH. 1. Every layer of control brings problems 2. Air movement is needed to prevent disease and insect damage

7 3. Night time temperatures below 50 and above 32 are good for healthy plants 4. Once you have to spray fungicides you will have to continue spraying fungicides. We want to prevent spraying. 5. Spacing between plants will help with disease and insect control.

Vegetable Grow Team

The Vegetable Grow Team had their first meeting on Tuesday, December 3 with ten students/members in attendance. Jim gave a great program on planting Vegetable Seeds. If you missed it, he will be presenting the topic on KWED (Seguin AM Radio Program) on Saturday, January 4th, 2014 at 9 am and on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 1:30 pm at Fair Street. There are seeds (donated by Lowes), potting soil and pots available for propagating vegetable plants for the Spring Plant Sale. Contact Jim Johnson if you have any questions.

Other Grow Teams Perennial/Native along with Trees/Shrubs, Houseplants/Tropical Plants and Succulents/Cacti Grow Teams will meet December 16 at 9am to continue the process of propagating plants. Despite the cold windy days, the plants in the Greenhouse are holding their own. Let us know if you are propagating at home by completing the form provided in your emails. If you have any questions, contact Fran Saliger or Shirley Fraizer.

The Great Cold Frame Experiment (Submitted by Gail Johnson)

So David told me that most of us really don’t need a greenhouse—just a cold frame. Having grown up in the tropics, cold wasn’t much of an issue for my early gardening education and learning to deal with winter has been a lifelong effort. Jim and I have often thought about a greenhouse but we really only need it a few months of the year and the rest of the time, it would just be something else to keep

8 clean and repaired. Of course, I had heard that greenhouses get really hot in the summer and well, frankly, I just couldn’t really get my arms around all of this until I heard David’s greenhouse lecture last year. Oh! Passive greenhouse. Cold frame. I thought maybe that’s the answer. Anyway, David said some hay bales and some old windows and you’re in business. So, I’ve done it—with a lot of help from Jim. Ten bales of hay and three old windows that Dee gave me and I’m all set up. I put three shelves in it propped up on some old concrete bricks to get the plants off the ground. I don’t have any plants in it yet. Right now, I’m studying the temperature. On cold, cloudy days, I’m getting about 6 to 8 degrees from it. Now, sunny days—that’s another matter. I checked it about 11 am today. It was 114 degrees in there. Fried green tomatoes anyone? So, I separated the windows. Even after six hours, it was 76 in the cold frame while 58 outside. I’ll keep you posted.

Cooking What We Grow (Submitted by Sandy Llewellyn)

I have made many marinara sauces and this is by far my favorite for sure. It has a saltiness, spiciness, depth and is rich in flavor. The dried tomatoes add the thickness. Grate good parmesan cheese on top and for more protein add grilled shrimp or fish.

Puttanesca Pasta Sauce:

Ingredients: 1 Tbsp. olive oil 2 Tbsp. kosher salt or 4 tsp. regular salt¼ cup minced garlic (about 24 cloves) 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar1- 2oz. can oil-packed flat anchovy fillets, 3 cups pitted Kalamata, olives, cut into slivers drained and chopped 1 cup snipped fresh oregano2 to 3 tsp. crushed red pepper 2- 3.5 oz. jars capers, rinsed and drained (3/4 cup total)12 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled 1 Tbsp. finely shredded lemon peel1 cup dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), snipped 7 Tbsp. lemon juice3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar

1. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat; add garlic, anchovies, and crushed red pepper. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until fragrant. Remove from heat. 2. Cut peeled tomatoes into chunks; add some of the chunks to a food processor. Cover and process until chopped. Transfer chopped tomatoes to a 7-8 quart stainless steel, enamel, or nonstick

9 heavy pot. Working in batches, repeat chopping the remaining tomatoes in the food processor. Add all of the tomatoes to the pot. 3. Add garlic mixture, dried tomatoes, brown sugar, salt, and vinegar to tomatoes in pot. Bring to boiling, stirring frequently; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 70-85 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency (you should have about 11 cups), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in olives, oregano, capers, and lemon peel. 4. Spoon 1 Tbsp. of the lemon juice into each of seven hot sterilized pint-canning jars. Ladle hot pasta sauce into jars with lemon juice, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands. 5. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 35 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. Makes 7 pints Serving suggestions: Serve the sauce over pasta such as penne, linguine, bucatini or fusilli. Top with drained, oil-packed tuna; poached or broiled fish fillets; or sautéed shrimp and/or steamed mussels. Sprinkle with finely shredded Parmesan cheese and snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley. Per ¼ cup: 44 cal., 2 g fat, 2 mg chol., 433 mg sodium, 7 g carbs., 2 g fiber, 1 g protein

Membership Dues/Recertification Hopefully by now all of you have turned in your membership dues to Alan Marek. If not, do so NOW. Class #1 members should have stopped by the Extension Office with their completed Background Check Forms in order to remain certified. Members should also turn in your hours to Cindy Turner in order to remain certified.

Tip of the Month Now (December and January) is the best time to prune your trees, especially oak trees. The oak wilt spores and the beetles that transmit the disease are most active in the spring.

Plant of the Month (Submitted by Brenda Thompson)

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Common Name: Hen and Chicks, Ghost Plant Family: Crassulaceae Genus: Graptopetalum Species: paraguayense Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade Bloom Time: Grown for foliage but has small white blooms in mid Spring Other details: Drought-tolerant; suitable for xeriscaping; do not overwater - needs good drainage Provides winter interest; Suitable for growing in containers

Area Events (submitted by Brenda Thompson)

Angleton: Brazoria County Master Gardeners Present: Fruit Selection for Brazoria County, Saturday, December 14. This annual seminar on berries, citrus, pomes, and stone fruits includes topics on how-to's, selecting, planting, and harvesting Brazoria County friendly fruit plants. MG Gil Lavanec will present his annual program to help folks select the fruiting plants that grow and produce in our gumbo soil. He will concentrate on citrus and stone fruits and will discuss other taste treats such as blackberries, blueberries, figs and pears (pomes). This program will emphasize the fruits that will be offered at the Fruit and Citrus Tree Sale on February 15. Free to public. Held at Brazoria County Environmental Education Station (BEES), Hospital Drive at CR 171, Angleton. For more information, call: 979-864-1558 x 110 or email Brazoria.agrilife.org/. JANUARY Schertz & Seguin: The Guadalupe Master Gardeners Organization will present "Preparing Your Spring Vegetable Garden" at 2 locations on Saturday January 18, from 9 a.m. to noon. The sessions are conducted by Gardening Specialists, from Guadalupe Master Gardeners. One session will be in Schertz at the Guadalupe County Annex Courtroom, 1101 Elbel Road, with Deedy Wright as the presenter. The same topic will be at the Mary B. Erskine School Cafeteria, 216 East College Street in Seguin. The presenter will be Clara Mae Marcotte. Both sessions will start at 9 a.m. and last until noon. Topics covered at both sessions will be: Vegetable Selection, Garden Soil Preparation, Seed Starting, Cold Weather Protection Methods, and Vegetable Garden Maintenance. Handouts will be proved as part of the fee. The cost of the seminar will be $ 20 at the door. You may buy your tickets at the AgriLife Office, 216 East College Street, Seguin, during normal business hours for $15.00. For more information, please call Bob at 210-289-9997. Conroe: The Montgomery County Master Gardeners are having their annual Fruit and Nut Tree Sale, featuring bare-root fruit trees from apples to pomegranates, pecans and more, on Saturday, January 25, at 9020 Airport Road, Conroe. Program is at 8 a.m.; sale is from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For more information, call 936-539-7824 or visit www.mcmga.com. FEBRUARY:

11 New Braunfels: February 8, 2014, 9 am to 4 pm. New Braunfels Convention Center, 375 South Castell Ave., New Braunfels. “Specialty Gardens in the Landscape”-sponsored by the Comal Master Gardener Association. For more information: http://txmg.org/comal/seminar or email at seminar@ComalMasterGardeners.org MARCH Jacksonville: The Cherokee County Master Gardener Association will hold their annual Spring Conference March 8. The conference will be held at the First Christian Church Fellowship Hall, 1920 Beaumont Street, Jacksonville. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the first speaker will be at 9 a.m. There will be a $10.00 fee which includes drinks, refreshments and a chance to win one of four door prizes. The program will feature three well known respected speakers. Greg Grant is Lecturer in the School of Horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University. He was formerly the Cherokee County Horticulturist with the Texas Cooperative Extension in Rusk. He is also co-author, with William C. Welch, of the book Southern Heirloom Garden, and he is a columnist for Texas Gardener magazine. He has traveled extensively to botanical and public gardens throughout the United States and Europe and is a popular public speaker in the southern United States. Dave Whitinger is the creator of several large and popular websites, most notably Dave's Garden and All Things Plants. He moved to Cherokee County in late 2007 and lives just outside Jacksonville with his wife and 6 children. They have a homestead with extensive gardens, cows, chickens, and various other domestic animals. In addition to being a member of the Cherokee County Master Gardeners, Dave is also a software programmer whose passion is to bring gardeners together and provide them with custom made software tools that both serve gardeners as well as take online gardening to the next level. Keith Hansen has been the Texas AgriLife Horticulturist for Smith County since 1992. Prior to that, he was the extension agent for Nueches County. Keith has a weekly column, "Keeping it Green," in the Tyler Morning Telegraph and has written numerous articles for other publications. For more information, contact Ginny Scurlock at 903-530-8610 or at ginnyscurlock@yahoo.com.

Just think, we could be living in Ft. Worth, TX!

The scene on Friday, December 7, 2014 at the home of Fran’s sister.

DATES TO REMEMBER: (Check elsewhere in newsletter for details)

12 Unless otherwise noted, all meetings/classes are at the Fair Street Building (FSB)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

DECEMBER 8

9 10 Session 2 for 2nd Grade 7:45 till 2:30 pm

11 12 Harvest Eggelston Children’s Garden 8:30-10:30 am

13 Harvest Eggelston Children’s Garden 8:30-10:30 am WIC garden 11 am

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15 16 Propagation in GH 9 am-till finished

17 MG class 8:30-12:30 pm Plant Pathology

18 19 20 WIC garden 11 am

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22 23 24 25

26

27 WIC garden 11 am

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29 30 31 JANUARY 1

2

3 WIC garden 11 am

4 Listen to

Jim Johnson at KWED-9am Vegetable

Seed Planting

5 6 7 MG Class Veg. Gardens D. Rodriguez 8:30-12:30 pm

Veg. GT Meeting 1:30 pm

8 9 Noon MG meeting

10 WIC garden 11 am

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12 13 14 MG Class Trees P. Johnson 8:30-12:30 pm

15 16 17 WIC garden 11 am

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Editors: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office

Fran Saliger 1709 E. Sarah DeWitt Drive

13 fsaliger@gvec.net Gonzales, TX 78629 Gail Johnson Phone: 830-672-8531 gailpjohnson@earthlink.net Fax: 830-672-8532

E-mail: gonzales@ag.tamu.edu

Web pages: http://gonzalesmastergardeners.org

http://gonzales.agrilife.org

Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas cooperating. Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid, service or accommodations in order to participate in this meeting are encouraged to contact the County Extension Office at 830-672-8531 to determine how reasonable accommodations can be made. The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Texas A & M AgriLife Extension Service.