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Essex
& District Horticultural Society Newsletter for June 25th,
2008
Remember
to “Lug a Mug“ to our meetings.
Ontario
Horticultural Association website address:
http://www.gardenontario.org/index.php
To
send photos to our website send to our webmaster, at danhildenbrand@gmail.com
(our
continued thanks to Dan for the fine job he is doing in keeping our
website up to date)
To
contact Master Gardeners with a questions:
essexwindsor@mastergardeners.fastmail.fm
Don’t
forget the E & D HS Flower Show, The Flowers of “Alice in
Wonderland” July 12th, 2008
Essex
United Church Hall 53 Talbot St. Essex, 12 noon to 4
From our President
Hi Everyone:
I hope you are all enjoying your gardens this time of year. It
really is the best time, isn’t it? The rain has certainly made
everything quite lush, in fact it’s been hard to keep the lawn cut and
the weeds down after the weeks that we had storm after storm.
I hope you have been checking
over the Flower Show schedule and you are planning some entries. Please,
please enter, and enter as many categories as you possibly can. We just
have to have entries for people to come and see. Strut your stuff - now is
the time! Most of all just have some fun with it. It does not have to be
perfect to be in the show. Just read the rules carefully and abide by
them. This Alice in Wonderland theme should make your imaginations run
wild. And……we need lots
of volunteers that day Please
let us know if you can help. We also need lots of plants to
sell for the plant sale and lots of “stuff” oh, I mean treasures
for the rummage sale. Also we need baking for the Bake sale. That
will really help us out. If you can possibly bring it in priced that is
even better. It will be a busy day for all of us involved.
The flowers in the downtown beds
are coming along nicely; the rain has really given them a boost. However
it has done the same with the weeds. May I ask each adoptee to check on
their babies, and if any of you who have not adopted a bed could take 10
minutes once in awhile to help get at those weeds in any bed - it doesn't
matter if someone else adopted it - they will appreciate your help because
everyone is busy - it would sure be appreciated. Weeds everywhere are
growing like there is no tomorrow.
I hope some of you are planning to attend the Master
Gardeners Technical Update in September. It will be a fantastic day with
speakers and lunch is included, lots of door prizes and in the morning
muffins, coffee and herbal treats for break. Seats are limited, as it is
in the Willow Room at Colasanti’s. Juliette St. Pierre is taking
reservations and she tells me she has people from Thunder Bay, Toronto and
1 near Guelph coming for the event, so don’t procrastinate. If you want
to go, get it reserved now. That is not a huge room. Give her a call today
at 519-727-6343.
Hope you all enjoyed the bus trip, it was a very hot day
for you but we saw some nice places. Its just great to be in such good
company and with people who enjoy the same things.. Special thanks to Pat
and Kevin Newhouse for their thoughtfulness.
Enjoy your summer vacation and we’ll see you back here
in September - it will once again be seed and plant exchange time so come
prepared. May you all have the very best summer ever and thank you for all
your help this year and every year here in the Club. There would be no
Essex & District Horticultural Society
without all of your many hands. Thanks again, Sandy
Thank you to our President
^TOP^
We wish to thank Sandy Ellenor for a tremendous June 7th
bus trip. Sandy, once again
your hard work paid off and we all had a great time.
We realize that you put many hours of hard work into contacting
people at the places we visit and that you start your plans around
Christmas time the year before! We
appreciate everything you do for the trip, even those darn quizzes on the
way home on the bus!
And speaking of those quizzes, for all those who played
the game this year...the answer to the mystery quote #18 “Curse the
bird” that had somehow gotten lost was.....wait for
it.....................CROCUS !!!
Marie Tiborcz’s Found Garden Project
# 6
What could be cuter? Set in a nook in the garden, a metal
teapot pours water into a set of tiny china cups and saucers. First be
sure that you are locating this feature near an electrical outlet; set a
china set over stones which are covering a liner or small pan set deep
enough into the soil to hold water and a small pond pump.
Run a hose from the pump and through a hole at the bottom of the
tea pot. Bring the hose up
inside to near the spout of the pot.
Place the pot on rocks in such a position that the water pours into
the tea cups.
Dorothy Vriesacker’s Found Timely Tips, Month 5
Dorothy has found an article on using WD-40 for all sorts
of things.
-If you can’t get your rings off, use one spray of
WD-40. They will slide right
off. Remember to wash your
hands and rings thoroughly with soap after wards!
-Use it on garden shears to prevent sticking
-Separate flower pots that are stuck together.
-Spray a little on artificial plants and wipe - makes the
leaves shiny and dust free.
-Spray around the bottom of garbage cans - it will repel
outdoor animals.
-Spray metal garden furniture and wind chimes with it to
prevent rust.
-if your vacuum cord will not rewind into its spot, use a
little WD-40 on it and it will whip back into place.
^TOP^
From
an Ontario Master Gardener - saved from the
Ottawa Citizen newspaper a couple years ago.
Multi-purpose spray for green
worms on roses and to control many other garden pests and diseases
Mix:
1.5 Tbsp Baking Soda 1
Tbsp Insecticidal Soap 1 Tbsp
Cooking oil 17 cups water (
bring mixture up to the 1 gallon line on sprayer)
1 Tbsp vinegar (add last) Mix
ingredients in a sprayer and spray both the tops and bottoms of leaves.
Use weekly to control many pests and diseases.
On a similar vein: From the
April 2008 Organic Gardening Magazine:
Homemade Pest Spray:
Effective control on aphids and Japanese beetles on roses.
Add a few cloves of garlic to a
half gallon of water. Bring
to a boil, let cool and steep overnight.
Strain and fill a sprayer.
Add a few drops of vegetable oil or dish soap which helps the
mixture stick.
Shake the mixture and spray.
From
another Ontario Master Gardener - did you know that several
birds eat the seeds of gout weed and they pass through ready to germinate?
That's why it turns up along fences, under shrubs, etc. just when you
think it's all gone.
Yet another Ontario Master Gardener
had this environmentally safe solution to use in the place of round up.
Apparently it works better than round up.
The recipe was given on a CBC program by the owner of Sweet Grass
Gardens.
1/4
cup salt, 1 L vinegar, 2 teaspoons dish soap.
The vinegar this particular Master Gardener used is called Simply
Clean Vinegar Plus. It apparently is a green cleaner for kitchens and
bathrooms and stronger then cooking vinegar.
An update from the Great Sunflower Project:
^TOP^
THE
BEE HUNT IS ON!------------
*Dear Great Sunflower Gardeners,*
We now have over 32,000 participants across the United States and
Canada! What an amazing response. Thank you.
*Collecting data!* We have had our first data entered into the
website so, the Great Sunflower Project is officially opened for
buzz-ness. We would like everyone try to sample on the first and third
weekend of each month that they have flowers on their plants. That would
mean that if you happened to have gotten seeds early and have flowers now,
we would like to have you sample this upcoming weekend, June 7 or 8. We
are happy to have data from other days if this weekend doesn't work
because of weather or your schedule. You are also welcome to send us data
from every week if you have the time. This is a project where the more
data we get sent, the better the project.
You will want to sample on a warm, not too windy, sunny day. Many
bees do not fly on cloudy days. Pick one sunflower plant and time the bees
come to that plant (not just to one flower on that plant). You are welcome
to stop timing after 30 minutes. Most of the people who have sent in early
data, have not gotten five bees in the thirty minutes. I expect that will
change as the summer progresses. Let us know if you have any questions or if we can be
helpful. You can enter data online or send the data sheet in to us. I'll
also post a fax number on the website for faxing data sheets. *Public Gardens: * If you have a garden that you are
willing to allow the general public to use for participating in our
project, please let us know at sfbee@sfsu.edu. We would then list your garden as
a"public garden" and the address would be visible to anyone who
accessed the website. *Supporting
the Great Sunflower Project or how to spend your rebate!* As a final note,
we've had several people ask how they could make contributions to
supporting the project. Wow, would that help. The money would help us
finish getting the map up on the website, mail out the final seed packets
and most importantly, create ways to make what we are discovering easily
available to you. The university has set up a link for us that you can
find at http://www.greatsunflower.org/en/Support-us.
Thanks! Gretchen The Great Sunflower Project http://www.greatsunflower.org
Slugs are attracted to vegetables growing in straw
mulch. Sprinkle Diatomaceous
Earth around the plants to discourage them.
Their bodies are cut and scratched as they crawl over this earth
and they desiccate. Diatomaceous Earth will not harm warm-blooded animals
or earthworms. Earthworm
farmers use it to treat their worm beds for parasites, fungus, gnat larva
etc. Earth worms are structurally different from insects in that they can
actually digest particles of DE. The particles are then eliminated in
their castings. More
than 270,000 metric tons of DE are extracted annually from a quarry near
Lompoc, California. I recently went looking for Diatomaceous Earth and was
met with stares as if I had two heads!
After speaking to a acquaintance who had just purchased some DE I
found out that the product was actually called Chemfree Insectigone and
contains 80% Diatomaceous Earth. There
is one for ants and one for ”crawlies”.
He had purchased it at Rona in Leamington.
The first day we looked for it without this product name we were at
Rona, TSC and Home Hardware. Once
we had the product name we went back to Rona and found it on our own. It may also be available at the other stores but we did not
go back to check once we found it at Rona. .....Lynn Imeson
^TOP^
We are happy to report that Marie Tiborcz’s knee
operation in Scarborough on Friday June 20th
went very well. She was planning to be back in Essex County by Monday
evening, June 23rd and was already using a walker on Saturday,
June 21st!
On a sad note, Donna Merritt lost her
dad last week. He lived in
the Toronto area.
Thanks
to Connie Couvion for the following recipe:
We enjoyed her cookies at one of our meetings in the
Spring.
Almond Lace Cookies:
Makes about 18 cookies
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sliced almonds, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 F and generously grease 2 large baking
sheets.
Cook brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a 1-quart
saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Remove from heat, then stir in flour and almonds.
Spoon scant tablespoons of batter 6 inches apart on baking
sheets (4 cookies per sheet)
Note: If
batter becomes too stiff to spoon easily, reheat over low heat for 30
seconds.
Bake 1 sheet at a time in middle of oven until golden
brown and bubbling, 6 to 8 minutes.
(Cookies will spread to 5 - 6 inches across)
Cool cookies on sheet 1 to 2 minutes.
Quickly but carefully remove cookies from sheet with a
metal spatula and transfer to a rack to cool completely - If they become
too brittle to transfer, return baking sheet to oven for about 1 minutes
to allow cookies to soften.
Once the cookies are cool enough to take off the baking
sheet place them gently over a rolling pin or wine bottle - just so they
curl slightly - You must work quickly.
^TOP^
Note: Be
sure to cool these cookies before transferring them to a rack - they are
very soft when they first come out of the oven and need a moment to set.
You may wish to take in meetings of
our neighbouring Horticultural Societies
Belle River meets the 3rd
Wednesday of the month at the K of C in Emeryville except July and August;
Their BBQ and flower show is in June.
Fort Malden meets the 4th
Tuesday of the month at the Community building next to the arena in
Amherstburg, except for June, July, August and December.
Kingsville meets the 3rd Monday
of the month at the Lions Club Hall, 21 Mill Street South, except July,
August and December.
Leamington
meets the 3rd Wed. of each month at the Leamington United
Church, 9 John Street except for July and August.
Their December meeting is their annual Christmas dinner
Tilbury
meets the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the Tilbury Area
Public School Library on Mabel St. In Tilbury, except for January, July,
August & December, . Their
annual dinner meeting is in November.
.....And remember that our own
Essex Horticultural meetings are the 4th Wednesday of
the month, not necessarily the last Wednesday of the month.
We do not meet in July, August or December.
All above Horticultural Society
meetings start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise announced.
Coming Events
June 25
General Meeting at Kinsmen Field House 7:30 pm
Speaker: Marg Dudley - Bearded Iris - Everything you want to know
July 6
Belle River Horticultural Society Garden Tour - 11
am - 5 pm
Call Marg Dudley’s cell for details
519 - 979 – 9169
July 6
Kingsville Horticultural Society Garden Tour,
10 am - 4 pm
Meet at the tourist Gazebo on Division S. at the police
station to get your tickets.
Please note
that once again, Leamington Horticultural Society is not having a Garden
Tour.
July 12
Annual Flower Show with the Theme “Alice in Wonderland” at
the Essex United Church during the Fun Fest.
The church will be celebrating its 100th anniversary
that weekend and has invited many guests to participate so we are hoping
for a good crowd. Please
remember to bring in your flowers and arrangements for judging, plants,
baked goods, rummage sale items including used magazines and books,
August 22 - 24 OHA
Convention in Brampton
Sept 9
Directors Meeting at Kinsmen Field House 7:30 pm
Sept 20
Master Gardeners Seminar at Colasanti’s Gardens - open to
everyone - see brochure attached to your February newsletter
Keynote Speaker: Mitchell Hewson, HTM, ‘Horticulture As
Therapy’.
Other speakers include
Joanne Miehls, Master Gardener, Healing the Earth, One Family at a
Time:
Sandy Ellenor, Master Gardener, Healing Herbs for Body and Spirit:
Mary Jo Rusu, The Creating of Healing Gardens:
Call 519-258-7150 ASAP for further details and to sign up
Sept 24
General Meeting at Kinsmen Field House 7:30 pm
Speaker: Lynn Imeson - Pressing flowers
Plant and Seed Exchange
October 14
Directors Meeting at Kinsmen Field House 7:30 pm
October 22
General Meeting at Kinsmen Field House 7:30 pm
Speaker: Alan & Karen Batke - native wild flowers
Silent Auction
Nov 11
Directors Meeting at Kinsmen Field House 7:30 pm
Nov 26
Annual Pot Luck Dinner & Elections of Officers 6:00 pm
Set up at 5:00 pm
Location to be announced
As usual, please bring a dish of
food to be shared, your own (Christmas) place setting, including cutlery,
glasses, cups and plates. Tea,
coffee and other drinks will
be supplied.
Speaker: Representative from Pam’s Flowers, Belle River
^TOP^
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