MG Newsletter

Growing Places
The Newsletter of The Morgan County Master Gardener Association
June 2016
Volume 19, Number 06
Executive Committee: 2nd Wednesday at 9:30am
Program Committee: 1st Wednesday at 10:30am
and a word from our President …….
I would like to announce to everyone that Cathi Rupard has
resigned from the Vice President position but will remain an
active member of the Master Gardeners. She has done an
outstanding job in this position and will be missed. I will be
looking for someone to fill this position. Cathi has scheduled all
of the potlucks and annual dinner for the remainder of this year,
so anyone stepping into this position won't have a lot to do. This
position will only need to be filled until the end of the year as
we will have elections for officers at the annual dinner in
October. If you think you might be interested or have any
questions, please let me know.
The end of winter certainly made its presence known as it
damaged new growth and froze tender blossoms. But with the
weather starting to turn hot and the abundance of rain,
everything is growing here in leaps and bounds. While I won't
have a crop of certain fruits because of the frost, I have taken
this as an opportunity to branch out and try new things. My trees
are heavily mulched every year and so the soil around them has
been improved. I am trying my hand (or shovel) at planting a
mini-garden around a couple of the trees and in pots on the
deck. Only time will tell if this is successful, but as the old
saying goes “There are no gardening mistakes, only
experiments” ~ Janet Kilburn Phillips. I am always looking to
the future of what could and hopefully will be, as planting a tree
is practicing optimism and patience.
Four of us carpooled to Andre Viette's nursery and had a great
time. He had a nice presentation and gave a tour of the gardens
of daylilies and peonies. We made a side trip to Edible
Landscaping on the way back. This nursery sells only edible
plants and trees. If you have any ideas of places to visit, please
let me know.
continued next page ….
Food Pantry Item: Saltine Crackers
The Food Pantry Item of the month is the one
needed the most but any and all food items or
cash donations are greatly appreciated.
Thank You for your continued support.
Calendar at a Glance
June:
Sundays @ 10am-2pm—Farmers Market
15th @ 1pm—Plant Fair follow-up meeting
22nd @ 10am—Library Garden Clean-up
25th @ 5pm—Potluck—Shelley & Gray
Jones
__________________________________
July:
Sundays @ 10am-2pm—Farmers Market
12th @ 5pm—Potluck—Jaanine Glascockdepending upon corn harvest
21st 4-7pm—Morgan County Fair (MCF)—
Horticultural entries accepted
22nd 9am-noon—MCF—Horticultural
entries accepted
22nd morning—MCF—preparing flower
bouquets for Flower Hunt
22nd afternoon—MCF—set up Garden Rm
23rd @ 10am-5pm—MCF—fair
23rd @ 5pm—MCF—take-down
27th @ 10am—Library Garden Clean-up
__________________________________
August:
Sundays @ 10am-2pm—Farmers Market
18th @ 5pm—Potluck—Ann Darling
24th @ 10am—Library Garden Clean-up
__________________________________
September:
Sundays @ 10am-2pm—Farmers Market
Newsletter Editor
Donna Kuehn
[email protected]
Presidents Comments—continued ……
This organization only works when we all pull together. I would like to see
more people volunteering for some of the commitments we are engaged in.
We are all busy, but this organization cannot continue to operate without
continued participation from its members. In closing let me say that I
personally have about 400 volunteer hours to date. I am sure I am not alone in
this. Please consider helping to ease the load to keep this organization
running.
Molly Farrow, President
Committee Notes:
Potlucks:
June 25th at 5pm -- RESCHEDULED -- Shelley & Gray Jones—
remember to bring a chair
July 12th at 5pm—Jaanine Glascock—depends upon corn harvest
August 18 at 5pm—Ann Darling
September 20th at 4pm—Cacapon State Park, CCC Pavilion
November 18th at noon—Senior Center Potluck & Workday
December TBA—Holiday Party—Dee Fournier
For directions to any Potluck, call the Extension Office.
Plant Fair Follow-up Meeting:
The follow-up meeting for the Plant Fair will take place at the
Extension Office on June 15th at 1pm.
OFFICE
OFFICE INFORMATION
INFORMATION
WVU Extension Service
WVU
Extension
Morgan
County Service
Office
Morgan
County
Office
129 Fairfax Street
129
Fairfax
StreetWV 25411
Berkeley
Springs,
Berkeley
Springs, WV 25411
Phone: 304-258-8400
Phone:
304-258-8400
Office Hours: 8am–5pm Mon–Fri
Office
Hours:
8am–5pm
Mon–Fri
Extension
Agent:
Cindy Smalley
Admin. Assistant: Susan Waugh
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President: Molly Farrow
304-258-9742
[email protected]
Vice President:
VACANT
Secretary: Sherry Talbert
301-992-7545
[email protected]
Treasurer: Jaanine Glascock
304-258-0584
[email protected]
Past President : Dee Fournier
304-258-5899
[email protected]
——————————————————————-
Farmers Market:
To volunteer at the Farmers Market, call the Extension Office at
304-258-8400 or Molly Farrow at 304-258-9742.
Library Garden Clean-up:
The next scheduled library clean-up date will be June 22 at 10am.
Remember to bring gloves & tools.
STATE BOARD REPS.
Darlene Brown-Lindner
[email protected]
Chrissy Abruzzi
[email protected]
Gardenside Chats:
September TBD
location at Molly Farrow’s orchard
Fall Pruning by Dr. Mira Danilovich
If you have a topic you would like to see presented, contact Susan
Jones at [email protected].
STANDING COMMITTEES
Program:
VACANT
Finance: Jaanine Glascock
304-258-0584
[email protected]
Public Relations: Sherry Talbert
301-992-7545
[email protected]
Volunteer/Membership:
Sherry Talbert
301-992-7545
[email protected]
Education: Phyllis Hagstad
304-258-7775
[email protected]
Morgan County Fair:
Venue: Berkeley Springs High School
Dates:
 Thursday, July 21st 4-7pm—registered entries brought to
the Horticulture Room
 Friday, July 22nd morning—put together flower bouquets for
Flower Hunt
 Friday, July 22nd 9am-noon—registered entries brought to
the Horticulture Room
 Friday, July 22nd afternoon—Garden Room set-up
 Saturday, July 23rd 10am-5pm—assist at the Fair in the
Garden Room & Horticulture Room
 Saturday, July 23rd 5pm-finished—take-down & clean-up
Growing Places
——————————————————————-
2
Committee Notes—continued:
Morgan County Fair—continued:
The Horticulture Room:
Only Morgan County Residents are eligible to enter items in the fair. Enter a vegetable, herb, potted
plant, or even a cut flower from your garden. Then come visit the Fair to see how your entry stacks
up against others. All entries must be registered by Thursday, July 21st. For complete rules and to
enter, stop by the Extension Office or see www.morgan.ext.wvu.edu/events/morgan_county_fair
The Garden Room:
The theme for the Garden Room will be “Native Plants.”
The Crazy Container:
The “Crazy Container” contest will be open to all Morgan County residents this year. The pressure is
on to create the most unusual “Crazy Container.”
Community Volunteer Day Honorees
Molly Farrow (shown with husband Mike) was
honored by the Master Gardeners.
Photos and
caption by
Phyllis Hagstad
Joyce Morningstar (with husband Lee) were honored
for their contribution to the MC community garden.
Not pictured but also receiving honors were Gail Potter, Linda McGraw, and Norman Dean.
June—Gardening Hints from the WVU Calendar












Monitor garden for pests
Begin control measures for squash & vine borer & cucumber beetles
Check for bagworms & begin control
Prune raspberry canes after fruiting
Deadhead annuals to encourage more flowers
Prune spring-flowering shrubs
Renovate strawberries after harvest
Pinch back garden mums
Install trellises for climbers: tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers, and ornamentals
Treat lawn for white grubs
Prune pine trees
After the normal fruit drop from your fruit trees, consider further thinning if crop is large
Growing Places
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Broaden Your Horizons through Education…
Morgan County Master Gardener
Penn State Extension
Gardenside ChatsREG
Franklin County Master Gardeners
Jun 16
Jun 17
Jun 21
Jun 25
July 7
July 9
6:30-8:30pm
7:00-9:00pm
6:30-8:30pm
9:00-11:00am
6:00-8:00pm
9:00-11:00am
Flower Arranging Workshop II
Roses 103—Grow to Show
Pesticides for Home Gardeners
Railroad Gardening Class
Daylilies Class
Curbside to Country Road:
Designing Butterfly Gardens
July 12 6:30-8:30pm Extending the Harvest and
Saving Seeds Class
July 23 9:00am-Noon Herbal Tea Class
July 30 9:00-11:00am Simply Succulents
Aug 30 6:30-8:30pm Chile Head 101 Class
Sept 10 9:00-11:00am Turfgrass Class
Sept 17 9:00-11:00am Bulbs: Planting & Forcing Class
Sept 20 6:30-8:30pm Black Gold for the Garden,
Compost Class
Sept 24 9:00-11:00am Dig, Divide & Multiply
Oct 1 9:00am-Noon Crafting with Succulents Class
Oct 15 9:00-11:00am Corn Husk Wreath & Doll
Workshop
Nov 1 6:30-8:30pm Worms Eat My Homework
Nov 5 9:00-11:00am Passive Solar Backyard
Greenhouses Class
Dec 1 6:30-8:30pm Fresh Holiday Wreath
Dec 2 6:30-8:30pm Kissing Ball Workshop
Dec 3 9:00-11:00am Fresh Holiday Centerpiece
Dec 3 1:00-3:00pm Fresh Holiday Wreath
Pre-registration is required for all classes.
For further information, including course location and
cost, or to register for any of the workshops,
call 717-263-9226
or e-mail [email protected]
Washington County (MD) Master Gardener
Washington County Ag Center, Boonsboro, MD
Jul 16
8am-noon
Caring for Perennials
$10
ISTRAT
IO
N
IS UND
Sept TBD
at Molly Farrow’s orchard
ERWAY
Fall Pruning by Dr. Mira Danilovich
Belle Grove Plantation
$25 each
Jun 15 2-4pm Thyme for Herbs
Jul 10 2-4pm Mid-Summer Garden Whimsy
Aug 21 2-4pm Gardening in Miniature/Fairies Love
Broken Pots!
Registration due 9 days before class
To register or for more info: bellegrove.org/calendar
29th Annual Master Gardener College
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
June 24-27
$ 175
www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/mastergardener/index.html
Penn State Extension
Bee Workshops
FREE
Franklin County Ag Heritage Building
185 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA
June 30 7-9pm Summer Newbie Workshop
Hands-on workshop—harvesting honey, capping,
refractometers, extracting equipment, food grade,
staining, moisture contents, bottling, labeling,
understanding dearth, and when to feed
July 28 7-9pm Fall Newbie Workshop
Getting ready for winter—preparing hives for
winter, covering, making cozies, moving, feeding,
making fondant and candy, hive weight
Sept 29 7-9pm Beginning Beekeeping
Introduction to the honey bee, resources, time
requirements and an overview of tools, equipment,
start-up costs and ordering bee packages
For direction or more information, call 717-263-9226
extension.umd.edu/washington-county/home-gardening/classes-events
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Upcoming Conferences
WV Master Gardeners Association
mastergardeners.ext.wvu.edu/
2017 West Virginia MG Conference
March 24-26, 2017
Stonewall Resort, Roanoke, WV
Morgan County Master Gardeners
2017 International MG Conference
July 10-14, 2017
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon
http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/2017imgc/
morgan.ext.wvu.edu/ag/master_gardeners
www.facebook.com/pages/Morgan-CountyWest-Virginia-Master-GardenerAssociation/1399078303676054
Notes from the 2016 West Virginia Master Gardener Conference
By Chrissy Abruzzi, MC MG State Representative
Last month, when I heard we were still short a representative to the State Board, I happily volunteered to fill that
role. Silly me; I hadn’t realized the annual statewide Master Gardener conference was only a little over a week
away! Holy cow! What did I get myself into? Thanks to Molly, Dee and Phyllis though, I was able to figure out how
to get registered and make last-minute hotel arrangements. Taking that Friday off of work allowed me to get down
to Lewisburg in time to take part in one of the pre-conference tours. (I went on the Greenbrier Valley Brewing
Company and Smooth Ambler Distillery tour. If people only knew how much fun we Master Gardeners have,
everyone would want to join us!)
As the new representative, I was a little apprehensive about what would be expected of me during the Quarterly
and Annual Board Meetings, and again Dee came to my rescue. She helped me understand how the board and
committees worked and brought me up to speed on ongoing topics and issues. I chose to participate in the
Communications Committee where we talked about how we could use social media (like Facebook) to support our
education outreach efforts. Several committee members agreed to do some investigation and come up with a
proposal (possible subcommittee of the Board?) to be presented at a future meeting. In the meantime, if you
would like more information about what is being considered, give me a call or send me an email.
I spent the rest of the weekend attending classes and getting to know other Master Gardeners from across the
state. Obviously, I learned a lot more than I can capture here, but there were some specific items I wanted to
report to you.
Did you know for instance, that effective the 2016 reporting period, the volunteer and instruction hour requirements have been increased? This took me by surprise, especially since the activity log form I had just downloaded
from the state website included the old requirements! The new requirements are:
For Initial Certification: 40 hours of instruction & 40 volunteer hours
Annual Recertification: 10 hours of instruction & 20 volunteer hours
Also, the venue for next year’s Annual Conference was announced and I, for one, cannot wait. The 2017 WV Master
Gardener Conference is going to be held March 24-26, 2017 at the Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, WV. You can make
your reservations right away at a discounted rate. For more information, go to:
http://mastergardeners.ext.wvu.edu/wvmga/annual-conference. For those of you who have not attended an
annual conference before, I encourage you plan to attend next year. I had a lot of fun while learning about some
very interesting gardening topics.
Feel free to reach out to me ([email protected] or 304-947-7465) if you have any questions or would like
more information about something I reported here. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you at our booth at the
Farmers Market or at one of the upcoming Potlucks.
Growing Places
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Spittlebug
Philaenus spumarius
Spittlebug is named for the nymphs which cover themselves with a protective
frothy material that looks like human spittle.
Stages of Development
 Egg—laid in late summer and left to overwinter on plant debris; the small
eggs are laid in rows, usually in hidden parts of the plants, such as
nymph
between the leaves and stems; eggs hatch in early spring
 Nymphs—wingless green; after hatching, the nymphs go through
five stages before becoming adults; the nymphs attach themselves to a plant
and start feeding
 Adult—dull-colored tan, brown or black and about 1/8 - 1/4 inch long, with
wings; adult faces resemble frogs and sometimes are called Froghoppers;
they jump or fly when disturbed
 usually only one generation per year
Damage to Plants:
spittle
 nymphs feed on plant sap, which can distort or stunt herbaceous plants, but are generally harmless
Feed Upon:
 junipers and pine trees are spittlebug favorites, but they feed on a wide
variety of plants including strawberries, legumes and various flowers like
goldenrod
 Meadow spittlebug: is found throughout the United States; it feeds
primarily on herbaceous plants, but also occurs on conifers and young
woody deciduous plants; nymphs are yellow to green beneath their
foaming mass of spittle; adults are robust and tan, black, or mottled
Froghopper
brownish
David Cappaert, Bugwood.org
 Pine Spittlebug: mainly found in the western United States; commonly
on conifers and the plants that typically grow under them; nymphs are dark greenish, brown, or black,
sometimes with lighter spots or a pink abdomen; adults are brownish orange to dark brown and may have
an indistinct diagonal white line across the back; pine spittlebug is classified as Aphrophora permutata
Spittlebugs are Related to:
 aphids and cicadas, which also suck plant juices with their needlelike mouthparts
 Leafhoppers, which have broader bodies
Control:
 nymphs and their spittle can be washed off a plant with a forceful stream of water
 time—they will all be gone in a few weeks
 in extreme infestations, spittlebugs can cause stunting and weaken plants or reduce
yields; if you should have a severe infestation, remove plant debris in the fall and till
the soil to reduce egg population
Growing Places
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Spittlebugs—continued:
Spittle is:
 a mixture of watery waste; air, which is blown through abdominal
openings to make bubbles; and a glandular secretion.
 spread by the hind legs of the bugs to cover themselves
 secreted from the rear end of the bug
 for:
 protection from parasitic and predaceous insects
 insulating the bugs from extreme temperatures
 preventing dehydration
Interesting Tidbits:
 there are about 850 species of spittlebugs are known worldwide,
and 23 species are distributed throughout North America.
 more than one nymph may be found in a single spittle mass
References: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froghopper
all photos unless noted by
Donna Kuehn
www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/spittlebug/
gardening.about.com/od/insectpestid/a/Spittlebugs.htm
On the Importance of Volunteering …...
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
~Cynthia Ozick
Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.
~Elizabeth Andrew
The breeze, the trees, the honey bees — All volunteers! ~Juliet Carinreap
REMINDER:
electronic submissions for the newsletter
are due by the 12th of the month
Disclaimer: Editor reserves the right to edit or withhold from publication any submission for any reason whatsoever.
Programs and activities offered by the West Virginia University Extension Service are available to all persons
without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religions, age, veteran status, political beliefs, sexual orientations,
national origin, and martial or family status. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8
and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Director, Cooperative Extension
Service, West Virginia University. West Virginia University is governed by the Board of Trustees.
Copyright © 2016 The Morgan County Master Gardener Association, All rights reserved.
This newsletter, articles, or photos may not be copied or reproduced without the appropriate author’s consent.
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