Five Reasons to Become a Colorado Master Gardener by Patti O'Neal

The Colorado Master Gardener Program in Jefferson County is accepting applications for the 2014 Apprentice Class and the Colorado Gardener Certificate Program.

The Mission of the program states that the:
“Colorado Master Gardener Program volunteer network strives to enhance Coloradans’ quality of life by:
    •    Extending knowledge-based education throughout Colorado communities to foster successful gardeners;
    •    Helping individuals make informed decisions about plants to protect neighborhood environments.
We are committed to using horticulture to empower gardeners, develop partnerships and build stronger communities.”

Hummingbird Moths Worth a Closer Look by Elaine Lockey

photo by Elaine Lockey

While eating dinner recently on a restaurant’s outdoor patio, I noticed something flying around the potted plants.  My first thought was “hummingbird” but something didn’t seem quite right.  On further inspection, it turned out to be an insect resembling a hummingbird.  It wasn’t long before it attracted the attention of many of the other diners. 

This strange insect that acts like a hummingbird is commonly called a “hummingbird moth”.  Sphinx moths and hawk moths are the common name for many of the hornworms, but there are several different species that can also be called hummingbird moths, because of the similar type of flight pattern with fast wing beats, hovering behavior and similar size heavy body.  They fly around deep-lobed flowers, and so are commonly seen around your flowers.  

Plant Spring Blooming Bulbs in September and October by Carol King

Fritillaria meleagris photo courtesy davesgarden.com

Have you ordered your spring booming bulbs yet? This is the time to do so. I know we are mostly tired of gardening but remember how wonderful the spring is when the spring bloomers make their appearance!  September and October are the best months for planting bulbs.This will allow ample time for the bulbs to become well rooted before the ground freezes. Bulbs planted after October may not have time to root adequately and therefore may not flower uniformly in the spring. 

There are many bulbs to choose from including tulips, daffodils or narcissus, crocus, snowdrop, grape hyacinth and scilla.  Try some more exotic bulbs like Fritillaria meleagris, or Snake's Head Lily, striped squill, and allium. You can order them from catalogs, or buy in garden centers and big box stores.

Plant the bulbs at a depth consistent with the level indicated on a planting chart. As a general rule, this depth is four times the height of the bulb between the soil surface and the tip of the bulb. Make sure to plant the bulbs with the growing tip up.

For complete planting guidelines, try these Fact Sheets: 

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1012.html and http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07410.html

Pamper your Pollinators! By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

We have all heard the news reports about how the honeybee is threatened and has dwindling populations. This is serious because we depend on these hard working pollinators to work the fields and backyard gardens so we can enjoy harvest success. Their absence can truly impact the future of growing. 

You can help support the bee populations with some simple additions to your garden and yard to attract the bees and give them the nectar and pollen they require. Check the internet for “plants that attract bees” to help you know which plants are preferable. If you use any type of pesticide or herbicide, check the label carefully, some will note “harmful to bees” and if you want to encourage bees into your garden you must avoid these products.

Many plants that bring the bees and other pollinators to your yard are familiar to gardeners and easy to grow. Sunflowers for example are a favorite of bees and you will soon notice that once they bloom that the bees arrive early in the morning and stay well into the evening. Vegetables with large flowers, such as pumpkins, squash and gourds as well as popular flowering bushes and plants such as wildflowers, lavender and hyssop welcome the bees too. 

As you walk your garden and yard, make note of which plants the bees prefer and plan to grow those again. The bees will be grateful for your wise choice of plants that support their good health.

Here are some good gardening fact sheets available to you to help you learn more about bees and other pollinators:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1404.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1121.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1489.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1004.html

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

Mid-Summer Leaf Drop by Mary Small

Tree owners and those responsible for maintaining trees often observe leaf drop occurring in mid-summer. Sometimes the number of leaves falling appears excessive, but in reality, the number of leaves lost is small in comparison the overall number of leaves in the tree. Some suggestions for the cause or causes of mid-summer leaf drop can include: drought; adjustment to summer conditions; inner leaf drop and shading.

Drought: Trees may lose as many as 10% of their leaves during a drought without being irreversibly affected. Typically, once drought conditions are in place, leaves begin to drop and continue to drop for the extent of the drought period. While a tree uses leaves to make food, this amount of leaf loss does little or no harm, and may actually be helpful to the tree. By shedding these leaves the tree loses less water through transpiration

Adjustment to summer conditions: Sometimes trees just make too many leaves! When cool moist spring weather turns to hotter, dryer summer conditions a number of leaves may drop suddenly. This is called "physiological leaf drop" and does not harm the plant's health. This leaf drop is simply a defense mechanism from further injury. When weather conditions are hot and dry, trees can take up an immense amount of water. If that water is not in the soil to support the root system the tree shuts down to preserve the moisture needed for continued life. This means eliminating the loss of water…which happens to be through the leaves.

Inner leaf drop: The observer should look carefully at the tree. If the falling leaves are from the inside of the tree they may have been "shaded out". Inner leaf drop occurs when the leaves on the outside and top of the tree are so thick that the leaves inside the tree do not receive enough sunlight. After such leaf drop, the larger branches inside the tree and close to the trunk look bare. Inner leaf drop is normal and not harmful.

Shading: If leaves can be lost due to shading from within a single tree, then it follows that leaves can be lost when an entire tree is shaded. Trees are living things and a tree may grow so large that it begins to cast shade on another tree which was once in sunlight. The smaller tree no longer receives enough light to support its leaves which begin to drop. Another form of shading occurs when closely planted trees grow so large that they begin to shade each other on the sides that face each other. Often, this leads to leaf loss on the sides of the trees where they are in close contact or are intermingling branches.

Adapted from: Ohio State Buckeye Yard and Garden Online and Brian Pugh, Oklahoma State University

Harvesting Fall Squash By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

It goes without saying that Colorado gardeners find that squash is one of the easiest garden vegetables to grow. In fact, about this time many gardeners are wondering what to do with their prolific summer squash that keeps producing and are running out of creative zucchini recipes.

But another squash that deserves some garden space are winter squash. They are called Winter or Fall squash not because they grow during these seasons, but they take all of the summer to grow and mature and have a long shelf life well into the fall and winter. 

Examples of winter squash are Acorn, Butternut and Hubbard. These squash have deep colors and flavorful flesh which make them a great choice for cooking and baking and are full of vitamins, minerals and beta carotene with low or no fat or sugars. 

If you have an abundance of fall squash, you can cook and mash the pulp and freeze as you may do for pumpkins, or you can store them whole in a cool dry location and enjoy them well into the fall and winter. Imagine your own home grown winter squash as a side dish at your Thanksgiving dinner!

Here are a few helpful fact sheets that give you more information about growing, harvesting and storing these beneficial vegetables:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1849.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1847.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07601.html

Photo by Joyce D'Agostino

Be Careful with Insecticides in Your Garden by Cynthia Cox

Bumble Bee photo courtesy Whitney Cranshaw

You think your flowers are getting buggy, so out comes the insecticide. Beware, you may be harming the bugs that are helping keep your flowers beautiful. Get to know the friends of flower gardens. Here are a few.

The Bumble Bee: Large, fuzzy, with yellow, orange or black bands; may be carrying pollen baskets on its legs; very noisy.  Loves rosemary, clover, and sunflowers (all kinds of sunflowers).

The Native Bee: varies by species as to looks; a non-picky flower lover, loves all kinds of flowers, especially natives!

The Pollen Wasp: has a club antennae; loves western wildflowers (scorpionweed, beard-tongue).This wasp is a vegetarian, feeds on pollen instead of spiders and insects.

The Monarch Butterfly: orange-brown with black veins, lined in black with white spots. Did you know the Monarch feeds on milkweed to make it unpalatable to birds? 

The European Honeybee: smaller than a bumblebee and fuzzy; loves penstemon and  flowers in general.

 The Hoverfly: looks like a yellow jacket, flies like a dart, very quick; loves yarrow and feverfew.  Its larvae is very helpful in that it preys on aphids .

The Bee Fly: looks like a bee only with two wings instead of four; loves desert and alpine flora.

 The Drone Fly: looks like a honeybee but with one set of wings; loves cosmos, Queen Anne’s Lace, and lupine and just like a bee goes from flower to flower. 

So please be careful with that bug spray. A good substitute is Neem Oil found at garden centers and doesn’t harm these friends of flowers.

Impatiens Downy Mildew; New Disease to Colorado by Mary Small

Photo courtesy Purdue.edu

 Two Plant Diagnostic Clinics in Colorado have recently received samples of impatiens downy mildew. This was a large problem last year in many eastern states but not here.

Early symptoms include leaf chlorosis and a stippled appearance similar to spider mite feeding. Leaves may curl under slightly at the edges. Eventually leaves drop and “plants” are merely a grouping of stems. Finally, the stems die too. You will find a dense white sporulation on the leaf undersides.

High plant density, overhead watering (especially at night) and high humidity all contribute to the development of the disease. Once plants are infected, they should be pulled out. There is no rescue treatment fungicide, only preventatives. It will overwinter in our cli- mate, unfortunately.

July rainfall and humid periods (think July 12-15) contributed to the development of the disease. If conditions are dry and air circulation is good, the disease doesn’t develop.

The disease does not seem to develop on impatiens grown from seed, but does on impatiens grown out from cuttings.

Tamla Blunt at the Colorado State University Plant Diagnostic Clinic is tracking the disease’s locations and spread in Colorado. For more information, see this web page: http://www.endowment.org/afe-news/press-releases/221- controlling-downy-mildew-on-impatiens.html

Photo courtesy Palm Beach County Extension

Best Garden Tool! by Donna Duffy

When I retired several years ago, a fellow gardener gave me a Hori Hori knife as a retirement gift. It’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. The Hori Hori was originally used for excavating bonsai in the mountains of Japan. Because the tool is small, it’s less destructive than a shovel and can be worked around fragile bonsai roots during excavation. I’ve heard that it’s also called a “diggy diggy.”

The Aster Yellows Blues by Carol King

My latest indignity in the garden, (does it never end) is what appears to be a case of aster yellows in a cone flower, Echinacea purpurea. I’ve been watching the plant all summer and thought it was starting to look pretty good. It’s only three years old and while not really large, it is adequate in size with about a dozen flower blossoms.
Several weeks ago I noticed a Dr. Seussian blossom with funny shaped green things coming out of the flower. My research led me to this condition called aster yellows.

It is a disease carried by the aster leafhopper (Macrosteles quadrillineatus). Aster leafhoppers overwinter in northern Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Come spring, they want to get out of that heat and humidity and so they hitch a ride on the wind and end up in Colorado (and Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.) The leafhopper is infected with this bacteria-like creature and transmits it to susceptible plants. It is also called witches broom, purple top, apical leaf roll, blue stem, bunch top, haywire, late breaking, purple dwarf, and yellow top (English) and is found all over the world.

Herbicide Carry-over Damage by Mary Small

Damage on Ash leaves at the Jeffco Fairgrounds

When I worked in an extension office in another state, a few gardeners reported that their vegetables and flowers started crashing quickly. They also had distorted, stunted growth.  As it turned out, the gardeners applied manure to their gardens earlier in the year.  Unfortunately it was contaminated with an agricultural herbicide. The product was used on pastures where the cattle later grazed. It passed right through the animals’ digestive tract into the manure. Because of the particular product used, gardeners would not be able to grow plants for a while in the areas where the manure was applied.

I was reminded of this incident while attending a class on herbicides (weed killers) last week, because herbicide carry-over and contamination are still happening.

Fresh Summer Pesto By Chef Elizabeth Buckingham

Basil Photo by Elizabeth Buckingham

The current abundance of basil (even in our painfully dry climate!) makes fresh pesto a quintessential summer staple. Most recipes utilize the basics: basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, with cheese as an additional option. This delicious combo is classic for a reason, but is more of a loose concept rather than a precise recipe. The idea is simple: pulverize fresh herbs or greens (pesto refers to the pestle traditionally used to prepare it) and using the basic formula of nuts, seasoning and a little oil, adjust the recipe to suit your tastes and whatever might currently be in season in your own garden.

Genovese basil is named for the Italian port town of Genoa, in Italy’s Liguria region, and the fresh, light cuisine found here allows pesto to really shine - especially when combined with handmade pasta and incredible summer tomatoes. You can make vegan pesto by omitting the cheese, but if you do add cheese please avoid the horrifying green can of processed sawdust at all costs. True Parmigiano costs a fortune, but you’ll only use a bit and the flavor will shine through. Pecorino-Romano, an aged sheep’s-milk cheese, may also be used. Your final dish will only be as good as the ingredients you put in, and since pesto is so utterly simple it is absolutely worth your time and money to seek out the best.