The Manatee County Master Gardener Newsletter December 2012 ‐ Volume 11 – Issue 12 Gifts for Your Family Gardener
Text and photographs by Norma Kisida, Master Gardener, 2012 The holidays are approaching and we are making our lists. Most
gardeners are delighted to receive items that make our work easier or
beautify our garden spaces. Judging by the response I got when I asked
the Master Gardeners for gift ideas, the list is endless!
Apparel – Gloves are at the top of the list since we go through so
many. The lightweight, durable and washable gloves such as the Atlas
ones we have for sale at the Extension office ($6) are good for general
gardening. Also on the apparel list is a hat to protect from the harsh
Florida sun such as the Gardener’s sun hat
(http://www.groworganic.com/gardener-s-sun-hat-cream-large.html
(http://www.groworganic.com/gardener-s-sun-hat-cream-large.html).
Work aprons are handy to carry small tools, cell phone, water, etc., and
are available in different sizes and styles. I like the small ones but some
gardeners prefer a larger sturdier version. Rubber boots are a must for
wet conditions and to help protect us from those nasty fire ants, which
seem to be everywhere here and crop up with no warning. My boots
are inexpensive ones from Walmart and are comfortable and durable.
Gardening clogs are also great, especially to keep by the back door for
those quick trips to the garden or compost bin.
Tools – If you have difficulty bending or stooping, a wonderful gift
would be a bench or seat on wheels with pockets for weeding or
planting tools. Folding stools are also available. Little red wagons are
very popular for hauling around plants and equipment and for
delivering plants to the Master Gardeners’ plant sale! Hand tools such
as clippers, shears, loppers, pruners and sharpening tools are essential
and fit various budgets. Plastic resin trowels sold at stores such as
Home Depot are inexpensive and do not rust or bend.
Earthbox® kits, although a somewhat expensive initial investment, are
an easy solution to our sandy, nematode prone soil. The Extension
office offers several classes a year on making earth buckets, which are
smaller but inexpensive and follow the same principles. At the top of
my list this year is a ceramic or metal kitchen compost container – one
big enough for at least a day’s scraps. I would also like another
compost bin, which the Extension office also offers classes for. For a
discussion on cool new tools which would
make wonderful gifts see the article by
Master Gardener John Dawson in the May
2012 issue of the The Master Gardening
Bench
(http://manatee.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/master
-gardener/pdfs/newsletter/2012/garden-bench-may2012.pdf).
continued on page 2
"Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than Emperors." ‐‐ Mary Cantwell Manatee County Extension
1303 17th Street West - Palmetto, FL 34221
Telephone: (941) 722-4524
http://manatee.ifas.ufl.edu
Master Gardeners Amy Stripe & Joy Derksen, Co-editors
Contents reviewed & edited by Lisa Hickey, Extension Agent.
Send a photo or gardening problem via e-mail to the Master Gardeners
at [email protected] or visit them at the County Extension Office
Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; closed on Wednesday.
Gift certificates to your gardener’s favorite garden center –
There are many in our area offering native and Florida-friendly
plants as well as a complete line of garden tools, accessories, and
garden décor.
Gift baskets – Fill these with smaller gardening items such as hand tools,
seeds, herbs, gloves, or plant tags, and tie on a ribbon.
Garden décor – Birdbaths, fountains, ceramic pots and benches are a
great addition to the garden.
Magazines - Florida Gardening was the favorite magazine recommended.
A one year subscription (6 issues) is $21.
(http://www.floridagardening.com/).
Books - These should be specific for the area in which the gardener
lives. The following were recommended in our area.
•Gardening in the South by Don Hastings
•Gardening for Florida’s Butterflies by Pamela Trass
•Month by Month Gardening in Florida by Tom MacCubbin
•The Florida – Friendly Landscaping Guide to Plant Selection and
•Landscape Design published by Florida-Friendly Landscaping
Program.
(www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/publications/files/FFL_Plant_Selection_Guide.
pdf)
•The Florida Fabulous nature series of books from World Publications
(http://www.theworldpublications.com/)
•Botany for Gardeners : An Introduction and Guide by Brian Capon
Happy holidays and have fun shopping! Gardeners are an easy bunch.
We are even happy to get dirt if it’s the right kind!
Master Gardener Rusty Russell’s Christmas List:
To My Dear Wife:
I sure would love to have a nice new, shiny, sharp posthole digger –
BUT that requires hard work so you can forget it. One of those nice
cushioned kneelers or sitting stools that make it easy to kneel down
BUT I don’t know if I could get up, so don’t put that on your list.
A nice little wheelbarrow or garden cart would show you cared, BUT
I’d have to bend over to empty it, so let’s think about something else.
How about some of those fancy painted, artistic stepping-stones to put
in the garden path? Oh, forget them, they’re heavy and I might hurt
myself lifting them.
Now, new garden gloves and a sharp new trowel or new metal plant
labels or even new powerful shears would be great BUT you do so
much better with these, I’ll get them for you and you can get me that
nice comfortable hammock. I’ll put it up in the back yard so I can
nap a little and watch your garden.
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Your lovin’ husband.
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Terrarium Christmas Ornaments
Text and photos by Joy Derksen, Master Gardener 2004
Are you looking for an easy Christmas craft for home or to give
as a one-of-a-kind Christmas gift? I decided to turn a clear
Christmas ornament into a terrarium, but needed to find a plant
that wouldn’t mind living in an ornament over the holiday
season. Tillandsia spp., commonly known as “air plants,” need
minimal care and can be happy inside a clear bulb ornament with
air and light and a drop of water now and then.
Online I found a local nursery on Tallevast Road that has kits to
make just this sort of ornament. I also found clear plastic
ornaments at a local hobby shop and was able to gather all the
materials in the kit offered around my house and yard. So you
can choose to buy a kit, or scavenge around the house for
materials. But first, select the ornaments. Make sure you can
remove the top of the ornament because you are going to be
inserting your decorative bits down the hole on top, which needs
to be nickel-sized.
Start with a sand-like ingredient to pour into the ornament ball as
the base for your plants. I used decorative sand and tiny gold
rocks from the kit. In my do-it-yourself ornament, I used
aquarium charcoal, home sand, and small pebbles. About 2
tablespoons of soil is required for each ornament.
Now it is time to gather up the “goodies.” I always have shells
lying around that I have collected on walks on the beach. In my
backyard I found downed oak branches with lichen on them that
I could peel off, and tiny twigs. I had to check all my gathered
items against the hole size -- some were too big.
For the actual plants, Spanish moss - a form of Tillandsia spp. is easy to come by here. And growing in my oleander were
native Florida Tillandsia spp. My kit, on the other hand, came
with a variety of fancy Tillandsia spp., which I could also have
bought for a few dollars each at the nursery or a garden shop.
Tillandsia spp. can be squished to fit through the hole even
though they seemed larger. My tiny dried starfish - which I
thought looked “Christmas-y” - couldn’t be folded to fit the hole,
although several other shells went down well. Tiny, sparkly
ornaments on a floral spray I found at the dollar store were
added. I had ribbon. (If you are going to turn the ribbon into
bows, it’s easier to make the bows before you cut it into short
pieces!)
So, for each ornament you need an ornament with the top removed
and set aside, a Tillandsia spp., some moss and lichen, something
sparkly or shiny to catch the eye, decorative rocks or shells, bright
ribbon tied into tiny bows or made into tiny spirals, and a stick to
poke things around inside the ornament (I used a pencil; an ice
pick, and a crochet hook also work with equal ease).
Step one: Pour your sand into the base. I cut a hole into the
corner of a plastic bag to make a funnel.
Step two: Drop in lichen and moss and move them around with
your stick until you are happy with the placement.
Step three: Drop in your eye-catchers---shells, ornaments, and
bright bows. Poke these where you want them--the lichen and
moss will help hold them in place.
Step four: Put a drop or two of water on the Tillandsia spp.
and push it into the hole.
Step five: Put the top back on the ornament; it’s done! And
doesn’t it look pretty?
To keep your ornament around after the holidays, hang it out of
direct sunlight preferably in a bright spot and put a few drops of
water in it once a month.
More information on Tillandsia spp. is available in “Florida’s
Native Bromeliads” ( http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw205). The place
where I found my kit online is http://www.tropiflora.com/.
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Rare Fruit
By John Dawson, Master Gardener 2007
From my articles in this newsletter you may have
noticed that I write a lot about growing fruit here in
Manatee County. During my training to become a
Florida Master Gardener in 2007, we had a class on noncitrus backyard fruit trees taught by Ray Jones of the
Manatee Rare Fruit Council (MRFC). This introduced
me to various fruit that can be grown here that I had
never heard of! Ray told us about the non-profit MRFC,
stating the club’s objectives were to introduce,
propagate, and distribute the many rare tropical and subtropical fruits grown throughout the world; to educate
members and the public on the merits of these plants;
and to encourage and extend their cultivation.
Given the opportunity to learn more, I attended my first
MRFC meeting (which meets the second Monday of
each month in the Harllee Auditorium at the Manatee
County Fairgrounds at 1303 17th St. W., Palmetto, from
7 to 9 p.m.). Walking into the meeting room, I saw a
table filled with plants donated by members for a raffle.
On the other side of the room were tables with food
prepared by members to be shared. Most of the food
literally came from the fruits of their labor and I tried
various fruits for the first time.
Attending the meeting were 35 to 40 folks who shared a
great interest in growing rare fruit. Following the
obligatory parliamentary procedures of old and new
business, a guest speaker was introduced. In this case, he
was a university professor from South America, who
gave a one-hour lecture on growing sapote. (Sapote has
several scientific names, and many common names.
“Sapote” is the common name derived from Aztec for
soft edible fruit). For 15 minutes, he talked about many
fruits that were new to me, until he came to mamey.
Because my wife is from Cuba, I have had mamey many
times (her aunt has a tree in Miami) and mamey milk
shakes are my all-time favorite.
After the lecture, everyone was invited to the food
table. I had my first taste of black sapote (chocolate
pudding fruit) by itself and baked into a wonderful
cake. Luckily, the club has its own cookbook featuring
recipes using rare fruit. The club maintains an exhibit
of fruiting plants and trees at the Palma Sola Botanical
Park; provides a scholarship program for horticultural
students from Manatee County; and sponsors the
wildly popular Rare Fruit Tree Sale at the Manatee
Convention Center every May.
I have been a member of MRFC ever since that first
meeting and learn something new about growing fruit
here at every meeting. I have gained confidence in my
knowledge of fruit, writing articles for the newsletter,
teaching Master Gardener classes on non-citrus
backyard fruit trees, and heading the committee of
Master Gardeners taking care of the fruit tree exhibit
donated by MRFC at our Educational Gardens. I am
currently growing mamey, atemoya, canistel, anon,
white sapote, miracle fruit, sapodilla, tamarillo, loquat,
lychee, pitaya and pummelo.
Have I piqued your curiosity or taste buds? Come to a
MRFC meeting or check out the MRFC website at
www.MRFC.org. I will be writing about other
horticultural clubs in the area in future articles. Please
check them out; they’re educational, fun and a great
way to meet new friends that share your interests in
home gardening.
4 Resolve to SAVE in
Schedule a FREE irrigation
and landscape evaluation through
the Water Conservation
Program, a service of the
Manatee County Agriculture
and Extension Service.
Call (941) 722-4524 today!
Our water team will perform
an irrigation and rain sensor
check, evaluate plant
selection and placement, and
provide a detailed report
with recommendations to
help you save water, time,
and money!
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Wetlands Garden Opens Manatee County Master Gardeners proudly announce the opening of the latest addition to
their Educational Gardens: the wetland garden.
The wetlands garden is a showcase for the many plants that play a key role in sheltering,
feeding and providing space for Florida wildlife – including waterfowl, reptiles,
amphibians and fish - as well as performing essential tasks such as filtering pesticides and
fertilizer excess and absorbing excess water flow from the surrounding land.
Wetlands are defined as areas experiencing water at ground’s root zone for at least
aseveral months in a year. In our new wetlands garden, we have three types of plant
zones: upland buffer, transitional zone, and obligate zone. Plants that grow in each zone
are dependent on the hydrology or quantity of water flow in the ground below the soil’s
surface. Examples of these plants are shown below: Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and
Highland Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) – upland buffer; Blue Flag Iris (Iris
hexagonna) and golden canna (Canna flaccida) – transitional zone; and pickerelweed
(Pontederia cordata) – obligate zone.
Should you wish to tour our Educational Gardens, including the new wetlands garden,
call (941) 722-4524 and ask for the Master Gardeners.
Highland Blueberry Slash pine Pickerelweed 6
The Manatee County Fair will be held January 17 – 27, 2013 at the
Manatee County Fairgrounds (1303 17th Street West, Palmetto, across the
street from Palmetto High School.) It features arts & crafts, live
entertainment, food vendors, agricultural exhibits, and much more!!
Mark your calendars!
Answers can be found in this and past issues of The Master Gardening Bench, at
http://manatee.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/master-gardener/newsletter.shtml
Across
1. Japanese word meaning plantings in a low-sided pot
4. Largest citrus fruit, earning the botanical name Citrus maxima
7. An anteater with a long tongue and extremely long claws
10. One of the largest families of flowering plants
11. Parasitic evergreen plant that can grow up to 2 feet in width at the top of a tree
12. This invasive grows up to a foot per day and will quickly take over the landscape
Down
2. Common name derived from Aztec for soft edible fruit
3. Defined as areas experiencing water at ground's root zone for at least several months in a year
5. Herb that belongs to the onion family
6. Used to enrich your soil
8. An important larva host and nectar plant for the monarch butterfly
9. Stands for percentage of hydrogen
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December
Calendar of Events
Date
Time
Event
Ask a Master Gardener – Rocky Bluff Library – 6750 US Highway 301 N., Ellenton (formerly the 2 & 4
10:00 a.m.‐1:00 p.m. Roaring 20’s Pizza). Visit the Extension Master Gardener information table and get answers to Saturday your gardening questions. Ask a Master Gardener – South Manatee Library – 6081 26th Street West, Bradenton. Visit the nd
2 Saturday 10:00 a.m.‐1:00 p.m. Extension Master Gardener information table and get answers to your gardening questions. Extension Master Gardener Plant ID Tour – Stroll through the De Soto National Memorial and Riverview Pointe Preserve to learn more about Florida’s native plants and inhabitants of a December 8 9:00‐11:00 a.m. coastal habitat. Suitable for all ages. The hike begins in the parking area of the De Soto National Memorial Park and enters into the Riverview Preserve at 8250 DeSoto Memorial Highway, Bradenton. Call the Master Gardeners to register. Manatee County’s Certified Master Naturalist Wetlands Hike – Be adventurous and slog through a wetland habitat slough with Lisa Hickey, Master Naturalist instructor. Wetlands and freshwater habitats are vital natural systems that filter pollutants. Find out more while walking through Flatford Swamp in eastern Manatee County. Meet at 39450 Taylor Rd., Myakka City, December 15 9:00‐11:00 a.m. approximately 25 miles E. of I‐75. The group meets in the preserve’s parking area, then as a group, we leave the parking area and drive south on Wauchula Road 2 miles. We will be entering the south end of the preserve and hike into the wetland habitat area. Call the Master Gardeners at (941) 722‐4524 to register. Extension Master Gardener Plant ID Tour – Stroll through Emerson Pointe Preserve to learn more about Florida’s native plants and inhabitants of a coastal habitat. Suitable for all ages. December 15 9:00‐11:00 a.m. Tour begins in the tower parking area at 5801 17th St. W., Palmetto. Call the Master Gardeners at (941) 722‐4524 to register. Extension Master Gardener Plant ID Tour – Stroll through the Robinson Preserve’s salt marshes to learn more about Florida’s native plants and inhabitants of a coastal habitat. Suitable for all December 16 9:00‐11:00 a.m. ages. Tour begins in parking area by main entrance at 1704 99th St. NW, Bradenton. Call the Master Gardeners to register. Lowdown on Lawn Irrigation ‐ This class satisfies the landscape education portion of the Manatee County Outdoor Water Conservation Rebate Program. Tune up your sprinkler December 4 1:00‐4:00 p.m. system, learn how to adjust the timer and sprinklers, improve uniformity, eliminate water waste, and cut costs. Presented by Lisa Hickey, Extension Agent. Register online at http://manatee.ifas.ufl.edu or call Joann at (941) 722‐4524. Florida‐Friendly Landscaping™ Program Volunteer Training – Landscape Assistance Program – share the “9 Florida‐Friendly Landscaping™ Principles” (FFL) with interested people. Help with December 19 10:00 a.m.‐Noon in‐office landscape consultations with homeowners wanting to create a Florida‐Friendly landscape. Staff FFL booths at area events. Presented by Michelle Atkinson, Florida‐Friendly Landscaping™ Coordinator. December 24 & 25 County Offices Closed In observance of the Christmas Holiday
December 31 County Offices Closed In observance of the New Year Holiday January 1 Agriculture and Extension Service ‐ Manatee County Community Services Department Located at 1303 17th St. W., Palmetto, FL 34221 Telephone: (941) 722‐4524 Web site: http://manatee.ifas.ufl.edu E‐mail: [email protected]
nd
th The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non‐discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions, or affiliations.