December Garden Activities

Posted on December 2, 2024November 14, 2024 by trisha

Try forcing bulbs such as amaryllis, paper whites or tulips as a way to enjoy gardening during the winter. December is a great month for armchair gardening. You can enjoy the seed and perennial catalogs and start planning your spring garden.

Fruits and Nuts–Plant young pecan and other deciduous fruit trees and grapes. Select budwood. Start dormant pruning of established fruits. Protect all young trees from rabbit damage by placing wire around the base of the tree. Put on dormant oil sprays for scale.
Shrubs–Planting is still the main activity but delay in case of freezing weather.
Lawns–Control wild garlic, chickweed, poa annua, dandelion, and other weeds. Read label on each weed control product used.
Annuals and Perennials–Plant hardy annual seed without delay. Have you tried violas?
Bulbs–continue spring bulb planting.
Miscellaneous–Shrubs, trees and indoor plants make excellent gifts.

Source: Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Alabama Gardening Calendar
Photo credit: Pixabay.com

African Violets and Soil Blocking

Posted on November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 by trisha

Our CCMGA November meeting featured programs given by two of our very own Master Gardeners, Beverly Williamson and Amy Baker.

Beverly Williamson’s program was All About African Violets. Beverly has been growing award-winning violets for many years. There is great variety in African violets: sizes, leaf shapes, leaf edges, bloom color and some are even trailing. Blooms can be smooth edged or ruffled and can be double. Violets should be kept moist but not soggy wet; they can be set on a tray of rocks with water to increase humidity. They need indirect light and morning light is best. The pot should be 1/3 the size of the width of the plant from leaf tip to leaf tip. To propagate: select a healthy leaf, cut the stem at an angle, place in a mixture of 1/3 each soiless potting mix, vermiculite and perlite, place under florescent or grow lights and keep damp. For more information go to Ball State University or the African Violet Society of America.

Amy’s topic was Soil Blocking for Seed Starting. What is soil blocking?

To do soil blocking you will need soil blocking tools and Amy uses the 3/4 inch 12 cell size to start seeds and then moves the seedlings up to the 2 inch 4 cell size. Amy sets the soil blocks in shallow trays, adds water as needed to the tray to keep the soil moist and places them under grow lights until the seedlings have their first true leaves and are ready to move to the large soil block.

Soil Mixtures: A general mixture has 1/3 part each of coconut coir or peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite. For acid loving plants the mixture is 1 1/4 parts peat moss, 1 part perlite and 1/4 part vermiculite.
Amy has had great success with this method and all of her seeds germinated this year.

Both programs were very well presented and so very interesting!

CCMGA elected officers for 2025. Thanks to each for agreeing to serve our group. We will have photos next month.

President: Skip Coulter
Vice President: Hugh Nichols
Secretary: Lanell Baker
Treasurer: Judy Cobb

Photos by Audrey Giles
Article by Trisha Williams

November Gardening Activities

Posted on November 1, 2024November 14, 2024 by trisha

Plants bulbs this month for spring color. Other gardening tasks for November include planting hardy annuals such as larkspur, poppies, pansies and candytuft. This is also a great time to plant trees, shrubs, vines, and roses. Take a drive and enjoy the glorious fall colors.

yellow ginkgo leaves falling to the ground — Ginkgo leaves in the fall

Fruits and Nuts–Select sites for plantings, start mulching strawberries, blackberries, and grapes.
Shrubs–Plant shrubs, trees, and vines.
Lawns–Some homeowners like lawn paints. Have you thought about having a green lawn this winter? Use proper herbicide to kill germinating winter weeds.
Roses– Get rose planting underway. Use a soil test as a basis for fertilization. Look for new varieties.
Annuals and Perennials–Plant hardy annuals such as larkspur, poppies, pansies, and candytuft. Get sweet peas into the ground.
Bulbs–Continue spring bulb planting. Put lilies of the valley in a shady place.
Miscellaneous–Plant screen plantings for a privacy on patio.
Vegetable Seed– Plant cabbage and lettuce in a coldframe.

Source: Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Alabama Gardening Calendar

Recreative Natives Tour

Posted on October 16, 2024October 16, 2024 by trisha

On a beautiful October day, several Chilton County Master Gardeners toured Recreative Natives, a native plant nursery in Cropwell, Alabama. Jessica Thompson, the owner of this one woman nursery, has a background in landscape design and used many natives in her designs. When she moved to Alabama 15 years ago she discovered there were no nurseries in Alabama that grew only native plants. She began to propagate natives for her own landscape and this led to a full time nursery and a passion. In 2024, she grew over 15,000 native plants mostly from seeds. She focuses on native plants of Alabama and the Southeast.

For more information go to the nursery website https://recreativenatives.com/

article by Trisha Williams; photos by Audrey Giles

Jessica Thompson tells about how she got started with her nursery, Recreative Natives in Cropwell, AL

Lanell Baker, Harriett Jackson, Harriett Jackso , Hugh Nichols, Skip Coulter, and Betsy Smith

L-R Harriett Jackson, Hugh Nichols, Trisha Williams, Lanell Baker, Audrey Giles, hostess, Jessica Thompson, V.P. Betsy Smith and Pres. Skip Coulted

Our Pres. Skip Coulter, loves to present each hostess with a small gift, this time, a $2.00 Bill?!!

L-Right Betsy Smith, Harriett Jackson, Trisha Williams, Lanell Bakes, Hugh Nichols, and Skip Counter. Not pictured, Audtey Giles Eating lunch at the old Rexall Drug store, which is now a Mexican Resturant.

Enjoying lunch at El Cazador restaurant in downtown Pell City

Fungus Among Us

Posted on October 16, 2024October 16, 2024 by trisha

The speaker for the October Chilton County Master Gardener meeting, Alisha Millican, spoke on Fungus Among Us-About Mushrooms. Alisha is an Advanced Master Gardener and her area of expertise is mushrooms. She is active in the Alabama Mushroom Society. Her program was an introduction to types of mushrooms, not an ID COURSE! Alisha recommends training with knowledgable experts, such as members of the Alabama Mushroom Society if you want to forage for wild mushrooms. Identification apps on your phone are not reliable sources. Never eat wild mushrooms unless you are positive of the identification! Alisha said all edible mushrooms should be cooked as some people cannot tolerate them raw.

Many photos of various mushrooms were shared including puffballs, lobster, chanterelles, oyster, cauliflower, lion’s mane, chicken of the woods, shoehorn, bird’s nest and more. We learned that mushrooms can be spicy, sweet, bitter, earthy, or licorice flavored, among other flavors.

Some helpful websites are: http://Alabamamushroomsociety.org, http://Namyco.org, http://Mushroomobserver.org

The announcements for one upcoming tour and 2 volunteer opportunities are:
Oct 14 Tour to Recreative Natives Nursery
Oct 26 MG table at Humane Society Family Day at Ollie Park 2-6pm
Oct 30 MG table with Shelby County MGs at Alabama Power Stewardship Event Beeswax Park, 245 Beeswax Park Road Columbiana, AL 35051 – 2-5pm

V. Pres. Betsy Smith presents speaker Alisha Millican with handmade pen made by one of our MG’s!

Where ARE The Native Plants?

Posted on October 12, 2024October 12, 2024 by audrey

A few of the Chilton County Master Gardeners made the trip to the Blount County Fall Conference on Oct 3. The Conference was held at the Locust Fork Baptist Church in Locust Fork, AL. The program was “Where the Natives Have Gone”. It was a very fun, educational day!

L-R Lyn Webb, Hugh Nichols, Kerry Rush, and Trisha Williams

Photo credit and article: Lynn Webb

Helping the Humane Society

Posted on October 4, 2024October 11, 2024 by audrey

Several of the Chilton County Master Gardeners volunteered at the Chilton County Humane Society this past Monday (Sept. 30, 2024) improving the entrance landscape. The windows boxes were planted with pansies, cast iron plants were added to the flower beds, the sidewalk was refreshed and there was even some decorative touches added.
Photos and article by Lyn Webb
Editing and posting by Audrey Giles

Pictured left to right, Teresa Freeman, Lyn Webb, Sharon Hosch, Jerry Farmer, Wally Walters, Pat Farmer, Hugh Nichols, Clair Sluyterman van Loo, and Lee Walters. Not pictured, Harriett Jackson

**The day went very smoothly due to the prep work of Lee and Wally Walters and Sharon Housch.**

**Sharon and Wally adding the finishing touches**!

**Pansies were added to the window boxes. Cast Iron plants (next to the wall) were donated by Susan Cleckler.**

What’s a Chick Chain?

Posted on October 3, 2024October 4, 2024 by audrey

The Chick Chain is an Alabama Cooperative Extension System 4-H project. The participants receive baby chicks to raise and train for the annual show and auction. They work hard caring for their chickens and learn to keep valuable and up-to-date records.

The culmination of their efforts is the Show and Auction held each fall at the Chilton Research and Extension Center. This year the counties involved were Autauga, Bibb, Chilton and St. Clair.

Showing their birds in front of a judge and the audience helps to build confidence. Raising the birds and keeping good records promotes responsibility.

Volunteers from the Chilton County Master Gardeners Association put together 120 sack lunches for the 4-H’er’s that included a hot dog, potato chips, a home-made cookie (by some of the CCMGA volunteers), and a soft drink. Although we were favored with a few rain showers this year, it was still a fun day for the 4-H’er’s and all the volunteers as well

photos by Audrey Giles and Amy Baker

Microgreens?!

Posted on October 1, 2024October 1, 2024 by audrey

Our Vice President, Betsy Smith, introduced our speaker for our September meeting, Capital City Master Gardener Association’s Janell Diggs (ajdiggst23@yahoo.com), along with intern, Jane Ficquette. The presentation’s title was “Growing and Cooking with Microgreens”. Microgreens are versions of herbs and vegetables in their tiny sprout form. They are 5 times more nutrient dense than full-size plants. Mrs. Diggs provided a hands-on opportunity, supported by her experienced “how to” presentation, which consisted of three main points . . . Supplies, Process, and Cooking. She provided small covered containers filled with the correct soil for sprouting, provided radish seeds and demonstrated how to spread and dampen the seeds with a mister. We took them home, inverted the lid and weighted down the lid with a book. Then when they had sprouted, we took the lid off and in a few days we had microgreens! They can be used on salads, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, used as pizza topping, etc. They are used at high-end restaurants and used by nutritional researchers.

At the request of our members, Mrs. Diggs also discussed the role of Capital City MGA’s Education Committee. Besides the Vice President’s role of program development (monthly speakers), the Committee commits to approximately 3 annual outreach and educational projects per year. The committee selects topics based on interests surveys and assessments. They decide on short-range and long-range goals and then divide the planning and preparation based on various member’s skills. Janell discussed start- up efforts to increase our community presence and to provide horticultural-based learning opportunities. The program was very interesting, as well as immensely helpful to us on setting goals and deciding on yearly outreach programs.
Article based on minutes taken by Kerry Rush
Photos by Audrey Giles and Hugh Nichols

“All About Hostas!”

Posted on September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 by audrey

Our guest speaker for our August meeting was Bionca Lindsey from the Autauga County Master Gardeners Association. Bionca earned her Advanced Master Gardener Certification by learning and teaching “All About Hostas”. She was a very entertaining and informative speaker!

Photo of Betsy Smith and Bionca Lindsey — V.P. Betsy Smith and special guest speaker Bionca Lindsey

Hostas are the number one selling perennial in the United States. They are native to China and grow in the US zones 3 to 9. There are over 11,000 cultivars of Hosta. They thrive in shade or part shade and require a dormancy period of 4-6 weeks prior to their spring arrival. Bionca shared the many shapes, colors and sizes of Hosta. They are very hardy and can actually be divided any time, but spring and fall are ideal. Fertilize in the spring, using an organic, slow-release fertilizer (10-10-10 or 20-20-20). A few of their enemies are heat, slugs, deer, voles and even a few viruses. Thank you, Bionca for a wonderful program!

Miscellaneous items from our meeting included approval of the August minutes presented by Kerry Rush; announcing the option of contributing to Chilton County Coordinator Lucy Edwards’ wedding gift; the financial report by treasurer Judy Cobb; various volunteer opportunities for the members by Trisha Williams, Harriett Jackson, and REA Jacob Turner; information on registration for 2 fall conferences; our contribution to the 2025 AMGA Conference’s Silent Auction; update on CCMGA’s published article once a month in the Clanton Advertiser by Sharon Hosch; update on the Conservation Group by Betsy Smith and Hugh Nichols; update on the Demo Garden Shade House activities; and updates about the forming of the Nominating committee. And as always we want to thank our Hospitality Committee and food providers for our wonderful refreshments 🥗🍪🥮☕️❗️We had 32 present with 25 members, 3 interns, and 4 guests!