Welcome to our 2015 Spring Intern Class: Lucia Duggin, Susan Gaskins, John Hewitt, Rena Jarvis, Jenelle Marsh, Barbara Martin, Ronald Phelps, Laura Whitaker, Jill Wright, Terry Reaves, Linda Holifield, Ann Schaetzle, Catherine Hummel, Eddie Yessick
Congratulations to March Master Gardener of the Month: Tom Whitehead
TCMG will meetTUESDAY, MARCH 10 AT 5:30 IN THE AUDITORIUM OF THE EXTENSION SERVICE.
Our educational presenter will be Gregory Whitis, Extension Aquaculturist of Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Alabama Fish Farming Center; Greensboro, Alabama.
As always, we look forward to sharing and tasting, so, “LET’S DO IT IN GREEN”! You are invited to bring your favorite “GREEN” appetizers, desserts, or salads as we secretly begin to celebrate the arrival of springtime!
10:00 a.m. to around noon, beginning Wednesday, March 4
(inside activities) Eagle’s Wings is located:
12379 Eagles Wings Drive
Coker, AL 35452
( 5.5 miles past Northport Walmart on Highway 82, 1/2 mile beyond mile marker 39 on the right)
Oakhill School
Julia Bush at Oakhill School has requested help with a butterfly garden and planting fruit trees. We will need a team of 4-5 people to take this project on. The hours are flexible, Monday-Friday between 8 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @TuscCoGardeners
Tuscaloosa County Master Gardeners: mark your calendars! Our annual Pass-Along Plant Sale will be Saturday, April 25. Setting up for the sale will be the afternoon of Friday, April 24. This sale funds our $1000 scholarship to an area student studying a horticulture-related field at Auburn University.
Now is the time to consider the plant materials you plan to bring to the sale. It’s almost time to start seeds for bedding plants and vegetables, and to root cuttings of other plants. Sybil Phillips and Susan Kilgore are the co-chairs of the 2015 plant sale, and we anticipate another successful year.
Thank you Dr. Ed Stephenson from UA’s Dept. of Biological Sciences for your informative presentation on GMO technology.
Congratuations to these Master Gardeners for their achievements:
Bobby Cherones (TCMG Class of ’97) February’s “MASTER GARDENER OF THE MONTH” for TCMG!
And, to the following Master Gardeners who earned and were awarded designated volunteer hour stars of achievement.
BRONZE STAR: Randy Hoggle (TCMG ’11), Kim Lawrence (TCMG ’12), and Sailaja Reddy (TCMG ’13)
SILVER STAR: Ann Hewitt (TCMG ’13)
GOLD STAR: Linda Baggett (TCMG ’09) and Octavia Miles (TCMG ’10)
GOLD BADGE to be presented at the AMGA in Cullman (March 23-25) to: Jeanie Gray (TCMG ’04) and Thomas Whitehead (TCMG ’99)
Barrel of Spring Bulbs
by Judith Rives
One Wednesday workday at the UA Arboretum, in the fall of 2013, Jackie McConnell and I were given our task for the day. We were handed several bags of various spring flowering bulbs to plant together in a whiskey barrel. There were at least 6 different types, of varying size and bloom time.
If they had been thrown in the barrel haphazardly, they might have been just as beautiful a sight the next spring. However, both Jackie and I were in our professional lives, medical technologists. Precision and accuracy were our guidelines, and there was no way we could just “throw them in the soil”. So we looked at soil depths, spacing, and bloom time for each type of bulb. We tried to visualize what would be blooming together at the same time. We used a ruler to measure depth and spacing. We probably really put WAY too much thought into it and took a lot longer than necessary to do the job….but just look at the results!
Just a REMINDER that our membership meeting will be on Tuesday, February 10 at 5:30 pm in the auditorium of the Extension Office.
Our social hour theme: TASTING “RED”: Spaghetti, Lasagna, Barbecue;
Strawberry, Cherry, Or Raspberry salads or desserts.
Come and bring any one of your favorite, delicious “RED” dish servings!
Our educational program “GMO Seeds & Plants” will be presented by Dr. Ed Stephenson.
For those of you who are like me and may not know, a GMO is defined as an organism whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found there.
Note: A high percentage of food crops, such as corn and soybeans, are genetically modified. (dictionary.reference.com)
From UGA Extension Service:
Men’s Journal provided a balanced discussion of GMOs and their place in agriculture.
No more excuses like “there’s nowhere to go around here,” “the woods are too far from the city,” or “I don’t have time to wander the trails.” With 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Birmingham as your guide, you have dozens of places to hike to your heart’s content, and most within an hour’s drive or less.
60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Birmingham blows the lid off the myth that you can’t have a great hike close to home. The Birmingham area may be ever-expanding, but there are still plenty of super hiking options: short hikes, long hikes, hikes for kids, urban hikes, rural hikes, wildlife hikes, historic hikes, and many others.
Inside you will find: trail descriptions that allow you to assess each trail before you hike it; GPS-based trail maps that provide you with accurate trail information; trail profiles that help you visualize altitude gain and loss; directions that lead you to the trailheads.
Whether you live in Birmingham, Anniston, Gadsden, or Tuscaloosa, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Birmingham provides the information necessary for you to choose the perfect day hike, as well as maps, directions, trail lengths, hiking times, highlights, and a wealth of detail about the trail itself. So lace up those boots, sling that daypack, and hit the trail!
This book is available for FREE via Tuscaloosa Public Library’s digital library.
Get geared up for spring and check out these top plant performers at the 2014 MSU Annual Trials!
Calibrachoa Conga
Each year since 1977, the Michigan State University Horticulture Demonstration Gardens evaluates hundreds of new annuals grown from seed or cuttings. Trial selections are supplied by 22 private breeding companies and the plants are grown in MSU greenhouses and transplanted into either ground beds or containers after the last frost has passed, which is late May or early June.
Angelonia Archangel
Approximately 46 plants had an average rating of 5.0 for the entire 2014 season. Here are the top:
Calibrachoa Conga Blush – Ball FloraPlant
Angelonia Archangel Dark Rose – Ball FloraPlant
Basil Try Basil – PanAmerican
Begonia Mistral Red – Selecta
Bracteantha Cottage Bronze – Westhoff
Caladium Artful™ Fire and Ice – Proven Winners
Calibrachoa Aloha Kona Hula Orange – RED FOX
Calibrachoa Celebration® Banana – Westhoff
Calibrachoa Celebration® White Imp. 355 – Westhoff
Cleome Senorita Rosalita – Proven Winners
Coleus Kong Lime Sprite – PanAmerican
Coleus Marquee Blonde Bombshell – Burpee Home Gardens
Coleus Marquee Box Office Bronze – Burpee Home Gardens
Diascia Sundiascia ™ Upright Blush White – Suntory
Tune in to this webinar series sponsered by Extension.org, for information you can use about good and bad insects. Webinars will be on the first Friday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern.
For more information on the series and how to connect to the webinars, visit: extension.org/pages/72197.
Check out these fantastic local workshop opportunities with Druid City Garden Project!
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