June 2012  

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Hello Master Gardeners,

Well it's June and the weather is erratic as one would predict. There have been some absolutely beautiful days but also some cool and wet ones with lows in the lower 40s. The season for weeding is here and I'm sure we are all doing our fair share of that. Insect pests are here as well; Colorado Potato Beetle, Striped Cucumber Beetle and aphids are all extremely active and doing some damage.

I was happy to visit the Brewster Children's Garden last week and the Marstons Mills Children's Garden this week. What great work the mentors and participants are doing. Hats off to all those involved, it is extremely gratifying to see the enthusiasm of the kids and the involvement by all of you. Keep up the great work!

The Barnstable County Fair is going to be here before you know it, another extremely important piece of outreach to the public. We would like to fill up the time slots for the demo garden as soon as possible. Chris has attached the signup sheet for display garden shifts to this newsletter. Please let her know if you are interested in signing up by emailing her at cstpierre@barnstablecounty.org or by calling (508) 375-6690. Let her know which shift will work best for you.  The sooner the schedule is completed the better. The display garden is looking great.  Roberta and the crew are doing an excellent job of keeping things looking pristine.

As many of you may know the late John Forte, worked hard to create and maintain a nature path near the demo garden at the Barnstable County Fair Grounds. Carolyn Albrycht worked alongside John on this effort and we believe going forward this project should be absorbed as part of the demo garden. The nature path is a short path that has been lined with native woodland plants that are identified and labeled, a good chance to educate visitors on our local habitat. Any of you interested in working with this project should join the efforts on Wednesday mornings from 9-12 at the demo garden.

The time of year for recruiting new Master Gardeners is also upon us. I encourage all of you to talk to interested friends and acquaintances and persuade them to apply. Anyone interested in applying to become a Master Gardener should contact Chris via email or phone to be put on a mailing list for applications. The best way to reach new folks is word of mouth, so pass the word on.

Lastly, we still have some time slots open on the Hotline for June as well as most of July. Please, consider signing up.

Happy Gardening,

Russ

Greetings Fellow Gardeners,

Remember that early spring heat wave? Remember when we wondered if we were in for a hot and dry spring and summer. When was the last time you turned on your car heater in the first week of June? But it is difficult to complain about the weather when my garden looksso green and lush. Springtime on the Cape! A bear in P'town! Not a bad place to be.

I am pleased to welcome to the membership, your new 1st Vice President, Wes Plank. Wes earned his Master Gardener badge last year and readily volunteered when asked to join the Board as a Member at Large. Currently, Wes holds the President's position of another nonprofit and has already brought that experience to your Board of Directors. When asked to fill the crucial position of 1st VP, he again accepted greater responsibility.   I look forward to working with Wes and encourage all members to extend a warm personal welcome.

Appreciation: The plant sale committee has done it again. Thanks to Jim Reynolds and crew for another successful event. Thanks to all Master Gardeners for your donated plants and your gift of time and expertise.

Toolships: Two Toolships were awarded to the following students at Cape Cod Tech. The school selected the students from their Horticulture program. Both awards were presented during a ceremony on Thursday, June 7. Also the gifts will be published in the Awards Night Program as well as in the Graduation Program. Thanks to George Lloyd and Ed Albino for their work on the Scholarship Committee.

                            Stephen Barcsansky  from Centerville

                      David Griswold from So. Yarmouth

Farmers Markets: Farmers Markets are starting up again in our towns and neighborhoods. Last year,  Marie Gates saw an opportunity to reach out to the public by participating in her local Markets. Already this year Marie, Peg Black, Joyce Jenks and Ann Boonisar are volunteering in Markets in Chatham, Bass River and Harwich. If you are interested in volunteering and want to know how to get started, call Marie at 508-394-4432.

Sign-up for Hotline and Barnstable Fair: Remember to sign up for Hotline hours. Joy will have signup sheets for both at our June meeting and you can always call Chris (508-375-6690). Chris will not be in the office right before the opening of the fair and we need to process all parking and passes by the 19th.

June meeting: Our June Meeting will be at the Harwich Community Center at 100 Oak Street. Join us for coffee and snacks at 9:30. Oz Osborn will update the membership on rose care and more disease tolerant roses. We will tour the Tip O'Neal rose garden and follow up with a visit to Audrey's and Oz's garden at 12 Scotch Pine Farm in East Harwich. I hear that they have built a chicken coop for all their chickens. The last time I was at Oz's, the baby chicks were peeping away in their living room! Don't you just love gardeners!

Get out there and weed your gardens.