Celebrate Spring!

March 2016

Iowa Master Gardener News & Views
Become a Master Gardener in 2016

Do you want to take your gardening to the next level? Start your journey to become a Master Gardener in September. Dates have been announced for the upcoming core training here. Classes will be held on Tuesdays, September 27, 2016 through November 15, 2016, plus four additional local classes and a Saturday class on campus (October 8 or 22). The training will be hosted in more than twenty locations. Share this press release with your family and friends.


Thanks for Tracking Your Hours


Each year, Iowa Master Gardeners volunteer more than 100,000 hours of service to their communities. The minimum requirement to remain active is 20 volunteer hours and 10 continuing education hours. Already in 2016, Master Gardeners have logged almost 7,000 volunteer hours! Thank you for submitting your hours on the Volunteer Reporting System.


Time to Get Growing for Food Banks


Thank you for watching the Food Security in Iowa webinars. More than 300 people watched the webinars and are ready to get to work to increase food security in Iowa. As you heard in the webinars, Master Gardeners are invited to help grow produce at seven demonstration gardens at ISU Research Farms. Learn more here.

Stay tuned to find out about which Master Gardener projects were awarded the Food Security Mini Grants. More than 60 applications were completed. Grant winners, totaling $20,000 will be announced soon thanks to funds available through the USDA SNAP Education program.

Even if you're not involved with one of the demonstration gardens or with a food security mini-grant project, you can make a difference in food security in Iowa by growing nutritious fruits and vegetables in demand by food banks and food pantries. Because many of these agencies have limited or no refrigeration, produce that is not highly perishable is preferred. Among the requested crops are: beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, melons, onions, peppers, and sweet potatoes.


Top Residential Landscape Trends

Each year the American Society of Landscape Architects conducts a Residential Landscape Architecture Trends Survey. For 2016, most trends reflected demand for outdoor living spaces that are environmentally sustainable, reduce water costs and are low maintenance. The survey of 803 landscape architects was conducted February 4-18, 2016.

Here are the top ten project types with the expected highest consumer demand: Rainwater/graywater harvesting - 88%
Native plants - 86%
Native/adapted drought tolerant plants - 85%
Low-maintenance landscapes - 85%
Permeable paving - 77%
Fire pits/outdoor fireplaces - 75%
Food/vegetable gardens - 75%
Rain gardens - 73%
Drip/water-efficient irrigation - 72%
Reduced lawn area - 72%


The Year of the Carrot
 
The National Garden Bureau has declared 2016 to be The Year of the Carrot. This commonplace root vegetable is among the ten most economically important vegetable crops in the world, for good reason. They are easy to grow, tasty, and packed with nutrients. Vitamin A comes from beta carotene, which provides the orange pigment in the roots.

Carrots haven't always been orange, however. The first edible carrots were likely purple, and later versions were red or black. Not until the late 16th or early 17th Century did orange carrots come onto the scene, the result of plant breeding by the Dutch. Recently the color wheel of carrots has come full circle. 'Purple Haze' was an All-America Selections Winner several years ago. 'Solar Yellow' and 'Atomic Red' expanded the color palette, and new this year is 'Black Nebula', a deep purple-black variety.

Be sure to try some of these new cultivars as well as your all-time favorites. Carrots store well in the refrigerator. Or if you have too many of them, donate some to your local food pantry. 
   
 
Super Sleuths
 
The February Mystery Plant generated a tremendous amount of interest and number of responses. Many thought that it was a tomatillo. Although closely related, this is a different species in the same genus. The common name of the correct plant, ground cherry, refers to several different species of plants in the genus Physalis, all of which bear sweet golden yellow berries inside a papery husk. The species pictured is Physalis peruviana, a native of South America. It has numerous common names in addition to ground cherry--goldenberry, Cape gooseberry, Inca berry, Aztec berry, and amour en cage (love in a cage).

It is hardy only in frost-free zones, but can be grown as an annual in Iowa. The fruits' anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties has generated interest in growing goldenberry as a healthy snack. Commercial producers in Ecuador shipped dried fruits to the US, but you can easily grow your own. Like its more distant cousins, tomato, eggplant, and pepper, provide plants with full sun and plenty of warmth to mature the fruits.

Congratulations to our Super Sleuths for February--Susan Siev, Story County; Brenda Knipper, Jones County; Connie Schumm, Johnson County; Sharon Cline; Gayle Klouda, Johnson County; Joan Dinnel, Johnson County; Dan Heffernen, Polk County; Ann Bublitz, Warren County; Charlene Butz, Polk County; Dorie Gruetzmacher, Muscatine County; Mary Allen; Janet Rosenbury, Polk County; Linda Jones, Des Moines County; and Merle Dieleman, Scott County. Many others also correctly identified the plant, but their responses arrived after this first group of respondents. Thanks to all for participating! 


March Mystery Plant
 
Usually when you think about early spring blooms, crocuses and daffodils come to mind, but this is the season that many trees are blooming, too. The March Mystery Plant is monoecious, meaning that it bears separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Pictured above are the male catkins along with the female cones from last year. If you look more closely, you can also see the current season female flowers at the stem tips. This tree in the birch family is native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa, but adapts so well to wet sites in North America that some locations have classified it as an invasive species. What is it?

Send your response including its common name and botanical name in your reply to Denny. In the next newsletter, we'll recognize up to the first 10 respondents that provide the correct identity of the mystery plant.  


Upcoming Events: Great season for continuing education 
 
What: Spring Garden Seminar
When: March 19
Where: Atlantic 
 
When: March 19, 8:00AM-3:30PM
Where: Muscatine
Price: $45

What: Made in the Shade: Exotic Plants

When: March 24, 6:00-8:00PM
 
Where:
Reiman Gardens
When: March 26, 8:00AM-4:00PM
 Where: Council Bluffs
Price: $40 by March 18

When: March 31, 7:00-9:00PM
Where: Donnellson

What: Made in the Shade: Ferns

When: March 31, 6:00-8:00PM
 
Where:
Reiman Gardens

What: Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop

When: April 1, 7:00-9:00PM
Where: Dubuque
 
What: Webinar: Help Pollinators Cope with Pesticides
When: April 1, 1:00PM

What:
Siouxland Garden Show
When: April 1-3
Where: Sioux City  

What: Spring Fever Symposium
When: April 2
Where: Iowa Arboretum
Price: $60
 
What: Spring Garden Seminar
When: April 2, 8:00AM-3:30PM
Where: Dubuque

When: April 6, 6:30-8:30PM
Where: Perry
 
When: April 7, 6:30PM
Where: Altoona 

What: Garden Study School
When: April 7-8 
Where: Iowa Arboretum
Price: $50
When: April 9, 9:00AM - 4:00PM
Where: Reiman Gardens
 
What: Plant Sale  
When: May 7-8
Where: Altoona

What: Plant Sale  
When: May 7-8
Where: Ames

What: Conifer Rendezvous

When: June 5

Where: Oelwein

What: 2016 Upper Midwest Regional MG Conference
When: September 14-17
Where: Wisconsin Dells


Iowa Master Gardener Program | E-mail | Website


Copyright � 2016. All Rights Reserved.