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Master Gardeners of Greene County
April 2021
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Table of Contents for April's Newsletter 2021
New Season for Hotline
Vegetable Gardening in the Ozarks Classes
Caring for Your Trees (lots of links)
What is a Cabbage Looper and How to Prevent Them
Everything You Need to Know About Succulent Care
Garden Links
Get Your Soil Tested Soon
Previous Newsletter Link
Need a Speaker for One of Your Meetings or Groups?
Gardening Questions Phone Number
Subscribe to the Newsletter
Master Gardener Greene County Hotline is open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. M-F and some Saturdays 10 am-1 pm. Please call (417-874-2963) before coming in with a sample or pictures. Some volunteers will be working remotely. It will have staff on Thursdays. This is primarily to collect soil samples or help with your gardening questions.

Feel free to contact us anytime with your questions by phone (417-874-2963), by email or on our website. Feel free to send pictures of your problems or questions via email. For more information check here.

Please leave a detailed message if calling or just sending an email.

Questions answered state wide.

In the meantime, if you need a faster answer to your important gardening question, use the MU Extension website and use the topic search box. 

Wishing all a wonderful gardening season.
Vegetable Gardening in the Ozarks Classes
Weed Control in Vegetable Garden - April 27th
The classes will be on Zoom

Tuesday, April 27 - August 10

10:00 am - 11:00 am

Pre-registration $5 click here. Scholarships are available.

As we move on to the next class in the online series, 'Weed Control in the Vegetable Garden!' Weed management can be a dreaded and labor intensive part of vegetable gardening. Learn strategies to keep weeds under control so you can spend more time tending your vegetable plants, followed by a live Q&A. 

Proceeds for this class - $5 - will go to the Master Gardeners of Greene County chapter. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. If you can't attend or miss the class, all registrants will receive a link to the recording after the class. 

A Zoom link will be sent to you a few days before the start of the class. So register early.

Below is the schedule for the classes in this series. All classes are from
10am - 11 am. If you are unable to attend the class but would like to watch a recording of the class(es), go ahead and register now and the recording link will be sent to you. 

● April 27 – Weed Control in the Vegetable Garden
● May 11 – Warm Season Vegetables for Summer
● May 25 – Watering the Vegetable Garden
● June 8 – All About Tomatoes
● June 22 – Insect and Disease Management in the Vegetable Garden
● June 29 – Canning, Freezing, and Drying the Garden Harvest
● July 13 – Vegetable Nutrition and Recipes
● August 3 – Donating Excess Vegetables
● August 10 – Cool Season Vegetables for Fall 

We know you will enjoy these classes online. Please share this opportunity with friends and loved ones! Looking forward to learning and growing in 2021.

Have questions, need a scholarship or need more information, please contact Kelly McGowan, email at: mcgowank@missouri.edu or call 417.874.2955
Caring for Your Trees
Overcoming tree problems is easy once you know how to grow a tree properly. This section on caring for trees will provide you with all the tree growing info you need for reaching success. So learn what it takes to avoid common tree problems in the landscape by providing your trees with suitable growing conditions and care. Keep reading here for information on how to grow a tree successfully and tips on caring for trees so you can enjoy them for as long as possible.

Over 20 links within article.
What Is A Cabbage Looper and How to Prevent Them
Whether you’re new to gardening or a seasoned enthusiast, you’re probably familiar with one super common insect pest: the dreaded cabbage looper. They’re not dangerous, but they are voracious. They love most plants in your vegetable garden, especially leafy greens.

Although they damage a lot of plants, they don’t ruin crops entirely. They will affect the amount of your harvest, however.

You’ll most likely notice them in their larva stage when they’re an inch-long green caterpillar. They can eat up to three times their body weight in a single day, and where there’s one, there are always a lot more.

They’re an off-white moth with a ‘Y’ shape or small black dots on each wing in their adult stage. They flit from one plant to another, laying eggs, which you can see as little white dots on the undersides of foliage.

Cabbage loopers feed on the undersides of foliage and you will often see irregular holes covering young and developing leaves.

  • If you have time, keep an eye on your cruciferous plants and hand-pick them off. This method requires you to pay attention and remove the caterpillars as soon as you see them. You also need to brush the eggs off to prevent hatching.
  • Encourage insects that enjoy dining on cabbage loopers. Ladybugs are particularly efficient at this. Also encourage lacewings, spiders, and wasps. Lizards and toads will also munch on loopers.
  • My (Craig Taylor) favorite method is regular sprays of neem oil. It’s an organic approach that works on many other plants as well. Neem oil is more of a long-term method, not an instant knockdown.
  • Pyrethrum can be added to neem oil for that initial hit to rid your garden of cabbage loopers or slow them down.
  • Use floating row covers. Some gardeners find these work very well. They should prevent the moths from laying their eggs on the foliage.

Edited from Morning Chores
Everything You Need to Know About Succulent Care
Succulents are trendy plants that come from arid areas around the world. A huge advantage of succulents is that they're able to retain water in their thick, fleshy leaves and stems. The plants come in a seemingly endless selection of sizes, shapes, and colors, and can adapt to many different types of growing conditions. They also require very little care, making them a no-fail plant option both indoors and outdoors. Keep these things in mind when taking care of succulents and they'll be sure to live their best lives.
Read more here.

How to Plant a Tabletop Succulent Dish Garden

Succulents vs. Cacti: What’s the Difference?

Virtual Town Hall Meetings/Classes
These are weekly, now.

MU: April Gardening Tips
Starting Plants Indoors From Seeds - Still time

Vegetable Planting Calendar - Use the download version

Gardening with Nature - Raised beds

Heat-Tolerant Container Gardens

Top 25 Invasive Plants Expanding in Missouri 2021

Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

Pruning Ornamental Shrubs

New Views on Companion Planting

Home Propagation of Garden and Landscape Plants

American Basswood aka American Linden (Tilia americana)

All videos are Youtube -
VIDEO: Certified Naturally Grown with Patrick Byers

VIDEO: Understand and Manage Plant Diseases With Patrick Byers

VIDEO: Strawberry Production with Patrick Byers

VIDEO: Beginning in Beekeeping with Patrick Byers

VIDEO: Elderberry Culture by Patrick Byers

The Garden Spade March 2021 Newsletter

Planning Landscaping with Native Plants for 2021?

Fruit Production: Learn What and How to Grow Fruit in Missouri

Dahlias Dazzle

Amaryllis - Show-Stopping Blooms Next Year

Missouri's Ticks

Deer-resistant Plants

First & Last Frost Dates by Missouri Region
Get Your Soil Tested Soon
Basic soil testing analysis is done by the MU Soil Lab in partnership with our Master Gardeners of Greene County. Results include fertilizer and lime recommendations. Additional tests are available for nutrient management plans, environmental issues, potting mixes, compost, manure and water usage. Each sample should contain a total of 2 cups of dry soil and from 6 to 7 inches deep and about 5 or 6 different areas. Results are typically provided within two weeks.

We recommend bringing the soil sample(s) to our office between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursdays. Master Gardeners can complete the paperwork and submit your test. One of our extension specialists will review your results. In most cases, gardens, lawns and fields should be tested every two years.

The cost is $30 per sample. Feel free to call if you have any questions.
417-874-2963
Previous Newsletter
Need a Speaker for a Meeting or Group?
Master Gardeners of Greene County are unavailable at this time to speak to garden clubs, civic organizations, schools and other groups on a wide variety of topics within the world of gardening, horticulture, landscaping and the environment.

Please keep us in mind for a future date.

For more information.

Email Us
Donating to MU Extension

Without MU Extension, there would be no Master Gardeners.
Gifts from individual donors support MU Extension's educational programs in Greene County. Primarily, we receive cash donations by check or online with a credit card and the non-cash donation of vehicles.
 
For more information

Donate Online
Tax deductible donation

Explore MU's NEW Website for Information on Programs, Events and More
For all your gardening questions, please call our Hotline: 
    
417-874-2963

The Hotline volunteers are available
(though some may be working remotely)
during the hours of 
10:00 am to 4:00 pm M-F
and on some Saturdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Please call before coming in with a question, sample or pictures.
Questions welcome site wide.

The Hotline will be staffed onsite on Thursdays
from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
primarily for soil testing.
Continue to call, email us or send pictures to hotline@mggreene.org
These are three separate ways of contacting us.

http://mggreene.org/hotline/

Read our "Ask a Master Gardener" column in the Sunday Springfield News-Leader.

Be sure to LIKE us on Facebook!

Thank you!!
 
MGGC
Master Gardeners of Greene County, Missouri
417-874-2963
 
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