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Master Gardeners of Greene County
June 2023
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Table of Contents for June's Newsletter
Become A Master Gardener - Fall 2023
The "People's Garden" Initiative
Urban and Small-scale Soil Health Webinar
Hover Flies: Pollinators, Predators, & Master Mimics Webinar
Art in the Garden Tour & Visit the Master Gardener Water Wise Garden
Food Preservation Online Classes
Garden Hour with MU Extension
Newsletters of Interest
Native Plants
Researched Based Garden Links
Garden Links
One Last Thought
Get Your Soil Tested Now
Previous Month's Newsletter Link
Need a Speaker for One of Your Meetings or Groups?
Gardening Questions Hotline - Phone, Email and Web Questionnaire
Subscribe to the Newsletter
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Become a Master Gardener Classes Fall 2023 | |
Registration begins June 1
Online Training
Registration for the fall 2023 class of online Master Gardener training will begin June 1st.
The class itself gets underway in late August, to coincide with the MU’s semester schedule.
If you know of anyone interested in the Master Gardener program, please pass this information along to them. Alternatively, as we emerge from the restrictions imposed by COVID, more and more local (in-person) training sessions are becoming available. In all cases, registration information can be found here.
The mission of the Missouri Master Gardener Extension Program is “helping others learn to grow.” The Master Gardener program provides in-depth horticultural training to individuals throughout Missouri who then volunteer their time applying what they have learned to help others in their communities to learn about gardening and environmental education.
Your registration fee includes a FREE Missouri Master Gardener Core Manual.
Class topics include Soil Health, Insects, Botany, Home Vegetable Production, Herbaceous Ornamentals, Turfgrass, Home Fruit Production, Plant Diseases and Diagnostics, Landscape Design, Trees, and Plant Propagation.
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The “People’s Garden” Initiative |
The "People’s Garden" is a USDA program that focuses on growing fresh, healthy food. Additionally, it supports resilient, local food systems; teaches people how to garden using conservation practices; nurtures habitat for pollinators and wildlife and create greenspace for neighbors. School gardens, community gardens, urban farms, and small-scale agriculture projects in rural, suburban and urban areas can be recognized as a “People’s Garden” if they register on the USDA website here.
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Urban and Small-scale Soil Health Webinar |
Online via Zoom
June 7 from 7:30 – 9 pm
Soil health is important for field crop farmers and urban and small-scale farmers. This course will cover five simple principles to improve soil health which decreases water and fertilizer use and makes your food more nutritious. Join a soil health specialist with USDA NRCS for this webinar. Register with MU Extension here.
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Hover Flies: Pollinators, Predators, & Master Mimics |
June 7, 2023
Online Zoom
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
With Betsy Betros MPF Master Class
The control of aphids in agriculture has been a significant force in learning more about a group of flies in the family Syrphidae—the hover flies/flower flies. The larval stage of many hover fly species are direct predators of aphids, a major pest in agriculture and sometimes in the garden. Hover flies are also very important pollinators, mimicking bees. Join Betsy for this 50-min presentation introducing this wonderful group of insects, followed by a 10-min Q & A period. Complete details and register here.
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Art in the Garden Tour
& Visit the Master Gardener Water Wise Garden
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SAVE THE DATE
Sunday, June 25, 2023
1:00-4:00 p.m.
Art in the Garden Tour - Lovers of nature, art and architecture will all find something to enjoy during the Phelps Grove Neighborhood Art in the Garden Tour.
The Phelps neighborhood is defined by tree-shaded streets lined with Craftsman style, bungalow and four-square homes whose residents tend to beautiful gardens, both street-side and behind their homes.
During Art in the Garden, local artists display and sell their work in numerous front or back yards or even on front porches, and visitors are invited to tour the gardens and enjoy the flowers, art, and live music, which will be performed in some of the gardens.
Tickets of $10 each can be purchased in the parking lot at the Springfield Art Museum.
Parking will be available there too.
Maps of the garden locations and descriptions of the art being displayed will be given to those who buy tickets. Watercolor USA will be on display at the museum on the day of the tour.
Plus, visit the beautiful Water Wise Garden. Learn more here. Developed by Master Gardeners of Greene County, at the corner of South National Ave & Linwood St in the corner of Phelps Grove Park.
Art in the Garden Tour questions, contact Vicky Trippe, email or call: 417-865-6333. Learn more details with photos here.
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This self-paced course provides research based information needed to safely and successfully preserve food at home. Participants of all levels of food preservation experience are welcome, including individuals with little or no previous food preservation experience. This course covers pressure canning, boiling water bath canning, steam canning, dehydration, and freezing. Highlights include preserving salsas, pie fillings, pickling, sweet spreads, and harvesting and storage of produce.
Registration is $30.00
Click here for more information and registration.
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Get your Lawn and Garden Questions Answered at the Garden Hour with MU Extension | |
Virtual Town Hall: Mandy D. Bish - MU Extension Specialists will address lawn, garden, and insect questions during the 'Garden Hour' with MU Extension. NOW EVERY Wednesday of the month from 12-1pm. The virtual event is free. To register for the virtual event and/or ask a gardening question, please visit.
To see recordings from previous events, please check out the YouTube videos on the MU Extension IPM channel here.
For more information visit. Or contact Mandy D. Bish, MU Plant Science & Technology at (573) 882-9878 or email: bishm@missouri.edu
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The Garden Spade Newsletter May 2023 by MU Extension Articles Include: Pruning Winter Damaged Shrubs + Rhubarb + A Healthy Lawn is a Properly Mowed Lawn + Growing Iris + Hydrangea Pruning + Fragrant Magnolias + Sleep, Creep, Leap + Epsom Salts + What is It? + Kids Ask Dr. Bug + Gardening Tips + Upcoming Events & Flyers. Details, read the pdf here.
Home Garden News May 2023 by Penn State Extension: Of course, May Home Garden News issue is all about flowers! Plus review these other Home Gardening Categories, find your interests by topic: Planting and Growing + Species and Varieties + Soil Management + Pests and Disease + Weed Management + Eco-Friendly Gardening + Pollination and Bees + Landscaping for Wildlife. All of this and more here.
Preserve It Fresh, Preserve It Safe A Newsletter by MU Extension May/June 2023 Topics: Food Safety Concerns Around Home Dried Mushrooms + Finding Reliable Information about Home Food Preservation + Try MU Extension's online Food Preservation course! For complete topic details and to join our mailing list continue here.
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Learn. Live. Grow. MU Extension Natural Resources Newsletter May 8, 2023: May is a great time visit Missouri's original landscape.+ Before the word ‘derecho’ became a popular term + Certified Wood and Tree Farm -What Does That Mean? + Nuisance Wildlife Webpage + Black Vulture Project + Sycamore Anthracnose + Tree Spotlight-Pawpaw + Eastern Tent Caterpillars + What's Online? Details on this and more here.
June Gardening Tips by Donna Aufdenberg for MU Extension May 19. 2023 Topics: Outdoor Flowering Plants & Ornamentals ✚ Vegetable Gardening ✚ Fruits and Nuts ✚ Cool-season Lawns ✚ Warm-season Lawns ✚ Gardening season has begun! Find these tips, tricks and tasks to keep you busy in and around the garden throughout the month of June. Learn details and more here.
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Researched Based Gardening Links | |
How and when to water your garden by Richard Hentschel Illinois Extension: Watering plants may seem easy, but it can inspire a lot of questions – When? How much? What is the best way? What kind of watering attachment? Can I use harvested water? Continue reading here.
TWO LINKS: Missouri Gooseberry (Ribes missouriense) by MDC Field Guide: Found statewide it is common throughout Missouri except in the southeastern lowlands. People brave its prickly stems to collect its tart, tasty fruits to make pies, jams, and jellies. This thorny shrub is generally 3 feet tall, spreading to 6 feet wide, with clustered trunks and arching branches. Learn more here.
PLUS: Gooseberry: A Small but Mighty Fruit with a Past by Michele Warmund, MU Plant Science & Technology: Learn more about the history, various species and how to care for them here.
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Growing Ground Cherries by Mary Jo Gibson, Master Gardener for Penn State Extension: Try cherry-sized fruits with tropical and tomato flavors in your garden this season—grow ground cherries! The round, half-inch, ripe fruits are harvested after dropping to the ground. Ground cherries are related to tomatoes. Learn more here.
TWO LINKS: Tips for growing asparagus by Rebecca Gants for MU Extension: Asparagus is a dependable perennial vegetable, often lasting in the garden for more than 15 years. continue reading here.
PLUS: To learn more, see MU Extension guide Growing Asparagus in Missouri Reviewed by David Trinklein here.
Rhubarb is prone to bolting; Here’s what to do by Rosie Lerner for Purdue Univ Extension: When plants flower when we want them to, we call it blooming. But when plants flower when we don’t want them to, we call it bolting. Flowering is an undesirable trait when growing rhubarb; therefore, bolting describes the event. Gardeners frequently ask why their rhubarb is bolting. Learn more here.
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Home Fruit Production: Peach and Nectarine Culture by Michele Warmund Fruit State Specialist MU Division of Plant Sciences: The peach has often been called the Queen of Fruits. Its beauty is surpassed only by its delightful flavor and texture. Peach trees require considerable care, however, and cultivars should be carefully selected. Continue reading here.
Home Fruit Production: Apples by Michele Warmund MU Department of Horticulture: The production of beautiful, blemish-free apples in a backyard setting is challenging in the Midwest... However, careful planning in selecting the apple cultivar and rootstock, locating and preparing the site for planting, and establishing a season-long routine for pruning, fertilizing, watering, and spraying will greatly enhance the flavor and appearance of apples grown at home. Learn more here.
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Spring Showers Bring Lawnmowers by David Trinklein for MU Extension May 22, 2023: When grass grows in suburbia, lawnmowers are soon to follow. As a result, lawn mowing activities tend to increase during the month of May. It is estimated that 54 million Americans mow their lawns each weekend and the average homeowner spends 70 hours caring for their lawn each year. Learn more here.
Looking to expand your agricultural knowledge? You can access recordings of Springfield Community Gardens (SCG) Zoom workshops on SCG's YouTube channel. The videos feature excellent instructors including Patrick Byers Horticulture Field Specialist at MU Extension and other professionals. You are welcome to view free, as many workshop videos from this playlist of 58 as you choose, start here.
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Fragrant Magnolia Flowers Tantalize the Senses by Michele Warmund MU Plant Science & Technology May 3, 2023: Several species of ornamental magnolias grace the Missouri landscape with colorful flowers from March through mid-June. With their prolific bloom, magnolias' sweet, citrusy floral fragrance permeates the air and beguiles the senses when planted in the landscape. Learn more here.
Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) by Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder - Growing crape myrtles in the USDA Zone 6 can be tricky because the above ground branches often die to the ground in winter, particularly when temperatures dip below -5 degrees F. Learn more about this here.
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Celosia: Pigweed's Attractive Cousin' by David Trinklein MU Plant Science & Technology May 8, 2023: In the search for the ultimate "low maintenance" flowering garden annual, celosia is hard to beat. After all, it is a member of what commonly is known as the pigweed family. Learn more here.
Blanket your flower beds with colorful gaillardias Writer Linda Geist for MU Extension May 17, 2023: "Gaillardia can comfortably fill the supporting actor role in your garden,” said David Trinklein... Commonly called “blanket flower,” this colorful perennial produces daisy-like flowers that come in shades of yellow, orange, red, purplish, brown, white or bicolored. Learn more here.
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Iris, goddess of rainbows, splashes color over spring gardens Writer Linda Geist for MU Extension May 17, 2023: “By careful selection of bearded iris varieties, a gardener can enjoy a remarkable range of colors and a bloom season that extends for weeks,” said David Trinklein. Some bearded irises bloom again in the summer or fall and are classified as “rebloomers.” Learn more here.
Clustered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) by Missouri Botanical Garden: Species native to Missouri. Easily grown in fertile, moist to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Plants are less drought tolerant than most of the other species of Pycnanthemum. Performs well in bright shade, but best flowering often occurs in full sun. This plant is a vigorous grower that may spread by rhizomes in optimum conditions, but it is not invasive as are many of the true mints. Learn more here.
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Felines and some flowers not a purr-fect mix Writer Linda Geist for MU Extension: Some flowers don’t mix well with felines. A spring favorite, the Easter lily, is one that could kill a curious cat. The perennial plant’s white, trumpet-like flowers might not sound the warning that all parts of it are highly toxic to cats. Easter lilies are true lilies. They grow from bulbs, not tubers. Continue reading here.
TWO LINKS: Get more hydrangea with these simple steps Writer Linda Geist for MU Extension May 16, 2023: It is best to transplant in early spring or late in the fall when the plant is not actively growing. Transplanting puts the plant under stress and makes it harder for it to adjust to its new surroundings. Instead of transplanting, consider propagation, a way to create new plants from existing ones, says Kelly. There are two ways to do this: layering and division. Learn more here.
PLUS: Transplanting & Propagating Hydrangea MU Extension IPM YouTube Video here.
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How To Keep Your Garden Colorful Through Summer by Susan Himes, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communication May 8, 2023: Unlock the power of flowers with these expert gardening tips from an extension specialist here.
Boost your blossoms by deadheading Writer Linda Geist for MU Extension May 16, 2023: Removing faded and dead blooms costs nothing but time and encourages plants to put their energies into forming new blossoms instead of producing seed, says Tamra Reall. Additionally, deadheading gives the plant a tidier, more vibrant appearance. Learn more here.
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Leave the leaves after blooms fade Writer Linda Geist for MU Extension May 3, 2023: Spring-flowering bulbs include daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. Too often, people mow down their daffodils after they flower, and that’s a bad idea, David Trinklein said. These cool-season plants need their leaves so they can photosynthesize until summer heat finishes them for the year. Photosynthesis lets the plant store food for next year’s flowers. Learn more here.
Missouri’s Incredible Natural Communities From Missouri Conservationist May 2023: Missouri is home to all sorts of native plants and animals. For example, did you know that there are more species of native plants in Missouri than in all of Alaska? Or that we have three times the number of native reptile species than in Montana? And our thousands of miles of streams support the nation’s ninth most diverse fish population. Continue here.
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Bee Swarns: Missouri State Beekeepers Association (MSBA): A swarm of honeybees that are clustered, hanging on a branch or on another object. Most often, a swarm of bees is very docile and not a threat. They are in the process of looking for a more permanent home. The beekeepers listed here are not endorsed by the MSBA. They are listed here for information only.
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Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) by MDC Field Guide: Like other sphinx moths, adult hummingbird clearwings have protruding heads, large eyes, a large, furry thorax, and a conical abdomen that extends well beyond the hindwings when the moth flies. This sphinx moth mimics a bumblebee. Continue reading here.
TWO LINKS: Bats (in Missouri) by MDC Field Guide: there are about 14 species in Missouri. There are about 18 families of bats globally, but only one family of bats predominates in Missouri: the evening bats (Vespertilionidae). The bats in our state are all relatively small, usually with prominent ears. Learn more here.
PLUS: MDC Suggested website, Bat Conservation International (BCI) BCI's mission is to conserve the world’s bats and their ecosystems to ensure a healthy planet. See, 'Bat Gardens & Houses' Learn more here.
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Micromoths of May by Bob & Barb Kipfer for Springfield Plateau Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalist™ May 9, 2023: May is the start of moth season on Bull Creek. Leaving the porch light on Sunday night called in a haul of micromoths. My definition is a moth less than an inch long. The umber moth (photo) is a good example, common, underappreciated and with little information the lifecycle. Continue reading here.
Please don't kill ants! Ants Are Ecologically Beneficial; In Defense of Ants Horticulture and Home Pest News by ISU Extension: Here are qualities and benefits of ants that should earn them some respect. Read here.
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TWO LINKS: Invasive Bush Honeysuckle Control by MDC: Two species of honeysuckle shrubs — Morrow's (Lonicera morrowii) and Amur (L. maackii) — cause the most frequently observed invasive problems in Missouri. Here they will be referred to collectively as bush honeysuckles. Continue here.
PLUS: Learn more about Bush Honeysuckles here.
TWO LINKS: Missouri's Native Honeysuckles: Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) by Grow Native! Clump-forming vine. Great species for hummingbirds. The red flowers are prolific for about a month in May/June followed by sporadic flowering the rest of the season. Learn more here.
PLUS: Yellow Honeysuckle (Lonicera flava) by MDC: Found primarily in the Ozarks, but it is increasingly available at native plant nurseries and might be found in cultivation statewide. Learn more here.
NOTE: Please be careful, don't plant any of the invasive honeysuckles, they are easy to confuse.
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Suggested reading by Bob Kipfer with Missouri Master Naturalist: "I have attached a fascinating study on how our selection of planting male trees has promoted seasonal allergies." | 'Botanical Sexism Cultivates Home-Grown Allergies' by Thomas Leo Ogren on Scientific American Blog April 29, 2015: It's the time year for watery eyes and itchy noses, and if you're among the afflicted, you may be surprised to learn that decades of botanical sexism in urban landscapes have contributed to your woes. Read on here.
First Aid for Storm-Damaged Trees by Hank Stelzer, Forestry State Specialist, MU School of Natural Resources: In the aftermath of a severe ice or windstorm, (or accident) many homeowners ask a simple question about their trees: Will they survive? That question arises from the initial impulse to "get this mess cleaned up." But hasty decisions can often result in removing trees that could have been saved. Follow these simple guidelines in administering first aid to your trees after storm. Learn more here.
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Canebrakes: Missouri's Bamboo Forests by A.J. Hendershott from Missouri Conservationist Archives: Giant cane (Arundinaria gigantea) is unusual in that it is our largest grass, and it is woody... huge stands of bamboo were called canebrakes and could be found close to our streams and creeks. Canebrakes varied in size and grew in the southern half of Missouri. Learn more here.
'Evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) aka white evening primrose A Missouri native. Learn more about his beauty from Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder here.
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A LAST THOUGHT Have you been to the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave, Springfield, MO? If not plan a group or family fall's visit today. In addition to the many beautiful floral and demonstration gardens, a number of gardening organizations are headquartered there, including MU Greene County Extension office and the Master Gardeners of Green County Hotline. Questions call 417-891-1515 or tour the gardens and all of the other attractions online. | |
**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.
Bring the soil sample(s) to the Greene (or local county office) County Extension 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.
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Need a Speaker for a Meeting or Group?
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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.
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