Garden Clippings
GROWING TOGETHER
THROUGH GARDENING -
503-434-4344
WHAT MAKES GARDENERS SUCH HAPPY PEOPLE
We always knew that gardeners were happy people, but
now there’s a scientific reason why.
Scientists at the
Recommendations from Mike Darcy’s Garden Club Program for a once a year fertilizer
1 part fishbone meal; 1 part cottonseed meal; 3 parts blood meal.
Cottonseed meal is a good general purpose fertilizer.
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On Sunday evening Ann Silverthorne took a tumble and fell. OUCH! I know she would appreciate well wishes and cards.
April 4th – Gardenpalooza
8-4pm.Over 40 local nurseries and garden vendors to
get you excited about gardening. See hundreds of plants, tools and garden
art. Enjoy petting farm animals, shopping at the country store, fresh
doughnuts, delicious food and much, much more! Fir Point Farms,
April 7th, Art & Crafts - Button
Flowers
Tuesday,
April 7th at
Bring
buttons, $1 if you plan on making the larger flowers that requires
5 buttons, also bring glue for glass. For more info: contact Patty
Sorensen
April 11th -
10 a.m. to noon - Members of the Willamette Valley Chapter of the
Native Plant Society will lead a walk to identify wildflowers in Bush Park and
the Deepwood Estate. Participants should meet at the Deepwood Estate
parking lot off of
April 11th & 12th
-Hardy Plant Society of Oregon Spring Plant
Sat -10-4 and Sun. 11-3. 80+ plant vendors, 40+ garden artists,
free gardening demonstrations. www.hardyplantsociety.org
April 16th,
Pioneer District Luncheon
Installation
of Gaye Stewart and Mike Stewart as Director and Treasurer
April 20th - Meeting
"Water Gardening in Containers."
Annie
works at the
DON’T FORGET TO
PARK IN THE CHURCH PARKING LOT
“The Making a Difference Campaign” is a national
garden club project. The Pioneer District is collecting inkjet,
laser printer cartridges and cell phones that will be recycled. If you have any that you wish to contribute
to the project please bring them to a meeting and we will forward them to the
Pioneer District.
April 24th -
Field Trip
We’ll leave Bethel Baptist at 9:00 a.m. with our first stop in
Almsville and Godfrey’s nursery. They
are one of our plant vendors at the Garden Faire. We’ll stop for lunch in Wilsonville and then
head for Tollen Farm (another one of our vendors). There are lots of nurseries along the way if
we have time we’ll stop. These two
nurseries are very different and will take some time to see everything.
April 25th Yamhill County Master Gardeners’ Plant Fair
& Sale at the Fairgrounds on Lafayette Ave.! 9-3. All kinds of plants--ornamental, vegetables, herbaceous,
trees and shrubs. Free soil pH testing, Free Plant help clinic, Free
plant selection assistance.
April 25thand 26th
Bauman Farms are having an event
at the farm called the 2nd Annual Bauman's Greenhouse Gallery...there will be Artists
from all over the northwest. Bauman Farms,
April 25 -Aloha Garden Club sale is
Saturday
April 27th
– Library Plant Cleanup
Meet at the library at
May 4 & 5 Bag
Ladies (& Gentlemen) on 3rd
Time to help cleanup
Bonsai
class at Terra Gardens on March 28th. They had a great time!
GARDEN TOUR AND GARDEN FAIR
Spring is here….. the days are getting longer…… the plants are coming up in our gardens! And the Garden Tour/Faire is only three months away. We’re feeling really excited about it and we hope you are too!!
Les
Buchholz is in charge of the Garden Club booth at the Farmers
Market this year. He will be asking
for four volunteers each Thursday to help him at the booth. He will need two volunteers for the
There will also be a space on the sign-up sheet for those of you who would like to provide a bouquet of flowers for the booth each week. We are a garden club, after all, so we should be showing off some of the treasures from our own gardens!
Start making up your wish list for the Garden Faire!! Having so many terrific vendors right here in our own neighborhood only happens once a year…… so make the most of it!!! And tell all of your friends and neighbors about it. We want them to be able to enjoy it too.
Judy Eggers Sharon Gunter
Garden Tour Co-Chairs
Backyard Habitats Marilyn
Coats
THOSE
SLIMY SLUGS!
Something we have all experienced in our gardens--emerging plants that have many holes or completely disappeared.
Our mild damp climate is ideal for slug development and survival. (Don’t need to read an article to find that out!) The article stated that most of the time slugs do beneficial things. They recycle organic matter, contributing to our rich soils and are an important food source for other wildlife. It’s when they get into our gardens that they can be quite damaging.
Slugs are closely related to snails (I thought they were snails that lost their houses!), and both are related to common shellfish such as clams. They all belong to the animal phylum Mollusca and are termed mollusks.
About 40 species
of land slugs live in the 48 contiguous states.
Roughly half are considered economically important. Of the pest species of slugs, all but one was
introduced into this country from foreign lands, no doubt, by accident. However, the brown garden snail was
intentionally imported as a potential gourmet food item, which didn’t work
out. About 10 species now established in
Slugs glide over
a slime trail they produce. The mouth
houses a hornlike rasping organ used to scrape at food. Damage is quite distinctive because of this
unique feeding structure. The European
black slug occurs in two different color forms, either black or red (brick red,
brown, or yellow). The red form is
predominant in western
Only one generation a year is produced. Large, white eggs are laid in clumps under leaves, boards or in soil cavities from late August until freezing weather in the fall. Each slug can lay 3 or 4 clutches of 30 to 60 eggs each. Most adult slugs die shortly after laying eggs, although a few might survive until the following spring. With warm weather, the eggs hatch in 3 to 4 weeks.
Some mammals such as raccoons and possums feed on slugs. Also garter snakes, mallard ducks and bantam chickens are effective slug predators as well. Ground-feeding birds such as starlings feed on juvenile slugs found in grass sod and under wet leaves.
For slug control, the least toxic method is placing scrap boards on soil under plants. Slugs seeking shelter under the boards can be collected each morning and placed in a bucket containing soapy water where they will drown. Another method is using yeast and water or beer to attract them to slug traps. Make sure pets are not able to drink the fluids.
There is some evidence that copper strips or screens are effective barriers to slug movement. Apparently slugs will not cross a copper strip. If using commercial products for slug control make sure you read the directions before applying and be extremely careful that pets won’t be harmed.
On a lighter side, there are slug races conducted in Brookings in June. The first slug to come completely out of a sandwich bag is the winner! All the money raised goes to South Coast Humane Society.
In
It is nice to hear about people having fun regarding our slimy pests even though they create havoc in our gardens.
President’s
Message
Cathy
Burdett
Thyme
after Thyme
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Multi-colored primroses, sunny yellow daffodils and sweet smelling Daphne remind enthusiastic gardeners that the renewal and rejuvenation season of spring has arrived. Recently, occasional raindrops could not restrain me from excitedly venturing out into my garden to greet my “faithful plants and shrubs”. In spite of snowstorms, ice, hail, rain and earlier record breaking low temperatures this year, most of my plants and shrubs have succeeded in surviving to welcome me for another joy-filled gardening year. I am very thankful that I can share life-long hobby with my children and grandchildren. Let me
share with you several comments: · Thank you to our members for their excellent attendance at club meetings · Thank you to Beryl and Anita for each month organizing the wonderful snacks · Thanks to everyone who brings food each month – the quality and quantity has been amazing – and really appreciated! · Thank you to Amy Eads and her committee who are reviewing the nominations submitted by the club membership · Thank you to Patty Sorensen and Kathleen Bennett who accompanied me to the Oregon State Legislature to support the Oregon Garden Club‘s testimony before the Senate Committee on proposed LED billboards. · Thank you to Sharon Gunter and Judy Eggers who are diligently organizing and planning the 2009 McMinnville Garden Club Tour and Fair. It is a time consuming project. · Thank you to Joanne Dewitt for continuing to sign up vendors · Thank you to everyone who signed up to attend the Pioneer District Luncheon to support the installation of Gaye and Mike Stewart. CONGRATULATIONS GAYE AND MIKE! |
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Internet Links
Pioneer District
Newsletter
http://gardencentral.org/oregon/pioneerdistrictnewsletter/
State web site
http://oregongardenclubs.org/default.htm
http://www.realtor.com/home-garden/gardening/default.aspx
Several interesting articles to read including Deadly Poisonous Plants,
Carnivorous Plants Slideshow, How to Attract Wildlife, etc.
Here
is our April Yard of the Month for
the Web page
http://mcminnvillegardenclub.org/Yardofthemonth.htm
Address:
1981 NW Woodland Drive
McMinnville, Oregon 97128
Directions:
Drive West on
Drive to
Make
another right onto
The house
on the left side of the street
BILLBOARD UPDATE:
Three
members of the McMinnville Garden Club; Cathy B., Kathleen B, and Patty
S., attended the Billboard hearing in