Originally published March 31, 2016 Forsythia and hyacinths were blooming during an unseasonably warm December 2015. Home gardeners phoned the Horticulture Help Desk at Penn State Extension, Franklin County, wanting to know if there was anything they should do. Master Gardeners who answered the calls were able to tell them not to worry. Plants that were tricked into blooming as if winter was over may have fewer blooms this coming spring but will most likely survive. Penn State Extension, a part of Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, is an educational network that gives people in Pennsylvania's 67 counties access to the University's research-based resources, information and expertise. The Penn State Master Gardener volunteer program supports the outreach mission of Penn State Extension by using that information to educate the public and our communities on best practices in horticulture and environmental stewardship. “We are not trying to sell a particular product or service,” said Extension Educator for Cumberland County Annette MaCoy in an interview at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. “We are trying to give the … home gardener … good solid information from an environmentally sound point of view. We try to give them all the options and steer them toward what are the best recommendations to produce a healthy productive garden.” According to Nancy Knauss, State Coordinator for the Master Gardener program, there are currently more than 3,100 Master Gardeners in Pennsylvania. In 2015 they volunteered over 187,000 hours, reaching 250,405 adults and 44,219 youth. In Franklin County there are 74 certified Master Gardeners this year plus six Apprentices who have finished their 18 weeks of training classes. They are trained by Penn State University faculty and Extension staff, learning about gardening from a research-based point of view. To maintain their certification they are required to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours of work and take 10 hours of advanced training each year. Covering the Help Desk is one way Master Gardeners help Extension. After training, they volunteer their time to provide horticulture outreach and education to the residents of the county in which they live. They serve the home gardening public by answering questions, giving classes and workshops, speaking to groups, maintaining demonstration gardens and in many other ways. On January 15, the Pennsylvania Farm Show Master Gardener Pesticide Education booth assisted more than 1,300 visitors. The Master Gardener program was initiated in 1972 in Seattle, Washington. David Gibby, an Extension Agent in King County, is credited for designing the program to meet the demand for reliable home gardening information. It was so successful in the state of Washington that it was adopted by all 50 States, Korea and three Canadian provinces. Each month local calendars and bulletin boards advertise classes and workshops presented by Master Gardeners. For 2016 the full-year schedule of over 50 classes and workshops runs the gamut of gardening topics with repeats of popular annual ones such as Herbs, Simply Succulents, Turfgrass, Cornhusk Wreaths and Dolls, and Composting plus Hypertufa: Mud Pies for Grown-ups, the hands-on “make and take” workshop to create garden pots. New offerings include Daylilies, Butterfly Garden Design, Pesticides for Home Gardeners, Crafting with Succulents and more. "This year we are presenting new offerings suggested at last year's programs," said Donna Scherer, Master Gardener Coordinator for Franklin County. "The few family-friendly programs last year were successful, and parents requested more, so we added six new programs." Family-friendly programs are opportunities for parents to work and learn along with their children. While some programs are for ages 8 and up, several are planned for younger ages. There is a workshop making flower seed balls in April, Bug ID class in June and Worms Ate My Homework (Worm Composting) in the fall. The Victory Garden, a hands-on vegetable gardening workshop for the public, runs from April to October. This program is a combination of weekly classes plus hands-on work in the garden. Participants take home garden-grown produce and the know-how to grow their own. This is also an excellent opportunity for groups that want to establish community garden programs to take the workshop and learn from the ground up. Container gardening is among the most popular speaker topics requested by county groups along with information on pollinators and butterflies. Master Gardeners with special interest and information about topics attend meetings and give presentations. The historic and local significance of the Gass Garden is another topic of interest. Presentations and demonstrations are also provided to libraries, school classes and home-school groups on other topics. "I always find the groups who invite me to speak ask great questions, are enthusiastic and appreciative,” said Master Gardener Laurie Collins. “My favorite part is when people approach afterwards and tell me what they learned from my presentation. That's when I know I've achieved my goal; to educate." In Franklin County, Master Gardeners are fortunate to have space for eight different demonstration gardens. The Victory Garden workshop and the 4-H Garden Club have designated areas for their programs. There are also Herb, Sun Perennial and Drought-Tolerant gardens plus the Woodland Meadow Native Habitat area. The Pollinator Friendly Garden is part of a state-wide network established to regularly document which bees and pollinating insects are visiting the plants. The data is sent to the College of Agricultural Sciences where researchers collate the information for research on pollinators. This garden is now an official Monarch Waystation that provides resources necessary for Monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Our newest garden is the historical Gass Garden, celebrating a native son who played a leading role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Located near the entrance of the Extension office it features plants found during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Archaeological finds unearthed during work in the garden include coins dating back to the 1600's plus arrowheads and a small knife. Special Events: Spring Plant Sale and Tomato Day To support the Franklin County Master Gardeners’ demonstration gardens, programs and events, each year they hold a Spring Plant Sale in May. It offers greenhouse grown vegetables and annuals as well as a wide variety of perennials. What makes this sale so special? The greenhouse plants, grown on the Extension grounds, are primarily heirloom vegetables and flowers as well as other hard-to-find plants. The perennials, from ground covers and daylilies, to sun and shade plants including irises, trees, shrubs and hardy herbs, are all obtained by dividing plants from local gardens. There are typically more than 2,500 plants that over-wintering to be available next spring. Since 2000, Master Gardeners have hosted an Annual Tomato Day in August. In addition to blind tomato taste testing and judging by the public, the day usually includes a special display table for hot peppers, from mild to medium to super-hot, a large display of fresh floral centerpieces and contests for the largest tomato and best salsa. For information on how to become a Penn State Master Gardener, or to receive notification about programs and events, call the Franklin County Extension Office (717-263-9226). To register for classes or workshops, call the Extension Office. Credit cards are accepted. ~ Carol Kagan, Master Gardener The steamer trunk from Great Aunt Lucille’s attic, an antique platter, and a rusty tool from a local auction carry a sense of history, of the past and the people who used them. This holds true for plants, too. Plants can bring to mind historical events or places and times past. Witness Trees are reminders of historic events and places. Locally, witness trees can be found in Gettysburg standing for hundreds of years and being present during the Civil War battle. The Gass Garden at the Agricultural Heritage Building on Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, memorializes the leading role of a native son, Patrick Gass (pronounced Goss), in an important event in U.S. history – the Lewis and Clarke Expedition of 1804-1806. The garden presents a horticultural and historical experience, including educational signage, which demonstrates the importance of plants and agriculture in a young and expanding America. A variety of plants, either found during the expedition or documented to be growing locally in the 18th and early 19th century, are growing in the garden. This year some of these historically-linked plants will be available for sale at the May 20 Master Gardener plant sale. Featured in the Gass Garden is the beautiful pink- to pale lavender-flowered Wild Cleome (Cleome serrulata seen above) that was found and collected over 200 years ago by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The expedition collected three pressed specimens which are still preserved in Philadelphia’s Lewis and Clark Herbarium. Teresa Prendusi, U.S. Forest Service Regional Botanist, notes that this is “one of the showiest wildflowers in the western and prairie regions of the United States.” The nectar-filled blossoms of this plant, also known as Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, wasps and hummingbirds. This species has a long blooming season lasting from June through September and can grow up to 4 feet tall. Gardeners can expect lots of seeds to plant for next year’s blooms. It is drought-tolerant, does not like a damp location and grows in sun or part shade. The Prairie Wild Rose (Rosa arkansana), a plant specimen collected during the Expedition, also grows in the Gass Garden. In May this low shrub begins to bloom with pink flowers which are heavily fragrant. Blooms continue until August and the autumn foliage turns orange-red. The bright red rose hips provide food for birds and wildlife in winter. Once established, plants spread by rhizomes and the roots extend deep into the soil. This habit gives it resistance to drought and fire. The Prairie Wild Rose was among the few species that fared well during the 1930’s droughts in the American Dust Bowl. This plant is also the floral emblem of North Dakota. The Oregon Grape Holly (Mahonia aquifolium) is an evergreen shrub with smooth, glossy leaves. Also a plant specimen collected on the expedition it is known that Native Americans made a yellow dye from the bark of this shrubby species. The Latin name honors Bernard McMahon, an 18th-19th century American horticulturalist. It is the floral emblem of Oregon. It has bright yellow flowers early in the spring. Tom Butzler, Penn State Educator, notes that flowers are “very attractive and visible above the evergreen foliage. The bright yellow blooms, along with their slight fragrance, not only draw the attention of a passerby but also many early season pollinators.” The plant does well in shade or part shade but is best placed away from winter winds. To get the most berries, plant more than one plant in the yard. Wild hydrangea plants (Hydrangea arborescens) produce large white flowers during the summer. This is a plant of the historical period that the Gass Garden commemorate. The ‘Annabelle’ variety also has an interesting back story. In 1910, young Harriet Kirkpatrick was horseback riding through the woods near her home in Anna, Illinois, when she noticed a wild hydrangea. Its snowball-like blooms were much larger than the others. She dug it up, planted it in her garden and shared cuttings with friends. In the 1960's horticulturist J.C. McDaniel propagated it in his nursery and it was introduced as ‘Annabelle’ after the belle of Anna who discovered it. 'Annabelle', the best known cultivar of this native shrub species, is one of the most cold-hardy of the hydrangeas. It blooms early to late summer and is usually 3 to 4 feet tall. Although it can grow in full sun with consistent watering it blooms better in partial shade in our area. Even our vegetables have interesting histories. New to our greenhouse inventory this year is the Cherokee Chocolate tomato. These very productive plants, bearing 12 oz. fruits, are a variety of the Cherokee Purple plant from Tennessee cultivated by the Cherokee tribe. Cherokee Chocolate has developed a great following among celebrity chefs because of its exceptionally rich, complex tomato flavors and wonderful chocolaty appearance. The Amish and Mennonite communities have contributed heirloom varieties of peppers and tomatoes. As with most heirlooms, they may not be pretty but they taste great. The Hinkel Hatz pepper is named for fruits the size and shape of chicken hearts – a translation of hinkel hatz. It is a rare Pennsylvania Dutch heirloom dating to before 1880. The peppers are usually red or yellow, though an even more rare orange variant exists preserved among a small group of Mennonite farmers in Maxatawy, Pennsylvania. This has been cultivated for over 150 years. The peppers were traditionally used in pickled form as well as cooked and pureed into a "pepper vinegar" similar to Tabasco sauce. The first heirloom tomato to achieve "cult status," the Brandywine is a pink, Amish variety from the 1880’s. Burpee® listed a Brandywine in their 1886 catalog and Johnson and Stokes listed a variety called Brandywine in 1889. The seed was sent to Seed Savers Exchange collection from Ohio in 1982 with information that the Sudduth-Hill family had been seed saving for over 80 years. The Amish Paste tomato variety may have originated in the 1870’s with the Amish in Medford, Wisconsin. Later, Amish Paste was “discovered” in the heart of Lancaster County, PA, when seeds were acquired by Heirloom Seeds from Lancaster Amish farms. Fish peppers date to the early 1800's when they were grown by African Americans in Philadelphia and Baltimore. They were used by black chefs to make white paprika for fish and shellfish cream sauces, a secret ingredient passed down through oral history. The white pods were used where red peppers would detract from the dish's appearance. The story of these peppers’ mid-1900's rediscovery may be due to a barter made by men trading bees for seeds. In the 1940’s, Horace Pippin of West Chester, Pennsylvania, sought a unique remedy for his war wounds. Learning that bee stings may relieve the pain of his wounds, Pippin bought bees from H. Ralph Weaver. In exchange, Pippin offered what he had -- tons of interesting vegetable seeds, including the rare fish pepper. It was made available to the public in the 1995 Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook. |
AuthorCarol Rhoades Kagan, Chambersburg, PA CategoriesArchives
November 2020
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2023 Franklin County Master Garden Plant Sale | our blog & notes |