At what is becoming an annual event, Franklin County Master Gardeners hosted a South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP)/Gleaning Project event where 30 volunteers planted 150 4-gallon buckets with a vegetable and an herb to be distributed to families through the SCCAP regular produce distributing community partners - improving fresh food access and grow-your-own-know-how.
“We are very pleased to be able to host and contribute to this important community outreach project,” said Donna Scherer, Franklin County Master Gardener Coordinator. Ten Master Gardeners, Cathy Campbell, Bill Dorman, Colleen Johnson, Diane Keeney, Don Knode, Ray Larson, Billy Morningstar, Donna Scherer, Ron Schlecht and Walter Springer, gathered at their greenhouse and helped 20 other volunteers plant the container gardens. Donations from the community included compost from Harry Rotz Jr., Chambersburg, potting mix donation from Jan & Jerry Althoff, Countryside Gardens, Gettysburg, buckets from Cathy Jo Byers Wallick, Shippensburg, and plants from the Master Gardener program in Chambersburg. According to Don Knode, Master Gardener Container Gardening Co-Chair, “The Franklin County Master Gardener Program recently began a partnership with the local SCCAP to aid their goal of removing one family at a time out of poverty through education of gardening techniques. SCCAP members have shown a great deal of enthusiasm, and it has been encouraging to teach these techniques and see the positive results of our commitment to this common goal. The results of our participation with SCCAP have allowed families to eat from fresh vegetables and herbs that they did not have to purchase.” An important aspect of this community outreach program is to provide ongoing support throughout the growing season. The buckets were labeled with contact info for Franklin County Master Gardeners, including a link to the “Community Container Gardens” Facebook group page that links gardeners to Master Gardeners who can help with problems they may encounter. Labels also included a phone number and email for the “Ask a Master Gardener” program in Franklin County. Additionally, the Healthy Franklin County program’s Nutrition Task Force Community Garden Committee is trying to gauge interest in community gardens from area residents. Community gardens can be used for education, recreation, mental and physical rehabilitation and can provide access to healthy foods. Community gardens can also provide opportunities for neighborhood improvement. "We believe everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy fresh, nutritious food. And learning something new like gardening takes lots of practice and support. Which is why we're all here working together today. Plus, it's tons of fun!" said Jay Eury, Director of The Gleaning Project of South Central PA, a SCCAP Community Solution. Get more information about these organizations on the Internet. The Gleaning Project - http://www.thegleaningproject.org South Central Community Action Programs - http://www.sccap.org Healthy Franklin County - http://www.healthyfranklincounty.org Summer – hot, humid, sun-baking. Working in the garden, mowing, playing your favorite sport or marking off honey-do list items brings out the sweat. The weather man, newspaper and doctors all say to stay hydrated. We need to drink liquids but it’s important to limit caffeine and alcohol intake. What to do? Drink herbal teas! Herbal iced teas are refreshing. Serve with ice, a fresh herbal sprig or slice of fruit, sit back and take a break. The teas are healthy and caffeine-free. Caffeine, a diuretic, can worsen dehydration and the stimulation can overwork what may already be a stressed cardio system. Please note that green tea, although considered to have healthful benefits, contains caffeine. Making herbal tea is easy. You can use purchased herbal tea or tea bags or use fresh herbs either purchased or home-grown. Fresh and dried herbs can be used singly or in blends that can include flowers, citrus peels and spices. Easy to Make - Iced Tea It is best to use non-metallic containers for making tea as metal can affect the taste. Use cold water to make tea. Be careful when adding boiling or hot water to glass or ceramic containers. Add water with the container in the sink and avoid breakage. For iced tea, the amount of tea is increased over that of hot tea since the tea will be diluted by the ice that is added. For one cup with dried herbs, add boiling water to 2 Tablespoons of herbs. Dried herbs have a more concentrated taste than fresh. For fresh herbs, use 3 Tablespoons of finely minced leaves. Add boiling water and steep for 3-5 minutes. Strain and let the tea cool. Pour over ice and serve with an herbal sprig or slice of fruit. Consider using a stevia leaf from your plant for sweetner. Stevia is said to be over 30 times sweeter than sugar. Try one-eight of a teaspoon of the herb per cup and adjust accordingly. Two Tablespoons approximately equals one cup of sugar. For a pitcher, rinse the pitcher with hot water. Add boiling water to the tea using the same measurements but add “one for the pot.” Steep for 3-5 minutes, strain and let cool. Add ice just before serving. Fruit or herbal sprigs added to the pitcher are a nice touch. Making herbal tea is easy. You can use purchased herbal tea or tea bags or use fresh herbs either purchased or home-grown. Fresh and dried herbs can be used singly or in blends that can include flowers, citrus peels and spices. Easy to Make - Iced Tea It is best to use non-metallic containers for making tea as metal can affect the taste. Use cold water to make tea. Be careful when adding boiling or hot water to glass or ceramic containers. Add water with the container in the sink and avoid breakage. For iced tea, the amount of tea is increased over that of hot tea since the tea will be diluted by the ice that is added. For one cup with dried herbs, add boiling water to 2 Tablespoons of herbs. Dried herbs have a more concentrated taste than fresh. For fresh herbs, use 3 Tablespoons of finely minced leaves. Add boiling water and steep for 3-5 minutes. Strain and let the tea cool. Pour over ice and serve with an herbal sprig or slice of fruit. Consider using a stevia leaf from your plant for sweetner. Stevia is said to be over 30 times sweeter than sugar. Try one-eight of a teaspoon of the herb per cup and adjust accordingly. Two Tablespoons approximately equals one cup of sugar. For a pitcher, rinse the pitcher with hot water. Add boiling water to the tea using the same measurements but add “one for the pot.” Steep for 3-5 minutes, strain and let cool. Add ice just before serving. Fruit or herbal sprigs added to the pitcher are a nice touch. Freedom or Liberty Teas In early American times, when the colonists refrained from drinking English teas in protest of taxes, they turned to teas made from native bushes and herbs such as strawberry and raspberry leaves, mints, clover and bee balm. Here’s an interesting combination you might want to try. Marigold and Mint Tea 10 cups water 3 herbal tea bags (try mint, lemon, ginger) or decaffeinated green tea 2 star anise 1 cup fresh mint leaves 1 cup edible marigold petals (pluck and wash the flower heads thoroughly) 1 cup sugar or 2 Tbsps. Stevia Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add the tea bags and anise stars. Remove from the stove and steep for 1- minutes. Add the mint and marigold petals and steep for another hour. Remove the tea bags, anise, mint and marigold leaves. In a separate pan heat 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar (or stevia leaves) and stir until dissolved. Remove from the stove and cool. To serve, combine the steeped tea, sweet syrup and remaining 5 cups of water in a pitcher or other glass container. Refresh with fresh mint and marigold petals. Refrigerate overnight. Serve over ice and garnish with mint and marigold petals. Some Plants for Teas
Dill - Savory – Blackberry - Bee balm – Sage Lemongrass - Mints - Marjoram - Lemon verbena Rosemary – Borage - Lemon balm Thyme - Strawberry – Chamomile Winter – cold and stormy. But anyone shoveling snow can confirm that we still sweat in winter and we need to drink liquids. Follow the same directions as above to make a cup or pot of hot tea, reducing the measurements to 1 Tablespoon of dried herbs and 2 Tablespoons of fresh minced herbs for a cup of tea. Don't want to brew tea? Try adding some herbs to your water bottle or glass. Try mint, lemon balm or basil (imparts a licorice taste). Pick a few springs, rinse, crush them gently and slip them into the water. Shake or stir. In just a few minutes you will have a flavored infusion. You can even add a little non-flavored carbonated water. When planning your garden this year, include some tea herbs for both summer and winter enjoyment. ~ Carol Kagan Are You Herb Deprived? Thinking about how to incorporate herbs into your landscape? You should be for many reasons. Most herbs are high in anti-oxidants that benefit your health when used in cooking, and the health of your garden benefits too, because herbs attract legions of beneficial insects. Our ancestors lived and cooked with herbs for generations. You can become part of that continuum by interplanting them in flower borders and containers and at the same time supporting our bird, butterfly and insect populations. Edible landscaping is the practice of incorporating food-producing plants in the landscape and herbs are some of the most useful and beautiful additions. Landscape designer and author of "The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping," Rosalind Creasy notes that "I liken herbs to edible plants with training wheels. They are really easy to grow and fit into most any landscape.” Try a big container or half barrel full of parsley, sage, basil, rosemary, chives and thyme. With the advent of the internet we have all learned that there are many herbs from around the world that can be used to enhance the flavors in the dishes we cook. Lavender is one example of a garden plant that few of us think to cook with, but can be used in cookies, ice cream or Herbs de Provence; a blend of herbs with many uses in the kitchen. What are Herbs? An herb is a useful plant whose leaves, blossoms, or stems are used as an ingredient in cooking, dyes, cosmetics, medicine or a combination of these applications. Herbs include perennials, which are permanent plants in the garden, biennials generally live only two seasons, and annuals live for only one season. Most annual herbs tolerate very little frost, and some like basil and nasturtium tolerate none. Some half-hardy annuals survive temperatures in the high 20’s. Hardy perennials like chives and sage tolerate winter temps that dip well below 0° F. My potted chives have survived many winters in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Rosemary and lavender are half-hardy plants and can be killed at temperatures below 15° F. Pests and diseases seldom bother herbs. Even deer! Most herbs are relatively low growing and a few plants in a bed by themselves will appear insignificant. Instead, it would be much better to make 4-5 foot wide beds with multiple plantings of the same herb, or create a planting area around a patio so those enjoying the outdoor space will be able to experience the fragrances. Another consideration is the setting and scale of the space and landscaping aesthetics of color theory, form and texture should be followed. Consider unity, line, scale, color and formal or informal styles. Designers use tight lines when designing herb gardens. Classic designs of brick or stone paths, low hedges of box, or rows of curly parsley or chives serve as dividers often in geometric patterns. A more informal setting will have an overflow of plants on stepping stones or gravel paths and a riot of color with no apparent organization that gives the feel of a cottage garden. Place shorter herbs and flowers at the front of the border and taller herbs in the back and add a few stepping stones for easy access. Site an herb bed where it receives full sun. Most herbs will become straggly if they do not get enough sun. All that is needed for most herbs to thrive is lots of sun, good soil drainage and occasional harvesting. However, the following herbs are shade tolerant. Chervil, chives cilantro daylily, nasturtium, parsley, salad burnet, sweet woodruff and viola, and others like the Mediterranean herbs such as fennel, lavender, oregano, rosemary, sage sweet marjoram and thyme are quite drought tolerant. Herbs are low in maintenance and need little fertilizer. The easiest way to keep culinary herbs healthy and vigorous is to harvest them often. Other types need only a spring pruning to renew woody growth and remove winter damage. For optimal growth, combine perennial herbs in a flower garden with other perennial plants that have similar cultural requirements such as easy to grow coneflower, gaillardia, daylily, yarrow goldenrod, coreopsis and compact varieties of joe pye weed. Examples: • Try combinations of herbs and flowers, like red basil with white zinnias. • Golden and purple sages with yellow and lavender million bells. • Use gray foliage herbs between more powerfully colored flowers. • Fragrant lavenders are nice growing along paths. • A border of gray sage, oregano and sweet marjoram interplanted with pink geraniums. • A border of pineapple sage and red beebalm interplanted with flowering red salvia. • Enjoy a comforting cup of chamomile tea with German chamomile from your tea garden. • Bronze fennel, red basil and red perilla with white cosmos. •The ferny foliage of fennel and dill provide a great backdrop for flowers like dahlia, black-eyed Susans and geraniums. The combinations are endless and just need a little imagination. Consider scattering seeds of flowering annuals from old seed packets around your herb garden, some may become yearly volunteers where they will blend wonderfully. Start small, maybe begin with oregano, sage and thyme, chives and basil. Try a big container or half barrel full of parsley, sage, basil, rosemary, chives and thyme. Reference: "The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping," Rosalind Creasy LINKS Take a tour of Well-Sweep Herb Farm located in NJ and be inspired by learning more about herbs and their uses. They have lots of suggestions of what to grow and how to use. Take a trip to the National Herb Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C. Be sure to include Cilantro in your garden. It’s the International Herb Society’s 2017 Herb of the Year and has multiple uses: medicinal, culinary, aromatic and ornamental. Visit Rosalind Creasy’s blog for tips on Edible Landscaping - Angela Weathers, Master Gardener It's that time of year again. Look at the helpful guide below to help you know how to handle found baby birds. Here's a list of wildlife rehabilitators close to Franklin County, PA.
2017 Note: This year the first week in May is starting out cool and damp much like last year. Hold off on planting warm weather plants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants as well as herbs like basil, summer savory and salad burnet even though we most likely will not have a frost. Evening temperatures are forecast to be in the lower 40’s and, depending on garden location, may dip into the 30’s and daytime temperatures in the mid 60’s. The 2017 Master Gardener Plant Sale is May 20,2017, from 9 am – 1 pm. Come early for the best selections. Bring your wagons and boxes. Publish date: May 12, 2016 It’s been a cool, mostly cloudy spring in Franklin County and this means a later planting date. Home gardeners often plan to transplant seedlings after May 12th, the last estimated frost date for our area. More important than a date on the calendar is soil temperature. This year gardeners need to wait to allow the soil to warm up and the low air temperatures in the foreseeable forecast are consistently in the fifties or warmer. “Soil temperature is a factor which few of us consider important enough to check before planting yet it probably the most important factor affecting … seedling growth,” writes Dr. Jerry Parsons, Texas Extension Horticulturist. Warm soil allows plant roots to grow out into the bed quickly. For the best start to the garden season, plant vegetables when the soil temperatures are best to do so. Plants are sensitive to temperature both above and below ground. If the soil temperature is not right transplants just sit there, biding their time until it warms up. This affects root development and can stunt growth throughout the growing season. Cool temperatures can also invite rot. During the week of May 11 in Fayetteville, Pa., the soil temperature in a sunny, raised bed was only 54° F. Soil temperatures will vary among different areas in a garden and between different yards. Soil in sunny areas and raised beds will warm the quickest. Use a soil thermometer and take the temperature at 2-3” deep around 10 to 11 a.m. Temperatures vary during the day with the lowest soil readings just after dawn and the highest in mid-afternoon. It is best to get a consistent reading over a period of four to five days. The best temperature for transplanting local warm season crops is 60° to 65° F. These include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons, pumpkins and squash. Beans can go in at 55° to 60° F. but okra needs 70° F. or more. The plants from the Master Gardener greenhouse will be offered at the Annual Plant Sale held on Saturday, May 21st from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Soil and air temperatures should be best by that time. There are more than 40 varieties of tomatoes and more than 20 peppers plus seven different eggplants offered for sale this year. ~ Carol Kagan, Master Gardener |
AuthorCarol Rhoades Kagan, Chambersburg, PA CategoriesArchives
November 2020
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2023 Franklin County Master Garden Plant Sale | our blog & notes |