A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 V O L U M N E 1 9 , I S S U E 8

Queen Anne’s County Master Gardener Newsletter

The Watering Can I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Coordinators

Corner

2

MG Meetings 2

Ask A Master

Gardener

3

Mr. Wallers

Garden

4-5

MG Hours 5

Hogweed

Continued

6

Insect Hotel

Workshop

7

QAC 4-H Fair 8-9

Tomato Tasting 9

Advanced Bay-

Wise Training

10

Bay-Wise 11

Demo Garden 11

Honeybee Flower

Farm

10

Bay-Wise 11

Demo Garden 11

August Tips 12

Kent County

Middle School 12

Volunteer

Activities 13

Calendar 14-15

Giant Hogweed or Poison Hemlock? Taken from the Maryland Grows Blog

Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) was found recently in Clarke County, Virgin-ia, and it has raised awareness and concern about the plant – and rightful-ly so. The plant produces toxic sap that can cause very severe skin inflamma-tion. We have received a lot of ques-tions about it lately. What you have here is NOT giant hogweed. It is poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), which is much more common. The ferny foliage makes it possible to distinguish it from giant hogweed.

All parts of poison hemlock are toxic too. If you’re removing the plant from your landscape, treat it like you would poison ivy. Wear gloves and a long-

sleeved shirt when you handle it. If you’re mowing the plants, wear a face mask as well. With regard to concerns about gi-ant hogweed, be aware that there are several other plants that look very similar to it. In addition to poison hemlock, there is common cow-parsnip, angelica, wild pars-nip, wild chervil, Queen Anne’s lace, and golden Alexanders. Some

Poison hemlock can be mistaken for giant hogweed

Continued on page 6

Poison hemlock Photo: E. Nibali

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T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

Hello Everyone! I hope you’re doing well. With the month long drought and the deluge of rain the past week we’re seeing lots of stressed out plants. If you don’t get the IPM report I’d suggest you sign up. Just email Suzanne Klick sklick@umd.edu Just a few notes for this month:

Our next meeting is September 20th at the Centreville Library. MG Interns will be presenting on how to maintain and care for garden tools!

A list of our upcoming volunteer activities is on page 13. Now’s the time to start entering summer hours. If you enter hours in the

month of August you’ll be entered in a drawing for a prize! Save the Date:

4-H Fair is August 6th-11th. Sign up’s are on page 8-9 20th Anniversary Celebration will be on Wednesday, October 17th

at Prospect Bay Country Club. All are welcome. Invitations have been sent out. If you didn’t get an invitation in the mail please con-tact me ASAP.

Best, Rachel

COORDINATOR’S CORNER

Meeting Date Topic Time Place

September 20, 2018

Topic: MG Intern Project “Tools”

5:30-7:30 p.m.

Centreville Library

October 17, 2018 20th Anniversary Celebration Evening Prospect Bay Country Club

November 21, 2018 2019 Planning Meeting 9:30-11:30 a.m.

TBD

December 11, 2018 Trip to Longwood Gardens 8 A.M.- 5 P.M.

Cost $50

2018 MG Meetings

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The July, “Ask a Master Gardener” ta-ble at the Kent Island Plant Clinic fea-tured a display we did last year at this time titled, “Is Your Garden Sick?” The board consisted of a display featuring common pests and diseases which can attack your veggies. This display seemed to be a big hit again this year with visitors actually stopping by and reading the information! We have also been featuring a “Kids Corner” with all kinds of handouts for children, includ-ing coloring books and pages about insects and growing plants. Rachel loaned us a fennel plant with black swallowtail caterpillar eggs, and this was a big hit with children who came by with their parents. We actually had a group of children from a local camp stop by with their counselor which presented a great opportunity to talk to them about the caterpillars and how they turn into butterflies. Parents and others got handouts on keeping plants healthy and disease free and other gardening tips. We had about 35 people including the campers who stopped by our table, and we had some questions about pumpkin blos-soms, rabbits, and groundhogs! Nick Stoer, Jackie Kelly, Carol Romano, Bar-bara Graham, and Lois Noonan came to help us, and Carol Jelich, Joyce Woodford, and Fred Kurst stopped by to visit.

Ask a Master Gardener

Kent Island Farmers Market

Submitted by: MG Liz Hammond &

Deane Horowitz, KI Plant Clinic Chair

We encourage any of you who have not yet volunteered to join in on this experience on any of the second Thurs-days of the month from 3:00 to 6:30 PM at Christ Church, Stevensville, 830 Romancoke Rd.

Liz Hammond 410-758-2992 er93hammon@aol.com Deane Horowitz 410-604-0969 deanoch@yahoo.com Upcoming Plant Clinic Dates: (at the Kent Island Farmers Market-unless otherwise noted) 8/9/18 9/13/18 10/11/18 11/08/18 12/13/18 To sign up for a particular day email Liz, come to an MG meeting or click on this link: http://signup.com/go/qWhYAOw

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T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

Mr. Wallers Secret Garden Submitted by: Rachel Rhodes

Set in the town of Eaglescliffe, once known for its iron industry, sits the sprawling es-tate of Southland. Almost engulfed by ur-ban sprawl, this 10 acre estate was pur-chased by Maureen and Ian Waller in 1980 and they spared the adjacent 5 acres from development in 2007. When entering the gates you are presented with an unassum-ing meadow that slowly transitions into forest. As Ian pulls you through an intri-cate maze of paths weaving through the forest, old growth trees rise up towards the sky while a blanket of English ivy co-vers the ground like a cozy winter blanket. Amidst the winding trails are trinkets left from a time long ago-an old railroad path gently stretches the perimeter, stones edges leading you from place to place. Large rhododendrons provide the perfect vistas of the rolling lawn while giving you the perfect place for a garden hideaway. The vast variety of trees are enough to make even the novice plant lovers heart skip a beat from a large cut leaf beech, to gingko, to variegated maple and pine

trees. Ian explains that “trees with a diameter of 3” or more are protected under a Tree Preservation Order” meaning that a majority of the trees at Southland are protected. He further explains that “every three years his trees are inspected to make sure that they are safe and healthy,” which fur-thers the greenspace initiative. A se-cluded orchard gives Ian an ample sup-ply of apples and maybe helps feed the family of deer that live on the proper-ty. A natural stream edged by large ferns meanders gently through the wood-land. Slowly the paths lead you to a sloping lawn. In the garden bees buzz in a fury from flower to flower next to a small pond back dropped by rhodo-dendrons and azaleas in varying shades of pink and purple. Benches are

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Howdy Partner…. It’s time to turn in Volunteer Hours

Before you know it December will be here, so get a head start and send in those volunteer hours. To access the online tracking system

go to http://www.agnr.umd.edu/mg

Mr. Wallers Secret Garden Submitted by: Rachel Rhodes

intricately placed throughout the garden showcasing wonderful views. Pink climbing roses slowly entangle the ‘Coaching House’ which was masterfully restored in 1985 by Ian’s son, Martin. The ‘Coaching House’ was in complete disrepair when the Wallers came to Southlands, but today, its home to the family company.

The longer you spend with Ian the more you

see his loving care and commitment to pre-

serving the garden the way his late wife

Maureen did. Although, he hasn’t developed

the technique of “learning all the Latin names

of the plants as Maureen had” says Ian he’s

still exudes all the knowledge of a well versed

gardener.

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

P A G E 6

Giant Hogweed or Poison Hemlock? Continued from page 1

of these plants also contain toxins, but none are as potent as giant hogweed.

In Maryland, invasive giant hogweed has been found in Garrett, Baltimore, and Harford Counties, where it has been controlled. It is possible to find giant hogweed elsewhere in the state, but the chances are much greater that you will encounter one of the look-alike plants.

If you think you see giant hogweed, avoid touching it. Take photos (particularly of the flowers and stems, if possible) and look at this identification guide online. If you are still unsure about the plant’s identity, send clear digital photos to our Ask an Expert service and we will help you.

Giant hogweed is a federally regulated noxious weed. Suspected sightings of it will be reported to the Maryland Department of Agriculture Plant Protection Division. Additional Resources

Toxic Plant Profile: Hemlock | University of Maryland Extension Giant Hogweed | University of Maryland Extension

Giant Hogweed Detected in Virginia | Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Giant Hogweed | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

By Christa K. Carignan, Coordinator, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center

Woolly Aphid

Woolly aphids are aphids that produce a cover-ing of fluffy white wax. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The nymphs often form large cottony masses on twigs for protection from predators.

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P A G E 8

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS! Each shift should have 2-3 people to staff the

booth. We will also need 3 to 4 volunteers

for the set-up Monday morning and pack up

on Saturday evening. To sign up please email

Rachel (rjrhodes@umd.edu)

Monday

August 6th

Pollinators

Tuesday

August 7th

(Crab Cake Dinner)

Bay-Wise

Wednesday

August 8th

(Chicken BBQ

Dinner)

Pollinators

Thursday

August 9th

(Pork BBQ

Dinner)

Grow It Eat It

Friday

August 10th

(BBQ Beef

Dinner)

Bay-Wise

Saturday

August 11th

(Pit Ham

Dinner)

4-6:30pm 4-6:30pm 4-6:30pm 4-6:30pm 4-6:30pm

Iva Toler Lois Noonan Iva Toler Lois Noonan Betty McAtee

Susan Edwards Jane Smith Jim Persels Cathy Tenwall Joyce Anderson

Susan Pendleton Liz Hammond

Debbie Pusey Susan Seth Jim Persels Barbara Graham

6:30-9 pm 6:30-9 pm 6:30-9 pm 6:30-9 pm 6:30-9 pm 3-7 pm

Susan Edwards Merry Guben Laura Klingler

Karen Baer Karen Baer Karen Baer Karen Baer

Susan Pendleton

Agnes Kedmenecz Cheryl Huyck Paula Reeder

Jan MacDonald Sharlotte Beecher

Kathlyne Rog

Cathay Miller Karen Baer Need one volunteer

Larry Lorenz Nick Stoer

Need one volunteer

Gayle Jayne (5 pm)

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Master Gardener Booth at the 4-H Fair

At the beginning of 2018 we were told that our garden at the 4-H park would be redone by a 4-H club. However, the garden is still in shambles. This small garden was taken over by the MG’s some-time ago and fell into disrepair during the transi-tion of coordinators. It has a healthy supply of bronzed fennel, coreopsis, phlox, and spiderwort along with an abundant family of black swallowtail caterpillars. The Park Board has agreed to let the MG’s clean up the garden before the fair in order to preserve the family of black swallowtail cater-pillars. I will need 2-3 volunteers at 8:30 AM on August 1st to help clean up the bed. This garden is locat-ed at the flag pole on the Rt. 18 side of the park. Let me know if you plan to help out! Well the summer is here in full swing, that means in 10 days we will be having our annual booth at

the Queen Anne’s County 4-H fair. This booth is a great way for Queen Anne’s County residents to see all of the many projects that we as Master Gar-deners are involved in and what our programs have to offer them. Keep in mind this a great way to get in those Master Gardener Volunteer hours while getting to be at the fair. Oh and don’t forget about the ice cream, or clam strips, or crab cake night! To sign up please email Rachel

(rjrhodes@umd.edu) or go to http://signup.com/

go/nJvEPKW

Tomato Tasting

We will hold our 4th Annual Tomato Tasting event on Saturday, August 18th from 5pm until 10pm during Legacy Day in downtown Chestertown. Legacy Day celebrates the rich cultural heritage of African Ameri-cans in Kent County. There will be music, food, vendors and a parade. About 1000 people attend Legacy Day. In order to make our booth a success we will need the following:

TOMATOES! If you have any tomatoes to share, please let me know. I will also purchase tomatoes.

VOLUNTEERS! You could help with any of the fol-lowing: set-up, cutting tomatoes, staffing the ta-bles with the cut tomatoes, answering questions, clean-up, other?

Volunteers so far: Gayle Jayne (set-up), Larry Lorenz,

Jan MacDonald (5-7pm), Jim Mulliken, Paula Reeder (5-7pm), Laura Rocco. If you would like to help, please contact Sabine Har-vey, sharvey1@umd.edu, 410-778-1661 or 443-480-8576

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

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August Monthly Tips

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DEMO GARDEN AT THE CENTREVILLE LIBRARY Submitted by: MG Debbie Pusey

Thank you to Margaret Gardner, Judy Geggis, Cheryl Huyck, Jackie Kelly, Laura Klingler, Laura Rocco and Susan Seth for helping with the rain garden at the Centreville Library in June and July. It’s becoming an uphill battle trying to keep on top of the weeds. The combination of too much rainfall in the spring and the recent high heat have made the weeds very happy. Somehow, the native plants continue to thrive as well and continuously need pruning, something we barely have time for while we are there. In addition, we found a major infestation of sawfly which is happily decimating leaves on the red twig dogwoods and the ferns. Unfortunately, the county has not had time to redo the dry stream bed or put down mulch around the perimeter and bare areas. This just gives the weeds more territory to fill in! it’s been more than ten years since the garden was first developed. Many changes have occurred over this time frame, from loss of some of the original plantings to new ones, unplanted by us, finding their way in. It’s time for an overhaul and some serious pruning of some of the larger shrubs and trees. Hopefully, we will be able to meet with the county and come up with a plan for reestablishing this garden to its intended glory.

BAY-WISE Submitted by: MG Debbie Pusey

The Bay-Wise group is continuing to work with ShoreRivers and their ’River Friendly Program”. So far, they have held three workshops which Master Gardeners have participated in. Two more are scheduled for Au-gust and September with more in the works. This program is a great educational tool for us. Homeowners attending these workshops are very interested n learning what they can do to help our waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. They have lots of questions about a variety of topics, most of which are fielded by the Master Gardeners. We also have information on hand about our Bay-Wise program and various resources they can use. Bay-Wise consultations continue to be slow. But we’re not alone there. This seems to be the case state-wide as the weather has not been very conducive to wanting to be outdoors – it’s either raining or it’s too hot! At some point we’ll be able to catch up. In the meantime, an article on Bay-Wise summer tips was published in the papers recently and we will have exhibits at the County Fair in August. Bay-Wise Advanced Training is scheduled for Saturday, September 22nd and Saturday, September 29th at Chesapeake College. The site visit, which is the final phase of advanced training, will be on Saturday, October 6th at the home of Barbara Graham. If you have any ques-tions, please feel free to contact Debbie Pusey or Rachel Rhodes. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 18h at 1:30pm in the Exten-sion Office. All are welcome to attend.

2018 Bay-Wise Meeting Schedule

Tuesday, September 18th at 1:30 PM

Tuesday, November 20th at 1:30 PM

Library Rain Garden Clean Up Schedule

2018 Monday Clean Up Schedule

Thursday Clean Up Schedule During the summer if the weather is hot we’ll

start earlier than 9 AM an email will be sent out prior to notify everyone

Monday, August 6th at 6 PM Thursday, August 16th at 9 AM

Monday, September 3rd at 6 PM Thursday, September 20th at 9 AM

Thursday, October 18th at 9 AM

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Vegetables Plant a late crop of basil, cilantro, and dill. Plant a last crop of snap beans the first week of August. Plant cool season crops, including spinach, lettuce, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauli-

flower, Chinese cabbage, turnips, kale and mustard. Keep seedlings moist and mulched.

Order garlic, walking onions, and shallots for fall planting. Harvest leaves of herbs before they flower. Pick individually and dry indoors, or

hang the stems in a dry, semi-shady room. Store dry leaves in air-tight jars. Fresh basil leaves freeze well in plastic bags that can be sealed.

Keep weeding and watering.

Lawn In dry periods grasses go dormant but recover when rain returns. Newly seeded

or sodded lawns may actually be dead and will need to be reseeded. Mid-August through mid-October is the best time to start new lawns and reno-

vate or overseed existing lawns. We recommend a turf-type tall fescue cultivar at a rate of 4 lbs. of seed per 1,000 sq. ft. of area for overseeding, or 8 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. for new lawns.

August Monthly Tips

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

Kent County Middle School Garden

Thank you so much to Barb Flook, Mary Gedney, Jan MacDonald, and Vida Morley for helping out at the garden at Kent County Middle School. We have mainly been weed-ing and watering. We have harvested some lettuce and a lot of beans but no tomatoes yet. The produce that we do harvest is donated to the First United Methodist Church which uses it for their weekly community dinners that serve about 100 people. If you have time, please join us on any Monday morning (weather permitting). Please bring your favorite tools for weeding and harvesting. Of course, do not forget to bring some water as well. I usually get there around 8:30am. I have had to put a lock on the gate because some unknown people were not treating the garden very nicely. If you would like to come to the garden earlier or at a different time, please let me know and I will give you instructions on how to open the lock (sharvey1@umd.edu, 443-480-8576) Kent County Middle School is located at 402 East Campus Avenue in Chester-town. You can get to the garden via the parking lot that is located BEHIND the school (not visible from Campus Ave). Just drive around the building, going past the first parking lot. Once you see the tennis courts, you know you are heading in the right di-rection.

Submitted by: MG Sabine Harvey

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Upcoming Volunteer Activities

Ask A Master Gardener Plant Clinic Kent Island Farm-ers Market-the 2nd Thursday of every month from 3:30-6:30 PM (830 Romancoke Rd, Stevensville, MD 21666). To sign up for a particular day email Liz er93hammon@aol.com or click on this link: http://signup.com/go/qWhYAOw . Each shift accounts for a minimum of 3 hours earned

Ask A Master Gardener Plant Clinic at Fountain Park Master Gardeners look at samples of ailing plants to make diagnosis, give recommendations, answer ques-tions, and provide printed information on a variety of gardening subjects

Saturday, September 1st (1 volunteers need-ed)

Sign up either by contacting Sabine Harvey (sharvey1@umd.edu ) or you can sign up at http://signup.com/go/pYKeAfT

Help at the Queen Anne’s County Fair- Garden Clean Up- Wednesday, August 1st at 8:30 A.M.

at the flag pole 2-3 MG’s needed. Please bring garden tools, gloves and water. This should take about 1-2 hours

Booth Set Up-Sunday, August 5th at 8:30 A.M, 2 volun-teers needed. We will meet at the home arts building (near the flag pole) Set up should take about 2 hours

Booth at the Fair-Our booth at the fair runs Monday, August 6-Saturday, August 11th. We will have 2 shifts, 4:00-6:30 and 6:30-9:30 PM. A minimum of 3 volun-teers are needed per shift. Wednesday, August 8th will be our busiest night.

Booth Clean Up-Sunday, August 12th at 8:30 A.M, 2 volunteers needed. We will meet at the home arts building (near the flag pole) Clean up should take about 2 hours

To volunteer for any of these click on this link http://signup.com/go/nJvEPKW or email Rachel rjrhodes@umd.edu

Flower Judging at the Queen Anne’s County Fair- The 4-H Department is looking for 6 volunteers to help judge 4-H'ers flower arrangements on Sunday, August 5th from 7-9 PM. To volunteer click on this link http://signup.com/go/coMZnps or email Rachel rjrhodes@umd.edu

Bay-Wise Events- River Friendly Yards partnership with Shore Rivers-We have teamed up with Shore Rivers and their “River Friend-ly Yards” initiative. Shore Rivers uses targeted, science-based outreach from water quality monitoring data to target residential areas. With this data on hand work-shops are held in communities that could benefit from nutrient and sediment reduction strategies thus creating a “River-Friendly Yard.” For this program, homeowners learn that a river-friendly yard is one that mimics the nat-ural environment and filters runoff with the goal of im-proving water quality. Upcoming workshops are: Thursday, September 6th at 5:30 PM at a residence on Bennett Point Rd (more details to follow), 4 volunteers will be needed. To volunteer email Debbie Pusey at deb-biepusey@verizon.net Sunday, August 5th at 1 PM Kentmore Park’s Vacation Week (Kent County). 4 volunteers will be needed. To vol-unteer email Debbie Pusey at debbiepusey@verizon.net Corsica River Awareness Day-Sunday, September 16th11 AM-4:30 PM at Corsica River Yacht Club. 5 volunteers needed. To sign up click http://signup.com/go/YVKMhqe or email Rachel rjrhodes@umd.edu

Demo Garden at the Centreville Library- Running throughout the summer we will have clean ups on the first Monday of every month from 6-7 pm with MG Laura Rocco as the lead and the 3rd Thursday morn-ing, at 9:00am (weather permitting). The more the merrier. Please remember to bring your gardening tools, gloves and water. 1-2 hours earned.

Grow It Eat It- Middle School Garden Clean Up- Every Monday Morning (weather dependent-until school starts) at 8:30 AM. The more the merrier. Please remember to bring your garden-ing tools, gloves and water. 1-2 hours earned. Tomato Tasting- Saturday, August 28 from 5-10 PM in downtown Chestertown. Here’s how we’ll need help: Help with setup (before 5pm),Help cutting up tomatoes, be present at the booth, answer questions about growing tomatoes, preserving tomatoes or the MG program (anytime from 5-10pm). Clean-up (10pm).To volunteer email Sabine at sharvey1@umd.edu

August 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Clean up 4-

H Park Garden 8:30 AM

2 3 4 Chester-

town Plant Clinic 8-noon Fountain Park

5 Flower

Judging 7-9 PM 6 7 8 9 Kent

Island Plant Clinic 3:30-6:30 P.M.

10 11

12 13 14 15 16 Centre-

ville Library Demo garden 9AM.

17 18 Chester-

town Plant Clinic 8-noon Fountain Park

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

MG Booth at the Queen Anne’s County 4-H Fair

Newsletter Submissions Due

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

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Set Up Fair booth

Clean Up Fair booth

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September 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 Kent

Island Plant Clinic 3:30-6:30 P.M.

14 15

16 Corsica

River Aware-ness Day

17 18 Bay-Wise

Meeting 1:30 PM at Exten-sion Office

19 20 Centre-

ville Library Demo garden 9AM. MG Meeting 5:30 PM at Centreville Library

21 22 Ad-

vanced Bay-Wise Training

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Ad-

vanced Bay-Wise Training

30

Newsletter Submissions Due

Office Closed

University of Maryland Extension

Queen Anne’s County

505 Railroad Ave.

Suite 4

Centreville, MD 21617

Vision Statement: A healthier world through environmental stewardship

It is the policy of the University of Maryland and University of Maryland Extension, that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status, or disability. Equal opportunity employers and equal access programs.

QACMG Website: http://extension.umd.edu/

queen-annes-county/master-gardener-home-

gardening

QACMG Facebook Page: https://

www.facebook.com/

QueenAnnesCountyMasterGardeners

University of Maryland Extension

505 Railroad Avenue, Suite 4

Centreville MD, 21617

Phone: (410) 758-0166

August Newsletter Submission

due on

August 23rd SAVE THE DATE

20TH ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATION

Wednesday, October 17th At 5:30 P.M.

the Prospect Bay Country Club