Rather than do their own fishing, Bald Eagles often go after other

creatures’ catches. A Bald Eagle will harass a hunting Osprey until the smaller raptor drops its prey in midair, where the eagle swoops it up. A Bald Eagle may even snatch a fish directly out of an Osprey’s talons. Fishing mammals (even people sometimes) can also lose prey to Bald Eagle piracy.

Sometimes even the national bird has to cut loose. Bald Eagles have been known to play with

plastic bottles and other objects pressed into service as toys. One observer witnessed six Bald Eagles passing sticks to each other in midair.

Bald Eagles occasionally hunt cooperatively, with one individual flushing prey towards another. From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds

The Year of the ….

From the National Garden Bureau

Brassica

The Brassica family

of plants include bok

choy, cabbage, cauli-

flower, collards,

broccoli, Brussels

Sprouts, kale, kohlra-

bi, rutabagas and

turnips. Also known as cole crops, derived from

the Latin word caulis, denoting the stem or stalk

of a plant, brassica provide plenty of nutrition

(vitamin C and soluble fiber) and healthy doses

of glucosinolates, a compound that helps re-

duce the risk of various cancers of the digestive

tract. Read more about this family of plants at

http://ngb.org/year-of-the-brassica/.

It is also the year of the daffodil, pansy and

rose. Read about all these delightful flowers at:

http://ngb.org/

Recipe of the Month

Supreme Grilled Cheese Sandwiches A twist on an old favorite!

Ingredients

1 cup peppers (red, yellow, or green) (1 medium)

1/2 onion

4 slices whole wheat bread

2 tablespoons light mayonnaise or salad dress-

ing

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup spinach leaves, rinsed

4 slices (3/4 ounce each) mozzarella cheese

nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

1. Slice onion and pepper very thin.

2. Lay out 4 slices of bread. Spread each slice with the

mayonnaise.

3. Sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.

4. Add in layers the spinach leaves, peppers, onions. Add a slice of cheese.

5. Heat a skillet to medium low. Spray with cooking

spray. Lay sandwiches in skillet. Cover with plate, lid, or aluminum foil.

6. Heat sandwiches until cheese melts (about 2-3 minutes) or until the bottom is golden brown.

Recipe from Spend Smart Eat Smart. For tips & nutrition facts, click logo:

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Click underlined links

for more information on

a topic…

1

2

3 4

5

6 7

Plan out your flower / herb garden

8

9

Repot house-plants when actively growing

10 11

12

Daylight Saving Time Begins

13

Start cabbage and other cole crop seeds indoors

14 15

Keep an eye out for bare-root stock

16 17

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

18

Maple Syrup program—Orange City Public Library 11am

19

20

Spring is Here! 21

Start peppers indoors

22

23 24

Siouxland Garden Show

25

Siouxland Garden Show

26 27 28

Master Gardener Winter Webinar—Lyon County Extension office 6pm

29 30

Prune raspberries

31 1

Welcome April

2 3

Time to clean up the yard….

4 5 6

7 8

MARCH 2017 GARDEN TO TABLE NEWSLETTER PAGE 2

Volunteer Service Opportunities

Upcoming this season we have opportunities to help with starting a community garden in Rock Rapids, doing a workshop on easy access gardening in Sutherland, herb gardening at a couple of county fairs, gardening with kids activities & master gardener training. Contact me if you want to get involved this summer with any of these events or need help with an event you are planning.

Help answer yard and garden questions either in the office or accompanying me on site visits

Help with administrative tasks & planning for the 2017 master gardener & local food programs

Help with putting together a local food community profile

Continuing Education

Webinars Master Gardener Winter Webinars series Tuesday March 28— Growing & Harvesting Vegetables The last webcast in this series will be shown on at 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Lyon County Extension of-fice in Rock Rapids. Learn about growing and harvesting asparagus. You will also build on food safety best practices for the garden.

All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series Watch live webinars or previous recordings about insects. Webinars from eXtension count toward Master Gardener continuing education credits.

Upcoming Classes Square Foot Gardening with Joyce Swanson. In the workshop, Joyce discusses this gardening method and puts together a 4 x 4 box. The class practices filling it so it is ready for planting & you will know how to do the process when you get home. The charge for this workshop is $30 per person if paid by March 22 and $35,if paid later. Joyce offers the class on these following dates: Saturdays, March 25, April 1, 8, 22, 29 all from 1 - 4 PM Sundays, March 26, April 2, 23, 30, all from 2 - 5 PM Master Gardeners can earn continuing education credit for this class. Call Joyce at (605) 359-0191.

Siouxland Garden Show March 24-25 at the Sioux City Convention Center. Two full days to shop, learn and do · Winter Farmers Market · Presentations by national and regional experts · Local garden vendors · Make & Take projects · So much to see! Garden Show website.

Please keep reporting all your hours. If you need assistance, contact me and I’ll be happy

to help.

MARCH 2017 GARDEN TO TABLE NEWSLETTER PAGE 3

Which apricot varieties can be successfully grown in Iowa?

Cold hardiness is an important factor when selecting apricot varieties for home gardens. Many apricot varieties are not reliably cold hardy in Iowa. However, a few varieties can be successfully grown in the state. ‘Moorpark’ is reliably cold hardy in the southern two-thirds of Iowa. ‘Moorpark’ is self-fruitful. A single tree will bear fruit. ‘Moongold’ and ‘Sungold’ (University of Minnesota introductions) possess excellent cold hardiness and can be successfully grown throughout the state. ‘Moongold’ and ‘Sungold’ are self-unfruitful. Plant at least one tree of each variety for cross-pollination and fruit set. Growing apricots in Iowa can be challenging. Apricots bloom in early spring and are susceptible to damage from late spring frosts. A late frost or freeze can severely damage or destroy the flowers, resulting in little or no crop. In Iowa, gardeners can anticipate a good crop about once every 3 or 4 years. Apricots are also short-lived. Trees typically survive for 10 to 15 years. Find answers to your gardening questions at Iowa State University’s Yard and Garden FAQs website: https://expert-hort.sws.iastate.edu/

Can we begin pruning soon?

By John Ball Excerpt from Pest Update (Feb 1-8, 2017), Vol. 15, no. 3 by John Ball, Forest Health Specialist

SD Department of Agriculture, Extension Forester SD Cooperative Extension

When to start pruning small ornamental and fruit trees— While late

winter is the traditional time to complete this task, recent studies have

shown that mid-summer may be a more appropriate time for pruning

our small trees. Wounds created by pruning are walled off from

infection better during the summer months then winter. But if some-

one wants to prune during late winter it is still an acceptable time.

However, we are not yet at late winter so hold off for at least a few

more weeks on your small trees. It seem we often have a severe cold

snap sometime in late February or early March and this weather

change from mild to cold can kill sensitive shoots and buds that are

beginning to wake up for spring. These dead shoots will need to be pruned off before spring so to avoid

pruning twice I wait to see what the winter kills and then take off any additional branches needed to improve

the form. I usually like to do this pruning after the risk of extreme cold weather is over – mid March – but still

complete it before bud-break in April. If I miss this window, I wait till July.

MARCH 2017 GARDEN TO TABLE NEWSLETTER PAGE 4

Live in a vertical forest?

Vertical forests planned for Nanjing, China, are projected to create 132 pounds of oxygen each day. The structures were designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri, and will house 1,000+ trees and approximately 2,500 shrubs. The buildings themselves will also contain a museum, school, clubs, and a hotel. More on this story is at boredpanda.com.

Watching Birds Near Your Home is Good For Your Mental Health

According to this new study, people living in neighborhoods with more birds, shrubs, and trees are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and stress.

The study conducted at the University of Exeter, involving hundreds of people, found benefits for mental health of being able to see birds, shrubs and trees around the home, whether people lived in urban or more leafy suburban neighborhoods.

The study, which surveyed mental health in over 270 people from different ages, incomes and ethnicities, also found that those who spent less time out of doors than usual in the previous week were more likely to report they were anxious or depressed.

After conducting extensive surveys of the number of birds in the morning and afternoon in Milton Keynes, Bedford, and Luton, the study found that lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress were associated with the number of birds people could see in the afternoon. The academics studied afternoon bird num-bers – which tend to be lower than birds generally seen in the morning – because are more in keeping with the number of birds that people are likely to see in their neighborhood on a daily basis.

In the study, common types of birds including blackbirds, robins, blue tits and crows were seen. But the study did not find a relationship between the species of birds and mental health, but rather the number of birds they could see from their windows, in the garden or in their neighborhood.

Previous studies have found that the ability of most people to identify different species is low, suggesting that for most people it is interacting with birds, not just specific birds, that provides well-being.

University of Exeter research fellow Dr. Daniel Cox, who led the study, said: “This study starts to unpick the role that some key components of nature play for our mental well-being.

“Birds around the home, and nature in general, show great promise in preventative health care, making cities healthier, happier places to live.”

The positive association between birds, shrubs and trees and better mental health applied, even after controlling for variation in neighborhood deprivation, household income, age and a wide range of other socio-demographic factors. (Source: University of Exeter)

MARCH 2017 GARDEN TO TABLE NEWSLETTER PAGE 5

March 18 A “Sappy “ Story: Making Maple syrup in Iowa. Orange City Public Library 11:00am-noon. Free.

March 24-25 Siouxland Garden Show at the Sioux City Convention Center. Two full days to shop, learn and do · Winter Farmers Market · Presentations by national and regional experts · Local garden vendors · Make & Take projects · So much to see! Garden Show website.

March 28 Master Gardener winter webinar 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Lyon County Extension office in Rock Rapids. Webinar explores how to measure impact of volunteer projects and how to build strong partnerships for effective community programs.

April-May “Annie’s Project” Program to be held in Sheldon during April-May 2017. Click here for more information and to register.

April 22 Butterfly Garden in a Container. Melvin Public Library 9:30am-10:30am. Free.

May 25 Easy Care Gardening at Willoway, Sutherland. 10:00am-11:30am. Will be planting containers. Free.

June 2 Tour of Stensland Dairy Farm, Larchwood. 10:00am-11:30am. Fee: $5 or $8 if want ice cream. Call Margaret at 712-472-2576 for details and to sign-up.

July 10-14 Master Gardener International Conference The 2017 International Master Gardener Conference will be in Portland Oregon. Please visit the conference website for more information.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach programs are available to all without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex,

marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

For questions, comments or to contribute an article or photo Contact: Margaret Murphy, Horticulture Educator & Regional Food Coordinator

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach - Lyon, O’Brien, Sioux and Osceola Counties (712) 472-2576 / mmurphy@iastate.edu

Find us on Facebook Iowa Master Gardener MG Hours Online Yard & Garden FAQs Hort & Home Pest News Flavors of Northwest Iowa Questions or Comments

Emerald Ash Borer

now in 43 Iowa Counties

The emerald ash borer, an exotic species of beetle that attacks and decimates ash trees, has been confirmed in Greene and Wayne counties. Native to Asia, EAB has now made its way to 43 counties in Iowa.

Both recent detections occurred in rural areas. In Greene County, the insect was discovered east of Grand Junction. In Wayne County, it was found north of Corydon. Specimens from these sites were confirmed by a federal identifier.

“We encourage homeowners and people dealing with trees as a profession to report possibly infected trees,” said Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship EAB and gypsy moth coordinator. “We are particularly interested in finding EAB in counties not yet known to be infested.” Click here to read the rest of the article.