SAND N SEEDS - Green Valley Gardeners March 2015.pdf · Canoa Ranch was the social center of southern Arizona. Optionally wear period dress (1910, ranch wear, cowboy/girl get ups,

Copyright © 2015 Green Valley Gardeners, Editor: Raydine S. TabER 1

MARCH 2015

Celebrating our 35th year!

SAND N SEEDS

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE - Chuck Parsons

I hope everyone is planning to attend the gala event at the historic Hacienda de la Canoa Ranch (HCR) this month! Jack Davis and the members of his HCR project team and the Membership Activities Committee have been collaborating together and with Pima County to put this event together for our membership. Most of the activities we do together as a club involve volunteer work – tending the gardens, working on our many projects, volunteering at fundraising events, etc. – all fun and opportunities for interaction with other gardeners, but this event is purely for fun and socialization. We don’t do that enough. So please come and enjoy the fun!

I continue to work with Raydine Taber to evolve the newsletter to serve more needs of our

organization.

We are in the midst of changing the format. As the club grows so does the newsletter – we hope to make it easy for you to locate the information you wish to read.

We are experimenting with different distribution methods. This month you will receive an email with the web link embedded in the message. We will also send an email with a PDF of the newsletter attached. We are learning that some members have spam screens that reject various forms of email – some reject embedded links, some reject attachments, etc.

The board has acknowledged two needs to be met with our newsletter. o First, we have many more year around residents, so we will be publishing the

newsletter every month – no longer taking a summer break. o Second, we will have a section to provide the plot holders at our two community

gardens a forum to share information about vegetable gardening here in the Sonoran Desert.

We welcome your comments and suggestions as we go through this phase of evolution.

Thanks


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CONTENT President’s Message ……………….. 1 Fundraisers …..……………………… 2

Spring Plant Sale …………….2 Spring Fair ………………...…. 2 Spring Garden Tour ………... 3 May Ogden Onion Sale …..… 4

Members Social Activity …………….. 5 Canoa Ranch ……….……….. 5

Project Updates ……….…….……….. 6 Arid Garden …………………...6

Desert Meadows Park …….. .. 6 Plot Holders Forum .……………………..… 8 In Your Plot: March …………..…… 8 Chard Recipe …….………..... 9

Desert Meadows Plots .…..…. 10 Editorials ...………………………… …..10 Membership Update .....…..…………………12 Casa Los Ninos ……………….………. 12 Petals of Giving ……..……………….. 13 Circle Your Calendar .................................. 13

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FUNDRAISERS SPRING PLANT SALE – Thom Metcalf

REVENUE: $16,406.55 EXPENSES: $7,795.80 PROFIT: $8,610.75

I want to personally thank everyone who helped make this sale a great success. I would like to point out the hard work of Elissa Dearing for going with me to the nurseries and working every hour of the sale right alongside of me. Mary Kidnocker for her great help, not only writing up the sale in the paper but going with Elissa and me to the nurseries and helping to pick out the plants. Mary spent all of Wednesday morning helping me ID the Orphan’s table plants, Thank you! Chuck Parsons and Hal Tokuyama for taking off the burden of going to Weeks nursery and the other nurseries to pick out the very special cactus plants and then going back Wednesday and picking the plants up. But most of all, the GVG members, for without their help the sale could never be pulled the sale off. It makes me proud to be part of this team THANK YOU ALL

SPRING FAIR – SUNDAY, MARCH 22

nd

The Green Valley Gardeners and the Tucson Cactus & Succulent Society will again co-host the one day Spring Fair event at the Continental Shopping Plaza. Vendors will setup tables in the courtyard to sell plants and garden related crafts. Seminars are available in the 2nd floor conference room at no charge. The event opens at 9 am and closes at 3 pm. The seminars start at 10 am, 11 am, 1 pm and 2 pm. A flier listing vendors and seminar topics is available at the seminars in March and is posted on our web page www.greenvalleygardeners.com.

We have some new vendors this year – they will be selling plants, pots and glass art.

http://www.greenvalleygardeners.com/


Southwest glass art pieces will be sold by a new vendor, Kay Sobol.

Another new vendor is Nancy Biggins. Nancy will be selling

hummingbird feeders. You can learn more about her products

at her Facebook page -- https://www.facebook.com/copperhummingbird.

Chuck Parsons will be asking for volunteers to help set up the

event, help during the event on 2-hour shifts and to remove the

setup at the end of the day.

SPRING GARDEN TOUR - Co-Chairs, Leslie Campbell and Sara Hein

During March, we will be very focused on ticket sales, since income from the tour is a major fundraiser for the club. Please remember to support the garden tour, since tour income is used for our various community projects, such as the Desert Meadows Park, the Arid Garden, Historic Canoa Ranch, Ogden Community Garden, Members’ Activities, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/copperhummingbird


Tickets are here and sales begin now. To get the GVG members’ discount ($10), you must buy tickets from member-operated sales at our seminars and the Spring Fair on the 22nd. [Or, contact one of the Co-Chairs.]

And, you may buy extra tickets for friends at the member rate.

Public sales outlets are confirmed – Chamber of Commerce, Meredith’s Hallmark, Native Gardens Nursery, and Happy Quail (near Ace Hardware in GV Village). Tickets will be available at these outlets March 24-April 10. Remember that tickets sold at the four outlets are all priced at the public rate of $12 AND you must pay with cash or check. Please contact either of us if you have any questions.

MAY 2015, ALLEN OGDEN COMMUNITY GARDEN, ONION SALE George Stone

The Allen Ogden Community Garden Onion Field

As most of our readers now know, the Green Valley Gardeners Club is in the second year of selling onions as a fund raising project. Club history shows fundraising, to support our community projects, includes our annual plant sales and the garden tours. The club is very proud that we offer a product and do not rely solely upon donations.

Why onions? Well, for one thing, our individual Community gardeners have grown the onion for many years with a great deal of success. The Texas Sweet Y-10-15 is a whopper of an onion with a sweet mild taste and grows very well in our mild climate. With those factors in play, the decision to grow and sell our very own onion seemed a perfect fit for the club. In 2014 we stepped out on faith and planted, harvested and sold our first crop to club members


only. The rest is history. For those buying the BEST ONION in the world, check out our 2015 timeline:

Onions were planted November 24th, 2014.

Presale of the onions will be offered at GVG’s weekly seminars beginning Thursday February 26th, 2015. Look for the ONION TABLE.

On Sunday March 8th, the Tucson Daily Star plans to publish a nice article that will focus on the onion sale project. Look for the ONION ARTICLE.

Onions will be offered at the Garden Spring Fair scheduled for March 22nd at the Continental Shopping Center. Look for the ONION TABLE.

During the month of April, the onions will be showcased in the Green Valley News. Be sure to read that article for more details. ONION ARTICLE

May 5th will be the harvest date. After a 10 day drying period the onions will be prepped, packaged and ready for pickup . Those that have made purchases will be notified where to pickup their onions.

May 15th –May 20th the onions will be offered for sale at various—to be determined--locations.

MEMBERS’ SOCIAL ACTIVITY

A FIESTA AT HISTORIC HACIENDA DE LA CANOA Located in the RAUL M. GRIJALVA CANOA RANCH CONSERVATION PARK 5375 S. I-19 Frontage Road, Green Valley, AZ

Thursday, March 19th

, 10 AM until 2 PM - Step back into ranch life, when the Historic

Canoa Ranch was the social center of southern Arizona. Optionally wear period dress (1910, ranch wear, cowboy/girl get ups, just plain comfy jeans or dress like one of the past movie stars who attended Canoa Ranch parties.) Beginning at 10 AM, we will have docent led TOURS of the ranch. There have been many changes over the last year. But tours are Optional. ENTERTAINMENT: Beginning at 11:00 AM and continues until the end-- includes music of the ranch's historic past and present, tango dancers and flamenco dances. RANCH STYLE LUNCH: BBQ beef, ranch beans, cole slaw, beverages and homemade peach & berry cobbler for dessert. COST: $12 per person includes everything, so bring as many guests as you wish and enjoy the party. RESERVATIONS: Sign up available, Thursday seminars or by mail (below). Deadline is Thursday, March 12th. Send your reservations to: Jackie Jensen, 157 W. Placita Refinada, Green Valley, AZ 85614. Include check for $12 per attendee & number who want to take tour. For information, call: Marita Ramsay 208-290-7770 or Cathy Merritt 503-245-5914.


PROJECT UPDATES

ARID GARDEN UPDATE – Mary Kidnocker

Such a glorious place! As of the last Friday in February, the garden was being taken over by early buds and blooms. Lovely lavender verbena has sprung up everywhere, along with loads of pretty pink penstemon, gaura, small white fleabane composites, bright yellow desert marigolds, and many salvia red, white & blue trumpet flowers.

This time of year it can be a challenge to look at four tiny leaves and decide if it is a wildflower or weed! In this garden we try very hard to be patient and wait until we know what we have. Thanks to our “identification specialist” Elissa Dearing, we volunteers are learning and consequently find new garden introductions each season.

Desert Hills II resident Suzanne Guier has donated to the garden a small decorative sundial which had belonged to her grandfather. After it was picked up by Jim Campbell and Byron Hinton, it was placed on the sunny Corbett Terrace. This is the elevated site looking across the garden, and has many visitors who sit and enjoy the view. Appreciation to Mrs.Guier!

Don’t miss the spring spectacular… come visit your garden.

Leslie Campbell demonstrating to new volunteers the proper pruning of Texas Rangers

DESERT MEADOWS PARK - Chuck Parsons

The grape arbor continues to take shape. We receive less time from the YouthBuild group since the

beginning of the year due to a commitment they have at Habitat for Humanity. We were fortunate to

dominate their time while they were building our raised beds!

Major change is taking place in the open field just south of the community garden plots! Jessie Byrd

came and spent some time with Leslie and Gary Campbell making suggestions on how to best

demonstrate native grasses in that area. Jessie was also instrumental in getting a donation of nearly

100 grasses from the Pima County Nursery. These plants were rapidly outgrowing their pots and


needed to be in the ground. Gary had to deal with root bound plants, but we received a nice collection

of native grasses in the process. Late in February, we received a donation of over 200 native grasses

from Berni Jilka, owner of the Nighthawk Natives Nursery. As these grasses mature, we will have a

rather impressive ‘meadow’ demonstrating several varieties of native grasses!

Planting the many donated native grasses 1

Gary Campbell freeing pot-bound roots.

George Mathes has lovingly tended a bed of

African daisies over the past months. It is in full

bloom and attracting much attention. And, just

to the north, the wildflower bed is putting on

quite a nice spring display of color. This bed will

continually change as different varieties bloom.

Much weeding has taken place during the

month. All the agave beds were tended and the

hummingbird and butterfly gardens have had a

lot of attention. All look great! We have ordered,

and received, two Adirondack chairs – one

lemon and one lime. When assembled, they will

be placed in the garden for people to sit and

enjoy all the activity among the plants that were

planted to attract the hummingbirds and

butterflies.


PLOT HOLDERS FORUM

IN YOUR PLOT: MARCH - By Lorna Mitchell

LAST FROST DATE: MARCH 29 March is a new beginning in the garden. We look forward to warm sun, getting our hands in the soil, smelling its rich moisture and we anticipate new seedlings popping up. We’ve had wonderful winter rains and spring is definitely here. Warm days have caused broccoli and cauliflower to blossom so we are ready for new crops. Dig in composted steer manure and balanced fertilizer and check irrigation lines for even water distribution before planting. New plants may need water several times each day for short intervals in our warm sunny afternoons. If you have baby tomato, eggplant, and pepper plants at home they should be several inches high; keep them moist and in full sun as long as the temperatures are above 60 F. This means moving them in and out every day; put them on a tray to make one trip. If a seed did not germinate, plant another seed in the cell to try again. Fertilize these small plants with a weak Miracle Grow once a week to encourage lots of growth. If your plants are in egg cartons, transfer them to 2-4” pots to allow room for roots. Tomato plants can go into the garden at the end of March if warm weather holds. Acclimate them by leaving them outside at night in a protected area for a week before transplanting. As you put them in the ground, bury the stem, which will grow new roots and consider providing a tent cover for a couple weeks to ease the transition. Black plastic laid on the soil around the plants can warm the soil making more root growth. Be sure water is getting under the plastic, and take up by the end of April. Eggplant and peppers like warmer temperatures, so wait till the middle or end of April to transplant those. Many summer crops can be direct seeded into the garden before the end of March. Seeds will germinate faster if soaked in water for several hours before planting. A covering of light weight cloth that light and water goes through may protect seeds from predators. Squash and beans of all varieties can be sowed at 2-3 week intervals as desired for successive harvests. Melons and cucumbers like warmer soil and will respond in a few weeks. Try growing them in pots at home to get a head start. Let’s talk about vegetable varieties. Variety is a term to distinguish a genetically distinct line whose plant and fruit characteristics are known and predictable. You can’t just plant a tomato. First, is it determinate or indeterminate? Is it salad, paste, cherry, heirloom, or grape? Is it fusarium wilt resistant or tobacco mosaic virus or verticillium wilt resistant? Will it set fruit during our hot summer months? Actively choose the variety that meets your needs. I have good results from Early Girl: indeterminate, salad size with good flavor, disease resistant, sets fruit in our cool spring nights. Also, I like Juliette; indeterminate, grape, very disease resistant,


sets fruit continually in heat or cold, tasty fruit good fresh or sauced. Every kind of vegetable has multiple varieties with new ones every year, try one and share your results! Check out Johnny Selected Seeds for cultivation tips and how to videos. Do you have a question for me?

Those are my plot thoughts for now, Happy Gardening

Lots of chard available in the garden plots at Desert Meadows Park

If your plot is abundant with chard here is a recipe from Kimberly McCollister that you might

find tasty –

Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Red Chard and Mushrooms - By Kimberly McCollister

Ingredients

5 medium red potatoes, quartered

7 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

15 crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped

7 large red chard leafs, roughly chopped

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

½ yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 packet of veggie gravy

¼ Tbsp of chili powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Boil water in large pot and add potatoes. Cover and continue to boil until potatoes are soft.

2. In a large saucepan, heat 4 Tbsp of olive oil. Add 3 cloves of garlic, the sliced onion and salt. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms, chard, chili powder, salt and pepper to the pan. Increase the heat to medium low. Add ½ cup water and cover pan. Cook for 15 minutes, then uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until chard is fully cooked.

4. Drain the potatoes and add the remaining garlic and olive oil. Begin to mash the potatoes over low heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Make gravy according to package. 6. Plate the mashed potatoes and top with the veggies and gravy. Time to eat!

Check out Kimberly McCollister on Google. She posts healthy recipes on Wikia Community

Central and other sites.


PLOTS AT DESERT MEADOWS PARK Some of the plots at Desert Meadows Park are really

producing well already. When we originally laid out a

timeline for park implementation, we did not anticipate

much production until perhaps the summer months of

2015. It is nice to be ahead of schedule rather than

lagging behind!

We have received a large compost tumbler which is being

assembled by Mark Thompson in his garage. When

done, we will be transporting it over to the garden for the

plot holders. The tumbler is expected to handle up to 22

cu ft of material.

Our new 165 gallon ComposTumbler ®

EDITORIAL

Nominating Committee - By Chuck Parsons

One of the functions I have as president of your organization is to appoint a Nominating Committee (Bylaws Article VII, Paragraph A). According to our By-laws, this is to be done at the May board meeting. I have jumped the gun this year and have asked Hal Tokuyama, a past board member, to chair this committee for 2015. I have been a member of this committee in the past and have seen the struggle first-hand by waiting until May. By May many GVG members have already left, or are preparing to leave the area – at least are no longer thinking about GVG as we begin our summer lull. Hopefully, by getting an early start, the 2015 nominating committee will have the chance to speak with more GVG members – about being a candidate and/or to get recommendations. And, that you as members can give the idea thought and consideration during the club’s most active months of March and April.

Other dates as outlined in the Bylaws will remain. The committee will make their recommendation to the Board in September. After approval, the candidates will be presented to the membership in October, and the election will take place. Election results will be announced in November, and the board members and officers (elected by the in-coming board) will assume office in November.

I encourage you to consider running for our board. Please contact Hal Tokuyama if you have questions about the role, and for sure if you wish to be considered.

This year is my sixth on the board – I will be completing my second, consecutive three-year term at the end of 2015. I plan to include an article in the Sand’n’Seeds each month defining what the board does and what roles a board member might serve.


You can find our Bylaws on our website, www.greenvalleygardeners.com. They are not long, nor are they complicated. They do clearly spell out our mission and the objectives we wish to achieve. From there, the board has considerable discretion on how to accomplish the mission and objectives. For me, that is the ‘fun’ part. Together we can be creative, experiment, try new ideas, involve as many members as possible, etc.

Each year, the board makeup somewhat changes. Each year 3 member positions are up for election. The sitting member either terms out after two consecutive terms, runs for a second term or chooses not to run a second time – two of those options bring a new member to the board. This provides us a spurt of new energy and ideas. Among the nine of us we can find where we are most able to serve the club – we volunteer where we have past expertise, are able to do what we love and can gain personal satisfaction.

For me personally, during my five years on the board, I have volunteered to expand our plant sales, to strengthen our seminar offering, to implement a joint venture with TCSS of reformatting our Spring Fair, to secure a license for Desert Meadows Park and to accept the roles of treasurer and president. So, as you can see, the opportunities can be varied, all involve several other board and club members – I have learned a lot, have generated many friends in the community and have achieved a great deal of personal satisfaction – to me, that’s what it is all about!

THE 2015 ELECTION COMMITTEE IS AND WILL BE LOOKING FOR

VOLUNTEERS

If you are interested in serving on the election committee, or you wish to submit your name as

a future candidate for the Board, please contact Hal Tokuyama @ 520-867-6782 or

[email protected].

AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR MEMBERSHIP Dear Editor: When I threw some cactus pads into my garbage can last week, Waste Management took the two plastic shopping bags of kitchen garbage off the top and left me a note. "Phone --- ----- (I tossed the note without recording the number) put cactus in a sealed box and label Cactus. They left the plant trimmings and cactus in the can. I phoned, got someone at WM who said for Green Valley and Tucson, cactus pads are now supposed to be put in a box, sealed, and labeled "cactus" and placed on the sidewalk next to the garbage can. I didn't ask about Sahuarita. So I pulled my cutting out, got stuck with glochids, and sealed and labeled a corrugated cardboard box. It disappeared, so it worked! I think this new handling method should be put in the next newsletter, to reach as many of us gardeners as possible. I would have had fewer glochids in my hands if I hadn't had to pull the cactus out from halfway down the garbage can! I haven't seen this info in any of the WM letters.

http://www.greenvalleygardeners.com/

mailto:[email protected]


(Fortunately, being an entomologist, I have a microscope at home and can see the glochids and pull them out.) And encourage members to tell their neighbors. I'm going to bring it up at the next HOA meeting. Thanks, Lois

MEMBERSHIP – Judy Christensen

Membership renewals are complete. Hooray! The Roster has been updated and all interests cataloged for each committee or project. Have fun getting involved and accomplishing lots in 2015. We now have a total 261 members, with 7 new members joining in February. Please help me welcome Timothy Drumm, Anne Rutledge, Elaine Ryan, Dorothy and Phil Stough, and Barry Weissman and Sara Voorhees. Thanks to each of you for your support for our mission of horticultural education and community service. We hope that many of you, members, new and old, and guests can join us at the March 19th lunch and celebration at Historic Hacienda de la Canoa Ranch. See more information in the Member Activities section.

CASA LOS NINOS

Casa Los Ninos students and the terrarium they created with Elissa Dearing.


PETALS OF GIVING Daffodil is the flower for March. Daffodils symbolize chivalry, respect, modesty and faithfulness. Daffodils belong to the genus Narcissus. Daffodil is the common English name and Narcissus is the Latin,

botanical name. Some people refer to daffodils as “jonquils”, from the Spanish name for the flower. DONATIONS RECEIVED IN FEBRUARY: Jim Campbell $5 for DMP

Henry Garcia & Francis Howe considerable hours & miles to construct the Hummingbird/Butterfly arch

Patricia Pearson – replacement water wand for Canoa Ranch Thank you for your kind generosity.

March 12, Seminar Mark Stonestreet, GVFD Deputy Marshall, Protect Your Home From Fires: Creating Defensible S pace, Desert Hills, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

March 19th, Member’s & Guests Activity, Canoa Ranch Tours, Lunch & Entertainment March 22nd, GVG Community Service with Tucson Cactus & Succulent Society,

Cactus, Succulent and Garden Pottery & Art Vendors Plus Educational Seminars, Continental Shopping Plaza

March 26th, Seminar Elizabeth Willot, Butterfly Curator, Tucson Botanical Garden, Buzz, Buzz – The Role of Bees in the Garden, Desert Hills, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

April 2th, Seminar Kendall Kroesen Urban Program Manager, Tucson Audubon Society, Attracting Wildlife to the Garden, Desert Hills, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

April 9th, Seminar GVG Board and Project Chairs – State of the Club, Desert Hills, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

April 11th, GVG Fundraiser, Spring Garden Tour May 5th, GVG Fundraiser - Onion Harvest May 15th, GVG Fundraiser - Onions ready for pickup

Documents

SAND N SEEDS - Green Valley Gardeners March 2015.pdf · Canoa Ranch was the social center of southern Arizona. Optionally wear period dress (1910, ranch wear, cowboy/girl get ups,