The Lowdown

WSU Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners April 2016 The Lowdown

Inside this issue:

Foundation News 2

Book Review #1 6

Armchair Gardener 8

Year of the Pulse 10

Book Review #2 12

Self-study Quiz 14

Upcoming Events 16

Extension Information

Dr. Jeremy Cowan 477-2145

Regional Horticulture Specialist

jeremy.cowan.@wsu.edu

Tim Kohlhauff 477-2172

Horticulture Program Coordinator

tkohlhauff@spokanecounty.org

Anna Kestell 477-2195

Food Preservation/Safety

akestell@spokanecounty.org

Jackie Sykes 477-2193

Clinic Coordinator

jsykes@spokanecounty.org

Master Gardener County Site

http://ext100.wsu.edu/spokane/

Master Gardener Foundation of Spo-

kane County

http://www.mgfsc.org/

WSU Master Gardener Site

http://ext100.wsu.edu/spokane/master-

gardener-program/

HortSense Fact Sheets

http://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/Home/

HortsenseHome.aspx

On Line Timelog Reporting:

http://ext.wsu.edu/Volunteers/logon.aspx

(Asian Gypsy Moth photos courtesy of Oregon State University)

The Master Gardener’s Role in Protecting Washington’s Environment from the Invasive Gypsy Moth

Statewide MG Webinar

Thursday, April 14th, 12-1pm

Presenter: Karla Salp, WSDA

http://breeze.wsu.edu/masterg/

Gypsy moths are one of the most destructive tree insect pests ever intro-duced to the United States. In 2015 the Washington State Department of Ag-riculture (WSDA) had a record catch of gypsy moths, including the highest number of Asian gypsy moths ever caught in Washington.

Join this webinar as Karla Salp shares about the devastation that the gypsy moth can cause, WSDA’s plan to eradicate the 2015 introductions, and what you as a Master Gardener should look for. You’ll also get tips and information to answer questions from the public who visit your clinics.

Karla Salp is the Community Outreach & Environmental Education Specialist with WSDA. Ms. Salp is also an active Master Gardener in Thurston County.

**Log in as a guest and make sure your speakers are working, properly. Space is limited to 100 participants, so please log in early.

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Foundation News By Tim Steiss

A great time was had by all at Cabin Fever.

Although I was not able to attend, I have heard nothing but great things about

this year’s Cabin Fever. We were able to pull attendees in from a much fur-

ther distance than previously, thanks to increased marketing efforts.

A big “Thank You!” to Julie Levine for heading up the event and many more

“Thank Yous” to all of those who volunteered in the planning and organization

of the event. The Foundation and the Program are blessed with so many car-

ing and gifted people.

Garden Fair is almost here (May 7th)!!!

I get excited and nervous at this time of year. Sure there is a bunch of work that needs to be done,

but this is also my favorite time to spend with my fellow Master Gardeners. Garden Fair is like one

big group hug - we get to share our passion for the plants (and soil), and we work together as one

big team and most importantly we show our appreciation for the Program by doing our part to keep

it going.

We still have many opportunities for participation within Garden Fair.

On Thursday and Friday (May 5th and 6th), we will need help setting up for the event.

On the day of the event, we have the need for:

Meeters and Greeters / Parking Lot Attendees

Cashiers

Hospitality for Volunteers

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Photo Credit: Andy

CABIN

FEVER

March 12,

2016

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More plants for the plant sale…

The plants dug from our own gardens and our neighbors gardens (assuming you have

permission) are the single biggest income for the Garden Fair. As you prepare your

gardens for the new growing season, consider dividing and/or thinning your plants to

share with the plant sale.

* Put them in 1 gallon pots (a plain pot without a logo is best)

* Label them with name of plant and any other information you may have on the

plant

* Bring them to the extension office on Thursday or Friday before the event

In this month leading up to the event, I am more available than ever. Feel free to call (540) 557-7992

or email tstiess@outlook.com with questions or comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

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We are so glad you are with us!

Houseplant Display

Did you know that when houseplants are added to the work environment there is a measurable increase in worker productivity of up to 12%?

We want to thank Rhonda Elliot, our MG volunteer who takes care of the houseplant display. She comes in every week to water, fertilize, and check on them.

If you see an issue with a houseplant, feel free to leave a note on the plant for Rhonda, but please do not water, move or remove any of the plants. Thank you.

By the way, Rhonda has been nursing these plants through the trauma of a week without heat or power last November, and the few that were affected seem to be coming back strong!

Did you check out the blooming Phalaenopsis orchid and African violets in the Clinic?

Thank you Rhonda!

Kathleen Meyers 23-Mar

Jane K Smith 8-Apr

Janice Sather 8-Apr

Ryan Herring 9-Apr

Pat Munts 12-Apr

Jane Bateham-Smith 13-Apr

Marilyn Lloyd 20-Apr

Marilyn Wadsworth 20-Apr

Jill Ferguson 25-Apr

Don DeLuca 28-Apr

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King County Foundation Looking for

Grant Program Applicants for the A’Key Grant Program

What’s on your organization’s wish list? Time to plan that great new project and money to

fund it. Why not apply for funding from the A’Key Memorial Grant program? This program, sponsored by the Master Gardener Foundation of King County (MGFKC), is designed to assist

and support Master Gardener organizations in all counties of Washington State. MGFKC awards up to $1500 each year to a Master Gardener program with a great idea for a project. Particular consideration will be given to smaller counties where support dollars might be

sparse. The deadline is July 1, and MGFKC welcomes all applications. This grant money is

meant to be used! Apply this year!

There was an enthusiastic response last year. The Foundation received several excellent ap-plications. Pend Oreille was awarded the 2015 A’Key grant in order to renovate and repair

an abandoned garden and greenhouse that will be used to teach and demonstrate WSU re-search-based procedures and gardening practices. All the applications were excellent, and it

was a tough choice for the selection committee. MGFKC wants to thank those counties who submitted applications last year, and encourage them to consider submitting an application

again this year.

Joint programs with other non-profits or public agencies are eligible too, provided that all

funds are donated to and administered by the respective county’s Master Gardener program. Application forms and information are available on the websites of the State Foundation

(MGFWS) and MGFKC (http://www.mgfkc.org/resources/ellen-akey-grant), through your county pro-

gram director or from Nicole Martini, State Program Coordinator.

The A’Key Memorial Grant program was developed to foster innovation and creativity, stimu-late problem solving and creative solutions, encourage a sense of unity and community among all Master Gardeners in the state, and to make possible programs that otherwise

might struggle or never be able to progress beyond the planning stage.

CONTACT:

Kathleen LaFrancis Eaton, Ph.D,

Interim President, kmeaton29@gmail.com or

Nicole Martini, State Program Coordinator nmartini@wsu.edu, or

Bob Connor, A’Key Grant Committee Chair

ibbc@cortland.com Mailing Address: c/o MG Program Coordinator, Box 354115, Seattle WA 98195-4115

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Pollinator Friendly Gardening

A book review by Susan Mulvihill

With pollinators on the decline, I’ve been interested in learning more about them and looking for ways to attract them to my garden. That means searching for useful references.

I’ve found exactly that in Pollinator Friendly Gardening by Rhonda Fleming Hayes (Voyageur Press, 176 pp., 2015, $21.99).

With Fleming’s pleasant writing style, she quickly draws you into a fascinating discussion of the pol-linators found in our gardens and the world around us. She makes many compelling arguments for attracting and nurturing pollinators. While some authors could make this a very dry subject, I found myself eagerly absorbing her approach to it.

As she puts it, “Pollinator Friendly Gardening offers three basic principles to support pollinators in your garden: provide food with blooming plants throughout the season; allow for nesting and over-wintering sites; and finally, avoid pesticide use.”

Fleming starts with an explanation of how pollination takes place. That might seem basic but it is important information. Then she profiles the pollinators. I had no idea there were so many species of native bees in North America!

They include bumblebees, carpenter bees, cuckoo bees (so named because they parasitize other bees similar to the way cuckoo birds infiltrate other birds’ nests), digger bees, sweat bees, mason bees, leafcutter bees, carder bees, mining bees and cellophane bees.

Then she details other pollinators such as butterflies, moths, flies, wasps, beetles and so on. This book exposes the fascinating world of pollinators and the plant life with which they interact.

Fleming also discusses native vs. exotic plants to underscore the importance of diversity. There are many plant lists for attracting bees, butterflies and humming-birds throughout the book. She also discusses how to provide water and shelter for pollinators.

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When it comes to landscaping to attract these marvelous creatures, she empha-sizes how important it is to look at our whole landscape, rather than just focusing on small areas within it. For example, having layers within our landscapes is criti-cal to being successful in attracting pollinators at each stage in their life cycle.

Fleming suggests creating a tree canopy, understory plantings with shrubs and then adding in perenni-als and vines.

As she writes, “Translated to plain English, this means a garden with a wider diversity of plants with a working food web for wildlife is more resilient in the face of pests and diseases, more able to bounce back from weather-related issues, and more sustainable in the long run.”

I particularly liked her statement that she is giving us permission to plant more plants! I’m all over that.

Throughout this book, there are Q&A-style interviews with experts in the many fields that relate to pol-linators. There are also “fun facts” sprinkled throughout this book and this not-so-fun fact:

“According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, homeowners use ten times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers use per acre on their crops.” That is appalling. As Master Garden-ers, we need to focus our efforts on getting homeowners out of this practice.

To address this issue, Fleming talks about how chemicals affect pollinators and how to control damag-ing pests while keeping the pollinators safe.

My only criticism of this book is the small font size the publishers used in it. I guess that’s a sign of my increasing age but it’s smaller than the type in most garden books and required a pair of reading glass-es. It was probably their solution to having a lot of text to fit within a certain amount of pages! At least that means we got our money’s worth in valuable information.

Aside from that, Pollinator Friendly Gardening is an excellent book, filled with fascinating facts and useful tips for doing our part to com-bat pollinator decline.

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THE FASCINATING AND CHANGING PLANT WORLD

By Eva Lusk

Current plant dictionaries are wonderfully interesting. Every time I look up something, I get sidetracked and end up reading my way through several pages, if not more. Who really expects a dictionary to be a page-turner?

But the A TO Z OF PLANT NAMES by Allen J Coombes provides much useful information about the more than 4000 garden plants covered. You find out where the plants come from, who discovered them, how they got their names, which family they belong to and more.

If you’re trying to keep updated on current plant names and family connections, leafing through A TO Z OF PLANT NAMES can be a revelation. Thomas J. Elpel, author of BOTANY IN A DAY, is also an invaluable help in sorting through name changes and reclassification prompted by new genetic research.

The other surprisingly reliable and readily available tool is Wikipedia these days. That website seems to be constantly updating plant information according to the current APG III research.

This fall, the updated version of our old (1973) standby, FLORA OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, should be out, too. It will be exciting to see the results of 40+ years of ever-advancing research on plant classification.

While browsing THE A TO Z OF PLANT NAMES, I discovered that two of my fa-vorite early blooming plants have undergone a name change. Until recently, they went by the name of liverwort or Hepatica. The dictionary now lists them under Anemone nobilis (formerly Hepatica nobilis) or Anemone hepatica var. transylvanica (formerly Hepatica transylvanica).

BOTANY IN A DAY still keeps the genus name Hepatica. Just be aware, that you might find this lovely plant under two different names. However, Anemone or Hepatica spp. can still be found in the Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae), and they also still flower a gorgeous bright blue.

Another of my favorite early bloomers, glory-in-the-snow, is now called Scilla luciliae instead of Chionodoxa luciliae. This little charmer has not just been classified in a new genus, but has been removed from the Lily Family (Liliaceae) and added to the Asparagus Family (Asparagaceae) in-stead.

While the presently flowering Siberian squill (Scilla siberica), and Puschkinia spp., have also left the Lily family and become members of the Asparagus family, their botanical names have re-mained the same. Camas (Camassia spp.), now developing flower stalks, is another ex-Lily family member switched to the Asparagus family.

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Liverwort

Glory of the Snow

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Our lovely shooting stars still belong to the Primrose Family (Primulaceae}. But the genus name has changed from Dodecatheon to Primula. That means the broad leaved shooting star just coming up in my garden is now Primula hendersonii instead of Dodeca-theon hendersonii.

Apparently, that name is not yet widely in use; even BOTANY IN A DAY still uses Dodecatheon. It’s handy to know, though, that if you find the plant by either name, it’s still the same plant.

The flowers don’t look at all like those of other Primula spp. in my garden, but they do remind me a bit of Cyclamen hederifolium, another member of the Primrose family, and one that keeps its attractive foliage all winter long.

Many years ago, I bought a seed packet of sweet alyssum. It turned out to be the only one I ever need-ed, because it dutifully reseeds itself every year. I always have plenty of seedlings to plant throughout the garden. When I bought the seed packet, sweet alyssum was called Alyssum maritimum.

A member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), sweet alyssum has now turned from Alyssum mariti-mum to Lobularia maritima. You’ll probably still find seed packets with either name, just be aware that its the same plant.

The aster family has also done some renaming of genera. The plant we used to refer to as New England aster now goes by the name of Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, instead of Aster novae-angliae. And the white flowering wood aster in my garden has turned from Aster divaricatus to Eurybia divaricata

Apparently, there are enough differences between North American asters and those elsewhere in the world, that it necessitated quite a bit of reclassification. The Aster genus seems to be reserve for Old World plants.

Those lovely michaelmas daisies (Aster amellus) in my late summer garden, are common in the moun-tainous areas of Europe. Fortunately, they also thrive in our growing conditions.

I like to use annual asters to add color to late summer flowerbeds, but have to admit that I had never thought to check on their botanical name before. It turns out, that they’re asters in the sense that they belong to the Aster Family, but their proper botanical name is Callistephus chinensis.

The genus name comes from the Greek for ‘beautiful crown’ and the single species in this genus is found in China, according THE A TO Z OF PLANT NAMES. There’s always something new to learn about plants.

Shooting Stars

New England Aster

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Can You Hear Earth’s Heartbeat When You Eat Your Lentils (Part II)?

By Kathleen Callum March 2016

Master Gardeners can hope that the popularity of “Meatless Monday”

surges to an all-time high during this International Year of Pulses (#iyp2016). The bene-

fits of pulses are vital both for maintaining a sustainable world and our own health. Growing pulses

(and other legumes) in our gardens and crop rotation does more than feed humanity. These wondrous

plants “fix” nitrogen by taking it right out of the atmosphere and cycling this critical nutrient into the

living soil. Legumes naturally add fertility without resorting to the use of synthetic fertilizers. Some

consider legumes to be the “lungs of the soil.” When pulses and other legumes inhale carbon dioxide

and exhale oxygen, our entire planet breathes a sigh of relief. If pulses and other legumes are the lungs,

then the special bacteria that legumes symbiotically shelter in nodules at their roots supplies Earth’s

heartbeat.

Did you know that ancient wisdom about pulses offers us guidance for a healthier relationship with

earth’s living soil? The domestication of our most common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) occurred about

10,000 year ago in Peru and later, in Mexico. About the same time in the Mediterranean basin, people

tamed lentils, peas, horsebeans and chickpeas. Ancient peoples domesticated about 25 different legume

species that tasted good and stored well. My favorite archeological page for finding more about the do-

mestication of beans and other significant crops is http://archaeology.about.com/od/bcthroughbl/qt/

Bean-History.htm. Archeologists believe that in the Mediterranean region, the culture of tasty and nutri-

tious pulses came first. Domestication of pulses later inspired the taming of cereal grains.

Pulses readily adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, matured early, provided superior

nutritional advantage and stored well when dried. Ancient cultures quickly moved from gathering puls-

es in the wild to intentionally growing them at home for porridges served beside the hearth. Regional

varietals, cultural dishes and recipes proliferated. Ancient people soon recognized their vital role in na-

ture. Here in North America, Native Americans traditionally devoted one third of their garden space to

beans each season. Beans are one of the ‘three sisters’ (the others are corn and squash). This traditional

wisdom is worth repeating. Native Americans devoted one third of their garden space, every year, to a

crop that makes the world, as well as themselves, healthier.

Legumes are only able to fulfill the role as the ‘lungs’ of our world because of a special relationship

with bacteria at home in its roots. Biological nitrogen (N) fixation in pulses and other legumes depends

on a marvelous symbiotic partnership between plant and bacterium. Nitrogen gas (N2) comprises nearly

80% of earth’s atmosphere. Yet plants (and animals) are unable use this inert nitrogen gas. Some of

earth’s atmospheric nitrogen is fixed “abiotically” by non-living processes such as lightening

(naturally) or the combustion of fossil fuels (synthetically). However, in a natural cycle, the majority of

Earth’s atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by prokaryotes (nitrogen fixing bacteria). Prokaryotes are classi-

fied as blue-green algae, lichens and soil bacteria. About 70-80% of Earth’s oxygen is supplied by blue-

green algae in oceans, waterways and other moist ecosystems. But don’t

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despair! The lichen clinging to your house and the bacteria living with the bean plant in your garden on land

are also essential for cycling 30% of the earth’s airstream of CO2 and N. You can almost hear the heartbeat

of our planet when you eat your lentils, cowpeas and other pulses.

This miracle of Earth’s biological nitrogen fixation occurs in small growths on pulse and other leguminous

plant roots that are called “nodules”. Symbiotic soil bacteria take up residency in the root hairs of legumes.

The presence of these beneficial bacteria triggers the plant’s formation of these nodules to better shelter the

bacteria. I picture a legume nodule as an underground apartment building just full of busy symbiotic bacte-

ria. Symbiotic bacteria pay for their utilities in a form of nitrogen ‘coin’ that is most preferred by their land-

lords, those legume plants. This bustling work stream of bacteria busily takes in a little oxygen and converts

inert atmospheric N into a form more usable by plants.

Cut open one of these living legume root nodules and it bleeds pinkish-red leghemo-

globin. Leghemoglobin is similar to our own blood’s hemoglobin. Both carry oxy-

gen. This is the oxygen carrying lifeblood of the rhizobia bacteria, who make their

home and life, in a given pulse or other legume nodule. And like our own blood’s he-

moglobin, the reddish fluid in leguminous nodules quickly oxidizes or “rusts” in the

presence of open air. Any plant available nitrogen it carries is converted back into an

unusable form. Thus, the miracle of biological nitrogen fixation takes place hidden

from our sight, in the interior of nodules, well beneath the surface of the living soil, by millions of teeming

symbiotic prokaryote bacteria. Combined, the net effect of these symbiotic bacteria inhabiting root nodules

on Earth’s nitrogen fixation is absolutely vital to our planet’s health. This website (http://aces.nmsu.edu/

pubs/_a/A129/ ) will help you explore one agricultural perspective on biological nitrogen fixation in leg-

umes.

Permaculture (a sustainable agriculture modeled after natural ecosystems), which

draws heavily from traditional wisdom, advocates choosing a plant for one’s gar-

den because it serves multiple functions. Pulses and other legumes (1) furnish nu-

trient dense food for humans, (2) bees and other pollinators adore their flowers,

(3) shelter symbiotic prokaryotic bacteria at their roots, (4) provide a strong base

for the soil food web upon which healthy living soil depends, (5) have the ability

to add fertility to living soil in the form of nitrogen that is unparalleled in the plant

world, and (6) en masse, help power Earth’s atmospheric circulatory system. Today, we now recognize the

central role that pulses and other legumes play in the steady beat of our natural global atmospheric nitrogen,

oxygen and carbon cycles. Biodynamics, bio-intensive gardening, organic methods and other sustainable

agricultural and gardening techniques that maintain healthy living soils always emphasize the planting, crop

rotation, and culinary delight of pulses and other legumes. Pulses and other legumes are at the heart of tradi-

tional food-ways precisely because of their importance to our health and the health of our planet. Neither

ancient nor indigenous peoples from across time, or across Earth, would be surprised by the idea of pulses

or legumes as an animating force of Nature.

Bee on Scarlet Runner Bean

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Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation,

Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation

(Wulf, Andrea. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011)

A Book Review by Lynn Meyers

As we turn the corner into planting and full time gardening season, most of us don’t feel we have time to sit and read right now. On the other hand, having a fascinating book ready to take under a shady umbrella is always just what the doctor ordered when the back spasms begin. Furthermore, this summer will be one of our most interesting since 1968 as we watch what unfolds at the presi-dential nominating conventions in both Cleveland and Philadelphia. The founding gardeners would be carefully observing in July, were they still here to see how the Great Experiment is going. On that, we all can agree.

Andrea Wulf makes the case that gardening, farming, horticulture, and botany are at the heart of the republic’s genesis. She discusses Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, and explains how their shared interest in the above subjects influenced their personal decisions and their hopes for the future of the fledgling union.

Last year I read Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by historian Joseph El-lis, and was shocked at how much I had forgotten since senior-year Civics class. But Wulf’s book gave me the review I needed while tying the revolution and the formation of the republic to our fa-vorite subject, a perfect solution.

The vastly outnumbered George Washington wrote out planting instructions to his estate manager at Mount Vernon during breaks in battle planning. He urged his troops to prepare “regimental Gardens” to provide produce for the men as well as providing them the therapeutic comfort of gardening. He longed to return home to his fields throughout the war and during his terms as president.

A full chapter is devoted to garden visits that inspired Jefferson and Adams, and another recounts the refreshing pause of a garden tour to comfort and assist the frustrated statesmen during the Con-stitutional Convention during the long hot summer of 1787.

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Several chapters discuss the detailed planning that went into Jefferson’s garden at Monticello (I was re-minded of Susan Mulvihill’s keynote address at Cabin Fever last year highlighting her own garden travels) and the unique arrangement at Montpelier, the estate and gardens established by James Madison.

Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, his hopes of westward expansion, his support of the Lewis & Clark expedition, and his delight at the samples and specimens brought back comprise one of my favorite sections of the book. Jefferson’s own interest in botany and farming continued on to the end of his life as he gardened with his grandchildren and shared seeds with friends and fellow garden enthusiasts.

I recommend having a copy of this fascinating book at the ready, for your own therapeutic comfort when your back goes out or when July’s conventions roll around!

The Lowdown Submission Guidelines

►Article idea submissions are submitted to your Program Coordinator before articles are written.

►If possible, please submit articles in Microsoft Word, using Arial size 11 font.

►If possible, please submit photos in jpg format. ► A one page article works out to about 700 words or so. Please use this to judge the length of your article. Preferably, no article should run larger than two full pages plus photos. ►Please submit articles before the 20

th of the month for the following month’s issue. For in-

stance, submit June articles before May 20th.

►All submissions must be original material. If anything is submitted that is copied directly from online sources or other printed material, you may not put your name as author. If you would like to prepare an article comprised of a variety of sources, and wish to use the exact words of your source, the byline will note this. ►Per our Spokane County Master Gardener Volunteer Handbook, you will earn up to 3 hours for researching and writing an article for The Lowdown. If you feel additional hours are needed, please contact your Program Coordinator. ►Final editorial content is at the discretion of the Master Gardener Program Coordinator.

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April 2016 Quiz

1. Is there an increase in productivity is there when you add plants to a work

space? How much?

2. Which MG could you ask questions of concerning how to nurse houseplants through

traumatic events?

3. What are three basic principles gardeners can abide by to support pollinators in our

gardens?

4. Which book would you read if you wanted a good explanation of pollination and

complete profiles of North American pollinators?

5. Do homeowners use fewer or more chemical pesticides than farmers on agricultural

crops? How much?

6. Which dictionary did Eva Lusk find to be a real page-turner?

7. Who is the author of Eva’s dictionary?

8. What is the new name for liverwort (formerly Hepaticia)?

9. Which plant family contains the above named plants?

10. The Aster genus is now used exclusively for plants from the New World or from the

Old World?

11. Which plants are considered the “lungs of the soil?”

12. When did domestication of Phaseolus vulgaris occur and

when?

13. Beans are one of the Native American ‘Three Sisters.”

What are the other two?

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Answers to March Lowdown Quiz

1. Glyphosate (Roundup)

2. March 12th, Master Gardener Foundation Spokane County

3. FS167e “Growing Garlic in Home Gardens”

4. “Selecting Plants for Screens & Hedges” EM089e

5. http://gardening.wsu.edu/

6. Proving causation

7. Sempervivum arachnoides ‘Cobweb’ - looks like it’s covered with cobwebs

8. Euphorbia

9. Asparagus, Asparagus officinale

10. Professional

11. High Yield Vegetable Gardening by Colin McCrate and Brad Halm

12. Use beneficial insects, row covers and netting, handpicking insects, use of organic sprays as last re-

sort

13. International Year of the Pulses

14. Pulses, Fabaceae or Leguminosae

15. 30%

Extra Credit: Tase T. Lentil

April 2016 Quiz (continued)

14. Which weather phenomenon fixes nitrogen abiotically?

15. What is the name of nitrogen fixing bacteria?

16. What is the oxygen carrying lifeblood of the rhizobia bacteria called?

17. What does Kathy Callum consider to be “an animating force of Nature?”

18. When is Garden Fair? Have you signed up to help?

19. The WSDA set a record for catching gypsy moths in which year?

20. True or False: Thomas Jefferson shared garden seeds with family and

friends?

Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, sex, religion, age, color, creed, national or ethnic origin; physical, mental, or sensory disability; marital status, sexual orientation, or status as a Vietnam-era or disabled veteran. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office.

Calendar of Events

Saturday 2 Pollinator Workshop @ Riverside Fire Station #46 9 a.m.—noon

Saturday 9 Tomato Grafting 8a.m.– 4p.m.

Attracting Hummingbirds & Butterflies @ Friends of Manito 10 a.m.

Monday 11 MG Foundation Board Meeting 10 a.m.

Saturday 16 Outside Clinic Clean Up Day 8 a.m.—12 p.m.

Potluck Lunch featuring pulse crops 12 p.m.

Composting 1p.m. — 3 p.m.

Saturday 23 Follow-up Outside Clinic Clean Up Day 8 a.m.—12 noon

Monday 25 ID Clinic 3:30 p.m.—5 p.m.

PCS Training 5:30 p.m.—7 p.m.

Saturday 7 Garden Fair 9 a.m.—2 p.m.

Saturday 14 TIEG Garden Expo at SCC 9 a.m.— 5 p.m.

Drought Tolerant Plants @ Friends of Manito 10 a.m.

Monday 23 ID Clinic 3:30 p.m.—5 p.m.

PCS Training 5:30 p.m.—7 p.m.