The Manure Spreader Publication of the Stow Community Garden Club

JUNE 2002

VOLUME 34

ISSUE 6

Meetings are held the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM at The Community Church of Stow, 1567 Pilgrim Drive, Stow, Ohio

OUR STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL is June 10 at 6:30 PM in Silver Springs Lodge on Stow Road. The meal is being catered by Charlie's and a fantastic evening of entertainment by The Comedy Magic of

Eric Brouman. RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST HIGHLIGHT OF THE MAY 13TH MEETING was a presentation by Bob and Karen Hilgert about their 300 acre farm in Randolph, Ohio of which 100 acres is open for pick your own produce. This includes Strawberries, Peas, Red Raspberries, Green Beans, Peppers and Tomatoes. They start their own plants from seed in their greenhouse for transplanting in the fields. They also have an extensive irrigation system. Other produce such as Sweet Corn, Melons are sold to the public in the Barn Market. Bob’s parent’s, John and Mildred started the farm in 1941 and he took over in the 1980’s. They stressed the importance of passing farms from each generation to the next so the farmland won’t be all sold for development. Harold Cope

Happy June Birthday to: Herb Sadler Karen DePalo Lavinia Grecco 6-10

6-2 6-10

IMPORTANT NOTICE Members who make their dinner reservations by e-mail, MUST check their mailbox no later than the Wednesday BEFORE the up-coming meeting. Reservations are called in on Friday ONLY. An email address is of value ONLY if you check your mail on a regular basis. Meals ARE NOT provided for walk-ins. ALL MEMBERS should feel free to attend the meeting only, if they desire. Arleen Shuman, 2nd VP

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Dividing Daffodils Garden Registration Talk About Dedication Thought for the Day Dividing Woody Crowns Dutch Apple Cake Planting Trees & Shrubs Seeds BUS TRIP RESERVATION FORM

2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5

COMING EVENTS June 3 - Executive Board Meeting Stow City Hall - 7 PM June 10 STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL Silver Springs Park 6:30 PM June 14-15 CGL Region Summer Conference, Kent State U. Aug. 5 - Executive Board Meeting Stow City Hall - 7 PM Aug. 10 - Bus Trip to Amish Country

THERE ARE NO JULY MEETINGS

BENTON'S BROWSINGS Hi fellow gardeners. Hasn't this been some spring! All this rain and cool weather has been great for perennials and shrubs, lots of flowers, but difficult to get anything done in the gardens. I'll have to bring my tomatoes and egg plant in tonight because of frost danger. Sugar snap peas and spinach are doing well. I want to thank the members of Stow Parks and Recreation for the good job on the gardens. I'm pleased that Dean Martin and the grunt crew were able to get the gardens staked in spite of some confusion on garden relocations. Now all we need is some dry and warm weather. I am sad to know we have had our last meal at the Stow Community church. The board is working on obtaining a new location and food supplier for September. We enjoyed the slide show by Karen Hilgert on their farm and market. Bill Hill made a good presentation on the August bus trip. I hope many of you will be participating in the Great Lakes Regional Conference. Gerry and her co-workers have prepared a great program. I look forward to seeing all of you at our annual strawberry festival in June. Happy gardening. Your President

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

OFFICERS NATIONAL DIRECTOR William Moorehouse 511 Overwood Road Akron, Ohio 44313 (330) 864-0604 GREAT LAKES REGION PRESIDENT Frank M. Mitch, National Dir. 2065 Kemery Road Akron, OH 44333-1937 (330) 666-2327 [email protected] STOW COMMUNITY GARDEN CLUB PRESIDENT Richard Benton 3600 Williamson Rd. Stow, OH 44224 (330) 688-3857 [email protected] 1ST VICE PRESIDENT Ray Kline 6237 First Avenue Kent, OH 44240 (330) 673-2202 [email protected] 2ND VICE PRESIDENT Annie Brightbill 3670 N. Santom Road Stow, OH 44224 (330) 686-9704 3RD VICE PRESIDENT Arleen Shuman 3969 Stow Road Stow, Ohio 44224 (330)688-3477 [email protected] SECRETARY Charles Barrington 1493 Kubic Drive Akron, OH 44313 (330) 864-9129 TREASURER Violet Plummer 3390 Darrow Road Stow, OH 44224 (330) 688-2190 DEAN MARTIN, DIR. 1 YRS. 330-655-5188 SUSAN MALYUK, DIR. 2 YRS. 330-673-6318 PETER YOUNG, DIR. 3 YRS. 330-928-6838 GERALDINE HERMAN, Editor 330-688-5782

DIVIDING DAFFODILS Daffodils multiply by offsets — “baby bulbs” attached to the “parent” bulb. As daffodils multiply, they often get too crowded and don’t bloom as prolifically or as large as they did when they were first planted. After several years they may need thinning. After your daffodils bloom in the spring, let the foliage yellow and die back. Then turn up a clump of bulbs with a spading fork. (You may find that the evenly spaced bed of daffodils you carefully planted has grown into one continuous bulb mass.) Shake the dirt off the clump and pull all the larger (1- to 2-inch) bulbs apart. These large bulbs may still have bulblets surrounding them, depending on how long it’s been since you last divided. Gently pull any bulblets from the large bulbs, trying not to damage the roots. Then replant them at three times their height in well-drained soil. If your soil has more clay, don’t plant them as deeply; if it’s on the sandy side go a little deeper. The bulblets may take a few years to bloom, so be patient. Those you don’t keep you can give to a friend. (Article from GardenGate TIPS .com April 24, 2002)

2002 Garden Registration Garden registrations went very well with over 300 gardens assigned in just 10 hours. I would like to thank the following for a job well done. Ann Barni, Annie Brightbill, Neil Bulman, Mary Caston, Karen DePalo, Lavinia Grecco, Gerry Herman, Dick Kieffer, Kathy Lowry, Fred Mong, Violet Plummer, Mary Lou Rosinski, Almina & Herb Sadler, Arleen and Ted Schuman, John Vargo and Peter and Mavis Young. What a wonderful show of team work. Thanks to all. Jim Scobbo, Garden Registrar TALK ABOUT DEDICATION It is really wonderful to see our members turn up time again to stake out and number the gardens. This has been a difficult year in that after the gardens were assigned, we were informed that due to the construction of the new Service Building for the Forestry and Park & Recreation Department Building, we would be loosing several gardens and our water lines would be relocated. It has taken several times because of weather conditions. The following volunteers should be thanked for their loyalty to this project: Richard Benton, Rita Cox, Karen DePalo, Bob Etcher, Ed Herman, Richard Kieffer, Bob Lowry, Dean Martin, Jim McPherran, Jerry Porrini, Ted Shuman, Gary Stark, John Vargo and Gilbert Yan. Thank you for a Great Job!

GREAT INFO SITE http://www.sunset.com/Magazine/ Sections/Garden/gardengateway.html FEASTS FOR THE EYE By Lauren Bonar Swezey and Jim McCausland See how vegetable gardens can be beautiful as well as productive. Growing the perfect tomato Homegrown herbs Five easy annuals for every garden Marathon perennials Win the weed war Garden magic in baskets Shopper's guide to wisteria Years ago, Saint Ignatius of Loyola offered these words of advice: "It is not enough to cultivate vegetables with care. You have the duty to arrange them according to their colors and to frame them with flowers, so they appear like a well-laid table." Heeding this advice, Europeans have long excelled at creating grand kitchen gardens (or potagers, as the French call them) that combine vegetables and ornamental plants in stunning designs. Today, the concept seems more timely than ever, especially in the West, where ever-smaller yards give gardeners more incentive to make the vegetable patch an aesthetically pleasing part of the landscape. "Vegetable gardening should be elevated to the level of a formal garden, where the beauty of the plants can be shown off to maximum potential," says designer Freeland Tanner, who gardens with his wife, Sabrina, in Napa, California. (EDITOR'S NOTE: In judging the gardens in the fall, points are given for design as well as variety, weed free, etc. This site shares some excellent information on planting your garden with color, texture and varied levels of planting.)

Manure Spreader June 2002

Page 2

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost me a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister, please, I'm sorry......I didn't know what else to do. I threw the brick because no one else would stop. " With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother. He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his handkerchief and wiped at the fresh scrapes and cuts. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable but the man never repaired the dented side door. He kept the dent to remind him of this message:

Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your

attention. God whispers to our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. Listen to the whisper. Or wait for the brick.

DIVIDING WOODY CROWNS The crown of a perennial plant is the base, or ground-level portion, where the rhizomes or roots meet the above-ground stems. So most plants have a crown. In some cases, however, the original plant has spread and grown outward in a branch like, circular pattern around the central core. These branches are often hard and somewhat woody. Or, like some older clumps of ornamental grasses, they may be so tough and congested that the easiest way to divide them is to cut off pieces of root or crown. Here’s how: Step one — Dig up the root ball. Cut into the soil all the way around the plant as with fibrous-rooted plants. Dig down as deep as the shovel blade to loosen the soil, then lift up. The root ball should stay in one piece. Some plants, such as the coral bells I’m showing here, have a central, longer taproot going straight down into the soil. It won’t really matter if this is cut off, as the root branches will be the source o f n e w p l a n t s . In other cases, roots may extend out farther than the foliage spread. Take time to examine and explore the plant, and try to keep as many roots intact as possible. Step two — Clean off the root ball. Remove caked-on soil so you can see what you’re doing. Crumbling and brushing off the soil with your hands helps you get to know the shape and structure of the roots. But you can also wash the roots gently with a hose or swish them in a bucket of water. Try to replant divided perennials right away. If that’s not possible, you can protect the roots for a few days by covering them with soil and keeping them moist. Step three — Separate the divisions. What you want are pieces of the woody root branching up from the center, each with a piece of the top. It’s easier to cut woody roots with a knife rather than breaking or pulling them apart.

Lay the plant on the tarp so that you have a firm surface for cutting. Then find a spot near the central root where you can slice through the woody stem. Work your way around the plant until you’ve sliced off all the divisions. If the center root looks firm, you can replant it. But it may be old, woody and dried up or partly rotten. In that case, throw it on the compost pile. Plants you can divide by cutting the crown into pieces: Coral bells Heuchera spp. Delphinium Delphinium spp.Desert candle Eremurus spp. Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia Globe thistle Echinops spp. Goat's beard Aruncus dioicus Lady's mantle Alchemilla mollis Rhubarb Rheum xhybrida Rose mallow Hibiscus moscheutos Russian sage Perovskia atriplicifolia Sea holly Eryngium spp. GARDENGATETIPS.COM

DUTCH APPLE CAKE Mix l cup vegetable oil with 2 cups sugar. Add 3 eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla, then 3 cups flour with 1 teaspoon soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix. Fold in 1 cup chopped nuts and 3 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped. Batter will be thick. Press into 2 9" or 3 - 8" pans, well greased. Bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees. ( May use a 9" x 13" pan but add approximately 10 more minutes. This recipe is from Bernice Herman I first made it in November 1965. It is one of those scratch recipes that drew raves.

Manure Spreader June 2002 Page 3

PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS If you're planting new trees and shrubs this spring, don't spoil them by enriching the soil with organic matter. A hole full of compost and soft organic matter is a comfortable area for the roots, and they aren't likely to spread into the surrounding soil. If the roots don't anchor themselves firmly by spreading, the plant is likely to be toppled by strong winds. Here are a few other tips on planting trees and shrubs: Labels attached to your plant by wires can girdle the branch, so remove them when you plant. Set the tree in the soil at the same level that it grew in the nursery. Look for a dark mark on the trunk that indicates the depth. To protect the trunk from sun scald, rodents, and lawnmower nicks, use a Tree wrap from soil level to the lowest branch. If you use mulch, don't allow it to touch the trunk of the tree. Check your plant from all angles to see that it is sitting straight before filling the hole. Stakes often cause more damage than they prevent, so use them only when planting in a windy, unprotected area, or if you are planting a top-heavy tree. If you use a stake, leave an inch or two of slack in the wire and cover the part that encircles the tree with a protective covering.

SEEDS Are Seeds Easy To Grow? Yes. Seeds naturally want and need to grow, and even a child can grow them. The 'back page' of each seed packet explains exactly how to grow the seeds inside. What Is A Seed? A seed is the mature ovule of a plant. It contains all the genetic material and stored energy within to grow into a plant similar to its parent plants, if growing conditions permit. Seeds are of all different shapes, sizes and colors quite amazing. Where Do Seeds Come From? Seeds are produced in the ovary of a flower when pollination of the flower has taken place. Plants may produce any

number of seeds... from the impatiens, which may produce thousands from just one flower, to the lima bean, which produces just two or three in a pod. Should All Seeds Be Started Indoors? No, in fact, only a few seeds need indoor starting - those that are very slow-growing or need a head start where the season is short. The individual packet will tell you specifically when and where to plant. What Does "Germinate" Mean? To germinate, a seed takes in water and begins to swell, and continues until the tiny plants emerge from the soil and begin to make their own food by photosynthesis. How Long Until Germination? The individual seed packet gives the approximate number of days from planting to emergence (when seedlings appear). For example, bean seeds take about 7 to 10 days to germinate after planting. (http://homeharvestseeds.com/) http://gardening.about.com/cs/msub70/

MINI TILLERS Mini tillers, also known as cultivators, have really made the process of turning over the soil a snap. Their small size and light weight make them the perfect “power hoe” for tilling a raised bed, cultivating around drifts of perennials before they start to grow or preparing a narrow planting strip in a tight spot. But their very handiness also makes cultivators easy to overuse in the garden. Occasional cultivation with a mini tiller is fine and can really save you a lot of hard work. But if you’re using one for routine weeding or aeration, your soil structure is in jeopardy. The tines’ action slices the soil aggregates apart, breaking up the lattices of humus and eventually turning good soil into mud and dust. You’ll also be creating a “hardpan” layer of compacted soil just below the area your cultivator’s tines stir up. To get the most from tilling, and to prevent problems with your soil, try these tips: Use your tiller only a couple of times a season — to fluff the soil in spring and turn organic material into the soil in fall. Till only when the soil is moist. It should crumble into large granules in your hand. Tilling when it’s too wet or too dry will damage the soil. Don’t let the machine run in one spot. Keep it moving to prevent over-tilling. If the machine is equipped with one, use the drag bar. This metal strip will keep the

tiller from digging too deep. Tillers are great labor savers when used properly. Just don’t let them ruin your soil with too much of a good thing. (From Web, Garden Gate Tips)

TOADS HUMBLE GARDEN HEROES The average toad will eat 50-100 insects every night that's 10,000 to 20,000 insects throughout a gardening season. They will help eliminate garden pests such as flies, grubs, slugs, cutworms, Grasshoppers, and anything else they are fast enough to catch. You can encourage toads to take up residence in your garden by providing shelter and water, and by using gentle pesticides that won't hurt your warty allies. Toads prefer homes that are humid and out of the wind. You can build a Toad residence by digging a shallow depression in the soil and covering it with a board. Don't forget to leave a door! A birdbath at ground level would provide just the right amount of water for your toads' daily needs, but if you would like to see them raise a family in your garden, consider adding a water garden or small pond. Once they move in, they will stay for years, so the small effort required to attract them will pay off many times over. Harold Cope (I would like to extend my thanks to Mr. Cope and all members who submit articles for the Manure Spreader. You make editing a newsletter much easier. Gerry Herman, Editor)

Manure Spreader June 2002 Page 4

STOW COMMUNITY GARDEN CLUB

BUS TRIP BUS LEAVES 8:00 AM SHARP from The Stow Community Church Back at 6:00 PM

Don't miss The bus!

MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2002 Sign Up Early - $ .00 per person

LIMITED SEATING!

Contact Ray Kline 330-686-0300 or [email protected]

WARTHER MUSEUM - Experience the history of steam, as carved in ebony and ivory, by the "WORLD'S MASTER CARVER" Ernest "Mooney" Warther -- starting in 250 BC with Hero's engine to the Union Pacific Big Boy Locomotive of 1941.

TOUR OF AMISH COUNTRY including a house tour, barn tour, buggy ride and gardens.

ENJOY A DELICIOUS NOON MEAL of two meat entrees, mashed potatoes/gravy, noodles, one or two vegetables, salad and dessert (pie), home made bread, coffee, ice water and lemonade at an Amish Complete your day with a back roads tour of Amish country, visit to Miller's Bakery - an old order Amish Bakery (no electricity) and the Guggisberg Cheese Factory - home of the original Baby Swiss cheese. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -PLEASE PRINT CAREFULLY FOR NAME BADGE------------------------------

Name _______________________________

Total people: __________@ $45.00 pp = $__________

Address _______________________________________ Phone _________________________________________

DEADLINE JULY 31, 2002

Additional name(s) _______________________________

Make checks payable to Stow Community Garden Club and mail to: Ray Kline, 6237 First Avenue, Kent, Ohio 44240

Dear Members, June is a very special month. It marks the end of the school year for many. Flag Day is the 14th of June with Father's Day following on the 16th. Summer comes in on the 21st and families make plans for the 4th of July Parades and summer vacations. As gardeners, many of us will be busy planting, weeding, watering and endless lawn mowing. Families will gather and memories will be made. Pictures will be taken and hopefully dreams realized. These are wonderful things BUT we must take time to "SMELL THE ROSES". We become so busy scurrying here and there that we forget to take time to "Look and See" We have beautiful roadsides and neighbors yards, parks and lakes, sunrises and sunsets. All of our work is of little value if we don't take the time to enjoy the results of our labors. Many of us are getting older and can no longer do the physical work but the knowledge stored up is of great value to others. Stuffing envelopes and greeting members all can do. Please share. Speaking of sharing, this is also the time to start thinking of the future of our club. Over the next couple of months, the nomination committee will be looking for officer candidates for the 2003 year. Won't you

MANURE SPREADER Published by STOW COMMUNITY GARDEN CLUB 2139 Maple Road, Stow, Ohio 44224

Member – THE GARDENERS Of AMERICA INC. (http://www.tgoa-mgca.org) In Partnership with the Stow Parks & Recreation Department

Happy Father’s Day

PLEASE consider being an officer? We will also be needing committee heads. We must all consider the fact that a committee is made up of a leader and members. All positions would be much easier to fill if members would step up and agree to be part of a committee. The 1st Vice President should have at least 3 others helping him/her prepare a slate of programs for the new year. Some programs like the Strawberry Festival requires many members to help with cleaning the strawberries, setting up the tables, ordering and picking up the ice cream, cake, etc. Another VERY IMPORTANT Committee is the Gardens Committee. Jobs include preparing a plot map, staking and numbering the plots, planning for registration day and updating the registration forms and finding people to work that day. Buying and packaging seeds, arranging for a plant distributor. A Horticultural Show is planned and so it goes. If the Stow Club is to continue, we MUST HAVE NEW AND YOUNG MEMBERS. This can be done ONLY with every members help. Please stand up and be counted.

YOU

ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THIS CLUB! The Editor