The Tollgate Farm News Volume 22

Issue 11

November 2016

2016 GOLDEN SHOVEL AWARD

2016 GINGER MEYER AWARD

Roy Prentice, Kathy Johnson and Renee Cottrell

Renee Cottrell, Peg Palmer and Roy Prentice

2016 TOLLGATE VOLUNTEER SEASON FINALE TOLLGATE GARDEN VOLUNTEER IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS DEC 9

TGAC Meeting

DEC 3

MEETINGS

JAN 7:00

ACTIVITIES Rose Garden Mulching

9:00

No Tollgate Volunteer Meetings November and December

MEETINGS

1

TGAC Meeting

14

AGL Planning Meeting (tentative)

19

Tollgate Volunteer General Meeting

7:00 10:00 7:00

Page

FROM THE TOLL GA TE FARM MANAGER

GREETINGS Roy Prentice Greetings All,

The 2016 gardening season is coming to an end. The beds are now all snug for the coming winter. All of the wonderful work that Tollgate’s volunteers performed this year has resulted in great gardens that are a joy for our many visitors. Thanks to all that made 2016 such a great year at Tollgate!

Photo by Renee Cottrell

Recognition Dinner: This year’s volunteer recognition dinner was a great success! The event was again supported by the Americana Foundation and MSU Extension and was very well attended. Over one hundred and thirty volunteers and guests joined us for dinner, a presentation of the Tollgate gardening year and the awards ceremony. We had so many attendees that we filled the big barn for the presentation. The presentation that was put together by Darretta Ferasin and myself was a big hit as were the many door prizes. The food was really great too. One of the highlights of the evening was the recognition of our first year volunteer who made the most visits to the farm during 2016. This year our “Golden Shovel” award winner was Kathy Johnson. Along with the traditional gold painted implement, Kathy also received a golden shovel pin provided by the Americana Foundation and had her name engraved on a plaque which is hung in the Tollgate Volunteer Center. Page 2

Photo by Mike Janczarek

Also awarded was the “Ginger Meyer” award. This award was presented to long-time Tollgate volunteer, Peg Palmer, for her many years of service to Tollgate. Peg is instrumental in many projects on the farm including serving as TGAC’s vice president, being an AGL and being integral in the update and improvement of the Tollgate nursery. The Ginger Meyer award, a silver bowl inscribed with the recipient’s name, was established to honor the memory of Ginger Meyer who, along with her husband Adolph, was instrumental in establishing the Americana Foundation and in donating Tollgate to MSU. Peg’s name has also been inscribed on a plaque that will be hung in the Tollgate Volunteer Center. Both the golden shovel and Ginger Meyer awards are given annually. Thank you Kathy and Peg for all that you do for the farm!

Photo by Mike Janczarek

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers for another great year at Tollgate! I can’t wait for winter to loosen her icy grip so that we can get going on 2017. It will be maple syruping time before we know it! Roy

LEARN GROW MAKE FRIENDS ENJOY Notes from the President

“Touch the earth, love the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, her seas: rest your spirit in her solitary places. For the gifts of life are the earth’s and they are given to all…” Henry Beston

Renee Cottrell In thanks for another wonderful gardening season… I try every year to find enough superlatives to express the wonderful things the gardeners have achieved each season and find the list of praises too long and my vocabulary a bit too limited. Please know that I am personally grateful for every effort, talent, time and kindness throughout the season given by all volunteers. Without the collective efforts of the TGAC, AGL’s and teams, Fall Fair committee, dedicated individual volunteers and wonderful support from The Americana Foundation we could never pull off all these wonderful achievements. My highest praise and thanks to Roy Prentice our soft spoken, hardworking friend and leader that guides us with humor in our planning and execution of all that we do on the site! So, in this season of thanks, I am thankful for the Tollgate Garden Volunteers for the knowledge, companionship, skills that they have shared with our community and I am honored to continue to be a part of such a wonderful group of people and look forward to another season. Congratulations to our Golden Shovel Award recipient Kathy Johnson and Ginger Meyer Award winner Peg Palmer. I have worked on projects with both these volunteers and find them to be generous of their time and talents and deserving of this special recognition. Save the Dates:  There is the remaining mounding of the roses activity December 3rd.

 January AGL meeting-open to all volunteers to get

info on garden teams and for teams to plan for the upcoming season! Tentative date is Saturday, January 14th but look for confirmation e-mail in December!

 First membership meeting of 2017 is January 19th. Enjoy your Thanksgiving and time with family and friends. Thank you for being Tollgate Garden Volunteers.

Renee Cottrell, TGV President

Renee Leads a Team of Young New Volunteers on the October 15th Workday Sumukh Kallur, Neil Sinha, Kritin Bheemineni, Ayush Rao Page 3

Thank You

Americana Foundation and MSU Extension for a special evening with our fellow gardeners, dinner, door prizes and for your continued support. Roy Prentice, Cindy Prentice, Minnette Prentice and Karen Craig for making sure everything was set up for the perfect evening. A special thanks to Renee Cottrell who keeps us on the garden path.

2016 PLANT a Row for the Hungry Produce Totals

2016 PAR Produce Beans Beets Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Garlic Onion Peppers Potatoes Summer Squash Winter Squash Total

Totals 503.6 238.0 575.6 87.0 48.0 30.0 208.2 15.4 150.0 253.6 162.2 2271.6

A Special Thanks! To all of you who made a donation to help the Tollgate Gardeners make Tollgate a more beautiful place. Your donation is greatly appreciated! The support that you have provided will continue to help our program prosper and grow. Thanks again and Happy Gardening! Frank Allen Lisa Austin Kathy Barker Kathleen Brooks Bonnie Boak Linda and Larry Bolam Don Boufford Susan Bremer Paula Brose Inge Brieger Pat Canfield Kathy Coleman Brian Frol Linda Galante Carmen Hamilton Heather Hamlin Page 4

Cathy Homeszyn Vera Hurchik Denise Johns Kathy Johnson Lisa Jorgensen Markevich Paul Lukasiewicz Bob Luetje Cherry Lee Baker Sharon Mazguth Carie McCarter Beverly McCarter George McCarthy Kathy McGoldrick Don and Liz Millington Susan Millington Joan Monnig

Audrey Murphy Jim Nelson Phil and Carol Oppenheim Robert Penkala Judy Poole Robert Savageau Jackie Stengel Andrea Stromar Lynn Strong Chet Tarczynski John VanDerAue Dick and Peggy Wanat Teri Wellington Barb and John Woodrich Debra Yuhas

VOLUNTEERS TOGETHER DIVIDING GROWING SHARING

NURSERY NOTES

Peg Palmer Regular Saturday workdays have ended at Tollgate, but things are still happening in the nursery as we get ready for winter. Prior to last year, typical winter preparations for the nursery were limited to digging in the pots and cutting back foliage. As we searched out experts to learn more about how to successfully overwinter perennials in pots we have begun to implement some of these ideas. One expert who has been very helpful in sharing her knowledge gained from 30 years of overwintering perennials in an outdoor nursery is Karen Bovio, the owner of Specialty Growers, a familiar and popular place for many Tollgate Gardeners. She has helped us to understand which varieties are more “at risk” for winter kill, and what extra measures can be taken to improve the odds that these plants will emerge healthy in the spring. In the nursery we try to replicate the environment for typical garden plants, so we dig in the pots to insulate the roots with soil surrounding the pot. In summer, this insulates the roots from summer heat and keeps in moisture. In the winter this also helps insulate the roots and temper the freeze/thaw cycle a bit – but sometimes there may be too much moisture trapped in the pot as late fall rains, winter snow melt and spring rains occur. Some plants are more sensitive to problems with excess moisture in the pot, while others may just have winter hardiness issues in the open nursery that provides little protection from fierce winter winds. Last winter, armed with a list of plants that likely need a little help to survive winter in the open nursery, we set out to provide extra protection for these plants. We experimented with 3 different options: Renee Cottrell built 2 “cold frames” (a rectangular wooden structure set within the nursery row, with styrofoam lining to provide extra insulation from the cold), each large enough to hold 30-35 pots. The cold frames were then covered with solid color tarps to keep out rain, snow and provide additional protection from extreme temperatures. Roy Prentice provided metal “row hoops” that were installed at regular

Tarps in January 2016

intervals over a section of nursery row and then covered with a solid color tarp. Finally, we selected other plants in the nursery that were at risk of root rot from excess moisture and turned the pots on the side and mounded soil over top – thus lessening the amount of rainfall and snowmelt that would directly access the pot. This winter, we’re working to improve on last year’s effort. For example, we know that we must secure the tarps much more securely so they stay in place despite those strong winter winds (see picture nearby showing the tarps in January). This winter, in addition to using more bricks, we will use soil staples to secure the tarps, and Roy has cut the metal hoops so that the row covers with have a lower profile. We will also protect more plants, with Deb Kearney volunteering her “starter houses” to be installed in the shade house to provide additional protection for Anemone and Heuchera plants that are at greater risk of winter kill. We will also be treating these plants with fungicide this winter as they are prone to botrytis. The Nursery Team extends a huge THANK YOU to all the Tollgate Garden Volunteers who have provided amazing support to us this year! Volunteering in the Tollgate Nursery provides a great opportunity to learn and do lots of gardening stuff! If you’re interested in the many different gardening activities we’re involved in, contact Renee or Peg to join the nursery team! Peg Palmer - [email protected] Renee Cottrell - [email protected] Page 5

Page 6 Photos by Mike Janczarek

2016 Recognition Dinner

Photo by Darretta Ferasin

Page 7

Photos by Renee Cottrell

2016 Recognition Dinner

Tollgate Volunteer Information Activity Days Activity day hours are 9:00 to noon unless otherwise noted on the Tollgate Garden Volunteer Important Dates and Events listed on the first page of the Tollgate Farm News or by the Area Garden Leader (AGL). Lunch will be provided - veggie alternatives are available upon request. This schedule does not exclude you from working independently on the site. However, on non-scheduled days, your efforts will need to be selfdirected with guidance from the garden area clipboards located in the Volunteer Communication Center.

Garden Tools Available for Use at Tollgate  Spades

 Garden Hoe

 Garden Rakes

 Long Handled

 Brooms

Garden Forks

 Wheel Barrels  Weed Buckets  Leaf Rakes

If you aren’t getting The Tollgate Farm News e-mail, Check your SPAM folder Volunteer Activity Day and Meetings Information

248-347-3860 ext. 400

List of Suggested Gardening Implements to Bring from Home as Needed     

Trowel Hand Pruners Loppers Garden Scissors Your Favorite Weeding Implement  Hand Saw

     

Plant Division Forks Shrub Rake Sun Screen Gloves Knee Pads Insect Repellant

Tollgate Garden Advisory Council Farm Manager Roy Prentice - 248 347-3860 ext. 251 e-mail - [email protected] President ........................... Renee Cottrell Vice President… ............... Peg Palmer Secretary…........................ Dave Komraus Treasurer ........................... Sue Janczarek Membership ...................... Nancy Roggers PR....................................... Yvonne DeMattos Fall Fair .............................. Dennis Roggers Programs ........................... Jackie Stengel Hospitality ......................... Yvonne DeMattos Farm News Editor ............. Darretta Ferasin For membership questions or to update your current membership information send e-mail to: [email protected] MSU Tollgate Gardens Volunteers For general information and questions Contact Roy Prentice Page 8

● The Tollgate Gardens Advisory Council next meeting will be held on Friday, November 9, 2016 at 7:00 in the Tollgate Office Building. All Tollgate Gardens Volunteer members are welcome to attend. ● Listings to contact individual Council Members and Area Garden Leaders are available at all general meetings and in the Volunteer Communication Center. ● Tollgate Volunteer Membership is renewed

annually. The 2016 Tollgate Garden Volunteers membership is from December 1, 2016 to November 30, 2017.