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Who is a Master Gardener?

10/25/2012

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So just what is this “Master Gardener thing”, and should you
become a Master Gardener? I gave that question some consideration and decided that my personal description of a Master Gardener would be… “anyone who is passionate about gardening, loves to learn, and loves to share gardening knowledge and experiences with others”.

Again, that’s my description, and other Master Gardeners would likely give a different answer, as each person experiences the Master Gardener program in ways that are as unique as the individual. But, common threads emerge, such as the desire to learn more about plants and their habits, the fun of camaraderie and fellowship with other gardeners, and the overall joy of gardening activities.

One misconception I would like to dispel is the notion that you should be an expert gardener before joining the Master Gardener program. When someone says to me “Oh, I don’t know enough to take the Master Gardener course”… I have to reply, “that’s the whole point”. I believe that the program’s ability to broaden your horizons and provide new sources of inspiration and information may be its primary benefits. I may not recall her words verbatim, but it stuck with me when our former Master Gardener Association President, Linda Lindquist, remarked… “I realized that I didn’t take the Master Gardener course to learn everything about gardening, but to learn just how much I did not know about gardening”. Therein is a truth to realize; individual Master Gardeners don’t know everything about gardening… that is not possible.

I like to quote a few sentences from Jim Wilson, a former host of the popular Victory Garden television series. From his 1990 book Masters of the Victory Garden, Jim described the specialist (“master”) gardeners
featured in that publication as follows…“None has the hubris to proclaim, “I am the best!” They flinch at the term “expert”, and even grumble at being called an “authority”. You see, what these seasoned gardeners have discovered is that no individual ever completely masters gardening. Much of the fascination in one of this country’s most popular hobbies is that one revelation leads to another, and another. Gardening is a lifelong
voyage of discovery
.”
Jim Wilson was not speaking directly about the Master Gardener program offered by the agriculture Extension service, but his words accurately reflect the attitude and outlook of many of those state-certified Master Gardeners that I know.
If you have a similar love of gardening and discovery, I encourage you to register for the Master Gardener certification course which begins in January here in Rutherford County. Or, if you live elsewhere, check with your county or state agriculture Extension service to inquire about their Master Gardener program.

blog entry by Mark Murphy, CMG
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Recycle your Leaves!

10/19/2012

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As temperatures fall, we get to enjoy the most spectacular fall colors as trees and shrubs begin to turn their leaves.  This of course also means that those of us with tree-filled yards will soon be trading in the lawn mower for the rake.
Whether you bag your leaves or gather them into piles, raking is an important job that keeps your yard tidy and your lawn healthy. But don’t stop there! Those fallen leaves can provide two useful materials for your garden, leaf mulch and leaf mold, for FREE!
Leaf Mulch:

Leaves make great mulch and winter ground cover for gardens and around shrubs and trees.  This will help insulate plants and protect them from winter freeze damage.

Since large leaves tend to compact down when they get wet, it is important to shred your leaves first. An easy way to do this is to run over them with a lawn mower a few times. A mower with a clipping bag is great for this and will save time.  Another way is to put your leaves in a garbage can and use a weed whacker to chop the leaves into pieces. (Please wear safety goggles when you do this). 

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Leaf Mold

Leaf mold (sometimes you see it also spelled as leaf mould) is simply decomposed leaves.  This material is great for improving soil structure and improving the water-holding capacity of soil.  A University of Connecticut study found that soil amended with leaf mold increased its water-holding capacity by almost 50 percent.

Leaf mold is very easy to make:  Just put fallen leaves into a bin or wire enclosure and turn them every month or so.  It does take a bit of patience as it may take six to twelve months for the leaf mold to be ready for your garden.  Shredding will speed things up a bit as it helps the leaves to decompose more efficiently. 

Once ready, place the leaf mold around (but not touching) the crowns of your plants to help them maintain moisture during summer.  Or dig some of it into your soil to make it less dense and help roots penetrate and take up nutrients more easily.

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A great time to mulch your garden is after the first few frosts.  Clear your planting beds of any dead vegetation and remaining weeds, then apply about 2 inches of your leaf mulch.

In the spring, you can till the leaves into your garden.

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No matter how you recycle your leaves, they’re sure to be a great (and free) resource for your garden.

By Sabine Ehlers, CMG
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Snakes - Is it poisonous?

10/7/2012

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When people see a snake the first question they ask is 'Is it poisonous?'   Of the 44 species and sub-species of snakes in Tennessee, only five are venomous.  The five venomous snakes are two kinds of rattlesnakes, two kinds of copperheads and one cottonmouth. 

How do you know if it is a venomous snake?  All of Tennessee's venomous snakes are part of the pit viper family and can be easily identified by the following traits they all share:
->  Their head shape is triangular as compared to a more oval head in the non-venomous snake.
->  They have an elliptical pupil (like a cat) and a non-venomous one has a round one (button eyes).
->  They have a heat-sensing pit between the eyes and the nostrils, non-venomous snakes do not have a pit.  

Areas around your home that are considered attractive for snakes are:
  • Firewood stacked directly on the ground or old lumber piles
  • Junk piles
  • Flower beds with heavy mulch and shrubbery growing alongside the house
  • Gardens
  • Basements, especially when cluttered with household items
  • Barn lofts, especially where feed is stored, attracting rodents
  • Attics in houses where there is a bird, rodent or bat problem
  • Stream and pond banks
  • Unmowed lawns and abandoned lots and fields
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It's important to keep in mind that even if a snake is not poisonous, they can still bite if they feel the need to protect themselves. So, although they are very beneficial to have around in the sense that they can keep the population of some unwanted critters at bay (think rodents for example), please treat any snake you encounter with respect.

Note: 
In Tennessee, it is illegal to harm, kill, remove from the wild, or possess native snakes taken from the wild without the proper permits.  Please help the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to protect our native snakes.

Source:  Tennessee Herpetological Society, "Snakes of Tennessee." www.tennsnakes.org
               UT Extension Publication: Tennessee Snakes and Their Control SP293E

By: Sabine Ehlers, CMG
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