Cooking with Squash, Dan Froehlich, Chef, St. Norbert’s College 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 28, 2016 Visitors Center, Green Bay Botanical Garden

Dear Fellow Gardeners,

I cannot believe that fall is just about here.

First, I want to thank Maxine Cashman for letting us have her yard for the picnic. What a great time again! Thank you, Maxine.

Our committee worked very hard for the upcoming year. I believe we have a very good budget, but we will still have to cut some corners yet.

Barb Vandersteen will get the election put together, and the

hope there is a good attendance. I also would like to see if you can bring a friend. This month we will have Dan Froehlich talking on cooking squash. Dan is from St Norbert College and a very good chef.

This is a short message, but keep gardening!

Your President, Carl Christensen

8/24/2016 Minutes

Regional Meeting

September 8 Committee Mtg.

2

Officers and Chairpersons

Club/Member News 3

Garden Club Schedule

Learning in Retirement Is Now

Lifelong Learning

Swanstone Gardens Day Trips

and Classes

GBBG Events

4

NWTC Scholarship Winner

Harvest Banquet 5

Rototilling Your Organic

Garden: More Harm Than

Good?

6

More About the No-Till

Method of Gardening 7

YMCA Project 8

Lighten Up! 9

Tiller Advertisers 8-10

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Tiller

The September 2016

Refreshments Betty Cox Sue Rohan

Barb Vandersteen

From the President . . .

programs sure look great for the next year.

We also now have the fall banquet coming up. So as soon as we can get all the information ready, sign up early.

Thinking about some of the garden vegetables, I have heard that the Big Zak tomato is the best so far. Some say the peppers did not do too well. Mine did not do good at all, nor the pickles.

At our September meeting, we have a lot to discuss so I

Plan Ahead! Sept. 17—Large

Produce Weigh-in at the Downtown Saturday

Farmers Market.

Oct. 8—Sunflower and Pumpkin Weigh-in at

the Downtown Saturday Farmers Market.

Come to learn about cooking with squash! Guests always welcome.

PAGE 2 Til l er

2017 Planning Meeting: This will be held at

Marsha May’s home on September 8th at

6 p.m. Committee members will work on the

budget, programs for 2017, and nominations

of officers for 2017.

Large vegetable weigh-in: It will be held at

the farmers market on September 17th. Ritalyn

Arps is chairing this event. Patti Nellis and

Scott Casperson will be handing out flyers at

the GBBG Art Festival to announce the event.

Announcements: The YMCA on Huron Road

would like us to help them out with planning

their flower beds around their buildings. A

thought for a 2017 meeting. (Editor’s Note:

see p. 8 for photos of the site.) Carl

Christenson informed us that Rock Gardens

have raised their dinner prices. Our meeting

was adjourned, and Diane Nighorn won the

door prize. We then had a picnic with pulled

pork and a pot luck of many dishes from our

members. Thank you, Maxine, for opening up

your home and yard to us.

Agnes Schussman, Secretary

Tonight’s meeting was held at 6 p.m. at

Maxine Cashman’s home. President Carl

Christenson opened the business meeting with

approval of July’s minutes, and Betty Cox

gave the treasurer’s report. She stated that we

received $256 from National after the final

results from our convention.

Silver Trowel Awards: Scott Casperson

thanked the committee for all their help

viewing and judging the nominated yards.

Winners will be contacted and invited to our

banquet.

Fund Raiser: The Family Art Festival is

being held September 10th at the GBBG.

Scott Casperson, Perry Sieloff, and members

who wish to help out will be selling photo

cards and mums (200 mums will be coming

from Schroeder’s on consignment).

December Meeting: Due to travel, Nancy

Hamann is unable to do the Christmas

traditions program for our December meeting,

but she has us on her calendar for 2017. Diane

Garret will replace Nancy and will be featur-

ing home decorating for Christmas for our

December 7th meeting.

Meeting Minutes - 8/24/2016

September 8 Committee Meeting From Ritalyn Arps: A suggestion of

changing our meeting room from the

GBBG to the Brown County Extension

Building was looked into. The cost of

GBBG is $70/year and the Extension

is $40/meeting. Further discussion

can be done at the September

meeting.

TGOA-MGCA Regional Meeting The fall regional meeting will be hosted by the

Rochelle Garden Club on Saturday, October 8, at the

Hub City Senior Center, 401 Cherry Avenue, Rochelle.

The schedule for the day is as follows:

9-9:45 a.m. Registration (pastries, juice, coffee)

9:45 a.m. Board bus to Mighty Vine Tomato Farm

10-11:30 a.m. Tour Mighty Vine Facility

Noon-1 p.m. Lunch (mostaccioli with meat sauce,

chicken strips, house salad and dressing, breadsticks,

assorted desserts, coffee & water)

1:15 – 2 p.m. Business Meeting

2 - 2:30 p.m. Door prizes & Adjournment

The cost for the day’s activities is just $10 per person

which includes tax and gratuity. Please make your

reservation for this meeting with BCGA Treasurer,

Karen Ballweg, 8864 Greenfield Drive, Belvidere, by

Tuesday, Sept. 27. Make checks payable to “BCGA”.

SEPTEMB ER 2016 PAGE 3

Club and Member News . . . The Gardeners Club of Green Bay

Officers and Chairpersons

President Carl Christensen, 920-425-3224 cchristensen14@new.rr.com

Vice President Scott Casperson, 920-435-1780 scasperson@msn.com

Secretary Agnes Schussman, 920-327-1138

Treasurer Betty Cox, 920-468-8693 2510 Heather Road Green Bay, WI 54311-5243 bchomestead101@yahoo.com

Past President

Barb Vandersteen, 920-435-0568 bvandersteen@new.rr.com

Membership and Public Relations Ritalyn Arps, 336-0225 rarps@new.rr.com

Sunshine Ruth Goeben, 920-494-3008

Tiller Editor, Website Manager, and

TGOA-MGCA National Photography

Competition and Calendar Chairperson Shirley Winnes, 920-499-4441 sawrrw@hotmail.com

Historian Barb Vandersteen, 920-435-0568 bvandersteen@new.rr.com

Civic Projects and Fund Raising

Asparagus Sale Betty Cox, 920-468-8693 bchomestead101@yahoo.com

Silver Trowel Scott Casperson, 920-435-1780 scasperson@msn.com

Inventory Control and

Education and Plant Records

———————-Open———————-

House and Program Paul Hartman, 920-437-6831 hartmanpaul@sbcglobal.net

Refreshments Coordinators Sue Rohan, 920-336-3004 drfeelgoodmd@new.rr.com Mary Naumann, 920-866-2282 marynaumann@gmail.com

Pictured above are some of the 200 mum plants

consigned to us from Schroeder’s Flowers for the GBBG

Fall Family Art Festival. Thank you to Scott Casperson

and Perry Sieloff for sharing their vendor’s spot with us

to raise funds for the garden club by selling mums and

photo cards.

Articles for next month’s Tiller are due by

October 10. Send to Shirley Winnes at

saw301@att.net or to sawrrw@hotmail.com.

Silver Trowel Garden Evaluations

Shirley Winnes, Betty Cox, Barbara

Vandersteen, Perry Sieloff, Patti Nellis, Agnes

Schussman, Scott Casperson, and Rose Borowitz spent

Tuesday, August 16, judging the gardens nominated for

Silver Trowel awards. The photo above was taken at

Swanstone Gardens after a guided tour with owner,

David Calhoon. Stay tuned—awards will be announced

at the November Harvest Banquet.

PAGE 4 Til l er

Coming Attractions Sponsored by the Green Bay Botanical Garden

Call 920-490-9457 or see http://www.gbbg.org for complete information, reservations,

and cost about any of the following:

The Gardeners Club of Green Bay

Upcoming Schedule of 2016 Meetings

Oct. 26 Brag Night – How Did Your Garden Grow?

Dec. 7 Christmas Decorating, Diane Garret

Special Events

Sept. 17 Farmers Market - Large Produce Weigh-in

Oct. 8 Farmers Market - Pumpkin Weigh-in

Nov. 11 Harvest Banquet

Nature Printing, Sept. 20 @ 6-7:30 p.m. Rob Zimmer, Nature Writer & Photographer. We’ll gather materials from the gardens, then return and learn about fun and exciting ways to design, print, and create using items from nature. From flowers and leaves to seeds and much more, you’ll never look at nature the same way again.

Pest Control 2: Fruits & Vegetables, Sept. 22 @ 6-7:30 p.m. Lisa Stubbe, Landscape Arti-sans. Lisa will discuss local insect and diseases issues affecting lawn, landscape ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. These discussions will be broken into two discussions. Identification of plants and their specific disease/insect pests will be discussed. Come ready to learn how to identify various stages of common pests, learn how to treat them, if necessary, and how to prevent recurring issues in your landscape. Bring leaf/plant samples to contribute to the discussion!

T-shirt Skirts, Sept. 26 @ 6-7:30 p.m. Angie Kusek Schubert, Ginger Birch. Angie from Ginger Birch will be teaching us how to sew a comfy skirt from our old t-shirts! You will need to bring your sewing machine and at least three t-shirts.

Sustainable Aquaculture Techniques Leading to CSA Production, Fertilizer Production & Enhanced High School Aquaculture Programs, Sept. 29 @ 6-7:30 p.m. Bill West, Blue Iris Fish Farm. President of Blue Iris Fish Farm in Black Creek, Bill has been conducting perch research for over 15 years. Assisted in part by SARE grants, he is converting 100% of his non-edible fish waste into an organic fish fertilizer and most recently has been awarded a grant to take his entire research program into three local high schools. Through this, he has developed pond-side tank culture which has eliminated parasitic infestations of perch and bluegill, demonstrated their growth and increased fillet yield. Learn more about this fascinating approach to afford-able aquaculture in this seminar.

Fall Floral Arranging, Oct. 4 @ 6-7:30 p.m. Angie Kusek-Schubert, Ginger Birch. Lush jewel tones, richly textured foliage and unique end of season blooms combine to create a beautiful centerpiece for your home.

Garden Talk with Larry Meiller

Wisconsin Public Radio

88.1

Green Bay

11 a.m. Fridays

7 a.m. Saturdays

Learning in Retirement Is Now Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI)

LLI is a volunteer led program sponsored by the

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Division of

Outreach and Extension for adults who are

interested in learning. A membership fee of $110

per member per year includes UW-Green Bay

parking registration for one year. Information and

on-line registration is available at

www.uwgb.edu/lli.

There are numerous classes to select from

including “Plant Foliage: A Closer Look”. The

presenter is John Katalinich and dates are

November 14 and 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Swanstone Gardens Day Trips and Classes

Go to swanstonegardens.com

and you will find the current fall/

winter catalog of trips and

classes to keep you busy. You can learn about

basket weaving, stained glass, papercrete

pottery, soap making, rug making, stepping

stones, leaf castings, scarf dyeing, and much

more. Enroll early because these fill up quickly.

Don’t have Internet? Then call 866-9367 to

request a catalog.

SEPTEMB ER 2016 PAGE 5

Thank You Note

“I am writing to thank you for awarding me The Gardeners Club of Green Bay Scholar-ship. I greatly appreciate your generosity. I was excited to learn that I was selected as the recipient of your scholarship.

I am currently pursuing two programs and three certificates. The two programs I am enrolled in are Sustainable Agricultural and Landscape Horticulture and the three certificates are Greenhouse Grower, Organic Agriculture, and Integrated Pest Management. I will be starting my third year at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. Last semester I was enrolled in 27 credits and now this fall I am finishing up my degrees with 12 credits. I plan to graduate this spring. Thanks to your generous scholarship, I am now one step closer to achieving my goal.

Outside of school, I work full-time as a horticulturalist at Northshore Golf Club, I caddy in my spare time, and I even have a chicken farm at home with 150 laying hens. I hope to continue homesteading as well have a career in the horticulture field.

By awarding me The Gardeners Club of Green Bay Scholarship, you will help with the stresses involved in paying for college and will allow me to focus on my school work. I hope one day that I will also be able to help struggling students reach their goals in Higher Education by assisting them in the same way you have helped me. Thank you.”

Kylea J. Dowland Forest Junction, WI

The Gardeners Club of Green Bay presents

Annual Harvest Banquet

Friday, November 11, 2016

Rock Garden Supper Club

1951 Bond Street

Green Bay, WI 54303

5 p.m. Cash Bar & Social

6 p.m. Dinner

7-8 p.m. Program & Awards

-Break-

8:15 p.m. Auction & Conversation

Highlights of the program include:

Silver Trowel Awards

Youth Awards—

Giant Pumpkin and Big Sunflower Programs for 2017

Harvest Auction

NWTC Scholarship Winner

We award a $300 NWTC horticulture

scholarship each year. Here is the thank

you letter from this year’s recipient:

Reservations will be taken in October when full details are available.

Til l er PAGE 6

Rototilling Your Organic Garden: More Harm Than Good? By Todd Heft | October 27, 2011 - 8:06 pm | July 4, 2016 Flower Gardening, Raised Bed Gardening, Spring Gardening, Vegetable & Fruit Gardening, www.bigblogofgardening.com

Rototilling does not benefit an organic garden in any way – it creates more

weeds and damage to soil structure and organisms that cannot be reversed.

It is tough to break our addiction to power tools,

isn’t it? Every spring I have to bite my tongue

when I hear yet another homeowner talking

about rototilling his garden to get the vegetable

beds ready for planting. Certain habits are so

ingrained in us from an early age that it’s hard

to let go.

The truth is, aside from creating a new organic

garden bed, rototilling does more harm than

good to your garden. During a growing season,

garden soil creates an intricate web of

organisms which support each other as well as

your plants. This soil food web, a sort of

biosphere beneath your feet, is destroyed or

severely damaged by the rototiller.

In undisturbed soil, passageways are created by

worms and other organisms. These tunnels

allow air, water, and the essential nutrients they

carry to travel through the soil to feed your

plants. Once rototilled, these passageways are

destroyed. Also destroyed are networks of

Mycorrhizal fungi which form a symbiotic

relationship with the roots of your plants,

helping one another to thrive. Rototilling also

uncovers weed seeds which have laid dormant

deep in the soil possibly for years. In the subsoil,

the weed seeds received no light and

insufficient warmth to germinate. Guess what

they’ll do now that you’ve created such nice

conditions for them?

Once your garden beds are established, save

yourself a lot of work and skip the rototilling.

You’ll water your garden less because the soil

will hold it better, you’ll need less fertilizer

because the established bacteria and fungi will

support your plants and you’ll have fewer weeds

because you won’t be turning deep soil upside

down.

If you haven’t already, you should consider

installing raised garden beds, which will

eliminate the need for rototilling or double

digging entirely. The least disturbed soil is the

healthiest soil and the most supportive of

whatever you plant in it.

So if you want to create a new garden bed for

spring, start in the fall. Dig or rototill the area

(just this once), layer it with cardboard,

newspaper, compost and mulch and let the

worms and their friends go to work on it. When

it’s time to plant, only work the area where you

plant your seeds and seedlings and leave the

rest of the soil undisturbed.

P.S.: For creating a new garden bed, a shovel

works wonders, and it doesn’t pollute. You’ll

also burn more calories.

And here’s more . . .

“(Rototilling)…breaks up fungal hyphae,

decimates worms, and rips and crushes

arthropods. It destroys soil structure and

eventually saps soil of necessary air…Rototilling is an extreme disturbance to fungi

important in growing annuals and

vegetables.” – from Teaming With Microbes

“If you’re starting with a compacted, heavy clay soil containing little organic matter, rototilling will improve conditions a lot. A tiller is a very efficient way to loosen and aerate severely compacted soil and to chop and mix a large dose of organic matter into it. But if you are starting with soil that has decent structure and adequate amounts of organic matter, rototilling can easily destroy the worm-welcoming environment that already exists. This is because the pulverizing action of the tiller breaks up soil aggregates, disrupts capillaries, and demolishes worm-tunnel networks.” – from The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible

More About the No-Till Method of Gardening By Greg Seaman | Posted Jan 28, 2009

Prepare the bed before adopting the no-till method.

With new garden beds you need to establish a

good, fertile soil structure before you can expect

good results with the no-till/mulch method. The

soil should be ‘double-dug’ at least the depth of

two shovel blades, and large rocks, roots and

other obstructions removed. Be sure to remove

any perennial weed roots. Amendments such as

peat, lime, vermiculite, compost or other organic

material can then be worked into the soil.

Use mulch liberally, in layers.

Mulch is an essential part of no-till gardening. A

thick layer of mulch will keep the soil from

drying out and crusting over, which restricts

nutrient and water flow to the subsoil. It also

reduces water loss due to evaporation. Mulch

will provide cover for soil insects and often

dramatically increases the earthworm popula-

tion. However, mulches can also introduce

weeds to your garden bed. For example, try to

use straw instead of hay because fewer weed

seeds are found in straw. Leaves, especially

from deciduous species such as maple, add

valuable nutrients to the soil but should not be

layered too thickly. Thick layers of leaves can

form ‘mats’ which restrict water penetration and

harbor insects. You can intersperse layers of

straw with leaves, for example, to prevent

matting.

The following lists common materials used for mulches:

Grass Clippings – Cut grass before it goes to

seed. Fresh ‘green’ clippings will add nitrogen to

the soil, which helps plants grow. If you let the

clippings turn brown, you will get the mulch

effect without adding nitrogen. (As plants begin

to fruit, nitrogen should not be added.)

Newspaper – Avoid using paper with colored

inks; can blow away in the wind.

Yard waste – Cut up any branches or woody

material.

Compost – Needs to be ‘finished’ compost so as

not to attract pests. Compost is a good early

season mulch, but as the plant begins fruiting,

you should withhold sources of nitrogen.

Hay – Good mulching material but beware –

weed seeds may be introduced.

Straw – Good source of carbon; excellent

mulching material.

Seaweed – Adds trace minerals, deters slugs.

Should be applied liberally because seaweed

shrinks considerably when dry.

Fine bark – Can be acidic. You may need to add

lime at the same time.

Wood Shavings – Avoid shavings from chain

saws or tools that leave oil residues.

Leaves – A valuable source of carbon, leaves make excellent mulch. Apply in thin layers, or

intersperse with other materials to prevent

matting. Sprinkle soil on top if needed to

prevent leaves from blowing away in a strong

wind.

Forest duff – Pine needles, twigs, woody bits are

useful, but can be acidic.

‘Top dress’ amendments.

Even a well-established garden bed will need

regular amendments added during the growing

season, and in spring and fall. Compost, peat,

lime, wood ashes and other material are easily

added to the bed without digging them in.

Spread this material around the plants where

needed, and add mulch to cover.

When planting seedlings, pull the mulch back and dig into the surface just enough to set the plant.

The depth of mulch can be only a few inches

when seedlings are first planted, then added in

layers as the plant grows. Pull mulch away from

the stems of tomatoes, peppers, and long-

stemmed plants. Beds left over winter can

benefit from mulch 12″ – 24″ in depth.

Go to http://learn.eartheasy.com/2009/01/no-

till-gardening/ to learn more.

SEPTEMB ER 2016 PAGE 7

YMCA Project As noted from the minutes, the YMCA on Huron Street

requested our help with plantings at their location. This will be

discussed at the September meeting. Carl, Barb, and Scott

visited the site. Photos of the requested areas include two

cement planters, a bed around their sign, and beds by each

side of the door.

PAGE 8 Til l er

PAGE 9 SEPTEMB ER 2016

Lighten Up! When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat, making beer. Always something more important to me. Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point.

When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway."

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

Affiliated with The Gardeners of America/Men’s Garden Clubs of America

National website: www.tgoa-mgca.org Local website: http://gardenclubgreenbay.weebly.com American Horticulture Society website: http://ahs.org

The Gardeners Club of Green Bay was begun

in 1967 and became chartered in 1968 by

the Men’s Garden Clubs of America (now The

Gardeners of America, Inc./The Men’s

Garden Clubs of America, Inc.).

Purpose and objectives of our club:

to educate its members and the public

and to promote interest in horticulture per-

taining to home gardening,

to acquire and disseminate horticultural

knowledge in regard to materials, plans,

and ideas in connection with home gar-

dens to and for the benefit of individuals

and communities,

and to encourage and promote civic inter-

est and pride in individuals and communi-

ties, and to encourage and promote pride

in individual or private gardens, commun-

ity plantings, and parks.

Membership is extended to serious gardeners

who have a concern for the above objectives

of the organization. Membership categories

and dues for 2016 are

1. $25 per individual,

2. $35 per family,

3. lifetime: $200; $5 annual local dues.

In addition to the tiller, members receive a

national newsletter.

At the national level, a photography contest is

held each year with photographs selected to

use for a calendar, five annual $1,000 scho-

larships are presented, Youth Gardening and

Gardening from the Heart programs are

implemented, a national convention is held,

and much more.

At the local level, members are involved with

numerous community institutions through

financial support and contributions of labor

and plant materials. Silver Trowel awards are

given to recognize contributions to com-

munity beautification, four awards are given

to youth in the Big Sunflower and Big

Pumpkin contests, and much more.

Shirley A. Winnes

Tiller Editor

301 David Drive

Green Bay WI 54303

The Gardeners Club of Green Bay