The Lowdown

WSU Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners August 2016 The Lowdown

Inside this issue:

Foundation News 2

Banquet News 3

Fact Sheet Update 5

Book Review 6

Armchair Gardener 8

Year of the Pulse 10

Self-study Quiz 12

Upcoming Events 14

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

The Rock Garden Renovation Team thanks everyone who donated rocks for the pro-ject. The project is progressing nicely and our latest plea is for plants. We are plan-ning part of the garden to be native/drought tolerant plants and the other to be "drought tolerant not necessarily native" plants. Our wish list of native plants is be-low. If you have any starts or divisions of these species and are willing to share,

Green Zone Rock Garden Plant List:

Achillea millefolium Common Yarrow

Anaphalis margaritacea Pearly Everlasting

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Kinnickinnick

Arnica cordifolia Heartleaf Arnica

Camassia quamach Common Camas

Castilleja spp. Common Paintbrush

Geum strifolium Prairie Smoke

Gila aggregate Scarlet gilia

Heuchera cylindrica Coral bells

Lewisia species Lewisia, bitter-root

Penstemon species Penstemon

Sedum lanceolatum Stonecrop

Rockin’ the Rock Garden

There are two sections of the GZ Rock Garden:

1- Native drought tolerant species

2- Drought tolerant xeriscopic rock garden plants

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FOUNDATION NEWS

By Tim Stiess

Greetings from the farm…

For those of you who don’t know, I am a farmer by marriage. My in-laws are wheat farmers down to-

wards Walla Walla, WA.

I am participating in my 7th consecutive harvest (which, not coincidentally, is the same number of

years I have been married). I started years ago by driving the grain trucks, but I have moved up to

driving the tractor with the wagon behind. No – I don’t ever want to drive the combine…

Work hours are 5:30 am to 9:00 pm – so I am writing this at 4:30 am. YAWN!

As a reminder, the Foundation Board does not meet in August (or December). So if you were planning

to sit in on our meeting this month – you may be very lonely. Reminder – meetings are the second

Monday of the month (most months) at 10 am.

It is that time of year again where we are looking for new members of the Foundation Board (seems

like we just did this last year – oh yeah, we do it every year). Laren Sunde, our awesome vice presi-

dent, is heading up a nomination committee for the election. Remember – to be a Board member you

have to be a Master Gardener and a member of the Foundation.

We are coming to the end of the fiscal budget year for the agreement between the Foundation and

the Program (August 30th). Under our latest Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), this will be the first

year that the Foundation could be writing a check to the Program. This year, the Foundation has

agreed to give the Program a total of $8,000 in monetary/in-kind donations (Next year is $12,000 and

the following year is $15,000). We are just waiting for the last in-kind donations to roll in so that we

know how big of a check to write.

The sun is up – time to get to work.

See you at the August 25th meeting.

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“The Explorer’s Garden: Plants from the Four Corners of the World”

by Dan Hinkley

FALL BANQUET SPOTLIGHT: THE DESSERT DASH

As mentioned in last month’s edition of The Lowdown, this year we will be adding a wonderful new mini-auction. A delicious selection of desserts for your table will be provided, along with bid forms and a large envelope for cash, check, or credit card receipts. The strategy part of this event is to scout the dessert table early and make a plan with your tablemates to score your top choice by making a high bid together as a table. Since life is short, we will be selecting dessert just BEFORE dinner!

The table with the highest bid will pick first and bring their dessert back to the table, with the next highest bidders hot on their heels. This is a very quick activity once it starts, so make sure to browse the dessert table carefully before the dessert auction closes and then be ready to act fast when your table is called. Your designated runner should be quick and nimble for the trip to the dessert table, but slow and steady when carrying dessert back to your table.

Just a few of the many mouth-watering options available will be Crème Brûlée for Eight and Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte. Don’t have a banquet ticket yet? Call 1-800-838-3006 for quick and easy ordering with operators standing by 24/7. Or use the link from the foundation website (www.mgfsc.org) to order online. Reserve a table for you and your friends by purchasing all eight tickets at once.

We look forward to bringing you a wonderful evening of fun, fundraising, camaraderie, and special guest Dan Hinkley on Thursday, October 27 at The Lincoln Center. Ticket sales are already moving briskly and we expect this event to sell out. Don’t delay!

Questions? Call Lynn Meyers at 290-1620 or email at meyersl@me.com.

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We are so glad you are with us!

Mike Altman 2-Aug

Ellen Jones 3-Aug

Larry Romero 3-Aug

Anne Frederiksen 4-Aug

Carol Doty 5-Aug

Nancy Biggerstaff 12-Aug

Lynn Hartzell 12-Aug

Eva Lusk 15-Aug

Carol McKenny 15-Aug

Shari Staat 15-Aug

Rose Griess 18-Aug

Mollie McDonald 21-Aug

Pat Lynass 26-Aug

Leah Croteau 28-Aug

Joan Nolan 28-Aug

Linda Racicot 31-Aug

Historical Garden Quote

The Lowdown Page 5

Fact Sheet Update

We have some great new fact sheets available to us and our clients! I’ve included links to the fact sheets below, but they can be found on our Spokane Count website or the state website, “Gardening in Washing-ton.” Gardening in Washington State. Landscaping with Native Plants Many people misunderstand how to use native plants. This is a great one page overview of how natives are used differently than other garden plants and how to be successful with natives. This would be a great handout to give to clients asking for information about low maintenance and low water use landscapes. Thank you Clarice Garcia for revising this fact sheet!

Growing Small Fruits in the Home Garden EM103 This is an updated and revised version of EB1640 with lots of new information. With the expanded content (now 64 pages!) this will only be available online. This will be a great reference for people wanted to grow berries at home.

Growing Peppers in Home Gardens FS220E This fact sheet has a special emphasis on problems of peppers and includes cultural controls as well as a link to Hortsense for chemical controls if required.

Pesticide Ingredient: Neonicotinoids FS210E Lots of questions have come up about this pesticide and its impact on pollinators. This fact sheet gives research based information about how this pesticide works and its impact on beneficial insects

Rabbit and Hare Management FS231E While rabbit damage is not common in Spokane, we do have some rural gardeners who have to deal with this pest. Here is a fact sheet we can give to them that shows the type of damage they cause, the species found in Washington and most importantly, some manage-ment options. (Spoiler alert! If the rabbit can’t get to the garden, it can’t cause damage, so fence early, and fence often!)

Hopefully these new fact sheets will help you help our clients!

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Gardening for Butterflies By Scott Hoffman Black, et al.

Timber Press, 2016

Reviewed by Lynn Meyers

Last summer, I attended a knockout session on bees at the Washington State Master Gardener Con-ference in Vancouver, Washington. The presenter was Rich Hatfield, conservation biologist for The Xerces Society. It was the most powerful workshop on my schedule at the conference, due to the en-thusiasm and expertise of the presenter. That was my first experience with Xerces, and I have since discovered a wealth of resources on their website and in their publications.

Their latest treasure is Gardening for Butterflies: How you can attract and protect beautiful, beneficial insects. With irresistible photography right from the front cover, the book attracts readers as skillfully as liatris draws a swallowtail. The powerful introduction is by Robert Michael Pyle, who founded The Xerces Society in 1971 while studying butterfly conservation as a Fulbright Scholar in England. He holds a PhD in eco-geography from Yale and is the author of several seminal books on the subject. His inspiring introduction is immediately followed by the preface entitled “butterfly gardeners can change the world.” By page eight, then, the bait is taken, the hook is set, and one is steadily reeled in with no thought of even trying to wriggle free.

Chapters start with an explanation of the importance of butterflies and why they’re in trouble and move to a detailed explanation of the various species in all their forms, what they need, and how you can help. For gardeners, the jackpot is the section on specific plants to add to your landscape for each re-gion of the United States. These helpful resources are listed by category—wildflowers, grasses, vines, trees and shrubs. Also included are diagrams and plans for building a butterfly garden in your own backyard or even at a ne-glected roadside spot. Emphasis is on plants native to each region and the table even includes bloom time and color, for those who want to actively conduct the orchestra.

The information is so compelling and the photographs so gorgeous, this book is easy to blast through in one sitting, even at 287 pages. But you won’t be able to resist a second, third, and fourth look, as you spot butterflies in your own garden, and rush to identify them from the who’s who list of photos in this superb volume. Definitely two thumbs up on this must-have resource for pollinator savvy gardeners!

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You are cordially invited to the Fall Banquet

Thursday, October 27!

Our keynote speaker for this year’s Fall Ban-

quet is the world famous plant collector and

author Dan Hinkley. Dan’s presentation is enti-

tled “The Explorer’s Garden: Plants from the

Four Corners of the World.” As a “modern day”

David Douglas, Dan will provide a perfect tran-

sition from last year’s conversation with Jack

Nisbet. Dan’s commitment and passion for

plant collecting have earned him numerous

awards from the world’s leading horticultural

institutions. We are thrilled to have him join us

and we know you are too.

We are pleased to continue the tradition of our silent auction and delighted to introduce a delicious new

mini-auction format for dessert. There will be decadent options at the Dessert Dash—a lively event allow-

ing you and your tablemates to select your dream dessert. Savvy groups will work together to secure their

first choice, so it will pay to be alert when the opportunity comes. Teamwork always pays off. See page 3

for more details.

We are also excited to be bringing back raffles. There will be a 50/50 drawing for a chance to win half the

jackpot of money collected through raffle ticket sales! A big thank you to Tim Stiess for filing the paper-

work to secure our raffle license.

Tickets are on sale through Brown Paper Tickets. Use the convenient link from the foundation website

(www.mgfsc.org) or order directly over the phone at 1-800-838-3006. Sit with friends at your own reserved

table by having one person in charge of the ticket purchase for all eight of you. Contact Lynn Meyers if you

have questions on tickets: 509-290-1620 or meyersl@me.com.

We look forward to sharing this celebration with you!

Fall Banquet Committee:

Amy Finkel, Claudia Hartanov, Maggie Smith, Jill Ferguson, Jan Shellenberger, Lynn Meyers

The Lowdown Page 8

LATE SUMMER GARDEN DELIGHTS

By Eva Lusk

Long-blooming annual lobelias (Lobelia erinus) have been our trusted and colorful border plants since

they became available this spring. But now it’s time to also appreciate the perennial varieties beginning

to open their spectacular flowers on tall stalks.

The bright red cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and the great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphi-

litica) are long-time garden residents here, having outlived several hybrid versions that of-

fered different color varieties, but not quite the same staying power. Both plants usually

reach a height of two to three feet.

They thrive in part shade, soil enhanced with humus, and enough water to not dry out their roots com-

pletely. Sometimes, they may self-seed and provide replacements for plants that die out. If you’re going

to divide them, do it in the spring.

If you’re in deer country, you might appreciate these two lobelias even more. Not only are they gor-

geous to look at, but deer have shunned them in my garden, while butterflies and hummingbirds seek

them out.

For a number of years, the hybrid Lobelia ‘Monet Moment’ also invited butterflies and hummingbirds

to feast on the nectar in its rose pink flowers. But suddenly it disappeared and I’ve never quite been

sure whether this departure was caused by having lived out a lifespan or by some hungry garden visitor.

Since it was a sterile hybrid, there were no offspring.

Lobelias belong to the Harebell Family (Campanulaceae) and although the flowers don’t look much

like those of bell-shaped harebells (Campanula spp.), they do have the same milky sap as the other fam-

ily members.

The turtlehead flower (Chelone spp.) also grows well where lobelias thrive. Their

flowering time is very similar, too, as is the height of the plant. Turtleheads come in

pink (C. lyonii), rose (C. obliqua) and white (C. glabra). Hummingbirds and but-

terflies enjoy them as much as I do.

Turtleheads belong to the Plantain Family (Plantaginaceae) and are actually close relatives of the Pen-

stemon. If you look closely at a turtlehead, you’ll see that it’s actually tubular, two-lipped, with 2 petal

lobes on the upper lip and 3 on the lower.

Toad lilies (Tricyrtis spp.) are some of the latest bloomers in my garden. While they

haven’t begun to open yet, they are looking particularly lush this year. They’re always

the last members of the Lily Family (Liliaceae) to exhibit their splendor and often have

to contend with freezing weather curtailing the show.

(continued on page 9)

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(continued from page 8)

If the weather cooperates, toad lilies continue flowering long into the fall. The charming flowers, which are

reminiscent of orchids, brighten up the woodland garden. They love part shade, humus rich soil, even mois-

ture and good drainage.

Another reliable late summer bloomer now ready to shine in the garden, Anemone x hybrida

‘Honorine Jobert,’ has lovely white flowers with lots of bright yellow stamens. I’ve recently

planted it along borders of the wilder woodland area where pocket gophers devoured the hostas

last year and so far it is thriving.

Since the gophers seem to ignore the earlier flowering False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum stellatum) that

also thrives in that area, I thought another plant that spreads by creeping rhizomes might succeed where the

hostas didn’t. ‘Honorine Jobert’ grows three to four feet tall and their flowers are actually much more attrac-

tive than those of the hostas they’re replacing.

While I generally grow hostas for their foliage, one of my favorites is just about ready to show

that hosta flowers, too, can be an asset. Hosta plantaginea’s attractive large, bright green

leaves have been around for months, but the fragrant and exceptionally good-looking large,

waxy, trumpet-shaped flowers are just now emerging.

Buds open up in the afternoon, so plan a stroll nearby in late afternoon or early evening. Or

cut a stalk and enjoy the scent, shape and size of the blooms indoors. If you like hostas and don’t have this

one in your garden, you’re missing out.

Hosta plantaginea has been in my garden for more than 25 years. It arrived anonymously, without a label,

from a plant exchange gathering. I liked it for its leaf color and had no idea that the flowers would be this

hosta’s most outstanding feature. What a marvelous surprise.

As it turns out, H. plantaginea is the only hosta species that is fragrant. There are, however, fragrant hybrids.

All of them have H. plantaginea genes to make them fragrant, but the flowers are never quite as large as

those of the original species.

At the moment, I still have empty spots in the garden where the Cyclamen hederifolium live

throughout fall, winter and spring. They go dormant in the summer, but will soon send up

flower stalks, followed by ivy-shaped leaves, often with silver markings.

I don’t mind their summer dormancy. Their absence is not very obvious, because it happens when plants

abound. But it’s always a happy day when the first cyclamen flower appears above ground again. If I don’t

specifically look for it, I might even miss it.

One of my cyclamen clumps lives in a patch of low-growing thyme—a wonderful hiding

place for the first flowers. Sometimes they surprise me and suddenly appear fully opened

one day. Once the leaves appear, the plant becomes much more visible and a reminder that

it’ll be there for me to enjoy for the next three seasons.

The Lowdown Page 10

What are pulses? Pulses are dried “grain” legumes like chickpeas, dried beans, soup peas, cowpeas, and lentils. They can be easily stored, saved against famine, or transported.

Why celebrate #iyp2016 with us? Pulses, like the rest of the legumes, are wonderful for building living, healthy soil. Pulses are an exceptionally healthy and delicious food, and have many other uses!

Twelve reasons why you might consider growing more pulses in your own garden:

1. Growing and enjoying pulses around our tables increases the sustainability of our food and reduces its environ-mental footprint. Plus, they are easy to grow and make seed saving fun!

2. Pulses provide a healthy, abundant food supply that is inexpensive, low in fat, has zero cholesterol, is high in protein, high in fiber, and supplies a suite of necessary vitamins and minerals such as iron, B-vitamins, zinc, calci-um, folate, potassium, and phosphorus.

3. Loving that “Meatless Monday” or meatless meals around the month? Protein from pulses is a delicious, plant-based alternative to animal meat that is a traditional diet for a “small planet.”

4. Explore Earth’s heritage! Cultures, regions, and traditions throughout time and around the world have gathered and grown a colorful assortment of pulses to cook at hearthside.

5. Pulses and other legumes shelter symbiotic bacteria “Rhizobia” in root nodules. Hidden beneath the soil at the roots of pulses, is a miraculous partnership that literally breathes life into our planet, and figuratively keeps the lifeblood of all its living occupants flowing and beating.

6. Legumes and other pulses, due to Rhizobia symbiotic bacteria, have the rare ability to “fix” the limiting element nitrogen into the soil, thus naturally adding fertility while they are growing, effectively reducing the use of syn-thetic fertilizer.

7. Pulses, like other legumes, fight climate warming by helping regulate Earth’s natural biosphere and atmospheric cycles, due to their incredible ability to naturally fix atmospheric nitrogen.

8. Pulses and other legumes emit 60% less nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas) than do fertilized crops, resulting in a lower carbon footprint. Nitrogen fixation, extensive root systems, and leaf shedding helps our planet’s soils natu-rally capture and “sequester” more carbon from greenhouse gasses.

9. Pulses help save Earth’s water compared to raising other forms of food protein. Here in the Inland Northwest, we feel the urgent need to save water and become more resilient in the face of climate change, drought, and devas-tating wildfires.

10. Pulses, like other legumes used in crop rotations, successfully break insect, weed, and disease cycles so that gar-den soil and plants will enjoy better health.

11. Pulses, like other legumes, inspire dense populations of soil microbial life, which improves soil structure and other measurements of soil quality in healthy living soils.

12. Pulses and other legumes increase the biodiversity of a healthy soil food web, thus making available an entire suite of vital nutrients to your plants.

“Can You Hear Earth’s Heartbeat When You Eat Your Lentils?”

Help WSU Master Gardeners of

Spokane Co. Celebrate

2016 International Year of Pulses

#iyp2016

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Common Bean Phaseolus vulgaris

‘Kidney’ (most common bean) ‘Canellini’ (white kidney beans) ‘Navy’ (popular in England) ‘Pinto’ (popular in Mexico) ‘Flageolet’ (popular in France) ‘Black Turtle’ (popular in Latin America) ‘Cranberry’ (New England baker) ‘Calypso’ (Yin Yang or Orca bean) ‘Hutterite Soup’ ‘Turkey Craw’ (heirloom) Source if heirloom: Seed Savers Exchange

Lima Bean (aka Butter Bean) Phaseolus lunatus

‘Christmas Lima’ ‘Sieva’ ‘Agate’

Runner Bean Phaseolus coccineus

‘Painted Lady’ ‘Scarlet Runner’ ‘Case Knife’

Peas (aka Garden Peas) Pisum sativum

‘Blue Podded Blauwschokkers’ ‘Swedish Red’ ‘French Canadian Soup Pea’ ‘Amplissimo Viktoria Ukrainskaya’

Note: commercial ‘split peas’ are Pisum sativum, but sold with skins processed off

Lentils Lens culinaris and Lens esculenta puyensis

‘Le Puy’ (green lentil) ‘Red Lentil’ (popular in India)

Source: Salt Spring Seeds

http://www.saltspringseeds.com/collections/lentils

Note: “Dal” confusingly refers to lentil, pea or bean

Chickpeas (aka Garbanzo Bean) Cicer arietinum

‘Black Kabuli’ ‘Desi Chickpea’

Note: “Kabuli chana” refers to the large, light chickpea from the Mediterranean (later India through Afghani-stan)

Note: the Desi type of chickpea is popular in India, grows best in hot regions, and is economically important for chana dal (split) and chickpea flour

Tepary Bean Phaseolus acutifolius var. latifolius

Tolerates drought, heat, and alkaline soils

‘Paiute White’ ‘Kitt Peak Wild Tepary’ ‘Blue Speckled Tepary’

Note: the variety ‘Mitla’ is NOT a tepary but is really Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)

Sources: Native Seeds/Search

http://shop.nativeseeds.org/collections/tepary-beans or Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds http://www.rareseeds.com/blue-speckled-tepar/

Resources for Learning More About Pulses and Role of Legumes in the Soil

Ashworth, Suzanne (2002) “Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners”, Seed Savers Ex-change.

Lowenfels, Jeff and Wayne Lewis (2010) “Teeming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web, Re-vised Edition, Timber Press, Inc.

Ophardt, Marian (2016) The Year of Pulses (Dry Beans), http://ext100.wsu.edu/gardentips/2016/02/04/the-year-of-the-pulses-dry-beans/

Interesting Pulses to Try in Your Garden or At Your Table

The Lowdown Page 12

AUGUST 2016

QUIZ

1. When is the August MG Foundation meeting?

2. What are the requirements to become a MG Board member?

3. How big is the donation the MG Foundation will give the MG Program this year?

4. Next year’s MG Foundation donation to the Program will be what amount?

5. Where can we find new fact sheets for our clients?

6. What is the title of the fact sheet that will help area gardeners learn to use native plants successfully

in their home gardens?

7. Name the fact sheet that gives homeowners information about the effects of neonicotinoids and give

its identifying number.

8. FS231E Rabbit and Hare Management has a clever motto for those plagued by rabbits. What is it?

9. What can butterfly gardeners do, according to Robert Michael Pyle?

10. The above-mentioned author founded which Society in 1971?

11. Would Gardening for Buttterflies help you create a colorful year-round garden using plants native

to our region?

12. Does the above book help with butterfly identification in our region?

13. Who is considered a modern day David Douglas?

14. Will we be able to hear him speak any time soon? When? Where?

15. What color are the flowers on Lobelia cardinalis? Lobelia siphilitica?

16. What is the descriptive common name for the Chelone spp. That grow in areas where lobelias

thrive?

17. To which family do these flowering plants belong?

18. Which is the only hosta variety that produces fragrant blossoms?

19. Which flowering plant in Eva’s garden goes dormant in summer but

provides beauty in the other three seasons?

(continued on page 13)

The Lowdown Page 13

July 2016 Quiz Answers

1. Lynn Meyers

2. Humidity

3. Deer and rabbits

4. Pelargonium endlicherianum

5. Taraxacum officinale

6. None—every part is edible!

7. False

8. Apomixis: viable seeds without pollination

9. Dandelions

10. 40 million acres

11. No

12. 1,500 miles

13. Use of clover in lawns and ‘green’ lawn management

14. Nitrogen, aeration, reduced maintenance

15. Rhizobia

16. Through stolons

17. Yes, very well!

18. Up to 40#

19. 36,800,000,000# (18,400,000 tons)

20. No, I don’t have a lawn … do you?

(continued from page 12)

20. What will be unusual about the dining portion of the Fall Banquet?

21. How can you buy tickets to the Fall Banquet?

22. Is popcorn a pulse?

23. How do legumes fight climate warming?

24. What is the common name of Cicer arietinum ‘Black Kabuli’?

25. Which type of beans tolerate heat, drought and alkaline soils?

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

Thursday 25 Fall MG Meeting 9 a.m.—12 p.m. save the date!

Monday 29 ID Clinic 3:30 p.m.—5:00 p.m.

PCS Training 5:30 p.m.—7 p.m.

Friday 9 Spokane County Interstate Fair opens

Saturday 10 TFM Plant Sale

Monday 12 MG Foundation Meeting 10 a.m.

Sunday 18 Spokane County Interstate Fair closes

Monday 26 ID Clinic 3:30 p.m.—5:00 p.m.