Daily Archives: March 11, 2019

purple orchids

March Garden Tips

Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

March brings us the promise of gardening and warm(er), sunny days and the beginning of spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for March.  Events include Parks Speaker Series: Ed McMahon/The Case for Open Space, Orchid Festival, Show & Sale at Brookside Gardens, Nature Matters: Spiders!, Backyard Composting, our MCT Garden Club Meeting Program: Jump On The Butterfly Bandwagon, and more!

Planning:

  • Select and order fruit and vegetable plants.
  • Decide on new tree/shrub locations.
  • Decide where your plants from seed are going in your garden.
  • Clean and sharpen your garden tools.
  • Paint a few terra cotta pots in spring-like colors.
  • Repair your shed and repair/paint your fences.
  • Clean out your greenhouse and wash those windows.
  • Take your children to the park this week. You will thank yourself when they grow up. A positive study about nature, kids, and mental health from NPR : “Greener Childhood Associated With Happier Adulthood” http://ow.ly/ZddK30nZjA7.
  • Another article, in the latest issue of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, renowned British horticulturalist Monty Don — who has spoken about his struggles with depression — shares how gardening has been beneficial for his mental and physical health.
  • Volunteer at a local public or historic garden.Brookside Gardens Volunteer Tour Guide
  • Have a question about gardening? Check the University of Maryland Extension’s New Maryland Grows blog for garden tips.
  • Support our local parks and gardens. Visit a garden or park for their spring festivities!
  • Support Our Local Farmers – Join a CSA and have fresh local produce delivered to you!mc_ag_logo
  • Support our local farmers! Visit a local farmers’ market near you. Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture 2019 Farmers Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you.

 

 

Flowers and Groundcovers:

  • Gently clean up the garden.
  • Cut perennials and over-wintering ornamental grasses to 2 inches above ground.cropped ornamental grass
  • Lightly fertilize bulbs when green starts to show.
  • Transplant seedlings into individual 3″-4″ pots when crowded. Fertilize transplants with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer (every 2 weeks).
  • Start seeds for: Mallow, Dwarf Zinnias, Cosmos, Celosia, Tall Marigolds, Tall Zinnias, and check daily for moisture.
  • Collect large plastic soda bottles to use as cloches (A cloche is a clear, bell-shaped cover used to protect tender plants from frost.)
  • Check any tropical or summer-blooming bulbs, corms, tubers, and bare root plants in storage for rot or dessication.
  • After hard frost, sow seeds of spring-blooming hardy annuals and perennials and then mark beds!
  • Pests to watch for: Aphids, slugs, snails, Deer
  • Diseases to watch for:  Damping off of seedlings
  • See UMD’s HGIC’s March Flower Tips for more details.

Trees and Shrubs:

  • Plant a tree for Arbor Day.
  • Prune out Eastern tent caterpillar egg masses.
  • Prune summer-flowering trees, except for crepe myrtle.
  • Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs before new growth.
  • Prune damaged branches.cherry_blossoms_2018-mct
  • Spray with dormant oil to decrease pest infestations.
  • Prune dead, weak, broken, rubbing limbs of trees — or to open them up to light and air.
  • Begin planting when soil is not too wet.
  • Prune butterfly bush to 8″ to 10″.
  • Rejuvenate prune hollies.
  • Test soil pH on some hydangeas and adjust: pH 5-5.5 – blue; pH 6-6.5 – pink.
  • Check that newly-planted trees, shrubs, and perennials have not been heaved out of the ground due to freezing and thawing cycles.
  • If we have snow, gently dislodge snow from trees and shrubs with a broom to prevent damage to branches.
  • Prune maples, dogwoods, birch, elm, walnut, and yellowwood to prevent “bleeding”.
  • Water slowly and deeply if weather is very dry and ground is not frozen.
  • Prune out Fireblight damage Malus and Pyrus when very cold.
  • Continue to remove fallen, diseased leaves.
  • Put diseased leaves, pesticide-laden grass clippings and weed seeds out for recycling rather than the compost pile.
  • Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
  • Remove Ivy, Pachysandra, and other vine-like groundcover from under shrubs.
  • Remove dead and dying trees.
  • Pests to watch for:  Eastern tent caterpillar.
  • Diseases to watch for:  Fireblight
  • For more tips, see HGIC’s March Trees and Shrubs Tips for more details.

Herbs, Veggies, and Fruit:

  • Sow green indoors or outdoors in cold frame.
  • Clean out your cold frame or build a new one.
  • Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees.vegetables_in_box
  • Start seeds for: tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, hardy herbs, onions, cabbage, pansies, and perennials.
  • Plant cool-season crops (potatoes, lettuce, peas, root crops, spinach, and kale)
  • Fertilize established asparagus, tree, and bramble fruits and strawberries.
  • Prune grapevines.
  • Prune out Fireblight damage on apple and pear trees when very cold.
  • Remove finished plants.
  • Watch for insect and disease problems throughout your garden.
  • Pests to watch for: Rabbits, deer, woodchucks, birds
  • Diseases to watch for: Fireblight
  • Here are some more fruit and vegetable gardening tips for March from UMD’s HGIC.

Lawns:

  • Test soil if you haven’t already!
  • Dethatch if necessary and plug aerate BEFORE applying weed control.
  • To control crabgrass, apply pre-emergent herbicide to lawn (when forsythia blooms drop).
  • Reseed bare spots or overseed (through early April).grass
  • Avoid walking on frozen grass to avoid damaging crowns.
  • Do not step on frozen soil in flower beds and lawns.
  • Use de-icer sparingly or a nonchemical substitute such as sand, grit, fireplace ashes, or non-clumping kitty litter.
  • Turn your compost pile.
  • Rake leaves, shred, and gather in compost piles.
  • The annual soil science calendars from the Natural Resources Conservation Service are both educational and beautifully done. The one for 2018 as well as those for previous years are available as free PDFs here: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/edu/?cid=nrcseprd1250008
  • Diseases to watch for: brown patch, and red thread
  • Pests to watch for: Grubs
  • See HGIC’s March Lawn Tips for more details.

Indoors/Houseplants:

  • Repot larger plants that are going outside for the summer.
  • Keep all houseplants out of drafts and away from heat vents.Orchid from US Botanical Garden, Washington, DC
  • Pinch out growing tips of leggy cuttings and plants that are overwintering.
  • Clean the leaves of your indoor houseplants to prevent dust and film build-up.
  • Reduce fertilizing of your indoor plants (except cyclamen).
  • Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
  • Maintain moisture in pots wintering indoors, but do not over water!
  • Keep all houseplants out of drafts and away from heat vents.
  • Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
  • Pests to watch for:  spider mites, mealybug, scale, aphids
  • See HGIC’s March Houseplants Tips for more information.

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips:

  • Clean and refill bird feeders.
  • Switch your deer deterrent spray.raccoon_on_snow
  • See HGIC’s March Insect Tips for more details.
  • Watch for: carpenter ants, flies, stink bugs, termites, rabbits, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, mice, moles,  snakes, squirrels, and voles.
  • For more information on wildlife management and attracting wildlife see HGIC’s March Wildlife Tips.

Source: University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) and the Washington Gardener.

Please Support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club

Hello Friends, Neighbors,50th Anniversary April 2018

Please support the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club! Your donations will help us continue to provide garden-related programs to the community and pay for maintaining and landscaping the Mill Creek Towne main entrances.

https://www.mctgardenclub.org/donations/

We accept donations throughout the year. Thanks to all of you that have recently donated as well as those of you who have supported us in the past years! Thanks for your continued support of the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club and our community programs!

Donate Today!

Mill Creek Towne Garden Club – Derwood, Maryland
https://www.mctgardenclub.org | info@mctgardenclub.org | Like us on Facebook

 

March

See below for upcoming local events in March.

Spring-Festivals-Web-Banner

Montgomery Parks Special Events & Festivals

More events are being added regularly. Please check back often!

Save the dates for these upcoming events!   Events include Parks Speaker Series: Ed McMahon/The Case for Open Space, Orchid Festival, Show & Sale at Brookside Gardens, Nature Matters: Spiders!, Backyard Composting, our MCT Garden Club Meeting Program: Jump On The Butterfly Bandwagon, and more!

Montgomery County MD Food and Beverage Guide

The third edition of the MoCo Made Food & Beverage GuideMontgomery County MD Food and Beverage Guide is available!

The Guide features more than 60 local producers and farmers offering local-made products. Find the online version here:

https://mocofoodcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MOCO_Directory_2018_FNL-digital.pdf

 

Master Gardener Plant Clinics

Varied Locations, dates, and times

Montgomery County Master Gardeners logo

Montgomery County Master Gardeners - Maryland

What can Master Gardeners do for you?

  • Help you select and care for annual and perennial plants, shrubs and trees.
  • Determine if you need to test your soil.
  • Provide you with information on lawn care.
  • Identify weeds, beneficial and noxious insects, and plant diseases and remedies.
  • Teach you how to use pesticides, mulch and compost.
  • Guide you in pruning trees and shrubs.
  • Provide you with options for managing wildlife.
  • Provide you with gardening resources.
  • Help you submit a plant sample for diagnosis

Plant Clinics are held at several sites in the county on a weekly basis and at special events such as garden festivals and the county fair. Regularly scheduled Plant Clinics are located at public libraries and farmers’ markets throughout the county as well as at the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase.  There are also clinics three days per week at Brookside Gardens.  The busiest season is April through September, but some clinics are open year-round.  Bring your plant samples and questions to one of these locations in Montgomery County, MD (see link below to find a location near you):

http://extension.umd.edu/mg/locations/plant-clinics

 

Support Our Local Farmers – Join a CSA and have fresh local produce delivered to you!

Montgomery County Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

CSAs can take many forms, but essentially they are community supported farms in which members contribute to farming projects, usually by way of membership fees, in exchange for fresh, local produce. The concept came to the United States from Europe in the 1980s.  They are a great way to take advantage of fresh, locally grown fruit, vegetables, herbs, and more while supporting nearby farms. Each one is different, some offer pickup locations in urban areas, some offer only farm-based pickups.

There are multiple CSAs located around the County offering a wide variety of products. CSAs begin taking sign-ups for spring and summer seasons in the early part of the year, and they tend to fill up FAST! Know of another CSA not on our list? Let us know! Montgomery Countryside Alliance also maintains a list: http://www.mocoalliance.org/community-supported-agriculture.html

Nature Matters: Spiders!

nature matters - spiders

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 6:30 PM – 8 PM

Meadowside Nature Center, Montgomery Parks

5100 Meadowside Ln, Rockville, Maryland 20855
During this evening presentation of Nature Matters, enjoy a glass of wine or a cold beer and meet others who share similar interests in science and nature.
Spiders are amazing predators with a bad rap. Maryland Department of Natural Resources education and outreach specialist, Kerry Wixted, explains why we should all love spiders! From spiders that “sing” and dance to those that rob others: the world of spiders is rich in natural interactions.
Photo: K. Wixted

MCT Garden Club Program: “Jump on the Butterfly Bandwagon”

Mar262019 mctgc meeting topic butterfly garden

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Mill Creek Parish United Methodist
7101 Horizon Ter, Derwood, Maryland 20855

Please join us for a Native By Design, LLC presentation by Lauren Hubbard, Derwood resident and Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, on “Jump On The Butterfly Bandwagon – Easy steps to help you create a beautiful butterfly garden”. Refreshments will be provided.

Speaker: Lauren Hubbard, Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, Native By Design, LLC
Hostesses: MCT Garden Club members

About Native by Design, LLC:

Native by Design, LLC, founded by Dr. Lauren Hubbard, provides landscape design, consultation and project management with a focus on sustainable approaches that will provide beauty, support the ecosystem and reduce your long term maintenance needs.

Cost: FREE, Donations gratefully appreciated!

RSVP: info@mctgardenclub.org

MORE

Light it Up Blue: Autism Awareness & Acceptance

autism awareness event

23rd Annual Gas and Steam Engine Show

  • Rain or Shine
  • Free Parking
  • Free Admission
  • Saturday & Sunday Parade
  • Tractors, Gas Engines
  • Antique Cars & Trucks
  • Arts & Crafts Vendors
  • Great Food
  • Live Music
  • “Kiddie Tractors” for Riding

FriendsOfTheFarmPark.org

Questions?
Call 301-670-4661

Grow It Eat It Spring Event

grow it eat it garden photo

Sat, April 27, 2019

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM EDT

Agricultural History Farm Park

18400 Muncaster Rd, Derwood, Maryland 20855
Come visit the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park and learn about all things edible at the University of Maryland Grow It Eat It Spring Event!

GreenFest

greenfest