1

Wiregrass Walk-About

Hello all my gardening friends,

I do hope you are all doing well! We’re beginning to have a few cooler days with

promise of more to come. We’ve needed a break from the summer heat. Our yards

and gardens needed this break also! It amazes me how the weeds survive the heat

and drought.

We have one last Lunch and Learn for 2016 on November 1st from noon to 1pm. Our

topic is Holiday Decorating with Flowers & Plants. Perfect timing to get ready for the holidays. Bring your

lunch to the Library downtown and see how you can change up your holiday decor!

On October 18th during our monthly meeting we will be handing out money to the people who need it and use

it to enrich their programs in educating the public on horticulture. Our philanthropic awards are on a night

you do not want to miss. We do this to better our community and give back. Please mark your calendar and be

there.

The Fall Plant Sale is now history—a lot of hard work went into making this sale a success. I appreciate every-

one’s dedication to WMGA. Thank you to all the volunteers for helping with the plant sale!

This year is flying by in a hurry! After the plant sale we will need help getting our greenhouse and hoop hous-

es prepared for winter. We will announce a work day soon. I would like to get a phone committee together. If

you are thinking this is the opportunity for you please let me know.

Thank you all for your help in making our association the best! I would also like to thank Glenda Heney, Anita

Gibson and Latasha Hyatt for their help at the Home Depot Kids Day. There were some awesome plant buddies

made! I want to thank Lisa Enfinger, Joyce Dees and Tom Boyle for helping with the booth at Walmart Chil-

dren’s Miracle Network. Great opportunities to pass out literature on our master gardener program and plant

sales.

October 2016

INSIDE . . .

Garden Checklist

Stingy Jack

Keeping Your Pumpkins Fresh

Recycle Your Electronics & Docu-

ments

Membership Renewals Due

Fall Plant Sale Photos

Start Your Christmas Shopping Now

. . . in honor of Evelyn Isbell WMGA Newsletter

You’re receiving this newsletter later than normal. Beginning with

this issue the newsletter will be sent out in the middle of the

month rather than the first of each month.

I hope I see you soon!

Life is a garden, dig it!

Devonne

What is the largest pumpkin

grown in the US?

See page 3 for answer

2

October

Fruits and Nuts

Planting season for strawberries starts

Clean up orchard area.

Remove broken limbs, old fruit, and debris from or-chard floor.

Shrubs

Shrub plantings can be made.

Water when needed.

Note varieties of camellias in bloom.

Start mulching all shrubs that do not have

a mulch.

Annuals and Perennials

Visit flower shows and gardens.

List desirable varieties of mums.

Clean up flower beds immediately after first killing

frost.

Roses

Continue insect and disease control practices.

New rose catalogs will be coming in.

Study closely; add some new varieties to your list.

Bulbs

Plant tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, crocuses, Dutch iris-

es, anemones, and ranunculuses.

Watch planting depth. Dig caladiums; clean and store

in warm place.

Miscellaneous

Renew mulch around shrubs and rose beds.

Loosen mulches that have packed down.

Spray with oils before freezing weather to kill scale,

mites, etc.

Remove all dead stems and trash from flower beds.

Transplant into small pots any cuttings taken earlier.

Vegetable Seed

Plant turnips, mustard, kale, rape, spinach, and onion

sets.

Lawns

Continue to mow lawns until no new growth is notice-

able.

Garden Checklist

Fall November

Fruits and Nuts

Select sites for plantings.

Start mulching strawberries, blackberries, and grapes.

Shrubs

Plant shrubs, trees, and vines.

Roses

Get rose planting underway

Use a soil test as a basis for fertilization.

Look for new varieties.

Annuals and Perennials

Plant hardy annuals such as larkspur, poppies, pan-sies, anchusa, and candytuft

Get sweet peas into the ground.

Bulbs

Continue spring bulb planting.

Put lilies of the valley in a shady

Miscellaneous

Plant screen plantings for privacy on the patio.

Vegetable Seed

Plant cabbage and lettuce in the cold frame.

Lawns

Have you thought about having a green lawn this winter? It’s time to overseed.

Use proper herbicide to kill germinating winter weeds.

3

On Saturday, October 22, WRC's Assured Data Destruction, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and

Discovery Recycling Corporation will offer residents the opportunity to have their unused outdated electronics,

paper records and data storage materials shredded and recycled during a FREE Community Recycling Event.

There is a $10.00 disposal fee for the big computer monitors since they have hazardous metals in them and

$15.00 for console TV's. They accept anything electronic except large items like fridges and air conditioners.

Drop off your items to be recycled or shredded at the Houston County Farm Center Parking Lot from 8:00-

11:00 a.m. This free event aims to raise public awareness of the need to securely destroy confidential material

in order to prevent identify theft and fraud, as well as to encourage people to recycle more.

Mark Your Calendar . . .

October 18 ......... Monthly WMGA meeting @ HPUMC, 6 pm

October 1-31 ....... Scarecrows in the Garden, DABG

October 20 ......... 5th Annual Ralph Smith Memorial Golf Tournament, RTJ Highland

Oaks—sponsored by DABG.

October 22 ......... Electronic and Document Recycling

November 1 ........ Lunch ‘n Learn—Holiday Decorating with Flowers & Plants

November 1 ........ Wiregrass Rose Society @ First Nazarene Church, Dothan, 6 pm

November 8 ........ WMGA BOD Meeting @ DABG, 9:30 am

November 8 ........ SE Alabama Camellia Society, First Methodist Church

November 12 ....... Wiregrass Daylily Society meets @ First Christian Church, Noon

Do you have an event you’d like added to our monthly calendar? If so, send it to Jane Klosky (jane.klosky@icloud.com)

How BIG Was the Pumpkin?

In 2015, a 2,145-pound pumpkin from Illinois broke the

record for North America's largest pumpkin and the

world's second-largest pumpkin, according to officials.

The massive vegetable, grown by farmer Gene McMullen

from Streator, Illinois, was weighed by Great Pumpkin

Commonwealth (GPC) officials at the Wine and Harvest

Festival in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, according to the GPC's

president, Andy Wolf. The pumpkin was a few hundred

pounds shy of the current world record holder—a 2,323-

pound pumpkin from Switzerland weighed in 2014, Wolf

told ABC News.

4

October 8, 2016...A Beautiful Day for a Plant Sale

5

A special thanks to everyone who made this year’s Fall Plant Sale a success.

It truly “takes a village” to put on a plant sale.

6

The Origin of Jack O’ Lanterns

Or so the story goes...People have been making jack o’ lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice origi-

nated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.” According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the

Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy

Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced

the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use

to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided

to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a

silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing

back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the

Devil, under the condition that he would not bother

Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would

not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked

the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of

the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother

him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil,

upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into

hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a

carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure

as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’ Lantern.”

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into

turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wan-

dering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o’ lan-

tern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to

America, make perfect jacko’ lanterns. SOURCE: www.history.com

Wrap Up Your Christmas Shopping

The WMGA cookbook is a great gift for friends and family. This

book includes the familiar as well as the extraordinary. Whether you

are buying for a seasoned cook or a lover of gardening, this cook-

book has something for everyone. The cost is only $20.00 and you

can contact Linda Westphal (email: red11cat@aol.com or call

334.701.4508) to get copies.

Practicing gratitude focuses you on what life brings rather than what it

doesn’t, and that’s where happiness comes from. Laughs & Lifts

7

Planting the Seeds of Pure Imagination

We have some very creative

Master Gardeners in our asso-

ciation.

Thanks to Lynda, Phyllis and

Jan for using their “pure im-

agination” for WMGA’s scare-

crow—a Blue Ribbon winner.

Keeping Your Jack O’ Lantern Fresh

Picking the perfect pumpkin can be a tricky task. Once you've found the right one, how do you keep the pump-

kin fresh until Halloween? Hope these tips will keep your masterpiece fresh until Halloween.

Once you've carved the design into your pumpkin, coat the edges and the inside with petroleum jelly. This

will help seal in the moisture of the pumpkin and extend its life. Other options include using vegetable oil

or spraying with hairspray. These options will seal the moisture to help keep it fresh.

What do you do if the edges begin to curl? Soak the pumpkin overnight in a tub of water to re-hydrate it.

Allow it to drain for 30 minutes and pat it dry. You can add 1 tsp of bleach per gallon of water to help inhib-

it the growth of mold.

A battery operated faux candle inside your jack o’ lantern will keep the pumpkin fresh looking longer than a

regular candle or tea light.

If you must use a candle in your jack o’ lantern, sprinkle a

little nutmeg or cinnamon on the underside of the pumpkin

top. When the candle flame warms the top of the pumpkin,

the nutmeg or cinnamon will release a nice fragrance. But

when using a real candle, you must diligently hydrate your

pumpkin with some of the above mentions tips, or your

jack o’ lantern will not survive until Halloween.

It’s Time to Write that Check

It’s time to renew your WMGA membership. The WMGA membership dues for

2017 remain the same as last year — $20.00. $10 covers local dues and $10 for

state dues. Dues must be paid by December 1, 2016 so that WMGA can meet

the AMGA due date of January 1, 2017. Dues for any member who has AMGA

Life Memberships remains at $10.00 and due and payable on December 1st.

Checks would be preferable as it is a record for you and WMGA; however,

Tom will be happy to take cash as well. Questions? Contact Tom Boyle,

Membership Chair @ BoyleT@graceba.net. Please mail your dues to: WMGA, PO Box 9376, Dothan, AL 36304 or

give them to Connie Ford, WMGA Treasurer.

8

Wiregrass Master Gardeners Out Spreading Information

About WMGA @ Wal-Mart Chil-dren’s Network and Home

Depot Kids Day

9

Our Mailing

Address: Wiregrass Master Gardeners Association

P.O. Box 9376

Dothan, AL 36304

ACES

Lucy Edwards

Home Grounds Regional Agent

Dale County Extension

Office: (334) 774- 2329

Mobile: (334) 329-1672

lee0003@auburn.edu

Plant Parent Directory

Annuals: Devonne Ellis .................... 334-899-2050

Bulbs: PLANT PARENT NEEDED

Perennials: Cheryl Hatcher ................ 334-798-1034

Faye Carnley .................. 803-270-8757

GrCovers/Vines/Grasses: Beth Arnold .... 334-692-3172

Herbs: Linda Westphal ..................... 334-299-0388

House Plants/Tropicals:

Connie Ford ............................ 334-406-9559

Barbara Knight ......................... 334-350-4376

Shrubs: Phyllis Poole ....................... 334-793-3628

Trees/Succulents: Ralph Byram ........... 334-618-6691

Vegetables: Helen-Sue Kemp .............. 334-671-9879

2016 WMGA Board of Directors

https://www.facebook.com/#!/WiregrassMGA

WMGA Contacts

DISCLAIMER: The Wiregrass Master Gardener Association (WMGA) believes this information to be correct and accurate. Neither the Associat ion nor its members accept responsibility for errors or omissions that may be made. The WMGA makes no warranty expressed or implied with respect to the material within.

Officers:

President: ............................ Devonne Ellis ............ 205-739-9865 .......... devoellis@msn.com

Vice President ....................... Marti Renojo ............ 334-671-0096 .......... martirenojo@earthlink.net

Secretary ............................. POSITION IS VACANT

Treasurer: ............................ Connie Ford ............ 334-406-9559 ........... srvtpc@gmail.com

Board Members:

Board Member at Large: ........... Anita Gibson ............ 334-792-5063 ........... agibson5141@gmail.com

Membership Chair: .................. Tom Boyle ............... 334-794-2094 ........... BoyleT@graceba.net

Ways & Means Chair: ............... Helen-Sue Kemp ........ 334-671-9879 ........... hsdekemp1@juno.com

Communications Chair ............. Cheryl Hatcher .......... 334-798-1034 ........... jhatcher@graceba.net

Programs Chair ...................... Janice Egolf ............. 334-714-1785 ........... pamckees@aol.com

Projects Co-Chairs .................. Faye Carnley ............ 803-270-8757 ........... fmcarnley@gmail.com

Lisa Enfinger ............ 334-792-8018 ........... theenfingers@graceba.net

Immediate Past President ......... Beth Arnold ............. 334-692-3172 ........... beth.arnold80@yahoo.com

Newsletter Editor/Webmaster .... Jane Klosky .............. 804-514-9498 ........... jane.klosky@icloud.com

Visit our website @

www.wiregrassmga.org