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JUNEAU COUNTY

MASTER GARDENERS NEWSLETTER

December 2016

UW-Extension Juneau County

December… when we think of December the first thing that comes to

mind is the busyness of Christmas. But when all of the presents have been

opened, the leftovers have been put away, the company has left, and the

worship services and kid’s programs have all been attended; it hits us… this

is the end of another year.

We think back on all that has happened to us in the past year and start to

imagine all that we will accomplish in the new year. So as you look back, I hope you

have great memories of your time with your fellow Master Gardeners; whether it be

walking through beautiful gardens at hosting members’ homes, working together on

gardening projects, attending gardening seminars, going on plant- buying sprees,

planning gardening tours or just the quiet time spent together in your own gardens.

May these memories bring you joy!

Next month when the gardening brochures and magazines start accumulating on

your table, think about what you would like to see/experience with your fellow Master

Gardeners in 2017. In February the officers will be getting together to plan for the

upcoming year, so if you have ideas let one of us know.

May God Bless you and your family a Very, Merry Christmas

Debby Bollig, JCMG President

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December Garden Tips With winter officially just here, here are just some reminders for all that cold and snow we might just be getting

more of before too long.

Shovel heavy snowdrifts off low-lying perennial beds, small shrubs and trees to prevent damage.

Don’t shovel snow onto perennial beds: disturbed snow is compacted and denser and can reduce oxygen to the soil.

After severe weather inspect plants for damage. Immediate repairs can save them rather than be irreparable if

neglected until spring.

Houseplants should be watered as needed and a shower with tepid water will give them a boost as well as a bit of

fertilizer.

Soon the spring garden catalogs will be coming in the mail. You can begin planning your gardening projects for next

year. Begin by reviewing this past year’s projects and revise as needed adding and changing as needed. Think about

what you want to do differently and what you will do the same.

After Christmas, the discarded tree can benefit wildlife. By moving your Christmas tree to the yard, you can

provide a protection for birds; a place where they can congregate and feed.

Another idea is to take the limbs from the tree and place them over plants to protect them from winter winds or

use these limbs to hold mulch in place

Juneau County Master Gardener Projects :

Anyone interested in helping on any of these, please contact person listed. This is a great way to accumulate volunteer

support hours towards certification.

Adopt-a-Highway – Maureen Fox, 462-4228

Cleaning trash along Highway 58 South of Mauston

Boorman House –Margret Hummelbeck, 562-3856

Garden renovation around the Juneau County Historical Society Boorman House

Watering and Shade Garden –Natty Kranz, 547-1884

Hosta Garden & O’Brian Building – Kari Olson, 562-5302/Bonnie Davey, 562-5230

Stewart Chapel - Karla Riley, 847-2506, on hold for now

Buckhorn State Park Project – Maureen Fox, 462-4228

Maintain plantings and gardens around the office and cabins

Carl W. Nelson Animal Shelter – Rosemary Aney, 847-5558

Planting annuals and maintaining flower bed

Dave Brendle Park – Jan Brendle, 565-7290

New project in process

Elroy Fair – Bev Kozlowski; 462-5401

Manning booth for distributing MG information and plant sales

Grayside Community Gardens – Arris Sullivan, 562-5181/Barbara Hoffmann, 547-7086

Update community garden - need MG mentors

Juneau County Fair – Sarah Huggins, 319- 899-9402/Debby Bollig, 547-9238/Marsha Lubinski, 847-5166

Entering an Open Class Booth with MG information

Juneau County Courthouse – Lutrelle Manna, 547-3213

Planting annuals and Maintaining flower bed

Mauston Food Pantry Flower Beds – Marsha Lubinski, 847-5166

Planting annuals and maintaining flower bed

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge - Karla Riley, 847-2506/Arris Sullivan, 562-5181/Audrey Traver, 427-3761

Start-up project

Monarch Butterfly Project

New Lisbon City Planters – Arris Sullivan, 562-5181

Planting annuals and maintaining flower beds/planters

Wonewoc Library Seed Exchange - Sarah Huggins, 319- 899-9402

Start-up project

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Hort - Q&A: Here’s a sample of horticultural questions received and answered by Juneau County Extension Agriculture Agent, Craig Saxe or a Juneau County Master Gardener Volunteer. Have a question or comment just call 608-847-9329 or email craig.saxe@ces.uwex.edu.

FROM CRAIG: It’s official, our new Adams & Juneau County Interim Ag Educator is Alana Voss. Alana

(pronounced a – lane – a) officially started on December 1. Looking forward to having her on board!

Greetings Master Gardener Members!

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Alana Voss and I am the new Agricultural Agent for Adams and Juneau Counties UW-Extension. I grew up in Mauston, WI on my family’s cash crop farm and was very active in 4-H, FFA, and local, county, and state fairs. These events and organizations along with networking with many of the local farms and community members fueled my passion for agriculture. Leading to me to graduate from UW-Platteville in May with majors in Animal Science with an emphasis in dairy and Agriculture Business with an emphasis in marketing and communications. While at Platteville I was involved in Pioneer Dairy Club, UW-Platteville Dairy Judging team and Agriculture Student Council, American Dairy Science Association-Student Affiliate Division, and the Midwest and National Dairy Challenge Competitions. I was also able to work on the Pioneer Dairy Farm and take a short-term agricultural education abroad trip to India. During my trip to India I was able to tour research stations, farms, and learn about Indian agriculture and in return share knowledge about United States Agriculture. I am extremely excited to work at the UW-Extension where I am able to meet and help share my knowledge with many of the local community members!

As the year draws to an end, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! This time of year is such a special time to look back on all the memories you have created in 2016. In addition, to the number of lives and organizations you have worked with and touched throughout the year. Your dedication to the community and educating local community members does not go unrecognized. I am looking forward to meeting and working with the Juneau County Master Gardener’s in 2017 and learning more about all of these wonderful memories, the work you put into the community, and educating the local community members. Safe travels to all this winter and see you in the New Year!

Send articles and other ideas for the Master Gardeners newsletter to: Irene Klingemann, W5805 Brown Rd. Mauston WI 53948 Or email: iklingemann.mstn@gmail.com

“The promise of spring’s arrival is enough to get anyone through the bitter winter.”

– Jen Slelinsky, Writer and Author of "Reach Up for the Sunrise"

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Calendar of Events

NOTE: Be sure to call & check times & dates to verify event.

Contact for more information on any event at Olbrich Botanical

Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI 53704; phone (608)

246-4550. For events at Rotary Botanical Gardens, 1455 Palmer

Drive, Janesville, WI 53545, phone (608) 752-3885 ext. 17. For

events at West Madison Ag Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point

Rd., Verona, WI 53593-9689, phone (608) 262-2257,

http://www.cals.wisc.edu/westmad/garden/Events.html

Dec 3 thru 31 - Olbrich's Holiday Express Flower and Model

Train Show - Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison WI - Daily 10

am to 4 pm - Except till 2 pm on Dec 24 and Closed on Dec 25

Twinkling lights, festive poinsettias, tiny landscapes, and large-scale

model trains: all aboard for Olbrich's Holiday Express! Using large-

scale model trains, Olbrich's horticulture staff will showcase

miniature landscapes among hundreds of colorful poinsettias.

Members of the Wisconsin Garden Railway Society come from all

over the state to show off their large-scale model trains. Relax with

friends and family and enjoy holiday refreshments available for

purchase in the lobby. Admission for Olbrich Botanical Society

members is free. Admission to Olbrich's Holiday Express for the

general public is $5 for adults, and $3 for children ages 3 to 12.

Children 2 and under are free. Admission to the tropical Bolz

Conservatory is included.

Dec 9 thru 30 - Holiday Light Show - Rotary Botanical Gardens,

Janesville, WI - Daily 4 to 8 pm. For 2016, the show will be bigger,

better and more beautiful than ever, as the wintery garden paths are

brought to life with just under a half million lights. This year’s

Holiday Light Show includes 100 individual displays, 125 lit archways,

100 beautifully decorated Evergreen trees, and 60 decorated garden

obelisks. You’ll also find 600 dangling icicle lights hung from the

tallest trees in the Garden, over 2,000 luminaries, and more! In

addition to being a beloved community and regional event, the Holiday

Light Show serves as a major fundraiser for Rotary Botanical

Gardens and creates significant economic impact to the Janesville

area. $5 per person (Ages 3 and up)

Jan 20 - 21, 2017 - Garden Visions - Wausau WI - Central WI

Largest Garden Conference. Friday Night Slow Food Dinner, with

Conference on Saturday. Keynote Speaker is Susan Martin and 3

break-out sessions. At NTC, Northcentral Technical College, 1000

Campus Dr, Wausau. Visit www.gardenvisions.info to register and for

info. Contact: Carol Bray 715-693-6446 or cbray@mtc.net Cost:

Friday Night Dinner $37.50, Conference $40, + $10 Lunch

Jan 21, 2017 - Garden Dreams: A Saturday with the Portage

County UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteers - Amherst -

Portage County Master Gardener volunteers are once again hosting

Garden Dreams at the Lettie W. Jensen Community Center in

Amherst on Saturday, January 21, 2017. Registration will run from

7:30 a.m. until 8:25 a.m. The presentations will begin at 8:25 a.m.

and will end at 3:00 p.m. Cost for this event is $30 and will include

all three presentations as well as a hot catered lunch. First

presentation is with Diana Alfuth on Landscape Design, Tying it All

Together. 2nd with Buzz Vahradian (seriously, that’s his name) on

Beekeeping with Buzz. 3rd presentation is on Prairie and Savanna

Plants for Pollinator Gardens with Neil Diboll. Get the registration

form. Contact: Diane Dieterich 715-630-4792 or didieter@uwsp.edu

Feb 4 - 5, 2017 - Orchid Quest - Olbrich Botanical Gardens -

Madison - Sponsored by Orchid growers' guild of Madison - Sat 10

am-4 pm, Sun 10 am-3 pm. Featuring displays of gorgeous orchids

from around the world, knowledgeable orchid growers, educational

speakers, fabulous vendors, raffle and silent auction. For more

information email: lodijoz@charter.net

Feb 10-12, 2017 - Garden Expo - Alliant Energy Center,

Madison - Sponsored by Wisconsin Public Television, Friends of

WHA-TV, and the UW-Extension Horticulture Team, this event

draws nearly 16,000 people to view 400 booths, provided by

numerous exhibitors over 100,000 square-feet. Certified MGVs will

assist UW-Extension Specialists and Agents in answering questions

in the UW-Extension booth. Numerous educational seminars,

demonstrations, and workshops are offered on a variety of

horticultural topics. Hours are Fri 3:00-9:00, Sat 9:00-6:00, and

Sun 10:00-4:00. An admission fee is charged to this fundraiser to

support WI Public TV programming. For more information visit

WPT’s Garden Expo website. Contact Kristin Korevec, WPT Special

Events Manager 608-262-5256 or gardenexpo@wpt.org

Feb 18, 2017 - Winnebago County Master Gardeners’ Winter

Escape-Summer Dreams - Oshkosh - The Winnebago County

Master Gardeners’ annual day-long program( 8:30-3:30) will feature

speakers Duane Otto, Landscape Gardener, Minnesota Landscape

Arboretum; Gretchen Mead, Executive Director, Victory Garden

Initiative, Blitz Powerhouse; David Drake, Professor and Wildlife

Specialist; and Bruce Schweiger, UW Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab

Manager. There will also be a silent auction with lots of great items!

Registration fee includes continental breakfast and lunch. Call Linda

Baeten (920)379-8377 for details and visit

www.winnebagomastergardeners.org for more registration

information. Cost: $40 before Feb. 12; $45 after. Location: LaSure’s

Banquet Hall, 3125 S. Washburn St, Oshkosh

March 11, 2017 - Primula Sale - Olbrich Botanical Gardens -

Madison - Capture the first signs of spring with a colorful and

classic primula that come back year after year at the Primula Sale

at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Take home a rainbow of primroses in

striking purple, red, yellow, orange, and pink, all grown from seed in

Olbrich's greenhouses. 8am-4pm while supplies last $5 each + tax -

Olbrich Gardens.

March 11-26, 2017 - Olbrich's Spring Flower Show - Madison -

Brightly colored tulips, radiant daffodils and fragrant hyacinths

surround innovative art furniture made by local and Midwest artists

in Olbrich's Spring Flower Show! Walk among the fresh flowers on

display and see hand-crafted furniture pieces staged in a whole new

way! Admission charge $3 adults, $2 children, under 2 free and free

to OBS members. Olbrich Gardens.

March 25, 2017 - Gardening in Tune With Nature - Wautoma -

Half-day seminar (8:30am-12 noon) with two speakers: Russell

Groves speaking about Pest Control Strategies in Central Wisconsin

Vegetable Production and the Use of Neonicotinoids in Pesticides

and Jeremy Erickson presenting on the topic of Small Scale Organic

Farming and Gardening. Registration available from Helen Cox at

butchcox_2000@yahoo.com or call 920-787-5900. Registration is

due by March 15, 2017. Cost: $10. Location: Waushara County

Courthouse, 290 S. St. Marie St, Wautoma, WI.

Monday, March 27, 2017 - Spring Flower Show Plant Sale -

Olbrich Botanical Gardens - Madison - Select flowers from the

show will be available for purchase! Varieties may include tulips,

hyacinths, daffodils, cyclamen, daisies, azaleas and more. Shop early

as supplies go fast! - 12 p.m. - while supplies last. Olbrich Gardens.

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Country Karen Sue And Her Words of Wisdom

a k a K a r e n S u e P o s t

Here is an article about bird feeding by Bill Thompson from Birdwatchers Digest.

Gardeners - The Birds Best Friends In Winter Winter: ’tis the season for feeding birds all across North America, especially in those regions where it gets

mighty cold and snowy. If you are a veteran bird feeder, you’ve probably gained lots of insight into the

foods your backyard birds prefer. Perhaps you’ve learned through trial and error, or perhaps you did your

homework and read up on the subject.

If you are just getting started in bird feeding, or if you are frustrated by a lack of success in attracting

winter birds to your feeders, the first thing you need to determine is whether you are feeding the right

foods. If you are not giving the birds what they want, you might not have many birds.

The following 10 foods are extremely popular with backyard birds all across North America.

If your favorite bird food is not on this list, please let me know. After all, I am not omniscient. I’m just a

guy living in Ohio who likes to feed birds.

10. Black-oil sunflower seed. This seed is the hamburger of the bird world. Almost any bird that will visit a

bird feeder will eat black-oil sunflower. Birds that can’t crack the seeds themselves will scour the ground

under the feeders, picking up bits and pieces. Bird feeding in North America took a major leap forward

when black-oil sunflower became widely available in the early 1980s. Why do birds prefer it? The outer

shell of a black-oil sunflower seed is thinner and easier to crack. The kernel inside the shell is larger than

the kernel inside a white-or gray-striped sunflower seed, so birds get more food per seed from black-oil.

This last fact also makes black-oil a better value for you, the seed buyer. Striped sunflower is still fine

(evening grosbeaks may even prefer it slightly), but black-oil is better.

9. Peanuts. Peanuts—de-shelled, dry-roasted, and unsalted—are a fairly recent trend in bird feeding, at

least in North America. In Europe, feeding peanuts has been popular for a long time. Peanut manufacturers

and processors have now identified the bird-feeding market as a good place to get rid of the peanuts that

are broken or otherwise unfit for human consumption. Ask your feed/seed retailer about peanut bits or

rejects. Several major feeder manufacturers now produce sturdy, efficient tube-shaped peanut feeders.

Woodpeckers, jays, nuthatches, chickadees, and titmice will readily visit a feeder for this high-protein,

high-energy food. Even cardinals and finches will eat peanuts.

8. Suet. Most humans don’t want a lot of fat in their diet, but for birds in winter, fat is an excellent source

of energy. Ask at your grocery store butcher counter if you don’t see packages of suet on display. No suet

feeder? No problem—just use an old mesh onion bag. If you want to get fancy with your suet, you can

render it. That is, melt it down to liquid, remove the unmeltable bits, and then allow it to harden; this is

best accomplished in a microwave oven. Rendered suet lasts longer in hot weather, and while it’s melted,

you can add other ingredients to it (see “bird treats,” #1, below).

7. Good mixed seed. Is there such a thing as BAD mixed seed? You bet! Bad mixed seed has lots of filler in

it—junk seeds that most birds won’t eat. Bad mixed seed can include dyed seed meant for pet birds,

wheat, and some forms of red milo that only birds in the Desert Southwest seem to eat. Good mixed seed

has a large amount of sunflower seed, cracked corn, white proso millet, and perhaps some peanut hearts.

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The really cheap bags of mixed seed sold at grocery stores can contain the least useful seeds. Smart feeder

operators buy mixed seed from a specialty bird store or a hardware/feed store operation. You can even buy

the ingredients separately and create your own specialty mix.

6. Niger/thistle seed. Although it can be expensive, Niger, or thistle, seed is eagerly consumed by all the

small finches—goldfinches, house, purple, and Cassin’s finches, pine siskins, and redpolls. You need to feed

thistle in a thistle feeder of some kind—the two most commonly used types of thistle feeder are a tube

feeder with small thistle-seed-sized holes, and a thistle sock. A thistle sock is a sock-shaped, fine-mesh,

synthetic bag that is filled with thistle seed. Small finches can cling to this bag and pull seeds out through

the bag’s mesh. Two potential problems with thistle: it can go rancid or moldy quickly in wet weather and

uneaten seeds can germinate in your yard, creating a patch of thistle (Guizotia abyssinica) plants that you

may not want. Fortunately, this problem does not seem to be widespread. All thistle seed is imported to

North America, and it is all supposed to be sterilized prior to entry into the United States and Canada.

5. Safflower. This white, thin-shelled, conical seed is eaten by many birds and has the reputation for being

the favorite food of the northern cardinal. Some feeder operators claim that safflower seed is not as readily

eaten by squirrels and blackbirds (caveat: your results may vary). Feed safflower in any feeder that can

accommodate sunflower seed. Avoid feeding safflower on the ground in wet weather; it can quickly become

soggy and inedible. You can buy safflower in bulk at seed and feed stores.

4. Cracked corn. Sparrows, blackbirds, jays, doves, quail, and squirrels are just a few of the creatures you

can expect at your feeders if you feed cracked corn. Depending on where you live you may also get turkeys,

deer, elk, moose, and caribou. Fed in moderation, cracked corn will attract almost any feeder species. Some

feeder operators only use this food to lure the squirrels away from the bird feeders. Squirrels love corn—

cracked or otherwise—best of all. Whole corn that is still on the cob is not a good bird food because the

kernels are too big and hard for most small birds to digest. Cracked corn is broken up into smaller, more

manageable bits.

3. Mealworms. We fed mealworms to a pair of nesting bluebirds all this past summer. They rewarded us

with four healthy broods of young bluebirds. Eighteen fledglings in one summer should land our bluebirds in

the Guinness Book of World Records. Most feeder birds, except goldfinches, will eat mealworms if you offer

them. Mealworms are available in bait stores, or by mail order. Don’t worry, they aren’t slimy and gross. In

fact, they aren’t even worms; they are larval stage of a beetle (Tenebrio molitor), if that makes you feel

better. We keep 1,000 mealworms in a tub of old-fashioned rolled oats and feed them to the birds in a

shallow ceramic dish. The dish has slippery sides so the worms can’t crawl out.

2. Fruit. Humans are supposed to eat at least three servings of fruit every day. Fruit is also an important

dietary element for birds, but it can be hard to find in many areas in midwinter. Set out grapes, slices of

citrus fruits, apple or banana slices, and even melon rinds, and watch your birds chow down. If you want

to feed raisins, chop them up and soak them in warm water first to soften them up a bit. Offering fruit to

tanagers and orioles is a traditional spring and summer feeding strategy, but many winter feeder birds will

eat fruit, too.

1. Homemade bird treats. You can come up with your own recipes for winter bird treats. Smear peanut

butter on a tree trunk, and poke some peanut bits into it. Melt suet in your microwave, and pour it into

an ice-cube tray to harden. Before it solidifies, add peanut bits, raisins, apple bits, or other bird foods. Put

the tray in your freezer to harden. Once it does, you’ve got cubed bird treats—easy to make and easy to

use!

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If you would like to host a garden meeting, list two months of your choice:

1st choice___________ 2

nd choice ____________

If you are a current Master Gardener, list the year you took your training:

______________________

If not, would you like information on becoming a Master Gardener?

__________________________

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE ZIP

PHONE ( )

E-MAIL

ANNUAL DUES: $12.00 from January thru December 2017

FILL IN THIS FORM AND MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: Juneau County Master Gardeners AND MAIL TO:

Irene Klingemann, W5805 Brown Rd, Mauston WI 53948

2017 JUNEAU COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS MEMBERSHIP FORM

State Master

Gardener Annual

Accomplishment

Report. Thanks Maureen for pulling this

together and thanks to everyone

that helped gather all the data and

photo.

July 10-14, 2017 - Int'l MG Conference -

Portland, Oregon - More information at

http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/2017imgc/ The

Oregon State University Extension Master

Gardener Program to host Master Gardener

faculty, staff and volunteers from across the

United States, Canada and South Korea. Till

January 13, 2017: 2017 IMGC early

registration opens with group discount code

for hotels. January 14, 2017 – May 31, 2017:

2017 IMGC registration (no discount)

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Cooperative Extension

Juneau County UW-Extension

211 Hickory Street

Mauston WI 53948

An EEO/Affirmative Action employer, University of Wisconsin-Extension provides equal

Opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements.

If you have not done so yet it's time to fill-out your JCMG membership form for 2017 (see page 7) and

mail it along with $12.00 to the address shown on the form.

Note that for JCMG members, $5.00 of this goes towards membership in WIMGA and to receive the

WIMGA newsletter.

For those interested MG training will be available in Adams County in 2017. Call Adams County Extension

Office, 608-339-4237 for more information and to register

The following is the planning schedule for 2017 meetings.

April 24 TBA - Details in April Newsletter May 22 Karla Riley June 26 Diane Hamm July 24 Maureen Fox August 28 Margaret Hummelbeck Sept 25 Open Oct 23 TBA

Again Merry Christmas-Happy New Year