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Far left is Jon Smith and on the far right are James Wiegand and Debbie Legner mentees from the fall class of 2017.  In the center left to right are mentors Anita Hayden and Audrey Holt.

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HATCHERY OUTDOOR ADVENTURE Volunteers
​The Hatchery Outdoor Adventure Day is being held this year on Saturday, 09/08/18. The event begins at 8:30 am and ends around 2:00 pm.   Each year we service 400 - 500 children with some type of garden craft.   We are asking for your assistance in working this great event.  This  allows you to gain work hours with no digging, and have so much fun doing it.  Lunch is provided for the volunteers, and we will have refreshments and water.
 
We have a couple of ideas for the kids garden related craft project, but want to see what ideas you might have about what we can do.  In the past we have done planters, sock chia heads, sweet potato growing pots, water bottle bird feeders, and other crafts.  If you have an idea please share that with me so we can see if it might work and/or be better than the other ideas we have already.  The craft should be something that can be done by all ages of children, can be completed in just a few minutes, is not terribly messy, can be carried by the children during the day,  materials can be gathered easily and quickly, and is not too expensive.  We are not going to do anything involving peanut butter to avoid creating problems for anyone that might have an allergy.  Dependent upon which craft idea we choose we may also need to have a work day prior to the actual event to complete preliminary items.
 
Please let me know if would be able to help us this year, if you might have any good ideas, or you have any questions or suggestions. Contact Darrell Stewart if you can help with this fun event.

BAXTER COUNTY FAIR HORTICULTURAL EXHIBIT Volunteers

Baxter County Master Gardeners manage the exhibit listings for the horticulture section of the Baxter County Fair Book. We oversee the horticulture room, including the Junior and Senior Horticulture Exhibits at the Baxter County Fair. Coordinators recruit and train other Master Gardeners to register exhibits and to staff the horticulture room at fair time. An exhibit grooming table is also available to exhibitors, staffed by Master Gardeners during the fair registration hours to assist with final entry preparations.  Contact Rick Gatewood if you are interested in helping September 11th-15th.

SPRING SEMINAR Chairperson
We need a chairperson for our annual Spring Seminar. Jane Druff, who has chaired this event for the last two years, has a great committee, many of whom will continue to work on this event.  Jane will also lend guidance and ideas to help the new chair.  The church has already been reserved for March 9, 2019, but it will soon be time to start planning.  Either Jane or myself would be happy to sit down with you and answer any questions or concerns you may have about taking over this job.  And I can promise the Board supports this event and the chair.

So, if you think you 'might' be willing to become Seminar Chair, please get in touch with Ceil Gasiecki; and we'll make sure we deal with any concerns.  Many thanks for all your help and support.

​To create a medicine wheel, gather five marker stakes, a hammer, measuring tape, compass and some string or lime. Rocks mark the important yearly dates around the outside circle (see diagram below), so a good-size rock pile also would be handy. To start the wheel, drive a stake into the ground at the desired center point. Using a compass, locate the four cardinal directions and mark each with a stake 4 feet from the center. Mark the circle by joining the four cardinal direction stakes with string.

​Once the circle is marked, prepare the circle as you would any herb bed. If the site is on a lawn, till or dig out the sod, being careful to keep the five stakes in place. Mix in peat or compost, a small amount of bone meal (or lime or wood ash) and topsoil. In general, herbs tolerate a wide range of conditions but prefer well-drained, slightly alkaline soil. Lay 24-inch-wide heavy plastic landscaping cloth from each directional stake toward the center to form paths. Spread gravel, shells, wood chips or other natural material over the plastic and replace the four directional stakes with large rocks. These represent the spirit keepers of each direction and may be adorned with drawings or artifacts.

​Use cedar logs, pot shards, bricks or smaller rocks to edge the paths and define the circle. Replace the center stake with a large rock, boulder, piece of driftwood, tree branch or other object with significant meaning. Many traditional medicine wheels feature a buffalo skull in the center because in several Native Plains cultures of North America, it signifies creation or the center of all life.

​The people who formed primitive medicine wheels displayed a reverence for the Earth through sacred rituals, ceremonies, everyday blessings, cleansing and visions. They gave thanks, asked for guidance, used intuition and understood their world on many levels. For us, there is much to learn from the medicine wheel. We too can use it to pause and ponder, dream, reflect, pray and plan.

Excerpt from Mother Earth News
February/March 2004
​By Pat Crocker

AUGUST GARDEN CHECKLIST
 

• August is the month to start your fall vegetable garden. Bush beans, cucumbers, summer squash and other short season vegetables can be planted now. Cool season vegetables such as radishes, beets, carrots, lettuce, and others can also be planted at this time. To ensure a good stand of fall crops from seed it’s best to cover rows with burlap, paper, straw or even boards to aid in keeping the soil moist and cool.
• With proper care, tomato plants can continue growing and set more fruit. Keep them watered and fertilize them towards the end of the month to ensure a good fall crop.
• To have an herb garden indoors this winter, begin propagating your favorite herbs by taking cuttings or by divisions. Most herbs require more light than most homes can provide during the winter so consider grow lights in combination with natural light.
• Harvest seed heads of sunflowers as the heads begin to droop and leaves turn brown. Prompt harvest is necessary to protect the seeds from birds and from falling to the ground.
• Add water to your compost pile during dry periods so that it remains active.  Turn the pile to generate heat throughout for proper sterilization.
• Bermuda lawns can be fertilized for the last time this season with nitrogen fertilizer. Apply 3 pounds of 34-0-0 fertilizer per 1,000 square feet by mid-August. Also, you can apply 2 pounds of 0-0-60 per 1,000 square feet for grass to develop a winter hardy root system.
• Sharpen or replace mower blades as needed. Shredded leaf blades are an invitation to disease and allow more stress on the grass. For an average lawn you should sharpen your blades three times a season.
• Fall webworms are showing up in trees. They particularly like pecan, walnut, hickory, and persimmon but can be found in almost any tree and occasionally shrubs. If control is needed, you can use Sevin, permethrin, acephate, bifenthrin, Bacillus thuringiensis, or spinosad.
• Trees take a beating with high temperatures and lack of rain. If you have a prized tree you want to keep, water twice a week. When you water, water deep. It is better to water more in depth, less often and early in the morning.
• August/September is a good time to get rid of poison ivy and unwanted honeysuckle.  Since they are perennials, applying glyphosate (example: Roundup) or triclopyr now can keep them from storing up nutrients for winter and reduce the chance of their surviving until spring. Don’t spray when plants are drought stressed. Wait until 3-4 days after a good rain. Be sure to follow the label directions.
• Avoid pruning spring flowering trees and shrubs now because they are setting flower buds. Adequate moisture now will give abundant color next spring. Avoid heavy pruning of others also at this time of year since you run the risk that the plant will not have sufficient time to harden off before frost. Light pruning or heading back can be done at any time.
• Strawberry plants are also setting flower buds this month and into September. Fertilize late this month to early September with 4 cups 34-0-0 fertilizer per 1,000 square foot bed. Moisture is also critical for good flower bud set and ultimately a good harvest next spring.
• Make your last fertilizer application in early August on your roses. Continue deadheading and spraying fungicide and insecticide. Propiconazole, myclobutanil, thiophanate-methyl, tebuconazole, or triforine will control most foliage diseases, while acephate is a good choice for insect problems. Rose beds can produce some of the best blooms in the fall. Be sure to keep the soil evenly moist.
• Rejuvenate tired annuals by removing faded flowers and cutting back long, leggy stems. Feed with a fertilizer and the plants will be back in bloom in a few weeks. If they are too far gone, pull them out and replace with new ones for fall. Although marigolds are usually considered a summer annual, they are also an alternative to mums and may actually bloom longer.
• Stop pinching mums now. They will set flower buds as days get shorter. Fertilize mums once again and keep them watered during dry weather.
• Horticulture entries are sought for the Baxter County Fair (September 11-15). Entries range from all types of vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants, and field crops. The Baxter County Fair is held in Mountain Home with entries accepted Tuesday, September 11 from 2:00 to7:00 p.m. Check out the web site (www.baxtercountyfair.org) for more information.

 
For more information on any of the above points, contact the U of A Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension office at 425-2335.

This is an simple recipe that is tart

but not too sweet in a graham

cracker crust.

Combine ingredients. Beat until well blended.
Pour into crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.
Allow to chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours before
serving.
Makes 8 servings.

​This is a tasty recipe to use produce from your garden.

Fresh okra is very perishable. Keep no more than
2 to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Instructions:
​
Heat oil in skillet. Mix okra, tomatoes, onion, and salt.
Saute in oil 5 minutes. 
Add chili powder, pepper sauce, and water. Mix well.
Cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender
and mixture thickens.
​Serves 6-8.