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help wanted

9/30/2021

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The following positions are available.

Board Positions - contact Susan Chamberlain

Board Treasurer
Board Secretary
New Member-at-Large (Classes of 2020/2021)

Event Positions - contact Ceil Gasiecki

MG Plant Swap
County Fair Horticulture Room

Membership Positions - contact Julie Stewart

Sunshine
Time Keeper

Administration Positions - contact Susan Chamberlain

Facebook
Newsletter Editor

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2021 master gardener appreciation day

9/30/2021

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2021 Master Gardener
Appreciation Day

October 13, 2021
via Zoom
10:00 a.m. - Noon

GUEST SPEAKER
“Blooms, Birds and Butterflies”

Norman Winter
Horticulturist, Author and Speaker, Columbus, GA

Known as “The Garden Guy”, Norman publishes articles in the LiveIt magazine. He brings to his own garden many plants that were grown at the Columbus Botanical Garden and at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden in Savannah. Take a look at the LiveIt September 2021 issue to read through his article titled “Good Golly Miss Molly: How beautiful you are”.

http://liveittexas.com/2021/09/good-golly-miss-molly-how-beautiful-you-are/

Norman invites you to follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.

See the posting in Buddy Messages for the link to preregister.

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October garden checklist

9/30/2021

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Here’s your October gardening checklist!

If you didn’t seed your tall fescue lawn in September, do so by the middle of the month. Seed at a rate of 8-10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. For existing tall fescue lawns, overseed now to thicken them up at a rate of 4-5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Tall fescue makes a wonderful lawn for the shade, but you still need to have 3-4 hours of sunlight. Be sure to water it well until it is established. Fertilize now as well with a complete fertilizer.
Planting trees and shrubs in the fall is ideal. Our ground temperature is still warm, so roots will begin to get established quickly. Rarely does our soil ever freeze solid, so the plants will continue to produce roots, even though the tops aren’t growing.
Leaves should be collected/mulched as they fall. You don’t want a heavy covering of leaves entering the winter months. A dense layer can actually smother a lawn. People often leave leaves on the lawn until it turns cold and then rake them. If you have a covering of leaves on your lawn prior to the first frost, the leaves may prevent your lawn from going dormant. When you finally do rake up the leaves, you’ll expose actively growing grass to cold weather. Your lawn could suffer winter injury.
Even though the weather is cooler this month, don’t forget to water an inch of water per week if natural rainfall doesn’t occur. It is especially important around trees and shrubs that were planted this year. Don’t severely prune shrubs now because this will encourage rapid regrowth, and the new growth won’t have time to harden off before cold weather arrives.
In the garden plant a cover crop, such as wheat, rye, alfalfa or crimson clover and turn it under in the spring. Don’t let your cover crop go to seed. Cover crops hold the soil and organic matter in place, provide insulation and add nutrients to the soil. They also encourage continued activity of beneficial soil microorganisms.
Do NOT compost or leave any diseased plants or plant parts in the garden.
For you garlic lovers, it’s that time of the year to plant garlic for next years harvest. Grow garlic in a location that gets at least six hours of full sun each day, and plant in fertile, well drained soil from mid-October to mid-December. Before planting, separate the bulbs of culinary garlic into individual cloves. Set cloves right side up ½ to 1 inch deep and 3 to 5 inches apart in the row.
It's time to set out winter pansies, flowering kale, flowering cabbage and fall mums.
Have your soil tested and follow the test recommendations.
Plant spring bulbs, including tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, Siberian squill, bulbous irises, Anemone and crocus. Select healthy, disease-free bulbs. Add bone meal or bulb fertilizer into the planting hole, as you prepare the soil.
People become worried when their pine trees shed pine needles, but it is a natural process. As long as the needles that are dropping are not at the tip of the branches, everything is fine. Rake up the pine needles and use it as a mulch around your shrubs.
Clean up around your perennial plants. Any leaves that have fallen can harbor insects and diseases for next year. Scatter dry seed heads or store the seeds for later use. Cut back any plants that have lost most of their leaves or that look bad now.
Divide and transplant any perennials that typically bloom in the spring or summer. Plant new perennials. They too will get well established during the fall, winter and early spring. Fall planting can also give you blooms the first season after planting.
Recycle disease-free annual potted plants and potting medium by adding them to the compost pile or directly into the garden. Remember to break up root balls from the plants.
Clean up emptied pots with a 10 percent bleach solution to get rid of any plant pathogens.
Empty excess water out of hoses before storing. Water expands as it freezes and can burst hoses.
As you harvest your Halloween pumpkins, or when you purchase yours, pick one with a good solid rind, free of blemishes or wounds. Always make sure that at least an inch or two of stem is left attached. If they have no stem, they are more prone to rotting. Paint a face on your pumpkin as early as you want, but avoid carving your pumpkin until a day or two before Halloween. Once they are carved, they deteriorate rapidly.

For more information, contact the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension office at 870-425-2335.

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SEPTEMBER OZARK GREEN THUMB E-NEWSLETTER

9/3/2021

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September 2021
Ozark Green Thumb
e-Newsletter

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master gardener mondays

9/3/2021

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Master Gardener Mondays is a monthly Zoom session discussing Master Gardener and horticulture topics. It is open to all Master Gardeners and County Agents.

MGM meetings are held ONLINE in ZOOM the third Monday of the month during the noon hour unless otherwise noted.

The dates are posted in Buddy Messages and our e-Newsletter, Ozark Green Thumb.

An email from UAEX or a Buddy Message will be sent out notifying you of the upcoming MGM.
You must preregister to get the ZOOM link.

Here are some aids to help you join a Zoom Meeting:

Quick Tip sheet for Joining a Zoom Meeting

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arkansas master gardener appreciation day

9/3/2021

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2021 Master Gardener
Appreciation Day

SAVE THE DATE
October 13, 2021
via Zoom
10:00 a.m. - Noon

Due to conditions across the State concerning COVID, the day will be celebrated via a Zoom event with a guest speaker.

Sponsored by County 76

If any questions, contact Susan Colles (scolles53@yahoo.com or 479-857-8544) or Julie Treat (jtreat@uada.edu or 501-671-2231).

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Arkansas Orchid Society Sale

9/3/2021

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Arkansas Orchid Society's annual rhizome sale will be Sunday, Sept. 19 at 1:30 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 6th & Scott Streets in Little Rock.

For more information contact Jerry Brown jerrynalice@att.net or follow us on Facebook

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registration for 2021 png leadership conference

9/3/2021

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REGISTRATION
Information for
Plant, Nurture, Grow
Leadership Conference

Plant Nurture Grow Leadership Conference
Hosted by County 76
September 20-21, 2021 on Zoom

Monday, September 20, 2021 - noon to 4 p.m.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

*Open to all Master Gardeners and County Agents
*One link for both conference days.
*Conference will be recorded and sent to those that register for the conference.

Registration deadline is September 15, 2021.
No refunds given after September 15, 2021.

This year we will have break out sessions during the Zoom conference. You will be asked to select the session you plan to attend at registration. (Session selection is not binding and changes can occur at the time of the conference.)

PNG Leadership Conference is a good conference for officers to learn more about the MG Program and hone their officer skills. The light pink color in the schedule below is a good list of sessions for an officer to attend.

Please review the schedule below before registering for the conference.

See Buddy Messages for the registration link.

Chairs: Gail McClure, Linda Soffer & Rose Ann Houston
For questions about these meetings, contact Gail McClure - gail.y.mcclure@gmail.com or 501-348-4774
OR Julie Treat - jtreat@uada.edu or 501-671-2231

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