November 2014 Meeting Notes

Mary Ann Kurtz welcomed all members on a cold night. Dandelions are about the only things blooming. Dues are due. Check your directory listing as directory goes to print in December. A place is still needed for our summer picnic meeting. Let Mary Ann or Colleen Fingal know if your garden is available. Colleen updated us on her progress in booking 2015 programs and asked for feedback regarding our preferences. Mary Anne extended a thank you to Bill Goff for his service as Program Chair and to Anita Wagner, Treasurer for four years.

Claudia Hickly reviewed ideas for celebrating our 65^th anniversary next year.   After discussion, there was consensus regarding the following items:

•  Celebration Social - held the 4^th Tuesday of September instead of our regular meeting.  Long-time members will be recognized; former members will be invited; archives and memorabilia will be on display; refreshments will be served; display/computer slide show highlighting 65 years of community service a possibility; photo of our 2015 members will be taken; parts or all of the celebration may be filmed.  A Celebration Social Committee is a must! 
• Plant Sale – Have anniversary plant specials; small for 65 cents and large/unique plants for $6.50.  Hang a banner or sign ‘Celebrating 65 years
• Celebrate the UPMC Passavant Chapel Garden’s 20^th anniversary with a special presentation and recognition for Peggy and Helen.
•  Donate a brick to the Town of McCandless Pathway to the Past.  The donated bricks will form a path at the new McCandless Museum. Brick will be inscribed with Longvue Acres Garden Club 1950-2015 – or Longvue Acres Garden Club founded 1950.
• Donate club archives to the McCandless Museum with the stipulation that members have access to them. Will need further discussion.   Obtain publicity for all events during our anniversary year.  Claudia will be responsible for this.

Other: Thank you to Sarah Graham for the desserts dark chocolate crumb bars and pumpkin snicker doodles.
Go to these sites for recipes:
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/144808/dark-chocolate-crumb-bars/?keywords=dark+chocolate+crumb+bar 

http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/11/05/pumpkin-snickerdoodles/

Thank you to Peggy Elizeus for the beautiful and unique arrangement of bittersweet and acorns.

Program

Beneficial Insects:  Bill Goff introduced speaker Philip Bauerle who is a Wooster Collegegrad and PSMG Program Coordinator. He had wonderful slides and was very informative about beneficial insects (honey bees and native bees) as pollinators; predators such as the assassin beetle, wheel beetle and praying mantis (at least one growth stage of beneficial destroys the harmful insect); and parasitoids like the parasitic wasp and syrphid fly (the pest is a food source for the developing beneficial larva stage). Philip reminded us that one of three bites of food we eat needs a pollinator. 

Take home points:

• Encourage beneficials by using no or few insecticides.
• Not all development stages of the good bug eat pests, some eat in both larva and adult stage, and some eat in adult stage only.
• Don’t kill a pest caterpillar with parasitic eggs outside its body, the caterpillar is food for the developing good bugs.
• Provide ‘housing’ for beneficials using brush pile, bare ground, leaf mulch or a beetle bank planted with switch grass.
•  Buying lady bugs doesn’t work as they fly away to other properties.
•  Plant their preferred food plants such as monarda, mountain mint, dog tooth mint, and agastache (also deer resistant). They also like carrot family members like golden alexander, parsley, aster family, common milkweed, yarrow and sunflower.
• Warning: New pest to our state, spotted lantern fly, an orchard pest. Report this to master gardeners. See www.ento.psu.edu.
• Further reading: Attracting Berneficials to Your Garden by Jessica Walliser, Farming with Native Beneficial Insects from the Xerces Society; also Penn State site above.

Next meeting: January 27, 2015 

Submitted by: Rose Mary Highman