August 27, 2024 Meeting notes

 LAGC President Nancy welcomed members to the August 27th meeting. She thanked the committee chairs and board members for all the work they are doing for the garden club.

 Dues will remain at $15 and will be collected at the September meeting. Cash or check.

 

The sign-up sheet for hostess duty for next year will be available in September. Please consider signing up to bring the flower arrangement or dessert to one of our meetings in 2025.

 

Claudia spoke about the plans for next year's anniversary celebration.

·      Mary Jo Clayton finalized the plans for the tree planting; 75 trees will be purchased and planted in partnership with the Allegheny County Parks Foundation Tree Fund. In the Spring of 2025, LAGC members will assist park rangers with planting in North Park in an area in McCandless

·      At our 2025 Plant Sale, annuals will be given away to the first 75 to 100 customers

·      The Honoring Our Past Celebration will be held on September 23, 2025 at the Heritage Center 

·      The Celebrating Our Future event will be held on October 28, 2025 at Northmont Church

·      The keepsake edition of the 2025 handbook will be created by Claudia and Andrea

 

The garden that LAGC maintains at UPMC Passavant has had many names.  Members voted to let it be known as “The Chapel Garden”.

 

Marlow announced that the holiday tour and luncheon will be held on Saturday, November 16th. The tour of the Kerr Memorial Museum, 402 Delaware Avenue, Oakmont, 15139 will begin at approximately 10:30 am. The luncheon will take place at Whisper's Pub located at 3400 Harts Run Road, Glenshaw, 15116. Members will be responsible for paying for their own meal. We will have to choose our meal from 3 choices. We'll have to sign up and pay for the meal prior to the luncheon. More details will be given next month. Please contact Marlow with any questions or concerns.

 

LAGC is making plans to get a new club T-shirt. Members voted for a crew neck style. Members were asked to vote for one of four T-shirt colors. Stay tuned for the results.

 

Chris brought a beautiful pink and purple flower arrangement created with flowers from her own garden. Colleen brought delicious homemade blueberry blondies and buckeye bars for members to enjoy.

    

 

 

Program --- Beth Kocis “Home Food Preservation”

 

This evening’s program was presented by PSMG, Beth Kocis who like many of us enjoys growing vegetables, fruits and herbs but also preserving the food items to enjoy when the garden has gone to bed for the winter.  She discussed the many ways to preserve food such as 

freezing, drying and canning, but the most important thing to remember is to use safe practices to ensure that nobody gets ill. Beth said that it’s important to use a scientifically researched and tested recipe from a reputable source such as “So easy to Preserve” book rather than rely on a recipe handed down from our grandmothers. 

 

It's best to consult a good resource to help identify which preservation method is suitable for which food that is to be preserved but always choose a fruit or vegetable which is blemish free and at the height of ripeness.  This will ensure that the item is preserved at its peak flavor.  Make sure that your hands, work surfaces and jars and containers are clean.

 

Here are some of the key points from the presentation: 

 

·      Vegetables should be blanched quickly when using the freezing method so that the enzymes are deactivated to keep item at their peak flavor  

·      Tray pack freezing is the name for freezing individual berries on a flat pan and then when each berry is frozen, they can be packed in one container. A few berries at a time can be scooped out to make smoothies or muffins rather than using the whole bag of berries at one time 

·      Herbs are traditionally air dried by hanging in bunches in a cool dark place. It's helpful to cover the herbs with a paper bag to contain them and keep them clean.

·      Drying concentrates the flavor of herbs so you will need to use less of the herb than when using fresh herbs

·      When using a dehydrator, the optimal temperature is 140°. Be careful of case hardening which happens if the temperature is turned up too high and causes the outside of the food to dehydrate and harden before the inside of the food gets a chance to dehydrate. 

·      When making jerky in a dehydrator, it's best to simmer the meat in a marinade before drying to kill bacteria

·      The major concern with canning food is botulism. Use a scientifically tested recipe and follow the instructions precisely!

·      Do not eat food items that contain mold or Mycotoxins. Besides for some hard cheeses, it’s not safe to remove the mold and then eat the food because there may still be mold spores that can’t be seen. The mold may make you sick and can build up in your body

·      Contrary to what many people believe, tomatoes are actually classified as a low-acid food; be sure to use a recipe that processes tomatoes safely

 

Our speaker encouraged us to try the many different ways of preserving the food items that we grow or pick up at our local farm markets, but we must do it safely.  She recommended that we sign up for the Let’s Preserve newsletter for additional information.

 

Home Food Preservation and Safety | Penn State Extension (psu.edu)

References.

 

July 25, 2023, Garden Tour of Sandy Csikari's Garden

LAGC had great weather and a great turnout for the tour of Sandy Csikari’s garden. Sandy has had a busy month of garden tours because this year her garden was one of the gardens featured in the Shaler Great Gardens tour and the Wexford Garden and Pond tour for 2023. Sharing her beautiful garden is nothing new for Sandy as she has been showing her garden for many years.  She proudly displays a plaque of her participation as a garden site of the Passavant Hospital Foundation Enchanted Garden Tour in 2000.

 Sandy and her family have lived in their home for 50 years and she created her garden 15 years ago at the site of her former swimming pool. She has applied the knowledge that she gained as a Penn State Master Gardener to create a lovely garden that gives her a lot of joy to share with other people.  She is now a retired master gardener and is referred to as a PSMG Emeritus.

 

It was a very pleasant evening as we strolled through the grass amongst the mix of perennial and annual borders under a canopy of mature 50 foot Oak trees. We were happy to see many perennial favorites In bloom such as daylilies, hosta, echinacea, blackberry lilies, arum, daisies, Russian sage, coral bells, and phlox to name a few. Popular annuals such as cannas, zinnias, impatiens, and gladiolus acentuated the pretty garden beds.  Some of these plants, in addition to her shrubs have created a Certified Pollinator Friendly Garden.

 

In addition to the colorful perennials and annuals, Sandy states that she has 20 to 30 clematis vines. Most were past their bloom time but we admired their lush green foliage winding up trellis supports around the garden.

 

Sandy’s garden features hostas in abundance — she has approximately 400 hosta plants!  She has some fun with them by displaying the hostas in about a dozen different groups around the garden and she gives the hosta groupings whimsical names. One name that made me smile is carnival with plants named grape soda, curly fries, cotton candy, ice cream, roller coaster and merry go round.  SciFi, Beach Party, Tea Time and Hollywood are just a few of the other categories where she has given the hosa groupings a fun name.

 

The garden also features a small water garden with water lettuce, papyrus and a few fish.  The circular ball fountain and bird bath are enjoyed by the birds and butterflies.

 

Just like many of our members, Sandy has issues with deer in her garden.  She uses Liquid Fence and is very happy with it.  She tried the motion detector system and says that it doesn't work for her. (She has a perimeter fence for the back garden.)

 

After members finished walking thru the garden, we took a break to relax and enjoy the beautiful setting which gave us the perfect opportunity to indulge in the delicious treats of fresh fruit, cookies and blueberry bread.  Thank you to Diana, Cindy and Linda for bringing the treats, water and arrangement.  The beautiful vase arrangement was thoughtfully given to Sandy.

 

As if allowing us to tour her lovely garden wasn’t enough, Sandy let us each choose a potted perennial which are divisions from her own garden.  A huge thank you to Sandy for her generosity.  It was a very enjoyable evening where we were able to talk and learn about plants from fellow gardeners. Thank you to Mary Ann who made the arrangements for LAGC to tour this special garden.

(Pictures by RoseMary except for mourning dove by Evan.)

Sandy greets the fellow gardeners.

(This picture of the water feature does not show how truly lovely it is. )

One of the hosta groupings, in this case the miniature ones with mouse in their name.

Passavant Chapel Garden mourning dove nest in Viburnum.
(Picture by Evan Fingal who spotted the next and its occupant.)

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April 26, 2022 Meeting notes

On a lovely Tuesday evening, where we finally felt like spring might be here, Colleen welcomed garden club members. Blooming in member gardens:  Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths, Hellebores, Grape Hyacinths, Trilliums, Fruit trees are in bud and as are Red Buds. 

 A tour is being planned for August’s meeting.  September and October meetings still need to be planned out. Mary Anne had suggested a tour of the Botanical Gardens, on a Saturday morning instead of Tuesday evening, because it would be getting dark earlier, or there are is the Ken Yost garden in Wilkinsburg. Lynn Betts had suggested a tour to the Kridler Garden nursery in Ohio, exactly 1 hour and 26 minutes from the church.  It’s best to go in the spring/early summer for the best selection of plants.  They have some more unusual varieties than what you see in the big box stores/our nurseries in this area.

 

Victoria had suggested a craft meeting for October, where we would make a door decoration with dried stuff from our gardens.

 

A member is needed to step up and assume responsibility for programming.  You can partner up with one or more members to make it a little easier. Please contact Colleen to get more information if you are interested. Holding office or chairing a committee is a great way to get involved.  In the interim, let Colleen know if you know of any presenters or potential tours for future meetings.

 

Officers have served 4 years, so new officers need to be selected in June, for the next 2-year term, 2023-2024.  Denny has indicated he would be Treasurer, but President, Vice President and Recording Secretary are needed.  If interested, please let Colleen know.  If you have any questions of the duties for these positions, please reach out to the current holder of the position.

 

Solomon’s Seal and White Iris divisions from the chapel garden are available in the back.  Claudia also brought in decorations, Lynn had an extra green t-shirt and  pots were available if needed for the plant sale.

 

Passavant sign-up sheet to weed/deadhead the white garden in front of the chapel is at the sign in table.  If you did not attend the meeting, please contact Evan Fingal to signup for a week.

 

Overview of plant sale was presented by Mary Anne.

It will be held rain or shine of Saturday May 14.  Pray for rain the prior day, and sun for the day of.

 

Thanks to Claudia who has already taken care of the publicity for the plant sale.  She was instrumental in getting an article of our club/plant sale in the 4/14 issue of the Tribune.  She will also bring tables and tent covers on the day of the sale.

 

Linda will bring name tags, Denny will act as cashier for the entirety of the sale, and Dianne will provide the seed money.

 

Mary Anne will take care of placing the signs.

 

Your plants should be potted by now, so they will look nice and healthy on the day of the plant sale.  Use 4 – 6” pots, and the value of the plant must be at least $2.  Even if you cannot come to the actual plant sale, please pot up some plants and arrange for them to be dropped off with a fellow member.  This is our only fundraiser of the year.

 

Plants should be dropped off in the church parking lot by 7:30 on the day of the plant sale.  For those working, or available to assist our customers with plant selection, “apple green” t-shirts are our uniform.  

 

Sign up sheet is at the sign in table.  If you were unable to attend the meeting, contact Mary Anne to sign up as a pricer, stager or cashier, for either the first or 2^nd half of the morning.

 

Dianne provided a treasurer’s report.  We started out with $4,394.75.  After speaker fees, and directory fees totaling $293.88, our ending balance in the checking account is $4,100.87.  Adding petty cash and membership dues of $70.06, our total cash available to the club is $4,170.93.

 

Debra from “Plant Traps” provided her “elevator speech” on her product.  You can find Plant Traps on Facebook, Instagram or simply google the term and you’ll learn all about the cool product she invented to extend your planters beyond your deck or porch railings.  She is also scheduled to appear on Pittsburgh Today Live on May 6.

Floating Garden Shelf on RoseMary's breezeway, planted pot to follow.

Thank you to Nancy for the beautiful arrangement and to Mary Anne for the delicious dessert.

Nancy's Phalaenopsis orchid.

A very informative presentation on “Backyard Composting” was given to us by John Powell.

 

He started with a quote from the Bible – “All go unto one place, all are from dust and all will be dust again.”

 

John considers himself to be a passive composter.  He puts everything into the bin until fall, when he sifts it, puts it in another pile to finish composting for use in the spring.

 

Ingredients for a good compost pile:

 

Green stuff, Brown Stuff, Air, Nutrients, Water and Critters who do the composting (like worms).

 

4’ x 4’ is the optimum size for a compost pile.

 

If you compost at home, you know what’s in your compost, it’s free, environmentally friendly and keeps the ingredients used to compost out of the landfill.

 

If you put large brown sticks at the bottom of your pile, it allows for better air circulation.

 

Jane assists by adding the compost layers.

Cage type for compost pile. 

Bone meal may be added to heat up the pile.

Tumbler compost model on left, stationary unit on right.
Typical "greens" food waste in front.

Chopping up your ingredients, whether it be kitchen waste, leaves, grass or twigs/branches other brown matter, will cause your stuff to compost quicker.

 

The 3 main methods of composting he covered are the composter (looks like R2D2), a rotating composter and cage method.  He prefers the cage method.

 

The greens in the compost = nitrogen, and the browns = carbon.  Basically, you want 1 part green to 30 parts brown.

 

Your compost pile should be turned regularly to speed up the decomposition process.

 

You should monitor for moisture.  Rotten odor = too much water, ammonia odor = too much nitrogen.

 

Sifting your compost results in a nicer product, and what doesn’t sift can be returned to the pile to decompose further.

 

Things you should NOT put in your compost: Kittly litter, Kitty poop, Plants that were sprayed with a pesticide, plants infected with a soil borne fungus or powdery mildew, weed seeds, meat and any cooked food.

 

John ended his presentation with a quote: “Old gardeners never die, they just very slowly turn into magnificent compost”

 

Debra had left a plant trap with Andrea to be given away.  Rosemary was the lucky winner.

Moraine State Park, Native Plant Tour

Longvue Acres Garden Club Tour

August 28, 2018

Lovely late afternoon/early evening for a Native Plants in Bloom tour in Moraine State Park in Butler County.  We were on the Butterfly Trail near McDaniel’s Launch.  Butler County Master Gardener, Mary Alice Koeneke led the tour for about fifteen of us. She has volunteered at the native plant/prairie section for years and is very knowledgeable about the origin, the planning, and implementation of native plant and habitat sections. Joe pye weed bushes, turtle heads, asters, ragweeds, helianthus, cardinal flowers, touch me nots, and others were in bloom. She noted we should come back in the spring for a completely different set of blooming plants. 

Calendar:

September 25, 7 p.m.—Meeting, “Designing Your Landscape,” by Martha Swiss. Please pay your next year’s dues.

October 23, 7 p.m.—Meeting, “The ‘Other’ Bulbs,” by Leonard Lehmann. 

November/December—Lunch, possible tour, tbd. 

Thank you to Helen Dean and Peggy Elizeus for their many years volunteering at the Passavant Chapel Garden. First pictures are from Peggy. 

Pictures from the Butterfly Trail Moraine State Park

Rose Mary, Janine, Mary Ann, Marlow at the beginning signage, example below.

Woodland sunflower, Helianthus divaricatus

Cardinal flower

Orange Jewelweed aka Touch me not.

Denny, Mary Ann and Janine on the trail.

Great lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica, and below

Tick trefoil species

On left, Mary Alice, our guide at the lake's edge, water and shore habitat.

Flora and fauna seen.

Mary Ann, Evan, and Colleen at the teaching gazebo intersecting with various habitats. Good selection of native plants around the gazebo.

Claudia looking closer for identification.

Turtle head blooming

New York ironweed, Veronica noveboravensis

Trail wide open except for one small section.

Marlow, Diana, and Colleen

End of the trail thank you to Master Gardener Volunteer and Guide, Mary Alice Koeneke.
L to R, Linda, Claudia, Jeanne, Mary Alice, Denny, Jenna, and Linda.

Thank you to Dianne for the plant names added to Rose Mary's flower pictures.