N O V E M B E R , 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 1 6 , I S S U E 1 0

Queen Anne’s County Master Gardener Newsletter

The Watering Can I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Coordinators Corner 2

2016

Holiday Luncheon 3

QA MGs around the

Community 4

QAMGs Report 5-7

How to dispose of

leaves 8

Volunteer Ops 9

Educational Ops 10

Outside the

Garden Gate 11

Calendars 12

MG 2016 Flier 13

The 1671 Pumpion PIE

Both the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe ate pumpkins and other squashes

indigenous to New England—possibly even during the harvest festival—but the fledgling colony

lacked the butter and wheat flour necessary for making pie crust. Moreover, settlers hadn’t yet

constructed an oven for baking. According to some accounts, early English settlers in North America

improvised by hollowing out pumpkins, filling the shells with milk, honey and spices to make a

custard, then roasting the gourds whole in hot ashes. Source: history.com

Pumpion Pie from: The Compleat Cook; London: printed for Nathaniel Brook, 1671

Take about half a pound of Pumpion and slice it, a handfull of tyme, a little rosemary, parsley and

sweet marjorum slipped off the stalks, and chop them small, then take the cynamon, nutmeg,

pepper and six cloves, and beat them, take ten eggs and beat them, then mix them and beat them

all together and put in as much sugar as you think fit, then fry them like a froize*, after it is fryed,

let it stand till it be cold, then fill your pye, take sliced apples thinne round wayes, and lay a rowe of

the froize, and layer the apples with currents betwixt the layer while your pye is fitted, and put in a

good deal of sweet Butter before you close it, when pye is baked, take six yelks of eggs, some

whitewine or vergis*, and make a caudle* of this, but not too thick, cut up the lid and put it in, stir

them well together whilst the eggs and pumpions be not perceived and so serve it up.

Source: pilgrimhallmuseum.org

Baked Whole Pumpkin, or Colonial Baked Whole Pumpkin “Pie” (Serves 8)

Ingredients

1 pumpkin, 5 to 7 pounds

6 whole eggs

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

2 tablespoons butter, in tiny cubes

Directions

Wash, dry and cut the lid off the pumpkin just as you would for a jack-

o’-lantern. Remove the seeds and save for toasting later.

In a mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, whipping cream, brown sugar,

molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger; fill the pumpkin with the custard

mixture and dot with the butter. Cover with the pumpkin lid and place

pumpkin in a baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or

until the mixture has set like custard.

Serve from the pumpkin at your table, scraping some of the meat from

the pumpkin with each serving.

Source: http://www.spokesman.com/tags/vandetta-williams/

P A G E 2

FALL MEETINGS

5, 10, 15, 20, 25 YEAR PINS For those of you who are still missing your golden year pins, please email me with your

requests before December 1st so that I may place an order by our Holiday Luncheon!

MEET THIS MONTHS SPEAKER:

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

COORDINATOR’S CORNER

November 18th—

Deborah Landau, Ph. D, Conservation Ecologist

The Nature Conservancy

December 16th—Holiday Luncheon

Chester River Yacht & Country Club 11:30am to 2pm

(See next page for details)

VOLUNTEER HOURS Its becoming that time of year where hours need to be added and checked. Please do

not wait to the last minute and start entering them now! If you have not signed up to

log your hours online and would like to just send me an email for your username and

password. All hours are due by December 18th

CONSERVATION ECOLOGIST, Deborah Landau

Deborah’s work focuses on restoration at more than 30 Con-

servancy preserves across Maryland/DC and reaching in-

to West Virginia. Her projects include planting native trees or

removing non-native invasive species; returning natural pro-

cesses such as fire to landscapes; restoring natural hydrology

to lands that have been ditched and drained; and monitoring

how plants, animals, and habitats respond to these conserva-

tion actions.

DEBORAH ON WHY HER WORK IS REWARDING

“This may sound corny, but the most satisfying part is the fact

that The Nature Conservancy’s preserves are protected forev-

er. Sometimes I get satisfaction very quickly from my work,

like with prescribed burns — the native species will come back fast. But a lot of pro-jects, like tree planting, will take years and years and years to see results. It’s very satis-

fying to know that I can do these long-term projects and they’ll continue on and on. I

love going out into the preserves, and perhaps the coolest part of my job is just being

able to do something different every single day.”

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/maryland_dc/experts/deborah-landau-bio.xml

P A G E 3

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

P A G E 4

QAC MG’s in the Community!

Youth Gardener s

Nancy O’Conner wrapped up the Fall Young Gardeners Series at Kent Island Library

last month with a class on the many varieties of corn. The children also learned how

to make their very own corn husk dolls. Nancy was joined by three other MGs- Jane

Chambers, Cynthia Riegel, and Pat McCaffery along with the help of six Kent Island

Garden Club members. We will resume classes again come Spring so stay tuned!

Centrevi l le Day

Betty McAtee and Joyce Anderson had

quite the busy and successful time at this

years Centreville Day! They encouraged

community gardeners both new and

veteran how to harvest and sow native

seeds over the winter in their own DIY

milk jug greenhouse!

P A G E 5

If you missed the Fall Heritage Harvest Festival this

past September, plan to make the drive to

Charlottesville, VA next year, for the fest on

September 10, 2016. As it will be the 10th

anniversary of this annual celebration of all heritage

edibles, it is sure to be chock full of interesting

lectures, demos and tours. The keynote speaker will

be chef & proprietor of The Inn at Little

Washington, Patrick O'Connell. Here is a link for

planning your visit: www.heritageharvestfestival.com

This was the second year my husband, Dave Kyger,

and I attended this festival and we were equally

blown away this year as the first time. The keynote

speakers were the Beekman Boys, who surprised

me, in a good way, with their knowledge, approach to gardening (boosting their community by involving

their community), and their assertiveness to market themselves as well as their community's products.

The event is held on the beautiful grounds of Thomas Jefferson's estate, Monticello, in Charlottesville, VA.

The impressive vegetable garden is planted so the President would still recognize it – with many

experimental varieties of TJ's day in neat rows and trellises. Even in September, it is overflowing.

A tour of the house is not included in the festival general admission ticket price (which is about $15-20,

depending on if you pre-order) for the event, and I think it would actually be a bit tricky to fit that in as

well as all of the garden lectures on one day. So plan your time wisely, or make it a longer weekend and

tour the house on Sunday, when the festival is not underway. You may want to splurge for the $200

($375 per couple) VIP ticket that gets you all sorts of access, discounts and a house tour.

On the main event day, Saturday, there was a terrific tomato tasting (coincidentally, Craig LeHoullier,

author of the new book, Epic Tomatoes was a lecturer) and a very friendly seed exchange (no need to

bring seeds to share, although that is surely encouraged). There were tents with displays of gardening

topics of the area (such as bird clubs, environmental groups, and the central VA Master Gardeners),

books written by the lecturers (which they will happily sign) and several vendors (jams, honey, soaps,

gardening tools). As a sponsor of the event, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange had a large display of

their seeds and garlic & onion bulbs for sale. To ensure no one gets “hangry,” there is an area with food

trucks, too, even some adult beverages are offered.

Lecturers are nationwide gurus and Monticello staff experts. You can

decide from a large slate of free lectures & demos or an even larger slate

of programs for fees (in the $10-20 range). Dave & I lean toward the

“freebies” and have not yet sat in on a paid program, although they do

look very interesting. This year, we heard presentations about tomatoes,

composting, fermentation, and preserving the harvest. Other topics

included year-round harvests, growing truffles, high tunnel pest

management, dairy farming, soils and various cooking demos. Some of

the paid programs which are offered on Friday as well as Saturday, were

about medicine making, propagating and grafting fruit trees, making

cheese, raising chickens, permaculture, and walkabout tours with

Monticello staff.

It's a bit of a drive, but well worth the effort to attend this event. I hope

you include it in your plans for next year's field trips!

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

QAC MGs Report! Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello by Denise Malueg

P A G E 6

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

QAC MGs Report! Fall Container Gardens

by

Cathy

Tengwall

by

Nick

Stoer

by Molly Garrett

P A G E 7

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

Beekeeping Association Meeting (UESBA)

UESBA October Meeting Minutes, October 14, 2015

BUSINESS MEETING: The committee proposed and the association accepted the following

points:

NAME: Upper Eastern Shore Beekeepers Association

DUES: $10 per person and $15 for a family

OFFICERS President: Don Sparks

Vice President: Dick Crane

Secretary: Erin Morton

Treasurer: Mike Wham

Webmaster/Publicity Director: Libbie Kinne

Liaison with Wye River Beekeepers: Frank Gerber

MEETING FORMAT Brief Business Meeting

The Buzz (This is a 5 to 10 minute talk by a member of the Assn.)

Open Discussion

Break for refreshments

Guest Speaker

BUZZ: Theresa Mycek shared her beekeeping experience over the past 4 years. She suggested

keeping a beekeeping journal to track the progress of hives and early detection of any potential

problems. Beekeeping classes, like Mike Embrey’s Beekeeping 101 course, are a good way to

learn more tricks of the trade and meet other beekeepers. She told us about her managed splits

and her successful honey harvest of 90 lbs!

GUEST SPEAKER: Master Beekeeper Dave Smith brought in some commonly used bee

equipment and went over the use of each piece of equipment. Beekeeping equipment comes in

different sizes and it is important to pick a size that works for you as the beekeeper. He

explained that the hive management practices one should use depend on the outcome they want,

whether that be honey, pollination, or just keeping bees. Brood inspection is important to

determine the health of a hive: concaved capped cells are an indication of diseases, Shot Brood

(many empty cells) shows poor queen quality. He presented to us this timeline: Jan.-Mar.: brood

rearing, Apr.- May to middle of June: Foraging, Jun-Jul.: Swarming, Aug.-Sept.: Winter prep.

Recommendations: Space hives at least 3ft apart and paint hives different colors with patterns to

prevent drifting and the possible spread of varroa mites, and any diseases.

BOOKS: Honey Bee Democracy by Thomas Seeley, Honey Bee Pests, Predators, Diseases by

Rodger Morris, ABC & XYZ of Honey Bee Culture

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The next meeting will be Nov. 11th, 6:30pm, yellow building at the library in Chestertown. The

guest speaker will be Mike Embrey: Pollen and It’s Uses

We are currently accepting dues, all dues paid in 2015 will roll over to cover 2016

Special thanks to Dr. Susan Ross who made a $200 donation to the Association after two

members conducted a Honey Bee removal and placed the bees in a new location.

P A G E 8

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

How to Dispose of Leaves the Bay-Friendly Way

When autumn arrives, hikers and bikers go the extra mile to find fall foliage. But it can be hard

for homeowners to love fall leaves when they drop off of tree limbs and onto green lawns. And

in a number of communities, the once-accepted methods of getting rid of leaves—chucking

them into the trash can or lighting large piles on fire—are no longer allowed, due to limits on

landfill space and concerns over human health.

So what is a watershed resident to do with autumn’s fallen leaves? Here are four tips to help

you get rid of your leaves while reducing your impact on the Chesapeake Bay.

Mulch them Leave the rake in the shed and the leaf-blower at the hardware store—mulching allows you to get rid of

leaves without having to wrestle them into precarious piles first! Just run over fallen leaves with a lawn

mower, mulching blade attached. The blade will cut the leaves into small pieces, which will settle unde-

tected beneath the green canopy of your lawn. A long-term study of leaf-mulching confirmed the practice

even benefits your backyard, as the leaves feed the underground microbes that benefit soil health.

Compost them Fallen leaves are critical to composting. Leaves, twigs and other carbon-rich “brown” plant ma-

terial can be added to existing compost piles to bring balance to nitrogen-rich lawn clippings,

fruit and vegetable waste and other “green” plant material. Or, large piles of leaves can be com-

posted on their own. If kept moist and periodically turned, the leaves will decompose and cre-

ate a dark, crumbly compost that can enrich the soil in your garden.

Paper bag them If putting fallen leaves to use in your lawn or garden just isn’t an option, then consider curbside

collection. A number of local governments collect leaves each fall, whether they are raked in

piles to the curb or placed in paper bags. Even garbage-collection services often offer yard

waste pick-up, transporting leaves to municipal composting facilities to keep them out of land-

fills.

Don’t burn them A lit match is a tempting solution to the leaf pile problem, but burning leaves can pollute the air

and harm our health. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the open burning

of leaves puts particulate matter and hydrocarbons into the air. The former can increase your

chances of respiratory infection, while the latter contains toxic and cancer-causing compounds.

T H E

P A G E 9

QAC MG Volunteer Opportunities Fal l Kent I s land P lant Cl inic The Farmers Market is at Christ Church, 830 Romancoke Road (aka Route 8). We set the

booth tables up at 3 to 3:15 pm to be ready for bugs, citizens, and damaged plants by 3:30

pm. We start knocking down the booth around 6 pm. Bring a beverage bottle to stay

hydrated.

Next Plant Clinic: Thursday, December 10th

Please consider volunteering at YOUR MG table ONE day this year!

Nick Stoer 301- 219-9098 nickstoer@gmail.com

Cathy Tengwall 443-994-2523 cathy1542@gmail.com

Community Gardening + GIEI

NEXT MEETING: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH 10:00AM This winter we will be working to put together a tool kit/resource applicable for our local

community members ready to dig in their community garden come Spring 2016. This toolkit

will offer guidance in size/type, building costs, recommended plants and varieties, planting

schedules, maintenance plans + compositing, weed + pest ID, as well as the roles and number

of people needed to keep it going! We have three locations in which our guidance and

knowledge is needed Denton, Grasonville, and Stevensville so please consider being a part of

this planning committee.

Host + Learn Consider being a host or hostess for this years upcoming MG Basic Training. It’s a great way

to obtain educational hours listening to the speaker and gain volunteer time by offering to

bring drinks and yummy goodies! Contact Molly at mgarret1@umd.edu if there is a specific

date or topic you would be interested in attending and helping!

Demonstration Gardens Thank you to Cheryl Huyck, Jackie Kelly and Cindy Riegel for helping with the Centreville

Library Rain Garden in October. Fortunately, the weeds were minimal as they have been

most of the growing season. Which causes me to wonder if we have a phantom helper

somewhere who is helping in that regard. Whatever the reason for the lack of weeds along

the edges of the beds, we appreciate that they are not there! We were able to get most of

the perennials that have finished blooming cut back so that spring should find the garden in

reasonable shape. Except for the dogbane. We have dug up and cut as much back as possible

every month and been able to keep it under control. We’ll see what happens over the next

few months. If the weather is reasonable in November we may take a look at the garden in

the 4-H Park to see what we can do there. It’s a much smaller garden, but cutting it back this

season will help us for next spring. Stay tuned for further notice around the middle of

November.

Thank you to all of the many Master Gardeners who have come out in various months to help

maintain both the Centreville Library rain garden and the 4-H Park garden. I try to recognize

and thank everyone each month, but if I’ve missed anyone over the past year, please know

that your help is invaluable and most welcome. Enjoy the off season and the holidays and have

fun planning your own gardens for the coming year. Debbie Pusey

BAY-WISE ADVANCED TRAINING —Wye Research & Education Center

Wednesdays, November 4, 11 & 18, 2015 (9:30am—3:30pm)

All Master Gardeners are welcome, including those already certified (but would like to

attend for a refresher). Previously certified Bay-Wise Master Gardeners do not have to pay the registration fee but must register.

To register contact: Molly Garrett mgarret1@umd.edu Cost: $50.00

TREES MATTER SYMPOSIUM 2015 The fourth annual Trees Matter Symposium focuses on the

health and welfare of trees in our increasingly developed

landscapes. Learn from some of the country’s leading experts

about innovative efforts to plant, protect and preserve trees in

urban and suburban settings.

Featured speakers: Dr. Michael Dirr, Dr. Kelby Fite, Dr. Chris Luley, Holly Shimizu

Wednesday, November 4th, 7:30am– 4pm (Silver Spring, MD)

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/activities/things_to_do/fall/trees_matter.shtm

TURNING A NEW LEAF CONFERENCE 2015 The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council annual

conference will feature some outstanding up speakers this

year. This keynote speaker Larry Weaner, is the founder of

New Directions in the American Landscape. He'll discuss how to use ecological restoration techniques in home landscape

design. The plenary speaker, Lauren Wheeler, is a professor with George Washington

University's Sustainable Landscaping Program. She'll discuss rating systems for residential

landscapes - and what can go wrong. With four tracks, there are twelve other great talks

to choose from. The conference will be November 13th in Towson Maryland.

Visit: http://www.chesapeakelandscape.org/our-programs/turning-a-new-leaf-conference/

ONLINE WORKSHOPS 2016 Horticulture Magazine Garden How-To University http://www.hortmag.com/smart-gardening-workshops

MASTER GARDENER TRAINING 2016 February 11th—April 9th

Thursday evenings 5:30pm to 8:30pm

Saturday mornings 9:00am to 12:00pm

Eastern Shore Higher Education Center, Wye Mills (Chesapeake College Campus)

If you know of anyone interested in becoming a Master Gardener please encourage them to sign-up!

Contact: mgarret1@umd.edu or call 410-758-0166

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

P A G E

1 0

Educational Opportunities

T H E W A T E R I N G C A N

Outside the Garden Gate...

ADKINS ARBORETUM PROGRAMS & EVENTS CALENDAR Thanksgiving Centerpiece Workshop

Saturday, November 21st

https://adkinsarboretumorg.presencehost.net/programs_events/

LADEW TOPIARY GARDENS FALL SERIES Christmas Open House + Greens Sale

Friday, December 11th to Sunday, December 13th

http://www.ladewgardens.com/EVENT-CALENDAR

For more information, call (410) 557-9570

LONGWOOD GARDENS CHRYSANTHEMUM FESTIVAL Open until November 22nd

http://longwoodgardens.org/gardens

For more information, call (610) 388-1000

MT. CUBA CENTER CLASSES & LECTURES http://www.mtcubacenter.org/education/continuing-education/ Winter + Spring 2016 Course Listings: http://issuu.com/mtcubacenter/docs/fawi15_program_guide?e=14731861/14447371

P A G E 1 1

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

The 2016 Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) will be at the Baltimore Convention

Center on January 6-8, 2016. If there is enough interest, we could arrange to carpool.

2016 Show Hours:

January 6 & 7 (9am-5pm) January 8 (9am-2pm)

For more information visit: www.mants.com

P A G E 1 2

NOVEMBER 2015

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 Bay-Wise

Training #1 +

Trees Matter

Symposium

5 Beginning Na-

tive Tree ID

6 7

8 9 10 11 Bay-Wise

Training #2

12

KI Plant Clinic,

3:30-6:30pm

13 Turning a

New Leaf Con-

ference, Towson

14

15 16 17 18 Bay-Wise #3

Monthly MG

Meeting, 9:30

19 20 Community

Gardens Meet-

ing 10am

21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

DECEMBER 2015

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 KI Plant Clin-

ic, 3:30-6:30pm

11 12

13 14 15 16 Holiday

Luncheon

17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

P A G E 1 3

University of Maryland Extension

Queen Anne’s County

505 Railroad Ave.

Suite 4

Centreville, MD 21617

Vision Statement: A healthier world through environmental stewardship

QACMG Website:

http://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-

county/home-gardening

University of Maryland Extension

505 Rai l road Avenue , Su i te 4

Centrev i l le MD, 21617

Phone: (410) 758-0166

Fax: (410) 758-3687

http://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-

county/about

December Newsletter Deadline:

November 23, 2015

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of

race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic

information, political affiliation, and gender identity and expression. Equal opportunity employers and equal access programs.

Master Gardener Coordinator,

Queen Anne’s County