THE SPROUT PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

THE SPROUT

NOVEMBER 2011

Volume 24 No. 9

NEXT MEETING:

November 15th, 2011

Trinity United Church

7:30 PM

Speaker:

REMEMBER

:

1.Coffee Cup

4.Any garden books, magazines, pots, supplies, or tools that you no longer need for

the Free Table. 5.Contributions for our Adopt-A-Family Project: see

Kathy's letter on Page 8!

PoCo Garden Club

Established July 5, 1990 by Len Cuddeford

P.O. Box 631, PoCo Depot, Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3E 6H9

Blog: pocogardenclub.wordpress.com email: [email protected]

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

We are quickly closing in on the end of another gardening year with night-time temperatures dipping below freezing and nightfall coming earlier and the dawn dawdling on the horizon. Soon it will be getting even darker, and colder and wetter, while we will be huddled around the fire waiting impatiently for any sign of spring, confined in the depths of a

Canadian winter (such as it is in the Lower Mainland) like some old trapper of old going stir-crazy in the bush - at least he would be busy trapping but we are only busy waiting. It's time to quickly rouse ourselves to get busy and do a garden cleanup, before it’s too late, to attend to all the things that we’ve put off throughout the summer and fall and to get things ready for the long wait. I brought in a half yard of soil amender to fill a few holes in my borders, holes brought on by failed experiments, and to plant some newly-divided perennials into the spaces – a gift from a Poco gardener. The soil amender

(from Meadows Landscape Supply) is made from the prunings and stump pullings of local landscapers, no sand added, so, being 100% organic (no manures) should be, more or less, ph neutral; I expect that it might be a bit heavy on woody material and, as such, might tend to lock up some nitrogen but I should be able to counter that with some added nitrogen in the spring (and eye of newt, and toe of frog etc.) - I'm planning on using it, exclusively, as my mulch this winter. The alchemy of

gardening, the tastes and appetites of plants, and the mysteries of the soil will still elude me but, next year, I will be that much closer to my quarry, or destination – closer to understanding.

The 2011 season will probably go into the record books as the lousiest spring and summer on record, or at least the dullest, wettest gardening season. We didn't get any decent weather until August which was just in time for the annual summer drought, shortened this year to a month or so, but we all seem to have survived it and, if my reading of averages is correct, that we are not likely to get identical weather two years in a row, a lousy spring and summer this year points to a likelihood of a good spring and summer next year. All we need now is a moderate winter and we can, perhaps, enjoy a banner year to come in 2012. How's that for rose coloured glasses looking through the lens to the future? Still, that magic summer awaits us somewhere in the future and, like greedy children, we’re ready for it now.

It is the divining beauty of a dream during waking hours.

.. ....Continued on Page 8

CLUB NEWS

NOTICE BOARD

Clean-Up Crew for November Meeting:

Dale Wilie Liz Jack Jean Standish

Refreshments for November Meeting: Margaret Follis

Eurilda Larsen Marta Peters

THANK YOU !!

Our thanks go our to Tracey Dobney for sharing so generously the perennials from

her front and back gardens with our club members.With the assistance of the “Dig Crew” (Trish, Donna, Sperril, Haydi &

Lynne), many plants found new homes, and many gardeners found a new challenge!

A big Gracias, also, to our

president Jim, who picked up the extra plants from Tracey's drive and brought them to the October Meeting!

GET YOUR LEI OUT !

Yes, that's right. Get out your best Hawaiian shirt or Mu-mu, a flower to put behind your ear (you choose which ear) and get ready for our upcoming Hawaiian

Christmas Party ! Reserve Tuesday, December 20th _{on your}

calendar for our shindig, and be sure to attend the November 15th meeting ,as Inge Clark will have lots more information about what she is planning for our Hawaiian

Christmas Dinner!.

OPEN GARDENS DRAW

At the November meeting, Trish Lees will be organizing a special draw for all of the members who held an Open

Garden this past spring and summer. Those hard-working members are entered into this draw for a chance

to win the $75.00 Gift Certificate. NEW MEMBERS:

At the October meeting, we welcomed a

new member: Kathy Johnson

Burke Mountain Naturalists

Monthly Club Meeting:The Importance of Nooksack Dace Tuesday, November 8 at 7:00 pm

Dr. Mike Pearson will speak about how a tiny,endangered fish can help to save all of Canada’s endangered species He will describe the remaining four streams in BC that provide critical habitat for the Nooksack Dace (one of these is the Brunette River) and how they are threatened by urban development, agricultural practices and degradation of water quality from pollution. Hyde Creek Salmon Festival

Sunday, November 13 from 11am to 3 pm.

BMN will be at this annual celebration with our displays and children’s puzzles. This is the last local community event of the season and provides excellent views of spawning salmon in nearby Hyde Creek.

VanDusen Gardens

Cedar Lecture: Pink Mountain, the Conservation CrisesThat No One is Aware of.

Thursday, November 10 at 7:30 pm in the. Floral Hall. Ron Long. will discuss the area's birds, insects, animals and the arctic/alpine plants and their adaptations to an extreme environment in the far North of BC Now that commercial development threatens this unique habitat it could all be lost within a year.

Tickets: in advance from the Administration Office or, at the door on the night of the lecture. Members $10 , non-members $15. Family $20) Pre-registration required call: 604.718.5898 or [email protected]

HSBC VanDusen Family Program: Wabi-Sabi: Unlikely Beauty.

Saturday, November 19

Wabi-Sabi is a traditional Japanese world view that recognizes and celebrates beauty in things that are imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. We will focus in on unlikely perspectives and create our own impermanent environmental art inspired by the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy. For families with children ages 5 - 10 years. Call 604-718-5898 or [email protected]

Point Grey Chrysanthemum Club Late Chrysanthemum Show 2011.

Saturday November 5 from 12 pm. to 4 pm, and Sunday November 6 from 10am. to 4 pm at

Gardenworks Mandeville Gardens, 4746 SE Marine Drive, Burnaby.

Admission is free. Info: 604-261-9219.

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

AUTUMN CLEAN-UP

President's Message, Continued from Page 1 I've often thought of the quality of character that we share with farmers; at the mercy of the cruel gods of weather, over which we have no control, and with all of Mother Nature's weapons of surprise and destruction ranged against us we continue to dream of next year. If farmers live in ‘next year’ country, then so too do gardeners and may the gods bless dreamers and gardeners, hold back the nightmares, bring on the wind and sun and the rain (and what ever else you’ve got up your sleeves) because we will be there, spade in hand (gin & tonic in the other) as ready for battle as yourselves (at least in the beginning) and, by nature, more optimistic, being more foolish, a most valuable quality sometimes.

It’s fun to battle the gods, even knowing that we’ll seldom win, if only to keep them at bay and to wrest from them an occasional victory all the sweeter for its rarity, as it should be – perhaps next year.

I hope to see you all at our Nov 15 meeting, the AGM; we will be electing a few officers and our speaker will be Conway Lum from GardenWorks / Mandeville Gardens, Burnaby; appropriately, his topic will be Winter Gardening. We are fortunate, in Port Coquitlam, to have a climate that can afford us foliage and flowers during the winter so Conway’s

presentation will be an opportunity to prepare ourselves to do battle again with the garden gods, to take them by surprise and wrest from them another victory, an entire season – winter.

Jim Thorleifson

5 THINGS TO DO WITH THAT

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN

1 Cut that pumpkin up into large slabs, and bake it in the oven at 350º for 60 to 90

minutes. Check first to be sure the pumpkin flesh is still in good condition, fit for eating. When your slabs are soft, it's time to cool them, and scrape off the soft part. Puree it, and you have the makings for pumpkin loaf, muffins, pie, cookies, or even a pumpkin latte!

2 Brew some pumpkin beer. Never made this kind before – here's a short tutorial:

http://www.thebrewsite.com/2004/10/11/pumpkin-ale-recipe.php

3 After you have cut off the flesh inside that pumpkin, cut up the skin and make an Asian dish - red bean and pumpkin curry. It's called Mathanga tholi thoran with dry red beans and you can find the recipe at:

http://www.salkkaaram.com/2007/10/pumpkin-peel-mathanga-tholi-thoran-with.html

4 If your squash is not fit for eating, chop it into small pieces and dig them into your garden to compost over the winter.

5 If all this seems like too much work, delegate your pumpkin to the yard waste/green bin for pick-up. Mother Nature will still smile on you.

L.Fletcher

BLUE RIVER

From the Keukenhof, known as the Garden of Europe, a river of grape hyacinths invites visitors to explore.

Thanks to Mark Stephens

November 2011 Page 6

GARDEN ADVICE

CLEAN-UP TIME FOR MASON BEES

Another of the important garden chores in Autumn, besides changing your furnace filter, is cleaning your Mason Bee cocoons and their bee houses as well. It's really a messy process, but necessary to protect the bee population from predation by mites and parasitic wasps.

Step 1: Lay out newspaper over your work table to collect all the debris. Gather your equipment: plastic coffee stirrer or old screw driver, metal kitchen strainer, dishpan, paper towels, bleach, tweezers, small cardboard box, and a flashlight.

Step 2: Open the bee house (carefully) and check each layer for cocoons. For wooden or plastic trays, use a plastic coffee stick (cut round on the end) or an old, rounded off screw driver, and slowly push the contents of each slot out onto the newspaper. There will be lots of debris (mud and feces) mixed with the cocoons, and likely some red,sandy stuff that moves. These are the mites that you want to get rid of. If you used paper tubes

for your bee house, take a sharp cutting blade, such as box cutter, and cut a small slit in the end of the tube. Now you can unravel the cardboard and pour out the contents.

Step 3: Sort through and find the cocoons, placing them into a metal kitchen strainer. This strainer can be set into a dishpan of lukewarm water (no detergent) for a 5 to 10 minutes to loosen the dirt, then rinsed under coolish running water to finish the cleaning. Briskly swirl those cocoons in the strainer under the running water to loosen any remaining dirt or mites. When the water runs

clear, you're ready for the final wash down in a bleach solution to kill any remaining mites. Add 1 tbsp. of bleach to 4 litres of lukewarm water., then dip and swirl those little guys for 10 minutes. Finally, rinse the cocoons in that strainer under coolish running water for at least 5 minutes. When you pour your cocoons onto clean paper towels, there should be no hint of chlorine at all. Now they need to dry for about an hour.

Step 4: Inspection time – the trickiest part of this process, as each cocoon must be evaluated to see if it contains a live bee, or an invader (wasp larva), or nothing at all. Holding your flashlight with the bulb up, put your cocoons onto the glass and turn it on. Quickly check each one (a magnifying glass

helps), but don't leave the light on for more than one minute, as the heat might damage the bees inside. You are looking for a dark, gray form that fills the cocoon – this is a fully grown Mason Bee curled up. If the cocoon looks empty, or there's just a small dot inside, it may be a wasp. Discard those ones.

Step 5: Store your bees away for the winter wrapped in soft paper (kleenex) inside a small card board box in a cool place, such as a garage or shed. You may need to place that cardboard box into a metal box, with some air holes punched in the top, if your shed/garage is visited by mice, or other predators.

Bee cocoons can also be stored in your fridge, as long as it's not a frost-free kind. That type of fridge dries out the cocoons, so you will need to place that small box inside a glass jar with a damp paper towel to maintain a good

moisture level (check it monthly).

...Continued on Page 8

ADOPT A FAMILY PROJECT

“Now Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid!

On Donner and Blitzen!”

The reigns of the “Adopt a Family” Christmas Project have been passed on in just the nick (as in St. Nick!) of time! We all have the wonderful opportunity to be a blessing in the life of one local family again this Christmas.

The PoCo Garden Club has registered through Share Family and Community Services to sponsor a family. We will be matched to a mom with two children and will have the privilege of providing a Christmas food hamper and gifts for them. More details will be given to me after the first week of November.

Our November 15 meeting will be crucial to the success of this commitment! Please bring your food donations for the hamper, gift items for “our” mom and/or monetary gifts for the stocking passing. Money collected will be used to buy gifts for the children and to complete the food hamper or provide a food voucher. All will be delivered before December 17 as requested by Share.

Please note that Santa brings only new gifts/toys and that all food items must have a current shelf life. Food hamper items suitable are: canned soup, pasta, vegetables, tomatoes, fish and fruit; juice in carton, peanut butter/jam, cookies, candy, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, Kraft dinner, rice, and toiletries.

Our generosity and love through these gifts will provide our special family with a joyful and amazing Christmas! Give cheerfully and abundantly! Please feel free to contact me after November 7 if you would like specific information about the children or to help with the shopping, organizing and/or delivering of the gift hamper.

Kathy Johnson 604-941-7643 or at [email protected]

“And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof the prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head and was turning

around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound!”

CLEAN-UP TIME FOR MASON BEES continued.

Step 6: Scrub down the blocks from the bee house with a stiff brush, and detergent. You can rinse them in a bleach solution (1 tbsp. To 1 litre water) to kill any remaining mites, or mould, but be sure to rinse really well, until you cannot smell any more bleach.

Note: If your bee house is the older style, a solid wood block with drilled holes,

this cleaning process won't work for you, as dislodging the cocoons will damage them. Instead, put that bee house into a card board box, tape it shut and store it away in a cool garage for the winter. In the spring, just punch one 3/8” hole in the side and place the whole box out in the garden. The bees will wake , and exit that box to search for food. Put a second bee house (clean one) out in the yard for the bees to use this year.

Your Mason Bees will thank you for all your efforts next spring, when they busily

pollinate all the food plants in your garden and your neighbourhood – remember they're 17 times more efficient than honeybees. They just need a bit of help from us.

For more information about Mason Bees, check out:

Pollination with Mason Bees, by Dr. Margriet Dogterom

The Orchard Mason Bee, by B.Griffin www.comoxvalleygrowersandseedsavers.ca/

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/apiculture/factsheets/506_osmia.htm

Contributes by Dale Wilkie & Lynne Fletcher