The

Grapevine
January - February 2016

.A newsletter for the Lubbock Texas Master Gardeners

You will notice that the newsletter has a
new look. That is because it is being done
on a MAC and the last newsletter was done
on a PC in a program that is not available
for MAC. So, new Program new Look.

Charlotte Davidson, editor

Growing Lavender
Topic at January Meeting

Lavender Brings in the

Green at ThistleDew Farm
Danny Davis, owner of ThistleDew farm,
was the speaker for the January meeting
and told his story of how he took 35 acres
over around Dickens and turned it into a
lavender farm selling everything from
lavender lemonade to body butter.
As the story goes, he was still a @ire@ighter
in Lubbock in 2002 when he bought the
farm at the end of nowhere and planned
to just do something with the land part-
time. But, he and wife Laurie went to visit
their military son in Washington and she
had a cup of lavender tea and it was
lavender from then on.
People told him that it wouldn't grow
here. "Why not? It likes dry, sandy soil,
alkaline PH, full sun, no mulch or fertilizer
necessary, and it is deer and rabbit
resistant," he says.

Last year the *irst weekend in June

ThistleDew farm celebrated its *irst
"Lavender Days" with huge crowds
each day.

Master Gardener, Julie Domansky right talks with

Danny and Laurie Davis of ThistleDew Farm.

As for the future he plans cooking demonstrations

and will have bee hives to sell "honey from the
lavender farm." "The essential oils market is booming
and people are using lavender for insect repellant,
and our sales of body butter have tripled," he added.

Editors note: Danny and Laurie Davis will

be looking for volunteers to help them set
out the lavender plants in April.

Coming UP
Wednesday, January 20 Texas
Alliance for Water Conservation
Water College. At Bayer Museum
of Agriculture, 1121 Canyon Lake
Drive. 8:30 am 4:30 pm. Speakers
on such subjects as "Weather and
Climate Outlook," "Texas
Agriculture Matters," "Cotton
Management Options." For more
info. check www.tawc.com

Growing Amaryllis Indoors

-- By Cecilia George , Lubbock Master Gardener

The dreary weeks of winter are hard on a gardener with no

outdoor plants to tend. Forcing bulbs to bloom indoors
provides winter color and the pleasure of watching plants grow
even when snow is on the ground.
My favorite bulb for forcing is the amaryllis. You can buy
amaryllis kits at most garden centers, but I have had
spectacular results with large, good quality bulbs that I have
purchased from bulb catalogs. Another advantage of
purchasing through bulb catalogs is that you can get a wide
variety of bulbs, including those that produce double-owered
or miniature blooms.
Plant the bulbs, pointed side up, in a 6-8" pot in good quality
poGng soil. Do not use outdoor soil, as it will not drain
properly. Leave the top third of the bulb exposed. Saturate the
soil and place in sunny window, if you have one, or in bright
light if you don't. When leaves start developing, keep the pot
evenly moist, and turn the pot regularly so that the stem will
grow straight. One good quality bulb will produce two stems at
a Ome with four blossoms on each stem -- a spectacular show!
Last year I had a bulb produce a third stem aQer the rst two
had nished their blooming.

Anida Yoeu Ali

When the bulb nishes blooming, cut the stem back to within

an inch or two of the bulb. If you want to keep your bulb so

Alis
is interdisciplinary
that
it wwork
ill bloom
next year, keep iin
t in a sunny spot and give it
its
approach.
Weaving
regular feedings of liquid house plant ferOlizer. The bulb will
installation
produce
leaves and
over performance,
the summer that help to strengthen the
she
creates
work
bulb. In mid-August, cthat
ut back on water and allow the leaves to
investigates
yellow
and die bthe
ack artistic,
and the soil to dry out completely. When
spiritual
collisions
the
leaves hand
ave dpolitical
ied back,
place the pot in a cool, dark place
for ofa amhybrid
inimum transnational
of 8 weeks. and
diasporic identity. (conOnued on page 4)

Saturday, January 23 Victory

Garden Workshop at the Silent
Wings Museum. 6202 Interstate 27
Service Rd. 10:30 am noon. Ages
10 and up. Cost: $20, A unique
workshop that takes a hands-on
look at life on the home-front during
World War II. Participants will learn
about the idea of a victory garden
and rationing during World War II,
then plant their own miniature
victory garden in a window box.
Paints will also be provided so the
participants can decorate their
window boxes.
Master Touch in Feb and March
1 to 2 hours. More information
will come from Clair.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday March
10 12 Master Garden Vegetable
Specialist Texas A & M AgriLife
Extension Service
Tarrant County, Fort Worth, Texas
and Dallas County, Dallas Texas
Tuesday May 17 - Thursday May
19 --State Master Gardener
Conference, McKinney Texas

The Grapevine

January - February 2016

Pruning
SomeOmes, when shrubs become overgrown and
ungainly, the only soluOon is drasOc renewal pruning.
Renewal pruning entails cuGng the enOre shrub to the
ground and can be a scary proposiOon to the concerned
gardener. But shrubs, which grow from mulOple stems
rather than from a single trunk, have a remarkable
ability to renew themselves. Dras%c renewal pruning
should only be done in the late winter when the shrub
is dormant. If you prune severely a;er new growth has
started, it is possible to dwarf or kill your shrub.
I have experience with renewal pruning in my xeric
garden. The Texas sage in the photo above had been cut
to the ground twice. Each Ome I pruned it in the late
winter and each Ome it came back to nearly its original
height by summer.
Also I planted a vitex four years ago and tried to prune it
into a tree shape. This seems to be the pracOce in
Lubbock with vitex trees. But the vitex is actually a
shrub.
Photos:

(ConOnued on page 4)

(Top) Vitex cut down

And in July
In September, with my husband, who is
six feet tall, standing next to it.

-- by

Cecilia George

Pruning cont'd from page 3

Vitex is actually a shrub and will respond
to this kind of shaping by sending out
numerous shoots from the ground and
water spouts along the limbs. I quickly
grew tired of the constant pruning
required to make it look like a tree and
decided to allow it to assume its natural
shrub form.
Checking the Aggie Horticulture website, I
was surprised to @ind drastic renewal
pruning recommended each year for vitex.
So, with a little trepidation, and to the
horror of my neighbor, I took saw in hand
and cut the plant down.
Butter@ly bushes also respond well to
drastic pruning to keep them in bounds
It takes a little courage to prune a plant this
radically, but the results can be quite
beautiful.

Amaryllis cont'd from page 2

About 5-8 weeks before you want your
bulb to bloom, check to see if you need to
repot the bulb. An amaryllis enjoys being
pot-bound, and there is no need to re-pot
unless the bulb is crowding the sides of
the pot. Re-pot in a slightly larger
container, if needed, leaving about two
inches between the bulb and the edge of
the pot. Begin watering sparingly and
increase watering as the leaves appear.
You can plant an amaryllis bulb outside,
but it will not survive hard winters. In
Lubbock, it is best to treat it as a house
plants. Be sure to leave the top third of
the bulb exposed. Plant in a pot only
slightly larger than the bulb. Be careful
not to overwater while it is dormant, or
the bulb will rot.
I enjoy forcing red amaryllis bulbs for
Christmas. I like to start pink ones in
January. That way I have a nice
Valentine's present to myself!

Intern Classes Start Jan. 30

Master Gardener classes for
interns start Saturday Jan 30.
Classes will be on the first and
third Saturdays of the month, and
fifth Saturday in April. Online
classes will augment the
classroom hours. Certified Master
Gardeners can repeat classes for
Continuing Eduction Units. Check
with Vikram Baliga for a class
schedule.
Master Gardeners are needed to
mentor new interns for one-onone connection. You do not have
to attend the classes but helpful to
come to at least one to connect
with the intern you are mentoring.
Call Empress Terrell and sign up
to talk gardening to a new class
intern. It looks like we will have 16
- 18 new interns.

Whatever !!

Starting this month we are going to have a monthly column called Whatever.
It will just be short blurbs about master gardeners anything you want to give away,
sell, swap, stuff you are doing, places you are going sort of gossip meets classi@ieds
-- you know . . . WHATEVER. Nothing is too dumb, too unimportant, too crazy. But,
you have to send me your stuff. Email to cdavidsonforsure@aol.com
Stuff like:
Dennis Howard has about 25 seedling peach trees he wants to give away. These are
seeds from the trees in his yard which produce abundant sweet peaches. Variety
unknown. Still in the ground. Contact him by phone at 806-787-3151 or email him
at dkhoward8219@gmail.com. BRING POTS! Des Dunn has a new silver food
truck. She and Lynne Murray will be serving gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches,
homemade soups and chili and cookies from The Cheese Chicks truck at lunch
spots and events around town. As of date this newsletter was done, they were at 5th
and J from 11 - 2 on Mon. Tues. Wed. and Fri. Vikram Baliga and his wife, Alana,
have a new baby boy. Bradley Joseph was both January 14,
a whopping 8 pounds and 4 ounces.

Don't miss Des and Lynne at

the "The Cheese Chicks" food
trailer around town.

Autry and 30 Kids Clean Up This Town

Question: When 30 kids from Sunset Church of Christ decided this summer to do
their mission work locally, where did they go and what did they do?
Answer: They did heavy landscaping such as pulling weeds, trimming trees, and
cleaning trash and rubble here at Tent City," says Autry Freeman. Master Gardener
and Link Ministries volunteer. "It sure gave me high hopes for our future as a
community.
They also helped weed and replant in the vegetable garden and power washed the
day shelter barn, Autry added. They were hard workers and a pleasure to work
with. Autry, who graduated in the 2013 master gardener class, works closely with
the Tent City and High Cotton Projects for the homeless which are under the
umbrella of Link Ministries. Link Ministries is a charitable organization which
provides clothing, food, counseling, and shelter at their Tent City for the homeless
here in Lubbock.
Autry is also the creative, organizational and promotional force behind the recent
Tent City Art Project which showcased art done by the homeless residents and
displayed in the Texas Tech Main Street lobby gallery on the First Friday Art Trails
each month.
The art, sold at each First Friday, is a collaborative effort of members of Tent City
residents and volunteers and features the talents of artists ranging in age from three
to 70.
One of them does copper wire wrapping sculptures, another has taught me about
airbrush art, and everyone seems to remember at least one origami technique,
Autry says.
As Autry said in her interview with KCBD, When you come in with a bunch of
markers and crayons and book pages and say, Lets draw,' I think a lot of peoples
initial reaction is that it is silly. But once they kind of get into the process, its really
fun to watch them enjoying that process.
Autry shows some of the
art in the homeless
project. "There were a lot
of unique ideas that the
Tent City residents used
for making their art like
junk mail and old book
pages taking things that
would normally be thrown
away as trash, and making
them into art."

Looking Back at 2015

Our booth was at the Farmers
Market on Buddy Holly Avenue on
many Saturday Mornings.

Clair Jones, Coordinator for External

Education, welcomes Jody Jones,
speaker for the July meeting. He is the
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
for the National Weather Service here
in Lubbock and gave an excellent idea
of what the Lubbock staff of 24 does to
predict tornadoes and weather here
on the high plains.

Looking Back at 2015

January - February 2016

We End 2015 With A

Blowout Banquet
November 3, 2015 was the big night for
Master Gardeners. We ended our year, gave
awards, and recognized our interns who
had completed their hours as the newest
Lubbock Master Gardeners.
The Intern with the most hours was Dennis
Howard with 245 hours.
The Master Gardener with the most hours
was Dale Shaw with 235.

Jean Anne Stratton, our new president,

left, and Autry Freeman,our new VP

New Master Gardeners from

the 2015 Intern Class

In 2015 the members had a total of 1, 448

hours and the interns had 3,035.
Cecilia George was honored for her eight
years as a board member. Two master
gardeners were recognized for
membership going back more than 20
years. Jean Anne Stratton was president in
1993 -- Karen Jackson in 1994.
Interns who received their certi@icates were
Marcia Abbott, Kristin Bingham, Kimberly
Copeland, Betsey Heavner, Dennis Howard,
Chai-Shian Kua, Michelle Lang, Aria Loter,
Irene Mitchel, Sheela Noble, Anne Polk,
Karen D. Silvas-Weston, Linda Slatton,
Linda Strong, Dianna Thomas, and Mary
Tibbit.

Diana Thomas

Anne Polk

Dennis Howard

Aria Loter

One of the highlights of the night was a

truth or lie game. Players were asked to
submit two lies and one truth about
themselves and members had to guess
which was the true statement. We sure
found out some fun facts about the people
who are Master Gardeners. Who knew that
Kimberly Copeland was born in the
Bahamas, that Dennis Howard had partied
hardy with ZZ Top, that Jean Anne Stratton
could @ly a plane, or that Linda Slatton
spent years in her body shop working
on cars!
Everybody took a break to enjoy the
Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and
now it is business as usual in January.

Looking Back at 2015 (cont'd) New Master Gardeners

Karen Silvas-Weston

Kristin Bingham

Linda Slatton

Chai-Shian Kua

Marcia Abbott

Mary Tibbit

Michelle Lang

Sheela Noble

Betsy Heavener
Linda Strong

Kimberly Copeland

Irene Mitchell

Looking Back at 2015 (continued)

"Show and Tell" -- A Fun Way

to End our 2015 Meetings
The October 6, 2015, meeting was a combination of great food, great fun and great
information from our speaker Patrick Porter, Extension Entomologist, AgriLife Extension,
who told us about the "Relative Toxicity of Some Common House and Garden Insecticides."
Lilla Jones had everybody's CEU and Volunteer hours ready for people to check.
She reported that in 2015 we had 3,035 volunteer hours by interns and 1,448 hours by
Master Gardeners. Vikram told us that the state values each hour at $26.

So Lubbock Master Gardeners put out $116,558 in

volunteer hours in 2015.
Jean Anne Stratton brought some
strange looking cones that she had
found on her tree roots and wanted to
"show and have somebody tell her what
the heck there were." Vickram Baliga
told us that they are a Ganoderma
Fungus -- something you do not want
on your tree roots. To avoid make sure
you don't let your yard stand in water.

Kimberly Copeland had a full basket

of show offs including these great
gourds. She had just returned from
the International Master Gardener
Conference in Council Bluffs Iowa.
Over 750 Master Gardeners were at
the event which was put on by Iowa
and Nebraska master Gardeners.
She also got this cool shirt at the
convention.

Show and Tell (continued)

Dale Shaw showed off vegetables
grown by Rush Elemenetary in their
garden project.

Marcia Abbott showed off her

photograhy of wild flowers and told
us about seed information we can
get from www.seedsource.com

Everybody brought goodies to share

during the "Show and Tell." Anjali
Rohra and Melba Block were
pushing some great cookies.

Looking Back at 2015

San Angelo Symposium

Five Lubbock Master Gardeners headed
down to San Angelo on Saturday, September
12, for the Concho Valley Master Gardeners
Fall Landscaping Symposium.
Barbara Robertson, Charlotte Davidson,
Kimberly Copeland, Michelle Lang, and Arla
Loter were there to hear Neil Sperry,
syndicated garden columnist and TV and
radio personality, talk on the Myths and
Mystiques of Texas Gardening and Water-
Conscious Landscaping.
Other speakers were Cindy Burkhalter,
Master Gardener and former aid in the
operation of the Butter@ly House at Wildseed
Farms in Fredericksburg; Charles Floyd,
retired teacher and a master bird bander;
and Steve Lyons, meteorologist and former
hurricane expert on the Weather Channel.

The Symposium was a sellout, Charlotte said.

They cut it off at 200 attendees and had to
turn people away. "The speakers were great
and I learned a lot that had never been covered
in other Master Gardener seminars or at the
State Convention. For example, I didnt know
that you if you want songbirds you should
never put out feed or grain -- because they only
eat insects. Grain just attracts grackles and
doves. Good to know!
Cindy Burkhalter covered How to Start and
Maintain a Butter@ly Garden in the South.
Steve Lyons talked on Weather and Gardens
Taking Weather Away From Plant Growing
Woes. Charles Floyds topic was Creating
Mini-Habitats in Your Landscape for Desirable
Songbirds.

Charlotte Davidson and Kimberly Copeland

Barbara Robertson, who used

to live in San Angelo, met up
with old friends who are Master
Gardeners and showed off the
fine tote bag each attendee got.
Michelle Lang and Arla Loter enjoy
the box lunches on the library's
beautiful roof deck.

Come on Master Gardeners send me

your stories, story ideas, news, photos
and blurbs for the "Whatever" column. If
you don't want to write a story -- just
send me the information and I will write
it. Remember if you don't send me
articles and stories -- I will probably
just make up some!!
-- Charlotte Davidson, editor
cdavidsonforsure@aol.com
Cell: 615-512-2124