Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

It’s March and it is cold but we can look forward to spring weather coming soon! It’s time to start thinking of warm weather and start planning for the spring! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for March. There are some online events, check out U.S. Botanic Garden, Master Gardeners of Montgomery County, and Maryland Gardens. A lot of gardening events are announced on Facebook and we share them on our Facebook page as well as on our mctgardenclub.org website. Some upcoming online events include MC Master Gardeners’ Grow It Eat It 2021 Online Speakers Series, Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club’s Spring Ephemerals Virtual Discussion, and a Susan Bell, Master Gardener “Adding WOW to Small Garden Spaces” Online Event hosted by the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club on Tuesday, March 23rd.

• Start reading those plant catalogs!
• Mark beds outside where new plants are to go.
• Finalize catalog seed orders.
• Order/Buy those seeds!
• Collect supplies for starting seeds.
• Sharpen and replace tools as needed.
• Start shopping for spring bulbs.
• Paint a few terra cotta pots in spring colors.
• Go on a virtual garden tour to see what plants are thriving in other’s area home gardens.
• Plan for 2021 with these Free resources: Landscaping with Native Plants by the Maryland Native Plant Society, Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas by the National Park Service, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia Reading Room. Visit our Online Gardening Resources page for more helpful online resources.
• Buy a good gardening book or magazine subscription for a gift for your favorite gardener.
• Have a question about gardening? Check the University of Maryland Extension’s New Maryland Grows blog for garden tips.

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Susan Bell, Master Gardener “Adding WOW to Small Garden Spaces” Online Event
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
7:00 pm ET

Join us on Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2021 7pm ET with our Guest Speaker Susan Bell, Master Gardener  and learn how to “Add WOW to Small Garden Spaces”!

About Our Guest Speaker, Susan Bell

Susan Bell created Hilltop Gardens in 2002. Her formal education was through George Washington University, Montgomery College, and is ongoing with the Maryland University Montgomery County Extension’s Master Gardener program. 

Since 2009 Susan has been sharing her professional expertise as a speaker for Maryland University’s Montgomery County Extension. She develops design talks using her original photographs for the annual Spring Conference, for master gardener training and also speaks at garden clubs, libraries, and civic associations.

Susan joined the Fallsgrove Community Garden in 2009 and serves on the garden board. She promotes ‘no-till’ gardening to protect the natural soil web of micro-organisms. The method dramatically reduced weeding and promotes top dressing the planting beds for fertility with organic ground covers.

The Hilltop Gardens team uses safe, effective and sustainable garden maintenance practices to keep your garden healthy. Plants are carefully selected for each site and exposure, properly installed and cared for.  

https://susanbelldesign.com/

Registration is required.

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Mill Creek Towne Entrance Updates

Learn about Mill Creek Towne Garden Club’s new plants that were planted and will be coming up in the spring and see before and after photos of our entrances! We thank our neighbors for their donations to make these updates possible!

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Online Gardening Resources

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There are many resources for recipes to make from your garden crops including seed companies, local farms, and online recipe cookbook catalogs. If you grow vegetables, these are very useful resources as the recipes feature the very plant you are growing. Here are few links to recipes you can make from your garden crops

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• Support Our Local Farmers – Join a CSA and have fresh local produce delivered to you!
• Visit a local farmers’ market.

  “During shelter-in-place, farmers’ markets remain open as an essential service, providing a vital source of fresh fruits and vegetables and food staples for our communities in a spacious, open-air setting. But our community and our farmers’ markets could be jeopardized if we don’t each do our part to stay safe during this public healthy crisis.

  In good times, farmers’ markets have been places to gather and converse, however, now is the time to follow public health and safety advisories and resist the urge to linger and socialize. We all have a critical role to play in preventing the spread of COVID-19.” 

How to Support Farmers and Safely Shop at Farmers’ Markets

Support our local farmers! Shop at the #derwoodfarmersmarket!

Open for advance order curbside pickup & delivery until April 10th.

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​The Full Market Season Opens April 17th, 2021.

For the winter season through April 10th you can still get your market groove on with online ordering from all your favorite farmers and vendors using our curbside pickup or doorstep delivery to 20855, 20850, 20878 & 20880 on Saturday for doorstep delivery and/ or curbside pickup at the front yard of Neighborhood Church, 16501 Redland Rd, 20855. Pickup happens from 9am until 11am through April 10th. Get started here: MilkLadyMarkets.org/preorder

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Flowers and Groundcovers

• Hardy spring bulbs begin to emerge (crocus, snowdrops, daffodils, and tulips).
• Fertilize summer flowering bulbs.
• Deadhead pansies and bulbs. 
• Plant Pansies. 
• Plant and prune roses.
• Transplant seedlings into individual 3″ – 4″ pots when crowded. Fertilize transplants with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer (every 2 weeks).
• Cut some branches (forsythia, quince, bittersweet, redbud, willow) for forcing indoors.
• Pinch out growing tips of leggy seedlings.
• Leave seedheads on Black-eyed Susans, Echinacea, Goldenrod, Sunflowers, and Thistles for the birds to enjoy over the winter.
• Start seeds for: Mallow, Dwarf Zinnias, Cosmos, Celosia, Tall Marigolds, and Tall Zinnias.
• Pests to watch for: Aphids, Deer, 4-lined plant bug, slugs, snails.
• Diseases to watch for:  Damping off of seedlings.
• See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.
• For a list of native plant resources, visit: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/native-plant-resources

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Trees and Shrubs

• Prune damaged branches.
• Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs before new growth.
• Prune summer-flowering trees, except crepe myrtle.
• Prune out Eastern tent caterpillar egg masses.
• Begin planting when ground is not too wet.
• Prune butterfly bush to 8″ – 10″.
• Rejuvenate prune hollies.
• Fertilize plants not getting ready to bloom if needed.
• Test soil pH on some hydrangeas and adjust: pH 5-5.5 = blue; pH 6-6.5 = pink.
• Cut perennials and over-wintering ornamental grasses to 2 inches above ground.
• Take hardwood cuttings from willow and dogwood to propagate them.
• Check that newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials have not been heaved out of the ground due to freezing and thawing cycles.
• Remove Ivy, Pachysandra, and other vine-like ground cover from under shrubs.
• Soil test established trees that have not been performing well.
• Put diseased leaves, pesticide-laden grass clippings and weed seeds out for recycling rather than the compost pile.
• Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
• Spray with dormant oil to decrease pest infestations.
• Remove dead and dying trees.
• Pests to watch for:  Eastern caterpillar
• Diseases to watch for:  Fireblight Phomopsis and Kabatina of Juniper, Cytospora canker on Spruce. 
• For more tips, see UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.

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Herbs, Veggies, and Fruit

• Turn under cover crop when soil has warmed enough and is not too wet.
• Fertilize established asparagus, tree and bramble fruits and strawberries.
• Plant cool-season crops (potatoes, lettuce, peas, root crops, and cole crops, including spinach, and kale).
• Prune grapevines.
• Start seeds for tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers inside.
• Divide perennials and herbs.
• Sow greens indoors or outdoors in cold frame.
• Clean out your cold frame or build a new one.
• Collect large plastic soda bottles use as cloches. (A cloche is a clear, bell-shaped cover used to protect tender plants from frost.)
• Put up trellises and teepees for peas, climbing beans, etc.
• Start hardy herbs, onions, and cabbage.
• Prune dead bramble canes.
• Harvest your herbs and keep them trimmed back to encourage leafy growth.
• Cut garden herbs and hang to dry in a cool, dry place indoors.
• Water deeply when needed.
• Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees.
• Pests to watch for: Deer, rabbits, woodchucks, birds.
• Diseases to watch for: Damping off of seedlings, Fireblight of pears, apples.
• Here are some more UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips.

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Lawns

• Do not step on frozen soil in flower beds or lawns.
• To control crabgrass and broadleaf weeds, apply pre-emergent herbicide to lawn (when forsythia blooms drop).
• Dethatch if necessary and plug aerate BEFORE applying weed control.
• Reseed bare spots or overseed (through early April).
• Use de-icer sparingly or a nonchemical substitute such as sand, grit, fireplace ashes, or non-clumping kitty litter.
• Have soil tested (every 3 years minimum).
• Clean yard of all leaves and other debris.
• Turn your compost pile.
• The annual soil science calendars from the Natural Resources Conservation Service are both educational and beautifully done. The one for 2020 as well as those for previous years are available as free PDFs here: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/edu/?cid=nrcseprd1250008
• Diseases to watch for: brown patch, and red thread
• Pests to watch for: Spidermites, mealybug, scale
• See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.

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Indoors/Houseplants

• Begin to pot up rooted cuttings. Fertilize with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer every other watering.
• Change water in cuttings started last fall and add 2-3 pieces of fish tank charcoal. 
• Repot and fertilize houseplants when new growth begins.
• Keep all house plants out of drafts and away from heat vents.
• Rotate houseplants to promote even growth.
• Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
• Pinch out growing tips of leggy cuttings and plants that are overwintering.
• Clean the leaves of your indoor houseplants to prevent dust and film build-up.
• Fertilize only your winter-blooming house plants, such as violets with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer (every 2 weeks) .
• Maintain moisture in pots wintering indoors, but do not over water!
• Pests to watch for:  aphids, spider mites, mealybug, and scale
• See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more information.
  

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Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips

• Check indoors for termites and winter ants.
• Give your house plants a quarter turn every few weeks.
• Repot larger plants that are going outside for the summer.
• Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
• Put up birdhouses. 
• Put suet out for birds.
• Keep bird feeders clean and filled.
• Switch your deer deterrent spray.
• Caulk and seal your outside walls to prevent insects and wildlife from coming indoors.
• Set out traps for mice, moles, and voles.
• Watch for: carpenter ants, flies, mosquitos, stink bugs, termites, rabbits, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, mice, moles,  snakes, squirrels, and voles.
• For more information, see UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips.

Source: University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) and the Washington Gardener.

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The 2019-2020 Montgomery County Food and Beverage Guide has arrived!

This year’s Guide lists over 70 MoCo Made food and beverage producers and farmers, with products ranging from honey to craft beverages to artisanal meats and more.

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Master Gardener Plant Clinics

Varied Locations, dates, and times

Montgomery County Master Gardeners - Maryland

What can Master Gardeners do for you?

• Help you select and care for annual and perennial plants, shrubs and trees.
• Determine if you need to test your soil.
• Provide you with information on lawn care.
• Identify weeds, beneficial and noxious insects, and plant diseases and remedies.
• Teach you how to use pesticides, mulch and compost.
• Guide you in pruning trees and shrubs.
• Provide you with options for managing wildlife.
• Provide you with gardening resources.
• Help you submit a plant sample for diagnosis

Plant Clinics are held at several sites in the county on a weekly basis and at special events such as garden festivals and the county fair. Regularly scheduled Plant Clinics are located at public libraries and farmers’ markets throughout the county as well as at the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase.  There are also clinics three days per week at Brookside Gardens.  The busiest season is April through September, but some clinics are open year-round.  Bring your plant samples and questions to one of these locations in Montgomery County, MD (see link below to find a location near you):

https://extension.umd.edu/mg/locations/plant-clinics

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Support Our Local Farmers – Join a CSA and have fresh local produce delivered to you!

CSAs are seeing record numbers of subscribers http://ow.ly/eiQT50zD5lW – find your farmer here: http://ow.ly/jbO250zD56M

CSAs can take many forms, but essentially they are community supported farms in which members contribute to farming projects, usually by way of membership fees, in exchange for fresh, local produce. The concept came to the United States from Europe in the 1980s.  They are a great way to take advantage of fresh, locally grown fruit, vegetables, herbs, and more while supporting nearby farms. Each one is different, some offer pickup locations in urban areas, some offer only farm-based pickups.

There are multiple CSAs located around the County offering a wide variety of products. CSAs begin taking sign-ups for spring and summer seasons in the early part of the year, and they tend to fill up FAST! Know of another CSA not on our list? Let us know! Montgomery Countryside Alliance also maintains a list:

 http://www.mocoalliance.org/community-supported-agriculture.html

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MC Master Gardeners’ Grow It Eat It | 2021 Online Speakers Series

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Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

Spring Ephemerals Virtual Discussion  

March 14 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Those first flowers in the spring are a balm to the winter-weary soul! Guests will have a look at some common early spring flowers both native and non-native. This virtual discussion will include supporting early pollinators and how to create and maintain an early spring blooming tapestry.

Horticulturalist, Carol Allen, leads this informative and entertaining program. She has more than thirty years of experience in the horticultural industry with special interests in landscape design and native plants. She has led a wide range of horticultural discussions at area colleges and enjoys helping people understand how to care for their plants.

Registration is required. You will receive a link to the virtual meeting with your registration confirmation email. You must be opted in to receive SSM emails to receive the confirmation.

Everything Roses Virtual Discussion    

April 11 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

A “rose by any other name may smell as sweet,” but there are a bewildering number of types and species to choose from. During this virtual discussion, guests will learn about some of the most common types of roses and their attributes. Rose care and pruning will also be covered.

Horticulturalist, Carol Allen, leads this informative and entertaining program. She has more than thirty years of experience in the horticultural industry with special interests in landscape design and native plants. She has led a wide range of horticultural discussions at area colleges and enjoys helping people understand how to care for their plants.

Registration is required. You will receive a link to the virtual meeting with your registration confirmation email. You must be opted in to receive SSM emails to receive the confirmation.

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