Tag Archives: garden

sunflower field at Lone Oak Brewery Aug2021

September Garden Tips

Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

Fall is fast approaching, so it’s time to enjoy your fall crops this month! Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and videos for September. There are some online events, check out U.S. Botanic GardenMaster 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 events include our Mill Creek Village Picnic – Meet Your Neighbors and Mill Creek Towne Garden Club members!, Farmers Markets, Brookside Gardens Hands-On Orchid Repotting webinar, Brookside Gardens Fall Plant Sale, Pawpaw & Pollinators Festival, Fall Online Garden/Landscape Classes at Montgomery College, Smithsonian Garden’s Let’s Talk Gardens webinar series, Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club – Repurpose and Recycle Fall Decorating Workshop, Garden Q & A, Climate Change Workshops, and more.


Mill Creek Village Annual Community Picnic

Sunday, Sep 12, 2021, 4pm – 7pm

Caddy Court

Mill Creek Village (MCV) invites Mill Creek Towne residents of all ages to its 8th Annual Community Picnic. This event will be co-hosted by Mill Creek Towne Garden Club on Sunday, September 12, 2021 from 4 to 7 PM on Caddy Court. Come and enjoy:

  • Grilled hot dogs and beef, turkey and veggie burgers
  • Buns and condiments, salads, sides
  • Desserts and flavored sno-cones
  • Lemonade, iced tea, sodas, and water
  • Canopies for shade and tables and chairs for sit-down dining
  • A 50/50 raffle and lawn games

You are welcome to bring your own favorite beverage and chairs for comfort and social distancing. Mask wearing is optional for outdoor events under current pandemic guidelines.

MCV gratefully acknowledges the following local businesses for their kind support:

Gold Sponsor: Three Creek Dentistry (threecreekdentistry.com)

Bronze Sponsor: La Brasita Restaurant (labrasita.com)

Bronze Sponsor: Sasuns Cafe (sasunscafemenu.com)

*DONATIONS TO MCV ARE ALWAYS WELCOME AND MUCH APPRECIATED

*Founded in 2013, Mill Creek Village (MCV) is a volunteer-led, 501 (c) 3, tax-exempt, nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to assisting older neighbors (60+ years of age) in Mill Creek Towne to maintain their independence and age well at home. Services include transportation assistance, grocery shopping friendly home visits and phone contacts. MCV also conducts several community-wide, intergenerational social events each year.

To learn more about MCV or request help, please contact us at 240-686-5870 or by e-mail at mctvillage@gmail.com or visit our website and make a secure donation at https://www.millcreekvillage.org. For information about the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club, call Ellen McAdams at 301/869-7227.


Master Gardener Plant Clinics

Ask a Master Gardener” Plant Clinics are returning to several county locations in Maryland. Bring your plant and gardening questions and get answers from Master Gardeners trained by the University of Maryland Extension. Check out the details in your county: https://extension.umd.edu/programs/environment-natural-resources/program-areas/home-and-garden-information-center/master-gardener-program/local-programs

Montgomery County Master Gardeners logo

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


Gardening Books
Visit our Gardening Books Resources page for gardening ideas.

Online Gardening Resources

online garden resources
Here are some online gardening resources focused on the MD/DC area:

garden to table recipes feature box
Online Garden-to-Table Recipes

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


We are so thankful for our local farms each and every day. During this challenging time, consider supporting your local farms, whether they farm produce, flowers, animals, or specialty. Our food supply is safe and secure, and many farms are continuing to offer delivery or curbside pickup.
#LocalIsTheNewNormal #BuyLocal

How to Support Farmers and Safely Shop at Farmers’ Markets

Montgomery County MD Food and Beverage Guide

The 2021 Montgomery County Online Searchable 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.

i-love-farmers-markets

Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture 2021 Farmers Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you.

derwood-2020-masking-collage_orig

Support our local farmers! Shop at the #derwoodfarmersmarket!

Now it’s time for the Fall market and we are so ready! Derwood Fall Market at the Hines Garden on Oaklawn Farm. 18510 Muncaster Rd, Rockville, MD 20855. 9am to 1pm on Saturdays, rain or shine through November 20. 🍉🥤🍆What a great summer season!

Starting Sept 11th until November 20, the Derwood Fall season continues at Hines Garden on Oaklawn Farm… 18510 Muncaster Road. Your favorite farmers, plus brunch, lunch, pastries, smoothies, coffee, art, music… more! 🍅🥤🥦🍑🍉🥐☕️🎷🎸

Curbside Pickup will continue at this location! 9am until 1pm from September 11 – November 20 at 18510 Muncaster Road, Rockville 20855. We accept and provide Matching Dollars for EBT-SNAP, ​P-EBT, WIC and Seniors’ SFMNP. Catch us at Neighborhood Church for the 2022 spring season on April 23rd until September 3rd, 16501 Redland Rd, Rockville, MD 20855

Derwood Fall Market at the Hines Garden on Oaklawn Farm

Flowers and Groundcovers

Butterfly on orange flower

Invite butterflies to your garden

Home & Garden Information Center

University of MD Extension

Read article:

  • Begin replanting pots with hardy annuals.
  • Your summer annuals will be reviving now with cooler temperatures and some rain. Cut back any ragged growth and give them some fertilizer. They should put on a good show until the first hard frost.
  • Remove spent annuals and replace with hardy mums and fall season annuals. Water deeply.
  • Start bulb plantings of early spring bloomers at the end of the month.
  • Plant newly purchased plants.
  • Continue to deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming.
  • Cut fully yellow lily stalks.
  • Divide ornamental grasses.
  • Divide and transplant perennials — in particular, peony and iris.
  • Dig up bulbs from your Gladiolus, Canna, Caladiums, and other tender bulbs; cut off foliage; let dry for a week; and store for the winter.
  • Start bulb plantings of early spring bloomers at the end of the month.
  • Fertilize established bulb beds.
  • Pinch out growing tips of leggy plants.
  • Pests to watch for: Aphids, 4-lined plant bug, spidermites, whiteflies, Deer, slugs, snails.
  • Diseases to watch for:  Powdery mildew.
  • 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

Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping

september-tips-leave your perennials
More Native Plant information: https://extension.umd.edu/…/nati…/native-plant-gardening

september-tips-red-poison-ivy

Poison ivy leaves will begin to turn red this month. Don’t be fooled by their fall color change, the leaves are still very irritating. Do not handle or shred the leaves and do not burn the vines. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/poison-ivy

Trees and Shrubs

  • Remove fallen, diseased leaves.
  • Plant evergreens for winter interest.
  • Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
  • Fertilize if necessary for the last time.
  • Look out for any Poison Ivy vines, which will turn crimson in the fall and be easy to distinguish from other vines.
  • Avoid late summer pruning.
  • Transplant trees and shrubs.
  • If your conifers start shedding their needles or your spring bulb foliage starts peaking out of the ground, don’t worry. This is normal for our autumn cycle.
  • If you MUST mulch: Remove old mulch and then add 2″-3″ shredded pine or pine needles, keeping 3″ away from trunk.
  • 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.
  • Spray with dormant oil to decrease pest infestations.
  • Remove dead and dying trees.
  • Pests to watch for:  adelgids, aphids, bagworms, borers, azalea lacebug, caterpillars, fall webworm, Gypsy moths, Japanese beetles, leafminers, sawfly, scale, spidermites
  • Diseases to watch for:  Apple scab Cedar-apple, hawthorn or quince rust, Powdery mildew, Verticillium wilt, Oak leaf blister
  • For more tips, see UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.

Herbs, Veggies, and Fruit

What to Plant in September

The Heirloom Collards Project

Heirloom Collards Project

Collards are cool-weather plants that prefer the temperatures of spring and fall. It’s too late to start collards from seed now (unless you just want tiny leaves for a salad, in which case go for it), but you can still buy plants at garden centers.

Maryland Grows Blog | Home & Garden Information Center

  • Pick apples at a local pick-your-own farm or visit a local farmer’s market.
  • Remove finished plants.
  • Harvest your herbs often and keep them trimmed back to encourage leafy growth.
  • Pot up rosemary and chives for over-wintering indoors.
  • Cut herbs and flowers for drying indoors.
  • Remove rotting fruits from fruit trees and compost them.
  • Pick mature tomatoes and peppers to ripen on your window sills.
  • Plant cool-season vegetables; plant garlic now through the end of October.
  • This is a good time to have your vegetable garden and landscape soils tested.
  • Plant strawberries in a site with good drainage for harvest next spring.
  • Start planting fall crops.
  • Keep all transplants watered deeply for 2-3 weeks.
  • Harvest your herbs and keep them trimmed back to encourage leafy growth.
  • Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees.
  • Pests to watch for: Asparagus beetle, aphids, cabbage worms, cutworms, Deer, Japanese beetle, rabbits, woodchucks, birds.
  • Diseases to watch for: Damping off of seedlings, Fireblight of pears and apples, Fungal, bacterial viral diseases.
  • Here are some more UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips.
More info: https://extension.umd.edu/res…/pumpkins-and-giant-pumpkins

Plant cover crops in vegetable gardens and annual beds (for example, rye, clover, hairy vetch, and winter peas). More info https://extension.umd.edu/resource/cover-crops

Cool-Weather-Vegetables-webinar

Growing Great Fall Vegetables

Thursday, Sep 9 @ 6:30pm

The vegetable growing season isn’t over! Join Erica Smith with the University of Maryland Extension to learn about cool-weather vegetables perfect for the fall on Thursday, September 9, at 6:30 pm. Whether it’s kale to radishes to komatsuna, the rewards are worth the effort!


Lawns

  • Apply fertilizer and lime to turfgrass based on soil tests and UME recommendations.
  • Plug aerate when the soil is moist.
  • Begin mowing leaves into turf to add organic matter and nutrients.
  • Fertilized tall fescue and bluegrass with 1 lb. Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
  • Mow high to reduce weeds and stress: Fescue & Bluegrass: 3″ – 3 1/2″; zoysia grass at 2″
  • 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 202 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: Grubs
  • See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more details.

Indoors/Houseplants

Hands-On Orchid Repotting

Saturday, September 11, at 10 am

Hands-On-Orchid-Repotting

Have you been given an orchid and don’t know how to take care of it? Join Brookside Gardens on Saturday, September 11, at 10 am for a hands-on repotting workshop that offers an “expert checkup” to assess your orchid’s health. You’ll learn how to treat issues ranging from root rot to pests and diseases, while repotting up to two of your orchids.

  • Bring in tender plants before night temperatures dip to 60 degrees.
  • Bring in houseplants if you took them out for the summer.
  • Take cuttings of plants you want to overwinter inside and place in water.
  • Bring Amaryllis indoors before a hard freeze. Repot every other year at this time. Store in a cool, dark place and do not water until flower buds or leaves emerge.
  • Repot and fertilize houseplants when new growth begins.
  • Check on your container plants daily and keep them well-watered.
  • 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.
  • Pests to watch for:  aphids, spider mites, mealybug, scale, and whitefly.
  • See UMD’s HGIC Garden Tips for more information.

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips

Fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) caterpillars produce a web of fine silk over terminal branches. There are 75 species of predators and parasites that normally keep this pest below damaging levels.

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/fall-webworm-trees

  • Watch for insect and disease problems throughout your garden.
  • Check your plants at night with a flashlight for any night-feeding insects like slugs.
  • Look out for slug eggs grouped under sticks and stones. They are the size of BBs and pale in color.
  • Leave hummingbird feeders out until October 15th.
  • 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.


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

Montgomery County Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

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


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 AT 12 PM EDT – 1 PM EDT &

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 AT 12 PM EDT – 1 PM EDT

In the Garden

Montgomery County Master Gardeners – Maryland

1st-and-3rd-Tuesday-In-the-Garden-Q-and-A-series
Our gardening experts will answer your questions about plants, diseases, and insects.

Pawpaw & Pollinators Festival 2021 – Celebrating during the Month of September

Celebrate the unique pawpaw tree and its fruit. Revel in the mystery and wonder of the pollinators that fuel our plentiful harvests. September is a month-long online festival for both the pawpaw and the pollinators in Montgomery Parks, Montgomery County, MD.

We have many programs planned and native plant and honey sales hosted by three of our nature centers.

Native Plant and Honey Sales Begin August 23-September 1!

Check back often to find out about all the unique programs for this fun month-long festival!


FOBG’s 25th ANNIVERSARY PLANT SALE 2021

Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021    10 AM – 3 PM
(8 AM – 10 AM :
open to FOBG members ONLY)
Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021     10 AM – 1 PM
10% discount for FOBG members (Join at Sale!) and early entry

FOBG-Annual-Plant-Sale-Fall-2021-photo
FOBG-Annual-Plant-Sale-Fall-2021-illustration

NOTE: This is an “In Person” Sale and NOT a virtual sale like 2020 (you have to come to Brookside Gardens and select your own plants). Quantities are limited.

This year’s plant sale will be held in person at:

Brookside Garden’s Visitor Center (South Terrace)

1800 Glenallan Avenue

Wheaton, MD 20902


Fall Online Garden/Landscape Classes at Montgomery College

Its Class time at Montgomery College. Janet Johnson will be teaching a great class on how to bloom and grow your Phalaenopsis Orchids. So if you would like to learn how to help your orchid plant thrive, please check out this class. This class is offered online, so you can take this class from the comfort of your living room. We focus on your questions and your needs. Montgomery College classes are open to everyone-so lets learn together! See the Fall schedule for garden classes at MC (upcoming classes listed below). Come and join this really fun class! Hope to see you there.

HOW TO GROW AND BLOOM – LLI 022

View Catalog Description & Prerequisites

Tue

6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

09/14/21 – 09/14/21

GARDEN DESIGN – LLI 370

View Catalog Description & Prerequisites

Wed

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

09/22/21 – 10/13/21

PERENNIALS FOR YOUR GARDEN – LLI 079

View Catalog Description & Prerequisites

Wed

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

10/20/21 – 10/27/21

FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR HOME – LLI 028

View Catalog Description & Prerequisites

Mon

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

11/15/21 – 11/22/21


Climate Change Workshops

University of Maryland

Every Other Wednesday, Jun 23 – Sep 15, 2021

4pm to 5:30pm EDT

Dr. Sara Via, Professor & Climate Extension Specialist from University of Maryland, College Park is offering a series of free community-friendly climate change workshops. Learn more and register for some or all of them here: https://climatecorner.org/webinars/


Let’s Talk Gardens

Thursdays 12 to 1 p.m.

Smithsonian Gardens

Smithsonian-Lets-Talk-Gardens
 “Grow” your gardening know-how! Our free online gardening program, Let’s Talk Gardens, covers a wide range of topics presented by our own professional staff, as well as guest speakers. No matter your level of gardening knowledge, there’s always something new to learn!

Let’s Talk Gardens, a free lunchtime webinar series on garden basics on Thursdays 12 to 1 p.m.

Our September topics and presenters are the following:

September 9th- ‘Plants, Passion and Perseverance: A Focus on Positive Solutions and Experience Gained’ by Janet Draper, Smithsonian Gardens, Horticulturist

September 16th- ‘Seeds and How to Find Them’ by Philp Evich, Smithsonian Gardens, Horticulturist

September 23rd- ‘Getting the Most out of Small Space/Urban Gardens’ by Kathy Jentz, Editor and Publisher, Washington Gardener Magazine

September 30th- ‘Washington National Cathedral Gardens: Divine Inspiration & Earthly Challenges’ by Sandra Flowers, Director of Horticulture & Grounds Washington National Cathedral

To learn more about these presentations visit: https://gardens.si.edu/learn/lets-talk-gardens/


Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club – Repurpose and Recycle Fall Decorating Workshop

Sunday, September 19 at 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

liquor-bottle-painting-for-fall-pumpkin-decor
Sandy-Spring-Museum

$7.50 for Museum members, $15 for non-members

Decorating doesn’t have to break the bank!  Participants in this workshop will create a decorative pumpkin made from recycled materials and a festive garland to take home to enhance their fall displays.

Join Lauren Peirce and Lori Thomas for an interactive discussion and workshop to celebrate the Autumn Equinox. The mother-daughter duo has a passion for creating holiday displays – especially for the fall season.

Lori and Lauren will share their tips and tricks on how to use items you have on hand, scour the thrift and dollar stores, and create fun and festive pieces that you can continue to use year after year.

Fall entertaining ideas, including tablescapes and appetizers, will be featured. Attendees will have an opportunity to sample the appetizers and beverages highlighted in the presentation!

For accommodation requests, please contact the museum via email or at 301-774-0022.


mctgc-logo-with-flowers
house finch and birdfeeder

March Garden Tips

Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

crocus flower
crocus

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 GardenMaster 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.


Tue Mar 23 2021 Susan Bell Adding Wow to Small Spaces event

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.


Mill Creek Towne Entrance Updates

garden-club-members-miller-fall-entrance-fall-2020-3

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!

Gardening Books
Visit our Gardening Books Resources page for gardening ideas.

Online Gardening Resources

online garden resources
Here are some online gardening resources focused on the MD/DC area:

garden to table recipes feature box
Online Garden-to-Table Recipes

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


We are so thankful for our local farms each and every day. During this challenging time, consider supporting your local farms, whether they farm produce, flowers, animals, or specialty. Our food supply is safe and secure, and many farms are continuing to offer delivery or curbside pickup.
#LocalIsTheNewNormal #BuyLocal

  • 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

i-love-farmers-markets

Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture 2020 Farmers Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you.

derwood-2020-masking-collage_orig

Support our local farmers! Shop at the #derwoodfarmersmarket!

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

~ ~ ~

​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


Daffodils at Brookside Gardens

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

Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping


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.

covered crop

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.

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.

Indoors/Houseplants

pink and white orchids
  • 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.

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips

Several species of insects are waking up from their winter dormancy inside homes. The earliest ones are multicolored Asian lady beetle, marmorated stink bug, cluster flies, and boxelder bugs. No chemical controls are recommended. They are harmless and can be swept up, vacuumed, scooped into a container of soapy water, or released outdoors. https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/march-tips-tasks

  • 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.


2020 MoCo Food and Beverage Guide

Montgomery County MD Food and Beverage Guide

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.


Master Gardener Plant Clinics

Varied Locations, dates, and times

Montgomery County Master Gardeners logo

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


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

Montgomery County Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

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


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

Getting a Fresh Start in the Garden?
Let the Montgomery County Master Gardeners teach you how to begin a new garden or refresh one from the ground up.

For 2021 we will be offering the following programs in lieu of an in-person Grow It Eat It Event or Spring Conference.

Free, except where there is a $ sign

March 6, 10 am
Beginning Vegetable Gardening

March 13, 10 am 
Soil Testing for your Vegetable Garden ($) Register by January 29, soil samples sent to the lab by February 5

This workshop will walk you through the steps to take a soil sample before the class.  During the workshop on March 13, soil test results, and how to address issues will be discussed.  Soil test materials are included and will be mailed to you.  

Register by January 29 and send soil samples to the lab by February 5 to have your results included in the class. 

March 20, 10 am
Container Gardening

March 20, 12 pm
Jardinería en Contenedores
 (Espanol)

April 10, 10 am
Grow Your Best Tomatoes

April 24, 10 am 
Grow Your Own Brambles: Blackberries and Raspberries

May 8, 10 am
Less Lawn More Life

May 15, 10 am
Blossoms and Bees Children’s Program 

May 22, 10 am
Native Plants for Shade

June 5, 10 am
Managing Garden Pests

June 12, 10 am
Native Plants for Sun


Sandy Spring Museum Garden Club

Spring Ephemerals Virtual Discussion  

Pink Lady Slipper

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.

Garden Travel at Cherry Blossom Time

The Tidal Basin is well known for its cherry blossoms. The virtual National Cherry Blossom Festival is March 20-April 11, 2021. There are other, less crowded places to see cherry blossoms as well and since being outdoors is a sensible way to be socially distant, perhaps you would like a little garden travel.

National Arboretum


Dumbarton Oaks


Druid Hill Park, Baltimore


Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD


Pagoda at Patterson Park, Baltimore


Williamsburg Village, Olney, MD


mctgc-logo-with-flowers