Creating Nature in the Burbs

Join Purdue Extension and Hamilton County Master Gardener for a seminar looking at mixing natives with your Iris; supporting and understanding pollinators; smart and healthy garden maintenance techniques, and proper heirloom seed saving and exchange.

To register, download the registration form here and mail a check to HCMGA, 2003 Pleasant Street, Noblesville, IN 46060.

Orders Being Taken for Annual Native Tree Sale

The Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District is holding its annual fall native tree sale. This is a great opportunity to obtain hearty yet inexpensive native trees and shrubs that beautify neighborhoods, provide habitat for wildlife, produce energy saving shade, and enhance communities. This year 35 varieties of native trees and shrubs are available.

All offerings are $26.00 each and will arrive in 3 gallon containers and be approximately 3-5 feet tall at delivery. Pre-orders are required and are due September 28^th. Trees can be picked up Friday October 6th from 12-6:00pm at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds Llama Barn. Order forms and online ordering are available at www.hamiltonswcd.org.

Indiana Pesticide Clean Sweep Project Dates Announced

An Indiana Pesticide Clean Sweep Project designed to collect and dispose of suspended, canceled, banned, unusable, opened, unopened or just unwanted pesticides (weed killers, insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, miticides, etc.) is being sponsored by the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC).

This disposal service is free of charge up to 250 pounds per participant. Over 250 pounds there will be a $2.00 per pound charge. This is a great opportunity for you to legally dispose of unwanted products at little or no cost.

The following drop-off locations will be accepting materials from 9:00am-3:00pm local time.

• August 15, 2017: LaPorte County Fairgrounds in LaPorte, IN 
• August 16, 2017: Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds in Lafayette, IN 
• August 17, 2017: Grant County Fairgrounds in Marion, IN 
• August 22, 2017: Franklin County Fairgrounds in Brookville, IN 
• August 23, 2017: Greene County Fairgrounds in Bloomfield, IN 
• August 24, 2017: Hendricks County Fairgrounds in Danville, IN 

Complete the Pesticide Clean Sweep Planning Form to the best of your ability. E-mail the completed form to Kevin Neal at this address or fax to 765-494-4331 no later than Monday, July 31, 2017.

Then bring your labeled, leak free and safe to transport containers to the collection site. DO NOT mix materials. In case of an emergency, you should bring with you a list of products you are carrying and a contact phone number.

NOTE: OISC reserves the right to cancel this Pesticide Clean Sweep Project if there is not adequate demand. Participants submitting the planning form by July 31, 2017, will be contacted immediately if cancellation is necessary.

Daylily Sale at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds

Hamilton County Association of Purdue Master Gardeners is hosting a Daylily Sale this Saturday, July 15 from 8am-noon.  We have over 175 varieties. Come out, invite a friend, and tell everyone you know about the sale!  

"Meating the Need" - 2nd Year!

Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank is excited to be partnering with Hamilton County 4-H again this year to help provide farm fresh beef and pork for Hamilton County children and families served by the local pantries and feeding programs. Last year, "Meating the Need" supplied 2,557 pounds of beef to 21 pantries and feeding programs across Hamilton County. 4-H Beef and Dairy members will be participating again, and this year we are including 4-H Swine members who will also be designating their project animals for purchase through "Meating the Need" at the Hamilton County 4-H Livestock Auction on July 25. This program provides good, healthy protein, an item hard to provide consistently by the pantries and feeding programs across the county. Your donations would go towards the sale of the animals and to the 4-H members as they pursue their 4-H, education, and life goals. Please consider donating to "Meating the Need" in 2017! Donate a Full Beef - $2000 **Donations of $500 and above will be included in all publicity if received by July 16 Donate a Full Hog - $250 **Donations of $125 and above will be included in all publicity if received by July 16 For physical donations, please mail to P.O. Box 881, Noblesville, IN 46061 with "Meating the Need" on the memo line.

Anthracnose of Shade Trees or Wind Injury: Look Alike Symptoms Can Be Perplexing​

The cool, wet, weather experienced periodically this spring has been ideal for the development of anthracnose on shade trees.

 

Anthracnose is the common name for a type of leaf spot and canker disease caused by certain kinds of fungi. Anthracnose diseases affect many trees, but are particularly prevalent on ash, maple, sycamore, white oak, walnut and dogwood. Each species of tree is infected by a different species of fungus, thus the fungus does not spread from oak to maple or maple to ash or ash to sycamore. A different fungal species is also responsible for dogwood anthracnose.

 Symptoms will vary depending on the type of tree and the stage of plant development at the time of infection: leaf spots or blotches; twig dieback and wilting; and browning or death of emerging leaves are all possible. Premature leaf drop often occurs with anthracnose diseases, however, most of the trees infected with anthracnose usually show good resilience, and are not permanently damaged by this early season leaf blight.

 Sycamore anthracnose causes severe blighting of newly emerging leaves and shoots, and eventually causes twig and branch cankers which distort growth. Twig and branch cankers, shoot blight, and leaf blight are all symptoms of the fungus that causes sycamore anthracnose. Leaflet drop, as well as dead tissue along leaf veins or at the leaf edges is a symptom for ash anthracnose. Although defoliation may be so great that anthracnose-infected leaflets practically carpet the walks and lawns nearby, the tree is not dying, it simply puts out a new set of leaves. Anthracnose symptoms on maple and oak range from leaf spots to enlarged blighted dead areas along veins and sometimes to shoot blight.

 Abiotic (noninfectious) injury from environmental factors such as excessive winds or late frost/cold damage have also occurred this spring and may also cause foliar symptoms similar to anthracnose on various deciduous trees.

The most appropriate course of action for established trees suffering from severe effects of anthracnose is to rake and remove fallen leaves from beneath the tree; stimulate vigorous new growth with a balanced fertilizer after the leaves open and the spring rains have stopped; water regularly during extended dry periods this summer; avoid irrigation systems that wet leaves. 

​Leaf Diseases BP-143-W (pdf file)​​​

Gail Ruhl, Senior Plant Disease Diagnostician - Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory

Purdue Master Gardener Program seeking new volunteers

Noblesville, IN (June 2, 2017) - Beginning August 14^th, the Purdue Master Gardener Program intern training will be offered for residents of Hamilton County and surrounding areas.  “The purpose of the Master Gardener Program is to help others grow.  The members of the Hamilton County program are a vibrant and active group that annually donate over 10,000 volunteer hours on approved projects throughout the county.” said Diane Turner, Master Gardener Coordinator with Purdue Extension. 

Training will be held from 5:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m. on Monday evenings (one Saturday workshop is included) at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds, Noblesville.  Participants will be exposed to a wide range of subjects including understanding soil and basics of plant science, diagnosis of plant problems, using pesticides safely, and growing a healthy vegetable, flower, landscape, and/or fruit plants. 

The Purdue Master Gardener Program is a volunteer training program that provides a learning framework for participants to increase their knowledge on a wide variety of horticultural subjects.  In turn, participants represent Purdue University as volunteers, sharing knowledge while providing leadership and service in educational gardening activities within their communities.

 Materials and expenses for the series of classes cost $150.00 per participant. This expense fee covers such items as reference notebooks, mailings, and name badges.  These materials all become part of the participants personal collection. 

While the class will be encouraged to create new educational outreach programs, there are already plenty of opportunities for which volunteers are needed.  Some of these projects include helping with the annual plant sale, staffing information booths at gardening events, teaching public education classes, speaking to local clubs and organizations, and hands-on demonstration gardens. 

The Purdue Master Gardener Program is an educational outreach of the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service.  If you'd like an application or have questions about the Purdue Master Gardener Program, please contact Purdue Extension Hamilton County at (317) 776-0854.  For more information about Purdue Extension in Hamilton County, visit www.extension.purdue.edu/hamilton.