Nl august15

15 20 U ST , G AU

...for discerning weeders

Inside This Issue!

Radio Month Special Photo Section Wildlife Happenings Updated and new publications The Foundation for the Gator Nation.....

An equal opportunity institution.

And much, much more!

HERE’S TO SUMMER! At our twentieth birthday party, we placed messages on a painted vine which was provided by M. Stewart. The messages revealed what we have learned as a Master Gardener and I would like to share some with you. Let’s start from the ground up. “The pH of soil (not dirt) is very important.” When talking about insects we find out there are “good bugs and bad bugs.” Speaking of talking, ‘Talking to plants is good therapy.” We continuously hear about problems with lawns and as one Master Gardener stated, “People spend too much time and resources on lawns and get the least satisfaction out of it.” Here is a comment for Larry which will make him proud. “All the information we provide must be scientifically based.” Even then we may “approach the homeowner gently when giving the science, yet they still want to do it their way.” We have even become very technical in our knowledge. As one Master Gardener observed, “The brain of the plant is meristem cells.” Another learned the botanical name for milkweeds, which we ALL know is asclepias. We learned that lichen does not kill trees and “how to use multiple resources to identify plants.”

W. Buckellew S. Calix D. Pfoertner J. Waters-Smith

In closing, the statements about Master Gardeners in particular were most revealing. “This is a forever job. Every day I learn something new.” “Master Gardeners are weatherproof.” Last but not least, “Master Gardeners rock.”

So let’s rock on and continue learning, because we are life-long learners and we have a plethora of resources from which to choose. We should continue practicing our trade in the offices and at the nursery as we hone our skills. Let’s continue serving the public with alacrity using the knowledge we have gained and portraying our love for horticulture.

34th Continued Training Conference October 18-21, 2015 Kissimmee, FL http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/ gardener/index.html

Sincerely, L. Penry OCMGA President

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Activity Calendar

2

On The Air!

3

Hedychium coronarium Ginger Lily

Garden Glories

4-5

South of the Border

6-8

Courtesy of L. Penry

Wildlife Happenings

8

GMO or Not

9

To Read

9

Sign in to VMS and log in your hours!

You may access the VMS site by clicking on the link below: https://florida.volunteersystem.org/ UniversalLogin.cfm An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

1

Updates and Info

10

Neonics

10

Oakworm

11

Inquiry

11

Don’t Gloss it Over

12

Info graphics

12

Gardening Holidays

12

Recipe Roundup

13

Last Word

14 August, 2015

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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August, 2015

ON THE AIR! Did you know that August 20th is National Radio Day? This is not an occasion that most of us celebrate or even acknowledge and in fact, indications are that it has only been a ‘holiday’ since the 1990’s. And yet, where would we be today without radio and its associated technology? Taking all of this into account, we thought you’d like to learn how to make your own crystal radio set on this special day. You never know when you might be cut off from human contact, without power and batteries and this could save the day. J Disclaimer: I have zero (none, nada) experience with this myself and have thus relied heavily on input from my husband who is one of those types who would make his own radio and in fact did so, back in about 1950 when crafting one’s own crystal radio set was apparently a national craze. He says he assembled his from a kit that he mail-ordered from an ad on a box of Wheaties. His recollection is that the kit contained a crystal and a piece of wire and some instructions and from that he put together a radio that actually did work. What we wish now is that he still had that Wheaties box and the kit so that we could dazzle the folks on “Antiques Roadshow” with it. But anyway.

A look at the history of the crystal radio tells us that it dates back to the late 19th century and is not attributed to anyone in particular. Rather, it grew out of a series of discoveries made by a lot of inquisitive folks and gradually evolved into more and better radio receivers in the early 20th century. One of these discoveries was that certain metallic minerals, such as galena, could be used to detect radio signals. In 1901, an Indian fellow by the name of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (now there’s a familiar name in electronics!) filed a US patent request for "A Device for Detecting Electrical Disturbances" that mentioned the use of a galena crystal. That patent was granted in 1904 and the new field of electronics was born! The earliest practical application of the crystal radio was to receive Morse code radio signals transmitted by experimenters. As the technology evolved, the ability to send voice signals by radio developed.

In 1922, the US government released a publication titled ‘Construction and Operation of a Simple Homemade Radio Receiving Outfit’. With this instruction and a few simple items and tools, the average family could make a radio and listen to broadcasts about the weather and farming news such as crop prices, which were important to many people at the time. Pittsburgh station KDKA, which was owned by Westinghouse, received a license from the US Department of Commerce in 1920 and was able to broadcast the Harding-Cox presidential election returns.

(Some of us may wish that tradition had never been established…) Thus, the autumn of 1920 is generally considered to be the beginning of radio broadcasting in America for entertainment purposes. With expensive factory-made radios out of reach for the average American family, many newspapers and magazines (and maybe cereal boxes!) carried articles on how to build a crystal radio with common household items. Many of the plans instructed the maker to wind the tuning coil on empty cardboard containers such as oatmeal boxes. This became the common foundation for homemade radios. Creative types discovered that in addition to mineral crystals, the oxide coatings that form on many metal surfaces are semiconductors and can rectify (i.e. convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), and crystal radios have been improvised using detectors made from rusty nails, corroded pennies, and many other common objects. Allied troops in Italy during WWII are credited with making so-called ‘foxhole radios.’ Personal radio receivers were strictly prohibited An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

by K. Harper as the Germans had radio detecting equipment that could detect the more sophisticated receivers. Since crystal sets could not be detected, the soldiers used such items as blue steel razor blades and pencil leads to create the ‘foxhole radios’ that enabled them to detect broadcasts. Yankee ingenuity at its finest! If you’d like the challenge of re-creating the razor blade/pencil lead receivers made by those G.I.’s, there are complete instructions here: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Crystal-Radio. Building crystal radios was a national fad in the 1920s, and again in the 1950s.

The Boy Scouts have kept the construction of a radio set in their program since the 1920s. While crystal radio never regained the popularity and general use that it enjoyed at its beginnings, it is still very popular among hobbyists. Dxing (long-distance reception) is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two way radio communications. Annual crystal radio 'DX' contests (and crystal set building contests) allow these set owners to compete with each other and form a community of interest in the subject.

Crystal radio sets have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and people have started designing and building examples of the early instruments. Much effort goes into the visual appearance of these sets as well as their performance.

So, what is a crystal radio and why does it work? Briefly, (and I quote directly from www.tech-faq.com since I am generally clueless about such things): “the antenna picks up radio signals from the air. The ground wire creates a continuum – a point of entry (the antenna) and a point of exit (the ground) so radio signal electricity is generated. This low-voltage electricity flows through to the radio and is adjusted through the radio crystal tuner to choose a particular radio station's broadcast. The electricity is then directed to the apparatus that converts radio signal electricity into sound energy. This converter is the crystal detector, composed of a slender wire touching a semiconducting crystal; primitive radio crystals used galena but more recent models made use of geranium diodes. At this point, electrical energy is successfully converted into sound energy that humans can hear.” More information is available here: http:// www.tech-faq.com/crystal-radio.html How to build your own: You need just a few things, including a wire coil, a crystal diode, a resistor, a tuner and an earphone.

Rather than attempting to condense the many articles on this subject into something we can all comprehend, I turned to Youtube and found a really excellent, detailed video, complete with tips and tricks, made by a good-natured (if nerdy) guy who is clearly an expert on this subject. After watching the video, I felt I could actually do this and if you have 20 minutes to spare watching it, I think you’ll be amused, enlightened and educated and perhaps transported back to the early 20th century when amazing human ingenuity brought us to the dawn of the electronics age: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XR9Uzy2RPM And should you wish to celebrate National Radio Day in other ways besides building a radio, here are some suggestions: http:// www.altiusdirectory.com/ Society/2008/08/nationalradio-day-20th-august.html

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August, 2015

GARDEN GLORIES Plumerias Left -- Ft. Myers Yellow Right—Ft. Myers Red Bottom—David Gray pink Courtesy of D. Stever

Left—Pitcher bog Above—Close-up of sundew Courtesy of D. Hickenbotham

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August, 2015

MORE GARDEN GLORIES

Moonflower in bloom

Dendrobium jumbo white

Courtesy of A. Rosati

Courtesy of A. Rosati

Bear versus Bee Hive Courtesy of L. Buhrow

Slug moth caterpillar found on our compost bins! Courtesy of P. Garrett

Circle of life Courtesy of S. Gerber

White hibiscus (from our Nursery!)

Courtesy of M. Stewart An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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August, 2015

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

by P. Garrett

These pictures are courtesy of P. Garrett who recently visited the Xcaret ecological park near Cancun, Mexico. Top left is a Blue Morpho butterfly feeding on fruit with multiple Owl butterflies and a Malachite butterfly. Top right is a close up of the Malachite butterfly. Center right is a monarch. Bottom left is a Zebra Longwing.

Bottom right is a local anole who appears to want his fair share of the fruit fiesta. Immediately below is a gorgeous plumeria.

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August, 2015

SOUTH cont’d.

Of course, when there is food around the resident raccoon wants to be sure to get your attention. Not to be outdone, a strolling coatimundi will check out your apple. Scarlet macaws add a pop of color. Below left are hives of Meliponi native bees. They have no stingers and do store some honey. The lower right picture isn’t a nail in a hole—that is the guard bee at the entrance of one of the hives.

She will block the entrance and move out of the way when her sisters arrive—provided they have the correct password!

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SOUTH cont’d.

Chicle latex comes from the sapodilla or chico zapote tree (Manikara sapota).

Several decades ago, the chicle, the main ingredient to produce chewing gum was harvested from this tree. The scars on this trunk are a result of a series of zigzag cuts. These cuts allowed the white latex to flow and after several days was harvesting inside of leather bags to be processed.

Ed note: The Butterfly Pavilion in Xcaret has an area of 3500 square meters and is 15 meters high. This makes it one of the largest in the world. The exhibition showcases the species of the region in their natural habitat and produces 20 over 20 different species. Xcaret also has a wild bird aviary, coral reef aquarium, orchid greenhouse, marine turtles, Jaguar island, manatee lagoon, tropical jungle trail, paradise river, and a whole lot more for the nature lover. There are plenty of other amenities at this resort. You can check them out on-line at www.xcaret.com Oh and what is Xcaret? It’s a Maya civilization archaeological site in the modern-day state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

WILDLIFE HAPPENINGS

courtesy of www.wec.ufl.edu/extension

August continues with the afternoon rains and sticky heat, but the wildlife doesn’t mind. Here are some things to look for this month.

beach better than you found it. The sea turtles are depending on you!

Insects >Thousands of great southern white butterflies can be seen migrating through coastal areas.

Birds >Fist flocks of blue-winged and green-winged teal arrive to winter on Florida lakes and wetlands. >Yellow warbler migration begins.

Invertebrates >Corals along the Keys spawn at the full moon.

Mammals >Two-year old black bear cubs will wean from their mothers. >Short-tailed shrews will begin a second round of breeding for the year.

The Jokester

Reptiles >Young sea turtles are hatching so watch where you’re walking on the beach. Be sure to pay attention to marked nests and take all your belongings with you when you leave! If you are staying on the beach, be sure you turn off the outside lights so the baby turtles don’t get confused and go away from the sea instead of towards it. Did you build sand-castles or dig holes? Leave the An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “Where’s the self-help section?”

She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

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August, 2015

GMO OR NON-GMO Although the majority of the scientific community agree that GMO foods are a boon to mankind with no noticeable side effects, occasionally a study is done which gives one reason to pause and reconsider. The study done in 2012 and has been published in “The Journal of American Science”. It has not been refuted or duplicated. This again gives reason to reconsider.

Why has it not been refuted by more similar experiments. Form your own conclusions.

The alarming study was done using lab rats which seems to be the standard method of evaluation. Using humans seems to bring up to many social issues. Researchers from the Food Technology Department, and Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt found that quite a few unappealing changes took place when rats were fed genetically modified cord.

Potentially adverse health and toxic effects were recorded because the rats’ organs/body weight and serum biochemistry were altered.

by E. Smith A quote from the study; “Relative organ weights of male rats after 45 and 91 days of feeding were recorded.

After 45 days of feeding, no differences were seen in the relative weight of heart for GMO and non GMO groups whereas, there was significant differences found between the two groups after 911 days of feeding”. An evaluation of 19 previously done studies showed that consuming genetically modified corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. Also detected were negative effects on heart, spleen and blood cells.

Some other studies have detected a generational carry over from some of these modifications which may indicate they are a source of epigenetic changes. GMOs have been a blessing in crop increases but do we understand the long term effects. Mother Nature can be tricky. Keep an open mind and form your own conclusion.

This the site for the compete report. http://http://tinyurl.com/ q8h76r6

TO READ OR NOT TO READ How do you, as an Okaloosa County Master Gardener relay information to the question, "What is wrong with my weed, flower, shrub, tree, soil, area decorated, patio, house, and yard?" The questioning person must attempt to explain the situation as they see the problem.

If I am the one answering, I often ask: "What have you done already?" The client will most often explain that they 'don't want that weed in my grass' or 'how do I get rid of the weeds where grass is growing in a circular area.' Those questions/desires lead to the client being told WHAT will do the job. It is often a chemical pesticide, either a pre-emergent or post-emergent depending on the situation.

If the client has not applied anything (really what I was hoping to hear), they are usually more open to hear that some chemical will help them achieve their goal. In some cases they may respond that they sprayed a fungicide. In that case, how do you answer their questions, unsaid words, hopes, and yes fears? The problem you now face is that the client didn't do the right thing and you have to proceed carefully. No one wants to be told that they are wrong.

People come to us with their problems and we know that most of time they have already done something in an attempt to correct the problem that they perceive. We need to ask what exactly they did and if they say that they used a product we need to find out exactly what they used. If it was not the correct product they need to know why.

by L. Morris within our client base that the first thing they should do is (a) be accurate in what the problem is and if they aren't sure to find out BEFORE they do anything (b) when they find out what the problem is, locate the appropriate product for that particular problem and (c) read the label, read the label, and read the label.

Ed. Note: Did you know that there are several changes coming to try and make pesticide labels easier for the public to understand? When was the last time you brushed up on your pesticide label knowledge?

You can check out http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ regulating/labels/product-labels.htm Here you will find common questions that have been posed by the public; changes that are coming to pesticide labels; what is required to be on the label and a whole lot more. There are several brochures available as well.

Remember—we’re the ‘experts’ our clients aren’t.

Our clients need to be made aware that the label on all these products is a legal document and they are required by law to follow all the directions AS THEY ARE LISTED on the product.

Most people do not know this. We need to create a knowledge

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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August, 2015

UPDATES AND INFO

staff

 Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford—4 page fact sheet on  Hydrolea corymbosa—Skyflower 4-page fact sheet. http:// this predatory thrips. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1083

 Saisstia oleae—Black scale 4-page fact sheet. http:// edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1082

 Dendroctonus terebrans—Black Turpentine Beetle 5-page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in636

 Xyleborus affinis—Ambrosia beetle 5-page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1094

 Eriotremex formosanus—Asian Horntail Wasp 4-page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1095

 Xiphinema spp.—Dagger Nematode 7-page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1097

 Murdannia nudiflora—Control of Doveweed in warmseason turfgrass species 4-page fact sheet. http:// edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag395

 Summary of 2013/14 Production Costs—10-page report that outlines the cost of production budgets for fresh grapefruit and juice oranges. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe968

 Managing conflicts with wildlife: Living With Coyotes—4page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw397

 Managing Conflicts with Wildlife: Living With Deer—4-page

edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag397

 Climate Change and the Occurrence of Harmful Microorganisms in Florida’s Ocean and Coastal Waters—6-page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg136

 Lionfish: Is It Safe to Eat? - 4-page fact sheet. http:// edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg135

 Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins—7-page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss642

 Facts about Wildlife Diseases: Rabies—6-page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw282

 Climate Change: Effects on Salinity in Florida’s Estuaries and Responses of Oysters, Seagrass, and Other Biota—6page fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg138

 How wolves are changing the world—https://youtu.be/ ysa5OBhXz-Q

 Map of medicinal plants of the United States http:// www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/ the_vault/2015/05/13/LgMedicinalPlants.jpg

 Insect identification guides—http:// www.insectidentification.org/

fact sheet. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw398

NO NEONICS

courtesy of S. Taylor

In May, I inquired to Bonnie Plants™ about the use of neonicoti- utilize any neonics. I do hope this information is helpful to you.

Thank you and have a good day. noid pesticides on their plants. Here is the response from Mr. Thank you, Thomas Hughes, Customer Relations: Tom Thomas Hughes Bonnie Plants does not utilize any form of systemic neonicotiCustomer Relations noid pesticides/insecticides (neonicotinoids class includes; Bonnie Plants acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, nithiazine, Office (334) 738-0052 thiacloprid, dinotefuran and thiamethoxam) in the nationwide, Fax (334) 460-9736 greenhouse production of transplants. Neonicotinoids are not contained in any seed, soil nor are they utilized in any stage of the growing process.

This year, Home Depot is requiring all live plant vendors to label plants with stick tags that indicate plants were grown using neonics, if neonics were utilized in the growing process (see press release here: http:// The Jokester www.environmentalleader.com/2014/07/01/home-depot-torequire-neonicotinoids-labeling/) As we do not use neonics you Decafalon (n): The grueling event of getting will see no such labeling on Bonnie Plants at Home Depot stores, nationwide. through the day consuming only those things that Additionally, Lowes (April 9, 2015) announced they will “stop are good for you. selling a pesticide that is suspected of killing honeybee populations that are necessary for pollinating crops, completely phasing it out of products and plants by the spring of 2019” See full report here: http://theweek.com/speedreads/548956/lowes-stopselling-pesticide-that-harms-honeybees To date, other retailers have not required live good vendor labeling of neonics use, however, you can be assured, Bonnie Plants, available at any/all retailers we supply, nationwide, does not An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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August, 2015

OAK WORM

by L. Fabian

Visiting a friend in Baton Rouge, LA we noticed that her Pin Oak If a large tree is tree was thinning in the top. Sitting in the house, she noticed involved, it may that the tree was “trembling”. be best to contact a pest conCloser examination revealed that the tree was being consumed trol firm. by a caterpillar known at the Pinkstriped Oakworm. There are Spraying to the other related species of the Oakworm but the results are pretty top of a tree much the same...a defoliated tree. may be difficult if not impossiWe had seen the critter once before when Val Boyles identified ble with the the worm for a homeowner. tools available to the homeIn the forest, the caterpillar rarely causes long term injury. It is owner. the specimen tree in the landscape that causes the homeowner to reach for “something to kill those darn worms!”.

The moth that lays the eggs Fortunately our friend had Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) available from which the and the gorging worms were reduced in number with one treat- oakworm ment. Unfortunately there were eggs still on the tree and cater- hatches is yellow (female) and the male is reddish brown. The pillars that had avoided the spray were feeding and within two pupae overwinter in the ground for nearly 10 months and then days the tree was trembling again. Worms were being consumed emerge to start the cycle over the next year. by birds visiting the tree but there birds weren’t enough to stop the defoliation.

For more information on the oakworm see http:// entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/moths/ In addition to defoliating the tree, the worms cause quite a mess yellowstriped_oakworm.htm on the ground around the tree. Close to a walk or drive way and the surface is covered with...well, worm poop. Not a pretty sight.

INQUIRY I have a love/hate relationship with white tailed deer in our neighborhood for the last ten years. I love watching them and seeing the new babies every year. And yes, I still run to the window to watch them play in my yard. But...I hate it when they eat my plants and the first ripe figs that I have been waiting all year for. We have pretty much come to an understanding, I plant what they don’t eat or surround it in chicken wire which lowers the aesthetic value but works.

by A. Ogle the deer vulnerable to cars, dogs and mean folks.

If you have experience in this area, have you tried things that worked, didn’t work. If you know of plants that they detest or products that you have successfully tired, please contact me via email.

The Jokester

I would like to compile a list of plants they will devour and those they will leave alone. I would appreciate input from everyone that has had some residential Bambi close encounters.

Some people cause happiness wherever they go.

Others whenever they go.

Sadly as we encroach on their habitat, they become used to us. I try to discourage my neighbors from feeding them as this makes An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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August, 2015

DON’T GLOSS IT OVER

by D. Stever

Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) is native to China, Japan and Korea. It is commonly used as a landscape plant and hedge. The glossy privet is a member of the olive family and grows very well in shaded understory and in full sun. The flowers are similar to other privets, white or near white, borne in panicles, and unpleasantly pungent smelling. They spread by bird-dispersed seeds or underground runners and form dense stands that prevent pine and hardwood regeneration and/or land access. This evergreen tree will reach 35 to 40 feet, but can be kept lower as a big shrub. The spread is about 5 to 10 feet.

Glossy privet is on the Florida Exotic Pest Council’s List of invasive plants.

I like to put this statement out from time to time just for relevance “Of the more than 4,000 known plant species growing in Florida, approximately 30% are not native to Florida or the Southeast”. Organisms are considered non-native when they occur artificially in locations beyond their known historical native ranges.

There are some disadvantages to planting this tree. The fruit crop is immense and berries will drop on and stain paved areas and cars. Fallen berries sprout in groundcover and will need pulling. This plant should not be confused with the Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum).

More Information: http://www.clemson.edu/ extension/hgic/plants/ landscape/shrubs/hgic1070.html

Adequate control of these shrubs can be achieved through herbi- http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr133 cide application. Often dense thickets of privet need to be cut down or mowed and the sprouts treated with herbicides.

Info graphics courtesy of www.gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu

GARDENING (AND OTHER) HOLIDAYS National Goat Cheese Month National Water Quality Month Simplify Your Life Week—1st through 7th National Farmers’ Market Week—2nd through 8th National Bargain Hunting Week—3rd through 8th National Chuck Wagon Races—28th through 30th US Air Force Day 1st Watermelon Day 3rd National Night Out 4th An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

National Root Beer Float Day 6th Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night 8th World Honey Bee Day 15th Cupcake Day 17th National Park Service Day 25th More Herbs, Less Salt Day 29th National Toasted Marshmallow Day 30th If your birthday is in August: your trees are: Cypress, Poplar, Cedar, and Pine. Your flowers are gladiolus and poppy. Your birthstones are sardonyx, peridot, diamond, jade, and sapphire.

Your colors are orange, red, and light green.

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August, 2015

RECIPE ROUND-UP GRAPE SALAD courtesy of A. Ogle 1 lb. green seedless grapes 1 lb. red seedless grapes Brown sugar and pecans for topping (to taste) 1/3 cup white sugar 2 tsp. vanilla 1—8oz. Pkg. cream cheese, softened 1 cup sour cream Combine white sugar, cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla with a hand mixer until well combine. Slice grapes in half, leaving a few whole and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving sprinkle with brown sugar and chopped pecans to taste.

PORK MEDALLION SAUTE WITH FIGS courtesy of A. Ogle from Marie Simmons and Sur La Table, Things Cooks Love (Andrews McMeel) 12 figs, fresh or dried 1 cup dry Marsala 1 1/2 pork tenderloins (about 1 1/4 pounds total) Coarse salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme About 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 tbs. unsalted butter 2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots 1 to 2 tbs. fig balsamic or regular aged balsamic vinegar Thyme sprigs, cut into 1-inch pieces, for garnish

Snip the stems from the figs with kitchen scissors. Cut the small figs into halves or the large ones into quarters. Set aside. If using dried figs, place them in a small saucepan with the Marsala and heat gently until warmed. Set aside to soak while preparing the 3 cups sliced, sour kumquats* pork cutlets. Remove the silverskin from the pork tenderloin: Lay 1 cup water the whole tenderloin on a cutting board and trim any excess fat.

5 cups sugar Locate the silverskin, which is a long, narrow, shiny white membrane that runs along the surface of the meat. With the tip of a 1 package Sure-jell thin, sharp knife, make a small cut at the top of the silverskin long *Do not use sweet kumquats as they do not cook well. enough for you to hold onto the skin with the fingertips of one hand. With the other hand, pull the knife, its blade leaning toward Combine kumquats, water and Sure-jell and bring to a boil. the skin, along the skin and parallel to the meat to separate it from Add sugar and boil for one minute. Pour into jars, seal and the meat. Discard the skin. Repeat with the half tenderloin. Slice the tenderloins into 12 slices each ¾ inch thick. Cut 2 sheets of store in refrigerator when cool. Keeps for many months. plastic wrap each about 10 inches long. Lay 2 or 3 tenderloin slices on 1 sheet and cover with the second sheet. Gently pound the slices until evenly flattened to between 1⁄8 and ¼ inch thick. ReEGGPLANT DIP peat with the remaining slices. When all of the slices have been courtesy of P. Garrett pounded into cutlets, sprinkle them lightly on both sides with salt and pepper, then sprinkle them on one side only with 1 teaspoon 1 medium eggplant, peeled of the chopped thyme. Place the flour on a sheet of plastic wrap, 2 red bell peppers, seeded and dip each cutlet in the flour, lightly coating on both sides and 1 red onion shaking off the excess. Heat a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and heat until the butter foams. Add 2 garlic cloves, minced the pork a few slices at a time and sauté, turning once with tongs, 3 tbs. olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Using the 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt tongs, transfer to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep 1/2 tsp. pepper warm. Repeat with the remaining pork slices. Add the shallots to 1 to 2 tbs. tomato paste the pan and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes, Preheat oven to 400°. Chop eggplant, red pepper and onion into or until softened. If the dried figs are soaking, strain and reserve the Marsala separately. Add the figs, increase the heat to mediummedium sized pieces. Toss in garlic and olive oil. Roast on high, and cook, turning them with a spatula as they brown, for cookie sheet for 45 minutes, toss once during roasting. Remove about 3 minutes (turn fresh figs gently, as stirring might crush from oven and allow to cool. Place in food processor. Pulse 3 to them). Add the Marsala and boil, gently turning the fruit, for 4 times. Add tomato past, salt and pepper. about 3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the vinegar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of chopped thyme on top. Taste and add more vinegar, if needed. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Return the pork to the pan and quickly reheat, turning the pork in the sauce. Arrange the pork slices on a Ed Note: Don’t forget that Recipe-Roundup is a regular feature warmed platter and spoon the figs and sauce on top. Garnish with of The Compost Pile. Do you have a family recipe that you turn the thyme sprigs and serve at once. to again and again? Is there one that you really want to share with the world? Perhaps you have an abundance of a certain type of produce and need ideas on how to use it? Send us the recipes or the request for recipes and we’ll put the word out!

SOUR KUMQUAT MARMALADE courtesy of L. Vanderpool

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

13

August, 2015

M. Stewart —Editor S. Farrell , K. Harper and S. Berry—co-editors

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Mission To assist Extension Agents in providing research-based horticultural education to Florida residents.

Vision To be the most trusted resource for horticultural education in Florida.

LAST WORD I collect cookbooks. Mostly the really old ones. One full bookcase, another corner shelf and the shelves under the table are packed. I know Happy Hubby gets a little concerned when he sees me perusing the Army Cooks Manual—1910 and even more so with the Wartime Cookery (heck I didn’t even know you COULD cook some of those parts!)

Joyful day when I discover a bunch of the little booklets that the companies used to put out—recipes intended to get you to use their products. My excuse for getting those is that they are little and don’t take up much room.

Granted, I’ve gotten to the point now that any new additions to the collection have to be quietly inserted. (Yes, I need help and I know it.) You never know when those darned things will come in handy.

Take for instance the battle of the deviled eggs. I was making them and they were okay but not what I remembered from my grandmother’s kitchen. Enter the 1950 Betty Furness Westinghouse cookbook and lookie here! There’s the recipe with the missing ingredient! I now have grandma’s deviled eggs.

I also collect aprons. There are the everyday white, work aprons and the giant rubber one (note to self: do not answer door wearing that one, especially if one still has the meat cutting knife in one’s hand—folks get nervous.) There are the really long white ones (I do love military surplus) and the obligatory seasonal ones. I have a few that I don’t use because, quite frankly, they are so old that they’d probably burst into flame the minute they got near the stove.

Now we all know that we wear aprons to protect our clothing. Happy Hubby likes to point out that I need aprons that cover the rear as well since I have the habit of dusting off my hands in the vicinity of my back pockets. Nope, the apron doesn’t cover there so it makes for some interesting flour markings on occasion.

Aprons have pockets—most are absolutely useless but handy for stuffing various cooking utensils that you will then spend the next 15 minutes trying to locate.

You can buy cookbook stands now. No more having the page turn from the one you need—which by the way, only occurs when your hands are absolutely coated in some sticky goo. You can’t turn the pages with your chin, nose or other body parts (I’ve tried) so you either try to turn the page back, keeping as much goo off as possible or take the time to go wash up (who does that in the middle of the process????).

You then can find your favorite recipe from the sections that are permanently glued together with the remnants of cinnamon braids or pecan pie.

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

By M. Stewart There are a lot of times that I’ll read one of the recipes and think, “Yeah—that ain’t gonna happen!” Those results I refer to as my ‘concoctions.’ Most of the time they end up really good but when they don’t...let’s just say I have had some pretty spectacular disasters. Nothing that involved the fire department but one that did result in the cook making an ER visit.

(Note to self: do not hold the roll while trying to slice it—fingers get in the way.)

So aprons are for protection and cookbooks for directions. With the proper tools you can pretty much cook anything as long as you follow the directions. Without these and the venture will probably fail.

How often are our garden endeavors the same way? As gardeners we have a problem. We won’t admit it—we collect plants.

Sometimes they are plants that we know the research says won’t grow in our area but we’re going to try anyway. (Don’t look at me like that—you know that you do it.)

Some of us collect tools as well. I mean, what is wrong with having 4 or 5 different shovels? There is a shovel for every job!

The question becomes if we have the RIGHT tool for the job at hand. We’ve all purchased the bucket aprons or work aprons for using in the yard—and we lose things in those pockets as well.

Do we have the ‘recipe’ for the problem we want to treat or the plant we want to propagate. In other words, do we have the instructions and if we do, do we actually read them and follow them.

At some point we’ve all been guilty of taking shortcuts. Whether because we were rushed, hot, or thought we knew better.

We deal with folks every day who face similar problems. We have the advantage of knowing where to find information and we’ve been taught that following directions is imperative. But someone who hasn’t had our training faces those shelves in the garden center sort of like I face tables at antique stores with cookbooks—we aren’t sure which things we want but they all look so good we want them all! It’s our job to help folks work through the ‘recipes’ and avoid the disasters.

Oh, and I have an apron from the garden—same problem—it doesn’t go all the way around so I usually have dirty back pockets.

So remember, help folks find the right recipe, follow the directions and use the right tools! Don’t rely on memory or ‘vintage’ information. We know where the up-to-date research is located and it’s our job to get that information out there.

I promise not to use the 1910 cookbook if I invite you to dinner (maybe).

Plentiful Plantings

July, 2015