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Pollinator gardens
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Date Posted: Wed, Sep 28 - 11:26 pm
- Thank you for your quick response! The after school program supports 24 students (12 second graders, 12 third graders). We will be researching and designing the gardens from October until December. The program runs until the end of the year, so we can build it next spring or late fall - whichever best meets your schedule. The principal is allowing us to build it in the area where a previous garden was built a few years ago. I believe it will be roughly 5' by 5'. Do you have anyone that might be interested in discussing gardening or butterflies with the students? The presentation can be virtual or in person. Thank you again for your assistance.
- Thank you, this is very helpful. It sounds like a great program! I'll be passing this along to others and will post it as a volunteer opportunity for those to help build and instruct. Please send me all your contact information to this address--jrreilly2323@gmail.com and we can discuss more specifics. We look forward to working with you!
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Butterfly gardens
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Date Posted: Tue, Sep 27 - 5:13 pm
- I have an after school group at Laburnum Elementary. We will be studying a unit on butterfly gardens and the principal is allowing us to build one. Is there any way to get volunteers to help us build or a guest speaker to address the group?
- Hello there, Thank you for your inquiry. I need to check in with the other MGs to see what we can do. If you would answer a few questions, we'll be better able to address your request. How many students are in the after-school program? Is it just one garden you want to build? If so, what is the approximate size of the garden? Do you have time frame for it's completion? This information will help us move forward, I'll let you know what can be done once we have the parameters of the project. Please send another question (with the above questions answered) through the virtual help desk and I'll get back to you. It sounds like a fun project!
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Reference for design and maintenance
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Date Posted: Fri, Sep 23 - 7:18 pm
- Hello! I realize Master Gardeners cannot advertise towards commercial gain. I’m looking for someone who has a gardening business with extensive experience to plan, plant and maintain garden beds at a residence in Hanover county ( Beaverdam). We are not looking for a large landscaping company. Do you know anyone or where I might find someone with this background ?
- Hello there, I can make some recommendation to make your search a bit easier. Do you have a favorite garden center, one you go to regularly? If so, many garden centers also offer design services. I'm not familiar with any out your way but I'm certain you can find a garden center with these services if you inquire. When you do, you'll want to know whether or not the staff providing these services are certified horticulturists (VCH) or certified landscape designers (VSLD). Additionally, you can take a look at the Virginia Society of Landscape Designers website---- https://www.vsld.org/certified-member/ and look for designers in your area. There are many good choices. I hope these are ideas are helpful, good luck with your plans!!
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Native plants
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Date Posted: Thu, Sep 15 - 9:44 pm
- I have an east-facing front yard in the Museum District and have approximately 12X 6 feet of space to work with. We recently got a retaining wall put in, and so it is a fresh canvas. The space gets full sun at least half the day. I love native plants, and particularly those that would remain evergreen in the winter. Any suggestions?
- Hello there, so nice to start fresh! I'm glad to hear you are interested in using native plants. I'm assuming the space is 12 feet wide and 6 feet deep. You'll probably want to start by creating some structure with shrubs. For evergreen green shrubs you could use inkberry (ilex glabra). There are many varieties of this plant, some have a loose form whiele others have a tighter globe shape and there are large and smaller sizes as well. So there's an inkberry to fit most spaces and styles. Mountain laurel is also another lovely evergreen plant with beautiful blooms in spring. Dog hobble or more commonly just Leucothoe (axillaris) is another nice evergreen. There is a variegated variety if you want to brighten up a space. You may also want to try evergreen bayberry (morella caroliniensis). In addition to these evergreens, there is virginia sweetspire (itea virginica) which has a nice drape to its shape, panicles of white flowers and beautiful fall color. Another good shrub is pepperbush (clethra alnifolia) with white to pink flowers (depending on variety) which is wonderfully fragrant. There is a smaller-sized variety that would fit in most gardens. Many of the plants in the blueberry family - early lowbush and deerberry (vaccinum pallida+vaccinum stamineum) have gorgeous fall color and colored bare stems in winter. Their spring flowers are delicate and beautiful and their fruits add to their appeal. I know you have a small space but I wanted to give a good number of options so you can pick and choose. Once you have a plan, you can decide what you want to place where. After placing the shrubs, you can then think about adding some lovely native ferns, perennials and/or ground cover, whatever space will allow. Before deciding on plants and placement, you should have a soil test done if you haven't already. You can amend if necessary and as an annual ritual, add compost to nourish you plantings. You can get a soil test kit at your local library when the Master Gardener Help Desk is in operation. Call your local library to find out the day and time. For additional information I suggest checking out this website and using the plant guides for the Capital region and NOVA-- https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/plant-rva-natives. Best of luck with the new garden!
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Soil, native plants
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Date Posted: Tue, Sep 13 - 6:36 pm
- I have got my front yard in great shape! not the back yard :( . It looks like a baseball field with lots of dirt and not much else. My back yard gets filtered sun,, some periods of direct sun in day. I have LOTS of trees. I want to turn my back yard into a natural wooded area with native wildlife. Do you think I need to buy soil or are there lots of native plants that can thrive in clay soil w/out that. Can you think of some native plants that would thrive in that kind of area. Thanks!
- Hello there, Well, the good news is you have lots of trees! We all should....Since that's the case you must have a lot of fallen leaves come winter. What do you do with those leaves? If you aren't already, I would suggest you start a compost pile or two. Or even simpler, you can just let the leaves remain where they have fallen and accumulate. Over time you'll have your woodland base. If you would rather rake them up and compost them, that's fine too. Then make an annual habit of applying that compost to keep feeding the soil. Having all those trees is a real advantage; you have a lot of raw material with which to work. You want to build a good base that will nourish the insects, plants and animals you want in your back yard. There's a good book on permaculture - Gaia's Garden, that has lots of useful information. You'll be especially interested in chapter 4 -Bringing Soil to Life. So rather than spending a lot of money and energy on purchasing soil and amendments, and if you give the project a little bit of time, you can save that money and use it for plants! There are some plants that are suited to clay but building your soil will bring you greater benefits-again, creating a balanced home for insects, plants and animals. There's a wonderful website you can use for finding out about native plants and the habitats they thrive within. I highly recommend--https://www.plantvirginianatives.org. It's easy to use and covers a lot of territory. It's always recommended to get your soil tested to see if the soil is lacking in any nutrients. You can have that done through the Chesterfield Master Gardener program. Here's the phone number: (804) 751-4401. You can also visit your local library and speak with a master gardener and pick up a soil testing kit at the same time. Check your local library for the day and time that the master gardener help desks are active. Best of luck with this project, I think you'll have some fun!
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Fall garden planting
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Date Posted: Tue, Sep 06 - 9:28 pm
- Hello! I just moved to RVA and Id like to plant a small flower garden in front of my house. The area receives sun most of the day. What plants could I plant that would adjust to being planted in September? Thank you so much! Taylor
- Hello Taylor! You've got two really good things going for you-sun and fall planting. Fall is a great time to plant here, though you may want to wait until it cools down just a little bit. This will give you some time to mull over your design. Your plant palette is pretty much wide open. Richmond is on the border of the piedmont and coastal plain regions, so you can use plants that are native to either of those areas. To get you started I have a few plant suggestions. They are: yellow coreopsis (tickseed), some purple echinacea (purple coneflower), liatris (liatris spicata)-also purple, orange butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa) not butterfly bush, one of the native low-growing phloxes-divaricata or stolonifera, maybe some little bluestem grass (schizachyrium scoparium) for a different texture, for some height-oxeye (heliopsis helianthoides) and some shrubby st. john's wort (hypericum prolificum) for its lovely pollen-laded flowers and attractive foliage. One of the best approaches is to find a nursery you like that sells native flowers and see what is for sale at the nursery as the months pass. Ask the staff for information, they love sharing their knowledge! I also suggest reading up on what is, and why plant, a native plant. This is a really useful website--https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58e25c41e6f2e17ea4cb7766/t/5ed00bfcb208c2251311ebc6/1590692887078/Native+Plants+for+Virginia%27s+Capital+Region+Guide+for+download.pdf. Check out the information for the capital region on this website when gardening in Richmond but remember you may be able to use some plants for the coastal plain as well. Before starting your garden it's a good idea to get your soil tested to find out if it's lacking in any nutrients. You can find out about cost and how to gather a good sample by calling to speak with a VCE-MG at our Chesterfield Master Gardener Help Desk weekdays during regular business hours, March through October or call (804) 751-4401 to speak with the Master Gardener on call. Also, the local branch libraries have MG help desks. Check your local branch for the day and time and speak to an MG. They are there to help! Best of luck with your new garden!
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Soil Test
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Date Posted: Fri, Aug 12 - 10:39 pm
- Hello! I got my soil test results back, but I don't understand them. Can you help? Best, Teresa
- Hello Teresa, Yes, I would be able to help you with the soil test results. You won't be able to upload them through this site. However, if you can send me the results through email that should do the trick. Please send the results to--jrreilly2323@gmail.com. I look forward to helping you sort this out.
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Soil testing
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Date Posted: Mon, Jul 25 - 8:59 pm
- Do you all provide soil testing? And if so how do I sign up? Best, Katie
- Hello Katie, We absolutely do provide soil testing. The master gardeners that provide Help Desk duties at the branch libraries all have soil sample kits for purchase. Call the branch nearest you and find out the Help Desk dates and times. The kit will describe exactly how to sample your soil and what the fees are. You can find the form to fill out here-- https://www.soiltest.vt.edu/content/dam/soiltest_vt_edu/PDF/SSIS-452-125.pdf, if you want a preview and a bit more information. Good luck with the testing and happy gardening!
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Pests
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Date Posted: Sat, Jul 23 - 4:51 pm
- What's wrong with my tomatoes? I've been gardening for years, but have never seen this issue with tomatoes before. This is my first time gardening in Hanover, VA. I believe the space has been used for gardening before. I didn't do a soil test. The only soil amendment has been bloodmeal. All of my tomatoes, regardless of size, look fine while green, but as they ripen, they appear to have white spots underneath the skin. When I cut them open, they all have a sort of white pithiness throughout the outer flesh just under the skin. The flavor is okay but the skins are tough and crunchy, and it's consistent throughout the 6 varieties I've planted. I haven't seen any issues with the foliage. I'm really stumped on this one but I am wondering if this is a new-to-me disease or an outcome of inconsistent watering (due to some unforeseen circumstances, they're largely surviving on what falls from the sky plus one weekly watering). I saw a few earlier in the season that have blossom end rot, but these ones don't have decay at the blossom end. Any thoughts? Thanks for your insights!
- Hello there, this does sound discouraging!! I have to admit that I have never had this issue but I did a little research and found some resources that may help you. The first website is from Texas A&M. It's useful because it shows pictures of ripe fruit in trouble and identifies the problem. I'm making a guess that Cloudy Spot might be your issue. Of course, I must emphasize that this is a guess, having never seen the problem you describe firsthand. Cloudy Spot indicates stink bug infestation--https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/problem-solvers/tomato-problem-solver/ripe-fruit/. If that's right, the VA Tech website has a video on how to trap the culprit--https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2019/10/Stink_bug_Media_Advisory2019.html, I like this solution because there is no chemical insecticide involved. The trap in the video was created to trap the bugs in homes but can easily be used in the garden as well. If my guess is wrong, you have another option. VA Tech has a plant disease clinic where samples can be tested and identified. Because Richmond City does not currently have an extension agent due to a staffing vacancy, you can contact the Chesterfield office and get the details on submitting samples. There is a $35 fee as well as paperwork that must be submitted with the sample(s). You can contact them at this email address-- Chesterfield MG Help Desk: vce@chesterfield.gov. Best of luck sorting this out!!
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Natives!!
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Date Posted: Thu, Jul 21 - 7:35 pm
- where can I find a list of native flowers to plant as well as native seeds to plant in my garden. I am aiming to increasing visits from pollinators! My space gets about 6 hours of full sun. Thanks!
- Hello there, so glad you are thinking about all the benefits of native plants. Not only will you attract pollinators but you'll increase the food supply for birds and beef up the organisms in the soil working underground; just to name a few benefits. I'm attaching 3 different websites that are wonderful references, the one for Virginia natives is especially useful. There is no shortage of choices. Internet resources: www.vpns.org; www.xerces.org; www.plantvirginianatives.org. Have fun planting your new garden!! We all appreciate it.