January 2012 Newsletter

...for discerning weeders January, 2012

ARBOR DAY Inside this issue:

New Tree

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Coming Events

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Parting Shot

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Did You Know?

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Walk on the Wild 5 Side Year of the

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Dragon Weed of the

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Month Book Review

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Mark Your

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Calendar Plant One

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Last Word

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DON’T FORGET! You have to log your hours onto the VMS

by Karen Harper

Arbor Day. We all know it's about the importance of trees in the ecosystem and the act of planting of trees. But how much have you forgotten about Arbor Day since grade school? Did you know there is both a National Arbor Day and a separate Arbor Day observation for the individual states? Neither did I. Now give yourself 10 points if you know the 2012 dates for National Arbor Day AND Florida's Arbor Day...ready? It's April 27, 2012 and January 20, 2012, respectively.

Finally give yourself extra credit if you know WHY each state observes Arbor Day at different times... it's so that trees are planted at the appropriate time for the climate and conditions for each state. (OK, that one was fairly easy). Here, for future reference, are the dates for each state's Arbor Day: http:// arbor-day.net/arbor-day-state-dates.htm.

Florida and Louisiana always observe Arbor Day on the 3rd Friday in January. Alabama observes an Arbor Week, which is always the last full week in February.

Now, some Arbor Day history: The concept and implementation of the Arbor Day observance comes to us from one Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), a Nebraska journalist and politician who was originally from Michigan. Morton believed that his adopted state of Nebraska would benefit from the addition of more trees and he used his own farm to illustrate his beliefs. He planted orchards, shade trees and wind breaks on his property and urged his neighbors to do the same. When he became a member of Nebraska's state board of agriculture, he used that opportunity to promote his ideas about adding more trees to 1

the Nebraska landscape. He proposed that a special day be set aside dedicated to tree planting and increasing awareness of the importance of trees. Thus, the first Arbor Day in America took place on April 10, 1872.

The day was an amazing success with more than one million trees planted. A second Arbor Day took place in 1884 and then Nebraska made it an annual legal holiday in 1885, using April 22nd to coincide with Morton's birthday.

In the years following that first Arbor Day, the concept spread beyond Nebraska with Kansas, Tennessee, Minnesota and Ohio all proclaiming their own Arbor Days. Today all 50 states celebrate Arbor Day although the dates vary in keeping with the local climate.

It was President Richard Nixon in 1970 who proclaimed the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day. Arbor Day is also now celebrated in many other countries. Con’t. on page 2

ARBOR DAY

continued from page 1

A man named Birdsey Northrop (of Connecticut) was responsible for globalizing the Arbor Day concept when he visited Japan in 1883 and delivered his Arbor Day and Village Improvement message. In that same year, the American Forestry Association made Northrop the chairman of a committee to campaign for Arbor Day nationwide.

Northrop also spread the enthusiasm for Arbor Day to Australia, Canada and Europe. Some of the eventual results of Northrop's efforts include 'Greening Week' in Japan, 'The New Year's Days of Trees' in Israel, 'The Tree-loving Week' of Korea, 'The Reforestation Week' of Yugoslavia, 'The Students' Afforestation Day' of Iceland and 'The National Festival of Tree Planting' in India. Julius Sterling Morton would be pleased that his good ideas have made a real difference worldwide.

And in case you were thinking that there couldn't be much in the way of controversy over the term "Arbor Day", here's a bit of intrigue on the subject: In 1997 as Arbor Day reached the height of popularity on its 125th anniversary, David J. Wright noticed that a Nebraska nonprofit organization called the National Arbor Day Foundation had taken the name of the holiday, trademarked it and established it for their own commercial use as the title of the publication "Arbor Day." So Wright countered those efforts, launched a website, and trademarked it for "public use celebrations" and defended the matter in a US federal district court to ensure that "Arbor Day" would remain in the public domain. The case was settled in October 1999 and today anyone can use the term "Arbor Day" as well as hold their own

Arbor Day celebration.

The Arbor Day Foundation (http://www.arborday.org/) continues to be a wealth of information on all things tree.

Since 1976, The Foundation has sponsored a Tree City USA program in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. Towns or cities must meet certain standards to be designated a Tree City USA. These standards were established to ensure that every qualifying community would have a viable tree management plan and program and they were also designed so that no community would be excluded because of size. There are 160 Tree Cities in Florida as of July, 2011 (with Ft. Walton Beach being one of them): http://www.arborday.org/ programs/treeCityUSA/map.cfm There will be opportunities locally to get involved on Florida's Arbor Day, including a free tree giveaway scheduled for January 19, tentatively at Tractor Supply in Crestview. And consider your own yard and neighborhood on Arbor Day. Use the day as an opportunity to take stock of the trees on your property and plan for the future. Inspect your trees.

Note any broken branches or evidence of disease or insect infestation. Think about how new trees might improve the look of your property or provide wind or heat protection.

Take a trip to your local nursery to see what's available and to get new ideas. Walk around your neighborhood. Are there any public areas where tree planting or tree maintenance might make a real difference to your community?

Talk with your neighbors. Find out what their opinions are.

And, oh yes, plant a tree!

Another variation to the native Bottleus. This rare species even lights up! Photos courtesy of Bill Buckellew

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Celebrate Arbor Day! January 19th Tractor Supply, Crestview January 10th Extension Landscape Work Day 8am until ?

Clean up only!

Making the place look presentable.

Okaloosa Saves Eco-nomic Living Expo Saturday, February 4, 2012 9:30am—3:00pm Emerald Coast Convention Center

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Parting Shots

by Bill Buckellew

Here are some of my observations and opinions from having been a Trainee in ’08, an Intern in ’09, VP in ’10, and President in ’11. I think I know all of the MGs now, even if I don’t always remember your names. I’ve seen you in action and am very impressed with those of you who have done the work. Many of you are at every event, every meeting, every volunteer effort, and every office work day. You volunteered to help on Outreach, landscaping, plant sales, and the Nursery, often in the heat, cold, or rain. Thank you for that; you made my job much easier.

Now for the parting shot: The people I’m talking about above represent less than 25% of the OCMGA. The remainder just attend the meetings and log the hours. The "Book" says you need 35 volunteer and 10 continuing education hours each year to remain current. I doubt that very many of the MGs who think they are current really are.

I will ask the incoming Board to review the hours of all MGs in 2011, determine who is really current and who is

just displaying the license plate, and inform those who are not current of their need to re-qualify. I know some have been ill, traveled, or have had family situations, and that can be taken into account. For the rest, however, if we are to be a volunteer organization assisting the Extension, which is what we are in existence for, all of us need to either participate or quit coming just for the food and fellowship.

Hard cheese? No…having been a Boy Scout leader, Band Parent, USAF guy, church guy, and whatever else, it’s always the same: A small few do it all. For example, very few MGs showed interest in being Board members or Committee chairs for 2012. Only two volunteered to run the Plant Sale. I’m very proud of you 25%; I’m disappointed in the remainder, but thanks to all of you for allowing me to be your President. It’s been quite a ride…see you at the Annex or the meetings!

Did You Know?

I’m fairly certain that we all know that our State tree (even though it isn’t a tree at all) is the Sabal Palm. Florida has many 'official' State symbols such as: State reptile—Alligator State bird—Mockingbird State butterfly—Zebra Longwing State animal—Florida Panther State marine mammal—Manatee State saltwater mammal—Dolphin State saltwater fish– Atlantic Sailfish State pie—Key Lime State fruit—Orange State horse—Florida Cracker Horse State saltwater reptile—Loggerhead turtle State freshwater fish—Largemouth Bass State flower—Orange Blossom State wildflower—Coreopsis State beverage—Orange juice Sate shell—Horse Conch State stone—Agatized Coral State gem—Moonstone

By Marg Stewart State soil—Myakka Fine Sand State song—"Old Folks at Home" State motto—In God We Trust State play—Cross and Sword State anthem—"Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky" You have to admit that there are a host of State symbols that you probably didn’t know existed! Who knew you could actually have a State soil? Myakka Fine Sand was designated as such in 1989 and is unique to Florida in more than 1.5 million acres of flatwoods. Another oddity is the fact that while Moonstone is our State gem—it isn’t found naturally in Florida!

Just for laughs: Okaloosa County was created in 1915 from the existing counties of Santa Rosa and Walton. Okaloosa is the Choctaw word meaning black water. Mr. William Mapoles introduced a bill in 1915 to name the new county after "The Okaloosa," a steamboat that ran down the Blackwater River from Milton to Pensacola!

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Florida was also the first place in the New World to establish commercial vineyards and wineries. Shalimar Vineyards was created in the early 1900’s to establish wine production in Northwest Florida. And lastly, when you turn on the air conditioner, thank Dr. John Gorrie of Apalachicola who got the first patent for mechanical refrigeration in 1851.

A Walk on the Wild Side

A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

Author Unknown

Linda Meyers Courtesy of www.wec.ufl.edu/extension Happy New Year 2012 to everyone...and we hope you have a fun new year enjoying and learning more about the fascinating wildlife we have in our area.

Birds Male cardinals begin territorial singing later in the month. Other nesting activity can be seen by ospreys, sandhill cranes, hawks, and owls. Look for red-tailed hawks perched in trees along highways. Huge clouds of tree swallows should be visible around sunset roosting over large marsh areas. Don’t forget, now is a great time to watch our over-wintering populations of ducks and geese.

Mammals

Year of the Dragon

Celebrating a New Year isn’t just a Western tradition.

Chun Jie, Chinese New Year, Spring Festival or Lunar New Year is another major celebration. Celebrated on January 23rd (this year), Chinese families will pour out their money to buy presents, decorations, material, food, and clothing. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and there will be feasts with families. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peach and happiness for everyone.

Gray foxes, bobcats, and raccoons begin breeding this month. Deer reach the peak of the rutting season in north Florida. Black bears in North Florida are inactive or in dens.

Fish Striped bass and sunshine bass move into open water to feed on shad.

Have a GREEN Holiday—If you have a live Christmas tree, put it to good use. Use it to start a brush pile near your bird feeder. Not only will it provide good yearround cover for birds, but it will also take up a lot less space in your county landfill.

ly n o re a ys e r a e d Th re o s! a m 358 hristm C l i t un

by Marg Stewart

This year is the Year of the Dragon. The Dragon is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is the only animal that is legendary. The Dragon traditionally symbolizes potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, hurricane, and floods. The Dragon also symbolizes energy, fearlessness, warm-heartedness, and charisma.

The number of claws on your dragon, symbolized your status. 5-clawed dragons were to be used only by the emperor. Commoners were only allowed to display 3clawed dragons. It is taboo to disfigure a depiction of a dragon in Chinese culture—ask Nike, their ad was banned because LeBron James was shown slaying a dragon.

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Weed of the Month

by Jenny Gillis

currence near declining trees and During our cooler winter weather, it is not uncommon to shrubs. step outside and catch a whiff of something rotten.

If your garden is starting to smell like a dirty diaper left in Mushrooms and their unthe sun, read on! Chances are it is not coming from the neighbors but rather from a stinkhorn mushroom growing derground fungus mycenearby. lium help break down This stinky fungus appears in many of our landscapes at dead and dythis time of year. ing organic Stinkhorns frequently bewilder people by popping up in matter. This lawns, thrusting their slime-covered tips into the world within a matter of hours. They have been much maligned includes dead over the years, probably because--well, because they stink! tree roots, Stinkhorn mushroom emerging from the grassy stems, “egg” stage Photo: Larry Williams, Okaloosa A quick search of the Internet reveals that stinkhorn tree leaves mushrooms are considered an edible delicacy in some cui- and mulch sines but it would probably be an act of desperation to eat materials. Without this natural decomposition, we would one. There are also reports of a cancer treatment and an be quickly over crowded by dead plant parts. arthritis salve produced from these mushrooms. Curiously enough, there’s also a jazz band called The Stinkhorns and Stinkhorns rot wood breaking down organic materials high in cellulose, and helping to return it to the soil. a children’s toy named after the odorous mushroom.

Woody debris left over from hurricanes is potential food for stinkhorns. It loves to grow in wood chips, sawdust, Stinkhorns belong to an order of fungi that include puffballs, earthstars and the bird's nest fungi. All of these have dead roots, stumps and other cellulose materials. The stinkhorn fungus is a decomposer. the common feature of producing a sticky ooze with foul odor that attracts flies, ants, and beetles. As the insects Because it helps rot wood, the Stinkhorn fungus is benefiwalk on the mushrooms and feed on them, the spores from the mushroom stick to the insect who spreads them cial. More often than not, these mushrooms are found where wood is used as mulch. to other areas.

Stinkhorns Clathrus columnatus

Before springing up in the garden, stinkhorns grow unobserved in the ground for weeks, months, even years before sending up their reproductive part when conditions are optimal. While underground, stinkhorns live on decaying or decomposing material such as dead wood or leaf matter. The fungi start as white, egg-like structures that are anchored to the soil by a root-like network.

Based on the type of stinkhorn, the fruiting structure (mushroom) will be either column or stalk-like in shape or globular, lattice-like in shape.

Mushrooms vary in color but most are pink to orange.

Now don’t start pulling up all your wood mulch! Even without mulch reports are that there are millions of fungi living in each square foot of soil, and most of the decaying material is there naturally. So if you take out your mulch, it’s unlikely you’ll get rid of these fungi.

Stinkhorns are more of a nuisance than a pest. Since we can’t eliminate them (sorry no chemical control exists), if you find a stinkhorn’s non-smelly "egg", you can "pick" them before they sprout. Once sprouted, you can always pick the mushroom and throw it away in a zipped plastic bag so the spores don’t spread in the landscape.

The silver lining is that these fungi represent beneficial organisms in the soil profile. They aren't harmful to plants, so in fact, it isn't necessary to remove them.

If you can’t bring yourself to thank them, at least try to tolerate them.

http://okaloosa.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/horticulture/ larry_column/2006/Smelly%20mushrooms.pdf They range from 2 to a http://santarosa.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/ A mature stinkhorn mushroom little over 6 inches tall lg_jan_feb_2009_LR.pdf Photo: Theresa Friday, Santa Rosa and from one-half to 3 http://columbia.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/Hort%20Column% inches wide. All stink- 202_10_04.pdf horn mushrooms possess foul odors, which attract insects. http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/gardening/PDF-stinkhorn_fungi.pdf

Stinkhorn fungi do not cause disease, in spite of their oc-

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Book Review

and more. Addressing the fear and mistrust that is rapidly spreading, Fedoroff and her co-author, science writer Nancy Brown, weave a narrative rich in history, technology, and science to dispel myths and misunderstandings. In the end, Fedoroff argues, plant biotechnology can help us to become better stewards of the earth while permitting us to feed ourselves and generations of children to come. Indeed, this new approach to agriculture holds the promise of being the most environmentally conservative way to increase our food supply.

Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist’s View of Genetically Modified Foods

by Nina Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown is worth the time to read.

I’m glad I did. Thanks again, Ed.

We are welcoming back some old faces and welcoming in some new ones with the 2012 Board and Committee Chairs. There is an updated org chart on the members web-site that you may print out or download.

The 2012 Board consists of: Marg Stewart, President; John Bauer, President Elect; Joe Michetti, Treasurer; Linda Meyers, Secretary; Ann Phillips, Member at Large; and Carol Strom, New Class Member.

Chairs

New Board Members and Committee

Thank you Ed Smith for alerting me to this great book!

Note to all: If you have read, or are reading a book that you think is really good, send along the info! As with this book, you never know what is out there.

We’ve all heard about genetically modified foods and the various opinions surrounding them. Love them or hate them, genetic modification of our food stuffs has been occurring for ages, ever since the first people noticed that certain weeds performed better than others, we have been practicing genetic engineering.

We all remember those darned pea plants of Gregor Mendel, a 19th century monk. Whether it was in science class or statistics, those darned pea plants haunted us. It was the birth of discovering heredity and 'officially' tinkering with nature. But, in the modern world, we are more aware of the ease we are able to 'tinker' with nature.

Are genetically modified foods really safe? Will the foods ultimately make us sick, perhaps in ways we can't even imagine? Isn't it genuinely dangerous to change the nature of nature itself? Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and recognized expert in biotechnology, answers these questions,

by Marg Stewart

Ruth Herrington is the chair for Activities; Shari Farrell is the chair for Extension Office and Les Chambers is the chair for Outreach.

We’re lucky that Andy and Jenny will still be the Nursery and Annex chairs. Thank you!!!!

Sally LaChapelle has graciously offered to be in charge of getting the hospitality supplies to the meetings scheduled for the south end. Carol Strom is in charge of Hospitality.

The landscape at the Extension Office is in maintenance mode—saving our strength and $ for the new building.

So, congratulations to all the new faces, We all know that you’ll do great! Let’s all do our parts to make their jobs all that much easier.

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR January 10th 8am to ?

Extension Landscape Clean-Up! January 19th Arbor Day Tractor Supply in Crestview February 1st General Membership Meeting Crestview February 4th Economic Living Expo Emerald Coast Convention Center

Marg Stewart—Editor Shari Farrell, Karen Harper and Linda Meyers—Co-Editors

Have pictures or an idea for an article?

Send it in!

Articles and pictures are always welcome.

Your member site: www.ocmgamembers.org

Plant One for the Critters It’s January, the perfect time of year to plant a tree...and you have room in your yard for one more. Your goal is to plant an addition that will help replace lost habitat for wildlife and you would like to select one that will provide shelter, a food source and maybe even attract pollinators. Our area is a stopover or second home for many migrating birds, wintering animals and butterflies and a tree that would provide a food source during the fall and winter months would be a good choice. Trees planted in combination with shrubs and ground covers will attract many different animals looking for a safe refuge.

The Foundation for the Gator institution.

River Birch, Red Maple, Bald Cypress, Tulip tree, cedars, Sweetgum, and pecans.

If you only have room for a smaller tree you might consider one that provides flowers, seeds, berries or fruit. Some good examples are Loquat, Flowering Crabapple, a wide variety of hollies, plums and other fruit trees that will also be attractive specimens to your garden.

In our neighborhood after hurricanes Opal and Ivan many of my neighbors removed most if not all of their trees, and their yards have become barren wastelands. Perhaps your neighbors couldn’t We have a wide variety of species to seresist the temptation to do the same. So lect from that produce seeds, cones, while you’re at it try to encourage a acorns, nuts, berries and fleshy fruits and neighbor to plant a tree or two, and share also provide foliage and shelter for many the benefits they will provide for our dianimals. If you have the space for a large minishing wildlife. tree you might consider an oak, pine or magnolia. Each would give shelter Sources: Florida Yards and Neighborthroughout the year as well as provide hoods "A Guide to Environmentally food during the breeding season and fall Friendly Landscaping SP 191" and Naand winter when food is in short suptional Audubon Society "The Bird Garply. Other large trees to consider are den"

LAST WORD

Nation.....An equal opportunity

by Linda Meyers

Okay, where did the year go? Seems like I was just getting the decorations out and now it’s time to put them away again. Personally, I’m all for leaving the tree up and making it a Valentine/ Shamrock (and any other holiday) tree.

But, for some strange reason happy hubby isn’t going for that idea. Sigh.

On top of everything else, getting used to having happy hubby under foot 24-7 is definitely weird. So far he hasn’t rearranged anything major, but we’re still figuring out what to do with both of us in the house all the time. New schedule, accepting the fact that he will insist on washing the dishes prior to putting them in the dishwasher (what is up with that anyway???), not just picking up my keys and heading out the door without first saying that I’m leaving (the cats didn’t give a hoot so they don’t count)...it’s different, that’s for sure.

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Marg Stewart Once again, that got my brain to going in other directions. It really isn’t that big of a deal—it’s change. Change can be hard or easy, depends on how you want to look at it. Some things will be done differently but so long as they get done, does the method really matter? I say that it doesn’t. Everyone has their own way of doing things.

As MG’s we face the same challenges.

There are things that we need to do: work in the nursery, man the offices, attend meetings, and do some serious fund raising. Are they all fun things?

Not always, but they have to get done.

So we can accept the changes that we may have to make, work together and in the end, it won’t be so hard after all.

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2012. (I’m still holding out for the all holiday tree though.)