East Mississippi Master Gardeners have just returned from the 14th Annual Mississippi Master Gardener Conference, which was held in at the Jones County Whitehead Advanced Technology Center in Ellisville.

    I had always wondered about the huge industrial park titled Howard Industries off I59, just south of Ellisville. Driving to and from home, the first building outside Laurel looked like a trucking company.

    Well, they have expanded. This location was the best suited to teaching conferences we’ve had yet.

     This was my 13th conference. I trained at the Mississippi State University Cooperative Extension Service with Steve Strong in 1996. We were the first group taught and completed in Lauderdale County.

    The idea of master gardening began in Washington state in 1972, when an enterprising extension agent reasoned that by training a few local gardeners it would free him – and other agents – to do more important things. They would train the volunteers and ask them to “pay back” the training by working 40 hours in the community. Subsequent years were to be repaid by 20 hours work and hours of re-training.

     The best part of master gardenering for me is what I learn from my fellow volunteers. And though I have begun to work full time again, the program still offers conferences every year in rotation throughout the state.

    Mississippi has three growing zones: 7a, 7b and 8a on The Coast. Meridian is considered 7b, so when you buy plants at stores such as Wal-Mart and Lowe’s be sure to check the zone-ability of the plant.

    I grow a lot of plants I see in New Orleans and though they grow here, they don’t bloom until late summer into fall; in New Orleans they bloom all summer and fall, as they have a longer growing season. They might survive our cold if I mulch them well for a few years…but it’s iffy.

     The first speaker at our 2011 conference was  Jim Long  from Blue Eye, Mo., who spoke on “Eat Your Landscape!” He is the Euell Gibbons of the 21st Century who authored “Stalking the Wild Asparagus.”

    Did you know that Hi-Yield Weed & Feed kills all the weeds that are edible? And that henbit and chickweed – the early weeds we attempt to eradicate – will die naturally when the heat comes on?

    Chickweed makes a wonderful salve that is good for cuts and scratches. Should your grocery bill grow too high, violets make a delicious jam; lilac sorbet is fabulous. Fiddlehead fern is a delicious soup; try stuffing your tulip flowers (remove the fuzzy center) with chicken salad.

    Many of us have had hibiscus tea – try the Confederate Rose in tea. All parts of the day lily are edible; steam the tubers for 10 minutes in butter, they taste like roasted ears of corn. The herb of the year is horseradish.

     Okay, not everyone is interested in grazing in their front lawn. Other speakers at the conference included Drs. Gary Bachman and Wayne Porter, both of MSU/County Extension Service); Patricia Drackett of the Crosby Arboretum in Picayune; Paula Pettis of Prissy Pots Landscaping in Gulfport; Michael Seal of the Funny Farm in Poplarville (he is hilarious, grows bromeliads).

     Don’t worry about the cicadas stinging or biting you; they may be harmful to young ornamental trees, as they slit the stem and lay their eggs. They only appear once every 13 years. The only real nuisance could be the noise of the males calling to their girls.

     Pettis had a good idea for hanging baskets that dry out so quickly in the heat of the summer: Wet a car wash sponge and place in the bottom of the pot before filling with soil.

    Are your pots too heavy? Try adding retired plastic Easter eggs to the mix to take up some space; styrofoam peanuts work well, too, until you have to change the soil – they still fly all over the place!

    Pettis also uses composted cow manure to ensure flowering. She showed a gorgeous new hydrangea: “Pinki Winki” – pink cone-shaped blooms much like an oakleaf hydrangea. Also, a must-have plant: the melanpodium. Most of us know already, it was one of the Medallion Winners a few years back. It reseeds itself and loves the heat.

     We all seem to want butterflies in our gardens … even if we have cats who love to kill them.

    Did you know the Spicebush Swallowtail is the state butterfly? It is black with white dots on the edges. They love buddleias, zinnias, lantana— any plants that thrive in the heat. Native plants attract them. Create mudholes, leave watermelon rinds in the garden where they can hold a conference (about humans habits!) and most of all  – avoid pesticides!

     My favorite speaker was Dr. Gary Bachman whose topic was “Changing the Vegetable Garden Paradigm.” (He writes a column in The Meridian Star.)

    We are preparing a small space at Meridian Activity Center for a vegetable garden, but oh, my! – I’m not ready for Bachman’s example.

    Have you heard of earth boxes? They are rather costly, maybe $30 each, but they are practically self-sustaining. This man has hundreds of these boxes – or homemade varieties – growing herbs and plants for restaurants and stores. When he ran out of space outdoors, he moved the rest of his boxes into his dining room on shelves under grow lights. Have you noticed how restaurants are using micro greens such as mizuna, curly pepper cress or arugula? They’re very healthy and expensive. That’s what he’s growing.

     The keynote speaker is usually a better known celebrity – ours this year was Robert St. John of Hattiesburg.

    St. John owns and operates the Purple Parrot, Crescent City and a newer Italian restaurant on Hardy Street named Tabella. He is considered as one of the best chefs in The South, but I’d say his real talent is in speaking. He kept us all in stitches talking about his first garden: six long rows of squash for the restaurant. He had no idea of how much squash one plant would produce; they were preparing squash this and squash that all summer long!

    One thing quite evident: Robert St. John loves The South. And he loves how we quietly go about our business of being the best at what we do.

     Speaking of being the best ….

    Margaret Eddins of the Meridian East Mississippi Master Gardeners executed all the table decorations and the speaker’s podium “Fearless Gardening” display – most of which were given away as door prizes. Thank you, Margaret.

    Gardening is one of those hobbies or chores, depending on how you look at it, that can be done by oneself or with friends if you choose to join a garden club. Master Gardener training is held once a year through the Extension Service.        Local Agent Wayne Porter, will advertise when our next class will be, or you can call him at (601) 482-9764 and request to have your name added to the list. There is a charge for the educational book used for the class – be prepared, it is not cheap. But what you get from being a master gardener is invaluable.

     Aside from all this gardening knowledge the Big News is that Mississippi will host the 2012 Southeast Region Master Gardener Conference in May of that year in Natchez . Be prepared for a really good time.

    And, if you want to see some of what our local group has grown, come to the annual Plant Sale here in Meridian on May 28 on Front Street under the 18th Avenue Overpass. The sale begins at 7 in the morning and grows weary by early afternoon, when prices will be cut, but you won’t have as much to choose from so get there early. All these plants are locally grown and propagated, so we know they will do well in our region 7b. We’ll also have a Q&A table if you need advice.

 

    • Barbara Wells is a master gardener and serves as director of the Meridian Activity Center. You may

e-mail her at mactivitycenter@gmail.com