WINTER IS ALMOST HERE!
NOVEMBER 2020
VOLUME 164
An Important Update On Your Tulsa Master Gardeners

During these unprecedented and challenging times, your Tulsa Master Gardeners have joined others around our community in taking appropriate actions to protect both ourselves and the public from this pandemic. To keep you abreast of our status, the following is a summary of our current actions:

  • The OSU Tulsa County Extension Office building remains locked but you can ring the doorbell and someone will let you in. If you don't have a mask, you will be given one and social distancing rules apply. 
  • Most Master Gardener events are postponed until further notice.
  • Soil samples can be left at the Southwest door of the OSU Extension Office in a black lock box. There is a form and a soil bag in a tub on top of the lock box. 
  • While walk-ins to our Diagnostic Center are not available at this time, hotline voice messages are picked up daily and will be responded to as quickly as possible.
  • The MG phone lines are active again, so call us with your questions.
  • MG e-mail traffic is being monitored remotely and will be responded to as quickly as possible.
  • The Tulsa Master Gardener Facebook page is still live and active.












November Horticultural
& Garden Tips

Learn about what you should be doing in the month of November. A selection of Garden Tips (Lawn & Turf, Tree & Shrub, Flowers, Fruits & Nuts, and more) can be found by clicking GARDEN TIPS.

The Compost Connection

brought to you by the Green Country Master Composters
 

Welcome to The Compost Connection! We will be presenting articles and information in the monthly Tulsa Master Gardener e-Newsletter about our favorite subject - composting. We hope that more and more gardeners will come to realize not only how easy composting is, but how much it benefits the soil in your garden, the plants you grow and the earth on which we live.

Follow us on Facebook, too. You will find us at Green Country Master Composters. Some posts will be informative, some entertaining. But, hopefully, each post will add something to your day.

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For this month, let's discuss some environmentally practical uses for pumpkins (vs disposal).

Wasn't that beautiful blue moon on October 31st an awesome welcome for November? Speaking of Halloween, do you have pumpkins you would like to recycle or compost?

According to an article by Vegan Wonder Mamas, over 1,000,000,000 (yes, that is ONE BILLION) pounds of pumpkins end up in U.S. landfills each year! Pumpkins can feed people as well as creating great compost and natural nutrients for our Earth.*** The article offers several creative ideas for your leftover pumpkins to keep from wasting them in landfills.
  
In addition to ideas listed in the article, don't forget that you can donate your pumpkins to foodbanks, zoos, and animal sanctuaries. You can hollow out a pumpkin and fill it with fruit and seeds to feed smaller birds and squirrels. Place the pumpkin feeders in trees to keep them a safe distance from cats or other ground predators. Some farmers may use pumpkins to feed livestock and most chickens would enjoy your pumpkin leftovers.

Don't forget - not all pumpkins are good for human consumption. But nothing beats a good ole pumpkin pie🎃!


***To read the entire article, click on the following link, 10+ Ways to Use Halloween Pumpkins and AVOID the Landfill. 


Green Country Master Composters is an outreach program of the Tulsa County Master Gardeners. We will be telling you more about the Master Composter program in the coming months.

YOUR FALL GARDENING GUIDE
PREPARING WARM WEATHER GRASS FOR WINTER
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As another Tulsa summer draws to a close, we can now begin to feel Fall in the air. With the generally milder temperatures and the rainfall we received this summer, our lawns should be green and healthy. But, it is now time to think about what we should do for our lawns to prepare them for the upcoming winter.

While it seems very logical to mulch grass and leaves back into the grass during the summer, some prefer to take a different approach in the fall by bagging and composting.  

For the pros on this approach plus more information on ways to prep your warm weather grass for winter, including links to some informative OSU fact sheets on the subject, click on WINTERIZING WARM SEASON GRASSES.
NOVEMBER PEST e-ALERT #1:
ARBORVITAE APHIDS
Do you have any Arborvitaes? Are they looking sickly? If so, you may have an issue with Arborvitae Aphids. You need to know about this pest if you have a stately Arborvitae tree. This guy specializes in Oklahoma Arborvitaes only!
 
Click on ARBORVITAE APHIDS to learn more about how to detect them, whether or not cold weather will kill them, and what control measures are recommended.
NOVEMBER PEST e-ALERT #2:
TWIG GIRDLERS
For the last couple months, some unwelcome lodgers may have been making themselves comfortable in your landscape. They’ve likely been squatting on your property awhile, volunteering their skilled pruning services on your favorite pecan, dogwood or fruit trees. But don’t despair . . . with a little knowledge, detective work and some yard sanitation this fall, you’ve taken the first steps in evicting these resident critters.

Click on TWIG GIRDLERS to find out exactly what these guys are, their life cycle, their favorite tree hosts, as well as prevention and control.
PLANTING SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS
10 cm = 4" 15 cm = 6"
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An early blast of wintry weather has most of us gardeners already looking forward to spring. Now is the time to plan our gardens and plant spring blooming bulbs. There is still a good selection of flowering bulbs available at your local garden center and online.

Some selections to consider:

  • Crocus and hyacinth are the earliest bloomers. Larger Dutch varieties of crocus and hyacinths will bloom a few weeks later.
  • Snow crocus are hardy flowers that will bloom in late winter or early spring
  • Grape hyacinths with their clusters of small grape-like blossoms bloom at about the same time
  • Varieties of early-blooming tulips
  • Daffodils - available in many colors and sizes
  • Allium, late varieties Tulips and Iris are the late spring bloomers

No matter your preference, these beauties will brighten your day next Spring when their flowers and blossoms arrive before most other plants bloom in the spring. You will be glad you planted some now.

For more information on planting bulbs, click on SPRING BULBS.
WINTERIZING HOUSEPLANTS
It's that time of year again when some of us find ourselves engaged in an annual ritual of preparing our houseplants for the haul back indoors. For most houseplants, this means ending their summer vacation when night temperatures fall below 45–48° F. Waiting beyond this time is flirting with disaster and you may find many tender tropical leaves dropping or getting a clear, murky surface, thus requiring your immediate attention.

As simple as this task may sound, it turns out that this is a project that needs some organizing. Click on WINTERIZING HOUSEPLANTS to ensure a successful transition from outside to inside the household.
DID YOU KNOW?

The Tulsa Master Gardener Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization. As such, it receives no city, state or federal funding for its Tulsa community outreach programs. In fact, the Tulsa's Master Gardener programs are self-funded by its own fundraisers, from member donations, and from public donations.

The main Tulsa Master Gardener fundraiser is its Annual Spring Plant Sale that is held each April. Other fundraisers include the Garden Tour and Garage Sale in June. And, one of the most important income sources that sometimes gets overlooked are the personal and corporate donations. These are so important in helping us to meet our financial obligations and we want you to know they are very much appreciated. 

MG Endowment Fund
 
The Tulsa Master Gardeners have been around for over three decades, since 1983. And, we plan to be around for many more decades. Furthermore, we are considered one of the top five Master Gardener county programs in the entire nation. We are because of the size of our Foundation membership, the number, diversity and activity level of our various community outreach programs, and our overall financial strength! 
 
So, we are pleased to announce, in partnership with the Tulsa Community Foundation, the Master Gardener Foundation has established an Endowment Fund to ensure our long-term financial strength. Our plans are to build this fund for many years before making any withdrawals from it. Please consider us as you make your annual gift giving as well as longer-term estate planning decisions. Remember, all donations are fully tax deductible! 
 
If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation to help fund the long-term success of the program, click on  TULSA MASTER GARDENER ENDOWMENT FUND.
 
If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation to help fund our annual expenses, click on TULSA MASTER GARDENER AGENCY FUND.
 
We thank all of you for having been such faithful contributors both in the past and in advance for your future consideration and participation! Proud to be a part of the Tulsa area - such a giving community! 

Recognizing those folks that have donated over the past month:

MG FOUNDATION FUND
Germana Creveling

IN MEMORY OF BILL SEVIER
Rick & Susan Doss
Jack & Carolyn Rogers
Jane Ann Harper

SPEAKERS BUREAU
Oklahoma City Council of Garden Clubs

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