One theme for the Flagler Master Gardener’s Spring Fling at the FlaglerCounty Extension Service on Saturday was “You don’t need a plot to eat a lot.”
The master gardeners’ open house featured tours of the gardens around the extension service, a plant sale, drawings for donated prizes, tasty treats made by the gardeners and three programs during the day.
Although the Spring Fling is an annual event, programs are different each year.
“Louise (Leister) and I get together and talk about what we didn’t cover in our Spring series,” horticulture program assistant Ruth Micieli said. “We do try to change it up so we don’t keep doing the same thing over and over.”
According to Barbara Barajas and Carol Sutton of Palm Coast, a little repetition can be a good thing. They’ve been coming to these events since 2003.
“We come every spring and fall,” Barajas said. “Even though there’s sometimes some minor repetition, that’s how you remember it. After you’ve been coming years and years, it sinks in really well and the handouts are great. It’s always worth coming.”
This year Leister, water environmental education program coordinator, opened the day with a program on container gardening.
“I don’t think anyone in Flagler County has more pots and containers than I do,” Leister said. “It’s a wonderful way to garden.”
Leister explained advances in potting soil, particularly those that have moisture beads, have improved container gardening in Florida.
“Years ago before they came out with the moisture control soils, the plants would dry out really severely in our climate, especially if you lived in an area that had high winds where the plants baked,” she said. “It was a tough environment to grow. These days, many plants are quite happy in pots rather than in the ground.”
In addition matching species with compatible growing requirements, Leister offered a more basic tip for growing plants in containers.
“It’s extremely important that you don’t put too many plants in a pot, because as they grow they can overgrow the container in a really short period of time,” Leister said. “I call it the St. Bernard rule. Remember that when you pot little plants they may be little St. Bernards – when they grow they will be exploding out the sides of the container.”
Leister also recommends larger containers over small pots.
“Little pots do not work in Florida.” she said. “You need decent sized containers for a combination of plants. If you’re going to spend the time and money on it you want to make sure the containers are large enough.”
However, once rocks for drainage and soil is added, larger pots are heavier and harder to move. Styrofoam offers a couple of ways to lighten the load.
“There are some gorgeous Styrofoam pots that are a lot lighter,” Leister said. “Instead of rocks on the bottom you can use Styrofoam peanuts, and that will give you some relief from the weight. Remember not to use the green ones, they have an antibacterial which will kill the roots of your plant. Also, don’t use the biodegradable ones that turn to mush when you wet them.”
During the second program master gardener Robert Tabit gave a lively demonstration on how to turn a plastic 55-gallon drum into a quick rain barrel with just a few tools and a couple of inexpensive parts.
“This is not rocket science,” Tabit said. “The hardest part today about making a rain barrel today is getting the barrel. You’re supposed to use barrels made of food grade plastic. If you don’t want to make a rain barrel you can buy one, I’ve seen them for $85 and up.”
One tip Tabit had on cleaning the barrel once you’ve removed the top is to take it to a self-serve car wash.
Master gardener Julia Wilson then took over on how to decorate a rain barrel. Using permanent magic marker, spray paint and decorative paint suitable for plastic.
“I’m not an artist; this is not fine art,” Wilson said. “You can even get the kids or grand kids out there. It’s children’s art. It’s fun.”
Micieli closed the day with a session on creating an edible landscape.
“You can use edible plants as part of the landscape,” Micieli said as she discussed fruit trees, berries and vegetables. “It’s one way to help save money in the long run. It’s also very good exercise.”
Before starting, Micieli recommended making a plan.
“Put it on paper beforehand,” Micieli said. “It’s always cheaper to put it on paper than after it’s in the ground. We don’t recommend planting in Florida soil for most plants; we always encourage people to use raised beds or containers.”
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