JEFF DODSON, MG 2014
Hello Everyone from the Clinic Desk,
We are coming out of our winter hours at
the clinic and have begun staffing the clinic more regularly. We had to, the clients are beginning to pay
more attention to their plants and the questions that populate their gardens. Are you one or do you know of like-minded
gardeners? Please feel free to send
people to whom you cannot provide an answer to their gardening question our
way. You know the mantra, “We may not
know the answer but we will find out and get back to you.”
New faces have been added to the clinic
desk as regulars and will be designated as “Veterans” on the calendar so that
the new crop of students (a.k.a. “Interns”) arriving this week. 2016 interns will later be
able to sign up for their training/orientation hours knowing that they have a
clinic vet or two to help them through these first few times. Many thanks to Margaret Kassner and Sue
Tuxill for stepping up to help fill in the gaps. They bring a wealth of information and
experience that will be much utilized at the clinic. Yes, there are still gaps in the calendar and
so there is room for you other Master Gardeners to come in and see what’s
up. Forget how to sign up on the clinic calendar? Go to our Whatcom MG Resources page (http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ch/mglinks.html) and click on "View Clinic Calendar."
In looking back over the
winter months’ records nothing stands out as any more curious or peculiar than
any other year. That does NOT, however,
mean that the clinic was the plant pathology doldrums. Far from it.
The questions were about what one would expect from people with winter-bound
plants. “What?” you ask? Well, take a moment and search your databanks
of knowledge for possible things you might predict would be problematic on
plants in the cold, dark days of November/December/January. Okay, now match it to these to see how close
to Nostradamus you were. We saw
questions that dealt largely with the physiology of plants (due to the less
than stellar growing conditions) such as low light-induced chlorosis, premature
drying of indoor plants due to excessively dry/warmed air, one Ficus
benjamina even dropped all its leaves in response to the inclement indoors. Clients were also proactive with questions
regarding pruning their ornamental and fruit trees that are currently
dormant. The last of the popular subjects
that stood out was what can be done about codling moth, both now and in
Spring. So, you see, as alluded to in
the last Weeder’s Digest, Mother Nature never REALLY rests, she just slows down
a bit this time of year.
If you are like me, you are
poised, on the balls of your feet, champing at the bit and peeking around the
corner in anticipation for Nature’s spring arrival. My guess is that we differ on one or two
points, however. Excitement is there
regarding the sense of newness, that indefinable shade of new-growth green, the
smells of flowers/tilled earth/and the promise of plants never before experienced. But for this plant pathologist there is also
the curiosity of what new strange maladies, insects and general plant health
problems will come into view. I know, I
know that makes me more than a little weird but I am not sure how I would
change myself this late in the game.
Best regards, always,
Jeff
Jeff