The Tollgate Farm News - Tollgate Farm and Education Center

The Tollgate Farm News
Volume 18
Issue 11
November 2012
2012 Ginger Meyer Award
2012 Golden Shovel Award
Darretta Ferasin
Becky Makanoff and Pam Rusin
The Ginger Meyer Award is Presented to Darretta Ferasin
From left to right Jessie Harper (Ginger Meyer’s great
granddaughter), Barbara Livy, (Ginger Meyer’s daughter),
Darretta Ferasin, Kate Harper (Ginger Meyer’s granddaughter), and Roy Prentice.
The Golden Shovel Award was Awarded to
Becky Makanoff and Pam Rusin
The two new volunteers tied for the most first
year visits to Tollgate in 2012. Pictured here is
Becky Makanoff and Renee Cottrell.
Photos by Mike Janczarek
2012 Tollgate Volunteer Recognition Dinner
Tollgate Garden Volunteer Important Dates and Events
Nov
4
Meetings
TGAC Meeting
Dec
7:00 PM
1
Jan
No TGV General Meetings in November or December
No December Farm News
Activities
Rose Garden Mulching
Meetings
TBD TGAC Meeting
17
9:00 AM
TGV General Meeting
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Page
from the
Tollgate
GREETINGS
Farm
Manager
Roy Prentice
Greetings All,
The 2012 gardening season is coming to an end. We
had a huge turn-out for our fall clean-ups, so the beds
are all snug for the coming winter. All of the volunteers
that came to the site did a wonderful job of cutting
back succulent perennials and removing annuals.
October work days were also devoted to getting the
nursery in shape (it looks great!) and cleaning up the
Demonstration Garden. The gardens look great and
are ready for the winter. Thanks to all that made 2012
such a great year at Tollgate!
Recognition Dinner: This year’s volunteer recognition dinner, held on November 10th, was a great
success! The event was funded by the Americana
Foundation and was very well attended. One
hundred and thirty volunteers and their guests joined
us for dinner, a presentation of the Tollgate gardening year and the awards ceremony. We had so many
guests for dinner that we filled the big barn for the
presentation. Art Durow again graciously provided
musical entertainment while we gathered for the
most visits to the farm during 2012. This year we had
two recipients of the “Golden Shovel” award, Pam
Rusin and Becky Makanoff. Pam and Becky are
both first year volunteers at Tollgate and both signed
in the same number of times. Pam and Becky
received not only the traditional gold plated implement, this year trowels hand-decorated by Renee
Cottrell, but also a golden shovel pin provided by
the Americana Foundation. Their names
have also been engraved on a plaque
hung in the Tollgate
Volunteer Center.
Also awarded this year
was the “Ginger Meyer”
award. This award was
presented to long-time
Tollgate volunteer,
Darretta Ferasin, for
her many years of
service to Tollgate.
Darretta is instrumental in many projects on the farm
including editing the Tollgate Farm News newsletter
and tending the Farmhouse garden. The Ginger
Meyer award was established to honor the memory
of Ginger Meyer who, along with her husband
Adolph, was instrumental in establishing the Americana Foundation and in donating Tollgate to MSU.
The award, a silver bowl inscribed with Darretta’s
name, was presented by Ginger Meyer’s daughter,
Barbara Livy and her granddaughter, Kate Harper.
Darretta’s name was also inscribed on a plaque hung
in the Tollgate Volunteer Center. Both the golden
shovel and Ginger Meyer awards are given annually.
Thank you Darretta for all of your years of service!
Thank you all for a great year at Tollgate. I can’t wait
for winter to loosen her icy grip so that we can get
going on 2013. It will be maple syruping time before
you know it!
Roy
Photo by Renee Cottrell
evening. The presentation that was put together by
Darretta Ferasin and myself was a big hit as were
the plentiful door prizes. The food was really great
too. This year, like last year, our caterer incorporated
Tollgate produce in the meal. The produce was
provided by Sun, Water and Seeds – Tollgate’s 4H
group. One of the highlights of the evening was the
recognition of our first year volunteer who made the
Page 2
Above Photos by Mike Janczarek
N otes from the President
Thank you all for another memorable season and a wonderful recognition dinner
celebration. It is great to visit with all of you and enjoy the memories and garden
stories from this past year. The Americana Foundation provided a wonderful catered dinner and Roy hosted a very nice award and year-in-review program.
My personal thanks for the shared talents of the 2012 TGAC: Our elected members Sue
Janczarek as Treasurer, Larry Bolam as Secretary and Joe Pyden as Vice President. Our
appointed members Darretta Ferasin, Editor of the newsletter (and talent behind the power
point presentation) and Jackie Stengel chairperson of our education/speaker programs also
Nancy Roggers chairperson for membership. Collectively all of you as members make this a
fine organization of which we can be very proud. The special projects and events educate the
public and share Tollgate with the community and meet our organizational mission.
My most sincere gratitude to Roy Prentice
for his tireless labor of love for the site, his
support and guidance of the TGAC and his
friendship.
There is the remaining mounding of the roses
activity December 1st and we will begin our
membership meetings in the New Year!
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and Holiday
Season and thank you for being Tollgate
Garden Volunteers.
Renee Cottrell, President
Photos by Renee Cottrell
MEMBERSHIP
In this issue of the Tollgate Farm News, you will find the 2013 Membership
Form. And, as you know, you have until May 1st to get that form returned to
Roy's office. But wouldn't it feel wonderful to have that baby sent in early and
not have to even think about it again? Just think how warm & fuzzy you'd feel
when you'd see the reminders in the up coming Tollgate
Farm News and think "Yep, I did that already!"
Nancy Roggers
Page 3
Submitted by John Woodrich
2012 PAR Garden
Year-End Tally
PAR Garden Produce
Totals
Beans, Bush
Beans, Pole
47.1
249.6
Beets
Broccoli
35.4
49.8
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
126.6
63.4
Cucumbers
Garlic
70.1
50
Onion
Peppers
99.4
72.5
Potatoes
Radish
2.2
3
Squash
Tomato
302.5
515
Watermelon
183.8
Grand Total
Thank
You
Roy and Cindy Prentice
Barbara Livy
Kate Harper
and
The Americana Foundation
for an Excellent, Delicious
2012 Tollgate Volunteer
Recognition Dinner
1870.4 lbs
Merry Christmas to All
Page 4
2012 Recognition Dinner...2012 Recognition Dinner
Photo by Mike Janczarek
Nancy Roggers and John Woodrich receive
recognition for their dedication to the
Plant-a-Row garden.
It will be OK, Nancy...really!
Photo by Renee Cottrell
Photo by Mike Janczarek
Photo by Mike Janczarek
Photo by Mike Janczarek
Page 5
Notes by Nancy
Phipps Conservatory Conference Report
On a recent trip to Pittsburgh to visit my son I went to a conference at the Phipps Conservatory. The conference was on native plants and sustainability. At this conference they talked
about a self sustainable building that heats and cools itself at the Phipps. They have been in
the process of building the Center for Sustainable Landscape over the past several years. The
building is run on passive solar power not connected to the electrical grid at all. It also collects all storm runoff. The web site shows many of the planning stages and how the project
progressed. It was said that this is the way of future construction as we try to find ways of
developing green energy and also ways to conserve water and keep storm runoff from entering
the sewer systems. http://phipps.conservatory.org/project-green-heart/green-heart-atphipps/center-for-sustainable-landscapes.aspx The building and surrounding gardens will
soon be open to the public. It is a wonderful addition to the conservatory. (Only a 5 hour
drive from the Detroit area! It is an equal to a drive up and over the Mackinac Bridge!!)
Another interesting talk was given by Dr. Elaine Ingham who is the Chief Scientist at Rodale
Institute. She spoke on building healthy soil using compost extracts or tea and the organisms
that are in the compost extracts that contribute to having healthy soils. She explained that by
having these organisms in your soil your battles with disease, weeds and insect pest would be
very low or nonexistent. She showed us an experiment using the compost tea at a farm. Half
of the fields were sprayed with Roundup and the other half was sprayed with compost tea.
Both fields were planted with onions. The onions in the Roundup fields had grown to about
2 inches tall with roots of equal length. The field also had many weeds. The compost tea fields
had onions 4 inches tall, twice as tall as the Roundup field, and the roots were nearly 2 feet
long!! And if that wasn’t amazing enough, the fields had no weeds in them at all.
She also explained about having “friendly” fungi in the soil and how that keeps weeds from
growing. A diagram that she used showed five different plant communities/soil stages. The
1st stage was bare ground. The 2nd stage was a herb field or grassland where many plants
that we consider weeds grow. The 3rd stage was shrubland, 4th stage a young forest and the
5th stage was an old growth forest. As the stages progress there are more and more beneficial
fungi present in the soil. What her point was with this diagram was that if you are having
trouble with say growing strawberries, find out where strawberries grow in the wild and you
will see that they grow under conifers which are in the old growth forest. This means that
they need a great deal of beneficial fungi to grow well. The solution? Add the compost tea to
get those fungi and microbes to grow. Also when the soil is not right for a plant many times
they get infested with insects or disease. There was much more that Elaine shared with us
but I think this was her most important message. Check out the Rodale Institute’s web site,
there is a lot of information here. http://www.rodaleinstitute.org
Nancy Roggers
MSU Holiday Art & Craft Festival
At the MSU Union on Abbot Road and Grand River
- - - - - 190 Artists - - - - Admission is FREE
December 1 – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
December 2 – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Page 6
Tollgate Farm History in the Silo...Tollgate Farm History
Sometimes it takes several years of thinking on a project for it to finally come together. After several years
of exploring options, there is now a silo historical display in the Tollgate silo. The silo interior sports panels
that describe all of the ownerships of the farm from the 1830’s to the present day. The display also includes dramatic lighting and colorful fabrics that brighten the interior and soften the sound. As part of the
silo renovation project, a new floor was also installed. The silo interpretive area is a great introduction to
the farm. Please stop by and take it in the next time that you visit.
Photos by Renee Cottrell, Darretta Ferasin and Roy Prentice
Page 7
THE HOSTA VIRUS X
There are a couple of updates this month on or related to the Hosta Virus X. The first, found below, is an article
by Rob Mortko, Vice President, Genus Hosta of the American Hosta Society who provides an update on the
research project by Dr. Ben Lockhart at the University of Minnesota.
This article was published in the American Hosta Society’s October 2012 Newsletter
http://www.americanhostasociety.org/eNewsletter/october2012/AHSNewsletter10-12.html.
Re-print permission received from Rob Mortko and the American Hosta Society 11/16/2012.
HVX Research Update
The current AHS sponsored Hosta Virus X (HVX) research project with Dr. Ben Lockhart at the University
of Minnesota has made good progress during its first full growing season.
1. Soil transmission of HVX from infected residual root debris
We now have good evidence that HVX can be transmitted by root contact between replacement hostas
and residual bits of HVX-infected plants that have been removed. At the end of this growing season, we
will be testing the plants put in during the original AHS Phase 1 research project plus those that we have
put in for a repeat of the original experiment. We have a greenhouse experiment in which healthy
'Honeybells' test plants were put in pots containing a graded series of clean soil/infected root pieces. This
experiment will be continued in the greenhouse throughout the winter. The plants are checked weekly for
any signs of symptoms and will be virus-tested whenever virus-like symptoms are noticed.
2. Seed transmission of HVX in hostas
It had been planned to collect seed from infected 'Blue Cadet' plants and test the resulting seedlings
for presence of HVX. 'Blue Cadet' had been selected because this is the variety mentioned in the report from Korea on seed transmission of HVX in hosta. Unfortunately, we were unable to get any
quantity of seed from HVX-infected 'Blue Cadet', and we will be using instead seed from infected
H. 'Tokudama Flavocircinalis'. 3. Transmission of HVX by root inoculation
We have inoculated (mechanical inoculation using an abrasive) roots of 'Honeybells' and 'Frances Williams'. In another version of this experiment, we have mixed together roots of healthy and HVX-infected
'Honeybells' plants and washed them using a power washer as would be done in commercial operations.
This experiment is designed to test whether HVX infection could occur via surface wounds created by
power washing.
4. Transmission of HVX on contaminated cutting tools or fingers
The 'Honeybells' plants in this experiment will be all tested in late October for HVX infection. These plants
will be left in the field plots over the winter and monitored once again next spring.
5. Pathogenic variation among HVX isolates
We have made a collection of 13 HVX isolates from different hosta varieties. These HVX isolates were propagated in 'Honeybells'. These HVX isolates differ in the type of leaf symptoms they induce as well as the rate
at which symptoms appear. So far no detectable virus genome sequence differences have been associated
with these differences. We will document the differences in foliar symptoms caused by the 13 HVX isolates
next spring when symptoms appear in new growth.
6. Susceptibility of other shade perennials to HVX infection
The other shade perennials inoculated with HVX have been inspected regularly for any signs of possible
symptoms. None have shown any signs of HVX infection so far. Two have been tested for HVX and found
negative. The remainder will be tested at the end of the current growing season. The short-lived species
(e.g. lilies) will be tested after their bulbs have been overwintered and germinated in early spring.
Below, you will find a link to a report by Tom Dudek of MSU Extension on Viruses on Imported Herbaceous
Perennials. You will find a very informative PDF document within the article titled Gallery of Plant Virus Symptoms published by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade Consumer and Protection.
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/viruses_on_imported_herbaceous_perennials
Information provided by Priscilla Needle with permission to re-print acquired by Darretta Ferasin
Page 8
Tollgate Volunteer Information
Activity Days
If you aren’t getting
Activity day hours are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM unless otherwise noted on the
Tollgate Garden Volunteer Important Dates and Events listed on the first
page of the Tollgate Farm News or by the Area Garden Leader (AGL).
Lunch will be provided - veggie alternatives are available upon request.
This schedule does not exclude you from working independently on the
site. However, on non-scheduled days, your efforts will need to be selfdirected with guidance from the garden area clipboards located in the
Volunteer Communication Center.
The Tollgate Farm News
e-mail, Check your
SPAM folder
Volunteer Activity Day and
Meetings Information
248-347-3860 ext. 400
Garden Tools Available
for Use at
Tollgate
List of Suggested Gardening
Implements to Bring
from Home as Needed
 Spades
 Garden Hoe
 Garden Rakes
 Long Handled





 Brooms
Garden Forks
 Wheel Barrels
 Weed Buckets
 Leaf Rakes
Trowel
Hand Pruners
Loppers
Garden Scissors
Your Favorite
Weeding Implement
 Hand Saw






Plant Division Forks
Shrub Rake
Sun Screen
Gloves
Knee Pads
Insect Repellant
Tollgate Garden Advisory Council
Farm Manager
Roy Prentice - 248 347-3860 ext. 251
e-mail - prentic1@msu.edu
President ........................... Renee Cottrell
Vice President...Joe Pyden (2013 Peg Palmer)
Secretary...Larry Bolam (2013 Dave Komraus)
Treasurer ........................... Sue Janczarek
Membership ...................... Nancy Roggers
PR....................................... Yvonne DeMattos
Fall Fair .............................. Dennis Roggers
Programs ........................... Jackie Stengel
Hospitality ......................... Yvonne DeMattos
Farm News Editor ............. Darretta Ferasin
MSU Tollgate Gardens Volunteers
For general information and questions
Contact Roy Prentice
● The Tollgate Gardens Advisory Council next
meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 4,
2012 at 7:00 PM in the Tollgate Office Building.
All Tollgate Gardens Volunteer members are
welcome to attend.
● Listings to contact individual Council Members
and Area Garden Leaders are available at all
general meetings and in the Volunteer
Communication Center.
● Tollgate Volunteer Membership is renewed
annually. The 2012 Tollgate Garden Volunteers
membership is from December 1, 2012 to
November 30, 2013.
THE TOLLGATE FARM NEWS
Tollgate Gardens Volunteer Office
28115 Meadowbrook
Novi, MI, 48377-3128
www.tollgate.msu.edu
Page 9
MSU Tollgate Garden Volunteers
Membership Form
Please print all entries. Thank you.
Name:______________________________________________
2013
Date Submitted: _________________________
Telephone number:
Address____________________________________________
City:_______________________________________, MI.
Day _______ - _____________________________
Evening ______ - ___________________________
Zip:______________ - _________
________________________________
Name you would like on badge.




Email:___________________________________
Has previous year’s info changed? _______


Were you a Tollgate volunteer member last year? Yes ( )

No ( )
If yes, do you need a new Tollgate Garden Volunteer badge? Yes ( )
Are you interested in:
No ( )
Serving on a committee or garden project? Yes (
) No (
)
If yes, please note below if you have a particular area of interest, e.g., rose garden,
children’s garden, hospitality, public relations, computer skills, etc
__________________________________________________________
Are you a MSU Master Gardener?
( ) certified
( ) candidate
County ___________
(It is not necessary that you be a MSU Master Gardener to volunteer with Tollgate Garden
Volunteers. An interest in gardening is all that is required.)







A donation to offset costs would be greatly appreciated. ($15 suggested amount)
Make checks payable to Michigan State University.


Return to:


Thank you.



Tollgate Gardens Volunteer Office
28115 Meadowbrook,
Novi, MI. 48377-3128
Phone: 248-347-3860 ext. 212
Note: Membership is renewed annually.
2012 membership is from Dec. 1, 2012to Nov. 30, 2013.
Members receive a newsletter, the Tollgate Farm News, once a month (No News in Dec.).
Would you prefer to receive the newsletter by mail_______ or E-mail_______
In the event of an emergency please notify:
____________________________________________
Name
__________ - _____________________________
Phone