Win Espoma Organic Start!, Bloom!, and Grow! Liquid Fertilizers in September 2016 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest

For our September 2016 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away a set of Espoma Organic Start!, Bloom!, and Grow! liquid fertilizer. (The prize pack is valued at $30.)
   Start!, Bloom!, and Grow! from Espoma (www.espoma.com) are low in salts and made with all-natural ingredients. They are safer and healthier for plants and don’t leave a fishy smell behind. And because they are liquid, they work immediately to give plants what they need most.
   Providing the right balance of natural proteins, kelp extracts, humic acids and a proprietary blend of beneficial microbes, Start!, Bloom!, and Grow! each help plants grow bigger, better, and more beautiful.
   The new, innovative Easy Dose cap makes fertilizing less of a guessing game. Each dose gives a precise feeding of specially formulated nutrients. Simply open the flip-top lid, invert the bottle, and release a pre-measured dose of product directly into the watering can.
   Espoma’s organic liquid plant foods are safe to handle. Apply directly to the roots for fast-acting results. The products are also safe for use around children and pets.
   To enter to win the set of three fertilizers, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5pm on Friday, September 30, with “Espoma Liquid Fertilizer” in the subject line and in the body of the email tell us which was your favorite article in the September 2016 issue and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The winner will be announced and notified on October 1.

UPDATE:

The winner, chosen at random among the submitted entries, is Joanna R. Protz of Lynch Station, VA.

We are away at the Garden Writers Conference

The Washington Gardener Magazine blog, garden tip of the day, and most all our social media is on break as we attend the 2016 GWA Annual Conference & Expo. We aim to return inspired, refreshed, and renewed. You can follow along and virtually experience the conference using #GWA2016 on Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Meanwhile, while we are gone, enjoy some of our most popular past blog posts:

• Top 10 Hottest Gardeners in the DMV
• DC's Cherished Cherry Trees in Danger 
• 7 Stress-free Perennials that Work Hard for You in...
•  Garden Blogger Bloom Day BLING
• Wisteria, How I Love/Hate You

 PS If you are attend GWA2016 too, please say, 'Hi' and do come to my panel discussion "Eavesdrop of the Editors" and roundtable "Social Media: Beyond the Basics."

How to Grow Healthy Peaches and Nectarines in the September 2016 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine

 

The September 2016 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is now out.

You can view it online at http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/washingtongardenersept2016?e=0

 Inside this issue:

~ How to Grow Healthy Peaches and Nectarines

~ This Fall, Plant Bad-Tasting Bulbs to Deter Deer and Rodents

~ Your Monthly Garden Tasks To-do List

~ Testing the Japanese Rice Sickle

~ DIY: Yard Flamingo Facelift

~ Local Gardening Events Calendar

~ A Visit to Virginia’s Simpson Park Gardens

~ Win a Trio of Espoma Organic Liquid Fertilizers

~ Improve Indoor Air with House Plants

~ Fall for the Blues with Caryopteris

And much more….

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the October 2016 issue are due by October 10.

  Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly publication sent to your inbox as a PDF several days before it is available online. You can use the PayPal (credit card) online order form here: http://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm

Savory Sunday: Butternut Squash

Guest post by Shelby Smith

    Want a recipe that’s flavorful, can be paired with anything, and gets you in the mood for the fall season? Anything with Butternut Squash is the way to go. Butternut Squash is one of the most versatile foods to prepare. Squash can be made into both savory meals and used in desserts. It can be used in stews, soups, baked, sautéed, or steamed. It is great as a main course, side dish or an addition to another recipe.

    I used a small butternut squash from the Fenton Community Garden in Silver Spring, MD,  to make Parmesan and Rosemary-Butternut Squash Gratin. This recipe is crunchy, buttery, and can stand on its own. This recipe is inspired by Betty Crocker.

Cooking prep: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 Butternut squash (2 lbs)

¼ cup butter or margarine

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary

¼ cup Progresso™ panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Peel, halve lengthwise and deseed squash. Cut into ½-inch-thick slices and arrange with slices overlapping slightly in a greased/oiled 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Season the slices with salt and pepper.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter/margarine over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Add garlic and rosemary; cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft and butter is infused with garlic and rosemary flavor. Do not let the butter brown.
3. In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs, cheese and 1 tablespoon of the garlic rosemary butter mixture.
4. Brush squash slices with remaining butter mixture. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the squash slices.
5. Bake uncovered 30 to 40 minutes or until the squash is tender when pierced with fork. Increase oven temperature to 425 F; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Sprinkle parsley and more cheese, if needed, over top before serving.

The end product should come out crunchy and golden brown. The squash gets infused with the garlic and rosemary making the taste rich and flavorful. This meal is also versatile because you could pair it with any meat or mix it with pasta.

Also you could add some sliced zucchini and mushrooms to make it a hardier dish. You can substitute the dairy with olive oil to make this a vegetarian option. If you cut the squash into slices you could eat these like fries.

This is just one of the many dishes made with butternut squash. Squash is a good source of vitamins, has little to no fat when raw, and can stay fresh for a couple of weeks before using. This recipe can be your next side dish at Thanksgiving or just a quick meal on a Sunday evening.

"Savory Sunday" is a new weekly blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

Shelby Smith is a senior double major in multi-platform journalism and film studies at the University of Maryland College Park. She was a sports copy-editor for a campus publication called Unwind Magazine and a writer at The Campus Current newspaper at Anne Arundel Community College.  

 

   

Fenton Friday: New Seeds In

Picking lots of beans from my community garden plot - even in this relentless heat. Looks like cooler temps are coming (though no rain predicted), so the interns and I went ahead and put in some cool weather crops.

We planted Arugula, Lettuce, Radish, and Carrots. I am deciding on whether a fall crop of peas is worth it. I also plan on picking up some Broccoli starts, though I have not had such luck with then in past years.

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 5th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

Discuss "Paradise Under Glass" with Washington Gardener Book Club

For our Garden Book Club Fall 2016 Meeting we will be discussing Paradise Under Glass: An Amateur Creates a Conservatory Garden by Ruth Kassinger. Please join us on Thursday, November 3 from 6:30-8pm at Soupergirl, located right next to the Takoma metro stop.

"Paradise Under Glass is a witty and absorbing memoir about one woman’s unlikely desire to build, stock, and tend a small conservatory in her suburban Maryland home. Ruth Kassinger’s wonderful story of the unique way she chose to cope with the profound changes in her life—a book that will delight readers of Eat, Pray, Love and I Feel Bad About My Neck—is interwoven with the fascinating history of conservatories from the Renaissance orangeries to the glass palaces of Kew."

Please RSVP to washingtongardener (at) rcn.com or at the book club event page at facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine by October 25, so we know how many chairs to reserve for our group.

At this meeting we will also be deciding the 2017 Washington Gardener Magazine's Garden Book Club selections, so please bring your suggestions.

Soupergirl offers soups for sale that are incredibly healthy. They are 100% plant-based, low salt, low fat, and most importantly, absolutely delicious, so plan to come a bit early to purchase and eat your dinner with the garden book club.

The Washington Gardener Magazine's Garden Book Club is free and open to all. We meet quarterly on a weekday evening near a metro-accessible location in the DC-area. We will announce the details of each upcoming meeting about two months in advance. Please check back on this blog for schedule updates and announcements.

PIN THIS FOR LATER:

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: Plant a Row for the Hungry

Plant a Row for the Hungry is People Helping People Since 1995, over 20 million pounds of produce providing over 80 million meals have been donated by American gardeners. All of this has been achieved without government subsidy or bureaucratic red tape -- just people helping people. 

Plant A Row is a public service program of the Garden Writers Association and the GWA Foundation. Garden writers are asked to encourage their readers/listeners to plant an extra row of produce each year and donate their surplus to local food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations to help feed America’s hungry.

There are over 84 million households with a yard or garden in the U.S. If every gardener plants one extra row of vegetables and donates their surplus to local food agencies and soup kitchens, a significant impact can be made on reducing hunger.

Support Plant A Row and help make a difference in your community.

PAR Hotline 1-877-492-2727 or go to  http://www.gardenwriters.org/GWA-Foundation-Projects-Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry-Start-a-PAR-Campaign

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK Details:
Every Thursday on the Washington Gardener Magazine Facebook page, Blog, and Yahoo list we feature a current advertiser from our monthly digital magazine. To advertise with us, contact wgardenermag@aol.com today.

Meet the Fall Interns

This fall, I have taken on two editorial interns. If you attend any of our upcoming events, like the Trees Matter Symposium, you are bound to run into one of them. As a first assignment, I asked them to write a short introduction to our readers...

 Stephen Barber is a country boy from Keedysville, MD, who moved to Washington DC, to become a farmer. A lifelong gardener, he found his love of the craft from growing cannabis in the woods and fields around his rural Maryland childhood home. He has taken his gardening indoors, and works as a video journalist in the legal cannabis industry sprouting up in the nation’s capital.  Check him out every Wednesday on the Washington Gardener’s blog where he will be providing tips on indoor gardening. He is a senior at the University of Maryland where he is majoring in broadcast journalist.

Shelby Smith is a senior double major in multi-platform journalism and film studies at the University of Maryland College Park. She says that she is, "excited to be interning for the fun and informative magazine, the Washington Gardener, this fall. This will be my first internship, but I have recent experience as a sports copy-editor for a campus publication called Unwind Magazine. I also have two years of writing experience with The Campus Current newspaper at Anne Arundel Community College. I love to sing, read and go on long relaxing walks. I am excited to be learning about gardening along with the readers and hope to showcase my skills in this magazine."

Beautyberry: You Can Grow That

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a shrub that is native to our Mid-Atlantic area and throughout the southeastern United States, Beautyberry adapts well to various growing conditions from part shade to full sun, from moist soil to dry. It reaches 4-6 feet in height and width.

It is a show-stopper in late summer/early fall when the brilliant purple berries adorn the branches. Birds and other wildlife are also fond of the berries as a food source so you may find your berry display stripped sooner than you would like.

The shrub itself is a bit awkward in growth habit -- throwing out a long branch here, than there. Careful placement is a must so that you can both enjoy the berries and not be constantly fighting its wayward limbs. I planted mine to the back corner of a garden bench near a fence and that allows me to drape and arrange it as needed. In early spring, you should do a rejuvenation pruning -- meaning cut it all back to about 6".

Beautyberry in flower

The crushed leaves are said to be an excellent mosquito repellent and scientists are currently testing that Beautyberry benefit with promising results. I tried it out myself and did not find it effective, but your mileage may vary.

The shrub is famous for its amethyst-purple berries. Recent introductions also include white and pink berry versions. There is a small trial garden at the US National Arboretum in Washington, DC, that is worth visiting this time of year to view the different cultivars and to decide which ones you'd like to add to your home garden.

All who are involved with You Can Grow That! (YCGT!) believe that plants and gardening enhance our quality of life. We want people to be successful with what they grow and to become more aware of the many gifts that horticulture brings. Find out more at http://www.youcangrowthat.com/.

Fenton Friday: Beans, at last

This week started off with more hot, dry days. It was difficult to get motivated to get over to the garden plot to even water for a few minutes in the scorching sun, so I did neglect it a bit. Thankfully, the heat broke and we had some decent rain in the last couple of days. That means I now have beans! I should be able to harvest a very nice amount over the holiday weekend and I am now contemplating also digging up the few potatoes I had put in and pulling out some of the worn out herbs as well.

It is transition time and I'm a bit late getting some of my fall crops in, but I see still more 90+ degee days forecast for next week, so I'm not going to rush into things.

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 5th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens

The Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD, runs daily through September 25, from 10am to 4pm, Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs that are used as nectar sources, to attract butterflies to your own garden. 

See more details at http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/wings_of_fancy.shtm. 

Every Thursday on the Washington Gardener Magazine blog, we feature a current advertiser from our quarterly print magazine or monthly online enewsletter. To advertise with us, contact wgardenermag@aol.com today.