Brampton Seedy Saturday, March 9th, See you there!

Mississauga MGs will have a gardening advice clinic at Brampton’s

Seedy Saturday March 9th.  Bring your garden questions!

The event also offers a great deal more to interest garden aficionados:

             

Mississauga Seed Library 10th Anniversary Celebration, Saturday Feb 24th: 10 am to 2 pm. Join Mississauga MGs there!

Mississauga Seed Library 10th Anniversary & Launch

Join us as we celebrate the 10th year of the Mississauga Seed Library with workshops, gardening experts and family friendly activities.
Saturday, February 24 | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Small Arms Inspection Building

Visit Mississauga MGs advice table and bring your garden questions!


Seed Library Launch Drop-in Schedule

10 am – 2 pm | Exhibitors
10 am | Opening Remarks
10:30 am | Indigenous Gardening Methods and Techniques
12 pm | Attracting Pollinators to Your Yard with Credit Valley Conservation
1 pm | Get Growing: Vegetables in Pots, Vegetables in Plots with Master Gardeners

Attracting Pollinators to Your Yard
12 pm – 1 pm | Drop-in
Pollinators help plants to bloom and thrive. Want to support butterflies, bees and other pollinators in their natural roles? Discover the top native flowers, shrubs and trees you may plant to help them along. Learn how to create beautiful, healthy habitat even in the smallest spaces. Presented by Credit Valley Conservation.

Get Growing: Vegetables in Pots, Vegetables in Plots
1 pm – 2 pm | Drop-in
Learn about growing edibles and planning your vegetable garden in pots or plots this growing season. Presented by Master Gardeners.


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Visit the Master Gardeners’ Kid’s Garden & Advice Clinic @ the Home & Backyard Show Feb 2-4, 2024

Mississauga Master Gardeners (MMG) & Etobicoke Master Gardeners (EMG) invite you to visit us at the Home and Backyard Show February 2-4, 2024, Mississauga International Center. Explore the Children’s Garden and get your hands dirty while enjoying a  hands-on gardening experience, including learning how to care for different plants. Learn about Good Bugs & Bad Bugs, find out who are the Pollinators in the garden, and how to attract them. Make a pine-cone bird feeder, create your own grass head, and participate in other fun and creative activities.  Children will have a great time discovering the joys of gardening in this enjoyable and educational gardening experience.

Have a gardening or horticultural question? Ask an Expert. Drop by the Master Gardener Advice Clinic and visit our experts bringing your questions, pictures, and challenges, and they will have you walking away with a number of solutions and ideas.

Hurray for the Amaryllis! Queen of the Christmas Flowers

 

By Diana Westland, Mississauga Master Gardeners

At this time of year, it is common for us to celebrate the holiday season by filling our homes with evergreens and flowers. The showiest among the flowering plants is the mighty Amaryllis. Many people are intimidated by these bulbs, and once the blooms are over, they discard them. However, for those who can take the time, aftercare for these exotic bulbs is simpler than you think. These bulbs can continue to bloom for you every year.

First, a little background on the Amaryllis plant. The bulbs sold during Christmas originate in South America and are Hippeastrum spp. rather than the original Amaryllis belladonna native to South Africa. These Hippeastrum bulbs have been heavily hybridized over the years. The natural cycle of dormancy, blooming and leaf growth must be emulated for them to bloom for us in December.

The larger the bulb, the larger and the more numerous the flowers. The energy for producing the flowers is stored in the bulb. Therefore, there must be a period where leaves are permitted to develop exposed to full bright but indirect sunlight for a period of several weeks. During this growth period these plants can be treated as houseplants and placed in a sunny window, or placed in the ground or on a sunny balcony in late spring and summer once danger of frost has passed. The more sunlight the leaves receive, the more energy the bulb can store to produce the flowers.

However, as the plants are tropical, grown in USDA Hardiness zone 9-11, the bulbs cannot stay outside in Mississauga in late fall/winter. They must be brought inside. Repotting with sterile soil is recommended if they have been exposed outside to ensure no insect eggs or fungal spores are carried inside to breed during the dormancy period.

 

My first Amaryllis was a gift. When the blooms ended, I decided I would care for it and hope to get blooms the following year. I moved the plant to a window exposed to morning light. Lily-like leaves emerged and continue to thrive from that Christmas to the following September.

In September I moved the bulb to my cold cellar where there is no light, and temperatures are slightly cooler. The bulb received no water or nutrients during this dormancy period, roughly 8 weeks.

As the leaves faded, I removed them. I restored the bulb to a sunny window in Mid-November and sparingly watered and fertilized it: the soil was allowed to dry between waterings. The flower stalk emerged and produced the flowers in time for Christmas once again. Success!

References:

//plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/amaryllis/

Amaryllis, Hippeastrum – Wisconsin Horticulture

 

 

Going to the CNE this year? Bring your gardening questions to the Master Gardener’s Booth @ Heritage Hall

The Canadian National Exhibition  2023 runs from August 18 to
Sept 4, including Labour Day Monday.

Master Gardeners from all over the GTA will be on hand at Heritage Court at the Master Gardener’s booth throughout the event. Find us near the flower show.

Bring your gardening questions along; our MG volunteers are ready and willing to offer our expert advice.

Hope to see you there!

Native Plant Sale @ Blooming Boulevards Mississauga June 10-11th

This weekend is Blooming Boulevards’ 4th Annual Native Plant Sale with thousands of native plants locally grown by volunteers.
And Blooming Boulevards  has a special treat!
Author Lorraine Johnson will be at the sale on Saturday morning, June 10, to sign her very informative new book A Garden for the Rusty Patch Bumblebee. 10:30 to 11:30 am
The book will be offered for sale all weekend
All the details about the sale can be found here: //www.bloomingboulevards.org/plant-sale-2023
All reactions:

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Mississauga Seed Library Launch

                   

Welcome spring with the re-opening of the Mississauga Seed Library for 2023.

Now in a new location (while the Port Credit library is under renovation.)

Celebrating the 9th year of the Mississauga Seed Library with workshops, gardening experts and family-friendly activities.

When: SATURDAY MARCH 11th.  10:30 am to 1:30 pm

Location: Small Arms Inspection Building (SAIB)

 1352 Lakeshore Road East Mississauga, ON L5E 1E9