2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

 Please note that there are updates on this map due to climate change.

Franklin County, PA is now solidly in Zone 7a

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                                       HERB SAMPLER Second Edition

Buy one for yourself and consider getting a few more as the winter holidays approach – hostess gifts, housewarming and holiday presents.

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon. 

Just click this link to find it. 

Witch Hazel – Notable Native Herb

 

Red cultivar (Photo: Nancy Miller)

Witch Hazel

One of the Notable Native Herbs (NNH) for 2020 was Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). Notable Native Herb™ is the signature program of Herb Society of America’s (HSA) Native Herb Conservation committee.

The HSA chooses one or two Notable Native Plants every year. Their definition of a native herb refers "to mostly seed-bearing, generally fleshy annuals, biennials, and perennials, aromatic or useful shrubs, vines, and trees that grew naturally in this country, without the influence, accidental or intentional, of man, prior to European settlement." Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) was also chosen as an NNH for 2020.

Yellow fringe flowers
(Photo:R.McOnegal. CC BY-NC 4.0 4.0)

The outstanding feature of Witch hazel, also called winter bloom, is the bright yellow flowers with spidery petals that appear in September and last until November just as fall foliage is fading. The flowers have a sweet, slightly spicy scent. The lettuce-green deciduous leaves turn brilliant gold in fall. The open crown has large, crooked, spreading branches that provide winter interest to the landscape.

Witch hazel is native and grows in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3-9 and this species is found most often in the Eastern U.S. It prefers moist but well-drained soil that is slightly acidic. It will grow in full or part sun and can grow as tall as 20 feet. It has thin, smooth, gray bark and shallow roots. The yellow and orange autumn leaves add to the landscape. There are many cultivars with a variety of colors sold as garden shrubs that are grown from hybrids of non-native species.

Autumn Leaves on Witch Hazel
(Photo: Nancy Miller)

The fruit is a woody capsule containing two seeds but this species has low fruit set. When available they are eaten by ruffed grouse, northern bobwhite and ring-necked pheasant. White-tailed deer will browse twigs and foliage. They are pollinated by bees and small flies.

Shivering Moths   (Family Noctuidae)

Courtesy Maryland Biodiversity Project
 - John Glaser

A Scientific American article describes Witch Hazel as being pollinated by a few species of owlet moths, also known as shivering moths. These moths are active during winter. During the moths rest, their body temperature drops to near freezing as they enter a state of torpor. At night, however, these moths become active by shivering, a process which raises their body temperature as much as 50 degrees, enabling them to activate their flight muscles. While they typically feed on sap, they have been observed feeding on flowers.

Native Americans considered this plant magical since it defied nature, blooming when other plants are going dormant for the winter. The witch in the name refers to an old Saxon word-wych-for bend. Forked branches from this tree were used as diving rods said to bend down to locate underground water. In the United States, the aromatic extract of leaves, twigs, and bark is used as an ingredient for topical applications such as skin toners, but individual products are not approved as drugs.

CKagan, Master Gardener

I Write - Hiraeth (Hi er ayth)

UPDATE: This story ran in the Dundalk Eagle Opinion section of May 1, 2025. It was shared on Facebook and I received a number of comments of thanks and a few memories from others - "the smell of wet snow mittens drying on the radiator."

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At our monthly Writing is Fun meetings we decide a prompt for writing for the next meeting. Length is set at 2 pages so we can read them at the meeting. There is quite a diversity of writing. Some are real life recollections, some fictional vignettes, and sometimes there's a poem.

Bethlehem Steel mills and housing (mid right)

The prompt for December 2023 was Something you can never do again. Here's what I wrote.

Hiraeth (Hi er ayth)– Carol Kagan

In the mid-20^th century, Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point plant was the world’s largest steel mill, positioned at a deep tidewater area of the Patapsco River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay.

Coming in the main road you passed the Bungalows where some of the workers lived. As the road curved left, the monstrous black furnaces loomed in the sky ahead while long gray buildings and train tracks lined the roadside. Once you approached town, Dr. Farber’s big house and offices opened the way down “D” Street, lined with stores, churches, and schools. Lettered and numbered streets were laid in neat grid with a variety of houses on the streets beyond. This company town was a planned community providing everything the workers might need to stay close to work. This place was my home for thirteen years. So many memories of growing up.

Beechwood Rd Bungalows

All the men in my family worked at the mill and my relatives lived in the Bungalows or in town, known as the Point. When I was three, my family moved into a bungalow of three rooms-a large living space and two bedrooms on Beechwood Road. The kitchen was a corner with a stove, refrigerator,  sink, and a large oil-burner furnace that sat along the wall. Although there was no bathroom, there was a closet with a tankless toilet off the back porch.

The backyard was fenced, and I played with Dusty, our cocker spaniel there. Joyce lived two doors down, Kathy across the street, and Rosemary on the corner. We would meet and go exploring in the woods beyond the alley. Then there was jump rope, hopscotch, and, on the one level block of sidewalk near the big tree, we  played jacks. We were in and out of each other’s houses and enjoyed a hot chocolate made with Hershey’s syrup while huddled around the furnace in winter and spit watermelon seeds from the front steps in late summer.

Me 1953                 Mom, Aunt & Uncle

The pony man came to the Bungalows. Mom put me in my best dress and I was carefully lifted up to the saddle. My feet didn’t reach the stirrups. I was a bit afraid. The man put on a cowboy hat and made funny faces while Mom kept saying “just smile.” It was a family tradition.  

                                    

As our family grew, we moved one street over to Forest Road where the bungalow had an indoor bathroom with toilet and tub and the back porch held the washing machine. My friends were just a few blocks away and both sets of grandparents lived down the street. Here, Katie, Debbie, and Patty added more friends. All of us walked to elementary school and had to cross the highway where Officer Tolbert, a company policeman, would get us safely across. He later became my stepfather.

There was a large, fenced playground with jungle gyms, swings, see-saws, and the “Stop I’m going to throw up” spinning merry-go-round. We would pick long vines of honeysuckle from the fence and wind it into a crown for whoever was queen for the day, often the one who had a candy necklace or bracelet from the newsstand candy bin.

Birthday parties were few and far between at that time. For my eighth birthday, I went to my grandmother’s house, and she had a gift for me, a pretty Sunday school dress. I put it on, my aunt fixed my hair, and I headed home to show off. When I got there the backyard picnic table held a cake and was decorated. All my friends were dressed up, too. A surprise party!

"D" Street house-right side of the duplex

As our family grew, now five children, we moved from the Bungalows to the Point and a much bigger house. It was at the far end of “D” Street where there were five blocks of houses that ended at the parking lot next to the open hearth and furnace. Debbie, Patty, and Kathleen had already moved to “E” Street, and I found that some of my school friends- Cindy, Susan, Ruth, and Barbara – lived nearby. There was roller skating on the flat asphalt at the elementary school, jump rope, and more. 

We were old enough to be outside playing until the streetlights came on. There were other activities such as the October 30^th “moving night” when we roamed the alleyways and moved things. No destructive pranks, just moving plants or trash cans from one house to another.

We were  always welcome at Cindy’s house. We would sit in her third-floor room and pick different names to be called. Mine was Daphne. And every school day morning we would meet at the corner and wait for the school bus. 

Then there was the time I took two cigarettes from my father’s Kools pack. It was getting dark, so Kathleen and I went to the field behind some of the “C” Street houses. We didn’t like smoking and were glad the streetlights came on. As soon as I got home (the same for Kathleen), my mother already knew what we were doing. It was a small town. It was my hometown.

There were times, when I had moved away and was working, I would drive through the old neighborhoods, remembering who lived where, seeing changes – some big, some small. The cars parked there were newer models. The store windows had up-to-date clothes or signs for the newest, best products. The bank was converted to a café with tables by the window. Home had changed.

The dictionary states that home is a place, a residence, a dwelling. But home is much more.

How, and what, we remember of our experiences in life is a significant part of our identity. And our physical home is an integral part of that identity.

There is a saying, based on a Thomas Wolfe book, that you can't go home again. Within the context of that story, it means that when you go home, things are different, changed. Therefore, it isn't the home you know.

In 1973, the Bethlehem Steel mill closed. All the businesses closed. All the residents moved to nearby communities. Bulldozers came in and the company town was demolished.

Hiraeth (Hi er ayth)  means a nostalgic longing for a place which can never be revisited. 

I can never go home again.

Sweet Potato vs Yam vs White Potato

 

Sweet potatoes (SchoolPhotoProject.com)

Sweet Potato or Yam?

Is it a sweet potato or yam? What many call a yam is actually a sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). Although they may look and taste very similar, the true yam and sweet potato are not botanically related. Sweet potatoes belong to the morning glory family Convolvulaceae while yams belong to a different family called Dioscoreaceae. The edible parts of sweet potatoes are roots and in yams they are classified as tubers. Producing about 4-10 roots per plant, sweet potato plants yield more produce. There are typically 1-5 tubers per yam plant.

Sweet potatoes were grown in Peru as early as 750 BC. Native Americans were growing sweet potatoes when Columbus arrived in 1492. George Washington grew sweet potatoes on his farm at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Our sweet potatoes are “homegrown,” mainly in California, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Yams (Dioscorea spp.) are mainly grown in West Africa and Asia. Today the USDA requires that when the term 'yam' is used to describe sweet potatoes, it must also be labeled as a 'sweet potato'. Unless you specifically search for yams, which can often be found at ethnic markets, you are probably eating sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are grown from sweet potato slips which are rooted sprouts from a mature sweet potato. Although seeds are available, yams are best grown from tubers purchased from a reputable dealer. White potatoes are grown from seed potatoes available online and at local nurseries.

Yams at a farmer's market (Eater.com)

According to Harvard University "Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are richest in beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are richer in anthocyanins. Beta-carotene and anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant “phyto” chemicals that give vegetables their bright colors. These phytochemicals are being researched for their potential role in human health and disease prevention."

Univ. of North Carolina breeding sweet potatoes for people
in African countries. Photo: Courtesy U.N.C.

 And then there are white potatoes.

White potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are the plant tubers while sweet potatoes are the plant roots. Harvard notes "If swapping sweet potatoes for white potatoes, you’ll still want to go easy on the portions: Though sweet potatoes are a rich source of beta carotene, they have a high glycemic index and glycemic load—almost as high as that of a white potato. Most people don’t eat sweet potatoes in the same over-sized quantities as they do white potatoes, which is perhaps why research studies haven’t found sweet potatoes to be a major culprit for weight gain and diabetes."
All these have good nutritional value and can be prepared many different ways. Sweet potatoes and yams are not just for the holidays. They make great soups, breads, and side dishes year-round.

Comparing nutrition value, according to the USDA, 1 cup cubed: Sweet potato: 130 calories, 3 grams of protein, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar. Yam: 155 calories, 2 grams of protein, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 0.7 grams of sugar. White potatoes: 116 calories, 3 grams of protein, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar.

CKagan, Master Gardener

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HERB SAMPLER Second Edition

Buy one for yourself and consider getting a few more as the winter holidays approach – hostess gifts, housewarming and holiday presents.

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon. 

Just click this link to find it. 

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLORS?

 

October 3, 2023 by Sherrie McCleary, Master Gardener

October is here and fall is officially upon us. Thoughts turn to favorite things like football, bonfires, crisp days, and all things pumpkin. Add fall foliage to that list. Pennsylvania has a longer and more varied fall foliage season than any other state in the nation -- or anywhere in the world. Pennsylvania, with its abundance of mountains and state parks provides a front row seat to experience the palette transformation from the rich greens of Summer to the vivid reds, oranges, and golds of Autumn. This is the season to enjoy nature’s process of preparing to protect its trees to survive the cold of the winter ahead.

Why do leaves change colors? An interesting fact is that some of the colors have been in the leaves all Summer. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and trees use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar. This provides nutrition to the tree. During this process, trees produce chlorophyll, a light absorbing pigment, which gives the tree its green color. The colors are masked by the dominant green color while the leaves are busy turning sunlight into food. Carotenoids (golden pigment) have been present in the leaf throughout the growing season. Most anthocyanins (red pigment) are produced in autumn. As Fall approaches, the tree prepares to shed its leaves because the tender leaf tissue will not survive the cold winter. The primary influence of change is that days shorten providing less light. Nights are longer and cooler, and the chlorophyll production slows down and eventually stops. Eventually all the chlorophyll is destroyed, and the carotenoids and anthocyanins are unmasked and show their colors. The timing of the color change varies by species, as well as the color pigment. Some trees become vividly colorful late Summer or early Fall, while others are still green. Oaks on the other hand show their colors after others have already shed their leaves.

The intensity and brilliance of the colors are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is diminishing. Temperature and moisture are the main influences. A warm wet spring, favorable summer weather and warm sunny fall days with cool nights can produce the most intense autumn colors. A severe summer drought can delay the color transformation by a few weeks. A warm period during fall can also lower the intensity of autumn colors. Abnormally dry conditions and high temperatures can also cause early leaves to drop in late September and early October. Although we have been experiencing drought conditions, Marc Abrams, a professor of forest ecology and physiology at Penn State University, has written “a lessening of extreme heat and drought and a continuation of cool nights can go a long way to save a season.” He also went on to note “I have been impressed in my years of gauging foliage at the resiliency of the display.”

So go out and enjoy this season of transformation. Whether the color is good or great, it is one of nature’s finest displays. The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources offers information on state parks, state forests, as well as Fall foliage reports on their webpage. Check out the Visit PA webpage for where and when to view our 2023 seasonal beauty. https://www.visitpa.com/article/when-and-where-view-best-fall-foliage-pa

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 Now is the time to start planning to harvest and preserve your herbs. There’s lots of good information in the

HERB SAMPLER Second Edition

Buy one for yourself and consider getting a few more as the winter holidays approach – hostess gifts, housewarming and holiday presents.

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is exclusively sold retail at Snavely's Garden Center, Chambersburg or available through Amazon at this

 link.

BALD BLUEJAY & more

Seen in the birdbath this week/ bald Bluejay

Sept. 2, 2023

Here's why I never seem to get much done as my office window looks over the front garden.

Sighted 5 minutes ago. BALD BLUE JAY!!!😲

Stopped what I was doing. Looked it up on line.  (What I call my “but I digress moments) Never even considered this was a thing.

Check out Laura Erickson’s “For the Birds”  https://www.lauraerickson.com website.

BLUE JAY information from Erickson:

"Every year in July and August, people here and there throughout the country notice bald Blue Jays and ask me about them. And every year I explain it pretty much the same way. Adult Blue Jays molt every summer. The feathers are replaced a few at a time over most of their bodies, so they retain enough feathers to keep flying and to protect their bodies from the elements.

"But some Blue Jays tend to drop all their head feathers simultaneously. This has one big advantage, reducing the number of days that the head is missing any feathers at all, but a big disadvantage, too, exposing the bird’s head to the elements with no protection whatsoever for as long as a week or two. I was licensed to keep an education Blue Jay named Sneakers for many years, and she molted this way. I was absolutely responsible for Sneakers, and very protective of her dignity, and this was also before I was taking many photos of birds, so I never took photos of her in her bald state. 

"That is, until this summer. Being home during the pandemic, one of my joys has been whistling to my neighborhood crows and Blue Jays when I set out peanuts. The nearest crow family brought off four chicks, and the family of six has been showing up regularly at my big tray feeder. One of the parents noticed this spring that if I went into the yard and whistled when it was nearby, I always put some peanuts in the feeder, and now the whole bunch is likely to show up if they’re within earshot when I whistle. So far, neither parent has lost all its head feathers.”

What about other birds?

GOLDFINCHES, notes Cornell’s e-Bird (https://ebird.org/home), molt twice a year. Here’s what they say:

“Every summer, goldfinches replace their bright body feathers with duller ones for the winter. The new feathers come in one by one, giving the birds that strange patchwork appearance.

Unlike most songbirds, goldfinches molt twice a year. At winter’s end, they’ll grow in a complete set of new golden yellow feathers. Again, each one will have a strange, patchy appearance for a few days, but soon they’ll be vividly beautiful again.”

CARDINALS, both male and female, molt every year. Here’s what AnyCardinals.com have to say:

    

Cardinals, both male and female, molt like many other birds. They molt once a year to shed their old, damaged plumage and grow stunning, new feathers to conduct flight efficiently, stay healthy, and allure their mates.Cardinals molt their feathers once a year, usually in the late summer and early fall.

Male cardinal will molt feathers from their whole body while female cardinals do not molt their body plumage, only their wings and tail feathers.

And on to another discovered bird topic

ANTING from birdwatchingdaily.com (Again, I digress…) 

And not only cardinals but other birds. 

“Have you seen a cardinal bird covered with ants? If yes, then you should know that there is no reason to panic. Cardinal birds covered themselves with ants. This behavior is called anting, where they voluntarily cover their whole body with ants. Although it is a bit unusual and alarming, cardinals are not the only bird species that do that. Ants release formic acid that helps birds ward off lice, so they do anting once in a while. 

One theory is that the acid secreted by the ants kills mites and other parasites that might try taking root in a bird’s feathers. Another possibility is that formic acid acts as a sort of natural balm, soothing the irritation caused by molting.”

And that was a bit of my morning. Now writing it up to share.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 Now is the time to start planning to harvest and preserve your herbs. There’s lots of good information in the

HERB SAMPLER Second Edition

Buy one for yourself and consider getting a few more as the winter holidays approach – hostess gifts, housewarming and holiday presents.

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is exclusively sold retail at Snavely's Garden Center, Chambersburg or available through Amazon. 

Just click this link to find it.

Franklin County Master Gardener Participates in Award-Winning Bee Monitoring Program

 August 24, 2023                                                                                                                                                                              

Ceratina (small carpenter bee) at a nesting site
 in a Rudbeckia stem (Ron George)

Franklin County Master Gardener Participates in Award-Winning Bee Monitoring Program

By Sherrie McCleary, Master Gardener

The many roles of a Master Gardner include teaching, problem solving,  community outreach, and advising the public on best gardening practices. Did you know community scientist is now added to this list? What is a community scientist? The definition of community or citizen science is “work undertaken by volunteers or the general public, often done in collaboration, with or under the direction of professional, scientists, or scientific institutions.”

Pennsylvania Master Gardeners are participating in a bee monitoring program investigating and collecting data on bees at a highly trained level. Under the direction of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Science and the lab of Associate Professor of Entomology, Margarita Lopez-Uribe, bee monitoring is a multiyear effort to understand Pennsylvania’s native bee population. Since bees are the most important pollinators of plants, it makes them critical for plant reproduction and a balanced ecosystem. While studies show evidence of bee decline, there has been a lack of standardized long-term monitoring data. The participants have been recognized for their work in this important program.

 In June 2023, Penn State Master Gardeners earned first place in the research category of the David Gibby Search for Excellence Awards at the International Master Gardener Conference held in Kansas. The award was for exceptional volunteer work and dedication to the bee monitoring program. Recognized for the first-place award were 20 Penn State Master Gardeners.

Tracy Snyder collecting bees for the monitoring project

Penn State Extension is proud to announce Franklin County Master Gardener Tracy Snyder as one of the 20 volunteers recognized. An avid gardener for more than 30 years, Tracy became a Master Gardener in 2018. She has volunteered her time to other projects such as Victory Garden, Greenhouse Planting, and Program Advisory but her love and passion for insects is what interested her in the bee monitoring project. According to Tracy, “Becoming a Master Gardener was an easy choice based on my gardening experience, but I had no idea that it would give me the opportunity to participate in something like this. I am really grateful for that.”

She has received advanced training on the protocols used to collect, pin, label and identify native bees.  “I have no formal scientific training, so it is really great to be making a meaningful contribution to the scientific community,” Tracy said. “I hope that my efforts can help protect our native bees.” A follow-up workshop is held each year for additional training and interaction with fellow bee monitors.

Thanks to Tracy’s efforts and involvement, Franklin County Extension is now part of this important initiative. Penn State will use the data collected to gain a better understanding of the nature of Pennsylvania bees, including distributions, host plants, and timing of developmental cycles. As a Franklin County Master Gardener, Tracy will be able to use her knowledge and experiences to educate people in the community on the diversity of bees in Pennsylvania. “A lot of people are unaware of the huge diversity of bees that could be right outside their door,“ said Tracy. “The 2020 checklist of bees in PA showed 437 species.” She also noted, “Native bees provide vital pollination services and are often better pollinators than honeybees. They evolved with our native plants, so they are uniquely qualified to pollinate them.”

Pinned bees and labels are ready to be examined for identification (Penn State Extension)

To date, Tracy has collected 493 specimens, 58 varied species and 37 county records. County records indicate that the species had not been recorded for the county previously, even though they may have existed. These species were not officially recognized because many areas of the state have been poorly sampled or not sampled at all. Tracy notes that, as time goes on, it will be harder to get county records because the easy species will already have been recorded.

The Penn State bee monitoring program continues to make strides with totals of 4,761 specimens, 185 species, and 488 county records collected so far for 2022. The Master Gardeners involved have been applauded for their dedication to learning the skills required and devotion to research. Plus, they are winning first place awards! Congratulations to Franklin County’s Tracy Snyder and the other 19 state-wide Master Gardeners for being recognized and honored for your outstanding research.

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Now is the time to start planning to harvest and preserve your herbs. There’s lots of good information in the

HERB SAMPLER Second Edition

Buy one for yourself and consider getting a few more as the winter holidays approach – hostess gifts, housewarming and holiday presents.

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is exclusively sold retail at Snavely's Garden Center, Chambersburg or available through Amazon. 

Just click this link to find it.