Newsletter Articles & Archive

By Blake Davis

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’m convinced my whole street thinks I’m crazy.
My neighbor whose backyard abuts mine (so obviously I call them my “butt-neighbors”) told me last week their dog doesn’t even bark anymore. It's so accustomed to the thumps and scrapes of my digging as my headlamp bobs like a tired firefly at the back of my yard at 11pm.  

 I recently visited a friend at their new home, looking over his backyard he told me “Every time I come out here, I ask myself: what would Blake do with this yard?”
I said, “Oh, that’s easy. I would overextend myself.”

I would call that my garden specialty. 

Whenever I see an announcement of a Master Gardener tour, I say “I’d love to do that…. Once I get caught up”.
I’ve been saying that for 4 years now.

I hear these sage gardening proverbs like “One year’s seeds, seven years’ weeds.” and “The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago.”
So I need to stay ahead of the weeds, while planting trees, prepare for spring, lay drip lines for summer, start mowing, oh and I’ve got that plant I kept alive in a pot all winter I need to get into the ground.
I don’t know where to begin, so I’ll just start a new, completely unrelated project.

My son, exceptionally excited, helps me with a project

If I asked my counselor to pinpoint the root of my anxious ambitions, she’d ask a sassy question like “Blake can you think of any traumas in your life that might manifest itself in striving to overachieve by pressing against time even at the cost of overextending your body?”
To which I’d say something like “Ugh, shut up Patricia with your… wise and smart counsel.”

I’ve got a great resume of potential factors: Diagnosed ADHD (my ‘quirky gift’), born with a terminal disease with a 25-year life expectancy, experimentally homeschooled, and sleep deprived with three kids under five- to name a few of the big-hitters.

So that’s why this spring I participated in “No Mow Month”, a project promoted by the Cumberland River Compact to support pollinators by letting your yard grow wild. 

I’m all for it, I love bees, I am fully invested in our Mason Bee program.
But let’s be real: Someone will deliver a sign to my yard that tells my neighbors it’s only out of control for NOBLE reasons?
“I’m not behind, I’m saving the pollinators!... just ignore the squirrel horde of unfinished projects behind that curtain.”

But here’s the thing: as my front yard grew wilder, I discovered which areas were weeds, and which had native plants I’d been mowing over every year to keep up with my neighbors.

While rushing to and from garden tasks, I found myself stopping and sipping my coffee as I watched mason bees flit around the tall grass, as dew soaks into my socks through my ugly green crocs. My wife has commented that there seem to be fewer mosquitoes this year, and I can’t describe the feeling that first mow evoked once the month was finished.

The mess of my unmowed yard forced me to realize I was rushing because I wanted to prove I had control of things, not because it’s what I -or my garden- really needed. 

 But life, like the huge tree that fell on my fence last week, has a tendency to remind us that even the most meticulously laid drip line or brightest headlamp can not ensure our plans will succeed.

Me, probably wondering why I can’t seem to get anything done at the moment

My family welcomed a new baby in October, and just days later, our best friend was killed while running on the Mill Creek Greenway.
Grief and a third child stripped away any illusions I had of control over my life, and as we navigated through the hurricane of emotions, the joy of new life and the chasm of loss, we decided our focus for this year would be ‘no striving’.

Now anytime I start to talk about my garden tasks from a perspective of frustration or anxiety, my wife asks me: “Is your garden a place of rest, or a place of striving?” 

Rest is not natural for me. I get so fixated on what is unfinished that I forget to sit and enjoy the garden I’ve grown.

No Striving

So this year, I’m learning how to focus on my blooming hydrangeas without obsessing over the crabgrass popping up in the mulch at its base. I’m trying to stop comparing my garden (or my life) to some idealized perfection I’ve built in my own mind.
I’m forcing myself to stop and sit quietly and really look at what’s growing.

 This is my challenge to myself this year:
When working in my garden, I walk as slowly as I can. Training my mind and body to keep focused on the journey across my yard, noticing every small bud I usually rush by on my way to fulfill tasks.
I’m scheduling one day each month to be an active visitor in my garden: I’m not allowed to pull weeds, move yard structures, dig, mow, spray or prune. Just be present, rest, and play with my kids in the space we’ve worked so hard to grow.  

Sometimes my gracious wife still has to call me out when my mind gets consumed by my garden tasks. My butt-neighbor’s dog may still see some lights in my backyard, but now it’s me, six-month-old strapped into his backpack, stomping through weeds and catching fireflies with my 2 and 4 year old children.

The “third time is a charm” may apply to many things, but for one MG intern it was the third time she submitted an application that she was finally accepted for a class. Persistence is something that Amy Peterson has in abundance, whether in her passion for gardening, her career or her volunteer work. 

Shortly before Covid hit in 2020, Amy moved into a new house and soon found herself with extra time and a place to garden. Her mother had enjoyed container gardening but that was her only real experience planting and growing things outside up to that point. She learned quickly that she loved having her hands in the dirt and experimented with lots of plants, and also discovered she had lots to learn when some of the plants didn’t survive. The owner of a plant store near her home turned into a friend and garden buddy as they talked often during the pandemic and would share ideas and plants and make trips to McMinnville together. Amy says having a friend who owns a delivery truck is a wonderful thing! Describing herself as a “cramscaping chaos gardener,” Amy still loves to choose new plants she loves for her garden and see what happens, but is also becoming a big believer in the concept of Right Plant- Right Place. She values the knowledge she is gaining in the MG classes and plans to put her garden on the garden tour. One part of caring for her yard she does not like is lawn care so she leaves the mowing, edging and everything related to others. Her newest yard project is adding a small pond where a dead Crape Myrtle was removed and she hopes to fill it with native aquatic plants.

Amy works full-time in the trust and wealth management area of banking and has over 20 years in the field.  When she applied for the MG class in the past it was for night classes and she is happy she could arrange her work schedule to attend the Tuesday morning sessions.  She also serves as the President of the Tennessee Kidney Foundation Board of Directors, a local non- profit that seeks to raise awareness of kidney disease and provide education, assistance and other resources to persons in middle TN. This is a topic very near to Amy’s heart, as her father had kidney disease and she donated a kidney to him.  

Although not a native Nashvillian, Amy has lived here since 1995 and has developed a strong circle of friendships that she greatly values. Kayaking on the Buffalo River and trips to the beach are two of her favorite things to do with friends, but an ideal weekend for her would start with a cool and rainy Saturday morning with no plans and turn into a sunny afternoon where she could play in the dirt as long as she wanted. 

In addition to the gardening knowledge she is gaining, Amy also appreciates the community of Master Gardeners and how accepting and friendly everyone is. Future classes of Master Gardeners are sure to say the same when they meet Amy Peterson.

If your site has poor or degraded soil, raised beds and containers can be a great way to grow home vegetables and small fruits. Raised beds can be built from kits or with do-it-yourself instructions. Wood, metal, composite materials, concrete blocks, and even rocks can all be used.

A common bed width is 4 feet if accessed from both sides, and 2 to 3 feet if accessed from one side. Beds are generally constructed 6 to 12 inches deep but can be deeper. Shallow-rooted crops, such as lettuce, spinach, kale, and other leafy crops, may be produced in beds that are only 4 to 6 inches deep. Taller and deeper-rooted crops, such as tomatoes and peppers require deeper beds. A  smaller volume will retain lower amounts of water and nutrients. Since raised beds drain more rapidly than nearby level soil, deeper beds can decrease watering frequency.

You can purchase raised bed mixes if your soil is not ideal. These mixes should have a range of  particle sizes to support drainage and be free from weed seeds and pathogens. Remember they will need to be watered and fertilized more frequently than in-ground gardens!

Great crops for raised beds and small spaces:

• Spring crops: Lettuce, radishes, beets, Swiss chard
• Summer crops: Bush beans, peppers, determinate tomatoes, summer squash, trellised cucumbers
• Fall crops: Cabbage, kale, spinach, carrots, lettuce
• Fruit crops: Strawberries, compact blueberry, and raspberry

By James Hearn

So we're out there in our gardens, getting our hands dirty and trying out cool experiments. But to really make sense of what's happening – and to share what we learn with others – we gotta be a bit organized about how we collect our info. First off, it's super helpful if we can all agree on some basic ways of looking at things – what we're watching for and how we're noting it down. Having some standard ways to observe makes it way easier to compare notes later, you know?

Then there's the whole measuring thing. Whether we're checking how tall our tomatoes are getting or how many bees are buzzing around our flowers, it helps if we all measure things in a similar way. No need to get all super scientific about it, but just being consistent with our rulers or counting methods makes our results way more useful.

When it comes to actually writing stuff down, we've got options! Some of us might love our trusty notebooks and garden journals – there's something cool about jotting things down by hand right there in the garden. But hey, digital tools are awesome too! There are apps for tracking all sorts of stuff, and even just using a simple spreadsheet on our phones or tablets can make life easier. And don't forget photos! Snapping a few pictures can really show what's going on in a way words sometimes can't. Plus, it's great for sharing later! Keeping a good garden journal, whether it's on paper or digital, is key for remembering what we did and what happened. It's like our gardening diary, but with a purpose!

Luckily, there are some neat tech tools out there to help us out. There are smartphone apps that are specifically designed for tracking garden stuff – everything from plant growth to pest sightings. And if we're working on bigger projects, there are citizen science platforms where we can share our findings with actual researchers – pretty cool, right? Sometimes, if we're curious about something specific, we can even poke around in online research databases to see what the experts have already learned. And it's always great to connect with other gardeners online through collaborative research networks to swap tips and see what everyone else is discovering. So, by being a little thoughtful about how we collect and keep track of our garden info, we can all learn more and share some really useful stuff!

By Kay Gragg

Growing vegetables in an urban setting presents several challenges which the gardener must handle, some of which are easier to overcome than others. Foremost among them is limited space. Although there are some local master gardeners who have access to several acres, most of us are not so lucky. 

 My own home, for example, is located in a West Nashville neighborhood where houses were built in the 1960’s on quarter-acre lots.  The backyard includes two large maple trees which provide welcome shade from the hot summer sun. Unfortunately, this also leaves few areas which receive the required 6-8 hours of full sun needed to grow most vegetables. My garden, which is roughly 8 x 12 feet, is tucked behind the attached garage and just a step away from the covered back porch.

With such a small space, some planning is needed to prevent overcrowding or allowing tall plants to shade shorter ones as the sun moves overhead. I have found the easiest method to be dividing my garden into four equal quadrants. Since it takes longer for the corner nearest the house to receive full sun, I have devoted that quadrant to herbs---rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, chives, and mint. The other three quadrants are for the vegetables I grow; crops are rotated every year.

In order to optimize space, my focus is on those plants which grow upwards instead of along the ground.  One quadrant is always reserved for tomatoes. In years past I have grown as many as six plants but have recently settled on four.  Not only does this improve production of fruit, but it also allows better access for plant maintenance and harvesting. I stake each seedling when it is planted and add wire cages for support. In between, I plant basil, the perfect companion plant for tomatoes.

The second quadrant is for peppers---bell, banana, and sometimes cayenne or jalapeno. I stake these as needed when they grow taller. The third quadrant is reserved for green pole beans, preferably Kentucky Wonder. For this crop, I build teepees by tying three tomato stakes together and securing vines to them as they climb skyward.  If you have ample room, you may choose to plant squash as a companion plant in sunny spots around the bottom of the beans.

My final crop is cucumbers, which I plant along a wooden A-frame trellis. It can be positioned either between two quadrants or in one of the sunny corners. I also choose to sprinkle zinnia and cosmos seeds liberally along the wire fence which encompasses my garden to attract pollinators.

By Ellen Wright

Years ago, my now 93 year old mother-in-law won awards for flower arrangements and took classes in ikebana (Japanese flower arranging, translated as “giving life to flowers”). I have done neither, but, over the years, I have tried to pay attention, not only to her arrangements, but to those of my good friends who are pros at this art. Consider this article, then, as a jumble of my collected observations and tips, not as gospel.

I always begin with seeing what my yard will yield up; it’s the best sort of challenge for making an arrangement, especially in winter. You’d be amazed at what you will find: beautiful autumn leaves (especially maples, but also Ginkgo, sweetgum, and Parrotia), colorful berries (winterberry [Ilex verticillata], beautyberry [Callicarpa americana]), seed pods or pine cones (lotus, sweetgum), herbs (rosemary, oregano in bloom, lavender, blooming chives), all manner of greenery (Aucuba, boxwood, magnolia)- you get the idea. Over the years, I have tried to source and install plants with year round interest and color.

Of course, you can always buy all of the above, if your garden isn’t forthcoming, and I always have to buy showy flowers, if I need more than a few or if they are something we (I) can’t grow here.

First things first: condition your flowers, especially if they are bought. Fill a bucket with tepid water, cut stems at a 45 degree angle, remove lower leaves, and submerge the stems deeply for at least several hours. You may add flower food.  Keep them out of the sun and in a cool(ish) spot.Some flowers may require extra or special treatment. TIPS: if a hydrangea droops, cut a bit off the stem and put it in hot water for a bit. Tulips will keep growing in the vase- who knew? Either let them beautifully curve downward, or keep cutting the stems.

Next, assemble your equipment: vase(s), skinny florist tape (green or clear; Scotch tape in a pinch) for criss-crossing the vase top to keep stems from falling together,  clippers and/or pocket knife, pebbles/marbles for anchors in the  bottom of the vase, oasis if needed for a capacious vessel, frogs, Clorox (in a glass bottle with a dropper, or a few freehand drops if you have a steady hand) for keeping the water clear. You won’t always need all of these, but it’s nice to keep them on hand.

Ready to roll! What do you envision? Big and splashy?  Small and dainty? Field to table? Portable or not? Choose your container accordingly. Like perusing your yard, combing through your cabinets for pitchers and glassware

can provide inspiration. Do you want to color block the arrangement, grouping like flowers together, or do you prefer an even mix? Sparse or voluptuous?

Remember, for a dinner party, those heady lily aromas might fight with the food, and you’ll want either very low vases or very tall, so your guests can see one another across the table.

If you have them, begin with structure- woody stemmed plants, circled vines, or plants with branching. This will help anchor the design, making it easier to insert the single stemmed flowers. Mop head hydrangeas can be a great support, if they are cut short, and hellebores (with their big leaves) are also a good option, especially around edges.Finally, I think a spot of white or red is often helpful in a mixed bouquet. Let your imagination go! Here are a few pictures from my efforts over the years. Some are bought flowers (ranunculus, sunflowers, roses, some lilies, proteas); others are from my garden.  The last photograph is the work of a professional (Jim Knestrick)- a spectacular arrangement from my daughter’s wedding. I think it is the best of a natural look, and one to aspire to, using both exotics and natives.

Splendor of late summer- Japanese anemones, from the yard.

Bought sunflowers and proteas, with variegated Solomon’s seal from the yard.

Yard in spring (Virginia bluebells, daffodils, stinking hellebores, peonies, Euphorbia) and summer (zinnias, see-through Verbena, mountain mint, variegated Soloman’s seal, dahlias, hydrangeas [Annabelle and Pinky Winky], bachelor buttons, daisies, hardy begonia, crape myrtle, cone flowers)

^{Bought materials for fall (structural) and spring (simple, with added magnolia.)}

Lovely simplicity. Fragrant, too!

For a party- Mix of bought (sweet peas, roses) and yard, including daffodils, greenery, hydrangeas, and a peony or two.

By Christina Cassidy

Ok. I’ll say it. I don’t like honey bees. Well, let me clarify.

I have fallen in love with our Tennessee native bees - specifically the fuzzy mason bees we farm with the Master Gardeners of Davidson County. These solitary creatures are pollination experts and darn cute too. Each year, our Native Bee Farming Program sets out thousands of mason bee cocoons to hatch in houses, with the hopes of increasing our numbers and goal of conserving our native bee populations. That being said, there’s so much to share about these amazing little guys, and maybe I’ll make you fall in love with them too

Did you know:

ONE: Honey bees are NOT native to the United States!

They were brought to the continent from Europe in the 1600’s to produce honey and beeswax, and pollinate European crops (something they are still used for today). BUT - what if I told you that native bees are much more efficient pollinators than honey bees - pollinating up to 95% of the flowers they visit! A female mason bee can pollinate as many plants as 100 honey bees (10-20 times more flowers per minute). Using her belly to collect pollen, she is able to cross pollinate plants at a much higher rate than her honey bee cousins.

TWO: Mason bees are solitary bees

Unlike honey bees that live in colonies with complex social structures, mason bees prefer their space–opting to nest in holes and reeds on their own. They prefer to wave at their friends from across the street and move on with their business. No small talk on the street for these guys.

THREE: Mason bees are named for their choice of building material

Mason bees create chambers within the reeds they nest in where they wall off their eggs with mud. They will leave pollen for their babies (otherwise known as “bread”) to eat as they grow. Once the larva are large enough, they will spin a cocoon to over-winter in and complete the growth into an adult bee.

FOUR: Only female bees have stingers! 

That goes for wasps too (our bee friends are descended from wasps - they’re pollinators too!) The stinger is a modified ovipositor which only females have. SO - if you know how to tell the difference between the two – and have time to figure it out – you can gauge your chances of being stung much better.

FIVE: Mason bees have a very short lifespan

Only 4-6 weeks. Female eggs are laid at the back of the reeds to protect them from potential pests. If something does break through the mud walls, they’ll encounter the male eggs/larva/cocoons first - arguably less valuable in terms of reproduction.

At the end of the day, honey bees are living their honey bee lives. But I am a softy for the bees that evolved with our local ecology. As far as the bee farming program, our bees have already hatched, pollinated, laid their eggs and gone for this year. A short season that I look forward to. In the fall, we will harvest the year’s cocoons to keep them safe in our refrigerators over the winter. And once again as the trees begin to bloom in late March, we will see our houses buzzing.

By Jen Zimmerer

Allow me to start off by being vulnerable and admitting that although I prioritize smart rainwater use and environmental stewardship, adding an irrigation system for my raised bed vegetable garden has been a game changer! I capture rainwater into a single rain barrel (I should probably add one or two more) and I find myself emptying it regularly during warm weather. Watering by hand in the early mornings before work is also not always feasible and if I’m dreading taking care of my space, my poor vegetables often get neglected. I decided to allow myself the sinful pleasure of paying an additional $10/mo on my water bill to have my irrigation system do my dirty work and help my vegetables thrive. I haven’t looked back since!

The cost of setup was reasonable with a pre-made drip irrigation kit, a splitter for my hose, and a timer connected to the irrigation side of the hose. You could also save a bit of money by buying specific items a la carte to create your own starter kit. This would just take a bit of research and measurement on the front end, but would be great for ambitious and thrifty folks!

I easily buried the 1/2 inch poly tubing included in the kit that leads several feet across the yard from the hose bib to my raised beds. With the 1/2 inch tubing, there is a punch included to create holes and attach smaller drip lines and various micro-spray attachments. I have also moved the setup around the garden a couple of times and had no issue customizing to various configurations. I love that I can place sprayers or drip lines near the plants that need the most water while avoiding their less-thirsty companions. I am also careful to plant and mulch each bed efficiently to reduce the need for too much watering. The hose timer I use is simple, but allows me to program a rain delay if there are rainy days that don’t need watering. If you haven’t checked out the most up-to-date Bluetooth hose timers, you should have a look at how far they’ve come in recent years!

As you might have deduced, there are a few downsides to this lazy girl’s guide to gardening. First, I’m paying for water and using city water isn’t always the most ideal for a healthy garden. Second, and maybe less obvious, is that I am no longer putting my eyes on every nook and cranny of my vegetable garden. Without having to rise at the crack of dawn to water, I have been known to neglect scouting for pests and disease and I can be late to the game on trellising. My tomato jungle was growing so ferociously last year I had to let it flop over the side of my raised bed rather than staking it up nice and tall. All in all, if you find your garden getting away from you and life getting in the way of achieving prime pepper potential, check out an easy irrigation system for your veggies.

Pre-made kits and parts for my system here: https://misterlandscaper.com

*there are lots of helpful YouTube videos for setup advice and helpful tips

By James Hearn

In last month's article, we explored the role of Master Gardeners as citizen scientists. Now, let's delve into how you can take your contributions a step further by designing and conducting your own garden experiments. By applying the principles of experimental design, you can transform your garden into a hub of discovery, generating valuable data and deepening your understanding of horticultural practices.

Designing effective garden experiments isn't about complex laboratory setups; it's about applying sound scientific principles to your gardening endeavors. It starts with developing clear, testable hypotheses. A hypothesis is a specific, measurable, and falsifiable statement about what you expect to observe. Instead of a general question like "Which fertilizer is best?", a strong hypothesis would be "Tomato plants treated with Fertilizer A will produce a higher yield of fruit compared to tomato plants treated with Fertilizer B." This specificity allows for focused investigation.

The next crucial step is creating controlled experiments. Control is the cornerstone of reliable scientific inquiry. A controlled experiment isolates the variable you're testing (the independent variable) while keeping all other factors constant. In our fertilizer example, the type of fertilizer is the independent variable. To control the experiment, you would ensure that all tomato plants receive the same amount of sunlight, water, and soil, except for the fertilizer treatment. This allows you to confidently attribute any differences in yield to the fertilizer.

Identifying and managing variables is essential for maintaining experimental integrity. Variables are any factors that can influence the outcome of your experiment. As mentioned, the independent variable is the one you manipulate. The dependent variable is the factor you measure (e.g., fruit yield). Extraneous variables are any other factors that could affect the dependent variable. These need to be controlled or accounted for. For instance, plant variety, soil type, and pest infestations are all extraneous variables that could influence tomato yield.

Developing robust measurement systems is equally important. How will you quantify the results of your experiment? This requires defining clear metrics and using consistent measurement techniques. In our example, you might measure the total weight of harvested fruit, the number of fruits per plant, or the average size of the fruits. Using precise tools and recording your measurements meticulously will ensure the accuracy and reliability of your data.

Finally, maintaining experimental integrity throughout the process is paramount. This involves adhering to your experimental design, avoiding bias, and documenting your procedures and observations thoroughly. Consistent watering schedules, careful labeling of plants, and detailed record-keeping are all essential for ensuring the validity of your results.

The beauty of garden experiments lies in their practicality. Consider these examples:

Comparing irrigation methods: Design an experiment to compare the effectiveness of drip irrigation versus overhead watering on the growth of your herbs. You could measure plant height, leaf size, or overall plant health.

Testing soil amendment effectiveness: Evaluate the impact of different compost types on soil fertility. Measure soil pH, nutrient levels, or the growth rate of plants in amended versus unamended soil.

Tracking pollinator interactions: Observe and record the frequency of pollinator visits to different flowering plants in your garden. This data can contribute to our understanding of pollinator preferences and habitat needs.

Monitoring plant disease resistance: If you're growing different varieties of a particular plant, observe and document their susceptibility to common diseases. This can help you identify disease-resistant varieties for your region.

By embracing the principles of experimental design, Master Gardeners can move beyond simply following instructions and actively contribute to the body of horticultural knowledge. Your garden can become a dynamic learning environment, where curiosity and scientific inquiry converge to cultivate not only thriving plants but also a deeper understanding of the natural world.

By Amy Dunlap

We all see the influx of people moving into Tennessee from other states, particularly from California and Florida. Many new residents come with questions about what fruit crops grow well in the state of Tennessee. Sometimes they may assume that citrus, olives, and avocados can thrive here. Winter freezes in Tennessee make it difficult to grow some of the plants that people are used to growing in other states. It’s not impossible to grow a Meyer lemon in Tennessee. However, for the best chance of success, it’s important for gardeners to choose crops and specific cultivars that are proven to do well here. 

Cultivar selection is one of the most important factors in ensuring fruit production success in Tennessee. A cultivar refers to a specific variety of fruit species that has been selectively bred for certain traits, such as disease resistance, yield, flavor, or adaptability to environmental conditions. Choosing cultivars that are well-suited to the local climate and soil types can result in higher yields, healthier plants, and better fruit quality.

The reality is that cultivating fruits like peaches, apples, and pears is challenging and often requires a high level of maintenance. Moisture levels here make many common cultivars prone to pest and disease issues. I try to discourage new residents and gardeners from starting with these more intensive crops. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, are the easiest fruit crops to grow in Tennessee. These fruits can also be cultivated in containers or small spaces. Below is a list of suggested cultivars for small space fruit production in Tennessee. 

• Blueberry: Top Hat, Berrybux, Jelly Bean, Perpetua, Pink Icing

• Raspberry: Rasberry Shortcake, Heritage, Caroline, Anne, Glencoe Purple

• Strawberry: Day neutral/long day – Albion, Seascape; Short Day – Earliglow, Jewel, Flavorfest, Allstar