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Our most recent meeting
This past month we were graciously hosted by those sterling
senoritas from Gulfport! Ann and Budda opened their home and
garden for us to enjoy an afternoon of socializing, dining
and information. And did we ever have a good time! Sorry to any of you who missed it.
Our Next Meeting:
Our
next meeting will be on November 18th, at 1 pm. We will
be venturing over the bridge to Palmetto and the home of Tony and
Dominic. It isn't as far as you might think, about 25 miles and
it is
certainly worth the effort to see our friends again! The club
will be providing the meat course. This month we will be having a
picnic in the country with cold cuts and cheese, so you bring the
salads! PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING A CHAIR FOR YOURSELF!
RSVP is not necessary, but if you have any questions, Marty has all the answers at potluck@rakesandbladesfl.com or
by calling 727-797-8498.
Directions to next meeting: Login to Members page
I
am sure you will be bringing lots of plants for the raffle. Please
don't forget to identify your plants for the next owner. I have
included the plant care form in the members only section for your ease.
You can print out as many as you need from the site. I am
sure
you will appreciate finding out how to care for the plants you select.
I haven't killed anything yet, so they must be effective!
Of Interest to Gardeners
Check out our calendar of events!
Norris Crenshaw’s monthly timetable of gardening chores:
November:
- Plant winter rye grass
- Treat plants with manganese sulfate
- Spray and fertilize roses
- Fertilize houseplants
- Fertilize and spray garden plants
- Treat poinsettias with magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) and spray for white fly
Also of interest:
Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota
Sunken Gardens, 1825 4th Street N, St Pete.
Pinellas County Extension Service calendar for lots more gardening events.
City Beautiful Commission in St. Petersburg
Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum in St. Petersburg
Monthly meetings at Moccasin Lake Nature Park
2750 Park Trail Ln., Clearwater:
Clearwater Audubon Society
1st Monday, October – May, 7:00-9:00pm.
Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
First Wednesday of month, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Suncoast Sierra Club
3rd Thursday, 7:30-9:30pm
ASK THE GARDENER:
Since no one had any questions this month, I am putting in a recipe for
the Eggplant Parmagian I brought to the last meeting. It was all
gone by the time I got through the food line, so I guess everyone liked
it. I shop at Save A Lot primarily, so I only guarantee the
flavor if you use the brand products I mention. available at Save A Lot.
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds.
2 large eggs beated
1/2 cup water
Italian style breadcrumbs
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bottle Pastapali traditional spaghetti sauce
1 14 oz can of Diane's Garden Tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
8 oz of sliced white mushrooms
12 oz package of shredded mozzarella cheese
preheat oven to 375
In a large bowl combine spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, mushrooms. and half of the shredded cheese. Set aside.
In a medium frying pan, pour olive oil and heat on meduim high heat to
get oil hot for browning. Meanwhile, set up two bowls, one with
the beaten eggs and water, and breadcrumbs in the other. Batter
eggplant slices by submerging them in the egg mix, then in the
breadcrumbs. Fry in the hot olive oil, until
golden brown, usually 2 minutes on each side or sooner depending on how
hot the oil is. Remove the eggplant to a papertowel to absorb any
excess oil. Continue until all eggplant is breaded and browned.
Spray a 9x13" baker with nonstick oil. Layer the eggplant
across the pan, overlapping generously. Cover with a layer of the
spaghetti sauce mixture. Repeat until all eggplant and sauce have been
used. Top with the remainder of the shredded cheese. Bake for 45
minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
This should be enough for 8 people if served with a salad.
Leftovers can be served on a sub roll, heated under a broiler with more
cheese.
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Again, our thanks go to our hosts Ann and Budda - they made us feel most welcome!
After a quick tour of the garden, everyone settled in to socialize with
old friends and to meet new ones! We had a lot of new faces at
the meeting, many who have joined the club!
After a bit of socializing, it was time to eat. The pot luck
committee did their usual splendid job getting everything set up for
us.
Thankfully nearly everyone remembered to bring chairs, so I think everyone had a place to sit down for dinner.
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Jim took the floor to give us all the details about
our upcoming Plant Sale. It will be on November 3rd, from 9am - 2pm at
the Metro Center. We decided that profits would be divided between the
Metro Center Charities and Rakes and Blades. 10 foot sales space would
be available for $15.00 for the day to any club member or $25 per space
for businesses. We had several members volunteer to help set up and
take down on the day, and several more, still, who were interested in
selling plants either for themselves or for the club.
Jim also informed us that the board voted to have a
booth in Tampa's Winter Pride. He advised that Michael Kelly, Barry
Campell and Larry Zollner were co-chairing the booth project, so we
will be needing volunteers to man the booth as it draws closer. Also,
we will be starting earlier for gathering seed packets this year.
And of course, the raffle was the highlight of the day!
RENEWAL TIME!
It
is that time of year for all memberships to be renewed. The price is
the same as last year, $15.00 for single membership, $25.00 for
household membership. Anyone who joined the club since June is current
in the membership. So you are asking, "Why should I join?" Well, I
think we are a great group of people and certainly worth $1.25 a month
to get together. If you need more of a return on your money, let's
spell it out.
$1.25 each month covers the Web hosting fees
associated with our Rakesandblades.com website and the newsletter and
printing fees for anyone who has the newsletter mailed out. It covers
the main course at the potluck, which in the past has been sliced
turkey, sliced ham, corned beef, hamburgers, etc, not to mention all
the great food that our members have brought to share. It covers the
tables, napkins, silverware, plates, sodas, etc that we use each month.
It covers the cost of participating in Pride and Winter Pride, flyers,
lables, seed packet baggies, etc. None of us on the board gets paid
for all we contribute to the club, so really, your membeship fee comes
back to you in small amounts each month - we are just doling it out to
you in various ways. If we seem to be harping on everyone renewing
their membership it is only so that we can continue to do as much as we
have been and possibly do more!
We currently have 68 paid
memberships. That is down at least 20 from last year, and really
more when you consider that we have had so many new people join us in
the past few months.
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Jim’s Plant of the Month:
The plants for this month are the acerola and its relatives,
family Malphighiaceae, many of which thrive in Florida
with little care. Acerola, also known as
Barbados cherry and wild crepe myrtle, is  Malpighia glabra, a
slow-growing large shrub or small tree that flowers and fruits several times a
year in Florida. For those of us
original from northern states, the pink flowers are reminiscent of apple
blossoms. The red fruit ripen very quickly, and don’t keep more than a couple
of days. That’s ok, though, because you’ll want to eat them right away. The
flavor is somewhere between cherry and Granny Smith apple. They have the second
highest vitamin C content of any fruit on the planet, after rose hips, the
fruit of Rosa rugosa. One half-inch wide Barbados cherry
supplies the adult daily requirement of vitamin C. The tree is not fussy about
soil, and very drought tolerant once established. It is damaged by temperatures
below 30 degrees, however.
In the only case of a horticultural an agram that I’ve ever
found, one of Malpighia’s relatives is named Galphimia gracilis, golden
thryallis. Its spikes of yellow flowers are produced most of the year, on a
fast-growing, rounded shrub 4’-6’ tall. It does best in full sun and fertile,
sandy soil, with regular water. It sprouts readily from seed and makes a
wonderful addition to a butterfly garden.
 As well as trees and shrubs, the family Malpighiaceae
includes vines. Mascagnia macroptera, the yellow butterfly or orchid
vine, is fairly hardy and fast growing to 10’. It tolerates very hot sun or
partial shade. Its sister species, Mascagnia lilacina, the lilac orchid
vine, grows a bit slower and taller, to
15’. It also tolerates hot sun, and is even cold hardier. Another orchid vine,  Stigmaphyllon
ciliatum, has a more interesting form to its leaves and flowers, but is
less cold hardy. All three orchid vines do best with regular water.
Club officer contact
President: Jim Nevers, president@rakesandbladesfl.com
Vice President: Ann Allen, vicepres@rakesandbladesfl.com
Treasurer: Gary Raush, treasurer@rakesandbladesfl.com
Secretary: Bruce Bates, secretary@rakesandbladesfl.com
Newsletter: Bryan Hopper, newsletter@rakesandbladesfl.com
Photographer: Brad Hissing, photos@rakesandbladesfl.com
Raffleator: Kevin Ritter, raffles@rakesandbladesfl.com
Social Director: Michael Argrew, socialdirector@rakesandbladesfl.com
Program Coordinator: Brian Cahill, programs@rakesandbladesfl.com
Host Coordinators: Ann Allen, Marty Volpe, hosting@rakesandbladesfl.com
Potluck Committee:
Marty Volpe, Scott Hoffman, Dani Skrzypek, Jeffrey Davis
potluck@rakesandbladesfl.com
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