Presentation and walk with Dr. Michael Kudish at the Andes Rail Trail
By Birgitta Brophy
Our May meeting was held at a new location for the Summer, the Andes Dragonfly Diner. A cozy group met on May 5th and had some interesting comments and questions for the group at large.
One conversation revolved around how various club members have been using coffee grounds to successfully deter pests, like mice and porcupines. Other members have expressed an interest in now experimenting with coffee grounds to ward off voles, rabbits, and other garden foragers. It is known that used coffee grounds are good as a soil amendment, providing small and slowly released amounts of nitrogen while adding organic matter to garden soil, so there is no harm in trying this. We will keep you posted later in the summer on the findings!
On April 21st the garden club sponsored a talk on the management of Japanese Knotweed. Catherine Skalda, Riparian Buffer Specialist & CSBI Program Coordinator at Delaware County Soil and Water Cons. District, provided a very informative presentation not only on Japanese Knotweed but the other invasive species found in our area plus the management of these plants. Catherine has trialed and used a few methods of Japanese Knotweed management on project sites in our area and was able to provide her insights into what worked best. As invasive species are very adaptable, their eradication is not always possible, so the focus is on minimizing their spread. It was interesting to learn management strategies to control and minimize spread of the Japanese Knotweed is site and project specific where one technique may not work for all locations. Thank you once again Ms. Skalda for the most current and local information on invasive plant management. And thank you to once again to the Andes Society for Culture and History for use of the Hunting Tavern for this event.
Then on May 12th, the club was pleased to have yet another guest speaker, Dr. Michael Kudish, botanist and author. Dr. Kudish gave a presentation at the depot building at the Andes Rail Trail on the influence of indigenous people on the Catksill Forests, focusing on the local region he called the Pepacton Basin. Dr. Kudish has spent the better part of his lifetime researching the forests of the Catskill Mountains. He shared his findings with illustrations from times prior to human existence to the current day. After the formal presentation, Dr. Kudish walked a part of the Andes Rail Trail and shared what he saw that indicated human activity based on plants viewed on distant hillsides and in the valley. We were very fortunate and grateful to Dr. Kudish for sharing his research and knowledge with us.
As mentioned in our last update, the club has many events/activities planned for the upcoming Summer and Fall. For the most current information please be sure to visit our website (see below), sign-up for events as seats are often limited, and join us at any meeting – we would love to see you!
Upcoming Club Events: Events may also be viewed on the Town of Andes website calendar: https://andesnewyork.gov/calendar/
Monthly Meeting: June 2nd. Location: Charles Bonnes residence, Andes, NY, 5 pm. Please sign up as space is limited at this location. Dress appropriately for the outdoor meeting.
Plant Swap: June 18th. check the Andes Garden Club website for location (on Main Street by the plant stand) from 4 to 6 pm.
Lavender Wand Workshop: July 14th. Diane Maxwell, owner of Lavender Fields in Delhi, will show us how to make lavender wands to keep our drawers smelling fresh and share her experience growing lavender plants in our area. Please visit our website for updates and sign-up.
For more details: Visit us at www.andes-gardenclub.org or on Facebook: Andes Garden Club
Contact us at: info@andesgardenclub.org~