November 2006
President’s Message
An entire year has passed and how quickly it went!

Tuesday, November 28th
Annual meeting 7:30 p.m.
Election of officers

Guest speaker: John Tripp
Indoor gardening…more than just African violets!

Please bring a non-perishable food item such as canned beans, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, dry navy beans, coffee or tea for
North Bay’s soup kitchen
The Gathering Place.
Please remember our City’s less fortunate.

If you have not
renewed your membership for 2007,
now is the time to do it.
The renewal form is on the second page of this newsletter.

Next meeting : The Annual General Meeting
Election and installation of officers by District 18 Director Vickie Wiemer, followed by questions and answers with the Master Gardener, then our guest speaker,
John Tripp, Master Gardener
“Winter Gardening, more than just African Violets…”

For our November meeting, we ask that everyone bring a non-perishable item for North Bay’s soup kitchen “The Gathering Place”. On their ‘most wanted’ list are canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, dry navy beans, coffee, and tea, or any other items you can use to make soup.

PLEASE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO LUG YOUR MUG !!
Help us protect the environment!!

Membership Renewal Form November 2006
Please fill out and bring to general meeting with your payment. Or mail to:
North Bay Horticultural Society, PO Box 1482, North Bay, ON P1B 8K6

Single Membership…………$10:00 (please circle desired membership)

Family Membership…………$15.00

Child membership…………... $3.00

Name………………………………..............................................................

Address………………………………..........................................................

Postal code……………………… Phone number…………………………

Email………………………………………………………………………………
If you would like your Green Thumb emailed, please tick in box. ____

GARDENING GUIDE

Mid November to Mid February
Keep bird feeders well stocked - replenish suet frequently.
Reduce watering and feeding of houseplants as they slow down their growth at this time of year.
Rotate houseplants every week so that they have even exposure to light.
Regularly inspect houseplants for insects - spraying with insecticidal soap gets rid of most insects.
Snow can be shoveled onto perennial beds for extra protection.
Remove heavy snow from shrubs and evergreens to prevent branches from breaking.
Use boughs from discarded Christmas trees as mulch over low growing perennials.
Check winter protection - secure and/or replace windbreaks around shrubs.
Examine stored tubers, bulbs, etc. for excess moisture and rotting - repack or change storage area as needed.
Map out garden layout - make a garden wish list for the summer.
Order/buy flower and vegetable seeds early to get the best selection.

Committee reports

Publicity Report - submitted by Maureen Ranger

During the year, free advertising services have been used to publicize our monthly meetings through 3 local radio stations, The Nugget Bulletin Board, CBC Radio, Cogeco Cable, BayToday, MCTV, City of North Bay, Chamber of Commerce and Les Compagnons. The City placed large free articles about the Society in both their Spring and Fall Leisure Guides. Other free ads for special events were offered on the CKAT and Near North websites for the Plant sale and Flower show. Brooks Tire also advertised our plant sale on their large street sign. Small advertisements were paid for in the Nugget for notification for our change of venue, as well as the plant sale, at a cost of $93.41 per ad.
June was able to stretch $200.00 quite far in radio advertising for the Flower Show. Geri asked members receiving the Green Thumb to also post flyers for the plant show at their work, church, etc. The Nugget and BayToday were both at the Flower Show to cover the event.
Before moving to our new location at Christ Church, we spent money on laminated posters to advertise our move, plant sale and first meeting. At that time, the executive also hand delivered 250 flyers around the neighbourhood to encourage new members.

Green Thumb newsletter report - submitted by Helen Bannerman

Copies at Staples per page is $0.07. Total spent $840.17. Green Thumbs sent by email – 24.

Phone committee – submitted by Audrey Morton

The phone committee was busy calling the membership during the 2005-6 year, reminding and informing them about meetings and their agendas and speakers. Many thanks to Ida Clavelle, Linda Graham, Debbie Caldwell, Carol Anne Gingras, Janet Phillips, Janet Vos, and Donna Reid.

Membership – submitted by Maureen Ranger
Membership for 2006 was 132, up 3 persons from 2005.

Social Committee- submitted by Judy Watling
We had good response from our members for our activities for the year 2006.
We had two potlucks, in February and September, and June was the Strawberry Social, when the executive provided the strawberries and different desserts to everyone’s approval.
Each regular meeting was supplied with tea and coffee and desserts.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone on the executive and membership for being so helpful to me, for bringing desserts for our regular meeting and special events.
Show me your garden & I shall tell you what you are.”
Alfred Austin

Volunteer hours – Pat Madill

Thanks to all of our members and executive who accumulated a total of 2,030 hours for 2006! Well done!

Civic beautification- submitted by Ruby McLeod

The North Bay Horticultural Society has several flower beds in different areas of the city.

Canadore College has five beds [located at the back by the pond] and each has done extremely well.
Chamber of Commerce has two tubs of flowers.
Waterfront theme bed had problems due to poor growth of plants, and eight flats of plants had to be replaced. The beds did well after the replacement, but vandals destroyed some of the plants later in the season.
The lilac bed at the waterfront bloomed beautifully.
The lily bed at the library did very poorly this year. There has been some trouble with the Lily Beetle, but the biggest problem is difficulty getting help to maintain the bed. Survival of the bed is questionable.

We received our annual honorarium of $250 from Nipissing University. We spent approximately $1200.00 on plants for all gardens. We planted 3,430 plants.
Sincere thanks to all who helped with the planting and maintaining the flower beds. Your help has been greatly appreciated.

Highlights of the year
New location
New logo, banner and T-shirts, mission statement
Great flower show, increased participation
First youth member in a long time, new youth leader

Website of the month
I love listening to Ed Lawrence, the knowledgeable gardener on the CBC Radio One’s Ontario Today phone-in Mondays between noon and 2 p.m., but sometimes I get busy and miss it. Ed’s solid and timely advice always teaches me something new. You can now listen to past phone-ins by going to this website:
http://www.cbc.ca/ontariotoday/story_archive.html

Master Gardener’s Hotline 495-0920
Have a gardening question? Leave a message on their answering machine and local Master Gardener volunteer will call back with an answer! A free service.
Thanks!!!!!!!!
To Hendrik Kirik our auditor
To Mark Giddens for helping us with our website.
To Marie Loewen and all the folks of Christ Church Anglican for hosting our meetings and plant sale
To all our volunteers who helped us in our gardens and during our events throughout the year.
To Sue Finnis for all her work for many years on our executive

Interview with a gardener…

Well you could say that gardening is in my blood, after all, my paternal Grandmother’s maiden name was “Farmer”. Both sets of grandparents and my parents were farmers; I suppose that is where I got my earliest inspirations.
My parents did leave farming and rural life soon after I was born but continued to devote most of our back yard to a vegetable garden. They also planted a few annuals and Dahlia tubers in a couple of small flower beds. My Dad loved to grow different and “new” things and also collected his own seeds. My Mother did not have much time for gardening as I grew up but did have a small collection of houseplants that friends and family had given her over the years. I inherited my love of houseplants from her and we still trade a few plants now and then.
Several other people have inspired me over the years. I took a gardening interest course in Sudbury were I lived in the 80’s and visited the garden of a Dutch couple who devoted their entire yard to perennials. It was the most beautiful garden I had seen up until that time and really inspired me to start to do some gardening at my own home in Sudbury.
After I returned to North Bay, it was the North Bay Heritage Gardeners who have been the biggest influence in my gardening life. I have been a Heritage Gardener for over 6 years now and even decided to become a Master Gardener in order to learn more about gardening and to help other people learn more too!
I joined the North Bay Horticultural Society in 2004 and along with my involvement with the Heritage Gardeners and Master Gardeners I continue to learn and to be inspired by all the wonderful gardens I have seen as a member of these groups.

Monica McLaren

Recipe of the month

Oven Roasted Tomatoes
These are easy to prepare and can be used to make bruschetta when added on top of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil. You can also include them with pasta.

1 1/2 lbs. plum tomatoes
2/3 c. balsamic vinegar
¼ c. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Wash and halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place in bowl. Combine remaining ingredients, and pour over tomatoes. Marinate at least 2 hours or overnight, in refrigerator. Drain and reserve marinade to use again (within 10 days).
Preheat oven to 300F.
Place tomatoes, cut-side up, on a baking pan covered in foil. Bake until slightly shriveled but not completely dried out. , about 1 – 11/2 hours – or longer if they came out of the refrigerator.
Oven-roasted tomatoes can be stored covered in the refrigerator for one week.

Need to contact us with comments, questions or suggestions?
North Bay Horticultural Society
P.O. Box 1482, North Bay, ON P1B 8K6
Website : Go to www.gardenontario.org and follow the links!
Email : [email protected]

Treasurer’s report to Oct 31/06

Investment savings $4218.66
Bank statement as of Sept 30/06 $ 751.23
Outstanding cheques x 1 $ 25.00
Deposit $ 278.75
Expenditures $ 179.98
Total current account $ 406.84

Expenditures
Horticultural meetings $ 100.26
Social & gifts $ 25.65
Green Thumb $ 49.07
Bank charges $ 5.00
Total expenditures $ 179.98

Receipts
Membership $ 275.00
Social $ 3.75
Total receipts $ 278.75

North Bay Horticultural Society
ANNUAL MEETING
November 23, 2005
Attendance 35 at Cassellholme

President Geri Openshaw called the meeting to order at 7:37pm welcoming everyone.
Members were thanked for bringing their donations of nonperishable food for The
Gathering Place.
Minutes of the November 24/04 ANNUAL MEETING were moved to be adopted, as printed in the Green Thumb, by Betty Foy seconded by Linda Graham.

Correspondence - OMAFRA application for funds, membership renewals, letter from Jackie O’Brian of Powassan Horticultural Society, and thank you from Master Gardeners John and Helen Tripp for donation.
Correspondence sent - sympathy card to Vickie and Rupert Weimer, and get well cards to Joyce Richardson, Katie Larouche and Annie McGee.
Treasurer - Helen Bannerman reported a current account balance of $2029.38 and the motion to accept her report, as printed in the Green Thumb, was made by Debbie Caldwell and seconded by Janet Vos. Carried. The audit has been completed by R. Kirik.

REPORTS
Civic Beautification - Ruby McLeod had delivered poinsettia to Cassellholme with thanks for their many courtesies.
Phone - Audrey Morton said she needed one more helper and Janet Vos and Linda Graham volunteered.
Membership - Darlene Lecour reported 83 members to date and said we need more members to reach our quota.
Social - Judy Watling thanked all the members who brought Christmas goodies for the social menu and said “we have to put up with her for another year”.

The President had attended the President’s Meeting on November 5th, in Huntsville, along with Ruth Wright and Peggy Dillon. The OHA encouraged us to interest the youth into our Society. The Spring Meeting is in Bracebridge April 29th, 2006. Vickie handed out criteria for the Hobson Trophy; there was no entry in 2005. In March a 100th Anniversary .51 cent stamp will be issued for the OHA.
Callander Horticultural Society is having Canada Blooms on April 22/06.
The President thanked Daphne Andrews and Helen Bannerman for their years of service on the executive.
The District 18 Silver Anniversary Award, an engraved silver trowel, was presented to Ruby McLeod for all the hard work she has done in Civic Beautification.
The next meeting is February 23/06 and will include a pot luck supper and the annual seed exchange.
The Society’s history albums, including Convention 2005 photos, were available for viewing, thanks to Betty Foy.
Submitted by Peggy Dillon