Portage County Master Gardeners

10/17/2026

Are you ready? If not, be sure you get any houseplants indoors today. Most plant material from tender bulbs will die back tonight, but as long as your soil doesn't freeze you can still pull the bulbs tomorrow to clean up, dry and store for the winter.

A Freeze Warning has been issued for portions of north central, northeast, and northwest Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania from 1 AM to 9 AM EDT Sunday. Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 are expected. Frost and freeze could kill crops and sensitive plants and may damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.

10/16/2026

This series of webinars is a real favorite for Master Gardener Volunteers. So many great topics and speakers, it's hard to choose just one!

We are excited to launch our 2026-2027 Horticulture Webinar Series, beginning at noon on Tuesday, October 20.

Join us for an engaging presentation by Laura Akgerman from Ohio State Disability Services, who will be speaking on "Gardening Across the Lifespan."

As we grow older, gardening does not have to stop. Laura will discuss a variety of tools, techniques, and adaptive strategies that can help gardeners continue enjoying their favorite hobby, even when faced with challenges such as arthritis, mobility limitations, or other disabilities. Her presentation will highlight practical ways to make gardening more accessible, comfortable, and enjoyable throughout all stages of life.

Whether you are looking for new ideas for yourself, a family member, or members of your community, this is a presentation you won't want to miss.

We hope you'll join us for this informative and inspiring session! For more information and free registration, please visit go.osu.edu/mgvlearn

10/15/2026

Portage County Master Gardener Volunteers helped with is perfect autumn activity! Pumpkin 'bouquets'. 🥰🎃

10/14/2026

More cold preparation - time to collect your tender tu ers if you would like them to grow next year. Great tips here!

It's almost time to overwinter some of our summer favorites like canna, dahlia, and calla lily. Overall, the process to save tender perennials over winter looks the same for most species.

-Prune tender perennials back just before or just after the foliage is killed by frost in the fall. In Iowa, this is typically sometime between mid-October to early November, depending on the weather. If a killing frost has not occurred by early to mid-November, the process can be started as a frost is imminent.

-Carefully pull the bulbs (or tuber, rhizome, corm, etc.) out of the ground and remove any excess soil. Carefully label so you know which bulb is which in the spring.

-Allow bulbs to dry and then store them in a cool, dark, and dry location. Temperatures must not get below freezing. Cardboard boxes, plastic crates, paper bags, mesh bags, or containers of peat moss, shredded newspaper, sand, or vermiculite are all options for winter storage. Bulbs must be allowed to stay dry enough to remain dormant and free from moisture-loving mold or fungus, but damp enough not to dry out and shrivel up.

See specific recommendations for several widely grown tender perennials in this article: https://go.iastate.edu/RN0JGI

ISU Extension and Outreach - Agriculture and Natural Resources

10/12/2026

Great reminder! It is fun to bring home many different shapes and colors of pumpkins and squash. Some of these are delicious! Try this one. 🥰🎃

October Pumpkin Spotlight: Jarrahdale Pumpkins

This blue pumpkin has a golden-orange flesh that is fine-textured and delicious. It's good puréed for use in pies, and it is also versatile chunked into pieces for use in soups and stews. The pumpkin is so smooth after roasting that you don’t even need to put it into a food processor to purée it. Simply take what you need for baking or to add to black bean chili and then freeze the rest in 2 cup containers for the future!

Jarrahdale pumpkins are an heirloom variety of pumpkin, named after a town in Western Australia.

Want to try growing your own next spring? Save some seeds and read more about growing pumpkins here:

For more info: https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/vegetables/winter-squash/

10/11/2026

It's a great time of year to collect seed from flowers you would like to save for next year. In this series of photos notice that generally you are looking for spent flower heads that are brown but still contain viable seed to harvest.

10/10/2026

Have you ever tried growing this plant? It is an eggplant, but we love it for the decorative fruit. They look like mini-pumpkins lined up on a stalk. Try them in your garden next year!

October Plant Spotlight: Pumpkin on a Stick

Pumpkin on a Stick (Solanum integrifolium), is NOT a pumpkin, but instead is a strange looking cousin of the eggplant. It is a member of the nightshade family along with tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Other common names are Pumpkin Tree, Pumpkin Bush and Mock Tomato.

It's an annual and it grows 3-4 feet tall with purple stems and large green leaves with thorns on both sides. At the end of summer, when the small "pumpkins" begin to show they start out green, turn to yellow then as they ripen, they turn orange. The fruits are sometimes used in Asian dishes but are bitter and need to be prepared carefully. More typically they are grown as an ornamental for autumn floral decoration. Florists will remove the leaves and thorns after the leaves dry, leaving only the fruit.

Want to try growing your own? They can be grown from seed next spring. You can start your seeds indoors about 6 weeks from our last frost date (March 15th is the last frost date for Santa Clara County) and then should be planted outdoors. Because the seedlings resemble egg plants quite a bit, be sure to label your seedlings at seeding time.

Photo by Laura Balaoro

10/09/2026

Always love an easy to follow native plant bed design! Check this one out!