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Did you know you can extend your container garden to include berries? If you rent your dwelling, you can take your plants along when you move. Master Gardener volunteer Chris Smith has compiled top tips for growing blueberries and cane berries in containers.
–Pick plants that are dwarf or limited to about three feet tall
–Pick plants that are self-pollinating, that don’t require pollen from two or more bushes of different varieties to produce berries.
–Pick the right size for a container and consider placing it on a tray with wheels. That way you will be able to move the container to follow the available sunlight, and to overwinter in a protected area if your location is subject to hard freezes.
For more check out the full post:
https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/linnbentonmg/
- Shout outs
- Program update via Richard Riggs, Regional Director: “Elizabeth Records will be returning to her role as an Education Program Assistant supporting your groups and Brooke Edmunds will be returning in a limited capacity as the community horticulture faculty supervising Elizabeth. This is a limited-duration appointment for Brooke as we hope the legislature restores Extension’s funding in the 2023 session. If you have questions for Brooke and Elizabeth, please get in touch with them directly. A Zoom meeting for the BCMGA Board is scheduled for 9/8 at 3 pm.”
- Via Elizabeth Records: “Hi folks, I will be out September 12 on medical leave and working from home September 13-14.”
- Save the date: Linn County Master Gardeners will again offer in-person blue orchard bee cocoon harvesting classes. Rich Little will offer a “Train the Trainer” class at the Linn Extension office on Wednesday, September 14th from 10:00-Noon. Sign up coming soon.
- Save the date: Graduation and Celebration 11/19/22 in Tangent.
- Plant Sale Propagation teams will be meeting every Tuesday in September from 9:00 -11:00am near the greenhouses on the west side of Philomath High School, 2054 Applegate St. Bring gloves, pruners, your badge, and perhaps a bottle of water. No experience is necessary. We’ll get you started potting up baby plants in no time! Please RSVP to Leslie at lesliehauser107@gmail.com (or show up anyway if you forget). This year, with your help, the Plant Sale Team will be growing 60% of the propagated plants for our May Plant Sale at Philomath Highschool. The other 40% will be from a scaled-down Dig and Divide season beginning mid-September. Stay tuned for more info on how you can join us at Nellie’s house this fall! Here are the dates. Please mark your calendar.
- September 6
- September 13
- September 20
- September 27
- Volunteers needed
- NEW! 9/14 – Evaluating aesthetic qualities of selected landscape plants. 10am – 2pm (Arrive when convenient; ratings take about 60 min). OSU’s North Willamette Research & Extension Center in Aurora. Learn more and get directions. Report the time as “citizen science:indirect”.
- Anytime: Volunteer opportunity: Become a Forest Pest Detector and report observations of potentially invasive species. Report hours as “citizen science: indirect”. Master Gardener volunteers in Master Gardener Programs of Linn and Benton Counties may report time spent with training as continuing education, and times spent and spotting and reporting possible pests as “citizen science: indirect”.
- Evening & weekends – Online Plant Clinic – check for messages on evenings and weekends. Volunteer from anywhere with an internet connection. Enroll HERE.
- Weekdays – Office Plant Clinic sign-ups open: The office is open to the public, and volunteers can sign up for plant clinic shifts as desired, to answer client questions or practice skills. Pairs of volunteers can currently sign up in the front office again! Sign up HERE. If you’re a trainee, please wait to connect with a mentor, before enrolling.
- Wednesdays – Trainees and other Volunteers are Welcome at the Fairgrounds Demonstration Garden. Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. You can access the garden through the RV park entrance to the Fairgrounds. Sign-up is not required and drop-ins are welcome. If you would like more information, please contact Denise Saunders at vdenisesaunders@comcast.net or Dan Dix at ddix@verizon.net
- Find more opportunities on the Benton Volunteer Opportunities Page.
- Continuing education opportunities:
- NEW! 9/14 – 2022 Dry Farming Field Day: The Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Small Farms Program is offering the 8th annual Dry Farming Field Day. Come learn about multiple dry farming research projects, taste different varieties of dry-farmed produce and visit with other growers and researchers in the Dry Farming Collaborative. Sept. 14, 4-6 p.m. at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture (844 SW 35th St., Corvallis, OR 97331). This event is free to attend but registration is required. Space is limited. Farmers and service providers: https://beav.es/ib5; gardeners: https://beav.es/ibi. For more info and registration please visit: https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms/projects/dry-farming or contact Teagan Moran at 541-713-5011 or Teagan.moran@oregonstate.edu.
- Rich Little entomology learning ops:
- Weekly desk sessions most Thursdays 9-11:30 – learn how to identify and solve insect issues with longtime MGV Rich, a retired entomologist, and coordinator of BEEvent Pollinator Conference. Sign up with Rich on the Benton plant clinic schedule and bring a sample insect or insect-damaged plant.
- 9/15 – LIVE entomology workshop September 15th 6-8 pm. At the Linn Extension Office and open to both Linn and Benton County Master Gardeners. Sign up HERE.
- Growing Oregon Gardeners – Level Up 2022:
- September 13: Compost Can-do: develop a system that meets your needs
- Find more and watch past episodes HERE.
- NEW! 9/24 Fall 2022 Master Gardener BioBlitz. Grab your camera and join us on iNaturalist to capture the insects, birds, wild plants, and other wild organisms in your garden or a nearby community or public garden space. Your efforts will help to document garden biodiversity in Oregon!
BCMGA News
- The next board meeting will be Monday, September 12, 3:00-5:00. We are looking at holding an in-person meeting but will keep the Zoom option. See the latest Board update email for in-person and online locations.
- Community news (Please note that anything in this section is not eligible for MGV volunteer service nor endorsed by Extension, but is mentioned as a courtesy to our community.)
- BNC (Basic Needs Center) Food Pantry Welcomes Produce from Home Gardens: The OSU BNC Food Pantry would love any extra produce from your gardens. Our community relishes fresh produce. If you have a surplus, contact the BNC (541-737-3747 / bnc@oregonstate.edu) for best time to drop off.
