Benton MGV eNews

Teresa Matteson, Resource Conservationist, demonstrates a worm bin to Master Gardener trainees at a 2022 garden lab. Thanks to MGV committee members who are teaching some of these garden labs, including the Community Gardening Education Team, Plant Problem Scenarios, Plant Sale Committee, and (from Linn County) Pollinator Project Team. Trainees love the combination of on-their-own schedule coursework and hands-on weekend garden labs.

Correction: Debbie Lauer’s email address had an error in eNews. The correcte email for Debbie is DSL2017@peak.org

Trainees & continuing volunteers – Fun roles & activities in the upcoming S2S in the Garden workshops  April 23, 10-12, May 21, 10-12, July 23, 10-12, Sept 10, Potluck. Please click the following link to get to the “S2S in the Garden 2022 Signups” worksheet in eNews.

Farmer’s Market Clinic Table! It’s nearly time for the outdoor farmer’s market in downtown Corvallis. The first clinic table will be Saturday, April 16. Beginning in May the Master Gardener clinic tables at the Farmer’s Market will be the 2nd Saturday and 4th Wednesday of each month. Certified Master Gardeners are required to give advice but trainees may volunteer as well. If enough people volunteer, we can have two shifts. Please contact Debbie Lauer at 541-929-7544 or DSL2017@peak.org to sign up.

Shoutouts

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.

Next Board Meeting is Monday, April 11, 3:00 – 5:00. See invitation from the board president to join.

April 18th BCMGA membership meeting – at 7 PM, we will be meeting in the Sunset room where we used to meet before Coronavirus changed everything. The speaker will be Kathy Clark and her presentation is entitled Making Smart Plant Choices for Less Work. Many of us have come to the uncomfortable – literally – realization that plant decisions we made in the past resulted in more work than we want to continue to do or can no longer do. Kathy will give us great ideas about how to make changes or, if you’re still a “youngster” , how to do it right the first time. If you won’t be attending in person, a zoom link will be provided in the email version of this newsletter.

Returning volunteers – need a replacement badge? Order them HERE.

LOTS of new volunteer opportunities, see below!

Free Seed Packets. We are fortunate to have several generous local garden supply companies who have donated commercial seed packets to the Master Gardener Program that we’ve primarily used for Seed To Supper. Although the packets expired last year, many still have useful viability. We have a large variety of vegetable as well as perennial and annual flower seeds for MG use! If you have a project that could benefit (community gardens, beautification areas, etc.) please contact Shikha Ghosh Gottfried at shikhagg@gmail.com.

Volunteers needed

The 2022 Plant Sale is on! Click HERE to volunteer for the BCMGA Plant Sale on May 7 at the Benton County Fairgrounds. Volunteers are needed for both May 6 (Set up) and May 7 (Sale day).  If you have any questions or prefer to not use Sign-Up Genius, please email Leslie Hauser, this year’s Volunteer Coordinator, at lesliehauser107@gmail.com.

The Grow Team is looking for volunteers to help start seeds at the Philomath High School greenhouses to have plants ready for the annual plant sale on May 7. Please follow the link to Sign Up Genius to volunteer to help with seed starting. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C45AAAE2AA57-bcmg1

Mentors needed! We have a full class of people about to start training to become Master Gardeners. Mentors are key to helping these folks become effective problem solvers, as well as part of the Master Gardener community. At this time, mentors and trainees are unable to work together at the help desk in the Extension office but can do so in the conference room. They can also meet virtually from anywhere. Training for mentors is being updated to make these meetings easier, using new resources as well as refinements of the virtual help desk. There is a place for continuing Master Gardeners to serve at all levels, from working at the traditional desk to those totally online, so please volunteer to mentor the next generation and keep Master Gardeners thriving. Contact Alan Taylor, Mentor Committee chair, at tayloala@peak.org or 541-929-4141.

Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Benton Volunteer Opportunities Page.

Continuing education opportunities:

Growing Oregon Gardeners – Level Up 2022:

April 12: Plant Grow Harvest Repeat: Succession Planting

May 10: Growing Great Roses!

June 14: Irrigation Choices and Design for the Home Garden and Landscape

Find more HERE.

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.)

Job: The Oregon State University Division of Extension and Engagement invites applications for a full-time Office Specialist 1 for the OSU Extension Service Benton County Office. This position is located in Corvallis, Oregon.This Office Specialist 1 is a member of the OSU Extension Benton County Office support team and contributes to a welcoming and respectful workplace culture. This position provides routine office support tasks for the OSU Extension Benton County Office. The Office Specialist provides educational resources and general assistance to Extension clients and/or refers clients to the appropriate faculty or staff member. The ability to travel is required to perform office-related errands such as picking up or delivering materials to the OSU main campus, supply stores, printing and mailing. https://jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/116390

Got Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs? Donate them for research! Jana Lee, a research entomologist at OSU, has a postdoc student needing brown marmorated stink bugs for his research, Ryan Paul. We would be willing to stop by local homes to collect any BMSB where people see them, or pick up any container with them.  If any BMSB are put into a container, they need air since they will ‘stink’ themselves to death in a closed container.  There should also be a wet towel, and some food like carrot stick, bean, apple slice or grape. If you have stink bugs, contact:

Jana Lee, Research Entomologist  jana.lee@usda.gov

Paul Ryan ryanp@oregonstate.edu