Tag Archives: Celebration

Benton Master Gardener eNews

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Bookmark our page: Find newsletter archives, volunteer handbook and more volunteer opportunities at https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/activebentonlinnmg/

Share an item for eNews by contacting your program staff by the second or last Wednesday of each month. Please use this event checklist to ensure all needed information is included in your request.

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:
    • 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.

Benton Master Gardener Volunteer eNews

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Bookmark our page: Find newsletter archives, volunteer handbook and more volunteer opportunities at https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/activebentonlinnmg/

Share an item for eNews by contacting your program staff by the first or third Wednesday of each month. Please use this event checklist to ensure all needed information is included in your request.

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”.
  • Shout outs
    • Sign up now: 9/3 & 9/4 Plant Clinic at the State Fair. Free wristbands and parking permits for participants. Volunteer from the comfort of the air-conditioned Floral Building, and then stay to check out the fair! Report service as Plant Clinic: Direct
    • MGVs protecting youth: at Mini College the Statewide Program Coordinator reminded volunteers that all OSU volunteers are required by university policy to report suspected child abuse discovered while performing duties related to OSU youth programs. Both employees and non-employees must immediately report suspected child abuse and neglect to either the Department of Human Services or law enforcement. Learn more: https://youth.oregonstate.edu/abuse
    • Volunteer service hours and continuing education are due 10/31
      • Congratulations to the growing group of trainees who have completed learning and service goals to earn their first Master Gardener Volunteer Certifications! Save the date for graduation and celebration on November 19 in Tangent.
      • Thank you everyone who is reporting service and continuing education! Here are goals to meet for two popular tracks for returning volunteers from our Guide to Volunteering:
        • Certified Continuing Master Gardener Volunteer: A Master Gardener Volunteer who has graduated and wishes to remain active in the program beyond the initial year and volunteer in an educational role. Certified continuing Master Gardener Volunteers are required to recertify each year by completing 20 hours of volunteering, 10 hours of continuing education and submitting completed OSU volunteer paperwork.
        • Continuing Master Gardener Volunteer (non-certified): a Master Gardener Volunteer who has graduated and wishes to remain active in the program beyond the initial year but not volunteer in a direct educational role(s). Non-certified continuing Master Gardener Volunteers are still required to complete program agreements annually. Non-certified Continuing Master Gardener Volunteers are not eligible to provide education to public (presentations, plant clinic, serving as a mentor, any direct education, etc.) until they become certified.
  • Volunteers needed
    • Plant Clinic at State Fair 9/3 – 9/4, Salem OR. Volunteers get free wristbands and parking permits. Sign up HERE.
    • Online Plant Clinic – check for messages on evenings and weekends. Volunteer from anywhere with an internet connection. Enroll HERE.
    • 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.
    • 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! 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:

BCMGA News

  • The next board meeting will be Monday, September 12, 3:00-5:00. We are looking at holding an inperson meeting but will keep the Zoom option. See the next 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.)
    • None this week.

Benton MGV eNews

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If you missed the Celebration or want to revisit it, click the image above to open the scrapbook to see best/worst garden puns, awardees, certified MGVs, amazing insect and garden photos, and smiling pictures of your pals!
  • Shoutouts
    • Official BCMGA Board for 2022
      • President: Jana Tindall (2013)
      • President Elect: Mary Mellard (2—7)
      • Past President: Deb Kern (2013)
      • VP Programs: Janet Magedanz (2012)
      • Membership: Deborah Hobbs (2018)
      • Co-Secretary: Cynthia Roler (2020)
      • Co-Secretary: Wendi Gale (2021)
      • Co-Treasurer: Lynn Trimpe (2012)
      • Co-Treasurer: Paula Lupcho (2007)
      • OMGA Rep: Rich Taylor (2012)
      • OMGA ALt. Rep: David Mandel (2016)
      • Communications Liaison: Bob Smythe (2011)
      • Member at Large: Frank Garcia (2020)
      • Alan Taylor (2015)
      • Fred Prahl (2016)
  • Volunteers needed
    • NEW! Staffing the booth at the Corvallis Farmers market is a fun way to talk to the community about gardening. Volunteers needed for Farmers Market Coordination: Please contact Debbie Lauer ifinterested. Please, we need your help in 2022!!!!
    • NEW! Love to grow veggies? Master Gardener volunteers are needed to provide advice for participants of the Grow This! Oregon Garden Challenge. Note: The sign up is only open to MGs at this time. Please do not share with the public-thanks!
      • Must be a current Oregon Master Gardener volunteer (or a Master Gardener representing a county demonstration/educational garden).
      • Sign up by midnight January 3rd and indicate that you are a Master Gardener when asked about your gardening experience.
      • You will be mailed 5 seed packets free of charge (cilantro, green onions, kale, mesclun lettuce mix, zinnias) to plant.
      • Must agree to give feedback on your growing process and results at least once—but as often as you want—during the Challenge. Feedback could include suggestions, comments, challenges and solutions, stories, photos, drawings or videos that we can share with others (with or without your name). You will receive an invitation to join our private discussion group—just for Master Gardeners—which will have monthly prompts and requests for your feedback. Report your active time spent on this project as Master Gardener volunteer hours (report as ‘community science’).
      • Hope you are able to join in! Questions? please reach out to Brooke Edmunds, OSU Extension, brooke.edmunds@oregonstate.edu
    • Winter In-person plant clinic. Solo shifts at the desk and shared shifts in the conference room are available by appointment. Also seeking on-call volunteers to meet clients or pick up samples from the office as needed, by appointment. Please contact elizabeth.records@oregonstate.edu to get started.
    • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Linn Volunteer Opportunities Page.
  • Continuing education: It’s nearly winter and most live events are on holiday. Take some ‘you time’ to learn something new in our huge library of recorded webinars.
    • Featured webinar: Trauma-Informed College Teaching: Prepare, Respond, Restore Jeff Kenney, Ph.D. Have you ever had a fellow MGV or client respond negatively or shut down seemingly out of the blue? Or had this experience yourself? Understanding how common trauma is and how it affects adult learners can help community educators like us to reach more people and reduce barriers to learning. Though this webinar was made for college instructors, most lessons are valuable for MGVs and volunteer Extension educators. I, Elizabeth, got a lot out of this and would really recommend it for MGVs who regularly teach others.
  • BCMGA news
    • January Association Meeting 2022 (Open to the public) Monday Jan 24 Zoom link will be provided next month. Join us for the first Association meeting of the year with guest speaker Heather Stoven. Heather will give a presentation about “biological pesticides”. While something like rotenone has been around forever, there are new agents involving plant extracts, bacterial cultures, etc., that are becoming available to farmers and home gardeners in recent years, offering an alternative to synthetic chemical pesticides. Zoom in to learn more about these new developments and about uses and limitations.
  • Extension updates:
    • Holiday closures (and no eNews the weeks of 12/20 or 12/27):
      • Christmas Day Observed 12/24
      • New Years Day Observed 12/31
    • Master Gardener applications for 2022 are open, with a new more flexible schedule and sliding scale pricing. Know someone who is ready to step up as a gardening educator or plant clinic researcher? They can find more information and apply HERE. Applications are coming in fast – folks who apply sooner have a better chance of joining us next year.
  • 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.)
    • Please consider donating to the Growing Ancestral Roots fundraiser to support creating food equity and access to people of color through community gardens. You can learn more support this group HERE.

Linn MGV eNews

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Linn MGV Celebration & Recognition is set for December 8 @7PM on Zoom. Send Bobbye Rainey your photos of your garden activities – whether with MGVs or on your own – to share in our celebration slideshow.
Interesting insects, brilliant blooms, smiling faces – anything to bring some cheer!
  • Shout outs
    • Congratulations, Erin Steinke! Erin persisted through the challenges of the past 20 months and earned Master Gardener certification! Thank you Erin for your contributions to Oregon Season Tracker, plant clinic help, engagement with LCMGA and all you do!
    • Vote for LCMGA board members by 11/23! LCMGA members will get a link and password to vote securely online.
  • Volunteers needed
  • Continuing education: It’s nearly winter so things are quite. Take a moment to learn something new in our huge library of recorded webinars.
  • Extension updates:
    • Master Gardener applications for 2022 are open, with a new more flexible schedule and sliding scale pricing. Know someone who is ready to step up as a gardening educator or plant clinic researcher? They can find more information and apply HERE. Applications are coming in fast – folks who apply sooner have a better chance of joining us next year.
    • Helpful this week: Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard. Provides general rules for training, pruning, and limb bending, and explains open-center, central-leader, and espalier training. Outlines specific guidelines for training and pruning apple, pear, sweet cherry, sour cherry, peach, prune, plum, apricot, fig, persimmon, walnut, hazelnut, and chestnut trees. Includes 17 figures that illustrate various techniques.
  • 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.)
    • None this week – please share opportunities for future eNews.

Benton MGV eNews

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Come recognize new grads, celebrate continuing volunteers, see what we accomplished during a challenging year, and hear some of the worst garden puns you’ve ever experienced! See your email for an invitation and link to RSVP.
  • Shout outs
    • Congratulations new Master Gardener Volunteer grads! These gardeners earned their certification through tough times while empowering aspiring gardeners in so many ways!
      • Brenda Bye (transfer from Washington State) has done a little of everything from online plant clinic to teaching Seed to Supper
      • Wendi Gale has volunteered in the demo garden and taught Seed to Supper and has taken on a leadership role in the Community Garden Education Team
      • Rynda Gregory taught cancer survivors how to garden with Hope Grows Here and volunteered for plant sale efforts
      • Kandi Maestri has taught Seed to Supper and grown plants for plant sale
      • Ann Schauber has volunteered in plant clinic and in the demo garden
  • Thank you for reporting your volunteer service and re-enrolling! Service totals are down from past but re-enrollment is steady – across Linn and Benton, 76% of people who ever took MGV training have re-enrolled.
  • Volunteers needed – Visit the Benton County Volunteer opportunities page to sign up for recurring events.
    • Mountain View Elementary School Garden: The current emphasis is to get all students and teachers involved in the garden. A grade appropriate lesson in plant propagation is followed with the students planting in the garden. If possible, the lessons are scheduled so that the students can harvest before school is out in June. Fall crops can be harvested shortly after the September start of school, if that grade is still enrolled at the school. Please contact Glen Canning if you are interested.
    • Community Garden Action Team & Seed to Supper: Teaching hands-on gardening to underserved community members. Contact Judith Kenner if interested.
  • Continuing education (free to MGVs unless noted with $)
  • Master Gardener Association
    • The Gardeners Pen newsletter of the Oregon Master Gardener Association is back! Huge thanks to Master Gardener volunteer, Ann Kinkley, for stepping forward to revive the newsletter. Read the new issue.
  • Extension updates
    • It’s a new day for training to become a Master Gardener volunteer. The OSU Extension Master Gardener program has revamped, revised, and re-imagined training for new Master Gardeners in 2022 to become more accessible than ever. Mixing the best of both worlds, online training will deliver our top-notch university-level gardening education, with localized and in-person hands-on training workshops organized by county-based OSU faculty. Read the post.
  • 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.)
    • Corvallis Evening Garden Club is holding their 2021 Fall Bulb-a-Palooza! This is to support their community gardening grants and horticulture scholarships. Many, many exciting and beautiful varieties to choose from! Go to corvalliseveninggardenclub.org to find the online ordering form. They will begin taking orders as soon as the bulbs arrive, sometime in the next few days. Note: Cash or Check will be accepted at time of pick up. Supplies are limited. To see some of the bulbs available click here.

Linn MGV eNews

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2021 is a year like no other. Share your thoughts and help find creative ways to celebrate Master Gardener achievements this year. Take the survey.
  • Shout outs
  • Volunteers needed
    • New! Highschool presentation – Harrisburg High School Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor is seeking a MGV to present on any of a range of horticulture topics. Various days, times and presentation themes available, and presentation could be live or Zoomed. If this interests you please contact Elizabeth! 
    • Calling all community scientists! Before you clean out your mason bee cocoons, please send a sample to the Pollinator Health Lab at OSU. We’re working to better understand some new exotic bees and bee pests and predators that have been recently introduced into Oregon. You can help! Take the Mason Bee Survey.
    • This week: Demo garden. 
    • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Linn Volunteer Opportunities Page.
    • What are Distance Garden Consults? Master Gardener connect with gardeners via Zoom visit to trouble shoot their garden concerns. You can always do more research and follow up. Zoom, email and internet are the only tech needed. If this interests you please contact Elizabeth. 
  • Continuing education (free to MGVs unless noted with $)
    • Happening now: Mason bee cocoon care workshops for the Willamette Valley are back this fall! Watch a fun instructional movie on your own schedule to learn how you can have three times as many bees through basic cocoon care. Then join a cocoon care Q&A to troubleshoot the pests and parasites that attack mason bees, along with emeritus entomologist Rich Little and the Linn MGV Pollinator Project members. Sign up for October Q&As.
    • Oct 19 @6:30 pm – 7:30 pm PDT Online – Design a Sustainable Garden: A Beginner’s Guide
    • New ($): “Gardening for Resilience”, the annual UVM Extension Master Gardener conference, will be held virtually on November 5-6, 2021, with recordings available to all registered participants. The conference is for everyone who loves to garden in Vermont and beyond. This year, an amazing lineup of speakers will teach about  indigenous agricultural practices and their application in today’s gardens, how mycorrhizal fungi enhance plant health, heirloom plant cultivation, food resiliency, and how to develop community connections through gardens. For a complete description of the education sessions and speaker backgrounds, and to register, click on this LINK.
  • Extension updates.
    • Can Oregon Master Gardeners Answer Hemp or Cannabis Questions?  If someone calls the Master Gardener help desk, or submits a question through the Ask an Expert Service, can Master Gardener volunteers provide advice or support for growing hemp or cannabis? The short answer is ‘no’. Read the post.
  • 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.)
    • None this week.