Biological Pesticides with Heather Stoven
January Association Meeting 2022 (Open to the public) Monday Jan 24
 
Register in advance for this meeting HERE. (LINK WAS WRONG IN ENEWS BUT IS FIXED HERE.)
After registering, will receive a confirmationemail containing information about joining the meeting. 

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.

  • Shoutouts
    • You’re invited: MGV 2022 Applicant Meet & Greets! This is a good opportunity to meet potential trainees, learn about their interests, and share what you enjoy about volunteering as a Master Gardener. A link to meetings will be in eNews.
      • Tue 1/18/2022 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
      • Wed 1/19/2022 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
      • Thu 1/20/2022 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
      • Sat 1/22/2022 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
    • Continuing education opportunities: Events with Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss. Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. To get continuing education for either event, please share how what you learned is meaningful in the context of your service as a Master Gardener.
      • From Consider This, Oregon Humanities: Join us on March 10, 2022 for an online conversation with Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss. Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. This program will be streamed live at 5:00 p.m. Pacific on YouTube. RSVP for this free program. (LINK WAS BROKEN IN ENEWS BUT IS FIXED HERE.)
      • Lecture: Women as change agents in forestry. Speaker: Robin Wall Kimmerer, Plant Ecology, Ethnobotany, Traditional Indigenous Knowledge. Wednesday, January 26, 2022, 7:00pm, La Sells Stewart Center, Austin Auditorium. Registration required: Please register here. Please note: To reduce the risk or spread of COVID-19, you will need to provide proof of COVID vaccination or a negative test result within the previous three days of the event to attend. An OSU representative will check your vaccination status or review your negative test result upon your arrival at the event. Further information can be accessed at https://beav.es/U4a.
  • Volunteers needed
    • Office Plant Clinic sign ups open: The office is open to the public as of January 2022, and volunteers can sign up for plant clinic shifts as desired, to answer client questions or practice skills. Desk is open for solo volunteers, or grab our ipad and mini miscroscopes and work in the conference room with a friend. Sign up HERE.
    • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Benton Volunteer Opportunities Page.
  • Continuing education: It’s winter and most live events are on holiday. Take some ‘you time’ to learn something new in our huge library of recorded webinars.
  • BCMGA news
    • Kick-off Meeting for the 2022 Benton County Fairgrounds Demonstration Garden.  If you are interested in being part of a fun and fulfilling community gardening project, please join us on Zoom on Monday, January 24 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. for the 2022 kick-off meeting.  See eNews for information on joining the meeting. Please contact Denise Saunders at vdenisesaunders (at) comcast.net or Dan Dix at DDIX (at) verizon.net for the more information.
    • Community Gardening Education Team contact update: Hello all! In an effort to streamline communications we’ve created a CGET Committee email address.  We’d like to get the word out that starting immediately if you have a request for CGET or want to correspond with the CGET Committee we’d appreciate the email correspondence to be directed to CGET.BentonMG (at) gmail.com. As co-chairs we will be monitoring this email regularly and will respond to requests as soon as we can. Thank you, Cheryl Stratton, Kandi Maestri and Wendi Gale, CGET Committee Co-Chairs
  • Extension updates:
    • We have a full class of applicants for 2022 but are inviting people to join the wait list until 1/15.
  • 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.)
    • 2022 Soil Amendment Sale Now Open!
      • More than just soil amendments! We also offer a wide selection of propagation supplies, organic pest controls, cover crop seeds, and poultry/livestock supplies.
    • Order with us to get bulk pricing and save on freight charges. We’ll group your order with those of other local farmers and gardeners so we all share in the savings. Proceeds help support Ten Rivers Food Web.
      • Here’s how it works:
        • Order online: Through January 31st.
        • Pick up your items: March 5th, 9am – Noon and 1 – 4pm, at the Benton County Fairgrounds
Albuca  spirilis, “the result of an unholy mating between chives and a Slinky toy.”
Photo and humor by Susan Morton.
Share your garden photos and stories for this space!
  • Program updates: OSU has updated guidelines regarding event planning, as shared by Statewide program coordinator Gail Langellotto in a recent updateThe takeaway: in-person non-credit educational events can currently proceed without having to card participants, so long as participants register. Things can change, so offering hybrid events and/or having a virtual plan B would still be wise. If you are planning an event, get the latest information and more details on this important topic. – Elizabeth Records, interim coordinator
  • Shout outs
  • Volunteers needed –
    • Demo garden. Visit the Linn County Volunteer opportunities page to sign up for these opportunities, and more.
    • What are Distance Garden Consults? Early results from the Oregon Master Gardener Needs Assessment show that clients are very interested in personalized consultations. For this pilot volunteer opportunity they would request an appointment with a Master Gardener for a 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)
  • LCMGA updates are now found in the President’s mailings.
  • Extension updates.
    • Report to the Oregon Master Gardener Association Board of Directors (4th Quarter meeting, 2021) from Statewide Coordinator.
    • It is just about six weeks until the close of the service year!
      • Continuing volunteer? There are no official service targets to remain certified at this time, but please log your service and continuing education hours so we can show stakeholders how much volunteers are still doing. Also, take advantage of the great continuing education options.
      • 2nd year trainee? Please aim to complete 40 service hours, counting from winter 2020, by 10/31/21 if you would like to earn your first certification this year. Please aim for 50% plant clinic or direct service. Having challenges? Let’s talk – we can figure something out!
      • Everyone who would like to participate in any volunteer activities in 2022, needs to re-enroll by reviewing the soon-forthcoming Guide to Volunteering 2022 and completing annual program paperwork. This will be sent by DocuSign in early October, or can be completed as a hard copy and sent to the office. Look out for a post with full directions coming soon.
    •  Want to propose a new and original project for volunteer service? Please use this updated project proposal form.
  • 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.)
    • Benton Soil and Water Conservation District Fall Bulb And Seed Sale: The Fall Native Bulb and Seed Sale is going virtual for 2021. Place your order online between September 1-30. You will receive an email with a link to schedule your order pick up time for a mid-October date.