TODAY – Thu 6/23/2022 6:00 PM 

LCMGA general meeting and social at demo garden. 

Bring a sweet or savory snack 
Socialize with new and returning volunteers
For questions please contact Betty Goergen: goergenb (at) gmail.com

Directions to Demo Garden: Take Knox Butte to the Expo Center, at the stop lights turn onto Timber Drive and continue to stop sign. Turn right onto Dogwood (which becomes Price Road) and continue past Expo Center parking lot to the blue entrance gate. Drive through the gate and through the back parking to the Demo Garden. We will have signs to direct you to our Demonstration Garden. 
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?mid=1NfonLdRE-k8_fOnbbzCIY7IgnMxO3JDY&usp=sharing

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

  • Shoutouts
    • Sat. June 25, 11am-2pm. Volunteers needed – Lebanon – Summit ACE Garden Center Plant Clinic. To participate please contact Betty Goergen: goergenb (at) gmail.com
    • June 30th Thursday 6 pmDrop-in classes In the Demo Garden (free). Master Gardeners are teaming up to discuss gardening. Each session features a short talk, demonstrations and valuable information to take home. Planting your Garden—How and when to prepare the soil, plant, and transplant vegetables and ornamentals. June 30th Thursday 6 pm
    • Remembering Carolyn Larime – Master Gardeners – share your memories of Carolyn. You can also read Carolyn’s obituary.
    • Diagnostics desk sessions/Office plant clinic. Thursdays 1-3 – learn how to identify and solve insect and plant issues with longtime MGVs Rich and Susan. These two are retired scientists and coordinates of the BEEvent pollinator conference. Sign up and make sure to bring a sample to work on if there’s not one from a client.
  • LCMGA News:
    • 2022 LCMGA Board Meetings IN PERSON Tue 7/5/2022 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM at Linn County Extension. 33630 McFarland Rd, Tangent. Dial-in by calling the office at (541) 967-3871. No Zoom at this time.
  • Volunteers needed
    • NEW: Linn Office Plant Clinic – diagnostics & skills training (Thursdays 1-3).
    • 9/3 & 9/4 Plant Clinic at the State Fair. Free wristbands and parking permits will be mailed to participants as soon as they are available. Learn more and RSVP.
    • Trainees and returning volunteers! Linn County Pop-Up Plant Clinics need people to “talk plants” with our communities. Upcoming dates at Farmers Markets and more to come. Sign up HERE. NEW dates at the Brownsville Farmers Market.
    • Trainees welcome – Demo Garden: Join us for work parties at the Linn Demo Garden on Wednesdays and/or Fridays from 1:00-3:00.  Get volunteer hours by helping make the Demo Garden look great.  
    • Do you want to earn direct service volunteer hours? Create and deliver an informal presentation or workshop on a research-based gardening topic. Presenters wanted for the Gardening in the PNW Lunchtime Series at Albany Public Library’s main branch. Please contact Dan Murphy to learn more.
    • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Linn Volunteer Opportunities Page
  • Continuing education opportunities:  
    • OMGA – Joy of Gardening Conference Mini-College will be held July 28-30, 2022, live at OSU Campus! Learn more and get tickets.
    • Linn & Dual MGV Trainees – online plant clinic mentor sessions. Please RSVP HERE with some dates and times that work for you. You can attend more than one of these dates:   
    • Drop-in classes In the Demo Garden (free). Master Gardeners are teaming up to discuss gardening. Each session features a short talk, demonstrations and valuable information to take home.
      • Planting your Garden—How and when to prepare the soil, plant, and transplant vegetables and ornamentals. June 30th Thursday 6 pm
      • Container Gardening—Growing in containers unleashes possibilities for gardening in a small space. July 9th Saturday 10 am
      • Plant a Fall Garden —It is not too late to plant a garden to enjoy in fall through winter. August 11th Thursday 6 pm
      • Growing & Using Herbs—Learn to start, grow and care for perennial and annual herbs. August 27th Saturday 10 am
      • Harvesting Fruits & Vegetables—How to determine the peak flavor and ripeness of fruits and vegetables. Sept 8th Thursday 10 am and 6 pm

2022 Bee Supplies Delivery
View pick up dates and locations.
Cut off for order Wednesday March 16th at 5:00. Order cocoons, habitats and books.

  • Program Updates

Via OSU Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, here is the latest on OSU’s public health measures. OSU’s policy of vaccine carding for certain events is going away, and most indoor settings will become mask-optional. Understanding that our community has a wide range of needs around these issues, the local Master Gardener program will continue to offer a selection of activities including inside, outside and online.

Please also note that County policies affect Extension activities, and in Benton County as of today (3/4/22), we are still waiting for County policies to be announced. Next week we should know more.

– Elizabeth Records – program coordinator (interim)

  • Shoutouts
    • Thank you Nancy, Ranee, Rich and Susan for taking the lead on a successful 8th Annual BEEvent! Thank you Bobbye and Diane for leadership in bee gear pick ups, and countless others who have lent a hand! And special thanks to Brooke Edmunds for tech support and Q&A moderation. Together, we put Linn County on the map for pollinator education!
    • Spring schedule for program coordinator: March-June, Elizabeth’s weekly schedule is Wednesday-Sunday, 8-5.
    • eNews spring schedule: MGV eNews for Linn County volunteers will be published second and fourth Thursdays with occasional updates inbetween.
  • Volunteers needed
    • Trainees welcome – help plan the Linn County demonstration garden for 2022 and get involved in this fun hands-on project. For more information contact raneewebb66 (at) gmail.com
    • In-person outdoor community plant clinics coming up this spring to a garden center near you. Locations and times still TBD – likely Saturdays, with an opportunity to engage trainees. If interested, please contact Elizabeth Records.
    • Speakers’ bureau: are you an organized, outgoing person interested in helping connect interested volunteers with community organizations needing gardening education? Please contact Elizabeth Records.
    • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Linn Volunteer Opportunities Page
  • Continuing education opportunities:
    • BEEvent – shortly, tickets to view recordings will be available at linnmastergardeners.com
    • OSU Extension Master Gardeners announce 2022 Growing Oregon Gardeners: Level Up Series schedule It’s a new year and a new slate of free online learning webinars with Growing Oregon Gardeners: Level Up Series. Whether you want to learn how to finally be better with your irrigation, understand if cleaning up leaves in the fall is really good or not so good for the insects in the garden, or get excited for all things roses, there’s a class for you.  
    • Growing Oregon Gardeners – Level Up 2022:
  • Extension News
    • Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Urban Greenspace: To observe Oregon State University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, the Master Gardener Program hosted a screening of the movie ‘The Ants and the Grasshopper’. The movie follows Anita Chitaya, as she travels from her home in Malawi, to farms and gardens across the United States to share her story of how climate change is impacting her village. Afterwards, Dr. Vivek Shandas of Portland State University joined us to discuss the intersection of historical racism, landscaping and greenspace, and environmental justice. Read the blog.
  • 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.