Spring Plant Sale Big Success

Transcription

1 May 2014 Spring Plant Sale Big Success Planning and Hard Work Pay Off In Spite of Unfavorable Weather Despite being held on a cold, damp, and windy day, the 2014 Spring Plant Sale now goes on record as a big success for Northeast Louisiana Master Gardeners. Christy Francis took on the responsibility of preparing plants for the sale, as well as organizing and teaching the proper planting techniques for each seed variety or cutting. We also owe thanks to the City of West Monroe for allowing the Kiroli Park greenhouse to be used for preparing plants for the sale, as well as for the free use of the Market at Seventh Square as the venue for the plant sale. Kerry Heafner also donated his time and professional expertise by raising many tomato plants for the sale. Numerous credits belong to the following for donating seeds: Walmart, Lowe s Home Improvement, and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for donating a large number of heirloom seeds used for the sale. Success, of course, would not have been possible without the help from the many Master Gardener volunteers: to those who devoted their time and talents toward advertising, publicity, brochure and banner design, money preparations, security, and organization. Further, cudos to all who planted seeds or cuttings, nurtured them, divided their own plants and prepared them for the sale, and gave so much time and effort toward the sale, setup, and cleanup. Inside the Gardener s Scoop Spring Plant Sale...1 Meeting Minutes Zoo Bed Transformation... 5 Schedule of Activities...6 From the President...7 Gardener s Scoop May 2014 Page 1

2 NELA Master Gardener Association Meeting Minutes for April 8, 2014 Debbie Beauvais called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm. All members were asked if they had any corrections to the minutes as printed in the newsletter. No changes or comments were heard. The minutes were approved and seconded. Program The speaker tonight was Amy Weeks, a beekeeper who raises queens and collects honey, which are both sold. Her emphasis was on updating us on the present situation concerning the bee industry. She mentioned the various reasons for Colony Collapse disorder (CCD). The US government is giving out large grants to researchers for investigating the possible reasons for this problem. Today, the almond trees are 100-percent reliant on honeybees for pollination. Of the 1,000,000 bee colonies used for crop pollination, more than 600,000 are dead, dying, or declining. Part of the problem is that almond growers are using a fungicide that was rated as safe to apply on the blooms. However, almond growers are tank-mixing the fungicide, creating a toxic soup that is having sublethal effects on the bee larvae. Label changes on the fungicides are needed, but it takes a long time to develop the revised labels and get all the approvals. In the meantime the crops and the honey bees suffer. Minnesota had a huge urban bee die-out. The cause was found to be a nursery whose plants had been treated with a systemic pesticide. Transporting bees also stresses them. It also causes poor diet since they are located in acres of the same crop (pollen source). Universities are working to develop new and stronger populations through research and genetics. Louisiana has great environmental conditions to raise honeybees: it has warmer winter temperatures than much of the country, as well as abundant water and vegetation sources. Amy encouraged people to begin raising colonies locally. She mentioned the uses of honey for healing of wounds for its antibacterial properties, particularly for burns, skin wounds, and acne. It is used in cosmetics and is a wonderful sweetener. Honey never spoils. She is also involved in teaching beekeeping to poor communities in Guyana. Following her presentation, she took questions from the audience. Meeting Minutes continue on page 3 Gardener s Scoop May 2014 Page 2

3 Meeting Minutes continued from page 2 Old Business Flower Arrangement Classes The Flower Arrangement Seminar, held on April 22 at 1:00 3:00 and 6:00 8:00, was discussed. The $35.00 fee covered the cost of supplies. Flyers and registrations forms were on the back table; Debbie asked all to take and distribute them. Plant Sale Debbie thanked everyone for all the time devoted toward another successful sale. Achieving more success in the future will require everyone to contribute more plants that they have propagated themselves. She reminded all to pot up extra plants when dividing perennials this year. She mentioned that the Board had agreed on a suggested change for next year; the sale will begin at noon on Friday and end at 6:00 p.m. The sale will then continue on Saturday. No one present at the Association meeting voiced any objection to this idea. Treasurer s Report Steve Thomas gave all a copy of the Reconciliation Statement and pointed out the gross earnings from the plant sale. Even with the cost of purchased plants, our sale was successful. Scholarship Dawn Jordan announced that the winner was a girl from Ruston HS who planns to go into Marine Biology. New Business 2015 Plant Sale The date of the 2015 plant sale was announced: Friday, April 10, from noon until 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 11, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 pm. Butterfly Garden Elaine Johnson s husband installs irrigation systems and will provide direction for us, but we will have to do the work. Lilly Matthews will draw up a plan of the garden; Elaine Smith and Laura Hardin offered to help. Debbie said that we need to form a committee to discuss ideas and plants for the garden, to work with Christy and the City of West Monroe, and to organize and schedule days to gather and work on the garden. Debbie, Elaine Johnson, and Dawn Jordan volunteered to be on this committee. Rita Albritton asked to be removed from the development of the Butterfly garden. However, she will continue to maintain her adopted bed. Activities Committee Rita Albritton announced a picnic on April 19 at the Pavilion behind the West Monroe Farmer s Market/ Butterfly garden. It will be catered by a local Bar-bque restaurant. She had a list and asked all to sign who planned to attend. Meeting Minutes continue on page 4 Gardener s Scoop May 2014 Page 3

4 Meeting Minutes continued from page 3 Hospitality Thanks to those of Team 5 who remembered to bring refreshments this evening (no reminder was sent): Virginia Lee Linda Tubbs Lanell Armstrong Debbie Beauvais Ginny Chin Judy Grant Linda Williams Tamara McCready Also, thank you to Laura Hardin and Elaine Smith for getting refreshments and ice before the meeting. Announcements Work days need to be scheduled for all ongoing projects to plant flowers for summer. Volunteers are needed for the AgExpo Gardening Seminar in January The exact date will be provided soon; starting early will reduce stress on those working on this project. May 3: your help is needed at the Butterfly Garden at 8:30. May 10: your help is needed at Chennault Aviation and Military Museum at Kansas and Central Avenues in Monroe. We need to add summer annuals. For the May meeting: Activities Committee chair, Rita Albritton, asked everyone to bring a spare garden tool or decorative pot to swap. Next MG Meeting May 13 Program Kerry Heafner Kerry will present information on fungi. Please bring a decorative pot or a gardening tool to swap. NELA MG Board Members Board Officers President Debbie Beauvais Vice President Kerry Heafner Secretary Lilly Matthews Treasurer Steve Thomas Recorder Helen Hotard Historian Patti Kintzing Board Members-at-Large Elaine Johnson Christy Francis Dr. Warren Daniel Gardener s Scoop May 2014 Page 4

5 Zoo Bed Transformation by Nancy Sandel Gorgeous, gorgeous! No better way to describe the front bed (flamingo bed) at the Monroe zoo. The bed was completely transformed by Ginny Chin, Linda Tubbs, and Kerry Heafner on Saturday, March 28. Kerry said they had over 900 people visit the zoo that day, and many were complimentary of the bed. Please drop by when you can to see just how beautiful it truly is! Gardener s Scoop May 2014 Page 5

6 May 2014 Activities Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Volunteer Gardening Day at Butterfly Garden. 8:30 a.m Volunteer Gardening Day at Chennault Museum. Time TBA MG Meeting 6:30 pm Newsletter Article Submission Deadline When April steps aside for May, Like diamonds all the raindrops glisten; Fresh violets open every day: To some new bird each hour we listen. Lucy Larcom Gardener s Scoop May 2014 Page 6

7 From the President Dear Master Gardeners, You are a wonderful group of knowledgeable, hard-working people with so many talents. It is an honor to work with all of you on our projects to teach others and improve our community. In your time given to Master Gardener Association projects, please do your best to respect each other s talents and contributions. After all, we all want our suggestions to be considered even if others have a different plan. With all of us under pressure to do so many things in so little time, we can sometimes say and do things in haste that damage our relationship. Please pause and think how your words might be perceived. It doesn t always work; some ideas don t receive approval from all. Just remember the goal you all want to achieve, and continue doing your part as best you can. Volunteer Service Hours As of March 15, Volunteer Service Hours 76 Continuing Education Hours This time last year: 462 Volunteer Service Hours 63 Continuing Education Hours Do not forget to record your hours! The next MG meeting is Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at the LSU AgCenter. The Louisiana Master Gardener Program is a service and educational activity offered by the LSU AgCenter. The program is designed to recruit and train volunteers to help meet educational needs of home gardeners while providing an enjoyable and worthwhile service experience for volunteers. Contact: LSU AgCenter 704 Cypress Street West Monroe, LA (318) We are a diverse group. To grow as an association will mean more active members of different ideas, talents, race, religion, and political views. I ask that you respect each other. I also ask that you encourage, not discourage, the participation of any volunteers working toward achieving our goal in a timely manner and to the best of everyone s ability. Thank you. Amy Weeks delivers a presentation on bee keeping at April s MG meeting. Debbie Beauvais Gardener s Scoop May 2014 Page 7