Save the Date Annual Spring Banquet. New Policy and Procedure Committee Being Formed

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1 Vol. 28, No. 2 Editors: Julie Stark/Lisa Slattery February 2018 LINN COUNTY MASTER GARDENER EVENTS Steering Committee Meeting Extension Office February 6 6:30 pm Extension Council Meeting Extension Office February 12 5:00 pm Executive Council Meeting Extension Office February 19 3:00 pm Deadline for interest in Policy & Procedure Committee February 1 February Library Talks Topics and Speakers Pages 4-5 Mt. Vernon Library Liberty Lane, Mt. Vernon, IA Mondays (6:30-7:30) February 5, 12, 19 & 26 Fairfax Library 313 Vanderbilt St., Fairfax IA Tuesdays (6:30-7:30) February 6, 13, 20 & 27 Hiawatha Library 150 W. Wilman St., Hiawatha Wednesdays (6:30-7:30) February 7, 14, 21 & 28 Save the Date Annual Spring Banquet Looking for signs of Spring? Here's one - mark your calendar for the annual Spring Banquet, Tuesday, April 17 at the Flamingo Restaurant, 1211 Ellis Blvd. NW, Cedar Rapids. Formal invitations will mailed when it gets warmer! New Policy and Procedure Committee Being Formed Would you like to be a part of the new Master Gardener Policy and Procedure Committee? If so, please Jean Wilson by February 1, 2018 (jayellwilson@yahoo.com). What s Inside Spring Banquet Set Page 1 New Committee Formed Page 1 Winter Garden Fair Info Page 2 Volunteers Needed: WMT Outdoor Living Show Page 2 Coordinator Comments Page 3 February Library Talks Pages Iowa MG Hours Pages 6-7 MG Event in the Area Page 7 Things We Love New Year, New Beginnings Page 8 What s Growing On at the Lowe Park Greenhouse Page 9-10 Expert Ed for March Page 10 Steering Cmt Minutes Pages February

2 Winter Garden Fair Fast Approaching! By Sam Krumbholz, Co-Chair Tired of shoveling snow and wearing layer after layer of heavy clothes to stay warm? Can t wait for the new seed catalogs to arrive in the mail? Are you planning what new flowers to plant or how to rearrange a garden bed? Perhaps you want to add a raised bed for more yummy veggies. We have the perfect day to listen, learn, and dream about your spring and summer garden plans! This years Garden Fair, scheduled for Saturday, March 3, on the Kirkwood Campus, offers 46 classes with almost half of them being new and never presented before. We are offering several workshops for those that love hands on activities to add beauty of function to their gardens. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Adam Janke, is a Wildlife Specialist from Iowa State University. He comes highly recommended as an excellent speaker to inform us how to make our landscapes work for wildlife, and native plants in our urban spaces. As you stroll down the halls of Kirkwood, enjoy shopping at the many vendors who will be selling their goods. We will have garden art, bulbs, plant stakes, succulents, jewelry, and plants from our own Lowe Garden and Greenhouse, just to name a few! This Winter Garden Fair is our biggest event of the year to educate the public on many topics of gardening. I hope you can attend or work at this event. Volunteer Forms are on line to fill out! We need many MG s to assure this Winter Garden Fair maintains the quality event it has been in the past. It may be cold outside, but we ll be cozy and warm inside enjoying a hot comfort food lunch, learning new information to help us be better gardeners, and helping others learn more about those awesome Master Gardeners of Linn County! Sam Krumbholz, Co-Chair of The WGF Volunteers Needed: WMT Outdoor Living Show This year s WMT Outdoor Living Show is Saturday, March 10 (9:00-5:00) and Sunday, March 11 (10:00-4:00) at Hawkeye Downs, th Street SW, Cedar Rapids. Volunteers will be needed at the Master Gardner table for Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday as well as on Friday with setting up. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Sue Usher ( ; dsajusher@juno.com). 2 Germinator

3 Coordinator Comments By: Shelly O'Neal Hello MGs, Happy Valentines to you all! There s been a lot of love-ly things happening here at the Extension Office. The class of 2017 graduated 23 new interns from the Flipped Classroom format. Both ISU, and myself sent out a survey to the interns to check if this style of learning was acceptable. From the 23 students, 16 replied to the survey. The general agreement was they were extremely satisfied. They did note areas of improvement which will definitely be considered in planning for the class of One change that will be implemented is moving the interviewing and class schedule up 1 month. This will allow the classes to start in August giving more daylight for the tours and hands on training. The other event was the 1 st MG Annual meeting. We had a group of nearly 50 MGs, RaeAnn, Jim, Extension Council Members and myself. The discussion was to provide information on the Extension Council members and their roles, along with information on how the MG program working within the policies and procedures of the Extension Office along with the policies and procedures of the MG program. RaeAnn specifically addressed some questions in relation to fiscal policy and the new process for ordering materials. It was a very good meeting and will be held again next year. In the meantime, the next steps identified to work on now included: Set and hold a meeting with the chairs of the project committees Items to be discussed: Position description Monthly/annual report template How to recruit new project chairs How many members should each committee have How to recruit/onboard new committee members Year-end reporting-review current-should it be revised and how Purchase form review Purchase order review Data Collection I am working on the 2017 Annual Report and will share soon. Have a wonderful day, and a Happy Valentines! With love, Shelly February 3

4 February Library Talks Mt. Vernon Library 620 3rd Street, SW, Mt. Vernon, Iowa Mondays (6:30-7:30) February 5 Containers - Beyond Thrillers, spillers, fillers (Cindy Fagan): Come to this class to learn how to elevate your container arrangements in dramatic ways! February 12 Designing a Pollinator Habitat with Top 20 Plants (Devon Dietz): Identify the top 20 plants to attract pollinators to your landscape. Understand the pollinator needs and how these plants meet those needs. Includes a look at garden arrangement and design to incorporate plants that give yeararound color and provide food, habitat and protection for pollinators. Two designs with plant arrangements are included. February 19 Beginner Garden Photography (Jay McWherter): Helpful tips and info for novice photographers so you can take better garden photos with your point and shoot cameras. February 26 Houseplants (Rose Milden): Learn about the many varieties of houseplants available. Explore clever and artistic ways to display houseplants. Rose will also provide tips to help you succeed in growing healthy and beautiful houseplants to enjoy year round. Fairfax Library 313 Vanderbilt St, Fairfax, IA Tuesdays (6:30-7:30) February 6 Creating Black Gold Compost (Wil Carew ): Ever wondered, What am I going to do with all this yard and kitchen waste? The answer is composting; discover what it is, types of bins available, what to put in it. Vermi-composting using red wigglers with food scraps will also be covered. February 13 Arranging Your Own Bouquets (Judy Stevens): Learn tips to preserve and arrange your bouquets whether from your backyard or gathered from the roadside. Various devices available on the market to assist in creating professional bouquets will also be demonstrated. February 20 Rain Gardens (Karla McGrail ): Learn the basics about designing, constructing and planting this landscaping feature that can capture rain water runoff on your property and do your part to help improve water quality downstream. February 27 New Perennials 2018 (Deb Walser): Garden Catalogs are full of amazing perennials. Learn how to select the best for your garden. Deb will show some of the newest and coolest perennials available in nurseries near you and talk about her favorite plants that grow in her gardens Continued Page 5 4 Germinator

5 Continued from Page 4 Hiawatha Library 150 W Wilman St, Hiawatha, IA Wednesdays (6:30-7:30) February 7 Curb Appeal-Where to start? Deb Walser: For a newbie gardener and an experienced gardener. Whether you have a new home, a new to you home or a landscaping that needs new life where to start can be an overwhelming task. Deb will teach you where to start the renovation. Learn how to evaluate your property, design properties, and select plants. Presentation includes many before and after pictures. February 14 Organic Vegetable Gardening (Phil Pfister): In this session, Phil will discuss approved and proven organic gardening techniques and practices to help you achieve a productive vegetable garden without using harmful chemicals and spending a lot of time. February 21 Plants That Have Changed History (Judy Stevens): Learn about the many plants that played a part in moving our civilization to where we are today. Plants played an important role in discovering the new world and world trading. This is not a boring history class but a refreshing approach to the important role plants have played in our past. February 28 Straw Bale Gardening (Barbara Wing): Want to pull fewer weeds? Bend over less? Garden on cement? Try straw bale gardening. Learn how to set up, plant and grow vegetables and flowers on straw bales. February 5

6 2017 Iowa Master Gardener Hours Continued Page 5 6 Germinator

7 Continued from Page 4 Master Gardener Events in the Area February 7

8 Things We Love New Year, New Beginnings By Lisa Hinzman Howard Happy New Year! As gardeners, we take a breath as we put our gardens to sleep. I love the autumn that precedes this time as perhaps the most amazing season to prepare our Midwest gardens for magical new beginnings. The air turns cooler while divisions, bulbs, and new plantings abound, driven by our pure faith in starting anew and our patience for the rewards that will follow in the spring. How glorious! My favorite garden new beginning is that of annual replanting of my garlic. I received a few bulbs of garlic many years ago from a neighbor along with additional varieties a few years later from my Mom, Master Gardener Linda Hinzman. With no idea what I was doing, I read and learned that planting garlic is extremely simple, especially in the raised beds I m so fond of (photo right). The garlic circle of life has been something of sport for me as I select the very best bulbs each summer to save for replanting in the fall. Through years of careful selection, I ve been able to produce ever larger, ever sweeter, amazing homegrown garlic. Never grown garlic? It s a snap and so satisfying! Cloves much larger than the largest garlic press (photo right) are a true blessing to use and share with friends and family. Just don t forget to save those best bulbs to keep the cycle going and growing! And while you re at it, share a few bulbs on to gardening friends and future gardeners alike. Pay it forward, for there is even greater satisfaction in helping another discover the joy and rewards to be found in the soil. What fun we have in our grand gardening experiments! What are yours? Enjoy your winter break and don t worry my fellow Master Gardeners, the seed catalogs are on the way! Yours in gardening, Lisa Photos left and middle: Lisa harvests an abundance of garlic bulbs from her garden; photo right: huge and beautiful bulb after curing. 8 Germinator

9 What s Growing On at the Lowe Park Greenhouse By Phil Pfister Thanks to a double set of backup heaters, and a team of volunteers monitoring, and servicing them, the greenhouse came through the January arctic blast without issue, and that is significant as the greenhouse is pretty full of stock plants and plants that are being grown for events like the Winter Gardening Fair, the Charlene Woeste Plant Sale, and the Spring Banquet. While some of these events are some months away, the planning and plant growth starts well in advance. To make sure we have plants for all the upcoming events, we start ramping up and collecting stock plants in the early fall, well prior to frost. Our grower leads, Shelby Foley, Coleen Kint, and Tina Patterson, start planning well in advance of events, and as the planning materializes, the volunteers help make it happen. In January we take cuttings (over 600), from the stock geraniums that MG s brought to the greenhouse for propagation stock. Next up are coleus and some other plants. February A bench full of colorful coleus brighten a dreary winter day. starts the seeding process which pretty much runs through the rest of spring. And of course, all the seedlings need to be transplanted. Where are all these cuttings and seedlings used? A partial list includes: Winter Gardening Fair, (plant sales, and this year three hands-on workshops), flowers and vegetables for the many demonstration gardens at Lowe Park, tomato, pepper and eggplant donations to at least five Many hands make light work! Left to right: Tina Patterson, Shelby Foley, Linda Miller, Sue Fletcher, Cindy Holub, Sam Appleby, Coleen Kint, Tracy Hanson, Sandy Fiegen, Cathy Holub, Jacki Baumhauer, Mary Mikkola, Paula MacNider, Larry Edwards, Scott Feddern and Lelia Garner. HACAP food pantries, the Master Gardener NewBo demonstration gardens, EcoFest, the Linn County Master Gardener Plant Sale, some area schools, the new handicap accessible and senior assisted raised bed demonstration gardens at Lowe, and as part of our arrangement with the City of Marion, we will finish growing out some of the started plants they supply (plugs), for various gardens around Marion. With the exception of July and August, the greenhouse is in constant production. The crops are always rotating, depending on events coming up in the next four to six months. Continued Page 8 February 9

10 Continued from Page 7 Volunteers include lots of Master Gardeners, and sometimes people from the public that want to enjoy the ambiance, and have some hands-on experience with various propagation, seeding and growing practices. When we have an activity like taking cuttings for example, there is always instruction, as well as guidance during the activity, so you don t need to be an expert to participate. We are also having monthly meetings (second Saturday of each month), to go over growing techniques as we work through winter into spring and early summer. Whether you grow house plants, start seedlings for you home garden, have a home greenhouse, or just like the atmosphere of the greenhouse in the winter, the Lowe Park Greenhouse is an excellent educational tool, which we are very fortunate to have. All Master Gardeners and the public are welcome to take advantage of this opportunity. A happy crew! Left to right back row: Linda Hayward, Selma Alzheimer, and Sue Fletcher. Front row: Tina Patterson and Coleen Kint. Expert Ed Resource Recovery: Waste Less Take Less By Linda Hayward, Expert Ed Chair Thursday, March 22, 2018, Resource Recovery: Waste Less Take Less will be presented by Jason Evans, Director of Education of the Linn County Solid Waste Agency. This presentation will look at individual resources and how they are utilized across the planet. How are these resources discarded or recovered and what are they used for in subsequent lives. As we consume more and more, our planet carries the burden but at what point is that burden too much? Learn to conserve more, consume less, and be happier while discovering what our planet provides and how we use it. Our county generates more than 500 tons of waste per day. Let s work together to realize what part we play in the greater picture. The presentation will be at the Extension Office 383 Collins Road, NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the large conference room from 6:30 8:30. It will be open to Master Gardeners and the public. To register, please Linn County Extension ( ) or Shelly (soneal@iastate.edu). 10 Germinator

11 January 2018 Steering Committee Minutes DRAFT The meeting was called to order, roll called, quorum established, and minutes from last meeting approved. Present: Steve Bartlett, Kathy Carew, Cindy Fagan, Linda Hinzman, Jackie MacLaren, Kay McWhinney, Linda Shepard, Bev Whitmore, Diane Wiesenfeld, and Jean Wilson; Absent: Glenn Babinett, Peggy Green, Sylvia Kelley (excused) and Sam Krumbholz; Guest Attendees: Rae Ann Barnhart and Mike Anderson Finance Report: Linda H presented the most recent financial report along with the detailed transactions. The report was approved. Linda presented the 2018 budget and thanked the committee Phil, Cindy F, Dianne W and Glenn for their assistance in generating a budget that is balanced. Individual budget requests are available. Project Reports: Jean distributed the project reports not much current activity however the Outdoor Living show is gearing up for March MG Coordinator Report: 2017 volunteer hours were down approximately 10% from previous year. We are hoping there are some stragglers who will get their hours in soon. The VRS contest response was successful with a 90% participation. The winners of the random drawing for prizes were Sharon Dendurent who won the sunglasses and Renee Moody who won the hat. Beth Roof is working on the date for the Awards Banquet. Shelly sent out additional note about the survey for the Fall 2017 Intern class 10 additional responses were received. Most of the responses were positive for the flipped classroom format and the on-line courses. Discussed the next Fall class will be moved to an earlier date in August so the tours will be in daylight. Attendance for the January 4 Master Gardener Program Review is at 50. Shelly resent agenda. The grant for Grow, Eat, Share was written by Beula and is being reviewed for January 11 submittal. ISU presents an exceptional volunteer service award on an annual basis, $100 for an individual or $500 for a team. The award is presented at the annual conference in March for individuals/teams who have demonstrated exceptional value and commitment and requires a form and essay to be completed. Candidates will be discussed by the Nominating Committee. Old Business: Phil Pfister to provide cost estimates for Head House at Lowe Park Procedure Guide for Master Gardeners was revised by Jean Wilson on October 23 still waiting on final approval, currently being reviewed by Extension Council. New Business: Rae Ann and Mike Anderson from Extension Council spent some time discussing the Fiscal Policy and nuances of ISU accounting February 11

12 requirements. The information will be presented at the January 4 Program Review meeting. Next Steering Committee: February 6, 2018 at 6:30pm. Next Executive Meeting: February 19, 2018 at 3:00 pm. Next Extension Council: February 12, 2018 at 5:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Linda Shepard, Secretary Linn County Extension Master Gardeners 383 Collins Road NE, Suite 201 Cedar Rapids, IA ph (319) Hortline (319) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Many materials can be made available in alternative formats for ADA clients. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC or call Germinator