H E A R T O F M I S S O U R I M A S T E R G A R D E N E R N E W S L E T T E R

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1 H E A R T O F M I S S O U R I M A S T E R G A R D E N E R N E W S L E T T E R The Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners is a fun, vibrant group that brings together gardeners of all levels by providing engaging educational opportunities and meaningful volunteer projects that enhance and sustain our communities. M a r c h 2018 University of Missouri Extension Boone County, 1012 North Highway UU, Columbia, Missouri extension.missouri.edu/boone/mg.html Jefferson Farm and Garden Updates Message from our President: Donna Puleo, president of HMMG, has the following information and requests for HMMG members: We only had 6 people sign up for the spring core class...maybe 7. In consultation with Kent, we decided to cancel the spring class with the intention to possibly reschedule classes in the fall beginning in September. Kent is going to check out available space and let me know. Classes will most likely continue to be scheduled on Tuesday evenings in the future. I will keep everyone posted of the fall class and invite you to join me at one of the sessions. It really does help to get to know the interns so hopefully they feel welcome to the group after they graduate. Missouri Master Garden Association (MOMGA) March 2,2018 Meeting Report from Marie Pasley: Dr. Dave Trinklein, UMC liaison for MOMGA, reported that all MG s need to sign the Code of Conduct form each year in order to be covered under liability insurance when volunteering with MG events and activities. You may do an electronic signing through the MG hour reporting site. Dr. Trinklein also recommended taking out insurance for any event not held on an Extension property. The 2018 Master Gardener State Conference will be on September 28 through 30 at Branson. Friday- They will offer two optional all day tours on Friday for $60 each, includes bus, lunch and all entry fees. Saturday- will offer four different tours titled: Branson, Nature, Hills, Home or an AM and PM Hands On Workshops" staying at the hotel. Saturday Evening Banquet- Featured speaker will be from Crystal Bridges. Sunday Will offer three rooms with ongoing workshops in each room, with twelve different offerings. Full-time registration will include all meals for Saturday and Sunday five in total, plus all activities on Saturday and Sunday. Friday is an optional day. Hotel costs will be $109 per night plus taxes. The conference cost has yet to be determined but will probably be around $200. Conference web page is on line and can be reached through the momga.org web page. Registration with a schedule of events will be listed after April 15. Missouri Master Gardeners will have the opportunity to register first before it is opened to the public. We will need to register early for this event. HMMG Meeting March 20, 2018, at 6pm at the Boone County Extension Center Columbia MO Guest Speaker: Terryl Woods, Research Specialist MU, Research Management Practices for Monarchs and bees. Refreshments by Nancy Gay and another volunteer Note from Marie Pasley We are getting started planting in the greenhouse. Donna and I planted 8 flats of seed on Tuesday. We would like some help with watering. Soon we will need to water every day. The temps are really fluctuating at this point some days only 60, some days 85 with fans running. When the sun is out, it doesn t take long for it to reach 85. We would like to recruit around 14 people to help with watering so that would mean that no one would water more than every other week. But we will go with what we have, obviously. If you could water one day during the week please return a note to me stating what two days would work best for you. I hope to get a schedule put together in the next few days. At first we'll only need to water every other day. Also, if you have seeds you are wanting to plant for the demo garden or butterfly house, we will be planting next week. Inside This Issue President s Items 1 Calendar of Events 2 Officer Contact Information 4

2 Page 2 Heart of Missouri Master Gardener Newsletter Date Event Info March 20 March 25 April 17 May 15 June 19 July 17 August 21 September 18 October 16 November 13 NOTE: 2 nd Tuesday SHOW-ME Native Yards & Neighborhoods Annual HMMG Harvest Dinner Terryl Woods, Research Specialist MU, Research Management Practices for Monarchs and bees, 6pm at Boone County Extension Center. Refreshments: Linda Rexroth and one volunteer The Many Uses of Native Plants for Your Yard, featuring native plant expert, Dr. Nadia Navarrete-Tindall, Unite4Health Community Garden, 1005 W Worley, Columbia MO 10am to Noon Jim Quinn, Horticulture Specialist MU, Healthy Soils for Plants Boone County Extension Center at 6pm Refreshments: Brenda McGavock & Mary Ann Gates Charles Paxton Home Garden Tour 3708 Spring Cress Drive, Columbia MO at 6pm Refreshments: John C. Williams and one volunteer Hsiao-Mei Wiedmeyer Home Garden Tour 304 S. Garth, Columbia MO at 6pm Refreshments: Hsiao-Mei Wiedmeyer and one volunteer Refreshments: Debra Blakely and one volunteer Tim Maloney, MU Instructor of Landscape Design, Boone County Extension Center at 6pm Refreshments: Steve Callis and one volunteer Refreshments: Rich Waudby and one volunteer Marie Pasley Grounds 3300 N. Route Z Columbia MO at 6pm Refreshments: Nancy Gay and one volunteer Refreshments: two volunteers needed December No meeting Please fill out your volunteer hours!

3 Heart of Missouri Master Gardener Newsletter Page 3 An message from Charles Paxton regarding the Jefferson Farms Demonstration Garden: I was hoping to pass around a signup sheet for the Vegetable Demonstration Garden at JFG. We need to have an understanding of your commitment to participate. Please tell me if you want to garden in the Vegetable Demonstration Garden by replying to this . How many rows you would like to have? If asking for more than one row, would you be willing to mentor another gardener? Would you prefer to garden in the Organic Plot or Best Practices or if either area would be okay? Will you help us with scheduled work activities even if you are not interested in maintaining a row? Would you like to be on the Vegetable Demonstration Garden planning committee? Are you interested in expanding the activity of this garden to include a children's garden? The program worked pretty well last year and this year would be similar. A gardener agrees to maintain an area of the garden measuring 3 feet by 28 feet. The crops grown and method used are entirely up to the MG. The crops grown are to be harvested and used by the gardener. The gardeners would supply their own seeds and materials. Jefferson Farm and Garden benefits from this activity by having the demonstration garden available to the public for educational purposes. They supply excellent garden soil and easy access to water. Last year they supplied wood chip mulch for the garden paths and access to equipment and covered other expenses. The JFG budget is unsettled and a gardener may be ask to help with some minor expense. Last year the Demo Garden offered an opportunity to mentor new members and bond with other MG s. It turned out to be a good educational opportunity for all of us as we exchanged information and watched others. We did have some issues with access because of the locked gate and cattle guard. We will be working towards a regular weekly schedule to work around that issue. Last year we committed to an expansion of the project by doubling the garden size and having this area to use organic methods only. The original garden will continue to follow methods described as best practices. This will hopefully provide organic growers comfort and allow another educational opportunity. There are work activities that need to happen ASAP. The garden rows from last year have a cover crop on them right now. This needs to be tilled in, the beds regraded, and the mulch in the garden paths freshened. Other than that we are ready to plant spring crops. The organic garden has been tilled. It was in fescue grass and weedy last year. There are plans to cover the area with clear plastic and create a solar fallow, producing enough heat to kill the grass and perennial weeds. It will also destroy some weed seed. The garden beds will need to be mounded and the paths mulched. We also need to install the irrigation system. All of this will require work times to be scheduled. Last year the turnout for these activities was excellent and made participation fun.

4 Page 4 Heart of Missouri Master Gardener Newsletter Plans Underway to Celebrate International Compost Awareness Week, May 6 12 International Compost Awareness Week is an annual, multi-media publicity and education campaign that showcases composting and compost products, from backyard to large-scale composting facilities. More information on ICAW can be found at Steve Callis is the 2018 State Coordinator. The goal of ICAW is to raise the awareness of the public regarding the benefits of using compost to improve or maintain high quality soil, to grow healthy plants, reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides, improve water quality and protect the environment. Each year a theme is chosen to promote the week. The theme for this year is Compost! Building a Better Future. Environmental and recycling businesses, organizations and community groups around the U.S. are making plans to celebrate the 15th Annual International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) coming up the week of May In Columbia, ICAW events are: Compost Workshop Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2018 Time: 6:00 7:00PM Location: Compost Demonstration Site, 1600 Capen Park Drive The workshop registration form can be found here. An reminder with location and parking instruction will be sent to registrants two days prior to each workshop. Compost Operations Tour Date: Saturday, May 12, 2018 Time: 9:30 11:00AM Location: 5700 Peabody Rd, at the City s landfill complex The tour registration form can be found here found here. A reminder with directions and meeting location will be ed two days before the tour. The Benefits of Composting & Compost Use Composting and compost use have numerous benefits in addition to green job creation and reducing the amount of waste destined for landfills and incinerators. At the same time, we throw away tons of food scraps and yard trimmings, our soils are eroding and losing nutrients, while damaging receiving waters. Excess fertilizers from farms and suburban lawns, and sediment from construction projects wash off the land and into our water ways every time it rains. 1. Reduces Waste 2. Improves Soil 3. Reduces Storm Water Runoff & Soil Erosion 4. Protects the Climate 5. Creates Jobs & Supports Local Economies Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners 2018 Officers President: Donna Puleo puleod@missouri.edu Vice-President: Julie Deering jdeering76@gmail.com Secretary: Pam Humphreys pamhumphreys4@gmail.com Treasurer: Steve Ferguson srferguson1952@outlook.com Newsletter: Mary Ann Gates mgates@socket.net

5 Heart of Missouri Master Gardener Newsletter Page 5 The Heart of Missouri Master Gardener Newsletter is published monthly for the Master Gardeners in Northeast Kent Shannon Missouri. For more information, contact: Natural Resources Engineering Specialist University of Missouri Extension Boone County 1012 N Highway UU, Columbia, MO (573) ext. 310; shannond@missouri.edu Todd Lorenz Regional Horticultural/Agronomy Specialist University of Missouri Extension Cooper County 510 Jackson Rd Ste A, Boonville, MO (660) ; lorenzt@missouri.edu HMMG Meeting March 20, 2018, at 6pm at the Boone County Extension Center Columbia MO Guest Speaker: Terryl Woods, Research Specialist MU, Research Management Practices for Monarchs and bees. Refreshments by Nancy Gay and another volunteer University of Missouri, Lincoln University, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Local University Extension Councils Cooperating University of Missouri Extension does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or status as a Vietnam-era veteran in employment or programs. Boone County Extension Center Office Hours are: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. Noon and 12:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners Helping Others Learn to Grow University of Missouri Extension Boone County 1012 North Highway UU Columbia, MO Report your Master Gardener hours ONLINE! Be sure to tag any volunteer hours at Jefferson Farm and Garden with the name or JF location so we can total accumulated volunteer hours there.