Patty Martin, From Green Oasis Gardens, To Speak At The ECAMGA At April 14 th Meeting

Transcription

1 April 2015 / February 2008! THANKS!!! Thank you to all the Master Gardener volunteers who helped make the Make and Take Wind chimes Workshop a success. The attendees had a great time and their wind chimes were all uniquely different. Beautiful color combinations made each one show the individual talents of their creators. Also, a special thanks to Nancy Spak who donated her time and talent to the event. Photo by Jo-Ann Clark Patty Martin, From Green Oasis Gardens, To Speak At The ECAMGA At April 14 th Meeting On Tuesday, April 14 th, at 6:30 p.m. at the UW-Eau Claire Extension Office in Altoona, Patty Marten, from Green Oasis Gardens will be on hand for a presentation on new annual and perennial varieties. Shrub and tree cultivars will be included in the discussion. This event was previously to have been held on April 21 st but due to a conflict with another event it was rescheduled to the 14 th of April. This program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served and door prizes awarded. Come and bring a friend along to enjoy the presentation. To obtain maximum attention, Pictures by Cindy Ferver. it s hard to beat a good, big mistake. - David D. Continued Hewitt pg. 7 INSIDE: Local Master Gardener News - 2 Upcoming Events 3 Bits and Pieces - 8

2 Page 2 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener New April 2015 Local Master Gardener News Changing ? Moving? If you do, please remember to notify the ECAMG and the newsletter editor of your new address and/or mailing address so you don t miss any Eau Claire Area Master Gardener happenings! your new Information to Carol Cox at c7w6c2200@charter.net or notify her by snail mail at 1908 Hogeboom Ave., Eau Claire, WI (or call her at ). ECAMGA Board ECAMGA BOARD MEMBER CONTACT INFO NAME/TITLE address Phone number Erin LaFaive Erin.lafaive@ces.uwex.edu Cindy Ferver cferver@charter.net Gary Mathis Garym5811@live.com Ede Strand edestrand@aol.com Amy Boetcher myamybird@aol.com Deb Spickler Nancy Spak nancyspak@gmail.com MGV Bulletin Board Postings Stories and Opportunities!!!! Bulletin Board Postings Nina Logan ninalogan@centurylink.net Lori Kempen lorikempen@charter.net NOTE: The ECAMGA Board minutes no longer appears in the newsletter. You may access them by going to the website at eauclairemastergardeners.weebly.com Hello, Two volunteer opportunities below. #1 The date for the L.E. Phillips Public Library Seed Library Open House is slated for April 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. -They need help repackage seeds for distribution. -They have 3 options for this activity and will one date based on availability of volunteers: * Saturday, April 11, 10:30 a.m. * Saturday, April 11, 2:30 p.m. * Sunday, April 12, 1:30 p.m. Depending on the number of volunteers, it will take between 1 to 2 hours. Supplies and refreshments will be provided. #2 Set up a display to promote MGVs/UW-Extension on April 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. I can provide the display but just need a volunteer to pick it up from the office, set the display up at the library, and stay to answer questions (if possible). Let me know if you are interested. Thank you, Erin Erin LaFaive, M.S. Horticulture Educator & Co-Dept. Head Eau Claire County UW Extension 227 First St. W. Altoona, WI For more volunteer opportunities see pages 6 and 7. ECAMGA 2015 Calendar All meetings at UW-Extension Office unless otherwise noted April 4, 2014 Native Plants and Wisconsin Wetlands presentation at L.E. Phillips Library. See page 3 for details. April 14, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. Patty Marten (Green Oasis Gardens) - Introducing New Annuals, Perennials, Trees and Shrubs for May 19, 2015: Carrine Baldwin from MoonRise Farm near Nelson, Wisconsin will be doing a presentation on Community Supported Agriculture. June 2015: Tour of Mondovi area gardens and a Healing Garden. Details TBA. July 2015 TBA July 31 August 1, 2015 WIMGA Annual Conference, La Crosse, WI August 2015 Annual Plant Sale at the Expo Center September 2015 TBA September 30, 2015 Volunteer hours due in October & November 2015 TBA December 2015 Annual Potluck and Election of Officers

3 Page 3 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener News April 2015 Upcoming Events

4 Page 4 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener News April 2015 Comments Open on Stinger Use on Strawberries CSA? What s That?? MADISON Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Public comments are open through March 30 on a proposed special pesticide registration that would allow strawberry growers to use Stinger to control weeds. The registration would help strawberry growers control broadleaf weeds, especially dandelion, Canada thistle, bull thistle, and perennial clovers. These weeds have become a problem in Wisconsin strawberry production in recent years. They compete with strawberries for nutrients, water and light. In addition, thistles create uncomfortable picking conditions, especially at pick-your-own operations, and may present a human health liability for growers. Therefore, it is important for growers to eliminate these weeds before harvest begins, but no other pesticides exist that can be used pre-harvest. Dow AgroSciences LLC is the manufacturer, and the active ingredient is clopyralid. Stinger is registered for use on other crops, tree plantations, pastures, fallow cropland and some non-crop areas, and for special use on cranberries. Its use on strawberries has been allowed previously under two successive five-year permits. The most recent one expired Dec. 31, The department has not received any reports of adverse effects from the previous special registrations. The preliminary environmental assessment indicates that the proposed registration will not require a full environmental assessment. This special registration will expire December 31, For more information or to comment contact: Donna Gilson, by phone at , or by at: donna.gilson@wi.gov or contact Jim Dick, Communications Director, (phone) , or at: jim.dick@wi.gov What is CSA you may ask? Well, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. On Tuesday, May 19 th, Carrine Baldwin from MoonRise Farm near Nelson, Wisconsin will be presenting on this exciting venture in our area. She will discuss the advantages of knowing where and how your fresh food is grown. This program, starting at 6:30 p.m., will be held at the Eau Claire UW-Extension Office in Altoona. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served and door prizes awarded. Grab a couple gardening friends and come on over! On Sunday, March 22, 2015 the ECAMGA members were invited by the Northern Wisconsin Hosta Society to a presentation by Chris Cole of the DNR. He spoke about Wildlife Management and brought along an owl, a red-tailed hawk and a snake. His presentation was excellent and enjoyed by all those present. The event was held at May s Greenhouse.

5 Page 5 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener News April 2015 How to Enter Flowers, Houseplants & Floral Design at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair Horticulture and Floral Design Department Superintendent Kerry Ingraham along with Muriel Shervey will present information about registering and preparing horticulture entries for the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. Learn how to follow the entry schedule, select and prepare plant material, interpret a floral design theme along with tips on floral design techniques. The presentation will be Monday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Chippewa County Courthouse, Room 003, 711 North Bridge St., Chippewa Falls. The Northern Wisconsin State Fair will run from July 8 th 12 th. The deadline for entries is June 17 th for mailed entries and June 22 nd for online entries. Fair schedules and department entry information will be available online after April 6 th. For more information about the Fair, please see their web site at Hosted by the Chippewa Valley Master Gardener Association. If you have any questions regarding this program, please call Kerry Ingraham at Chippewa Valley Growers is inviting members and friends of the Eau Claire Garden Club and the Eau Claire Area Master Gardeners to a 2015 New Variety Plant Preview. Tuesday, April 21, :00-7:00 PM (Rain or shine!) This is a special evening to receive a personal tour of the greenhouse and learn about 12 new perennials and 12 new annuals for the 2015 season! Purchases will be allowed that evening. All those attending will receive a coupon for $10.00 off a $50.00 purchase. (Coupons will be good for that evening or a later date.) Don t Forget!!! The ART IN BLOOM BUS TOUR MAY 1, 2015 The Eau Claire Garden Club (ECGC) is sponsoring a bus trip to the 32 nd annual ART IN BLOOM at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), Como Park Conservatory, and Bachman s Greenhouse. Cost: $35 (includes coach bus, driver tip, and miscellaneous lunch on your own at MIA s AGRA Culture dining area). Make checks payable to Sharon Daniels and send to th Ave., Eau Claire, WI For more information see the March issue of the ECAMGA Newsletter (page 5) or contact Sharon Daniels a or by at davesgraced1@charter.net. Chippewa Valley Growers 7825 Prill Road, Eau Claire

6 Page 6 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener News April 2015 Plant Sale Donations Needed! by Erin LaFaive I think this is the easiest way to get Master Gardener Volunteer hours. Here s why: - Can be completed on your own schedule - Right in your own yard no travel The annual plant sale is in August. The Eau Claire Area Master Gardener Association (ECAMGA) plant sale is later in the year because many area plant sales happen in the spring and early summer. We think it s considerate to wait on our plant sale so those organizations have a large audience of buyers for their fund raising purposes. What kind of plants should I donate? - Gracious volunteer plants. - Dig up those small volunteer plants that pop up throughout the garden and give them a new home in a container. - It has to go plants. - This is the type of plant that is no longer welcome in the landscape for a variety of reasons. - Downsizing Plants. - These plants are lovely but your back can t handle caring for them anymore. Because of time or energy constraints sometimes a plant in the garden just has to find a new home. - I have to share it! - This is plant is especially super fantastic and you can t wait to shout it out at the rooftop!!! If it needs dividing or has baby plants consider sharing it at the plant sale. What do buyers like to buy? I ve noticed that buyers are looking for native plants (prairie), herbs, and roses. Some buyers are looking for inexpensive ways to fill in large areas especially ground cover for hillside stability. What happens to the plants that aren t bought? As the plant sale winds down discounts start happening such as buy 2 get 2 free. The last hour of the sale we ve done carload sales if large amounts of plants are left. Most everything finds a home or goes to a local public garden project. How do I log my volunteer time? Guesstimate the time it takes to dig, repot, label, water, and anything else you do to care for the plants. Include the time it took to transport the plants to the sale. Labeling plants is a HUGE draw to buyers. Not just the name but the color of a flower, sun requirements, pruning needs, size, etc. take a picture or find one on the internet, print it, and add it to the pot at the sale. All that time making a nice label adds to the volunteer time too. Beaver Creek Reserve S1 County Road K, Fall Creek, WI bcr@beavercreekreserve.org Phone: Getting to Know Mosses April 26, 2015 from 2 until 4 pm at the Citizen Science Center Wisconsin is loaded with different kinds of moss and here's our chance to learn about them. UW-EC Professor, Dr. Joseph Rohrer, has spent years studying moss and he will describe what makes mosses different from other plants, how they reproduce and spread, where they grow, their value in the world, and how to identify common species. The workshop will include an indoor classroom period, followed by a trip outdoors to observe and identify local mosses around the Reserve. Register early, as there will be space for only 16 attendees, allowing Dr. Rohrer time to help each participant with moss identification. The workshop will be based largely on the recently published field guide, Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians, which is for sale in the BCR Nature Center. Copies will be available for participant use. Registration and full payment required by April 22. Cost: $5 for Friend; $8 for Nonmembers 11 spots available.

7 Page 7 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener April 2015 Hello Volunteers, I m looking for people to be on the Teaching Garden Planning Committee. Let me know if you are interested or have questions. The Teaching Garden is going to go in the area around the building by the Extension office. All shrubs will be removed to make way for raised beds. The goal is to create a learning site for horticulture education programs that incorporate cultural and education experiences for visitor of all ages. The focus is to show case various ways to make raised gardens for mainly edible plants. We ll also showcase pollinator, native, and agricultural plants. I ve already made some headway by: -Writing 2 grants for funding (still waiting on decisions) -Funds donated by Eau Claire Area MG Association to get started -CVTC horticulture class made several raised garden bed options including dimensions and pricing. -I started a layout in a program called SmartDraw -The Grounds Dept. with Eau Claire County gave approval to start the process. Help is needed to find donations for materials; refine the layout plans, and create the beds during construction day. Here s a list of items that will be incorporated into the plan. -Signage -3 sisters garden -agricultural plants - soil sampling area -veggies - herbs -vertical gardening -square foot gardening -lasagna garden -edible shrubs -edible flowers -beds made from logs, bricks, cider blocks, cedar, treated lumber, feed tanks -compost bins Thank you for considering helping with this project, Erin LaFaive, M.S. Horticulture Educator & Co-Dept. Head Eau Claire County UW Extension ASK A MASTER GARDENER BOOTH by Andy Heren The Ask a Master Gardener Booth will start Saturday, May 23, (8:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m./12:00 p.m. - depends how busy we are). We will be at the Farmers Market at Phoenix Park each Saturday until Labor Day (except for July 31 and August 1 when we will be at the County Fair). We are excited about making some changes this year. Last year we started making our booth more interactive. We would bring in odd plants to spark discussion and also gave a piece of candy if a question was asked. After Farm City Days, we got some new ideas. Besides answering questions, we want an activity/game for people to take part in, especially kids. That is in the works and we are hoping it will make people even more aware of our presence in the community. Also, through a WIMGA grant, we will be able to buy a laptop to use in answering questions. I recently spoke to Earthbound Environmental Solutions. There will be a delayed Earth Day celebration ( Jam It For The Planet ) they are hosting at The Plus (formerly Pizza Plus) on Saturday, April 25. They will have local musicians as well as local businesses and other groups with displays from noon until 5:00 p.m. We will have our booth there, as it is the perfect time of year to answer any garden questions. If you are interested in volunteering, let me know (you get free admission). As always, we are looking for people to volunteer at our booth on Saturdays. If you have helped in the past I will keep you on the list. If you would like to be added, let me know. No one is ever put on the spot. If you are apprehensive about this, just come and hang out with us and see what goes on. You can contact me, Andy Heren, at Rcktnut007@aol.com to be put on the schedule or if you have questions.

8 Page 8 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener April 2015 Bits and Pieces INCREASING IMPACT by Erin LaFaive Over the last few years, the Wisconsin Master Gardener Volunteer Program has been looking to focus volunteerism toward activities which demonstrate an increased level of educational outreach and additionally, reduce high labor volunteer activities. This focus will better align with the MGV program mission of assisting Extension faculty in achieving program goals. The Eau Claire County UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program and the Eau Claire Area Master Gardener Association have been supporting this process by approving projects that support the missions. Another reason to move to approved volunteer projects is for liability concerns. UW-Extension (UWEX) needs to know where volunteers are representing UWEX. It s very important to know what the impact of our volunteer program is having in the community and if they re benefiting UWEX programming and the UWEX mission. It s my hope that having volunteers working on a more focused list of volunteer programs will equal greater impacts in the community. At this time we are not accepting recertification hours that are completed as a board member for other organizations besides the Eau Claire Area Master Gardener Association (ECAMGA). We certainly think these service hours benefit the community and we aren t discouraging anyone from continuing those services. What if my current volunteer project isn t on the list? Please contact me if you feel your current volunteer project isn t on the list. It s possible that we just need to add an educational component; many volunteers have done so already. Approved volunteer projects for the Eau Claire County UWEX, Master Gardener Volunteer Program: Answer horticulture questions at the UW-Extension Office Youth Gardens at North River Front, McDonough, and Bolton Transitional Apartments Session Street Assisted Living Garden Community Gardens such as: Jeffers Road Rental Gardens; Forest Street Community Gardens; Stepping Stones Garden in Menomonie Ask-A-Master-Gardener-Booth Writing articles for the ECAMGA newsletter ECAMGA Board, Committees, Winter Garden Seminar, Plant Sale Wisconsin Master Gardener Association Board Schlegelmilch Garden Beaver Creek Reserve Lower Long Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District Giving presentations Working with school gardens or other environmental education programs Eau Claire EcoTeams Giving garden tours that have an educational component 4-H educational programs focusing on horticulture and natural resource sciences

9 Page 9 Eau Claire Area Master Gardener Newsletter April 2015 Love and a Lady Fox Update by the Foxy Lady Well, our lady has been busy this week. The dirt has been flying as she rehabs 3 dens around the place. Dad Fox came by once and watched her efforts, then lost interest and left. I m looking forward to seeing little foxes around the place, but now am beginning to have a few misgivings about the safety of my cat with a hungry mom fox living so close to the house. (Editor s Note: If you missed the first installment see page 5 of the February, 2015 issue of the ECAMG Newsletter.) EAU CLAIRE AREA MASTER GARDENER NEWSLETTER A newsletter for the Eau Claire Area Master Gardener Association members. Unless otherwise noted, articles for this newsletter are submitted and/or written by ECAMGA members or the newsletter editor, Carol W. Cox. Unless otherwise noted, graphics are from clipart. Newsletter layout by Carol W. Cox For more Eau Claire County UW Cooperative Extension information go to our website: Phone: Fax: M-F 8AM-5PM The University of Wisconsin Extension provides affirmative action and equal opportunity in education, programming and employment for all qualified persons regardless of race, color, gender/sex, creed, disability, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or parental, arrest or conviction record or veteran status. If you need an interpreter, materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access this program, activity or service, please contact Erin LaFaive at as soon as possible preceding the scheduled event so that proper arrangements can be made in a timely fashion Eau Claire County Extension Office 227 First Street West Altoona, WI 54720