2017 Officers: Carol Ziehmke, President Jean Damm, V.P. Kelly Tomko, Secretary Jane Considine, Treasurer Lori Nadolski, Reporter Master Gardener News May 2017 In This Newsletter CCMGV 2017 Activities 1 President s Message 2 MGV Volunteer Opportunity 2 Micro-Garden Program 3 Lets Get Green & Growing 4 Fair Booth Sign-Up 5 Meeting Minutes 6-7 Book Review 8-9 Jumping Worms 10-11 May always starts out with a few activities and accelerates as the month goes on. My calendar is looking very full. It is always a trick to balance the love of gardening and the work that it entails. The community knows that we exist and we have more requests than is possible to fulfill. Master Gardener Volunteers are doing many different projects throughout the county. I would like to see more photos of the gardening projects that you are working on. We have garden members who are doing great projects and the club members have no idea. The photos can be posted on our facebook page and in our monthly newsletter. Facebook is good way to get to know fellow gardeners better and at creating community with all our different individual members. Our next program will be on GMOs. This is a term that is thrown around a lot but most of us do not have scientific knowledge about what it really means. So time to get educated! Friends are always welcome at our programs. Hope to see you at the meeting. Carol Community Volunteer Opportunity.making a difference! Jennifer Blau is the new director of the Historic Indian Agency House in Portage. She has great ideas and could use some Master Gardener Volunteer skills to put her ideas to reality in creating a vegetable garden and other gardening projects. If you are looking for volunteer hours please let her know you are interested by emailing: jenablau@hotmail.com Page Page 2
MICRO GARDEN PROGRAM The 9th Annual Let s Get Green and Growing event was held on April 1st at Pardeeville Elementary Micro-Garden Rio High School. This year s event was a great success, with over 200 people registered. Rebecca Chapman s Kindergarten Class welcomed the Master Gardener Volunteers to help teach the kids about gardening Page 3 Page 4
Columbia County Master Gardener Volunteers 2017 Columbia County Fair Booth Sign-up Tuesday, July 25 6:30 pm Booth set up in the flower building and in the Bidwell Building. Select MGV Youth Awards. All members are invited to help set up and to help select the awards. This is instead of our monthly meeting time! 1. 3. 2. 4. Wed, July 26 1. 3. 2. 4. 1:00 pm MGV Open Class Choice Award Selection 1-2 members are needed to staff the booth in the Bidwell Building during open hours 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. We will be selling garden items, sharing information, and answering questions. Wed, July 26 5-7 PM 1. 2. 3. 7-10 PM 1. 2. 3. Thur, July 27 4-7 PM 1. 2. 7-10 PM 1. 2. Fri, July 28 4-7 PM 1. 2. 7-10 PM 1. 2. Sat, July 29 4-7 PM 1. 2. 7-10 PM 1. 2. Sun, July 30 4:00 PM Assist 1-4 PM shift with tear down and pack up display 1. 2. Page 5 Columbia County Master Gardner Volunteers April 25, 2017 - Meeting Minutes - 6:30pm Public Events Building, Arlington ARS Introductions took place while we feasted on a collaborative pot luck dinner. Carol called to order at 6:44 pm Secretary s Report: No additions or corrections to the previous meeting minutes. Treasurer s Report: Financial results of LGGG were: Income: $2708, Expenses: $1871, Net Profit: $837 Old Business: Executive board officers met and discussed survey results, procedures for more efficient meetings, new projector policy options. LGGG update (Ardyce/Becky): Evaluations were compiled and nicely organized. Many good suggestions and compliments. The hands on workshops were well attended and popular. Many attendees commented that they appreciate the networking aspect of the event, the low cost and high value was a popular aspect. A very successful event with the efforts of the experienced leadership and awesome volunteers. A big thank you to all who participated. Calendar of Events June field trip: Pardeeville Garden Club invited CCMG s to the June 19th. trip to Janesville, K&W Greenery & Rotary Gardens. $45 for transportation, lunch and admission. June 5th, is the sign up deadline. Contact Lila for more information. New LCD Projector is available to CCMG s for educational or other MG activities. A motion was made and approved to make it available for CCMG s at no cost. Food Security Project (Sue & Becky): CCMG s to participate by providing youth garden lessons at the Portage Library during the summer lunch program, 11:30 am on Tuesdays, June 13 Au- Page 6
minutes continued. gust except 7/4. A list of possible topics were provided. Two MGV s are needed for each lesson. Looking for volunteers to develop and teach. Sue and Becky will assist with planning and prep as needed. Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned from 60 Years of Gardening A Book Review, by Lila Waldman Family Garden Day, May 6, 10-11 am, looking for volunteers to help teach, plant micro farm, raised beds and make paper pots. 4-H Family Fair Planter Project at Link s Nursery on May 9th, 6PM Leah & Becky New Business: Columbia County Fair Booth $207.00 rental, July 25-30. Theme: Sow it, Grow it, Show it. Committee: Carol, Jean, Bill, Leah. Tomato Project: Not doing; too late to start plants, low interest. Jennifer Blau, Indian Agency garden is looking for help with a vegetable garden of that era. More info will be posted on the server list. Dells Farmer market would like a CCMG to man a table to answer questions, Sunday mornings. Museum At The Portage: Mulch project, Monday, May 01, 2017. Friends of Lodi Library are putting on a Garden Expo at Lodi Elementary School, May 20, 2017, 9 AM to 4 PM. Portage Community Garden Meeting One plot still available. May meeting: May 23, 2017, George Koepp is presenting on GMO 101. Meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM Program: Brian Hudleson presented an engaging talk with a great handout on Diseases in the Vegetable and Herbaceous Ornamental Garden. His extensive knowledge coupled with his captivating delivery was greatly appreciated. Thank you to all who attended and shared. Prior to his presentation at the Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association conference in Wisconsin Dells last fall, Jerry Apps was signing and selling his books which are published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Because Dr. Apps was one of my professors at the University of Wisconsin when I was working on my masters degree, my husband and I have a small collection of his books. So, I added to my collection by purchasing and asking him to autograph Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned from 60 Years of Gardening (2011). After the first three chapters, where Jerry describes his background with gardening and why it is still such an important part of his life, the book can easily be divided into two parts, (1) Planning and Planting the Garden and (2) Enjoying the Harvest. Delightful photos taken by son Steve Apps add to the book s appeal. The nine chapters in the Planning and Planting section were an excellent review of our Master Gardener training classes, with some personal advice based on Jerry s own experiences. Advice is offered on selecting seeds varieties, selecting the appropriate garden location, planning the garden, planting, and battling weeds, insects, and critters. Jerry Apps is known for stories from his childhood and down-to-earth advice for good living. This book is no exception. In addition, he included panels Page 7 Page 8
Garden Wisdom, continued... with a few history lessons, such as Wartime Gardens and Thomas Jefferson s Kitchen Garden. The last section of the book, Enjoying the Harvest, includes chapters grouping produce by time of harvest, early spring, peak season, late summer, and fall, with a brief (only three pages) final chapter on preservation and storage. For each type of produce, Jerry includes his family s personal experience and preferences and favorite family recipes from Ruth Apps, his wife. I found the brief history about where the plants originated and how and when they eventually arrived in the United States to be most interesting. He, of course, includes the common fruits and vegetables that most people grow in their own gardens, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, green beans, and strawberries. But I was pleased to learn about the less common varieties such as sorghum, kohlrabi, navy beans, horseradish, and popcorn. Although there are more detailed, scientific books on gardening and food preparation and preservation available, this small (203 pages, including index and recipes) book is a delightful change of pace and an easy read. Columbia County Master Gardener Volunteers Meeting Agenda May 23rd Wisconsin River Room, Annex Bldg. Call the Meeting to Order (Carol) Secretary s Report (Kelly) Treasurer s Report (Jane) Introductions Old Business Pardeeville Garden Club Field Trip June 19 (Lila) Food Security Project Garden Lessons at the Portage Library (Sue and Becky) Vegetable Garden and Heritage Apple Trees Project at Indian Agency House WI Dells Farmers Market County Fair Committee Report Other Ongoing Projects? New Business Gardens at the New County Administration Building (Mary Jo) June 27th Meeting and Program Other Adjournment Program GMO 101 and MGV s by George Koepp: A review of genetics, conventional breeding v.s. gene selection, how GMO s are made, to fear or not to fear and understanding the science to make informed decisions. Page 9 Page 10
Master Gardener News 120 W Conant Street, Suite 201 Portage, WI 53901 Phone: 608-742-9680 Fax: 608-742-9862 711 for Wisconsin Relay An EEO/Affirmative Action employer, University of Wisconsin-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements. Please make requests for reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to educational programs as early as possible preceding the scheduled program, service or activity. Best Management Practices. Arrive clean, leave clean. Clean soil and debris from vehicles, equipment, gardening tools and personal gear before moving to and from a work or recreational area. Watch for jumping worms and signs of their presence. If you find them, report them to the DNR by email at invasive.species@wi.gov. Educate yourself and others to recognize jumping worms. Only use, sell, plant, purchase or trade landscape and gardening materials and plants that appear to be free of jumping worms. Only sell, purchase or trade compost that was heated to appropriate temperatures and duration following protocols for reduction in pathogens (see Wis. Admin. Code Ch. NR 502.12). Page 11 Page 12