CMGA General Info

The San Francisco Peaks as seen from Timberline 5 miles northeast of Flagstaff.
Photo by Cindy Murray.

Welcome to the Coconino County Master Gardeners Association blog. The mission of the Master Gardener Program is to create a corps of well-informed volunteers, and to deliver quality horticultural education programs adapted to our regional high elevation environment. The purpose of the association is to provide support for those volunteers and Master Gardener graduates, continuing education, and opportunities to participate in community programs that increase the visibility and participation in the Master Gardener Program.
The Coconino Master Gardener Association (2009) began in 2009. This blog contains information on:
-How to become a member
-Volunteer and Education hours reporting
-Calendar of Events
-General gardening information articles
-Master Gardener Association Documents and forms
-References and Resources
-Interesting Websites and Blogs
-Old Gardening Etcetera columns
-Recipes
-Book Reviews
-How to contact Board or Committee Members
Meetings are held monthly on the 2nd Thursday from 600pm - 8;30pm. We meet at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church at 1601 N. San Francisco. This includes continuing education and a business meeting.

Reporting Master Gardener Hours

All master gardener trainees and certified master gardeners need to report their hours.
Beginning in 2010 certified master gardeners need to have 6 Education hours and 12 Volunteer hours in order to maintain certification.The on line reporting system allows you to report Education or Volunteer hours. You can sign in to record hours in the right hand column under Recording Volunteer and Education Hours. Just click on the U. of A.
If you have any questions or concerns about the new reporting system, please contact Brenda Smith (A - M) or Sue Madden (N - Z). Their contacts are listed at the bottom of the blog under
Contacts.



Ideas for hours------
--Attend monthly meetings
--Work on an association committee
--Work at an informational booth for the Master Gardeners
--Be a speaker about gardening topics at a variety of venues

--Host a garden tour
--Work at a fundraising event (Plant Sale - Garden Tour).
--Work at a MG site (Olivia White Hospice, the Arboretum, Riordan Mansion, or school gardens (many others)). Check out the Assoc. Doc. & Forms under Volunteer Sites.
--Work in the Extension office
--Write an article for the newspaper column -Gardening Etcetera
-Volunteer with the Seed Library
Be creative! There are many ways to fulfill your hours. Just remember for volunteering it needs to be a non-profit endeavor or an approved for profit site.

Change in Contact Information

Have you moved or changed your e-mail address, but would still like to be contacted about high elevation gardening information from the Extension? The Coconino County Extension Master Gardener Program has a site that will let you change your information on-line.

Click here to change your contact information!

Event Calendar

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Home & Garden Show Presentations

The presentations given at the Home & Garden Show are now available on the county extension website. To find them, go to:

http://extension.arizona.edu/coconino-master-gardener-2012-home-and-garden-show-powerpoints

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Free Mulch

The city yard at the corner of Elm and Bonito has a huge mountain of mulch. I believe the mulch put there is up for grabs. Thought people might want to know before it gets snowed on. We filled a lot of bins ourselves there today....

Thanks, Christine Orr

Monday, March 12, 2012

CMGA Monthly Meeting Minutes 3/8/12

Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 3/8/12
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
1601 N. San Francisco

6:30pm-6:40pm Welcome – Agenda Debi Stalvey
Brief review of agenda for the evening
Call for volunteers – Arboretum at Flagstaff/Elizabeth Vogler
Volunteer Orientation on 4/13 from 930am-1130am. The Arboretum will be open to the public this year from May 1-October 31 from Thurs.-Sunday. Volunteer opportunities are available in the Horticultural Center, Research, Gardens, or for special events. A one time clean-up day is available on April 22, Sunday, Earth Day. It is an all day event with the Arboretum providing lunch. Elizabeth left seed packets, brochures, event schedule for 2012, and a sign up sheet if you are interested in being put on the e-mail list.
Solicitation of 2012 memberships and new membership cards available. Memberships are $10 and you will receive discounts at 3 local nurseries. 42 memberships thus far.

Introduction of speaker
See article on speaker on the blog for background.

6:40pm-7:30pm Continuing Education
Gardening With Your Camera
Speaker: Tom Bean
Tom Bean showed many of his photos of local gardens including his home. He provided many tips for improving photographing your home garden. Most cameras will work if you know their features (read the manual). They don’t need to be fancy – most digital have enough options to take good photos. The most important thing to think about is lighting – time of day (Tom prefers early am or late in the afternoon). If the sun is too bright there are generally too many variables in light (shadows vs. bright light). Overcast skies usually make better photos. If you want blue skies you will need sunlight. Most cameras have an option for taking photos of individual flowers – it is a picture of a flower. Tom felt he had more luck with the general option and getting close enough to take a photo then using the telephoto lens to get closer. He showed several options of photos of the same flower or scene to show why one is better than the other. Sometimes you need to shade the bright light with a screen. Often for individual flowers you need to get closer to the ground so your background becomes less intense. Sometimes you need to use a flash in bright light to light up the shadows. Focus is important. Tom prefers off center and showed an example of that. Most cameras have the ability to move the focus from the center of the picture. Some new options available on some cameras include taking several photos (panorama) and then the camera puts them together for a panoramic shot. Secondly put your camera on a tripod and take three photos of the same scene with different light settings. The camera will combine them for the best picture.
Tom also stressed using photos of your garden to show seasonal growth, and as a record of progress – kind of like a journal of what happened. What worked and what didn’t. Photos can help you remember exactly what the garden looked like in different seasons.
Check out some of Tom’s photos of area gardens in our annual calendar. Get your great photos in to Bea Cooley for our 2013 Calendar Contest by May 1 (see below).

7:30pm-7:45pm Refreshments
Thank you to Andrea and Galen Guerrette

7:45pm - 8:30pm Business Meeting – Debi Stalvey

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Warner's Spring Seminars

2012 Events & Seminars at Warner’s

Looking for some education hours for your Master Gardener certification? check out the spring seminar schedule for Warner's.
Join the conversation on facebook: warners nursery & landscape co
1101 E. Butler Avenue ~ Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (928) 774-1983

Thursdays - 3/8-3/15/-3/22 4pm
Basics of Hydroponics: What is hydroponics? What can
I grow using this method, and how? This seminar is offered
three different times, to fit your busy schedule!

Saturday 3/10 10am
Start with the soil: Learn the importance of healthy soil,
what it will do for your plants, and how to get it.

Saturday 3/17 10am
Basics of Pruning: Now’s the time to do a little cutting to
ensure your plants are as attractive and healthy as they can be.
Learn what to prune & how.

Wednesday 3/21 6pm
Easy & Inexpensive Early Season Veggie Gardening:
Save money and grow healthy food for your family! We’ll show
you what to grow, and how!

Saturday 3/24 10am
Fruit Tree Pruning for the Home Orchardist:
Proper pruning is essential for fruit production and the health
of your tree. We’ll teach you easy techniques.

Wednesday 3/28 6pm
Fruit Tree Grafting: No kidding! Our grower has had
years of experience & training in grafting fruit trees, and he’s
going to share the secrets of the trade!

Saturday 3/31 10am
Pruning Evergreens: We’ll teach you the easy way to
create beautiful and healthy evergreen trees & shrubs!

Thursday 4/5 4pm
Composting & Garden Prep:
Healthy soil is the most important ingredient to healthy vegetables and gardens. We’ll show you how!

Saturday 4/7 10am-2pm
Easter Egg Hunt:
Our official kickoff of spring! Family fun, pony rides, petting
zoo, games and activities for all. Free admission; there is a fee
for some activities.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Lecture for 3/8/21 Monthly Meeting



On Thursday, March 8, the Coconino Master Gardener Association will hold it's monthly meeting and lecture at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 1601 N. San Francisco beginning at 630pm. The featured speaker will be Tom Bean.

Tom has been making his living as a freelance nature, and travel photographer, for 30 years, and has been based here in Flagstaff since 1982. His photos have appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide. Recently, his photos appeared in the December 2011 issue of Phoenix Home & Garden magazine, with a story about Flagstaff gardeners of Dorothy and Ken Lamm.

Tom studied wildlife biology at Iowa State University and first got interested in photography after graduation, while he was working as a seasonal ranger for the National Park Service in South Dakota. His first job as a professional photographer came in 1976 when he got a seasonal job taking photos for the Grand Canyon Natural History Association.

Tom has held the position of Assistant Gardener for the last 21 years, working under the guidance of Chief Gardener, Susan Lamb Bean, his wife. He specializes in moving rocks and digging holes, watering, and occasional consultations on garden design. In the past 3 years he was the photographer of the annual garden contest sponsored by the local chapter of the Arizona Native Plant Society.

Many of his photos grace the pages of our 2012 CMGA calendar. We still have a few left for sale at 1/2 price ($5). Come join us for the lecture and/or the meeting. The agenda for the meeting will appear on this site on Monday 3/5.

Loni Shapiro
Co-secretary
Coconino MGA

Sunday, March 4, 2012

33rd Annual Native Plant Workshop - Keep Sedona Beautiful

The first of two keynote speakers is world renowned presenter Brad Lancaster of Tucson speaking on Planting the Rain: Principles, Practices, and tips for Water-Harvesting Earthworks and Raingardens. Brad will also be selling and autographing several of his books. The final speaker is Grand Canyon horticulturist Jan Busco helping participants with the topic of Getting the Best from Your Native Plants! Jan will be selling copies of "Native Plants for High-Elevation Western Gardens" by Janice Busco and Nancy Morin.

This year the event is offering a total of eight workshops; participants are to choose two from one of two presenters.

Advance tickets are $20 for KSB members, $30 for the general public; an additional $10 at the door. Included in the admission are breakfast savories donated by Wildflower Bread Company, coffee and tea, two keynote speakers, choice of two workshops from the eight offered, bagged lunch donated by Weber's IGA, and the silent auction.

Silent Auction: Keep checking here for the over fifty items that will be available; they range from dinners for two and brunches for four to fitness classes to jeep tours to decorative items for the home and garden. There is something for everyone!

Jay's Bird Barn and Verde River Growers will again have tables with an assortment of items for sale and there will be a display table with various free handouts available. Sedona Recycles will have stations set up and literature to inform and promote good recycling practices. In the interest of conservation, please feel free to bring your own coffee mugs or water bottles. In addition to the drinking fountains at the school, Kinetico Water Systems is supplying three water coolers. Parking is limited, so the NPW encourages you to walk, bike or carpool.

Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc., acting through the stewardship of its members and volunteers, is committed to protect and sustain the unique scenic beauty and natural environment of the Greater Sedona area.