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

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Biennial Garden Tour in Prescott

Press Release
Alta Vista Garden Club is presenting its biennial garden tour on Saturday, June 9th from 8:00AM to 4:00 PM. Ticket holders will enjoy creative blends of perennials, annuals, native plants and vegetables located in private gardens in Prescott's varied landscapes. The self-guided tour features:

10-acres of gardening delights including edible plants with numerous "garden rooms", a variety of flowers, shrubs and an apple orchard planted in a Belgian-style fence.

A four-season garden highlighted by an arbor, fountain, sculptures and antique benches creating a European ambiance.

Woodland wildlife and sloping terrain create ongoing challenges for our gardener who has fashioned a successful blend of perennials, annuals, vegetables and a water feature.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Advanced Entomology Class

Stacey Bealmear from Yuma County will be here on May 16 to teach an advanced entomology class to Master Gardeners on making an insect collection. The class will be from 8:00am-11:30am and the location is to be determined. If you are interested in taking the class, please let me know so I know how many microscopes we need to collect.

Hattie

Hattie Braun
University of Arizona
Master Gardener Program Coordinator
Coconino County Cooperative Extension
2304 N. 3rd St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86004

Phone: 928-774-1868 x 170
FAX: 928-774-1860

Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 4/12/12


Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 4/12/12
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
1601 N. San Francisco
6:30pm-6:40pm                  Welcome – Agenda Debi Stalvey
 Request 2 volunteers to be trained as AV assistants
Two members volunteered to be trained as AV assistants for master gardener meetings and other MG events (Jackie Clark will be the main AV Assist and Tess Wymore volunteered to be the back-up).
6:40pm-6:42pm                  Calendar Photos Request – Bea Cooley
Bea requested that people continue to send in photographs for the calendar. Submission guidelines are on the blog, coconinomgassociation.blogspot.com . Deadline for submission is May 1.
6:42pm-7:30pm                  Continuing Education
Riordan Mansion and Gardens – Gwen Growth /Charlotte Dodgson
Gwen Growth started the talk with a description of Riordan Mansion and the efforts by volunteers to keep the park in operation.  See the Power of Gardens article on the blog for an excellent description of the project to restore and improve the Riordan Mansion gardens.  Charlotte also showed a light catcher that she makes to sell at the Riordan Mansion gift shop as a fundraiser.
7:30pm-7:45pm                  Refreshments
Thank you to Christine Orr & Susan Thompson

Container Gardening Class


Container Gardening Class
Olivia White Hospice Gardens


When: Saturday, May 19, 2012 from 9am-12pm

What: Loni Shapiro’s 5th Annual Container Gardening Class will be held at the gardens of Olivia White Home this year. Loni will cover growing herbs, vegetables and flowers in containers. The first part of the class will be a lecture on tips for container gardens. The second part will be a practical experience in the Olivia White Gardens planting containers.

Where: Class will begin at the Northland Hospice offices at 452 N. Switzer Canyon Drive. By about 1030AM the class will head to the home at 752 N. Switzer Canyon Drive to begin planting.

Cost: $25.00 per person. Contact Loni Shapiro to reserve space 928-522-8635. Proceeds will benefit the gardens at Olivia White Home.
Bring a one gallon container (room for 2-3 herbs) to plant and take home.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Earth Day Weed Pull - Grand Canyon Trust

The Grand Canyon Trust has organized a weed pulls along Fort Valley Road for Saturdays April 21 (9am-1pm), May 5, and June 9. This Saturday we will be working at the Trust Homestead and also at the Pioneer Museum. We need your help to eradicate the Scotch thistle and the Diffuse knapweed that is already growing. One of the Scotch thistle rosettes is already at least a foot in diameter!! HELP.

Attached is the flyer. Hope to see you there.

Dorothy Lamm

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Master Gardener Meeting Agenda 4/12/12


Master Gardener Meeting Agenda 4/12/12
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
Request 2 volunteers to be trained as AV assistants
Introduction of speaker
6:40pm-6:42pm Calendar Photos Request – Bea Cooley
6:42pm-7:30pm Continuing Education
**Riordan Mansion and Gardens – Les Roe /Charlotte Dodgson
7:30pm-7:45pm Refreshments
Christine Orr & Susan Thompson
7:45pm - 8:30pm Business Meeting – Debi Stalvey
7:45pm – 8:05pm Overview of recent Executive Meeting – Debi Stalvey
Financial report – Ed Skiba & Debi Stalvey
Update on financials, taxes, memberships
KNAU Pledge Drive – Bea Cooley
Calendar – Bea Cooley
Snack Volunteers/Blog – Loni Shapiro
MG Program Happenings (Class, Conference) – Hattie Braun
8:05pm – 8:20pm Committee Reports:
Continuing Education (see below for details) – Loni Shapiro
New volunteer/educational opportunities on the blog
Community Programs
Home Show Report- Hattie Braun/Faith Brittain/Tess Wymore
Food Awareness Fair Report – Julie Holmes (Val Bryant, Sue Norris)
Community Market – Julie Holmes
Coordination of MG Projects – Linda Guarino
Volunteer Support/Social – Hattie Braun & Crys Wells
8:20pm – 8:30pm Gardening Questions?
Next meeting: 5/10/2012 Invasive Weeds - Scott Harger

Arboretum at Flagstaff Garden Workdays

Although we open for the season on May 3 this year, The Arboretum's horticulture staff could use some extra help this spring. Gardens Tuesdays are beginning next week on April 17 from 9 am- 12 pm. No need to sign up, just come on out and help prep the gardens for the new season!

Reminder: April 22 is our Earth Day Gardens Clean-Up from 9 am- 12 pm. Please sign up by RSVP'ing to Elizabeth since we will be providing lunch at noon for all participants. This all-hands-on-deck day will have staff, Americorps volunteers, and community members helping out!

Elizabeth Vogler

AZ Native Plant Society Monthly Talk/Walk

Tuesday evening talk on April 17, 2012 at 7:00 pm in Rom 328 of the NAU Biology Building
Mike Kearsley, Vegetation Mapping Coordinator for Grand Canyon National Park, has sampled and mapped over 200 plant communities across 1.4 million acres of diverse habitats from Lake Mead to the Kaibab Plateau since 2007. Mike will talk about the many significant range extensions and relocated species that his team has found for Grand Canyon and Arizona during their surveys over the past fifteen years.

Saturday morning field trip April 21, 2012.
Plant Walk at Homoloni State Park, Winslow, Susan Holiday, the volunteer botanist who is completing a floristic inventory of the park for Arizona State Parks, will be leading the walk. We will be looking at plants of the Navajoan Desert and nearby Little Colorado River. We will also be able to view the ruins and a graveyard dating from the early 1900's on site. A checklist will be available. Meet at the Arizona State Credit Union parking lot, southwest corner of Butler and Beaver at 8:30 am. Be prepared for all kinds of weather. It could be cold, windy, hot, etc. The weather at Homolovi is as fickle as the weather in Flagstaff. Come prepared with sun protection, water, food, and car or gas money for carpooling. The walk will be over at about 1:00 pm. There is a $7.00 charge per car.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Free Garden Lecture

I'm writing in hopes of spreading the word about our first free
lecture of the growing season at Native Plant & Seed. The subject this
week is Vermiculture: Composting with Red Wigglers at 10am on Saturday
morning 4/14. Our talks are very informal, and questions are welcomed
and encouraged. Talks usually last an hour or so.

Location: Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed Nursery, 400 E. Butler Ave.
Time: Sat 4/14 10am
Cost: Free

Thanks so much!
Jen

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Highlands Garden Conference Meeting

Please join us if you are interested in helping with the conference. E-mail me if you want to help but can’t attend the meeting.

Arizona Highlands Garden Conference 2012
Agenda 4/10/2012
Noon, Extension office conference room

Conference date and site: October 6, 2012, Du Bois Conference Center

1. Progress on conference speakers
2. Vendor report - Jim
3. Publicity report – Melissa
4. Fundraising - ?
5. Next steps

Conference Committees:
Audio-visual Coordinator – Hattie Braun
Barbeque Coordinator – member: Jean Brown
Chair – Ann Eagan
Co-Chair – Sherline Alexander
Conference Secretary – Jackie Clark
Conference Budget Chair – Hattie Braun
Conference Speaker Committee - Melissa Amberson, Jim Mast, Crys Wells, Ann Eagan and Jo-Anne Barcellano
Logistics Coordinator Chair – Ed Skiba, member: Sherline Alexander
Public Relations Coordinator – Mellissa Amberson
Registration Coordinator – Jackie Clark
Sponsorship Coordinator Chair - member: Crys Wells
Tour Committee Chair – member: Tess Wymore, Beth Dykstra
Vendor Coordinator Chair – Jim Mast, member: Julie Holmes

--
Ann Eagan
annmlsna@gmail.com