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

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Invasive Weed Workshop

The first Invasive Weed Workshop following the Schultz Fire is happening on July 28th, at 9am, at Summit Fire Station 33.
Click on flyer for the details.

Hattie Braun

Friday, July 27, 2012

2012 Native Plant Garden Showcase & Tour


Greetings, All, 
Plans are finalized for the 2012 Garden Showcase and Public Tour.  This is the 6th year that the AZNPS has organized this very popular city-wide event and fundraiser. 
Public tours for this event are on July 29th from 11am-4pm.  Maps are available from all of our sponsors and at the Downtown Farmer's Market for $5 each. 

The Committee
Susan Lamb Bean
Janice Busco
Dorothy Lamm
Lori Makarick
Mea Stees

Monday, July 23, 2012

Non-credit Native Plant Society Workshops at CCC

This summer there will be two Native Plants of Northern Arizona workshops in Flagstaff. PAPAZ graduates, you probably know much of the botanical information already, or you may want a review. Otherwise, please tell your friends about it, and share the attached flyer. Thanks. On June 11-13 and/or August 6-8, the AZ Native Plant Society will offer two non-credit native plant workshops. Each will include information on identifying native plants and invasive weeds, controlling weeds, and landscaping with native plants. We will be making field trips to practice identifying plants and to visit local gardens. Classes will be at the Lone Tree Campus of the Coconino Community College. Register online, at either CCC campus, or by calling 928-526-7654. The fee is $95.00, and the class is limited to 10 students. Questions may be directed to the instructor, Susan Holiday, prior to registration by calling 928-526-9212 or emailing naris123@cs.com Students will need the following items for class: lunch, snacks, water, hat, sunscreen, appropriate footwear, rain jacket, and field identification guide. Plants of Arizona (First or new Second edition) by Anne Orth Epple or the Peterson Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers are recommended. A digital camera is optional. Hattie Braun Susan Holiday Dorothy Lamm Ana Novak

June Class photo taken at Dorothy Lamms by Ken Lamm
I took the first class and it was a good experience. It was a nice combination of classroom and field work identifying local native plants and invasive weeds. We were able to put together a great resource book that included plant specimens for later use and other resources (PowerPoints, books, pamphlets) for teaching info to groups that might be interested. Opening are still available for the August class.

Loni Shapiro

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 7/12/2012


Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 7/12/2012
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
1601 N. San Francisco

6:30pm-6:35pm                  Welcome – Agenda - Debi Stalvey

                  Request for volunteers for September picnic planning

Tess Wymore, Willa McAuliffe, her friend, Marianne, and Crys Wells volunteered to help Hattie plan the September 9 Recognition Picnic.

6:45pm-8pm                  Continuing Education
                                                     
What to do With the Harvest – Michele Lytle (MG and personal chef)
Michele Lytle and her husband, John Mead, created several dishes from locally available vegetables and demonstrated one recipe.  Michele demonstrated making a simple and tasty spaghetti squash dish and shared samples with the audience.  While making the recipe, she talked about different ways to use spaghetti squash or other kinds of squash.  She also shared samples of arugula walnut pesto, roasted beets and a cool cucumber soup (courtesy of John).  They were all delicious!  Her main theme was that you can be creative with unfamiliar vegetables.  All of the recipes are available on the blog, right column under Recipes.

Scotch Thistle Redux


Fellow Thistle Thackers:
 
We are revisiting the thistle area that we did last Saturday to try and knock off the one's we did not get. (The area south of the parking area on the Humane Shelter road).
We're doing a 7:30 - 9:30am window of digging this friday (July 20th). People can come whenever works out best, but we're hoping for participants to put in at least an hour.
 
We're hoping to get 6-8 people there. Can you join us? Please let me know if you'll be attending or not attending. We're trying to get a count of who will be there. If you can join us and you get there after 7:30am, just head south from the parking area until you see the group.
 
Thanks.
 
Steve McKella

Documents from Container Gardening Class

Last Tuesday, I did a lecture for the Flagstaff Community Agricultural Project on Container Gardening. You will find the handouts linked below.

Tips on Container Gardening Outline
Container Depths for Vegetables
Best Vegetables for Containers in Flagstaff
Companion Plants and Edible Flowers

Loni Shapiro
(cnslds@q.com)

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Workshop for Homeowners

News from the extension - Hattie Braun
Erik Glenn, Area Assistant Agent, Community Resource Development, is hosting a workshop for landowners in Flagstaff at the end of the month.  See the attached flier for more details.  

Monday, July 9, 2012


Master Gardener Meeting Agenda 7/12/2012
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
1601 N. San Francisco
6:30pm-6:35pm     Welcome – Agenda - Debi Stalvey
                               Brief review of agenda for the evening
                               Request for volunteers for September picnic planning
6:35pm-6:45pm     Introduction of speakers - Debi Stalvey
6:45pm-8pm          Continuing Education
**What to do With the Harvest – Michele Lytle (MG and caterer) (~ 45 min.) and
     Update on County Fair Entries - Carol Burris and Ron Hiebert (~30 min.)                 
8pm-8:15pm          Refreshments – Ann Eagan
8:15pm - 8:25pm   Business Meeting – Debi Stalvey
                  Overview of recent Executive Meeting – Debi Stalvey
                  Financial report – Ed Skiba
                  MG Program Happenings (Classes, Conference) – Hattie Braun/Ann Eagan                                 
                  Committee Reports:
                              Continuing Education – Loni Shapiro
                              Community Programs
                              Community Market – Julie Holmes
We are still in need of one more person for August 8, and Sept.5. The markets are held at St. Pius Church, on 4th St. from 4-7pm. If you can help contact Julie Holmes at jeholmesaz@npgcable.com.
                              Volunteer Support/Social – Hattie Braun
                              Volunteer/Education Hours – Crys Wells
 691.75 volunteer hours, 49.25 education hours
                                                                       
   8:25pm – 8:30pm                  Gardening Questions?
** Even though great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of any material and information presented at our meetings, the CMGA does not give any warranty or other assurance as to the content, accuracy, completeness, timelessness, or fitness for any particular purpose. General guidelines for speakers can be found on our blog under documents and forms.