CMGA General Info

Christmas Amaryllis with Orchid to the right. Below Ruth Benson's holiday bears.
Photo by Loni Shapiro.

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

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.

                 Update on County Fair Entries - Carol Burris, Marjorie Withrow and Ron Hiebert
Carol, Marjorie and Ron gave an overview of the county fair and then gave more specifics about how to enter. They emphasized – JUST enter!  Do not worry about the exact flowers or vegetables – they know that you won’t know if your crookneck squash will be ready or presentable when you enter.  Entering will get your name in and the final selection will be whatever you bring on the receiving day. Don’t forget that for every 5 entries in a department, you can get a free admission to the fair.  The Fair Book contains all the entry information and is available at a number of different sites, including the Coconino County Extension office and online at http://www.coconino.az.gov/parks.aspx?id=480 . Briefly, choose what you want to enter, complete the entry form and get it in by the deadline. For horticulture and floriculture, the deadline for entering is August 10.  Carol and Marjorie gave tips on entering your flowers: cut flowers in the cool of the evening or in the early morning, cut more flowers than you plan to enter so you have options, cut the stems longer (you can always cut shorter as needed), and be sure to count stems!  At the Floriculture Building there will be preservation solution available. If you want to make your own, the recipe is: 50/50 lemon-lime soda and water.  Pay attention to the requirements – if the rules say three stems, it won’t matter how beautiful the bouquet is if there are more than three stems.  For vegetables, marketability is the prime consideration.  Look at how vegetables are displayed in the store.  Is it mature, are all of the items of similar size, correct color, right number, clean and without blemish? Pay attention to the rules – if the rules say 10 red cherry tomatoes on a stem, then that is what you provide.  Volunteering at the fair is a great way to get volunteer hours! Call 928-679-8000 or email cnemeth@coconino.az.gov if you are interested in volunteering – you get free admission to the fair!  You may also volunteer both before the fair and after: Aug. 25, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. is room and yard clean-up and Sept. 5 is room tear down starting at 4 p.m.  Help is also needed for receiving and judging.

8:15pm - 8:25pm                  Business Meeting – Debi Stalvey

Susan Lockwood described the need for sponsors for the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference, encouraged individual master gardeners to be a sponsor and asked if the Master Gardener Association wanted to be a sponsor.  Crys Wells moved that the Association review finances and make an appropriate sponsorship.  Ann Eagan seconded the motion and the membership voted to do so.  Individual master gardeners may sponsor at any level from $25 to $1,000 and up, or may also donate door prizes, if they wish.  Send sponsorships to Hattie Braun/AHGC, Coconino County Cooperative Extension, 2304 N. 3rd St., Flagstaff, AZ  86004.  Make checks payable to “The University of Arizona”.  Contributions are tax deductible. 

Financial report – Ed Skiba
The current balance in our account is 711.74. We need to make a 2nd payment on the calendars – approximately $400 with balance and shipping.

MG Program Happenings (Classes, Conference) – Hattie Braun/Ann Eagan

Hattie announced that she is looking for a location for the fall master gardener class.  NAU now charges for evening parking so she needs an alternative location.  Suggestions are welcome.  Suggestions made at the meeting include: Murdoch Center, St. Pius Church, FMC training room, fire stations.

Registration for the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference is now open. Brochures are available and registration forms are available on the website, http://extension.arizona.edu/events/ahgc-2012. Also, online registration and payment with a credit card is available as of Monday, July 16.
                 
Committee Reports:
                  Continuing Education 
Loni Shapiro announced upcoming presentations.  In August, Ann Eagan will present on season extenders and Linda Guarino will present on Plant Propagation and in October, Jan Busco will present “Growing Native Grasses”.  Loni also requested ideas for speakers for 2013, and is looking for someone to take over Educational Programming in 2013.                                   

                  Community Programs
                  Community Market – Julie Holmes
Hattie said that she will cover the July 25 community market gap. All other Wed. slots are covered.

                  Volunteer Support/Social – Hattie Braun
                  Volunteer/Education Hours – Crys Wells
Crys Wells reported master gardeners did 691.75 volunteer hours and 49.25 education hours. Please remember to record your hours!  Not only do you get credit, but it helps Hattie justify the existence of the program. You need to sign in online and at your station for their records.
                                                     
Next meeting: Aug. 9 – Season Extenders/Plant Propagation – Ann Eagan/Linda Guarino

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