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

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 1/10/2013


Master Gardener Meeting Minutes 1/10/2013
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
1601 N. San Francisco

President Debi Stalvey recognized and presented gifts to Ed Skiba, Jim Mast and Loni Shapiro for their many contributions to the Master Gardener Association.

Debi also reminded everyone that 2013 membership dues are $10. Linda Guarino began accepting dues immediately.

Hattie Braun announced that over 30 new master gardeners earned their certification.  She was able to hand out several badges at the meeting.

Continuing Education
Paul Gazda, Maintaining Landscapes without Herbicides

Paul Gazda works at Northern Arizona University, is the leader of the Sustainable Landscape Maintenance project at NAU, and is the founder of HOPE (Healthy Outdoor Public Environments).  HOPE is an organization that advocates for effective, non-toxic methods for creating and maintaining public spaces. His interest in non-toxic alternatives to herbicides began when his wife became ill after herbicide mist drifted into her workplace.  He discovered how toxic many herbicides are and now advocates integrated pest management (IPM).

IPM is based on prevention, natural controls and as a last resort, using the least toxic herbicide available. One way to prevent weeds is to use double layers of weed barrier material.  Another method is to use corn gluten to prevent weeds from germinating. To view a similar presentation by Paul Gazda, go to http://www.hopesedona.org and click on the video.  You can get to the handouts by clicking on the titles - Clean and Easy Landscapes Maintenance and Maintaining Landscapes Resources.


Thanks to Debi Stalvey and Bea Cooley for the refreshments.

Business Meeting – Debi Stalvey                 

Debi Stalvey shared highlights of the Coconino Master Gardener Association from 2012. The full report is available at: 2012 MGA Annual ReportShe noted that volunteers are still needed for: Community Programs, MG Projects and Historian.
                                   
Financial report

The CMGA ended 2012 with a checking balance of $1,630.70.  We raised almost $1,000 from calendar donations and $610 from memberships.
                                                     
MG Program Happenings (class/home show) – Hattie Braun

Home and Garden Show will take place March 22-24 at the Skydome at NAU.  Volunteers are needed to staff the Master Gardener booth and give gardening talks. The first Home Show meeting will be January 18, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.  The second meeting will be Friday, February 8 at 10:30 a.m.  Contact Hattie at hbraun@cals.arizona.edu if you want to help.

Hattie asked for help to transplant a big Boston fern for someone with severe arthritis.
                                             
Continuing Education – Jim Mast

Most of the 2013 talks are confirmed.  Freddi Steele will talk about bees in February and Connie Cowan from the Museum of Northern Arizona will talk about their herbarium project in March.                                   
                                                     
Volunteer Support – Crys Wells

Please record your 2012 volunteer and education hours by the end of January. The link is on the blog (coconinomgassociation.blogspot.com).
                                                     
Gardening Questions?

What should we do with the tulips we got tonight?

Put them in pots. Store them in the garage as long as the temperature stays above freezing but below 40 degrees.  Tulips need a period of dormancy of 12-14 weeks.

When is a good time to prune aspens?

Now is a good time while they are dormant.

Where can you get your soil tested?

The least expensive options are:

Peaceful Valley Farm (www.GrowOrganic.com)
Colorado State University
University of Massachusetts

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