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

Thursday, April 25, 2019

CMGA May 2019 Meeting Agenda

Coconino Master Gardener Meeting Agenda
Thursday, May 9, 2018 at 6:30pm
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church—Benson Hall
1601 N. San Francisco, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

6:30-6:35pm    Welcome-Sue Madden, President   
6:35-6:40pm    Introduction of Speakers—Gilli Thomas
6:40-7:45pm    Education:  Robyn/Violas/Using and Growing Annuals        
(15 minute break with refreshments)
7:45-8:00pm      Raffle Prize Drawing – $1 each or 6 for $5 - Must be present to win
8:00-8:25pm    Business Meeting
Art-full Summer Garden Tours/July 20—Questions?  Ask Colleen Tucker at (928) 853-0315 or 
Jennifer Quarterman at (720) 560-7575.  Six gardens have been selected. Volunteer sign-up 
sheets available at this meeting, 3 volunteers are still needed for the afternoon.
Gilli Thomas—Water Conservation for the City of Flagstaff.  Gilli will continue to attend as the CMGA
 presence with other groups that have a stake in this issue.
MG Coordinator Happenings—Hattie Braun
  • Summer Plant Sale June 15, 2019.  Vendors and plant sellers have been signing up.
  • Bus Stop Garden MG/Volunteer needed.
  • Free Gardening Open House, May 18, 9-11am at the East Valley Baptist Church, 
    10655 North Hwy 89.  4 Volunteers needed.
  • Master Gardener Hotline will begin when staff and volunteers are available.  
    Help Desk Coordinator and other volunteers needed.

Tomato Fest at Viola's this Saturday

Tomato Fest is a celebration of the start of veggie season. We will have over 75 different varieties of tomatoes and lots of veggies to pick. We have a great line up of classes for the day.

Schedule for Tomato Fest Classes
10:00 From The Garden To The Kitchen
By: Frank Branham previous owner of The Cottage Place
You grew it, now what? The previous owner of the Cottage Place Frank Branham, is going to share his techniques on how to prepare your cold hardy vegetables. You don’t get someone with this much experience to often. This will be a must see.

11:00 Growing Native Flowers And Shrubs For Pollinators By: Judy Springer
Judy is a plant ecologist at the Ecological Restoration Institute at NAU. She has graced us with many really great talks.This one will be no different. She will enlighten us on which native shrubs and flowers are great pollinators. This is a class for new and experiencedgardeners wanting to learn more about our Flagstaff Natives.

12:00 Beginning Gardening
By: Robyn Walters co-owner of Viola’s
Robyn will help you make gardening fun and easy in Flagstaff. This class is for people new to gardening in Flagstaff. Whether it’s in the ground or in a pot she will have great tips and tricks. If she can do it so can you!

1:00 Organic Pest Control For The Garden
By: Art Escobedo Co-Owner Of Viola’s
Why not use nature to help control the pests in your garden? Art’s many years experience with Viola’s and gardening has built his knowledge on pest control. He will share how simple early pest treatments can make a world of difference in the garden. A great class for people new to Flagstaff, as well as new and experienced gardeners.

2:00 Season Extending By: Frank Branham previous owner of the Cottage Place Frank used to grow veggies for the Cottage Place. He will show you how to get the most out of a Flagstaff gardening season. Flagstaff’s short gardening season can be tricky. Sometimes if you don’t extend the season you can miss out on getting a decent harvest. Frank will show you a couple of tips on how to extend the season so you get the most out of your garden.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Willow Bend Garden Accomplishments for 2018 and plans for 2019

 
If you are interested in where your money went last year (2018 CMGA Annual Garden Grants) or would like to volunteer this year I am attaching a link for you to read Susan Lamb's report.
Here is the LINK

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

CMGA Agenda for April 11 Meeting


Coconino Master Gardener Meeting Agenda
Thursday, April 11, 2018 at 6:30pm
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church—Benson Hall
1601 N. San Francisco, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

6:30-6:35pm       Welcome-Sue Madden, President         
6:35-6:40pm       Introduction of Speakers—Gilli Thomas
6:40-7:45pm       Education:  Jeff Meilander/Growing Food at High Desert Environments                                
(15 minute break with refreshments)
7:45-8:00pm      Raffle Prize Drawing – $1 each or 6 for $5 - Must be present to win
8:00-8:25pm      Business Meeting
Art-ful Summer Garden Tours—Questions?  Ask Colleen Tucker at (928) 853-0315 or Jennifer Quarterman at (720) 560-7575.  A few more gardens are needed for the tours.  Any suggestions talk to Colleen or Jennifer.  Volunteer sign-up sheets available at this meeting, 3 volunteers needed morning and 6 in the afternoon.
Gilli Thomas—Water Conservation for the City of Flagstaff.  Gilli will continue to attend as the CMGA presence with other groups that have a stake in this issue. No updates at this time.
MG Coordinator Happenings—Hattie Braun
·         Summer Plant Sale June 15, 2019.  Vendors and plant sellers have been signing up.
·         On-line Master Gardener Classes coming in the Fall
·         Beginning Gardener’s class meets every other Thursday and end with a field trip to Forestdale Farms.
·         Master Gardener Hotline will reappear due to staff changes.

Friday, April 5, 2019

Gary Nabhan Talk in Flagstaff


Subject: Gary Nabhan talk in Flagstaff April 17

Colleagues,

I'm excited to let you know that the Landscape Conservation Initiative and Sustainable Communities Program are bringing acclaimed author and ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan to Flagstaff for a lecture on Wednesday, April 17.

Gary's talk, "Food from the Radical Center: Rediversifying our Food Systems in the Face of Climate Change," will look at how a number of community-level food restoration projects in the U.S. are conserving native plants, promoting better eating habits and public health, and helping to unite communities at a time of great challenge and division.

Gary is the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Southwest Borderlands Food and Water Security at the University of Arizona, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, the former director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at NAU, and a widely published author and conservationist.

The talk takes place at 7 PM in the High Country Conference Center. It's free, and free vouchers will also be provided for the adjacent parking garage.

Please distribute this widely to your networks, and encourage your students and colleagues to attend!

Thanks,

PF

Peter Friederici
Director, MA in Sustainable Communities
Professor, School of Communication
Northern Arizona University