CMGA General Info

Roadrunner: Although typically desert dwellers, roadrunners may also thrive in cold climates by fluffing feathers for insulation and by exposing their black back feathers to the sun.
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

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Plants for the People Plant Sale

Molly McCormick Plants for the People Great news! We got an update from the grower and can extend the order deadline until Sunday, October 4 at 5pm. We are thrilled to give you the weekend for careful garden planning. See the attached order form, download, add the number of plants you want to Column A and email back. The plants have hyperlinks to descriptions. More information about many of these plants here. Or just let us know what you want and we can add it to the order. Plants will be delivered sometime next week for pick up October 9-18 (this is also an update). We'll send out an email as soon as the plants arrive. For those of you who have already placed an order, we'll be in touch next week with your final order amount and delivery details. Feel free to share this email with your friends! 🍁 Happy Fall Gardening! Molly & Jeff www.plantsforthepeople.us 928-821-5100 Go to their site for plants and ordering.

Looking for Weeding Volunteers

 I'm putting together a Master Gardener volunteer event to help with an important project through MNA and The Arboretum to stop the spread of a nasty federally listed noxious weed, diffuse knapweed. 

Knapweed is beginning to outcompete many very cute native plants along the Flagstaff Urban Trail near Coconino HS. Luckily this population is still managble. Jan and I think that with some Master Gardener power we can help free our native plant friends from this nasty weed invasion! 

When: Saturday October 3rd, 2020
Where: Near Coconino HS along the Flag Urban Trail (FUTS)
Time: 8:00 am- 10:30 am (we will build native plant ID into this event!)

This will be an outdoor, spread out, socially distanced, masked event. Slots are limited so sign up early!

Please RSPV to Gayle Gratop (gaylejennifer2@email.arizona.edu) by Thursday October 1

Bark Beetles in AZ Webinar

 

Bark Beetles in Arizona Webinar

Event Date October 01, 2020 11:00am to 12:00pm

Online event link: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/97026764316

 

Signs, Symptoms, and Identification of Native and Non-native Bark Beetles

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Gila County presents: Garden and Country Extension Webinar Series. A Zoom webinar (60-minutes or less) featuring a variety of horticultural and natural resource topics relevant to the environmental conditions and residential concerns of Gila County, Arizona.

Featured Topic: Bark Beetles in Arizona: Signs, Symptoms, and Identification of Native and Non-native Bark Beetles

Featured Speakers: Aly McAlexander is originally from Oregon. After graduating from high school, she attended Southern Oregon University where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Ecology and Conservation. While an undergraduate, Aly worked as a seasonal wildland firefighter for the USDA Forest Service in Northern Washington. After graduating, Aly worked on a timber crew in Montana and Colorado. She received her Master’s degree in Botany in June of 2017 from Colorado State University. A majority of Aly’s coursework was focused on Forest Pathology; her thesis research was A survey of foliar fungal endophyte communities of Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine populations in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. After graduating Aly worked as the arborist for Manitou Springs Public Works. Then in the February of 2020 she was offered the position of Forest Health Specialist with Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

Webinar Overview: This presentation is a general overview of the bark beetles found in Arizona. We will discuss both native and nonnative bark beetles found in Arizona; as well as go over the signs and symptoms associated with these beetles. By the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to more accurately identify bark beetle infestations and determine which beetle is the culprit. We will also review management options and discuss the new Healthy Forests Cost Share Program the Department of Forestry and Fire Management is offering to private landowners.

Webinar Facilitator: Chris Jones, Extension Agent, University of Arizona Gila County Cooperative

Extension Zoom Link: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/97026764316 Please log in up to 10 minutes prior to the webinar.

Cost: Free

Registration: Not required

 

Christopher Jones, Extension Agent

Agriculture & Natural Resources Programs

 

University of Arizona

Gila County Cooperative Extension

5515 S Apache Avenue, Suite 600

Globe, AZ  85501

U.S.A.

 

Phone: (928) 402-8586

Email: ckjones@email.arizona.edu

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

North American Native Plant Society Meeting

     

Greetings to all native plant enthusiasts:

The North American Native Plant Society (NANPS) invites you to our first-ever ZOOM AGM on October 24, 2020! Digital cross-pollination in this time of COVID grants us the wonderful opportunity to meet you and hear about what is happening with native plants in your local region across the continent. In this time of safely staying apart, we believe this is exactly the time to come together and share best practices and experiences and develop those connections that will hopefully grow and endure past the pandemic.

  Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020

Time: 1-3 p.m. EDT (2:30-4:30 p.m. NDT, 2-4 p.m. ADT, 12-2 p.m. CDT, 11a.m.-1 p.m. MDT, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. PDT, 9-11 a.m. AKDT)

 Registration: free for members and non-members on Eventbrite.ca (NANPS AGM 2020)

 Event Schedule:

 1:00-1:45 pm: Business part of meeting. All welcome to participate but only members can vote. 

 1:45-2:00 pm: Land acknowledgment and presentation about the organization and its activities. 2:00-2:45 pm: Moderated group chats from various regions across North America

2:45-3:00 pm: Native Plant Garden Video Contest and closing remarks.