Clarkdale Plant Sale and Garden Festival

 

The annual Clarkdale Plant Sale & Garden Festival will happen this year on April 20th from 9am-1pm. This is a very popular sale and plants sell early so if your driving from Flagstaff arrive early. Click pmn link for the flyer.

Vegetable Gardening

 

Vegetable Gardening

Wednesday, March 20, 27, April 3, 10

5:45 to 7 p.m.



Plan your vegetable garden with the help of local Master Gardeners with the Coconino Cooperative Extension. Zoom option available.

 

 This four-week series will help you get started with this year’s vegetable garden! Attend in-person or by Zoom.

• Week 1 (March 20) is Planning Your Vegetable Garden, with Jim Mast.
• Week 2 (March 27) is Best Vegetable Varieties for Coconino County, with Jackee Alston.
• Week 3 (April 3) is Understanding Garden Soils and Composting, with Frank Branham.
• Week 4 (April 10) is Seeds and Starts, with Adair Patterson.

The course instructors are all Master Gardeners with the Coconino Cooperative Extension. This program is offered in partnership with the University of Arizona Coconino Cooperative Extension.

Register:   $10                             
https://coconino-community-college.coursestorm.com/ccc-flagstaff/course/vegetable-gardening?page=1

Vegetable - Learn more and register!

Docent Training at the Arb

 

2024 Docent Training  

by Helena Murray - Education Manager

 

 

Coming this April, the Arboretum at Flagstaff will be hosting 3 Saturdays of education for anyone interested in becoming a docent for the 2024 season!

 

Docents at the Arboretum are vital volunteers who help us interact with the public, sharing the amazing work that we do while increasing the understanding, appreciation and conservation of plant and plant communities native to the Colorado plateau by leading tours to the public throughout our season. 

 

Topics covered through the course of classes include an overview of our conservation projects, wildlife at the Arboretum, botany, the history of the Arboretum, touring the gardens and the greenhouses and learning how to give a tour as a docent. 

 

Docent classes will be held on Saturdays April 6th, 13th, and 20th from 10:00am-2:00pm with approximately 30 minutes for lunch (please bring your own) and will feature staff as well as current docent/volunteer speakers. 

 

Attendance is free to members or with the purchase of a membership. All docents of the 2024 season who serve 18+ hours at the Arboretum will receive a free renewal of their membership for 2025. 

 

Please make sure to wear comfortable and weather appropriate clothing as we will be exploring the Arb grounds together! 

 

 

Please register online by clicking this link.

Talk on the Columnar Cacti

 From Susan Holiday at the Native Plant Society:

Allow me to introduce myself -- I’m the Communication Coordinator for the Natural History Institute, a non-profit in Prescott that hosts a wide variety of natural history talks, field experiences, a 9,000 specimen herbarium, and a nature art gallery. We are also the meeting place for the Prescott Native Plant Society and the Prescott Audubon Society.

All of our talks are live-streamed to our Youtube channel, so they can be attended remotely as well as in-person in Prescott. We have an upcoming talk that I think will be of interest to AZ Native Plant Society members, and I was wondering if you could share it with members of your chapter.

***

"On Growth and Form: Ecology and Evolution of Columnar Cacti" 

A free talk with Dr. Alberto Búrquez

Thursday, March 28th at 7pm

Natural History Institute

Registration for in-person attendance

Livestream link

Terra Birds Hiring

 

CMGA March Meeting Agenda

 Coconino Master Gardener Association Meeting Agenda
Shepherd of the Hills-1601 N San Francisco St Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Thursday, March 14, 2024, 6:00-8:00 PM

Reports:
President, Committee and MG Coordinator Reports
MG Coordinator Report—Hattie Braun is out of town
o Class Update
o Seed Library Workday: Monday, March 18th from 10-noon at Cooperative Extension office
o Arboretum Docent Training begins April 6th (4/13 and 4/20) from 10-2 Registration now open at www.thearb.org

Events:
o Seed Swap-Sunday, March 24th from 2-4 pm at East Flagstaff Library (Free)
o Viola’s Pansy Party, Saturday, April 13th from noon-2pm @ Viola’s Flower Garden (Free)
o Earth Day, Saturday, April 20th from 11 am-2 pm @ Bushmaster Park- (Free) Need Activity Volunteers for Table
o Plant Sale, Saturday, May 25th (details and sign-up at next month’s meeting)-Need Volunteer for staging

Tonight’s Education-
Restoration Soils: Compost, Soil & Mulch https://www.restorationsoils.com/ 928-250-1040 Chris & Finn

Emily Melhorn, Water Conservation Specialist; City of Flagstaff: Phone: 928-213-2403 emily.melhorn@flagstaffaz.gov

Next Month:
Olivia White Hospice Garden

SNACK & MINGLE BREAK & RAFFLE
Buy your raffle tickets now Buy your raffle tickets now Buy your raffle tickets now Buy your raffle tickets now Buy your raffle tickets now Buy your raffle tickets
 

Looking for a Place to Garden This Year?

 From Natalie Pierson

With spring just around the corner, we are thrilled to announce the opening of community garden plot applications March 1st! Our garden spaces are an excellent way to connect with fellow community members, boost mental and physical health, learn about Flagstaff food systems, and grow delicious, healthy food!  

This season, plots at the Bonito, Historic Southside, and Hal Jensen Community Gardens will be available to rent. Returning gardeners will have priority until April 1st to secure their plots from the previous season. The remaining available plots will be offered to new gardeners on a first-come, first-served basis. New gardeners who do not have access to growing space at home or those who qualify for SNAP benefits will be given priority through the application process.  

Community Garden registration fees are $65 annually per plot to cover water expenses, infrastructure improvements, and provide resources to gardeners throughout the season. Full ($65) or half ($32.50) scholarships are available to those who express need through the online plot application.  

The plot application will be posted on the City of Flagstaff Community Gardens page linked here on March 1, 2024. Email gardens@flagstaffaz.gov if you have any questions! To best reach other community members, we encourage everyone to continue to share this message with your networks. Thank you in advance for helping to share this opportunity with the community

GCGV Grand Canyon Greenhouse Volunteering

 

Grand Canyon Greenhouse Volunteers

My name is Collin Rost, and I am currently an intern at the Grand Canyon Nursery. I’ve recently been given approval to organize volunteer opportunities for the nursery with my remaining time here, and with this approval I am now sharing this letter in hopes of reaching anyone who may be interested in joining me and sharing time here at the nursery! I am only able to offer a brief window of opportunity before my tenure here ends. From now until 3/5/24, I will be able to offer volunteer opportunities for individuals as well as groups.

Please join us for a group volunteer day at the nursery on 3/2/24, 9am-5pm. We are in need of help with some spring cleaning before our next round of seasonal workers arrive. This will be a great opportunity for folks to visit our nursery and learn about the Veg Program for the park. We have space for all willing participants and a variety of tasks that allow for participation of all, no matter how much experience you have. We would love to share our space with you, and learn and grow together!

For anyone who is interested in volunteering with us, but is either not interested or unable to participate in the group volunteer day here on 3/2/24; I am able to schedule both individual and smaller group volunteer visits. In addition to a group volunteer day on 3/2, I’m available to share the nursery with volunteers between the hours of 8am-5pm, dates 2/28, 3/1, 3/4, 3/5. If you would like to schedule time to volunteer with me within this range of availability, please reach out to confirm a time with me, allowing for at least 24, preferably 48 hours notice before you would like to arrive here. This notice will allow me to plan some activities, and ensure a smooth arrival and start to your volunteerism here.

If I still have your attention and interest, I appreciate you! In this letter I have attached a copy of our volunteer service agreement form, as well as a document outlining a bit of general information about our nursery program and what volunteers may expect to participate in during their time here. Volunteers will have to complete a volunteer service agreement form and review this general nursery document before participating in activities with us. This can be done either before arrival, or onsite upon arrival. Completed volunteer service agreement forms can be sent to me at collinrost@gmail.com. After 3/5/24, please send any completed forms or other questions to Nursery Manager Ashton Bedford at ashton_bedford@nps.gov. Any correspondence or forms sent to me after my tenure here ends will be forwarded to Nursery Manager Ashton Bedford. Completed forms sent after 3/5/2024 will be kept on record for potential volunteer opportunities here in the future.

General Nursery link 

Volunteer Form  link 

Garden Starts At Forestdale Farms

 

The snow is melting and Forestdale Farm’s GardenShare Program is back for 2024!

Sign up SOON to SECURE your share of locally grown starts for your gardens this year! 
You can sign up here: https://squareup.com/store/forestdale-farm