Barbara Low

 

February

• JCMGA Chapter Directory Photo Contest
  • Have photos to Sandy Hansen by February 1^st.
• JCMGA Board Meeting will be a hybrid meeting on February 9^th.
• Friends of the Gardens Logo Design Contest – submissions due by February 15^th.
• Josephine County Home Show February 16-18. We will have a table there.
• Articles for the March Garden Beet due by February 15^th. Send articles to jcmgabeet569@gmail.com

 

 

May

Spring Garden Fair – May 4 and 5 at SOREC (Mark your calend

 

As a gardener, you have probably heard people say, “There isn’t anything to do in the winter.”  I find that is far from the actuality.  As a gardener, I’m just about as busy during the winter as any other time of the year.  But instead of working outside in my garden as much as usual, I am planning my garden for the upcoming spring and summer.  What do I want to plant again?  What new plants interest me?  Do I want to move some of the existing plants?  Do I want to install structures to help my vegetables to grow and produce better – such as climbing trellises?

Next, there is looking at seed catalogues, which offer so many possibilities.  For the past few months, we have asked people to submit articles about their favorite plant to grow – whether vegetables, fruit, or flowers.  What do you like to grow?  Why?  I encourage you to write a short article and share your thoughts with others.  We can learn so much from each other.  It is easier to try something new if we have heard from another gardener and what they think about it.  If you are interested in writing an article, please email me barbaralow@msn.com.

Last year we were a part of the Plant a Row project and gave the extra food to Access to disseminate to needy families in our community.  We are planning on participating in the Plant a Row project again.  All we ask is that you plant an extra vegetable plant or row in your garden.  Produce from that plant or row is brought to the SOREC Extension parking lot, and we will bring it to Access.  Please consider being a part of this important project.

On top of all that, there is pruning to be done – fruit trees, cane berries, roses, shrubs, etc.

This is the time of year when I tend to read more gardening books.  Have you read a gardening book about which you’d like to write a review in our Garden Beet?  It’s a time to share what you have learned and maybe help others with their gardens.

There are several Community Education classes being offered at the SOREC Extension and via Zoom this year.  You can check the SOREC website and the OSU Education website.

• Click here for a list of programs and to see what is offered.
• Click here for a list of upcoming events and classes

As gardeners, we tend to spend a lot of time with our gardens – planning, preparing, tending, harvesting, enjoying, solving problems, being creative.  For me, it is physical and mental therapy. Though I may not be as physically active in the garden this time of the year, I am still a very active gardener.

Happy Gardening!

 

We are off to a great start!

• Our January Board Meeting was very productive. We are preparing for our JCMGA Board Retreat, at which we will review our JCMGA 2023 goals and create our JCMGA 2024 goals. We will use data from our Member Services Survey, which many of you completed in November 2023, as well as information from our Working Groups.
• We are still looking for someone interested in serving as our President-Elect or as a Member-at-Large. If you are interested, please contact Barbara Low barbaralow@msn.com.
• The OSU Class of 2024 Master Gardeners started January 24th!

 

Have fun volunteering!

• Josephine County Home Show – February 16, 17 and 18. We will have a JCMGA booth at this event. Please contact Sandy Hammond at sandrahammondmg@gmail.com to help staff the booth.
• Friend of the Gardens Program to start in April. Details will follow.
• Spring Garden Fair – May 4 and 5. Details will follow.

 

The Friends of the Gardens Program is a great opportunity for them!

 

• We are searching for participants who are interested in gardening but don’t necessarily want to become Master Gardeners.
• The minimum age to participate is 10 years old and accompanied by an adult. All waiver forms will need to be signed by their parent/guardian.
• The minimum age for someone to volunteer without a parent/guardian is 16 years old. Their parent/guardian will need to sign their waivers.
• No maximum age limit.
• There will be a variety of activities to choose from – gardening, research, office work, etc.
• Enjoy hands-on learning while caring for our 16 different themed Demonstration Gardens.
• “Friends of the Gardens” work under the supervision of a Jackson County Master Gardener Volunteer.
• This program will start in April and run through the growing season.

 

If you know someone who might be interested,

have them contact Grace Florjancic at grace.florjancic@oregonstate.edu! Thank you.

 

Community Outreach Working Group

Chair, Ronnie Budge

• We now have 22 possible speakers for the JCMGA Speakers Bureau.
• Sandy Hammond is organizing our booth for the Josephine Home Show on February 16-18.
• We are continuing to work on the details for the Friends of the Gardens program – which will start in April.

 

Fundraising Working Group

Chair, Jane Moyer

We are working on plans for the Fall Festival.  Stay tuned for details.

 

Garden Enhancement Working Group 

Chair, Janine Salvatti

We are getting ready for Spring.

 

Marketing and Technology Working Group

Co-Chairs – Barbara Low and Keltie Nelson

We will be focusing on updating our JCMGA Marketing Plan.

 

Member Services Working Group

Chair, Barbara Low

The First Day Lunch for the OSU Class of 2024 Master Gardeners was a great success!

We are continuing to work on the JCMGA Chapter (Membership) Directory.

We are continuing to work on the details for the Friends of the Gardens program – which will start in April.

 

Program Support Working Group

Chair is Grace Florjancic

The 2024 Master Gardener Training Class has started! Thank you to everyone for helping make this class another success. A big thanks to all the MG’s giving presentations, being Garden Buds to help the students, and JCMGA to help cover the cost of classroom activities! We are going to have another wonderful group of Master Gardeners to welcome to our program.

 

Spring Garden Fair Working Group

co-Chairs – Marcie Katz and Lucy Pylkki

Plans are underway for the 2024 Spring Garden Fair which will be May 4 and 5 at the SOREC grounds.

Mark your gardens.

 

Winter Dreams Summer Gardens Working Group

chairs are Colet Allen, Susan Koenig, and Barbara Low

We will start meeting on a regular basis in February.

Stay tuned for details about the 2024 Winter Dreams Summer Gardens!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have all heard about the declining bird populations and many of us, as garden enthusiasts, are doing what we can to nurture our local species. Did you know that you can also participate in tracking those populations?

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual, interagency effort by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon, and Birds Canada (Oiseaux Canada) and is scheduled for February 16-19 in 2024. This annual event, first launched in 1998, became a global project in 2013. During these four days, birdwatchers of all levels and ages gather as much information as they can worldwide and report in real time. This is a true ‘participatory science’ project!

For more information, and to participate, go to https://birdcount.org/about. You can sign up online and download the necessary app, either Merlin Bird ID (good for new birdwatchers) at https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org or eBird at https://ebird.org/home. There are ‘how to’ videos about using this software if needed. There are regional bird lists, bird photos and bird sound links to help with identification – which make the whole process a lot of fun.

In past years I printed out my regional list of birds and carried it with me. If you’re more tech savvy then I am, you may want to download it all on your phone. You can observe, count and record for as little as 15 minutes one day or any length of time you want to over the four days of the event.

If you find you want more information check out https://academy.allaboutbirds.org

where you can take a free beginner course, listen to lectures, watch videos, or play games.

I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the ‘Great Backyard Bird Count’ in past years and thought you might also – it’s addicting!

 

 

Good morning on this very cold day. Frost on the windows, grass, and shrubs. I’m sitting by my window watching the birds in our backyard – some in the bird feeders, others in the bushes.  I see several different kinds of birds – each with their own habits.

Last month, I talked about what we should be doing in our gardens during the month of January. I am continuing this series of articles and hope that you find them to be helpful and inspiring. With that said, our gardens still need to be cared for so that they will do well in the spring and summer.

The Jackson County Master Gardener Association has a great resource for gardeners to use. It is the Garden Guide for the Rogue Valley – Year-Round & Month by Month book.  This great reference book for gardeners is mainly about the growing of vegetables, berries, and melons.

In this article, I will briefly refer to what we should be working on during the month of February based on the information in this book and articles on the OSU website.

February is the time to:

• Continue to plan what you want to plant in spring – if you haven’t done it already. What seeds do you want to order? Do you want to try some new or different vegetables and/or berries?
• Plants which you plant as seeds to transplant later
  • Cabbage * Chinese Cabbage 
  • Lettuce (head)                         * Endive, Escarole
  • Parsley * Leeks
  • Onions * Oriental Greens
  • Pak Choi
• Plants which you can plant as seed outside
  • Peas (if there are the right soil conditions)
  • Arugula * Cress, Garden
  • Corn salad * Mustard greens, turnip greens
  • Radishes * Spinach
• Plants to Transplant this month
  • Asparagus roots * Herbs, perennial
  • Horseradish * Lettuce (head)
  • Onion sets, plants * Strawberries
• Time to prune your established grapes
  • https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/ec1639 This publication from the OSU Extension is great in showing exactly what to do to prune and take care of the grapes.
  • “Table Grape Pruning” OSU Master Gardeners You Tube video with Sherry Sheng. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym1ZKZYKfS0
• Remove mulch from established asparagus beds and fertilize.
• Fertilize over-wintering vegetables with high nitrogen fertilizer
• Fertilize rhubarb – OSU publication “Grow Your Own Rhubarb” https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/ec797

 

The Garden Guide for the Rogue Valley – Year-Round & Month by Month book contains a wealth of gardening information. You can purchase it at our local Grange Co-op or at the OSU Extension office for $21.00. It can also be purchased on-line at https://jacksoncountymga.org/shop/ Note that a shipping fee will be applied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Resource:

• “Strawberry Nutrient Management Guide for Oregon and Washington” OSU Publication by Emily Dixon, Bernadine Strik, Javier Fernandez-Salvador, and Lisa Devetter  https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9234

 

Happy Gardening and Stay Warm

Garden For Life