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Jun 30

Jackson County Master Gardener Association: Board Meeting (by Zoom)

By The Garden Beet 40 Comments

Jackson County Master Gardener Association

Board Meeting (by Zoom)

6/12/20

Announcements

  1. Jane Moyer announced that Practicum mentors who took seedlings home were able to get containers from the Practicum supply at the Extension on Thursday 6/11 for transplanting.
  2. Ronnie Budge presented a thank you card from Cora Lee in regards to The Garden Beet article on the life and contributions of her husband Haydn Lee. The entire card will be reprinted in the July Garden Beet.
  3. More blue bags are needed for recycling redeemable cans and bottles. Jane Sawall volunteered to pick them up and to work with Kate Hassen to develop a system for distributing them.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Annette Carter reported June income of $1100 from plant sale donations, Garden Guides, and recycling redeemable cans and bottles and $75 refund from the Pear Blossom Parade.

Expenses included $1300 for insurance, and $157 for the agriculture license. The treasurer’s report was accepted as submitted.

Update on Master Gardener Program and Related

  1. Erika Szonntag reported that an agreement with OSU under the Oregon Phase 2 guidelines for reopening is forthcoming for Master Gardeners to be able to be on the Extension grounds for plant  maintenance (i.e. the Master Gardeners will soon be able to return to the Demonstration Gardens to maintain the existing plants). Volunteers will be required to complete the online COVID-19 training, wear masks when in the building or within 6′ of another person, and bring their own tools or use and sterilize tools from the MG tool shed. It is predicted that volunteers will be limited to three days per week, 20 MG’s per day, and 2 per garden using an online sign-up system. Only one person will be allowed in a restroom at a time and hand washing stations will be available in the gardens.
  2. Group meetings at the Extension can resume on September 1 or later depending on COVID-19 conditions.
  3. An Outreach Coordinator has been hired by OSU to work with the Extensions.
  4. Erika shared a document from Gail Langellotto on Racial Justice in the Gardens (See attachment #1) which will lead to revised vision and mission statements (See attachment #2).
  5. The 2021 class format is still to be determined. Priority will be given to 2020 students.
  6. Practicum format is also still to be determined.
  7. Pop up sales will resume in the fall at the earliest.

Update/Proposals from WDSG Working Group

Sue Koury, one of the three WDSG co-chairs, reported they recommend there be no WDSG this year. Having a virtual WDSG was discussed but the co-chairs feel they don’t have the knowledge or the expertise to pull together this kind of an online event.

Update/Proposals from Fundraising Working Group

Jane Moyer reported for Chair Sandy Hammond. Recommendations include:

  1. Increase advertising for the fundraising efforts already developed through MailChimp, the JCMGA Facebook page, the JCMGA website, PSA’s, Jefferson Exchange, etc. along with an explanation of what we support with the funds. (The efforts we already have going include the sale of the Garden Guides, Grange refund, bottle and can returns, CARS, Amazon Smile, and direct donations.)
  2. Coordinate pop-up sales through the Fundraising Working Group so each sale can include more than native plants and advertising can be coordinated through all the same avenues mentioned in #1.
  3. Depending on the circumstances, have either a social distancing appropriate Holiday Gala or a  virtual Holiday Gala advertised through all the same avenues mentioned in attachment #1.
  4. Include bulb sales and Garden Guide sales in the virtual WDSG and advertise through all the same avenues mentioned in #1.

Update/Proposals from Communications Working Group

Kate Hassen reminded the Board of Directors that any new projects need to be assigned to one of the working groups. At this point, the Communications Working Group doesn’t have the equipment or the expertise to create virtual events but is glad to advertise/distribute the information.

Kate Hassen moved JCMGA purchase and maintain a Zoom account. Sandy Hansen seconded. Motion passed with 18 in favor and 2 opposed.

Update/Proposals from Community Outreach Working Group

Bill Gabriel/Jim Buck would like to start a collection of virtual lessons, but also don’t have the equipment or the expertise to create them. Suggestions were made to look at the Practicum lessons taught by Zoom or OSU webinars coordinated by Brooke Edmunds. Sherri Morgan is developing a virtual tour of native plant gardens for next spring. This project was assigned to the Community Outreach Working Group. Jim Buck will contact Sherri to offer the working group’s help with coordination. 

Update/Proposals from Gardens Working Group

Janine Salvatti referred the board to the report from Erika Szonntag.

Update/Proposals from Spring Garden Fair Working Group

Jane Moyer reported the SGF Working Group co-chairs have agreed to start planning for the 2021 SGF with two plans:

Plan A: Spring Garden Fair at the fairgrounds as usual.

       Plan B: A virtual Spring Garden Fair. “Booths” would be a link to a page set up by each vendor to show their products and take orders. Customers would arrange to pick up their purchases from the vendor. JCMGA booths would also have a link. The plan to be used will depend on the state and OSU guidelines in effect after the first of the year.

Update/Proposals from Member Services Working Group

Keltie Nelson had no updates or proposals to report.

OMGA Report

Barbara Davidson reported on the Oregon Master Gardener Association.

  1. An Executive Committee meeting was held June 5.
  2. Erika Szonntag and Gail Langellotto have been working hard to obtain OSU permission to reopen the gardens.
  3. Lee Ann Locher has been hired as an outreach coordinator for the Extensions. We are hoping to use her expertise to assist with our outreach to the community, fundraising, and advertising.
  4. Mini-college is scheduled for July 17-18, 2021, in Corvallis. This will be a 45-year celebration of the annual gardening conference. The organizers are looking for a black binder holding information and documents from the past. They are also asking chapters to present a timeline of local activities.

Pam Hillers will compile this as soon as she can be admitted into the Extension building to access the archives. Names of 20/30/40-year members are needed so they can be honored. Patrice Kaska will send them to Barbara Davidson.

  1. A Karl Carlson Grant for $250 has been awarded to JCMGA towards the purchase of vent screens for Greenhouse #2 to help prevent insects from entering.
  2. OMGA needs a news editor. Let Barbara Davidson know if you are interested.

Proposed Policy on Conflict of Interest: Kathy Apple moved the board adopt the proposed policy titled “Conflict of Interest.” (See attachments #3 and #4.) Lynn Kunstman seconded. Unanimous approval.

Proposed Policy on Operating Reserve Fund: Kathy Apple moved the board adopt the “Operating Reserve Fund” policy in the new policy format. (See attachment #5.) Lynn Kunstman seconded. Nineteen board members voted in favor, one opposed.

Proposed Policy on Acceptance of Gifts: Kathy Apple moved the board adopt the proposed policy titled “Acceptance of Gifts.” (See attachment #6.) Kate Hassen seconded. Unanimous approval. A list of acceptable non-monetary items will be developed by Kathy Apple.

Proposed Policy on School Garden Grants: Kathy Apple moved the board adopt the “School Garden Grants” policy in the new policy format. Barbara Davidson asked item 2.2 be amended to show the grants are posted in August, due in October, and awarded in November so the process occurs in the same school year the funds are used. (See attachment #7.) Barbara Davidson seconded the motion as amended. Unanimous approval.

Proposed Policy on JCMGA Event & Master Gardener Program Grants: Kathy Apple moved the board adopt the proposed policy on “JCMGA Event & Master Gardener Program Grants”. (See attachment #8.) Barbara Davidson seconded. Unanimous approval. 

July Board Meeting: 9:30–11:30, Friday July 10, 2020 by Zoom.

Submitted by Jane Moyer, Recording Secretary

Jun 30

Mosquito-Proofing your Backyard

By The Garden Beet 37 Comments

Taking a few minutes to remove mosquito breeding habitat around your property can reduce your risk of mosquitoes spoiling your barbecues, or worse, spreading diseases such as West Nile Virus.

After each rain take a few minutes and inspect your yard and dump out water from any household containers, such as buckets, flowerpots, and old tires that may breed mosquitoes. 

Don’t forget to check for clogged rain gutters, or tarps over wood piles, and boats that may also be holding water.

If you are collecting rainwater for later use, be sure that barrels or cisterns are covered with fine mesh screen to keep mosquitoes from using them as a home. 

Ornamental ponds and stock troughs should be stocked with mosquito fish to keep mosquitoes at bay. 

Dog dishes and bird baths should be cleaned weekly. Remember anything that holds water for 7 days can produce mosquitoes.

– Jackson County Vector Control District

 

How to contact

Jackson County Vector Control District

555 Mosquito Lane

Central Point, OR 97502

(541) 826-2199

Jun 30

Rose Lovers, Watch for Trouble in Paradise

By The Garden Beet 30 Comments

By Janine Salvatti

Master Gardener 2019

Rose lovers, are you aware of Rose Rosette Disease, RRD? There is no cure for this deforming and highly contagious virus transmitted by wind-blown mites half the length of a grain of salt.

Until yesterday, I had never heard of this disease and I have not heard rose enthusiasts talking about it, probably because it is not yet known to be active in Oregon. However, the nearest occurrence is in Northern California, a little too close to ignore.

The disease reports map shows active RRD outbreaks and the distribution map shows the plant carrier, not the disease itself, as it progressed across the country. The carrier plant is Rosa multiflora. It was heavily planted east of the Cascades as a livestock barrier but found to be a vicious thug.

The virus was cultivated to eradicate the plant and thought to be a threat to only the Rosa multiflora plant. But this biocontrol was worse than the original problem. RRD attacks ANY rose. The virus infects the mites as they chew on the foliage. The wind blows the mites to neighboring rose stock and the infected mites transmit the disease to the roses where they land as well as their offspring. There is no cure.

Expert advice recommends putting a plastic bag over the entire bush and cutting the bush close to ground level. The bag hopefully prevents mites from being disturbed and spread to other roses. The root can then be dug out more easily. Such bushes should never be composted. Trying to address a single cane is not favored due to ease of transmission.

The only bright spot in this is that the virus does not live in the soil. A new rose may be planted immediately.

The virus manifests at the growing tips of the rose plant. Leaves are deformed and are intensely red, sometimes purple. The growth is expressed as a witch’s broom and the canes become very thorny. The flowers have a smashed appearance if they open at all.

Researchers are trialing a number of roses that show some resistance to RRD and successful varieties will become available after multi-year tests.

RRD may not be in Oregon yet and hopefully it never gets here, but it is close by. We need to stay vigilant and be prepared to act quickly.

References:

Roserosette.org: Rosette distribution map, disease reports map 

PNW Disease Management Handbook

The Missouri Botanical Garden – Pests and Problems

Podcast: “A Way to Garden” by Margaret Roach. Date: June 6, 2018 

The Seattle Times, “Deadly plant disease threatens nation’s $250M rose business” Sept. 19, 2018

Jun 30

Learning to Love Weeds: Beyond the War on Invasive Species

By The Garden Beet 42 Comments

By John Yuker

Master Gardener 2019

Dandelions. Bull thistle. Kudzu. Japanese knotweed.
Himalayan blackberry.

From front lawns to woodlands, these are among the most despised of plant species. Species that, we are told, are hell-bent on taking over every square inch of soil, crowding out native species, ruining ecosystems, and giving gardeners ulcers.

But what if everything we know about weeds is wrong? What if the invasive species we have grown to hate, have spent millions of dollars on fighting, are not so awful after all? What if they have something important to tell us about our soil, our ecosystems? What if these species have something to offer these ecosystems, something restorative, even beneficial? 

“Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration” by Tao Orion will open your eyes to the plants we have long viewed as weeds and inspire a permaculture-based approach to gardening.

Tao Orion opens the book on her experiences in wetlands restoration outside Eugene, Oregon and the invasive species they battled, sometimes with chemicals, in an effort to restore native species. In doing so, they learned that invasive species thrived where reintroduced native species struggled. She came to realize that these invasive species were there for a reason, and they were serving important purposes: “The bees didn’t appear to mind that the nectar they sipped came from a flower that originated in Europe nor did the frogs seem to care that the low-growing thatch of rattail fescue hailed from the same region.” 

She took a step back and began to take a “big picture” look at restoration, at the history of the land, disturbances, changes in climate, introduced chemicals. All of these factors play a role in which species thrive in an area and which do not. Labeling a plant “invasive” creates an unhealthy dynamic of viewing plants in good and evil terms. She writes: “The presence of invasive species is not necessarily a problem to be solved, but rather an invitation to delve deeply into understanding the complex ecosystem dynamics to which they are intrinsically related.” In other words, before reaching for the Roundup, take a moment to study your own ecosystem. Better yet, skip the chemicals entirely. 

Orion challenges the notion that invasive species have made other species extinct. While invasives can be quite aggressive, there is little evidence that they alone destroy other species. There are a host of reasons why native species may be in decline; invasive species are more often correlative than causative.

I appreciate how Orion places our experiences with nature in historical terms, focusing on the Natives who tended to the land long before Europeans arrived. In a section titled “The Myth of Wilderness,” she writes: “America’s most celebrated wilderness areas were once peoples’ homes, and many of the most prized native plants are remnants from gardens and orchards.” In other words, humans have been gardening from the very beginning and our ancestors did a far better job of it than we are today. 

“Beyond the War on Invasive Species” By Tao Orion, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 2015

Jun 30

Unusual Raised Beds for the Garden

By The Garden Beet 39 Comments

By Lynn Garbert

Master Gardener 2014

The sun was hidden a little, but not much on this May morning. The cloud cover brought the perfect weather for gardening in my friends’ recently tripled-in-size veggie garden because only a few raindrops fell. This new section has too many rocks and a rock shelf. Instead of collecting the rocks or moving further from their kitchen, they are gardening in a more economical, time and back saving way: rather than purchasing whiskey barrels, 18” pots, or putting in more wooden raised beds, these folks economically bought versatile black plastic bags (with pre-cut drain holes) that were manufactured to grow plants in for about $2 each.

In the new garden:

After my friend’s husband moved four of the filled bags (that they grew crops in last year) from across the garden, I checked their pH (but none needed adjusting), added aged compost, sprinkled in about half-a-handful of time-release fertilizer (they prefer 13-13-13 – that’s good for about 4 months). Then I stirred what I had just added before planting her 2 peppers and 2 eggplants. It was that simple!!

This year the remaining bags will host 8 sunflowers with string bean plants sending shoots up each stalk, 6 tomatoes, and 3 rose bushes.

In the old garden:

Gladiolus and zinnias are growing alongside a generous amount of dill plants and a couple strawberry beds. There we planted basil, squash and pickling cucumbers directly into the ground. And that’s just the start of both of this year’s old and new gardens.

Benefits of using potting bags:

  • ✴Bags can be easily moved in a wheelbarrow, but it’s best to have the potting soil as dry as possible – as you know, water is heavy 
  • ✴The black plastic allows the sun to warm the roots; thus good growth will occur
  • ✴Soil + potting mix + compost + fertilizer + plant = fresh groceries in simplicity
  • ✴Add a drip irrigation system and watering is much simpler

Unexpectedly, after a delightful day of gardening (that including lunch, a short nap, tea & cookies), my friend sent me home with garden fresh veggies, two potted plants: an old-fashioned hollyhock and a sunflower, along with a 3-gallon pot filled from their rich compost pile. Woo Hoo! I was sore and tired, but a good sore and tired… 

If raised beds are your idea of quick garden space or you have too many rocks under the surface, then think about using potting bags to grow your flowers and veggies rather than buying bulky expensive pots and wood.

Groceries homegrown taste best!! 😉 Fresh cut and edible flowers are a bonus, too!! 

The possibilities are endless… Give it a try…

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