Beet 2022 11 November

That title was bequeathed to him as an Award at the Annual JCMGA Picnic last August in recognition for all he does for the Demonstration Gardens and grounds. It was a small token of appreciation for someone who has such a huge sense of volunteerism.

Most people who come out to the Extension Gardens see Doug in his Perennial Garden, digging, or on his hands and knees hand-pulling weeds out of the pathway. If you stop to admire his beautiful garden, he will engage you in wonderful “garden talk,” telling you about the latest thing in bloom or how he is squirrel proofing his plants.

His amazing garden is accomplishment enough – he works out there almost daily – but Doug is also an integral part of JCMGA because he manages and maintains the grounds. Every place we plant requires irrigation and he is the behind-the-scenes person who monitors the well and repairs all the irrigation systems for all the gardens. He often takes on big projects that require physical hard work or refitting gardens with an improved system. In addition, he is the person responsible for all the compost and coir bins being full, as well as those with D/G and wood chips. All the gardeners depend on him; if you have a problem, he happily stops what he is doing and goes to check it out with you.

As if that isn’t enough, Doug’s future projects include completely emptying out the tool shed and re-organizing while putting tools back, replacing the irrigation controller, finish building a gate in the new wheelbarrow area and mounting shelves to the walls.

When there is an all hands workday, Doug is always there, no matter what the project, from sanding benches to blackberry removal, always willing to give to the group.

All of us should follow his example in volunteerism. One way to do that is to come down and help at the next workday when the wheelbarrow area will be completed. That will also help Doug out by making a locked storage area for supplies.

That is Doug Kirby, Jack-of-All-Trades, Gentleman Gardener, and all-around great guy who we are very lucky to know and call our friend!

Beautiful decorations, delicious dinner, great company, badges and certificates, and fun, FUN, FUN!

The 2022 JCMGA Graduation was all the above and more!

President-elect Marcie Katz, assisted by Sandy Hammond, Barbara Low and Lucy Pyllki, decorated the OSU Auditorium with a fall theme and provided a delicious dinner of lasagna, salad, garlic bread and ice cream sundaes.

Out of the 25 students who started the Master Gardener Program in January 2022, 15 persevered through COVID restrictions, loss of MG Coordinator Erika Szonntag at the end of March with no replacement through the rest of their year, almost everything done online, no Practicum – and the list could go on. CONGRATULATIONS to those 15! Additionally, four students who were unable to finish this year will be continuing in the program and graduating in 2023.

The new graduates who received their bright orange, Oregon-shaped badges and Master Gardener certificates are Cindy Bottasso, Tucker Campagna, Frances Cano, Mary Mason, Gail Ropel, Daniel Devries, Trina Stout, Glenda Capsey, Tom Capsey, Cheryl Martin, Thomas Kvigne, Janet Langley, Tenasi Rama Lazar, Meg Quam, and Leif Quam.

We hope you all will be long-term Master Gardeners who return over and over to work in the gardens, greenhouses, or on a committee. Every time you participate is an opportunity to make new friends, learn something new about gardening, give back to the Rogue Valley community, and have even more fun, FUN, FUN!

Immunity Enhancement for Tomatoes and other Night Shade Plants

If your tomato plant gets sick just give it an aspirin. The common aspirin tablet (uncoated, non-buffered) has been shown to create a systemic reaction in tomato plants that builds up the resistance to microbial disease. It is called an activator for local disease resistance mechanisms including systemic acquired resistance (SAR).

Common (uncoated) aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid. Dissolving one tablet (approx. 350 mg) in pure water and then applying it to the leaves of your tomato plants (as a foliar application) will trigger a systemic acquired resistance (SAR) which tells the tomato that something is attacking it and it needs to build its immune defenses. Since you are applying this to the plant before the microbes are attacking, the plants are ready to better defend themselves. Think of it as a vaccine for tomato plants.

This application seems to work best when applied approximately every two weeks.

This can also be applied to the roots of plants but double the quantity. “Take two aspirins and call me in the morning.”

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23653630/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19400653/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32544865/

https://thescientificgardener.com/aspirin-tomato-plants

Do you think it’s not important to report your volunteer hours once you have graduated? Nothing could be further from the truth! Here’s the scoop on why—

Extension funding comes from the federal government, the state government, Jackson County, and OSU. These governmental bodies want to see that the money spent on all the Extension programs is being increased in value by volunteer hours. (Remember, the Master Gardener Program is the largest of the programs.)

Every December, reports must be turned in showing what has been accomplished by each program during the year, including the number of volunteer hours donated. The amount of funding can be reduced if the powers that be decide the return on the funding is not sufficient. Right now, for example, the Oregon Legislature is contemplating reducing the funding to Extension programs.

So PLEASE take the time to go back through your 2022 calendar and figure out how many hours you have volunteered and, as close as possible, what you did. Enter that information into the Volunteer Recording System, https://mgvrs.extension.oregonstate.edu. If you are unfamiliar with the VRS, read the information on the homepage. (Even though, at first glance, the page is enough to make your eyes roll back in your head, take it in small pieces because it is well explained.)  Call or email Jane Moyer if you need help. (541-890-8561 or janemoyer@connpoint.net)

Volunteer Hours are to be recorded from November 1 through October 31 each year.

Greetings, Master Gardeners! It has been a pleasure to get to know some of you over the last months and to support all your good work! I write to update you on the front office staffing changes and reorganization. You may have already met Sandy O’Neill, our new Administrative Program Assistant. She is not “the new Sheila,” but rather is in a new position dedicated to marketing and program support, which involves creating flyers and other outreach materials; managing the SOREC Facebook, webpage, and other social media outlets; registering participants; answering program-related questions from the public; and providing support to program coordinators.

And now with Jackie’s absence, we hope to post a position soon that will fulfill many of her duties, including front office administrative support such as assisting callers and walk-ins; scheduling rooms and events; ordering and managing supplies; business functions such as paying invoices, accepting payments, generating reports, contracts, and managing office records; and providing administrative support to the 4-H program.

As Administrative Office Manager, I am responsible for the overall fiscal and administrative functions of the Extension office, in collaboration with the SOREC Director, Rich Roseberg, as well as community engagement for the Extension office. I have learned so much in the last year, especially while covering many duties in the various open positions we have had, including the Master Gardener Program Coordinator position, which we hope to fill soon. It has been a wild ride, and I look forward to continuing to support our many fantastic programs! If you have questions about office procedures or whom to ask for what type of assistance, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or stop by my office.