Beet 2024 10 October

A BIG THANK YOU to our many volunteers who helped with working the JCMGA Informational Table at the Honey and Meade Festival on Saturday, September 21!  It was a great event.

• We were able to answer many gardening questions
• Sell some of our Garden Guides
• Had 11 people sign up to receive more information about the Master Gardening Class of 2025

 

 

ALSO, A BIG THANK YOU to our many volunteers who helped with the JCMGA Fall Festival on Saturday, September 28^th.  Marcie Katz and Lucy Pylkki did a wonderful job organizing the event.  Linda Millus organized some great children’s crafts – which were a hit with the kids!  Lynn Kunstman was instrumental in running the Native Plant Nursery sale of this event.  We also had a JCMGA Fundraiser booth which did very well!  Alice Ingraham, Adrienne Cheng, and Kaleen Reilly were instrumental in our new gardening shirts available to sale.  They are beautiful!

THANK YOU for all who worked at our Fall Festival to make it a terrific success!

 

 

Friday, October 18^th

Time	Presentation Title	Presenter
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.	“Climate Forward Trees”	.  Mimi Enright and Tim Coyne
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.	“From Fermentation to Forest Ecology: The Many Applications of Fungi”	Lorelle Sherman
1:00 – 2:15 p.m	“Bringing Nature Indoors:  Creating a Houseplant Home”	Grace Florjancic
2:30 – 3:45 p.m.	“2024 Trials of Organic Vegetables and Flowers”	Jennifer Gerrity

 

 

Saturday, October 19^th

Time	Presentation Title	Presenter
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.	“Firescaping for Home, Habitat, and Sense of Place”	Rachel Schleiger and Adrienne Edwards
10:30 – 11:45 a.m	Tricks of the Trade – ·        “Hoop Dreams” ·         “Tips and Tricks for Controlling Insects in the Home and Garden” ·        “Strawberries, Peas, and More”	Kent Patrick-Reilly Marsha Waite John Kobal
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.	“10 Proven Ideas for a Bee Friendly Garden”	Leah Pehlman
2:30 – 3:45 p.m	“Backyard and Small-Scale Composting”	.   Regina Boykins

 

Friday, October 25^th

Time	Presentation Title	Presenter
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.	“Coping with Climate:  How Our Changing Environment is Affecting Native Plants and Habitat Restoration in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond”	Tom Kaye
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.	“Naturalist Privacy Screens”	Bonni Englehart
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.	“Take a Walk on the Dry Side”	Bonni Englehart
2:30 – 3:45 p.m.	“The Many Uses for Ground Covers”	Susan Koenig

 

Saturday, October 26^th 

Time	Presentation Title	Presenter
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.	“Grow the Best Butterfly Garden”	Lynn Kunstman
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.	“Container Gardening”	Marcie Katz
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.	“All About Lavender”	.    Jered Grzybowski
2:30 – 3:45 p.m.	“Companion Plant Gardening”	Barbara Low

 

 

Photos: Marcie Katz and Janine Salvatti

 

Mural mania took hold of the GEC (Garden Enhancement Committee) at the end of 2023. The ugly storage pods bookending the Gathering Place were like a persistent fly annoying us every time we worked or met in that area. We wanted members and guests to have a pleasant and peaceful place to meet and mingle on the grounds away from Hanley Road.

 

This led us to develop a loose plan. We bought supplies, found free paint samples at Drakes Paint, and finally set to work in July of this year. Those pods are 8×20 feet! They loomed blank and scary for the uninitiated!

The photos attached don’t do justice to the colors or details. The surface texture of the pods make good photos impossible. You really need to come and appreciate them in person!

Artists and fabulous artist assistants:

Table Rock Pod (aka: Rogue Valley Postcard): Marcie Katz, Primary artist. Assistant artists: Chris Veach, Carrie Redfern, Alice Ingraham and Jane Moyer’s granddaughter, Addy.

Whimsy Pod:  Janine Salvatti, Primary artist. Assistant artists: Pam Cashwell, Alice Ingraham, Kari Gies, Carrie Redfern and Chris Veach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We send a heartfelt thanks to a few of our many volunteers!

 

Chris Veach, Carrie Redfern, Kari Gies, Janine Salvatti, Pam Cashwell and Marcie Katz.

 

 

 

 

 

Pam Cashwell and Kari Gies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Florjancic                                                                    Alice Ingraham

Photos by Marcie Katz and Janine Salvatti

You know how in life some things are more fun than others? Well, about 15 friends from the Illinois Valley-Cave Junction Garden Club made the hour-long jaunt to visit our demo gardens for a tour. What a super group!

Marcie and I showed them around the gardens. They were enthusiastic and inquisitive. They had varied levels of gardening experience and were keen on native plants and the environment. In fact, individuals in the group spent $120 in the Native Plant Nursery! These purchases sparked quite a good-natured debate since most folks carpooled and car space was limited. “Load person or plant…person or plant?” We were lucky it did not devolve into rock-paper-scissors!

We started the tour in the Gathering Place and ended there with cold drinks and time for sharing. The weather was lovely under our big old oak and was perfect for making new friends. Their group went on to lunch and some headed into Jacksonville for the community-wide garage sale.  Kind of a perfect day in my book.

As a personal aside, I’d like to share an “aha moment”. The Illinois Valley-Cave Junction Garden Club could not accept our initial tour invite for late May, as explained by their president, Ron Morse, because “that’s a very busy time for our gardeners”. They requested late August or early September. We agreed on September 6^th. I fretted about the timing; I didn’t want to disappoint them since our gardens are at their best in May and early June. To my relief, I discovered our gardens presented very nicely, even in September. Our guests were not disappointed.

Are there other JCMGA activities that might be suitable for an expanded timeline to decompress our spring calendar?

A special thank you to Alice Ingraham MG 2024 for her creation of the impressive panel (one of two) she loaned us for the tour. She created these out of cardboard!

Two very enterprising and hard-working GEMS (Garden Enhancement Mentors), Marsha Waite of the Daylily Garden and Consuelo  Montoya of the Native Gardens, along with students Joe Ulloa and David Gremmels, conceived a plan for bringing back a functioning compost area to the Demonstration Gardens.

The last time we had a working compost area was in 2019. MG Scott Goode and a crew of students invested in a new “cold compost” area (chopped up plant debris placed in a trench and covered with a tarp to decompose over time), along with a tool shed and shade area.

Then 2020 came, and with it Covid, so everything came to a standstill. When gardeners were able to return to the grounds, the “compost crew” did not. Without an actual area for a compost pile and a GEM to manage it, we were told to haul our garden debris out to the fields and spread it out for the flail mower to go over.

As the years went by, the cold compost area became covered in weeds.  Shade cloth hung in shreds from metal framing, rats took over the tool shed, and the area looked messy and abandoned. Fast forward to Alec Levin becoming Director of SOREC and wanting a “better aesthetic look” for the property. This was our hint to get it cleaned up!

Over the last three years we have accomplished that, starting with Doug Kirby, Sean Cawley and Jake Hayman the farm manager.  They managed to lift the tool shed off its pier blocks and move it to a better area than the field. The GEC (Garden Enhancement Committee), which had taken over weed whacking the area, removed the tarps and buried irrigation tubing. GEMS Sharon Maurin and Becky Belau, with their helper John McCole, moved the shade cover framework into their Propagation Nursery to be re-homed.

This year, the Gardens and Grounds WG had decided to get Green Bins from Rogue Disposal so our aging GEMS would not have to trek through the bumpy, hole-ridden field to the compost pile, which was now all the way in the NW corner by the vegetable garden. This was helpful, but the bins filled up quickly with spring cleanup. As they were only emptied once every two weeks, unfortunately we again had to take loads to the fields.

This prompted the energetic Marsha, Consuela, Joe, and David to build two new compost bins from scratch! Situated behind the tool shed, located off the north path behind Extension, they constructed a double bin out of pallets, spare 2 by 4s, and wire. The plan was to make compost mulch, speeding up production by using the chipper shredder once a month to break down the debris. Also a learning opportunity, we can now teach how to compost, which has not been part of the MG curriculum for a long time.

Many thanks to the driven and compassionate people who contributed to this composting project. They did an amazing job!  Please take the time to check it out.  It even has a happy little rock flower design set in concrete. Why?  Because compost makes flowers, worms, and gardeners happy!

 

       

Jackson County Master Gardener Association

Board Meeting Minutes

August 9, 2024

 

Board Members Present:

Barbara Low, President, Co-Chair, Winter Dreams Summer Gardens WG, Co-Chair Marketing &      Technology WG, Chair Member Services WG

Marcie Katz, Past President, Co-Chair Spring Garden Fair WG

Keltie Nelson, Treasurer, Co-Chair Marketing & Technology WG

Kathy Apple, Recording Secretary

Ann Ackles, Membership Secretary

Colet Allen, OMGA Representative & Co-Chair, Winter Dreams Summer Gardens WG

Lucy Pylkki, Member-at-Large & Co-Chair, Spring Garden Fair WG

Rebecca Cohn, Member-at-Large

Janine Salvatti, Chair, Gardens WG

Jane Moyer, Chair, Fundraising WG

Michael Hornbeek, Student Representative

Zoom Technology Failure Therefore the Following Board Members Were Unable to Attend:

Sandy Hammond, Member-at-Large

Rob MacWhorter, President Elect

Regula Pepi, Assistant Treasurer

Pam Hillers, Archivist

Cassandra Toews, Member-at-Large

Ronnie Budge, Chair, Community Outreach WG

Kaleen Reilly, Member-at-Large

Grace Florjancic, OSU MG Program Coordinator

Guests:

Alice Ingraham

Kendyl Berkowitz

 

Call to Order:  President Barbara Low called the Board meeting to order at 9:40am.

Additions to the Agenda:  A request was made to add discussion on the plants donated by the Josephine Master Gardener Association.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve the addition to the agenda.  Motion passed.

Approval of the Consent Agenda:

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to accept the Consent Agenda as presented.  Motion passed.

Approval of the Agenda:

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed.

Approval of the Board Meeting Minutes from July 11, 2024:

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve the July 11, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes as written.  Motion passed.

Finance Report:  Treasurer Keltie Nelson responded to questions from the Board regarding the financial statements for July 2024.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to accept the July 2024 financial statements.  Motion passed.

MG Program Coordinator Report:  On behalf of OSU MG Program Coordinator Grace Florjancic, President Low reported that the welcome luncheon for members of the Josephine Master Gardener Association went well with several members expressing interest in volunteering in various ways with Jackson County.  The Cultivating Companions grant implementation continues to go well with positive feedback.

President’s Report:   President Barbara Low shared the following information with the Board:

1. President Low reported that the monthly meeting with MG Program Coordinator Grace Florjancic and Farm Manager Jake Hoyman covered discussion of the trailer agreement, demolition of the Creepy Old House now set for mid-August, and plans to widen the SOREC entry driveway to three lanes.
2. A tour of updates to the JCMGA website was tabled however President Low noted that the Fall Festival & Winter Dreams Summer Gardens (WDSG) pages have been updated and registration for WDSG begins Monday, August 12, 2024.
3. President Low also noted that the website needs serious updating to its security and structure.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to authorize Treasurer Keltie Nelson to contract with a professional website consultant to assess and make recommendations regarding the JCMGA website.  Motion passed.

4. The 2024 Class Graduation date has been changed to November 9, 2024 due to a scheduling conflict with the previous date.
5. The JCMGA Orchard Demonstration Garden will be taken out due to the location of the planned SOREC building for students. The Board discussed possibly taking scions from the orchard, moving the trees to a different location, donating the trees, or simply letting them go.
6. President Low attended the OMGA Joy of Gardening annual education conference noting that the conference was well planned and had 230 attendees. She encouraged members to attend next year.
7. Dropbox training in the auditorium will be on a Wednesday at 5:30pm with possible dates being August 22^nd, August 28^th, and September 18^th. President Low will coordinate the final date with Regina Boykins.

Membership Secretary Report:   Membership Secretary Ann Ackles contacted two past JCMGA members that had recently rejoined.  One member reported that she had not received the renewal notice.  It was suggested that renewal flyers be posted around the demonstration gardens to help remind members to renew.   Membership Secretary Ackles provided JCMGA membership directories to attendees at the welcome luncheon for members of the Josephine County Master Gardeners.  Ann has set a goal of 100%-member participation in next year’s renewal and completion of the interest form.

Josephine County Master Gardener Association:  Jane Moyer reported on the effort to collect equipment, materials, and supplies at the request of the Josephine County Master Gardener Association.   A complete inventory will be documented.   In regards to the donated plants, proceeds from the sale of these plants will go to the general operating fund of Jackson County.  Members of Josephine County who would like to join Jackson County will have their membership fee waived for this year.  If Oregon State University charges members of Josephine County a fee for joining Jackson County, the Board will consider covering this cost.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to store the equipment, materials, and supplies obtained from the Josephine County Master Gardener Association and return all if the association reorganizes within three years.

Motion passed.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to refund the cost of the rental truck ($248.30) to obtain the materials from the Josephine County Master Gardener Association to Kathy Rogers. 

Motion passed.

Discussion:

900. Practicum Design Ad Hoc Committee Update: Jane Moyer presented three bids received for construction of the classroom, tool shed, and lathe house.  The three bids were 1) Shed Guys – $58,123 (no permits, no electrical, no concrete, no plumbing, etc.); 2) Pacific Breeze Construction – $207,800; and 3) Dovetail Design & Construction – $240,900.   The Board discussed the three bids and also funding ideas.   It was suggested that the membership be informed of the project.  Janine Salvatti offered to write a monthly article regarding the demolition of the Creepy Old House and the proposal to build a new classroom, tool shed, and lathe house.
901. President Low presented a draft Winter Dreams Summer Gardens video release form that would allow JCMGA to use the recorded education videos from the symposium in other venues. Language changes were discussed.  A revised draft will be presented to the Board at the next meeting.
902. President Low shared with the Board that President-Elect Rob MacWhorter needs to resign his position on the Board. The Board discussed the need to fill both the President and President-Elect positions for the 2025 Board election.  The Nominations Committee will meet soon to address the issue.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to accept the resignation from Rob MacWhorter as President-Elect.  Motion passed.

Business:

1. Master Gardener Clothing Fundraiser: JCMGA member Alice Ingraham shared the proposed design for the printing on the donated t-shirts.  The Board discussed ideas of what should be printed on the shirts as well.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve the clothing design with “Master Gardener” printed below the design.  Motion passed.

Announcements:

1. Fall Festival Update: Lucy Pylkki, Co-Chair for the Fall Festival reported that the $400 fee for use of SOREC grounds has been approved.  Vendors can now apply online for the festival.
2. Honey & Mead Festival – Tabled until the next Board meeting.
3. JCMGA Board Fall Retreat – Tabled until the next Board meeting.

Presentation:   President Barbara Low presented the State Growing & Belonging Award to Kendyl Berkowitz for her work in securing the grant to construct pathways in the Lavender Garden for disability access and the Cultivating Companions grant program.

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 11:30am.

Next Meeting:

1. The next Board meeting will be held September 13, 2024 from 9:00am to 11:30am.

Respectfully Submitted by Kathy Apple, Recording Secretary