Jackson County Master Gardeners

 

Jackson County Master Gardeners Announcements

October 2025

 

• Articles for the October Garden Beet due by October 15^th. Send articles to jcmgabeet569@gmail.com

October

• REGISTER NOW —
  • Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2025 – October 17, 18, 24, and 25. Register now at the JCMGA Website https://jacksoncountymga.org/winter-dreams-summer-gardens-symposium/
• Around October 20^th JCMGA members along with Class of 2025 students will receive a ballot for the 2026 Board of Directors. Please make sure to vote.  This will be emailed to you if possible – if not it will be mailed.
• Record your volunteer hours  by October 31st.

 

November

• JCMGA Membership Renewal for 2026 will be open. Remember to renew your membership by January 31 to be included in our JCMGA 2026 Chapter Directory.

It has been a very productive month!

We are a volunteer organization, and we can accomplish a great deal towards accomplishing our mission to educate our community regarding home gardening/horticulture issues.

The Articles of Association describe the JCMGA mission in this way:

The organization’s mission is to learn, practice and teach the art and science of gardening in the Rogue Valley. This Association is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

As volunteers we are a necessary part of JCMGA.  Here are some of the activities which we have been involved in:

• Volunteers working weekly in our Demonstration Gardens. Our Garden Mentors are teaching our Class of 2025 Master Gardeners about the specific gardens.
• Plant A Row Project is continuing to be successful in providing food to our Medford Access Program. The JCMGA Vegetable Garden has donated approximately 400 pounds this year.
• OSU Plant Clinic has been open four days a week this month. Our JCMGA volunteers work at this clinic under Grace’s leadership.  We have helped many home gardeners by answering questions concerning insects or plant problems.
• We have 7 working groups who meet monthly to help JCMGA work effectively and creatively to meet our members’ and associations’ needs. Our working groups include Community Outreach, Fundraising, Gardens & Grounds, Marketing & Technology, Member Services, Spring Garden Fair, and Winter Dreams/ Summer Gardens.
• Our JCMGA Board of Directors meets once a month to conduct association business. It also meets for three retreats during the year for in-depth discussion of a variety of topics which are determined by the Board.
• The OSU Master Gardener class has JCMGA members who are Garden Buds, Practicum Mentors, and general support for Grace.

If you are interested in being a part of any of the above, please check your JCMGA Membership Directory or the JCMGA website to see who to contact to find out more about the activity.

For those of you who are involved with any of the above activities, THANK YOU for your service and leadership.

Over two days in early September, a group from the Master Gardener Board took a field trip to visit the five community gardens which had received grants from JCMGA.  At each garden, we were given a warm welcome and a tour. We were impressed by the dedication and resourcefulness of the volunteers.

JCMGA bestowed $1,000 to the Rogue Valley Food Bank Garden.  They will use their grant to add raised beds and expand their irrigation.  They showed us how they used burlap sacks to line their paths.  Also, they had an impressive system set up for cleaning the produce they produced.

The Holly Street Community Garden is using their grant money of $1,500 to replace the roof on their shed.  They have plantings that attract specific types of bees.

The Community Garden at Blue Heron Park in Phoenix, where the garden was demolished by the Almeda fire in 2020, has been completely rebuilt.  They are expanding their current irrigation system.  In addition, they are currently developing a children’s learning garden with the help of Kristina Lefever from Pollinator Project Rogue Valley.  We were able to award them $350.

The Garden of Giving associated with Providence Hospital in Medford will use their $250 grant money to replace a garden shed and buy supplies. Their produce gets distributed to Providence staff and others.

Eagle Point Community Garden in Eagle Point received $250 from JCMGA, and has used their grant money to buy fencing to keep the deer out of their garden.  Currently, they have only chicken wire around most of their small space.  They have a small garden, with a tumbler for mixing their compost.

Congratulations to each of these wonderful gardens.  It was gratifying to learn that we were able to contribute to their success through our fund-raising efforts.

 

Jackson County Master Gardener Association

Board Meeting Minutes

July 10, 2025

 

Board Members Present:

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

Linda Millus, President-Elect, Member Services WG Co-Chair

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

Regula Pepi, Assistant Treasurer

Kathy Apple, Recording Secretary

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

Joanne Daane, Member-at-Large

Mary Schrouder, Member-at-Large

Jane Moyer, Fundraising WG Chair

Jory Kaplan, Member-at-Large

Michael Hornbeek, Community Outreach WG Chair

Lucy Pylkki, Spring Garden Fair WG Co-Chair & Marketing & Technology Co-Chair

Carrie Holmes-Stanton, Co-Archivist

Kaleen Reilly, Member-at-Large

Grace Florjancic, OSU MG Program Coordinator

 

Board Members Absent:

Ann Ackles, Membership Secretary

Janine Salvatti, Gardens WG Chair

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

Teresa Jarratt, Co-Archivist

Rebecca Cohn, Member-at-Large

Linsey McNab, Co-Student Representative

Erin Galbraith, Co-Student Representative

Guests:

Kristina LeFever, President/Secretary, Pollinator Project Rogue Valley

Patricia Burnham, Treasurer, Pollinator Project Rogue Valley

 

Call to Order:  President Barbara Low called the Board meeting to order at 9:00am.

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 presented. Motion passed.

Approval of the Annual Board Meeting Minutes from June 13, 2025: During review it was noted that reports from Winter Dreams Summer Gardens Working Group and Member Services Working group should be separated, not combined.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve the June 13, 2025 Annual Board Meeting Minutes as written.  Motion passed.

Approval of the Board Meeting Minutes from June 13, 2025:

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve the June 13, 2025 Board Meeting Minutes as written.  Motion passed.

Finance Report:  Treasurer Keltie Nelson presented the financial statements for June 2025 and responded to questions from the Board.  Keltie reported that she will be placing another $30,000 in a six month CD.  Keltie also noted that an electric bill has not been received for a year or more.  MG Program Coordinator Grace Florjancic will look into the issue.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve the financial statements for June 2025.  Motion passed.

MG Program Coordinator Report:  Program Coordinator Grace Florjancic reported that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SOREC and JCMGA is under development.  Approval for the SOREC campus improvement plans should be arriving soon.  Organizational plans for the Cultivating Companions program are underway.  Plant A Row starts Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

President’s Report:   President Barbara Low noted that the monthly meeting with MG Program Coordinator Grace Florjancic and Farm Manager Jake Hoyman for August will need to be adjusted due to vacation schedules.

Discussion & Business:

1. Practicum Design Ad Hoc Committee Chair Jane Moyer reported that it now appears that priority should be given to replacing Greenhouse #1, building a new propagation house and plant infirmary instead of a classroom and tool shed.
2. Working Group Meetings: It was proposed that all Working Groups meet on a monthly basis to share activities and address overlapping issues.
3. Nomination Committee: It is time to put the Nomination Committee together for recruiting candidates for the 2026 open Board positions.   Linda Millus will Chair the committee.  Colet Allen, Lucy Pylkki, and Mary Schrouder volunteered to be on the committee.  The voting ballot will be approved by the Board at the October Board meeting with the final results reported to the Board at the November Board meeting.
4. Community Outreach Working Group Chair Michael Hornbeek and OMGA Representative Colet Allen proposed developing a policy that would supplement travel expenses for a JCMGA member who receives the “Send a Friend” attendance scholarship for the Joy of Gardening annual OMGA education conference.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to provide reasonable travel expenses (lodging, meals, mileage) to supplement the 2025 “Send a Friend” scholarship recipient (Erin Galbraith) to the OMGA Joy of Gardening annual conference.  Motion passed.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to draft a policy to provide reasonable travel expenses (lodging, meals, mileage) to supplement the “Send a Friend” recipient to the OMGA Joy of Gardening annual conference. Motion passed.

1. Colet Allen reported that the Medford Library has selected JCMGA to utilize the outdoor showcase for the month of October. Colet will recruit members to assist with developing a JCMGA display for the showcase.
2. Colet Allen reported that the items selected for the Silent Auction at the OMGA Joy of Gardening conference will not be available due to the Hanley Road shutdown and lack of access to SOREC.
3. President Low proposed cancelling the August Board meeting unless there is urgent business to address. The Board was in support of cancelling the August Board meeting.
4. President Low proposed a continued discussion of the Native Plant Nursery part time employee motion passed at the June 13, 2025 Board meeting. Treasurer Keltie Nelson who voted in the affirmative for the motion in June proposed the following motion:

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to rescind the July 13, 2025 motion to hire a part time employee for the Native Plant Nursery.  Motion passed.

Kristina LeFever, President/Secretary, Pollinator Project Rogue Valley and Patricia Burnham, Treasurer, Pollinator Project Rogue Valley attended the meeting to share their experience with hiring and managing a part time employee.  The Board reviewed and discussed the various options to assist the volunteers for the Native Plant Nursery.

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to approve a stipend of $1,500 for help with the Native Plant Nursery through October 31, 2025. Motion passed

MOTION:  It was moved and seconded to request the Executive Committee to address issues regarding hiring employees and other options for the future needs of the Native Plant Nursery.  Motion passed.

Announcements:

1. The Plant A Row Project produce collection will begin July 16, 2025.
2. The Honey & Meade Festival will be held September 13, 2025.
3. The JCMGA Fall Plant Sale will be held September 27, 2025.

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 10:58am.

Next Meeting:

1. The next regular Board meeting will be held September 12, 2025 from 9:00am to 11:30am.

Respectfully Submitted by Kathy Apple, Recording Secretary