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JCMGA Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2022

Nov 29

Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2022

By Beet 2022 12 December

By Colet Allen, Susan Koenig, and Barbara Low

 

Our Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2022 was a great success! We wanted to make sure to thank everyone involved to make this event an actuality. It genuinely took a village to accomplish all that was involved.

The Winter Dreams Summer Garden 2022 team gives a big thank you to the Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2021 team for leaving such a good road map for us to follow. The records that were left gave us a great starting point and allowed us to get right to work. After reviewing what was in Dropbox, we had a good idea of what was going to be needed by us to make the Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2022 event happen, maybe not seamlessly but close to it.

The three of us were able to look at the compilation of information and determine what the path for development was going to be. We created a timeline for accomplishing each major step from start to finish. Once this was done, we each used our strengths to fit ourselves into the slots that would best meet our personal wants and at the same time, figure out what the project would need, equally balance the workload, and end up with a quality product.

Division of labor between the three team members was one of the joys of this project. We worked well together, kept each other informed on all matters and enjoyed the process. We started early in the year so that there was plenty of time to plan and determine if there was some new energy and ideas that we could bring to this year’s symposium.

One of the new things we wanted to address was to make sure we documented our process as we went along. We each agreed that it was important that we documented our process along with the forms we created to accomplish our tasks. Our plan was that once the Symposium was complete and after a little time to decompress, we would review the process and determine what remains to be documented. Our goal is to review, develop what is missing, and download a completed process to Dropbox by mid-January.

At the suggestion of one of our Master Gardeners who is also a Licensed Landscaper (Thank you, Sherri Morgan), we sought accreditation and to determine if JCMGA could get our presentations certified by the Oregon State Landscaper Contractors Board (LCB) for their required continuing education hours. We worked with the State Board and were able to get all sixteen of our offerings certified. We only had four landscapers who took advantage of that opportunity this year. Next year, we will do a statewide outreach now that we know what the state is looking for and are confident that JCMGA can offer this service at a very reasonable rate. Working with this group of people in Salem was a real pleasure. They were responsive to phone calls/emails and worked with us to make sure we understood exactly what was needed to ensure we gave them the correct information to expedite the process. They were a joy to work with.

In addition to the traditional methods for getting the word out, we wanted to explore a few new ones. Besides appealing to the Licensed Landscapers, we worked with Medford Parks and Recreation. We put a quarter-page advertisement in their Fall booklet that went out in early September to 44,000 homes.

As a non-profit organization, we were able to use the QuestionPro Survey program this year. By sending out a survey we are trying to determine what is working and what is not. Please fill it out so that we can improve. It will probably take a couple of years to gather enough information to help make needed changes, but we appreciate and welcome your feedback.

Thanks to our Communications Working Group for following our schedule for PSAs, Facebook postings, Mailchimps, and other forms of advertising. We also had some help from OMGA, Josephine County Master Gardeners, OSU Extension and the OSU Task Force. A big thank you to all.

We were very happy with our wonderful presenters and pleased with the turnout for this year’s Winter Dreams Summer Gardens Symposium. We were able to provide a wide variety of relevant gardening topics with very qualified presenters. We tried to cover topics that we felt were important, including climate change, fire-resistant gardening, native plants, etc.

We learned a few lessons along the way. Our plan is to build on that knowledge and continue to develop a high-quality educational event for our gardening community.

What are we recommending for next year? We have a list of several speakers we want to ask back for other areas of their expertise and some new ones that we did not have room for this year.

We would also like to hear from you, the reader, and find out who you would recommend and what other subjects you would like to learn about.

Please give us information concerning what you liked and what we could improve on. Critical review is valuable, and we appreciate the feedback.  Feel free to contact us at jcmgawdsg20@gmail.com.

Oct 30

Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2022 Off to a Great Start!

By Beet 2022 11 November

 

Thank you to all who attended our first two days of this exciting event on October 28 and 29.

Our committee has worked diligently to provide quality presentations/presenters on a wide range of gardening topics.

During the first two days, we have had presentations dealing with the Rogue Valley climate and the expected changes which will affect the way we garden; working with fruit trees; growing herbs; taking care of our soil; having biodiversity in our garden; and regenerative agriculture.

There is still time to register for this event and attend the last two days of presentations on November 4 and 5.

  • Register by November 2 to attend the Zoom classes.
  • Register by November 5 to only be able to view the recordings.
  • A Mailchimp will be emailed to you with a Zoom link to the classes for the following day.
  • A list of the 15 presentation recordings’ URL links will be emailed to you the week of November 7th.

All but one of the entire 16 presentations will be recorded and available to view up to the end of December.

Participants will receive an Evaluation Survey through email on November 7th. We are asking you to take a few minutes to complete the survey. Your responses will help us to improve this event and get your input on what you would like to have included for next year’s Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2023. Your responses to our survey are very important to us.

 

Questions? Email: jcmgawdsg20@gmail.com

 

 

Sep 29

Winter Dreams Summer Gardens 2022 — Saving the Best for Last

By Beet 2022 10 October

 

 

This is the last Garden Beet article showcasing our Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens presenters. Have I saved the best for last? Well, who knows what will be the best presentation? They all sound exciting to me!

Join us on October 28-29 and November 4-5 for Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens. Sixteen one and one-half hour lectures with Q&A on timely and relevant gardening topics will be presented.

Be sure to register at https://jacksoncountymga.org/winter-dreams-summer-gardens-symposium/ Registration cost is only $30.00 for all 16 lectures, less than $2.00 for each. Now, that’s a bargain you can’t turn down. The Zoom link will be sent to you the day before and will be the same link for each class that day.

Speakers

Brian Hendrix       

  • Title: Fire Adapted Landscaping: Best Practices and Understanding Defensible Space
  • Description of presentation: Designed to help gardeners improve your understanding of what “being Firewise” really means for gardens and landscaping around the home. Learn how various wildfire risk reduction activities can improve the survivability of a home in a wildfire event. We will introduce terms and activities relating to wildfire mitigation, learn basics about effective plant spacing and maintenance for improved defensible space and differences between a “Firewise” or “Flammable” plant. We’ll offer examples from local homes and help prioritize actions related to vegetation maintenance for wildfire preparedness.

 

  • Bio: Brian Hendrix is the Fire Adapted Communities Coordinator for Ashland Fire & Rescue. He has served since 2017 and is a Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist and Fire Inspector II. Brian was the Weed Abatement Coordinator and a Wildfire Mitigation Assistant for AF&R’s Wildfire Division.

 

 

     Neil Bell

  • Title: Groundcovers of Every Size for Unirrigated Landscapes
  • Description: The term “groundcover” is usually interpreted to mean a diminutive plant which spreads horizontally in the landscape and does not exceed a few inches in height. In most landscape situations, groundcovers are utilized in a supporting role as filler between shrubs or trees that are the real focus of the landscape and serve principally to suppress weeds. Weed management is a worthy goal of groundcover plants, but their effectiveness is directly related to the height of the plant and the density of the canopy. This presentation will look at an array of groundcovers which vary in size for use in un-irrigated situations not as filler, but as a mainstay of the landscape itself.

 

  • Bio: Neil Bell was Community Horticulturist for OSU Extension Service from 2000 to 2021 and coordinated the OSU Master Gardener programs in Marion and Polk Counties during that time. He oversees landscape plant evaluations on drought-tolerant shrubs and is currently conducting a 3-year evaluation of shrubs for groundcover in unirrigated landscapes at the OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, OR.

 

 

Ray Seidler         

  • Title: Why Regenerative Agriculture?
  • Description: The global food system currently generates approximately one-third of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. What we eat and the kinds of agricultural practices used to produce our food contribute significantly to these emissions. Seidler will provide an operational definition of regenerative agricultural practices that lead to numerous agronomic benefits including lower fossil fuel inputs as well as sequestering or removing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Thus, he says, there is a clear nexus between regenerative agriculture practices and climate change mitigation. Dr. Seidler will also explain how all of us, regardless of our gardening skills, can help mitigate climate change and reward American farmers who are already participating in carbon sequestering regenerative agricultural programs.

 

  • Bio: Dr. Seidler has studied, taught and conducted research at 5 major American Universities. He received a B.S. degree from California State University, Northridge and a Ph.D. in Bacteriology from the University of California at Davis.  He was a tenured professor of Microbiology at Oregon State University and later a senior research scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In retirement, he and his wife grow lavender commercially using regenerative and organic practices at Pompadour Lavender Farm, Ashland.

 

 

 Sherry Sheng

  • Title: Fruit Tree Pruning
  • Description: This class will discuss how to use different types of pruning cuts and when and where to apply them. Attendees will learn whether fruits are produced on spurs or shoots so that pruning stimulates an abundance of fruiting wood to support good production. Join us and learn how to shape a young tree and steps for pruning pome fruits (apple and pear), stone fruits (plum, cherry, apricot, peach and nectarine), persimmon and fig.

 

  • Bio: Sherry Sheng is an Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener who leads and teaches for the award-winning 10-Minute University™ Program. She began teaching gardening classes in 2006 and has many instructional videos to her credit. Sherry gardens at home, at a community garden, and co-manages a pollinator garden at a public park.

 

 

Susie Savoie   

  • Title: Creating the Troon Vineyard Native Plant and Pollinator Botanical Garden
  • Description: In December 2020, Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds installed a ½-acre Native Plant and Pollinator Botanical Garden at Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley that includes nearly 100 species of native plants. Primarily established through direct seeding, with some use of potted native nursery plants, the garden provides an opportunity to learn about native plants in a scenic, organic, and biodynamic vineyard setting that is open to the public. This presentation will focus on how the space went from bare ground to a botanical garden with paths, a small meadow, and blocks of species highlighted with plant signs within two years. Lessons learned and specific species information will be provided.
  • Bio: Suzie Savoie is co-owner of Siskiyou Ecological Services and Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds. She was co-author of Native Pollinator Plants for Southern Oregon and an editor of The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History & Ecology. Suzie provides native seed collection services, online native seed sales, native nursery plants and native plant consultation. For nearly 20 years, she has been using native plants for gardens and habitat restoration on her property in the Applegate Valley, and she enjoys helping others do the same.

 

 

Aug 27

Highlighting JCMGA Experts Presenting at Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens

By Beet 2022 09 September

Last month began our Garden Beet series of three articles on the instructors and their presentations for the upcoming Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens Symposium October 28-29 and November 4-5. This month, I am going to shine a spotlight on JCMGA’s own Master Gardener experts who will be presenting at the symposium. I’m including Rachel Werling in this group, because she was the instructor for my class in 2016 and we made her an “honorary” Master Gardener. Although you may have heard presentations by each of them in the past, these Master Gardeners are developing NEW lectures for this symposium. We have a deep and talented bench!

Speakers:

Rachel Werling                                                                                 

  • Title of presentation: Wildflowers to Know
  • Description of presentation: We will have a virtual tour through some of our lovely Southwest Oregon habitats and see native blossoms in their native habitats. We will give pointers on where to see wildflowers, tools for identification, and suggest places to find these species for sale for your own garden.
  • Short bio: Rachel Werling runs the OSU Land Steward program and Klamath Siskiyou Ecoregion Course of the Oregon Master Naturalist Program. She is president of the Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon.

 

 

Lynn Kunstman

 

  • Title: Why Natives? – Seven Steps to Restoring Biodiversity in Your Yard
  • Description: Planting native plants is crucial to ecosystem health and to preserving and protecting life on earth. Plant choice matters and choosing native plants helps to restore and ensure vital ecosystem services in our landscapes. Based on the work of Dr. Doug Tallamy, this presentation outlines seven steps you can take to create healthy, productive gardens and help save our disappearing pollinators and birds.
  • Short Bio: Lynn is a Master Gardener living in Medford Oregon. She has lived in the

Rogue Valley since 1986. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management and a

Master’s Degree of Science in Education. A retired middle school science and special

education teacher, Lynn’s students at Ashland Middle School established the butterfly

garden there. Her first project upon retiring and moving from Ashland to Medford was

to mulch out all the lawns on her property. Lynn’s entire front yard in Medford is now

given over to wildlife: planted with edible trees and shrubs, and pollinator plants. The

back yard is planted in fruit trees, berries and vegetables for the humans. She is an

enthusiastic advocate of gardens planted with wildlife, pollinators and butterflies in mind.

 

Robin McKenzie                                                                                 

  • Title of Presentation: Planning and Growing a Living Landscape: Gardening for Biodiversity
  • Description: Save time and money by planning before you plant! With the right knowledge about native and ornamental plants, timing, seasonality, and basic design principles, it’s easy to transform any space into a pollinator and bird paradise, regardless of size. You’ll walk away from this information-packed class with step-by-step planning techniques for creating a garden that supports native and migratory pollinators and birds, while offering a beautiful, soothing vista for you and your neighbors.
  • Short Bio:Robin McKenzie is a landscape designer in Talent, Oregon. Rockbird Gardens specializes in transforming typical lawns into living landscapes using native and ornamental trees, shrubs, and perennials. As an avid birder, Robin values insects as critically important parts of the ecosystem and encourages students to embrace gardening that brings all facets of life into the neighborhood. Robin tends her own official Talent Pollinator Garden as well as a Certified Monarch Butterfly Way Station.

 

 

Sherri Morgan                                       

  • Title: Lawn Gone
  • Description: Many of us grew up with lawns and have always considered them a major part of our landscapes. But we live in Southern Oregon, which has a Mediterranean climate, with four-plus months of little to no rain. Currently, we are in the third year of a significant drought, with water restrictions increasingly likely. Lawns are thirsty and do little to provide food or shelter to our native insects and vertebrates. This class will show how to easily remove the lawn. Then, we will discuss replacing the lawn area with plants that preserve a sense of space, but which are more appropriate for our climate and support the ecosystems in which we live.
  • Short Bio: Sherri is a Master Gardener and 15-year resident of Jackson County. She has taught in the Master Gardener Practicum program since 2009 and currently is the mentor of the Native Plants Garden at the Extension (SOREC) in Central Point. Sherri has certificates in landscape design and construction and over the past several years has focused on designs that feature plants native to our area.

 

 

Shirley Wentworth                                                                   

  • Title: Incorporating Herbs into Your Life
  • Description: A discussion of herbs used as flavorings, infusions, scents, nutrients and in cooking that can be grown in the Rogue Valley. Shirley will talk about growing selected herbs and how to use them.
  • Bio: Shirley has been a Master Gardener since 2013. She is the Garden Education Mentor for the Herb Garden at Extension and was the organizer of the Herb Study Group.

 

 

John Kobal       

  • Title: Year-Round Vegetable Gardening
  • Description: Why not take advantage of gardening year-round? With a little planning, you too can reap the benefits and enjoyment of eating your own fresh produce. Change what you grow with the changing seasons. Start your winter garden before cool weather sets in. Know what crops to plant and when to expect harvests. Interplant crops to anticipate changes in weather. Have a greenhouse or a heat mat? Start your seeds early.
  • Short Bio:   John has 30-plus years of gardening experience. He relocated to the Rogue Valley in 2014 and became a Master Gardener in 2015. John has an extensive orchard, an in-ground garden and 18 raised beds used for growing vegetables. He has three worm bins which compost most kitchen scraps. John is a garden lecturer for civic organizations, interfaces with several local school gardening programs, is a Practicum instructor in the Master Gardener Training Program and hosts the garden lecture series at the annual Master Gardener Spring Garden Fair.
Jul 29

A Preview of the 2022 Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens Symposium

By Beet 2022 08 August

Planning for the 2022 Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens Symposium is well underway. The Symposium will offer 16 different class sessions, four per day on October 28-29 and November 4-5. With so many gardening-related topics to choose from, the WD/SG Working Group decided to have four presentations for each of four subject areas: climate change/ecology; native plants; home gardening; and a “grab bag” theme.

To increase our audience, we are partnering with the Oregon State Landscape Board to offer our classes for Continuing Education Horticultural credits for Landscapers. We are also trying new avenues of advertising, including a color ad in the Medford Park and Recreation Department’s Fall Catalog with a circulation of 44,000 households. Because the classes will again be presented via Zoom, there are plenty of seats!

We have booked 16 spectacular speakers, a few of whom you will know and others who are new to WD/SG. This month, and for the next two months, we will be showcasing the bios of 5-6 speakers in the Garden Beet. The schedule of classes and registration information will be available in mid-August. You will be able to register and pay on-line through the jcmga.org website. Watch for the Mailchimp announcement in August.

Speaker Bios

Jamie Trammell                                                               

  1. Title: “Rogue Valley climatology in the future: implications for planning, fire, and food”
  • Description: What do the climate models suggest for the Rogue Valley in the future? More heat stress, less water? More rain, less snow? During this session, we will summarize what the latest models show for the Rogue Valley and how we can use this information to begin planning for the future today.
  • Short bio: Jamie Trammell is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at Southern Oregon University. He is trained as a landscape ecologist and has been working on climate change models for nearly a decade. He specializes in visualizing climate and other drivers of ecosystems using maps and geospatial technology.

 

Jane Collier               

  • Title: “Intro to Berries”                                                                     
  • Description: This class will compare and contrast strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Topics include: longevity, space requirement, variety choices, expected time of harvest, quantity of harvest, cultural requirements (fertilizing, watering, pruning), and common pests and diseases.
  • Short Bio: Jane Collier became an OSU Master Gardener in Clackamas County is 1996. She has taught many classes for the award-winning 10-Minute University™ program. Jane gained extensive experience with growing blueberries, having operated a ‘U-Pick’ blueberry patch on her farm. Today, she and her husband grow and preserve a variety of fruits, berries, and vegetables on their five-acre farm.

 

Kora Mousseaux                                                                                                        

  • Title: “Stormwater Management and Conservation”
  • Description: Learn about stormwater management techniques and overall methods to increase water efficiency on your property. Participants will be given an overview on stormwater management, particularly rainwater harvest. Resources will be shared and participants should walk away from the presentation feeling better prepared to implement water conserving measures such as rainwater harvest on their property.
  • Short bio: Kora Mousseaux is the Community Water Resource Conservationist at Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District where she has worked since 2016. She provides technical and financial assistance to landowners and land managers in Jackson County. Kora focuses on stormwater runoff mitigation/low impact development, water-wise landscaping, and other water resource conservation projects.

 

Matt Young                                                                                           

  • Title: “All About Soil & and the Nutrients”
  • Description of presentation: The presentation will cover a wide range of important information about garden soils. A few of the topics in this presentation are: types of soil, the macro and micronutrients reported on soil analyses, the role of pH and buffer pH, how to raise nutrients using organic and synthetic fertilizers and how to read the various analyses on a soil test report.
  • Short bio: Matt Young is the agronomist for a California company that consults with farmers and ranchers on soil and water issues as well as offering soil tests for home gardeners. He has lived on a farm all his life where he discovered his aptitudes for machinery, crops, and animals. He has studied the science behind what grows and what makes it grow – anything that is between the water, how the water gets there and the soil. He has two BS degrees in Agriculture Sciences – Biology and Sustainability, as well as several certificates in irrigation technology, plant sciences and poultry science.

 

Andony Melathopoulos 

  • Title of presentation: “Take a walk on the wild side: The weird and wonderful world of Oregon’s native bees”
  • Description of presentation: Explore the buzzing world of bees with OSU professor Andony Melathopoulos from the comfort of your home. Learn about Oregon’s native bees and Andony’s research with the Oregon Bee Atlas. You will leave knowing how to identify some of the more common bee species and what to plant in your garden where you can study them more closely.
  • Short bio: Andony is an Assistant Professor in Pollinator Health Extension in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University. OSU’s work around pollinator health comes from mandates passed by the Oregon Legislature. He has four primary responsibilities: (1) training pesticide applicators on how to control pests while minimizing impacts to pollinators, (2) organizing a state-wide native bee survey (the Oregon Bee Atlas), (3) guiding residential beekeepers on how to prevent their honeybees from becoming a nuisance, and (4) hosting a weekly podcast on pollinator health (PolliNation). He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Oregon Bee Project, which coordinates pollinator health work across state agencies.
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