{Editor’s note: As Washington State University Master Gardener Volunteer week comes to a close, it seemed fitting to talk about what makes for rich learning opportunities for Master Gardener volunteers.  Master Gardener Mary-Jean Grimes describes how new hands-on training and a subsequent evaluation are supporting volunteers in Grays Harbor-Pacific Counties, Washington.}

Washington State University (WSU) Master Gardener Training has two parts, the online modules presented by the WSU experts and the local county component. The content & exams were set up to make sure that all the Master Gardeners in Washington State receive consistent training from WSU.  The second component is planned by the local counties and varies in content and number of sessions.

From Lecture to More Hands On Training

Sifting compost during Master Gardener training

Grays Harbor-Pacific Counties decided 2 years ago that a practicum aspect of training was needed.  We used the objectives from each module to determine the focus of the activities. Then we asked for Master Gardener volunteers to plan and facilitate the hands-on activities. We changed our terminology from presenter to facilitator because people heard presentation or lecture when we used the term presenter and we didn’t want PowerPoint presentations or lectures. Just changing the term forced a change of mindset. The sessions became very active.

This type of training is successful. Trainees were very enthusiastic and felt more confident about working in plant clinics, demo garden, and presenting to the public.

Another aspect of the local training days is the trainees’ evaluations of each session of the day. The evaluations are required, but they are anonymous. (The papers are numbered so we know who has turned in the forms, but the numbers are removed before the evaluations are read by anyone.) The evaluation form is simple:

1. Which activities were worthwhile?

2. Next year it might work better to:

3. Please eliminate or change:

What do MGs think of training sessions?

For our last training we had an evaluation for each day, but the information we got was too general.  This year our evaluation was specific to each topic. This gives us better subject information as well as overall information.  The trainees also can focus their comments , offering very good feedback and insights.

One particular day (The day we spent the day in a garden working with small fruits, in an orchard, deciding on a veggie garden site and determining how to plant to rotate crops, and propagating plants!) we got this in the Please Change section:

“Don’t make such a long day of standing, plan some time to sit and do things.”

We also get praise for the use of small group and practicum activities:

“Small groups worked well; everyone was able to engage/practice.”

We also got these 2 comments:

“Somehow have raspberries that show disease (BUT NOT AT MY HOUSE!) and Serve berry smoothies.”

This was another comment:

Each module should include some of the “common questions that you’ll likely be asked…” or perhaps, “here are the most common questions that WSU receives on this…So, I’m suggesting that the leaders of each exercise spend time collecting this background on “Here’s what to expect…” so that the exercise imparts not just basic knowledge & skills, but also emphasizes that this is a program to “train the trainer” for the eventual public support/service responsibility.”

Integrating Feedback Back into Training

"Which crop where" training

Needless to say this immediately went out to the remaining facilitators for use planning their sessions. By making adjustments and using the suggestions shows the trainees that their evaluations are important and used.

Our county agent stresses,

“What is the impact of what you are doing as master gardeners?  How are you going to measure it?”

Besides getting good feedback on how to make training the best, we are also showing the trainees that evaluation & impact are important parts of the master gardener program.  For a full summary of feedback from one Grays-Harbor-Pacific training class, see: GraysHarbor-Pacific_SummaryEvalClass3_4-7-12)

-Mary-Jean Grimes,
Master Gardener Grays Harbor-Pacific Counties, Washington State

WSU Extension Master Gardener Program leader,  Tonie Fitzgerald shared with us this press release: Gov. Gregoire Recognizes 39th Anniversary with WSU Master Gardener Volunteer Week.  Here we share the official proclamation, signed by Gov. Gregoire.

Washington State Proclamation: "Washington State University Master Gardener Volunteer Week" (Larger size available: WashingtonStateMGProclamation2012)

As Tonie Fitzgerald mentions in the press release,

The WSU Extension Master Gardener Program is larger and stronger than ever.

“Master Gardeners really understand the need for their work to be relevant,” she said. “They’re teaching about protecting water quality and growing food all over the state now.”

Created in Washington State in 1973, the Master Gardener “teach the teacher” model has spread to similar programs in all 50 states. WSU faculty and staff train Certified Master Gardener Volunteers to be community educators about issues of importance in their local communities. Last year, Master Gardener volunteers reported nearly 232,000 hours of service in the state.

Congratulations and thank you WSU Master Gardeners!  We hope you have enjoyed celebrating this week.

-Story ideas and resources contributed by Mary-Jeam Grimes, Master Gardener, Grays Harbor-Pacific Counties, Washington State and Tonie Fitzgerald, WSU Extension Master Gardener Program Leader.

-Posted by Karen Jeannette, eXtension Consumer Horticulture Content Coordinator

Master Gardener Class of 2012 - I'm the pregnant gal in black on the far left.

My classes started the second week of January, meeting once a week until the last week of April.  Kurt Campbell, Extension Educator for Ag and Natural Resources for Purdue, organized our classes and taught a chunk of them.  He did a wonderful job encouraging socializing.  We didn’t need too much help; the class was made up of 19 verbose students.  Apparently we were one of the bigger more talkative classes in recent history.  We had a good time sharing our personal gardening stories, favorite local nurseries and plotting out all the new things we were going to try in our gardens that we learned in class. 

Each class was a different topic.  We covered:

• Plant Science
• Weed Identification and Control
• Pesticide Safety and Alternatives
• Soil and Plant Nutrition
• Woody Ornamentals
• Insect Pest Diagnosis and Control
• Plant Disease Diagnosis and Control
• Home Lawn Care
• Home Fruit Production
• Herbaceous Ornamentals
• Composting
• Indoor Gardening
• Home Vegetable Crop Production

I loved that we had guest speakers for many of the topics. They were local horticulture business owners or State Extension Specialists.  Not only did I learn a lot from them, but now I know who to contact to learn more about bee keeping or which variety of apple is best for my zone and soil type. 

Nathan Fingerle giving a tour to our Master Gardener class of his green houses where he uses colored plastic to boost growth and repell insects.

For the last class we did a field trip to the Fingerle’s River Ridge Farm, a local small farmer who grows vegetables year round in a series of green houses and in the summer on a two acre plot of land.  It was a fascinating look at how productive an intensively managed vegetable garden could be, especially with a little added protection from row covers.  I think we all left with a bag of spring mix lettuce, freshly dug carrots or leeks as well as a whole lot of ideas to implement in our own gardens. 

At the end of the class we took a written test to make sure we had learned enough to graduate to Master Gardener Interns.  (We’ll get to be full Master Gardeners once we complete 35 hours of approved volunteer service.)  There was quite a bit of concern that it would be hard to get the minimum of 70% and fail.  Many questions were asked to make sure everything on the study guide was understood.  In the end all the hard work paid off and everyone passed! 

I miss my weekly class and I can’t wait to see everyone again at the monthly Master Gardeners Club meetings.

{Editor’s note: Just as this post was submitted, Master Gardener Carla Albright reported the soggy weather has just lifted, yielding beautiful weather for the rest of the week!}

This spring was one of the wettest on record along the Pacific Northwest Coast. As one of the weathermen from Portland said, “April showers bring May showers.” And so we continue to have wet weather.

Dampened gardening opportunities?

As you can imagine, this poses a real problem for Master Gardeners to try to explain to our concerned clients who have become frustrated with the inability to get their vegetable gardens planted. They want to know the best way to handle constant rain in their spring gardens. Even though we may get a few sun breaks, the ground stays soggy after 5 inches of rain in three days.

We can advise them to wait until the soil is dry enough to work, but that isn’t always easy when we all have waited for months to be able to get out and work in our gardens once again. Sometimes we just have to get out there and do something before we go stir crazy!  For those of us lucky enough to have a greenhouse, rain is not the issue. But there are other ways to start gardening earlier in our rainy climate for those who do not have the space or funds to build a greenhouse.

Considering raised bed, cloches, and gardening in pots

Most of us who have gardened in the Pacific Northwest for any length of time realize raised beds are one way to help with rain. If planted with porous soil, they will drain faster and stay drier longer. Raised beds also lend themselves to being covered easily with cloches. Cloches made of PVC pipe and clear or frosted plastic – but not black – not only warm the soil faster and protect from certain insect damage, but they keep the rain off as well.

Cloches protect from wind and excess rain (Photo: Carla Albright)

Cloches give a head start in rainy weather. They also protect tender plants late into the fall. (Photo: Carla Albright)

Of course using raised beds requires some foresight. It’s pretty hard to tell a client they need to create raised beds in May when they should have been constructed and filled last fall. But it’s not too late to start them now. Lots of plans can be found on the internet or in Master Gardener libraries in our extension service offices.

Don't have enough time to make a raised bed this year? Try gardening in pots?

If space or time is limited, try suggesting to clients that they garden in pots instead of raised beds.

Again, when the proper soil mix is used, rain water will drain rapidly. There are also many types of vegetables now being bred specifically for patio gardens. Lists of these can be found on the web for any area of the country. I do try to choose pots that are deep but narrow at the top. Deep allows roots to stretch out and narrow rims keep the moisture from evaporating so quickly. Darker colored pots also keep the soil warmer longer into the autumn.

But we choose to live in this beautiful part of the world, partly because the rains make our gardens and forests so lush and full of life.

How do you deal with a wet garden?

• So, as Master Gardeners, how do you advise clients to combat the rain?
• Are these practices you personally have used?
• What other ideas are you aware of that might help? (Other than moving to Arizona!)

~ Carla Albright, Tillamook County (OR) Master Gardener Association

During Nat'l Volunteer Week, we explored how Master Gardeners are like pollinators in their communities (Photo: Connie Schulz)

Review any of April 2012’s blog posts. Always available in the right column of the blog, the archive can be be a great way to catch up when the garden calls most of your spring attention.

What fun! National Volunteer Week blog posts! This year we participated in this national event by blogging about how we Celebrate National Volunteer Week with ~94,000 volunteers. All five of the blog posts were awe-inspiring and point to how significant the work of EMG volunteers is in their communities across the U.S. If you missed these posts, check out the wonderful letters and stories from Master Gardeners and program coordinators in the links above.

Insights from the Kalamazoo Giving Garden: How does a giving garden sustain itself in a community for over 15 years?  You’ll be able to get some insights on how it’s done by reading this 3-part story submitted by Kalamazoo MG, JC Schneider, about how volunteerism, partnerships, management best practices, and educational and outreach activities are all part of the equation.

National Weather and Gardening Notes for April 2012

Will recently frost hit areas see tree fruit this year? A recent look at tree fruit blossom health may tell.

What kind of weather or gardening notes did you take in April 2012? Below are some our observations of happenings in the national gardening and Extension Master Gardener communities in the past 30 days.  We’d welcome your insights and observations of April 2012 in the comments section below, too.

Master Gardener Plant Sales: For the past month, a steady stream of Master Gardener plant sale news has been traveling through  Twitter, Facebook, and other online blogs and new sources. If you haven’t been to a Master Gardener Plant Sale, be on the lookout or check out this Facebook post. There might be a plant sale near you this week!

A Followup – Tree Fruit Flowers After Frost: After tree fruit crops got a head start this spring and then got hit by frost in many areas across the county (as we mentioned in last month’s notes), you might wonder, what does frost damage really look like to tree fruit flowers up close?  Well, wait no more,  as Karl Ford, UMN Extension Educator, shares photos and examples of Frost Damage to Apple Flowers.

The Southern Region Master Gardener Conference was the first week in May.  For those who couldn’t make it, but would like to experience it through a conference attendee,  you can catch up on days 1-4 through Arkansas State Extension Master Gardener Coordinator Janet Carson’s blog posts as she described how the events unfolded in Natchez, Mississippi:

• Monday, May 1st, On the Road to Natchez, Mississippi | Tuesday, May 2nd | Wednesday, May 3rd | Thursday,  May 4th | Final Evening
   

  Interesting Educational Resources

  What other educational resources did you see in April that you found helpful or would like to share? This month, we saw…

  • Straw Bale Gardening – Our Facebook page got numerous “Likes” for Arizona Cooperative Extension’s straw bale gardening information last month, so we thought we would expand on these resources, sharing their Straw Bale Gardening Video, also.
  • Pruning Guidelines: Even if you don’t tweet, you might chirp a bit about the helpful images and information found in the following tweet from the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center Twitter account. Click on the bit.ly link in the tweet below to see this helpful resource:
    

    Have a tree with two leaders and don’t know what to do? Ed Gilman at U. Fla has great guidelines on pruning.bit.ly/Hp1WKC

    — Home&Garden Info (@UMDHGIC) March 30, 2012

  Help Needed and Educational Opportunities for Master Gardeners

  

  Master Gardeners are needed to help raise awareness about national late blight project (Photo: Margaret McGrath)

  • Help with Plant Disease Awareness and Monitoring. Cornell’s Meg McGrath is looking for help from Extension Master Gardeners in spreading awareness and monitoring for two diseases: Basil Downy Mildew and Late Blight.  Please feel welcome to share these links with gardeners who may like to help with these national plant disease awareness and monitoring efforts.
  • Coming, May 10 -Fire Ant Control Webinar. eXtension is hosting a free webinar May 10 — Fire Ant Control Made Easy. Even if you don’t live in states where imported fire ants are a problem, you might want to know about them. Some have asked if the session will be recorded and archived, also. The answer is yes, it will, but we still encourage you to attend the live event if you can so you can participate in the Webinar session.
  • Online Module for Master Gardeners. Taken by over 400 Master Gardeners in 22 states across the US, this module: Introduction to Diagnostics for Master Gardener Volunteers: Approaches to Plant Pest Diagnostics, may be a way for you to refresh your diagnostics skills from home. This $10 online module is continually available for Master Gardeners and others seeking to update their plant diagnostics skills. You can access the information for 10 weeks after you register, and when completed, you receive a certificate that can be presented to your state coordinator for continuing education credit.

Now, it’s your turn…

• What did you learn this month that helped you understand the world of gardening or volunteering better?
• What was particularly interesting to you?
• What’s coming up that you’d like other Extension Master Gardeners to know about?

-Karen Jeannette
eXtension Consumer Horticulture Content Coordinator

International Compost Week 2012

As a Master Composter I want to do my part to draw attention to the importance of building soil fertility and soil structure and the importance of diverting organic waste from the landfill to our soil where it can enrich the earth. Hence the US Composting Council’s new Strive for Five campaign.

US Composting Council’s new Strive for Five Campaign 

The US Composting Council has launched a campaign to ‘Strive for 5%’ organic matter in the soil to promote the goal of improving and maintaining soil structure and nutrition. For example here in North Carolina, most of our state’s native soils have a low SOM (Soil Organic Matter) of only 1% compared to our nation’s most fertile soils which have 5-7% SOM. As Frank Franciosi, President of the US Composting Council, said in an article on SOM, “Organic matter is the key to a healthy soil and hence healthy plants. SOM is critical for the soil to function properly in order to support plant life naturally. It provides structure and a place for water, air, and biological life to exist in soil.” Here are a few of the things SOM does for the soil:

Compost improves soil structure and porosity by physically loosening the soil and creating a more conducive environment for plant roots by reducing compaction and surface crusting. In addition, the organic matter in compost serves as a reservoir of nutrients and water in the soil. It also reduces water loss and nutrient leaching by improving moisture infiltration rates and soil permeability which in turn reduces erosion and runoff.

Strive for Five Percent

Compost allows plants to more effectively utilize nutrients, while reducing nutrient loss by leaching – Compost allows consumers to use less amendment, and to make their use much more effective. Since compost provides a source of slow release nutrients, it does not pose the same environmental concerns as fast release, soluble nutrients. The organic matter in compost serves as both a fast-acting and a time-release supply of nutrients. (In effect, while plants feed off active materials, the more stable materials are gradually converting into usable nutrients. In addition, the stable decomposing forms quickly absorb available soil nutrients for plant use (University of Minnesota Extension).

Best of all, compost supplies beneficial microorganisms to soils – Healthy soil is a living material, filled with beneficial microorganisms, such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa – the soil food web. As small as they are, these tiny soil organisms are the real giants in your garden, and a teaspoon of soil is swarming with millions of them. These living organisms help keep your soil healthy, decompose organic matter, replenish soil nutrients, form humus, promote root growth, and increase nutrient uptake. They serve a critical function not only in metabolizing nutrients but also suppressing soil borne pathogens.

Compost life of the soil, photo courtesy of US Composting Council

Last but not least are environmental benefits like the carbon sequestration of compost. In addition soil scientists report that for every 1% of organic matter content, the soil can hold 16,500 gallons of “plant available” water to one foot depth. That’s roughly 1.5 quarts of water per cubic-foot of soil for each percent of organic matter. This means that a 10,000 sq ft lawn could hold 18,800 gallons of water that otherwise would not be retained and made available to plants. A town with 5,000 residences with a 10,000 sq ft lawn each could potentially save 94 million gallons of water as a result of increasing the organic content in the soil by 5%.

To learn more visit the International Compost Week Facebook page. For more information on the benefits of compost also visit the National Resources Conservation Service and celebrate organic matter in the soil this week!

Spring plant sales offer many Master Gardener programs a chance to interact with the public and provide gardening education to the public at just the right time – the time of purchase.  It also provides local Master Gardener groups with a chance to fund raise so they contribute back to their local communities.

How do plant sale proceeds benefit local communities?

Extension Master Gardeners groups use plant sale proceeds in variety of ways, below are stories highlighting blog posts which show how plant sales work to help raise funds to:

• fund scholarships,
• educational events,
• publish gardening calendars they can donate to their local communities, and
• support local arboretums or botanical gardens.

Plant Sale Tips and Ideas

Last spring, Lynette Spicer, Story Co. (Iowa) Extension Master Gardener provided some tips on getting interns and well as long-time Master Gardener involved in your plant sale.

We also discussed  Useful Tools for Learning in the Garden: QR Codes and Readers , a blog posts which prompted some to think how 2d-barcodes could be used on plant labels, giving gardeners instant access to plant information via their smartphones.

We encourage you to take a look and see if these past blog posts might be of use to you if your program hosts a plant sale. Even better, let others know your plant sale tips or bits of wisdom in the comments section below.

Is your Extension Master Gardener program having a plant sale this year? If so, what kind of plant sale tips or insights do you have for other EMGs?

I expect the she is not the only Master Gardener who worries that her knowledge on fire ants isn’t comprehensive enough to answer consumer questions. But there is an excellent opportunity to learn more about managing imported fire ants.

May 10 Online Seminar: Fire Ant Control Made Easy

An online seminar, Fire Ant Control Made Easy, will be Thursday, May 10 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT (10 to 11 a.m. CDT or 8 to 9 a.m. PDT). The webinar is brought to you by the Imported Fire Ant eXtension Community of Practice.

Killing fire ants is actually easier than you think—if you understand how they live. This seminar will help you learn how to use integrated pest management tactics that are as economical and environmentally friendly as possible. You’ll also learn about fire ant biological control agents such as the Pseudacteon phorid flies. Phorid flies are also known as decapitating flies.

It’s very simple to participate in the webinar. Follow this link and log in as “guest.”  If you have specific questions that you want answered to during the webinar, post them to the Imported Fire Ant eXtension Facebook page .

The Imported Fire Ant Community of Practice also has gathered some great information and resources in one place for Master Gardeners. You can find that information here. You can also find more information on fire ants at http://www.extension.org/fire_ants or on Facebook (Fire Ant Info), Twitter (FireAntInfo), and YouTube (eXfireants).

Both the Pumpkin Patch Event and hands on classes help extend our passion for gardening as Kalamazoo Master Gardeners and are in the spirit of the Giving Garden.

The Pumpkin Pick Event

Each October, we hold a highly anticipated event called the “Pumpkin Pick”. On a Saturday morning, employees of the companies on whose land we garden, and their families, are invited to come and pick pumpkins. Watching these children run around looking for that perfect specimen is indeed a joy. I think our garden crew gets as much enjoyment from this event as do the children

Pumpkin Pick Activity at the Giving Garden (Photo: JC Schneider, Kalamazoo (MI) Master Gardener)

The Giving Garden Production Garden hosts the annual Pumpkin Pick event (Photo: JC Schneider, Kalamazoo (MI) Master Gardener)

Hands-on Seminars and Courses

In addition to being a production garden, this garden also serves as a teaching garden. A number of people volunteer just to learn gardening by working with our Master Gardener staff.

“Vegetable Gardening 202” seminars are given at the garden on a variety of topics. This past year we built 4 raised beds that we use as demonstration gardens for those interested in constructing and growing in raised beds. We also help other local community gardens by providing consultation and seminars.

Three of our coordinators developed and teach a 12 hour, 6 week, vegetable gardening course, “Vegetable Gardening 101 Plus”, each year prior to the growing season. This course has been so well received that we have had to expand it to two sessions each spring!

Giving Garden Classes on Raised Beds (Photo: JC Schneider, Kalamazoo (MI) Master Gardener)

Giving Garden Class on Raised Beds (Photo: JC Schneider, Kalamazoo (MI) Master Gardener)

Community and Volunteers Make the Giving Garden Possible

Now, this may seem redundant, but I’ll repeat here what I said in the first blog post about making this project and the learning opportunities I mentioned above possible:

Without the help we get from the community and all our volunteers, the Giving Garden project would not be possible. In 2008, Humphrey Products sold much of the land we were gardening to Kendall Electric. When Kendall realized what we were doing on that property, they supported us 100% and along with Humphrey, have been wonderful partners. Humphrey supplies all the water for irrigation, Kendall donated money for a new top of the line rototiller to replace our two 35 year old models.

Donations as well as fundraisers, held by the Kalamazoo County Master Gardeners, help fund the garden. A local radio station included us in a fundraiser; the money donated was used to build our new shed. The Food Bank also helps with expenses.

We cannot thank the community, local businesses, Michigan State University Extension and all the Master Gardeners enough for helping to make the seed that Mike Blakely planted 15 years ago grow into a project that benefits so many people, much like Jack and his beanstalk.

Blog post article submitted by JC Schneider
Kalamazoo Michigan Extension Master Gardener

Large leaf spots often with a light green border are typical for late blight (Photo: Margaret McGrath)

Extension Master Gardeners are ideally able to extend gardening and pest information to other gardeners in their area, thus this is an appeal for help distributing a late blight brochure throughout the US as well as an announcement about it!

Late blight is highly contagious and destructive, thus critical to manage

Anyone who has had late blight affect tomatoes or potatoes in their garden knows the importance of this most destructive vegetable disease, famous for its role in the Irish Potato Famine.

Since it is highly contagious as well as so destructive, it is considered a “community disease”, thus it is critical to report and manage all outbreaks.

Unfortunately, late blight has recently been occurring more commonly in tomatoes and gardens have been involved at the start of epidemics.  Last year on Long Island, NY, garden plants may have been the start of a major epidemic that severely affected gardeners and farmers.

Free printed brochures available by request

An information brochure has been made to meet the need to educate gardeners about late blight and to inform them about a new national project (http://usablight.org/).  Goals of this project include studying occurrence of late blight in the US and developing new management tools including a predictive system. As mentioned in the brochure, reports of late blight need to be confirmed by submitting samples to a local diagnostic clinic. While submitting the sample,  you’ll be able to contribute information on where late blight is occurring, helping researchers understand the distribution of this infectious plant disease, nationwide.

The brochure has details on managing and reporting late blight outbreaks, plus has images to assist with diagnosis. Please send requests for these already printed brochures to me,  Meg McGrath (mtm3@cornell.edu).  Cost to print and ship is covered by the national project.

Thank you for considering participating in this national late blight project.