BCMGA Biweekly Update Aug. 22 from Paula Lupcho, President
President’s Message
🍅 This is a great time of year as we all enjoy the bounty of our gardens. I’m working hard to keep up with the abundance of cherry tomatoes that started ripening quickly in the last 10 days. It’s amazing how much fruit that one bush can generate.
I mentioned in the last update that the end of the Master Gardener year is October 31. This is a short 10 weeks away. That means it’s time to review your calendars, add up your hours, and enter them into the VRS. Reporting hours helps demonstrate the extent of our outreach into the community as well as being an important metric that is required by all non-profit organizations in our annual financial report to the IRS and the state of Oregon.
I hope to see many of you at the picnic on September 13.
Trainee News & Opportunities
🍅 Congratulations to the trainees who have completed their hours for the trainee year and to those of you who are closing in on that goal! Please remember to enter your hours in the Volunteer Reporting System (VRS) https://mgvrs.extension.oregonstate.edu/ . This is very important. It will be a great help to mentors as they help you reach your goal. If you have questions about where to log your hours, contact your mentor or Paula Lupcho atpres.bcmga.board@gmail.com .
BCMGA News
🍅 A Message from Lynn Trimpe, Vice President: The BCMGA Potluck Picnic is Wednesday, September 13 from 5-7 p.m. at the Philomath City Park. The park is on the east side of Philomath High School (980 Applegate). Bring a dish to share. A-H side dish or appetizer, I-P main dish, O-Z dessert. Bottled water and table service will be provided.
🍅 BCMGA Board 2024: Interested in participating in BCMGA as a board member? Contact President Elect Brenda Bye for more information (brenda.bye@gmail.com).
Volunteer Opportunities
🍅 Come help raise a new (16’ x 8’) greenhouse on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Philomath High School propagation facility. The gravel pad and foundation are in place. The basic tools will be screwdrivers, small wrenches, ¼” drive socket wrenches, and step ladders. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/greenhouse#/
🍅 Oregon State Fair. Multiple shifts 8/24-9/5. Come share your garden love and lore with fairgoers in Salem. Our activity and info booth will be located inside the air-conditioned lobby of the Farm & Garden/Floral Building. A fair admission ticket and parking pass is provided. Sign up here. Make sure to include your county so tickets can get to your Extension office. Record as ‘Plant Clinic’ in VRS.
🍅 Demo Garden: Volunteer at the Demonstration Garden. Every Wednesday 9:00-11:00 a.m. Come when you can, as often as you can, and help grow vegetables, herbs and fruit. The Demo Garden is on the south side of the Benton County Fairgrounds. Enter through the driveway for Benton Oak RV Park on 53rd St and go to the left. Wednesday work hours count as indirect--garden maintenance. Event staffing, which occurs through the summer on weekends and during the Benton County Fair, count as direct--plant clinic. For more information, text or call Rosalind at 541 908 3991. Email rslnd55@gmail.com
🍅 Master Gardener Desk (Office Plant Clinic): The office is open and there are questions coming in from the public. Volunteers are encouraged to return to the desk, in particular certified MGs comfortable with the pH meter and the microscope are needed. Sign up for shifts to answer client questions or practice skills. You can either work at the desk or in the Extension conference room if you’d like more space.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a45a9ac29a7f85-benton38#/
Find more opportunities on the Benton Volunteer Opportunities Page.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Each program year current Master Gardener volunteers are asked to recertify by completing 10 hours of approved continuing education and 20 hours of volunteering. This ensures that your horticultural knowledge stays current. All the opportunities in this section count towards that goal. Try to get one hour of CE on a diversity, equity, or inclusion related topic. And please make sure to record these hours in VRS!
🍅 NEW! Public Seed Library: A lecture will be presented on Thursday, September 14 from noon - 1pm, by Darren Morgan of Shonnard's Nursery discussing soil tending, from soil testing and amending to cover crops and covering.
🍅 Webinars. Opportunities from across the state are listed on the OSU Master Gardener Program’s event page. Record each as one hour of continuing education.
🍅 New OSU Publication. Gardens are for Everyone. Read and write a summary paragraph of how you will apply this as a Master Gardener volunteer for one hour of continuing education.
🍅 New OSU Publication. Grow Your Own Peppers. Read and write a summary paragraph of how you will apply this as a Master Gardener volunteer for one hour of continuing education.
🍅 Anytime. Recordings of Zoom Master Gardener training from Curry County with guest lecturers from OSU and beyond, are available for any volunteer to take as continuing education. Trainees are also welcome to watch and supplement their classes. More links are being added weekly, see the current list log on to the attached website.
https://oregonstate.app.box.com/s/byt9dzhkbzilax3h33zqkhg1aemsx5rq
Community Opportunities
🍅 Public Seed Library: Seed Donations to Public Seed Library: If you've started your summer crops and have left over seeds, individual donations of open and partially used vegetable, herb, and flower commercial seed packets packed for '22 and '23 are needed now to restock the Public Seed Library seed rack, and can be donated any time at the Corvallis Library Circulation Desk.
Extension News
Need help finding information from Extension? Here are some important links to access information.
Have a gardening question? Get help at:.
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/linn-benton/have-gardening-question
Interested in gardening classes and events?
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/linn-benton/have-gardening-question
Want to join Master Gardeners? Contact Benton County Extension Office, 541-713-5000
Want to partner with Master Gardeners? Please contact Brooke Edmunds to get connected: brooke.edmunds@oregonstate.edu
Current volunteers:
Need information about training, volunteering, or logging hours? First check the Volunteer Sourcebook and website.
https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/activebentonlinnmg/
Need a sign-up, promotions, or printing for an upcoming event?
First, use the Event Checklist to collect all needed information
In Benton County send to Nicole Mason Martin: nicole.mason@oregonstate.edu
In Linn County send to Laurie Gibson: laurie.gibson@oregonstate.edu
Need to update your contact information? Need a badge?
Contact Laurie Gibson: laurie.gibson@oregonstate.edu
All other questions:
Please contact Brooke Edmunds: brooke.edmunds@oregonstate.edu