Biweekly Update - August 26, 2025
- Brenda Bye
- Aug 26
- 4 min read
President’s Message
From Paula Lupcho
🌶️ We have a new and vibrant school garden emerging at Garfield School with an interesting back story on how it got started. In April of 2024, trainee Veronica Hennessey was put on the PTA agenda as the Garfield School Garden coordinator (without being told or asked—something of a surprise to Veronica). But, she stepped up. The garden was barren with only a few struggling perennials and a broken irrigation system.
With great support from Master Gardeners, she received extra starts and advice. Parent volunteers helped to plant over 200 plants in May—all donated from MGs, CHHS Farm program and community members.
Copying the work of Lynn Trimpe at Calvin Gardens and Cheryl Stratton’s CGET workshops, the Garfield School Garden (aka Geco Jardin) has been thriving and produce has been donated to the St. Vinny’s food pantry including over 25 pounds of peppers.
In a joint effort with the Calvin Garden (a CGET program associated with Siempre la Cena), the Garfield School Garden will host a Food Preservation Basics class on Sept 24th. This class will be presented in both English and Spanish. The flyer for this event can be found at the end of this newsletter. Kudos to Lynn Trimpe whose diligence and hard work made this class possible.
If you are interested in learning more or helping at the Garfield School Garden, contact Veronica Hennessey. veronica.hennessey@gmail.com
Don’t forget to start logging your hours in VRS. The Master Gardener year is rapidly coming to a close -- only 2 months left! The deadline to log hours is Oct. 31
BCMGA Membership News
🌶️ CGET Looking to Mentor New Committee Chairs - Kandi Maestri, Wendi Gale, and Cheryl Stratton have done an amazing job co-chairing this committee for the past 3 years. They are looking for two or more MGs with a love of vegetable gardening, who are interested in chairing CGET and can be mentored this year. Please reach out to CGET.BentonMG@gmail.com
🌶️ Annual BCMGA Summer Picnic
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Location: Lion’s Shelter in Avery Park in Corvallis
Bring a main dish, side salad, or dessert to share and your own beverage. Dishes will be provided.
🌶️ Mark Your Calendars: Linn and Benton Counties Master Gardener Graduation - Plan to come and celebrate our Trainee Class of 2025 with a potluck brunch and awards ceremony. More details to come.
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Central Electric Training Center in Tangent, Oregon
Master Gardeners grooming plants before the BCMGA Plant Sale.
Attention Trainees! Plant Desk Wants You
Plant Desk is a crucial part of BCMGA’s public outreach and a wonderful way to expand your knowledge base. Desk trainers are available for all trainees and veteran Master Gardeners who would like a refresher on desk procedures. The desk is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm. For trainees, these count toward your 20 hours of public outreach. For veteran MGs, these hours count toward your volunteer service hours for recertification. Go to 2025 Signup Genius.
Volunteer Opportunities
These activities are approved by OSU Extension for volunteer hours
🌶️ TomatoFest 2025--Saturday, Sept. 27, 10-2: This is a Linn County event but Benton County MGs are welcome to come and work. This is an educational event and hours can be counted. There are several jobs available. There will be a clinic table, roamers to answer questions about growing tomatoes and the welcome table. Set up for the event begins at 8 a.m. For more information or to volunteer, contact Sheryl Casteen (casteen@aol.com ). See the flyer at the end of the newsletter.
🌶️ Kathryn Jones Harrison Elementary School Garden is looking for Master Gardeners to help during Fall Garden Club! Volunteers will help children, ages 5-10, explore the school garden through a variety of activities including: harvesting fall produce, collecting sunflower seeds to make birdfeeders, flower bouquet making, and popping school grown popcorn! Fall Garden Club will run every Thursday from September 18 to October 23, 11:45am-1pm. The KJH School Garden is a vibrant space focused on supporting young gardeners to learn about growing food, caring for pollinators, worms, and the soil. Please contact Amanda at amanda.tucksen@corvallis.k12.or.us for more information.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Approved for CE by OSU Extension
🌶️ Grow A Row (or More) - Linn Co Extension, Community Heath and Linn Benton Food Share will teach you about the local emergency food distribution center and how you can “Grow a Row” to help your community.
Date: Thursday, August 28, 2025
Time: 6:00-8:00 PM
Attend: In person at Linn County Extension or Zoom https://beav.es/xUE
🌶️ Growing Oregon Gardeners OSU Level Up Series - The final lecture for this 2025 series about gardening with climate resilience is coming up. To register for a webinar or to view past lectures please see the Growing Oregon Gardeners website.
September 9: Better Watch Your Backyard: Tracking Oregon’s Seasons
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Location: online webinar, free
Community News
These are items submitted by MGs. They are not approved for credit but are of interest to our membership.
🌶️ Open House for the Institute of Applied Ecology’s 25th Anniversary - The public is invited to join in celebrating this milestone with live music and food as well as family-friendly activities and conservation program exhibits. September 20, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. See the event website for more details.
🌶️ Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture Open House - Friday September 5th from 11 AM to 1PM. Join OSU Faculty and students to celebrate another year of garden learning with a free lunch. Topics will include Sustainable Urban Horticulture, Ornamental Plant Breeding, Landscape Management, Lawn Care, Pollinator Habitat, Organic Gardening, and Dry Land Farming. RSVP to Alec.Kowalewski@oregonstate.edu by August 29, 2025
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