Biweekly Update for January 27, 2026
- Brenda Bye
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
President’s Message
from BCMGA President Jill Lodwig
Such a receptive crowd that turned out for the Doug Tallamy talk last Saturday! Dr. Tallamy spoke within the context of his latest book, “How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard,” to address common questions he receives about the role everyone can play in boosting biodiversity. In the live Q&A that followed, Corvallis gardeners did not disappoint, offering many insightful questions and comments.
The BCMGA Board held its first meeting of 2026 in a new location, at a new time, and with the option to attend in-person or remotely. During that first session, there was no shortage of creative ideas for expanding our reach and sharing our passion for gardening with the public. We stopped short, however, to acknowledge the elephant in the room: We often don’t have enough volunteers to get new projects off the ground. In fact, we often don’t have enough volunteers to staff our current programs, and some of them are in danger of disappearing.
Two programs that are top of mind for us right now are the BCMGA garden beds at Calvin Community Garden and our presence at the Corvallis Farmer’s Market.
We need four to five more Master Gardeners who would like to get their hands dirty at Calvin. Time is of the essence on this one—if we don’t gain more volunteers, we will need to forfeit the raised beds assigned to us this spring. This is a great opportunity to help those experiencing food insecurity, including our local Latino families, as the harvested food from our beds is donated to the Corvallis Food Bank. More information is available in this edition of the newsletter.
We’re also hoping that one or more Master Gardeners will step up to chair/co-chair BCMGA clinic tables, which includes our bimonthly presence at the Farmer’s Market, as well as other educational activities at gardening centers and community events. Chairs are responsible for scheduling volunteers and choosing which materials to distribute. BCMGA has maintained its presence at the Farmer’s Market since 2008, and we hope to continue this valuable offering to the public.
If each BCMGA member added 2 more hours per month of volunteer time to the 1.6 hours per month required for recertification, the association would gain at least 20 more volunteer hours each month. This would be a giant step toward keeping BCMGA vibrant and thriving. Please consider stepping up!
BCMGA Association Activities
🥕 Insights into Gardening Conference – Saturday, February 7, 2026
Join us for the 35th Annual Insights into Gardening Conference! This is BCMGA’s premier educational event, offering 16 diverse classes designed for gardeners of all experience levels. Attendees can earn Continuing Education hours while exploring a variety of topics. We have exciting local exhibitors, a bookstore and raffle.
Location: LaSells Stewart Center, OSU Campus
Cost: $45 with optional $17 lunch. Parking is free on Saturday.
Volunteers are essential for making this event go smoothly. Please consider pitching in to bake cookies, monitor doors, or assist with cleanup. There’s a role for everyone. Sign up via Signup Genius.
Questions about volunteering? Contact Susan Hoffman at shoff@peak.org or text/call 541-602-4504. Leave a message and she will get back to you.
🥕 BCMGA Membership Meeting - Co-Vice Presidents, Laura Horsey and Christine Welsch welcome all BCMGA members to the next membership meeting. Our speaker will be joining us remotely, so stay at home and join us via Zoom.
Monday, February 24, 2025 - Mycorrhizae - The Fungal Infection Your Plants will Love with Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott Ph.D.
Format: Join us on Zoom. Link will be given via email and on the BCMGA website.
Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott is a WSU Extension Urban Horticulturist and an Emerita Professor of Horticulture. Her work focuses on applied plant and soil science research, Extension publications, and promoting scientific literacy. She is an award-winning author of five books, a featured instructor in The Science of Gardening video series, a Garden Professors contributor, and a recipient of multiple national and international professional honors.
Continuing Education Opportunities
These are approved by OSU Extension for CE Credit
🥕Gearing Up for Gardening 2026 - These free events are co-sponsored by the Benton County Master Gardener Association and the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.
Where: Benton County Public Library
When: Tuesdays in January and February from 12 to 1 PM
January 27, 2026 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM
Perennials are Us!
With Shay Bogan with Peoria Gardens Inc. Learn more about old favorites and new and interesting plants.
February 3, 2026 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM
Growing Cukes, Squash and Melons
Learn from Darren Mordan of Shonnard’s Nursery how to grow cucurbits of all types.
February 10, 2026 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM
Small Conifers for Home Gardens
Add year round interest to your home garden with Mitch Goodlove-Pyles of Garland.
🥕2026 Public Seed Library Lecture Series - PSL is a collaborative project of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition and the Benton County Public Library with educational support from BCMGA. For details please reach out to Jill Farrow.
January 29, 2026 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM
Helping Mason and Native Bees Thrive in Your Garden
Presented by Linn County Master Gardeners Pollinator experts will teach you about managing mason bees as well as gardening for native ground nesting bees.
February 12, 2026 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM
Growing Greens Through Four Seasons
Learn from Master Gardener Janet Throop how to grow a variety of greens throughout the year.
February 19, 2026 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM
Plants to Attract Birds to Your Garden
Darren Morgan of Shonnards will teach you how to tailor your garden ecosystem to welcome birds with food and shelter using a variety of trees, shrubs and flowers.
Volunteer Opportunities
These activities are approved by OSU Extension for volunteer hours
🥕Urgent Call for Volunteers – Calvin Community Garden
Calvin Garden urgently needs 4–5 Master Gardeners to continue operating—without new volunteers, this six-year project may not survive into summer 2026. For years, volunteers have grown specialty and traditional crops at the Calvin Community Garden, donating over 2,300 pounds of produce to the South Corvallis Food Bank, with a special focus on serving the local Latino community. Help is needed with watering, weeding, planting, harvesting, and occasional work parties, with flexible scheduling and opportunities to learn unique crops and earn volunteer hours. Volunteers also support a popular Spanish-language container gardening class (Spanish not required). If you’re interested in gardening, learning new crops, supporting food access, or volunteering on evenings or weekends, now is the time to step in. More information is included in the newsletter email. Please contact Lynn Trimpe at trimpelynn@gmail.com.
🥕 Farmers Market Clinic Table: BCMGA is looking for 2 people to lead this important committee. If you are interested reach out to BCMGA President Jill Lodwig Or BCMGA Board Member, Shelby Schuppe
Duties: Create a schedule of tabling events
Communicate with the Philomath and Corvallis Farmers Markets
Manage the Signup Genius for the events
Stock the clinic box with brochures as needed
You are NOT required to be at all events
Timeline: Most events take place during the spring and summer months. Additional events could be arranged at your discretion.
🥕 Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop. MGs are invited to participate in this workshop for learning experience or to lead breakout groups with hands on pruning.
When: Wednesday, February 25, 1:00-3:00 pm
Where: Lupe's Community Garden 360 S. 9th Street, Philomath
Info: Contact Jennifer Klammer if you're interested in helping.
jennifer.klammer@comcast.net 541-602-0431
🥕Public Seed Library Volunteer Opportunities are now posted. In addition to the lectures mentioned above the seed library also hosts vegetable clinic table sessions and seed sharing events. They also need help keeping their inventory stocked.
Pop-Up Veg Garden Clinic - Sign up here
Seed Sharing Table - Sign up here
Seed Rack Stocking - Sign up here
🥕Planning to take cuttings or divide your houseplants this winter? The BCMGA Plant Sale welcomes donations of houseplants for our May sale! All donated plants must be healthy, robust, and free of pests and disease. Spindly or overgrown plants do not sell well.
If you have houseplants you’re willing to donate to the Houseplant Sale area that weekend, please contact Lisa Borgerson by mid-April with the name(s) of your plants. Lisa manages our inventory and will let you know whether your plant is a good fit for the sale. At this time, we do not need additional jade plants or Christmas cactus. Need pots or soil? Contact Leslie Hauser.
🥕2026 Plant Desk Sign Up Has Been Posted - Shifts at the Extension Office help desk are open, morning and afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The slower winter season makes an excellent time to read in our library, practice working with the microscope, or getting refresher training on aspects you’d like to know better. Please sign up when you can! 2026 Signup Genius
Extension News
🥕 Volunteer Hub troubles? Office Specialist, Laurie Gibson has put together a guide for completing your yearly OSU Extension paperwork and background check. The guide was included as an attachment with the newsletter.
If you have additional questions you can reach Laurie at laurie.gibson@oregonstate.edu
🥕Extended Trainees: Know someone who didn’t finish the training but would like to, please reach out to Otillia Schreuder to get put on the extended trainee interest list. If you know
someone with additional questions, please reach out to Otillia Schreuder at
🥕Committee Fair: Committee fair on April 12 from 6:00 pm- 8:00 pm at the Benton County Extension Office Sunset Room. It is open to trainees and returning Master Gardeners. If you have a committee and you would like to be present, put it on your calendar. Information for how to get involved will come out soon.
🥕Benton County Social will be on June 2 from 6:00 pm- 8:00 pm at the Benton County Extension Office Sunset Room. The social will be open to both trainees and returning Master Gardeners. Information for how to get involved will come out soon.
Community Events and News
These activities are not sponsored by BCMGA but are of possible interest to members
🥕Corvallis Sustainability Coalition is our community partner with the Public Seed Library. This group also has informational lectures and social activities monthly. This month includes lectures about Jackson-Fraizer Wetland as well as Riparian Vegetation Management. To learn more see their Calendar and website.
🥕Ten Rivers Food Web is having their annual soil amendments sale. See the Ten Rivers Marketplace website for more details.
🥕Evening Gardening Club Grant Applications is open from February 15th to March 15th. Grants support gardening projects from non-profit organizations that encourage horticultural study, conservation, beautification or improvement in local gardening activities. See their the Evening Gardening Club website for more details.
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