President’s Message
🍀With the arrival of warmer spring weather, our calendars are filling with upcoming volunteer activities. From tending demonstration and entrance gardens to sharing our knowledge at CGET workshops, there are ample opportunities to roll up our sleeves and make a meaningful difference. As you engage in these activities, I encourage you to keep an eye out for new faces and extend a warm welcome to our Trainee Class of 2024. Your friendly greeting could be the start of a lifelong gardening friendship!
The annual BCMGA Plant Sale is just around the corner. We can use your help working at the Philomath High School greenhouse in the coming months. Leslie Hauser, the Plant Sale Volunteer Coordinator will be sending out an important email later this week with volunteer signups for the big day.
I also encourage you to look at the website, where there have been some major changes happening. My favorite new feature is the calendar which lists many of BCMGA’s activities in the upcoming months. Make sure to reach out and get your committee’s activities listed.
BCMGA Membership Meeting - Monday March 25, 2024
🍀Co-Vice Presidents Lynn Trimpe and Michelle Brown welcome all BCMGA members to the next membership meeting for socialization and Continuing Education credits. Coffee and tea are provided and feel free to bring a treat. Raffle prizes for in-person attendees.
Location: Extension Building, Sunset Room
Use East side entrance (other doors locked at night)
Format: Hybrid meeting (in-person and via Zoom)
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., program starts at 7:00 p.m.
March Program, March 25, 2024 Topic: Introduction to OSU’s Solve Pest Problems Project, presented by Ebba Peterson, with the Oregon Integrated Pest Management Center. Solve Pest Problems is a user-friendly, online resource addressing pest issues around the home and garden. SPP has close to 200 peer-reviewed pages covering the management of problem weeds, household insects, mice, rats & other wildlife, as well as a number of plant pests and diseases. You can also find guides on how to use pesticides safely around your home and family. Learn more about SPP and how to manage pests around your home with reduced risk to people, pets, and the environment. Click this link to attend via Zoom.
April Program, April 15, 2024 Topic: Strawberries 101 for Home Gardeners with Erica Chernoh, who works out of Lane County Extension and is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the OSU Horticulture Department. Growing strawberries in the home garden can be a fruitful endeavor but comes with a few challenges. This presentation will focus on site conditions, cultivar selection, and planting, growing and harvesting strawberries. Whether grown in the ground or a container, strawberries are an excellent choice for home gardeners.
**If you have ideas about speakers/topics for future membership meetings, please contact Lynn Trimpe trimpelynn@gmail.com or Michelle Brown michellegbrown88@gmail.com with your suggestions. Our last two presentations have been posted on our YouTube channel.
2024 Linn and Benton County Master Gardener Training Program - Continuing Education
🍀 The Trainee Class of 2024 are nearing the completion of their classroom training. Current Master Gardeners are invited to attend the fourth training lecture, which has been approved by OSU for 1.5 hours of Continuing Education.
Location: Central Electrical Training Center Auditorium
33309 OR-99E
Tangent, OR 97389
Format: 5:30-7:00 PM, In-Person only at this time. Trainees will have additional
activities to complete at the end of the lecture
Dates: Thursday, April 4, 2024 Water with Darren Morgan
BCMGA News
🍀 Calling all volunteers! Our annual Plant Sale is just 6 weeks away. Look for an email from Leslie Hauser this Thursday, March 21 with the link to sign up and help. We need you!
Friday, May 3 - 8:00a-12:00p and 12:00p - 4:00p volunteer shifts for Set up
Saturday, May 4 - 8:30a-12:00p and 12:00p-3:30p volunteer shifts with the SALE
Feel free to contact Leslie Hauser, Plant Sale Volunteer Coordinator with questions or if you have any trouble signing up. lesliehauser107@gmail.com
🍀 Clinic Table at the Farmer’s Market BCMGA will be staffing the Plant Clinic Table at the Corvallis Farmers Market on the 4th Saturday of the month from April until November. Volunteer signups for Current Master Gardeners and Trainees will be posted soon. Contact brenda.bye@gmail.com with any questions.
Volunteer Opportunities
🍀 CGET Committee has new Volunteer Opportunities: For a good time while promoting gardening skills, volunteer with CGET! We've finalized our 2024 CGET events and put our volunteer needs in Sign Up Genius. Events are also listed on the BentonMG.org website. Please note that we have slots for Trainees to observe and participate in our events. You can review the events and sign up for them here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/cget2024events. If slots are filled and you are interested or if you have questions about CGET or any of our events, please email CGET.BentonMG@gmail.com.
🍀 Veggie & Herb Propagation Workshops at the Philomath High School Greenhouse
It's time to start seeding veggies and herbs for the plant sale! Work may be indoors or out, so layers and rain gear are a good plan. Tools are provided. Please sign up for one slot only for now, as this is a popular activity. If you are a mentor, you are welcome to bring your trainee! This is a great opportunity to learn how to start veggies and prepare them for transplanting to the garden.
🍀 Public Seed Library is a collaborative project of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition and the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library with educational support from BCMGA. There are new volunteer opportunities posted for Seed Rack Stocking and Pop Up Plant Clinic for veteran Master Gardeners. Please see the Sign Up Genius for dates and details.
🍀 Master Gardener Desk (Office Plant Clinic): The Plant Clinic is still operating winter hours with a Tuesday & Thursday schedule. A Signup Genius is still available through the end of March.
Alan Taylor, Mentor Coordinator, would like to let people know that certified MGs could come in at other times to work on voicemail or email submissions. To get refresher training on working at the desk contact Alan Taylor (alantaylor@alyrica.net ) to arrange for a trainer.
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.
🍀 Public Seed Library Lecture Series - Has been approved for Continuing Education by OSU Extension.
Thursday April 4 from 1:00 to 2:30PM at the Corvallis-Benton Public Library
Practical Composting for Home Gardens with Frederick Livingstone. Learn how to work with the space & materials available to you to build and maintain a garden composting system to maximize your garden's productivity.
🍀 Growing Oregon Gardens: Level Up Series 2024 Get one hour of CE credit for attending free gardening webinars from OSU. Check out the website for more details. Recordings of past talks are also available for credit.
🍀 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 their website.
🍀 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.
Extension News
A Message from Otillia Schreuder, Agricultural Master Gardener Coordinator:
Thank you for all of the hard work you all have put into the Master Gardener Program this year! I am so grateful for the time and effort that you put into the program. If you lost your Master Gardener nametag please let me know here. As spring comes into full swing, I am working diligently to plan events for Master Gardeners. I would like to know what you have an interest in.
Please fill out the survey here to let me know what you want to see by March 30:
Need help finding information from Extension? Here are some important links to access information.
Solve Pest Problems: A new tool from OSU Extension to help manage pests around your home and garden with reduced risk to people, pets, and the environment
Have a gardening question? Get help at:
Interested in gardening classes and events?
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
