Biweekly Update -- July 8, 2025
- plantdoc2746
- Jul 7
- 4 min read
President’s Message - From Paula Lupcho
☀️☀️☀️ The watch word for this week is “stay cool” and keep yourself and your plants hydrated.
If you are interested in attending the OMGA Joy of Gardening Conference, you need to register now. The conference is this Friday and Saturday and classes count toward continuing education hours for recertification. The registration link is below in this newsletter.
Don’t forget our July summer tour is tonight. See the Vice President’s message below for more information.
A big thank you to all of our committee chairs and volunteers who keep our summer activities of outreach and education moving forward. You are much appreciated!
Brenda Bye, the BCMGA Newsletter Editor is out of the country, so I am sending this edition. Brenda has included some great pictures of MGs at work. I looked through my digital photos and realized that I only seem to take pictures of plants. But, as a reward for being this edition’s editor, I am taking a moment of blatant grandmother-ism. Photos of my adorable granddaughter Olivia (3 ½) on her first blueberry picking adventure are at the end of this newsletter. We went out to Kiger Island Berry Farm that is owned by a former Master Gardener.
Vice President Message—Summer Tour - From Laura Horsey
🍒🌳🐝 Our July BCMGA garden tour will be at Andrew Millison's home in Corvallis. The format is drop-in/open garden format. Come, browse and ask questions of Andrew in the 2 hour window.
- When: Tuesday July 8th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
- Where: 645 SE Alexander Avenue, Corvallis, Oregon 97333
- What: 16 year old Permaculture designed property on 1/3 of an acre. It is a dense food forest of fruit trees, berries and herbaceous perennials, natives, annual garden areas, chickens, bee hives, and much more.
The tour is for members, not public. I am including below our photography notice only because I've learned that someone has asked to film the garden. (If you are a photographer please ask me for the photography policy the BCMGA board has adopted.)
PHOTOGRAPHY NOTICE
Photos or videos may be taken at this event and
may be used online or in print to promote Benton
County Master Gardener Association activities.
If you do not wish to be photographed, please
notify the photographer immediately.
Andrew is an instructor at OSU in Agricultural and Life Sciences. He teaches the free Introduction to Permaculture Course. (Marisha Auerbach, who gave us a very informative talk on food forests earlier this year, works with Andrew and created the food forests module of the Permaculture Course.)
- More about (and from) Andrew Millison:
Free Introduction to Permaculture Massive Open Online Course
Desk Training is Open
Desk trainers are now 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
🫐 July Propagation Workshops at PHS - Preparation for next year’s BCMGA Plant Sale is already underway. Join the fun at Philomath High School with morning work parties to avoid the summer heat. See the SignUp Genius for more details.
🫐New opportunity! Kings Valley School Garden “Tips and Maintenance Workshop”: The Kings Valley Charter School (38840 Kings Valley Highway, Philomath) meets during the summer every Friday evening 6:30 to 8:00. The workshop begins with a short 15 minute lesson on various gardening topics and then parents, kids, and community members do whatever gardening chores are needed. Adults should bring their own gloves and equipment. Contact Nancy LaMunyon nancylamunyon@gmail.com if you have a garden topic that you can share. Hours are logged as Educational Garden Maintenance-Indirect.
🫐Farmers Market Clinic Table - Join BCMGA on the go in your community! Sign ups are open for trainees and certified MGs to chat with the public at Farmer’s Markets and other community events in Spring, Summer, and Fall 2025, and this SignUpGenius will be updated as more opportunities become available. We hope to see you there!
If you have questions contact Elaina Bauer at elainambauer@gmail.com
🫐Demonstration Garden at the Benton County Fairgrounds - All Master Gardeners, including trainees, are welcome. No need to sign up—just bring your gloves, dress for the weather, and come ready to dig in. We start at 9:30 and go until 11:30. Please use the north Entrance by the Fairgrounds Office.
Continuing Education Opportunities - Approved for CE by OSU Extension
🫐 OMGA Joy Of Garden Regular Registration is still open - If you would like to attend this yearly favorite event, don’t delay. The event runs on July 11th and 12th and features classes on fungi, alliums, hydrangeas and so much more. Meet your fellow MGs from across the state. Two-day registration is $100. See Joy of Gardening webpagefor details.
🫐BCMGA Summer Garden Tours are upon us! Please join other Master Gardeners to explore some of the diverse and interesting gardens in our area. More details will be emailed by our hard-working Vice President Laura Horsey as the tours approach.
Date | Tour / Event | Location | Time |
July 8 | Andrew Millison garden | Corvallis | Tues. 5:30 pm |
August 6 | Japanese Healing Garden | Lebanon | Wed. 6:30 pm |
Sept 17 | Annual BCMGA picnic | Corvallis / Avery Park | Wed. 5:00 – 7:00 pm |
🫐Growing Oregon Gardeners OSU Level Up Series - These free online webinars are the 2nd Tuesday of the month at noon. The series runs from April through September 2025. For details and registration are available on the Extension website.
Extension News
🫐 Master Food Preservers has posted their class schedule for Spring 2025.
🐝 Looking for Local Pollinator Gardens to Join Garden Ecology Study - Taylor Janecek is a new Ph.D. student in the Garden Ecology Lab, who is looking for pollinator gardens in Eugene, Corvallis, and Portland metro. Taylor will be identifying the plants in each garden, to get a better sense of what gardeners are planting, what pollinators these plants support, and the standing crop of forage resources in OR pollinator gardens. Please see the Garden Ecology Lab Blog to register.
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