Biweekly Update - June 10, 2025
- Brenda Bye
- Jun 10
- 5 min read
President’s Message - From Paula Lupcho
🥬 In today’s message, I would like to highlight one of our volunteer opportunities—Calvin
Community Garden. It is located next to Calvin Presbyterian Church on NW Dixon Street. The
garden has six raised beds and one large in-ground bed. Master Gardeners focus on growing
specialty crops for the Latino population and they donate the produce to local food banks,
primarily the South Corvallis Food Bank. The garden also serves as a backdrop for the Spanish-
language container gardening class. Plans are also being made to offer a cooking class for the
specialty crops that are grown and a food preservation class—in Spanish.
All of the beds have now been prepped and planted so, the hard work is done, but they need
help with watering and weeding.
If you are looking for an easy way to earn a few volunteer hours at your convenience, they would love to have your help. Traditionally a person chooses a day to water each week. During hot weather, they water every day. But once plants are well-established and the heat wave ends, watering is done every other day.
Volunteers are needed to water on Monday, Tuesday, Friday or Saturday. You can choose whatever time works for you. Watering takes only about 20-30 minutes, so it’s a quick job. If
you want to spend a little time weeding, then you could stretch it to an hour or more and earn more service hours. For more information, see the Volunteer Opportunities section of this
newsletter (below).
This is a great project and the produce from the garden is much appreciated at the food bank.
BCMGA Membership News
🥬In Memoriam: Steve Naberhuis - We are saddened to share the passing of long-time Benton County Master Gardener, Steve Naberhuis. A member of the Class of 2008, Steve served on the Board of Directors and led the Farmers Market Clinic Table. His outstanding service was recognized with a Lifetime Member Award in 2024. Steve’s many contributions, warmth, and commitment will be fondly remembered by all who had the pleasure to work alongside him. He will be deeply missed.
🥬Farming While Black Documentary Screening Boasted 119 Attendees! Thanks to Vice-President Laura Horsey for all her work on the Farming While Black documentary screening and panel discussion on May 15. Our partnerships with OSU Extension and OSU Sustainability Dual Degree program were immensely successful.
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
Approved by OSU Extension for volunteer hours
🥬 Fall and Winter Gardening Clinic - There are still two volunteer spots left in this popular CGET vegetable growing class on July 19, 2025. Check out the CGET Signup Genius.
🥬 PopUp Veg Clinic at the Benton Library June 14th at 9AM – The Public Seed Library clinic table is a great way to provide public gardening education. If you are interested in this event or other Public Seed Library activities please check out the Seed Library SignUpGenius.
🥬 Volunteer Waterers Needed for Calvin Community Garden - The Calvin Community Garden provides fresh, homegrown produce for the local food bank—and we need your help to keep it thriving through the summer!
We're currently looking for volunteers to help water the garden on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, or Saturdays. Even if you can’t commit to every week, that’s okay—we have a team of substitutes ready to fill in when life gets busy with vacations or other summer plans. Current watering schedule:
Monday - OPEN
Tuesday - OPEN
Wednesday: Steph Romaine
Thursday: Lynn Trimpe
Friday - OPEN
Saturday - OPEN
Sunday: Marilyn Tucker
If you'd like to lend a hand or learn more about the garden, please contact Lynn Trimpe at trimpelynn@gmail.com. She’ll gladly answer your questions and can meet you at the garden to get you started. It’s a rewarding project—and a meaningful way to give back to our community!
🥬 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!
Contact Elaina Bauer at elainambauer@gmail.com if you have any questions.
🥬 Wednesday Work Parties at the 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
🥬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 as the tours approach.
Our first outing to the Leach Garden is fully booked. If you would like to be placed on the waitlist in the event of cancellations please reach out to VP Laura Horsey at laura.horsey@gmail.com
Date | Tour / Event | Location | Time |
June 25 | Leach & Rogerson tours | Portland & West Linn | TOUR FULL |
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 | Avery Park | Wed. 5:00 – 7:00 pm |
🥬 OMGA Joy Of Garden Early Bird Registration Closes Junes 15, 2025 - 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. Early Bird Registration is $80. See Joy of Gardening webpage for details.
🥬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.
🥬Lebanon Garden Tour - Join us for a tour of seven stunning private gardens, featuring unique plants, creative landscapes, and inspiring designs including:
Shabby-chic garden fit for a wedding
French-inspired landscape
Primarily edible garden
½ acre oasis backyard
Urban homestead design
Two historic Victorian home gardens
Browse a diverse selection of vendors at Ralston, and kick off your day with a guided tour of the historic Ralston Rose Garden.
When: June 21, 2025 10 am – 4 pm
Where: Ralston Park, Lebanon for tickets, vendors & Rose Garden
Tickets: Available now at Lebanon Chamber of Commerce or online at
Linnmastergardeners.com. Tickets will be sold at Ralston Park &
each garden on the date of the tour.
Extension News
🥬Master Food Preservers is 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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