Biweekly Update – August 9, 2019
New Announcements:
1. Master Gardener College Updates: September 19-22, 2019, Norfolk, Virginia
a. Registration is open and more than 200 Extension Master Gardeners have already registered! View our registration information page. Registration closes on August 30th! For more information on booking your accommodations (scroll down to “Accommodation Costs”).
b. Book your room at The Main before August 15th! (some nights have limited availability, so please check availability with The Main). Please note that we are sold out of rooms at the conference rate for Saturday night only. You can still get the conference rate for all other nights but will pay a higher rate for Saturday night only. Please call the hotel directly to book your room. Booking online will result in inaccurate rates being assessed for your reservation. The direct number for The Main is 757-763-6200.
2. Submit a Digital Brag Board for EMG College!
a. Visit https://www.mastergardener.ext.vt.edu/brag-board-submission/ for guidelines and online submission form. Any unit may submit a digital brag board for display!
3. Super Turf Saturday- James City County Rec Center on Longhill Road- August 10th
a. In partnership with the VCE James City County/Williamsburg Master Gardener chapter, the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting Super Turf Saturday on Saturday, August 10th from 8:30am – 1:00pm.
b. This event is geared towards homeowners who are interested in learning more about how to maintain their lawns in an environmentally-sensitive manner.
c. The event is free but registration is encouraged. Topics covered will include: “Growing Healthy Turf in Hampton Roads,” “Controlling Common Lawn Weeds,” and “Using Compost for Better Soil Management.”
4. PMG 30th Anniversary Event : “The Future of Landscapes in a Changing Environment”– Paramount Theater, Charlottesville, VA- September 8, 2019
a. A celebration of the association’s 30 years of helping the people of Charlottesville and Albemarle County solve horticultural questions and adopt sustainable, science-based practices, the pre-event begins at 3:00 pm with opportunities to visit a children’s poster display and vendor booths and to enjoy concessions.
b. The formal program begins at 4:00 pm and runs until 6:30 pm. and includes a panel discussion led Frank Reilly of the J. Reilly of The Reilly Group; a presentation by Dennis Dimick, former picture and environmental editor for the National Geographic; and, a presentation by Jeremy S. Hoffman, climate and earth scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia.
c. The Piedmont Master Gardeners Association and Virginia Cooperative Extension are sponsoring a poster contest as part of The Future of Our Landscapes in a Changing Environment event
i. Open to any Charlottesville and Albemarle County public, private or home school students in grades 5-12. For further information about poster and submission guidelines, please visit www.piedmontmastergardeners.org/art-poster-contest-on-climate-awareness.
ii. Entry forms due August 30th
5. Waynesboro Tree Workshop “Reveling in the Magnificence of Trees”- Pembroke, VA – September 13, 2019
a. Registration now open!
b. For questions or inquiries contact:
i. Becky Woodson at (434)-220-9024 or treesvirginia@ntelos.net
6. 2019 Master Composter Course– ONLINE – September 13th – November 1st
a. Registration Deadline– September 11th
b. 100% Live Online-Topics Include: Soil and Decomposition Ecology, Biology of Composting, , Recipe Design, Disease Control, Site and Container Selection, VT Act 148, Managing the Compost Process, Troubleshooting, Educational Outreach, Worm Composting
c. This course is also available to out-of-state residents
7. Central Shenandoah Valley Garden Symposium– Weyers Cave, Virginia- October 19
a. “Going Native: Let me tell you about the bees and the flowers and the trees” from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Blue Ridge Community College, Plecker Center
b. Registration required before October 1st
c. For more information visit: csvmga.org
8. Biweekly Update Submission form – Please use this form for submitting future biweekly update items. Due to staffing limitations through the summer of 2019, submissions sent through email could be missed.
August Announcements:
9. Master Gardener College Scholarship for 2019– Deadline for applications August 9th.
a. (VMGA) Diane Relf Master Gardener College Scholarship Application Form
b. Scholarship Application Process
c. Scholarship Nomination Guidelines
d. Scholarship Nomination Rules and Guidelines
10. Children’s Activities at the Grin & Grow Learning Garden at Riverview Farm Park– Newport News, VA- 1st and 3rd Mondays, 10 AM, through August 19th
a. Newport News Master Gardener Association will host various children’s activities in the Grin & Grow Learning Garden at Riverview Farm Park, through the summer. Activities will be on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 10 am. The Garden is always open when the Park is open.
September Announcements:
11. Piedmont Master Gardeners Through the Garden Gate – Charlottesville-Albemarle County – May 11-September 1
12. Hampton Roads 11th Annual Go Green Expo – Brittingham Midtown Community Center, Newport News – September 7th, 2019
a. Family activities, lectures, green tech, plant sales and vendors as well as vermiculture, rain barrel and biochar workshops!
b. 10am to 3pm. Free admission. Food available for purchase.
October Announcements:
13. 2019 ESVMG MG Training Registration Open – October 2- November 13, January 15- February 26 – VA Tech Research Center, Painter, VA
a. The Eastern Shore Master Gardener (ESVMG) Program is accepting applications for the 2019 Master Gardener training class.
b. The classes will be held in Painter beginning October 2nd and continue every Wednesday from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. until November 13th, break for the holidays and then resume January 15-February 26.
c. For more information and the application contact the Eastern Shore of Virginia Gardeners hotline at (757)-678-7946 ext.29, the web site www.esvmg.com, or e-mail esmgva@gmail.com.
d. Fee is $100 for materials and lectures by local experts.
14. Save the Date: Protecting Pollinators in Urban Landscapes – Cincinnati, Ohio – October 7-9, 2019
15. ESVMG Garden Symposium– October 19th, 2019- Cheriton, VA
a. The Eastern Shore of Virginia Master Gardeners (ESVMG) announces their second Garden Symposium which will offer lectures on a wide range of gardening topics by accomplished garden speakers.
b. The symposium will be held on Saturday, October 19, at the Cheriton Fire Station, 21334 Bayside Road. The daylong event begins at 8:00 am and includes five lectures, lunch and a lively raffle of local artisan items.
c. Topics include “The Landscape Revolution: Foodscaping with Natives,” “The Landscape Revolution: Perennial Combinations,” “Make Your Garden Your Own” and more.
d. To read more about the upcoming event and download a registration form, go to www.esvmg.com. You can also contact ESVMG through email at esvmg@gmail.com for a registration form or call (757) 678-7946, ext. 29
16. Online Plant ID Classes– from Longwood Gardens and NC State- July 8th- October 31st
a. Reduced fee for Extension Professionals so you can brush up on your plant ID skills and preview the classes to determine if they will be useful as advanced training opportunities for your volunteers.
i. Discount Code for Extension Master Gardener Volunteers & Master Naturalists – MASTER ($98 fee) = $97 discount
ii. Discount Code for Extension Professionals – AGENT ($50 fee) = $145 discount
b. Course instructor, Preston Montague, is a landscape designer, educator and artist. He has a bachelor's degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in landscape architecture, both from NC State. He has experience teaching at NC State, NC A & T, and many botanical gardens in the region.
Other Announcements:
17. Follow the State Office on social media:
i. Facebook
ii. Instagram
iii. YouTube
18. Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming
19. Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions
20. Registration now open for online Plant Identification Classes by Longwood Gardens and NC State – Click Here
21. An update from National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture: 2018 accomplishments letter
22. Gardeners’ Survey – AmpleHarvest.org
23. Visit the VCE Lawn and Garden Calendar!
24. Every Kid in a Park Program
25. Information from Chad Proudfoot, 4H: “The program is very simple: every 4th grade student (or home school equivalent) in the United States is entitled to get one Every Kid in a Park pass which lasts through August 31
26. Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive pest insect– found in Winchester, VA- January 2018
a. For information regarding the quarantine please see attached flyer
27. eXtension Good and Bad bugs webinar series – Feb 1 – Dec 6, 2019
28. Biennial 2018 EMG Summary– from the Extension Master Gardener National Committee
a. Data collected indicates there are 86,076 EMG volunteers throughout the United States and Washington, D.C, contributing 5.6 million hours educating the public, providing youth programming, and facilitating produce donated to local food banks.
b. While this is only the beginning of the value EMGs provide in their communities each year, 2018 efforts are estimated to have contributed 140 million dollars in value to the general public. Our volunteers reported over 8.6 million contacts and continue to be the front line of Extension’s consumer horticulture efforts. Forty-six states participated in this report.
29. Basil Downy Mildew: Occurrence Monitoring and Info Website for Gardeners
a. A new website, created by Margaret McGrath and the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University, on monitoring occurrence of downy mildew on basil in the US and Canada:
i. It maps occurrences and replaces them into a GoogleDocs spreadsheet since 2009. There is information about BDM at the website that is geared for gardeners. Gardeners have been the primary and most important reporters in helping with monitoring this disease.
b. A handout for gardeners about reporting occurrences of BDM and 2 other important diseases: late blight and cucurbit downy mildew.