1. Guerrilla Gardening in Your Yard: Converting Neglected Spaces into Food, Beauty, and Diversity– Arlington, VA- December 7th
a. Hosted at the Walter Reed Community and Senior Center in Arlington, VA
b. See your yard anew through fresh, guerrilla gardening eyes. Learn how those difficult, abandoned, or underutilized parts of your yard can be transformed into successful garden spaces that provide natural beauty, healthy foods, and important support for pollinators and other beneficial insects.
c. We’ll show you best practices, tools, and techniques to transform your yard’s missed opportunities into attractive and productive gardens – by working with Mother Nature and not against her.
i. This class is offered by Extension Master Gardeners.
ii. Free. Advance registration requested at mgnv.org.
iii. Questions? Telephone 703-228-6414 -or- Email mgarlalex@gmail.com” style=”color:blue” target=”_blank”>mgarlalex@gmail.com.
2. KidsGardening.org: Youth Garden Grants– Youth Garden Projects Supported Throughout the U.S.- Deadline: December 16th
a. KidsGardening.org, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing inspiration and support for parents and educators who are gardening with children, awards Youth Garden Grants to support school and youth educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life for students and their communities.
b. Any U.S. nonprofit organization, school, or youth program planning a new garden program or expanding an established one that serves at least 15 youth between the ages of three and 18 is eligible to apply.
i. The top five programs will receive award packages valued at $2,360. Twenty programs will receive award packages valued at $775. The selection of winners is based on demonstrated program impact and sustainability.
c. The application deadline is December 16, 2019. Visit the KidsGardening website to access application guidelines and forms
3. 4th Annual Seed Swap- Stafford, VA- January 25th 2020.
a. Hosted by The Central Rappahannock Area Extension Master Gardeners
b. Save your seeds for the 4th Annual Seed (and anything garden related) Swap!
i. Nothing to Swap? Come Anyway!
-Learn from knowledgeable speakers.
-Fun garden-related activities for children.
-Get answers to your garden or other horticultural questions.
–The event is free and open to all.
c. For more event information, please refer to the flyer attached in the title.
4. New VCE Master Gardener Photo Submission!
a. Here at the Extension Master Gardener State Office, we want to showcase YOU— our hardworking Master Gardeners!
b. We know our Master Gardeners and volunteers are working hard to empower the communities around them, and we want to display and share that hard work on our social media!
c. Submit your photos using the above link of volunteer events, training, community garden projects, meetings, and more— Anytime!
i. Photos that are submitted may be used in potential official VCE Master Gardener social media posts, blog material, or In Season stories— depending on the photos and stories submitted.
5. Biweekly Update Submission form – Please use this form for submitting future biweekly update items.
November Announcements:
6. Virginia Association of Fairs, Caroline County Fair and Virginia Cooperative Extension Fall Judging School– November 16th– VA Tech; Blacksburg, VA
a. Who should attend Judging School?
i. Agents, department superintendents, fair board members, Master Gardeners, and anyone interested or associated with the home goods sections of local’s fairs.
ii. Please see the attached registration form for more information. All participants must agree to be listed in our on-line Fair Judging School Directory as available apprentice or certified judges for state and local fairs and other events in Virginia.
b. Our goal is to train and certify participants to judge at local fairs, State Fair, or any other related competition. There are many benefits to having certified judges including uniformity of judging standards, ethics training, and having a pool of available judges across the Commonwealth. All instructors are certified and have years of experience judging in Virginia and Maryland.
i. For more information: call Jeannie Dudding at 540-921-3455.
ii. Registrations should be sent to:
MACINE WILLIAMS, JUDGING SCHOOL
P.O. BOX 1207; RUTHER GLEN, VA 22546
Email: macine.lakeland@gmail.com
7. Medicinal and Culinary Mushroom Workshop– November 16th -VCE Appomattox
a. Appomattox Master Gardeners are sponsoring a mushroom workshop in association with VCE – Appomattox and VSU.
b. Participants will learn how to grow mushrooms from a local expert!
c. Participants will learn how to prepare mushrooms to eat from a culinary expert!
i. Including live demonstrations!
ii. Morning refreshments will be provided by Appomattox Master Gardeners.
· Fee $10. Class will be held from 9am to 12 noon at the:
VCE – Appomattox: 177 Morton Lane, Appomattox, VA 24522
· Space is limited, so call 434-352-8244 to reserve your spot!
Other Announcements:
8. Follow the State Office on social media:
i. Facebook
ii. Instagram
iii. YouTube
9. Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming
10. Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions
11. Registration now open for online Plant Identification Classes by Longwood Gardens and NC State – Click Here
12. An update from National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture: 2018 accomplishments letter
13. Visit the VCE Lawn and Garden Calendar!
14. Every Kid in a Park Program
15. Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive pest insect– found in Winchester, VA- January 2018
a. For information regarding the quarantine please see attached link
16. eXtension Good and Bad bugs webinar series – Feb 1 – Dec 6, 2019
17. 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.
18. 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.