New Announcements:
1. International Master Gardener Conference, 2021: REGISTRATION OPEN NOW, (REGISTRATION WILL NOT REOPEN FOR RECORDINGS) IMGC 2021 is now open for registration! Since we are hosting IMGC, there will be no state Master Gardener College for 2021—register for IMGC instead! We are excited to bring you more than 40 different VIRTUAL sessions, expert panels, and fun conference bonuses (like Virginia themed recipes and virtual tours). To learn more and register: https://www.internationalmastergardener.com/register
a. View the full program here: https://www.internationalmastergardener.com/schedule/
b. If you plan to attend IMGC, please register as early as possible! Registration is now open to the public.
c. Be aware that IMGC registration will NOT REOPEN for access to recordings only. If you want access to conference recordings, REGISTER NOW.
2. Updated COVID restrictions – The State Office has received questions recently about changes to COVID policies for programming. VCE has updated their guidelines and has posted them to the VCE COVID-19 updates page under 'policies and guidelines' https://ext.vt.edu/covid-19updates.html
3. Bumblebee Jamboree 2021: Pollinator Path, June 21-27, Maymont Children's Farm
a. Chesterfield County Master Gardeners are celebrating National Pollinator Week with the Pollinator Path at Maymont. Follow the signage along the self-guided stroll as you learn about the role pollinators play and what each of us can do in our own backyard to protect natural resources. Whether you’re enjoying the outdoors at Maymont or staying at home, you can access enhanced content about birds, butterflies, bees, beetles, and bats from your phone or computer. When: June 21–27, 2021, 10 am until 7 pm daily Information: Free admission. This event is hosted by the Chesterfield County Master Gardeners and the Chesterfield County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension. Contact: For more information, call (804) 751-4401 or visit https://linktr.ee/BBJ2021
b. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JvNypdzqNbd14ztImhgzXrx7FqyOsVRP/view?usp=sharing
4. Gardening in the Valley Tour, June 26, 2021, Shenandoah County, VA
a. Join us for the Gardening in the Valley Tour supported by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association. The tour features five gardens in Shenandoah County, including the Edinburg Mill Biofiltration Garden, a pesticide-free farm, habitat-friendly suburban garden, in-town yard, and Veatch's Gleann Arboretum. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions at each garden. The in-town yard will have a Spotted Lanternfly exhibit to increase awareness about this invasive pest. Tickets are $10 purchased online in advance at nsvmga.org/events/garden-tour/. On the day of the tour tickets are $12, available from 9 am to 2 pm at Edinburg Mill (214 S. Main St., Edinburg) and Pot Town Organics (181 W. King St., Strasburg).
5. Lawn and Garden Q & A, June 18, July 16, August 20, 10am-11am 2021, Zoom
a. Join VCE Horticulture Agent Guy Mussey for an informal Lawn and Garden Question and Answer session live via Zoom. Bring your lawn woes, problem plants, and pests to an expert every third Friday, May thru August. Register here: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tfuGrqT4iGNxBeEujJnRfV_L0tSc7gVmh
b. https://drive.google.com/file/d/126Fbyr-CS533Ehj2h_Jb3UQO3mlamJ4u/view?usp=sharing
Old June Announcements
6. Insect Pests in the Vegetable Garden – Grow Your Own Food Series, June 29, 2021
a. Jon Traunfeld from the University of Maryland, will discuss the organic control of the most common pests. He has more than 30 years of horticultural experience and frequently featured as an expert on home gardening, growing fruits and vegetables. His articles have appeared in area newspapers, Associated Press, The New York Times and he made an appearance on the Martha Stewart Show. Free Zoom program – Register at: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkf-GtrzwvEtHRlaUr8uu86tYslQC9jIqd
Old July Announcements
7. The New River Valley Garden Tour – July 10, 9-5 NRV Garden Tour showcases beautiful private gardens in the New River Valley each July. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library with the cooperation of the New River Valley Master Gardeners. Tour date is Saturday July 10, 9 am until 5 pm., rain or shine. All gardens are in the Blacksburg Virginia town limits.
a. Tickets $15 available June 1 and include a program and map.Purchase tickets at public libraries in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Floyd, Radford, Salem, and Shawsville, and online here: http://www.mfrlfriends.org/wp/garden-tour/
Old Announcements
8. Support IMGC 2021: There are many ways you can show support for Virginia’s International Master Gardener Conference and help it be successful:
a. Registering for the conference! Come join us in September, we look forward to seeing many familiar faces, even in this virtual setting
b. Sharing the IMGC Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/IMGC2021) with your network
c. Telling other interested gardeners about the event! Our conference is open to members of the public as well as Extension Master Gardeners. IMGC is great way to expose gardeners to the Master Gardener Program!
9. Help scientists! Monitor for disease in your vegetable garden: Do you have a vegetable garden?! Scientists NEED your help to accurately predict the spread of downy mildew. By contributing to this project, you can help Extension researchers advise farmers so that they do not experience crop losses, and so they know when fungicide applications are warranted. Monitoring the spread of plant disease takes all of us working together!!
d. Downy mildew of cucumber and other cucurbits (cucumber is the most important crop to monitor!) https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/gardens-and-cdm/
e. Downy mildew of basil https://basil.agpestmonitor.org/
10. Better Impact: Important information for you to know as we launch BI:
a. We’ve created a helpful video to walk you through the basic use of the system. It’s only 30 minutes long, so please watch it before you use the new system: https://video.vt.edu/media/Better+Impact+Volunteer+Management+System+training+video+for+Virginia+Cooperative+Extension+Master+Volunteers/1_nv1o3maq
b. Between the training document here and the video linked above, you should have the information you need to get started in Better Impact! Your unit may have additional instructions and training for you, so please watch for communications from your program leads. They have been hard at work behind the scenes getting things ready to go!
c. If you have questions as you navigate this new system, please contact your local volunteer coordinator or Extension Agent.
11. VCE’s popular Home Food Preservation Virtual Program is back! Learn how to preserve your own fresh foods at home safely using several different techniques including dehydration, canning and fermentation. You'll also learn about the science behind each of these methods. This course is online and self-paced, so once you sign up, you'll have until December 31 to complete it in your own time.
d. More info and register: http://tinyurl.com/VCE-HomeFoodPreservation
12. Continuing education reading list: Reading a book from this list counts for up to 3 CE hours: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GcvQr_wm_oH2BaNCLZuXzY6POD2f0FXD0TgY5DlBs8/edit?usp=sharing
a. More CE opportunities here: https://mastergardener.ext.vt.edu/ce/
13. AmpleHarvest 2021 Survey: AmpleHarvest surveys America’s gardeners to learn how much more they grow than they can use (i.e. what was being lost to waste) and the desire of gardeners to donate that if they had the opportunity. Please visit www.AmpleHarvest.org/survey to participate
Old September Announcements:
14. American Community Garden Association conference, Hampton September 23-26, 2021. Virtual and in person.
a. If you’re interested in volunteering: “Volunteer opportunities include conducting tours, facilitating workshops and/or demonstrations, hospitality, registration, directing attendees and vendors, conference set up, sponsorship opportunities, silent auction and many other options. If you are interested, please email wendy.iles@hampton.gov” style=”color:blue”>wendy.iles@hampton.gov with your specific area of interest.” More info here.
Other Announcements:
1. Send us your announcements! Have you converted educational programs to an online format? You can still submit those announcements for the biweekly email! Submit an item for the biweekly update here.
2. Follow the State Office on social media: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
3. Subscribe to In Season, our quarterly newsletter
4. View our most recent webinar
a. View a recording of our most recent state office webinar – Jamie King on urban forestry
i. https://mastergardener.ext.vt.edu/webinar-archive/
5. Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming
6. Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions