New Announcements:

1.    August state office webinars:

· September 17 | 10 am – Tree risk assessment – Joel Koci of VSU provides an introduction to tree risk assessment. – Register in advance: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/91920717871 

·   October 15 | 10 am – Urban Agriculture – Join Dr. Leonard Githinji from Virginia State University as he talks about urban agriculture, why it’s important, and where it intersects with volunteerism. Pre-registration: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/vpcsduCrpz8oATVOvOhaatpGl7kTqVIpQA

2.  IMGC 2021 Tee Shirt design contest – Draw a plant & submit it for our IMGC 2021 tee shirt design! Info here DEADLINE SEPTERMBER 7: https://www.internationalmastergardener.com/2020/05/18/design-contest/

3.    EMG Coordinator webinar: CE opportunity! Food Safety and Master Gardener Volunteer Programs, before and after COVID-19 webinar recording: https://youtu.be/aK6g8NvpAok

4.    Registration Now Open for the 2020 Virtual Chesapeake Watershed Forum! https://www.allianceforthebay.org/our-work/key-program-focuses/networking-education/chesapeake-watershed-forum/

5.    FULL Piedmont Master Gardeners: Garden Basics Workshop

·      Master Gardeners will offer practical advice on spring-planted bulbs for summer and fall drama, fall-planted bulbs for spectacular spring color, and bulbs for winter forcing. Registration by September 14 is required. Email your name to info@piedmontmastergardeners.org. An invitation to the Zoom session will follow.

·      Year-Round Beauty with Bulbs 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, September 19

·      Bring in the Birds!” 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, October 17

·      Water-Wise Gardening 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, November 21

6.    Greensville/Emporia Master Gardeners: Native Tree ID Walk

·      During this walk, Bob Glennon, forester and consultant with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, will lead the group in identifying native trees. A copy of the Common Native of Virginia- Tree Identification Guide is included in the class fee of $12.00. Payment is due at the time of registration. Register and pay with a credit card here: https://register.ext.vt.edu , select programs, then click agriculture and scroll to select this course; C-02-0033. Or, register and pay with cash or check at the Greensville/Emporia extension office no later than September 7, 2020. Direct link to destiny one registration page: https://register.ext.vt.edu/search/publicCourseSearchDetails.do?

7.    Newport News Master Gardeners: Go Green EXPO: “A 20/20 Vision for Our Community”

·      Go Green Expo serves the citizens of Hampton Roads and beyond with a free, family-friendly event that informs on green and sustainable practices for the whole family.” Due to the Covid-19 pandemic our Go Green Expo 2020 scheduled for September 12th will all be online this year. We will include videos of vermiculture and rain barrel workshops along with a wide variety of other horticulture and natural resource-related topics. By popular demand, there will be a couple of videos that will show you how to assemble your vermiculture and rain barrels kits which are still for sale through Newport News Master Gardeners Association. All of this year’s Go Green activities will be shown on our Facebook page as well as on a dedicated YouTube channel. Visit this site, https://www.nngogreenexpo.org/, and our main website, https:nnmastergardener.org/, for updates. These are trying times for all of us, but we will try to make Go Green Expo 2020 a meaningful event using a course of action that will be beneficial for us all. With your continued support, we can make Go Green Expo 2021 better than ever! The Peninsula Master Gardeners again thank you for your help and wish you, your families and friends good health!

Old September Announcements

1.    Waynesboro tree workshop webinar series – Every Wednesday in the month of September there will be an hour-long webinar on various topics including tree ring analysis and urban canopy cover. Provided jointly by VDOF and VCE

·      Info and registration links here: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Register-Today—2020-Waynesboro-Tree-Webinar-Series-.html?soid=1129998786860&aid=GI79-Lqov14

Old Announcements:

1.    Facebook Live “Get Gardening” Series – Thursdays through the summer

·      Thursday September 10: Chris Mullins, Season Extenders

·      Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/226756471734154/

2.    Plant sale guidance available – Extension Leadership has released guidelines for Extension Master Gardener Plant Sales in light of the current steps toward reopening. You can find that information on the VCE COVID-19 page (https://ext.vt.edu/covid-19updates.html) under “Administrative Documents and Updates.” It’s at the bottom of that list under “EMG Plant Sale Guidance.

3.    Master Composter online course from Vermont – https://www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener/vermont-master-composter-course

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.    Updated Facebook event guidance – When scheduling Facebook events for your unit symposiums, seminars, talks, etc, please add the state office page as a co-host! More info here: https://mastergardener.ext.vt.edu/current-resources/communications-resources/

3.    Follow the State Office on social media: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

4.    Subscribe to In Season, our quarterly newsletter

5.    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/

6.  Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming  
7. Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions
8. Every Kid in a Park Program
9. Basil Downy Mildew: Occurrence Monitoring and Info Website for Gardeners
   1. 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.

1. 1. A handout for gardeners about reporting occurrences of BDM and 2 other important diseases: late blight and cucurbit downy mildew.