Hall County Master Gardener Program

Extension News

Week of January 31, 2012

Congratulations Hall Co. Master Gardeners! You sent in a total of 18,254 hours for 2011! That is awesome! Keep up the good work! Hall County is fortunate to have you sharing all of your gardening knowledge! Beautification through Education!

Office hours open: Please call if you can help! 770-535-8293 or contact me at wcannon@hallcounty.org.

Specific times open in February:

Tuesday - Feb. 14^th, 1- 5 pm

Wednesdays – Feb. 8, 15, 22 and 29, 1 – 5 pm

Thursdays – Feb. Feb. 16 and 23

The New and Revised Georgia Master Gardener Handbook 7th Editionis now available for purchase. Cost is $60 including tax and shipping. Make checks payable to ‘UGA Cooperative Extension’ and mail to: Georgia Master Gardener Program, 1109 Experiment St, Cowart Bldg, Griffin GA 30223. Please include your street address for UPS Delivery. Delivery takes about 10-14 days. Note-Changes from the 6th Ed. (blue sky fern cover) include: updated soil ecology chapter, rain gardening/rainwater harvesting chapter, principles of organic gardening and minor revisions to other chapters.)

Note: The new intern class is using this book.

Correction –The HCMG meetings are always on the 3^rd Tuesday of each month. The Garden Gate quarterly newsletter stated the meetings are on Thursdays. That is incorrect. Please make the correction.

Next HCMG Member meeting – Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012
6:30 pm at the Hall County Board of Education Bldg.
Green Street. Speaker – Gene Anderson – “Are Roses Worth It”

2012 HCMG dues are $10 until Feb. 15^th.After that, they are $15. You can send them to Wanda at 734 East Crescent Dr., Gainesville, Ga. 30501 and give them to Beverly Brinson at our next member meeting.

Volunteer Opportunities

We need to people to work at the Ask a Master Gardenerbooths!

We need volunteers to staff our Ask a Master Garden booth. You don’t have to know it all to volunteer at the following events: Master Gardener interns are welcome too!

4/21 Earth Day1-3 pm at Lakeshore Mall

Spout Springs Farmers Market 1^st Thursday 4-7 pm: 4/12, 5/3, 6/7, 7/5, 8/2, 9/6, 10/4

Downtown Gainesville Farmers Market1^st Friday 3-7pm: 4/13, 5/4, 6/8 ,7/6, 8/3, 9/7, 10/5

Gainesville Extension Farmers Market1^st Saturday 7-noon: 4/14, 5/5, 6/9, 7/7, 8/4, 9/8, 10/6

Note: Due to Easter and our Expo, we will choose the second week of April.

Call or email Barb Misner or Wanda Cannon if you are interested.

Help Wanted!

We are looking for someone interested in doing a ‘Monthly Garden To-Do’ list we can use on our website. Karin Hicks is doing garden tips for the quarterly newsletter but would like someone to work with her on this topic. Karin is also looking for people willing to contribute articles, one time or on an ongoing basis. If you are researching something for yourself, consider turning it into an article. Research time counts towards hours! Contact Barb Misner bmisner@windstream.netif interested.

Ron Brechter has forsythia to share. If anyone would like some, please give him a call. 678-897-1235.

New Community Garden in need of donations.

Hall County MG Leslie Johnson is working on a community garden in her neighborhood. It is coming along very well but they could use some donation PLANTS. Anyone who would like to donate flowering shrubs, blueberry bushes, hostas or other plants, please contact Leslie @ gardengirl20102009@gmail.com.

Please see attachment above for a picture of these community gardens.

COME TO ARBOR DAY

MG’s – Plan to attend!!! The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee’s celebration.

Plan to Attend Gainesville’s Arbor Day festivities – Friday, Feb. 17^th, 10 am, Frances Meadows Aquatic Center

NOW IS THE TIME TO PLANT TREES IN GEORGIA LANDSCAPES- Arbor Day isn’t until February, but now is the ideal time to add new trees to your landscape. For more information or to view multimedia associated with this story, click here: http://georgiafaces.caes.uga.edu/?public=viewStory&pk_id=4285

News and Events

~ The Plant Zones have changed!!!

Plant zone changes in Georgia – go to – for more information

http://www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/phzmweb/

~ NEW –FEB 4^TH, WINTER GARDENERS’ GATHERING – Garden*Hood & McMahan’s Nursery are sponsoring this ‘gathering’, Saturday, February 4^th, 9:30am-Noon at Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center, 225 Chester Ave, SE, Atlanta, 30316. Morning event will include: An Inspirational photo-lecture by local Master Gardener and Hort-head extraordinaire, Jack Driskell will talk on “Favorites from the Winter Garden”, plants will be for sale from G*H and McMahan’s Nurseries, seasonal flower arranging demo on winter garden cut stems and meet and greet with other gardening enthusiasts. Need to RSVP for this one to kacey@gardenhoodatlanta.com Details at www.gardenhoodatlanta.com

~ Cedar Hill Enrichment Center
770-887-0051
www.discovercedarhill.org

Building Community, Sustaining Earth

February 11 Shiitake Mushroom - natural log culture workshop
9:30am - 12:30 pm
During this hands-on workshop led by Bren Ames of Aye Open Outcomes, you will learn how to grow healthy and delicious Shiitake mushrooms at home on natural logs. You will take home an inoculated log and an understanding of how to:

select an appropriate tree
prepare, inoculate and care for the logs
harvest mushrooms for years to come

Registration (limited) includes lunch and your own inoculated log. Dress comfortably and warmly as part of the session will be outdoors.

Cost is $25 for Cedar Hill and Aye Open Outcome members; $30 for nonmembers
Cedar Hill Enrichment Center is a Center for Sustainable Living (501-c-3 nonprofit organization) dedicated to community outreach and education through programs offering resilient and regenerative solutions to sustainable living.
Located at 5735 Dawsonville Highway, Gainesville, Ga 30506   770-887-0051

February 18    Essential Oils & Lye Soap
10am-4pm
Learn the essentials of extracting your own oils from herbs. You can use essential oils for pest control, add to lye soap for anti-itching properties or put in your potpourri pot for your favorite scent. Part 2 of this session: Take the fear out of making your own lye soap. We will be using organic beef suet and olive oil for the healthiest blends, then adding essential oils or even leftover coffee - you'll be surprised at the outcome! Everyone will take homne a bar of soap and a small amount of essential oil.
Facilitator: Jean Schilling, certified herbalist
Bring a bag lunch - Cedar Hill will provide beverages & snacks
$40 fee if registered prior to February 12; $45 after February 12. Class is limited to 10 participants.

Cedar Hill Enrichment Center is a Center for Sustainable Living (501-c-3 nonprofit organization) dedicated to community outreach and education through programs offering resilient and regenerative solutions to sustainable living.
Located at 5735 Dawsonville Highway, Gainesville, Ga 30506 770-887-0051

~ NEW – SAVE THE DATES-MARCH 30^TH & APRIL 27^TH, MG ADVANCED TRAININGS IN GRIFFIN – Master Gardener Advanced Training Sessions coming soon! Starting with March 30 Advanced Vegetable Gardening, and April 27, Principles of Organic Gardening, followed by 4 more session throughout 2012. Qualifications – you must be a certified Master Gardener. More detail to follow soon.

~ NEW – SAVE THE DATE -APRIL 14^th, PLANTAPALOOZA PLANT SALE - 8am-2pm. A 3-location plant sale benefiting the Trial Gardens at UGA, State Botanical Garden and UGA Horticulture Club. More information to come.

~ CANTON: The Cherokee County Master Gardeners and GMGA are excited about hosting you at "The Gardeners' Circle of Life" (the only GMGA Conference to be held in 2012) and they have established a special website just for the conference. Check out the lovely promo video, fantastic venues, Friday and Saturday schedule of events, tours, speakers and then register all in one place at http://georgiamgaconference.com/

~ SCHOLARSHIP UPDATE: Many of you are aware that this past spring the Georgia Master Gardener Association, Inc. set up an endowed scholarship fund at UGA on behalf of all Georgia Master Gardeners statewide. In less than a year, the fund has reached the $10,500 mark toward the $25,000 it takes for the fund to be endowed. The idea behind this scholarship is to help students studying at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences with a special emphasis on helping horticulture students who have an interest in becoming an Extension Agent and working with Master Gardener Extension Volunteers in the future. Therefore, if you find yourself at year's end wanting to make a charitable contribution, I hope you will consider this fund. Depending on return on the investment, one fiscal year after that full amount is invested it would be able to begin disbursing scholarships. So, the sooner the fund is endowed, the sooner it can start helping students. There are a variety of ways to give depending on your preference: you can give through the Georgia Master Gardener Association, Inc. http://georgiamastergardeners.org/master-gardener-scholarship-fundand you'll be listed on the roll of donors there or you can make your gift directly through the UGA Georgia Fund site at http://tinyurl.com/7c8ncvj. You can make a gift online at either site or you may write a check and mail to either. Whichever way you choose to give, you'll receive a confirmation of your gift for your records and all of your money goes toward establishing the scholarship fund. Please be sure any mailed checks to either indicate that your donation is intended for the Georgia Master Gardeners Scholarship.