Tag: volunteer project

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“Talking less and doing more” empowers new gardeners

Person in garden gear with flower bulbs
Emily Herb showing off a nice collection of homegrown onions.

Master Gardener trainee Emily Herb brings the skills of an educator and sign language interpreter to re-envisioning the popular Seed to Supper classes in Benton County. Offered in collaboration between Master Gardeners, Oregon Food Bank and other community partners, Seed to Supper aims to connect low-income households with the know-how and resources to grow tasty and healthy food. Learn more and find out how you can get involved in Seed to Supper with Master Gardeners in Benton or Linn Counties.

A parsonage garden

I grew up in Southern Oregon where my mother’s family is from. We lived in Grants Pass, which was a small timber town at that time.  Grants Pass in the 1980’s was struggling with the fall of the timber industry and the houses, yards, and lives of residents reflected that struggle.  I do not remember many ornamental flowers or trees.  My father was a minister there and we lived in a small parsonage with a small yard. My mom was a gardener and did her best with that little yard. She was always fond of roses and iris, which grew well enough in Southern Oregon. When I was sixteen we moved to Corvallis, and I remember my mom’s excitement about moving to the Willamette Valley where almost anything could grow. When I first moved here I rode my bike up and down the streets looking at the magnolia and flowering cherry trees. I had never seen such full beautiful trees before. Corvallis amazed me with so many yards spilling over with beautiful plants.

Rescuing bargain flowers

All my early gardening memories involve my mother. She loved plants just like she loved animals and children, and she couldn’t stand to see them suffer. I have a childhood memory of when she and I were at the grocery store on our bikes and she came across a flat of half dead chrysanthemums the store was selling cheap. We had to figure out a way to bike all of them and our groceries home so she could save the mums from death.  My mom loved scouting out a deal and the hunt for the plants was a big part of the pleasure. We drove far and wide to go to nurseries and gardens all around the Willamette Valley. This was sometimes a trying experiences, but her passion and care instilled in me a love of plants as well as the knowledge of how to care for them.

A new family garden

My favorite gardening memories center around family gardening in the house I live in now. Eleven years ago my parents, my husband, my two children, and I moved into a house across from Corvallis High School. The house came with a coveted Corvallis double lot and we were able to buy another adjoining lot to make a very nice ¾ acre in the middle of town. Our front yard is terraced and we planted the first terrace with roses for my mother the fall after we moved in. It is filled with roses bought on sale at the annual Heirloom Rose garden summer sale.

In the years we have been here, my mom and dad lined the north facing fences with rhododendrons. We went to all the local garden sales and created beds of shade and sun perennials. My husband, my gardening partner and personal backyard engineer, put in berries that came from his father’s berry fields and taught himself to prune the large gravenstein apple tree and pear tree that came with the property. I am lucky enough to have two huge vegetable gardens, raised beds, and a chicken mansion. My children learned to garden and weed with the family in this massive backyard. It has been our family group project and when I go outside I see all of us reflected in the gardens we have created. My mother died a year ago and my father is less inclined to work outside than he once was, but through the help of the children and my best friend who lives in the neighborhood, my husband and I are able to keep up and even continue creating our backyard project, which of course is never done.

Seed to Supper : hands-on

I decided to become a Master Gardener because I have a passion for growing food and I want to assist and teach people with limited access to fresh, organic produce the skills to grow their own. When I saw the Master Gardening Seed to Supper program advertised in the newspaper one year I decided that this might be the way to become involved in work I believe in. Since completing my Master Gardening training and starting on my volunteer hours I have had the opportunity to be part of a team teaching Seed to Supper and then part of a team who has redesigned the Seed to Supper course into a completely hands on class we piloted this Spring.

The new class that we taught this spring came from an interest among several people on the Community Garden Action Team (CGAT) to teach a basic gardening class that contained all the content of the original Seed to Supper class, but using a completely hands on approach out in an actual garden. The idea was to talk less and do more, or perhaps talk while doing. We all thought that gardening is something one learns best through practice. I volunteered to go through the Seed to Supper book and to organize the content of the text book into hands on “stations” that participants could rotate through to learn all the skills and concepts normally taught through power point slides in a classroom.

Gardening 101 & 102

Through this curriculum redesign we ended up with eight stations that teaches the same concepts of Seed to Supper, including some helpful redundancy. This past spring we taught the class over the course of two Saturday mornings out at Willamette Community Garden. We called the classes Gardening 101 & 102 and each class lasted three hours and included four stations full of content. The reviews back from our 20 students are very positive and we plan to teach more of this class in the future. It has been an amazing experience for me to get to be an important part of curriculum writing, program planning, and then teaching. This process has been everything that I hoped Master Gardening would be.

P.S.

Now I am supposed to tell you something surprising about myself. I don’t know if this is surprising, but I feel like in my life I am a generalist. I enjoy doing so many things that I find I am not an expert at anything; nonetheless I am proud and grateful for all the many things that are part of my life. I am a Sign Language interpreter by profession, but am a potter, gardener, cook, food preserver, musician, family member, and many more things in my “off time.” I am very happy to add Master Gardener to this list.

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Sick plants? Get the most out of Master Gardener Plant Clinic!

By Elizabeth Records, Master Gardener Program Assistant

Previously published in Growing.
 

Three gardeners standing at info booth.
Master Gardeners are here to help at Pop up Plant Clinics in a location near you.

It’s gardening season! Whether you’re a longtime gardener or are new to growing things, OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers are here to help you grow your best garden yet and deal with garden challenges.

Master Gardeners are volunteers who complete a specialized training program and work as a team to help find solutions to garden problems for people in our community. We are from all walks of life and have widely varied gardening interests and experiences. Together we bring lifetimes of collective garden knowledge to solving plant problems with research-based information. Here are some scenarios where Master Gardener volunteers can help:

Plant Identification

You are digging in the garden and find an unfamiliar plant that you did not put there. Will it produce lovely flowers or tasty food? Or will it prove to be an invasive weed that takes over your garden? Master Gardener volunteers can help you find out. Bring a sample of your plant including a full branch or stem with any leaves, flowers and fruits that may be present.

Insect issues

You find a mystery insect in the garden and wonder if it is going to harm your plants or be a helpful pollinator or a useful predator of insect pests. A dozen insects appear in your garage, and you don’t know if they are a simple nuisance or are likely to feed on you, your pets or your home. Master Gardeners can help identify insects and suggest how to manage them! Bring the insect in a sealed jar, or a high resolution photo of the insect on a pale colored background, next to a ruler or coin so we can tell the size.

Gardening guidance

Just starting your first veggie garden and wondering when to plant, or what varieties do well in your location? Want to make your garden more sustainable by using less water, attracting more pollinators or using fewer chemicals? Short on space but excited to grow fresh herbs or salads on your windowsill? Whatever your gardening goals, Master Gardeners can help you find research-based information to get the most from your garden.

Diagnosis and recommendations          

Your previously healthy plant suddenly wilts. Brown spots appear in your grass. A tree that produced lots of fruit in the past stops setting fruit. Master Gardener volunteers can help figure out what is going on and decide what to do next for best results. Bring samples and/or photos that show the problem and also the surrounding area.

Get the most out of plant clinic
  • Be ready to answer questions that will help Master Gardeners hone in on the source of your problem so we can provide the best advice possible. Master Gardeners might ask, “how long has this problem been going on?” and “Are all of the similar plants affected, or just one?” “What treatments have already been attempted to remedy this situation?”
  • Bring good samples – you can always call us for suggestions to bring the most helpful samples.
  • Master Gardeners cannot answer questions about State or Federally controlled plants, identify mushrooms, or offer medical advice. We are pleased to assist with all your other garden questions to the best of our ability.
  • Sometimes we may need input from other team members or horticulture faculty to resolve your question. Be ready to share an email or phone number if we need to do some extra research and follow up.
  • Have fun and enjoy your garden, even when things don’t go as you expected!
Plant Clinics near you!

Find us at your local office most weekdays from 9-12 and 1-4. Email or leave a phone message anytime.

Benton County

  • 4077 SW Research Way, Corvallis, OR97333
  • Call with your question: (541) 766-6750
  • Email your question and any photos to: bentonmg@oregonstate.edu

Linn County

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Sale Emphasizes Native and Pollinator Plants

Plants for sale lined up on tables in a barn.
Over 10,000 plants will be available at the Master Gardener Plant Sale.

For their May plant sale, Benton County Master Gardeners have emphasized growing native and pollinator-friendly plants. The sale, May 4 at the Benton Fairgrounds, includes well over 10,000 plants–vegetable and herb starts, perennials for sun and shade, trees, vines, and shrubs.

This year, the selection includes several thousand plants particularly favored by local pollinators—bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Over 80 varieties of native plants include those particularly important for local insects, such as several lupine varieties, blue gilia, goldenrod, and milkweed. Other natives include ferns, vine maples, and shrubs such as red-flowered currant, a particular favorite of hummingbirds.

Many other plants offered are blooming garden cultivars known to be good nectar and pollen sources.  These include many easy-to-grow perennials.  For example, bees and butterflies are particularly drawn to Echinacea, lavender, and catmint. They also favor popular shrubs such as lilac and spiraea.  Hummingbirds love bee balm, penstemon, salvias, and hardy fuchsias, often perching nearby to protect their favorite plants.

Help the local pollinators while you plant a beautiful garden at bargain prices. Master Gardeners will be on hand to help you choose what would grow well in your garden and give tips about how to be successful. All proceeds from the sale support Master Gardener educational projects in our schools, demonstration gardens, and community.

See you at the sale: 9:00 to 3:00 on Saturday, May 4, at the southwest corner of the Benton County Fairgrounds.

–Kathy Clark, OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

Excited about blue orchard mason bees? Check out Nurturing Mason Bees in Your Backyard in Western Oregon, a free publication from OSU Extension.

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I grow things that remind me of my southern roots

Woman on a lawn tractor, smling
Susan Morton with her trusty lawn tractor.

Susan Morton brings the wit and wisdom of her career as a forensic scientist to her endeavors as a Master Gardener. Whether she’s playing the role of “Bee Czar” in organizing the Beevent Pollinator Conference, teaching new gardeners to grow produce on a budget in Seed to Supper, or serving on the board of the Linn County Master Gardener Association, Susan always shares a dry and delightful sense of humor. Susan has been a Linn County Master Gardener since 2011 and shared her story in winter, 2019.

A way for non-literate people to read nature

I grew up in the small town of West Point, Georgia, on the banks of the Chattahoochee River about 100 miles south of Atlanta. My father was an engineer, but he came from a long line of farmers and loved to garden. We had about half an acre of fruit and vegetables which we enjoyed all summer. His mother also lived with us and she, too, liked to work in the garden. I was their chief assistant. My job was picking, watering and keeping an eye out for pests. One of my fondest memories is sitting with my grandmother after I had been out picking shelling beans or peas for my mother to cook. My grandmother had very little education, but she knew how to plant by the signs. When I got older, I realized there was nothing magical or superstitious about these signs—they were a way for non-literate people to read nature to know when it was time to plant or harvest various crops. So, if you are in Georgia, plant your sweet corn when the wild dogwood is in full bloom.

A philodendron named Arthur

When I was deciding on a major in college, I was drawn to biology. I had to pick either botany or zoology and picked botany. I figured at least I would not have to chase my specimens. I attended a small women’s’ college which at the time had a very strict policy about students going out at night unescorted, with a male escort being much preferred. I had a philodendron named Arthur which my friends and I would list as an escort on our sign-out forms. And, of course, we took Arthur with us to theaters and concerts so as not to be dishonest. Arthur was cultured as well as cultivated.

In the early years of my career as a forensic scientist, I lived in apartments and could not do much gardening. I always managed to have at least a few house plants. Later on, I bought a small house with a large yard near the San Francisco airport. After years of deprivation, I gardened frantically.

When I put the house on the market, the real estate agent went through the house and made suggestions as to how to stage it. Then I took her to the back yard.  It was a wonderland. Didn’t have any trouble selling that house even in 2009 when the real estate market was in the dumpster.

Cluckingham Palace

As I neared retirement, I realized I had to do some introspection to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I had never been big on introspection. Considering what bubbles up on its own, I was not keen on looking in there on purpose. But I did it. To my utter amazement I discovered that what would complete my happiness was chickens. CHICKENS. I decided to move out in the country so as not to have to deal with chicken laws. I came up to look at properties in this area.

After a couple of days of trudging through very gloomy places, I came to the place I am now. I got out of the car and fell in love. Lots of room to garden, but not too much land to take care of. Deer fence. But best of all was the view—over a waterfowl refuge pond with Mary’s Peak framed perfectly between trees. The real estate agent asked if I wanted to see the house inside. I just waved her off and said that if it had indoor plumbing, we were good.

So I got my chickens installed in their fancy coop dubbed Cluckingham Palace, and they give as much joy as I had hoped. After years of being cross-examined in court by lawyers, I find the chickens to be refreshingly noble and intelligent.

I grow some things that remind me of my southern roots. I have to have butter peas in the summer and turnip greens in the winter. I also have a sweetshrub, Calycanthus albus. They grow brown flowers that look like loafer tassels and smell like Jergens hand lotion. Actually, it is the other way around. Jergens Lotion is scented the shrub’s flowers. When I was growing up, everybody had a sweetshrub planted by their trash cans. Trash cans do not smell nice during August in Georgia. The shrubs were supposed to mask some of the aroma.

 Master Gardeners & Seed to Supper

As soon after I moved in as my life permitted, I became a Master Gardener and have made wonderful new friends. I find helping others to enjoy their gardens as much as I enjoy mine gives me great satisfaction.  I also like to think I am keeping pesticide use down by showing people better ways to manage their gardens. Seed to Supper is the type of program that is the reason I became a Master Gardener. Life has been good to me, and I want to give something back and to help those who have not been as fortunate as I have.

Postscript

Now I am supposed to tell something astonishing about myself. Well, I have already confessed that I dated a philodendron in college. Not sure what I can say to top that, but I will give it a try:

  • I have been to Antarctica, Pago Pago, Timbuktu, and Tbilisi, among many other unlikely places
  • I have driven a locomotive
  • I spent an afternoon appearing before the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria impersonating a barrister
  • I single-handedly destroyed communism in Russia by explaining to a Russian housewife the benefits of having shopkeepers competing for her rubles rather than getting a salary, paid out of her taxes, whether they sell anything or not. The Soviet Union fell two years later
  • I won a Russian speaking contest in St. Petersburg. No idea what I said since I do not speak Russian. I may be engaged to be married. In my defense, several vodka toasts had taken place before the contest.

Seed to Supper is a comprehensive six-week beginning gardening course that gives novice, adult gardeners the tools and confidence they need to successfully grow a portion of their own food on a limited budget. CLICK HERE to learn more.

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Planting gardening ideas

Neighborhood Planters Kiosks help build thriving communities

 

A young woman and a dog check out a Neighborhood Planters Kiosk
Community members get gardening ideas from a Neighborhood Planters Kiosk.

Neighborhood Planters Kiosks (NPKs) look a bit like Little Free Libraries, but instead of sharing books, they offer seasonally relevant, research-based gardening tips. NPK is a collaboration of OSU Extension Benton County Master Gardeners, the Corvallis Evening Garden Club, the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, and the City of Corvallis Civic Beauty and Urban Forestry Group. OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers Christina Clark and Kathleen Rochester contributed to this story. Learn more at the NPK blog.

Elizabeth Records – OSU Extension:  For someone who has never seen an NPK before, describe what it looks like and where it might be found.

Neighborhood Planter Kiosk team: NPKs (Neighborhood Planters’ Kiosks –a word play on the NPK composition of fertilizer) are bright painted wooden boxes. They are mounted on posts in volunteers’ yards where they can be seen from the street. They can be found in parks, community gardens, and front yards all over Corvallis.

ER: Who is the intended audience for NPKs?

NPK: Our intended audience is anyone who is interested in or might become interested in gardening, sustainable living, and enjoying our outdoor spaces.

ER: What are some sources of inspiration for this project?

NPK: We’d like to build community and share the love of gardening. We’re continuing to try to reach a greater audience with research-based information. Some of the misinformation out there  can lead to discouragement, wasted time and money, or negative effects on our environment.

Gardening is such a fun, healthy, vital part of our lives that we’d like to encourage others to also benefit. We also believe that growing our own food is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves, our loved ones, and our planet. Sustainability is never more fun than when we learn to grow something for ourselves!

ER: How do NPKs help fulfill the mission of OSU Extension Service?

NPK: We plant gardening ideas to help build thriving communities! While OSU Extension supports a variety of programs, we focus on gardening education and related community events. Much of the information we share starts with tips from OSU Extension’s monthly gardening calendar. Then our writers add photos and resources to engage our readers. Links on our blog connect them with additional Extension articles that help them get more in depth.

We provide another way to link Extension and all its expertise and knowledge with anyone on the street or in front of a computer. We hope to engage people that may not know how much free, but valuable research-based information could be at their fingertips.

ER: Is there a story that stands out to you about someone interacting with NPK kiosks or blog posts?

NPK: We’ve had views from all over the world. We had one email come in from Victoria in Omaha, Nebraska. She was part of a group trying to start a similar program in their neighborhood; trying to find funding and figure out how to build the kiosks. It was great fun to share our enthusiasm and many building tips and photos.

Have you visited a Neighborhood Planter Kiosk for garden information or inspiration? Share your story with elizabeth.records(at)oregonstate.edu and we’ll post it in future updates. Check out the NPK blog anytime.