February 2017
Can You Dig It? PINE COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS
IN THIS ISSUE
Committee Updates 2
Wellness Expo 3
2017 Leadership
Team 3
Julie Weisenhorn Guest
Speaker at April MG
Meeting 3
Summer Food & Fun
Program-Pine City 4
Plant Sale 4
Upcoming Educational
Events 5
Upcoming Horticulture
Days 6
Learning
Opportunities 7
Arboretum Classes and
Workshops 8
Contact Us:
U of M Extension
Pine County Office
635 Northridge Dr. NW
Suite 280
Pine City, MN 55063
800-657-3813 or
320-591-1650
February Meeting Agenda Tuesday, February 7, 7:00 p.m.
Hinckley High School, Room 147
Schedule:
6:00 p.m.—Hort Day Committee meets
7:00 p.m.—Meeting Agenda
Audit Committee
Hort Day Committee Report—Kim
Education Committee Community Ed
class planning meeting – Lauren
Grand Casino March 30th Wellness
Expo Sign-up and Classes – Sally
Summer Food & Fun planning
meeting – Terry
Community Garden & Fair Booth
Committee Chairs needed
Julie Weisenhorn websites to show
us in April
Other and show and tell
Adjourn
Refreshments: Barbara Fischer
Program: “Christmas Cactus” –
Roxanne Beavers
Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 7, 7 p.m., Hinckley High School Room #147
6 p.m. – Committees meet: Hort Day, Community Garden, JMG & Newspaper Column
Program: “Pollinators” – Roxanne Beavers, Darlene Collins, Kim Metz & Barb Videen
Refreshments: Lauren Meister
Congratulations!! Congratulations! Together, 33 Pine County Master Gardeners completed 1,443 volunteer hours and 567 education hours in 2016. Take a look at our 2016 Annual Report to see highlights of what was accomplished. Thank you for all that you did and do as a Pine County Master Gardener.
Thanks to Paul Olesen for his 15 years of service and to Merrilee Eberhart, Cheryl McHugh, Clarissa Ellis-Prudhomme, Kim Metz, Kara Nelson and Barbara Seedorff for 10 years of service.
Welcome Our New Interns We are thrilled to have two new interns for 2017. They are now in the middle of taking the Master Gardener Core Course. They are Ralph Flesher of Pine City and Barbara Fischer of Sandstone.
PG 2 OF 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
CAN YOU DIG IT?/FEBRUARY 2017
Committee Updates:
15th Annual Horticulture Day 2017
”Let’s Get Growing”
Saturday, March 25, 8:00 am— 2:00 pm, Pine City High School
Setup—Friday, March 24, 4:00 pm until it is done
PROGRAM:
Keynote: “Low Maintenance and Bee Friendly Lawns” - Sam Bauer, University of Minnesota Extension Educator
and Turf Specialist, and James Wolfin, Graduate Student.
Breakout sessions:
*”Taking Your Vegetable Gardening Skills to a New Level” by Steve Poppe, University of Minnesota Horticulture
Scientist at the West Central Research and Outreach Center at Morris, MN
*”Growing Strawberries in Minnesota” by Steve Poppe
*”Daylilies: The Perfect Perennial” by Jackie Froemming, University of Minnesota Associate Extension Educator
*”Gardening Lessons I Learned the Hard Way” by Jackie Froemming
*”Permaculture Ecological Design” by Matt Frank, Founder and Editorial Director of “From the Ground Up
North”
*”Native Bees: Their Diversity, Biology, Habitat, Needs and How to Help” by Pam Herou, Xerces Society.
Chair: Kim Metz
Committee Chairs:
*Ask a Master Gardener table - Sally Brewster *Food – Kevin & Nancy Stephenson
*Registration – Char Husom *Mailing list, Documents, Folders – Barb Videen
*Decorations – Cindy Novy *Exhibitors – Kara Nelson
*Speakers – Clarissa Ellis-Prudhomme *Publicity – Terry, Roxanne & everyone
The flyers are out. The brochure was emailed to you and registration is NOW OPEN. Copies of the brochure
are available online at www.extension.umn.edu/county/pine. They will also be available at the Extension
office, Beaver Meadow Garden Center – Hinckley; Flower Box – Pine City; La Finca Deli & Market – Sandstone
and Village Floral – Grantsburg. The registration fee for Pine County Master Gardeners who are helping with
Hort Day is $10 to help cover the cost of lunch and handouts.
Education Committee: Community Education Classes Chair Lauren Meister
Thanks to our committee we have Community Education classes planned on “Seed
Starting” at Hinckley-Finlayson High School on Thursday, March 30 at 7 p.m.; Willow
River High School on Monday, April 3 at 7 p.m.; and tentatively at East Central Schools
on Thursday, April 6. Thanks to Barb, Kim, Kari, Charles and Lauren for volunteering to
teach these classes.
We also have “Totally Tomatoes” classes at Pine City Elementary School on Tuesday,
April 25 at 7 p.m. and tentatively at East Central Schools on Monday, May 1. Thanks to
Barb, Ben, Jon and Kim for volunteering to teach that class.
Grand Casino Wellness Expo March 30, 2017 We are planning to have a booth at the Grand
Casino Wellness Expo on Thursday, March 30.
We need volunteers to man the booth and to
decide on what our display will be. This year our
priority topics are Local Food, Pollinators, and
Biodiversity. We already have displays on “Grow a
Healthy Handful” and “Pollinators”. We could use
volunteer(s) to make a new display on reasons to
grow your own food and one on biodiversity.
The Casino has requested that we do two one-half
hour classes during the day on vegetable variety
selection for our area. This happens to also be the
day that we are offering the Seed Starting
Community Ed class at Hinckley-Finlayson High
School at 7 p.m.
Let Lauren and Sally or Terry know if you would be
willing to present a class at the Expo on vegetable
varieties or seed starting or a similar topic that
day. Also, let us know if you can spend 2-3 hours
at our booth answering gardening questions. We
will pass around a sign-up sheet at our February
and, if needed, at our March meeting. There is
always a steady stream of people to talk to. It is a
lot of fun and a good opportunity to visit with a
lot of local people about gardening.
Our 2017 Planner is for You
Take a look at your copy of our 2017 Planner. It
includes the schedule of all of our meetings for 2017.
Thanks to you for filling out our program planning
survey with what you wanted to see happen in 2017.
Thanks to Kim and our Leadership Team for all of
their efforts to take what you suggested and putting it
into the Planner. Thanks to Roxanne for updating it.
Note that you can write down your volunteer and
education hours each month in the Planner so that
you do not forget about them. Better yet, input your
hours online each month. The instructions on how to
input your hours are in the Planner. Please check to
see the committees that you are on. Plan to attend
the committee meetings when they meet. Committee
meetings are usually held prior to our monthly
meetings. The Planner is a valuable resource to help
you. So please keep it handy so you can look at it
often.
Julie Weisenhorn, U of M Extension Horticulturist will
be the guest speaker at our Tuesday, April 4 meeting.
She wants to know what 5-6 topics that we want her
to show us websites on where we can find gardening
information to use for answering gardening
questions. Please email or tell Terry your suggestions
by March 1. Thanks.
PG 3 OF 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
CAN YOU DIG IT?/FEBRUARY 2017
Your 2017 Leadership Team Thank you to our outgoing president Kim Metz and
welcome to our Leadership Team for 2017. Please
contact them with your questions and suggestions.
They meet 3-4 times/year to set goals, policy,
budget and plan for the following year. We
welcome: President Kara Nelson; Vice President
Kevin Stephenson; Secretary Ben Wiener; Treasurer
Tom Rolf; Past President Kim Metz; Members-at-
Large: Bill Conway; Jennifer Eaves; Carol Evans; Jon
Hjelm; Nancy Stephenson; Barb Videen; Extension
Committee Representative Kari Holmberg and
Coordinator Terry Salmela.
What Website Topics Should Julie Show us in April?
Summer Food & Fun Program in Pine City
Here's an exciting opportunity to help our area youth
to become interested in gardening and to do a great
service for needy youth in our county.
We, Pine County Master Gardeners, have been asked
if we would be willing to teach a half dozen vegetable
(and possibly flower) gardening classes to youth on
Monday or Thursday afternoon for two months for
the Pine City Summer Food and Fun program in June,
July and possibly into August.
This program will provide noon lunches at a church
(Zion Lutheran) near Robinson Park in Pine City. That
will be followed by fun learning opportunities at the
park for youth who qualify for the Back-Pack
Program during the school year.
The Back-Pack Program currently provides free packs
filled with food each Friday during the school year
for 42 Pine City School District students facing
hunger over the weekend. This Summer Food and
Fun program will help to meet that need for food in
the summer months.
Our Master Gardener Leadership Team discussed this
request at our December 6th meeting. They believe
that this is a very worthwhile program that meets our
priority goals for 2017 of local food and improving
horticulture skills. They believe that we should offer
to teach a half dozen two-hour classes on one
afternoon/week for six alternate or successive weeks
in June and July. The program would like us to teach
the classes at the Pine City Community Garden in an
effort to get kids interested in gardening through
demonstrations, hands-on dig-in-the-dirt activities
and the rewards of gardening. A possible outcome
goal of the program is to have the youth become 4-H
members and exhibit vegetables and possibly flowers
at the Pine County Fair.
Julie Samuelson is coordinating the program and will
be the 4-H leader. Leigha Lange, Youth Director at
Our Redeemer Church, will serve as the adult
supervisor for the youth. We just need to provide
educational sessions for the youth each week at the
community garden. Julie and Leigha will meet with us
to help us plan the program. Julie is a former Pine
County Master Gardener.
Thus far, Carol Evans, Kim Metz, and our two new
Master Gardener interns, Barbara Fischer and Frank
Flesher, have volunteered to work on this project.
Brad Miller will give us some suggestions from what
they did at the garden with youth from the TSA
program last summer and Lyn Johnson will give us
ideas from the JMG program that we do at Pine City
Elementary School. We can use more help with
teaching the classes. Please let Terry know if you are
willing to volunteer a few of your Master Gardener
hours next summer by helping these needy youth to
get excited about gardening and hopefully to use
those skills at home.
PG 4 OF 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
CAN YOU DIG IT?/FEBRUARY 2017
New Idea for our May Plant Sale The Leadership Team discussed a new idea for
generating sales at the May Plant Sale - highlighting
"Heirloom and Specialty Plants" grown from seed. We
have several Master Gardeners who bring vegetables
and flowers grown from seed, but we haven't really
coordinated efforts up to this point. So, we'd like
those of us who grow from seed - Kim, Barb Videen,
Kari, Kara, Charles, and anyone else??? - to
coordinate plantings so we can have a variety of
heirloom/specialty vegetables and flowers to feature
in our advertising. We're thinking the Kristy Henning
daylilies may have reached market saturation at this
point, and highlighting something else may increase
sales. We are also still looking for items for the
Garden Treasures tent too. Roger and Linda Fischer
will be Chairs for the Plant Sale this year - May 24 is
the date.
Upcoming Events
Build Your Community Engagement
Toolkit February 10, 2017, 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the
Arboretum
It's not just what you know, it's how you share it!
Master Gardeners and interns will learn best
practices for making presentations and answering
questions from the public. Leaders will share real-life
examples, lessons learned and methods for success.
In the morning attend the “Growing Great Speakers”
workshop, presented by Jackie Froemming, to learn
about building your public persona and developing
effective presentations, handouts and evaluation
forms.
In the afternoon attend Julie Weisenhorn's
presentations “Good Question, Good Answer, What
Makes a Good Resource?”, and “Ask an Expert: An
Online Tool for Q&A.”
This training counts as 4.5 hours of Master Gardener
continuing education. The deadline to register is
February 3, 2017. Volunteers, wear your maroon
promo shirt! We’ll be taking group photos.
Questions? Contact Jackie Froemming at
2017 Forest Pest First Detector
Workshops - Registration open! Workshop registration is $50, payable online.
Thursday, March 2, 2017, 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Cloquet Forestry Center, 175 University Rd,
Cloquet, MN 55720
Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Oakdale Discovery Center, 4444 Hadley Ave N,
St. Paul, MN 55128
For registration questions contact UMN Extension
Forestry Program Coordinator, Emily
Dombeck: [email protected]
Berry Growing for the Home
Garden Workshop LEARN TO GROW BLUEBERRIES, STRAWBERRIES,
RASPBERRIES, AND HONEYBERRIES at a Kanabec
County Master Gardener & Mora Community
Education sponsored Berry Growing Workshop.
Date: February 18, 2017
Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: Trailview School, Commons Area, 200 9th
St, Mora, MN 55051
Topics: site preparation, variety selection,
maintenance, and current research on new varieties.
Instructors: Seth Wannemuehler and Nathan Hecht,
University of Minnesota Graduate Students in the
Applied Plant Sciences program.
There is no fee for the class but they will be asking
for a free-will offering to help cover expenses.
Pre-registration is requested by Wednesday, February
15, 2017, using one of the following methods:
Call Mandi Yoder in the Mora Community Education
Office at 320-679-6200 or via email at
[email protected] or, Call the Kim Pautsch in
the Kanabec County Extension Office at 320-679-
6440 or via email at [email protected]
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Email Mandi at
PG 5 OF 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
CAN YOU DIG IT?/FEBRUARY 2017
Upcoming Horticulture Days
February
2/18/17: Gardening Knowledge For Free, St.
Cloud, Stearns County. More info
at www.z.umn.edu/GKFF
2/18/17: Berry Growing for the Home Garden,
Mora, Kanabec County. More info at Berry
Growing Class
March
3/4/17: Spring Days Gardening Workshop and
Expo, St. Michael-Albertville, Wright County.
More info at www.springdays.org
3/4/17: 2017 Garden Expo, North Branch,
Chisago County. More info
at www.extension.umn.edu/county/chisago
3/4/17: Let's Get Growing! Rosemount,
Dakota County. Call 651-480-7700 or
www.dakotamastergardeners.org for more
info.
3/11/17: Burst into Spring, Cambridge, Isanti
County. More info at http://
isanticountymastergardeners.com/burst-into-
spring.html
3/11/17: Gardeners' Day, Winona, Winona
County. Call 507-457-6440 or z.umn.edu/
mgwinona for more info
3/18/17: Houston County Garden Days,
Caledonia, Houston County. Call 507-725-
5807 for more info.
3/25/17: Gardening Education Day, Collegeville,
Stearns County. More info at z.umn.edu/
GardenEdDay
3/25/17: Hort Ed Day, Little Falls, Morrison
County. Call 320-632-0161 for more info.
3/25/17: Learn and Grow Garden Expo, Big Lake,
Sherburne County. More info at z.umn.edu/
gardenexpo2017
3/25/17: 15th Annual Pine County MG Hort Day,
Pine City, Pine County. Call 800-657-3813 ext.
4 or www.extension.umn.edu/county/pine for
more info.
April
4/1/17: McLeod County Horticulture Day,
Hutchinson, McLeod County. Call 320-484-
4334 for more info.
4/1/17: Garden Fever 2017, Chaska, Carver/Scott
County. More info at https://eventgrid.com/
Events/25758/garden-fever-2017
4/1/17: Ready, Set, Grow! Garden Expo 2017,
Brainerd, Crow Wing County. More info
at www.crowwingmastergardeners.org
4/8/17: Home Landscaping and Garden Fair,
Bunker Hills, Anoka County. More info
at www.anokamastergardeners.org/
4/8/17: Let's Get Growing, Alexandria, Douglas
County. More info
at www.extension.umn.edu/county/douglas
4/11/17: Meeker County Gardener's Gala,
Litchfield, Meeker County. Call 320-693-
5275 for more info.
4/20/16: Gardening Seminars, Sauk Rapids,
Benton County. More info at z.umn.edu/
BentonMG
PG 5 OF 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
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Schoolyard Gardens Conference 2017
Friday, March 3, 2017, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. $65 special members & Master Gardener rate, includes morning coffee and lunch
Use your garden savvy to help kids grow! School gardens enhance self-esteem, foster an appreciation for conservation, inspire healthy eating habits, and encourage kids to "dig in" to learning school concepts! This annual conference always has a strong attendance by Master Gardeners, who join school administrators, school food service professionals, and parents to share ideas and resources for building and sustaining school gardens. From nutrition programming to building valuable community partnerships, the conference agenda highlights practical and inspirational tools from the leading experts and educators in the state. Certificates of Attendance will be available. For more information go online to www.arboretum.umn.edu/schoolyards2017.aspx
Which Veggies Grow Best?
The 2017 Master Gardener State Seed Trial is OPEN for registration! This year's trial explores the best food plant varieties to grow in Minnesota with human health benefits (nutrients, fiber, phytochemicals, etc.). These plants will be easy to grow. At least some of them can be grown in a container on a patio or deck. Many can be grown easily from seed and reproduced by seed saving. Education and outreach programs will be developed using 2017 seed trial results. The cost to participate is $10.00. Visit our site for more information and to register. The deadline to register is February 24 by USPS or March 3 online. To register go online to www.mnarbonline.com/2017-MG-Ext-Annual-seed-trial-sign-up-152-seeds-17-p23:
If you love planting, join the state-wide project to help native pollinators. Receive seed from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and plant it in your local communities! These seeds are available for Master Gardener projects in the upcoming year and will be distributed on a "first come, first served" basis. We will send out general mixes of either upland or wet meadow prairie seeds depending on the request and project location. Seed is in a state ready to be spread on the ground and can be done so while snow is on the ground or in the spring. Once our mixes are sent out we will be able to accommodate requests for individual species with what seed we have left. Interested? Contact Jackie Froemming at [email protected] or 218-828-2323.
Save the Date! 2017 Master Gardener
State Conference: June 23 and 24
This year's conference features tours, resources, networking, skill-building, and workshops! To receive an email notification when registration opens, email: [email protected] with the subject MG2017.
2017 International Master Gardener
Conference
Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener Program and the Oregon Master Gardener Association are hosting the 2017 International Master Gardener Conference at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon, July 10-14, 2017. Register by the end of February to avoid a price rise. To register go online to http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/2017imgc/
PG 5 OF 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
CAN YOU DIG IT?/FEBRUARY 2017
Seed Your Community with Minnesota
Native Plants
At the Arboretum: Horticulture skill-building workshops and specialized classes
© 2017 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. University of Minnesota Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to 612-626-6602. Printed on recycled and recyclable paper with at least 10 percent postconsumer waste material.
Discover something new in a fun and friendly environment.
Skill-building workshops: Science of Plant Propagation: Cuttings; Saturday, January 28, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Science of Plant Propagation: Grafting; Saturday, February 4, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Trees: Pruning Essentials; Saturday, February 4, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Shrubs: Pruning Essentials; Saturday, February 11, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Science of Plant Propagation: Soil; Saturday, February 11, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Plant Selection for a Winter Garden; Saturday, February 25, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Seed School: Seed-Saving 2-Day Workshop Friday, August 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, August 12, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Featuring Tim Johnson, Head of Preservation from Seed Savers Exchange
Specialized classes: Insect Pollinators - Beyond the Honeybee Saturday, January 21, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Planning & Implementing a Sustainable Yard: An Introduction Saturday, January 28, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Sustainable Fruit Growing: Shrubs & Vines Saturday, February 18, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Sustainable Perennials Saturday, February 25, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Sustainable Lawns & Turf Saturday, March 11, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Sustainable Trees & Shrubs Saturday, March 18, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum How to Save Tomato Seeds Thursday, August 10, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Featuring Tim Johnson, Head of Preservation from Seed Savers Exchange
PG 6 OF 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
CAN YOU DIG IT?/FEBRUARY 2017
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