The March Issue
Cover photo by Emily Schiller, MG 2008
for more fantastic flora photos, see Emily's blog:
From the Coordinator's Desk
Beth Chisholm
Early Spring Announcements
Master Gardeners & Master Composters will be teaching free garden classes at the Lynden Library. Classes are free and open to the public. Talks begin at 1:00 pm.
March 5
Soils: Tilth,Texture & Temperature
April 9
Home Composting
May 21
Tomatoes
WSU Children’s Story Garden Veggie Patrol at Hovander
Registration is open for preschoolers: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ch/youth.html
Please share with others!
Kids Gardening Program
May 7 - August 13, 12 Saturday morning sessions
Information and Registration: http//Whatcom.wsu.edu/mastergardener/csg
Information and Registration: http//Whatcom.wsu.edu/mastergardener/csg
The Master Gardener WSU extension program for children age 5-9 years old. This kids gardening program is an outdoor learning experience fostering a love and stewardship of nature and gardening.
Email questions to: ChildrensStoryGarden@yahoo.com
Fact sheets, tips, and publications. For those of you familiar with the old pubs page, you should be thrilled to see these improvements. AND most everything is FREE!!
SAVE THE DATES
Find Master Gardeners at the following events
Whatcom Home & Garden Show
March 4-6
Small Farm Expo
March 12, 11-3pm
WSUE will provide Rain Gardens & Composting info
Spring Fling
March 22nd
Whatcom Community Gardening Fundraising Event
Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale
May 7th
FLYERS
MCR Scoop
Amberose Kelley, MCR Coordinator
Waste Audit Wednesday
Plate Waste
This week we MCRs conducted a plate waste study at Sunnyland Elementary. The purpose of this project is to take a closer look at 1) how much of and 2) what kinds of foods students are eating at lunch. First we sort their leftovers, then we compare the food that was thrown out (or composted by Food to Flowers!) to what was served. This was originally a nutritional study carried out by the WSU Food$ense program, but Master Composters are on a mission to combat wasted food!
After we've had a chance to engage with the students on food waste and composting, we'll do another plate waste study to see if we've made an impact.
 |
| (Some of us may also enjoy sorting through the garbage.) |
 |
| Wasted food! |
Special thanks to MCR 2015 volunteer and ReSources ally Haley Mountain, 2016 MCR Intern Bo Alfus, and Jeannie Hayden of Sunnyland for making this possible!
MCR Training Waste Audit
Last Saturday, the 2016 interns brought me a week's worth of their garbage & organic waste (did I mention that sorting through garbage is sort of a pass time of mine?) After the plate waste study, I wrapped up our class audit. Here's a quick summary of the findings. The 2016 class will get a thorough analysis and tips next week.
The 2016 MCR Class is in full swing.
He was comparing the pre-sorting that Whatcom County residents do by separating their curbside recyclables into separate bins to the practice of single stream recycling, which counts on machines to do the sorting (and results in contamination). Because of our human pre-sorting efforts, our county produces some of the cleanest raw recyclables in the nation. A clean product is more valuable, so our efforts also help SSC to keep prices down. A win-win!
Anyways, I love the sentiment and think that it might appeal to the composters and gardeners here, too.
Read more about recycling in Whatcom County by following these links:
Updated Calendar
Note: Master Gardeners are welcomed to attend Master Composter field trips
MCR Training Waste Audit
Last Saturday, the 2016 interns brought me a week's worth of their garbage & organic waste (did I mention that sorting through garbage is sort of a pass time of mine?) After the plate waste study, I wrapped up our class audit. Here's a quick summary of the findings. The 2016 class will get a thorough analysis and tips next week.
Behold:
 |
| Total organic waste: one week, 14 people, 58 lbs |
 |
| Just the wasted food: 18 lbs |
 |
| Garbage! 35 gallons. Garbage is measured in volume, not weight. Because..... |
 |
| ...Most "garbage" is actually air! Yes. I was able to pack 35 gallons of trash into one 5 gallon bucket. No, I didn't cheat in the first photo! That is really how it (and the average trash can is) packed down originally. |
 |
| Stacking stuff, for example, makes a huge difference. |
 |
| Isn't this nice? This represents 14 weeks of garbage for one composter/recycler! |
 |
| Well OK - I did pull out a lot of (air-filled) compostables too: balled-up paper towels, empty cartons, etc. Still, I think everything, properly compacted, would have fit into one and a half buckets tops! |
The 2016 MCR Class is in full swing.
Here's a quote from Rodd Pemble, recycling manager at SSC, who visited us at the Extension last week:
"Sometimes the human being really is the finest design solution – after all, we’ve been honed over a few million years, not just a few quarterly profit cycles." - Rodd Pemble
He was comparing the pre-sorting that Whatcom County residents do by separating their curbside recyclables into separate bins to the practice of single stream recycling, which counts on machines to do the sorting (and results in contamination). Because of our human pre-sorting efforts, our county produces some of the cleanest raw recyclables in the nation. A clean product is more valuable, so our efforts also help SSC to keep prices down. A win-win!
Anyways, I love the sentiment and think that it might appeal to the composters and gardeners here, too.
Read more about recycling in Whatcom County by following these links:
Updated Calendar
Note: Master Gardeners are welcomed to attend Master Composter field trips
| DATE | TIME | SUBJECT | INSTRUCTOR | LOCATION |
| Thursday Feb 18 | 5 - 7 PM | Welcome to WSUE, Science of Decomposition | Andy Bary, WSU | Extension Office |
Saturday Feb 20
| 10 AM - 11 AM | Textile Waste | Duane Jager | Ragfinery |
| 11 AM - 1 PM | Orientation, waste audit I begins | Amber Kelley | Extension Office | |
| Thursday Feb 25 | 5 - 7 PM | Waste in Whatcom County | Rodd Pemble, SSC, Max Morange, Bellingham Food Bank | Extension Office |
Saturday Feb 27
| 10 AM - 12 PM | Community Garden Tour | Beth Chisholm, WSU | Various |
| Noon- 2 PM | Waste Audit collection, home composting primer | Amber Kelley | Extension Office | |
| Saturday March 5 | 11 AM - 2 PM | OPTIONAL: selecting materials for home compost systems | Amber Kelley | The ReStore |
Thursday March 10
| 1 - 3 PM | OPTIONAL: Green Earth Technology | Stephanie Harvey | Green Earth Technology, Lynden |
| 5 - 7 PM | Home Composting | Amber Kelley | Extension Office | |
| Saturday March 12 | 10 AM - 3 PM | Field Trip: Small Farm Expo Compost Demo/Compost Workshop I | Amber Kelley | NW Washington Fairgrounds |
| Thursday March 17 | 1 PM - 3 PM | OPTIONAL: Hovander Field Trip + Soil Mapping | Chris Benedict, WSU | Hovander Homestead Park |
Saturday March 19
| 10 AM - 11 AM | Field Trip: Curbside & Special Recycling | Marty Kuljis, Jr. | Northwest Recycling |
| Noon - 2 PM | Field Trip: Green Earth Technology | Stephanie Harvey | Green Earth Technology, Lynden | |
| Thursday March 24 | 5 PM - 7 PM | Soil Science | Chris Benedict, WSU | Extension Office |
Saturday March 26
| 10 AM - Noon | Field Trip: Green Burial | Brian Flowers | Greenacres Memorial Park |
| Noon - onwards (leave when you're done!) | Optional: Compost Workshop II | Amber Kelley | Extension Office | |
| Saturday April 2 | 8 AM - Noon | Field Trip: DOT Facility, Rain Garden Tour | Lee First, Sustainable Connections | DOT Facility, Downtown Bellingham |
| Noon - 2 PM | Waste Prevention Techniques and compost workshop III. Begin Waste Audit II | Amber Kelley | Extension Office | |
| Saturday April 9 | Any time | Drop off Waste Audit II, Complete Written Final (online or drop off at office today) | Amber Kelley | Extension Office, Home |
MG Foundation President's Message
Linda Burshia Battle, MG Foundation President
The Board is, also, doing a bit of spring cleaning. We have been studying our bylaws. The Whatcom County Master Gardener Foundation Bylaws have not been updated since 2010 and we believe it is time to update them. There are a few proposed changes: moving from a fiscal year to a calendar year, regular general meetings but not necessarily twelve a year, and lastly, how elections are held. Please read through these changes. We hope to discuss and vote on them at our March general meeting on the 10th at 7 pm in the extension office. Contact any board member if you have any questions or concerns. Your consideration in this update is appreciated.
Linda Burshia Battle
Draft MG Bylaws
Open for Comment
Open for Comment
(DRAFT # 2, 2/4/16)
BYLAWS
FOR THE MASTER GARDENER FOUNDATION OF WHATCOM COUNTY
I.
Name
The name of this Foundation shall be the
Master Gardener Foundation of Whatcom County.
II.
Mission
The Mission of the Master Gardener
Foundation (MGF of Whatcom County is to support the WSU Extension Master
Gardener Program of Whatcom County through financial support, communication,
education and advocacy.
III.
Purpose
Section 1.
The purpose of the MGF of Whatcom County is educationaland outreach (replaces
charitable) in promoting the WSU Extension MG Program of Whatcom County,
without any intent to carry on business, trade, avocation or profession for
profit.
Section 2.
The purposes for the Foundation are:
v
To enhance and supplement the effort t of the
WSU Extension MG Program of Whatcom County through financial aid and membership
involvement.
v
To provide supplementary education and
information on horticulture and related subjects to Foundation members and the
community.
IV.
Membership
Section
1. The membership of the Foundation
shall be open to all WSU Extension
Master Gardeners in good standing and the enrolled trainees of the current year’s Master Gardener class.
Section
2. Membership shall be made up of those
members who complete annual
volunteer and educational requirements as established by the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program
Handbook.
Section
3. WSU Extension Master Gardeners of
Whatcom County Emeriti (as defined in
the WSU Master Gardeners Program handbook) are invited to be members of the Master Gardener Foundation.
V.
Officers
and Board of Directors
Section
1. The Master Gardener Foundation of
Whatcom County Board of Directors
(Foundation Board) shall consist of President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer, Immediate Past President and a minimum (Now consistent
with Section 2 , Officers and Board Members Duties.) of two Members at Large.
Section 2. The Foundation
officers shall be President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Section
2. Officers and Board Members Duties
v
The President shall be the chief executive
officer of the Foundation, and shall conduct all meetings of the Board of
Directors and of the Foundation. He/she
shall cast a vote only in the case of a tie, shall appoint temporary committees
when the need arises, and shall be the official liaison with WSU Extension MG
Program.
v
The First Vice President shall, in the absence
of the President, preside at meetings and act as President.
v
The Second Vice President shall arrange for
speakers for Foundation meetings, making all provisions for their presentation,
including fees and publicity. He/she
will ensure that all physical arrangements are contracted for the annual picnic
as well as the fall meetings, for installing new officers and the graduation of
that year’s Master Gardener interns.
v
The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of meetings
for the Foundation and Foundation Board, maintain the archives, and prepare correspondence.
v
The Treasurer shall maintain all accounts,
receive income and bill, prepare payments, report regularly to the Foundation
and maintain all financial records and reports.
v
A minimum of (Replaced limit of just two.) two At-Large members
shall participate in Board meetings accepting responsibility for ad hoc efforts
of the Board as assigned.
v
The Past President, whose term is limited to one
year, shall act in the capacity of advisor to the current Board with no voting
rights.
Section 4.
The term of office shall be for one year, beginning with the January Board
meeting. (Replaced November general meeting.)
Section
5. If a vacancy should exist in the
office of President, the First Vice President
shall automatically take that office.
The Second Vice President shall advance
to First Vice President. Vacancies in
other Board positions shall be filled
for the unexpired term by appointments of the President.
Section
6. All Officers and Board Members are
expected to regularly attend meetings
of the Board as well as the participate in Foundation activities as able.
Section
7. If a majority of the Board agrees
that a Board members is not performing
the duties of the office as defined in this document, this individual may be removed from office and the
President (or 1st Vice President if the President is not able) shall appoint a Master Gardener Foundation
member to complete the term of
office. If the dismissed Board member
desires to appeal the Board’s
decision, both side’s views should be presented to the membership at the next general meeting and the majority
vote prevails.
Section
8. The Board shall meet monthly to
conduct the business of the Foundation.
Section
9. The presence of four (4) Board
Members will constitute a quorum at Board
meetings.
I
VI.
Elections
Section 1.
A nominating committee ( Eliminated ‘of at least three persons’ ) shall be
appointed by the President at the August general meeting. The President, who shall serve as the chair
of this committee, shall present a slate at the
September general meeting. Prior to the September general meeting the President
will post the slate in the newsletter and on the Foundation website. Additional
nominations may be made from the floor at the September general meeting. Signed written
proxy votes will be accepted at this meeting. (Makes
casting a vote possible for absent members.) All members in good
standing shall be eligible to serve.
Section 2.
The officers and the Board shall be elected
by a majority vote of those members present at the September general meeting. (Eliminates mail-in
ballot practice.)
VII.
Membership
Meetings
Section
1. Meetings shall be decided
annually by the Board. (Eliminated language
regarding a monthly meeting.)
Section
2. Special meetings may be held at any
time as called by the officers or by request
of five percent of the active membership.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary
to give 12 days notice of the meeting and the purpose of the special meeting to all active members.
IV.
VIII.
Finances
Section 1.
Funds may be solicited for purposes consistent with Article III, Section
2 of these bylaws. Contributions may be
received for either regular or special needs.
Contributions received for a designated purpose are to be used only for
that purpose. Such contributions are to
be tracked separately in the Foundation’s financial reports.
Section 2.
Dues may be required of members.
The amount of dues shall be decided by vote of the membership. Dues may also be waived by the vote of the
membership.
Section 3.
All funds are to be deposited with the Treasurer and all contributions
to and disbursements from the Foundation shall be recorded by the
Treasurer. Any disbursement that exceeds
an amount established by the Board requires approval by the Board.
Section 4.
All dispersal of funds shall be by check requiring the signature of the
Treasurer and/or President.
Section 5.
The President shall appoint two members of the Foundation to review an
itemized statement of the receipts an disbursements of the past fiscal year, January 1 – December 31 (Replaces
November 1 – October 31.) as prepared by the Treasurer. The committee will present this statement for
approval to the March general meeting.
Section 6.
The Treasurer will provide a financial report to the membership at
regular membership meetings.
Section 7.
The assets deriving from a gift of monies designated by the donor for
the purpose of building and maintaining a greenhouse at Hovander Park shall be
used to satisfy the terms of the memorandum of agreement entered into by the
Whatcom County Department of Parks and the Foundation.
IX.
Parliamentary
Law
Rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s
Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Foundation in all cases to
which they are applicable, providing that they are consistent with the Bylaws
and any special rules of order the Foundation may adopt.
X.
Amendments
These Bylaws may be altered, amended, or
repealed and new bylaws may be adopted by the majority of the membership at any
meeting after one month of membership review.
XI. Dissolution
If this
agreement is terminated or the Master Gardner Foundation of Whatcom County dissolved, money in the Foundation
account will be deposited with the Washington
State University Foundation to be used solely for the benefit of the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program
of Whatcom County.
History of Bylaws:
10/9/2008 – Date bylaws were accepted at the general meeting
of the Foundation membership
3/11/2010 – Date bylaws were amended by the membership at
the general Foundation meeting to add Section 9 to V Officers and Board of
Directors
12/9/2010 – Date bylaws were amended by the membership at
the general foundation meeting to add:
·
Section II – Mission
·
Section III – Purpose (to conform to the wording
in the WSU Extension Master Gardener Handbook)
·
Definition of the fiscal year
·
Section XI – Dissolution Wording revised
2016 ?????
From the Clinic Desk
Jeff Dodson, MG 2014
Hello Everyone from the Clinic Desk,
Teaching the plant pathology section of the Master Gardener
Training Course is always a learning experience for me. Last week was no exception as the questions
by the students made me think over points in the subject matter. One of these that stuck with me in relation
to the clinic is the idea of controlling the critters that attack our
plants. Of the control measures
available to us, I favor all cultural and biological controls over chemicals, as
do the vast majority of those reading this newsletter.
Every year the clinic gets phone calls, emails and walk-ins
from clients concerned with the presence of web nests and their caterpillar
inhabitants that appear on bushes and trees as the insects voraciously devour
foliage. By-and-large the causal agent, the
Western tent caterpillar, is seen every year and so control becomes a yearly
task for us all with susceptible plants.
As they are a native species, this lepidopteran will always be around
and so we must first search ourselves individually to know how much of their
feedings we can live with before losing our sanity… or plants. Ordinarily, damage to plants is seasonal and
the plant recovers, but if the environment is favorable to the insect, it can
have rapid sequential life cycles that likely will set plants back severely,
cause fruit damage or even kill plants.
One-hundred-percent control is not likely to be accomplished, but cultural and biological control measures will definitely bring a level of
management into the picture that you may find acceptable. As always, knowing your enemy and its
habits/life cycle will allow you to assess where best you can apply measures
that will eliminate the threat. As spring
approaches, daily inspections of your plants will yield an early detection of
the pest. This is when it is most
vulnerable. Egg cases that hold up to
400 eggs are laid in the fall as an overwintering mechanism for the
insect. They look like a gray, hard
styrofoam mass clinging closely to twigs, usually in the apical regions where
the newest plant growth will first appear.
These can be removed while pruning by simply rubbing them
off the stem and placing them in a bag that can be disposed of later. VOILA!
You have instantly gotten rid of hundreds of the little rascals. Continue your daily inspections as you will
probably not get all the egg cases. Once
they hatch the tiny caterpillars begin webbing and feeding immediately and,
although they start small, their colonies and associated damage expands rapidly
(1-2 days) and become much more difficult to deal with.
In the morning they leave their nest and venture out to find
foliage to feed upon, laying down a trail of silk as they go. This they use to
find their way back to their nest as the day ends and temperatures drop. They are safest from their many natural
enemies and from any liquid control measures you might apply while in their
nest. However, they are all in one place
and so susceptible to you pruning out the nest, placing it in a bag and disposing
of it.
Also, while small (under 1 centimeter) they are vulnerable
to Bacillus thurigensis (B.t.), a
control measure that you can buy as a liquid and apply to the foliage (not the
insect) which the larvae eat and die. Older
caterpillars seem impervious to B.t. The
young caterpillars stop eating upon ingesting B.t. and within a day or two are
dead. Only effective upon moth and
butterfly larvae, it is a very safe material to apply, however, please be aware
that it will kill any other caterpillar that ingests it, too. In addition, dormant oils have been shown
repeatedly by WSU and other universities to be very effective at Western tent
caterpillar control. As always, implicitly
follow the label instructions on anything applied to your plants.
There are certainly other, more potent, chemicals you can
use to control these insects but I have found the above methods to be
completely acceptable. Many a client
have utilized these control measure, also, and been very pleased with the
results. If you use them, please let me
know your assessment.
Best regards,
Jeff
Volunteer Opportunities
Plant Sale Wish List
Help make this year's sale a success!
Each Spring, Master Gardeners of Whatcom County start working on their biggest fundraiser of the year. They gather plants from their home gardens, divide hearty perennials, transplant trees and shrubs, plant countless tomato seeds (heirloom & unique varieties), and tend to the thousands of tender and tough plants that are donated for the sale. It is the hard work of these volunteers who create a unique sale with plants at reasonable prices. Sale proceeds go to support our program's efforts to: maintain the Hovander Demonstration Gardens, sponsor speakers, provide funding for scholarships and special projects, support the Children’s Story Garden at Hovander, and so much more.
Do Not Need
Iris and Daylilies that are not identified by color
Plants on the noxious weed list such as Buddlia davidii (Butterfly bush), Marsh marigold or coltsfoot, holly or ivy, vinca or the invasive lamium!
Annuals
Amaranth; Loves Lies Bleeding or purple leaved variety
Nasturiums from seed
Annual vines-canary vine, Rhodochiton, Hycinth bean, Basi, Pumpkins,
Sunflowers
Perennials
Astilbe
Gentranthus ruber
Corkscrew Willow
Delphinium
Eupatorium -Joe Pye weed ?
Fuchsia, hardy
Heuchera-starts in crowns in Jan. or Feb.
Hollyhocks
Hydrangea
Lavender
Peonies
Red Flowering Current
Rhododendron-small
Rogersia
Rosemary
Salvia
Saxifrage-unusual
Solomon's Seal
Thalictrum - Meadow Rue
Native plants - other than evergreen trees. Not huge specimens. Best to transplant natives as soon as possible
Help make this year's sale a success!
Each Spring, Master Gardeners of Whatcom County start working on their biggest fundraiser of the year. They gather plants from their home gardens, divide hearty perennials, transplant trees and shrubs, plant countless tomato seeds (heirloom & unique varieties), and tend to the thousands of tender and tough plants that are donated for the sale. It is the hard work of these volunteers who create a unique sale with plants at reasonable prices. Sale proceeds go to support our program's efforts to: maintain the Hovander Demonstration Gardens, sponsor speakers, provide funding for scholarships and special projects, support the Children’s Story Garden at Hovander, and so much more.
Do Not Need
Iris and Daylilies that are not identified by color
Plants on the noxious weed list such as Buddlia davidii (Butterfly bush), Marsh marigold or coltsfoot, holly or ivy, vinca or the invasive lamium!
Annuals
Amaranth; Loves Lies Bleeding or purple leaved variety
Nasturiums from seed
Annual vines-canary vine, Rhodochiton, Hycinth bean, Basi, Pumpkins,
Sunflowers
Perennials
Astilbe
Gentranthus ruber
Corkscrew Willow
Delphinium
Eupatorium -Joe Pye weed ?
Fuchsia, hardy
Heuchera-starts in crowns in Jan. or Feb.
Hollyhocks
Hydrangea
Lavender
Peonies
Red Flowering Current
Rhododendron-small
Rogersia
Rosemary
Salvia
Saxifrage-unusual
Solomon's Seal
Thalictrum - Meadow Rue
Native plants - other than evergreen trees. Not huge specimens. Best to transplant natives as soon as possible
Calendar of Events
Free and Open to the Public
Lynden Library Garden Workshops
Soils
March 5
Dos & Don’ts for the home gardener: Learn about soils tests,
the importance of tilth, texture, and temperature.
Composting
April 9
Discover the art of home composting! This class covers
the scientific principles of decomposition, outlines backyard and indoor composting
techniques (e.g., composting with worms), and sets you on your own unique path
toward composting and resource recovery.
Tomatoes
May 21
Learn the best tips of growing tomatoes in the Pacific Northwest.
Berries and More
June 11
Food crops that you can savor
Foundation Events
7:30 PM, WSU Extension Office
Contact Barb Schickler (barbaraschickler2@gmail.com) or Kathleen Bander (kbwm@camano.net) with ideas about future presenters, subjects for presentations, or possible field trips.
The Amazing Mason Bees
March 10, 2016
Presenter: Missy Anderson
Field Trip: Cascadia Mushroom, local commercial grower
April 8, 2016
What's Up In Research
April 14, 2016
Presenter: Carol Miles
PLANT SALE
May 7, 2016
Tour of Local Gardens
May 13, 2016
Field Trip: Extension Research Station
June 9, 2016
Tour of Local Gardens
June 17, 2016
Field Trip: Canada - to be announced
July 14, 2016
Hovander Picnic
August 11, 2016
Putting Your Garden To Bed
September, 2016
Presenter: Marcie, Garden Spot Nursery
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