Weekly Update - March 29, 2012 - Master Gardeners of Ventura County

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Weekly Update - March 29, 2012

Author: Leah J. Haynes

Published on: March 29, 2012

From the MG Program Coordinator: Need to reach me? Send an email to: ljhaynes@ucdavis.edu or call my cell phone, 320-4134 Monday through Friday, during working hours from 9 am to 5 pm.

April is Volunteer Recognition Month: Thank you for all you do to support the Master Gardener program. We are fortunate to have so many talented and devoted community service minded volunteers.

Master Gardeners in the News!

MG Executive Committee Chairperson Chuck Andrews will be inducted to the Ventura County Educators’ Hall of Fame on Saturday June 23 at the Four Points Sheraton Ventura Harbor Resort. Chuck Andrews an accomplished educator and served as a teacher and counselor in the Conejo Unified School district during his 36 year career. Chuck won Teacher of the Year for the State of California (1972),County ofVentura (1972 and 1982), and California Counselor of the Year (1992). Congratulations Chuck and thank you for sharing your expertise with the University ofCalifornia Master Gardener program.

Article and picture of Chuck featured in Thousand Oaks edition of Acorn, pages 38-39. Link:http://www.toacorn.com/pageview/pages/2012-03-22

Janet Sklar was re-certified as a "Consulting Rosarian" for the American Rose Society. She was required to attend a seminar inRiverside on March 10, 2012, for 6 hours of class time covering chemical safety, pests, and diseases of roses, (IPM), irrigation, Nutrients, Fertilizers and Soils among other topics. She also received the ARS Bronze Medal for volunteer service to the Ventura Rose Society.

Celebrating the birth of grandchildren, the following Master Gardeners became grandparents, if you would like your information included in the weekly update, please send me the facts. Send the name of your new grandchild and birthplace to: ljhaynes@ucdavis.edu

Great Grandmother Pat Ellis welcomed her 2^nd great grandchild James Thomas born on Mar. 16, 6:10 AM. He arrived 5 wks early, but doing well. She calls him her a little peanut.

Computer Training Opportunities - Would you like to augment your computer skills, but don’t know where to start? The following link - provides contact information for adult schools, park and recreation districts, senior centers, libraries, commercial training centers, colleges, and universities that provide computer and software training classes. Classes cover such topics as computer hardware operation, operating systems, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation programs, database programs, e-mail software, Internet browsers, and photo, and graphic software. These classes are offered all throughout Ventura County, so you should be able to find a class of interest near you. Online training classes are also available. Class hours vary making it easy to find classes that fit your schedule. The costs of most classes are modest, especially those held at senior centers, libraries and adult schools. To enhance your learning experience, pick a class well suited to your level of expertise. For questions on computer training opportunities, contact Bill Marlatt at bmarlatt@aol.com.

Westlake Village Garden Tour, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday April 29, 2012. Master Gardener graduate Elda Bielanski has created an information table for the five garden tour locations. Tables will include MG event flyers, Asian Citrus Psyllid bookmarks, helpline cards, and 2013 MG training class fact sheet. Ticket price for this event is $20.00 per person and under 12 free. You can purchase tickets by phone at (805) 496-0316 or online with a credit card at www.westlakevillagegardenclub.com Garden tours do not count towards required continuing education hours, but are a wonderful way for us to share UC science-based gardening information.

Continuing Education Opportunities:

Citrus Pruning and Care Workshop - Master Gardeners Carol Piros and Diane Ross will lead a workshop on the topic of pruning and caring for citrus on Thursday April 5^th from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at Hansen Agricultural Center. Certified Master Gardeners will receive 2.0 hours of continuing education and trainees are welcome to attend, (sorry no volunteer hours for this activity). If you plan to attend, register by Monday April 2, 2012.

Scheduled Garden Talks given by VCMGs:

Location for speakers’ series is available where you register for the session.

Camarillo Speakers’ Series – Every Wednesday from 4/4 to 4/25/2012

Master Gardener Co-Leads for the series – Support speakers and greet attendees.
- Suzanne Osgood – scottymom@roadrunner.com
- Linda Owens – llowens2@verizon.net
Register on MG website and attend at no cost

Goebel Speakers’ Series in TO – 4^th Saturday from 6/23 to 9/22/2012

Master Gardener Lead for the series – Support speakers and greet attendees.
- Peggy Ellis – getpellis@yahoo.com
Register on MG website and attend at no cost

Ojai Speakers’ Series – 2^nd Saturday from 4/14 to 10/13/2012

Master Gardener Lead for the series – Support speakers and greet attendees.

Robin Graham – stuartgraham@att.net
Register on MG website and attend at no cost

Simi Valley Speakers’ Series – Every Tuesday from 5/1 to 6/12/2012

Master Gardener Co-Leads for the series – Support speakers and greet attendees.
- JoeSantos– ezmail63@yahoo.com
- Lois Shoemaker – loiss105@gmail.com
- Judy Anderson – anderson9874@sbcglobal.net
- Register on MG website and each class cost $5.00 (pay at the door)

Certified Master Gardeners receive continuing education hours for attending sessions. Trainees are welcome to attend sessions, sorry no volunteer hours. Registration is required!

Lotusland Tour and Continuing Education Opportunity

A special Lotusland Tour for Ventura Master Gardeners scheduled on Wednesday May 16, 2012. Certified Master Gardeners will receive 2 hours of CE & Trainees are welcome to attend. Lotusland is in the southern part of Santa Barbara. The guided tour starts at 10:00 am, we should be there by 9:30 am. The price is $35.00 per person.
Carpooling is required! We will meet and coordinate carpools at the Pacific View Mall at 8:45 am, behind Wood Ranch Barbeque Restaurant and next to Mimi’s. Lotusland has limited parking and we should try for 4 people in each car. Prepayment and registration is required.

If you reserve a spot and are unable to attend, you will be responsible for finding a replacement. Sorry no refunds!

Make check in the amount of $35.00 and payable to “UC Regents” to: UCCE,669 County SquareDrive, Suite100,VenturaCA93003, Attn: Leah Haynes by Friday, April 6, 2012.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Annual Garden Month is celebrated in April! Master Gardeners have been asked to participate in an effort to promote gardening at the Ventura County Hall of Administration located in the Government Center. Volunteers will staff the table from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from April 16to April 30. The information table will include MG event flyers, helpline cards, Asian Citrus Psyllid bookmarks, and a recruitment flyer for the class of 2013. There will be one shift per day for two hours. Nancy Nasalroad will coordinate volunteers and contact her at n.nazrd@live.com or (805) 525-4731.

Simi in the Garden Community Garden’s Grand Opening will be held on Saturday April 22 at 1636 Sinaloa Road in Simi Valley. MG Trainee Joe Santos will coordinate volunteers for this effort. If you are interested in helping, contact Joe directly at ezmail63@yahoo.com

Earth Day in Camarillo will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday April 21 at the Camarillo Community Center. This is a fun family event! We need two volunteers for two shifts 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. & 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. David Hibbits is coordinating volunteers working in the booth. If you are interested in volunteering, contact David at hibbits@vcnet.com or (805) 482-2580.

Earth Day in Thousand Oaks is scheduled on Saturday April 28, 2012 from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Conejo Creek Park North. This is a family friendly day, and zero waste event, include plant giveaways in the Master Gardener booth. We need volunteers for two shifts – 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. We need two volunteers for each shift. Lois Shoemaker is coordinating this event. You can contact her directly to schedule your shift at loiss105@gmail.com or (805) 522-4683.

Ventura Garden Tour - Certified Master Gardener Susan Crespi is co-chair for the Ventura Garden Tour and she needs the support of the Ventura County Master Gardeners. The tour includes eight beautiful homes and tours will be held from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, May 5^th. If you are interested in participating, contact Susan Crespi directly at (805) 415- 7661 or susancrespi@yahoo.com

Teach Ventura County Veterans how-to Grow Pumpkins!!!

Barbara Hill, Approved Site Lead is facilitating a Pumpkin Growing Contest with the staff and residents of the Veterans Home. She is forming teams and needs the support of 3 to 4 Master Gardeners to work with these teams. MG will mentor a team through the process of growing the pumpkins. The soil has been prepared and is ready for planting. Seeds provided and instructions on how-to grow pumpkins. The mentoring MG for each team will need to do a little digging, interpret instructions, share expertise, and make it a fun project. Hours are flexible and one meeting will be held to get organized. Barbara is available to provide support as need to mentoring MG. However she will not lead a team. This is great opportunity for the Vets to grow pumpkins. If you are interested in supporting this worthwhile effort, contact Barbara directly at qbarbhill@aol.com or 443-2073.

MG Hands-On Garden Training Program for the Class of 2012 is moving along nicely and photographers are taking pictures to track their progress. Here is a list of photographers with links to pictures. Enjoy!

Hansen Agricultural Center (HAC)

Vegetable Garden Co-Leads – Juan Hernandez, Kathryn Estomo and Velma Womack

Hands-on photographer: Sally Kosoff – sallyakosoff@aol.com

View pictures: https://ucanr.org/mg/users/photoalbumview.cfm?albumnum=695

Cut Flower Garden Lead – Kim Herren

Hands-on photographer: Patti Handfinger – fingerprintz2000@yahoo.com

View pictures: https://ucanr.org/mg/users/photoalbumview.cfm?albumnum=697

Propagation Group Lead – Kathleen Diermier

Hands-on photographer: Jeff Dodson – jefferseed@gmail.com

View pictures: https://ucanr.org/mg/users/photoalbumview.cfm?albumnum=696

Ojai Valley Half-Moon Community Garden

Vegetable Garden Co-Leads – Charles Duncan, Robin Graham and Gene Volkerding

Hands-on photographer: Simone Patterson– citrusbaroness@me.com