Bruce Knoth is a software engineer by day, and has been a longtime volunteer with the San Carlos 4-H program in his spare time. Knoth became involved in 4-H over eight years ago when his son joined the 4-H club as a second grader and a few years later, continued his service once his daughter joined the program. Knoth and his wife each served as co-community leaders of the San Carlos Club and were tasked with managing both student members and adult volunteers.
     “4-H is a youth development organization, but also an adult development organization,” commented Knoth.
When Knoth began his post, the club included 67 members, and has now grown to around 150. Managing such a sizable group, Knoth has learned important tactics for building a cohesive and functional organization: delegate tasks and maximize volunteers' skills.
     “We want a lot of adults involved, we want a strong volunteer base, but every year there is a lot of turnover, so we need to identify the up and coming adults and train them,” elaborated Knoth.
     Part of Knoth's role is to ensure that 4-H members have a solid foundation so they can grow within the organization. There are a number of critical projects Knoth manages including beginning 4-H forays into project-based learning (i.e. sewing skills, learning to cook). Since these projects are foundational to the success of 4-H longevity and to the health of future projects, Knoth oversees a dedicated team of parent volunteers who recognize the importance of starting strong.
4-H focuses on far more than agriculture; from developing communication skills, to building leadership roles, Knoth has directly witnessed how empowering the 4-H experience can be. He has written a number of college and career letters of recommendation for former 4-H'ers, and has reviewed a number of personal statements elaborating on 4-H experiences.        Both Knoth and his wife, Maeve, have developed personal relationships with teens that have spanned five to ten years. In fact, Knoth recently received a phone call from a former 4-H'er who had graduated from the program four years earlier and was seeking out a career opportunity.
     “She called us for interview tips and she got the job! It is rewarding to have a relationship with teens who ask our input and update us on their lives,” commented Knoth, who added: “About a year or two ago we asked the leadership why do you come back to 4-H and some of the responses included: developing leadership skills, building strong community, sharing experiences, and raising animals.”
     The 4-H San Carlos Club has brought great benefits to Knoth, his family, the student members and adult volunteers he supports, and the community at large. Often times transitioning straight from summer fairs into the next academic year without a break, Knoth's dedication to service has been consistent and important to the growth of San Carlos 4-H.
What has kept Knoth, after nearly a decade of service, committed to the 4-H program?
     “Great rewards. We've had a positive impact on the teenagers we've worked with, and sometimes they give us a fair amount of credit for helping them get into college. Their 4-H experience has had a huge impact on their choice of majors, and in building really strong relationships.”

Some Like it Hot

As you know if you've been to the Spring Garden Market before, tomatoes are not the only stars of the show. Master Gardeners Nancy Grove, Cindy Burgdorf, and Tina Roushall lead a team of growers to bring a variety of eggplant and pepper starts to the market as well. Grove, who lives in her childhood home, added a greenhouse a number of years ago and generously uses it to propagate seedlings for the sale each year. "There was always an orchard out back," she says, "and my mom taught me to can when I was 8." 

How do they choose which varieties to frow? Each of these gardeners has extensive personal experience with vegetable gardening--Burgdorf has 12 raised beds for fruits and veggies in her Atherton yard and grows 25 different tomato bushes! They also take into account "feedback from what our customers are interested in," says Grove. "That's one of the things I really enjoy about being at the market day of.... we recently added Pimientos de Padron and Guajillo by request." They grow a range from sweet to "really quite hot" peppers. 

The growers start their seeding in January. As Grove puts it, "we do it a little bit differently than the tomato folks." With a few exceptions, the hotter the pepper is, the slower it germinates and grows, so they do their seeding over a period of five weeks with a different batch each week. By the time the last sweet peppers are being seeded, the first are ready for up-potting, so there is often some overlap. They use heat mats for germinating seeds but have found that too much heat later on makes for leggy starts. 

Burgdorf, who has been a Master Gardener since 2008, advises that for those of us who live in the foggier coastal areas, "you will do better with a sweet pepper rather than an extremely hot one....You might even want to use a floating row cover to make it a little warmer for them." She also had some other growing tips: "for both tomatoes and peppers it's important to plant them really deep, up to the first set of leaves." For example, if you have an 8" tall start, plant so only 2 inches are visible. "It may look like you're setting them back," she admits, "but they'll grow faster because they grow more roots." The little hairs along the stem are actually adventitious roots that develop if they're under the soil. pick off leaves towards the bottom. She also suggests picking off the lower leaves as the plant grows, eventually leave 12-18" of bare stem at the bottom. This will protect from the spread of soil-borne diseases. 

Sadly, this will be the first year that Nancy Grove won't be at the market due to a travel conflict, but Burgdorf, Roushall, and the other volunteers have years of experience and will be able to help all comers! Burgdorf spoke highly of “Satin Moon” eggplant and said she likes to have a mix of peppers, like a really hot pepper, a jalapeño style like “Holy Mole” and a sweet one, like the yellow “Sweet Banana.” Whether you plan to use fresh in cooking or preserve, you won't want to skip this section of the Spring Garden Market!

—Arwen Griffith, MG 2015

 For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/MGPlantSales 

Water-Wise Artworks

As a new Master Gardener, Cynthia Nations (class of 2015) has certainly jumped into the organization with both feet. She was elected Secretary last fall, and this year is the Succulent Grower for the Spring Garden Market. “Last year I was directing traffic!” she chuckles.

A powerhouse with a background in education and a passion for sustainable gardens and drought-tolerant plants, she has single-handedly propagated almost all of the succulents that will be on sale for this year's Spring Garden Market. In the past, Master Gardeners have sold individual plants, but this year a variety of arrangements will be available, both in pots and bell cups on sticks. Nations says, “I went to Ace Hardware and matched the paint on the pots for the bell cups.” She hand-painted them with fellow Master Gardener Jill Smith to make true works of art.

Succulents typically take 4-6 weeks to take root, so Nations started planning well over two months ago. “I went to people's yards!” she laughs, including Master Gardeners Patty Hontalas, Ann Gazzano, and Judith Dean (not to mention her own). The smaller arrangements are in 4-5” pots, with larger ones in 7” pots.

For those who are unfamiliar with succulents, she recommends indirect sunlight for the best growing conditions and “water very infrequently—mainly succulents die because people overwater them!” If you live in a foggier climate like Nations, who has made her home and drought-tolerant garden in Half Moon Bay, you may only need to mist them. “I'm from Texas,” she says, “so this growing climate is like a little heaven… I don't even have a drip system!” she confides.

While one of the few non-edible items for sale at the Market, these water-wise arrangements will add a bit of greenery to even the driest spots!

—Arwen Griffith, MG 2015

For more information please visit: http://bit.ly/MGPlantSales