The Dirt – January 18, 2019: Eastern Region Impact, Mushrooms

What’s Inside:

Eastern Region Impact, Mushroom Class, Help Wanted in Greenhouse, Symposium

SATURDAY! Mini-Symposium, Part 1: Quenching the Humidity and Drought
Saturday, January 19 | 1:00–2:00 pm
URI Campus, Pharmacy 170

Kicking off a continuing education afternoon focused on working with our climate, Warren Leach of Tranquil Lake Nursery will explore planting design in gardens that continue to dazzle from late summer, fall, and onward. Following the spring garden spectacle of flowers and luxuriant foliage, the garden changes with a rise in temperature. By August, the heat and humidity may take its toll on the gardener, but a garden designed with a plant palette to withstand the dog days and drought of summer offers a stunning exuberance of flowers, maturing seedheads, and colorful foliage.

SATURDAY! Mini-Symposium, Part 2: Roger Williams Park: Artful Stormwater Solutions
Saturday, January 19 | 2:30–3:30 pm
URI Campus, Pharmacy 170

For the second part of the education series focused on working with our climate, Brian Byrne, Deputy Superintendent for the Providence Department of Parks and Recreation, will present responses to water degradation in Roger Williams Park. As the city grew around the park, the Department of Parks and Recreation designed stormwater management. Providence initially received EPA grant funds and brought in collaborative federal, state, and local partners to design six innovative stormwater practices within the historic landscapes. Come learn about them on Saturday, January 19.

Compiled by Garry Holmstrom, Eastern Region URIMGP Council Coordinator

Public Education Statistics

Demonstration Gardens

# of gardens: 10
# of direct adult contacts: 1,813
# of direct youth contacts: 1,588

School Gardens

# of gardens: 9
# of direct adult contacts: 775
# of direct youth contacts: 1,005

Public Presentations

# of sessions given: 5
# of direct adult contacts: 153

Kiosk

# of kiosks offered: 29
# of direct adult contacts: 1,407

Soil Testing

# of events hosted: 20
# of tests conducted: 321
# of direct adult contacts: 158

Total Direct Contacts: 4,306 adults 2,593 children

Food Donations

Mount Hope Farm Grow4Good, Norman Bird Sanctuary Good Gardens, Great Friends Community Garden

Pounds of food donated: 3,867
Donation recipients: Local soup kitchens and food pantries

Project Highlight

Rhode Island Veterans’ Home, Bristol

Our mission is to serve those who served. URI Master Gardeners and other volunteers continued to fulfill that goal in 2018. The new Veterans’ Home opened this spring; and Master Gardeners again returned to provide plants, flowers, soil testing and inspiration to our state’s military veterans. John Twomey and his team planned new raised beds for each of the 6 new modules; and with help by Rudi’s Rangers, construction of the beds was made on April 28 at the new Veterans’ Home. Soil, new plants, and weekly care followed with the expected results achieved; the veterans, their family visitors and the staff are again pleased, proud and helpful in keeping the raised beds weeded, pruned and watered.

Educational presentations included monthly soil testing with educational recommendations on-site. We discussed clients’ soil, plant advice and helpful resources both on line and handouts. We also spoke to several residents and staff about the plants in the raised beds. As a demonstration, we planted pollinators in the raised beds, all of which are perennials. Discussions on importance of pollinators in gardens and for the environment in general were covered.

At John’s initiative and dedicated persistence, the Veterans Administrator approved the initiative to procure and construct a new greenhouse on-site in the new garden field area. Rudi Hempe drafted and submitted a grant request. Approval of $95,000 arrived in November to procure and build a state-of-the-art structure that will be handicap-accessible, heated, ventilated and have water and tool storage readily available daily for veterans, family visitors, Master Gardeners and staff. Minor additional funds to complete the project will be sought from other generous Rhode Island Veterans organizations.

Read the full 2018 Eastern Region Report.

In the next issue: Northern Region Report

NEWS & INFORMATION

Save the Date: February MG Meeting

Saturday, February 9 (Snow date: 2/16) | 9:00 am–12:00 pm
URI Swan Hall Auditorium

We look forward to seeing you at our first MG meeting of the year! Join us for fellowship, food and fun, not to mention continuing education hours! Hone your skills on interacting with the public, learn what to look forward to this year and what we accomplished in 2018.

We will be collecting non-perishable food items to address food insecurity among our students on campus. Donations will go to families at Graduate Village. Items of need include: red/green lentils, brown/white rice, beans, chickpeas, flour, pasta, oil, coffee, tea, tomato sauce, sugar, snacks (nuts, pretzels, etc.), peanut butter, oatmeal, and cereal. We ask you to consider bringing an item to the Master Gardener meeting to support these families.

More information in next week’s newsletter! Please register in Volgistics to reserve your space.

Have You Registered for the URI Garden Symposium?

Saturday, March 2, 2019 | 8:00–4:00 pm
URI Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (ADA accessible facility)
$65/person until February 1; after February 1, the price will be $75.00.

Speakers and topics include:

Brie Arthur, The Foodscape Revolution
Nancy Lawson, The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife
Vincent Simone, How to Grow More With Less: Sustainable Garden Methods

For more information, please check the URIMGP website.

HELP WANTED

NEW! URI Free Seed Program Volunteers

The URI Free Seed Program is fielding orders from all across the United States! We are in need of a handful of volunteers to open, review and sort orders that have come through the mail to the Mallon Center on their way to the seed sort hub in Richmond. Volunteers are needed at the Mallon Center between 9:00 am–3:00 pm on Tuesday 1/22, Wednesday 1/23, Thursday 1/24 or Friday 1/25! Please contact Mamie Chen at coopext@uri.edu or call (401) 874-2900 if you’d like to help us process the orders.

NEW! Ornamental Greenhouse Project looking for Volunteers

The Ornamental Greenhouse project at East Farm raises annuals and perennials from seeds, plugs and cuttings for URIMGP Projects and the Spring Sale in May. We have openings for volunteers on each daily crew. The project runs from March through mid-May. Volunteers must commit to working 3 hours one morning each week plus be able to volunteer for at least one afternoon activity (ie. afternoon watering, nematode applications and sale set-up). Volunteers pot up plugs and seedlings, monitor water needs and inspect plants for pests and diseases. Greenhouses are cleaned daily and participants should be able do some moderate lifting. In addition, working conditions are quite variable from cool in March to quite warm and humid as the season progresses.

If you are interested in this project, you need to be able to commit to weekly attendance in the greenhouse for the entire season. A mandatory orientation will be Saturday February 23 from 9:00 am–12:00 pm and will be held in the Pharmacy Rm 170. The crews will begin working in the greenhouse the week of February 24. This sign up is for current MG’s and those working on their Blue Pins. To volunteer, send an email to maryleegoodwin@gmail.com by Feb 1 indicating which day of the week you can work. Your name will be drawn in a lottery in the event that there are more volunteers than needed.

NEW! MG Symposium Volunteers

It’s time for the MG symposium again, taking place this year on Saturday, March 2. The committee is looking for volunteers for:

Friday, March 1, 3–5 pm and Saturday, March 2, 2:30–4:30 pm.

For set up and take down of tables and chairs and bringing things to and from the outreach center. You will earn five hours of volunteer time for this.

Saturday, March 2, 7:30–9:00 am.

For guiding people from the parking lot at the fine arts building over to the CBLS building (two volunteers needed). You would receive five volunteer hours for doing this.

This volunteer opportunity is open to all Master Gardeners and interns, and is on a first come first serve basis. Please check your calendars to make sure you can commit to this opportunity. We value our volunteers! Please reply to Melanie Racioppi at mel20002@yahoo.com if interested.

East Farm Demonstration Garden Co-Leader

As a Co-Leader you will engage in all aspects of leading and managing weekly tasks in a diverse 8,000 square foot vegetable garden interspersed with herbs, companion plantings and native plants. Voted Project of the Year for 2018 as a project that embraces the building and preserving of best gardening practices and a project that collaborates with area partners to promote inclusivity, inviting and educating our global residents and visitors. All vegetables grown in the garden are donated to a local food pantry. We also work with other MGP gardeners on campus plus professors and research experts on trials of new plants and to maintain existing flower and pollinator gardens throughout the campus. Our main day of work is Saturday mornings and occasional Wednesday mornings. If you have leadership and project management experience, a good working knowledge of gardening, especially vegetables, and want to work with a phenomenal team of dedicated volunteers, please contact Nan Quinlan at quinln@verizon.net.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

NEW! Powerhouse Perennials that Work Overtime so You Don’t
Saturday, January 26 | 11:00 am–12:00 pm
Online lecture ($12)

This online lecture features remarkable, pollinator-friendly plants especially suited for the challenges of our changing climate. The presentation includes four pages of lecture notes plus a CEU form. All registrants receive a personal link and password after the live broadcast so they can watch the presentation wherever, whenever, and as many times as they wish! If you have any questions, please contact Kerry Ann Mendez at 207-502-7228 or pyours1@gmail.com.

NEW! Not Your Grandma’s Hydrangea: Exceptional Hydrangeas Plus Tried and Proven Tips for Growing Them
Saturday, February 23 | 11:00 am–12:00 pm
Online lecture ($12)

This online lecture includes many new cultivars as well as recommendations for growing gorgeous specimens, even in colder climates. The presentation includes 6 pages of notes as well as a CEU form. All registrants receive a personal link and password after the live broadcast so they can watch the presentation wherever, whenever, and as many times as they wish! If you have any questions, please contact Kerry Ann Mendez at 207-502-7228 or pyours1@gmail.com.

NEW! RI Mushroom Company: Come and Learn How Mushrooms Are Grown
Tuesday, February 26 | 1:30–2:30 pm
Rhode Island Mushroom Company, 141 Fairgrounds Road, West Kingston RI
(next to Arnold Lumber. Parking: Go inside the gate at Arnold Lumber, turn right and look for the company logo. If necessary park on the street.)

Are you a fungi fanatic or a person who can’t tell a shiitake from a crimini mushroom? Either way come see how mushrooms are commercially grown. Formed in January of 2013, the The Rhode Island Mushroom Co. is a growing and dynamic company that cultivates and distributes exotic mushrooms to restaurants and specialty markets in Rhode Island and beyond. The tour includes a brief history of the company and what future plans might be followed by a tour of the grow rooms, packing rooms and a walk-in cooler that holds all the products. The tour will be followed by a Q&A session. Be a “fun guy” remember to register in Volgistics.

Tech Skills: Google Drive

As you may know, the Master Gardener Program’s primary mode of sharing internal documents and files is through Google Drive. This method allows us to easily communicate, edit, and share data within the MGP community.

If you are unfamiliar with Google Drive, please take some time to review the training videos listed below:

Have something you’d like to see in The Dirt?

Please email us at thedirtnewsletteruri@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you! Have a submission related to the URI Master Gardener Program? Send it to us (in email or MS Word ONLY please) by Tuesday at 8:00 pm to include in that week’s newsletter!

Questions?

Do you have questions about the URI Master Gardener Program? Please find our leadership directory in the documents page. This will point you in the direction of the proper council member, MG leader or staff member who can answer your question.

Stay Connected with the URIMGP!

Follow @URICoopExt on Facebook and Instagram. Not into social media? Visit the MGP website for our event listing.

URI Master Gardener Program

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