The Dirt – January 4, 2019: Rhody Basketball CoopExt Night, Winter Garden Tips, & Seeds, Seeds, Seeds!

What’s Inside:

URI Basketball CoopExt Night, Small Engine Repair Report, Winter Garden & Houseplant Tips, Seeds, Garden Symposium Registration, January Continuing Ed, Help Wanted

NEWS & INFORMATION

CoopExt Night @ The Ryan Center

URI Master Gardeners are invited to Rhody Men’s Basketball vs. St. Bonaventure at The Ryan Center on Wednesday, January 16. Bring your family and friends to CoopExt Night for an evening of spectator sports and free garden seeds! Tickets are on sale now – don’t miss this special opportunity!

Small Engine Repair Basics for MGs

Submitted by Barbara Ray, URIMGP Class of 1985

For three evenings in December, a small group of Master Gardeners learned how to disassemble and reassemble four stroke (common on motors and rototillers) and two stroke engines (common on chain saws and string trimmers). The instructor, Carl Sawyer, brought a large and varied collection of engines, parts, and tools which were keenly observed, examined, and discussed by the class participants. Diagnosis of common problems and tips on how to repair them were topics of lively discussion. We all came away with a new appreciation for Marvel Mystery Oil!

Winter Gardening Tip from Massachusetts MGs

Reprinted from The Dirt Newsletter, Massachusetts Master Gardener Association (January 2019 Issue)

Temperatures were on a roller coaster in December. As winter takes hold in earnest, prepare your plants for more of the same: take advantage of the next clear, warm-ish day to add a layer of chopped leaves or discarded holiday tree boughs around the base of perennials and small shrubs and over new bulb beds. This will protect them from the dreaded frost-thaw-and-heave cycle. Plant roots exposed to harsh winter conditions will often need to be replaced in the spring.

MG Quick Tip Houseplant Pests: Mealybug

Common houseplant pest that feeds on sap. Sooty mold is an indicator.
Looks like fluffy popcorn.
Commonly hides in the nooks and crannies or the underside of the leaves.
Organic controls like insecticidal soap or pyrethrins work well.

For more information, visit the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center.

It’s Still Seed Sort Time!

Submitted by Mary Malouin, Free Seed Program Coordinator, URIMGP Class of 1993

Our 2019 seeds have arrived at the new Ocean State Job Lot Plaza sorting and distribution location at 12 Stilson Road in Richmond (exit 3A off 95, Route 138 East). Come now through January 26, 2019. Choose your own hours and workdays Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am–3:00 pm.

Ocean State Job Lot donates their unsold Burpee seed packets to URI Cooperative Extension at the end of each year. URI sends emails offering free seeds to schools, community gardens, farms, 4-H Clubs, Girl and Boy Scout troops, public libraries, churches, and other community organizations across Rhode Island. Last year we sorted packets, filled seed orders, and distributed them to 1,948 individuals, schools, and educational organizations.

URIMGP projects and activities get first choice of the seeds. Project Leaders can come for their supply before the Free Seed Program order form goes online. Please mark your calendars and look for future announcements in The Dirt! Interested volunteers, please contact Mary Malouin (401-374-0483).

Reminder: URI Free Seed Program

URI Cooperative Extension is pleased to offer FREE vegetable, flower and herb Burpee™ seed packets to schools, community and youth groups, 4-H clubs, community gardens, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, and individuals throughout the continental US! The URI Free Seed Program is made possible annually through the generous donation of expired yet usable and unsold seed packets from Ocean State Job Lot stores throughout the Northeast. Seeds are available for the cost of postage if mailed, or through pick-up in Richmond, RI in January 2019.

Submit the seed order form by January 18, 2019 to ensure that you receive the order you place! For more information, see the URI Free Seed Program website.

Register for the URI Garden Symposium

Saturday, March 2, 2019 | 8:00–4:00 pm
URI Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (ADA accessible facility)
Tickets are on sale now! $65/person

Mark your calendar for the ninth annual URI Master Gardener Program Spring Garden Symposium, Explore New Paths to Gardening. Join other gardeners for a fun and informative day as you learn new ways to look at your gardens and implement innovative gardening methods. 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

Continental breakfast, lunch, educational booths, vendors, Q & A, and speakers’ book signing are all parts of the day. Event price until February 1, 2019, is $65.00; after February 1, the price will be $75.00. For more information, please check the URIMGP website. Help spread the word about the Symposium by posting the event flyer at your local library or community calendar.

HELP WANTED

Public Presentation Manager

We’re looking for a Public Presentation Manager to work with an assistant to engage URI Master Gardener volunteers interested in presenting about their favorite horticultural topics to the public. Presentations are typically offered through public libraries, educational institutions, garden clubs, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

The URIMGP Public Presentation Manager:

Creates and maintains a master schedule of upcoming presentations;
Follows up with hosts when requests for presentation are received;
Recruits speakers for the presentation requests; and
Debriefs with speakers after the presentation.

Basic computer skills along with professional communication and organizational skills are beneficial for this position. Most of the work can be done at home! If you’d like to join the team, please contact Stephanie Serino.

Purchasing Team Assistants!

Have you ever wanted to play Santa or one of his elves? We’re looking for three to four MG volunteers to help the URIMGP Purchasing Team from January through April to:

Collect all the gardening supply orders that MG leaders place and consolidate them for purchase by the Mallon Center;
Receive garden supply purchases and check them against the original orders; and
Distribute garden supply purchases and kits project and activity leaders and school garden mentors in the spring!

We’ll train you in the procedures and support you in the work you’ll do at the Mallon Center. We’ll welcome your feedback on the work you’ll be doing so that we can make improvements next year. We’re also looking for people with Microsoft Excel experience to help with order processing and distribution! We expect that this work will entail four hours per week on one or two weekdays during business hours at the Mallon Center. If you’d like to help, or if you’d like to know more, please get in touch with Bill Baddeley.

Good Shepherd Community Garden Co-leader

Jeff Faria, project leader for the Church of the Good Shepherd Community Garden in Pawtucket, is looking for a co-leader to help with organizing activities and education there. The Parish of the Good Shepherd offers community space for neighbors who live in two- and three-family houses with no garden space of their own. This garden group hopes to be a model for other community gardens in Pawtucket and beyond. Interested Master Gardeners, please contact Jeff Faria (401-556-6804).

Roger Williams Park Edible Forest Garden Co-Leader

Jaime Nash, the project leader for the Edible Forest Garden at Roger Williams Park, would like a co-leader to help:

Organize volunteer work sessions and activities;
Participate in URIMGP leadership events and meetings;
Coordinate project reporting and outcomes; and
Represent the project at URIMGP events as needed.

The Edible Forest Garden is a habitat-rich, food-producing urban ecosystem designed around permaculture ethics and principles. It features unexpected plants, such as hardy kiwis, hazelnuts, and American Chestnut trees, and promotes permaculture techniques, including herb spirals, a keyhole garden, and Hűgelkultur gardening. It is one of the most unique demonstration gardens Interested Master Gardeners, please contact Jaime Nash (401-447-8100).

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Rhode Island Wild Plant Society Seed Starters Project
Wednesday, January 16, 2019 | 2:00–3:30 pm
Beechwood Center, 44 Beach Street, North Kingstown, RI

The RIWPS Seed Starters Project will show how to grow plants in the winter without a greenhouse, thanks to the characteristics of hardy native plants. The Beechwood Lecture Series is a joint effort of the URI Master Gardeners Program and the RI Wild Plant Society. If interested in attending, please contact Rayna Wilcox (401-268-1594), Volunteer/ Program Coordinator, The Beechwood Center for Life Enrichment.

Rhode Island Food System Summit
Friday, January 18, 2019
9:00 am–2:00 pm (formal program) & 2:30 pm–5:00 pm (optional tours)
URI’s Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences

The University of Rhode Island will once again host the third annual Rhode Island Food System Summit in early 2019. Registration opens in November. Join government, business, and community partners as we discuss the implementation of the Rhode Island Food Strategy and how we can support the food sector and our state into the future. The event takes place at URI’s Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences and will include a panel discussion and break-out sessions to discuss key components of the state’s food strategy. The formal program runs from 9:00 am–2:00 pm with lunch provided, followed by optional tours of food-related businesses from 2:30–5:00 pm. For more information and to register, please visit the Rhode Island Food Center at URI.

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.

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.

More upcoming URIMGP Continuing Education.

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.

Jan. 7, 2019 5 pm – 7 pm	Budget/Purchasing Training URI Woodward computer lab
Jan. 9, 2019 5 pm – 7 pm	Budget/Purchasing Training URI Woodward computer lab
Jan. 15, 2019 online	Budgets/Orders due (project leaders) urimgp.purch@gmail.com
Jan. 30, 2019 6 pm	Core Training Begins URI Pharmacy 170
Feb. 9, 2019 9 am –12 pm	Winter URIMGP Meeting URI Swan Hall Auditorium
Feb. 23, 2019 9 am –12 pm	Greenhouse Orientation URI Pharmacy 170
March 1, 2019	URIMGP Membership Renewals/Activity Fee due URI Mallon Center
March 1, 2019 online	Project Publicity Plans due (project leaders) vanessa@uri.edu
March 2, 2019 9 am – 3 pm	URIMGP Garden Symposium URI Kingston
March 13, 2019	Intern Volunteer Opportunity Fair URI CBLS
May 4, 2019	Spring Festival URI Botanical Gardens
June 17-21, 2019 8:30 am –5:30 pm	International Master Gardener Conference Valley Forge, PA
June 29 & 30, 2019 10 am– 4 pm	URIMGP’s Gardening with the Masters Tour Gardens statewide