The Dirt for February 22: Learn now, planting days are coming!

This Week’s Reminder

Volunteer Renewals are DUE ASAP. If you plan to volunteer with the URIMGP in 2018, please complete your volunteer renewal form by March 1. This is required for all active URIMGP volunteers, including class of 2017 interns and blue pin MGs. The current year’s MG class (2018) does not need to complete a renewal.

You may also apply for a leave of absence on our internal website. If we do not hear from you by March 1, we will assume you do not plan to volunteer with us in 2018.

Thank you for your attention to this! Spring is a mere month away!

Food Donations at MG Meetings

Greetings, Master Gardeners… As you know, we collect canned goods at our meetings and then donate them to a local food pantry or soup kitchen. Last month, the non-perishables were donated to the Good Neighbor’s Soup Kitchen, Food Pantry and Day Shelter in Riverside. I am excited to report that we donated 188 pounds!

At our March MG meeting, we will once again collect these items and donate them. The question has been raised as to where the next donor site will be, so, we have decided to open this project up to everyone. We will have a list and will rotate the schedule so that anyone interested will have the opportunity to bring the items to their own community.

Simply sign up at the meeting and when your turn comes, you will deliver them to the food pantry of your choice.

So sign up in Volgistics, come to the Meeting on March 12 and bring your canned goods! Don’t forget that anyone bringing a snack item (finger food or beverage) for the meeting may claim one hour of volunteer time and, of course, there are three Continuing Education hours that you can also log into Volgistics!

Let’s get diggin’!

Judy Arruda, Volunteer Engagement Coordinator

Volunteer Opportunities

HELP WANTED: OUR LONGEST RUNNING SERVICE NEEDS VOLUNTEERS!

The URI Gardening and Environmental Hotline at the Mallon Center on the Kingston campus is growing, and we need volunteers to support this important and valued statewide service! The hotline is a great way to accumulate volunteer hours and gain new skills!

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Anyone and everyone! Interns, blue pin and veteran MGs looking for a fun way to earn volunteer hours are encouraged to join the ranks. Hotline volunteers need not be experts in a particular subject, computer whiz’s or experienced on the phone. All that is required is an open mind and curiosity!

WHAT IS THE HOTLINE LIKE?

Hotline team members collaborate to field questions from emails, phone calls and walk-in visitors. The resources needed to answer questions are at your fingertips, and include internet-based Cooperative Extension websites, an extensive library of reference books and direct access to Cooperative Extension faculty and staff. The URI Mallon Center is open to the public, so walk-in visitors present with any number of interesting garden issues and questions. If you enjoy a good gardening detective work, than the hotline is a great place to practice your sleuthing! The hotline is a friendly, congenial space in which Master Gardeners share their knowledge with the public, and learn from each others special skills and knowledge. Several volunteers have extensive expertise and years of experience with the public, so there are ample opportunities to gain new knowledge in a fun, non-threatening atmosphere.

WHEN WOULD I VOLUNTEER?

The hotline is open from early March through October. Hours are Monday-Thursday from 9-2PM. A typical day will see 3 or more volunteers staffing the phones and email. Each day has one or more experienced day leaders on site for support. Volunteers are asked to be available a minimum of 2 days per month and can select a dedicated day or float to different days as the need or their individual schedule requires.

Want to come in and see what it’s like? Hotline Orientation is scheduled for either Tuesday, March 27 at 9 am -or- Thursday, April 5 at 9 am. Sign up in Volgistics.

Questions? Contact Sejal Lanterman at sejal@uri.edu or 401-874-4453, our new staff liaison.

We look forward to meeting you!
Cheryl Smith, URI Master Gardener Class of 2015, Tuesday Hotline Day Leader

Volunteer at the RI Home & Garden Show

April 5 – 8, 2018

Master Gardeners, come and enjoy the Home & Garden Show in Providence, RI at the Convention Center and serve a shift at our Kiosk or Soil Testing table. You can visit the gardens and other displays, take advantage of the unique retail opportunities available, visit the booths either before or after your shift.

Master Gardener Information Kiosk volunteers can be Blue Pin, Project Leaders and Community Garden Leaders and one intern per shift are welcome to help at the Kiosk. Soil Testing are Blue Pin and Interns. If you have never worked at soil testing you are welcome to come, learn, observe and help the soil tester. This is a great opportunity to learn a new project and see the show free.

KIOSK HOURS: require 2 Blue Pin, 1 Intern per shift

Thurs/Fri:	11:30 am to 3:00 pm
	3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
	6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Saturday:	9:30 am to 1:30 pm
	1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
	5:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Sunday:	11:30 am to 2:30 pm
	2:30 pm to 5:00 pm

SOIL TESTING: 7 Blue Pins & 4 Interns per day

Thursday – Sunday:

11:30 am to 4:00 pm

Sign up in Volgistics. Don’t forget, the Kiosk is Blue Pin and one Intern per shift, can be a Project Leader or Community Garden Leader. For soil testing each day, we require four experienced testers. Helpers can be Blue Pin Master Gardeners and/or Interns. All volunteers will be verified for current dues except for new interns.

You must wear your Master Gardener Pin or MG Name Tag to enter free.

Good fun, good friends, and community service, free show entry all at once! It doesn’t get any better!

Mary Malouin, URI MGP 1993
Home & Garden Show Coordinator

Continuing Education Opportunities

Classes at Blithewold

Along with beautiful gardens and grounds to inspire every garden, Blithewold has classes to help your visions become a reality. All classes are have a fee and require registration. Upcoming classes include:

Gardener’s Round Table: Water Tub Gardening
Sunday, February 25 | 1:00 pm

Gardener’s Round Table: Houseplant Triage
Friday, March 2 | 10:00 – 11:00 am

Managing Wildlife in the Garden (URI East Farm, Building 75)
Friday, March 2 | 10-12pm (URIMGP Hotline Kickoff at 9am)

The RIDEM Division of Fish and Wildlife manages wildlife populations and habitat across nearly 60,000 acres of land statewide. The Division often receives calls regarding nuisance wildlife, including everything from woodchucks to coyotes. In this program, you will receive some basic information about the most common garden pests, ways to coexist with pesky critters, and a brief update on Division-funded conservation projects. Please register in Volgistics.

March Master Gardener Meeting: Communicating Science to the Public (URI Swan Hall Auditorium)
Monday, March 12 | 6-8:30pm

As an Extension Educator, you may find yourself answering tough questions from the public, explaining why a client should adopt sustainable gardening practices. ‘What should I spray for:_____?” is a common question. Our March MG meeting keynote speaker is Sunshine Menezes, Ph.D. who will provide innovative strategies for communicating complex concepts. How do we effectively encourage the public to become stewards of the land? As executive director of the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting, Menezes frequently gives lectures about the importance of science communication, working with the news media, and how to become a more effective science communicator. Please register in Volgistics.

The Ecological Landscaping Alliance’s 2018 Conference – Sustaining the Living Landscape (UMass Amherst)
Wednesday, March 7 & Thursday, March 8

Looking for New Ideas? Solutions? Inspiration? From the practical to the applicable, immerse yourself in a two-day exploration of ecological concepts as our speakers share their experiences and expertise. Delve into this year’s wide-ranging topics as we look at the principles and practices we need to design, build, and restore the living landscape. Conference Brochure

Composting: Reducing Waste and Bringing Goodness to our Gardens (44 Beach Street; North Kingstown)
Wednesday, March 21 | 2:00PM

This lecture will focus on the benefits and basics of Composting. Composting is a component of our lifestyle. The amount of time and energy we put into composting our kitchen, garden and yard waste will vary and so will the results. The fact that we choose to make composting one of our lifestyle habits is wonderful given the goodness it brings to our gardens and that it reduces material that will end up in a mounting landfill. In this talk you will learn everything you need to do to start composting, a bit of history, how composting happens, types of composting from the casual to the obsessive, how to use compost, the tools, the rules and the glorious results. Speaker: Nan Quinlan, URI Master Gardener. If interested in attending, please contact Rayna Wilcox, Volunteer/Program Coordinator, at The Beechwood Center for Life Enrichment at 401-268-1594; or email her at: RWilcox@northkingstown.org. These programs are offered to members and the public at no charge. Master Gardeners receive education credits for attending.

RI Wild Plant Society invites MG’s to learn: Plants are better than mulch! (URI Pharmacy Building, Kingston RI)
Sunday, March 25 | 2-3:30pm

This is part of the RIWPS annual meeting (free to attend!). We have a strange relationship with mulch in America. Landscaping often means a sea of red mulch dotted with a few over-pruned arborvitae shrubs. But how many gardeners got into the hobby for a love of mulch? There are good reasons to use mulch, it helps to control weeds, prevents soil erosion and maintains soil nutrients. Yet for every advantage that mulch offers well-chosen plants work even better. From groundcovers to larger mat-forming species there is a plant for every area in the garden. Join Dan Jaffe, author of Native Plants for New England Gardens to learn about the myriad of plants that can take the place of mulch on your landscape.

Dan Jaffe is the Propagator and Stock Bed Grower at New England Wildflower Society’s Garden in the Woods. His past experience includes a degree in botany from the University of Maine, an advanced certificate in Native Plant Horticulture and Design from New England Wildflower Society, and nursery management experience. Dan Jaffe’s photography has been used in numerous publications and his book Native Plants for New England Gardens is scheduled to be released in March. New England Wildflower Society is selling the book online. Copies will be available at the lecture. Purchase with cash, check or credit card. For more details, including directions and parking see www.RIWPS.org

URIMGP Core Training: Classes Open to MGs for Continuing Education!

The URI Master Gardener Program Core Training classes are held on Wednesday evenings from 6-8:30 at the URI Kingston Campus in Avedesian Hall (Pharmacy Building) room 170. All Master Gardeners are invited to attend these sessions to brush up on their knowledge, learn the latest research, and to earn continuing education hours. The 2018 Course Schedule (topics subject to change) follows.

2/28	Compost & Food Safety / Research in Action: Agroecology Practices from the Field
3/7	Edible Gardening: Vegetables
3/14	Volunteer Opportunity Fair / Volunteerism and Communications Class
3/21	Site Assessment & Regenerative Landscape Design
3/28	Establishment & Maintenance of Home Lawns / Turf Pests & Pollinators
4/4	Diagnosing Plant Problems / Group Challenge
4/11	Invasive Plants / Native Plants
4/18	Ornamentals: Woody Plants and Perennials

Review all upcoming classes and events on our calendar: https://web.uri.edu/mastergardener/calendar/

In case you missed it...Opportunities to Help Direct Future of MGP

Continuing our efforts to improve our MG Program based upon your survey responses, there are opportunities coming soon to encourage Master Gardeners with innovative ideas and energy to become involved in shaping the future direction of our program! Sound interesting? Here’s a sneak preview of what’s to come…

A comprehensive survey was sent to all active URI Master Gardeners last fall. More than 400 of us responded with thoughtful comments and suggestions. After the survey results were collated, our URI program staff and ten volunteer leaders participated in a professionally facilitated retreat in December to evaluate and discuss the survey results. Then a post-retreat committee was formed to develop a list of simple and quickly implementable actions to address the identified issues. The committee decided form new volunteer-led committees of URI Master Gardeners who will develop and implement solutions to the issues we identified through the survey and retreat discussions.

What were the issues we identified?

Fostering better communication between volunteers and the University;
Increasing fellowship opportunities like field trips for volunteers;
Better support and training for MGP volunteer leaders;
Development of a transparent, easy to understand financial accounting and reporting structure; and
Evolving the organization into a more volunteer-driven, URI staff-guided model.

What committees will be formed?

Continuing Education;
Leadership Development;
Demonstration Project Review;
Purchasing;
Communications (The Dirt newsletter and social media);
Fellowship and Field Trips; and
Bookkeeping

Details about these committees and their goals will be included in a revision to the URIMGP Operating Guidelines that we’ll post on our documents page and in a future newsletter. Immediately after, we’ll ask you to help form the committees to work these issues we all feel are important to our program. Stay tuned as this process develops, and let us know where you might fit if you are interested. Thank you!

MG Quick Tip: Brown Tips on Houseplants

Common on many plants.
Caused by dry house conditions, direct hot air drafts, drought stress, and sometimes softeners in water supply.
Avoid heavy fertilizer use. This can also cause salt buildup
Tips can be trimmed back with scissors and conditions can be modified.

Check this website for more information:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/houseplants/caring-for-houseplants-in-northern-mn

Upcoming Events

March 3 8:30 am – 4 pm	Garden Symposium URI CBLS Auditorium
March 12 6pm-9pm	Master Gardener Meeting URI Swan Hall Auditorium
March 14 5:30-6:45pm	Volunteer Opportunity Fair URI CBLS Bldg Atrium
April 25 6-8:30pm	Core Training ends URI Pharmacy Bldg, Room 170
May 5 9am-1pm	URIMGP Spring Plant Sale URI Botanical Gardens
May 21 6pm-9pm	Master Gardener Meeting URI Swan Hall Auditorium
June 23 9am-1pm	Project Open House Project locations, statewide

Check our internal calendar for a full listing of events. Password – seeds

https://web.uri.edu/mastergardener/calendar/