August 2018 Texas Master Gardener Newsletter President's Message
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August 2018 Texas Master Gardener Newsletter President's Message 2019 TMGA Conference Happy August! I heard last night on the news that my neighborhood near Houston has had temperatures above 95 degrees for 24 days straight! Many counties in our state are experiencing significant drought once again. While I was able to go to Canada for a reprieve from the heat, our gardens have not Victoria Master Gardeners are excited about the upcoming 2019 been as fortunate. As trained Master Gardeners, however, we are cognizant of conference. At the Directors Meeting, Victoria MG representatives providing proper plant selection, soil preparation, mulching, water conservation, etc. reported that the City of Victoria is eager to have Master Gardeners next to give our gardens the best possible chance of surviving. If we follow these proven April. In fact, they think this may be the biggest single group of visitors principles, the likelihood is good that our landscapes will make it through these tough that Victoria has ever experienced! Several great speakers and tours are times. As far as how the heat affects us as humans, well, that’s something different already being finalized. The website for the conference is “up,” but altogether! registration and details are planned to be ready on the website around September 1. Bookmark and visit the website frequently to watch for Stay cool and remember that everything changes in time! Autumn comes each year more details and registration. without fail! April 25-27 (Leadership Seminar, April 24) Nicky Maddams Pyramid Island Lake “Victoria – Nature’s Gateway” 2018 TMGA President Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada Victoria Community Center, 2905 E. North Street. If your association is interested in hosting the 2021 TMGA Conference, let TMGA know. It's never too early to plan! TMGA Updates and News The following important information for your associations was presented at the August 4th Directors meeting. Big Country Master Gardeners Questions About Volunteer Gifts and Payments VOTE FOR TEXAS POLLINATORS! Wayne Rhoden (Williamson County), TMGA's resident tax advisor, answered questions Big Country Master Gardener about paying / gifting volunteers. Volunteers are unpaid, but very valuable! However, Association (Abilene, Taylor when wanting to provide monetary gifts to volunteers, the IRS rules are not too County) has submitted an entry for a clear. In fact, it can get quite confusing for non-profit associations like Master pollinator grant from Honey Flow and Gardeners. is one of 6 national finalists! They are the only one of the finalists in Texas. Wayne's recommendation is to stay on the “safe side” of IRS rules and not give or Go vote for them to win! DEADLINE TO VOTE IS AUGUST 14. accept more than $100 per volunteer per year. Records do need to be kept, but under $100 limit means you don’t have to report these on tax returns If you have specific The proposed project involves working to create new pollinator gardens questions, contact Wayne at [email protected], and he can help you and enhance existing gardens at three nonprofit sites in Abilene, Texas with an answer. involving on-going BCMGA activities and using those sites as venues for educating the public regarding creation and support of pollinator gardens throughout the community. The three sites include Swenson House, FaithWorks and First Central Presbyterian Church (FCPC) Meditation Garden. This project will also involve the BCMGA Greenhouse Committee which will identify, purchase and promulgate native plants for use at BCMGA projects. Junior Master Gardeners, another outreach of BCMGA will participate in pollinator education for children as allowed by the curriculum of participating schools. Children participating in Junior Master Gardeners, as well as children throughout the community, will be invited to join the educational events while some educational events will specifically target children. Update on New TMGA Training Handbook Jayla Fry, TMGA Coordinator, gave an update at the Directors meeting about the 2019 TMGA OFFICER NOMINATIONS availability of the new version of the TMGA training handbooks. Much to her dismay – The Nominations Committee has offered the following nominations for and to those who are planning training classes – the new edition printing has been officers for 2019 again delayed. August was the latest hopeful date; however, due to changes in the personnel who produce the handbook, the date is now on hold. President: Duddly Hargrove (Kaufman County) First Vice President: Louie McDaniel (McLennan County) If your association is planning for their training classes, order the existing handbook Second Vice President – Robin Collins (Galveston County) (binders not included) from through your County Agent from the Texas A&M Secretary – Jamie Bruns (Grimes County) Bookstore. Treasurer – Judy Ratzlaff (Tarrant County) Past President - Nicky Maddams (Waller County) She also reminded associations that making copies of them is a violation of copyright laws, and that the payment for the handbooks help fund State Master Gardener Voting will be at the December 1 meeting. updates and projects. TMGA 2018 Awards Submission - Update Beth Turlington, Chair of the Awards Committee announced that award submissions will be accepted for 2018 projects (to be presented at the 2019 TMGA Conference) from January 1 through January 31, 2019. Deadline will be January 31 at 10 p.m. The Awards Committee has decided that web links in submissions are still not allowed with entries. Using good narrative and some pictures will help judges “see the story in their head.” Ms. Turlington also sent out a plea to the small counties – “Where are you?” – knowing that they have great, educational events and projects going on in their areas. Most questions about awards can be found at this web page https://txmg.org/awards/awards-program/, or contact the Awards Committee by email [email protected] Specialist Training - Changes Jayla Fry has been in touch with County Extension Agents, and a couple of changes are now in effect. 1. Specialist certificates will be sent directly to the County Extension offices once a year. 2. Starting in 2019, the deadline for submitting specialist training dates and event details will now be January 31. The trainings can be scheduled for any time during the year, but the deadline for scheduling them is January 31. This gives everyone time to Specialist Trainings • get the word out about the trainings, Vegetables - FULL • review the different specialty trainings available, September 4-6 hosted by Bexar County • prevent overlapping or conflicting training and dates, • make arrangements to attend the trainings Texas Superstars September 18-20 hosted by Smith County If your association would like to host training, contact Specialist Training Committee Chair, Duane Robinson Greenhouse Management [email protected] October 18-20 hosted by Tarrant County 936-355-8215 Composter December 5-7 hosted by Fort Bend County Future Events April 25-27, 2019 Texas Master Gardeners Conference Victoria County, Victoria June 17-21, 2019 International Master Gardener Conference Valley Forge, PA May 11-14, 2020 Texas Master Gardeners Conference McLennan County, Waco Other Cool News and Info Association Events Master Gardener Network Use the "Upcoming Event Submission" form on the TXMG.org website to submit your local association events, which are then included on Dr. Gibby, the founder of Master Gardeners and keynote speaker at the 2018 the TXMG website events calendar. Conference, has created an online network for Master Gardeners to be able to share news, photos and information about their association with other associations. See the Aug. 6-14 Pollinator Grant Voting site and comments at http://mastergardener.net. Check it out! Big Country, Taylor County, Abilene Aug. 9 Simple Irrigation Henderson County, Athens Aug. 11 Creating Sustainable Designs with Permaculture Travis County, Austin Aug. 13 Lunch and Learn with the Masters Victoria County, Victoria Aug. 14 Pollinator Grant Voting Deadline Big Country, Taylor County, Abilene Aug. 15 East Texas Fruit and Vegetable Conference Overton, TX Texas Gardener Magazine Aug. 18 Bonsai Galveston County, La Marque If you are already a subscriber to Texas Gardener Magazine, Aug. 18 Urban Small Backyard Gardening you already know that Jay White, is the new owner of the Galveston County, La Marque magazine. He has been one of the main article contributors to the magazine and to its weekly "Seeds" e-newsletter. Aug. 18 Propagating Tomato Plants Using Cuttings Galveston County, La Marque Mr. White recently contacted TMGA with an interest in highlighting Master Gardener associations - one county per Aug. 21 Gardening by the Square Foot month. Galveston County, La Marque If you would like to see your association highlighted in the Sep. 4 1st Tuesday in the Garden magazine, write up an article on a special topic, including Smith County, Tyler pictures with captions, and send your article to Jayla Fry ([email protected]) who will be the contact for TMGA articles to Texas Gardener Magazine. Sep. 8 Fall Landscaping Symposium Concho Valley, San Angelo Texas Gardener Magazine Seeds newsletter Sep. 8 Fall Vegetable Gardening Seminar Jay White's Masters of Hort blog Travis County, Austin Sep. 8 Backyard Citrus Galveston County, Friendswood Sep. 15 Fall Bulbs 101 Galveston County, La Marque Sep. 15 Kitchen Gardening Galveston County, La Marque Tour of The Gardens at Texas A&M Prior to the Directors meeting on August 4th, fifty MG Directors and Officers toured the completed Phase I of The Gardens at Texas A&M. As a combination demonstration and teaching venue, the seven completed acres showcase a variety of gardening specimens, techniques, and beauty. Interesting architectural “hardscape” features, wildflower areas, a bioswale, bird, bee, and butterfly gardens, varying types of vegetable beds, vineyards, the 100 year-old oak tree, a Hispanic and a German garden were all part of the hour and a half walking tour. Innovations such as drip irrigation devices for agriculture crops, and a “water fence” were only two of the interesting features along the tour.