Friday, August 24, 2012

Coming to a MG program near you...maybe!

Hydrangea aspera, quite lovely in a Virginia garden in summer


The fall schedule for visiting Master Gardener programs is shaping up! I have been invited to MG meetings, agent planning meetings, events, and classes. I will be posting the schedule on the MG program website. Be sure to check it (and make sure I have not overlooked your request!). In the meantime, I have been out visiting already! Watch our Facebook page to see where I have already visited.


Need a little help posting a comment on this blog site? Look immediately below this block of text for the grey block that lists UGA Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Program. To the right of it, you will see "No comments:" (or something like "4 comments:" if someone has posted something). When you run your mouse over the words "No comments:" you'll see that it is actually a link. When you click on the link, a new box appears with instructions to "enter comment in box." So, type away.

There is a drop-down list marked "Comment as." This affects how your message appears. You can choose "anonymous" and no one will know who put it up. You can choose "name/URL" and you will be asked for your name and website. This essentially a "from" line, but you are welcome to leave it anonymous.

Lastly, you have the option to "Publish" or "Preview" your comment. "Publish" allows you to post the comment, "preview" allows you to look at your comment before it gets posted. Either way, you will be asked to "verify that you are not a robot" by entering the random words and then pressing "publish." Once you press "publish," you comments go into a cue for me to read and share.

Many of you have sent emails to me with your comments about the poll topics. THANK YOU!

Have a great weekend -- Don't spend all of your time in the garden!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Poll #1 Results: AT Topics for 2013

According to you, the readers, top picks for Advanced Training topics for 2013 are:

Sustainable Garden and Landscape (106 of 163 responses; 65%)
Diagnostics and Technology (22 of 163; 13%)
Urban Forestry and Ecology (17 of 163; 10%)
Youth Gardening (13 of 163; 7%)
Water Quality Management (5 of 163; 3 %)

Advanced Training for Georgia Master Gardeners is intended as an opportunity to specialize your expertise so that you are better able to deliver educational programs in your communities. We expect preferences of AT to mirror what is being asked of MGs in local communities -- if you are being asked over and over again how to do something or see a landscape problem repeated over and over again, MGs would want the training to develop an educational response.

What will you do with this Advanced Training expertise? Are you going for a Silver Star? Gold Star? Are you seeking new knowledge and skills to develop a project in your community? Do you work with your agent to develop a project that meets local needs? Let us know what you are thinking!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Climbing to New Heights

What does the trellis in your garden look like?

In my old vegetable garden, it was a piece of cattle panel attached to T-posts, with another panel curved over the top. A tunnel for the vertically-challenged, if you will. It wasn't gorgeous, but it did the trick. It sure was convenient to pick green beans off that trellis. I didn't have to reach too far or bend over too much or squat in the dirt.

But the beans had no where to go. I made the trellis for me, but not for my crop. So before the summer was over, beans were climbing over everything else. Hrumph...

We launch this Blog, entitled "Trellis," as a support scaffolding for the Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Programs working with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension all across the state. We're here to provide support for MG programs to grow on and a background to enhance and showcase the Extension educational programming going on in communities all across Georgia. We pledge to extend the trellis, giving room for local programs and volunteers to grow and stretch themselves.

What's your ideal "trellis"?