Meeting held at: Nebraska Extension in Madison County 1305 South 13th Street Norfolk, NE 68701
Dear Master Gardeners: How have you all been doing? It was disappointing to have to cancel our plant fair and monthly meetings for March and April, for sure. But, hopefully these isolation and social distancing practices help to stop/slow the spread of COVID-19. Right now we will have to wait and see when we can get together again. Spring is here, finally. The weather has warmed and I have enjoyed sitting on my patio with a cup of coffee, and a cool breeze. I’ve even been digging around the garden. It has been nice to get outside. And, we all know how gardening gets you out in the fresh air, and adds positive energy into your life. I have also been thinking about our group. What will we do to make up for our education and volunteer hours that we have missed the last month and then this month of April? Well, one thing we can do for education hours is we can watch Backyard Farmer. We can include five hours of the show as part of our education. It airs from April to September. I was going to go to a speaker on gardening at the public library but it was can-celled. So, I watched it live online instead. If you use social media, ie. Facebook, keep an eye out for other opportunities. Some of you have volunteer projects that you do at church or for your city. I know that as a group, we take care of the garden behind the Elkhorn Valley Museum. I’m sure that there could be some weeding and prun-ing done there. Please remember to practice social distancing. Hopefully at our next meeting, whenever that will be, we will have time to talk about this and get some guidance from Wayne. I am sure this is affecting Master Gardener‘s across the state. So don’t get discouraged, especially our new members and our Master Gardener’s in training. Until we meet again, get out there in the fresh air and have fun in your garden! Stay safe. Viola McShannon President
Send Information for newsletter to: Nebraska Extension in Madison
Nebraska Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United Sates Department of Agriculture.
Nebraska Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Member Recognition: These members have birthdays/anniversaries in April
Birthday Anniversary
Kurt Schrant—April 6 Teresa Roche—April 11 Sharon Hinrichsen—April 23 Donald Liedman—April 27 Mary Birch—April 30
No member anniversaries this month.
P A G E 2 Dates and Trainings to Know and Grow - Mark on Your Calendars
Held at the Madison County Extension, 1305 South 13th Street, Norfolk
May 16 (3rd Saturday): Plant exchange
2020 M . $20.00 per per-son. Mail them to Karen Zierke before April 15. Her address is in the membership directory.
T 2020, K A 15.
If you would like to read other newsletters, the Minnehaha Master Gardeners in Sioux Falls have a nice letter. minnehahamastergardeners.org You can also follow the Mis-souri Valley Master Gardeners on Facebook out of Yankton.
L ?
Since we won’t be having the plant sale, I would be SO HAPPY if you want-ed to pick up some hours here at the park in Madison. The flowers are start-ing to show and there is lots of spring clean up to do - always a need to put out mulch - and many lilacs that need care. Please give me a call or just come visit! Denise Trine 402-920-3761.
If you need a refresher on using the system please review the training webinar from the developer https://youtu.be/W38-T_Jz7Wc
2020— 1 Q E H :
January 11 —.75 hour February 8—1 hour
To Plant A Garden Is To Believe In Tomorrow ‐ Audrey Hepburn
T ’ : Balance as of March 24: $7,648.43 Membership dues are $20 per per-son.
Printed copies of this newsle er will be
available at the Extension Office. P I -
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Backyard Farmer airs live Thursdays on NET1 at 7pm CDT from April through September and repeats on NET1 Saturdays at 10 AM CT or CREATE (NET3) Sundays @ 2 PM CT & Mondays @ 5 PM CT.
P A G E 3 N O R T H E A S T N E B R A S K A M A S T E R G A R D E N E R N E W S L E T T E R
To the Northeast Nebraska Master Gardeners, I am sitting, locked in my bedroom writing this to you all. We are in unprecedented times. The world hasn’t seen something like this since the 1918 Spanish Flu. One of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s priorities is to enrich the lives of the people of Nebraska. This is also one of the main ideas behind the concept of extension. That in turn should be reflected in the Master Gardener program. While the Northeast Master Gardeners certainly did enrich the lives of Nebraskans through their activities such as meeting speakers, garden tours, and the plant fair, it is important that we consider the safety of people, including the Master Gardeners. My decision to cancel the plant fair was guided by that principle of safety and by the directive of the university’s leadership to cancel all public events through May 9. As of now, the May 16th meeting is scheduled BUT me mindful that this is a very fluid situation and things are changing quickly. What this means for you as Master Gardeners is that hours for volunteer and education will be difficult to come by. Until things change, below are some things that you can do to obtain those hours. Please remember to follow the social distancing guidelines and have 10 or less people present and to maintain at least a six (6) foot distance from others. Education
Watch Backyard Farmer (5 hours max) Watch recorded trainings
Plant fair Spring Training
Participate in the Campus Master Gardener online trainings Read a book on Gardening Have a question if something counts, just ask
Volunteer
Write articles for the Norfolk Daily News Work in the Elkhorn Valley Museum gardens Weed the flower beds at the Extension Office Help maintain the community garden at the Extension Office Help with expanding and planting the community garden (details will be advertised later if this happens)
Wayne Ohnesorg, Extension Educator Master Gardener Coordinator
The Regional Food System team has been working to compile some resources for food and farm-ing clientele and we should have a list out soon. However, I wanted to share some resources that you might find timely. I had a few requests from community gardens in the area about how to allow for gardeners to access their spaces and maintain safety. NC State Extension has been on top of the game and has produced several great fact sheets relating to COVID-19 for community gardens, farmers markets, and produce that are being shared and endorsed widely (Produce Safe-
ty Alliance is using them as their “official” source). I also found a great guide from Minnesota on building a DIY handwashing sta-tion, useful for community gardens, farms, etc. I’ve shared them below. John Porter, Extension Educator Urban Agriculture Program Coordinator
Community Gardens: https://nccommunitygardens.ces.ncsu.edu/covid-19-faq-for-community-gardens/ Farmers Markets: https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Farmers-Market_COVID-19_031320.pdf Fresh Produce: https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Retail-Produce_Food-Safety_COVID-19_Flyer_032020.pdf?fwd=no
Produce Production: https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ProduceProduction_Food-Safety_COVID-19_Flyer_032020.pdf?fwd=no
All NC State Farm/Agribusiness COVID-19 Resources: https://covid19.ces.ncsu.edu/farms-agribusiness/ Handwashing Station: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c0VIhOCm5KsUa1kBkp-wedtJV_5PHsfV/view
P A G E 4 N O R T H E A S T N E B R A S K A M A S T E R G A R D E N E R N E W S L E T T E R
P A G E 5 N O R T H E A S T N E B R A S K A M A S T E R G A R D E N E R N E W S L E T T E R
