The Lowdown WSU Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners July 2018 The Lowdown Inside this issue: Foundation News 2 Shirin-Yoku 4 Garden Hints 6 Photo Shoot! 7 Self-study Quiz 8 Upcoming Events 10 Extension Information Tim Kohlhauff 477-2172 Horticulture Program Coordinator [email protected]Anna Kestell 477-2195 Food Preservation/Safety [email protected]Jackie Sykes 477-2193 Clinic Coordinator [email protected]Master Gardener County Site http://extension.wsu.edu/spokane/ master-gardener-program Master Gardener Foundation of Spokane County http://www.mgfsc.org/ WSU Master Gardener Site http://mastergardener.wsu.edu/ HortSense Fact Sheets http://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/ Home/HortsenseHome.aspx On Line Timelog Reporting: hp://ext.wsu.edu/Volunteers/ logon.aspx Bumble Bee Atlas Project !!! EXCITING NEWS !!! Rich Haield, our 2017 Fall Banquet speaker, and Senior Conservaon Biolo- gist, Endangered Species Program, Red List Authority, IUCN Bumble Bee Spe- cialist Group, has agreed to do a training for the Bumble Bee Atlas Project in Spokane! His schedule is full right now, so the training will be held next February or March. Don’t worry! There is plenty of me to sll be involved with the project as it is lasng two years and we only have to go out into the field twice to officially parcipate. You can either parcipate in our group project or join on your own and select an available grid that may be in a more convenient locaon. This project is open to anyone, so you do not have to be a MG to parcipate. You can read more at hps://www.pnwbumblebeeatlas.org. You will need to set up an ac- count if you plan to parcipate so you have access to the training video and all of the other needed informaon if you want to get started this summer. If you are interested in joining the Bumble Bee Atlas Project MG group, please email Cathi Lamoreux, [email protected]. We will keep you informed of the training date once we have a confirmed date. Thanks for your paence. We are excited about being able to parcipate in this interesng project.
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The Lowdown
WSU Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners July 2018 The Lowdown
Rich Hatfield, our 2017 Fall Banquet speaker, and Senior Conservation Biolo-gist, Endangered Species Program, Red List Authority, IUCN Bumble Bee Spe-cialist Group, has agreed to do a training for the Bumble Bee Atlas Project in Spokane! His schedule is full right now, so the training will be held next February or March. Don’t worry! There is plenty of time to still be involved with the project as it is lasting two years and we only have to go out into the field twice to officially participate. You can either participate in our group project or join on your own and select an available grid that may be in a more convenient location. This project is open to anyone, so you do not have to be a MG to participate. You can read more at https://www.pnwbumblebeeatlas.org. You will need to set up an ac-count if you plan to participate so you have access to the training video and all of the other needed information if you want to get started this summer. If you are interested in joining the Bumble Bee Atlas Project MG group, please email Cathi Lamoreux, [email protected]. We will keep you informed of the training date once we have a confirmed date. Thanks for your patience. We are excited about being able to participate in this interesting project.
How did it get to be July already? Wasn’t it just snowing a few weeks ago?
In addition to working our shifts in the Plant Clinic, staffing information booths, speaking to garden clubs, attending meetings and trainings, planning for the Fall Banquet and Cabin Fever, there are several special projects happening right now. The core group of MGs guiding our Community Gar-dens grant-funded projects are hard at work helping our garden partners implement projects in four different gardens. There is a newly formed Demonstration Garden focus group preparing to set short and long-term goals for those gardens. Another group is writing up an award application high-lighting the work we do in the Plant Clinic. The Fair Committee is working hard to be ready for our return to the Interstate Fair in September. There is now a Greenhouse committee. It’s a wonder that any of us have time to work in our own gardens!
The Statewide Master Gardener Conference will be held in Wenatchee this year September 27-29. September is a lovely time to visit the Wenatchee Valley when the apple harvest is in high gear! The conference starts with option-al special tours on Wednesday afternoon – learning about the apple industry, MG demonstration gardens, winetasting, exploring the Central WA steppe and a wildfire recovery tour. Thursday offers a walking tour of the downtown Wenatchee waterfront, vis-iting the Community Education Garden and hiking in the Saddle Rock Shrub-Steppe Ecosystem.
Then, the fun begins with sessions addressing a wide range of interests. Take your choice between sessions on weeds, herbicides, kitchen/small space gardening, pollinators, the latest on Glyphosate, propagating native plants, gardening for life, working with youth, water rights 101, school gardens, wildland fire readiness, invasive species prevention and management, dwarf conifers, lighting up your landscape, organic methods in the home garden, what makes a tree a hazard, garden art, soil sampling, horticultural myths, and roses on both sides of the Cascades.
There is also a photo contest that is going on right now. The winning photos will be on display during the conference. You do not have to attend the conference to enter. They are accepting photos in several categories right now. Check out https://sharingourroots.org/photo-submission for more information.
Registration is open at www.sharingourroots.org. Let’s try to get a group together to attend and rep-resent our county with pride.
Remember that the Foundation Board of Directors is recruiting for new members for three-year terms starting January 1, 2019. The Foundation BOD guides the fundraising activities that support the Program. If you are contacted about joining the board, please consider the request. If you are not contacted, but think you might like to join the board, please get in touch with any current BOD member and let them know of your interest. Curious to see what we do? Join us at our next meeting on July 9, 10 AM, at the Extension Office.
Mark your calendars for September 12, 4 PM-until dark for a lively gathering and discussion about Andrea Wulf’s books ahead of the Fall Banquet on October 11. You are welcome to join us if you have read all, one or two, or none of her books. Lynn Meyers has books for sale if you are looking for that perfect book for summer reading. Contact her at [email protected].
"Mosquito is out, it's the end of the day; she's humming and hunting her evening away. Who knows why such hunger arrives on such wings at sundown? I guess it's the nature of things." - N. M. Boedecker, Midsummer Night Itch
It is no coincidence that the places many of us go to unwind and relax are places where natural ele-ments are more prominent: * Stretching out on a sun-drenched beach * Paddling glassy water on a still inlet * Hiking in the mountains for fresh air and amazing vistas * Wading in a trout stream with fly rod in hand * Waking up to chirping birds at a campground * Lazing beneath a shady tree with a good book * Taking a quiet stroll in the park These types of activities renew the mind, body and spirit. And we need this renewal considering electronic devices that constantly beep and ring, 24-hour news cycles, pervasive marketing and advertising, white-knuckle commutes, blaring sirens, the general rattle and hum of city living, stressful situations at home or at work, and daily struggles to do more with less. It has been said that exposure to nature is an antidote to our fast-paced, plugged-in, hyper-connected lifestyles.
Research shows that access to nature is good for our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing. The Japanese have seized upon the human health benefits of trees in particular by promoting a practice known as Shinrin-Yoku, or, ‘forest bathing’ as it translates in English. Forest bathing is simply an intentional, quieted effort to spend time sitting or gently walking beneath trees, to focus on the sights and sounds of nature as a meditative ritual to calm the body and mind. Participants in these exercises experience a lowering of heart rate and blood pressure, reductions in stress and anxiety, increased energy, and more positive feelings in general. If nothing else, a walk in the woods immerses you in a cloud of life-giving oxygen produced in high concentrations by trees in any forested en-vironment. That has to be good for you. But these benefits aren’t exclusive to the vast forests in the wildlands, nor do you need to live like Henry David Thoreau to receive the health benefits of trees. Studies show that urban forests—city natural areas, parks, and even street trees—can provide similar benefits. If we collectively moved to increase the presence of, and access to nature in cities, then perhaps we can stem the tides of anxieties that run rampant in any man-made place without greenery. The next time you find yourself maxed-out or flustered, take a moment to be among the trees, and take some nice, deep breaths while you’re there.
3 Ways to Garden Like They Do at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
by Nancy Stamp (Horticulture Magazine)
1. Capture microclimates in your garden to push the diversity of what you can grow. For instance, create more or less stored heat in soil for nearby plantings by capturing more or less sunlight with slopes and walls or even the side of a building.
2. Jefferson wasn’t just crazy about vegetables; his garden was fun in appearance. Even in a smaller vegetable garden, you can experiment over the years with aesthetics as well as taste and yield.
3. Just as Jefferson did, you can enjoy your vegetable garden by adding, for example, a bench,
perhaps with an arbor for shade, and artfully take advantage of an existing vista or create a
compelling background with ornamental trees and shrubs.
Remember! Everything you do as a Master Gardener deserves a picture or video or both. We are in need of a great quantity of photos and videos to choose from when it comes time to make our outstanding vid-eo for the Fall Banquet and beyond.
All the details are in the April Lowdown and will be repeated monthly in the Happy Monday emails.
Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, sex, religion, age, color, creed, national or ethnic origin; physical, mental, or sensory disability; marital status, sexual orientation, or status as a Vietnam-era or disabled veteran. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office.
Calendar of Events
Tuesday 3 Independence Day Holiday. Plant Clinic (only) closed
Wednesday 4 Independence Day Holiday. Extension office closed
Monday 9 MG Foundation Meeting, 10 am, Extension Conference Room
