Volume 28, Issue 7 – July 2018
It has been 6 months since I took the office as President of the Bexar County Master Gardeners. I am truly impressed with the ladies and gentlemen who have volunteered to help with special projects and long-term positions. Y’all stepped up and I am very thankful!
May and June are now a blur to me: so many events and work to do from Earth Day Activities, Basil Fest, Festival of Flowers, work parties at the Children’s Vegetable Garden and Schultze House, Junior Master Gardener harvesting and lots more. Maybe I will have time for my own garden: Hoorah for Drip Irrigation! Thank goodness we will be transitioning to Fall planting.
Many members came to the June meeting’s presentation by Chip Thompson on Community Supported Agriculture. (Chip is not your average Farmer image by the way!). Happy Earth Garden uses organic and sustainable farming practices, encouraging and supporting a small farm ecosystem of diverse plants, birds and pollinators. Chip explained the concept of Communities Supporting Agriculture (CSA) and helped us discover if a membership would be right for us! Some of our members volunteered that night to help him this week on the farm.
We have many educational events upcoming this month and we need them to work towards our annual CEU requirements. Check the BCMG Calendar for education opportunities in July that might interest you!
JMG Adult Leader Summer Training will be held July 25-27. CEUs are offered for MGs who support youth gardening. And, if you have school contacts or know a teacher, please let them know about this training so they can register.
Check VMS for several children’s camps with Bibliotec and help Ruby get these staffed. It is also time to sign up for the Fall Children’s Vegetable Garden. Note: the ages have changed to 7-16 years. If you know some like-minded gardening families, or those who want to be, share the information with them.
News and MG opportunities will be emailed in the Leaflet every week….so please stay tuned.
Thanks for Your Support,
Grace Emery
President, Bexar County Master Gardeners
Well Sorta….Time to get ready for December!!
1. It is important to record your hours on a timely basis. All 2018 hours MUST be recorded by Dec 15, 2018 in preparation for a change of VMS codes in 2019. To be re-certified as a Master Gardener for 2019, you must pay your 2019 dues by the due date (to be announced later) and earn a minimum of 6 CEUs (at least 3 being from BCMG meetings) and 30 volunteer hours. If you need help with your password or recording your hours on VMS, please email Lisa Nixon. If you are having problems accessing the VMS system on your computer/device, contact our office manager, Mike Mangiapane, on Tue/Thu between 10am and 2pm at 210-631-0404 or send Mike an email.
2. SAVE THE DATE: BCMG Christmas Gathering is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11 from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N New Braunfels Ave, 78209. More to come!
Newest Texas Superstar Plant Release for 2018: Basket of Fire Pepper, combines ornamental and edible variety characteristics! Peterson Brothers Nursery has been selling these plants for the last few weeks and they should be available at your favorite Independent Nursery.
Thursday, July 19, 2018 from 6 – 8 pm
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office, 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, 78230
Free and Open to the Public
The Texas Bumble Bee presented by Dr Beckham
Guest Speaker: Jessica Beckham, Ph.D.
Texas is home to about a dozen bumble bee species, including a few whose populations are considered to be declining. This presentation will cover bumble bee natural history, identification of common Texas species, and ways that individuals can help conserve these vital pollinators.
Bexar County Master Gardener (BCMG) General Meetings/Presentations are held on the evening of the third Thursday every other month at the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Office, Suite 208. For more information contact the BCMG President; 2 CEUs and Code: 003.
Scholarship Recipients 2018-19
Hello Fellow Master Gardeners!
I hope you are all doing well and staying out of the heat. This month, I would like to highlight the unique partnership that we have with the San Antonio Water System, specifically their Conservation Department.
This department is not staffed with a lot of people, so in order to get the conservation message out to as many people in San Antonio as possible, SAWS developed a partnership with several non-profit organizations, BCMG being one of them.
SAWS leads the nation in conservation education and programs to reduce the amount of water that we use as a city. As San Antonio continues to grow in population, water conservation becomes increasingly important for all of us. Educating the community is the key to saving this valuable resource on a daily basis.
Many of the presentations and education that we regularly give as part of our community outreach are directly in line with the SAWS conservation message and they compensate us for this education. We receive varying amounts of funding for the different types of programs we provide, such as information booths, group presentations, rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation and other workshops. SAWS funds our signature event, Cultivate! as a special project, which helps us not only educate our community, but it also brings in significant revenue for our organization.
SAWS is a large source of funding for BCMG and helps us to further our community outreach. By helping SAWS with conservation, we not only help our city save this valuable natural resource, but we also help our own organization sustain its operations and educational mission. We are fortunate to have this special partnership.
Thank you to those of you who give your time to help with these water conservation events. I look forward to working with you in the coming months.
Conservationally yours,
Anna Vogler
Water Conservation Coordinator
NOTE: The Schultze House (a German home constructed in 1893) is located in HemisFair Park between the Tower of Americas and the Federal Courthouse.
ARTHUR VAZQUEZ at Tex Hill Middle School’s Vegetable Garden
EK Home Gardening 2018 Growing Edibles in Your Landscape
Texas SuperStar® Seminar @ Milberger’s (6/9/2018)
David Rodriquez engaged in his presentation.
Class in Session
SuperStar® Plant Display