August
Volume 28, Issue 8 – August 2018
BCMG has a brand new Volunteer Project: The San Antonio Botanical Garden Culinary Docent (VMS Project Code 800). The project was approved by David Rodriguez and the BCMG Board, so we will now be volunteering in the Culinary Garden, 7 days a week from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Don’t miss the Culinary Garden Docent Training which will be held at the Garden on Tuesday, August 21st, and Thursday, August 23rd from 9am to Noon, each day. You can register online; MGs will be awarded 6 CEUs.
Share your passion for growing with the community in the new Culinary Garden at SABOT. This is an exciting new opportunity to teach how ‘Good Food Grows’ to visitors through personal interaction and hands-on activities. This two-part training will focus on both the horticultural and educational aspects of the Culinary Garden, preparing docents to answer questions about the plants and provide appropriate activities. Volunteers will have another opportunity for a Saturday training, and it is mandatory that you attend the full 8 hours to participate as a docent.
We have many educational trainings with CEUs included. Some are highlighted in this Scion! And always, check the Leaflet and the BCMG Calendar on our Website.
Very excited about the Backyard Basics Expo event on August 3rd from 8:30am-12:30pm. Backyard Chickens, Make your own Jerky, Pollinator Gardening and Native Bee Keeping, Water Gardening, Fruit Trees, Composting, Salsa Gardening and All about Homemade Salsa are some of the topics included. Tons of door prizes and you can leave with plants and much more.
On August 16, from 1pm to 3pm, we will be hearing from James Gray about the Phil Hardberger Park Land Bridge which is planned to join two separate parcels of park land currently divided by the Wurzbach Parkway preventing access between the two sites. The Land Bridge will allow the park to move up and over Wurzbach Parkway, broad enough for the park experience to feel continuous. Its width is calculated to serve both as a vegetated corridor for wildlife and a unique and educational experience for pedestrians.
And, whenever you attend a class or volunteer your time, remember to login to VMS and record your Volunteer & Continuing Education Hours! Don’t wait until December!
Thanks for Your Support,
Grace Emery
President, Bexar County Master Gardeners
SAVE THE DATE: ? BCMG ? Christmas ? Party ? will be held at the San Antonio Garden Center, Tuesday, December 11th from 1pm to 3pm!
HOT News! David Rodriguez will give away a 55-gallon Rain Barrel as a door prize at the first Home Gardening Series session, Rainwater Harvesting & Drip Irrigation (Surviving the Drought), on Wed, Aug 8th, 6:30—8:30pm at 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, 78230. You might be the lucky attendee to take it home!
Thursday, August 16, 2018 from 1 – 3 pm
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office, 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, 78230
Free and Open to the Public
Wurzbach Parkway currently divides Phil Hardberger Park into two separate parcels of land, preventing access between the two sites. The Land Bridge will allow the park to move up and over Wurzbach Parkway, broad enough for the park experience to feel continuous. Its width is calculated to serve both as a vegetated corridor for wildlife and a unique and educational experience for pedestrians.
Bexar County Master Gardener (BCMG) Seminars/Meetings are held on the afternoon 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.
Hello Fellow Master Gardeners!
I hope you are all doing well and staying out of this heat! This month, I would like to highlight our upcoming educational seminar, CULTIVATE!, which is set for 8:00am-2:00pm on Saturday, September 8, 2018.
This seminar will once again be held at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), in the International Conference Center. September’s event will have nine different workshops taught by seven Master Gardeners, Natalie Cervantes, and our very own, David Rodriguez. We will also have an Expo Hall with numerous gardening groups to offer their individual contributions of education. The full workshop schedule is on our website and registration is open online as well. Please help us get the word out to your neighbors and local communities so we can make this another successful event. One SAWS Reward Point can be earned for each workshop attended, including the “Ask the Expert” session which is free to all attendees and volunteers from 1:00-2:00pm.
The idea for CULTIVATE! started as a way for us to try to provide better outreach and more horticultural topics to our community. SAWS accepted the idea as a special project and helped with funding. The original idea to host this seminar came about as we were answering gardening questions at the SA Spring H&G show a few years ago. We always have so many people who want to know the correct way to garden and to learn about different aspects of horticulture. I realized that these same people would more than likely appreciate having one stand-alone event to attend and learn about several different educational topics.
It took a lot of searching to find a venue with enough classroom space, a large enough Expo space, and parking at a price that would fit our budget. The original event, last September, was in a church because there were many classrooms, a large room for the Expo, and enough parking to accommodate a fair amount of people. The attendees could not say enough about the workshops they attended and asked us when the next CULTIVATE! seminar was scheduled before the event was even over. We thought we would grow out of this church after a year or two, but all of our workshops were filled to capacity that very first event. What a great problem to have! The search began again for a larger facility to meet our needs. After researching multiple options, one of our Master Gardeners guided us to our current location, UIW. This venue has so much to offer and room for us to expand and the University has been outstanding in providing us support.
If you would like to volunteer for this event, CULTIVATE! is on VMS already. Please sign up, if you are interested, and we will fit people into positions as the event draws closer. We always hold a preparation meeting in advance so everyone is clear on his or her duties. Even if you can’t volunteer, you can still help by making sure the word gets out about this educational seminar. I am happy to send out our flyer for you all to post or hand out.
I hope you found the background for CULTIVATE! interesting, and I look forward to continuing to build on this BCMG signature event.
Conservationally yours,
Anna Vogler
Water Conservation Coordinator
PHP CVGP
Phil Hardberger Park (PHP) Children’s Vegetable Garden
[envira-gallery id=”8348″]JMG Scion Page August 2018
Plan to attend the SABOT Children’s Vegetable Garden Program Orientation on Saturday, August 25th 10:30am to Noon at the San Antonio Botanical Garden (Classroom A & B near the Culinary Garden).
If you haven’t already done so, still time to register for the 2018 Backyard Basics Expo!
Earth-Kind Home Gardening Series will be held at 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208 78230, on Wednesdays (dates & topics below), 6:30—8:30pm. First class is next Wednesday, August 8th. Learn how to make your landscape look better and save water, all while having fun! Presented by David Rodriguez, County Extension Agent—Horticulture and BCMG Specialists.
Aug 8: Rainwater Harvesting & Drip Irrigation (Surviving the Drought) Don’t Miss This One! David Rodriguez will give away a 55-gallon Rain Barrel as a door prize at this session! You might be the lucky attendee to take it home!
Aug 22: Fall Vegetable Gardening (Focus on Warm Weather Vegetables)
Sep 12: Home Fruit and Citrus
Sep 26: Lawn Care Basics
Oct 10: Fall Vegetable Gardening (Focus on Cool Weather Vegetables)
Oct 24: Composting & It’s Benefits
Cost is $30 for the series, or $10 per session. Register online. For more information, email Denise Perez or call: (210) 631-0400.
JUST ANNOUNCED! Master Gardener Specialist – Greenhouse Management class will be hosted by Tarrant County MGs in Fort Worth from October 18th to 20th. You can find the details, application and class agenda online. If you are interested in attending any Texas MG Specialist courses, please email David Rodriguez, Extension Agent-Horticulture, Bexar County. BCMG CEU Code: 001.
OVER THE BACK FENCE! If you are interested in sharing your Creative & Clever Gardening “Hacks,” please submit them to [email protected] for a possible new feature in the Scion. Kathy Breniman authored the article on the PHP Children’s Vegetable Garden for the August Scion, and included a note about her “Squirrel Defense” photo (see below) along with the suggestion of having MGs (and any other gardeners who receive the Scion Newsletter) submit their clever gardening solutions for common gardening problems. Hope you have some great “Hacks” to share!
Squirrel Defense at PHP Children’s Vegetable Garden: We had a terrible problem with ground squirrels eating our cole crops. This had been going on since the start of the program and made us all so sad to lose so many plants. But, gardeners are both thrifty and inventive. These Dollar Store wire baskets anchored with irrigation staples have foiled the squirrels.
