ANNOUNCEMENTS
WE NEED A SPECIAL VOLUNTEER!
Position: BCMG Website Content Manager (member of the CommTeam)
Duties: Keep the content on the website up to date. A full job description can be found in the website’s File Cabinet under the Members tab or click here.
Skills Needed: Detail oriented. Comfortable working with computers.WordPress experience helpful, but training available.
Great way to get your hours while working at home! For more information, or to volunteer, email VP Lynn Cox .
BCMG BOARD MEETING will take place 3 – 5pm on Thu, Jun 20 at 3355 Cherry Ridge 78230. If you are interested in placing items on the agenda, email President Grace Emery by Thu, Jun 9. And, all members are welcome to observe the meetings; however, in order to accommodate seating, please email President Grace Emery that you will be attending.
Bexar County Master Gardeners will once again be participating in the Texas Folklife Festival (7-9 June). BCMGs will set up on Thu, Jun 6 and have a gardening information table, a Texas Superstar Plant display (not sale) and a children’s pot-a-plant activity located in a nice shady spot on Fri, Sat, & Sun. BCMG Volunteers will receive a wrist band for free admission to all 3 days of the Folklife Festival. VMS has seven shifts for this volunteer event!
Texas Folklife Festival includes more than 40 cultural organizations from across the state who share their traditions through 6 stages of music and dance, 100 food items and hands-on experiences. There are also artisans who maintain the skills Texas pioneers used to build the Lone Star State. You can sit and work with
basket weavers, leather workers, wood carvers, potters and dozens more.
Top Tomato Contest
Saturday June 15, 2019
Fanick’s Garden Center, 1025 Holmgreen Rd 78220
Contest Entry: 9 – 11 am
Judging: 11 am – 12 pm
Winners Announced After Judging
Contest Details on the BCMG Website!
First 100 participants receive a free, 4-lb bag of Espoma’s Organic Tomato Tone!
FOR ALL OUR GARDENING FRIENDS!
If you have thought about becoming a Master Gardener, apply now for Master Gardener Intern Training Class 63.
- Class 63 starts August 21, 2019; classes meet every Wednesday from Noon – 4 pm for 13 weeks
- Cost: $260 payable in full on the 1st day of class
- Application available online (BCMG website)
- Application deadline: June 17, 2019
- Approved applications must attend a group interview in July
- For more information, visit Bexar County Master Gardeners website or Bexar County AgriLife website.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR for the June BCMG Meeting
Thursday, June 20th from 1-3pm
Mary Irish, Garden Writer-Lecturer-Educator, will present, Plants for Our Changing Climate and The Art of Writing About Them. Details on our website.
Mary Irish is a garden writer, horticultural consultant, lecturer and educator who was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She has worked for over 25 years in the field of horticultural and horticultural communications, specializing in gardens and plants for the greater Southwest.
Bexar County Master Gardener (BCMG) Educational Seminars/General Meetings are held in the afternoons (seminars) and evenings (General Meetings) of the third Thursday every other month at 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, 78230. For more information contact the BCMG President. 1 CEU; BCMG Code 002.
Junior Beekeeping Camp
If you know any kids, ages 10 and up, who would love to put on a bee suit and learn about bees in a real bee yard, let them know about the two-day (June 27-28, 9am-1pm) Junior Beekeeping Camp at the Clearwater Ranch Apiary (24510 Clearwater Run, Leon Springs area). Kids get to open up real honey bee hives, see the queen, learn about the hive and extract honey to take home. Suits and gloves in smaller sizes for the kids and all the other equipment are available. Flyer Here.
Because the campers will be inside an actual bee hive, they should be mature, well behaved, good listeners. This camp is not recommended for campers who have issues with claustrophobia or sensory issues (the bee suit can feel constricting and the hum of the bees is loud), a fear of bees, or an allergy to bees (everyone swells a little and it hurts, but true allergy reaction should preclude participation). If you think your child might panic, it’s not safe to register them for camp for their own well-being or the other campers and beekeepers.
Cost – $150, includes sandwich lunches. Register online!
JUST ANNOUNCED!
2019 Backyard Basics EXPO: “THE ART OF SELF RELIANCE,” covering a variety of topics with concurrent sessions so you can choose what you want to learn about!
The 2019 EXPO will be held Thu, Aug 1 at the San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N. New Braunfels, 78209. Registration check-in will begin at 8am and the program will begin promptly at 8:30am and conclude at 12:30pm. Fee: $20; Register Online. VMS CEU Code 001.
Topics include: Attracting Butterflies & Hummingbirds, House Plants, Backyard Chickens, The Benefit of Bees, Selecting and Growing Fall Tomatoes, Oak Wilt & Other Tree Issues, How to Deal with City Critters, Rainwater Harvesting, Making Every Drop of Water Count in your Lawn/Landscape, Benefits of Compost & Mulch, Planting Basics 101, Landscape Watering 101, Homemade Gifts from the Heart of Texas: Raspberry Chipotle Jam, and Controlling Diabetes through Healthier Food Choices.
Renowned Speakers: Horticulturist David Rodriguez, Entomologist Molly Keck, Senior Area Horticulturist Dr. Calvin Finch, Kim Rocha from San Antonio Food Policy Council, and many more!
SIGN-UP for VOLUNTEER EVENTS using the Event Calendar in the VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – VMS. Find number of volunteers still needed, who has signed up, Project Code and even request an event reminder! REMEMBER: If you volunteer for any event and have a last minute change of plans, please contact the coordinator listed on VMS to let them know!
MGs Who Completed SABOT Culinary Docent Training!
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED: 9:30am-12:30pm on Thursdays thru Sundays in June. VMS has all dates/times for sign-ups! Code 100.
Open Shifts in June: 6, 7, 8, 9 and 15, 16 and 20, 21, 22, 23 and 27, 28, 29, 30
Volunteers Needed for JUNE 15TH TOP TOMATO CONTEST! Help with this fun, first annual BCMG Top Tomato Contest! Tasks include tomato entry check-in, hosting the tomato prep station, setting up tomato entries, as well as general set-up and take-down duties. Arrive at Fanick’s Garden Center, 1025 Holmgreen Rd .78220, no later than 8 am. Water will be provided; bring a snack or lunch if you like. Sign up on VMS; CODE 0100.
STILL NEED Brown Bag Lunch & Learn (VMS Code 100) Support: Come and help set up, hand out information, and clean up; arrive 30 minutes prior to each session. Need one helper in November. Contact President Grace Emery if you have any questions.
See all the Details for Classes in the Bexar County area on the MG Calendar! Classes listed below may be of special interest to you:
THIS EVENING: Earth-Kind Home Gardening Series – Rainwater Harvesting & Drip Irrigation on Wed, Jun 5 from 6:30-8:30pm. Register Online. 2 CEUs; Code 001. Come learn and enjoy how to maximize your garden and landscape with Lou Kellog & Anna Vogler at 3355 Cherry Ridge Suite. 212, 78230.
2019 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Batty for Bats. Fri, Jun 7 , 1-2pm; 1 CEU, Code 001. Details on link & login at the BCMG website.
THIS SATURDAY: Growing Citrus on Your Patio & in Your Backyard with David Rodriguez on Sat, Jun 8, 10:30am-Noon at Milberger’s Landscape & Nursery, 3920 N.Loop 1604, 78247. 1.5 CEUs: Code 001
Keep Your Lawn & Landscape Alive thru the Summer Heat: with David Rodriguez on Tue, Jun 11, 6:30-8:30pm at Northeast Community Learning Center, 8750 Tesoro Dr, 78217. 2 CEUs: Code 001
BROWN BAG – LUNCH & LEARN FOR JUNE: Harvesting & Storing Your Spring Vegetables presented by MG Brenda Burell.Join the lunch group on Fri, Jun 14 at Noon in the County Extension Office, Suite 208. 1 CEU, Code 001.
JUNE BCMG Monthly Meeting & Presentation: Learn about Plants for Our Changing Climate and The Art of Writing About Them with our guest speaker, Mary Irish, Garden Writer-Lecturer-Educator on Thu, Jun 20, 1-3pm at 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, 78230. 1 CEU; Code 002.
And remember, you can find all the TEXAS MASTER GARDENER
ADVANCED COURSES offered at the TMGA website. If you are interested in attending any courses, please email David Rodriguez, Extension Agent-Horticulture, Bexar County. BCMG CEU Code: 001.
Vegetables – Aug 13-15, 2019, hosted by Bexar County, San Antonio
Save the Date: JMG® – Sep 24-26, hosted by Denton County, Corinth
Greenhouse Management – Oct 17-19, hosted by Tarrant County, Fort Worth
HOLD THE DATES: May 12-14, 2020
It’s time to look towards the Texas Master Gardener Annual Conference 2020! Hotels will begin accepting lodging reservations mid-May. Stay tuned!
Great Gardening Events on the BCMG March Calendar. Bookmark the Calendar and visit it frequently! Here is a sampling of what is coming up:
- Jun 7-9 – 15th Annual Blanco Lavender Festival
- Jun 8 – Agaves, Yuccas and Their Kin
- Jun 8 – Texas to Table
- Jun 11 – Saving Texas Native Bees
All Military Veterans are invited to attend a Free Day-Long Seminar: Farm Produce Safety for Military Veteranswill be held from 0900 to 1500 hours on Thursday, 13 Jun in Nixon TX (1 hour from San Antonio). Details on this flyer!
