ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER:
To ALL WHO HAVE WORKED at CVG @ PHP and To THREE NEW JMGs
The Children’s Vegetable Garden (CVG) at Phil Hardberger Park (PHP) began in Fall 2016, with both fall and spring gardens following the template of the Children’s Vegetable Garden at the SABOT. The garden serves a homeschool population and has grown each year. This season, 36 gardeners have planted seasonal vegetables, as well as have had a garden lesson to earn Golden Ray Series certification. CVG @ PHP is now in its Seventh Season.
Currently, there are three gardeners who have been with the CVG @ PHP since the beginning. This past year they met all the requirements to earn Junior Master Gardener (JMG) Certification. This encompasses completion of over 100 classroom assignments with projects. The new Junior Master Gardeners are Hannah Smith, Arwen Caedmon, and Joshua Brucks. They were presented their certificates yesterday (Tue, 24 Sep) by Mayor Phil Hardberger.
EXCITING NEWS!! Culinary Docents will be helping with vegetable prep in the Chef culinary kitchen. Call Nadezhda Garza to get your name on the list: 210-536-1460!
SAVE THE DATE:
BCMG Holiday & Member Recognition Party will be at the San Antonio Garden Center on Thu, Dec 5 from 11am – 1pm.
JOIN OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
Still Looking for a Leaflet “Partner” (We had a great volunteer in July, but family concerns require their time. And, we have one, new potential volunteer, but would love to find another!)
This might be a perfect fit! Indoor job, your timetable, but need basic computer skills and good internet service. Facilitate communications within our organization and bring fresh ideas to the Leaflet!
Help organize and co-edit Weekly Leaflet & manage MailChimp (our email service). Happy to provide One-on-One training and mentoring.
If you would like more information, or to volunteer, email VP Lynn Cox or Manager/Editor Ann Marie Pease.
Sandy Oaks Olive Orchard Field Trip
Bexar County Master Gardeners, come on our Field Trip Thu, Oct 10, beginning at 11am with lunch and a program at the Sandy Oaks Olive Orchard, 25195 Mathis Rd., Elmendorf, TX 78112. 1 CEU, Code 001
BCMG Members may bring one guest. Enjoy Roasted Chicken Served with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Vegetable for $18 per person (includes tax & gratuity).
Seating is limited, so register early!
Registrations made by BCMG Member only. Register Online (with payment) or pay at the BCMG Office (Tues. & Thurs., 10 am – 2 pm) not later than Mon, Oct 7th.
Call for Candidates
2020 BCMG Board of Directors
We are looking for Bexar County Master Gardeners who would like to serve on our Board of Directors.
Serving on the BCMG Board of Directors will enable you to help our association move forward and follow our mission to support Texas A&M AgriLife Service by educating the community on environmentally responsible gardening and landscaping. The BOD meets once a month, before or after the General Meeting.
Elected Members of the BCMG Board of Directors include:
- President
- Vice-President
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Membership Director
- Two (2) Members-at-Large
Information on the duties of each of the officers can be found on our website.
The slate of candidates for nomination will be presented at our BCMG General Meeting in October.
If you are interested in working with a great group by serving on the 2020 BCMG Board of Directors or have questions, contact Nomination Committee Chair Barbara Lutz.
BCMG is a member of the unofficial Mariposa Coalition and MGs have been offered discounted tickets to two events during the 2019 Monarch Butterfly & Pollinator Festival (Oct 12-20). Check out details of the events below, use the special code “Mariposa,” and get $5 off your ticket! Check out the full schedule for the weeklong festival!
Butterflies Without Borders: Migration and Immigration in a Changing Climate. Fri, Oct 18, Pearl Stable, 5:30-8pm. A panel discussion on the state of the monarch butterfly migration and bat conservation to border issues, migration, immigration, and climate change. Panel includes: monarch butterfly expert Dr. Dara Satterfield; NPR border correspondent John Burnett, and the Bat Man of Mexico, Dr. Rodrigo Medellín. Tickets are $15 and available here, but use the code “Mariposa” and get them for $10.
Holy Agave Spirits! It’s the Bat Man of Mexico! Sat, Oct 19, Confluence Park, 6- 8:30pm. San Antonio will have the chance to meet Dr. Rodrigo Medellín, the Bat Man of Mexico, and the subject of a 2015 BBC documentary narrated by David Attenborough. The renown conservationist will explain the connections between agave, the food we eat, the mezcal and tequila we drink, and the bats that make it all possible. Agave-inspired food and beverages provided by Elizabeth Johnson of Pharm Table and Houston Eaves of the Esquire Tavern. Tickets $15 and, but use the code “Mariposa” and get them for $10.
For Your October Calendar!
BCMG Educational Seminar
Thursday, October 17th from 1-3pm
Come and Hear Charles Porter, PhD (author, water rights expert and Visiting Professor at St Edwards University in Austin) speak with us on Texas Water Policy: History, Development & Future Challenges.
Details on our website.
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.
BCMG BOARD MEETING will take place 3 -5 pm on Thu, Oct 17, at 3355 Cherry Ridge 78230. If you are interested in placing items on the agenda, email President Grace Emery not later than Fri, Oct 11. All members are welcome to observe the meetings; however, in order to accommodate seating, email President Grace Emery that you will be attending.
The Henderson County Master Gardeners are hosting TOMATO TOWN in Athens, TX on Sat, Oct 26, 2019. It will be a fun-filled and educational event with four great speakers and will be held at the Athens Country Club. Participants will receive 4 CEUs (Code 001) for attending. Registration online.
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 Have Completed SABOT Culinary Docent Training!
September & October shifts are 9am to Noon on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
VMS has all dates/times for sign-ups! VMS Code 0100.
The BCMG “Ask a Master Gardener” service has two vacancies to fill: Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 8am. to Noon. Check our website page for more information on this service. And, email Denise Perez or Nicolas Vazquez to volunteer!
Volunteers for Youth Gardening Program
- Are you looking to get more involved in educating youth about gardening? Do you have some interesting ideas on how to spread the joys of gardening? Let’s start a Youth Gardens Task Force! Email Ruby Zavala if you have any questions, and to volunteer! The Task Force will help to create and sustain youth garden programming, help secure sponsors, and brainstorm how to make our youth gardens program more successful. Your leadership skills and inputs are extremely important!
- Haven for Hope has invited Bexar County Master Gardeners to pot-a-plant with approximately 100-150 youth on Tue, Oct 1, from 5:30-8pm at 1 Haven for Hope Way, 78207. Email Ruby Zavalawith your questions. Sign up on VMS (Code 1200).
Get Ready….The Monarchs Are Coming!
BCMG will be participating in the Monarch Festival at the Pearl on Sun, Oct 20 from 9am to 2pm. We will have a plant sale with pollinators and host plants, and our children’s activities as well. Need 4 MGs for Children’s Activities and 4 MGs for our Plant Sale. Be sure to dress with your best butterfly outfits. Sign up on VMS Now!
The Hardberger Park Children’s Vegetable Garden serves homeschooled children ages 7-14. Volunteers are needed to educate children and parents on good garden practices and to assist with program set-up and garden maintenance. Fall Session runs Tuesdays, Now thru Dec 10, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Please email Kathy Breniman if you are interested in volunteering on Tuesdays, or if you would like to join the watering team.
Or, volunteer on Saturdays at the Children’s Vegetable Garden Program (CVGP) at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. or helping the Fall watering team on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Sunday. If either works for you, email David Rodriguez.
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:
Fall Gardening To-Do’s with David Rodriguez is set for 10:45am to Noon on Sat, Sep 28 at The Garden Center, 10682 Bandera Road,, 78250. CEU Code 001; 1 CEU
Bennett Trust Women’s Conference will take place Mon-Tue, Sep 30-Oct 1 at the Inn on Baron’s Creek in Fredericksburg, 78624. Registration online. 1 CEU per instructional hour; Code 001.
Butterfly Identification Walking Workshop with MG Jessica Leslie will be held at the SABot, 555 Funston Pl, 78209 on Tue, Oct 1 from 9:15-11am. CEU Code 001; 1.5 CEU
Dos & Don’ts for Your Lawn with David Rodriguez is set for Tue, Oct 1 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Northeast Community Learning Center, 8750 Tesoro Dr., 78217 . EU Code 001; 2 CEUs
Drip Irrigation with MG John Vann is scheduled for Thu, Oct 3, from 6:30-9pm at the Men’s Garden Club Meeting (open to the public) held at the Oblate Mission & Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, 5712 Blanco Rd., 78216.
Scale Insects on Ornamental Plants will be the topic for the Fri, Oct 4, All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar from 1-2pm. 1 CEU per webinar; Code 001.
Fall Vegetable Seminar (and Sale: 20% off everything)with David Rodriguez is set for 10:30-Noon on Sat, Oct 5 at Fanick’s Garden Center, 1025 Holmgreen Road, 78220. CEU Code 001; 1.5 CEUs
OCTOBER BCMG Monthly Meeting & Educational Seminar: Learn more all about the Texas Water Policy: History, Development, & Future Challenges with Charles Porter, PhD on Thu, Oct 17, 1-3pm at 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, 78230. 1 CEU per hr presentation; Code 002
Earn one CEU of the minimum six CEUs required for Master Gardener re-certification by listening to at least one archived WOAI 1200 AM Lawn & Garden Show podcast. Or, earn one CEU (of minimum six required CEUs) by listening to a LIVE broadcast of the WOAI 1200 AM Lawn and Garden from 7-10am on a Saturday morning. You can only record one CEU per year using the radio broadcast option! VMS CEU Code 001
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.
Rainwater Harvesting– Sep 26-28 hosted by Tarrant County, Fort Worth
Greenhouse Management – Oct 17-19, hosted by Tarrant County, Fort Worth
Get Out Your 2020 Calendar: The Texas Master Gardener Assn Conference will be hosted by the McLennan County Master Gardener Association May 12-14, 2020 at the Waco Convention Center. Conference hotels are already filling up! Check out the planned Speakers, Tours, Workshops & Breakout Sessions by viewing the slide presentation from the August TMGA Director’s Meeting.
Great Gardening Events on the BCMG Calendar. Bookmark the Calendar and visit it frequently! Here is a sampling of what is coming up:
- Sep 26 – Ethnobotany of the Plants on the Hill Country Trail
- Sep 26 – Grow Your Own Cut Flowers
- Sep 26 – Whimsical Fairy Gardening, Beginner
- Sep 27 thru 29 – 33rd Annual San Antonio Fall Home & Garden Show
- Sep 28- Fall “Bexar Roots” Native Plant Sale
- Sep 28 – Native Milkweed Propagation
- Oct 1 – Fall Floral Design School
- Oct 1 – Big-Tooth Maples in Central Texas
- Oct 3 thru 5 – Native Plant Society of Texas 2019 Fall Symposium
- Oct 5 – Watersaver Landscape Design School
Upcoming Agricultural & Natural Resources Educational Programs
- FALL WEED & BRUSH WORKSHOP – Sep 26 (Thu)
- EQUINE MANAGEMENT 101 – Oct 4 (Fri)
- 2019 ATASCOSA COUNTY FALL RANCH TOUR & RANGE CLINIC – Oct 7 (Mon)
- BEEF CATTLE HUSBANDRY AND BQA EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM – Oct 11-12 (Fri/ Sat)
Email Patricia Valdillez or call: (210) 631-0400 if yo have questions.
SUBSCRIBE NOW TO THE AG NEWS & VIEWS BLOG! To receive timely, up-to-date information, subscribe to the Ag New & Views Blog.
Trash the Grass: SAWS WaterSaver Landscape and WaterSaver Patioscape coupons will help you replace the grass with drought-hardy flowering and evergreen plants or pavers for a patio, or both! The application deadline is Oct. 15. Customers with automatic irrigation systems must call 210704-SAVE (7283) or email SAWS for a free irrigation consultationbefore receiving their coupons.
David Rogers’ Big Bugs, larger-than-life sculptures, at the San Antonio Botanical Garden NOW thru December 8th.
SABot Scarecrow Trail Exhibit: Sep 28 thru Nov 10 from 9am to 5pm.
Early Bird Tickets Now On Sale for Moonlight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Sat, Oct 26, 6-10pm at SABOT.
