ANNOUNCEMENTS
Upcoming BCMG Election. The slate of 2020 officers will be presented by the Nominations Committee at the October meeting (tomorrow, Oct 17) with nominations from the floor being accepted. Voting will take place at the November meeting.
CULINARY DOCENTS: As the weather cools down, attendance numbers are increasing at the Culinary Garden, so please sign up for a shift. And, two shifts have been added for BOOtanica on Sat, Oct 26. VMS has all dates/times!
Bags, Bags, Bags! Needed for Monarch Festival Plant Sale this Sunday and not to soon to collect for Rodeo Plant Sale! Bring your bags to our Seminar/Meeting tomorrow or drop off at the office.
BCMG Educational Seminar
TOMORROW: 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.
AgriLife’s Annual Insect Eating Event is THIS SATURDAY, with San Antonio Botanical Garden’s chefs!as partners again. Register Online! Plenty of youth friendly activities in the garden even if you choose not to participate in the tasting!
BUGTOBERFEST
Keynote Presentation and Four-course Insect Tasting
Sat, Oct 19 from 10am – 12:30pm @ SABot
$25 per person ($22.50 member) for keynote and tastings; $35 ($31.50 members) for keynote and tastings with drink pairing (21+ years of age with valid ID). Register online.
Families can sink their teeth into four chef-demonstrated recipes featuring creepy crawlers. Local chefs will enlighten visitors about the sustainability and high protein power of insects. Menu forthcoming, but trust it will be memorable and healthy.
Ticketed program features Jonathan Cammack, chief operating officer at EVO Conversion Systems and a Professor of Entomology at Texas A&M University, who will speak on the modern entomophagy movement or the use of insects as food and feed starting at 10am with tastings at 11am. All ages welcome.
This San Antonio Botanical Garden and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service event is part of the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival and is sponsored by San Antonio Water System.
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!
As the weather cools down, attendance numbers are increasing at the Culinary Garden, so please sign up for a shift. October shifts are 9am to Noon on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. And, two shifts have been added for BOOtanica on Sat, Oct 26.
VMS has all dates/times for sign-ups! VMS Code 0100.
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!
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
- Feedback on the New Youth Gardens Task Force has been great! The first meeting is set for TODAY, Oct 9, 10-11am at the Extension office, 3355 Cherry Ridge Dr., 78230. If you have some insights and good ideas on how we can educate and support our Bexar County youth gardens, please be sure to join us! We want to hear your ideas! Email Ruby Zavala if you have any questions.
- Need volunteers to cut out 300 butterflies for the Monarch Festival Youth Activity using the die-cut machine & other Youth Activity Prep at the AgirLife office (sitting down in AC) Today, Oct 16 from 9am-Noon at the AgirLife office (sitting down in AC). Email Ruby Zavalawith any questions. Sign up on VMS (Code 1200).
- Still need more volunteers to help facilitate youth activities (Rotting Log, Cricket Races, Maggot Art, Cochineal Art Station, and lots more) at BUGTOBERFEST on Sat, Oct 19 from 10am to 2pm at SABot, 555 Funston Rd, 78209. Sign up on VMS (Code 1200).
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!
HELP MOLLY KECK WITH SPANISH-SPEAKING GROUPS
Make presentations on pest management for a Spanish-Speaking group called AVANCE. These are at-risk families taking a family education program, and we provide a presentation on pantry pests to help them reduce wasted food due to insect infestations and ultimately save money. Powerpoint in Spanish, props, and notes are provided.
- Mon, Nov 4, 11:15am-1:30pm: Two locations, about 10 minutes from one another. 11:15am-12:15pm at 1103 S San Jacinto St, 78207 and 12:30-1:30pm @ 934 Flanders Ave, 78211.
- Wed, Nov 6, 12:30-1:30pm @ 934 Flanders Ave, 78211
If interested, please email Molly Keck.
Kids, Kows and More Agriculture Expo: Help with youth activity booths focused on gardening, agriculture, natural resources and livestock Wed & Thu, Nov 20 & 21, 8:30am to Noon. Breakfast/Lunch provided. Location for this Agriculture Literacy program : 3201 E Houston St, 78219 (in the new cattle barns). Email your questions to Natalie Cervantes. Sign up on VMS (Code 1200).
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:
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
Native Plants and Pollinators presented by Donald W. Tuff, PhD, Comal County Master Gardener on Mon, Oct 21, Noon to 1pm as GVST Gardening Essentials Session 1 held at San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N New Braunfels Ave, 78209.
Japanese Landscaping: Watersaving Lessons from Kumamoto En will be presented by MG Stephanie Jones on Thu, Oct 31 from 10-11:30am at SABot, 555 Funston Pl, 78209. CEU Code 001; 1.5 CEUs
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
Watch for 2020 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.
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.
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 (Now thru Oct 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! NOTE: BCMG will be participating on Sunday, Oct
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.
It’s That Time Again…the BCMG Poinsettia Sale!
PLEASE pass along the 2019 Flyer to all your friends and organizations in which you are a member!
Floral Quality Poinsettias, locally grown by one of the largest growers in the area!
Place your orders by Dec 2, 2019 and pick up your order on Dec 6, 2019 from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm.
SAVE THE DATE:
BCMG Holiday & Member Recognition Party will be at the San Antonio Garden Center on Thu, Dec 5 from 11am – 1pm.
- 6 1/2- inch pots in a variety of colors: Red, White, Variegated, Red Glitter
- 4-inch pots in Red.
- Green foil pot wrapper and tax included for all orders!
Order plants online at : https://www.bexarmg.org/ or print the mail-in form.
Great Gardening Events on the BCMG Calendar. Bookmark the Calendar and visit it frequently! Here is a sampling of what is coming up:
- Oct 16 – Entomophagy: Historical and Contemporary View of Insects as Food
- Oct 16 – Lunch & Learn: Planting Bulbs-Guadalupe County MG
- Oct 17 – WaterSaver Walk
- Oct 17 – Creating a Hummingbird Hot Spot-Guadalupe County MG Meeting
- Oct 18 – Native Plant Walking Workshop-3rd Fridays of the month
- Oct 18 – Lunch N’ Learn: Latest Research on Monarch Butterfly Health, Milkweeds, & OE
- Oct 19 – Entomophagy: Historical & Contemporary View of Insects as Food
- Oct 19 – Rain to Drain Experience-SAWS
- Oct 19 – Explore the Canyon
- Oct 19 – Texas Bird Walking Workshop
- Oct 20 – Texas Native Plant Week (Oct 20-26)
- Oct 22 – How San Antonio’s Development Code Affects Native Plants in Landscapes
- Oct 23 – Texas Native Trails Working Workshop
Heavenly Herbs! Visit the 28th Annual Herb Market this Sat, Oct 19 from 9am to 2pmat Pearl Farmers Market. The herb of the year is Agastache Foeniculum (AKA-Giant Blue Hyssop).
Mon, Oct 21, 12-3pm, GVST Gardening Essentials Session 2: “Planting for Independence with Edible Native Plants” will be presented by Rachel Cywinski of NpSot at SA Garden Centr, 3310 N. New Braunfels, 78209.
BCMG IS PARTICIPATING! COME & ENJOY!
SABot Scarecrow Trail Exhibit: Now thru Nov 10 from 9am to 5pm. Scattered throughout the Botanical Garden, visitors will be treated to Scarecrows created by community organizations and partners. Be sure to look for the BCMG Scarecrow (pictured below with Ruby Zavala & Barbara Lutz).
SABot BUGTOBERFEST Insect Activities: Sat, Oct 19 from 10am to 2pm (Included with general admission. Join the San Antonio Botanical Garden and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service for an expedition into entomophagy, the eating of insects as food. Enjoy small bite insect-based food samples and family activities such as cricket races, maggot art, and more.
David Rogers’ Big Bugs, larger-than-life sculptures, at the San Antonio Botanical Garden NOW thru December 8th.
Ticket on Sale for Moonlight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Sat, Oct 26, 6-10pm (Details Here) and Wine Down at the Garden, Sat, Nov. 16, 2019 | 6 – 10 p.m. (Details Here). Both events at SABot, 555 Funston, 78209.
SAVE THE DATE:
BCMG Holiday & Member Recognition Party will be at the San Antonio Garden Center on Thu, Dec 5 from 11am – 1pm.
