Leaflet – December 4, 2019



ANNOUNCEMENTS

The 2019 BCMG Holiday & Member Recognition Party 
is TOMORROW, December 5th!

Pick up your Poinsettias on Friday, Dec 6, 2019 from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm at the AgriLife Extension Office.

Order Your NEW BCMG Merchandise thru December 15th!
Polos and Tees for Ladies & Men along with an apron bearing our new logo will look great at gardening events! For more information and to order online, click here.

BCMG is a Birdies for Charity© participating organization and will receive $10 proceeds from each Valero Texas Open ticket purchased online at ValeroTexasOpen.com/tickets.

When checking out, ticket purchasers can select BCMG  from a drop down box to be the charitable recipient. The Valero Texas Open will also match up to an additional $500 per charity and the charity that helps sell the most tickets will also be awarded a $2,500 bonus (with a minimum of 50 tickets sold)!  Tickets are presently available for purchase through our ticket vendor, Ticketmaster. Please note that the 12 Days of Giving, between December 1-12, not only provides charities an additional opportunity to raise funds, but allows ticket buyers to make the most of their holiday gift giving! Email Barbara Lutz if you have any questions!

For those of you that shop online, our Treasurer, Kathann ElAmin, has set up Bexar County Master Gardeners as a recipient of donations on Amazon Smile. If a member who has an amazon.com account logs in instead at smile.amazon.com, they will be able to select Bexar County Master Gardeners as a charity.

When users shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation contributes 0.5 percent of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice. Especially for frequent Amazon users, this additional perk is a great way to give back to charities effortlessly. You can even take advantage of Prime membership benefits, sales and more.

Once you have selected Bexar County Master Gardeners as your charity, you are ready to start shopping. However, you must be logged into smile.amazon.com—donations will not be applied to purchases made on the Amazon.com main site or mobile app.

This is a great way to get your holiday shopping done and help BCMG at the same time!

STILL NEED CEUs TO MEET THE SIX CEU ANNUAL REQUIREMENT?? Here are some approved online sources for you:

Please record any/all of these CEUs as Code 001, and include the Title for each. If you have any questions, email Lisa Nixon, Membership Coordinator.


 Jay White, owner and publisher of Texas Gardener Magazine, presented Pest Free Organically on November 21st, 2019 at our BCMG Meeting. Jay has shared the links for a Master Gardener’s Discount. Order your Texas Gardener, 1-year magazine subscription today at this specially discounted price just for Master Gardeners! For limited time only. All prices include Shipping and Taxes. 
Printed Magazine:  $18.71
Online Version:  $14.96

All MGs Who:

  • Complete (and record in VMS) their certification hours by December 15, and 
  • Pay their dues by December 31 

Will receive a new name badge FREE. A second badge may be purchased for $8.

New badges will be available for pick up at the January 16 Rodeo Kick-off meeting. Badges with the old logo are not to be worn after the January meeting. Find more information, and to pay online, visit our website‘s Annual Dues page under the Members tab.

MGs & Interns Interested in SABOT Culinary Docent Training: 
Grace Emery will be conducting training for up to 10 docents on Tuesday, December 10th from 10am-12:30pm.  Culinary Docent Training will be at the volunteer office to the right of the SABOT entry kiosk. The door is marked Private. Please wear your badge. Sign up will be available on VMS
Once trained, you will be able to volunteer at the Culinary Garden all year long!

BCMG Reporting Guidelines for Volunteer Hours (VHs) and Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Reporting our hours is important for two reasons:

  • Annual Certification – BCMGs must volunteer 30 hours (VH), receive 6 hours of continuing education (CEUs), and attend two BCMG monthly meetings.
  • Funding – Our hours of service (VHs) are reported by AgriLife Extension Service to the state and all funding organizations with accuracy very important, esp. for funding organizations.

See the details of these clarification points on reporting hours at the Members page of our BCMG Website:

  • Report hours as soon as you can
  • Travel “time” is not volunteer time
  • No double dipping
  • Use accurate hours
  • Record hours to the nearest 1/2 hour

NOTE:  Any MG who is not going to meet their required volunteer and/or CEU hours for certification, but wants to continue their active MG status for 2020, should contact David Rodriguez early. Please provide him an explanation of your situation, and a summary of the hours you have recorded in VMS for 2019.

Calling All Rodeo Construction Workers!
It’s time to get organized!  Please email Grace Emery your name, email address and cell phone number.  We plan to use emails or text messages to communicate the work agenda for each construction day.  Appreciate you volunteering now to be a member of the 2020 Rodeo Construction Team.

PLEASE NOTE:  Forklift Certification for Rodeo grounds will be held on December 5th at 6:00 pm. This is not a “teaching class.”  This is only for certification. Please email Grace Emery to register or for more information.

    Bags, Bags, Bags!  Collect for  Rodeo Plant Sale!  Drop off at the office, or bring to our monthly meetings!

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!  

Come and complete your  annual volunteer certification hours!  Schedule your shifts today!  December shifts are 10am to 1pm on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus Mon, Dec 23. VMS  has all dates/times for sign-ups! VMS Code 0100. 

Be the Master Gardener with all the Answers! Volunteer for a shift on our “Ask a Master Gardener” service:  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!  

Still Need Help with Poinsettia Plant Sales on Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at the BCMG Office.

  • 15 volunteers to help unload poinsettias from 8:30-11am.
  • 10 volunteers to help during pickup from 11:00 am-2:30 pm.
  • 8 volunteers to help during pickup from 2:30-6pm. 

Volunteers can work one or all 3 shifts if you prefer. This is a great way to earn volunteers hours if needed for 2019!  Sign up on VMS. Code 700. 
 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Vicki Jamvold or call 210-461-2849.

Children’s Vegetable Garden Work Party
Join Fellow MGs for the Children’s Vegetable Garden Work Party at SABOT! Saturdays December 7 & December 14 at 8:00am to 11:00am. Check in with Mary Fernandez upon arrival. Come and help with miscellaneous chores to put the garden to sleep!  Please bring gloves and drinking water; wear long sleeve shirts and appropriate shoes. 

Great opportunity if you still need volunteer hours! Log in at VMS and select Code 1200. 
See you at the Children’s Vegetable Garden Program, (555 Funston Pl). Park at the backside of the Botanical Garden adjacent to Fort Sam. Please see map for location & parking information. 

For Your 2020 Calendar!  Bexar County Master Gardener (BCMG) holds educational seminars/general meetings on the third Thursday each month. The meetings alternate between afternoon (1-3pm) and evenings (6-8pm) at 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, 78230.  For more information contact the BCMG President. 1 CEU; BCMG Code 002.

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:


2019 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Reintroduction of the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker on Friday, December 6, 1pm. Details on the link & login here. For info about the whole series, click here. 1 CEU, Code 001.

Brown Bag Lunch & Learn: Holiday Plant Gift Ideas on Friday, December 13, 2019 from 12pm-1pm at the County Extension Office. 1 CEU. Code 001.

Essentials of Gardening on Monday 16 December, 2019 from 12pm-3pm at the Garden Center, 3310 N. New Braunfels at Funston. See Flyer here.  1 CEU per session. Code 001. Free and open to the public. $5.00 Donation Requested. Light Potluck provided and items always welcomed. Plant Sale And Swap. Door Prizes. 

  • 1st Presentation 12:15pm-1:15pm. Claudette Rogers: Milberger’s Landscaping and Nursery. “How To Properly Care and Maintain Your Holiday Treasures”. 
  • 2nd Presentation 1:30pm-2:30pm. David Rodriguez: Bexar County Extension Agent-Horticulture “2019 Is Almost Gone. What You Should Do To Get Ready In Your Yard, Beds and Landscaping for 2020.”

Fruit Tree Seminar, hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. You won’t want to miss one! Everyone wants their own orchard!  Learn from the best experts in the area on January 24, 2020 at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.  Flyer & Agenda here. . Space is limited and this class will fill up, so be sure to register early!  No registrations at the door. 7 CEUs; Code 001

JMG National Leader Training & 20th Anniversary Celebration, February 24-26, 2020 in College Station. Details Online. 1 CEU per hr; Code 001

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

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.
Vegetables – Feb 19-21 hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center Dallas
Plant Propagation – Apr 17-18 hosted by Dallas County in Dallas
Vegetables – 5-7 May hosted by Bexar County
Texas Superstars® – May 26-28 hosted by Bexar County
Rainwater Harvesting – Sep 24-26 hosted by Tarrant County in Fort Worth
Greenhouse Management – Oct 15-17 hosted by Tarrant County in 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:

David Rogers’ Big Bugs, larger-than-life sculptures, at the San Antonio Botanical Garden NOW thru December 8th.

Dog Days: Deck the Paws on Sat & Sun, Dec 14-15, 9am-5pm at SABot: dog-friendly weekend at the Botanical Garden!