Volume 30, Issue #12 – December 2020
BCMG President
December is here! Our gardens are starting this month in better shape with the rains that we received at the end of last month. Everything feels a little fresher. Many of you will be bringing in the final bounty of your vegetable gardens to enjoy this holiday month.
From our Bexar County Master Gardener family to yours… have a safe and happy holiday!
Lynn
Scion Index – Click and Go!
- This Month’s Presentation– no presentation in December
- Texas Superstar Spotlight – Possumhaw Holly
- In the Garden Articles
- If You Can’t Lick ’em, Join ’em
- What’s Wrong With My Tree?
- Gardening Education – Online Opportunities
- Master Gardener Corner
BCMG offices are open at 25%. You must have an appointment to go in. Call before going over.
Offices will be closed December 25 for Christmas
Offices will be closed December 31 for New Years
All monthly meetings and presentations for 2020 and 2021 are planned to be on-line webinars held on Zoom, until further notice.
The first time you use Zoom, allow a few minutes extra to get set up. Zoom can be used free on home PCs, Macs and on smartphones.
Pre-Registration on Zoom is required for each webinar. (Equivalent to the “Sign-in sheet”). Register weeks ahead of time or even just a few minutes before the webinar and the link will be sent to you in email.
There will be no Public Presentation in December, but do plan on joining us again in January 2021 for a great presentation by Karen Gardener, who will be speaking about the history of Rodeo Tomatoes, the past Rodeo Tomatoes and all about growing tomatoes. It is sure to be a great talk! More info in the January issue of the Scion.
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Gardening Education Opportunities
Dec 2nd – 12 noon – 1 pm. Entomophagy – We All Eat Bugs!
Most of the world uses insects for food and the US is slowing joining them. Texas is famous among the entomophagy world for pioneering insect farming. Learn what it means to use insects in your diet, why it’s a benefit and why this may be the sustainable protein option that we can use to feed the world!
Dec 9th – 12 noon – 1 pm. Insects in Feed and Food: How Insects Can Solve our Waste Crisis.
Dr. Jonathan Cammack is the COO of Evo Conversion Systems, a company aiming to reduce the organic waste generated by human activity. He is an engaging and incredibly intelligent speaker. Join us while we learn how their project of raising soldier fly larvae can reduce the waste in landfills and then use the insects for pet food!
Join these webinars Meeting ID: 990 2593 9574, Passcode: Garden2020
How to make holiday recipes healthier
Cold temperatures are coming
Plant fruit trees the AgriLife Extension way
How to choose the right fertilizer for home vegetable gardens
Top tips for a successful fall vegetable garden
Frequently check the BCMG Calendar, as that is where all the new, upcoming programs will be posted. Click Here
Past webinars are posted on YouTube for your viewing (or reviewing) pleasure! Check often for new postings! Click here for the list.
- Fly Management with Molly Keck!
- Pantry Pests with Molly Keck!
- Dragonflies of Texas
- Arachnids of Texas
- Where Do Insects Go When It Rains? by Molly Keck
- 12 Months of Vegetable Gardening by David Rodriguez
- Pests of Tomatoes by Molly Keck
- Growing a Fall and Winter Vegetable Garden
- 12 Months of Pollen and Nectar Producing Plants for Pollinators
- Turf Grass Basics: Surviving Summer and the Rest of the Year
- Vegetable Garden Basics
- Top 10 Insects of Summer
- Tropical Escape with Texas Superstar Plants
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fblive/https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fblive/
Just a few of them are:
- Harvesting Pecans
- Compost versus Mulch
- Planting Strawberries
- Fall Blooming Flowers & Biennials Planted in Fall
- Harvesting Pecans
- Raised Garden Beds, Location, Soil Mixtures and more!
- Home Fruit Production – Tips for Success!
- Small fruits for the backyard
- Floral Designs from your backyard – Growing, Cutting, Using your flowers and shrubs!
- How to Prune Your Trees
- Indoor Gardening
Get the full list here
- Landscape Water Conservation
- Low-Volume Irrigation
- Irrigation System Auditing
- Safe Use and Handling of Pesticides
- Safe Use and Handling of Fertilizers
- Composting
- Designing an Earth–Kind® Landscape
- Landscaping for Energy Conservation
- Creating Native Habitat
- Earth–Kind® Roses
- Integrated Pest Management
BCMG is on YouTube! Watch classes on a computer (or on your smartphone)!
- Native Plants for Native Birds
- Crape-Myrtle Bark Scale
- Herb Gardening
- Propagation by Cuttings
- Rainwater Harvesting with Lou Kellogg
- Texas Superstars
- Starting Vegetables from Seed Indoors
- Organic Gardening
Check often for other new videos! The whole list of available videos is HERE.
Call in to Live Radio on Saturday mornings, with your gardening questions for David.
Call in: 210-737-1200 or 1-800-383-9624 on Saturdays from 7 am to 10pm
Or just listen to the show, and learn from everyone else’s questions!
WOAI 1200 AM – Lawn and Garden Show
Host: David Rodriguez, Bexar County AgriLife Extension Horticulturist.
Past shows are archived here, for easy listening on your computer, tablet or phone, anytime! Listen on your phone while you drive!
Ask a Master Gardener
Master Gardeners are available to help you with your gardening questions. We provide unbiased, research-based, locally relevant gardening information. Free service. You can reach us:
By phone: 210-631-0400 (Ask to speak to a Master Gardener)
Mon-Fri 9 am – Noon, 1-4 pm (Closed on county holidays)
Even during Covid-19 precautions, the phones and the Hotline are being operated from home telephones, hotline calls are being directed by AgriLife Extension receptionist Nick Vasquez.
Champions fore Charity
Bexar County Master Gardeners will again be participating in Champions fore Charity (formerly known as Birdies for Charity). Due to the pandemic, our plant sales are no longer able to provide a source of funds. Our participation provides an opportunity to raise much-needed funds for carrying out our mission to provide scientific, research-based education in our community. Your donation can help BCMG achieve a 7% match from the Valero Texas Open. The link to donate or make a pledge is Valero Texas Open – Champions fore Charity or you may mail your donation to our office at BCMG, Champions fore Charity, 3355 Cherry Ridge St, San Antonio, TX 78230. We would greatly appreciate your donation.
Are you a current or retired USAA employee?
If so, are you aware that any active BCMG who is a current or retired USAA employee can make a donation through USAA Serves and it qualifies you to designate BCMG as a recipient of USAA’s matching donations? BCMG is a bona fide “cause” 501c(3) nonprofit available to USAA active and retired employees through its online giving program. You can donate money to BCMG, a nonprofit organization approved by the USAA Serves charitable fund, and have USAA match the donation up to a specified amount.
Additionally, as a USAA Golden Eagles retiree organization member, retirees’ BCMG volunteer hours logged into the USAA Serves website (“Dollars for Doers” program, minimum, 24 hours this year to qualify) can create a charitable credit which you can designate to BCMG. What a great giving opportunity for something you are doing anyway! Contact Marybeth Parsons at [email protected] if you have questions or needed assistance.
Member’s Corner
Each year, Master Gardeners must certify for the following year. Once they complete requirements, they receive the Maroon Bluebonnet Service Pin. They must complete:
- at least 30 volunteer hours in the community
- 6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to keep their knowledge current
- attend two regular BCMG monthly meetings.
Congratulations to the Bexar County Master Gardeners who earned their 2020 certification in October.
Nancy Black
Betty Butler
Marin Rose Chu
Dwight Dare
Joyce Dare
Karen Gardner
Juan Garza
Linda Hollingsworth
Stephanie Jones
Ted Kelly *
Aaron Kelman
Angela Kirby
James Knight, Jr.
Sandra Lascurain
Charles Mims,
Jorge Noverola
John Opiela
Marybeth Parsons
Jodi Perez*
Mary Quandt
Marie Salvatierra
Melanie Short
Jim Strong
John Vann
*Class 63 graduate
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