November 24, 2005
Thankful for Chicago Master Gardeners
I just want to wish all the Chicago Master Gardeners a happy Thanksgiving. For the past five years, it has been my pleasure to work with one of the most giving groups of people in Chicago. Through their greening efforts in 2004, Chicago Master Gardeners contributed over 17,000 hours of volunteer time to make Chicago neighborhoods better places to live.Posted by Ron Wolford at 11:21 AM | Permalink |
November 24, 2005
November Master Gardener Meeting
November 29th meeting-A Holiday Party!
Garfield Park Conservatory
Community Room
6:30p.m.-Pizza and Pop! Please bring a salad or dessert.
7:00p.m.-Meet the award winning Master Gardeners.
7:30p.m.-Urban Initiative Update-Ron Wolford
Come to the November 29th Master Gardener Holiday party in the Garfield Park Conservatory Community Room. We will be honoring Master Gardeners who were 2005 winners of the Mayor's Landscaping Contest. Ron is bringing pizza and pop. The first 50 Master Gardeners to sign in will receive a poinsettia. Additional poinsettias will be given away as door prizes. See you on Tuesday, November 29th.
Posted by Ron Wolford at 1:12 AM | Permalink |
November 22, 2005
Herb Day 2006
Herb Day 2006 has been scheduled for Saturday, January 21, from 8:00 am (when registration begins and the retail area opens) through 4:30 pm, at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 1001 Killarney St., Urbana, IL. (217) 328-7900. The Holiday Inn is just south and west of exit #183 off I-74 (Lincoln Avenue), conveniently located and easy to find. This is the same location as the past several Herb Days. Hotel rooms are reserved for Herb Day attendees at the special Herb Day rate ($70 single, $80 double) until January 1. After that date, this rate will only be in effect if rooms at the hotel remain available. Before Herb Day, a new Holiday Inn Express is scheduled to be completed and ready for occupancy, just across the parking lot from the Holiday Inn, too. The first educational session begins promptly at 9 am.
As has become traditional, herbal experts from around the country will present five educational sessions to inspire herb gardening and use in the coming year.
Sharon Lovejoy, a noted garden author from Cambria, California, will speak twice. Her morning presentation is entitled By Trowel and Error, which is coincidentally the title of her most recent book. Sharon has spent a lifetime working with plants, and she's accumulated hundreds of earth-friendly remedies, design tips, shortcuts, and practical cures that can be used by every gardener to make gardening easier, fight plant infections, rid the garden of pests, and attract beneficial insects. In the afternoon, she will return for a second session with a talk called From Pot to Plot: Designing Your Personal Herbal Paradise. This presentation will focus on ideas that can be easily transplanted into everything from small container gardens to large landscapes. This is guaranteed to shake you out of the midwinter blahs and invigorate your spring planting urges with a bouquet of fresh ideas.
Carolee Snyder, from Carolee's Herb Farm in Hartford City, Indiana, will take us on An English Herb Garden Tour. She will take us into great English gardens which have been included on her previous tours. With her special interest in herbs, you can count on lots of herbal emphasis in this visual display.
Susan Belsinger, noted herbal speaker, cooking demonstrator, and author of several entertaining books, from Brookeville, Maryland, will get us all salivating and in the mood for the lunch buffet with a demonstration called Just Desserts. While we tend to think of herbs in savory recipes, there are a number of sweet ways to use them in herbal desserts, too.
Pat Lanza, yet another successful garden author, comes to us by way of Columbia, Missouri. Her book, Lasagna Gardening, was a big success, and she has followed that up with another, which is titled, Lasagna Herb Gardening, which is her topic for this event. Don't be confused by this title, lasagna gardening refers to mulching technique, not necessarily to growing the herbs to season a great pan of lasagna.
There will be a retail area again this year, selling a broad spectrum of herb, spice, and gardening products. Morning coffee, tea, and rolls will be available near the exhibit area, and an herb-themed lunch buffet will be served in the Atrium. The capacity of the lecture room will again be 250, so be sure to send your reservations in early to avoid disappointment.
Attendees may register and reserve lunch at any time through January 13, as long as space remains available. Registrations will be allotted on a first come, first served basis, so reserve now. Once the available 250 spaces are filled, any additional registrations will be returned. On-site registration will only be available if all 250 seats are not filled by pre-registration. On-site registration does not include lunch. The last three Herb Days sold out at least a week before the event, so act now.
Cost of registration, including lunch, is only $49 per person. This includes seating in the lectures, coffee, tea, and rolls during morning registration, an herbal theme lunch buffet (including vegetarian options), and access to the retail area. A vegan plate is available, but only if specified on the registration form. Reservations must be received by January 13, 2006, to guarantee lunch. Those interested in attending should mail checks, payable to the University of Illinois, to: Herb Day 2006, Attn: Carol Preston, S-406 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801. For more information, call (217) 333-7738 and mention Herb Day 2006. Sorry, credit card orders cannot be accepted, and cancellations will not be refunded. Registrations may be transferred to another individual, as long as Carol Preston is notified of the name change by January 13.
No confirmation of registration will be sent. To confirm receipt of registration, please phone (217) 333-7738 or e-mail preston1@uiuc.edu.
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Registration Form
For Herb Day 2006 on Saturday, January 21:
Participant(s) name (for nametag), address, and phone number (please print):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Total number of registrations requested: x $49 = $
Number for vegan plate option (no meat, no dairy, and no eggs):
For whom?
Send check, payable to UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, to Herb Day 2006, Attn: Carol Preston, S-406 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. Sorry, no credit card orders.
Posted by Ron Wolford at 8:34 PM | Permalink |
November 21, 2005
Community Gardening Teleconferences
Master Gardeners interested in community gardening should plan to attend the America Community Gardening Association's teleconferences. These workshops will be held on the third Wednesday or Thursday of most months from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The 90-minute workshops will be held by conference call at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Sessions include one to three speakers with participant questions/answers and discussion.
Call Nancy Kreith at 773-233-0476 to register.
The tenative schedule for the 2006 Teleconference Workshops is as follows:
* December 15, 2005: Strategies for securing land: land trusts, easements, leases
* January 19, 2006: Fencing, theft and vandalism
* February 15: Community Gardens as part of Community Food Projects
* March 15: Youth programs in Community Gardens
* April 20: Community Gardens and Park Departments
* May 18: Why the Farm Bill is of interest to community gardeners
* June 14: Immigrants and community gardens
* July 19: Community gardens and Farmer's Markets
* September 21:Community garden events
* October 19: Fund-raising
* November 15: Community garden events
Posted by Ron Wolford at 2:33 PM | Permalink |
November 17, 2005
2005 Chatham/Avalon Park Master Gardener Class
Chatham/Avalon Park Master Gardener trainees completed 10 weeks of classes today. Trainees receiving their intern certification included the following: Claudia Blake, Kathy Bonnar, Linda Coleman, Patricia Gill, Emma J. Grant, William Love, Barbara Temple, Olive Waugh, Y'isroyal Y'israel El'essene, Janette Young.
The University of Illinois Extension welcomes the Chatham/Avalon Park Master Gardener Interns to the Chicago Master Gardener program.
Posted by Ron Wolford at 3:25 PM | Permalink |
November 12, 2005
2006 Master Gardener Class
The 2006 Master Gardener training classes will be held at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences at 3857 West 111th Street. Classes will be on Monday's starting January 23rd through April 10th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Music room.
Master Gardeners are welcomed to attend any of the classes. Please call Nancy Kreith at 773-233-0476 to let her know which classes you will be attending. Check out the 2006 schedule for more information.
2006 Chicago Master Gardener Training Schedule
Chicago High School for Agriculture Sciences
3857 West 111th Street
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
January 23 Orientation amd Botany
Jim Schuster Extension Educator, Horticulture
January 30 Soils
Ellen Phillips, Extension Educator, Crop Systems
February 6 Woody Ornamentals/Pruning
James Schuster, Extension Educator, Horticulture
February 13 Vegetables
Dr. Maurice Ogutu, Extension Educator, Horticulture
February 20 Herbaceous Plants-Annuals and Perennials
Greg Stack, Extension Educator, Horticulture
February 27 Fruit
Dr. Maurice Ogutu, Extension Educator, Horticulture
March 6 Insects-Brian Williquette, Bartlett Trees
March 13 Turf-Brian Williquette, Bartlett Trees
March 20 Plant Pathology-James Schuster, Extension Educator, Horticulture
March 27 Volunteer Opportunities Day& What is a University of Illinois Volunteer?
Ronald C. Wolford, Extension Educator, Urban Horticulture/Environment
April 3 Organic Gardening-Carl Grimm, Director of Programs, Garfield Park
Alliance
April 10 Pesticide Safety-Russell Higgins, Extension Educator, Integrated Pest
Management
Using Herbs from the Garden
Drusilla Banks, Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness
Wrap-up/Potluck
April 17 Snow Date
Posted by Ron Wolford at 9:55 PM | Permalink |
November 11, 2005
Master Gardener Projects
Dixon School GardenDixon is an elementary school on the southside of Chicago at 8306 South St. Lawrence Avenue. Master Gardener Helen Charity, University of Illinois Extension horticulture program assistant, Nancy Kreith, Dixon teacher, Annette Jackson and Dixon students planned, built and planted a raised bed veggie and flower garden on the southside of the school.
Cook County Sheriff's Garden
The Cook County Sheriff's Garden is a 10,000 square foot vegetable garden on the southeast side of the Cook County Jail complex at 31st and California. Each year inmates from the jail's Department of Community Supervision and Intervention plan,plant and maintain the garden. In 2005 over 3,000 lbs. of veggies were donated to local senior homes and churches. Inmates participate in the Master Gardener training program. Over 50 inmates have graduated as certified Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners provide educational programming and technical assistance.
Posted by Ron Wolford at 9:54 PM | Permalink |
November 9, 2005
Illinois Master Gardeners Pacific NW Garden Tour
Do you want to leave the heat and humidity of central Illinois in summer? Do you want to vist the most renowned gardens in North America?
Then join Illinois Master Gardener Coordinator Monica David and ITCS materials specialist Ken McPheeters in a glorious 11-day trip to the gardens of the Northwest. The trip includes beautiful gardens in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver Island and Vancouver as well as the matriarch of private garden tours, "Bainbridge in Bloom". A brochure that outlines all the stops on the tour and trip details is available online at www.extension.uiuc.edu/mg
For more information or to reserve your spot contact Robyn Gulstrom at 269-629-9248 or robyn@travelhouseinc.com Reserve early as this trip is first-come first-served.
Posted by Ron Wolford at 4:04 AM | Permalink |
