Garden Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. Submitted by Susan Koppean

July Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Monday, July 23 at 5:30 pm at the Cottage in Krape Park (near the boat rental). Topics will include program planning, Autumn Joys, State Master Gardener Conference, Krape Park Events, etc. Please RSVP to the Office.

Telenets

A flyer detailing the telenets for the summer is enclosed in this mailing. Please note that there is no cost to Master Gardeners. Please call to register for the telenets, even if you don't have to pay. If we have low registrations, we will cancel the evening telenet.

Master Gardeners may volunteer to "host" the telenets and receive volunteer hours for doing so. If you are interested, please contact Margaret or Donna for more information.

Master Gardener Interns

Congrats to our Master Gardener Interns who completed training this Spring.

James Bald, Freeport; Judy Bergstrom, Warren; Lu Clifton, Davis; Danny Dannhorn, Davis; Mary Diamond, Ridott; Danita Emford, Lena; Trudy Howard, Freeport; Janet Hribal, Ridott; Nikki Keltner, Pearl City; Angela Larson, Pecatonica; Marjorie Lewis, Freeport; Bernard Lischwe, Freeport; Beth Manus, German Valley; Julie Miller, Rock City; Beth Nagel, Shannon; Wesley Robinson, Freeport; Carol Snyder, Freeport; Sharon Welton, Lena.

We welcome them to the program and wish them much luck as they complete their 60 hours of volunteer service. Many have already started to work on projects and activities and are well into completing their internships.

Hellos and Goodbyes

Many of you are aware that Sue Reilly, Secretary II, left Extension in February. She is missed by everyone, but is enjoying her new job at Extension in Rock Island County, where her husband took a job. On May 1, we welcomed Lori McPeek to the staff as Secretary II. Lori is enjoying her new position and is learning a great deal about Extension. Please stop by to welcome Lori when you are in the office. We are very excited to have her as our new employee.

Pam Rosmann, Special Projects Coordinator, left Extension in the end of March to build her own farm winery with her husband, Ken. Two Moons Winery will be producing organic wine this fall. We wish Pam and Ken much luck in their endeavor.

Master Gardener Intern Nikki Keltner will be wearing a new hat beginning July 31. She will be the new Program Coordinator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Extension Office. Nikki will also be helping out with some horticulture programs also.

Master Gardener A. Erwin recently decided to become "inactive" to allow her to pursue some other volunteer opportunities. She will be greatly missed as she was a dedicated helpline volunteer, a mentor to many new Master Gardeners, and a wonderful source of in information related to horticulture and many other topics. We wish her well and will miss her very much!

Helpline

The Helpline continues to be very busy weekday mornings from 9:00 am–11:00 am. There are slots that need to be filled, and everyone is encouraged to sign up to work. The trainees need to be paired with experienced Master Gardeners, so everyone's participation is needed this year. Please call Donna at 235-4125 to schedule your shift.

State Master Gardener Conference

Master Gardeners should have recently received the latest issue of the State Master Gardener Newsletter Imagine. Information about the State Master Gardener conference and registration is outlined in this issue. The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield Illinois and is hosted by the West Central Master Gardeners. Registration fee is $142.00, which includes two lunches, Friday evening awards banquet, all sessions and materials, vendors and handouts. Rooms are $70.00 single and $85.00 double. If needed, we can coordinate transportation, room mates, etc. Please call Donna to discuss if you have any questions.

Master Gardeners who attend the conference will be reimbursed $100.00 each by the Extension Office. Because the group has done such a great job of fundraising through silent auctions, programs and speaking engagements, there are funds to support your continuing education and we encourage you to attend.

This year, all registrations will be done online. Please refer to the following website for information and registration forms: http://www.extension.uiuc.edu/mg/

If you don't have computer access, please make arrangements with Donna to come into the office and register with our computers.

Stephenson County Master Gardeners to be Recognized at State Conference

We have just received word that:

Carole Pinter, Paula Bennehoff, Shirley Wennestrom and Helen Barrettbeen selected to receiveanOutstandingState Master Gardener Award. They will receive their awards at the banquet at the State Conference. Congratulations to all for your great efforts on local projects and Master Gardener activities.

Journal Standard Gardening Column

The Journal-Standard has been gracious enough to give us column space in their weekend papers. The column Food, Flowers and Fun appears on Saturdays (when we have a submission) and gives the Master Gardener program some great exposure. If you have topics that would benefit the J-S's local readership and would like to write an article, please contact Margaret Larson. Please consider gardening topics for all seasons, of local interest, or maybe just what your favorite topic might be. Columns must be 300-350 words in length.

DDDI Training

Our office hosted the Northwest Regional Distance Diagnostics Through Digital Imaging (DDDI) training which was held on April 20, with seven counties being represented. There were seven enthusiastic Stephenson County Master Gardeners who attended the training.

The DDDI system allows textual information and descriptive images to be submitted directly from County Extension offices to the University of Illinois Specialists for rapid diagnosis. Participants at the training learned how to use the Digital camera, and microscope; general submission procedures; discipline specific diagnostic techniques of insects, weeds, and diseases.

If you would like to learn more about this wonderful system, just ask Donna for help.

Local Foods Initiative

Many of you may be aware that U of I Extension is very involved with the Northwest Illinois Local Foods Task Force and the current Local Foods Initiative. The task force includes Extension Staff, Master Gardeners, Ag Breakfast Committee members Farm Bureau, Illinois Agri-Women and more and is involved in promoting the use and sale of locally produced foods. The newly created logo was introduced at a press conference at the Stephenson County Ag Breakfast on June 23rd, and the task force is now planning related programs for late summer and fall.

We will be meeting with local stores, restaurants and other businesses who may already use local foods or who may be interested in starting to use local foods. The use of this logo will allow the consumer to easily identify local products as they shop.

If you are interested in getting involved with the task force, please contact Margaret Larson.

- Margaret Larson