Sondra Henley has become our association’s first master gardener to obtain her Advanced Master Gardener Certification. Her advanced certification subject is Composting. In order to become certified, Sondra developed and completed a plan of specific requirements which included continuing education, volunteer time and presentations. This effort takes lots of self-motivation and commitment. Congratulations Sondra Henley!
Our Chilton County Master Gardeners enjoyed an educational talk on “The Camellia, Celebrate the State Flower” presented by Dr. Charles Mitchell. Dr Mitchell is known to most Master Gardeners in this state as the Soils teacher for the MG Program. Recently retired from Auburn University, he still teaches Master Gardener Soils classes and is very involved in the Auburn-Opelika Men’s Camellia Club. We learned about the origin of camellias and tips on caring and propagting them. The lovely blooms brought from his garden varied from white to pink to red and were a treat to see. The Auburn-Opelika Men’s Club has searched for camellias with names connected to Auburn and have also named a few in honor of Auburn University. “Sweet Auburn” was named by the club and was given as a door prize to one lucky MG.
Our elections were held and congratulations go to our new 2020 Officers:
President: Susan Cleckler
Vice-President: Charla Doucet
Treasurer: Audrey Giles
Secretary: Elizabeth York
Six Chilton County Master Gardeners along with three St. Clair County Master Gardeners spent November 4 judging Shelby County Fair entries. What fun it is to see and judge the entries: photographs, paintings, ceramics, sewing, quilts, crochet, knitting, canned vegetables, jellies, produce, plants and more. Items were entered by adults, senior adults and children in three age categories. Best of all was taste testing the baked goods including cakes, pies, and cookies. The most difficult part is selecting the Best of Show! Photos by Susan Cleckler
Fred Bassett, a well-known hummingbird expert, was the speaker for our October meeting. Fred has banded over 30,000 hummingbirds from Florida to Alaska. Ruby throated hummingbirds are the most common hummingbirds found in our area. Plants and a feeder will attract the birds to your yard. For a list of hummingbird friendly plants: http://www.hummingbirdresearch.net/files/HummingbirdPlants.pdf
Fred discussed many types of hummingbirds and their normal range. At this time of year it is good to leave feeders out for those birds traveling through. There have been eleven different kinds found in central and south Alabama during the winter.
Four more 2019 Master Gardener class members have completed requirements for certification and were presented their badge and certificate. Congratulations to Joan Barber, Benita Cahalane, Clem Clapp and May Cremer-Stewart! Photos by Audrey GIles.
Sex in the Garden, Propagation of Course! was the topic for our September meeting. Don Armstrong, Autauga County Master Gardener, showed us propagation techniques for dividing plants and rooting cuttings. His choice of potting medium is 3 parts wood chips to 1 part Pro-Mix plus a little time-release fertilizer. Don usually takes six inch cuttings, removes most leaves. scrapes the stem, dips in rooting hormone and places 2 to 3 nodes into the potting mix. He suggests putting 10 to 12 six inch cuttings in gallon pots. These pots are placed in the shade until rooted and then separated into individual pots and moved to partial shade. As a special bonus Don shared dozens of plants he has propagated: airplane plants, amaryllis, ivy, English dogwood, forsythia. iris, blueberries and much more.
We congratulate Charla Doucet and Kaylee Doucet on completing their certification requirements and presented badges and certificates to this mother/daughter duo!
Chilton County Master Gardeners had a great program at our June meeting on Tree ID, Tree Pests and Invasive Plants. Brian Smith from the Alabama Forestry Commission Southeast Region Office in Clanton gave us a quick review of leaf shape, arrangement, edges, tips and veins before giving us the opportunity to use a tree identification guide to ID tree branches he provided. We definitely had mixed results following the guide! After our attempt to ID he went through them and told us about each.
Congratulations to our newest certified Master Gardeners Cheryl and Ron Herbster! Both completed the requirements for certification and were presented with their badges and certificates.
Chilton County Master Gardeners held our traditional May plant swap and pot luck lunch at Susan Cleckler’s home. We thoroughly enjoyed her lovely shade garden: ferns, hostas, hydrangeas, ivy, lamium, heucheras and more. Plants were swapped and starts were shared so everyone went home with an addition for their garden. Pat Farmer earned her ruby star for four thousand volunteer hours and gold badges were presented to Diane Clapp, Jackie Hickman, Rick Miller, Lee Walters and Wally Walters. Lyn Webb earned her Master Gardener certification and was presented with her badge and certificate. Congratulations to all!
Our 2019 Master Gardener Intern class completed their class requirements on April 17 with the final classes presented by Sally Lee, Urban Regional Extension Agent. Woody Ornamentals , Invasive Plants, and Beneficial Insects were the topics of the day. A salad bar lunch was provided by the class and facilitators. Trisha Williams made the class a beautiful, delicious cake decorated with scenes of gardening. She is a multitalented Master Gardener! Congratulations to a great group of Interns on completing 12 weeks of Master Gardener training classes!
Debbie Boutelier, an Herbalist as well as a certified Master Gardener, spoke on growing and using herbs at the CCMGA April meeting. Most herbs required full sun and well drained soil so raised beds or pots are great ways to grow them. Of all the herbs she discussed most contain medicinal properties such as antibiotic, anti-fungal, and anti-septic. Herbs are often used to season our food but can also be used to make tisanes (teas), as tinctures, in cleaning products and more. Debbie suggests that we do our own research before using any herbs medicinally or to consult an herbalist.
The Master Gardener Class was held at the Chilton Research and Extension Center on April 3. The instructor was Dr. Edgar Vinson, an Extension Fruit Specialist, who taught the class about small fruits for the garden. He taught the class how to grow small fruits, discussed diseases and gave them some recommended varieties of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes and figs. What a lot to learn in one day! Following the class Matthew Price took the group on the traditional wagon tour of the CREC grounds.
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