Christmas Home Tour is Back!

Posted on October 9, 2019November 14, 2019 by audrey

Our Christmas Home Tour is BACK! We are excited to present these homes for the tour this year. Verbena is just down the road (Highway 31, South) and all the homes are in the same area. Also a new item this year is a tour of the historic Verbena United Methodist Church.

Tickets may be purchased from Chilton County Extension Office, 205-280-6268 and at the homes the day of, but not at the church. Advance tickets are $15.00, the day of- $20.00.

All homes are in Verbena. The directions are printed on the tickets and there will also be directional signs to guide you through the tour.

So buy your tickets today from a Master Gardener or go by the Chilton County Extension Office and pick them up. You can help us out by also picking up a few to sell to all your friends and relatives. This is a big fund raiser for us and always lots of fun to boot!

All about Hummingbirds

Posted on October 9, 2019October 11, 2019 by trisha

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.

Planting Fall Veggies at Thorsby Elementary

Posted on September 27, 2019October 11, 2019 by audrey

On September 25th CCMGA volunteers helped the 3rd graders at Thorsby Elementary School plant fall vegetables. Included were Broccoli, Lettuce, Onions, Radishes, Swiss Chard, and Kale just to name a few. Later they will help plant the “Cabbage Patch”!!

Pictured left to right- Front- Kaylee Doucet, Betsy Smith, Debbie Housner, Jackie Hickman, Sondra Henley, Susan Cleckler, and Charla Doucet. Back- Ron and Cheryl Herbster.

“Teach them to garden and they will never be hungry”

Photos by Susan Cleckler and Sondra Henley

Eagle Scout Project: Re-purposing for Hardscapes

Posted on September 26, 2019September 27, 2019 by audrey

Boy Scout Jared Cleckler and his team finished his Eagle Scout Project at the CCMGA Demonstration Garden. Jared will be completing his paperwork and turning it in to the Eagle Scout Project Committee for final approval.

Jared’s project started with the monkey bars that were located at the old homestead at Chilton Research and Extension Center and moved behind the Shade Garden in the Demo Garden. He and his team sanded and painted the bars. Ron Herbster, Chilton County Master Gardener, drew plans for the planter boxes and donated the cedar wood for them. Ron worked with Jared to plane the boards and prepare for the planter construction.

Ron and Cheryl Herbster also donated the stone bench that sits near the newly furbished monkey bars. The Boy Scouts also set up the bench.

Vegetables and pole vegetables will be planted in the boxes. This new garden area shows how to re-purpose hardscapes and gives additional space to plant vegetables.

Photos by Sondra Henley

Help Get The Word Out!

Posted on September 14, 2019September 14, 2019 by audrey

We are preparing for our 2020 Master Gardener Class that begins January 22, 2020. You can help us by telling all your friends that might be interested to call 205-280-6268 for more information.

Sex in the Garden, Propagation of Course!

Posted on September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 by trisha

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!

2019 Showcase in Ag/4-H Chick Chain Show and Auction

Posted on August 21, 2019October 4, 2019 by audrey

The 2019 Showcase in Ag/4-H Chick Chain Show & Auction was held at Chilton Research and Extension Center August 17. This event featured the 4-H Chick Chain Show/Auction and programs on Fig Production, Beneficial Uses of Trap Crops, and Fire Ant Control. Many varieties of apples, pears, peaches and grapes were available for tasting. Chilton County Master Gardeners hosted “Ask a Master Gardener,” held a plant sale, manned registration, prepared fruit, helped with Chick Chain and talked with visitors about our Demo Garden. The day was enjoyed by all and was a successful FIRST Showcase in Agriculture. Click Here for a Smilebox slideshow of photos with music. Photos by Audrey Giles & Gay West.

Control Options For Fire Ants

Posted on August 16, 2019August 16, 2019 by audrey

Our August meeting was most informative, and I must say, much more interesting than I imagined! Josh Elmore, Regional Extension Agent – Animal Sciences & Forages, presented our program on the history and habits of fire ants and ways of controlling them. He even had a hands-on display of them for us to look at up close! Thanks, Josh, for the education in fire ants!

We have 4 interns who have earned their certification and badges recently. They are Karen Mims, John Higginbotham, Sarah Justiss and Clem Clapp. Clem wasn’t present today to receive his certificate and badge, he and Diane are one a tour of Nova Scotia, lucky them!

President Susan Cleckler talked about the upcoming 2019 Showcase in Ag/4-H Chick Chain Show and Auction at Chilton Research and Extension Center. Many of our members are signed up to help and many are also bringing plants for the Plant Sale we are having at the event. It promises to be a fun event, similar to our past Farm, Home, and Wildlife Expo started by Jim Pitts many years ago. We are looking forward to it, even though the weather is going to be HOT! We are tough!!

Showcase in Ag/Chick Chain Auction

Posted on August 1, 2019August 1, 2019 by audrey

The Chilton County Master Gardeners will be having a PLANT SALE, ASK-A-MASTER GARDENER BOOTH, and an informal NATIVE ALABAMA PLANTS PRESENTATION at this CREC 2019 Showcase in AG/Chick Chain Show-Auction on August 17th. There will also be Fruit Tasting, BlackBerry Lemonade Sampling, and Tours. And this is just a part of the activities that day. So come on out, bring your lunch and a chair and spend the day!

Garden Stories

Posted on July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 by audrey

Our program today was a little out of the ordinary. The scheduled speaker, David Doggett, a Jefferson County Master Gardener and Aldridge Gardens tour guide, was regrettably sick and in the hospital. So he asked famed storyteller Dolores Hydock to fill in for him. And boy, were we entertained! She is an actress and storyteller and described as “Dolores talks with her hands. And her elbows. And her shoulders. When she speaks, she is literally irrepressible”. She has won Resource awards from the Storytelling World Magazine for her eleven CDs of original stories. We thoroughly enjoyed her story today about her historic house and garden in Irondale close to the Whistle Stop Cafe. And about her friend in Mobile she had visited who had taught Western Civilization in school, had traveled a lot, had a gorgeous garden, collected beautiful art, and had an extensive collection of needlepoint she had done herself over many years. Thank you for a very entertaining morning!

Another very important part of our meeting was Trisha Williams presenting one of our interns, Betsy Smith with her Master Gardener certification and badge. Out of our original 20 interns, 5 have received their Certificates and badges, and many more are very active and well on their way!