First Meeting of 2019

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by trisha

Chilton County Master Gardener 2019 President, Susan Cleckler, welcomed us to our first meeting of the year. We enjoyed a program on Permaculture presented by Tracy Britnell. Tracy and her husband are experimenting with permaculture on their farm and want the farm to be an educational site. It took about a year to get the soil ready to start planting. Since then, they have been using permculture methods. Inter-planting various plants to draw beneficial insects and repel others is one permaculture method. Another is using nitrogen fixing plants to help with fertilization. One of the goals of permaculture is to garden without using chemicals. Tracy is currently building a blog about her farm and methods and will share her research on the blog.

“We Love Our Octogenarians!

Posted on January 16, 2019January 16, 2019 by audrey

UPDATE ON OUR OCTOGENARIANS:

The Chilton County Master Gardeners Association now has 10 Octogenarian members. And along with this descriptive word comes a bonus of having a Lifetime Membership in CCMGA. John Wallace, who certified in 2018, also became our 10th Octogenarian in 2018.

“Octogenarian: Someone in his or her eighties, or in other words, between 80 and 89 years of age.”

Now that is a big word, and one that we don’t use in our every day speech, but a person that has lived for such a wonderful length of time deserves to have a special word to describe them!

E.C. Lewis was one of the founding members of the Association and became certified in 1999. Joan Davis certified in 1997 in Jefferson County, but joined our association in 2009. Lindy Helton became a member in 2000, Wayne Freeman in 2002, Margaret Goolsby in 2006, Margaret Ennis in 2007, Peggie Harris in 2008, Charlotte Word in 2009, Bettye Glass in 2011, and our newest member, John Wallace in 2018. We LOVE our OCTOGENARIANS!

2019 Officers and Board members

Posted on January 3, 2019 by audrey

The new 2019 Officers have been nominated and voted on, and the Board of Directors has been chosen. So for any concerns or suggestions, these are the members to go to. And you know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Christmas 2018

Posted on December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 by audrey

Our Christmas Luncheon was lots of fun and as always, filled with lots of food! Many stayed to play dirty Santa. We hope all of you had a great Christmas and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

“Backyard Water Gardens” by Trisha Williams

Posted on November 24, 2018 by trisha

Our November program was presented by Mary McCroan, a Master Gardener from Wetumpka, who is working toward her Advanced Master Gardener certification. Mary taught us about “Backyard Water Gardens.” She discussed the various types of water features from bubbling pots to ponds complete with streams and waterfalls. Location, sun, shade, style and budget should be considered when deciding to install a water feature. Mary shared examples of water features such as an inexpensive preformed pond to a large pond. She shared her experience in building her small and medium ponds and gave cost estimates for DIY (with help where needed) compared to having a professional install a similar water feature.

Photo by Audrey Giles

Chilton County Sesquicentennial Celebration

Posted on October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 by audrey

Chilton County Master Gardeners participated in the County’s Sesquicentennial celebration on October 27th by hosting a tent at the Celebration in the Park to sign up people for the 2019 MG Class. We also talked about the 2019 AMGA Conference we will be hosting at Clanton Performing Arts Center next May. In addition to that we had a huge yard sale at the Chilton County Extension Office that Friday and Saturday. Congratulations, Chilton County on your 150th Birthday!

October “Gardening in Small Spaces”

Posted on October 12, 2018October 16, 2018 by audrey

Our program this month was presented by Mr. Glenn Huovinen. Mr. Houvinen, a Master Gardener in Autauga County, is working on his Advanced Master Gardener certification in “Gardening in Small Spaces”. His program was very informative, outlining the process of drawing a plan, getting a soil test, deciding what you like to eat and want to grow, and whether to grow in a raised bed or containers. He also explained about hooking up a rain barrel to your gutter system to help with watering. Mr. Huovinen talked about how to air prune and irrigate pots. He even touched on the art of Espalier for growing fruit trees, since this is a very space saving technique. I think everyone enjoyed his program on Gardening in Small Spaces.

Autauga County is partnering with Chilton County, along with Shelby County, to host the AMGA Conference at the Clanton Performing Arts Center in May 2019. Mr. Huovinen set up our scrolling banner displaying the activities and speakers we have lined up for the Conference. He talked about the great venue for the conference without having to change rooms or choose which speaker you want to hear.

We are excited and working hard on getting everything scheduled and set up. We have some excellent speakers, one being Joe Lamp’l from the television series “Growing a Greener World”, which is an award-winning PBS series. He was also host of Fresh from the Garden on DIY Network, and has been on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and the Weather Channel. The Conference is open to the public, but you must pre-register to attend. Registration starts in January, more information will follow.

AMGA Fall Seminar

Posted on October 2, 2018October 16, 2018 by trisha

By Trisha Williams

“Your Sanctuary Garden” was the theme of the 2018 Fall AMGA Seminar that several Chilton County Master Gardeners attended in Montgomery on September 27. Peggy Hill, writer for Alabama Gardener Magazine, shared ideas and inspiration for our gardens. Mary

Beth Shaddix , a marketing consultant, shared information about using color and edibles in our gardens. Mary Beth has written articles for Cooking Light Magazine, HGTV Gardens, and Garden and Gun and she and her husband own a wholesale nursery. The afternoon sessions included Tyson Farmer discussing attracting birds and Brian Dahle showing us ways to use water features in our gardens. We came away with wonderful ideas for our own gardens.

Thanks to Capital City Master Gardeners for planning this fun and informative seminar!

An Unexpected Gift

Posted on September 12, 2018September 15, 2018 by audrey

Our September 11 meeting was well attended. Martha Thornburg, who was a Chilton County Master Gardener a few years ago, dropped by to give us some of Ms. Jewel Robinson’s poppy seeds that she has religiously saved over the years. Many of us remember Ms. Jewel, and a JEWEL she was! She was just an amazing woman who could garden, cook, and work circles around most of us! And she was known for old fashioned poppies. Thank you, Martha for such a wonderful gift! Other guests included Nelson Wynn, our ACES regional agent, and Diane Clapp’s husband, Clem Clapp.
Our program today was presented by our own Rick Miller. Rick has relatives in Southeast Asia and has visited there twice in the past two years. He has many photos, so he presented a PowerPoint of all the many wonderful places he visited while there, and of course, many beautiful flowers! Thanks, Rick, it was a very interesting program.