PREVIEW OF 2025

Posted on February 4, 2025February 4, 2025 by audrey

Our January meeting started off with a slide show of memories of Jerry Farmer, one of our long time members who passed away Dec. 28, 2025. He was the husband of our member Pat Farmer. They have been members since 2010. Jerry was a very dedicated CCMGA member who was loved by all and will definitely be missed!

Our speakers, introduced by our V.P. Hugh Nichols, were Sherry Carter, Jacob Turner, and Lucy Ellington. Sherry is with SNAP-ED program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). She goes into all third grade school classes(except Clanton) of the Chilton County schools taking bags full of vegetables. fruits, and other goodies to help them learn better food choices.

Jacob Turner is an ACES Home Horticulture agent who covers home grounds, gardens, and pests. He told us about the areas he covers and some of his other assignments. He told about an event coming up at Penton Farms in February and in March there is to be a seed starting workshop, details to be online soon.

Lastly, Lucy Ellington, our ACES extension Coordinator, talked about all the programs and projects available through the Extension Office. There’s the annual state Bee Keeper’s symposium on February 1st, the Water Fest on March 21, the 4-H programs which includes Cloverbuds, Horse Club, Chick Chain, Forestry program, Home School Club, and the Day and Summer Camp at the beautiful Alabama 4-H Center on Lay Lake in Shelby County. Master Gardeners often volunteer for many of these activities.

Our V. President, Hugh Nichols, was nominated and awarded this month with our first ever Premier Peach Award. These people are chosen by the members for always going the extra mile in whatever they undertake to do for the club or for other members. They receive a certificate and Peach Pin. Thank you, Hugh, for all you do! And all members, please remember to recommend someone for this award at our February meeting.

Ballots were passed out for members to vote on Master Gardener of the Year and Service Project of the Year. Awards will be presented at the February meeting. Old and new business was discussed. The meeting was adjourned at 12 noon.

December Dinner and Dirty Santa

Posted on January 8, 2025January 8, 2025 by audrey

We had a very good turn out for our Christmas Dinner on December 10. We did have four interns that earned and were presented with their Master Gardener certificate and badge. These were L-R Barbara Patrick, Beverly Williamson, Teresa Freeman, and Clair van Loo Sluyterman. Our President Skip Coulter introduced our special guest for our Christmas dinner, City of Clanton Mayor Jeff Mims and his right hand “man” Debbie Street Mundy🥰❗️After our delicious pot luck dinner, several members stayed to play Dirty Santa and I think everyone had a really fun time. We all look forward to this every year to just laugh, have fun, and really get to know each other!
Photos by Audrey Giles and Debbie Street

Where ARE The Native Plants?

Posted on October 12, 2024October 12, 2024 by audrey

A few of the Chilton County Master Gardeners made the trip to the Blount County Fall Conference on Oct 3. The Conference was held at the Locust Fork Baptist Church in Locust Fork, AL. The program was “Where the Natives Have Gone”. It was a very fun, educational day!

L-R Lyn Webb, Hugh Nichols, Kerry Rush, and Trisha Williams

Photo credit and article: Lynn Webb

Helping the Humane Society

Posted on October 4, 2024October 11, 2024 by audrey

Several of the Chilton County Master Gardeners volunteered at the Chilton County Humane Society this past Monday (Sept. 30, 2024) improving the entrance landscape. The windows boxes were planted with pansies, cast iron plants were added to the flower beds, the sidewalk was refreshed and there was even some decorative touches added.
Photos and article by Lyn Webb
Editing and posting by Audrey Giles

Pictured left to right, Teresa Freeman, Lyn Webb, Sharon Hosch, Jerry Farmer, Wally Walters, Pat Farmer, Hugh Nichols, Clair Sluyterman van Loo, and Lee Walters. Not pictured, Harriett Jackson

**The day went very smoothly due to the prep work of Lee and Wally Walters and Sharon Housch.**

**Sharon and Wally adding the finishing touches**!

**Pansies were added to the window boxes. Cast Iron plants (next to the wall) were donated by Susan Cleckler.**

What’s a Chick Chain?

Posted on October 3, 2024October 4, 2024 by audrey

The Chick Chain is an Alabama Cooperative Extension System 4-H project. The participants receive baby chicks to raise and train for the annual show and auction. They work hard caring for their chickens and learn to keep valuable and up-to-date records.

The culmination of their efforts is the Show and Auction held each fall at the Chilton Research and Extension Center. This year the counties involved were Autauga, Bibb, Chilton and St. Clair.

Showing their birds in front of a judge and the audience helps to build confidence. Raising the birds and keeping good records promotes responsibility.

Volunteers from the Chilton County Master Gardeners Association put together 120 sack lunches for the 4-H’er’s that included a hot dog, potato chips, a home-made cookie (by some of the CCMGA volunteers), and a soft drink. Although we were favored with a few rain showers this year, it was still a fun day for the 4-H’er’s and all the volunteers as well

photos by Audrey Giles and Amy Baker

Microgreens?!

Posted on October 1, 2024October 1, 2024 by audrey

Our Vice President, Betsy Smith, introduced our speaker for our September meeting, Capital City Master Gardener Association’s Janell Diggs (ajdiggst23@yahoo.com), along with intern, Jane Ficquette. The presentation’s title was “Growing and Cooking with Microgreens”. Microgreens are versions of herbs and vegetables in their tiny sprout form. They are 5 times more nutrient dense than full-size plants. Mrs. Diggs provided a hands-on opportunity, supported by her experienced “how to” presentation, which consisted of three main points . . . Supplies, Process, and Cooking. She provided small covered containers filled with the correct soil for sprouting, provided radish seeds and demonstrated how to spread and dampen the seeds with a mister. We took them home, inverted the lid and weighted down the lid with a book. Then when they had sprouted, we took the lid off and in a few days we had microgreens! They can be used on salads, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, used as pizza topping, etc. They are used at high-end restaurants and used by nutritional researchers.

At the request of our members, Mrs. Diggs also discussed the role of Capital City MGA’s Education Committee. Besides the Vice President’s role of program development (monthly speakers), the Committee commits to approximately 3 annual outreach and educational projects per year. The committee selects topics based on interests surveys and assessments. They decide on short-range and long-range goals and then divide the planning and preparation based on various member’s skills. Janell discussed start- up efforts to increase our community presence and to provide horticultural-based learning opportunities. The program was very interesting, as well as immensely helpful to us on setting goals and deciding on yearly outreach programs.
Article based on minutes taken by Kerry Rush
Photos by Audrey Giles and Hugh Nichols

“All About Hostas!”

Posted on September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 by audrey

Our guest speaker for our August meeting was Bionca Lindsey from the Autauga County Master Gardeners Association. Bionca earned her Advanced Master Gardener Certification by learning and teaching “All About Hostas”. She was a very entertaining and informative speaker!

Photo of Betsy Smith and Bionca Lindsey — V.P. Betsy Smith and special guest speaker Bionca Lindsey

Hostas are the number one selling perennial in the United States. They are native to China and grow in the US zones 3 to 9. There are over 11,000 cultivars of Hosta. They thrive in shade or part shade and require a dormancy period of 4-6 weeks prior to their spring arrival. Bionca shared the many shapes, colors and sizes of Hosta. They are very hardy and can actually be divided any time, but spring and fall are ideal. Fertilize in the spring, using an organic, slow-release fertilizer (10-10-10 or 20-20-20). A few of their enemies are heat, slugs, deer, voles and even a few viruses. Thank you, Bionca for a wonderful program!

Miscellaneous items from our meeting included approval of the August minutes presented by Kerry Rush; announcing the option of contributing to Chilton County Coordinator Lucy Edwards’ wedding gift; the financial report by treasurer Judy Cobb; various volunteer opportunities for the members by Trisha Williams, Harriett Jackson, and REA Jacob Turner; information on registration for 2 fall conferences; our contribution to the 2025 AMGA Conference’s Silent Auction; update on CCMGA’s published article once a month in the Clanton Advertiser by Sharon Hosch; update on the Conservation Group by Betsy Smith and Hugh Nichols; update on the Demo Garden Shade House activities; and updates about the forming of the Nominating committee. And as always we want to thank our Hospitality Committee and food providers for our wonderful refreshments 🥗🍪🥮☕️❗️We had 32 present with 25 members, 3 interns, and 4 guests!

A Keyhole Garden

Posted on August 11, 2024 by audrey

Our Keyhole Garden that is maintained by Chilton County Master Gardeners at the Demo Garden is ready for Halloween! There are pumpkins planted in this Keyhole Garden. These types of gardens are for people confined to wheelchairs and are just the right height for them and also have a place cut out to reach to the middle of the raised garden. The Demonstration Garden is located at the Chilton Research and Extension Center, 120 County Rd. 756, Clanton AL 35045

Photos by Hugh Nichols and Audrey Giles.

May Plant Swap in Coosa County!

Posted on May 21, 2024May 21, 2024 by audrey

Our CHILTON COUNTY MG group had a great May plant swap, aka Dirty Gardener! One of our members, Judy Cobb, was gracious enough to open up her home for this, or I should say her Barn! She had tables and chairs set up in the barn(built since they moved there full time) for our sack lunch meal and the plant swap. She lives in Coosa County, off of 22 East, on 200 acres that once belonged to her grandfather. The old home place is still there and is used for all their family gatherings. It is so authentic that you think you have stepped back in time! They have turned her grandfather’s old shop into their private home which they live in year round. They had a Tiny home before Tiny homes were popular! They have a 12 acre lake that a couple of our guys went fishing in this morning. She also has a fantastic chicken house, raised vegetables beds, scuppernong vines, pear trees, and young apple trees. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, Judy, and can’t wait for our next one!

A Moon Garden

Posted on April 22, 2024April 22, 2024 by audrey

Our April program was brought to us by Lee County Master Gardener Dianna Fortner. Dianna is in her final phase of earning her Advanced Master Gardener certificate. Moon gardening is what she is specializing in. A Moon garden is just what it sounds like, a garden that is meant to be enjoyed by the light of the moon. You would use plants with pale or silver foliage and white flowers that bloom in the evenings. Adding a water feature would make sitting in your moon garden just that much more enjoyable! Everyone should try growing one. Thank you, Dianna Fortner for a very interesting program!

We are so saddened to have lost 2 of our members since the meeting on April 9. On April 13, Mrs. Joan Barber lost her life in a car accident on the way home from our Plant Sale. Mrs. Barber was a very kind, quiet, free hearted lady that was known for her baking, crocheting, and making the planter chairs for our Plant Sale. Joan, you will surely be missed!
On April 14, one of our charter members, Alan Reed gave up his long fight against cancer. Mr. Reed was always there to lend a hand; he always kept our irrigation system going in the Demo Garden, helped install the system at the Extension office, always helped with the Plant Sales, just too many things to list them all here. Also he was known for his dry sense of humor. We will miss you❗️R.I.P., dear Alan.