Bright rain boots filled with spring flowers welcomed us to our April Chilton County Master Gardener meeting, thanks to Hospitality leader, Lyn Webb.
Congratulations to Intern Joan Crocker, who was awarded her Master Gardener badge and certificate.
Mollie Smith, Auburn School of Fisheries manager, presented a program on Aquaponics. She described the system used at AU and also showed how a smaller scale home version could be set up. Fish are grown in tanks and the water is used to water and fertilize plants. The fish, usually Tilapia, are also harvested. AU has had great success growing vine crops with their system.
Photos by Diane Clapp.
V.P. Charla Giles and speaker Mollie SmithJoan CrockerSpeaker Mollie Smith, A U Fisheries ManagerHospitality Lead Lyn WebbMembers enjoy the meeting
Our annual May Plant Swap is coming up soon. Our meeting will be May 11th, 2021. It’s been 2 years since we’ve had one, so we are excited! More information on included poster. See you there!
We want to thank all the people that came out to our plant sale today at Goose Pond Park. Thanks to all of you, it was a huge success, more than we could ever imagine! We also want to thank all of our Master Gardener volunteers, there were many, so I won’t try to name all of them, but Thank You, you all did a great job! Also the weather cooperated so we won’t need our rain date of April 24. Here are some photos taken today by Diane Clapp and Gay West.
Peach Automotive and Outdoor held a “Spring Garden Event” at their Clanton 205 location on March 12. This was a live event to kick off the spring gardening season. The day was all about gardening, tractors, seeds, free food and drawings. Master Gardeners Jerry Farmer and Alan Reed were there manning the “Ask A Master Gardener” table to answer any gardening questions. Photo by Jerry Farmer.
Awards Day, March 9, 2021, was a special meeting day for Chilton County Master Gardeners!
We awarded Reach for the Stars bronze pins to Benita Cahalane, Charla Doucet and Kaylee Doucet. A silver pin was awarded to Larry Jones and a gold pin to Debbie Housner. Lyn Webb received her gold badge and Lanelle Baker got her platinum badge. For earning more than 4000 hours, Harriett earned her ruby star.
Our top hours volunteers were recognized and presented certificates. 1st Place: Lynn Webb, 600.5 2nd Place: Harriett Jackson 447.5 3rd Place: Sondra Henley, 425.5
Top Intern hours was awarded to Gail Brooks, 83.45 and top Continuing Education hours was awarded to Lyn Webb, 171.5.
Our Master Gardener of the year is Susan Cleckler. She has served as President for two years and lead us through this challenging year. Susan has been involved with all aspects of MG and is a great example of what a MG should be.
Congratulations to our 2020 award winning volunteers!
David Doggett, Jefferson County Advanced MG, Aldridge Gardens Docent and a member of the Alabama Hydrangea Society, taught us about winter pruning of panicle and smooth hydrangeas. He gave us detailed instructions for first, second and third year cuts. He also discussed propagation using the winter cuttings and suggested books on propagation. It is always a real treat for David to share his knowledge with us.
Chilton County Master Gardeners have “Ask A Master Gardener” tables set up at Garrison’s Farm & Home Center in Thorsby February 27 through April 10, and Holleywood Nurseries in Clanton April 3 through April 17. We are always glad to be able to answer any questions about planting and growing vegetables and flowers.
We once again have a plant sale planned for this year. Everything was in place for our Sale last year and it looked like it was gonna be the best ever, but unfortunately, Covid shut us down. Please come and shop Saturday, April 17th, and help us make this plant sale a great one!
Then first CCMGA meeting of 2021 was held on February 9 at the Clanton National Guard Armory. Thirty-four mask-wearing members met in the large bay which gave us room to be socially distanced. We did not meet in December or January so it was nice to see everyone, even though we were 6 feet apart!
Our speaker, Jessica Kelton, Alabama Cooperative Extension System REA for Farm and Agribusiness presented her program, “The Hype about Hemp”. Hemp was first grown in Alabama for CBD oil, fiber and grain in 2019. There are regulations and oversight for growing hemp. For CBD production growers use cloned plants as female plants are needed. Mixed seedlings are planted to grow hemp for fiber or grain. We learned that hemp does not like “wet feet” but needs irrigation. After harvest the plants must be hung to dry much like tobacco. This can be a challenge in
Alabama’s humid climate.
After the program, we had our usual business meeting where we approved the 2021 Budget, announced our Plant Sale for April 17 to be held at Goose Pond Park, announced Ask a Master Gardener being held at Garrison’s from Feb 29 through April 10, and heard a report of the February Advisory Cancel meeting by Council representative Harriett Jackson. L
The Chilton County Master Gardener February meeting will be Tuesday, the 9th at 9:30. The meeting will be at the Alabama National Guard Armory, 406 Airport Road, Clanton, AL.
The program will be presented by Jessica Kelton, (Extension Agent). The program will be “THE HYPE ABOUT HEMP” This should be very interesting!
ALL MEMBERS & INTERNS PLEASE COME! Bring your chair, mask, and a drink if so desired.
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