Sneak Peek Pass-along Plant Sale and TCMG April meeting

Master Gardeners all over Tuscaloosa County are gathering plant materials for the upcoming Annual Plant Sale, better known as the Pass-Along Plant Sale on April 30 2016. The sale will be held at The Tuscaloosa County Extension Office;  2501 7th St, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 from 8 until 2.  All proceeds go to funding a horticulture scholarship to Auburn University.  Here’s a sneek peak at some of the items that will be available for sale:


Judith Rives
Judith Rives

Members of the Tuscaloosa County Master Gardeners recently enjoyed an evening at the home of Master Gardener, Judith Rives.

Participants brought their favorite spring garden party appetizers and desserts to share.

Dexter Duren
Dexter Duren

 

 

 

Dexter Duren, Outings Leader for West  Alabama Sierra  Club  conducted a  “Yard  Walk” to identify Judith’s lovely choices of plants and trees.

Special thanks to Kay Smith for sharing the wonderful pictures that she took of this event.

Save the date- September 29, 2016 will be an exciting day of learning and fun at the AMGA Fall Seminar – it will be in Birmingham ………. More details will be sent as they are finalized!


 

Garden Conferences: A Fun Way to Learn

 Originally printed in Druid City Living

 

Judith Rives, herb specialist
Judith Rives, herb specialist

Garden Conferences: A Fun Way to Learn

by Judith Rives

 

Ok, I admit it. I am a garden conference junkie. It’s really hard for me to pass one up!

I just returned from a one-day conference in Clanton, sponsored by the Judith2Alabama Master Gardeners Association. There were programs on permaculture, seed saving, pollination in the garden, and bulbs.  In the next 6 weeks, there are more events I’m already registered for, including an herb cooking class, a local one-day conference, and a 3-day native plants conference.

Don’t get me wrong; there is no substitute for just getting out in your own garden with your hands in the soil. However, garden classes provide you with great information and inspiration, and you sometimes need the basics to springboard into your grand garden experiment.

Judith1If you are interested in gardening, learning opportunities abound! Events range from short classes to a three-day conference. Some may even be hands-on workshops, which are especially fun to attend with a friend. For several years, my mom and I chose one workshop to attend together each fall. That was years ago and that nursery is now closed, but there are others that offer similar classes.  Petals from the Past, in Jemison, Alabama, has an ongoing list of classes that can be found on their website.

Groups such as Master Gardeners or Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) sponsor many educational opportunities, and you don’t have to be a member to attend the workshops. Educational outreach is actually the mission of the Master Gardener program, in support of the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

If you are interested in native plants, there is an entire course of study offered through BBG, Judith3and you can take one class or the entire series. The South Central Native Plant Conference will be held Oct. 30-31 at BBG and is only scheduled every other year. Information about this conference can be found on the BBG website, www.bbgardens.org.

Locally, the Tuscaloosa County Master Gardeners will host a fall seminar on Saturday, October 17, at the Tuscaloosa County Extension Auditorium. The keynote speaker is Roald Hazelhoff, Director of the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College, who will speak on urban forests. There are also programs on native trees, honeybees, and bulbs, tubers and corms. Cost is $25, which includes lunch. Deadline for registration is Oct. 12, so check out our website, https://mg.aces.edu/tuscaloosa/ for information/registration and announcements of other conferences and workshops

 

In less that ten days our 2015 TCMG Fall Conference will take place.  So, if you have not sent in your registration, please do so by October 12 so that the correct number of boxed lunches can be ordered and the correct number of registration bags can be prepared!  Maybe you’ll be the lucky winner of one of the GRAND DOOR PRIZES!  Click here to get a registration form.


 

TCMG Scholarship recipient
Octavia Miles, president of TCMG, recently attended Auburn University’s College of Agriculture’s Annual Scholarship Recognition for recipients and donors.  The winner of The Tuscaloosa County Master Gardener’s Scholarship for 2015-16 is Ms. Hannah Kittrell from Chatom, Alabama.  Hannah is an Auburn University senior majoring in Horticulture.

Important Fall Conference Information and Herb Recipes

UPDATE! The Tuscaloosa County Master Gardener Fall Conference WILL be held at the Tuscaloosa County Extension Auditorium! Please register quickly and don’t miss this GREAT GARDENING INFORMATION! Our speakers are OUTSTANDING!

Pre-registration for our Fall Conference on Sat., Oct.17, is required. Deadline is Oct. 12, to allow for us to order the correct number of catered lunches. If you know you want to attend, click here and print off the registration form and mail in today!

Registration Form


Judith Rives, herb specialist
Judith Rives, herb specialist

Have you been thinking about those delicious recipes that Judith Rives shared in her presentation, “Tricks with Herbs?”  Click here to get a preview before they are posted to our recipes page!

Judith’s Recipes                 Herbs images

 

 

Other recipes mentioned at the meeting included:

Herb pastes:  http://herbalacademyofne.com/2015/03/making-herb-paste-an-easy-way-to-preserve-fresh-herbs/

 Other herbs besides the ones named are good to use, such as scented geraniums & lavender
This is close to the way I infuse vinegar. I do let it sit 4 – 6 weeks to infuse, and store it for up to a a year.
Thanksgiving Recipes

(For people who don’t like goat cheese, use cream cheese. I like a cream cheese/Greek yogurt blend that I found in the cream cheese section in Wal-Mart.


Heard the News?

Signaling yet another victory for the clean food movement, the largest spice company in the world has announced it will be almost entirely organic and non-GMO by the year 2016.

Because of the organic and non-GMO food boom, other companies such as Simply Organic have been able to grow thanks to the support of customers looking for cleaner options.

The McCormick spice company has maintained its spot as the world’s largest, however, and is McCormick Spicesnow making a move that comes as a surprise to many in order to keep other companies from stealing its market share.

McCormick to Officially Go Organic, GMO-Free Soon

According to this article from the website Food Dive, the compay has
announced that a huge majority of its spices and herbs will be
organic and non-GMO by the year 2016.

In total, about 80% of its products will meet the new standard. New labels will also adorn the familiar McCormick packages, with over 70% expected to sport new “non-GMO” labels according to the article.

As noted by Food Dive, many of the company’s herbs and spices are already non-GMO, but the increased transparency is expected to be a selling point for many consumers as it has been for products that have become Non-GMO Project Verified.

Also announced by McCormick, a new non-GMO vanilla extract will be introduced along with numerous other organic spices and flavorings to compete with its rivals for the growing organic dollar in the United States (and elsewhere).

“The announcement comes ahead of the peak fall cooking and holiday season where consumer usage of herbs, spices & extracts as key ingredients in recipe favorites increase,” according to the news release.

McCormick a Healthier Option? 

Believe it or not, numerous companies use irradiation in order to make spices “more safe” for the consumer.

If you’re buying from any old spice company there’s a high risk that you could be getting irradiated spices.

Luckily for people who wish to avoid irradiated spices there are options. Simply Organic, Frontier and other organic brands are good bets according to a report from FoodBabe.com, and McCormick, while not organic just yet, is another company that does not use irradiation.

According to this article from Food Safety News, McCormick opts instead for steam treatments, preserving more of the health benefits of their spices (although some say it harms the taste more than radiation treatments).

– See more at: http://althealthworks.com/7696/victory-worlds-largest-spice-company-to-go-organic-and-non-gmo-by-2016/#sthash.JQrSkIsb.pb1bQ0nX.dpuf

 

 

TCMG September Meeting-Tricks with Herbs

Brandywine This “ugly” heirloom Brandywine would most likely never make it to a store. In addition to being irregular in shape, it has major creasing on the underside.

If we are lucky it would make it to a food pantry or the ketchup factory. But it just as likely would be composted or sent to the landfill.

Of course when you cut into it and taste it, you get to experience amazing flavor. You really can’t compare a garden tomato to one of those red tomatoes from the store.
It’s not just how we grow and distribute our food that is a problem but also how we as consumers affect the market.#FoodMatters


TCMG’   regular  monthly   meeting   will   be   TUESDAY,  SEPTEMBER  8   at   5:30 pm  in   the   auditorium  of   The  Tuscaloosa  County  Extension  Service   Building.  

Judith Rives, herb specialist
Judith Rives, herb specialist

 Our   CEU  speaker  will   be  Judith  Rives, herb specialist, who   will present  “New  Tricks with  Herbs”. The public is welcome to attend.

 These opportunities will be available at this meeting:
                    1.  TCMG’    Fall  Conference   Registration for October  17,                                2015    ($25 per person)
                         (Bring   family  and/or   friend)
                    2.   TCMG’    Membership  Renewal   for   2016   ($25)
                    3.    Accepting nominations  for   TCMG’    officers   &                                            committee chairs. (Give   the  names   to  Brenda  Lynch)
We are still seeking donations to fill Fall Conference registration packets. Items might include (about 50) pencils, cups, notepads, community information flyers, hand sanitizer, keychains, etc.

Looking    forward    to   seeing   you   Tuesday,  September   85:30.   Have   a   FUN  WEEK   ahead,    including   the   long   Labor  Day  weekend   that   follows!!!


Kudzu
Kudzu

Invasive plant species are an increasing issue across the country–pushing out native flora and changing ecosystems. Dr. Nancy Loewenstein, an Alabama Extension invasive plant specialist a, says  invasive plant species’  should be taken seriously and can be battled with the proper information and techniques.

“An invasive species is one that has become weedy and is displacing native plant species and changing the way ecosystems function,”  Loewenstein said. “For example, some burn more easily, or hotter, while others prevent fires in areas that need to burn and some change wildlife habitats.”

An invasive plant is a non-native species that has been introduced to an area by mankind that causes, or is likely to cause, environmental or economic harm.

Chinese privetIn Alabama, the most commonly seen invasive plant species include kudzuJapanese honeysuckle, Chinese tallowtree and Chinese privet. These species were introduced to the area as ornamental plants that then escaped cultivation into the wild.

“Many of the invasive species in Alabama are escaped ornamentals,”  said Loewenstein, who is an Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences research fellow. “They produce a lot of seeds and take up a lot of room, crowding and outcompeting native plants.”

This competition with native plant species presents a danger to animals that live in invaded areas. Next to habitat loss, invasive plants have one of the largest impacts on endangered species and biodiversity. This impact also comes from a lack of contribution to the food chain.

“Non-native plants don’t have insects on them like native plants do,” Loewenstein said. “In a lot of ways, they are biological deserts.”

For these reasons, it is important to understand the difference between native and non-native plant species and to know how to respond to them.

“Many invasive plant species are spread by birds, so if you find that you are harboring a species, such as Chinese tallowtree, with seeds that are being eaten by a lot of birds, you might consider removing it from your yard,” Loewenstein added.

Removal methods for invasive plants depend on the different kinds of species. When cut down, most invasive plants will grow right back. In order to target the root of the species, careful and selective use of herbicides work best.

“The earlier you catch something, the better,” Loewenstein said. “The longer you wait, the more time and money it’s going to take to remove the infestation.”

Although there are removal options for invasive plants species, the best way to stop the spread of invasive species is to avoid planting them altogether.

“What we plant in our yard has an impact beyond our yard,” Loewenstein said. “Think about what you’re planting… think about the impact.”

Learn more about invasive plants and their impact at Alabama Extension’s Invasive Species website.


Garden graphic

I’m a B, I think…sometimes I get very lucky and create something beautiful.  What are you? Leave a reply!

 

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