Master Gardener news

For 35 years University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener volunteers have been sowing seeds of success across Minnesota.

Examples of that success are described in the spring 2012 edition of Extension's Source magazine. A feature story tells how Master Gardeners in Isanti County have given back to their community in Cambridge, MN. Interest in the community garden they initiated in 2009 has grown significantly and benefits the community on several fronts. Other side articles in Source describe how Master Gardeners contribute to University research and how Master Gardener educational classes lead to citizens adopting greener gardening practices.

To view or download the complete Source magazine that highlights Extension programs and impact in Minnesota, click here.

July 19-21, 2012

Every two years, the Upper Midwest Regional Master Gardener Conference is hosted by WI, IL, IA, or MN. In 2012, it's our turn here in Minnesota, and we are excited and proud to be hosting the conference for Extension Master Gardener volunteers at the world-renowned Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

This conference is for Extension Master Gardeners and their guests only.

The conference will also feature a vendor fair, a silent auction with proceeds going toward the Jr. Master Gardener program in Minnesota, book signings, Minnesota Wine Opening Reception and a Minnesota Buffet Banquet featuring speaker Dr. Ed Schneider, Arboretum director.

The class sessions are diverse and exciting and focused around research in the Midwest! Some are classroom-based, some hands-on, some a little of both. Registration is now open. We hope all Upper Midwest Extension Master Gardeners will join us!

Registration is online! Click here.

Master Gardeners don't just experiment with plant varieties on their own, they assist University of Minnesota faculty with research. Beginning in 2009, Master Gardeners in Dakota County aided Extension horticulturist Dr. Vince Fritz on a Brassica research project. The project set out to evaluate variety performance and to characterize each variety's relative health benefit based on the variety's phytonutrient concentration. Vegetables with high phytonutrient concentrations are thought to have preventative benefits against some forms of cancer. The research is directly connected to a collaborative study Dr. Fritz is conducting with the U's Masonic Cancer Center.

Master Gardeners helped to plant and maintain the trial plots at the University of Minnesota's Rosemount Research and Outreach Center (RROC). They also assisted with data collection and as co-educators about the research during annual open house events at the RROC. Later this year a variety trial report will be published. The report will include relative phytonutrient concentrations in each of the varieties trialed.

Dr. Fritz says of the Master Gardener volunteers, "I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Master Gardeners in Dakota County over the years. Their enthusiasm, desire to learn, and desire to 'pass it on' is contagious."

Crow Wing County Master Gardeners were instrumental in selling more than 500 home compost bins in 2011. That will keep a lot of solid waste out of the county landfill. Distributing compost bins is just one aspect of the "Crow Wing County Backyard Composting Program," an effort funded by a 2-year MPCA waste reduction grant. Master Gardeners conduct the program in collaboration with University of Minnesota Extension - Crow Wing County, Northland Arboretum, and Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District. Again in 2012, education on home composting will be delivered through a series of workshops and information booths.

If you live in the Willmar area, or are just passing through, chances are you have received some horticulture advice or information from a Master Gardener through one of the local media outlets. University of Minnesota Master Gardeners in Kandiyohi County use newspaper, radio and TV to deliver Extension gardening and other horticulture education. Local newspapers print Master Gardener columns throughout the growing season. From March to September, find Master Gardener volunteers hosting a one hour, live Saturday morning call-in show on KWLM radio. In 2011, they also produced seven short segments for the WRAC 8 local cable television show, "Do You Know?" Those spots are also posted on the city's website.

With names like "Let's Get Growing," "Burst into Spring," and "Spring Wake-Up," horticulture days have become a popular way for University of Minnesota Master Gardeners to pack a lot of garden and environmental education for the public into one event. A keynote speaker, a series of educational workshops conducted by Extension educators and other plant experts, garden-related vendor booths and silent auctions are typical in the format of these one-day events. Last spring nearly 3000 people attended one of the many horticulture days hosted by local Master Gardener programs.

Click on 'public classes and events' in the left menu bar on this website or go directly to this web page to locate a horticulture day near you:

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/07/2011) --Can a single biofuel production system reduce water and nutrient runoff from farm fields, cut down on soil erosion and turn a profit for the farmers who grow it? University of Minnesota scientists and Extension Master Gardeners will explore this possibility as part of a new, five-year, $25 million multistate grant.

Funded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, nationwide research will focus on harvesting perennial grasses--mostly native species such as bluestem and switchgrass--and using the biomass as a feedstock for a biofuel process known as pyrolysis. Interdisciplinary research teams from eight states will explore the best ways to grow, harvest, transport and distribute the biomass and biofuel.

In Minnesota, research efforts will center on the use of biochar, a nutrient-rich solid and co-product of the pyrolysis process, as a soil amendment. To help determine biochar's viability as a commercial product for home gardeners, Master Gardeners will test its ability to increase productivity in vegetable and flower gardens. They will design, plant, maintain and collect data from research plots at three Minnesota sites: the St. Paul Campus Display Garden, the Rosemount Research and Outreach Center, and the Landscape Arboretum. In addition, Master Gardeners will share preliminary findings and results at horticulture days, open houses, field days and other public events statewide.

"The unique part is that Master Gardeners get to work on cutting-edge bioenergy research and bring those results out to the people of Minnesota," said Julie Weisenhorn, Master Gardener program state director.

U of M scientists from Extension and the departments of bioproducts and biosystems engineering; horticultural science; soil, water and climate; and applied economics will take part.

"What is so exciting about this project is that it has the potential to improve soil fertility of large agricultural fields as well as small gardens," said Jason Hill, assistant professor in the U's bioproducts and biosystems engineering department and one of the project's lead investigators.

The feasibility of biochar as a new commercial product for home gardeners may bode well for the future of clean energy options like bio-oil. Pyrolysis decomposes biomass to produce both biochar and bio-oil, which with additional refining can be turned into automobile fuels and petrochemicals. So-called "green gasoline" derived from bio-oil is considered a "drop-in fuel" that can be added directly to the U.S. gasoline infrastructure and delivery system.

In addition to the University of Minnesota, the five-year study involves researchers from Iowa State University, Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Vermont, USDA research offices in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nebraska, and the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory.

University of Minnesota Extension is a 100-year-old partnership between the university and federal, state and county governments to provide scientific knowledge and expertise to the public. Through Extension, the University of Minnesota "extends" its resources to address critical public issues in priority areas, including food and agriculture, communities, environment, youth and families. For more information, visit www.extension.umn.edu.

From Julie Christensen
Public Relations and News Media Manager
University of Minnesota Extension

The State Master Gardener Advisory Board exists to provide input to the State Master Gardener office to inform governing policies for the program. The board works tirelessly to unite the program throughout the state, and to ensure that the volunteers' voices are heard. Many thanks to our board members for their commitment to both the board and the Master Gardener Program!

From top left: Nancy Hall (Master Gardener), Paul Richtman (Master Gardener), Craig Winters (Master Gardener), David Moen (State Program Manager), Jerry Tilden (Master Gardener), Tom Voigt (Master Gardener), Peggy Zimmerman-Belbeck (Master Gardener), Gwen Stadstad (Master Gardener). From bottom left: Bridget Barton (State Program Assistant), Sandi Paulson (Master Gardener), Julie Weisenhorn (State Program Director), Paul Wood (Master Gardener), Mary Zeug (Master Gardener, Vice-Chair), Diana Rankin (Master Gardener, State Advisory Board Chair).

Not pictured: Sarah Jaycocks (Ramsey County Coordinator), Nathan Crane (Regional Director, UMN Extension), Dori Vickla (Master Gardener).

Photo taken at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Snyder Building, by Terry Straub.

An important goal of the Master Gardener program is to answer the public's questions about gardening using University research-based information. Find answers to your questions several ways - whatever suits you!

By email: Use the national eXtension Ask an Expert tool. Submit your question anytime - images too! - and a University of Minnesota Master Gardener will answer it via email within 48 hours!

Online: The Extension Garden website is filled with useful information, including diagnostic tools, Extension publications, Yard & Garden News, and more.

By phone: Many Minnesota counties have garden hotlines managed by local Master Gardeners. Find yours. If your county doesn't have a hotline, you may also call the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Yard & Garden Line at (952) 443-1426 and leave a message. A Master Gardener will return your call.

Can't get enough UMN Extension news and research? Follow UMNExt and UMNGardenInfo on Twitter!

The Master Gardeners will once again be answering questions from the public in the AgHort building at the Minnesota State Fair! Come prepared with your best questions, and meet Master Gardeners from all over Minnesota!

The Master Gardeners will also be doing hour-long horticulture demonstrations daily in "The Dirt," the AgHort demonstration stage. A full schedule for The Dirt can be found here.

The Master Gardeners are located in the southwest corner of the AgHort building, on the corner of Judson and Underwood Avenues, and the booth is open from 9am-9pm daily. The MG booth is directly across from the vegetable judging. Come to see the Master Gardeners, and stay to see Minnesota's largest pumpkin! The AgHort building features the latest in horticulture, agriculture, Minnesota fruit and wine production, honey and bee culture and much more!