Remember that the number of hours of volunteer service required to remain an active Master Gardener has increased to a minimum of 12 per year as of January 1, 2013. Educational hours required remain at 6 hours per year. Log in to the online Master Gardener hours reporting system to record your hours. Reports for 2012 are still trickling in, but it appears that for the year we'll be close to 90,000 hours of volunteer service from Master Gardeners. That's a value of almost $1.9 million in volunteer service!        

     Congratulations on the great work that you all are doing!

The Winter 2013 Master Gardener class is under way. We have 170 trainees registered at 14 sites around the state. New this training cycle is an optional Adobe Connect session on Good Agricultural Practices related to food safety in home food production. Current Master Gardeners are invited to participate in the session at their county extension office. The GAP training is set for Tuesday, March 19 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Also, for anyone who needs to make up the class-on-campus session, that date is Saturday, February 23. Check with your local Master Gardener coordinator about getting signed up for either of these dates.

Gardeners, both novice and experienced, will be inspired to preserve their garden bounty with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach's 2013 garden calendar. The full-color, 12-month calendar is filled with stunning photography and information.

Each month has several gardening activities and chores listed, so homeowners can easily stay on task as they plan, prepare for, plant and take care of their 2013 garden.

Early winter is prime time to learn more about horticulture in Iowa. It's a good chance to bank all the continuing education hours that you'll need for the year. Some commercial horticulture conferences that may also be of interest to Master Gardeners are:

Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Conference, January 24-25

Iowa Turfgrass Conference, January 29-31

Quad City Vegetable Transplant Production Workshop, February 22

Iowa Shade Tree Short Course, February 27-28

     For more details see Upcoming Events below.

Iowa to Host Regional and International Conferences  

Iowa will get a chance to showcase numerous Master Gardener projects as host of two upcoming Master Gardener events. The Upper Midwest Master Gardener Conference is set for June 25-28, 2014 in Davenport. An excellent team of Scott County Master Gardeners is serving as the steering committee. The theme for the conference is "Growing Along the River".

The following year, Iowa and Nebraska will co-host the International Master Gardener Conference September 22-25, 2015 in Council Bluffs. The theme of this conference is "Horticultural Horizons in the Heartland".

Alaska Flowers, Fjords & Friends 

Join nearly 1000 other Master Gardeners from around the U.S. and Canada at the 2013 International Master Gardener Conference, which will be held September 7-14, aboard an Alaskan cruise ship. If you go, you'll need to register for the conference and book your stay on the ship at the conference website.