Donate Fresh Produce This Season 

Cultivate Iowa is a program sponsored by the Iowa Food Systems Council's Food Access and Health Work Group (of which Denny is a part) promoting fresh produce donation and food gardening. The group's goal is to create a sustainable future and healthier communities in Iowa.

University of Illinois Extension currently has 8 free IPM modules online for Master Gardener continuing education. The topics are: bacterial leaf scorch, brown marmorated stink bug, sudden oak death, thousand canker disease, spruce problems, downy mildew on basil and impatiens, emerald ash borer, and bur oak blight. The modules include information and pictures of the pathogen or pest, host plants, symptoms, diagnosis, and management strategies.  

Participants must create a login and password to access the modules. After studying the material presented in the module, participants take a short quiz. They must repeat the quiz until they receive a perfect score and then they are directed to an online evaluation of the module. When finished, the participant is able to print out a certificate, which validates their completion of the module. Each module takes about ½ hour to complete. Check with your local coordinator in Iowa to get approval for Master Gardener continuing education credits (½ hour for each segment) for completion of these IPM course modules.

To access the modules go to: http://mg.cropsci.illinois.edu/ 

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. Registration deadline is June 24. 

Are you a photography buff? Each year the Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Calendar is based on a theme. For 2015 the theme will be garden whimsy. As you're out and about this year, if you see and photograph images that fit the garden whimsy theme, we'd be interested in seeing them for consideration for inclusion in the 2015 calendar. Minimum quality standards for the photos are: 300 d.p.i. for a 9 x 12 inches landscape orientation. Images may be jpg or tiff format. Deadline for submission of images will be March 1, 2014. That gives you plenty of time to create and photograph some fabulously fun garden art.

Please email your entries to Cindy or Denny or mail a DVD or jump drive containing the high-res images to us at 106 Horticulture Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011. Photographers will be credited in the calendar, but there is no monetary compensation for selected images.

The Iowa Lily Society is hosting the 2013 International North American Lily Society Lily Show and Conference on June 26-30, 2013 at the Sheraton West Des Moines, IA. Lily growers, hybridizers and enthusiasts will be coming from all over the US, Canada and Europe. Five speakers will provide insight into lily breeding and species. The event also will feature a lily show. Anyone can register and attend the events for a fee by registering on the Iowa Lily Society web page.