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It's Time to Record Your Hours
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To remain active for the coming year, Iowa Master Gardeners are required to complete at least 20 volunteer hours, and 10 hours of continuing education during 2015. Report your hours on the Hours Reporting System by December 31st to ensure that you remain an active volunteer. If you need help navigating the reporting system, watch the online tutorial videos.
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Master Gardener Training is Underway
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The class of 2015 is well on their way to becoming Master Gardener interns. Adobe Connect sessions are wrapping up in November. Trainees will be learning about weed management, animal ecology, and integrated pest management this month. Check our Facebook page for photos from the training sessions.
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Photo Winners Announced
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Photographers from around Iowa submitted pictures as part of the Master Gardeners in Action Photography Contest. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos. You'll be seeing many of the winning submissions featured in future newsletters, on the Iowa Master Gardener Facebook page, and on the Master Gardener website. Congratulations to the winners of the contest: First place: Jean Gillpatrick, Buchanan County Second place: Colleen Sattler, Polk County Third place: Jay McWherter, Linn County Fourth place: Kim Miller, Jones County Fifth place: Hazel Kout, Buchanan County
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Search for Excellence Projects
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Do you have a Master Gardener project that makes an outstanding contribution to your community? Which projects from your Master Gardener program make an impact locally? Check out the Search for Excellence recognition program to learn more about this award and how to apply. Applications are due March 15, 2016.
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Growing to Fight Hunger
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Iowa Master Gardeners are gearing up to fight hunger in 2016. At least 1 in 8 Iowans are food insecure. Master Gardeners can do their part to increase food security by growing food, connecting gardens to food banks, and teaching families experiencing poverty about growing their own produce.
In 2016, demonstration gardens on the ISU research farms will be growing varieties of vegetables that are well-suited for donations to food pantries. Master Gardener volunteers near these sites can lend a hand to harvest produce and take it to nearby food pantries. Participating demonstration gardens are in Armstrong, Gilbert, Rock Rapids, Kanawha, Muscatine, Crawfordsville, and Nashua.
The winter webinar series will focus on hunger in Iowa and how Master Gardeners can help alleviate the problem. Also, mini-grants will be available next spring to assist in funding local projects. Watch for more details in future newsletters.
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What Do Master Gardeners Want to Learn?
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Many of you participated in an online survey conducted earlier this year by Bryn Takle, a graduate student in horticulture at Iowa State University. Thank you to the 1,263 Iowa Master Gardeners who answered questions from the survey. Here are some highlights from the research.
Iowa Master Gardeners have a strong interest in learning about native plants and sustainable horticultural practices as continuing education topics. Female Master Gardeners showed a higher preference for local foods and organic gardening than men. Men reported a higher preference for integrated pest management and plant diagnostics than women.
Dividing the group by age (less than 50 years old vs. 50 or more years old) showed that the younger group of Iowa Master Gardeners had a higher preference for sustainable horticultural practices, local foods, organic gardening, and composting.
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Shop for Master Gardener Gear
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Super Sleuths
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Congratulations to Super Sleuths Kristen Hershey, Boone County; Jack Robertson, Poweshiek County; and Judy Brozik, Hancock County for correctly identifying the bulbous spring-blooming plant in the photo below. It is Dichelostemma ida-maia, previously classified as Brodiaea coccinea and Brodiaea ida-maia. The unusual specific epithet derives from the name of a California stagecoach driver's daughter. Common names include firecracker flower, and California firecracker flower. Technically a corm rather than a bulb, this native of California and Oregon grows 2-3' tall, producing umbels of tubular red blooms tipped in green, which reveal a creamy yellow or white corona as the bud opens. As is the case with many bulblike plants, it is quite drought tolerant. The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, which act as pollinators for the plant. It is hardy in Zones 5-8.
Denny Schrock
State Master Gardener Coordinator
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Featured Plant from October
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Firecracker flower, Dichelostemma ida-maia
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November Mystery Plant
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What am I?
The photo below was taken earlier this week in my yard. It demonstrates the excellent fall color of this shrub which is native to much of eastern North America. It is hardy in Zones 4-9. Truly a shrub for all seasons, it bears attractive white flowers in spring, has glossy green foliage through the growing season and by late summer has showy red berries which persist well into winter. The fruits are edible. The plant tolerates heavy clay soil and temporary standing water, making it an excellent choice for rain gardens. It grows well in full sun to part shade.
Send your response including its common name and botanical name, including cultivar in your reply to Denny. In the next newsletter, we'll recognize up to the first 10 respondents that provide the correct identity of the mystery plant.
November Mystery Plant
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