Posts Tagged ‘Community’

Garden Allies: Pollinators, Predators and Parasitoids That Help You Garden

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

The myriad of insects and other critters that are helpful to the gardener often outnumber those that cause all the problems. But you need to know the good guys from the bad guys. Learn about the many insects that pollinate your crops and those that keep the pests at bay. Learn too how to make your garden a welcoming habitat for garden allies. Gail will also cover purchase and release of beneficial insects.

The speaker is Gail Gredler, horticulture Instructor at Chemeketa Community College, where she teaches integrated pest management, soils, plant propagation, and nursery and greenhouse production. Gail also spent seven years as an OSU Extension Agent with the OSU Master Gardener program and four years as education director with the Oregon Garden. She is an avid home gardener who loves to watch the bugs in her garden.

When: Tuesday, March 13th, 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.

Gourmet Gardening: Growing Your Own Groceries

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

Juicy strawberries glistening with morning dew; plump pea pods dangling like earrings from their vines; freshly sliced tomatoes still warm from the afternoon sun—kitchen gardeners have access to some seriously amazing food. In this photo-filled lecture, Willi will explore the diversity of food in our gardens. Many crops can be eaten at more than one stage of growth or have several edible parts, including fruit, roots, leaves, flower buds, and seed pods. You’ll learn how to harvest crops like garlic scapes and green coriander, learn about the best vegetable varieties for the Pacific Northwest and how to create a succession planting plan that will allow you to keep your garden productive all year long. 

Willi Galloway is an award winning writer and radio commentator and author of the new book, Grow Cook Eat: A Food-Lover’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening, Including 50 Recipes, Plus Harvesting & Storage Tips

 

A gorgeous garden-to-table handbook, Grow Cook Eat, fills in the blanks between growing food in the garden and using it in the kitchen. With 50 guides to the best-loved vegetables, herbs, and small fruits, Willi offers easy-to-follow planting and growing advice and specific instructions for harvesting and storing all the edible parts of the plant, including uncommon but delicious extras like pea shoots and arugula blossoms. Each guide concludes with a simple recipe that celebrates the flavor of fresh food.

Copies of Grow Cook Eat will be available for purchase and signing prior to Willi’s talk at 6:30pm and following her presentation.

Willi writes about kitchen gardening and seasonal cooking on her popular blog, DigginFood and pens the weekly column, The Gardener, on Apartment Therapy’s Re-Nest blog. Each Tuesday morning, Willi offers vegetable gardening advice on Seattle’s popular NPR call-in show, Greendays. She also teaches a joint gardening and cooking class with chef Matthew Dillon at the Corson Building in Seattle and hosts an online garden to table cooking show, Grow. Cook. Eat., with her husband, Jon. Willi was the West Coast Editor of Organic Gardening magazine from 2003 to 2009.  In 2004, she earned her Master Gardener certification from WSU Extension. Willi lives and gardens right here in Portland, Oregon

Date: Tuesday, February 14th

Time: 6:30pm book sales and signing, 7pm presentation

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.

 

Speaker Series: A Guide to the Best Hardy Shrubs for Your Garden

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

 

 

For most homeowners, shrubs are an essential part of the yard or garden
because they provide shade, flowers, and foliage from spring through fall.
Unfortunately, the choices available at many garden centers tend to be
predictable and often unsuited to the local climate and growing conditions.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The superior plants available today can
transform ho-hum gardens into scenes of beauty and serenity. For decades,
the Gossler family has tested, propagated, and sold the very best hardy
shrubs from around the world. Nurseryman and author Roger Gossler will highlight characteristics and growing conditions for many beautiful, versatile and growable shrubs.

Roger Gossler grew up in Springfield, Oregon on the Gossler family farm, and is one of those rare individuals who knew his career from birth. He became interested in plants at an early age and quickly became a leader in promoting the use of woody trees and shrubs. Roger is currently the buyer and main grower for Gossler Farms Nursery. He avidly researches what is new in the trade and worthy of inclusion in the nursery’s catalog.

Roger will have a beautiful selection of Gossler Farms plants for sale starting at 6:30pm prior to his presentation and also following his talk.

When: Tuesday, November 8th
              Plant Sale: 6:30pm
              Presentation: 7:00pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., parking on SE 54th Avenue, across from the church. Enter building on 54th

Cost: Free!

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by: Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association

SPEAKER SERIES: SEED SAVING STEWARDSHIP OF A NATURAL RESOURCE

Monday, March 7th, 2011

According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, crop genetic resources are disappearing at the rate of 1 to 2 percent a year. About 75 percent of agricultural crop diversity is estimated to have been lost since the beginning of the last century. What’s more, seed knowledge is eroding even faster than seed biodiversity.

Here is where the home gardener can step into the important role as a Stewardship Super Hero. Not only can the home gardener save seeds to be more economical, and to grow varieties that grow well in gardener’s home environment. But, the home gardener will be acting as a good steward in helping to preserve genetic diversity and heritage.

Saving seeds is easy, fun, and a profound act of social and environmental empowerment. Here in the Willamette Valley, fertile soils, mild winters, and dry summers combine to create some of the best conditions in the world for growing seeds.

Sarah Kleeger and Andrew Still, seed stewards, from Adaptive Seeds will illustrate why saving seeds is so important, how to plan your garden for seed saving, and how to process the seeds you’ve grown.

Sarah Kleeger and Andrew Still began The Seed Ambassadors Project in 2006 when they traveled through northern and eastern Europe collecting and sharing open-pollinated seeds in places with climates similar to or harsher than those of the Pacific Northwest. In 2007 they began growing out many of the 800 varieties they collected on their travels, evaluating them for flavor and suitability for growing in the Willamette Valley. They started Adaptive Seeds in January 2009 to help some of these incredible varieties find their way into more gardens. Sarah and Andrew are the authors of A Guide to Seed Saving, Seed Stewardship, and Seed Sovereignty, a ‘zine that is available free on their websites at www.seedambassadors.org and www.adaptiveseeds.com. Please join us.

When: Tuesday, March 8, 7pm
 

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., parking    on SE 54th Avenue, across from the church.  Enter building on 54th

Cost: Free!

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by: Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association

 

Speaker Series: Genetically Modified Plants – Their Biology, Uses and Potential Concerns

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

Genetically modified (GM) organisms, plants, crops, and food are definitely in the news these days with recent decisions from the US Secretary of Agriculture and the federal courts. The Multnomah County Master Gardeners Speakers Series: Genetically Modified Plants – Their Biology, Uses, and Potential Concerns examines the complex world of genetically modified crops and plants in a straight forward way. This presentation will explore the science that led to genetically modified plants, take a look at their role in agriculture and horticulture. Plus, delve into some of the issues and potential concerns about their use.

Chip Bubl an OSU Extension Service Horticulturist and a perennial favorite instructor at Master Gardener trainings offers a research-based discussion on this complex subject. This is great opportunity to learn and ask questions. Please join us.

When: Tuesday, February 8, 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., parking on 54th. Enter on west side of building.

Cost: Free!

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by: Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association

Speakers Series: Getting a Grip on Clematis, Speaker: Linda Beutler, Curator, Rogerson Clematis Collection

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Gardeners are met each spring by a confounding selection of clematis accompanied by a baffling array of pruning “rules”. Join Rogerson Clematis Collection curator Linda Beutler for an evening of illustrated clarification and demystification.

Photo courtesy of Linda Beutler

 

Linda Beutler is a fearless gardener who grows a great number of plants on a simple, flat 50’ x 100’ city lot in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. She was a professional florist for 20+ years, and her first love in her own garden was growing flowers and foliage for cutting. That focus started changing when Linda purchased her first clematis as a misnamed plant. Her personal collection of this genus now numbers 250 separate species and cultivars.

This passion for clematis led to the publication of her first book, Gardening with Clematis (Timber Press, 2004). Clematis not withstanding, hers is a fully functioning organic cottage garden, including fruit trees and room for favorite vegetables, in a style appropriate for her 1907 cottage home. Linda is one of two Vice Presidents of the International Clematis Society (I.Cl.S.). She is a founding member of the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection (in 2003), and served on their Board of Directors until she was named the collection’s first curator, beginning July 2007. Linda Beutler has been an instructor of horticulture at Clackamas Community College (CCC) for 13 years.  In spring 2007, Timber Press presented her second book, Garden to Vase, on growing and using your own cut flowers, featuring photography by Allan Mandell.  

When: Tuesday, November 9, 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., parking on 54th.  Enter on west side of building.

Cost: Free!

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by: Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association

 

 

SPEAKER SERIES: DESIGNING GREAT SMALL CONIFERS INTO YOUR GARDEN, SPEAKERS: DAVID LECKEY, OREGON SMALL TREES NURSERY AND ANNE MARSH, MARSH AND FEAR GARDEN SOLUTIONS

Friday, September 17th, 2010

 

Photo ©2010 Ancil Nance

Exciting new conifer cultivars provide designers and garden enthusiasts
with a whole new palette of textures, shapes, and colors for creating
year-around garden interest. As a professional garden designer and current
President of the Association of Northwest Landscape Designers, Anne Marsh will show slides of some of these new and unusual conifers being used
in Portland gardens, discussing issues such as placement and objective. At
the same time, Dave Leckey, a grower of mature small conifers, will discuss
and have examples of these same conifers on display. Between Anne and
Dave, the audience will be able to see the plants, learn their
characteristics and growing needs, and get ideas on how to successfully
place them in garden situations.

Photo by Anne Marsh

Anne Marsh has over 35 years of experience in plant selection and garden
design and is the President of the Association of Northwest Landscape
Designers (ANLD). Anne’s company, Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions was created by Anne and her partner, Gary Fear, about 7 years ago after transforming their own garden in SW Portland. They welcome the public to visit their garden. Open garden dates are available at www.marshfear.com

David Leckey has put his lifelong passion for energy conservation and
earth-friendly practices into use in his home and his business, Oregon
Small Trees Nursery. The nursery, located west of Wilsonville, specializes
in mature, slow-growing, low-maintenance, container-grown conifers and
Japanese maples. David has also either written for or been featured
numerous times in publications including Fine Gardening magazine, The
Oregonian, and Digger magazine.

When: Tuesday, October 12, 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., parking on 54th.  Enter on west side of building.

Cost: Free!

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by: Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association

Coming up, Tuesday, November 9, Getting a Grip on Clematis.  Speaker: Linda Buetler, Curator, Rogerson Clematis Collection