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June 2024 UME Master Gardener
State Office Announcements
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Tuliptree season is one of my favorites! This native can produce beautiful flowers for up to 200 years and offer great wildlife value if you have the room to give it.
Our newsletter this month includes a new garden tracker form, a new continuing education workshop, registration for our summer Grow It Eat It meeting, book club recommendations and more!
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A note from Jon Traunfeld, Home/Community Food Production Specialist
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I'm taking a six-month sabbatical starting July 1st. I'll be investigating the food gardening barriers faced by underserved residents and successful approaches and projects for expanding food gardening access. Please help me get started!
1. Are you teaching low-cost food gardening or small-space food gardening? I would love to learn about your successes, failures, tips, and teaching materials.
2. Are you starting or supporting a community garden or other public space food garden as part of your MG work?
3. Are you doing small-space food gardening on a balcony, deck, or stoop, indoors, or in your yard? We need photos, stories, and tips for the UME website. Or maybe you would like to write a blog article for Maryland Grows. We want to showcase the many different ways food can be grown when space, time, and other resources are limited.
Please call or send me an email: 410.531.5572; jont@umd.edu
Thanks!
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Have you caught the native plant fever? We're looking for stories to feature on social media and our website about Master Gardeners who have incorporated native plants into their landscapes to help gardeners who are new to natives.
Whether you have a small patio garden or a larger property, we want to share a variety of examples to reflect many different types of properties, especially when it comes to design.
Have you incorporated natives alongside traditional ornamental plants, or used them in a layered container design? Do you have visual interest throughout the season? Do you have a planting style (e.g., formal vs naturalistic)?
If you want to share your stories and photos, please email them to Kaitlyn.
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Entomology Needs Assessment | |
This anonymous survey was created for Master Gardener volunteers to inform University of Maryland Extension entomology and integrated pest management programming led by the new Faculty Specialist, Madeline Potter. We predict this 14 question survey to take approximately 10-15 minutes. Any and all input is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or need a reasonable accommodation to complete this survey please contact, Madeline Potter (mpotter@umd.edu). Thank you for your time. Click the button below to complete the survey. | |
What are You seeing in the Garden? | |
Please use the form below to tell us what you see in your garden and community gardens—please submit insect pests, diseases, and beneficial insects. This form is for tracking information to share across the state, not for identification. | |
Septic Landscaping Opportunity | |
There is an opportunity for Howard County residents to have a septic garden installed on their property. The poster below provides examples of two gardens that have already been created. You can click the images to enlarge them. Our colleague Dr. Andy Lazur is looking for two additional septic systems to plant. If you have a septic system or know someone who does and are interested in this opportunity, please reach out to Dr. Lazur, lazur@umd.edu, for more information. | |
Statewide Meetings and Continuing Education | |
Ask A Master Gardener Plant Clinic | |
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We're trying something new for Ask A MG Plant Clinic training this year. We'll have monthly updates on the first Wednesday of the month (except in July, then it's the 2nd Wednesday) at 12pm from April through October. These will all be conducted virtually.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this webinar, please contact Stephanie Pully at least 2 weeks prior to the webinar at (410) 531-1754 or pully@umd.edu.
Plant clinic recordings can be seen on our Statewide Meeting Minutes page.
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Implicit Bias: Uncovering the Hidden Impacts | |
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In this interactive 90-minute professional development workshop we will learn about identity, culture, and implicit bias, and examine the potential impacts on Extension work. Participants will practice inclusive communication and brainstorm activities for increased community outreach.
This will be a virtual event on Wednesday, June 26th from 12:00 pm- 1:30 pm
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Summer Grow It Eat It Meeting | |
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Please let us know if you plan to attend our Summer 2024 GIEI meeting! We will be in-person only on Tuesday, July 9 at the Anne Arundel County Extension Office located at 97 Dairy Lane, Gambrills, MD 21054 from 10am - 2pm. There will be tours of the various production projects including the urban farm, the Master Gardener demonstration gardens onsite, and the apiary. The meeting will be potluck so please feel free to bring a dish or extra produce to share!
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please contact Steph Pully at pully@umd.edu or (410) 531-1754 by June 25, 2024.
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Tour of Backyard Basecamp | |
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On Friday, August 2nd, visit BLISS Meadows, a 10-acre land reclamation project, where we operate an urban farm and educate our community on how to grow, harvest, cook, survive, and thrive in the outdoors.
Our tour will be led by Aitya Wells, the Founder and Executive Director of Backyard Basecamp, Inc. - a nonprofit with a mission to (re)connect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to land and nature. By diving into research and history, Atiya learned that historical trauma is a key player in the lack of diversity in environmental programming. She has since dedicated her time to (re)introducing her community to nature by starting in their own backyards and eventually embarking on a journey into the many green spaces across Baltimore.
Parking is very limited, so we will be traveling by bus. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please contact Steph Pully at pully@umd.edu or (410) 531-1754 by July 19, 2023.
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Catch Up on Continuing Education | |
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Did you miss any of our continuing education webinars last year?
Check out the recordings below! You can always see both upcoming continuing education opportunities and recorded webinars on the State MG Continuing Education webpage.
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Sustainable Solutions: Landscaping for Resilience around Septic Systems & Flood-Prone Areas
An insightful webinar on integrating conservation landscaping practices to promote environmental sustainability and resilience in areas surrounding septic systems and flood-prone zones
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Butterfly Pavilion Interview
Hello Listener,
This month, we discuss butterflies and the Smithsonian Butterfly Pavilion at National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. with Arthur Earle.
Listen Here
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Climate & Biodiversity Action Webinars | |
This year's theme is regeneration. We’ve spent the last couple of years reviewing problems associated with climate change and biodiversity loss and considering how each of us can help slow the warming of the planet. This summer we will focus on how we can regenerate life on Earth in a way that will revive the ecosystems on which we all depend. | |
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Webinars | |
The Botany of Desire (And How I Got Hooked on Native Orchids) | |
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Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm
How do plants make a living? That question has propelled botanist Dennis Whigham for his nearly 47-year career with the Smithsonian. Orchids were especially bewitching. On Aug. 20, join Dennis for a journey of discovery through the orchid world. He’ll take you from their unlikely beginnings as “dust seeds,” to the microscopic fungi they depend on to thrive, to their quirky—or downright sneaky—strategies to get pollinated. He’ll also reveal some of the most shocking discoveries, including the realization that more than half our continent’s native orchids are in trouble. Discover how stewards across the continent are rallying to save native orchids through the North American Orchid Conservation Center, and what you can do to help ensure their survival.
This webinar will be recorded! Closed captions will be available during the live event and on the recording. By signing up on Zoom, you'll be able to join live and receive a link to the recording approximately 1 week after the live webinar.
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This is a series of free webinars for Pollinator Week (June 17-21) brought to you by the Pollinator Partnership. Free pollinator identifying guides are also available for download. Click the button below to register for the webinars and view their resources | |
Looking for books to read during Year of Heirloom Tomatoes? Check out the titles below: | |
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The Growing Season
Twenty-seven-year-old Belle Carson tends the gardens of world-renowned inventor Thomas Edison on his winter estate in Fort Myers, Florida. He and his family rarely visit, but when a friend of the Edisons’ drops in, she convinces Belle to join an agricultural movement sweeping the South—tomato clubs for girls.
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Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World: A History
Supported by meticulous research and told in a lively, accessible voice, Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World seamlessly weaves travel, history, humor, and a little adventure (and misadventure) to follow the tomato's trail through history.
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100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Gardener
Dr. Carolyn J. Male, who has raised more than a thousand heirloom tomatoes, here presents 100 consistently top-performing varieties for North American gardeners.
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Mention of specific products or businesses does not imply or constitute endorsement by UME. | |
Home and Garden Information Center | |
Web Content
Check out these revised webpages:
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Video Content
Check out these videos:
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Using Apps for Plant Identification
By Ashley Bodkins, Senior Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Garrett County, University of Maryland Extension
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Creative Displays- Starting the Conversation about Insect Ecosystem Services
By Helen Craig, M.S. Entomology Graduate Student, Lamp Lab, University of Maryland Entomology Department
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Stephanie Pully
UME Master Gardner State Coordinator
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Kaitlyn Baligush
Program Management Specialist
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The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression. | | | | |
