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MGFKC Newsletter – The Foundation Connection
Read all about what’s of interest in the April 2022 issue!

Welcome New Interns! by MG Carrie HIll
Advanced Training Coming Soon by the Clinic Leadership Team
The Clinics are Opening! The Clinics are Opening! by the Clinic Leadership Team
Educational Opportunities with Growing Groceries, BDG Workshops
The T-shirts Have Arrived! by the Foundation Board
Cultivate (More) Knowledge: Clean Up and Have Patience
Extend You Resources: New WSU Publication on Growing Rhubarb
Miller Library: In the Garden: Essays on Nature and Growing
More education at Bellevue Botanical Garden, WA Native Plant Society and the WSU Adult Ed Conference

…more …

This newsletter is sent monthly to King County Master Gardeners. Look for it in your email. Miss a past issue? Find it here.

The Master Gardeners of King County will launch their 2022 gardening classes and workshops in January 2022. Whether you’re a beginning gardener or a veteran of many seasons, you’re sure to find a class of interest.

BDG Workshops.

Workshops are on Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., January 22 to mid-October. The workshops cover a wide variety of gardening: vegetables, composting, specific plant varieties, garden pests, efficient watering, and more. Series subscriptions available at a discount. There is a $5 fee for each individual workshop. Registration is required for the series or individual classes. See https://mgfkc.org/education/bdg-workshops to register.

Growing Groceries.

Classes are presented on specific Wednesdays, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., January to June. Classes cover the basics of gardening and information on specific plant families or garden problems, each class building on earlier presentations. New this year: Gardeners will have the option to purchase the series of 11 classes at a discount. Each individual class is $7.50. Registration is required for the series or individual classes. See https://mgfkc.org/education/growinggroceries for links to register.

Heads UP!

Newsletter of the Master Gardener King County Diagnostic Lab

Read in the Fall 2021 issue:

End of Season Contemplations
Record Breaking Weather
Attack of Bay Laurel Psyllids
Sunburns, Scorches and Scalds
Consider Cover Crops
Iris-A Rainbow of Rhizomes
The Sawfly Exceptions
Useful Web Resources
Nerd’s Corner: Scat, Cat!
Twigga Mortis: Sun damage
Frankensquash

This newsletter is sent to Master Gardeners in King County during the active garden months from March to October. Look for the current issue in your email.

Miss a past issue? Find it here.

Donate to Make a Difference

The Master Gardener Foundation of King County provides more than 80% of the financial support for the program. Please support the Master Gardener program in King County with a gift to the Foundation that is meaningful to you. Your donation will:

Continue Master Gardener outreach to share effective gardening practices.
Supply the resources that help the demonstration gardens thrive.
Ensure our plant answer clinics and the email clinic have resources for the public they serve.
Provide training to for the 2022 class of Master Gardeners.

Your donation makes a real difference. Please donate. Thank you.

Touch Base with Your Tillandsias

You don’t have to strike out with Tillandsias. These epiphytes stand out in many shapes, sizes and psychedelic colors. My local nursery tells me they are a big favorite of the people living in all the new developments in the area because they can grow indoors so easily. DispIay them creatively: glue a cluster of them to a piece of wood or a single one onto a small piece of driftwood, pop one in a teacup or hang them in various houseplants.

The best location to keep them is in a room with bright, filtered light. I had a cluster of them for many years playing hardball and refusing to bloom. I started experimenting with putting a small one outside in the summer hanging on a nail on my east-facing front porch. It received some early morning sun (on the days the sun came out.) Otherwise, it just got a good dose of bright light.

Read the full article by Wendy Lagozzino as published in the December 2014 The Dirt, MGF newsletter

Cedar Flagging

Cedar flagging is a natural process that is often confused with a disease. Evergreen plants, including conifers and broad leaf types, naturally shed some old foliage each year. Stress factors, such as insufficient water, hot winds, construction damage or other root disturbance, poor planting procedures, or recent planting can promote flagging. It is being seen more often this year because it is more common when there is hot weather followed by cold weather.

Cool Plants/Hot Tips

Thank you to all who participated in the September 12 Fall Plant Sale. Despite the Seattle mist start, the throngs of excited gardeners descended on Bellevue Botanical Garden early on Sunday. Ciscoe Morris, Nita-Jo Rountree and Christina Pfeiffer joined the talented guides from the Bellevue Botanical Garden Partners to generously donate their time to help the Master Gardener Foundation of King County in this annual fall fundraiser.

Ciscoe and Nita-Jo

We hope you had a chance to buy some fall plants from our local specialty garden vendors and take in a guided talk or enjoy the speakers. You can find the list of the plant vendors on our web page, and we appreciate your continuing support of these businesses through your patronage during the year.

The 500 plus King County Master Gardeners require a strong support system, and the Foundation finances their demonstration gardens, plant clinics and classes. You can find answers to your gardening questions year-round via email at Ask a MasterGardener.

Thank you again for supporting the Master Gardener Program with your generous donations and participation in our events. You may still donate on the Foundation website at MGFKC.org/donate year-round. We look forward to seeing you next year.

Propagation Notes

Photo Credit: F D Richards

Spring is a good time to divide established plants, and many herbaceous perennials need to be divided every few years anyway to stay healthy.

Plan to dig on a cool morning, preferably one with cloud cover – not too hard around here. Learn about:

Dividing Fibrous-rooted Plants
Dividing Fleshy or Woody Crowned Plants
Dividing Suckers from Plants
Dividing Plants with Rhizomes
Dividing Plant with Tubers
Dividing Plants with Offset

Master Gardener Conferences for You

WSU MG Advanced Ed Conference
This year our statewide conference is going virtual from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Registration is now open and you can save by registering before July 31. There are over 30 class sessions to choose from for CE, visual tours, keynote speakers, and even the marketplace. Learn more & register at https://mglearns.org/

International MG Conference
If you want to wander farther from home, try the International MG Conference from Sept. 12-17. It is a virtual conference this year as well with six days of workshops and programs. If you can’t make six days in a row, the recordings will be available for 6 months post conference for you to view at your convenience.
Learn more & register at https://www.internationalmastergardener.com/.

2021 International Master Gardener Conference

2021 Online Plant Sale

2021 A Blooming Success of a Plant Sale

Thank you for supporting the Master Gardener Foundation of King County and our Master Gardeners.

Your purchases and generous donations made this year’s sale a grand success! Thank you for being there with us at this year’s online sale. Thank you for letting friends know about this sale.
Thank You - MGFKC
Happy gardening in 2021! We hope you have a wonderful year in the garden.

We are already looking forward to seeing you in person at next year’s CUH Master Gardener Plant Sale April 22-23, 2022. Save that date!

Don’t forget to pick up your plants!

Check the plant sale page for reminders about picking up your plants.

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