St. Croix Valley Master Gardeners

St. Croix Valley Master Gardeners Association (SCVMGA) was founded to provide community service through education, environmental stewardship, and information on horticulture to the residents of the St. Croix Valley. 

Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities

Yearly dues for members are $15 for a single member and $20 per household. Benefits to you as a member of the Association include a monthly Association newsletter, monthly meetings featuring guest speakers on a variety of gardening topics, membership in the Wisconsin Master Gardener Association, up-to-date information about the Master Gardener certification, opportunities for continuing education and volunteer activities and interaction with other Master Gardeners.

We have 2 newsletters:	Sprinklings, produced by the SCVMGA Read the current issue of Sprinklings	and The Trellis that Diana Alfuth, UWEX Horticulture Educator writes. Read the current issue of The Trellis
	See the newsletter archives

Garden Equipment Wanted For the St. Croix Valley MGA

hand pruners rakes shovels hoses- soaker & 20-25' garden gloves buckets compost bins rain barrels a few garden hoops/ stakes for the flowers in the fall. horizontal planters 24-36" long, made of ironstone (clay/ frost resistant)

Click here to learn more about grants for community service projects in Pierce and St. Croix Counties.

All who have taken the Master Gardener classes are encouraged to join the SCVMGA and come to our meetings.   Email stcroixvlymga@pressenter.com for further info.

Unless otherwise noted, meetings will be held on the 4^th Thursday of the month at the River Falls Library, on the corner of Union & Main.  Business meeting starts at 6:45, speaker begins at 7:15, unless otherwise noted.

The final meeting for 2009 is Nov 19: Annual meeting – Diana Alfuth – recap of the year, working with volunteers, what’s new in MG – Exchange garden tips for next year.

Scheduled meetings and events in 2009 are:                
PRINTABLE schedule

January 22 6:00 PM River Falls Library basement room	Carrie Hanten Larson – New Annuals from Proven Winners Carrie will be talking about the fun new annuals available from Proven Winners for container and landscape use. She works for McHutchison, a broker which supplies cutting, plugs and prefinished materials to greenhouses and has grown most of the annuals herself. January is our Welcome Meeting for new MGs and get reacquainted while starting the new garden season.
February 26	Heidi Doering – Colorful Combinations - Get Moody with Plants Do you carefully choose which plants to include in your mixed combination planters based on color and texture or do you chose combination components based on what you used last year? Are you paralyzed by sensory overload with the dizzying number of choices for combination components at the garden center in the spring!? Heidi will review the basic components needed to create a balanced planter and find out what makes a combination planter 'POP'. See how color can be used in a combination planter to 'create a mood' or make a statement in your garden. Lighten up a dark corner, draw attention to an entry, or scream to your neighbors 'I LOVE PLANTS!' using color to help you make your statement.
March 21 Valley House Hwy 35	Garden U Vince A. Fritz - Take 2 Brussels Sprouts and call me in the morning - prescription production for enhanced health benefits in vegetable crops. PhD, Uof MN in field oriented vegetable research Lynne Steiner, Landscaping with Native Plants, Author, Stillwater area prairie expert Jeff Gillman - The truth about organic gardening, PhD U of MN, author Garden Marketplace with vendors and educational materials
March 26	Pauline Heacock & Heather Lacke – Pruning care and techniques They will discuss pruning care and techniques for trees and shrubs just in time for pruning your spring blooming shrubs. Both own businesses specializing in garden and landscape maintenance and have shared their expertise in dividing perennials and other garden techniques with us before. Pauline is a SCVMGA president and owner of Shifting Sands, Hudson. Heather Lacke is the SCVMGA editor of The Sprinklings; her landscape business is Your Gardener, LLC
April 23	Paula K. Kleintjes Neff, Ph.D.  – Biological Control and IPM in preparation for the growing season A professor in the Department of Biology U W-Eau Claire, Paula 's PhD from UCBerkley was in Environmental Science, Policy and Management with emphasis on entomology. She'll be emphasizing insect control in our gardens to us. Among her activities in this area is habitat restoration and conservation of the Karner blue butterfly.
May 28	Ann Pierce, MN DNR – Interaction between Invasives and our Native Plants Ann is the former head of DNR's Invasive Species Unit and now heads up the Conservation Management and Rare Resources Unit for Minnesota's DNR.
June 6 3rd and Myrtle in Hudson	Octagon House Plant  Sale Divide  your plants for sale or come to buy new ones – Don’t miss this annual MG sale!   3rd and Myrtle in Hudson
June 25
July 23	Open House at Cheryl Barker's, 1269  60th St, (north of Co Rd E in St Joseph) – garden tour and pot luck
July 23-26	St. Croix Co. Fair
August 6-9	Pierce Co. Fair
September 24	Andrew Sankey – English Gardens  Learn about the social history of gardening and how gardens influenced those before us.  What were some early landscaping techniques?  What are kitchen gardens, ornamental gardens, and hobby gardens?
October 22
November 20	Annual meeting – Diana Alfuth Recap of the year, working with volunteers, what’s new in MG. Exchange garden tips for next year. Election of officers, final reports.
December	No meeting.  Have a great holiday.

Contacts:

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