Master Gardener training was offered by UWEX Marquette County in 1998 for the first time. After completion of the 12 week class, the participants met with the intent of forming an organization that would concentrate on a horticultural outreach in Marquette County. Thyme Shares Master Gardener Volunteers & Friends was formed on September 20, 1999. This organization is an extension of the UWEX Marquette County but is responsible for the programs and activities that focus on horticultural related topics.
The current Master Gardener Volunteer class meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM. We have arranged the schedule so we focus on subjects matched to the season of the year. Most sessions have a guest speaker from the seven County Ag Specialization Team who have prepared their own presentations on the topics.
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| Jim Culbertson (L) and Marquette Co. UWEX Ag Agent Keith Vander Velde (R). |
We have learned new ways of doing old things, socialized and made many good friends along the stimulating road to becoming better gardeners & stewards of our 'space'. It is our desire to take our love of gardening one step further ~ out into the community; where, through education & volunteer service, we can share our knowledge and help people with questions/concerns.
Our goals are:
We are excited to have Thyme Shares MGV Jim Culbertson elected as Director-At-Large to the WIMGA board. Jim is very active on a local level here in Marquette County and will be a great addition to the board.
Growing Fruit Trees, by Frank Trostle. November 17. For more details
download the
registration brochure.
Ag in the Classroom is a program coordinated nationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help students in grades K-12 understand the importance of agriculture. Ag in the Classroom is run by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, in conjunction with the Wisconsin AgriBusiness Council with a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Each year in Marquette Co., the Farm Bureau sponsors Ag-In-The-Classroom and invites the 2nd graders from all Marquette Co. schools to join them for a 'day on the farm'.
Thyme Shares MGV UWEX Marquette County have participated for a number of years now. Our theme is GOT DIRT!!! We are allotted only ten minutes for our presentation so we have devised a program with visuals that catches the students attention as well as getting our point across.
Discussion starts with the various soil types found in Marquette County and then their pros/cons. We ask the students what is needed for the seed planted to grow...sun; water; air are all great answers received but the one we're looking for is nutrition. We share how the soils need some help to provide that. We talk about how we recycle in our homes [paper, plastic and glass] and that we can recyle in our kitchens as well. We show them what can be put on and what should be avoided. We move on to the micro and macro organisms that are necessary in the compost process [on a good day ~ we'll have live examples to share]. We move on to the addition of carbon & nitrogen to our piles. We finish with the students seeing the finished produce -compost and most think its dirt and are amazed that they can 'make' this at home and add nutrients to their soils. A lot to cover in 10 minutes but the point seems to get across.
Students from Marquette County Schools watching the MGV demo (top L). Thyme Shares MGV Linda Dahlke; Ruth Jones and Jane Oravetz (top R). Demonstration of recycling from the kitchen [items that are okay to use in a compost pile] (bottom L), add some nitrogen [green] and carbon [brown] to the compost pile (bottom R), and voila - finished compost (inset) completely recycled with no soil in it! This year on October 16th, the Jim & Aaron Wachholz Farm hosted the students of Marquette Co. Since Ag-In-The-Classroom was canceled last May, both second and third graders attended this year. We had a lovely fall day and over 200+ students, teachers and chaperones attended the event. The students were able to view hogs, chickens, cows, production crops grown in the county, bio-security, animal nutrition plus experience the whole rural atmosphere. The Marquette Co. Farm Bureau Women provide lunch for everyone. A day on the farm...it is a good thing!!!
Anita Carpenter is a pharmacist/naturalist/writer/quilter with a passion for the natural world. Her nature writings frequently appear in the Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine. She has found an unique way to express her love of the natural world throught the creation of original, nature-themed quilts.
Anita and her quilts [plus husband Gerald] were featured guests of the Thyme Shares MGV & Friends UWEX Marquette County on October 14th at their Fall Community Outreach program. Her passion for nature and her artistic creative medium was something to behold. As her stories unfolded so did each of her spectacular quilts ~ each depicting a different plant and/or insect species and so realistic that you thought they may be picked right off the quilt.
Anita Carpenter shares her quilt with MGVs and others.
MASTER GARDENERS VISIT McREATH PUMPKIN PATCH
On Wednesday, October 7th the Thyme Shares MGV & Friends had their last Meet-In-The-Gardens for 2009. Jane Oravetz hosted the members and after a brief tour of the gardens, those in attendance loaded up on the wagon and traveled to the McReath Farms. The weather cooperated and the evening was fall-like & perfect for a hayride.
After the kindergartners' tour, Steven McReath shared the operations of their pumpkin patch. He discussed site selection, soil preparation, planting, maintanence & harvest - giving those in attendance a detailed overview of the process. The group had an opportunity to view the harvested pumpkins plus the Indian corn, gourds and squash.
We loaded back up again and headed back to the Oravetz home for refreshments & a brief organization meeting. Thyme Shares would like to thank the McReath family for this educational outing.
Pumpkins at McReaths (L); Thyme Shares MGVs on a hay ride (C); and Steven discussing his pumpkins (L).
IRIS WALK
Do iris grow in the sandy soils of Marquette County? Members of the Thyme Shares MGV & Friends had a chance to get an answer to that question.
On June 10, members traveled to the gardens of Marquette County resident, Robert Binder, to view his extensive iris collection. What an array of color and types - and yes...they were growing in sand!
MGVs view Bob Binder's iris collection. Bob shared with us tips on when & where to plant; various iris troubles we may encounter; when to spray for pests, how to split rhizomes/preparation before replanting them and winter protection. We all came away with some extra knowledge on the subject plus the chance to view some awesome blossoms.
Bob Binder and some of his beautiful flowers.
TROUGH WORKSHOP: On Saturday, March 7th the Thyme Shares MGV/UWEX Marquette County hosted a morning workshop to create troughs.
There was a discussion on the troughs & sinks noting that they have been used in utilitarian ways for centuries. Troughs did not begin life in the garden – at first stone containers were used in England for watering and feeding animals. The idea of planting a trough with garden plants is very popular today ~ they make marvelous containers. They have the advantage of almost looking as if they are part of the landscape.
The supplies (Portland cement; torpedo sand & peat moss) were provided with each participant responsible for their own rubber gloves, mask, safety glasses, garbage bags & their trough form (since this was a make & take session, this form had be sized for easy transportation).
Workshop participants making troughs.
Two of the finished troughs. After a brief demonstration which shared the ‘recipe’ and mixing directions, we were on our own. Working amongst water, concrete, wire, plastic we were all pleasantly surprised about how creative we could be and left with a wonderful trough to display outdoors in our gardens once it has completely cured.
Note: Joseph Oravetz (MGV Jane Oravetz’s husband) did the program with help from other members’ husbands: Wayne Peterson & Rick Stimps. We appreciated having the ‘guys’ there as they did all the mixing of the cement/sand/moss for us so we could concentrate on our troughs.
Note: We contacted Job Service (to include those who may have recently lost their jobs) and Social Services (to include families that may be living on fixed incomes) in Marquette County thinking these two groups may find alternatives to supplementing their food source.
This program opened with the ‘Growing Vegetables in Wisconsin’ PowerPoint by Karen Delahaut and we also reviewed ‘Planning, Site Preparation for Vegetable Production’ PowerPoint by Dr. Robert Tomesh.
The program on Raise Your Own Vegetables included demonstrations on planting seeds. Following the PowerPoint, Thyme Shares MGV, Jeannine Anagnostopoulos, Mary Jane Bandt and Pat O’Brien, presented a demonstration on what you may have in your home to recycle (such as ‘take-out boxes; plastic deli trays; toilet paper empty roll; etc.) to use for starting your own seeds. We discussed potting mixtures to use and they shared on when to start your seeds indoors; how to harden them off and when to transplant to your garden.
Workshop presenters answered questions. Each attendee received a handout, which featured all the information discussed during this program. At the end of the program, time was allowed for questions and comments. All attendees went home with eight seed packets of assorted vegetables & black plastic starter containers.
The Plant-A-Row (PAR) Committee briefly discussed how this works in Marquette County and everyone went home with a informational packet with more seeds.
At the beginning of this project, we were met with many challenges such as massive invasions of lily of the valley and common orange daylilies as well as many shrubs in need of hard pruning.
The gardens have come a long way since then with the addition of many lovely shrubs, perennials and ornamental decorations such as a birdbath, trellis’s, benches and a charming cherub statue. Last year we added a small, quaint herb garden at the back door of the building.
Every Father’s Day, the Historical Society holds their annual strawberry ice cream sociable on the grounds. This is their main fundraiser and the event attracts many of the counties resident as well as visitors to the area.
Thyme Shares has received many compliments on what we have accomplished here and this is a nice reflection on one of the many things Wisconsin Master Gardener Volunteers do to make our own little corner of the earth a lovelier place to be!
Plantings at the Marquette Co. Historical Society Museum.
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| PAR coordinator Ruth Jones at our Spring Outreach Program. |
In 2000, the Thyme Shares MGV & Friends made the commitment to support and bring this worthwhile project to Marquette County. The mechanics of the operation was developed over the early years and continue on strong yet today. We work along with the
Marquette County Care & Share Food Bank to provide fresh produce & flowers for those in need in our county. Drop-off sites have been designated throughout the county (being the same location of the County Meal Sites) and these drivers pick up donations and deliver them back to the Food Bank. Our committee makes up informational packets and then promotes this outreach at local events throughout the year. It is amazing how much ‘extra’ fresh produce comes to the Food Bank because of this awareness program.
This committee got an early start this year when in March they contacted the Garden Writers Association to request brochures and row markers. They then vegetable seeds in bulk and had enough to make up 100 informational packets which included the seeds; brochure that explains the purpose of PAR, drop-off sites for produce and a plastic row marker from the GWA.
Jeanine Anagnostopoulos holds the
June issue of Horticulture MagazineTo date, the committee has done distribution and promotion at the Spring Outreach & Fruit Tree Sale in April.
TREE SALE: In order to encourage individuals to experience the benefits of garden/orchard ‘fresh’, the MGAs provide homeowners with fruit trees, aspargus, strawberries, grapes, and raspberries at reasonable prices so one can have an orchard of their own. Monies earned help with outreach projects throughout Marquette County.
In 2009, we offered asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and grapes along with the fruit trees. A detailed description of all the cultivars was on an order form that people could download from our website. This allowed us to reach even further with our offerings.
Total Count for 2009:
Fruit Trees - 1062; Asparagus - 3800; Raspberries - 500; Blueberries - 260;
Strawberries - 2000; Grapes - 130.
The plants arrived healthy and transplant success rates
should be good. Our members sorted the orders on Friday and pick-up was on
Saturday, April 18, 2009. The pick-up location was the
Marquette County Fairgrounds in Westfield.
 
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| Sorting and distributing the tree stock. |
Thyme Shares MGVs Frank and Mary Trostle have been coordinators of this project for the past years and do an excellent job of making this outreach run smoothly from start to finish.
Since we always have LOTS of questions when individuals come to pickup their orders, some of our MGVs asked for additional training on the subject. Frank Trostle put together an educational opportunity – which was specific to the tree and plant sale items we offered. We met on March 28th for a morning of education. ‘Tree & Plant Sale Planting & Growing Guidelines’ Power Point gave us valuable information on varieties offered; locations & conditions for plantings; how to plant; mulch; fertilizing; care & end of season preparation.
Educational workshop on fruit crops for MGV training before the plant sale.
The sale was very successful. Even during these stressed economic times people are still willing to add to their gardens and seemed very excited to be able to purchase our plants at very reasonable prices. Many expressed interest in returning for our sale in July during our annual Garden Walk.
Thyme Shares MGA plant sale at Bloomin' Best.
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Jim Culbertson W1576 Deer Path Drive Montello, WI 53949 (608) 297-8212 |
Keith
Vander Velde, Agriculture Agent Marquette County Extension Office Box 338 480 Underwood Ave. Montello, WI 53949-0338 (608) 297-9153 |
