Orders for Mills Magic Mix

Orders for Mills Magic Mix, Mills Easy Feed, and other Beaty Fertilizer Company products will be taken by calling Gary Rankin or Monica Valentovic (304-697-0321). You can also send your order by email to Valentov@marshall.edu or Rankin@marshall.edu. Mills Magic Mix is an excellent organic fertilizer. The components of Mills Magic Mix include: alfalfa meal, bone meal, fish meal, sewer sludge and cottonseed meal. One 20-pound bag will feed either 30 large roses or 60 miniatures one time. It is best to feed your roses Mills Magic Mix in the spring and give another feeding in mid-July. Feeding two times adds organic matter to the soil and provides a slow, non-burning feeding of your roses. Mills Magic Mix when applied in the spring helps increase microbial activity in the soil. Each bag will cost $18.00, if he can get an order of 50 bags. This is a big savings from the normal retail price of $29 for one 20# bag. That is a savings of $11/bag and our cost includes shipping provided you order through the rose society!!

He also will take orders for Mills Easy Feed liquid. This is a complete formula that can be used to fertilize your roses and contains magnesium and fish emulsion components. The cost of Mills Easy Feed half gallon is $14.20 for 1/2 gallon (feeds 128 roses at a level of 1 TBSP/gallon water) and $25.40 for a gallon. Rosemania.com is selling a gallon for $39.99. He will try to get the Mills Magic Mix and Easy Feed delivered by April.

Other products that are also available include:

• Alfalfa meal (50#, $25.60)
• Blood Meal (50# $65.00)
• Bone Meal (50#, $35.00)
• Fish Meal (50#, $65.00)
• Green Sand (50# $35.00)
• Worm Castings (40#, $19.00)
• Fish emulsion (1 gal, $13.40)
• Humic Acid (1 gal, $13.40)
• Liquid Seaweed (1 gal, $22.40)
• Super Thrive (1 pint, $30.00)

A time release product being offered by Beaty Fertilizer Company is BloomKote. BloomKote is a 16-18-14 time release fertilizer plus minors formulated to specifically feed roses for four (4) months. A 20# tub is $39.00 (1 cup/rose, feeds 35 roses). A 40# tub is $70.00. Another product is Rose Starter Fertilizer (11-40-6 with minors). A 40# bag is $30.60.

Gary and Monica will need your order by the end of March but may have some remaining products that they can bring to our June meeting to sell.

March Update

WSAZ Home and Garden Show

First on everyone’s mind is the WSAZ Home and Garden Show on March 13-15.  A great lineup of speakers will be on hand throughout the weekend who will be sharing gardening information and useful tips.  This is a great opportunity to gain hours of education or service for renewal of your MG certification. If you would like to volunteer and have not already signed up, please contact Connie Berk (berkc@marshall.edu, (304) 696-7341 (W) or (304) 429-7318 (H)).  She is especially looking for volunteers to help with the speakers, handing out and collecting evaluations, calendars and other tasks.  She is also looking for volunteers to assist visitors at our booth, especially on Saturday the 14^th.  Of course, there will be a hospitality room for our group so feel free to bring a snack to share if you would like.  Victor Simpson has made arrangements for the purchase of a beautiful quilt that will be auctioned off at our booth.  This is always a great fundraiser for us.

WV Master Gardener Conference

The 2015 WV Master Gardener Conference is coming up on March 27-29 at Pipestem Resort.  If you cannot attend the conference but have items to donate to the fundraising auction, please bring them to the Home and Garden Show and we will see that they are entered into the items for auction.

Dues

Our treasurer, Greg Norris, asks me to remind you that 2015 CCMGA dues ($16) can be mailed to PO Box 7661, Huntington, WV 25578-7661. 

Perennial Exchange and Plant Sale

This year the Perennial Exchange and Plant Sale will be held in conjunction with the Tri-State Sustainability Fair on May 16 at Heritage Station.  The Perennial Exchange and Plant Sale will run from 10 am until noon.  This is a great opportunity for Master Gardeners or MGITs to earn volunteer hours.  All of your time spent planting, tending and preparing plants for the exchange and sale counts toward volunteer hours for renewal or certification.  You will also have an opportunity to swap perennials with others from the group so you can delight another gardener with your excess perennials while adding variety to your own garden. All proceeds from the plant sale go to CCMGA so the value of your plant donations can be fully tax deductable since we are a 501c3 organization.  Following the Perennial Exchange and Plant Sale, volunteers from our club can staff our booth until 5 pm to give out information on our group, when we meet and how to become a Master Gardener.  Please contact Connie Berk (berkc@marshall.edu, (304) 696-7341 (W) or (304) 429-7318 (H)) to sign up for a time to work the Perennial Exchange and Plant Sale (10 am – noon) or the informational booth (noon – 5 pm) on May 16 at Heritage Station.

Lapsed Membership Reactivation

When I met with our advisor, Rich Sherman, earlier this week he communicated that he is very interested in assisting members who have gone inactive in regaining active membership.  He is willing to be as flexible as he can possibly be in getting members back with us.  More information on his “amnesty plan” will be available at our Tuesday, April 14 meeting.

Refreshment Committee

Joan Firth, Anne Ray, Mary Beckelhimer and others in the group have expressed an interest in forming a refreshment committee to bring snacks for sharing at monthly meetings.  If you are interested in being involved in the refreshment committee, please contact Joan (jmfirth@live.com) who is chairing the committee.

CCMGA Website

In meetings with the CCMGA officers we are really attempting to cut down on the number of email messages that we send out.  No one wants to fill your inbox with a ton of mail.  To that end we are trying to be post notices and events to our group’s website (http://cabellcountymastergardeners.com or http://cabellcountymg.blogspot.com/) and to keep the calendar on the right side of the page current.  If you click on an event on the calendar you can learn more details and even a map to the event location is provided for many entries. Just recently we have updated the webpage with information on speakers for the WSAZ Home and Garden Show.  If you look on the “About CCMGA” tab of the website, you will find links to our updated bylaws, maps to meeting locations, the slate of upcoming speakers for our monthly education sessions as well as notes from previous sessions, meeting minutes, treasurer’s reports and other pertinent information.  In addition, all prior posts are archived on the website to you can look up previous events easily. If you scroll to the bottom of the page and click the link that says “Older Posts” you will see information from previous posts.  At this time, our website has had nearly 1200 visitors.  We hope to make that the primary method of communication for our group.  Even this email will be posted to the website!

I hope to see everyone at the WSAZ Home and Garden Show in a couple of weeks.  Please feel free to contact me at beckelhimer@gmail.com at any time.

Steve Beckelhimer, President

Cabell County Master Gardener Association

2015 WSAZ Home & Garden Show Speakers

Friday March 13

5 pm	Dr. Chuck Talbot	School Gardens & Food Safety
6 pm	Jeff Moore	Backyard Chickens

Saturday March 14

12 pm	Jeff Bishop	Home & Garden Pesticide Safety
1 pm	Gary Selby	Container Gardening & Raised Beds
2 pm	Brenda Porter	Food Preservation
3 pm	Lyndall Harned	Organic Gardening
4 pm	John Porter	Wild, Wonderful & Wacky Fruits & Vegetables
5 pm	Lori Bowling	Straw Bale Gardening
6 pm	Rich Sherman	Cover Crops

End of February Updates

The February meeting of the Cabell County Master Gardener Association was quite productive.  There were 25 of us in attendance braving the cold and the coming winter storm that would have us hunkered down in our homes for the next week.
Our long winded speaker (Steve) did a session that is near and dear to his heart and stomach on the use of botanicals in making many of the distilled spirits that many of us are familiar with.  After the 90 minute presentation, we approved the 2015 budget and the prior meeting's minutes.  We approved the purchase of a quilt for raffle at the WSAZ Home and Garden Show especially since Victor Simpson suggested that he could assist us in purchasing one from a local quilting group.
Volunteers were solicited for working at the Home and Garden Show as well as to assist Rich in the event that the Extension Office moves to a better location.  Tom Bell shared his plan for a continuation of the partnership between CCMGA and Huntington in Bloom to include having Master Gardeners assist with home gardeners using Urban Renewal properties in Huntington.  The group voted to update the CCMGA bylaws.  The Guyandotte Library has asked for assistance in establishing a small planting.  A refreshment committee will be forming to bring snacks to many of the monthly meetings.
Since the February 14 meeting, the slate of speakers for 2015 has been finalized and is available on the "About" link of our CCMGA website.  A copy of the meeting schedule with dates, times, locations and speaker topics is available to print and share with friends or sticking up on your refrigerator.
Please check the calendar on the right side of this page for upcoming events.  If you click on an event you will get more information including a link to a map of how to get to the event.
Our next event is the WSAZ Home and Garden Show on March 13-15.  Please contact Connie Berk (berkc@marshall.edu) if you would like to sign up to volunteer.  She especially needs volunteers on Saturday and to assist with speakers throughout the weekend.
The April meeting will feature two educational speakers.  Betty Given will discuss the Springhill Community Gardens and Eve Marcum-Atkinson will give us information on the Tri-State Sustainability Fair.

A Spirited Way of Using Plants

The handout from our presentation at the February 14 education session is available for download by clicking the image below.

Proposed Changes to the Bylaws of CCMGA

The CCMGA Executive Committee would like the membership to consider two modifications to the group's bylaws.  These changes are intended to allow more flexibility in scheduling meetings.
Discussion of the proposed changes at the February 14 meeting will be followed by a vote by members to accept or reject the changes.

Page 5

Article VII – Meetings

Section 1:  Regular Meetings.  The Association shall hold a minimum of 6 regular meetings each year.  Each meeting will have an educational speaker and one meeting shall also include a picnic. The membership shall elect officers and transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting.  Notice of each regular meeting shall be given to all active members at least 10 days before the meeting.

Page 8

Section 3:  Special Committees.

Nominating Committee: The immediate Past President of the Executive Committee shall be the chair of the Nominating Committee.  During the election year the Executive Committee shall select three individuals from the active membership to serve on the Nominating Committee.  The present officers shall not serve on the Nominating Committee.  The Nominating Committee shall present the Executive Committee with the name of one active member of the Association as a candidate for each office.  Upon approval by the Executive Committee, the slate of candidates shall be included in the minutes of a regular meeting prior to the December meeting and in the notice of the regular December meeting.

February 2015 CCMGA Newsletter

Cabell County Master Gardener Newsletter

Please keep this newsletter as it will contain information that will be useful throughout the entire year.

The meetings are scheduled for:

• Saturday 14 Feb at 11 AM at the Enslow Park Presbyterian Church (Snow date will be Sat 21 Feb at 11 AM.)
• Tuesday 14 April at 6:30 PM at the Enslow Park Presbyterian Church
• Tuesday 12 May at 6: 30 PM at the Enslow Park Presbyterian Church
• Tuesday 9 June at 6:30 PM at the Enslow Park Presbyterian Church
• Saturday 29 Aug at 3 PM at shelter #1 at the Barboursville City Park – speaker Brian Cordle on “Geocaching” – this is our annual picnic – bring friends or family PLUS a potluck dish to feed 6 -8 people
• Tuesday 13 Oct at 6:30 PM at the Enslow Park Presbyterian Church – speaker will be Mary Beckelhimer on “Botanical Witchcraft”
• Tuesday 10 Nov at 6:30 PM at the Enslow Park Presbyterian Church – speaker Ohio Valley Camera Club on “Photographing our Gardens”
• Saturday 5 Dec at the Boyd County, KY Extension Office in Catlettsburg, KY – Lori Bowling will teach us to make Christmas wreaths and we will be making our own wreaths – there will be a fee for this, the amount to be announced – this is our holiday luncheon – bring a potluck dish to feed 6-8 people

There will be door prizes at each meeting.

The WSAZ Home and Garden Show will be Fri 13 March 4-9 PM, Sat 14 March 10 AM – 9 PM and Sun 15 March 12 – 5 PM.

Set-up for the booth will be Thurs 12 March at 10 AM.

Contact Connie Berk to sign up to work at the MG booth. Work phone # 304) 696-7341, berkc@marshall.edu or home phone # 304) 429-7318. I need people to volunteer at the MG booth in a minimum of 2 hour increments. You may work for longer periods of time. The number of hours you work will count towards your annual volunteer time.  If you wish to listen to a speaker, then that time will count as continuing education, not as volunteer time. No double dipping!

The booth will be located in the same spot that we’ve been in for the last several years, across the aisle and slightly to the left of the WSAZ booth.

We enter the Big Sandy Superstore Arena through the loading dock door on 7^th Street, between Third Ave. and Veteran’s Blvd. Your name will be on a list that the security guard will have. Wear your name badges and/or shirts with logos if you have them. Also, wear comfortable clothes and shoes. We will have rubber mats on the floor in the booth, but the flooring underneath that is concrete and it’s hard! Try not to bring purses or any other valuable items as the only safe place we’ll have to keep them is in the booth with us. Space can get tight! We will have a Hospitality Room behind the stage, where we may eat and rest. We can only bring in outside food into the Hospitality Room, nothing may be taken out onto the floor of the Arena.

You may take some time to look around at the other vendors and shop, but that time does not count towards your volunteer time either.

If you want to work when the Show first opens to the public on any given day, you must arrive at the Arena one hour before the Show opens to the public, as we must be in the booth and ready when the doors open, i.e. on Fri the Show opens to the public at 4 PM but we need to be at the booth at 3 PM.

There is some free parking in a small parking lot on 7^th Street, across from the Arena. There is more parking available in the Pullman Square parking garages, entrances at 8^th Street, 9^th Street and 10^th Street. The cost is $1 for the first 4 hours.

Rich Sherman is the Cabell County Extension agent. He may be reached at Rich.Sherman@mail.wvu.edu or at 304) 743-7151. To leave a message, call Pauline at 304) 743-7131.

On 14 January 2015 Rich said that he would grant amnesty to any and all who wish to return to the Cabell County Master Gardener Association in 2015. Those who return must send him a message that they are returning. If they have not been a part of the organization since he became our Agent, then they may need to reapply and possibly retake the 5 core courses of the training. Simply put, he needs to be certain that everyone is up to date on our procedures.
In Dec 2014, new officers were elected for 2015 and 2016:

President = Steve Beckelhimer beckelhimer@gmail.com or 304 690-1423

V-Pres. = Ted Salem lkstms@suddenlink.net or 304 743-0360

Recording Secretary = Connie Berk berkc@marshall.edu until mid-Sept when I retire! Then it will anolisanolis@yahoo.com. 304) 696-7341 (W) or 304 429-7318 (H)

Corresponding Secretary = Jane Wilson jackjanewilson@gmail.com or 304 416-1840

Treasurer = Greg Norris wvframer@intelos.net or 304 522-2870 until June 2015 then Debbie Martin will take over MartinPTA@aol.com or 304 733-5588

Dues should have been paid by 1 Jan 2015. Make out checks for $16 per person, payable to CCMGA, Inc. and mail them to Cabell County Master Gardener Association, Inc., PO Box 7661, Huntington, WV  25578-7661. Or, bring them to the next meeting and save on postage!

There is a Small Farm Conference on Feb 26-28, 2015, to be held at the Charleston Civic Center. Bring in samples of heirloom seeds for the seed swap on Fri afternoon, 27 Feb. Contact Rich for further info.

The next Master Gardener Conference is scheduled for March 27-29 2015 at Pipestem Resort, WV. For more info, contact Rich or check our webpage.

020315 Connie Berk