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Issue 7: October 17th, 2022

Hello Pierce County Master Gardeners

Here we are, with the leaves changing and our gardens relaxing into a new season. I'm thrilled to be pulling out my sweaters and chunky socks! What are you looking forward to?

November 1st marks when you must log your required hours and have an updated background check in order to receive a Re-Application for your Master Gardener Recertification.

Please take the time to log your hours or reach out to our data team if you are struggling at [email protected]. Connect with your fellow gardeners about this deadline. We want everyone to be successful and supported and we can't help unless you reach out.

I recognize that WSU policies might not have been adhered to as strictly in the past. However, I was hired by WSU Extension to coordinate, empower and support Pierce County Master Gardeners. That includes securing coverage by L&I if an injury should occur. That includes being clear and consistent about policies, procedures and program information. It includes being accountable to our stakeholders with data and statistics. It also includes cultivating safe spaces to learn and teach that are free from harassment and disrespect. I am a professional community organizer and take my work seriously.

We are currently wading through cultural shifts in our Master Gardener Program from a tight knit garden club to a large State University Volunteer Educational Organization. Change is always uncomfortable, even when it is for good. I invite every master gardener to reflect on the ways we behave during uncertainty and how we can adapt to build a welcoming and kind place to learn and grow.

Please know that I am here for open conversations, conflict resolution and transparency around where this program is headed. I am so grateful to be a part of this incredible community. Thank you for your dedication and passion!

Sincerely,

Jaala Smith

Jaala Smith

(she/they)

WSU Ext.

Pierce County 

Master Gardener

Program Coordinator

[email protected]

Office: 253.798.6943

Cell: 253.229.2960

Human Services Office

3602 Pac Ave, Suite 200

Tacoma WA 98418

On the ancestral land of the Puyallup people, spuyaləpabš

Pierce County Master Gardeners

Internal Portal password: Extmg7180++

WSU Ext. Master Gardener Volunteer Job Skill Requirements:

• Be able to participate fully in the training program which requires computer access and basic computer, internet, and email skills.

• Be willing and able to return a county-specific number of public educational service hours within the predetermined time frame. 

• Be willing to follow the WSU Master Gardener policies and procedures, including online record-keeping requirements. 

• Be willing to abide by WSU Extension’s Pest Management Recommendation Agreement and Code of Conduct.

• Be able to communicate effectively and respectfully with the public by telephone, email, personal contact, group contact, or through written language. 

• Have knowledge of and experience or skills in basic gardening or other horticulture-related areas. 

• Be able to work with adults and youth and be willing to share home gardening information with others. 

Advanced Ed Conference

We had a wonderful time in Olympia at the AEC! So much learning and socializing and celebrating! Please log your CE as an Open Opportunity - CE if you attended classes.

Please give your feedback, it will help us improve the training opportunities as we go forward, especially for next year's exciting AEC, which will be the culmination of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Extension Master Gardener Program, which began right here in Washington State, HOSTED IN PIERCE COUNTY!

Become a Pierce County Master Gardener

Applications are open and due October 31st.

First day of online class is Jan. 13th.

Look at these amazing Volunteers!

Please keep sending me your photos!

PCMG Program/Foundation Budget Cycle

We submitted our Final Program Funding Requests to our Foundation Board for review and voting at our Annual Foundation Membership Meeting.

Review the summary here and requests here.

Annual Foundation Meeting

November 12th 9-3pm

Trinity Presbyterian Church Tacoma

We are so thrilled that Trinity is housing our event as they are an Earth Care Congregation pledging "to be careful, humble stewards of this earth, and to protect and restore it for its own sake, and for the future use and enjoyment of the human family."

We'll be hosting the Annual Board Meeting and having an all-membership vote on the 2023 Budget. We'll be celebrating our Longevity Awards from 2020-2022!

As well as enjoying CE on Soil Health

50^th Anniversary Updates

Celebration launch on Social Media is March 20, 2023 followed by the inaugural National Extension Master Gardener Week: March 20-25, 2023

Kick off Event at Puyallup Demonstration Garden April 8, 2023 followed by 3 regional events in Prosser, Wenatchee and Mount Vernon and a Statewide event in Tacoma.

Community Link

Links to those who support us and to those we seek to serve.

Horti - Cultural Corner

Cultivating plants, people, and communities.

Invasive stink bug habitat could expand with climate change

PULLMAN, Wash. – A foul-smelling, voracious, wide-spread pest could become even more ubiquitous with climate change.

A recent modelling study found that changing weather could increase suitable habitat for the brown marmorated stink bug in the United States by 70%. The study, published in Pest Management Science, draws on data from a three-year stink bug monitoring effort in 17 states as well as several potential climate scenarios. However, whether the insects will thrive in new places depends on the conditions of each area and potential mitigation measures.

“Every system will change with climate change, so the fact that you can grow garbanzo beans, lentils or wheat without these pests now, doesn’t mean that you will not have them in a few years,” said study lead author Javier Gutierrez Illan, a Washington State University entomologist. “There are mitigating things that we can do, but it is wise to prepare for change.”

The study found that overall, there is likely to be a northward shift in stink bug-friendly conditions. Regions that may be particularly affected include the Mid-Atlantic, areas surrounding the Great Lakes, and the valleys of the West Coast, such as the Sacramento Valley in California and the Treasure Valley in Idaho.

New grant aims to reduce plastic taken from fields to landfills

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – Washington State University is leading a new project that aims to advance soil-biodegradable mulches and develop innovative methods for recycling the plastic. The projects is funded by a $8 million, four-year Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Growers of crops like strawberries, raspberries, pumpkins, tomatoes, and melons depend on plastic mulch to enhance productivity. But that mulch is rarely recycled, and the soil-biodegradable version isn’t allowed in domestic organic production.

Consequently, every year an estimated 2.5 million tons of plastic mulch is dumped into landfills, tilled into the soil, or burned, leading to global terrestrial and aquatic pollution. And that number is rising as more growers worldwide adopt plastic mulch without viable, sustainable end-of-life options for waste management. 

Your local park has a hidden talent

Consider the unremarkable city park. A postage stamp of green amid the concrete. Trees, swings, grass, a basketball hoop.

Maybe your park has a public pool. Maybe it has a walking path or a barbecue grill or a leafy spot that's good for watching birds. Yosemite it is not. Your park is not a vacation destination. Instead, it's something much more valuable: a little piece of nature, right where you live.

City parks are crucial precisely because they are mundane. Their accessibility is what gives them their power. There are about 2 million acres of public parkland in the 100 largest cities in the United States, according to the Trust for Public Land.

All that parkland helps protect millions of Americans from the effects of global warming. Pools and splash pads offer a place to cool off on dangerously hot days. Trees provide shade, pull carbon dioxide out of the air and even lower the temperature in nearby neighborhoods. Marshes, ponds and meadows soak up water when it rains to help keep roads and homes dry.

Send us links to articles you'd like to see showcased in the Horti-Cultural Corner.

Jaala Smith

(she/they)

WSU Extension Pierce County Master Gardener Program Coordinator

Office: 253.798.6943 - Cell: 253.229.2960

Email me the following quote and I'll send you a goodie and a love note:

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou