Master Gardener: Events

Grasses for the Masses

Join the Masses!

You can help restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s rivers by participating in CBF’s Grasses for the Masses program. Volunteers in the program grow wild celery, a type of underwater grass, in small tubs in their homes for 10 weeks, then help plant the grasses in local rivers to boost the population of this critical Bay resource.

It is a fun and easy way to improve water quality! CBF provides the equipment, instructions and support needed for growing the grasses.

Why Grasses?

Underwater grasses, also known as submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), help the Bay in a number of ways:

They provide food and shelter for young crabs, rockfish, speckled trout, shellfish, and many more aquatic creatures.

They provide food for ducks, geese and swans.

They help clear the water and stabilize the sediments that are already on the bottom of the Bay.

They filter pollution that runs into the Bay.

They slow wave action and reduce shoreline erosion.

They produce oxygen necessary for aquatic life.

They take up nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that can cause fish kills, algal blooms, and dead zones in the Bay.

Scientists estimate there once were hundreds of thousands of acres of underwater grasses growing in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, helping to make the Bay one of the world’s most productive estuaries. However, grasses have declined dramatically over the past several decades, primarily because of poor water clarity caused by pollution. Excessive nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution has clouded the Bay’s water, blocking the sunlight vital for the grasses’ growth. In 2006, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science mapped only 59,160 acres of underwater grasses Baywide, a decline of 25 percent from the year before. Grass abundance didn’t improve during 2007.



Sign up today-- space in upcoming workshops is limited.

Workshop schedule:

Gloucester Grasses Workshop – Here is when we will do a Grasses informational presentation, take the program fee and pass out materials.

            Where: Whitcomb Lodge at Beaverdam Park

                       8687 Roaring Springs Rd
                       Gloucester, Virginia 23061

Date: February 20, 2010

Time: 10:00AM - 12:30PM

         Program Fee: There is a $40/grass unit program fee which helps us to continue the program and to provide equipment for grass growers across the state.

          Sign Up Today: space in upcoming workshops is limited! To reserve your spot, please email Bill Walker at wcwalker@inna.net. For more information on CBF and the Grasses program, please visit www.cbf.org/grasses. You can also contact or call Bill Walker at 804-693-6540 if you have any questions.

VIMS Upcoming Events and Calendar

Updated On-line Training

The on-line training regarding soil testing was recently revised and can be viewed at http://www.ext.vt.edu/vce/staffdev/anrtraining/soil_testing/index_soil.html The presentation lasts about 15 minutes.

Though it is geared to new VCE-ANR agents, it is probably worthwhile for any agent, Master
Gardener or office worker, who interacts with people taking soil samples, to listen to in order to be aware of the current, on-line resources related to the Soil Testing Lab.

Steve Heckendorn, Manager
Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab
(540) 231-6893
www.soiltest.vt.edu

Virginia Native Plant Society
Meeting Thursday, November 19 at 7-9pm.

Guest speaker Larry Griffith, the curator of plants at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, will speak on native species treated in his book, “Flowers and Herbs of Early America.” John Clayton Chapter meeting open to public. Main Street Library, 110 Main Street in Newport News. Visit www.claytonvnps.org or call 757-564-4494 for more native plant events.

Mathews County
Master Gardeners

Virginia Cooperative Extension
10494 Buckley Hall Road
Suite B
PO Box 569
Mathews VA 23109
(804) 725-7196

The Mathews County Master Gardeners are pleased to present to the public the 2010 Winter Lecture Series.

All three lectures will be held on Tuesday nights at 7PM at the KingstonParish Hall located in Downtown Mathews, VA next to Christie Car Care Center

ADMISSION IS FREE

However a donation to Kingston Parish of canned goods or non-perishable food items for “Hands Across Mathews” Food Pantry is appreciated.

For further information, directions, or disability accommodations, please call the Mathews Cooperative Extension Office at (804) 725-7196

We gratefully appreciate the assistance of the following:

VIRGINIA TECH
KEN MATHEWS GARDEN CENTER

January 12

February 9

March 9

Kingston Parish Hall
Downtown Mathews, VA

7PM

January 12
7:00PM
Kingston Parish Hall,
Downtown Mathews

“The Victory Garden ~    Back to the Future”
by:
Jim Orband
York County Senior Extension Agent, ANR
Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent

February 9
7:00PM
Kingston Parish Hall,
Downtown Mathews

“Maintaining Your Victory Garden   ~~               Organic Weed and Pest Control”

by:
Teresa Cummings
Ken Mathews Garden Center
Certified Horticulturalist
Certified Pesticide Applicator

March 9
7:00PM
Kingston Parish Hall,
Downtown Mathews

“Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor Long After the Harvest”
by:
Marilyn Morris
Gloucester Co. Extension Agent, FCS, FNH
and
Nancy Roche
Mathews Co. Extension Office
4-H Youth Development

Herbarium Tour
Saturday, November 21 at 10:00 am.

Beth Chambers will lead members and guests of the John Clayton Chapter of the VA Native Plant Society on a tour of the new William & Mary Herbarium. Space is limited. Register and get directions at 757-604-1026 or claytonsnatives@yahoo.com, or contact the herbarium at 757-221-2213 or email willi@wm.edu.

Native Plant Walk
Saturday, January 23 at 10:00 am.

Longhill Swamp Skunk Brunch. Join Phillip Merritt as he looks for the winter blooms of the skunk cabbage, the 2009 VNPS perennial of the year. Hot drinks and refreshments provided! To register and get directions call 757-604-1026 or email claytonsnatives@yahoo.com.