Bob Childress ~ More good “Young Sprouts in the Garden” stuff
Frank Shipe shared this photo and comments…
FB Sunday May 19, 2013

More good “Young Sprouts in the Garden” stuff: Bob Childress, garden chairman of the Friends of the Garden, who’s played the biggest part in building nearly all of the 36 gardens in the Springfield Botanical Gardens, taught a huge flock of Brownies, Daisies, and Girl Scouts how to plant an annual plant. Each girl got to do one. And Bob survived.  Frank

Note from Lisa Bakerink: Thanks to Bob Childress, Cindy Baird, Kauleen Volentine, Amy Short, and Steve Craig for helping the Girl Scouts learn about planting, about butterflies, and then earn their respective badges. A special thanks to Dow and Linda Whiting, Garden Adventures Nursery, for providing seed packets and plants for the girls to take home from the Springfield Botanical Gardens last Saturday.  Lisa

Photo by Frank Shipe

Know Your Parks – Garden Minute with Peter Longley

It may be spring and chrysanthemums are synonymous with fall but find out why, and how to care for them after they bloom on The Garden Minute.

Video link: http://cityview.springfieldmo.gov/media/know-your-parks-garden-minute

Know Your Parks – Walking Paths in Springfield

What’s most affordable and accessible exercise regimen, with the lowest drop-out rate? Walking! And with 30 new designated walking paths in Springfield, getting started is easier than ever.

Excellent interview with Stephen Hall American Heart Association and Bill Ingemi Park Board Director Health & Wellness conducted by City View host Kelly Rostic. The interview was filmed in the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Video link: http://cityview.springfieldmo.gov/media/kyp-walking-paths-in-springfield

Learn more about the location of Springfield’s walking paths at www.startwalkingnow.org then use this link http://www.startwalkingnow.org/start_walking_paths.jsp.

A tree said to be the “grandson” of one that was first planted nearly 150 years before the American Revolution will be dedicated at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, in the Master Gardeners of Greene County Demonstration Garden located in the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene-Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave.

Tom Meshek, president of the Endicott Family Association, will give a history of the tree at the dedication, and a reception will follow the brief ceremony.

“This tree has quite a story,” said Master Gardener Gail Wright, “as the original tree dates from 1632.” The Endicott Pear Tree, the oldest cultivated fruit tree in North America, is a semi-dwarf variety that can get as tall as 15 to 20 feet and as high at maturity. It was gifted to Master Gardeners by Springfield resident Gordon Harmon, a descendant of Massachusetts Governor John Endicott, whose ancestors planted the first tree.

Since 1997, cuttings of the Endicott Pear Tree in Danvers, Massachusetts, have been collected by a gene bank that preserves invaluable plant genetic resources of fruit and nut trees. A clone was grown at an Oregon facility and made available to the Endicott Family Association whose mission is to make sure that the tree continues to survive.

University of Missouri Extension Horticultural Specialist Patrick Byers will plant the Endicott Pear Tree in the southwest corner of the herb garden.

For more information, contact Gail Wright at 417.988-0756 or gailwright44@yahoo.com.

Master Gardeners of Greene County, in coordination with University of Missouri Extension located in the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center in Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, provides horticultural information and training to the gardening public based on proven research specific to the local climate, soils and plants. For information, call 417.414.0363 or e-mail at mg.greenecounty@gmail.com.

News Release Master Gardeners of Greene County, prepared by Jeanne Duffey.

You are invited to attend “Dinner at the Orchard” from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday, June 14 at Sunshine Valley Farm near Rogersville. Thanks to the owners, Michael and Jan Wooten, 100% of all ticket sales will benefit Greene County Extension. (Their website www.sunshinevalleyfarm.com.)

Dinner includes appetizers, a meal featuring locally produced and grown foods, special music and special beverages. No speaker, no solicitations, just come and enjoy a relaxed evening of great food and conversation with people who have similar interests and a concern for Greene County Extension.

It promises to be a fun and relaxed evening. Learn more online at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene or purchase your tickets at this specific link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6639048573

Seating is limited to the first 40 to order tickets, which are priced at $50 per person. All ticket sales benefit MU Extension programs and operations in Greene County. For more information call (417) 881-8909.

Go ahead and order your tickets online or bring your check to Lorri Winters in the Greene County Extension office.

Also, Greene County Extension is also hosting a day-long “Food Preservation Camp” on June 15. Attendees will receive detailed instruction and hands-on experience with the six basic types of food preservation. To order your ticket for this event use this link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6634266269?ref=elink#

David L. Burton
Civic Communication Specialist | County Program Director
University of Missouri Extension – Greene County
2400 S. Scenic Ave, Springfield, Mo. 65807
Telephone: (417) 881-8909
Become a “Friend of Greene County Extension” online: http://extension.missouri.edu/greene/giving.aspx
YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/MUExtension417

Greene County Extension announced plans this week to host a “Food Preservation Camp” from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 15 at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center in Springfield, 2400 S. Scenic Ave.

University of Missouri Extension nutrition specialists will be instructors for the classes and will use research-based curriculum to teach the most up-to-date methods of food preservation.

Participants that enroll for the camp (at $85 per person) will spend the entire day in sessions learning about pressure canning, dehydrating food, making salsa, pickling and jams and jellies.

Participants will learn to pressure can vegetables during the first session of the camp. During the “pack a pickled product” portion attendees will learn to quick pack dilled green beans and learn water bath canning basics including how to pickle other products. As part of “Salsa Made Easy,” participants will learn water bath canning basics used with tomato and fruit based salsas. During the “Jams and Jellies” segment instructors will cover both cooked and freezer jams, as well as water bath canning basics. The “Freezing and Dehydration” segment will address freezing for best quality and the basics of dehydration.

A boxed lunch will also be provided to participants.

“The full-day camp is a new way to present this information that is more convenient for participants. In the past this series has been spread out over five different ways,” said David Burton, county program director for Greene County Extension. “We are also offering a nice discount over taking these classes individually for $20 each.”

Advance registration is required in order to have the necessary supplies for the hands-on class. The class size is limited to 20 participants.

Registration materials are available on the Greene County Extension website: www.extension.missouri.edu/greene. Printable enrollment forms are posted for download and payment with a check or an online credit card enrollment option is also available. For more information call 417.881.8909.

Space for this MU Extension program in Greene County is provided by the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center, 2400 S. Scenic Avenue. Website: http://www.botanicalcenter.org.