Dec NL 10

…for

discerning weeders

A Newsletter of the Okaloosa County Master Gardeners Association –– December 2010

New Beginnings We have elected a new board and are looking forward to a new year with great possibilities. The 2010 MG class has finished the training program and we welcome them to their first meeting as MGs. They will begin working on their certification hours very soon.

Lynn Fabian

A couple of work days have been devoted to removing the juniper ground covers from the landscape in the front of the Extension building. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped. U n f o r t unately I missed the first work day and do not have pictures of the crew from that day. The landscape work to remove the junipers was done because the junipers were not thriving under the crape myrtles. In the beds near Old Bethel, the weeds were taking over the junipers. Even working from bare ground, weeds can be

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introduced from the plants that are put in or just from the wind blowing seeds into a new planting. Now the areas have been mulched and will be planted again at the appropriate time. Any ideas about what should be put there? Anyone know where we can find some more pine straw? Preferably free?

Thanks to Sheila"s landscaping contacts, the really tough work was done by machine.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going –– Jim Rohn

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Reminders

Welcome to all the new MGs who will be continuing their training. Don"t forget to wear your name tags to each event, including the meetings and the various get-togethers. Always wear your name tag whenever you are in contact with the public. Wear your nametag with pride. You are University of Florida Master Gardeners and each of you is important. Name tags also help us all to get acquainted (and re-aquainted). All of the MGs, new and veteran should appreciate the irony of forgetting a friend"s name. Help us out. Don"t leave us hanging. Have the nametag in plain sight.

It will take a while to make names fit faces. Veterans only have fourteen new faces to learn. The 2010 class has a great many more. The folks in charge of the office training portion of the new MG certification have sent a reminder to the mentors but it bears repeating for all of us... “Just a reminder that the Interns will soon start their office/phone training. You are NOT required to be there. In fact, you have been asked to please NOT ATTEND due to space limitations. The office training committee feels that there is not enough space and there is too much confusion when mentors attend these sessions as well. So, don't take it personally, but do sit home and relax, or go Christmas shopping :) and let these ladies do their work.” If you have questions, contact Stacey T. or Faye T.

In all matters, before beginning, a diligent preparation should be made. –– Cicero

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Coming Events !

––MG Meeting, Dec. 1, 9:00 a.m. ––MG Christmas Dinner, Dec. 11, 12:00 to 2 p.m., 1st Presbyterian Church/ Niceville. Intersection of Rocky Bayou Drive & Hwy 20 (John Sims) ––Arbor Day Tree Distribution, Jan 21, TBA ––EcoNomic Living Expo, Feb 5, 9am-3pm, Emerald Coast Conference Center ––Nursery Workdays, every Friday. Check with Andy or Jenny for times

Book Review

For many months, Klare Fox has written a book review for The Compost Pile. She has always been early with her copy and I really appreciate her efforts. I hope you have enjoyed the books she has presented. This month her copy has disappeared into the places that important things go when they cannot be found. My apologies to Klare and to you. Instead, let me tell you about two new UF publications that are now in the MG office. I believe there is a copy in each location. The first is a much needed ID guide to snakes in Florida. The binder was compiled by Steve

Lynn Fabian

A. Johnson and Monica E. McGarrity. Steve spoke at the recent MG Conference. For as long as I have been a MG, we have relied on a publication from Georgia to ID our snakes. This publication has full color images, indicates the range where you might find the snake, a description of the snakes and habitat information.

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The second publication is on frogs of Florida and was also compiled by Johnson and McGarrity.

If you visit http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/wildlife_info/fr ogstoads/ you will find links to sites that will help you discover which frogs live in our area, and also a link to the frog calls. Since most of the time we hear frogs rather than see them, it might prove very useful. We are developing quite a collection of ring packs on a variety of subjects. If you are new to the office, search them out. If you just haven"t looked in a while, you may find them helpful.

Last Word

My apologies for missing an issue of The Compost Pile in November. With the MG State Conference and a trip planned out of town, something had to give. I asked the board for an off month and was glad they agreed. Congratulations to Marg Stewart for winning the State award for Extension Awareness. She submitted the MG website for the award and came up best in the state. The committee especially liked the way she tied in the website to Facebook and our own blog. I"ll have to say that Marg looked a little surprised, even floored, when the announcement was made. She soon

Lynn Fabian

recovered and the grin was wall to wall for the rest of the day. Way to go, Marg. Each year at Conference the MGs are recognized who have reached certain anniversaries. This year five of our MGs received 10 year pins: Nita Brewer, Ed Fabian, Lynn Fabian, Hal Kurz and Lynne Thomason. Frances Crissman and Bill Puckett were awarded fifteen year pins. That is the longest any of our folks have been MGs. So, for all the newcomers––hang in there. The years pass very fast. Hang on and have fun!! See you in December. ––Lynn

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So never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself. --Florence Nightingale

About Us

The Compost Pile is a publication of the Okaloosa County Master Gardeners Association.

Okaloosa County Master Gardeners Association is a volunteer organization sponsored by Okaloosa County Extension and the University of Florida IFAS.

The Foundation for the Gator Nation...an equal opportunity institution. Lynn Fabian, Editor Ed Fabian, First Reader Marg Stewart, Web Site Coordinator

ÂŠ Okaloosa County Master Gardeners!

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