Category Archives: Santa Fe Master Gardener

Support our local radio show this Saturday

Hey folks! This Saturday Oct 8th, is KSFR 101.1 radio fundraiser. This is the radio station that I broadcast my gardening podcast on. It is hosted by Santa Fe Extension Master Gardeners and is the Home Grown New Mexico edition. My show contains info on what we should, could and can do in our veggie garden each month in the Santa Fe area-how to become better organic, sustainable veggie gardeners. If you like my show (or if you have never heard it) it is on KSFR 101.1, from 10:00-10:30 on the last Saturday of each month). The reason I’m promoting this we need you to support KSFR so shows like these can continue.

Please call in this Saturday and pledge something to continue to keep shows like this going and it’s inportant to call in YOUR PLEDGE DURING THE SHOW Call 505-510-KSFR (505-510-5737) so they don’t cancel it. The more people call in to support us, the better.

Here is more info below:

The Garden Journal on KSFR–Saturdays at 10am on KSFR 101.1 and podcasting at KSFR.org

Please support KSFR’s Fall Fund Drive during The Garden Journal on Oct. 8 10am-10:30am. Call 505-510-KSFR (505-510-5737).

You will be supporting KSFR Community-Supported Public Radio and The Garden Journal.

The free air time Home Grown NM receives on KSFR is invaluable! It enhances visibility and our events to the community. Your contribution will help demonstrate that The Garden Journal has an engaged audience and will ensure that the program continues on the air.

Please call in with your donation of any size during our October 8 program between 10 and 10:30.

Pledge Gifts (only available Oct 8 from 10-10:30 during the Garden Journal broadcast, while they last) have been donated from our friends:

• Donate $150 and receive a set of three books on the critical role of insects to the environment: Doug Tallamy’s “Bringing Nature Home” and “The Nature of the environment: Doug Tallamy’s “Bringing Nature Home” and “The Nature of Oaks” and “The Insect Crisis” by Oliver Milman. Retail value $75. Provided by Plants of the Southwest.

• Donate $60 and receive a free $35 membership to Home Grown New Mexico.

• Donate $50 and receive a $25 gift certificate to Agua Fria Nursery.

Call 505-510-KSFR (505-510-5737) on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 10-10:30.

 

 

NEW! ‘Veggie Gardening 101’ radio show starts Jan 14

I’ll be on the Santa Fe Master Gardener’s Gardening Journal radio show with host Christine Salem twice a month now. My original show gives tips and advice about what to do in a vegetable garden each month as the gardening season progresses. This assumes you have an existing vegetable garden.

We are adding a Vegetable Gardening 101 show. It seems we have many people here in Santa Fe that either have never started a garden or haven’t had success here in our challenging garden area. Many want to be successful organically growing their own food and need help on where to start. So I will take us from the beginning through planning and building a garden, creating good soil, raised beds vs in-ground beds, starting seeds, transplanting plants, varieties that grow well for beginners and even harvesting tips. This will be more basic info but even advanced gardeners might benefit from some of the tips I’ll be giving.

Go here to listen to past radio show podcasts and pick up awesome information -https://giantveggiegardener.com/radio-show/

Here’s the rundown:

SHOW #1—my regular radio show-‘Monthly Veggie Garden Tips’

Where:  airs on KSFR 101.1 on the Garden Journal

When: on the last Saturday of each month

Time: from 10:00-10:30am

Topics: What to do in our gardens for each month, problems that arise and solutions

SHOW #2—my NEW radio show-‘Veggie Gardening 101′

Where: airs on KSFR 101.1 on the Garden Journal

When: on the 2nd Saturday of each month

Time: from 10:00-10:30am

Topics: Beginning vegetable gardening from start to finish and everywhere in between.

Organic Pesticide and Disease Control Class Review

class pests picToday I taught the Organic Pesticide class and added Disease Control too as we are or will  be dealing with pests and disease soon in the middle of the gardening season. The class was great and we had good comments from some of the attendees. I talked about what’s going on the our gardens now and what insect and disease controls we can implement. Attached is the pdf from the class for anyone who wants to know what I do.

ORGANIC PEST and DISEASE CONTROLS

Also attached is the pdf with photos of certain insects that may be attacking our plants now as well. This is in color so it would be a great reference for you to keep when you need to identify a bug you may think is a pest.

CLass pests pics

I recommended the book, Good Bug, Bad Bug for everyone to get which is a great ID book that will show which ones are good beneficial bugs and which ones we consider pests and what crops they attack.  I got mine at Amazon.

Good Bug Bad Bug book

Then we walked around the community garden and looked for plants that are being attacked or are sick and I showed everyone the plants so hopefully it will help them go back to their gardens and look at their plants and see what is going on.

Other than the heat, I thought the class was great. Thanks to all 20 of you that attended!

Organic Pesticide Control class-this Sunday July 10

I’m teaching a class on Organic Pest Controls this Sunday, July 10. I will ID some of the plants in the garden with damage and go over many organic methods and organic sprays we can use to control many bugs now attacking our vegetable plants. Below is the info provided by Milagro Community Garden which is hosting the event.

flea beetle damage

Can you guess which pest is attacking this plant? (see answer below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHEN: SUNDAY JULY 10

WHERE: MILAGRO COMMUNITY GARDEN (Off Rodeo Road east of Sam’s Club-Turn north onto Legacy Court. Garden is behind the church, ‘Church of the Servant’, on corner)

TIME: 12-2:00 PM

Taught by Jannine Cabossel, Master Gardener and the Tomato Lady at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market.

This Educational class was requested by members of the Milagro Community Garden. This class is also open to the Santa Fe Master Gardeners (they will earn 2 CE credits), Home Grown New Mexico members and the PUBLIC.

Please come and bring a hat, sunscreen, water, a folding chair and of course your questions. No need to sign up but should you have questions, email CAROLE at cowens505@comcast.net

ANSWER: The damage in the above photo was from the flea beetle!

Spring Garden Fair this Saturday!

If you are a gardener, you won’t want to miss this FREE event by the Santa Fe Master Gardener Association. There will be vendors, how-to  information, garden demos, displays, guest garden speakers, a giant plant sale, food and much more! Come kick off the garden seasoning with this great event! Tomorrow-Saturday May 7, from 9 am-3 pm at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds on Rodeo Rd.

SFMGA_SpringFair-Ad_0415_LocalFlavor_02.indd

Master Gardener Spring Garden Fair

Garden Fair 2014-1401

Today is the annual Santa Fe Master Gardener Spring Garden Fair from 9 am – 3 pm at the Rodeo Grounds off of Rodeo Road. I think it is the best gardening fair in Santa Fe. There are demos, exhibitors, vendors, a giant plant sale, guest garden speakers and much more. The first time I went, I was blown away how fantastic it is and how inspiring it is for gardeners and that was before I became a Master Gardener. Now that I am a Master Gardener, I’m always involved one way or another. This year I will be working at the plant sale. So come on by and say ‘hi’ and get some great plants, gardening stuff and learn how to do something new in the garden. If you want to get motivated to get gardening, come to this event!

Artisan Farm Tour-2014

It’s been a very busy summer for me. I’ve been preparing for my tour here on the property since spring. Nothing like having people over to get things done. I’ve had a punch list that I’ve chipped away at and finally got almost all of them done before last weekend when I had an educational tour for the Santa Fe Master Gardeners of my little Artisan Farm here in Santa Fe. Between the Home Grown Kitchen Garden & Coop Tour (different tour the week before) and my tour last weekend, I’ve pretty much been headless all summer. Now it’s all over and I can get back to a more normal pace. But wait, I’m getting ready to go to the SF Farmer’s Market! Always something. I guess I can rest in the winter! Here are some pictures of my Artisan Farm tour last weekend. The garden looks the best ever…

teepee
view of section 3b
view of garden
tomato forest
the crowd3
the crowd2
spears
the crowd arrives
tarbais beans
sea of sunflowers
rocks and bowls
old plow
view of section 3 in garden
outside greenhouse
red barn and KOKO
resting area
looking inside greenhouse
looking at garden plan
new bee garden by barn
inside greenhouse looking out2
jc in the garden
long shot of garden
native bee house
inside greenhouse looking out
in the garden
glass rocks and water bowls
Hun wee hamming it up
greenhouse
jc after it all-dirt tired
glass spears in strawberry patch
garden view
garden spears2
garden shot
garden shot 2
garden shed and old plough
garden entrance
flowers at entrance
first bee garden
favorite cucumber Poona Kheera
entrance
dragon eggs and nest in bean teepee
crowds walking around
closeup of sunflower blossom
closeup of spears
bee flags by entrance
birdhouse
chicken and duck flags
closeup of native bee house
BEAN TOWER
30 feet of grape vine!
2 attendees

The nicest people always seem to go first

PINK CLOUDS

This week I went to visit my good gardening friend, Amy Hetager on Wednesday afternoon. Her dad, John had emailed me that she went into home hospice care on Monday and I knew I wanted to visit her. Little did I know it would be the last time I would see her. She slept while I was there and I knew she was on her journey and she seemed peaceful. It seemed so sudden when I heard from her dad that she had passed away the next day on Thursday mourning and yet it was not really sudden.

Amy Hetager, leader of Home Grown New Mexico and whom I had gotten to know through working with her in both Home Grown and Master Gardeners organizations had been battling brain cancer for 5 years and had beat it back many times. Not many people knew she was sick as she was a very private person and I could respect that.  I saw at many of our events she would not be feeling well-maybe she had chemo that day or the day before and yet she always showed up at the events. She was so strong internally. It seemed like in the 4 years that I knew her she had to go every week to put those chemicals into her body. They would save her for a while but they also wrecked her. One of those ways was that she had many joint replacements during that 5 years as the steroids the doctors gave her to counter the side effects of the many different chemos she had also destroyed her joints. Many people knew that she had some joint replacements because it’s hard to hide a cast. This was no secret.

I use to tease her and called her the bionic woman and actually she was now that I think of it in several ways, the most obvious way being those new metal joints but there was another way she was bionic in that she could do so much. Running her baby, Home Grown New Mexico and being involved in so many other gardening associations and organizations in our community took a bionic effort as well and it was something she really enjoyed and I’m sure it kept her going too.

Amy was a kind, gentle person with a passion for vegetable gardening and especially growing tomatoes which we both shared. She loved to grow vegetables, harvest them and process or cook them and she was an excellent cook as well. She wanted to be more sustainable which is also why she started Home Grown.

It seems like the nicest people always go first to the other side. When Amy got obviously physically sick late last year, I took on her responsibilities in running Home Grown to help her out and am continuing it forward now. Many of us will miss her and hopefully those of us in Home Grown can carry her vision forward as she would have wanted it. I know I’m sure going to try.

The Fair was a great success! Phew! Sigh! I’m exhausted!

The Santa Fe Master Gardener’s Spring Garden Fair is over. Phew! Sigh! Putting on the garden fair on is a lot of work for all us Master Gardeners + I was one of the speakers this year so double the work for me. Today the Journal North had a great article about the Garden Fair and my lecture on the front page. Really nice. The writer actually wrote down a lot of the tips I gave! Here is the article if you want to read it:   http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2013/04/28/north/sound-advice-from-the-tomato-lady.html

Now I just need to recover and the best way to do that is be in my garden! So today Tom came over and we worked on the greenhouse and got 9/10 of the roofing on. More progress! I will take some more pictures soon.

Santa Fe Spring Garden Fair this Saturday April 27

SFMGA_SpringFair13_Flyer_02

This year’s theme is Food for Thought, with speakers, exhibits, clinics, and demonstrations all tied to the idea of nourishing ourselves, our land, and the creatures that share the land with us. There are 3 speakers this year.  I will be one of the guest speakers and talk on tips for growing tomatoes and other vegetables. Anne Schmauss will talk about providing habitat and food for birds and Les Crowder will talk about bees, how we can help them and what we can plant to support them. Here is the speaker schedule:

Jannine Cabossel       10:45am
Tips for Terrific Tomatoes, Making the Most of Your Vegetable Garden

Anne Schmauss         12:00 noon
How to Attract Birds to Your Backyard Year-ound

Les Crowder               1:15pm
Honeybees: Landscaping with Bee friendly Gardening Practices

You don’t want to miss this event if you are a gardener here in the greater Santa Fe area!

Santa Fe Seed Exchange

ATTENTION ALL SANTA FE GARDENERS!

seed exchange HGNM

Come to the Santa Fe Seed Exchange Wednesday —   March 20

If you are looking for seeds and ideas for your vegetable garden, come to the Santa Fe Seed Exchange on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 4 pm-7 pm in Frenchy’s Barn on Agua Fria and Osage Ave. Last year we had over 200 people come and pick up and exchange seeds!  Hope to see you there! For more info about what this is all about go to the Home Grown New Mexico link here:

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=1918a75deae1c54e3561e368c&id=c96905515a&e=fa40006742

Master Gardener Interns

tomatoes on table

Tonight I taught the Vegetable Class section to the aspiring Master Gardener interns of 2013 and tomorrow will be the second group of interns in the morning. A total of 63 students for both groups which is inspiring to me to see so many people interested in becoming Master Gardeners. To every one of you-hang in there! There are many more interesting classes to come.

I promised to put the class handouts on my blog for anyone interested so here they are:

VEGETABLE GARDENING IN SANTA FE

INFORMATION SHEET

PLANTING SQUASH

PLANTING TOMATOES

I also said I would put a couple of extra handouts on the blog which were not given out in the class but have very useful information on them:

TOMATO DISEASES

COOL-WARM SEASON CROPS

HERBS

Master Gardener Intern Class-Vegetables

I’ve been totally busy teaching classes lately and the last class I taught was the Santa Fe Master Gardener Intern Class on Vegetables. All I can say to the interns is hang in there. Yes there are some difficult classes to get through but there are some great instructional classes as well that are like a breath of fresh air. It wasn’t till I became a Master Gardener that I really blossomed as a gardener. And now I am a rabid gardener! The knowledge you will continue to gain afterwards, the contacts, camaraderie and friendships you will develop will help you grow as well as the plants you will be growing! Hopefully you enjoyed and learned a lot from the Vegetable class. (Yes it was my favorite class when I was an intern!) So for those of you who couldn’t come to class or aren’t in the program but are interested, here are the information sheets. I want to make them available to all.

VEGETABLE GARDENING IN SANTA FE  gives an overview of vegetable gardening in Santa Fe.

INFORMATION SHEET covers what the differences are  between an Heirloom, Hybrid and GMO plant and explains what mycorrhizae fungi is and how it helps plants grow.

HERBS is a list of perennial and annual herbs we can grow here in Santa Fe.

PLANTING TOMATOES and PLANTING SQUASH both address how to transplant them into the garden and some of the things I add to help grow these beautiful vegetables and also how to help thwart the dreaded squash vine borer and squash bugs.

SEED STARTING DATE CALCULATOR from Johnny’s Seeds is the same one from the previous post but if you didn’t read it, then here it is. A great tool for when to start seeds or transplant them into the garden.

And now if you will excuse me, I will continue starting my seeds inside! Perfect day-cold, windy and snowy!

Santa Fe Master Gardeners Herb Sheet

I just finished teaching the Vegetable class this evening class for our Master Gardener Interns and realized during the class I didn’t xerox off the Herb Info sheet. I told the class they can get it here by Tuesday but I’m teaching the other class at 9am so here it is now for anyone liking a copy of it. You can get it here HERBS as a pdf and print it out for yourselves. Class was great tonight with some very intelligent questions and I hope they all enjoyed it!

Santa Fe Master Gardener Vegetable Class

Tonight and tomorrow am, I ‘m teaching the Vegetable Garden class to our new interns in the Santa Fe Master Gardener Class. I can’t wait! There is so much useful information that it will be hard to share it in only 2 hours. Coming to my blog is a much better way to get information on a daily basis as we move forward in this new gardening season!  I’m planning to give more how-to info and advanced info on vegetable gardening this year. I hope many of you will also exchange useful information with me this year. You can send your information via commenting on a post so others can see it and learn as well. Now is the time to get busy in our veggie gardens! Plant something that still likes cold nights-like greens!