Master Gardener Volunteers provided a children’s program resulting in eighty-five (85) kids attending in the Teaching and Display Garden at the Spooner Research Station in 2019. 

Topics covered: Planting our Garden and Construction of a Bug Condo; Composting We Go and Magical Hummingbirds; Yoga in the Garden; Marvelous Monarchs and Pollinators; and Apples, Apples, Apples and Painting Friendship Rocks.

Each session consisted of a story walk, a hands-on presentation, a nutritious snack, an activity related to the subject of the day, planting and weeding their raised bed gardens, a square foot garden and salad garden, and refilling the hummingbird feeders.

​Plans are in place for a 2020 program.  Be sure to check back in the spring for event announcements and schedules. 

Master Gardener Volunteers planted tended and harvested two Spooner school gardens, resulting in 120 students attending. The children learned about gardening, and healthy eating from seed to fork.

​The produce was turned over to the cafeteria workers to make a harvest soup and the overabundance of carrots and potatoes was donated to the food pantry so members in our community with food insecurities could have fresh produce.

Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) conducted a melon tasting in September at the Siren Farmers market. The weather was rainy but the market had a good turnout. We were able to get the minimum of 20 testers by the time the conditions worsened to close the market.

Testers seemed to enjoy the process of rating the melons and were interested to learn that we were UW Extension Master Gardener Volunteers and that the melons came from the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative, an organic vegetable variety research trial conducted at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station.  They were especially interested that these were European varieties that have a short growing season which would make them idea for conditions in Burnett County. 

​Other nearby vendors volunteered to sample and hear more about the research going on to test new melon varieties. The sampling event was a great way to help people hear about and actually experience what the Research Station is doing to benefit the community.

This is part of a series profiling just a few of the projects that
​Master Gardener Volunteers are involved with in our area in 2019.  ​

The Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College invited Master Gardener Volunteers and staff of UW-Extension to participate in their Family Farm Day.  We highlighted the importance of soil with hands-on activities and various examples of soil and a 3-D topographical map of Wisconsin.

Over 200 pounds of squash and tomatoes were given away to families attending the event thanks to the Spooner Agriculture Research Station and the Seed to Kitchen organic vegetable research project.

​We also brought sage herbs ready to be planted.  Sage is one of the four sacred Native American medicines. Sage is used to prepare people for ceremonies and teachings. It is also used for cleansing homes and sacred items. The sage planting was appreciated and of interest with both young and old in the Community with 50 people attending.  

​Master Gardener Volunteer Nikki Halverson volunteered at the library for an after school program where she signed the 14 children up for the tomatosphere project.

Tomatosphere™ uses the excitement of space exploration to teach the skills and processes of scientific experimentation and inquiry. Students investigate the effects of the space environment on the growth of food that will inevitably support long-term human space travel. Each classroom is sent two packages of tomato seeds. One package contains seeds that have been sent into space and the other package contains “control” seeds, which have been kept on Earth.

Through the Tomatosphere™ project, students will learn how to conduct a scientific experiment and compare the germination rates of the two groups of seeds. Tomatosphere™ relies on a “blind test” in which educators and students will not know which of the two packages are the “space” seeds and which are control seeds until the germination process is complete and results have been submitted.

Blog and Photos: MGV Nikki Halverson

Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) maintain multiple garden projects at Forts Folle Avoine Historical Park in Burnett County. To create a welcoming space, native and heirloom gardens surround the visitor center. Vegetables are also grown on site and used as part of a fundraising dinner. To raise additional money for the historical society, MGVs provide education during a plant sale to the public. 

Education was also the focus when twenty-eight tea-loving history buffs turned out for a garden party at the Historical Park for a presentation on “Herbs: Now and Then” which covered how herbs were used for culinary and medicinal purposes in the past and how the same herbs are used today. 

​Garlic is part of the Onion family. It is a herbaceous perennial that we grow as an annual in Wisconsin. Garlic can be grown in Wisconsin’s Zone 3 and warmer to Zones 6-7; however, you need to make sure the cultivar is hardy for your zone.  Garlic is a monocot with basal leave formations. Garlic is comprised of multiple cloves. Cloves arise from an axillary bulb. Leaves are solid, flattened and folded.

The Spooner Agriculture Research Station Teaching and Display Garden will host visitors for a final workshop on end of the season activities Saturday, September 7 10:00am to Noon.  This garden session will be held at the Teaching & Display Garden and focus on seed saving, fall garden activities, tender bulb storage, garlic planting, spring bulbs and what was learned during this garden season. 
 
This year’s theme  “Re-use, recycle, and re-imagine” comes from the All-America Selections.  The displays have been created with this theme in mind.  The Teaching and Display Garden is one of eight in Wisconsin that display vegetable and flower varieties who have been awarded this designation as an outstanding cultivar.   
 
Remember to bring your own lawn chair for the Meet Me in the Garden Seminar.  The session is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine – please dress accordingly.  In case of inclement weather, the program will be held at the Station Building at 1035 E Maple Street (Hwy 70), Spooner.    The garden is located at 780 Orchard Lane, 1.5 miles east of Spooner on Highway 70 or 1/2 mile west of the Hwy 70/53 interchange.  Watch for garden meeting signs.
 
For more information and a map visit the station’s web site at: http://spooner.ars.wisc.edu/ or contact Kevin Schoessow or Lorraine Toman at the Spooner Area UW-Extension Office at 715-635-3506 or 1-800-528-1914.