plant regulation-Trivial-and OT

Bracey Tiede tiede@pacbell.net
Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:39:50 PDT
Thanks, Roger, for your comment.  The name is unfortunate but the Extension
Agent in Washington who formed the program many years ago picked it.  I know
of no MGs who feel that they are really master gardeners, including myself.
I have learned who to ask and where to look things up and that was the point
of our training, initially and again, every month.  Our member education
committee works very hard to bring in experts in their field but we get do
some duds now and then. 

The MG program trains us to help every day home gardeners to garden without
pesticides, grow the appropriate plant, water responsibly, and enjoy
themselves.  We try to keep it simple and easy.  I know a little bit about
tomatoes if you have any questions.  :-)

Our efforts to stem invasive plants through surveying nurseries has turned
up some interesting results.  Plants that were widely sold a few years ago -
broom, ivy, certain grasses, periwinkle - have been reduced in numbers and
availability this past year.  The state of California is working with
nurseries and growers to remove these plants from their sales.  Here are the
results of the two survey's so far.

 

Retail Nurseries Selling Invasive Plants in 2004 & 2008

 


Species

Name

2004

2008


Arctotheca calendula

capeweed

1

0


Carpobrotus edulis

iceplant

4

0


Cortaderia selloana

pampas grass

9

3


Cytisus scoparium

Scotch broom

13

1


Cytisus striatus

Portuguese broom

2

0


Elaeagnus angustifolia

Russian olive

3

0


Eucalyptus globulus

blue gum

3

0


Genista monospessulana

French broom

5

0


Mesembryanthemum crystallinium

crystalline iceplant

7

0


Myoporum laetum

myoporum

16

0


Pennisetum setaceum

green fountain grass

21

10


Spartium junceum

Spanish broom

2

0

 
This is my last email on this topic.
 
Cheers,
Bracey



-----Original Message-----
From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [ <mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org>
mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of totototo@telus.net
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 11:21 AM
To: Pacific Bulb Society
Subject: Re: [pbs] plant regulation-Trivial-and OT

On 29 Jul 2009, at 7:58, Bracey Tiede wrote:

> Our [Master Gardener] program has been tapped by the local ag commissioner
> to help with field surveys for pests and we have contributed research data
> twice over the past three years to the state invasive plant people on
which
> nurseries are selling which invasive plants.

My opinion of the usefulness of the MG program has gone up a notch or two.

I think my main objection to the MG program lies in its name. Simply put,
the
graduates from the program are not master gardeners in the ordinary everyday
sense of the phrase. Far from it!

Having known a few professional horticulturists who underwent old-school
training in Britain, the gulf in knowledge, experience, and expertise
between
us amateurs and a well-educated pro gardener has always amazed me. We
amateurs
tend to have very deep knowledge of very narrow fields of interest; the pros
know about everything, not in such depth, but deep enough they can keep
their
heads above water no matter what task is put to them. Ask me to grow a
tomato
and I'd be hopeless!


Incidentally, what are the worst invasives in your area? Around here, Scotch
broom (Cytisus scoparius) and ivy (Hedera helix) are pretty bad. Broom has
been
an issue since the 1850s when six of twelve seeds planted at Sooke BC by an
homesick early settler from Scotland germinated one spring, but ivy has only
begun to cause serious trouble in the last ten years or so. Sure, it was
around
before then, but you didn't see it taking over the forest floor in parks,
clambering up trees, and so on.



--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island

 <http://maps.google.ca/maps/…>
http://maps.google.ca/maps/…

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