VMGA Education Events

VMGA Continuing Education Day

November 11, 2023

The Nelson Center, 8445 Thomas Nelson Hwy, Lovingston VA 22949

9:00 am to 12:30 pm, with optional lunch and tour to 3:00 pm

Join us to hone your plant disease diagnostic skills that will help you as you volunteer at the Extension Help Desk and Plant Clinic venues!

Co-hosted by the Nelson County Master Gardeners, the lectures will take place in the Nelson Center, site of the Nelson County Extension Office in Lovingston, VA. The optional lunch will be at Saunders Brothers Farm Market. For those interested in an optional bus tour of the Saunders Brothers fields of boxwood, fruit trees and greenhouses of container-grown plants, the tour will depart the Farm Market at 1:30 and last about 90 minutes. Seating on the bus tour is limited so register early!

Lectures

Plant Problem Diagnosis, Grace Monger, Associate Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Environmental Horticulture

This session will cover the A-B-Cs of plant diagnosis for Extension Master Gardeners and/or Interns. Attendees will learn a standard diagnostic process that can be applied to any plant issue. This lecture will equip EMGs to tackle questions regardless of the plant or pest, where to find reliable information, when to seek professional help, and how to submit samples to the VT Plant Disease Clinic. Our objective for this session is to set EMGs up for success in attending to helpdesk inquiries.

Boxwood – Diagnosing Problems and Efforts to Develop Resistant Varieties and Treatments Pat Reilly, Horticulture Outreach Specialist, Saunders Brothers, Inc.

Like other plants, boxwood have their pests and diseases. Boxwood, though, have been such an important staple in American landscapes that the threats to its health engender more attention. The lecture will focus on the process for diagnosing boxwood diseases, insect damage and abiotic problems. We will also cover an update on blight resistant cultivars and options for treatment.

Plant Phenology Jim Revell, Bedford Extension Master Gardener

How do temperature and moisture levels impact insect populations? What are Degree Days (aka Growing Degree Days) and are they important in relation to insect activity? How are Degree Days calculated? Can Degree Days be effectively incorporated into Integrated Pest Management strategies for the home vegetable gardener (would you like to be able to implement IPM controls to help target insects at their most susceptible life stage)? What is Plant Phenology and its correlation to determining crop planting dates and best times to initiate IPM strategies? Learn about these valuable tools for the home gardener and how these methods can help mitigate problematic insects in your vegetable garden!

Registration

VMGA members $5.00, non-members $20.00

Registration includes the morning lectures at the Nelson Center from 9am to 12:30 pm. The tour of Saunders Brothers growing areas is limited but is included in the registration fee. Everyone is invited to have lunch at Saunders Farm Market – see details below.

If you’d like to join VMGA, and take advantage of the member registration rate, please submit a VMGA Membership Application. Dues are just $12 paid annually or $120 for continuing membership.

Optional bus tour of the hundreds of acres of Saunders Brothers fields of boxwood and fruit trees, and greenhouses of container-grown plants is available for the first 35 registrations that request the tour. Led by Tom Saunders, attendees will see how Saunders Brothers and NewGen Boxwood select and grow outstanding annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees.

Lunch

Lunch is available at the Saunders Brothers Farm Market for everyone, whether going on the tour or not. Come and shop the Farm Market! Make your sandwich choice on the registration form and pay the Farm Market when you pick up your lunch. Chips are included with a sandwich; drinks are available at an additional cost. Selections must be made by November 2, 2023.

Register now!

Questions? Email education@vmga.net.