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September/October 2021 Issue # 38
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Urban Horticulture Programby Michael Chamberland
The Maricopa County Master Gardener Program is opening a satellite office in the City of Surprise. This office will expand our physical presence in the West Valley. This is a key geographic section of the County, separated from the main Extension office by distance and the traffic congestion of central Phoenix. The West Valley is home to a large and active group of Master Gardeners who will benefit from a local office location as a hub for outreach to the public in the West Valley. The West Valley is one of the fastest growing metro regions in the USA, with many new residential landscapes and homeowners new to horticulture in the climate of Central Arizona.
The office is located within the Surprise Water Education Center, within the City of Surprise City Hall Complex. The space will be shared with Staff from the Surprise Water Conservation Program. The Master Gardener Office, tentatively name SUAMGO “Surprise University of Arizona Master Gardener Office” will have a “soft opening” by the end of the month. The opening will allow Master Gardeners to begin setting up the office materials and gain familiarity with the space. The City of Surprise has received grant funding to install a xeriscape garden immediately outside the office. The garden will be under construction through the end of the year, after which, Master Gardeners will be instrumental in interpreting the new garden and its low-water use mission.
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Agricultural Literacy and STEM Education
The Seeds of Opportunityby Lori Jarvis
Teachers may typically plant the seeds of learning for their students, but this time, the Agricultural Literacy and STEM Education program is planting seeds of opportunities for educators and students around Arizona.
We have been watering the seeds to grow our collaboration with the Maricopa County Master Gardeners to bring educators more information about school gardens. This started with a webinar led by Don Sutton in May and recently included a school garden tour with Lou Rodarte at Echo Canyon School in Scottsdale, AZ. We are also hoping to plant the seeds for educators to collaborate with colleagues, school garden managers, and with Master Gardeners for ideas about their school gardens through our Facebook group. For more information, please email Gigette Webb at gigettewebb@arizona.edu or Lori Jarvis at lorijarvis@arizona.edu.
We have been sowing the seeds to take agriculture to an international level. Our virtual field trips have included stops in Cheshire,OR; Mesa, AZ; Vermont; and Yuma, AZ, but this time, our virtual travels took us to Brazil to hear more about agricultural advancements in seed science and a discussion about cotton, coffee, and acai (oh, my!) from Dr. Juliana Espíndola (from the Federal University of Lavras).
We also have been planting the seeds of excitement for our friend Pee Wee Bee as he gets ready to travel around the state for the annual Agricultural Literacy Days program. There will be more information in the coming weeks, but this program is geared toward introducing and teaching students in third, fourth, and fifth grades more about the agriculture of Arizona.
Where will Pee Wee Bee’s adventures take him this year? The Winter Lettuce Capital of the World (Yuma)? The mines of Morenci? The vineyards of Sonoita? The Grand Canyon? Stay tuned to find out!
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Project CENTRLby Scott Koenig
Class 30 of Project CENTRL pictured below began their leadership journey together in Chandler in June and is in full swing visiting Prescott in Aug. to learn about Effective Communications and Show Low in Sept. to study Natural Resources and the Rural Economy. There will be an opportunity to learn more about CENTRL and the Arizona Center for Rural Leadership at a CENTRL Regional Connection in November 5 -6 at Ft. Huachuca in South Eastern Arizona. Complimentary registration for all alumni and anyone interested in learning more about CENTRL at www.centrl.org/events.
Picture Below: In Project CENTRL Class 30 there are 4 Maricopa County residents: from the left: 6th: Eric Norton, AZ Grain; 8th: Craig McGinnis, AZ Dept. of Water Resources; 12th: Bri Kadlec, AZ Rock Products Assoc.; 14th: Rafael Tapia, Partnerships with Native Americans.
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Picture Below: VP Burgess congratulates and thanks all UA employees on their CENTRL participation: from left: Michael Seronde, WRRC,Class 30; Cathy Martinez, Pinal Co.,Class 29, Shevonda Joyner, Pinal Co.Class 30; Tracey Wasson, CENTRL Staff; Santa Nez, Meat Lab & Vet Med Student, Class 28; VP Shane Burgess; John Howard, Research Admin., Class 30; Niki Key, CENTRL Staff and Scott Koenig, CENTRL Staff, Class 21.
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Turfgrass Science Extension Programby Kai Umeda
Bermudagrass turf areas targeted for removal can begin to be killed off now in preparation to install alternative planting materials that could use less water with fewer maintenance inputs. Kurapia is a drought and cold tolerant new groundcover that has potential to fit in desert landscapes and we are in the second and final year to determine its water use in comparison to bermudagrass. For replacing turfgrasses, nativegrasses can be seeded and ultimately use less water and fertilizers and require less mowing. Timely monsoon rains have certainly helped the greening and maturation of the nativegrasses this summer. Winter rains can assist with spring emergence of nativegrasses. A field demonstration of the nativegrasses and Kurapia was held on Sept. 1st in Litchfield Park.
Our graduate student started in September and is actively monitoring blacklight and LED traps for beetles on golf courses in the Tucson area. Samples from the Phoenix area are also being shipped to campus for genetic analysis to determine species of importance in turf.
Photo is the LED light trap for beetles in turf.
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Annual 4-H Club Leaders and Volunteers Trainingby Caroline Werkhoven
The 4-H programming team hosted their Annual Club Leaders and Volunteer Training in Sept.2021. The agenda for the meeting was designed to show our leaders and volunteers the enthusiasm surrounding the upcoming 4-H year with new programs being offered both at the county and state levels. Our livestock project leaders were interested and supportive on the new Cooper State Livestock Judging Series and 4-H Stock Show & Expo. The livestock judging series has been introduced to provide extra judging opportunities to youth statewide and to ensure that the national teams selected for both NAILE and WNR have the skills and coaching they need to be successful. The 4-H Stock Show & Expo will be a 2-day event full of shows and clinics to encourage involvement in traditional animal agriculture.
NEW 4-H License Plate! Deb Lester, President of the AZ 4-H Foundation shared the exciting news for the approval of a 4-H License Plate by MVD which will be available in 2022. $17 from each plate purchased comes back to the AZ 4-H Foundation to support our 4-H youth.
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Continuing Education Units (CEUs): The Pesticide Applicator Pre-Certification–The above sessions were approved for 2 CEUs per session type (A, B, C,& D) for currently-certified Arizona structural and agricultural certified applicators and Pest Control Advisors.
Pre-registration is required by October 8, 2021.
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For more details about this training or more information about future pesticide courses or resources, contact Jenny Weber at 602-827-8222 or jennyweber@arizona.edu.
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Annual Phoenix Food Day and Junior League of Phoenix Healthfest
Oct.23rd & Nov. 6th
by Marina Gallardo, AZ Health Zone at Maricopa County Cooperative Extension/SNAP-Ed
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The annual Phoenix Food Day and Junior League of Phoenix Healthfest event brings together several partners, including the AZ Health Zone at MCCE (the SNAP-Ed Program), to celebrate food and health. The event has been held since 2014, and in 2019, a Healthfest component was added to provide needed resources for community members.
The AZ Health Zone at MCCE/SNAP-Ed program has participated in planning the event since 2015, providing education, resources, and support in the areas of nutrition, physical activity education and gardening. Last year’s event held at Cartwright Community Garden, quickly shifted to a drive-thru mode due to the COVID-19. Around 1,000 families were provided with food boxes, food bags, seed starting kits and virtual demonstrations with cooking, gardening, and fitness. Due to the overwhelming success of last year’s event, this year there will be 2 drive-thru events serving an estimated 2,000 families each at V.H. Lassen Elementary in South Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 23rd and at Cartwright Community Garden in West Phoenix on Saturday, Nov. 6th The AZ Health Zone at MCCE/SNAP-Ed program will be providing seed starting kits to encourage families to grow their own fruits and vegetables. The kit will include seeds, soil, and a container to plant, along with instructions and a healthy recipe. The team will also be featured in a seed starting video put together by the City of Phoenix Channel 11.
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For more details, and to register for this event, please check out the Phoenix Food Day & Junior League of Phoenix Healthfest website. For questions, contact Kaley Necessary at kaleynecessary@arizona.edu.
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Highlights from the Field Crops IPM and Urban Ag/Beginner and Small-Scale Farmer Programs
by Dr. Ayman Mostafa
The Field Crops IPM Program is currently conducting a 5th-year forage sorghum trials where we are testing different practices to manage an invasive pest to the crop, sugarcane aphids, Melanaphis sacchari. A part of these trials has been using a proof-of-concept method of application we developed for a particular product. We are glad to report that this method of application has been recently approved for use by the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency).
We have an upcoming event, The 11th Central AZ Farmer Field Day, on Nov. 4th at the Maricopa Agricultural Center where we will be able to physically show the results of these trials up close for the in-person attendees. This workshop will also highlight other current, in field, research by other Extension Ag Team members. We are proud to offer events such as this where our clientele (pest control advisors, growers, Industry representatives, and government representatives) can get “up close and personal” with the amazing research that Extension personnel are performing.
The Urban Ag/Beginner and Small-Scale Farmer Program has been conducting a needs assessment for our clientele and stakeholders in Maricopa County that will be closing Oct. 15th, 2021. The results from this needs assessment will help guide the Urban Ag/Beginner and Small-Scale Farmer educational programming, which has been greatly anticipated in Maricopa County and continues to grow in popularity.
The Urban Ag/Beginner and Small-Scale Farmer Program will be holding a two-day seminar on Oct. 25th & 26th via zoom. An array of topics will be covered, such as the economics of urban and small acreage farms, local food distribution, IPM strategies, crop rotations, water management, food safety and more. Individuals who have been farming for 10 years or less, grow on less than 50 acres, and/or have a gross cash farm income under $250,000 are encouraged to attend.
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Time to Plant!
by Rebecca Senior
Civano Nursery donated a Desert Willow,Chilopsis iinearis,‘Bubba Jones’ which was planted at MCCE. Master Gardener trainees dug in and planted this native tree at MCCE. Someday you will be able to sit under this beautiful tree!
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Interim Directors Cut
by Kai Umeda
Last time, I mentioned that we in our office conducted a session to envision how we will be operating in the future and proceeding to accomplish relevant goals for our stakeholders. An output from that session led us to identify that all of our Extension programs in 4-H, Family and Consumer Health Sciences, and Agriculture have common efforts rooted in growing crops and to prepare and serve safe and nutritious meals. Our Ag and Master Gardener programs have always delivered valuable information about how to efficiently and successfully put crop seeds in the ground and then safely harvest consumable vegetables. FCHS programs, including SNAP-Ed and EFNEP, teach families how to select, prepare, and serve nutritious meals at home. Agricultural literacy, 4-H youth development, and SNAP-Ed opportunities are expanding through schools and neighborhoods that are eager to learn about growing vegetables for hand-picked snacks and meals.
A very exciting project that will be engaging all of us within Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County is a new venture with the UArizona Biomedical Center in downtown Phoenix to collaborate with graduating medical school students in a Culinary Medicine elective. The students will be “growing” and preparing meals with medical benefits for patients and those with special dietary needs.
Cooperative Extension will be the conduit to transfer technology and deliver the goods to our clientele and communities that have emerging interests in urban agriculture activities and farming. We have a new program coordinator for our budding Urban Ag and Beginner Farmer Program backed by targeted funding provided by our Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Among the first education activities will be later in October, the Urban Ag/Beginner Farmer Seminar, so watch for coming details for those interested in growing vegetables in pots on patios, school and neighborhood garden plots, and specialty crops for farmers markets.
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