President’s letter – July 2025

By MG Linda Barrett

Hi everyone, 

While recent weather may have contributed to some soggy gardens, Master Gardeners have been keeping busy with a variety of activities. In case you’ve missed any monthly MG meetings, keep in mind that we record the meeting announcements and speakers. These recordings can be accessed using the Monthly Meetings and Events page on the MCMG website. 

During the month of May, 50 first graders visited the Derwood Demonstration Garden. After dividing the students into groups, Garden Educators read them a story, led garden tours, and provided lessons on soil and beans. The children loved “Ms. Pam” (MG Pam Hosimer, University of Maryland Extension Snap-Ed coordinator and MG co-chair of the Garden Educators) and all the Garden Educators. One little girl said, “I love the garden.”

We had a wonderful Spring Potluck Picnic at Derwood on Thursday, June 5. The food was outstanding, and it was great to sit and chat with friends. We distributed five, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service pins at the picnic. If you missed picking up your pin, check the Ballard Room at Derwood for your pin. If you’ve asked Steve for a new MG badge, those are also available in the Ballard Room on the bookshelf.

We held our first planning meeting on June 12 for a 2026 Spring Gardening event. Educational activities will focus on the Derwood Demo Garden and also feature information tables on a variety of garden topics. Planning will continue over the summer and details should be available in the fall.

Our new intern class started on Monday, June 2. Classes are in person on Mondays and online on Wednesdays from 9 am-3 pm. The Intern Job Fair was held on Monday, June 23 from 1:50-2:50 pm. Committees created informational displays and interns signed up for activities that they might be interested in to fulfill their volunteer service requirement. 

Looking ahead, we have four large-scale volunteer opportunities coming up soon:

• The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair is August 8-16. MGs and interns will sign up for three-hour shifts at the fair.

• Garden Discovery Day will be held on Saturday, September 27 at the Fairgrounds. Children of all ages are invited to engage in garden related classes. Lots of MGs and interns will be needed to help with logistics, teaching classes, and assisting with classes. 

• Harvest Festival is Saturday, October 4 and we will have garden tours, Tussie Mussies, and several information tables set up.

• Close Encounters with Agriculture will be held four days a week throughout the month of October. MGs and interns will be needed for logistics, teaching classes, shepherding kids, etc.

I truly appreciate everyone's commitment to the MCMG mission and hope that you will volunteer for some of the upcoming activities. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Linda

2025 Interns Tour Derwood Demo Garden

 By MG Dave Ottalini

MCMG Intern Class of 2025
Photo: MG Linda Barrett

The 2025 class of Master Gardener Interns got a close-up tour of the Derwood Demonstration Garden during their class on Wednesday, June 11. This was the first time we’ve been able to provide such a tour, with the class moving to a daytime hybrid in-person/Zoom format. Led by Demo Garden co-directors MGs Mary Jo Eagan and Wendy Thomas and a number of other current MGs, the class was broken down into smaller groups and taken through all the areas of the garden, including the shade garden, vegetables, trees and shrubs, composting, therapeutic horticulture, herb and aromatic garden, kitchen garden, children’s garden, water garden (the frogs were croaking beautifully for everyone!) and the butterfly garden. As a bonus, the interns got to taste fresh blueberries and snap peas!

Photos: MG Dave Ottalini

MGs Host Learning Events for Scouts

By MG Alison Edwards

MG Hank Keegan

Montgomery County Master Gardeners were instrumental in providing educational support to local Scouting programs in May 2025. MG Hank Keegan, who has been involved in Scouting for many years as Cub Master, Scout Master, and Merit Badge Counselor for Gardening and Plant Science, took on a leading role in two events, one for a Cub Scout den and one for Boy Scouts.  

Cub Scout Event

Photo: Anna-Maria Travis

In early May, a group of six Kindergarten-aged Cub Scouts, each accompanied by a parent, visited the Derwood Demonstration Garden as part of their scouting activities. Hank engaged the young scouts in learning about where food comes from, how plants grow, and the basics of gardening. The scouts toured the garden and historic barn, and they also planted seeds in self-watering flower pots they had previously crafted. The visit fulfilled multiple Cub Scout educational requirements, including visiting a garden, learning about different gardening methods, discussing the basic skills needed for gardening, and planting some seeds. MCMG received an effusive note of thanks from the Cub Master for Hank’s assistance in providing the kids a memorable experience.

Boy Scout Event

MCMG Coordinator Steve Dubik
speaks to Scouts
Photo: MG Hank Keegan

On May 17, a Boy Scout event was held at Derwood as part of the Gardening Merit Badge program under the legacy Grow It Eat It program. Eight scouts participated in a comprehensive day of learning, covering topics such as water gardening, beekeeping, nutrition, gardening safety, and composting. Hank led the event, with support from MG Maxine Glazer, who led the composting discussion, and MG Dave Ottalini, who talked about pollinators and distributed wildflower seeds. The group also heard from Montgomery College Professor Raymond Bosmans, who led the water gardening discussion. The scouts toured the Demonstration Garden and visited the UMD Extension Office, where they met MCMG Coordinator Steve Dubik.

Thanks to Hank and all of the folks involved in these events for expanding the scouts’ understanding of sustainable gardening practices and environmental stewardship.

White Oak Day 2025 Serves Community

By MG Alison Edwards

MG Kat Kahn accepts
County Council proclamation

Montgomery County Master Gardeners’ participation in White Oak Day 2025 contributed to another huge success, with MGs distributing over 900 vegetable, herb, and pollinator-friendly flower seedlings to local residents, dispensing gardening advice, giving tours of the White Oak Youth Garden, and piquing kids’ interest in gardening with a planting activity. This was the culmination of a large volunteer-powered effort begun months earlier by HarvestShare with significant support from MGs. During the event, MG Cat Kahn received a County Council proclamation recognizing HarvestShare’s contributions to the people of Montgomery County—a testament to the program’s impact.

Preparing the Ground

Each year, HarvestShare launches preparations for White Oak Day by recruiting MGs and other local volunteers to start seeds, with a focus on supporting food production. The volunteers transplant seedlings into larger pots as needed, harden them off, and prepare them for donation. Seedlings require 6 to 10 weeks of nurturing and are carefully timed to be ready for dropoff to HarvestShare by mid-May. At least 22 MGs participated in the seed starting aspect of the effort this year; more than 40 total individuals contributed plants, including extra starts from their personal gardens.  

MG's Valerie Button, Sue Kuklewicz, Mary Lou Johnson, 
Linda Weiss with sign recognizing seed donors
Photo: MG Cat Kahn

MG Linda Weiss sorts seedlings
Photo: MG Cat Kahn 

Some of these seedlings were distributed to county residents, community gardens, and HarvestShare food production gardens that donate surplus produce back to the community through HarvestShare. Plants that weren’t immediately distributed were housed in HarvestShare’s pop-up greenhouse, where they received daily care until the giveaway event. As they grew, managing them became a monumental task—imagine trying to contain an 18-inch tomato plant in a tiny pot! (This is why volunteers are asked to put seedlings in 4-inch pots.)

The MCMG event leads, MGs Cat Kahn, Sue Kuklewicz, and Emma Brennan, worked closely with the White Oak Recreation Center staff to plan logistics, including equipment, layout, and scheduling. They then recruited volunteers to help with setting up tents and tables, sorting and organizing hundreds of plants, and providing educational support to attendees. Cat notes that MG educators are easy to recruit as this is a highly rewarding—even if exhausting—event.

The Big Day

On June 7, 2025, White Oak Day came to life. Volunteers helped transport the seedlings to the Recreation Center site and organize them for easy selection. MGs then assisted county residents in selecting plants tailored to their gardening conditions, experience level, and culinary preferences. Some 178 families from 22 different zip codes received plants in the giveaway. Concurrently with the plant giveaway, children enjoyed a planting activity with volunteers, and visitors learned more about the youth-oriented activities at the White Oak Youth Garden. Some of the day's MG volunteers are pictured below.

L-R: Terese Bouey, Alan Black (local farmer and HS volunteer), Sally Swift, Sue Kuklewicz, Val Button, Mary Lou Johnson, Alison Edwards, Cat Kahn, Kara Singh, Emma Brennan, Linda Weiss, Enko Csikos, Ellen Mann

Photo: MG Linda Barrett 

Cat, Sue, and Emma expressed their heartfelt thanks to all of the MG volunteers who devoted time and energy to delivering a huge benefit to the community at White Oak Day. 

President's Letter - June 2025

Hi everyone, 

In March, we started recording the monthly MG meeting announcements and presentations. These recordings can be accessed using the Monthly Meetings and Events page on the MCMG website. 

On June 5, we’ll have our annual spring potluck picnic at Derwood. Please be sure to bring a potluck item to share for lunch at noon. If you were recognized at the May MCMG meeting for your 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 years of service, we’ll distribute Years of Service pins before the picnic.

Also on June 5, we’ll hold our first organizational meeting for a Spring 2026 Grow It Eat It educational event. We will meet in the Multipurpose Room at 2:00 pm. The Derwood Demo Garden will be a focus of the event; we’ll likely have a plant sale and several information tables. 

Our new intern class will begin on Monday, June 2. Classes are in person on Mondays and online on Wednesdays from 9 am – 3 pm. The Intern Job Fair is on Monday, June 23 from 1:50 – 2:50 pm.  Committees will create informational displays and interns can sign up for activities for which they want to volunteer. 

I appreciate everyone's commitment to MCMG's mission and hope you’ll volunteer for upcoming activities. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Linda

What's our Style?

 

By MG Betsy Wooster

Communicating in writing, whether on paper or online, can present challenges that we don’t always think about. Some might argue that it doesn’t matter that much. After all, people will get the idea and know what we mean. And while there’s an element of truth in that, it’s also true that consistent usage across our communication channels reflects the careful approach we take to all that we do as MGs. 

Have you ever referred someone to the monthly newsletter published by Montgomery County Master Gardeners (MCMG)? It’s one thing if you’re talking about it at a Plant Clinic or other event. But if you’re writing about it, do you know: Should we be referring to the SEED, “the Seed,” the SEED, or The Seed? 

If you’re preparing a list of the demonstration gardens managed by MCMGs, do you know their correct names? What about local gardens: Is it Brookside Gardens or Garden? US Botanic Garden or U.S. Botanical Gardens? As far as the plants growing in those gardens, we all know the value of using their Latin names. But do you know what’s supposed to be italicized? And what about the special punctuation rules regarding periods and commas, and use of cultivar names? (It’s okay if you don’t. Speaking personally, I have to look that one up often!)

If you’re in charge of recruiting MG volunteers for an upcoming event, have you ever wondered whether you need to create a “sign-up sheet” or a “signup sheet”? What if you want to develop a flyer about a program for elementary school students, say 1st- 3rd graders? Or is it first through third graders? And what time is that event: 10am or 10 am? Noon-2 pm or 12 pm to 2 pm? Have you thought about the critical elements that should be included in those program announcements? 

The answer to these and many more such questions can be found in the new MCMG Style Guide. (If you can’t figure out the answers, or if you think there's something missing from the guide, please contact MG Betsy Wooster.) As MGs, one of our primary roles is communicating with each other and with the public. Doing so consistently helps ensure that our messages are delivered clearly and accurately. The Style Guide can help us do that. 

Six MGs Complete Pilot Composting Course

By MG Intern Cally Neely

In March, six Montgomery County Master Gardeners (along with five non-MGs) completed the pilot Montgomery County Extension Composter Course program, which entailed 12.5 hours of virtual coursework and in-person training. The program required that participants:

• Pass a 3.5-hour Community Composting 101 prerequisite course;

• Pass both a pre- and post-assessment test; and 

• Attend 3 days in person at Derwood Demo Garden’s Composting Education Hub (9 total hours).

The MGs helped build a compost pile from scratch using a toter full of food scraps donated by Manna Food Center. They practiced safely recycling organic waste of the county and facilitating the natural process of turning it into a viable soil amendment for Derwood Demo Garden use. They learned best management composting practices to reduce pathogens and strategies to test metrics of the compost pile (moisture levels, bulk density (air space), O2 levels, and more). Learn more about the course in a separate article from this month.

We congratulate these MCMG affiliates on completing the Montgomery County Extension Composter Course (pictured left to right above):

• MG Eniko Csikos

• MG Carol Hayes

• MG Celeste Houser Jackson

• MG Intern Elina Sarkisova

• MG Melissa Spence

• MG Maxine Glazer (not pictured)

Earth Day in the Literary Garden

The Literary Garden
Photo: MG Alison Edwards

By MG Amy Henchey 

I spent Earth Day greeting and dispensing gardening advice to visitors to the Literary Garden at the Kensington Park Library. I volunteer regularly at the Literary Garden, helping to keep it planted, weeded, and pruned. I’m sometimes joined by another Master Gardener, Montgomery College horticulture students, or high school students seeking service hours. Master Gardener volunteer hours aren’t available for the monthly weeding time, but it’s a pleasant place to spend a few hours.

The garden is the brainchild of Karin Reber (pictured here). She designed and built the garden as part of her work for a master’s degree in horticulture at George Washington University. The mostly native plants are carefully labeled with common and scientific names, and their benefits to pollinators are described.

I can’t think of a better place to have spent a day celebrating environmental protection!

Below are some more photos from the Literary Garden:

Clockwise from upper left: Penstemon digitalis, bee house,
Iris versicolor, Lonicera sempervirens, Tradescantia virginiana
Photos: MG Alison Edwards

Montgomery County’s Pilot Extension Composter Course

Photo: Montgomery County
Office of Agriculture

By MG Intern Cally Neely

As food waste becomes a major contributor to methane production and pollution when thrown into landfills and incinerators, the need to get involved in composting safely to divert community-generated food scraps and support the soil becomes more and more important. 

This past March, six Montgomery County Master Gardeners (along with five non-MGs) completed the pilot Montgomery County Extension Composter Course, which entailed 12.5 hours of virtual course work and in-person training at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, Maryland. The course drew together 11 participants from across Maryland (Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Howard Counties) as well as DC for three Saturdays in a row to learn about and make compost together with a host of speakers and the compost trainer Thomas Fazio (Compost Manager at ECO City Farms).

The program was hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) in collaboration with University of Maryland Extension (UME), MCMG, the Montgomery County Office of Agriculture (OAG), and Thomas Fazio. Three in-person training days allowed participants to build competency via hands-on practice, and receive the basic training needed to support the Composting Education Hub (CEH) while learning how to serve composting needs across their residential communities.

The course began indoors with an orientation session, followed by speakers Eileen Kao and Kathy Vasquez from Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), who provided information about composting rules, regulations, goals, and existing programs in Montgomery County and Maryland, as well as the pros and cons of the DEP-recommended backyard composting systems. The day ended with a brief tour of the CEH.

The first day of the hands-on practicum began with home composting basics led by ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative Director Brenda Platt, followed by an in-depth introduction to the CEH’s three-bin Knox compost system, led by instructors Thomas Fazio and Natalia Salazar (OAG). Fazio guided the participants in building their own hot compost pile with food scraps provided by the local Manna Food Center, and demonstrated ways to get important metrics such as bulk density and moisture levels, as well as methods of troubleshooting a pile.

Three-bin compost system
Photo: Montgomery County
Office of Agriculture

The final day of the hands-on practicum included taking the CO2 measurements of the week-old pile, and mixing it with an older pile to build volume to achieve temperatures that would destroy most pathogens. Fazio ended his portion with a sensory exploration of compost of different stages, getting participants to see, smell, and feel different stages of compost samples taken from ECO City Farms. This was followed by speakers from Baltimore’s Hidden Harvest Farm (Aleksandra Mihailovic & Dana Rushovich) explaining other methods of running an all volunteer-run composting operation, and the session finished up with teaching tips for engaging the audience and volunteering using your strengths led by MG Susan Eisendrath.

The participants, who ranged from MCMGs to unaffiliated individuals interested in composting in their own communities, brought lively questions and dove into creating compost together, with many expressing interest in volunteering at the CEH. All 11 students passed the post-course knowledge check, earning them a certificate of completion. 

To support the replication of this training in other counties as well as in other state Extension programs, ILSR developed a toolkit to be made available to the UME and MG volunteers which will include a description of the CEH site development; the 2025 pilot course curriculum and schedule; various checklists for supplies needed to run the program with best management practices (including health and safety considerations); and form templates (media release, pre- and post-assessments, liability waiver, feedback form).

President’s letter – May 2025

Spring is here and I’m enjoying the warmer temperatures and flowers blooming. I’ve planted my cool season vegetable crops, and can’t wait to get the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers in the ground.

Our Demonstration Garden MGs have begun their spring clean-ups and planting. There are many MGs and MG interns that have signed up for plant clinics and community events. Our garden educators and Garden Discovery Day MGs are getting ready to teach gardening classes to children at the Derwood Demo Garden. Our Speakers Bureau has been busy with presentations at garden clubs and libraries.

I truly appreciate everyone's commitment to MCMG's mission, and hope that you will volunteer for some of the upcoming activities. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Linda

Spring Plant Swap

 By MG Alex Friedman

The Spring Plant Swap will take place on Thursday, May 1 at noon at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds following the monthly MCMG meeting. Please bring healthy, pest-free plants, bulbs, and seedlings to swap. You may bring indoor and outdoor plants, as well as garden tools in working condition, pots, seeds, and other gardening paraphernalia.

We're making a special effort to NOT swap plants listed on the Maryland invasive lists. For example, this means NO Hemerocallis fulva (common orange daylily and tiger lily). Websites of the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources provide more information about Maryland invasive plants.

Basic Rules

Fall 2024 Plant Swap
Photo: MG Len Friedman 

1. After you dig up and pot your plant(s), label each pot with:

a. Both the scientific and common names of the plant;

b. The light requirement of the plant (sun or shade);

c. Whether it is an outdoor plant or houseplant; and

d. Other useful information, such as the color of flowers.

You may add your name and contact information if you are willing to answer questions about the plant from the new owner.

2. Bring the items to the front entrance of the Old Timers' Building between 9:30 and 10 am, before the start of the monthly membership meeting. On the map of the Fairgrounds, Old Timers’ Building is labeled "2" on the upper edge of the map, near The Heritage.

3. When you drop off your item(s), you will get a ticket. Please look at your ticket! The last digit of the number is YOUR number.

4. There are three rounds of randomly selected numbers from zero to nine. When your number is called, you can select one new item. After the third round, the swap ends with a free-for-all round, during which everyone can choose from the remaining items.

5. You must take home anything that you brought to the plant swap that was not taken by someone else. We need to have the building totally clean of all garden items when the swap is over.

6. Please bring a box or bag with your name on it to hold the items you pick at the plant swap.

7. The plant swap will start at noon after the monthly membership meeting.