Meg Buerkel Hunn, Advisory Council Chair Six weeks ago, I planted out garlic for next year. Two weeks later, I put in hundreds of spring bulbs. I don’t think I have memory loss yet, but I sure don’t have any recollection of where I put either the garlic or those spring bulbs…  I guess I’ll know come spring time. This is a “don’t do as I do” post!  As well as a gift-giving idea for the upcoming holiday.  A challenge post.  A New Year’s Resolution in the makings.  I don’t know. But I do know I wish I knew where those things were planted so I could plant around them, a ..read more

Down and Dirty with Rachel Fire the weathermen. Hire my knee. The other evening, my knee was swollen, which is a good predictor of rain. Apple Weather had clear skies the entire following day. It sprinkled on me when I was running the next morning. I once impressed a host sister in Morocco when I told her there would be wind or rain the next day. We got both. I acquired the skill most often associated with gramps and grannies sitting in rockers on their porches at age fifteen, when I tore my ACL. Any doubts I had about their ability to predict the weather fell away. Our environment affects ..read more

Meg Buerkel Hunn, Advisory Council Chair Just the other day, my daughter’s piano teacher lamented about the growing darkness – and how this time of year, especially after the clocks change, makes her want to ‘hibernate.’   Indeed, as the days get cooler and daylight shrinks there is a feeling all around of slowing down, like a big tired sigh… For many of us, the gardens have been ‘put to bed,’ and hopefully the flowers and fruits of our labor have been good and gathered and enjoyed, eaten, and/or preserved by now.  We can rest (hibernate) for a time, at least until the holida ..read more

November Garden Checklist 2023 November Garden Checklist Plant spring bulbs Clean and oil garden tools Apply chicken manure to age over winter Winterize roses – Leave rosehips on until spring, protect from west (winter) winds, 4-6 inches mulch crowns 1-2 times per month – Water roses, perennials, shrubs and trees if ground is not frozen solid. Source:  Month-By-Month Gardening:  Arizona, Nevada & New Mexico ← Meg Buerkel Hunn, Advisory Council Chair Meg Buerkel Hunn, Advisory Council Chair → Look for News in Your Favorite Category Look for News in Your Favorite CategorySel ..read more

Meg Buerkel Hunn, Advisory Council Chair Thank YOU! Recognizing a look of confusion, a man in a purple vest popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, and pointed our family in the right direction to the group meeting place at the bustling and vast Heathrow Airport last July. Our gratitude (and relief) for his help were palpable.  Glimpsing the embroidery on this retiree’s purple vest, we discovered our angel-in-disguise was an airport volunteer! In the summer of 2019, my family’s first summer season here in New Mexico, the only tomato plant that survived our well-intentions was a volunteer t ..read more

Sandoval Extension Master Gardeners Win at the County Fair – Congratulations, Loren Meinz Congratulations to our Sandoval Extension Master Gardeners for placing in the open senior category of the indoor exhibit at the Sandoval County Fair. Loren Meinz won first place in the cherry tomato class with his Sweet Million Hybrid tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum; seed from R.H. Shumway’s Seeds). Loren also placed second in the carrot class with his Danvers 126 carrots (seed from Burpee Seeds). He grows in raised beds, and his carrots and tomatoes are still going strong. He leaves the carrots in the ..read more

Sandoval Extension Master Gardeners Win at the County Fair – Congratulations, Ben Washige! Congratulations to our Sandoval Extension Master Gardeners for placing in the open senior category of the indoor exhibit at the Sandoval County Fair. Ben Wakashige submitted nine flower entries. He won blue ribbons for his begonia, coneflowers, petunia, marigolds, and dahlia “Prince of Orange”. His begonia was also named Best of Show. His dahlia “Clearview Daniel” won a red ribbon, and his succulents won a green ribbon. Ben says he hopes more SEMGs will submit next year and asks that you contact him i ..read more

Meg Buerkle Hunn, Advisory Council Chair Little Things Make a Difference My kitchen companion is a Pom Pom Palm. I got her years ago, it was love at first sight… maybe because she made me smile in the middle of a hard day. Lucky for me she’s also quite forgiving, as I am not the best plant mama! Yes, I know I am anthropomorphizing a plant. And yet… she has lessons to teach (at least to me). These past months have been hard ones. Our backyard garden has struggled with the summer heat and drought. So far, this year’s monsoon has yielded very little rain or relief. I watch as the Rio Grande run ..read more

The Sunday September 10, 2023 Placitas Garden Tour offers area residents inspiration for sustainable high desert gardening.  The garden owners have created personal spaces using their own micro-climates, and you can enjoy them too on the tour date. Over 40 Sandoval Extension Master Gardeners (SEMG) will be volunteering in the Gardens on the day of the tour. SEMG volunteer activities include staffing a Garden Help Desk located at the Placitas Community Library and serving as greeters and docents at each individual garden. The Placitas Garden Tour thanks the Sandoval Extension Master Gard ..read more

New Beginnings project wins a 2023 David Gibby Search for Excellence Award 2023 David Gibby Search for Excellence Award for New Beginnings Garden Chaired by Veteran Sandoval County Master Gardeners and Placitas residents Sandy Liakus and Sheila Conneen, the ‘New Beginnings’ Garden in Bernalillo has won a 2023 David Gibby Search for Excellence Award at the International Master Gardener conference held in Overland Park, Kansas June 18 -21, 2023. This volunteer garden project placed second in the Special Needs Audience category. The New Beginnings Garden is a joint garden project initiated i ..read more