Yuma County Master Gardeners

Some people have spotted stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum) already in Yuma County!

This is one bad invasive plant for Southern Arizona. Let's do our part in quickly identifying this plant and properly disposing of it!

To learn more about stinknet and report sightings, please go to www.stinknet.org

Here are additional resources on stinknet and why they're problem:

https://extension.arizona.edu/topics/stinknet

https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2024-08/az1827-2023.pdf

https://aznps.com/2023/03/13/invasive-species-alert-stinknet/

https://aznps.com/conservation-original/invasive-plants/

https://www.sdcwma.org/species/stinknet.php

We are excited to host our next UPick event for TUESDAY, February 25th, from 9 - 11 AM.

Due to high participation, we are limiting the number of people in the field at one time. Please do not bring your own knives or harvest tools, we have volunteers to help with crops that need to be cut.

THANK YOU for your patience, understanding, and support! See you on Tuesday, February 25th!

🤔 Have you been wanting to come to one of our events, but you haven't had the chance to do so yet?

🤩🥳 Look no further! We will be at OC Johnson's Community Garden Event next week 🏫🫛

Our Master Gardeners will be giving talks on the best crops to for Yuma and when to plant them and about how to identify native plants in Yuma County 👨‍🌾🌱

Please come and join us and all the wonderful people that will be there. We look forward to seeing you!

📚 Here are the details 📚

🌵 Cost: FREE entry

🌵 Who: OC Johnson students and families, as well as any community member interested in learning more about the school's community garden and having a space to plant and grow

🌵 What: Highlighting the OC Johnson community garden through various activities from students and school staff planting in the garden to educational garden-based stations planned for students and their families

🌵 When: Thursday February 20th from 4:15 pm to 5:15 pm

🌵 Where: OC Johnson Elementary School (1201 W 12th St, Yuma, AZ 85364-3605)

🌿 Does this plant look familiar to some of you? How about some of the botanical terminology that's being used here? 🤔

We hope so!

🦎🌱 That's because this was one of the native plants and its family, Saururaceae or the Lizard-tails, we discussed about during our Nature Workshop series last summer ☀️

You can find some Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica) over at the Yuma East Wetlands! 🏵🤍

Earlier this afternoon, the Yuma Garden Club and us went on a tour of the University of Arizona's Yuma Agricultural Center led by Bert Hernandez, the farm manager 🚜 🧑‍🌾🌱

We had lots of fun while learning about how the Yuma Agricultural Center operates 📚

Our Master Gardeners also helped pick fresh veggies for those who participated in the U-Pick opportunity at the end of the tour 🥬

Come and join us the next time we have a tour scheduled! 🙂📅

Wondered what that cool plant was on your hike? Or what those yellow and purple flowers were along the highway as you drove by? 🤔🌱

Join our Master Gardners in learning about some of Yuma's neat native flora through a beginner friendly scientific lens during our virtual Native Plant ID Workshop on February 19th! 🧑‍🌾🌵

🌱 Here are the details 🌱

🌼 Cost: 100% FREE

🌼 Email us to register: [email protected]

🌼 Who: Geared towards ages 18 and up, but all are welcome to join

🌼 Where: Online over Zoom! (the link will be sent out closer to the date)

🌼 When: Wednesday February 19th from 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Have you ever been on a hike and wondered what that cool looking plant was? 🤔🌱

Or what those yellow and purple flowers were along the highway as you drove by? 🚗🏵

Well, you're in luck. We got just the thing to satisfy your curious mind! Later this month, we'll be hosting a Native Plant ID Workshop 📚

Come learn about some of the neat native plants you can find right here in Yuma County alongside side our Yuma County Master Gardeners 🧑‍🌾🌵

🌱 Here are the details 🌱

🌼 Cost: 100% FREE

🌼 Who: Geared towards ages 18 and up, but all are welcome to join

🌼 Where: Online over Zoom! (the link will be sent out closer to the date)

🌼 When: Wednesday February 19th from 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

🌼 Email us to register: [email protected]

One more week until our Native Plant ID Workshop! 🤩

If you haven't signed up for it now and you're really interested in attending, then please do so soon. We have 13 available spots left! 🌱📚

There will be lots of fun, stickers, and a Kahoot! quiz 😄

We're looking forward to seeing all you young stewards! 🌎

🌱Here are the workshop details🌱

🌼 Limited to 30 attendees (kids plus adults)

🌼 Cost: 100% FREE

🌼 Who: ages 9-17 (parent(s)/guardian(s) must be present with their kid(s) during the entire duration of the workshop)

🌼 Where: 2200 W 28th St, Yuma, AZ 85364

🌼 When: Saturday Janurary 18th at 9:00am

🌼 Sign up by sending us an email at [email protected]

A reminder that our Native Plant ID Workshop will be happening in two weeks 🤩

In this one day event, we'll teach you how to scientifically identify specific native plants in Yuma County 🌼🌵

There'll be lots of fun (and stickers) as we learn 📚😄

There's plenty of room for families to join us: 27 spots left. Please sign-up if you're interested!

We're looking forward to seeing all you young stewards! 🌎

🌱 Workshop details 🌱

🌼 Limited to 30 attendees (kids plus adults)

🌼 Cost: 100% FREE

🌼 Who: ages 9-17 (parent(s)/guardian(s) must be present with their kid(s) during the entire duration of the workshop)

🌼 Where: 2200 W 28th St, Yuma, AZ 85364

🌼 When: Saturday Janurary 18th at 9:00am

🌼 Sign up by sending us an email at [email protected]

That's a wrap, folks! 🥳 Thank you to everyone who came to our classroom workshops and to our field trips. We hope you enjoyed the program as much as we did 😊

Last week we had our field trips out at Gateway Park over at the Yuma East Wetlands. We got to see what we learned in the classroom out in the field and in action. Everyone had so much fun! There was lots of cool flora and fauna that we saw that can be found here in Yuma County along the Colorado River. 🏞️🌿🌼🦎🐦🐞

If you would like to see something like this be offered again, then please let us know! Send us an email at [email protected] of your interest in having this program offered in 2025.

Last Thursday, we had our very own Master Gardeners Karen Reichardt and Deirdre MacDonald talk to use about landscaping with native plants for our 11th class session. Everyone was blooming with native plant knowledge 🌼🌵

Our next class will be on July 18th from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm. It will be on the topic of w**ds with Marco Pena, the Assistant in Extension, specializing in w**d management.

If you're interested in becoming a Master Gardener for Yuma County, there are 3 more classes before this series ends! Go to the link in our bio to register today.

#2024