Fall 20/Winter 21 Lunch & Learn and Happy Hour Webinar Series

Lunch & Learn and Happy Hour Webinar Series for MAster gardener Volunteers: 

Fall/Winter 2020-2021

Each video will count for 1 hour of continuing education. You will be responsible for entering in your own hours.  

Speakers and times are subject to change.


Thursday, December 3 
12 - 1 PM

Poinsettias: History and Production
Peg McMahon, Associate Professor Emeritus, Horticulture and Crop Sciences, The Ohio State University

Bio

Peg is a 4th generation horticulturist/floriculturist going back to my great-grandparents’ greenhouse.  She received her BS from OSU in Horticulture in 1970, then worked 15 years for Yoder Bros., a multistate greenhouse company that specialized in the production and propagation of mums, geraniums, carnations, and foliage.   Peg then received her MS and PhD from Clemson in 1988 and 1992, after which she joined the faculty in HCS at OSU where she did research in Floriculture and taught several classes in greenhouse production.  After retiring in 2017, she revised the 6th edition of the textbook “Plant Science: Growth, Development, and Utilization of Cultivated Plants”.

Register Here


Wednesday, December 9 
4-5 PM

Christmas Trees:  From the Ground to the Living Room
Roger Koch & Matt Mongin

Bio

Matt and Jane Mongin are the owners of Spring Valley Tree Farm, near Dayton, Ohio, since 1986. It is a 20 acre Choose & Cut Christmas tree farm located in Southwest Ohio. They are currently growing about 17,000 trees, a mix of native and non-native varieties. Matt is a member of several Professional Christmas Tree Organizations: The National Christmas Tree Association, current member since 1992 – and board member representing Ohio since 2018, the Ohio Christmas Tree Association, currently on the board and serving as President. He is a member of the Mid-America Christmas Tree Association, and the Exotic Conifer Association, serving as its Secretary / Treasurer. Matt is mostly interested in improving Christmas tree varieties available to Mid-West growers and customers including selection and production of superior varieties from improved seed orchards.  He also promotes and writes about best practices in the Christmas tree industry.

Roger and his wife Carol operate a 28-acre tree farm outside of Oxford, Ohio.  Roger is retired from the Sisters of Charity as a Facilities Manager. Prior to that he was farm manager for Wending Creek Farms in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Miami University with a degree in Botany. Roger has been producing conifers for Christmas Trees since 1995, his first selling season was 2001.  Koch Christmas Trees sells primarily Canaan Fir, Scotch and White Pine, and Blue Spruce. Other recently planted varieties include Concolor, Nordmann and Turkish Firs, Black Hills and Norway Spruce. Roger is on the board of the Ohio Christmas Tree Association, currently serving as Vice President. He is also a member of the Mid-America Christmas tree Association and the Exotic Conifer Association.   

Register Here


Thursday, December 17 
12 - 1 PM

Common Turfgrass Diseases
Todd Hicks, Program Coordinator, Turfgrass Pathology Program, The Ohio State University

Bio

Todd E. Hicks started his career in the Dept. of Plant Pathology as a student researcher from 1997- 2001.   He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy in 2001 from The Ohio State University and assumed the role in the turfgrass pathology lab he continues today.  His role is to coordinate the turfgrass pathology fungicide and bio control evaluation program.  He serves as primary contact for our chemical and industry representatives.  He has supervised our seasonal field workers, mentored graduate students, and undergraduate students working on specials projects in the lab.  He coordinates the turfgrass education and demonstration plots at the Farm Science Review.   He also conducts diagnostic visits, presents educational lectures, writes articles, and helps teach the turfgrass pathology class

Register Here


Thursday, January 7 
12 - 1 PM

Bees, Pesticides and Politics: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Urban Landscapes
Dan Potter, Professor, Urban Landscape Entomology, University of Kentucky

Bio

Dr. Daniel Potter is Professor of Entomology at the University of Kentucky.  His research has informed strategies integrated pest and pollinator management for 42 years. He is an award-winning teacher and a frequent invited speaker at conferences around the world. Dan has received national legacy contribution awards from the Professional Land Care Network, the American Nursery and Landscape Association, and the U.S. Golf Association.  

Register Here


Wednesday, January 13 
4-5 PM

Addressing Controversial Issues
Thomas Blaine, Associate Professor, Community Development, The Ohio State University

Bio

Thomas W. Blaine hails from Russell, Kentucky – a portion of the “tri-state area” where the Bluegrass State meets West Virginia and Ohio. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from the University of Kentucky.  He was a member of the graduate faculty at Texas A&M University before joining Ohio State University Extension in 1995. He conducts research and develops educational materials that deal with environmental topics that range from global climate change to recycling to farmland preservation and to subjects related to Lake Erie. He has conducted educational outreach on environmental and methodological topics to audiences world- wide: in South America, the former Soviet Union and to the US Navy while underway return from surge deployment overseas.

Register Here


Thursday, January 21 
12 - 1 PM

Plant Cannibals:  From Mistletoe to Dodder
Jim Chatfield, Associate Professor, Horticulture and Crop Sciences and Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University

Bio

Jim Chatfield is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Departments of Hort and Crop Science and Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University.  Jim received his B.S. in Botany from Ohio University in 1975 and His M.S.  Plant Pathology from OSU in 1979.  Jim's areas of expertise include community tree evaluation, landscape horticulture, plant selection, plant diagnostics, pathology and botany.  

Register Here


Wednesday, January 27 
4-5 PM

Therapeutic Horticulture
Rieppe Hendrick, Extension Master Gardener, Wake County, North Carolina State University

Bio

Rieppe Hendrick has been a Master Gardener Volunteer in Wake County NC since 2014.  She has had the honor of leading the Wake County Extension Master Gardener Therapeutic Horticulture Program since 2015.  She is a Speech-Language Pathologist of over 25 years, holds a Certificate in Animal-Assisted Interventions, as well as a Certificate in Therapeutic Horticulture.  She is the proud mother of 2 grown children and lives in the middle of the woods with her husband and a merry band of various animals.  She has a life goal of exposing as many people as possible to the joy, peace, wisdom and therapeutic value of interacting with plants and animals.

Register Here


Thursday, February 4
12 - 1 PM

Greenhouse Growing of Strawberries
Mark Kroggel, Lecturer, Department of Horticulture and Crop Sciences, The Ohio State University

Bio

Mark Kroggel is a lecturer in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University. In addition to graduating from OSU with a BS and MS in horticulture, Mark has worked in both the commercial ornamental horticulture industry (from micropropagation through field production all the way to landscape installation) in Ohio as well as in applied academic research (Arizona and Ohio) on greenhouse production of fruit and vegetable crops, with a few ornamental GH crops thrown in here and there.

Register Here


Wednesday, Februrary 10
4-5 PM

Asian Jumping Worms Driving Gardeners Crazy
Mike Hogan, Extension Educator and Associate Professor, Ag and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University

Bio

Mike Hogan is an Extension Educator and Associate Professor with Ohio State University Extension. Hogan also serves as the statewide Sustainable Agriculture Co-Coordinator for OSU Extension and is also the Ohio Co-Coordinator for the USDA SARE Program (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) in Ohio. Hogan’s work focuses on urban agriculture and urban food system development and small farm issues such as alternative agriculture, direct marketing, and local food systems. Hogan also provides leadership for one of the largest Master Gardener Volunteer program in the state with 287 Master Gardener Volunteers in Franklin County. Hogan served a term as President of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, has served on the national board of the Joint Council of Extension Professionals, and has served as an elected faculty leader at The Ohio State University.

Register Here


Thursday,  February 18
12-1 PM

Keeping Tick Safe in the Garden:  Updates for 2021
Tim McDermott DVM, Extension Educator, Franklin County, The Ohio State University

Bio

Dr. Timothy McDermott has been an Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences for the past five years after twenty years in private practice veterinary medicine and surgery. He assists client resident backyard growers, community gardeners, teacher educators and urban farmers increase their production of fresh local produce through his work in local food production systems in Franklin County. He utilizes his veterinary expertise for Extension work in backyard poultry, small ruminant, insect-vectored disease and companion animal programming to client residents, the Department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, and 4-H student livestock project education. In 2019 he was recognized as Local Food Champion by the Columbus City Council and Franklin County Board of Commissioners.  In 2020 he won the National Association of County Agricultural Agents Achievement Award for Ohio.  

Register Here


Wednesday, February 24
4-5 PM

Yes, You Can Grow Lavender!
Kelly McGowan, Field Specialist, Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri Extension

Bio

Kelly McGowan has been with University of Missouri Extension for seven years and serves as a Field Specialist in Horticulture working primarily with home gardeners in southwest Missouri.  Areas of concentration include vegetable production, soil fertility, pollinator education, sustainable home landscapes, serving as Master Gardener coordinator and Master Naturalist co-coordinator. Research interests include elderberries, lavender production, commercial garlic production, and population locations of Papilio joanae. Kelly obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture from Missouri State University’s Darr School of Agriculture.  She received her Master of Science degree in Natural Resources and Agroforestry through the University of Missouri, which included a thesis project in elderberry flower production. 

Register Here


Thursday, March 4
12-1 PM

Foliar Diseases of Landscape Ornamentals
Francesca Hand, Associate Professor and State Extension Specialist, Ornamentals Pathology Program, The Ohio State University

Bio

Francesca Hand is an Associate Professor of Plant Pathology and State Extension Specialist for Ornamentals Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University. Previously, she received a M.S. in Agricultural Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Florence, Italy and she conducted Post-doctoral research at the University of California Davis. The purpose of her research and extension program at OSU is to study disease epidemiology, biology and ecology of fungal, oomycete and bacterial pathogens, from which she develops detection and control strategies.

Register Here


Wednesday, March 10
4-5 PM

Annuals:  Field Trial Results 
Pam Bennett, Program Director, Master Gardener Volunteer Program, The Ohio State University

Bio

Pam is an Associate Professor with The Ohio State University and serves as the State Master Gardener Volunteer Program Director and Horticulture Educator for OSU Extension in Clark County. She specializes in herbaceous ornamental plant trials and presents programs on annuals and perennials as well as other landscape topics locally, statewide, and nationally.  Pam has also lectured in South Korea, China, Greece and Turkey.  She is a Clark County Park District Commissioner, and a Board member of the Hartman Rock Garden.  She is the Past-President of the Friends of the Ohio Governor's Residence and Heritage Garden. Pam is the co-author of an award-winning book, Garden-pedia, An A-to- Z Guide to Gardening Terms, writes a weekly gardening column for eight counties receiving the Cox Publishing brands, authors the bi-monthly Ask the Expert Column for Ohio Gardening magazine and is a frequent writer for popular gardening magazines as well as trade publications. 

Register Here


Thursday, March 18
12 - 1 PM

Glyphosate:  Facts, Hype and Best Practices
Jennifer Andon, Program Manager, Master Gardener Volunteer Program, The Ohio State University

Bio
Jennifer currently serves as the Program Manager for the Master Gardener Volunteer Program at The Ohio State University.  She graduated with her B.S. in entomology, with a minor in plant pathology from OSU in 2003.  In 2008, she graduated with a M.S. in turfgrass entomology, after which she stayed with the department for 13 years as a research technician conducting field trials on turfgrass insect pests.  In 2016, she join the Pesticide Safety Education Program as Program Manager collaborated with Extension Educators to train and certify the private pesticide applicators in Ohio. 


Wednesday, March 24 
4-5 PM

Monarch Conservation
Adam Baker, Techinical Regional Advisor, Davey Tree Expert Company

Bio

Dr. Adam M. Baker recently accepted as a position as Technical Regional Advisor for the Davey Tree Expert Company. He serves Davey's Midwest branches, conducts research on pollinator habitat, and provides educational materials and programs. Adam graduated with his PhD from the University of Kentucky where he studied conservation of the monarch butterfly in urban environments, interactions with invasive species, and optimaization of conservation gardens. 

Register Here


Wednesday, April 1
12-1 PM

How Plants get to Market:  The Plant Supply Chain and New Introductions
Holly Scoggins, Associate Professor Emerita, Department of Horticulture, Virginia Tech

Bio

Holly Scoggins, Ph.D., recently retired from Virginia Tech as Associate Professor Emerita, after  20 years in the Department of Horticulture, with teaching, research, and cooperative extension responsibilities.  She taught Greenhouse Management, Herbaceous Landscape Plants, Ornamental Plant Production and Marketing, and Plant Propagation. Her research focused on nursery production of perennials as well as field production of hops. She served as Director of the Hahn Horticulture Garden on campus from 2002-2014. Her latest adventure is Vice President of Educational Programs for AmericanHort, a professional association with nearly 14,000 members and affiliate businesses.  She also serves as President-elect of the national Perennial Plant Association.  Holly continue to shares her love of gardening and the green industry at conferences and symposia. Because she doesn't have quite enough horticulture in her life, Holly and her husband Joel Shuman own a you-pick blueberry farm and apiary in southwest Virginia.

Register Here