Master Gardener Foundation of Yakima County Meeting

October 15, 2025

Red Barn

Yakima/Kittitas County Program Coordinator Patty Ratzlaff opened the Program Meeting following the Foundation meeting at 11 a.m.  She said the Advanced Education View Party went well, and the lunch was good. 

The state Master Gardener Foundation meeting and the awards presentations can be reviewed online.

Annual re-certification applications should be submitted by Nov. 15, she said.

The Enrichment Series begins Jan. 14

Schedules for Labs (classes) for interns are being printed. The first two classes are for trainees and mentors..

Give Pulse:  Julie Hunziker distributed a paper which guides Give Pulse users through the process of entering hours for hours contributed to Master Gardeners endeavors.

Farmer’s Market & Fair:  Laura Willet gave recognition to Ken Tolman for his steady attendance through the Farmer’s Market season.  He also oversaw set-up of the fair booth, and organized a group of volunteers to put the booth together.

Photo Library:  Andrea Altmayer urged members to continue submitting photos to the photo library.

Social Media Presence/Facebook: Kelly Klingman reported Yakima Master Gardeners’ online presence continues to generate views with Facebook being viewed 74,465 times, and Instagram 6.464 times in September. Views includes videos, posts, stories and ads on the site. Reported “Reach” (number of individuals who saw our page) was 15,464 for Facebooks and 903 for Instagram. Each person is only counted once per month.

The number of times the MG Facebook and Instagram were visited during the September was 1,120 and 20, respectively.

Youth Team:  Kelly also reported on the Youth Team’s Farmers’ Market participation in September. Master Gardeners borrowed Erosion Kits from the Mabton Ag program, and leaders were so pleased they are looking into getting our own, she said.

Garden Reports

Heirloom:  Reggie Sanderson reported the garden is all cleaned up, but the irrigation system needs to be put away, Seeds are gathered and at Phyllis Pugnetti’s house.

West Valley Food Garden: Five hundred pounds of butternut squash and 155 little pumpkins awaiting delivery to the food bank. The remainder of the tomato crop (102 pounds) was also taken to the food bank. A total of 3,363 pounds was donated in the 2025 season. Final clean-up was to take place Oct. 17.

Sign-up Zone:  John Strong said there are difficulties registering in the Sign-up Zone, which is based in Australia.  He is looking for a new company.

Adjournment:  Meeting was adjourned at 12 o’clock noon. One hour can be entered in Give Pulse for those attending this meeting.

Next Meeting: Nov. 19, 2025, at the WSU Extension, at 10:30 am