One of our Participants shared this photo with me.  It puts a smile on my face and I hope it does yours too.  She said, “Social distancing, well not from the dog and planting flowers!”

We started the year off great. We have 55 participants with 39 of these being first year participants! Our first meeting with participants was the first of March. The introduction of all team members and Binders were given and garden drawings were completed.  Tracie Goodman from UK Extension presented a  Power Point on soil samples.  She explained how to find what planting zone gardeners are in.  She also talked about where to plant your garden and the importance of how well the soil drains and to have at least 8 hours of good sun light.  She told us what good soil was and how soil testing was a valuable resource.  She also talked about the plant nutrients and the importance of PH and how to add the fertilizer and organic matter to your soil.

                                               

 

Next up, was Doug Stephens.

Basic Gardening/ Doug Stephens

  • Method and Styles
  • Cool Season and Warm Season Crops
  • When to Plant
  • Planting Potatoes and Onions
  • Mulching
  • Selecting and Ordering Seeds
  • Seed Starting

 

Doug Stephens shared with us about the importance of the Farmer’s Market.  He grows and sells at the Farmer’s Market in McCreary County KY and hoped to see some of this year’s participant at the market. All of this educational material is being shared with the participants thru email and mail. Unfortunately, the pruning and grafting workshops had to be cancelled due to COVID 19.

We have distributed fertilizer and participants have been able to pick up seed potatoes and onion sets. The local CO-OP said, “We have never seen so many people plant gardens.”

All gatherings have been cancelled until further notice.  Our next meeting was scheduled for April 30, 2020. We will share the educational material for the topic: Organic Gardening the techniques and pros and cons of organic gardening.  We will also discuss mulching and composting.  Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.  We look forward to when we can all gather again.

I also wanted to share a little about the progress of the building: