A Spring Update

As we enter into April, spring becomes stronger with every passing day. Trees are starting to bud as spring flowers bloom. Temps are steadily rising, but not too much. We have had some beautiful days full of sun in the upper 60s to lower 70s – perfect weather , in my opinion! With spring comes planting new life. Many of us have spring vegetables making their way above the soil. April is the best month to sit in the garden and sow new seeds while waiting for old ones to grow.

April also brings the busy season here at Build It Up. All 50 of our gardeners are currently making garden plans for the season and turning in their seed/plant orders. We plan to have one big pickup this year, towards the end of April. This will include: seeds, plants, fertilizer, tools, and trellising materials. Luckily, we have a great group of volunteers to help us prepare!

Another great part of April is the launch of our blog for the 2021 season! Each year we ask that each family in our program write a blog post that we then post on the website. This year a returning gardener named Tim Ross, launches the blog. He has greatly expanded his garden this year and has even added bees! Here is an excerpt from his blog along with a few pictures:

Tim Ross’ Story

“This year I am working to expand my garden and create a bed for potatoes and squash.  I am currently cutting back brush and covering the new ground with cardboard. Soon I will bring in a few loads of rich farm dirt. I really enjoy the work and the friendships that gardening and working together can help create.

My other big news is that I’m starting to keep bees this year. A bee-keeper friend is mentoring me, and some friends from church (including George from our group) and I built some hives together. We are trying to capture some wild swarms, and we are buying some bees to get us started. I’m hoping for a little honey, and hoping to improve the bee population in my neighborhood for the good of us all.”

To read Tim’s full blog, click here.