We’re Back!

I was so excited about our first meeting in 2022. It’s been a very long time since I have been able to get my group together. In the previous Covid years we have held drive-by distributions where we handed out educational material and supplies and the members didn’t exit their vehicle. Well… some did they couldn’t help but stop and visit. It’s in our Appalachian nature to want to visit our neighbors.

We had so many new members and  I continue to have requests for membership on a daily basis. I loved finally getting to meet everyone and seeing our returning members.

We have a member who brought his son to the meeting and a mom who contacted me to see if her son could join. I said yes of course. This gives me big hopes for a Youth Farmers Market which we have been working on.

I asked the members to tell everyone their names, how long they have been gardening, and what their favorite thing to grow was. It’s important to me that everyone feels comfortable talking to each other. I plan to keep this format going through the year. I want to ask questions of my members and see how they do things. What works, what didn’t work? We can all learn from each other’s mistakes and successes. Interaction is critical.

Topics

Our first meeting was about garden planning. I wanted to clearly explain “Harvest Reports”, and that a peck was about equal to a Wal-mart bag.

We distributed the booklet, Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky to everyone. It’s packed with great information and our local extension office is always so wonderful to help me get the books.

I asked the members what they considered before planting their gardens. Sunlight? Water access? They had great answers.

Coming to the End

We gave out pea seeds to all the members at the end of the meeting. I don’t know about your farmers but mine believe peas MUST be planted on Valentine’s Day.  I need to do some research and find out why. LOL!

The members milled about and spoke to each other. They are such a great group. One of the members was in his 70s and had never grown a garden. I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes.

All in all, it was a great meeting. I can’t wait until our next one.

Happy gardening my friends!