Have a plant party!

As we welcome spring in East Tennessee, we start to see the crocus, daffodils, and little blue flowers paint our yards and the road sides beside us. Here at Grow Oak Ridge, we are grateful to be back for our 4th season as a Grow Appalachia partner site. It continues to be a renewing and inspiring experience both for our participants, our organization, and our community.

Many of our participants may not know one another before starting this program, but they all share the passion of wanting a healthier lifestyle by growing fresh, organic produce for themselves, their families, and their neighbors. Within this program, they form their own community, as the garden and the program becomes an outlet for shared physical, social, and mental health as well. Many families in our program are also excited about giving their children the opportunity to learn to garden and creating these experiences for them. As food prices increase, learning to grow their own food allows our participants to feel more food secure and self-sufficient. We are excited about the season to come!

We have 46 gardeners joining us this year: “Thyme Share,” “Celestial,” “W****n’s Funny Farm,” “P******G PATCH,” “Jelly & Jam,” “Hey there honeybee!,” “The Beehive,” “Sweet girls,” “Dilly Dally Way,” “Garden of Gratitude,” “Sunny Days Garden,” “Little Leaves Lab,” “S*****e Gardens,” “Rockin N farm,” “The Sh***e Garden,” “Evergreens,” “Bluebird’s Roost,” “Bramble & Hedges,” “Healthy Living,” “Wood chips and raised beds,” “Vegetable Garden,” “Robyn’s Hood,” “Mimi’s Meadow,” “Plantasy Land,” “Hobbiton,” “Worm’s Paradise,” “Firefly Grove,” “Pappy’s Little Acre,” “M*******n Family Garden,” “Annabeth’s Garden,” “L***i’s Veggies,” “B****r Garden,” “Serenity Garden,” “Jones crew,” “The Garden of Eatin’,” “Mi gardenito,” “Please Lord! Make this garden grow!,” “Granny’s Corner,” “My3Suns,” “S***S Garden,” “H****n Garden,” “Paradise,” “Friendship Garden,” “Many Roots, One Garden,” and “Marlow’s Meadows.”

In our introductory workshops this year, we have already started talking a lot about soil health, advocating for no till practices for returning garden spaces to maintain soil structure and organic matter retention. Many of our gardeners have been thinking about the timing for terminating their Crimson Clover cover crop.

As we prepare for this year, our gardeners have gotten their soils tested through UT Extension, have worked through their garden planning, and are anticipating tilling for first year garden sites as the soil dries up. Food for thought that we always tell our participants, “you never want to work the soil when it is wet. If the soil is moist enough to form a ball when squeezed, then it is best to wait for drier conditions.”

I am proud of the garden maps that our participants have designed. When developing their garden maps, I encourage our gardeners to “Have a plant party!”

Instructions for having a plant party are as follows:

- Plan ahead! – Make a garden map months in advance; make a 3 yr plan
- Set a location – Where are you gardening and how big is the space?
- Set a date – When are you planting? Cool or Warm season?
- Invite guests & RSVP – Veggies you want to eat? Who RSVPed to your garden invite?
- Make a seating arrangement – Your tallest guests should be on the North side of the party; put friends together and enemies on opposite sides; where is everyone walking?
- How far apart should everyone be seated? – How much space do you have? How much space do plants need beside each other?
- Create a welcoming environment – Till or prepare your soil and amend with compost and pH adjustments as needed
- Serve them food – Add nutrients to your soil
- Give them some drinks – Water frequently
- Set up your decorations – Give them support (trellising)
- Give them snacks – Mid season nitrogen fertilization
- Open your gifts– Harvest your produce
- Give thanks