Post #5 - Two Work PARTIES in One Week to Spiff Up the Garden, "WHEW!" 

On Thursday, June 19th, Judy Morgan headed the work party.  Our new high school helper, Jerald Castillo, attended along with Pam, Mary, Sharon, Judy, Betty, Becky and more.  Jill Ray brought another friend for the garden, Herb Robert (photo below).  Judy presented a short lesson on compost vs. mulch vs. other amendments during the break.  Remember that these lessons may be counted toward continuing education credits needed for Master Gardeners.

The work party on Saturday, June 21st was the last attack at cosmetic and safety issues in the Raab Youth Garden before the first children's program on June 23rd.  Judy Morgan lead the group again, which included Darlette, Pam, Raul, Judy, Cheryl, Grover and others. Judy brought plants from home to add color around the garden entry points. The amphitheater was cleaned up, paths were weeded, bark was spread, Grover worked on the hoses and "water security" and Raul weed wacked the perimeters and then came back and pulled out the "Black Cap" berry bushes later. 

The next work party is Thursday, July 3rd!  It will be a clean-up and re-plant after our young guests.  Becky Endzell will be the lead!

First Children's Program was a "Stepping Stone" into a Great Year!

We provided the "Create Garden Stepping Stone" craft, watering, planting bean seeds, moving chips, putting a handprint on one of the "water houses," running/crawling through the tree and bush tunnels, and listening to a story in the amphitheater.

Below is are quotes from an email by Jill Ray, who lead the first Children's Program of 2014:

"I am happy to report that we had a wonderful first day at the garden!  We had 79 kids plus their parents!  I lost track of how many volunteers, but I believe we had 9 master gardeners, 3 Poulsbo garden club members, Neil (Nancy's husband) and two teenagers with their grandpa, Bob!  Almost all of the leadership team was present!"

"What an amazingly easy job I had today with so many excellent workers!" 

"From the bottom of my grateful heart,

Jill"

Our next Children's Program is Monday, June 30th.  The activities will cover seeds, soil, and worms!  Betsi Kurzawski will lead.  Please come lend your talents as Betsi will need all the help she can get!

Leadership Team meetings will be held in the garden this summer! 

This gives us a chance enjoy the plants and actually see what we are talking about.  Please come join us for our July meeting on the third Monday, from 1 - 3pm.

P.S. If you left a basket at the Master Gardener Plant Sale, please contact Linda Wells at lindaawells@comcast.net

Post #4 - June is Blooming Out All Over!

June 8, 2014

Try out the "Pages" at the top of this blog!  By clicking on any one of the titles in brown next to the Home button, you will find a page of information.  There is a map of the garden planting beds, what plants are in each, meeting minutes, etc.

Our June 5th Work Party was wonderful!  There were 8 pairs of helping hands. Every planting bed is full now.  We have a gourd and mini-pumpkin tunnel planted and the fencing ready to hold it's mysteries for the children to gaze through.  Our Bean Arch was created out of bamboo and extra red/purple beans were planted.  Also planted were cucumbers, rainbow Swiss chard, radishes, summer and winter squashes, more rainbow carrots and pumpkins.  The potatoes were mounded and everything was watered.

We all oooooed and aaaahed at the grassy-haired garden guardian that Cheryl made and the well-built water spigot "houses" that her husband Grover created.  Cheryl painted them with paint donated by Winslow Paints.  Love those donations!  And the children who attend the first program on June 23rd will be adding their handprints as decorations on the sides of the "hose houses."

In the afternoon, several of the Leadership Team met to set up the irrigation system.  It was a mind boggling task.  We now have two sprinklers and a long drip hose watering most of the plant beds.  A little adjusting and hose repair will need to be done, but the warm weather and regular watering should produce a nice harvest for Fishline.  In fact, Cathy took 12 pounds of rhubarb to the new Fishline office at the end of the party.

Darlette Knight is our volunteer of the month!  She was the only one that appeared to help Betsi at the work party on Saturday the 7th.  Darlette learned to love the smell of Lemon Balm as she pulled up most of it, moved the fennel together so that it is easily accessible, planted pink money tree seeds, and watered anything that looked like it needed it.  Betsi weeded, raked, and put down large sheets of cardboard on the dirt path that was created when the water line was extended.  The next work party will need to cover the cardboard with chips.  We can line the narrower paths with coffee bean bags as the summer progresses.

There are only 3 more Work Parties until the Children's Programs start on Monday, June 23rd.  Two of them are on Saturdays.  The Leadership Team added the Saturdays this year to help those who could not attend on Thursdays.  Betsi will try contacting the few who have signed up for the next 2 Saturdays to confirm that they are coming.  If not, we may need to do an emergency Thursday to have a final sprucing up before the kids and parents arrive.

If you did not receive the email with the Doodle Calendar to sign up for helping during the Children's Programs, please contact Cheryl Bosley at ecbosley@gmail.com.  Volunteering at the programs requires that you smile and talk to children.  It is a lot of fun and always leaves a good feeling that children are still full of curiosity and creativity.

Our next Leadership Meeting will be Monday, June 16th.  We are counting on the good weather to continue and will be holding the meeting at the garden picnic tables.  If it rains or is too hot we will be under the shelter roof.  Come join us!!  We will start a little early, 12:30pm, and finish earlier too.