GUILFORD COUNTY CENTER / COMMUNITY GARDENS
March Community Garden Newsletter
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Please share this newsletter with other community gardeners in Guilford County.
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Last month, 24 community gardeners gathered for the first two-day Community Garden Leaders Training in Guilford County, planned in partnership between Alyssa McKim at Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T and Quina Weber-Shirk at NC Cooperative Extension Guilford County. The training connected people who are interested in gardening in a community garden setting, so that peers can learn from each other, access the resources in our county, and grow the community garden programs in our region. One of the
key discussions focused on best practices in community engagement
, and examples of how community gardeners can:
- Engage members with personal invitation and meaningful opportunities
- Create organizational structures that promote support, accountability, and shared leadership.
- Provide educational opportunities.
- Identify and address barriers to participation.
- Show gratitude and celebrate success.
The Community Garden Leaders Training will be offered again in Guilford County fall of 2020.
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Indoor Seed Starting Workshop
Saturday, March 14th, 1-3pm
Learn how to grow your own vegetable transplants indoors, under lights! We will cover seed selection and germination, required materials, growing techniques, and timing.
THIS WORKSHOP IS FREE FOR COMMUNITY AND SCHOOL GARDENERS.
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Guilford Community Garden Leaders Gathering
Monday, March 23 from 6:30-8pm
You are invited to join other community garden leaders for an evening gathering of networking and celebration for the 2020 recipients of the Extension Master Gardener Community Garden Grant! Topics will include what you can be doing for your community garden now, and discussion about successes and failures with other community gardeners. Refreshments will be served.
Kathleen Clay Edwards Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Dr, Greensboro, NC 27410
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DIY Rain Barrel Workshop
Tuesday, March 31, 6pm
Thursday, April 2, 1 pm
Local Foods Summit
Friday, April 3rd
Small Farms Week, NC A&T State University Extension
March 22-26
Other Classes at Extension
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This Month in the Garden:
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All-gardener meeting:
“Hold an all gardener meeting early in the year (typically in February or March) to welcome gardeners and find out how many will be returning for the coming gardening year. This is a convenient time to pay dues (if any) and sign agreements and to make sure all gardeners have an up-to-date set of guidelines. At the meeting, discuss how the garden will handle maintenance for the coming year. Select a maintenance committee chairperson who works well with people and understands maintenance needs; sign up gardeners for the committee and special tasks; and set up a calendar for workdays, regular chores, and community building events such as classes, gatherings, parties, and celebrations. A “pep talk” and a report on the previous year are often parts of this important meeting.”
Spring Cool-season Planting Day and Workday:
“Mid-March is a good time for a spring planting day for cool-season vegetables, such as lettuce, broccoli, and root crops. Experienced gardeners are often very interested in getting soil prepared and crops planted at this time of year, so leave some time for individual work as part of the workdays. Important all-garden tasks to accomplish at this time include controlling winter weeds, cleaning up beds, and performing maintenance on winter compost piles.”
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Do any of your community gardeners need seeds? Contact Quina Weber-Shirk, Community & School Garden Agent,
jjwebers@ncsu.edu
, to arrange for cool or warm season vegetable seeds for your gardeners! Available seeds include lettuce, swiss chard, cress, collard greens, turnips, arugula, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, mustard greens, peas, cucumber, peppers, tomato, watermelon, cantaloupe, sunflower, winter squash, summer squash, cowpeas, green beans, and corn.
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