Our own, Jackie Daniell shared her experiences regarding Vegetable Gardening at the S.E. Gwinnett Co-op Garden. After a 40+ years in banking, Jackie ditched the suit, pearls and briefcase for jeans, tee-shirt, and garden tools. She began volunteering at the S.E. Gwinnett Co-op Garden and completed the MGEV program in the class of 2017. We learned how this special vegetable garden is managed and operates during the year. Her presentation outlined the process of planning, soil, plants and seed quality, research and resources used, timing, preparation of beds and planting, importance of maintenance and sanitation, plant problems and Co-op solutions to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), harvesting, and crop change-over.
August 2021 Monthly Meeting
August 17, 2021 by ·
Worms in My Kitchen was Trecia Neal’s topic for our first in-person meeting on August 16th meeting in seventeen months at Bethesda Senior Center in Lawrenceville.
Trecia presented a fun and entertaining, yet very informative program about the art of vermicomposting – i.e., using worms (red wigglers) to change food waste into what gardeners refer to as “black gold”. Worm castings are the best fertilizer that you can find for vegetables, perennials, shrubs, trees, and lawns. Step by step instructions were be given during this talk for how to make our own vermicomposting container and transform our food waste to black gold.
Trecia is a retired biologist who work at Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta for thirty years and has expertise are ornithology, environmental education, and designing outdoor classrooms and gardens. She now does designs and gardens as “Green Gardens”. Information is at www.greengardensedu.com.
July 2021 Monthly Meeting
July 7, 2021 by ·
Katy Ross, co-owner/operator of Night Song Native Plant Nursery presented Natives in the Landscape: Using native plants to promote biodiversity in urban and suburban landscapes at our July 19th zoom meeting. Katy has many years working in the plant and nursery industry and showcased many plant ideas for our gardens.
Katy first became interested in native plants out of high school and always promoted them as a hardier, better alternative to non-natives while working in the nursery industry. She is also a Georgia Certified Plant Professional. She and her husband are working to build a more sustainable native plant nursery and educate the public about the importance native plants play in the environment.
June 2021 Monthly Meeting
May 20, 2021 by ·
Our June 21st Zoom meeting welcomed Dr. Juliana Razryadov for a very educational and informative program. Entitled Big Splash Small Space: Native Plants for Container Gardens, Juliana will gave us a review of container gardening that brings nature to our doorstep. She reviewed native plants available that form beautiful compositions in limited spaces. We learned about pots, overwintering, media composition, and species of native plants that suit them.. Juliana is presently the Botanical Collections Manager at the Botanic Gardens of Wellesley College and was previously the Curator of Horticulture at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
