October 13, 2022, by Janet Crozier
The gardens are growing. For those of us who have persevered over the summer months, it is paying off. A couple of gardeners have left, but most have stuck it out and are now seeing the benefits of hanging in there. We are actually seeing TOMATOES!
I gave a Square Foot Gardening Class on September 8 with 10 people attending. As a result, we have new gardeners, Candy and Bob Stockman. Bob has really taken to SFG gardening. He literally grows by the book.
I met with Krista Spurgeon on September 20 to work on a tentative budget. We defined the Chart of Accounts and set the budget based on this year’s expenditures. We will present it for recommendations and approval at the board meeting.
I received notice that the LCRA grant was declined. We did go to the final stage for consideration; however, we were competing with an overwhelming amount of grant applications according to the email I received. We were invited to reapply at the next cycle.
The mayor called and asked if we would consider speaking at the Fall Fest to be held on October 8. I offered that I would talk briefly about the community garden and our upcoming Fall fundraiser and let our instructors have the majority of the time to present a synopsis of their classes on herbs and nutrition. Krista Spurgeon and Janina Lecker were very effective as so many people came to our booth and inundated them with questions.
I was so pleased with the response from our gardeners who came to help set up and took 2-hour stints throughout the event, then stayed to tear down and disburse the leftover plants and event equipment. I have to give Krista high praise for devising a schedule and follow-up template that we can use for other events. I also want to give thanks to Julie, Layne, and Krista for potting up plants for the plant sale.
I put together a tub of gardening goodies for a raffle. Jo Metter won the raffle and was so delighted with her winnings. She is new to Lampasas and is interested in our community garden. The raffle brought in $86, the plant sale garnered $36 in sales, and 3 Square Foot Gardening books brought in $60. I deposited $182.
We have an orchard! Lucien Hodges owner of H&H Tree Service donated a 5-gallon tub with a plum tree. I purchased another plum from Wright’s nursery to be sure we had a pollinator. Lucien sent his crew over and planted them both. These trees will need to be watered often until they get established.
Now we need to plan the November 12, It’s Fall Y’all Event. Again, we will need all hands on board.
