The Latest Dirt - Sept 2022
Growing Gardeners Look to Add Volunteers
By Ann Ramirez and Ann Howard
The Growing Gardeners project was first adapted for CoCoMG in 2018 by Darlene DeRose from a UCCE-Los Angeles County program. Monika Witte assumed the Lead role just in time for the Pandemic to change everything. Monika successfully adapted the program for the Zoom platform and later added an in-person day at Our Garden. In 2022, before stepping down,
Monika developed a team model with Hosts, Co-Leads and Coordinators to
manage the various aspects of the program.
The overall course is comprised of four Saturday sessions, three on Zoom and one in-person day at Our Garden. The presentations on Zoom include Botany, Soil—The Underappreciated Natural Resource, Getting Started with Vegetable Gardening, Pollinators, IPM, Fertilization & Amendments, Vegetables for Year-Round Gardening, Common Vegetable Garden
Problems, and Information Searching. On the in-person day, lectures and live demonstrations include: Bed Preparation, Vegetable Garden Irrigation, Irrigation – Getting a Grip on Drip, Compost, and Family Bed (a demonstration plot size suitable for a home garden).
We will start some brainstorming sessions in October as we prepare for 2023, looking at different ways we can refine the course now that the Covid restrictions have eased.
In every sense it takes a village to provide a coordinated class for beginner gardeners. We welcome additional UC Master Gardeners to join us and participate in all aspects of the program, from admin duties to presenting classes, to background support on the Zoom sessions. We have a talented team of hosts, presenters, administrators, in-person day demonstrators, and behind the scenes coordinators. If you are interested in joining this dynamic Team, or would like to observe a team meeting or a class, please contact either of the Team Co-Leads:
Ann Howard (annhoward184@gmail.com) and/or
Ann Ramirez (annfr2@yahoo.com)