The Latest Dirt - May 2023

April Showers Bring May Flowers

From the Executive Leadership Team...

“April showers bring May flowers”

Ah, the lovely month of May! Even the word sounds sweet on the tongue.

It’s mid-morning in the growing season. We in Contra Costa County continue to savor the last of the wild California poppy bloom as the hillsides slowly give up their springtime green. The leaves on the trees are turning from a fragile gold to the solid green of summer.

For gardeners, it’s a month of expectancy. Will my seedlings result in a bountiful harvest? Did I plant the tomatoes deeply enough? Was it too early for the eggplants and peppers? All those flowers in the orchard? Fruit? Or disappointment?

May is a month of transitions for our beloved Contra Costa Master Gardener program. It’s a month of beginnings. Class of 2023 volunteers are exploring and finding new opportunities. At its May meeting, the Executive Committee (EC) will be approving the 2023-2024 budget, as well as the slate of new Executive Leadership Team (ELT) members and EC officers to be voted on by volunteers at our June meeting. The ELT and Hospitality Committee are planning for our June
events: the Annual Business Meeting on Zoom and the Get-Together at Our Garden.

But it’s also a month of endings. The Great Tomato Plant Sale is over, again a smashing success. Our fiscal year end is coming. Have the projects succeeded in spending their budgets from 2022-2023? And the reappointment process for MG volunteers is right around the corner. Have I met my volunteer and Continuing Education hour commitments?

For some of us on Executive Leadership team or as Executive Committee officers, it heralds the end of our terms. Have we accomplished all we set out to do? What have we learned, and how can we effectively apply that knowledge as we volunteer in the future?

This is my last letter as a member of the ELT, and I join the other ELT members and EC officers stepping down in saying thank you for the opportunity to serve on a fabulous leadership team. See you in the garden, or at a farmer’s market table, or wherever we can make a positive contribution.