The Latest Dirt - May 2023
BRAVO! BRAVO!! BRAVO!!!
By Mary Jo Corby
A huge BRAVO to all the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County!!! The 2023 Great Tomato Plant Sale was very successful indeed!
At a glance:
- The 3-day sale idea was a success! Many customers commented that they saw the long line on Saturday and decided they would shop on Sunday or Monday. We had a steady stream of customers on both days. Then, with many plants left at Our Garden, we decided to have a second Saturday sale, which again attracted a steady stream of customers. THANK YOU to all who rallied for the second event!
Erin Updegrove and Richard Schmidt help set up at the Richmond Library GTPS. Photo by Fletcher Oakes. - The ADA section was very well received. Those shopping in this area were very grateful not to have to stand in a long line or walk on the ever-so-tricky mulch.
- Holding a sale in Richmond for the first time since 2019 was a smashing success! It was a beautiful day, and it was so heartwarming to hear from those who shopped the sale just how thrilled they were to have the event back in their area.
- Plant sales for Central County over all the sale days (CoCoMG pre-sale, 3-day sale, Wednesdays and second Saturday) nearly reached our 2022 total. The Richmond
sale put us OVER THE TOP with their $19,800 in sales, making 2023 the highest earning GTPS to date!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who volunteered in any way for the 2023 GTPS!
Mary Jo Corby, Erin Updegrove, Michelle Jones, Richard Schmidt and Mary Stewart at the register at the Richmond Library GTPS. Photo by Fletcher Oakes.
- Propagation: seeding and potting up sessions seemed endless, and days were cold, but we’ve got some hearty CoCoMGs who persisted!
- Watering team: we CAN NOT do this event without you and your volunteer hours don’t end with the sale… you help keep Our Garden growing all year long!
- Behind the scenes activities: publicity and signage, including writing and posting of articles and information (website, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), plant stakes and plant signs. Thanks for all the hard work!
- Organization of the garden takes a lot of heavy lifting of flats, and we find we don’t just move those flats one time, we change our minds and move them again! Thank you for your muscles and perseverance.
- Thank you to all who volunteered for “days of sale activities” for your tireless efforts! This large number of volunteers includes: set up, greeters, sales team, cashiers, customer interface partners, line monitors, ADA team, holding areas, parking team, runners, box team, Ask A Master Gardener team and the closing up for the day team.
I’m sure that I’ve missed a few of the activities but I’ll sum it up by repeating what I’ve said before… It takes a village of UC Master Gardeners who give willingly of their time to pull off our GREAT TOMATO PLANT SALE events! THANK YOU ALL!
Dawn in Tomato Costume.
Gloria Choi and Keith Silva help set up the Richmond Library GTPS by moving plants and readying boxes for customers. Photo by Fletcher Oakes.