Hello fans of The Cullowhee Community Garden! It has been way too long since our last blog post, almost two years, so what better use of a cold day in February than to update this blog!

We have a lot to share since our last post, and the thing that I am most excited about from last year is that we hosted 440 volunteers during our twice-a-week workdays! It is our members, and our volunteers that make this project possible. To all of you, I say Thank You

 

Another exciting development last year was the installation of NCDOT road signs that direct visitors and volunteers to the garden. I think that they look beautiful.

Other highlights from last season include the Cullowhee Volunteer Fire Department delivering water for our tanks when our pump system stopped working. They took time out from their schedule to bring water to us, twice. Thank you!

In 2015, we had the honor of working with Brave Sir Media in producing a promotional video for The Cullowhee Community Garden that involved some very cool and beautiful aerial drone photography. The video can be viewed on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CullowheeCommunityGarden or online at https://vimeo.com/141723001

At the height of our 2015 season, we had 36 garden plots adopted, both full and half sized. General attrition and life circumstances has reduced that number as we begin the 2016 season. We have plenty of room for anyone who would like to adopt a plot. Our plot adoption process for 2016 will begin very soon, so stay tuned for further information.

2016 will also feature the return of our monthly educational workshops. Our first offering will be a Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop on Saturday February 20^th at 1 pm. Attendees will learn proper pruning and training techniques to maintain tree health, promote good shape and to increase fruit production for a variety of different fruit trees. This will be a “hands-on” workshop with the opportunity to put into practice what you have learned.

We will continue to offer educational programs every month, featuring topics such as Gardening 101; Soils and Composting; Pests, Weeds and Disease; Seed Saving; Fall/Winter Gardening; and others. If you have any suggestions for an educational topic, please let us know.

We will also continue our twice-a-week volunteer workdays every Saturday morning from 9 am until noon, and every Wednesday currently running from 3 pm until dusk. Start times for the Wednesday Workdays will be adjusted seasonally as the days get longer. And, of course, all workdays are weather dependent. If you have a group that would like to get involved at another time, please let us know.

For further information about how you can get involved in The Cullowhee Community Garden, please do not hesitate to contact the Garden Manager at adambigelow@jacksonnc.org or you can link with us on Facebook. Or, stop by the garden during one of our regular workdays, we would love to meet you.

Happy Gardening Everyone, and Kale Yeah!