Hi All,
Hope it’s been a good week for all since I wrote last.
Project GREEN volunteers last met Monday, September 9 from 9 – 11 a.m. The air quality was 19, described as “excellent” and the 9 a.m. temperature was 59 degrees with zero inches of rain since week 18. As we left the parking lot the temperature had risen to 77 degrees. All good data except one, which leads us to our main goal, watering.
Our goals were watering, weeding, filling the LFL, fertilizing containers. Volunteers also rejuvenated the lilac hedge by pruning and cleaned the tree rings by the driveway (nearest the garage) by fluffing mulch and watering. Note: next year we will trim lilacs after their last spring blooms have faded.
The Little Free Library’s stashes of donated books are almost used up. Anyone with books to donate, please drop them off at the garage on Mondays from 9 – 11 a.m. Thanks to the City of Iowa City, Project GREEN has been allowed a closet inside the house to store items like books for the LFL.
Project GREEN volunteers have plans for a winter project. We need cleaned gallon jugs as part of our supplies. Our plan is to store the jugs inside the garage until sometime in 2025 January when “Operation: Winter seeding” will begin. Expect to hear more about this in our fall 2024 newsletter.
Congratulations to volunteers who have prepared two new beds for planting in 2025. West oval #3 (located nearest the hiking/biking trail, parallel to the Ashton House) and the Catalpa bed have been cleared of weeds. Both beds are ready to be mulched for a long winter’s nap.
Here is the list of the eleven outstanding/hard working gardeners/volunteers who were in attendance for Week 19: Jim Peters, Nick Goergen, Pat Yeggy, Linda Bergquist, Monica Hoherz, Mary Laughlin, Cindy Parsons, Rina Sjolund, Sue Terveer-Mullins, Hetty Hall, and moi. Each volunteer stayed two hours with four volunteers remaining an extra 1/2 hour each. Many thanks to our Project GREEN volunteers!
Enjoy Week 19’s “Around the Gardens!” photos.
Here are the numbers after working nineteen weeks at the Project GREEN Gardens. Weeks 1 – 18 + Week 19 = 765 hours + 24 hours = 789 hours for Project GREEN 2024 volunteers!
It’s important to walk around the Gardens noting what nineteen weeks of work can accomplish. The Project GREEN Gardens are special and so are our volunteers.
We will meet again Monday, September 16 from 9 – 11 a.m. Until then, happy gardening! Diane