On Wednesday, May 14, 2025 Terri Barrett represented the Giving Garden and received a check for $3,500 as a grant from the Carrollton Civic League. These funds will be utilized to make some much needed safety repairs to the garden. Thank you Carrollton Civic League!
Baby bunny was successfully wrangled and relocated outside of the Giving Garden!
The 3P plant sale was a huge success and a lot of you got your plants in on Saturday. A BIG thank you to Bill and Vicki who drove to Marshall Grain Nursery in Colleyville to help me pick-up 141 plants! And appreciation to Martha who helped manage the sale, sent out reminders, pulled all the orders, and helped me give out plants and collect payments. We heard lots of people sharing their know-how and helping their fellow gardeners. It can get a little chaotic, but it’s very gratifying to see the garden change into its “Spring” wardrobe.
Doesn’t the garden look good with its recent mowing (thanks Doug) and mulched pathways? Kudos to Nancy, Bill, Michael, Nathan, and Renee for jumping in and almost finishing the mulching. Thank you, Melissa, and Annette, who took two wagon loads of trash to the dumpster. If the weather cooperates and someone would like to finish the mulching, around the sheds, have at it. Mackenzie, Priscilla, and La’Oncia, our volunteers, were back to weed and help us mulch. I think they’re coming back next week too.
Please note that the memorial sign in the herb bed has been given a new coat of paint. For those of you who didn’t get the chance to know him, Willie was an original member of the SEED committee that founded the garden. He was also a valued friend and showed us the path to becoming what we are today.
Thanks to everyone who attended the Spring Kickoff meeting held at Metrocrest Services! This might be our biggest turnout ever! So glad our recent additions, Ann in bed 17, and Karen in bed 32, could join us in time for this meeting and the upcoming 3P Plant Sale. Casen McMahan, Metrocrest Services, was a wonderful host and tour guide. Casen gave a tour after the meeting so we could see where our harvest donations are dropped off and where our produce ends up. Last year, we donated 2,885 Lbs. of fresh, organic vegetables to Metrocrest Services. The balance of 2024’s total harvest of 4,869 Lbs. went to Christian Community Action (1,012 Lbs.) and Aldersgate UMC Food Share (973 Lbs.)
Members had an opportunity to win a free raffle, buy a garden T-shirt, receive a laminated Fall and Spring planting chart, and browse a big box of donated veggie seeds. The four raffle winners were Debbie, Katrina, Nancy, and Stephanie.
Martha kicked off the meeting by introducing our speaker, Kay Schrack, who is a butterfly lover and hobbyist. Terri recapped our 2024 accomplishments and encouraged us to cheer for ourselves. Doug and Bill discussed some repairs and maintenance needed to keep the garden functioning and welcomed anyone who wants to help with mowing and minor repairs. Everyone was encouraged to take a little time when they come to garden to pick up trash and weed in the pathways.
Baby Squirrel Rescuers: Check our Face Book to see a video of a baby squirrel who was rescued today by gardeners, Stephanie and Lisa. There were two babies on the ground under the owl box tree. The more active one ran to them and tried to climb the fence. When we went out the gate and approached it (over the fence behind the wheelbarrow corral) it followed us and tried to climb up my leg. It seemed to be looking for help. Kudos to Stephanie & Lisa for making calls to some rescue groups and arranging to get the babies to a safe place. Like us on Face Book at: Giving Garden of Carrollton FB
Laura
Because our potluck last year was so much fun, we decided to have another! It may become an annual event. Terri reserved the Fellowship Hall for the event and shared some gracious words of encouragement for another bountiful year ahead. Martha did a wonderful job of organizing the event and the decorations were so pretty. We didn’t intentionally plan it to be a Valentine’s Day celebration – but the theme really worked. We appreciate everyone who braved the frigid temps and brought their delicious dishes to share with the group. Everyone commented that it was the best potluck ever! It was good to come together to visit and meet our new members, Angela Glover, bed 13, and Sam Jones, bed 24. We also had a big box of donated seeds to share and garden Tee shirts for sale.
Thanks to Martha and Cindy for signing up to set-up the room, and Katrina for volunteering to take down the tables and clean up. And just a general thank you to everyone who pitched in at the end to put chairs away, break down and store the tables, stack chairs, take out the trash, etc. We have a great group who just steps up and does what’s needed, when needed.
What a way to start the year! Thanks to Annette and Nancy’s initiative, we scheduled a harvest on January 4th and needed two wagons to get it to the car for delivery! Thanks to Annette, Nancy, and Katrina who led the harvest of 119 Lbs. of fresh organic produce which Annette delivered to Metrocrest Services. She said Tito had to keep bringing out shopping carts to receive all of it. Last year on 1/6/24, we harvested 78 Lbs. so this is double that!
Many hands make for light work and DiAnn, Missy, Lisa, Bill, Doug, Martha, and I came to help harvest. We appreciate Sam & Eunice Kim who arrived later, and tidied and swept the green shed and took the trash to the dumpster.
There were 27.5 lbs. of broccoli, 21 lbs. of cabbage, 20 lbs. of cauliflower, 7 lbs. of turnips, and 3 lbs. of celery with the balance made up of collards, kale, radishes, peppers, spinach, eggplant, arugula, Swiss chard, bok choi, carrots and a parsnip. Nancy donated a six pound cauliflower!
We interviewed and welcomed new members, Debbie (a previous volunteer) and her friend, Renee , to join us in Bed 20.
We have the best gardeners! Thanks for all you do to make our mission possible.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the 3P (Planning to Plant in the
Pergola) Onion sale. This year we bought 68 bundles of onions and 18 Lbs. of
potatoes. A few of us took advantage of the “better” weather Fri. and Sat.
and got onions in the ground. No worries if you did not. They can last 2-3
weeks if you take off the rubber band, separate them, and lay them out so
they get some air circulation. Otherwise, they may rot. The important thing
with onions is to not plant them too deep.
Potatoes need to be treated a bit differently before planting. I like to buy
small potatoes, let them sprout, and then plant them whole. With larger
potatoes, the recommended method is to cut the potato into 2-3 ounce pieces,
each piece having at least two eyes or sprouts, drop pieces in a bag, add
powdered sulfur (we have some in the shed), shake and then let them dry out
(they will look shriveled) and then plant. Buying potatoes at the grocery
store is not recommended. They may be treated chemically to prevent
sprouting. I’ve also tried laying the potatoes out in a warm place, covering
with a slightly damp paper towel, letting them sprout, and the cutting them
up, and dusting with the sulfur, and drying pieces until they form a crust.
Happy gardening. Stay warm out there.
Laura
