Our first garden club meeting for 2019 was held at 7 p.m. on March 12 at Camden Grange (21 Camden Road, Elk). Seven inches of new, heavy snow had fallen that morning, but 27 HARDY local gardeners were in attendance, to include 12 (!) new members. We commiserated over the long, snowy winter, and then talked about what we were going to grow, and not grow, this season.
Master Gardener Jim Conrad, from the Washington State University Extension Office in Pend Oreille County, presented information on spring garden soil preparation, and showed homemade models of his favorite garden raised beds.
We also talked about the benefits of Hugelkulture (or Hugelculture) used in the bottom half of raised beds: improved soil moisture retention, time-released nutrients, and a cheap foundation for a taller (less back-breaking) raised bed. Good information on Hugelculture may be found at the Washington State University Extension website http:/www.ext100.WSU/Clallam/hugelkuture.
We had a lot of fun that evening: we socialized, whined about the snow levels on our former garden sites, and dined on cookies, chips and dip, and much more.
Be sure to note the date of our next meeting on the 9th of April - see you there!
Jim
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