President Nancy Madeoy called the meeting to order. What’s blooming in your garden? Hyacinths, apple tree blossoms, dwarf iris, daffodils, tulips, English daisies, flowering dogwood, muscari, viburnum and lilacs. Such a beautiful assortment of spring colors and we’ve got so many more to look forward to in the month of May!
The primary topic of the meeting this month was the LAGC Perennial plant sale. Our Publicity Coordinator, Claudia has been busy writing informational articles about the history of LAGC and all the details about our upcoming plant sale. She prepared both long and short articles and submitted them to Trib Media which can be publicized in print or online. Claudia submitted the plant sale details to Northmont Church and Bill confirmed that he already saw the posting on the church website. Anita posted all the details on Facebook. Colleen will post the plant sale details on the Pittsburgh Patch newsfeed on May 1st. Thanks for the great work, Claudia!
Reminder to members: Like the post on Facebook and share the reminders with friends and family.
Maryann, Plant Sale Coordinator distributed the volunteer signup sheet and reminders for our annual Perennial Plant Sale on Saturday, May 20th. Please be sure to look for an e-mail from Maryann which gives all the details about the plant sale. Please note that this year members are being asked to write down how many plants you bring to sell. Please look for the clipboard when you arrive and write down the number of plants. Also, please wear your green shirt and bring your garden flea market items for the free table.
Maryann asked members if they knew of any community groups that would appreciate having any plants that are leftover from the plant sale. Diana said that the Bradford Woods Conservancy would like to have them. Colleen will check with her contact at the Gardens of Millvale to see if they could use them. Please let Maryann know if you have any additional suggestions.
A Great Big Thanks to Maryann for getting us organized for another plant sale. We really appreciate all your hard work and enthusiasm!! We couldn’t do it without you.
Maryann reminded members of the many upcoming plant sales around the North Hills area. She sent an e-mail to members last month. Please check your mailbox for all the details.
Once the agenda items were discussed and the floor was opened to members, Andrea Maire
mentioned that if anyone is interested in receiving free milk weed seeds they should Google “save our monarchs.org” for more information about their program.
Along the same topic about Monarchs, Linda Ferguson mentioned that she learned that growing TROPICAL butterfly weed is not recommended because it keeps the Monarch butterflies in our area longer than what is good for them. The butterfly weed that Bill Goff gave members last year is the type of plant that is best for the Monarchs. Thank you, Bill!
We had 7 guests attend the program. We had 3 attendees join our club. Please welcome Alicia, John and Kate!
Our hostesses for the evening did not disappoint us! A beautiful display of spring flowers brought by Lynn and delicious scones and fudge brownies brought by Chris. Thank you for sharing!
Program
Elaine Liberati, Penn State Master Gardener: “Hugelkultur Gardening: Classy and Cheap”
The topic of this evening’s program, Hugelkultur gardening seemed to be a new concept for most of the audience. We were so fortunate to have Elaine Liberati introduce us to this century-old gardening technique because she has first hand experience of utilizing this technique in her own yard.
Hugelkultur means “hill mound” or “hill culture” and was started in Germany and Eastern Europe and is similar to lasagna gardening and no-till gardening. Elaine explained that the garden is created by making mounds of rotting wood, sticks, wood chips, yard debris (like grass clippings and leaves), compost, and manure. The mounds are typically 3 to 5 feet tall and can be made in a raised bed or straight on the ground. Our speaker, Elaine creates her hugelkultur in her raised beds.
Building these mounds of natural debris creates an environment which is very similar to a natural forest or meadow which is a very healthy ecosystem for plants. Over time, 3-5 years, all of the mound debris breaks down adding nutrients to the soil where plants will flourish.
Some of the benefits of creating a hugelkultur bed were explained. Healthier soil is created because only organic matter is added to the mound which breaks down naturally with the presence of worms and bacteria. It’s cost effective because of the use of natural debris that you might compost anyway. Creating the beds takes only a little bit of time and maintaining the beds is also simple because you may only need to add a new layer of compost and mulch each year to add nutrients and a medium in which to plant your plants. This type of bed is also good at retaining water and promotes good drainage because of the layering of materials.
Our speaker, Elaine created her hugelkultur in a fenced in raised bed rather than directly on the ground. She started by gathering fallen trees on her property which she and her husband cut down to logs so that they would fit snugly in her raised bed. She cautioned us not to use black walnut trees which release a toxic chemical, juglone into the soil or pine trees because the wood is too soft and decomposes too quickly.
The second layer she placed onto the logs is sticks and tree branches followed by wood chips and smaller tinder. The fourth layer is grass clippings or straw then leaves are added. Compost is the sixth layer which can be store bought or homemade. The final layer is mulch which is used for the same reasons that one would use mulch in traditional gardening to keep down weeds and retain moisture. It's beneficial to let the mound settle for a few weeks and then it's ready for planting.
Elaine gave a very informative presentation about a centuries old gardening technique which mimics what happens naturally in a forest without any human involvement. It was great to learn from a gardener who is already practicing this technique in her own garden. Are you ready to give Hugelkultur a try in your yard?
Reference books.
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