Teusink Neighborhood Garden – a busy place

Summer is on its way. The days of frost seem to have passed. The Teusink Neighborhood Garden is filling in. People are out – planting, seeding, and meeting each other. Lots of interest of what is growing in each of the plots. Lots of sharing and exploring among the gardeners.

Here are images of some of the plots. There are certainly some masterful plots. Those of us who are new to it are eager to learn and try to figure out what is what?

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Take notice of some interesting classes at Jonkers Garden

In case you do not receive the Jonker’s Garden’s newsletter with the schedule of their Garden Classes, here are some classes that may be of interest to Teusink Neighborhood Gardeners.

Jonker’s Garden is another valuable local source for gardening information, purchasing of plants, seeds, tools, etc.

897 Lincoln Ave.
Holland, MI 49423-5306
PH. 616.392.7234
FAX 616.392.3189
EMAIL: info@jonkersgarden.com

Sat., May 15, 2010 at 11:00am – A Beginner’s Garden

Never had a garden before? Had one and think you may be able to do better? Let Bill Bird lead you through the basics – from site selection to soil preparation, from plant choice to planting techniques. Did you know you could have planted half your garden by now with cold-hardy vegetable plants? Even seasoned gardeners are sure to learn a lot from this session.

Sat., May 22 at 11:00am – Kids’ Corner In Your Garden

Parents and grandparents – this class is for you! Gather ideas to create a kid-friendly corner in your garden. Learn how to make a simple pebble pond to attract wildlife, grow enticing “smells”, construct a vegetable tunnel, and much more! Free gift bag of several types of seeds to the first 20 sets of kids and parents (or grand parents, or uncles or aunts!)

Sat., May 29 at 11:00am - Advanced Vegetable Gardening, for the Beginner!

Listen to Bill Bird’s great tips on how to begin a garden that will make you the envy of the neighborhood. You’d be amazed at the amount of produce he grows in his side yard, and he’ll show you how to do it, too. This will be a new and different presentation than he gave last year. A bonus this year: everyone attending is invited to take a selfguided tour of several local gardens after the class. See how seasoned gardeners do it: they’re already well into the gardening season.

RSVP @ 616.392.7234 ext. 12.

And there are truly a lot of free seedlings

Chuck Strabbing, one of our super gardeners called and let us know – yes, there are free seeds and we could plant them – for our own plots or for the plots unrented for future donations.

Chuck talked in terms of feet such as having seeds for 300 ft. of peas, 500 ft. beets. Then there are bean and radish seeds as well. I have a hard time imagining feet and rows of produce. It may be because I grew up with the metric system but no – it is an ignorance about gardening. Chuck and Sally are the ones to ask and I certainly will do. A great way to learn, and they are so wonderful in sharing their knowledge.

Chuck has the seeds – just give him a call or use the e-mail.

Chuck offered to set aside an hour to do a group planting which means, we would learn and get things done. Any interests? Let us know!

Free Seeds Available

Sally Gibson passed on this information about getting free seeds. Thanks, Sally.

The Community Action House in Holland and the Holland Community Garden has recently received about 140 lbs of seed packs.  These packages were probably packaged for planting in 2009 but most should be viable.  If you know of an appropriate project that could use this seed please have the appropriate individual contact me.

The short list is:

Artichoke, Beans, Beet, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Carrot, Cauliflower, Corn (sweet and pop), Cucumber, Eggplant, Flowers (Sunflower, Zinnia, et al.), Greens (various), Gourd, Herbs (see below), Kohlrabi, Leek, Lettuce (head and leaf), Okra, Onion, Parsnip, Peas, Pepper (Hot and Sweet), Pumpkin, Radish, Rutabaga, Spinach, Squash (summer and winter), Swiss Chard, Tomato, Turnip, Watermelon, Zucchini.  Most peas, beans, and corn come in large seed packages.

Under Herbs:

Basil, Chives, Coriander, Dill, Lavender, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary*, Sage*, Thyme*

*Limited Qty

Some Organic Seed is also available.

Barry Andersen, P.E.

home (616)399-5117

cell (616) 403-2325

See the Teusink Neighborhood Garden Grow

See the first greens, including weeds. See Chuck Strabbing’s “Display Plot,” including the tomato stakes for future tomato planting.

See the varied seeds being planted, see the beautiful labeling.

See the beauty in the surround, see the Teusink horses taking their evening chow.

Where is the rain, the April showers? Well, there is a water pump.