Plant sale to benefit gardening projects

May 01, 2008 09:33 pm

— By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
Flowers and plants that are sold Saturday will help finance a vegetable crop to be given away later this year by members of the Ozark Gateway Master Gardeners.
The crop is just getting started next to the Crosslines Ministries building in Joplin, where volunteer gardeners were planting cabbage and pulling weeds this week.
Members of the group have worked the garden for about five years, with produce that is grown being given to needy families served by Crosslines. While labor is donated, proceeds from the plant sale help buy seed, bedding plants and other materials for the garden, said Lou Ann Herron, a member of the Master Gardeners.
The sale is set for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Powers Museum, 1617 W. Oak St. in Carthage. Proceeds also help fund other Master Gardener projects, such as Earth Day activities, work at George Washington Carver National Monument, and gardens at VantAge Point and the Brady Building in Joplin, and at the Carthage Public Library.
All members of the group grow and contribute plants for the annual sale, said Glenita Browning, of Carthage, another member.
“There will be a lot of shrubs, lilac and hydrangeas, and some unusual shade-loving plants like wild ginger and Solomon seal,” she said. “There will also be a lot of sun-loving plants like phlox, salvia, bee balm, iris and peonies.”
Also available will be many varieties of perennials, annuals, herbs and tomato plants, said Debbie Fedie, of Carl Junction, who was on hand for the work day this week at the Crosslines garden.
Fedie and Herron said another attraction at the sale is information, such as how to grow a particular plant or answers to other gardening questions.
“There’s so many gardeners there that day that if one doesn’t know the answer, usually someone else will,” Herron said.
Fedie said the group also will have a laptop computer linked to gardening information available from the University of Missouri.
The Crosslines garden includes five elevated beds and a large plot that will grow vegetables including cabbage, snow peas, onions, okra, green beans, bell peppers, lettuce, jalapenos, squash, cucumbers and several types of tomatoes.
Herbs will be planted in one bed to attract helpful insects and other pollinators, Fedie said.
“We’ve had that vacant lot for years,” said Margaret Lawellin, Crosslines director. “Since they came in and started a garden, it’s been a godsend for us to be able to give fresh produce to our clients. It supplements the canned goods they normally would get.”
Crosslines is supported by 60 area churches, and helps between 350 and 400 families a month with food and other services. Lawellin said the organization has seen more new clients in recent weeks as food prices have continued to climb, particularly among families and seniors whose incomes can’t keep up with higher costs for utilities, groceries and gas.
Herron said any home gardener ought to consider donating surplus produce to Crosslines and other food pantries in the area.
“A lot of people are having a hard time keeping up,” she said.
She said Master Gardeners also are planning to offer a container gardening class to teach people how to grow some vegetables at home, even if they don’t have a place to put in a garden.
“Some people live in apartments, or they aren’t allowed to dig up their yard, but they still could do a container garden,” she said.
The class is set for 10 a.m. to noon May 20 and 21 at Crosslines. Herron said containers, plants, seeds and potting medium will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.


Gardening questions

Master Gardeners must agree to donate time to volunteer projects each year. Another program is a gardening hot line for answering questions from area residents. The hot line is staffed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and may be reached via (417) 358-2158.

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