Ohio Valley Voices Begins a Garden Program!!

Just up the road from Granny's Garden School, Ohio Valley Voices offers a number of programs - all with the goal of supporting deaf children in learning to communicate through speech. In February of last year, Jany Murphy, a fellow garden club member and staff member at Ohio Valley Voices, asked me to meet with her and executive director Maria Sentelik about their interest in establishing a garden program at Ohio Valley Voices. I recently learned that they have plans drawn up and are in the process of developing the site. Yea!!!

Last spring we shared extra amaryllis bulbs with classrooms at Ohio Valley Voices so they could have their own Amaryllis Race.

Start your Garden for Spring NOW

Now is the time to start your garden for next spring.

Granny's Garden School is on a mission to get families growing some of the food they eat, herbs for seasoning and flowers to enjoy. Now is the time to start your garden for next spring.

• Where to put the garden? Anywhere that receives at least 6 hours of sun each day will serve the needs of the plants. A number of small plots are easier to manage than one large one. Plants do not grow well in compacted soil. To eliminate the need to walk in the garden, plots should be no wider than four feet if you have access to both sides and three feet if you only have access to one side. A vegetable patch does not have to be a rectangle in the middle of the yard. It can be any shape you want and as simple as tomato plant next to the deck.

• How to prepare a new garden area that is currently planted with grass? Fall is the best time to get started. Cover the desired area with a thick (1/2" layer of newspaper being careful not to leave any uncovered spots. Cover the newspaper with eight or more inches of compost and let it set until spring. Next spring, plant right in the compost. There is no need to turn the soil. The newspaper will not be completely decomposed and turning the soil will expose weed and grass seeds to the light. You can plant right in the compost and the roots of the plants will work their way through the paper and into the soil below. The paper will continue to decompose and the soil creatures will take care of mixing the soil and compost.

• Where to get the compost? You can make it yourself. All of the leaves falling this time of year will decompose to make great compost. It will take a couple of years if you just let them decompose in a pile. A lawn mower with a bag will speed up the process. The lawn mower will chop the leaves into small pieces. But if you are just getting started and want compost for your new garden now, you will need to buy it unless you have a garden friend willing to share. I suggest doing both. Buy some to get started and start making your own.

You can also join Granny's Backyard Family Garden Project. You can join the project by making a donation of $25 to the garden program. This will entitle you to 10 five gallon buckets of compost from our supply so you can get your garden started this fall. In the spring, you will also receive free seeds and plants and coupons for discounts on more plants, in addition you will receive a coupon so you can buy additional compost from Marvin's Organic Gardens at cost ($15 for a square yard.)

Spider plants to share!

Did you know you can plant some houseplants outside during the summer? The last two years we have planted spider plant babies in the raised bed in front of the primary school. They are very happy there and multiply like crazy. As a result we have a lot of good sized babies to share. We are not charging but of course a donation is always welcome. Reply to this email if you are interested.

Bulb sale extension till Sunday night!!

Our bulb supplier informed us that the bulbs will be going out Monday. He said it's not too late to place an order. You can order up to Sunday night.

Each year our students plant bulbs in the fall. The process is used to teach measuring, estimating, the parts of a bulb and their function, and how the bulb life cycle compares to other flowering plants. In the spring, in addition to creating a beautiful spring carpet, the blooms are used to teach flower parts in some classes.

If you are able, we appreciate your help with providing bulbs for the classes to plant. You can order a classroom package of bulbs on the Granny's Garden School website that will go directly to the classroom. In addition to enough daffodils for eight students. the classroom package includes an amaryllis bulb for the class to participate in the Great Amaryllis Race in January. Of course, you can also purchase bulbs locally and drop them off at LECC, LPS or LES. Click here to order.
Thank you for your support.

Events Meeting November 3rd

Do you believe in a garden's ability to teach us all? Then you are ideally suited to join Granny's Garden School's Special Events Team. An introductory 7 pm meeting on Tuesday, November 3 will be held at 20 Miamiview Drive in Loveland. For more information, contact schoolgarden@fuse.net or call 513-324 -2873.

Tickets on Sale now for The Rusty Ball-Granny's Gardens Benefits!!

Check out their website.... www.therustyball.com it is a great event for a great cause! Tickets are on sale for the event on November 21st 2009. Our organization receives 60% of the ticket sale if you select Granny's Garden School during checkout. Please support Granny's and have a good night out on the town as well!!

Potting this Saturday

This is a great time of year to transplant perennials. Beginning this Saturday we will be potting up perennials into gallon pots for our spring sale. Dolly will be in the gardens 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and would love to have your help. You are welcome to take home four perennial plants for every hour you volunteer. Please email schoolgarden@fuse.net if you can help out.