Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
It’s been a busy spring for members of the Grow This! Throwdown team as they get ready for the growing season.
Last year, the team won second place and $7,500 in the first Grow This! Throwdown competition. The team decided to use the funds to construct container gardens to be distributed to members and county libraries.
“We made twenty and they were all distributed,” team leader Tammy Hively said.
The planters were designed to be used as herb gardens or to plant the seeds distributed by the WVU Extension Service, which were chives, pickling cucumbers and mesclun lettuce.
The extension service’s focus this year is on container gardening and so the new planters are ideal for both the free seeds and lessons that will be provided by the service.
With money left over from the planter project, the team is brainstorming ways to use it to benefit county growers.
“One of our thoughts is to get some grow bags,” Hively said. “We’re thinking of doing a table at the Farmers Market and maybe First Friday to pass out some information about the Throwdown team and lead them to use the extension service because that’s a huge asset we should all be drawing from.”
Grow bags are made of felt and can range in size from two gallon to seven-and-a-half gallon. Hively said the team is looking at purchasing five-gallon bags which are versatile for growing vegetables.
“You can grow a lot of stuff in those,” she said. “Potatoes are great because you just dump them in. You don’t have to dig them. Plus, because the bags are felt, the water drains out, so you don’t have drainage issues.”
Also on the agenda for the team is a plant swap at Green Bank Library on May 31, starting at 11 a.m.
Much like the seed swap that was held in March, the plant swap is a way for growers to share excess plants and try something new in their gardens.
“It can be extras we’ve grown with the hope of trading or swapping with other people,” Hively said. “If you have house plants that you’re wanting to split up and share, you can do that. I have, in the past, brought some spider wart and brush sage.”
If you have a plant in your garden or planters that have taken over or gotten too big, Hively said this is a great way to thin it out and give others the option of growing that plant.
“It’s healthy for a plant to separate – to let the roots spread out a little bit,” she said. “So, if you have house plants, garden plants, outside plants, irises, daffodils, whatever, bring them to the plant swap.”
The Grow This! Throwdown team is always sharing updates and tips on its Facebook page at Pocahontas County WV, Grow This! Throwdown Team.
Join the team and let’s get growing!
