May
President John Shott thanked the plant sale committee for their effort on this project. The annual plant sale was held at this meeting and members had an opportunity to purchase a variety of plants.
Thanks to everyone who donated or purchased plants at this fundraiser.
June
In June Daniel Gasteiger spoke to the Herb Guild on how the internet and social media have changed home gardening. Sites, such as his www.smallgarden.net, awaytogarden.com and blogs like gardenrant.com, as well as Twitter’s “garden chat”, have provided interactive forums for individuals that are now being seriously followed by the commercial garden industry. Other sites such as Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic provide professional help in a concise format.
Dan finished his talk with practical applications. For gardening he recommended planting herbs as ornamentals because animal pests are usually repelled by herbs. For preserving food he stressed never to infuse fresh herbs in oil due to the high risk of bacterial infection and to always add a small amount of citric acid when canning tomatoes, also as a safety precaution.
Guild president, John Shott, is hosting a cookout and tour of his Plymouth home garden on Sunday, June 30th. Please RSVP to him to attend and get directions.
Membership lists are now available in addition to the annual yearbook.
John thanked guild members who take care of planting and maintenance of the garden at Bloomsburg Town Park. The Barton House garden on the grounds of the Bloomsburg Fair are also developed and maintained year round by guild volunteers.
An indoor picnic will be the theme of the next meeting on July 18th at an earlier time, 6 p.m. at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Bloomsburg.
Each member is asked to bring a covered dish to share; the committee will provide drinks. Karen Reigel will present a program of “Birdbaths and Butterfly Puddles.”
Toni Farides, webmaster, reminded everyone that many of the internet sites discussed by Gasteiger, are on the guild’s web site in the web links section. She asked members to e-mail pictures of their gardens for the garden of the month page and to send recipes using herbs for the online cookbook.
Members are asked to wear white clothing to the August meeting.