St Mary's

In case you did not know Sara the Director of Unity Gardens also teaches community nursing at Saint Mary's College. Recently Saint Mary's was awarded a new designation of an " Engaged Campus " by the Carnegie Foundation.The designation is for campuses that excel in engaging the local or global community through Volunteerism, community based learning, community based research, internships, community partnerships, and faculty publications, consulting, and research. Sara was recognized for her work with Unity Gardens. Saint Marys had several groups out to the work in the gardens, and we are also working on an internship with them. Several others were recognized for their work. Its amazing how many Staff, and students work to better the community.

Unity Garden Class # 2

Another great turnout for todays growing a garden class. Today's class was on planning your vegetable garden. I went through a powerpoint, and after a short Q & A we moved on to a little planning your garden. Next weeks class is on soil & soil preparation. I love the fact that there was lots of questions. and good interaction. Great to see lots of gardeners getting together and enjoying the classes . The Conservatories are perfect for the classes nice warm, and green.

Signs Signs Everywhere Signs

This afternoon a local artist Tammy Wilcox lead a group a teens at the Juvenile Justice Center in South Bend in a Unity Gardens sign painting event. Unity Gardens is all about building community. This is a perfect example of bringing diverse people together to do something positive for the community.

Last year many of the Gardens were disappointed that we did not have time to put signs up in their Unity Garden . So with a chance of close to 50 gardens this year we thought we better get busy early with the painting. Just as each Unity Garden is a unique expression of the people who run their individual gardens the teens expressed themselves on each sign. We gave them very little guidance so each sign was their own vision of the gardens. This spring they will see their signs begin to show up on various Unity Gardens throughout the city. We have 2 more sign painting sessions planned the next 2 Fridays . It was truly a joy to watch this unfold. As always the afternoon started slow with the kids a little uncertain , but it soon changed. Thank Kim and the JJC for making this Happen.

Classes at the Potawatomi Greenhouse,and Conservatories

New for 2011 at Potawatomi Conservatories!
Fun and informative classes for the whole family!
All classes begin at 10:00 a.m. at Potawatomi Conservatories, 2105 Mishawaka Ave., South Bend. Parking available at the River Park Library.
5-Week Series: How to Grow a Vegetable Garden
Leader: Mitch Yaciw, Unity Gardens
Jan 29 Planning Your Vegetable Garden
Plan ahead: avoid problems in your vegetable garden
Feb 5 The Dirt on Soil
Good soil preparation makes your vegetable garden grow
Feb 12 Indoor Seed Starting
Get a jump start on your vegetable garden
Feb 26 Garden Pests
Protect your vegetable plants from insect pests, molds, and weeds
Mar 5 Maintaining Your Vegetable Garden
Keep your garden in shape
This special series of classes is free to all participants! We encourage you to bring the whole family!
For more information: 574-904-3491 (Unity Gardens) or 574-235-9442 (Potawatomi Conservatories)
E-mail: growunitygardens@yahoo.com http://theunitygardens.blogspot.com/


Botanical Society Monthly Classes
Feb 19 Orchid Basics, Don Keim, Botanical Society
A hands-on workshop for all ages. This workshop introduces participants to orchid growing and care including information about dividing and repotting.

March 19 Rain Barrels, Vicky Rydzynski, Master Gardener
Rain barrels save water and save you money. Learn how to build a rain barrel using supplies you have at home. All participants are eligible for a door prize of a free rain barrel!
April 9 Plant and Grow 4H Victory Vegetables, Diana Mendelsohn, Botanical Society
Seed, plants, and fertilizer samples to be given away. Bring your best to the 4H Fair in July.

Cost per class is the price of admission to the Conservatories ($3/adult; $2/child over 5 years). For more information: 574-235-9442; E-mail: BSSB2105@gmail.com
Purchase a Membership to The Botanical Society and get in free all year Long
Individual $25
Family of 4 $ 50

Master Gardener

I am now a master gardener intern. On one year of service before I become a Master Gardener. So I was able to attend my first St Joe Valley Master Gardeners meeting of the Year. Heidi from The Botanical Society spoke to the group about the new plans for the Potawatomi Greenhouse, and Conservatories. A new heating system in , and plans for a parking lot, and maybe even a new energy efficient greenhouse. Next it was MG business upcoming events, fundraisers, Volunteer Opportunities. Phil Sutton with Purdue Extension spoke about the mission statement of the extension. A big goal for them is fact based education on growing , and better nutrition . It fits well with the Unity Gardens mission statement with is to not only help feed people, but also teach them how to grow, prepare healthy food.

Also Don Keim brought in his Blue ribbon water color. Great Night !

Lots of good folks.

Earth Friendly Eating

While I was at the Growing a Garden class Sara set up a Unity Gardens booth at the Earth Friendly Eating Conference at the downtown library. Its the 4th year for the conference put on by Judith Rubleske. Judith is an RN working for W.I.C. Judith started 1 Unity Garden in 2009 and in 2010 had 2 Unity Gardens. In 2011 she is starting her own group of community gardens called The Westside Community Gardens. Judith is a promoter of growing and eating healthy food grown locally.


The focus of the conference went in a few directions .

Judith spoke about building community through gardening

The keynote speaker Tim Bayer spoke about living simple in order to be kinder to our environment.

The Cities Dave Thomas spoke about city land use for community gardens.

It was a great event. The Unity Gardens Booth was pretty busy . We had a chance to promote our new free community plots at the LaSalle Square Unity Garden. We had many inquries about the gardens.

Class at the Conservatory

I had my first class at the Conservatory
The class on plants went fairly well . The attendance was great. About 40 people. I am new to this teaching, and went through my powerpoint pretty quick, but lucky for me we had a great Q&A session after the presentation. Andy & Don with the Botanical Society help Field all sorts of questions. I learned that making classes more interactive is something we should do. Some classes will be very interactive , like the class on seed starting where we will be starting plants inside so they can be transplanted into the participants garden later in the spring . I look forward to expanding our classes we offer. Some ideas are bee keeping, Container gardening, and composting. Look for more info on our events page.