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By Mike Gullickson and Reaching Out
Jaime Calder
PHOTO BY BURT ANES
The Horticulture Club’s Community
Outreach Special Interest Group Community Outreach SIG member Bob Merrick adjusts the irrigation system on
(SIG) shows a caring organization one of the group’s garden beds.
in action. Founded in 2006 by Paul
Barry and Margaret Seals, the SIG has generous donations possible. The makes a big difference in their lives. This
spent the past eleven years committed to Horticulture Club provides funding. The past January alone, our food pantry served
planting, maintaining, harvesting and club’s Greenhouse SIG tends seedlings over 700 families – you do the math there.
delivering nutritious, organic produce until they are hardy enough to be Over the years, that’s a lot.”
to local charities. Over the course of the transplanted. In addition to providing
past three years, members have grown the club with two large dumpsters, Texas At Annunciation Maternity Home, the
and donated an estimated 2,000 pounds Disposal picks up garden waste and SIG’s donations are incorporated into
of produce annually. Of this, 75 percent returns it to the club as mulch for use in regular nutrition classes which teach
goes to The Caring Place Food Bank and soil improvements. Finally, in addition to young mothers how to grow, prepare and
25 percent is given to the Annunciation Bill’s leadership as director, Leslie Hart preserve produce for themselves and their
Maternity Home. handles the technical elements of outreach families. According to Annunciation’s
management and has proven integral to Development Director Alyssia Woods, “A
“The donations this group provides us with the group’s success. lot of our moms don’t have much experience
are a real treat,” says David Earl, Food with fresh food. When the gardeners
Program and Facilities Director at The These volunteers are doing much more deliver their produce, they talk about what
Caring Place. “We can’t get food like this than just growing plants – they’re it is, how to cook it, share recipes – their
anywhere else. These gardeners deliver nourishing a community. Reflecting enthusiasm is contagious, and ensures
their produce directly to us as soon as it’s on the years’ worth of produce received these women and their babies will be
pulled. It’s as fresh as it gets - that’s why by The Caring Place, Mr. Earl says, eating healthy today and tomorrow.”
it’s so good.” “The relationship we’ve built with
the Horticulture Club’s Community A healthy future – it’s just one of many
The Horticulture Club has allocated Outreach SIG is something we cherish. things being grown by the members
15 garden beds to the SIG. Each bed It brings a smile to our clients’ faces and of the Horticulture Club’s Community
is roughly 120 square feet in size and Outreach SIG.
members rotate their usage seasonally.
There are two designated growing seasons: MARCH 2017 SUNRAYS | 33
fall, which runs October through March,
and summer, which spans March through
September. The group grows a tremendous
number of plants. This past December they
planted 1,200 Texas Super Sweet onions.
By April, 160 tomato plants will be sown.
During the sweltering heat of July and
August the group allows the beds to rest,
giving their soil – and their volunteers – a
chance to renew themselves.

From the seeds and soil to their
methods and materials, the gardeners
are dedicated to maintaining Certified
Organic standards. These standards
also extend to managing garden pests
and diseases. According to SIG Director
Bill Greenhalgh, unwelcome insects are
typically picked off and disposed of by hand
– no small task for a garden of this size.
Fortunately, the group’s diligent members
do their best to stay on top of garden
invaders, monitoring beds closely and
reporting any new outbreaks of insect or
plant disease to the club at large in order
to prevent contagion.

Many others help to make the SIG’s

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