ife takes its own path even when we have made other plans; that was certainly my case with my brother’s unexpected death on March 7 causing an abrupt change of our family plans this month. My sincere thanks to all for your concern and prayers, and for the gift plant sent in sympathy for my family during our sorrowful time. Thank you very much!
Events: My primary event for this month was helping with the Master Gardener flower bed planting project at George Nettles Grade School in Pittsburg. Master Gardener Nancy Scott was the person in charge of this project. Nancy, Ken Bateman, Larry Dunekack, and I met with Aaron Cicero’s STEM class on Wednesday, March 7th, to discuss soil preparation and the planting and care of pansies. Thirty-five (approximately) students learned about soil pH, fertilizer, plant anatomy, and photosynthesis during the fifteen to twenty minute classroom meeting prior to the actual planting of 300 plus pansies. After the lecture the class broke up into four groups of enthusiastic, plant-planting students, each group supervised by one Master Gardener or myself. Fortunately the bed preparation was completed ahead of time by Nancy, Ken and Larry. The pansies were to be planted on 8-inch by 8-inch centers which gave the students an opportunity to see different space appropriation techniques. All in all the students were very excited about the project which they will continue to observe throughout the remainder of the school year.
Program Planning: Plans are continuing for a high tunnel tour to the Olathe Horticulture Research Center. We will be having a ZOOM teleconference later this month to develop the program for the event.
L