It is inching closer and closer to springtime and with many gardeners, it’s that time of year when we start getting antsy! It’s still too early to sow a lot of our favorite seeds, so what can one do while waiting for gardening season to start?  Get out there and start doing some garden bed prep, folks! Weeds need to be pulled, cover crops need terminating and soil tests need to be taken! While you are making these plans for your garden, don’t forget to come join us out at Unity Park and Community Gardens for our “First Saturday” programs! 

The First Saturday program starts in April and will go through October. As the name suggests, this program takes place on the first Saturday of every month from 9am-11am. 

The purpose of First Saturdays is to provide the community with educational sessions about gardening that are relevant to our area! The educational sessions are given by our Caldwell County Master Gardener Volunteers and Extension staff. 

Caldwell County Master Gardener Volunteers will be on-site from 8am-11am to answer questions and perform garden maintenance, as well. This is a great opportunity to increase your gardening knowledge and get your hands in the dirt! 

Before each educational session, there will be a pollinator garden tour from 9:00am-9:45am. These tours will include information about pollinator plants, how to establish a pollinator garden, and many other topics related to pollinator gardening.

April’s topic will be a Pollinator Workshop and How to Build Concrete Raised Beds. May’s topic will be a Pollinator Tour and Sowing Seeds in the Garden.

First Saturdays are the perfect opportunity to meet your neighbors, learn about gardening, and fellowship with your community! Unity Park and Community Gardens (UPCG) is located at 1419 College Ave., SW, Lenoir, NC. 

We hope to see you out there!  You can find out more information about the community garden on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UnityParkCommunityGardens.