October Garden Club

Welcome back to all the garden club returning members and welcome to all the new members. The 2022 – 2023 year will be full of opportunities to learn more about your garden (the year of the garden), meet other people interested in gardening and have a good time.

The club kicked off the year with the first meeting on September 12th. The speaker was Bobby Darden of the Coastal Environmental Partnership. “The purpose of Coastal Environmental Partnership is to provide an environmentally sound, cost-effective system of solid waste disposal for the citizens of Carteret, Craven and Pamlico Counties”. Bobby’s presentation included information on the solid waste disposal sites and how the organization complies with government regulations to insure environmentally safe disposal practices. This includes protecting the land around the site, as well as the groundwater, from contamination.

Did you know you can get high quality compost called “CoastalGrow” from CEP? CEP grinds only clean yard waste (leaves, limbs, etc.) for compost. This compost is available for sale at the CEP locations. For more information visit the Coastal Environmental Program website at https://cepnc.org/

The Garden Club will once again sponsor the ever-popular raffle baskets. Cheryl McAskil, chair of the raffle basket committee presented information on the upcoming raffle to support the scholarship fund. There will be a “Spa Basket” and a “Wine and Cheese Basket”. Tickets for the baskets will be sold at the FH Craft Fair on October15th in the community center parking lot and at the Garden Club meeting on November 14th. Tickets will be $2 each or $5 for 3 tickets. The drawing will be at the November 14th General Meeting. Winners need not be present to win.

This fall the Fairfield Harbour Garden Club will sponsor a Handmade Scarecrow Competition. This is a chance to get together a team of friends (ideally 5-6 people) and build a scarecrow. The scarecrow will be displayed at the FH Craft Fair on October 15 and the community will be invited to vote on the best one. This will also be a fund raiser for the Garden Club to support the scholarship program. There is no charge to the teams to enter.

The rules are very simple:

• Have fun

• Team should be about 5-6 people, although smaller teams and individual entries will be accepted.

• Everyone is invited to participate, but the lead of the team must be a garden club member

• Scarecrow height – minimum of 3 feet

• Must include at least 1 real or fake pumpkin as part of the scarecrow construction

• All supplies will be provided by each team and the team is required to construct the scarecrow (no premade scarecrows)

• Completed scarecrows must be in place at the Community Center Parking lot on October 15 by 8m

To compete in this fun activity please send an email to Jan Reitzel at jankay58@gmail.com with the names of the team members.

Good food and good company! Sandy Riggs, chair of the social committee presented information about the Fairfield Harbour Garden Club annual “Fall Harvest Potluck” which will be at the next general meeting on October 10. The meal will follow the club’s business meeting. The meeting begins at 9:30am. Club members and new to-be members are invited to attend and share a favorite “Fall Harvest” covered dish, veggie, salad, or dessert with the group. This is a relaxed social event and an opportunity to meet with other club members and maybe get some garden tips and tricks from one of the many knowledgeable club members. Please contact Sandy Riggs at talloneiii@aol.com for more information or if you have not yet signed up.

At the conclusion of the meeting, two Japanese Spurge plants were raffled for the door prizes. Winners were Charlene Treubert and Barbara Batchko

Mark your calendars for the next meeting on October 10th at 9:30am.