Posted: April 23, 2021
This year, the Penn State Master Gardeners of Carbon County are hoping to help their neighbors grow more food at home through contactless mentoring "pods" for vegetable gardening.
Photo by Barbara Kline, Penn State Master Gardener of Allegheny County
We are helping our community grow towards food security in 2021! To help our fellow Carbon County residents grow more food at home this year, we have been reaching out to our neighbors and communities to create contactless "mentoring pods" for vegetable gardening.
As part of a COVID-safe outreach effort, Master Gardeners are organizing and leading small, contactless pods of up to ten people for educational support on growing vegetables this season. So far, over 50 Carbon County residents have joined pods. Some are novices and some have tried vegetable gardening before but need a little extra help.
Each Master Gardener's role as a pod leader is to offer advice and support to their participants throughout the gardening season. Even though groups can't meet in-person yet due to COVID restrictions, our pod leaders will be available by phone and internet to help make sure people in the pod succeed. This can include anything from phone calls and emails to Zoom meetings and mailed fact sheets.
Starting in May, each pod member will also receive a 5-gallon container, a bucket of high-quality soil, and fertilizer, all donated by Lowes Home Improvement Center, in addition to a tomato or pepper plant to go in their container. People with in-ground gardens can also receive vegetable seeds donated by Smalle's Farm Store plus seed potatoes, shallot sets, and other plants donated by the 14 Acre Farm in Jim Thorpe.
We are delighted with the community's response to this project, and pods are already full for this season. If you are interested in joining us in 2022, call the Penn State Extension Office in Jim Thorpe at 570-413-0022 or email us at carbonmg@psu.edu to get your name on our list!
Written by Eileen East, Penn State Master Gardener of Carbon County
