October Meeting

Downers Grove Organic Gardeners will meet from 7 to 9 PM on Oct. 17 at (Note location change) the Downers Grove Fire House, 5420 Main St. for a program by Mike Nowak. Mike is a radio talk show host for 1590 am WCGO. His topic is “That Ain’t No Way to Treat a Tree!"

This is a return visit for Mike. A few years ago Mike presented his “Guys On Grass” program which was very entertaining as well as informative. More information regarding his presentation can be found at https://mikenowak.net/talks. 

All are welcome. Please spread the word!

September Harvest Fest

Bring your treats, samples, recipes, and gardening stories and questions to our Annual Harvest Fest at 7 PM Wednesday, September 19. We'll share what worked and what didn't this summer as well as gardening tips.

June Meeting

Downers Grove Organic Gardeners will meet from 7 to 9 PM on June 20 at the Downers Grove Public Library for a program by Nancy Carroll, a former Art and English teacher, master gardener and member of the Hummingbird Society. 

Her presentation is titled “Grow and Go Green." Nancy will demonstrate how to re-purpose common objects, like stuff from our recycling bin, to make garden scoops, birdfeeders, etc. She will bring many examples plus handouts with some practical tips. 

DuPage Friends of Extension Fundraiser

The University of Illinois Extension provides many community programs on gardening and other topics, and maintains the Master Gardener program. The DuPage Friends of Extension help make sure these programs continue. The group's annual summer fundraiser, Brunch at Ball Gardens, in on July 21. Click here for more information.

Organic Wisdom:What is Organic Gardening?

 “Organic Garden Wisdom” will be published monthly and will also appear on the blog and on the Downers Grove Organic Gardeners' Facebook page. Please feel free to share this information.

Gardening the natural way or the organic way is working in harmony with nature because nature is our best model. Organic gardeners realize that we co exist with nature rather than compete with nature, and so we avoid synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides. We amend our soil with decomposed leaves and compost and allow the fungi and bacteria already present in the soil to do their job of further decomposing and adding nutrients to that soil.

We embrace the organic approach not only for our health, but also the health of our soil and the health of the environment. That means more birds, butterflies, beneficial insects, native plants, pollinators, flowers, vines, and our own home grown healthy food. That also means fresher air and a tremendous feeling of satisfaction knowing that we are doing our part for a healthy lifestyle of all living things.

~ Roberta Muehlhaus

Click here for the list of plants ordered 

Organic Wisdom: Paper Pots for Seed Starting

I don't grow many veggies. However I've gotten involved with a few neighbors who reserved extra Mar-Duke community plots to plant veggies, just to donate to food pantries.  The organizer of it starts seeds and he reuses a variety of containers. 

When he asked me to take care of the eggplants I suggested using starter pots made from newspaper or toilet paper rolls.  If you grow one seedling in each, you can probably just plant the pot with the plant. Worst case, the paper pot can go into the ground nearby or compost pile.

Below are links for 2 videos. I opted for the newspaper method. (It became easier to make them as I cut multiple layers of paper & folded them instead of marking each with a marker.  I put a small piece of tape on the bottom because I made them ahead of time. Kept them together better.)

Mary Ann Badke

Seedling starter pots from toilet paper rolls

Seedling starter pots from newspaper 

Lazy? Just Taking Your Time...

Thanks to Cindy Tyley of Carriage House Designs for showing us tips for the lazy gardener at our March meeting.

Watch here, your e-mail, or our Facebook page for info on our April meeting.

And if you have not yet volunteered for our May 5 Plant Sale, contact Roberta at muehlhaus@sbcglobal.net.

March Meeting

Downers Grove Organic Gardeners will meet from 7 to 9 PM on March 21 at the Downers Grove Public Library (first floor children’s meeting room), for a program by landscape designer Cindy Tyley of Carriage House Designs on Tips for the Lazy Gardener. Discover useful ways to save time, energy and money while gardening. This show-and-tell presentation demonstrates tips for gardening throughout the year.

A reminder—It’s time to renew your membership if you haven’t done this. Membership is $20 for individuals and $30 for families. There will be forms at the meeting, or you can find one on the right side of this blog.

Darien Garden Club Spring Inspiration

We had a great time at the Darien Garden Club's Spring Inspiration Event on March 10.

Wild Ones Meeting March 15

Wild Ones will meet at the Dowers Grove Public Library on March 15 from 7 p.m. until 8:45 p.m. Cindy Crosby, who is a member of the Wild Ones, a freelance writer and editor, a natural history instructor, and steward supervisor at the Morton Arboretum, will host an imaginary tour through the Tallgrass Prairie. Whether you are just learning about our iconic prairie landscape or have years of experience identifying native plants and replicating their habitat in your own yard, you will enjoy new discoveries in this presentation. 

Books will be available for purchase and signing by the Cindy.

All are welcome!

February Meeting Update

The speaker planned for our Feb. 21 meeting, Denise Sandoval, was going to discuss the benefits of native plants. Unfortunately, Denise had to cancel and she may speak to our club at a later date. Those attending our meeting will be shown a video that focuses on the topics Denise was going to discuss, showing how and why native plants are critical to the survival of local ecosystems.

February Meeting

Downers Grove Organic Gardeners will meet at 7 PM Wednesday, Feb. 21  at the Downers Grove Public Library at 1050 Curtiss Street (first floor meeting room). 

Denise Sandoval will discuss the benefits of native plants: low maintenance, drought tolerant, naturally beautiful and attractive to birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Planting a wide selection of natives can also produce a yard that has something blooming during the entire growing season. 

Denise is an environmental landscape designer, business owner at Good Natured Landscapes and member of Wild Ones who is looking forward to sharing her wealth of knowledge. Please share this message with your gardening friends and encourage them to attend this meeting with you.

A reminder—It’s time to renew your membership if you haven’t done this. Membership is $20 for individuals and $30 for families. There will be forms at the meeting, or you can find one on our blog on the right-hand column.

Plant Sale Meeting on Jan. 24

There will be a plant sale meeting on Wednesday, January 24, from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in Conference Room B of the Downers Grove Public Library. Conference Room B is on the second floor. The meeting will determine which plants are purchased for the May plant sale.

Share Your Secrets!

Do you have a "Tried and True" gardening secret you would like to share? We are compiling information from all members willing to share their experience. Whether it be a special companion planting, a homemade fertilizer or your favorite salsa recipe, let us know!

You can either fill out the form  and turn in at the Organic Gardening meeting on January 16 or email to Kim Christen at christenkr@gmail.com.