| The next monthly meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, September 8 at 7 p.m. The topic is Grape Vine Topiaries, and the speaker is Theresa Webb Barger. Each monthly meeting is held at the Wesley United Methodist Church at 1200 Logan Avenue in Tyrone. All guests are welcome, and it is $2 per guest. |
On Monday, August 11, the Tyrone Garden Club held its second monthly meeting, which meets on the second Monday of each month. The first meeting was a simple question and answer meeting whereas in the most recent meeting, the members signed up for the chairman spots and offered new ideas.
Sharon Duda, President, really inspired the ladies of the club to sign up for chairman spots. She then went into detail of the several positions available to the group to give them a better look at what they want to do as part of the new club.
Duda stated, “We do not want one person running two or three positions, but we do want everyone to at least take part in a chairman spot on our list. We look to have more people in the club in the near future so that all of our positions fill and we can start working in town as soon as possible.”
The board then took roll call and summarized what happened at the previous meeting and a preview of what was to come at the current meeting. Overall, 17 ladies were in attendance for the meeting and almost half signed up for a chairman spot before the night was over. The ladies were very encouraged to get their feet wet in this new and exciting club.
Around 8 p.m., the meeting was adjourned and the floor was given to Tanya Schleiden, who received her Master Gardener certificate in Huntingdon County in 1996. She had Horticultural training from the Penn State Extension Office and became an instructor for the composting program in 2003 when DPW and Penn State Extension developed a joint program offering Composters to homeowners. Schleiden is also a member of the Tyrone Garden Club and her topic of her speech was, “Composting.”
Schleiden began explaining that “a compost pile or bin allows you to control the air (oxygen), water, food and temperature. If they are all controlled daily, they will speed up the slow, natural decaying process.”
She pointed out the best foods for decomposing and materials to avoid. The ladies of the Garden Club followed her very closely so that they knew exactly how to compost when the time came.
“The main concern for composting is to keep the pile aerated and moist. A dry pile will slow the process down and could create an ammonia odor, which would be the worst case scenario. The fastest way to make high quality compost is Aerobic Composting. This is where the piles are kept anywhere from 55 degrees to 155 degrees. Normally, it is too hot for the bacteria once it goes past 140 degrees, so it is best we try to keep the pile under that temperature.
“Aeration can be increased by inserting sticks into the pile, and if it is dry, you can add water until it is almost half water, half compost material. Turn the pile while adding water if compost is dry, or add greens and browns if the compost is too wet.”
Schleiden used her knowledge from composting in the past and helped the club realize the importance of each detail involved in composting. It was a very informative speech and with her help and the rest of the board’s help, the Tyrone Garden Club may have a bright future in making Tyrone a beautiful place.
After Schleiden’s speech, the ladies were excused to leave and informed to invite as many to the group as they can. The next monthly meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, September 8 at 7 p.m. The topic is Grape Vine Topiaries and the speaker is Theresa Webb Barger, a former graduate of Tyrone in 1989 and Pennsylvania College of Technology with a Horticulture degree. She currently owns a shop and is employed with Penn State Landscaping.
Each monthly meeting is held at the Wesley United Methodist Church at 1200 Logan Avenue in Tyrone. All guests are welcome and it is $2 per guest. Hostesses should arrive at 6:45 p.m., providing coffee, tea, milk and desserts for the members that attend.
