People get prepped for spring at Hunter Park GardenHouse

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Seed Starting and Transplanting Workshop at Allen Neighborhood, Lansing

People who attended a Feb. 9 workshop at Hunter Park GardenHouse learnd about seed starting for small-scale growing and troubleshooting issues faced in home gardening.

Farmer-turned-gardener, Danae Friedheim facilitated. She asked the experience level of the attendees followed by explaining methods of planting for different plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and onions.

Plants of onion (top) and carrots (bottom) at were displayed at GardenHouse, Allen Neighborhood

“I think the questions were really great,” Friedheim said. “It’s really nice to see people with so much experience and how much they are able to talk in a session. It’s a really great workshop series that people can learn a lot from, not just from the presentation, but from each other.”

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Friedheim had her own farming business for three years. She is working at Michigan State University as the assistant director of the Residential Initiative on Study of Environment program.

Morgan Doherty at Hunter Park GardenHouse with their son Alex after the workshop.

The workshop was required for people interested in earning an Urban Gardener Certificate. Morgan Doherty, 34, came for the certificate. Doherty wanted to learn about watering and growth process of the plants, they said, since gardening in their basement can be difficult.

“Michigan basements are cooler,” Doherty said. “About 40 to 50 degrees. The plants need the right amount of heat to grow. I want to know more about the heat and lighting systems.”

“I really liked this workshop,” said Natalie Cressman, 48, of Lansing. “Some of the stuff I knew, but I had to make sure I was doing it right. I had a small garden of my own with small containers. Now I have a bigger house and I get to have a big garden, so I’m excited.”

 Tarik Abbawi (top) and Natalie Cressman (bottom) attended the workshop at Hunter Park, Lansing.

 

Tarik Abbawi, 65, of East Lansing,  said he tried seed planting by himself for two years but it did not work for him. The plants are very sensitive, he explained, there has to be the perfect balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, especially when planting in the water. Abbawi asked about hydroponics root protection and hybrid plants.

Lexie Gozetiff, an AmeriCorps member said the benefit of this event was to get the community members out and learning new things about gardening.

Emily Nicholls, GardenHouse manager said, “I’m hoping all our community members will get started on learning how to do seed starting and transplant production and feel empowered enough to plant their own seeds. The season has just started. We have a lot of time.”

Emily Nicholls (left) with Danae Friedheim before the workshop.

 

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