Organic gardening and a hint of spring

This is Kirsten Akre from Kilbourn Park . Home of the City of Chicago's only organic-teaching greenhouse. Every year they raise vegetables and other plants for the annual plant sale taking place this year Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. and Sunday, May 11 at 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

I sat in on the organic gardening class for the new group of Chicago Master Gardener interns for a chance to see Kirsten in action. She is a lively enthusiastic instructor.

Covered was the importance of feeding the soil , growing healthy disease and pest resistant plants, soil testing (especially for lead in the Chicago area),organic fertilizers available and how to use them , hosting beneficial insects and accepting some level of pests to keep predators around. A few of the organic pest controls were discussed. Again she stressed making sure we knew what the problem really was and using non toxic methods.

I think a class at Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse is in order this spring. To bad I had not seen the discussion about Jeff Gillman's book 'The Truth About Organic Gardening' at In The Garden Online before the class. I would have liked to hear Kirsten's opinion.

Spending the day in a greenhouse on a cold day is always a pleasure. Here are a few pictures of the Spring Show at The Garfield Conservatory part of this year's 100th birthday celebration.

This opening peony seemed so delicate.

The azaleas were so full of blooms and the stock smelled wonderful.

It was hard to return to the cold gray Chicago weather afterwards.