Mardi Gras parade

The St. Marys EarthKeepers will be marching/riding (golf carts) in
next Saturday's Mardi Gras parade (February 21). This year's Mardi
Gras festival is St. Marys' first OFFICIAL green festival, so we
would love a strong showing of support to emphasize our area's
commitment to living green. Please let me know if you can march/ride
with the EarthKeepers. Just email me at barbara@stmarysmagazine.com
or call 729-1103. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so
very much.
Barbara
ps/Parade organizers request participants arrive by 9am for a 10am
start time.

EARTHKEEPERS BECOME EARTH-MOVERS AT COMMUNITY GARDEN

ST. MARYS, GA—On Saturday, February 7, a contingent of St. Marys
EarthKeepers joined other community members to prepare the soil for
planting at the St. Marys Community Garden. More than 30 volunteers
brought shovels, hoes, rakes, and wheelbarrows to the garden site
behind the St. Marys Airport. Working in teams, adults and youngsters
carved out pathways and built up mounds for garden plots with two and
a half tons of lime and three truckloads of compost delivered to the
site earlier. According to City Councilman Greg Bird, the garden is
in significantly better shape than last year, and is destined to be
fertile ground for anyone who wants to have their own garden.

Bird tilled the land earlier with his own big family tractor, then
the compost (donated by White Oak Plantation) and lime were added. W.
H. Gross Construction donated the equipment and drivers to bring the
compost in from White Oak where one of the world's largest private
collections of endangered species along with domestic animals provide
plenty of raw material for composting.

Bird said that last year, the garden soil was tested and found to
have a very low ph factor. "The addition of composting and lime this
year along with the sprinkler system should make for ideal planting
conditions," Bird said.

The community spirit of St. Marys was alive and well in the chilly
morning of February 7 at the garden site. A couple visiting from New
Hampshire heard about the garden, and eagerly lent their efforts to
the productive day, asking at the end of the morning, "When's the
next work party?"

Garden plots are available to the community on a first come, first
serve basis. There are approximately 80 plots available at no charge,
and plot tenders can keep all that they harvest. Each plot is
approximately 15' x 20', ideal for planting tomatoes, beans, corn,
squash, okra, radishes, melons—most anything suitable to South
Georgia's mild climate.

Barbara Conner, one of several residents who are coordinating the
community garden, said that when the soil was turned, pieces of
asphalt (possibly from airport runways used in training World War II
pilots) were unearthed.

John King, retired educator and lifetime gardener, has also been
instrumental in the development of the community garden. His hopes
are that the success of the garden will evolve into a school for
gardeners, and even a gardening curriculum at the local schools.

King, Conner, and Bird expect the planting kick-off to be around the
first of March. Anyone interested in reserving a plot should contact
Barbara Conner at 912-673-8570, or attend a Community Garden meeting
Tuesday, February 17 at 7:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church on
Conyers Street in downtown St. Marys.