Gardening enthusiasts participate in Planting Workshop

By Joan Janzen

KINDERSLEY - About a dozen gardening enthusiasts participated in a planting workshop at the Kindersley Seniors Centre on Monday, June 9th. Joanne Kosolofski, owner of Puddles in My Garden, and Gwendolyn Hrycak were the instructors for the morning session. After enjoying lunch together, the group headed to Puddles In My Garden to plant their choice of plants to fill a 15” pot.

Joanne proceeded to demonstrate how to create an appealing planter. She encouraged her listeners to trim plants so the energy goes to the root system. One of the vines she included was planted by a 90-year-old in his greenhouse, whom she hopes will continue to run it as long as possible.

Gwendolyn Hrycak gave some pointers on growing herbs and tomatoes at the June 9th Planting Workshop held at the Kindersley Seniors Centre. Joanne Kosolofski, owner of Puddles In My Garden, demonstrated how to create an appealing planter. PHOTOS BY JOAN JANZEN

She demonstrated how simple the process is, placing five different kinds of plants in one container, including some type of grass. She advised leaving soil on the sides of the pot and noted some plants are aggressive and will take over a planter, so you need to ask questions. “But don’t be afraid to try new plants and learn about them,” Joanne added.

Gwendolyn’s specialty is tomatoes and herbs. “I could go on for hours and hours,” she said. There’s hundreds of different varieties of tomato seeds. “Did you know there are red, green, black, purple and orange tomatoes?” Gwendolyn asked. The different colours of tomatoes look wonderful in a salad.

Roma tomatoes have less water, so are suitable for making salsa and sauces. Other tomatoes are low in acid but can’t be used for canning. Of course, the excessive wind this year has made it challenging to grow tomatoes.

She recommended watering and fertilizing once a week and showed a product that ends blossom-end rot, which is the number one problem in tomatoes. The participants also shared their personal gardening tips.

Gwendolyn brought along some fragrant herb plants and explained that most herbs like heat. She dehydrates herbs and puts them through a coffee grinder, after which she can make all kinds of combinations.

The workshop was organized by Rivers West District for Sport, Culture & Recreation, along with Saskatchewan Senior Fitness Association, and New Horizons for Seniors Program.

“There’s so much to learn,” Gwendolyn concluded. “But do whatever works for you.”