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10.27.2014

Meeting Notes
Hello fellow bloomers
We had a great turnout for our trip to the Isles of Shoals on August 8th.There were 29 bloomers and friends who attended. Mark Wiley from the UNH Docent Marine Lab was our guide with about 6 other docent volunteers. We had excellent weather, which made it even more enjoyable. On the trip out we were shown specimans from the ocean and did a collection of "sea life" in the water. We were transported to Appledore by the "Gulf Challenger". We split up onto two groups and went to tour the Island, the Shoals Marine Lab and Celia Thaxters garden. We stopped for lunch and then switched  so we all got to see everything. When we departed the Island we went around the back of the Shoal's to observe the seals with rest on Duck Island. We then proceeded to head around White Island which has the lighthouse that Celia Thaxter grew up on with her family. It was time to head back but we spotted the whale watchers boat between the Shoals and the Plum Island area, and as we approached there was a Minke Whale being followed. We got back to New Castle a little later than planned, but everyone was excited for the extra sighting of the whale.
Have received many  positive comments about the trip. The Bloomers garden club did a donation of $50 to the UNH Marine Docents program.

Sept 17th      8 members in attendance
Adam Pearson presented a proposal for UNH Art students to construct a sculpture for our town garden in the spring. They have toured the garden and two other sights and will begin the sculptures. It was decided to place a cement slab at the sight to secure next years and future sculptures. $100 was given to Adam to pour the cement foundation. We will be doing a donation to the Art Dept in the spring. Adam will also be coming back as a speaker about Garden Sculptures. Thank you Adam for all you've done for us.

October 15th    12 in attendance
"Dr Tomato" aka David O'Conner came to talk about "Hydroponics Gardening"
basics; non living medium vs living medium
retain water aeration/ pros bigger yield/ shorter time/ target feeding
talked about container gardening with constant delivery of food. He said not to use garden soil as it turns to brick, compacting with no aeration/fluff. Feeding with hydroponics solution such as Floranova gives a more constant feed than say an every two weeks with a Miracle grow too up and down for plant root growth. most criticle is the PH level which should be 6.5 in a ground garden, 6 in a pro-mix container, and 5.5 in water
Recommended reading " Gardening Indoors with Soil & Hydroponics"
As always we ran out of time with many questions for "Dr Tomato". Guess we'll just have to have him back again soon!!

Oct 18th      7 members in attendance
We cleaned up the dead flowers and raked leaves at the town Garden , then went to the Library to help clean-up there. Big thank you to Kim and Jeff for bringing their truck to put all the debris from the gardens, and thanks to all for helping to maintain the garden. Our next meeting will be at Coleens for wreath making. Come join the fun. let Coleen or JoAnn know if you plan to attend as she will get supplies accordingly. I will be sending out a thank you to Fred Knight for mowing the area around the town garden which helps to make it look great.
coming soon:
December  Xmas Gathering
January  Clay Pots with mosaics or decorated wooden birdhouses (ornamental Only). Ruth Caron from Pottery Paddock will be giving classes for $25 more info to follow
If you have any suggestions or ideas for future field trips or speakers for our meeting let us know, always looking for new things to do or see.
Happy Fall to all
Cindi

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