Peterson Garden Project is seeking bakers/chefs interested in contributing baked goods for the Plant & Bake Sale fundraiser being held May 10, 11 & 12 at our Learning Center at 4642 N. Francisco (by the Brown Line stop).

Details about what we're looking for are here: [urlhttp://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=37404][/url]

Info on PGP is here: http://www.petersongarden.org

Just PM or post if you're interested in helping! Contributions are fully tax deductible!

SO much going on at PGP, a lot of which I thought the LTH gardening community might like to hear about.

Peterson Garden Project continues to grow! We now have 6 community gardens open to the public. Most of them are already full for the season but a couple still have openings--information on sign ups and locations are here:

PGP has a new book out, Fearless Food Gardening in Chicagoland, written by LaManda Joy, PGP's founder, and her co-author, Teresa Gale. Fearless Food Gardening is a month-by-month growing guide with a ton of information on pretty much anything you'd need to know to grow food in containers, plots, yards and community gardens throughout our region.

You can purchase the book on Amazon at Fearless Food Gardening and all proceeds go towards the organization's programming and education initiatives. If anyone is planning to attend the Chicago Flower & Garden Show at Navy Pier this weekend, please stop by our exhibit which is based on the book and really quite amazing. And, of course, they are selling the book at the show as well.

Another great piece of news is that Peterson Garden Project will soon take over managing and programming the enormous and beautiful teaching kitchen on the 2nd floor of the Broadway Armory (in Edgewater at Broadway & Thorndale). Renamed the "Farmory", the kitchen is an important component of PGP's "plot to plate" mission for enabling people to grow healthful food AND know what to do with it once they have it

PGP needs to raise funds to cover the programming supplies (we will be providing programming for seniors and families in the community as part of the Park District agreement, in addition to our own classes and events), as well as outfitting the kitchen with utensils, small appliances and equipment, dishes, etc. So, like all good NFPs, we launched a kickstarter yesterday that, hopefully, some of you will check out. It's worth it just for the video which is hysterical.

I have come to love being part of this organization, which I discovered through LTH Forum, of course. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them since, instead of gardening with PGP this summer, I'm going to be working on the distribution and sale of the book and helping to get the Farmory up and running. It's all very exciting stuff for an organization well worth supporting. I'll be sure to keep you posted if you're interested!!

Thanks so much for the information. I just signed up for a plot. I'm sharing it with a friend of mine who used to have her own little garden back in Russia. She's very excited to be able to grow again.

So very excited to hear that buttercream--if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help. PGP offers a ton of classes at their Learning Center on Franciscan, next to the Brown Line station (4642 N. Francisco Avenue)--these classes are free for those gardening with us and, subject to availability, open to the public as well.

I'm going to need those classes. I haven't gardened since I was a kid with my family and do not have a clue where to begin. I just know i want the type of tomatoes i remember eating as a child, picked right off the vine, warm from the sun and as sweet as candy.

hmmm...well, not sure where you grew up but that can be a bit of a challenging goal here in Chi, I've found. Not impossible. Just challenging

As a "Grewbie"--the PGP term for new gardeners--the organization provides both classroom and on site education, as well as the best part--a whole garden full of people with varying levels of experience to help one another. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the past 5 years. Good luck and happy growing!!!

PGP has opened our new "Fearless Food Kitchen" at the Broadway Armory and classes are open for registration! Lots of fun topics--more info here: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=486090#p486090