Category: Uncategorized

Giving Tuesday, an international day of giving

November 18, 2022

What comes after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday? Giving Tuesday! This is a worldwide generosity movement encouraging people to donate to their local communities and favorite nonprofits. This year, GROW! is asking for help to pay for ongoing operating expenses, including the water bill, mulch for the orchard, soil for the raised beds, the porta-potty rental, and grounds upkeep.

Each year, GROW! donates hundreds of pounds of fresh organic produce to local food banks. The community garden also provides low-cost garden rental plots and raised beds. In addition, GROW! has created about 40 Little Free Gardens distributed throughout the county where the public is invited to sample garden produce at these business locations (see https://www.littlefreegarden.com/map).

All these activities would not be possible without the support of community organizations, local businesses, and volunteers. GROW! Volunteers and local Idaho Master Gardeners generously donated over 1000 hours of their time to these projects in 2022. For the past 13 years, Trinity Lutheran Church has provided the land for the GROW! community garden on their property. This generous arrangement allows GROW! to continue its work in Boundary County, where our motto is Helping Feed our Neighbors in Need.

Your tax-deductible donations to GROW!, a 501c3 nonprofit, can be done online here or via mail (PO Box 1433, Bonners Ferry, ID). We will send you a receipt for donations of any size!

For those of you who are required to withdraw a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from an IRA, there is a way to avoid paying taxes on that amount and benefit a charitable non-profit organization at the same time.  As an alternative to having the withdrawal come directly to you, it can be distributed to a 501c3 non-profit directly in what is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).  This distribution can satisfy all or part of a RMD and thus eliminates that amount being taxed at your marginal tax rate.  If this is a way you would consider supporting GROW!, we would be happy to provide you with additional information on this type of donation.

For more information, contact Gray Henderson, GROW! President, at gray@growboundarycounty.org, 520-561-0643 cell/text or Kate Painter, GROW! Board Member, kate@growboundarycounty.org, 509-432-5755 cell/text.

Trinity Lutheran Pastor Andy Hinderlee blesses the new fruit tree plantings at the Open House

August 28, 2022
Pastor Andy Hinderlee, center, with GROW! Board Members Art Church, left, and Gray Henderson, right.

Pastor Andy Hinderlee blessed the new 40-tree orchard at the GROW! Community Garden at the 2022 Open House on Sunday, August 28. Several dozen community members, including many young families with children, enoyed the festivities, which included refreshments, children’s activities, and tours.

Community Garden Work Day on Saturday, August 6, at 9am

July 28, 2022
Garden Work Day, 2021

Many hands make for light work! We will be spreading bark, weeding the new orchard, organizing the garden shed, and working on the compost bins on Saturday, August 6, at 9am. Please join us for a fun work day and see how all the new fruit trees have grown since we planted them last spring!

You can also check out our 35-variety tomato test garden and sample some of our produce! Herbs will also be available from the Little Free Garden.

We will have tools, snacks, and water. Questions? Contact Board President Gray Henderson, gray@growboundarycounty.org, 520-561-0643.

Spring class series includes classes on roses, tomatoes, and mushrooms in the garden

May 2, 2022

Spring 2022 Growing with GROW! classes will be held on Thursdays from 2-5pm starting May 12. Topics include planting for pollinators, growing tomatoes in North Idaho, growing roses in North Idaho, and growing beneficial, edible mushrooms in your garden. All classes will be held at the Kootenai River Inn and Casino’s Ktunaxa Room in Bonners Ferry. Classes are $10 per person for current GROW! members, $20 per class for nonmembers, or as noted, payable at the door. All proceeds support the GROW! Community Garden. A detailed schedule is available here.

Idaho Gives campaign for Idaho Nonprofits

May 1, 2022

Support your local nonprofits in Idaho with this annual campaign to promote good causes in your community! We are so grateful to our generous supporters in Boundary County who make all our activities possible! This year, we were able to plant 40 fruit trees in the community garden. Please consider a donation to help us complete this project! You can donate or read more about our activities here.

Community Orchard Planting Day!

March 29, 2022
Art Church’s Copeland orchard in bloom

Please join us on Wednesday, March 30, at 10am as we plant our Boundary County Community Orchard! We will be planting 40 bare-root trees on the west side of the Boundary County Community Garden.

These trees include an interesting selection of new and old varieties that thrive in Boundary County, from old favorite peaches, pears and plums to jujube, nectarines, plouts and pluerries (plum-cherry cross). They will be densely planted, irrigated with a drip system, and mulched. The mulch will be inoculated with edible King Straphoria mushroom spores.

This community orchard will serve many purposes, from demonstration and teaching to supplying the community with high quality fresh fruit. We really appreciate the support of the community, both individuals and businesses, for this exciting new project. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kate Painter, 509-432-5755, Gray Henderson, 520-561-0643, or Art Church, 208-217-3492.

Gardening with GROW! Winter Class Series

December 30, 2021
Boundary County orchard, Copeland

GROW! is offering a series of gardening classes this winter, with a focus on orchard production, including planning, variety selection, pruning, pollinators, and grafting! We have limited space available for each class, so sign up early! Registration opens on Jan. 1, via Eventbrite, here.

Classroom sessions will be held at the Kootenai River Inn Ktunaxa Room on Wednesday evenings from 6-8:30 pm. Hands-on sessions will be held at the Paradise Valley Grange Hall and at the GROW! Community Garden. Most courses are $20 per person. GROW! members receive a 50% discount on course fees upon payment of 2022 dues here. Limited scholarships are available.

Giving Tuesday — Tuesday following Black Friday — Supports Local Nonprofits

November 12, 2021

This year’s campaign will help support a 40-tree demonstration and teaching orchard project as described in the flyer above. Come see us at our booth at Super 1 on Tuesday, Nov. 30, from 9am to 6pm! You can donate via check, cash or electronically, through the Paypal Giving Fund, which charges no fees on donations, here:

Garden “Open House” on Wed., August 4, from 10am to noon

July 20, 2021
Perennial herb gardens at the GROW Community Garden are a Little Free Garden, so you can help yourself to some fresh herbs!

Please join us on Wednesday, August 4, from 10am to noon, to view our demonstration gardens, including hoophouses, tall raised bed rentals, easy automatic watering systems, cover crops for your garden, and an easy no-turn composting system. We will be offering free refreshments and herb bundles to take home! The GROW Community Garden is on the grounds of Trinity Lutheran Church, at 6634 Buchanan St., Bonners Ferry, ID. For more information, contact Kate Painter at the UI Extension Office, 208-267-3235.