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.
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:
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.
At the GROW! Community Garden we have both raised beds and ground level plots for rent. These are tilled and fertilized with aged manure. We have limited numbers of tall raised beds for $25 and $35 per year, depending on their size. In-ground plots range from 4’ X 20’, which rents for $20 ($0.25 per square foot) to 10’ X 20’, which rents for $50. The low-cost rental price also includes water. Contact Gray Henderson, GROW President, at (520) 561-0643 for more information.
Join us for our 2021 GROW Membership Meeting on Tuesday, March 2, 7pm, via Zoom! All participants will receive a raffle prize, ranging from copies of Jerry Pavia’s Rocky Mountain Wildflowers Book, GROW t-shirts and aprons, locally saved and adapted seed varieties, and other garden items! Board members will show slides of the Little Free Garden project around town, past Farm to Table dinners, and other community garden highlights. Learn how to reserve an organically fertilized, tilled garden plot for you or your community group. We still have some tall raised beds available for 2021. Scan the QR code above to register in advance. You will receive a unique link to our Zoom party!
“An enchanted evening!” is how one woman described last year’s annual Farm to Table Fundraiser. Join us for a presentation on our 2019 achievements, followed by election of officers and board members. GROW’s annual membership meeting takes place Monday, January 27, at 5pm at the UI Extension Office. Refreshments will be served.
There are many ways to support your community garden organization. You can volunteer to be on a committee, such as the annual Farm to Table fundraiser, the Little Free Garden committee, or the community garden committee. You can serve as an officer or a board member. You can help build more raised beds or coordinate volunteer activities. All are welcome! Our regular meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 6pm at the Bonners Ferry Visitors Center. Please contact Kate Painter at the UI Extension Office for more information: kpainter@uidaho.edu or (208) 267-3235.
Dear GROW! Supporters, I want to thank you for helping us provide over a ton (over 2700 lb) of fresh organic produce to the 500 families who use our local food bank each month, as well as other organizations in our community like the Methodist Community Lunch served each Thursday. I am so proud to live in a generous community that supports those in need.
Highlights of this past year include:
Our Little Free Garden project, supported with grants from the Blue Cross Foundation, creating 22 little raised beds with free produce. Bonners Ferry is the first location in Idaho for this national project — see www.littlefreegarden.com/map for all the locations.
Our 4th Farm to Table Fundraising Dinner was held at BeeHaven Flower Farm, a seasonal cut flower farm now with a farmstand, located just 4 miles north of Bonners Ferry. It was an enchanted evening of music, fine food, and fundraising.
We started a local food system community potluck and speaker series last winter. Our 2nd season kicks off on Wed., January 15, at 6pm, and features Debbie Woods from CowCreek Blueberry Farm. Please join us!
To continue your support of your local community garden, please consider paying an annual membership of $20 per individual, $35 per family, or $100 for a business membership. It’s easy to pay online from our website, https://growboundarycounty.org/. We will list you on our website as a partner if you wish.
Finally, I wish to thank Trinity Lutheran Church for hosting our community garden site for the past 10 years. Without their support our work would not be possible! Here is our Annual Report to Trinity Lutheran Church for those who would like more details on our work in 2019.
Wishing you all the best for 2020!
Sincerely, Kate Painter GROW Board Member UI Extension Educator kpainter@uidaho.edu (208) 267-3235 office (509) 432-5755 cell
GROW!’s Fourth Annual Farm to Table Fundraiser at BeeHaven Flower Farm
Ralph Walker entertains the crowd at the 2019 Farm to Table dinner
2019 Farm to Table dinner at BeeHaven Flower Farm
2019 Farm to Table Fundraiser was held at BeeHaven Flower Farm
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all the members of the community who supplied or helped support our 2019 Farm to Table fundraising dinner at BeeHaven Flower Farm on Saturday, September 7. Thanks to all of you, it was a great success!
Suppliers of food and silent auction items include: Annie Pflueger Photography (208) 940-0834 pfluegerannie@gmail.com
Carter County Farm and Feed (208) 263-8236 www.cartercountryfeed.com Pet supplies, garden center, farm supplies & hardware
Clark Handcrafted Stoneware David & Cheryl Clark (208) 267-5296
Cloud Eleven Mountain Farm Julie & Edward Newcomb (208) 267-4743 FLO-Grown (Fresh Local Organic) vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, and herbs, wild wreaths.
Creative Dreamer Lynn Self (208) 267-4732 www.birchbarkcrafting.com Birch is collected, peeled, cut into beautiful shapes, sealed, and made into jewelry, and bookmarks.
Far North Outfitters (208) 267-5547 6791 Main St., Bonners Ferry www.farnorthoutfitters.comOutdoor Equipment & clothing
Far North Logo Shop & Coffee Lodge (208) 295-2244 6803 Main St., Bonners Ferry www.farnorthcompany.com/coffeelodgeRoast your own (or not) coffee, pastries
Farm to Market Grains Tim and Julie Dillin (208) 267-7192 5285 Farm to Market Rd., Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805 www.farmtomarketgrains.com Grain, flour, and baking mixes made from locally produced grain
Heart Rock Wines Lillian Lonborg (208) 290-4397 6371 Kootenai Street, Bonners Ferry www.heartrockwines.comWine bar plus craft beers, cider, mead, and appetizers
Find all of our suppliers on our BoCoLocal.com website, listing local suppliers and businesses in Boundary County! Please help support our local community!
This year’s GROW Farm to Table Fundraising Dinner will be held Saturday, September 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. at BeeHaven Flower Farm! Get your tickets now for this popular fall event! We will have music, local beer from Kootenai Valley Brewery, raffles, a silent auction, and a feast of local food grown at the GROW! Community Garden and by local producers! All proceeds support the community garden, which donates over a ton of organic produce to local organizations each year, provides raised garden plots for the community, and installed 21 Little Free Gardens in Boundary County in 2019! Tickets are available at the UI Extension Office, Bonners Books, and online at http://www.tinyurl.com/2019FTT. #littlefreegardens
Idaho Gives is a program designed to bring awareness and raise money for the more than 500 nonprofit organizations working tirelessly to build a stronger Idaho! In Bonners Ferry, both Gardeners for Regional Organic Wellbeing and The Pearl Theater participate in Idaho Gives. It’s a fun day of giving that allows citizens to support organizations of their choice in many creative ways. Join the fun on Thursday, May 2, and check out the all the ways to help support GROW, your local community garden, at this link.
Grow sign at Trinity Lutheran Church garden 4658DA
G.R.O.W.! Gardeners for Regional Organic Wellbeing 