2026 June Newsletter
The Garden is Open!
Opening Day was a huge success! The garden community joined together on Saturday, May 23 to mark the official start of the season. Garden members and visitors enjoyed the garden, prepping their beds, selecting and planting plants from the seedling sale, and being creative at the garden sign making station. Many planted seedlings purchased from Leslie Stevens of Sturgeon Creek Farm or planted their own that they started from seed. We welcomed City Councilor, Kate Cook, to the garden and took the opportunity to give her a tour and share our successes to date.
ACTION ITEMS
Community TimeSign up for your two mandatory Community Time sessions now via the SignUp Genius. All members must complete two Community Time (Work Day) sessions during the season to help improve the garden. This may involve weeding, prepping/turning compost, watering community or Gather beds, or various other tasks, as identified. To date, only four garden members have registered for Community Time. If you need accommodations, reach out. Pro Tip – Download the SignUp Genius app to your phone to make sign ups and updates easy! Contact Volunteer Coordinator Samantha Flynn with any questions.
Remember to take your weeds with you as they cannot go into the compost bins and to weed around your garden bed. If you do put an item in compost, cut it into ~four inch pieces and place it in the holding area to the right of the bins as you face them.
Join the Happy Hour on Thursday, June 25 and Make Your Own Garden Sign
Back by popular demand, plan to come to the first Happy Hour of the season to share a bite (pot luck items welcome) and a glass of something (BYOB) with your garden neighbors. The Happy Hour starts at 6:30 p.m., immediately after that day’s Community Time session. You do not need to sign up for the session to attend Happy Hour. Given the success of the garden sign project, we’ll have supplies on hand for gardeners to draw and polyurethane signs. Remember to put your garden bed number on the back and they will be placed on the side of your bed.
Five New Trellises
Adding a trellis between your bed and a neighbor’s expands your growing capability. Following the success of the pilot program, 10 members found a willing neighbor, signed up for a trellis (supplies provided by the Board of Directors), and put up their trellises. Thank you to Dave Tibbets for taking on the job of pounding in most of the posts! If you want a trellis for next season, submit a request with your bed number and neighbor’s name and bed number.
Thank you, Adam!
Adam Marcionek, year garden member since 2023, responded to the call for website assistance. We thanked Adam in the May newsletter but didn’t mention HOW he was helping. It is worth saying twice … thank you, Adam!
Community Outreach Update
Margaret Witham, Board Member and Community Outreach Coordinator, partnered with Gather to start the Grow Together Mentorship program. Interested Gather members participate in demo garden classes and have their own garden bed to grow vegetables this summer. Volunteers help with weeding, watering, and answering questions throughout the summer. Thank you to the following Community Garden Members who volunteered to help with this program this summer: Shannon Palace, Jim Sparrell, Jane Nilles, Lynn Abby, Michael Reilly, Jenn Cotrupi, and Tricia Donohue. Separately, the Portsmouth Senior Center asked us for help watering their flower garden on the weekends this summer. The following three garden members volunteered to help: Diane Stradling, Louise Duprey, and Grace Carmichael. What an amazing community that we live in! Thank you everyone. Please reach out to Margaret if you are interested in volunteering to help local schools and organizations with their gardening projects.
Check out the Portsmouth Community Garden on Instagram or Facebook
New to the garden? Find us on Instagram and Facebook – search “portsmouthcommunitygarden.” Be sure to check out the fun posts on social media, led by Ari Ragonese. If you see them at Bed 4D, say hello to her, her husband Daniel and her gorgeous children, Auggie and Gemma. If you take a great picture, send it to Beth Hartnett.
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