Botany Club cleans up Community Garden for spring planting

Charlie Shackelford

Reporter

On Thursday, the Botany Club met at UCO’s community garden to prepare plant beds for their plans after spring break. Every year after winter, the club meets to take steps to make sure the garden is ready for the rest of the year. 

The first step in preparation was cleaning up the dead plants and weeds from the garden beds. They were then utilized and added to composters inside of the garden that break down plant material and over time turn it into nutrient-rich compost. Once the beds were cleared, it was time to add more nutrients to the soil. They mixed in blood meal, bone meal and wood ash. 

Jenna Messick, UCO biology professor  and the faculty advisor for the club, explained why it was important to add these components to the soil before planting. Blood meal contains nitrogen, which helps build proteins in plants and improves their growth and development. Bone meal adds more phosphorus to the soil and encourages bloom growth in plants that produce vegetables. Plants typically get natural amounts of blood and bone meal from decaying animals in their natural environment, so the students added these components in the controlled environment. 

The final step was to add fresh garden soil on top and mix it all together. The club will meet again as the weather gets warmer after spring break to begin planting. 

The Botany Club will be hosting a plant sale to raise money to buy supplies and seeds for the garden on Friday, April 25, in Howell Hall. Most of the plants being sold are propagated plants that were repotted a month ago by the club and have since grown in UCO plant labs.

All produce grown from the community garden will be donated to the Central Pantry. If you are looking to get involved, Botany Club events are posted on UCORE. The club encourages students to spend more time outside and give back to their community by supplying fresh fruits and vegetables to the pantry.