The Village Garden Club of La Jolla
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SEPTEMBER’S PROGRAM
The Importance of Schoolyard Gardens
speaker: Jessica Eves
HORTICULTURE
Where: Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, 4321 Eastgate Mall, La Jolla
When: Thursday, September 25
9:30 a.m.--Check in and Hospitality Hour; 10:30 a.m.--General Meeting and Presentation
Registration: All members must check in, with a name tag.
Guests: This is a members-only meeting.
Jessica Eves is a passionate garden and cooking educator who is dedicated to fostering a love for nature, nutrition, and sustainability. She was a classroom teacher for 18 years before she established a school garden in 2019. She has since transformed it into an innovative garden and cooking classroom where students engage in hands-on learning experiences that integrate garden and cooking lessons. Jessica helps students develop strong relationships and vital social skills while exploring topics like composting, crop rotation, and seasonality.
Jessica inspires others to embrace the transformative power of garden and cooking education.
Club News and Updates
VGCLJ Committee Updates
Master Gardeners
Dahlia Do's
Dahlias are tuberous roots and like their cousins--daffodil bulbs, gladiolus corms, tuberous begonias, and calla rhizomes--they are self-contained food-storage machines that live underground and, given the right soil and conditions, will reproduce. That is why they are so easy to grow their first year. They come ready-made. But getting them to grow a second year or more will require some knowledge.
Dahlias are show-offs and after a season of brilliant color, they need to replenish their exhausted tuberous root tissue for the next year. Their leaves allow for photosynthesis, the manufacture of sugars and starches, and this needs to continue even after flowering. Leaves will continue to grow and then turn yellow, becoming a sad feature in the garden. Some gardeners choose to cut the stem down after flowering, avoiding the has-been look. But in so doing, they destroy the natural cycle. To support another year of bloom, to allow for the reproduction of another generation, the stalk needs to turn yellow at which point it can be cut to the ground. The tuberous root can then survive on its own, nourishing itself for another year of bloom.
The dahlia “bulb” has the shape of a yam with a stem growing from an eye at one pointed end and its fibrous roots at the other. These fibrous roots suck in moisture and nutrients from the soil. This is what we initially buy.
But after that first season of bloom, if the stalk and its leaves were allowed to yellow, a miracle of sorts happens. Dig up the tuberous root, store it in a dry, cool (45 degrees) place with vermiculite or perlite. During the off season, a new eye will appear with a tip of a new stem. And once replanted, during its second year of growth, not only will you see beautiful flowers above ground, but below ground another set of tuberous roots (usually 3-5) will emerge at the crown end under the new stem. These new tuberous roots will mature and can be planted separately the following spring. Thus, having bought a single bulb, by the end of the second season, you will have three to five new ones.
Dahlias require 6-8 hours of sun and moisture during their growing period. Good drainage is vital to avoid the tuberous roots from getting mushy. Planting on a slope is effective. Planting in a flat area or in a pot requires good drainage. Plant the roots horizontally, 5” apart, 5-7” deep with 2” of soil coverage. Use a stake tall and strong enough to support the plant's final height and flower head. As the stem grows, add more soil to the hole, 2” at a time. Pinch the tip after the first two sets of leaves form thus creating four stems. Flowers will appear a month later. Use 2-3” of mulch. When the plant reaches 2/3 of its height, gently tie the stem to the stake at its mid-point and below the lowest blossom. Dahlias need to be fed once a month starting when covered with soil. Use a 5-10-5 mix, 6-12” from the stem or a foliar feed until the first color is seen.
Our Fall Plant Sale is September 20 in Balboa Park. There will be hundreds of plants, garden art, and birdhouses to buy, free lightning talks, a Farmers’ Market booth, and a Green Elephant table. Shop for yourself or a young gardener in the family.
Karen White and I will have diagrams and more advice about dahlias at our Ask-a-Master Gardener table.
BJ Boland
Wreaths Across America
We're Well On Our Way--With One Big Change!
This December, we’ll once again join thousands of volunteers across the country in honoring our veterans through Wreaths Across America. Your generosity during our January campaign and membership renewals was amazing. To make things smoother for the national Wreaths Across America team (a small but mighty staff who manage sponsorships for over 2,500 locations nationwide!) we’re tweaking our process this year:
Sponsorship checks ($17 per wreath) will only be accepted at the September meeting or by mail to Kate Engler, postmarked by September 30. This change ensures your donations are credited properly and avoids some of the delays we experienced last year.
Online sponsorships will remain open until November 28. This is the easiest option — and donations are processed/posted almost instantly! You can make a donation through our WAA/VGCLJ website by clicking here.
We will have a table at our September, October, and November meetings to answer questions or help walk you through the online form. Our goal is to make it simple and stress-free for everyone who wants to support this meaningful tradition. For every wreath sponsored through our Club, we receive $5 back to support our ongoing efforts, so your donation makes double the impact!
Important Dates:
Sponsorship Deadline: November 28
Wreath Placement: December 13
Thank you again for your incredible support — together, we can help ensure every hero is honored. Have questions or need a hand navigating the website? Contact Kate Engler. Donations are tax-deductible.