How to keep a Hort Society entertained – with 50 issues of Veggie Bites!

Judith Cox, President of the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society has kept the members upbeat during the pandemic through zoom meetings and a weekly electronic newsletter. Judith shares her delightful weekly musings in ‘Veggie Bites’. On March 19, members will celebrate her 50th edition of the newsletter.

Each ‘Veggie Bites’ edition arrives in your inbox with an engaging introduction written by Vivian McLean. Every week, Judith proffers to members her wisdom as a Master Gardener, as well as her personal experiences be they successful or not. She takes members on the road to starting a garden, planting seeds, which seeds are preferable, explaining particular plants and growing veggies from those purchased in the grocery store – just to name a few of the subjects. Every issue provides anecdotes to problems such as wildlife, watering or not, bugs and slugs to everything a gardener has to deal with. Judith laughs, “I wanted to show that if you are not sure – why not try!”

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Judith says, “I started Veggie Bites because I noticed that so many new gardeners were wanting to grow food and there’s so much information out there. I love the idea of everyone growing their own food to eat and teaching their children to do the same. As well, I missed working the Master Gardener advice clinics and helping new gardeners.”

Speaking of the Master Gardener advice clinics, you can catch Judith on Tuesday, April 6 at 12:30 pm during their Learn at Lunch series. You can register for the talk here.

Being the expert she is, Judith has also been invited to the upcoming Ottawa Public Library series on Gardening. She is on their agenda for May 19 and 26 and again on July 7 and 14. She will be speaking on vegetable gardening; gardening with children; scented gardens and gardens at night. To register for Judith’s talks and those of the other speakers, visit the Program and Event category on the Ottawa Public Library website.

Asked if Judith intends to continue her weekly columns, “I get feedback here and there that is so positive it inspires me to keep going. I have been enjoying the process and learning a lot myself. It would be great if it made me more organized but that hasn’t happened yet!” she says with a hearty chuckle. We look forward to many more inspiring editions!

The members, as in past years, will also be participating in the spring edition of ‘Cleaning the Capital’ and are always looking for volunteers to help out.

If you want to learn more about Judith’s newsletter, follow the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society on Facebook where each edition is shared. Interested in joining a fun group of gardeners, visit their website and become a member.