Spirit of St. Josephs Community Garden

04/03/2026

Welcome Dan Lytle.
Roger Elliott (left) Dan (right)

Dan is filling in for Ken Pearson at CVTC until they fill Ken's position.

We are so glad you have joined our team.

01/21/2026

BE SAFE. Below zero temps (-22) in next few days. This is one reason why we mulch around fruit trees in the fall, for this kind of winter weather. We will share more tips later.

Stay warm. We get through January. It is down hill from there. Spring will be just around the corner. THINK SPRING!

01/06/2026

Gardening Tips for January from the Farmer’s Almanac

• Avoid heavy traffic on your dormant lawn; dry grass is easily broken and damaged.

• Remember to prune your houseplants regularly. Pinch back new growth to encourage bushier plants.

• Group houseplants to increase humidity. Keep away from frosty windowsills.

• Brush off heavy snow from your plants and trees.

• Don’t forget winter birds! Put out water, seeds, and suet.

• Remove any branches that have been damaged by ice or snow.

• Check your fruit trees for any evidence of rodents; use traps where necessary.

• If you use salt on your walkways or driveways, spread it carefully to avoid damaging any of your plants. Sand or sawdust is also a good alternative to salt.

• Check your garden equipment. Repair and sharpen tools. Service equipment.

• Order seed catalogs early in the month. Research plants. Consider edible varieties that are drought-tolerant or disease-resistant.

• Start ordering seeds. Do not wait until late in the winter, as varieties may sell out early.

Wondering what to do in your garden this month? Our monthly gardening checklist by region gives you the exact tasks to tackle—tailored to your ZIP code and growing zone. Whether you're planting your first seed or prepping for harvest, we’ve got your garden covered.

12/23/2025

The community garden is sleeping under the snow waiting for Spring & gardening to begin again.

As the garden rests, the volunteers at the garden would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & a safe and happy beginning of 2026.

12/12/2025

Still thinking about gardening? Here is a list of “gardening tasks” you should do in December. This comes from the Farmers’ Almanac website. https://www.almanac.com/gardening/tips/WI/Chippewa+Falls

1. Save and inventory leftover seeds.

2. When watering your houseplants, avoid using cold water because it may shock the plants; use tepid water.

3. Move your houseplants away from icy windows to prevent any chilling.

4. Check your houseplants for any insects or diseases, and treat when necessary.

5. Remove the snow from evergreen shrubs to prevent them from breaking.

6. To help reduce winter damage to your lawn, minimize traffic on the frozen grass.

7. Houseplants with large leaves benefit from being washed with a damp cloth to remove the dust.

8. Check your fruits and vegetables in storage; throw away any that are damaged or diseased.

9. Bring in the evergreens for holiday decorations.

10. Relax and dream about the gardening season to come.

11/23/2025

We put down black plastic in the Spirit of St. Joseph’s Community Garden to let the sun do some work for us. It’s called solarization. The sun shining on the black plastic will kill the grass. Next spring we will plant flowers along the fence line to encourage pollinators to come into the garden. Plus the bees in the garden like them. Next spring, if you are dividing your perennials, keep us in mind. We’d love to have some to plant. We have a lot of distance to cover.

11/07/2025

The Spirit of St. Joseph’s Community garden has been put to bed for winter. A big thanks to all the gardeners who worked hard to produce a record crop. Over 5700 lbs of fresh produce were donated to area food pantries & kitchens. See you next Spring. Sleep tight community garden.

11/07/2025

Nancy checking her garlic she planted this fall. She was so excited to see it coming up.

Next year will be adding garlic to the list.

Way to go Nancy!

11/06/2025

Bees out and about today. All ready for winter.

10/30/2025

The Plotters, Nancy Baumans, Char Agnew ( can't tell there sisters), Joanne Murphy, Mary Fanetti, and Barb Wise.

I crashed their end of season get-together at Chippewa Family Restaurant. I did ask Nancy first if I could...if you know Nancy she is very welcoming and inviting.

The Plotters are retired therapy girls from St Joesph's Hospital days. They have been with the community garden from the beginning when it was HSHS.

They are a hoot to hang out with. So happy and excited to be part of the garden.

Barb teased about adding an additional plot, as the others said "No!" she still mentioned it a few times after that. We are still not sure if she was teasing or not. We got a big laugh about it, with many more conversations that kept us laughing.

Mary had to rest this year from the garden duties so Char took her place. But we all encouraged Mary to just come and do light duties next year, she will be thinking about it.

Thank you to the Plotters for all your time spent at the garden and letting me, Janeen Albrecht and my mom, Shirley LaRose join your fun morning.

We ended up at the garden to plan the next year...

10/24/2025

Harvest Celebration meal and presentation was fantastic.

Current Catering had people coming back for more. Thank you Cory Vajgrt, the chicken was delicious. Along with everything else.

Rick Beckler and Colleen Walton was a hit talking about their sweet honey bees. They had a display in the back, which had a couple honey bees that came in for the fun also.

Cathy Lombard talked about the garden produce and encouraged pantries to join in to see what we could do better. Thank you to all that contributed to that conversation.

Janeen Albrecht, spoke for Don Albrecht on the apple trees that are planted in the community garden area. An update and the plan for future trees. We may even get some pear and plum trees planted next year, per request.

The Celebration is a yearly function, if anyone is interested in the community garden mark your calendar next October. Come join us and learn more on what we do, or what you could do to help.