Stokes County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers work with the NC Cooperative Extension to provide gardeners with unbiased, research based information on gardens, lawns and landscapes.
Stokes Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association (SEMGVA)
Here is some background about our group. The first class was in 2013 in Danbury and formed the Stokes Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association, now a 501(c)(3) group. Our mentor is the NC Cooperative Extension Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources, who also teaches the Extension Master Gardener classes. Classes were held in Danbury, King, Walnut Cove, and Francisco. We now have about a dozen awesome people in the Association.
Stokes Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (SEMGV) have had several gardens that we supported. Now we concentrate on the Danbury Garden. The Ag building in Danbury always had a demonstration garden. In 2018, the beds were re-done. Deer fencing (2019) and more new beds (2019, 2023) were added. Landscape cloth and irrigation was added in 2022-2023. Thank you to North High School Ag group for helping us with the landscape cloth and more in Spring 2023! The produce there is used by the Extension for cooking classes for youth and adults. Any extra goes to the Stokes County food banks.
We have new projects related to past donations from our group. Our matched donation to the Partnership for Children now supports creating gardens at two daycares in Germanton and Walnut Cove. It has certainly been interesting learning and implementing the excellent NC safety guidelines for kids gardens per age group! The kids planting, picking and eating their own vegetables has thrilled everyone involved!
We had a 2nd demonstration garden called SEEDS for Stokes Educational Exploration Dirt Spot. It is now under the wonderful care of the King Senior Center, with the food used for their cooking classes. Their addition of handicap accessible features are fulfilling a dream of ours! From 2014 to 2022 we showed various methods of gardening, including raised beds designs, various support and trellis ideas, companion planting, crop rotation, and cover crops. We added landscape fabric around the 11 beds, drip irrigation, and turned an aged peach tree into a display for birdhouses, beneficial bughouses, and a birdbath. There is also a Little Lending library there. The harvest went to the King Outreach Ministries food bank or other Stokes County food banks.
A 3rd garden was in Walnut Cove at the Stokes Opportunity Center, a facility for challenged individuals. This group was very enthusiastic! We were mentoring them in 2016-2017 on how to renovate the old garden area and expand into new areas for both vegetables and flowers. Their Star Catchers singing group has performed at many places. A change in focus at the Center ended the gardening project.
In May 2016, a 4th garden was created in Francisco, assisting the group called “Our Communities of NW Stokes” to beautify the old school grounds. After the property was sold, the plans for a community center and community garden are being revamped.
Our recognition by the community has been greatly helped by having Seed Swaps, Kids Day, Salsa Contest and the famous Tomato Tasting Contest. These events were to support the Walnut Cove Farmers Market and the King Farmers Market at the Stokes YMCA. If you would like to contact us or make a donation to SEMGVA, please message us via Facebook!
SEMGVA 