Introduction, Marty Reimer:

50 years is a long time. We celebrate Tucson Organic Gardeners anniversary as a non-profit organization tonight.

It began as a club where people who choose to use organic methods to maintain their gardens could exchange ideas and enjoy fellowship. Nothing has changed in this basic principle. However, a lot has changed in how it’s done.

Over the years there were rooms full of familiar faces and names, sharing a commitment to organic methods, kindness to Mother Earth, loving the desert, and learning to live and grow here. It’s all the same now with garden experts presenting monthly, we just are not in one place, but many. Thank goodness for technology and Zoom!

TOG’s “Composter” was an outstanding newsletter, published and distributed regularly for years, full of garden information and TOG updates. Again, technology moved in and a TOG website was developed and is continually updated. And we are thankful for social media, it’s one of the keys to success these days!

There has always been sharing of gardening tips, propagating, garden pests and challenges, boasting of harvests (large and small), the love of monsoon, beauty of flowers, vegetables, pollinators, and habitat. These days we do this not only with our meeting on Zoom but also the website.

Sharing through community outreach and plant sales has always been a part of TOG. Due to the pandemic, there hasn’t been community outreach but we were able to successfully have a plant sale this Fall. Our members, vendors, and customers have been loyal and it’s so appreciated! The plant fair was the first in 2 years, it was awesome!

Garden Haiku Contest:

12 Haikus submitted and were judged by the University of Arizona Poetry Center. To see the poetry and comments, the PDF here.

1st Place: Victoria Beall
2nd Place: Kathy Lackow
3rd Place: Brenda Earle
Honorable Mention: Melody Peters

Blasts from the Past:

  • Tarke Sweet-Started the club in 1971, frequent guest speaker. Died from cancer.

Letters from Past Presidents, written in 2011 for TOG’s 40th Anniversary:

  • Jackie Forenz-founding member, letter written for TOG’s 40th Anniversary, 2011 Hi! Thank you for contacting me about TOG’s 40th anniversary. Wow! Pat and I were first and second Presidents of the club. She and I were lucky enough to get a the first tour with city officials and owner at Botanical Gardens when she was thinking of donating the property. Then of course she started to immediately let us start having our meetings there. We were not very big those days, sometimes up to 15. I can’t join you for health reasons but I still have and keep an organic garden with the help of my husband. We have a hummingbird migration that comes through every summer, at times up to 100 birds. It’s a sight to see. Thanks again. ~ Jackie Forenz
  • Pat Hundall-2nd TOG President Wow! 40 years, I can’t believe it! I can still remember sitting in an organic gardening class by Dan and Tarke Sweet when she said “Would you like to start an Organic Gardening Club?” I think Jackie Forenz was the first President and I was the VP. Sig and Louise Boysen were very instrumental in getting the club started as you may know by their endowment. Not particularly great leaders but wonderful gardeners. All that good German background. Good luck in the future and I hope to make it to another meeting when I am in town. ~ Pat

Guest Speaker:

TOG 50 Year Anniversary Slideshow:

Take a look at TOG photos over the years with background music sung by John Denver, “The Garden Song”. Thanks to Vic Gutierrez and Rich Johnson for providing the many photographs, Vic picked out the perfect song, and the slideshow was compiled by Kathy Lackow and Marty Reimer.