Happy new year and wishing all of you the best green thumb experience in 2024.
The Hovander Experimental Demonstration Garden is under new management for 2024. But first, Master Gardeners of Whatcom County would like to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of David Keller, Master Gardener (class of 2013). Dave was lead gardener for the Hovander Experimental Demonstration (HED) Garden from 2017 to 2023.
Among his many accomplishments, David received the Broken Shovel Award in 2015 from the Master Gardener Foundation in early recognition of his soil toils. As a lead gardener for the Hovander Experimental Demonstration Garden, Dave has taken research-based trials and practices into the experimental demonstration garden for the home gardener to apply in Whatcom County.
Since 2017, he has demonstrated the process and utility of many “best gardening practices” including no-till, no-fertilizer, no pesticides, no bare soil, integrated pest management, and drip irrigation. His annual projects have included demonstrating the efficacy of drip vs. gravity-fed irrigation, the use of hugelculture was well as keyhole gardens, pros and cons of various sheet mulches, and more. David produced an annual end-of-the-year report on how the Hovander Experimental Demonstration Garden performed under these best practices with its annual project focus. Dave’s reports and open-air classes at Hovander have widely popular over the years.
In addition to his contributions and dedication to the Hovander Experimental Demonstration Garden, we rely heavily upon Dave as the MG expert in drip irrigation, garden planning and other best gardening practices for all the demonstration gardens at Hovander Homestead Park.
David has also long been the Lead Master Gardener for tomato cultivation and sales at the annual Master Gardener Plant Sale. He regularly has over 2000 tomato plants of the widest variety carefully selected with the greatest joy to sell to the home gardener. In WSU’s Master Gardener Program of Whatcom County, David Keller is annually called on as a guest speaker in the curriculum for his specialized knowledge and expertise on soils and vegetables.
We acknowledge and are grateful for the countless hours and years of volunteering and service David Keller has provided Master Gardeners and home gardeners. He has generously educated, assisted and inspired many of us over the years.
Thank you, Dave, for your service and all that you do for the Master Gardeners of Whatcom County, David Keller. We hope to see you around the gardens in the future.
(if I have missed any accomplishments or special memories that other master gardeners may have of David, please share them widely, and forgive me, as it was not intentional.)
Stay green everyone in 2024! And stay tuned for the next exciting HED Garden Project featuring Icebox (seedless) watermelons.
Tribute submitted by Juliana Bohn, new Lead Gardener for the Hovander Experimental Demonstration Garden in 2024.