COMMUNITY GARDEN 

OPENING DAY AND  PLANT SALE

SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2012

PLANT SALE

9:00-10:30 a.m.

In the garden

Cool weather starter plants will be for sale. 

If you have extras to donate, bring them for the sale. 

All proceeds go to raise funds for the garden.

OPENING DAY 

10:30-NOON

Come and help prep the garden for the year, meet your garden neighbors. 

If the weather is lovely, bring a picnic. 

Jobs that need to be done on this day:

setting up the new water line

tiller demo

tidy up the fence line and compost bins

pound in the plot corner stakes

Bring:

shovel, gloves, clippers, etc.

Watkins and Community Garden Seed Exchange

Come join Watkins Plain View Employee garden and the Wapahasa Community garden for our 1^st seed exchange:

Thursday March 29, 2012 at 5:00pm in the

 white Watkins Garage, adjacent to the park and garden

Between 4^th and 5^th St. and Liberty St., Winona MN.

Rain or Shine

Rules of the exchange:

*All seeds should be labeled clearly with variety and "packed for" date - as well as germination rate, organic/ heirloom/ hybrid, etc.

*Home-collected seed should be labeled with variety name and date collected, plus as much description as possible.

*Seed older than 5 years should not be brought to the exchange. (2007)

*Participants should bring envelopes/containers and writing instruments to take seeds they want home with them.

*Participants should take back any seed they brought which was not taken by others.

If you have extra seeds and just wish to donate or if you have no seeds at all, you may still attend.

Questions? Contact Danny Crawford at dcrawford@JRWatkins.com or call at 507-457-5741

STATE OF THE GARDEN

MARCH, 2012

Redwings were all over the garden yesterday. 

I was happy to see this sign of spring until 

I realized that they were probably eating the oat seeds everyone put down last fall.

IMPORTANT DATES 

•    Saturday, April 14, 8:30-10:30 a.m.--Plant sale, in the garden. Cool weather starter plants will be for sale. If you have extras to donate, bring them for the sale. All proceeds go to raise funds for the garden. 

•    Saturday, April 14--10:30-12--Opening Day work party (more party than work this year). Come and help prep the garden, meet your garden neighbors. If the weather is lovely, bring a picnic.  

•    Saturday May 12, 8:30-10:30 a.m.--Plant sale in the garden. Warm weather starter plants will be for sale. If you have extras to donate, bring them for the sale. 

•    Thursday, March 29, 5-6 p.m.--Seed exchange, at Watkins Details to follow.

VOLUNTEER HOURS

•    Maintaining a community garden requires more than each gardener tending his/her own plot. To be successful, everyone's effort is necessary.  For this reason each gardener needs to contribute 10 hours to the community garden.

•    Begin thinking about what you can contribute this season. What are your passions or talents? Some people love to weed; others hate it. Some people are handy with tools, others good at organizing a fundraiser. All kinds of jobs need to be done to make our garden function, even ones we haven't thought of yet. 

•    In last Fall's survey, 20 out of 27 responses felt that those who do not fulfill their work hours and don't clean up their plot should not be invited to return the following year. The board voted to adopt this as our policy beginning this year.

•    However, doing your work hours should be as hassle-free as possible. Here is the system: 

◦                      A list of jobs to be done will be posted on the shed and on the blog. There will also be a list of all the gardeners posted on the shed. Check to see what needs to be done, then log your hours as you go along.

VOLUNTEER HOUR OPPORTUNITIES

•    Make and hang another bulletin board for the east window in the shed. Contact Jan for details and materials.

•    Set up our watering system for the year. This involves digging a small trench and setting up the faucets. (2-person job, probably). Contact Jan for details and hoses. 

•    Workers are needed for the plant sales on April 14 and May 12. We need people to set up, take down, handle sales, make posters and price plants. Contact Lea or Jan.

NEW GARDENER ORIENTATION

•    There will be an orientation for all gardeners new to the garden. I will send out a separate email to set a date.

GARDEN BLOG

•    Our garden blog address is  

◦                      winonacommunitygarden.blogspot.com

•    All State of the Garden messages are posted there, plus occasional tips and links that I think people might be interested in. 

•    Any of you may comment on postings or post your own garden-related items, pictures or links. If you are interested, I can set you up as an "author" . 

FUNDRAISING PLANS

•    The Fundraising Committee is planning a "Backyard Farmer" tour later this summer. On this tour you will be able to learn how to build, raise or make: bees, chickens, rain barrels, garden stones, pizza ovens. You will also have the opportunity to participate in a dinner raffle. This sounds like fun. More details as they become available. 

•     

See you in the Garden!

Jan

STATE OF THE GARDEN

FEBRUARY, 2012

MUSINGS: February is my favorite month to garden. Everything is possible because it all takes place in my head. I dream about and plan the beautiful gardens that will spring up this summer. Achy backs and blistered hands aren't a part of it. And--when it's sunny and 40 degrees, it's hard not to go outside and dig in the dirt. 

REPORT FROM THE BOARD: The Board met yesterday. Here is some information to keep all the gardeners in the loop: 

As you know, our garden is on grounds owned by Winona Health and we lease it on a year-to-year basis. They generously allow us to be here, always with the understanding that if they want to develop the land we will need to vacate. This year language was added to our lease which reads: 

"Recognizing this agreement is for a temporary use of the land until Landlord determines a permanent use of the land, Landlord has the right to terminate this agreement at any time for any cause or no cause. As a result the property could be converted for use by the Landlord at any time and Tenant should continue looking for a permanent location if this were to occur. Landlord will work with the Tenant for an orderly transition if termination occurs during the growing season. "

The Board asked that the language be changed to state that we would not be required to vacate in the middle of the season, but the request was refused. Our liaison, Janel Miller, said that  every attempt would be made to not disrupt us in the middle of the season, but that no guarantee could be made. 

This brings up 2 points that the Board thought all the gardeners should be aware of: 

• I sincerely doubt that we will be asked to vacate the garden before the end of the 2012 season, but if any of you gardeners are worried and want to withdraw from the garden, let me know before March 1, and your registration fees will be refunded.
• More importantly for our long term planning, we need to begin to find a location that is permanent, or at least where we have a longer term lease. Those of you who were around when we started the garden remember what a big job it is to get a garden up and running. 

Some of you have already been thinking about this and have suggested possible sites where we could move. But I'd like to put out a request to all the gardeners to pool our collective resources and creative ideas about a possible new location. Criteria to think about are:

• access to water
• soil quality-we can amend it, but it should be reasonable
• permanence-can we have a multi-year lease
• access from town-ideally a bike ride from most of Winona
• sun-6 hours/day minimum
• size: about 150'x150'- larger is fine

If you have ideas, contact Sheila Rusk, or email me and I will pass the word along. 

CLASSES FOR BEGINNING ORGANIC GARDENERS: Lea Karlssen has created a series of 10 classes for beginning gardeners. The cost is $10 per class or $80 for the whole series. Classes meet on Thursday evenings either at Winona Health or in the garden, depending on the weather and season. Those participating will have hands on experience in the Hunger Garden throughout the season. The first class is this Thursday, February 23, 5:30 p.m., no need to preregister. Contact Lea if you have questions. The full curriculum is posted below.

FUNDRAISING: The Fundraising Committee is up and running. Plans being considered include:

• Spring plant sales on April 14 and May 12 in the Garden
• A "Do It Yourself  Winona Tour" 
• A dinner raffle

More details on these events as they become available. 

If you would like to get involved with fundraising projects, contact Joyce Altobelli.

NOTECARDS: So far we have cleared about $425 on our notecards. Thanks to all of you who have helped out. And on the theme of pollinators, there are some lovely youtube videos: 

youtube.com

Type  "The Beauty of Pollination" into the search engine. There are several really nice videos. 

Jan

Organic vegetable gardening 101

Interested in growing some of your own healthy vegetables but have little or no experience? 

Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden offers a series of monthly classes to help you out.

Classes are:

•    1 ½ hour each and held once a month, February through November.

•    In the garden, weather permitting, or at Winona Health’s classroom.

•    On Thursday evenings at 5:30, limited to 15 ongoing participants

•    $10 each. Early bird special: Sign up for all 10 by February 23 for $80.00.

All proceeds go to the community garden.

Head instructor is Lea Karlssen, founder of the community garden and professional gardening coach and teacher for over 25 years.

1. Choosing What to Grow.  

Decipher language on seed catalogues and packets; determine what varieties match your needs, conditions and space based on what you love to cook and eat; start a garden journal.  Bring seed catalogues or packets you want deciphered.

Thursday, February 23, 5:30 p.m. Location:  Winona Health classroom.

2. Starting Garden seeds: techniques and timing.

Learn to meet the basic needs of germinating seeds without special equipment.  How to plant, thin, re-pot and grow seedlings until time to transplant them out.

Thursday March 15, 5:30 p.m.  Location:  Winona Health classroom.

3. Early garden preparation and direct-seeding.

Peas, onions, carrots, beets, potatoes and salad greens can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked.   We will prepare and plant some of these crops in a special plot in the community garden.   We’ll demonstrate pre-sprouting and using floating row covers to help these crops along.

Thursday April 12, 5:30 p.m. Location: Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden.

4. Transplanting seedlings into the garden. Harden off, transplant and protect those crops you started in March into your garden.  Mulch, water, floating row covers and other ways to give them the best chance of success.

Thursday May 17, 5:30 p.m. Location: Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden.

5. Late direct-seeded and transplanted crops. It’s not too late and in fact the right time to plant squash, melons, parsnips, rutabagas, kale, turnips and second crops of early direct-seeded plants.  Learn to mulch, mound, lasagna plant, support plants and prepare to save seed.

Thursday June 7, 5:30 p.m. Location: Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden.

6. Managing the garden.

Insect and disease detection and resources for managing them organically. Weeding, mulching, starting a hot compost pile or bin.

Thursday July 12, 5:30 p.m. Location: Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden.

7. Handling the early harvest.

Fresh eating, cooking, canning, drying, fermenting and other ways to use that produce that’s coming in from your garden.

Section One: Thursday August ,  5:30 p.m. Location: Winona Health Classroom.

8. Fall crops & seed saving basics.

Short and cool season crops to fill in those spaces left by early crops you’ve harvested. How to select, collect, and prepare seeds for storage.

Thursday Sept. 13, 5:30 p.m. Location: Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden.

9. Planting Garlic and storing winter vegetables. Garlic is planted in the fall in MN to harvest next summer.  We’ll cover the techniques and also how to store this fall’s harvest including root-cellaring without an actual root cellar.

Thursday October 11, 5:30 p.m. Location: Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden.

10. Fall clean up and soil building.  

Soil testing and amending, cover crops, using finished compost. Evaluate your garden using your journal and make decisions for next gardening year.

Thursday November 8 5:30 p.m. Location: Wahapasa Prairie Community Garden.

Fundraising committee meeting 

-to plan fundraising for the coming year-

 Interested in helping raise funds for the garden?  

Have ideas and are willing to help implement them?  

Join us for a fundraising meeting 

Sun Feb 12, at 1pm, 

at the Blue Heron 

(next to The Bookshelf, on 2nd, just west of Johnson).  

STATE OF THE GARDEN

JANUARY, 2012

REMINDER!

Garden registrations for 2012 are due by January 31. Please make every effort to register in a timely fashion. I am beginning to get inquiries from people on the waiting list wanting to know if a plot is available. 

PLANT SALE

On April 14 and May 12 the Board is sponsoring a plant sale. The purpose is two-fold:  to have plant starts available for our own garden plots, as well as raise a little money. We will set up shop on the west side of the garden close to the road. Extras will also be available to the general public.  

If you have a sunny window, and the inclination and time, think about starting some vegetables or flowers that you can donate for this sale. Contact Jan for details about the sale, instructions on starting plants, or supplies to help you out. 

2012 Registration

• Registration forms for 2012 are ready. If you are a current gardener, you will receive an email copy. Please print it out and return it , along with your fees, to Sue Burnett. Her address is on the form. 
• You will also receive a copy of the rules and guidelines for 2012. There are a few changes for next year, so please read it over carefully and save it for your own use. 
• If you want to keep your same plot for 2012, the deadline for registration is January 31. If for some reason you can't register by then, but want to keep the same plot, please contact Jan. 
• There is a long waiting list for next year. If you are not returning, contact me ASAP.

Major Changes

As most of you know, there were a lot of decisions that needed to be made for 2012. Thanks to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey. It was very helpful in guiding the board with these decisions. Major points or changes to note for 2012: 

• Fee changes: $50  for a large plot, $35 for a small plot, plus the $10 deposit.
• New fee: there will be a $10 fee for flower strips next year. If you have both a plot and a flower strip, there is only  one $10 deposit and one 10-hour work requirement.
• Those who responded to the survey voted overwhelmingly to terminate gardeners who did not fulfill their work requirements and did not clean up their plot at the end of the season. So here is the policy that the board adopted at the last meeting: 
• Gardeners are required to contribute 10 hours of volunteer work towards the garden and clean up their plot at the end of the season, or their involvement in the garden will be terminated for the following year. 

Other decisions for 2012 as a result of the survey

•  A list of jobs that need doing will be posted on the outside of the shed. I'd like to put another bulletin board on the other (east) window for this. 
• In order to make it easier to log your hours, I will also post the list of gardeners on this same bulletin board. People can note their hours as they do them.  
• Many people expressed interest in a buddy system. The Board is working on a way to facilitate this. 

Fundraising

• The garden has cleared about $300 with the notecards. Keep encouraging your friends to buy them from these stores: The Book Shelf, Winona Post, Heart's Desire, Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona County Historical Society, Yarnology, Bluff Country Coop, Spalon 1161.
• Our new fees will only partially cover the annual budget (estimated $3000). The board is discussing focusing on 2 main fundraisers. Hopefully these will become annual events that people come to expect. First, continue with the notecards, updating them periodically with a new series. Second, hold an annual plant sale at the garden. A couple of us have the space and inclination to grow flats of vegetable plants. Others who have extra starts could donate them to the sale. In the spring we would hold a sale on a Saturday morning along the west edge of the garden