State of the Garden

May 21, 2012

Plant Sale-

•    We made $240 on the second sale. Thanks to everyone for your participation-helping with sales, donating plants, buying plants. 

Water-

•    When you use the water,  turn the YELLOW HANDLE ONLY at the hydrant. Someone has been turning off the silver metal  valve, which creates a problem getting it back on. 

Mulch-

•    28 bales of straw are on order and will be delivered soon.  A half bale is usually enough to cover a full plot, a quarter bale enough for a half plot.  Last year the cost was $3/bale. I'll let everyone know the exact price when it is delivered. 

•    Sue  will be delivering the straw, probably next Saturday. She could really use some help unloading and stacking the bales. Let me know if you can help. When Sue knows exactly when she will be delivering them, I'll let people know. 

Tiller-

•    I keep hoping that the tiller was borrowed and that it will magically show up again. If you have borrowed it, please let me know, or just return it to the shed in the dark of the night-no questions asked.

•    Alternatlively-Does anyone have a tiller they would be willing to loan to the garden for a day? The Garden would pay for the gas and return it to you with a full tank (such a deal) We could schedule a specific day to complete the tilling. I don't know how many people still want to till their plots, so let me know if there is a need for this. 

Jobs-

•    The grass path to the shed really needs mowing.  At this point,  it may be easier to  scythe or weed whack it. 

•    Notice the new blackboard on the east window of the shed. When you have a few extra minutes in the garden, check there to see what you might be able to do. Then scratch it off and log your time. 

Chips and compost-

•    Due to the high possibility of our moving to a new site next season, we do not plan to get more wood chips or compost for the garden. You are welcome to add compost to you own plot if you want (leaves, mulch, store bought). 

Voles-

•    Wayne is taking a break from his vole trapping project. He says the numbers are diminishing. Updates from observers are welcome. Thanks, Wayne, for working so diligently on this.

Reminder -

•    Because of the incredibly warm spring we have had, weeds are already beginning to go to seed. If you haven't had time to plant your garden, try to at least remove seed heads. Remember that all plots need to be planted by June 15. 

COMMUNITY GARDEN

SECOND PLANT SALE

IN THE GARDEN

THIS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 9-12 a.m.

tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, cauliflower,

siberian iris, kale, kohlrabi

and much more

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!

If you have extra plant starts

consider donating them for the sale.

Just bring them on Saturday morning.  

STATE OF THE GARDEN

April, 2012

Welcome to all the newcomers to our garden this year. I've talked with most of you, and hope to meet the rest of you soon. Our garden is a very special place. I hope you will come to love it like all of us "old timers" do. If you have questions, ask others who are working in the garden, or contact me. My email and phone number are posted on the shed bulletin board. If you are a beginning gardener, you might be interested in participating in Lea's classes on Thursday evenings.  If you are an experienced gardener, speak up. We all learn from each other. 

Plant Sale Thanks to everyone who helped with the plant sale, both working there and donating plants. We made over $120. 

Don't forget the 2nd plant sale on May 12. The emphasis will be on heat-loving plant starts, but the there will be much more. 

If you have extras of anything, consider bringing them on May 12 for the sale. 

Opening work day was a success and probably the most unstressful one yet. We got the new water line installed (thank you Mike Hesch for heading that up); the entire outer perimeter of the fence weeded (wonder how long it will stay that way?); a new bulletin board hung on the inside of the shed door; the compost bins organized for the season; and the corner posts of the plots pounded snuggly for the season. Thanks to all for your help. 

Compost bins: This year the North bin is available for compost while the South bin is cooking.  There are scraps of sheet metal on the top of the south bin to help heat it up. When throwing plants into the compost, remove as much soil from the root ball as you can. And use the small, tender weeds as mulch for your own garden. 

Water system: The water set up is greatly improved this year, with a spigot at each compost bin area. 

The main shut off valve is the yellow handle at the hydrant out by the street. 

The first spigot is at the north bin. It has 4 outlets. Numbering them 1 thru 4, going left to right:

•    #1 is the inlet from the hydrant.

•    #2 is the off/on valve for the north spigot

•    #3 is empty

•    #4 is the outlet to the south spigot

•    #2 is the only one you need to use. The others stay as they are set. 

The south spigot is straightforward and obvious. 

Our water is metered and we pay for it at the end of the season. Use as much water as you need, but don't waste. Watering at ground level is more efficient than spraying. 

Hoses: There should be enough footage to reach all corners of the garden. I'll double check. When you drag the hose to your plot, keep in on the path and avoid crossing another plot.  The corner posts will help with this.  Store the hoses by splaying them neatly along the paths. This is a lot less tedious than winding them in a circle. 

Straw We have 28 bales of straw reserved for us. I'm not sure when it will arrive or what it will cost. Last year it was $3/bale. 1/2 bale is about enough to cover a large plot and 1/4 bale for a small plot. 

Recurring Reminders--When you leave the garden, always remember to

•    turn off the water at both spigots

•    lock the shed

•    shut the gate

•    log any hours you do

Another Reminder: If you are setting up trellises, be sure that the shade that they create does not interfere with a neighbor’s plot. And 4’ should be the maximum height. 

Bindweed This seems to be all over the place this year. It's as noxious as thistle, but more pleasant to pull up, if just as futile. Make a point of keeping this pulled out, especially along the fence. It looks like morning glory vine, but morning glory needs more heat and isn't out yet. 

Voles are back. (For the uninitiated, they look like mice with short tails and nibble at root crops.) Wayne battled them valiantly last year and kept the population down. But I think totally eliminating them is next to impossible. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. I'm considering a bull snake or a black snake. How would people feel about this? 

Gardening at the Speed of Contemplation-One of the quirky garden blogs that I read had this thoughtful post. Here is the link:

http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2012/04/gardening-at-speed-of-contemplation.html

Now--Go out and garden!!

Jan

Garden Soil

I worked my plot yesterday. At the end of last year, I sheet composted over the whole plot. I collect coffee grounds from work, grass clippings from my Dad and shredded leaves from the neighborhood. I layered all of these things along with all of the plant material from my plot all over my plot. The only weeds I had to pull yesterday were a few dandelions and thistle. The ground was soft as we walked across the plot - not hard as cement clay like the first year. I have set up my plot with two two foot paths running from one end to the other. This creates three 4 by 16 foot beds. The last two years these paths ran East/West and this year I have them running North/South. I dug out where the new paths would be and put down newspaper and covered that with the woody plant material left over from last year. Then I covered that with shredded leaves. I will add grass clippings and more leaves throughout the year. As I dug I noticed so many worms. There were handfull size clumps of half rotten leaves that had 5+ worms in them. I saw nightcrawlers, little worms, fat worms, red wrigglers, just tons of worms. They were not here three years ago. When I intersected the old East/West paths I dug down even deeper pulling up nice crumbly tilth created by two years of heavy mulching. Some packaging tape was all that was left of the numerous cardboard boxes I had used. I left the garden pretty happy to have made that soil noticeably better in the last two years. I also couldn't stop thinking about whether we will be here in another 2 years... or ten.

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