Okay...so I know I keep threatening to stop the Saturday work bees but have yet to, so this Saturday is going to be the last one! 8:00ish to 4:00ish. If I get a decent turnout, we should be able to get the South garden fully operational and the gardeners in there on their way to planting.
Wednesday night's work bee was productive. We got the beds lined and fill in the bottoms so they are ready for dirt. We have a bobcat coming on Saturday morning to help with that task. We will then have to add compost and mix really well. That will need to be done by hand so anyone that can show up, please do.
We also managed to get the potatoes in our large plant-a-row bed. This year will be much better than last year in terms of volume. We still need to get some other stuff planted in there: carrots, spinach, chard, beets...whatever we want basically. All the food grown in this bed will be donated to various agencies in town. Food Bank, Victoria Faulkner Woman's Centre, Kaushee's Place etc. This is another task that I'd like to have completed this weekend.
Hats off to our volunteers...
Wednesday night brought out:
Ramona 2 hrs
Rita E. 2 hrs
Meghan 1 hr
Laird 1 hr
and Heidi 2 hrs *Note...Heidi was trying to organize a youth growing food project that didn't quite make it to fruition. So instead, she has volunteered to plant and take care one of the large beds in the South Garden. All food to be donated...Thank you, Heidi!
Last Saturday we had:
Joan C. 4.5 hrs
Pat 4.5 hrs
Rita R. 5.5 hrs
Chris 4.5 hrs
Alex 1 hr
Toshie 4.5 hrs
Michael 1.5 hrs
Barb 1.5 hrs
This is great! I hope to have the board in the shed done up on Saturday so any hours you've put in when I haven't been around just keep track of until then. Also still working on tasks...
I think it's probably okay to start getting your seeds in now. Transplants I'd hold off on for at least another week as the temperatures are still pretty cool at night. Covering your plants if you do put them in, is highly recommended.
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Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
A Few Things...
Just a few items to mention...
I will be having another work bee this Saturday from 8:30 to 4:00ish. This will likely be the last Saturday work session. I will, however, continue all season long with the Wednesday night work bee.
We really need to concentrate on the South Garden to get those beds ready to go for the gardeners who plan to plant in them. I hopefully have a load or two of topsoil coming on Saturday but I still don't know for sure. We still have a lot of other things we can do though.
For anyone showing up to work please make sure you bring gloves and that you are wearing clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Some of the jobs I hand out are not always clean. Well, they are never clean so just make sure you are prepared to work. The gloves are important as you never know what you are going to come across in the garden. Better for your skin and nails too :)
The water is turned on and I've filled all the barrels. I will assign this task to someone else but I'm not at that point yet. Please make sure that the lids are on the water barrels. This is not only a safety thing for kids but also to keep the mosquito population down. If you do use the hose please remember to put it away, neatly, when you are finished with it. I suggest that all watering be done with the water from the barrels as the water directly out of the hose is very cold. Your seedlings will not appreciate it.
Personally, I think it's still a bit early to plant, other than carrots and peas and things underground, so plant at your own risk. We are still dropping below zero at night and I have a feeling that we still have some frost headed our way. We usually use the long weekend as a marker for planting but please note it is about a week earlier than usual. If you do plant, I suggest finding some row cover to offer a bit of protection for your garden. You can use poly or plastic as well but if you forget about it and it warms up, you'll fry your plants. Fabric row cover is the best. It won't help with the freezing but it will help with the frosts. It also lets air, sunlight and rain through.
I'm still in the process of getting set up. We have over 50 gardeners this year! That's a lot of folk for me to manage so be patient. I will be assigning tasks this season but I'm still working on that. I will also post a list on the shed bulletin board of things that should or can be done for those of you just dying to do some work.
And speaking of work...I only had one gardener show up to last night's work bee but I did have a great turnout on Saturday.
Thanks to Del on Wednesday - 1 hour
and on Saturday:
Rita R. - 5 hours
Rita E. - 3 hours
Leslie - 4 hours
Chris - 3 hours *Chris is not even a gardener at our garden! Thanks, Chris :)
Alex - 2.5 hours
Maki - 2.5 hours
Kate - 1.5 hours
Nyingje - 1.5 hours (hope I spelled that right)
Siana - 2 hours
Natasha - 2 hours
Keiko - 2 hours (maybe more - I had to leave!)
If you do show up and do any work and I'm not there please record it on the board on the back of the door in the shed. I haven't updated the list yet but I will have it done on Saturday.
For anyone looking to give me money or compliments or if you need a key to the shed come and find me on Saturday or on any Wednesday night. Key deposit is $5.
I will be having another work bee this Saturday from 8:30 to 4:00ish. This will likely be the last Saturday work session. I will, however, continue all season long with the Wednesday night work bee.
We really need to concentrate on the South Garden to get those beds ready to go for the gardeners who plan to plant in them. I hopefully have a load or two of topsoil coming on Saturday but I still don't know for sure. We still have a lot of other things we can do though.
For anyone showing up to work please make sure you bring gloves and that you are wearing clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Some of the jobs I hand out are not always clean. Well, they are never clean so just make sure you are prepared to work. The gloves are important as you never know what you are going to come across in the garden. Better for your skin and nails too :)
The water is turned on and I've filled all the barrels. I will assign this task to someone else but I'm not at that point yet. Please make sure that the lids are on the water barrels. This is not only a safety thing for kids but also to keep the mosquito population down. If you do use the hose please remember to put it away, neatly, when you are finished with it. I suggest that all watering be done with the water from the barrels as the water directly out of the hose is very cold. Your seedlings will not appreciate it.
Personally, I think it's still a bit early to plant, other than carrots and peas and things underground, so plant at your own risk. We are still dropping below zero at night and I have a feeling that we still have some frost headed our way. We usually use the long weekend as a marker for planting but please note it is about a week earlier than usual. If you do plant, I suggest finding some row cover to offer a bit of protection for your garden. You can use poly or plastic as well but if you forget about it and it warms up, you'll fry your plants. Fabric row cover is the best. It won't help with the freezing but it will help with the frosts. It also lets air, sunlight and rain through.
I'm still in the process of getting set up. We have over 50 gardeners this year! That's a lot of folk for me to manage so be patient. I will be assigning tasks this season but I'm still working on that. I will also post a list on the shed bulletin board of things that should or can be done for those of you just dying to do some work.
And speaking of work...I only had one gardener show up to last night's work bee but I did have a great turnout on Saturday.
Thanks to Del on Wednesday - 1 hour
and on Saturday:
Rita R. - 5 hours
Rita E. - 3 hours
Leslie - 4 hours
Chris - 3 hours *Chris is not even a gardener at our garden! Thanks, Chris :)
Alex - 2.5 hours
Maki - 2.5 hours
Kate - 1.5 hours
Nyingje - 1.5 hours (hope I spelled that right)
Siana - 2 hours
Natasha - 2 hours
Keiko - 2 hours (maybe more - I had to leave!)
If you do show up and do any work and I'm not there please record it on the board on the back of the door in the shed. I haven't updated the list yet but I will have it done on Saturday.
For anyone looking to give me money or compliments or if you need a key to the shed come and find me on Saturday or on any Wednesday night. Key deposit is $5.
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