Re: Garden Plans
From: Diane Margolis (dianermmediaone.net)
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 10:36:47 -0700 (MST)
Sounds like a great idea to me.  As a city girl who likes to garden 
occasionally,
but doesn't know what to do when I get out there -- unless you are there to
instruct,  I like the idea of giving the knowledgeable and enthusiastic 
gardeners
free rein and leaving instructional signs for the occasionals.  I'm always 
afraid
when I'm out there that if I do something it'll be wrong, so the signs will be a
big help.

Diane

RowenaHC [at] cs.com wrote:

> We've just finished our second year and the first was very late getting
> started, so we don't have in-depth experience, but I can tell you what seems
> to be working and what doesn't.
>
> The first experience was a doozy.  Because we built on an old industrial site
> we had nothing that could really be called soil, so we trucked it it - four
> enormous truckloads.  It had been raining for a week so everything was
> sloppy.  When the first load arrived it looked strange - black and sticky -
> so we called the shipper and found that the person who arranged the shipment
> had ordered compost instead of composted loam!   Panic all round while we
> decided what to do - turned out it was on its way and we didn't have much
> choice.   Outside people with shovels and wheelbarrows were moving the first
> load into place to make room for the next load.  It kept coming.  We kept
> shovelling and wheeling.  The kids were making forts and mudslides.  Everyone
> was black from top to bottom.  What a start!   But we agreed that it was a
> community building activity.....
>
> So we had three feet of "articfical" compost, made from cranberries, wood
> ash, fishmeal and I forget whatall else - very fine, very black, very
> strange!   We went on hunting expeditions and found leaves, grass cuttings,
> salt marsh hay, etc., etc., and rototilled it in.   Unfortunately it added
> even more nitrogen but at least it improved the texture.  At that point
> (beginning of June) we divided it into raised beds about four feet wide,
> threw in seeds and seedlings and let it rip.  A jungle!  But believe me green
> was a great improvement over black sludge.  Since then we have been adding
> real compost from our composters along with the masses of worms and other
> beneficial critters and bacteria that come with it.  Now when we dig in it we
> can see the dirt is becoming a living organism and is starting to smell like
> the real stuff.  Lovely!
>
> Over the winter we discussed what to do this year.  There was general
> consensus that it would be a communal garden rather than divided up into
> "private" allottments, although a couple of people wanted their own plot and
> ended up getting one in the city community garden which is only a block or so
> away.  A lot of people wanted to participate; many people expressed interest
> in one crop; someone wanted to organize a children's garden.
> We decided to ask for volunteers to become a "steward" of a particular crop
> on a particular raised bed and people signed up to do that.  We had
> tomatoes, peas, beans, peppers, eggplant, various greens, herbs, cutting
> flowers, various squash, strawberries, etc.
>
> Initially, the stewards got organized, bought seedlings and seeds, etc.
> However, it rapidly became clear that while many people are interested in the
> planting and harvesting, only a few care to weed, mulch, prune, pick bugs,
> etc.!    For those of us who are "dirty hands" types it was frustrating
> because we didn't want to seem pushy and take over.  Some of the others were
> embarrassed because they didn't keep their plots in order.  Some plots turned
> into weed patches.  Despite the frustrations, we got a lot of produce.  It's
> a pick it as you need it system.  If there is enough of something to provide
> a common meal for our large group it is reserved for that purpose.  Everyone
> loves to come by and stare at the stuff growing - even those who never
> actually pick anything!  And the kids all love to help pick - even those who
> won't eat veggies!
>
>  I recently talked with the gardeners at Pioneer Valley, who've got a few
> years on us.
> They started off with a lot of people and are now down to a small team of
> about four people who "own" the veggie garden.  The team is happy because
> they love the work and know what needs to be done.  The non-gardeners
> breathed a sign of relief.  The occasional gardeners turn up from time to
> time to help.   The crops are properly cared for and they are getting
> bountiful amounts of food.   They call it an "affinity team" and I'm going to
> propose something similar for us at Cambridge Coho.
>
> One frustration last year was to see wonderful produce rotting.  I love to
> grow stuff but I'm darned if I'm going to pick it and deliver it to the door
> except for common meals!   Part of the problem was the overgrowth and
> disorganization of parts of the garden (for instance tomatoes planted much to
> close together), which should be solved if we have a team approach.  The
> other problem of identification was solved brilliantly by Pioneer Valley, who
> have little wooden signs for each crop with the name of the veggie and hooks
> on which they add signs saying things like:  Not Ready Yet; Ready to Eat;
> Save for Common Meal, etc.  I'm hoping to get our carpentry types working on
> these this winter.
>
> I don't know how helpful this is, but maybe it'll raise your consciousness on
> some issues.   Good digging!
> Rowena
> CambridgeCoho


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