Re: Garden Plans | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Diane Margolis (dianerm![]() |
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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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Garden Plans S, November 30 1999
- Re: Garden Plans Lynn Nadeau, December 1 1999
- Fwd: Garden Plans PattyMara, December 6 1999
- Re: Garden Plans RowenaHC, December 12 1999
- Re: Garden Plans Diane Margolis, December 13 1999
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