Turning a Corner

After all of the work we accomplished on Thursday at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden, yesterday was almost like coasting to the finish line.   Although I was able to leave by around 4 p.m. (instead of after 6 p.m like the rest of this month), I started earlier than usual in order to miss the traffic cones in Bexley for a 5K race there in my neighborhood.  Our community service volunteers came later than usual, but I tasked all but one of them to neighborhood issues because we did not have much left to do at the SACG.  I have A LOT of extra tomato seedlings to share with anyone who stops by and will save planting our raised beds for when the Ohio After-School All-Stars visit us on June 4.

I started early yesterday in order to get out Dodge fast.  South Bexley was closing off my entire neighborhood at 8:30.  (They actually started closing the streets earlier than that.  Grrr).  I finished weeding my plot and got the rest of my pole beans planted.  I am a bean freak, and grow lots of heirloom beans, including Christmas lima beans, dixie speckled lima beans, taylor horticultural beans, goat eye beans, pink half runner beans, asparagus beans and, then of course, Kentucky Wonder and edamame.  I used to also grow  my own black beans, kidney beans and romano beans, but I just don’t have the room.   I also planted a few basil seedlings before I left for the day.

My other belated achievement was to get  my row covers in place for my greens and in the food pantry plot.   We have a massive flea beetle problem at the SACG and, later harlequin beetles will attack them. They eat our bok choy, arugula, kale, cabbage, broccoli, etc.  Although we use diatomaceous earth to sprinkle on our greens and beans (until the beans flower), it gets washed off when it rains.  I also plant garlic, onions, leeks and shallots near them to deter bugs.   A few years ago, I invested in 3 row covers that I purchased online at Amazon.  They are freakishly light weight and do not require any framing because they can rest right on the plants.  Water can seep through them and they can be re-used from year to year.  I hold them down with softball sized rocks and unfold them back periodically to weed and water my plants.  I let out more slack as the plants get taller and require more fabric.   I also use them to cover my squash plants to keep squash borers from laying eggs in the stems of my zucchini and winter squash.  I remove the row covers from my squash once they start to flower so that the bees can find them and pollinate them.  Because my squash has not yet germinated and/or formed true leaves,  I loaned a cover to Sabrina to try out until she gets her own.

Amy also came by for an hour or so.  After taking care of her plot and transplanting volunteer sunflowers, she turned to weeding the strawberry patch.  It can be a challenge to pull the weeds without also damaging the strawberry plants.   And, she deadheaded some salvia for me. 

The Community Service volunteers got a late start.  Leigh Anne called first to see if we were going to cancel because of the forecasted impending thunderstorms.  Ha!  It NEVER rains at the SACG.  Indeed, those storms passed to our northwest.  Others formed just east of us.  We are back to our regular rain pattern.  Because our big tank still has not re-filled since Ken fixed the spicket, I have begged the City to give us our free annual re-fill early.    I usually want to wait until September and sometimes never use it, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  

As soon as our volunteers arrived, I immediately tasked one with mowing in case we were surprised with rain.  We ran out of gas after mowing our lot and most of the Block Watch lot next door.  The Urban Connections folks re-filled him so that we could fimish mowing the corner lots.  One good turn deserves another, so I had another volunteer mow UC’s vacant lot (where the neighborhood kids play red rover, etc.)   I also had this volunteer weed a flower bed and weed around our fruit trees and to re-mulch some of those trees.  He also restacked our mulch bags to make room in the raised bed area.  He was quite enthusiastic and had met our urban agriculture hero Will Allen.

I assigned the other three volunteers to plant strawberry plants next door at Kimball Farms.  They had purchased the strawberries a few weeks ago from Four Seasons City Farm, but had not gotten them planted.  Our strawberries are already fruiting and turning red.  GCGC forgot to tell Kimball Farms that it had been assigned volunteers from the United Methodist Women international conference on Thursday, so I felt bad that they missed out on a critical volunteer activity.  To help compensate, I offered to plant a bed full of our extra tomatoes and to get their strawberries planted.  Pastor Brown uncovered two beds, but one of them was where we had planted tomatoes last year.  I wanted to put the strawberries there, but he didn’t.  So, we planted a row of broccoli down the middle, red cabbages to the south and white cabbages to the north.  The volunteers then watered all of the newly planted strawberry plants and cold crops.   (Later, we received .2 inches of rain around 7 p.m.).

After they finished at Kimball Farms, we worked on shrinking our wood chip pile along the alley.  Urban Connections has a small raised bed growing area for the neighborhood kids.  Cathy did NOT want me to weed it because she wanted the kids to do so before they plant in them in a few weeks.  However, she was ok with us weeding around the beds and spreading wood chips.  So, that is how the crew finished their day. 

It got warmer than anticipated.  I sent the volunteers home with volunteer tomato seedlings (for home gardens, and for one of them for his grandmother).  One of the volunteers wanted to return for her assignment next week and Leigh Ann agreed.   I was pretty wiped out and never got around to taking a group photo.  Oops. 

After they left, I turned to watering a bit in my plot, transplanting gladiola bulbs, and weeding out the herb garden in order to plant some basil and parsley.   While I was finishing up, Phil stopped by to check on this plot and plant a few tomato plants.  I also gave him a few volunteer sunflowers (because they make great cut flowers.  Just don't let them shade too many of your plants).   I also inventoried our fruit trees.  Only one of the cherry trees has many cherries to speak of.  I think that is weather related because they did not all flower at the same time this year.  There are only peaches on one of the trees and one of the trees has a lot of dead branches, which I should prune.  I am hoping that is weather related, but a volunteer pointed out some issue with some of the leaves, too.    We have no plums fruiting this year, but it is only the second year for one tree and the first for the other.  

So, this week, I need to add the mosquito dunks to the big tank and our rain barrel to avoid becoming a breeding ground.  I also need to napalm more poison ivy that has shown up.  The Block Watch lot across the street is again a forest of it near their water cistern.  Kimball Farms has its own extensive crop behind its hoop house, around its porch and growing 15 feet up the walnut tree by our rain cistern.  At Pastor Brown’s request, I sprayed the ivy near the porch and tree, but didn’t have any round-up with me when Sabrina pointed out the extensive crop behind the hoop house (along the chain link fence).   We will also be planting and transplanting winter squash and cucumbers and, hopefully, some collard greens.   Of course, there will be lots of watering and weeding to do as well.   With any luck, I will be able to leave by 3 p.m. next Saturday.

Turning a Corner

After all of the work we accomplished on Thursday at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden, yesterday was almost like coasting to the finish line.   Although I was able to leave by around 4 p.m. (instead of after 6 p.m like the rest of this month), I started earlier than usual in order to miss the traffic cones in Bexley for a 5K race there in my neighborhood.  Our community service volunteers came later than usual, but I tasked all but one of them to neighborhood issues because we did not have much left to do at the SACG.  I have A LOT of extra tomato seedlings to share with anyone who stops by and will save planting our raised beds for when the Ohio After-School All-Stars visit us on June 4.

I started early yesterday in order to get out Dodge fast.  South Bexley was closing off my entire neighborhood at 8:30.  (They actually started closing the streets earlier than that.  Grrr).  I finished weeding my plot and got the rest of my pole beans planted.  I am a bean freak, and grow lots of heirloom beans, including Christmas lima beans, dixie speckled lima beans, taylor horticultural beans, goat eye beans, pink half runner beans, asparagus beans and, then of course, Kentucky Wonder and edamame.  I used to also grow  my own black beans, kidney beans and romano beans, but I just don’t have the room.   I also planted a few basil seedlings before I left for the day.

My other belated achievement was to get  my row covers in place for my greens and in the food pantry plot.   We have a massive flea beetle problem at the SACG and, later harlequin beetles will attack them. They eat our bok choy, arugula, kale, cabbage, broccoli, etc.  Although we use diatomaceous earth to sprinkle on our greens and beans (until the beans flower), it gets washed off when it rains.  I also plant garlic, onions, leeks and shallots near them to deter bugs.   A few years ago, I invested in 3 row covers that I purchased online at Amazon.  They are freakishly light weight and do not require any framing because they can rest right on the plants.  Water can seep through them and they can be re-used from year to year.  I hold them down with softball sized rocks and unfold them back periodically to weed and water my plants.  I let out more slack as the plants get taller and require more fabric.   I also use them to cover my squash plants to keep squash borers from laying eggs in the stems of my zucchini and winter squash.  I remove the row covers from my squash once they start to flower so that the bees can find them and pollinate them.  Because my squash has not yet germinated and/or formed true leaves,  I loaned a cover to Sabrina to try out until she gets her own.

Amy also came by for an hour or so.  After taking care of her plot and transplanting volunteer sunflowers, she turned to weeding the strawberry patch.  It can be a challenge to pull the weeds without also damaging the strawberry plants.   And, she deadheaded some salvia for me. 

The Community Service volunteers got a late start.  Leigh Anne called first to see if we were going to cancel because of the forecasted impending thunderstorms.  Ha!  It NEVER rains at the SACG.  Indeed, those storms passed to our northwest.  Others formed just east of us.  We are back to our regular rain pattern.  Because our big tank still has not re-filled since Ken fixed the spicket, I have begged the City to give us our free annual re-fill early.    I usually want to wait until September and sometimes never use it, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  

As soon as our volunteers arrived, I immediately tasked one with mowing in case we were surprised with rain.  We ran out of gas after mowing our lot and most of the Block Watch lot next door.  The Urban Connections folks re-filled him so that we could fimish mowing the corner lots.  One good turn deserves another, so I had another volunteer mow UC’s vacant lot (where the neighborhood kids play red rover, etc.)   I also had this volunteer weed a flower bed and weed around our fruit trees and to re-mulch some of those trees.  He also restacked our mulch bags to make room in the raised bed area.  He was quite enthusiastic and had met our urban agriculture hero Will Allen.

I assigned the other three volunteers to plant strawberry plants next door at Kimball Farms.  They had purchased the strawberries a few weeks ago from Four Seasons City Farm, but had not gotten them planted.  Our strawberries are already fruiting and turning red.  GCGC forgot to tell Kimball Farms that it had been assigned volunteers from the United Methodist Women international conference on Thursday, so I felt bad that they missed out on a critical volunteer activity.  To help compensate, I offered to plant a bed full of our extra tomatoes and to get their strawberries planted.  Pastor Brown uncovered two beds, but one of them was where we had planted tomatoes last year.  I wanted to put the strawberries there, but he didn’t.  So, we planted a row of broccoli down the middle, red cabbages to the south and white cabbages to the north.  The volunteers then watered all of the newly planted strawberry plants and cold crops.   (Later, we received .2 inches of rain around 7 p.m.).

After they finished at Kimball Farms, we worked on shrinking our wood chip pile along the alley.  Urban Connections has a small raised bed growing area for the neighborhood kids.  Cathy did NOT want me to weed it because she wanted the kids to do so before they plant in them in a few weeks.  However, she was ok with us weeding around the beds and spreading wood chips.  So, that is how the crew finished their day. 

It got warmer than anticipated.  I sent the volunteers home with volunteer tomato seedlings (for home gardens, and for one of them for his grandmother).  One of the volunteers wanted to return for her assignment next week and Leigh Ann agreed.   I was pretty wiped out and never got around to taking a group photo.  Oops. 

After they left, I turned to watering a bit in my plot, transplanting gladiola bulbs, and weeding out the herb garden in order to plant some basil and parsley.   While I was finishing up, Phil stopped by to check on this plot and plant a few tomato plants.  I also gave him a few volunteer sunflowers (because they make great cut flowers.  Just don't let them shade too many of your plants).   I also inventoried our fruit trees.  Only one of the cherry trees has many cherries to speak of.  I think that is weather related because they did not all flower at the same time this year.  There are only peaches on one of the trees and one of the trees has a lot of dead branches, which I should prune.  I am hoping that is weather related, but a volunteer pointed out some issue with some of the leaves, too.    We have no plums fruiting this year, but it is only the second year for one tree and the first for the other.  

So, this week, I need to add the mosquito dunks to the big tank and our rain barrel to avoid becoming a breeding ground.  I also need to napalm more poison ivy that has shown up.  The Block Watch lot across the street is again a forest of it near their water cistern.  Kimball Farms has its own extensive crop behind its hoop house, around its porch and growing 15 feet up the walnut tree by our rain cistern.  At Pastor Brown’s request, I sprayed the ivy near the porch and tree, but didn’t have any round-up with me when Sabrina pointed out the extensive crop behind the hoop house (along the chain link fence).   We will also be planting and transplanting winter squash and cucumbers and, hopefully, some collard greens.   Of course, there will be lots of watering and weeding to do as well.   With any luck, I will be able to leave by 3 p.m. next Saturday.

Sow All You Can

Before they started working

Yesterday, eleven volunteers from the United Methodist Women’s international conference helped to sow seeds in the food pantry plots at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  As reported in today’s Dispatch, the UMW are celebrating 150 years by meeting in Columbus, where its first conference was held 77 years ago.  The SACG had volunteers from Korea, Alaska, San Diego, Florida, and Iowa.   They had not been told in advance where they would be volunteering, and so most were not dressed or prepared for hard work in a community garden on a hot day.  Bill Dawson from Franklin Park Conservatory came by for some selfies and to drop off lettuce and beet seedlings to support our effort.  Cathy from Urban Connections also pitched in during a crises to refrigerate the UMW’s boxed lunches and open the UC Ministry House for restroom access and a place to eat out of the sun. 

Our irises were donated by the CG at the Epworth UMC

On Wednesday evening, there was almost a full complement of all SACG gardeners when I brought my extra tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings for distribution.   I was able to plant a few peppers in my plot and start on my asparagus beans, as well as transplant a dozen or so volunteer sunflowers.  However, I discovered to my horror that despite receiving an inch of rain on Tuesday, very little of it made it into our rain cisterns.  The hard rain washed a lot of tree pollen into the gutters and clogged the downspout strainers.  So, I left my seedlings at the SACG overnight so that I could return on Thursday morning with my ladder to clean out the gutters (again after already doing it once on Friday).  

After they finished working.  Photo courtesy of Adam Cairns

Luckily, the UMW volunteers were running late, so I was able to clean out the gutters and get everything unlocked before they arrived (as well as transplant a few volunteer cosmos).  I was supposed to be sharing 25 volunteers with another community garden, but they were not sent the memo and did not know to arrive.   (I checked the email later and it was never addressed to my neighbor).   Good thing for the SACG, though, because only 2 volunteers arrived for the SACG and this meant that I got to keep all 11.  (Never fear, I contacted the other garden leader to let him know and he didn’t mind that I kept them all).    But, it meant that I had to call for help with refrigerating their lunches, etc.  Cathy – always my angel in such emergencies – was extremely supportive. 

Sabrina also came to help and brought her two-year old son, Finn.  The ladies gushed over him and his blonde locks.    I took a team of the women and tasked them with weeding and then digging lots of holes in our tomato plot.  While they did that, I dug out some trellises (extra wire fencing) and wood stakes that we store next to the shed.   We hung the trellises and then planted more than a dozen tomato plants in the plot.   We put cages around the plants that were not trellised. 

We tasked another team with weeding and then cultivating a row every two feet in the root crop plot: carrots, turnips, beets and sweet potatoes.  I usually plant more closely together, but with the Community Service volunteers coming to help water these plots over the summer, I wanted to make sure that there was enough room between the rows so that they could walk down them without stepping on any plants.   

Sabrina led the effort in the vining crop plot: zucchini, melons and pole beans.   They weeded it and then created mounds for the squash and melons.  I helped to hang a trellis for the beans and then they planted beans on both sides (I hope).   

Meanwhile, I tasked another lady with planting the lettuce seedlings between our rows of broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage.   Bill explained that the seedlings came from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank by way of the Franklin Avenue Community Garden.   He was trying to stop at all of the local community gardens having a work day to share the extra seedlings.  

We also took some of the lettuce seedlings over to the neighbor beds along the alley and planted some extra lettuce there.  I then took a group over to the neighbor bed and we hung a trellis and planted six tomato plants and then a dozen pepper plants. 

After lunch, I marked off four rows where we will plant corn for our co-op plot and we cultivated two such rows.  Fittingly enough, our Iowa volunteer then planted two rows of corn.  All of the plants and seeds were then well watered in as we finished up before waiting for their bus to take them back downtown.  While we were watering and collecting the tools, a Dispatch photojournalist, Adam Cairns, noticed all of the orange shirts.  Curious, he stopped by to take a few photos and interview the women.   He was a good sport.  Before taking a group photo with his own super camera, he took lots of cell phone shots for the women. 

While gardening, I was able to chat with a couple of the women. One lady grew up in Pyongyang (now in North Korea).  Her mother had a vegetable garden during World War II, and so she developed a love of fresh food and flowers.  However, when she got married, it was hard to get fresh food or flowers for her wedding.  She remembered that someone showed up with a bouquet of daisies, so she was delighted with our daisies.  I wanted to send some home with her, but wouldn’t you know that my wine bag full of daisy seeds was in my basement at home!  The daisies we have in bloom were not quite ready to produce seeds yet, or I would have sent her home with seed heads for her own garden.  She also loved our peonies, but wished that we had some pink ones in bloom.  Maybe next year.  I would have loved to have had more time to chat with her.  She worked pretty hard.

The lady from San Diego was so delighted with our efforts that she called her sister to see what they were growing at their community garden in southern California.  It was hysterical.  About the only item we had in common were watermelons.  They are still suffering from water restrictions there, so gardening is the subject of debate.  The Alaskan lady told me that their food pantry won’t accept much fresh produce, so they invite the patrons to stop by their garden for items, such as fresh dill.  They also cannot grow corn up there.

I had told the UMW volunteers that I had been raised as Methodist (and was wearing my United Methodist Mississippi Relief shirt from Hurricane Katrina relief).  John Wesley has a number of famous sermons and sayings, including:

Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.

In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can.

At all the times you can.

To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can.

And these women put that into practice yesterday by sowing all they could to help the SACG raise more fresh produce for area food pantries and Faith Mission’s homeless shelter.   Big THANKS to the Great Columbus Growing Coalition for arranging for the UMW to assist the SACG and the following community gardens yesterday:  Linden Garden Association, Bible Skipway CG, Franklin Avenue CG,  St. Vincent DePaul Garden (at Christ the King Catholic Church), CMN Memorial  Garden, Lincoln Park Education Garden, Southside Head Start Children's Garden, Fresh Town Farms, Four Seasons City Farm (with Old  First Presbyterian Church), and Garden of Communion. 

So, tomorrow, on Saturday, I will try to get the rest of my pole beans planted, work a little more on prettying up the path edging, and finally turn my attention to our herb garden, etc.  I told our neighbors that if they uncovered one of their raised beds, we would fill it with tomato seedlings (because I have a LOT of extra seedlings).  I also told his teenage volunteers that I would loan them a hoe and teach them to use it because they have been weeding plots by hand.   One of our neighbors is improving the landscaping along the alley, so I promised him some supplies and, to properly thank UC for helping us out today, we will weed around their raised beds and fill it with some of our extra wood chips.   Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.  

Our strawberries are coming in gangbusters, so I hope that we get lots more rain (after I leave at 2:30) so that they also get much bigger.  

Sow All You Can

Before they started working

Yesterday, eleven volunteers from the United Methodist Women’s international conference helped to sow seeds in the food pantry plots at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  As reported in today’s Dispatch, the UMW are celebrating 150 years by meeting in Columbus, where its first conference was held 77 years ago.  The SACG had volunteers from Korea, Alaska, San Diego, Florida, and Iowa.   They had not been told in advance where they would be volunteering, and so most were not dressed or prepared for hard work in a community garden on a hot day.  Bill Dawson from Franklin Park Conservatory came by for some selfies and to drop off lettuce and beet seedlings to support our effort.  Cathy from Urban Connections also pitched in during a crises to refrigerate the UMW’s boxed lunches and open the UC Ministry House for restroom access and a place to eat out of the sun. 

Our irises were donated by the CG at the Epworth UMC

On Wednesday evening, there was almost a full complement of all SACG gardeners when I brought my extra tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings for distribution.   I was able to plant a few peppers in my plot and start on my asparagus beans, as well as transplant a dozen or so volunteer sunflowers.  However, I discovered to my horror that despite receiving an inch of rain on Tuesday, very little of it made it into our rain cisterns.  The hard rain washed a lot of tree pollen into the gutters and clogged the downspout strainers.  So, I left my seedlings at the SACG overnight so that I could return on Thursday morning with my ladder to clean out the gutters (again after already doing it once on Friday).  

After they finished working.  Photo courtesy of Adam Cairns

Luckily, the UMW volunteers were running late, so I was able to clean out the gutters and get everything unlocked before they arrived (as well as transplant a few volunteer cosmos).  I was supposed to be sharing 25 volunteers with another community garden, but they were not sent the memo and did not know to arrive.   (I checked the email later and it was never addressed to my neighbor).   Good thing for the SACG, though, because only 2 volunteers arrived for the SACG and this meant that I got to keep all 11.  (Never fear, I contacted the other garden leader to let him know and he didn’t mind that I kept them all).    But, it meant that I had to call for help with refrigerating their lunches, etc.  Cathy – always my angel in such emergencies – was extremely supportive. 

Sabrina also came to help and brought her two-year old son, Finn.  The ladies gushed over him and his blonde locks.    I took a team of the women and tasked them with weeding and then digging lots of holes in our tomato plot.  While they did that, I dug out some trellises (extra wire fencing) and wood stakes that we store next to the shed.   We hung the trellises and then planted more than a dozen tomato plants in the plot.   We put cages around the plants that were not trellised. 

We tasked another team with weeding and then cultivating a row every two feet in the root crop plot: carrots, turnips, beets and sweet potatoes.  I usually plant more closely together, but with the Community Service volunteers coming to help water these plots over the summer, I wanted to make sure that there was enough room between the rows so that they could walk down them without stepping on any plants.   

Sabrina led the effort in the vining crop plot: zucchini, melons and pole beans.   They weeded it and then created mounds for the squash and melons.  I helped to hang a trellis for the beans and then they planted beans on both sides (I hope).   

Meanwhile, I tasked another lady with planting the lettuce seedlings between our rows of broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage.   Bill explained that the seedlings came from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank by way of the Franklin Avenue Community Garden.   He was trying to stop at all of the local community gardens having a work day to share the extra seedlings.  

We also took some of the lettuce seedlings over to the neighbor beds along the alley and planted some extra lettuce there.  I then took a group over to the neighbor bed and we hung a trellis and planted six tomato plants and then a dozen pepper plants. 

After lunch, I marked off four rows where we will plant corn for our co-op plot and we cultivated two such rows.  Fittingly enough, our Iowa volunteer then planted two rows of corn.  All of the plants and seeds were then well watered in as we finished up before waiting for their bus to take them back downtown.  While we were watering and collecting the tools, a Dispatch photojournalist, Adam Cairns, noticed all of the orange shirts.  Curious, he stopped by to take a few photos and interview the women.   He was a good sport.  Before taking a group photo with his own super camera, he took lots of cell phone shots for the women. 

While gardening, I was able to chat with a couple of the women. One lady grew up in Pyongyang (now in North Korea).  Her mother had a vegetable garden during World War II, and so she developed a love of fresh food and flowers.  However, when she got married, it was hard to get fresh food or flowers for her wedding.  She remembered that someone showed up with a bouquet of daisies, so she was delighted with our daisies.  I wanted to send some home with her, but wouldn’t you know that my wine bag full of daisy seeds was in my basement at home!  The daisies we have in bloom were not quite ready to produce seeds yet, or I would have sent her home with seed heads for her own garden.  She also loved our peonies, but wished that we had some pink ones in bloom.  Maybe next year.  I would have loved to have had more time to chat with her.  She worked pretty hard.

The lady from San Diego was so delighted with our efforts that she called her sister to see what they were growing at their community garden in southern California.  It was hysterical.  About the only item we had in common were watermelons.  They are still suffering from water restrictions there, so gardening is the subject of debate.  The Alaskan lady told me that their food pantry won’t accept much fresh produce, so they invite the patrons to stop by their garden for items, such as fresh dill.  They also cannot grow corn up there.

I had told the UMW volunteers that I had been raised as Methodist (and was wearing my United Methodist Mississippi Relief shirt from Hurricane Katrina relief).  John Wesley has a number of famous sermons and sayings, including:

Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.

In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can.

At all the times you can.

To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can.

And these women put that into practice yesterday by sowing all they could to help the SACG raise more fresh produce for area food pantries and Faith Mission’s homeless shelter.   Big THANKS to the Great Columbus Growing Coalition for arranging for the UMW to assist the SACG and the following community gardens yesterday:  Linden Garden Association, Bible Skipway CG, Franklin Avenue CG,  St. Vincent DePaul Garden (at Christ the King Catholic Church), CMN Memorial  Garden, Lincoln Park Education Garden, Southside Head Start Children's Garden, Fresh Town Farms, Four Seasons City Farm (with Old  First Presbyterian Church), and Garden of Communion. 

So, tomorrow, on Saturday, I will try to get the rest of my pole beans planted, work a little more on prettying up the path edging, and finally turn my attention to our herb garden, etc.  I told our neighbors that if they uncovered one of their raised beds, we would fill it with tomato seedlings (because I have a LOT of extra seedlings).  I also told his teenage volunteers that I would loan them a hoe and teach them to use it because they have been weeding plots by hand.   One of our neighbors is improving the landscaping along the alley, so I promised him some supplies and, to properly thank UC for helping us out today, we will weed around their raised beds and fill it with some of our extra wood chips.   Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.  

Our strawberries are coming in gangbusters, so I hope that we get lots more rain (after I leave at 2:30) so that they also get much bigger.  

Three Season Gardening?

It is official.  There will be no Spring in 2018.  We have gone straight from winter to summer at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.   Our berries are forming, despite the late start, but we have not had bees to pollinate our cherries or strawberries, so I am not seeing many.  The raspberry branches have not had time to grow taller than my waist, but they are already forming berries because of the heat.   My beans sprouted and formed seed leaves in mere days.   Meanwhile, our volunteers are wilting by lunchtime.    Nonetheless, this is the busiest time of the year and this week was no exception.

Late Sunday night, Cathy texted me about the Big Tulip Dig at Franklin Park Conservatory being the next morning.  We went two years ago, but last year it was cold and rainy.  Although I had real work to do, I love digging up and replanting beautiful tulips.  So, we went over Monday morning and dug up tulips for an hour.  Actually, Cathy dug and I pulled and bagged.  We should have stayed another hour (as Cathy wanted to do)  because there wasn’t much of a crowd and there were many more tulips left to dig.  I planted a few at home, but most of my share went to the SACG.  Amy helped me to plant them in our front and south flower beds.  I planted a few more in the center flower bed.  I think the pink tulips will look exceptionally pretty in front of our new, grey picket fence.

On Wednesday, I started planting in my plot with tomatoes.  Sabrina came and was able to snag a few extras (like Brandywines, celebrities, beefstake, Ohio Belgian, etc.  On Saturday, I also put in my eggplant and some peppers and a few more tomatoes, as well as my cucumbers, zucchini and winter squash.  Tomorrow night, I plan to finish with 3 more tomatoes and peppers and pole beans.   My earlier plantings are not doing well.  That is probably because I cannot remember where the rows are . . . . .   Former gardeners Stan and Jeannie both stopped by to say hello, but I could not twist their arms to stay and garden  . . . . 

Amy came for a while on Saturday and helped weed the center flower bed.  I then got to mulch it and the south bed.    I should have worn sun screen because I got a sunburned farmer’s tan after being at the SACG for 10 hours on Saturday.  Ron at Ohio Mulch even mocked me about it on Sunday.  Gee whiz.  One neighbor stopped by and asked about taking some wood chips for his house.  We got him shovels and offered to help him. He wanted to get his wheelbarrow tire pumped and to do it when it got cooler.    Another neighbor came by and asked to have flowers for her mother for the holiday.  I was exhausted and loading up the car, but what’s a girl to do . . . .  She got her flowers.  I was too dirty and hot for a hug.

Our four Community Service volunteers arrived with bells on.  One lady was psyched to pick up litter in the blocks around the SACG.  She brought back four or five bags.  She commented that it was one of the cleaner neighborhoods that she had been in and she found everyone – including Pastor Brown next door – to be very nice.   One gentleman mowed our lawn and the Block Watch lots, helped me with the fence straightening project, and trimmed around the flower beds and blueberry bushes, etc.  One lady (who also volunteered with us last week) weeded one of the neighbor beds and a pantry plot.   And, she said that she wanted to come and help me again so that she can learn even more.  (She used to work at Strader's last year).  Another girl weeded and weeded and watered our new trees.    It’s been a dry month at the SACG.  As in the past, most of the storms that hit Franklin County pass us by.  (This excited our sole gentleman because he HATES rain).    I wanted to get the Garden tidied up because a professional photographer was coming by to take pictures for the Old Towne East Home and Garden tour brochures. 

Sabrina came by on Sunday and used the debris that Hillary and Jake dug up to plug holes in chain link fence in case that groundhog returns.  She also tidied up the path edging so that it does not look like we just threw rocks around.    Amy returned on Monday to carry out the lawn waste bags to the curb.  They are always over-filled and often break (requiring us to get another bag and re-fill it).   She wasn’t really dressed for that at the time.

Today, I drove to Bethel Road for the annual Half-Price Books children’s book drive give-away.  A few years ago, the cars were lined up for over a mile to get two large boxes of free books for our Free Little Library.  The last couple of years, however, I have not had to wait even one minute.   There was no line at all.  You have to pay attention to the HPB emailed ads for when they announce the give away and to register in advance.  Any non-profit and school is eligible for the free books.  The Half-Pint Library give away is usually at their warehouse in Hilliard, but this year it was at the Bethel Road store in a strip mall.  We are extremely appreciative.

We received lots of good news this week, but I cannot share it all at this time.  Right now, I am enjoying a rare extended rain storm.  Whoo hoo.  I had just called Seth at the Land Bank this afternoon inquiring about getting a free refill of our rain cistern because we are out of water!  That’s why it’s raining now;-)   We have 10 volunteers coming on Thursday from the United Methodist Women’s day of service.  We plan on planting the food pantry and neighbor plots with tomatoes, peppers, root crops (like carrots, beets, and turnips), beans, melons, and squash, to assemble and tidy up our herb garden, hopefully divide some overgrown lilies that are growing into a rose bush, maybe plant some corn and possibly weed the strawberry patch.   There is always a lot to do and I’m glad that Sabrina is coming to help, too.  

The Columbus Landmarks Foundation identified one of favorite photography subjects as one of the 10 most endangered sites in Columbus:  the former Holy Rosary Church and school, now known as Rock of Faith Baptist Church across the street from the SACG.  The Rectory was an 1840's farmhouse that was part of the Underground Railroad.  

Three Season Gardening?

It is official.  There will be no Spring in 2018.  We have gone straight from winter to summer at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.   Our berries are forming, despite the late start, but we have not had bees to pollinate our cherries or strawberries, so I am not seeing many.  The raspberry branches have not had time to grow taller than my waist, but they are already forming berries because of the heat.   My beans sprouted and formed seed leaves in mere days.   Meanwhile, our volunteers are wilting by lunchtime.    Nonetheless, this is the busiest time of the year and this week was no exception.

Late Sunday night, Cathy texted me about the Big Tulip Dig at Franklin Park Conservatory being the next morning.  We went two years ago, but last year it was cold and rainy.  Although I had real work to do, I love digging up and replanting beautiful tulips.  So, we went over Monday morning and dug up tulips for an hour.  Actually, Cathy dug and I pulled and bagged.  We should have stayed another hour (as Cathy wanted to do)  because there wasn’t much of a crowd and there were many more tulips left to dig.  I planted a few at home, but most of my share went to the SACG.  Amy helped me to plant them in our front and south flower beds.  I planted a few more in the center flower bed.  I think the pink tulips will look exceptionally pretty in front of our new, grey picket fence.

On Wednesday, I started planting in my plot with tomatoes.  Sabrina came and was able to snag a few extras (like Brandywines, celebrities, beefstake, Ohio Belgian, etc.  On Saturday, I also put in my eggplant and some peppers and a few more tomatoes, as well as my cucumbers, zucchini and winter squash.  Tomorrow night, I plan to finish with 3 more tomatoes and peppers and pole beans.   My earlier plantings are not doing well.  That is probably because I cannot remember where the rows are . . . . .   Former gardeners Stan and Jeannie both stopped by to say hello, but I could not twist their arms to stay and garden  . . . . 

Amy came for a while on Saturday and helped weed the center flower bed.  I then got to mulch it and the south bed.    I should have worn sun screen because I got a sunburned farmer’s tan after being at the SACG for 10 hours on Saturday.  Ron at Ohio Mulch even mocked me about it on Sunday.  Gee whiz.  One neighbor stopped by and asked about taking some wood chips for his house.  We got him shovels and offered to help him. He wanted to get his wheelbarrow tire pumped and to do it when it got cooler.    Another neighbor came by and asked to have flowers for her mother for the holiday.  I was exhausted and loading up the car, but what’s a girl to do . . . .  She got her flowers.  I was too dirty and hot for a hug.

Our four Community Service volunteers arrived with bells on.  One lady was psyched to pick up litter in the blocks around the SACG.  She brought back four or five bags.  She commented that it was one of the cleaner neighborhoods that she had been in and she found everyone – including Pastor Brown next door – to be very nice.   One gentleman mowed our lawn and the Block Watch lots, helped me with the fence straightening project, and trimmed around the flower beds and blueberry bushes, etc.  One lady (who also volunteered with us last week) weeded one of the neighbor beds and a pantry plot.   And, she said that she wanted to come and help me again so that she can learn even more.  (She used to work at Strader's last year).  Another girl weeded and weeded and watered our new trees.    It’s been a dry month at the SACG.  As in the past, most of the storms that hit Franklin County pass us by.  (This excited our sole gentleman because he HATES rain).    I wanted to get the Garden tidied up because a professional photographer was coming by to take pictures for the Old Towne East Home and Garden tour brochures. 

Sabrina came by on Sunday and used the debris that Hillary and Jake dug up to plug holes in chain link fence in case that groundhog returns.  She also tidied up the path edging so that it does not look like we just threw rocks around.    Amy returned on Monday to carry out the lawn waste bags to the curb.  They are always over-filled and often break (requiring us to get another bag and re-fill it).   She wasn’t really dressed for that at the time.

Today, I drove to Bethel Road for the annual Half-Price Books children’s book drive give-away.  A few years ago, the cars were lined up for over a mile to get two large boxes of free books for our Free Little Library.  The last couple of years, however, I have not had to wait even one minute.   There was no line at all.  You have to pay attention to the HPB emailed ads for when they announce the give away and to register in advance.  Any non-profit and school is eligible for the free books.  The Half-Pint Library give away is usually at their warehouse in Hilliard, but this year it was at the Bethel Road store in a strip mall.  We are extremely appreciative.

We received lots of good news this week, but I cannot share it all at this time.  Right now, I am enjoying a rare extended rain storm.  Whoo hoo.  I had just called Seth at the Land Bank this afternoon inquiring about getting a free refill of our rain cistern because we are out of water!  That’s why it’s raining now;-)   We have 10 volunteers coming on Thursday from the United Methodist Women’s day of service.  We plan on planting the food pantry and neighbor plots with tomatoes, peppers, root crops (like carrots, beets, and turnips), beans, melons, and squash, to assemble and tidy up our herb garden, hopefully divide some overgrown lilies that are growing into a rose bush, maybe plant some corn and possibly weed the strawberry patch.   There is always a lot to do and I’m glad that Sabrina is coming to help, too.  

The Columbus Landmarks Foundation identified one of favorite photography subjects as one of the 10 most endangered sites in Columbus:  the former Holy Rosary Church and school, now known as Rock of Faith Baptist Church across the street from the SACG.  The Rectory was an 1840's farmhouse that was part of the Underground Railroad.