College Students’ Hands Make Light Work at SACG’s 9th Opening Day

Where were all of these kids last year?  That’s what I heard from my gardeners today as we kicked off our ninth growing season at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  Last year, we spread several tons of compost on all of our plots and wood chips on our paths and around our fence lines.   Last year, it was just us gardeners, some members from the Reynoldsburg Alliance Church  and some neighborhood kids (who all got pizza for helping).  This year, we had three groups of college students from nearby Capital University and The Ohio State University.   Many hands make light work.  The college kids spread the wood chips, planted a plum tree and rebuilt a compost bin.  Us gardeners focused on weeding and transplanting daisies (and probably won’t be as sore tomorrow as we were last year).    While it was rather cool (especially to the volunteers who did not wear coats or enough layers), it was also rather cloudy, which means my photos are not quite as cheery or prolific as usual.

Tree King dropped off a ton (or, according to Ken, much more than a ton) of pine wood chips that smelled just swell.   Sadly, they also took up half of the alley, so Cathy sent her two children down with shovels to move enough of them so that cars could drive through.  They worked hard until one of their shovels broke in the process.  While they did that, John Sunami from Nimbus Illustrated and Graphic Design printed us out a new sign cover (that he designed for us in 2012) and I less than perfectly attached it to our sign (an old table top that Charter SACG Gardener Dwayne Penny painted into our original sign).    I was pleased that I at least got it centered.    On Thursday, I also picked up some shovels and garden rakes from Rebuilding Together’s Tool Library.  On Tuesday, I had lunch with Lindsay who will be creating an education garden at Eastgate Elementary School.  While we scoped out locations, I told her that I would try to get some donations of materials and services from some of my contacts. 

When I arrived this morning, Rayna was already there surveying the work to be done.   The rest of the gardeners showed up in pretty short order.  We unloaded my car and started on transplanting volunteer daisies from the paths to the flower beds.  Sabrina also unpacked everything from the shed.  Amy weeded the front southeast flower bed.  We had a group of Capital University students arrive as part of a leadership development class.  They looked cold, so I put them to work shoveling wood chips into wheelbarrows and dumping them around the raised beds, along our paths and along our fence lines.   The chips smelled really good.   Taylor was there to supervise.  Where were these kids last year when he shoveled for almost six straight hours?  I didn’t spend any time checking on their work because they seemed to be making great progress and there were no misapplied wood chips this year.  Sabrina even took our extra wood chips to put around our fruit trees  and she and Rayna insured that our blooming daffodils did not get buried.

I tried to tidy up and clean out our Free Little Library (which is sadly short on books).  A local homeless person has been using it as his food pantry and storing perishable food items and other random items in there (and then tying it shut to keep everyone else out).  A small group of OSU students showed up from a social studies class studying community gardens as a class project.  They brought some children with them.  We retrieved some wheelbarrows from Cathy’s house (as well as an extra drill in case we needed it to rebuild a new compost bin).   These students then helped Rayna weed the center flower bed and then began weeding various garden plots. (I shooed them out of mine because I have all sorts of odds and ends growing there, not just weeds).   Some of them helped me to retrieve bags of potting soil which we purchased last year with our Lowe’s voucher as part of the City’s Land Bank community garden program.  We emptied these bags into the kids’ raised platform beds (after first weeding the beds).

Ken showed up with lots of tools and such.  He had spent the last month attempting to fix our lawn mower.  (He also donated a reel mower which I need to sharpen).   It was quite an ordeal.  I was going to devote a whole blog day to his almost daily blow-by-blow accounts of what he had tried and what seemed to work (and didn’t work).  He told me that we would have a working mower today.  Then, two days ago, it didn’t work.  So, he bought one (which also didn’t work).  So he bought another one and brought it today.  When I saw it, I was like.  Wow.  Did you repaint ours too because I remember it being red and not green.  It’s so shiny.   He just laughed and told me what happened.  I was like – oh you didn’t need to because we just would have used the reel one and Urban Connections’ mower.  But now, we have our own and won’t need to feel guilty borrowing someone else’s mower.  Jeremey from Capital ended up mowing our lawn and the two Block Watch lots.  (He looked really cold weeding one of the raised beds, so I suggested that he mow instead to keep warm).   He didn’t think that anyone could notice that the lawns had been mowed, but we really could. 

A giant bus creeped down between the parked cars on Stoddart.  It was our group of OSU students from the Pay It Forward Program’s Spring into Service event.   We split them into two groups which were both supervised by Ken.  One group helped him to deconstruct an old compost bin and then build a new one.  The other dug a large hole to plant our new (self pollinating) plum tree.    I then set them loose on weeding.  I had packed a bunch of yard waste bags, but couldn’t find them, so we had to put the weeds into plastic bags.    The neighborhood dumpsters were already full, so Ken took them to dumpsters near his office.

I had reattached the spicket to the large rain cistern on Thursday, but I had my doubts about it.     When I checked it last night, it was leaking.  (At least it was filling up, unlike our experiences last year).  The tank was also full of some sort of gunk or white mold.  So, I plan to add a couple of gallons of bleach to it asap to address that new development.  Our gallant hero Ken had the supplies to fix the leak, but we first had to empty the tank (which created a small lake at Kimball Farms).  While he did that, I grabbed an OSU student to help me reattach the tall rain cistern to the downspout on the west side.

We had a number of new gardeners show up and help.  Almost all of them were recruited by Alyssa and one of them even drives a truck -- always an added bonus.    Some picked up litter; some shoveled, some spread chips; some weeded.  Some helped me and a student reattach our sign to its posts for group pictures, etc.   Some helped to repaint the shed’s rain barrel, the chipped paint on the Free Little Library and to varnish our neighbor plot sign.  Rayna then took charge in leading the attack on the weeds in the strawberry patch.  Alyssa, Taylor and the new gardeners then went next door and weeded two of their long raised beds.

I had made dozens of dark chocolate no-bake cookies and brownies and brought tangerines, bananas, cheese sticks, donuts and bottled water for refreshments.  Eventually, each group migrated to our picnic table on the south side of the Garden to refresh their blood sugar.  

Sabrina lead the effort to put everything back in the shed.  There’s enough room left to fit our new reel mower once I sharpen it.  Ken then reconfigured our gate latches so that we can shut our front gate (and eventually lock it when we have food growing inside). 

Ahmed, the new President of the Kimball Farms Civic Association, stopped by to give me his number if I needed any help.   I’m really determined to take it easy this year, but then started thinking that maybe he would want to help build a new picket fence up front.  Ken really shouldn’t get all of the fun . . . .

We have lots of plots left for interested gardeners who sign an agreement, pay their $10 and put in their three hours of work equity.   We have a voluntary work day this Saturday, April 8 to celebrate Earth Day (early this year because of Easter).  This is what we have planned to do this Saturday for folks who want to help out:

1)      Planting red and white grapes along the trellis

2)      Weeding what didn’t get weeded today (including the kids beds)

3)      Cleaning up the front flower bed edging and replacing some of the landscaping stones that got disturbed today

4)      Maybe extending the alley curb in front of the western compost bin

5)      Picking up litter in the entire neighborhood and alleys

6)      Cleaning the brambles out of the compost bins and putting them in the newly found lawn waste bags

7)      Planting seedlings (collards, kale, cabbage) and seeds (lettuce) in the western neighbor bed

8)      Planting a couple rows of lettuce and couple of collards and kale in the food pantry plot

9)      Straightening up the leaning benches of pisa.

10)  Touching up the paint on the shed’s rain barrel

11)  Maybe turning some compost (depending on whether any extra volunteers show up)

12)  Maybe thinning some strawberry plants and sharing with Rayna and the neighbor next door

13)  Pruning the fruit trees and maybe staking a couple of the leaning ones.

14)  Transplanting some volunteer raspberry bushes to empty spots

15)  Probably mowing our lush lawn again with our NEW mower (thanks to Ken)

College Students’ Hands Make Light Work at SACG’s 9th Opening Day

Where were all of these kids last year?  That’s what I heard from my gardeners today as we kicked off our ninth growing season at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  Last year, we spread several tons of compost on all of our plots and wood chips on our paths and around our fence lines.   Last year, it was just us gardeners, some members from the Reynoldsburg Alliance Church  and some neighborhood kids (who all got pizza for helping).  This year, we had three groups of college students from nearby Capital University and The Ohio State University.   Many hands make light work.  The college kids spread the wood chips, planted a plum tree and rebuilt a compost bin.  Us gardeners focused on weeding and transplanting daisies (and probably won’t be as sore tomorrow as we were last year).    While it was rather cool (especially to the volunteers who did not wear coats or enough layers), it was also rather cloudy, which means my photos are not quite as cheery or prolific as usual.

Tree King dropped off a ton (or, according to Ken, much more than a ton) of pine wood chips that smelled just swell.   Sadly, they also took up half of the alley, so Cathy sent her two children down with shovels to move enough of them so that cars could drive through.  They worked hard until one of their shovels broke in the process.  While they did that, John Sunami from Nimbus Illustrated and Graphic Design printed us out a new sign cover (that he designed for us in 2012) and I less than perfectly attached it to our sign (an old table top that Charter SACG Gardener Dwayne Penny painted into our original sign).    I was pleased that I at least got it centered.    On Thursday, I also picked up some shovels and garden rakes from Rebuilding Together’s Tool Library.  On Tuesday, I had lunch with Lindsay who will be creating an education garden at Eastgate Elementary School.  While we scoped out locations, I told her that I would try to get some donations of materials and services from some of my contacts. 

When I arrived this morning, Rayna was already there surveying the work to be done.   The rest of the gardeners showed up in pretty short order.  We unloaded my car and started on transplanting volunteer daisies from the paths to the flower beds.  Sabrina also unpacked everything from the shed.  Amy weeded the front southeast flower bed.  We had a group of Capital University students arrive as part of a leadership development class.  They looked cold, so I put them to work shoveling wood chips into wheelbarrows and dumping them around the raised beds, along our paths and along our fence lines.   The chips smelled really good.   Taylor was there to supervise.  Where were these kids last year when he shoveled for almost six straight hours?  I didn’t spend any time checking on their work because they seemed to be making great progress and there were no misapplied wood chips this year.  Sabrina even took our extra wood chips to put around our fruit trees  and she and Rayna insured that our blooming daffodils did not get buried.

I tried to tidy up and clean out our Free Little Library (which is sadly short on books).  A local homeless person has been using it as his food pantry and storing perishable food items and other random items in there (and then tying it shut to keep everyone else out).  A small group of OSU students showed up from a social studies class studying community gardens as a class project.  They brought some children with them.  We retrieved some wheelbarrows from Cathy’s house (as well as an extra drill in case we needed it to rebuild a new compost bin).   These students then helped Rayna weed the center flower bed and then began weeding various garden plots. (I shooed them out of mine because I have all sorts of odds and ends growing there, not just weeds).   Some of them helped me to retrieve bags of potting soil which we purchased last year with our Lowe’s voucher as part of the City’s Land Bank community garden program.  We emptied these bags into the kids’ raised platform beds (after first weeding the beds).

Ken showed up with lots of tools and such.  He had spent the last month attempting to fix our lawn mower.  (He also donated a reel mower which I need to sharpen).   It was quite an ordeal.  I was going to devote a whole blog day to his almost daily blow-by-blow accounts of what he had tried and what seemed to work (and didn’t work).  He told me that we would have a working mower today.  Then, two days ago, it didn’t work.  So, he bought one (which also didn’t work).  So he bought another one and brought it today.  When I saw it, I was like.  Wow.  Did you repaint ours too because I remember it being red and not green.  It’s so shiny.   He just laughed and told me what happened.  I was like – oh you didn’t need to because we just would have used the reel one and Urban Connections’ mower.  But now, we have our own and won’t need to feel guilty borrowing someone else’s mower.  Jeremey from Capital ended up mowing our lawn and the two Block Watch lots.  (He looked really cold weeding one of the raised beds, so I suggested that he mow instead to keep warm).   He didn’t think that anyone could notice that the lawns had been mowed, but we really could. 

A giant bus creeped down between the parked cars on Stoddart.  It was our group of OSU students from the Pay It Forward Program’s Spring into Service event.   We split them into two groups which were both supervised by Ken.  One group helped him to deconstruct an old compost bin and then build a new one.  The other dug a large hole to plant our new (self pollinating) plum tree.    I then set them loose on weeding.  I had packed a bunch of yard waste bags, but couldn’t find them, so we had to put the weeds into plastic bags.    The neighborhood dumpsters were already full, so Ken took them to dumpsters near his office.

I had reattached the spicket to the large rain cistern on Thursday, but I had my doubts about it.     When I checked it last night, it was leaking.  (At least it was filling up, unlike our experiences last year).  The tank was also full of some sort of gunk or white mold.  So, I plan to add a couple of gallons of bleach to it asap to address that new development.  Our gallant hero Ken had the supplies to fix the leak, but we first had to empty the tank (which created a small lake at Kimball Farms).  While he did that, I grabbed an OSU student to help me reattach the tall rain cistern to the downspout on the west side.

We had a number of new gardeners show up and help.  Almost all of them were recruited by Alyssa and one of them even drives a truck -- always an added bonus.    Some picked up litter; some shoveled, some spread chips; some weeded.  Some helped me and a student reattach our sign to its posts for group pictures, etc.   Some helped to repaint the shed’s rain barrel, the chipped paint on the Free Little Library and to varnish our neighbor plot sign.  Rayna then took charge in leading the attack on the weeds in the strawberry patch.  Alyssa, Taylor and the new gardeners then went next door and weeded two of their long raised beds.

I had made dozens of dark chocolate no-bake cookies and brownies and brought tangerines, bananas, cheese sticks, donuts and bottled water for refreshments.  Eventually, each group migrated to our picnic table on the south side of the Garden to refresh their blood sugar.  

Sabrina lead the effort to put everything back in the shed.  There’s enough room left to fit our new reel mower once I sharpen it.  Ken then reconfigured our gate latches so that we can shut our front gate (and eventually lock it when we have food growing inside). 

Ahmed, the new President of the Kimball Farms Civic Association, stopped by to give me his number if I needed any help.   I’m really determined to take it easy this year, but then started thinking that maybe he would want to help build a new picket fence up front.  Ken really shouldn’t get all of the fun . . . .

We have lots of plots left for interested gardeners who sign an agreement, pay their $10 and put in their three hours of work equity.   We have a voluntary work day this Saturday, April 8 to celebrate Earth Day (early this year because of Easter).  This is what we have planned to do this Saturday for folks who want to help out:

1)      Planting red and white grapes along the trellis

2)      Weeding what didn’t get weeded today (including the kids beds)

3)      Cleaning up the front flower bed edging and replacing some of the landscaping stones that got disturbed today

4)      Maybe extending the alley curb in front of the western compost bin

5)      Picking up litter in the entire neighborhood and alleys

6)      Cleaning the brambles out of the compost bins and putting them in the newly found lawn waste bags

7)      Planting seedlings (collards, kale, cabbage) and seeds (lettuce) in the western neighbor bed

8)      Planting a couple rows of lettuce and couple of collards and kale in the food pantry plot

9)      Straightening up the leaning benches of pisa.

10)  Touching up the paint on the shed’s rain barrel

11)  Maybe turning some compost (depending on whether any extra volunteers show up)

12)  Maybe thinning some strawberry plants and sharing with Rayna and the neighbor next door

13)  Pruning the fruit trees and maybe staking a couple of the leaning ones.

14)  Transplanting some volunteer raspberry bushes to empty spots

15)  Probably mowing our lush lawn again with our NEW mower (thanks to Ken)

No Fooling: SACG To Open for NINTH Growing Season on April 1

In like a lion and out like a lamb?  Let's hope that this morning's thunder storms mean that March will end like a lamb because the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden will be kicking off its NINTH growing season on April Fool's Day.    Remember how blustery it was on April 2 last year?  (I was glad that I had a new gardening hat which stayed firmly on my head).  The year before that it snowed!  But our Board wanted to start as soon as possible this year and who am I to disagree?

Gardeners who are interested in reserving their own plot to grow their own vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers should complete, sign and return an Application/Agreement along with $10/plot (preferably by check made payable to the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden). Families in the Stoddart Avenue neighborhood are eligible for a full scholarship if the fee presents a financial hardship.   You can mail the check and Agreement to SACG at P.O. Box 91106, Columbus, Ohio 43209.

Gardeners’ participation is subject to the SACG Garden Rules as well as some rules by the City of Columbus (prohibiting, for instance, being in the Garden at night, and bringing alcohol onto Garden property, etc.). Gardeners are also encouraged to donate a portion of their produce to area food pantries and shelters, like Faith Mission, Lutheran Social Services and the Salvation Army.  To date, we have donated over 3,600 pounds.

Joining the SACG is not terribly time consuming, but Gardeners are required to help set out the Garden on Saturday, April 1, 2016 (with a rain/make-up date on Saturday, April 8, 2017) and to close the Garden (on Saturday, November 11, 2017). Gardeners must also volunteer for three chores to perform for one month over the summer (like watering flowers, tending the food pantry plot, pulling weeds in the paths, mowing our lawn, picking up litter, etc.)  Between the chores and keeping your plot planted, weeded and watered, you should plan on spending on average an hour each week at the Garden during the growing season.
We will start working at 9:30 a.m. on April 1, 2016 to spread wood chips on the garden paths and around the fence rows, plant grape vines up our new trellis, turn compost and rebuild a compost bin, mow grass (weather permitting), transplant raspberry bushes, repaint a rain barrel, pick up litter on our lot and in the neighborhood, and hang our sign. The more the merrier because many hands make light work. You need not reserve a plot if you would just like to volunteer to help.   Refreshments will be served (and you should feel free to bring some yourself to share).




Gardeners may begin planting as soon as the plots are staked out.   I have already started pepper, eggplant, cabbage and kale seedlings, but will not be starting sweet potatoes this year.  I’ll be starting tomato, herb and flower seeds next weekend and will share any extra seedlings with gardeners come May.  
So, if you or someone you know likes to get your hands dirty and grow your own food, you are welcome to join us at the SACG.  Plots will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis, with preference being given to gardeners from last year who volunteered at the opening and closing work days.    So, snooze and you lose.  When the Garden is full, we will put names on a wait-list (and we ALWAYS have people drop out by June).

No Fooling: SACG To Open for NINTH Growing Season on April 1

In like a lion and out like a lamb?  Let's hope that this morning's thunder storms mean that March will end like a lamb because the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden will be kicking off its NINTH growing season on April Fool's Day.    Remember how blustery it was on April 2 last year?  (I was glad that I had a new gardening hat which stayed firmly on my head).  The year before that it snowed!  But our Board wanted to start as soon as possible this year and who am I to disagree?

Gardeners who are interested in reserving their own plot to grow their own vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers should complete, sign and return an Application/Agreement along with $10/plot (preferably by check made payable to the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden). Families in the Stoddart Avenue neighborhood are eligible for a full scholarship if the fee presents a financial hardship.   You can mail the check and Agreement to SACG at P.O. Box 91106, Columbus, Ohio 43209.

Gardeners’ participation is subject to the SACG Garden Rules as well as some rules by the City of Columbus (prohibiting, for instance, being in the Garden at night, and bringing alcohol onto Garden property, etc.). Gardeners are also encouraged to donate a portion of their produce to area food pantries and shelters, like Faith Mission, Lutheran Social Services and the Salvation Army.  To date, we have donated over 3,600 pounds.

Joining the SACG is not terribly time consuming, but Gardeners are required to help set out the Garden on Saturday, April 1, 2016 (with a rain/make-up date on Saturday, April 8, 2017) and to close the Garden (on Saturday, November 11, 2017). Gardeners must also volunteer for three chores to perform for one month over the summer (like watering flowers, tending the food pantry plot, pulling weeds in the paths, mowing our lawn, picking up litter, etc.)  Between the chores and keeping your plot planted, weeded and watered, you should plan on spending on average an hour each week at the Garden during the growing season.
We will start working at 9:30 a.m. on April 1, 2016 to spread wood chips on the garden paths and around the fence rows, plant grape vines up our new trellis, turn compost and rebuild a compost bin, mow grass (weather permitting), transplant raspberry bushes, repaint a rain barrel, pick up litter on our lot and in the neighborhood, and hang our sign. The more the merrier because many hands make light work. You need not reserve a plot if you would just like to volunteer to help.   Refreshments will be served (and you should feel free to bring some yourself to share).




Gardeners may begin planting as soon as the plots are staked out.   I have already started pepper, eggplant, cabbage and kale seedlings, but will not be starting sweet potatoes this year.  I’ll be starting tomato, herb and flower seeds next weekend and will share any extra seedlings with gardeners come May.  
So, if you or someone you know likes to get your hands dirty and grow your own food, you are welcome to join us at the SACG.  Plots will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis, with preference being given to gardeners from last year who volunteered at the opening and closing work days.    So, snooze and you lose.  When the Garden is full, we will put names on a wait-list (and we ALWAYS have people drop out by June).

SACG Prepares for Its 9th Growing Season

The Board of Trustees for the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden met yesterday at the Table Restaurant in the Bexley Giant Eagle to plan for their 9th growing season.  The meeting was attended by Priscilla, Rayna, Mari, Cathy, Sabrina, Amy, Susan, and Ken.  Frank had to work.

Treasurer’s Report.  Priscilla reported that the SACG began 2016 with $445 and ended with $371.  We spent over $445 last year, principally on filling up the tank when it ran dry for a second time (and the City had not yet re-commenced its free refill program), a new fruit tree, soil,  new gate locks, and having the City's donated Com-Til delivered.  We had $120 in plot fees, $80 from Krogers and $150 in donations.  We also have a $50 gift certificate to Oakland Nursery from the Conservatory Women’s Board which will be used to purchase grape vines for the trellis and possibly a new fruit tree.  Frank reported that the Block Watch is ok with us planting another fruit tree on that lot. 

Operations.  Priscilla reported that she had renewed our annual land bank license for $10.  Earth Day Columbus moved up the work days to April 8 and 15.  Easter is April 16.    We're now registered for the April 8 work day.   Capital University has offered student volunteers for April 1.  The City will again provide a $250 Lowe’s voucher.  Priscilla would like to add a picket fence to the front (but can likely only purchase half the necessary length with $250).  We could also plant more rose bushes.  The Board liked the idea of the picket fence to coordinate with our new trellis.  Sabrina suggested that we could buy half this year and half next year and then install it next year.  Ken asked about the length of the fence (and looked like he was trying to figure out how much it would cost him to build one.  Hmmm).  The south fence would be 25-27 feet and the north section would be 20-22 feet.

GCGC increased their annual membership dues from $10 to $40 this year.  That is how we get most of the free flats of flowers and vegetables (courtesy of Strader's Garden Centers).    Few of the gardeners take either, but we’ve used them to fill in our flower beds and the food pantry plots.  The vegetables usually come at the tail end of the growing period.  We don’t really need the materials, but we try to make use of them.  They don’t like us to sell them because that could be diverting business away from Straders.  The Board decided to not renew our membership.

Priscilla meant to update our bylaws (particularly regarding our annual members meeting), but forgot.  Our annual meeting is generally on our Closing Day, but too few people have been attending and it should probably be moved to a better attended date.  Maybe Opening Day.  We’ll deal with this later.

Priscilla shared announcements from the Conservatory and OSU that were shared at the Land Bank Community Garden meeting in early February.   One of the issues that came up was about area food pantries not being able to meet the demand for fresh produce.   St. Stephens Community House has its own community garden, but still sent a representative to beg for more produce donations from the land bank community gardens.  The City responded by sending around a generic list of area food pantries, without checking whether any of those food pantries take and distribute fresh produce.  Most pantries only take canned goods. 

Fundraising.  The Board discussed possible fundraising ideas.  We haven’t had a fundraiser since 2012 when

we raffled off a garden cart (which we won) and raised $350.  In 2010, we raised $110 selling strawberry seedlings.   It would be nice to get some other “big ticket” items donated that we could similarly raffle off or have a silent auction at a black raspberry festival in early June.  We talked about selling seedlings, but the pots by themselves cost more than the seedlings and have to be nurtured.  Highland Youth Garden has an annual butterfly bush sale based on the inexpensive seedlings they purchase from DeMonye’s annual perennial sale.  That’s something we could consider for our side of town.  The Board liked the idea of a berry festival where we could encourage a u-pick berry day to bring people to the Garden for a fundraiser.

The Board liked the idea of planting another fruit tree, but no consensus on what to plant.  Priscilla would like to diversify to plums, but the neighbors had expressed an interest in another peach tree.   The cherries are also very popular.

An OSU class is focusing on community gardens.  A group of students have contacted Priscilla about the SACG being their group/class project.  They want to meet with the gardeners next Saturday at 11.  Several Board members agreed to come. 

Rayna noted that our blueberry bushes look a little peaked and wondered if they required some extra TLC.  Priscilla noted that they were not being watered regularly enough, but that will hopefully improve now that we have a rain barrel back behind the shed.  She also added some more peat moss and garden soil to those beds in September with the Lowe’s voucher.  And, two of the bigger bushes were damaged by two different people falling into them (and breaking some branches).  

Priscilla reported that Frank had told her that the Block Watch has observed an influx of investment in the neighborhood and renovations.

Priscilla also relayed about the vicious attack on Robert Seed, our guardian angel at Keep Columbus Beautiful.

Opening Day.  Priscilla suggested opening on April 8, but the Board wanted to open as soon as possible.  So, April 1 was chosen (which is approximately when we opened last year). 

Priscilla relayed the Old Farmer’s Almanac weather forecast (which, so far this year, has been on the mark for precipitation, but not the unseasonably warm weather).  It is predicting a normal Spring, a cold and wet June (so get planted early), a normal and dry July and August (so plan on a lot of hand-watering), a normal and wet September and a cool and wet October.

The Board reviewed and approved the annual newsletter, Garden Agreement and Rules of Conduct.  The Garden Agreement this year added that gardeners should tell the Garden Manager if they are going to be AWOL for 10+ days so that their produce can be rescued and taken to a food pantry instead of rotting.   The Rules add that gardeners should stay on top of the squash bug problem in their plots so that the Garden Manager does not have to inspect every one’s plots twice each week.

The Opening Day materials should be distributed in the neighborhood March 4 if we are opening on April 1.  Several members volunteered to help distribute the materials.    Sabrina agreed to inventory and organize the seeds and to let Priscilla what we are short on.  She’ll also be in charge of leading the Capital volunteers.

Our tasks on Opening Day include:

·         spreading a ton (literally) of wood chips with wheelbarrows, rakes and shovels along our paths and along the fence line;

·         topping off the kids’ raised beds with potting soil;

·         measuring and marking off our plots;

·         mowing our lawn;

·         rebuilding a compost bin;

·         turning our compost;

·         restocking our Free Little Library (which can always use some more books);

·         hanging our sign;

·         plant grape vines along trellis;

·         picking up the litter which has blown onto our lot over the winter;

·         hooking up our rain cisterns;  and,

·         if there is time, may start planting Spring crops (like lettuce and kale) in our food pantry and neighbor plots. 

We do not know Stan’s status.  However, Priscilla observed that someone had been working with the western compost bin recently, so she thinks that he’s still around.  We may need some additional pallets to rebuild that bin.  Sabrina volunteered to have her husband Tom pick up a few from work.  Priscilla will let her know how many we need.  Of course, we could also use a different (and more attractive design), but Priscilla’s always liked repurposing materials.

We have a lot to get done between now and Opening Day.   Priscilla looked for volunteers to research and pick up our grapes and new fruit tree.  Cathy and Ken volunteered their trucks (since a tree does not happily fit in the back of my jetta).  Ken also volunteered to help me pick up our Earth Day supplies so that I do not have to make 4 trips to carry mulch in my jetta.

We ran out of time.  Susan picked up the entire tab for our refreshments and donated all of the cash left by the other members to the SACG. 

In a few days, I'll be posting here all of the information which gardeners will need to join the SACG for our 9th growing season.   We've had a number of gardeners drop out and will need to focus on recruiting more new gardeners.

Before the meeting, I started a flat of cold crops (kale, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, lettuce, etc.).  I planned to start my peppers and eggplants after the meeting but was out of the correct potting soil.  Peppers are finicky and prefer the Miracle-Gro Organic Choice potting soil (over peat moss), but Lowe's was not carrying it this year!!!! Aggghh.  I knew that the orchid mix was the next most preferred for peppers, but the only bag available was too chucky in which to start seeds (so I mixed it with regular potting soil and will keep my fingers crossed).  In addition to Italian and Asian eggplant,  I started bell, jalapeno, cayenne, tabasco, pasilla peppers.  I seem to be out of pablano and giant Chinese pepper seeds, so I need to find some soon (seeing as how -- gasp -- Lowe's was not carrying any of those this year either).    I do not plan on planting potatoes this year and so will also not be starting sweet potato slips this year.   I never seem to have enough room for all of the heirloom beans that I like to grow and potatoes are relatively inexpensive at the grocery. . . . .   Next week, I'll start tomatoes, herbs and flowers.  They do not take as long to germinate.

SACG Prepares for Its 9th Growing Season

The Board of Trustees for the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden met yesterday at the Table Restaurant in the Bexley Giant Eagle to plan for their 9th growing season.  The meeting was attended by Priscilla, Rayna, Mari, Cathy, Sabrina, Amy, Susan, and Ken.  Frank had to work.

Treasurer’s Report.  Priscilla reported that the SACG began 2016 with $445 and ended with $371.  We spent over $445 last year, principally on filling up the tank when it ran dry for a second time (and the City had not yet re-commenced its free refill program), a new fruit tree, soil,  new gate locks, and having the City's donated Com-Til delivered.  We had $120 in plot fees, $80 from Krogers and $150 in donations.  We also have a $50 gift certificate to Oakland Nursery from the Conservatory Women’s Board which will be used to purchase grape vines for the trellis and possibly a new fruit tree.  Frank reported that the Block Watch is ok with us planting another fruit tree on that lot. 

Operations.  Priscilla reported that she had renewed our annual land bank license for $10.  Earth Day Columbus moved up the work days to April 8 and 15.  Easter is April 16.    We're now registered for the April 8 work day.   Capital University has offered student volunteers for April 1.  The City will again provide a $250 Lowe’s voucher.  Priscilla would like to add a picket fence to the front (but can likely only purchase half the necessary length with $250).  We could also plant more rose bushes.  The Board liked the idea of the picket fence to coordinate with our new trellis.  Sabrina suggested that we could buy half this year and half next year and then install it next year.  Ken asked about the length of the fence (and looked like he was trying to figure out how much it would cost him to build one.  Hmmm).  The south fence would be 25-27 feet and the north section would be 20-22 feet.

GCGC increased their annual membership dues from $10 to $40 this year.  That is how we get most of the free flats of flowers and vegetables (courtesy of Strader's Garden Centers).    Few of the gardeners take either, but we’ve used them to fill in our flower beds and the food pantry plots.  The vegetables usually come at the tail end of the growing period.  We don’t really need the materials, but we try to make use of them.  They don’t like us to sell them because that could be diverting business away from Straders.  The Board decided to not renew our membership.

Priscilla meant to update our bylaws (particularly regarding our annual members meeting), but forgot.  Our annual meeting is generally on our Closing Day, but too few people have been attending and it should probably be moved to a better attended date.  Maybe Opening Day.  We’ll deal with this later.

Priscilla shared announcements from the Conservatory and OSU that were shared at the Land Bank Community Garden meeting in early February.   One of the issues that came up was about area food pantries not being able to meet the demand for fresh produce.   St. Stephens Community House has its own community garden, but still sent a representative to beg for more produce donations from the land bank community gardens.  The City responded by sending around a generic list of area food pantries, without checking whether any of those food pantries take and distribute fresh produce.  Most pantries only take canned goods. 

Fundraising.  The Board discussed possible fundraising ideas.  We haven’t had a fundraiser since 2012 when

we raffled off a garden cart (which we won) and raised $350.  In 2010, we raised $110 selling strawberry seedlings.   It would be nice to get some other “big ticket” items donated that we could similarly raffle off or have a silent auction at a black raspberry festival in early June.  We talked about selling seedlings, but the pots by themselves cost more than the seedlings and have to be nurtured.  Highland Youth Garden has an annual butterfly bush sale based on the inexpensive seedlings they purchase from DeMonye’s annual perennial sale.  That’s something we could consider for our side of town.  The Board liked the idea of a berry festival where we could encourage a u-pick berry day to bring people to the Garden for a fundraiser.

The Board liked the idea of planting another fruit tree, but no consensus on what to plant.  Priscilla would like to diversify to plums, but the neighbors had expressed an interest in another peach tree.   The cherries are also very popular.

An OSU class is focusing on community gardens.  A group of students have contacted Priscilla about the SACG being their group/class project.  They want to meet with the gardeners next Saturday at 11.  Several Board members agreed to come. 

Rayna noted that our blueberry bushes look a little peaked and wondered if they required some extra TLC.  Priscilla noted that they were not being watered regularly enough, but that will hopefully improve now that we have a rain barrel back behind the shed.  She also added some more peat moss and garden soil to those beds in September with the Lowe’s voucher.  And, two of the bigger bushes were damaged by two different people falling into them (and breaking some branches).  

Priscilla reported that Frank had told her that the Block Watch has observed an influx of investment in the neighborhood and renovations.

Priscilla also relayed about the vicious attack on Robert Seed, our guardian angel at Keep Columbus Beautiful.

Opening Day.  Priscilla suggested opening on April 8, but the Board wanted to open as soon as possible.  So, April 1 was chosen (which is approximately when we opened last year). 

Priscilla relayed the Old Farmer’s Almanac weather forecast (which, so far this year, has been on the mark for precipitation, but not the unseasonably warm weather).  It is predicting a normal Spring, a cold and wet June (so get planted early), a normal and dry July and August (so plan on a lot of hand-watering), a normal and wet September and a cool and wet October.

The Board reviewed and approved the annual newsletter, Garden Agreement and Rules of Conduct.  The Garden Agreement this year added that gardeners should tell the Garden Manager if they are going to be AWOL for 10+ days so that their produce can be rescued and taken to a food pantry instead of rotting.   The Rules add that gardeners should stay on top of the squash bug problem in their plots so that the Garden Manager does not have to inspect every one’s plots twice each week.

The Opening Day materials should be distributed in the neighborhood March 4 if we are opening on April 1.  Several members volunteered to help distribute the materials.    Sabrina agreed to inventory and organize the seeds and to let Priscilla what we are short on.  She’ll also be in charge of leading the Capital volunteers.

Our tasks on Opening Day include:

·         spreading a ton (literally) of wood chips with wheelbarrows, rakes and shovels along our paths and along the fence line;

·         topping off the kids’ raised beds with potting soil;

·         measuring and marking off our plots;

·         mowing our lawn;

·         rebuilding a compost bin;

·         turning our compost;

·         restocking our Free Little Library (which can always use some more books);

·         hanging our sign;

·         plant grape vines along trellis;

·         picking up the litter which has blown onto our lot over the winter;

·         hooking up our rain cisterns;  and,

·         if there is time, may start planting Spring crops (like lettuce and kale) in our food pantry and neighbor plots. 

We do not know Stan’s status.  However, Priscilla observed that someone had been working with the western compost bin recently, so she thinks that he’s still around.  We may need some additional pallets to rebuild that bin.  Sabrina volunteered to have her husband Tom pick up a few from work.  Priscilla will let her know how many we need.  Of course, we could also use a different (and more attractive design), but Priscilla’s always liked repurposing materials.

We have a lot to get done between now and Opening Day.   Priscilla looked for volunteers to research and pick up our grapes and new fruit tree.  Cathy and Ken volunteered their trucks (since a tree does not happily fit in the back of my jetta).  Ken also volunteered to help me pick up our Earth Day supplies so that I do not have to make 4 trips to carry mulch in my jetta.

We ran out of time.  Susan picked up the entire tab for our refreshments and donated all of the cash left by the other members to the SACG. 

In a few days, I'll be posting here all of the information which gardeners will need to join the SACG for our 9th growing season.   We've had a number of gardeners drop out and will need to focus on recruiting more new gardeners.

Before the meeting, I started a flat of cold crops (kale, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, lettuce, etc.).  I planned to start my peppers and eggplants after the meeting but was out of the correct potting soil.  Peppers are finicky and prefer the Miracle-Gro Organic Choice potting soil (over peat moss), but Lowe's was not carrying it this year!!!! Aggghh.  I knew that the orchid mix was the next most preferred for peppers, but the only bag available was too chucky in which to start seeds (so I mixed it with regular potting soil and will keep my fingers crossed).  In addition to Italian and Asian eggplant,  I started bell, jalapeno, cayenne, tabasco, pasilla peppers.  I seem to be out of pablano and giant Chinese pepper seeds, so I need to find some soon (seeing as how -- gasp -- Lowe's was not carrying any of those this year either).    I do not plan on planting potatoes this year and so will also not be starting sweet potato slips this year.   I never seem to have enough room for all of the heirloom beans that I like to grow and potatoes are relatively inexpensive at the grocery. . . . .   Next week, I'll start tomatoes, herbs and flowers.  They do not take as long to germinate.