Garden 2011!

July 2011

First of all, thanks to the group of a dozen lawyers who came several weeks ago to help weed, plant and mulch. Their labors are appreciated and they made great progress. And to everyone on the "volunteers" list who has helped with these "thankless" tasks -- your work does not go unnoticed! Laura Dooley, our coordinator, remarked that the garden looked wonderful when she returned from her vacation.
We are now picking squash and green beans by the bucketful! (Maybe a few tomatoes, too.) We will continue planting and weeding. Remember, even if you can't work for the whole time that Laura is at the garden site, you can work for 15-20 minutes. If you want to come at some other time, check the bulletin board for chores that she will post. Please sign in when you volunteer so we can keep track of things.
Laura is looking for one or two people to start broccoli seeds in your home for the Fall garden. Please email her at ldtd80@gmail.com or call 563-6145 if you are interested.
Ideas? Questions? Call or email Laura Dooley.

Y'all are the greatest volunteers ever! Thanks for all you do.

Sally Speaker
Volunteers Coordinator   

 

   

 

Servis Juris 

Thank you to the Birmingham attorneys would worked in our garden during the Birmingham Bar Association's (BBA) annual community service day - 'Servis Juris'.  Because of their help, we were able to clear and plant 4 rows of beans, which immediately began to sprout when the rains came. - Thank you for all your help.
And a big thanks to our church volunteers who also contributed their labor in the dire heat - - Thanks to all!

   

 

 

 

Below, see some of the progress from 2010!

,

June 2010

The garden is producing!
Please feel free to help!

Thanks, Charlie, for all that you do.

     

    

,

"TO DO"

April

Weed Control

- layer newspaper around each plant

- shovel mulch on top of newspapers

Helpful Maintenance

- turn the handle on the composter a couple of times

,

April 14, 2010

 

Thanks to all who helped on Good Friday!  Garden II is now in its way.  We have formed rows for nearly half the garden, established one bed of tomatoes with a trellis fence, installed our water system, planted broccoli, lettuce, cabbage and some green beans.  More planting will be coming.   Our soil is better than last year after being worked for a season.    Charlie Griffin is doing a great job in assisting volunteers and in maintaining an ongoing presence at the garden.

 

As a result, we are now a resource for other people interested in learning about gardening.  The day before our initial planting, students from The Highland Day School brought seedlings they had grown at the school and planted them in the garden.  They will monitor their plants with tags showing each student’s name. 

 

 

 

Recently we were contacted by Sarah Warren on behalf of The Puzzle Piece Boys who are high functioning autistic children ages 5 to 11.  These boys will be assisting Charlie, hopefully on a weekly basis to get experience and add their efforts to the garden. As the weeks go by, of course the tasks increase.  We recently had a load of new composted mulch delivered.  This process seems to never end.  We will be placing newspaper around the plants and over the watering system, on top of which we will place the composted mulch.  Mulch will also go in the rows between the beds.  Newspaper is in the boiler room.  These are tasks that need to be done now and will be needed throughout the summer as our crops rotate and the mulch deteriorates.  Over the next weeks, we will be continuing to plant to get the whole garden planted and then rotate our crops to maximize production.  Please post your time on the board.

 

Once again this year, Magic City Harvest will be picking up our produce and redistributing it to the many agencies they serve.  Thanks again to Charlie, Edwin Martye and Jones Valley Farms and all the other many participants in this effort.  You might notice also we have a compost tumbler located next to the garden.  If you are by the garden, give the tumbler a few turns each time.  That helps the compost in it to deteriorate more quickly as we get batch after batch from the tumbler.

 

,

March 30, 2010

The day is almost here!  This Friday, April 2, is Good Friday - the long-awaited start to our second year in community gardening.  If the weather report holds true, the garden will be in good shape for preparation and some planting.  Come at noon, ready to dig in!  The work that needs to be done includes shaping of the beds, installing the watering system and preparing the soil.  The tomato seeds/seedlings are standing by!   Please remember to sign in on the garden's bulletin-board sign-in sheets.  This is so very important - the total number of hours volunteered in 2009 was the basis used in a grant application for this year.  I know it's easy to skip this step, especially if you are weary from your gardening, but please try to remember that EVERY VOLUNTEER HOUR COUNTS.   Please send me your suggestions.  I don't actually do much gardening but I will do my best to keep everyone informed.  

Sally Speaker, Volunteers Coordinator