Linking Gardens and Food Banks Terrific Idea

Ample Harvest is the kind of site that makes you say, what a great idea, why didn't anyone think of that before.  Follow the link to find out more about their worthwhile programs. 

We had several work days in March.  There is bed preparation and cleanup, then the first planting.  Onions, peas, lettuce, radish.  March has been very good for rain.  At the end of the month, we are over 3" above our normal rainfall.  The items planted have started to pop through, even though the nights have been cool and sometimes frosty. 

We did plant quite a number of cabbage family transplants. Broccoli, cauliflower and two kinds of cabbage.  To assist in the organic controls, we built a barrier or tent to exclude the cabbage moths.  On warm days, more than a few are already in evidence. 

The material for the "tent" is non-woven fabric.  It is available commercially, but expensive.  Our solution was to reclaim and reuse the fabric from thrift store bed skirts.  The outside ruffle was removed and sent to the quilting seniors.  We clipped the fabric pieces together using a piece of electrical conduit and bamboo stakes for support.  It was secured with old clothes pins.  Our construction was immediately tested with 30+ MPH winds and heavy rain the same day.  It is standing fast and firm two weeks later.  Also shown are the towers constructed for early peas .  We planted both regular and edible podded varieties.  UP NOT OUT. 

This photo shows several of the new raised beds that were constructed by the Scouts.  With the new beds, we have nearly doubled the amount of growing space available from last year.  About 80% of the original plan has now been constructed.  In addition, the third compost bin was built on another March work day.  This brings the number of bins to three.  We now have the flexability to move the compost around between bins for faster decomposition and have additional storage space for composting. 

The weekend edition of the Rogersville Review carried an extensive story about the garden.  Several of our regular volunteers were pictured.  The text featured an appeal for donations to help improve and expand the garden. 

We were contacted by the Church Hill Elementary School.  A group of students from the Kindergarten and first grade classes will be learning about gardening, planting and weeding over the next several weeks.  They will have a dedicated bed to plant and harvest.  Before coming to the garden, the girls are planting sunflower seeds in school and will transplant them in the garden.  We plan to tag each plant with the students name so they can watch the growth  of their seedling over the summer and into the fall. 

The weather continues to be unsettled.  We have had frequent, heavy rains, sometimes with a sprinkling of snow.  This has been mixed in between 70 degree sunny days.  The daffodils are past their peak and redbud trees are in full flower now. 

March Winds

 

The Eagle (Richard Peters)  Has Landed

The Church Hill Boy Scouts adopted the garden for an Eagle Scout project.  The eagle is Richard Peters.  He planned, directed and controlled the installation of  7 large and 4 small raised beds, completion of the second compost bin and the installation of the manufactured sand in the garden path, erecting 3 bluebird houses and construction of the garden information center.   The work days covered several nights.  

With a donation from the Community Clothes Closet, 20.75 tons or manufactured sand were purchased from Vulcan Materials - Kingsport quarry.  The company extended a substantial discount, making the donated funds stretch further.  In addition, the City of Church Hill picked up and transported the sand to the garden site.  The pile looks pretty daunting,  but the 42,000 pounds of sand was quickly moved between the rows to act as a permanent weed barrier.  

Scout leaders, other Eagle Scouts, scouts and parents all helped in moving the sand and the other construction chores.

 The crew worked past sunset and finished most of the pile under the glow of the street lights, adjourning about 8:00.  

 Scout leader Kipp West is shown with Brian Kramer and the new  Information Center for the Garden.  We used the rear of the existing sign to mount the center.  A good recycling project, the glass door was a refused custom order at a local lumber yard.  The closeout price of $1.00 needed some additional modification, but made an ideal waterproof access to the center.  We now have a central location for all our messages and information about the garden.  We are now creating the graphics and materials for our volunteers.

The scouts also constructed the second compost bin.  They removed all of the cardboard weed barrier from last year and placed in the bin for compost material.  

With the assistance of the Scouts, we were able to complete all of our construction goals for the year before the growing season really got started.  It was a great project.  The young, strong backs much appreciated. Truly an example of the wonderful community support that the garden is generating.