Info for plotholders, Monthly Agenda and 'How Do I Join?' posted
Three more informational pages have been added to the site.
Three more informational pages have been added to the site.
You can access the garden bylaws as well as the dates of 2008 Garden Days in the Our Garden section in the upper right corner of the page.
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Our first woodchip delivery of the year arrived on Monday, courtesy of the Prospect Tree company. Now it's in a big heap on the Warren Street side, waiting for garden members to cover our paths with the stuff.
The chips break down over the winter, turning into rich, dark compost which can be added to vegetable and flower plots. And every spring, the cycle starts again, with gardeners loading up wheelbarrows to distribute the chips across paths from one end of the property to the other.
See that steam coming off the woodchips? That's from the heat generated when you pile up a whole bunch of finely-chopped vegetation and let it sit for a while. Think of it as a sign of heavy-duty composting in action.
If you'd like to help distribute the woodchips, please contact Chris for instructions. As you'll see by clicking on the thumbnail at left, there's a lot to go around.
Amy showing new members around
About forty people turned out for this season's first Garden Day on Sunday, April 6th. Chris, the Garden Coordinator, wrote these comments afterwards:
"At this time of year the garden offers few hints of its potential; just scattered daubs of color from the crocuses, hyacinths, narcissi and daffodils that we planted last fall. But these weeks offer a great opportunity to see the bones of the garden and to look at the clean slate on which we'll start planning the changes that will take effect in 2008.
"Our first garden day was a huge success. We signed up loads of enthusiastic new members, got a great start on tackling the early-sprouting weeds and organized the composter to begin receiving regular deliveries from the Park Slope Food Co-op."
If you're on the WSMCG listserve, you can also check out a Garden Day message sent on Monday by Mical, who's serving as an ad-hoc officer.
(Click thumbnails to enlarge)
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is just out with its listing of this year's spring and summer adult education courses, including instruction in city gardening, composting and horticulture.
You can take classes to certify as a citizen pruner, qualified to care for the city's street trees, and even sign on for the BBG's well-regarded certificate program in horticulture.
Photo: Lotus in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Japanese garden, 2004
...proof that spring has arrived. Check out our photo gallery-ette titled "Early Spring Flowers 2008" here, or in our albums section in the right-hand column.
Our first Garden Day of 2008 is just weeks away, on Sunday, April 6th. We'll start with a meeting at 10am, then get down to gardening at 11am. New members can sign up at the meeting, and members who want individual plots for the year can request them.
We'll learn about plans for the garden's layout, get caught up with old friends (and make some new ones), and work together as we whip the garden into shape for the growing season. Don't miss out on this chance to get your neighborhood garden off to a great start for the year.
Mical stands poised to feed our new Food Coop composter
Starting this year, the garden will be operating as a compost source for the Park Slope Food Coop. We'll gather and break down uncooked fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and other materials in a new composter donated by the Coop for just this purpose. At the same time, we'll carry on with our existing composting system for our own plots.
The new composter (current nickname: Roland Turner) arrived back in January inside a couple of large, flat boxes. Tim handled most of the assembly, and a team of gardeners helped lift it onto its legs and make some adjustments to the door and vents.
Garden members who also happen to be Coop members will be sorting and transporting Roland's contents to fulfill their PSFC workslot requirements. We've started out with four Coop composting slots, but some new ones may open up in the future.
And Roland's already cooking; a check of the compost the other day showed it steaming away in the chilly March air. That heat is a sign that the scraps are breaking down exactly as they should.
Please note: Only certain kinds of food and materials are suitable for composting. Adding the wrong thing to the mix can render an entire batch useless. If you're unfamiliar with composting, check with a supervisor at one of the upcoming Garden Days for the details on what's acceptible to put in, and watch this space. We hope to have a list of compost-friendly items online shortly.
