We had a workday at the garden last Saturday.  We were lucky and it was cloudy and somewhat ‘cool’ (by cool I mean not above 95 degrees).  We did a lot of weeding and mulch spreading.  The hot weather this summer stunted a lot of our plants, but not the weeds!

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Our last post gave a well needed update as to what we have been doing this past month. Because we have been backlogged with work at the farm we have taken a lot of pictures while working and have more progress to share with you!

The last post showed a picture of us making some planting beds, and also had a video of our ground breaking. Fast forward a number of weeks, and much has grown; our site is much greener now. Check out the pictures above to see the first sign of pumpkins, and our ladybug friends that are trying to help our aphid problem.

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*“The wind began to switch the house to pitch
and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch”

That was the very picture of the Community Garden Partnership’s just completed greenhouse, during the spring storms earlier this year.   Several months later and we can say * “Let the joyous news be spread”…….

The newly built Community Garden Partnership greenhouse was dedicated to the 2010 Leadership Fox Cities group  (who funded and built the original greenhouse) on Tuesday, August 24^th at the Goodwill Community Garden site.

Our own Bob Pederson and Mayor’s Hanna (of Appleton) and Merkes (of Menasha) were present to assist with the dedication.  Bob’s remarks, about the day of the storm, suggested a correlation to the Munchkin Land song from the Wizard of Oz.  (a visualization that was pretty accurate). 

 But with Goodwill NCW support the new greenhouse became a reality and an opportunity to thank the Leadership Fox Cities group for their commitment and energy.  As well as, to those who worked throughout the summer of 2010 to ensure that the “greenhouse project” was reclaimed and completed.  They included:   community gardeners and volunteers Bob Koehler, Lori Hill, Tracey Moon & Caycie, Bill Kraemer, Dave Thompson family and friends. 

The dedication also included a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring the Fiskars “Green Thumb” award granted to the CGP earlier this year.  

Historically this greenhouse represents the will of our community to push through adversity and it stands as a reminder of just how important it is to have a community place around food.

Peace,

Community Garden Partnership

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Last Saturday, August 28th, was our first working bee. We had 19 adults and a number of children come to get our garden started. We have levelled  an area for our garden shed and paving will be completed this week. Six large raised garden beds were installed and two metre square ones.

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bed building

Hello All! It has been too long since our last project post. If you remember our earlier entry we talked about our problems with our originally planned site, and our potential expansion to another neighborhood to accommodate our needs as a group. We want to be clear when we bring this up that we still plan on developing the site at Thackeray Avenue. The only thing that has changed is the amount of land we can use there; we will only be able to use 1/4 the land we had originally planned for. The situation there may change, but in the meantime we have tried to work things out.

For the most part, our recent work on the land in Ohio City is the reason we have taken so long to put up a blog post. Check out the video below to see the ground breaking of the site and get an idea of what we have planted there in the meantime:

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One of our community members donated a bird bath for our garden. We put a little tiny stone chicken in the bird bath BUT a kookaburra was seen swooping down and flying off with the chicken. The chicken was never seen again. The children were amazed because the kookaburra is our school emblem.

We have been busy planting lots of plants in the Akuna Garden. Look at the before and after pictures!

Jenny and Erika

Environment Team

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4.  5. 6. 

7. 8.  9.

1. Our zinnias are still going strong!

2. Delicious cherry tomatoes

3. What to do with an abundance of cherry tomatoes? Dry them in your oven: Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. (93 degrees C.) Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and arrange them cut side up on the baking sheet, touching each other. They will shrink to about three-quarters of their original size. Sprinkle well with salt. (OR not). Bake in the center of the oven for 2 to 3 hours. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold.

When we hosted the Local Foods Network gathering last month, these were a hit- we recommend giving them a try!

4. A few of us attended the 3rd annual “Buy Fresh, Bike Local” event, hosted by Capital Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area Council, in partnership with South Central PA Buy Fresh Buy Local, Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau, and Dickinson College Farm. After a beautiful 25 mile ride through the country-side, Dickinson Farm hosted a delicious lunch.

5. One of our youngest members has her first experience with scissors. Let’s hope their size wasn’t too intimidating.

6. Our scissors didn’t arrive in time for the ribbon cutting at our Local Foods Gathering. And then, during our celebration dinner (the following Friday night), it finally rained - Great news after our 2 month drought but it postponed our ceremony once again. So one afternoon the following week, a few of us gathered to do the honors.

7. Our Fiskars tools were invaluable in the process of leveling a spot for our greenhouse/winter potting shed, and later raking stone in preperation for the radiant tubing.

8. Next step, installing radiant tubing which will heat the potting shed and growing beds through winter, using the solar panel attached to the garage. A load of concrete’s coming Friday! Our goal is to have the project finished in time for the solar tour on Oct. 2nd. We”ll keep you posted…

9. With the end of melons arrives the first harvest of winter squash.

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