| | | Interbay P-Patch Newsletter | Wednesday, May 30th 2012
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Greetings! ~
This week in the garden.... |
Interbay P-Patch Newsletter Official Communication Tool for Gardeners By Donna Kalka
The Leadership Team met this last weekend and one of the topics was to declare an official communication tool for all gardeners. It was agreed that the weekly newsletter would be our official tool for garden communication.
Please save these for future reference. If you ever cannot find one, please contact Terry Hunt for previous issues.
If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact Donna Kalka. |
Help Wanted - Plumbing Consultant By Jude Berman
The garden is in dire need of a plumbing consultant. While all gardeners are encouraged to take care of small issues in their blocks, e.g. repair hose leaks, etc., occasionally we have a larger problem that needs some plumbing expertise. This does not mean we need someone to fix everything. But we do need someone who can lead an occasional plumbing work party, or provide advice and assistance on plumbing issues.
If you can help, please contact Jude Berman judithberman@comcast.net |
The Free Table By Donna Kalka
If you have extra produce, please consider donating it to the Food bank first. If you have a very small amount of herbs and veggies, seeds or perennial plants to share, there is a free table located under the grape arbor in the plaza where these items can be left. Labels and a pen can be found in a plastic folder. Please describe your item and initial it. If it isn't taken in a few days, it is time to retrieve and compost it. Larger items like asparagus and rhubarb starts can be placed in a marked cardboard box.
Happy Gardening! |
Donate Your Extra Produce to Feed the Hungry!
Regular deliveries begin June 2nd
By Jude Berman
Interbay P-Patch has a proud history of donating about 5,000 lb. of produce every year to local food banks and other organizations that help feed the hungry. About 2/3 of that is grown in the Food Bank beds, and the remaining 1/3 comes from YOUR GARDENS! Many P-Patchers grow food specifically for donation, while others simply donate the extra produce they cannot eat themselves. Please don't let food go to waste! If you're not eating it, don't leave it for the rodents to nibble.
WHAT TO DO
1. Harvest the produce for donation, making sure it is clean and presentable. Trim the yellow leaves and rotten ends, brush off the dirt, etc. If you wouldn't eat it yourself, please don't donate it.
2. Take the produce to the food bank shed (that cantaloupe-colored shed beside the north leaf bunker). The lock combination is 0-2-6-4.
3. WEIGH your donations separately by type of produce and enter the information on the donation sheet on the clipboard. THERE ARE TWO CLIPBOARDS: one for P-Patch gardeners and one for the Food Band beds. Be sure to use the right one!
4. Place the weighed produce in a bag or one of the plastic bins in the shed.
WHEN TO DO IT
1. Leave produce Tuesday evening for the Wednesday morning delivery to Ballard Food Bank. The Food Bank accepts unlimited amounts of any type of produce.
2. Leave produce Saturday morning for the Saturday after-lunch delivery to The Westlake, a residence for formerly homeless men. They prefer an assortment of produce, but not enormous amounts. If you have several bins of greens to donate, or a whole tree full of fruit, save that for Ballard Food Bank.
3. Leave produce Sunday evening for the Monday morning delivery to Mary's Place, a downtown day shelter for homeless women. They prefer SMALL AMOUNTS of assorted produce - just a few grocery bags total.
REMEMBER: As the weather warms up, produce wilts quickly. Please don't leave anything in the shed longer than necessary.
Need help gleaning?
If you are going to be away when crops are coming on, the Food Bank team will be happy to harvest your produce on a Tuesday evening. Speak to Jude or Deb in the garden or contact them by email or phone: judithberman@comcast.net 206-755-6205; interbayfoodbank@hotmail.com 206-234-2861. The crew tends to be pretty busy on a Tuesday evening, so please don't abuse this service. If you are in town and able, please do your own harvesting.
Some P-Patchers trust the Food Bank crew to glean extra produce without asking. We're not talking about taking your prize tomatoes; just the oversize zucchini, overgrown greens, overplanted beans...or whatever you grew that you have too much of. If you feel comfortable with this system, contact Jude or Deb to let them know which crops can be gleaned.
Join the fun on Tuesday evening!
The Food Bank team meets every Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. until dusk. We weed, water, plant, harvest, mulch, turn compost and make merry... Everyone is welcome and you don't have to make a regular commitment. Just come when you can. No experience necessary - in fact, you'll learn a LOT about gardening in the process.
Thank you everyone for your generosity and here's to a bountiful harvest in 2012!. |
A Big Thank You!!
By Ann Tamura
Plot 45 has been redone and ready for the new gardeners to start building their beds and start planting. I want to give great praise and thanks to Carol Bianquis, David Panteleeff, and Mark Sebring for stepping up to help in clearing, weeding, laying chips down for the new plots. This would not have been completed without their energy nor tenacity to get it done. Thank you thank you. |
Help Wanted to Prune Dead Branches on Berm
By Susan Casey
Help wanted for pruning dead branches on berm -- I'm looking for one or more gardeners to help prune back dead branches on trees and shrubs on the berm. No experience needed, only a strong arm and a pair of hand clippers. I'd like to do this Sat June 2 but if you can only do it some other time let's talk about it.
Susan Casey, scompost@q.com or 292-3583. |
Ongoing Work Party
By Susan Harris
Heads up gardeners and friends.
The time has come to think about the really BIG clean-up project. In the past we have had so much help some of you may not have had the experience. I'm told we have an agreement with the city to maintain the parking strip and sidewalk. This is now what we need to do.
#1 The curb parking strip and sidewalk edges bordering 15th Ave.
#2 The berm on all sides and top.
# 3 The entrance gates.
The tasks include removing weeds and grasses and trash. This is followed up with a thick layer of mulch. The mulch is made of old brown leaves, stinky grass and chopped material. Check the Susan Casey May 9 Newsletter notice. A copy will be with the notes in the tool shed because it explains the process very well. ( Thank you Compost Lead SUSAN CASEY. We will be glad to use the grass.)
The leaf mulch in the concrete bunker closest to the wheelbarrow shed is what we will use along with the grass and chopped material. I think it will be enough.
I'll be at the garden each Saturday beginning May 12th from 9:00am to 2:00pm. I'll have a clip board of tasks and a map. This will stay in the tool shed for everyone to refer to. For example, Where to work, who might be heading up a task-force and where to find special tools. This will also be a place for notes about what needs to be done. Be sure to record your time spent on this project.
These "Big" jobs can be completed if we all put in some time. There are small parts to even big jobs so don't hesitate to ask how you can help. With a constant effort Maybe we will comlpete the work in time for the SALMON BBQ!
P.S. Look for people who have done this before to show you the best techniques for doing the work easily.
Thank you all. |
Our Blog Has Been Hacked
By Terry Hunt
I am sad to announce that our blog has been hacked by a spam machine posting all sorts of ads. So, I have stopped everyone from posting, all go to draft awaiting approval. So until I have time to figure out what do to (changing the password alone isn't helping) Please hold tight. If anyone reading this has knowledge and is willing to help, please let me know. Time spent here also counts towards your required garden hours~ |
Soup's On!Join Us for Saturday Soup Lunches in the Garden~
From now through June 23rd Soup Lunches are coordinated by Blackberry Vista. Join us each Saturday at noon in the garden. Even Volunteer to get those hours accumulated early!
The best way to communicate your interest in volunteering for a task is to do one of the following...
2) Enter your name on the Soup sign-up sheet in the tool shed next to the white board and sign up for your preferred date(s).
3) Tell someone from Leadership Team in person. (Check your handbook for photo identification).
Make sure to enter your volunteer hours in the red binder in the tool shed. Block Leader assignments will change June 30th.
-- Bon Appétit and happy gardening.
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| | | | Next Week's Newsletter Deadline-
Please submit any newsletter item to me on or before Tuesday evening, 7:00pm for Wednesday's release.
And a reminder to email all items to interbayppatchgarden@gmail.com or simply reply to the last newsletter you received.
Happy Gardening!
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