Hi everyone,
Nature doesn't like bare ground so it would be a good idea to plant the new beds with cover crops as soon as possible before She moves the weeds in to do the job. I would like to plant cover crops right away to fill up the beds. They can be dug in during early Fall or left through the winter to protect the soil and raked off in Spring.
Practically anything can be used as long as we sow it densely. I have a lot of spinach and arugula (domestic & wild). We can also easily get some of the more commonly sown cover crops seeds:
- oats
- buckwheat
- alfalfa
- field peas
- canola
- barley
It will only take about an hour or so to plant all 20 plots. Let me know what you all think - if you have any preferences for any type of cover crop, etc. I'm aiming to have this in by next week.
We also need to number the boxes. The numbers on the older boxes could also be refreshed. I'm guessing they were painted on using a stencil. I'll look into getting that next time I'm in Home Depot.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Big things happening Wednesday, 29th
Hello everyone,
Home Depot has called and confirmed for 12 people on next Wed. 29th at 8:00am-2:00pm. They will be bringing extra wheelbarrows to help move the soil into the plots. Their PR dept. will be alerting the media so hopefully we'll get some coverage out of this. 4 people each will be coming from 3 stores. They will be bringing some items for us that was on our wishlist.
Child and Youth Friendly Calgary will be rounding up a crew to come out from 10-noon to help wheelbarrow soil into plots. There will be at least 6 and up to 12 youth. These folks are also coming out this Saturday from 2-4pm.
Our four regular Y-Map volunteers will be there from 12:30-2:00pm as usual next Wednesday. I've also asked the Y-Map coordinator to see if they can get any more kids out.
The Calgary Foundation - I'll be emailing Julie Black today to invite her out. They had requested that we invite them to major workdays.
Community Garden Resource Network - I'll contact Gael and ask her to put the word out there. This would be a good opportunity for those who are looking to start their own community gardens to come and see how it can be done.
Lorna - if you're willing to part with some old fence boards, can you get them cut into roughly one-foot sections and bring them to the garden? We can use them to help level the beds on the uneven ground.
If anyone else has spare lumber they want to put to good use, this could be your chance.
We are accepting names to add to a list for the new plots for next year. Perhaps you, as a member, might want to rent an additional plot? Do you know someone who wants a plot? Please contact Maeve at or phone 403-454-0328 to get added to the list.
Home Depot has called and confirmed for 12 people on next Wed. 29th at 8:00am-2:00pm. They will be bringing extra wheelbarrows to help move the soil into the plots. Their PR dept. will be alerting the media so hopefully we'll get some coverage out of this. 4 people each will be coming from 3 stores. They will be bringing some items for us that was on our wishlist.
Child and Youth Friendly Calgary will be rounding up a crew to come out from 10-noon to help wheelbarrow soil into plots. There will be at least 6 and up to 12 youth. These folks are also coming out this Saturday from 2-4pm.
Our four regular Y-Map volunteers will be there from 12:30-2:00pm as usual next Wednesday. I've also asked the Y-Map coordinator to see if they can get any more kids out.
The Calgary Foundation - I'll be emailing Julie Black today to invite her out. They had requested that we invite them to major workdays.
Community Garden Resource Network - I'll contact Gael and ask her to put the word out there. This would be a good opportunity for those who are looking to start their own community gardens to come and see how it can be done.
Lorna - if you're willing to part with some old fence boards, can you get them cut into roughly one-foot sections and bring them to the garden? We can use them to help level the beds on the uneven ground.
If anyone else has spare lumber they want to put to good use, this could be your chance.
We are accepting names to add to a list for the new plots for next year. Perhaps you, as a member, might want to rent an additional plot? Do you know someone who wants a plot? Please contact Maeve at or phone 403-454-0328 to get added to the list.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Tossed Salad Plot
On Monday, July 13th, the day of our one good rain this season, plot no.4 was seeded with a blend of over a dozen salad ingredients.
There's a mix of lettuces, other greens, herbs and other items that might go into a salad like carrots and cucumbers. The seeds were put into a container, shook and then tossed into the plot - all while huddling under the cover of an umbrella. Then the soil was raked lightly so some of the seeds would be covered. I couldn't rake one-handed so I had to forsake the umbrella for a bit. It was the fastest raking you ever saw.
The entire bed was planted in less than five minutes. That's the beauty of the broadcasting method of sowing. It's quick. One famous gardening fellow, Masanobu Fukuoka (author of "The One Straw Revolution"), uses the broadcasting method for his "Natural Way of Farming". He, too, mixes seeds and then tosses the mix all around his garden. He lets Nature determine where the best spot will be for each type of vegetable to grow. It's all part of his do-nothing method of gardening where he tries to expend as little effort as possible and let Nature take care of the rest. He figures Nature knows far more about growing plants than we do so he leaves it in more capable hands. It's worked for him. Now let's see if it will work for us.
Some seeds have already sprouted! Do we know what they are? Heck no, but it'll be fun to figure it out. It is a community plot so feel free to harvest what you dare. :o)
There's a mix of lettuces, other greens, herbs and other items that might go into a salad like carrots and cucumbers. The seeds were put into a container, shook and then tossed into the plot - all while huddling under the cover of an umbrella. Then the soil was raked lightly so some of the seeds would be covered. I couldn't rake one-handed so I had to forsake the umbrella for a bit. It was the fastest raking you ever saw.
The entire bed was planted in less than five minutes. That's the beauty of the broadcasting method of sowing. It's quick. One famous gardening fellow, Masanobu Fukuoka (author of "The One Straw Revolution"), uses the broadcasting method for his "Natural Way of Farming". He, too, mixes seeds and then tosses the mix all around his garden. He lets Nature determine where the best spot will be for each type of vegetable to grow. It's all part of his do-nothing method of gardening where he tries to expend as little effort as possible and let Nature take care of the rest. He figures Nature knows far more about growing plants than we do so he leaves it in more capable hands. It's worked for him. Now let's see if it will work for us.
Some seeds have already sprouted! Do we know what they are? Heck no, but it'll be fun to figure it out. It is a community plot so feel free to harvest what you dare. :o)
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