August 24, 2010 - McClure Garden Member Update

Workbee

A big thank-you to all the members who came out to last Saturday’s workbee. Thanks also to the three youths from the YMCA’s Y-Map program who came out to help us. We accomplished a lot, and here’s a list to update everyone on what got done.
Composting
- Patrick and his crew built a brand new 3-bin composter. Yay! The funds for the materials were mostly donated by Community Natural Foods and the rest by the Shell Environmental Fund. We will be putting up a sign shortly to acknowledge Community’s contribution. A second new composter is planned for the NE corner. This one will have a lid and will be used to store finished compost. We are looking for volunteers to build this one so please let us know if you or someone you know can help. The remaining funds from the Shell Environmental grant will cover the cost of materials.
- There are bagged leaves beside the new composter and also beside the second composter that you can use to layer with your green materials. Please remember to put all diseased plant material and weeds in the dumpster in the parking lot.
- The middle composter and the black plastic composter that’s beside it was turned and tidied up. The finished compost has been moved to the left side of the two-bin composter and the right side has new and working materials.
- Help yourself to the finished compost and please add some water to the working side when you can to help speed up the decomposition.
Weeding & Seeding
- The raspberry patch has been weeded and a cover crop of White Dutch Clover has been planted in the hopes it will help suppress the quack grass once it’s established. Please help keep the raspberry patch well watered in the next while to help the clover germinate and grow.
- A goodly amount of weeds came out of our orchards – enough to fill the dumpster. Once the weeds are cleared, the long heap of woodchips behind the cherry trees can be spread around the orchard. The mulch needs to be renewed on a regular basis because it does break down over time.
- The perennial flower bed beside the church got weeded and extra edging was added to help keep the weeds at bay.
- The weeds from between the patio stones of the handicap area were removed.
Fence Jumping Deterrent
- Ruth zip tied dead branches to the fence to increase the height at the Northeast corner where kids often scale the fence. She will be building a little bed at the bottom to grow sweet peas that will climb the branches. Better the peas than the kids.
Next Workbee
- Saturday September 18, 2010 from 10-2:00pm

Window Farms

This system can churn-out a salad per week, but it is definitely not the place to start if you are a beginner. The window farm described in this How-To is a reservoir system. A water pump on a timer periodically pumps water and liquid nutrients from the bottom reservoir to the top reservoir. There are small holes drilled into the underside of the top reservoir. Small drip emitters with valves let out a constant drip of water and nutrients into a column of plants. Each plant sits in a grow medium in a net cup (a perforated plastic cup commonly used in hydroponics), within an inverted plastic water bottle. The cap of each water bottle has a hole in it so that the water and nutrients can drip from one bottle to the next, from the top to the bottom of the column of plants. The bottom-most bottles are connected to tubing that takes the water and nutrients into the bottom reservoir, where it sits until the pump turns on again.

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April News for Community Gardeners

	Tuesday, April 06, 2010 Unsubscribe | Printable Version | Send this to a friend
	In this issue: • April News for Community Gardeners • First Time Food Gardeners! • Live Webcam Q & A with Geoff Lawton April 17 April News for Community Gardeners Garden Show This Weekend! April 10 and 11 at Spruce Meadows A weekend packed with things to see, do, learn, smell and grow! This annual event brings together gardening and outdoor living enthusiasts complete with vendors, speakers from across Canada, local gardening experts, hands-on activities, how to clinic demonstrations and more! PLEASE BE ADVISED: due to budget constraints we will not be able to offer a shuttle service from the nearest LRT station. We are sorry for any inconvenience. There is NO CHARGE for parking at Spruce Meadows. Directions: SPRUCE MEADOWS West Bound HWY 22X-Spruce Meadows Trail to Tournament Lane, Parking in Lots 7 and 8. For details about the Garden Show visit:http://www.calhort.org/events/gardenshow.aspx First Time Food Gardeners! April 25 Encore of "Growing Food for the First Time" with Elaine Rude Due to popular demand master gardener and market gardener Elaine Rude will be presenting her introduction to organic vegetable growing Sunday afternoon April 25 at the Unitarian Church of Calgary. Register now at: http://growfoodcalgary.eventbrite.com/ Find out about vegetable varieties that thrive locally and how to take the best care of the soil and how to amend it. A suggested donation of $5 (proceeds to cover costs of event) Refreshments will be provided. Parking available on street and at Balmoral School. Live Webcam Q & A with Geoff Lawton April 17 Permaculture Calgaryhttp://www.permaculturecalgary.org/ is pleased to present ... 'An Evening of Permaculture with Geoff Lawton'* onSaturday April 17, 2010 starting at 6pm. Geoff Lawton, Director of the renowned Permaculture Research Institute of Australia (www.permaculture.org.au) wil join us in a *live webcam Q & A session following a screening of his 'Introduction to Permaculture' DVD. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about permaculture and its applications for local food security. Permaculture design empowers individuals and communities to apply simple designs steps to grow food locally with a minimum of effort and resources. Saturday April 17, 2010 John Dutton Theatre (616 MacLeod Trail SE - Central Library) 6-10 pm, Saturday April 17 2010 $10 at the door Registration: RSVP to calgarypermaculture@gmail.com See you there! Adrian Buckley, Permaculture Designer, B. of Community Design www.bigskypermaculture.ca	April 9 Film Screening of "Renewal" A documentary film celebrating Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim environmental activists who are becoming caretakers of the Earth by combating global warming, promoting food security, recycling, land preservation and respect for life on earth. Friday April 9 6:30 pm pizza, veggies, beverages. Donations appreciated. 7:00 to 8:30 pm film screening 8:30 Potluck dessert & discussion Families welcome! Wickenden Hall, Unitarian Church of Calgry 1703 - 1st Street NW 403-276-2436 Breaking news! We just received confirmation today thet Rev. Bill Phipps will join us this Friday Evening for our Film & Pizza event. Rev. Bill is formerly Moderator of the United Church of Canada and now a leading advocate of dealing sensibly and positively with Climate Change. He will lead the discussion of this timely film "RENEWAL" and will be joined by Prof. Mishka Lysack of the University of Calgary, another leading spokesperson on Climate Change issues. Lots of free parking on-street and at Balmoral School parking lot. Gorham Hussey, Co-chair Green Sanctuary Committee & Community Garden, Unitarian Church of Calgary Employment Opportunity Eco-friendly landscaper looking for staff for the season (mid-May to early November) or part of it. We do installation - lots of digging, hauling and planting. If you love the outdoors, working with a great group of people, are responsible and willing to work hard, contact Laureen Rama at Eco-yards. $03-969-1176. Check out www.eco-yards.com Share Some Seedlings with Montgomery! Montgomery Community Garden is a shared garden space and they need some plant material to be successful in the 2010 growing season. If you can donate any of the following please send a message to montgomerycommunitygarden@gmail.com Seedlings: Rhubarb (strawberry/red variety) - 5 plants Broccoli - 10 plants Brussel Sprouts - 8-10 plants Curly Kale - 10 plants Green Sweet Peppers - 6-8 plants Petunias (bush type) - White, non-wave or cascading Basil (4-6), Stevia (1 or 2), Chives (2) Rosemary (1 or 2) Raspberry canes Seeds: Borage (3-4 seeds) Ground Cherry ( Molly or Cassock variety - 15 seeds of each or 30 of one variety) Organic Buckwheat (2 pounds)
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