Youth Volunteers in the Garden

The YMCA Y-Map program running out of the Pearson high school has connected us with four volunteers to help in the garden. These volunteers are in the garden most Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30-2:00pm (see calendar).

This week the young ladies braved rainy and blustery weather to prepare and plant the Y-Map plot. They dug out all the weeds and most of non-productive raspberries and mixed in compost. Twelve fast-growing vegetables were selected and planted. Then they helped transplant the orphan raspberry bushes into the raspberry plot. Lorna was on hand to guided the kids along and that was a great comfort to me because my experience with youth and kids is rather limited.
The pumpkins at the Leisure Centre are blooming!

Thurs. - a special outing for Y-Map where they recruit volunteers from their entire base. Four youth and their two adult coordinators came out. We split off into two teams and switched tasks halfway. One team weeded the raspberry patch and the other worked on earth moving. Some of the soil from the pile beside the shed was moved over to the orchard and mixed with compost and framed in sod to create another raised, round bed for a new community summer squash patch. Then additional soil was moved to level out the site of the new plots.

Joan made yummy banana bread and cookies and these goodies were much appreciated when they were devoured at the end of the day.

Garden member Ron's plot contributed a great deal of dill. I was able to convince the coordinators, Nancy & Jenny, to take some home but there were no takers among the kids. Maybe if we mix it with some cucumbers... how about we organize a pickling session for them sometime? We've got cucumbers growing and Ron can donate fresh garlic and we have no end of dill.

Got milk?

Lorna kindly donated half a dozen 4L milk jug with the bottoms cut off. We've been using them on our pumpkins, watermelon and squash to speed up germination and growth. They work! Take a look at the picture of the two crookneck squash seedlings. Both were planted at the same time. One was put under a milk jug with the top off and the other left alone. The protected one germinated faster and is much, much bigger.

Lorna, if you're reading this, can you please save more milk jugs and bring them to the garden? Thanks. We've got some pickles we've got to grow.

The pumpkin the community grew

Kath Smyth, a gardening expert with greengate, has challenged the city to grow a bigger pumpkin than her....so we thought we would give her some competition. We've got pumpkins growing on the hill between the two apple trees, at the Village Square Leisure Centre, in the Calgary Drop-In Centre's plot in the East Village community garden and at our volunteer Geoff's plot at the Garden Path community garden in Inglewood.

greengate donated the seeds, potting mix and organic fertilizer. Bob, the fellow who heads up the Leisure Centre is an eight-time winner of giant pumpkin contests and he's given us some good tips. Alma is investigating a donation of a snazzy organic hydroponic fertilizer from New York. Maryann from the East Village garden is helping keep the pumpkin watered. The youth from Y-Map will be helping to water and fertilize. The Calgary Attendance crew provided us with grass clippings for mulch. Geoff is helping with watering and experimenting with new-age crystal growth stimulants.

We've got a whole bunch of different people working on it. This, to me, is what community gardening is all about. BIG PUMPKINS!!! You didn't think I was going to say, "people working together for a common purpose" did you? :o)

Keyhole garden

Planting has begun into the keyhole garden beside the front composter. It's slow going because the wee little super dull knife we have in our tool arsenal isn't cutting through the sod very easily. greengate has donated some herbs and assorted flowers and I can bring some dill seeds. We know those will grow for sure.

Watering is tricky because of the steep slope of the soil. I did try making terraces but that didn't work too well because it's too small. A bigger one would terrace very well in theory. Normally you would build a waiste-high retaining wall around the outside to keep the dirt in and then you can plant on a level surface. We simply didn't have enough of the right kind of rocks. The small rounded ones are terrible for stacking into a retaining wall - at least with my skills. Please keep your eyes out for spare bricks or large flat rocks and if you find some, they can be stashed next to it until we have enough. A wooden planter built to surround it would also work if we can find someone handy to help build it.

Compost and rain and grey water can be dumped into the basket. If you can all throw a watering can of water on the surface until the seedlings take, I would appreciate it.

Volunteering Opportunities

Edging - Ron has purchased and dropped off some 2x4's in the shed. We can use them to complete the edging along the front of the raspberry bed. Pitchforks for best for digging out the trench.

Transplanting - all the raspberry bushes you see outside the raspberry bed can be transplanted into the raspberry bed.

Weeding - all flower beds, the rhubarb patch on the hill, the raspberry patch and the orchard can be weeded on an on-going basis.

Watering - the Keyhole garden, raspberry patch, rhubarb patch, orchard, grapes, & flower beds. Also, the pile of sod and soil can use a lot of water. We're working on moving both and moist soil is easier to work with than dust. Watering volunteers are also needed to water over at the Leisure Centre where we're growing food to donate to the Calgary Drop-In Centre.

Wooden stakes - stack them behind the back composter.

Mentoring youth - share your garden skills by working with Y-Map volunteers.

Odds and ends

Calgary Attendance - The workcrew scheduled to come out today was cancelled due to uncertain weather. The person doing the bookings is away until Monday. I'll give him a call and see if we can reschedule.

Wood strips - a pile of oak stakes was dropped off yesterday. They were supposed to be stacked away behind the back composter and they will be shortly. Feel free to help yourself to as many as you like. The strips are tough and would make nice planters if they were screwed onto a wooden frame. Keep your eyes out for carpentry knowledgeable volunteers who might be able to help out with that.

Strawberries - they are in the bed at the front of the garden with the rhubarb. Some of them are beginning to ripen up.