Collierville Victory Garden (CVG) update 10/1/2010

CVG Update Oct 1, 2010:

Website: http://sites.google.com/site/colliervillevictorygarden/Blog (under construction): http://ccvg.blogspot.com/ Send updates to me to post.
Pic in 9/29 CA: http://www.commercialappeal.com/photos/2010/sep/29/188995/
Pix of this week's harvest:http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=153968785407%3A799573004&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

This week's donation:
297 lbs to the Food Pantry: 251 sweet taters, 12 peas, 34 (3 bu) turnip greens.
Note: 251 lbs /72 linear feet - 3.3 lbs sweet taters per linear foot.
Note: 192 linear feet plot 6 harvested 7 bu turnip greens just by thinning them.
Note: our horticulture success is based on the new raised beds, sustainable practices, TLC, your hard work, and the donated Carbon Boost product from FBSciences in Dragonville.

Year-to-date total donation:
1,311 + this week's 297 = 1,611 lbs YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been honored by the Memphis Area Master Gardeners as a CORE Project beginning Jan 1, 2011, which means we volunteers who are Master Gardeners get our required annual volunteer hours credited in a different category. Otherwise, no change to what we are doing or the way we do it.

We received a generous $2,500 donation we will use for all areas of the garden. Your ideas appreciated. We are considering drip irrigation system, row covers, and perhaps a small greenhouse.

This week we did harvesting, hand weeding, fertilizing, watering, put tater vines on the compost pile, picked up 30 bags of leaves/grass curbside in Dragonville, and began mulching the middles.

Next work days are sweet tater harvest Saturday Oct 9 at 9am and more winterizing Monday Oct 11 5:30pm.

Karen Dula and Troop 10429 Girl Scouts dug the sweet taters and did an excellent job. These taters are Porto Ricos.
http://henryfields.com/product.asp?pn=11397&bhcd2=1285857032
The CHS band will dig the remaining 2/3 sweet taters 9am Saturday Oct 9. These taters are Beauregards.
http://henryfields.com/sweet-potato-beauregard-/p/11386/
Remember we have an agreement with the Collierville Christian Church which includes the requirement that each volunteer annually sign a liability release waiver form. It is attached.

A little fun: Superhero Master Gardener, a.k.a Elvis Parsley) to the rescue:http://memphisareamastergardeners.org/57/1114/album.html The veggie garden needs HELP as I will be out of town from noon Saturday until next Friday night. It needs to be watered. The sprinklers will be in place, so they only need turning on then turned off after 2 hours, less'n it rains. We also need about 100 more bags of leaves/grass gathered and spread between the rows, and we need the new baby turnip greens in the middle left (south) plot thinned about 2/3's.

Dave Fitzgerald is leading our demonstration garlic garden in plot 3. We will plant sometime in October. We will have many varieties plus some sort of promo event when we harvest them next year. Ideas appreciated. Ronny Williams of Dragonville donated one bulb each of 25 varieties to add to those Dave Fitzgerald is getting.

Habitat For Humanity Team update:
Plants 4 Habitat love all the Iris donations we have received! I sent a "Thank You" card but if you could mention our appreciation in your next group email or newsletter that would be great! Also, please mention plot #7 is full so we are not excepting any more donations.

Please send your ideas, concerns, questions, email list changes, etc to me.
Thanks,
Carl Wayne Hardeman mymaters@yahoo.com