Victory Garden: getting started in 2011

Carl Wayne Hardeman is chairman and Joan Hermann is vice chairman for the Victory Garden for 2011. We are always looking for more board volunteers and volunteers in general. We try to operate informally by email and by consensus. Your input is more than welcome. We are helping each other grow.

We harvested 3,666 pounds of fresh produce in 2010 and donated all to charity, principally the Collierville Food Pantry. We keep a simple horticulture plan to match the needs and wants of their clients, so total weight is not our primary objective. We report annually the total weight to the Garden Writers Association Plant-A-Row (for the needy) project.

Martha Pauley is our liaison with the good people of Collierville Christian Church. They supply us with the garden space, water, various infrastructure improvements, and lots of prayer and encouragement.
Their requirements are:
1) we keep the garden safe and neat and amenable to the property neighbors,
2) be good citizens of the town and compliant with all town codes, and
3) every volunteer complete annually before working in the garden the attached liability release form. Print out and sign and bring them to me or Martha for filing and our signature. This is the same form required for doing Habitat For Humanity work.

We are a part of the non profit Memphis Area Master Gardeners Association and a State of TN demonstration garden. Donations can be made to the MAMGA and earmarked for the Victory Garden. We are a CORE project which means any volunteers who are a Master Gardener, not a requirement, get official credit for their required annual volunteer hours. We have approximately $2,200 in funds, which is more than we need or use in one or two years unless we get very ambitious.

Our objectives include:
- Demonstration of sustainable gardening practices:
- Limited tilling.
- Limited fertilizer (nitrogen).
- Limited insecticides (squash and cucumbers).
- Integrated pest management.
- Companion plants.
- Intensive planting.
- Year long gardening.
- Raised beds.
- Heavy mulch.
- Education via tours and novice volunteers.
- Provide fresh produce to the needy.
- Have fun.

We have two primary teams which are always looking for more help:
- One team handles all work in the six garden plots. We ordinarily work Monday evenings and Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings. Carl is the primary contact.
- One team handles the front two flower beds and the Habitat For Humanity holding beds. Joan Hermann is the primary contact.

We are off to a good start this week with harvesting of rutabagas Wednesday 4pm, and spreading leaves on the garden Saturday 9-noon. Our garlic experiment is thriving with 686 cloves planted of 31 varieties. Dave Fitzgerald is leading this project. We hope to have some sort of event associated with harvesting the garlic when they are ready. Dave and Larry Bicknell will be leading the Spring potato planning and planting. Valentines Day is the traditional sweetpea planting time but we will probably wait and do that around St Paddy's Day which is the traditional potato and onion planting time.

We need to purchase and put down black plastic ASAP to deter weeds getting started and to let the soil warm up earlier than normal. When we plant early crops, we will put row covers over them to protect from frost and insects and help deter weeds.

We need someone to erect two rows of pole bean trellises. We will purchase the supplies.

We need someone to start from seeds 100 each beets (Harvard) and carrots (Nantes) and carrots Chardonnay) from seeds. They need to be ready for transplanting in the garden by end of March.

Your comments and questions and suggestions are more than welcome.
Our blog is http://www.colliervillevictorygarden.org/
and we are physically located at http://colliervillechristian.org/find-us/ .

Thanks,
Carl Wayne Hardeman
mymaters@yahoo.com
901-485-6910