On Tuesday April 23, 2013, we got a lot done again:
Bob, Whit & Jan, Latanya and her daughter, Sue, Val, Stephanie, Leah, Val, and Dave:
1. Did a lot of weeding.
2. Prepared the ground and planted corn in south half of plot 1.
3. Set up several tomato cages.
4. Planted 4 tomato plants.
5. Mulched the middles of most of the garden.
6. Set out marigold and basil companion plants.
7. Inspected the garlic and believe it is too early yet to harvest.
We have been slowed down a lot by the rain and cooler than usual temps, which are forecast again for this coming weekend.
We will see what planting we can get done Tuesday, and if this is the last unsuitable weekend, we will finish next week. Also I will make up an organic bug spray for the lettuce cabbages, and taters.
Ain't God good!
cw
The Collierville Victory Garden and Butterfly Haven is committed to the Memphis Area Master Gardeners' mission to pass on the joy of gardening and UT Extension horticultural knowledge. Through the generosity of the Collierville Christian Church and MAMG, this Plant-A-Row for the Hungry (PAR) garden donates its vegetables to the Collierville Food Pantry, Resurrection Catholic School and Fayette County Project Outreach and its flowers to Page Robbins and Habitat for Humanity.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
Victory Garden status April 19, 2013 - Next work day Monday 4/22 430-600pm
We're still having to deal with the cold and wet weather the Good Lord in His wisdom knows we need.
But we have made progress in spite of the weather, Tillie (my tiller) being in da shoppe twice, and Rocinante (my truck a.k.a. Opie) in the shop and still there.
Good news: The town has agreed to a twicet a week watering schedule for our cut flower zinnia beds in the medians (Peterson Lake and Malfunction Junction (Verlington and Shelton)), so we will be preparing and planting those beds circa May 1. THANKS to angel Renea Sain for donating zinnia, marigold, and gomphrena seeds. We have seeds of other varieties of zinnias too plus several varieties of sunflowers.
Tuesday afternoon Bob Hathaway, Sue Butler, and I prepared plot 5 and planted purplehull peas, and 1/2 of plot 1 and planted Triple X sweet corn donated by angel John Bradley (also the Carbon Boost). Sue weeded plot 3, also.
Since it is cold and muddy, next work day will be Monday April 22 430-600pm in the evening. RSVP!
We need to plant basil and sunflowers in the inside corners of plots 2,3,5,6.
We always need some weeding such as the onions in plot 1 and in the raised beds.
We need to put the OM (at front left corner just outside the garden) on any exposed ground.
We need to prevent pests on the lettuce, cabbiges, taters, and sweetpeas, if you knowhatimean.
We need to plant tomatoes and install the cages (donated by angel Bob Hathaway) when the ground warms up quite a bit - prolly around May 1.
We need to install the four pole bean and gourd trellises over the main walking path and plant them seeds. These are perzactly the same as the entrance trells.
When we harvest out of the raised beds erelong, we will fill them up again using the promix dirt donated by angel Mr. Norman Brown of EPLEX.
We have a few garlic scapes, a few carrots, onions (plot 3), and kale (form the Peterson Lake zinnia bed) ready to harvest to take to the Food Pantry next Thursday, assuming I have a ride (Rocinante is fixed and running.)
RSVP me by email if you can work Monday or let me know when you are available so's I can get up a work team with the same available times.
"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." ~ M. Gandhi
Ain't God good!
cw
My desk:
But we have made progress in spite of the weather, Tillie (my tiller) being in da shoppe twice, and Rocinante (my truck a.k.a. Opie) in the shop and still there.
Good news: The town has agreed to a twicet a week watering schedule for our cut flower zinnia beds in the medians (Peterson Lake and Malfunction Junction (Verlington and Shelton)), so we will be preparing and planting those beds circa May 1. THANKS to angel Renea Sain for donating zinnia, marigold, and gomphrena seeds. We have seeds of other varieties of zinnias too plus several varieties of sunflowers.
Tuesday afternoon Bob Hathaway, Sue Butler, and I prepared plot 5 and planted purplehull peas, and 1/2 of plot 1 and planted Triple X sweet corn donated by angel John Bradley (also the Carbon Boost). Sue weeded plot 3, also.
Since it is cold and muddy, next work day will be Monday April 22 430-600pm in the evening. RSVP!
We need to plant basil and sunflowers in the inside corners of plots 2,3,5,6.
We always need some weeding such as the onions in plot 1 and in the raised beds.
We need to put the OM (at front left corner just outside the garden) on any exposed ground.
We need to prevent pests on the lettuce, cabbiges, taters, and sweetpeas, if you knowhatimean.
We need to plant tomatoes and install the cages (donated by angel Bob Hathaway) when the ground warms up quite a bit - prolly around May 1.
We need to install the four pole bean and gourd trellises over the main walking path and plant them seeds. These are perzactly the same as the entrance trells.
When we harvest out of the raised beds erelong, we will fill them up again using the promix dirt donated by angel Mr. Norman Brown of EPLEX.
We have a few garlic scapes, a few carrots, onions (plot 3), and kale (form the Peterson Lake zinnia bed) ready to harvest to take to the Food Pantry next Thursday, assuming I have a ride (Rocinante is fixed and running.)
RSVP me by email if you can work Monday or let me know when you are available so's I can get up a work team with the same available times.
"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." ~ M. Gandhi
Ain't God good!
cw
My desk:
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Victory Garden status April 8, 2013
We had a wonderful work day in the Victory Garden Monday April 8, 2013.
We made a big dent in what needs done.
Ya gotta see Dave's beautiful garlic, and Selby and Jan's exciting work in plot 6. Ya gotta see their tater towers. Angel all!
And our sweetpeas have sprouted and some taters have sprouted and a few asparagi have lifted they lovely stalks heavenward.
We had an Eagle Scout candidate look at putting raised wooden beds in plot 1, and hope to hear from him soon.
Martha Montesi of the Memphis Area Master Gardeners is writing a grant proposal to get us funding to make the whole garden into wooden beds, which at about $800 per plot is expensive, but grants are out there for the asking. If we do this, we need to rethink the entire layout and possibly make it more Zen and less orthogonal.
Two of our sister gardens (we advised on) are doing well and worth a visit: The YMCA community garden, and the Epiphany Lutheran garden on Wolf River Blvd in the last open land going west out of Collierville.
Any Master Gardener needing community hours or angels just wanting something to do, I will helping the Twentieth Century Club create a cut flower zinnia garden for Collierville High School and can use help.
Val, Wes, Whit & Jan, Bob, Sue, Kathy, Arlene, and I (garden angels all):
1. Repaired the fence.
2. Laid out four 4x8 new zinnia beds.
3. Almost completed mulching the cross paths till we ran out of cardboard and mulch.
4. Pulled two five gallon buckets of turnips to take to the Food Pantry on Thursday.
5. Did some much needed weeding.
6. Cleaned out and tilled plot 5 (had to till due to thigh high weeds.) Good news is got my tiller out of the shoppe yesterday and tilled plot 5. Bad news is the rope broke and still need to clean out and till plot 1 and the new zinnia beds, so back to the shoppe we go.
7. Hauled tub of water for plot 6 and watered the plants in the tops of the tater towers.
Mr. Norman Brown of E-Plex is donating 3 cubic yards of a rich garden mix today for us to put in the raised wooden beds when we harvest the onions and garlic. Another angel!
Les Branum of Bonnie Farms and Jan Dickey will be donating plants for the garden. More angels!
Patree made a very generous donation to the garden!!! I will report our financial status, which is very good now, in next report after I turn in receipts for reimbursement for some supplies for us and the Plants For Humanity adjunct. Donations are made to the Memphis Area Master Gardeners earmarked for the Collierville Victory Garden. It is tax deductible, and request a receipt! Yet another angel!
Next work day is this Saturday 830-1030 since I have a speaking engagement at 11am at the Collierville library.
Here's what we need done, and getting my tiller fixed is on what we statistical process control folks call the critical path.: (Feel free to tackle any of these at your convenience.)
1. Make plot 5 (middle right) into 5 hills with 1 foot middles, and plant corn there.
2. Weed all around all plots and any weeds in the plots.
3. Plant basil, marigolds, and sunflowers along the inner edges of all plots except plot 6.
4. Clean out (after using weedeater), till, hill up, and plant purple hull peas in plot 1, same 5 bed configuration.
5. Plant mater and pepper plants.
6. Prepare ground in the new zinnia beds and plant a few early ones.
Ain't God good!
Carl Wayne
We made a big dent in what needs done.
Ya gotta see Dave's beautiful garlic, and Selby and Jan's exciting work in plot 6. Ya gotta see their tater towers. Angel all!
And our sweetpeas have sprouted and some taters have sprouted and a few asparagi have lifted they lovely stalks heavenward.
We had an Eagle Scout candidate look at putting raised wooden beds in plot 1, and hope to hear from him soon.
Martha Montesi of the Memphis Area Master Gardeners is writing a grant proposal to get us funding to make the whole garden into wooden beds, which at about $800 per plot is expensive, but grants are out there for the asking. If we do this, we need to rethink the entire layout and possibly make it more Zen and less orthogonal.
Two of our sister gardens (we advised on) are doing well and worth a visit: The YMCA community garden, and the Epiphany Lutheran garden on Wolf River Blvd in the last open land going west out of Collierville.
Any Master Gardener needing community hours or angels just wanting something to do, I will helping the Twentieth Century Club create a cut flower zinnia garden for Collierville High School and can use help.
Val, Wes, Whit & Jan, Bob, Sue, Kathy, Arlene, and I (garden angels all):
1. Repaired the fence.
2. Laid out four 4x8 new zinnia beds.
3. Almost completed mulching the cross paths till we ran out of cardboard and mulch.
4. Pulled two five gallon buckets of turnips to take to the Food Pantry on Thursday.
5. Did some much needed weeding.
6. Cleaned out and tilled plot 5 (had to till due to thigh high weeds.) Good news is got my tiller out of the shoppe yesterday and tilled plot 5. Bad news is the rope broke and still need to clean out and till plot 1 and the new zinnia beds, so back to the shoppe we go.
7. Hauled tub of water for plot 6 and watered the plants in the tops of the tater towers.
Mr. Norman Brown of E-Plex is donating 3 cubic yards of a rich garden mix today for us to put in the raised wooden beds when we harvest the onions and garlic. Another angel!
Les Branum of Bonnie Farms and Jan Dickey will be donating plants for the garden. More angels!
Patree made a very generous donation to the garden!!! I will report our financial status, which is very good now, in next report after I turn in receipts for reimbursement for some supplies for us and the Plants For Humanity adjunct. Donations are made to the Memphis Area Master Gardeners earmarked for the Collierville Victory Garden. It is tax deductible, and request a receipt! Yet another angel!
Next work day is this Saturday 830-1030 since I have a speaking engagement at 11am at the Collierville library.
Here's what we need done, and getting my tiller fixed is on what we statistical process control folks call the critical path.: (Feel free to tackle any of these at your convenience.)
1. Make plot 5 (middle right) into 5 hills with 1 foot middles, and plant corn there.
2. Weed all around all plots and any weeds in the plots.
3. Plant basil, marigolds, and sunflowers along the inner edges of all plots except plot 6.
4. Clean out (after using weedeater), till, hill up, and plant purple hull peas in plot 1, same 5 bed configuration.
5. Plant mater and pepper plants.
6. Prepare ground in the new zinnia beds and plant a few early ones.
Ain't God good!
Carl Wayne
om Mymaters to you
Thursday, April 4, 2013
2013 Garden off to a Slow Start
Good morning Gardening Angels:
It's either dark and gloomy and interfering with our gardening this morning or we are happy the Good Lord is sending us the soil moisture we will need in the dry days of summer. We get to pick our attitude.
I'm just hoping we don't get what Carol Deppe described as the year without a summer in her book The Resilient Gardener, where it started raining in April in Corvallis OR and rained for sixteen weeks. The book is a good read on being resilient. Hint: plant azolla in the puddles. :)
But our spring garden is off to a slow start, yet we have garlic, onyuns, lettuce, cabbiges, and red taters planted and sweet peas sprouting along the fence rows of plots 3 and 6 (the front two). I have our donated triple sweet sweetcorn seed ready to plant but soil temps must get to 60 degrees.
We need to:
1. Finish covering the cross walks with cardboard and mulch.
2. Clean out plot 1 (except for the rows of onions and 1/2 row of garlic) to plant corn there.
3. Clean out plot 5 where the turnips are - might be a few roots worth harvesting. Plant tomatoes and peas there.
4. Turn the compost pile.
5. Build a nice zinnia bed just to the right of the garden.
6. Erect 4 cattle panels across the central walkway to grow beans. These are the same as the entrance trellis.
Jan Dickey and Selby Horton are doing some exciting experiments in plot 6 with containers and vertical planting.
Dave Fitzgerald is monitoring the garlic closely, and will schedule a garlic pull party sometime soon.
We usually plant the summer garden by mid April and tomatoes and peppers by early May.
Our new flower garden project north of the alley behind north side of town square died a'wanting water. There is no water main, and cost to run a connection from the existing water main under the alley is a few thousand dollars. And the town had druther not dig into that old main saying they don't know what they would run into. So for now we will make a nice zinnia cut flower bed at the VG.
I had grand plans for thousands of zinnias and sunflowers, a crazy container area, an old-man-of-the-woods 3' x 5' gnome, multiple fairy houses, bluebird nests, bird bath, hummingbird feeders, a trellis covered sitting area, a corn patch, a bean patch, a thornless blackberry patch, and a melon patch. Wes collaborated on the design and is creating a nice conceptual landscape design drawing. We will keep looking for a place.
As always your ideas and comments are welcome and needed!
I hope we can get back int the garden next week.
Ain't God good!
cw
