Hi Everyone,
Compost
I talked with Liza at South Side regarding the compost. She said it is not certified organic, but that it is rich in organic material and that SSCLT deliberated sincerely over whether or not to use it. She said that the guy (I forget his name) at City Farm endorsed the compost and that all of SSCLTs organic gardens are using it.
I feel much more confident after speaking with her about it; as always it is up to you whether to use it or not. I agree that not everything needs to be certified organic to be actually organic or above certified organic standard. In many cases, certified organic has actually lowered the bar, but that is normally reserved for large industrial outfits which will only work in organic where it is profitable up to the set standard, often not exceeding it.
Rhode Island Resource Recovery sent along this pdf for more information regarding their compost. If you have further questions, you may ask me. If I can’t answer them, I will forward you to Liza at SSCLT or Rhode Island Resource Recovery themselves.
Greenhouse
High winds have caused a little greenhouse failure, so please be patient with us. We did come up with a pricing scheme for when we can get replacement windows and some extra security so they don’t blow out again.
Because of limited space, you must register with the garden manager (in this case, me) to use the greenhouse.
- There are 36 shelves in the greenhouse made up of 9 units with 4 tiers.
- The bottom tier has no cost.
- The third tier is $2/mo.
- The second tier is $4/mo.
- The top shelf is $6/mo.
- For right now, we are limiting everyone to only 1 shelf.
- All rentals are on a month-to-month basis until we can determine the demand that the greenhouse can service.
Please note: this information may change slightly as necessary.
Workdays
Thank you to everyone who came on the last workweekend. The garden looks amazing by comparison! We have a new delivery of woodchips, so during tomorrow’s unofficial workday (manager’s hours, around 3:30-4 until dusk) we will be spreading chips, pulling weeds, raking up the dead stuff from around the perimeter, etc. Come join us if you couldn’t over the weekend!
Also remember that there is a notebook in the (newly cleaned and organized) shed for you to log your work hours in the event we miss each other.
Seeds
Also in the shed are seeds for you to use however you wish. Many of these are from URI’s Free Seed Program. Because we had many double packets, Justin & I combined many packets into just one. Take what you need, leave the rest for others, but don’t worry about taking the last of it. Save the packets so we can reuse them with our collected seed this season! Let’s keep a seed bank.
You’ll notice the seeds are organized alphabetically and by type: Herbs, Vegetables or Flowers. Please try to keep them in reasonable order. I know it’s tough to do, but it makes it easier on everyone. For those of you that have mobility issues and can’t necessarily work on workdays, keeping the seeds in order is a task you can take on. Just let me know 🙂
Dogs
I’d like to remind everyone that dogs are not allowed to roam the garden. Technically, they are not allowed in the garden at all because not are they oblivious to the delicate nature of seedlings and some mature plants, many gardeners use cocoa shells as mulch which are toxic to dogs. Please keep your dogs outside the fence for everyone’s safety.
Wait List
If you are on the wait list, come see me on Fridays if possible. I have only a few plots left available.
Thank-yous.
We’ve had many successful crops due to the fact that we have honeybees at our garden. I’m not sure how many other gardens in the area keep hives, but I know it’s not many if any at all. We are extremely fortunate to have the bees. Last year’s hive didn’t make it over the winter and Angel has ordered a new hive to replace them. I would like to express my deepest thanks to Angel for taking such strong initiative and care with the bees, as well as a thank you to Edie who recently completed beekeeping school.
We’ve been building up a “no pick” zone around the hive with perennials that the bees like while we’re waiting for the new hive. (It’s a perfect time to do so, since there aren’t any bees around to stop us!) When inspected, you should be able to see it rather clearly from the top tier angling down the 2nd tier in a sort of “V” shape. This area is honeybee country.
Also an official thank you to all of you who donated your time and services to our fundraiser last year. Much of what we’ve been able to accomplish this year has been directly due to your graciousness.