Newsletter, August 4, 2011

Hello Gardeners!

First things first: Whoever cleaned up the shed, thank you so very much. It looks amazing in there – at least it did the last time I went in, which I think was last week. It’s very much appreciated.

The garden really is looking good. We don’t have any work weekends scheduled for a while, so what we decided at the last board meeting was to make Friday nights official work nights until later in the season when things start to slow down. Mainly this is because there’s not all that much to do, since everybody has been doing a little bit more often. Still, woodchips can be spread and there’s a big, happy pile of them. So spread them as liberally as you can because they break down rather fast, especially where there’s water.

I had a few questions from gardeners I’d like to address publicly:

Q: Which compost pile is ready for use?
A: I’m not sure. The ones closer to the tree-side entrance have tomatoes and some kind of squash growing out of them, so we’ll leave those undisturbed for a bit.  Hannah: Would you mark which compost bin is ready for use? Also, have you all the people you need for the compost committee?

Q: When does the harvesting for Camp Street Ministries take place?
A: Renee harvests for donation on Thursday evenings. Please contact her (fullerton_renee [at] yahoo.com)  or leave a note on the bulletin board if you have things you would like to donate.

Q: I’m going out of town. How can I ask for someone to care for my plot while I’m gone?
A: The best thing to do is to leave a note on the bulletin board. The bulletin board is there for all of us to use.

Q: Does Fox Point Gardens belong to the Providence Community Growers Network, and therefore we individual plot owners can get the benefits of that membership?
A: Yes.  We paid for a membership to the Growers Network. You should be able to attend all Network workshops without a fee for the entire year. Just tell them you are part of Fox Point Community Garden.

Q: When is the next potluck scheduled?
A: Saturday, August 13. We were going to have one earlier, but then the heat set in and temporarily stunned my memory. In retrospect, I don’t think anyone would have wanted to come on such hot days.  So mark your calendars for Saturday, August 13, let’s say 6pm?

Q: When is the harvest party scheduled?
A: The harvest party is scheduled for Thursday, October 20 at the Portuguese-American Social Club.

Q: What is going on with abandoned plots?
A: So far we only have 3 abandoned plots and i have three people from the waitlist scheduled to meet with me either tomorrow or over the weekend.  If a plot near you appears to be abandoned, please let me know as soon as possible as the fall planting date is coming up.

Q: What can we plant for the fall season?
A: Please download the pdf from the URI master gardener program. It will give you the best information on what to grow in our zone and when. If you have trouble downloading it from this email, go to our website: https://www.foxpointgarden.org/calendar/ the file is located at the bottom of the page with the original linkback to URI.

Q: When is the manager at the garden?
A: Each manager will determine his or her own garden hours. Currently, I am at the garden on Friday evenings, around 6 – 6:30 to about dusk or when the mosquitoes chase me out. Of course, this depends on the weather. If it is severe, I will not be there, but will try to make it up over the weekend. This time frame will change as the days shorten, so keep that in mind. As a rule of thumb, I like to spend a couple hours before dusk at the garden, so you may have to do some math on the timing.  Generally, “after work”.

As always, a copy of this email will be posted on the website, so please, if you have questions post them in the comments so they can be addressed publicly.

Happy Gardening!
k