No Garden Meeting Today

There will not be a garden meeting today, for the month of October, since most of the issues were addressed at the potluck on Oct 1.

Please remember that all compostable materials must be removed from plots and placed outside the fence for pick-up by MONDAY, OCTOBER 19. There is no official closing date for the garden, but plots must be cleaned out prior to the onset of winter.

End of Season Plans

There are some things that need to be addressed to close up the garden for this year. Details are listed below. Also be sure to fill out the e-survey sent by Wendy. You should have received the email earlier today.

End of Garden Business:
1. Clean Up Date
2. Compost pick up/Water shut off
3. Presentation to City - volunteers!
4. Garden Survey
5. Theft/Sign
6. Winter Events
7. Returning Next Year
8. Recipe Submissions!

1) End of Season Clean Up
We will NOT have a formal clean-up date this year, which will allow people to have cold season crops going as long as the weather cooperates. However,
**all plots are expected to be cleared of debris and any decorations/support/objects by the onset of winter!**
Once your garden is no longer producing, you are expected to clear it out. Failure to do so could result in ineligibility to garden next year.

2) Composting/Water
The city will pick up a load of our compostables to haul away later this month (October). I'm checking on the date, but expect it to be around 10/15-10/20. More details will follow, but this is your chance to get rid of all your dead plant material without having to drive it to the compost center yourself! Anything left after the pickup will need to be removed by you. Expect WATER to be shut down around mid-October as well.

3) End of Year Presentation
The garden makes an end-of-season report to the city of Falcon Heights in October or November. We need volunteer(s) to do this quick (5-10min) presentation. The past two years we've had simple PowerPoint presentations to guide us, and I have copies of those if anyone would like to modify them to reflect this year's achievements.

4) Garden Survey
We had paper copies of the garden end-of-year survey at the potluck, and thanks to all who filled those out! Wendy sent a follow-up e-mail with an electronic copy of the survey. Everyone is encouraged to fill one out and give us feedback! This year's survey also includes questions on allowing perennials in the future, and the community service requirement.

5) Theft and Sign
There was significantly more theft reported at the garden this year. The city has alerted their patrol to watch out for us (thanks!), but we had also discussed creating a sign to notify visitors that the garden and its produce are for members only. I'm sure the city will be happy to have a sign created for us, but we need a gardener to design and okay the language so we can get it implemented for next year. Please let Wendy know if you're interested in spearheading this project!

6) Winter Events
Although the gardening is winding down, there's been some interest in having more presentations by master gardeners or other folks in the off season. One idea brought up at the potluck was a canning and preserving class! If you have ideas or want to set up a fun or informative meeting for the garden, you're welcome to dive right in, or contact me or Jean with any ideas! Also, we can plan to have a booth at the Falcon Heights winter get-together (usually late January) if anyone is interested in representing the garden there.

7) Next Year
Assuming you've complied with rules and regulations throughout this season, you will automatically be notified when garden registration opens up for next year. This is managed by the city/Justin Miller, and usually occurs in February/March. As it currently stands, existing gardeners will be given priority to return if they so desire.

8) Recipes!!
We had some FABULOUS dishes at the potluck this year, and most of us are always looking for new and delicious ways to use our harvest. If you were at the potluck, or just have a great dish to share, send the recipes to Wendy (wendy.illick@gmail.com) and we will try to compile them and post them here!

Recipe Request!

Hi gardeners! The end-of-season potluck was a great hit again, as always. (Thanks Amy, Pat, Linda, and Brian!) There were SO many delicious dishes to sample that we discussed compiling and exchanging recipes!

If you have any recipes using your garden harvest that you think others might enjoy, please send them to me (Wendy) and I'll either post them here or send them out by e-mail!

An e-mail was also sent with end-of-season business matters, so be sure to check that if you have any questions about garden clean-up and winter events!

Weed Photos

Libby (plot 5) provided pictures of some common weeds which can be eaten or have medicinal value:



The picture above shows lamb's quarters. This plant is edible and nutritious. Libby recommends eating plants that are shorter and younger than the one pictures. Be sure to pull older plants before they spread!


The picture above shows purslane. This weed is also edible.

This is a picture of ground ivy (a.k.a. creeping charlie). This plant isn't edible, but can be used to make tea. It is a member of the mint family.

Thanks Libby for providing these pictures and for the useful information about these weeds!

Weeds!

Sometimes it's difficult to identify the weeds in our gardens. The University of Minnesota has a great resource called "Is this plant a weed?". The website walks you through weed identification. Otherwise the University also has a site with more general information about gardening and weeds. Hopefully in the near future we will be adding pictures of weeds to the blog for easy identification.

Notes from July Garden Meeting

The July meeting was today (the second Monday of the month) at 7PM and we discussed several topics.

1. Another reminder that the Falcon Heights Ice Cream Social will take place on Thursday, July 30 from 6-8PM. All gardeners are encouraged to stop by and share their gardens with the community.

2. We are still looking for community service projects. Some suggestions included taking pictures of weeds and sending them to me so I can upload them to the blog. Another is being responsible for watering the flowers in the common areas. Also, more wood chips are needed for the dirt paths around the compost bins. If anyone would like to volunteer for these tasks or has ideas for other tasks, please contact Jean.

3. The potluck is coming up soon and if anyone has any suggestions, ideas, or questions, please contact Jean or bring up at the next meeting.

4. We also discussed a tentative closing date for the garden. The optimal timing seems to be mid-October. If anyone has a different suggestion, please contact Jean or bring up at the next meeting.

5. The compost bins aren't decomposing as quickly as we hoped. If anyone has any grass clippings, adding them to the compost bins would help move things along. Otherwise, sterilized manure from the hardware store was also suggested as a way to speed up the decomposition.

6. The community garden list serv was forwarded to all garden members a couple of weeks ago. This is a great source of information about all things 'garden'. This might be a good place to start if you have any questions about your garden.

7. One gardener suggested a book about gardening in small spaces. If interested the book is called "All New Square Foot Gardening" and it was written by Mel Bartholomew. Is is available on Amazon.com.

Please plan to attend the next meeting on Monday, August 10 at 7PM. Just meet at the garden!

Japanese Beetles Found in Garden

Several gardeners have noticed Japanese beetles feeding in their plots. Above is a picture of a Japanese beetle that I took in my plot (plot 3). I have observed the beetles in our bush beans and the damage caused by adults is usually visible as leaf skeletonization. Japanese beetles attack a wide variety of hosts, but certain plants do repel them and planting such plants is once organic way to manage the pest. If you only have a few beetles in your plot, the best way to manage them is likely by hand picking and either squishing them or dropping them in soapy water. Below are links to some web pages that provide more information on managing Japanese beetles organically:

http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederick/2004/controling_j_beetles.htm

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG7664.html (See the "Cultural Control" section for organic solutions)

The garden is in bloom!

Jim G. (Plot 1) was kind enough to share some beautiful pictures of the garden with me. I have posted a few here. Thanks Jim!

Also, a reminder that the monthly garden meeting will be one week from tomorrow, on Monday, July 13 at 7PM. All gardeners are encouraged to attend, just meet at the garden!

Green everywhere!

After a slow, cool spring, the garden is really shaping up. All the plots are green with a multitude of vegetables, fruits, and herbs and flowers. All our hard work is really starting to pay off!

First Monthly Garden Meeting

We have monthly garden meetings at 7PM on the second Monday of each month to touch base and address any questions, issues or upcoming events pertaining the the garden. Our first meeting was Monday, June 8 and the agenda included the Falcon Heights Ice Cream Social, service tasks in the garden, and MN Green plant donations.

1. Falcon Heights Ice Cream Social: This yearly event takes place at Community Park on Thursday, July 30 from 6-8PM. This is a community-wide event and a great way to publicize the community garden. We invite all gardeners to attend the event and stand near their plots to answer questions from other Falcon Heights residents.

2. Service Tasks for the Community Garden: We are still looking for suggestions for service tasks for the garden. Somethings that have come up and are still in need of volunteers are turning the compost in the bins, weed scouting (reminding gardeners to keep their plots free of weeds), and representing the garden at the Falcon Heights Ice Cream Social (see above). If you are a garden member and have any other suggestions or would like to volunteer for the above suggestions, please contact Jean.

3. MN Green Plant Donations: MN Green is an organization that helps coordinate donations to TC area community gardens. The next pick-up for MN Green donations is tomorrow, Thursday, June 11. Wendy Illick has agreed to represent our garden at the donation site and will be picking up what she can. If you have any requests, please contact her and she will try to pick up what you asked for. Otherwise, she plans to pick up a variety of plants and will drop them off at the garden tomorrow afternoon or evening. Please remember that these plants MUST be planted in the community garden and are not for use in home gardens. She also plans to pick out some plants to place in the common areas.

Introduction to the Falcon Heights Community Garden

The Falcon Heights Community Garden is located in Community Park at Roselawn and Cleveland Ave. It was started in 2007 in order to provide an opportunity for apartment dwellers and homeowners with little outdoor space to grow their own fruits, veggies, herbs, and flowers. It also encourages interactions and relationships among community members. This is a community garden and we encourage all members of the garden to participate in managing not only their own space but common spaces as well.


This year the garden officially opened on May 9. We had a great turn out and enjoyed the compost provided by the county. We all look forward to an enjoyable and 'fruitful' gardening season.