Community planting report

After the rain delay from last Sunday, some volunteers came together last Monday to get the watering system ready for the community planting. We worked the kinks out of the soaker tape and tested the water pressure. Everything was ready for the big day on Sunday.

The rain this week left the garden pretty muddy (some people compared it to walking on the moon, while I thought it was more like walking in marshmallow.) But the rain was pretty much over by the 9am start time (save for a few sprinkles.) Turn out was low, but we were still able to get most of the work done.


We planted several rows of vegetables, including: corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, melons, carrots, lettuce, and radishes. We had a big donation of pepper and tomato plants that filled up two and a half rows. We also laid out the plots for the families and individuals.

One brave volunteer found it easier to go barefoot than plod through the mud in shoes.

We planted another 3 sisters garden in the southwest corner along with lots of flowers and sunflowers.

We also had a nice donation of some extra raspberry plants and several posts to trellis them (and the grapes).

Our work is done for a couple of weeks, but we'll need to weed pretty soon. Also, we are in need of some supplies, especially tomato cages. We'll be getting the word out about these needs soon, so stay tuned.

Canceled: Monday, 17 May volunteer session

Due to the bad weather, we're rescheduling the water system work for Thursday, 20 May from 6 to 7 pm.

Community Planting: Sat., 22 May - 9 am

We're happy to announce that the community planting will be held this Saturday, 22 May, at 9am. We welcome everyone who is interested, even if you have never gardened before. If you do have gardening tools, we encourage you to bring them along since we don't have many to share. What we do have a lot of is dirt and seeds, and if it is anything like last year, we'll have a lot of fun. If you do have seeds or plants you want to donate, bring them along and we'll find room.

Stage 2: Watering System Installed - Volunteers Needed

Update: The work night has been rescheduled for Thursday, 20 May from 6 to 7 pm.

Rain brothers finished up the installation of the new watering system on Monday and the Harlem Township Fire Department has already filled up our 550-gallon tank.

That means we are almost ready to go. We need a few volunteers to help stretch out the lines and get the kinks out of the hose. We will then open up access to the garden for families and individuals.

We'll meet this Monday, 17 May at 6:30 pm at Church of the Saviour. Please send me an e-mail so I can make sure we have enough people. The work should only take a short time.

Also, we're planning the community planting for Saturday, 22 May at 9am. Everyone is welcome to come and plant the garden. Bring any tools you'd like. Additional donations of seeds and plants are welcome, too.

With all the rain, our raspberry bushes have really taken off and we should have a great harvest this summer.

Summer project: storage shed

Just got the word that we will be putting up a storage shed this summer. Church of the Saviour was given permission to reclaim some unused materials from a baseball diamond in the area. The backstop has already been moved and will be used to set up a new diamond on the church grounds. There is also a concession stand that will be moved to our property. It needs some work (a new floor in particular), but it will provide us with some much needed storage. We'll be looking for volunteers soon to help move and renovate the shed.