Garden clean-up this Sat.: 9 to 12pm. We need your help!

Saturday, Oct. 8th
9am to 12pm

We've had a great summer. We grew more veggies than ever and learned a lot about how to use the space we have to its best advantage. Now it's time to clean up and get ready for next year. We really need all the help we can get. Jobs will range from the light, like picking up the irrigation tape, to the more active, like pulling out the trellises. We'll also be mowing and pruning our perennials. No expertise necessary. All you need are some clothes you don't mind getting dirty. We'll have drinks and snacks on hand to keep you going.

Please consider helping us out during this important time.

Tuesday (8/23) @ 5pm: School Kick-off at Westerville Estates clubhouse

The SidebySide ministry will be holding a Fall Kick-Off on Tuesday, August 23rd at the Estates Clubhouse where kids and families can come to get school supplies, clothing, free dinner, and information on the school year’s activities in the. We'll also have fresh veggies from the 3 Sisters Garden and information about volunteering and getting your own plot. Kids and families will come over starting at 5:00 p.m.

Harlem Township Days - Sat.

We'll be at the Church of the Saviour table. Stop by and see us.

Link to more information.

Work for this week (Thurs. and Sat.)

It's nice to see the buckwheat starting to sprout. We added it as a ground cover around the perimeter of the garden.

Here are the things we'll be working on the in garden. If you can't make it either of the nights, you are always welcome to come out on your own time to work as you please.

Thursday (6/23, 6pm):
I won't be out Thursday, but there are many things that we still hope to get done. The tomatoes and peppers are pretty well mulched with straw, but the beans need more mulch and mulch could also be better applied to fill in some of the space between the weed barrier and the plants. There is already grass sprouting up around many of the plants, so some judicious hoeing would really help. I've used up the straw that I brought and I have not heard of any donations, so you might need to bring a bale if you want to help. I'll post an update if anything changes.

Sunday (6/26, 6pm):

We'll be applying the fishing line to the deer fence, fertilizing, and adding black plastic to cover some of the parts of the garden we didn't use, including the parts of the rows that we didn't plant.

Our raspberries are really struggling so if anyone has any knowledge about growing them, it would be greatly appreciated.

No work tonight -- Work for Sunday

No work tonight -- too rainy. We will meet Sunday night. I won't be there until 7pm. If you show up early, the first task is to mulch the plants with hay. We'll also work on the deer fence and plant some more seeds.

In the ground and underway

Thank you so much to everyone who showed up on Sat. to help get the garden planted. It has taken a lot of work and planning to get to this point, and your help is truly appreciated.

What do we have to look forward to?

• tomatoes
• peppers
• pole and bush beans
• butternut squash
• summer squash
• cucumber

Also, we had some ingenious volunteers work on the pump to get it to work without overheating and shutting down.

We'll start our regular schedule of maintenance next Sunday. After that, we'll have group work times Sunday and Thursday evenings. Volunteers are also welcome to come out at other times to help with things.

This Sunday we'll be finishing off planting some flowers, doing some more mulching, and laying down weed barrier.

Garden prep work and planting

The garden was tilled on Tuesday night, so we are ready to plant.

Garden prep: Thursday, 2 June - 7pm

We need to get the irrigation hoses in place and mark off the rows. Then, we'll do some digging to get the compost into the ground for the seedlings. If you have a garden fork or a pitchfork, please bring it along.

Garden planting: Saturday, 4 June - 9am

We'll gather to get the seeds and seedlings in the ground and get the water running.

Hope you can make it.

We want your body! (To help move compost)

We just a handful of people for a short period of time this Tues. (31 May) at 7pm to help move an incredibly generous donation of compost. The compost is bagged so we just need to lift the bags into our wheelbarrows and move it over to the garden. Please contact me if you are free for this short period of time to make a big impact on the garden.

P.S. Should have an update on the tilling this Monday.

Planting update: waiting for the go ahead

Last Sat. we were able to accomplish all of our jobs except for the biggest: planting the seeds. It has just been too wet. None of the neighboring farmers have been able to till their fields either. With the hot dry weather, we could be ready to go any day and will need all the help we can get as soon as the dirt is turned over. Please watch this space for updates on when we will be meeting. It is likely that we will start planting one evening this week. Depending on how many people show up to help, we might need to work over a couple of evenings.

Remember, you can receive email updates when this website is updated by clicking the Updates by email link and supplying your email. It is a secure service and your email will not be shared.

Rain or shine - community day will go ahead this Sat. (10am)

We're still planning to meet this Sat. (21 May) at 10am in the garden, but due to the excessive rain, planting might not be an option. The soil has been too wet to till, even for all of the neighboring farms. There is still a lot to do, though. We'll set up all of the irrigation equipment, collect rocks, and put work into the much neglected grape and berry garden (setting up trellises, weed suppression, etc.) We will also do a small amount of planting to create a bed of trap crops to lure pests away from the garden itself. So please plan on joining us whether the weather cooperates or not. We look forward to seeing you.

Community Planting Day: Sat. 21, May - 10am

We'll be joining together to put our garden in the ground this year on Saturday, 21 May from 10am to 12pm. Everyone is invited, regardless of experience. We'll need help with everything from planting seeds to laying out the irrigation hose to putting up fence posts. We do have some tools on site, but if you have things like shovels, trowels, hoes, etc., feel free to bring them along. You are also welcome to bring along seeds or seedlings to share.

Also, if you are interested in your own spot in the garden, you can fill out this form and email it to me or drop it off at Church of the Saviour. Plots are free, but we encourage gardeners to donate at least 10% of what they grow to one of the two food pantries we serve.

Important group work session: Thursday, 22 July 6:30pm

Well, this morning's group session turned into a solo session. I was able to get a lot done, but there is still much to do. The session planned for Thursday is important to get the garden ready for harvesting. We have already lost some areas to weeds, and if we can't get the weeding done this week, we'll lose some more.

If you aren't able to make it on Thursday night, I encourage you to come out on your own during the week. I'll post some details at the bottom on what needs to be done. With a few people helping out, the work should not take long at all.

First I mowed down weeds around the tomatoes, peppers, squash, and melon. Then I hand weeded the squash and pumpkins which are doing really well. I also hand weeded the peppers which are small, but are still coming along.

Next I laid down black cloth around the peppers and squash to suppress further weed growth.

What still needs to be done (in order of priority):

1) Hand weed the melons, tomatoes, and beans. This would be easy to work on if you just have an hour some time during the week and want to come out on your own. The melons are in a short row just north of the squash (visible in the left hand side of the first picture.) The tomatoes are in two rows (seen in the picture below). The beans are in one long row and one short row just north of the family and individual plots. These are in serious need of weeding. I believe there are parts of these rows that have not been weeded since they were planted.

2) Lay down more black plastic around the tomatoes and melons. We'll work on this Thursday night.

3) Add more twine to the tomato trellises and time the rest of the tomatoes higher up on the stakes.

3) Start weeding around the two new rows of corn. This time the corn has germinated nicely. By picking up the drip tape and moving it out of the way, it should be easy to hoe the two rows to keep the weeds down. The soil was just tilled and the weeds are starting to creep back in.

4) Weed the raspberries and put up the trellis wires. Also, secure the grape vine to the metal posts.

Once all of this work is done, we can start worrying about how we will schedule picking the vegetables.

Group work session: Sat., 17 July - 9am

It's just about harvest time and we need to get some work done in the garden. We'll meet at 9am this Sat.

Our main task will be weeding. Most of the vegetables need to be weeded, including:

-melon

-squash

-peppers

-tomatoes

-beans

-3 sisters garden

If you can't make it Sat., we would really appreciate your help whenever you can make it. You are welcome in the garden any time. The melons, squash, tomatoes, and peppers are in rows over by the grape vine, so help yourself.

Short notice group work night - Thursday 6pm

Thanks to a hard working volunteer, a large part of the garden has been tilled. This will allow us to replant the corn and put in some green manure, but it depends on how many hands we have. If you have a spare moment tomorrow night, please join us to help out. We also need to stake the rest of the tomatoes and weed the beans.

Also, if you need to do work in your own garden, the soil is very easy to work with at the moment.

Group work night Wed., 23 June - 6:30pm

We're having another group work night this coming Wed. at 6:30pm. This week we were able to weed the peppers, melons, and raspberries and thin out the lettuce and radishes.

To be done this week:

-Weed the tomatoes

-Replant corn (much of it didn't germinate)

-Stake the tomato plants

-Weed and thin the beans

If you can't make it Wed., you are welcome to come at your convenience to do your part. Feel free to send me an email if you do so I can keep track of the progress.

We got several large plastic bins, but we still need lots of plastic bags. We could also use more tomato stakes or cages.

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.

Water tank fundraiser: Moving towards a sustainable water system

We're very excited to announce that we are working with Rain Brothers, a local company specializing in rainwater harvesting and sustainable irrigation, to install a new water system in the garden. We'll be installing a 550-gallon tank and several rows of soaker tape that will water the garden as needed using only gravity. Last year, hand watering the garden several times a week using a bird's nest of hoses severely limited our output. With the new system, the watering will be done by gravity, meaning we can plant much more square footage.



Along with the increased output, we will be reducing the amount of water we use since the soaker tape will allow us to water more effectively. We'll also be saving money in the long run since we won't be using water from the line. Instead, we'll be getting it from the pond that catches the excess rainwater from the surrounding area.

But how will the water get from the pond to the tank? The Harlem Township Fire Department fills their trucks from our pond. When we need the tank to be filled, they will drive over and fill the tank for us. So with the exception of the gas needed to drive the fire trucks out to the church (which they are currently doing anyway), we won't need any extra energy to pump or distribute the water.

Most of the cost will be covered the by the budget for the garden provided by the three churches. But we need to raise an extra $300 to cover the rest. We've already had a few donations and the end is in sight. Please consider making a donation. All amounts are appreciated. Checks can be made out to Church of the Saviour - UM with a note that it is for the 3 Sisters Water Tank.

The extra produce from the garden will be a huge help to the Friends Who Share Food Pantry and people all over the Big Walnut area. We are thankful for the help of Rain Brothers who have been able to get us a deal on some of the supplies and have been a big help in planning the system. We also appreciate the willingness of the Harlem Township Fire Department to help in this project.