From Jill
Below are 2 corrections to the calendar of events posted in the newsletter:

1) There will be a workshare this Sunday May 16 from 12 - 4. Several key tasks for this workshare are:
-laying fabric for the squash bed & getting squash seeds planted
-removing debris from compost bin construction
-removing old pallets from compost bin construction area

2) The July potluck brunch will be on *Sunday* July 25 (not Saturday)

We will need volunteers to sign up to water and weed the squash bed. Especially when it gets hot, we will a different person everyday. (Of course, you can stick a finger in the dirt to make sure it is not already soaked.)

We had a fabulous workshare day today. We had a fantastic turnout for the new-gardener meet-and-greet! Thirty-seven people! I got to meet many new gardeners and hang out while eating pizza in the sun. We cleaned up the garden and freed our perennials from debris. A big shout out to the people who helped rip out the old compost bin on the east side and pour concrete for the new bin. That was hard work! Please let me know right away if you do not want your photos taged with your name (children's names are not published online for security) . It's a good way to connect names with faces so that we can get to know each other. And you are invited to add photos and comments to our Facebook site, as a fan. Talk to me if you want to contribute to the blog.

Yellowstone is amazing

I'm back from my trip to Yellowstone and finally catching up on the blog. We got caught in a buffalo-jam while they crossed right in front of our car. They were close enough to touch. Boy, are they big and fast. I was so glad no one did something dumb to get them upset like honking or touch the babies.

I have a couple of Workshare days to catch-up on. The first weekend Michelle Crandell and her boyfriend flipped the compost for the first time - yeah! - This is really tough work - thank you! On July 8th Brett Sloan and I flipped it again. It had cooked down a little, but it really had a terrible ammonia smell - the smell of valuable nitrogen escaping. Next time I will put in far more dry brown matter. Brett, you are a trooper! Lynn Siverts, Enid Van de Walker, and Anne Knoll weeded. Paulina Mundkowski worked in the orchard. The next week Lynn and Brett came again and Brett turned the compost with me again! It had definitely cooked down, and the smell was far more bearable, but still bad. It was hot to the touch. David Pinter tended the current compost by adding brown leaves on top of the green vegetable matter. Tim Towns tended the bees.

Work share

This last Wednesday was another volunteer day at the garden -- this time we didn't get rained out! Anne Knoll had a crew of people who put gorilla mulch in the shade garden. Adam Kemna generously lent us his truck, then Robert Young and Lisa Tannahill helped Anne get the mulch spread out all over the shade garden. (photo) Anne fixed the drip irrigation and Liz Slokar set the timer for us (yes, we were mystified) then took our weedy waste away to Western Disposal to add to their commercial compost. Michelle Crandell and Steve Balgooyen joined us to cover the front common area with mulch. Later, Paul Weiss worked into the dark putting compost on the raspberries (which are starting to ripen!)

Thank you, all!

I am going off to Yellowstone for a week. There will be no official work day next week, but we will be back on the eighth. In the meantime if you want to pitch in, you could: spread several inches of that mountain of mulch on our paths and common areas, turn the compost, pull or weed-whack the many weeds, put compost on the grapes, pick up garbage, or tend the herb garden or orchard on the east side. For details ask Judy Slack or Anne Knoll.

Workshare

We had another good workday at the gardens. This time we pulled weeds in the East side -- around the compost bins, the herb garden, the squash patch, etc. Veronica and her children, Ingrid, Judy and I were there, and Anne and Kristen brought some veggie scraps from Terroir. We were interrupted by a big storm and had to take shelter in a hurry. Sometimes we wish the sheds were bigger!

Next week is another one, same time, starting at 6pm. If you can only be there for one hour, that's enough, we can get a lot done in an hour. I would like to build a new compost pile on the West side with manure and leaves, then turn it every three days. I need your help! Call or email me if you would like to be a part of making new compost. We can get compost in two to three weeks if we put the work in. Also, we should do the same thing on the East side soon.

In addition (and this work can be done any time) we need to finish pulling the weeds on the East Side around the compost and in the herb garden. We also need to add thin layer of compost and manure around the trees in the orchard, from a few inches away from the trunk, to the drip line. The grape vines and the raspberries also need some amendments. The paths also need mulching -- we have new mulch now! Several inches is very helpful in keeping down the weeds. Of course, the shade garden and the sidewalk garden on the West Side could also use some mulching. The trees overhanging the garden by the children's play around need trimming.

Please take some compost from the west side's bin. It's done, and looks pretty good aside from the big pieces (and, for some reason, rocks.) The sifter can be used to sift that stuff out. That's why we chop up big stuff with the machette or the clippers or trimmers! The newsletter has some good info about the compost.

Workshare Days from the Handbook

2009 WEDNESDAY WORK SHARE SCHEDULE

June 10, 6-8PM
June 17, 6-8PM
June 24, 6-8PM
July 8, 6-8PM
July 15, 6-8PM
July 22, 6-8PM
July 29, 6-8PM
August 5, 6-8PM


2009 WEEKEND WORK SHARE SCHEDULE

August 15, Saturday, 6PM-DARK
September 13, Sunday, 8AM-NOON
October 4, Sunday, 1-4PM
October 24, Saturday, 1-4PM