Unger Farms - future site of Community Gardens

Beautiful soil - it is ALMOST ready. Unfortunately there was an equipment breakdown and the final tilling was not completed before the rain set in. It will be a few days before the ground is dry enough to finish, and for the gardeners to enter.

Work at Unger Farm

Work to be accomplished at Unger Farm, according to Dr. Prochaska at last meeting

1. Lay out of garden plots - I will contact when soils dry (this may be on short notice dependant on weather).
2. Repair of grape arbor: Bruce, Craig and Steve will repair soon.

3. Pick of apple/peach brush and placement on pile (do not step on asparagus and rhubarb that is coming up).
4. Pruning of blackberries - prune out last years canes and cut to live wood (significant winter kill).
5. Hoe around perennials and jostaberries.

Dr. Prochaska also mentioned that the red twig dogwood at the parking lot needs to be cleared out.

I went to the farm tonight and took some pictures: Here is the base of the dogwood. Think it needs some help?

Community Garden kickoff meeting

NewsLine:


Community Gardens:

We have almost 50 families signed up! Just waiting for some dry weather (hopefully this weekend) to allow us to mark the garden plots and open the gardens to the gardeners. White flags will be posted at the garden entrance when the garden is open.



Last night was the "makeup" kickoff meeting. Seeds donated by a fourth grade class at Lincoln Elementary were distributed to gardeners. The picture above is of the Master Gardeners looking through the seeds after the meeting to see what remained!

There seemed to be a lot of excitement about the possibilities for the gardens this year. Steve and the Extension Office have obtained many benefits for the community gardens including donations of fertilizer and seeds. Community gardeners will be given a "HEALTH KICK" tomato plant - high in lycopene - Stay tuned for more information!


Please remember: The most important rule for successful gardening is STAY OUT OF THE GARDEN WHEN IT IS TOO WET!

Check out the sample garden plan at http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/WcmDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10551&catalogId=10001&contentName=/tractorsupply/magazine/current/spring_09_plant+a+vegetable+garden

This plan approximates the size of our plots and was developed by a Master Gardener.


Master Gardener classes for 2009 are underway - there are 9 Master Gardener trainees this year. The bulk of the training hours will take place during late summer and fall.

Volunteer hours can be obtained by helping to mark the community garden plots as soon as the weather allows. This could be at short notice - watch your email for updates from Steve.