Commerce Community Garden Association

Purple Hull picking Season is here

2010-09-21T09:09:00.000-05:00

Labor on Labor Day

2010-09-04T19:01:00.004-05:00

We weeded, mulched, trimmed, harvested, mowed, hoed, plumbed, cleaned beds and more...volunteers from Alpha Gamma Rho and the Women of Ag helped. DMP Plumbing fixed our leak. Jim Stinnett was able to get $500 in seeds donated by Sulphur Springs Hardware. Ernie Rajala from Greenville visited to see what we are doing to share with his community and the Fish organization, tasked with fighting hunger.

Your Invited to spend a morning getting dirty

2010-08-29T15:56:00.002-05:00

The peppers are in full production and a few of my tomatoe plants are hanging on for the second season. Gails tomatillos might make it? Purple hulls are planted. Weeds are happy as can be.

Dignitaries Visit Community Garden

2010-07-28T17:42:00.003-05:00

J.D. Hale East Texas Deputy Regional Director from the office of Senator John Cornyn toured the garden today with Jim Latham Commissioner, Pricinct 4, Richard Hill, City Council Member and a few gardeners. They discussed the Senators letter of support in a grant application that Mike Odom submitted as well as all things Commerce.

Gardeners Tour TX TinyHouses

2010-07-28T17:39:00.001-05:00

Visit to Luling and Huntville

Clean Up Day

2010-07-20T21:06:00.002-05:00

comm

2010-07-20T21:04:00.000-05:00

My first tomato

2010-06-08T21:43:00.003-05:00

My humble beginnings...I think one is a Roma and the other a Hearty Cherry...and Sarah has a first squash...not sure about the variety, the color is magnificent. Have you all seen Mike's potato patch. Vaughn wants to do a garlic patch in the fall

Abundance

2010-05-18T21:52:00.003-05:00

The sweet peas have already come and gone, time for the berry's and radishes.
How do I know when the onions are ready to harvest?

DIGnitaries visit our Garden

2010-05-11T07:06:00.004-05:00

On this windy spring day we had some recent visitors to our garden including Allan Lambright of the USDA and Jim Latham, Hunt Co. Commissioner. Seen here also is Mike Odom, Vaughn Wascovich, Anne Mills and Laura Milligan. Allan shared some insights on the Know Your Food, know your farmer grant program as well as other Rural Development grants.

2010-04-25T20:40:00.002-05:00

Red oak leaf lettuce this afternoon in the garden. The winter plants are hanging on in places while we plant for spring.

Big Event

2010-04-06T14:49:00.003-05:00

County Commissioner Jim Latham tills the area where nine new beds will be added to the garden during the Big Event this coming Saturday. Everybody come out and lend a hand!

Native Plant Sale at the Heard Museum

2010-04-05T14:07:00.001-05:00

Thought some of you might be interested!
http://www.heardmuseum.org/attractions/exhibits/FallPlantSale.asp

Spring is officially here

2010-03-21T21:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday

Minutes 3-14-10

2010-03-14T16:42:00.000-05:00

CCGA – March 14, 2010

Present: Michael Odom, Jim Heitholt, Bob Mills, Jim Bob Latham, Donna Odom, Ann Mills, Laura Milligan, Susan Stewart

1. Sondra Feduccia
· Says Junior Master Gardeners will be available to work one day a week in May
· Wants two conventional plots for day lilies

2. Big Event is April 10, we plan to focus on the following activities for that day:
· 2nd path to north end of garden
· Prepare 9 new beds
· Plant fruit trees
· Mulch (including moving the mulch pile to the garden and off the church parking lot
· Put the sign up

3. Jim Latham can provide a dump truck to pick up soil. Ann Mills and Jane Langford are getting the soil logistics worked out.

4. Susan Stewart will handle keeping track of membership/plot list. She’ll get with Carolyn Thompson to coordinate lists.

5. Mike Odom will handle PR for the Big Event.

6. Donna Odom will contact Randy Jolly to put an announcement on the electronic bulletin board.

7. Ann Mills is buying fruit trees from Steve’s Nursery at 11.95 per tree. We selected an assortment including plums, pears, and apricots. Members may donate a tree.

8. Know Your Farmer/Know Your Food grant
· Jim Latham will get contact information.
· Mike Odom and Jim Latham will work on putting together a plan with a budget.
· Preliminary discussion focused on rehabbing 1124 Main to include a demonstration kitchen, performance/classroom space, exhibition space, multiuse facility. Jim will try to get Allen _____, our grant contact, to attend Big Event.

9. Hope for Hunger – March 29
· Meeting at 6:00 at City Hall to bring together everyone in the community who is trying to address hunger issues in Commerce. Bob Mills will be cooking. All are encouraged to attend.

10. Jim Heitholt asked that the blueberry farm be included as a Big Event activity. Need workers to trim and do other basic maintenance of the plants and grounds.

11. Irrigation
· Bob Mills says that he will be fixing the irrigation at the garden some time this week, including damage caused by a freeze, leaks, and a leak check.

12. Susan Stewart says we have a current balance of 3912.75.

We were unable to find a date prior to the Big Event that folks are available.

2.27 WorkDay

2010-02-28T14:57:00.004-06:00

9 new boxes

Minutes from our January meeting

2010-02-08T17:13:00.003-06:00

Minutes from the CCGA meeting 1-24-10

Present were Jim Patton, Donna Odom, Susan Stewart, Bob Mills, Anne Mills, Vaughn Wascovich, Carolyn Thompson, Jim Heitholt, Mike Odom.

It was decided that the garden will be modestly expanded. Nine new raised beds will be added to the west side of the existing grid of beds, bringing our total to 45 beds. Vaughn will arrange for purchase of the necessary lumber. Mike has the leftover hardware from the original build last spring. Construction will be done at the Milligans’ place or at the university’s tractor barn. TBD. Work day is slated to be Saturday, Feb. 27. We need to prep the soil and if possible till it into hip rows like we did before the installation of the first raised beds. Bob Mills will contact Jim Latham about plowing. Jim Heitholt said the university has trailers that can haul the box frames. We will probably need more dirt from Berger.

There will be a membership social on March 27. We need to drum up and re-up members.
The big event is April 10.

When conditions allow, Jim Heitholt will have the mulch in the parking lot moved nearer the garden. One mulch pile will be at the north end and the other at the south.

If finances are available, we will buy fruit trees to border the existing walkway from the parking lot to the garden. Bob Mills volunteered to buy a tree. Mike Odom will buy one, too. Vaughn and Mike will discuss discount prices with Steve’s Nursery.

It was decided that the garden’s funds will be moved from the FUMC foundation to an account managed by the Commerce Office of Cultural Affairs. Mike Odom will set up the account at Alliance Bank in the coming week. Susan will get a statement of garden funds from the foundation and facilitate the transfer of funds with Mike.

Anne Mills will contact Sondra Feduccia to offer her the use of the garden for her daylily breeding.

Jim Heitholt said that row crops this year will be purple hull peas, corn, and peppers. He also said that the ag student club, AGR, will be able to help with cultivation and other labor. We also discussed issues related to organic gardening and the nearby use of ag chemicals.
Bob Mills will repair the irrigation system when weather and soil conditions allow. Mike Odom will assist.

Susan Stewart will begin sprouting seedlings in her greenhouse in the next few weeks. She asked for suggestions for sprouting.

The group discussed cold frames after it was determined that the university’s green houses were not available due to instructional use.

2010-01-20T12:27:00.003-06:00

Good recipe to beat the winter blahs ...

Here is a wonderful site to get your gardening "juices" flowing ... in fact, I'm having trouble prying myself away to get to any chores (inside or out !). It's definitely bookmarked on my computer. Be sure to read about Mrs. Roach's method of composting (which I am beginning today ... easy to do ... not that I'm lazy or anything =o)

This came from Marianne Greene's column ... Gardening Fools unite !!!!

awaytogarden.com

Sweet Pea Early Planting Season:NOW

2010-01-12T16:51:00.003-06:00

If you want to get them productive fast, before the Texas heat of spring, now is the time to start them inside. I found astep by step guide to starting them and how to moving out to the garden spring.http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/swp-transplant-tips.html

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/peas1.html

The following varieties (listed in order of maturity) have wrinkled seeds and are resistant to fusarium wilt unless otherwise indicated.
Early
Daybreak (54 days to harvest; 20 to 24 inches tall, good for freezing)
Spring (57 days; 22 inches tall; dark green freezer peas)
Main Season
Sparkle (60 days to harvest; 18 inches tall; good for freezing)
Little Marvel (63 days; 18 inches tall; holds on the vine well)
Green Arrow (68 days; 28 inches tall; pods in pairs; resistant to fusarium and powdery mildew)
Wando (70 days; 24-30 inches; withstands some heat; best variety for late spring planting)
Sugar
Snowbird (58 days; 18 inches tall; double or triple pods in clusters)
Dwarf Gray Sugar (65 days; 24 to 30 inches)
Snowflake (72 days; 22 inches to harvest; high yield)

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T21:29:00.002-06:00

My first scratch corn bread and last of the frozen purple hulls.
The Garden is still producing spinach and radishes...Joel better watch out or I'm going to harvest the baseballs...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2009-12-06T19:17:00.002-06:00

The garden is prepared for winter with care,
In hopes that spring soon will be here;
the lettuce and spinach were nestled all snug in their beds,
and visions of salads til February danced in our heads;
And everyone in their layers and many in caps,
We all snuggled around the fire after much mulching and weeding.

Thanks to all, and to all a good winter.

See you saturday morning at 9:00

2009-12-02T15:26:00.000-06:00

Thanks

2009-11-28T22:45:00.002-06:00

This is the best holiday, great to reflect on all we have and all the great people we know. Enjoyed a local side dish at the big feast...salad greens from our garden and a surprise delicacy of arugala salad with saved parm...fresh from the plots. See you all at our work day on Saturday December 5th at 9:00 a.m.

Meeting - Sunday, November 22, 2009

2009-11-22T21:42:00.001-06:00

CCGA meeting – November 22, 2009
Present: Michael Odom, Laura Milligan, Carolyn Thompson, Susan Stewart, Vaughn Wascovich, Jim Bob Latham, Donna Odom

1. Pending the successful acquisition of 501(C)(3) status for the Commerce Office of Cultural Affairs, the CCGA will fall under the umbrella of COCA for grant-writing purposes. This will mean, in part, that CCGA will form a steering committee for organizational purposes. From COCA’s perspective this will be the standing committee on community gardens.

2. Mike Odom and Vaughn Wascovich met with Chris Evans, Jim Heitholt and others from the university to discuss EPA grant possibilities. The university will take the lead in developing a grant proposal for the EPA’s environmental education project.

3. Susan Stewart will contact Sarah Allan of the Extension Service to learn requirements for attaining Master Gardener status.

4. There will be a work day at 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 5, to clean up the garden for the winter. Jim Bob Latham will prepare stew. In case of rain, the date will be changed to a week later on December 12.

5. It was suggested that someone make contact with Hal Grumwald of 4H.

6. Vaughn Wascovich proposed expanding the number of beds of the main garden from 36 to 45.

7. We need to come up with ideas for increasing the garden’s visibility and improving communication with the town.

8. Soil samples have been taken from the old practice field on Neal Street in the Norris Community to see if it will be a suitable site for Community Garden #2.

9. We discussed the possibility of a float for the December 3rd Christmas Parade.

Check this out

2009-11-05T15:30:00.001-06:00

Data from the White House garden here.

I nominate Anne

2009-10-25T17:58:00.001-05:00

Laura's October To Do's

2009-10-25T17:45:00.002-05:00

October
•Sow native seeds for spring bloom.
•Compost your falling leaves.
•Add compost to veggie beds and mulch all beds
in preparation for winter temperatures.
•Continue planting trees and shrubs,
fall annuals and perennials.
•Fertilize those plants and herbs you planted
in September.
•Pick pumpkins for Jack-o-lanterns and gourds
for fall decorating.

October planting

2009-10-03T18:56:00.003-05:00

Gardeners,
Some of us where able to take advantage of this lovely Saturday morning to get the cold hearty plants in...or to document our 10' ocra...or to enjoy the beauty of the day.

Bois d' Arc Bash

2009-09-27T20:57:00.003-05:00

The 24th annual event: they came, they bashed, they left with lemon grass... and a few ideas of what to start growing now... Anne and Laura lead the effort with a great booth set up, great mid-way calls and great garden hats to keep the sun out (thanks to the Herald Banner for comic donations). Thanks to all who visited and a warm welcome to our new gardeners. We are seeking interested parties for an upcoming Chamber Swap in October...be looking here for details. Hedge Apples rule.

Bulletin Board Volunteer

2009-09-14T15:53:00.001-05:00

Fellow Gardeners,
We have an official volunteer to build and install our CCGA weather-proof, on-site bulletin board.

Jim Stinnett has gracefully stepped forward and is officially requesting CCGA member input from now until midnite on Sept. 24th.
That is 10 full days to share your ideas and requests.

He has already contacted Commerce Hardware and is awaiting your ideas.
He can be reached at 903.456.3334.

One idea I've already requested is an 81/2" x11"area for sponsorship recognition.
Site specific location ideas are also welcome.
We are hoping to utilize this bulletin board (in addition to this blog commercecga.blogspot.com) to increase CCGA member communication.
Let the ideas begin.
ct

Second Growing Season Plant List

2009-09-07T16:30:00.003-05:00

Planting info for THIS season is as follows:

Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower plant transplants Aug25-Sept 25

Collard Greens plant seed or plants Aug 25-Set 25

Beets plant seed Sept 10-Sept 25

Carrots plant Aug 15-Sept 25

English Peas plant seed Sept 1-Oct.1

Leaf Lettuce plant seed Sept 1-Sept 15

Mustard plant seed Sept 15- Oct 15

Radish plant seed Aug 15-Oct 15

Turnips plant seed Sept 15-Nov 1

Spinach plant seed Sept 15-Nove 1

Swiss Chard plant seed Aug 15-Sept 15 or transplants til Nov. 1

inspiration

2009-09-03T10:14:00.001-05:00

Rick Bayless's Frontera Farmers' Market Tomato Salsa with two chiles and chives made with Texas heirloom tomatoes on Saturday.

"For our 2009 Frontera Farmers Market Heirloom Tomato Salsa, we have been fortunate to work with two farmers in Texas, Brad Stufflebeam of Home Sweet Farms in Brenham and Richard Kemp of Cedar Creek Farm in Abilene," says chef Rick Bayless, owner of Chicago's critically acclaimed Frontera Grill and Topolobambo restaurants. "Both farmers use sustainable agricultural practices and work hard to promote their locally grown ingredients."

For garden buffs, the medium-heat, 2009 Texas release includes Old Roma, Juliet, Black Plum, Costoluto Genovese, Marglobe Heirlooms, Orange Brandywine, Red Beefsteak Heirloom, Celebrity Heirloom and Early Girl tomatoes.

They are on my list for next year... As seen on the DMN food blog.

Pizza Farm

2009-09-01T11:34:00.002-05:00

Great idea to link up local growers with local eaters...check out
http://www.winterhouse.com/
and click on the pizza farm icon.

National Community Gardening Week

2009-08-13T23:33:00.002-05:00

It's coming up, y'all! Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has proclaimed August 23-29 to be National Community Gardening Week.

I say we have a party.

August Abundance

2009-08-13T10:43:00.002-05:00

In the field

2009-08-13T10:40:00.001-05:00

Peas be with us all

2009-08-09T22:51:00.004-05:00

Shelling purple hulls does that to your digits. Donna and I did a few more pints tonight.

We're planning to pick more tomorrow. Ann is working on getting us youthful reinforcements, praises be. And it may be that we can get assistance from the gardening kids this week as well.

Pea Salad

2009-08-07T22:48:00.005-05:00

We harvested purple hull peas again today. Most we gave away, but some I held back for a salad.

Pea Salad

I shelled about 3 pints of VERY fresh purple hull pink eyed peas. It’s not a bad thing to do with your spare time even if you don’t have a lot of time to spare. By the way, the peas are very pretty shelled, and you fingers only turn purple for a while.

Next, I cooked the peas. Typically, you need to cook store-bought black eyes 30-40 minutes, but these little babies were done in under 12 minutes. I don’t really know why – maybe it was their freshness. Maybe it was their variety. More research is needed.

Regardless, I fried a little bacon (three or four scraps) in a pot and added the peas and three cloves of garlic. I added enough water to generously cover them and brought it to a boil. I reduced the heat and simmered them till they were done. (It was more complicated than that, but basically I checked them to see if they were done frequently and drained them when the desired texture was reached.) After draining the peas, I removed the bacon pieces and rinsed the peas.

While the peas were cooking, I zapped three chopped garlic cloves covered in olive oil in the microwave for a couple of 30-second blasts. In the same bowl with the resulting instant garlic oil, I combined the cooked peas with two stalks of celery (chopped), half a mild white onion (chopped), the boiled garlic from the peas (mashed), three scallions (chopped), one and half minced red jalapenos, the juice of 1 and a half lemons, and salt and pepper. I tossed the whole lot to combine and let it sit for an hour or more so the flavors could meld.

Everybody seemed to like it tonight.

[NB, my dish included lemon confit, but that’s another episode. Just taste as you work to make sure you have enough lemon and salt for your taste buds and things will work out fine.]

Tomatoes!

2009-07-27T11:39:00.004-05:00

The knife is handmade by a good friend of mine, Tim Wright from Sedona. The bowl is from Bob Briscoe in Minnesota, and the tomatoes are from right here in East Texas. Yes indeed, it was a good salad!
Oh, and the image is from my iPhone.

Local Commerce Resident Causes Commotion

2009-07-23T16:01:00.002-05:00

Local Commerce resident Vaughn Wascovich caused a commotion in the Greenville Lowe’s both today and yesterday when the sales manager, “Jim” told Mr. Wascovich that he could have whatever plants he wanted for the community garden at half price. “Yahoo!” Wascovich was heard to say as he wheeled a cart around the perennials, grabbing roses, salvia, Mexican sage and many other hardy plants for the front edge of the community garden.

Lowe’s employees and customers looked on in disbelief as Wascovich filled his ten-year-old Corolla to the brim with plants, as Taco Bell wrappers and Giant Slurpie cups fell out onto the parking lot.

Greenville Constable Hodie Snitch said, “ Uh, yeah. We don’t believe that boy is from ‘round here.”

Wascovich was last seen leaving the scene in an agitated state mumbling something about tiny houses and tomatoes for everyone.

If you see this person, especially Saturday morning at the Commerce Community Garden trying to bury the evidence, approach with extreme caution, but please, give him a hand. He’s got potting soil and at least thirty plants that need to get in the perimeter of the garden… 9:00 am.

Many Thanks!

2009-07-23T15:03:00.003-05:00

Many thanks to everyone that showed up on a beautiful morning last weekend to do some much needed maintenance on the community garden. We pulled weeds, cut grass and made a mulch path to the garden from the parking area. We've got plenty of mulch left over too, to add to the existing mulch and perhaps put around new beds... The garden really looks wonderful and in my opinion has been a great success this first year! I think we should all feel proud of our accomplishment. Please tell you friends about the garden, it would be wonderful to double the size of it next year. Also, I bought several varieties of heirloom vegetables, including a dozen varieties of garlic for fall planting. I'm happy to share, let me know if you're interested!

Recipe video

2009-07-06T16:54:00.004-05:00

An idea for all those tomatoes. I used mint in this one, but basil would be good, too.

What are other people doing with their produce?

A short video from July 4

2009-07-05T23:27:00.002-05:00

What the garden looked like yesterday. Please excuse the shaky camera. The cameraman is a novice.

Saturday June 20, Commerce Swap/Farmer's Market!

2009-06-19T22:29:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow morning, several of us will be at the Commerce Farmer's Market to sell produce and other things in support of the community garden. Please plan on joining us! The more the merrier!

Fresh, the movie

2009-06-13T12:27:00.002-05:00

Here's a trailer for an interesting food film.

That's MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient Will Allen, whose Growing Power foundation in Milwaukee raises fresh food on an urban farm located in a blighted neighborhood. More information about the film is here. Incidentally, we can buy a DVD with the rights to show it to a group of 20 people for $20. Larger screenings cost more.

Pictures from June 12

2009-06-12T16:36:00.011-05:00

These are what things looked like this afternoon at the garden. Mid June is absolutely the best time for gardens. The CCRI corn is beginning to make baby ears. A few tomatoes are coming in. Cool-weather plants like lettuce are still hanging in there, but the hot-weather plants like okra have begun to bud.

We got ourselves a garden!

Cool film

2009-06-11T00:58:00.002-05:00

Bring a sandwich and relax. It's not a short film.

Saving Seeds from Southern Foodways on Vimeo.

Going forward, I think we might look into becoming a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance.

Some pictures from today

2009-06-04T21:37:00.013-05:00

I shot a few photos this afternoon out at the garden.

Folks, it looks just beautiful!

CCGA Cookbook anyone?

2009-05-28T10:30:00.005-05:00

OK, I have a bad habit of doing stuff like this when I don't have the time, but what the hey? Do any of you think putting together a CCGA Cookbook would be a good idea?This idea is a result of our planting a dozen zucchini plants in the empty plots. I mean, if only a quarter of them put out any zucchini, we'll still be awash in zucchini, so I was thinking first about how I might put together my own Zucchini Every Way But Flambe' cookbook. That led pretty quickly to a CCGA Cookbook.

I'm still thinking of Bob Mills' Cowboy Cobbler, and I thought my pound cake was pretty fabulous, too. Is there a possibility that we could make any money for the garden doing this?

How crazy am I?

Donna

if only we had a real photographer...

2009-05-26T23:56:00.001-05:00

"empty" plots FYI

2009-05-26T09:09:00.002-05:00

Hi all,

This is just an FYI: Susan, Mike, and I have planted some of the still unplanted plots because we wanted stuff to be in there for the barbecue and because some of us (OK, me) couldn't stand seeing that lovely soil going to waste. We planted spreading sorts of things like zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon, beans, etc. If you find something in your plot, feel free to take it out. We figured that the worst thing to happen is zucchini. And I'm collecting zucchini recipes.

Donna

2009-05-25T07:56:00.000-05:00

CCGA BBQ images

2009-05-25T07:51:00.002-05:00

CCGA barbecue

2009-05-24T11:06:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of what can happen when folks have a vision and can come together with others to make that vision happen. (If you can't tell, that's a GIANT smoker.) For another picture, just go gaze at our garden.

The barbecue yesterday was a thumping success! Jim Latham brought his ample smoker out to the garden and made wonderful brisket happen. The rest of us brought too much food, chairs and tables, and our appetites and high spirits. We got to visit and meet each other and celebrate the transformation of an idle field into a place to make food and friendships happen.

I did not take pictures because I would have to have put my plate down (did I mention that brisket?), but I saw Vaughn and others taking pictures, so I'm sure some will appear here shortly.

Thanks go out to Jim Latham, Brookshires (who gave us a $50 gift certificate), and everyone who has gone out of their way to make our garden a beauty to behold and our town an even better place to live.

Donna

What it looks like today

2009-05-18T21:02:00.007-05:00

A few pictures from this afternoon.

Meeting on Sunday; plot update

2009-05-05T21:45:00.006-05:00

I'm blogging about a few things tonight.

1. I updated the plot assignment list. We now have 27 plots accounted for. Unfortunately a number of those don't have anything planted in them. Keep spreading the word. Given the crazy weather, there's still time to get some good stuff in the ground.

2. We need to meet on Sunday at 2:00. Let's meet at the garden (weather permitting) so we can have a plant swap. Mike and I have some heirloom squash and we may have some okra seedlings.

3. I'm going to compile a phone and address list from the contracts so we can reach people by phone or mail as well as email. I think several of the folks who have plots may not be checking email.

Please come to the meeting on Sunday. There's organizational work we need to get done, and we need to start talking about landscaping plans.

Oh, and the picture is there to help us keep our attention focused on what's really important in this world: homegrown tomatoes.

Minutes from the April 19th meeting

2009-04-28T21:01:00.001-05:00

CCGA meeting Sunday April 19th

Present Susan Stewart, Jim Patton, Vaughn Wascovich, Caroline Thompson, Bob Mills, Mike Odom

The “Gardening 101” class was discussed. It is slated for Saturday, 4-25 at 9:00 am. Presenter will be Byron Chitwood. We need to determine where still, since that day the university will be overrun with UIL participants. Jim Patton will check the church’s calendar in the afternoon to see if Fellowship Hall is available. Vaughn will handle outreach and advertising. [Update: the class came off well at the church, though slightly attended. Our efforts to get the attention of KETR were unsuccessful. We need to polish our advertising kills.]

We discussed irrigation and considered sponsoring a class in watering. Look like we’ll work on a water czar system. At present that’s to be Mike Odom, but it should rotate. [Update: Odom, the water czar, inadvertently left his soaker hose system on overnight one day last week. He owes the garden for the wasted water. Should he be fired, too?]

Ladonna was unable to attend the meeting, but here spread sheet of garden finances was circulated for everyone’s information.

It is becoming apparent that we will need somebody to keep records of the service garden participants. This should be addressed at the next meeting.

We’re still working on insurance. Jim Swart is approaching the various agents in town to find our best deal. Resa Smith showed up near the end of the meeting and she had estimates for insurance, all of which hovered in the $900-dollar range.

Donna and Mike Odom will meet with the people at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Sat 4-25 to present the garden idea. [Update: The meeting failed to occur. We don’t know why, but when we got there, nobody else was there.] We need to really work on outreach.

The barbecue at the garden is set for Saturday, May 23rd. Mark your calendars.

In an effort to coordinate the garden better with EPIC, Mike will contact Ladonna so he can be put into the EPIC loop for meetings and issues.

Next meeting will be Sunday May 3rd at 2 pm in the student center.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike Odom

CCGA Chili Cookoff Contenders

2009-04-28T11:35:00.000-05:00

2009-04-28T11:31:00.001-05:00

2009-04-28T11:28:00.001-05:00

New Addition

2009-04-28T11:17:00.002-05:00

Hey Gardeners,
I have planted plot b4. I've also put extra tomatoe plants in area plots so they won't die...anyone is welcome to transplant or eat them... if they make it...
Carolyn

2009-04-26T18:10:00.002-05:00

Hi Gardeners,
Judy West has a plot in our community garden. Judy has no transportation and very little money. She walk everywhere she goes. If you have any extra seeds or plants, she would appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Helen Rowe

New plots

2009-04-25T12:25:00.001-05:00

Hi all,

I'm just checking to see if I'm up to date.

I just told Karla Corbell that she can have plot D-7. I hope that's OK. I'll get a contract to her next week.

Any other newbies we need to add to the plot assignment chart?

Donna

Gardening 101 with Byron Chitwood

2009-04-25T11:35:00.004-05:00

Hi all,

I took notes from Byron Chitwood's introduction to gardening this morning. Any mistakes are mine, not his.

He started off with tomato trivia and focused on tomatoes since that's what most of us have our gardening sights/sites set on.

- Tomatoes need nitrogen and iron which can come from commercially available sources or from cottonseed meal, blood meal, or grass clippings (a LOT of grass clippings).

Container planting can be done in 25 gallon, 18 inch deep barrels.

Soil mix: 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite

Hole should be deeper than the plant, and he suggested placing some nitrogen in the hole, but not directly on the roots.

We should be careful not to break the plant's stem, but if we do, throw out that seedling and plant a new one. Mulch around the plant, but note that mulch will leach nitrogen from the soil.

Companion planting (which I'm going to try)--planting green beans or cucumbers that can climb up the tomato cage. Mr. Chitwood says the Contender variety of green beans provides the best yield by far.

Other companions: asparagus, carrots, basil, celery, chives, onions, garlic, parsley

Bad companions: corn and potatoes

Water as close to the ground as possible--drip irrigation is best, try not to let water touch the foliage.

Cages should be staked.

If a frost is expected, rake mulch away from the tomato plant during the warmth of the day to warm up the soil, then cover the plant with a bucket before frost. When the temperature is above 36 degrees, remove the bucket.

Or we can cover cages with ground cover or translucent plastic (like garbage bags) for 2-4 degree frost protection.

For problems with the many, many soil diseases, rotate crops.

Planting depth - 3-5 inches
3 feet between rows
Soil temperature - 60-85 degrees
Spring planting - 3/20-4/10
Fall planting - 6/01-6/20

Best varieties - Carnivale, Champion, and Celebrity

Composting basics:

Simple pile
plastic bag method
4 x 4 bin
4.5 ft. diameter chicken wire enclosure
trenching
burial
manufactured compost bins

Materials for composting include anything carbonaceous:
leaves
grass clippings
weeds
shredded newspaper
kitchen scraps
air
water
nitrogen

Composting requires the breakdown of carbonaceous materials. The more microbes thrive, the faster the composting.

Carbon/Nitrogen ratio:
25/1-30-1
Leaves - 40/1
Green grass - 20/1
50/50 mix of green grass and dry leaves is pretty much ideal.
Can introduce cottonseed meal.

An interesting composting bin he showed us can be made with 4 pallets, something to stake the structure with, and some way to open one side to stir the compost and remove the successful result.

After our class, Mr. Chitwood went out and eyed our plots. I'm happy to report that my eggplant is doing fine, despite my concerns. He mentioned that many of us could use some more nitrogen in our plots.

Mr. Chitwood told us that he'd be happy to conduct a fall gardening class, too. Let me know if you're interested: Donna at 903-886-5774.

By the way, more plots are available if you want another one, or if you have a friend who needs to garden.

What it looked like today

2009-04-23T18:56:00.012-05:00

Progress! Things are being planted and cared for. Even though there's a lot of brown in this image, small passages of green have begun to appear.

Sprouts are sprouting.

A couple of blooms have appeared. That's one of Vaughn's yellow pear tomatoes above.

Irrigation solutions are being discovered. That's the Faulkenberry's watering setup above. Another view is below. Tom says he has leftover 1/2-inch tubing if anyone's interested in using it. The sweet little sprinkler heads probably aren't part of the deal, I'd imagine. (Hope it's okay I turned the water on to snap the picture. I turned it off right afterward.)

My watering setup isn't as classy looking, but I'm still tinkering with it. Time will tell. Like the Faulkenberrys, I have some leftover materials which I'm more than willing to share.

Vaughn and Carolyn opted for standard soaker hoses in their plots, and that looks like a good option.

At the risk of becoming a bore on the topic, I had to include a picture of the hive, which is functioning in an orderly hive-like manner as far as I can tell.

That's one of our girls above, doing her job on some wild flowers. Does anybody know the name of those little white flowers? The bees seem to love them. We may have to plant a few bee attractors near our plots to compete with the little white guys if they bloom much longer.

I saw Jim Heitholt at the garden yesterday, and he told me the CCRI pea planting failed. Wacky cold spring weather is to blame, apparently. So they're replanting this week. The corn is okay, though.

Irrigation and comradery

2009-04-23T09:53:00.002-05:00

Hey all,

Yesterday when I went out to the garden, there were several people there, and we chatted and admired each other's gardens. I just invited Tom and Eileen Faulkenberry to join the blog, but until they post something, I invite you all to check out their irrigation system. If I have time, I'll go out and take picture and post it.

Tom says he'll share materials and expertise.

I hope to see everyone at Gardening 101.

Hoping the home-grown tomato gods are smiling on me,
Donna

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday!

2009-04-21T17:32:00.000-05:00

A couple of things

2009-04-20T22:36:00.003-05:00

1. While walking the wildflower field at the southwestern part of the garden lease (not the plots, but way the heck out there to the southwest), I picked up a tick this morning. He was fully latched on and sucking my blood when I yanked him off. That was rather unpleasant. Accordingly I have loaded up a couple of my socks with sulfur and tied them off so it will only dust through the fabric (and not spill out) if you whack it against your legs. Right now, they're on the mulch at the north end of my plot -- C9. If you plan to walk out there, please dust your shoes and ankles with sulfur using the socks. In my experience, sulfur will keep ticks and chiggers off you. I'm not sure how this works in terms of organic gardening, but regardless, y'all, you don't want ticks on you.

2. I was out at the garden this afternoon and a few plots are starting to look a bit dry. The forecast for this week is windy, warm and dry. The wind will desiccate your veggie plants in practically no time. It would be smart to make time to water your gardens often, and check them daily.

3. I bought watermelon and cantaloupe seeds and planted them in a couple of the mounds of amended soil that don't have frames set around them -- the stuff off to the west of the garden proper. I marked them with stakes and twine. The staking is crazy off kilter, but once the vines begin to grow, that won't matter.

4. I have some purple shiso (aka perilla) seeds from last year. If somebody wants some, let me know. Shiso is the herb that makes the pickled ginger in sushi bars that pink color. It's also used in some Vietnamese cooking. It gets along with ginger and hot peppers in sauces and marinades. The plant looks a lot like purple basil (photo above), but it tastes floral and delicate like a slightly medicinal root beer, but in a good way -- if that makes sense.

5. There are lots of leftover cantaloupe seeds for the taking. I'll get them to Vaughn when I can since he's the keeper of the seeds in this enterprise.

6. Any suggestion for things to plant in the remaining two or three mounds of amended soil?

7. We need to get the word out about the intro to gardening class slated for next Saturday morning. Everybody tell a friend to tell a friend. Vaughn is handling the logistics of where. Time is 9:00 a.m. Saturday, April 25.

That was more than a couple of things. Sorry

A garden in Boston

2009-04-19T17:01:00.002-05:00

Donna is visiting friends in Boston. She sent me this photo of a community garden there. Of course it's still very early in the spring up in Massachusetts, so not much is growing yet.

I have plants to give

2009-04-16T13:45:00.003-05:00

I have vegetable plants that need a good home. I have two Early Girl tomatoes, two Celebrity (vining type) tomatoes, two Ancho peppers, two Pasilla peppers and also two Basil Genovese plants.

I also have some Malabar Spinach (vine).

First come first served; please call 903-886-3579 and leave a message.

Resa

I moved the bees

2009-04-15T20:38:00.004-05:00

I borrowed Michael Miller's truck this evening at dusk and loaded the bee hive on it (a towel over the exit). All went smoothly. The hive is now on a piece of 2 x 12 down along the tree line at the south end of our leased land. I raised the 2 x 12 on some bricks to give the hive a few inches extra height. Following the instructions Vaughn got from a beekeeping friend, I oriented it with the entry facing east.

Since the hive is more than 200 feet from the garden, they should pose no problem for gardeners. I think we still have to figure out a way for them to have water, but that will come.

Reading about bees last night, I came across a blog kept sporadically by an urban beekeeper. Here's an excerpt from a post she wrote almost two years ago:

Flowers truly are miracles: tell me, if the only kind of intelligence is the human kind, how did every plant that sets a seed come to (successfully) open up its reproductive process to third-party participation? I don't mean to say that plants are out there secretly hedging foreign currency markets, but that our ways of gathering and leveraging knowledge are based on the space we live in. The fish in the pond out front are smart in finny ways, my dogs are good at sniffing and stealing, and people excel at thinking about themselves.

But if you do somehow find yourself thinking about flowers, you can easily see the wonderful shopping experience they represent for the bees. Every one is attempting to cut the deal that gets the pollination done. Some, like apple trees, are hard bargainers: each bloom is pip-squeaky about how much nectar and pollen it doles out, but there are tons of flowers, all nearby, and not much else going at the time. The honeybee in my back yard, in the picture up there, is just about drunk as a skunk in a puddle of nectar on the bottom of THAT bloom. The deal is probably like this: "I know you have lots of places to go, and things to do, but I will fill you up in one swell stop, and invite you to root around A LOT by offering tons of nectar and pollen. Unfortunately, I am only open mornings, so I need to get you here right away (so I will make a huge, bright flower)." You know all those seeds inside a pumpkin? Each one required a pollen grain delivery, so you can see that the plant wants that bee in there a long time, rolling around.

So each plant develops its marketing strategy of size, color, smell, rewards, and even configuration to attract the right kind of pollination. Some even concoct little landing strips that you can see in UV light: they kind of point at the good stuff. So next time you walk in a garden, or a flowery field, experience the sales pitch. A whiff of wonderful scent turns your head one way, a glorious bloom makes your head tilt right, a carpet of color draws your eye down. It reminds me of walking in markets in the Middle East, where vendors and merchants call to you, invite you to dicker, and serve you a cup of sweet tea.

Makes me think of Michael Pollan's book The Botany of Desire.

Planting has commenced, and bees are on my mind

2009-04-14T22:30:00.002-05:00

A few of us have set out some plants at the garden, which is gratifying. The season is upon us.

My answering machine took a call from Sara Allen, the master gardener with the county extension office this afternoon while I was out looking at the bees. She's proposing a gardening class with our group at 9:00 Saturday morning, April 25. It's my understanding she and some other gardeners will meet anyone interested that morning at the garden site.

I'll confirm tomorrow and make arrangements to get the word out to people who are interested.

Bee update: They're making a home in the donated box. My concerns about them finding another place to live were unfounded.

However, this afternoon while Vaughn was planting some pear tomatoes and I was lounging nearby, the bees boiled up and became pretty aggressive. I got buzzed (but not stung) over 4o feet away from the hive. My reading online tonight leads me to believe they'd been alarmed by some predator -- a wasp or two, maybe, or a mocking bird. Right now, they are not foraging for pollen and nectar as they settle in to their new dwelling. (They gorge on honey before swarming and run on stores for a few days) This means there are lots of worker bees who are just hanging around the homestead with perishing little to do, and when an attack pheromone is released by any one, of them the whole mob riles up.

A check later this evening showed them to be calm again, but I think I should move the hive farther away from the plots and the apartments on the other side of the fence. My plan is to situate them at the south end of the field, near the tree line. According to what I've read, bees will travel two miles or more to locate pollen and nectar, so a hundred yards or so to the garden is nothing.

Bob Mills' water message

2009-04-12T23:06:00.001-05:00

I got this last week from Bob:

Mike, please forward to whoever needs this information.

I spent a little time at the gardens today. I installed a shutoff valve, a backflow preventer, the rest of the hose bibbs and attached the last five risers to the boxes. After pressurizing and leak checking the system I turned the system off at the cutoff. This is a gate valve located in a round green box between the two rectangular boxes on the northern fenceline of the property. Please use this valve to control the system and not the quarter turn valve in the meter box or the valves in the backflow preventer box. If an average of three inches of water is applied to each bed each week we would use approximately 13,000 gallons of water each month, at an approximate cost of $ 60.00. If one hose bibb was left 100 % open overnight about 1,000 gallons would be wasted. --Bob--

Bees, part deux

2009-04-12T22:46:00.003-05:00

Today's rain may have flooded the beehive as it sat in my yard. It was in a low spot. Tonight at dusk, I saw a single bee enter the hive, though, so chances are they're still in there. But my concerns about more rain mounted this evening. (That's a picture I found on the Web above, not our hive.)

I borrowed a truck and got (allergic-to-bee-venom) Vaughn to help and schlepped bees across Commerce to the garden. I set a dish towel over the hive's exit before picking it up, following the bee wrangler's instructions. Worked like a charm.

We decided to set the hive near the fence on the north end of the garden and a little east. I don't think it'll be trouble there, but if necessary, I can move it with my new found bee skills. Tonight in the mud and in the dark, where we put it seemed okay.

Chinatown

2009-04-12T17:44:00.004-05:00

Regarding water: It’s been decided that it’s very important that we not have free reign on the water supply. Each of the raised beds have a water tap, but if someone were to turn on the water and leave it, we’d be facing a huge water bill.

My suggestion is that we assign individuals to be “water czar” for a one or two week period throughout the summer. We get soaker hoses or drip irrigation for each of the beds, and the water czar can regulate the water for the entire garden. Soaker hoses are quite economical, I priced a 50’ soaker hose from Wal-Mart for 10 bucks, and a 25’ soaker hose from Commerce Hardware for the same price. It’s my opinion that a 25’ section would be plenty for each 4x12’ plot. (But certainly someone with more experience here can respond!) I thought that we could by a 50’ length and cut it in half, but it appears that the end caps are 2.50 each, so the savings wouldn’t be great. I will talk with both Wal-Mart and Commerce Hardware about a quantity price break, and see about Wal-Mart donating something to the garden as well. We need to get this system in place ASAP, I’m happy to do the footwork on this.

The cost for the hoses can fall on the individual who leases the plot. Ten bucks is pretty is an inexpensive investment to have your garden watered automatically. Those who prefer not to purchase a soaker hose can water their garden when the water czar is on-site.

I’m not sure that a drip system would be any more water efficient than the soaker hose. Again, someone with more experience here please, chime in…

Plot assignments

2009-04-12T14:44:00.010-05:00

I'm making a chart to display the plot assignments. I don't have all the names so either LaDonna can update the chart or she can give the information to me and I can do it.

Given the demand for organic plots, we recommend that the top 5 rows be organic--although it looks like those of us with conventional plots are going to try to go organic but want wiggle room just in case.

A-1 Tom & Eileen Faulkenberry
A-2 Laura Milligan
A-3 Ron Means
A-4 Ruth Gorman
A-5
A-6
A-7
A-8
A-9 M&M’s

B-1 Tilling Tigers
B-2 Bob & Ann Mills
B-3 Vaughn Wascovich
B-4 Carolyn Thompson
B-5
B-6
B-7 Marylou Heatherly (sorry, I probably misspelled your name)
B-8 Bellanca Wilson
B-9 Melissa Buglehall

C-1 Tilling Tigers
C-2 CIS
C-3 Gail Gordon
C-4
C-5
C-6 Mike and Donna Odom
C-7 Susan Stewart
C-8 John & Molly Sloop
C-9 Mike & Donna Odom

D-1 Tilling Tigers
D-2 CIS
D-3 Kendra McCleran
D-4 Judy West
D-5
D-6 Evonne Richardson
D-7 Karla Corbell
D-8 Hamcumpai
D-9 Helen Rowe

I welcome any suggestions for how to make this more efficient, clearer, etc.

Thanks!
Donna Odom

minutes from our April 8, 2009 meeting

2009-04-12T14:42:00.000-05:00

Minutes from April 8, 2009 meeting

Present: Jim Patton, LaDonna Patterson, Ann Mills, Tom Faulkenberry,

Vaughn Wascovich, Mike Odom, Donna Odom

The Odoms are “donating” one hive of bees to the garden as soon as they can borrow a pickup truck to transport them. We had two swarms collect in one of our trees. Don Duncan of the County Extension Service came and put both swarms in their own hives. He took one hive as “payment” but left the other (with a bee box) for us.

The Commerce Community Garden Association will compete in the Commerce Chili-Cook-off under the category of Local Associations. [Note: we lost to a “local’ team from Kennesaw, Georgia.]

We still have no insurance. Donna will call Resa Smith to see if she’s made any progress. In addition, Jim Swart will contact Danny Duncan.

We have $288 in plot money, and $2863.63, not including irrigation.

Vaughn will write up a water plan.

Jim Patton said we might do drip irrigation. Perhaps Lamont Cunningham can advise us.

We want to have a Garden Cookout early in May to bring all the gardeners together.

We need an Education Committee since several gardeners have expressed interest in Gardening 101 and Organic Gardening 101 instruction. Mike will get in touch with County Extension Agents.

Jim Swart has planted sweet corn, purple hull and black-eyed peas. Epic will possibly be the organization that organizes the harvesting and distribution. Ann Mills will approach both Epic and Manna Movers.

Donna Odom will put together a master list of donors, sponsors, and supporters.

We have begun a seed bank with okra and bean seeds. Vaughn Wascovich is now keeper of the seed. We need to figure out a way to let people know the seeds are available and have some sort of distribution method set up.

Ann Mills will approach the Interfaith Council to make sure they spread the word about the garden.

We are hoping that Jane Langford and others will look into landscaping and design for the garden as we look ahead to the addition of fruit trees (Donna Odom requests plum trees), a tool shed, shade, and other needs as they arise.

Donna Odom will work on an expanded contact list.

The next meeting will be Sunday, April 19, 2:00 at the Sam Rayburn Memorial Student Center.

Respectfully submitted,

Donna Odom

It bees that way sometimes

2009-04-09T21:07:00.004-05:00

This week we found not one, but two small swarms of bees in our yard. How 'bout that Texas wildlife? After a few phone calls and some persistence, we got a man recommended by the folks at Hunt County AgriLife Extension to drop by this evening to help capture them.

The bee guy got one swarm to take home with him -- that one up above.

The other one, he knocked into a box hive and left for us. They may stay or leave. Tonight will tell. Don (the bee guy) told me we have an 80-90% chance they'll take up residence in the new box.

Before he left, he gave me instructions for moving the hive to the garden site. We'll need to place them a good distance from the plots so nobody gets them riled up. But I've been told that they only act aggressively if the hive is threatened.

Finally, just for the fun of it:

Bad pun, excellent song.

The Big Event

2009-04-04T15:40:00.032-05:00

Here are a few pictures of the volunteers working in the garden this morning. We had a wonderful turnout from the community and the university, and a terrific amount of work got done.

no habla espanol

2009-04-03T11:06:00.003-05:00

Hi all,

Any of you fluent in Spanish? I will try to have a couple of people who teach Spanish in my department on call just in case, but if any of you are fluent and available, could you give me your cell phone number in case anyone comes to sign up for a plot who doesn't speak English?

Thanks!
Donna

Approaching completion

2009-04-02T21:32:00.006-05:00

Steam rose from the big mulch pile at the garden this morning. And the work proceeded:

The plumbing is laid in, and many of the hose connectors are in place. Bob Mills and Lamont Cunningham did a wonderful job.

We were able to build three more raised bed frames yesterday, but they are not yet in place. Two more remain to be assembled.

Then there's the job of moving all that soil into the beds. It's beginning to look like spreading mulch will take a back seat to hauling dirt Saturday at the Big Event.

Another day of work in the garden

2009-04-01T22:26:00.007-05:00

Here's what happened in the garden today (4-1-09). Tomorrow, we'll finish the plumbing and prepare for the Big Event when we'll spread mulch and start signing up gardeners.

This garden is going to be amazing!

One topic that came up during our work day was a class on winter gardening this fall. The idea arose after we discussed arced PVC frames with plastic covers for cold weather crops.

Stay tuned!

And be sure to drop by to see what's up next.

We'll work again tomorrow.

Pictures of our work day

2009-03-31T21:22:00.009-05:00

Minutes for the March 29 meeting

2009-03-30T23:30:00.001-05:00

March 29, 2009

Committee discussed changes to the gardeners’ contract.

Looseleaf binder or banker’s box to keep contracts, money records, etc.

Donna and Mike Odom met with Ivory Moore and members of the Norris Community to get some of the folks there aware of the garden.

Louann Huffman has already been approached for seeds and seedlings.

We will be swapping seeds and seedlings.

Ann – Coppell Community Garden information – Adopt-A-Plot. Ladonna Harris will take names of folks who are willing to sponsor garden plots for those who can’t afford the $32 membership fee. Checks should be made out to FUMC/CCGA.

[Send copies of the flyer to Ann (Taterdeuce), English and Spanish, Langfords]

Mike Odom will purchase the remaining lumber needed to complete the boxes.

Signs – Mike Odom will talk to Treacia and Jonathan ? who have a sign shop about getting signage at cost.

Resa Smith will look into arranging insurance with LaDonna. We’ll look into getting a rider on the church’s policy.

Big Event - Work day—bring wheel barrows, pitch forks, gloves, and work equipment. (There’s a possibility of poison ivy in the mulch pile as is true in any instance when you’re working outside, so be prepared; long sleeves and gloves are recommended.) Sarah Latham White will get some volunteer athletes. Jane Langford is baking. Anyone else who wants to bring snacks, contact Jane.

Plots should be ready by April 11!

Donna Odom and LaDonna Harris will set up a table at the Big Event at 10:00 with contracts and information sheets for folks to sign up.

Jim Patton will organize the numbering of the plots and revise the schematic so we can write names in.

Jane has been in touch with Sondra Feduccia to teach classes. Bob Munday is willing to teach organic gardening.

Mike Odom wants to organize a field trip to community gardens in the region—Dallas and Coppell.

On Tuesday at 8 a.m., Jim Patton and Bob Mills and any other interested parties will be getting the irrigation system begun.

Donna Odom will contact Lavelle Hendricks about making more contacts in the African-American community via the churches.

Today's work party

2009-03-21T17:29:00.012-05:00

Some photos of the work party this afternoon at the garden. The work was tiring, but we had a good turnout and got a lot done. Workers today included Susan, Jim Bob, Laura, Vaughn, Carolyn, Resa, Jeremy (a grad student at the university), and me.

Weather permitting, we'll hit the dirt again next Saturday.

Update: Laura and Joe commented that I left out Joe's name when I listed work party participants. My apologies. It must have been all the tired muscles that sapped my brain.

Some pix from California

2009-03-15T19:39:00.008-05:00

Donna is visiting a friend in Sonoma County where she came across this community garden. Thought you all might be interested.

Their plots are larger than ours and appear to have been individually designed and built.

Newspaper article

2009-03-15T16:43:00.004-05:00

There's a nice article about the community garden in the March 15 edition of the Greenville Herald Banner -- even if a photo I took got credited to the reporter. We're the top story in their "Sunday Brunch" section.

Also the feature leads off with a photo of me bending over.

So far it's not online at the paper's Web site. I hope it gets online soon.

Michelle Obama and community gardens

2009-03-11T15:16:00.002-05:00

An article in yesterday's New York Times mentions the First Lady's support for community gardens several times.

In a speech at the Department of Agriculture last month, Mrs. Obama described herself as “a big believer” in community gardens that provide “fresh fruits and vegetables for so many communities across this nation and world.

...

“That’s one of the things that we’re talking a lot about,” she said. “When you grow something yourself and it’s close and it’s local, oftentimes it tastes really good.

Let's hope this translates into what we really need: funding!

Tomato class

2009-03-11T14:26:00.004-05:00

This looks like a good resource for our gardeners:

From Sara Allen with Texas AgriLife Extension-Hunt County, via Jim Swart. Thanks, Jim.

Preparing for the beds

2009-03-11T14:06:00.006-05:00

Getting the dimensions approximately right -- 4-foot beds with 4-foot paths between

Jim Latham dragging a specially outfitted box blade to pile the soil for the raised beds. He welded steel fins to the bottom of the blade so that he could mound the soil into oversize rows about 3 1/2 feet across.

Weather permitting, we'll make the 12 x 4-foot frames on Saturday and lay them out in the garden patch.

(Photos: Amber Pompa, Greenville Herald Banner)

Minutes from March 8 meeting

2009-03-10T21:43:00.001-05:00

CCGA
March 8, 2009
Present: Anne Mills, Mike Odom, LaDonna Patterson, Jim Patton, Susan Stewart, Jim Bob Latham, Debbie Heitholt

LaDonna Patterson presented the current financial situation: we have $5,100 in donated and pledged support; so far we have spent $345 on amendments and compost. Frame supplies from Commerce Hardware will come to around $1200 or more.

Discussion of lease:

Still needs: add legal description of property (Jim Patterson can provide). Can EPIC sign a lease?

Insurance – Duncan Insurance has been asked for an estimate for $1 million coverage, but who will be the official signer.

Jim Swart would like to extend garden to back trees on west side of property.

LaDonna Patterson will find out where EPIC is in regard to becoming a legally recognized association with non-profit designation.

Water: For now, until EPIC becomes own entity, put water in the church’s name. It will be separate meter and separate bill. CCGA will be responsible for the bill. LaDonna will ask Mariann to call city regarding water.

Gardener’s contract:

Add “Water fee to be determined.” Then everyone agrees that it’s done.

LaDonna Patterson will talk to Lou Ann Huffman and ask if they have sources for bulk seed.

We can schedule a seed exchange.

Jim Bob Latham suggested we plan a work day. March 14 at 9:00 a.m.

Need to order lumber and have delivered for the work day. The wood is pressure treated, so if anyone doesn’t want to work with pressure-treated wood, they can pull it up and put their own in. Commerce Hardware. Mike Odom will contact Commerce Hardware, make the order, and let LaDonna Patterson know what the amount will be. Jim Bob Latham will arrange to have inmates shovel dirt in the boxes from the middle rows.

Lamont Cunningham suggested planting fruit trees by the parking lot to make the garden look more inviting. Benches could then go there as well. Jim Patton will work on a layout.

Jim Patton suggested that Vaughn arrange to have students in Art Department to do signage.

Once the boxes are in we can begin planting.

Big Event is on April 4, and the plan is to mulch the paths. We can have a table at the park with contracts ready for folks to sign up for gardens. Donna and LaDonna will look in to setting this up.

Need to start composting. May build a pen to compost leaves, etc.

Debbie Heitholt will contact manager of apartments next to the garden.

Donna Odom will contact Alexandra von Ausdale and Hayley Jobe to try to make connection to foreign students. And she’ll find out who the sponsor for the Indian Student Association is now.

Distribution avenues: We’ll need to explore avenues for distribution. We need to find ways to connect with area churches – Christians Make a Difference.

Susan Stewart will set up a web site for CCGA.

Donna Odom will email Jerry Davies – we need a table saw for the work day.

Next meeting will be Sunday, March 29 at 2:00 at the Methodist Church. This will be the Sunday before the Big Event. We can make last plans to get ready.

Spreading Manure

2009-03-08T11:22:00.003-05:00

Mike, Vaughn, and I (Susan) spreading manure. I promise I did more than take pictures. A mighty wind was blowing that day.

Amending the soil

2009-03-06T14:45:00.006-06:00

Some pictures of goings on yesterday at the garden.

Two truckloads of soil amendment were spread over and tilled into the garden. The soil is much improved!

Minutes from Feb 22 meeting

2009-03-01T17:16:00.001-06:00

Notes for Feb. 22, 2009 meeting of the Commerce Community Garden Association

Present were Jim Heitholt, Ladonna Patterson, Donna Odom, Jane Langford, Susan Stewart, Mike Odom, Jim Patton, Carolyn Thompson, Ann Mills, Laura Milligan, Jim Latham, and Vaughn Wascovich

Discussion largely concerned soil amendments and compost. Needs are estimated at:

60 cubic yards of mulch

48 cubic yards of compost

36 wooden garden frames

Sources include Berger Horticultural Products of Sulphur Springs and Commerce Hardware (supplies for garden frames)

Lamont Cunningham will be ready shortly to discuss water. Jim Heitholt suggested that water is a big enough issue that it should have its own committee. Phase 2 of the garden project may include a reservoir system.

The estimate for costs to get the garden ready for planting is as follows:

$800 - Soil amendment

$100 - compost

$1260 - lumber for frames ($35 per frame)

$100 - string

$1000 - drip irrigation

$3260 - total

Jim Latham will be able to provide discarded grader blades for future use.

While we haven’t determined the exact amount for a membership fee yet, we thought that the fee should help defray the costs for maintenance, compost, mulch, and water.

Please note that Ladonna Patterson and Mary Ann Andrews are the only people designated to request funds from the CCGA account.

Other needs:

For summer, we should think about ways to provide shelter from the sun, seating, and a source for water.

Signage with contact information

A toolshed

To do:

Mike Odom will contact Jay Garrett about finalizing the lease between the Methodist Church and CCGA.

Ladonna Patterson will ask Dixie Turman regarding liability insurance. She will also check on reimbursement procedures through the church.

Removal of the bois d’arc tree that blocks access to the garden site from the parking lot.

Make arrangements to use a truck to pick up amendment and a front end loader to spread amendment.

Jim Heitholt will contact BW Organics.

Ladonna will check on getting volunteers to build a website.

Donna Odom will put together a press release for the East Texan, Commerce Journal, KETR, and other media outlets.

Is there interest in a group trip to Dallas Community Garden that has been in operation for 25 years?

UPDATE:

The site has been tilled.

Last week Jim Heitholt brought in hot compost.

Mike Odom, Susan Stewart, and Vaughn Wascovich spread the compost over the garden site.

The site has been tilled again, incorporating the compost.

Lamont Cunningham is at work taking down the bois d’arc tree.

Mike Odom and Vaughn Wascovich put together a sample wood frame at the site.

The next meeting will be March 8, 2:00, Sam Rayburn Memorial Student Center. Bring a friend.

The Big Event will be April 4.

Old minutes

2009-02-23T13:55:00.002-06:00

Donna Odom had some trouble posting the minutes from the Feb. 8 meeting to the blog. Here they are:

Commerce Community Garden Association Meeting
2:00, February 8, 2009

Present: Jim Heitholt, Debbie Heitholt, Ruth Gorman, Lamont Cunningham, Susan Stewart, Carolyn Thompson, Vaughn Wascovich, Jane Langford, LaDonna Patterson, Joe Milligan, Donna Odom

The main item of business is to find sources for the $900 fee for putting in a faucet at the garden site to make water available.

In addition, money will be needed for the materials to make 36 raised beds. Using 2X12 lumber will cost about $35 per bed. Using 6X12 will cost about $27 per bed. Vaughn Wascovich will research the possibility of concrete forms; Lamont Cunningham will look into recycled plastic “lumber.”

Compost from BW Organics is available for $35 per truckload.

Berger’s has topsoil available for $32 per truckload.

Davy Tree has free mulch. Vaughn Wascovich will check with Davy Tree to find out if they can dump a load of mulch at the garden site.

We figure we need about 4 cubic yards of soil and compost to amend the soil for gardening.

Either Jim Bob Latham or Jim Swart will till soon.

LaDonna Patterson has asked for $3000 from the Foundation of the First United Methodist Church for start-up money. The church has opened an EPIC account with the CCGA as a line item at the Alliance Bank. Co-treasurers will be LaDonna Patterson and Carolyn Thompson.

Lamont Cunningham will make recommendations for a method of irrigation for the garden site.

Ruth Gorman will contact the local Boy Scouts organization to see if Scouts would be willing to help unload and distribute compost and soil.

Carolyn Thompson will contact the city and utilities regarding dig lines.

The next meeting will be Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2:00 at the Sam Rayburn Memorial Student Center on TAMU-C campus.

Feb. 28 will be the first work day to begin building and preparing garden beds.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Donna Odom

Action!

2009-02-23T13:07:00.009-06:00

This is most gratifying. The good folks with Cereal Crops Research Incorporated have begun tilling the garden site. I dropped by this morning and snapped a few pictures to share with the group.

To save any of these, right click on the picture and save it to a folder on your hard drive.

Garden plan

2009-02-22T16:29:00.003-06:00

Image above is the latest layout for the garden.

Methodist Youth Fellowship

2009-02-11T20:22:00.001-06:00

Hi again,

I remember back in my youth my participation in MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship). I understand Hayley Jobe is the youth minister at the Methodist church, but I don't really know her. Would anyone be willing to approach her about putting some MYF kids to work to help with the garden?

Just wondering.

Donna

Minutes for our meeting on Feb. 8

2009-02-11T20:20:00.003-06:00

Hi all,

I tried to copy and paste the minutes for the February 8th meeting, but it came out in html. I'm too lazy to retype it here, so if you didn't get the minutes via email, please feel free to email me for a copy. I'll be happy to send you the minutes.

May the gardening gods be with us!

Donna

Bob Monday: Concrete vs. Wood or Plastic

2009-02-08T22:35:00.003-06:00

I spoke with Bob Monday today after our meeting. His garden plots are 4x16', the concrete beams are 8x8" by either 4 or 8'. The 4' section is 10 bucks, the 8', $20.00. That means we could build an 8" high 4x12' plot for 80 bucks, or a 4x16' plot for $100.00. He has several beds that are a dozen or more years old, and the concrete looks the same as the new ones. In other words, those frames are going to be there for a long time. I'm going to have two frames built for my backyard. they are very nice!

Mr. Monday's beds are 16" high, and they are closed at the bottom with plastic landscaping material to prevent nutgrass from invading. He raised some concern that if the bottom wasn't closed that we might have a problem with nutgrass, something that I know little about.