As the 2012 Season Comes to an End

Hello everyone, It has been quite a while since this blog has been updated. But, in an effort to continue communication and broaden the scope of the garden community, I will make sure to attend to the site more often. This has been a fun and exciting summer. The garden looked beautiful and some delicious vegetables were harvested. The community corn plot grew large,though many of the ears turned out to look like grenades. And the Adriel plots went very well. The mulch on the paths really helped to keep the weeds down, and we will look to doing that again next year. It has come time to begin pulling out all of the plants and putting down a cover crop for the winter, except for the pumpkins, which hopefully will mature before frost. Thank you for all of your hard work. We look forward to tilling and planting again next year, and look ahead to some new changes and growth in the coming season!

Gardening for the International Community

If you're interested in seeing ways in which community gardening can make an impact in the international community, check out New Roots for Refugees at http://newrootsforrefugees.blogspot.com/. This project gives refugees from places such Burma and Somalia the opportunity to subsidize their own food costs while also making a profit, which goes a long way in supplementing the small amount of government assistance that they receive. This imaginative project took 8 acres of inner-city wasteland and converted it into a productive, life-giving garden which unites student interns and Volunteer Service workers with international refugees and their families. Check out the site and give them your support!

Thank You Rupp Seeds!

Rupp seeds, who has worked with Adriel before, graciously donated corn, greenbean, and lettuce seeds to our organization.  We are blessed with people who have caught the vision for what we are doing and have been more than happy to help us out along the way.  We not only had enough seeds to plant all of the plots as well as the FFA rows, but we have enough to use next year as well!

Setting up the plot grids!

We spent a hot, hot, Saturday morning setting up the plot grids.  Thankfully, our good friend Josh brought a tape measure, as we quickly realized that "pacing" out the distance was not an accurate way of creating the grid (and it made the plots look pretty out of sorts as we went further along).  Unfortunately, it had rained that morning and so we were forced to wait on planting until Monday.  But, everything was finally set up and ready to go!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  How large will the garden plots be?

A:  A typical plot size will be 10 X 10, but depending on need and availability the plot may be made larger. 

Q:  Can I sign up for more than one (1) garden plot?

A:  It is our intent to accommodate everyone interested in participating in the Community Garden, therefore we reserve the right to limit 1 garden plot per participant in order to accommodate all.

Q:  What is the cost of having a plot?

A:  The garden plot does not cost anything.  Depending upon the

     amount of support that is received there are plans to provide

     some planting materials/seeds to the participants. If there are f

     specific plants that a participant wants to include in their garden

     they may purchase them with their own money to plant.

Q:  Will others be entitled to my produce?

A:  No, the intent of the Community Garden is to enable each 

     participant the opportunity to supplement their food source.  If one wishes to donate any excess produce, the Garden will connect with resources to which said produce may be given.

Q:  What if I don’t have the necessary garden tools?

A:  The Garden Project Committee intends to provide some garden

     tools to use at the site. In some cases, tool availability

     might be limited depending upon the # of participants currently at the

     garden.

Q:  When can I work on my plot?

A:  All participants may work at any time in the garden Monday ~Saturday.  However, parking spaces are reserved first for Adriel employees during the day, so please be respectful of those working at Adriel.  If there are no available parking spots, there is available space to park in front of and beside the greenhouse.  We encourage gardeners to use Sunday to spend with family/ loved ones.

Q:  How will I water my garden plot?  Do I have to bring my own water?

A:  Water and hoses are available at the site.  You may want to bring a watering can, but it is not necessary.

Q:  How many plots are available?

A:  We hope to be able to accommodate anyone who is interested in participating the Community Garden project, so we are willing to work our hardest to make sure that there is enough space for everyone.  However, we encourage anyone interested to please sign up as soon as possible.

Q:  Can we use pesticides or herbicides?

A:  Because the vegetables are being grown for local consumption, any products you use on your plants must be organic.  If you find yourself struggling with insects, disease, or an abundance of weeds, we ask that you find an organic way to treat the problem or consult us, as we have many resources who can offer help.