Food Pantry Initiative

Hi, all.

Yesterday’s harvest was overflowing (see attached photo—please note the baskets are big so imagine how much is in the wheelbarrow).  And opportunities abound.  If you have already given all your schedule allows, please do not feel any additional pressure.  I am working to grow this team so that it is sustainable for all.  BUT, if you would like to be more involved with Team Food Pantry, I have some awesome upcoming ways for you to dig in, have fun, and make a measurable difference!  (Please forward this email to anyone you think may be interested.) Take your pick:

Anyone who can help at The Harvest on Tuesday mornings is welcome and encouraged to come.  It’s fun and rewarding, but it’s getting to be too big a job for the five folks who show up regularly.  8:30-9:30 AM, bring basket, box or bag and scissors.  If you have space in your fridge and can help deliver on Wednesdays, that would be a huge help, too.   We’ve stopped washing greens (they get slimy) so that makes the work easier. We can weigh at the garden, so don’t worry if you don’t have a home kitchen scale.

Also, folks needed to be what James Tola cleverly calls “the talent” to harvest with the food pantry clients’ children on Wednesdays anytime between 3 and 5 PM AT St. Pat’s–Angela was “the talent” last week.  Sally will be “the talent” tomorrow.  Need someone for the next four Wednesdays.  Email me (or have your publicist do so) to reserve your spot ☺

I got permission from the JCC (on Tilly Mill Road) to use their beautiful organic garden (which they only use in the summer for campers) from February-May and September through December for growing food for those in need.  I am clearing it of summer crops this Friday from 4-5:30.  A group of middle schoolers may help.  I need more help.  Many hands make light work.  If you can come, please email me and I will give the guard your name so you have no trouble getting in.

On Saturday, November 6 at 9 AM, we are finishing up the food pantry beds at the greenhouse.  Help needed to fill with compost and worm castings and plant.  Goal: to be able to provide Christmas salads to those in need this year (last year we stopped harvesting for the food pantry the week after Thanksgiving).  Remember, hunger doesn’t take a holiday.

Learning as we grow,
Pattie
www.sustainablepattie.com
www.foodshedplanet.com
Local action. Global traction.

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No Garden Access Friday or Saturday (10/23 and 10/24)

Hi Members,

You will not have access to your garden plot on Friday or Saturday (10/23 and 10/24).

Tomorrow morning, two huge row covers will be draped over our entire garden. We are covering everything inside the fence because Saturday night’s fireworks launch site is near our garden, and in the event that the wind changes, debris that contain toxic chemicals could land in our plots, thus compromising the organic integrity. So, as a precaution, the city of Dunwoody has purchased row covers to protect our plants. Volunteers will remove the row covers Sunday morning.

The row covers are lightweight and light can penetrate through them, so your crops will not be harmed. A volunteer is watering ALL plots tonight because gardeners will not have access to the garden until Sunday morning. We’re sorry if this causes you any trouble. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me an email: membership@dunwoodygarden.org.

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Greenhouses!

The city recently gave us permission to begin using the greenhouses near the skate park. Our community garden will share greenhouse space with other local organizations as the area is repaired and put to use in the coming months. In the meantime, a group of volunteers built eight beds for our garden to use as winter food pantry beds. See this post about that progress.

If you’d like to join our garden’s greenhouse team, or if you are a member of another local organization interested in using the space too, email us!

membership@dunwoodygarden.org

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Ton For Hunger

A total of 854 pounds, valued at $4,813, has been donated so far in 2010 and harvested from or inspired by the Dunwoody Community Garden

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Music Festival Parking

The Dunwoody Music Festival is October 23 and 24.  During the festival, you will need to enter Brook Run from Peeler Road by the dog park entrance. The festival planners will put a sign up for Community garden parking by the garden.

You will have to move your car by 6:00 pm on Saturday because  the city is hosting the branding launch that evening and will shoot off fireworks.

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Team Descriptions

Food Pantry Team

Team Food Pantry plants, waters, tends, harvests, washes, weighs, packages and delivers organic produce to the food pantry at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church right across the street from Brook Run Park.  To date, we have donated or inspired the donation of (from home and other gardens) almost 700 pounds of fresh food, for a donated value of over $4000.  We have fun.  We learn a lot.  And we feel really good about what we do.  We are also trying to grow the movement beyond our garden so that no one who comes to a local food pantry leaves without something fresh, organic and healthy.

Pumpkin Team

Plant, weed, water and fertilize (organically) the large south garden bed. In the fall, plant cover crops, and in the spring, plant the three sisters: corn, beans, and pumpkins. You get first dibs on the harvest.

Thieves’ Beds Team

Plant, weed, water and fertilize (organically) our two thieves’ beds.

Hedgerow Team

Weed, mulch, water, fertilize our berry hedgerow. Expand the row along the length of the north fence by deciding which plants to add and then planting them!

Water Team

Help monitor the water level in the cistern. Use your water key to fill the tank if it is empty or low.

Grounds Team

Help maintain the mulched paths outside the fence. (We can hold a bi-annual workday to remulch.) Plant cover crops in the green areas in front of the garden. Monitor the benches and picnic tables for repairs. Notify the board with requests for the city’s parks department (clearing underbrush, trimming trees, etc.).

Compost Team

Turn compost when needed. Add leaves, etc. to the piles when necessary. You get first dibs on the black gold!

Youth Outreach Team

Work with Scout troops who wish to tour or participate in a project at our garden.

Rain Garden Team

Help finish the rain garden we created for stormwater mitigation. Coordinate with the flower team on planting projects scheduled for October and November.

Flower Team

The Flower Team engages in projects geared toward beautifying the entrance and grounds.  So far, we have developed flower beds on either side of the gate and at the curb.  We are striving for sustainable beauty, so we try to use perennial plants, flowering shrubs, and plants that re-seed themselves.  We also focus on plants that are drought tolerant and deer resistant.  At times, we partner with the Grounds Team to complete projects.

On-going Seasonal Tasks: Spring–prepare the soil, plant, fertilize, mulch; Summer – Weed, deadhead, water, fertilize as needed, check for problems; Fall – Clean up, plant bulbs, add shrubs; add soil amendments

Plans for Fall 2010 include assisting the Grounds Team with planting the Rain Garden (September) , adding flowering shrubs (October), and planting daffodil bulbs at the entrance gardens (November 12).

Greenhouse Team

This brand-new team will likely help tend the garden beds in the greenhouses (located next to the skate park near the entrance).

Social Team

Organize potlucks and other fun gardens social events that interest members. This group could also serve as a sunshine committee to reach out with flowers and/or meals to meals who’ve lost a love one, face a serious medical issue, or other crisis.

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Garden Classes at Dunwoody Library

DeKalb Cooperative Extension Homeowners Class Dunwoody Library Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 6pm

“Trees of Our Lives: Small Native Trees for the Landscape” – Dawn Hines, Master Gardener This presentation includes many photographs showing all aspects of tree care: choosing, planting, pruning, and the danger of non-native invasives (or exotics) to our landscapes and native areas.

“English Gardening through the Ages – Ideas for your Atlanta Garden” – Averil Bonsall, Master Gardener Coordinator for DeKalb County Come and hear about the different styles of gardens as they developed over the years in England, and get ideas about how you can use these same styles in your garden in the Atlanta area. Averil will show a lot of pictures of English gardens, including some from family gardens not open to the public.

Dawn is a DeKalb Master Gardener who began her gardening journey at a very early age. She spent the first 12 summers of her life playing among her grandmother’s gardens and listening to her grandmother’s dramatic readings. Today her love of the garden, enhanced by her love of the stage, encourages her to add to her collection of garden speeches.

Dawn encouraged and lead the creation of the Tucker Butterfly Garden on LaVista Rd in 2008 as a new DeKalb County Master Gardener Project. Dawn’s latest project is a Butterfly Presentation and Tour for Preschoolers.

Averil is a life-long English gardener who brought her love of gardening to Stone Mountain some thirty years ago. She now lives in Stone Mountain Village, and she and her husband are developing an English-style garden around their old bungalow and front porch! She also helps to maintain the Village Community Garden.

 

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Board Meeting

Our next board meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 18th from 10:00 – 11:30 am.

We will meet at the garden if the weather is nice and Goldberg’ Deli in Georgetown Square if it is not.

Members and visitors are welcome to listen in on our meeting.

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