Upcoming Garden Work Day 7/24 -- Proximo Día de Trabajo 7/24

Hello all!

I hope everyone’s summer is filled with exciting plans! The garden is looking incredible! We’re planning on having a garden work day this Thursday, July 24^th at 6pm.

Our goal is to clean up the back garden area near the alley, and turn the compost in order to aerate it.

If you are able to make it, please RSVP by leaving a comment on this blog post or reply to the email sent to everyone.

Hopefully we’ll see you in the garden on Thursday!

¡Hola!

¡Ojala que todos están teniendo un verano lleno de planes excitantes! ¡El jardín esta increíble! Vamos a tener un día de trabajo en el jardín este jueves, el 24 de Julio a las 6 de la tarde.

Queremos limpiar el jardín al lado del callejón, y también queremos revolver el compost.

Si podes ayudar este Jueves, por favor deja una repuesta en este entrada de blog o manda una repuesta al email que to mandamos a todos ustedes.

¡Ojala que nos vemos este jueves en el jardín!

July Work Days: Can you help July 1, 10 or 19?

We are officially in summer! The garden looks plentiful with the help of the constant rains and bursts of sunshine. Unfortunately, the weeds have also loved the water and sun.

Please help out at one or more of the garden work days. RSVP by commenting below, e-mailing 3437garden@gmail.com or calling (612) 5-MULCH-5.

Tuesday, July 1, 6pm--Jenny is the lead
Thursday, July 10, 6pm--Barb is the lead
Saturday, July 19, 10am--Adabell is the lead

We will be working on weeding the community plots, pathway, and the area nearest the street. See you there!

Estamos en verano oficialmente! El jardín esta lleno de plantas gracias al sol y y la cantidad de lluvia. Es una pena que los jujos tambien encanta la lluvia y el sol.

Por favor ayuda durante un día de trabajo en el jardín, o mas días so podes. Sí podes venír deje una mensaje abajo, manda un email a 3437garden@gmail.com, o llama 612-5-MULCH-5.

Martes, el 1 de Julio, a las 6 de la tarde--Jenny se va a dirigir el grupo.
Jueves, el 10 de Julio, a las 6 de la tarde-- Barb se va a dirigir el grupo.
Sabado, el 19 de Julio, a las 10 de la mañana-- Adabell se va a dirigir el grupo.

Vamos a limpiar los jujos en las parcelas, la camina, y al lado de la calle.

Introducing Our Compost Bin

Thank you to the volunteers that helped build the compost bin a few weeks ago. It looks amazing! You brought your tools and your teamwork and we made a lovely addition to our garden. The Apple Valley Home Depot helped us out by discounting the materials and cutting everything for us. The wood is cedar which should make it last several years. We used the instructions on Organic Gardening to make it happen.

Now that we have this beautiful compost bin, let me tell you how you can use it. 
Composting is the process where organic wastes (grasses, leaves, food scraps and garden debris) are converted into a highly desirable, soil-like material. For any compost system, you need to add the right ingredients. We need 5 ingredients for good compost:

1. Bin (done!)
2. Carbon source or "browns" (dead leaves, straw, paper, etc.)
3. Nitrogen source or "greens" (food leftovers, plants, coffee grounds, etc.) 
4. Air--we need to turn the pile occasionally 
5. Water--usually the water from the greens is enough but in dry times we may have to water it down
6. Microbes--our little helpers that break down all the organic stuff. They will appear naturally.

The three bin system works just like having three separate compost bins. You fill up one section. While the material in the first section is decomposing, you fill up the second section. 

As a garden member, you can bring leftovers and other other food scraps from home to add to the compost bin, but please follow this list. Every time you add a handful of greens, add 2-3 handfuls of browns. 

Here is more information on backyard composting. Here is a great printable Yes/No list. 

Why compost? 

About 1/3 of our trash is made up of items we could compost. Currently, we send them to a landfill where they don't decompose properly or to an incinerator where they are burned. Making compost reduces the amount of trash we send off and creates a valuable resource for our garden.  

What you can do

• Bring your leftovers, banana peels and apple cores to the compost bin
• Add in any garden plants and weeds (without seeds!)
• If you have dried leaves at home, please bring a bag or two to the garden. Put them next to the compost pile. When you add in greens, add some leaves too. 
• Turn the pile with a rake or shovel

June Work Days: Help Needed this Wednesday

Our garden is looking amazing! I'm hungry just thinking about all the lettuce, beans and radishes popping up. If you still need plants, you are welcome to take the plants from the back plots behind the shed. More seeds packets have been placed in the shoe box in the shed including beans and cucumbers. Help yourself!

We are not doing the normal 2nd Tuesday and Saturday work days in June. Instead we picked days that garden leads will definitely be available. Here are our scheduled days:

Wednesday, June 4, 6pm

Tuesday, June 17, 6pm

June 4 Work Day 
We need help building our new compost bin this Wednesday. All skills levels are welcome. We will
clean out the area needed and build a 3 bin system. Please come by to help. We need 6-10 gardeners.

Please RSVP by emailing 3237garden@gmail.com or calling 612-5-MULCH-5.

Open plots & thanks! ¡Parcelas disponibles y gracias!

Hi all! It looks like we've had a great turnout this year. All the spots are taken except for the 5 in the back and plot 22. If any of you have friends who are interested in participating in the garden, send them our way soon! Just a heads up, there are 1 or 2 plots in the back that are a little bit smaller than the rest of the plots in the garden.

Also, thank you to everyone who helped out Tuesday evening. We got the back plots cleaned up, some of the debris around the garden picked up and thrown away, yard waste taken care of, and another layer of mulch added to the garden.

The garden is looking wonderful! Everyone’s plots look fantastic, and multiple people passing by have said so many wonderful things about the garden already! Good job everyone!

¡Hola todos! Parece que este año tenemos una gran asistencia de gente en el jardín. Todas las parcelas están ocupados menos de los cinco parcelas al lado del callejón y parcela número 22. Si ustedes conocen alguien que tiene interés en el jardín, ¡notificarlos del jardín pronto! Hay uno o dos parcelas disponibles que son un poquito más chicos que los otros en el jardín.

Muchísimas gracias a todos que ayudaron este Martes a la tarde. Limpiamos las parcelas detrás de todo, limpiamos y tiramos la basura al rededor del jardín, tiramos todo los desechos del jardín, y pusimos otra capa de mantillo por todo el jardín.

¡El jardín esta maravilloso! Todas sus parcelas parecen fantásticas, ¡y muchas personas pasando por el jardín dicen un montón de cosas buenas del jardín! ¡Buen trabajo todos!

Garden Work Day…Tonight! ¡Día de trabajo en el jardín…¡esta noche!

Tonight at 6pm we will be holding a work day in the garden! Our goal is to clean up the garden plots near the alley, and try to form a bit of a border with some of the cinder blocks and logs we have.

If we have time we can tidy up the rest of the garden. We can reorganize the shed, trim and clean up the black raspberries on the south side of the garden and fill the large water buckets.

Hopefully the weather will be on our side and clear up so we can get a little bit done! J We’ll see you all there!

¡Esta noche a las seis de la tarde vamos a tener un día de trabajo en el jardín! El objetivo es limpiar las parcelas cerca del callejón, y hacer un borde alrededor del jardín con los troncos y pedazos de cemento que tenemos.

Si tenemos suficiente tiempo también podemos limpiar el resto del jardín. Podemos ordenar el cobertizo, recortar y limpiar las frambuesas negras que están en el lado sur del jardín, y llenar los barriles de agua.

¡Ojala que el tiempo es bueno esta noche así podemos hacer un poquito de trabajo! J  ¡Nos vemos en el jardín!

May work days and to-dos. Días de trabajo y cosas para hacer este Mayo

Welcome to all the new and returning gardeners. We have an almost full garden! Here is what you need to know for May:

Garden Work Days

Saturday, May 10, 10am 

Tuesday, May 13, 6pm

Saturday, May 17, 10am (work on shed)

Work to be done

• Clear the back plots near the alley of old growth; add new compost layer
• Make sure the path and in between plots have a layer of mulch
• Clear old growth under the trees next to the road
• Clear old growth from plots in front of apartment building
• Hang up new bulletin board 
• Organize shed (tool hooks, shelf)
• Stabilize shed (this will be a special work day)
• Make new compost bin (this will be a special upcoming work day) 

Bienvenidos a todos los jardineros nuevos y regresándose. ¡Casi tenemos un jardín lleno! Aquí es la información que necesitas saber para Mayo:

Días Trabajoso del Jardín:

     Sábado, 10 de Mayo, 10am

     Martes, 13 de Mayo, 6pm

     Sábado, 17 de Mayo, 10am (trabajar en el cobertizo)

Trabajo que tenemos que hacer:

• Limpiar las parcelas atrás al lado del callejón; agregar abono vegetal 
• Agregar mantillo entre las parcelas  
• Limpiar plantas viejas debajo de los arboles al lado de la calle  
• Limpiar plantas viejas de las parcelas en frente del apartamento al norte del jardín    
• Colgar un tablón de anuncios nuevo      
• Organizar el cobertizo
•  Estabilizar el cobertizo (esto tiene que ser en un día especial)Construir un nuevo cubo para abono vegetal (esto tiene que ser en un día especial)