September Work Days and Events

Hello gardeners!

We're winding down the season but there is still lots of produce coming up. We have work to do in the garden to clear dead plants and general cleanup of shared spaces. Please join us for the following work days in September:

Wednesday, September 17, 6pm

Thursday, September 25, 6pm

Also, this Saturday, September 13 is Community Garden Day. Events are happening all around the Twin Cities to celebrate our great work! Find a garden to visit at www.gardeningmatters.org/community-garden-day. Participating gardens that are close to us are:

• Infinity Garden, 2820 S. 18th Ave.
• Minnehaha Avenue Community Garden, 3128 Minnehaha Ave.
• East Phillips Community 17th Avenue Garden, 2428 17th Ave. S.
• Mashkiikii Gitigan (Medicine Garden), 1316 E. 24th St.
• Minneapolis American Indian Center, 1530 E. Franklin Ave.

August Work Days -- Los días de trabajo de agusto

Hello gardeners! Our tomatoes, peppers and lettuce are growing every day. I'm proud of all our gardens and their bountiful produce. Please come to one or more of the work days in August to help in the community areas and meet your neighbors.

Sat., Aug. 9, 9am

Thurs., Aug. 14, 6pm

Tues., Aug. 19, 6pm

Sat., Aug. 23, 9am

Wed., Aug. 27, 6pm

RSVP by commenting below, e-mailing 3437garden@gmail.com or calling (612) 5-MULCH-5.

¡Hola jardineros! Nuestros tomates, pimientos y lechuga están creciendo todos los días. Estoy orgulloso de todos nuestros jardines y su producción abundante. Vamos a tener cinco días de trabajo en el jardín este mes. Los días de trabajo en Agosto son:

Sábado, el 9 de agosto, a las 10 de la mañana

Jueves, 14 de agosto, a las 6 de la tarde

Martes, 19 de agosto, a las 6 de la tarde

Sábado, 23 de agosto, a las 10 de la mañana

Miércoles, 27 agosto, a las 6 de la tarde

Por favor ayudan durante un día de trabajo en el jardín, o más días so podes. Sí podes venir deje un mensaje abajo en la sección de comentarios, manda un email a 3437garden@gmail.com, o llama 612-5-MULCH-5.

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!