It finally rained today! South-western Manitoba has had a fairly dry windy spring so far, and the top couple of inches of soil has been pretty dry since opening day. On the long weekend it clouded over and a few drops fell, but not enough to get the seeds sprouting. A few of us gardeners have been hauling water form home to feed our first tender transplants, and others have been hoping for rain.
A hose has been set up to bring the water supply closer to the middle of the garden plots. This will be a great help once the water is turned on! As a few of us have noticed this week, the main water supply is not yet functioning. Karen assures us that she is looking into it - as far as she knows it should be turned on, so we'll have to see what the City workers say...
In the meanwhile, the weather came through and supplied a steady day of rain to soak the soil.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Encouraging words from Brian
Brian ended the garden club meeting with some encouraging words: "All in all this land's been good to us. At the very least, it's brought all of us together. And now we can be good to it."
When I spoke to him later, he elaborated: "I'm a farmer. When you work the land, you put something of yourself into it. And while you're working, it gets inside of you too. "
This week at the garden, there are subtle signs of people working the land. A few small transplants have appeared, and the ground has been hoed into small hills or neat rows. Row markers have appeared - some standard, and some creative - as a sign that the 26th and Maryland gardeners are putting their hope and faith in the land here.
When I spoke to him later, he elaborated: "I'm a farmer. When you work the land, you put something of yourself into it. And while you're working, it gets inside of you too. "
This week at the garden, there are subtle signs of people working the land. A few small transplants have appeared, and the ground has been hoed into small hills or neat rows. Row markers have appeared - some standard, and some creative - as a sign that the 26th and Maryland gardeners are putting their hope and faith in the land here.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Opening Day!
May 15 was the opening day of our community garden at 26 and Maryland. Healthy Brandon arranged for the ground to be tilled, and brought in some new top soil to get us started. All the gardeners met in the field to sign up for plots, find out what's going on this year, and stake their claims!
Karen from Healthy Brandon got us started with our contracts to sign, and Nancy filled us in on the improvements that are coming. With the help of a Green Grant from Walmart, we will be able to add some raised beds to our plot, and bring the water closer to the plots. By the end of the summer we hope to have an above-ground irrigation system with soaker hoses to deliver the water gently to the roots where it's needed. This will help keep our water bills down as we won't lose as much to evaporation!
Once we had all agreed to the rules, Nancy and Karen officially declared the gardening season open!
Brian got out his measuring tape to divide out the plots, and found we were short a few feet from what we thought we had. Instead of 64 feet across, we were barely at 60... so some adjustments were made. We still have our centre walkway, however, and each plot only lost about a foot from what we were promised. The ground plots are now about 14" by 14". We gardeners may be Canadian but we still garden in feet and inches! Everyone pitched in to string out the plots, or at least supervise. How many people does it take to stretch a string and drive in a few stakes?
By 8:30 it was all marked out and the claims were staked. There was some last minute wheeling and dealing as people exchanged ground plots for raised beds, and the raised bed locations were moved around to improve access to the water. Good thing they're not built yet, or we couldn't move them!
As the sun went down, a few keen gardeners were still on their plots, laying out boundary lines and planting the first few rows of radishes. The early bird may get the worm, but the early gardener gets the first radish!
Karen from Healthy Brandon got us started with our contracts to sign, and Nancy filled us in on the improvements that are coming. With the help of a Green Grant from Walmart, we will be able to add some raised beds to our plot, and bring the water closer to the plots. By the end of the summer we hope to have an above-ground irrigation system with soaker hoses to deliver the water gently to the roots where it's needed. This will help keep our water bills down as we won't lose as much to evaporation!
Once we had all agreed to the rules, Nancy and Karen officially declared the gardening season open!
Brian got out his measuring tape to divide out the plots, and found we were short a few feet from what we thought we had. Instead of 64 feet across, we were barely at 60... so some adjustments were made. We still have our centre walkway, however, and each plot only lost about a foot from what we were promised. The ground plots are now about 14" by 14". We gardeners may be Canadian but we still garden in feet and inches! Everyone pitched in to string out the plots, or at least supervise. How many people does it take to stretch a string and drive in a few stakes?
By 8:30 it was all marked out and the claims were staked. There was some last minute wheeling and dealing as people exchanged ground plots for raised beds, and the raised bed locations were moved around to improve access to the water. Good thing they're not built yet, or we couldn't move them!
As the sun went down, a few keen gardeners were still on their plots, laying out boundary lines and planting the first few rows of radishes. The early bird may get the worm, but the early gardener gets the first radish!
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