Garden Geek

geek: A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream.

I grew up on a farm and helped in the garden( mostly under duress) as I was growing up.  I learned how to weed and cook and weed and can and weed and harvest.  But I never really  had to figure it out from the beginning.  That's why, when 10 lbs. of Yukon Gold potatoes were delivered to my doorstep, I knew I had to figure out the steps to turning out a bountiful crop of potatoes in the fall.  I remember sitting at the picnic table with my grandma , cut pototoes curing in the sun but beyond that I was clueless.  So I did what any good garden geek would do. I googled " how do you plant potatoes " and found this great set of videos on, you guessed it,You Tube!

     



Traditionally,potatoes are planted on Good Friday but the rain kept us from planting.  Join us Saturday April 30, 10-2.  We will also be planting the rest of the cool weather crops.  You can also check out the great raised bed built with the help of the Scouts from Troop 98 last weekend.  Watch for details of Urban- Garden's open house coming soon!                                                                                                             



Pass the Peas Please!

Time to put in some cool weather crops before the SNOW(!?) predicted for later in the week.  Join us Wednesday, April 13 at 6 P.M. Please bring a hoe if you have one. We will be planting lettuce and peas.  We are waiting for our big order to come from the seed company so we will plant what we have!

If you have a hoe please bring it.  We  also need to finish raking so there are plenty of things to do. 

We are looking for new paint stirs to use as row markers. If you are at your favorite paint or hardware store ask if they would donate towards the cause.  (We need between 50-60.) 

 We look forward to seeing you in the garden

Question call Beth at 314-2114

He who plants the seed.............

Tonight I am home instead of at the garden  and I am trying to finalize the seed order.  We did get tomatoes,peppers and herbs started on Sunday and Linda is peeking under their little green blanket to make sure they are staying warm and toasty. 

Such decisions! Pole beans or bush ( pole I think so less bending over) Russets or Yukon gold, full or half carrots ( who knew there was a difference).

I am also trying to get ready for an Urban Harvest Garden meeting.  There are lots of jobs and not all require physical labor.  Looking forward to our weekly Friday night potluck with garden volunteers beginning sometime in May.

If you would like to help with something, contact me at the email listed at the side or come to the meeting on Tuesday April 19, 7pm ,Urban Heights,7605 Aurora.

He who plants the seed beneath the sod and waits believes in God



Rabbit Free Zone

Tonight we did a little critter fencing with fence donated by our friends from the St. Timothy's garden in West Des Moines and posts from Ken Rydberg.  A lot of muscle was provided by Pam and Dick, Bruce, Doug,  Eric and Mike.  We also raked a lot of the grass and piled it in a compost pile at the back of the garden.  If you have some time to do a little raking you can pile the grass at the back.  The tiller should be in this weekend and if weather allows we may plant some cool weather crops. Come join us and see if Dick figures out how to attach BOTH a flashlight and MP3 player to his rake.

No Turning Back!

Ray Meylor, Isaac Walton League, came and tilled the garden today. ( I will tell you more in a later posting about his work with urban prairies)  It was truly amazing as we watched him turn under and till a 75x75 foot plot. We then stacked sod along the west side ( Mike commented that it felt a little like medieval wall building) 

These 3 foot high piles will become the bases for the raised beds of flowers and herbs. Isaac Walton volunteers will add an area of native prairie flowers at one end that will be labeled and mulched.  I hope to have a garden diagram up soon so we can start to get a feeling of the space.

We also did a little raking and started a compost pile in the middle of the east side. Thanks to our first garden volunteers,  Mike, Bruce and Eric and from Troop 98, John, Aaron and their dad Craig, who all manned shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows.  Tomorrow night we will be fencing and raking. Come join the fun beginning at 6.

"Till" we meet again ......

You're going to do what?

'Why in the world would we tear up a 75x75 plot in the back and plant potatoes and beans and squash?

Did you know that there are kids in Des Moines that go to bed hungry every night? Doesn’t seem right does it? Local groups are banding together to help. Urban Heights and a host of others are planning a Food Pantry Garden. The produce from the garden will be donated to help local families in need. This will be done through existing food pantry programs.

 The garden will be seeking volunteers from the community. We have already extended an invitation to Scouts and their families to be a part. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. It will be a wonderful way for families to work together to give back to their community.

Assisting in the garden will be John Turner , Master Gardener,  Beth Rydberg,volunteer coordination and Linda Gaulter,flowers and herbs.

There will be ways for all to be a part of this project. Join with us to help eradicate childhood hunger in Des Moines by 2015.