Tag Archives: neighborhood garden

Seedlings in, seedlings out, seedlings in and out, in and out . . .

By 2 commentsUrban Farm, ,

This strange spring had us setting seeds in pots way earlier than usual. At first, it was no big deal, since they were in a winter greenhouse that has lots of sunlight — until, that is, the leaves come out on the trees. Which they did, again, way early.

So Stephanie and Sarah and Alexandra carried all the little seedling trays to the porch, where they’d still get sun. And that worked fine too, until it got colder at night, and started to damage the little squash seedlings.

So I put a sheet over all of them for a couple of nights. And then Stephanie told me to put plastic over them instead (to keep the heat in — DUH! Right!), and that worked okay last night.

But tonight, grrr.  . . it’s already cold and is set to go down to mid-30s. So . . . I put the plastic down on my living room floor and carried them all inside just now. That’s fifteen trips. Then fifteen trips back outside tomorrow. And probably tomorrow night as well. That’s 60 trips altogether in and out during this very strange spring which has us all either scratching our heads or highly aware of global warming/weirding.

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Action in the Garden

By 1 commentUrban Farm, , ,

A photo update of the work taking place around the garden.

We hope you come and get involved.  Next work day: EARTH DAY, April 22nd from 2-5 pm !!

Spring is sprung. The garden in its weeded glory.

Seedling power! Stephanie and Alexandra planted some seedlings over Spring Break… and within days they were popping up like champs!

 

 

This eggplant jumped up right away and needed to be re-planted into bigger containers!

 

 

 

Compost here! We got a lot of help from the neighborhood, including Jim making these awesome compost bins! THANKS!!! Now, we need all of your compost, grass clippings, coffee grounds, etc!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmmmmmmanure! Thanks to Steve Headley and his horses for this wonderful natural fertilizer! (FYI – his farm is on Mt. Gilead Road in Bloomington for others who might benefit from using this manure on their gardens). We will be spreading the manure over the beds to get them chock full of vitamins and minerals for healthy plants!

 

 

 

Weeding… a necessary evil. Thanks to all who pulled weeds to get GANG ready for yummy plants!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, Shadow absolutely helps, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann is excited for the brambling blackberries and raspberries!

 

 

 

 

Ahhhh, planting. Steph and Sarah had some fun planting beans and peas along the perimeter (they’ll grow up the fence) and around the teepee (another good structure for their vines to climb up).

Hope to see you soon at the GANG!

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Weather Warning

By Uncategorized

Freeze watch! Take care of those plants already outside…it’s not summer yet!

 

From the National Weather Service, for Monroe (and other) Counties:

...FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING...

A FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* TEMPERATURE...32 DEGREES OR BELOW

* IMPACTS...CROPS AND SENSITIVE VEGETATION COULD BE HARMED OR
  KILLED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FREEZE WATCH MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE POSSIBLE.
THESE CONDITIONS COULD KILL CROPS AND OTHER SENSITIVE VEGETATION.
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Balancing Spring: Equinox and GANG

By Urban Farm, ,

I can’t let today pass without a quick blog about the garden. It is, after all, Spring Equinox. And spring is definitely in the air!

Last week, over IU’s spring break, we got pretty excited about the garden. The 80 degree weather helped encourage that excitement, and it led to some action.

First, we planted seeds and placed them in the greenhouse. We have tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, and arugula – which was also very excited for spring and peeped up after only 2 days! These little starter plants will be re-planted in a few months in a clean, mulched, frost-free garden.

A few days later, we got even more ambitious, and we started to weed. Shadow the dog helped us enormously (by digging his own hole to rest in the shade) and we made great progress. More remains to be done, but it was rewarding to see how in such a short time, all our work together made a difference.

We are planning some changes in the garden for this season – moving some of the beds so the plants get more light, a night-blooming garden with delicious-smelling flowers, and, of course, the city-required gate. More news on that to come soon!

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New Life at GANG for 2012

By Urban Farm,

There might be snow on the ground, but the sun is brilliant and reminds us of the life that hides beneath that frozen layer. Green Acres Neighborhood Garden is alive and enlivening for the 2012 growing season.

Last month, Stephanie Partridge assumed direction of the garden for the season, and found two interns to help organize, mobilize, and energize the garden. The first is Sarah Roberts, an undergraduate Environmental Management major at SPEA and the second is Alexandra Buck, a dual Masters student in Nonprofit Management at SPEA (MPA) and Latin American studies (MA).

We had our first meeting on a moonlit night and tromped about the garden to see the

3 new heads, 6 new hands: Sarah (left, in pink), Alexandra (middle, in red), Stephanie (right, in white)

different beds and start imagining how the garden would look, in the day and in the summer. We talked through plans for getting things moving – social networking, community outreach, seeds and donations, and volunteer activities.

So there is life at GANG. And with all of your help – yes, you! – we plan to make this growing season the most lively one yet!

To get involved with GANG – planning, planting, growing, donating, educating, laughing, playing or otherwise – feel free to contact Stephanie directly at steph3205@gmail.com.

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