Admiring our beautiful garden!

Thanks to everyone for all of your hard work this year.  Our garden looks amazing.

Rylan and Jay will be away until August 21st.  If you're in the garden and our raised beds look dry, please help us out.  The dripper hoses should run for about 45-60 minutes  if the beds are bone dry.  In the meantime - please help yourself to tomatoes....we're going to have a bumper crop this year.

The next Steering Committee Meeting on Thursday, August 15th.  If it's nice out, the meeting will be at the garden.  If not, we will meet indoors in the Richmond Room at Luther Heights (1802 Alexandra Avenue).

Click here if you'd like to add/change/edit the Agenda for the next Steering Committee Meeting

URGENT REQUEST

Gord Androsoff is looking for a few volunteers to speak with Leisha Grabinski, the morning host of CBC Saskatoon (which is currently heard online at http://www.cbc.ca/saskatoon/).  She would like to speak with 2-3 people each day this week to get a "garden update."

If you are able to help out and willing to be interviewed - please contact Gord Androsoff immediately at gord@chep.org or 306-655-4575, Ext. 229.

Thanks everyone!

Jay

NEW GARDEN STRUCTURE!!!!!

The new garden structure is up!  Thanks to Alex for designing the building, working with city officials, purchasing the materials, and building most of it himself.  It looks so beautiful in the garden.  There are still some patio blocks that will be laid down, then we will start to decide what kinds of things will go inside the structure (a message board, for example).

P.S. It looks like those fairies are moving in permanently - they even have lights now!

Open House

Community Garden Open House Tonight
Monday, July 22, 2013

CHEP is having an open house at our garden tonight - Monday, July 22 - at 7-9pm.  Staff members from CHEP and visitors from other gardens will be coming to enjoy our beautiful view.  Everyone who is able should come out to the garden - garden, prune, dig, weed, visit - WHATEVER!  Come be visible!

Hope to see lots of you out tonight!

POTATO BEETLES!!!!

We have now contacted everyone who grows potatoes to remind them to be vigilant in watching and removing potato beetles. Three gardeners have been contacted directly because of a severe infestation and have one week to show some improvement or the plants will be cut off at ground level.  This seems sever, but we have to keep the whole garden in mind when we are dealing with pests.

Tina has asked for some help in battling her potato beetles.  She has been out already this morning and will be trying the rhubarb spray this afternoon.  If you have a few moments, please wander by her garden plot and help remove some potato beetles.  

Click here to view the map of the garden - Tina is in the second-most top space, very near the compost.

Good luck and happy gardening!

Jay

Steering Committee Meeting

Please click here to read the Steering Committee Meeting Minutes

We will be contacting all potato growers to either continue to be vigilant and deal with the potato beetle infestation or have their potato plants cut from the ground up to remove the infestation.  Potato beetles can eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of other plants, though they usually prefer potatoes.

Robert  soaked Rhubarb Leaves in water over a week, then used it as a spray to deal with potato beetles - it seems to work.  Here is a faster recipe from http://tipnut.com/natural-pesticides/:

Rhubarb Leaf Mix

1 cup rhubarb leaves
6.5 cups water
1/4 cup liquid dish detergent or soap flakes

• Cover rhubarb leaves with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes then remove from heat and cool. Strain then add 1/4 cup liquid dish detergent. Apply. Good for aphids, june beetles, spider mites, thrips.
• Rhubarb leaves are poisonous, take care when preparing and handling. Do not use on food bearing plants.

Quick Release

The quick release valves have all been removed from the garden.   Too many people had difficulties with them so they will not be installed again.

Quick Release Hoses

I'm sorry that people have been having trouble with the quick release hoses.  I made a short video to help explain how they work.

I will also be holding a demonstration on how to use the quick release hoses before the Steering Committee Meeting at 6:45 on Thursday.

Steering Committee Meeting - Thursday

That's right, it's time for our monthly steering committee meeting - Thursday, July 18 @7pm in the Richmond Room at Luther Heights.

Please click here to add/edit/change the meeting minutes

Potato Beetle Battle!!!

Gardeners, don't stop checking your potato plants for beetles, even if you've already done so. The second generation of beetles are hatched, hungry and plentiful in areas.  It was noted this morning that a few plants are getting quite damaged.  

• Look very carefully for the small rusty coloured soft bodied insects and squish or remove them.  
• Check under the leaves for bright orange egg deposits.  

Plants and even whole gardens can be completely destroyed by these beetles!

      - Deb

New stuff!!

We have installed quick release ends on all of the hoses and most of the watering tools.  There is now a hand-watering wand and a bucket-filling hose inside of each water tap.  We also installed hose hangers at each location.  New spades, rakes, and hand tools are now all in the tool cabinet.

Community Garden Open House

Monday, July 22 7-9pm

CHEP is holding open houses at two community gardens this year, and ours will be one of them!  It would be great if people could be out gardening, working on their plots, showing off their gardens, or just coming out for some healthy snacks and beverages.  Staff from CHEP Community Gardening will be in attendance, as well as other community gardeners from around the city.

If you're interested - Forest Grove will also be having an open house: Monday, July 16 7-9pm.  The site address is 502 Webster Street and is near the corner of Attridge Drive and Berini Drive.

We hope to see everyone out!

The Common Ground Community Garden Inventory List and Wish List is now available on the documents page or by clicking the following link Inventory List/Wish List.  Feel free to add any items you'd wish to see at the garden!

Rylan and Jay purchased new spades, bow rakes, hand rakes, as well as garden hose-holders and quick-release ends for all the watering tools.  We will be installing these in the next couple of days.  As well we purchased a Telescoping Sprinkler Tower to make it easier to water your whole plot - or someone else's plot while you work on your own.  This should make it easier for all those helpful people who want to make sure the whole garden is watered....even during those heat waves.

PLEASE LOOK FOR POTATO BEETLES ON EVERY LEAF.  Potato Beetles can harm potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, tomatillos, tobacco, peppers, and petunias!  Remove the eggs, larvae, and beetles by hand, place in a sealed garbage bag and remove from the garden.  We have to be diligent!

Happy Gardening!

Colorado Potato Beetles

This picture was taken last night at the garden.  Please check your plants and check your neighbours plants.  Hand remove all  beetles AND eggs and dispose of them by either squishing them or by putting them in a Ziploc bag and removing them from the garden.