Garden Work Party

We are full speed into summer, and my how those weeds have grown! It's time for a quick cleanup! If anyone has a gas powered weed whacker that they wouldn't mind loaning out for a few hours, please contact frederickgardeners@gmail.com

Novella Carpenter Comes to Baltimore

Novella Carpenter, Author of Farm City will be speaking at the Baltimore Greenworks Sustainable Speakers series this Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Main Branch at 7 p.m.

For more information click here

What issues to you want to see addressed in our community?

Hello out there!

I am in the very beginning phase of coming up with ideas for my doctoral dissertation for my PhD in Environmental Studies. The topic will be related to community food security and sustainability. I want my dissertation to focus on a real and current issue that we face in the Frederick community. Who better to help me brainstorm than a group of people who are interested in community gardening!

I'm looking for input from whomever wants to share an idea or who has a question that could possibly be answered by a research project in our town. Think big! Feel free to post comments on this page or email me at frederickgardeners@gmail.com

Cheers!
Karen

FCGA plot available

The FCGA still has one plot left for the season. It's not too late! If you or someone you know are interested in gardening this summer/fall, please check out the "forms" section on the blog.

Thanks!

The Everything Guide to Urban Honey -- New York Magazine

The Everything Guide to Urban Honey -- New York Magazine

Urban Chickens on NPR!

Kojo must have read our blog (ha!) because the topic on the show today was none other than urban chickens! Click below to listen

Urban Chickens

Posted using ShareThis

Gardeners Sharing Their Harvest With Food Pantries using AmpleHarvest.org

It's hard to picture it now, but pretty soon we gardeners are going to have squash coming out the ears! Instead of letting it go to waste, or trying to pawn it of on reluctant friends, please consider donating surplus produce through Ample Harvest. Ample Harvests helps connect home gardeners and community gardens with nearby food pantries. Good Stuff!

Chickens Downtown?

An FCGA member recently contacted me asking if I knew about about anyone working to change the law banning farm animals (particularly chickens) downtown. I decided to do some research and found this blog:

http://urbanchickenunderground.blogspot.com


It was started by former Frederick resident Sarah Hempel Irani, who was also manager of the site eatlocalfrederick.com, which was sadly shut down this year when she moved away.


Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has more insight they want to share on this topic. I know Baltimore City allows residents to raise up to 4 hens (no roosters though)for eggs.

It seems that with Frederick's agricultural roots, they would be more open to the idea. I guess there is a bit of a stigma with chickens being noisy and smelly, but hey if it's working in Baltimore, why not give it a try?

Anyway, heres a few more links in case you're interested reading more about chickens as part of the Urban Agriculture movement.

http://www.urbanchickens.net/
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5900
http://urbanchickens.org/
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/index.html

Community Free Swap!

Hi All, Kara wanted me to pass along the message about he FREE SWAP going on tomorrow

Check it out!



Community Swap FREE FREE FREE Community Swap

Shop, Seize, Snag, Snare, Sequester, Salvage, SCORE SWAG!

Downsize, Declutter, Deep-six, Disencumber.
Ditch, Dump, Drop off, Divest yourself of what you no longer need.

Ananda and Kara’s Almost Famous Semi-Annual Community Free Swap
has teamed up with the
Monocacy Valley Montessori Schools First Ever Annual Earth Day Celebration

217 Dill Ave
Friday, April 16th 3 to 6

Please come and browse - pick up a gift for a friend or some swag for yourself.
Bring us what no longer serves you - books, games, plants, art, clothing, household items. Fabric, yarn, bath supplies, crafts. Anything goes that is not broken or toxic. Please try to bring your stuff earlier rather than later so we have a good chance of clearing it all by 6pm.
Please – whether you bring something or not, plan on taking something with you in the spirit of giving second life and reducing the pile for us at the end of the day. Bring an empty box, or a truck…

Call 301-676-0933 or email Kara at veggymama@hotmail.com if;

you have stuff you would like to drop off but can’t make it…

you have a truck (or a trunk..) and are willing to be available for a possible goodwill haul afterward or the following day

Work Day Recap

Thanks to everyone who came out to our first work day of the year. The weather was gorgeous, and we accomplished quite a lot! Special thanks to Olde Towne Historic Landscape for donating and delivering compost. We also would like to extend many thanks to Alexis, Nick and the Common Market for donating supplies and lending a hand! We still have lots of work to get the garden set for this year, so if you weren't able to make it today, stay tuned for future work dates! Enjoy some pictures from the day!

The Windowfarms Project

A great deal on Home Composters! April 17th

The Frederick County Department of Solid Waste Management (DSWM) is hosting a truckload compost bin sale on Saturday, April 17, 2010, 9am-3pm.

The event will be held outdoors, rain or shine.

The bins being sold are Earth Machines, which regularly retail for $100 and will be offered for $40, including tax and a composting handbook. Kitchen compost collectors and compost turners will also be available for purchase.

The sale is being held in the FrederickTowne Mall parking lot. For more information, email acreamer@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

Free Gardening Workshops!

Click on the picture for a better view of the flyer

Not that we need any more reasons to grow our own food, but this is a great explanation about how our global food system works ( or doesn't work for that matter). Thanks Michael for sending me this link!

How to feed the world ? from Denis van Waerebeke on Vimeo.

What are you doing for Earth day?

Spring is quickly approaching which means Earth Day is also coming up soon.

Nowadays one Earth Day just isn't enough, so many organizations are putting on events during that whole week, or even through the whole month of April. Here is a brief list of Earth Day happenings around Frederick.

April 10th: The FCGA and the Common Market are joining forces to work on projects in the Garden. This will take place from 10-2pm.

Our Common Wealth is putting on a series of events that started last week

http://www.friendsoffrederickcounty.org/v2/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/POSTCARD-SPRING-2010.jpg

April 16th: Monocacy Valley Montessori Charter School is Holding an Earth Day fair from 1-4 p.m.

April 24th: EARTH DAY POLLINATOR GARDEN PLANTING AND LAKE CLEAN-UP WITH THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE

http://earthday.org/events/earth-day-pollinator-garden-planting-and-lake-clean-izaak-walton-league-0

Talk back! Let us know what your plans are for celebrating Earth Day in the comments section.

Interactive Planting Calendar

If you have gardened before you know it can be a bit confusing to keep track of everything going on in your garden.

I have looked all over the internet for an interactive planting calendar that tells me when to plant what seeds. Since I couldn't find one that suited my needs, I decided to create one. Below is a link to an excel spreadsheet. You can put in the last frost date and it will give you dates for starting seeds indoors, sowing outside, transplanting, and harvesting. Please let me know if something is inaccurate and I will fix it.

Happy Gardening!

Interactive Planting Calendar

Sustainable Frederick

Check out this great blog about sustainability!

Sustainable Frederick

Raised Bed Workshop

I will be out in the garden on Saturday, March 20th at 12pm to assist anyone who wants to build a raised bed.

There's lot's of ways to build both, but if you need some guidance, here is a list of materials to purchase for a very simple design.

* please not that some of these items have been updated from the last post

Raised bed:

• two 4' long pieces of 2"x6" 2'x8' or 2"x12" untreated wood. ( treated wood is highly inadvisable because it releases toxic chemicals into the food you are growing)
• two 6' long pieces of 2"x6" 2x 6" or 2"x 12" untreated wood
• four large "L" shaped brackets and screws
• Box of 3-1/8" nails
• Hammer

Mini-Hoop House

• three 6' or 10' long 1/2" PVC pipes
• 12 pipe mounting brackets ( must fit your pvc pipes) and screws
• enough clear plastic drop cloth or hoophouse cover to fit over your hoops( let me know if you are interested on going in on a roll together)
• giant binder clips (not found at hardware stores)
  

Other useful Materials

• a power drill if you have one - I'm bringing one, but it would be nice to have more than one.
• a level

That's it. Easy as pie! If you have any questions about this feel free to email me. If you bring this list to the hardware store they can probably help you pick up everything you need.

Also check out these links for ideas

Hoop Houses:

this one give you a picture of the pipe brackets that I mentioned in the list
http://www.dropstonefarms.com/2009/04/on-hoophouses/

http://www.agrowingtradition.com/2009/10/building-mini-hoop-houses.html

Raised Beds:

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/raisedbed.htm

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/bed~const.html

Seed Bonanza!

CLICK FOR SEED REQUEST FORM

APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Due to the inclement weather and the disruption of mail service, the deadline for dues and paperwork is extended until FEBRUARY 19, 2010. Please remember to turn in your:

1) Garden Contract
2) Waiver - All individuals including children, must have a signed waiver on file.
3) Photo release
4) Check, money order, or cash for dues ($60 per family)Your check will not be cashed until we confirm your space in the garden.

There are still spaces available, but keep in mind that plot assignment is first-come first-serve.

Forms are available on the blog

Enjoy the snow!

Quick Recap

We had a great first meeting of the year! It was wonderful to catch up with old friends and to see so many new faces. Here is a very brief recap of the meeting. If you are on the email list, you'll recieve the meeting minutes. To get on the email list send an email to frederickgardeners@gmail.com

1. Fees will be $60 a family. Please remember that we do not wish to exclude anyone based on cost. The fee can be adjusted or waived if there is a demonstrated need.

2. Board Member elections were held last night. The results are as follows:

President: Karen Buchsbaum
Secretary: Mary Lou Reidy and Pam Bell
Treasurer: Eli Roth
At-large: Nancy Lewis
At-large: Kara Sheehy
At-large: Julie Hayn

Thanks to everyone who graciously accepted leadership positions.

3. Groundhog control: We will be hiring a wildlife removal service to trap and remove the groundhogs before they have babies. If you know of anyone who can provide this service at a reduced rate, please let us know!

Don't forget to get your applications in as soon as you can.Space is limited!

Thats it for now. The countdown to spring begins...

Membership Forms

Hi Everyone!

Here are links to all of the forms you need to fill out if you want a garden plot this year.

The deadline for Forms is Feb 12th. We will operate on a first come first serve basis, with priority given to previous members. If we experience a high volume of applicants, new members will be selected using a lottery system. If you don't get a space, you can be put on a waiting list until a plot becomes available, or if we add an additional site.

Please read all of the forms carefully. We will not accept incomplete application packets. We will be voting on the dues at tomorrow's meeting so you will need to fill in where it says "fee"

Your completed application packet should include:

Contract
Waiver ( You do not need to sign one if you filled one out last year )
Photo Release form
A Check or cash for dues- Again, I will keep you updated on the amount we decide on at the meeting so please hold off on sending anything in until we have that information

Sorry, I know it's a lot of paperwork. Once we get past all of this, the fun can begin!

Gardener Survey

If you are interested in joining the FCGA this season, please take a moment to fill out a quick survey. Returning members should also fill out the survey. This will help us determine plot spaces.

Click here to take survey

Thanks and I hope to see you all tomorrow!

Frederick community garden gears up for second season - The Frederick News-Post Online

Frederick community garden gears up for second season - The Frederick News-Post Online

Bring a Bag For Change

Our wonderful local food co-op, The Common Market, has selected the Frederick Community Garden as a recipient for "Bring a Bag for Change." For every re-usable bag you bring shopping, you get a wooden nickel that counts toward a 5 cent donation to your choice of the selected non-profits.

Bring a bag for the FCGA and feel good about reducing waste and helping out in your community... at no cost to you!

Are you an avid Gardener? A Novice gardener? Just looking to spend more time outdoors?
Learn more about the Frederick Community Garden Association and join us for our Second Growing Season!

WHO: Anyone interested in participating in a community Garden located on East South Street in Downtown Frederick.
Come meet other members, and learn more about joining!
WHEN: January 27th, 2010 6:30 pm
WHERE: Joanie’s Carroll Street Cafe @ 124 South Carroll Street

For more information email frederickgardeners@gmail.com