The Ukulele Project Video

The FCGA President is featured in this great video by Aaron Lee on The Ukulele Project

Do you know what your child had for lunch?

Fall Plantings

Just wanted to share these great shots of the garden using the Hipstamatic app on the iphone.

FCGA Board Meeting!

We invite all members to attend the meeting and get your voices heard. Thanks to Community FARE for letting us use their conference room. The meeting will be held next Tuesday, August 9th at 4 E Church Street, Conference Room B (the one on the right) in Kemp Hall at 7pm. I don't expect it will last more than 1 hour.

I promise I will bring delicious goodies!

Ukulele Concert to Benefit FCGA!

Joannie's Carrol Street Cafe

124 S Carroll Street #1

Frederick, MD

July 1st, 2011

7:30pm

Hope you can join us!

More water? Yes please!

As many of you may have noticed, we are quickly going through the garden's winter supply of water. We are happy to say that we have set up 3 more rain barrels to catch the rain water coming off the building. A huge thank you to Hunter Herrman for helping me set them up!

Why use rain barrels instead of just attaching a hose to the city's water system?

1. During the peak summer months a rain barrel can collect about 1,300 gallons of water, depending on where you live

2. Rain barrels help reduce erosion, storm water flow, pollution and flooding.

3. A rain barrel will help reduce the demand on the local water supply.

4. Rain water is naturally softer, oxygenated and more acidic than tap water. It doesn't have any chlorine, calcium or lime.

And best of all...It's free!

Now that everything is set up, we just need it to rain! Anyone know how to do the rain dance?

FCGA is Keeping Maryland Beautiful

We used our Keep Maryland Beautiful grant to plant blueberry bushes, kiwi plants and an apple tree. We also cleared out a huge section of invasive honeysuckle vines.

A special thanks to Karen Buchsbaum and Eli Roth for all their hard work and Zac Rowe for lending us his tools! The northern wall of the garden looks wonderful, native and edible!

The pictures don't quite do it justice (I guess you'll just have to go check it out for yourself), but here are a few action shots:

Landscaping with Native Plants Class

Here is the blurb about the class held at the Catoctin Creek Park and Nature Center in Middletown, MD:

No, you will not be planting these flowers, but you will learn about planting native plants in our “Intro to Landscaping with Native Plants”. There are still spaces available where you will survey some native plants that are particularly useful for home landscaping with an emphasis on spring interest. We’ll look at techniques for working with spring ephemerals, including companion planting schemes. Instructor Chris Pax is a landscape design professional with a graduate degree in sustainable landscape design and a keen interest in our native plants. She will share inspiring photos of area gardens as well as combinations found in nature.

18+yrs/ 1 day/ $18

Course #: 12608 Tu 7:00-9:00 pm 5/24

More to Plant!

Thanks to ANOTHER generous donation from www.mastergardening.com, a Frederick based company, we have a ton more to plant. I have put boxes and boxes of asparagus, elephant garlic, seed potatoes and rhubarb in the shed. Feel free to help yourself to any of them. There are even more that wouldn't fit in the shed so they are in my garage!

Check out their blog and "Like" them on Facebook. While you are there, send them a big Thank You for supporting the Frederick Community Garden!

Also, if you know of any Frederick-based garden groups or non-profits that need seeds, please let me know. We have a ton of seeds this year and FCGA needs to share the love :)

Gardens/Farms in the Community

Did you see this article in the FNP today? Is this something the garden members would be interested? How about having a plot dedicated solely for the food bank? What a great way to give back to the community!

Celebrate Frederick - Garden Martketplace & Tours

For the almost twenty years, several hundred garden enthusiasts descend upon downtown Frederick for the chance to explore the elegant, whimsical and inventive gardens nestled behind the gates of private Frederick homes each spring.

A favorite of residents and visitors alike, the Beyond the Garden Gates Garden Tour continues to grow in size and attendance. The annual tour has grown to draw over 800 visitors annually, raised thousands of dollars for local garden clubs and multiple beautification projects around Frederick.

And, in 2010, Celebrate Frederick and the Downtown Frederick Partnership introduced the Inaugural Garden Marketplace. Located at the Official Garden Tour Hospitality Center, the 2011 marketplace will again feature music, food and garden related wares for guests of the tour and Frederick.

Garden Kick-Off!

Garden kick off and orientation is This SUNDAY April 17th from 11am-3pm. There will be two orientation sessions, one at 11am and the next at 3pm. If you are a new gardener, you MUST attend one of these sessions or make alternate arrangements with Renee. Otherwise, fee free to pop in for as long as you want, do some work and meet your new garden neighbors. We will be doing garden cleanup and you'll have a chance to open up you bed for spring, so bring extra tools, work gloves and plenty of drinking water as there is no source for drinking water. There is a bathroom nearby at Joanie's Carroll Street Cafe. Feel free to bring refreshments to share!

Volunteers are welcome, but please make sure you sign a waiver found in the forms section of the site.

See you Sunday!

Announcing the New Board!

During our annual meeting we voted on the 2011-2012 FCGA Board. Congratulations to the following people:

President: Renee Bourassa

Secretary: Kara Sheehy

Treasurer: Brad Palmer

At-Large: Pam Bell

At- Large: Julie Martin Hayne


Thanks for volunteering your service!

All the best~

Karen ( Former president)

Garden Goodie Bags

Thanks to a very generous donation from www.mastergardening.com, a local Frederick company, we have a plethora of seeds for FCGA members this year. We have boxes and boxes of seeds!

Many members will be picking up garden goodie bags today and in the next few days. Please email frederickgardeners@gmail.com if you would like some seeds.

The list of seeds includes (but is not limited to):

Beans...all different shapes, sizes, bush and pole

Kohl rabi

Brussel Sprouts

Mustard

Rosemary

Parsley

Beets

Lima beans (lots and lots and lots of Lima beans)

Okra

Flowers (a lot of varieties)

Coleus

Turnips

Radishes

Kale

Sweet corn (lot and lots and lots of sweet corn)

Eggplant

Cauliflower

Marjoram

Tomatoes

Basil

Sweet onions

Broccoli

Sage

Oregono

Terragon

Celery

Lavendar

Thyme

Lemon Balm

Green Onion

Lettuces (a variety)

Peppers (all shapes and sizes)

Plot assignments are here!

Plot assignments are done!

We will be having a garden orientation April 17th at 11:00am and 3:00pm. Please come join us and meet your fellow gardeners. Family members and community members are welcome and even encouraged to come, but please make sure to bring a signed waiver for everyone that visits the garden.

Feel free to start your gardening before then....I know many of you are just itching to get your hands dirty!

Please click here to find out which plot is yours...and start digging!

Meeting Announcement ( click for full size)

Meeting Announcement and 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 March 17th. We will operate on a first come first serve basis, with priority given to previous members. If you don't get a space, you can be put on a waiting list until a plot becomes available.

Please read all of the forms carefully. We will not accept incomplete application packets. Dues are $60 per household for the entire growing season. Fee waivers and payment plan options are available.

Your completed application packet should include:

Contract
Waiver (one per person who enters the garden. You do not need to sign one if you filled one out last year)
Photo Release form (one per person who enters the garden)

We can take cash or check payable to Frederick Community Garden Assoc.

Once we get past all of this, the fun can begin!

2011 IMAGINE! Frederick Winter/Spring Sustainability Film Series | Friends of Frederick County

2011 IMAGINE! Frederick Winter/Spring Sustainability Film Series | Friends of Frederick County

Community Swap March 6th! ( click on picture for full size)

Gardening Classes at the Co-op

Basic Organic Vegetable Gardening with Rick Hood

Thursday, January 20 6:30-8:30PM

Our favorite teaching farmer is out of the fields and back in the Community Room! Learn organic vegetable gardening from this experienced organic farmer. Join Rick Hood of Summer Creek Farm in Thurmont for a workshop on Basic Organic Vegetable Gardening. In this class, you will learn Soil Preparation, Nutrient Management, Planting, Weed Control, Pest Control and Harvest Timing. Rick will spend time giving you the basics and answering your questions.

$10 for Owners, $15 for non-Owners

Thinking about spring yet?

I am! The weather report today (expecting somewhere between 0-6 inches of snow) is contributing to my cabin fever.

There was a great article in the FNP the other day about preparing your soil for a bounty of deliciousness and I for one cannot wait to get out there to make my green thumb brown!

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_Life/display_farmGarden.htm?StoryID=114964

In the meantime I will enjoy last years bounty of canned banana peppers. Yum!

I hope to see everyone soon!

-Renee Bourassa

Garden Update!

Dear Blog Readers,

I have received emails from some of you wondering what's happened to the garden. I want to assure you all, that although it is now winter, the community garden is alive and well! Over the summer, we were awarded a grant from the Keep Maryland Beautiful Fund, and have a committee working with Ms. Raevsky's class from The Maryland School for the Deaf to build an arbor and plant native plants in the spring. The groundhog situation was brought under control, which allowed for a very productive growing season!

For those of you who have not heard the announcement, I have stepped down as president due to the fact that I am now working on my PhD. Along with that, I am also pursuing some other projects that will hopefully increase access to fresh, healthy foods for the residents of Frederick. I would also like to give the opportunity for fresh ideas and new leadership as we move into our third growing season. I have no doubt that the next president will be a wonderful asset to the garden and to the city of Frederick.

It's been a tremendous ride, and we could not have made this garden come to fruition so quickly without the support of the community.

We will have an annual interest meeting and elections for outgoing board members in February on a date TBD, so please check back soon! In the meantime please enjoy a few pictures from the summer courtesy of Mary Lou. Only 73 days until the first day of spring!

Cheers,

Karen