Beds Are Resting

Currently at the Garden-  Things were relatively quiet at the Kitchen Garden this week.  After the initial cleanup and soil enrichment day on 4/11 we are letting the beds rest.  The outside fence is nearly complete which means that soon will be able to plan out our herb garden along the fence.      

Next Steps at the Garden-  We are planning to meet at the garden this Saturday April 25 at 10 am for an informational meeting where will go over rules and consent forms for those who want plots or are volunteering.   We can also begin the planning process of what type of vegetables gardeners want to grow.  In the early spring some of the leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, and Swiss chard can be planted.  Other vegetables that can be started soon include peas, leeks, beets, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.   Weather permitting we can also work at adding more compost to the soil, aerating the beds and perhaps expanding one of our vegetable beds.

If you have a kitchen compost we would love to have your scraps.  Things that can be composted include, vegetable and fruit waste (including pulp from juicers), grains (rice, barley, oats, etc.), coffee grounds, tea bags, flour products (crackers, bread) old spices, clean egg shells. Also if anyone can bring or knows where we can get chicken, rabbit, horse or cow manure that would be great addition to our compost.  Any or all of these can be added to our compost bins located at the entrance of the Kitchen Garden. 

Thanks,

Marc Taiano and Solange Viggian

Waking Up the Garden

Kitchen Garden Update-

Currently at the Garden-  We had a good first day at the Kitchen Garden this Saturday.  We welcomed gardeners Anne Spector, Linda McCarthy and Gabriela Munoz who along with Solange Viggiano and myself worked at turning the raised beds and adding compost plus other organic nutrients to the soil.  We also did a general clean up around the garden.  Also stopping by was John Gunther who helped to till the community plots using our large broadfork.  Another new gardener Sam Bercovich stopped by to say hello and to say he will be stopping by soon.  Dave Person came by to fix the outside fence and along with John began to place removal posts which should ease the problem of the snow build up along the fence border during the winter months.

Roots and Wing members Lenore Person and Chris Olsewski worked at clearing the Labyrinth garden of piles of dead leaves in the front area of South Church.

Next Steps at the Garden-  Solange our co-coordinator will be at the Kitchen Garden next Saturday April 18 at approximately 10 am.  All gardeners are encouraged to attend in order to continue with the general clean up.  We will also try to extend one of our ground level beds and finish turning some of the soil to be used for the community garden.   If the fence is complete we will also be able to continue to expand and complete our herb garden which currently has sage, thyme, and chives.  

We currently have 4 families/individuals who have taken an individual plot.  There are still two 8' by 4' plots available plus anyone who wants to participate in just doing community gardening is more than welcome on Saturdays.

We are planning an informational meeting on Saturday April 25 at 10 am for all gardeners and those interested in finding out more about the Kitchen Garden.  We will go over some of the Garden Rules, distribute consent forms and discuss our collective vision for the community garden.  As of right now approximately half of the space will be used for gardeners with individual plots and the other half by those who want to do group gardening where the bulk of the produce will go to the Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry.

Light snacks will be served plus we should have an opportunity to visit both our Kitchen Garden and Labyrinth Garden.

Regards,

Marc Taiano and Solange Viggiano

Garlic and Asparagus Harvest

Hi All,

This is our second Kitchen Garden update.

Currently at the Garden-  This past Saturday, from about 10 am to 1 pm, a few us got together to continue with the general clean up of the garden.  Mark Pennington helped create a new bed using the recycled labyrinth borders given to us by Linda Herring.  We were also able to border off our herb garden area using these borders.  John Gunther-Mohr worked at turning over the soil in our raised beds plus he brought over compost that was added to our new bed.  We also did a good amount of weeding, raking, plus we watered our seedling trays.  I'm happy to report that we have some asparagus and garlic ready to be harvested as it has been growing all winter and should be ready now.

Next Steps at the Garden-  We will need to continue with the weeding, composting, and the watering of our seedling trays.  We also need to organize a watering and composting schedule.  Once the vegetables are planted they will need to be watered at least 3 times a week plus we need to bring out the compost in the Church Kitchen out to the garden about 3 times a week.

Please consider coming out to the garden this coming Saturday, May 10, between 10 am and 12 noon. We'll need some help with all the mentioned task plus you can help us plan out our garden as to what are some of the preferred vegetables and where in the garden we can grow them.   As I mentioned in the past a percentage of the harvest will go to gardeners and the rest will go to the food pantry.

Let me know if you can stop by the garden this weekend.

Thanks,

Marc

A compost invitation!

Hi All,

This is our third Kitchen Garden update.

Currently at the Garden - This past Saturday, between 10 am and 12:30 pm, a group of us got together to continue with the kitchen gardening project. Els Van Den Bosch was there early and she helped with the weeding and watering of our seedlings. We also planted some new herbs and vegetables including, parsley, rosemary, onions, kale, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce. Mark Pennington and Solange Viggiano also helped in the planting and weeding plus a potential new member to the garden stopped by (referred to us by the Cabrini Immigration Center) with her two daughters as they all helped with the planting.

Next Steps at the Garden-  We will need to continue with the weeding, composting, and watering.  Today, Monday, I was able to hook up our hose and water all the herbs and vegetables but this will need to be done at least twice more this week.  I will try to water again this Wednesday but let us know if you can stop by and water during the week.  Also if you have any compost you can drop if off at our wood compost bins next to the entrance of the garden.  It is best if you drop it in the bin on the far left since this has the newer compost and not the middle.

On a related note Roots and Wings made its presence known at the Sustainable Dobbs event this past Saturday.  Lenore Person, MJ Wilson, Mark Pennington and yours truly shared our green ideas with people from our community.  We saw a few people from South church there and made some new connections with people from the Masters School, Children's Village, Mercy College and the Garden Club of Dobbs Ferry.  Many ideas and information were exchanged among these was the idea of having a potluck lunch (or dinner) using the harvest of all of the gardens some time towards the end of June.  We will keep you informed in case you would like to join us. 

Please come join us this coming Saturday, May 17, between 10 and noon as we will be planting new vegetables.  Let me know if you can make it so we can plan our work accordingly. Keep in mind that part of the harvest will go to the food pantry and part to the gardeners. 

Peace,

Marc and Solange