VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

We are now accepting applications for Personal Row Gardeners and General Gardeners at the Community Garden. As of today, Jan. 27th, we only have 6 personal rows left to take this garden season so contact us real soon if you are interested in taking a row. The cost is $15. /row for the year and includes plants, seeds, fertilizer, compost, water and gardening advise from Master Gardener volunteers. We encourage low income families to join us too (contact us for a special discount ). When all the personal rows are taken we will put names on a back up list to contact if any of our row gardeners happen to leave and give up their row during the season.

We can always use more general gardeners. A general gardener does not have their own row to grow their own food in but instead they help with general gardening which includes weeding, planting, maintaining, and harvesting food pantry rows to help feed people in need. This is a very important part of what we do at our community garden.

The Children's program at our garden has been growing well and lots of fun activities have been added to help teach the children about gardening. A Jr. Master Gardener/4-H program has been established for the children too. We're looking for a reliable volunteer assistant to help with our Children's Garden program. Please contact Janet or Bev if you are interested in applying for this.

If you wish to participate in the community garden you will be asked to attend an Orientation meeting on Saturday, March 21st at 10:30 in the lunch room at The Salvation Army in McMinnville. Garden rules and membership forms will be available at that time. If you have any questions you can contact us by e-mail at : mac.community.garden@comcast.net


Happy Gardening!

A NEW GARDENING YEAR

A cold but sunny day greated us for our first workday of the year on Saturday, Jnauary 17, 2009. The handful of gardeners who braved the cold morning air quickly began weeding around the Food Pantry winter garden rows. Although still a bit soggy, at least the water that flooded between the rows a week earlier had dried up so that knee high boots where not required.

Our much welcomed new fiberglass greenhouse is a wonderful refuge on a cold and windy day. Janet and Bev were checking that all the plants that have been overwintering in the greenhouse had enough water and they began the task of weeding the pots too. The kale plants inside are certainly doing a lot better then the ones outside. Slugs have enjoyed the outside plants a bit too much.

We are looking forward to helping the gardeners learn more about starting seeds off early in the greenhouse so we can have a headstart on plants to put out in the rows in a few months after the weather warms up enough for them. I'm so excited and can hardly wait for Spring. Spring and Summer time are of course my favorite time of the year. Although the rest I've had over this winter was also much appreciated. Winter is the time we gardeners plan and organize things for the new gardening year and dream of the bounty of fruit, vegetables and flowers we will grow as soon as the weather warms up. How exciting!

Happy gardening,

Garden Angel

First Work Day of 2009

The Sun was shining and the sky was blue, but the first work day of 2009 was definitely cold. The wind was blowing and keeping us cooled off. Miranda found refuge in the new greenhouse. Bev and I found her a few pots that needed to be weeded.


Miranda and Bev are checking out the new rose plants Bev rescued from being almost ran over out in front by the parking lot. Somehow from one pot she ended up with three. It's so nice having the greenhouse. Thank you to the G. E. N. E. (Garden Enhanced Nutrion Education) Grant. The rest of the gardeners continued on about the business of getting the garden rows ready for the upcoming season. I already want to plant, but it's only January. Winter has just begun.