Dear Fellow Gardeners,
I saw a bright orange waning moon rise over Tryon’s alfalfa field Monday night. It is getting near harvest. Tomatoes are turning red, beans are producing, and the garden is flourishing. So are the weeds. Some gardeners are diligent about keeping their boxes weeded and are also diligent enough to include the area and path surrounding their boxes. Others are not. Some gardeners prefer the easy way of weed management by using Roundup (see below). Did we all agree on a total organic garden? I think it is ASSUMED.
The community box stewards, basically me, Suzanne and Sally, try our best to keep up with weeds so everyone can share in the community harvest. It was expected that if anyone was to share in community harvest that they would lend a hand and pick some weeds from those boxes. I haven’t seen much help in that area. People were excited in Spring and we had tremendous volunteerism. As the season moved into summer, most of the focus became more singular.
At one point someone dragged out the large trash bin to throw in weeds and other people joined in, but no one dragged the bin back to the shed so Steve could empty it. It became full of rain and sprinkler water and wafted a rotten stench. Finally Colin heroically drained it and dragged it back to the shed.
Gardeners please note, there is no one to take care of the garden but us. There is no entitlement here. We have to be responsible for ourselves and have some oversight beyond our own “yards.” In other words, care about the overall look and how we manage it. Can you afford to pull some of the community box weeds, or your neighbors? Claudia has been managing the sprinklers for the majority of summer. She watches the garden grow everyday and managed to pull a few weeds in her passing. If everyone did that once a week there would be community weed management.
Another issue is the hoses. When hoses are used they get left strewn across the lawn or thrown in a tangled pile. We may need to figure out better hose management in the future, but please, if you use it take care of it better then you found it.
One of the sprinkler hoses got split by the mower and wasn’t discovered for more than a week which means parts of the garden didn’t get watered. Ray mended that hose and we switched out the hoses for the sprinklers. Perhaps we need someone to monitor hose conditions in the future.
The bottom line is we need to come together on this. I have called meetings and volunteer actions. Few have shown up. With meetings, the Tryon Gardeners have an opportunity to pull together and learn from each other. The possibilities have been discussed of having Master Gardeners give talks. People are busy I know. I am busy too and have not a lot of time for the garden this summer but manage as volunteer steward to keep up best I can with three boxes and the large squash garden. Besides my music and art, I work pretty much full time at International Friendship Gardens on Route 12 just west of Tryon. It is 107 acres and run and managed 95% by volunteers. It amazes me the enthusiasm at those gardens and how with little resource they keep them beautiful for the public to enjoy.
I ask you to please look at the whole garden and help to manage it as if it was yours.
Pick signs will be posted when produce is ready. If you pick a fruit or vegetable from community boxes please pick some weeds too.
Thanks
The 08 Garden Rake
PS. Someone took/borrowed? my plant food feeder that was under the bench by the squash garden. I looked for it for over ½ an hour. I cannot feed the plants without it. Would that someone please return it ASAP!!!
NOTE on ROUNDUP. No one who claims to be an organic gardener would use Round Up or any Glyphosate produce. The USEPA Water Quality Division is finding glyphosate in the water we drink and wash in. Glyphosate is present in many soils. This article may be of some interest.
"MONSANTO IS POISONING US: HOW MANY STUDIES DOES IT TAKE? New research from France has confirmed previous studies that Monsanto's Roundup, the most commonly used herbicide in the world, is much more toxic that Monsanto admits. The study indicates that at levels 100 times lower than the recommended use in agriculture, Roundup herbicide causes reproductive damages and endocrine disruption. In other related news, the FDA Office of Plant and Dairy Foods has stated that half of the non-organic produce they have tested in grocery stores contains traceable residues of various pesticides, including Roundup. http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/pregnancy060305.cfm"
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Debra Sawyer
51 Tryon Farm Lane
MI CITY, IN 46360
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