A Great Help for Vegetable Garden Planting

Follow this link and put in the last frost date. I put in May 10, 2009



http://bioarray.us/Skippy%27s%20planting%20calendar.html

Good News- A Garden is Comming!

I went before the city council last week and they all gave their approval and support. They couldn't have been nicer. The same response from the Parks and Recreation Committee. The blog is going to serve as a working journal. Thanks for your input. Another friend from Pontiac, Judy Hainaut can be a wonderful resource. She has attended several national Community Garden conferences. She started the Peace and Grace garden in Pontiac. They were able to harvest and provide food for the church's Wednesday prayer meeeting dinners. The situation is like the Little Red Hen story- many want to partake in the feast and a few want to make a committment to help. Such is the volunteer arena. Our garden club has made a new committment to help with the weeding. You know the adage... Many hands .. Next in order for the garden is meeting with the city manager. I want to put together a time line and have some firmed up dimensions. Any input is welcome. Keep warm.

A flyer- an idea we might use

I found this flyer from another community garden blog- starting point- social activity to attract potential gardeners

Vegetable Gardens can be Beautiful

Garden writers are reminding readers that a vegetable garden can be attractive as well as providing a bounty. Here are some links that maybe useful in planning for your garden
http://www.plantea.com/edibleland.htm

ttp://www.garden.org/urbangardening/
http://www.reneesgarden.com/hm-gardnr/hm-resource.html

"Show 'Em Your Stuff"

One of the challenges that the community garden will have is presenting the concept to people who may or maynot garden. The trump card here is that everyone eats- so they can appreciate growing food. The first garden should be in a area that is highly visable- I am going to propose the narrow area that the City maintains and has designated as pocket parks. It has been my experience that very few if any pedestrians are using the pocket parks as a resting area. Too bad, because the cost of one park, Webb Park was over $50,000.00. A small community garden - ever changing throughout the growing season would promote interest in the area. Mass plantings of sunflowers would evoke a connection with farmlike areas. This would be accomplished with the help of multi-age groups: 4-H groups, Parks and Rec, garden clubs, school children. Another aspect that would promote the first of several community gardens would be signage identifying the project. Again, this would pique interest.

Planning for the Community Garden

This is the begining of an exciting project for Keego Harbor, Michigan. An interest in community building and encouraging folks to start their own vegetable garden, has spurred on this endeavor. The first step is to research and plan.
The Purpose of the Keego Harbor Community Garden(s) is to provide an experience for multi-age participants to create an organic vegetable garden. The intent of this project is to instill community pride and offer a hands-on learning experience while promoting organic gardening practices.
The National Garden Association supports this concept by noting
"Community gardens provide a source of food, add aesthetic value, encourages physical activity, helps preserve cultural identity, and most importantly, cultivates neighborhood relationships."