Divide and Conquer!

Free perennials! That's right. I'm beginning to divide my perennials, so whoever wants some, come and get 'em. I've got several varieties I'm dividing. Black-Eyed Susans, Missouri Evening Primrose, Mallow, and more. First come, first served. They've been proven winners in our neighborhood--so they come with a guarantee. If they die, you can come and get more next year. How are you gonna beat an offer like that?

Reminder

We're continuing to make excellent progress in the garden. Remember, the schedule is Sunday from 11-1 and Wednesday from 6-8. You don't need to work both days but try to make one of them if you can. The Wednesday time slot is for those folks who can't make Sundays. See you down the street!

We're On Our Way!

As you probably know by now, the beds have been tilled and some of the early seeds are in the ground. We've also started construction on the arches for the vine plants. Thanks to everyone for putting in the hard work. At the bottom of the blog you'll see a few pics of our progress. Remember , gardening hours are Sunday from 11-1 and Wednesday from 6-8. Feel free to leave comments.

The Big Dig

Here's a report from Betsy:

We dug up the garden this past Sunday! The soil is beautiful. Compost will appear this week and we will start planting next Sunday April 19th. Bring your shovel and garden rake if you have one. Maybe the kids would like to bring their dump trucks to help move compost. Heidi and Deet will be picking up the compost.

We will plant lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, carrots, cabbage, brussel sprouts, beets, and broccoli. If you have any of those plants started please bring them to the garden on Sunday. Also, any plants that are getting planted on Sunday should be "hardened off" or taken outside for several hours for a few days before Sunday.

We still have money in treasury but if you haven't coughed up your $10.00 please bring it by.

Our next big decision will be water - Be on the look out for a free food grade 40-50 gallon barrel that we could make into a rain barrel. We may have to buy one - Eric has some great ideas. We'd like to do it on the cheap if possible. In the meantime we'll use the Moss and Fortuna water supply (and pray for rain)! The city says there are sprinklers on that property and they will find out in a couple of weeks if they can be turned on! Wouldn't that be cool?

Also since the last post we have the following new members: Ron and Jane and Gabe, Anida and Luan, and Joe and Meghan Parent and their brood. Others have expressed interest and will probably join in.

Our first garden rule: Don't walk on the beds! Do walk on the Grass.

See you Sunday!

Here's the scoop on the dirt

Clem got the soil test back. Here's his report:

Good news from the lab. Our soil tests look good. All our nutrient levels look normal, some are even very high. The levels of organic matter are very good, too. The only down side is our pH is a bit high at 7.6. The report says, "Reported pH is higher than desired. Do not apply limestone, wood ash, or any other amendment that might raise soil pH further. To lower pH: sulfur, aluminum sulfate, iron sulfate, or acidic organic matter may be effective." The test also shows lead levels of 3 PPM; anything under 150 PPM is considered safe (a certain amount of lead occurs naturally). Cadmium is also low at .1 PPM (anything less than 1 PPM is considered safe). Anyone who wants a copy of the complete test can stop by my piano shop; I'm always here Saturdays.

A note from Clem (Mr. Treasurer)

We have had 7 people chip in their $10 to date. Our expenses have been just $13 for soil testing, leaving a current balance of $57. (The seeds were donated by Breckels Massage Therapy.) Anyone needing to be reimbursed for expenses, such as for starting plants indoors, can see me at my shop on Saturdays. Anyone who still hasn't paid the initial $10 can stop by my shop Saturdays as well. We'll likely be incurring expenses before April 19th planting for top soil and/or compost. The machine for tilling is being loaned to us by Earthworks.

All aboard!

The Grayton Garden Club met on Sunday March 8. We're moving forward. Peggy, Vikte and Mark will design a plan for the plot. Miss Dig will be contacted and so far here are the family's participating in the garden:

Fortunas
Novaks
Waitkus/Edlunds
Heidi and Deet
Domins
Forbes
Peggy O'neill
Walsh/Stahulski
Moss
We're planning on tilling the soil Easter weekend and planting shortly after that. The schedule for working the garden is Wednesday evening and Sunday morning. It will be mainly voluntary at first. See you all soon!