tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66409970653184233892024-02-18T18:24:49.033-08:00DIRTJayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-16079921022005318362010-03-20T11:15:00.000-07:002010-03-20T11:18:44.072-07:00Garden Meeting.The first Sumner Community Garden meeting of the year was held recently and I was unlucky (or lucky depending on outlook) enough to be out of town so I was unable to attend. These meeting are usually such festive affairs, complete with red carpets, evening gowns and in your face interviews by the TMZ staff, that it truly is a shame to miss one. But never fear dear garden enthusiasts, for I have in my possesion the valuable and incredibly informative minutes of said meeting and I intend to post them for you................................now. (email addresses have been intentionally mucked to avoid whatever crap comes with not mucking)<br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Tues March 2nd Shepherd’s Field Community Garden Meeting.Bruce Hotvedt- site coordinator at Shepherd’s Field</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jennifer LeMay – communications assistant</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Ed Smith- site coordinator at The Farm</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Don Proctor- community crop steward</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">Randy Hynek -Sumner City Council & community garden founder </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Last year, Sumner Community Gardens produced 38,000 pounds of food todonate to local food banks (more than Tacoma, Auburn, Kent and Tukwilagardens combined!) Are you interested in helping with food bank crops? New program thisyear: You will be provided with a plot of roto-tilled land at TheFarm, and seed will be provided. You maintain the plot and keep 70%of harvest, with 30% of harvest going to food bank as your “rent” ofland use. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Don Proctor is planting community crops of green beans, peas andcorn. Don says, “These crops are yours to have when you need it, helpyourself!” A big thank you to Don and his good work. Watch for emailupdates/announcements from time to time when some helping hands may beneeded for various tasks of weeding, maintenance and harvesting. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Bruce asked who wants manure for fertilizer? Randy has access to aone-ton dump truck for delivery to garden sites. Manure will beavailable soon in the community garden plots so you can help yourselfto this rich soil amendment. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Jennifer asked those present what the preferred means of communicationmight be. It was decided email and an online bulletin board(listserv) would be better than facebook page. Also messages will beposted on the physical bulletin board at the garden site for thosewithout email/internet access. The general email for the Shepherd’sField garden is: </span><a href="mailto:SumnerComGarden@biteme.com"><span style="color: #f1c232;">SumnerComGarden@biteme.com</span></a><span style="color: #f1c232;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">** UPDATE** New listserv on Yahoo Groups, please sign up!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SumnerComGarden/ We will look into a website in the future which would be sharedbetween all Sumner Garden sites. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Bruce gave out owner manuals for the roto-tiller, you must sign awavier to use. Within the next couple weeks, as land becomes ready towork, roto-tiller will be available to use. It will be stored in the shed, locked up with combination number and hour meter to recordusage. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Don Proctor is willing to help folks roto-till their plots, he’ll doit for you! Please email Don at: </span><a href="mailto:dproct@biteme.net"><span style="color: #f1c232;">dproct@biteme.net</span></a><span style="color: #f1c232;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Sumner High School has a greenhouse program and will be growingtomatoes starts for a new “adopt a plant” program. More detailscoming soon. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">As garden plot assignments are finalized, a map of the plots will beposted on the bulletin board at the garden. New gardener applicationsare still coming in. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Joyce Barron is planning to beautify the garden with flowers aroundthe bulletin board area. She says, “Feel free to jump in and weed orplant more flowers!” </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Bruce mentioned we’ll be looking for volunteers to help withcomposting. Please contact Bruce if this is a task you are willing tohelp with. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Question was asked: will the Master Gardeners be coming back this yearto answer questions, troubleshoot? Ed Smith said last year it waschallenging to coordinate scheduling, but hopes to offer at least 2workshops/visits from them. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Some folks are interested in an informal seed exchange. It wasmentioned the food bank tubs could be used, placed near shed. Placeyour seeds in sealed zip-lock bags to weather proof and help yourselfto what’s available. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">Pastor Lori from the church recommended times to avoid the gardenmight be Mon, Weds, Fri from 9:30am-12:30pm, and Monday afternoons4:30pm-6:30pm due to the preschool hours. At least please park yourcar closer to the front street during those times as the school usesthe parking lot near the playground equipment. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">meeting or garden event to be announced. Meanwhile PLEASE signup for the yahoo listserv to keep updated. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SumnerComGarden/The Google Groups listserv will be closed as of April 1st and TheYahoo Group listserv will be our primary means of communicating atthat date.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #f1c232;">More information coming soon as the season gets underway. Let’s getthis garden growing!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3;">So there you have it folks. Time to don the overalls and straw hats.</span>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-28212567661984376462010-02-27T19:48:00.000-08:002010-04-26T17:52:39.235-07:00What the hell?Received this email today. Flo has been sending out coordinating emails to garden members, and she started a forum for gardeners on Google Groups only recently. This is the limit of my knowledge re: Flo and her "Leadership Team". Here is the email I received:<br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;">To the Shepherd's Field Gardeners: Most of you are probably unaware that there have been problems for some time with the governance of the gardens. Last year this group elected 5 of us from the garden to represent your interests as part of the Shepherd's Field Leadership Team. We volunteered to serve because we wanted to put more effort into the "community" of our community garden. Unfortunately, all our efforts to represent the interests of the community gardeners through a professional and collaborative process have been unsuccessful. We feel that our energy would be better used somewhere we can make a difference. Therefore, we hereby resign our positions, effective immediately. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;">Flo </span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966;">Patty </span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966;">Joyce</span><br />
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I don't know what Flo, Patty and Joyce were working on, but I get the impression they were unsuccessful..Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-21111059538576736572010-02-27T18:02:00.000-08:002010-02-27T23:30:03.837-08:00Feb. 27, 2010Funny thing about the community garden in February. No one around but me and some mud. I stopped by and picked up some composted manure today to spread on plot #68. Four 1.5 cu. ft bags to be exact. I was looking at my bible, "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" this morning (its a wonderful guide for those of you in the area) and according to the author, and much to my surprise, no more than 1/4 inch of compost is needed in a Western Washington garden every year. This has something to do with potassium levels and the needs of the human body, most of which I don't understand, but Steve Solomon hasn't let me down yet so I'm going with what he says until everything dies. At that point I may change things up a bit. Well, anyway, I read the note on the bag that said one bag would provide 1/8" of compost for 144 sq. ft of garden space and being the mathematical genius that I am I realized that was perfect for a 12' x12' garden. Relying on said mathematical geniusity I came immediately to the conclusion that for a 24' x 24' garden I would require 4 bags in order to apply manure 1/4 inch deep. I, of course, used the wrong formula for the equation at hand and came up with half of what I needed. <br />
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Figures.<br />
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So as I headed into the garden shed to dig out the community wheelbarrow, and as I hefted composted manure from the back of the car into that wheelbarrow and wheeled it out through the wet grass and the mud I thought to myself, "This is way too early in the year to be doing this crap." As I hoed out the overly large clumps of grass and weeds that had taken residence in the garden I thought to myself, "What the hell was I thinking?", and as I began chopping up all the old tomato vines from last summer and loaded them into the wheelbarrow for transportation to the compost bin I thought, "Hell, I still have 34 pints of pickled beets, 4 qts of canned tomatoes, 3 qts of canned spaghetti sauce and a buttload of frozen beans. I don't need to do all this crap this year. I should just skip this damned garden and watch TV or some silly shit."<br />
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Soon though, my attitude began to change. As I dumped the compost into 4 even piles, one in each of 4 sections of the plot, I began to feel less frustrated. Life seemed to level out a bit. I leaned on my rake for a few minutes, watching juncos and sparrows flitting from the rotting sunflower stalks still standing in the gardens of my neighbors and I realized I was content. I really didn't want to be done for the day. Unfortunately I knew that was ineveitable so I started raking the piles, slowly, more carefully than I probably did last year, as I worked the compost from the center of each garden sector to it edges. <br />
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Now I realize this is in some ways a wasted effort. The weeds are coming back, I'm sure, even as I type this silly nonsense, and in a week or two, or maybe even a day it will be impossible to tell I was even at the garden today. But as the rains come, soaking the soil into an even less workable state, I know the organic nutrients of that compost will leech into that soil, bringing it back to something resembling the plantable condition of last season. And as I stood there raking into the earth the nutrients I had so selfishly removed last summer and looking around at the decay of spent, brown crops, and the new, healthy growth of my neighbors onions and garlic something just felt right. I guess life resembles life on all levels. Growth and decay. One never cancelling out the other.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-90720737683840778602010-02-09T21:28:00.000-08:002010-02-09T21:28:05.386-08:00Aw crap...Seems I missed the garden plot renewal deadline. I will need to check with answer man to see if anything can be done other that me getting on the waiting list when they start letting the public sign up. Fingers crossed.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-12671507131281831272008-09-10T21:11:00.000-07:002008-09-10T22:14:09.091-07:00August 23, 2008A few weeks ago I received this email from a member of hte Sumner Community Garden Answer Crew:<br /><br /><span style="color:#99ffff;">Hi All,<br />First off, there are lots of green beans now ready for picking at the sheep pasture garden. I got a three gallon pailful in just 1/10th of the patch this morning.<br /><br />So everyone should feel free to help themselves. I'll try to get the rows all marked so people can note what has been picked most recently (I picked the north half of the two western-most rows -- adjacent to the corn).<br /><br />Let me bounce an idea off all of you. How many would be interested in participating in the garden equivalent of the old fashoned "quilting bee" -- only this would be a "green been canning bee"? We could set up to pick, wash, snap, blanch, pack jars, and can in pressure cooker/canners as a group project. I have one pressure cooker/canner and could probably borrow at least one (maybe two) more. We could use propane camp stoves or burners for both blanching and the pressure canning. I have about 10 cases of wide-mouth pint jars, maybe 4 cases of narrow mouth pints, and quite a few quart jars -- all of which I would not mind at all loaning to anyone who doesn't have jars.<br /><br />I have three work tables (4-foot by 8-foot) that we can set up for the canning assembly line. I also have quite a bit of raspberry, peach, apricot and rhubarb wine that needs to be consumed and many bean canners might want to help with that too.<br /><br />When? Well we need to decide that. I think weekends would probably fit the schedule of the most gardeners but you tell me what works best for your schedule if you think the whole idea isn't too for departed from sanity.<br /><br />The second item of interest is a call for volunteers to help get the beans picked. The beans at the horse pasture site are not ready yet but when they do start producing, we'll need to pick all 20 rows about twice per week -- probably for at least a month. I'm reasonably sure that will generate more beans than all of us collectively could eat, can, freeze, or whatever. I think there will be enough beans to supply several different food banks in the area if I can prevail upon enough people to get them off the vines and into banana boxes for delivery. Whatcha think??<br /><br />Don</span><br /><br /><br />Food banks? Volunteers? Yeah, whatever....but a canning bee? Well, hot damn and let me at 'em. I can't imagine anything more fun. Hell, it borders on naughty, even.<br /><br />So at 9am sharp on August 23 I was at the Garden with bells on, bucket and box of mason jars in my hand, ready to do my part. After setting the jars down with the others I carried my bucket out to the communty bean field (remember, the one where I helped install posts and string earlier in the summer) and started picking.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/SSPX0002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244614265590496546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPR_tfNUvwBrGdzkWJiCglnp2BbTFjQ9GSFF5AonX8-lXfNbYnHmbGXtPsnW7ZginN-TkPYakw7IrIW_YY8lWaUwktTr8Q-E4wTYc9pKyHJkC6o6O18EqF9XltNax_77UMpOcsrxWdG1A/s400/SSPX0002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />After a couple of hours we had filled buckets and bags with beans of all sizes and it was time to start the production process.<br /><br />In the parking lot of the church that adjoins the Sumner Community Garden, Don (80 years old at least and hasn't sat down in 6 years, I'm guessing) had set up a few wooden tables along with 3 or 4 propane burners and a Coleman stove. Sitting on these burners were a mixture of pressure canners and large stockpots. Cases of Mason jars were stacked at one end of the line of tables. Pairing knives were set in a small pile on one table. Small garbage pails half filled with water were sitting on the pavement in front of the tables and Don was already busy dumping beans in and swishing them around to clean them off. After swishing, the beans were drained and dumped on a table in front of eager gardeners waiting to start snapping, stringing and cutting.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/SSPX0000.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244614261889897218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS-Asz3gj6b-nV5OEq4p2WNnaJ6UcRMA8vYUWXa__uJ0V2HRwS64GLmpfEVI2nse34IrLYaG8cgvxik-6vYomHyx8J5WTR_1G3Z2AjmIW2Nfg_pY5g9w0tdNRObL8HbDBCqxbEu6V3qAS/s400/SSPX0000.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />On one of the propane burners was a pot full of water. As it would come to a boil a load of beans, now cut into bite size lengths, would be dumped in to blanch. After a minute or two these were ladled into the sterilized jars and set aside to wait their turn in the pressure canners.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/SSPX0029.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244614267196993506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sBOAQYxwbzQ7h7jaSkxbIdszGrShTPO76gKITJe-830QdlYlWpWN0X29Adgi1BMNOkBjst4XDey93ZJ8Jcdnx28oqRSH8c4X7yZlBG7uVvhKZu4YgFJrxJ9kkHWz-h-_Z0AUE1x_Mqx9/s400/SSPX0029.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After what seemed like an eternity of standing around trying to look busy so no one would force me into actually participating in this extravaganza of womens work, quart jars full of wonderful beans suitable for eating far into the upcoming winter started piling up before our very eyes. I got 12 of these beauties....<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/SSPX0030.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244614272178312226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfUDrxJPW268i7O-iyvmYB6vcLMTrrCvIkS79VrpR0SwLKofSwHMZesep4CwXMzBBA4iOQhC53-5krPYoK4l1LI_0IbyLzDuGr6c_SJuqOrarbZ3KB02cxLChyWIQtAQIA3gGPFeZbBSk/s400/SSPX0030.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...but next year I'm having my own party. Sheesh!<br /><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit!<br /><div></div>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-33506240968115416042008-08-25T21:11:00.000-07:002008-08-25T22:10:44.256-07:00August 6, 2008<div><div>After a vacation on the sunny beaches of Alabama I returned to find my garden nearly out of control. Tomatoes in Plot #48 had completely outgrown their cages and the larger plants were collapsing onto the smaller plants causing a bit of a domino effect.<br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5897.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238676809622500786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRenqB0PkTuKu9yFjbAn2yvVTPJ3qzgeJrWRhzovBkZUHF9z8NMPH1CYLNg41dpDhc4w5wIEeMDPC4DBCq4sFpRwjig4jDXoSkZcj4YJKnWPdUE4UEnbcdDl98LePK4PHKxudLXvGbfil/s400/100_5897.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>After trying in vain to hammer in stakes sturdy enough to hold these monsters upright I finally gave up and saying to myself, "I guess they'll grow on the ground as well" I inspected my fast growing romas, </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5896.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238675958647176210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7zUCgDqYVONH-KBx_m4cTdssWFPi5nFvEdjvLQlS5yE7an_MeLK1ZIzCALRSw9e3Qq6feSetOrJHNdkpyHuFDOUB4uXjMMjW718Jey58uVCARIW4MRxPsGkxdjaCrpNf1_4LQVO7xDcr/s400/100_5896.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>nibbled on a few cherry toms,</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5895.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238675957422692690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeycTESLFVjFJIzcOwWKeJqEZz9TYFvmMyc0Qgzjjnr69i328pzjk3MiQxVuDGLjOXIfWhq3LMEQNpEUp05BE1jeTcWEQH-nSEw_cWnk124jEbWNUcb6D5KzQFNm6AKzqri_q9Qpwxob5/s400/100_5895.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>and headed to Plot #68 to see what was happening over there. </div></div><div> </div><div><div>I was surprized to find my turnips already far past thinning stage so I pulled a few of them out with big plans involving greens for later in the evening. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5899.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238676157201011250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zGfddoQwQ3jajeIQjMDIg6UbrU8S0hswzBlRhRdM7KR_GOnocFdfCIyzbuylJP4GxHTq6dvhrBOUJfKCyOTn3W357WIgrUo3k6pR7LQ6y-EJEnc7iKwt_1o4DqOg2TtJKKlLIVtRQqmS/s400/100_5899.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Now I don't remember if I ever related the story of my lost bean plants to you people so let me do so now. Early on in the season, as many of you will recall, I planted a bunch of pole bean seeds around a nifty little bamboo pyramid. A few of these plants sprouted (not many) only to be soon eaten by unseen critters assumed to be cute little bunnies. Feeling frustrated and beaten I simply gave the bamboo pyramid to another gardener, retilled this whole section of Plot #69, planted a row of turnips, and soon forgot to plant anything else. The turnips, as previously mentioned, promptly sprouted, much to my delight, but soon I noticed that so were some of the bean seeds I had so cruelly forsaken. Shortly before leaving for vacation my daughter, Jordan, and I went down to the garden with wooden stakes and twine in hand and built a small support for the two or three sprouted plants to climb. Days later another bean sprouted and we added another stake and some more twine. The next day another sprout appeared on the other side of this particular section of the garden and we pounded in one more stake. No more than an inch or two tall as we left for vacation, they had grown nicely while we were gone and are now well on their way to the top of their hurriedly constructed frames, and while not as advanced as the beans in the community patch nearby I could tell I would soon be harvesting beans of my own.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5898.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238676156768580354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdQjgp9GI3QFJ5-qxKbvpjd59Zn3A8lyyVrfRtDEjgK-62bT8UGnwcsHWogTE6Q28ENmt0OGik6ucEv1vKHFSBJXhhRsKEGQvFRv1gQpcCXmXNZV991XKuw5eUzukWUDavgB3B1pDRtX0/s400/100_5898.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>After surveying the rest of the garden I found I was growing lazy as the summer progressed and was not in any mood to pull the weeds which had gained a pretty solid foothold during my abscence, so I harvested some lovely beets, carrots (larger now) and squash. Noticing one of my potato plants was turning brown and wilting severly I thought it would be a good time to see what was happening underneath so I wriggled my hand into the dirt and, in the words of the great Frank Barone, "Holy crap!" I pulled out a beautiful, if a bit muddy, red potato. </div></div><div> </div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5892.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238675955070261522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEG7EBHkDZQLwBV97leuFcL3evAOF79jCHbYaoXiNUL2EyVse_nUOE2pov_BIUNpL2_cDkGbwzqGR5i3ab0nd9Obh6XJ6kGOvt3AgTvyFin1lYImQd2bG6JVKmzj29uUfiWgPs2e0cUGYK/s400/100_5892.jpg" border="0" /></a>Digging around further I harvested a few more taters, grabbed a few handfulls of lettuce (from lettuce land of course) and soon headed home to cook a satisfying meal of grilled London Broil with turnip greens, squash, and a simple salad. <div> </div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/londonbroil.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238684457016709474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXAUhDHk8Rh87q7GZ9eivsYugJm9DZ85Mv9bqdgdv77axtjx6rfk30tHAJelhwdh8c6EW8CRqTP95p-mHSYByYBtvjc-ozPUSQ18LFMirs1hMZKSIySzXmM6OJJTP9tliDhTZA79UwLhN/s400/london+broil.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />It ain't so bad havin' a garden, y'all.</div><div> </div><div>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</div><div><br /></div><br /><div></div></div>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-89765338272639185012008-07-19T16:25:00.000-07:002008-07-19T16:36:23.904-07:00July 19. 2008Okay, so I hadn't been to the garden in a few days...3 to be exact...and when I arrived today I was amazed to find the squash that was the size of my ring finger a few days ago was now the size of a childs forearm. Hot damn!<br /><div></div><br /><div>Did a bit of harvesting while there today. Came home with what is basically a buttload of yummy carrots, beets (3 varieties) and squash. Here is the pic including dirt imported to my back yard from Plot #68.</div><br /><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5415.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224871357757121202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27KiII1nq_0tIFz2CIo-LhuyRkXx3hGboEu-TwmVKT5fNEaHYho23QW1qQH3p5uBqpVo0z_J430CXgQ64K_ed31BsL9QWaW_fIqR40ZSQ9EN4qOZTcwU7xJZ_VeQzK5UuHape3TI6WC-k/s400/100_5415.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><p>And here is a pic sans said dirt:</p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5416.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224871357665569010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZCFnhvbNsq-3OFihUyavxoJzZFIFjY4IWDTWazVvnckaoH6GyAPiofpQosPHVw6kNVkhCpSKi7hGotftsudCJGm4WRgblB-hi4dFSWhuqDTgGEo3A0B8Q15nsioylTWWSD7ipKW-lZJX/s400/100_5416.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>I am feeling so healthy its startin' to make me kinda sick.</p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-63207216002525449622008-07-18T22:13:00.000-07:002008-07-18T22:30:50.083-07:00Still July 11, 2008OK, so here are the tomatoes. I really don't know if I'm doing it right, but the plants seem to believe in my efforts. The first two pictures are the corner marker of Plot #48 on the day of planting, followed by a pic of the same marker today.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46L9F7Y3ds_IxlvVHwBNxr45W3dqZVN3vxmXbvurOTCF1WGDSnQT__s7vAAkY2v4U9_Xh6jjT6r_LDxf16R3fefj8mv8hbH5eqERdLW5OF1KWZXhApkYs4gALG35FEOWjJT9Sn5Qt05UX/s1600-h/corner48-color.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224589808941311122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46L9F7Y3ds_IxlvVHwBNxr45W3dqZVN3vxmXbvurOTCF1WGDSnQT__s7vAAkY2v4U9_Xh6jjT6r_LDxf16R3fefj8mv8hbH5eqERdLW5OF1KWZXhApkYs4gALG35FEOWjJT9Sn5Qt05UX/s400/corner48-color.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224589808097274194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9X8pq05th2irEf83WdZvvC4ZUPNugO5lNjLW83sxJTc1wsl4yiVRFoxK5aSm6XeJNhnUi1uFKOiaiY5_17EIMpwJpXZibocBVxJB1gpTqUWGpLQBmPpZK_f9_Vb7qGktH46fLyCZG6hh/s400/100_5385.jpg" border="0" /><br />The next two pictures are views of the plot both on planting day, May 25, and today. The nine plants closest are Romas. As I understand it, cages are not required for Romas as they are bred so as not to need them. Most of these tomatoes should ripen together and will be used for sauce which will be canned, doing away with the need for that nasty Ragu during the winter. The six plants at the back (the tall ones) are three cherry and three yellow pear. Both of these are small salad type tomatoes and will be munched on freely.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3J25Sc_UZczQwoPlRQxY9ODudWLI-utmWK9zXGk79p75WZ4rl3X0mH2FxPo53RuTONJ5Yy2KMtnmknnR3TAD5FnzNi_wu41fHajXQA__s3QxWoG_ZbBODERIU0X17YKfg2-lrnHPFZNhw/s1600-h/plot48.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224589815790829746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3J25Sc_UZczQwoPlRQxY9ODudWLI-utmWK9zXGk79p75WZ4rl3X0mH2FxPo53RuTONJ5Yy2KMtnmknnR3TAD5FnzNi_wu41fHajXQA__s3QxWoG_ZbBODERIU0X17YKfg2-lrnHPFZNhw/s400/plot48.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224589810850064738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjhMjJGbXTJm_Ak181_1PZsSOnNwkBZrvqy6WQEKvZWbQYiwxigta0NLG1TnLC92ecCd_z3DFlTYqK4SmJzFET-skfoLfOwrAW3YkNaLCK4awv5jSxHTVkiYS1cvzyP1jIA725K_ITmH9/s400/100_5386.jpg" border="0" /><br />And yes, they have tomatoes. Now if I can get them ripe before the rain sets in for winter.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224589810820350674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmINKevewK8rHMdVTd6jZ4dkpub2sxEfR8pPTbxsZl5rxp7zFm5Y_-HBZImmPT3qrt-Ch8cOvu9iWTsI_Xuaq9oet5Xc_JspvOgP_AcG91MV9rfzZYNQlu-LtQNplPhwrw0CiSCZsDsha/s400/100_5387.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p> </p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-67332164245650909852008-07-17T22:26:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:41:06.460-07:00July 11, 2008Starting to feel like a successful gardener. Growth has occured where growth is desired, and I've been able to keep the plot relatively weed free with just a few minutes of easy hoeing every other day or so. The radishes are, of course, all gone and lettuce has been planted in their place. Most of the spinach as been eaten, but one or two plants remain. The peas are dying, but a few of the English are being produced. I planted them all too late. Turns out peas are a cool weather veggie. Live and learn.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224221811335362290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwwfpNA4nAfzp-1lAnZDPJVJeVuokiupf-By585E0WjmM_eNDxmCtzNVO65h_MtpBVykWrdKkOhowtUhN1S1pv1e5qg-CKnDFFCUvRtk6ZriLXT_d5FHWpgcDQvvwqW4XQzcSaHqAPHao/s400/100_5383.jpg" border="0" /><br />Anyway, here is the lettuce. Red and green leaf in one row and Bibb in the other. Coming along nicely, I think.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiy2Wzlp4q200HHgjVuGtwDAIfCpDhZPLwLO8mIZ9QOEw4mN6tb2YZC1x8YduYtPoz_yVb_yR1CORF-X0Bo2LmxlOrSxIX83oz8SDaxsLIIPz2esXlL02t4J_p8hhF8F5pFWi0GqGR8GTb/s1600-h/100_5372.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224221802801189026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiy2Wzlp4q200HHgjVuGtwDAIfCpDhZPLwLO8mIZ9QOEw4mN6tb2YZC1x8YduYtPoz_yVb_yR1CORF-X0Bo2LmxlOrSxIX83oz8SDaxsLIIPz2esXlL02t4J_p8hhF8F5pFWi0GqGR8GTb/s400/100_5372.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The beets are also produceing nicely. I have one row of Cioggia, which are red and white striped on the inside, and one row of an heirloom yellow.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0r3kDJXjlu_s9qnu9AqEMf1Tu9Rj_UsiBANYayULv0AxSH6ZsYs_s6EqqJPakDAcKeDfeeW9zqvMrAyxujN2oBMS9rhK2K9ZHNJdziJebx1j3IqM4HCB3mTfw0i5MnOmXlNC-v0EDwMU/s1600-h/100_5377.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224221805616962770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0r3kDJXjlu_s9qnu9AqEMf1Tu9Rj_UsiBANYayULv0AxSH6ZsYs_s6EqqJPakDAcKeDfeeW9zqvMrAyxujN2oBMS9rhK2K9ZHNJdziJebx1j3IqM4HCB3mTfw0i5MnOmXlNC-v0EDwMU/s400/100_5377.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />And look at this! Real honest to God yellow squash. This one is about the size of my ring finger, and growing visibly each day. Many more are coming right behind on these two plants. Four more plants have sprouted recently on another hill and are growing quite quickly.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwXdjyfgPQKCEioLP9Ux7XQGRGi53bbem5ikFNu2KmO2T76PIpcB3Ech4CxBQed9-quA7kxbk_RAmtebKyRSVYnc5vM5eZeEv9RU8Ua19tTw5sQ6wGwLOoYnFHL_oJKWerd27h3bt7_-I/s1600-h/100_5378.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224221803355305970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwXdjyfgPQKCEioLP9Ux7XQGRGi53bbem5ikFNu2KmO2T76PIpcB3Ech4CxBQed9-quA7kxbk_RAmtebKyRSVYnc5vM5eZeEv9RU8Ua19tTw5sQ6wGwLOoYnFHL_oJKWerd27h3bt7_-I/s400/100_5378.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />You should see my tomatoes! Stay tuned.</p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!<br /></p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-87563448324266907122008-07-17T21:35:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:04:13.658-07:00June 21, 2008Today we had the stringing party for the bean rows down at the lovely Sumner Community Gardens. As you can see, the beans are planted at the base of small trenches along which Don has run lengths of PVC pipe which he has drilled with a 7/8 inch hole every 8 inches or so. Don says this is so we "Water the beans and not the weeds." <div> </div><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5174.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224209155987256610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DdDKFuxZjZwXiyGLFpqaG9a3mn-ShMdTYqkJZLTxRhDy3R61P7y1v7c35ua0KH2Kdyiw8SLgWIgXNbDwd22mOS5RKFfI07zrySn7zR3xixdbXRdirkacpbTqtNOn42JkKr03frFGwMt1/s400/100_5174.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><p> </p><p>Sometime during the past week Don (The Man) has finished running the wires from the concrete posts at one end of the rows to the posts at the other end. The job of the 6 people helpful enough to show up this morning was to finish running the twine up and down from the bottom wire to the top wire and back down again, over and over and over and over and over until the bean plants have plenty of surface to cling to as they climb toward the sun and produce all those wonderful green beans for us to eat. Whenthe rows are strung it should look something like this:</p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5183.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224209174813626018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkSz9Y0vd6Mex17hUfARXiobobTkZK50gXtb4FHAq8-_w3Xku_dOKBBCpoUvpoSMR7OyKWFglWeYmYzuj3B5X4ZLYyT5hVD-sfXtlTuKl_ed-yVqwDusU9_D9X9NIH7gk8ILGq8_gbUZh/s400/100_5183.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>Oh, hey, it does look something like that. Good for us.</p><p>Over in Plot #48, also known as Tomato Land things are looking up. The 'mater are growing, </p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5181.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224209167945501522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2xJqncvDLE06-kf75yidZlyPeKtpRiD40hLoSMfUnRUFql0EBuypHAjqTDez34q-WIisC850ozn4ieplAxVONhQmRpKa9OuJ3xofLEiPtiUY5CQYIE3jbUzLCCdQ5yO_i47Y2GrUy_IP/s400/100_5181.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>and blossoms are blooming. Soon we should see some tomatoes.</p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5175.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224209163969530546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbPmyMR6ZioEdjiLgE0dkbJa4lCNyuLn6iFGoXLAyxinF9Lbo3HHVQ8FGzj9UoFfwGyR2_DmgkuECP9fcSwCyoLkuMAyTgXsJBR2Zqn66Or4I4i52pfrLeBYUgAfZzKZak555FGRpNz7h/s400/100_5175.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p> </p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-90454601637072586802008-06-24T16:51:00.000-07:002008-06-24T22:49:23.561-07:00June 14, 2008<span style="color:#33ffff;">Received this email yesterday.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:45 PM<br />Subject: auger diggers<br />Hi<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">To save Don Proctor lots of labor I will rent a gas powered post hole digger but we need at least one other person to help. We need to bore fifteen hole three feet deep at the sheep pasture. These will be for the post for the bean rows. The event will start at 3pm this Saturday at the sheep pasture.<br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Answer Man<br /><br />Total time depending on the number of people who show up one to two hours</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#33ffff;">So I showed up, and after about 15 minutes of breaking our backs with the giant sized super villain style gas powered auger posthole digger we came to the conclusion it would not work worth a damn on the hardpan clay so we tossed it in the back of Answer Man's truck and I dug the rest of the holes with the hand auger. No big deal, so don't get the idea that I'm trying to pass it off as a big deal. The whole thing took about an hour or so after I arrived.<br /><br /><br /><br />Don had already done half the holes with the hand auger prior to Answer Man bringing the gas auger.<br /><br /><br /><br />This is the least of what Don has done. At least thats the conclusion at which I have arrived. Retired from something and pushing 70 at least, Don was not one of the original members of the steering commitee for the Sumner Community Garden, but called after hearing of the project to offer his assistance. Seems Don has a hobby of sorts. He likes to grow vegetables for the local food bank (Every mans got his own brand of foolishness")and this seemed the perfect opportunity for him to increase his harvest, I suppose. As we worked this afternoon Don mentioned he estimated this particular field would probably produce between 2500 and 3000 lbs of beans.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anyway, it seems Don has been busily preparing fields I didn't even realize existed for planting. He has tilled. He has weeded. He has gone out into the community and found people willing to donate loads and loads of seed, twine, concrete, and other necessary materials. He has even constructed reinforced concrete posts to place at the ends of the bean rows, and it was these posts that would stand in the holes we were digging today.<br /><br /><br /><br />After finishing the holes Don and the rest of us stood one post at each end of each row of beans. Here is a pictuer of Answer Man posing as Don works hard to insert a post.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5139-1.jpg"><span style="color:#33ffff;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215614166931136594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi979AJ0_JOtKkyI2OuVCar1mtSzy7ThvjBoOGl1ctjmx3bb7RctnvU7W-Ht271kOuWAm3kbzJuIIKLtQVyDYP_U47ubdLwLLzUL0_gdJJDEg6CllaRNzMECJPWvo5VZJ-iuEPyBwM8v71O/s400/100_5139-1.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#33ffff;"><br />We then ran two wires, one at the top of the posts and one about 6 inches from the ground, from one end of the row to the other. After this was done Don and I proceeded to run the twine. The twine had already been wound onto a premade (by Don) bobbin so one of us stood on one side of a row while the other stood on the other side. An end of the twine was tied at the top and Don would run the bobbin down to the bottom wire and pass the bobbin under to me and I would run the twine back up, passing it back to Don when I reached the top. This we did until the bobbin ran out and Don said, "Well, I guess that oughtta be enough to show the rest of 'em how to do it."<br /></span><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5173.jpg"><span style="color:#33ffff;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215614165853241234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4w_3FLZwIROeyTksHeL9Fmj31RKf8xGaayGbwrJSHaltTpufQ-64rcYQLSyJV3x3f3VUKMakLz-eqJViginfT_Z4zyRFThONELoATgpWLnsiWtT02D81Kz7_HeGT-DvWSl_8RqcY8SXl/s400/100_5173.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#33ffff;">At this point we went home.</span></p><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#33ffff;">--It's Fosco, Dammit!<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#339999;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#339999;"></span>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-69056821158954642202008-06-11T13:09:00.000-07:002008-06-11T13:13:03.159-07:00June 11, 2008Received an email regarding the chickens. Appears Answer Man will be moving forward on the project. I'm happy to hear this.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffff00;">Hello<br /><br />Including me there are eight people interested in joining the chicken team. That’s great. From my initial research it takes about fifteen weeks to raise chicks to the egg laying stage. The commitment require for this will be year round. Though with eight people if we all take turns we should only have to visit the chickens to feed, clean and pick-up eggs less than once a week. Many hands make light work. I’m sure as we progress there will be more people who want to join the chicken team. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Futher</span> lightening the work require for all of us. There is a barn on site at the horse pasture that we can use if we partition of part of it for the chicken house we wont need much in the way of materials make it work. <br /><br />We should all meet together at least at first to get things rolling. Please email or call me and let me know what works best for you to meet on a Saturday, Sunday or after seven pm during the week. Or If there is a time you can’t meet let me know and I will schedule a meeting as soon as I hear from you. We are in inflationary times being we have the space and six 55gallon steel barrels, I would propose we purchase a years supply of chicken feet asap as I’m convinced that the price of feed will continue to rise. Just some of the questions we should consider. In addition the health aspects of raising our own eggs, we should be able to produce our own eggs for substantially less then what it cost at the store. I would greatly appreciate it if those who are interested might consider taking a leadership role and volunteer for the steering committee. The plan subject to change depending on your wishes is for us to operate independently of the community gardens. If we plan things right we design our operation so that new members can join in the future even if they don’t have a garden plot. If that’s alright with you. I will help out where ever I can but in the end this is your project and you will decide how things are run. I’m here to help not to tell you how things will be run and operated. This is exciting and should be fun I look forward to hearing from you.<br /><br />Sincerely<br /><br />Answer Man</span><br /><span style="color:#ffff00;"></span><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit!Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-17556328013175888192008-06-08T16:47:00.000-07:002008-06-11T13:09:37.433-07:00June 8, 2008Discouragement has set in at plot #68.<br /><br /><div><br /><div>Yes the radishes were harvested successfully. Yes the radishes tasted wonderful, moist and crisp as radishes should. Yes I was proud as I could be as I carted those radishes to the car, waving them in front of anyone within view and shouting, "Look at what I did, y'all. Look at what I did!" </div><br /><br /><div>But those feelings of pride and self worth were short lived, unfortunately, because as the family stopped by the good ol' Sumner Community Garden today to check on things I noticed nothing seemed to really be growing. The carrots are the same size as they've been for two weeks. The beets are the same size they've been for two weeks. The peas are slightly larger than they've been for the last two weeks. The pole beans have been eaten. Two of my eight squash planted have sprouted, and those two are planted too close together so one will likely need to be killed in the interest of thinning. The other is the same size as its been for two weeks (the potatoes are doing well, but we'll ignore that fact for the sake of continuity). And as I surveyed the lush green vegetation filling the gardens surrounding plot #68 I have to admit I was feeling much more like a knifeman than I was a farmer. </div><br />Plot #67 (Mr and Mrs Smeltzer)</div><br /><div><br /></div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5088.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461288747516018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxWfgCjAKydQfC_3CqDBAXXPrOk7h6rKuSFXmWJqzVMVTLZTQ_VMtOs_Q6CNQEIUkLTXAE9JKe-7lWXznWL0XBkodVZj8iQXrRQUOXxDRD274_qkEmYnJ2JieBmBDQiUsUeZ9PVfEhGSf/s400/100_5088.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div>Plot #69<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5089.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461293872982514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9ZR9AqrotEo8qaPBeoxy5aoBvNBCwvCn8VAKVM3EbpPS9ruo2L_jaMunRct39JeC5LZCgz8lk4bWWJc0NoC7vmJQVynX-Qn_9nwQ3OAFC8abFG0s1xtWBrlCCpAwBz1H4HErS8BpGSuK/s400/100_5089.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Plot #58</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5090.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461559972697778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPpxjScIOkaeU2-Zmejc8r8TzRIaAzI0dH3ZooCNwD4EpGdRnoSg-99iufb0mqs3wIOaa604dQnJKXdI7tfyamFuBCaQHFaDEZUPsxRHTnvV-0IjWT2HFYlAQXiBO5Amw0fjpMhVSQtZF/s400/100_5090.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Discouragement. Sigh.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Plot #68</div><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5091copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461564234497490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXzB2vY53-HhefwD5X_Qq1N1xd1pf-b6KxJ4v19W-ACrr1by8UNDvfqFfQKqgLK2RY9RwFym14S_ZSOQrE3W8j_IX3leNlQja4-VDXDgX8ND4qYAL52pnEKV9RPuXUxNUluZUoyiL4AFcA/s400/100_5091+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>Oh but hey! Something is growing like a "sumbitch", as Sheriff Buford T. Justice might say. Something was growing all over my lovely yet nearly dormant garden. "What was growing" you ask? I'll tell you what....</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>...Weeds! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5092.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461570034047714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-uq-iSDO4VdYKmt9sRwlILbs8G5_D33M3JwaNEFYVS6tR6NP_tWA14phkIwCP17oi33VOVngNeKlfJAiEPfnQ74F9_k8hQKA-xNcp4SY1iqLOtLKdxeYtz-oI4ScmqROHw5H_Rf5kBhak/s400/100_5092.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Everywhere I looked were weeds. Weeds, and weeds and weeds. Weeds in the pathways. Weeds in the rows. Weeds squeezing themselves in between all the little seedlings like a bunch of dirty thieves trying to steal any and all nourishment that might actually be required by said seedlings in order to actually grow.<br /></div><br /><div>Weeds. Death to weeds. I'm going to get a group of my fellow gardeners together and we're gonna hunt those little bastards down and kill every last one of them. We're gonna light torches and run angrily through the streets of Sumner carrying pitchforks and jugs of Roundup while screaming "Kill them! Kill them! No room for their kind in Sumner! Kill the weeds! Kill the Weeds!"</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>But I digress.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Anyway, the situation impressed me as being desperate so I dropped the family off at home, and after changing into my farmin' duds I headed down to the Agri-shop to see my friend about a weedin' tool. And boy did I find one. </div><br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5085copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461283997728930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6R-Yr3og3R7QTAFI7bc1bkugvjP_XbB7wDXX3P7TQvd_35LeiHRJ0MGFJRhP8nj0vMbZDNstO1vIpGpdHsIUFWUbD_iRSnSVaMVcgmE3D48k6HOLJ8K2tAuAZU4LjXAkYaOETnRWZGsqS/s400/100_5085+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>Don't ask me what its called. but it's made in Japan and its sharp as hell. You just run the blade along just below the surface and it chops those nasty little bastards off at the roots. I will be Samurai Gardener.</div><br /><br /><div>Now I know the real idea is to just hoe the weeds up and leave them on top to rot in the sun and add organic matter to the soil, thereby enhancing growth of the desirable plants in the garden, but while most of you are now enjoying near summer temperatures along with minimal rainfall, we here in the lovely Pacific Northwest are suffering through another November with temps in the 50's and rain nearly everyday. Weather like this just encourages those little half dead weeds to turn themselves over and dig their little roots right back into the soil and start growing again. I know. I've tried it, and the problem grows exponentially from week to week. So I want them O U T! And that means I'll need to spend a great deal of time on my hands and knees, toiling in the sun, doing my part to nourish Mother Earth so she may nourish me.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Crap!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So I did. I spent 2 hours squatting like a catcher and slicing those nasty weeds off and picking them up and dropping them in my bucket. I worked my way through the ghost town formerly known as Radishberg. I weeded Spinachtown and Carrotland clean, and did the same for the Wonderful World of Beets. I went ahead and did some thinning of my carrots and beets in the process and by the time it started to get dark I had weeded and thinned one entire quarter of my garden. Yep. 25%. Thats it. Two hours and only a fourth of my work was done. </div><br /><br /><div>Saddened and only slightly less discouraged I picked up my implements of garden construction and headed back to the van. As I loaded the tools into the back I noticed what looked like a large mound of bark with a big white sign stuck in the top. </div><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5083.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461278145706834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyjQprRDR0va05TqZM79SgJl6_08S7SWmH3Zcg8NNzDJRnG6cJ7tS7El63Pm3iWh7TBLv1-eyEp6pAdXPerxLFbMQr9JJXfrIxg60uZlMhiZs7Pa1YY8iWG8LaYSAv36me7QpdAlq2hG_/s400/100_5083.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>Oh yeah, this mysterious horse lady, Mary, had offered to bring us a load of composted horse manure. I had received an email about this a few days before. </div><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5082.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461273438875570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC22aqwZ9SEKwVkuFKbZSkX3pStH8Bnp2-92JWmwtAlbCSrsrK9_lxm2LApmDRU7vB9uxwnY28E2zsRc7fZIB0NA34czlLXrfUHX45kAtIfyUbdKZzQ06ubp_FMYJjX3jEAo014jmHjRfb/s400/100_5082.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It appears Mary has come through with that load of crap just as she said she would so I felt I would be doing her, as well as myself, a disservice by not actually using some of her compost.......so I grabbed a bucket.<br /><div></div><br /><div>I spread the composted horse manure throughout the weeded section of the garden. And as I stood there, sprinkling horse dung around the plants that will produce the bounty with which I will feed my family throughout the summer and possibly some of the winter, I could think of only one thing...</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_5096-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210461576888538098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRbhV1GJsZHEoJtE-EggL3DTD_Z7bUO9Urgt6RjFM6kFa7jr6KGRTZKNZ8OuB9HLzDamNpM9Ou6KkdFAbXKdb6MIqh8YRO5nZe9bmlhj-oiFUTbBJdryeNopa_NoIOxCiSQ4PWdU8pVQo/s400/100_5096.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>..wasn't I gonna buy some gloves?</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</div>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-71967366288306066732008-06-01T22:02:00.000-07:002008-06-01T22:11:25.764-07:00June 1, 2008Well, hot diggity ding dong damn! The first harvest of the season.<br /><br /><br /><br />Y'all look what I done! Them's radishes, boy, I say them's radishes.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207146716774919138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJd1n53i1y5OQgHVpynR5yieD5d7dDJzpcZFlu13QqV7lqD3oDF2M8X9I3g0uw6ExGN0Pn4zb1bYYFJMELEVWKl8NmTcjNjFUVfxELLb1lSGKJbK8axwMvBCZwp8BZv3pyX9G4cFmc8Bv/s400/100_5072+copy.jpg" border="0" /><br />Now if I can just figger out how to cook 'em.<br /><br /><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit!Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-67405384832681269282008-05-26T00:14:00.000-07:002008-05-26T00:47:10.456-07:00May 25, 2008 Part 2We are starting to notice some real change at the Sumner Community Garden. Many people's plots are greening up nicely (mine excluded but thats a story for another day) and the grass is growing into the paths. I'm not sure the latter is all that desirable, and am keeping the pathways alongside my plots relatively grass free.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/garden.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204581985644047298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPacANbSbQhYFDG0kjgtaeuYdgLAea4F1v4IkxhFhs-5qKFkrOpZp9dv3_tTVxOkgVu7oOBtKe4OJ53wRXJDUHvcOu-0GHV34kZbFDvb5bEIch0B11IQNvTVsw7gWNGynAW0rDyYRCD1kY/s400/garden.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>After recently requesting another 6 x 12 plot (for my maters, y'all) we were assigned #48...</p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/corner48-bw.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204581981349079970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNepaGZVMoYHVrZLIYQ-441Am-pekrrz0jM_M0vMSszvDc92xi0KJh3F6qmqSZ-kOnaS1q9O86IKMIadZ9626iem7r5SZb3f3sRSyvgvAzIEUOupfOwjFsSo2Z1U7zo8Kzc3izXsnd_JN7/s400/corner48-bw.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>...and suddenly finding myself with something to do besides weeding and watering I threw myself into the task with my usual reckless abandon. After mixing a bale of compost into the soil along with a couple of gallons of homemade organic fertilizer (Steve Solomon's book) I planted 9 Romas, 3 Yellow Pear, and 3 Cherry tomato, all seedlings as opposed to seed seeing as how the summers here are neither long nor hot and bringing the fruit to a ripe harvest can be difficult. I went with a majority of cooking tomatoes in hopes of harvesting enough to can some sauce for the winter, thereby avoiding the use of Ragu, etc.</p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/plot48.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204581989939014610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFl_4poppZe8R2r6NFDbnT9KNdBqehRzXLHK5AlEZBadBX9-ZB_n6lJGfQdfIsW9DZLm5TUC_dB1KNN1awTl6YJlXHleAZKx9rBz37BhUgRBezsODzFqQeIgqKqpXtRw-NeJK1gd2XPfV/s400/plot48.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>After getting everything planted I gathered the hose in order to water and found it had sprung a leak significant enough to warrant the purchase of a replacement so off to Fred Meyer I went. After a half hour or more I was back and spraying a soft shower of water over my newly transplanted vines. About this time the sun was setting so I called it a day and headed home to fire up the grill.</p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/corner48-sunset.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204581985644047282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfVJ3tTrf-xMoiOEkNsj0Tx0fzIW-ms1KwJO9siDS9_w2G-bmrHUTnoul2aqOjm7wJqi-ibZP-demid759_qYTvhzfbuThGXTYjgjhNWHdLhwEpk9g8CIOWbjas9pEaY9O4P6QfjeSVL7/s400/corner48-sunset.jpg" border="0" /></a> Fresh Alaskan Salmon was calling my name. "Yoo-hoooooo!"</p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-11266862928650897762008-05-25T08:56:00.000-07:002008-05-25T09:05:19.355-07:00May 25, 2008Here are the minutes from the Sumner Community Garden Dessert Social and Meeting of the Gardening Minds, as promised. The location of the other garden has been purposely munged in a attempt to keep it secret from would be vandals, chicken thieves, and Wile E. Coyotes (carnivorum lowselfesteemus).<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 8:05 PM<br />Subject: Garden Social Mtng. Minutes<br />The first Garden Social was a great success! Thanks to all who attended and brought their desserts and ideas. Below is a summary of some of the issues covered in no particular order of importance.<br /><br />The Master Gardeners hot line is # 253-798-7170. They are available from 9am-3pm to answer any and all of your gardening questions.<br /><br />The shed will be cleaned out and available for gardeners to keep their tools and such. It is on the 'list of things to do' so it will likely be a couple weeks. Thanks Bruce.<br /><br />Randy will be giving tours of the community corn, potato, bean, and pumpkin patches at the other community garden site (by the cemetery). <br />The first tour will be Wed. May 28th at 7pm<br />The second tour will be Sat. May 31st at 10am.<br />The site is located next to the someplace (over by that other place)<br />Randy will meet anyone who is unfamiliar with the area in the parking lot of a store you aren't familiar with fifteen minutes prior to both tours. Then you can follow him to the site.<br /><br />Randy and Don talked about the different community crops that are being prepared.<br />Beans, Peas, Potato's, Corn, and Pumpkins. It was decided that if you were interested in taking some of the harvest of these crops that you would offer an hour or so of time per month to taking care of them IE: watering, weeding, stringing etc... Many people have shown an interest so it should be fun. If more time is needed to meet their growing needs, we'll let you know. I will send out periodic e-mails regarding different tasks that need to be done at different times. Thank you to Don, Eileen, and Randy for all of their time in setting up these garden crops.<br /><br />I ran into a couple of gardeners who were uncertain about our pesticide/herbicide guidelines. I thank them for their questions because it let me know that perhaps we had not made it clear in our guidelines. So, clarification... NO PESTICIDES OR HERBICIDES!! We are an organic community garden. Other community gardens have said this is a real make or break issue as it directly impacts all gardeners. If you need help with some organic suggestions ask our Master Gardeners, they have all kinds of ideas.<br /><br />A wish list was presented and added to: Wheel Barrow (Cindi offered one) , Picnic Table (Lori is working on that) Bench, Tools (Jim had some extras) Lost and Found box (Cindi), Short Hose, Hose Guides (Kathy is checking out Craig's List) Herb Garden (Bette has volunteered to plant one) THANK YOU ALL!! If anyone else can help, let me know.<br /><br />Liquid fence was suggested as a way to deter rabbits.<br /><br />It was suggested that we give extra harvest to The Sumner Food Bank!! Fabulous Idea!<br /><br />Winter gardening was discussed. It was agreed that winter crops were fine to grow and that we would revisit cover crops at a later meeting.<br /><br />And we can't forget THE GREAT CHICKEN DEBATE OF 2008!!<br />Randy brought up the idea of keeping some chickens at one of the garden sites for their eggs. After much debate several people did sign up to be on the 'Chicken Team' to discuss the issue further. If you are interested, contact Randy. We will keep you updated</span>.<br /><br />The Great Chicken Debate of 2008! Now thats some funny stuff.<br /><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit!Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-60903540661475103652008-05-22T22:32:00.000-07:002008-05-23T11:46:02.446-07:00May 22, 2008Ok boys and girls, I'm gonna do a bit of rambling here so try to keep up.<br /><br />This Sumner Community Garden thing has turned out to be far more than I had ever understood it to be. I must admit that I imagined this as being little more than a city having some unused land and deciding to make a few dollars by renting plots out so those of the gardening ilk could spend a summer digging in the dirt and producing small batches of fresh veggies for their own families. I had heard rumblings through emails about sharing extra with each other etc. You know, if I have an abundance of beans and my neighbor has extra zuchinni we would naturally help each other out and stuff. Then on another occasion I spoke with Answer Man and he mentioned something about another field where they were doing some gardening, but I thought little of it and went about my business in my tiny little gardening world over at Plot 68.<br /><br />Then came The Meeting. The big Sumner Community Garden Dessert Social Meeting of the Gardening Minds.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203442170043165586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCM3Zk41V7xpuEgky3EC4ptIQY9QhgnwgLm_wP0gMTTDja8bUKjDueOUf8X_VK9EFXu52t20yV08nFhZwSMJcnVtqVDlRGf6GNCZIDthAkpput7tGXZeNOmjhK7toq85lupb5OzRA3MGHE/s400/meeting.jpg" border="0" /><br />All I can say is wow. Turns out this thing is much much larger in scope than I had ever imagined. Answer Man (leaning on the table in the back of the picture)turns out to be a Sumner City Councilman with a vision. A vision of an ever growing group of gardeners coming together to produce not only vegetables for themselves and their families but for the community as a whole. Turns out the "other field" is actually really a pasture of sorts which Answer Man and his team of answer men are busily transforming into something of a community farm where the idea is to have large plantings of vegetables which would not be sensible or convenient as small garden crops. Rows and rows or corn, potatoes, pole beans, pumpkins, and I don't even know what else, have been or are soon to be planted. Concrete reinforced bean poles are being constructed to be placed in the proper locations at the ends of said rows. Hopes were voiced that we may end up with 3000 ears of corn or more. We might end up with 100 lbs of potatoes per person. Halloween and Thanksgiving pumpkins might come from our own patch. I can only imagine the numbers of peas and beans we may have on our hands as the summer progresses, and the only requirement for participating in this grand harvest is that one participates in the work beforehand. Hell, there is even talk of building a coop and buying chicks and beginning the production of our own organic egg supply. All we would do, says Answer Man, is decide how many eggs we would want a week and buy the proper number of chicks, then help in the caretaking, etc. There was an objection (based moral grounds) to the raising of chickens in this fashion, and this visibly raised Answer Man's hackles. The body language at this point in the meeting was unmistakeable, and I'm telling you now that Answer Man is not going to be deterred on this point. He is hell bent on having fresh organic cruelty free eggs every morning for breakfast and I would put my money on there being a coop full of cackling hens before the month of June has passed.<br /><br />I AM IN!<br /><br />An email containing the minutes from the Sumner Community Garden Dessert Social and Meeting of the Gardening Minds has been promised and I will post them as soon as I have them in my possession.<br /><br />Also, the "Steering Commitee" (thats Answer man and his band of Merry answer men) has decided to open the gardens up for year long gardening. Plot #68 is mine not just for the summer but for as long as I care to keep it. I may now plant winter crops or just a cover crop, if I so desire.<br /><br />This is so cool.<br /><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit!Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-46789943412888142732008-05-18T21:50:00.000-07:002008-05-18T22:14:13.674-07:00May 18, 2008Made my daily irrigation visit to the garden today. Its been a pretty good week. Just look...<br /><br />My taters are poking through...<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/babytater.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201947806737767010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVKAQWM-lyl4dfn0mywkpPHNN1r29teZT4LDFASM2I4s6xeB02oOjXqVx-FFsitad25gG04V1aR4hWlyGCirGKhzH62qqOd-U2sT0P669xiJRUFynJh1xOuZYcOaiWjshAXTqtFuSfv6t/s400/baby+tater.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Beets are up...<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/babybeets.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201947574809532946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQK0fnr6b3zyzsmes90SgVo90BLsb35U6-xRXRJ2Ojt7O1lRojJKmZmIaI9xcsOfTmOgo5e62zbB4i16UOr9t9TCvySh3bTGoJCJFjlGa_DXSKqodq0ZX1E3D29k8TdG2_4D_3TeB0BKVo/s400/baby+beets.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Carrots have made their first appearance...<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/babycarrots.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201947579104500258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IcqPp5kmr894YWth_GH4xYc2HBkG9M3Elr9eHycBC36kPF7dwg457AL9R9CAUG-5EEzvJp4Go8Z9ObOQcUnTSezN5H-N9JzKHSMJJaMrbOkEItebZSV3zeHknskLfXl2EstgSCEMG17q/s400/baby+carrots.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Spinach too...<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/babyspinach.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201947591989402194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX79oaVLJX2-v_BsQiCDSCxtvzJdyQnMvl-ymuKw64t4jnmixAmSvnW3qz8w5Wwy4wN7-4CXkHj28OvBR2Jkl1OeFwemZ-ccaRLy8gNTNNk-Fnu3LOApHSmOjQMdqhPwhrChHtopDMbbnO/s400/baby+spinach.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />And the peas.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/babypeas.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201947587694434866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqxenqpVcGyeSNv_08rZMXsRf15gOxXqHBHN1_vNLOOITtSNE_ZC11hudmoI6H6RdB9hETl_fAZYI2stZCbxsZb75l1AXPJVN1SLDgfZiGFTpZ3NAHQHoUDS-W4haYq3Cl9h7ifhyphenhyphenq0eW/s400/baby+peas.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The radishes are looking healthy. That a confidence booster.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/babyradishes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201947591989402178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuvcDzNQNE08WEB15NtOSsvC2rpsIz1btSBWGqJr9LJ1NQsH9mOBERVEzcywyfj3hzmanff4RDcqqkHkmiWDmwpuEuvA9QgEjtlYc4DO5V7ZPD0deWwOfsr8sPSrr9lB1G-wPPZL0w70x/s400/baby+radishes.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />And with a view like this...<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/mtrainier.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201947811032734322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rKcbFUP97NIG8i7OmGZypEunaIC58zEZPbYbfdaAwqyrBDauBuUJ82iwY6z-3icehwFq12Ja9R-WYG2UF9MVJDVYQ6md0khVUjyHF26DRD2SXu7ng0WNB2PNliVImexs3L73A1KrIWmY/s400/mt+rainier.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...who can complain?<br /><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit! <div><br /><br /></div><div></div>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-31598780888361622782008-05-11T21:02:00.000-07:002008-05-17T22:56:31.585-07:00Saturday May 10, 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTUwY9UggPRUOdxY9UKGCn_XIVKukX4_DO5irVxcaBN5loh4DMqRJ3Wfd6vIPsWIC0qs5PhW7wKfFgkuZwadVssv2g6e8NywXkkKB4_ycLrH25o-jXR2mW1fayrU32tweauwFTDvO5GQ2/s1600-h/100_4933.jpg"></a>After a week of chomping at the bit and feeling content to satisfy my need to work in the garden with evening watering visits, I am excited to report that Saturday finally arrived along with my opportunity to finish planting.<br /><br />Finally!<br /><br />And as I dropped my first man-burro load of gardening tools onto the path alongside Plot 68 and started to turn for my trip back for a second load I noticed something different in my 288 sq ft rectangle of clumpy brown dirt. I was sure I had seen a small drip of color against that overwhelmingly large backdrop of brown, but where? Oh hey! Over there in Radish Territory is something....green. Holy crap! Grabbing my camera and diving headlong into the dirt adjacent to my newly spotted strip of verde, I was incredibly proud to learn....it had actually worked! If you place tiny seeds from little paper packages a half inch below the surface of the earth then water them....they grow.And now, my radishes had sprouted and my life as a successful gardener had quite possibly begun.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_4927.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200450619793086946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiakY7-Ujdj1a_OtMpq9EqM1cWBkgRMX-nMJ3IaIj49Gk-C0KEqKlb3b2Dm0kqznx4v-JNFMFNZw91-rtsavs6qRkOpNX94R-eF6dgIqK4JslpyrLXN3c1PHkT2Ny5tyH14rNO7r1YQZYMz/s400/100_4927.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>Suddenly feeling invigorated and filled with a new sense of purpose I grabbed my hoe and started working the soil in other parts of the garden. The weather was cooperating. The sky was overcast and the temperature was in the low 60's so the work required few instances of pose striking, and daydreams of ice water were almost entirely non existent. There were few people at the community garden today so everything was reasonably quiet. Having turned on the Ipod at a low volume I was able to listen to the low murmer of other gardeners discussing the planting of their own vegetables while enjoying the redneck sounds of The Flatlanders as well as the lilting strains of alternative country's angelic Kimmie Rhodes. So there I was, working my hoe through the earth and listening to music backed by the muted scratch thwack scratch thwack of my garden implement percussion section, and after about 30 minutes or so of this, I am happy to say, gardening made an incredible transformation from being a frustrating pain in the ass to being an incredibly relaxing and fullfilling way to spend an afternoon. With every pull of the hoe I felt rewarded as the dry gray top layer of dirt was replaced by the moist dark earth below, and what I figured to be a 30 minute attack on a small piece of the garden soon became hours of satisfying communion with Mother Nature herself. After marking out a section for my Blue Lake Pole Beans at the NW corner of the garden I grabbed my hoe and started working. I added a cup of organic fertilizer to the soil and began turning it over with the primary goal of finishing as soon as possible, but as I went along I really began to enjoy myself and before long I had worked myself into some sort of a zone. In fact, I was startled more than once by one of the neighbor gardeners as he walked by on his way to and from his plot. I was focused. After I don't know how long I was able to deem the pole bean territory as ready for planting and I unfolded and placed my premade collpsible bamboo teepee in the center of of my newly prepped square of moist brown soil. The teepee has three sides so I hoed a shallow furrow along the base of each of these sides and unhurriedly layed my seeds along the bottom and covered them lovingly with dirt. </p><p>Next I prepped another section and created Summer Squash Territory and then moved along to create both Cucumber Land and Potato Nation. I hade not brought enough fertilizer from the car and made repeated trips back in order to get more, but even these long walks across the Sumner Community Pea Patch became welcome and relaxing events in my day. I was having some sort of a gardening zen thing happening and I was loving it, and before I knew what had happened 3 and a half hours had passed and my garden was planted. Only one problem came to mind as I stood and proudly viewed my handiwork. There were no tomatoes. Not a single plant. What had I done? Tomatoes were my main focus when beginning this project, and now, as I experienced my zen moment gardening epiphany, I had forgotten to save room. Oh damn.</p><p><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_4934.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200450624088054274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51JN9eGX2Uk4Ag8RsZCUSlgXiIHsU5imzPOSf4GOz7heaK3Afv5LXgAr_KwdI21efBknDCLKdgXURhxtpZA7Tt-WbtHchYt4VyNjY4n6z8pPpmg5uCSrURMRYrDBF5IG9B5379KqBiUM2/s400/100_4934.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>I'm gonna need another plot.</p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-10721447366058550172008-05-04T20:59:00.000-07:002008-05-09T23:42:28.590-07:00Sunday May 4, 2008Today was different. Beautiful day. Blue sky. Short pants weather to be sure and I, as well as the Smeltzer family, decided to make the best of it. The peat moss was still loaded in the van after yesterday's washout so I headed down to scenic Sumner with my bale, my seeds and my various implements of garden construction to make an afternoon of possibly creating something worthwhile.<br /><br />Upon arrival, no one was in sight and I lugged all my gardening crap out to the lower forty, otherwise known as Plot 68, in relative silence. As I headed back to the van for my second load I ran into the Smeltzers as they loaded each others arms as well as the arms of their children with their own implements and crap. I was pretty happy to find them there since I don't know what the hell I'm doing and need others to help toss ideas around.<br /><br />Back at plot 68 I opened my bag of peat and spread it evenly as I could over the garden and with the vim, vigor and determination of a 20 year old I began turning the soil with my shovel in earnest. Again and again I dug up shovel fulls of dirt only to dump it right back on the ground and move over a step to do it again. I worked. I sweated. I grunted and complained. I told everyone within earshot how I was too old for this stuff. I struck poses and once again dreamed of kiddie pools full of water. Before I knew it I had turned approximately 36 square feet of garden earth and as I turned, leaning on my shovel of course, to survey the remaining 252 square feet, Mrs. Smeltzer spoke,<br /><br />"Hey. There's Answer Man over by the rototiller. Maybe he could till your plot again."<br /><br />Well, that was enough for me. Dropping my shovel, I headed over to Answer Man and the rototiller at what must have been nearly a full sprint, and between gasps I asked him if he was planning on starting it up.<br /><br />"Yup", answered Answer Man (because answers are what he's all about) "Do you want your garden tilled one more time?"<br /><br />Now, I'm assuming he asked me this question in an effort of some sort to teach me to be an answer man myself, so in my most authoritative and confident voice I replied,<br /><br />"Please? Would you mind?"<br /><br />I guess I failed the answer man pop quiz seeing as how I answered with a question. No matter. I have all summer to learn this skill. I'll get it eventually. Answer Man did have pity on me, however, and after a bit of rope tugging and choke adjusting and rope tugging and whatever engaging and more rope tugging along with some gas pouring we were able to get that damned tiller going and good ol' Answer Man steered it to plot 68 where he did a bang up and mighty fine job of tilling the rest of that peat into the soil...<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_4896.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198587242312755138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-yjjKI7NAuon63TniDGTx03KmQTivQMsYf8WyaLX-yGgGCwgECTOHoTxwMeBCmSWZItD1g7r4My6zOwuTr1DDFDcK9IwWkd5rqa-Zlav1XhDat6bT681BCNAP9ihJNW8k4Rxr6DT5vQg-/s400/third_till.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...and within minutes I was ready to begin planting some seeds.<br /><br />Now during all this Mr. and Mrs. Smeltzer had added lime and fertilizer to their soil, Mr. Smeltzer had then divided his garden into four even sections by raking or hoeing a big cross through the middle of the plot, and Mrs. smeltzer and her two boys, Matthew and Jeremy, had begun the planting. Boy, things were moving along quite nicely over there.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_4894.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198587246607722450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6r5YUZJ1JnZ2QLDVeOVCa9hFxOFtRVmmkl3eDkC0fI1wXNQoQ_EJ7b3EHVMlnZJmcZeY04dPWsmG9ck2ee_9yhVTQJqs_ncBstAdMpKGF3NInX9NZjG79jBfCXbfvLc3sJ-sEvoTmkYcm/s400/the_smeltzers.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Now do you remember me mentioning my new best friend at Agri-Shop? Well, she sold me this lovely cast iron dealy with a spike connected to the end of some twine. At the other end of this twine is another spike, but with a wide section in the middle for rolling up the twine. The idea is to stick the first spike in the ground where you want the end of your planting row to be, then unrolling the twine from the other spike, carry it to the spot you want the other end of your row and stick it into the ground. If this is done correctly you then have a beautiful guide to follow when hoeing out a place for your seeds. It was as I was studiously following these directions that Mr. Smeltzer dubbed me "the anal retentive gardener". I suppose this may be true, (though I highly doubt it) but at least my rows are straight.<br /><br />Anyway...half the garden is now planted. Nearest to you in the picture, starting from the right I planted radishes, spinach, carrots, two kids of beets and brocolli. On the far side I planted both green peas and sugar snap peas.<br /><br /><a href="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z30/jcouey/100_4898.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198587246607722466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFFsY7DMyuK1xSC7XgD50Cg3lXDYzYXatUO4d1jEyjhqYZhRJqpbl-3Scr_5ZXh7ZkoG1rzmw13U3ZB5iNhRRvTtuvR79yEXR1A08mIvXTddkDkf4PYQbJmgpVkE1zKR2qDyLSb6S78s9/s400/half_planted.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p></p><p>Now screw the rest, Mr. Self Starter. I'll get it next week.</p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-46592889732353635742008-05-03T20:48:00.000-07:002008-05-10T08:48:57.800-07:00Saturday May 3,2008Went by the garden this afternoon to work on turning that bale of peat moss into the soil in order to loosen up some of the clay. Funny thing, though, about springtime in the northwest: occasionally, it rains. The downpour today was sudden and unexpected, and as I pulled into the parking lot with the windshield wipers on high speed I was still considering working. As I saw our neighbors Mr and Mrs Smeltzer and their two sons come sloshing around the corner of the shed, soaked to the proverbial bone, I changed my mind.<br /><br />Went home.<br /><br /><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit!Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-70073703077318071582008-05-02T21:53:00.000-07:002008-05-05T06:10:00.849-07:005/02/2008As you recall from my last post, an email was sent out asking us to sign up for rototiller time on Saturday, the third. After juggling my schedule a bit I was able to get to the garden and sign up for an hour with the tiller. I figured I would take advantage of the opportunity to add a bale of peat moss to the soil.<br /><p><br />Today I heard it through the email grapevine that Answer Man had actually taken it upon himself (possibly with a certain neighbors friendly encouragement) to rototill my garden again for me, along with the garden of Mr. and Mrs. Smeltzer. Now while I was actually quite glad to learn of this development, I also realized my plans to loosen up the clay in my plot had been thwarted.<br /><br />Drat!<br /><br />The email follows....and it appears there's a gardeners social coming up. what's more, dessert will be involved.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 5:27 PM<br />Subject: Garden info. and update<br />Hello All,<br /><br />The steering committee met last night and this is what came up.<br /><br />There was a plan for people to use a rototiller on Saturday if they wanted to do their own plots. But Randy and Don have graciously done most every body's plot already and plan to finish up this weekend. (These guys don't sit idly very well...lucky us)!<br /><br />This Saturday we will be selling lime to add to your soil for a dollar a scoop. Our master gardeners suggest that each 6x12 plot use one scoop to enhance their soil. (We'll provide the scooper). Your choice but it will be there if you want it.<br /><br />Our Master Gardeners will be at the garden on Sat. May 17th to offer one-on-one help to those who would like a few questions answered. ie: How should I plant this? When should I plant this? How deep should I plant this? It looks like we have about an even split between really experienced gardeners and first timers at the garden. So feel free to ask around.<br /><br />A few people have offered to share extra seeds, seedlings, small plants that they have. We thought we would try making Saturday 'Share Day'! If you've got something to share put it by the bulletin board with a little sign. We're hoping to get a little bench or a secure box at some point but in the meantime... improvise!! This might be a good idea as harvesting starts for people to give away extra zuchs and such too!<br /><br />The water is up and running...pardon the pun. Bruce, our friendly neighborhood church liaison, plot staker, and get things done guy, just wants to remind folks to turn off the water when you're done. The spigot is located at the back of the church.<br /><br />Finally, we're planning an 'All Garden Members (that's you) Social / Idea Exchange" on<br />Thursday, May 22nd at 7pm. It will be at blah blah blah Church so you can just pop on in after checking your new sprouts. We'd like to just check in with everyone and get some feedback, share ideas, and eat some dessert!! Speaking of which BRING A DESSERT TO SHARE!! A package of oreo's or homemade apple pie would be equally welcome. Bring the kids, they love dessert! Mark your calendars now!!<br /><br />I think that's it!<br />Thanks, Denise<br /></span><br />I did get a chance to swing by this evening to check out my now twice tilled garden. I still have plans to go by on Saturday and add that bale of peat moss, but the amount of work involved has suddenly grown exponentially. The soil, however, does appear as though it will be a bit more cooperative this next time around.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196760020479084146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsI_sdutbq2i1my401gcYBKc_V6aZOJzvN7joHO31fD6ah2snefvAJ6miQYpLiUrrq1miLVsVXf1vHkOw3xzvyUDGOd_WZX2V7M57YI3U2kB7iizMDx37z1aGcH5jlq7EC3V17LX8H7CG/s400/second_+till.jpg" border="0" /><br />But it still looks like dirt.<br /><br />--It's Fosco, Dammit!Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-1181875581876040292008-04-29T20:41:00.000-07:002008-04-29T20:47:58.860-07:00Tuesday April 29, 2008The email from Answer Man and his crew has arrived. Since Answer Man is actually mentioned in the message and someone named Denise signed it, I assume he had assigned correspondence duties to one of his people.<br /><br />Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:04 PM<br />Subject: rototill your garden on Sat.<br />Hi All,<br />Randy has rented a rototiller for this Saturday between 9am and 7pm to be used for anyone who would like to use it for their plot. There is a sign up sheet on the garden bulletin board as of Wed. It takes about 15 minutes to rototill a 6x12 plot so make sure you sign up for the right amount of time. I believe the sign up sheet is set for 15 minute intervals. Please help those that may need some help doing their own. Randy will be there as well to offer assistance.<br />Be patient with each other, obviously the schedule is an approximate time guideline and there are always unexpected delays.<br />Thanks, Denise<br /><br />Of course I'm not available to rush right over to Sumner to scratch my sig on the side of the shed so I can carve myself an hour out of this coming Saturday in order to rototill.<br /><br />I guess I'll have my people do it.<br /><br />--It's Fosco, DammitJayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-24349273577838007092008-04-28T14:32:00.000-07:002008-05-04T22:33:00.199-07:00Saturday April 26, 2008So here we go. <strong>Day One</strong> at scenic Sumner, Washington's community garden. And what an outstanding day it was!<br /><div></div><br /><div>I began by driving over to the Agri-Shop in Auburn to see my new best friend about some fertilizer and some seeds. I don't know the womans name, but she absolutely loves what she's doing and seems even more excited than I am for my initial season of do-it-yourself produce production. After leading me around like a child to locate a 50 lb bag of lime and a 20 lb bag of cottonseed meal along with various size boxes of bone meal, kelp meal and any other exotic substances needed to create a wonderful and productive garden, she filled my need for immediately plantable seeds. Loading me up with packets of organic seeds for such incredibly healthful varieties of vegetables as peas (two types, one for shelling and one for eating whole) an absolute rainbow of colorful beets, more than one type of carrot, cabbage, and Lord knows what else, she infomed me I would be terribly remiss in not purchasing seeds for her favorite vegetable, kohlrabi. Hell, who was I to argue? Next she picked out both red and yellow potatoes, tossed a hoe into my basket and took me up front where she ducked behind the counter to make me up a secret envelope, made of an orange sticky note, full of what she said were "very special" French Sorrel seeds. French Sorrel? (shrug) What the hell? I'll plant it. I was then asked for a fairly sizable sum of cash and sent packing with a wave and smile to begin my foray into the world of...well, you know.</div><br /><div></div><div>After loading all these various tools of the trade into the back of the Knifemobile I took a quick swing by the house in order to load up the other implements of garden construction and destruction I had forgotten earlier. After the shovels, rakes, buckets, etc. were safely stored in the back of the van I headed out to Sumner and what is to be my home in the garden away from home for the rest of the summer. </div><br /><div></div><div>Now you've all seen my first view of the community garden as a whole in my first post. Just a few steps from where that photo was taken is a dilapidated old shed, taped to which are a few brightly colored sheets of paper printed with our plot assignments. </div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194419452281325090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqwNciRovHnIm0radUYeSzNEk_gmW6aFmB68r1UaMs9MSoh3gKwWM1CebhaO6CyLJhmyqM0lnIOhy-i2XgcViXIW2nGfenPZe-pkolWnBLfUuTc23Xv6epx_ifOZRF2Ry0S7L0zBA8_Y3/s400/garden-plot-list.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><p>After much studying I was able to ascertain that our plot would be #68, right next to our neighbors and friends the Smeltzers who had plot #67. Well, isn't that just cozy as all hell? And upon further review I noticed that plot #71 had actually been assigned to some fella named Fos. Hmmmm.....</p><p>Picking up my buckets, rakes, hoes, bags, etc. I began the walk to #68. Now I don't know exactly why the people paying the most money get the plots furthest from the parking lot, but apparently thats the way they do things in ass-backwards scenic Sumner, Warshington so I held my tongue (there was no one there to hear my bitching anyway) and trudged my heavily laden butt on over to the far back corner of what will surely soon be the most prolific pea patch in the state. Setting all my gear on the ground and looking back toward the van I immediately vowed to bring not only some sort of cart in the future, but also a chair or two along with about 10 gallons of ice water (in order to keep myself properly hydrated of course. If I was to fall out way the hell out here in the middle of this dirt pasture I might not be found for weeks.)</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194419460871259698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrdj1mqyVQNtKBiRFVGKFm2Mq780vYOed65H9Wrim7MTNefF8NHxLbkiHjI8sZ1P8qwipQOb5-MDJy4gAux3iY2psLshdZ19d3z7LV9VxBLd_oc-cR5lvMziv-uAGfR1wlLNxjaLOoYU60/s400/peapatch-reverse-view.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>So here I was. Finally, after weeks of anticipation and lack of planning I was standing at the corner of my future means of food production for an entire family. Plot #68, dammit! Hell yes. Lets take a look, shall we? I know you can hardly stand the suspense for one minute more so...</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194419465166227010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOaScVRbyZMX1E-_DncbPcs-uKw7pbi9WZjtPCCzf7tN-pcWRoJQFbJzhaXKx71mcwTgFrKJXtqgwim8Y0lO6x3NTD1cosm4bYNGVC1BuD3BQQ0JKWy-6vbMX6kBkKZguTxPJwzgOb81bO/s400/plot68-day-1.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>Holy crap! Now I had imagined in my mind four orderly little plots of land roughly the size of a parking space, and in my mind I had come to grips with this image and all seemed hunky dory and certainly workable, even for a novice, ok, completely ignorant, gardener such as myself. No one had deemed it necessary to mention the fact that my four 6x12 foot plots were now going to be combined to make one incredibly large 40 acre section of land that I would certainly need livestock and large tractor type vehicles in order to maintain. This goddamned thing was a large as my family room, and it didnt even have furniture to take up space. My heart sank. My head swam. I had to get hold of myself. I could do this, right? Well? <strong>Answer me!</strong></p><p>Sighing mightily, I looked around to see what was happening at the other small farms and I was quick to notice most had been surrounded by string, presumably to keep other gardeners out, as most rodents could just go under and most vegetables are fairly stationary in their existence. String? I didn't have string. That little Miss Knowitall at the Agri-Shop hadn't even mentioned string, had she? No she hadn't and I realized I would now have to trek my fat ass all the way back to that damned van so I could drive around scenic Sumner, Warshington in search of a store that might sell string. Well, so be it. This is what I did.</p><p>Upon my return to plot #68 I was feeling better about my prospects as a gardener (hell, I'd figured out the string thing, hadn't I?) and I began encircling my lovely lower 40 with twine so as not to look nearly as ign'ant as I am, then grabbing my shovel I dug in in earnest.</p><p>Now, it is my understanding that the entire area had been rototilled a week or so earlier, but having done a little research on the subject I had educated myself on the potential problem of plowpan while studying up for this project by reading Steve Solomon's gardening bible, <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-1570612404-0">Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Natural Gardening</a>. Keep in mind the following explanation may be incomplete and/or completely inaccurate. </p><p>Plowpan is a compression of the dirt about 7 or 8 inches below the surface, created by generations of farmers working the land with heavy equipment. While turning the soil on top the plow tends to compress the soil below causing a much more compact base than would be found under more normal conditions. This plowpan is usually a bit too deep for the rototiller to reach, but close enough to the surface to possibly negatively affect the root systems of certain varieties of garden vegetables. The cure is to take a shovel and push it directly into the soil until it is deep enough that you feel the harder earth beneath the tilled top layer. Then you pull back until you feel a small pop sort of thing and you move the shovel a few inches back and do it again. I was happily going along popping plowpan and listening to good earthworking music on my ipod, stopping occasionally to strike a first rate gardeners pose by leaning on my shovel when the answer man came along and asked if I had any questions.</p><p>"I don't know," I responded. I'm just doing what I read. I did hear they were going to till this a second time. did they ever do that?"</p><p>After hemming and hawing for a few minutes and not really giving me a straight answer, the answer man asked me if I had any other questions.</p><p>"Well, do I need to remove the clumps of grass or will the just die and help in this ongoing process by adding natural material back into the soil?"</p><p>"Oh," replied the answer man, "You better remove that stuff or it'll all come back. And wouldn't that be a pain in the ass? Any more questions?"</p><p>"Ermmmm, no. See ya".</p><p>So I dropped my shovel and grabbed a rake and started raking like hell to get all the clumps of grassy dirt removed from my family room sized pea patch garden plot #68. I raked and raked. I stopped, struck a pose leaning on my rake handle for a few minites, vowing again to bring that damned chair and 10 gallon bucket of ice water the next time, and then I raked some more until I finally felt satisfied I had removed all that needed to be removed. </p><p>I then struck another pose and contemplated my next move which would be the addition of lime to my soil. Now I had read that Northwest soil requires a good buttload of lime per acre, and relying on math skills learned while sleeping through Mrs. Lynch's 8th grade Algebra class I was able to do a bit of figgerin' (as Ellie Mae Clampitt would have said) and come to the conclusion that I would need about 3lbs per 6x12 plot, or 12 lbs altogether. This I sprinkled evenly over the soil by tossing handfulls this way and that and hoping I didn't miss a spot. Next I needed to sort of scratch it into the top 2 inches or so of soil with my hoe and proceeded to attempt this seemingly simple little project. Not so simple at all. Some areas scratched rather nicely while other areas were damned near impossible to make even the slightest dent. I worked and scratched and sweated, and struck poses while wishing for chairs and bathtubs of ice water until I could work and scratch no more. And do you think my little plot #68 now looked all fluffy and soft? Do you think, after all this sweat and life energy expended my square of clumpy land was ready to produce a myriad of nutritious vegetables for my family?</p><p>No, of course not. It was still a clumpy patch of land with little lumps of sod peeking up through the soil. Sod which had be turned under by the rototiller, I might add and was therefore invisible to me earlier, but now had been exposed thanks to my incredibly persistent hoeing. I had also uncovered another fact previously unnoticed. This garden was basically a clay pit and was in many ways unworkable given the tools I had in my possesion. Nevertheless, feeling as though I had accomplished something in 3 hours time I picked up all my crap, took one last look back at my newly worked, roped off square of super rich northwest soil...</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194419465166227026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGTz59M4b2wQtLWmCCF8RMVrMn1SbLqon7_652ozytFNBIWqFWltzlN0CM5HEg_eBXv-sS-QDUF6bEVQFau_tXzH2vB_cgyxWbcCv-uYN0fRS25xI_GCbeY-oBi_oon119SbyrS9gM467/s400/plot68-day-2.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>...and began my long trek back to the car with visions of the rows of seeds to be planted the next day. And who do you think I met on the way to the car? Hell yes! Another Answer Man, thats who. And this Answer Man shall have his name capitalized as he appears to be the Chief Answer Man for the entire project. </p><p>"So how's it going?" asked Answer Man.</p><p>"I have no idea".</p><p>"Ha. Which plot are you out there?" asked Answer Man</p><p>"#68. Couey. Way the hell over there. If you have some binoculars I'll point it out to you".</p><p>"Ha. How did you find the soil today? Did it seem ok?"</p><p>"Well, being a beginner at this whole thing, Answer Man, I really don't know, but I spent alot of time out there and it seems to me I really didn't make a damned but of difference. I thought when I left it would look all nice, smooth and fine like some of these others, but even after 3 hours if still seems clumpy and full of grass...and quite frankly, I'm afraid its alot like clay out there. Could that be?"</p><p>"Yeah, its pretty high in clay, but I think another rototilling will take care of that don't you? I was hoping to get one out here later in nthe week so you guys can sign up for 2 hour shifts and rototill your gardens if you're so inclined. My goal is to get all of these plots to be as light and fluffy as these two over here. I'm afraid the soil varies quite a bit though from area to area and this being the innaugural season for the Sumner Community Garden we are kind of learning as we go along. But don't worry. We'll get the rototiller down here and shoot you an email by the middle of the week to let you know whats going on...and remember, you can always ask me for any help you need. Thats why I'm here."</p><p>"Damn it Answer Man. I wish you had been here to tell me all this 3 hours ago. I was hoping to plant tomorrow, but I guess thats out".</p><p>"Take the day off". </p><p>"Sounds good. I'll do that. Send me that email sometime before July, right?"</p><p>And with that I headed off to the knifemobile, leaving Answer Man to answer the questions of more experienced gardeners while I contemplated the one thing I had learned during the previous few hours.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194419469461194338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqS5m2V_0IABMLhJW1rSKQPqQe6uslI1cWcHo3ilsam_06xg1haTKUwZWiCYtu7A_xYbEt6gC_qhYTn9mBmdw1F5-28qT0A0fSmzs1Aw6bpI9jb9d6x0yyJ5YK7OvU3tmUEDB3jybvRij/s400/hand-day-2.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>I was gonna need some damned gloves.</p><p></p><p>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6640997065318423389.post-73002041677006275302008-04-26T20:04:00.000-07:002008-04-26T21:50:39.517-07:00I Am a Farmer (on a very small scale)<strong>Prologue:</strong><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBStVpVeXZzu0Um7ZubBOv-KhIumnON8bOVgp9u4aL49c7OkH-rjBnG2dawDMKSqVcPqCdD76mQbpmwh7zfJlTw8xv5irl5ayL6UMkPJhzRVKKQtfFKIc125F2NMkMwHiT1K8MCQ-GOfaL/s1600-h/hand-day-2.jpg"></a><br /><div>"Honey. I called and got us that garden you wanted". </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>These were the happy words from Diane as I walked through the door after work one day late in the month of February. I admit I was thrilled. I had been suggesting for a couple of years that we pay the small fee for a plot at the community pea-patch while not being willing to pull that trigger myself, knowing I would require family support in order to insure the success of such a project.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>"Good work, dearest wife of mine. How big are the plots?" I asked in reply.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>"Six feet by twelve feet. Is that ok?"</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>"Sure. Perfect for a novice gardener. We should get a reasonable amount of food from a 72 square foot garden".</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>"Good, because I got two. They were cheap," she smiled.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>--skip ahead to the following evening--</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>As we ate dinner I mentioned how we would be eating produce we had grown ourselves in a mere few months time, adding that with our second plot we would probably be giving away quite a bit also. I also mentioned the work that was sure to be involved, what with the after work trips to the garden for watering, weeding, etc., and how that would now be doubled and this project would require considerably more time than originally envisioned. I sighed.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>"Oh, didn't I tell you?" she answered as she shoved a hunk of broccoli into an uncooperative four year olds mouth. "They called today to say they had lowered the prices so I got us two more. We have four plots now".</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>As this blog progresses I will attempt to include all of you, my faithful readers, in any triumphs I enjoy and defeats I may suffer as I learn to grow my own organic produce. It may be fun...it may be incredibly boring. We'll see. I will tell you, however, that upon arriving for my first visit to the community gardens my hopes of discovering lovely flowering squash plants and beautiful leafy lettuces growing healthily alongside towering poles wrapped with vines heavily laden with crispy green beans were dashed upon the rocky shores of reality. What I found as I walked from the parking lot of the Sumner Lutheran Church into the field designated as the Sumner Community Garden was this:</div><div><br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193782289587996178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEC0aIoeleYL7KcYxubq_0d89RyFsc_jHJJfqLQw7wt0rO_9ynWSEpTPPZnq8j8NPL0Xl6u2KHw_ArKfRdyrTN-JX_5UGq9XFoZCzDFo6o6A-YNIH5n38Fb0QpWxoOCVMPUHYrkp2F8-2/s400/garden-1st-look.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>Dirt.<br /><div></div><br /><div>--It's Fosco, Dammit!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div></div>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04804626792275334043noreply@blogger.com2