Our next gathering

Urban Garden Gang* Update

We'll be gathering on Wednesdays, June 4 & June 18 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Stumpjack Coffee Co., 1606 Washington Street, Two Rivers. The format for these two gatherings will be a 15 minute presentation, followed by conversation, question and answers, sharing photos, etc. Come when you can, stay as long as you can.

We know you are busy with your gardens, but we want to stay in touch during the gardening season. Our goal is to support urban gardening in it's many forms. Besides, it's just fun to sit down with fellow gardeners, have a great coffee drink, and talk gardening! Bring your friends along - let people know about us.

Do you have photos of your urban garden? Do you have questions or comments about urban gardening? Post here or send us an email (see addy below).

We've taken vendor space at the Two Rivers Farmers' and Artisans Market on Saturdays. Stop down and see us - the market is open from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Saturdays. You'll find us near the band stand - look for the Urban Garden Gang sign.

We are currently selling fresh produce and bedding plants from Soozee's urban garden, rain barrels, Maria's market bags and other items made from repurposed fabrics. We also carry other local items (more items added each week):

Maple syrup
Six-year old asparagus roots and sprouted garlic cloves from an organic garden
Rhubarb from an urban gardener

We're looking for other locally raised or produced items - especially those with a sustainable theme or feature. Do you have something that you might want to offer through our booth? We'd be happy to work with you to make that happen, just send us an email.


*Where did that name come from - Urban Garden Gang?
We were having a coffee at Stumpjack Coffee Company and tossing out names for the urban garden group. We didn't want to use the word "group" or "club", so we were coming up with some unique suggestions - mostly we were struggling with the name. David, primo barrista that he is, looked at us over the screen of his laptop and said, "Why don't you call yourselves the Urban Garden Gang?" - and there it is, our new name. David chuckled as he noted that our acronym would be UGG. Thank you, David.

Where you can find us this weekend

Well, we've taken the plunge. You can find us in a vendor stall at the farmers' market. Yep, we'll have urban gardening info and urban garden "stuff" for sale. And.........fresh, fresh, fresh plants and produce. So excited................

And you'll be able to find us hanging out at Stumpjack Coffee Company on some Wednesday evenings chatting about urban gardening with all our new garden friends - information exchange. We'll get more information posted as the plans are firmed up.

And one final plug for the Art & About Spring Gallery Tour on Friday and Saturday. Hope to see you there. Really cool art by really cool artisans.

List of cool sites to visit for info on urban gardens and eating local

BLOGS AND WEB SITES TO VISIT

URBAN GARDENING, LOCAL EATING AND WHAT HAVE YOU

urbangardengathering.blogspot.com/ - Urban Garden Gathering – information on the urban garden and local eating scene in and around Two Rivers, WI

drsooz.blogspot.com/ - photo documentary of an urban backyard garden

garden.manty.us/ - Community gardens in the city of Manitowoc

uwmantygogreen.blogspot.com/ - UW Manitowoc green blog

www.manitowoc.org/comm_farm_home.html - Manitowoc Farmers’ Market

www.trmainstreet.org/events/fcmkt/farmmkt.html - Two Rivers Farmers’ & Artisans Market

wisconsinlocalfood.wetpaint.com/ - Wisconsin local food network

www.arts4all.com/elca/ - container gardening

cityfarmer.org – City Farming (urban gardening in Canada)

homepage.mac.com/cityfarmer/comiclife/ - City Farmer Comics

foodnotlawns.com - just what it says: grow food instead of lawns - really cool site

www.squarefootgardening.com/ - Square foot gardening

www.ehow.com/video_1745_create-seed-starting.html - how to make newspaper seed starting pots

www.greentreks.org/allprograms/roughterrain/urbangardening/index.asp - urban gardens

www.sacgardens.org/ - urban gardens

www.urbangardeninghelp.com/ - urban garden help, tips

adventuresinmyurbangarden.blogspot.com/ - blog from an east coast urban gardener

www.pbs.org/now/shows/344/locavore.html - 10 steps to becoming a locavore

www.eatlocalchallenge.com/ - tips on eating local

www.milwaukeeurbangardens.org/ - urban gardens in Milwaukee

Let us know if you have other sites we might add to this list.

It's taking off ......

We're starting to hear from people who love the idea of an Urban Garden Gathering. It's alway fun for me to find kindred spirits - and that's what some folks have been telling us about this gathering.

Some are truly experienced gardeners and some are new to this. The excitement is building and there are plans in the works for our first gathering meal. Now that's right up this foodie's alley.

And those who can't attend on Wednesday, are telling us to let them know when the next gathering is, so they can attend.

Urban Garden Gathering

There is nothing like the full flavor of food freshly pickeed from the garden. I can still taste the heirloom tomatoes my grandparents grew in their garden.

A group of us were talking about how victory gardens were in vogue during the second world war. Well, they were more of a necessity - a way to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for families. Then we began to wonder out loud if there would be a resurgence of back yard gardening - given rising food and fuel costs. So we hopped on the internet - and voila! There it was -- the resurgence documented with a new, updated name - urban gardening.

We soon realized we had the know-how to put on an urban gardening seminar or gathering - and our favorite coffee house - Stumpjack Coffee Company - offered to host the event.

So here it is: we'll have experienced urban gardeners on hand to talk about how to put a garden in your back yard, side yard, or even the front yard; and how to increase garden yields by using scatter planting and square foot gardening. One of our speakers will talk about rain barrel watering. Don't have space for a garden at home? Well, how about the local community garden?

Not into the gardening thing, but interested in eating locally - (being a locavore)? We'll talk about that too.

And there will be time for networking and Q&A - we want to get to know one another.

Our hope is that this will be the first of many gatherings of urban garden buffs and folks who love eating good local foods. (I can see a dinner or two evolving from this venture.)