July meetings

Wednesdays: July 2 & 16
6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Stumpjack Coffee Co.

Workshops

Here's an opportunity for ya! On Monday, June 30th, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., we'll be leading a workshop at Woodland Dunes on how to create lasagna gardens and container gardens. Ever heard of a lasagna garden? It's an age-old method of gardening in grassy, rocky, weedy areas - and no digging or tilling is required. Whew! that cuts down on back breaking labor.

So come on out and join us, help us create a lasagna garden, a kiddie pool garden and five-gallon bucket gardens. You'll learn new gardening methods, and the best part is that produce from these gardens will be donated to an area food pantry!

Here's the press release from Woodland Dunes announcing the garden workshop:

What’s a lasagna garden? Who would want to use a container garden? On Monday, June 30, 2008, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Woodland Dunes Nature Center will host a workshop on lasagna and container gardens. Soozee Weisflock and Maria Birch of the Urban Garden Gang will lead participants in creating garden spots in a fenced in area at Woodland Dunes.

According to Weisflock, “The lasagna method of gardening is ideal when creating a garden spot in a grassy area. No digging or rototilling is required. Instead layers of newspapers, cardboard, compost and soil are heaped on top of the ground. Containers such as kiddie swimming pools and five-gallon buckets can be converted into mini gardens. “

Participants will construct a lasagna garden, a kiddie pool garden and five-gallon bucket gardens. Plants and seeds donated by local greenhouses will be used in the gardens. Produce generated by these gardens will be donated to the Two Rivers Mishicot Ecumenical Pantry.

Woodland Dunes is located at 3000 Hawthorne Ave (Hwy 310), just west of Two Rivers.

On the Road

Hey there - the Urban Garden Seminar is heading north to Stumpjack Healthy Cafe in Green Bay. Awesome that David of Stumpjack Coffee Company in T'Rivers asked us to do the seminar thing in GB! How cool is that?

Another Gathering of the Urban Garden Gang

Hey all you gardeners, future gardeners and garden dreamers - we're meeting again. Stumpjack Coffee Company, 1606 Washington St in T'Rivers, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 18th. I'm so excited about the interest that's been generated in our little group and some of the projects members are working on.

So, what is the Urban Garden Gang? Simple, we're a group of people interested in urban gardening and in helping others benefit from urban gardening. We are not a club, don't have officers or pay dues. We get together a couple times a month at Stumpjack Coffee Company and talk gardening, exchange ideas, and update everyone on projects that members may be involved with. Know anyone who wants to join us? Bring them along. It's a really fun time as our members have diverse gardening experience.

At this Wednesday's meeting, we'll be doing Q & A, and talking about the pantry garden project at Woodland Dunes. Let us know what you'd like for topics at future meetings. Come on down to the Stump on Wednesday and enjoy the garden talk and a good drink. See ya' there.

So, what ya got planted so far?

We've had a late spring - cool, cool, cool. Garden planting is in full swing, now that the weather has warmed up! Our urban garden friends are telling us they are working like busy little beavers to get tomatoes, cukes, pumpkins, cabbages, kohlrabi, broccoli, cauliflower, and squash plants into the garden. And beans, peas, corn, radishes, onions, mustard, collards, spinach and carrots from seed are now snuggled into the earth. Then there's all those varieties of potatoes being planted in-ground, under straw on top of the ground, and in potato towers.

I'd love to have my herb garden expanded with lemon balm, spearmint, cat mint, chocolate mint, apple mint, cilantro, parsley, yarrow, tansy, and garlic chives. What's in your herb garden?

We know of one urban garden that has 50+ varieties of fruits and veggies planted in French style raised beds in a 20 square foot area. What an incredible sight! All the interplantings are eye pleasing now and I'm sure will be palate pleasing shortly.

Have you ever eaten radish pods? One acquires a radish pod by letting the little radish bloom and "go to seed". The pod contains the seeds. Pluck the pod when it's plump, filled with seeds - at it's peek. Toss in to a stir fry or chop up and add to a salad or throw into a soup or scrambled eggs at the moment just before serving. Wonderful, mouth watering bit of a bite - I love the flavor!

When the seed pods dry out, they can be harvested and seeds saved. Or one could just let the seeds drop and watch for new radishes to form. This is a good way to get a fall crop of radishes - by letting the spring radishes seed themselves.

So, what ya got planted so far? Post a comment to let us know............... we'd love to hear from you. Have digital photos? Send them to us - the email address is in the footer.

Farmers' Market Lovefest

Saturday’s farmers market was a blow out, literally. High winds kept us gripping our sunshade for the first half of the market. We then peeled off the fabric as we could no longer take all the tent gripping we were doing – can’t grip the sunshade and serve customers at the same time. Some sunshades were damaged – mostly bent legs. Feel sorry for the folks who now have to replace the sunshade. We really can’t be without them as there’s no shade and constant exposure to sun wilts produce in a hurry.

And the best part of the day was selling out – well, almost selling out. It was truly incredible. One Hmong lady stopped by and purchased all our 6 year-old asparagus roots! She wants to grow asparagus and sell at the market next year. All the garlic is gone and only three or four raspberry plants remain. One chap on a bike purchased raspberry plants, and shoved them in his backpack. He spent quite some time trying to figure out how to get a 3 ft. tall tomato plant home on the bike, and decided to return next week better equipped to transport a tall tomato. Off he pedaled, all happy with his farmers market purchases packed into his backpack – he was grinning from ear to ear.

About 15 minutes later, a guy arrived in a car, which he parked right in front of us (we sell in a community park, and our stand is right on the sidewalk next to the street; so people can park right in front of us). He came right over to us, with a big grin on his face. I thought he was bike guy sans baseball cap, especially when he headed for those same tomatoes that bike guy was coveting. Not so – not bike guy, totally different guy, equally interested in tomatoes. The sale is quickly completed, and off he goes with tomato just as the market is closing. We’ll have to wait for next week to see bike guy and how he plans to transport tomatoes on his bike. I think we’re gonna have some cardboard boxes and twine at the market that can be used to make a temporary bike transport device for those folks have found so many good things at the farmers market.

All excited to have local honey for the next market. And cds from our friend Becky, who just cut her first cd. Is that the right way to put it – cut a cd? Anyway Becky will be performing at our booth one of these Saturdays. She has an incredible voice, and is so positive and friendly. I love being around her.

And I’m busy sewing market bags from reclaimed, upcycled fabrics and findings. Today saw two pretty yellow and green kitchen towels – the cotton kind with the design printed on – become really cute market bags. One has green handles cut from a Thai skirt; the other has handles made from yellow ribbon with white polka dots. Both look so good – makes me want to run to the nearest farmers market and fill them up with the freshest veggies I can find.

The newest sewing trick is adjusting the size of the market bag and making it a bike bag. It has long handles on is so one can carry it through the market or grocery. A couple buttons and fabric loops allow the bag to be attached to bike handlebars. Got the idea from a Copenhagen bike blog I read each day. I’m thinking these will sell at the farmers market, as we note more and more bike traffic each week.