Garden Workday Meeting (to post)
June 13, 2012
Meeting Chair: Sumana Raychaudhuri
Notetaker: Noreen Whysel
Pruning Fruit Trees
-Discussed recent complaints regarding how fruit trees have been pruned.
-Fruit trees should be pruned so that ripe fruit is easy to reach.
-Suggestion to have any pruning job be voted on by members. Janice Vrana as a past pruning chair advised against this, suggesting that it should be enough for the SC to discuss pruning with the committee chair.
-Ant problem described. Should this be pruning committee responsibility? SC to resolve.
Weeding
-Noted that NYPD requires that foliage be cut back to within 3 feet above the ground along the fence for adequate visibility into the lot.
-Julia Soledispa’s complaint about someone tearing out the morning glory on the west garden fence was noted.
-Workday activity: Removing dead vines from fence and weeding along both fences.
-Caution when weeding along fence to avoid pulling newly planted seedum. This plant is a hardy variety, according to Sumana Raychaudhuri, and will fill in the space which should make it more difficult for weeds to take hold. There should be enough sun along the fence.
-Reminder that plot owners are responsible for weeding around beds.
Bench
-An East Garden bench is in disrepair however there were no maintenance committee members at this time, so we can delay repair.
Finances
-We have just under $6000 in our account. Ariel Behr, Treasurer, was not in attendance
Membership
-New member information is being updated with tips on how the garden works. A cheat sheet will be posted in both sheds.
-New member rosters is being finalized and will be posted to Google Docs.
Compost
-Our new perforated barrels would smell less. Pleases use these for collecting green matter. Note that “greens” does include coffee grounds, tea bags and coffee filters. “Browns” are typically garden scraps such as leaves, grass trimmings and twigs.
-Jean Jaworek noted that new instructions for compost collection are available in handouts located in a box on the East Garden fence and contain a full explanation of the types of materials we are collecting and what to avoid contributing. More information is on the Composting page on our website.
Pavers
-New slate pavers will be dropped off by the Parks Department Friday Morning at 10:30am.
-444 CPW has allowed us to use their dumpster for collecting rubble while they are undergoing construction. At the moment the dumpster has been removed but should be back by Friday.
-Thank you to Victor Calise for arranging the drop off.
-Also congratulations to Victor on his appointment as NYC Commissioner of Disabled Affairs.
West Garden Lawn
-The area in the west garden between the fig tree and the cold frame has been seeded. The area is blocked off by string, which someone has been removing.
-Please do not remove the string or pass through this area so the grass has a chance to grow.
-The SC will post a sign stating the date at which it should be safe to pass through that area.
New Cat Shelteer
-Huge thanks to Nikki Kowalski and the Cat Committee. The cat shelter has been completed!
Workday Tasks:
-Volunteer to bring unsold flea market items to thrift store (Thanks??)
-Trim branches over east garden shed (Thanks Alan Tenney and Paula McKenzie)
-Move bricks from cat shelter to east side of west garden to construct the narrow bed (did someone already do this? Suzanne?)
-Weeding outside fences (thanks to Julia Sepulveda and Noreen Whysel)
-Clear up brick path in East garden to make room for slate (a huge job for which we thank everyone!)
Also at the meeting we forgot to mention two upcoming events:
-June 21, 1-8pm, Make Music New York
-July 14, time TBA, Summer Flea Market
