Extended Online Registration for 27th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether‏

March 25, 2011
by garden
2 min read

You are invited on Saturday, April 2 to join a thousand community gardeners and greening professionals from all over New York City for a day of learning, sharing, networking and greening inspiration at the 27th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether, taking place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Hostos Community College! Please pass this information out to the rest of your garden group and anyone else who might be interested. This form is also available to download on our website, but you must send payment with the form.

This year’s conference features favorite workshops from past years, as as well as exciting new ones, including many hands on workshops, and new ones for youth gardeners. We are also excited to announce that Joan Dye Gussow, author of Growing, Older: A Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables, will be our keynote speaker.

You can buy tickets online here:

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/163365

$3 + $1.10 service fee for purchasing tickets online.
Cost covers conference, t-shirt and lunch.

If you do not pre-register, you are not guaranteed lunch or a t-shirt.

The preregistration is extended for online ticket purchase only

Directions
Subway: Hostos is practically on top of the 149th Street and Grand Concourse stop. The 2, 4, 5 trains will get you right there.
Buses: BX 19 or BX 1 bus to 149th Street and Grand Concourse.

More Information

Opening Potluck Brunch: Sun, March 13, 1pm

February 17, 2011
by garden
3 min read

Dear Gardeners,

We are pleased to announce that the opening meeting for the 104th Street Garden will be on Sunday, March 13 at 1:00 pm in the community room at the Schneider Apartments, 11 West 102 Street. This will be a potluck brunch, so please bring something delicious to share if you are able.

We will elect the season’s Steering Committee at this meeting and we would like to encourage garden members to participate. The Steering Committee is the democratically elected governing body of the garden tasked with coordinating the communal workdays, solving small problems as they arise and coordinating member votes on more large-scale proposals. In recent years these have included the decisions to install the rainwater harvesting system and new beds to accommodate a growing membership.

Whether you are a new or a continuing member of the garden, we encourage you to volunteer to run for a post on the Steering Committee. New ideas, fresh perspectives, and energy are healthy additions to the administrative well being of our garden community. Even if you are a long-time member of the garden who has served on the Steering Committee in the past, please consider running for Steering once again. Not only do we ask that you consider the impact your experience with the garden could make, but also to embrace the reality that there are a limited number of members in our community. We must all take a turn on a rotating basis and put in some time to keep our garden functioning so that this community resource nourished by you and others continues to thrive. We need you now.

In addition, Pam Wax is leaving the neighborhood and sadly will not be returning this season. We are enormously grateful for the stellar job Pam has done in coordinating the monitoring schedule, and now we need someone to take up the helm on this task. She is happy to explain the system she has devised for tracking and notification to anyone who will volunteer to take over from her.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact any of the current Steering Committee members listed below.

Sincerely,
W. 104th St Garden Steering Committee (2010 season)

Mary Kelly i.marya@verizon.net 212-807-0266
Nikki Kowalski nikster55@verizon.net 212-665-7897
Ann Levine siswi@aol.com 212-866-3378
Paula McKenzie paulatb2@verizon.net 212-222-6337
Shane Nye shanenye@yahoo.com 510-282-1992
Alan Tenney alan.tenney@gmail.com 212-663-1314
Janice Vrana jvrana@verizon.net 212-749-7875
Marcia Berry (treasurer) xanadu@nyc.rr.com 212-865-8630

Call for Presentations: 32nd annual American Community Gardening Association Conference, August 18-21, 2011

January 19, 2011
by garden
1 min read

Dear all:

Please find attached the Call for Presentations for the 32nd annual American Community Gardening Association Conference to take place at Columbia University, New York City, from August 18-21, 2011.

Downloads:

All proposals must be postmarked by March 15, 2011.

For more information on the American Community Gardening Association please have
visit the AGCA website at http://www.communitygarden.org.

Please circulate this message widely within your networks to anybody who might be
interested in presenting or attending.

More Information

—–

If you would like to contact GreenThumb please visit:
http://www.nyc.gov/parks

Mulchfest this weekend!

January 3, 2011
by garden
1 min read

NYC will be recycling Christmas trees next Sat. and Sun. at 3 nearby locations in the Park. They have chipping machines on site. You can dispose of your tree without just throwing it out and take away as many bags of chips as you can carry! It’s too good an opportunity to miss.

Robin has done this for the Garden in the past but isn’t available this year. Will you step in? We need at least one car and driver plus helpers.

Schedule:

Saturday & Sunday, Jan 8 & 9 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.

Central Park*
63rd Street & Central Park West
Chipping

Central Park*
West 81st Street & Central Park West inside the bridle path
Chipping

Central Park*
East 106th Street & Fifth Avenue
Chipping

Please help out!

For more information and to rsvp contact Ann
siswi@aol.com
(212) 866-3378

Celebrate the Solstice: Saturday Dec 18

December 11, 2010
by garden
2 min read

A Winter Welcome to the Solstice —
The Celebration is Back!

Solstice Neighbors and Gardeners and those of Druidical Inclination:
Mark your calendars and make a point to join us for a warm up to Winter.

Saturday, December 18 at 3:30- 5PM

The W. 104th St. Community Garden.
Between Manhattan Ave. and Central Pk. West

What’s it all about? The Winter Solstice (Dec. 21) marks the shortest day of the year and the true beginning of winter. Many early cultures burnt trees and went nuts with dance and song. This was done in an effort to tease the sun back into showing more of itself so they could get back to planting, raising crops and probably griping about friends and family who weren’t applying themselves enough in the fields.

That being said, we at the West 104th Street Garden, use this event for a means to a good time while showing some real concern for those who don’t have food or fields and are likely not having a very good time at all.

What to expect:

  • A can drive (Donations going to City Harvest)
  • Weird Medieval music
  • A Solstice illumination spectacular
  • A warming fire
  • Plenty of hot cocoa (Yes, with marshmallows… Did you have to ask?) and tea time goodies
  • Burning of the T. E. Jaworek Memorial Solstice Duraflame Log
  • Introduction of the Minnie Mouse Fund for Garden Cat Care
    In memory of our late garden cat, Minnie, we would like to accept your spare change for our garden cats. Purge your home of the change sitting around in dishes, in the sofa, in jars and cans you are never going to cash in. Pennies welcome! Donate to the care and feeding of our exterminatin’ felines.

What to bring: A can of food to donate; Spare change for the cats; Good cheer!

What to wear: Something warm. This is an outdoor event.

Jean Jaworek and the 2010 Solstice Committee
Questions? Call (212) 865-3451

THIS IS A SUN OR SNOW EVENT. WE WILL ONLY CANCEL IF IT RAINS.

Sun Nov 14, Meeting and Potluck Brunch

November 12, 2010
by garden
1 min read

Meeting and Potluck Brunch
This Sunday, Nov. 14
1PM
Schneider Houses
West 102 St., btwn CPW and Manhattan Ave.

THE time to see fellow gardeners before winter sets in.
Bring a favorite dish or beverage to share.
We’ll have applications for the 2011 season. Bring cash or check and sign up now to avoid stamp and mailing. Think about your committee choices and whether you would like to head one of the committees next year, an opportunity to put your inspiration to work.

As an added treat, Green Tumb gave us 100 bulbs. If you’d like some for your bed, bring a bag.

Brief wrap-up meeting after the brunch.

Hope to see you there,
The Steering Committee

PS: WINTER CLEAN UP. Green Thumb delivered a heap of compost this morning, which needs to be distributed through both gardens. Do come out and pitch in. The weather promises to be glorious!

Halloween Party – Volunteers needed Oct 30

October 28, 2010
by garden
1 min read

Our Halloween party is this Saturday, the 30th. Thanks to a small crew last Saturday, the decorations are up…but there’s more to do.

We especially need PARENT VOLUNTEERS to organize games, hand out prizes, etc., between 12:30 (set up) and 3:30 (break down).

More donations: If you can’t participate, you can still contribute with donations of CANDY (there’s a bin in the West garden shed) and BAKED GOODS (the morning of the party).

There’s even something for “Halloween grinches”: : a PLANT PICK-UP, by wheel barrow, from La Perla Garden.

Your contribution will make this day a success. Please pitch in!

Volunteers Needed for Halloween +‏

October 19, 2010
by garden
1 min read

Lou Ludyny volunteered to organize our annual Halloween party on Sat. October 30; now he needs our help to make this a success.

Tomorrow @ 1:30: Finish painting the gazebo floor, about ½ hour’s work

Sat. Oct 23, 1-4 PM: Put up Halloween decorations. (The La Perla Garden has been ghoulish for more than a week: we need to catch up!)

DONATE CANDY (container in the garden) and BAKED GOODS, always popular.

Sat. Oct. 30, 1-3 PM: Help set up, run children’s games, sell baked goods, etc. (including clean up)*. Costumes optional for adults.

*Green Guerilla Giveaway the same day. Plants will be delivered to La Perla between 2 and 4 PM. We need volunteers with wheelbarrows to pick up our share (not very hard labor).

With so many opportunities, surely you can pitch in.

Let Lou know what you can do: ; (212) 666-9733

Thanks in advance for your contributions and participation!

10/9: Thanatopolis Exhibition and Dinner at I-Park

October 8, 2010
by garden
1 min read
Norbert Attard went back to Malta after the 104th St. Installation and has just returned to to the US, installing at I-Park, CT, for The Thanatopolis Exhibition. He got the good news while in our garden. If you want to participate in the $20 dinner please let Anna Lise know this week. It is a long day and possibly long evening, so people will have to take care of their own transportation, as it is to hard for me to organize a shared van with a timeframe that pleases all.
People should respond to my email : aaaonyc@gmail.com, or cell: 212 865-2108
The dinner is located at I-Park, 428 Hopyard Road, East Haddam, CT. I-Park is resident artist program located on a 450-acre woodland retreat in rural East Haddam, Connecticut. See http://www.i-park.org for details.
Please contact Anna-Lise if you are interested in attending (don’t try to click the image).

Gazebo Painting/Construction Party: Sunday, October 17

October 4, 2010
by garden
1 min read

Hi to All, 
Just to let you know that I am sponsoring a PAINTING/CONSTRUCTION PARTY on Sunday October 17 (raindate:sat,10/23) from 1-4pm for the purpose of painting the gazebo floor (paints/rollers will be supplied) and restoration of east side of gazebo (need Frank to take a look at rotting beam). Pizza (heroes) and sodas/water (hot tea/coffee in case its too cold) will be supplied for members who come out to help.
My computer will be down for a few days(bedroom restoration) so if you want to let me know right away call me at 212 666 9733 or better 646 539 8596 ,Thank you in advance.
Lou Ludyny
A BIG P.S.:  I also need help on decorating garden for HALLOWEEN PARTY to be held on sat.,Oct 30(R.D.Oct 31) 1-3pm for children 12 and under. ALSO SWEETS DONATIONS IN THE FORM OF PACKAGED CANDY WILL BE GREATFULLY APPRECIATED!!!!
THANKS,
LOU