Garden Wall Reconstruction – Vote on Reroute

January 13, 2010
by garden
4 min read

Re: Vote on West Garden, Southeast Wall Reconstruction

On Wednesday, January 6, 2010, several gardeners from the Steering, Maintenance, West Garden and Greenthumb committees* met with the Parks Department and contractor in the West Garden to discuss the wall reconstruction.

Our discussion was productive and we were impressed by the vendor’s concern to as do as little harm as possible during the wall reconstruction.

As most of you know, the purpose of this meeting was two-fold:

1. To develop the least intrusive/disruptive route for the contactor’s equipment
2. To review the job site with the contractor and Parks apprising both of our concerns and hopes.

To summarize the meeting: We walked around the site and described the three routes discussed at our regular garden meeting. 1. Straight back along the lawn with a left turn behind the rose arbor, 2. Across the lawn with a diagonal left turn between the shed and arbor, 3. Along the rear yard of 12 W. 104th street with an approach through the east lot. Parks and the contractor rejected this third option as impractical but suggested one of their own.

Based on this meeting and additional private discussion among our garden team we are now unanimous in supporting the approach route suggested by the contractor. Since I’d ardently opposed a more invasive version of this plan some months ago, the others asked me to make the case for this literal change in direction.

First, the Contractor’s proposed route: straight back through the front fence of the Western Garden, parallel to the west wall of 12 W. 104th St. directly through one line of individual beds—those nearest 12 W. 104th St.

Reroute Diagram
Reroute Diagram

This approach will require the dismantling of a line of five individual beds as well as a stretch of plantings along the front fence. It will provide a space wide enough for the contractor’s equipment (about 10 feet). No turns will be made, thus minimizing the possibility of additional damage; with the exception of some of the plantings along the front fence, it will not damage any communal areas — the lawn, the herb bed, the center flower bed, the root system of the American Elm tree or the fig that would have been hit in the other paths. In addition this route protects the cold frame, rose arbor and shrubs around the water barrels. When the project is finished, Parks will get us replacement topsoil.

I don’t wish to underestimate the amount of work it will take to rebuild what will be removed or the hardship for those whose beds are displaced temporarily – my own is one of them — but we firmly believe it is better for the garden to contain the area of disruption.

Again let’s not candy coat our situation: There is no good approach to the reconstruction site other than from the sky and setting the western lot to right will require the effort of all of us working together. But as co-chairs of maintenance for some years, Frank and I agree (along with the others) that this approach is the one we think will work out the best for the garden and prove least damaging.

But the decision is yours. We will only tell the contractor to use this route if we have your support. We welcome hearing your concerns and comments and will listen to your gripes too – just this once. Because it is winter and a vote in the garden isn’t practical, we ask that you respond by email to the following question:

Do you support the contractor’s proposed route through the West garden as outlined above?

Yes___ No___ Abstain___

Please email your vote and comments to Paula McKenzie (paulatb2@verizon.net) by next Friday, January 15, so we can get back to Parks Dept.

Respectfully,

Jean Jaworek

* In attendance: Maintenance Committee Co-Chairs Frank Grech and Jean Jaworek, Steering Committee members: Ann Levine, Janice Vrana and Paula McKenzie, Greenthumb Contact, Lucille Murovich, West Garden Co-Chair, Suzanne Charlé and a representative from Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito’s office.

Raccoon Rabies Advisory from CB7

January 13, 2010
by garden
2 min read

Raccoon Rabies Advisory
Manhattan (UWS, UES Central Pk and Morningside Pk Areas)

Rabid raccoons were recently found in Central Park and Morningside Park. For current information on rabid animals visit www.nyc.gov/health/rabies

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene requests that you:
1) Get your cat or dog vaccinated for rabies. It’s the law.
· Check with your vet to see if your pet is up to date on its shots.
· Keep your dog on a leash except for during off leash hours. Always keep a close eye on your dog when outdoors, especially when off leash.

2) Stay away from wild or stray animals. Keep children and pets away from them too.
·Raccoons, skunks, bats, and stray cats are more likely than other animals to have rabies.
– Observe and enjoy healthy wildlife from a distance
– Do not feed wildlife.
– Never approach a wild, stray, sick, or injured animal, no matter how helpless it looks. Instead call 311 or notify a Parks employee.
· Throw your trash in an appropriate trash container.

3) If you are bitten by an animal, wash the wound, consult a doctor,
and call 311 to report the bite.
· First, wash the wound with soap and water IMMEDIATELY.
· If you are bitten by a pet, get the owners contact information.
·Talk to a doctor right away to see if you need tetanus or rabies shots. If you don’t have a regular doctor, go to a hospital emergency room.
· Call 311 to report the bite.

Visit www.nyc.gov/health/rabies for more information and updated facts.

Community Board 7/ Manhattan
250 West 87th Street New York, NY 10024-2706
Phone: (212) 362-4008 Fax:(212) 595-9317
Web site: nyc.gov/mcb7 e-mail address: office@cb7.org

Mulchfest

January 8, 2010
by garden
1 min read

Hi everybody —

No public event scheduled this month in our garden.

MULCHFEST NYC this weekend, Jan 9, Jan 10, and Jan 11 — call 311 to find out where to discard your Christmas trees in Manhattan, 10AM to 2PM, trees must be bare; bring your own car to pick up mulch thereafter. There are 5 locations in Manhattan, 3 on the West side, and not all will be open all three days.

KUDOS to:

Frank Grech for keeping sidewalks in front of both garden sites clear and free of ice and snow!

Gardeners Ann Levine, Paula McKenzie, Robin Mace, Janice Vrana, Frank Grech, Jean Jaworek, Suzanne Charle’, (me,too),
who met with Parks, Contractors, and aide from CM Mark-Viverito’s office on a COLD windy morning this week re: foundation wall rehab project in the West garden. You’ll be getting a ballot/explanation/summary of this meeting probably over the weekend which Parks will then use to elicit Project Submission Proposal from Contractor. So monitor your E-Mail that your vote be counted in timely fashion! (Non e-mail gardeners will be telephoned with all info.)

All for now,

Lucille

Gardens at Risk…

December 16, 2009
by garden
10 min read

> From: lucille_mv@yahoo.com
> To: ;
> Subject: Fw: [tb-cybergardens]: Gardens at Risk…
> Date: Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:32:30 -0500
>
> F.Y.I. : This is but one reason holding Public Events in the
> Garden is of prime importance. // LM
>
> Original Message
>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 5:00 PM
> Subject: Gardens at Risk…
>
> >
> >
> > http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3848
> > http://www.brownstoner.com/
> >
> > City Limits WEEKLY #712
> > December 14, 2009
> >
> > NO WINTER HIBERNATION FOR GARDEN ACTIVISTS
> > By Jennifer Brookland
> >
> > Advocates, electeds and city officials are busy devising the next
> > best step for preserving some neighborhood oases.
> >
> > With the termination looming next year of a legal agreement
> > protecting community gardens across New York City, gardeners are
> > working to formulate strategies for how to ensure that
> > neighborhood green spots continue to flourish.
> > They’re eager to avoid the pain of uprooting suffered by
> > gardeners like Tom Goodridge, who helped to create a garden at
> > P.S. 76 in Harlem in the early 90s. Dubbed the Garden of Love, it
> > replaced a trash-strewn vacant lot in the kind of transformation
> > being repeated in hundreds of other spaces across the city. But
> > on Nov. 2, 1998, bulldozers plowed without warning through the
> > garden’s fence, flowers and grove of mulberry trees. Along with
> > 40 other newly flattened gardens, it was slated by the city for
> > development into affordable housing.
> >
> > Goodridge and his school community mourned their magical refuge.
> > “I think it’s wrong to raise children without trees to climb and
> > mudpies to make,” he said. Especially when two years after it was
> > razed, all that the city had erected in its place was a sign
> > announcing that affordable housing would be built.
> >
> > Now, a vocal cohort of community gardeners across New York City
> > worries that a similar fate could befall their own sanctuaries. A
> > legal settlement that protects some of the city’s green spaces is
> > set to expire in Sept. 2010, with no new safeguards to take its
> > place.
> >
> > That has advocates debating issues like whether new City Council
> > legislation would be the best path toward longer-term garden
> > preservation – or whether various new routes toward guarding the
> > gardens actually come with more pitfalls than real protection.
> >
> > A small slice of green
> >
> > Community gardens in New York City come in all shapes and sizes,
> > as any observant pedestrian has noticed – but people may not
> > realize that they fall under a variety of jurisdictions, too. Two
> > owners of garden land are the Department of Parks and Recreation
> > and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and
> > it is 51 lots owned by HPD – 23 of which are being used as
> > gardens, according to department spokeswoman Catie Marshall –
> > that are potentially threatened by the settlement’s sunset in
> > September.
> >
> > There are also some gardens under Department of Transportation
> > jurisdiction that could be slated for development, said Edie
> > Stone, the director of Green Thumb which is a part of the parks
> > department. Community gardeners can register their land with
> > GreenThumb – which claims to be the country’s largest
> > municipally-run gardening program – to receive financial and
> > logistical support.
> >
> > By Stone’s calculation, about 11 active gardens across the Bronx,
> > Brooklyn and Manhattan could be directly threatened by
> > development once the settlement expires.
> >
> > Activists view the current stage as largely set by events of
> > former mayor Rudy Giuliani’s era. Giuliani’s efforts more than a
> > decade ago to turn garden lots into apartment buildings enraged
> > the gardening community and spurred it to take action. Actress
> > Bette Midler had recently launched the New York Restoration
> > Project, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting green space in the
> > city. The organization joined with the Trust for Public Land, a
> > national land conservation organization, raising $4.2 million to
> > buy up 114 gardens threatened with destruction. At the same time,
> > then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer brought a lawsuit against New
> > York City, claiming it was illegal to auction the gardens. Both
> > sides reached a settlement in 2002, in which Parks would take
> > over the jurisdiction of lots previously owned by HPD, whose goal
> > was to create affordable housing units. The settlement also laid
> > out a public review process whereby any garden the city wanted to
> > take for development had!
> > to be offered a new location.
> >
> > Praising the settlement, Mayor Bloomberg announced, “We are
> > providing permanent protection to hundreds of community gardens
> > throughout New York City.” Yet permanency was not spelled out in
> > the settlement. The Memorandum of Agreement that settled the fate
> > of those gardens carried a term of eight years, until September
> > 2010.
> >
> > The Trust for Public Land pointed out that after that date, the
> > gardens would be left vulnerable again. “No deliberative system
> > governs the fate of the city-owned lots transformed into gardens;
> > no comprehensive plan determines the disposition of the land; no
> > guidelines protect the value these gardens bring to their
> > neighborhoods,” read a report published by the nonprofit.
> >
> > Other gardens were handed over as part of the settlement or
> > afterward to the parks department. While most gardeners view
> > Parks ownership as protection, some fear even that won’t preserve
> > the spaces from future development. Parks maintains it has no
> > plans to develop the gardens.
> >
> > “There’s a persistent fear among a certain bunch of the gardeners
> > that suddenly the parks department would decide to get rid of all
> > the gardens under their jurisdiction,” said Stone. “While that’s
> > theoretically possible, that’s highly unlikely for a thousand
> > reasons.”
> >
> > HPD maintains that expiration of the settlement will not impact
> > the pace of the agency’s ongoing plans for development. “Many of
> > the gardens and former gardens in [our] jurisdiction have already
> > been designated to developers. The others will be designated and
> > developed through our affordable housing programs,” said
> > Marshall.
> >
> > Staking claims
> >
> > With such a small number of gardens possibly threatened, most
> > community gardeners aren’t kept up at night by the thought of the
> > city snatching their plots away. But Hajah Worley, of the New
> > York City Community Gardens Coalition, thinks they should be
> > worried. The Bloomberg administration seems interested in
> > protecting green space, said Worley – but what about mayors to
> > come?
> >
> > “This is a development-oriented city that we live in, so we can’t
> > ever just sit back and think we are safe,” he said.
> >
> > Stone, the director of GreenThumb, acknowledged that nothing in
> > the law prevents the Parks Department from transferring land to
> > another agency, which could then develop as it wished, though she
> > thought that was highly unlikely.
> >
> > “The city is as committed now as it was in 2002 to preserving the
> > gardens,” said Parks Department Assistant Commissioner Jack Linn.
> > “Only a wacko would suggest getting rid of them.”
> >
> > Linn confirmed the Parks Department was committed to preserving
> > community gardens for the long-term. Deciding how best to do that
> > legally is the challenge. “Currently, no such legal protection
> > exists – it would have to be created new for the very first time.
> > So these things become complicated,” he said.
> >
> > Nevertheless, Worley and others don’t want to count on the city’s
> > promises today when it comes to protecting their gardens
> > tomorrow. They’ve approached the attorney general and City
> > Council to pass legislation that would protect the gardens, this
> > time for good.
> >
> > “That’s what we’re aiming at, getting some kind of concrete
> > protection [for] ten years from now when community gardens are
> > looked at as real estate,” said Karen Washington, the coalition’s
> > president. “It’s up for debate. Why can’t we have that
> > conversation? What’s the best way that community gardens can be
> > preserved?”
> >
> > City Council has tried to address that question twice already.
> > Two resolutions were introduced in the past three years. One in
> > 2007 sought to extend the existing settlement by preserving all
> > existing GreenThumb gardens and set aside more parkland, open
> > space and vacant lots for gardens. Another resolution introduced
> > in 2009 called for GreenThumb gardens to be represented on the
> > official New York City map as city parks.
> >
> > Neither bill was voted on, however, and as the Council calendar
> > is cleared for the new year, they won’t be. Several
> > councilmembers are formulating new legislation, slated for
> > introduction in early 2010, aimed at protecting the gardens.
> > “Something will happen over the next few months to bring
> > attention to this matter,” said Bill Murray, legislative aide to
> > Queens Councilman James Gennaro, chairman of the Committee on
> > Environmental Protection. Gennaro’s bill, now being finalized,
> > would call on the mayor and attorney general to extend the 2002
> > memorandum of understanding, Murray said. “People have forgotten
> > about it, but the settlement does expire and something’s got to
> > be done.”
> >
> > But Stone cautions that even protecting the land under the
> > current settlement’s provisions doesn’t necessarily mean
> > protecting gardens. Even if legislation is passed that puts all
> > gardens under park department protection, nothing prevents the
> > department from using that land for other purposes.
> >
> > “The Parks Department could pave over them all and stick a
> > basketball court on it and that would be totally allowed,” she
> > said.
> >
> >
> > This message has been processed by Firetrust Benign.
> >
>

Notes from Nov 5th Cornell Soil Health Lecture

November 19, 2009
by garden
4 min read

[Note: brackets indicate holes in the notes that I will fill for permanent copies, wanted to get this done today, so you know I haven’t disappeared.]

Soil, Nutrition, Fertilizers, and Amendments
Lorraine Brooks, Cornell University Cooperative Extension 11/5/09

Soil – should:
– preserve plant growth
– reserve and purify water
– function as Nature’s recycling system
– provide habitat for a variety of living organisms

Tilth – the workable quality of soil

Soil Texture – description of how fine or coarse
The particles in soil are: sand, silt, and clay.
With ideal pore space, soil is: 45% mineral, 25% air, 25% water, 5% organic matter.
Sand has the largest particles, measuring 2.0 – 0.05 mm, and provides macropores.
Silt is next, 0.05 – 0.002mm
Clay is the smallest, aggregate > structure

Spaces between aggregates are macropores, which improve permeability and drainage. Most pores are micropores.
– Structure may be destroyed by compaction or excessive
tillage.
– Tillage of wet soils can damage structure.
– Loss of organic matter (no worms, no aeration; no
bacterial breakdown of leavesand insects, no
refinement of gross materials)
– Compaction squeezes aggregates into horizontal
strata.
Permeability – the rate at which water flows through the soil
Soil Pores
– micropores responsible for soil’s waterholding capacity
– with macropores – faster water flow
– with micropores – takes longer to dry out

Factors Affecting Soil Porosity
– texture
– structure
– compaction
– organic matter

Permeability – of sand, rapid; of clay, the opposite

Soil Organisms
– a 1/4 tsp. has 1 billion microorganisms
– located closest to roots
– main functionis to breakdown plant debris, etc.
– releases energy, nutrients, carbon dioxide
– creates soil’s organic matter
– most active at 70- 100 degrees F.

Ecohabitat of Soil
organic matter – plants – fungi ( mycorrhizal and
saprophytic) – nematodes (root feeders, and fungal and bacterial feeders) – arthropods –
– roots need oxygen for growth, and produce CO2 that
needs to leave the soil
Earthworms
– earthworms increase porosity by making permanent
burrows
– consume two tons of dry matter per acre per year
– partly digest organic matter, and mix it with the soil

There is an invasive problem with worms in the NE U.S. increasing the rate of breakdown of matter, so that it doesn’t coordinate with other species’ use of nuntrients/materials.

Plant Nutrition
– commercial fertilizer is synthetic; has fast release; can leach nitrogen into groundwater, if excessive for amount needed.
– organic preferred
– there are 17 nutrients plants need
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosporus, potassium,
iron, zinc, molybdenum, manganese, boron, copper, salt, [______________]
– roots take up nutrients primarily as ions dissolved n the soil’s water
– an ion is an electrically charged atom/grop of atoms; positively charged are cations, negatively are anions
– fertilizer only increasesplant growth if the plant is deficient in the nutrient applied.
Nitrogen – Phosphorus – Potassium
– N – nitrogen is for rapid growth, dark leaves
– P – phosphorus: cell division
– K – potassium: thickening of cell walls
– sulfur: nodulation of legumes, seed production of all plants, [________]
Ca – calcium: [___________]
[ ] – chlorophyll
Zn – zinc – growth hormones, starch, seed development
Fe – iron – chlorophyll formation

Deficiencies of Nutrients – most common are of the primary nutrients
– phosphorus and potassium are usuallly p lentiful in natural soil for landscape plants; might be needed for vegetables
– nitrogen is very mobile, goes to young growth first — lack: stunting, small leaves, slow to fruit — in excess: dark leaves, heavy
growth, [________]

Fertilizers
Previously, 5-10-5 proportion of the primary nutrients was usual; now some organics have the same, some not.
[Ex.: Home Depot 10-6-4, check online for affordable 50 lb. bags]

Ph is the one soil test done, if any — low number=acid, high=alkaline
– 6.2 – 6.8 is the desirable range
– Cornell has test kit to order
– if ph is low, apply lime – prevents butterfly moth egg deposits
– in North, soil tends to be alkaline
– if 5.0 – 6.2 [ ]
– if 7.8, apply granular sulfur (not available here, mail order cheap from Peaceful Valley Supply at groworganic.com) –
– rhododendrons and azaleas like acid soil
– Spring – green aphids, Fall – grey ones — with good soil, plants have more resistance to pests
– compost spikes high ph when new, and goes down later, which is why it’s good for it to be aged more than a couple of years
– concrete in city environment contributes to “sweetening” the soil — Bx. gardens are where brick buildings with cement have been
knocked down, soil is 8.0ph

For soil testing, call Donna the soil tester at the [GreenThumb/Cornell Extension] office.
Cornell Univ, Cooperative Extension, Urban Environment, 40 E. 34th St. – Suite 606, New York NY 10016-4402
t. 212.340.2997, f. 212.340.2908 llb84@cornell.edu http://nyc.cce.cornell.edu

4Brooklyn College Soil Study

October 26, 2009
by garden
3 min read

The 104th Street Community Garden participated in a soil study performed by The Brooklyn College Environmental Sciences Analytic Center. The following is a preliminary release regarding soil samples throughout the city. The overall results do not necessarily reflect the health of our own garden, but do indicate alarming levels of heavy metals, including lead, in New York City soils. We eagerly await the results of the follow up study and will report any results specific to our garden, when the report becomes available.

Brooklyn College results:

“The Brooklyn College Soil Analysis lab received many soil samples from residents throughout New York City. The lab analyzed heavy metal content in the soil with some surprising results. Lead content in some soils were sometimes as high as 2000ppm. As a follow-up pilot study we would like to measure the air quality in and around some of these gardens. Looking at the air quality may show us whether particulates from the soil are getting into the air, and we would like to see if this is happening and to what degree people are breathing in heavy metals as they work/play around the soil. By performing this pilot study we would like to determine if we need to expand our research not into just soil analysis but into air quality surrounding community and private gardens throughout NYC.”

For more information about lead in NYC gardens, read the New York Times article:

For Urban Gardeners, Lead Is a Concern, May 13, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/garden/14lead.html

Lead Remediation tips recommended in this article include:

  • The best approach to avoiding lead contamination in gardens is what we do at the West 104th Street Garden: Build raised or contained beds lined with landscape fabric and filled with uncontaminated soil. Plants that are grown in containers with soils from a garden center are unlikely to contain high amounts of lead.
  • Replace the contaminated soil or alkalinize it by adding lime or organic matter such as compost. Higher alkalinity (pH level above 7) allows soil particles to bind with lead, making it less likely to be absorbed by plants and the human body if the dirt is inadvertently inhaled or ingested.
  • Plant kitchen gardens with fruiting crops like tomatoes, squash, eggplant, corn and beans, which do not readily accumulate lead.
  • Avoid lead-leaching crops, such as herbs, leafy greens and root vegetables such as potatoes, radishes and carrots.
  • Planting greens, specifically Indian mustard and spinach, for a couple of seasons before growing crops intended for food. This phytoremediation, or plant-based mitigation, allows lead to be removed from the soil. These plants must not be eaten or composted, but disposed of as toxic waste.
  • To avoid contamination from lead dust blowing in the wind or rain splashing off lead-painted structures, situate gardens away from buildings.
  • Wash edible produce thoroughly with water containing 1 percent vinegar or 0.5 percent soap.

    • $

  • Cover soil with sod in areas where you are not planning a garden.

Retaining Wall Updated Information, 10/20/09

October 21, 2009
by garden
2 min read

1) Contractor chosen, budgeted, now awaiting sign offs by four City departments before it can be legally awarded:

Dept. of Investigation — checking history of credit, qualifications, performance, etc.,

Dept. of Finance — to approve budget assigned for all 5-boros overall,

Office of Budget & Management — to corroborate overall budget,

Office of Controller — triple-checking previous 2 reports.

Used to take 2-3 weeks for investigation, but policy/personnel changed six months ago, no way to predict how soon investigation completed. Once signed off by all four, it would take approximately 3 weeks to get up and running. We’re second on list of priorities — will be done in conjunction with another garden/park on W.135th St.

2) Parks/Contractor can give some help in transplanting — dig trenches for placing plants — but would appreciate/expect help from gardeners to know what plants to move.

3) Contractor would have to replace damaged or removed property: replace fence. Normally part of individual contract per site.

4) Parks has generic list of plants from which it might be able to replace some damaged shrubs, plants. They’ve done so in past.

5) Concrete/mortar can be worked at temps above 20 degrees, so not a problem to do this in wintertime. Waiting till Spring would lose us whole planting season. They have method(s) to warm the earth when required.

6) Depending on kind of equipment Contractor has/uses, might be able to bring machinery in through western half of garden, across lawn, then to east fence/retaining wall site. Can’t know at moment. I have requested they take a hard look at using manual labor, with the possibility of our subsidizing part of any additional cost.

7) Some beds will have to be redone, especially if manual labor is minimal: the four starting with the Memorial Bed thru to Cassie Wright’s bed definitely; communal beds along that section of East fence, probably the one at end of BBQ patio and on either side of steps down behind 12 W. bldg. Don’t/won’t know of others until Contract is legally awarded and a Meeting held with the possible solutions presented.

8) New temporary home for cats, away from work area at rear of garden , probably good idea.

If I have further information, before tomorrow’s Meeting, I will send it along.

There was no additional information.

// LM

October Calendar

October 5, 2009
by garden
3 min read

Hi all —

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, Rose Cte. Cleanup Work Session 5-7 PM Setting up shrubs, maze lawn for the winter dormancy season.

SATURDAY, Oct. 17, Final Garden Workday, 10AM meeting — project(s) TBA for workday following.

SATURDAY. Oct. 24. Fall Festival from 12 Noon to 4PM-ish, replete with vendors, ethnic foods:
Call Julie to arrange vendor table, prices, etc., at 212-316-2964. Call Paula/Raleigh to volunteer to set up tables, chairs, staff garden booth//table, make/post flyers, etc.
AND:
SATURDAY, Oct. 24, 1PM- 3PM 9th Annual Halloween Party for kids up to 12 years, with parents and grandparents too! Costume Parade, spooky games, devilish-ly delicious snacks, and prizes, too. Volunteer to help Lou decorate the grounds for this event: 212-666-6732, and again Paula/Raleigh to help organize the games, sing-along, judge costumes, etc.

GREEN THUMB SEMINAR(s) To Obtain compost:
THURSDAY, Oct. 15, 5:30-7:00 PM Composting Seminar, Shiloh Garden, Brooklyn, NY
Monroe St., between Marcy & Tompkins Aves.

A train to Nostrand Ave., exit near intersection of Fulton St. and Nostrand — walk North on Nostrand towards Monroe St.

This should be most helpful to the Compost Cte. members, and the only way to be eligible
for a truckload of compost in the Spring – by attending either this seminar;

OR: alternatively, THURSDAY, November 5th, 4-6 PM, on Soil Health, St. Augustine School Peace Garden, Bronx, NY:

D train to 167 St., xfer to BX 35 bus at Grand Concourse going east on 167 St. get off at
Franklin Ave,., garden is between 167 & 168 Sts,

At either Seminar, the gardener(s) attending can then request a delivery of Soil, compost, or cleanfill for Spring delivery. Such delivery will be most helpful to complete the building of the new beds in the East Garden.

OTHER:
GREENTHUMB & MILLION TREES NYC STEWARDSHIP day-long FREE Conference:

SATURDAY, OCT.24, Jos. Daniel Wilson Memorial / Project Harmony Garden, Manhattan.
11am – 12 noon, Workshop #1, “Tree that Saved My Life” Game show
Noon-12:45PM Lunch
12:45 – 2:15PM, Workshop #2, “Hands-on Street Tree Care Clinic”
Both workshops will be led by Susan Fields, MillionTrees NYC Corps. Susan was our GT Coordinator for 7 years before she left to join the Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2 years ago, and is most knowledgeable about community gardens/street trees needs.

A, B,C,D or 2,3 train to 125 St., walk toward Adam Clayton Powell, turn south walking towards 122 St., turn right on 122 St., garden on the right.

Supplies to be given out include watering buckets/hoses, cultivators, gloves, aprons, info packet, plant material for Tree bed planting.

This one competes with our Fall Festival/Halloween Party, however. So perhaps a Treepit Cte. member might attend and distribute info at our November Season Closing Meeting?

THANKS TO:

Jean Jaworek for her donation of an aluminum ladder to the garden.
Peter Bazeli for his work in designing the now-approved new beds-to-be in the East Garden; and with Alan Tenney providing ballot boxes on both sheds for current and future use.

OTHER:

As a reminder: West Gardeners might want to delay planting of spring flowering bulbs until we have definitive plans and timetable for the retaining wall renovation. Many of our existing plants may have to be moved elsewhere — including those of the east side in the sidewalk fence bed – though every effort and argument is being used to minimize disturbance of that and individual garden plots in the eastern third of the West Garden. Details will be delivered as soon as we have them, after scoping sessions with Parks, GT, Steering, NWCPMBA members are held.

Your input will be sought on solution(s) proffered.

All for now,
Lucille M.

Garden Workday – Sat Sept 12 10am

September 11, 2009
by garden
1 min read

Dear West 104th Street Garden Members,

This is a reminder that our next work day is tomorrow, Saturday Sept 12 beginning with a meeting at 10 am. If you have any suggestions for work day projects please contact me at alan.tenney@gmail.com. See you tomorrow!

-Alan