NGA Regional Gardening News – Mid-Atlantic Edition

December 7, 2008
by garden
1 min read
1 Comment

In My Garden
New Regional Blogs!
That Goes, This Stays in the Winter Garden
Resources
Shows & Events: Cast Your Vote for a 2008 Garden Hero

Books: Perennial Garden Care Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s “The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques”

Regional Reminders
* Dig Your Holiday Tree Hole Now
* Fertilize Spring and Summer Bulbs
* Leave Ornamental Grasses and Select Seed Pods
* Empty, Clean and Store Nonweatherproof Containers
* Pop In Pansies, Dwarf Evergreens

National News:
New Award-Winning Christmas Melon
Community Gardens Add Value to Inner City Homes
New Biopesticide Controls Tomato Blight and Mildew
Garden Gloves for Animal Lovers

Read the full newsletter at: http://www.garden.org/regional/report/current/13

Mulchfest January 10 and 11

December 7, 2008
by garden
1 min read

Chip in! Mulch your tree! Help NYC grow.

Chip in and join the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation at MulchFest 2009! Stop by any of the 30 chipping sites in all five boroughs on January 10th and 11th from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. with your Christmas tree and watch it get turned into mulch! You can even take home a free bag of fragrant mulch. Or just drop your tree off at another 60 locations citywide, and we’ll do the rest. Not only will it help make NYC greener, it will help your spring flowers grow too!

Call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/parks for a list of citywide locations.

(Jean notes that although all sites take trees, only a few will give you the chips. These sites have an asterisk next to them (the Central Park site is NOT one of them), so if you want to take the mulch back, be sure the site is willing to do this.)

Edible Landscaping – December 2008

November 30, 2008
by garden
1 min read

This month Edible Landscaping closes the year with thoughts on sunlight, pawpaws and mushrooms. Lucille mentioned that Mary Wakino is a great mushroomer!

Edible Landscaping is on sabbatical until the Spring. If you’d like to continue receiving good gardening information on a regular basis, subscribe to the National Gardening Association’s Regional Reports e-newsletter. In each biweekly report, experts share gardening advice, techniques, news, and events specific to 12 regions across the country.

A Solstice Tea – Back by Popular Demand

November 19, 2008
by garden
1 min read

Neighbors and Gardeners-

Mark your calendars for a Solstice Celebration Tea on Saturday, December 20 at 3:30- 5PM in the W. 104th St. Community Garden.

Like last year, there will be:

-A can drive (Donations going to City Harvest)

-A Solstice illumination spectacular

-A warming fire

-Plenty of hot tea and tea time goodies

This year, ALL NEW:

-A warming tent

-Burning of the T. E. Jaworek Memorial Solstice Log

-Pennies from Heaven; Spare Change for Cats

(Purge your home of all the loose those pennies sitting around.  Bring them to the garden and donate them tothe care and feeding of our exterminating felines.)

Garden Closer Potluck – Sun Nov 23

November 3, 2008
by garden
2 min read

Attention Gardeners,

This year the garden closer potluck will be:

Sunday, November 23rd
(this is a date change from what was issued on the calender at the beginning of the season)
1pm
Schneider Apartments Community Room
West 102nd Street
between CPW & Manhattan Aves

It is important that you attend because we will be collecting membership forms / payment for the 2009 season.
The earlier you register the better are your chances for getting into the committees you want and priority on plot assignments.

Please bring a covered dish to share.
Keep in mind we will also need plates, napkins, forks, spoons, cups etc.

Also important:

The garden needs to be cleaned up and prepared for winter!
Please take advantage of the good weather this weekend and get into the garden to put away Halloween decorations,
clean up your beds, distribute soil from the mountain, mow the lawn, put away everything that is not weatherproof.

We need EVERYONE‘s help with this.  If you have been missing meetings all season, now is your time to clear your conscience and put in your part.
Now that we have a strong Steering Committee and healthy committee structures, there will be less likelihood that absent gardeners will be slipping through the cracks.
The Steering Committee will definitely be looking at your participation level when deciding if you deserve
to be awarded your very own plot – this huge privilege, not a right.

Be a good gardener, do your part and let’s finish the season on a positive note!

Thank You!
The Steering Committee

October Workday/Winter Wrapup

November 2, 2008
by garden
1 min read

The Saturday Oct. 18 workday was one of our most productive!

Garden members:

1. Pushed wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of soil up the hill from the East to the West garden, where it was deposited in communal beds and spread over the main and maze lawns. The East garden beds and lawns were treated as well. The dirt mountain is now just a hill.—This was hard labor! Special thanks to the mountain movers. (Also to the anonymous “promoter” who pinned a sign to the hill, “Potting soil–$1,” before the Fall Festival.)

2. Cleared, cleaned, and reorganized the shed in the East garden, which had gotten to be a jumble. Much needed housekeeping.

3. Decorated the garden with hay bales, old and new dolls, skeletons, a spider, pumpkin and ghost balloons, etc. for the Fall Festival. Seasonably scary.

4. Put together yet another bench. Hurray.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in that Saturday –and to those who worked on the mountain by themselves the week before.

There’s a lot more to be done to close down the garden for winter.

Come out this weekend; the weather is gorgeous!

The Steering Committee

Edible Landscaping – November 2008

November 1, 2008
by garden
2 min read
FYI — I don’tthink any of us grow potatoes, but perhaps leeks? Buy the potatoes for recipe?

And there are some composting tips, too. LM
This month in Edible Landscaping:

Composting 101

It’s fall and at this time of year my mind automatically turns to compost. Okay, it’s not the most glamorous gardening topic in the world, but it’s an ess

ential one. Adding compost to garden soil improves soil health by providing … more »

Edible of the Month: Potato

The common, white-fleshed, “Irish” potato has a reputation for being inexpensive, plain, and boring, so why bother growing potatoes? Well, there’s more to potatoes than meets the eye … more »

Mr. President, Eat the View:
An interview with Roger Doiron

It’s an election year and there are many hot topics on people’s minds. With the economy tanking, fuel prices high, food prices soaring, and concerns about global warming, health care, social security, and education ever present, many people feel … more »

Leek, Celeriac, and Potato Soup

Leeks are easy to grow, but they do require a long growing season. Fortunately, you can harvest them into late fall and some varieties actually taste better once they’ve been nipped by frost. Most leek and potato soups look bland, but my version … more »

Upcoming Events – November

October 30, 2008
by garden
2 min read

We like to keep you posted about stuff going on in our neighborhood. Here are three events coming up—one Friday October. 31, one this Saturday afternoon, November 1 and another on the evening of November 6.

We think these will be of interest to you.

1. West 107th St. has been coming together with their own block association. Trick or treat candy will be distributed to children by the group between 3 and 6PM on Friday Oct. 31 at 62 W. 107th St. between Manhattan and Columbus. There will be pumpkin carving too!

2. November 1 Harvest Festival/Day of the Dead

honoring the harvest season and departed souls

On Sat. Nov. 1, 12noon-5pm

at the La Perla Community Garden

(between Manhattan and Columbus

Avenues on W. 105th St.)

Festival includes:

Mexican family activities for celebrating and honoring departed souls.The event will feature crafts andstories provided by El Comite Guadalupana de la Iglesia Ascension.

The West Side Streets Renaissance Campaign will have a table with ideas for changing streets to make them safer for people walking, cycling and driving.

(Vendor spots available at $20 for general merchandise or $40 for food. If interested, please call Lulu-646-736-8450)

Please share with friends and neighbors!!

3.

The History and Future Of Our Neighborhood’s Underground Waters!

The Old Streams

Drinking Water

Waste Water

From the 1800’s Aqueducts on 100th Street, to the Gothic Water Tower on 98th Street and the Underground Streams still flowing under the new construction, our neighborhood has included notable structures above and below ground to direct our drinking, waste and natural waters.

Where does our water come from and go?

6 – 8 p.m.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Bloomingdale Library, 160 West 100th Street

(between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues)

Second Floor

Speaker:

Kevin Bone, Author, Water-Works:

The Architecture and Engineering of

New York City’s Water Supply

Invited Commentators from the

NYC Bureau of Waste Water and the New York

Public Library Map Division.

Park West Neighborhood History Group

Columbus/Amsterdam

Business Improvement District (BID)

For further information, call 212-865-3078

Jean L. Jaworek

Garden Conservancy Event – Nov 7

October 21, 2008
by garden
2 min read

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Photo courtesy of Len Jenshel and Diane Cook

The Garden Conservancy Presents 

The Garden Metropolis

Exploring the relationship of people

and plants in the changing city

Cosponsored by GardenDesign_logo

Friday, November 7, 2008

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The New York School of Interior Design

170 East 70th Street, New York City

As our cities continually expand and develop at a fast pace, the interaction of people and plants assumes a narrowly focused but essential interplay. This one-day seminar will showcase the strong design and thoughtful planning currently transforming our urban green spaces. Garden writer and editor Stephen Orr has invited the experts responsible for many of these lively spaces to share their ideas about how people of all backgrounds experience nature on an everyday basis.

Learn more about this event and REGISTER.

Registration fee:

$135 for non-members

$120 for members of the Garden Conservancy and New York School of Interior Design students.

Seating is limited, so please register early.

For more information, please call (845) 265-2029.

Lunch will be served in the New York School of Interior Design Café, and the day will conclude with tea and cookies. Relevant books will be available in the school’s bookstore.

Forward this message to a friend.


To learn more about the Garden Conservancy, please visit our website www.gardenconservancy.org

National Headquarters: PO Box 219, Cold Spring, NY 10516/ P: 845.265.2029/ F: 845.265.9620/ info@gardenconservancy.org | West Coast Office: 38 Keyes Avenue, Suite 116, The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129/ P: 415/441-4300/ wcprog@gardenconservancy.org

Fall Festival This Saturday – October 25

October 21, 2008
by garden
2 min read

Hello Gardeners!

The garden is looking very bright and festive in preparation for our event on Saturday.

Thank you to all that came out on Saturday to help decorate, move dirt and clean out the shed to make room for winter storage.

Also thank you to everyone posting flyers and forwarding e-mails to publicize our Fall Festival.

The Special Events Committee is requesting some additional help from anyone available and willing to contribute.

We could use the following donations:

1. Baked goods to sell at the garden table – please wrap your cookies, muffins, brownies or mini loaves individually for easy selling
2. Hot mulled cider to be sold at the garden table by the cup – this is a great money maker when the weather is nippy. The orange igloo cooler is the perfect container and it can be found in the large shed in the east lot.
3. Donations of Halloween Candy – very easy to find these days at the grocery and drug stores
4. Harvest your herbs and put them in a small sandwich bag with a label – they are so expensive in the supermarket and usually more than we need to buy at one time. Herbs are an easy item to sell.
5. Cups for cider

Any and all donations can be dropped off at the garden the morning of the event – 11am. If you want to make arrangements to drop off items prior to Saturday, please call Veronica at 212-774-1944.

Also, if you are available for an hour or even 45 minutes to man the garden table, relieve someone that is on duty or just generally help us out with the festivities, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Let Veronica know what you are able to contribute: vdoubleu@usa.net

Or simply come out on Saturday and look for Raleigh, Paula, Lou, Veronica or Jean and ask where your help can be used.

Reminder of the details:

West 104th Street Community
Fall Festival
Saturday, October 25th
11am – 4pm

Frank Schaap and Josh Levine will start performing acoustically at noon.

The raindate is Sunday, October 26th

Vendor spaces are only $15
Call Julia to reserve a spot: 212-316-2964