Winter – the quiet season

Most of the gardens are quiet now, though you may see a few hardy kale plants peeking out from a row cover or carrots waiting to be pulled.

Here are a few things you can do to get a jump start on spring planting:

  1. Organize and sharpen your tools
  2. Buy seeds if needed.  You can test old seeds for germination by putting a few folded into a damp paper towel.  You will get the best selection of seeds online by ordering early.  Johnnyseeds.com is very popular with gardeners.
  3. In late winter, prune fruit shrubs, removing old branches at ground level and overcrowded center branches to increase air circulation.

 

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Welcome to the 2019 Gardening Season! Spring is here! 

News will be distributed by email and will also be posted to the Bulletin Board near the south entrance to the garden.

The Headlines:

1) Compost/mulch available!  This is PFP composted leaves.  This is excellent for adding organic matter to your vegetable beds and for suppressing weeds.  The cost is $25 per tractor bucket load (about 3/4 of a cubic yard) delivered to a public area near your plot.  You may order by clicking here and paying via Paypal or sending in a check, as instructed in the order form.  More extensive instructions can be found below also. The deadline for ordering is  Saturday, April 27.

2) Tilling available!  Joe Lyons, a long time gardener at the VCCG plots will till your garden for a small fee.  Please contact Joe directly. Joe’s contact information is on the bulletin board under the mulberry tree at the south end of the VCCG.

3) Workday #1 is Saturday, April 27, 1-3:30 pm.  If you signed up for it, you will receive an email reminder one week ahead of time.  We’ll need plenty of cardboard, large pieces are preferable.  It needs to be brown on both sides (no laminated cardboard) so it breaks down properly.  Please remove any tape and flatten the cardboard before donating or using.

4) The annual Poughkeepsie Farm Project Plant Sale is scheduled for Saturdays, May 4th and 11th.

This is a great opportunity for organic veggies that will thrive in your gardens. For more information, vist the PFP website: https://www.farmproject.org/farm-fest

Other Stuff:

VCCG Leadership
Many of you have noticed that changes are happening at the Community Garden. In 2017, the Poughkeepsie Farm Project handed over management of the Community Garden to a team of volunteers, all of whom are garden members. The current garden managers, elected in September of 2018, are Mary Nisley (plot 6C&D), Myra Hughey (21H), Carlie Graves (9A&B ), and Bojana Zupan (25E&26E ). We manage all aspects of the garden from registration and finances to the maintenance of the garden space to fielding questions to resolving issues within the garden. We hope to make the Vassar College CommunityGarden a better space for everyone, and we welcome every garden member to become involved in this process!

New Website!
Click here for the new website.  Newsletters (ie this email) will also be posted on the website.

Planting now: lettuce, spinach, chard, mustard, and other greens, carrots, peas, and onions!

Compost/Mulch – by mail: Mail a check for $25.00 per load to Vassar College (c/o Myra Hughey; 124 Raymond Avenue; Box 0548; Poughkeepsie, NY 12604). The check should be made out to Vassar College. So that we can deliver the compost to the appropriate location, please write on the memo line “Compost for Plot # ____” specifying your plot number. Checks will also be accepted in person by any garden manager (Mary, Carlie, Myra, or Bojana).

Water line repairs:  We are in negotiations with Vassar regarding repair of the water lines. As soon as this process is complete and weather permitting, the water will be turned on.

VCCG compost site:  You may compost PLANT MATTER ONLY at the VCCG compost site at the end of row 21.   Place compost material on top of the pile at the far back.  NO TRASH PLEASE!!!  Trash must be carried out.

Welcome back!

Sincerely,

Myra Hughey, Bojana Zupan, Carlie Graves and Mary Nisley
VCCG Coordinators

P.S.  Please add vccomgardens@gmail.com to your safe senders list so VCCG emails do not go to your spam folder.

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