Smith College Community Garden

P.S.

2011-08-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Head over to the CEEDS blog to see more photos of the garden...

PHOTOS! (from the July 23rd work party)

2011-08-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Kaylyn, giving our sign a much-needed makeover.

Kirsten re-seeding lettuce.

A variety of things including kale and cabbage in our coldframes, which are located right about the notorious steam-tunnels--which, although they've caused us a fair amount of angst warm the soil enough that these little guys have been outgrowing their compatriots quite a bit.

Angela, hoeing...

Finally trellising the cucumbers. (Note the exuberant butternut squash plant that's taaaking ovver.)

Sarah and Kaylyn, enjoying our brand new picnic table.

Parties all the time...

2011-07-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

I was home this weekend, so I missed the work party, but everyone else got a lot done--put together the new garden cart (!), continued mulching the second site, finished some very lasagna-style, permaculture tree-circles and (as always) did some weeding.

I did, however, bring back a few flats of flowers from my aunt's garden, so the weekend wasn't a total waste in terms of garden productivity. I planted a lot in the bed with the rhubarh and horse radish...some day it'll be a forest garden, but for now it's home to zinnias and this great purple salvia. I also brought back impatients and some other shade-loving plants for underneath the two trees, but have yet to plant them...they're looking a little sad thanks to this crazy, crazy heat, but hopefully they'll get in the ground by our next work party...a.k.a. tomorrow.

We're also starting to get a lot more produce in--there's a shit ton of summer squash and zucchini, and the little ground cherries are ripening, as well as the ever-present crop of greens. Very exciting!

Saturday Work Party

2011-07-05T21:01:00.001-07:00

Saturday work party went well: we reseeded a bunch of lettuce, some mustard greens, etc., worked on rescuing the horse-radish and rhubarb from weeds, planted the last of the free seedlings we got from various Smith staff and faculty, and dug some new beds. What we really need to do is figure out some space-holding technique for all the extra shady space in the second site. G suggested ground cover...sounds okay to me, but I'm a little worried about down the line, when we (possibly) will be ruing the day we ever planted red clover or whatever and spend all our time pulling it out of our vegetable beds. At any rate, time to research ground covers...particularly those that aren't interested in taking over the world (or our garden).

Late Introductions

2011-07-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

I've been reading through some of the old material on this blog (the proposal and old "about this site" page, which there are links to on your right) and realized that a) some things have changed and b) I haven't really introduced myself yet.

So! The old "about us" page says that one student will be responsible for recruiting and managing a team of volunteers to maintain the garden over the summer. This has been true for most of the garden's (short) history--until this year, in fact. During the last academic year, Angela and Dylan (the garden managers) proposed two internship positions related to the garden: one via the Smith Botanic Garden student internship and one with Dining Services. Both were accepted, so we now have two students whose job descriptions that at least in part relate to the CG.

I'm Alli, the Botanic Garden intern, and have funding from the new Center for Ecological and Environmental Design and Sustaibaility (CEEDS) to spend 120 hours this summer working on community garden related stuff. I've spent a bit of that time actually in the garden, but will spend the majority of it producing a report about the garden and maintaining this blog/work log. Which explains the work log I posted a few days and the speed of new updates on this blog. I'll also be writing blog posts for the CEEDS blog too, which I'll kindly direct your attention to once they're up. Aside from all this, I'm also the summer manager...a.k.a. I live in the garden, and then get paid to write about the free time I spend weeding/hoeing/crying about our bolted lettuce. Woo hoo!

Gemma is the Dining Services intern; her job mostly involves general work for Dining Services and researching local food options for the dining halls. But she also spends a few hours a week in the garden and acts as a liaison between the garden and Dining Services, which has been super great.

Anyways, all that to say hi...and that you'll be hearing from me a lot!

The last of the June work parties

2011-07-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

Best way to get people to come to work parties: offer them food. Two new people showed up because I promised lettuce in exchange for an hour or two of work. Some call it bribery, I say it's more like a barter system. Or an exchange economy. Or something.

Anyways, we also sold our first round of lettuce and greens to Dining Services at the Wednesday work party--23 Butterhead lettuce heads, 16 Red Romaine lettuce heads and a bundle of collard greens. We brought them directly to Lamont after picking them--it brings a whole new meaning to "sourcing locally."

And, in the process of harvesting, we learned a very basic rule: don't let your lettuce bolt. I thought I pretty much had that one down prior to this whole shindig, but I dropped the ball a bit on organizing harvesting with Dining Services, and like that all our tender baby lettuce was suddenly sending up flowers and wanting to go to seed before I had solidified plans with the people in charge. Which, of course, meant that some of it was way to bitter to do anything with, and was introduced to our brand new compost bins instead of the dining hall. Ah well...lesson learned. I mean, this is supposed to be an educational experience, right?

We also finally finished pounding in the last few stakes we're using to stake the tomatoes, which means significantly less sag-age and crookedness--always a plus. And we started putting down mulch too, which will hopefully cut down on some hoeing and weeding time, and seeded the next round of lettuce. Oh, the excitement of work parties!

A long over-due update...

2011-06-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

We've had a hectic start to a new year over at the Community Garden--a delayed start due to steam tunnel repairs under both of our new sites, lots and lots (and lots and lots) of rain, etc. But we've made it through and the garden is finally starting to shape up--our first round of lettuce is coming in, as are the radishes, some sporadic raspberries, and (very tiny) summer squash. Photographic proof will be up in a few days! And until then, enjoy the oh-so-exciting work log I've been keeping for the folks over at CEEDS--it has all you ever wanted to know--and probably much more--about what's been going on at the garden.

WORK LOG

May 21^st:

-Ang, G, and I go to the Amherst Farmer's market. Buy approximately $182 of plants, from watermelons and gourds to the good old standbys of tomatoes and kale. Come back around 2 and work till 6ish raising beds and planing on the second site. Earlier, Ang and I sent out emails/texts about the work party for tomorrow...

May 22^nd:

-First formal work party. A handful of people show up for a few hours each. Worked from 12 - 7, mostly digging beds and rescuing the herb garden from the mint and dill, which are trying to take over

May 23^{rd – 27th}:

-Rain. Project week/Gaby lets me spend time in the garden during crew: plant basil, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers; seed beets, carrots, parsnips, winter squash and summer squash; get all the starts in the ground—asparagus, currents, rhubarb, horseradish…mini-panic attacks, and much referencing of Barbabra Damrosch’s The Garden Primer. It feels silly to keep a book at hand while gardening, but there’s still so much I don’t know and didn’t learn as a kid. How far apart do you space summer squash? How do you plant asparagus starts? Etc. etc. WEDNESDAY: A and I put together the bench; THURSDAY crew comes to help…but of course, this is when Smith decides to redo the pavement between the two sites, so we can’t build up the beds along the edges of the garden like I had planned…we weed the blues and currants instead; Ollie tries and fails (pretty miserably) to put together the compost bin. Work in the garden pretty much every day from 8 until 6 or so. Accidentally fell asleep on top of the new picnic table (still in its box) while trying to write up a log of this week…oops. Hopefully no one noticed (maybe it’s time to leave the garden for a bit…)

May 28^th:

Yet another big garden work party. Snacks are purchased, A etc. all show up with bandanas around their head ready to work. Molly stakes tomatoes, compost bins and picnic tables are put together (it takes five people to take apart and then reassable the compost bin…talk about a non-user friendly design). To end the day, we have a picnic dinner on our brand new picnic table.

May 29^th:
I liiiive in the garden. No, really, I do. Seeded more beans, planted cucumbers, etc. Cleaned up the herb garden again and brought cilantro home to add to dinner. In a stroke of brilliance, someone planted the parsley and cilantro right next to each other, and both reseeded themselves this year. Oy. Talk about ridiculous—I had to taste a bit of everything to make sure I had cilantro and not parsley. Maybe I need to work on my IDing skills?

May 30^th:

A and G go to the Hadley garden center to buy big stakes and wire for staking the tomatoes (our current stakes are too small and not working at all…). They come back with $300 worth of plants and not a stake in site. Remind me never to let those two go shopping without a chaperone again…

June 1^st

Work party was supposed to be today…instead there was a huge thunderstorm and we were stuck inside. G went out to plant in the rain and came back pretty quickly when a branch from the honey locust fell down…

June 2^nd:

Most of the trees on campus were unscathed after the storm. One of the few that weren’t? the honey locust in the garden. Naturally, a limb fell on the brand new picnic table—somehow, (miraculously) the picnic table emerged okay. Some of the baby rhubarb was stepped on when Jay and John were dealing with the fallen limb, but it’s not a bad price to pay, I guess.

June 3^rd:

Project day, so spend lots of it in the garden…dig holes for the stakes (a few feet taller than me) for the tomatoes…send G to the hardware store for wire; stakes aren’t deep enough, though, and lean in towards each other when you string the wire and tomatoes up. Ugggh. We need a stake pounder….

June 5^th:

Went home to plant the family farm’s garden this weekend with A. come back with some parsley, basil, and zinnias from my aunt’s greenhouse. A and M had a small work party on Saturday; they planted some of the babies A and G bought, weeded etc.

June 8^th:

Work party. All routine stuff…weeding, etc. suckered the tomatoes a bit…not sure if that’s a real word? But that’s what my family called pinching off the little side shoots tomatoes to encourage vertical growth.

June 9th

Was planning on staying in the garden and was rained out (again). Yet another big storm…what is this?!

June 11^th

Rainy work party. Hoed and weeded and hoed and weeded and hoed. So many weeds…that’s what we get with all this rain. High point of the day: Thinning the turnips and having turnip greens for dinner.

June 15^th:

Work party! Hoed and weeded some more (can’t keep up with these little buggers—must investigate mulch options). Joanne and her adorable daughter showed up with strawberries from their garden; J’s daughter tried to excavate the manhole while we weeded and planted seedlings J brought from her garden. Also managed to procure heirloom tomatoes and summer squash from one of the gardeners at the Botanic Garden. I’m loving this whole “Give the community garden your extra seedlings for free” deal.

June 20^th:

Meant to go to the garden after work today, but cut my finger on an exacto knife while taking cuttings and (grumpily) decided to go home instead.

June 21^st:

SO MUCH LETTUCE. Sat in the garden and wrote to do list…needless to say, there’s loads and loads to do. But it’s great to see things growing (baby squash! Blossoms on the cucumbers! Lettuce and lettuce and more lettuce!) Am planning a potluck-y deal for CG people during/after the work party on Saturday. There will be lots of salad.

And the new year begins!!

2010-10-01T10:55:00.001-07:00

Hello and welcome to the 2010-2011 garden year. We are very busy preparing for the winter. We have a new plot now!
Our other plot is looking great and tasting great too!

Check out our new blueberry plants!

Last Sunday we had our first work party. Everyone was busy preparing the garden for the winter. It's looking great so far!

mid summer veggie processing party

2010-07-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

lots of garlic!

early june garden

2010-07-20T06:41:00.001-07:00

Groundbreaking party for community garden on campus!

2010-05-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

our new hoop house! (and other spring photos from the garden)

2010-04-18T12:25:00.001-07:00

our new hoop house!

cold frame veggies!

garlic!

Our new site on campus! Use maps to draw designs!

2010-04-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

close up:

Montview Neighborhood Farm April 10th, 2010

2010-04-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

Weeding

Chicken Brigade Bonanza

Moving Chicken Coop

More Weeding

Clearing Brush

Chasing Chickens

April, 2008 to September, 2009

2010-03-07T14:38:00.001-08:00

2009-12-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

Photos from December 5th, after the first snow.

Inside the shed

New cold frames

Early Summer Photo Update!

2009-09-30T09:00:00.001-07:00

our new compost bin!

transplants to sell

Angela, Dylan, Lindsay, and Annum harvesting

Molly selling garden produce at the Campus Center!

Community Garden Farm Stand Every Thursday on Campus!

2009-06-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

We will be selling produce every Thursday June-August from 12-1:30pm in front of the Campus Center on Chapin Lawn or inside the Campus Center (if it is raining). We will have an amazing collection of produce this season!

Last week at our produce stand we had arugula, buttercrunch bib and red oak leaf lettuce, radishes, red russian and true siberian kale, collards, mizuna mustard greens and tat soi (an asian green) as well as seedlings that people could buy of lettuce, swiss chard, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and cosmos, just to give you an idea of how much we have! Throughout this season you can expect to find all types of greens, especially swiss chard, lettuce, kale and collards coming up, garlic scapes as well as peas soon, we have garlic, beets, carrots, tomatoes and sweet and hot peppers in the ground, all kinds of herbs, basil and dill, corn, and a lot of beautiful flowers that we will be selling as well.

Here are some pictures from last week's table. Hope to see you there!

Field Trip to Laughing Dog Farm in Gill, MA.

2009-06-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

Daniel, Divya, and Leylee have a farm in Gill, MA specializing in organic small-space techniques. You can visit their website here: http://www.laughingdogfarm.com/

We visited them on a field trip, met the amazing family and met the amazing goats! Here are some pictures...

Enclosed Ecosystem Exhibit at the Campus Center March-June

2009-06-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

The Enclosed Ecosystem Exhibit was put up in the Campus Center so that everyone could enjoy watching some of the Community Garden's seedlings grow in a community space at Smith, without even having to go the garden on Lyman Rd to see them. The seedlings of arugula, basil, kale, marigolds, mustard greens and spinach were in recycled bottles, self-contained, self-watering, self-sustaining ecosystems. Ours lasted over 2 and a half months up in the Campus Center without needing any water. They enjoyed the sunlight from the Campus Center's big glass windows so much that they eventually grew too big for our bottles and we had to take the display down. Hopefully, we will put the exhibit back up in the near future. Enjoy some pictures from the exhibit, below.

Spring photo update!

2009-04-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some great photos of the garden from this Spring semester. More to come...
Email us at smithgarden@gmail.com to get on our email list so you can join in on our work parties! Reminder: Weekly meetings are at 12:15 in the CC Pub every Tuesday if you want the dirt....

Smith Sprouts Entrepreneurs

2009-04-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Smith Sprouts Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship initiatives are sprouting all over campus! Thanks to the WFI (Women and Financial Independence) office, many budding entrepreneurs are being nurtured with awards and recognition.

http://www.smith.edu/wfi/courses/entre.htm

Spirit Award winners Rachel Besserman (Grad '10) and Rachel Imhof ('10) are tabling at the Campus center (first floor) on April 17th all day. Come and meet these sprouting social entrepreneurs at Smith!

In 2005, inspired by then one year old Emmet, Rachel Besserman (Grad '10) started www.emmetsessentials.com with partner Damon Blanchette. A custom made private-label organic body care co. offering fair-trade shea butter from a women's co-op in Ghana. A generous bar of essential oils for blending personalized products. Recycled packaging whenever possible (such as egg cartons and clementine boxes and nets for soap in a scrub)
It's "Only the Good Stuff, Baby!" for you and loved ones.

Founded by Rachel Imhof (Smith ’10) and Nicole Giambalvo (Mount Holyoke
’10), 410 BC is an independent, design-driven brand offering high
quality, sweatshop free clothing and goods released in limited
quantities. The goal of 410 BC (www.410BC.com) is not only to produce products free of
sweatshop labor, but also to design innovative clothing free from
passing trends.

Seedlings for sale will support the Smith Community Garden! http://smithgarden.blogspot.com/2008/04/community-garden-work-parties.html Also sprouting up at Smith! Come by and see the beautiful garden exhibit at the Campus Center also. April 17th All day! See you there!

2009-02-06T21:25:00.001-08:00

Hey fellow gardeners I just wanted to let everyone know that this upcoming week's meeting (Feb 10th) we will be meeting in the Campus center room 003 from 12-1 p.m.

It was so great to see so many people show up this past week, so exciting! Hope to see you there!

Smith Community Garden Meetings

2009-01-28T13:42:00.001-08:00

For spring semester 2009 we will be having meetings:

On Tuesdays from 12-1 p.m. in Wright Hall room 232

We would love all those who are interested to come show up!

Work Party Saturday, October 4

2008-09-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Drop in anytime from 10-3! All are encouraged to come.

Work Party Saturday, September 20!

2008-09-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

This Saturday, September 20, the Smith Community Garden will be having a work party! Drop in anytime from 10AM-3PM to weed, harvest, and construct raised beds. Come if you've never worked in a garden or if you've been working in one forever. A group will meet at 9:45 in front of the art museum to walk down together, or you can follow the chalked arrows on the sidewalk. Directions to the garden are on the right-hand navigation bar. See you there!

Go get some grub!

2008-07-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

What a wet week we have been washed with!
Well, one thing is for certain- those thirsty plants are all the more succulent for it.

Today, four full heads of lettuce (Jericho Romaine and Red Iceberg) were proudly delivered to the Campus Center Cafe, along with what Ann Finley referred to as a "good sized bunch" of fragrant dill.

Tomorrow, the wonderful CC cafe dining staff will unveil their community-garden inspired dishes to the masses- or to several hungry Smithies, academics, administrators, perhaps even an alum or two.

Consider this your invitation- witness this first step toward a fuller integration of farm to fork, of garden to classroom, of participatory dining. Better yet, taste it!

Look out for more community garden and CC cafe collaborations this summer-
and stay tuned for a Pasta Sauce Canning and Pesto Making Party

Come see the tomatoes ripen on the vine, the cosmos blossoms open, the peppers and bean plants bear their fruit, and more exciting garden adventures.
Email smithgarden@gmail.com if you'd like a tour or want to come help out!

Keep Scrolling Down for New Photos (on the previous posting)!

My, How We've Grown!

2008-07-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

Nearly a month ago, on Saturday, June 21st, four diligent set about planting in bed #4 and tending to the mass of weeds that seemed to have sprung up overnight around the parameter of the garden. Yes, summer is indeed a time for rapid growth.

After a few weeks out of the state, I returned to find that the tomato stalks had become a massive jungle, the heads of lettuce are now the size of small shrubberies, and the basil, dill, and flax have shot up to above-knee height. The wheat has changed to a pleasant golden brown and has acquired its "spikelets" (flowering heads). We have a few promising cherry tomatoes dangling, and even a head of broccoli, making a grand entrance, concealed by its broad, dramatic leaves.

I stood in sheer surprise at the transformation that had taken place seemingly overnight. Then I got to work staking the tomatoes, weeding around the not-yet-fruiting peppers and beans, and wondering what to do with all those big beautiful heads of lettuce. Here are some thoughts I have:

-Giving several heads for the Campus Center to make signature salads for those meal-plan-bound Smithies
-Donating to the Northampton Survival Center
-Bringing up a big hoard of hungry Smithies to harvest for a garden salad.
-Inviting Fort Hill kids to come pick, learn, and devour.
-Sending out a call-to-arms to our volunteers and neighbors.

Once the tomatoes develop, we will try to orchestrate a preserving party to make tomato sauce for those dreary winter months (or sooner!) Stay tuned.

Please let us know if you have any ideas for where the harvest should go, both in the summertime and come fall. Send ideas to:
smithgarden@gmail.com
Also, let us know if you're interested in getting in on the action- helping weed, bringing a head of lettuce or bunch of basil home, partaking in an activity with the Fort Hill kids, whatever strikes your fancy.

Yours in vegetable-solidarity,
Caroline

Summer's Second Work Party!

2008-06-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Gardeners!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
We think it's high time for another...

Smith Community Garden Work Party!

When
Sat, Jun 21, 2pm – 5pm
Where
Fort Hill site (see map)
Description
Please come join us for another round of bed-mak ing and planting. We'll have snacks, music, and refreshments. Please bring any tools you can rustle up and a water bottle! Join us for our after-party potluck as well! RSVP smithgarden@gmail.com

After-Party Potluck
When
Sat, Jun 21, 5pm – 7pm
Description
A hard-working gardener deserves a well-made potluck meal- please bring a dish to share: please post your dish with an RSVP as a comment so we don't get 3 casseroles. Refreshments will be provided. Potluck will take place at Mariah Wyman and friends' apartment nearby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DIRECTIONS to Garden:
Directions from Smith Campus (10-15 minute walk):

Take Elm/Main St/Rte. 9 towards downtown Northampton. At the traffic light by the Academy of Music, turn right onto South St/Rte. 10 S. Follow South St. through one set of lights and take your second left after the lights, Lyman Road. The entrance to Fort Hill is a one-way driveway on your left at the far end of Lyman Road. Smith Community Garden is next to TRACES, the old Victorian building.

Hope to see you there!

-the garden

Post-Work Party Update

2008-06-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

A hot, humid day at the garden Site. Friends arrived on the site to see a small rabbit hopping from the scene. Later we found a small patch of trampled wheat in our box. I think we have a new mascot.

Raised bed #4, aka "The Beast" was finally completed. The challenges?
- assembling one side with two rows of planks, and keeping the boards from buckling
- driving nails into the (dense) white pine and (slightly warped) recycled wood
The benefits? A lovely, sustainably built raised bed, now home to several happy spinach, lettuce, and tomato plants.

The Beast, and his slightly milder, smaller brother were filled in with gravel and sand (to improve drainage), and then lavished with soil (kindly provided by Bob Dombkowski, Supervisor of Grounds) and Smith's specialty compost. Thanks also to Gaby Immerman of the Botanic Garden for lending us several shovels, trowels, and buckets to equip our workers. Several seedlings (kindly donated by the Northfield Mount Hermon school program and friend, Laura Fisher) were transplanted into rows, watered and labelled.

Also thanks to Frank Perman, Supervisor of Plumbing and Heating, for providing the Garden with H2O! Our thirsty plants appreciated a good dousing after a hot day. (And so did we).

Spring onions, cherokee purple and cherry bomb tomatoes, sweet basil, peppers, nasturtiums, spinach and several varieties of lettuce are formally part of the Smith Garden Family, joining a thriving crop of Red Fife wheat and just-sprouting dill, parsley, poppies, nasturtiums, and flax.

The work party was finished off with a celebratory, and much-needed trip to Herrell's ice cream. Join us next time for more planting, building, sweating at the Site.

Summer Work Party Saturday, June 7th

2008-06-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all! Smith's up-and-coming community garden is having the summer's first work party this saturday, June 7th from 12 to 3pm at the Fort Hil site.

Join us for the nice weather, for yummy snacks and refreshments, and a trip to Herrell's after the day's work.

Tell your friends, bring a shovel or hoe if you've got one. We'll be finishing building our fourth raised bed, adding soil, planting (transplants and seeds!), and beautifying the space a bit.

Hope to see you there- please RSVP if you can make it.

New Arrival!

2008-05-26T17:17:00.001-07:00

After a week away, I was greeted by a wonderful crop of young Red Fife Wheat! This same variety is planted outside of the Hungry Ghost Bakery on State St. and as part of the Little Red Hen Project, is being grown in small plots by nearly 80 farmers and residents around the valley. The wheat is an especially gratifying specimen, since its progress can be witnessed on a daily basis. It currently stands at about 4 inches, and was planted about a week and a half ago.

This week we are finishing our fourth raised bed and hope to start planting this wednesday. Come join us!
We used locally harvested white pine from a neighbor of 5 College Energy Manager, Todd Holland and recycled lumber from the Springfield ReStore.

1st Seed List

2008-05-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

From Johnny's Seed

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Brandywine (OG) tomato
Cherokee Purple tomato
Green Zebra (OG) tomato
Sun Gold (F1) cherry tomato
Cherry Bomb (F1) hot pepper
Dill, Bouquet (OG)
Parsley, Titan
Yellow Crookneck (OG) summer squash
El Jefe (F1) hot pepper
Sweet Favorite (F1) watermelon
Mountain Mint
California Poppy
Jewel Mix edible flower
New England Pie pumpkin
Baby Pam
Dancer (F1) eggplant
Nadia (F1) eggplant
Flax, Omega (OG)

Community Garden Work Parties!

2008-04-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend, the Smith Garden experienced its first pair of work parties, both prolific, sunny, and attended by both new and familiar faces. Engineers for a Sustainable World helped us purchase our tools, including several pairs of work gloves, a wheel barrow, shovels, spades, a hose, a hammer, and more. Wood from Laura Rauscher of Disabilities Services and from the Springfield ReStore were rubbed with mineral oil, cut (manually!) to the proper size, and formed into three raised beds.

Spirited Smithies dug up mulch, making six ~12x4 trenches for which to place beds. This mulch was raked to build up pathways and provide some insect protection. Hungry Ghost bread and good conversation fueled the appetites of over a dozen volunteers. Be sure not to miss our next work party!

INVITATION:

Hey guess what? Smith Community Garden is finally taking off! We'd like you to be part of the celebration-

Who: you!
What: Smith Community Garden Season's First Work Party!
Where: our new home- at Fort Hill on Lyman Rd. off of South St. (~10 minutes from Hillyer)
When: this saturday and sunday 10-3pm-come work anytime!

Why: perfect study antidote, full day's supply of vitamin D, participate in your food system, help the garden start up, socialize with 5-college and community members, you choose!

Not to be missed!

This weekend's project: making raised beds and preparing for planting
there will be groovy music, lemonade and iced tea, hungry ghost bread and more!

Hope to see you there~ please RSVP to chender2@email.smith.edu
Community Garden

Garden Tour

2008-04-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

A grand tour of the Smith Community Garden site was conducted- consisting of alums, community members, friends, staff, and students. On this tour, we evaluated the site, took soil samples, and made a plan of action! We have decided to proceed by making raised beds.

An abridged History of the Site:

Location- Lyman Road, down South St. (next to Academy of Music). Across from Fort Hill, next to previous Early Childhood Development Center, presently Traces Recycled Materials Center.

History- About 15 years ago, it was discovered that the Early Childhood Development building was contaminated with lead (from the paint). The yard, which was then a playground (and we were recently informed, once a rose garden), was then stripped of its top soil, filled with mulch, and left fallow until we came along.

Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us, both because mulch robs the soil of nitrogen (a major nutrient) and also, because the soil underneath is severely compacted, basically clay.

Our plan? To grow healthy, lead-free produce with enough space to spread their roots. We'll build six raised beds over the course of this summer, and use the old sand box for a shadier patch (perhaps for herbs or pumpkins), fill them with soil and compost (kindly provided by Smith Groundskeeping), and plant away!