Garrison Creek Park Community Association

Update: I’ve heard from the City that our pipe problems have been fixed and our water is on. I will confirm tomorrow morning when I’m gardening (you should come too!).

New update: They found a leak, and the water is off again. I’ll keep you posted.

We had a garden meeting on Saturday morning to discuss our plans for the garden and the park in the future. Unfortunately there was lower turnout than we would have liked but we did manage to discuss quite a few issues and ideas. Here are some updates:

• The water is still not on as the city has discovered a problem with the plumbing. We’re working with them on getting it fixed and you’ll hear about it as soon as we know we have water.

• We’re establishing Saturday mornings from 9 to 12 as drop-in visit and garden and get-stuff-done times. We’d love for everyone to try and come by during that time so we can get to know each other, share gardening tips, sample each other’s produce and, yes, get a bit of communal work done if it has to be.

• We’re researching getting some signage for the garden so everyone knows who we are and how to get in touch. Please let us know if you have any experience in this area.

• We’re also looking for fundraising sources to apply for grants for next year and the long term. If you know of any organizations that would be good to apply to, or if you’ve got fundraising experience and would like to help out with applications, please get in touch.

• We’ve concluded that the planters along the outside of the fence need to be fixed up – the grass is coming through them so quickly that the perennials are going to have a tough time surviving. What we want to do is move them out of the way one by one so that we can cover the area with newspaper before replacing the planter – the newspaper will kill the grass. Please let us know if you can help with this project, or if you are a subscriber to a daily newspaper, please start saving them as we’ll need a good collection.

• Finally, some great news! We’ve applied for and received a $1000 grant from Carrot Cache to cover soil amendment, tool and maintenance costs for this growing season. So far we’re looking into a new hose dolly and possibly a rainwater collection system. Get in touch if you have experience and/or can help with this, or if you have other ideas.

Happy gardening!

Kat, on behalf of the executive

Come on out and get the season started, with the GCPCA first-annual Seedling Exchange and Garden Clean-up!

On Monday, May 18th, 2-4pm, we would love to see everyone out in the garden sharing experiences, swapping plants, starting some planting, and finishing the spring clean-up!  This is a great opportunity to meet your fellow gardeners, get to know the 2009 GCPCA Executive members, and kick-off the gardening season in a laid-back and fun environment. 

Here are the details:

When:
Monday, May 18th 2009 2:00-4:00pm  (yes, that’s Victoria Day Monday)
Rain Date: any of you who are happy gardening in the rain are welcome to show up rain-or-shine.  For the rest of us, the rain date will be May 23rd, at the meeting already planned for that date.

Where:
Garrison Creek Park Community Garden

Who:
GCPCA members and their friends and families, as well as any members of the community or other community gardens who would like to come check us out.

Why:
Get to know your fellow members, trade some plants and seeds, get started on the gardening season, and get the final clean-up of the garden completed.

What to bring:
Extra seedlings (home-grown or store-bought) or seeds to trade or donate, garbage bags and gloves for garden clean-up, water or other beverages, food for yourself and/or to share, annual or perennial plants you’d like to donate for the flower-beds around the perimeter of the garden fence, and your gardening spirit!

Although we’ll be looking for some help from the members to finish the garden clean-up (there’s a small amount of garbage and some garden debris remaining from the winter), there is not a lot of work to be done, so this will primarily be a social event.

I hope to see you all there!

Whether you’re new to gardening or want to brush up your skills, you should consider attending a gardening workshop at The Stop. They’re offered from April through September and topics vary from gardening skills to what to do with your produce and how to save seeds. Upcoming workshops include:

Making Clay Pots
Wed. May 13th 6:00-8:00pm.
1884 Davenport Rd.

Organic Soil Management
Wed. June 3rd, 6:30-8:30pm.
Green Barn.

Solar Mapping
Thurs. June 18th, 6:30-8:30pm.
Green Barn.

Jam Preserves
Mon. June 29th, 10:00am-12:30pm.
Green Barn.

Jam Preserves
Monday June 29th, 2:30pm-5:00pm
1884 Davenport Rd.

Visit thestop.org for a full workshop listing and further information.

Just to let everyone know, I’ve been in touch with the city and the water will be turned on soon. They’re aiming for before the long weekend. I’ll post right here as soon as I know it’s on.