Newsletter Fall 2018

Apples! Squash! Gourds! Fall is a wonderful time for gardens, and MCG is no exception. And it's the tail end of harvest. Time to get cooking!

Also, now is a good time to plan for spring. Lay cardboard and leaves and other bio materials to prep your space. The cardboard will kill the grass and reduce weeding!

Midland Community Gardens succeeded in pleasing the many visitors to the garden during season.   And that is in spite of late spring‘s still-frozen ground, followed by drought and a record number of “heat warning” summer days, and too many ‘too-wet-to-work' days this fall

Midland Community Garden “winterizing” is steadily progressing. Peter Murray wins  the first-to-finish WHAM prize for completing the weeding, harvesting, and mulching of the Spiral Herb Garden

Most of the rental beds are well on the way. Thank you to  Susan, Karole, Monique, Nanette, Joe, Jennifer, Morgan, Elija, Milka, and Jenny.  A reminder to renters: there is still triple mix available for top dressing your beds, and chicken wire for holding down leaf cover is in the shed. The triple mix and a sled for moving it and/or wood-chip mulch is under the black tarp near the north compost bins. Make an appointment  with Julie to get chicken wire.  First come, first served.

The compost bins and small ‘insitu’ ones situated throughout the whole garden can receive your garden weeds and leaves from home. Just leaves and not oak please!. Chopped leaves will compost quickest. Weather is not proving helpful for drying the leaves so they will chop better when you run over them with your mower. Thank you to Jean, Pat, and Morgan for compost work.

Fall Projects:

Julie is still hopeful of completing the Hugel bed in the raised bed/rental area.

The creating of a Medicine Wheel Garden on our first Hugel mound is moving forward, slowly but hopefully surely! Thank you to Janet and TJ for clearing the sunflowers and weeding the ‘mound’.

The weeding of the ground around the apple trees has been completed, thanks to Monique, Trish, and Julie. Pruning and possibly some wrapping and trunk-painting to follow soon.

Mulching and weeding  are perennial tasks. Thank to us all and Cory. More of it will continue until cold and snow force us inside! Web-siting is also perennial. Thank you, Peter Ladage. And thank you, Laura Jane, for Facebook help.

Julie at 705-526-0740  or jwb@bellnet.ca

Newsletter Summer 2018

SPIRAL BED
The spiral bed was built by Peter and Chris Murray of Yhcrana Organics, using old logs, brush, compost, wood chips, and soil, that eliminates any need to apply chemically synthesized fertilizers.

2018
2018 is providing weather extremes of temperatures and drought conditions are proving challenging for our food growing. However, faithful volunteers and plot renters are keeping things green and flowering, harvesting rave comments from visitors - especially for the beautiful blue false indigo flowers and now the prolific daisies.

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PLOTS
Determined plot renters are seeing plants taking hold thanks to regular watering. It’s getting late to start a bed now, but unrented beds will be rested or green-manured for the future. The former lasagna bed is ‘under construction’. Contact Julie at 705-526–0740 or jwb@bellnet.ca for rental information.


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SHARE THE WORK, SHARE THE HARVEST.
The central herb and salad beds are underway and the Parks Dept has topped up the north pile for path-mulching around the rental plots. We certainly invite sharing of our prolific mint and oregano!

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WORKNIGHTS – WEATHER PERMITTING
Julie will be in the garden from 7–8 pm Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings. These nights encourage meet-up with MCG gardeners.  Sunday nights include music to weed by as we are within earshot of the Sunday evening concerts. Julie will try to meet needs for tools, etc, at other times. 705-526–0740 or jwb@bellnet to make arrangements.
 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT TUESDAYS – WEATHER PERMITTING
Meet at the Gardens, 7-8pm.

July 3 – Watering; compost tea for plants; mint infusion for us!

July 10 - Herbs

Please bring questions and suggestions for more Tuesday nights.  Or send to Susan at s.hirst@rogers.com.
 
SOIL FERTILITY BUILDING – aka COMPOSTING

We now have some of our very own MCG compost for garden use.  Pat’s family has again provided leadership in the north compost bins. Peter D brought bags of leaves last fall for the south bin.  Jean is spearheading our new partnership with Operation Grow and bringing us compost from that indoor growing facility every Friday.

FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES
The trees survived the  winter, and the apple trees have set fruit. We would love to have a volunteer who would make weekly visits and advise on the care of the trees. The cherry tree has been planted in the centre of the children’s garden. The fruit bushes have fruited but not showing signs of filling out yet.

GARDEN TOUR
Always worthwhile. Organized by the Midland Horticultural Society. Saturday, July 14.

Right now it's raining, washing the last (hopefully) of the snow away. Time to start planning your garden (if you haven't already).

You don't have to stop gardening just because there's snow on the ground. One idea is to try sprouting, which you can do in your kitchen. You can get Sproutmaster seeds from the Crow's Nest and get started! Sproutmaster has directions and more. And seeds are so nutritious too. (With help from Julie Barker)

Julie Barker, co-founder of MCG, receives an award of merit from Mayor Gord McKay.