Spring Garden Celebration!

Spring is just around the corner, and as Saint Patrick's Day approaches, so too does our first major garden event of the year.

Spring Garden Celebration 2013

@ King Street Memorial Community Garden

On Sunday March 17th, from 9am until Noon we'll be in the garden hosting some special events to kick off the growing season!

- Raised Bed Construction Demonstration - We'll be building four new raised beds in the garden.  Come along to lend a hand and learn what you need to build one of your own for home.

- Seed Exchange - Bring your excess seeds and exchange them with other gardeners for those you need.

- Winter Sowing - Learn how to create your own mini-greenhouse out of a milk jug to give your seeds a head start on the season.

- Pea Planting - We'll be running a pea planting demonstration in the Food Pantry bed. Yes, you can plant seeds in March!

The Franklin Community Garden Committee has been hard at work preparing for the garden's third season as we work to add new beds, and bring in new members from the wait list.  We're looking for some new committee members to help us to continue this great community project. 

our page:

http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_BComm/garden

 If you are interested in becoming a committee member please contact us via the gardenmail link on the sidebar for additional information.

See You At The Garden!

June Garden News

Hello Gardeners!

The weather has been cooperating beautifully with an excellent mix of rainy weather and sunny weather, and the garden is looking fantastic.  As a reminder, if you're still setting transplants it is best to do this on an overcast day, or if you must on a sunny day do it in the evening.  Transplants can wilt very easily on hot sunny days.  Transplants also need water daily in hot sunny weather, once their roots establish after around two weeks they can go much longer without water.

June Garden Pests

We're not the only ones enjoying the gardens, the garden pest are invading and enjoying the fruits of our hard labors.  When I was in the garden yesterday I didn't see any beds that needed immediate control, but there are some of the baddies to be on the lookout for.  An important concept in organic gardening is pest thresholds.  We don't need our plants to be completely devoid of pests, having some is in fact totally fine.  A small amount of pests leaves room for predators to move in and establish themselves in the garden to do the controlling for us.  Sometimes, however, the pests pass a threshold where they will seriously impact plant output.  At that point we employ controls.

Aphids
Cutworms
Cabbage Loopers
Wireworms
Flea Beetles
Cucumber Beetles

Pest Control Presentation
Time: Saturday June 16th 9am-11am
Location: King St. Memorial Garden

We'll be covering various organic pest control methods in the garden this coming Saturday.  If you have any questions about what to do it'll be a great opportunity to learn how to identify pest at threshold levels, and what to do about them.  After the presentation we'll be working on general garden maintenance as well so please join in!

Dogs in the Garden

We've had reports of dogs being brought into the garden and urinating on the beds.  If you have a dog please leave them outside the garden when you visit!  All it takes is a larger dog jumping into a bed once to ruin months of work for a fellow gardener.  Thank you!

Call for Members

The Franklin Community Garden Committee is looking for new members as the first year terms for our current committee are coming to a close and due to life needs some of our members must move on.  If you're interested in becoming more involved in the garden this is a great opportunity to help play a larger role.  If you're interested simply reply to this e-mail and we'll contact you with additional details.

Garden Maintenance and Red-Flags

The Garden Committee has decided to institute a new system for the garden this year where we'll be visiting the garden and flagging beds as a way to quickly communicate areas that need addressing.  We'll also be flagging areas in the garden at large that need work.  If you have a flag please address the issue and deposit the flag back in the shed for future use.  If you forget your key you can place the flags outside the shed entrance.

Flag Types:

Harvest - This is simply a reminder flag that the flagged crop is ready for harvest.  This does not mean you need to remove the plants!  We understand that many new gardeners don't always know when something is ready to pick.  I flagged a number of lettuce and spinach crops this weekend as ready to harvest.  With our hot weather some spinach has already gone to seed and the lettuce will soon follow so pick it while it is in its prime.  Remember with lettuce you don't need to harvest the whole plant, although you can for ease.  You can simply pick the outer leaves which will be replaced as the plant continues to grow.  If you are unclear what a flag is referring to please send an e-mail to franklincommunitygardens@gmail.com for clarification.  If you can send a picture it'll speed the process.

Weed - An area in your bed or around your bed needs to be weeded.  In another week or two some spinach will be flagged with weed instead of harvest as once they've gone fully to seed they will be weeds effectively. If you have a weed flag please address it as soon as possible.

Weed & Woodchip - There are areas of the garden that need to be weeded and then have woodchips dumped on top for additional suppression.  If you have some time please help keep the garden looking great!

Red Triangle Award

The Friends of Franklin Community Gardens was honored with the Red Triangle Award from the Hockomock Area YMCA for its work in bringing Franklin its first community garden.

Empty Beds

We've had a few gardeners fail to plant for a number of reasons.  These beds are being re-assigned to new gardeners who should be taking over soon!

Happy Gardening!

Chris Clay
King St. Garden Coordinator
and The Franklin Community Gardens Committee

Don't Bug Me! 6/16/12

Curious about what's been eating its way through your garden?  


Bring your questions to the Franklin Community Garden at the King Street Memorial Park on Saturday, June 16 at 9 AM, where garden coordinator Chris Clay will be discussing common garden pests and the safe, earth-friendly methods you can use to deal with them.  


The King Street Memorial Garden is an organic garden.


This event is free and open to the public.

cutworm larva

And We Are One.

Happy Birthday to King Street Memorial Community Garden!

Thank you to all of our gardeners, supporters,

Friends, partners, and volunteers!

How awesome are those teeny iced peas and carrots?  

Cake from Whole Foods Bellingham

{so good....}

We're already rolling up the sleeves for another epic year.

Thank you, again!

May Educational and Event Calendar

The latest GardenMail:

Hello Gardeners,

Every indication shows that we've passed the last of the cold weather, and have entered into prime gardening time.  The average last frost date for Franklin Massachusetts is May 1st, and the extended forecast shows pleasant weather in our future.  If you haven't had a chance to get down to the garden an prepare your bed now is a good time.  We have early weeds that are starting to go to seed, so get them pulled now before they spread the next generation into your bed and your neighbors!  Remember that you are responsible for weeding your bed and the area around it!

When you visit the garden you may also notice a new structure in it, we now have a garden shed with tools in it thanks to a generous grant from the Franklin Rotary!  The shed has a keyed lock on the front, and you can obtain your key to the lock at the Recreation department.  Please be sure to lock the shed after you leave, and return any tools you've borrowed.   If you'd like to further suppress weeds in your area feel free to take woodchips from the large pile and add them on top of any weed hotspots.  The wheelbarrow and tools in the shed makes moving them easy, and there are gardening gloves in the shed to aid handling.

The water seems to be running slowly, but hasn't been officially turned on.  We're in contact with the town to have to water turned on fully as soon as possible.

We have a number of gardening events coming up in May!

May 12th: 9:30 am to 11:30 am - An Introduction to Gardening and Garden Planning at the YMCA 45 Forge Hill Road Franklin, MA
May 19th: 9:00 am to 11:00 am - A Tomato Planting & Support Demonstration at the King St. Memorial Garden
May 28th: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm - King St. Memorial Garden 1st Anniversary Celebration at the King St. Memorial Garden

We hope to see you there!

The Franklin Community Garden Committee

Additional Event Info

An Introduction to Gardening and Garden Planning
Hosted By: Chris Clay, Friends of Franklin Community Gardens, and the YMCA
May 12th: 9:00 am to 11:00 am
YMCA 45 Forge Hill Road Franklin, MA

This class will give you a basic introduction to gardening and what you need to do to have a successful harvest.  We'll also go over the basics of planning out what you'll be putting in your garden throughout the growing season, and have materials on hand to help you plan your garden for this year.  All those who attend will also be able to pickup some free seeds, and meet fellow gardeners.

A Tomato Planting & Support Demonstration
Hosted By: Chris Clay and Friends of Franklin Community Gardens
May 19th: 9:00 am to 11:00 am
King St. Memorial Community Garden

Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable among home gardeners, and with good reason.  The flavor of a tomato fresh off the vine is something you simply cannot find at the supermarket.  They also happen to be my favorite vegetable, and in this presentation I'll go over the tips and tricks for successful tomato growing I've collected.  I'll also cover additional information on tomato varieties, how to prune tomatoes, and setup proper support structures for optimal tomato health.

King St. Memorial Garden 1st Anniversary Celebration
Hosted By: The Friends of Franklin Community Gardens and the Franklin Community Garden Committee
May 28th: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
King St. Memorial Community Garden

On May 28th, 2011 the King St. Memorial Community Garden official opened for gardening.  Join us as we celebrate the our first successful first year of gardening, and the many years to come.  There will be seedlings on hand for sale to support The Friends of Franklin Community Gardens efforts to continue to expand on the garden, and other events and activities.  Drop by to share a story, a piece of cake, or just the view.

Thank You, Chris!!!

Freeze Warning! Be Prepared

A note to our Gardeners from King Street Garden Coordinator Chris Clay:


Hello Everyone,

Tonight is the reason we don't plant our tomatoes and other hot weather plants until May, despite the amazing weather we've been having.  There is a strong chance of freeze tonight, and if you have planted tomatoes in your plot they will need protection to survive the night if the temperature dips to freezing.  If you do have tomatoes planted you have a couple of options to save them.

One is to transplant them out of the garden and keep them indoors overnight.  Tomato root systems are incredibly durable and can handle the transfer.  This is the only fool proof way to save them that I know of.

Another would be to purchase some floating row covers to cover your plot.  They will provide at least a couple of degrees of protection and may make the difference, though it will be dicey.  You can add additional coverage by placing multiple 2 liter bottles filled with warm water in the plot under the row covers.  This will provide a couple more degrees of protection.  If you buy a light floating row cover leave the cloth as doubled up as you can while covering the bed.  If you have other non-tomato warm weather plants this may be your best chance to save them.

Option three is to gamble that the weather service is wrong and see what happens.  In the worst case scenario you can always replant.

Peas and other cold hardy plants should do fine tonight, though a row cover never hurts.  This is primarily a warning for anyone who has planted warm weather plants.

Cheers,

Chris Clay


If you don't have any row covers, I have had luck with old towels and blankets, prop them up with sticks or pots or whatever works.  Just be sure to remove them in the morning!
 ~ Amy

Earth Day Workday Saturday April 21

Hello to our Gardeners, Supporters, and Friends!

This weekend is Earth Day and the Town of Franklin is encouraging everyone to pitch in around town on Sunday 4/22 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.  

We hope that you will help us out at the Community Garden location at King Street Memorial Park!

The forecast is for Rain on Sunday, 70% probability in the morning.  Good for the planet, Bad for our workday.

So, we are moving our particular community garden Earth Day event up a day---It will be held on Saturday instead from 9-12 a.m. 

We have a big pile of fresh wood chips to spread, weeds to pull (yes, already!), rocks to pile, compost to turn, pollinator garden beds to dig (flowers!), and more.

Please come lend a hand!  Community Service Certificates will be available for those who need them.

While we have a few gloves, shovels and rakes here at the garden, there might not be enough to go around.  

Please bring your own labeled tools and heavy duty gloves if you can.

If you have extra garden tools or equipment that you would like to donate to the Garden, we'd LOVE to have them!

Thanks to our great new shed---built for us by the awesome Tri-County RVTHS students & paid for with a Franklin Rotary grant!---we now have a place to safely store them.

The water at the garden is not on yet, that will happen some time in mid-May. We will have ice water there to drink for our volunteers this Saturday morning.

How about packing a picnic? 

Thanks for your continued support & we hope to see you at the Garden on Saturday!

Need a map to find us?  The Google map link is below:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&cid=4653072776726811227

Thank you for helping out!

The Franklin Community Garden Green Team