A meeting reminder… join us this Tuesday October 19 at 6 pm.
Tish and Tim Ganey have again offered up their outdoor riverfront pavilion to host our October planning meeting. As with previous meetings there, it's BYOB and haul-in/haul-out (bring your own single serving cool refreshing beverages, and plan on taking your trash with you).
Directions:6104 River Terrace – park along the street from the garden to Tish and Tim's driveway, walk down their driveway and follow the arrows to the path to the pavilion. If you can walk/bike/kayak to Tim and Tish's instead of driving, please do! There are 10 chairs available to us so feel free to bring beach chairs just in case. We hope you can make it. See you on Tuesday at 6 pm. The Grow Conference is back in 2021, Friday October 22.
TheCoalition of Community Gardens invites you to a day of gardening talk at the4th Annual Grow Gardens Conference, Friday, Oct. 22, 9:30-4:00 at the Trinkle Center, HCC Plant City, 1206 N. Park Road, followed by a reception and a garden tour at the Plant City Commons Community Garden across the street. HCC regulations for wearing a mask inside and social distancing will be followed, and virtual attendance is also available.
The Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, the HonorableNikki Fried, will kick off the conference with the keynote address, then members of the Coalition will be on board as presenters –Karen Elizabeth, Plant City Commons Jennifer Grebenschikoff, VISTA Gardens Paula Olesen, Apollo Beach Carla Bristol, St. Pete Youth Farm Chris Kenrick, Sweetwater Dell, deChant, New Port Richey gardens Presenters from Department of Health, as well as from USF will also present valuable information. Please make your plans to attend… proceeds from all ticket sales will be used to support new community gardens. We're a stop on the Garden Tour next Sunday! This yearly event is a self-guided tour showcasing some of the best local private gardens, but also our community garden again this year. It's a great opportunity for us to shine, and maybe even recruit some new members. The tour is limited to 200 tickets spaced out over the day and will likely sell out, meaning lots of folks coming through. Tickets ($25 to benefit the Friends of the Library) are available on Eventbrite, at the Seminole Heights Library 2nd floor during normal business hours, and day of the event.
But you won't need a ticket to just hang out with us at the community garden and chat with the guests coming through. In fact, we could us your help to make sure our visitors get some personal attention. Mark your calendar and drop on by. Lyrical LIBbe: The garden's material offerings and its spiritual gifts Silk painting artist and longtime member, Lib Mitchell, a.k.a.Lyrical LIBbe, is acutely attuned to the spirituality of gardening, and regularly shares with us the inspiration she draws from it.
At the garden we are growing spring vegetables and community. Mindful of Joy, Supportive, Conversational, Real. Unique Selves coordinating a Whole, which is greater than the sum of its parts. The Seminole Heights Community Garden on Saturdays and its members are two kinds of blessings.On Saturdays in October, a grandmother may be seen teaching an 8-year old who loves foxes, to read the words of the fox in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novella, "The Little Prince"."The Boy, the Horse, the Mole and the Fox" was another story which engaged the interest of the little one who had not yet learned that words can be meaningful at a level which matters.At the garden, a boy entering his double-digit years was using a pitchfork for the first time to dig up sun hemp — its long hollow stalk making it light but impressive to break over one's thigh; its gnarly root washed, looking like a creature from a comic book. As he stands with the pitchfork he's like Neptune with his trident, or Grant Woods' American Gothic farmer. Having been advised to hold the pitchfork with tines down, he stands like the obedient, working farmer child he sort of is. Armed for mad rebellion when the mob goes insane, he will stand sturdy with his pitchfork tines down and hold the line.A pretty little girl, the third child who forever feels overlooked, charmed everyone and got lots of adult affirmation. Each adult consciously undertook an activity which contributed to the maintenance, fertility, productivity and care of The Garden's Material offerings: new chard appears, beans are ready to grow fat, and the little pepper bush has offered the last of its hot seed pods. The Garden's Spiritual gifts are large healthy yellow butterflies and others, and big yellow and black caterpillars on the nicely trimmed and fulsomely blooming cassia.
Weeds are pulled — some take over an area for a while before one or two of us clean them out. Another wheels the barrow by, picking up such matter for the stick and trash compost. Amazingly, these tough weeds, plus sticks, moss, and pineapple leaves eventually manage to melt down in our large plastic mulching bins allowing more matter to be added. When the pile finally is shifted, the years-old material at the bottom has returned to soil. At the wooden compost bins, vegetable food waste, other green and brown matter – leaves, etc. are added, turned, matured, then sifted becoming fertile dirt over the course of only a few months.Thomas turns the compost during the week — it needs aeration to process the materials without odor of rot. Just as in our less healthy stomachs, food can rot and smell but is still digested just less efficiently if healthful practices are not given a chance to dance with nature's natural urge to be healthy. The compost enables us to create productive garden soil in satisfying quantities, to provide beds for the seed sprouts nursed into small being on the seed nanny's porches. Lynelle is a star nanny whose sprouts are sturdy and plentiful.The worms flourish in this time of green growth and plenty. They get leaf matter from trimmed bushes, from trimmed papaya plants, from easy plucking leaves of any sort. The worms receive some treats from the citizenry's compost vegetables, left in 5-gallon buckets at the garden entrance.Philosophy is shared amongst those who philosophize or meditate. Politics are lightly mooted amongst those who choose to see another world is possible. Singing is freely indulged in by those who long to make a joyful noise. Sensible taking care of business goes on. The management plan unfolds, records are kept. Caesar gets his due — to keep him quiet and light on our backs.He is locally a well-meaning fellow, although some see him and the management hoops required as an activity whose meaning is hard to fathom. Like reading, for the child who has no idea why the world she is growing up in demands her participation in what seems to be the meaningless ritual of schoolwork.
Elizabeth E Mitchell, *a.k.a. Lyrical LIBbe (Be Liberated) Silk Painting and Studio Experiences. www.elizabethmitchellstudio.com* * * * * * * * Join us Tuesday evening, join us Saturday morning, then see you at the Garden Tour on Sunday.
P.S. It's the newest addition to the community garden experience… thanks to Tim Ganey's carpentry and design, we've now got our own Little Free Library!
October 15, 2021
Our next planning meeting is Tuesday October 19 at 6 pm.
Tish and Tim Ganey have again offered up their outdoor riverfront pavilion to host our October planning meeting. As with previous meetings there, it's BYOB and haul-in/haul-out (bring your own single serving cool refreshing beverages, and plan on taking your trash with you).
Directions:6104 River Terrace – park along the street from the garden to Tish and Tim's driveway, walk down their driveway and follow the arrows to the path to the pavilion. If you can walk/bike/kayak to Tim and Tish's instead of driving, please do! There are 10 chairs available to us so feel free to bring beach chairs just in case. We hope you can make it. See you on Tuesday at 6 pm. The Grow Conference is back in 2021, Friday October 22.
TheCoalition of Community Gardens invites you to a day of gardening talk at the4th Annual Grow Gardens Conference, Friday, Oct. 22, 9:30-4:00 at the Trinkle Center, HCC Plant City, 1206 N. Park Road, followed by a reception and a garden tour at the Plant City Commons Community Garden across the street. HCC regulations for wearing a mask inside and social distancing will be followed, and virtual attendance is also available.
The Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, the HonorableNikki Fried, will kick off the conference with the keynote address, then members of the Coalition will be on board as presenters –Karen Elizabeth, Plant City Commons Jennifer Grebenschikoff, VISTA Gardens Paula Olesen, Apollo Beach Carla Bristol, St. Pete Youth Farm Chris Kenrick, Sweetwater Dell, deChant, New Port Richey gardens Presenters from Department of Health, as well as from USF will also present valuable information. Please make your plans to attend… proceeds from all ticket sales will be used to support new community gardens. We're a stop on the Garden Tour next Sunday! This yearly event is a self-guided tour showcasing some of the best local private gardens, but also our community garden again this year. It's a great opportunity for us to shine, and maybe even recruit some new members. The tour is limited to 200 tickets spaced out over the day and will likely sell out, meaning lots of folks coming through. Tickets ($25 to benefit the Friends of the Library) are available on Eventbrite, at the Seminole Heights Library 2nd floor during normal business hours, and day of the event.
But you won't need a ticket to just hang out with us at the community garden and chat with the guests coming through. In fact, we could us your help to make sure our visitors get some personal attention. Mark your calendar and drop on by.Getting organized. Ellen and McFadden sifting organic soil from compost, a sign-up sheet for members wishing to host garden visitors on Saturday mornings, and Cindy preparing beds to plant turnip seeds for the fall. As our garden grows, so do the challenges. With more members and more activities, we came to understand that we need a little more structure to spread the necessary garden tasks equally among everyone involved and to keep everything moving in the desired direction. And from that realization, sprung a committee of members who put together a plan that came together remarkably fast and is already running well. Here are the basic ideas, as outlined by our club secretaryLynelle Bonneville.
Philosophy behind Team Operational Structure:Garden Teams will provide a focus for members on Saturdays on a certain set of activities. The spirit behind Garden teams is not to limit anyone on what you can or can't do in the Garden. Garden needs will always ebb and flow and certain times we will need an "all hands-on deck" approach for certain activities. We encourage each member to join the team they are most interested in (and this also gives new members an area of focus to hopefully generate more staying power). It is okay to change teams too, if you want a change of pace! Under a Teams approach, the idea is that on Saturdays you would use self-directed observation and communication with your teammates to determine what you should do that day!
We want to keep Teams focused on basic garden operations for now. As our membership grows, we can expand the number of teams, or expand the teams' tasks if we have more help. But for now, teams will be more focused on core garden functions. The Teams structure would decentralize the Garden operations from a top-down approach to a more sustainable operation system, where each team decides what tasks in their "bucket" are most pressing through conversation, simple observation, or consideration of the time of year.
Draft Garden Teams Structure: (The names I put down were only the names I was sure about for example purposes. We need a formal way for someone to join a team, even if it's just a sign-up sheet in the shed or something. Something to develop further.) Watering TeamCurrent Members: Ellen, Doris, Neddy, Marc & Cindy, and LynelleActivities: Daily Garden watering in growing areasMaria is on this team as a backup/fill in waterer! Soil Team – Members NeededAdding/Turning Compost – Current members: Colleen, Thomas, and McFaddenSifting completed compostSpreading mulch and arranging for mulch deliveries 2x a yearOrdering manure in May(ish) and spreading it at the end of August/early SeptemberTending to Worm World – Current Members: Elizabeth and Ellen Garden Nannies Team – Members neededCurrent members: Ellen, Cathy, and LynellePlant seeds pre-growing seasons (July/August and again November/December)Transplant new seedlings into the garden once seedlings are viableOrdering new seeds and sorting older seeds before each growing season Curb Appeal Team – Members neededCurrent Members: DorisWeeding and trimming back growth, creating pathsRow making for plantingPlanting flowersSignageOrganizing shed Thanks Lynelle, and thanks too, to all the members who have already joined a garden team! Don't forget to join us next Tuesday. See at the Garden Tour on the 24th. And finally,HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
July 25, 2021
Be sure to be there! Join us for our July planning meeting coming up Tuesday.
Last month's well-attended meeting at Tish and Tim's house; and Cathy Christie-Zanghi, who will be hosting our next meeting on Tuesday.
Our planning meeting in June was a good one, and the first held in person since the covid crisis threw a year-long wrench in things. Our thanks go out toTish and Tim Ganey for hosting the event in their outdoor riverfront pavilion (see above). The next meeting is in-person too, scheduled forTuesday July 27 at 6 pm, and this time at the home of garden memberCathy Christie-Zanghi —
"My patio area is quite large around the pool with some shade and some sunny areas, so if it's too hot, or raining, I have no problem meeting inside. My address is5602 North Central Avenue. I'm on the northwest corner of Central and Comanche. Beige house with large camphor trees around the perimeter. Plenty of street parking on Comanche Avenue!"
Thank you Cathy! Like last month, this meeting is BYOB and haul-in/haul-out. Please bring your own single serving cool refreshing beverages, and plan on taking your trash with you. Cathy didn't mention how much seating she has available, so you might think about bringing a folding chair with you, just in case. And because we're still playing it extra safe with covid, we prefer that participation remain limited to garden members only, or for any prospective members ready to sign up. We hope you'll be there. See you July 27 at 6 pm!
Get out the vote!
Act now… Best of the Bay nominations end July 29th!The call is out from Creative Loafing magazine for 2021. Please help us win in the Readers' Poll "Best Community Garden" category. We've done it three times before, and because the garden is better than ever, let's go for four…click the "Start Nominating Now" bar below now. Good luck to us!!* * * * * *
It's that time of the year again—the BEST time of the year! Nominate your Tampa Bay area favorites during a three-week-long open nomination period. Nominations can be submitted NOW through 11:59 p.m. on July 29th. Categories are broken up into: People, Places, Food & Drink, Arts, Entertainment, Goods, and Services. During nominations, you can write in any nominee and,this year, only the top 20 nominees will move on to the voting phase from August 19th through September 9th!
Thanks, and see you at Cathy's on Tuesday!
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.
Alfred Austin
July 20, 2021
Another face-to-face planning meeting is coming up… next Tuesday July 27 at 6 pm.
Our planning meeting in June was the first we held in person since the covid crisis invaded, and our thanks go out toTish and Tim Ganey for hosting the event in their outdoor riverfront pavilion (see above). Attendance was outstanding, and so was the meeting itself…. certainly a pleasant and rewarding get-together in light of all those Zoom meetings we had to manage through the many months prior.
We're going for in-person again in July. The public library meeting rooms still aren't open to us yet, so this time our meeting will be at the home of garden memberCathy Christie-Zanghi —
"My patio area is quite large around the pool with some shade and some sunny areas, so if it's too hot, or raining, I have no problem meeting inside. My address is5602 North Central Avenue. I'm on the northwest corner of Central and Comanche. Beige house with large camphor trees around the perimeter. Plenty of street parking on Comanche Avenue!"
Thank you Cathy! Like last month, this meeting is BYOB and haul-in/haul-out. Please bring your own single serving cool refreshing beverages, and plan on taking your trash with you. Cathy didn't mention how much seating she has available, so you might think about bringing a folding chair with you, just in case. And because we're still playing it extra safe with covid, we prefer that participation remain limited to garden members only, or for any prospective members ready to sign up. We hope you'll be there. See you July 27 at 6 pm!
A gift to the garden bearing fruit for us and a benefit to the environment
June 27 was a very special Sunday for our community garden, when a team of volunteers from IDEAS For Us supported by their partner One Tree Planted delivered and planted a gift of sixteen tropical fruit trees on our property. Our sincere thanks to them for their generous donation and hard work in service to the organization's mission of advancing environmental action worldwide.
Get out the vote!
The call is out from Creative Loafing magazine for 2021. Please help us land the Readers' Poll "Best Community Garden" category. We've done it three times before, and because the garden is better than ever, let's go for four…click the "Start Nominating Now" bar below now. Thanks!!* * * * * *
It's that time of the year again—the BEST time of the year! Nominate your Tampa Bay area favorites during a three-week-long open nomination period. Nominations can be submitted NOW through 11:59 p.m. on July 29th. Categories are broken up into: People, Places, Food & Drink, Arts, Entertainment, Goods, and Services. During nominations, you can write in any nominee and,this year, only the top 20 nominees will move on to the voting phase from August 19th through September 9th!
A request for help from our friend Lyrical LIBbe
Here's my plea. I need to step away from orange peel delivery. The buckets and my shoulders are beginning to feel antagonistic. As I feel no longer physically able to transport the donated compost I've been collecting from Whatever Pops and burying it in the garden, I am reaching out today in search of a new volunteer to take over this weekly task.
There are usually three to four buckets of peels which are picked up behindWhatever Pops & Bowls,5127 North Florida Avenue 33603. The store is just south of Hillsborough Avenue on the east side and across from the Faedo's Bakery.
Once back at the garden, I rake a depression two or three feet long in the garden's northwest corner, tip in the peels and rake the mulch back over the peels to completely cover them. Then the buckets need to be rinsed and returned to Whatever Pops. I store them upside down on the platform behind the back of the store where the staff leaves us these produce scraps each week.
After two or three weeks, the buried peels have thoroughly melted and you can use the same area to bury some more. The rich dirt filled with large dark worms in that far northwest corner of the garden is a testament to the earth creating benefits of peels in the fairly barren soil of Florida. It is rather thrilling to be able to make dirt.
Can you help? Would you like trying to take this on? Please contact me –813-785-0129, to arrange for your happy new commitment. I have loved having this regular interaction and work to do in the garden. If we get four volunteers, we could even cover for each other, leaving just one week a month for each.
Elizabeth E Mitchell, *a.k.a. Lyrical LIBbe (Be Liberated)Silk Painting and Studio Experiences. www.elizabethmitchellstudio.com
And finally, a request from your newsletter editor…
Our garden is full of photo opportunities and members send great shots all the time. Please keep doing so, but know that they don't work so great if they come to us via text messaging. Your pictures will arrive as a "heic" file (as in, "what the heck is a heic?"), a format that appears to be incompatible with the software that produces our newsletter. So instead, send your photos as a jpeg email attachment to msuther1@tampabay.rr.com… a much better way to ensure your pictures get shared with your fellow gardeners. Thanks!!
Don't forget to join us next Tuesday! And see you on Saturday!
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.
Alfred Austin
June 12, 2021
May 17, 2021
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March 15, 2021
February 14, 2021
January 18, 2021
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August 16, 2020
First we make plans, then we grow plants.Our next garden planning meeting is this Tuesday August 18 at 5:00 pm, via Zoom
From May to today… a patch of dirt became this bountiful crop of sweet potatoes. It just takes some planning and then a little gardening TLC. We are all still dealing with the pandemic, and so our planning meetings are still virtual. Please drop Colleen a note at info.shcg@gmail.com if you're not already on her distribution list for Zoom sign-in instructions.
Election season is here. Vote for us. Local Florida elections are August 18, the same Tuesday as our planning meeting. Here's a civic duty reminder to cast a ballot for your chosen candidates.
But there's another race now in progress, and with this one we're seeking your support for an incumbent. That candidate is us. We've just been nominated again forCreative Loafingmagazine's annualBest of the BayReader's Poll in the Community Garden category. We won it last year and won in 2017, too. You can see our certificates proudly hanging inside of our garden storage shed door, where we hope that one day we might even run out of display space.
Help us make that happen, by clicking here and submitting your vote. And a special note — you're not limited to showing support only once. Between now and September 3 you can place a vote once every day. S.H.C.Gardeners unite!!
Another reflection on the garden from Lyrical LIBbe* Silk painting artist and longtime garden member, Lib Mitchell, a.k.a.Lyrical LIBbe, shares the inspiration she derives from our garden to carry her through this challenging time. Her thoughts here might help us all to appreciate the special satisfaction that comes from getting close to the earth and being close with our friends.
"We are living in a time of ever increasing crisis. The only way humanity will survive in the long term is if we can evolve and become mature. That is what is happening at the garden. Signs of maturity: ability to hear other people's differing opinions. Ability to accept that we have a role in the whole, and to lay down individual preferences for a common goal.
Today at the garden, some Black Lives for Trump visitors came to visit. Some people politely chose not to engage, others of us spoke with the guests. Economics and a fear of China were the motivations of the Trump voters. There was agreement that in some countries there is a wealthy "over class" and a "screwed" under class, whose rights are regularly abused. After the guests had been invited to return again and participate with us, the conversation among garden members celebrated our ability to interact with those whose views we agree with and those we don't actually agree with.
The garden is a living example of common ground. It is a place where people of any political conviction can listen, speak, and be heard. We do not argue about politics – we don't feel adequately informed to attempt to change someone's mind, or if we do feel adequately informed we don't feel that changing someone's mind matters more than finding common ground. We stand on the common ground of the garden.
We work together to create a beautiful healing space, as well as food, for all of us. Here in Tampa, we are already glad to supplement our nutrition with food we have grown. I feel that one day, this food source may become necessary – more than an extra relish to our meals.
Our goal is to grow food, to reconnect with nature's giving and bounty, to create something that is worthwhile – a benefit to our whole community. Right now the major edibles are Okinawan spinach, Malabar spinach (above left), popalo, okra, passion fruit, pineapple, and herbs.
It is a veritable joy to work and talk with others. Our garden is supportive, caring, welcoming and productive. One of our new members,Tom Ennis, made us a dirt sifter (above on right… thank you, Tom!) for making compost into dirt. Caroline and Chris brought youngster Arden to the garden, and he was happy digging mulch. Colleen, Elle, Cathy, Kris, were all engaged while yours truly was also fulfilling my task of burying the fruit trash from Whatever Pops – really fresh juice delicious popsicles they make… and taking care of the worms, my happy task shared with Elle.
I love the garden. I feel happy there contributing to a shared purpose, working freely within a structure. It's joyful. The garden contributes to my life and enables me to contribute to something greater than myself. Something I passionately believe in. We must grow our own food. It is an activity that succeeds when humans work together, with nature, as we do at the garden."
Elizabeth E Mitchell, *a.k.a. Lyrical LIBbe (Be Liberated) Silk Painting and Studio Experiences. www.elizabethmitchellstudio.com
IMPORTANT FINAL NOTE ABOUT VISITING THE GARDEN – Please protect our other gardeners as well as yourselves. Come in with clean hands, wear clean gloves, touch as little as possible, and even bring your own tools or disinfectant. Detailed pandemic advice for community gardens, including science-based updates on the virus and tips on how to harvest, share tools, swap seeds and manage work flow is available at this link:CLICK HERE. Please stay safe and healthy!
Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
August 6, 2020
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March 25, 2018
Here is a conference we think will be of great interest to all of our members. It's a day chock-full of networking opportunities, educational programs, information gathering and a wonderful way to emphasize the impact of community gardening on the health of the community. Everyone is welcome… please forward this email to your friends!
March 18, 2018
February 23, 2018
February 9, 2018
February 7, 2018
Help us welcome another team of student volunteers this Saturday We've benefited from countless hours of volunteer assistance from USF over the past few years, most recently with a team of eight students one Saturday last month (see photo below). More volunteers are heading our way again thisSaturday, February 10, 9 to 11:30 am, and and we need to show our appreciation with lots of members on hand to greet and guide them. They're coming to us from theUSF Kosove Society, an esteemed on-campus group dedicated to community engagement as a way to further members' leadership abilities. Please make plans to work alongside us Saturday morning!
USF student volunteers, on hand for a "Stampede of Service", pose with garden members, January 13. Thanks again, and Go Bulls!
A special invitation for you and your friends!
Our next planning meeting happens Tuesday, February 17 The meetings were formerly the third Monday of every month, but have now been moved to the third Tuesday. Please make note of the change, and more importantly, please attend. We value your input! The next one is Feb. 17th, and starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne).
Here are a few contributions to your garden newsletter from fellow members…
First, do you know who this guy is? He's Nathan Ballentine, the"Man In Overalls", a gardening expert from Jacksonville FL. Our Garden Master, Denise Moore, suggested we hook you up with his pretty incredible blog. Check out this link, and be prepared to spend a little time digging deep into some good dirt about the art of gardening.
* * * *Next, a couple of photos submitted byAndrew Rock, taken at a recent Saturday morning gathering. The pace of progress at our new site is energizing, and so are the friendships and fellowship. * * * *Garden member and mosaic artist,Carolyn Adler created this beautiful hanging sign to mark the status of the organic materials composting in our bins…
* * * *And finally fromElizabeth Mitchell (a.k.a. "Lyrical Lib"), a few nice shots emailed from her extended vacation stay in her New Zealand homeland.
"Darling baby fern offering hope "Central – I love the yellow tussock grass." and the ever present renewal of life."
"West Coast – temperate rain forest, will get lots of rain- the roads will likely have slips, glad we are not travelling there and were there when it was dry – people can get washed into rivers or blocked by slips."
One last note, and an important one at that, the new garden is still in need of bags of leaves for compost, and cinder blocks to build terraces and berms. Please donate!
Thanks, and all the best from your friends at the Seminole Heights Community Garden!
https://seminoleheightscommunitygardens.org/
January 6, 2018
Okay, we got that out of the way. But really, 2018 does indeed promise to be a happy year for our community garden. Our new location is shaping up nicely, and quickly too. And that in turn seems to be breathing new life into our members' spirits, with renewed inspiration and enthusiasm (read "Lyrical Lib's" entry below to get one idea of what we're talking about).
And with that, we begin the year with three important dates for your January calendar…
Saturday, January 13 — The Student Volunteers are Back! Once again, the Seminole Heights Community Garden will benefit from a USF Morning of Service event. We're expecting up to ten student volunteers to visit us next Saturday morning, arriving at 9:15-9:30 am and leaving 12:15-12:30 pm. That's three hours of people power, and we need to show our appreciation with lots of members on hand to greet and guide them. Can you help? Please make plans to work alongside us that morning. August 19, 2017: Student volunteers get primed for a morning workout with a heartfelt welcome from garden president, Colleen Parker.
* * *Monday, January 15 — Community Garden Planning Meeting at 7venth Sun Brewery Please attend our next planning meeting, starting at 6:30 pm. With our new garden site, there's so much to talk about. This month, we're hosting our meeting at that at the 7venth Sun Brewery (6809 N Nebraska Avenue, just north of the Mermaid Tavern and south of Sligh). So you can enjoy an excellent beer with us, too. Our last meeting in December was a well-attended Holiday gathering at Colleen's house. A good time was had by all.
* * *Thursday, January 18 — Coalition of Community Gardens – Tampa Bay Quarterly meeting This organization is really hitting its stride, as more community gardens pop up across our region of the state. The Coalition's next meeting will take place at theSeeds of Faith Community Garden at Brandon Bay Life Church (1017 N. Kingsway Road). It begins at 5:30 with a garden tour, and the meeting to follow.Sharing a couple of newsletter contributions from our garden members…
Among our members, there's always an inherent interest in subjects relating to the business of growing food. SoEllen Leedy was struck by a segment airing recently on PBS NewsHour that described researchers' efforts to explore whether indoor farming could solve world food shortages. Very compelling stuff. She sent this link to the show, but note that once there you will need to advance about 8-1/2 minutes into the video to get to the story.
* * * And longtime member and silk painting artist,Elizabeth Mitchell, a.k.a. "Lyrical Garden Libby", muses further this month on the joy of community gardening. Read on… It Takes a Garden – Lib's Lyrical Garden Rhapsody Today I picked up 2 buckets of compost from Whatever Pops and they promise us more in future. Located on east side of Florida, South of Hillsborough – they serve yummy all natural fresh made pops and bowls. We got a lot of orange and banana and some kiwi, some tea leaves — they use the real stuff.
I was glad to smell that good natural smell as I drove to the garden – at least I don't need to fear dementia which is indicated by a loss of the sense of smell. I've always been a little demented.
I fed the worms – they'll have to be moved out of the sun – and gave the orange peels to the compost. Tony has made the excellent compost bins; Worms don't like acidic fruits (nor onions).
Picked up five bags of leaves from a nearby driveway. And got some shred from Bramlett's – they do direct mail.
I feel purely happy doing this. I feel like part of something greater than me. That is my concept of divinity. To be a conscious part of what the big bang now is. Consciousness was born in the Big Bang. Consciousness IS Big Bang Diaspora. Hey it's the time of year when we celebrate birth – HERE. NOW. eek!!! (Word Play Joke: Human Consciousness is in Big Bang Diapers.)
I care that I am here, feeling part of something good. That which can be seen as bad co-exists with that which can be experienced as good. I love conscious living, gardening, being aware of my story here, and who I AM.
See ya at the garden.
Elizabeth E Mitchell, Silk Painting and Studio Experiences
One last note, and an important one at that, the new garden is in dire need of bags of leaves for compost, and cinder blocks to build terraces and berms. Please donate!
Thanks, and all the best from your friends at the Seminole Heights Community Garden!
https://seminoleheightscommunitygardens.org/
December 10, 2017
The Garden has moved! The Seminole Heights Community Garden is officially closed at our old location on Highland Avenue. We now garden at 6114 River Terrace. Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our new garden grow. Please join us on Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon!
Any questions? info.shcg@gmail.com https://seminoleheightscommunitygardens.org/
Steady progress, thanks to many hardworking hands. Chris at the tiller; Tony constructing bins for compost (p.s. We're ready to accept your compost at the new garden site. Please contribute!)
Upcoming events for your calendar
Wednesday, December 13 at 5:30 pm FDOT – Downtown Tampa and Urban Core areas Community Working Group Seminole Heights Branch Library 4711 N. Central Ave. (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne)
Transportation and traffic are big issues with residents in our neighborhood, especially when it comes to the state's plan for a major expressway expansion (TBX) that will have a huge impact on Seminole Heights, and also Tampa Heights and Ybor City. Come out to the next workshop to learn more, and give your input to guide the effort in a direction that makes the most sense for all of us living here. Complete meeting info at http://www.tampabaynext.com/event/downtown-community-working-group-3/
Monday, December 18 at 6:30 pm Seminole Heights Community Garden Holiday Gathering at Colleen's House!
Once again this year, our garden president is hosting a celebration of the season at her home. There will be a some garden business to discuss… this gathering is partly a substitute for our regular monthly planning meeting… but mainly it's a social event. There will be food and drinks, and you're welcome to bring your own contribution to share.
If you did not receive an Evite to the event, please RSVP by email at info.shcg@gmail.com Hope to see you there!
Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 5:30 Garden Coalition Quarterly Meeting Brandon Bay Life Church, Seeds of Faith Community Garden, 1017 Kingsway Rd. in Brandon
Garden Florida, the coalition of community gardens throughout Florida, (http://gardenflorida.org/), invites you to join them at their next scheduled meeting where members will provide support and encouragement to one another and share best practices to keep their produce (and their clubs) growing and thriving.
Lyrical Garden Libby…Some thoughts on starting a garden from one of our own "Lyrical" is an adjective that longtime garden member Elizabeth Mitchell used to describe herself, as she embarked on the essay that follows to describe her delight at the potential of our new River Terrace garden site.
Those who know Lib well, know her refreshing, hopeful and often inspiring worldview. It shows up most vividly in her colorful paintings on silk (click here to see Lib's artist side at the website for her studio).
But it also comes out in Lib's musings, both in conversation and here in her writing. See below, and watch for future installments from "Lyrical Garden Libby"…
I love starting a garden. Cardboard is laid on the grass, and bark spread upon it. A field of useless grass, which needs mowing if not also chemicals to maintain, is soon transformed into an attractive natural looking area, at the same time as it is creating a rich soil out of the decomposing bark and cardboard. The cardboard is recycled from large containers, and the bark is given free by tree companies who are happy to offload it rather than take it to the dump.
Next come autumn leaves, and manure from vegetarian animals, spread on the areas where soil for plants is to be created.
I love moving the mulch and feeling the sun and breeze on my working muscles. This body loves physical labour. It feels exultant when perspiration arises, anticipating the pleasure of bathing later.
I dream of a time when more and more of those grassy lawns we see, are reduced with areas of mulched ground, pleasant to see, and suggesting wild nature, which recycles and does not create waste. They will be decomposing – breaking down ready for creating a garden; top up the mulch with more free mulch as needed. One day we will need to feed ourselves and not rely on food that is shipped in. This is how to create local resilience –
I can't wait to harvest our own organic crops. How good they taste.
Elizabeth E Mitchell Enjoy the Holidays! All the best to you and your family from your friends at the Seminole Heights Community Garden!
https://seminoleheightscommunitygardens.org/
November 16, 2017
We changed the date! Our next planning meeting is scheduled forMONDAY, NOV. 27.Our previous email invited you to attend our upcoming planning meeting set for next Monday (we usually schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month). But since then, we had to push things back a week toMonday, November 27. The time and location remains the same though: it starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). There is much to discuss as we approach the new year, so please join us! Everyone is welcome.Three additional dates for your calendar (including one happening this weekend): A Porch Party on Saturday… Saturday, November 18— You are invited to mingle with some fine folks from the neighborhood at the next Old Seminole Heights Org. porch party. This one is special for the garden because one of our long-time active members,Anita Lawson is hosting. Her home is at 6010 N. Orange Blossom Avenue, and the party will go from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. Attendees are asked to bring what they want to drink and a snack to share. There's always enough food to count as a light supper!* * *A night of live jazz to kick off December… Saturday, December 2 — Come out to the Independent Bar and Cafe on Florida Avenue for their First Saturday Jazz Series, featuring our past-president and current garden master,Denise Moore.
We've encouraged our readers to catch Denise in her back-up singing role with the incredible Steely Dan tribute band, Show Biz Kids. But on this night you can see her performing lead, singing a fine jazz repertoire accompanied by some of the best musical talent from the local jazz community. Show starts at 8:00 pm; no cover.* * *A party at our president's home to toast the holidays… Monday, December 18 — Our garden presidentColleen Parker is again hosting a party to celebrate the season and salute our accomplishments as the 2017 year comes to a close. Save the date, and watch for more details to follow!* * *That's all for now, except to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Best to all!
Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
October 14, 2017
Our next planning meeting is coming up Monday October 16, and takes place at Fodder & Shine.
We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm as usual, but this time we'll get together at the wonderful Fodder & Shine restaurant instead of the public library. The restaurant is located at 5910 N. Florida Ave. Join us for a little socializing to go along with our regular garden business talk.
Okay, so that went well. Thanks to everyone who contributed… our yard sale on Saturday brought in over$500!
Our participation in theOSHNA Great Neighborhood Yard Sale on Saturday was better than we ever expected… net proceeds to the garden handily topped $500!
Thanks to all who donated items for the sale, and to our garden members who worked so hard to help us organize the event. Plus a special thanks to Denise and Alex who provided their home as our staging site. And finally (at the risk of suddenly sounding like an Academy Awards acceptance speech), we also want to thank the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association for promoting the annual yard sale, which provided the community garden with such a lucrative fundraising opportunity.
See you all next year. And what the heck… start setting aside your yard-saleables now!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
October 11, 2017
Only one drop-off day left! Donate your Yard-Saleables no later than 5 pm Thursday. TheOSHNA Great Neighborhood Yard Sale happens this weekend… SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14… and the Garden's special yard sale committee is urging you to bring us your item donations.
We need your stuff, and here's what we are asking you to do:
When to deliver – We need a few days in advance to organize and display all of our donated items, so we've started accepting them until 5 pm each day, today October 9 through Thursday October 12.
Where to deliver – The Garden's participation in the sale will be hosted at the home of our Garden Master/Immediate Past-President, Denise Moore. She lives in the nice yellow bungalow on the northeast corner of Henry and Ola (311 West Henry Street). Leave your items on her carport if no one is there to greet you when you drop by.
Pricing – You're probably the better judge of the value of most of your donated items, especially if they're antique-y or collectible. So it will help us a lot if you tag your items with a fair sale price for us. But this pre-pricing is not absolutely required… you can leave it up to us if you don't have the time.
And please note that your ascribed value will serve only as a suggested price. The Garden's selling team will be wheeling and dealing with the yard sale customers all day long, and everything will be negotiable. Of course, we hope to get the most out of each sale, because 100% of the proceeds are going straight to the Garden's operating funds.
The "Abundance Table" – As a special community service of sorts, the Garden will feature a special table at the sale with stuff that's simply free for the taking. So think about what you might also like to donate to give away, too. Kids' books or magazines, for example. Or maybe food items you stocked up on for that lousy hurricane that thankfully just brushed us.
Ultimately, it's our hope that the Abundance Table might dole out a little help to someone who can really use it. (Please make sure your donations for this effort are clearly identified for us.)
Last but not least – Come by on the day of the sale, October 14… who knows what bargains you'll find. Bring your rich friends, too… we need their money! TheOSHNA Great Neighborhood Yard Sale runs from 7 am to 2 pm. Here's a link to the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association's website with all the details of the event… http://oldseminoleheights.org/oshnas-great-neighborhood-yardsale/
Our next planning meeting is coming up Monday October 16, and takes place at Fodder & Shine.
We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm as usual, but this time we'll get together at the wonderful Fodder & Shine restaurant instead of the public library. The restaurant is located at 5910 N. Florida Ave. Join us for a little socializing to go along with our regular garden business talk.
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
October 6, 2017
Got a bunch of stuff for the Garden Yard Sale stacked up in a corner somewhere? We're ready to take it off your hands!
We're not able to rid you of the hurricane yard debris on your front walk, but we can gladly help you free up some space in your closets.The OSHNA Great Neighborhood Yard Sale is almost upon us… SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14… and the Garden's special yard sale committee is finally ready to receive your donations.
We need your stuff, and here's what we are asking you to do:
When to deliver – We need a few days in advance to organize and display all of our donated items, so we'll start accepting them each day until 5 pm, Monday October 9 through Thursday October 12.
Where to deliver – The Garden's participation in the sale will be hosted at the home of our Garden Master/Immediate Past-President, Denise Moore. She lives in the nice yellow bungalow on the northeast corner of Henry and Ola (311 West Henry Street). Leave your items on her carport if no one is there to greet you when you drop by.
Pricing – You're probably the better judge of the value of most of your donated items, especially if they're antique-y or collectible. So it will help us a lot if you tag your items with a fair sale price for us. But this pre-pricing is not absolutely required… you can leave it up to us if you don't have the time.
And please note that your ascribed value will serve only as a suggested price. The Garden's selling team will be wheeling and dealing with the yard sale customers all day long, and everything will be negotiable. Of course, we hope to get the most out of each sale, because 100% of the proceeds are going straight to the Garden's operating funds.
The "Abundance Table" – As a special community service of sorts, the Garden will feature a special table at the sale with stuff that's simply free for the taking. So think about what you might also like to donate to give away. Kids' books or magazines, for example. Or maybe food items you stocked up on for that lousy hurricane that thankfully just brushed us.
Ultimately, it's our hope that the Abundance Table might dole out a little help to someone who can really use it. (Please make sure your donations for this effort are clearly identified for us.)
Last but not least – Come by on the day of the sale, October 14… who knows what bargains you'll find. Bring your rich friends, too… we need their money! The OSHNA Great Neighborhood Yard Sale runs from 7 am to 2 pm. Here's a link to the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association's website with all the details of the event… http://oldseminoleheights.org/oshnas-great-neighborhood-yardsale/
BREAKING NEWS: our Garden takes "Best of the Bay" award!
Pick up the latest edition of theCreative Loafing weekly magazine, and inside you'll find us listed as the Bay area's most popular community garden among readers. Congratulations and thanks(!) to our members who made us worthy of the recognition.
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
September 15, 2017
Attention garden members… our next planning meeting is coming up, Monday, September 18
We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Most likely, we'll be in Room 220. Please join us!
Thank you, USF volunteers!
They came on a sunny beautiful Saturday, August 19, a carload of students participating in USF's annual Morning of Service event. Once again, our garden was selected along with about 40 other non-profit sites to receive a few hours of invaluable volunteer people power (this year's theme: "CHARGE: grab service by the horns").
We really put our team to work this time, moving cinder blocks and logs, weeding, and preparing large sheets of cardboard to use as ground cover for mulching. There was lots of heavy lifting for sure, but the volunteers took it on enthusiastically. So here's to them… our heartfelt gratitude.GO BULLS!
Are you hoarding stuff for our fundraising yard sale? It's not too late (or too early) to start!
We're hoping to raise some operating funds with a big neighborhood yard sale taking place onSaturday, October 14. That's about a month away, so it's really time now to start hanging on to saleable discards that you might have considered taking to a thrift store. Please set these items aside, and we'll provide details shortly on how we'll put all your great stuff up for sale. Thanks!!Lend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
August 17, 2017
Your participation at the garden this Saturday will be met and matched by USF's finest. Please join us. As we mentioned in our last newsletter, the garden has again been selected along with about 40 other sites to benefit from USF's annual Morning of Service event. And it's happening this weekend… we're expecting up to ten student volunteers to visit us thisSaturday morning, August 19 from 10:15 am to 12:45 pm. That's 2-1/2 hours of enthusiastic people power, and we need to show our appreciation with lots of members on hand to greet and guide them. Please make plans to work alongside us that morning.
The theme for this year's program is "CHARGE: grab service by the horns". To that we say once again, "GO BULLS!"
Reminder… our next planning meeting is coming up next Monday, August 21. We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us!Are you hoarding stuff for our fundraising yard sale? It's not too late (or too early) to start! We're hoping to raise some operating funds with a big neighborhood yard sale taking place onSaturday, October 14. That's less than two months off, so it's really time now to start hanging on to saleable discards that you might have considered taking to a thrift store. Please set these items aside, and we'll provide details shortly on how we'll put all your great stuff up for sale. Thanks!!
"I think that I done never see'd, a poem as noxious as a weed." – Joyce Kilmer All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
July 15, 2017
Join us on Monday. Bring your friends!View this email in your browser
Join us for a good time gathering, Monday evening July 17, at the c. 1949 Florida Beer Bar. It's time for a lighthearted break from our usual monthly garden planning meetings, so our next one will be more of a social event. We'll be kicking back at the newc. 1949 bar next to the Lowry Park Zoo (the address is 6905 N. Orleans Avenue, but you'll see one side of the building facing Sligh Avenue on your right if you're heading west).
There's beer of course, but also wine, snacks and food trucks; in other words a little something for everyone. Plus a good time for anyone who joins us. It starts at 6:30 pm. Let's talk about what we should be planting in the fall, and then just let things roll casually and informally. Join us Monday, July 17, and invite your friends to come along, too!
Seen on finer refrigerators throughout Seminole Heights These magnets are very attractive because, well, they're magnets after all. But they're also limited edition, and we only have a few of them left to hand out. So if you're looking to give your kitchen some added flair, be sure to request a magnet from Colleen when you see us at the meeting on Monday.
Make plans to attend the next Garden Coalition event, Friday August 4 Here's an email we recently received from the Florida coalition with all the details. Hope you can make it!
Greetings fellow community gardeners! We have the hall and all we need is you….for popcorn & movie night, featuring pictures of community gardens.Friday, August 4, 6:30, 2005 N. Lamar Avenue, 33602.
Kitty Wallace will be attending the annual conference of the American Community Gardening Association in Hartford, CT and will be visiting several community gardens on the tours planned for the attendees. We could just send out the pictures on email…but it would be so much more fun to have a "get together". This is a perfect opportunity to share info about our wonderful community gardens with each other. So we invite each community garden to send a few pictures, with captions, so we can put them all together on the slide show/movie.
We work hard all year – Let's come together to show support for each other, to learn from each other, to celebrate another year of gardening ahead! Any questions? Sure, you can bring some snacks to share, if you wish….or a cold six pack. We have plenty of red and white (does that go with popcorn??? Sure it does). -Looking forward to seeing you in August..
Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can next weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
July 7, 2017
Good times… join us at c. 1949 on July 17.View this email in your browser
Join us for a good time gathering, Monday evening July 17, at the c. 1949 Florida Beer Bar. It's time for a lighthearted break from our usual monthly garden planning meetings, so our next one will be more of a social event. We'll be kicking back at the newc. 1949 bar next to the Lowry Park Zoo (the address is 6905 N. Orleans Avenue, but you'll see one side of the building facing Sligh Avenue on your right if you're heading west).
There's beer of course, but also wine, snacks and food trucks; in other words a little something for everyone. Plus a good time for anyone who joins us. It starts at 6:30 pm. Let's talk about what we should be planting in the fall, and then just let things roll casually and informally. Come on out, Monday, July 17!
We need leaves
If you're raking up leaves, don't take them to the curb for pick-up. Bring them to the garden instead. We need leaves, lots of leaves, to keep our compost going strong. You can bring your bags down the alley behind the garden and deliver them through the back gate and into the corner behind our compost bins.
(But remember, we're pure organic… please donate only leaves from yards that are uncontaminated by lawn service fertilizers or pesticides.) Thanks!!
And we need yard sale stuff (but don't bring it to us yet!)
Our community garden is hoping to raise some operating funds with a big neighborhood yard sale taking place in October. That's a few months off, but it's probably not too soon to ask you to start hanging on to saleable discards that you might have considered taking to a thrift store. Please start setting these items aside, and we'll provide details later on how we'll put all your great stuff up for sale. Again, thanks!!
Make plans to attend the next Garden Coalition event, Friday August 4 Here's an email we recently received from the Florida coalition with all the details. Hope you can make it!
Greetings fellow community gardeners! We have the hall and all we need is you….for popcorn & movie night, featuring pictures of community gardens.Friday, August 4, 6:30, 2005 N. Lamar Avenue, 33602.
Kitty Wallace will be attending the annual conference of the American Community Gardening Association in Hartford, CT and will be visiting several community gardens on the tours planned for the attendees. We could just send out the pictures on email…but it would be so much more fun to have a "get together". This is a perfect opportunity to share info about our wonderful community gardens with each other. So we invite each community garden to send a few pictures, with captions, so we can put them all together on the slide show/movie.
We work hard all year – Let's come together to show support for each other, to learn from each other, to celebrate another year of gardening ahead! Any questions? Sure, you can bring some snacks to share, if you wish….or a cold six pack. We have plenty of red and white (does that go with popcorn??? Sure it does). -Looking forward to seeing you in August..
Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
June 18, 2017
Three dates for your social calenderView this email in your browser
A reminder: Garden planning meeting tomorrow evening, Monday June 19We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us! Two events of interest for you
First, we happened to notice an ad in Thursday's newspaper announcingUSF Botanical Gardens' 2016 Summer Plant Festival, happening the weekend of June 24-25. Five bucks admission, but well worth the price (kids free, and free parking). There are workshops, but also scores of vendors with plants of every kind… you're not likely to leave empty-handed. More info, click here.* * * *Next, we're once again helping our longtime member and past president,Denise Moore, get the word out about her band's next performance. She sings back-up vocals in the 12-member Steely Dan tribute band,Show Biz Kids, and for a second time they're coming to St. Pete's Palladium Theater. It's probably the best venue yet to showcase the talents of this extraordinary band. See and hear for yourself… Saturday, August 5, 8:00 pm. More info at this link.Stop the skeeters! Dump out standing water at the garden
When conditions were dry, we encouraged members to stop by and water the garden any chance they got. Now it's thankfully raining like crazy almost daily, but the new challenge is the moisture that might collect in pots and trays laying about. So anytime you visit the garden, please take a minute to look around and empty any standing water you find. And if possible, turn offending containers upside down. Thanks! Finally, Happy Father's Day to all our Dads!
Garden member,Michael Brannock with his son, Riley Thaddeus Brannock born May 29. All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
June 14, 2017
Announcements, pronouncements, and a couple of requestsView this email in your browser
Attention Garden members… our next planning meeting is coming up, Monday, June 19 We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us! Fantastic! Our new garden members have a new family member!
Congratulations to proud parentsSarah and Michael Brannock, who brought their firstborn into this world on May 29. We wish all the best to them and to their new son,Riley Thaddeus Brannock. We need leaves
If you're raking up leaves, don't take them to the curb for pick-up. Bring them to the garden instead. We need leaves, lots of leaves, to keep our compost going strong. You can bring your bags down the alley behind the garden and deliver them through the back gate and into the corner behind our compost bins.
(But remember, we're pure organic… please donate only leaves from yards that are uncontaminated by lawn service fertilizers or pesticides.) Thanks!!
And we need yard sale stuff (but don't bring it to us yet!)
Our community garden is hoping to raise some operating funds with a big neighborhood yard sale taking place in October. That's a few months off, but it's probably not too soon to ask you to start hanging on to saleable discards that you might have considered taking to a thrift store. Please start setting these items aside, and we'll provide details later on how we'll put all your great stuff up for sale. Again, thanks!! Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
April 13, 2017
We need your input at Monday evening's planning meeting.View this email in your browser
Please join us Monday April 17 for an important monthly planning meeting.We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne).
Please join us… this one is important, because we'll be discussing all the final details for our Earth Day/Birthday Open House celebration the following weekend (see below!) Everyone is invited to our special Open House. Bring your old friends, make some new friends.
April 11, 2017
March 18, 2017
Don't miss our Earth Day/Birthday planning meeting!View this email in your browser
What on Earth Day is going on?
Earth Day is coming up fast, Saturday April 22. And it's also our garden's birthday, something we plan to celebrate with a special open house for the public. So please mark your calendar to attend ourmonthly planning meeting on Monday March 20th, where we'll finalize the details for the big day. The meeting starts at 6:30 pm at Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne).
Join us to share your input. (And keep collecting your little plastic yogurt cups in the meantime… we need them to pot seedlings to share as garden gifts with our Earth Day/Birthday guests.) Thanks!Rain has been scarce. Help us keep the garden watered.
It's been a very dry winter. But our team of watering volunteers under the leadership of our "Water Lily",Lynelle Bonneville, has managed to keep everything green and growing. Each volunteer is assigned to a different day of the week and to a designated watering zone in the garden.
With such dry conditions though, our plants would greatly benefit from some additional attention. That means additional volunteers to fill in. If you can help, reach out to Lynelle through our regular email… info.shcg@gmail.com. Or just grab a watering can anytime you visit the garden and douse as many plants as you can. They can never get too much.Plant festival season is here.
FYI, a pretty good article appeared in last Sunday's Tampa Bay Times that listed several plant festivals coming up in March and April. Here's the Times' link to the article online… you might be interested in checking out some of these events.Lend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Every Saturday, 9 am to noon Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can next weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
February 11, 2017
Earth Day is our birthday and other interesting newsView this email in your browser
So much stuff to tell you about…Where to begin? There are just a lot of assorted items to share this month, so we hope you don't mind that this newsletter runs a little long. Just scroll up and down and check out the topics that catch your interest. But we did put the two most important items right up at the top. Starting with…
Item #1: Please save your little plastic yogurt cups. We're going to need them for Earth Day on April 22
We're pulling together plans to celebrate Earth Day 2017 with a special event to raise awareness for both the occasion and for our community garden (which will also be celebrating it's 11th birthday!).
One component of this neighborhood gathering will likely be the give-away of free vegetable seedlings to our guests. Re-purposed plastic single-serve yogurt cups make the perfect pots for the seedlings, so please start collecting yours now. Other similar sized cups will also do. Save them for us to ensure we'll have lots on hand as the date draws near. Thanks!Item #2: Mark your calendar for our next planning meeting, Monday February 20
We'll be talking more about our Earth Day/Birthday event at this meeting, as well as spring planting plans. The planning meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us!
Item #3: A quick shout-out to our wonderful USF "Stampede of Service" volunteers who helped us out in January
The seven hardworking, enthusiastic students pictured here joined us for a few hours on Saturday morning January 14th, weeding and watering, and pitching in on whatever else needed doing that day. It was part of an annual community volunteer effort hosted by USF all over town, and we can't overstate our gratitude for being made a part of it.GO BULLS!Item #4: A reminder to visit our website's "LET'S EAT!" page for some great recipe ideas
Our immediate past-president and current garden master, Denise Moore, is shown here with some fresh picked carrots from the garden and also a jar of homemade carrot-top pesto. So how do you make pesto? Start by going to this link from our website's "Let's Eat!" page, where you'll find a pretty good recipe for it (the recipe calls for kale, but substituting carrot tops should work just fine).
You'll find lots of other interesting recipes submitted by garden members too, plus nutritional benefits information on a variety of vegetables and fruits. We also want you to help us grow this page… submit your recipe ideas to Colleen at info.shcg@gmail.com. She'll post them for you, and also credit your contribution by name if you'd like.Item #5: Denise Moore (again, pictured above) will be performing at the Gasparilla Music Festival, singing in the Steely Dan tribute band, Show Biz Kids
We've told you about Show Biz Kids before. You really must see this 12-piece band to truly appreciate how impeccably they cover the sublime music of Steely Dan. Denise is one of two female back-up singers in the group, and the next time you can catch them is on day-two (Sunday, March 12) of the2017 Gasparilla Music Festival in downtown Tampa. Congratulations to the band for landing another high-profile gig. More info here… you should try to make it out to the show.Item #6: And one final thing from Denise…
Here are a couple of links she suggested we share with you. The first one takes you to the website forGrowin' Crazy Acres in Spring Hill. We're not trying to help them sell their wares, but it's an interesting enterprise, and the website shares some good planting tips and recipe ideas. Worth a look… click here.
The second link Denise shared takes you to the latest newsletter fromSweetwater Organic Community Farm in Tampa. You might already be familiar with this locally renowned organization — they've been around for over 20 years — but their endeavors align with many of the interests of our community garden members, and so you might want to check this one out as well… click here. And finally from all of us at the Garden… If you're an S.H.C.G. member and haven't visited the garden in awhile, it's high time you popped in again. We've got lots of kale, chard, salad greens, tomatoes and carrots that are either ready to harvest now, or will be ready very soon. There are herbs too, and probably some other stuff we forgot to list, so bring a bag to take it home fresh-picked for your dinner table.
Please join us if you can next weekend… come with a friend too, who might be interested in becoming a new member. We gather every Saturday morning 9:00 am to noon, pitching in together to keep our garden going and growing.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
January 17, 2017
Happening this Thursday, for your information…View this email in your browser
This meeting notice appeared in the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association's newsletter today. Thought we should share it. This seems worth passing along because of the scope of the project that will be discussed at City Council. For better or worse, the project will make an impact on Seminole Heights, so here's the text of OSHNA's newsletter posting, FYI… City Council Meeting – 6000-6008 N Florida Ave, Thursday, March 9th. Time: TPD
The property located at 6000 – 6008 N Florida Ave known as the Milhaus Project will be going before Council. You can find information about the project on the cities website here https://aca.tampagov.net/citizenaccess/ and enter REZ16-101.
This is a proposed 5 story mixed-use building. The ground floor will be approximately 7200 sq ft of retail while the 4 upper stories will consist of 84 apartment units. Currently they are providing 117 parking spots.
If you have concerns, the council meeting will be your opportunity to speak up. You can also email landuse@oldseminoleheights.org.
Once we have a confirmed time, we will post it on our Facebook page.
January 13, 2017
Please note this corrected meeting date on your calendarView this email in your browser
Corrected Date!! Our next Garden Planning meeting happens Monday, January 16th at Colleen Parker's home.We usually hold our monthly meeting at the local public library, but Colleen is inviting members to come to her house this month instead. And contrary to the newsletter we sent you earlier this week, the correct date for this event is Monday, January 16 (not the 17th). Please contact her at info.shcg@gmail.comto RSVP and to get address info. Meeting starts at 6:30 pm. See you there! Please help us welcome the another team of USF student volunteers this Saturday.
It's back! The USF "Stampede of Service" for 2017 has again chosen our community garden as one of its 70 volunteer sites throughout the school's service area, and a team of energentic students will arrive by bus thisSaturday, January 14 to assist us from 9:30 am until noon.
It's their way of helping to build a growing tradition of community service on the college campus while also helping students learn about the great work their student body does on a daily basis.
So please make a point to join us this Saturday to greet our volunteer team and to guide their efforts. We sincerely thank USF for pitching in for us.
We look forward to seeing you, andGO BULLS!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
January 11, 2017
USF volunteers are back this Saturday; our next planning meeting is coming up, too.View this email in your browser
Please help us welcome the another team of USF student volunteers this Saturday. It's back! TheUSF "Stampede of Service" for 2017 has again chosen our community garden as one of its 70 volunteer sites throughout the school's service area, and a team of energentic students will arrive by bus thisSaturday, January 14to assist us from 9:30 am until noon.
It's their way of helping to build a growing tradition of community service on the college campus while also helping students learn about the great work their student body does on a daily basis.
Please make a point to join us this Saturday to greet our volunteer team and to guide their efforts. We sincerely thank USF for pitching in for us. GO BULLS!
Our next Garden Planning meeting happens Monday, January 17th at Colleen Parker's home.
We usually hold our monthly meeting at the local public library, but Colleen is inviting members to come to her house this month instead. Please contact her at info.shcg@gmail.com to RSVP and to get address info. Meeting starts at 6:30 pm. See you there! The Coalition of Community Gardens next quarterly meeting is Thursday, January 19that the Mustard Seed Garden at Tims Memorial Presbyterian Church, 601 Sunset Lane, Lutz, 33549. 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Here's the text of the latest email from the Coalition's Kitty Wallace, with meeting details and more. Hope you can make the date!
We had a great meeting at Plant City Commons Community Garden in October, met several of their gardeners, and toured their wonderful garden. Thanks, Karen! We also welcomed the Vista Gardens members, Jen and Barb.
Proposed agenda: Tour the Mustard Seed Garden; share info about our gardens; Q & A re gardening.Plan garden tours in April….It would be most helpful if each of us could meet with our board/planning teams prior to this meeting….and determine a date in April, best case scenario to coincide with Earth Day, that we can ALL hold an event or an open house in our gardens area-wide….it looks like we have some marketing people on board this year and can actually make a fair media splash about this. So bring that information with you or share via email so we can come away from this meeting with a PLAN. Re: the Healthiest Cities-Counties Challenge Grant: We have had one general meeting with the partner agencies of the grant. Data on statistics regarding food deserts, current community gardens, as well as health-related statistics are being gathered. And we (the coalition members) are putting together a "Starting a community garden tool kit."
The goal of this grant is to develop a model of networking and use the model to establish at least 3 community gardens in food desert areas in Tampa/Hillsborough. (The USDA defines what's considered a food desert: at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles).
Please reply to this email regarding your attendance….Ardell and Renee at Mustard Seed Garden would appreciate getting a head count at some point (RSVP to Colleen at info.shcg@gmail.com). All are welcome and encouraged to attend and to bring other gardeners from your group. Best wishes for a happy, healthy 2017! KittyLend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow every Saturday morning, 9:00 am to noon.
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
December 27, 2016
Garden happenings for your happy New YearView this email in your browser
Simple Mindful Living — here's an upcoming workshop to explore a happier, healthier wayYour New Year's resolutions might call up a commitment to more dieting or exercise, or some other singular change of habits. But you might consider starting 2017 with a something that goes further and deeper… a new focus onSimple Mindful Living.
Garden member,Andrew Rock, asked us to invite our newsletter subscribers to a workshop he'll be leading to teach you ways to get there. His program will explore how we can simplify our lives to be happier, healthier and to have a more sustainable world. Together participants will discuss the relationship between mindfulness and simple living including:Examine how our values manifest in the way we live.Consider ways and opportunities to make our lives simpler, happier and more sustainable.Ask ourselves: "What do we really need?" and"How much is enough?"The Simple Mindful Living workshop takes place Saturday January 7 beginning at 9:30 am at the FCM Practice Center, 6501 N. Nebraska Ave. Learn more about FCM and register online by clicking here.
(More about Andrew: He has been a member of FCM since 2004 and the Order of Interbeing since 2011, and has led previous workshops for FCM's Mindfulness Institute on mindful consumption, engaged Buddhism and mindfulness for activists. He is also a founder of the Tampa Bay Buddhist Climate Action Network.)The Coalition of Community Gardens next quarterly meeting is Thursday, January 19that the Mustard Seed Garden at Tims Memorial Presbyterian Church, 601 Sunset Lane, Lutz, 33549. 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Here's the text of the latest email from the Coalition's Kitty Wallace, with meeting details and more. Hope you can make the date!
We had a great meeting at Plant City Commons Community Garden in October, met several of their gardeners, and toured their wonderful garden. Thanks, Karen! We also welcomed the Vista Gardens members, Jen and Barb.
Proposed agenda: Tour the Mustard Seed Garden; share info about our gardens; Q & A re gardening.Plan garden tours in April….It would be most helpful if each of us could meet with our board/planning teams prior to this meeting….and determine a date in April, best case scenario to coincide with Earth Day, that we can ALL hold an event or an open house in our gardens area-wide….it looks like we have some marketing people on board this year and can actually make a fair media splash about this. So bring that information with you or share via email so we can come away from this meeting with a PLAN. Re: the Healthiest Cities-Counties Challenge Grant: We have had one general meeting with the partner agencies of the grant. Data on statistics regarding food deserts, current community gardens, as well as health-related statistics are being gathered. And we (the coalition members) are putting together a "Starting a community garden tool kit."
The goal of this grant is to develop a model of networking and use the model to establish at least 3 community gardens in food desert areas in Tampa/Hillsborough. (The USDA defines what's considered a food desert: at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles).
Please reply to this email regarding your attendance….Ardell and Renee at Mustard Seed Garden would appreciate getting a head count at some point (RSVP to Colleen at info.shcg@gmail.com). All are welcome and encouraged to attend and to bring other gardeners from your group. Best wishes for a happy, healthy 2017! KittyLend us a hand, make some friends*, and help our garden grow every Saturday morning, 9:00 am to noon.
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org *Like these people! This photo taken at our December 19 Holiday gathering at Colleen's home.
(Colleen is standing on the far left, wearing the gray top in case you haven't yet met her. And Simple Mindful Living instructor, Andrew Rock, is seated front and center in the plaid shirt.)
December 15, 2016
Invitation reminder, harvesting greens video, and other newsView this email in your browser
INVITATION REMINDER! Join us Monday evening, December 19.Season's Greetings! Our December planning meeting will be a Holiday get-together, too. So instead of the public library, we'll meet this month at the home of our garden president,Colleen Parker.
Mark your calendar forDecember 19 (meetings are always the third Monday of the month). Our planning meeting/party starts at6:30 pm. You can contact Colleen for more details at info.shcg@gmail.com We've got a bounty of kale to harvest, so come and get some. Here's the sustainable way to take it from the plant.
Greens like collards, lettuce, and kale are great garden plants. If you harvest the leaves properly, they still continue to grow, providing more and more healthy produce for an entire season.
Right now, we've got lots of beautiful kale ready for our members to share. Lettuce and chard, too. So come out with a bag or basket and take some for you and your family. But please spend a couple minutes first to watch this YouTube video that shows you the right way to cut the plants back to ensure they keep on producing. Thanks, and enjoy! Who can assist with compost?
Garden member,Anson Mitchell, has put out a call for anyone who can help him with picking up compost donated by a local restaurant or two. He needs a picker-upper for Wednesdays. If you're available, contact us at info.shcg@gmail.com and we'll put you in touch with Anson to talk over the details. The work is pretty simple and doesn't take a whole lot of time… two details we're sharing in advance to hopefully encourage your interest in signing on. Thanks!Lend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow every Saturday morning, 9:00 am to noon.
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can next weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best for your Holidays, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
December 10, 2016
Holiday invitations for you and other newsView this email in your browser
Here's a special invitation for you… Join us Monday evening, December 19.Season's Greetings! Our December planning meeting will be a Holiday get-together, too. So instead of the public library, we'll meet this month at the home of our garden president,Colleen Parker.
Mark your calendar forDecember 19 (meetings are always the third Monday of the month). Our planning meeting/party starts at6:30 pm. You can contact Colleen for more details at info.shcg@gmail.comAnd here's another Holiday invitation… this one from our friends in Tampa Heights
The neighborhood's Holiday party happens nextSunday, December 18, 2 – 6 pm. All funds raised from this event benefit the Tampa Heights Community Garden. Here are some details. See you there!
Who can assist with compost?
Garden member,Anson Mitchell, has put out a call for anyone who can help him with picking up compost donated by a local restaurant or two. He needs a picker-upper for Wednesdays. If you're available, contact us at info.shcg@gmail.com and we'll put you in touch with Anson to talk over the details. The work is pretty simple and doesn't take a whole lot of time… two details we're sharing in advance to hopefully encourage your interest in signing on. Thanks!Lend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow every Saturday morning, 9:00 am to noon.
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can next weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best for your Holidays, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
November 20, 2016
A break for the busy Thanksgiving week… no meeting tomorrow. View this email in your browser
Just a reminder… no planning meeting Monday night Everything at the garden seems to be running smoothly and all of our current plans are on track. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, we decided to cancel our planning meeting that would normally be scheduled for November 21 (always the third Monday of the month).
But watch for news about our December meeting, which might double as a holiday party at a board member's house. Stay tuned! Let's eat! Check out the new recipe page on our website
When we meet in the garden, the conversations always turn to food prep. It seems that everyone has a favorite recipe incorporating the produce we grow. So our president, Colleen, just created a "Let's Eat!" page on our websitewhere you can find some of these recipe ideas for your own use in the kitchen.
She's organizing the recipes by the type of fruit or vegetable used, and each food type has an additional link that provides you with some useful nutrition information.
You'll see that our new webpage is very much a work in progress, but we're announcing it now because we'd like our members to start compiling recipes they'd like to share. Then by the time we send out the next newsletter in December, we should have some simple instructions worked out to get your recipes posted on our site. Get ready, fellow foodies! We need bagged leaves for composting
The leaves fall in Autumn, and that's a good thing because we need lots of them to make our compost for organic soil. If you've raked up some bags full in your yard, don't take them to the curb. Drop them off at our community garden instead … you can just place the bags over the chain link fence in the back through the alley.
But please note that we can't use leaves from yards that have been treated with either pesticides or with fertilizers (no donations from TruGreen customers, for example). Thanks! And finally, Happy Thanksgiving to all!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
November 10, 2016
No planning meeting this month, and other November newsView this email in your browser
We're taking a break this month… no planning meeting scheduled for NovemberEverything at the garden seems to be running smoothly and all of our current plans are on track. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, we decided to cancel our planning meeting that would normally be scheduled for November 21 (always the third Monday of the month).
But watch for news about our December meeting, which might double as a holiday party at a board member's house. Stay tuned! A couple of garden related events for you, both happening this Saturday.
Gardeners and foodies have to make a choice this weekend whether to check out the VISTA Gardens Fall Festival in Carrollwood, or the 7th Annual Tampa Bay Veg Fest at the Contanchobee Fort Brooke Park in downtown.
Actually you can squeeze in both events if you decide to make a full day of it. They look to be fun and informative, so you might want to do just that… click on the links we included above and make some plans (the weather forecast for the day is perfect). Maybe we'll see you there! We need bagged leaves for composting
The leaves fall in Autumn, and that's a good thing because we need lots of them to make our compost for organic soil. If you've raked up some bags full in your yard, don't take them to the curb. Drop them off at our community garden instead … you can just place the bags over the chain link fence in the back through the alley.
But please note that we can't use leaves from yards that have been treated with either pesticides or with fertilizers (no donations from TruGreen customers, for example). Thanks!
Lend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
October 4, 2016
Food for thought, thought for food…View this email in your browser
Please assist this USF honors senior by completing a short survey for her thesis project.She is Melissa Falzon, a Biomedical Sciences major at USF, and is interested in how our involvement in a community garden might affect our attitudes regarding food and about our well-being in general. Melissa's research on the subject will be incorporated in a thesis project, and she's asking for our help. Here's the message she sent to our garden president, Colleen Parker —
Hello, I am a USF honors college senior that will be working on a thesis project this semester. I am interested in community gardens and believe they can have a positive impact in many people's lives. This study will analyze how involvement in a community garden affects how an individual views food and their health overall. Please consider helping me gather data by filling out this brief anonymous survey. The survey should take about 5-10 minutes at most and responses are greatly appreciated!
Melissa Falzon University of South Florida Honors College Biomedical Sciences Major
Melissa is hoping for a lot of participation from us obviously, and she also needs your response bySaturday, October 8 if possible.
Please take part. This is another simple, but significant opportunity for our garden to fulfill its commitment to community outreach. And frankly, we're pleased that Melissa chose our endeavors as a topic of study. We give her our best wishes for success with the project.
Attention Garden members… our next planning meeting is coming up, Monday, October 17
We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us!
Lend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
September 17, 2016
Planning meeting reminder and other tidbitsView this email in your browser
Garden Planning Meeting this Monday, 6:30 pm at the libraryWe schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our September 19th meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us!Garden Nannies update ("Groundbreaking News")
A few months back, we sent out the call for "Garden Nanny" volunteers to start fall seedlings at home. Several garden members stepped up, and now results are starting to sprout. Here are some pictures of some of the things we've got growing… Jalepeno, Red Russian Kale, Orange Fantasy Chard, Fordhook Chard, Cucumbers, Romaine lettuce, Pai Tsai (like bok choy), Romanesco Broccoli, Cauliflower, Broccoli Raab, Tomatillos,and Cherry tomatoes.
Thanks to Colleen Parker Tim Baker, Ellen Leedy, and Cindy Sutherland for the photos. Cindy sent the picture of the square planting pots she folded out of newspaper… they get planted right into the ground with the seedlings where they'll compost naturally. If you want to try making some pots yourself, instructions can be found at this link.
Some planting has already begun at the garden, with lots more going in in the weeks ahead.So lend us a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
September 11, 2016
Planning meeting coming up, new members welcome, and other announcementsView this email in your browser
Attention Garden members… our next planning meeting is coming up, Monday, September 19We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us! One of our "Garden Nanny" volunteers,Lynelle Bonneville, grew these cucumber seedlings on her porch to be planted at the garden Just as our garden grows, so does our club… by four people in just the last month!
First, we welcome a couple of new members who happen to be a couple,Anson MitchellandLee Ann Corning. We also say welcome aboard to new memberLeah Diaz. And finally welcome back to returning memberMarilyn Whitfield.
It's always great to make new friends, one of the best benefits of our community garden. So think about other people you know who might want to join our ranks, and feel free to invite them to hang around with us some Saturday morning. Many hands make light work! Organic eggs for sale at Whitwam Organics
Whitwam Organics is a Florida registered nursery here in our neighborhood, and owner David Whitwam has sometimes partnered with the garden on various projects we've taken on. So we thought we'd help him get out the word that he's now selling organic eggs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 am to noon.
Six bucks a dozen, or half dozen cartons are also available for three dollars. Please call ahead before going to pick up your eggs, to be sure someone's there to meet you. 813-803-0024. Whitwam Organics is at 7409 Highland Avenue. Concerned about clean water? An opportunity for a little activism.
On a few occasions in recent months, we've notified our newsletter subscribers about organized efforts to oppose the Tampa Bay Express (TBX), mainly because the proposed project directly impacts our Seminole Heights neighborhood. But otherwise, the Garden has pretty much stayed clear from anything maybe deemed political. We're really all about growing organic food.
But there's a new issue at hand that might make 'organic' in Florida eventually seem moot. The Environmental Regulation Commission (ERC) in Florida just voted in favor of increasing the amounts of cancer-causing chemicals allowed in the waterways, higher than the limits set for the rest of the United States by the EPA. One of these chemicals is benzene, no less.
But before it becomes official, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still has to sign off on this decision that the ERC made. If you would like to tell the EPA that you want them to reject it, here for you then is a link to an online petition… https://www.change.org/p/keep-the-cancer-causing-chemicals-out-of-our-water.
Close to 75,000 Florida residents have signed already, and the petition will be delivered to Joel Beauvais at the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water and Heather McTeer Toney, Regional Administrator at the EPA. The link also provides much more information to help you decide whether or not you wish to participate. It's at least worth a look, because it appears there is much at stake for the quality of our water. Finally as always, we hope to see you next Saturday at the garden, 9:00 am to noon. Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
August 15, 2016
Garden planning meeting reminder and other newsView this email in your browser
Join us at the library this evening for our fall planting planning meetingWe schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our August 15th meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us! And be there at the garden on Saturday August 20, when we host another team of USF Community Partner helpers
USF students will return to our garden the Saturday after next to help us turn soil, turn compost, build berms to prep for planting, tend our garden worms, and maybe pull some weeds. We're hoping for a team of five to seven volunteers, and we're also hoping for a good turnout from our membership to share a heartfelt welcome and provide some guidance and encouragement.
The students' visit is part of the university's "CHARGE" city-wide fall annual day of service, and participants will arrive the morning of August 20 at 10:30 for a session lasting until noon. Multiply that by the number of volunteers anticipated to be on hand, and we're talking a lot of valuable people power!
The photo shown here is from USF's last visit in January… it was a great day in the garden. (Pictured here are two of the students holding some cut papaya from one of our several trees. Garden president, Colleen Parker is on the right, longtime member Lib Mitchell is in the background, and immediate-past president, Denise Moore is on the left).
Our thanks to the campus' Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement for again including us as an organization to benefit from the their students' generosity of time and effort. GO BULLS! Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, working together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
July 14, 2016
Two upcoming events, one cancelled meeting, and other newsView this email in your browser
Take Monday off this month.We're going to. Everything at the garden seems to be running smoothly and all of our current plans are on track. As such, we decided to cancel our July planning meeting that would normally be scheduled for Monday, July 18. See you all at the library building in August though, to share thoughts and ideas for the fall season. Our off-the-grid irrigation is off the charts!
Who needs city water to grow a garden? A couple of heavy rains this week is all it took to fill up our 550-gallon cistern and all seven of our 50-gallon rain barrels.
The water is fed into the cistern from the metal roof of our next door neighbors Adam and Patti Ann Rugland (they're new garden members, too… welcome!), and can then overflow into the barrels through a connection of pipes that was designed and installed by Ricardo Bonilla (pictured here) with the help of Tim Baker and Tony Perilla.
Our gratitude to this able team of "hydro-engineers", and thank you once again to both the Tampa Garden Club and the Hillsborough County's Neighborhood Relations office, whose funding grants have made it possible for us to develop this efficient, eco-friendly irrigation system for the garden. Coalition of Community Gardens to meet again, Saturday July 23. Everyone is invited to participate!
Here's an excerpt of an email we recently received from Kitty Wallace at the Tampa Garden Club and Coalition of Community Gardens —
This is a reminder for you and your gardeners to attend our next coalition meeting at the Hillsborough Extension office on Saturday afternoon, July 23. I am not sure if we set a time but how about 2:00? Thanks to Lisa Meredith for making the arrangements for us to use the building,5339 County Road 579, Seffner 33584.
Topics: – How does your garden get through the summer? – Status of the MPO, Health Dept. grant
See you there. Bring a little snack to share. Kitty
***
We'd like to see at least two representatives from S.H.C.G. at each of these meetings, but more of us is even better. Everyone can come, and if you do we guarantee you'll meet some great people there. And taking place earlier that same day…
Here's something else you might want to check out… we also received this email from Lynn Barber, Florida-Friendly Landscaping Extensions Agent for Hillsborough County –
We wanted to provide you with the opportunity to attend our City of Tampa Water Department sponsored event onSaturday, July 23, 2016, from 8 am – 12:30 pm, at the Hillsborough Community College – Dale Mabry Campus, Tampa.
This year, our FFL 101 theme is:Landscape Selections That Save Time, Money and Water! We have several vendors and a plant diagnostic table. So, bring your plant questions, leaf and insect samples. We hope you will be able to attend. Please register at: http://2016ffl101.eventbrite.com. Thanks.
We need "Garden Nannies" to nurture seedlings for our fall planting.
We've got a good inventory of seeds of all types, lots of planting trays, and plenty of our own homegrown organic soil from compost. Now we need some people power in the form of "Garden Nanny" volunteers to start our fall seedlings at home. Can you commit to growing a tray or two on your porch or patio? If you'd like to help, please contact Colleen atinfo.shcg@gmail.com and she'll arrange to get meet with you to hand off the necessary supplies and answer any questions. Thanks! Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
June 18, 2016
Two important dates coming up next weekView this email in your browser
Our next planning meeting is Monday, June 20.We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our June 20th meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us!
Keeping up with the Stop TBX movement… a critical MPO Board meeting needs your input, Wednesday, June 22.
To residents concerned about the impact of the proposed Tampa Bay Expressway (TBX) on our historic neighborhoods, the funding vote by the Hillsborough MPO Board on Wednesday is the most important meeting of the year.
It takes place at the County Center at 601 E John F Kennedy Blvd., and begins at 6:00 pm. Sunshine Citizens, the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association & The StopTBX Coalition have combined forces to encourage everyone to pack the place and share in the public comment proceedings prior to the vote.
This will last a few hours, and FDOT is presenting before the public makes their comments. So even though the meeting starts at 6 pm, if you don't get there until 7-8 pm, you will still be able to speak for sure. If you don't get there until 9, you will probably still be able to speak.
Learn more and RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/792948917503004/
Thanks for your interest, and we look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
June 6, 2016
News for June from the Community GardenView this email in your browser
We're cool for school!Good news for High School students in Hillsborough County! Those seeking to access an award through the Bright Futures Program must complete a program of community service work, and we're proud to announce that our garden was recently approved by the school district as one of the choices they can pick as a community service opportunity.
So if you know a Bright Futures hopeful, please send them our way. Our garden is listed on the district's approved community service opportunities webpage (sorted alphabetically, or locate us under "environmental" if filtering by social issue), and it's there that you'll find our contact information to get started.
We welcome all students, and promise them a rewarding experience pitching in to grow organically at our beautiful garden. Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon
Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, working together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated. More urgent information regarding Tampa Bay Express (TBX)
The movement opposing TBX continues to gain momentum as Seminole Heights,Tampa Heights, and V.M. Ybor residents come to understand the proposed project's impact on our historic neighborhoods. If you share these concerns and wish to be involved, here are some upcoming meetings announced in an email today from Chris Vela of Sunshine Citizens.
— Pinellas County MPO Board Meeting Weds., June 8, 9 a.m. 315 Court St. Clearwater Courthouse Speak against TBX being built all the way into downtown St. Pete, destroying neighborhoods and community assets surrounding 275, 175, and 375
— Tampa City Council CRA Meeting Thurs., June 9, 9 a.m. 315 E Kennedy Blvd. 33602 Tampa City Hall FDOT to appear before Council and address some very specific issues related to the community impacts of the TBX project
— TBARTA Board Meeting Fri., June 10, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. FDOT District 7 Auditorium, 11201 N. Malcolm McKinley Drive, Tampa 33612 During public comments, tell the TBARTA board that we need transit not tolls, and that you are opposed to TBX.
— TBX Forum: Community Impacts Tues., June 14, 6:30-8 p.m. Tampa Heights Community Center, 2005 N. Lamar Ave. Tampa 33602 Community forum to learn about impacts of TBX to the quality of life in our communities. Presentation and time for participants to speak and contribute.
Check the events calendar on Sunshine Citizens' website for more details about these meetings and others. Attention Garden members… our next planning meeting is coming up, Monday, June 20
We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us! We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
May 17, 2016
Join us for a free and informative workshop!View this email in your browser
We're hosting a free Micro Irrigation Workshop for home and garden, Saturday, May 28! Limited to the first 30 RSVP's only, but openings still available.Micro irrigation, also called drip irrigation or drip line irrigation, delivers water right at the base of the plant through a system of flexible irrigation tubing, drip emitters, and micro sprays.Sheila Monahan, Water-Wise Program Coordinator– Florida-Friendly Landscaping from the UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension Service, is coming to our garden to teach us about this efficient and effective way to keep your garden healthy and happy.
Her presentation takes place at the Garden (6011 N. Highland Ave) on Saturday, May 28, from 10 to 11:00 am. We can only accommodate 30 guests for this special event, so RSVP as soon as possible — info@seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
We look forward to seeing you there. And our special thanks to Sheila! Spreading the word about TBX…
Earlier this week, The Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association sent out a notice regarding an important meeting coming up soon… this Wednesday, May 18. We're passing it along for your information and concerned garden members are encouraged to attend. Here is the text from OSHNA's email —
IMPORTANT: TBX Meeting for Seminole Heights: Wednesday, May 18, 6:30 pm Seminole Heights Library, 4711 N Central Ave.
The Florida Department of Transportation will be presenting the plans for I-275 in the area north of MLK up to Bearss Ave. It's important you attend to review their plans and tell FDOT to STOP TBX.
Please invite your friends and neighbors. We are getting very close to the June 22nd vote and we must have a good showing at this meeting and the June 22 MPO meeting. We need YOU and all of your friends. Let's pack the library inside and out!
Please check Tampabayexpress.com for current information and meeting updates or call Chris Speese, Public Involvement Coordinator at (813) 975-6405. Interesting reading, in case you've ever wondered…This article showed up on the internet recently, "Here's why salad greens are always labeled 'triple-washed' at the grocery store", and the answer seems to reinforce the benefit of growing your own in a garden. Enjoy!
So, lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend.
Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
May 16, 2016
A Special Invitation!View this email in your browser
Reminder to Garden members… planning meeting is tonight (Monday, May 16) at the library We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us! Interesting reading, in case you've ever wondered… This article showed up on the internet recently,"Here's why salad greens are always labeled 'triple-washed' at the grocery store", and the answer seems to reinforce the benefit of growing your own in a garden. Enjoy!
So, lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend. Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
(a housekeeping reminder) We need everyone's help to keep things tidy and secure. Each time you visit the garden, please be sure that all tools are put back in the shed and that the gates both front and back are closed and latched if you're the last person to leave. Thanks! Recent Garden Highlights Visit our photoblog to see some happenings this month.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
May 8, 2016
A Special Invitation!View this email in your browser
We're hosting a free Micro Irrigation Workshop for home and garden, Saturday, May 28! Limited to the first 30 RSVP's only! Micro irrigation, also called drip irrigation or drip line irrigation, delivers water right at the base of the plant through a system of flexible irrigation tubing, drip emitters, and micro sprays.Sheila Monahan, Water-Wise Program Coordinator– Florida-Friendly Landscaping from the UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension Service, is coming to our garden to teach us about this efficient and effective way to keep your garden healthy and happy.
Her presentation takes place at the Garden (6011 N. Highland Ave) on Saturday, May 28, from 10 to 11:00 am. We can only accommodate 30 guests for this special event, so RSVP as soon as possible — info@seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
We look forward to seeing you there. And our special thanks to Sheila! Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to noon Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend. Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
(a housekeeping reminder) We need everyone's help to keep things tidy and secure. Each time you visit the garden, please be sure that all tools are put back in the shed and that the gates both front and back are closed and latched if you're the last person to leave. Thanks! Attention Garden members… our next planning meeting is coming up, Monday, May 16 We schedule the evening of the third Monday of each month to discuss all pertinent topics related to keeping our garden bountiful and our organization thriving. Everyone is welcome. Our next meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Seminole Heights Branch Library (SE corner of Central Avenue and Osborne). Please join us! Recent Garden Highlights Visit our photoblog to see some happenings this month.
We look forward to seeing you!
All the best, Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org
April 12, 2016
You're invited to a celebration Open House/Potluck Brunch!View this email in your browser
It's our 7th Anniversary! Join the celebration at our Garden Open House this Sunday, April 17. Happy Birthday to us! To mark the occasion, we're hosting a special Open House/Potluck Brunch at the Garden on Sunday (6011 N. Highland Ave). Tours for our guests will be available from 10:00 to 2:00 pm, and the brunch begins at noon. Bring a favorite dish to share, and bring your friends and family. Everyone is welcome… we look forward to catching up with all those familiar faces and meeting some new ones!
* * * * * * * *
Lend a hand, make some friends, and help our garden grow. Saturday mornings, 8:30 am to noon Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms… these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.
We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing. So please join us if you can this weekend. Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.
* * * * * * * *
Also this Saturday… a special collaborative gathering for all community gardeners.
WHEN: Saturday, April 16, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm WHAT: All members of community gardens in the Tampa Bay area are invited WHERE: University Area Community Center, 4013 N. 22nd Street, Tampa WHY: To share and celebrate and support each other. Enjoy lunch with your community garden peers and discuss ways to promote your organization and activities.
* * * * * * * *
November 2015
Our Milkweed has seeded. Ladybugs have been released. The Okra was trimmed and a frog found some peace. Lib harvested some purslane with curious kids and Jenyce made some tea with our hibiscus nibs. Flowers and fruit decorated our space while collards, kale, and greens grew quickly all over the place! Our Seminole Squash was lost, the caterpillars were heartless. The potatoes survived and made for a bountiful Thanksgiving harvest. Our year has gone by quickly but we are all very thankful that our garden has grown into a place so very tranquil.
October 2015
We have accomplished some amazing things this month to make sure our garden is thriving. We are really looking forward to showing off our achievements at our Garden Gathering towards the end of the month. Hope to see you there!
Cistern Project: Phase 1 Complete
This project is really important to the garden as it will improve the way we irrigate our crops. With the help of the Community Growth Grant awarded by The Tampa Garden Club, Phase 1 has been completed thanks to Tim, Ricardo, Jenyce, Denise, and Amy.
As we were working on this project, we noticed water pooling on the top of the wooden cistern platform. Knowing how detrimental the summer sun and standing water can be on wood, we decided to make a modification to the original design. Our goal was to ensure longevity for the work we did so we had a metal cap custom made to fit over the top of our stand. We should be good for years to come!
What's Growing:
Special thanks to Lib for repainting our sign. We would also like to thank everyone involved with making sure the sign got to our lovely artist and back again without a hitch: Marc, Cindy, Ellen, Denise and Alex.
Last shout out goes to all of the loyal gardeners that come every week to keep our garden thriving. Look at the amazing work they have done!
September 2015
This month our awesome garden nannies delivered our seedlings to be planted for the fall. Jenyce, Colleen, Lynelle, Doris and Tim all did a fantastic job growing these crops from seedlings. Kudos and many thanks to you for keeping our garden growing!
Jamie Sumner, of Flutter, donated a lovely bench to the garden and we positioned it under the papaya and pecan trees. A wonderful way for our gardeners to take a break, get out of the sun, and take in the view of our thriving okra plants (many thanks!).
Alex and Denise scavenged the remains of a Southern Red Cedar tree from a neighbor and brought them to the garden. We have been positioning the logs as berms and the smell is so fantastic as you walk through the garden. If you have not been by lately, you should stop in, smell the cedar, and see how the garden is teeming with life!
May 2015
This month we started to build the foundation for the cistern. We still have some work to do but week by week we are making progress. The cistern was made possible by a grant we were awarded from Hillsborough County Neighborhood Relations Office.
January 10, 2015
Another busy weekend at the garden. We started building another lovely berm wall making great use of our cinder blocks. We dug new beds and planted potatoes, leafy greens, broccoli and tomatoes. We gave them a good watering and added hay. We tended to the compost and planned out a new space for an herb garden. We organized our things and marked the sprouting black-eyed peas as our new canine friend across the alley watched. We caught up with old friends, gave new ones a tour and took a moment to enjoy all the beauty the garden brings.
January 3, 2015
Our first official weekend at our new location on Highland Ave. We had a record amount of people show up. We loved seeing all the new faces, especially the children, and we always appreciate the veterans too. The garden has come to life over the last few weeks and it is truly amazing to see to transformation.
Flowering Broccoli
Our Mushrooms
Lil cluster
Transplants from Violet waiting for their new home
Transplants from Violet waiting for their new home
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