Burke-Gilman P-Patch

08/29/2016

Adios, compost! The compost bins have been removed thanks to the hard work of our volunteers on Saturday. What are your ideas for the empty space?

07/31/2016

Thanks to everyone who helped w**d this morning! Our garden looks great.

07/08/2015

Hope to see everyone at the ice cream work party on Saturday 7/25. Thanks to Courtney for planning. Here's her message:
"Hi everyone,

I would like to invite you to help at our mid-summer work party on Saturday, July 25th starting at 1 pm. Since it has been so nice outside, I thought that it would be fun to bring supplies for ice cream sundaes and floats. I will plan to bring ice cream (both dairy and non-dairy), and it would be great if others could bring soda for floats and toppings for sundaes. Please send me a note to let me know if you plan to bring anything.

Later I will create a list of tasks for the work party to complete eg, w**ding, spreading wood chips etc., and I will send out reminders about the work party closer to July 25th. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions. As Toshi previously mentioned, the work party is a great opportunity to rack up volunteer hours.

Looking forward to meeting everyone! Enjoy the summer and happy gardening!"

06/28/2015

Record-setting temperatures combined with low rainfall are putting the water supply to the test.

10/19/2014

Hey, folks - we're going to try to have the last work party of the season (that is, before volunteer hours are due) this coming Saturday, 10/25. We can start at the usual 9AM, but if you can't make it until later, that's fine, too.

Remember that all plots need 8 volunteer hours per year - record them in the book that you can find in the tool shed. This is a great chance to get in a few more hours if you need them.

At the last work party, we (you, since I couldn't attend) got lots of work done on barking the paths. I went by today, and looks like they could use one more round of w**ding before the colder weather sets in. I'm sure there are other things to do, like discuss what to do with the gift card for City Peoples. And discuss which of our plans we want to proceed with over the winter.

And, once you're done working on group stuff, it's a great chance to get working on winterizing your own patch.

As usual, I'll bring juice if someone else wants to bring donuts or coffee - let me know and I can help coordinate.

See you then!

08/27/2014

Work parties and ideas we discussed:

The work party last Saturday was a big success! We got the paths really cleared well for the first time in a while. We now need some bark to put down on the paths for the winter. Previously, we've gotten a list of willing donors from Kenya, then someone has called those donors to ask and then arrange delivery. Then, we have a work party to distribute the bark.

So: does anyone volunteer to acquire the bark?

We planned our next work party for a Sunday: Sept 14th. Sunday to mix it up and pick up those people who can't usually attend on Saturday. We'll still do the 9 - 12 schedule: come for as much of that as you can. Remember: every plot owes the p-patch 8 hours of volunteer time doing something. Check your hours in the book in the tool shed, and watch the p-patch email lists for other volunteer opportunities if you need hours.

We had lots of ideas for improvements in the patch:

Smaller stuff:

- stabilize the wobbly step. This is the concrete block step on the bottom row of stairs, to the rightmost. We need to take it out and level the base or something.
- New tools. Our tool shed manager is compiling a list of what we need. We definitely need some new shovels, and a new garden fork. If you happen to have one to donate, please let us know.
- Some cubbies in the toolshed. I frequently forget my gloves when I come the p-patch, and sometimes think I should just leave a pair in the tool shed. Why not have a little system of cubby holes, where each plot get a small shelf to leave stuff in? I was thinking maybe one of those hanging cloth shoe racks might work. If anyone has one they're thinking of getting rid of, let me know.

Medium stuff:

- Ask Kenya about our options for getting the roof fixed - is this entirely up to us to fix, or does the p-patch org help out with structures?
- Compost bin replacement - a cement or block base would probably be best. The bins are slowly themselves composting, and need to be shored up and replaced before they topple over the wall. Our compost coordinator (Kristin?) is looking into options, and is working on submitting our needs to the city people's contest for local community gardens (but, this is due soon: 8/31)
- Chopping block for compost. Lots of other p-patches have something like this, I'm told. So that compost can be broken into smaller bits before it gets tossed in the bin. People have been using that stump by the porch of the tool shed, but it's about done.
- A bench to sit on would be kind of cool. Where would we put it?

Bigger stuff:

- The front area. Right now, this is bark that needs to be periodically w**ded and rebarked. We've talked about the idea of planting some stuff there, to improve how it looks. Planting native pollinator forage and habitat would be really fun: fun to learn about, healthy for the community, and we'd possibly get better pollination of our own crops. I've been reading the Xerces Society's Guide to this kind of thing to get ideas. I also have some friends who are into this, and could potentially supply plant lists. In addition, there is another plot of land nearby that could potentially get a similar treatment: the small parklet that was created for the 39th Ave Greenway at the corner of 39th Ave NE and the BG Trail. I'm one of the organizers of NE Greenways, and we've been in discussions with Sustainable Northwest the idea of planting this with something more sustainable and interesting than the w**ds that have sprung up. So, perhaps some cross-pollination (no pun intended) from the work that I hope happens there.
- If we move the flower garden to the front strip, what to do with the current strip (in front, atop the wall?) At the work party, lots of people were in favor of the idea of planting some dwarf fruit trees. Maybe with an espalier effect, to keep them small. So long as we keep them fairly short, they won't shade Toshi's patch, so this should work. And, if we take care of them, each plot would have a fun share of the fruit during harvest season (say, some apples and pears or something). I had previously brought up the idea of an apple tree with Kenya, and she mentioned that the only rule was that it couldn't shade any plot. So, we'll have to be careful that whatever we plan will comply.
- Bee hotels. Mason bee habitat is really easy to provide, and makes for fun viewing. They are pretty tame, so I'm not terribly concerned about stinging around kids. Here's a primer. I already have the wood to make a few houses, so if everyone's in agreement, I can put some up at the patch.


Cross-posted, as usual, at the facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Burke-Gilman-P-Patch/125306870902532

and at the google group: https://groups.google.com/forum/ #!forum/ppatch_burke_gilman

page for the Burke-Gilman P-Patch. Post events, comments, photos, etc.

08/20/2014

Hey, folks - we meant to have more frequent, smaller work parties this year, and we never got around to scheduling any. Better late than never!

Let's have a work party this Saturday, 8/23, from 9 - 12, say (come for any or all of that). We've got a serious w**d problem on the paths, so we can spend some time working on that. The compost actually looks to be in pretty good shape. So, perhaps some w**ding of the other common areas? And we can take a good look at the shed to see what we need to do for the roof?

We'll do this again at least once more before fall, so there are opportunities to get your volunteer hours in.

I'll bring juice if someone else wants to bring donuts or coffee - let me know and I can help coordinate.

See you then!

10/02/2011

10/01/2011

The Big Work Party!

We had a good turnout today for the big work party. We had way too much food, a large pack of children running around helping, and we got a lot done.

- We finished w**ding the paths, and they're all covered with fresh bark.
- We finished w**ding the common areas (the front flower garden).
- We got a really good start clearing all the junk and trash out from behind the toolshed. We're going to see if we need to get a truck to haul a few things to the dump, and if so, a few of us can meet up later in the month for an hour or so to load it up. Jeremy is attempting to fashion an extra holding pen for some of the excess compost we have now, from wire fence we found behind the shed.
- We saw a hummingbird (probably a male Anna's Hummingbird) staking out territory, making quite a racket.
- We found a salamander (or some kind of reptile, anyway), which we named "Sandermander", after a certain hard-working helper.
- We were sorely tempted by donuts, but parent-imposed discipline went out the door when fresh chocolate cake showed up! (Thanks, Judith!)
- We discussed the idea of a potluck in the evening sometime, early enough that kids can attend, when we can get to know each other a little better (Judith will look into availability at the community center).

If you have ideas for additional improvements you'd like to see, please send them to Kenneth ([email protected]), post them here on the wall, or send to the bgpatch list ([email protected]), so we can discuss, ask for additional resources, etc. This can be something you think needs to be done, but you need able bodies to help out, a tool you think is missing from our collection, whatever. I'm happy to keep that list, and coordinate asking the main p-patch organization what's available, helping Toshi figure out what we need to do, etc.

It was a lot of fun - wish we'd remembered to take a group photo, but we got some action shots of our crack bark-spreading team, which will be posted.

09/25/2011