Damayan Garden Project

Frenchtown Garden Report - 2-9-12

2012-02-10T09:05:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

We had a great multi-cultural garden day today. Jake, from The Center, brought along Jamie, Kurt, Emily, Katarina, Jasmina, and Gregor. Katarina and Jasmina are Macedonian and Gregor is Armenian. They are here studying teaching methodologies in their respective fields until May. (I told them they were just going to miss the most miserable weather of Florida but they didn't seem to mind). Amy, Jules, and Shawn, Jules' boyfriend also came by. As for children, we had KJ, Markel, Jamel, Narissa, Nadia, Sequoia, Simone, CJ and some other little tiny ones.

Some of the guys went to work chopping up the mulberry tree. You should have seen Gregor! He was way up in that tree and got some good size branches down. The rest of us weeded! Emily took care of the spinach patch. Jules and Shawn worked on the strawberries which are setting fruit! (Hopefully the freeze coming up Saturday night doesn't take all of them out). I helped the kids and adults make wraps and eat some veggies. We munched on spinach, lettuce, carrots (not many left!), broccoli, and radishes.

Katarina, Jasmina, and I planted some more broccoli and also some flowers. These were donated to us by the wonderful Turkey Hill Farm. Katarina really enjoyed planting because it reminded her of playing in the dirt when she was younger. I think this may have been Jasmina's first go at planting because she was a little timid but seemed to enjoy it nonetheless.

Katarina shared that Macedonia is an agriculturally rich country where most of the farmers use organic - a.k.a. old fashioned - methods. It was fun to get to talk to them about their experiences here in Tallahassee. Asked what their favorite food was so far and what did I get? Ranch dressing!! They agreed that you could probably eat anything with a little ranch! The biggest difference in food that they have noticed is that all of our food seems sweeter than normal. They may be on to something.

Enjoy your weekend. If you want to play in the dirt, the young whipper-snappers at the Salvation Army garden will be working in the garden from 10-2 on Saturday.

Mark

2012-02-06T20:04:00.001-05:00

Greetings! We've had many wonderful volunteers coming out to help in the gardens of Lichgate. On Friday, Heather, Devin, Patricio, Alexa, Davina, Bessie, Madison, Carol, and I pulled weeds in the perennial garden for the first hour. After clearing the weeds and taking them to the compost, we began planting a flat of pansies and violas. This was the first time planting for some of our volunteers, which is super exciting to teach and watch them learn how to transplant plants into the ground! We created a crescent moon bordering the perennial garden and added a few pansies near the benches by the cottage. Saturday, I went to the gardens with Dahveed, met with the Eagle Scouts, and watched the progression of the rebuilding of the old car port. Dahveed and I went to work pulling some weeds (there are always plenty) and called it a day only to return the following day (we love working in the garden)! On Sunday, we worked hard clearing the weeds near the outdoor kitchen and relocating a huge compost pile that was in view from the outdoor kitchen seating. We want to prepare the beds for a spring planting including a butterfly garden from the view of the outdoor kitchen seating and more herbs behind the outdoor kitchen work station. I planted a border of beautiful white violas around the outdoor kitchen bed too! My 7 year old son, Julius, joined us by helping in the garden and teaching a couple of college students how to play chess while enjoying the grounds! While planting, I found a garden snake coiled in the leaves. He checked us out and slithered merrily on his way! On our workday Monday, Kristi, Amelia, and Alexa prepped the front garden bed by weeding and planting seeds into the ground. I cleared the front wooden fence by the cottage of Japanese climbing fern (and some poison ivy) that was choking some of the other plants. I added some yellow violas in honor of Laura Jepsen. Our next volunteer day at Lichgate is on Friday, February 10th at 1:45 pm. See you then! Phoenix, Lichgate Garden Manager 2/6/12

Frenchtown Garden Report - 2-2-12

2012-02-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

I have a treat for you all today. Pictures! My daughter was the official photographer until she went off and started playing. The Center crew - Jake, Jamie, and Kurt - came out. Marcus and Robbie joined us later on. KJ, Markel, my kids, Sequoia, CJ, and Jarmel helped out as well.

While the kids played after munching on veggies, the big kids played with the mulberry tree. We got some good branches off today thanks to my father-in-law's extension ladder. Some of the kids helped me break it down to size for the garbage trucks.

We ate a good amount of carrots, radish, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli. Jake took home some mustard greens and CJ and family took home some collards.

Enjoy the pictures. Have a great weekend.

Mark

Markel pulling on a carrot.

Jake working on the infamous mulberry tree. I always get Bob Marley's "Small Axe" in my head when we work on that tree. If you are a big, big tree / I'm a small axe / Ready to cut you down / To cut you down.

The collards.

One of the lettuce beds with mint in the foreground.

A strawberry flowering amongst sorrel - a.k.a. candy leaf - and betony.

A close up of our radish bed.

The broccoli! These are the side shoots that have come up after eating the main head.

A lettuce, spinach, radish, broccoli wrap! I bet you could get rich selling these fancy wraps in New York City.

The spinach and radish bed. The bare areas are where a new batch of seeds are beginning to sprout. The walls are where the carrots grew. We also grow the mint, oregano, dill, parsley, chives, basil, and sometimes even flowers in the walls.

A lady bug. Orange!

CJ and I working hard at cutting up the large mulberry branches. They love getting to use the saw. Don't worry, we're very careful!

Lichgate - 1-28-12

2012-01-30T08:40:00.001-05:00

What a beautiful Saturday, and a perfect day for a garden party! We had over 12 people show up to help prep our garden beds at Lichgate, including Madison and Kacki, two of our regular FSU work-study volunteers. After a brief tour of the grounds we all got busy raking off the mulch, weeding, turning the soil, and adding compost to four of the existing beds in the garden. Plus we even prepped a new area beside the strawberry patch. Thank you to the FSU Kiteboarding Association for all your hard work and to everyone who showed up to help out. Can’t wait to get some new starts and seeds into the ground!

~kristi

Lichgate Garden Volunteer

Frenchtown Garden Report - 1-26-12

2012-01-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

I failed to get a report out last week. My apologies. Our friends from FSU's The Center are coming back out. Jake is leading the crew and last week he brought along Jamie. This week it was Jake, Jamie, and Kurt. Last week we also had Amelia, Robbie, and Kayla come by and help out.

Besides munching on carrots, broccoli, radishes, and spinach, weeding has been a top priority the last two weeks. With all of the helping hands it goes by fast and enjoyable. The compost pile has been growing with all of this weed pulling and I love it! Today, CJ and I worked on flipping all of our piles. Two of our piles are pretty much ready to go and man does that soil look good. I had everyone feel the heat in the middle of our freshest pile as all those critters cook down and magically turn weeds into soil.

Today I was wonderfully surprised to see some of my old friends - Dericka, Simone, and Terisha. They are some of the original gardeners but have moved and haven't been by in probably over a year. I got a nice hug from Dericka and it was great to see them all come in and feel right at home. I could tell that they haven't forgotten their gardening skills as they headed straight for the carrots and picked a nice size one. Hopefully, we'll see them again next week.

Next week we're going to try to get some more carrots seeded as they are disappearing more and more every week. Last Sunday I drove past the garden and saw Sequoia, CJ's sister, in there getting a snack. Who says kids don't like their veggies! We're also going to start hacking at the mulberry some more before it's leaves come out and block the wonderful sun. We'll also get a bed or two ready for some potatoes.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

p.s. The FSU kiteboarding club will be at Lichgate this Saturday afternoon working on the gardens there. Everyone is welcome to join them. The more the merrier!

Frenchtown Garden Report - 1-12-12

2012-01-13T10:17:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

As usual, we had a fantastic time in the garden today. I was able to persuade my kids to come with me with the promise of fresh carrots. Works every time! We also had Antia, Jamel, Sequoia, Nadia, Diamond, Nevaeh (Heaven backwards!), KJ, and Markel. Students from The Center, I've just heard, will be back next Thursday. All the kids will be excited to see them.

Today we ate some, planted some, and I weeded a lot. I brought some yummy ranch dressing and we munched on carrots, spinach, and a head of broccoli! The carrots were a big hit but the broccoli got the biggest reaction out of them. I walked them over to the plant, the head of yummy, baby flowers hidden down below, and then pulled the leaves back so they could see it. A big "Wow" was heard across the playground. We drizzled some ranch on top and it was gone in a minute or two. The squirrels were nice enough to leave us another broccoli plant so we'll be able to eat some more soon. We can also keep nibbling the small shoots that grow back on the plant we munched on today.

We planted spinach seed to keep up with our appetite for fresh spinach. All the kids helped clean out the weeds, add compost, dig furrows, drop in the seed, and cover them up. I watered them in and worked on the weeds, mostly chickweed, that has invaded the strawberry patch. Speaking of the strawberry patch, our crazy weather is confusing them. They flower and start to set fruit and then we get a cold snap that kills the baby, baby fruits on the plant. We inspected some of these dead, baby fruits and moaned that it wasn't a nice, red, ripe strawberry.

Quote of the day was when KJ, Markel, and I were cleaning off some carrots and KJ said "I like being in the garden. You all treat me like family." That led us to discuss how we should all should be treating each other like were family, because, in a way, we are. See, there is way more than just gardening going on.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 1-5-12

2012-01-06T08:03:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. The family and I were taking it easy in South Florida. We went to the beach and swam on Christmas! I love Florida.

First, let me catch you up with the end of December. On the 15th, I was at the garden with my kids and my guitar. We didn't do any gardening but we sang Christmas carols in the center instead. It was pretty fun. KJ, Markel, Eliah, and Leia were my accompaniment. Ms. Donna even played along on the keyboard and sang!! She has quite a voice! A wee little girl and her mom joined us but she was too shy to help sing.

A big thanks to Nathan Ballentine (aka Man in Overalls) for helping keep the garden watered while I was away swimming at the beach.

Today at the garden was a great introduction to the year. I was the only adult and there were a total of nine or so kids that made their way over. It was Jamel, Sequoia, and CJ who made it a special day. The three have been out in the garden before but today we were able to really bond. I think it was because of the small size of the group. Jamel, especially, was a big help and wanted to do a little of everything I was doing.

We clipped the fence that has been beaten down by basketball players, rabbits (aka kids that want to eat fresh veggies), and who knows what else. I'm going to have to get some new fence for that side of the garden. (If anyone has some extra field fence - about 30', please let me know.) We then pulled up the peppers, who weren't happy with the freeze the other night. They had a great run though - all the way to January! We cleaned out the bed, added fresh compost, and planted lettuce starts. Sequoia came in while we were adding compost. It was her first time planting anything! She did great. Then we watered everything real good.

The whole time we were working we were also talking. They talked a lot and really wanted to share a lot of information - the holidays, gardening with grandparents, seeing dad, going to the zoo, farting, work, family health problems, the family tree (Jamel and Sequoia are cousins and CJ is Sequoia's brother). It was fun.

We were also eating in between activities. We had spinach, radish, and carrots! The carrots are so good. Thanks to the Commissioners, Mayor, and City Staff who helped plant them. You all are welcome to come back out and pick some! I love the look on the kids faces when we pull carrots. A smile mixed with wonder and excitement. KJ and Markel took some carrots and spinach home so, in their own words, they could "... make a special salad for mom". Sounds good to me!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 12-8-11

2011-12-09T09:33:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

What a great day it was at the garden! We had lots of folks and interaction. It was wonderful!

FSU's "The Center" group was there when I arrived. Today there was Lauren, Jake, Melody, Britney (I think I called her Breanna last week), Dillon, and Josh. Unfortunately, this is the last week at the garden for the semester and Lauren, the long-time, awesome, sweet coordinator, has a class on Thursdays next semester. She's going to work on peer-pressuring Jake, who's been coming with Lauren for months now, to take over the coordinator spot. He seemed up to it. This group of college students is amazing. They're all interested in the gardening thing, get along and play with the children at the rec. center, and are just fun to talk with. I hope they all have a wonderful holiday season.

Today we had a group of seniors that got a tour and taste of the garden. They were at the rec. center helping Ms. Donna and Ms. Dee prepare for Soul Santa and decorate. About four women came and got to hear about how the kids help plant and eat everything, organic gardening, compost, and recipes. The interaction of several generations was great. The seniors talked about growing up in the Tallahassee area with gardens in their yards and picking okra. The college kids and I shared recipes for the less traditional Southern veggies like arugula, bok choi, and basil. The little kids helped pick wrap ingredients and pecans for them. As I was shelling a pecan for one of the ladies, she looked at me, smiled, and said she knew how to shell a pecan and wanted to do the shelling herself. She was a pro! After we picked each of them a bag of greens - mustards, collards, and turnips - they retreated to the warm rec. center. We all shared some lettuce, arugula, and radishes with the group.

During all of this, some of The Center kids were weeding and others were playing tag with the kids on the playground. Some more friends came by - Marcus, Wes, Jules, and a new freiend, Blake - and we discussed all sorts of gardening topics, but mostly worms and compost.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Mark

Monday 12-5-11

2011-12-06T08:46:00.001-05:00

Greetings all!
   Hope this blog finds everyone in great spirits for the holiday season. It was another productive day at Lichgate thanks to Esposito Nursery who donated more starts for us to plug in the ground. We revamped the small veggie patch by the Shakespeare garden and added Swiss chard, broccoli, and violas. Also, we created a small herb patch on the other side of the wall. We seem to have an abundance of mustards in the garden. The carrots that we planted have turned out to be mustards and just about every garden patch has mustards in it. I think a mustard faery came and sprinkled her seeds everywhere. Thanks to Raven, Bessie and Christi who are the core of Lichgate volunteers. We will miss Christi who is going back to Canada but who we hope returns to get her masters degree.
   I was able to distribute some starts to the garden at the YMCA and to the Enrichment Center. But was saddened to find a tray of dead starts that I brought to the small garden at Astoria elementary school a few weeks ago. We may need to find a new liaison there.
   On another note, Damayan Garden project needs a new garden manager! I have been trying to keep up with Lichgate and the other gardens but it has been challenging when I live in a different county. We need someone in Leon county who is enthusiastic about gardening and wants to take on the challenge. Please put the word out there, we need all the help we can get. I will always hold Lichgate in my heart and will continue to come volunteer with Damayan Garden Project but feel that I need a change.
PS please come support local artists this Friday Dec. 9th at the community center at MLC from 4:30-9:00. For more info call 671-2232...I will be selling my pottery! Also, check out the Alternative Christmas Fair on the 10th to help support Damayan Garden Project. More Details on our website...
Respect and Love, Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 12-1-11

2011-12-05T09:46:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

I'm slacking! I didn't get out a report for 11-17 and I'm getting this one out a couple days late. I hope you can forgive me. I also hope that everyone had a wonderful, delicious Thanksgiving holiday. I'll try to catch you up on what's been happening in the garden.

The FSU's Center group came out on 11-17 and this past week (we always have a lot of fun with the Centergroup). The 17th was Ms. D's (rec center staff) birthday and so we presented her with a large salad of lettuce, arugula, and radishes. We chopped on the mulberry tree with extra help from my father-in-laws extension ladder!!! We were able to get a big chunk of early-morning-sun-blocking limbs.

The day after Thanksgiving, I went by the garden to water and there was a family of youngsters with their grandmother there playing. The kids watched me water until I asked if they wanted to come in and eat some lettuce. They ran in and munched happily on our leafy greens. I sent them home with an armload of mustards.

This week we mostly chatted and weeded. I had the extension ladder and pole saw but Jake pointed out that weeding the strawberries seemed like much more fun. I agreed and so the hacking of the mulbery tree was canceled for the day. My old, little friend Shandrea (I've been calling her Sandrea for years now and she finally corrected me), has been at the garden lately and I'm so happy because she is just so sweet. If anyone saw the Democrat article on Damayan and the Alternative Christmas Fair that came out on 12-1, she is the little girl helping me in the picture. Robbie brought a copy of the paper and Shandrea was able to see it. I told her she was now famous! Shandrea and I made wraps for the Center group and picked pecans. She made the quote of the year as we were walking out of the garden - "This lettuce is awesome". This was as she chewed on a handful of lettuce.

I hope everyone is well and I will try to get this week's report out in a more timely manner.

Mark

Monday 11-14-11

2011-11-16T16:58:00.003-05:00

Greetings again!
   How unusually warm it is! This is why we live in Florida and can garden year round. My only regret is that I did not wear a tank top and shorts.
   Last Tuesday I met with the Ecology of Agriculture class from FSU and gave them the Lichgate tour, pulled up the butternut squash and talked with them long enough for one student to fall asleep. It was nice having the outdoor education center to sit in though.
   On Monday we had two students from the FSU class come and volunteer in the garden and three dedicated volunteers returning for more fun too! We deweeded, stirred the compost, planted more carrots and lettuce and ate a lovely garden salad together. We even had a surprise guest come tour the garden, Nathan Valentine and his friend who I am forgetting the name of right now.
   We need to start making some Okra angel ornaments and getting geared up for the Alternative Christmas Fair in December. We need volunteers to help man the booths there. Thanks for showing up everyone! Peace and Love
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 11-10-11

2011-11-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

We had a great day in the garden today. I came along with Elijah and his buddy Roman and we were met there by The Center crew - Lauren, Jake, Melody, Cassidy, and Dylan - Wes, from TSG, and Chase. KJ and Markel also joined us.

With so many hands we were able to get through our work quickly. We had to replant some things because those pesky squirrels have been pulling up our cole crops (collards, mustard, broccoli, etc.). It's really annoying! They yank them and just leave them by the bed. But thanks to the wonderful and kind folks at Native Nurseries, who donated some starts, we were able to replant the areas that had been hit by the squirrels. Wes and Cassidy worked on straightening out the compost area.

After planting, we just took it easy and ate lettuce, arugula, pecan wraps. I brought some ranch dressing too! Is there anyone who doesn't like ranch dressing? We also donated a bunch of lettuce to the senior citizens who come to the community center on Thursday evenings.

Due to the time change, we got out a little earlier than usual, but we got to see a beautiful sunset together. The orange, red, and pink colors were amazing, especially in the clouds. One little boy who came into the garden to munch on some lettuce wraps said he thought it looked like the trees were on fire.

I hope everyone enjoys their cool weekend.

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 11-3-11

2011-11-04T11:56:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

I was off last week due to a work meeting so sorry you didn't get your Frenchtown Garden e-fix. The garden is doing very well with all of the love and attention it has been receiving lately.

Today we had Robbie, Rachel (from the same group that brought us the Jamaican exchange students), and The Center group, headed, as always, by Lauren. I don't think I can remember all the names but here is a try - Jake, Cassidy, Ozmar, Kadeisha, Melody, Kirsten, and one more girl. KJ, Markel, Breanna, Breanna's baby brother and their parents also hung out with us. Wes, from the Tallahassee Sustainability Group (TSG) also came by.

Our work for the day included pulling old eggplants out, planting mustard green starts, radish seed, spinach seed, strawberry starts (thanks to Orchard Pond Farm), and, of course, hacking at the mulberry tree. The mulberry tree is really helpful in terms of having enough chores for all the volunteers. There is always another branch to attack. KJ, Markel, and Breanna had fun loading up buckets with compost to enrich the old eggplant bed and also enjoyed planting the seeds.

With all of those helpful hands, we finished our work quickly and so we ate arugula, lettuce, cucumbers, pecans, chives, and basil. Now we are making arugula, lettuce, basil, chive, and pecan wraps! Some folks, even after a warning (or in Wes's case a dare from Markel), ate some of the hot peppers still holding on.

The past two weekends, the folks at Damayan have been helping the New Enrichment School of the Arts, located on Old St. Augustine Road, just west of Blair Stone, install a garden. It has been lots of fun working with the staff there as well as some of the children and parents. I wanted to share with you all the last part of a thank you note we received from them:

"In a world where our societies are so focused on the here now and accomplishing things in a hurry, it is refreshing to know that the time-honored traditions of gardening and farming that teach us patience, priority and sustainable living are embodied in The Damayan Project. I am so inspired by everything that I have learned and will continue to learn and share with our students and others. We can not thank you enough for such a rich gift. You have welcomed us into this fabulous world, and I think that we may just like it here."

Is that awesome or what? Our Director, Carol, sums it up well - "This is why we do the things we do."

I went by the garden Tuesday while the kids were having lunch and they were all excited about the garden. It makes getting up at early on a Saturday morning so worth it.

I'll be helping the TSG folks at Salvation Army this weekend - Saturday between 10 and 2. I'm going to help them start a compost pile. Gotta have compost!

Oh, all of those carrot seeds that the Mayor, Commissioner Miller, and others helped plant are all sprouting up strongly!

Have a great weekend.

Mark

Halloween Monday 10-31-11

2011-11-03T12:55:00.000-04:00

Greetings!
   The garden has been filling up more and more. We need to make room for a few more veggies but I just can't bring myself to pull the butternut squash yet since there are some babies and flowers still growing.
   Bessie, Kristina, David and Raven came to help out. We stirred the compost, watered, pulled weeds, harvested veggies, and planted a new strawberry patch. Also, Alannah met with me and will be helping Damayan update the website with current photos of each garden.
   I will not be there next Monday the 7th but will be there on Tuesday instead to meet with the Ecology of Food class from FSU. Until next time...
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Monday 10-24-11

2011-10-26T11:55:00.000-04:00

Greetings!
I was glad to see some gardening action when I arrived. Christina, Madison and Raven were hard at work getting new beds fluffed up so we could plant some carrots, red lettuce, shallots and spinach. It has been a pleasure getting to know the volunteers especially when they want to learn how to garden and have a lot to teach me too! It was a nice change to have my girls with me. My friend Anita came with her daughter and brought us a nice picnic. Some film students came and filmed some hula hoopers under the majestic oak. That was lots of fun to watch as we indulged in our picnic. Things are looking good at Lichgate. Just a reminder that there is another workday at the preschool off of Old St. Augustine this Sat.the 29th from 8ish-12ish. Thanks
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 10-20-11

2011-10-21T09:40:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

It was a busy week in the garden!

On Monday, 15 or so Jamaican exchange students helped Kahasim and I fix up the masonry wall that forms the garden's planting areas. It was a lot of fun! They sang Jamaican folk songs while we worked! When we were done, some of the students helped children with their homework and the rest of us had a discussion about Frenchtown's history, race relations, and the issue of young unemployed folks. It was a lot of fun!

On Tuesday, we hosted the City of Tallahassee's Community Garden Program launch. The Mayor, Commissioner Miller, the City Manager, Director of Parks, Director of Planning, and other City government big-wigs got their hands dirty with us gardening folk. Members of the Tallahassee Food Network and other friends of the garden were there to help support the program. I had the big-wigs shoveling compost and planting carrots, collards, and broccoli. They did a great job and it sure seemed like they were having fun.

Today, we had Robbie, Kahasim, Chase, and Lauren and gang - Jake, Janelle, Josh, Tessa, Cassidy, and Melissa - from the Center. Since the garden had been worked on so much this week there wasn't too much for us to do but we did have fresh pecans to pick up and the mulberry tree to hack. I got the boys going on the tree and the girls and I picked pecans, got a planting bed ready and planted some onions and garlic.

We discovered a new treat! We've added arugula and a pecan to our pesto wraps - basil and chives. It's delicious! Anita Thompson, the City Manager, loved them, as did Mayor Marks. Give it a try if you can.

The Damayan folks will be at the New Enrichment Daycare Center on Old St. Augustine installing a garden Saturday morning. I heard that the TSG group is going to be at the Salvation Army Garden Saturday. There are tours related to Food Day Saturday as well - see a post from a week or two ago for a link to the calender of events.

Oh, one more thing, the Capital Coalition for Health is conducting a survey of Leon County's health. You can answer the survey in a couple of minutes here.

Enjoy the beautiful weather.

Mark

Monday 10-17-11

2011-10-17T21:19:00.000-04:00

Hi again! Last Monday got rained out but we sure needed that rain. Tomorrow we are expecting more rain so it was great to get some starts from Gramlings in the ground. We planted collards, cabbage and broccoli. Also, more peas and we added more string to the trellis which is tedious work. Thanks to Madison,Christina, and Raven for helping me in the garden and to everyone else who comes on other days to water and be the guardians of Lichgate. There is no way I can do this job alone. Also, I dropped off some of the starts to two of our edible schoolyards! Peas and Love
Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 10-13-11

2011-10-14T08:58:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

Today my kids came along with me and the first thing we did was look for pecans. We got lucky! As we were cracking, picking, and eating, Lauren came with a group of 6 other FSU students - Jake, Andrew, Jenna, Toehil, Osomar, and who came to be known as strawberry-patch-weeder because I kept forgetting her name. Amy, Jules, Kahasim, and Chase also were out at the garden today.

After some brief introductions and pecan eating we got right to work. A big project for today was patching up our walls. There is a group of volunteers coming Monday afternoon as part of Food Day(Week) activities to fix the wall so today we were experimenting with the best way to work on it. It was fun mixing up the hypertufa and trying to spread it on the hardware mesh backing. All working together, we figured it out and it looks pretty good. I think we have it figured out for Monday!

Another group, led by Lauren, the seasoned veteran of the garden, prepared two empty beds and planted some sugar snap peas and radishes.

We took a break and fed on two cucumbers! KJ, Marquel, Leia, and Eli joined us to help make sure the cucumbers got eaten up. Alfonso, Ms. D's grandson, came out later and fed on sorrel.

We finished off the day with, what else, hacking at the mulberry tree!

There is a lot of fun food-related activities coming up. We have New Leaf's Farm Tour this weekend. I'll be hanging out with Rick Harter and Family at Heavenly Homestead Farm on Saturday. Sunday I plan on loitering around Turkey Hill Farm. It's guaranteed to be a good time. Also, if you want to stay close to town, the Extension Office on Paul Russel Road is having their Demonstration Garden Open House. There's always lots of good gardening knowledge to absorb at the Extension Office!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 10-6-11

2011-10-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

It was another great day of gardening with friends - new and old. The wonderful Lauren, from The Center, came out with Jake. Collin and Jenna came as part of a class they're in. Chase, who got a hold of me a couple weeks ago came by. Christin, a Canadian, who helps out at Lichgate came to check us out. And we had Kahasim as well. My old, tiny, sweet friend Breanna came by with her mom, step-dad, and little brother. She hadn't been to the garden in months and it was great to see her and hear her sweet voice. We also had Alfonso and Chris, Ms. D's grandkids out there, as well as three older girls who's names I didn't catch.

The big hit today with the kids was the "candy leaf", also known as sorrel. I had them try pesto wraps but only half of the kids liked those. Breanna loved them and had two or three!

Alfonso and Chris helped plant a couple of more collard green starts. Collin played with the pole saw and mulberry tree. Chase, Jenna, and Lauren planted a bed of lettuce starts. Kahasim and Jake worked on pulling back soil from our garden bed walls in preparation for some repairs next week. Christin did a fantastic job trimming the mint back. And what did I do? Oh yeah, I "supervised", talked, and fed the kids sorrel and pesto wraps!

All in all, it was a fabulous day. Oh, I almost forgot. We had the first pecans of the season!!! Christin was delighted to learn that we had pecans here and as I walked back up the hill to my truck and back I found about four or five freshly fallen shells. We cracked them, shared them, and enjoyed them! I can't wait for all of the other ones on the tree to fall. I foresee sitting on the playground and doing nothing but cracking and eating pecans with everyone!

Have a great weekend.

Mark

Monday Morning 10-1-11

2011-10-04T16:15:00.000-04:00

Hi there fellow gardeners! Hope your garden is growing well. I want to give a big shout out to all of those people who helped make the workday productive over the weekend. Now Lichgate has some water pressure in the vegetable garden.
The starts are growing even though what we thought were carrot seeds may not be carrots after all. Bessie and Christie showed up to help suppress the poison ivy and create a new garlic bed. The butternut squash, peppers and basil are hanging in there and very soon we will start planting brocoli, greens, flowers, and much more. Lichgate and Damayan Garden Project still needs help though. If anyone can donate mulch, fertilizers, time and or money things will start to look even better. Untill next time friends...
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Damayan Updates

2011-10-04T13:45:00.000-04:00

Hi all,
I am so pleased to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you as the new Executive Director for Damayan. It's hard to believe I am 6 weeks into the position already. I continue to be amazed at how much we are able to accomplish ~ our staff, board, and volunteers are the most dedicated I have met.

We have 4 new FSU students working with us this semester. Bessie is a graduate student and Ambassador with the Center for Leadership and Civic Development, Madison, Kacki, and Kashasim are also working with us through FSU. You can find them in the gardens, at the FSU Union on Wednesdays, at our workdays and other places where they are helping Damayan to grow.

Please drop by and garden with us at Lichgate, 4th Avenue, and the McCray Boys and Girls Club. The Salvation Garden is undergoing revitalization; we'll keep you posted as it progresses! We are working with several garden applicants for the Fall -- stay tuned for updates on those also, the work days to install them will be lots of fun.

That's all for now, check back for more updates as we work together to address hunger and food insecurity in our area. There's nothing better than good folks doing good work! Come join us!

Frenchtown Garden Report - 9-29-11

2011-09-30T09:02:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

If folks went by the garden today they might of thought I was operating a modeling agency. Oh where were all my single, gardener-type friends? Lauren, a long time volunteer from The Center brought along seven beautiful ladies from FSU - all Education majors - to volunteer today. There was Wyndelyn, Christie, Christen, Shana (with a long "a" sound), Jennifer, Bailey, and Hannah. Oh yeah, and Robbie, who many of you know, and Kahasim, a new Damayan volunteer, were there as well. We didn't have many children out there today. Marquel and KJ joined us for a short time but it seemed like KJ was in a bad mood and they went inside.

Of the seven ladies there, five of them had never gardened before!! So, of course I had them getting their hands dirty. They weeded, pulled up the old zipper-cream peas, and then we transplanted some arugula, bok choi, collard, and turnip starts. They did such a good job and seemed to enjoy it. Robbie and Kahasim trimmed back the mint, cleaned up some of the other beds and also helped plant.

Because there were so many of us, the work was done pretty quickly! So we took a break and I introduced them all to pesto wraps. I got varied reaction - from "No thank you" to "Oooh, this makes my tongue tingle" to "That's pretty good!" We talked about organic gardening, compost, and worm poo. We'll see how many of them come back!

There are some fun events coming up for folks interested in gardens, gardening, and eating. The New Leaf Farm Tour is Oct. 15 and 16. There will be several events going on in relation to Food Day on October 24th. I even saw a Food Day Tallahassee Facebook page come up for all of you Facebookers.

Have a great week and enjoy the weather!

Mark

Monday Morning 9-26-11

2011-09-28T14:37:00.000-04:00

   Hey all! How many places can you go get organic produce and have a free work out? Well, Lichgate is one of them. I have been enjoying getting to work with some new volunteers and getting to know our work study interns too. It is so refreshing to be around others who are interested in gardening and learning as we go.   A big thanks to Christy from BC and Madison who helped out.
   Although we cut out by noon, we still managed to suppress some poison ivy and other weeds, start some seeds and harvest basil, peppers, eucalyptus and eggplant, and water the garden.
   In October get ready to start helping put some donated starts from Esposito's in the ground and that's when things really start to pick up. Remember there is a workday this Sat. Oct.1 from 8:30-12:00. I can't be there but thanks ahead of time to all who can. Let's evolve to solve the growing food crisis by making time to garden.
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Monday Morn.

2011-09-22T14:52:00.000-04:00

Hey Ya'll! We are pleased to welcome our new FSU community ambassador, Bessie R. She is a grad student studying Urban planning and a very great asset to Damayan Garden Project. Also Madison, a work study student from FSU, will be helping to recruit new volunteers as well as volunteer in the gardens too! We are very lucky to have a partnership with FSU to help educate the public of the importance of growing your own food.
In the garden we have been getting beds ready and watering the seeds and starting trellis to support the peas. In Oct. we will be getting starts donated from Esposito Nurseries for our various gardens around town. We will be stopping by some of the gardens on Friday to assess the needs of each. Until next time....
Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 9-15-11

2011-09-16T08:50:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

Today in the garden we had a returning volunteer whose name you may remember - Lauren. Lauren took off for a semester to FSU's Panama campus and what did she do when she returned to school this fall? She signed up to head a group of volunteers from FSU's The Center to come out to the Frenchtown Garden. She's dedicated! We also had a new friend come by - Chase. Chase heard of the garden from City Commissioner Andrew Gillum and decided to get involved. Marquel, KJ, Antia, and Samira joined us.

After a snack of pesto wraps, sorrel, a couple peas, a tomato, and a leftover, sun-roasted peanut (quite delicious), we got to work. Lauren leveled out the empty beds and Chase and the boys topped them off with fresh compost. We also yanked the old tomato vines and chopped them up into the compost pile. The compost area was also tidied up and piles flipped. We ran out of time to plant but will get on that next week. It's time to plant the collards, mustards, radish, turnips, and arugula!

We had a great time last week at the Boys and Girls Club garden workday. The garden went from weed-infested jungle to ready-to-plant garden in about two hours. It's amazing what a team can do! Next week we'll be helping out the YMCA on Apalachee Parkway spruce up their three garden boxes. Everyone is welcome!

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday at Lichgate 9-12-11

2011-09-13T18:12:00.000-04:00

Hello again! It was another lovely Monday at Lichgate. Things were still alive thanks to a volunteer David who has been helping Damayan water the garden. Although the garden is transitioning its beds for the fall crops we still managed to get some things done to prepare for the next growing season. First we fluffed up the soil and added some compost. Secondly, we saved seeds and organized some of the seeds we already had into the right growing season. Next, we built some bamboo trellis' for the sweet peas and started some carrot and lettuce seeds. We harvested some basil, peppers, butternut squash, and garlic and of course pulled weeds too. I knew it was going to be a great day when some friends from Pyramid studios came and played music while we gardened.
It is nice to have a good group of volunteers to work with who are excited about gardening. Also, I found out Lichgate has its very own Geo cache. You have to have a cell phone with GPS to find it or a volunteer who can help. Thanks to everyone who helped volunteer on Saturday at the Boys and Girls Club and all the other times too!
With love, Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 9-8-11

2011-09-09T09:05:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

Has the weather been beautiful or what!! The cool mornings are perfect for watering and bicycling.

Today in the garden I was joined by Amy, Jules, Tia, KJ, Marquel and Coach, from the center. We started off trying to repair damage to the strawberry patch caused by mowers. I showed up and noticed that the City's crew had mowed in the garden area and somehow mistook the strawberry patch for a lawn. Fortunately, they just got a buzz cut and should be OK.

Besides that we chatted a bunch and rolled up pesto wraps again. Coach really liked it, as did the kids. We had a great time observing the wide variety of insects in the pea patch. Ladybugs, aphids, wasps, bumblebees, flies, and some unknown insects were all a flutter around the zippercream peas. The aphids seemed to be the main attraction for all the other insects. We were really happy to see several ladybugs. Hopefully, they'll eat some of those aphids.

KJ and Marquel, brothers, were really excited about the eggplants and kept asking me if they could take some home. So they got the three that were ready. I hope they enjoy them. Just to let you know of stresses that some children have to live with, I asked Marquel if his mom or dad knew how to or liked to cook eggplant and he looked at me kind of ashamed/embarrassed/sad and told me that his dad was in prison. That's quite a lot to handle when you're 10 years old.

On a lighter note, please join us Saturday morning at the Boys and Girls Club on Laura Lee Avenue to help get the garden ready for fall. We'll be meeting there at 8:30 and pulling weeds, shoveling compost, and whatever else Kathy needs us to do. The weather should be perfect!

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 9-1-11

2011-09-02T11:42:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

It was a great day in the garden. We had two new volunteers - Lauren and Will from FSU's The Wesley Foundation - a returning volunteer - Amy - and some of our young friends from the neighborhood - Antia, Tiara, and two boys who's name I can't quite remember right now. We talked about my poor name memory and when we entered the garden, Antia told me it looked like I also forgot to water. She's quick-witted. I had just watered Wednesday morning but it's hot!

We checked out the progress of the garden. The peas are coming up fast (and being attacked by aphids), the basil is doing great, the tomatoes are still doing OK, the eggplant is still putting on fruits, and the peppers are still doing well.

We made pesto wraps out of chive and basil leaves! It was pretty good. You all should give it a try. We also munched on sorrel.

Once we tried all the goodies, we planted some cucumbers and summer squash, which we'll hopefully get a good harvest off of before it gets too cold.

I started hacking at the mulberry tree while the rest of the gang planted and then we cleaned up and called it a day. Everyone took a sprig of basil home with them and the kids took a chive sprout home to grow. The boys took some hot peppers for their house.

It was great having the kids back in the garden.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy those cool mornings.

Mark

Monday with Mary 8-29-11

2011-08-29T21:11:00.000-04:00

Hello gardeners! Where's that rain?
   I was greeted by two volunteers this morning, Bessie and Shannon. As we were looking around and were watering and pepper and squash harvesting another volunteer showed up, David. He helped top dress the peppers from the compost which may yield some more peppers if we ever get some rain. Raven, a hula hooper, helped harvest some sunflower and spider flower seeds for next year. It was very refreshing to have some eager volunteers who want to contribute and find Lichgate as sacred as I do. Monday mornings at Lichgate is the perfect place for that need and I look forward to help guide those who are interested.
   Last Thursday I met with a group of 10 FSU students who were there for a service project. We planted a blueberry, harvested pesto and discussed some recipes, started some lettuce seeds and identified lots of poison ivy. They were another enthusiastic group who had never been to Lichgate and were super excited to come volunteer.
   Despite having all these great volunteers, this next Monday is a holiday and I will not be there. I plan to make up my day on Wednesday morning instead. A huge thanks to all who care and donate their time to make Lichgate what it is. Until next time...
Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 8-25-11

2011-08-26T09:17:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

I got rained on and out last week. On my way home from work on the bike, the clouds decided they had enough and dropped all their water on me.

Today was beautiful, a little hot, and Carol, Damayan's new director (more below), Jules, Sergio, Jay, and Robbie joined me for some cleanup and harvesting.

We pulled the old okra, green beans, and the peanuts. The peanuts were fun. We got a pretty good load - about a grocery bag full - and some of them were jumbos! Jay is pretty fresh here from Korea and it was pretty sweet to hear her get excited when she saw a large peanut and say "Oh, a jumbo!"

Ms. Emma, who lives on top of the hill, came by and got some peanuts, tomatoes, peppers, and basil.

Ms. Donna, the Community Center supervisor, also came by and was thrilled that we finally grew a good patch of basil. She went home with a nice load of it.

Robbie mowed the grass, I trimmed back the mulberry (you'll probably start hearing more about that tree again), and then we called it a day.

Some announcements:

Nancy George, who has been the director of the Damayan Garden Project, has decided to move west to be with her family. Nancy has done a lot of great things for Damayan as director and we will miss her. We all wish Nancy the best.

Carol Graham, who helped Penny Alsop found the Damayan Garden Project, has agreed to be the new director, taking Nancy's place. We think Carol will be a great director for Damayan.

In other news, the Tallahassee City Commission on Wednesday evening approved a city sponsored community gardening program where citizens will be able to garden on city owned property once they file an application and go through a couple of small hoops. This is a great program that gives citizens the opportunity to grow their own healthy produce. Kudos go out to the Commissioners and Mayor for unanimously supporting the program and to Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department for working with citizens to get it done. Please spread the word.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday at Lichgate 8-22-11

2011-08-22T20:00:00.001-04:00

Hello again!
   Although I have not been blogging over the summer does not mean I did not work at Lichgate. Despite my inconsistent schedule, somehow parts of the garden still managed to stay alive. It is crazy how many weeds crept in. Lately that is the main thing that has been happening there: pulling weeds. Esposito Nursery will have some starts for Damayan in September and so we are relying on seed starts and or other donations as a way of keeping the gardens going. Lichgate could definitely use some starts and some volunteers for that matter!
    Anyhow we will miss Emily who has recently moved to Asheville, NC with Americore. She has been a steady volunteer for us at Lichgate. Although now we have a new master student, Bessie, studying urban planning who will be helping us with various tasks. Also, we are saying bye to Nancy George who will be moving to San Diego to be with her family. She will be missed too. Thanks for all the hard work she put into Damayan Garden Project over the years. As the season changes so too does life.
   There is a work party planned for Sept. 10 at 8:30am to get rid of the summer weeds at the Boys and Girls club off of South Monroe St. Thanks Kathy and Mark for organizing this. Stay tuned for more next week.
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 8-11-11

2011-08-12T09:15:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

There was a good turnout today at the garden. Robbie, Jules, her friend Sergio, and Zach made it out. We even had some kids in there for a little while. Jules pulled Breanna, Kaya, and Keela(?) off the playground to help pick green beans.

We checked out the peanuts but a lot of them were still immature, so we'll try again later.

We spruced up the garden sign by cutting the rotten parts off and hanging it on the fence nice and level. Jules used her pretty writing skills to add contact information to it.

We also weeded (surprise!), fought off fire ants, and rooted in some of the strawberry daughters that are now running. But most and best of all, we hung out together and chatted, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. Can't beat it.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 8-4-11

2011-08-05T17:50:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

I didn't get to writing a report last week so this is a double report.

Last week I dragged my kids with me into the dreaded heat and they helped me with eating what produce was there and watering. They munched on green beans, okra, peppers, and mint leaves. Yes, they were brave enough to try the peppers. I had them nibble just a tiny bit of the flesh first. My daughter thought she could handle more so I let her try it again. This time she got some of the real spice and boy was she impressed by the pepper's heat! Green beans and water helped soothe the heat.

The most exciting thing last week, besides feeding my kids hot peppers, was finding a peanut while I weeded the peanut bed. I pulled out a weed and with it came a small peanut pod. We cracked it and ate the peanuts raw. Tasted like a normal raw peanut. I can't wait to harvest them, which will maybe be next week. I want there to be more folks present to join in on the excitement with me.

This week it was me and the weeds and the gnats. Those pesky gnats have really been bugging me lately. I did have a few quick visitors. JJ, who is usually playing dominoes and cards under the pavilion, chatted with me for awhile. William and his sister munched on some green beans with me just before I left. And I also had a visit from Nathan, The Man in Overalls. We chatted and tried to keep the gnats out of our sweaty faces.

The garden is looking pretty good. There are some tomatoes trying to ripen, the peppers and green beans keep coming, eggplant and okra still going, the peanuts, basil!, and our peas that we planted a few weeks back are taking off. So, if you're not too afraid of that blistering heat, and the gnats, then get out there and garden!

The Frenchtown Heritage Festival is Saturday at the corner of Macomb and Georgia, with parking at the Renaissance Building. I hope to see some familiar faces there.

Have a great weekend.

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 7-21-11

2011-07-21T21:16:00.004-04:00

Hello All,

It was another day of battling those pesky weeds. Today I brought out the big guns - the lawn mower! I mowed the mulched paths since the mulch was hidden under so much grass. It's looking much tidier!

As I was mowing, Wes, an FSU student that is part of Tallahassee Sustainability Group, came by and hung out. We pulled up a bed that had some tired looking tomato, squash, and zuchinni plants and planted some zippercream peas in their place. Zippercream peas are yummy!

I harvested some green beans, peppers, and okra. Ms. Emma wasn't home so she didn't get that okra she was asking about last week. Maybe next week. The aphids and ants are finally leaving the okra alone and we've been getting some good pods.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 7-14-11

2011-07-14T20:46:00.005-04:00

Hello All,

It seems like it's been awhile since I've written a report! I was on vacation last week (Ahhhh, vacation!) and I think I was rained out the week before. But let me tell you, the garden was not at rest! It was a field day while I was gone.

In the Weeds Category, pigweed just beat nutgrass. It's amazing how quickly that pigweed can come up.

In the Insect Category, fire ants easily beat out slugs. I have the proof all over my hands!

In the Vegetable Category, it was a photo finish between peppers and eggplant with the pepper's spice pulling them ahead first. Okra was just behind them.

Yes, it was a jungle in there. I weeded for 3 hours, which is great exercise by the way, and still just opened it up so you could tell where the veggies were. I did stop to chat with a neighbor. It was her birthday and she was able to take some okra home. I nibbled at the peppers and boy were they hot! They seem to concentrate all the heat in the air into their fruits. I used the baby okra and green beans to try cut some of the spice. I took Ms. Emma, who lives up the hill, a peck of unpickled hot peppers.

Enjoy the heat and humidity!

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday with Mary July 11th, 2011

2011-07-11T15:18:00.000-04:00

Greetings friends! Well it has been very hot but at least we have had some showers to keep the gardens moist. Of course that also brings the mosquitoes too. So, if you want to come volunteer at Lichgate make sure you wear proper gardening clothes and be prepared to sweat. I have bug spray and sunscreen and the cottage has AC. There is lots of produce to make the gardening experience well worth it. Right now there is lots of basil, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and peppers. A few varieties of each kind too. Looking forward to seeing some new faces and sharing some produce with fellow gardeners. Peace.
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 6-30-11

2011-06-30T20:37:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

Well I got rained out again! I'm thankful for the rain, although I'd prefer it rain on Wednesday rather than Thursday. The weeds are really happy with the rain! The plants are enjoying the rain too. Tomatoes and squash still putting on fruit, peppers and eggplant almost there, the peanuts and green beans getting bushier. Peanuts would probably make an alright landscape plant.

I planted some basil that I started from seed Wednesday. There's nothing like watching your little babies grow up. When it's big enough to pick, I'll make the kids pesto!

The thought of those basil plants reminds me to tell everyone about this weekends garden installation at the FAMU Community Garden, located on Orange Avenue between Adams Street and Wahnish Way. Veterans from Veteran's Village, on Lake Bradford Road, are going to install and maintain several garden beds and the produce is to go to members of St. John's Church. The veterans want to show their appreciation to the community for supporting them. It starts at 9am. I won't be able to make it (I'm going on vacation!!) but I did send some seeds and basil plants their way. The folks at Veteran's Village have a nice little garden going at their site too. I hope some folks can make it and show the veterans how much they are appreciated for all of their service.

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 6-23-11

2011-06-23T20:20:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

If you haven't noticed, we've been in a drought. We've gotten about half the rain we usually do by this time of the year. So I don't mind getting rained out two weeks in a row. I thought I would let you all know how the garden is going and also to tell you what I've been cooking with the produce currently available from local farmers (see here).

So last Thursday I was rained out (lightning too!) but went by Friday afternoon to weed, mulch and pick whatever veggies were ready. My buddy Breanna and her mom, Sabrina, were there and since she was the only little one the pickings were all hers. She got a tomato, cucumber, blueberries, and green beans. She also got to help me water.

All the plants look good, the peanuts are sending their runners into the ground (it's really cool), the squash and zucchini are still producing, and the tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers are going strong.

As for what I've been cooking, it's well into tomato time, basil is in, and now the figs are coming in, so I've been making lots of tomato sauce, tomato sandwiches, pesto, and my kid's favorite - fig bars. They're all pretty easy to make and taste so delicious. Let me know if you're interested in any of the recipes.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday Morning with Mary 6-13-2011

2011-06-13T20:24:00.000-04:00


Root view garden

Who wants to work for food?

Artichoke Blooming!

Red Cabbage

Hello again! I know it is hot outside but there is still some good produce growing. I mainly wanted to share some beautiful photos that my daughter and myself took over the past two weeks. Hope everyone is happy not hungry and remember to come by Lichgate to learn on Monday Mornings.
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 6-9-11

2011-06-09T20:23:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

Sorry for no report last week. I didn't melt in the sun, I was just down in South Florida visiting family. It was actually cooler down there!

Today was a good kids' day. There were about seven kids with me - Jayla, Jaden, Jalen, CJ, Dante, Breanna, and another whose name I can't remember right now. We walked around the garden and did a lot of talking about how flowers turn into fruits, pollination, etc. It was fun to think of different vegetables and figure out if they are fruits or vegetables. Anyone know what a peanut is - fruit or vegetable? Either way, peanuts are really cool. Once they're flowers get pollinated, it looks like little spurs are formed and they go down into the ground and that's where the peanuts mature. Amazing, crazy stuff!

One of the boys got a blueberry. That reminds me - Green Meadow Blueberry Farm near Monticello has a lot of good berries right now and that's where I'll be with the kids Saturday morning.

We also ate some cucumbers, green beans, and Breanna found one little strawberry.

The kids helped me spread out grits for the ants and mulch the peanuts after I weeded. All the plants are looking pretty good.

I hope to see a lot of you at Turkey Hill Farm's Tomato Feastival this Sunday. I'll be playing with the children and hoping I win one of those amazing cakes in the Cake Walk!

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 5-26-11

2011-05-27T08:48:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

Today was a good day. There were mostly adults - Sonia, Amy, Wes, Marcus, Walt and I - but some kids - Breanna and Elaine - did come hang out with us later. Oh, and Walt, a neighbor, brought his doggy Katie - a Rottweiler that looks like the children's book character, Carl.

We searched for bounty and found a zucchini, a squash, and some cucumbers. After a weeding session, we sliced up one of the cucumbers and shared it. That's when Breanna and Elaine came over. They liked the cucumber.

We mostly chatted and weeded. Sonia trimmed the mint which was getting unruly and Breanna and Elaine helped me take it to the compost pile. We left the mulberry and pecan tree alone for now. I figured the garden could use some of that shade these days!

Before we left, Sonia and Amy noticed two ripe blueberries! We sliced them in half and shared them. They were delicious! That reminded me that the wonderful folks out at Green Meadow Farm, near Monticello, should have some berries soon, if not already. You all should check them out.

Some news:

Turkey Hill Farm's Tomato Feastival is the week before Father's Day this year - June 12. Get your tomatoes ready!

This from Claire Mitchell:

I’m teaching a two-day Community Gardening Coordinator training course geared towards schools, non-profit organizations and businesses. The course will introduce teachers, administrators, or interested parent volunteers to the job of organizing a garden group with a strong leadership core, connecting the garden with the community, planning garden layout, and doing successful garden maintenance. The course will take place on June 25 and July 9 at a cost of $105 that covers both days.

http://www.nfcc.edu/community-programs/community-education

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday Morning with Mary

2011-05-23T21:01:00.000-04:00

Hello again! Another hot one, so I started watering right away before the sun got too hot. I had volunteers today!! Yes, I am excited. Emily and Susi, my regulars, showed up and helped me harvest chard, kale and elephant garlic. There were also some ripe tomatoes, peppers and cukes and one giant zucchini. Jena, a new and promising volunteer, helped with the harvest and learned about tomatoes. And then, we also had help from a garden/environmentl group from PACE. We were a busy bunch of girls and it is amazing how much can get done with many hands. It was fun to chat about different recipes and garden ideas while working and sweating under the Florida sun. Thanks for all the help. I will not be there this next Monday for it is a holiday! Thanks for all the watering help too!
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 5-12-11 and 5-19-11

2011-05-19T19:07:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

This one's a two-for-one because I didn't get around to writing a report last week.

Last week was mint tea day. I brought a cooler full of ice, some sugar, and unsweet tea. We - Elijah, Ti, KJ, William, Willie, Marquel, and Lizzie - each picked ourselves some mint leaves, crushed them up with the sugar and ice and then poured in some tea. It was great, though some of the kids wanted way more sugar than needed. Willie, at first, said it tasted like water so I stirred up some of the sugar from off the bottom and then he said it was good.

It can get a little hectic sometimes when you have all those kids and their excited about doing something. As my patience was wearing on me, I introduced the kids to "The Quiet Game" - whoever stays quiet the longest wins. Oh, it was so nice to hear the birds while we sipped on our mint tea. Lizzie was also a big help for my patience as she policed the bag of sugar and helped them with their ice.

KJ asked me if I'm ever at the garden when there aren't kids around and I told him yes. He then wondered if I get lonely when I'm there by myself and I explained how it's actually pretty nice to be in the garden when it's real quiet except for the sound of birds and leaves rustling in the wind. I told him it was like when we played the quiet game and we could all just be calm and focus on what we were doing. He seemed to understand. I think.

After tea time, Lizzie and I weeded, staked tomatoes and cucumbers, and did a little mulberry tree work. We also picked two nice zucchinis (foreshadowing).

Last Friday I went to plant some peppers and I noticed our first ripe tomatoes. I took them home because there weren't any kids there at the time and cut them up for my kids. The slices were gone within seconds. They were good!

So fast forward to this week and my wonderful, beautiful wife cooked up those zucchinis with some tomato sauce, bread crumbs, and cheese! When I got there, Sonia and Amy were in the garden so I told them to come inside the center with me. We took the lovely dish inside and shared the bounty. It was sooo good! I think it was KJ who said it was better than his mom's cooking. I told him not to tell her that. Not all the kids were brave enough to try it, but those who did agreed it was delicious.

We then took things back outside, and did a quick look over - more tomatoes becoming ripe, baby cucumbers on the vine, peppers, eggplant, and green beans growing strong - before trimming the pecan tree this time. The mulberry blocks some of our eastern sunlight while the pecan branches block some of our western sunlight. We took out a good size branch with our little pole saw. I always get the Bob Marley song Small Axe in my head when I use that pole saw. Anyway, we hauled it up to the road and cut it into smaller pieces so the trash man could get it.

We were visited by our friends Sabrina, Breanna, and Sabrina's new two-month old baby! We met them a couple of months ago when Sabrina was still pregnant. I got to hold the little baby! Breanna was a big help with the pecan branch and didn't want to go home.

Well, I think that's all. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Mark

Monday with Mary

2011-05-17T20:48:00.000-04:00

Good day sunshine!
Another beautiful day at Lichgate. After a stretch under the majestic oak I started in the garden with the eggplants, peppers, and squash. I was surprised to see so much fruit on all the plants!! It is great to see what a difference a good rain can make. I was de-weeding when Travis, a volunteer, showed up to help. We went off to harvest some bamboo so we could provide support for the growing plants. While building the support with the bamboo, two of Laura Jepsen's students came by to see where she built her little cottage. She would defiantly be happy to see the progress on the land. I am glad she had the foresight to think about preserving the great Oak tree.
Next Monday come prepared to harvest some garlic, plant some sunflowers and peanuts and stir the compost. Let's get dirty!! See ya Monday.
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Mondays with Mary

2011-05-11T17:17:00.000-04:00

Hello! It feels as if spring has come to an end with these hot late afternoons in the 100's. I am trying to do my work in the AM and finish by noonish due to this heat. So, for any volunteers who may want to come, please come earlier than later. And for those of you who want to see the gardens and work here, but the early Monday morning doesn't work for you, feel free to let us know so we can put you to work while we are not there. You can reach me via email at schweerz@gmail.com
Peace, Love and Hopefully Rain
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 5-5-11

2011-05-05T20:50:00.002-04:00

Hello All,

What beautiful weather! Such a joy to garden in.

I got to the garden a little late today so I hope I didn't miss anyone. Elijah and I were picking up Soul Veg compost materials and a hose mender from Gramlings (which ended up being the wrong size - DOH!). When Elijah and I got there we went inside and snacked with the kids. We ate some of that delicious Nature's Path granola! I noticed they had peanut butter, so we took it outside for the celery. KJ, William, Elijah and I chatted while we ate up all the celery, putting a generous helping of peanut butter on each piece. We all agreed it was good!

Then we had about 4 kids from the playground come help us with the "disgusting stuff" - Soul Veg's collard scraps for the week. Nothing like gross stuff to get kids excited. After I flipped our existing piles, we added the chopped up greens and goo to our freshest pile.

I then worked on the mulberry tree and got us some more sunlight.

The zucchini's are forming, tomatoes changing hues of green, cucumbers flowering, and green beans and eggplant growing bigger!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mark

2011-05-05T20:12:00.000-04:00

Children's Gardens

Open endless pathways, encourage magical places, and draw on a child's natural curiosity with a Child's Garden.

What to Buy / Plant:

Children look closely at the intricate shapes of the origami like flowers of columbine and bleeding hearts. They find huge sunflowers irresistible, love the texture of "fuzzy" lambs ears and strawflowers, too. Try sensitive plant, which curls up when touched; show a child how a snapdragon talks, and plant balloon flowers known as platycodon. Invite butterflies into the garden by planting monarda, pentas, and lantana; plant moonflowers for nighttime fun while attracting sphinx moths. Show children which fragrant plants to crush and smell like lavender, pineapple mint, lemon balm, and scented geraniums.
Edibles:

Children love small and large vegetables, like grape tomatoes or giant pumpkins. Try plants that come in surprising colors, such as purple green beans and carrots, moon and stars watermelon, and 'Easter egg' radishes. And what child wouldn't like fresh strawberries, blueberries or tiny orange kumquats?

Pests:

Let children know that some insects are beneficial, and even destructive bugs are highly interesting. Make homemade bug spray and give them the job of spraying plants. Ingredients include the grated rind of one lemon, 1-cup lavender, 1-cup sage, 1 pint boiling water, and 1-teaspoon non-detergent soap such as castile or Murphy's Oil Soap. In a quart jar, mix lemon and herbs. Pour water and let steep until cooled to room temperature. Drain, reserving the liquid. In a plastic spray-pump bottle, dilute 1/8 cup of the herbal liquid to 2 cups water and add the teaspoon of soap.

For Fun:

Take your child to the Children's Shakespeare garden and labyrinth 1401 High Rd. Tallahassee. Teaching riddles and rhymes help to make gardening basics easy to remember. Following is a list of some of the really delightful ones I've heard.

"Many vegetables love potato, but keep them away from eggplant and tomato.

"Lettuce is easy to grow, on average except when competing with sunflower or cabbage."
"To plant your carrots, deeply till, but keep them far away from dill."
"Beets of red should never be planted in a bed with beans of green, nor mustard wed."
"Onion, garlic, leeks and shallots keep bugs away from carrots, but these bulbs, unseen disagree with its neighbor bean."

Monday Mornings with Mary

2011-05-03T10:33:00.000-04:00

   Greetings again! I apologize for my absence from blogging for the past few weeks. My house was struck by lightning and it got most of the electronic devices that make life easier. However, it was no TV or screen week last week so it was quite easy for my family to obey.
   I want to start out by thanking Nature's Path and Organic Gardening Magazine for honoring Damayan Garden Project. The grand opening of the children's Shakespeare garden was simply fabulous. It was great to see so many familiar faces and new ones too. Everything worked out beautifully and it is refreshing to see how people can come together to learn and educate, all because Laura Jepson had an awesome vision to preserve the majestic oak.
Since the event, we have been tying the tomatoes up, planting melons and squash, harvesting lettuces and chard, and planting the flowers and herbs. Everything is so colorful at Lichgate with the larkspur, pineapple guava blossoms, iris and the list goes on. I feel very blessed to be the garden manager here and hope more volunteers can come and learn with me.
   I am looking for some dedicated people to help with watering and weeding and keeping an eye out for people who might not be aware of how they impact the majestic oak. The first Monday after our event I was made aware of some vandalism to the tree. Some people had climbed up the tree and nailed in 5 spots about 10 nails and hung bananas from the nails! I since have learned that it was part of a race. If anyone know more about this please let me or Damayan know so that we can educate these people of the fragility of a 500 year old tree.
   Sending out love and healing vibes...May the people who need it be open to receiving.

After I climbed down from taking the nails and bananas I could reach out of the tree I looked up and saw an oak snake climbing up! Can you spot it?

Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 4-28-11

2011-04-28T20:20:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

It was nice to see (and feel) that rain. It started sprinkling on Eli and I but we went to the garden anyway and it cleared up. Sonia, Amy, and Jules met us there ready to go. Only a couple of kids joined us - Tiara, Antia, Malik, Maya, Elijah, and Leia.

We were let down by our potato patch. The plants had wilted away and so we went to dig up our bounty but only collected one small pot of puny potatoes. I think we either hilled them up too late or too much or we got nematodes. If you have any ideas, let me know. We planted peanuts in the bed the potatoes were in.

Jules brought us two varities of tomatoes - German Purple and Lemondrop - which we planted. The rest of the time we chatted, weeded, and fed grits to the fire ants.

We did get some eating in. There was some broccoli still holding on which we finished off, a couple of strawberries, and mint leaves. Next week we're going to eat our celery with peanut butter and raisins!

PSA - There are some gardening events coming up:

Edible Gardening Club

Monday evening at 6pm at the Winthrop Park Pavilion, I'm going to talk about the Damayan Garden Project. Please come.

Tallahassee Tour of Gardens

May 14, 2011 the event opens at 9:00 AM with a continental breakfast, plant sale and silent auction at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park located at 3540 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32309. Coffee, juice, fruit and pastries will be offered while tour-goers have a chance to purchase some of the many plants grown at Maclay by staff and volunteers. At 10:00 AM tour participants may pick up the program with directions and set off on a self paced tour of the eight private gardens, including the winner of the Tallahassee Garden Club’s ‘Backyard Makeover’. Gardens will be open until 5:00 PM. The gardens can be visited in any convenient order. Leon County Master gardeners will act as docents at each site to answer questions and provide information.

Tickets are $25 and may be purchased at Maclay Gardens State Park, Tallahassee Nurseries, Espositos Garden Center, Native Nurseries and Wild Birds Unlimited. Cash, check or credit card will be accepted. Contact Betsy Kellenberger at 850-893-2951 for more information; or visit http://friendsofmaclaygardens.com/2011-tour-of-gardens-2/ or contact the state park at (850)487-4556

Demonstration Garden Open House

May 21, 2011 from 9am - 12pm FREE, guided tours of the Master Gardener demonstration gardens at the Leon County Extension Office, 615 Paul Russell Road, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Learn what grows in our area, exhibits and information on creating wildlife habitat, the Florida Friendly Landscape program, plant propagation, and invasive plant exhibit. Also featured is the new 40,000-gallon rooftop rainwater recycling system and much more! Please call or e-mail the Master Gardener’s at 850- 606-5224, mastgard@leoncountyfl.gov or for more information see http://leon.ifas.ufl.edu/

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 4-21-11

2011-04-24T12:20:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

It was another great day of eating, working, and socializing today at the garden. As is custom during strawberry time, the first order of business was a thorough search of the strawberry patch. KJ is an expert strawberry finder. While the first check only brought us two berries, he kept looking and eventually we had a half dozen beautiful red berries. We cut them up and shared. Amy was happy she got there early today because she's been missing out on the strawberries.

We also found some broccoli that was ready and took care of that - without ranch even!

We then did some work cleaning up beds, planting more green beans, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. Some of our tomato plants have some nice looking green tomatoes on them. Our squash, zucchini, and cucumbers are growing up nicely too. We also weeded and mulched the okra bed.

A new friend, Lizzy came by. She is a nutritionist on an internship with the Dept. of Education. About the time she arrived, a gang of little ones also came to check out the garden. Most of them hadn't been to the garden before, so we got to give them all a grand tour. What do you think captured their attention the most? The compost pile! Lizzy, Amy, and Sonia dug through it with them and they found a lot of worms, roly polys, and grubs. The kids just loved it.

If you didn't make it out to Lichgate last Saturday you missed a good time. See the pictures below. If you missed the party you can still check out the garden anytime.

This Saturday is the Second Annual Community Gardening Gathering at the Havana Community Garden from 12-2. It's a potluck! Check out the Man in Overalls website for more info.

I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend,

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 4-14-11

2011-04-14T19:17:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

It was another great day of gardening with friends today. Sonia, Amy, and Jules were there. Our friend Kelly and her two kids, Lucien and Eva also came by. My daughter, Leia, who doesn't usually get to make it to Garden Day because of dance class, was there today too. Out of the regular kids crew, we had KJ, Antia, Marquel, Sandrea, and Elijah. We also got a visit from Amdiel of Soul Vegetarian. He wanted to see how our compost piles were looking. He said he was very happy he could help us. What a great community!

The first thing to be done, of course, was to search for strawberries. KJ and Eli were on top of it. Those strawberries are like Easter eggs, hiding under the straw just waiting to be found. KJ did a great job of searching high and low. I think we found a total of seven strawberries today. We cut them up and shared them. Sharing is Caring!

We then did some work - weeding, tying up tomato plants, thinning out green bean sprouts, weeding some more. After the work, we ate some more. The broccoli plants were ready to eat so we busted out some ranch dressing and took care of them. The kids loved it as did the adults.

I hope everyone is prepared to come to Lichgate Saturday from 10-2. It's going to be fun! Check out the Damayan website for more info. Hope to see you there. Bring the little ones!

Mark

Monday with Mary

2011-04-11T20:48:00.000-04:00

Greetings! It was yet another warm and productive workday at Lichgate. We had Anna and Laura help out again with weeding and mulching. Corey, a new volunteer, helped stir the compost and move some mulch too. Once the sun was covering the vegetable garden we moved over to the Shakespeare garden and worked with Nancy and Cara. We did some more planting and everything is looking really nice. Our grand opening for the Shakespeare garden and outdoor classroom is this Sat. the 16th from 10-3. We look forward to seeing Season, Sierra and Saffron among other friends too. Hope your garden is growing well.
Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 4-7-11

2011-04-07T21:14:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

Elijah and I arrived at the garden and Elijah went straight for the strawberries but didn't find any. I watered Tuesday and had seen a bunch ripening so I went to check. Sure enough there were no strawberries. Apparently, we had a rabbit (code for kid) or two, or more wipe us out. Later, some of the other kids told me all about it. They told me, "He ate the red ones, the green ones, and the white ones." Next time I see him I'll have a talk with him and maybe read him the story of Peter Rabbit.

After we got over the no strawberry thing we got to work. Sonia, Amy, Elijah, KJ, Marquel, Narissa, and I started going over what needed to be done. We staked up our tomatoes (there's two baby tomatos). We planted eggplant, basil, cucumber, and more tomato plants. Marcus joined us for awhile and we also had Avery and, his sister, Alex. They helped us with the planting. Avery said it was his first time but he was a natural handling those baby plants and putting them in the holes.

We then attacked the mulberry tree some more. This time we took out some big branches. It was really exciting! The kids dragged the limbs up to the road and also helped throw them in the pile. Sonia and Amy got some good sawing action in!

There is plenty going on this weekend - Lake Munson cleanup, YMCA garden install, planting party at Lichgate, Magnolia Fest Earth Day Jam. That's all on Saturday!

Please see the invitation below to Damayan's April 16th bash. Lot's of good fun going on and the sponsors decided we could do it for free!!! I hope to see a lot of familiar faces there.

Have a great weekend.

Mark

Monday, Monday

2011-04-04T21:11:00.000-04:00

Hey ya'll!
We had three veteran volunteers, Anna, Laura and Robert(Nancy's brother) and, one newbee, Travis come join in the garden fun today. We literally rocked out the rubble leftovers from the Shakespeare wall and created a new veggie garden plot today. Hopefully the rain will come and water in all the plants that we have been putting in the ground lately. We are giving thanks to McNeil plumbing for helping us get better water lines to the cottage and a faucet in the new garden area too. Our special fundraiser event is coming up April 16th from 10-3 so mark your calendars. We had a small turnout for our workday on Saturday but made a big mark on Lichgate by getting lots of our plants in the ground. Everything is blooming and the bees are busy. Thanks again to everyone who helped.
As Nancy likes to say "Breathe in the bees and exhale the butterflies" or something like that...

The start of the new veggie patch.


Cameron taking a serious nap on the wall!

Robert helping amend the soil.

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 3-31-11

2011-03-31T19:25:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

Got Strawberries? When Elijah arrived in the garden, the first thing he found was a nice, ripe strawberry. Then Sonia and I kept looking and we found 7 or 8 berries. One of them was just as beautiful as any from the store. The rest were either smaller or kind of bumpy/deformed. But they were all delicious. I took them inside and showed everyone and that got them out to the garden fast.

As I showed Ms. D and Ms. Donna the berries in their snack/food room, I noticed a huge box of granola. So, I sliced up the berries and got a small bowl of granola. I encouraged everyone to grab a piece berry and a little of the granola. Everybody loved it! The older boys playing on the basketball court even stopped their game for awhile to try some! More on the granola later.

Jules and her friend Randy came by and we had a bunch of kids in the garden again, including some newbies. There was Sandrea, Tia, Antia, William, Willie, Jenee, Zakiah, Narissa, and some others. We got a lot done. The strawberry patch got well weeded and mulched. The potatoes got hilled and mulched. The compost piles were flipped. Green beans planted. Squash weeded and mulched. There was a lot of mulching going on because I brought a big chunk of hay that also worked as bed and hill to climb up and jump down.

When we pulled up soil on the potatoes we found a lot of worms! The kids loved it. They were all picking up worms and examining them. We also found a cool beetle that had fuzzy hairs on it's wings.

Here are a few comments I heard today:

Antia told a friend "I love this garden!".

One young girl said "I've been thinking of starting a worm farm. Could you bring me some worms next time?" I told her I would try to remember.

Narissa told Sonia "You're strong!" while she helped Sonia flip the compost piles.

Now back to that granola. When Damayan won the grant a while back, it was from Nature's Path and Organic Gardening Magazine. Part of the grant was a $100,000 donation of Nature's Path granola to our local food bank, Second Harvest of the Big Bend. Well, the community center gets items from the food bank to provide afternoon snacks to the kids. So, the granola we ate today at the Damayan sponsored garden came from the Damayan grant! I was overjoyed. And the best part is, the kids love it. Ms. D and Ms. Donna were surprised at how much the kids like it. And it's good for them.

See Damayan's website and below for information about our upcoming fundraiser (also part of the grant).

Have a great weekend. If you want to garden this weekend, Lichgate is having a workday Saturday.

Mark

Monday at Lichgate

2011-03-28T21:01:00.000-04:00

Hello again! Well, it was a humid day at Lichgate with much needed showers. Despite the rain we still managed to get quite a bit accomplished. I was able to bring my kids to work since their school tagged a teacher planning day on at the end of a great spring break. They had lots of fun catching lizards, toads, frogs, and ladybugs. We deweeded parts of the garden and mulched, then moved over to the Shakespeare garden area and leveled the soil by the newly built wall. The rain chased us into the old carport/garden area where Jody, Nancy and myself continued our work creating hypertuffa pots. We mixed equal parts of perlite, portland cement, and sphagnum moss to create these rustic looking pots for our rootview garden. We will be back at it tomorrow for those of you that can make it starting around 10ish. Don't worry, we left plenty of weeds to be pulled and other garden tasks to be completed. We will also have a weekend workday on April 2nd for those of you who can't make it out during the week. Love and Light Mary Rault

Frenchtown Garden Report - 3-24-11

2011-03-25T08:39:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

What a beautiful day, pollen and all. I was down in South Florida for a couple of days where it's already getting up into the upper 80's! Oh yeah, and they have tomatoes ripening on the vine. While I was down there I visited Seeds of Hope Community Garden in Lake Park. It's huge. As the sun was beating down on me, I was thinking how nice it was to have a cool season. I stuck my fingers into the soil and it was hot!

Today in Frenchtown, Jules was leading a motley crew into the garden from the center and Ryan was in the garden talking to some kids as I pulled up. Sonia and Amy also came by. I was so glad to have all their help keeping the kids on task and in line - as much as we could anyway. Jules hung out with the kids on the playground quite a bit. They liked it a lot. She's quite a hit with the kids. On the way there, my daughter asked if Jules was coming because "She's nice"! And she decorated the girls' hair with petunia flowers out of the garden. They all looked so beautiful.

We harvested the rest of the greens. There is still a kale plant here and there. The kids enjoy yanking out plants. It seems to come natural. They just need a reminder when they get to a plant that is supposed to stay.

Ryan hacked away on the mulberry tree until the saw malfunctioned on us. Yes, now that the leaves are back on the tree, the mulberry saga continues. Every time we hack we get a little more sun!

Some of the kids - Te, Paris, William, Alfonso, and some others - helped me plant some crook-neck and zuchinni squash and okra.

After they had nibbled and collected all the spinach, mint, chard, and sorrel, we watered it in real good. Big thanks to Sonia and Amy for helping to keep the garden watered this past week.

Oh, big news! We had our first strawberry! I think I got about eight or ten slices off that little berry. It was delicious!

Have a great weekend,

Mark

p.s. Remember - April 16th at Damayan's Lichgate site is Shakespeare in the Garden. It's going to be fun.

Frenchtown Garden Report - 3-17-11

2011-03-17T21:03:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

How appropriate to be in the garden on St. Patty's Day. We all ate green spinach! I guess that's not as unique as green beer, but it's much tastier and healthier.

Sonia, Amy, Jules, and Ryan came out again today. We had a lot of kids in the garden - Sandrea, Te, Tia, Marquel, KJ, Jason, Alfonso, Willie, Taquira, Elijah, Leia, and more. They worked hard and played pretty hard on the playground too.

After we picked the remaining collards, (and passed them on to Taquira and her great grandfather, who live just up the hill from the garden) Jason and Ryan loaded some of our finished compost onto the beds. You should have seen all the kids looking into the compost as they laid it down. I wish one of us had a camera. All the creepy crawlies had them mesmerized. They were all crouched over staring and poking into it. Cute, little Sandrea was picking up worms and grubs and trying to feed them to the rest of us.

I had a group of energetic boys try to make the biggest pile of weeds. It actually worked and they weeded a big patch of the garden along the fence.

We flipped all of our compost piles and started making a new one. Much thanks again to Soul Vegetarian. Make sure you all go and eat there for the cause.

After all that work, we just had to eat. The spinach just keeps coming back and provides us with a delicious snack. Of course I brought some ranch dressing to help it go down. We also dipped radishes, chard, and some lettuce that is still holding on. Some of the kids got creative and dipped mint leaves and sorrel in the ranch. I think that says more of the ranch dressing then the veggies, but I'll take it.

Here's a quote from one of the kids that reinforces what it's all about. I think it was Marquel that told me this as we walked over to the garden. He said "I love going to this garden". I asked him why and he said "Because there's food to eat and it tastes better than the food that I usually eat."

Thanks to everyone who comes out and works together with me in the garden, for all of you who donate plants, and to everyone who puts out good vibes for us.

Mark

p.s. Last week's report had April 6 as Damayan's event but it's April 16. Sorry, I have a sticky 1 key. There will be music, gardening and food workshops, food, and more. See our website for more, http://www.damayan.org/

Monday's with Mary and friends

2011-03-15T17:04:00.000-04:00

Nancy and John working on the bridge.

Camren by the wall

Laura, Nancy and Camren leveling the pathways.

Freshly mulched paths.

Walkway and bridge into Shakespeare garden.

Sometimes pictures say more than words can. We are working on many projects at Lichgate and instead of a workday next Monday 21, I will be at Lichgate Wed. 16th and Friday 18th. The Benches for the outdoor education center are being installed Tues. We will be finishing up the wall, bridge,and the pathways during the remainder of this week. Bring your own gloves if possible. Looking forward to seeing some new faces! With Love Mary

Frenchtown Garden Report - 3-10-11

2011-03-11T07:35:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

I know I start out this way a lot, but it was another great day in the garden. As soon as Elijah and I pulled up, Julianna, who I met at the Will Allen workshop, was there. She actually found out about the garden through a Peace Corps event at FSU. Thanks Peace Corps, and Happy Birthday (they turn 50 this year). Two other ladies, Sonia and Amy, were also there ready to garden but I can't remember now how they found out about us. TJ and Wes, brothers and members of the Tallahassee Sustainability Group (TSG), a FSU student group, also came out and helped in the garden. They were all very interested in the garden and asked a lot of questions. I was able to go through my strawberry story that the young ones have heard over and over again. I love some fresh ears! Anyway, I was able to show them the process from flower to fruit, as we have some baby strawberries! I think they also like interacting with all of the little ones.

The kids - Tia, Te, T, KJ, Marquette, Alfonso, Z, and Elijah - came out and met everyone and then were interested in what goodies could be found in the garden. They found spinach, carrots, lettuce, spicy mustard, and radish. I brought some ranch dressing and the kids went to town. I think the favorite of mine for the day was the radish dipped in ranch. The kids also did work. We pulled a lot of weeds and added them to our compost pile.

I know I've reported on this before but it's always interesting to me. A kid new to the garden, KJ, who stopped at the garden gate because he said he wasn't good at gardening and was worried about garden snakes, asked me how I knew the spinach was spinach, and was I sure he could eat it. I told him that I've been gardening for awhile and I know that that is what spinach looks like. That didn't totally convince him. Then I told him that I bought seeds that said spinach on the package, planted them, and that (the spinach leaf he was holding) is what came up. That made him feel better and he commenced to eating a bunch of spinach. This is the reason for gardening with kids. So that they know what real food looks like and where it comes from. I had to watch little Te because she started picking up weeds and eating them. The kids that have been there from the beginning, like Alfonso, can now recognize one crop from the other. Actually, all this is the reason for gardening with kids and adults. I told Wes how Alfonso ate an entire onion before and Wes asked where an onion plant was. Alfonso pointed it right out!

The adults went home with some lettuce, radishes, and mint (which has just exploded with this warm weather). KJ and Marquette took a ziplock bag of spinach, lettuce, and carrot home to make a salad. I gathered up some collards and mustards for rec center staff. Greg Grady, who oversees the 4th Ave center and the Dade St. center was impressed, and happy, to see our greens and take some home.

Everyone mark their calendars for April 6. Damayan is having a fundraiser at Lichgate to raise funds, of course, but to also show off the new Shakespear garden. We'll have food, mini-workshops, and fun. Check out the website or contact me for more info (mark@damayan.org).

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday's with Mary

2011-03-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

A surprise chill greeted me this morning but despite the temperature the tomatoes are still looking good. We had some great help in the garden this morning thanks to Suzanne and Karen who brought some young ladies from PACE. They built some more urban baskets for raised garden beds at their facility. We planted spinach, celery, parsley, red and green lettuce, and pansy flowers. Emily and Susi helped move some urbanite for the Shakespeare garden wall and pick up produce left over from Bread and Roses. John and Lupe helped mortar in the next layer of urbanite. Nancy and Camren were leveling out the hopscotch area and helping with the wall too. Rueben made an appearance and dropped off some mulch that he loaded from Turkey Hill Farms. Somehow I managed to help out a bit here and there and try to keep the peace. Thanks again to everyone for their contribution. The fundraiser is getting closer and if anyone wants to come out to help on the wall it would be deeply appreciated. John Yauger is a great teacher and needs some strong people to make this project happen. He is there 8am. Hopefully we will have a weekend workday soon. Looking forward to seeing YOU in the garden. Peace and Love Mary R.

Gardening Guide March

2011-03-05T06:10:00.001-05:00

Since the beginning of history, the garden has been celebrated with the concept that herbs have miraculous powers. There is a fascinating story in every culture, from simple people to philosophers that holds these beliefs and embraces the wisdom, that herbs help people in their daily lives. There are nearly as many ways to incorporate herbs into a garden, as there are herbs to choose from. Weather used for flavorings, teas, fragrances or medicines, most herbs are simple to grow, demanding little while giving a lot.

What to Buy / Plant

In addition to flower gardens, there are healing gardens and wholesome kitchen gardens. It’s a good idea to have a few herbs easily accessible to the kitchen door, so you can snip a few to add while cooking. A strawberry jar is perfect for this. Planting a different herb in each pocket keeps them controlled and available. We all know the benefits of aloe vera to sooth burns and stings, but cutting away each edge and the removing the green skin reveals a thick clear gel that has no taste when eaten; and is very cost effective in comparison to buying aloe vera juice. Collect several varieties of herbs such as: lemon verbena, pineapple sage, and lemon balm to make a refreshing iced beverage.

Uses

Place a bag of herbs in a warm bath to relax and enhance beauty: lavender, passionflower, mint, thyme, and rose petals are good choices. Sachets will sweeten linens. Lavender tucked into pillows encourages restfulness. Herbs can be used in almost any way including hair products and skin care as well as herbal salves that are fun to make and helpful in arthritis and first aid treatments. Do a little research; there are countless books available that give useful information on how you can safely use the plants that you’ve gathered or grown.

Edibles

Until recently, herbs were the only medicines available. It is comforting to know that as we add herbs to enhance the flavor of food, we are promoting health at the same time. Garlic is said to be effective in the treatment of colds. Tea made from rose hips is high in vitamin C. Lemon grass tea is a natural sedative, drink in the evening to enjoy a good nights sleep. Simply cut a few stalks, wash and boil in water, remove grass, sweeten to taste.

Pests

Planting herbs as companion plants in your vegetable and flower garden is a time-honored way of deterring pests. Chrysanthemums repel many insects, coriander discourages aphids, lavender repels moths, basil deters flies, and tansy dissuades ants.

For Fun

Some of the old folklore about herbs include: carrying basil in your pocket to attract money, and the tradition of a clove studded orange as insurance from bare cupboards.

Ginger - You simply need to buy ginger from the store and plant it in a shady location.
Garlic - The same is true, simply plant a garlic bulb.
Oregano - Evergreen perennial herb, spreading.
Thyme - Evergreen perennial herb, spreading.
Sage - Evergreen perennial, does well in hot dry location. will often die in our humid summers if over watered. Good in separate terra cotta pot and kept dry in summer.
Basil - Some evergreen perennial varieties are available. Most common varieties are grown as warm season annual.
Mint -- Grow in a separate container, it is invasive. likes water in full sun. Can take wet or dry shade.
Cumin - Coriander, culanto (grown in winter). or cilantro (in summer) are all names for cumin
Rosemary - Evergreen shrub. Keep hot and dry!!
Chives - Evergreen grass, many varieties, prefers winter months, keep cool and dry in summer. If it disappears in summer, the same plant may reappear in winter.

Frenchtown Garden Report - 3-3-11

2011-03-03T23:17:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

Today was a great day at the garden! The weather was great, the veggies tasted good, and we had lots of friends to talk to.

When Elijah and I got there, Sabrina - who's having a baby tomorrow - and her daughter Breanna were waiting for us. We all went inside and gathered up more troops - Simone, T, and Dericka - and also some ranch dressing. Vince, a friend that I've met through the ***Will Allen*** meetings, found us inside and got to meet everyone. We headed to the garden and ate us a bunch of broccoli, spinach, carrots, and lettuce. It was so delicious and the kids loved it! They didn't want to stop pulling carrots. It's fun to see how big your carrot is going to be and what weird shape it will be in.

After we got our energy, we started preparing more compost. Thanks again to Soul Vegetarian restaurant, located just down the street from Gramling's, for the wonderful compost materials. More than one person noted how "nasty" it was. It's easy to look past the nastiness when you see that cured, black, beautiful compost and the plants that grow out of it.

At this time, Amir and his mon came by and helped us work in the garden. Amir was just ready to work, so we moved right on to planting some tomatoes. The always gracious and wonderful Turkey Hill Farm donated a flat of 'Oregon Spring' tomatoes. We pulled out the arugula to make room, weeded, scratched up the soil, and planted our tomatoes. Amir did a good job planting his first tomato and Elijah did a great job trying to show Amir how.

Before watering everthing down, we picked a bunch of mustard greens for Ms. D. Ms. Donna also got a heap of kale and Amir's mom went home with some lettuce and spinach. The strawberries we just planted last week look great! The blueberry bushes are also loaded with flowers. Maybe Spring has sprung and we won't see any more frost?

***Will Allen*** - I hope everyone knows that Will Allen is coming to town Sunday at 12:00 and will be at the FAMU Viticulture Center (6505 East Mahan Drive). You do not want to miss this presentation by a MacArthur Genius Award recipient. Word is he may be stopping by the Frenchtown Garden Saturday evening. Amazing!

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday Morning with Mary

2011-03-01T10:04:00.001-05:00

Greetings friends of Damayan! It was a busy and full day. We had the benches for our outdoor education center delivered by Mike Rosen soon to be installed. A delivery of plants and other things from Tallahassee Nurseries. Volunteers from Chix helped put the mondo grass in the new Shakespeare garden. Other volunteers helped me harvest the fall crops of mustards, brocoli and cauliflower. We will have lots of brocoli at Bread and Roses this Wed. Also, we built a tomato trellis out of bamboo. Thanks to Mark Tancig who donated the celery, tomatoes. parsley and more baby brocoli. Nancy helped me build some hyper tuffa root view boxes out of perlite, portland cement, peat moss and water.

Also, went to a meeting at the library to discuss stories of the food movement. Hosted by Nathan Valentine, Mark Tancig, and TJ Shaffer. It was very good to get together and meet some community members who are interested in creating a better green community which is trying to become more self sustainable and educate and inspire people to be better citizens of this earth! Some things discussed by the group were a possible bartering system, ways to improve community communication so more people are aware and involved, create an initiative to present to the city for a challenge to plant and or create land that is free of "green tape" to make it easier for gardeners to garden on public land.

The date has been set for April 16th at Lichgate for a breakfast fundraiser for Damayan Garden Project. This event will be hosted by Natures Path cereal and Organic Gardening Magazine who has given us the Gardens for Good Grant. We will have our grand opening of the Shakespeare garden and outdoor education center. For anyone that wants to help, every Monday from 9-2ish we can use some volunteers. Also, to meet our deadline of April 16th we will be there during the weekdays and some weekends but feel free to contact Mary at 850-510-9249 so that there is someone there to help guide any volunteers.

Breathe in Love and Exhale Peace
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 2-24-11

2011-02-24T22:29:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

It sure is warm out there. I'm still thinking we're going to get a cold snap so I'm going to hold off on planting the warm season crops.

The warm weather has brought the weeds back into the garden reports. Fortunately, we had three volunteers from PATCares, the charitable arm of the local company PATLive. We had Cate, Chinesa, and Nicki. Chinesa and Nicki didn't have a lot of garden experience but worked really hard. Chinesa perfected planting strawberries and Nicki used a machete to chop up spent plants for the compost pile. They both pulled a ton of weeds. Ryan, Marcus, Elijah, and I rounded out the crew. Elijah was the only little one in the garden today but he worked real hard as well. We all weeded and chatted. Elijah and Ryan worked on the collards and lettuce beds while the PATCare's ladies and I cleaned out the strawberry patch. We then planted the strawberries that Laura, a fellow Damayan board member, donated last week. We laid down some hay in the stawberry patch and Elijah and Marcus watered everything down.

We munched on some lettuce, radish, mustards, broccoli, sorrel, and baby carrots. Ryan and Cate took home some kale, arugula, and radishes. Cate and Chinesa took a sprig of sage for sage butter! (Doesn't that sound yummy). Ms. D got some lettuce and Ms. Dee got a bag of collards.

If you're looking to get a gardening-with-others fix, there is a workday at Lichgate on Saturday to help with the Shakespeare garden. Feel free to come by.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday Morning at Lichgate

2011-02-21T20:04:00.001-05:00

Hello foggy morning! It was a very productive day and I am sure that more than a few of us will feel it in the morning. We had lots of hard workers but especially enjoyed working with John, Taylor and Gracin on the Shakespeare wall. We moved about 5 tons of "urbanite", which is free broken concrete pieces. Making this wall is exciting and has proven to be a free work-out too!
Lichgate had some surprise volunteers today from Pyramid. They were especially uplifting to our Susi who wants to be a volunteer but sometimes needs the motivation of her peers to influence her. Thanks to my friend Christie, Emily and the Chix volunteers from FSU who helped dig a trench for the wall and weed and water the garden too.

Lovin Life...
Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 2-17-11

2011-02-17T23:44:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

First of all, I survived the 40 or so preschoolers from Bond Head Start on Friday morning! It was quite a sight to see three mini-buses pull up. All the kids got a tour of the garden and a taste of it as well. The 4-year-olds helped me plant a row of lettuce. The compost pile was a hit. All the kids eyes widened when I stuck the pitchfork in, created a hole in the middle, and steam poured out. They tried radishes, lettuce, spicy mustards, and carrots - actually one carrot cut into 10 or so slices. They left me with a nice farm-themed coffee mug and the beautiful painting at the top of the post. I told them that they were welcome back anytime.

Today, Laura and Robbie, Damayan board members, were at the garden along with Elijah and I. Laura brought us some strawberry plants to beef up our strawberry patch, chatted, and helped pull some weeds. Robbie, Elijah, and I planted some flowers that Nancy brought by earlier this week as well as some broccoli and celery that Turkey Hill Farm donated. Thanks everyone! Oh yeah, we also planted some red potatoes.

We harvested lettuce, arugula, turnip greens, and mustards. Ms. Donna and Ms. Dee took home some lettuce, arugula, and greens. Ms. Donna loves arugula. And we gave a nice bunch of greens to a group of senior citizens that have started coming to the Center every Thursday evening. I think they'll become regular recipients of our goodies.

I finished off the evening playing hoops with some of the older boys on the court. One of them was eating all of his sister's Cheetos and I told them there was a garden right there where he could eat some real food. He didn't know what to pick, and I was in the middle of a three point shoot-out, so I told Elijah to help him out. Elijah showed him the lettuce and how to pick it. I asked him how he liked it and he said, "It tastes like good, fresh, lettuce right out of the garden!"

I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the beautiful weather. I wonder if this is our Spring?

Mark

Monday at Lichgate 2/14/11

2011-02-14T22:00:00.008-05:00

   Hello again! Three weeks have just passed by so quickly and despite the rainy weather there have been some projects getting done. We had 5 new and 3 veteran volunteers show up on Monday to help with weed control, mulching, building urban garden baskets, planting flowers and veggies and cleaning/organizing the upstairs of Lichgate.
   Mark Tanzig picked up some vertical blinds and some volunteers weaved them through 4 foot fencing to create these urban garden baskets. Once they are in the right spot for gardening we will start to fill them with leaves, compost, sticks and other compostables until we get the right height and then we can start to plant different crops.
   Another project we are about to start and have the supplies for already is a root view garden made out of hyper touffa. You can check out different "how to" videos on line. Made from Portland cement, perlite, water and peat moss. This will be for the new Shakespeare garden.
   In case you have not heard...Natures Path Cereal and Organic Gardening Magazine are helping Damayan Garden Project put on a fundraiser breakfast event at Lichgate on April 2nd, 2011. We will have speakers, food demos, garden tours and live entertainment for the family during the hours of 10am-2pm. We will start to sell tickets for this event very soon. We are currently preparing Lichgate for this event by building an outdoor education center for the speakers and food demos thanks to Micheal Rosen. Also, John Yauger is helping Damayan with the Shakespeare Garden. He is creating an arched bridge and wall. We need volunteers more than ever so if you are thinking about what to do come out on Monday mornings(9-2ish) and or contact us for other dates as well. Thanks to everyone who is helping with Damayan Garden Project and our mission which is to teach people to grow food.

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 2-10-11

2011-02-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

Elijah and I were solo for the most part today, but that was just fine. Alfonso and Jason hung out with us towards the end.

We chatted with some neighbors, handed out some collards, mustards, and kale, and weeded. Yes, the weeds are coming back. With all this cold weather I haven't had many weeds to pull. The crazy thing is I actually enjoyed it a little. Nothing like getting your hands all dirty and then seeing the progress of a freshly weeded bed.

Everyone keep me in their thoughts because tomorrow morning, probably as your reading this email - there is supposed to be around 50 preschoolers - that's right 50 preschoolers - coming to the garden! I'm going to have them munch on greens, plant some lettuce, and maybe mix up some compost! If there is a report next week, you'll know I survived. They're coming from a group I met through a Whole Child Leon presentation.

In other Frenchtown news, there is an event coming up this Saturday at the rec center - talent show, play, fun, dinner - where our produce will be taking the stage in the salad!

I hope everyone has a great weekend - and doesn't catch that flu that's been going around (It had me out for a couple of days). Oh and Happy Valentine's Day! Show some love to the farmer's at the local markets this coming week!

Mark

Frenchtown Garden Report - 2-3-11

2011-02-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

Despite the light drizzle, Ryan, Elijah, Jason, Alfonso, and I showed up and got some things done in the garden.

I finally went and got all the soil amendments for the blueberry bushes that the Koons' out on Mahan Drive donated awhile back. I figured I better get them planted before the cold weather breaks. I added some milled pine bark and peat moss to the hole, as directed, and planted our two bushes. Hopefully we'll get a couple of berries this summer. Thanks again to the Koons.

As I did that, Ryan chopped up more compost materials from Soul Veg and added it to our ongoing pile.

Alfonso came out and had some veggie wraps - two in fact. He said they were good!

Ms. Dee said she loved the mizuna so Jason and I filled her a bag full of them. We also gave a bunch to Ms. McCray, who is helping the kids work on a play for their upcoming event on 2-12. It's a celebration where the kids will be singing, dancing, and acting. We'll be preparing a big salad for the event.

Next week we'll try planting potatoes! That's always fun.

Have a good weekend.

Mark

P.S. A group of us are going to be hosting an event at the library on Feb. 28. See below.

Gardening Guide February

2011-02-02T14:20:00.000-05:00

February feels like Spring with orange blossoms and tea olives scenting the air and the first bulbs coming into bloom. But despite appearances, it's still winter. There are many interesting jobs to be done in February, but it's also a time for waiting. If Spring is in your blood, throw off your coat and dig in the garden. Prepare your beds, spread compost, and concentrate on the things that should be planted now.

Consider giving classic orchids this Valentines Day. Your sweetheart will appreciate the beauty and with proper care, your gift will continue to give for years to come. Orchid care - The native habitat of an Orchid is the tree tops of a tropical rainforest. They love humidity, but don't like to sit in water. Bright indirect light, and a daily mist of water is ideal. Occasional, diluted, water soluble fertilizer, but NEVER fertilize while in bloom.

What to Buy / Plant

Flowering apricot, cherry, and quince are all at the height of bloom and look fantastic with winter blooming Japanese magnolias and star magnolia. Camellias and azaleas can still be planted. Begin gladioli bulbs and continue planting a few more each week until the end of March for continuous display throughout the summer. Purchase Clivia while in bloom. Look for colorful cacti and succulents which bloom in winter and spring. Continue planting cool season color, which include calendula, delphinium, english dasies, iceland poppies, nemesia, primrose, stock, and evergreens like bulbine, cyclamen, artemesia, ajuga, stokesia, heuchera, and osteospermum.

Prune / Propagate

Propagate bamboo, deadhead cool season flowers. Prune decidous trees if you haven't already done so. Don't forget to santitize pruners with peroxide or bleach then oil afterward.

Fertilizing

Manure is an inexpensive and readily available soil ammendment that when used wisley, has very good results. Apply just before rains, in well draining soil, but do not use on acid loving plants such as camellias, azaleas, and ferns.

Feed deciduous fruit trees with a fertilizer high in nitrogen, varing the amount of formula depending on size. All fertilizer or manure applications should be watered well to prevent burn..

Edibles

Plant bare-root asparagus. Put 4 inches of well-aged compost and a handful of bone meal per linear foot in the bottom of 1 ft. deep by 1 ft. wide trench or mix in 15 to 20 pounds of 5-10-5 fertilizer per 100 feet. Form 4 inch high mounds 18 inches apart. Plant on the mounds with their roots arranged over the sides. Cover so that each crown is an inch below the soil surface. Water well. As they grow continue to add more soil. Harvest in 24 months.

Pests

Wash citrus trees. Spray with a mixture of 1 gallon of water to 1 or 2 tablespoons dish soap or use insecticidal soap following directions.

For Fun

Start a compost pile. It's a great way to use up kitchen waste and enrich your garden soil. Choose a hidden area and dig at least a 2 ' X 4' hole. Add leaves, lawn clippings, and vegetable peelings. Sprinkle on sulfate of ammonia to speed the process and keep damp.

Frenchtown Garden Report - 1-27-11

2011-01-27T20:42:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

Today was another great day at the garden. There were a few kids that came out and joined Elijah and I - Simone, Tyresha, Jason, Breshawn, Calvin - and Robbie came by as well.

After the kids had a green wrap - lettuce, mustard, arugula, spinach - we did a hands-on compost demonstration. Thanks again to Soul Vegetarian Restaurant for providing the green compost ingredients. The brown ingredients came from the Lafayette Park neighborhood, my fall/winter leaf collection area. We dumped out the green stuff and Robbie, Elijah, and Simone chopped it up with a machete and shovel. Before anyone gets all worried, I made sure the kids were very careful with the machete. They had a blast using it!

Ms. Donna and Ms. D came and harvested some lettuce, arugula, mustard, and mizuna. Mizuna, by the way, is one of my new favorite fall crops. It is incredibly productive, hardy, and tastes great. It can be prepared just like mustard greens. I've actually seen it in gardening books referred to as Japanese mustard.

I hung around and played basketball with the boys after our compost fun.

Last Friday the family and I attended the Community Center's 1st Annual Parent Appreciation Dinner hosted by the center's staff and youth. It was great to meet some of the parents and tell them how fun it is to garden with their children. There was also awards presented to honor roll students, door prizes, singing, step-dance, and of course, dinner. Maybe next year we'll plan to have some of our own produce as part of the dinner.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Mark

Monday Morning 1/24/11

2011-01-24T20:54:00.000-05:00

Greetings! We had volunteers today, and although most of the vegetable garden is planted we still managed to plant more garlic thanks to Emily and Susi. We had 3 new volunteers from CHIX in the morning who helped create some new fairy houses in the Shakespeare garden area. Meanwhile, Anna returned to help clear up some of the dead growth from the perennial garden and then we worked on the compost. Around lunchtime a new crew arrived from CHIX. They watered the garden and helped to get some flowers and turnips in the ground that Nancy and Cameron had picked up from Esposito's Nursery. The broccoli's are starting to put on nice heads, and despite the cold the plants are all surviving. Also, Zachary showed up with a beautiful plaque for the Shakespeare garden. His class from FSU, Art in Action, came last week and after a walk and talk we made some plaques out of clay with some quotes from Shakespeare's work that mentions the different plants we are planning to plant in the future garden. Things are moving forward and I am happy to be a part of it.

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Patience gives the power to practice; practice gives the power that leads to perfection.
(from my tea bag...another good reason to drink it)

Frenchtown Garden Report- 1-20-11

2011-01-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

It was a great, gray day. The kids - Elijah, Ezekial, Alfonso, Lakira, Ashawn, and Leia - and us adults - Marcus, Shelby, Skylar, Ryan, and I - had a lot of fun and got some work done too.

After some green wraps we got to the dirty, fun stuff. Damayan donated a load of compost materials from the Soul Vegetarian Restaurant (Adams Street near Gramlings) and we hauled them to the garden, chopped them up, and mixed them with leaves and coffee grinds. We made a beautiful compost pile.

We then started playing soccer. We picked up a couple of new friends and got some good exercise.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

p.s. - The Leon County Extension Office is holding a bee-keeping workshop on February 26.

Frenchtown Garden Report - 1-13-11

2011-01-13T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

I hope everyone is staying warm! It has been cold. Fortunately, just about everything at the garden is still doing OK. The kids in the garden and I are still munching on all of our leafy greens - arugula, lettuce, mustard, and spinach - while someone in the neighborhood has been helping themselves to the collards and turnip greens. At least they're eating healthy.

I didn't get to the computer to write a report last week so I'll summarize briefly. My sister was in town and came to the garden with me. Robbie and Kayla also joined us. Little Sandrea was the only kid there and she was a weeding fool. My sister showed Sandrea how fun it is to get the roots and Sandrea just went to town on those weeds. She had her own competition going to see how long of a root she could pull out.

Today we mostly played. Elijah, my son, came with me and Robbie joined us as well. After fixing up the sign a little, we played a lot of soccer. Robbie took a break from the soccer to play four square with Sandrea and some others. After Robbie left, Eli and I had a snack break - leafy green roll-ups with a dash of ranch dressing. Delicious!

Will Allen Update - Will is coming to town sometime in March. It was decided to delay his visit so the word could get out some more. So be on the look out for more information on the date.

Have a wonderful Martin Luther King Birthday weekend.

Mark

Monday Morning at Lichgate 1/10/11

2011-01-10T20:43:00.001-05:00

Greetings again! The garden is still looking good despite the cold weather. It is truly a miracle to see how hardy some of these plants can be, especially that great oak. I got the last of the leeks in the ground and planted more onions. My friend Reuben volunteered today and helped conquer the old compost pile. He helped remind me that a healthy compost pile has 25% Nitrogen(green) and 75% Carbon (brown). After spreading the compost around Lichgate we enjoyed a warm cup of tea then headed in our own directions. It is nice to have a volunteer that is passionate about this earth and also just to bounce ideas off of too. Thanks for all the volunteers that have helped throughout the evolution of Lichgate and Damayan. I hope that we continue to make a positive impact on our community through plants.

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

January Gardening Guide - Root Crops

2011-01-05T14:10:00.003-05:00

Chances are eating healthier is on your list of New Year's resolutions. One way to add variety to your healthy food choices is to grow more root crops. More then just potatoes and carrots root vegetables come in a multitude of tastes and brilliant colors. The fact is, root vegetables serve as an invaluable source of vitamins, phytonutrients, and complex carbohydrates, have no fat and are generally low in calories. Quite simply, they are a powerhouse of nutrients.

What to Buy / Plant :
Beets, cassava, carrots, horseradish, radishes, rutabagas, parsnips, potatoes, salsify, turnips, yam. eddo or taro. And other types of roots like ginger, galangal, turmeric, onions, and garlic. Many aid in digestion, contain anti-inflammatory and anti toxic properties. Plentiful in Fall and winter months, most are hardy in frosts; it's even said that carrots taste sweeter after a freeze. Beets are best planted in fall, but keep Valentines Day as a reminder to get your potatoes planted. Make mounds of compost, Plant small seed potatoes whole, cut in half or quarter large ones leaving an eye to grow roots.

Propagate:
It's easy to start crops from seed. Simply read the back of the seed packages for detailed instructions. Radishes can reach maturity in twenty days. Be sure to save some seeds for a sequence of early and mid season crops.

Watering / Fertilizing:
Add nitrogen organically by top dressing with compost, worm castings, kelp, or cotton seed meal. Don't over water as it leads to root rot.

Pests:
Aphids, beetles, grubs and worms, blights, mildew, and damping off are some of the pests and diseases that can do quite a bit of damage to your crops. Here are ways you can rid these pests naturally. Buy certified seed potatoes which are disease free. Rotate crops to reduce both pests and disease. Purchase live lady bugs if aphids are a problem, Mulching prevents ground insects from getting to roots and chickens will not only produce eggs, but allowing them to roam freely will eat up the insects.

For Fun:
An easy, no dig, way to produce your potato crop is to use towers. Planting above ground makes harvest time easy by simply opening the fence or turning the tower upside down. Almost anything can be used: large grow pots, poultry fencing, bamboo screens, even trash bags or a trash can. Drainage holes must be added. Simply alternate layers of compost, straw and manure then plant your various seed potato varieties.

Consider a different tower for each variety. Kids get creative with potato stamps. Cut a potato in half, draw a shape, cut away the outside leaving about 1/2 inch and use the shape with ink pads to produce designs.

Monday Morning at Lichgate

2011-01-03T20:42:00.001-05:00

Greetings and happy new year! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is looking forward to a productive new year. It was cold this morning and I brought my girls with me since school does not start until Tuesday. The garden is looking lush and I saw the first broccoli heads today. My good friend Mike Odum came and helped out while his two kids played with mine. We planted onions and garlic and cut back the bolting red leaf lettuce. Our kids labeled all the garden bed signs with chalk. We raked and mulched and watered and then called it a day. On Wednesday I came back before it rained and harvested some arugula and parsley then went to Oliver's garden and harvested lots of the Asian greens and Swiss chard. After bagging up and labeling all the produce I dropped it off at Bread and Roses. Looking forward to more gardening endeavors this year.

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Salvation Army Garden Report - 1-01-2011

2011-01-01T12:28:00.001-05:00

Hello All-

Happy New Year! We are looking forward to 2011 at the Salvation Army garden. Right now we are growing a variety of carrots, beets, onions, cabbages and lettuces. We also have collards, chard, kale, garlic, artichokes, strawberries, spinach, blueberry bushes, sugarcane and some beautiful broccoli growing right now. This is all thanks to Ghazvini learning center where we worked with Gale Albritton and students to start seeds, a very generous plant donation from Espositos Nursery, a large compost donation in the beginning of the season, an irrigation donation and all of our wonderful volunteers. Thank you to everyone who has been a part!

We will be setting a weekly work day this semester so stay tuned! We appreciate everyone's hard work and generosity more than words can explain.

See you in the garden!

Frenchtown Garden Report - 12-23-10

2010-12-23T20:21:00.001-05:00

Hello All,

Welcome to the Christmas edition of the garden report. We had a great day in the garden. My kids came along with me and Sandrea, Tiara, Jason, Heaven, and Diamond were also there. Our friend Connie Betterly, with the State Health Dept. and who helped get our garden started, came by with her big doggie to bring me a seed catalog. She hadn't seen the garden in awhile and was impressed with our beautiful veggies.

We started off by harvesting about a pound of lettuce and arugula and two pounds of greens - mustard, kale, and collards. My kids and I walked it over to Project Annie's place down the street. For those who may not know, Project Annie prepares a meal on Christmas for some of Tallahassee's less fortunate citizens. Hopefully, they will enjoy our freshly picked produce grown with love.

After that, I busted out my guitar and we sang Christmas Carols! The kids had a good time.

I have some very exciting news to share. Will Allen of Growing Power in Milwaukee is coming to town! The FAMU Small Farms Program was able to set it up. He will be here January 8th and will be holding an all day workshop at FAMU's Viticulture Center on Mahan Drive (near Mahan and I-10). The workshop will cost $60 but that is well worth the chance to see this MacArthur Genius Grant recipient in person. For those of you who aren't very familiar with Will or Growing Power, check out the Growing Power website and/or Nathan Ballentine's blog. Will Allen is truly a hero in the urban ag, local food movement.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday.

Mark

Lichgate Garden Report - 12/20/2010

2010-12-20T21:05:00.008-05:00

A quick glance at Lichgate gardens today!
Thanks Emily and Susi for coming out and helping to sow some seeds.
-Mary

Frenchtown Garden Report - 12-16-10

2010-12-16T20:37:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

It was a nice, relatively warm day in the garden. There weren't many kids at the rec center but Sandrea, one of my very favorites, hung out with me in the garden and I played some football with Jason, Alfonso, Malik, and some of the older boys.

Sandrea and I raked up all the leaves from the pecan and mulberry trees and hauled them to the garden. We mulched some of the pathways with the leaves. Sandrea and I also munched on our delicious lettuces. We made a mix of each different variety. I added arugula and Sandrea added sorrel.

The only plants that have not liked the cool weather are the chard and kumquat tree, which I forgot to cover. Everything else looks great.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Wintery Monday Morning 12/13/10

2010-12-13T20:24:00.000-05:00

Greetings friends! Hope everyone is staying warm out there. It looks like the peppers finally froze, but I left them in the ground since the end of this week will be in the 70's! Also, I planted the remaining broccoli's in the ground below the wilted peppers. Everything got watered,and the fruit trees mulched and tucked in. Lichgate is looking pretty sweet considering how cold it has been. I put in a few hours at The Magnolia School getting their edible schoolyard looking good and putting the remaining starts in the ground. Although there were no volunteers today, I won't take it personally since it was such a cold Monday during the holiday season. I know the new year will be prosperous for Lichgate and Damayan. Thanks to all who supported the Damayan Garden Project at the Alternative Christmas Fair. Sending warm wishes for all....Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 12-9-10

2010-12-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

I hope everyone is staying warm. A few things in the garden - peppers and some pretty flowers that Nancy gave us awhile back - had their last days this week. Our little kumquat tree has some signs of cold damage as well. I'll have to cover it up next time I guess. But everything else looks great.

Today the main event was a feast of salad. I brought some carrots, cheese, and ranch dressing and we harvested about a pound of our beautiful leaf lettuces (these are the lettuces that were donated by O'Tooles Herb Farm in Madison - thank you, thank you). I had help from Sandrea, Dericka, Tarisha, Simone, Ashawn, Mickey, and Quinn. Mickey is a friend who hasn't been by in awhile because he's been busy with Quinn, his 11-month-old baby boy. After helping with washing lettuce and shredding cheese, the kids tore up the salad. Although the ranch dressing may have been their favorite part, they had a lot more veggies than dressing. I had to gaurd that bottle of dressing because they would have eaten it all. Quinn ate the lettuce plain and he sure seemed to like it.

After our feast, we hung out on the basketball court and I played basketball with Ashawn. He beat me. Marcus also came by and shot the breeze while I planted some parsley and cilantro plants donated by Katie and Aaron from Full Earth Farm. Thanks, you two.

Have a great weekend. Stay warm.

Mark

Monday Morning 12/6/10

2010-12-06T16:21:00.017-05:00

Brrr! Winter has finally made it here to Lichgate. I noticed the eggplant first because they were all wilted. I was not expecting any volunteers since it is final exam week and freezing but, Megan showed up ready to work. We started off heating up the cottage and doing some stretching on the 300 year old floors. Then we decided that we needed to get all the starts in the ground that we had before going to get more from Esposito's Nursery. So, we created the first butterfly shaped garden bed in the Shakespeare garden. If anyone goes to Lichgate to check it out remember it is still being developed. Each week I plan to improve that area and plant more and more plants that Shakespeare mentions in his plays. I also wanted to mention that we harvested herbs and produce from Lichgate and from Oliver's garden last Wednesday and brought the produce to Bread & Roses for sale. We will try to do this every other week until we have enough produce to go every week and we may also try to start going to the farmers market at Lake Ella on Wednesdays. Thanks for everyone who supports Lichgate and Damayan gardens.

Mary Rault, Garden Manager at Lichgate

Frenchtown Garden Report - 12-2-10

2010-12-02T20:25:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

Can you believe it's December already?! The weather sure feels like it. Thanks to everyone who has been emailing and asking if the garden was OK. It is cold but that is why you plant with the seasons. Everything we have in the garden should do just fine through the winter - freezes and all.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving last week. I also hope that one of the things you were thankful for were farmers that worked hard to grow all that food you put down. And unless you were fortunate enough to have purchased all your food right from the farmer, I hope you were thankful for all the folks involved in getting that food from the farmer to your kitchen. It's pretty amazing, isn't it?

Today at the garden I spent the first half hour or so playing with the kids on the playground. I played on the swings and pushed some of the kids. We talked about how everyone's Thanksgiving went, what we ate, how Aunt so and so's turkey was dry, and our favorite dishes. Mine is sweet potato casserole and pecan pie. Yummy!

After playing, Sandrea, Titi, and I inspected the garden and nibbled on some lettuces, mustards, arugula, mint leaves, and sorrel. Sorrel was definitely the favorite of all of those. Sandrea made a horrible face when she crunched into the arugula, but she sounded cute as a button saying "arugula." Once some of the other kids - Simone, Dericka, and Ashawn - found out about the sorrel (a.k.a. sour or candy leaf in Frenchtown) they all came and nibbled it down. Fortunately it grows well all year long without any help. I guess that's why most folks call it a weed.

The kids helped me plant some more radish and carrot seed. The radishes replaced the ones that got picked the last couple of weeks and we planted the carrots in the gaps where the last batch didn't sprout. Titi, Sandrea, and Chris, a new friend, planted some lettuce and spinach seed in seed trays to take home.

As we were planting their seeds, Lauren showed up with a gang of FSU students. Nine students in all came and I was almost done. Fortunately the mulberry tree continues to give a lot of us something to do. Some of the FSU girls were cold so I had them use the saw. Not only did it warm them up but one girl said it gave her arm a pretty good workout. We took care of it right quick with all of those helpers. Unfortunately, the semester is almost over and I won't see any more FSU volunteers until 2011. I want to give a special shout out to Lauren, who was The Center coordinator the last two semesters. She is studying abroad next semester in Panama so won't be able to partake in the garden. She has been a very dedicated volunteer and we'll miss seeing her smiling face (she even smiles when she shows up alone in the summer when it's in the 100's). I told her to try to grow a garden in Panama.

This seems like a long post, so I'll end it here and say that I hope some of you all can make it out to the Alternative Christmas fairs going on. Damayan will be in attendance so stop by and say hello and get some really adorable, cute, crafty okra angels. A decoration every gardener should have on their tree. See Mary's post for a website with more information.

Mark

Monday Crafting Continues

2010-11-29T16:20:00.001-05:00

Hello! It was a great day to craft with a chance of showers all day and a slight chill in the air. I got the cottage all cozy and set the crafts up to make okra angels and fairies. After making about 30 or so with Megan, Becca, Emily, Susi and Daniel I decided to get a few more lettuce starts in the ground. After watering those in, Daniel and I cleaned up the craft table and swept up as much as the glitter as we could. I headed over to Oliver's garden to see the progress happening there. Looks like Wens. will be another big harvest day for Oliver's and Lichgate's garden. Remember that we will bring the produce to Bread & Roses so you can pick up fresh Damayan produce after work! There will be hot peppers, red and green lettuce, herbs, Swiss chard, and asian greens too! As an alternative to shopping where the masses are stop by the Alternative Christmas Market this weekend. For location and time go to: alternativechristmasmarketjwc.com

Love and Light,

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Monday Craft Thyme 11/22/2010

2010-11-22T19:51:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! We were crafty this morning. Megan, Emily, Susi and myself set up a table in front of the cottage and ran an extension cord for our hot glue guns. We were making Okra angels and ornaments and also seed envelopes to put the seeds we have collected. It is fun to see all the different ideas everyone has with Okra. Thank you to Becca for helping to clean up all the crafts. The garden did get watered and is looking lush and vibrant after this rain. I used some of the greens, herbs and flowers to make a salad for Magnolia School Thanksgiving Potluck Feast.
I must have seen the Lichgate hawk 4 times today! She probably is enjoying this fine weather as much as I am. We will be crafting again Sunday Nov.28th (9-1) and Monday Nov. 29th (9-2). Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 11-18-10

2010-11-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

There was quite the crew in the garden today. For some reason, there weren't many children at the center today so it was a mostly over 18 crew. Robbie and Adam were there first and began helping me continue the crusade against the too-much-shade-bearing mulberry tree. The kids on the basketball court enjoyed watching the big branches come down.

Lauren brought a big group from FSU's "The Center". There was Lauren, Rebecca, and six other FSU students whose names I cannot recall right now. But they helped mulch, carry mulberry limbs up to the side of the road, and plant garlic. When I pulled out the garlic and told everyone we were going to plant it, they were all shocked to find out you just break apart a head of garlic and plant the cloves. I showed two girls how to plant the garlic and one of them turned around and said "Huh, it's so easy."

All of our plantings are looking good - turnip greens, mustard greens, radishes, broccoli, collards, chard, kale, lettuce. The transplants donated from O'Toole's have taken hold and look great.

We harvested a bunch of greens for Ms. D, one of the supervisors at the community center. I had the big group of volunteers take it in for her. She enjoyed it very much and we then found out that today is her birthday! Happy Birthday Ms. D!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving week.

Mark

p.s. The family and I will be talking up Damayan and Cornerstone Learning Community at the Cat in the Hat event being put on by WFSU and PBS on Saturday from 10-1. It sounds like great fun. The Cat in the Hat is going to be there!

Monday Afternoon 11/15/2010

2010-11-15T22:13:00.003-05:00

Greetings everyone! I want to apologize for not being at Lichgate this morning. Hopefully my absence will not discourage anyone from volunteering this next Monday or in the future. I was able to finish our compost fence and fertilize before meeting with some ladies from the Health Department. They seemed impressed with our efforts and all the hard work everyone has put into Lichgate and the other gardens around town is not going unnoticed. I noticed new plants in the Shakespere garden and the steel edging that will be our future walking paths were laid down this weekend. Also, thanks for whomever donated some starts to Lichgate--was that you Mark?
Just as I am learning to be a blogger so too are people coming out from all walks of life to learn how to grow food. Lichgate gardens and Damayan gardens around town are the perfect places to learn all about gardening. All of the garden managers are patient, open minded and have some experience so when you are volunteering please pick our brains and remember we are learning too! Thanks to Mother Earth for the much needed watering. Can you do that again on Friday?

Mary Rault, Lichgate garden Manager

Live the Life you Love and Love the Life you Live.

Frenchtown Garden Report - 11-11-10

2010-11-11T20:36:00.001-05:00

Hello All,

Happy Veteran's Day! I was able to enjoy the parade today with my kids and it was fun. Thank you to all those out there that served and thanks to all families and friends of veterans who support them.

I went to the garden with my kids today, not sure if folks were going to be there. There was a family having a bar-b-que at the center and their kids played with mine on the playground. I worked away in the garden. I planted a whole bunch of lettuce, collard, broccoli, kale, turnip, mustard, and swiss chard starts that were donated by a lovely Ms. B O'Toole from O'Toole's Herb Farm near Madison. She called me up the other day and said she was going to leave me some plants at Native Nurseries to pick up. When I got there it was like Christmas. There were 6 flats of plants! The lettuces are far along enough that we'll be able to have a salad at the garden next week. The mature plants really make the garden look good as our seeds slowly sprout and grow.

Hope some of you can make it to Lichgate Saturday to help install the new garden area there. The plan is to be there from 9-12.

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Monday Morning at Lichgate 11-8-2010

2010-11-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

   Greetings friends! We had big time volunteer turn out this morning. The total count was 16 throughout the day! This is what we got accomplished: Created a new composting area, made new strawberry beds, planted lettuce, herbs, artichoke, watered, raked & mulched garden beds, harvested hot peppers, started on arts and craft project for alternative Christmas fair, pulled up lots of smilax tubers and vines and educated volunteers on how to transplant delicate lettuce. Busy, Busy, Busy.
   This Saturday there will be volunteers needed to work on the Shakespeare garden. I will not be present but will be there on Monday morning.
   Thanks to the volunteers at ISA(Indian Student Association),and Chicks and Esposito Nursery for the starts.

Mary Rault, Lichgate Garden Manager

Frenchtown Garden Report - 11-4-10

2010-11-04T19:13:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

It was a little chilly in the garden today. Fall seems to be here for sure and the weather man says winter is already coming - this weekend.

Today we had students from The Center come out - Lauren, of course, Annette, Rebecka, and Kyle. There weren't many kids at the rec center but Alfonso, Miaisha, and Tia hung out with us. While I climbed and chopped the mulberry tree some more, Alfonso helped Kyle and Lauren make some seed furrows and replant our lettuce and spinach patch. Our seeds we planted awhile back never sprouted. I think they were old seed packets that I didn't store correctly - as in the back seat of my truck! We also got some weeding done.

Sky, a friend of ours, dropped off some mini watermelons and the kids helped me out with those. They were the variety with yellow insides, which surprised and concerned the kids. After Tia was brave enough to try it and say it tasted just like a normal watermelon, the rest of the kids joined in. We ate about 4 of the small melons and some of the kids took the rest home. The Center students were also able to take one home.

We also munched on a raw radish but that wasn't as popular as the watermelon.

Have a great week,

Mark

Monday at Lichgate 11/1/2010

2010-11-01T14:57:00.009-04:00

Greetings readers and friends. I made it to the gardens of Lichgate with volunteers awaiting special garden tasks. We had Ann help with raking and Sarah and Bianca help mulch the veg. beds. We also created new strawberry beds and planted elephant garlic. Jessica came out and helped put the newly painted garden labels by each bed to identify what we are growing. Megan helped deweed an especially tough area of the garden before she had to dip off to take a test. And we had a young man, Daniel, come and help us mulch too. The broccoli, herbs, strawberries, cabbages, Swiss chard and cauliflowers all got fertilized. Susi and Emily helped water the various border flowers and perennial garden. They also harvested the endless hot pepper supply. Emily brought the Arugula that did not sell, yet still looked great, at Bread and Roses and 9.50$ we made from last weeks produce drop off. Thanks to all for making that happen. We will meet again this Wens. and harvest what we can from the garden and bring to Bread and Roses to sell again.

Mary Rault

Inhale peace and exhale love

Gardening Guide November 2010 - Lettuce

2010-11-01T07:07:00.006-04:00

Lettuces are one the most common cool weather crops and come in a couple hundred varieties also called edible greens. At their best in cool temperatures before heat make them bitter and bolt they will definitely tolerate light frosts without damage. The Latin name for lettuce is Lactuca sativa because of the milky sap found in wild lettuce which contains lactucarium a substance comparable to opium. Romans were said to eat lettuce to induce sleep, but today’s varieties of lettuce contain insignificant levels of this component. Edible greens can be planted in ornamental beds. The colorful leaves make a beautiful foliage texture against other ornamental plants.

What to Buy / Plant

Succession planting is best as you will have enough to last a few weeks and then more can be seeded and harvested later. Seed is the favored method of planting in soil temperatures of 75 degrees and covered with 1/4 inch light soil or compost. Plant a half inch apart or about 15 seeds per foot. Keep moist. It’s ok to plant in partial sun to protect from the hot noonday temperatures. Seeds will take about 40 days until harvest.

Here are a few varieties for you to enjoy: Arugula has small, flat leaves and peppery taste. Endive is a crisp texture and a slightly bitter in taste. Crisphead like iceburg has large rounded heads, pale color and is the least nutritious. Batavian is crisp and sweet. Bibb also referred to as Butterhead or Boston has a mild flavor and forms a rosette of leaves. Loose Leaf comes in various shades of green to wine and even dappled types. Leaves can be harvested individually leaving some for later. Romaine lettuce has a darker green appearance and is therefore higher in nutrition an excellent source of calcium and vitamins A and C. Watercress or garden cress is prized for its lively flavor and is easily cultivated with the right irrigation. Mâche also known as corn salad, has a mild taste. Raddicchio is like red cabbage used as a highlight in salads because bolder taste and color. Chinese lettuce is robust and can be used in stir fry’s or in salads. Perella-red is an Italian 'heirloom. Sangria has rose leaves and makes an attractive salad of good quality. Tom thumb is small about the size of a fist. Black seed simpson is quick to produce. Lollo rosso a very attractive lettuce, with pink-bronze leaf margins. Mesclun is composed of a variety of tender lettuces. Mizuna has a delicate texture with a spicy kick. Oak leaf is both attractive and has a good eating quality.

Watering / Fertilizing

Fertilize plants with organic fertilizer two weeks after good growth emerges. Be sure to apply fertilizer to soil not to leaves and water well.

Pests

Most varieties have good resistance to pests and disease problems as long as you allow the soil to go through wet and dry cycles. If aphids are seen wash them away with a heavy stream of water.

For Fun

Lettuce can be planted artfully. Outline your bed with a boarder of stone to make shapes such as a heart, peace sign or butterfly and then plant different lettuce varieties inside to make the patterns.

Frenchtown Garden Report - 10-28-10

2010-10-28T08:20:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

Well, we got rained out today but I wanted to give everyone an update as to what's going on. First of all, it's about time we got a good rain! Hopefully, we'll keep getting some on the regular.

Last week I went to Lichgate and helped out with the new expansion there. It was fun. There were some Girl Scouts there that helped us dig trenches and collect roots.

Last Saturday, the Frenchtown Garden was on the New Leaf Farm Tour. We had about 20 folks come by as part of that. In the morning, three college kids came out and helped me plant some seeds. I used most of the time there to keep hacking away at the shade-giving mulberry tree. My buddies Heaven, Diamond, and Ebony came out and they worked hard! They collected and cut up the big branches and then helped me haul them up to the street. It was a lot. We all ate a lunch together. I brought persimmons with me and they just ate them up. They had never even heard of a persimmon before but now they're fans. Heaven was a great tour guide. As people drove up she gave them the introduction "Welcome to the Frenchtown Community Garden" and then showed them around.

I visited some of the farms on Sunday. One of the farms I visited was Green Meadows Blueberry Farm near Monticello. There was a blueberry grower there, the Koons, that I was asking questions of and the Frenchtown Garden came up. As I was leaving, they pulled me aside and told me they really liked that someone was showing kids how to garden and where their food comes from and so they donated two blueberry bushes! It was so nice. We'll be planting those once I get the proper soil amendments - milled pine bark and peat moss.

Monday, Miaisha Mitchell from the Frenchtown Revitalization Council, one of the founders of the Frenchtown Garden, and I spoke to the Whole Child Leon networking lunch about the food environment and growing vegetables with kids. Everyone there loved the idea and we made some good contacts.

Well, that's all. I hope everyone has a spooooky Halloween and enjoys the cool weather this weekend.

Mark

Wednesday Harvest

2010-10-27T20:10:00.000-04:00

Greeting again! Well, there was not enough time in the day on Monday so I came back today to get a few more things planted. Also, I wanted to harvest some radishes, arugula, hot peppers and albino eggplant and bring them over to Bread & Roses Food Co-op. If you have not been there please go check it out. It is also run by volunteers, and local gardeners can bring their produce there on Wens. afternoons. You can find bulk goods and health products and support Damayan Garden Project by purchasing our produce at a really great price! It is located by All Saints Coffee on Railroad Dr.
Damayan Garden Project is very blessed to have so many helpful volunteers. Today we had Emily and Susi come help harvest and bring the produce to Bread and Roses. Emily said she is willing to bring produce from Litchgate and any other Damayan Gardens that have a surplus of produce. If any of those garden managers are interested in this idea please contact Mary at 850-510-9249. Once we get the produce going Emily and Susi might be up for setting up a table at Lake Ella's Farmer's Market on Wednesday. Also, I would love to start a watering schedule at Litchgate. I live in Quincy so can not always water everyday and Mother Nature has not been very reliable in filling in the gaps. However, everything is still surviving. But, I don't want to start any carrot seeds until I have a reliable watering schedule. Anyone who lives nearby or wants to help please get in touch with me. Thanks again and have a safe Halloween. See ya on Monday.

Mary

Monday Morning's with Mary and Friends 10/25/2010

2010-10-25T16:53:00.001-04:00

Greetings everyone and anyone who might read this! What a blessed day to garden. Finally the weather felt like fall except for the humidity but hopefully that just means a bit of rain is coming our way. To ensure the rain, we watered the garden. We got a lot accomplished today: mulched, worked the soil, transplanted swiss/rainbow chard, strawberries, parsley and moved a few plants around to accommodate this next growing season. Also, we got the pomegranate tree in the ground! We had the recent bride and groom swoop through before their honeymoon and tell us how touched they were to see the love in the garden....literally, the heart shaped garden bed and of course all of our strong feminine energy(Come on guys are you gonna represent?).
Thanks to all who volunteered Becca, Ana, Susi and Emily, Lauren and Laurena, Jessica, and the second shifter Emily for coming to Litchgate and learning, growing and sweating with me.

Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.

Mary, Litchgate Garden Manager

Monday Morning with Mary & Friends 10/18/10

2010-10-18T13:06:00.081-04:00

Greeted by yet another cool and foggy day. After a brief introduction to the new volunteers from CHIC, Olivia and Jessica, I did a quick salutation under the oak to center myself and warm up my muscles. After getting everyone set on a task I went and picked up more starts from Esposito's. I returned to lots of busy volunteers making Litchgate look beautiful. Emily and Susi were harvesting and bagging up Arugula and hot peppers, Megan had transplanted snap dragons and yellow violas, Olivia had salvaged many strawberry plants that need to be transplanted and Jessica had tackled an overgrown patch of the garden. I unloaded all the vegetable starts and started to get some beds ready for cauliflower, lettuce and swiss chard. While Jessica and Olivia transplanted the cauliflower and mulched I fertilized all the veggies already in the ground. The first set of volunteers had to leave by noon but luckily two more showed up from CHIC to help, Ryisha and Trisha. After Another brief introduction, I had our new volunteers help conquer the mulch pile. They rocked it out and put a huge dent in that pile, while I put the lettuce and swiss chard in the ground. Thanks to all for coming out and gardening with me! I look forward to next week and all the possibilities it holds.

Love and Light Mary

Monday at Litchgate 10/11/2010

2010-10-15T23:29:00.000-04:00

   This morning I was greeted by thick mystical fog and Micheal Rosen, a friend and local contractor, who is giving us a quote for the new outdoor classroom.   Ideas are still in the works so feel free to share any thoughts about that...maybe possible classroom topics to host, worm bin ideas, better composting practices, or anything at all regarding the outdoor classroom.
   Next, we had all kinds of volunteer participation. First, there was Megan and her boyfriend Grant, who was visiting from out of town. They helped loosen the earth and get some old garden beds ready for some starts. Then came Emily and Susan who warmed up with some Yoga under the great tree and then helped harvest the hot peppers. We all learned about the loofah, and how the get them ready to become sponges. I also want to mention Cristy too. She is one of the flower faeries who helps to maintain the beautiful perennial garden next to the vegetable garden. She shared something special while she was watering about how her mother had heard of the word Damayan from when she lived abroad. Damayan means to help one another!
   I had to run off while the volunteers stayed to work so I could pick up the starts from Espisito's nursery. After looking through their huge greenhouses to choose the plants I returned and started putting them in the beds. I was joined now with my dear friend Christy, who came and lent her artistic talent to help create the heart bed. Becca also came and helped get the brocoli, cauliflower, fennel, parsley, and cilantro in the ground. Thanks to everyone for helping and we always look forward to meeting more volunteers. Tell everyone! Peace Mary Rault, Litchgate Garden Manger