Master Gardner Class

I started my Master Gardening class last week in St Joe County with Phil Sutton . Its put on by the Purdue Extension . I think I am going to enjoy the class , Phil seems like a no nonsense kind of instructor . While I love trying to be organic when I can its good to know the facts about all sides . Many" organic crazies " as I like to call them take organics to an extreme , and much of the information they have is not based on facts , and sometimes can lead to $ 10 Tomatoes . Our goal at The Unity Gardens is To feed people healthy food , teach the community about the food process , and bring diverse people together .The Class information is based on research done at Purdue which should help me make informed decisions for next years growing season , and help me to instruct others in my Unity Gardens growing class starting in Jan

Artbeat 2010

Thanks to Jessica for organizing , and cooridanating the Unity Gardens table at Artbeat on Saturday it was a great sucess . And a BIG thanks to the Chef Alan , and his crew , and the Volunteers that helped out . We raised money to help supply all the Gardens with everything from hoses to picnic tables . This will help make 2011 a GREAT YEAR !!

A special thanks to Chef Alan Seidler, ACF (American Culinary Federation) member, and he works with kids through the "Chef & Child Foundation " He worked all day over the hot grill making it happen !!
http://www.acfchefs.org/Content/NavigationMenu2/Partnerships/CCF/default.htm

Luau

This weekend we had our Luau a The LaSalle Square Unity Garden . A fundraiser . We did it on pretty short notice ( 6 weeks ) . One thing we have to do is get better at raising money to support the Unity Gardens . We do our best to keep cost down , but everything adds up , Insurance , gas , Tomato cages , and so many little things . So we are trying some different things to raise money . This event went well even though we had lots of rain early during the set-up the sky cleared enough to have a good time . All in All we are happy , and made a few bucks for the gardens . I think we will do it again next year , but bigger , and better . For sure the Portabello Burgers will be back they were a big hit !! We gave alot of garden tours , and had some folks from the neighborhood stop by . A few that had never been to the garden . We also had our regular harvesters stopping by to enjoy the garden .

For me this is sort of a end of the " gardening season " I will start to wind down 2010 , although I will still be planting for a few more weeks its going to be limited to spinach , peas , lettuce , and some radish . I start my master gardening class on Tuesday . Maybe next year I will know what I am doing . I am going to try to force a little down time over the next 2 weeks , then its time to start work on next years projects . I thinks LaSalle Academy wants 40 raised beds , LaSalle Square a Shelter , and educational row , and we are planning to do a gardening series from planning a garden all the way to cooking & canning . So I see a busy winter , spring will be hear all too soon

Hot August Days

Its Hot and dry at the LaSalle Square Unity Garden . We had some visitors that rode over to Harvest .

We also Had a St Marys group over to work in the Garden

Great Job !!

THANKS !!!

New bench for the LaSalle Square Garden

Early this spring a Pastor Lee donated some church pews for garden benches . We got this one painted by Robin Harris this week for LaSalle Square . Just in time for our weekend Fundraiser

This week

This week at the LaSalle Square Unity Garden has been pretty busy we have been spending a lot of time recapturing areas that got overgrown , weeding , and putting down grass clippings in an effort to enhance the soil for next year . We have had many volunteers out this week . Jesus who lives in the Neighborhood comes by everyday to weed . He is awesome with a hoe , and brought us a dish made from weeds ( it was tasty ) A few new guest workers Katie & Rich helped with the weeding , and Mulching . Lareen , and Jessica both garden leaders at other Unity Gardens came out to help , and many others came to work & harvest .

This week we have had plenty of green beans , Mustard's , Zucchini , , and Tomato's to harvest ..

I am trying something new here posting some videos they seem to do a little better at showing the garden than still pics . Next Sat we have our big Luau fundraiser so its going to be a crazy week getting ready for that .

Sharing Shelf & Garden Leaders

What started as a shelf behind the sign at the LaSalle Square Unity Garden to put a few extra goodies on has become alot more . It has become somewhat of a sharing shelf . Folks have started bringing extra stuff from their gardens and dropping it off on the shelf to share with others , and every morning the shelf is empty . Nothing goes to waste . Its pretty cool something so simple as giving away extra veggies instead of letting them go to waste .

Over the next month or so we are going to interview all of our garden leaders , and post it on the blog . The Garden Leaders are the Backbone of what makes the gardens work . The are people who wanted to start gardens , grow healthy food ,and share with others . They come from all walks of life , and do it for many reasons . They come to us for a little support . We tray to give them what they need to get started , and keep the garden , but they are the ones doing all the hard work , and they are the ones with the vision for their garden . So look for the interveiws coming soon .

My Sunday Off

Decided to take the day out of the garden today . Just go early and turn on some water , then come back later & turn it off . Well oops . Its a little addictive with so much to do . So I got the sprinklers going about 7:15 then Made a raised bed around one of our signs to keep the weeds down , and planted some lettuce in it . Next year I think I will fill it with Mint . Next I moved the sprinklers , and went to Walmart to pick-up up a load of broken bags of potting soil . I will save that for next years seeds starting . Went back to the garden moved the sprinklers ,weeded and mulched around the new zucchini . Spoke with a man who dropped off some things from his garden for us to give away . I had about 20 people through the garden , a slow day

I guess thats enough for my day off its 2:30 where did the day go .

Another Great Week

Another great week at the LaSalle Square Unity Garden , and for The Unity Gardens . We continue have a steady flow of people out to visit the garden , ( The word is out !! ) I have to admit the week started off a little rough . Feeling a bit disorganized Rain , a little fungus in my tomatoes , and lots of weeds . I was feeling a little overwhelmed on Tuesday ( my Birthday ) I was at the garden early . It was wet , hot , and humid , so I finally gave up , and went off to do some errands . A little later when I got back there was a donation of several stacks of newspapers . This was important because I am trying to get a handle on the weeds so newspaper to put under my Mulch was awesome . A little later a few ladies stopped by , and gave me $5 to buy seeds . It reminded me that we are doing something good here . The neighbors notice , and they want & need these gardens . So a few rough days will not bother me too much . We have random weeders stopping by , and small donations . It is truly becoming a part of the community , and I could not do it without the help of everyone involved .

So another great week . Still planting ...Still feeding people

Luau

Check our event page for Luau Info

August , and Fundraiser

As we move into August the its alot about keeping my head down and attacking the weeds with a vengence . Its also a time to reflect on what worked well in the garden , and what needs to happen next year . It is also time to make a final run at growing fall crops . We are putting in as much as we can . Peas , Greens , Collards , Green bean , Lettuce , Kale , and a few others . Hoping for a long growing season so we can feed more .

We are doing a cookout fund raiser on August 21st at the LaSalle Square Garden . click the events tab above for more info .

Every day at the garden is a blessing . Some many people stop by for food . Some days as many as 50 people stop by . Everyday I think we have no more food , but we tour the garden and find a little something for everyone . I will be sad to see the season come to an end so I will do what I can do to extend it . Weeding , planting , and enjoy the outdoors