Capital City Organic Gardeners “Lessons Learned” in the garden

1. Capital City Organic Gardeners“Lessons Learned” in the garden June 15, 2011

2. Announcements • CCOG has filed paperwork for 501(c)(3) status • A HUGE thank you to Judy Dickinson!!!!!!!!!!!! • Upon approval we will be able to accept donations and can issue a letter to the donor for tax deduction purposes • July 20th meeting will be at Sycamore Gardens • Refugee families will share their garden insights • Bring a picnic for yourself; NO POTLUCK • Rain date will be the following Wed, July 27th

3. Announcements • If you want to share garden space with a refugee family, let us know and we will connect you with Linden at the Sycamore Garden • Newsletter will be issued the first Wed of each month starting in July, with a meeting reminder issued the second Wed • This month’s raffle = compost starter

4. Announcements • We need to re-do the volunteer sign-ups, they were accidentally lost last month during clean-up • This month’s topic… Lessons Learned in the Organic Garden, presented by several CCOG board members and your input

5. Russell’s Organic Blueberries • Soil testing in July would be perfect to set up the fall fertilizer program; test and determine just what would be best for amending the soil • Look on line at www.lancasterag.com. The products and descriptions are listed, giving you an overview of the company and its philosophy. It's a great company with a great philosophy and products that have been wonderful on our farm • If any of you want to discuss a program, have them call Peter Russell at 344-6913. He is willing to put together an order that would arrive in late August or early September

6. Trellises and FencesEleanor Baron

7. Home made pea trellis

8. Home made pea trellis

9. Wattle Fence

10. Raised BedsJudy Dickinson

11. Raised beds and pea trellis

12. Pea trellis

13. Lasagna GardeningScott Morrison

14. Lasagna Garden Bed • Nov-Dec 2010 preparation • Layers • BOTTOM: Corrugated cardboard boxes (folded box = 2 layers) • MIDDLE: Chopped leaves (about 3”, reduced to about 1” by May 2011 • TOP: Grass chippings (about 8”, reduced to about 2” by May 2011

15. Lasagna Garden Bed Height reduced from about 12” to less than 4” after 6 months Damp grass layer, very moist leaves layer, cardboard wet Earthworms crawling through every level (natural habitat) Nearly zero weeds poking through; what does rise through the top surface is very weak and “leggy”

16. Lasagna Garden Bed Preparing for planting – only dig through where the seeds will be planted Move top surface to side of exposed area but don’t block sunlight Gently turn over and chop up soil, mulched leaves and clippings, and punch through cardboard

17. Lasagna Garden Bed Spread seeds across/along exposed top surface Place compost/dirt on top of seeds and tamp down

18. Lasagna Garden Bed Surface will not be only dirt Lots of grass, branches, and clumps of compost exposed Holds in moisture

19. Measuring ConductivityJohn Harrison

20. Deterring varmints and cats from your gardenLaura Morrison

21. Rabbit manureClaudia Altemus