This is my best garden ever. I got the kale, collard greens and cabbage from our local organic grocers. They sell sprouts cultivated by a fabulous guy named Farmer John. John is a gentleman who must be quite up in years, but even though you can tell that he's senior, he has an energy and a disposition that is absolutely magnetic. I got the tomatoes and echanacea from Michael Walker, across the street. Photo below:
Michael has lots of sprouts growing around his house. I have some seeds sprouting myself: tomatillo and carrot, sweet pepper and daikon radish. I want to make some salsa verde with the tomatillos. The potatoes I planted are growing wild! They have beautiful green leaves and look like healthy potatoes must be beneath the soil. The garden comes to life when I water it. I have soaker hoses that Ron Chandler gave many of us some time ago, when he had a little class on water and how best to use it in your garden. He explained to us how so much water evaporates when you use a sprinkler. The soaker hoses use less water and are more efficient with the fraction of the water they use. I forgot to mention that I have some broccoli, mustard greens and a little lemon tree. I am afraid the lemon tree might not make it, though. It got damaged in the freezes we had this winter. The garden as a whole is wonderful this season. There are raised beds, unique planting arrangements and new people who are just marvelous to get to know. Stay tuned!…
in us on Saturday, August 15th from 8:00 am - 10:30 am. Volunteers can bring: shovels, rakes, clippers, wheelbarrows or just themselves with some water and sunscreen. We are also looking for volunteers with trucks to haul debris away to the dump. Any help is greatly appreciated! Any questions, please contact Joann Ruiz at joann@stmargaretmary.org or at 321-356-0989.
GREAT NEWS! WE HAVE RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE WINTER PARK HEALTH FOUNDATION TO BUILD A COMMUNITY GARDEN AT THE DEPUGH NURSING CENTER AT 550 MORSE BLVD IN WINTER PARK. OUR FIRST COMMUNITY WORK DAY TO CLEAR THE SPACE FOR BUILDING THE GARDEN WILL BE ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 15 FROM 8:00 AM TO 10:30 AM. ALL ARE INVITED TO VOLUNTEER IN THIS COMMUNITY EFFORT TO BEAUTIFY OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG FOLKS TO EARN COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS FOR THEIR CHURCH OR SCHOOL PROJECTS. VOLUNTEERS CAN BRING: SHOVELS, RAKES, CLIPPERS, WHEELBARROWS OR JUST THEMSELVES WITH SOME WATER AND SUNSCREEN. WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS WITH TRUCKS TO HAUL DEBRIS AWAY WHEN ITS OVER. ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL WORK DAYS OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS TO ASSIST WITH BUILDING OF THE GARDEN. THE PROJECTED COMPLETION DATE IS THE END OF THIS YEAR.…
in Melbourne on July 4th weekend for a housewarming. But, I could come up to McRorie Garden any day of the July 4th weekend except the 5th, which is the day of the housewarming.
This is going to be great! I predict we'll all want to change the way we irrigate after your talk!
Regards,
Mike…
I went to the garden tonight. What a good time! So many nice things happened. I rode up at dusk and found the garden drenched in the light of the sunset. My mission tonight…
irst time in weeks, it's both warm and dry. The sun is shining. You can click the photo above and see the album I made of the McRorie Community Garden and all the people there. It's such a lovely place...
Here you go. Click this video and listen to some music from Willie Nelson...about the beauty of the outdoors. Take a little tour of the garden with me...
This is Sh'mal, the day I met him. We had a great chat. He was waiting for some friends to come and hand over to them his patch. He was preparing to move to Seattle to be closer to his family. Well, the friends never showed up. Sh'mal gave me his patch, and that's where all this began: gardening at McRorie and Zoobird!
That's Blake, and some potatoes he grew in the rich soil of his patch next to mine. Bob and Blake both tried growing potatoes in old tires. That's the photo you see in profiles where people haven't yet uploaded a personal photo. They grow pretty well in old, stacked tires, believe it or not.
These, my friends, are loofahs. If you can believe that! Sh'mal wound up taking them to St Francis House, right down the street a couple of blocks, so they could be enjoyed as a meal. Well, I labeled them "Super Zucchinis", but as I remember, they are loofah's.
That's Ron Chandler in the photo above. He gave a water conservatin class one day at McRorie Community Garden for all of us. In fact, he gave all of us the black soaker hoses you see in many patches in the garden. He taught us that soaker hoses are an efficient way to irrigate.
That's Danielle's dog "Chocolate" in the photo above. Danielle introduced me to the McRorie Community Garden the first day I discovered it. She was chasing her dogs and stopped to explain what community gardening was to me. I was riding by on my vintage Dawes Galaxy bike, the only bike that survived from my college days, looking for the Hawthorne Trail. I happened upon the garden. Just lucky, I guess.
The Tibetan prayer flags were the first sign that it was a good place with peaceful energy.
Well, you know, I am having such a good time reminiscing that the time is marching by. It's time to head to the garden and be in the sunshine! Hope to see you there!…