"The Dog Ate My Blog"...well, that's as good of an excuse
as any. Truly, we had written a beautiful, newsy blog several weeks ago,
walked away from the computer and found it completely disappeared when
we came back. ARRGH. Takes the wind out of our blogger-sails, it does!
So, here are the basics of what's happening with the Alpine/Monroe
Sharing Gardens.
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| This hoop greenhouse is the same size and style as the one we will be building for the Sharing Gardens |
Greenhouse
We
are pulling together the support and materials necessary to build a 20'
x 96' greenhouse. Chris has been building and managing greenhouses for
over 30 years. We will be using a simple hoop-house design (pictured).
If you are interested in learning how to build this style of greenhouse,
or manage a nursery, let us know so we can keep you informed of
volunteer sessions. Having a greenhouse of this size will extend the
growing season of tomatoes and peppers by as much as three months (they
will ripen earlier and continue later in the season). We will be able to
grow enough "starts" for the gardens, for fund raisers and to give away
at the food bank. We are grateful to Dorothy and Gary at Alpine Pump
for providing us with hundreds of feet of used well-pipe for use in
construction. We also have a donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) who
has provided all of the 30-foot lengths of re-bar we'll be using for the
greenhouse ribs. We are seeking funding for materials and stipend
through several granting sources. All donations are tax-deductible.
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| Tomatoes, purple, yellow and green beans and a cucumber on their way to the food bank. |
Harvest Heaven
In
spite of a cold, wet spring, difficulties in getting our new
garden-site sufficiently plowed, growing the majority of our "starts"
out of an 8' x 8' greenhouse (thank-you Estell/Kreths!), the
Sharing Gardens have
had a remarkably productive second year. We kept a bathroom scale at
the Monroe garden and kept a rough tally of the harvest as we delivered
it to the food-bank next door. The gardens still have a week or two to
go but here are just a few highlights of this year's harvest:
Tomatoes:
1,210 pounds (thank you Steve Rose and Larry Hammon for donating so
many of the 200 tomatoes we planted this year.) Organic, heirloom
tomatoes are selling for $4 to $5 a pound in our area.
Cucumbers: 575 pounds
String Beans: 220 pounds
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| "Moonglow" tomatoes - an heirloom variety |
There
were some crops that didn't do as well as we'd hoped. We planted four
different corn crops at the Monroe garden and the crows ate the
sprouting seeds for all but one crop that we had sprouted in the
greenhouse and transplanted. We had high hopes for the potato crop as we
had carefully "chitted" such a huge quantity of seed-potatoes. The time
came when we just couldn't wait to put them in the ground any longer
but the ground was still so wet and heavy. We'll need a different
strategy on both crops in 2011.
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| A happy harvester, picking out his pumpkin |
Community Celebration:
Every
third Thursday, the United Methodist Church hosts a free dinner open
to everyone who would like to attend. Cash donations are welcome (though
not required) and, side dishes/desserts are always appreciated. Please
come join us for a harvest celebration and meet neighbors you never knew
you had! Food Bank is from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The Community Dinner begins
at 6:00 pm in the basement of the United Methodist Church: 648
Orchard St., Monroe, OR 97456
Gallery of Givers:
Our volunteer team has been wonderful this year. We truly could not
have done it without them. Here are some faces of some of those who have
been willing to get their hands dirty, showed up week after week -
regardless of weather, and sometimes arriving as early as 8:30 in the
morning to be sure the harvest was in, in time for the food-bank's
opening. We are also so grateful to all the behind-the-scenes support we
have received through grants, donations and kind words spurring us on.
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| Rann and Doreen in the bean tipi |
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| Steve N. watering the transplants |
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| Llyn's mom, Judy, harvesting tomatoes |
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| Jim and Norma harvesting beans |
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| Rann and Bruce fertilizing the plants |
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| Ryan and Cindy in the raspberry patch |
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| Dustin, Lexi, Llyn and Dylan in the bean patch |
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| The Mulch Brigade! |
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| Harvest morning in Monroe |
