The Giving is Growing - Peak Moment Video

 Here's a beautiful video about the Sharing Gardens, just released by our friends at Peak Moment TV. Filmed in July 2013 with the garden's bounty as backdrop, we explore the philosophy that is at the root of the gardens: simple-living, gratitude and giving without accounting. Enjoy!

Our deepest gratitude goes out to all of you who have supported this project in any way, from distant well-wishers to those of you locals, rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands in the dirt side-by side! All of us together have made this expression of 'sharing' possible.

Here's the video (watch it here on our site by clicking on the image below, or click the icon in lower right-hand corner of image to view on YouTube):

 To watch it on the Peak Moment site, or view their other excellent programs, Click Here.

If you've enjoyed it, and feel so inclined, please pass it along to your network of friends and family. Much love, Llyn and Chris - The Sharing Gardens

Part of our massive beet harvest - 2013

Putting Down Roots--The Sharing Gardens Has a Permanent Home!

Chervena Chuska sweet peppers

Hello friends and supporters of the Sharing Gardens, near and far -

We realize it's been literally months since we've posted anything new on our site. So much great stuff has been happening that we've been feeling too overwhelmed to write! What follows is the really big news. We promise we'll fill in details and share photos and highlights from the 2013 growing season as soon as we can, but for now...

The most exciting development is that we're buying the land we've been gardening on for the past four years in Monroe! The property is about three and half acres (we've been growing food on about 2/3 of an acre up till now). It has two existing sheds and a farmhouse built in 1875 (it's the second oldest house in Monroe). There's a deep, strong well that produces delicious abundant water and an artesian spring that brings water right to the surface. The farmhouse is two-stories high and will need a lot of work (it's been unoccupied for about seven years and heavily vandalized.) But it's "bones" are solid and it's got great soul. We've already begun renovations and it's going to be a sweet place to live.

The 1875 farmhouse.

Back side of farmhouse

The majority of the land has been pasture/grass. Now that we know we can stay, we're preparing ground to put in fruit and nut trees and berry bushes. Our local friend and supporter, David Crosby (not the rock star!) has been helping us find nursery stock to get us going. Eugene Wholesale Nursery is providing us with 33 trees, 6' to 8' tall (apples, pears and plums) at three dollars apiece! They're the "seconds" so some may be shaped a little funny till we get them pruned up right. David has also helped us connect with Fall Creek Nursery who specializes in blueberries. These folks have made an outright donation of three dozen bushes, specially selected for our growing conditions (that will be three, fifty-foot rows). We also want to plant figs and seedless grapes. Please let us know if you have a lead on where we can get some cuttings locally and we'll root a bunch to share. (Please see our complete wish list to see how your cast-offs can become Sharing Gardens treasures.)

Most of the original square nails are still holding the farmhouse together!

Some of the plans for the land are still developing... There's a low part of the land that might be perfect to grow cane-willow (for basket weaving) and bamboo (for various purposes). Our neighbor has been encouraging the native Camus lily to re-establish itself on his wetlands and we too want to encourage native species to regain a foothold. We've started a hedgerow of Rosa Rugosa - which will provide giant rosehips for both humans and wildlife and we've managed to establish five American chestnuts (endangered on the East coast). Chestnuts also provide food for people and our animal friends.

Tree planting--a sign of hope.

We are very grateful to the Crowson family (the previous owners of the land). Chester (the patriarch of the clan) was the one we first approached about using the land for free. He really loved our project and gave us his full support--even paying to have a new pump installed in the well and paying the power-bill to keep the pump running for these past four seasons. When he passed away in the winter of 2012 we were a bit anxious about whether we would be allowed to stay but his grown children were happy to carry on with the original agreement. We always knew that the land was for sale and that, if it ever sold that we would have to leave at the end of that year's growing season. That's why we never planted fruit trees or invested much in permanent improvements to the land or buildings.

At first, when oldest son, Jerry Crowson told us that the family had to get serious about selling the land, our hearts just fell. The original asking price was way beyond anything we could afford. But then he told us that they were dropping it by about 2/3 and it suddenly was within our means! Much thanks too to Llyn's Dad, Bob Peabody who made the finances available for us to purchase the land.

Sunny days in the bean patch

Now we can really put down roots and expand our rural arts school--offering hands on, practical experience in growing food organically, canning and other forms of food preservation, vegetarian cooking, basket-weaving and all the other aspects of our Mission Statement. The Sharing Gardens will continue to thrive and grow providing a common-ground gathering place dedicated to the cultivation of generosity.

A great year for carrots...and kids!

Thank you for all your support and help to encourage us along the way.

Tomatoes and Peppers - Last weekend!

Tomatoes in our new greenhouse - 2013

This is the last Saturday (May 25) to come pick-up tomatoes and peppers at the Sharing gardens from 9:00 to 11:30.  There are still over 100 left but there are other "sharing"-type gardens we'll be passing the surplus along to after this weekend.

It may still be early to put these heat-loving plants into the ground. We recommend you keep an eye on the weather and if there's a frost-threat bring them back inside at night or cover them with buckets, boxes or some other protection. We won't have replacements if these get frosted. Local wisdom suggests waiting until Mary's Peak is snow-free, or after Memorial Day (whichever is later).

We always like to provide free 'starts' to those in need, but if you've already budgeted money to buy starts from the store, consider making a donation to our project instead. You'll have some of the healthiest, robust, organic 'starts' available. The funds we receive all go towards keeping this vital, local project thriving.

Please continue to bring your six-packs, flats and small, square pots for us to re-use. We don't need any hanging baskets or round pots.

Garden location: LINK

Tomatoes and Peppers are ready!

The Sharing Gardens is happy to announce that we have beautiful, healthy, heirloom tomatoes and peppers (grown mostly from our own seed) available these next two Saturdays (May 18 and 25) from 9:00 to 11:30.

It may still be early to put these heat-loving plants into the ground. We recommend you keep an eye on the weather and if there's a frost-threat bring them back inside at night or cover them with buckets, boxes or some other protection. We won't have replacements if these get frosted. Local wisdom suggests waiting until Mary's Peak is snow-free, or after Memorial Day (whichever is later).

We always like to provide free 'starts' to those in need, but if you've already budgeted money to buy starts from the store, consider making a donation to our project instead. You'll have some of the healthiest, robust, organic 'starts' available. The funds we receive all go towards keeping this vital, local project thriving.

Please continue to bring your six-packs, flats and small, square pots for us to re-use. We don't need any hanging baskets or round pots.

Garden location: LINK

Gallery of Givers - Spring 2013

Thank God for the children!

So much to be thankful for! The abundance just keeps multiplying. Here is a gallery showing many of the ways that support for the Sharing Gardens continues to grow.

Our Spring Plant Giveaway and Fun-d Raiser has been very successful, bringing in close to $200 so far. We still have some plants left so come on down on Saturday morning for lettuce, cabbage and kale. We've got about 500 heirloom tomato plants started (mostly from our own seed) and many peppers and flowers. They'll be ready for pick-up in early June so get your garden plots ready!

We're grateful to our neighbor Rick Fielder who's been keeping us supplied with grass clippings, and David Crosby, the Dillards and George and Irene for massive leaf donations.As readers know, we mow the leaves and grass together and use the combination to increase fertility in the gardens. LINK

Mark Frystak heard our impassioned plea for straw and spoiled hay and used his networking skills (and massive dump truck) to bring us over three tons! That's Chris pulling flakes off an 800 lb. bale!

Lynne and Mike Miller and Lynne's  mom Pat Gray brought us three truckloads of straw mixed with sheep manure...

...and several boxes of seed potatoes ready for planting. We have extra now, so come on by if you need some.

Here are just some of the leaves donated by David Crosby.

Chris tilled the leaves into the ground using David C's tractor.

Here's about 2/3 of the new 80' x 100' garden space. The leaves were tilled in in late February. In two months time, they've had time to compost into the soil and grass has grown back to make comfortable walking paths.

For the second year in a row we've received a generous cash donation from the OSU Folk Thrift Shop in Corvallis. Please stop by and patronize them when you're in town. Their store (originally run by the wives of faculty at OSU) raises thousands of dollars for local service-projects such as ours. LINK to their history and website.

We were blessed to have four OSU students come for four hours on April 20th for a service-learning project. They were great helpers and moved the project forward in several areas:

Brianna and Whitney mulching the potatoes just planted.

Brianna, Whitney and Llyn transplanting Red Iceberg lettuce. The straw makes it so pleasant to be on our knees!

Amanda and Chris loading straw.

Chris and Amanda forming a mulch caravan! Donated leaves in the foreground and compost bins made of pallets in the background.

Justin spreads the mulch in our tomato patch. "Justin time!"

Whitney and Brianna tying tomato cages to baling twine so they don't fall over.

Brianna and Whitney tying up bamboo for a pole-bean trellis.

We've had steady help from our core volunteers (now called "share-givers"!) in the new season. We've just now begun to have regular hours in the garden each week. If you'd like to come join us, CLICK HERE.

Christine is one of the first people we met when we moved to the area in 2008. She's become a close friend and walking buddy of Llyn's and we always look forward to having her in the garden.

It's been great watching Kaitlynn grow. She's always such a cheerful, willing spirit! This is her third year in the gardens.

Shelby (on the right) brought her friend Melissa to help mulch the garlic. Melissa's sweet girl Lily supervises.

Shelby's partner Kurtis loves to work up a sweat! We appreciate his gentle, serving nature.

Boys love to dig in the dirt! Here David is showing Austin (one of our newest friends) how to prepare the soil for tomatoes by digging in rabbit manure.

Jim and Cindy Kitchen mulching the NE garden beds. These guys drive an hour round-trip each week, from Corvallis, just to be in the garden. They did a picture-perfect job on the mulching and 20 minutes later we watched a giant dust devil come and blow a wide swath of the straw out of the paths and over 100 feet in the air. Very dramatic!

Jennifer and Doreen met for the first time and shared stories as they transplanted "maters and pepps"! (tomatoes and peppers) Doreen was one of our very first volunteers (along with her husband Rann). They stopped in on their bicycles to get a drink of water at the Alpine garden just as we were breaking ground and became our steadiest support the following summer once they'd moved to nearby Harrisburg.

Here are a few special thank yous to supporters of the gardens far and near:

David Heath has been sending us emails from Turkey (where he's living on a sailboat he helped build with his wife Janet). He's been sending us links for some informative and entertaining videos (which we'll pass along the links to soon) and made some astute comments on some of our earlier posts: Keep 'em coming, Dave!

Dave Roux - shows up every Saturday with his award-winning smile, eager to serve in whatever ways he's needed. This year he's begun collecting video-footage for a Sharing Gardens documentary!

This dear woman made it possible for us to move from an 8' x 40' travel trailer to a five-bedroom farmhouse, just a short walk from the garden. We love our Cathy Rose!

Our sweet new home!

Well, time to get back to the garden!

A bouquet from our new home. Each week something new and beautiful comes into bloom!

Carport-Frame Greenhouse Design

Quite a handsome little greenhouse, don't you think!

One of the guiding principles of the Sharing Gardens is to Re-use and Re-purpose as many materials as we can - to keep them out of burn-piles, and the dump. This carport greenhouse was made with 100% salvaged and donated materials (we didn't spend a penny!) Such a beautiful demonstration of what the Sharing Gardens are all about!

Here is a greenhouse we made using a metal carport frame, pressure-treated lumber and plywood. (Finished size - 10' x 20') We had a door and aluminum windows to use as well, though we've made vents and doors in other greenhouses by framing them with 2 x 4 lumber and covering in plywood, or plastic. We've assembled it entirely with screws, which makes it possible to disassemble and move. Someone donated the aluminum track (Spring Lock) to attach the plastic but it can be expensive to buy it new. On other greenhouses we've built, we've used long strips of lathe to screw down the plastic.

Finished carport greenhouse - side view.

North end. Note unpainted vent-door at peak. Greenhouse is cooled by convection; cool air comes in lower windows at south end and exits through upper vent and door. Window on left is also operable.

North end from inside. Plywood construction means you can hang shelves/tool rack.

South end is all glass (two sliding windows) and greenhouse plastic for maximum light.

Here are some close-ups for construction details:

Begin by setting up frame on level ground with the ends facing north and south.

Use 2 x 4's to frame side-walls. Upright metal posts are on bricks or blocks of wood to keep structure level and prevent it from sinking into the ground. Any wood that touches the ground should be pressure-treated.

Splicing 2 x 4's. The inner board makes a nice support for a shelf or tables.

The next step is to install a pressure-treated 6 x 6 across the bottom of the end walls. In our case, we spliced two shorter pieces together with a full-length 2 x 6. Keep making the structure level and square. This will make the rest of your framing much easier.

We use metal plumber's tape to secure sides to poles. Note painted cedar 1 x 4 "sill" and metal track (Spring Lock) to attach plastic.

Detail of inner walls. If you don't have corrugated fiber-glass, you can simply use more greenhouse plastic, or plywood.

Detail - outer corner. Note - we used 2 - 8" lag bolts to fasten lower corner to 6 x 6.

Detail - inner corner.

South wall, ready for framing and windows.

Next stage is to frame the end-walls:

This shows one of many possible variations for framing end wall. You need framing for windows or vents and to be able to attach plastic all the way around.

North wall framed for door and vent above door.

Framing details: 

Upper corner detail. 2 x 4's cut with a reciprocating saw (Sawzall).

More end wall:

Aluminum-framed, sliding windows for ventilation.

South wall framing.

Inside north wall (still needs vent above door).

Attaching plastic:

This is what the Spring Lock track looks like. The plastic is laid in the track and locked into place with the "wiggle wire".

Detail of corner showing plastic wrapped around and attached on end-wall, and along 1 x 4 sill on side with Spring Lock and wiggle-wire.

Plastic attached along sill. The nice thing about Spring Lock is that you can go back and stretch plastic to be taught and even (which we did after this picture was taken).

Skid-free ramp.

Greenhouse in use:

Jen and Doreen transplanting peppers.

Our new friend Austin, getting a transplanting lesson from Llyn.

If you have questions or suggestions for improvements, please comment below.

The Sharing Gardens is a non-profit and tax-exempt organization. We exist entirely through donations. If you have found benefit from our project or our site, please consider making a donation through PayPal. (Click button below.)