Member Update for June 19, 2016

Good morning gardeners, and happy Father's Day to the dads among us.

How are your gardens growing so far this year? It's great to see so many neat and well-tended beds. The weed barriers sure can make a garden look sharp. Not sure how to use them? Check out the directions posted on the shed door.

What a changeable growing season, weather-wise, we've been having. The next week or so looks hot and dry, so if you spot the water tank getting low, please email your garden coordinators at pygarden@yahoo.com (or just reply to this message) so we can order more water. When you're done using the water tank, make sure all the valves are shut and there are no leaks. Let's hope for a break in the weather and some rain soon.

When you get a few moments of free time, please spread some mulch around your bed. Mulch helps keep the weeds down and reduces the amount of mowing necessary to keep the garden looking tidy. We have lots of great mulch over near the compost so grab a shovel and get mulching! It's a great upper body workout, too. The area around and underneath the two raised beds could especially use some mulch as that makes it easier for gardeners who use wheelchairs to maneuver around their beds.

Any pest problems cropping up, such as woodchucks or tomato blight? Email the garden coordinators at pygarden@yahoo.com.

Have pictures you want to share? Post them on our Facebook page at facebook.com/pennyancommunitygarden
While you're on our Facebook, subscribe to our Events feed to be reminded of fun stuff coming up at the garden, like storytimes, a Little Free Library, and our annual Harvest Celebration.

Happy gardening,

Your Penn Yan Community Garden Coordinators,

Cheryl, Tom, and Sarah

A thought for the week, from Aldo Leopold: "In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them."

Member Update for August 12, 2015

Hello gardeners, how's everything growing as August kicks into high gear?

Here's a quick reminder on some upcoming events:

Annual Potluck Meeting of the Membership
Saturday, August 15
12 Noon
Milly's Pantry (The Pinwheel Market) on Main St., Penn Yan
On the agenda: social time with potluck food (please bring a dish to pass) followed by elections to leadership positions. We will also be planning the 2015 Fall Cleanup.

Brief descriptions of available PYCG leadership positions:

Secretary: 

The secretary takes notes at meetings; composes and sends Member Updates; maintains the website, Facebook, and Twitter; maintains records of membership; and maintains other records and documents as needed. The secretary has a key to the Post Office box and is responsible for physical documentation of the garden. The secretary should be reasonably comfortable with technology including Blogger, webmail, Excel, Twitter, and Facebook.

 

The new secretary will be mentored by the previous secretary.

Garden Coordinator: 

·        - Answers emails and phone calls from members and FoodLink. 

·        - Coordinate garden bed assignments with members, maintain white board and Excel spread sheet with member names, phone numbers and email address. 

·         -Communicate with board members regarding garden issues

·        - Attend garden meetings and coordinate garden events (spring garden opening meeting, FoodLink, spring and fall cleanup).

·        -Purchase and monitor water supply

  - Purchase and monitor soil and mulch requirements

The new coordinator will be mentored by the previous coordinator.


Storytime at the Community Garden
Friday, August 28
9:30am
Penn Yan Public Library brings storytime to the Community Garden! This storytime is for all ages and will include stories, songs, and lots of movement. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on. There are no rain dates and this storytime will be canceled in case of inclement weather. Call the library at 315-536-6114 if you are wondering if this storytime is canceled.

Do you have any news to share with your fellow gardeners? Send it on over to pygarden@yahoo.com

Happy gardening!

Member Update for July 15, 2015

Hi gardeners! What a wet and weird summer it's been. As someone once said about Upstate New York, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes, it'll probably change. 

We know there have been some challenges from pests at the garden this year. Woodchucks, deer...there has even been a nearby sighting of a bear just outside the village. So what are some things you can do to protect your garden from pests? You can help keep an eye out for damaged areas of the fence that might let critters in. If you see a weak spot, please let the Fence Maintenance Team know by emailing pygarden@yahoo.com and we'll repair it as soon as we get a chance. You may see that some gardeners have put out bars of soap (particularly Irish Spring) or mesh bags of human hair (from a beauty salon), both of which are said to have smells that repel pests. If you see any other signs of pests, like a woodchuck hole or a deer within the fence perimeter, please email pygarden@yahoo.com.

Lots of mulch has been delivered. Mulch and spread away! 

Just as a reminder, your Board of Directors is planning an annual meeting of the membership. This would be the voting meeting as required in the Garden's bylaws. At this meeting, elections will be held for a new coordinator, secretary, and treasurer. Nominations are sought for these positions and self-nominations are welcome. Descriptions of the three positions follow.

Secretary: 

The secretary takes notes at meetings; composes and sends Member Updates; maintains the website, Facebook, and Twitter; maintains records of membership; and maintains other records and documents as needed. The secretary has a key to the Post Office box and is responsible for physical documentation of the garden. The secretary should be reasonably comfortable with technology including Blogger, webmail, Excel, Twitter, and Facebook.

Treasurer:

The treasurer holds the responsibility for depositing the membership fees and other donations that may be made to the Community Garden as well as the responsibility for paying bills.   There is a non-profit organization tax form that must be filed.   The treasurer has a key to the Post Office box and must check the box at least once weekly.   Upon taking the position, the treasurer must fill out a signature card at Lyons Bank and arrange for receiving monthly bank statements.   The treasurer serves, with the President and Secretary, on the Executive Committee.

Garden Coordinator: 

·        - Answers emails and phone calls from members and FoodLink. 

·        - Coordinate garden bed assignments with members, maintain white board and Excel spread sheet with member names, phone numbers and email address. 

·         -Communicate with board members regarding garden issues

·        - Attend garden meetings and coordinate garden events (spring garden opening meeting, FoodLink, spring and fall cleanup).

·        -Purchase and monitor water supply

·        - Purchase and monitor soil and mulch requirements.

If you have any questions about these positions, or would like to nominate yourself or someone else, free feel to email pygarden@yahoo.com.

The Annual Meeting of the Membership will be held on Saturday, August 15 at Milly's Pantry from noon until 2pm. It will be a fun, social meeting; please bring a potluck dish to pass. We can't wait to see what you've grown this year.

Member Update for June 16, 2015

Hello members! What a growing season so far! Between a late frost, lots of rain, and even some furry pests, it's been quite the tumultuous time at the Community Garden.

You may have noticed some vacant beds this year. In particular, beds 39, 40, 41 and 20 need to be weeded. Please help out in the maintenance of the garden by weeding one of these vacant beds if you get a chance. There are still new memberships trickling in so every little bit we can do to make these beds still usable by any latecomers will be appreciated, plus, it makes the garden look so nice. How great does it look after the Arc mows? They do a great job, thanks Arc friends!

More wood chips and cardboard will be at the Garden by the end of this week for your mulching pleasure. Remember to mulch around your bed and anywhere you see weeds growing through previous layers of mulch. Put down some cardboard and then mulch on top of it--it's so easy a kid could do it and it makes a big difference in the appearance of the garden.

Changes are afoot for the garden: please see below for information about the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Membership.

Your Board of Directors is planning an annual meeting of the membership. This would be the voting meeting as required in our bylaws. We would like to hold the meeting on Saturday, August 15th at Milly's Pantry from 12 noon to 2pm.   We will be holding elections for a new president , secretary and treasurer.

This meeting will be a casual potluck (featuring fresh garden produce--what will you make from your garden?) and social hour, followed by a voting for the positions that are available on our Board of Directors.

Please email you responses to:  

pygarden@yahoo.com

Or

Call:  Cheryl Flynn 315-719-2390

Member Update for April 26, 2015

Member Update for April 26, 2015

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Opening Day yesterday. It was great fun to see so much energy from the Cub Scouts, scrambling over the mulch piles and learning to use the garden tools.

When you get a chance, please spread mulch around your plot. There are many places where weeds are already poking through, and a nice thick layer of mulch (we have lots of mulch and can always get more!) does so much to keep the weeds down. Also, the more we mulch, the less we have to mow. You may notice that the areas around the accessible beds and the perennial garden are especially in need of mulch. Please help with that when you get a chance. Hauling and spreading just one wheelbarrow full of mulch is a good workout, takes only a few minutes, and makes a difference to your fellow gardeners. There is lots of cardboard available in the shed, too. A thick layer of cardboard under your mulch does even more to slow the growth of weeds. Please pick up any cardboard that might have blown away, too.

We heard that last year some ticks were found in the brushy areas beyond the mowed area around the fence. Please be careful and check yourself, your children, and your pets after walking through areas of tall grass and brush. Yates County Public Health has lots of information about ticks and Lyme disease available at the link below: http://www.yatescounty.org/display_page.asp?pID=681

The last frost date in our area is usually around the first weekend of May. We're hoping for warmer weather for gardening soon! Don't forget to spread the word, there are still several beds available for people who want to garden this year.

Happy gardening!

Opening Weekend 2015

Hello gardeners! Our 2015 growing season kicks off this weekend. Our official opening celebration (perhaps too formal a word for this very informal gathering) will be held from 9am-3pm on Saturday, April 25. If you can, stop by to get your hands dirty! Drinks and donuts will be available during this time, along with a fresh supply of mulch. Please, as soon as you can, refresh the mulch on all four sides of your bed, and fill in any low spots. The mulch is so important to keeping our garden neat and our paths free of weeds.

Also available on April 25 will be the sign up sheets for work crews. If you haven't had a chance to join a team yet, please sign up for one. Cooperation on the hard work of keeping the garden going is crucial to the garden's success! We hope that the Garden is a good way to meet friends while you grow delicious food, and the work crews are a great way to meet new people.

Invite a friend to help you wake up your bed--we do still have some vacant plots this season, so spread the word. We are working with Foodlink once again to make sure that the cost of a bed isn't a hurdle for families in need of healthy produce.

Of course, you are always welcome to garden during times that are appropriate for the garden's neighborhood location. And feel free to share the image below on your Facebook or other social networks. Happy gardening!

Member Update for September 28, 2014

Hello gardeners, enjoying this nice stretch of weather?

This year's Fall Clean-Up Day has been scheduled for Saturday, October 11. Stop by any time between 9am and 4pm to clean up your bed and help out with the extensive mulching projects that go on at this time of year, as well as other odds and ends of clean-up that help prepare the garden for winter. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoying meeting your fellow gardeners!

Member Update for August 26, 2104

Hello, gardeners! What signs of fall are you seeing in the garden these days?

A pleasant membership meeting (featuring delicious food!) was recently held at Milly's Pantry. Here's the news from the meeting:

-Scarlett Emerson was elected to the Treasurer position. Welcome Scarlett! Many thanks to the inimitable Linda Schuler for so ably managing the Garden's finances for so long.

-There are four new at-large board members: Tina Miller, Elizabeth Boesen, Jessica Kenneda and Tom Gibson. Welcome all!

Thank you to all those who helped fill the raised beds with soil. It's nice to see them being used.

Finally, here's a 'save the date' for you all: a Committee Meeting will be held Wednesday, September 10th @ 5:00PM at the Community Garden. We will have a brief meeting to plan our fall clean up day. Hope to see you all then!

Happy Gardening!

Member Update for August 10, 2014

Hello gardeners, what do you think of this beautiful weekend in the Finger Lakes?

The garden is looking really great lately, thanks to the hard work of our members. The perennial garden is free of weeds, the grass is mowed nicely, many beds are tidied up after produce is harvested, and the expanded compost pile is cooking away on this season’s additions. The beautification crew did a great job with the flowers around the Community Garden sign.

You may have noticed that the accessible beds are in their permanent places. Now everyone can help fill them with topsoil and make sure they have a good thick layer of mulch around them so that gardeners in wheelchairs can get their hands dirty in that topsoil! If you’re at the garden and have a few minutes, please fill a wheelbarrow with topsoil or mulch and add it to the accessible bed area. Most of the raised beds can always use a bit of mulch around them, too, or weeds pulled around them. Those weeds have an annoying way of getting through too-thin layers of mulch, don’t they?

There’s been some evidence of something, possibly deer, chewing on some crops. The board is planning on using natural deterrents to try to keep the deer out of the garden. As always, please let us know if you see signs of any sort of pests in your raised bed.

Speaking of pests, it looks like the fungus that got to so many tomatoes last year is back. Remember, to help prevent the spread of the fungus, remove diseased foliage promptly and dispose of it at home, NOT in the garden’s compost pile. Allowing plenty of space between your tomato plants can discourage the fungus, too.

What sorts of delicious dishes have you been making with your harvest, gardeners? Got any recipes to share? Email them to pygarden@yahoo.com and we’ll include them in the next member update.

You may have noticed that beds 10 and 25 have been weeded thoroughly. The Arc of Yates will be experimenting with growing garlic in these two beds, which are quite wet much of the time. Good luck, Arc of Yates!

Finally, the Community Garden Annual Meeting is this upcoming Saturday, August 16, from noon until 2:00 P.M. at Milly’s Pantry on Main Street. Please bring a dish to pass—something from your garden, perhaps? This will be a casual meeting where we will share ideas about how to improve the garden, meet fellow gardeners, and vote on leadership positions within the garden itself. If you’re interested in joining the Board of Directors, this is your opportunity! If you can’t make the meeting but are interested in joining the Board, shoot us an email at pygarden@yahoo.com.

Happy growing!

Member Update for July 23, 2014

Hello Gardeners!

How's everything growing in your plot? Seems like it's been a great year for peppers, peas, and onions, and we know of one member who has already harvested five pounds of potatoes. There are a lot of flowers this year and that is fun to see, too. And how great is that nice expanded compost station. Nice work, compost work crew!

We had a question about which beds are vacant and need to be tended. The short answer is 10, 25, and 47 (47 has a thistle infestation at the moment and has been treated, hopefully that will take care of those thistles) (10 and 25 are both chronically wet and will most likely be relocated in the future). Also, the perennial/water garden (the large bed of flowers to the left of the Community Garden sign as you approach the garden, on the edge of the property) always needs weeding. Any volunteers to help with that task are appreciated, and the work can be done whenever you have a chance. Weeding and mulching between garden beds always needs to be done, too.

We also need volunteers to help put the two raised beds into their permanent positions, mulch around them, and then fill them with soil. The use of these two beds will be donated to the Arc of Yates for the remainder of the 2014 growing season. If you're interested in helping out with this important project to increase the accessibility of our garden, please reply to this email to let the board members know. We'd like to get this task completed as soon as possible, but we need your help to do it!



Do you like to go to garage or yard sales in the summertime? The next time you see a sturdy old-fashioned metal watering can for a reasonable price, consider buying it and donating it to the garden. Unfortunately our existing plastic ones don't stand up quite so well to the use of many, many gardeners.

You may have seen the signs around the garden about the upcoming meeting. Here is a reminder: The 2014 Annual Membership Meeting for the Penn Yan Community Garden will be Saturday, August 16 from 12 noon to 2pm at Milly's Pantry on Main Street in Penn Yan. At the meeting, elections will be held for the President and Treasurer board positions. This meeting will be a casual potluck (featuring fresh garden produce--what will you make from your garden?) and social hour, followed by a voting for the positions that are available on our Board of Directors. Please RSVP by email to pygarden@yahoo.com, or call Cheryl Flynn at 315-719-2390.

Lastly, if you have more fresh produce than you know what to do with, or if you know you won't be able to get to the garden to harvest your veggies, please let us and your fellow gardeners know. It's a shame to see fresh, healthy food go to waste, especially in our community, where too many people don't know where their next meal will come from. Together, we can salvage food from your bed that might otherwise go to waste.

As always, if you have any questions (or answers!) about the Community Garden, or any news items you'd like to be shared in the next Member Update, email pygarden@yahoo.com

Happy Growing!

Member Update for July 10, 2014

Your Board of Directors is planning an annual meeting of the membership. This would be the voting meeting as required in our bylaws. We would like to hold the meeting on Saturday, August 16th at Milly's Pantry from 12 noon to 2pm.   We will be holding elections for a new president and treasurer.

This meeting would be a

casual potluck (featuring fresh garden produce--what will you make from your garden?) and social hour, followed by a voting for the positions that are available on our Board of Directors.

Please email your responses to:  

pygarden@yahoo.com

Or

Call:  Cheryl Flynn 315-719-2390

Member Update for June 8, 2014

Hello gardeners! Hope this update finds you well.

It's now been a few weeks since the tremendous rain and subsequent flooding that caused so much havoc in Penn Yan. Fortunately, the Community Garden fared well. Some of the stone underneath the shed was undercut and washed away, but that should be easy for the Shed Maintenance crew to fix with shovels and a bit of elbow grease. The rain garden along the northern edge of the garden did its job well, absorbing a lot of water. As you drive to and from the garden along Pleasant Avenue, though, be aware that the gutters on either side were gouged out quite a bit in some areas.

The abundant sunshine is causing lots of growth, both in the garden beds and in the spaces between them. If we all work on controlling weeds, and on mulching around our beds, that will help keep those pesky dandelions and thistles down. Of course, those gardeners on the Mulch and Weed Control crews should be helping with that, too, especially around any unclaimed beds.

The water tank is working fine, just as long as we only use the two small black handles to access the water. Please don't use the red handle!

The Community Garden's dear friend and tireless coordinator, Kathleen Badger, is moving out of state soon, so if you see her, please thank her for all her hard work and service over the past few years. We'll miss her greatly! Fortunately she has found a great successor, Cheryl Flynn. In the future, if you email the pygarden at yahoo dot com account, it's likely that Cheryl will respond, and you're sure to see her at the garden, especially at the 4H club's plots. Welcome, Cheryl!

Happy gardening everyone!

The 2014 Gardening Season Has Officially Begun

April 26 & 27 was the official opening weekend for the Penn Yan Community Garden for 2014. Although the weather could have been better, many people still ventured out to clean up their beds and the garden in general. Thank you to all the members who braved the cold this weekend! It looks like many people will be trying out the Square Foot Gardening method mentioned at this year's member orientation. For more info about Square Foot Gardening, check out the images at the bottom of this post.

The water tank has been filled for the season, but we are still trying to work out some kinks with the valves that release water. Please refrain from using the tank until everything is straightened out. We apologize for the inconvenience, but members will have to bring their own water to the garden until the issue is resolved.

The mulch that was placed last season has settled and some weeds have started growing through it, so all members should add more mulch around their beds. There's lots of mulch to go around, so pile it on!

You will be contacted soon, via email,  regarding your garden work crew tasks. The garden work crews are new this year, and help ensure that many hands make light work of the maintenance tasks required to keep the garden running smoothly.

Finally, the garden's first two accessible garden beds were installed this weekend. Purchase of these beds was made possible by a generous donation from Ameriprise Financial in Penn Yan. The accessible beds are raised up to about dinner table height, meaning that they can be used by both sitting and standing gardeners.We look forward to having more accessible beds in the future!

Member Update for April 14, 2014

Hi everyone. We had a great turnout at the Member Orientation on Saturday, thanks! It was so nice to see the new and returning members mingling and learning together. And how about that wonderful presentation on Square Foot Gardening! Are you planning on trying it in your plot this year?

Just as a reminder, Opening Day is April 26, 2014, at the garden. Big news: there will be a porta-potty! Keep an eye on your email for more information. Of course, if you would like to go up to the garden in advance of the 26th and prepare your soil or even plant some early crops, go ahead.

General news updates:

1. We have a waiting list for garden beds at this time (April 14). Good news for the garden, bad news for people who wanted to grow this year. We will keep you posted on this situation. Expansion is a definite possibility, but it will take a lot of work and time.

2. We hope to be installing two handicap-accessible beds soon. They will be located close to the gate and parking lot for easy access.

3. New this year: work crews. Every member must join at least one work crew. These crews work on ongoing tasks like maintaining the compost pile, the perennial garden, or fence; mowing grass; coordinating social events; or controlling critters and pests. The time commitment is minimal and helps keep the garden running smoothly. Each crew will have a leader who will work with the garden coordinators to make sure vital tasks are completed. If you didn't select a work crew on your membership application, we will be contacting you to select one soon.

Returning members: do you have any photos of your garden that you'd like to share with the public? Email them to pygarden[at]yahoo[dot]com and we'll put them on the garden's Flickr page and Facebook.

Happy gardening!

Penn Yan Community Garden Plans 2014 Member Orientation

Hello friends!

On Saturday, April 12, the Penn Yan Community Garden will be holding two member orientation sessions at Milly's Pantry on Main Street in Penn Yan. The first session runs from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and the second from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Both sessions will cover the same topics and are open to new and returning members along with the general public.  Anyone who is curious about the community garden is welcome to attend.

On the agenda for the orientation sessions are: a review of the Garden's membership agreement and rules, an overview of garden maintenance teams, and a short presentation on square foot gardening, which is an efficient way to maximize growth in the Garden's 4 foot wide by 10 foot long plots.

The Penn Yan Community Garden, located off of Pleasant Avenue, will officially open for the 2014 growing season on April 26. If they have not already done so, returning members are encouraged to submit their signed membership agreements (downloadable from the Garden's website at http://pygarden.blogspot.com/p/become-member.html) in advance of April 26 to ensure their plot and maintenance team selections. Annual memberships are $25 per plot.

Garden Dreams

It's that time of year, folks, the seed catalogs are out and store displays are filling up with seed and supplies. While our community garden still sleeps under fresh snow, your Board of Directors are hard at work planning for the 2014 gardening season. We'd love to hear what your planning on growing in your beds this year, gardeners!

Keep an eye on your email for soon-to-be-announced events, too.

Happy growing (and dreaming!)

Member Update for September 23, 2013

Hello everyone. What sort of goodness have you been enjoying from your garden this harvest season?

Just a quick update with some dates to add to your calendar.

We're making a huge two-day party (October 19 and 20, all day) out of the mandatory fall member clean-up. If you haven't already done so by then, please make sure you (or someone) cleans up your garden bed. There will be free hot beverages and live music to help the work go more quickly, and lots of companionship, too! If you like, please bring a seasonal treat to share with the others who may be working that day. More details about the cleanup will be coming shortly.

Also, the next free Foodlink cooking classes will be held at the garden on:
Thursday 10/03/13 at 5 PM
Thursday 10/10/13 at 5 PM
Saturday 10/19/13 at 12 noon (during day 1 of the fall clean-up)

These will be the final classes for this season.
Plan to join us, taste a new recipe and receive a free gift! Bring a chair if you like, and dress for the weather.

Happy gardening, and happy clean up!

Member Update for September 9, 2013

Hi all, just a friendly reminder to please harvest your garden soon.

We will be making a sweep through the garden on September 12 and any usable produce in a bed that appears to not have been tended in a while will be harvested and donated to a needy recipient.

If you are unable to harvest yourself, or to make arrangements to have someone to harvest for you, before then, please email us back and let us know. 

Happy harvesting!

Member Update for August 23, 2013

Just a reminder that there is another cooking demo courtesy of the good folks at Foodlink on Friday, August 23 at 2pm, right at the Community Garden. Bring a chair and your appetite and learn all about the deliciously healthy things you can make from your own fresh garden produce.

As spring plants are pulled out for the season (and squash plants in our case) there is open garden space that can be used to grow vegetables and herbs for a fall harvest. This is referred to as "succession planting."

The following vegetables and herbs can be planted now:

- beets

- broccoli

- cabbage

- carrots

- cauliflower

- collards

- fennel

- kale

- kohlrabi

- lettuce

- radishes

- scallions/bunching onions

- spinach

- turnips

- swiss chard

- basil

- oregano

- parsley

- dill

- cilantro

- chives

Happy Gardening!