3/3/12 Meeting Recap

Thank you once again to everyone who took time out of their weekend to attend our monthly meeting. We had five new participants, including two Master Gardeners, and lots of interesting discussion about the garden plan.

Preliminary sketches were created of the garden location and layout. (Note: these are not to scale, and also don't accurately represent the number of garden plots to be created.)

Proposed location of the garden
on the property. Not to scale.

Proposed layout of the garden. Not to scale, and
not representative of the number of plots to be created.

Here are some of the highlights of our discussion:

• We can address the neighbors' concerns about privacy infringement, problems with noise, and run-off from garden irrigation by planting ornamentals around the garden perimeter to act as a visual screen. Noise from workshops or teaching programs for kids could be mitigated by locating our common areas and demonstration garden near the back perimeter of the garden, away from neighboring homes.

• We can develop ourselves as  a membership organization, and ask for donations instead of charging membership fees. Or we can have different membership levels so that someone who wants a smaller plot will pay less.

• The Rotary club may be interested in donating materials to the garden, rather than funding. We should try to include the youth Rotary group "Rotary Interact" and the Penn Yan Academy H.E.R.O. club.

• The youth group Future Farmers of America, run by John Kriese, has several individual students who are interested in building raised bed frames and other woodworking projects for the garden.

• Klaas Marten may be willing to plow the garden, if we can schedule a time when he is not using the equipment on his own farm.

• We need to speak to the Village Municipal Services Board about accessing the city water main which runs near the garden. We also need to determine what rates we would be charged for water.

• The local volunteer fire department may be interested in donating water to the garden, as is done with the Seneca County Community Garden.

• If we decide to water from a communal reservoir, we can purchase a 1,000 tank for $1,000, or possibly have one donated by a business. If we secured a used tank, we would have to be certain there were no chemical residues in the tank which would affect our water.

• We should set up a rain catchment system on any roofed structures, like tool sheds.

• A decorative rain garden of perennial water-loving plants can be made at the base of the garden, to soak up any excess run-off generated by irrigation.

• Mike Morehouse, of Mike's Construction, may be interested in donating his labor and time to construct a gravel entrance and parking lot for the garden. He will take a look at the site and give us an estimate on material costs.

• The garden should be constructed primarily with 2 sizes of raised beds, small and large, for growing smaller scale crops. A communal in-ground plot for larger crops like melons, squash, and corn can be created in a separate area. 4-5 ft. paths should be created between the beds to allow easy access, and be wide enough for wheelbarrows and carts, and they should be straight paths for ease of mowing. We should also create a second communal area for perennial crops like asparagus, berries, etc.

• We should find out if the Village will allow us to put some of our gravel entrance or parking on their property easement.

• We should meet twice a month so that we can make faster progress on the garden.

The next meeting will be March 17th at 2:00 pm, Cafe Next Door on Main St. Penn Yan. All are welcome to attend.