Garden Meeting and seed cleaning.

Agenda:

Discussion and review of the Garden Guidelines

and our new Working Teams,

and the Core Group teams.

We will also start preparations for Seedy Sunday, by cleaning seeds and packing them.

Attendance: Shirley and Grace, Dahlia, Andrea, Meg, Marcel, Nao, Daniela and Kipp, Silvan, Ms. Douglas (Perth Public school), Indra, Millie, Kevin, our host and hostess,Raymond and Lindsay, and one of the children, as well as their tenant.

Introduction:

(the speech read by Susan, the garden coordinator)

I have been reading my first entries onto the website ... from 2006. It said “At first glance some one might think that we have nothing in common, but we all like to garden! Whether it is for recreation or to put dinner on the table, the gardening has brought us together. This year, my first goal was to get all the plots occupied, and get people gardening! Well that worked out just fine. The next thing was to start organizing us as a functioning community garden as set out in the guide lines from the city. “ Ha! Now we have a waiting list for garden plots! And I am still struggling to get the organizational part working.

I was asked why have I created these 'make-work projects' around the garden. Many of you might also be wondering the same thing.

Now there are a lot of chores that have arisen because of these things that I have decided for the garden, and it seems that they have happened without really asking the garden group, and perhaps others have not been a part of deciding, and that maybe, some don't particularly care for these extra things.... Well, in most cases, I have consulted at least some of the garden group. One problem is poor attendance at meetings. I would like to have the proper community process, that is: at least a certain number of people need to be at the meeting to make decisions, and that there needs to be consensus for projects to go forward. Maybe for this year, it can be a priory for us to use this form of system. And a priory for all the gardeners to make every effort to attend our meetings. What we really need is a Steering Team. A core group of gardeners that will be the driving force for the progress and direction of the community garden. If you read over the progress of the years on the website, you can see that is what I have been trying to do, to find this core group of gardeners that are community minded and committed to the growth of our community garden.

For right now, I am working with the Communications Team, and until we are able to form a Steering Team, we will be making decisions for the progress of the garden, and having meetings to tell you what we would like to do. With the formal community process, it is not of vote of 50% to go ahead with something new, it is a consensus of 70% and, at any time, someone can Block that decision, or, they can agree to disagree, and let the project go ahead.

But, Why Have I created all these projects? I would like to see the garden grow, I am hoping that we can continue to be a model community garden for the City. But as well, some of the work that has become to do, is not by choice, but has fallen on us, because of circumstances, beyond My control.

At this point, I let the gardeners know that they could interrupt me at any time, and we would discuss the individual issues that they were interested in.

Here is a list of projects that I have implemented since the garden started:

• Butterfly Garden,

• we got lime stone screening to repair the main pathway, and as a foundation of the two brick triangles in plots 12, and 22. (that was at the request of Parks and Rec. To assist in the truck delivery of supplies and compost. We got the compost bin.

• the pathway behind plots 13-16

• I made arrangement for us to get a cement bunker

• We made the Herb Garden (to deter people from having mint and other invasive herbs in their individual garden plots..)

• The Raspberry Patch, we received a donation of raspberry plants... and I had nowhere else to put them.

• The Sharing Garden Plot. Every year we have been able to donate hundreds of pounds of produce to the Stop. This year the donation was 234 lbs of produce. They use our donations for their soup kitchen, and to give out at the Food Bank.

• Parks and Rec. Brought us the 4x4 posts to hang our watering hoses on. There is expectation to hang the hoses up when we are finished using them.

• We also have a Raised Garden Bed. That I could say is a selfish decision on my part.. because of my back pain, that has gotten worse, bending is not fun, and I have not been able enjoy my gardening. But we all realize that having our community garden be more accessible for the disabled, and those with other health problems, is important in the long run.

• The city put in the We also have a Front Flower Bed and we have expanded it, so it could be considered extra work to care for it.

And The push mower. Why do we have to cut the grass? In the beginning, the parks and rec. Turf Group would cut our grass whenever they came to cut the park grass. But they have new staff, and with their budget cut back they now have more parks to maintain and don't have the time any more. So, we have to do it our selves. Why do I nag about cutting it frequently? Easy... it has to do with the way the push mower works, if the grass is too long, you can only take short strides, and need to pull it back and it takes a long time and greater effort to cut the grass. As well, if the grass is too long, the mower itself gets jammed.

After that discussion, I realized that the grass was the main concern about the extra work. It was then suggested that we try to create other covers for the walking areas, patio tiles, limestone etc. Therefore reducing the amount of grass that needs to be cut. Great suggestion and we can look into that for the new season.

Other projects that we have done include:

• inviting the schools to visit our community garden, and now we have the Perth Ave. Public School, they have plot #4, my former plot that I have surrendered.

• And we have had several visits from John Slack and his soil testing, and demonstrations of gardening techniques.

• Every year we have the Fall Clean Up, and the Spring Start Up events,

• And usually a Harvest Festival of some sort.

Especially these social events have been to bring us together as a community group. To get to know our garden neighbours. This is vital to the life of our garden. The City maintains allotment gardens, and their rules are strict ... like you can't leave perennial plants in over the winter, or any of your garden supplies, like the stakes for your tomatoes, you have to have it all cleared out by October 31st . You pay your $65, and you don't need to know anybody. That is what the difference is.

We have won the Grant from the Carrot Cache of $1500. To build the porch or facade onto the front of the garden shed. So, we need to look for a designer to make drawings that the City and Parks and Rec. Will accept. Then we will build it in the spring. For the Carrot Cache, we need to document our progress, and take pictures.

The expectation from the City is that we, as a community group, work together to run the garden. But in 2005, when Adam G. Our city councillor, and Brian Green, the supervisor of the park at that time, made this garden, they didn't know anything themselves about community gardens. The real process that the City expects people to follow, is that a community group requests a community garden, and as a community group they design and build the community garden themselves, with the assistance of parks and rec. So, the original gardeners didn't know what was involved, and when they got their plot, the community part was not part of the deal for them.

As regards to some of the extra work, in 2009, we have had many volunteers that we got from the neighbourhood and from the TCGN website, and our website, where I have been contacted by people that just want to work in a community garden. High School students can get their community hours by working in the garden. And people like Nao, that come and help with events and special projects. If all of this is new to you, and you feel like you have been left out of the loop.... I invite all of you to visit our website, even if you don't have a computer, you can go to the Library and use the computer there. It is free. After all, this is a community garden! I have been trying to make sure that all activities are transparent, and that is another reason that I have been maintaining this website.

There will always be extenuating circumstances - that people can't participate as much as the others in the group think they should. At this point, just know that I am aware of people problems, I am not under obligation to tell every one what they are, but in most cases, there has been some other compensation to the community garden to cover what is lacking.

Read over the new Garden Guidelines and discuss the meaning of the new rules.

Susan read over the Garden Guidelines and we discussed a few small details, and it was accepted for next year.

People on the waiting list

We had a discussion about people on the waiting list, and whether or not we should have some qualifications set out for them to be accepted to our community garden. We agreed that people on the waiting list should volunteer at the garden for the season, to get a feel for the workload and expectations around the garden. As well, this is an opportunity for them to get to know the other gardeners.

At that point we were finished our discussion for the community garden.

Those that could stay helped clean seeds and helped package them. The meeting took a bit longer than expected and some people had to leave. We are planning one more seed packing day.

.

The Meeting was held at the home of Lindsay and Raymond, friends of the Community Garden. They also provided us with a lovely meal of chilli, both Vegetarian and Carnivorian! We truly thank them for their hospitality, it was very much appreciated.