Sunday, March 25, 2012
Today we went to the garden. It has been raining for about a week but cleared up yesterday and the sun is shining bright. We went about 6 a.m. and stayed until 9 a.m. We planted some onions and radishes in a small patch and Loofa's and sunflower seeds along the fence.
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March 26, 2012
Last night we had a meeting of the Dahlonegah Neighborhood Association and I got to speak with the neighborhood about the community garden and why I thought it was important. I attempted to show a video of our design plans, unfortunately because we met outside the video was difficult to see but I think most members got the gist of it. I started some seeds in seed cups to give to the community garden a while ago and the cucumbers are coming up nicely, soon we can plant them in the garden.
April 01, 2012
Today we went to the community garden, I couldn't believe the radishes and onions we have planted have already came up. They were a beautiful sight to see. Right now we are carrying water to the plants as we do not have a way to water yet, but I believe soon we will have some water to the garden. We went ahead and threw out some cucumber seeds and we hope our luck is as good with them as we are experiencing with the radishes. We are going to need much more plants if we are going to feed hungry school children but I don't want to do too much until the garden is officially up and running. Below are the pictures of our radishes, onions and sunflowers.
Radishes and onions planted on March 25, 2012. Picture was taken on April 1st, 2012.
April 07, 2012
Today we planted squash, cucumbers, zucchini and sunflowers, I am exhausted but it is a good kind of exhaustion. For two old diabetics we got a lot of exercise today. Someone else has been working in the garden too. I saw where they piled up rocks and weed-eated an area where we could walk. All I can say is "Thank you, Thank you." All help is very much appreciated. I was thinking today, how happy we will be at Harvest Carnival this year when we really have a harvest to celebrate. It's going to be awesome. Maybe we can decorate with sunflowers and pumpkins from the garden. (note to self, plant pumpkins..lol)
April 15, 2012
Yesterday we had our first volunteer in the garden. Well the first volunteer that we have actually seen. As someone has been working in there but we didn't see them only the rocks they removed and the weedeating. Big thank you to that volunteer as well, but Mary from the community came and planted beets and lettuce. She has had a lot of experience with house plants. She previously worked at a retail nursery and also took a horticulture class before. I was very happy to see her and visit with her we had a very good time planting and we took lots of breaks sitting in our lawn chairs and watching the birds. Today there was tornadoes in the area and one even destroyed a mobile home near here but I checked on the garden and we just received some rain. I was very happy to see the rain. Also today on Facebook another community member contacted me and said his mother would like to join the garden so this is a very positive sign. I think many people are waiting to see what we are about or how the garden progresses before they join. Everyone is welcome and no, we do not know what we are doing but come join us and you can help us. I was very elated to see a free drip tape offered on a give-a-way sight but even though I responded as quickly as I saw the post, I still missed it and it was given to someone else. However I spoke to the lady that had the drip tape and she said she may have some left so any little bit helps, hopefully she will post something for me after the storms are out of the area. I am anxiously awaiting reply about a grant I applied for, they first said they would announce on April 1st then April 15 and now it could be April 17th. I have applied for several grants and very anxious to hear from any of them.
April 17, 2012
Oh my gosh, today was the most exciting day ever. We found out we got the grant for the Mantis Tiller. We are so excited. Besides getting a great tiller, this gives us a little confidence to apply for some other grants. We also got an awesome charcoal grill donated yesterday. I cleaned it up and it is in great shape. I can't wait to fire that thing up and grill some veggies this summer. The children at school ventured into the garden today. They have been very busy with their end of the year test, but I spoke to them about their sunflowers and they seem very excited to get them in the ground. We planted 6 rows of Mustard and 5 rows of Okra. I have never grown any okra so this will be a learning experience. All in all I am very pleased with the way the garden is going. Even though we don't have a lot of people joining yet, the people who are helping are very dedicated and very helpful.
April 21, 2012
Today before I go to the garden I thought I would address some of the problems we need the students to help with. Gardening is all about solving problems and we have several problems. First, I found a little green and black bug on the cucumbers and it is eating our cucumber leaves. It looks like a green lady bug. If someone could research that and find out what kind of bug that is and how to stop it. The second problem is, I harvested my radish plants and home and only got a few that were round the others were long and not fat enough to eat. They had very lengthy beautiful foliage though. So if we could get the students to help with that, that would be great. We also need garden markers made that have a variety of vegetable names on them because we don't know what the gardeners will plant. Also something is eating the red sunflowers but not the yellow ones. What is a good solution for that?
Pretty bug but very destructive, what is it?
Can you find out what kind of bug this is, and how to stop it?
April 23, 2012
Yesterday was a great day in the garden. It was Earth Day 2012 and the children came into the garden and planted tomatoes, sunflowers, squash and beans. We used some of our seeds from the Cherokee Nation Seed bank and did some three sisters planting. I posted pics in the "Garden Gallery" section of the webpage. We also found a small piece of pottery the other day while digging and I researched it yesterday and found an interesting article on Cherokee Settlement Patterns. It looks like the pottery may have come from around the 1890's, very interesting! You never know what you might learn while digging in a community garden.
April 26, 2012
We had an amazing time in the garden this evening. We had about 15 people counting kids, so we are growing little by little. We had one new guy who seemed nervous and didn't mark him off a spot but was asking a lot of questions and I gave him a tour so I hope he will come back. So let me just take this opportunity to say if you are thinking about coming down, well come on down!!! We would be so glad to have you. The mustard greens and Okra seeds are coming up and they are beautifu. My eggplant is not going to survive but I don't have the heart to pull it up yet. The plants are thriving now that we have water. We are having a problem with pests, but I sprayed with a mixture of soap, oil and dish soap so maybe that will help. There are still plots left so come pick out a plot for you and your family!
April 28, 2012
We still have about half the garden not planted. This would be a good opportunity for a volunteer or church youth group. Also please don't think you are not useful if you can't work, come sit with us, we can use your opinions, insight, advice etc. Especially older people, We really need experienced gardeners. If you are out of work and just need a place to go to 3 nights a week this is a great place to get out of the house and stay busy. If they ask you "What have you been doing between jobs" you can tell them you have been volunteering in the community garden. If you are struggling, you don't have to struggle alone.
May 31, 2012
Well it has been quite a while since I blogged. We have been very busy in the garden. As you know gardening is mainly about solving problems and we have two big problems in the garden right now, pests and weeds.
The weeds are a constant battle because mostly we planted in rows. We did get a grant from Lowe's which will help us get some raised beds and that will be a big help.
Below is some pictures of the problems we are having with pests.
The weeds are a constant battle because mostly we planted in rows. We did get a grant from Lowe's which will help us get some raised beds and that will be a big help.
Below is some pictures of the problems we are having with pests.
This makes me just sick. We were using a mixture of ceyenne pepper and soap so as not to have poisons in the garden. I did not want to expose any children to pesticides. However we have discovered so far the best way is to literally pick each critter off, one at a time. In hindsight I could have picked the cabbage sooner but I wanted it to grow until summer school.
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On the bright side!
Most of our vegetables are doing really good. See pictures below. It is best not to get discourage over one plant and try to look at the outcome of the entire garden. I have to remember what I told the students, not to get so emotionally attached to one plant but instead to think of the garden as a whole.
July 24, 2012
The gardening season is winding down. All and all it has been a great season. We faced many challenges in our first year. We grew a community garden out of nothingness, when most people said it couldn't be done. Our biggest challenges were drought and grasshoppers. Many people told us vandalism would be a huge problem but the only problem we had with vandals were the vandals called grasshoppers. We learned a lot and are still learning. We hope to have some garden club meetings when school is in back in session. Yesterday I attended the Greenway of the Cherokee Ozarks meeting, so even when I am not out digging in the dirt, I am still out working in the garden.
January 10, 2013
Yesterday, work began on the garden again. Structural improvements are underway. We are building beds, planning a tool shed and the old dead sycamore tree has been removed. We are getting excited again as the beginning of the garden season nears. Below are some photos of the progress made yesterday.
January 29, 2013
Most people would think there is not much work you can do in a garden in January, but we try to work on the garden all year long. This past week I attended a workshop hosted by Northeast Oklahoma Regional Alliance or (NORA). The speaker was Rhonda Clemmens and she was an excellent speaker. Topics that were discussed were Grant Development for small non-profits, Economic Gardening, Request for Proposals and Entrepreneurial information among others. I think what I enjoyed most about the workshop was the speaker of course but also the handouts were full of resources that I will continue to use and share.
Shown above, representatives from UKB, Friends of the Library, local non-profit organizations, municipalities, Chamber of Commerce, Churches and others, Approximately 30 people in attendance.
April 9, 2013
It has been difficult keeping up with all the changes in the garden. Just to update we added 14 raised beds in the garden, the old rock beds were removed to make room for the nice new raised beds. We have added a tool shed/picnic area/greenhouse to the community garden. The open area can be wrapped in plastic during the wintertime to make room for seed starting and maybe a plant sale next year. We now have water fountains in the garden and picnic area. We have also added a peach and a plum tree and hope to add more berry bushes and fruit trees as we receive donations. Below are some updated pics of the garden. We are busy now with planting, watering etc. and also trying to secure more grants for beds as we have already filled up and have a waiting list.
August 2014Welcome back! I would like to talk to you about the Dahlonegah School Community Garden.
First a brief history of the garden. We began in 2012 and planted in the ground (no raised beds). We had a few community gardeners, they were few, but hard workers and loyal. We had very high yields. The second year 2013 we had the beds. We had some production, but not as good as the first year. The third year (this spring) We decided to use it as a teaching garden and turned it back over to the school. This really did not work out well. I don't really know why. I would like to have some feedback on this.
1. The best thing you can put in you garden is your shadow. That and a positive attitude will help our garden a lot.
2. We realize there is no one here in the summertime. School is open from Jan-May out for a month and then through June, that is quite a long time. You can either find a crop that matures in that time or plant whatever you wish. Let me know if you need it to be watered in the interim or harvested in the summer. I would be more than happy to do that for your class. If you plant something and grow it and even if you don't get to harvest it, it is still a learning opportunity for your class. Heck, Plant flowers!!
3. Just pick out any bed and mark it. Do not pick a bed that has been marked.
Please, please, please watch this video. It is so inspirational.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC3H0sxg4tY
Also last year we tried to start a composting program. Need feedback on why this isn't working.
There are seeds available in the supply room for teachers. Ask for tools.
There are also Lesson plans available for the garden at the garden website
Click here now to see all the great stuff we have accomplished and how we can do more!!!!!
www. dahlonegahgarden.weebly.com
There are some neat video games on the site as well.
I really need feedback on how we can get kids in the garden and get the garden to look nice.
I am still happy with all that we have accomplished and that is a lot, if you think about it. Need lots of Feedback, so we can continue to improve our garden.
June 16, 2015
The garden is doing well and looks great. See the "composting" page to see the pictures of the new composting center and the worm farm. See the "Garden Gallery" to see updated pictures of the garden. Many thanks to the eighth graders for building picnic tables for the garden center.
June 30, 2015
The garden beds are all planted thanks to Mrs. Kimble and the Summer School program. I am busy working on garden grants so hopefully we can add some new elements to the garden. School starts back on August 12.
August 12, 2015
School started back today. Soon I will have more pics to post and Mrs. Kimble will add some more pics as well. Have to brag some more on Mrs. Kimble and Dahlonegah Kids, the school garden yielded, 109 cucumbers, 29 watermelon, 17 cantaloupe and they have a sunflower that reached 8.1 ft. How cool is that?!!!!!
February 6, 2016
The garden class is learning about the differerent varieties of potatoes. Great News!!! The school garden is receiving a green house on Feb. 18th! We are beyond excited!