Get 'yer volunteer hours and help raise money for CGC!

Hello CGC Gardeners!

We are in need of your help to raise funds for the garden, and each of you have volunteer hours to complete - PERFECT! 

Here is how you can help:

Dig and pot plants - 

this weekend (Sat 5/3, Sunday 5/4), 

next weekend (Saturday 5/10 and Sunday 5/11) 

And the final two days for the plant sale transport, prepare and sell plants! 

Friday 5/16 and the day of the sale Saturday 5/17!

We are in need of volunteers to dig perennials up in gardens (donated by local residents) and pot them in preparation for the South Portland Land Trust Plant Sale! The sale is on May 17th so it's going to be tight with this late spring!

Please contact Crystal Goodrich if you have an hour or two to help!

207-671-6393 you can also text. 

Or email crystalgoodrich@gmail.com

We have a lot of plants to dig and pot and we need help!

You can call early or late or anytime during the day and she will let you know where to go and what you can do to help! 

It's easy - just call and I'll let you know where to go: to either Helen Slocum's house at 12 Smith Street (just off of Preble Street) where the potting takes place or to one of the yards where the digging is taking place. 

Please bring your own gardening gloves and a shovel if you have one!

The Annual South Portland Land Trust Plant Sale is the biggest fundraiser for the Land Trust every year. It is powered entirely by volunteers (many of whom are on the CGC board) and since the Land Trust is our fiscal sponsor, we share the profits with them, half of the funds raised goes to the Land Trust and half goes to SPLT! 

This will keep the Hamlin School Garden in great condition and allow us to operate and create other gardens in other parts of the city in the future!

Please give us any time you have - the late spring has caused plants to come up much later so that means we have all of the plants at once! 

We will also need help on the Friday before the plant sale (Friday May 16) and the day of the plant sale (Saturday May 17). There are many tasks to perform. More details will be sent in a future email. Right now we need diggers and potters!

If you have plants of your own to donate please dig them and if you can pot them and bring them to Helen's house at 12 Smith Street. If you can't pot them at your home bring them to Helen's on the weekend and you can help pot them there!

If you have other questions you can call or text Crystal anytime: 671-6393.

Thanks for your help! And here's to a beautiful spring season in Maine!

Garbage to Garden, Curbside Pickup

Half of all municipal trash is compostable food products. If you want to have your food scraps taken away curbside click on the following link:

GARBAGE TO GARDEN LINK

Keep the SoPo Food Cupboard Full With Your Donations on 9/11

Hello Gardeners,

Does anybody have Community Garden surplus they'd like to donate in person or have us pick for them tomorrow evening between 4:30 and 6? We¹ve hit a lull in the harvest until reseeded crops kick in.

Just email Linda at lskinner@maine.rr.com with your bed number and what you would like to donate and we will harvest it for you!

We always can use more volunteers for Tuesday nights. Meet up with us tomorrow, 9/11 between 4:30 and 6 at the garden to help!

Thanks,

Linda

Updates and Harvest for Hunger Event Tonight! 8/14 from 4:30-6ish

Harvest for Hunger Tonight 8/14: Volunteers needed: 
The ongoing Harvest for Hunger will take place tonight: Tuesday, Aug. 14, from 4:30 till 6 or so. We’d love to see you there. We’d also be happy to harvest surplus veggies from your gardens — just say the word!

Thanks — and have a great week!

Linda (lskinner@maine.rr.com)
Rachel (ramasonb@yahoo.com)

An article in The Sentry about the CGC Harvest for Hunger, click below to read: 
http://sentry.mainelymediallc.com/news/2012-08-10/Community/Gardens_provide_for_those_in_need.html


More information about the University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Maine Harvest for Hunger program:
http://umaine.edu/harvest-for-hunger/


UM Cooperative Extension on Facebook: 
http://www.facebook.com/UniversityofMaineCooperativeExtension?ref=nf

For 2012 the Extension's goal is for 300,000 pounds of produce to be grown and donated to the Harvest for Hunger Program across the state!

Add to your calendar: Next week another Harvest for Hunger event: 8/21 from 4:30-6 ish

Update from Harvest for Hunger Collection on 8/7

Greetings Gardeners:

Well, those of us who were hoping for some rain got our wish! Wonder if the mushrooms in my garden are the edible kind?
Peas, spinach and lettuce look to be pretty well spent (good time to reseed for a second crop), but the kale and chard just keep producing — and the squashes have taken off (if only the squash beetles would!). Have you noticed the beautiful pumpkins? There’s a huge specimen in Ben’s garden (#33) and several in Jed’s (23). Do yourself a favor next time you’re in the garden and take a tour to see what’s happening in your neighbors’ plots. Flowers are blooming in several beds — everything from giant sunflowers to zinnias and glads.

This past Tuesday (8/7) we had a nice turnout for the Hunger Harvest — Thanks to Steve, Shay, Tammy, Paula and Luke! The Hunger beds are ready for some resowing, which accounts for a lower haul for the Food Cupboard last week. We delivered just 44.5 pounds. Still, that puts our 4-week total at 209 pounds! And the CGC got some media attention in the latest edition of the Sentry. There was a nice article on page 16 by Jack Flagler, who took a great shot of Tammy in her garden while he was onsite Tuesday evening, and a letter of thanks from Sybil, who heads the Cupboard. Our garden will also be mentioned in a feature on community gardens slated for an upcoming issue of the Current.

The ongoing Harvest for Hunger will take place this Tuesday, Aug. 14, from 4:30 till 6 or so. We’d love to see you there. We’d also be happy to harvest surplus veggies from your gardens — just say the word!

Thanks — and have a great week!

Linda (lskinner@maine.rr.com)
Rachel (ramasonb@yahoo.com)

Help Harvest for Hunger Program On Tuesday Evenings (We Do It Every Week)!

What's going on - A SUMMARY...

Harvest for Hunger - harvest and donation of veggies weekly - every Tuesday

The next date for this volunteer time is: Tuesday, July 31 from 4:30-6:30. Show up for any time you have available.
The time you donate for the Harvest for Hunger program counts toward your 6 hours of volunteer time you are required to give to the garden as part of your contract.

Volunteer Opportunity: Every Tuesday Night - Harvest for Hunger - for updates check here on Blogger, on our Facebook Group, with Linda Skinner at: lskinner@maine.rr.com or Rachel: ramasonb@yahoo.com.

What you do: Come to the CGC garden on Tuesdays between 4:30 to 6:30 to help harvest, clean and sort veggies from the garden beds for the Harvest for Hunger program. Get the food ready to be donated to the South Portland Food Cupboard. Maintenance of the three Harvest beds can also be part of your volunteer time.

For more information contact:
Linda (lskinner@maine.rr.com) or Rachel (ramasonb@yahoo.com)!

More information:

Post from Linda Skinner, CGC Board Member and Harvest for Hunger Coordinator

Hi CGC Gardeners:
Thanks so much to those who donated their much-appreciated labor, produce and coolers toward our second Harvest for Hunger. The bounty on Tuesday 7/24 was a nice mix of squash, cabbages, chard, kale, lettuce, beans, broccoli and herbs totaling 52 pounds. Rachel and I delivered the produce to the South Portland Food Cupboard the next morning — bringing CGC’s 2-week total donations to just shy of 100 pounds!
While we were there, Sybil, the head of the operation, gave us a quick introduction to the facility and procedures. It’s an impressive place, and run solely by energetic and dedicated volunteers. The cupboard currently provides food weekly to 80 families, whose eligibility is income-based. Most of the food they distribute is shelf-stable (nonperishable), along with donated perishables like bakery goods from Hannaford. Fresh vegetables are in very limited supply, since collecting discards from local stores is too difficult and labor-intensive. That’s where we come in.

Our washed, sorted and weighed produce is a most welcome addition to the pantry. Sybil and her crew divide the food into bins and refrigerate it until Thursday morning, when the pantry doors open for business.

After collecting their allotment of staples, clients are allowed to take what they want from the produce section — and the produce is consistently in demand. It’s very clear that the small part we play in supplying the cupboard does make a difference. And we’ll be doing it again next Tuesday evening 7/31 from  4:30 to 6:30 pm. Please show up for as much time as you can! 

Extra hands and surplus vegetables from your gardens are always welcome during our Tuesday sessions! Also, please remember that your Hunger Harvest efforts count toward your 6-hour yearly commitment to the Community Garden, so please shoot us off an e-mail whenever you attend so we can add that to your time; no matter how small the increments — it all adds up. 

Thanks again!
Linda (lskinner@maine.rr.com)
Rachel (ramasonb@yahoo.com)

SPLT Plant Sale / Bake Sale and EPIC Raffle!

When: Saturday, May 19th, 2012

Time: 8-9 open for members of SPLT, get your membership renewed or become a member at the door, open for the general public from 9-1!

Where: American Legion Hall in South Portland, 413 Broadway. 

Annuals, Veggies, Herbs, Hanging planters, Perennials, Perennials, Perennials!

Ample parking, great prices and the best volunteer staff service ever!

THIS YEAR HALF OF THE PROCEEDS RAISED FROM THE PLANT SALE WILL BE DONATED TO THE CGC GARDEN!

Come to the SPLT Plant Sale first and buy your veggies for your garden bed at the CGC garden!

We will have high quality herbs and vegetables at a reasonable price for you! Come on down and make us your first stop!

Make a new garden in your yard, add to your garden or redesign your garden, the SPLT Plant Sale makes it so affordable! Now is the time to add "CURB APPEAL".

Many perennials are low maintenance, when they are local they are hardy and provide years of enjoyment and we have a wide selection so you can choose plants for the soil conditions and amount of sunlight in your garden space!

We have very experienced gardeners on staff for the entire day, so now is the time to learn how to get plants in the ground and have success with a garden!

Please contact us with any questions - 

Crystal

CGC Secretary

communitygardencollective@gmail.com

Community Garden Collective Spring Fundraiser!

CGC is having a spring fundraiser!

What: Flatbread Company benefit night

Date: Tuesday, April 17

Time: After 5 p.m. until closing

Location: 72 Commercial Street

Plenty of parking is located in the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal Parking Garage

Have a delicious flatbread dinner and help us raise funds to finish building the Community Garden in South Portland at Hamlin School!

The Flatbread Company in Portland supports local organizations that have an impact on our community. The primary way they accomplish this is through benefit nights that are held on Tuesdays at their restaurants. The Community Garden Collective (CGC) will be the non-profit group on April 17.

The Flatbread Company will donate $3.50 for each large flatbread and $1.75 for each small flatbread sold during the benefit. This money will be used by CGC to fund the irrigation system, tool shed and the fence as well as other garden needs.

CGC will also take donations for a raffle of a beautiful painting donated by Ellen Thayer, artist and gardener. You can either donate money or pick up a Clynk bag at the event with the promise to fill the bag with 5 cent (or 15 cent) recyclables when you go home. Once you bring the filled bag to any Hannaford the funds from your returnable cans and bottles will go into an account for CGC! It's a great way for CGC to raise money and for you to have a nice meal out with friends!

Please spread the word and let your friends know on Facebook by putting our website link on your Facebook page: www.communitygardencollective.org. We hope to raise much needed funds for the garden, and your help is essential!

CGC also has a few beds left for rental. If you would like to rent a bed for the summer of 2012 please contact Helen or Susan at communitygardencollective@gmail.com or call Helen at 207-408-1039. We can always use donations of time, labor or materials. We can also use some gardening tools that are in good shape. If you would like to donate some tools please contact us. You can also drop off tools at Crystal's house at 17 Highland Ave. Just leave them in the breezeway!

Contact us if you would like to help in any way!

If you have never been to Flatbread Company take a look at their menu and learn more about how they use local and natural sources of food for their flatbread, salads and other menu items by going to: www.flatbreadcompany.com.

The Confirmation E-mail Has Been Sent!

Hello CGC 2012 Gardeners,
for those of you who have e-mail you should have received a notification from CGC from our garden coordinators Helen Slocum and Susan Chase - the planting season will soon be upon us!

Check your inbox for the details of how to pay the rent for your garden bed, how to attend a mandatory orientation meeting, and how to help CGC raise funds for the completion of and the operation of the garden at Hamlin School!

Please contact CGC if you have any questions or concerns at communitygardencollective@gmail.com.

Thank you!
Helen and Susan

Work Day: Saturday 10/22 from 9-12

Hello!

The Community Garden needs your help!
On Saturday, October 22 from 9-12

We will be:
- Building the last of the garden beds and screwing the corners of the present beds (if you have a power drill please bring it! We need to put more screws in the corners of the beds)

- Collecting and spreading seaweed, manure, grass and leaves

- Spreading woodchips as needed

Please come for an hour, two or the whole time! We will have another work day next Saturday 10/29 from 9-12.

Thanks!
Crystal
CGC Secretary

Lisa's Fantasy Sheet Mulch Recipe

For those who missed Lisa Fernandes' fantastic "No-Dig Gardening" workshop, click here for Lisa's "magic soil" recipe. One of the things we learned at the workshop is that this recipe is very flexible, so you can use what you can find in your yard and garden to create great growing conditions for your garden next spring. Just make sure to top your layers off with the newspaper and hay layers to keep the weeds away!

Creating Our Community Garden - Ready to Plant, Spring 2012

VOTE Daily in October for CGC to win a portion of the $25,000 Better Neighbor Fund!

DAY 2 OF VOTING 
Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/TownandCountryFCU?sk=app_4949752878


Town and Country Federal Credit Union is giving away $25,000 to benefit our community in November. Anyone can vote for their favorite community groups or causes during the month of October.
CGC is one of the groups in the running for a piece of these funds!


Here is how you can help us fund and build our first organic garden:


HOW TO VOTE for the Community Garden Collective in three easy steps...

1.)  Click this link:
http://www.facebook.com/TownandCountryFCU?sk=app_4949752878

2.)  Click on the advertisement for the "BETTER NEIGHBOR FUND".  The causes are listed alphabetically. 


3.) Please find the Community Garden Collective on the list, select us and fill out the information at the bottom of the screen.

PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND VOTE EVERY DAY!
The awards will be presented in mid November.

Gardening info for the day:
"Permaculture, at its core, is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. It offers positive solutions to the problems facing the world by using ecology as the basis of organizing systems of food production, housing, technology, economics and community.

Permaculture defies one-sentence definitions. It is as rich and complex as life itself."

This information is from Portland Maine Permaculture: http://portlandmainepermaculture.wordpress.com/what-is-permaculture/

Thank you for your vote,
CGC

No-Dig Garden Bed Workshop / Permaculture Methods Sat. October 1, 8:30 a.m.

What: No-Dig Garden Bed Lecture and Workshop: Permaculture Methods (a "no dig" and organic method to create garden soil). Lecture and demonstration by permaculture expert Lisa Fernandes.

Cost: FREE!When: Saturday, October 1, 2011 starting at
8:30 am.
Where: 496 Ocean Street, South Portland Planning and Development Department - the former Hamlin School

The lecture and demonstration will teach you how to create the loam for a garden using organic materials from your home and neighborhood. 

After the lecture we are planning to have some work ready to do for the garden (i.e. tasks may include possibly spread woodchips, put wet newspapers in the beds and shovel manure into the beds). If you are able to give some of your time after the event please bring gloves, a shovel and sturdy shoes. More workers the merrier!

To RSVP please contact the CGC at communitygardencollective@gmail.com or Crystal Goodrich at 671-6393.

Finish Building Beds for the Community Garden Tuesday Sept. 9/27, 9am to 4 pm

Hello Garden Volunteers!

We still have a few beds left to build and two handicapped accessible beds. Susan Chase and a volunteer will be working on the beds on Tuesday 9/27 of this week between 9 am and 4pm. If you can make it for one or two hours to help build we would appreciate it. Come If you need more information or if you plan on coming later in the day please call Susan at 615-7840 to make sure the builders still need your help. Thank you! Crystal Goodrich, CGC Secretary

Workers needed for Tuesday 9/20 from 6-7:30!

Thank you to those who responded to our request for help - but we weren't able to get enough people to work on Sunday to help move the beds. Weekends seem to be tough, so let's try a weeknight! 


We have changed the work time to:

Tuesday Sept. 20  from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Hamlin School Garden, 496 Ocean Ave. 

If 5 or 6 people get one or two friends who can do some heavy work to come we will be good to go! We need to shift some of the beds to adjust the final location of the garden.


PLEASE RSVP!
communitygardencollective@gmail.com

Our First Work Day Was A HUGE Success! Thank you!

Hello!

On behalf of the Community Garden Collective's Board, I would like to express our sincerely appreciation for all the effort and hard work put forth by all the volunteers who attend our first SP Community Garden Work Day.  Because of your hard work and volunteerism the gardens are taking shape and becoming a reality- seeing is believing!

I was at the site today and I am still amazed at how much work was accomplished between 9 - 2 PM.  We are fortunate to have such a dedicated, hard-working group of volunteers.

Future activities will include gathering to spread woodchips on top of the cardboard - a task to be accomplished before the 10/1 workshop.  Gathering seaweed for the beds will also be another work event. An email will be going out this week with more information. Please stay tuned for these days and those willing to loan or use their trucks - your help will be very beneficial. 

Please remember to collect a stack of newspapers for the plots. Each plot will need 6 pounds of newspapers. You can bring them to any of the events or drop some off at Crystal's house, 17 Highland Ave., in the breezeway. You can call if you need more information: 671-6393.

We will be sending out additional reminders on what materials you can be collecting to help make the 10/1 another great successful work day.   More information will be sent out regarding the FREE lecture and hands-on workshop as we prepare the soil for our beds using a no-dig/lasagna layering of materials to super charge our soil with healthy nutrients and compost.

Again, many thanks for a tremendous Volunteer Work Day on Saturday, let's keep growing our community!

Patti

Patti Smith, President

Community Garden Collective

Work Day, September 10th - Help Build the Garden!

Volunteers - COME ON DOWN!

WHAT: Work Day - for the new Community Garden at Hamlin School

DATE: September 10th (RAIN DATE SEPTEMBER 11th)

TIME: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

LOCATION: Hamlin Elementary School, 496 Ocean Street - the intersection of Sawyer Street and Ocean Ave. (Rt. 77).

PLEASE RSVP TO: communitygardencollective@gmail.com.

It's time to build the raised beds for the garden and make the pathways with a permaculture method!

There are two goals for the day:

1.) BUILD THE RAISED BEDS:

Please bring work gloves, work clothing suitable for woodworking, durable footwear, a water bottle and snacks. If you have a cordless drill with a spare battery please let us know so we are sure to have enough tools to build with.

2.) LAY THE PATHWAYS FOR THE GARDEN:

Using permaculture methods we will be preparing the pathways for the garden using cardboard. This job will require utility knives / box cutters to lay the cardboard throughout the pathways, overlapping it to prevent grass growth. This is a less strenuous job but will need many hands. Please let us know if you can bring utility knives of your own.

PLEASE RSVP to  communitygardencollective@gmail.com so we can prepare for food at lunchtime for volunteers.

We will need many people to come to the build. Bring a friend!

If you have any questions please contact the CGC Board members at communitygardencollective@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events and News

Hello Everyone!

It's been a busy summer since we had our open house in the spring, and lots of things have happened. We are in the midst of grant writing, fundraising, spreading the word about CGC and getting ready to build the first garden at Hamlin School this fall!

The Community Garden Collective will be at the Art In the Park event this Saturday August 13th. We will be under a tent at a table near the  "Officials" so please drop by! We will have a supply of Clynk bags for you to take home, fill with your returnable cans and bottles and take to Hannaford. The barcode on the bag will give CGC credit for your returnables, a great way for us to continually raise funds!

Art In the Park

Date: Saturday, August 13

Location: Mill Creek Park

Time: 9 am to 4 pm

Community Garden Collective will be under the tent near the "Officials"

Take some Clynk bags home and choose a seedling plant to take home as a thank you for your support!

Bring your friends and help us spread the word about community gardens. We will need lots of help in Sept/Oct as we “Raise the beds and prepare the soil”. 

CLYNK Bags - Ongoing Fundraiser

If you would like some bags NOW I can drop them off at your house. Just email me at this address with how many you would like and your address and I will arrange for you to get a few. You can also pick them up at my house at 17 Highland Ave. Just let me know how many you need and I will leave them in my breezeway with your name on them. Email communitygardencollective@gmail.com to let us know when you need more! You can also call me at 671-6393 and let me know.

Bayside Bowling Fundraiser

On Monday, August 1 we had our fundraiser at Bayside Bowling in Portland. The event had light attendance, but the lanes were busy with league members. We will know by next week how much money will be donated to CGC by Bayside Bowling. When you want to spend a night out doing something fun support the businesses who support CGC, Bayside Bowling is a lot of fun and they have great food! Thanks to those who attended!

Garden Building and More!

We will need help this fall building the garden beds and preparing the garden! Please keep updated through Facebook and our emails for  opportunities to help! We have a very motivated group of supporters and we look forward to working with you even more!

Please contact the group with any questions at this email. If you want to reach a specific board member please indicate their name in the email and it will be forwarded to them. 

Thank you!

Crystal

Plant Sale to Benefit the CGC!

WHAT: Plant Sale / Small Yard Sale - a few gardening items
(There are perennials only - no veggies or annuals, sorry!)

WHEN: Saturday, May 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: 17 Highland Ave, Crystal Goodrich's house.

FOR: Community Garden Collective Fundraiser!

RAIN OR SHINE!

Please park at Cottage Road Service Station on the corner of Highland and Cottage Rd. and walk over! The sale is in the white ranch with the garage behind the service station.

See you there!