Tales of Hoffman Coming Soon

Tales of Hoffman

Saturday, September 25th at 4pm

http://www.mixedprecipitation.org/shows/tales-of-hoffmann/

Mixed Precipitation presents Jacques Offenbach’s masterpiece Tales of Hoffmann, an operetta touring to twelve community garden spaces during the 2010 harvest season. Our irreverent treatment of this opera is perfect for opera lovers, gardeners, kids, and foodies, as artfully created locally sourced food samplings are prepared fresh and served to translate events of the story. The unique community event is becoming a neighborhood tradition.

The 1851 opera is based on the macabre stories of German writer ETA Hoffman, whose material inspired Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. In our version, Hoffmann is a globetrotting poet following his romantic whims across Europe and encountering fantastical adventures with robots, evil magicians and ghosts. Offenbach’s score contains many classic melodies of light opera, including the famous gondola melody, The Barcarolle. You can also expect some other musical surprises from the popular songbook. Our story is told in French, Spanish, English and the universal language of food!

Barrel of Giggles

These little girls were playing and so full of joy.

This image is quite possible one of my favorite experiences in the garden to date.

Tire for wheelbarrow

I checked out prices for tires for the wheel barrow at Welna 2. Solid tires do not require a tire pump. They are approx. $40. Inflatable tires are $27.
Doris

Hoop house in early summer

Squash Beetles

This came from Brian Noy today:

I've gotten two reports of squash beetles today. It's battle time.

I've heard one strategy is to bury the squash (this works for cucumber, zucchini, and melons) with soil so that it will sprout new roots at these intersection and prevent damage at one point in the vine to kill everything that is growing past there.

Here's some other stuff that I found online:http://www.life123.com/home-garden/gardening-tips/garden-pests/top-five-ways-to-control-squash-bugs.shtml

Anyone else have any other ideas?

Cuc's

My partner and I have never grown cucumbers before-- and quickly learned that trellising them would be a good way to save room in the garden.

I was nervous that the storm/severe weather would blow over the trellis this weekend, but was happy to find the cucumber plants healthy (and bountiful-- 4 cuc's to pick!) this morning :)

Wheelbarrow Tire

I went to get some of the compost for my garden today and discovered that the newer of the two wheelbarrows needs a new tire. Does anyone want to take on the project of getting a new tire?

Don't forget to get some compost. To directly quote Brian Noy, "We finally got a giant pile of compost delivered. Please help us use it by top dressing your gardens. Please work from the parking lot side of the pile, so we can get it reduced away from the lot. Seriously, add it to your gardens. Sprinkle it on under the plants 1 or 2 inches. We have to use this beastly pile up."

An Invitation to Post to the New Blog

Thank you Brian for getting the word out about the Facebook group and the blog!

If you're reading this, you got as far as reading the blog. Now I'd like to invite you to give the blog a try. It's easy! Even I can do it : )

Here are some topic ideas:

1. What am I most excited about in my garden?

2. This is my most beautiful/fun garden picture...

3. Why I love Augsburg community garden.

We'd love to hear what you think.

Happy gardening!

**Draft** Garden Rules

Augsburg Community Garden

Expectations and Rules

Basic Requirements:

1. Pay $20 to cover the cost of operation.

2. Volunteer 4+ hours. Assist with garden development and maintenance. Record hours in garden binder.

3. Attend meetings and stay in communication with the group.

4. Make full use of your garden, and keep it tidy and weed free. See maintenance expectations below.

Note: Those who fail to complete the 4 requirements above may not be able to return to the garden. Requirements are designed to maintain our garden as a beautiful, community-based gathering space. There is demand for plots, and we want to ensure that our gardeners are committed to the garden.

Maintenance Expectations for Garden Plots:

1. Maintain plot (weed) and plant something by May 31.

2. Weeds: Weed around the edges of your plot. Keep weeds under 1 foot.

3. Use the space: At least half the plot planted through summer.

4. Harvest: If you are unable to gather your vegetables, notify a fellow gardener or garden leadership. Do not let produce rot on the vine.

5. Spreading plants: If you have plants that spread, keep them out of others’ plots and the pathways.

6. Organic: The garden is organic. Basic guidelines include not using chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Ask fellow gardeners if you need help finding organic solutions to problems. Detailed organic guidelines can be found at:

a. http://www.nsf.org/consumer/organic/Organic_Standards_Summary.asp

b. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop

c. http://www.ocia.org/

Other garden guidelines:

1. Other’s plots: Do not disrupt others’ plots (run hoses through them, water for them, pick plants, etc.) without their permission.

2. Communal spaces: The front, south and north borders are maintained by all gardeners. Please contact garden leadership if you would like to add plants to the border. When berries ripen, a gardener may gather a handful, but please leave enough for the Campus Kitchen and 100 other gardeners.

3. Appearance: Return shed items to their correct spots. Please do not litter; place compost, trash, and vegetables to donate in designated spaces.

For gardeners not following expectations:

1. Gardeners not maintaining plots will be notified by garden leadership and given a chance to improve the plot.

2. Gardeners who repeatedly fail to maintain a plot may not return next year.

3. Failure to respond to garden correspondence within one month, without alerting garden leadership ahead of time, will result in giving one’s plot to another gardener.

Questions or comments?

1. If you have general questions about the garden, please direct them to the Campus Kitchen Project at 612-330-1624 or to a member of the leadership team.

2. If you have concerns about another gardener’s conduct, please attempt to contact the gardener yourself.

3. If you have concerns that you are unable to resolve on your own, you may note your concern in the back of the garden binder or fill out a comment form online at:

a.

Welcome

Welcome to the new Augsburg Community Garden blog.

This blog is a continuation of the first Augsburg Community Garden blog, titled, Augsgrub.

It is our hope that this can be a forum for communication about activities in the garden, gardening questions, contact information, etc.

Happy gardening!