I will also send this out as a word document to your emails.
Medford Gardening Project
Minutes from meeting
May 12, 2009, 8:30pm at Fernandez’s
Summary of Activity1. Water: A review of what is going on with the water was presented. See details below.
2. Condition of plants: A review of the condition of the plants was presented.
• The peas are doing well.
• The sugar pumpkins that were covered with frost blanket after they were planting are mostly doing well. The other pumpkins all died (after planting two full flats at different times.) The Blues replanted these and they are looking okay. John Neilsen suggested that the plants were in too much shock when they were planted. They not only had transplant shock but also shock from not being left outside overnight before they were planted.
• Some of the Butternut squash are doing okay, but will be replanted with starts and seeds.
• The Cantaloupe did not make it.
• The onion starts are hanging in there
Planting and growing suggestions:1. STARTS:
a. Allow the starts to have more sun as they grow
b. Leave the starts out progressively more each day so they can become accustomed to being outside. They should remain outside throughout the night and recover before they are planted at the garden.
2. TOMATOES:
a. The tomato plants were left in the window that received the most afternoon sun.
b. Fertilize Tomatoes with Miracle Grow to improve growth.
c. Some of the tomatoes were transplanted into bigger containers to help growth. This may or may not have helped.
Tomato Plants: We have two different leads on receiving some tomato plants:
1. Larry Carpenter has about 30 plants that he would like to give us. He started growing them in sun boxes in January. He is asking that we just document which plants do best. He is trying to determine which tomato plants do best in this area. Rick will be following up on this.
2. The Wilders and Arnés have an acquaintance that also has about 30 starts that we can have. Lou will be following up on this.
Needs1. Hoses
A. Steve and Larry will be bringing hoses, if more are needed Paul will purchase some
2. Tarp for Soil
A. Lighthearts to bring
3. Soil from BioMass
A. Paul to borrow Lou’s truck and deliver on Saturday
4. Mantis (Wilders/Hamblins) for preparing rows
A. Contact Katherine or Lynne to borrow the Mantis if you are planting
5. Bucket for papers
A. Cyndi will bring a white bucket for papers, clipboard, and other needs
6. Roll for plans
A. Charles will get a tube to put the plans in
Watering:1. Instead of a watering schedule, Larry and Pete will be taking care of all the watering. John Neilsen suggested that it would be good to have only one or two people in charge. Thanks to Larry and Pete for taking on this venture.
2. Pete gave a review of what he has done to the sprinklers
a. After speaking with John Neilsen, they concluded that a different type of sprinkler would be better for the garden.
b. Pete looked through the Pear Farms supply of odds and ends of sprinklers and changed out some of them.
c. Not all of them where functioning properly so he has purchased some new sprinkler heads to see if they will work.
d. The sprinklers on the outer sides have been switched to only rotate 180º instead of 360º. This will allow us to water the garden without watering the grass areas around.
e. Because of this, the sprinklers on the outside will need to run half the amount of time as the inside to ensure even coverage.
f. This also allows us to turn the sprinklers on and use the hose bib near the pumpkins without getting wet.
3. Pete should have the water up and running today or tomorrow.
4. It was suggested that a log be kept of the amount of watering done.
Responsibilities:A suggestion has been made to have a person or two in charge of specific aspects of the garden. The following is a tentative schedule for this. If there are any comments or suggestions on these assignments, we can work them out.
The idea behind this would be if there are specific questions about these areas, the person responsible should be contacted. This way, hopefully duplication won’t occur. For example, if your area of the garden looks like it needs to be fertilized, you would contact the person in charge. They will coordinate the fertilizing and if necessary purchase the fertilizer in mass quantities instead of small, more expensive packages. The actual work would be done as a group or by the family in charge of the specific area.
• Watering: Pete Blue and Larry Wilder
• Planting: Paul Anderson
• Fertilizing: Rick Fernandez
• Pesticides: Ken Lightheart/Steve Cannon
Assignments: The garden has been divided up by plants and has been assigned to different families. These families are in charge of the following concerning their plants and area surrounding the plants:
• Planting (any remaining planting)
• Weeding the area surrounding the plants
• Placing stakes with information of type of plant and other pertinent information
• Fertilizing (research and application)
• Pesticide (notification and application)
• Any other needs for the plants: researching, applying poles or trellises, etc.
Note: the plans also has the name of the family responsible for each area. These plans will be left at the garden at all times.
Family Responsibility Needs Other
Anderson Cucumbers: Plant starts
Potatoes: Obtain seed and plant
Zucchinis
Arné Watermelon: Make 30 hills and plant seeds (in 2-4 weeks) A suggestion was made to plant half in 1-2 weeks and the other half in 3-4 weeks.
Herbs
Blues Watering
Pumpkins
Cannon Squash:Replant starts & seeds
Spring Garden
Strawberries
Dockreys Corn
Fernandez Cantaloupe:Planted on 5/9
Peas
Hamblin/Wilder Tomatoes: Plant on 5/23
Lightheart Beans:Plant from seed (no top soil needed)
Bell Peppers: Purchase starts and plant
Assist with potatoes and corn
Remember that you are assigned to the area. This does not mean you need to do all the work yourselves. If you need help with something (such as places trellises, planting, etc.), please contact the rest of us.
Other:
• If anyone is interested in using a section of the garden that is not being planted to grow something on their own, they are welcome to do that.
• We are okay on money currently. Make sure you turn receipts into Paul for reimbursement so that we can have an accurate record of expenses.
Pete talked with John Neilsen about the watering. The ideal days for us to water will be Tuesday and Thursday because those are the days which the pump is running so we will maximize our watering. We will also be watering on Saturdays in the evening. There will not be as much pressure on Saturday so we water longer - also because it will be the longest between watering days. This will also allow us to get and work in the garden on Monday evenings and Saturday mornings which seem to be the best times for everyone.
