Hi everyone,
Now with winter fully upon us, take a moment to reflect on those halcyon days of our summer adventure at Plot 30, when snow was but a distant memory … (photos taken right before clearing out the last of the harvest)
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- Last harvest
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- A full garden
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- Edible flowers
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- Weirest vegetable award goes to…
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- Our bumper-iest crop
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- Almost too pretty to eat
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- And even more kale
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- Herb pots
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- Sentinel sunflower
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- We did well with marigolds, too
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- In the beginning
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- Plot 30
I sent our feedback to Michelle as follows:
- Was the Central Park location convenient for you? YES
What ward or neighbourhood do you live in? Various - Was having parking an important feature? YES, when having to transport equipment and during the harvesting, but mainly we walked over from our workplace in Central Park during routine tending.
- Was having a washroom close by important? NOT REALLY, but it was nice to have close when needed.
- Was the set up for water access convenient? YES, rain barrels worked well and hose access was good.
- Was the $50 plot fee a reasonable amount? YES
- Was it helpful having the shed supplied with common use tools? YES
- Was the size of plot too large, too small or ok? OK; it was perfect!
- Were you pleased with the soil fertility in the plots? YES, very pleased.
- Did you add compost or fertilizer to the soil? NO
- What kind of growing success did you have? GREAT
- Did you learn new information about growing over the season? YES, from other colleagues (11 colleagues shared plot)
- Was having a garden coordinator helpful to you? YES
- What communication method reached you most? In person conversation, e-mail, white & chalk boards in shed. Email
- Did you attend the gardener meetings? TRIED: we planned to have a representative at each meeting, with mixed success.
- Did you read gardener meeting minutes? ALWAYS
- Did you read the Go Local Food newsletter? SOMETIMES
- Did you attend the harvest picnics? NONE
- Did you attend any of the program workshops? YES – first one. If yes, would you like to see any of the speakers again? What workshop topics would interest you? One on planning a garden for the local growing zone would be helpful.
- Did you eat fresh healthier food more this season? If yes, did growing your own make this more accessible or did you just buy more local fresh food, or both? YES, YES and YES
- Did you meet new people and create any new friendships? NO new friends, but did strengthen existing ties with colleagues – very nice. We developed a blog and schedules for tending, watering, and harvesting.
- Did you enjoy your time in the garden? YES, very much!
- Did this opportunity to garden help you be more active than usual? YES, absolutely.
- Did you decide to participate again in the lottery for 2013? YES
- Did you speak with visitors inquiring about the garden? YES, about 6 visitors
- Did involving volunteers to tend the perennials and Victory gardens surrounding the fence seem a worthwhile feature to the garden? YES
- Did you visit the Go Local Food Network website informative? If yes, did you find it useful? YES and YES
- Was there anything unsafe in the garden, or any program improvements you’d suggest? NO
- Feel free to add any further comments you’d like to share:
The Community Garden was a wonderful experience – many, many thanks to all involved – especially Michelle Bennett, gardener, advocate, mentor, and caretaker extraordinaire, for creating this learning, sharing, and fun opportunity. Dirty hands = smiling faces! ~ The gang from Plot 30
Plot 30 