Friday, June 29, 2012

DCG Raw Foods and Squash Beetles

Hello Dundee Community Garden Members and Friends,  

Thanks to everyone who attended our Ice Cream Social on June 16-- we had about 100 guests!  Special thanks to e-Creamery for the ice cream donation (the basil flavor was a big hit) and to the Central High School Jazz Combo for outstanding live jazz!  You can see pictures at http://www.facebook.com/DundeeGarden


Work Days Every Sat.:  We're starting at 9 a.m. and usually finishing by 10 or 10:30.  Please come if you can help pick from our "community plots" for the Underwood Tower.  We can also use help watering with all the heat we've been having, and we need to do more weeding, especially in the sweet potato patch!  In May and June we donated 60 pounds of spring produce to the Underwood Tower, including lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, mustard greens, radishes, snap peas, and herbs. 
Note to Members:  Please remember to record your volunteer hours on the chart in the garden-- we ask volunteer members to work at least 8 hours in the garden.


The Squash Beetle is Here:  We had to pull a dead zucchini plant this morning-- the squash beetle had taken over (sorry, Holly!)  Please watch your squash plants carefully, kill any beetles you see, and if your plant succumbs, pull it out immediately and either put it in a yard waste bag and dispose of, or dig into the compost pile.


"Cooking with Raw Foods" with Elle Lien,  Wed. July 11, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Sorenson Community Center, 4808 Cass St.
The Dundee Community Garden invites you to learn about a raw food diet, and how to prepare some simple raw food recipes.  The workshop will include hands-on participation, and tasting of all recipes!  You may know Elle as the chef/owner of the former Daily Grub restaurant.  Reservations appreciated but NOT required.  Let us know you are coming by sending an e-mail to info@dundeegarden.org, attending our event on Facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/events/400887803281175/
Workshop is free, but attendees are requested to bring a food item to donate to Together's Emergency Hunger Relief Program.  Needed items include healthy kid-friendly foods such as peanut butter, oatmeal, cheerios, rice crispies, tortillas, soup, canned chicken or tuna, and boxed mac & cheese.  


Watermelon Feed
Sunday July 22, 3-5 p.m. at the Dundee Community Garden, 49th & Underwood.
Join us for an afternoon of fun as we eat juicy watermelon slice, have a seed spitting contest, and more!  


Community Events:
Art in the Garden Opening July 7th. The show consists of painting on doors by a variety of artists.  All doors were donated by Omaha ReStore and Urban Village.  The painted doors will be displayed at the Hands to Harvest Community Garden located at 1113 S. 31st Street during that week. 
The opening party is on July 7th from 4:00 – 7:00 PM. This party is free and open to the public. There will be music by Matt Cronin, Rachel Tomlinson Dick, and Rawr…Shhh. Localmotive will be there with their food truck, and shaded seating will be available.  The doors are for sale by the individual artists, and a small percentage of their proceeds will go to maintaining the community garden.
The Hands to Harvest committee welcomes anyone who would like to spend a few hours listening to great music, looking at fantastic artwork, eating delicious food (cash only, please!), spending time in the garden and visiting local artists and neighbors.  




Thursday, June 14, 2012

Ice Cream Social Sat./ Planting Sweet Potatoes Tonight

Hello Dundee Community Garden Members and Friends,


We're re-planting 150 sweet potato slips tonight (Thurs):
Many of our slips died when we planted at the end of May, so we've ordered replacements and we're getting them into the ground asap!  Join us tonight Thurs. June 14, at 7 if you'd like to help get our second batch off to a good start!  Members, remember to record your volunteer hours!

Short harvest morning this Saturday June 16, 9-10ish  We'll be harvesting greens for the Underwood Tower.

Ice Cream Social, Sat. June 16, 3-5 p.m.:
Sundaes for $1, featuring e-Creamery ice cream; live music;  garden stake painting to mark plots; and free face painting.
For Sale:  DCG t-shirts, re-usable mesh produce bags, and tomato cages


Saturday, June 9, 2012

DCG Tomato Cage Question and Ice Cream Social

Hello Dundee Community Garden Members and Friends,

We're planning for the Ice Cream Social next weekend-- Sat. June 16.  Hope you can come!  e-Creamery is donating the ice cream, and they're planning to make a special basil ice cream for our event!!!  More information below.

Question for our members and friends:
Do you want to buy a sturdy rebar tomato cage for $15, or two for $25?  We will sell them at the Ice Cream Social, if we have enough demand for them.  Let us know if you're interested-- we need commitments to buy at least 10 cages in order for us to purchase the rebar to make them next weekend!  

Work day this Saturday June 9, 9-12, come when you can.  We've got lots of snow peas and greens to harvest for the Underwood Tower!

Ice Cream Social, Sat. June 16, 3-5 p.m.:
Sundaes for $1, featuring e-Creamery ice cream
Free Face Painting for the kids
Free "Paint your garden plot stake" for our members!
For Sale:  DCG t-shirts, re-usable mesh produce bags, and (possibly) tomato cages



COMMUNITY EVENTS:

Benson Plant Rescue Vegetables and Flowers
This is a great resource for free or inexpensive vegetables and flowers!  Check it out!

TODAY, FRIDAY, MEMBERS ONLY, 4-5 -- first pick on new stuff

Today, Friday, everybody,  5-dark
Tomorrow, Saturday, 9-2

New veggies and flowers expected in this afternoon.

PERUVIAN DAFFODILS AND MOSS ROSE -- only a few left.

HUGE CHERRY TOMATO plants in 2+ gallon containers.  Already producing fruit.  We offered these earlier this week to community gardens and now they are available, first come, first served, to anyone.  Only 16 left.

Many new SHRUBS.

THANK YOU for growing community and not just plants.  Hope to see you soon.

-- Dr. D.
Dr. David J. Hibler, Sr.
Benson Plant Rescue
3103 North 50 Street
Omaha, NE  68104-3747

BensonPlantRescue@cox.net

"Growing Community, Not Just Plants"  since 1999.

(402) 933-3867


P.S.  -- DON'T FORGET  the Munroe-Meyer Garden Walk is this Sunday, June 10.  Details online at their site.


 Beehive Presentation  Monday June 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Subject: Beehive Presentation @ Hands To Harvest!
 
Hi! I'm with the Hands to Harvest community garden.
 
As you may not be aware, we have recently begun hosting a beehive in our garden. This is working out really well and has some fantastic benefits.
 
First, according to The Omaha Bee Club, there are beekeepers all over the city who need a location for their hives and what better place for them than a community garden? You get your plots pollinated, you get to help out a local beekeeper, and best of all, you get to purchase local, organic honey that you actually helped create. How often does anybody get to do that?
 
We would like to share this experience with other community gardens, so we are hosting a presentation. Tony Sandoval, President of the Omaha Bee Club, will be talking to us about the benefits of hosting a beehive and answering questions. We are inviting community garden members hoping they will attend this presentation and decide to host a beehive as well.
 
 
Location: Hands to Harvest Community Garden
            1113 S. 31st St, Omaha
 
Date: Monday, June 11 starting at 5:30 PM
 
Would you please distribute this invitation to the garden networks? No RSVP is necessary.