Asheville Community Garden

Final Harvest

2009-11-06T10:20:00.004-05:00

Ryan and I picked the last big harvest of the year and dropped it off at the Rescue Mission. This was a very successful first year and we hope next year will be even better! Our next task is to pull everything out and plant clover, oats and rye to keep our soil happy over the winter. If you want to help with this project let me know.

First box of veggies donated today!

2009-06-30T13:11:00.003-04:00

I stopped by the garden today and picked the first round of veggies - peas, cucumbers, zucchini and peppers! I dropped them off at the Rescue Mission. The man I spoke with said they are open 24 hours a day and always happy to take food donations. We can drop them at the front desk or at the kitchen entrance around the back. ABCCM is also right around the corner, and we can give veggies to the Crossroads students to take home to their families.

Posted by Julie Coyle

Maintenance Schedule

2009-06-29T13:55:00.004-04:00

July 5-11 and August 16-22
Evan and Kevin

July 12-18 and August 23-29
Sarah and Cassie

July 19-25 and August 30-September 5
Victor and Sarah

July 26-August 1 and September 6-12
Kelly and Robbie

August 2-8 and September 13-19
Christina and Lindsey

August 9-15 and September 20-26
Ryan and Julie

During your assigned week, stop by the garden a few times to check on things, weed if needed, pick ripe veggies and take them across the street to the Rescue Mission or ABCCM, look for any diseased plants that need attention, pull out plants that stop producing and plant something else, make adjustments to the water system if needed, etc.

Contact me if you have any questions - juliennecoyle@gmail.com

Composters Needed

2009-05-18T13:54:00.016-04:00

We need your help feeding the compost bin for our community garden! Keep your scraps in a container during the week and then bring them to the church on Sundays to add to our compost pile behind the building. If you are interested, email me at juliennecoyle@gmail.com and I will send you a list of compostable items.

Posted by Julie Coyle

Seeds Sown

2009-05-11T11:20:00.002-04:00

Special thanks to all who helped sow seeds and put plants in the garden. It's great to see this vision become a reality.

We need to pray for favor with the CrossRoads group. We strongly desire for the students to be able to participate in this project and we've had some relative difficulty making that happen.

Planting Plan

2009-05-02T13:37:00.005-04:00

The "Seed Team" met Thursday night and created the layout below, taking into consideration companion planting recommendations. Anna will purchase the seeds this weekend and we'll begin planting Sunday afternoon. On Wednesday the students from Crossroads will help us finish up the planting process. If you're available and interested in helping either day, please let me know.

Posted by Julie Coyle

Thank you to everyone who helped on Saturday!

2009-04-28T18:39:00.009-04:00

Construction Day

2009-04-23T16:42:00.000-04:00

Join us on Saturday, April 25 at 9am at the back lot of our building 297 Haywood St., downtown to begin constructing the raised beds for our Community Garden Project. Any tools you have would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by Pastor Kurt

2009-04-23T16:17:00.004-04:00

Somehow Ryan managed to fit all the materials we'll need on Saturday into his Subaru hatchback!

Thanks Ryan!

Posted by Julie Coyle

Materials Needed

2009-04-06T14:04:00.005-04:00

Below is a list of the materials we will need to make this project happen. If you think of anything we've forgotten, please let us know!

Landscaping Timbers (8’) x108
Shovels x4
Rakes x4
Spading Forks x4
Hoes x2
Garden Shears x2
Gloves x 10
Trowels x6
18 Cubic Yards of Top Soil
4 Cubic Yards of Mulch
Organic Fertilizer
Organic Plants and Seeds
40’+ Water Hoses x4
Rain Barrels x2
Compost Bin
80’ of Rebar

Posted by Julie Coyle

"Before" Photos and Layout

2009-03-24T17:45:00.012-04:00

The hillside next to the stairs is where we will build the raised beds. Evan and I staked it out with string this afternoon. The area is 51' long and 23' wide. We are planning to create three rows of 4' wide beds with 30" isles between each row and a 3' isle up the center, as shown in the image below.

Posted by Julie Coyle

Benefits of Community Gardening

2009-03-24T12:42:00.003-04:00

I've been reading Community Gardening by Ellen Kirby and I wanted to share some quotes that I found helpful or inspiring.

"Community gardens can be neighborhood crossroads. Gardens foster bonds of friendship and support among diverse people, shape the life of a neighborhood, and provide needed community services." (p.9)

"In neighborhoods across the country, garden-based youth programs are helping teens learn about food, leadership, and community...Perhaps most essentially, community gardens can inspire youth to cultivate ideas of value and a sense of what to do with their lives." (p.47)

"Many community gardens begin as healing projects -- an individual, a neighborhood, or a society seeks to restore balance, ease suffering, heal wounds, create beauty out of chaos, nourish hunger, make a place for the forgotten, or inspire new generations." (p.50)

Posted by Julie Coyle

Why Organic?

2009-03-23T10:53:00.009-04:00

We have decided to keep our community garden herbicide and pesticide free. The information below outlines some of the benefits of growing organic.

"Exposure to pesticides has been linked to a long list of diseases and health problems: Parkinson’s, infertility, cancer, birth defects, encephalitis, and lymphoma, just to name a few. Another problem is that the law does not require companies to test lawn pesticides with the same standards as pesticides used on commercially-grown food. Many of these contact hidden "inert ingredients" that have never been tested for possible harm. The Center for Disease Control has documented cases of farmworker illness after exposure to pesticides.

"In addition to the harm they can do to us humans, pesticides contaminate the air, water, soil, plants, and animals around us. For example, many studies have proven that pesticides harm honeybees, butterflies, ladybugs (which eat lots of other pests), and fish, and that lawn chemicals seep into the water table.

"Besides that, they can be expensive!

"Learning to combat pests without chemicals is a great way to help your health and that of your neighbors and the environment."
(Taken from: http://www.organicgardenpests.com/organicpestcontrol.html)

Here are some additional resources about organic growing:
www.journeytoforever.org
www.organicgardeninfo.com
www.gardenersnet.com

Posted by Julie Coyle

Update from Saturday's Tilling Crew

2009-03-23T09:23:00.002-04:00

Several volunteers met Saturday morning with the intention of tilling the hillside. However, after considering the implications (and recommendations of Sarah's dad), the group decided it would be better to build the raised beds on top of the grass, because rain would likely cause the tilled land to slide down the hill.

Posted by Julie Coyle

Notes from our first planning meeting - March 19th 6pm

2009-03-19T20:19:00.002-04:00

Attendees - Kurt Hannah, Julie Coyle, Evan Wathen, Sarah Dick, Kevin Yount, Fred Nichols, Lindsey Kari, Elizabeth Cannone, Anna Hunt, Victor McHenry, Robbie Green and Kelly Green
Volunteers not in attendance - Ryan Coyle, Cassie Ryalls, Christina Robbins

Garden Space
We determined that the best space to begin with for this year would be the sloped area behind the building, near the parking lot and stairway.

Work Groups
We created work groups to take on the different tasks that will need to be accomplished. Below are the volunteers for the work groups.

Materials and Layout Planning Team - Julie Coyle and Evan Wathen
Construction Team(includes tilling, hauling dirt, etc.) - Evan Wathen, Ryan Coyle and Fred Nichols
Outreach Team - Sarah Dick, Christina Robbins and Lindsey Kari
Seed Team (includes planning and acquiring seeds) - Anna Hunt, Elizabeth Connone, Cassie Ryalls and Lindsey Kari
Project Management - Julie Coyle and Victor McHenry
Ongoing Garden Maintenance - Kevin Yount, Christina Robbins

Plans
We are hoping to begin tilling this weekend, construct raised beds on April 25th and begin planting the following week.

Stay posted as we update our progress!

Posted by Julie Coyle

Vision

2009-03-19T20:05:00.001-04:00

Misseo Dei Church is creating a community vegetable garden on the church property, located in downtown Asheville at the intersection of Haywood Street and Patton Avenue. Our goal is to bless the community of Asheville by donating food to families in need and by educating and building relationships with high school students, who will assist with the project.

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Julie Coyle at juliennecoyle@gmail.com

Posted by Julie Coyle