Monday 24 November 2014

Invasive Plants - Japanese Knotweed


The need to keep vigilant about invasive plants is highlighted in this BBC News video about Japanese Knotweed.

VIDEO AND STORY HERE

 

Sunday 5 October 2014

The End of NAGA Composting Bins and Composting Areas

Yesterday, 4 Oct., a backhoe was hired to move 'compost mountain' from it's old and tired spot to over near the storage area, where it will be rested to compost. This new pile is OFF LIMITS. This policy is described in another, recent, blog posting. That posting has also been mostly translated from English into 4 other common languages. Gardeners caught putting compost (or garbage) on this pile may lose plots (where they have more than one) or have their membership revoked if they have only one plot.
 
 

 
 
The smaller compost bins have been removed. No gardener is to place any compost or garbage in these places or any other place in the NAGA garden. Your cooperation is fully required, expected, and will be appreciated.


Multi-lingual instructions regarding new composting policy at NAGA Garden




Wednesday 24 September 2014

BULLETIN - Change in NAGA Compost Management Practices


Dear NAGA Members,
On 20 Sept. 2014 the Board of Directors agreed that effective immediately and onwards:

1.   ALL COMPOSTING IS TO BE DONE ON EACH NAGA GARDENER’S OWN PLOT.
 
2.   DO NOT ADD ANY OF "YOUR COMPOST" TO ANY EXISTING PILE OR BIN CONTAINING COMPOST.
 
3.   ALL EXISTING PILES AND BINS OF COMPOST
ARE OFF LIMITS.


 

SIMPLY, FROM THIS DATE FORWARD:
 
JUST LEAVE ALL OF YOUR "GARDEN'S CHOPPED-UP COMPOST"
ON YOUR GARDEN
 

The Board of Directors, Nepean Allotment Garden Association


- - - - - - - - -

Bulletin - COMPOSTAGE - 22 septembre 2014

Chers membres NAGA ,

Le 20 septembre 2014, le Conseil d'administration a décidé qu'à compter de maintenant et au-delà:

1. Tout compostage est à faire sur VOTRE PROPRE TERRAIN ET JARDIN.

2 N'ajouter pas «VOTRE matériel de compostage» À AUCUNE PILE DE COMPOSTAGE ACTUELLE OU CONTENANT DE COMPOSTAGE.

3. TOUTES PILES EXISTANTES ET BACS DE COMPOSTE
sont hors limites.


SIMPLEMENT, a partir d'aujourd'hui:
Il suffit de laisser tous vos " TRONCONS DE COMPOSTE
SUR VOTRE JARDIN


Le Conseil d'administration NAGA

Friday 12 September 2014

Just Food for September 2014


Please take a look at JustFood.ca for upcoming activities and workshops.

http://justfood.ca/
You can also subscribe to their online newsletter (recommended).

Upcoming events include:
News and Events

1. Just Food Farm Stand Open Sundays - Check out Garlic Day on September 14th
2. Just Food's Start-Up Farm Program now taking applications for 2015 - Information Session September 15th
3. Tomato Preservation Workshops - September 18th and 23rd
4. September Farm Workshop Series - September 20th and 27th - SOLD OUT
5. Shop for Local Food with SavourOttawaOnline

Other Community News and Events

6. West End Well - NOW OPEN
7. Call for Oktoberfest Volunbeers - October 3rd & 4th
8.Food Secure Canada's Eight National Assembly - November 13th -16th
9. Eastern Ontario Local Food Conference - November 24th & 25th

 

Tuesday 2 September 2014

UPDATED: NAGA Annual Picnic - Saturday 20 Sept 2014


UPDATED


Dear Naga Gardeners,

The annual picnic will be held on Saturday 20 of September from 2pm to 4pm.  We will gather under the tree and picnic table on the west side of the garden (near perennial plots 204 and 205, or annual plots 49 and 51 ).

Be proud of your produce and bring in some samples or a dish made out of your bounty. NAGA will provide burgers (even Halal) for everyone and some drinks.

Come out and enjoy!
 
Mike Chebbo
NAGA Chair

Note: the original date was the 13th, but it is forecasted as a lot of rain
 

How does a vine grow?


Here is a short, but fascinating, time lapse that shows how a vine catches a pole. Vine Grow.

Enjoy!!

 

Thursday 14 August 2014

"Community gardens ripped up along Arbutus corridor" (British Columbia)


CP Rail brought in heavy equipment  Thursday afternoon and begun tearing down structures and removing the community gardens that local residents have nurtured for years along the disused Arbutus corridor railway.

LINK TO REST OF STORY

Thankfully NAGA's legal standing with the City of Ottawa is very clear, but this is a tragic situation, nonetheless.

 

Thursday 31 July 2014

Results of the Nepean Creek Survey (2012)


Immediately south of the NAGA Garden is the Nepean Creek. You can see part of the creek from the fence that runs along the south boundary of the garden.  In 2012 the Nepean Creek was extensively surveyed by staff and volunteers of with the City Stream Watch Program.  The report can be found at this link:
http://204.101.207.53/IM/Documents/Aquatics/City_Stream_Watch/Final_CSW2012_NepeanCreek.pdf

From the report Introduction:
Nepean Creek is approximately two kilometers long (excluding the stormwater ponds) and flows from Colonnade Business Park just east of Merivale Road to the Rideau River just south of the intersection of Prince of Wales Drive and Fisher Avenue. The headwater reaches of the creek are entombed, out letting just east of Howard Darwin Centennial Arena (formally Merivale). From that point, the creek flows along the southern edge of a highly developed residential area. A naturalized buffer has been maintained between the development and the stream, and well used recreational pathways wind their way through the area crossing the creek multiple times and connecting to residential streets. Nepean Creek has an one online stormwater pond and one offline stormwater settling pond located close to the Rideau River. The stormwater ponds were not included as part of the stream survey as they fall outside the guidelines of the stream assessment protocol.

Here are some interesting facts from the report:

Watershed surficial geology
42% clay
26% diamicton
8% organic deposits
1% bedrock
23% sand

Invasive species
Observed in Nepean Creek include purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus), zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), Manitoba maple (Acer negundo), and buckthorn spp (Rhamnus cathartica).

 

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Seed Saving Workshop – 20 August 2014


Seed Saving is a means of ensuring that our food supply is not reliant on a small selection of varieties that can lead to vulnerability to disease, pests, and changes in climate. The practice of seed saving and sharing, seen as a hobby to some, promotes genetic diversity of crops and overall food security. Join Just Food’s Community Gardening Network and participate in a seed saving instructional workshop to learn more about this traditional practice.

This workshop, facilitated by Greta Kryger of Greta’s Organic Gardens, explains and demonstrates how to save seeds from your favourite vegetable varieties from year-to-year. Registrations is required and two dates are available.

When: August 20 at 6-8pm
Where: Dempsey Community Centre
When: August 27 at 6-8pm
Where: Bayshore Park Fieldhouse
Cost: $5 or pay-what-you-can
For more information or to register: email CGNintern@justfood.ca or call 699-6850 ext. 12

Thursday 17 July 2014

Food Bank donations - Pickup on Tuesday Mornings


Hello Gardeners,

I am hoping your gardens are growing well this year.

NAGA will once again be collecting produce for the food bank. Please put your produce in the blue bin in the tool shed by 10:30am on Tuesdays. We will start taking donations this coming Tuesday July 22.

A big thanks to Lee Coates who is taking the food to the food bank each week!

NAGA
http://nepeanallotmentgarden.yolasite.com

Thursday 3 July 2014

Garden inspections for remainder of 2014


Dear NAGA gardeners,

So far this year we have seen great improvements in the condition of the garden over the last few years. Thank you for all your efforts to keep your plots tidy and productive.


Below are the dates for remaining NAGA garden inspections:

7 July – weeds, headlands, abandonment/neglect

28 July – weeds, headlands, abandonment/neglect

18 August – weeds, headlands, abandonment/neglect

8 September – weeds, headlands, abandonment/neglect

Even though most of your gardens will have been harvested there are still two more inspections in the autumn (the lease ends 31 October):

29 September – weeds, headlands, abandonment/neglect (basically, try to keep it neat until the end of the year)

26 October – checking for removal of non-organic material for season cleanup (members must remove all poles, stakes, fences, planks, hoses etc. from their plots)

If there is a problem with maintaining your plot that you think we should know about, please inform us by emailing at nagagardens@gmail.com . (Please read this blog posting:http://nagaottawa.blogspot.ca/2013/06/are-you-taking-vacation-this-summer.html).

Thank your for your cooperation.

Craig and Ron

(on behalf of the Board of Directors)

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Garden Volunteers Recognition Certificate



In celebration of Ottawa first official Garden Day, as part of the Canadian Garden Council’s Garden Days celebration, the Ottawa Chapter of Landscape Ontario and the Mayor’s office organized a Garden Volunteers Recognition Ceremony to recognize those that contribute to the development and maintenance of our public gardens for the benefits of the residents of Ottawa.

We wish to inform you that upon nomination by Councillor Keith Egli and in recognition of the many hours of volunteers provided by the members of the Nepean Allotment Gardens Association to foster development and maintain the Nepean Allotment Gardens, your organization has been selected to receive a Garden Day Certificate of Recognition to be given at a Ceremony on Friday June 13, at 11 am at City Hall, Marion Dewar Plaza Gardens. 


If you wish to see a larger version of the certificate, follow this link to our website:

http://nepeanallotmentgarden.yolasite.com/resources/NAGA%20Certificate.pdf

Pepper and Tomato plants

Greta Kryger, Owner/Operator of Greta's Organic Garden's is offering free pepper and tomato plants for Community Gardens.  The pick-up time for these plants is Thursday 19 June from 2:00PM to 7:00 PM.  Please bring your own trays and boxes to put the plants in.  

The pick-up Address is 399 River Road, Ottawa ON.  Click here to have it shown on a google map.  It is located near the Ottawa Airport.

Data Gathering Project (Update from May 2014)


This is an update to the Data Gathering Project, see the report here: http://nagaottawa.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-201314-data-gathering-project.html


Here's the data I gathered May 13 2014 from the fall no-plowing/plowing and the spring roto-tilling experiment:

* Two of the annual plots (A90 and A83) were left un-plowed in the fall 2013 as part of the experiment.

* These two sample plots (A90, A83) were chosen specifically as they are low-lying plots, and were under 2 inches of water in late April 2014.

On 13 May 2014, all the annual plots were roto-tilled by the city. This year it was again a wet spring. But it hadn't rained in two days, so the city decided to rototill even though our clay soil was really still too wet to rototill (i.e. you could shape a scoop of the rototilled soil into ball), under normal conditions it should crumble and remain as small particles.

Randomly-taken samples were taken from 20 rototilled plot staken, also from randomly selected areas throughout the allotment gardens, but also including plots A90, and A83). The samples were observed for: "depth of rototill," and "rototilled soil looseness."

Results:

There was NO MEASUREABLE DIFFERENCE between the plowed and unplowed plots in relation to the depth of rototill.

The plots were 5.5 to 7.0 inches depth on day of rototilling, which by two weeks later had packed down to 5.0 to 6.0 inches in depth.

There was NO MEASUREABLE DIFFERENCE between the plowed and unplowed plots in relation to the rototiled soil looseness.

Note: a few scattered plots that had a substantial amount of compost material added by the owners throughout the years, and had a better breakup of the clay (as this would be expected).

Conclusions:

This spring's data showed no discernible difference between "NO fall plow, or the usual fall plow" plots.

It was voted at the annual spring meeting, to continue to gather more data by proceeding with the second phase of the experiment, on which there will be no plowing in the autumn 2014 for the plots that are on the East side of the garden.

The additional set of results to be gathered (unplowed East side, compared to the plowed West garden), would give more data as to determine if it is necessary to plow the gardens in the fall, or just leave the gardens to rest until the Spring rototill.

Jim Koss
NAGA Gardener and Director At Large

Wednesday 11 June 2014

We all have a garbage problem.


NAGA Members:

Please look at the photo, below. Every spring time we are hit by a tsunami of garbage. Much of it comes from the garden plots, some of it is dumped by the public who disrespect their community and feel they can dump garbage in a park or garden. When the garbage is not packaged properly the City may refuse to pick it up. Quickly, the situation gets worse and makes the garden look bad and may upset the local residents. If the City does not pick up the garbage, then responsible NAGA members must do the messy work and clean up the garbage. If the amount of garbage is too large, the NAGA administration must then take steps to correct the situation. This may include arranging for a special pickup, or rental of a large garbage container, and then to pay for its proper disposal. This will only add to the pressure to increase member fees. Therefore we must all do our part to improve this situation.

Here are some of the things we can all do to help:

1. If you brought items to the garden that you no longer need or want, TAKE IT HOME and dispose of it in your own garbage pick up. You were able to bring it to the garden, you must therefore be able to remove it.

2. If you can't take the garbage home, then at least have the decency to place it in TIED GARBAGE BAGS or place it in the trash bins, and not loose, all over the ground.

3. If you are getting rid of sticks and branches, they must be CUT TO A REASONABLE LENGTH, and TIED with STRING into BUNDLES. They can not be loosely placed in disorganised piles. The garbage men are not paid to pick up thousands of sticks. They need to pick up bundles of items.

4. Limit the amount of material you bring onto the plots that is plastic, and metal.  THIS IS A GARDEN, NOT A JUNKYARD.

5. If you see NAGA members improperly disposing of garden waste, please tell them to do it properly. If they refuse, feel free to inform the Chairperson or Maintenance Director of the problem with the details of their plot number.  If you see a non-member dumping garbage from their vehicle, copy the license plate and report this a member of the Board of Directors (email: nagagardens@gmail.com).

To Members of the Public who are not NAGA Members:

The NAGA Garden is for members. Members do the hard work of gardening, volunteering, and they pay NAGA to do all this. They are all citizens of the City of Ottawa, so like you, they also pay taxes. So, NAGA members pay City taxes, and they pay extra money to be members of the garden. The garden property is not for non-members to drive to and treat the property like a garbage dumping ground. You have your own local garbage pick up, and you can also take refuse to the Trail Road Facility. If caught dumping, you will be prosecuted. Your vehicle license will be noted, photos may be taken.

See the City of Ottawa By-Laws, items 70 and 76:
70. No person shall place waste on any property other than the property upon which it is generated.
76. Any person who contravenes any provision of this by-law is guilty of an offence and upon conviction thereof is liable to a fine of not more than $10,000.00 for a first offence and $25,000.00 for any subsequent offence.

Thank you all for your cooperation.

 

Thursday 5 June 2014

1st GARDEN INSPECTION - 15-16 JUNE


Dear NAGA gardener:

This message is to notify you that during

June 15-16 the NAGA Garden will be inspected

by two members of the NAGA Board to check that all gardeners are gardening within the Terms and Conditions of license which was signed by the plot lease holder at the beginning of the gardening season.

If any problems were observed on your plot(s) you will be notified. Gardeners with observed problems then need to fix these problems within 10 days. Gardeners who were informed in writing in March that they are on Final Notice will have their lease cancelled. This notice is being sent as an advance warning in order to avoid this situation. The future of your garden is in YOUR hands.

The three major items that will be specifically checked include:

1. It must be obvious that GARDENING is occurring (for example: soil is turned or tilled, vegetables, herbs, fruits, seeds, etc., are planted and being watered and weeded, staked and so forth). IMPORTANT: Gardens that appear abandoned or mostly neglected by June 15-16 will likely be returned to NAGA for reassignment to another gardener. NAGA has a long waiting list for gardens.

2. WEEDS may exist but must be UNDER CONTROL. It must be easy to distinguish between produce/food/flowers and any present weeds. Too many weeds that have gone to seed are a sign that weeds are not under control. There should be no grass growing in a plot unless they form an obvious/well-defined path (perennials only).

3. HEADLANDS are trimmed (the area extending two feet beyond your plot boundary, http://nagaottawa.blogspot.ca/2013/07/headlands-what-are-they-and-what-are.html). The grass on the outer perimeter of your plot should be trimmed every week or two. It does not need to be manicured to perfection, but it needs to be trimmed. There can be no debris on the headlands. This includes: soil, compost, mulch, large rocks (greater than about 3 cm), garbage, tools, etc.

Please ensure your garden complies with the above three major points. This will make the garden attractive to the community and to other gardeners, and it will result in fewer warnings and cancellations of gardening privileges.

Thank you.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
C. Hamm (Director at Large) and R. Rogers (Vice Chair)

Thursday 29 May 2014

Remaining compost, and Straw delivery - 7 June between 10:00 - 11:00



Straw:

It was just confirmed with our supplier that he can deliver straw to our gardens for sale at $6 each bale on Saturday 7 June 2014, between 10 and 11 AM at our parking lot.

Please bring exact change cash only (no exceptions)!

Remaining compost:

You can help yourselves with the compost amount that we still have left, especially at both East and West ends of the gardens. COMPOST IS ONLY FOR USE ON THE NAGA PROPERTY. You cannot take it home etc.
 
We need to use the compost before it gets confused with the new sand and soil that are coming in this Saturday (31 May) at the wooden planter boxes area. The new soil and sand are for filling the boxes that we will be working on Saturday at 10:00.  Come and volunteer with the boxes!

Mike
NAGA Chair

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Planting Guide for the Ottawa Area (5a)

If you have space in your house you could start some seeds to transplant later to your garden.

February:
  • Start indoors plants that require 10-12 weeks before last frost (eg. Tomatoes, onion and leeks, etc.).
  • Start indoors plant that needs to be two-year old before producing, such as Globe artichokes.

March (1st week)
  • Start inside seeds that should be started about 6-8 weeks before last frost (e.g. peppers, eggplants, etc.).
  • Veggies that should be started 6 weeks before last frost but that you are planning on putting on a cold frame, a row-cover, or growing in pots and hardening them for a couple of hours outside, but taking them indoors at night.
  • Place sweet potatoes in water to sprout indoors 

March (middle of month):
  • Start seeds of Tomatoes and Peppers (for staggered production), Berries
  • Brassicas (e.g. Chinese cabbage, broccoli, and common cabbage)
  • Start romaine lettuce indoors if you have a cold frame for transplant

April (as soon as the ground can be worked):
  • Seed outdoors: Peas, Spinach, cold hardy greens, Parsnips, Radish. Harden-off leeks and Brassica transplants by placing outdoors for a couple of hours, but taking them indoors at night.

April (middle of month, warmer days start but ground is moist)
  • Seed Carrots, Beets, Lettuce
  • Transplant leeks, and brassicas but keep them on a cold frame, a row-cove, or cloche.
  • Harden off tender plants like tomatoes, eggplants, etc. 

May (1st week)
  • Plant early potatoes
  • Start indoors corn and melon seeds
  • Seed greens directly on ground
  • Start cucumbers indoors 

     After annual gardens have been plowed and staked:
  • Plant beets and carrots for early harvest (stagger your seed planting), Swiss chard and storage onions outdoors 
  • Start early corn outdoors (ONLY if soil reasonably warm) 

May (after last frost date, usually 24 May)
  • Place seeds directly on ground crops like: pumpkins, cucumbers, green beans, squash, etc. 
  • Cut sweet potato vines into a few inches pieces, place in 2-3” of water to root 
  • Transplant tomatoes and peppers outdoors, cover if necessary on cold nights 

June (1st week)
  • All Solanums  such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants should be in the ground. The same for peppers, and okra.
  • Seed peas for a late crop
  • Seed Brussels sprouts, and lima beans, kale 
  • Transplant sweet potatoes, cucumbers, melons (watermelons and cantaloupes) 

June (middle of month)
  • Plant late corn 
  • Plant fall crops: carrots, beets, rutabagas, potatoes, and late season brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli) 

July (1st week)
  • Start fall crops such as Fennel, Lettuce, carrots, beets and turnips
  • Plant Chinese eggplants/cabbage outdoors 

August (1st week)
  • Start fall crops: radish, lettuce, and onion

September (1st week)
  • (ONLY applies for Perennial gardens and Raised boxes) Seed spinach and onion for spring harvest. 

September (2nd week)
  • Make cuttings of sweet potato for overwintering indoors

October
  • Dig up all root crops for storage
  • (ONLY applies for Perennial gardens and Raised boxes) Plant garlic bulbs for spring harvest

Happy Gardening!



Monday 26 May 2014

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Completion of Raised Bed boxes - Saturday, 31 May 2014


Volunteers are required this Saturday morning at 10am in order to complete assembling and filling of about 10 raised bed boxes. These are the boxes located near the Fire Station on Viewmount Drive. These boxes are important for the development of the Garden in that they provide a good entry-level gardening experience for new gardeners, and a good way for older or disabled gardeners to continue gardening without the labour required to maintain annual and perennial sized plots.

Members of the community that are on the waiting list for a garden move up the waiting list if they help out with the boxes. This is great opportunity to be rewarded for your interest in becoming a NAGA member.

Meet at 10am near the raised bed boxes. Bring work gloves. Do not wear sandals or open toe shoes. If you have tools such as hammers or shovels, that would also be helpful.

(DO NOT park at the Viewmount Drive Fire Station)

Thursday 22 May 2014

Compost Delivery - Friday, 23 May 2014


Hello gardeners!

We are planning for the City of Ottawa compost to be delivered to the gardens tomorrow afternoon, Friday 23 May. The limit of compost is as follows (using the NAGA black wheel barrows):

Annuals: Maximum 3 wheel barrows for each plot;

Perennial: Maximum 2 wheel barrows for each plot;

Planter boxes: Maximum 1 wheel barrow for each box.

We ask for your cooperation as to permit that every gardener has access to the compost.

All the best,
Mike Chebbo
Chairperson

 

Saturday 17 May 2014

2014 Opening for Annual Gardening

Dear NAGA Gardeners,

The big tiller.
Last week (13 May) the entire annual garden was tilled (the tilling is only loosely scheduled with the city and we never know exactly when they will show up with the tractor). It also depends on the weather, as it has to be dry enough to till the soil and recently it has been wet. This makes it difficult for us to schedule volunteers for staking the plots, but that is the hand we are dealt each year.







However, before the tiller had left the property, a group of dedicated NAGA member volunteers  measured and staked the east side of the annual garden with the white numbered posts that mark each plot boundary. This is several hours of detailed, careful work which is done. As well, another NAGA volunteer re-painted many stakes and numbered them.  By the 16th, several more annual plots were staked by volunteers on the west side of the garden. As of today, May 17th all annual plots will have been staked, and the water has been turned on. Gardening is OPEN!


Stakes freshly painted.
Volunteers measuring and staking the annual plots.
Some gardeners began planting prior to the staking. These gardeners risk losing some of their effort if they mistakenly went outside of their plot boundary. All boundaries will be strictly enforced.

The NAGA Registrar is now busy going through the long waiting list (there is another post in this blog about the waiting list).

It appears as though the power corporation has relocated the massive wood-chip mulch pile from near their installation in the 'south-east' corner of the garden to along the back fence-line, behind plots 275-277. The corporation also put down a rough gravel path in this area, perhaps in preparation for upcoming work(?).

If you have not yet heard about your plot assignment, please wait to be contacted by the Registrar.



Thursday 1 May 2014

The 2013/14 Data Gathering Project



This is the presentation given at the NAGA AGM on 12 April 2014





AUTUMN PLOWING / SPRING ROTOTILLING, COMPOSTING, plus some additional info on (STONES, WEEDS and HARD CLAY)


Data was gathered both on Autumn 2013 and Spring 2014; it was collected from several allotment gardens, farms and consultation with fellow gardeners.

Where information came from:


Problems: Big stones in gardens

Immediate action required before May rototilling:
  • Removal: the stones can damage plow equipment, even rocks the size of apples could damage prongs of rototiller.
  • Walked around the garden and saw several large rocks, one nearly 2ft x 3ft!
  • We need to remember that these gardens plots are part land-refill (i.e.: clay, rocks, pavement chunks, concrete pieces with metal, etc.) all of which would damage the farmer’s equipment.


Proposed Actions:
  • NAGA Board sends communication to all gardeners to identify and remove any large rocks as soon as gardeners came across them, at any time of the year. If these rocks are too large for one person to safely handle, we’ll help. 
  • I removed some rocks last fall before freeze-up and will champion this project but need assistance of several strong bodies and our riding-mower/trailer to immediately haul them off to our stone drop-off pile before rototilling begins.


Plowing / Rototilling


NAGA standard practice:
  • Autumn: plots are plowed
  • Spring: plots are rototilled

Other Allotment gardens standard practices:
  • Spring: gardens are rototiller
  • Autumn: NO plowing/ rototilling

"Backyard gardener's" standard practice is usually just a spring cultivating of their garden plot.

Farmers in the area have moved onto minimum soil cultivation, i.e. one plow disc, or single harrow between rows of the previous years crop.

The city-contracted farmer who plows our allotment gardens questioned me as to why we plow in the autumn. He stated that rototilling is enough and is all that is required. Benefits of big money ($) to be saved here, plus the added environmental benefits of no additional plowing.


“Plowing/Rototilling Experiments” done at the gardens last autumn and this spring 

  • Experiment #1: two plots P290, P283 were not plowed in the autumn, they will be rototilled only this SPRING. This was a 'worst case' plot selection; as both these plots are heavy clay (had never had composting), and were in a low area under several inches of spring water melt. 
  • Experiment #2: 1/3 of plot P289 rototilled only in the autumn; 1/3 of plot P289 was rototilled only in the autumn, with 6 bags of leaves (not shredded) added prior to rototilling; 1/3 of plot P289 was rototilled only in the autumn with 6 bags of shredded leaves added prior to rototiling. 

Action: Compare the cultivation results between all plots in May (depth of rototilling and amount of soil break-up), and if results are comparable, do only Spring rototilling in the future.


*Additional food for thought: could it be done in Fall vs. Spring? 
  • Pros: not waiting on the city’s spring plowing time schedule, you could plant when you wanted to, and also plant some crops on your annual in the fall (e.g: garlic); and 
  • cons: would our clay soil be better aerated/broken up by waiting until soil is completely dried later in the spring?

Composting

  • Troy, Wisconsin (USA) allotments: everything is composted right on each individual’s plot.
  • Boone Plantation Commercial Farm, Charleston, SC. (USA): everything is composted on same spot where it was harvested. All farmers compost on the same harvested field.
  • Blackburn: some gardeners do compost on their plot. The rest move their compost to the edge of their plot in the fall. A farmer is then hired ($) to clear it to the far end of the field. Once there, it is NOT USED  (as in never) as the gardeners find it too much work to reclaim it. The Chair cannot get any action or consensus on composting on the plots, is frustrated and has given up.
  • Kilborn: everything is composted right on each individual’s plot.


NAGA: we are the only ones to have compost bins.

As of today there are “ 22 COMPOST BINS” on the grounds, ... 20 small, 2 large. There also appears to be 18 additional new bins made from pallets (looks kind of fort-like) at the fire-station end of the gardens, ...some have compost in them, locks on them, others have garden fencing, poles, cages, chairs stored in them.

EVERY COMPOST BIN is presently FULL and/or OVERFLOWING onto the surrounding area. We seem to be inundated with the stuff! They also have GARBAGE and STONES thrown into and around them. Gardeners who have the temporary bins next to their plot have to move the soil back to level their plot every year because the tractor can’t plow or rototill in the desired direction because the bins are in the way.

                                 
Currently gardeners are encouraged to carry their plant material from their plots and place it in “TEMPORARY BINS.” As these fill-up, all the compost is moved again to large “HOLDING BINS” to compost for a year. It is then turned over and any un-composted material is moved to a “Second Bin.” Gardeners are then encouraged to dig out the composted material and return it back on their garden plots. As this is very heavy and hard work and getting volunteers has not been a reliable solution, money is paid out ($) to do the emptying, transporting, and turning the compost throughout the season.

Reasons given by NAGA gardeners on why they don’t compost on their own plot:

  • Some gardeners thought “they were required” to tidy and remove all season-end plant materials off their plots each fall. NOT TRUE, just cut up pieces into small enough bits so as not to tangle the rototiller. 
  • Some were afraid of plant diseases if left on plot and not going through a full year of composting. NOT TRUE, discard any diseased plants to the garbage immediately as you would normally do. ALL FARMERS compost directly on their fields, I’ve been doing it for over 15 years on my plot with zero problems
  • Most gardeners I polled don’t use the binned compost as they find it too hard physically to separate out the uncomposted materials, rocks, plastic, glass, wood pieces, twine, rope etc. They preferred the free ($1000/yr) mushroom compost provided by NAGA in the spring. 
  • Some were concerned that leaving weeds to compost on their plots would result in hugely larger number of weeds sprouting next spring. NOT TRUE, you will always have weeds. Just the physical act of pulling one weed that has gone to seed will disperse hundreds of seeds onto your plot. 

Most of our NAGA garden’s common weeds produce anywhere from a few hundred - to thousands of seeds per full mature plant. And the seeds can remain fertile in the soil for years, for example a single lambsquarters plant can produce 39,000 seeds in one season and can germinate up to 40 yrs later. Scary eh!?!  Miss one weed (or your neighbour misses one), add in the results of plowing/ wind/ birds and every plot will get more than its fair share of weeds every year. I did three walkabouts of our allotment gardens last year (early summer, late summer, and fall). Every plot always had some weeds, ...including my own!


Proposed Actions: 

  • Removal of these temporary bins and Phase Out the Large Holding Bins. Seems these temporary bins are very labour intensive and also just too convenient a drop-off spot for strewn garbage and stones. This will get gardeners doing their own composting on their own plots, putting garbage where it is should be, (in the main garbage bins) and taking their stones to the rock pile. 
  • And here’s an Easy-Lazy Way to do it ...with no lugging heavy stuff from bin to bin to bin and then back to your plot: Just leave your compost material right there on your plot where it came from!!! ...your soil will thank you.


Darn Weeds

Here’s some tips on how to manage your weeds:

  • Pull/hoe weeds regularly “before they go to seed,” and leave them to dry-out in a sunny spot in your garden for mulch. Expect the same of your neighbour. 
  • Remove (or dry-kill) ALL quackgrass rhizome roots before you plant your garden, they will just continue to spread through your crop and then they’re really hard to remove. Dig a trough around the grassy side of your plot to prevent entry of these grass rhizomes. 
  • Use plenty of mulch to keep weeds from sunlight and inhibit growing. 
  • Plant veggie rows close together to shade out weeds. 
  • Make a little time for weed control each time you visit your plot, ...it’ll pay huge dividends and give you time for more visiting with your fellow gardeners.

 Hate your hard clay soil?

We understand, yes it soaks up water like a sponge, and gets rock-hard when dried out ... but it does have tons on nutrients/minerals in it for your plants.

So we did a Leaf Shredding/Composting Experiment last autumn to help out the hard clay:

  • I bought a used leaf shredder and Ron Elmer (with his generator) shredded leaves (free leaves from the curbside) and added them to 4 plots. Shredded leaves compost very fast compared to full leaves and don’t blow around during the winter. 
  • Curious of the result? Check out the soil structure improvement results due to added leaves/shredded leaves on these plots P221, P229 (perennials), and A86 (annual). 
At the AGM I brought a 14 inch long, straight carrot I dug up on April 11  from my perennial plot P221. My plot has 15 years of just adding a few bags of leaves from the curb each year. A great improvement from the 1st year I dug my hard clay plot, bent the prongs on my digging fork, and had stunted short carrots. 

With a Leaf Shredder one can add way more leaves and amend the soil quicker. An added bonus is you don’t have to dig the leaves into the soil to prevent the wind from blown them around in the fall/winter.

*note: if you use a substantial amount of leaves or wood chips to amend your soil composition, you WILL HAVE TO ADD a bit of Nitrogen fertilizer to the soil to replace the Nitrogen used up in the composting of the leaves and wood chips! 

  • I will also use these chopped leaves as mulch during the growing season to control weeds and retain moisture for the plants. Bonus ...it’ll turn into compost by next year. 
  • So if you can’t grow long straight carrots in your hard clay, simple...just keep adding some leaves along with your plant residue to compost right on your plot!

Any interest out there in the community on exploring the benefits of the leaf shredder? ...let us know.

I hope to put together some information deck for our website soon, on Introduction to Managing your Soil better with Organic Gardening, other methods to improve soil structure and using less chemical fertilizers but still getting way more nutrients into your veggies. 

Happy gardening! 

Jim 


Wednesday 9 April 2014

Stink(y) Bug(gers) invade Ontario, pest to fruits and vegetables


Read the CBC story here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/invasive-stink-bugs-spreading-across-ontario-1.2602769

Quote from article:

Spring is when adult stink bugs emerge from the warm confines of where they spent winter, usually attics and soffits.

The agriculture ministry is asking anyone in Ontario who finds a stink bug to catch it, take a photo and send the picture to the ministry.

“The best way to preserve specimens, and to prevent them from being crushed, is to place them in a small container with rubbing alcohol or vinegar,” the ministry says. “Good quality digital photos, showing key features such as the two white bands on each antenna, can also be useful for identifying [them].”

Friday 4 April 2014

Things you Need to Know about the NAGA Garden Waiting List


This post is to explain the general process in dealing with the waiting list for garden plots at the NAGA garden. Even given the large size of the NAGA garden, there is more demand for plots than available supply. Each spring the waiting list for an Annual Plot (20 ft by 30 ft, 600 sq. ft.) is approximately 80 persons. Each year anywhere from about 10-20 Annual Plots become available, so unfortunately it can take several years to get into the garden. Of the 80 people on the list one year, some people move away, or are no longer interested in a plot when offered, so a person's position on the waiting list may occasionally improve quickly.

For non-members: To get on the waiting list, any Ottawa resident who is interested should notify the Chairperson of the desire to obtain a new membership in NAGA (i.e. to get a plot). The best way to do this is to email nagagardens@gmail.com, with your name, address and phone number(s) and state whether you are only interested in a raised bed (large box), a perennial plot or an annual plot. From this email the person’s name and the date their request was made are recorded on the waiting list in chronological order. If you do not specify which type, you will be offered, when your turn comes up, whatever is available at that time. Keep in mind that waiting time for perennial plots is much longer than that for the other two types.

For existing NAGA members: People who are already NAGA members are sent renewal notices each spring (usually in late March). They are offered the same plots they had the previous year. If the member is renewing their license to garden in NAGA, they must return their renewal form with any requested changes (for example, add a plot if eligible, reduce the number of plots, swap one type for another, or move to or from a raised garden bed, etc.). However, not all requests can be met. A specific plot that a member wants may not be available, and another person may be higher up on the waiting list. Priorities are given to current members in good standing to obtain more plots as specified in NAGA’s Bylaw (Maximum of 1,200 Sq. Ft.). Once all the renewal forms with payments are received by the Registrar, and the data is entered into the current member database, the Registrar determines which plots become available for new members. Some members may reduce the number of plots in their care, or decide to retire from the garden for any number of reasons. Final tally doesn’t normally occur until after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) date, which is the deadline for paying membership fees and that usually happens around mid-April.

In early May, and after the gardens have been ploughed and staked for numbering purposes, the Registrar contacts people from the waiting list to see if they are still interested in a plot being offered to them by NAGA. People are contacted in chronological order from the date the name was added to the waiting list (members requests, who are in good standing, are filled first, and then new members requests are handled).

For existing NAGA members who requested a change in plots (number or location), they may not get the exact plot they would prefer. There are many other gardeners to consider, who have also made requests, possibly before your request was made.

Please be patient and wait for your turn. Please be respectful when dealing with the Registrar and all Directors of NAGA Board who are volunteers and are trying their best to provide fair access to the garden for all current and future gardeners.
 

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Gardens that grow more than food - Article from Ottawa Citizen


On March 30 there was a great article about allotment gardening in the Ottawa Citizen by Shannon Moneo. Shannon lives and gardens on Vancouver Island and grows on a 250 sq ft plot, almost the size of a NAGA perennial. Read and enjoy the article.
 

Sunday 23 February 2014

Notice: Nepean Allotement Garden Association, Annual General Meeting for 2014


The Annual General Meeting will be held on the afternoon of Saturday April 12, at 13:00 (1:00 PM in the afternoon). The location will be as for the previous two years, and the Tanglewood Community Centre on Woodfield Avenue (very near Merivale Rd). There is free parking. Basic refreshments will be served.

for Mike Chebbo
Chair